Chapter 9
Tenchi and Ryoko had left his room soon after she had 'talked' to Washu through their link, learning of Aeka's impending contact with Jurai later that evening. Finishing the conversation with her mother, Ryoko relayed the information to Tenchi. After some discussion he suggested that Ryoko wait until tomorrow morning to speak with the princess, giving her time to 'sleep on it' before she confronted her. Ryoko agreed. As it was close to lunch time they had decided to go downstairs.
Tenchi descended the stairs with Ryoko floating closely behind them. They saw Mihoshi sitting on the couch fully engrossed in the melodrama of one of her soaps. As they turned toward the dining table they saw Aeka sitting there, looking down. She was not however, sitting in her customary place next to Tenchi's but was occupying the far corner position, next to Sasami's place at the table. Her head slowly came up at their arrival. With her face betraying no emotion, she stared at them briefly; first one and then the other. She then slowly looked back down at the table through half closed eyelids.
Having been stopped at the foot of the stairs by the princess' look, they quickly glanced at each other. After a moment they started moving again, slowly approaching the table. As Tenchi was about to speak, the kitchen door opened and Sasami exited carrying a large covered pot of Miso soup, announcing, "Lunch is ready."
She then noticed Tenchi and Ryoko. "Oh Tenchi, are you eating lunch with us today?" She smiled. "You must be feeling better."
Tenchi returned a smile of his own: "Yes I am Sasami. So much that I thought I'd join you all." He sat down at his normal place at the table.
"I'm glad," she beamed. She saw Washu emerging from the closet door, and when turning to set down the pot, saw Lord Katsuhito enter from the front hallway. "Looks like everyone's here." As she placed the pot in the center of the table, next to the rest of the food, she called out, "Mihoshi? Luunnch!"
"Okaay," the bubbly detective nearly sang in response, getting up from the couch and turning off the TV.
When Sasami had straightened up after setting down the soup pot, she looked down at the table with a slightly confused expression. Aeka's place setting had been moved from its normal spot next to Tenchi's to its new spot where her sister now sat. As everyone else was sitting down she asked, "Aeka?"
Her sister looked up at her with a slight smile, "I thought it would be nice to sit next to you for a change," she said with genuine affection. "Is that okay with you?"
Sasami said, "Well sure…" she said as she sat next to her sister. Then she added, slightly bewildered, "But it's just that you always sit next to Tenchi…"
"Not today," her sister said shortly. A measure of discomfort was felt at the table.
The quiet spawned by Aeka's response hung there as they proceeded with the meal. It was eventually interrupted by Mihoshi, displaying a puzzled look. She asked Aeka, "So you're not going to sit next to Tenchi now?"
"No, I am not," Aeka replied, sipping another spoonful of her soup.
"Oh," she mumbled. Then her face lit up and with a huge hopeful smile turned toward Tenchi and asked, "Then can I sit in her old spot?"
The glare she received from Ryoko promised pain. Never… ending… pain.
A wide eyed Mihoshi recognized the look and gulped. She murmured, "Never mind," and quickly focused on her food.
Again silence settled upon the table. This time it was broken by Tenchi's grandfather. "Ryoko, I see that you are now wearing all three of your gems," he stated.
Ryoko looked across the table at him warily. "Is that a problem?" she asked.
He smiled at her in response; "By no means. You have more than earned the right to wear them. I am truly glad to see that Tenchi has seen fit to finally return them to you."
Genuinely moved by his kind words, Ryoko smiled. "Thanks Yosho. I-I really appreciate that."
"You deserve no less." As they all returned to their meal, he looked down at Washu who was sitting next to him, herself giving him a curious look along with a subtle smile.
Suddenly Washu's eyes went wide with comprehension and she was about to comment when she saw his countenance become serious, giving her a little head shake. She returned a pained expression on her face and again nearly spoke when she recognized an emotive plea for silence in his wizened eyes. She relented, nodding and he again smiled at her, this time in gratitude. She was saddened by the exchange but silently vowed to keep his secret, her respect for him insuring it. We two will speak of this later though, she promised him, in her thoughts.
"Perhaps, Lord Tenchi, you would like to tell everyone why you have chosen now to return the gems to Ryoko when you never did before," Aeka offered, then turning her head to face him. "I'm sure that they are all curious as to why now, you would do this."
"Aeka..?" the little princess questioned, almost embarrassed by her sisters comments.
Her sister looked down at her and asked, "Well wouldn't you like to know?"
Sasami replied hesitantly, still wearing a troubled expression, "Yeah I guess…"
Aeka looked up at the rest of those at the table save for Tenchi and Ryoko. "Wouldn't you all like to know?" At that she turned toward the couple. Now however, her eyes finally betrayed her, as they saw anger and hurt behind them, her composure beginning to crumble.
"Aeka."
"What?" she said icily, turning to the speaker.
Yosho cleared his throat and attempted to calm the young woman. "Perhaps you would like to take this time as an opportunity to personally reflect on your feelings and the best way to resolve them serenely."
"Serenely?" she said sarcastically, her voice thick with emotion. "You want me be to be serene… NOW?" She was almost yelling her words. "How do you expect anyone to be serene at a time like this? How could anyone be that way after having their still beating heart practically ripped from their chest by the very same person who they… thought..." She stopped herself. She faced forward, her eyes closed obviously fighting for control of her emotions. After a couple of calming deep breaths she rose from table and left, disappearing quickly up the stairs.
Sasami had been quietly crying during her sister's tirade and looked at Tenchi. "I don't understand," she sobbed, then rubbed her eyes with her sleeve. "What's happened? Why's she so upset that Ryoko has her gems back?"
Tenchi looked upon the little princess with sad eyes and replied somberly. "It's because of why I gave them back to her Sasami." He took a breath. "You see I wanted to show Ryoko how much I trusted her now… how I felt about her." He put out his hand to Ryoko who gently smiled and took it in hers. They both looked at Sasami in hope.
Seeing this, the surprised little princess asked, "Are you guys together now?"
Tenchi lightly smiled while Ryoko replied, "Yes, Sasami. We are."
Understanding was coming to her, "And you already told Aeka, didn't you?" she asked Tenchi with neither accusation nor malice.
"Yes, I did, earlier today. In private," said Tenchi.
"That's why she's like this then," Sasami commented looking down at the table. Soon a single tear rolled down her cheek. "I've seen her upset before, but she's never…" she trailed off. "Poor Aeka," she finally said as another tear fell.
Sasami got up from her seat saying wiping her eyes, "Excuse me but I think I need to be with my sister right now. She moved towards the stairs, but stopped next to the couple looking at them with a sad smile. "Tenchi…Ryoko… I want you guys to know I really am happy for you… It's just that…" She hesitated.
"We understand Sasami," Tenchi told her. "Thank you."
"It's okay, kiddo," added Ryoko. "She needs you now. Go on up there," she urged.
She nodded and then quickly climbed the stairs, following her sister.
Once again silence fell upon the table, no one eating save Mihoshi. The expressions on both Tenchi and Ryoko had turned sad, but they remained handing hands, their fingers interlocked.
Lord Katsuhito viewing them, commented, "This could not have been avoided I'm afraid. There were too many strong emotions at work." Now looking directly in Tenchi's eyes he said, "Punishing yourself with regret for what was inevitable may be mistaken, at first, as being noble, but it is hardly helpful." Then motioning to Ryoko with his eyes, continued, "And could inevitably be permanently destructive." He held his gaze until he saw understanding in the eyes of his grandson, who then respectfully smiled and confirmed with a single nod. Smiling back he then noticed Ryoko, giving him a warm smile. When she saw him look her way she mouthed the unspoken words 'thank you' to him. His kind eyes acknowledged her gratitude.
Soon the mood turned more normal, as it's defined in the unusual Masaki household. They were nearing the end of the meal when, at last, Mihoshi spoke, "So I guess you guys will be dating then huh?"
Tenchi and Ryoko glanced at each other, smiling. Tenchi turned to Mihoshi answering her, "Yes, we will."
Mihoshi smiled. "That'll be so nice; you guys going places, doing things together, and getting closer the whole time. It's so romantic," she said dreamily.
Both Tenchi and Ryoko smiled as well, picturing it in their heads. Tenchi took another bite of his food and Ryoko picked up her bowl of rice.
"So when's the wedding? Mihoshi asked innocently.
Ryoko's bowl exploded in a shower or rice and ceramic after it fell from the former space pirate's hands to the floor, a look of shock upon her face, while Tenchi was choking on his last bite of food. Ryoko quickly recovered and frantically began to slap the back of her beloved, who had turned a lovely shade of blue and whose eyes were bulging out, in an attempt to help him expel the offending mouthful. After repeated blows they were finally successful. Across the table Yosho had raised a disbelieving eyebrow to the detective while Washu had collapsed into the classic face palm position.
"Was it something I said?" inquired the clueless blonde.
Sasami came up to the door of her bedroom and was about to knock when she heard the sound of crying inside, causing her to pause. Now she was unsure if she should go in or not. Would Aeka want her there or would she rather be alone? Her sister's crying made her heart ache. "Ryoko was right,' she thought. 'She needs me.' With that she knocked on the door lightly three times and said, "Aeka, it's me. Can I come in?"
She heard the crying stop. For a moment there was silence. Then she heard, "Are you alone, Sasami?"
"Yes," she replied. "I'm alone." Soon the door opened revealing her sister holding a very tear stained handkerchief, her eyes still very much showing the source of those tears. Aeka looked to either side of Sasami, confirming her sister's statement, then moved away allowing her passage. Sasami entered the room, sliding the door closed behind her. Aeka had moved to the other side of the room, standing in front of the window, looking upon the snow covered lake, her back to her sister.
After a pause Aeka spoke. "I'm sorry for my behavior at the table before. I-I don't know what came over me," she lied, looking down at her hands.
"Tenchi told me what happened," she informed her sister as gently as she could. "I'm sorry,
Aeka." She walked up behind her sister. She looked up with tears in her eyes for her hurting older sibling. Aeka turned and when she saw Sasami's face she knelt down. The sisters embraced, shedding tears together.
In time Aeka delicately pulled away for Sasami with a sad smile. "No need for you to cry little sister. That's for me alone."
"If you're sad then I'm sad too," the younger sister offered.
Aeka continued to smile at her. "You are such a dear, sweet girl," she said of Sasami. "I could never ask for a better sister. I can always count on you, no matter what."
"I'll always be there for you Aeka, just like you've always been there for me." Her smile had returned at the improvement of her sister's mood.
"Yes we must always stick together. Family is most important," Aeka proclaimed. "That's what I was talking about when I mentioned I needed to speak to you earlier."
"You wanted to talk to me about the family?" Sasami asked curiously. "What did you want to say?"
Though not as sure of herself as she had been due to her encounters with Ryo-Oh and Washu and now seeing her sister's expectant face, she nonetheless forged ahead with her original idea; "I think it's time we returned to Jurai, to once again be with our parents. I feel it's time we go back home."
The little princess' face showed confusion. "But Aeka, this is our home. This is our family too."
Aeka's smile lessened. "No, this is… has been… temporary. Jurai is our true home," she said. "And that's where our real family is as well."
Sasami stepped back from her sister; her smile had vanished. "But Yosho is our brother and he's here…so is Tenchi. And as for the rest…well…" She looked directly into her sister's eyes. "I love them all just as much as anyone else. They're our family too," she pleaded.
Aeka took in a calming breath before replying. "I know that you've been happy here. I was too until this happened. I do care about the people here as well. But things have changed."
"How have they changed other than you getting your feelings hurt?" This stunned the older princess; she had not been expecting to have to defend her position with her little sister.
Sasami continued, "Has anyone treated you badly since you found out? Did Tenchi say anything mean to you? Did he tell you he wanted us to leave now that he told you about his feelings for Ryoko?"
"Well… no," was Aeka's weak response. "It wasn't like that. He would never say anything like that," she admitted.
"So why do we have to leave?" Sasami practically begged her sister for a valid reason.
Aeka was adamant. "You're too young to understand what's really going on, to know why I can't possibly stay here now," she said dismissing her sister's heartfelt entreaty.
Sasami's mood had changed. "I understand a lot more than you give me credit for thanks to Tsunami," she revealed. "I understand that because Tenchi told you that he loves Ryoko you want to run away back to Jurai, taking me with you, when you know I don't want to go. And before this neither did you," she reminded her sister. "When father made Tenchi fight all those suitors so that you could stay here, you were as happy as I was that they all lost, and we could stay here."
"Yes, because of Tenchi!" Aeka declared. "I still thought that he and I could have a chance, because he stood up to them for me. You really don't understand do you?"
"I understand enough," she said as she moved away to the door, sliding it open. "I understand now that you're being selfish. Because you were hurt by what he said you're only thinking about yourself now. You really don't care how anyone else would feel about us leaving, not even me." Her head hung low against her chest.
"Sasami…" she uttered, not believing what she was hearing from her little sister.
"I never thought you would be selfish enough to hurt the people who care about you… to hurt me." She looked up at her older sister her face filled with sorrow. "I'm ashamed of you Aeka. I don't want to be… but I am." With that she turned and left the room, not bothering to close the door behind her as she walked down the hallway.
Desolated by her sister's chastisement, Aeka initially stood there stunned. Then, recovering, she began to move towards the door calling out in her normal voice at first, "Sasami?" Then when there was no reply she raised her voice again calling out to her sister. When she had reached the doorway and looked down the hall she called for a third time, "Sasami!" She saw her sister's form vanishing down the stairs apparently in total disregard to her pleas.
She stared at the empty hallway for a moment or two, again on the verge of tears and then returned to her room, closing the door behind her.
