Before we start let’s get one thing straight: Tenchi Muyo and everything that officially comprises it is owned by AIC and Pioneer. This is unofficial and the story and original characters I create belong to me, so I’d be grateful if you ask before using them in something else. Please, PLEASE don’t sue me. I’m only doing this to justify my anime loving existence! *** Faith, Hope & Carrot Soup - A Tenchi Muyo Fan-Fiction By Nutzoide – Chapter 3: Harsh Reflections It was five in the morning when Tenchi was woken by the heavy rock music blearing into his ears. He groped around in the darkness tying to find the alarm radio Washu had given him to make sure he was awake in time to set the party up today. After hitting the off switch he pulled off the wireless earphones and headed over to the bed to wake the girls. Sasami, as she had said, had stayed the night in his room to make sure she didn’t wake her sister and Washu had decided to join them to ‘keep them company’. She seemed to like finding excuses to have a slumber party in his room. “Hey Washu, time to get up.” The diminutive scientists scrunched up her face before peering blearily at him through the semi-blackness of the room. “Oh, morning Tenchi-dono. It’s time?” Tenchi nodded then reached over to the other end of the bed and roused Sasami gently. Even so she woke with a start. “Te- Tenchi nii-chan. Is it morning already?” “Yeah, sure is,” he smiled. “We have a party to prepare remember?” “Mm-hmm. *yawn* Okay! Lets get going.” They both untangled themselves and followed Tenchi downstairs. “I can’t believe I was still asleep,” Washu mumbled to herself. “I must be getting tired in my old age.” Sasami had to restrain herself at that or she would have woken the house with her laughter. Tenchi looked up to the large rafter under the ceiling. “Ryoko!” he whispered as loud as he dared. “*Ryoko*!” After a few seconds Washu floated up, grabbed and gagged her. Ryoko didn’t like this one bit. “Mmmffff, mmm rmmmffff.” Washu removed her hand. “What the hell...” Ryoko mouthed before realising her voice was gone. Her hands flew to her throat and she looked over at Washu accusingly. “I’ll give it back if you promise not to shout, okay Ryoko-chan?” Ryoko glared at her but nodded all the same. “Good,” Washu said, then snapped her fingers and walked over to Tenchi and Sasami, leaving Ryoko to mutter curses under her breath. “Right,” Tenchi said, “Sasami-chan, could you go and wake the others?” The young girl nodded. “Washu-chan, I need you to fetch those boxes from your lab, and Ryoko, could you help me put up the decorations?” “No problem,” she replied, “I can do that.” “Oh, Sasami, could you leave my Dad for another hour or so. I don’t think he slept too well last night.” “Sure Tenchi. Shall I fetch Grandpa too?” Tenchi smirked. “Yeah. I think he can help with this.” Washu headed for her lab and Tenchi and Ryoko pulled the box of decorations out from the kitchen. Sasami padded back up the stairs just to meet Ryo-ohki crawling sleepily down them. The cabbit gave a pitiful, “Miyaa,” at being left out and got a free ride in return. “Let’s go Ryo-ohki, we’re going to have some fun!” *** An hour or so later the living room was looking positively festive. Streamers hung from the ceiling, balloons were hovering everywhere and two of Washu’s patented ‘confetti bombs’ were hanging in strategic corners. Thankfully they had been proven non- harmful at Christmas so were used with full permission of the house owner, who was busy re-arranging the furniture with his son. Sasami, Tsunami and Washu were in the kitchen cooking up a storm, Ryoko was playing with Mayuka who was obviously enjoying the balloons and Katsuhito was showing a now humanoid Ryo-ohki how best to stack presents without a tree to lean them on. Kiyone and Mihoshi were on balloon duty and just about to pass out, not having heard Tenchi saying they had done enough two minutes ago. “Okay,” said Kiyone, now thoroughly out of breath, “no more. We don’t want to drown her in floating rubber.” Mihoshi let go of the balloon she was blowing, which zoomed around the room before finding its way onto Katsuhito’s glasses. “That’s good,” she said. “Oooo, my tummy feels weird now.” “There ought to be a machine to do this sort of thing.” Kiyone stood up and headed over to Tenchi and Nobuyuki who were admiring the room layout. “Tenchi, I think we have enough balloons now.” He looked over at her. “Ummm, yeah, okay...” He decided not to tell her about missing his message. “I think we’re about ready. Grandpa?” “I believe Imouto-sama will get the shock of her life.” He smiled. “I shall collect the chefs.” Ryo-ohki ran up to Tenchi and gave his knee a hug. “Miya?” “Yep, I think you can tell them now,” he said giving her a pat on the head. She took off for the stairs, excitement making up for lack of sleep. The three cooks of the day came out of their kitchen followed by the old prince and everybody took up positions at the base of the stairs while they waited for Ryo-ohki. Upstairs the cabbit in question gave a cute salute to the two Juraian guardians who had taken position outside Ayeka’s room. “Time for her highness’ appearance,” Azaka said. “We should do this more often,” replied Kamidake. “It is nice not to have to spend the night at the gate.” Both guardians floated over to Ayeka’s bed where she was still sleeping. Azaka gave out a series of short high-pitched tones, “Your highness, it is nine o’ clock. Your presence is required downstairs.” “Hmm? What?” Ayeka sat groggily up in her futon and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. They were still a little sore from last night. “Your presence is required downstairs Highness,” said Kamidake. “Please dress and follow us.” Ayeka looked at them worriedly. This was their formal manner. she thought as she dressed herself. She turned back to her guardians, her face a mask of professionalism, and made her way to the living room now wearing her formal Juraian Kimono, escorted by both the guardians and Ryo-ohki. She made her way down the stairs. When she reached the bottom she was struck dumb by what she saw. “HAPPY BIRTHDAY AYEKA!” The chorus filled the house. The two confetti bombs exploded showing everyone in streamers and shining paper. “Wha..? How did you..?” Her own voice felt very small to her. “We figured it was time to start celebrating everybody else’s birthdays too,” said Tenchi, “isn’t that right Sasami-chan?” “Uh-huh!” the girl said nodding, “and you’re first on the list Onee-sama! Washu helped me work it out.” Ayeka felt a tear escape her eye. “Sasami.” She ran to her sister and enveloped her in a hug that would have done her mother proud. “Sasami-chan, you did this even after what I did to you yesterday?” “Of course, I love you silly!” Sasami replied hugging back. She was used to her mother after all. Ayeka sniffed and stood back up. “Thank you. Everyone.” She looked at them all. Washu clapped her hands, a silly grin plastered across her face. “Now, who’s for breakfast?” *** After the rather extravagant first meal everyone converged in the living room. Ayeka had been practically forced into the comfiest chair for the next ceremony, still somewhat overwhelmed by the whole thing. “Now, present time!” crowed Ryoko as she flew onto the sofa, incidentally rather close to Tenchi. Ayeka didn’t even notice. “We decided not to be cruel and make you wait,” said Washu, “or else we’ll all be too tense to enjoy lunch. And after everything we put into it we *will* enjoy it!” Ayeka sat staring at the pile of gorgeously wrapped gifts. Katsuhito leaned over. “I believe they are there for more than decoration,” he whispered conspiratorially to her. Ayeka nodded. “Yes, of course.” She reached for the top of the pile, a simple rectangle slightly wider on the top than the bottom. “Oh,” piped Mihoshi, “that’s mine! I mean, that’s the one from me!” Ayeka carefully removed the paper revealing a selection of books; one on the Jurai royal gardens, a rather good romance novel and a set of collected manga. “I didn’t really know which to get you so I though I’d get all of them,” Mihoshi said. Ayeka gave a light giggle. “Thank you very much Mihoshi-san. Actually I have been wondering how the gardens back home have changed.” “Oh, you’re welcome,” replied the blonde. Next was a small square one with Katsuhito’s distinctive signature on the card. “I thought you would enjoy these during or after your chores,” he said as she unwrapped it. “I find them very relaxing.” Inside it was a rather varied collection of music CDs, all of which were from classical Earth composers. It would be interesting to see what they were like. She hadn’t listened to much music while on Earth. “Thank you very much Onii-sama. I’m sure I will enjoy them.” She rarely called him ‘brother’ any more due to his role as grandfather of the family. It suited him fine, but hearing it still made him smile. “I think you should probably open mine next,” said Nobuyuki. “It’s the bulky red one this side.” The box in question turned out to be a rather pricey brand of portable CD player. “I’m sure Washu-chan can rig it so you don’t need batteries, but if Father got you music you should have something decent to play it on.” “Yes, it would make sense. Thank very much Nobuyuki- san.” She carefully placed it beside the CDs and took the next gift from the pile. She could tell it was another set of books, but coming from Washu they turned out to be quite a surprise. “Everything you need to keep that garden out back going,” said the red haired genius as she sat on one of her floating cushions. Out of curiosity Ayeka opened one of them to find every square centimetre of space filled with little hand written notes and chibi-Washus performing various gardening feats, such as hitting giant slugs with equally giant mallets. Ayeka couldn’t help but smile. Washu always made her contributions known. “Thank you Washu-chan, these will be very useful I’m sure.” Then came Kiyone’s gift. It was a small box that, once unwrapped, proved impossible to open. “I’m sure it is lovely Kiyone-san, whatever it is,” Ayeka said as she tried to defeat the opening catch. When they had finally got the thing open courtesy of one of Sasami’s kitchen knives the item inside turned out to be a very delicate watch. Ayeka held it up to admire it, “It’s very pretty,” she said before fastening it around her left wrist. “I noticed that you didn’t actually have one of your own,” Kiyone said. “Yes, thank you Kiyone-san, it is very nice indeed.” Kiyone nodded then turned to see what the next one would be. It was almost hesitantly that Ayeka reached for the package that bore Ryoko’s name. It was very light and rather hastily wrapped. She looked over to the pirate, who seemed to be curious as to her reaction but grew a rather large grin as she started to unwrap it, causing her no small amount of unease, especially given the events of the previous night. When the gift revealed itself however it became blatantly obvious there was nothing worse than Ryoko’s usual mischief intended here, and she soon lost the battle with her blush as she saw the lacy pair of knickers. Ryoko cracked up at the reaction. It was definitely the one she had wanted and was worth the embarrassment the shop owner had put her through to get them. As Ayeka held them up it became apparent to the others what the big joke was. The panties in question had the kanji ‘Ten’ on the front and ‘Chi’ on the back, ‘Heaven’ and ‘Earth’ respectively. Tenchi went bright red and Nobuyuki snapped a picture of them as he laughed. “Ryoko,” she said, “this is positively crude!” She couldn’t keep the straight face long as an image entered her mind. “I will have to let my father catch me wearing them!” Everyone chose that moment to break into laughter. “I bet Daddy wouldn’t know what to say,” said Sasami through her laughter, “and Mummy would love it!” As fun and silly as the gift was Ayeka knew Ryoko had said a lot with it. There was more than one way it could be interpreted, and she could respect the trust Ryoko had show in going through with it. “For... Forgiven?” she asked her best rival. “Hey,” said Ryoko rather hesitantly, “it’s not like I never did anything wrong. Err, anyway that was just for a laugh, I’ll go get your real present.” This left all the others in surprise as she phased out, with the possible exception of Tsunami who just smiled, and Ryo- ohki who started to play ‘Peek-a-boo’ with Mayuka, giggling on the floor. When Ryoko phased back again she was holding a purple wrapped box which she carefully gave to Ayeka. Ayeka took it with the same care. If Ryoko was going to be delicate with anything then it certainly needed it. Under the wrapping the box didn’t give anything away through its plain brown exterior. She opened the top and carefully removed the object. When it was it plain view Tenchi turned to Ryoko. “You said it wasn’t going to be rude,” Ryoko wilted a little. “But it sure is beautiful,” he finished. Ryoko smiled as she sat back up and looked over to Ayeka who was admiring it carefully. It was an immaculately cut glass figurine of a nude fairy sitting on a leaf, her wings stretched out behind her. “Yes Tenchi-sama, it is beautiful. Thank you Ryoko.” “Well, it just kind of looked right. You know, ‘cos you’re graceful and... stuff.” She scratched her head. “I’m still sort of new to this but I thought it was right.” “You chose very well Ryoko,” Ayeka told her. Ryo-ohki turned to Ryoko. “Miya.” “Huh? Oh, yeah right, your present. We’ll be back in a sec,” said Ryoko. “You guys keep going.” The two of them phased out. Washu, seeing Mayuka was now lacking a playmate, scooped her up and sat her on her lap for the rest of the gift-giving. Next up was Tenchi’s present, the bracelet. When she saw it she could help but think how lovely it was. Pretty but not extravagant. She slowly fastened it around her right wrist and admired it for a bit, then got up and walked over to Tenchi. “Thank you Tenchi-sama,” she said, then kissed him lightly on the cheek. When they both looked at each other again they were blushing and it was the click of Nobuyuki’s camera that let Ayeka know she was still in company. she thought as she sat back down. She was reaching for the last remaining gift when Ryoko and Ryo-ohki appeared again. In natural Ryoko fashion she floated right into Tenchi’s lap. Seeing Ayeka’s surprised and rather disapproving look she playfully stuck her tongue out at her, then closed her eyes and gave Tenchi a lick on the face. It quite surprised her to hear the others chuckling rather than the reprimand from Ayeka she had hoped for. A quick light argument was always good for working herself back into a crowd, but she must have missed something this time. And what was that strange texture..? Tenchi wiped two fingers down his cheek, looked at them, then showed them to Ryoko. She let out a disgusted ‘*Gack*!’ before phasing out again, intent on pouring a whole tube of toothpaste down her throat. Tenchi looked at the smears of Ayeka’s lipstick on his fingers. he thought. Ayeka was still chuckling as she took the gift from Ryo-ohki. This one was a small broach with a dark pink glass ‘gem’, a good match for her eyes. She smiled as she fastened it to her front. “Thank you Ryo-ohki. It’s very nice.” Ryo-ohki bowed her head modestly. “Miyaa.” She sat back down, this time with Tenchi, and waited for the next unwrapping. The last gift was Tsunami’s. She marvelled at it as the dress came out of its box. The embroidery was immaculate and it was an amazing likeness to her Mori Tatakai costume. It was as thought the two should have come as a set. “Tsunami, did you really find this here? Was it one you created?” Tsunami smiled. “No, I can assure you I came across this quite honestly in the town. I was very surprised to find it and thought you would find it pleasing.” “Are you going to try it on Onee-sama?” asked Sasami. Ayeka nodded and got up. “I think I shall. I will be back in a moment.” A few minutes later she returned. The dress was a perfect fit. “That’s really pretty Ayeka,” said Mihoshi as she came in. Sasami and Tsunami both glowed and Sasami let out a giggle. “It’s great.” “Yeah, it really suits you,” said Tenchi in admiration, trying to keep his eyes where they should be. “Not too shabby princess,” came Ryoko’s voice from the door. Ayeka turned to see her, hoping she wouldn’t start a scene over the lipstick. “I’ll let you have this one,” Ryoko said as she passed. “Wouldn’t want to mess up that dress.” Ayeka smiled and nodded. “My present now,” said Sasami and she ran past the two girls and up the stairs. A moment later she came down with a carefully wrapped rectangle that was over half her own size. As she brought it in they could feel sense of peace and contemplation fill the room. She handed it to her sister who careful unwrapped it. Inside was a fantastic picture of both Ayeka and Sasami. It looked as though it were a slightly stylised photograph rather than a painting. Sasami was wearing a strange Juraian outfit with a scandalously short skirt, held a heart tipped wand and was standing in a cute victory pose. Behind her sat Ayeka in her lightest royal garb with a paper and pencil, evidently thinking of the Sasami character. She also had two little Ryokos with her, one on each shoulder. One was dressed as a little innocent angel, the other as a cutely crafty devil. “It’s amazing Sasami,” said Ayeka as she looked at it. “Tsunami’s been showing me how to paint with emotions,” Sasami said. “You can write so well I wanted to do something too. It’s like thinking the colour onto the paper instead of using paint. It feels like when you make a force field with a tree key.” She brought out the trigger-like key she still had from when Tsunami had been in tree form, like the headpiece Ayeka wore. “Does it make you feel sort of calm and thoughtful?” “Yes, it does,” Ayeka replied, still entranced by the picture. “Good,” Sasami said, “that’s what it’s supposed to do. I didn’t really know if I got it right. Umm... I put the Ryokos in last night. I hope you don’t mind, Tsunami said I should keep them.” Washu peered at the picture, then at the young princess. “I might have to take some readings when you do another one of these Sasami-chan. This is impressive.” Sasami smiled in response. Ayeka looked over at her sister. “It’s lovely Imouto- chan, thank you.” “That’s okay,” Sasami said, still smiling. She looked to Tsunami knowing that she was smiling too. It worked. *** The karaoke contest that evening had lasted well into the night thanks to great food, plenty of alcohol and a seemingly endless list of songs, all judged by Nobuyuki, Katsuhito, Ryo-ohki and (ostensibly) Mayuka. The amount of cake Ryoko had managed to consume during the contest was amazing. It had rather surprisingly been Kiyone who had won the night this time round. As much as she loved singing the usual scoring was never kind to her. Ryoko had come a respectable second thanks mostly to a slow sake-induced song which held a great deal of heart. Tenchi as usual came last being somewhat less than musically inclined, but was a good sport about it none the less. The next morning was generally deemed too painful by consensus thanks to a large selection of hangovers which Sasami and Ryo-ohki went about nursing for them all. By ten however everyone was up and starting to feel better after coffee and Washu’s medicinal supplies had gone round. It was Ryo-ohki who suggested, using Ryoko as an interpreter, that a trip to the local park would be good before lunch so everyone could feel better now the sun was out. This was fine by all of them since the living room needed airing out having been used all day (and a fair bit of the night too) and Mihoshi, in an instance of inspiration, had suggested that she and Kiyone take the birthday *and* the day after off since they would likely be in no shape to start work. Half an hour later the park in question was bombarded by the unusual residents of the Masaki household who quickly, as was usual when they all took a trip out, became the centre of attention. Sasami and Ryo-ohki, who was passing herself off as a rare breed of rabbit, had decided that Tenchi was going to back up his defence of the Earth game ‘football’, or ‘soccer’ as the Americans called it. As such Tenchi had brought his old ball and some extra bokkens to serve as goalposts. After leaving Mayuka with Ryo-ohki to guard her they split themselves into two teams of five and Tenchi told them the basic rules. After fifteen minutes of explanation (and in Mihoshi’s case re-explanation) they broke up and took their positions. On one side was Tenchi, Ryoko, Katsuhito, Washu and Nobuyuki in goal. The other was Sasami, Kiyone, Mihoshi, and Ayeka with Tsunami taking goal-keeping duty. They had soon gathered a small crowd of spectators, initially from having lots of brightly coloured hair flying about, all of whom quickly took their side to shout for. While Nobuyuki was not the most sporty of people his father-in-law soon proved that the family wasn’t to be taken lightly and made an early goal, much to Tsunami’s apparent surprise. After that everyone seemed to get into the feel of the game and it became obvious that Tenchi’s team was the better of the two, Ryoko and Washu both being fast with the ball and Tenchi taking after his grandfather in his accuracy. Ayeka on the other hand was surprisingly agile considering her choice of clothing but seemed to have a problem getting the ball to go where she wanted it. It was Sasami and Kiyone who ended up carrying their side, the former turning out to have good passing skills to complement the latter’s formidable shooting and volley work. Mihoshi unfortunately had a problem keeping the ball at her feet so stayed in defence to support Tsunami, whose goal-keeping was excellent considering she barely moved much of the time. Tenchi began to suspect she wasn’t completely keeping to the ‘no powers in public’ rule but the spectators never seemed to notice. After almost half an hour of the game they had to call it time after Sasami almost collapsed with exhaustion, conceding that it wasn’t a bad game after all. The final score had been seven to Tenchi’s team and four to Sasami’s. The crowd that had built up celebrated and commiserated with them before going back to their lives, with Ryoko, Kiyone and Tsunami having been asked for autographs and all of the older girls having had at least one request for a phone number. Washu pouted at that, having spent the time looking like a twelve year old. Five of the spectators however had stuck around. Koribashi, a friend of Nobuyuki’s from work, engaged both him and Katsuhito with questions about the next project and whether he could see their house since Nobuyuki has designed it himself. As usual it was a ‘perhaps but some other time, we have guests’. Sasami was approached by three other girls who looked around her age and they all ended up playing with Ryo-ohki and Mayuka and sharing silly stories under the eyes of their parents. Tsunami took the role of Sasami’s ‘guardian’ and took the opportunity to talk with the other women, which she found most enlightening. It was Kiyone and Mihoshi who were approached by the last one. It was Shoji, carrying his camera and a large notebook in the bag under his arm. “Hi there, that was quite a match.” “Shoji-san, hi!” Mihoshi said as she saw him. “What are you doing here?” “Besides watching the football? I guess it’s nominally called work. I’m almost finished with the article, and you guys make great photo subjects.” He pointed his camera lazily at Mihoshi and took her picture, which got him a cute smile and giggle in return. “So how have you been doing?” Kiyone asked. “Fine really,” he replied, “just finishing this piece then maybe take a few days off before I get another assignment.” At this point Ayeka caught sight of him and decided to sate her curiosity. “So Kiyone-san, who might this be? The rumoured date you mentioned?” “Date?” Ryoko could have rather good hearing when she wanted to. “Kiyone you have a date? Since when?” Kiyone sighed. “I *had* a date. Shoji this is Ryoko Hakubi and Ayeka Jurai. The boy just coming up is Tenchi Masaki.” Shoji looked mildly surprised. “You mean Masaki as in the Masaki Shrine up on the hill?” Tenchi bowed to him. “Yes as it happens, we live just below it. I didn’t realise we were that famous though. We don’t get many visitors nowadays.” “This is Shoji Mugai, and yes he *was* my date and now *is* a friend,” Kiyone said finishing the introductions. “Nice to meet you Shoji-san,” said Ayeka. Ryoko nodded. “Hi.” Shoji bowed back to the three new faces. “Yeah, actually believe it or not your shrine is talk of the town quite often. It has been for over a year and you’ve almost single-handedly brought tourism up by a quarter. Rumour has it the demon there has gotten loose, and that’s what causes all the explosions and so on up there. Any chance of an exclusive?” “Shoji writes for some magazines,” Kiyone explained with a nod from Mihoshi. Tenchi chuckled. “Yeah sure; the demon is loose, her evil captor is dead and she chases princesses up there.” The girls raised their eyebrows as Tenchi and Shoji laughed. Tenchi had, in a way, told the complete truth and there was no way in hell the journalist would think it was any more than a ridiculous joke. And he obviously found it quite amusing. “I’ll have to get that printed,” Shoji said. “Maybe I can get my artist friend to draw up a manga page for it!” “Well,” said Tenchi “I suppose Grandpa will be glad of the advertising. Like I said we don’t get many visits to the shrine now.” Shoji nodded. “To be quite frank they’re scared to go up in case they get blown up by that demon of yours. Are there really explosions up there?” Ayeka nodded sadly. “Unfortunately yes. Not at the shrine but the house.” She looked over at Ryoko as if to say ‘you see what you get us into?’ “Hey, don’t look at me,” said Ryoko, “it’s er... that little monster over there.” She pointed over at Washu who was talking with Katsuhito and the two architects, and incidentally getting their work concepts about a decade further down the line than they were to begin with. “It’s all her chemical stuff making the explosions.” Technically she wasn’t lying, she just didn’t say which explosions. Shoji looked at the short red haired girl for a second. “Err... Isn’t she a little young to be making fireworks or whatever?” Mihoshi giggled. “No, she’s really smart for a little girl!” Kiyone looked helplessly at him. “Well, she’s pretty advanced for her age.” Washu, having overheard their conversation, excused herself and walked purposefully over to them. “Hi, I’m Washu Hakubi. You’re the guy Kiyone went out with huh?” “Uh, yeah. Shoji Mugai. Pleased to meet you Washu- chan.” He didn’t really know what to make of her. “Ah! See, he got it right first time!” Washu crowed triumphantly. Ryoko caught the bewildered look on his face. “Don’t ask.” Washu whacked Ryoko on the backside with a bokken, presumably an ex-goalpost. “Be nice.” Shoji frowned and leaned down to look Washu right in the eyes, which startled her a little. “You know,” he said, “if I hit *my* mother like that I’d have been locked under the stairs ‘till I was sorry enough.” To his surprise the others all fell about laughing at that. All except Washu who was somewhat stupefied by the statement. She did however love the opportunity it presented. It was just too perfect to pass up. “Well my mummy loves me too much to do that, don’t you Mummy?” she said and latched onto Ryoko’s arm. Ryoko stopped laughing and tried in vain to pry her off. “Hey what are you..? Stop that you little runt!” Washu turned the cute level up to full. “Aww Mummy, come on, I want to play.” She started dragging her ‘mother’ off much to Ryoko’s perturbation. Washu was a lot stronger than she looked. Shoji just stood there bewildered as they left. “Okay, I’m lost,” he said as the other laughed. “Don’t worry,” said Tenchi, “they’ll be fine.” “They like each other really,” said Mihoshi. “They’re just a being bit silly.” “Oh right, entertainment for the guest, huh?” “Yeah!” Mihoshi nodded. “They like playing around.” “I see.” He thought that was an interesting way to look at it considering the rather forceful attitudes the two had had. “Actually” he said, “if I may I was wondering something when you were playing.” “Sure, what is it?” said Kiyone. “What’s with the hair? Are you in a rock group or something?" It was Ayeka who came to the rescue on that. “No, it is purely a cultural decision. It is based around a person’s level of responsibility.” She knew that if it were cultural it would just be accepted rather then made subject to debate as a matter of civility. “Oh, I’m sorry,” he said, “I didn’t realise it was like that.” “No offence taken,” Ayeka replied. “It is not a common custom, but allowed us to know what each person was to do at a time of crisis.” Shoji thought. “So where are you from originally?” “It was an isolated town in the mountains to the north,” Ayeka said working on the fly now. “We have since moved back into Japanese society, so it is no longer there.” “Oh, I thought you would be from overseas.” Shoji shrugged. “I would have liked to visit it now I know. Oh well.” They continued to talk, with Ryoko and Washu soon returning, until Sasami’s playmates had to leave and they decided it was time for lunch. Shoji decided to take them to a restaurant he knew nearby. He rather liked the strange group and it wouldn’t hurt to make a favourable impression. He might just get an exclusive story from the shrine as well as some good, if rather unusual friends. *** It was getting on to late afternoon when the troop returned to the house. Tsunami and Katsuhito disappeared off to the shrine and Nobuyuki headed up to the study to make up for the day off. The others spent the time in front of the TV until Sasami left to prepare the dinner, at which point Tenchi brought up the matter of the chores for the day, most of which concerned clean up duty from yesterday. “This is why you always have parties at someone else’s place,” grumbled Ryoko as she collected the deflating balloons and stray streamers. “Yes mother,” said Ayeka with a great deal of amusement. “Hey, don’t start with that crap again princess. I...” The rest of the rant was drowned out as Ayeka started the hoovering. Ryoko stood there and fumed before throwing her junk into the large bin bag they had. With each balloon she had to burst it first and, being in the mood she was now in, she did them by hand. Unfortunately this meant plenty of high-speed rubber in the face and by the time she was done she had vowed to get Ayeka back for the jab. Ayeka on the other hand was rather enjoying the task. Although monotonous it felt far less of a bore than dusting or washing, and she couldn’t see what Ryoko had such a problem with. All she had to do was get the big stuff the vacuum cleaner couldn’t manage. she thought as Ryoko pelted another handful of paper at the bag. When they were finished Ayeka decided to go for a walk in the woods out at the back of the house to pass the time until dinner. thought Ryoko, *** Ayeka hit the ground hard. The argument had been short and far from sweet. Ryoko was pissed for all the teasing she had taken over the last five hours and Ayeka had just had a very pleasant walk rudely interrupted in the least pleasant way possible, namely from an energy bolt and some heated abuse. “Time for that ass kicking I promised you,” Ryoko growled out as she flung another sphere of energy. Ayeka dodged the blast and called up her combat logs only to take a hard kick from the pirate. Ryoko followed up with a knee to the stomach, smashing Ayeka into a tree, her next punch cracking into the wood as the princess ducked away. Electricity began to ark between the small wooden cylinders surrounding the spot Ayeka had just vacated and she sent the high voltage current straight into Ryoko, throwing her on her back. Ayeka guided them down and set the charge to hold her fallen foe. Ryoko felt the constricting field snap on and braced herself for the shock. After the pain faded she tore self out and headed straight for Ayeka, flying fast to ram her down. Ayeka moved just too slowly and the impact sent her spinning to the ground as Ryoko flew for another pass, hurling an energy bolt at her as she did. Ayeka threw up her force field in time to shield her from the blast and moved in with a field enhanced swing as Ryoko flew by again, knocking her out of the air. Ryoko wasn’t down for long though and tackled her opponent to the ground. The two rolled around exchanging sloppy blows until Ryoko flipped Ayeka over her head and took to the air again. She effortlessly dodged another electrical charge and rained down a few more energy balls as Ayeka ran, then made a dive to take her off her feet. Ayeka rolled with the impact and extended a few of her logs getting a good whip at Ryoko’s back and forcing her back to the ground. She threw a small force field at her making her reel and got the now whip-like logs to hold her as she sent another electrical charge down them. This time Ryoko broke through the bonds as her sword flashed briefly into existence before going for another charge. Ayeka was surprised to see Ryoko’s sword out in one of their fights, however fierce it was, and that was enough of a hesitation for Ryoko to floor her. They grappled with each other until Ayeka caught Ryoko in the side with a knee and forced them both to their feet in a powerful game of mercy, gripping each others’ hands in an attempt to force the other to back down. It was then that Ayeka noticed the frenzied expression that Ryoko wore. she thought to her patron deity, “Ryoko,” she yelled as she fought to keep her hands strong, “what’s going *ooffff*.” Ryoko’s knee slammed into Ayeka’s midriff knocking them apart and ‘shrine demon’ flew backwards, an energy ball in each hand. Ryoko glared down and release the two glowing globes, each leaving a shockwave as they leapt forward. Ayeka, now terrified, raised another force field. It snapped into existence just as the bolts met it and the balls of energy found themselves caught in between the field waves. They flew around the shield as the waves tried to force them both in and out of their space at the same time, like opposing magnets attempting to repel each other. When the two bolts met they broke through the field, and the resulting explosion hurled both combatants away. Ryoko picked herself off the ground and shook her head. “Oooh, guess I went a little overboard there,” she said to herself a little dazed. She looked over towards the princess who was on her hands and knees on the path. As she walked over she could see Ayeka shaking, a few muffled whimpering sounds coming from her. “Hey, told you so. A little prissy girl like you could... hardly...” It was as she came round to the path that she saw the blood. Ayeka was doubled over on her knees, her hands grasping feebly at her throat and chest at the blood poured from her. A huge gash crossed her neck, the fluid pumping through her hands and down her front as she gasped and choked, desperate to get air into her lungs. Ryoko stared in horrified panic at the sight, completely unable to think. She had seen things like this in battle, but that was before, it couldn’t be happening now. A retching cough brought Ryoko to her senses and she rushed to Ayeka’s side as the blood spilled from her mouth. “Oh Goddess, Ayeka, you-you’ll be okay, wha...what do I do?” Ayeka flinched violently as Ryoko tried to touch her, which only made the convulsions worse. Ryoko panicked before realising there was nothing she could do. “H-hang on Ayeka, I’ll get help. Don’t die.” She phased out. Ayeka was in shock. All she could feel was the wet slippery sense of her blood in her hands. It was all she could smell, taste, touch, see. She could feel her throat burn and her lungs grow heavy as the thick red fluid slowly filled them. She felt a touch outside and recoiled as fast as she could. She had to get away. she pleaded, . The pain hit and she folded up again, her blood drenched hands at her chest as she tried to breathe through the pain. she thought as the world started to fade away, Then she lost consciousness. *** Washu was knocked to the ground by the force of the scream. She rarely used the link now, it was just a background feeling that kept her in touch with her daughter. Now it was open all the way as Ryoko screamed across it. She tried sending back but Ryoko just kept broadcasting pain, guilt and fear as loud as she could. Washu rushed out of her lab and found Ryoko careering towards the door, not being able to phase between dimensions into the lab. Ryoko practically bowled her over in panic before crying something incomprehensible. “Ryoko what? What is it? Slow down and speak properly.” “It’s Ayeka, she needs help, come on!” “Ryoko, what’s happened? What do you mean?” “AYEKA’S DYING! COME *ON*!” she screamed at her. Washu’s eyes widened in shock before the professionalism set in and she phased out, followed by Ryoko. From the living room Tenchi bolted outside, followed by the two Galaxy Police detectives. Nobuyuki looked worriedly from the window upstairs while Tsunami held the screaming and struggling Sasami, trying to work out why this had happened. *** Washu and Ryoko appeared on the path followed closely by Ryo-ohki. “By the good Goddess!” Washu whispered as she saw Ayeka lying in the pool of blood. “DO SOMETHING!” screamed Ryoko, but Washu already had her laptop out and within seconds Ayeka had been encased in a crystallised stasis field. Washu walked over and started to examine her. “What are you *doing*? You’ve got to help her!” Ryoko cried. Washu looked over at her. “She’s in stasis. We’ve got all the time in the world. She’s still alive. It’s a good thing you got me as soon as you did.” She gave a sigh. “What happened?” “We... we were just having a fight. But something happened. I threw some energy balls and they got... stuck! They got stuck to her force field and started spinning around it... Then it just exploded.” Ryo-ohki walked up to the crystal and laid a hand on it sadly. She looked up at Washu. “She’ll be fine,” Washu said smiling down gently. “I can fix her.” It was then that Tenchi and the others reached them. Washu looked over at them in alarm. “Where’s Sasami?” Tenchi skidded to a halt and looked around franticly. Ryo-ohki gave a “Miya miyaa”. “She’s with Tsunami,” Ryoko said for her. “Good,” Washu said quietly as she went back to Ayeka. Mihoshi went up to the crystal slowly, tears growing in her eyes. “Is she going to be okay Washu-sensei?” “Yep, she’ll be right as rain when I’m done with her,” Washu said, far more cheerfully than she felt. “That’s good,” Mihoshi said as she broke into tears. Kiyone wrapped an arm round her and lead her off. “We’ll be back at the house,” she said. “Call me if you need any help.” Tenchi lowered his eyes from the Ayeka’s crystal. “What did you do?” he bit out at Ryoko. Ryoko flinched at his tone and started to tear up again. “It was an accident, I swear. I didn’t mean to do it. We were just fighting and my energy balls went weird and Ayeka got...” “WHAT THE *HELL* WERE YOU DOING THROWING STUFF LIKE *THAT* AT AYEKA?” he yelled at her, causing her to shrink back. “They were only weak ones,” Ryoko said, “like the ones we usually use. They weren’t supposed to hurt her like that.” “WHAT? THEY’RE *WEAPONS* RYOKO. THEY’RE DESIGNED TO *KILL* PEOPLE, and you nearly *did* kill her!” “I’m sorry!” she whimpered, tears spilling down her face. Washu looked over at them. “I think Ayeka’s the one you’ll need to say that to Ryoko. And Tenchi, if what happened is what I think it was then she’s right, it wouldn’t take a lot of energy. I’ll get her to my lab.” She tapped her laptop and phased out along with Ayeka. Tenchi looked at Ryoko with a mixture of anger and disappointment before walking off. Ryoko fell to her knees and cried. As Ryo-ohki sat down beside her she had a thought. *** She walked through the glass doors several minutes later. Washu had briefed the others on what had happened and Kiyone looked up at her neutrally while Mihoshi actually shifted in her seat when she saw her, the tears still staining her cheeks. “It was only an accident right Ryoko?” she asked. She was almost pleading for that to be the case. Ryoko nodded, not trusting her voice. Mihoshi gave a tentative smile and Kiyone looked back down sadly. “Where... Where’s Sasami?” Ryoko asked. “In her room,” Kiyone replied, still looking at the floor. Ryoko nodded and walked slowly up the stairs and paused outside Sasami and Ayeka’s room. She shouldn’t show her face here, but she had to. Slowly she slid the door open and saw Sasami and Tsunami sitting there, the former crying as the latter held her. “Sa... Sasami?” Sasami jerked her head up. “WHY DID YOU DO IT?” she screamed as the tears poured down her face. “HOW COULD YOU?” She ran up to Ryoko and began beating her fists against her. “YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE FRIENDS! I THOUGHT WE WERE *FRIENDS*!” Ryoko took the hits as Sasami let out her anger. They soon tapered off and she buried her head in Ryoko’s stomach. Ryoko held her uncertainly. “I’m sorry Sasami-chan. I’m so, so sorry.” Sasami just wept. Ryoko looked up to see Tsunami looking at them both. She didn’t show any emotion at all. As far as Ryoko knew that was as bad a look as she had ever given. She didn’t know what it meant though, and prayed it wasn’t anger. *** Laughter echoed around the wooden ship. “They really are a pair aren’t they!” said the onlooker. The humanoid machine was again at his side, only now it was adorned with an unpleasant looking blade on its left arm and its legs and feet now looked capable of very athletic movement. It rattled off a set of noises. “Fine, fine,” the man chuckled, “there is no need for it to work any different, just set the levels higher.” The machine bleeped again and seemed to relax its stance. “I must say,” he said, “I hardly expected this so soon. We may be able to finish earlier than we thought.” Another machine approached, this one far more insectoid in appearance. It handed the man a sheaf of paper and bleeped. He quickly scanned over the document. “Why so long?” The machine gave of a ream of clicks and bleeps. “Five hours. Take any available help, just get it done. I have no desire to remain defenceless up here.” The machine bleeped again and strode away. The humanoid one gave an inquisitive set of noises. “I can’t see why not,” he said in reply. “Five hours will be more than enough. I am still unsure though, it will be far less efficient.” The machine ‘looked’ downwards and bleeped. The man smiled, “Very well then.” He got up and set a small floating device to watch the screen. “Inform me of the princess’ status. If she dies we move to contingency A. Otherwise continue as planned.” He turned and the walked off into the bowels of the ship. The humanoid machine followed. “Now then Syren, what sort of voice did you have in mind?” *** Tenchi, Katsuhito, Mihoshi and Kiyone sat in the medial section of Washu’s lab staring at Ayeka’s now un-crystallised body. Washu said the re-constructive surgery had gone without a hitch, especially since Tsunami had assisted in stabilising her when bringing her out of stasis. Several machines still covered her neck rebuilding the tissue. Katsuhito looked over at his grandson and sighed before rising. It seemed the answers to this were not the ones they should have been. He left to meditate on the situation after giving a silent prayer for his sister’s well being. He often played the enlightened sage for his own amusement, now it was time to do it for real. Being angry with Ryoko wouldn’t help the situation, and, Tsunami forgive him, he *was* angry. Tenchi just stared sadly at her. This was the last way he wanted to see her. Only yesterday she had been so alive, and now that had almost been changed for good. His thoughts kept straying to Sasami. She had been persuaded that the best way to help was to make sure everybody got to eat, so now she and Washu tried to comfort each other as they cooked. Washu herself was in pain through Ryoko, who hadn’t been seen for a while now. “Tenchi-san, maybe you should go and get some rest. It won’t do you any good worrying like this. She’ll be okay,” came Kiyone’s voice. “I can’t just leave her,” he replied. “Kiyone’s right Tenchi,” said Mihoshi. “We’ll stay and watch her, and we’ll call you when she wakes up.” Tenchi sighed. They were right, “Okay, I’d better go and find Ryoko anyway.” Mihoshi nodded and he left the room. “Kiyone,” Mihoshi said, “why did you make him leave and not us? Besides so we can watch for when she wakes up I mean.” “He’ll just worry himself sick if he doesn’t do anything,” Kiyone explained. “He’s like that.” “Even though it’s going to okay?” “Yeah.” Mihoshi looked over at her sleeping friend. She hoped the princess would be able to forgive Ryoko. They were always fighting, and something bad like this would really upset their friendship. As much as they both could tease her they were her friends too and she wanted them to get along. “Kiyone?” she asked. “Are you staying?” “Yes.” “I’m going to find Mayuka-chan then. She probably needs someone to play with.” she thought. “No problem,” Kiyone said as her partner left. She looked back to Ayeka. “You’d better wake up soon,” she said, “because I’m not looking after that garden of ours all on my own.” She chuckled a little to herself. Of all of them she had known Ayeka the shortest length of time, and yet somehow they had seemed to get on from the start. Perhaps it was because they were the most ‘normal’ of the visitors here that they became friends like they did. In any case she would be here to make sure she was okay and tell her what had happened. She most likely wouldn’t have the best idea and might not be thinking straight. *** Tenchi found Ryoko out in the woods. She was sitting staring at the red stained ground. “I didn’t mean it Ayeka, really I didn’t. It was just an accident. I just got mad. But that was some fight though, huh? I don’t think we had one that bad for a long time. I know I should have let it go. That’s what Tenchi said to do. But I got angry, you made me angry, IT’S ALL YOUR FAULT YOU PRISSY BITCH!” Tenchi reeled where he stood. He was about to approach her when she continued. “Then you call me an stupid monster. I call you stuck up and pompous. You call me an uncultured barbarian. Yeah, that’s the kind of thing you’d say. Then we can just fight like we used to, get tired out and go for a bath. And some sake, the good stuff under the sink Tenchi’s dad doesn’t think we know about. P...Please wake up Ayeka. You’re, *sob*, you’re the only real friend I’ve got. Even back before Tenchi, we were still friends, right? Weren’t we?” Tenchi heard her dissolve into tears. He slowly walked out to her and put a hand on her shoulder causing her to start suddenly and whip around. “T-Tenchi? H-how long have you..?” “Not that long,” he said. “Come on, let’s go back. We’ll be eating soon.” Ryoko looked back down. “I’m not hungry.” “Come on. Everyone’s wondering where you are. Mihoshi will start getting creative ideas about what happened to you if you don’t show up.” Ryoko gave a light chuckle and wiped her face. “Guess we don’t want that, huh?” A little way down the path she turned to him. “I didn’t mean to Tenchi.” “I know.” *** Everyone had eaten lightly when dinner had been served and it was two hours later when Ayeka began to stir, waking Kiyone from a light sleep. Kiyone had explained to her frightened friend what had happened but Ayeka was still tense and flighty when the others had been called. She had broken down when she had tried to speak. “Ayeka, it’s all right. Washu said your vocal chords were damaged, but she can fix that. She just needs you awake first before she can start.” Ayeka nodded as she looked in the mirror Kiyone had found for her. Her friend may have denied it, but she could see the scar. A huge ugly slash of faded white flesh where her perfect skin had been. The tears kept falling as she touched it. It felt the same, but what would Tenchi think? How could he love her with *that* across her throat. Kiyone put a hand on her shoulder. “Seriously Ayeka, no one will notice unless they know about it and go looking. As far as scars go that’s nothing. You should see some of the ones at the Galaxy Police. Hell, Mihoshi and I have better than that!” Ayeka smiled sadly. “But I can see it,” she mouthed, more to herself than anyone else, “and so will he.” It was then that the others came in. “Onee-sama!” Sasami cried and ran into her arms, crying into the medical tunic Washu had provided. “It’s okay,” Ayeka mouthed, although Sasami couldn’t see, “it’s all okay. I’m so glad you’re safe.” “Welcome back Ayeka,” Tenchi said with his cute relieved nervousness. “We missed you.” Ayeka smiled and nodded. “Yeah,” said Washu, “you actually had us worried for a second there. Don’t do it again, it’s bad for me.” She chuckled. “How do you feel Ayeka?” Mihoshi asked. “Okay,” Ayeka mouthed, “a bit sore.” “Oh my, your voice!” Mihoshi exclaimed. Washu shook her head at Mihoshi’s forgetfulness. “I just need to run some scans while you’re trying to talk then I can whip up something to fix it. Shouldn’t take that long.” Ayeka smiled in gratitude. “Ummm... Ayeka?” came Ryoko’s voice from the back of the group. Ayeka tensed up and looked over, seeing the woman who had tried to kill her. She backed up a step. “Wait Ayeka,” Ryoko said pleadingly, “I’m sorry. I’m... I didn’t mean to... I’m sorry.” She stood there waiting her judgement. Ayeka didn’t say anything though. She was caught between wanting to run away, wanting to strike her down and just wanting to forgive her and try to let thing get back to normal. She was caught somewhere in the middle, too angry, confused and scared to think. Ryoko looked up. Ayeka didn’t know what to do, but she had her arms protectively around Sasami. Protecting Sasami from her. Ryoko vanished. *** To Be Continued... --------------- *************** --------------- Please send any comments and criticisms to: nutzoide@hotmail.com Or leave them on the archive where you found this story. If it will help me improve, I want to hear it. Author’s Notes: Things are really starting to heat up now. Wondering about that emotion painting? Yep, that’s Pretty Sammy! Don’t worry, I’m not crossing over into that series, I just had to work it in. The fight scene turned out somewhat shorter than I expected, but there is only so much you can do without the action grinding to a halt. It was interesting to do though. *** Translation Notes: -chan: Diminutive honorific. The closest English speakers have is ‘little’ or ‘li’l’. Used for children, very close friends or lovers. A term of affection with the connotation of youth. -dono: Translated as ‘Lord/Lady’ or as ‘Sir’ in the way a knight would be addressed. Can imply martial prestige. -ken: The name attached is the name of a sword. The Tenchi-ken is the ‘Sword Tenchi’. (It can also mean ‘technique’ or ‘fist’ when used as a suffix for the name of a move. I won’t be using it that way in this fanfic though.) -sama: Formal honorific. Translated as ‘Lord’ or ‘Lady’. Very respectful. -san: Translated as Mr. or Miss. And so on. Can be used for both family and personal names. -sensei: Translates as teacher or professor and can be used as a word on its own. Bokken: A wooden training sword. Chibi: Translates as small with the implication of cuteness. I’m using it when describing a super deformed image of someone. Super deformed is when the character is very small or squashed, chubby and very cute, as seen used in some anime and manga for comic effect. Imouto: Meaning ‘younger sister’ and often used with the ‘–chan’ suffix although other can be used. Kanji: The Japanese naming characters. Karaoke: Popular pastime. Music is played along with the lyrics and you sing the song yourself. Kimono: A traditional Japanese outfit tied round the middle with a wide ribbon or similar length of material called an ‘Obi’. Manga: Japanese comics. There are types for pretty much everybody, not just the children and collectors. Miso: Bean paste often used in soup. Comes in several varieties. Mori Tatakai: Literally translates as ‘Forest Battle’. I used the Japanese since I designed it as a Jurai thing, not Earth related. Onee-sama / Onee-chan: Meaning ‘elder sister’. The ‘-sama’ variation is respected and the ‘-chan’ one is more affectionate. Onii-sama / Onii-chan: As above but meaning brother. Sasami uses the ‘-chan’ variations of both for members the family because she feels affection for them, as family and friends. (They can also be used without the ‘O’ at the beginning when placed after someone’s name, signifying that that person is their ‘brother’ or ‘sister’. Sasami uses this for the family she is not immediately related to such as Tenchi and those she considers family like Ryoko.) Onsen: A public or communal bath. Often associated with a hot spring. Ramen: A noodle broth. Sake: Japanese rice wine. Sashimi: Small portions of raw fish. Sushi: Small portions of raw fish often with vegetables wrapped in rice and a seaweed sheet. Tanuki: Smallish Japanese mammal similar to a raccoon (I think). Tanuki statues are often placed outside shops for good luck. Tempura: A form of deep fried food. Teriyaki/Sukiyaki: Japanese sauces/marinades. Wasabi: A hot Japanese horseradish often served on or accompanying sushi. *** Completed: February 19th – 2003 Posted: March 18th - 2003