“Sticks and Stones...”

                              By: Zylle

Summary: Ayeka eavesdrops on an interesting conversation between mother and
daughter.  Will anything change because of what she hears?

        It was once again a mostly generic morning at the Masaki residence.
It was
that elusive time where all was quiet, nothing was happening, nothing
distasteful was going on.  Most of the members of the household were only
just getting up, while Sasami was already in the kitchen, faithfully
preparing breakfast.
        Tenchi was usually the second one up, grabbing an early meal and
heading
out the door to do his chores.  Washu was third, but she never generally
came out until the food was done.  Ayeka was fourth, coming down the stairs
sleepily and turning on the TV to hear the news and wait for breakfast.
Mihoshi would stumble down the stairs eventually and seat herself beside
Ayeka, falling asleep again until the announcement of breakfast was
proclaimed.  Then Ryoko would appear as the steaming food was being placed
on the table...but she was conspicuously absent today.  A dull silence hung
over them all, save for the droning TV and the clatter of dishes in the
kitchen.
        “Breakfast’s ready!”  Sasami declared as she set the last bowl on
the
table.  Mihoshi and Ayeka immediately perked up and sat down in their
designated seats.  “Ayeka?”  Sasami asked.
        “Yes, Sasami?”
        “Could you go get Washu and Ryoko?  I think she must have slept in.”
        *No surprise there,* Ayeka thought to herself as she got up and
opened
Washu’s door.  She walked in and looked around, seeing no one.  “Hm, I
wonder where she could be...” she started to say when she heard voices down
a hallway.  She followed them until she saw the owners of the voices: Washu
and Ryoko.  Apparently they hadn’t noticed her, and they were talking about
something in front of a rather large fish tank.  Ayeka, being her usual
self, decided to sit and listen before she walked in on them.
        “...I just don’t understand why she’s always jumping to conclusions,
you
know?  She makes big deals out of nothing for no reason,” she heard Ryoko
say.  She was watching the strange creatures swim by in the tank, not
looking at Washu.
        “That may be true, but as your mother I’d have to say that YOU’RE
usually
the one who starts it in the first place,” Washu replied.
        “What are you saying?  That’s it’s all MY fault?”  Ryoko countered
defensively, turning to the scientist.
        “No, but if you didn’t provoke her, she would have no reason to
quarrel.  I
honestly think you do these things just to irritate her.  Since it’s so easy
to do, I mean.”
        Ryoko snorted stubbornly and looked away again, folding her arms.
She
could find no way to respond to that.
        “I only say this out of an objective perspective,” Washu sighed.
“It isn’t
all your fault, but it isn’t all Ayeka’s either.”
        Ayeka wasn’t really surprised.  She had guessed they were talking
about her
from the start.  That was just the first time they had mentioned her name.
        “Yeah, well, she doesn’t have to get so uptight about everything,”
Ryoko
retorted lamely.
        “You see, that’s the problem,” Washu said, pointing her index finger
at
her.  “You’re too stubborn to admit when you’re wrong, even when you know
you are.  The same goes for Ayeka, too.  If you could just swallow your
pride once in a while, things would be different!”
        Ayeka blinked, surprised.  Ryoko opened her mouth to say something,
but
nothing was heard.  She just stared at Washu a moment, lost for words.
        *She’s right, you know,* Ayeka thought, as though speaking to Ryoko.
*Everything she said is true.  I can tell myself this, but to admit it to
you would be...*
        Ryoko rested her head on the glass, staring at the floor.  She tried
to
hold them back, but tears were still forming in her eyes.  “You’re -- you’re
right,” she finally said.  Despite her best attempts, her voice was
faltering.  Then stronger, “you’re right, I’m
wrong.  Happy now?”
        Washu looked troubled, hearing the bitter words of her daughter.
“I’m only
trying to help, Ryoko,” she said softly.  “I can see how this is eating away
at not only you and Ayeka, but the rest of the household.”
        “It hurts, you know?”  Ryoko sniffed, brushing away her tears.
Washu
waited.  “It hurts when she -- when she calls me those names.  When she
calls me a monster.”
        Ayeka was astonished.  *I never knew she was so sensitive...* she
thought,
suddenly filled with guilt.
        “Neither of you understand each other,” Washu answered.  “And that’s
half
the problem.  If you two could just...let things go, we’d all be better
off.”
        Ryoko nodded, wiping her eyes and turning to her again, but still
staring
at the floor.
        “You can’t just keep blaming other people for your troubles,” the
scientist
continued.  “You have to realize your own mistakes, and try not to make them
again in the future.  And if someone doesn’t try to do some damage control
around here, it will never get done.”
        “Okay, okay, I get the picture,” Ryoko said, returning to her normal
self.
“Enough with the lecturing, Mom.”  Washu gasped.
        “You called me Mom!”  She squealed, hugging Ryoko around the waist.
        “What?!  I didn’t mean to -- I mean, I didn’t say --” Ryoko
stuttered “--
Just get off me!”
        “Oh, there you two are,” Ayeka said as though she had just showed
up,
stepping out.  They both looked up.  “Breakfast’s ready,” she said, pointing
back towards the door.
        “Uhhh...” Ryoko mumbled, looking at Washu for guidance.  She
returned her
eyes to Ayeka. “Uh, thanks, Ayeka.  We’ll -- be right there.”
        “All right, then,” Ayeka responded, somewhat surprised at the sudden
change.  “Hurry up, it will get cold if you wait too long.”
        They nodded and she disappeared out the door.  After a moment, Washu
let go
of Ryoko and spoke.
        “Well, better get going then, I’m starved,” she said.
        Ryoko rubbed her stomach.  “Me too,” she agreed.
        They were soon all seated at the table, passing around the food and
filling
their plates.  Ayeka soon noticed that the rice bowl hadn’t been passed
around yet.  She took it thoughtfully and studied it a moment, then held it
out to Ryoko.  Ryoko was taking a large portion of some fish at the time,
and she looked up, setting her eyes on first the bowl, then Ayeka.  All were
suddenly quiet, watching the scene.
        “...Do you want some rice, Ryoko?”

                                 ~Fin~

Author’s Notes: One can easily tell I would prefer Ayeka and Ryoko to be
friends (or at least civil to each other), and that was the whole idea of
this.  It was supposed to be something else when I started out, but it kinda
ended up like this... ^^ so tell me what you think.