Tenchi Muyo!: Witch World
Episode 8: The Lawyer
Even though it was now the wee hours of Monday morning, no one in the Masaki home could think of sleeping, or returning to a normal weekday routine.
Ryoko, however, had been carried upstairs, to sleep off her drinking binge.
Kiyone was on the sofa with her face buried in her hands. My little girl is all alone for the first time in her life. And there's nothing I can do for her.
Ayeka had come over to see what had delayed her father-in-law's return to their house, and so Katsuhito had informed her about everything that had just transpired. Currently, Ayeka and Mihoshi sat on each side of Kiyone, each trying their best to console her. Tenchi stood behind Kiyone, with his hands on his wife's shoulders, but he looked like he could use some consoling, himself.
"Can't you use that evil-screen thing on her?" he suddenly asked Washu.
Washu shook her head sadly. "True evil is something that comes from the pit, Tenchi. Ramia is simply a jerk. Minor difference, I know, but it's enough. If it's any consolation to you guys, when she said Sasami was someplace safe, you can bet your life on it. It still doesn't excuse kidnapping a human child from her parents, though. Either Ramia must be so certain of her victory in court that it won't matter when it's all over, or the Council has given her special privilege to act in whatever means necessary in my case. Personally, I'm leaning toward the latter."
"She mentioned consequences, if you are found guilty," said Katsuhito. "What did she mean by that?"
"Disobedience to a Council ruling is one of our highest offenses," explained Washu. "It's kind of like charging a sailor with mutiny. If the Council finds me guilty, they can sentence me to death. If they feel like letting me off easy."
"That's insane!" said Tenchi. "Isn't this council of yours supposed to be made up of wise people? You only did what any mother in your position would do! How could they punish something like that?"
"I'm afraid that in their minds, it's all a matter of what must take precedence. There's a bigger picture at stake here than just Ryoko and me. We're talking about a time when mankind and witchkind were poised on the brink of a war. Now you may think that one side being gifted with the use of magic, and the other being sadly lacking in that department, that such a thing would end up being a complete slaughter, and you'd be right. It's a good thing for you that witches aren't about genocide or world domination. ...Well, okay, that's true about us for the most part. But now is not the time to be getting into that. Anyhow, most of us would rather avoid that kind of confrontation. Except one thing made it impossible."
"We share this world, your kind and mine," she continued. "And our peoples have mixed over the generations. Among humans there are people with what you call 'extrasensory perception.' Fancy term for having a little witch blood in you. Among you there are also people called 'mages', who are not true witches, but still know enough about magic to be very formidable. And there are plenty of full-blooded witches who have made it clear that they would fight for the mortals they love, even if it does mean turning against their own kind to do it. So you see, you humans are not totally defenseless. It was, in fact, one of your champions who captured Ryoko, and forced her to pay for her indiscretions with her life. It was one of the major demands made in the treaty which has kept peace between our peoples for centuries."
"So, aside from not wanting a bloodbath on our consciences, we now have to fear the warlike side of humans, because your side has now been empowered to inflict the unthinkable against ours, too. Think of it as something like your atomic bomb. So what if one side can destroy the world fifty times over, while the other can only do it twenty? Once is more than enough, isn't it? Now you see what makes the Council of Elders so upset. One of the points of our peace treaty has apparently been negated -- because Ryoko is alive. And if the Council knows this, you can bet that the champions of humanity are gonna find out, if they haven't already. And when they do, chances are they're gonna be out for blood. Both Ryoko's AND mine, this time."
Ayeka gave Washu an angry look. "You mean to tell us that you knew this all along, and you still let Ryoko fly out there to be recognized by someone? Just what is the matter with you?"
"Hey, gimme a break!" protested Washu. "What she did took me by surprise, too! How was I supposed to know she was gonna go halfway around the world and get herself spotted by someone who still remembered her and saw fit to fink on her? I'm not one of those crystal
ball using witches, you know. My talents don't include that."
"If you want to blame someone, blame me," said a depressed-looking Ryo-Ohki at Washu's feet. "If only my impersonation of Ryoko had been a little better, then none of this would be happening now."
Washu knelt down to pat the little demon on her head. "It was excellent, Ryo-Ohki. You could have fooled even me! We just both underestimated Ramia, that's all. It's a mistake I don't intend to repeat."
Rising back to a stance, Washu snapped her fingers, causing something that had the appearance of a telephone to appear in the air before her. "Right now, I'm calling my lawyer. We have a saying for occasions like this, 'a witch who represents herself in court has a fool for a client.'"
vvv
For a moment, everything around Sasami was solidly white. This whiteness gradually faded away to reveal a very green parklike place. The weather was sunny, birds were pleasantly chirping. It looked very much like a fine spot to have a picnic.
"Oh, my ears and whiskers!" cried a large white rabbit, looking at its pocket watch. "I'll be late!"
Sasami watched it hurriedly hop on its way. Okay. I know what that is. If I follow it, I'll fall down a hole and end up in Wonderland. But that's not going to get me home, so forget that.
She folded her arms with determination and stayed put. After the rabbit hopped out of sight, the next thing she noticed was a giant soap bubble lazily floating down from the sky. It lit on the ground before her and disappeared, revealing a woman in a fairy princess outfit, complete with a star-tipped wand in one hand.
"Are you a good witch or a bad witch?" smiled this strange person.
"I'm not a witch at all," frowned Sasami. "And I'm not Dorothy, either. I just want to go home."
"I see. First you must wear the ruby slippers..."
"I DON'T HAVE ANY RUBY SLIPPERS!" emphasized Sasami. "Oh, never mind."
Sasami turned around and marched away from the strange lady, making a right turn into a nearby forest -- in order to intentionally avoid following the yellow brick road that was trying its best to tempt her into setting foot upon it.
Which, she soon came to think, might have been a mistake. In the first place, It was a dark and spooky place to be. Secondly, it seemed to Sasami, after a while, that she could hear someone else's feet stepping on the crunchy fallen leaves that blanketed the floor of the woods. There was no doubt about it. Somebody was following her.
But every time she stopped moving, the other noise also stopped.
She looked carefully around, but all she saw were more trees.
"Psst!" said someone from behind a tree directly to her left.
"Who's there?" demanded Sasami, whipping around.
A wolf's face popped out from behind the tree. "Don't be scared, kid. It's only me. Where are you off to? Granny's house? Say, where's your basket of goodies?"
Sasami sighed. "You know, I think I must've left it at Granny's. How about I race you there?"
"You're on," said the wolf, excitedly. He sprinted away as fast as his legs could go.
Sasami watched him disappear into the distance...and decided to take a very different path.
Once out of the woods, she came to a signpost which identified where the forked paths ahead led.
One sign pointed to Yubaba's Bathhouse...1km. Another pointed to Cat Kingdom...5km. The third pointed to Konan (Hong-Nan) Kingdom...200km. The fourth was perched on top of the post, and was pointing straight up into the empty sky -- Gaea...768,836km.
Sasami turned about, and leaned against the signpost with her back. What does all this mean? And why am I here?"
Presently a bus arrived, coming to a stop at the signpost. Not surprisingly, it looked like a bus made from a large multilegged cat, which was grinning at her. Inside was only one passenger, an oval-shaped creature holding an open umbrella over its head. It, too, was grinning at her.
Sasami looked at the destination plate over the cat's head, which read Shichikokuyama Hospital. Nope. Not where she wanted to go. She shook her head at them, and they grinningly continued on their merry way.
This is when it sank in to her that she was truly lost. And trapped in a world where the only familiar faces she was ever going to see all came from fairy tales.
She slid down to the ground, hugging her legs. Softly, she began to cry.
vvv
There was a beautiful sunrise in Japan at that moment. Washu was waiting outside in the front yard, scanning the sky for the arrival of her lawyer.
A witch with pale blue hair and two dots on her forehead flew down from the sky on her broom, rewarding Washu's patience. Also perched on the broom was an eagle-sized bird with a white breast and a purple head and wings. The bird remained on the hovering broom when it was low enough to the ground for the witch to disembark from it.
At first, they greeted one another properly, with bows. Then they both burst out laughing at their own formality and hugged each other most informally.
Washu invited the newcomer inside, and that's when the bird flew over to perch on the newcomer's left shoulder.
"Everyone, I'd like to introduce you to my lawyer, Tsunami," announced Washu. "Tsunami, I'm afraid I don't know who your friend is, there..."
Tsunami had a pleasant expression on her face, almost as if she somehow knew that no matter how badly things went, it would all turn out all right in the end. "This is Rumiya. He's my familiar. Pleased to meet you, everyone. As Washu would have no doubt told you, I am not only her lawyer, but also her friend. We go back a long, long, long, long way."
"They get the idea," said Washu. "Enough with all the 'longs.' already."
Tsunami nodded. "And I'm sure she would like to get started with building her case, as soon as possible. But I understand that we have a child involved here, who is being used as bail bond, is that right?"
Kiyone's tear-stained face suddenly looked up at the newcomer. "Yes. Is there some way that you can get her back for us?"
Tsunami's expression saddened slightly. "No, I'm sorry. Only the one who originally put her there can bring her back. And legally, she must remain there until Washu appears at her trial. However, there is one thing Rumiya and I can do to help make this burden of separation a little lighter, both for you and for her."
vvv
Sasami had never felt so alone and abandoned in her life. She couldn't make any sense out of her surroundings, nor could she understand why she deserved to be exiled here, with no friends, no family, and no one around to properly explain anything to her that she really needed to know. Just characters from fantasies, who only knew enough to go through their expected motions, and nothing more.
She was so wrapped up in her sadness, that she didn't even hear the flapping of the wings just above her head. But the voice sure startled her.
"You really don't have any reason to cry, you know," it said.
Sasami gasped and stood up, facing the signpost. Perched on one of the signs was an eagle-sized purple bird with a white breast.
"It's just a pocket universe," the bird continued. "Working witches drop off their kids in places like this all the time. It's like a daycare center, only more fun. This one is optimized for girls."
"I don't recognize you," said Sasami. "What story are you from?"
"That's because I'm not from around here. I'm from outside, just like you. I know who you are, though. You're Sasami Masaki, am I right?"
"Yes! But how do you know my name?"
"I was sent here to find you. And that was easy because you're the only one in the whole place who's unhappy. Little witches never cry because they're brought here. They cry when it comes time to leave!"
"But I'm not a witch," protested Sasami. "I don't belong here. I just want to go home."
"I know," said the bird, gently. "In your case, this place is being used more like a safety deposit box. Even so, it doesn't mean that you can't have the time of your life, here. You're absolutely safe from any harm. You can play in any setting from any story you like. If you need to use the facilities, there are restrooms in all of the buildings. When you get hungry or thirsty, that's even easier. Just picture what you want in your mind, and say the magic word."
"What's the magic word?" asked Sasami.
"Pi-po-pa," said the bird.
Instantly, a sardine sandwich popped into existence in front of the bird. He took a bite from it.
"Mmm," said the bird. "Delicious! Go on, now you try."
"Pi-po-pa," said Sasami.
A glass of water appeared for her.
"It really works," said Sasami, taking a sip.
"Of course! And if you can't finish it for any reason, just reverse it and it'll go away. Like this. Pa-po-pi."
The sandwich disappeared.
"Wow!" said Sasami. "Is there a magic word that'll take me home, too?"
The bird hung his head. This human girl sure has a one track mind.
"I'm afraid not, Sasami. You'll have to stay here for at least one week. But don't worry, once you get into the swing of it, that week'll just fly by. And I've saved the best news for last. I've brought something for you. Hold out your hands together, palms up."
Sasami took one more sip of water, before dismissing the glass with the magic word. Then she did as the bird requested.
The bird made a magical gesture with its wings, causing a wristwatch with a somewhat oversized face to materialize in Sasami's hands.
"Put it on, and press the button on the side," instructed the bird.
As soon as Sasami did that, she saw a human face appear on the watch, just as if it was a little TV. It was her mother.
Kiyone's eyes looked sore, as if she had been crying, as well. "Sasami, darling? Can you hear me? Can you see me?"
Tears welled up in Sasami's eyes once more.
Only this time...they were accompanied by a great big smile.
TO BE CONTINUED