Chapter Eleven
"I understand the question you are asking me, Washu-san. But I'm afraid that the answer might not be a satisfactory one."
The priest settled himself on the steps of his shrine, meeting the scientist's anxious gaze with a regretful one of his own. "Jurai's power takes many forms, that is true. And it is probably the greatest power in all the universe - certainly there's been nothing yet to match the might of Tsunami. But never, in all my years as a Prince of that world or here on the Earth have I learnt anything about astral projection."
"I had to try." Washu sighed, dropping down onto the cold stone beside him. "Katsuhito-dono, I'm running out of options. We don't have time to try and bring Sasami into this - not with Ryoko getting weaker, and since you understand the power so well, I hoped..."
She shrugged, glancing at her hands.
"Well, Ryoko can do it." She said at length. "We're seeing ample proof of that. I hoped she'd inherited it from Kagato, but it seems she really did inherit it from me."
"It would seem so." Katsuhito inclined his head slightly. There was a moment of silence, then, "Do you think she will die, Washu-san?"
"I'm doing what I can to keep her stable, but without the activity of the mind the body begins to break down." Washu bit her lip, tasting blood on her tongue. "It's almost a living death - a limbo. Her body won't be able to maintain the separation for much longer. Hence why I came to see you."
"Yes, I understand." Katsuhito rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "It is true, you know, that Kagato had magics not generally associated with Jurai's power."
"I know." Washu nodded. "And I heard the rumours too, after he died, that he was Aiko's bastard son, and not a legitimate prince of Jurai. Is that your contention also?"
Katsuhito did not answer to begin with. Then he spread his hands.
"I have often wondered." He admitted. "Whether he drew his dark magic from other sources than Jurai. In which case, anything Ryoko did inherit is likely to have been tainted Jurai power, not true at all. I'm sorry, Washu. Even if Kagato could project himself astrally - and I have no idea whether he could - it's not a Juraian magic. Not one Tsunami blessed her royal line with, anyway."
"Then we've hit another dead end." Washu ran her hands through her hair. "Damn this...it's starting to drive me crazy. Why does she have to get herself pulled into these insane, suicidal situations, anyway? If she just thought a little more and acted up a little less..."
She faltered, and Katsuhito smiled, resting a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"Children grow up and fly the nest. They make their own choices and decisions and we just have to learn to accept them. Even when they seem wrong." He said softly.
Washu looked startled, then she returned the smile ruefully.
"I'm becoming a neurotic." She admitted. "It's silly, really. I never bothered about Ryoko for the longest time. It shouldn't matter to me whether she lives or dies. I mean, she was designed for a purpose. And that experiment is over. Kagato is dead."
"Ah, but life is another experiment entirely." Katsuhito said wisely. Washu eyed him thoughtfully for a moment. Then she nodded.
"And so is having a family." She replied. "Forgive me, Katsuhito. I've had no sleep and it takes its toll on me worse than it used to."
"You don't need to apologise." Katsuhito assured her. "I just wish I could be more helpful."
"So do I." Washu owned. "Ryoko might be a holy terror and I might wake up most mornings of the week wanting to throttle the life out of her for one reason or another. But we are connected, all the same. That's why I'm so angry with myself. If I still had my Kii magic in any quantity, I could go in there and get her back. Even a bond as odd as ours must be strong enough to get through."
"They do say there's no bond stronger than that between mother and child." Katsuhito observed philosophically. "Perhaps there is another bond of Ryoko's you could consider, however."
"Such as?"
"Tenchi and Ryoko are very close these days."
"Yes, I know." Washu frowned. "But Tenchi's grasp of his magic is basic, even if he is powerful. Katsuhito, it's like throwing a baby into a river and hoping he'll learn to swim. The chances are he won't, and I don't want to put his life in danger because he doesn't understand the situation fully."
"Well, I think it seems a bit late to protect him, don't you?" Katsuhito's eyes twinkled behind his glasses. "The boy has fought Kagato twice, and defeated him on both occasions. He's survived encounters with mad Priestesses and dangerous tribal magic. And he is blessed with more of Tsunami's power than I or any other Juraian Prince."
"And their connection is strong enough?" Washu looked doubtful. "It's not a blood bond."
"Ah." Katsuhito smiled. "But not all bonds need to be made in blood, Washu-san. I've witnessed the strength of that connection already. You see, when Seiryo Tennan came to the Earth and took Tenchi captive, Ryoko knew that he was in danger. Even though she was here at the shrine with me, she knew."
"Really?" Washu's eyes narrowed. "Are you suggesting that Ryoko and Tenchi have forged some kind of...telepathic bond?"
"Ryoko has telepathic inclinations, and so, fundamentally, does Tsunami. Would it be so strange?"
"I suppose not." Washu acknowledged. "I guess I did realise there was a bond between them that surpassed ordinary affection. But...Tenchi is still so blind to his magic. He's scraped through difficult situations before, true, and he doesn't lack for courage or commitment. But he's never projected astrally, either. The chances are he doesn't have the magic, if you don't - Tsunami may have given him Light Hawk Wings but that doesn't mean she gave him everything. I'd need to compensate..."
She faltered, then shook her head.
"It's too dangerous." She said with a sigh. "I need to find another way."
"Surely that's up to me?"
A fresh voice interrupted the conversation and Washu turned, surprise glittering in her green eyes as she registered the subject of their conversation. Tenchi stood beneath the shrine gateway, his college bag tossed down against the wooden support as his gaze flitted between the scientist and his grandfather.
"Tell me what it is and let me decide if it's too dangerous."
"What are you doing back so soon?" Washu recovered herself, eying him reproachfully. "You had class this morning. Yume said you'd left."
"I did, it was cancelled, I came back." Tenchi said stiffly. "My tutor took sick. I'm not skipping class, so you can relax, Washu."
"It seems prophetic, you arriving back right as we're discussing you." Katsuhito seemed unperturbed by his grandson's sudden appearance. "Washu and I were discussing options - she wanted to know if there was anything in Jurai's power which permitted astral projection."
"So that someone can go and get her back?" Tenchi demanded. Washu sighed, nodding her head.
"I hoped your grandfather would be able to do it, with his experience. But it doesn't seem to be a true Juraian trait." She said wearily. "I can't do it. My own magic isn't strong enough to do anything much any more, or I would."
"Which leaves me?" Tenchi frowned, leaning up against the gateway as he considered her words. "And you don't want me to go, because you think I'm still some kind of child who needs protecting?"
"No, I think you're as crazy as my daughter and you'll rush into something blind without even considering the potential consequences." Washu said cuttingly. "You and I both know that when it comes to your own safety, the pair of you are ridiculously rash."
"Washu, I want to help Ryoko." Tenchi said flatly. "You know she'd help me, if it was the other way around. Heck, she did help me, when Haruna had me in her world. If there's something I can do, I want to do it. Even if it is dangerous - it has to be better than sitting around here doing nothing."
Washu looked troubled.
"I don't think you understand." She said softly. "Tenchi, Ryoko is effectively dead. I mean, she still breathes, but her spirit is roaming free in space, trapped in this spectral world created by Hotsuma aboard the Nagatabi. I've narrowed it down to that ship, as we suspected, and I've picked up her frequency in among other ionic readings. But to get her back, you can't just jump aboard the ship and demand to see her. It's not that simple. You'd need to go in on her terms."
"Meaning?" Tenchi raised an eyebrow. "Just tell me, Washu. We're wasting time, because no matter what you say, I'm not going to be talked out of it."
Washu's lips thinned.
"It would be a long shot, and we'd have to go back to Sargasso." She said slowly. "More importantly, though, if you were to have any chance of reaching her, I'd have to take a big risk with your life. Even supposing that your bond with Ryoko is strong enough for you to find her, and your divine magic is focused enough to keep you together, there'd still be a chance - a good chance - that you might die. You don't know how to will yourself out of your body, so we'd have to use more desperate measures. In order to even give you a shot of reaching her, I'd have to stop your heart for a brief moment. You'd have to, essentially, die...and hope I could pull you back to life in time. The risks of both you and Ryoko being trapped in this ethereal world are pretty high. At worst, well, there's always the chance I wouldn't be able to restart your heart again. Tenchi, you could very possibly stay dead."
Tenchi pursed his lips, and for a moment there was silence. Then he raised his gaze to hers, determination blazing in their depths.
"All right." He said softly. "So when do we go?"
----------
"You're very quiet this evening."
Ryoko glanced up from her perch atop the fuel unit, casting her companion a faint smile as he strode towards her, casting her a grin. "Hiding away down here - what do you think I'm going to do to you, Ryoko-chan? Why are you hiding from me?"
"I'm not hiding. I'm just thinking." Ryoko said with a shrug, and Hotsuma raised an eyebrow.
"That's something I've never had to accuse you of doing before." He teased. "Thinking only slows you down, Ryoko. Besides, I wish you wouldn't keep flitting off all over the ship. I've something to tell you. I thought I saw the Daidalos, crossing our space zone. It looked a bit beaten about - actually, more so than I've seen it in a long time. But I think it was Shank's ship anyway. I've set a course to follow. We might yet see a showdown before too long, once he knows we're on his case."
"Daidalos? Really?" Ryoko looked startled. "That's good news. I was beginning to wonder how a ship as damaged as Shank's must've been has eluded us so easily. Nagatabi might have some problems of her own, but she's at least flying - right? Surely he can't be that difficult to track down."
"Well, he's pushing his luck on all sides." Hotsuma held out a hand to her, and she took it, drawing a sharp breath as he blurred them both out of the engine room and back up to the drive room of the ship. "There. That's better. Now we can see what's going on."
"I don't like it when you do that." Ryoko pulled her hand away, sending him a warning glare. "You could have warned me. I don't like teleporting unless I'm the one controlling it. You know that."
"I know, but it was still the quickest route." Hotsuma shrugged unrepentantly. "And you shouldn't mind it so much, Ryoko. You're in danger of being controlling again - your molecules are used to splitting apart, after all. It's not so very different."
"It is." Ryoko rubbed her arms protectively. "Controlling or not, I like to keep in charge of my own atoms, thank you very much."
She crossed the drive room, staring out into space. "Which way did he go? If we don't have radar, how will we track him?"
"It's called intuition." Hotsuma smiled, tapping his nose. "We've been here before, Ryoko. Daluma ships, Balta space, not far from the police raiding line. I guess old habits die hard."
"You're right." Ryoko looked surprised. "We are close to a Galaxy Police patrol area. Very close, in fact - I can see the yellow space-markers. What is he playing at? Is he that arrogant that he's flaunting himself in front of their cameras, or is his ship so wrecked that he can't see to fly?"
"I think it's more likely he's trying to lead us into a trap." Hotsuma rubbed his chin. "He's no fool and Nagatabi isn't a small ship. Like I said, this whole situation has deja vu written all over it - last time the Daluma got frog-marched to Headquarters. Like as not it's a revenge mission of his own."
"How would he know? Nagatabi isn't a pirate ship."
"He knows. Remember, I got it from him and his stooges." Hotsuma said grimly. "He probably thinks he's already spoken for you - me on the other hand, he's still after catching. We were both involved when we led them into that police patrol. He won't have forgotten. He'll have known I'd give chase, so here we are."
He glanced at her.
"I know you want to nail him, so I'm asking you what you want to do." He added. "Me, I'd turn back and wait for a less blatant opportunity. I don't want to be incarcerated. But I know this means a lot to you. So you call it. What do you think?"
Ryoko glanced out into the bleak darkness. Then she frowned.
"I want Shank's head." She said darkly. "Follow him."
"All right." Hotsuma shrugged his shoulders. "Then that's what we'll do. Although if we meet any police patrols, you're doing the explaining. Nagatabi isn't as fast or as sleek as either Gai'En or Ryo Ohki. We might not be able to out-pace them."
"I'm not worried about the Galaxy Police." Ryoko said quietly. "I've done nothing to upset them, not yet. And even they might turn a blind eye if we kill Shank. He's been a wanted criminal for an long time...and there's bound to be bounty on his head. They're corrupt and desperate, half of them - they probably wouldn't even care."
"You're mad." Hotsuma stared at her. "What do you mean, done nothing? Have you forgotten about all the things we did - and the things you did with Haki? Raids, thefts, looting...destruction...blowing roofs off settlements just because you felt like it? Target practice at Juraian autopilot security bugs? All of those things? They'd lock us up soon as look at us!"
"Not me." Ryoko shrugged. "I'm not on their wanted list any more. They can't touch me. In fact, they might even help. If you had that damn radio working, of course."
She kicked at it bad-temperedly, and Hotsuma eyed her in some confusion.
"Why would you ever be off their wanted list?" He asked softly. "You're one of the most successful space pirates there has ever been. Even Shank hasn't matched up to your exploits - who in their right mind would choose to pardon you?"
"The Emperor of Jurai, actually." Ryoko said absently. Hotsuma's eyes almost fell out of his head.
"You what? You're lying to me! You hate Jurai! And there's just no way..."
"Azusa-sama is my Great Uncle." Ryoko told him quietly, meeting his incredulous gaze with a sober one of her own. "I'm not lying. Sure, it's an illegitimate connection, and I'm a million miles from ever being Princess Ryoko. But I'm descended from his blood all the same. When I helped rescue his niece from Haki, he arranged with the Galaxy Police that I should have a full and comprehensive pardon. I got my revenge on Haki, they gave me a clean slate. I don't think Azusa liked the idea of one of his blood being on the most wanted, if I'm honest. This way, it saves his family any further embarrassment from that particular branch of the royal tree."
"I don't believe you."
"Fine. Don't." Ryoko shrugged impatiently. "But it's true. I'm not being hunted by the Galaxy Police any more. It isn't me they'll clamp in irons if they catch us, Hotsuma - so you'd better be sure you can pilot this ship without a radio and a radar."
"That's so typical of you." Hotsuma's eyes gleamed angrily, and Ryoko shrugged, offering him a flippant smile.
"They wouldn't catch us, anyway." She said simply. "There are no ships here, Hotsuma. Not Daluma, not Galaxy Police. Nothing. If Shank was on this path, he's evaded us somehow. There's nothing up ahead but empty space. He's gone."
"It isn't my fault the ship is broken, Ryoko. I'm doing the best I can."
"I know." Ryoko relented, dropping down into an empty seat with a sigh. "It's frustrating, that's all. And if we could use the radio, I could call Kiyone or Mihoshi...well, Kiyone, anyhow. She could scan Yagami's files and tell me where Daidalos was last sighted. Even help reel him in. She might never have bested me, but she's a pretty damn fine detective. And I trust her character. She would turn a blind eye to you, if we could get her involved."
"Stop it." Hotsuma held up his hands. "Maybe you did take a harder blow from that laser than you thought. Ryoko, you're talking deranged. You sound out of your head - you should hear yourself! Talking about detectives and pardons and blood links to the Juraian royal family! Maybe you're sicker than I thought you were...maybe I shouldn't have let you stomp around Nagatabi as much as you have been!"
"Like you'd be able to stop me." Ryoko snorted. "I'm not delusional, Hotsuma. Things have changed, that's all. Detective or not, Kiyone Makibi is one of the truest friends I have in this universe. And she's come through on my behalf a few times, if I'm honest. Even when I was a pirate and it was against her position to help me. Not all cops are out for a quick resume hit. And as for Jurai, well, that's true also. My father was Kagato, the bastard who tried to take over the planet and rule it in his name. I didn't know about it, when we flew together. But Haki did. That's why he chose me in the first place...a little girl with no home or connections. He knew I had Jurai blood, somehow, and he kept me to use me in his schemes. He had great plans for Jurai's magic. He just overreached himself. That's how I found all of this out. Haki's greed. It might seem implausible, but it's true all the same."
"I guess I can sooner believe you were spawned by some despotic mad-man than a respectable prince of Jurai." Hotsuma eyed her critically.
"Thanks." Ryoko scowled at him. "You really know how to make a girl feel special, you know that?"
"Chance would be a fine thing - you don't let me near you."
"Do you think that would be a good idea, for either one of us?" Ryoko raised an eyebrow. "You only want me because you're like all other pirate men - you don't like being too long without female company. And I'm still Tenchi's. It would be betraying him. I know how you think and you work, Hotsuma, and I trust you more than I trust most pirate men. I know you won't force yourself on me, the way that others have tried to, in the past. You have some honour and you know better than most fools how much pain I can cause you if you were to try it. But that doesn't mean I'm going to go back to how things were, once upon a time. We played then. This isn't a game, now. I want Shank and revenge. I don't want anything else. And I don't want anything from you. Not at the moment. Maybe not ever. Not even partnership and certainly not love."
"I thought I already told you that I didn't want a lover." Hotsuma said stiffly, and Ryoko frowned.
"Yes, but you see, I do." She said wistfully, melancholy touching her amber eyes. "Only he isn't here. And I can't do things the way I used to - carefree and without bothering about the implications and the consequences. I know what I want now - and I didn't know it then. I was still looking. It isn't you, Hotsuma, and it isn't this life. I'm not a pirate any more...and I can't live like a pirate, either. It just won't work."
"So what? You're going to go back to Earth when this is over?" Hotsuma raised an eyebrow. "Back to some backwards world where you have nobody, but you know every tree and lake and mountain like you know the back of your own hand? No ship, no travel prospects, nothing - what kind of life are you looking for, Ryoko? Whatever you thought you had, it's gone. You know that and you have to stop denying it to yourself. At least if you stayed with me, we'd have some fun. We'd travel. See places. Experience things."
"Mark time." Ryoko added absently. "That's all it is. Wasting as much time as possible between being born and dying, because we don't know what the hell else to do with ourselves."
"I wish you'd stop acting like this." Hotsuma rolled his eyes, and Ryoko could hear the frustration in his tones. "Listen to me, Ryoko. Blood and glory. Those are the only things a pirate truly cares about. You were never too hot on the blood side of things, but you always knew how to milk in the glory. Now it's like you've lost that as well. Tell me the truth - how much damage did Daidalos really do to you? Because you're acting like a dead girl walking, and I don't like it. I don't know this you - and it's frustrating me trying to find the real Ryoko in all of this self piteous wallowing."
"I'm not wallowing!" Ryoko reacted angrily, putting her hands on her hips. "I'm just trying to understand what's happening, that's all! And trying to make you understand. Although you never did understand, did you, Hotsuma? You humoured me when I had an idea, and sometimes you'd go along with it, if it suited you. But you never did try and understand me or the choices I wanted to make. It wouldn't work, don't you see that? You're selfish and so am I. Neither one of us will ever back down or learn to cooperate enough to make it work in the long run."
"We're not selfish. We're pirates. There's a difference." Hotsuma scolded. Ryoko sighed, shaking her head.
"Is there?" She asked flatly. "I don't know any more. I really don't."