Chapter 7

"So, what did you want to talk about Ryoko? Washu had joined her in the onsen, sharing the sake she had brought with her.

"As if you didn't know," her daughter replied wryly with a raised eyebrow. "Knowing you, you've probably got everything recorded and cataloged by now… for 'scientific' purposes."

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean," Washu replied innocently.

Ryoko rolled her eyes and scoffed, "Right."

After a moment a genuine smile appeared on the scientist. "I really very happy for you, little Ryoko," she said.

Ryoko returned the smile. "I know you are." She looked directly into her mother's eyes. "Thanks again for what you did with the 'quarantine' of Tenchi's room. It… well it really helped us." She took a sip of her sake.

"You two needed that time alone. You've gone through so much you deserve to find your happiness. And so does Tenchi." She sipped her drink. "I knew he would figure it out... eventually. You two should be together, nothing else makes sense, " She continued, adopting her most academic look, "from a purely scientific perspective of course."

"Of course," Ryoko responded with her best approximation of Washu's expression.

They both chuckled.

Washu then asked with tilted head, raised eyebrow, and a slight smirk, "So was it as good as you hoped it would be?"

Ryoko's eyes narrowed returning the smirk. Then a slightly dreamy look fell upon her face along with a warm smile. "Better." Her expression remained for a moment, then her narrow gaze returned with a slight grimace. "And that's all I'll ever say about it… ever! You got that… mom?"

Washu held up her hands in mock surrender and with a broad smile promised, "I got it... I got it."

Ryoko eyed her warily for a few seconds, then relaxed. After taking another sip, she asked with a quizzical look, "So where did you teleport her to?"

"Right here." Washu then raised her arm and held her hand flat a few inches over the water. "Well to be more precise right about here." The grin she gave was quite wicked.

Ryoko's eyes went wide. "You didn't." Then with a great chuckle she said, "I almost wished I had been here to see the look on her face." She shook her head. "Poor Aeka." After a moment though her smile disappeared and she looked down at the water. "Poor Aeka, "she muttered.

"It really bothers you about her doesn't it?" Washu surmised, displaying a concerned expression.

Ryoko slowly nodded. "I always thought that when I finally got Tenchi that I'd want to rub it in her face, to make her pay for daring to try to come between us. But I don't feel that way at all." She looked at Washu. "Tenchi's probably already talked to her." She took a big sip of her sake. "I know the hell Aeka's most likely going through right now; it's not hard for me to imagine now because I already have many, many times. Her whole world's been destroyed." She took another small sip. "Only a monster would throw that up to her right now. And I'm no monster."

"You and Aeka have been through so much together, Ryoko," Washu stated matter-of-factly. " You lived in the same house, fought beside one another, fought with one another over the same man. I've lost count of all the times you were both in here together just talking or getting drunk." She gave a quick smile. "You two have become very close through it all."

"Almost like sisters?" Ryoko offered.

"Exactly like sisters," Washu answered. "Two sisters, fighting over the same guy: What could be more competitive than that? What could be more emotionally trying than that? And do you know what happens when one of them gets the guy and the other doesn't?"

Ryoko looked up at her, slight confusion in her expression. "No."

Washu smiled benevolently. "They're still sisters."

Ryoko face returned a look of understanding and a smile. After some silence she spoke, "I… I don't wanna lose…" Her voice broke and she fought to regain her composure. She restarted, "I don't want her to leave, Washu."

"I know Ryoko, but you understand that's going to be what she thinks is her only option, at least immediately," her scientist mother offered. "The fight or flight response is a natural psychological reaction humans feel when we perceive a potentially harmful situation. It's instinctive. It's hard wired into our nature. We want to avoid being hurt or in her case being hurt more. She can't fight you over it any more, it won't do her any good, not that it ever could it seems. So the only thing left to her, she feels, is to run away, naturally taking her little sister along with her."

"And that's exactly what I don't want her to do. I know I'm being selfish," she admitted, "but I don't want either of them to go. It just wouldn't feel right around here without them. I wouldn't feel right."

"Yeah it's kind of selfish, but it's understandable too," Washu offered. "We never want to lose those we care about and I know you care about them both very much. We all do. But you've got to give Aeka time to settle down after this. She's going to have to be able to figure out what she really wants to do. You are the last person she wants to see right now, especially if you're around Tenchi. If you want even a chance to change her mind you are going to have to control YOUR natural tendencies when you are with him out in public. Even if you mean nothing against her the quickest way to get her to leave right now is you glomping all over him the first chance you get. I know it will be hard for you but you know I'm right don't you?

"Yeah, I do," Ryoko conceded. "I'll behave. Trust me."

"And you are going to have to be patient," her mother instructed. "Lacking options she isn't going anywhere for a while as she'll first have to contact Jurai for a transport. Give her a day or two at least. But then you're going to have to talk to her. If anyone can change her mind, it will be you."

"Me?" Ryoko inquired. "Wouldn't someone else have a much better chance of doing that? Maybe Yosho or you, or maybe even Tenchi?"

Washu shook her head. "I'm sure she'll talk to Yosho about it and he is a great listener, but he'll ultimately leave the decision up to her. That's his nature. With me she knows I'm your mother and she knows whose side I've been on in all of this. The 'quarantine' incident certainly won't help either. In the final analysis she simply won't trust my motives. I can't really blame her for that as, well, honestly, it's deserved." She shrugged. "Unlikely as you may think it is, given sufficient time, you may have the best chance at convincing her not to leave."

"So why not Tenchi?" Ryoko still looked unconvinced.

"Because Tenchi just broke her heart." Washu answered bluntly. "She doesn't have his potential love as a reason to remain anymore and the last thing she needs to hear from him is how he wants her to stay anyway. She's not ready to accept him seeing her as just a member of the 'family' right now. And she won't trust his feelings… not for a while."

Ryoko nodded in agreement.

But you on the other hand…" Washu continued, "Strange as it may seem, because of the way you've always been, she probably trusts you the most when it comes to someone revealing their true motivations. You've said so yourself repeatedly, you call 'em as you see 'em. No one has ever had any reason to doubt that about you. You've also always been sincere when declaring your feelings for Tenchi because we all know that admitting to them has always been hard for you, although less so since Zero." Ryoko's lips pursed at this but Washu continued. "So whenever you spoke about your feelings she knew you're being genuine, because you always were with everything else."

Ryoko expression acknowledged her point.

"That's the edge you have over us in attempting to convince Aeka to stay. She'll believe you… eventually." Then Washu warned, "But know when you talk with her you're going to have to be very, very patient. She's going to reject you out of hand. She'll probably even be angry and want to take it out on you because, frankly, she won't be able to take it out on anyone else. And that's exactly what you'll need to let her do."

Ryoko groaned heavily, leaning her head against the edge of the bath, and closing her eyes. After a few seconds she raised her head, opening her eyes to again look back at her mother.

Washu continued, "You're going to have to be a convenient target I'm afraid. She'll need to get it out of her system if she's going to be approachable. You'll have to take it long enough for her to realize it's pointless to fight against both your sincerity and your determination. Your perseverance will be the only thing that can break down her wall and let you in long enough to talk with her."

"So basically you're saying that I'm going to have to be her punching bag until she gets tired of throwing punches, " Ryoko grumbled.

"Yeah basically, "Washu conceded. "Of course in this case it more like being pummeled by repeated energy blasts until she runs out of power. And you can't fight back. If you do you'll defeat the whole purpose of trying to get her to lower her 'barriers'. You'd just make her all the more defensive and resolute."

"Terrific," Ryoko replied thick with sarcasm. "So I'm going to end up looking like I was run over by several trains while Aeka gets away with not so much as a scratch. That figures." She laughed humorously. "I know I'll heal but ouch. I guess I'll find out if I'm tough enough to take the hits without retaliating."

Washu, looked straight into her daughters golden eyes without saying a word. Then when she knew she had her full attention, she spoke softly, directly from her heart. "Ryoko, when it comes to strength, of any kind, I'd put my money on you every damn time."

Ryoko stared back into her mother's emerald eyes, her own eyes filling with emotion. "Thanks, mom." She finally said quietly. "Thanks… for everything."

"You're welcome little Ryoko." She brushed something from her eye, a slightly embarrassed smile appearing on her face. "We'd better get out of here before our skins are totally wrinkled."

"Yeah," Ryoko acknowledged as they both started to rise from the water. "I need to go find Tenchi and see how things went with his talk with Aeka. Knowing him, as I do, he's probably all messed up about it."

"Take it easy with him." Washu advised. "He's never had to knowingly break someone's heart before."

"Well he's done it enough to me without knowing," she admitted begrudgingly. "But I forgave him every time because he didn't know." A resigned smile appeared. "What else could I do? I loved him."

Washu returned a discerning smile.

"Don't worry. I'll be gentle." Ryoko vowed.

It was quiet in the shrine's office. Aeka had finally let go of her older half-brother and now sat opposite from him at the small office table, head down, her hands crossed on her lap, a cup of tea untouched in front of her. Yosho was taking occasional sips from his cup, waiting patiently for her to speak. They sat there in the quiet long enough for Yosho to be working on his third cup.

"I'm cursed," Aeka finally said, with full conviction.

"Cursed?"

She nodded. "I'm cursed to fall in love with men who don't love me back."

Yosho was stung by this. Along with Tenchi, she was obviously referring to him as he had chased after Ryoko seven centuries prior in order to avoid the throne and all that came with it, including marrying her. He sighed. "Aeka you know why I never returned. I did not want to rule."

"You didn't want me, you mean," giving him her interpretation of his statement. "Am I so unworthy that no one will love me? What have I done to deserve this fate?"

He saw her sorrow being replaced by self-pity and anger. He spoke delicately. "I have always cared for you, as a brother loves his sister. I always will. But it was never our fate to marry."

"Our mothers believed it was," she offered looking up at him.

Yosho shrugged and said, "They were wrong. But this is all in the past and has no bearing on the present or the future. I thought that you had let that go."

"I have." Aeka admitted. "I was just making the point that it happened again, this time with Tenchi. He could have loved me but he loves her instead. How could he choose her over me? What makes her the better choice?"

"It is not a matter of choice," Yosho said plainly. "It is a matter of the heart. Love is not something you can turn on or off. It is or it is not. One can choose who they want to be with, that is true, but they cannot choose who to love. Would you want him to choose you knowing he was in love with Ryoko and most likely would always be so? Would you really want him like that?"

Aeka imagined the scenario; Tenchi choosing to be with her because she was the 'better' choice. They would marry and then most likely travel to Jurai where he would take his place in court and eventually become king. They would rule together and raise their beautiful children together. And she would know that every time he took her in his arms he would be thinking of a certain cyan haired pirate. She shuddered at the thought.

"No, I would not want him like that," she declared. "That would be even worse than it is now."

"You are wise little sister." Yosho spoke affectionately. "I know that you will one day find the happiness you seek. You are a bright, beautiful, generous and caring person. Someday the right man's heart will succumb to all you wonderful qualities as your heart succumbs to his. Of this I have no doubt." His smile was warm and genuine. "You are still very young in the scheme of things and there will be plenty of time for you to find your destiny."

"Yosho, I know that you are trying to help but I am far from ready to entertain such things. My heart hurts too much and I don't want to think of the future when the present is so horrible." She was again almost on the verge of tears. She stood up and moved towards the door.

"What are you going to do now?" Yosho asked her gently.

"I have to speak with Sasami," she informed him, "and let her know that we will probably be returning to Jurai soon. I'm sure she will need time to prepare her farewells. I'm sorry to have to take her away as I know she loves it here, but I can't leave without her."

"Are you sure you want to leave?" he questioned her.

"I honestly don't think I could endure being here, seeing them together," Aeka confessed, turning her face to him, exhibiting a few tears in her lashes. "I don't know how anyone could."

She again faced the door, opened it and left the office, closing the door behind her.

Yosho sighed again emitting a '"hmmmm..." He then took a slow sip of his tea.