AN: UPDATE – 5/17/15 – I've updated a lot of the dialogue and word choice. I did a read through of this and thought to myself, "Holy crap. I can do better." Some of the sentences have been restructured and if you're re-reading the story, you'll find that a lot has been added. Actually, after looking at the word count, the prologue chapter is now twice as long. The second chapter will be getting an update as well and I have a third chapter ready, though I am considering adding another chapter between the second and third before I post anymore. I'll decide soon! Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think and don't be afraid to tell me how much I suck at writing! 3

-Insolentknight

"Quit getting so butthurt, Princess," Ryoko sneered. "It's not like I did it on purpose." It wouldn't have been a normal day at the Misaki household if Ryoko and Ayeka weren't hashing it out with each other. It seemed today's offense was that Ryoko had skidded to a halt, successfully avoiding a nasty collision with Ayeka. Unfortunately, stopping herself didn't mean the water in her bucket obeyed the same laws of gravity as its keeper.

"If you would just be a little less of a troublemaker and more like a lady, this wouldn't have happened," Ayeka baited. "This isn't the first time and I know it won't be the last! It seems like you're doing this on pur-"

"Look! I said I was sorry! What more do you want!" Ryoko was getting fed up with Ayeka's provocations and the Misaki men were becoming increasingly irritated every time repairs had to be made. She had decided to attempt to call a truce of sorts with Ayeka when it came to their physical fights, but damn was she itching for it... and it had been a while.

"I'd like you to be more careful in the future!" Ayeka barked taking note of the sparks that danced around the space pirate's hands. "Need I remind you that there is still a price on your head? As Jurai's roy-"

"Blow it out your ass, Princess," and with that, Ryoko disappeared to some unknown destination - probably to harass Tenchi. Sasami stepped out from a nearby tree wearing a somber look on her face. It seemed the youngest member of the household had caught everything... yes, maybe she had been a little too hard on the brute.

"Ayeka... maybe you should be a little nicer to Miss Ryoko." There it was - the fabled guilt trip that Sasami had honed so well. She was right though - it had been silly. If she were being honest, Ayeka was hot. Between the blistering heat and heavy humidity, the spilled water should have been viewed as a godsend, had it been expected... It was so hot though - hot enough to see the heat rising from the ground... just like back then...

"Auh!" Ayeka exhaled in frustration, earning a curious look from the younger princess. "Some things are just hard to forgive, Sasami." It seemed that Sasami picked up the underlying meaning in her sister's words.

"Ayeka, I know that Ryoko..." She hesitated. "Did terrible things, but Ryoko's not like that anymore. We know she didn't do it on purpose and Jurai gave her a full pardon because of her help recently... though I guess there are a few things that stuck," Sasami added sheepishly. Light footsteps broke them away from their conversation, snapping their attention in the direction of the newcomer. It seemed that Washu had deemed now as good a time as any to make her appearance. Sasami beamed as she welcomed the new presence. "Little Washu!" Washu smiled thoughtfully in response to the greeting, flicking a small rectangular device around.

"Sasami?" Washu inquired. "How much does Jurai teach about the attack on Jurai?" Ayeka seemed to flinch for a moment as Sasami pondered her teachings. Catching this, Washu remarked on Ayeka's current state. "Nervous there, princess?" Ayeka only gave a slight shake of her head.

"I guess only that the casualties and damages were high... and that our brother immediately chased after her and died."

"I see..." Washu cupped her chin, losing herself in her own thoughts, only being brought back by the sound of Ryoko harassing Tenchi in the distance. The three women watched as Ryoko and Tenchi walked toward, with Ryoko childishly clinging to Tenchi and sticking her tongue out. Ayeka began to huff but quickly calmed herself. "Good. We don't need things getting out of hand again..." Washu paused, quickly dawning a mischievous look on her face. "Princess Ayeka! You'll never guess what little old me found while I was rummaging around today! It was the darndest thing!" She tossed the object in her hands to the ground in front of everyone causing a hologram very similar in design to Yosho's to begin its start-up process. Curious eyes followed the item as it hit the ground, then puzzled expressions traveled back to Washu, as was custom in the Misaki Household.

"Oh, really, Miss Washu, what could have possibl-" Ayeka paused mid-sentence, with a horrified expression. Washu's next words seemed both smug and condescending, a tone that was seemed only to manifest within Washu when Ryoko's well-being was a concern. "You look like you've seen a ghost, Princess."

"Miss Washu! You went through my things?!" Ayeka screeched, snapping out of her trance. It seemed that today's target was Ayeka, though this seemed rather childish of Washu to delve through the princess' belongings. "What concern of yours is going through my things?!" Washu crossed her arms and closed an eye, keeping the other trained on the infuriated princess.

"Anything that concerns my Ryoko is a concern of mine, be it past, present, or future." A scratching noise came from the device as if the person who had been recording was having difficulty setting it up. "If it was so private, I would expect that you wouldn't leave it lying around in the open... Which leads me to wonder why you watched this so recently, as well as why you even brought it with you..." Ayeka could only respond by hanging her head in silence.

"... There used to be a level of respect between us, Washu..." Ayeka's mood quickly plummeted to a state of depression, giving Sasami flashbacks of the time Ayeka had spent torturing herself in previous years. Sasami didn't think that this invasion of privacy needed was as bad as her sister seemed to. "A long time ago, we used to-"

"A long time ago? Who are you talking about, Ayeka?" Sasami interrupted. She wore a very confused look on her face. It was impossible for her sister to know Washu before they came to Earth, so who was she referring to? Ayeka's head remained hung in shame, causing Washu to motion everyone toward the device.

"Look..." A tall, teenage girl no more than 16 began to manifest herself within the hologram. She stood at attention garbed in a Galaxy Police uniform similar in style to Mihoshi's. Long white hair tied behind her head draped down her back, as she saluted who could only be assumed to be the recipient of the hologram. No one could deny it – they were all staring at Ryoko... in an officer's outfit. It was at this time that Mihoshi's presence was made known.

"Uwaaah! Ryoko! How cute! You never told me you wanted to dress up like me!" At this, everyone hit the ground. "Let me know next time and we can play Cops and Robbers!"

"Like hell I'd dress up as you," Ryoko stood on edge with her dress tail taking a sharp angle. She then directed her irritation at her mother. "Washu! How many copies of me are there?! Seriously! Isn't this just getting a bit ridiculous?... Wait... Ayeka! Why do you have this?! I-I- What?" Ryoko crumpled to the ground mentally exhausted.

"Why, indeed," Washu hinted with cat-like mischief, finally initiating the playback. The hologram came to life, initially continuing its salute. After a moment, it struck a pose and began to shout.

"Oh, that is totally not me," Ryoko remarked disgustedly.

"Lieutenant Ryoko Hakubi reporting!" Ryoko stared at it in disbelief. At no time did she ever remember role-playing as a cop... She must have been ridiculously intoxicated... but she could cast away the influences of alcohol at a moment's notice... After several moments of silent beaming, the holo-Ryoko let out an exhausted sigh. "Ugh, that's all you get!... You're not getting any more that you asked for," she said full of irritation. The hologram yanked off her uniform's hat, throwing it to the ground and letting her hair loose, rustling her hands through her mane of hair, restoring its former spikes. "Ah! Much better!" Well, she was starting to seem a lot more like the Ryoko everyone knew. Holo-Ryoko blushed a bit and looked to the side, then twiddled her pointer fingers.

"Well, you wanted to see me in uniform... at least, I'm pretty sure you asked me to send you something... ah!" It seemed something had struck her mind. Holo-Ryoko held an arm out as if to introduce...a window? "Here! I wanted to show you! You said you haven't been to Outer Space yet! Well, I'm sure Yosho has his reasons for keeping you on Jurai. It's so beautiful out here, though... but it's also empty and sometimes sad... It feels like I'm so close to remembering something I've forgotten when I'm out there. No worries though! I'll be returning soon!"

Holo-Ryoko's expression turned changed to one that the Misaki residents only saw when Washu was propositioning her. "While we're on that subject, you remember how you said that if I had another episode, I had to notify you?... Well, I guess you could say that's the real reason for this," she sighed, wearing an exhausted expression. "Though I suppose you're probably on your way here right now, so there's no reason for me to even be shooting this... Oh, well! You can just watch this on the way home. It'll give you something to pass the time! I hate to think that your first visit outside of Jurai's territory would be because I had another aneurysm... Anyway, take care, Ayeka! I'll be home soon and pass this on to Yosho, for me!" Holo-Ryoko gave two big middle fingers and a sinister smile to the camera. At this time, the door to Holo-Ryoko's room opened with the characteristic meow of a Holo-Ryo-ohki following after it. She happily bounced onto her master's head and Holo-Ryoko went pale.

"R-Ryo-ohki... I left you on Jurai," Holo-Ryoko said suspiciously. Holo-Ryo-ohki happily mewed in response, clearly excited to see her master. "If you're here, then that means –oof!" Holo-Ryoko was tackled to the ground by a blur of purples, blues, and greens.

"Oh, Ryoko! I thought you had died! Yosho said you had another relapse and I couldn't bare it if you died out somewhere cold and alone because of my brother's orders!" A younger Princess Ayeka clung onto Holo-Ryoko, buried in her chest. When the princess realized there was no response from her, she opened her eyes and pulled away, suddenly angering at the lack of acknowledgement she was receiving. Holo-Ryoko's attention was focused on petting the head of a small child that had attached itself to her leg. "Wha-what are you doing, Sasamiiii?!" The toddler looked up at a grinning Holo-Ryoko and grinned back.

"We missed you, Ryoko!" Holo-Sasami giggled as Holo-Ryoko picked her up and placed her on her shoulders. "Ayeka said, 'My Ryoko's hurt, we have to see her' and here we are! Did we do good?"

"That's preposterous! Why would I be worried about this ruffian?!" Holo-Ayeka put up a facade. Holo-Ryoko slowly turned her face toward the eldest of the two princesses, with her trademark cat-grin.

"My Ryoko? Well, well! Aren't we possessive over people," she antagonized.

"You- You know what I meant! As a royal guardian, you belong to the royal family, and as my personal guardian, that makes you my propert- Hey! Are you even listening!" It seemed that Holo-Ryoko had found poking at Holo-Sasami's cheeks to be far more entertaining. At the realization that it was suddenly silent, Holo-Ryoko snapped her attention back to Holo-Ayeka.

"Oh! You were talking! So sorry, Princess! I wasn't listening!" She started to place Holo-Sasami back down. "You came all this way to visit me and I don't even have a birthday present for you! You're so big! Happy birthday, Sasami!" Holo-Ryoko grinned at the girl.

"Ryoko, you remembered!" Holo-Sasami hugged her again and leaned in to whisper in her ear. "Ryoko, you might wanna' listen to Ayeka. She's gonna' get all grumpy again!" Holo-Ryoko backed her head away and gave Holo-Sasami a thumbs up and sat her on her bed.

"So, you came all this way to see me?...Princess?" Holo-Ryoko's expression turned to a panic as she realized Holo-Ayeka eyes were swelling with unshed tears. She held out two hands making a pausing motion. "Hey, hey! I was just teasing! I'm all ears!"

"Why do you have to be so mean, when I'm trying to be concerned? I was genuinely worried and Sasami wanted to see you for her birthday, so I thought I would bring her along with me so she could see that you were fine too! You're supposed to be my friend, not just a guardian," Holo-Ayeka mumbled through chewing on her sleeve and sniffled, causing Holo-Ryoko to sigh. Holo-Ryoko walked over to the crying princess, placing her left hand on her shoulder. Holo-Ayeka sniffled one last time and began to lift her head. Just a she met eyes with Holo-Ryoko, she found herself flicked in the forehead. "Ouch! What was that for?!" She was met with another mischievous look. Holo-Ryoko backed up, spinning around with her arms out.

"Eh? Eh? What do you think?" She showed off the uniform. Holo-Ayeka blushed momentarily.

"I suppose I should have noticed sooner. It... looks very nice on you." The princess found herself staring elsewhere, earning a blush from the uniformed girl. Holo-Ryoko scratched her nose in embarrassment then laughed.

"Princess, you don't have to worry about me," Holo-Ryoko waved her off. "I'm stronger than half of Jurai's defenses! I think I can manage!" Holo-Ayeka appeared to force her emotions to calm themselves. It was obvious that Holo-Ryoko was attempting to brighten the mood with distractions and it was working. The princess' expression turned serious, clearly unhappy with with Holo-Ryoko's dismissal of her own health.

"Yes, well, that may be, but your physical capabilities are not what have become worrisome... Mother is also worried about the state of your well-being, you know," Holo-Ayeka relented.

"Lady Misaki? Haha, I guess that's like her," Holo-Ryoko paused is thought. "But seriously, you didn't have to come all the way out here. I was just in the middle of recording you a messa- ah! It's still going! Ryo-ohki!" Holo-Ryo-ohki hopped in front of the recording and hit the stop button, just as Holo-Ayeka was scolding Holo-Ryoko for leaving it running.

"Ayeka?... What?" Sasami looked at her sister pleadingly and tugged on her sleeve. The proud princess sighed. This was going to be difficult to explain. "I don't remember Ryoko being around when I was little."

"That's because you were so little, Sasami. There aren't very many people from that time outside of Jurai's royal family that would remember Ryoko being around," Ayeka sighed.

"No way! There's no way that's me. One: I don't remember any of that, Two: I'd never be that nice to you, Three: MY Ryoko?, Four:... We're you hitting on me?!" Ryoko clearly seemed far more concerned with the last one.

"What! No, I was complementing you! Friends do that," the princess defended herself. "I can't believe that you would even suggest something like that! Anyway, why does this even matter? If you had simply left my things alone, this never would have been brought up!" The princess glared intensely in Washu's direction.

"Like I said before, anything that concerns my daughter is a concern of mine... A lot of things are implicated in this video, with a few being more alarming to me than anything else. I would have just let this be, but Ryoko's medical state is brought up several times throughout the hologram. Another concern is that if Ryoko was under the Galaxy Police and Jurai's care, how did she wind up back in Kagato's hands?" Washu interrogated relentlessly, probing for answers.

"Well, I do suppose some answers are in order..." Ayeka took note of the very confused expressions on everyone's faces. "Miss Washu is referring to what is most likely the biggest cover-up in Jurai's history." The expressions only seemed to become more confused as this information was absorbed. Ayeka looked at Sasami sadly. "I guess you're old enough now. There's no sense in secrets..." Ayeka hesitated for a moment then inhaled deeply. "Ryoko is a citizen of Jurai... but not just any citizen... Ryoko was famous for the good that she did for all of us and quickly became heralded as a hero. She performed her duty until the very end, with her capture by Kagato being due to our own lack of competence." Washu grimaced at these words and kept a watchful eye over Sasami to be sure she took this well. It seemed the youth was slowly digesting the truths that were being unfolded.

"In a way, Jurai being attacked was Jurai's own fault. Had they not lost Ryoko, Kagato would never have been able to manipulate her," Washu spitefully added.

"We were too late to save her, Washu... She knew her mission was of great importance and the risk behind it. I begged her to listen - even ordered her, but she's always been stubborn. You know that more than anyone!" Washu rolled her eyes in acknowledgement and returned to her distant stare. "That day I lost my personal bodyguard... my dearest friend and colleague... no... she was so much more than that... I lost so much that day..." Sasami once more appeared to be heavily considering something and carefully selected her words.

"So... when you wouldn't come out of your room for a while," Ayeka raised her head to face the coming question. "That wasn't only because of Yosho?" Ayeka sighed. She couldn't lie to Sasami. She wasn't the naive girl that adults assumed her to be.

"You have to understand Sasami, at the time, Yosho was the only acceptable answer, given the attack. It was only acceptable to feel the same pain as my people... but in truth, my most important friend had been labeled a traitor to Jurai and my betrothed was meant to kill her. When we were informed that both were dead, I suddenly realized that this terrible dream was in indeed a cruel reality... and what did we do? We covered it up. We erased everything she had ever done, every service she had performed, every trace of her existence on Jurai... and when I saw her again... She had become the girl I met so many years ago in the slums... and without any memories of her life on Jurai..."