The characters of the Tenchi Muyo universe are the creation and possession of AIC and Pioneer --------------- Echoes In The Mist Camille Christansen echoesinthemist@angelfire.com --------------- ~~ Chapter 4 ~~ Aeka couldn't believe it. It could NOT be Ryoko. She was dead! She had seen it with her die with her very own eyes. When they found Ryoko, she collapsed into Tenchi's arms. They said a few things, said it would be okay, wondered about what would happen, etc. Then she just died. Her eyes closed, she wasn't breathing and her body went totally limp, like she was sleeping. But this time, she'd never wake up. Then Ryo-ohki suddenly beamed Ryoko up and made her get-a-way leaving them behind. That was three years ago. "She's unconscious," Kamidake reported. "But I think she's waking up." "I know she's unconscious!" Aeka snapped. "She's, she's-" *She's unconscious! What if she was unconscious before? We weren't able to REALLY check. What if she actually lived somehow...* Aeka laid down. She was in shock even as Ryoko started to snap back to reality. *No! I refuse to believe this is happening! Tenchi was practically mine! Not only that, _I_ saved Ryoko. That monster!* Aeka didn't realize that Ryoko had woken up and was now the one seeing if she was all right. "Who the heck are you?" Ryoko asked. "R-R-Ryoko?" Aeka managed to stammer. What if it really wasn't Ryoko? Yet, the way the girl moved was like a touch of remembrance to the way Ryoko moved. And she had the same beautiful golden eyes that Ryoko and Ryoko only, had. "What?" "It can't be you, damnit! Damn you Ryoko!" Aeka cursed, a little bit too loudly. "What are you talking about!?! Who are you anyways?! Just who do you think you are? And what do you think you're doing?!" "What!?! I think I'm the one who just saved your life!" "I was fine! I could have handled myself!" "Not from where I was standing!" Aeka snorted. *Stange... she doesn't seem to know me...* "Okay, fine. I'm sorry. I guess I should thank you for rescuing me from those guys. My name is Misato Nihana. What's yours?" *It _isn't_ Ryoko! Yippeee!!! How could I have been so foolish? Ryoko can't come back to life! If she _was_ alive, she'd have come hurrying back to Tenchi right away!* Ryoko, in the mean time, wanted to slap herself. She had totally forgotten that _now_ she was Ryoko not Misato any more. It took a little while to get used to the name change. As for this woman, there was something about her that Ryoko just couldn't put her finger on... "You are most welcome," Aeka said. Her face suddenly lit up. "My name is Princess Aeka Jurai of the Juraian Empire." "Princess Aeka?" Ryoko repeated. *The name seemed to ring a bell...* "Yes. Why? Is there something wrong?" She looked up and down at Aeka. She was awfully familiar though Ryoko couldn't put her finger on it. There was something about her purple hair..."Aeka? Oh my god, it's you!" Ryoko was starting to remember now. The little princess of Jurai. "Well, of course it's me? Who were you expecting to rescue you? Superman?" Aeka felt pleased with herself for watching the earthling movie. "I see you have heard of me. I assume that you are probably from another planet, then." "Heard of you?! Of course I have!" Ryoko said, enraged. "Who hasn't?!" Aeka was flattered all the more. Her inflated ego made it impossible to see that Ryoko was absolutely enraged with her presence. Ryoko backed up even more. It was her turn to be in shock. There was no where else to go. Quietly, she whispered, "Washu." * * * * * "Go on, tell me you were wrong." Washu smiled happily. Ryoko growled and turned away stubbornly. She could feel Washu smiling behind her. Ryoko sighed. "Fine! I was wrong and you were right! There! Are you satisfied?!" "Honestly, yes. So you've met the princess." "I wish I hadn't! I wish I never remembered her!" "Well, it's too late for that. You're going to remember everything soon enough, anyway." "But I had permanent amnesia. What happened?" "When you fell "died" three years ago, our link was totally disconnected. But when you came here to Kurashiki, everything started to light up again and our link was restored. But it still was very weak. I could hardly read anything of what happened." "The accident!" Ryoko realized. "That did something, didn't it?" "Yes. Our connection was restored even more. Plus, that's what started to undo your amnesia." "Then there was the attack in the kitchen. You were able to communicate with me again." "You don't know how hard it was for me to do that dream message. The most difficult one that I did was actually controlling your hand and leading it to the knife. And when I told you to jump at the cliff, that was the end of our communication for the time being. I think I bent the rules of communication a little too much." "I can't believe you made me jump. You are absolutely crazy!" "In other words, I showed you how to save yourself from Rosco. Do you still think I'm crazy?" "Sure I do." Ryoko laughed. "But I owe you one. Thanks." "My theory of what happened three years ago was you fell unconscious. But just before that, you summoned Ryo-ohki to make a get-a-way. We never had time to make sure you were really dead." "What happened after that?" "After that, I don't know. None of your memory says anything. Besides, it's a theory. I looked at what you knew and what I knew. I put it together and came up with a conclusion." "So where's my Ryo-ohki? What's my relationship to Desomitsu and Rosco and their gang?" "I don't know. To learn we have to wait for all your memory to come back." "There's no time for that. Can't we speed up the remembering process?" "Well, we could go inside your brain." "I am not getting this Washu! I don't want anyone tapping into my brain! And what I don't get most of all is: Why is everyone after me?! It's always me! Me! Me! I really don't think I can deal anymore!" "Down, girl! Your hot temper is what led you to met Aeka and Rosco." Ryoko growled again. Washu continued. "We go inside your subconscious mind through my advanced virtual reality and unlock your "secrets." But we'll need someone to help us." "Why? We don't need anyone else!" "You can't go in there alone. I'll be monitoring here in the real world so I won't be able to join you." Ryoko hesitated. "Oh all right. Fine. Who can go?" "How about Sasami?" "Who's Sasami?" "The second princess of the Jurai. Sister to Aeka. Light blue hair, freckles, pink eyes, Tsunami, always happy for some strange reason....does it ring a bell?" "Okay! Okay! I remember... um, no, too little and inexperienced. Not the type we're looking for. " "How about Aeka?" "Who's Aeka?" "Sasami's sister." "Who's Sasami?" "The second princess of the mighty Juraian empire. Light blue hair, freckles, pink eyes, Tsunami, always happy for some strange reason..." "Right. I know. I don't want Sasami." "I said, Aeka." "Who's Aeka?" "Sister of Sasami!" "I don't want Sasami." "I said Aeka!" "Oh Aeka! I hate that little bitch prancing around as if she were some kind of princess..." "She is a princess." "Really? Oh yeah, I remember. So, what about her again?" "I'm going on with the list. How about Tenchi?" "Tenchi?" Ryoko repeated. She closed her eyes and got quiet all of a sudden. "Um... No." "No? Why not?" "Just... no. Go on with the list." "Okay... Nobiyuki?" "Who?" "The dad of Tenchi." "Is he the one who locked me up in the cave for 700 years?" "No, that's Yosho. Nobiyuki is the pervert." "Then absolutely not! That guy would just cause trouble." "Yosho?" "Not Yosho. I'm talking about Nobiyuki. Nobiyouki would just cause..." "I mean, do you want Yosho?" Ryoko winced. "Are you sure he's the type? I mean, well, you know. Yosho's Yosho. I don't feel comfortable with him in my brain. He's all trust, sure, but..." "You're right. Not him. Mihoshi?" "Are you kidding me? The blond ditz? Never! By the way, was she finally kicked out of the galaxy police?" "No." "Damn! Then she's still with partners with Kiyone? I pity that girl." "No, they aren't partners anymore." "Oh, well, good! "Yeah, it's about time." "So, who else is there?" "Kiyone." "Perfect." * * * * * "What do you think, sir?" Hakusana asked the commander as they both watched Mihoshi. She had just tripped and pushed a cart over sending it flying to a desk which toppled over into a another desk... "I think Mihoshi's absence for two weeks would be a good break for this place." "I agree," she answered. She sighed looking at the office. Nothing was left untouched. "Mihoshi is some piece of work." The commander stared at Mihoshi. It was unbelievable. How could someone be so... He shook out of it then looked at Hakusana. "Lieutenant! Stop gawking." "Sorry sir." Hakusana couldn't help but smile. "Now, down to business. You know that the Princess Aeka and Lord Tenchi of Jurai will be coming back. They have asked for escort and I want to put you in charge of that." "But commander, I'm a lieutenant! Don't you think escorting members of the Jurai royal family should be assigned to someone else... say a detective. No offense to Juraian Royal Family, but there are much worse cases that just escorting. And what happened to their all mighty Juraian forces? I really don't think they'll be needing us..." "You're babbling, Hakusana." "Sorry, sir." "There's a catch. You know Desomitsu Saito?" "The Scorpion? Of course I do! He's like only, the universe's most wanted criminal today. I also happened to receive a file from you to take his case." She paused. "Oh my god! I get it. Is he after the royal family?" "Yes, Hakusana. This is the case I want you to take. I gave you a lead. Make sure nothing happens." "Nothing will happen with me on this." Hakusana started to leave. Just as she got to the door the commander called her again. "Oh by the way lieutenant." "Hmm?" "You might want to ask for Lieutenant Kiyone's help too." "Kiyone?!" Hakusana cried. *That girl?! I was third best in my graduating class. Second, if it hadn't been for her!* She looked up at the commander. "No, I think I can handle it by myself, thanks." "No actually, you should. Pair up with her. Go tell her then both of you report to me in 5 hours." "But sir..." "No buts lieutenant. This is a serious case. Serious cases call for serious action and good men. Or women." He added. "Tell her, Hakusana. It would be a good opportunity for both of you too." Hakusana nodded but it was obvious that she was frustrated. She took the door and slammed it. She didn't care if the commander called her back. But he didn't. She stormed through the halls and everyone stepped a side. *I hate that Kiyone! I hate her! I hate her! I hate...* CRASH!!! "Oh I'm sorry! Let me give you a hand. Oh! Where did my cube go? It should be here... no, here... no, here... gosh, I don't even know what this is! Is it this? No, this?" Hakusana clenched her hard tightly. And said with an irritated tone, "Mihoshi... WHAT are you doing?" "Oh well, I'm going to spend my day off around my best friend Kiyone! And I know she’s going to be so happy about that." * * * * * "You're what!?!?!" Kiyone demanded. Mihoshi answered, “Oh well, I'm going to spend my day off around you, Kiyone! Maybe I can help you with your work. I have two weeks actually.” "No you are not, going to spend it with me, thank you very much!" "But, but Kiyone!!!" Hakusana was leaning on the wall with her arms folded across her chest and watched the two argue. "I have enough work as it is." "Then I'll help you!" Mihoshi picked up a pile of papers. "Whoops." How cliché, she slipped and dropped them. "Mihoshi! It will take me at least an hour to fix this up!" "Well, you have 5 hours, Kiyone," Hakusana interrupted. Kiyone glared at Hakusana. "And come to think of it, why are you here? Who says I only have 5 hours?" "The commander does," she replied dryly. "You're not going to like this. I didn't like it either. We're going to work on a case together." Kiyone snorted. "Sorry, can't do. I'm already working on the Scorpion's case. In fact, the commander informed me I might be getting a partner if that person would agree." Hakusana's mouth dropped. "What?! You mean you don't kno... well, I'm the partner!" "No way!" "Way. I'll be escorting the Royal family back to Jurai from Earth. Desomitsu might be there." "Oh I had that report somewhere here..." "Haven't you heard, Kiyone?" Mihoshi spoke up. "Tenchi and Aeka are going to get married." THUG!!! "They're what?!" Kiyone asked. Hakusana shook her head. "Seems like bimbo here doesn't know the story. No, they are not getting married... yet. I hear the princess has eyes for him. As far as I know, if Aeka wants Tenchi, she will get him sooner or later. " "You have no idea," Kiyone said, under her breath. "So why were you put on the case? And when?" Hakusana asked. "It's a long story. You know Desomitsu attacked Princess Aeka and company three years ago?" "Yes, I know." "Well, me and Mihoshi were part of her group." "Are you fucking with me? If this is your idea of some sick joke..." "Oh, it's no joke!" Mishohi interrupted. "In fact, one of our members even died. Poor Ryoko!" "Ryoko?" Hakusana repeated. The name seemed very familiar. Then it clicked in. "The space pirate Ryoko? The one who attacked Jurai? But what was she doing on your side? Wasn't she mortal enemies with the princess?" "I know it sounds crazy. But like I said," Kiyone sighed, "it's a long story." * * * * * "Where do you suppose she went?" Aeka asked looking around. "She's not here," Asaka informed her. "It seemed like she teleported." "Strange, I could have sworn she was Ryoko," Kamidake said. "Oh, nonsense, Kamidake. She had straight light brown hair. And she was perfectly sweet to me. And one thing I pride myself in is as a very good judge of character." Kamidake and Asaka looked at each other. Then they faced to princess again. "Well... whatever you say princess." "Yes. Whatever I say goes." "Yes, mam!" "I think it's time we got back to the house, don't you agree?" "Yes, mam." Immediately, the two guardian logs turned around and started to head toward the Misaki residence. Aeka said suddenly, "Actually, you go ahead. I will go look around. And not a word of this to anyone." "But, mam, what about Rosco and his band?" "I said go! I can take care of myself." "Yes, mam!" And with that, they were gone. Aeka sighed wondering if she had been a bit too harsh on them. But that didn't matter. Right now, she wanted to go see Tenchi. After all, after she'd get Tenchi to propose to her, both of them would be true fiancees. * * * * * It took about 15 minutes to cross from her place in the woods to the fields. She wasn't sure if Tenchi was going to start practicing kendo already or still be working. Hopefully, she would catch him in the fields. "Lord Tenchi?" She called. Her hopes were dying down. The fields were bare. She called once more. "Lord Tenchi?" Unexpectedly, a hand shot out on Aeka's shoulder. Akari turned around and screamed. Aeka took a couple of deep breaths. "Lord Tenchi! You scared me." Tenchi kept staring at her, his expression was as hard as stone. "Look, we need to talk." Tenchi nodded and took a few steps toward her. He smiled an evil smile. Behind him, he held a familiar knife that was used on Akari. * * * * * 6 hours later, Kiyone and Hakusana were back in Kiyone's office. They decided to use it since all of Desomitsu's files and research work that Kiyone made was already there and not it Hakusana's office. Kiyone was actually kind of happy that Hakusana was her partner. It was much better than having to work with Mihoshi though Mihoshi still hung around the office. But she was still irritated with Hakusana. Hakusana was irritated at a lot of things. Most of all, there was Mihoshi for delaying her work. She almost pitied Kiyone for Mihoshi. But she also hated Kiyone because of their competitive reasons. There was the commander for playing matchmaker to get Kiyone and her to work together. Then, she was angry at Desomitsu for all his heinous crimes, therefore giving them work. The list went on. Mihoshi was all care free. She didn't seem to notice the two lieutenants glaring at her as they worked. She exclaimed, "Wow, Kiyone! You have such a nice big office!" "Yes," Kiyone agreed not looking up from her notes. "You even have a coffee maker!" "Yes." "And I saw a secretary outside!" "Yes." "You even have your own..." Hakusana slammed her binder shut and stood up. "I can't take this anymore! Mihoshi, get out right this instant! The door is right this way!" She barked and pointed toward the door. "You want me to leave?" Mihoshi asked. "There's a faster way!" Hakusana pointed toward the window. "And I could even help throw you out!" She took Mihoshi by the hand and pulled her to the door. "Okay! I'm going! I'm going!" Hakusana slammed the door behind her. She looked at Kiyone with a victorious smile. "I can't believe you did that." Kiyone shook her head. Then she smiled. "And am I ever so thankful to you!" Hakusana laughed. "Amazing! How could you stand her for all these years? It must have taken a lot of patience!" "I couldn't stand her! I went crazy when she was around." They both laughed again and started talking about the silly things Mihoshi would do. "And you wouldn't believe what happened this morning!" "Was everything destroyed?" "Basically!" Hakusana laughed. Her laugh turned into a giggle. Her giggle turned into a frown. She had almost forgotten that she hated Kiyone. Kiyone stopped laughing when she realized Hakusana was frowning at her. She frowned too. They were getting along fine. She'd drop the grudge if Hakusana would. Of course, she wasn't the one who graduated third in their class instead of second. *She's okay, that Kiyone. If only she wasn't so bad during graduation class.* Hakusana thought. She coughed. "Let's get back to work." "Yeah." Kiyone sat down, irritated. A few moments after, all that could be heard was Hakusana's pen writing and the tapping of Kiyone's nails. The tension between them was really tight. Knock! Knock! Knock! Kiyone almost fell out of the chair, surprised by the knocking. She stood up and stretched. Whoever it was, he would be giving them a small break. Either that, or there would be more information to the case. Meaning, more work. "Come in!" Kiyone called as she straightened her blouse. Mihoshi came in and both lieutenants groaned. Kiyone thought, *More work for sure!* "Mihoshi!" Hakusana shouted. "What are you doing in here? I thought I told you to leave." "I know you told me to leave," Mihohsi spoke up suddenly. "Besides, I'm not here to talk to you. I have something to tell Kiyone and it's none of your business." Hakusana was about to open her mouth again when she saw Kiyone hold up her hand to stop her. "I'll take it from here, Hakusana. I'll be back in a moment. This better be good Mihoshi and quick too." "No problem. It's only um, 4, 5, 6, 7 words? No 8? 9? Wait let me count again... uh... 1...2...3..." "Wow! We're impressed, Mihoshi! You can count." Hakusana snarled. Kiyone eyed Hakusana and led Mihoshi out into the hall. She took a deep breath hoping not to loose her patience. "Okay, hurry up! I'm on a very important case..." "Right, well... Washu wants us to come back to earth, nowish...kinda." Hakusana peeped out of the door. "Washu? The greatest scientific genius?" Kiyone started. "Well, it's a..." "A long story? Yes, I know. Well, maybe she has something for us. Let's just bring our work there. We're escorting them anyway in a week right?" Hakusana and Kiyone went back into their office and started gathering up their research work and a few things when Hakusana asked, "By the way, who's spacecraft are we taking? Mine or yours or... Mihoshi's?" "That won't be necessary," Kiyone said. "What do you mean?" "I mean..." "We're ready!!" Mihoshi interrupted Kiyone. --------------- End of Chapter 4