Memories in Snow

Memories in Snow

 

There was a curious door in the dining room of the Masaki household. It was a run-of-the-mill closet door, utilizing the space under the stairs that led to the second floor. An ordinary, wooden door. However, it was curiously built. Behind it was another staircase, but the steps only seemed to go down about a meter or so from the floor, with nothing beyond. It was quite a pointless door.

Indeed, it was peculiar…

 

“Let’s see, these are for Grandpa…” Sasami brought in an armful of mail from the gateposts—or rather, the gatekeepers-cum-mailboxes, Azaka and Kamidake, Ayeka’s two Guardians—and came into the dining room, sorting the letters in an organized fashion.

But then, there was not much sorting to do. Besides the occasional letter for Tenchi, all the mail delivered to the Masaki household was addressed to Katsuhito, the shrine priest. Needless to say, there was no way Sasami and the others, who were not from Earth, would get any mail.

She knew that it was their choice to be here, but it was just the other day that Sasami had to say goodbye to her parents, whom she had not seen in so long. A whisper of loneliness brushed past her heart. She did not show any of this emotion as she spread out the letters on the tatami mats in the dining area. With cheeks still smattered with freckles, Sasami looked like a young girl, but she had achieved remarkable psychological growth since arriving here on Earth.

When she came to the fifteenth plain white envelope, Sasami paused. “Huh…? This one’s for Washu-oneechan.” She looked more closely at the letter. “Hakubi Washu-sama… Yup, it’s to Washu-oneechan. Let’s see, who’s it from…?”

“Meow!” Right when Sasami flipped over the envelope to verify the sender’s name, she noticed that humanoid Ryo-Ohki, who had transformed into a little girl, sat perched beside her. “Meow.” As if expecting something, Ryo-Ohki cried again. Her hands clutched the small, carrot-shaped knapsack Ayeka had made for her.

Sasami chuckled and offered the stack of mail to Ryo-Ohki. “Ryo-chan, here’s today’s lot.”

Ryo-Ohki always took Katsuhito’s mail to the shrine at the top of the hill. She merrily stuffed the letters into her bag and dashed outside, happy that there was something she could do to help, whether it was with Sasami’s work or someone else’s.

“Off you go. Be careful now!” Sasami saw her off and took the remaining letters upstairs. “Oh! That’s right. There was a letter for Washu-oneechan today.”

Only mail for Katsuhito or Tenchi got sent to the Masaki household. Sasami was in the habit of taking Tenchi’s letters to the desk in his room immediately after entrusting Katsuhito’s pile to Ryo-Ohki. She paused to ponder whether she should go give Washu her letter first. Then she laughed to herself. “Heh…it doesn’t matter who’s first.” She gave herself a little slap on the forehead and airily went up the stairs.

On the spacious third floor landing, Ryoko leaned against the many carrot-shaped cushions she had gathered, reading manga from the library of Tenchi’s father, Nobuyuki. She was currently reading Checking In ☆ On You, volume seven­teen of twenty. In volume seventeen, Michiko, the main character, went through an ill-fated breakup with her lover, Tomohiro. It was quite the page-turner.

Sasami spotted Ryoko as she came up the stairs and called out, “Oh! Ryoko-oneechan!”

“Hey.” Ryoko responded by popping her hand up, not taking her eyes off the page. She didn’t turn to face Sasami because she was right at an emotional scene and tears were in danger of spilling from her eyes. Ever since she merged with Ryoko Zero, it had gotten easier for her to empathize with this kind of story.

Sasami, of course, had no way of knowing this. “Ryoko-oneechan, I’d like to air out the cushions in the sun… Is that okay?”

“Here ya go.” The cushions came flying towards Sasami without missing a beat, but they were not aimed at her. They sailed over her head, past the door to Tenchi’s room and the metal-framed glass sliding door left open for ventilation, and landed perfectly on the deck beyond.

Sasami went to place Tenchi’s mail on his desk as the carrot cushions continued to sail through the air behind her. She ­quietly watched Ryoko’s perfect-as-always aim, waited for a pause in the pitching, and popped her head out to thank her. “Thanks, Ryoko-onee-whoa!!”

A carrot cushion hit Sasami’s face with perfect timing. She came to her senses at Ryoko’s laughter, and glared at her, clutching the cushion on top of her head. “Ryoko-oneechan!”

Before she could throw it back, Ryoko phased through the floorboards, carrying her manga. Phasing through solid walls was one of her special abilities.

“She got away…” Sasami muttered. Carrying the cushion to the deck, she dusted it off, and lined all the cushions up on top of the two bamboo poles threaded through the railing. Airing them out in the sun, flipping them over once, and leaving them there until evening should get them nice and fluffy. Sasami did this every day because Ryo-Ohki loved sitting on the fluffiest cushions. This’ll make Ryo-chan happy. Imagining Ryo-Ohki happily frolicking with the cushions, Sasami smiled, forgetting Ryoko’s little prank.

By the time Sasami finished up and came downstairs, Ryo-Ohki had also returned from her delivery. “That was fast. Thanks, Ryo-chan.” It had been less than twenty minutes. Ryo-Ohki could barely waddle a few months ago, and now she could reproduce her critter mode’s speed when in human form. “I’m going to deliver a letter to Washu-oneechan. Want to come with me?”

“Meow!” Ryo-Ohki answered happily. With Sasami leading her by the hand, they went to the door below the stairs, holding the letter for Washu.

“Washu-oneechan?” Sasami knocked and opened the door matter-of-factly. A peculiar view spread before them. There was that ordinary closet door, which led to the space below the stairs. In fact, there were stairs, but they only went down about a meter underground and were pretty useless. However, beyond the door Sasami opened was a vast space that should have been physically impossible.

This structurally-useless door led to the lair—ahem, laboratory—of Hakubi Washu, a scientific genius, and the greatest mind in the galaxy. Close to the center of the room (which was too big to even be called a room) sat Washu, tapping away at her terminal. The monitor was covered in geometric forms. She was overseeing simulations of her research, analyzing results, and generally conducting some questionable experiments.

“What’s up? Seems a little early for lunch.” Touch-typing unerringly, Washu spoke to Sasami without looking away from the monitor.

“There’s a letter for you,” Sasami plainly stated without unnecessary detail. She knew from experience that was the best way to talk to Washu while she was absorbed in her research.

“A letter for me?” Washu’s fingers paused and she turned around, looking curiously at the envelope Sasami held out. After all, it was a regular paper envelope made on Earth. “I didn’t think I knew anybody on Earth with whom I would exchange correspondence.”

Written on the envelope, in beautiful penmanship, was the name Hakubi Washu-sama. Washu instantly ruled out any chance of the letter being a mistake or prank, considering her current environment and situation. The only possible sender was someone who knew that she was on Earth and who purposefully chose the old-fashioned Earth tradition of writing her a letter. There were plenty of people she knew who would be odd enough…or rather, fanciful enough…to do something so elaborate.

Washu flipped the envelope over. “Masaki…Kasumi? I wonder who that is…?” She understood that the name belonged to someone from Jurai, but she did not recognize it. It made perfect sense, of course, that the letter was from a Juraian. Information on what happened on Earth was under Jurai’s control, and there was practically no chance of other intelligence agencies getting their hands on the information. Not even the fact that the Emperor of Jurai and his two Empresses had visited Earth leaked to the outside world.

“The name uses different characters for ‘Masaki,’ but is it someone Tenchi-dono knows?”

“Oh! I bet that’s the name of Taro-chan’s mother!” Sasami cried out.

“…!!” As soon as Washu heard Taro’s name, she turned eyes of surprise and agitation to Sasami, which was very unusual for the usually-composed scientist. “Taro-chan’s…mother?”

“Definitely. Masaki is her last name.” Sasami said confidently, as she came to Washu’s side and peered at the envelope.

Kasumi, Taro’s mother, was Tenchi’s second cousin. Several months ago, she had been suddenly hospitalized for an illness, so the Masaki household had taken care of Taro for a time.

Ryoko, Tenchi, and the others were not used to handling ­babies, so Washu had looked after Taro… But it had reminded her of some bittersweet memories. If Taro’s mother had sent the letter, as Sasami said, it made sense that it was addressed to Washu. It was probably a thank you note.

“Mew…meow.” Someone else was also upset to hear Taro’s name: Ryo-Ohki. Perhaps she remembered being harassed while Taro was visiting. As soon as Sasami uttered the name, she reverted to cabbit form. She clung behind Sasami’s shoulder, rigid and nervous.

Sasami picked up the backpack that had dropped to the floor and gently petted Ryo-Ohki to reassure her. “It’s okay, Ryo-chan.”

“Meow.” Ryo-Ohki popped back into humanoid mode.

Washu turned with a gentle smile. “Thanks for the mail, Sasami-chan. I’ll read it later.”

“Huh? Oh…okay.” Sasami was a bit curious for news of Taro. She hadn’t been able to help care for him, since a number of things were troubling her at the time. She was very interested in the contents of Taro’s mother’s letter but could not bring herself to ask to read something addressed to Washu, so she reluctantly but cheerfully said, “I’ll call you when lunch is ready.” She took Ryo-Ohki’s hand to leave the room.

Ryo-Ohki, however, stiffened and would not move. She looked expectantly towards Washu.

“Ryo-chan?”

Washu, musing over the envelope, understood, petted her head, and said gently, “Thanks, Ryo-Ohki. I’ll be counting on you.”

“Meow.”

 

Washu made sure that Sasami and Ryo-Ohki were gone and then held the envelope in both hands. Her fingers froze, and she kept staring at it. A long period of silence ensued. She eventually closed her eyes, releasing a huge breath. Taking the envelope and standing up, she walked towards a different door than the one that continued to the Masaki house. The door opened silently, and the blowing breeze lightly ruffled Washu’s hair. Beyond the door was a park-like landscape surrounded by trees. Besides the trees, several different types of plants grew in cases of various sizes. It was more a botanical garden than a park.

Once through the door, Washu kicked lightly off from the ground. As casually as if she were skipping, she floated about ten inches off the ground without falling back down and soared through the air.

She could fly. Just like Ryoko, she could float through the air without mechanical assistance. It was hardly surprising, since she was Ryoko’s mother, but Washu made it a point not to use this ability in her daily life. She simply liked to walk. It feels good, and it’s healthy to boot. In fact, Washu had never shown the others that she could fly. If they had seen, their jaws would have dropped to the floor in surprise.

Well, that would be a sight to behold. Washu chuckled to herself, imagining their shocked faces. She wove her way between the trees. The place where she was going was quite a distance on foot. She could go there instantaneously if she used the door to the Masaki house, but she wanted to take her time today. She needed to prepare herself to read the letter.

After traveling several kilometers through the arboretum, a small building appeared before Washu. Its door opened automatically as if to welcome her in. Inside, the view changed completely. All the walls and surfaces besides the floor—or perhaps windows?—showed pitch-black darkness. The cosmos stretched out in all directions.

 

Anyone stepping into this room for the first time would scream, feeling disorientation akin to being tossed into outer space. Washu entered the building as if drifting through zero gravity. Before her, five planets spread out in a gentle arc. The building she had entered was a large orbital elevator, and her “lab” was a large artificial satellite floating in space. It consisted of those five different types of planets, centered on the research satellite she had just been in. They orbited an existing star system, not something fixed in hyperspace. The lab was connected to the door in the Masaki house using a massive amount of energy.

 

One of Washu’s planets had an astronomical observatory. It was not very large, and not properly equipped, but it was a replica of the one Washu lived in long ago. An hour after she left her lab, Washu was in this old, disorganized room, sitting in an antique rocking chair. She always came here when she wanted to reflect alone upon the twenty thousand years of her vast life.

In the room was a dresser, decorated with several framed pictures. Washu’s attention was fixed on a picture of a baby with an innocent smile and large green eyes—the same as Washu’s. The eyes seemed to stare into Washu’s soul.

“Good grief. What was the matter with me…?” Washu remembered having to say goodbye to Taro and writhed in embarrassment. This was not something she could afford to have anyone witness. But she had allowed Tenchi to see something similar.

The time isn’t yet right for that. It was still too early to force a decision on Tenchi. There was an order to things. Ryoko, Ayeka, Sasami, Mihoshi…heh…and Ryo-Ohki, maybe… Or are there more? Swaying in the rocking chair, Washu removed the stationery paper from the envelope.

“Dear Hakubi Washu-sama,” the note began. It continued with words of thanks and gratitude, describing how Taro was doing. It was polite but minimal, limited to the essential points. It was so generic that, at a glance, it seemed to be a courtesy letter, implying that Taro’s mother was not even that grateful to have her child looked after. In actual fact, Washu was aware that this letter held an important meaning. Its familiar format was also used for reports at the Galaxy Academy.

“Hmm… I see. She’s Tenchi-dono’s family, after all. I got careless. It should’ve been obvious… Hm?”

The postscript stated, “Please, keep this secret from Tenchi-chan.”

“Secret from Tenchi-dono…?” Washu murmured with a full heart. She glanced at the enclosed picture of Taro and his happy parents, and raised it to compare to the picture on the dresser. The distance between the two pictures was fate, and time. “I’m happy for you, Taro.”

Right as Washu was about to put the letter away, Sasami’s voice rang in the room out of nowhere.

“Washu-oneechan? It’s time to eat.”

“All right, I’ll be right there.”

Washu’s lab was expansive. She usually worked on her research through simulations in the living room on the space station, but she periodically made her rounds to other places. Nobody would ever be able to find her at those times. That was why she had placed an intercom on the Masaki house door that connected directly to her. She did this partly because an unwitting trespasser would run into several dangerous pitfalls; the biggest reason, however, was as a countermeasure against Mihoshi. Washu had reason enough to be cautious.

 

By the time Washu arrived in the Masaki house’s living room, everyone but Mihoshi was seated.

“You’re late, Washu-oneechan.”

“Sorry about that. I had some stuff to take care of,” Washu apologized to Sasami, taking her seat. At the same moment, Mihoshi appeared in the door Washu had just emerged from.

“Oh, Washu-san. Where have you been?” Mihoshi took her seat. Sasami looked at her skeptically.

Sasami never picked Mihoshi to fetch Washu from her lab. Since she was the Genius of Chance, Mihoshi’s coincidences always ended up fortuitous in the end. The problem was the process. When Washu was involved, for some reason, the coincidences often took the shape of chaos and destruction. No matter how favorable the results, getting that chaos under control after the fact was too much trouble to ever be worth it.

Of course, Mihoshi was careful in her way, so not everything she touched was exposed to the ferocity of her coincidences. But there were moments, after which something always broke or got out of hand because of Mihoshi.

This would not be a problem if the incidents were confined to the Masaki house. Ayeka pointlessly falling into the pond, for example, or something falling on Ryoko’s head, or the carrots Tenchi harvested rolling down the hill for a mile, or someone stepping on Ryo-Ohki’s tail, or a dish breaking, or a faucet breaking, or even a shuttle crashing to Earth and flooding the house… There were many options, but they were limited to the formulaic jokes commonly seen on sitcoms.

If something happened in Washu’s lab, however, it wouldn’t be easy to shrug off. Having Mihoshi summon Washu was like making a campfire to roast potatoes in an explosives factory, and Sasami would never do that.

Unfortunately, Mihoshi was not the type of person who sat there and did nothing until she was asked. She had helpfully gone to call Washu on her own.

Noticing Sasami’s concern, Washu smiled gently to reassure her. Sasami, relieved, started to serve the rice. “Mihoshi-dono…where were you looking?” Washu asked, knowing it was too late.

“Well…first…”

“Keep it short,” Washu remembered to add.

“Okay. Well…there were dark places and bright places, hot places…and cold places. Oh, thanks, Sasami.” Mihoshi paused to accept the bowl of rice Sasami passed her.

Washu thanked Sasami internally for the quick thinking. Mihoshi’s answer was always the same, and there was no point in asking. Washu had just set up the new anti-Mihoshi security system, and she decided to chalk this up to a test run. She would eventually find out what Mihoshi had done, and with more updates, a perfect anti-Mihoshi security system would be complete. A system that could handle the genius of coincidence—that singular perfection. It’ll be a bestseller for sure. Many people would want one. But the first in line, cash in hand, would be the Galaxy Police.

 

After lunch, everyone was free to nap. Washu retreated to her lab, changed, and came out dressed to collect plant specimens. First, however, she headed towards Sasami, who was cleaning up in the kitchen.

“Sasami-chan…this was in that letter.” Washu had noticed that Sasami was curious about the letter, and now gave her the picture of Taro with his parents. “Everyone’s doing well. Taro’s mother has gotten better and can return home.”

“Really? That’s great,” Sasami smiled.

“Show that picture to the others. I have to go out.”

“But it looks like it’s going to rain.” Sasami looked towards the window. Heavy clouds had rolled in.

“It’s supposed to be sunny today! Well, I’ll be fine.” Washu waved, and headed out of the kitchen, towards the front door.

“Off to collect specimens?” Tenchi came down the stairs.

“Yeah…a few.” Washu answered, feigning serenity. Internally, she remembered the letter and the picture, saying goodbye to Taro, and the words she had almost said to Tenchi. She tried desperately not to blush.

“What’s the matter?”

“Nothing.” Washu opened the door to escape. A breeze, rather chilly for spring, swept in.

“It’s like winter has come back, Washu…san.” Ever since he saw Washu’s tears when they said goodbye to Taro, Tenchi sometimes addressed Washu using the “-san” honorific, rather than “-chan.” Washu did not comment. To her, Tenchi was not the past, but the future itself. “Will you be okay, dressed like that?”

“It’s fine. Besides, I’ll be right back.” To an outside observer, Tenchi seemed to be an older brother concerned about his little sister. But Washu’s tone was full of affection, more like a mother with a son anxious about house-sitting. Tenchi noticed that tone, blushed, and looked away. “See you later, Tenchi-dono,” she said gently and walked off towards the mountains.

Tenchi watched her for a while, shivered at the incoming chill, and looked up at the sky. Cold white flakes came fluttering down and melted into drops of water against his warm cheek. “It’s snow.” He gazed at the increasing flurries for a while. Suddenly growing concerned, he looked in the direction Washu had walked off. “Washu-san, it’s snowing…” But, as if she had melted into the snow, Washu was gone.

 

“It’s coming down hard, isn’t it?”

“It doesn’t usually stick like this.” Ayeka and Tenchi watched the show fall, murmuring. In south Okayama, where they lived, it occasionally snowed but rarely accumulated. Snowfall would melt the next day at the latest.

“Is Washu-oneechan going to be okay…?” asked Sasami, folding the laundry she had brought inside.

“That cold-blooded witch will be fine. I wouldn’t be surprised if she was the one making it snow in the first place,” spat Ryoko, tears swimming in her eyes. She had just finished volume nineteen of Checking In ☆ On You, which was a turbulent mess of climaxing storylines.

“That would make her the Snow Queen,” said Tenchi, appalled.

“That’s Ryoko-san’s mother, after all,” Ayeka casually teased, triggering an immediate glare in reaction from Ryoko.

To avoid getting involved, Sasami and Tenchi headed for the sofa area with tea and snacks. Mihoshi was already there. She took a rice cracker from Tenchi’s box of snacks. Stuffing her mouth, she asked, “Henhihan, whaff a Fwow Kween?”

“Please ask again after you’ve swallowed.”

Gulp! “Tenchi-san, what’s a Snow Queen?”

“Oh…she’s a character in folk tales. A winter apparition who lives on snowy mountains. She can manipulate snow and ice.” Tenchi told Mihoshi the gist of the tale, but, since he was not well-versed in the story, made things up here and there. Sasami and Mihoshi sat and listened, riveted. Fairy tales from Earth were new to them.

“That was interesting. There’s a story like that on my planet, too.”

“Really, Mihoshi-oneechan?”

“She’s making things up. Don’t lead people on, Mihoshi.” Ryoko, who had bailed on the standoff with Ayeka, floated above them. Ayeka, left behind, looked at her grumpily, then gave up and joined the conversation.

“Whaaat? But my great-grandmother said she saw her when she was little!” Mihoshi shrank back at Ryoko’s glare.

“Are you sure?” Ryoko demanded.

“I think so…”

Sasami and Ryo-Ohki came between them. “Mihoshi-oneechan, tell us the story of the Snow Queen! Ryo-chan, you want to hear it, too, right?”

“Meow!”

“I’d love to hear it as well.” The vote from Tenchi settled it. Everyone sat around to listen to Mihoshi’s story. They couldn’t work in the fields because of the snow, and the gloomy light made the atmosphere perfect for ghost stories.

“Okay, then…”

“Hold on,” Ryoko interrupted. Ignoring Ayeka’s teasing, she closed the curtains, lit candles to intensify the mood, and plunked a bottle of sake next to her. “Okay, I’m ready. You may begin, Mihoshi.”

“Uh, Ryoko, I’m not telling a ghost story or anything.” Mihoshi remembered the hullabaloo over the supposed ghost at the hot springs resort run by Tenchi’s relatives and made a pitiful, reluctant face. It was hard to blame her, as she had passed out from fear during that incident.

“Just get started already.”

“O-okay…” Mihoshi cleared her throat, paused, and started to talk quietly. “The planet Seniwa, where I was born, is covered in snow for almost half the year, even close to the equator.” Her voice was low, and she used it well for emphasis. Although she was the biggest scaredy-cat, she joined in the fun when people gathered, despite her complaints. “My great-grandmother had a stepbrother from her parents’ remarriage. He was six months older. She married him when she grew up, had my grandmother, and then…”

“We don’t care about your family tree, you idiot. Just get to the story!” Ryoko yelled, already drunk.

“I-I’m so sorry!” Misplaced attention to detail was very characteristic of Mihoshi. “Well, this story I’m about to tell you happened when my great-grandfather was five years old, and my great-grandmother was four.”

She spoke matter-of-factly, and the others listened intently. The snow continued to fall.

 

There was a room in a palatial mansion that was full of large antiques. The stately furnishings were austere and without embellishments, but experts would have recognized the materials as remarkably extravagant. The room looked subdued, but the shoes, clothes, and toys indicated that its resident was a child and not an adult. That child was sleeping in the large bed in the center of the room. She was lovely, with brown skin, blonde hair, and blue eyes. She seemed to have a cold and sometimes coughed painfully. A woman, apparently her mother, sat by her bedside, knitting with a practiced hand.

Knock knock. The mother noticed the reserved knocking and looked up towards the door. “Come in.”

The thick wooden door opened at her voice. A boy peered in. His pale skin and green eyes contrasted with the woman’s and the girl’s.

“What’s wrong?”

“Mother…how’s Miyuki?” It was obvious at a glance that the woman and boy were not biological relatives. The only thing they had in common was their beautiful blond hair.

“She’s fine. The fever’s gone down, and she’ll be good to go in a couple more days.” The mother looked at the boy kindly.

“Oniichama…” the girl whispered.

The boy began to approach, but the mother raised her hand to stop him.

“No! If you get this cold, too, it’ll be even longer before you can play together.”

“All right…” He cast his eyes downward.

The mother gently admonished him. “It’s getting late. You should get to bed.”

“I will… Good night, Mother. Get better soon, Miyuki.” He was about to close the door, when something outside caught his eye, if only for a moment. It was a human silhouette.

“What’s the matter?”

“I thought I saw someone outside the window…” As he spoke, the mother swiftly moved towards the window he pointed at. She did not intend to frighten the children, but the way she carried herself betrayed her military training. She peered out the window from the shadows and confirmed that the security system was functional.

This house belonged to one of the country’s leading families—perhaps even the most powerful in the country. They were equipped with a tight, multilayered security system for protection. Since the alarm did not sound, there should be no intruder… But the mother was clearly wary of something. Having confirmed that there were no malfunctions, she turned back towards the boy. “It’s all right… There’s nothing there. It must be a snow fairy who came to look for you, since you two weren’t outside playing. So you better work on getting better.”

Her soothing voice allayed the boy’s unease. “You’re right… Good night, Miyuki. Good night, Mother.”

The mother watched him leave the room and sat down by the girl’s side again. The little girl’s face was twisted in sadness. She missed the boy.

“You’ll be able to play again when you get over your cold.” The girl nodded, on the verge of tears. “Do you like him that much?” The mother teased the girl as if she was talking to her friend and not her daughter.

“You know what…? When I grow up, I’m going to marry him.” The girl half-hid her face in her blanket while she talked, embarrassed, and then covered her whole head.

“Is that so? Wouldn’t that be nice,” the mother murmured, somewhat sadly. The pure white snow showed no signs of stopping and continued to fall, as if it intended to smother everything…

 

The snow had stopped the next day, which was rare during that season. Reflected in the white crystals, the sunlight almost seemed to be dancing. The girl watched the charming sight from her bed. She had gone to sleep early the night before and therefore woke up at quite an early hour, too. Bored, and not knowing what to do, she sat up, feeling somewhat better. She glanced out the window and saw someone running in the snow. A boy was playing with a ball on the frozen ground.

“Oniichama…that’s not fair…” The girl got out of bed to go after him, but then imagined the worried look on her mother’s face, and quietly followed the boy with her gaze instead. Even from a distance, she could tell he was having a lot of fun. He had been cooped up for days, frustrated that he could not run as fast as he wanted when the girl was with him. Now, he ran quickly and furiously after the ball. He could kick it even farther, and run faster. Faster.

The girl watched him get farther and farther away, and an unspeakable anxiety suddenly welled up inside her. She felt like he was going to disappear into the snow, just like that.

The boy kicked the ball high. He ran after it, watching it rise in an arc in the blue sky. “Oh…” Running into a sudden plume of powdery snow, he stopped. He was buffeted by the wind swirling around him. In a few seconds, it passed. He opened his eyes and saw that the fallen ball had rolled close by. He went to go get it and then noticed a woman standing beside it.

“…!!” The boy stiffened, vigilant. This woman had appeared out of nowhere in the middle of a clearing, after all. I have to run away, he thought instinctively. This whole area was the property of his house. A stranger would not be out here alone without an escort. Since he was born privileged, he was taught as a matter of course that some people would try to make contact for ulterior motives, especially malicious ones. Although young, he knew what to do. Activate the Guardian System…and then… he thought, but did not move. He only stared at her.

An otherworldly beauty with striking red hair, dressed in black… What held his attention were her eyes, the same green as his. He did not feel afraid. On the contrary, he felt nostalgic. I know this person. I know her…

The woman picked the ball up and approached. “Is this yours, little boy?”

He shivered at her regal voice, almost moved to tears. If he shifted even a little bit, perhaps the tears would spill out. He could not move a step until she was right in front of him. With a gentle smile, she held out the ball. He took it, still staring into her eyes. “Thank…you,” he managed to stammer, then, as though he was coming to his senses, the nervousness binding him vanished. Was it because their hands brushed when he took the ball from her? Surprise remained on the boy’s face, but he was no longer wary.

Another pair of eyes watched them from the bushes a short distance away. It was the girl, who had snuck out of bed. She had spotted them, but for some reason, she could not call out to them.

Her mother treated the boy no differently, but even to the girl’s naive eyes, there was something off in their relationship. But this woman and the boy stood there together, perfectly natural, as if they used to be a single entity.

She’s the Snow Queen…

The girl remembered a bedtime story her mother told. A beautiful woman, shocked by the death of her child, disappeared into the snowy mountains. Without a body, she was a soul adrift, continuing to search for her child, who was no more. It was the tragic tale of a spirit who kidnapped children she saw playing alone.

From the girl’s position, she could not tell what they were talking about, but it was clear they were enjoying each other’s company. She could only watch.

“…?!” She noticed that something had changed. There was no sound of the wind or rustling trees. A hushed silence fell around them.

The woman reached out to the boy. The boy did not resist. He did not know what they had been talking about, but he knew that he wanted to take her outstretched hand. He reached back.

The Snow Queen is going to take Oniichama away… The girl had a gut feeling. She tried to stop him, but her voice would not emerge, as if time had stopped for everyone besides the woman and the boy. She’s going to take him away. No matter how the girl panicked, she could not move one finger. The sadness brought tears to her eyes. She’s going to take him away…

The moment the woman and her brother’s hands were about to touch, warm tears streaked the girl’s cheeks.

“Oniichama!!”

In that moment, time, which had been frozen in place, began to tick forward again. The boy came back to his senses at the girl’s cry. The desire to take the woman’s hand vanished, and he turned around. The girl stood there, wearing only a shawl over her nightclothes.

“Miyuki!” The boy, surprised, ran to the girl.

“Oniichama.”

“Mother told you to stay in bed.” He gallantly threw his cape over her.

“Oniichama!” The girl clung to him and turned to the woman, practically daring her to take him. But then, she noticed the deep sorrow in the woman’s eyes, which dissolved her intense anger. “I-I’m sor…” Equally intense remorse now welled up inside her. “I-I’m sor…” She kept trying to say the words, but the sound would not come out.

“Miyuki-sama! Miyuki-sama!!” Two guards rushed over, having come to search for the missing girl, and raised their guns to protect the children from the suspicious woman. The woman continued to calmly regard the children.

Still clutching the boy, the girl could not avert her eyes. “…I’m sorry…” She whispered, her voice breaking and her face tear stained. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she finally managed to say, and buried her face in the boy’s shoulder to avoid the woman’s eyes. She repeated the phrase like an incantation. “I’m sorry…”

“I’m not angry at you…” The boy, thinking the words were meant for him, hugged the girl and gently patted her head.

“I’m sorry.” The girl did not want to see the woman’s eyes anymore. She was afraid. She knew that if she looked into this stranger’s eyes, she would not be able to stop the boy from leaving with her.

The second one of the guards touched the woman to take hold of her, a powerful wind whipped around them. For a moment, everything turned white—perhaps along with the emotions of everyone present.

Goodbye, dear boy… The girl heard the woman’s voice clearly through the billowing wind.

“…?!”The girl flinched and, raising her face, saw the woman smile at her. Her red hair danced in the wind, and she had the same gentle green eyes as the girl’s brother. Then the woman vanished into the snow.

 

The guards brought the girl back with the boy, and, exactly as she expected, she was scolded by her worried mother. Since she had gone outside just as she was getting over her cold, she ended up on bed rest for another week. The boy also caught a cold, and they were laid up side by side. The girl held the boy’s hand as he panted restlessly through his illness.

“Oniichama… Oniichama… Oniichama…” Thoughts swirled endlessly in her mind. Feeling the warmth of her brother’s hand, she relived the day. The woman must have been the Snow Queen. A kind, sorrowful apparition. A beautiful red-haired spirit of snow who let her have her brother back…

 

“Mihoshi-oneechan, what happened to the Snow Queen?” Sasami asked innocently.

“Nobody ever saw her again.”

“Is that so?”

“Heh, who knows? She could’ve been nearby this whole time…” Ryoko said in a low voice, threatening Mihoshi.

“Huh? Come on, don’t scare me like that…”

“Seriously, she’s…right behind you!!” The moment Ryoko said that, the window opened, the snowstorm swirled inside, and a figure with red hair silhouetted against the sky appeared.

At this well-timed entrance, followed by Mihoshi’s bloodcurdling screech, everyone jumped up, screaming. “Th-the Snow Queen!!”

“Wait! Don’t leave meeee!” Paralyzed with fright, Mihoshi crawled across the floor, bawling.

“Mihoshi!” A snow-covered figured grabbed Mihoshi by the collar.

“Eek! Save me!!” Mihoshi frantically screamed.

“Mihoshi!!” The snowy figure yelled in her ear.

“That voice…is that…Washu…chan?” Tenchi was the first to notice, but soon, everyone besides Mihoshi realized that the “Snow Queen” was Washu.

Washu’s angry voice and Tenchi’s words did not reach Mihoshi, as she was the only one still crying and screaming. “Please, spare me! I won’t tell anyone! Although I guess I just did…!!”

“Quiet!!” Washu, exasperated, bonked Mihoshi on the head, something she rarely did.

“Oww! What was that for, Miss Snow Queen…?!” Mihoshi took a long, hard look. “Oh… Washu…san?” Her ability to think returned, and she recognized the person standing before her as Washu. She let out a sigh of relief. “I’m so glad… I thought you were the Snow Queen…”

“Mihoshi-dono…” Washu grabbed her by the collar, brought her close, and glared at her. When Washu was mad, she looked even scarier than the Snow Queen.

“Wh-what’s the matter? Why the scary face…?”

“Do you really think I could smile when I almost got lost in a blizzard?”

“Oh, dear, that sounds terrible.” Mihoshi was slow on the uptake.

Washu’s face twitched. She should have known that beating around the bush never worked with Mihoshi. Feeling drained, she switched to a specific line of questioning. “What did you do in my room when you went to look for me?” This time, she did not tell Mihoshi to be brief.

Mihoshi started to talk. She had an excellent memory and could explain everything she did in great detail. “Well, first, Sasami-chan was preparing lunch. The menu was tender stem broccolini in broth and simmered potatoes, which Ryoko stole a taste of this morning, and I was thinking that they must be getting so tender just about now, soaking up the broth enough to fall apart… Oh, and I smelled fish and daikon stewed in sweet soy…”

“That’s enough of the lunch menu.”

“Huh? Okay…and I figured it was about time to call everyone over, so I went to open that door to your laboratory… Oh, I knocked three times, of course, and called your name three times, but you didn’t answer, so I went inside… Then it was pitch-black, and I turned around and the door wasn’t there, and I completely lost my bearings, so I got nervous and cried a little. Tee-hee! But I trusted my instincts as a Galaxy Police officer and looked for the exit, and it was still dark, but it got very hot… Oh, I forgot to say that I heard a bush warbler. Their song is so calming and elegant and reminiscent of spring…

“Anyway,” Mihoshi continued, “it was so hot that I started to sweat, and I tried to take some clothes off, but I tripped on my pants and fell over. It’s so true that you see stars when you hit your head… Oh, before I took my clothes off, I thought you might be around, so I called your name three times, but I still didn’t hear an answer… I picked up my clothes, because I shouldn’t leave things behind. Aaand then the floor was very slippery, so I tripped three more times. I hurt my knee, elbow, and the back of my head, so I cried a little bit. Tee-hee!

“But I’m an officer, so I mustered my courage and got back up. Aren’t I great? Oh, then I called your name three times again, but I still didn’t hear an answer. Instead, I heard a click from my right, and then there was what sounded like an animal growling from my left… I got scared and I ran, but I tripped three more times, and cried… Oh, but I didn’t forget to keep calling your name. Three times. Then I was anxious, and I was hoping I’d hear the warbler again, so I called the warbler three times. Then I figured I should call your name, so that was three more times…”

Mihoshi’s ability to recall was extraordinary, but she did not have the ability to organize those memories. As a result, her reports left not only Jurai, but also the GP in confusion. That was the reason why, earlier, Washu had told her to be brief. This time, for the sake of figuring out what Mihoshi had done, she could not.

 

Two hours later…

“I got tired of walking, so I sat down to take a rest… Then…”

“Hold on a sec. What exactly did you sit on?”

“Um, well… I think the number 108384788298 was on it.”

“I see.” Washu had patiently listened to Mihoshi’s endless story for hours. Now, she had finally heard the source of the trouble. She picked up Mihoshi with a smile, slid open the window, and threw her out into the heap of snow. Tossed with a strength that belied Washu’s apparent age, Mihoshi landed face-first in the deep snow, about eight meters away.

“Aiieee! Wh-what are you doing?!” Flailing about, Mihoshi made things worse for herself.

“Hmph!” Washu lightly harrumphed at the sight, slammed the window shut, and locked it for good measure. “Good grief… She scrambled the weather controller, and somehow, only for this valley…”

“Washu-san, please open up!” Mihoshi implored, banging on the window, which Washu ignored. The others watched, and though they cast sympathetic glances at Mihoshi, they did not dare open the window.

Washu activated her terminal and started to tinker with the weather control. She turned to the others. “Oh…so, I heard you yelling that I was the Snow Queen. But what were you all doing with the curtains closed?”

Sasami briefed her about Mihoshi’s story.

“I see…” Washu replied curtly, although she was the one who asked for the information, and continued working without another word.

“Um… Washu-sama?” After a while, Ayeka nervously spoke to Washu, pointing to Mihoshi, who was on the verge of tears on the other side of the window. Seeing Washu continue to ignore her, Ayeka fell silent without another word. Tenchi and Sasami did likewise.

“That should do it for now…!!” Finished, Washu turned her terminal off, briefly stretched, and finally turned her attention to the window.

“I’m soooorry! I’m soooorry!” Mihoshi was plastered to the window, her nose red from the cold, repeating her apology over and over in tears. “I’m soooorry! I’m soooorry!” Washu stared at Mihoshi, dumbfounded. “I’m soooorry! I’m soooorry! I’m soooorry…”

Tenchi and Sasami noticed Washu’s body trembling slightly. Then a chuckle came out. “Heh heh…” Washu slowly started to laugh. “Ha ha ha ha ha!”

Bursting out laughing, Washu opened the window and hugged Mihoshi.

“Whaat?!” Unable to brace herself against the sudden onslaught, Mihoshi lost her balance and fell into the snow with Washu.

“You’re just so cute! Darn you! ♥” Washu rolled in the snow, swinging Mihoshi around.

“Is her brain frozen?” At that, Ryoko’s face was suddenly covered in white powder. Washu had thrown a snowball at her. “Why, you…!!” Falling easily for Washu’s provocation, she leapt outside.

“Yay! Me too!”

“Meow!” Sasami and Ryo-Ohki followed.

“Wait, Sasami…!” Wapf! Ryoko’s snowball hit Ayeka. “R-Ryoko-san!” Ayeka squared her shoulders and also leapt out into the yard. Another snowball hit Tenchi. Since nobody knew who they were throwing at, the snowball fight turned into a big free-for-all.

Washu, throwing snowballs, looked sidelong at Mihoshi. “I’m sorry,” she says… You look just like her, little girl. Just then, Ryoko hit her with a snowball. Washu sank into the snow, laughing. So, she thought to herself, it’s been twenty thousand years…

 

This time, Mihoshi’s coincidences included the discovery of a disconnected circuit that had gotten too old and a bug in one of the weather programs. Neither was too serious. And, on the way to the weather controller, Washu found a manga volume she had left behind and forgotten about.

“Hey! I should’ve known Washu took it!” It was the last volume of Checking In ☆ On You. Ryoko snatched the manga from Washu, looked lovingly at it, and leapt on top of the crossbeams.

“Okay, good for you,” Washu mumbled weakly, watching Ryoko happily read her manga.