Chapter Seven
The palace grounds were peaceful that evening, with everyone of any importance already involved in the events within the function chamber, and Ryoko found that nobody accosted her as she walked quietly beneath the branches of overhanging native trees. The moon sparkled and glimmered overhead, and the clear dark sky was punctuated by a multitude of glittering white specks, pulled together in constellations that few Earth-born astronomers had ever had the fortune to see.
As she walked, she reached the stone ruins that had once marked Tsunami's royal shrine, and she glanced at it, remembering absently how when she had been a small girl, she had darted in and out of here when it was quiet, using it almost as a secret base when people were looking for her for one crime or another. She had not appreciated the divinity of Jurai's goddess then, and even now, knowing Sasami in the flesh, she reminded herself ruefully that there were things to be found wanting.
"Sasami can't see dangers that are right in front of her." She mused. "Or am I just being paranoid? Maybe I am. It wouldn't be the first time. But I'm sure that girl is weird, somehow. Not right…like..."
She frowned, pursing her lips as she tried to make out in her own mind what it was that had bothered her so much about Sakuya Kumashiro.
"It's not that I've seen the girl before. She's a complete stranger to me and I've never been near enough to Kanemitsu to have encountered her family." She reflected at length. "There's not much to steal there that's of value to a space pirate. So what, then? Something else? Tokimi saw it too, so surely I can't just be imagining it. Or maybe Tokimi is just distressed, like Tenchi thought. I'm sure that's not it, though. I'm sure there's something else. I just wish I could put my finger on why she bothers me. Something doesn't fit the picture, and I don't know what it is. Her appearance? Her attitude? Her…her what? Think, Ryoko. You used to be so good at un-earthing police spies in pirate garb. You're not going to let a thirteen year old fool you now, are you? You can do better than that!"
But despite it all, the answer would not come. She groaned, closing her eyes in frustration as she drew on an image of the girl, picturing her in her mind's eye the way she had been on their first encounter. She pursed her lips thoughtfully.
"Something in her manner. Something I've seen before. Somewhere." She mused softly. "That's what it is. A tone of speech – an inflection…maybe even an accent. A way in which she moves or...uses her hands when she speaks. Oh, this is hopeless. I've met millions of people. How am I going to remember just one? And besides, she's Sasami's age. How old must that have made her when I met her? Nine? Ten? Younger still? Bah. It's probably just a coincidence. Maybe Tenchi is right. Perhaps this really is raving paranoia."
A sound from the darkness made her falter in her analysis, her eyes snapping open as she instinctively froze. For a moment nothing seemed to move, and then, out of the corner of her eye, Ryoko saw a dark shape flitting from tree to tree. At first the pirate thought that the figure was trying to avoid detection, but, as she observed the other person's movements more carefully, she realised that the opposite was true. Whoever was stalking her through the darkness fully intended to make their presence known…the bizarre creeping through the black was simply a game played by a hunter following its prey.
Despite herself, Ryoko's heart skipped a beat and she tensed, preparing herself for an assault, but none came. As swiftly as the black shape had appeared, it also disappeared, and Ryoko sank back against the trunk of a tree, closing her eyes as she let her breath out in a rush.
"Hallucinating." She muttered. "What was in that drink? Maybe that's what got Tokimi's goat tonight. Bad Juraian alcohol. I wouldn't put it past Azusa to be cheap, not when he has so many people coming to drink their way through his cellars."
A sudden rush of air from behind her told her that her initial assumptions had been correct, but before she could react, a pair of thin, pale hands shot out from the other side of the tree, clamping themselves around her throat and pulling her back against the wood. There was a sickening thud as Ryoko's skull made contact with the tree trunk and she gasped for breath, momentarily dazed from the blow and unable to struggle free. As the grip around her throat tightened, sharp nails dug into her skin, and the sudden jolt of pain jerked Ryoko back to her senses. She teleported out from her vulnerable position, hovering high above the trees and glaring down on her silent foe as she flickered light from her fingers.
"You chose to attack the wrong space pirate tonight, whoever you are!" She exclaimed, anger glittering in her golden eyes as the light flared into her familiar amber sabre. "Sneaking up behind someone is not nice – at least come out and fight me fair and square, instead of skulking around like a coward!"
A blast of white energy shot out from the darkness, blowing a branch off the tree and narrowly missing Ryoko herself. For a moment she gaped, taken aback by the force of the blow, then she rallied herself, sending a volley of orange light in response.
"Nice try but not close enough." She spat back, hovering closer as the assailant drew their hands together, a translucent forcefield glimmering and strengthening around them as they harmlessly deflected Ryoko's attack. "What is your problem, anyway? I wasn't doing anything wrong! What is it with this planet? How long do you hold grudges for, anyway? So I looted a few outpost planets years ago - big deal! Get over it already!"
There was no verbal response, but another blast of white light flared out from the ground below, and Ryoko dodged it deftly, preparing for another assault of her own.
As she drew closer to the attacker, however, her sabre flickered and died and horror flitted through her expression as she recognised her assailant's features. In the violent exchange of blasts, the interloper's thick hooded cloak had been knocked back and for the first time Ryoko saw the face of her attacker. She muttered a curse, drawing her hands together as she summoned her own forcefield, defending herself from the angry white blasts.
"Dammit, Ayeka, what are you trying to do to me?" She exclaimed, disbelief in her eyes as she registered the determined, fixed expression on the Crown Princess's face. "I thought we had a truce! Are you that fixated with Tenchi still that you're willing to try and eliminate me rather than let me marry him?"
A fresh wave of white beams came flying in her direction and instinctively she ducked, letting the attack glance off the edge of her protective shield.
"Get a grip!" She snapped, drawing on her own strength as she prepared herself for another volley of electric energy. "We may have a truce, Ayeka, but I'm not going to just hold up my hands and let you kill me without a fight. You want a battle, you got a battle. You've never properly bested me before and you're not going to do it this time, either! I don't care if you are the Crown Princess of this tinpot planet. You've made me mad!"
Her sabre flared once more between her fingers and with a yell she charged at Ayeka, colliding with her and knocking the woman off her feet. Ayeka struggled, fingers clawing at Ryoko's skin and despite herself, Ryoko yelped at the strength and the determination in Ayeka's murderous grip. Her blade faltered as she realised this battle would not be settled by magic, but by superior physical strength, and that - at least for one of them – it had turned into a battle to the death.
Pain and a sudden, wet sensation across her arm told the pirate that even while she had been struggling to get a better grip, Ayeka had drawn a sword from somewhere within the swathes of her cloak, slashing through the sleeve of Ryoko's gown to the flesh below. Wincing, Ryoko bit her lip against the cry that rose in her throat, instead forcing her arm free of Ayeka's clawed hand, focusing all her energy on removing the Princess's weapon from the equation. As she did so, she finally managed to push Ayeka back onto the grass, pinning her firmly in position with her knees as she made a desperate grab for Ayeka's sword. Her fingers closed around the hilt and she tossed it aside, energy flickering across her hands as she considered her next move, but before she could do anything, she registered the change in her companion's expression. The glassy, determined eyes flickered with sudden confusion, and Ayeka let out a feeble murmur, as if waking from a deep sleep.
Bemused, Ryoko sat back, and Ayeka struggled into a sitting position, raising her hand to her head as she did so.
"Ryoko?" She murmured, followed by, "Why are you sitting on me?"
She caught sight of her fingers, letting out an exclamation as she registered the bloodstains across her nails and the seeping red liquid that had spread across the sleeves of Ryoko's gown. Further raw marks across Ryoko's throat and shoulders gave her the appearance of having been savaged by a wild animal, and horror flooded Ayeka's gaze as she interpreted what the two things meant. She gazed up at the pirate in abject alarm.
"Did I…?" She whispered.
"You owe me a big explanation." Ryoko said frankly, shuffling back to allow the Princess to stand. "And if you try that again, I will blow your head off. I was tempted to do it this time, but Tenchi wouldn't have liked it, and I'm not in the habit of killing people. Not even when they try to kill me first."
Ayeka blanched as Ryoko's words sank in, and despite the dim moonlight, the pirate was half afraid that her companion was going to faint. She held out a hand and hesitantly Ayeka took it, sending her companion a stricken, guilty look.
"I don't remember." She whispered. "I don't remember anything...what...what did I do?"
"Aside from try to throttle me, stab me and blow me to bits?" Ryoko arched an eyebrow, her adrenalin fading as she realised all immediate danger was past. The gash in her arm stung and she winced, glancing down at the stained, torn fabric with a rueful grimace. "You know, I'm hard enough on clothes without you wrecking them for me. This is one of the few nice gowns I have left...thanks a bunch."
"Did I...are you badly hurt?" Ayeka bit her lip, tentatively touching the spreading stain, and Ryoko flinched back.
"Leave it. It's a scratch. It will heal." She said frankly. "But not if you poke your dirty, bloody fingers around in it. What's more important is why you turned into Ayeka the Wild Beastie of Jurai. Anything else can wait, because I don't like being ambushed in the dark by someone I'm supposed to consider a friend!"
"But I really don't know." Ayeka said helplessly. "I was up in the Council chamber, going over those police reports one more time. I told Uncle I'd never be able to focus on tonight's festivities, so he gave me permission to miss them and continue pursuing this other matter. I think I must have fallen asleep, because it all gets a bit murky from there."
"Asleep?" Ryoko opened her mouth as if to denounce this, then she remembered the glazed expression in Ayeka's eyes. "Geez, are you serious? You were asleep the whole time?"
"I...I think I must have been." Ayeka looked guilty. "I haven't been sleeping that well as it is, if you want to know. I have a vague sensation of chasing something - some kind of monster through the trees. Something that sought to hurt me...but that's all. And then I woke up and you were sitting on top of me and...and here we are."
"Boy, do you need therapy." Ryoko muttered, examining the wound on her arm with a rueful grimace. "No wonder you and Takeru don't share chambers, if that's what you do in your sleep."
Ayeka flushed red at Ryoko's words, shaking her head.
"I'm just under so much pressure." She murmured. "I...I'm sorry, Ryoko. I must have thought you were the monster in my dream. You just got in my way at the wrong moment, that's all."
"Well, actually, you got in mine." Ryoko said flatly. "I was here, just minding my own business, and you were stalking me through the trees. At least, I assume it was you. You don't invite friends to these hallucinogenic slumber parties of yours, do you?"
"Ryoko, stop it!" Ayeka protested. "I'm bemused enough without you being that way about it!"
"How am I meant to be?" Ryoko demanded. "Maybe you were asleep - but you tried to damn well kill me, Ayeka! You're dangerous!"
She fingered her throat gingerly. "If I hadn't been able to teleport, you'd have throttled me on the spot. I didn't cross your path. You crept up behind me and tried to crush my windpipe!"
"I'm sorry!" There were tears in Ayeka's eyes now and despite herself Ryoko sighed, shaking her head.
"We're not getting anywhere like this." She realised. "Come on. We'll go to my room and we'll talk about it where noone's likely to walk into the middle of our discussion and wonder why the Crown Princess and Lord Tenchi's fiancee are dishevilled and covered in blood."
Ayeka flinched at her companion's careless choice of words, but nodded her head, biting her lip as she fought to contain her emotions.
"All right." She said quietly. "That seems a logical idea to me, too."
"Good." Ryoko frowned, then reached out a hand, taking Ayeka by the arm and focusing her thoughts on her chamber, back at the palace. As she re-materialised them both in the centre of the room, an anxious mew from the bedcovers told her that Ryo Ohki was awake. The small, furry creature leapt up onto Ryoko's shoulder, arching her back at Ayeka and letting out a warning hiss. Ayeka swallowed hard, sitting down shakily on the end of the bed.
"I'm sorry, Ryo Ohki. I didn't mean to hurt Ryoko. I don't even remember what happened." She said sadly. "Please, try to forgive me. I know that she and I used to fight a lot, but I wouldn't act that way now."
Ryo Ohki flicked her ears, then turned her attention to licking Ryoko's wounds clean, causing the pirate to wince as her sharp, rough tongue brushed against the raw flesh.
"Ryo Ohki, that stings." She scolded, but there was more affection than reproach in her tones, and secretly she was glad of the creature's gentle fussing. Ryo Ohki's buzzing thoughts helped to calm her shattered nerves, and she curled up between her pillows, crossing her legs as she made herself comfortable on the quilted coverlets.
"Should she do that? Won't it make it worse?" Ayeka asked hesitantly. Ryoko shook her head.
"Ryo Ohki's saliva is sterile." She said simply. "And she's well used to seeing me with battle scars. Although not usually in this kind of situation."
"I know." Ayeka glanced down at her hands. "I need to wash these. I can't believe I...I really throttled you? Those marks - my nails really...?"
"Yes, Ayeka, they did." Ryoko said quietly. "But you truly don't remember, do you?"
"I told you that!" Ayeka exclaimed, getting to her feet and running the tips of her fingers in the mirror pool that stood at the far side of the room. "Do you really think I'm that crazy, or that dishonourable? To sneak up behind you like a coward and then to try and end your life? We may have had our battles, Ryoko, but do you really think that I'm a potential killer?"
"Honestly, no." Ryoko owned. "But I did wonder if Tenchi telling you our news might have unhinged something in your brain."
"Tenchi?" Ayeka stared at her, a look of horror in her eyes. "Will you tell him? I mean, about this?"
"Not necessarily." Ryoko eyed her keenly. "But I was right about one thing, wasn't I? You are still hot on my fiance."
Ayeka sighed, sinking back down onto the bed.
"I am a married woman and Tenchi's concerns are not mine." She said wearily. "I wish you both every happiness, Ryoko...I backed out of that equation a long time ago, when I accepted Takeru's offer of marriage. Things haven't changed, and I always knew that it would end up this way. So no, the news hasn't unhinged me. I am happy for you."
"Bull. You hate the whole idea."
"Not hate." Ayeka raised her gaze, meeting Ryoko's amber eyes with sombre red ones. "I won't pretend it has me jumping for joy, but I can accept it. That is a part of my past, and Tenchi is both friend and family to me. I began to think that you were, also...so I have moved on."
"Well, me too, until you tried to dissect me." Ryoko sighed. "Some advice - get a manicure. Those things are lethal."
"It wasn't on purpose."
"So tell me what you do remember. Just chasing a monster in some kind of vague dream?"
"I suppose so." Ayeka buried her head in her hands. "But it isn't the first sleepwalking incident I've had recently. Since this business with the Kanemitsu ship got piled onto my workload, I've not been sleeping too well at all. The other night I woke up at the foot of Tsunami's tree, and I have no idea how I got there. I was dreaming that Sasami was a prisoner in her branches, and I had a sword with which I tried to cut her free. When I woke, the sword was with me and there was a gash in Tsunami's trunk...but Sasami wasn't there. She was asleep in bed - which is where I should have been."
"Well, at least I feel better knowing that I wasn't being singled out for your homicidal dream walking." Ryoko said ruefully. "But you really don't handle stress well, you know that? Maybe this is a sign that you should take life a bit more easily."
"I know, but it's hard." Ayeka agreed sadly. "Because Uncle is always relying on me to help him and I know it's his way of testing me. One day all his cares will be mine. I can't be found wanting."
"And you can't be found wandering around the palace with the intention of killing innocent pirates or trees, either." Ryoko pointed out. "Even in your sleep."
"True." Ayeka owned. "But how do you stop doing things that you don't even know you're doing? Sleepwalking isn't exactly something you choose to do, and I've never had anything like this happen before. Not as far as I remember, anyway."
"Perhaps you should go see one of these whiz doctors your Infirmary is meant to have on roll." Ryoko suggested. "Or speak to Washu. She might know. She's something of an expert on brain weirdness these days."
She flinched, reaching up to pluck Ryo Ohki off her shoulder.
"All right, enough of that." She told the cabbit firmly. "I know you mean well and you want to help, but you're rough and it's fine. I'll see to them myself, soon."
Ryo Ohki mewed reproachfully, and Ryoko smiled, ruffling her companion's fur.
"Yes, I know it's your job to look out for me." She said affectionately. "But it's all right. Make friends with Ayeka, huh? She looks like she needs it more than me at the moment."
Ryo Ohki hesitated, eying Ayeka warily, and the princess sighed.
"She doesn't trust me. And why should she? I tried to kill her mistress." She said bitterly. Ryoko shrugged.
"She'll forgive you." She said with a smile. "Because I'm going to - at least, I am this time. If you do it again, I might not - but as it happens, you didn't damage anything important. Scratches will heal, and I wasn't even wearing Achika-sama's ring this evening, so it's safe and sound, locked away where nothing can touch it. I took it off when we went exploring the Sumire and I haven't worn it since. Although if you'd damaged that, I might find it less easy to be magnanimous."
"Lady Achika's ring?" Ayeka pursed her lips. "Tenchi gave you that? When he asked you...that question?"
"Yes." Ryoko looked surprised. "Apparently it's an Earth tradition - they give rings to symbolise betrothal. She wanted him to have it, to form a bond with someone like she had with Otousan. So when Otousan gave it to him, he gave it to me. I'm terrified of losing it, or breaking it, if you want the truth. I don't usually care about things - money's there to be spent, food to be eaten, and all of that. But this means a whole lot to me...so if you'd wrecked that, we wouldn't be having a nice calm chat about it in the safety of my chamber. Believe me, you'd have taken a few more bruises first."
"Otousan..." Ayeka faltered, and Ryoko looked self-conscious.
"Noboyuki-san."
"I know who you meant." Ayeka frowned. "You call him Father so easily. You really are part of the family now, aren't you, Ryoko? It's more than just Tenchi - you're a part of something else, too. With Noboyuki-san and Lord Yosho and...well, everything on the Earth really is your world now."
"I'd say so." Ryoko nodded. "Does that bother you, then? Knowing that?"
"Perhaps a little." Ayeka raised a faint smile. "When I feel like everyone is going away from me, I'm realising you have so much that I don't. Ironic, isn't it, that a Crown Princess should say that to a former space pirate? But I think it's true, anyway. You have this free, peaceful life on the Earth. You have Tenchi, and his family, and yours too, now Washu is there with you all the time."
"And that's not always a benefit." Ryoko interjected darkly. "Believe me, there are advantages to an absentee mother. And what do you mean, anyway? You have Lord Haru, Lord Azusa, Lady Misaki, Sasami. You have Takeru, who adores you, if you weren't too blind to realise it. You're way too picky, you know."
"I know how Takeru feels. It makes me sad, because I hurt him so easily." Ayeka groaned, running her fingers through her hair. "I want to let go of Tenchi for good, Ryoko. Have him be my friend, my cousin, and no more. But yes, I suppose I am still jealous. Even though I knew - even though I counted myself out of the equation. I suppose I do still love him. Even after all this time."
She faltered.
"Are you going to get mad at me, now I've said that?"
"No...I don't have to." Ryoko said pragmatically, settling herself up against the bedhead with little regard for her bloodsoaked clothing. "Tenchi is mine. That's beyond dispute. I'm not insecure about it any more, Ayeka. It's like you said. I belong."
She grinned, shrugging her shoulders.
"And you're just an idiot." She added. "You have your knight in shining armour and you don't even appreciate him. You're a fool, Ayeka. Tenchi would never have made you happy, yet you pine after him anyway. And Takeru could - but you won't let him. No wonder you're sleepwalking. You're screwed up inside that royal head."
"When did you start giving people life counselling?" Ayeka asked acerbically, and Ryoko laughed.
"Since you started falling apart at the seams?" She countered. "But I am serious. You should take what you have and be happy with it."
"I know." Ayeka owned. "But...well, we'll see."
She shrugged.
"I will not cause trouble for you and Tenchi. I have no intention of doing so, and I would rather Tenchi knew nothing of this confession of mine tonight." She added. "Talking to you about it has helped, I think - it has been knotting up inside of me, and perhaps now that is resolved between us, I can turn my mind to my duty. I suppose I feared that if you knew I still loved him, you'd try and prevent me from ever seeing him. But maybe I was wrong."
"He sees you all the time." Ryoko replied. "And once it would have bothered me, but events more recently changed that. That's all. It was sort of proved to me that no matter what happens or tries to come between us, it's not going to drive us apart. So I'm all right. And Tenchi wants to be friends with you. So fine. Be friends. Go to town - knock yourself out. Just try and remember you have a husband in all this, huh? You should take advantage of that while you can - he's not going to be young and virile forever, you know."
"Ryoko!" Ayeka flushed red at her companion's innuendo, and Ryoko laughed.
"Well, you know I'm right." She said unrepentantly. "Chaste and innocent Princesses of Jurai might be, but you've been married almost a year. You've no excuses not to take advantage of him now - he practically belongs to you, all things considered."
"Why do you always have to be so vulgar about things?" Ayeka asked plaintively. "It's not a nice thing to discuss so casually, you know."
"Not even among family?" Ryoko's eyes glittered with amusement. Ayeka shook her head.
"No, certainly not." She said firmly. "It's not proper, so don't tease me."
"Fine, be that way." Ryoko shrugged. "It's not my problem. Tenchi and I do just fine. But you'll have to face up to it sooner or later, you know. Or Jurai is going to struggle with that whole finding a royal heir thing."
"It's none of your business!" Ayeka retorted indignantly, and Ryoko eyed her keenly.
"It'll be your first time, I guess." She said thoughtfully. "I suppose that accounts for it - though you can put it off way too long, you know."
"Ryoko!" Ayeka exclaimed, and Ryoko chuckled.
"All right, I'm done." She relented, holding up her hands in a gesture of submission. "But think about it, even if you don't want to talk about it. We're not children. It's something you need to face up to, sooner or later - and you might as well have Takeru while he's there to be had. You could do a whole lot worse."
"You are so impossible sometimes." Ayeka muttered.
"Hey, remember who tried to kill who tonight." Ryoko objected. "You owe me a little teasing, at the very least."
"I suppose." Ayeka sighed, getting to her feet and smoothing imaginary wrinkles from the skirt of her gown. "I should go back to my own room - or no, to the Council Chamber, because Takeru will wonder where I've been."
"If he was with you, wouldn't he have noticed you sleepwalk out of there?" Ryoko arched an eyebrow. Ayeka shook her head, moving towards the door.
"No, he went to make a communication with the military outpost that discovered the Sumire." She replied. "I remember him leaving...that must have been not long before I fell asleep."
She sighed, stifling a yawn.
"If I wasn't so afraid of repeating the episode, I might go straight to bed, but I don't know what I might do."
She slid back the door, letting out an exclamation of surprise as she realised that the corridor was not as empty as she had expected.
"Tenchi?"
"Ayeka!" Tenchi sounded confused, stepping into the chamber and stopping dead at the sight of his fiancee. "Ryoko? What the hell happened...are you all right?"
"Oh, I'm fine. Just a few scratches." Ryoko said flippantly, meeting Ayeka's troubled gaze with a nonchalant one of her own. "They're pretty vicious, those royal trees."
"You look like something attacked you." Tenchi came to sit on the edge of the bed, touching the bloodstained sleeve gently. "Are you sure you don't want to go to the Royal Infirmary and have it looked at? You're a mess - really, it looks like you've been gored!"
"Really. I'm all right - there's more blood than there is injury." Ryoko said dismissively. "It makes it look worse, but really, it's no more than a few scratches."
"Well, if you say so." Tenchi looked doubtful, but he did not press the matter any further. Instead he turned his attention on the hesitant Princess, offering her a smile.
"What brings you here, Ayeka? I've just seen Takeru and he's looking for you."
"Ryoko and I were just...talking." Ayeka said slowly. "And I suppose I lost track of the time. I will go find him now. Thank you, Lord Tenchi."
She bowed her head towards him, then left the chamber, sliding the door shut behind her, and Ryoko let out her breath in a rush.
"So why are you in my chamber tonight, Lord Tenchi?" She asked playfully. "Surely you're not planning to be bad."
"No...sorry to disappoint you." Tenchi sent her a crooked grin. "I actually came to make sure you were all right. With everything that happened this evening, I suppose I was a little bit spooked. But...maybe I wasn't overreacting - because you're a bloody mess."
"You know exactly what to say to make a woman feel attractive and special, Tenchi-kun, you know that?" Ryoko grinned at him, winding her arms loosely around his neck and kissing him gently. "As you see, there's nothing much wrong with me. But I'm grateful for your concern, whatever brought it on."
"I just had a feeling..." Tenchi paused, then, "Ryoko, what was Ayeka doing here? Were you talking, like she said? She seemed troubled when she left. Preoccupied."
"We were." Ryoko agreed. "But I'm not telling you what about. It was girl stuff, and none of your business. You wouldn't be interested, anyway."
"I see." Tenchi looked non-plussed.
"You had a feeling I was in danger, Tenchi-kun?"
"Yeah...like a premonition." Tenchi agreed. "I know it sounds crazy, but I just..."
He shrugged his shoulders.
"But you're all right. So I guess it was nothing."
Ryoko eyed him tenderly for a moment. Then she kissed him again, very gently, on the lips.
"No, it wasn't nothing." She murmured. "Something did happen tonight, other than just me walking through the trees. And I will try to explain, when I can. But right now - I can't, not really. It will have to wait."
"I'm not understanding."
"No, I know." Ryoko eyed him regretfully. "But I made a promise and I'm going to try and keep it, at least for now."
"Well, if you say so." Tenchi touched her cheek, eying her thoughtfully. "Do you want me to look at your arm? It's cut at an awkward angle - I could help you clean it up."
"I think it's better I do it - Ryo Ohki's already tried to help out but it hurt and I'd rather inflict pain on myself than have someone else do it." Ryoko shook her head. "They're just scratches, but they sting like mad in this cool air. And if you're not here to be naughty, Tenchi, I think I'm going to turn in and get some sleep. It's been a long and tiring night, and I'm exhausted."
"Me too, though I'm not sure why." Tenchi admitted, getting to his feet and pausing to look at her one more time.
"Are you sure you're all right, on your own?"
"I can defend myself, Tenchi. And I'm not in any danger. I'm fine, I told you."
"But you just said..."
"I know. It's complicated. But it's all right." Ryoko shook her head. "I'll be okay. And Ryo Ohki is here. She'll look after me - she has one heck of a bite, if you make her angry. Just ask Haki - why do you think he called her a rat?"
Ryo Ohki mewed, rubbing affectionately up against her mistress at this backhanded bit of praise, and Tenchi grinned.
"I suppose you are in safe hands - or paws - with her." He acknowledged. "All right. Then I'll see you in the morning. Sleep well, Ryoko-chan."
With that he was gone, and Ryoko pursed her lips, meeting the cabbit's enquiring gaze.
"Should I have told him?" She asked, and Ryo Ohki flicked her ears, curling up against her. Ryoko nodded her head.
"I know. I promised Ayeka, and I don't think she did it on purpose." She agreed slowly. "But if she's done it twice now, I almost think someone else should know. Just in case next time whoever she jumps on isn't so lucky."
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"This is getting to be a worrying precedent."
Washu unwound her cloak from her shoulders, setting it down over the back of a nearby antique chair as she cast her sleeping sister a troubled gaze. Though it was late and the clock had long since chimed for midnight, Seiryo had made the decision to rouse Washu from her work immediately and within a few minutes the scientist had arrived at the Tennan estate, anxious to know exactly what had happened this time. When Seiryo's messenger had reached her, she had been in the process of preparing for bed, and thick waves of red hair scattered across her shoulders over the hastily pulled on outdoor clothing she had donned before setting out. Somehow, Kiyone thought, with her hair fluttering loose from it's normal ties and her usual neat appearance nowhere to be seen, Washu seemed a lot less the eccentric genius and far more the anxious family member called out in the middle of the night to visit a sick relative.
"Tell me again what happened. And why, exactly, you thought it was a good idea to take Tokimi into something like that in the first place."
"That was my fault, Washu-sama." Suki glanced up guiltily from her perch beside Tokimi's bed. "I encouraged Seiryo to take her and she seemed so eager about the whole thing. I didn't realise it would upset her so badly - I'm sorry."
"Well, what's done is done, now." Washu sighed. "Poor Tokimi. So many things that can easily confuse her. Seiryo-sama, what did she tell you she saw?"
"She didn't, exactly." Seiryo admitted. "She said something like 'demon kill goddess' and she said it several times. She said a lot of things in Kii, too, but obviously I couldn't make that out."
He frowned, a look of frustration entering his malachite eyes, and once again Kiyone was struck by the nobleman's genuine concern for Tokimi's well-being. She frowned, pursing her lips.
"Tennan-san thinks that whatever she saw wasn't in her imagination. He thinks that it's the same thing that's been involved in the Sumire incident and I agree with him." She said quietly. "Do you think that's possible, Washu? That somehow a creature could conceal itself from our sight, but not from Tokimi's because she's a Kii?"
Washu eyed Kiyone keenly, interest in her gaze, and despite herself, Kiyone flushed red.
"What?" She demanded. "It's true. That is what we think."
"I was just surprised to see you here, of all places. That's all." Washu shrugged. "As for your question, I don't see why not. It would make sense. If we assume that this is the same creature you told me about, that saw to the people on the Seniwan ship, then I did mention that we might be dealing with some kind of psychic entity. If I'm correct, well, I suppose concealing itself from general view would be a piece of cake."
"What entity? What case?" Suki glanced between the detective and the scientist nervously. "I don't understand. I thought that Tokimi had just got herself spooked...and Detective Makibi was supposed to be on Jurai on holiday. What else is going on that I don't know about - is something dangerous going to happen on Jurai?"
"We don't know yet, Suki-chan." Seiryo said quietly. "But not if I can help it, I promise you that. I've no mind to let you or Mother or Tokimi get hurt if I can prevent it."
"We don't really know anything, that's the truth of it." Washu said with a sigh. "Suki-sama, you know that people were killed aboard a spaceship heading to Jurai, don't you?"
"Yes. The court has been in general mourning." Suki agreed. "Although I don't know all of the details, it was a terrible tragedy."
"And no accident. The passengers and crew of the Sumire were murdered." Washu continued gravely. "Before she was...sent here, Kiyone encountered a similar occurance on patrol in space, where the crew of a spaceship were also murdered in the same way. That there's a connection seems clear. Ironing out the rest of it is a bit more difficult...I'm afraid we've been utilising your brother's experience as a Galaxy Police Elite Agent in order to try and get a better grip on the situation."
"But Seiryo isn't an Elite any longer." Suki looked anxious. "Nii-chan, what if you get found out? You could get into even more trouble! Especially after tonight - Azusa-sama may already think both you and Tokimi are somehow involved in whatever's been going on!"
"Perhaps, but it's a risk I'm going to take, if it means keeping you and Okaa-sama safe." Seiryo said frankly. "Besides, not doing anything would make me complicit in anything else that followed. I have certain skills I learnt when I was at Headquarters and I'm putting them to use. That's all."
"And what if Lord Azusa decides to arrest and interrogate you? What then?" Suki was close to tears, and Seiryo shook his head impatiently.
"Not going to happen. The Emperor has no evidence and fortunately for all of us he doesn't like throwing people in cells without at least some to back up his case." He said quietly. "He might have had the world on me before, when I was in Tokimi's service, but this is a different matter. Suspicions don't amount to a conviction, and at the end of the day we are all acting with the same end in mind as he is. We want to resolve this matter before anyone else gets hurt. Don't look so worried, Suki. I know what I'm doing and nobody is going to be arrested."
"You told me not to worry the last time." Suki muttered. "And that almost got your land and title stripped from you. How am I supposed to be comforted when I find you're dabbling in things you shouldn't be again?"
"Where files, facts and figures are involved, I'm not likely to get out of my depth." Seiryo offered her a rueful smile. "I was not a bad agent, Suki, unless you've forgotten. I didn't earn those plaudits except by being good at my job."
"This is all very well, but it doesn't explain what we're dealing with." Kiyone sighed. "Washu, you've been around a long time and you know a lot of things and people. If this killer is using psychic magic to conceal themselves from people's sight, well, do you have any idea where they might have come from? What worlds have that kind of ability?"
"Psychic magic isn't exactly rare, Kiyone." Washu sighed, perching on the windowsill as she leant idly back against the heavy woven drapes. "If you come to it, Ryoko and I both have it to some degree. If I'd learnt my magic properly, and if Ryoko had been trained from infancy, either one of us could probably attain some level of psychic manipulation. As it is, we've both let that side of our power go to waste. But my point is that many worlds who operate on a magical basis have psychic capabilities. Even here on Jurai it's not an uncommon trait. Most, if not all the people who can raise Jurai's power also have a telepathic predisposition. In fact, every member of Jurai's royal family has something of one, in order to be able to bond with and communicate with their tree-ship."
"We're not talking mundane ship-flying psychic magic, though, Washu-sama. We're talking about something a lot bigger." Seiryo said thoughtfully. "That should narrow it down, shouldn't it?"
"Not really." Washu shrugged helplessly. "Anyone with a predisposition towards psychic ability can be trained to the very highest levels. The fact that most aren't is neither here nor there. It doesn't change the fact that there are hundreds of planetary systems from which our creature might have originated. Even from here on Jurai."
"But why do all of this?" Kiyone asked helplessly. "That's what I don't understand. Why kill those people on the Seniwan ship? Why were they even there? Why come aboard Yagami and start stalking me across space - why do that, if I'm a threat? Is that file really so important to it that it'll keep me alive until it knows what we know? Why kill the agents at Headquarters - just because they transported me, or for some other reason that we don't yet know about? What about the Sumire? What was the point of that little adventure? And why leave that girl alive, when everyone else on board was killed? What's the point of any of this? I really don't understand."
"It seems the answer lies in that file, Seiryo-sama." Washu shot the nobleman a sidelong glance, and Seiryo sighed, nodding his head.
"I know, and if I had access to my ship, I'd have broken through the encoding by now." He said wearily. "But it's slow going when I'm trying to do it piece by piece. It's Old Era Juraian and heavily coded - more than one layer and method is being used to conceal the file's contents. I believe I can do it, but I don't know how long it's going to take. It's not so simple as I first imagined. Kuramitsu-san has involved at least three different styles of encryption and I'm only just beginning to break through the first layer."
"The Unko..." Washu looked thoughtful, and Suki sent her an apprehensive glance.
"Seiryo isn't allowed aboard the Unko." She said firmly. "If he goes near it it's in breach of his hearing settlement and he could be thrown in prison again."
"I wasn't going to suggest that he did." Washu rubbed her chin pensively. "Kiyone, have you been aboard this Unko of Seiryo-sama's?"
"Once, but only very briefly." Kiyone looked startled. "When I first started trying to discover what was going on at Headquarters six months ago. Why?"
"Would you say it was similar to Yagami in terms of controls, or otherwise?"
"I doubt it's anything like Yagami." Kiyone shook her head. "It's a very elaborate, top-of-the-range craft. Someone was compensating for something."
She sent Seiryo a pointed glance at this juncture, taking some pleasure from the rueful one he sent her in return. "I doubt they have the same operating system, even if they were both Galaxy Police assigned. Why?"
"I was wondering how simple it would be to hack into, that's all." Washu said flippantly. "No doubt I could do it, but I was curious to know how difficult it was likely to be."
"Hacking?" Suki looked horrified, and Seiryo shook his head slowly, putting his hand on his sister's shoulder.
"Maybe you shouldn't listen in, if you don't like what's being said." He said gently. "Then at least if something goes wrong, you can tell the Emperor you knew nothing and he'll have to believe you."
"I'm not going anywhere." Suki said obstinately. "But I think you're being crazy. It's a huge risk, even bringing the Unko into the equation."
"And if Tokimi did see whatever this demon creature is tonight, and also at the Infirmary, we need to act." Washu said grimly. "Even without knowing clearly what she saw, it's fairly evident that she considers it dangerous and more importantly, she's given us a new target to consider."
"She has?" Kiyone blinked. "Meaning?"
"Sasami-chan, of course." Washu sighed. "That poor girl, with so many things already hanging over her. While the creature is hunting you down, Kiyone, in search of the file Seiryo and I each have a copy of, there has to be a bigger reason why it's here. If it's gone to all this trouble to cover it's tracks and reach Jurai, there must be a reason for it doing so, and I am sure the reason is within this file. But while we have nothing else to work with, I'm going to go with the premise that this thing is after our little Goddess-in-waiting. Like Tokimi, like Kagato, and like others before them, it seeks to destroy Tsunami-kami-sama."
"Sasami-chan!" Suki's eyes widened with horror. "You think this horrible thing has come here to kill her?"
"I do." Washu said grimly. "And whatever Tokimi saw, that's what she was trying to tell us. She didn't mean that something was literally killing the Goddess. She was just using the only words she could think of to tell you, Seiryo, that Sasami was in danger. When she's agitated, she forgets her Galactic Tongue and lapses into Kii. Like as not it was all she could manage."
"But why would I know that Goddess meant Sasami?" Seiryo looked non-plussed. "It's a bit of a leap."
"Not for Tokimi." Washu shook her head. "Sasami told me herself that Tokimi sees her as Tsunami-kami-sama...in fact, I've heard her refer to Sasami as Tsunami on occasion, too. She seems to find it hard to remember that we don't use that name on a daily basis. She recalls what happened on Kihaku, when Tsunami reached out and touched minds with her. To her, Sasami simply is Tsunami. It doesn't need to be any more complicated than that."
"But..." Seiryo faltered, and Suki glanced down at her hands, folding them absently in her lap.
"Seiryo-oniichan, Sasami is Tsunami's chosen one." She said softly. "I know you don't believe - have never believed that Tsunami was ever a real person and more than just one of Jurai's legends...a way of explaining the planet's magic and strength. But she is real, and Sasami is her. She's the Goddess's ressurrected spirit - Tsunami-kami-sama in the flesh."
"That's not possible." Colour drained from Seiryo's face as he digested his sister's words, and Kiyone eyed him carefully, noting with some surprise the depth of his reaction. "Sasami-sama is a little girl - a Princess, yes, but not...not..."
"Suki-sama is right." Washu said simply. "It's a well-kept secret at the moment, but when their assimilation is complete, Sasami will be Jurai's Goddess and spiritual Guardian, exactly as your sister just told you. Think, Seiryo-dono - remember your mother's tapestries that hang below us in the halls. Do you not see the resemblance between them and Jurai's second Princess?"
"Yes, but..."
Seiryo hesitated, shaking his head.
"You are saying that a Goddess truly walks among us, here on Jurai?" He asked falteringly. "And that of all guises, she chooses that of a teenage girl to hide behind?"
"Sasami won't always be a child." Washu reminded him. "And in many ways she is more grown up now than most people her age or even older. She has seen things, done things - been forced to understand matters that most thirteen year olds have never had to face. Even her name is a clue to her true identity. Sasami is an Old Era name for Tsunami. She told me so herself - you just need to open your mind and accept that more exists in this world than can be seen by the human eye."
Seiryo was silent for a moment, and Kiyone could tell that he was shaken.
"Then Tokimi did seek a real Goddess. She did seek to destroy something tangible, and not just chase a delusion." He murmured. "I didn't believe...well, I didn't know what I believed, to be honest. That such a force as Kihaku had existed, that was enough for me. But that one such as Tsunami does as well - and more, that it was strong enough to bring down and defeat Tokimi when she had a whole planet's life force at her disposal...it doesn't rest easy with me."
"Tsunami is not the kind of vengeful spirit Kihaku was, though." Washu said gently. "She is a peaceful Goddess, whose interests are protecting Jurai and keeping her people safe from invasion and hardship. You know Sasami, Seiryo-sama. You know her nature now, through her friendship with Lady Suki. Sasami's nature is Tsunami's, also."
"And she gave you Tsunami's blessing, Nii-chan." Suki added, sending her brother a faint smile. "When I knew you were in trouble, I asked her to help and she did. By breaking Tokimi's spell, she brought you back to me and did everything she could to help you have the chance to recover."
"Did you know about this?" Seiryo sent Kiyone an accusatory glance, and Kiyone spread her hands, nodding her head.
"Word gets around." She agreed. "You seem pretty freaked out by this, Lord Tennan. Don't tell me you're scared of people who have more power than you do?"
"Kiyone, right now there are more important things at stake than your private quarrel with Seiryo-sama." Washu held up her hands before Seiryo could respond, shaking her head admonishingly in the detective's direction. "I need to work out how to get into the Unko so that Seiryo-sama can access this file and we can know what we're doing. Suki-sama, you've been good to Tokimi and I'm grateful. Please, keep doing so - and for the time being, keep her confined to the Tennan estate. It's not easy to do, I know, but for her own sake I think she'll be safer here, away from prying eyes and insensitive comments. Meantime..."
She frowned.
"Meantime we need to get to the bottom of this whole business." She said decidedly. "Before this demon of hers decides to get her claws into Princess Sasami!"