Author's notes: This tale takes place within the OAV reality, so keepthat in perspective. Further, I believe that I should add that this fic contains elements which could be classified as 'dark'. It is not a completely dark fic persay, and there are indeed light hearted moments, I just felt that I should warn you. So if you only like fics that are happy happy the whole time, and you find the concept of mental angst and depression to be completely unappealing to you...don't read.
Quote of the Day: "Do you want to know what the greatest and also the
worst device that humans ever invented is? It's television. Television
controls people by bombarding them with information until they lose their
sense of reality. Now television itself has become the new religion. Television
has created a race of people who can believe instantly in dramatic fantasies
and can be controlled by tiny dots of light."
- Ronny Spangen. (Cowboy Bebop)
Though you try to drain my mind
With all your foolish lies
I am fragile but powerful
No need to deny
Listen to my deed
I know your scheme
Is just a constant bluff
I need to get away
From this game you like to play
To be free
As free as a bird can be
Got a goal to reach
Be free
As free as a bird can be
Though you may not believe it
"Come and going as you please"
Was never in the line
Wining, dining, and amplifying
Need to go and shine
Destined to complete
My endless need
Before the dawn erupts
I'm gonna hide away
Got a creed that beats my greed
To be free
As free as a bird can be
Got a goal to reach
Be free
As free as a bird can be
You better believe it
I am free
As free as a bird can be
Got a goal to reach
Be free
As free as a bird can be
Although you may not believe it
If you try to drain my mind
You'll wind up hypnotized
I am fragile yet powerful
Don't think otherwise
I'm free to make it
I'm free to make it
I'm free to make it
I'm free to make it
-- "To be Free" -- from 'Sol Bianca'
Washu managed to slowly pry herself off of
the chair in Nobuyuki's study, and rubbed her back as she did. This time...it
wouldn't be so easy to win back Ryoko's trust...if she ever could. Could
she? Probably not.
Washu sighed, and made for the doorway. Each
step felt heavier and heavier, her entire body being weighed down by the
emotional consequences of her totally blatant and unacceptable actions.
Washu rolled her shoulders, then opened the doorway.
She closed the door gently behind herself,
and trudged down the long hallway to the staircase at the end. As she walked,
there seemed to be an overwhelming sense of gloom in the air. Although
the hallway was completely empty, it seemed as though the very essence
of misery had manifested itself in the walls and floors that stood in Washu's
bath, which beckoned her. A symphony of gloom, playing their melodies which
causes those who listen to fall further and further into the throes of
despair.
Washu shook her head fiercely for a moment,
then quickened her pace away from the hallway towards the stairs. There
wasn't anything there, Washu knew, but she wanted to get away from it nonetheless.
This one incident had made Washu think about things in ways she never had.
And she didn't necessarily like it.
Washu descended the steps, to be greeted by
Sasami.
"Hello, Washu-san! Breakfast is ready!" she
greeted cheerfully.
Washu shook her head. "If it's all the same
to you Sasami-chan, I'm not very hungry today. Just...save mine for later,
okay?"
Sasami sighed. "Only Mihoshi and Aeka are
eating today. Where is everyone?" she wondered to herself as she walked
off back into the kitchen.
Washu sighed. There, she did it again. She
knew that Sasami took it as a personal insult whenever someone didn't want
to eat her cooking, but Washu declined anyway.
<What is happening to me?>
Washu was about to make her way into her lab,
but decided against it. There was no way she wanted to go back in there
just yet. The very sight of the black metal of the floor to her monsterous
laboritory was right now a sight that she really had no desire to see.
The black metal reminded her of the blackness that had been slowly gaining
a dominion over her actions. A creeping necrosis which was beginning to
consume the depths of her very soul.
Washu shook her head. <Best not to think
about it, I suppose.> she decided.
Washu plopped down in front of the couch,
and turned on the television, hoping that it would distract her from her
pains.
The program appeared to be near the end, due
to the time. Washu watched with an attempted interest. The clouds were
black and thunderous, as they hung luminously over a chapel, which was
swarmed by ravens, all crowing incesently. A song played in the background,
heavy with organ, and english lyrics.
Washu continued to watch as a cloaked individual
crested a stone cobbled hill, and ascended towards the chapel, as the singer
continued.
"I don't feel a thing,
and I stop remembering,
days are just like moments, turned to hours..."
The man in the trench coat walked into the
large chapel, with his hands in his pockets. The camera quickly showed
a view of another man's face, which was held in a sneer. The man continued
to walk unabated into the chapel, with pink, iridiscent light protruding
through the stained glass window, as the song continued.
"Mother used to say,
if you want you'll find a way,
But mother never danced to fire showers...
Walk! In the Rain! In the Rain! In the Rain!..."
The man came to a stop at the end of the row
of pews, and looked at his surroundings. The man wore a blue suit underneath
his trench coat. His hair was frizzy and somewhat spiky. His attention
became fixed on the other man who was walking towards him at the other
end of the pews, the sounds of his boots resounding throughout the chapel.
When he spoke, it was in a deep raspy voice.
"When angels are forced out of heaven...they
become devils."
Suddenly, Washu became very interested in
this program.
"You agree, don't you Spike?" he said as a
large bird flew down from the rafters, and landed on his shoulder.
The man called Spike sneered. "I'm just watching
a bad dream I'll never wake up from."
"I'll wake you up right now."
"What's your rush, Viscous? After all, it's
been a long time."
The man called Viscous chuckled. "Are you
pleading for your life?"
"Hardly. Begging doesn't work on you, remember?
Even if it's coming from a man who took you in and made you what you are."
"Perhaps. Be he was a beast who lost his fangs,
Spike. That's why he had to die. And that's why you have to die."
Their conversation was interupted by the sound
of a woman struggling. Spike pulled his gun out of his jacket and pointed
it straight at another man holding a similar pistol to the girl's head.
He smirked.
"Now...we'd like you to drop the gun slowly."
Spike didn't move even in the slightest.
"What's wrong? If you don't comply..."
The camera zoomed in on Spike's eye just as
the song was ending. The moment the last note ended, Spike pulled the trigger,
the bullet flying straight into the man's head, killing him.
Washu watched as a great gun fight ensued
between Spike and other men. She sighed, as her distraction started to
lose it grip, and her thoughts went back to that of what she done earlier.
<How long am I going to think about this?
This is crazy!>
<Why the hell did I even do that in the
first place?>
Washu shook her head, and tried to think of
something else, to act as a supplement to the violent gunfight on television
as a distraction. Thoughts of basically anything would be a certain welcome
from the repose Washu was feeling.
<Clay...>
Washu grinned a little when she realized she
was on to something.
<Who wanted me? And why?>
<What did Clay have to do with them?>
Washu watched and pondered as the two men
who were speaking earlier were now on a catwalk in front of a large stained
glass window having somewhat of a duel. Washu sighed and crossed her arms,
wracking her brain for anyone she'd pissed off in the last 20,000 years.
<Your daughter...>
<Dammit, can't I even go two minutes without
being reminded of that?>
Washu was interupted from her thoughts as
the couch bounced a little, the exact resonance of someone sitting down.
Washu looked to her left to see Aeka sitting down, looking at the television.
Washu couldn't decide whether or not Aeka was purposely ignoring Washu,
so she returned her gaze to the television.
"Oh my...!" Aeka gasped, putting her hand
to her mouth, as Viscous stabbed Spike in the arm, then grabbed his face,
and with a look of sheer lunacy began to crush it with his hand...and then
he threw him through the stained glass window.
Aeka shook her head, and grabbed the remote,
and turned the television off. Taking a deep breath, she looked over at
Washu.
"I didn't know that you were a fan of those
kind of shows, Washu-san." She said.
Washu shook her head. "It was on when I turned
it on."
"Uh huh. I'm sure." Aeka said somewhat skeptically.
Washu sighed. "Look, I've got better things
to worry about than what you think about my taste in television."
Aeka nodded. "I understand. Do you...want
to talk about it, maybe?"
Washu became slightly puzzled. "Umm..."
Aeka shook her head. "If you don't wish to,
I'll understand. I just thought maybe voicing your concerns might help
you."
Washu sighed. "I don't know. I really just
want to stop thinking about it. I have no idea what in the hell came over
me, and I have no idea why I actually care so much about it. I never used
to act or think like this before. It's...confusing. And if there is anything
I hate, it's not knowing exactly what is going on."
Aeka nodded, and folded her hands in her lap.
"I see. Why is that?"
"Why is what?"
"Why is it that you have to know exactly what
is going on all the time? Surely there must be some reason?" Aeka asked
the scientist.
Washu frowned. "Why do you love Tenchi? Why
do you cling to duty? Why do you not get along with Ryoko?"
Aeka sighed.
Washu nodded. "That's who you are, and no
one questions that. So this is how I am, so don't question me, all right?"
Aeka shook her head. "What *is* happening
to you, Washu? You are acting so cold and callous."
Washu screamed and grabbed her head in anger.
"I DON'T KNOW! I can't figure out what is happening to me, and I *hate*
it! There is no way for me to know, and it really pisses me off!!"
Aeka recoiled as Washu shouted, but then reached
over to her and put a sympathetic hand on her shoulder. Washu tensed at
the physical contact, and turned to look at Aeka with a look of absolute
bewilderment.
Aeka smiled. "I don't have the answers, Washu.
Not everyone can know everything. Maybe you just need a break?"
Washu looked at Aeka skeptically. "A break?"
"Yes. Maybe try to avoid your lab for a little
while. Maybe that would help. I don't know for sure, but it is simply a
suggestion."
Washu sighed, and fell back into the couch,
as she rubbed her temples. "Maybe that's a good idea."
Aeka smiled, and picked up the remote. "Do
you wish to watch television?"
Washu closed her eyes. "Yeah."
Sometimes people have the ability to be patient.
Patience is a virtue that not many are blessed with, but those that have
it are truly the greatest of men. But even those people have the ability
to be tested.
Yoko was such a person.
Listening to Sydney sing in his obnoxious
voice got old fairly quick, and was capable of causing a severe migraine.
He hadn't let up in three hours.
Sydney lay on his back, wearing a white muscle
shirt, and black shorts with a wrench in hand as he pried and jimmied at
various mechanical parts of the Beowulf's engine. Covered in grease and
dirt, he sung as if he was the only one there, even though he knew that
Yoko was only 20 feet away, and very annoyed.
"...as we head down for the self destructive
edge! Sayonara to the intrusive noise! No more childish games and no more
toys!..."
Sydney was even tapping his foot along to
his self induced song, as he was putting a great deal of his strength into
tightening a bolt on the blasting cap.
Yoko had finally reached the end of her string.
She whirled around from her computer system
and stomped over to Sydney's prone form.
"WILL YOU SHUT UP ALREADY?!?" she screamed
at him.
Sydney smiled as he continued to work. "What
seems to be the problem, Red?"
The grinding of Yoko's teeth was very audible.
"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?!"
Sydney chuckled as he slid out from under
the dirty machinery, and wiped the sweat off of his brow. He shook his
head, and looked up at the red head. "So, any calls today?"
Yoko sighed. "Nope. Nothing."
Sydney groaned a bit as he stood up. "Too
bad. We've been without work for almost a month, now."
Yoko nodded, and leaned against the large
engine. She crossed her arms and closed her eyes. "I know...clients seem
to be fairly reluctant to come to us now."
Sydney was wiping his hands with a white cloth.
"Why is that?"
"Probably because they prefer to keep it *discreet*."
Yoko said, looking at him out of the corner of her eye.
Sydney shrugged. "Hey, I'm the kind of guy
who likes to have fun at his job. Sue me."
Yoko sighed. "Maybe I should. Maybe then we
could get some money around here."
Sydney leaned forward into the engine, resting
his head on his crossed arms while looking at the floor below. "Say, where's
Raven?"
"Shopping."
"I thought we didn't have any money...?"
"Yeah, enough money for us to waste on this
hunk a tin. We have enough to *eat*." Yoko said harshly.
"Hey, now. Don't bite my head off." Sydney
said, still looking at the ground. He sighed.
Yoko turned her head over to look at him.
"What is it?"
"It's nothing."
Yoko cleared her throat. "You DO know who
you're talking to, correct?"
"Yeah. What about it?"
"If you don't tell me, I may decide to renew
my attempts at retrieving a certain *sample* from you, understand?" Yoko
said, a little bit of mischief creeping into her nasally voice.
Sydney began to sweat even moreso. "That's...that's
not funny, Yoko!"
"Oh, it's Yoko now, is it? And why not? I
think it would be great fun." She said, mischief dripping from her words.
Sydney turned around and leaned against the
engine in the same fashion as Yoko. "No way, there's no way. Raven would
kill me."
"Oh, so it's because of her? I won't tell."
She said smiled wryly at him.
Sydney shook his head, his normally confident
eyes starting to fill with a twinge of fear. "Forget it. I don't want to."
"Hey, either tell me, or I'll FORCE you. And
your little blond cousin won't walk in at the last second to save you this
time!" Yoko said, materializing a holo-pad in front of her fingers, her
digits itching to press the buttons.
Sydney rapidly shook his head. "Alright, alright!
I give! I'll tell!"
Yoko sighed. "Damn, I almost had him this
time..." she said under her breath. Her face became cheery again. "So what
was it, hmm?"
Sydney sighed and crossed his arms. "I'm just
thinking about Raven. I'm not really sure that it's right having her here
with us."
Yoko shook her head. "You've been going on
about that for almost a *year* now. Don't you think it's getting a little
old?"
"Hey, you asked *me*, remember?" he retorted.
"That's not what I meant." Yoko thought about
it for a moment. "I mean, if she didn't want to be here, she would have
left by now. That's the kind of girl she is."
"I know that! That's not what I'm talking
about, though."
Yoko huffed. "Well, what is it, then?"
"I mean...don't you remember what happened
when she broke it to her family that she was coming with us?" he said in
a somewhat weak voice.
Yoko nodded. "I haven't forgotten."
"I just don't think it's right that we created
a rift in their family because of us."
Yoko shook her head. "If you remember correctly,
they aren't family anymore. And her father is a stubborn one. There is
really no way to mend that wound. And besides, Raven doesn't want to go
back. So stop worrying about it already."
Sydney shook his head. "I suppose so. I just
feel bad for ruining her life like that."
"On the contrary, Sydney. You didn't ruin
her life. You helped her discover the path she wanted."
Sydney closed his eyes, and tilted his head
back, and let out a long sigh. "But the funny thing is, that wasn't the
reason I asked her to join us."
"It wasn't?"
"Nope. See...you know that...I...well..."
Sydney was choking on the words, he couldn't really say them.
"You love her. We all know."
Sydney blushed. "A...anyway, that was the
reason. I wanted to be with her."
Yoko looked at him puzzled. "What do you mean?"
"Well, it would have been better for us to
go on without another mouth to feed, and it would have been better for
her to continue to live with her family. But...I *wanted* to be with her."
Sydney explained.
"So...you did it for yourself?"
"Well...I suppose. It sounds selfish, I guess.
But I thought that it was okay to be like that at first. But then...then..."
Sydney opened his eyes and looked up at the metal cieling above.
Yoko looked over at him. "Then...what?"
"Then...when she lived with us...it just didn't
feel right. I wanted her to be here so badly, and I know that she wanted
the same...but at the same time, it was like we were both lying to ourselves.
Telling ourselves that this is what was *best* for her." Sydney confessed.
"You can't decide that."
Sydney looked at Yoko. "What do you mean?"
Yoko shook her head. "You can't decide what's
best for Raven. Only she can."
"But, it seems to me..."
"No, no." Yoko interrupted. "Maybe for her
benefit, you can see what's best, but only Raven knows what she wants.
And that's what's best for the girl."
"I know. I just..."
"Oh, stop that already!" Yoko snapped. Sydney
looked over at the small red head with a puzzled expression. "Stop feeling
so sorry for yourself and the crappy decisions you've made. If Raven didn't
want to stay, she'd leave. It's that simple. And I know as well as you
do that neither one of you want her to leave, so enough with the angst!"
Sydney chuckled. "Whatever you say, Red."
"I TOLD you, stop calling me that!" Yoko snarled.
Sydney laughed, and Yoko yelled at him. The
two of them were interrupted by the sound of someone calling to them.
"Excuse me?"
They stopped their little argument, and turned
to face the person. He seemed to be a farily elegant man, and he brought
about a very distinguishable air of chivalry and command with him. He was
clothed in nobleman's attire from head to toe, and his hair was long, but
well kept. He screamed authority.
He spoke in a deep audible voice. "Excuse
me, but might you be the mercenary known as 'Sydney'?"
Sydney managed to release himself from Yoko's
death grip around his neck, and he turned to face the man.
He cleared his throat. "Yeah, that's me. And
who might you be?"
The man crossed his arms. "I am Nezeer De'tak.
I am here as a representation of the house of Jurai."
"*Jurai*?!" both Sydney and Yoko sang in a
dazed unison.
Nezeer cleared his throat. "Yes. It would
seem that the emperor has a job that requires someone of your station and
capabilities."
Yoko waved her hand. "Hold on. If we're going
to talk buisness, let's wait until Raven gets here."
Sydney nodded. "Agreed."
Nezeer looked around the ship. His cleanliness
and somewhat dignified serenity was clearly out of place, and he made little
effort to hide that from his facial expression.
"So..." he began, "...when is this 'Raven'
of yours returning?"
Yoko shrugged. "Dunno. She's out shopping,
but she has a knack for procrastinating when she isn't being supervised."
"I...see." Nezeer stated. It was extremely
obvious that he had no desire to hang around people such as Sydney or Yoko...and
that he was only there because the emperor had ordered him to.
Sydney saw this and smiled. He chuckled, and
handed a wrench over to the nobleman. Nezeer just stared at it as if it
was something that he had never seen before.
Sydney put on a half smile. "So Nez, you any
good at repairs?"
Raven walked down the nearly empty street with
a grocery bag slung casually over her shoulder. She was staring up at the
blue sky through her beautiful golden eyes, looking through the clouds,
not really concentrating on anything. She sighed, partially out of contentness,
partially out of worry.
It had been over a year now. A year since
she discarded absolutely any semblance of a normal life to run away with
Sydney and Yoko, and join their rag tag little mercenary group, on Sydney's
old ship.
Regrets? Was that what it was?
...maybe.
Only because of what it had done to her family.
Raven sighed again.
Family. What it was like to have one. What
it was like to laugh and cry with those who truely loved you.
Raven shook her head. <That's not what
it is. I love Sydney. And Yoko. They are my family. I *am* happy. Even
if I had to make sacrifices to get this happiness.>
She turned around a corner, and started heading
closer to the paddock where they kept the Beowulf.
Raven loved being a mercenary. The thrill
of shooting down other ships, flying quickly after her prey, and narrowly
evading capture or death were memories that Raven would always remember
and hold dear.
And then there was Sydney...
Raven blushed. Sydney was the whole reason
why she had left everything behind to join this life. Everything...
"What! How can you even *think* such a thing!"
the man yelled.
"Father! Please, listen! I love him!" Raven
cried.
He glared at her. "*Love* him? You love a
filthy depraved mercenary? Why? Why would you want to live that life?"
"Because...I love being with him. And I love
to fight for what I believe in!" Raven retorted.
Her father shook his head in disgust. "And
on virtue of that you'll turn your back on your family and live in self
ordained ignorance? Have you even stopped to consider what this will do
to us? To your brother? To your *mother*?"
Raven shook her head, and wiped away a tear.
"But...you always said that whatever I wanted to do with my life...you'd
always support me!"
"We want to support you! And this path will
*destroy* you, Raven! Can't you see that? Can't you see that if you do
this, you'll get killed? How could we possibly support your *death*?!"
he nearly screamed.
Raven shook her head, and stood up from her
chair, and looked at her father, face to face.
"Listen to me. I love him. And I'm going to
be with him. And I don't CARE if that kills me. Do you understand?"
"How can you possibly do this to yourself?
Have you gone insane?" her father asked incredulously.
Raven glared at him. "All I want in my life
is to be with the one man I love. And if you want to call that insanity,
fine. But it won't change my mind. I'm going. Nothing you can say or do
will change that. So you can either complain and argue about it, or you
can support me!"
Raven's father closed his eyes, as he tried
his best to hold in his outright rage. "Get out."
Raven's eyes opened wide.
"W...What?"
He looked her in the eye. "I said GET OUT!
I never want to see you again!"
"Father..."
"OUT! We are no longer family, Raven! It hurts
to *look* at you!"
Raven fought back the tears by applying rage.
"FINE! Good riddance!"
Raven shook her head. She said that she'd do
anything to be with Sydney, so there was no use in fretting over it. It
had come to a decision between Sydney and her family, and she had chosen
Sydney.
And she wouldn't let herself regret it. Not
for a second.
She repeatedly told herself this as she walked
up the opened ramp of the Beowulf, and into the hallway. She remembered
that Sydney had decided he was going to work on the engine today, so he'd
probably be in the engine room.
Raven floated off the ground, and began to
fly quickly down the halls of the Beowulf. After reflecting on her past
a little, she had a very strong desire to see Sydney.
A desire to *be* with Sydney.
She phased through the last doorway blocking
herself from the engine room, and was greeted by a very large blast of
heat. She she shook her head.
<It's the engine room. I should have seen
that one coming.>
She spotted Sydney with his back to her talking
to Yoko, pointing at and discussing different parts of the engine. She
began to fly towards them, when she caught a glimpse of someone out of
the corner of her eye.
A Juraian nobleman was sitting in a chair
going over some sort of data chart with a look of obvious disgust on his
face.
Raven was about to ask what was going on,
but the thought of being with Sydney overroad any thing else. She flew
as fast as she could at Sydney, and then dropped to her feet just behind
him.
He noticed, and turned around. "Oh, hey there,
Raven!"
Raven dropped the groceries, and pounced.
Sydney was usually a fairly outgoing guy.
He enjoyed getting a rise out of people, and he liked to talk. He also
never really cared about what people thought of him or his actions. But
when it came to Raven, he was like a small child, embarassed by the prospect
of even looking at a girl, let alone being affectionate with one.
Raven however, felt no such fear when it came
to showing her affections for Sydney.
Raven threw her arms around his neck, and
knocked him back onto the floor. She began to kiss him passionately, as
his face became very flustered from the obvious embarassment of Yoko and
a Juraian nobleman watching them.
Yoko smirked, and Nezeer turned his face away
in disgust.
"Rav...mmph!...We have...aclimmphmmm..ent!"
Sydney tried to say.
Raven pulled back from the kiss, and looked
him in the eyes.
"What did you say?" she asked with a hint
of mischief in her voice.
Sydney took a moment to collect back the necessary
amounts of oxygen into his lungs to breathe properly, and then spoke again.
"We have a client, Raven." Sydney pointed
out.
"So what?" she kissed him again. "He can wait."
Sydney shook his head. "No, I mean, yes, I
mean..." he smacked himself in the head. "Let's just talk to him first,
okay? We can do this later."
Raven pouted. "Tch, FINE." She stood up. "But
I'm expecting something *extra* good for this, Sydney." She winked. "You're
going to have to do that thing I like."
Sydney began to blush furiously as he managed
to prop himself back onto his feet. He shook his head, and then managed
to turn his attention away from the curvy figure of Raven to Nezeer.
"Umm...so let's talk."
"Are you sure? I don't really think that we
need *that* much, Aeka." Sasami pointed out.
Sasami, Aeka, Mihoshi and Nobuyuki had decided
to go shopping, and Washu had volenteered to go along with them, although
her contribution to any form of discussion was little to nil.
"Hmmm....perhaps. But I think that Ryoko is
going to be extra hungry tonight, Sasami." Aeka pointed out.
Sasami shrugged and picked the meat out of
the fridge in the supermarket, and dropped it into their bag.
"How come you think that Ryoko is going to
be extra hungry, Aeka?" Sasami asked as they began to walk away from the
meat section.
Washu winced at the reminder of what had happened,
but kept to herself.
"Well, you see..." Aeka thought for a moment.
"Ryoko told me that she and Tenchi-sama were going to do something today
that required a large amount of labor, so she'll probably work up an appetite."
Sasami giggled. "What are they going to do?
I can't believe that you aren't jealous, Aeka!"
Aeka sighed. She was just a little jealous
that Ryoko was getting to spend some time in private with Tenchi, but she
needed it. She needed to be comforted, and she needed it right away. And
Tenchi was without a doubt the best person to provide that comfort.
"She didn't say what they would be doing,
Sasami."
Sasami shrugged. "Where have Father and Mihoshi
gone to? It shouldn't take this long to get some fruit juice."
Washu just kept alongside Aeka and Sasami
as they bantered on about completely inane and boring topics. Washu was
thinking back to that program she had watched earlier.
"When angels are forced out of Heaven, they
become devils. You agree, don't you Spike?" the cold man had said.
There was something about that phrase that
really hit home with Washu. She felt as though she had once been in heaven.
A time so long ago. When she was married, and she had a child. It was so
happy then...nothing else could possibly interfere with that happiness,
as long as her husband and son were there.
But it was not to be.
That happiness had been torn away.
She had been cast down from Heaven.
So then...had she become a devil?
Was Washu now a being that couldn't feel love,
a being that felt enjoyment only when others around her suffered? Did Washu
wish the suffering and pain that she had been exposed to on her only daughter?
Ryoko...
<Sever your ties, cleanse yourself! You
need nothing! No one can bring you happiness! You can only count on yourself!>
<Mankind can't live without others.>
<You need not show any compassion to others!
They will only betray that trust! You can't depend on anyone other than
yourself! Because if you do, that happiness will be ripped away from you!>
<Mankind cannot live alone.>
<You did nothing wrong! You simply showed
your daughter that she can't depend on anyone for anything! You showed
her that she needed to depend on herself! How her hopeless attatchment
to Tenchi will only destroy her! How Tenchi will never love her, and how
she must depend on herself!>
<I create you as you create me.>
<You mustn't feel sorry for yourself! That
will accomplish nothing! You mustn't feel sorry for Ryoko, either! She
doesn't feel sorry for *you*. After all that you have done for her, she
holds nothing but spite, malice, and hatred for you. Why must you feel
*sorry* for her?>
<She is She, and I am I.>
Washu gagged for a slight instant, and brought
her hand up to cover her mouth. She stumbled a little, and put her hand
out to brace herself from falling. She knocked over some boxes lined on
the shelf as she steadied herself, as she continued to breathe into her
hand.
"Washu-san!" Aeka and Sasami cried in unison
as they rushed to her side.
Washu batted her free arm at them as if to
shoo them away. She pulled her other arm off of the shelf, and bent down
and began to pick up the boxes.
"I'm fine. You don't need to worry about me."
Washu said in a fairly silent, monotonous voice.
Aeka and Sasami shared a concerned look, and
then bent down to help Washu pick up the boxes.
TO BE CONTINUED
Side note: The clip from the show that Washu was watching, for those of you who don't know, was from Cowboy Bebop, Session #5: Ballad of Fallen Angels. (For those of you who haven't seen Bebop, do so now! It's an awesome show! Not as good as Tenchi, but still...)
MUSIC:
Tsunami and Tokimi
Conversation: "Densho", from 'Gasaraki'.
Sydney Fixin' the
engine: "Asuka Strikes", from 'Neon Genesis Evangelion'.
Raven's Introspection:
"Epitaph - Hidden Shadow", from 'Rurouni Kenshin'.
Raven's Return to
the Beowulf: "Ryoko's Theme", from 'Tenchi Muyo!'.
Washu's Collapse:
"Yuuki to ui na no kagi o teni", from 'Slayers NEXT'.