CHAPTER FIFTEEN:

“Ryoko.”

The coldly spoken words seemed to echo around the now hushed ballroom. Everyone had turned around to witness the showdown between the two females that were currently engaged in a battle of wills. The mystery lady in the shimmering gown had dropped her glass of wine, while her opponent had hers in a grip that was anything but light.

“Princess Ayeka.” Came the curt acknowledgement. “Fancy meeting you on this side of the galaxy. What is it this time? Running away from your royal obligations? Huh?”

An unladylike growl was emitted from within the confines of the masked face. “How dare you show your face here…you…you criminal!”

A collective gasp rose from the crowd. This was quickly followed by whispered conversations and sneaky glances at the black-clad female. By this time, the Z-senshi was stumped to a curious silence as the events unfolded themselves.

“Look here, Miss Prim and Proper! I have renounced my role as a space pirate!”

“Don’t make me laugh!” Ayeka snorted in derision. “You would never denounce your profession. Once a thief and murderer…always a thief and murderer!”

This time the crowd really was shocked into silence. A murderer in their midst? How was this possible? Ryoko stamped her foot in anger and came inches within the smirking princess. “I said I had given up my role as a space pirate! Now let me be!”

“YOU ARE UNDER ARREST, SPACE PIRATE RYOKO! NOW PUT YOUR HANDS UP!”

Everyone spun around to the new voice and watched in amazement, as someone dressed as a mime, complete with the white face paint, had now pointed a funny looking weapon (eerily like a gun) towards the supposed criminal. Ryoko and Ayeka blinked in confusion…along with everyone else.

Finally, Bulma seemed to wake up from her semi trance. “Hey! What the hell is going on here?! Who the hell are you? And why are you arresting anyone for that matter?! You are ruining my party!!”

“Please step aside, Miss. This is for the galaxy police to handle.” Even more confused glances followed the ‘young man’ that now stood alongside the mime. He too had the gun-like thing in his hands as well. “Space Pirate Ryoko, you are hereby charged with the kidnapping of the princesses. Please follow us quietly and nobody gets hurt.”

Goku tried to calm things down. “Hey now, come on. I mean, Ryoko hasn’t really caused any trouble since she’s been here. And I don’t really think you can charge her with kidnapping…”

“Silence earthling!” The ‘man’ snapped angrily, as he now pointed the gun towards Goku. “I will have you arrested as well, if you interfere with our business. Now come to us, Ryoko.”

The space demon snickered and with a loud cry of defiance, she rose into the air, an energy beam now forming within her outstretched palms. “Come and get me if you can! I have no intentions of going anywhere with you!”

The crowd began to scream and panic as they became aware of the pirate’s intentions. She was planning to blow this place up and before long everyone was making a hasty retreat for the front doors. Bulma, as you can well imagine, was not very happy. Coupled with her apparent intoxication and her annoyance at having her party interrupted, she stormed up to the floating female and yelled out angrily. “You get down here, you jerk! Look what you have done….AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!”

Ryoko had fired and the blast nearly took off the heads of the disguised officers. Sasami had run towards Gohan for protection and the older princess could only crouch and shield herself the best way she could. Bits of debris and smoke rose out from the destruction and a small whimper of fear escaped from her lips. She nearly screamed as she felt strong arms gather around her waist.

“What…?!”

“Shssh…it’s only me, Princess.” Ayeka spun around to stare into inky black depths that burned with fierce determination. “We have to get you out of here. You are not safe.”

“But what about you?” She asked shakily, as she allowed herself to be led towards the secret exits. “How are you going to…?”

“Don’t worry about me.” Vegeta reassured her gently. “I have to go after this space pirate and find out if she really is Washu’s daughter. You made a pretty strong accusation back there…”

Ayeka stopped and faced the prince, her eyes widening with panic and desperation. “That is because it is the truth!” Unable to stop herself, she found herself cupping the handsome face before her. Her words came out in a rush. She had to make him see. “You cannot go after her, Vegeta. She is…she is…she will kill you! Can’t you see? She is powerful and strong and she…she…”

Vegeta was a bit shocked to find a slow trail of tears flow out of those rose-colored depths. He felt that strange warmth and something tighten deep within his chest and reaching up slowly he grasped the trembling hands within his and leaned his forehead against hers. “Ayeka…I am a saiyan prince. You, of all people, should know that I fear no one.”

“No…no…you have to understand. You cannot…you have to listen…” Ayeka pleaded, her tears falling even faster. Surprising both of them, she began to rain feverish kisses upon his face…anywhere she could get her lips upon. Vegeta groaned and tightened his arms around her lithe body, the feel of the silky fabric from her evening grown brushing intimately against his strained body.

“Ayeka…” His moan became louder, as Ayeka placed her lips against his in a kiss that left no chance for compromise. This was a kiss of desperation. A kiss filled with fear, need, desire and…love. Ayeka had no intentions of allowing Vegeta to experience the same fate as her brother. She would rather die in his place. She raised her hands and sank them within the spiky dark locks, groaning as she felt those skilled hands caress her back and then dip lower to cup her buttocks. They gasped as their bodies felt each other’s need and quickly releasing each other for air, they leaned against one another, their hearts thudding a mile a minute.

“Don’t go…” Ayeka murmured against his mouth. “Please…she will kill you…just like she killed my brother…Yosho.”

“Yosho…Ryoko killed Yosho?”

The princess nodded sadly and lifted her hands to caress his face. “It happened a long time ago. She had come to destroy our planet and just like you are planning to do now…Yosho had also gone after her. We have never heard from him again.”

“And you think he is dead?” Vegeta asked skeptically. His hands had not stopped their soothing motions behind her back and he relished the low sound of approval that the beauty before him gave.

“How else would you explain it?” Ayeka managed to reply, as Vegeta’s strokes became even bolder. She gasped and arched into him as he slowly lifted up the dress to run his finger down her bare skin in light feather-like touches. “We…we…have not heard from him in over…ahh tsunami…Vegeta…what are you doing to me…?”

“Trying to distract you.” The saiyan prince replied cheekily, before seizing her lips in another breathtaking kiss.

“AHEM!”

Both royals jumped apart, Ayeka blushing furiously, while Vegeta scowled in annoyance. This was the second time they had been interrupted and the saiyan prince was not finding it the least bit funny. They both glared/stared at the small group of very interested spectators.

“Much as we love the show, you two would have to move out of the way. We are all trying to escape you know.” Piccolo stated calmly, although one could barely see the purple hue on his cheeks. Similar states of color were upon Goku, Chi-Chi, Yamcha, Gohan, Sasami’s and….well, Bulma had passed out, so she didn’t count, faces. Obviously, they had been there for a while.

“What happened to those galaxy officers?” Ayeka asked quietly, as Vegeta led the way towards the upper rooms. Ayeka was giddy with joy as Vegeta had her hands in a death grip. It was as if he were afraid someone would try to snatch her away from him.

“The last thing I saw was Ryoko disappearing and those funny guys still shooting at them. I tell you, this has been one heck of a night.” Yamcha replied, as he hoisted his unconscious date upon his shoulders.

“You said it. I am beat.” Goku said, yawning to emphasize his point. Chi-Chi shook her head in disapproval, as she opened up one of the spare bedrooms. “Alright, you…go to bed now.” She chided softly. “I am going to make sure Gohan gets some rest and you too Sasami.”

“That’s okay…I can take care of her myself.” Ayeka interrupted softly. “I really do appreciate your offer.”

A slight squeeze on her hand made her turn to her companion in confusion. She felt her knees go weak at the heated look that the prince gave to her. “That’s okay, Ayeka. I am sure the onna would love to take care of her. You and I need to sort some things out, ne?”

“I…I…”

“Oh, just go away already.” Chi-Chi said with a chuckle, as she gently shoved the two royals away. “Go have some fun or something. I can handle the little ones, right Goku? Goku?!”

A light snore was her only reply as everyone sweat dropped at the sight of the sleeping saiyan, who had already made himself comfortable on one of the guest beds.

“Uh…right. Piccolo, how about you?”

The namekian snorted and spun around on his heels. “I will keep watch from the outside in case anything happens. So far, it seems like the closest thing to danger is no longer here. But be on your guards, anything can happen.”

Vegeta frowned and nodded in acceptance. “Fine, Namek. Just make sure you alert us at the slightest sign of danger.”

Suddenly, “Where is little Washu?”

Everyone looked blank for several seconds at Sasami’s question. Come to think of it, they had hardly seen the scientist since the whole fiasco had begun. “Maybe she went after Ryoko…after all she is her mother.”

All eyes spun to Vegeta’s clipped words. “What?!” He retorted.

“Ryoko is Washu’s daughter? How come she never said anything about it?” Yamcha asked in disbelief. He had encountered the weird female several times before and never had she mentioned anything about having a daughter.

“Maybe because you are a goddamn ningen and she doesn’t have the time for you. Goodnight all of you.” The saiyan no ouji replied curtly, before he made his way towards his own quarters with the now red-faced princess in tow.

“Geez…I wonder what climbed up his butt.” Yamcha muttered to himself. Nodding to Chi-Chi and Piccolo, he said his goodnights and made his way towards Bulma’s room. He had a nasty feeling, he would be spending the night right next to her.

Chi-Chi nodded to Piccolo in dismissal and locking the door behind her, she left the silent Namek alone with his thoughts.

~*~*~*~*~

Kiyone peeled off the mustache and hat from her head in frustration. Trust Mihoshi to blow such a simple operation. Their only objective was to make sure that the princesses were safe and then possibly get them back to their home planet tonight. Inquires and arrests of their kidnappers(s), was to begin as soon as they had reached back safely. Instead, she had had to watch in dismay, as her clumsy partner had barged in on something that would have aided in their search for the culprit. From the little bit she had heard from the confrontation, it was obvious that Ryoko had not kidnapped the princesses. For one thing, Ryoko would not have brought them to a party and secondly, the Princess had accused the pirate of the obvious. So if Ryoko wasn’t the kidnapper, who was?

Come to think of it…the princesses hadn’t looked like they were being held hostage, neither did they look like they needed rescuing either. If anything, they seemed to be enjoying themselves, after all she had spied Sasami dancing the night away with an earthling.

She sighed wearily. All in all, it was turning out to be one confusing night for her.

And now they had lost sight of their target. Ryoko seemed to have vanished into nowhere. Bringing out her tracker from within the coat pockets of her attire, she glared angrily at the blinking cursor. Wherever Ryoko was now, they had no chance of getting her any time soon. She was way too far ahead. Kiyone made an angry sound beneath her breath, as she eyed her companion and partner walking up to her. Just as she was about to open up her mouth to berate the other female, her telecom beeped loudly.

“First Class Detective Kiyone here.” She answered curtly, as she flipped it open. She stood at attention as she noticed that it was her boss on the line. “Good evening, sir. How may I help you?”

“Detective Kiyone, we have just received a communiqué from the Jurai palace. Do you have any good news for us?”

Kiyone swallowed tightly. “Actually sir, we do. We have located the whereabouts of the princesses. They are currently residing at the Capsule Corporation.”

The commander looked relived. “Thank goodness. The emperor has been on the other line for the past few hours. Do not worry, Kiyone, we will handle everything from here. The capsule corporation, right? We will be sending some of our officers over there to pick them up. Have you informed the princesses on their rescue? Have you apprehended the kidnappers?”

Kiyone tried to make sense of the rapid-fire questions and she glared in disdain at her partner, who was currently trying to make a bunch of children laugh with her antics. “Well sir, it seems like the princesses might not have been kidnapped after all…but we have located the notorious space pirate Ryoko.”

“What do you mean by they do not seem to have been kidnapped?” The commanding officer asked in bemusement. “Explain yourself!”

“Sir…the princesses are not in a hostage situation….”

“I don’t care whether they are in a hostage situation or not! All we ask is that you brief them on their departure and by tomorrow, we should have a convoy of officers ready to take them back to their home. Do I make myself clear?!”

“Clear as day, sir. Over and out.” With another fatigued sigh, she closed the machine back up. Searching for Ryoko would have to wait for some time, as of right now, they had to confront the princesses.

“Mihoshi…” She called out wearily. “Mihoshi?! Get your ass back here, now! We have got work to do!”

The blonde-haired (currently black wigged) officer, waved sorrowfully at her newfound friends and with a worried look on her face, she walked back to her scowling partner. “Umm…what do we do now, Kiyone?”

Kiyone snorted and spun around, already making her way back towards the large compound. “We have to get back into our uniforms and then get the princesses. Do you understand? Or do you want me to say that all over again?”

“I understand. And I am really sorry for messing up this mission, I promise to be more careful in the future.”

~ How many times have I heard that? ~ “Whatever you say, Mihoshi…let’s just go.”

~*~*~*~*~

She must have been flying for hours…well it seemed like hours to her, and she found herself still, surprisingly, hurt from the accusations that had been hurled at her. True, she was a space pirate and her records weren’t exactly the kind of things she would have loved to brag about, but she had still felt the anger and hurt at the cold words.

She was a thief and a murderer.

And she had no right to live. Why didn’t she just do the galaxy a favor and eliminate her own life? That way she would be out of everyone’s hair and better yet…

~ He knows what I am now. I bet he hates me. ~

She floated gently towards a nearby lake and curling herself into a fetal position, she sobbed silently into the cold earth. Goku had been there. He had heard the accusations.

But he had tried to stand up for her, hadn’t he? She bet that he said that to everyone who was falsely accused…

“Gah…” She whispered harshly to herself. “What’s the point? Who cares about me? I have been fine on my own for this long, why should I care what he or anyone else thinks about me? I don’t give a damn…”

“Or maybe you care too much.”

Ryoko jerked upright at the softly spoken words, her palms already forming a beam sword, ready to lash out at the perpetrator. She blinked in the barely visible light at the small…girl? That stood a few feet away from her. A sad smile was upon the youthful features and eyes of darkest green were filled with unshed tears.

Ryoko swiped her own crossly away and stood up on shaky feet. “Who the hell are you?!” She snapped angrily. She was ready to pour her anger out on anyone.

The greatest scientist in the universe lowered her lashes and smiled. “Who am I, Ryoko? Why, I am the one who gave you life, or as we would call it…your mother.”

The cyan-haired female could only blink in disbelief. Washu noticed the reaction and grinned widely. “Not to worry, my dear daughter. You asked if anyone cared for you? Well, I care for you and I have come to take you back with me.”

“Back with…”

Washu nodded fervently. “That’s right. We are going back to a place where we will not be disturbed or bothered. A place where our accomplishments will be appreciated. A place where…”

“Hell? Because, dearest mother, I don’t think there is any place in the galaxy left for someone like me to be, in case you haven’t noticed….and if you are indeed my mother…where the hell have you been all this time?!”

The scientist nodded quietly and walked towards the bank of the lake. She sat upon the cold earth and sighed deeply. And not turning around to look at the waiting female behind her, she asked.

“Would my telling you anything about me, make you love me even more or would it bring out a well of hate from you?”

Ryoko frowned and found herself sitting down beside the smaller woman. She kept still for several minutes, her mind trying to process the question that had been asked.

“Perhaps, it is best I know…about my roots, you know? I feel like…I feel like…you owe it to me somehow. Perhaps it will explain my insane need for destruction and chaos…”

She stopped as she felt the soothing strokes of warm hands against her hair. She stiffened in reaction, not exactly sure on whether she ought to respond or not. She almost felt like crying again. The soft touch and softly muttered words sent a wave of long-forgotten emotions and before she could stop herself, she had buried her face against the soft cotton of her mother’s clothes.

“Why…why are you doing this…” Came the muffled words.

Washu tilted her daughter’s face to stare into tear-filled eyes. “Because a mother’s job is to love her little ones. Never fear, my Ryoko, for I will always be here for and with you.”

~*~*~*~*~

“Sir, we have a message from the Royal Palace of Jurai, sir!”

The commanding officer, who had been dozing off on his seat, jerked awake at the earnest call. Reaching for his vid-phone, he came face to face with the Emperor of Jurai.

“Good day, sir!” He greeted smartly, although from the grim look on the older man’s face, he knew that he had to get to the point.

“Any news on my daughters, yet?!”

“Ahem…yes, sir! We have some news sir! They have been located and we are about to send our troops over there to pick them up.”

“Where are they?”

“They are in a part of the solar system called planet Earth and they are currently residing in a place called the Capsule Corporation, sir!”

The poor man winced inwardly as the scowl on the ruler’s face became even more apparent. “And what about their captors?!”

“Captors? Oh…of course…according to our officers that were stationed there…it would seem like the princesses were not captured at all…”

“Are you trying to tell me that my daughters decided to go to this Earth on their own? If my calculations are correct, it would seem that my daughter’s ship broke down in an uninhabited planet. Now, someone or something must have taken them there! I want you to find out…no wait…I have a better idea…”

The commander looked worried. “You do, sir?”

“Give a communiqué to your officers, we will be taking a trip to this planet ourselves.”

“You…you are going to Earth?!”

The Emperor’s lips tightened in disdain. “Much as it pains me to do so, but I am left with no other choice. We will be arriving there in about three days, so tell your officers stationed there to make sure that my daughters are safe until our arrival. Is that understood?!”

“Yes, sir. Right away, sir!”

An abrupt click of dismissal sent the commanding officer into his seat with panic and worry. Things could only go downhill from here. Reaching for his other intercom, he sent for his assistant.

“Officer Mark…get me Detective Kiyone and Mihoshi on the line…there has been a change in plans.”

~*~*~*~*~

The salesgirl eyed the tall longhaired handsome man before her. She readily checked out his meager merchandise, all the while batting her eyelashes and hoping that he would give her a single glance. This, however, was to no avail, for the young man had his eyes pinned on the TV that was currently showing the late night news.

“It can be said that the party-goers at the Annual Costume Ball, were never expecting anything quite this destructive happening. We tried to reach the Professor and his wife for comments on the incident, but they declined, stating that they would rather have their lawyers speak for them…”

“That would be twenty-five fifty.” The girl said suddenly, interrupting his musings.

Dark eyes filled with genuine warmth turned back to her face, making her blush in response. “Here you go.” He replied amiably, his hands reaching out to give her some money. “You can keep the change.”

The girl stared at the fifty-zeni note in her hands in amazement. This guy was something else. She had to make a move or he would be gone out of her life forever.

“My name’s Nancy.” She blurted out quickly. “What’s yours?”

The man, who had just made his way to the door, glanced back briefly, his eyes now crinkled up with faint amusement. A small smile made his way unto full lips and with that magnificent deep voice, he replied calmly.

“My name is Kashuhito…or as my good friends like to call me…Yosho.”