Chapter Nine
"Tokimi? Tokimi, what on earth is the matter?"
As Kiyone stared speechlessly down at the fallen form of Jurai's Crown Princess, the door of the bedchamber swung open to reveal Suki, the anxiety in her aqua eyes growing as she registered the scene before her. She let out an exclamation, staring at Kiyone in abject shock.
"Detective? And...Princess Ayeka? Oh...oh...what have you...what..."
She faltered, her face chalk white, and somehow Suki's hesitancy and fright brought Kiyone's racing senses once more under her control. Tossing the poker to the floor, she crouched at Ayeka's side, relieved to see that the Princess's chest rose and fell gently as she breathed, and that her judgement had been exactly on the mark. Through the thick cloth of the hood, Kiyone's aim had been perfect, and although a faint bruise was already beginning to show itself on the Princess's brow, her pulse-rate seemed normal.
"She's alive, Suki-sama. Don't look at me like that." The detective said finally, raising her head to meet Suki's terrified gaze. "I'm a Detective - I'm trained to stun, not kill. Is Tokimi all right?"
"Tokimi...?" Suki faltered, turning to glance towards the bed, and Tokimi held out her hands to her friend, a frightened look in her blue eyes.
"Suki, the demon was here." She sobbed. "The demon was coming...it was coming to get Tokimi!"
"There's no demon, Tokimi." Suki sat down on the bed, sliding a comforting arm around the distraught girl. "Noone wants to hurt you."
"But they did." Kiyone said grimly, putting a gentle hand to Ayeka's brow. "I followed Ayeka here, Suki-sama, and she definitely meant Tokimi harm."
"But...why would Princess Ayeka want to hurt Tokimi?" Suki demanded. "And why are you here, Detective? Where is my brother? Why hasn't he come back from session yet - what's going on?"
"Shh..." Kiyone held up her hands, as Ayeka's eyelashes fluttered and lifted to reveal bewildered ruby eyes. "Not now. Right now I think Ayeka needs some help."
"Kiyone?" Ayeka murmured the words faintly, reaching out a hesitant hand to her friend and gently Kiyone raised her companion into a sitting position. "Now where am I? What's going on?"
"You're in the Tennan house, and I just followed you here." Kiyone said quietly. "Ayeka, why did you come to hurt Tokimi? Did the Emperor send you to do something to her? Has it really got to that point, that you think she's guilty of all these things?"
"Hurt...Tokimi?" Ayeka repeated blankly. Then she groaned, raising a hand to her head. "I don't remember. What did you do to me?"
"I didn't have much time to think about it. You weren't really in a mood to be reasoned with." Kiyone looked grim. "I laid you out...you'll have a bruise. Good thing for you that I'm trained to do that without causing permanent damage. I really thought you might kill either Tokimi or I if I didn't act, so if you have a headache, I'm sorry. And now I want to know what's going on. As your friend, Ayeka, I want you to tell me the truth. Is this some covert scheme of Azusa-sama's?"
"Scheme?" Ayeka swallowed hard, then she shook her head. "No...no, Uncle is determined not to do anything to Tokimi or Lord Tennan. He says there's no proof."
"Then why were you here?"
"I...I don't know." Ayeka raised tearful eyes to her companion, and somehow Kiyone knew the Princess was telling the truth. "I'm scared of myself, Kiyone. I keep...I keep wanting to hurt people, but I don't remember doing it. I just...I wake up...and I can't remember..."
She faltered, and Kiyone sighed, getting to her feet as she gently helped the Princess to hers.
"I believe you." She said frankly. "But I swear, Ayeka, you were going to hurt Tokimi."
"Tokimi?" Ayeka turned her gaze towards the former Priestess, who offered her a smile, holding out her hands.
"Friends?" She asked. "Are you a friend of Nii-chan and Suki?"
Ayeka just stared at her, and Suki sighed, shaking her head.
"This whole thing is getting too much for me." She said sadly. "Detective, if Ayeka-sama did try to hurt Tokimi - why isn't Tokimi scared of her? And why doesn't Ayeka-sama remember it?"
"I'm not making it up." Kiyone said hotly. "Tokimi was under attack and I intervened. That's the truth."
"Tokimi was attacked by a demon." Tokimi's eyes became big at this. "She came to hurt me...to take me away."
"Is the demon here now, Tokimi-chan?" Suki asked gently. "Or has she gone away?"
"She's not here." Tokimi shook her head. "Kiyone-san chased her away."
"Chased her..." Kiyone faltered, then her eyes opened wide as a sudden realisation hit her. She grabbed the Princess by the shoulders, wheeling her around so that she could meet the other girl's gaze head on.
"Ayeka, you don't remember what happened here today." She said eagerly. "That's true, isn't it?"
"Yes. I told you that." Ayeka agreed, sinking down on the end of Tokimi's bed. "And I don't care if you did just stun me, Kiyone - did you have to give me quite such a headache? I'm really not sure what's going on."
"Well, I might be." Kiyone's eyes sparkled with triumph. "Tokimi's demon has gone...but that doesn't mean that she wasn't here, or that Ayeka wasn't here to hurt Tokimi in the first instance."
"You're not making sense, Detective." Suki frowned. "I don't understand."
"Your brother has managed to open that file we discussed last night, Lady Suki." Kiyone said quietly. "And I think I've just figured out how things are slotting together. Ayeka, tell me something. Do you remember a girl called Yugi Kuroda?"
"Yugi...Kuroda?" Ayeka blinked, then shook her head. "No. The name doesn't mean anything to me."
Well, that's a shame." Kiyone pursed her lips. "Because we discovered that when you and Ryoko and Sasami were a lot younger, there was a girl on this planet by that name. She and her mother both, in fact. The girl was exiled for taking psychic control of a member of the royal family, and causing chaos as a result. Of what nature, we're not sure. But we're pretty sure - Tennan-san, Washu and I - that this Kuroda girl is the killer that slaughtered the people on the Sumire and now, having seen you here today, I think she's found herself a new project. Tokimi saw a demon today because Yugi had control of you while you were trying to hurt her. Now Yugi's hold has been broken, Tokimi doesn't see the demon in you any more. She's Kii so she sees through to people's souls. And if Yugi's soul was controlling you, then Tokimi would have seen only Yugi. Not Ayeka."
"None of that made even the slightest bit of sense to me." Ayeka buried her head in her hands. "Kiyone, speak more clearly. How do you know so much about the Sumire? What is this file - this Yugi Kuroda? And I thought you hated Lord Tennan - now you're working with him?"
"Sometimes it's better to know your enemies and keep them close." Kiyone said frankly. "Besides, he's proven helpful so far, and he and I have the same goal. We both want to get to the bottom of what happened on the Sumire, because we both feel other people are in danger. And if we're right and this Kuroda girl is behind it, then the danger is far closer to home than it seems. If she can randomly pick people and use them as her puppets to do her bidding, no wonder there's no evidence at any of the scenes. She's manipulating things from a distance."
"I don't like any of this." Suki said apprehensively. "I don't like that you've brought Seiryo into it, Detective. I don't want him in more trouble with the throne, and now Lady Ayeka is involved..."
She hesitated, shaking her head.
"His guilt over what he did to you on Yagami will drive him to do whatever it takes to placate his conscience." She added. "I'm not sure he's thinking clearly and I don't want anything to happen to him."
Kiyone stared at her for a moment, then shook her head.
"Seiryo-san isn't the one in danger, but Tokimi clearly is." She said quietly. "Last night, Tokimi saw something at the court function and now Yugi wants to shut her up. She thought she'd use Ayeka since Ayeka is beyond suspicion and noone would question where she goes and what she does. Which means that whether she likes it or not, Ayeka is now involved. I think we need to speak to Washu. She needs to know about this as soon as possible."
"I still don't know what you're talking about, Kiyone." Ayeka objected plaintively, but Kiyone paid the Princess no attention, so wrapped up was she in mapping out her deductions into a coherent plan. She dropped down beside Tokimi, taking her by the hand.
"Tokimi, the demon you saw today, was it the same demon you saw last night?" She asked softly. Tokimi looked alarmed, and Suki frowned.
"Don't scare her." She said reproachfully. "Poor Tokimi has been through enough already, Kiyone-san. Please."
"I need her help." Kiyone said, shaking her head. "Please, Tokimi. Your friends might be in danger, and so might you. Will you tell me about the demon?"
Tokimi's lip trembled, and she glanced up at Suki, as if looking for reassurance. Suki sighed, shrugging her shoulders.
"If you think there's anything you can tell Kiyone-san, Tokimi, then you should tell her." She said resignedly.
"Demon...kill...goddess." Tokimi whispered, then she turned, burying her head once more in Suki's shoulder. Kiyone sighed, getting to her feet.
"I know she's hurt, but I wish she was a bit more lucid." She said with a groan. "Maybe I'm just the wrong person to be asking her these kinds of things. She barely knows me, after all."
She frowned, assessing her options. Then she placed a hand on Ayeka's shoulder.
"Ayeka, will you come with me now to see Washu?" She asked. "I need to find Ryoko, too. If Tokimi can't tell us anything, then you and she are going to have to do...because this has stepped up a gear now and if it's as bad as I think it is, I want to resolve it before anyone else gets hurt."
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"Well, this is a cosy gathering."
Ryoko dropped down into an empty seat, glancing around the cluttered chamber at her companions as she did so. "My mad mother, a discharged detective, a Crown Princess, a space pirate and a Lord of Jurai who thinks it's fun to bend the rules on occasion. What exactly are you after, Washu? Kiyone said you needed my help - but I haven't a clue what this is in aid of."
"I didn't expect to see Ayeka here." Washu frowned, a troubled expression flitting across her green eyes as she folded her arms across her chest. "Involving the royal house of Jurai was not in the plan, Kiyone...did something happen that I don't know about? I only sent you to find Ryoko...not Ayeka as well."
"I stumbled onto Ayeka on my way to find Ryoko." Kiyone explained, taking a seat herself and making herself more comfortable. "She was at your house, Tennan-san. Trying her best to silence Tokimi once and for all."
"Tokimi?" Washu's eyes opened wide with alarm at this, and Ryoko pursed her lips, casting the discomfitted princess a sidelong glance.
"I don't suppose that this is another case of your random sleepwalking, is it, Princess?" She asked quietly.
"What do you mean, another case?" Kiyone was on this in a flash. "Ryoko, you know something about this already?"
"It seems that we all know bits and pieces and it's time those bits and pieces were put together." Seiryo said grimly. "Kiyone-san, is Tokimi all right? And my sister and my mother?"
"They're fine." Kiyone inclined her head. "Suki wasn't too happy to find Ayeka knocked out on her carpet, but aside from that, noone was hurt. Tokimi was frightened, but that's to be expected."
"So, this sleepwalking." Washu's eyes narrowed, as she fixed her gaze on the Princess thoughtfully. "What exactly do you mean, Ryoko?"
Ryoko gestured to the scratch marks on her throat, offering her mother a rueful grimace.
"I encountered Ayeka last night and she wasn't in a talking mood." She said quietly, and Ayeka buried her head in her hands at the reminder of her previous night's activities. "She came at me in the darkness and did her very best to put an end to me. Except I'm a better fighter than that, so it didn't go entirely according to plan. When I had her pinned down, she seemed to wake up - like she was coming out of a trance. She said she'd been sleepwalking - that in her dream she'd encountered a monster and she'd had to fight it. But instead, she was actually fighting me. And I understood it wasn't the first time recently that this had happened."
"I see." Washu pursed her lips. "Ayeka? Is Ryoko right?"
"Yes." Ayeka admitted reluctantly, raising tragic ruby eyes to the scientist's penetrating green ones. "I'm sorry, Washu. I don't know how I got to the Tennan estate, or why. I don't remember leaving the court...but I must have done, because I was there."
"So this has happened how many times now? Two? Or wait, if Ryoko's wasn't the first incident, maybe three?" Kiyone wondered. Ayeka shrugged her shoulders.
"I don't know." She owned, a helpless note in her tone. "But I am only aware of three occasions."
"Who was the potential victim on the first occasion, Lady Ayeka?" Seiryo asked quietly, and Ayeka bit her lip.
"Tsunami's tree." She whispered. "I thought Sasami was trapped in her branches, and I...I took a blade to her trunk. But she woke me up - her magic broke through and stopped me from going any further."
"Tsunami." Washu looked grave. "Lord Tennan, I believe you are right. We do all know bits and pieces."
"Kiyone said something about a girl called Yugi Kuroda." Ayeka remembered. "But the name doesn't mean anything to me at all. And she said something about a file - a case...I don't know. Something to do with Tokimi and the Sumire and...and these poor people who were killed aboard it?"
"In the briefest summary of things, the Sumire is only a part of the whole picture." Washu said frankly, getting to her feet and flicking her hand at the big screen that overhung them, bringing it immediately to life. "Before Kiyone arrived here on Jurai, she and Mihoshi encountered a similar incident on a Seniwan ship, somewhere in the vicinity of Kihaku's old position. From this ship, as is routine on an investigation, she duplicated the ship's data drive information with a hope to use it for solving the case. Only it wound up a lot bigger than she imagined. The file seems to be the only reason this creature hasn't killed Kiyone yet - but now that things are moving so quickly, it could mean that things change. The case file includes information about a girl called Yugi Kuroda and her mother Yukari. Ayeka, Ryoko, I need to know if either of you remember anything at all regarding those names."
"I already said I didn't." Ayeka shook her head impatiently, but Ryoko frowned.
"Yukari Kuroda? Are you kidding - how could you forget that?" She demanded. "The woman was fired into the sun, wasn't she? Sent into space as a demon - it was the first time that had been done in over a century. The whole planet turned out to see the final proceedings."
"I don't remember anything like that!" Ayeka looked blank. "Ryoko, you're making it up! Jurai isn't so barbaric as to fire someone into the sun!"
"On the contrary, Ayeka-hime, it's a very rarely used form of Juraian punishment." Seiryo said quietly, bowing his head towards his princess as he spoke. "It's seldom used, but in very exceptional circumstances, it is considered the only way to guarantee a criminal is permanently disposed of. And Ryoko-san's account seems to indicate that Yukari Kuroda was one of those cases."
"I'll say." Ryoko nodded her head, pursing her lips as she remembered. "It sticks in my head because the old witch who was hired to watch me dragged me along for the spectacle. She told me that it was probably how I'd end up, since I was as much demon as the woman they were condemning. I didn't sleep for weeks after that - I really believed what she said."
"I guess in those circumstances, you would remember." Kiyone said pensively. "Ryoko, that sucks."
"Yes, it does, but it was a long time ago." Ryoko nodded. "And the woman is very dead now. Burnt to a crisp, most likely."
"What about Yugi Kuroda?" Washu asked. "Do you remember what happened to her?"
"I think she was sent away." Ryoko frowned. "She wasn't frizzled, I know that much. But I don't know exactly what happened. I didn't care all that much. She was a nasty little brat."
"So you did know her."
"As much as I knew anyone." Ryoko snorted. "I was a foundling, and she was the child of some titled Juraian Lord. Her mother was a widow, I think, but she had huge estates from her husband's death. I don't think Lady Kuroda was from Jurai originally, but they always acted like they were this elite upper class family. They had a lot of money, so they could throw their weight around."
"What do you remember about her, Ryoko?" Kiyone asked softly. "The girl herself. You said she was a brat - was she?"
"Yes." Ryoko's eyes narrowed. "Stuck up, snotty little madam. Actually, I'm pretty sure she was a close friend of Princess here, once upon a time. I'm amazed that you don't remember her, Ayeka...I guess it has something to do with the selective memory Jurai's court have when someone appears to have turned traitor."
"Ryoko, that's not fair." Ayeka snapped. "I'm not that fickle - if that Yugi girl had really been a friend of mine, well, I'd remember her. No matter what her mother did."
"Well, you did spend time with her. More than I did, in fact, and I can remember her." Ryoko retorted. "She's not the kind of person you easily forget, you know. Masses of golden hair, big aqua eyes, the kind of brat who looks like an angel but really, truly isn't. Way too good to be true in her appearance. Her mother was just the same. Picture perfect fake people...I can't believe you don't remember her even a little bit."
"Well, I don't." Ayeka folded her arms. "I've never heard the name before in my life."
"Tokimi said that the demon had a yellow head." Washu remembered, half to herself as she turned to glance up at the monitor behind her. "I wonder if that's what she meant. Fair hair."
"When did she say that?" Seiryo looked surprised.
"When I removed her from the Infirmary." Washu responded. "It was part of a deal we made. She'd tell me, if I took her away from there. She was really scared by what she saw, and now I understand a little bit more about Yugi Kuroda, I think that I realise why. I haven't had the misfortune to clap eyes on this demon myself - perhaps that's a pity. But Tokimi's not as discreet as she should be, and considering last night's little fiasco, it's clear she's hitting too close to the truth somewhere along the line."
"Poor Tokimi." Seiryo mused. "She's caught up in something she doesn't understand, and idiots are blaming her for it when actually she might well be in danger herself."
"No doubt she's in danger, if this Yugi girl has already tried to make Ayeka kill her." Washu said darkly.
"How do we know for sure that it is this Yugi person, though?" Ryoko demanded, as Ayeka flinched at Washu's casual words. "I mean, it's all very convenient and all, but there's not a lot of proof. Just the ravings of a girl not really in her senses, and your theories. Nothing else."
"I think the circumstantial evidence is enough to raise eyebrows, though. Even from a Galaxy Police perspective." Kiyone said frankly. "As Washu said, whoever is behind all of these things has been on my tail but hasn't tried to hurt me yet because I have something that it wants. The only thing I could possible have is this file, and this file concerns the Kuroda family. It might not be a smoking gun, but it's fairly compelling evidence."
"But we still don't know where she is or how to find her." Seiryo said blackly. "And we need to do those things, instead of patting ourselves on the back for working out who's responsible. If she's capable of taking control of minds, then she's even more dangerous than we first thought."
"No...maybe not." Washu shook her head thoughtfully. "She hasn't been controlling minds, as such. She's been operating through Ayeka...that's quite different."
"How, exactly?" Ayeka raised her gaze quizzically to the scientist's. "Why is that any different? I didn't ask anyone to come invade my brain, you know."
"No, of course not." Washu dismissed this with a flick of her hand. "But you are the one she's targeted. I think that Ryoko is probably right, Ayeka. Yugi was a childhood friend of yours, even if so much has happened since that you've forgotten about her. And that maybe you had a bond before, too. The file we cracked open said something about possession and corruption of a member of Jurai's royal family. It doesn't give names, but what if she's made a play for the same member this time around? Walking familiar ground, as it were?"
"You mean she's used Ayeka to do things like this before?" Kiyone blanched, and Washu shrugged her shoulders.
"That's my thought." She agreed. "Look, it's fairly clear to me that powerful magic has lasting effects. Seiryo-san, Kiyone, you both know that better than anyone. Seiryo-sama, you commented to me on your continued connection with Tokimi. The magic is gone, but the bond is not. Perhaps the same is true of Yugi and Ayeka. Yugi was taken away, and perhaps that's why Ayeka doesn't remember. But just like Tokimi doesn't remember your prior connection, Lord Tennan, she still feels that it's there. It would not be difficult for Yugi to make use of Ayeka in the same way as she did before. And Ayeka is a much more powerful individual now than she was then. I imagine Yugi believes Ayeka might be the one capable of accomplishing her final target."
"Which is what?" Ayeka asked fearfully. "If you're right, what does this mad woman want me to do?"
"From what Tokimi said, that seems pretty obvious." Washu said grimly. "Like so many other foes before, Ayeka, she wants an end to Jurai's protective power. Tsunami."
"Sasami!" Ayeka paled, and Washu nodded her head.
"As you say." She agreed. "So far, she hasn't made her move. But that she will seems almost a definite."
"I won't!" Ayeka said stubbornly. "I won't let her use me to hurt my own sister - I just won't! So she'll have to give up and leave me alone. I'm not some little girl and even if all the things you say are true, Washu, she's not going to find it so easy as that to take control of me again!"
"What confuses me still is why Ryoko was attacked." Kiyone reflected. "Tsunami's tree is Tsunami's tree, and clearly Tokimi saw something last night that upset her. But Ryoko, what did you do? Why did Ayeka launch an attack on you?"
Ayeka reddened, dropping her gaze, and Ryoko pursed her lips.
"Well, Yugi never did like me, when she was on Jurai before. Perhaps she decided to settle an old score...we did fight and argue, at times." She said slowly. "Although I did think, when it happened, that maybe Ayeka was jealous of the news I brought with me to Jurai."
"Why would Yugi Kuroda care about that?" Washu asked. Ryoko shrugged.
"I don't know, but Ayeka cares about it." She said frankly. "And it's possible Yugi used me as a test run."
"What news, exactly?" Kiyone demanded, and Ryoko sent her friend a slight smile.
"Tenchi and I are betrothed." She said simply. "That's all."
"Betr..." Kiyone gaped, and Ryoko grimaced at her.
"Thanks. That's a great reaction." She reproached her friend. "Yes."
"I've been under a lot of stress recently." Ayeka murmured, shooting Ryoko a dark look. "You didn't need to bring that up."
"I said I wouldn't tell Tenchi. Not that I wouldn't tell anyone else." Ryoko defended herself. "Besides, since you seem to be taking your amnesia trip on the road, it's probably important."
"I still don't think that Yugi would care whether Ryoko was getting married, or whether she was hanging from the light fittings." Washu said pensively. "There must be something else...you can't think of anything, musume-chan?"
"No, and don't call me that." Ryoko bristled. "That's the only thing I can think of that might have got Ayeka rattled."
"But it isn't Ayeka-sama, it's Yugi's motivation that's important." Seiryo rubbed his temples. "This becomes ever more complicated by the minute. I am very afraid now for the safety of Tokimi and my family, even more so than I was before. Perhaps we should approach the Emperor after all. Maybe it's time we brought the Imperial throne into this matter."
"No...not yet." Washu's eyed narrowed. "But I do think that we need to have a word with Lord Haru. He's Azusa's Chief of Security, which means he must have trained under his predecessor. This did happen in the end years of Shigure IV, after all - the Emperor who ruled Jurai before Azusa. More importantly, Lord Haru is Ayeka's father. If anyone knows anything about Yugi Kuroda, it will be him."
"Getting information out of that old clam is like prying blood from a stone." Ryoko muttered. "Do you think he's going to want to talk about some brat that may have corrupted his eldest child years ago?"
"We're going to find out." Ayeka said firmly, getting to her feet and holding her hand out to the pirate. "You and I, Ryoko. We're going to go and get to the bottom of this - after all, if you remember this girl, you can refute anything he says that isn't true. And you're one of the few people who has the nerve to face up to my father and do so."
"That's a good idea." Washu agreed. "Meantime, Seiryo and I will go back to Tokimi and see if we can pry anything else out of her about this demon of hers. Kiyone, you'd better not come with us - she's probably not quite as sure of you yet, so she might not be so happy to tell you."
"Yeah, she did just see me hit someone with a poker, too." Kiyone acknowledged. "All right. I'll stay here. It's probably safer, anyway, and I can keep going through the file - see if there's anything else we've missed or overlooked."
"Then it's decided." Washu looked satisfied. "Let's go."