Chapter Two
"And that's exactly what she said?"
Washu frowned, casting her sister a troubled look as she leant up against the window of the infirmary room. "You're sure, Sasami? She couldn't have been confused?"
"No, she was quite adamant." Sasami looked anxious, twisting her fingers together. "Washu, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare her...taking her out of the room and everything so soon. But I thought she'd be all right and I did want to show her her hair..."
"It's all right, Sasami." Washu assured her, offering the princess a faint smile as she did so. "I didn't mean to make you think you'd done wrong. And her hair is very pretty...it just concerns me that she'd say something like that. It seems crazy...random. And yet..."
Sasami brushed stray wisps of the Tokimi's brown waves back from her brow, biting her lip as she took in the peaceful expression on the girl's face. She had been unable to fully calm Tokimi's evident panic, and when Seiryo had returned with the doctor in tow, the medic had insisted on sedating her, to prevent her from further antagonising her delicate condition. Seiryo had immediately dispatched one of the maintenance staff to locate Washu, handling things in his most imperious nobleman manner, and now, half an hour after the incident, all was once more calm in the small, sunshiny chamber. Seiryo had withdrawn once things had settled down, to explain to Suki that there had been a change of plan, and now there remained only Washu and the princess in their mutual vigil.
"She was so looking forward to picking flowers." The princess said sadly. "And now she's going to be scared to leave her room, isn't she?"
"I wish she hadn't been sedated so quickly. I would have liked to have spoken to her first." Washu sighed, running her fingers through her hair. "As it is, if I bring it up when she wakes, she'll likely just get herself upset again and I don't want to do that. Sasami, tell me again what she did with her hands. Or even better, can you show me? I'm trying to figure this all out but it's not making a whole lot of sense."
"I don't know. Something like..." Sasami hesitated, then fluttered her hands awkwardly in a rough imitation of Tokimi's actions. "Something like that? Does that mean anything to you, Washu?"
"Sort of." Washu's eyes narrowed, a thoughtful look glittering in their depths. "Sasami, watch me very carefully. Is this what she did?"
She brought her hands up in front of her body, moving them in a quick and concise pattern, and Sasami let out an exclamation, nodding her head.
"Yes! Like that - just like that!" She agreed. "Do you know what it means? Does it mean anything?"
"It's to ward off evil." Washu glanced at her hands pensively. "It's a Kii action, a ritual action. You know my people were very superstitious, Sasami. They believed wholeheartedly in good and evil and that both forces operated within the World...the Priest being the mediator that kept the World on the side of good. Tokimi absorbed those things much more clearly than I did - I suppose if she was afraid..."
She hesitated, touching her sister gently on the cheek.
"Mind you, it could simply have been something she didn't understand." She murmured. "Or something she remembered, from a time when Jurai invaded Kihaku. I don't know what she does and doesn't know - her mind must be a jumble at the moment and there are many things here which might prove alien to her. If we run with the assumption that she remembers nothing of her life as Kihaku's Priestess, then anything she learnt from Dr Clay is no longer there. Technology was considered one of the Evils on Kihaku. Maybe she just saw something like that."
"That reminds me of something else." Sasami folded her hands in her laps, meeting Washu's eyes with an earnest gaze. "She called me Tsunami, Washu. Not once but a few times. I tried to explain to her that I wasn't exactly Tsunami, but she didn't seem to be convinced. She said I had been within her - or something, and the only way I could get her to drop it was to tell her that friends called me Sasami. She understood that, I think - but she knows that I'm linked with Tsunami and that means she must remember something from her time as Priestess. Mustn't she?"
"Tsunami's magic is wide-ranging and very powerful." Washu sighed, spreading her hands helplessly. "I don't know. It could simply be that Tsunami's influence was strong enough that it imprinted itself on Tokimi's mind even when other things were lost. Or...or I really don't know. That she'd see something else in you, well, that's not surprising. She is Kii, after all. But that she'd know you by your other name - that is interesting. And a bit alarming, too - you probably know that if I can, I want to keep her from remembering what happened when she was Priestess of my world. It can't do her any good to know about those things, and they weren't her fault."
"I don't think she knows about that." Sasami said thoughtfully. "Before the incident in the corridor, she seemed happy and bright. Like she had no cares weighing her down. She was like a small child, you were right...but in a nice way, Washu. An endearing way."
Washu's expression broke into a rueful smile.
"My sister was always quite persuasive." She recalled. "Gentle and sweet and endearing, yes. I think most of those things are preserved from her true self. She is hurt, but she's more Tokimi now than she ever was as Priestess. If nothing else, that at least gives me some comfort."
"I am sorry I did something that scared her, Washu."
"And I told you not to feel like that." Washu scolded her. "We none of us know how Tokimi is going to react to anything, yet. It was probably nothing more than an electronic device or something else that she didn't understand. That's all. If her grasp of your language is as hesitant as you say, it might just be that demon was the only word she could find to describe it."
"But you have misgivings still?"
"A few." Washu admitted. "But it's probably my paranoia coupled with the news about this diplomatic ship. You know, I presume, that something happened aboard it and a lot of people were killed?"
"No, I didn't know." Shock touched Sasami's expression. "How horrible...the poor people!"
"Yes, well, bad things do happen in space these days." Washu said frankly. "But you're right. It is horrible."
"Do you think Tokimi found out somehow, and it upset her?"
"I don't think so." Washu sighed heavily. "Tokimi has no way of finding out news sent to the Emperor, and she has no magic left in her so she can't project astrally or connect with anyone psychically any more. No, I don't think that, Sasami. I just wish I knew what I did think. Something is gnawing away at me, but it won't sit still and let me rationalise it. Tell me again what was out there, when you were there. It was quiet in the hallway, right?"
"Yes." Sasami frowned, struggling to remember. "There was a nurse and a patient...and some of those machine thingies they wheel in to check heart rate and brain pattern. Nothing else that I can remember. Nothing odd at all. It was really peaceful actually."
"Oh well. No doubt it will come to me." Washu shrugged her shoulders. "For the time being, let's let her rest."
"Will you ask her, when she wakes?"
"No." Washu looked thoughtful. "No, I'd rather not. Whatever she thought she saw, I don't want to make her upset again. So unless she mentions it to you, Sasami, don't say anything to her. All right? It's possible it was just a passing fancy - a flicker of a memory darting through her muddled brain - and if that's the case it can stay lost."
"All right." Sasami nodded solemnly. "I'll remember."
She got to her feet, pausing to cast Tokimi a final glance, then shrugging. "I guess I'll do as you say, and let her sleep. It's just such a shame. She would have loved to come see the flowers."
"Sasami, she has the rest of her life to enjoy Jurai's flowers." Washu smiled ruefully. "Don't trouble yourself on that account - they'll still be there when she wakes up."
"I guess you're right." Sasami reflected. "Oh well. Bye, Washu. If she wakes up, tell her I'm thinking of her, okay?"
"Will do." Washu's expression softened. "I know she'll like that."
Sasami offered a faint smile, then she pushed open the sliding door, stepping out into the hallway as she glanced around her. The nurse she had seen earlier on in the day was still on duty, but aside from that the hallway was deserted, and for a moment she paused beside the heart monitors, running a finger over their smooth surface as she debated whether or not their occasional flashes and bleeps could have accounted for Tokimi's rush of terror.
"Washu did say she was technophobic, so I suppose it could have been." She reflected. "It's not like there's anything like that in her room now, not since she woke up...it probably would have startled her. I need to remember that everything on Jurai is strange to Tokimi at the moment. What seems normal and safe to me might seem really scary to her."
"Sasami-sama, is something wrong?" The nurse approached her at that moment and Sasami turned, flashing the woman a sheepish smile.
"No...I was just thinking." She said with a shrug. "I'm sorry, am I in the way here? I was visiting Tokimi, but she's sleeping now."
"I understand Tokimi-san became quite agitated." The nurse looked grave. "I heard something earlier, but I was otherwise engaged. Is the young lady quite all right now?"
"Yes. The doctor gave her something to make her sleep." Sasami nodded. "And she's quite calm now. I think it just scared her, coming out of her room and seeing so many strange things."
"I imagine so." The nurse nodded. "It must seem very alien to her here."
She pursed her lips, eying the princess keenly. "On that note, I wonder...are you engaged in something this afternoon, Lady Sasami?"
"No." Sasami frowned. "I was going to take Tokimi out to the flower garden, but obviously now that's not possible. Why?"
"Well, we have a young patient who could probably stand some company." The nurse said lightly. "She arrived just this morning with a military escort - the poor child is very shaken up and being surrounded by grown ups is no way to comfort a frightened child. She's your age or a little older, I think - and she's been through it rather. I wondered if you could spare a few minutes to visit her."
"A child?" Sasami stared, then, "Oh, was that who you were with earlier on?"
"Yes, that's right." The nurse nodded her head. "Her name is Sakuya Kumashiro, and she and her father were travelling on an envoy ship to Jurai. Her father had a diplomatic engagement with your Lord Uncle, the Emperor."
"Oh no." Sasami's eyes became stricken. "Washu said that a lot of people on that ship were killed! Was her father...?"
She trailed off, and the nurse nodded sadly.
"I'm afraid so, yes." She agreed gravely. "All of the crew and the passengers on board lost their lives. All except Miss Sakuya. The poor girl is naturally very shocked and doesn't remember clearly what happened as yet, but what she does know is that her father is gone and she's miles from her home on Kanemitsu. I'm sure she could use a friend."
"Then I'll go and see her, of course." Sasami nodded her head. "Where is she? Which room?"
"At the far end of the hall, the third door on the right." The nurse indicated. She smiled, bowing her head to the princess.
"Thank you, Hime-sama. I know she'll appreciate your company."
"Well, I hope so." Sasami looked uncharacteristically grave. "I can't imagine what it would be like if something happened to Father or Mother. I'll go there right now."
Before the nurse could respond, the young princess had turned on her heel, hurrying down the corridor and back past the heart machines as she reached the doorway that her companion had indicated. She hesitated for a moment, then knocked softly on the wooden panels, and after a brief pause a soft voice called for her to come in. Not without misgivings, Sasami slid the panel door back, stepping over the threshold and into the chamber.
A young girl sat in the bed, knees drawn up to her chest in a defensive posture as she stared at the newcomer in apprehension and alarm. Her complexion was ash pale, but suspicious signs of redness about her eyes and cheeks indicated that she had been crying, and immediately Sasami's heart went out to her. Silky dark hair was brushed back into two tails, short and fluffy at the ends, and as Sasami came to sit down, she realised it gave the girl a very young, innocent look. Two big aquamarine eyes flickered with sadness and confusion, and Sasami was quick to hold out her hand.
"My name is Sasami." She said simply. "I've come to visit you."
The girl looked startled, staring at her companion, and Sasami smiled ruefully.
"I'm sorry, I guess you're a bit surprised." She acknowledged. "Well, I was visiting a friend here, and the nurse told me you were all alone in here. I hope you don't mind. She thought you might want a friend and I hoped I could help."
"You can't help me." The girl spoke softly, turning her head away and pulling her hand away from Sasami's reach. "My father is dead...you can't bring him back."
Sasami's eyes became clouded and she nodded, folding her fingers in her lap.
"I know. I'm very sorry." She said soberly. "It must have been a terrible shock for you."
"Maybe, if I even remembered what happened." The girl glanced at her bedcovers, bitterness in her tones. "All I know is that we were on a ship...and then, the next thing I know, I'm curled up in the corner of my cabin and Father and Mr Toyonaga are...are lying on the floor."
"You were right there?" Shock flickered in Sasami's crimson eyes. Sakuya nodded. She hesitated, then raised an opaque gaze to the other girl's.
"You're Princess Sasami." She realised. "That's right, isn't it? Azusa-heika is your Uncle. Father told me about you."
"That's right." Sasami smiled. "And your name is Sakuya...Sakuya Kumashiro. Yes?"
"Yes." Sakuya acknowledged. She sighed, toying absently with the edge of her bedcovers. "You must think me very rude. I didn't realise you were the Princess."
"You're not rude, and I don't mind." Sasami hurried to reassure her. "If I'd been through what you have, I wouldn't worry about being polite. Please, don't worry about it."
"Really?" Sakuya looked surprised, and Sasami nodded, holding out her hand once more.
"I'd like to be your friend." She said softly. "If you'll be mine."
"I..." Sakuya hesitated, glancing at her hand, then shaking her head.
"I'd rather you didn't touch me." She murmured. "I...I guess I must have fallen or something, because it hurts when people touch me."
"Oh...I'm sorry. I didn't realise." Sasami looked sheepish. "Well, that's all right. Will you still be my friend, Sakuya? I know that Uncle will be trying to get a hold of your family on your planet, but until then, I'd like it if we could be. After all, you shouldn't be all alone, not after what's happened to you."
Sakuya stared at her, and for the briefest of instances Sasami saw flickers of something else in the depths of the girl's aquamarine eyes. For a moment, Tsunami's magic seared up inside of her, as images of the carnage aboard the Sumire flitted through her head and she swallowed hard, struggling to regain her composure. She drew a deep breath into her lungs, forcing the Goddess's psychic impulses back as she did so.
Sakuya frowned, and in a second the illusion was broken.
"Are you all right?"
"Yes. I'm fine." Sasami assured her, although inwardly she was still shaken by what she had seen. "Well? Will you be my friend?"
"Do you always do that, on Jurai? Make friends with every waif and stray that wanders in?" Sakuya asked quietly. Sasami pinkened, nodding her head.
"Pretty much." She agreed self-consciously. "Why...do you think it's a bad thing?"
"No...I suppose not." Sakuya hesitated, then offered a slight smile. "At least you're trying to cheer me up. All your Emperor cares about is what I remember about what happened on the ship. As if he cares that my father and all those people lost their lives."
"I'm sure Uncle cares very much." Sasami said evenly. Sakuya shrugged.
"Not about me. Just about finding out the truth." She said sadly. "What does it matter, anyway? Nobody can bring Father back, after all."
"No, that's true." Sasami agreed slowly. "But at least he can try and stop it happening again, can't he? To other people and other families."
"I only care about my family." Sakuya said flatly. Sasami smiled.
"I suppose that's natural." She agreed. "But Uncle will get in touch with them, you know. Then you can go home."
"Yes...perhaps you're right." Sakuya agreed softly. She spread her hands out in front of her, eying them pensively.
"Is Jurai a nice place, Princess Sasami?" She asked at length. Sasami looked startled.
"I think so." She agreed. "Why?"
"Father was wary about coming here. He wasn't sure if it was a good idea." Sakuya said thoughtfully.
"I suppose when important politics are concerned, it's always a bit heavy." Sasami reflected. "But I don't know about those things. My Father won't let me attend council or court hearings until I'm eighteen, and I've only just turned thirteen. So I've a long time to go before I do."
Sakuya fell silent for a moment, digesting this. Then she turned her gaze on her companion once more, offering a faint smile.
"We can be friends, Sasami-hime." She said softly. "I think I would like that very much, while I'm here on Jurai."
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Seiryo pushed open the door to his mother's chamber, hesitating as he saw that his delicate companion was sleeping, then stepping softly into the room, moving to draw the curtains across the glistening panes of expensive Juraian glass. Glancing up at the clock that kept time over the bed, he frowned, his gaze flitting briefly to the slithers of sun that darted in beneath the thick gauze fabric.
"Something troubles you, my son?"
A feeble voice from the bed startled him and he swung around, casting his mother a stricken look.
"Okaa-sama, I'm sorry. Did I wake you? I was trying not to." He said gently, coming to stand at the bedside. "I just came to check on you, that's all - to make sure you were all right."
"Why would you be concerned about that, Seiryo-chan?" Kaede asked softly, extending a thin, fragile hand and slipping it resolutely into her companion's. "It seems a strange whim, even for you - that you'd visit your mother so suddenly in the middle of the day, without any warning at all."
"I know." Seiryo admitted. "I suppose you're right. Something does trouble me - but it's not something that should trouble you."
"You keep many secrets from me these days, my boy." Kaede said reproachfully. "As if you believe me not strong enough to know the truth. I don't like that you hold back from me - you and Suki both, since the death of your father. I am not so frail that I can't give advice or support, you know. My body might be failing me but there is nothing wrong with my mind."
"Oh, I know that." Despite himself, Seiryo offered her a smile, touching her cheek affectionately. "Nobody doubts your wits, Mother. I assure you of that. But since Father's death, I have been so very busy - with one thing and another. And Suki - well, I encourage her to mix more than she did before. She and the Lady Sasami have become such close friends, and I have done nothing to intervene. I think Sasami-sama is having a very positive influence on my little sister. Some days its hard to remember there are years between them - although I haven't fathomed yet whether Sasami is older in spirit or Suki just overly protected for too much of her life."
"These things I know." Kaede shifted herself more comfortably on her pillows, eying Seiryo keenly. "And I too am content with your sister's budding friendships. But there are other things you do not speak of. I wonder if perhaps you have regrets...about the thing I asked of you, when last we spoke in real depth."
"That you asked of me?" Seiryo stared. "I don't know what you mean."
Kaede smiled slightly.
"Your father." She murmured, and comprehension flickered in the nobleman's malachite eyes. He pursed his lips.
"Mother, whatever you do or don't believe, I did not kill Father." He said softly. "I know that was what you asked me to do - albeit not in so many words - and I admit that for a while I did consider the possibility. But his blood is not on my hands. I give you my word. It was not me who ended his life."
Kaede's eyes widened with surprise.
"But my son..."
"I suppose fate has a strange way of playing things out, sometimes." Seiryo said ruefully. "But I'm not a killer, and I'm actually glad of that fact. I can't explain it to you, Mother, but I don't think I would have gleaned pleasure from taking his life. Even considering all the things he did to you and Suki and even to me, sending me to the Galaxy Police. Truth is, I wish I was back there now, sometimes. Jurai is stifling, and I didn't realise how much I loved that life until it was taken away."
"You could always go back, Seiryo." Kaede's gaze softened. "Don't let me keep you here, if it isn't what you want."
"It isn't only you, Okaa-sama, although you are important to me." Seiryo looked pensive. "With Father gone, I have the Council and the estate to handle. There's noone else to do it. And besides, things have changed. I'm not that person any more. Jurai is where I have to stay - and so I do."
"I see." Kaede's eyes flickered thoughtfully. "I am sorry, Seiryo, for believing you capable of your Father's murder. Especially since it would have been on my say so...we have become dark souls indeed, when we begin to plot the end of another. When you come so close to death, you wonder about those things all the more."
"Well, you can ease your conscience." Seiryo told her gently. "Talking about something is not the same as doing it, and neither you nor I are guilty of murder. Father's death was a tragic accident, and that is the honest truth."
"Perhaps Tsunami listens more closely than I ever imagined." Kaede murmured absently. Seiryo looked sceptical.
"Do you believe this all powerful goddess of yours struck him down?" He asked, his tone gently teasing. "I don't think so. I imagine she has much more important things to worry about than one greedy, gambling drunkard."
"Perhaps." Kaede smiled, amused. "You have not changed in those views, then. Somehow I am comforted to see that I still recognise some aspect of my son."
Seiryo bit his lip, looking self-conscious.
"Why did you come to me today, anyway?" Kaede continued. "It's not that I mind your visit, but that it was so unexpected...something is on your mind and I might be able to unburden it for you."
"No...I don't think so." Seiryo frowned, shaking his head. "Council business, mostly. The Emperor has sworn his Council to secrecy on the specific details of the matter. Suffice it to say that something has occured of a disturbing nature, not far from Jurai's orbit. This morning he addressed us asking for our help and support in resolving it, but what we can do seems to be beyond me."
He sighed.
"I went to the Infirmary to visit the Emperor's ward Tokimi, just because visiting her usually clears my head." He added. "But she said something that disturbed me - disturbed a lot of people, actually. It reminded me of something - a time when you and Suki may have been in the greatest danger. So I suppose I came back here, to make sure that nothing had befallen you."
"On the word of a sick young girl?" Kaede queried. "That seems unusually superstitious for you, Seiryo."
"I know, but she's not quite like other people in that respect." Seiryo said darkly. "Things she's...seen in people before have proven true. So I don't know what to think. But my mind has been working and I'm very afraid that the two things are connected, Okaa-sama. That what she said and the fate of this ship are linked somehow."
"You do sound like you should still be with the Galaxy Police, talking that way." Kaede reproached him, and Seiryo looked rueful.
"Yes, I know." He admitted. "I suppose it's become a habit - I've spent more of my adult life there than here on Jurai."
"Well, the Emperor should be glad that he has you working on his side." Kaede said comfortably. "I know you will make me proud, Seiryo, and resolve this matter if you can."
Seiryo was silent for a moment, gazing at his hands. Then he nodded.
"I think so." He agreed. "A friend asked a favour of me a few days ago and I told her I would help, though I've been putting it off. However, in light of this, I think it might be important that I go ahead and do as I promised. It might help, in the long run."
"There. Then it's all all right, isn't it?" Kaede asked, and something in her tone made Seiryo realise that to his mother, he was still the hot-headed teenager who had been sent away to join the Galaxy Police. He smiled, squeezing the frail woman's hand as he stood.
"I will make sure that there is as much security here for you and Suki as I can manage, in case of trouble." He promised. "And I will look after you both, you know that. But now I must go - I think there is a file that I should take a look at."