Chapter Thirteen
It was growing late.
Ryoko hovered lazily across the spacious, empty ship's ballroom, pausing to glance in the mirror that hung at the top of the stairs as she did to. To her disappointment, she saw nothing there but her own reflection, and she sighed, shaking her head as she turned away.
"Why am I looking for that ghost girl, now?" She wondered. "She's dead and she doesn't even know for sure what her name is, let alone anything else. Why am I seeking her out? Is it because she's from the other side? Hell, am I looking for Tenchi, somewhere in all this chaos? Maybe Hotsuma's right and you do need to get a grip. Tenchi is dead, Ryoko. Deal with it. You know you have to, sooner or later. However much you want him back, it isn't going to happen. And you are wallowing. He wouldn't want that. He'd want...he'd want me to be happy. Somehow."
She glanced back at the mirror, hesitating and then pushing her hand through the glass. Finding no resistance, she carefully phased her whole upper body through, but there was nothing but an empty corridor on the other side and she frowned. However Mirei managed to hide within the crystal, it was obviously not a path that the living could follow.
She phased the rest of her body through, standing in the hallway as she tried to figure out her bearings. She had not been to this part of the ship before, she realised that with a sudden jolt of surprise. She had spent most of her time in the drive room, or avoiding Hotsuma's attention by concealing herself in the engine room or one of the salons. But this hallway seemed colder and bleaker than the rest of the brightly decorated ship and, as she followed it, she realised it led down, with cold steel steps that guided her into the belly of the ship.
Curiosity having got the better of her now, she made her way carefully down the stairway, finding herself in a long, expansive bay. She bit her lip, glancing around her as she did so. It was empty, but once it must have held more than just dust and cobwebs, for there were great storage spaces to either side of her and as she walked between them, she realised that nobody had been down here for a very long time.
"That's strange." She mused. "Hotsuma has turned the rest of this vessel into a pirate ship. The Balta colours fly from most walls, and most hints of the ship's former identity have been swept away into the shadows. But this place doesn't look like it's been touched for a long time. There's nothing here - no light, no supplies, nothing. Just empty darkness. I wonder why."
She held out a hand before her, a flicker of amber energy crackling across her palm and illuminating her surroundings more clearly in their amber glow. As the light grew, she was able to see further along the long, barren storage bay and as she reached about half way, she paused, bending to pick something up. It was a child's toy, aged and thick with dust, but unmistakeable.
"Mirei?" She murmured, glancing around her, but there was no answer and she frowned, glancing down at the doll once again. Holding her other hand well away from the object, so as her magic did not accidentally ignite it, she examined it more closely. It was unremarkable - the kind of toy that most children from priveledged families might have in their thousands. But as she turned it over, she saw a distinctive logo engraved into the bottom of the doll's shoe. She frowned.
"Airai?" She whispered. "Is that where Nagatabi comes from? Airai?"
She glanced at the other foot, a sad smile touching her lips as she registered the childish scrawling of the name, "Mirei" on the base of the other shoe. "Well, I guess that answers my question. This was Mirei's, which means this place must have some connection with her. Maybe this is why Hotsuma leaves it so much alone. If this is where she hides, no wonder he doesn't like to come down here. He's become a scaredy cat - hiding away from a little girl who couldn't hurt a fly. I wonder if she was from Airai. I guess it would make sense. This ship sure isn't Juraian, and I know there are some influential families on that planet."
She set the doll down carefully atop an old metal pipe that ran the length of the walls, moving further along the storage bay as she reached the far end. Another set of stairs beckoned to her - with one flight leading up and to the left, and the other down and to the right. She frowned.
"Didn't I already come this way?" She wondered. "Am I walking around in circles? Heck, maybe Hotsuma didn't come here because he hasn't managed to find it yet. All the corridors look the same. And how can we go further down? Surely there's not a layer beneath this one?"
She hovered contemplatively over the stairwell, but as she had suspected, the steps down led only to a small alcove, where once there had probably been seats and other paraphernalia for the ship's crew during respite. With a resigned shrug she pushed upwards instead, finding herself in another thin, narrow hallway. Just as the storage bay below, the dust and grime of the years had not been touched, and she ran a tentative finger along the wall, glancing at the residue with some measure of disgust.
"This isn't the same hall, though at first glance I guess you could think it was." She decided. "It could really use a clean - I'm going to be filthy after I'm done walking through here. Whether he knows it's here or not, he really needs to be a bit more ship-proud. No wonder nothing works. It's probably clogged up with dust, not Sargasso's influence after all."
Her finger brushed against a light switch and she flicked it on, bathing the hallway in a dim, luminescent glow.
"Well, the power works, at the very least." She observed. "So that's something. I wonder where it leads...if it leads anywhere."
"It leads to the nursery."
Hotsuma's voice came from behind her, startling her and as she turned to face him, she saw that his blue eyes were opaque and unreadable behind his glasses. He frowned, shaking his head. "And we don't come this way. It's her place. We leave it alone."
"Nursery?" Ryoko frowned. "Mirei's nursery? She's not a baby. I mean...she wasn't...she wasn't a baby."
"Rich families like to baby their kids. It's what they call it." Hotsuma said coldly. "And like I said, we don't stay here. This hallway and the floor below it - they're off limits. All right?"
"No, it isn't all right." Ryoko shook her head. "I've had enough of this ghost scare business. Mirei might be dead and she might be haunting you for stealing her ship. But she can't be more than eleven at most. What do you think an eleven year old spirit is going to do to you, huh? Put a sheet over her head and flit around your room? She's a child! So she's dead - big deal. She hasn't done anything so very bad since I came aboard Nagatabi and I think you're really overreacting. Probably the only reason she's still here is because you're so afraid of her."
"This hall-way is out of bounds." Hotsuma said angrily, flickering out of view and re-materialising at Ryoko's side. He grabbed her hand roughly, and she pulled it away, phasing through his grip as she glared at him.
"To you, maybe. I'm exploring." She said acidly. "You don't tell me what to do, Hotsuma."
"It's for your own good." Hotsuma said darkly. "I warned you."
"Are you threatening me?" Ryoko demanded. Hotsuma laughed, but it was a hollow, cold laugh.
"I don't have to." He said humourlessly. "It might already be too late."
"What do you mean?"
"I came here once. When Nagatabi first came into my hands." Hotsuma said bleakly. "Since then, she's not left me alone. In my dreams, she's always there. She makes me see her, again and again. The nightmares came when I first encountered her...I was fine until then. She might be a child, but she's evil. She has some kind of supernatural magic and she's cursed me with it already. Don't you understand - I'm only trying to stop her from cursing you too!"
"Cursing you?" Ryoko looked sceptical, and Hotsuma spread his hands.
"Every night I sleep, she shows me my death." He whispered. "Every time, she shows me how I'm going to die, in the halls of this ship. In the bay, below your feet...at the hands of a flashing weapon and a man with hate in his eyes."
"It's just a dream, Hotsuma. That's all." Ryoko frowned. "Dreams can't hurt you."
"I don't know, anymore." Hotsuma shook his head, and Ryoko could see the desperation in his eyes. "But I don't go down there, and I don't come here, either. This is her place, and if I don't come here, her evil hallucinations can never come true. You have to come back with me - upstairs, where it's safe. Otherwise she might curse you as well. And it's bad enough to see my own death, Ryoko. I don't want to see yours, too."
"I'm not afraid to die." Ryoko said pensively. "It can't be worse than being left alive and alone. Besides, I don't believe in ghost curses and I think you're being stupid. Mirei is a little girl who once lived aboard this ship. That's all. Nothing else."
"Really?" Hotsuma asked bitterly. "Then explain that to me."
He flicked his fingers in the direction of the floor and despite herself, Ryoko gasped, her hand flying to her mouth as she made out the large, reddish stain that marked the wood-panelled flooring. She glanced up at him, stricken, and Hotsuma curled his lip into a cold smile.
"Something terrible happened aboard this ship." He said softly. "I don't know what, but every time I sleep, she taints me with it. With her darkness."
"You're babbling."
"No, Ryoko, I'm not!" Hotsuma shook his head, grabbing her around the wrists again in his desperation. "Listen to me! The Nagatabi is an Arian ship. I should know - my father was involved enough in the industry and I saw enough of them when I was a boy. Mirei was Arian, just like me - and Airai has many dark, subversive cults that claim to wield black magic. She might be dead, but she still haunts me. She's part of it. Part of the evil. You must see that."
Ryoko sighed, gently prising his fingers from her wrists.
"What I see is someone letting childhood nightmare and superstition cloud his judgement - which isn't like you." She said softly. "Your father may have been tortured by one of these so called cults of Airai, and you might have fled the planet looking for somewhere safer to roam. I'd forgotten, but it makes more sense now that you'd be scared by all this. But Mirei is a child, and I know plenty about dark magic. Believe me, I'm half Kii, so I know all about what it can do. The truth is, she's just a girl. She might have magic or she might not. But I think she's just a little dead girl looking for friends. That's all. She seems sweet and she's harmless. You have to stop letting your fears run away with you. Whatever happened on this ship, it happened a long time ago. And Mirei isn't haunting your dreams. That's just your paranoia and I know you're stronger than that, Hotsuma. You can overcome it. After all, dreams aren't real."
Hotsuma did not reply, and for a moment Ryoko thought her words had upset him. Then, as she glanced at his face, she realised he was staring at something over her shoulder, his eyes glazed and uncertain and his skin suddenly ash pale. Frowning, she turned around, her eyes widening in disbelief as she registered what had caught his attention.
Mirei hovered at the furthest end of the corridor, but it was not the ghost girl who had caught her attention. At her side, clutching her hand tightly was the semi-transparent, flickering form of another, and her heart stilled in her throat as she recognised his face.
Despite herself, she took a step back.
"I don't believe it." She murmured. "Tenchi?"
------------------------
"How much longer is this going to take?"
Washu glanced up from where she had been monitoring Tenchi's status like a hawk, shooting the bounty hunter an irritated look as she registered the impatience in the woman's blood-red eyes. She sighed, shrugging her shoulders.
"As long as it takes. Hopefully not a lot longer." She said simply. "Tenchi's sustaining himself so far, but he's walking a thin line. He's not as naturally predisposed to this as Ryoko is and it's putting a lot of pressure on his heart and his brain to function correctly. A little longer, Nagi. Hold Ken Ohki still just a while more."
"I can wait all day." Nagi said off-handedly. "But they might not be so keen."
She flicked her hand in the direction of the space outside the ship's dome and Washu raised her gaze, cursing in Kii as she saw the massing pirate ships that hovered on the starboard bow.
"Pirates." She muttered darkly. "Great. Just what we need!"
"Even in Sargasso, I guess you're not completely safe from thieves." Nagi said drolly. "Ken Ohki, prime your lasers. They might think we're easy pickings, but they should know by now that they can't kill this bounty hunter."
"No!" Washu was on her feet in a moment, shaking her head. "No, Nagi, no lasers! We can't risk it - Tenchi's too unstable as it is! One wrong judder and we could lose him completely - sever his tenuous connection with his body and strand him in the middle of this awful place forever. I won't do that - not when I told him his life was in my hands!"
"If we don't fire the lasers, they'll blow us to smithereens." Nagi said angrily. "Washu, I thought you were supposed to be a genius. Tenchi will just have to take his chances. We can't risk not opening fire - do you think that they'll just pass on by and ignore us? They've come here with a purpose, and that purpose is me. It has to be. Why else come so deep into dangerous Sargasso space, if not to hunt down and kill the bounty hunter who's been disposing of their comrades for years?"
"I won't risk Tenchi's life that way." Washu's eyes clouded. "Nagi, there has to be some other way. Moving Ken Ohki now could prove disasterous - and I couldn't face Ryoko if she woke up and I had to tell her I'd lost her paramour in the mists of space!"
"If you don't let me fire, Washu, you won't be in any position to talk to Ryoko at all." Nagi snapped. "Because we'll all be dead. Not just Tenchi. They're priming their weapons - I can see the glow from here. We've seconds to react and I don't care what you want to do. I am not about to see Ken Ohki splattered all over Sargasso."
Washu bit her lip, glancing down at her hands for a moment. Then she moved away from Tenchi's side, placing her palms down on the edges of Ken Ohki's control panel.
"Give me a minute." She begged. "Just one. If this doesn't work, then...then I guess you have to do what you have to. But I have to try."
"One minute might be more than we have." Nagi said blackly. "What are you going to do?"
Washu did not respond. Instead she closed her eyes, inwardly muttering an ancient Kii prayer for help as she summoned every inch of her strength and resolve. At first nothing happened, but as she redoubled her efforts, she felt an old flame surge up inside her heart, igniting her senses and sending prickles through every single one of her nerve endings. She repeated her prayer aloud, in low, desperate tones as she forced more and more energy into the ship. Around her, everything seemed to become distant and blurred, and Nagi's voice seemed far away, her words spoken in a tongue she no longer understood.
And then, just as she began to think that all her effort was not enough, something flared out around Ken Ohki, growing and strengthening into a bright white glare as it stabilised. She opened her eyes, drawing a deep breath into her lungs as she fought tooth and nail to keep the forcefield constant.
"What in the world...?" Nagi's tone was one of incredulation, and Washu offered her a grim smile.
"Kii...magic." She murmured. "I don't know how long I can hold it...but they won't break through while it's there."
"I thought that you said your magic was pretty much dead." Nagi eyed her quizzically.
"I guess not." Washu whispered. "I guess it was always built on something stronger than the soul of a wounded planet, after all. It was given me by my father, not by my world. Yume was right. It is still there. I've just forgotten how best to use it, that's all. I never let him teach me how, for all the times he tried."
She closed her eyes, as dizziness threatened to overwhelm her senses. "Are they still massing? I...I don't know how long I...I can maintain it. I never was the witch my father wanted me to be, and without Kihaku, I'm drawing only on my own strength to...to do any of this."
"The nearest ship fired a volley in our direction, but it glanced right off. Ken Ohki didn't even register an impact." Nagi responded, and Washu could hear grudging admiration in her voice. "And I thought it hard to imagine that you and Ryoko were related. But now I can see it."
"Let's hope I have enough stamina." Washu gasped. "Or our pirate friends give up and...and...and go away. I need to get back to...to Tenchi. Monitor him."
"He's breathing." Nagi told her. "And the pirates are trying another round. Two of them have pulled back, but the third is still trying his luck. I guess they think they've encountered Sargasso's ghost magic or something."
She laughed.
"I can only imagine what they'll say about me and my ship, once this is over." She added, amused.
"I can't hold on much more." Washu gritted her teeth. "Nagi, I'm going to have to...to drop the shield. The third ship - is it posing us a threat?"
"It was." Nagi said critically. "But the last round it fired at your shield bounced right back at it. Blew the thing to smithereens. Talk about karma. Even Ken Ohki couldn't have aimed it better."
Washu faltered, slipping to her knees as she relinquished her grip on Ken Ohki's control panel. She put a hand to her head as the glow flickered and faded, struggling for a moment against the intense waves of dizzy exhaustion that washed unrelentingly over her body.
Then, at length, she raised her gaze to her companion.
"I don't think they'll be back, if one of their crafts was destroyed." She said faintly. "And we saved Ken Ohki's laser, so Tenchi should...should be okay."
"You're a strange creature." Nagi held out a hand, and after a moment, Washu took it, allowing the bounty hunter to pull her to her feet. "But at least I know now why Ryoko was the pirate she was."
"Oh?" Washu looked startled. Nagi nodded.
"She has your spirit." She said keenly. "Are you all right, or are you going to pass out on me?"
"I...I'm all right." Washu made a superhuman effort to regain her composure, offering the bounty hunter a nonchalant grin. "I'm Kii. We're tougher than that."
"Demon magic indeed." Nagi mused. Washu shook her head.
"No." She responded. "It's not demon magic. It's just very old, that's all, and badly understood."
"Well, whatever it is, it's fine with me." Nagi offered her a smile. "And if, when we get back to the Earth, you can pull up something scientific like that to protect Ken Ohki in future, then this whole business will have been worth my time and effort. I can't imagine even the Daidalos would stand much of a chance against a forcefield of that nature."
"Science isn't always as strong as magic, but it's probably my better discipline." Washu said ruefully. "I promise, Nagi. When we get back to the Earth - when this is over - I'll make sure Ken Ohki has enough defences to scare the whole Daluma guild."
She sank down at Tenchi's side once more, glancing over the monitors and frowning.
"I hope he hurries up. And that he can find his way back, somehow." She added. "He's not as strong as he was...I don't know how much time we have."
"Have faith." Nagi said softly. Washu looked surprised.
"Nagi?"
Nagi smiled.
"You're a strange bunch, all of you." She mused. "But one thing I've learnt about you is that you all challenge the odds to come through and help one another. It defies logic, but you do it, all the same. He'll find what he's looking for. You'll see."
"I hope so." Washu admitted. "And I suppose you're right. It's like...like we're a family, in so many ways. And there's nothing family won't do for one another."
Nagi was quiet for a moment, and Washu wondered if she'd offended the bounty hunter in some way. Then Nagi turned, a sad smile on her face.
"As you say." She agreed, running her fingers absently over Ken Ohki's control panel. "Hold your line, Ken Ohki. We're just going to wait...until the Prince returns."
----------
"Tenchi?"
As the ethereal apparition grew more and more defined before her, Ryoko's composure seemed to crumble and glancing at her, Hotsuma's brow creased into a dark frown. Anger replacing his initial fear, he put himself neatly between his companion and the two spectres, holding up his hands. Glittering blue light flickered across his palms, as he met Tenchi's gaze coldly.
"Let her go." Tenchi spoke softly, but his voice resonated around the hallway in a ghostly echo. "I mean it, Hotsuma. Let her go."
"Go where?" Hotsuma glared defiantly back at him, the crackling energy growing until it enveloped him completely. "To her death? I don't think so."
"Are you...real?" Ryoko took a hesitant step forward, reaching out a hand to the flickering form before her, and Tenchi cast her a smile, offering his hand in return. With a yell Hotsuma pushed her back against the wall, shaking his head.
"It's a trap! One of that girl's evil games!" He told her darkly. "She'll make you see whatever she likes, then she'll snare you in her spell. Tenchi is dead - you know that he's dead. Nothing else is real!"
"You're lying to her!" Tenchi exclaimed, indignation in his tones. "You're the one who's evil - you're the one who's keeping her here!"
"Prove it." Hotsuma sent a crackling bolt of energy in Tenchi's direction, and the prince set his teeth, holding out his hands as his body became enveloped in a soft white glow. Ryoko's eyes opened wide at this.
"Tenchi-kun." She whispered. "The Jurai power! Hotsuma, he's real. Only a Prince..only Tenchi...maybe he isn't dead. Maybe Tsunami..."
"Shut up, Ryoko." Hotsuma cut across her, shaking his head. "I told you, she makes you see what she wants you to see. She teases at your thoughts and parades them in front of you. He's not there - whatever you think you see. He's a hallucination, or a ghost. He's not real. Tenchi is dead. You know that's the truth."
"I'm not dead." Tenchi stepped forward, his flickering aura spreading and glowing with ethereal energy as he drew closer to the pirate and his confused companion. "You've just been lying to her, that's all. Ryoko, all of this, it's the illusion. You're not really here. You're at home, on Earth. Washu and I have been trying to reach you, but this was the only way. He's been stopping you from coming back - he's the one who won't let you go."
"Hotsuma?" Ryoko eyed her guardian uncertainly and a stab of anguish shot through Hotsuma's body at the look in her golden eyes. He scowled, shaking his head.
"If that's true, why can't you contact Ryo Ohki?" He challenged. "You know that if she was still alive, you'd still be bonded with her. The ship was destroyed and everyone aboard it was killed. You know that. Don't let him play with your mind. He has no claim on you any more. He's dead. There's nothing left and he wants to drag you down to hell with him."
"You're the one who's dead, Hotsuma-san!" Tenchi snapped. "You take my girlfriend and you use her strength and her memories to feed your own, but without her, you're nothing."
"Liar!" Rage flared in Hotsuma's heart and he launched himself at the apparition, his entire form crackling with electric energy. As he made contact with the Jurain magic, however, he found himself repelled the length of the hallway and Ryoko let out an exclamation as he clattered against the hard steel wall.
"Hotsuma!"
"Ryoko, listen to me." Tenchi's tones were becoming desperate, as his form flickered and blurred at the edges. "He's been lying to you. Please. Believe me. I wouldn't lie to you."
"Tenchi." Tears spang into Ryoko's eyes, and she shook her head. "He's right, Tenchi. If Ryo Ohki were still alive, I'd be able to contact her. And she...she's not there. So...so nor are you. Much as I want you to be...I know you're not. And I can't...please. Don't do this to me. If you really are his spirit, please, leave me be. I can't handle seeing you this way. I just...can't."
"You see, Earth boy, she's not a fool." Hotsuma picked himself up, advancing once more on the prince and his companion. As he reached Ryoko, he flipped his knife from his belt and then, without a moment of hesitation, he drew the blade smoothly and cleanly across his palm. Fresh blood bubbled and gushed across his skin, and he held his hand up to his foe, a look of triumph on his face.
"Blood doesn't flow from dead hands." He whispered. "Leave this place. Leave my ship! Ryoko isn't coming with you. She's safe here and if you care about her at all, you'll let her go!"
"Ryoko!" Tenchi exclaimed, as Hotsuma held out his blade to his companion, and hesitantly she took it, touching the blood that stained the blade. She bit her lip.
"I don't think I can." She whispered. "Not while he's here."
"It's the only way to get rid of him once and for all." Hotsuma said darkly. "You know it and so do I. And he's not really here. You're hanging onto a past that's gone and over, and it's not healthy for you. This is your world now - you're a pirate and you've just forgotten, that's all. Make the bond and let me help you remember. You belong here with me, in the real world. Not in a ghost's domain, with him and that wretched girl!"
He jerked an accusatory finger in the silent Mirei's direction, spattering droplets of blood across the floor of the corridor as he did so.
"Ryoko?" Tenchi's aura faltered and died as she glanced once more at the knife, stretching out her left palm and eying it hesitantly. "Ryoko, no! If you do this, you'll be in this world forever! You'll never be able to come home, because then you will be dead! He wants you to sever all connection with me because he knows you'll also sever connection to the real world if you mingle blood with him! You're not a pirate - not any more. You're more than that, and we have a bond stronger than any pirate one. Please, listen to me. I'm telling you the truth! Hotsuma is dead, Mirei is dead, this whole ship is a floating corpse stuck in the middle of the Sargasso Sea. None of this is real - it's all an illusion. Everything he knows, he draws from your thoughts. His memories are yours. Everything here is false. Do you really want to stay in this place for the rest of eternity?"
Ryoko faltered, gazing at him in consternation, and Hotsuma let out a roar of anger.
"Leave her alone, spirit!" He exclaimed. "Stop trying to confuse her!"
A bolt of electric energy flew out across the ship, this time catching Tenchi square in the stomach and sending him tumbling back onto the floor. Hotsuma bore down on him, anger glinting in his blue eyes.
"Elemental Arian magic can hurt ghosts...did you know that?" He asked dangerously. "It's kept Mirei at bay long enough, and it will speak for you too. You'll leave Ryoko alone, and go back to your dead, cold world, you hear me? Don't taunt her with promises you can't keep."
"Hotsuma-san. Enough."
At that moment Mirei intervened, flickering her slight, delicate form in between the pirate and the prince and holding up her hands.
"Do you want a taste of it, too?" Hotsuma's eyes narrowed. He cast a glance back at Ryoko, who still held the knife in her hand. "Ryoko, do it! The only way to stop this is for you to accept that the past is dead. That's the only way you'll ever be free of it!"
"Ryoko, no!" Tenchi exclaimed, struggling to pull himself upright. "You mustn't! You can't! I won't let him kill you!"
"Tenchi..." Tears rolled down Ryoko's cheeks, her usual defiant demeanour nowhere in evidence and the look in her eyes struck pain deep into Hotsuma's heart. He turned his attention back to the fallen, weakening prince and his childish defender, menace glittering in his expression.
"I will speak for you both, this time." He said coldly. "Enough ghosts. Enough curses. Nagatabi is my ship and I will be left in peace!"
"Tenchi-sama's magic is strong, and he loves Ryoko-san. He won't leave her, and you musn't try and make him." Mirei said softly. "Hotsuma-san, stop it. I don't like fighting...it has to stop. It's wrong. Please. Stop this."
"Get out of my way."
"No." Mirei's gaze hardened. "You're going to let Ryoko go with Tenchi-sama."
"I'm going to do no such thing!" Hotsuma exclaimed indignantly. "What kind of a fool do you think I am?"
Mirei eyed him sadly for a moment, then, very purposefully, she held out her hands, taking his in her grip.
"Tenchi-sama's magic made me remember. Things I had lost, but now I see them clearly." She said softly, moving her ghostly fingers carefully across his palm towards the still bloody wound. "You don't understand, Hotsuma, but I'm going to make you. You see, Tenchi is right. This world, it's where you and I belong. Not where he and Ryoko do. He isn't dead, and nor is she. They have full lives, full memories. Everything makes sense. But you and I, we drift here. We've lost all connection to time and reality. Without them, we wouldn't be more than bits of the past."
"Mirei?" as the girl's skin made contact with his blood, Hotsuma's eyes opened wide with surprise and alarm. "What...what are you doing!"
"Mirei, get away from him! Don't hurt him!" Ryoko's exclamation came from somewhere behind him, but Mirei shook her head.
"I won't hurt him. I'll help him. I'll make him remember the things he can't see for himself." She said gently. "Ryoko-san, it's all right. I know who I am, now. And I know who he is. I know everything. And I'm going to make it right."
"What do you mean, everything?" Ryoko hesitated.
"Hotsuma died aboard Nagatabi." Mirei said softly. "He was gunned down by my father, after a raid that went wrong."
As she spoke, Hotsuma found himself drowning in memories, as his dreams suddenly came to life in front of him with startling clarity. The man with angry, grief crazed eyes, his weapon raised...
He let out a faint moan, trying to pull his hand away, but Mirei held him firmly.
"He pursued you through the ship and you were too afraid to retreat to your own. Too stunned by what you'd seen." She continued gently. "Down beneath our feet, in the supply deck, he caught up with you. He took your life, Hotsuma, even though you tried to make him listen. And I watched - I saw it all happen. But I couldn't stop it. Father couldn't see me...he didn't know. He couldn't hear, and then it was too late."
Hotsuma closed his eyes, sinking to his knees and gently Mirei released her grip on his hand. He glanced down at his palm, seeing the congealing blood that hid the mark of his old pirate scars. He raised his gaze to the girl's, a look of despair in their depths.
"Hotsuma?" Ryoko was beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Is she right?"
"I..." Hotsuma faltered, swallowing hard against the bile that rose in his throat. "I don't know."
"It's true." Tenchi said softly. "And there's more. Mirei's father was charged on Airai for the murder of a pirate, but the case was dismissed because he claimed he was griefstricken - avenging the murder of his little girl. You see, Ryoko, Hotsuma's been hiding that from you, also. He didn't only steal this ship, and die for his trouble. He took Mirei's life, also. He's not just a pirate. He's a child-murderer, too."
Ryoko's expression became one of incredulation, and Hotsuma's heart ached at the look of revulsion in her golden eyes.
"You...killed her?" She whispered. "A Balta, who doesn't bring children into fights? What happened to that, Hotsuma? Did you forget Komachi's values when you started to fly solo across the universe?"
"No!" Hotsuma was on his feet, shaking his head. "It's not true! It's not true!"
"It's as true as anything else Mirei just said." Tenchi said flatly. "Nagi told me the story, and Ryoko, you know better than anyone that she doesn't lie."
He held out his hand to her, and Ryoko hesitated, glancing from the pirate to the ghostly form of her paramour.
"I'm confused." She whispered. "I don't know what's real and what isn't. I just don't...maybe I'm imagining all of this. Maybe I am going mad. Perhaps I'm the one who's dead. Perhaps..."
"No, Ryoko-san. You're not dead. Or mad." Mirei shook her head.
"So what did happen aboard the Nagatabi?" Ryoko looked helpless. "Did Hotsuma really kill you, Mirei? Or...or what? Who's telling me the truth!"
"Everyone, as they understand the truth to be." Mirei said reflectively. She hovered higher, and Hotsuma gazed up at her, confusion in his own expression.
"I didn't kill her." He murmured. "I didn't. I wouldn't. Whatever I am, Ryoko, and whatever else I've done...I wouldn't kill a child."
"And you expect us to just step back and believe that?" Tenchi demanded. "When you've stolen Ryoko's soul and tried to keep her a prisoner in your undead world aboard a ghost ship?"
"Tenchi-sama, no. Hotsuma-san is telling the truth." Mirei said matter-of-factly.
"But..." Tenchi faltered, and Mirei smiled.
"Let me show you." She whispered, flexing her fingers and bathing the entirety of the corridor in a whiteish haze. "Then you'll understand."