Disclaimer:  This stuff is owned by other people, except for the stuff that 
isn't.  If you own the stuff I've used, please do not sue me.  Chances are 
you already have one hell of a lot more money than I do.

The Legacy of Kain - Chapter 10 (Realizations)

	Night fell with a particularly sickening thud that evening.  The bright, 
cheery fall day had given way to oppressive heat in the late afternoon, the 
air becoming muggy and heavy as storm clouds began to appear on the horizon. 
  As the last of the daylight faded, the atmosphere around the house was 
thick from heat and the promise of rain.
	It fit Tenchi's mood perfectly.  He sat on the couch, blearily staring out 
the glass windows as the first few drops fell.
	"I think," he murmured quietly to himself, "that I have made a really big 
mistake."
	There was a sharp crack of thunder, and the heavens opened up.
	"Good evening, Lord Tenchi," came a soft voice from behind him.  Tenchi 
turned to see Ayeka walking down the stairs, clothed in her Jurian battle 
dress.  He leapt to his feet.
	"Ayeka!  I - what - is everything..." Ayeka giggled.
	"Everything is all right," she said, smiling.  She walked to the door and 
slid it open, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.  She turned to 
Tenchi, who was still standing in a defensive stance, looking at her oddly.  
"Would you care to take a walk with me?"
	Tenchi blinked.  He straightened, scratching the back of his head as he 
walked to stand beside her.  He looked out and blinked again.
	"Um," he said.  "It's raining out."  He felt a little silly.  'It's raining 
out' was something of an understatement - the soft patter of a few moments 
ago had steadily increased, building until the storm outside was a deluge of 
the force that occurs perhaps once or twice in a year.  The lake was 
completely obscured through the sheets of water that fell from the sky, and 
the roar of the winds was nearly enough to drown out their voices.
	Ayeka smiled a small, secret smile.  "I know," she said.  She held out her 
hand.  "Trust me?"
	Tenchi's brow furrowed.  After a moment of hesitation, he reached out and 
took her hand as they stepped outside.  It took him a moment or two for the 
fact that he was still completely dry to register.  He looked up, blinked, 
and turned to Ayeka, who grinned as they walked towards the lake.
	"You should see the look on your face," she chuckled.  Tenchi opened his 
mouth to ask, but Ayeka spoke before he got the chance.  "A low level force 
field...just enough to keep out the rain."
	Tenchi realized abruptly that they were still holding hands.  He decided, 
just for the moment, to pretend he hadn't noticed.
	"Do you always do this when it's raining?"
	"I used to."  They arrived at the lake and stood watching the patterns of 
rain across the water, usually so still and tranquil...well, except when 
Mihoshi came in for a landing.  "It was something I did frequently on Jurai. 
  There are many things to be said for palace life, but... sometimes...I 
just wanted some time alone.  When it rained, the courtyards and gardens 
would be abandoned by the armies of nobles and servants."  She reached out a 
hand.  There was a soft ripple in the air as it extended beyond the field.  
Ayeka smiled, let the drops of water play over her fingers.  "For a little 
while, I could just be Ayeka.  When I was younger, I would pretend I was a 
commoner, or an adventurer...anything, really.  Later...I found it helped me 
to think, when I had a decision to make."  Her smile vanished.  "Like 
tonight."
	A concerned frown crossed Tenchi's face.  "Ayeka...are you sure everything 
is all right?" he said, worry in his voice.  Ayeka sighed and moved a little 
closer to him.
	"Not really."  She turned to face him, clasping his other hand.  "I have 
been considering much these past weeks.  Tenchi, I..." she sighed, then a 
determined look crossed her face.  "After Ryoko attacked Jurai, and my 
brother left...it was made clear to me that if he - didn't return, the 
Empire would fall to me.  My training was doubled, I was never allowed to be 
alone, and...my walks in the rain were forbidden.  One night I slipped out 
of my room and went to the gardens, avoiding the guards.  I felt that there 
would be no more chances for me to ever truly be myself again, and I...said 
goodbye to Ayeka.  I buried her.  After that night I became only what they 
wanted of me - the dutiful princess, correct in thought and deed."  She 
looked down.
	"Ayeka, I-"
	"Tenchi, please.  If I do not say this all at once I shall never have the 
courage to say it at all."  Ayeka took a deep breath.  "I have spent 
hundreds of years being the crown princess. No matter my personal feelings, 
I have done what was required of me by and for Jurai."  She looked up at 
him.  "I did not realize, for too long, that you have freed me from that.  
Here, I can be Ayeka again."  She shook her head, tears forming in the 
corners of her eyes.  "I...I have done so much wrong.  I know that I have 
hurt everyone here, trying to force them to become the Jurian 
ideal...and...in forcing Kevin to leave, I fear...that I have shattered this 
household.  This family."
	"Ayeka, don't say that!" Tenchi said, grasping her shoulders and looking 
into her eyes.  "Maybe it WAS a mistake, but it wasn't yours alone.  We all 
voted, remember?  You can't blame yourself."
	"Perhaps." she sniffed.  "I do not know.  I do not know if it is too late 
to repair what has been done, but...there is one thing that it is not too 
late for, and I will not let it pass me by.  The crown princess of Jurai 
could not say this, but...I can."  She looked up.  Tenchi found himself 
frozen at the new look he saw in her eyes.  "I love you, Tenchi.  Whatever 
happens, whomever you choose, I want you to know that I love you."  She 
leaned forward, touching his cheek lightly, and kissed him on the lips 
lightly, just brushing his lips with her own.
	She backed away a little.  Tenchi looked as though he had been poleaxed.  
She turned very red suddenly.  "Well.  I.  Er.  I think Sasami wanted me to 
help her with dinner.  I shall see you later, then."  And with that, she 
turned and walked quickly back to the house.
	Once outside the protective sphere of Ayeka's shield, Tenchi was soaked to 
the bone in a matter of seconds.  He didn't appear to notice.  He simply 
stared at the house.  After a moment, his hand came up, his fingers brushing 
across his lips absently, still staring at the spot where Ayeka had stood.
	He didn't notice the cyan-haired figure that rose from behind a nearby 
rock, and, due to the rain, didn't hear the soft -whummm- as it teleported 
away.

	"Washu?"
	The lab was, to all appearances, abandoned.  Machines clicked, whirred and 
beeped softly to themselves as they worked, doing Washu only knows what.
	"All right, Washu-CHAN, where are you?"
	Her voice echoed in the vast space of the lab.  Ryoko, staggering slightly, 
made her way to Washu's workspace, which consisted of her floating cushion 
and her holotop.  Ryoko peered at it.  Little crab sprites wandered back and 
forth across the screen aimlessly.  She hissed in frustration.
	She slumped down on the cushion, gingerly massaging her legs.  "Dammit, 
Mom, I need to talk to you," she muttered quietly to herself.
	"Well, why didn't you say so?" piped a voice from behind her.  Ryoko leaped 
up and immediately fell over.
	"Hmm," said Washu, walking over to where Ryoko lay.  She helped her up and 
sat her on the cushion.  "Been indulging in a little sake, have we?"
	"No, actually."
	"So where have you been?"  Washu reached over Ryoko's shoulder and tapped a 
few keys on the holotop.  A black hole appeared in the air, discharging what 
appeared to be a small cellular phone.  She flipped it open, revealing a 
scanner, and held it towards Ryoko.
	"Huh.  Your legs are in bad shape.  What exactly have you been up to?"
	"Thinking," Ryoko said curtly.
	"Well, that's a first."
	"Washu."
	"Sorry, sorry..." A small rod extended from the scanner.  Washu touched it 
to Ryoko's legs.  There was a slight crackle of energy, and Ryoko winced.  
"That should help the stiffness a little."
	"Thanks."
	Long moments of silence ticked past.
	"You know, you're being pretty quiet for someone who needed to talk so 
badly," Washu observed, a second pillow materializing under her as she sat 
down.
	"Sorry," muttered Ryoko.  She took a deep breath.  "It's been a while since 
I talked to anyone.  I was down in the cave.  I haven't moved in three 
weeks."
	"Thought as much."  Washu curled her feet up under her.  "Go on."
	Ryoko narrowed her eyes at her mother.  "Hang on.  Why are you being so 
polite?  Usually you just yank what you want to know out of my head."  Washu 
sighed.
	"Contrary to popular belief, I do have some sense of privacy, y'know," she 
replied in an aggrieved tone.  "I blocked my end of the link some time ago.  
Mostly because of what I felt from you the night Kevin left."
	"Oh."  Ryoko looked down.  "Listen, I..." she shook her head.  "I just saw 
Ayeka and Tenchi kissing."
	Washu arched an eyebrow.  "And the house is still standing?  I'm 
impressed."
	"Dammit, Washu-!" snarled Ryoko.  She made as if to stand, when the anger 
faded from her face.  She composed herself.
	"Sorry.  I'm not very good at this."
	"Take your time."
	Ryoko took a deep breath.  "Before he left, Kevin and I talked a lot.  
About the kind of people we were.  Defenses we had.  That sort of thing."  
She sighed.  "Before...well, I would have demolished the house.  Now...I 
think I want to talk about it.  I don't know what to feel.  I think it's the 
sort of thing you talk about with...with your mother."
	Washu's eyes sparkled with suspicious moisture.  "Oh, Ryoko," she breathed. 
  She stood and gathered her wayward daughter into her arms.
	"Mom," whispered Ryoko, and began to cry.  Washu held her, crooning an old, 
old lullaby until she stopped.  She sat back, wiping her eyes.
	"I...started to think about things on the day that Kevin left.  I couldn't 
understand how his leaving upset me so much.  I mean, he's a cool guy and 
all, but...the way I felt...it was like something had died inside me.  The 
way I would feel if something happened to..."
	"To Tenchi?"
	Ryoko sighed.  "Yeah.  And I...couldn't understand how I could feel that 
way about more than one person, you know?  I thought that I would never love 
anyone as much as Tenchi.  I thought I would want him near me forever."
	"Don't you?" asked Washu.
	"Yes," said Ryoko firmly.
	"But you didn't destroy the house when you saw Ayeka kissing him."
	"Well...no.  That's what confuses me," said Ryoko.  "I felt...I don't know, 
kind of wistful.  A little sad.  That's it."
	"Hmm," said Washu.  "Wanna know what I think?"
	"All right."
	"Well.  Let's look at the facts, shall we?" she said, ignoring Ryoko's 
stifled groan.  "First, you were born.  You were only a few hours old when 
Kagato caught me unawares, and then for the next few hundred years you just 
killed people...now, I designed you to be the perfect warrior, but I also 
intended to raise you as my daughter...so you have emotions, and those 
emotions went through the same stages of development as any other sentient 
being.  You needed love, and nurturing, and what you got was slavery and 
death.  Not a happy childhood by anyone's standards."
	Ryoko just nodded absently.
	"Then you were imprisoned.  After seven hundred years, you learned to 
project yourself out of the cave, and the first thing you saw was a child.  
A child being given love the way you never were.  A child that wasn't afraid 
of you, one that didn't see you as a tool.  You watched him grow, was with 
him during his happy moments and sad ones.  And then, one day, he came and 
released you.  You attacked him, because that was all you knew - fighting.  
He defeated you and then - he actually felt badly about it!  That clinched 
it.  You fell in love with him.  Right?"
	"Right."
	"Wrong!"
	"What?"
	Washu smiled.  "It took even me, the greatest scientific genius in the 
universe, a little while to figure this one out, but I got it.  The problem 
is this:  The fine distinction between loving someone and being IN love with 
them."
	"What in the galaxy are you talking about, Mom?" asked Ryoko, mystified.
	"All right.  Take Sasami.  You care for her?"
	"Yes."
	"Enjoy being with her?  Want to protect her from harm?"
	"Yes."
	"Would kill to defend her?"
	"In a heartbeat."
	"Would you do this and that and this with her?"
	"Ugh!  Washu, that's disgusting!"
	"Well, okay.  Bad example, maybe.  But I think the way you feel for her is 
the way you feel for Tenchi...the kind of love that a sister would have, or 
a mother.  When you met Tenchi, you had never felt any kind of love before.  
Only natural that you should be confused."
	"I see," said Ryoko, staring at the floor.  "And...Ayeka?"
	"I would imagine that she feels for Tenchi what you feel for Kevin."
	Washu was treated to the sight of her daughter, the most feared space 
pirate in the galaxy, turning beet red.
	"I...um."
	Washu cackled.  An annoyed look crossed Ryoko's face.
	"All right, all right, knock it off, wouldja?"
	Washu sobered suddenly.  "So.  What's your next move?"
	Ryoko stood.  "I'm going to find him," she said, and disappeared.
	Washu waited.  After a few seconds, Ryoko reappeared and looked around her. 
  "What in the hell-?"
	Washu, sighing, made her way to her holotop and began tapping at the keys.  
"You kids.  I really wish that you would think a little before acting.  
You're going to need a few things before you leave, so I set up an 
interdiction field.  Hold out your hand."
	Ryoko did.  There was a small flash, and a piece of paper appeared in her 
hand.  Looking, she found it was a picture of Kevin.
	"Seems that the Anajurai have something akin to a natural cloak," said 
Washu, still typing.  "I can't find him with scans, so you'll just have to 
go and look for him in person.  That should help.  Also, your clothes are 
all wrong for the west.  Now, we need an ensemble that'll explain away your 
hair...ah, that's better."
	She snapped her fingers.  Suddenly, Ryoko found herself dressed in a pair 
of combat pants, Doc Martens laced up to her knees, and a tank top that read 
"Girls kick ass".  A pair of sunglasses materialized out of thin air and 
settled on her face.  Washu turned around and grinned at her.  "Not bad, not 
bad.  One punk girl, courtesy of Washu Fashions, Inc.  Only one thing left."
	Ryoko examined herself in the reflection of one of the specimen tanks.  
Weird, she concluded.  Oh well.  When on Jurai, do as the Jurians...  
"What's that?" she said absently.
	Washu sighed.  "You've still got a ways to go, kid."
	Ryoko turned to look at her.  "What?"
	"Ryoko.  If you were Tenchi, how would you be feeling right now?"
	She frowned.  "Tenchi?  I...oh."  Ryoko sighed.  "I guess he's probably 
freaking out, wondering what he's going to tell me."  She grinned.  
"Probably fearing for his life, too."
	Washu marched up to her and waved a finger in her face.  "Ryoko, I 
absolutely forbid you to play with him, all right?"
	"Just a little?"
	"NO!"
	"Jeez.  You're absolutely no fun.  All right, I'll talk to him, no tricks." 
  Ryoko vanished.  She reappeared after a moment.  "And...thanks.  Mom."  
She vanished again.  Washu sighed.
	"That's my girl," she whispered, and walked away, heading for the bowels of 
the lab, vividly relieved that Ryoko had never thought to ask why she had 
voted Kevin out in the first place.  She shook her head.  I need a little 
something to take my mind off all this, she thought. Hmm.  Maybe I'll go see 
if I can find out what happened to Mihoshi...

	The interior of the Yagami bore little resemblance to what it had once 
been.  Gone were the piles of clutter and the results of Mihoshi's somewhat 
unorthodox ideas about interior decorating.  There was a single command 
chair, almost a throne, at the far end.  Along each side of the room 
cryo-stasis units had been installed.  On one, the 'occupied' indicator 
winked on and off in a steady rhythm.
	The black-robed man finished adjusting one last circuit.  He sat back and 
smiled, a small, satisfied smirk.
	"Activate program one," he said.
	Yukinojo's head, half of the paneling ripped away and wires dangling, 
whirred to life.  It pointed itself, with some difficulty, at the man.
	"Wh-who..." he stuttered.
	The dark man grinned.  "Mmm?  Oh, you can call me Hunter."  The smile 
widened.  "Although I believe that if you check your core program you'll 
find that a more appropriate term might be 'Master', Yukinojo.  Now.  If 
you'll kindly set course for Earth, we can be on our way."
	Yukinojo's voice ground and stuttered for a moment, like fused gears.  At 
last, he said "Y...yes.  Master."
	The Yagami hovered off the ground, turned, and shot off into the sky.
	Hunter stretched, sighed, and allowed himself another smile.
	It was going to be a very good day.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:  Up next - harsh words and heavy drinkin'!  What could top 
that?  Any comments, criticisms, or frogs named "Kipper" should be sent to 
kakapo101@hotmail.com.  Cheers.