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 soothe my inner daemons! *** Faith, Hope & Carrot Soup - A Tenchi Muyo Fan-Fiction By Nutzoide - Chapter 4: Chaos Trigger It was two days before anyone saw any sign of Washu after the incident. She had spent half an hour taking readings from Ayeka before vanishing into the depths of her lab and closing it off. In fact every member of the household had seemed to turn in upon him or herself during that time. Ayeka would rarely come out her room claiming fatigue. None of the others were fooled though. She would lie hidden under the covers with her mirror examining her scar for hours upon end, sometimes crying to herself, other times just lying there seemingly dead to the world. "What did I do to deserve this?" she whispered to herself from under her futon. "Am I so cruel that she would want to see me dead? She could have killed me at any time she pleased if she did not find such sport in my torment." Her tears ran down into the futon. "What if I do manage to win Tenchi-sama from you? You told me... to take heart when I feared he would abandon me for Mayuka- chan. We were finally friends. Ryoko, what have I done to you?" When she did finally appear she covertly tried to avoid Ryoko, as though the pirate would jump out at her at the first opportunity. A part of her wished she would. Sasami had taken it upon herself to look after her sister, but the strain was beginning to show. She was torn between sympathy and annoyance at her sister's refusal to try and re-claim her life. It didn't help that no-one had seen or heard from Tsunami since she had helped Washu to heal Ayeka, and Sasami desperately wanted to talk to her. In the end Ryo-ohki was her closest comfort. Despite being surrounded by everyone she felt very alone. Kiyone and Mihoshi had gone back to their apartment and excepting a phone call asking for news they had not been heard from. They had however ended up finding Shoji and the three had spent an evening getting far too drunk for their own good. For the two girls it was in worry about the problems at the shrine house, for Shoji it was in anger at his editor for cutting his (in his opinion) top quality article down to fit a meagre two-page spread. Including the photos. His usual attempts to stave off alcohol failed miserably that night. Ryoko had re-appeared the morning after her disappearance, red eyed and sombre, and had disappeared to her rafter without a word. However, it was not long after that she began to act as though nothing was wrong, chasing Tenchi and generally lounging around. It turned out she was a pretty good actress. The only reason she didn't fool them was that she was *too* good, because there was very little about the situation that wasn't wrong, and they all knew it. Mayuka was the only one who ever saw her otherwise, as she cradled her during the nights. she thought in the darkness of the living room. Ryoko clenched here eyes tight, trying to force the tears from here eyes, but all it did was send them trailing down her cheeks. She curled up as she sat there, cradling the child to her chest. "Mayuka-chan, what did I do?" And stuck in the middle was Tenchi. Ayeka had seemed happy when she had woken up again, but from that point on everyone had drifted away into their own little worlds and he just didn't know what to do about it. His grandfather, for once, couldn't give him the assurance or advice he had wanted, and this wasn't something a bokken to the head could help with. He suspected that the old man was almost as helpless as he was. It was perhaps his father that gave him the best piece of advice; "Just make sure they know they can come to you, and they'll let you go to them. At least that was how it worked with your mother." In the end he had gone round the house asking if everyone was okay, even though he knew they weren't. Strangely it had seemed to help somewhat. *** Ayeka stood in Washu's lab looking at a small black pill. "Just swallow it then give a good hard cough," said Washu as she fastened a small metal collar around Ayeka's neck. "Then give this a few minutes to re-work the cell structure and you'll be as good as new." She beamed at the princess as the tablet disappeared and she gave a couple of good coughs. Then a silent hiccup. "Oh thank you very much Washu, a bout of these is just what I need!" Ayeka fumed silently as Washu laughed. Then another quiet hiccup. There was *sound* there though, breathy and scratchy as it was, she had actually heard her own voice for the first time in two days. She let a smile blossom across her face. "Just give it a moment," Washu said as she brought up her laptop and took a final reading, "and you'll be good as new. Tsunami wanted you to keep the scar though. Goddess only knows why, it'll be gone by the end of the week anyway." She gave Ayeka a whack across the head with a pot plant that appeared out of nowhere. "And it's Washu-*chan*." Ayeka's smile broadened. "Yes Washu-chan, thank you." Her voice still felt scratchy but she definitely had it back. "I will see you at lunch. I have... things to catch up with." *** Ryoko lay on the sofa watching the huge television screen. Well, watching was probably too active a word. She lay there with the TV on, her eyes lazily fixed to it but not really seeing or hearing much of what it was. Her thoughts careered around inside her head trying to sort themselves out. Tenchi had been even less receptive to her than usual, a fact that she was getting very worried about. She had let him see the monster that had destroyed Jurai and the cute energetic space pirate was no longer as innocent as she seemed. It seemed that her mind was rebelling against her again. Ryoko turned her attention back to the TV program, not even noticing Ayeka's entrance through the noise in her head. Ayeka was, if she were to be honest with herself, terrified at that moment. She had no idea how she could deal with her rival and had no desire to provoke her. There was also the anger simmering under her thoughts. Ryoko, however bizarre and volatile their relationship had been, had been someone she had grown to trust. A trust that had been violently torn apart. That part of her mind would have liked nothing more than to take the Tenchi-ken to Ryoko once again just to hear her scream, to let the sound of her frenzied pleading atone for the betrayal she had suffered. she screamed to her mind. She closed her eyes and steeled herself. This was the only way she could attempt to reconcile with her without causing the scene she knew Ryoko wanted to avoid. Provided her nerve could keep her from bolting back to her room and away from the uncertainty that plagued her. "Ryoko-san! Can you not do something useful with yourself besides take up space in Nobuyuki-sama's house? I'm sure you have chores to deal with, not that a monster woman like yourself could do something useful to save your life." "Screw you princess, what's it to me if..." Ryoko's awareness returned as she took in what she heard and halted the canned retort. "Ayeka? You... You got your voice back! That's... well, cool. Not that I give a damn." She realised the meaning of Ayeka's words, and was quickly put out by them. It looked like Ayeka was still the brat she always was. "And what the hell would an uptight little baby like you know about work anyway?" Ayeka quivered inside. This wasn't the way it was supposed to be happening, Ryoko usually just ignored her when watching television. Didn't she want to play it the way they had been before? She was just getting Ryoko mad again and she was now truly scared for her safety. All she could do was play it through and pray. "Well Ryoko-san, the fact that I do actually pull my weight around here as opposed to filling the furniture." Ryoko felt the power fill her fingers as she floated off the sofa and over to Ayeka, ready to give her more than just a piece of her mind as the princess turned to leave. Ayeka realised she had badly miscalculated her approach and lost control of her fear, letting it flood her face as she cowered away from Ryoko. "Please, Ryoko, I... I was only trying to... please don't!" Ryoko though as she watched Ayeka tremble in front of her. Then the image flashed in front of her; that purple haired figure on her knees whose blood pumped through her fingers as Ryoko watched. Horror flushed over her as she realised she was about to attack Ayeka when the last fight had almost left the young Juraian dead. she thought as she stared at her hands. She backed away and banished the energy from her body. Ayeka pressed herself against the wall, her eyes tightly shut waiting for the blow. When it didn't come she tentatively opened them and cast a cautious glance at Ryoko. Ryoko looked back to her. Her mind raced to find a way to make the situation right again. "I... I need a bath. Do you, err, wanna come?" Ayeka stammered nervously. "I n-need to... I need to find Sasami," she answered lamely and almost ran from the room. Ryoko stood fixed to the ground cursing herself for her own stupidity. It was barely five minutes before Sasami called from the kitchen announcing that lunch was ready and Ryoko realised Ayeka had disappeared back into her room alone. Sasami had come out to find them when Ayeka descended the stairs again. "Hello Onee-sama," she asked worriedly, "how are you feeling?" Ayeka looked down to her sister with a faintly nervous smile on her face. "Much better thank you Imouto-chan." Sasami's face nearly split in two when she heard the reply. "Onee-sama, Washu fixed your voice! I'm so happy for you." She ran to her sister and gave her a ferocious hug. Ryoko felt her mood lift slightly as she watched them. "Yes Sasami, everything's all right now." Ayeka laid a hand on Sasami's head and Ryoko felt a small hand take her own. She looked down to see Ryo-ohki looking back up at her with a smile on her face. Ryoko knew Ryo-ohki would know what had happened, but the cabbit girl radiated optimism through their link all the same. Sasami let go of her sister. "Does that mean you're friends with Ryoko nee-chan again?" she asked, the hope shining on her face. Before Ayeka could respond Ryoko spoke up. "Yeah, that's right Sasami-chan, we're friends again. No problem." Sasami practically jumped back into her sister's arms. "Yaaaay! I knew you'd still be friends." Ayeka gave Ryoko a careful but thankful look and Ryo-ohki squeezed Ryoko's hand lightly. {That's all good. If Sasami's happy then everything's okay,} she thought-cast fuzzily to Ryoko. {I hope you're right,} Ryoko sent back. The two princesses came down and they all went to eat. When Tenchi saw them he gave them a warm smile. He had hoped the two of them would be able to work it out. When the girls saw this they each gave the other a careful guarded look before smiling themselves and sitting down to eat. Katsuhito was there with them reminding Tenchi about his sword practice that afternoon and Washu was there to 'get some vitamin D' after her two day absence. They all congratulated Ayeka on getting her voice back, though naturally Washu made sure to point out her part in the situation, and lunch turned out to be very pleasant. The phone rang as they finished their miso soup and it was Ayeka who volunteered to get it, wanting to get out from under the eyes of the others for a bit. "Hello, Masaki residence." "Oh, hey there Ayeka-san, it's Kiyone. I'm glad to hear your voice." "Thank you Kiyone, what can I do for you?" "Ummm... well, Mihoshi and I kind of got a little drunk last night with Shoji and... well, Mihoshi invited him over to yours for tomorrow. I know we were all planning to get together anyway, but do you think that would be okay? I know he wants to talk to Tenchi some time." "Well, I think it would be okay. I'll ask the others." As it turned out they thought it was a great idea and ended up having plenty of fun spending the afternoon creating their cover histories for the occasion while Tenchi practised with his grandfather and gave the fields a once over. Ryoko however was far from happy at being consigned the role of 'mother' again. *** Shoji was very glad Mihoshi had invited him to the Masaki's place. It was the ideal thing to get him out of the funk he had been in since his damn editor had butchered that article. Sure, the Masaki lot were all nuts, with the possible exception of Kiyone, that purple haired girl he had met and maybe her little sister, but they did seem like a fun bunch and that was just what he needed right now. "Hello Mugai-san," said Tenchi as he came out to meet them, "nice to see you again." "You too Tenchi-san, and it's 'Shoji' okay? All that formality make feel like I should be wearing a suit." He looked up at the house. "I must say this is an impressive place, by the water too, very nice." Tenchi swelled a little with pride for his father. "Dad designed it himself. He's always getting ideas for new additions. Come in and you can meet the rest of us properly." They headed into the main living room and the introductions when round like last time, only now including Tenchi's father, grandfather, Sasami and 'Sasami's cousin' Mayuka, none of whom he had been formally introduced to at the park, despite the meal they had shared together. "Oh, and my aunt Tsunami might be around somewhere. She kind of disappears now and then," said Sasami, trying to cover her nervousness at the obvious deception. "Now I see why you need such a big house," said Shoji. The chat continued for a while until Sasami ducked out to start preparing their lunch and Shoji took the opportunity to ask Katsuhito for a tour of the shrine, which he was all too willing to provide. "... and so Yosho planted the sword within the cave to complete the seal." Katsuhito couldn't help but smile inwardly at relating the tale once again as they stopped by the cave entrance. A fictionalised version of his final battle with Ryoko proclaiming his own heroism was personally suited to his simple, modest delivery and natural 'don't judge a book by it's cover' sense of humour. "Yosho dedicated his life to the shrine, guarding it to make sure that the demon was never awakened, and his descendants still guard it today." Shoji smiled appreciatively. "That's quite a tale Katsuhito-san. Do you know how much of it is actually true?" Katsuhito laughed. "I don't dare to presume it any less than that the literal truth. Tenchi and myself are descended from the shrine founder, but more than that is scripture and words of mouth." He rubbed his chin and gave Shoji a creepy smile, "And only one man has ever dared to enter this cave and brave the curse within." "And what happened to this man?" "Woman troubles." Shoji couldn't help but laugh at the old priest's perfectly straight delivery. "I take that to mean your grandson." "Of course. He has naturally been sworn to secrecy on pain of death." "With that lot living here I can believe it." Shoji peered through the rusty bars of the cave gate and into the darkness. Unfortunately he couldn't make out much more than a prayer line tied around something further in. "Well, I don't suppose I could get a few pictures inside could I?" "You can certainly try," said Katsuhito calmly, "but I am sworn to protect the site." Shoji chuckled, un-slung his camera and walked up to the gate again. Within two second he was on his back ten feet away, Katsuhito idly twirling the camera around his bokken. Shoji shook his head and got to his feet in time to get his bemused face captured on his own film. "Damn," he coughed, "you weren't kidding!" He took the camera when it was offered. "Maybe you should teach martial arts instead of religion." "Tenchi is the only one I will ever teach and I am quite fond of my chosen profession," Katsuhito replied. "Perhaps you would care to sate your photographic appetite at the shrine itself before we eat?" Shoji looked at the old man with a new sense of respect. "Sure." He looked back at the cave. As curious as he had become he was not anxious to find out how good a fighter the priest really was if it meant he was the one getting his ass kicked. *** It had turned out at their last meal with Shoji that he was rather partial to Italian food, so lunch was a strange hotchpotch that went down rather well, despite Ryoko adding the wasabi to her pasta, to most of the other diners' distaste. "That's... original," was Shoji's response to the mouthful that would have burnt the roof off his own mouth. He figured that Ryoko didn't like him much since she merely huffed before continuing to eat. "Nothing wrong with it," she said. "Mom, don't be rude to the nice man," said Washu, knowingly needling her and loving every minute of it. "Leave off brat," replied Ryoko Nobuyuki swallowed his own food before nicely avoiding another 'Mother and Daughter' argument. "If Sasami-chan cooks it it's pretty much guaranteed to work, whatever it is." "Thank you Nobuyuki-san." Sasami beamed at the complement. "What were you all thinking of doing this afternoon?" asked Katsuhito. "I'm assuming I will not be the entertaining party." Tenchi smiled evilly. "I'm sure we can find something for you to do Gramps." "Maybe you could put on a little martial art demo," said Shoji. "Whatever it was you pulled on me was pretty impressive." "You attacked him?" Tenchi goggled at his grandfather. "Merely protecting the cave my boy. I'm afraid these old bones of mine will need a rest from that sort of exhibition though." Ryoko snorted a laugh into her food but Katsuhito carried on regardless, "I'm sure that Tenchi here can show you something if you are really interested." "Actually I was thinking we could get the table tennis set out outside since it's nice," said Sasami. "We haven't played that in ages." "Oh, that would be great Sasami-chan," bubbled Mihoshi, "I was really good at that last time." Washu glared at her. "Mihoshi, that was the largest single display of chaos theory I have every seen. There was more luck in that game than is scientifically possible." "Well I'm sorry if your little scanny machine thing broke Washu-chan, but you just can't admit that I was good at it." Washu finished her sashimi and got up. "Whatever, this time I'm going to be prepared." She took her things to the kitchen and disappeared under the stairs, much to Shoji's surprise. "She actually lives in a closet?" Mihoshi giggled. "No silly, that's her lab! But actually she does live in there most of the time." "It's, err, the basement," Tenchi provided. "Oh." Shoji went back to his pasta. "So Shoji-san, what will you be working on now you have finished with the parks?" enquired Ayeka. Shoji thought for a second. "I'd like to say a nice big project, but honestly I'll be taking the week off 'til I get paid. After that I'll try and push for a small piece about this place. Everyone's interested in mystical stuff right now so I think it would work. Provided Katsuhito-san is okay with that." The priest in question nodded. "Certainly. It will be nice to see some new interest up here." Shoji finished cleaning his plate and shrugged. "That's about as far as I'd got." Katsuhito rose, "Well, I intend to return to the shrine. Enjoy the day off practice Tenchi, you'll be making up for it tomorrow." "And," said Sasami, "I know that we're going to play table tennis. Could you please set it up while I wash up." "I'll get it," said Mihoshi as she got up and stretched. "Are you coming too Ryo-ohki?" she asked the little cabbit who was devouring yet another carrot under the table. Ryo-ohki miya'd in agreement and hopped up into the blonde's hair as she ran off, grateful to feel the wind on her ears after so long stuck on the ground. Tenchi ran after her. "Wait Mihoshi, it's too big to deal with on your own." She came to a halt at the glass doors to the room. "Ummm... Tenchi, where is it supposed to be anyway?" "The old shed." "Okay! Let's go." She ran off again. "Mihoshi!" Tenchi ran after her, soon followed Ayeka. "I'll help Tenchi-sama," she called. Ryoko gulped down the last of her water and ran off after them. "Tenchi! Wait for me." "They're quite a bunch aren't they," said Shoji, "especially that flatmate of yours." "Yeah," said Kiyone, "after living with her so long it's hard not to think her whole planet's like that." Then she realised she was talking to an Earth native. Nobuyuki was thrown off by it as well. He had thought she would be the last person to forget that. "Heh heh, she does seem like a bit of a space-case," replied Shoji, not realising how nervous the other two had just become, "but she's fun with it." The other two sighed slightly, grateful that some things just don't get taken literally if you know nothing about them. Shoji however *did* notice that and was wondering what it was all about when Nobuyuki got up. "I hope you all have fun," he said. "I'm going to find myself a good book." "See you later Nobuyuki-san." Kiyone got up and headed outside to meet the others and Shoji headed for the kitchen. "Hey, Sasami-chan, do you need a hand with that?" Sasami looked over with her hand still in the bowl. "No, I'm fine. I always do this." "The cooking *and* the washing up?" Sasmai nodded. "Yep, I like cooking, and this way I don't have to do chores like the others!" She made a face before giggling and getting back to the task at hand. he thought, *** The table tennis game ended up as a tournament of sorts, with everyone playing everyone else and gaining points through a system only Washu could understand given the elaborate scoreboard. This was naturally because she had invented it. The table was just low enough to let Sasami and Washu play and they took the first game which Sasami won spectacularly several minutes later. "Bah! Okay, Sasami takes the lead." Washu marked the outcome down on the board, which strangely seemed far too large for her. Shoji was amazed when he saw that she had somehow managed to mark her own score right at the top. The others seemed to think nothing of it though, so he decided to concentrate on watching Tenchi get slaughtered by Ryoko at the table. Her years of pirating and playing arcade games gave her the edge over his sword training. He just wasn't able to keep up with her erratic playing style. When Mihoshi's first game came round he really got a shock. "What the hell is *that*?!?" Washu was wheeling out a *very* large set of sensors and monitoring apparatus. "Now, let's see how you do it, eh Mihoshi-dono?" Mihoshi just shrugged and turned to Ayeka, who was to be her first opponent. Kiyone leaned over to Shoji. "Washu-chan can get a bit over the top but she knows what she's doing. Mihoshi is one of her on going projects." Shoji gave her a confused look. "Projects?" Kiyone nodded. "She's trying to find out why Mihoshi is so lucky, or unlucky, whichever it happens to be at the time." Shoji decided he understood enough for now and watched the game. Ayeka was not a bad player but Mihoshi was amazing. She seemed to be playing on sheer adrenaline, arms and legs flying all over the place as she tried to get the ball. And she won, by quite a bit. Near the back Washu was pulling on her hair as she wrote up the scores. Shoji's second game came soon after. Having just about won against Kiyone he was feeling fairly confident as he squared off with Ryoko. She seemed to like power shots, so as long as he could react quickly to a long ball he thought he would be okay. Unfortunately for him he soon found out that Ryoko's hand eye co-ordination wasn't going to let him through her defence. Each of the games was best five of out of seven, and he was losing four to one when Ryoko said she needed to stop for a drink. She playfully stuck out her tongue at the others as she left and he noticed that some of the others seemed to react very differently than they had when he had been with them last. Tenchi, who had seemed uncomfortable at her playful nature at the restaurant now seemed quietly relieved. It was blatantly obvious she liked him but the attention had seemed to disturb him before. As brusque as she had been, he could feel for her for that. Ayeka's reaction also surprised him. Rather than the remonstrative look he had expected, she just shifted uncomfortably where she sat next to Tenchi. Although not as overt about her attraction he could see that she also had feeling for the young man. he thought, He couldn't help feeling sorry for her too. His first relationship hadn't been easy on him either. Ryoko returned and took her place again. Of course she hadn't really needed a drink. She didn't really need sustenance at all unless she lost a lot of mass in a fight. She had however wanted to get back at him for starting that 'mother' idea. In the last five matches she had been studying the way he played, the same way she would in a sword fight. He was fond of confusing shots rather than powering past or outlasting his opponent. She threw her ball over to him, and she would have bet money on what he would do with it. Just as she had expected he decided to try and hit it right back, slicing slightly to put a spin on it. You couldn't really plan to make those shots in the heat of a rally with Ryoko. However, when the ball hit it didn't fly back to the table, and he found himself being covered by the contents of said 'ball'. Ryoko burst into laughter and ended up rolling around on the floor as Shoji casually wiped the egg off his face and gave her a wry grin, pulling the stray hair out of his eyes. He really wished he had thought of that something like that. The others on the grass were either trying to stifle their laughter or not bothering and having a great time with it. Even Ayeka was giggling, however much she disapproved of the practical joke. Sasami ran up giggling herself and offered to get him a towel and shirt which he readily accepted before the match continued. When the games ended they left Mihoshi as the winner, closely followed by Sasami and Ryoko with everyone else being somewhat further down in the pecking order. Washu had been too distracted my Mihoshi's performances to concentrate on her own games and it showed. Her score was miserable. "I don't believe this, it's a bad dream." Tenchi sighed. "Come on Washu-chan, don't be a sore loser." Washu looked up at him desperately and grabbed his shirt, unshed tears shining in her eyes. "It's not possible Tenchi- dono! By every law I know there is no way Mihoshi could be that good! She won every game she played and she can't even tie her shoelace without help!" "Hey!" Mihoshi said indignantly as she helped fold up the table. "I need to analyse this! There has to be a rational explanation." Without another word Washu dashed off to her lab, her hair flying loose of the binding she had put it in to play. Shoji walked up to Tenchi with a confused expression. "No offence Tenchi-san but she kind of freaks me out. A hyperactive kid genius who can make *that*," he pointed to the monitoring machine, "has an ego like I've never seen, and thinks the world's going to end because Mihoshi wins at table tennis? That's scary." Tenchi shook his head. "I've lived with her for three years and I *still* don't understand her. If it makes you feel any better she can scare me too." Shoji nodded. Tenchi looked around at the girls then back to him. "I think we'll be starting the chores soon, I hope you don't mind if we call it a day." "Well, to be honest," replied Shoji, "I haven't got anything to do, so maybe I could help out with something." He gave his cackle-like chuckle, "Whatever it is it beats going home and cleaning *that*." He pointed to his egg-covered shirt. Tenchi smiled and thought for a moment. "Do you know anything about gardening?" *** Half an hour later Shoji was tilling the soil on the last of the un-turned carrot plots. He and Tenchi had spent their time on it until Tenchi had been called away to help deal with Sasami, who had apparently thrown a fit for some reason or other and said she only wanted to talk to either him or Tsunami. he thought as he began to rake over the soil with the hoe Tenchi had provided. Unbeknownst to him a pair of eyes watched as he worked. She had her orders, but she would be damned before she gave up her own mission just because some senile old fool paid her to do a little side work. This was bigger than his petty plans. Her revenge was all that mattered now, damn the lack of bounty. This quest had consumed her for centuries and all she had to do now was take the chance she had been given. The old man would still get his prize, and she would get Ryoko's head. The hunter motioned for the grey cabbit at her side to stay put, then stepped out. She pulled back her hood, revealing the shock of bluish hair that spiked back flat across her head and the Juraian warrior markings she had had permanently tattooed across the left side of her face. She raised her rod-like sword and pointed it at the ground the man was hoeing. She hadn't seen him around before but he needed to be dealt with just like the others did. She knew from experience that if she were get to Ryoko she would first have to take out her 'friends'. Unlike Ryoko however, Nagi's sense of honour forced her to make this a duel. She could easily have laid him out never having known she was there, but then she would have been no better than her quarry. She was the most feared and respected bounty hunter in Juraian space, no farming boy could defeat her in single combat and she had no need to kill. If he were going to live he would remember her, and what she could have done. The tip of her sword opened and an energy blast ripped into the dirt, the shock causing Shoji to lose his footing. He stared for a second at the smoking earth before whipping round to see what he would otherwise have called a very attractive woman if she hadn't been pointing a weapon at him. "Who the *hell* are you?" he asked angrily as he scrambled to his feet and hefted the hoe in his hands. "Evidently Ryoko doesn't see fit to warn her companions of what they risk through her association. I am Nagi. Either you leave, now, and do not return or I make sure you cannot interfere." She closed the tip of her sword and activated the energy whip it held. "That doesn't exactly sound like you're planning anything decent," he retorted. "I doubt the cops'll think much of you carrying a firearm, or whatever the hell that thing is." Nagi chuckled menacingly. She readied her weapon. "Let's make this quick." The whip lashed out and Shoji instinctively blocked with his forearm. He screamed as the line burned into his flesh and he turned to run. He was way out of his league here and had no intention of getting lashed or shot to death. Nagi however had other ideas and dashed into pursuit. Suddenly a feeling flashed into Shoji's mind, an intense impression of danger and he threw himself to the ground just as the whip cracked over his head. He hauled the hoe back and into Nagi's stomach, surprising her. She stepped back as he shot to his feet. Shoji on the other hand could barely think about his situation. His senses were being bombarded by that strange cognition he had felt. It was female. Kind, concerned, protective, and she wanted to help. He could almost see her, blue hair, she carried a long staff, no it was a bladed spear of some sort, she was trying to let him understand. Suddenly he sped forward and swung the hoe at his assailant. Nagi ducked expertly and caught him in the ribs with the butt of the whip, unprepared for him to take the initiative but not willing to let it phase her. He back-pedalled and tried to shake the image he had. Something was wrong, he was doing it incorrectly. Nagi lashed out furiously intending to finish the battle quickly but Shoji somehow managed to block the worst of the damage, as though he was being telegraphed how to fight. The feeling faded, Nagi cursed as she laid into him with the whip. The damn Earthling was actually good with that thing. As the blur of impressions and knowledge faded he could feel the residue of whatever it was. He was fighting her! The guy who couldn't throw a punch to save his life knew how to fight! He swung round with the hoe forcing his burnt and bleeding arms to obey and followed up with an impressive trio of strikes, the last of which caught Nagi painfully in the shoulder and sent her to the ground, blood colouring her cloak. Before he could follow up she swung at his legs with the sword, knocking him of balance and she took the opportunity to let fly with the whip again. They danced together exchanging blows as they each tried to make headway into the other's defence. Despite his new found combat talent Shoji soon realised he was still badly outmatched and took a nasty crack to the head which sent him to the ground. The last thing he saw was Nagi looming over him before he lost consciousness. The bounty hunter looked down at him. He had been a surprise and she dearly hoped there weren't any more in store for her. It was as she walked away however that that hope was dashed and a blaster shot hit her in her already wounded shoulder. She whirled round to see Mihoshi levelling her pistol as her. "What are you doing here Nagi? What did you do to Shoji-san?" Nagi readied her weapon again. Better she got rid of this one now. She ignited her whip and struck out at the Galaxy Police detective. While she had no quarrel with the Galaxy Police she held them in no special favour either. Mihoshi fired another two shots which Nagi deflected with her sword shaft before the distance was closed and Mihoshi took a lash to the chest. She kicked the hunter away and stumbled backwards firing off another shot that caught Nagi's sword arm. Before either could make another move they heard a faint *thoom* and Nagi was consumed in a blast of green and yellow concussion fire. Mihoshi looked up in time to see another shot streaking downwards and ran before she was hit. She scooped up the still unconscious Shoji she ran for the shed, her chest burning from the hit she had taken. She was glad Tenchi had asked her to call Shoji when he did, or she could have been too late to help. *** "*BROKE*? What do you mean it bloody *broke*? Things like that don't just *break*!" The old Juraian was livid. Nagi had decided to take on the whole household single handed when he had specifically told her to sneak in. That meant having to deal with her immediately before she completely destroyed his plans, then he gets told the main weapon he had bet his whole plan around had broken! The machine gave off a ream of noises. "It must have been passive. There is no way for Juraian energy to target us. Do you know the source?" The machine bleeped negative. "Well was there any neural feedback?" he snapped at it. He let out a relieved sigh when it responded negative again. "Alright, you have three hours to fix it. Take whatever help you need, from any section, just get it done. This situation if perfect for stirring them up and we're missing it. Chances are the native will figure out they are all extra- terrestrials and I want it running by that time." The 'Syren' machine, now looking obviously feminine despite 'her' lack of facial characteristics, spoke. "The situation is likely to occur within forty eight hours of his awakening, assuming the targets keep him within the assigned grounds." The voice was simple and quietly attractive without any hint of mechanical tone. "Emotional manipulation of this sort requires more than just pulling the trigger. We want to emphasise what is already there, not create new feelings, so we have to take our time." The man smiled at her. "If I had wanted to dominate them I would have used the same methods the Kagato creature did, and you see how well that worked in the end. All we need do is increase the emotional response to the stimuli they already get. Whether they end up at each other's throats or slitting their own, we win." He turned to the other machine. "Provided it WORKS! *GO*!" He turned back to Syren. "They will never know we were responsible, and we take our prize while they are occupied with their own problems." Syren nodded slightly. "I understand. They will believe it is their own fault. How then do you intent to deal with the older princess?" The man smiled again, though this time it was far from comforting. "You saw what happened. It will be enough for me that such behaviour continues." "As you wish." Syren straightened but rested her unadorned hand on his arm. "What do you wish me to do with the bounty hunter. She could expose you now." The man frowned. "Dump her on the island, away from the target areas, and strip her of all her belongings. She has no knowledge of the planet from the surface and we cannot afford to alter position to take her elsewhere." "There would be no risk if I was to kill her." The man took her chin. "I have no desire to kill anyone. Once you are psychologically complete the effect of such an act would leave your mind irreparable." "I understand. You wish for my wellbeing." She felt the quiver run through her. Receiving his care was an experience she liked. She stood up and subdued the emotional glimmer. It would not be conductive to efficiency to entertain such a state. "I will deal with her." "And remember, bring me that wretched cabbit. That's why I chose her in the first place." He watched his most treasured creation leave. *** Sasami sat down with a huff hugging a hot water bottle to her stomach. "This is so gross." Tsunami sat down beside her. "It is a necessary part of life." Sasami frowned at her. "That doesn't make it not- gross". "True." Tsunami smiled causing Sasami to follow suit. "I am afraid however you will have to weather it just like everyone else. One week out of eight is not as bad as it could be, and at least you can say you do not have to suffer alone." Sasami bowed her head sheepishly. "I'm sorry about that." "I had hardly expected to pass through this without some effects Sasami, I was just not prepared for the nature of physical discomfort." "I can't blame you for running away. I want to do the same thing. I'm always in the way anyway." Sasami looked at her lap remembering what the other girls had said. "I simply needed time to adjust," Tsunami replied, "and you are not in the way. You were simply in the wrong place when they were doing their chores." Sasami nodded. "Mmm hmmm. I'm glad you came back though. Will Shoji-san be alright?" "Yes, although he will definitely have a headache. I only wish I could have been more of an assistance at the time." "I'm glad Tenchi nii-chan said he could sleep here." She paused when she heard Ryoko clear her throat. She and Kiyone were standing there looking shamefaced, Ryoko holding Mayuka. "We, I mean me and Kiyone, well, we're sorry about what we said." "We know how hard you work here Sasami-chan. It was wrong of us to imply otherwise." In all honesty Kiyone had no excuse for her outburst, though she had not been helped by Ryoko's constant complaining at their workload. After all, it was the first time Sasami had *ever* got under anyone else's feet. Quite an achievement considering the household. Sasami nodded and frowned at them. "That was really mean," the two women bowed their heads even lower, "but it's okay." She put on her official royal voice, "I think I can forgive you." She broke into giggles and the others soon followed. After their little giggle fit Sasami bid them goodnight, intent of finding out how Sammy survived her latest encounter, and Kiyone went to join Mihoshi in the girls' room. Ryoko was still in the living room four hours later, cradling Mayuka from the sofa. Thanks to Nagi's apparent re- appearance she was too wired to sleep and Mayuka seemed to like being a distraction for her, even in her sleep. As far she was concerned babies were way more trouble than they were worth and Mayuka was no different. Unlike Tenchi's cousin Taro though she seemed to have no problem sleeping through the night, for which Ryoko was eternally grateful. She just liked holding her when she was like this, no screaming demands or attempts to crawl, which Mayuka seemed to do backwards. When it was calm Ryoko could understand why people would actually want one. It was nice to care for someone because they needed you. It was halfway through the verse that she realised she was singing to her. The same song Washu had sung for Taro, just calmer, using the higher voice she would never usually sing with. That low sultry singing was what she went for, but just this once she was singing the simple, soft little lullaby as though it were the most natural thing in the world. It barely registered as she sang that she couldn't remember learning it. From the doorway Washu and Nobuyuki looked on, both deeply moved to see Ryoko's tender side emerge, one she barely knew she had. Washu smiled with tears in her eyes as Nobuyuki recorded the scene. *** Mihoshi had begged off work the following day in order to watch over Shoji while her own injury healed. She also still wanted to talk to Washu, not having liked what she had said the previous day at the match, but in the end she had all but forgotten about that as the day had worn on. As she watched him sleep she wondered why Kiyone had said they were 'not each other's type'. He seemed really nice to her. It was getting late in the afternoon when Shoji stirred. "Ohhhh! This is why you don't drink you idiot." That startled Mihoshi before she realised he was talking to himself. He hadn't opened his eyes yet, and when he did he saw Mihoshi's vibrant blue ones staring back at him. "I don't suppose you'd know the number of the wrecking ball that got me?" he quipped. Mihoshi looked at him curiously, not remembering anything about a ball of any kind. "Nooooo, I don't think so." Shoji tried to smile as he sat up but failed miserably thanks to his little bugger of a headache and had to settle for a grimace. The others were filtering in from the rest of the house since Sasami had heard him wake and gone to collect them, including Kiyone who had come straight over when her shift had ended and had been with Ayeka tending their flower garden. "So," Shoji said pulling his hair back and rubbing his head, "who was the psycho with the whip thing. That hurt like hell." From behind him Ryoko spoke up. "Errr, her name's Nagi. I sort of pissed her off once somehow and she tries to attack me every now and then." He stared at her with shocked stupefaction. Strangely though it wasn't from what she had said. That would have just rated surprise and possibly scepticism. Ryoko looked around to see what he was staring at while the others tried frantically to indicate something. Her dress was okay, so was there anything on her face? She seemed to overlook that she was floating three feet off the floor. "Okay," Shoji said, "I'm just going to say it. This place is very, very strange. Why can Ryoko-san fly? I've seen enough stage magic to know that's not it, is it?" Ryoko looked down and winced. "Ooops. I'm in trouble, aren't I?" Everyone looked at each other nervously as he walked round her looking for strings and she dropped to her feet. The silence only served to get Shoji more worked up. "Would someone please say something before I start freaking out here! Who the hell are you people?" Tenchi looked to Kiyone. "Can we? He is a friend, I think it'd be okay." Kiyone sighed. "This is going to look great on my record. I guess you get the honours Mihoshi, you were the one who stayed with him." "Isn't that against the rules?" Mihoshi asked, wanting to make sure she wouldn't get in trouble. "Ryoko didn't leave much to the imagination. Just so long as he keeps it a secret." Ryoko scratched her head sheepishly as Mihoshi turned to Shoji wearing her serious business face. "Shoji Mugai-san, you have to keep this a secret, okay? Do you promise not to tell anyone?" By this time Shoji's nerves were at breaking point. "Yeah, okay, anything you say." "You can't write about this too. Even if you think you can trust someone you mustn't tell." Shoji nodded furiously. "I got it, no writing, no telling, no nothing. I swear!" "Shoji, we don't come from this planet. We're aliens." If he hadn't just seen Ryoko suspended completely in mid-air he would have been laughing is head off at the wind up to that. Since he had his brain actually made the leap and realised that that was entirely possible, especially given all the other oddities about them all. he thought as his eyes rolled back and he passed out on the sofa. Mihoshi looked down at him worriedly. "I didn't kill him, did I?" Kiyone just chuckled and shook her head. *** "...and so you two are actually going to become the same person one day. That's actually pretty poetic, the princess and her patron goddess." Shoji's head definitely hurt. Since he had woken up yet again and confirmed he was not dreaming, the inhabitants of the Masaki house, all of whom turned out to be at least part alien, had spent the last three hours explaining things to him. "You really catch on quick, don't you?" deadpanned Ryoko as the third explanation of Sasami and Tsunami's situation finished and he finally managed to wrap his head round it. "Actually," Sasami said, "I'm sort of filling in until Tsunami can merge with me. She can't bring people back from the dead." Tsunami shook her head. Sasami never could grasp the way it had worked. "Sasami, do you remember when Tenchi was dying? It was similar with you. I just healed you with a bit of me, I didn't create you." "But you had to make me so we could assimilate, you never bonded to anyone but me, and my marks are real." She said, pointing to the two triangles on her forehead, which split momentarily into circles then re-formed again. Tsunami decided that now was not the time after all. "Never mind Sasami, you will understand when the time comes." "Looks like you have quite a life for yourself here Tenchi," Shoji said. "Now I understand what your grandfather meant at the cave. And incidentally, what is in there if Ryoko really is the demon." "Who're you calling demon you stupid hick?" Ryoko said glaring at him. "Well excuse me for being born in the ass end of the galaxy!" he retorted. He was steadily getting more and more put out by her attitude. "And just how was I supposed to know you were the daughter and Washu-chan was the mother?" He had learned early on that Washu-chan was still 'little' despite her age and apparent status. "*Hmph*, since when was she a mother to me? I saw more of Ayeka than her. Closest thing I had to a parent was that bastard Kagato!" Both Ayeka and Washu were getting worked up now and Tenchi would have intervened if Mihoshi had not beaten him to it. "Come on everyone, don't fight. It's late so let's all go to bed and talk some more tomorrow." "Yeah," said Tenchi, "since you're taking the week off work Shoji we'll put you up for the night. I think there's some more Galaxy Police stuff Kiyone and Mihoshi will have to go through with you tomorrow." "And since my ungrateful *daughter* won't want you on the sofa I'll set up a room for you in my lab." Washu said, feeling both upset and angry at Ryoko's complete disavowal of her as a parent. "Damn right I don't want him sleeping under me! And I've got nothing to be grateful for in the first place." With that she phased out, not seeing the incensed glare Ayeka shot at her. She stiffly approached Shoji trying to rein in her emotions. "Shoji-san, please forgive the outrageous behaviour of that woman. I can assure you we are all very glad to have you as a member of us and I have absolute trust in your discretion. You have proven most capable in coping with this situation." Shoji bowed, suddenly nervous that he was talking to bona fide royalty. "Thank you Aye... I mean Princess. I'm glad you feel that way. Now quite frankly I'd like to get to bed and try to wrap my head around everything." Ayeka smiled. "Quite understandable Shoji-san, and please just call me Ayeka. You insisted on less formality when we met and I would wish no other treatment." "In that case I'll say goodnight Ayeka-sama, Tenchi- san, ladies. Thanks for the hospitality. Well Washu-chan," Shoji said, turning to the diminutive scientist, "I guess I'm in your hands now." Washu regained the glint in her eyes and dragged him into the lab, followed by Tenchi's call, "And no experimenting with him!" which didn't do much to put him at ease. The inside of the lab practically blew his socks off as he was systematically shown each of the more impressive parts of the sub-space labyrinth. The aquarium in particular seemed to impress him, even given the constant grey/blue colour scheme. The sheer volume of water around him and various aquatic alien creatures couldn't help but inspire awe when all he had ever seen outside the TV was the tank his sister had kept goldfish in when they were children. When they had said 'lab' he had expected a couple of dingy basement rooms full of tables, benches, glass pipes and various alien machines, not the kind of amazing landscapes and rooms he was seeing now. He commented that he wouldn't be surprised if it covered several planets, and Washu confirmed his suspicions, though pointing out that you filled the sub-space void with what you wanted rather than build on pre-existing planets. She was loving the ego trip this provided and was almost reluctant to let him go when they finally got to the spare room she kept down there in case any of the others might want to stay. She had built it in case she ever wanted another assistant but she wasn't about to get one any time soon after what Kagato had done. She had actually hoped that Ryoko would have been the first to use it, but after this evening she was beyond caring. When they had parted Shoji took a hot shower before climbing into bed. He found the small camera in the corner of the room, having noticed others in all of the enclosed sections of the lab, and threw his shirt over it, much to Washu's disappointment. He never wore anything to bed and had figured she was not above using her security system for other purposes having heard a couple of Tenchi's stories that afternoon while the others had been dealing with dinner. In the end though he didn't get much sleep as everything turned over in his mind. A week ago he had led a fairly normal life and now he was friends with a group of aliens playing house at the local shrine. He supposed Tenchi must have felt the same. *** It was Kiyone who took the following day off leaving Mihoshi to take their workload. She knew it would probably lead to disaster but she had insisted to her partner that she needed to deal with Shoji's induction into galactic awareness herself, so Mihoshi would just have to be careful. While the other aliens were busy with their daily chores Shoji was with her learning the basics of life around the area and dealing with reams of forms that made sure he was legally allowed know about everything he now knew. Technically they still needed the okay from Galaxy Police headquarters, but given his background, mental state (as verified by Washu), and a variety of other things Shoji couldn't quite understand they were almost certain to get the go ahead. There were naturally hundreds of non-disclosure forms, half of which were thanks to his journalistic profession. Tenchi, being Juraian royalty, was exempt from such trivialities. When the last of them was done he sat back heavily and blew at the loose hair around his face again. "Thank God that's over." Kiyone nodded and rubbed her eyes. "I'm glad I never had to do this before. Life is so much simpler when you're just catching the bad guys." "I almost think you believe that." He pulled his hair out of its small ponytail and lay down on the sofa. "Say, tell me about Mihoshi." Of all the possible things he could have asked this was the one she was least prepared for, and least able fulfil. "What?" "Mihoshi, tell me about her. The rest of you I can begin to understand now, but she's still just, well, Mihoshi! I figured I'd be able to learn more about her from you than from going out with her!" Kiyone's eyes widened in surprise. "You're thinking of dating *Mihoshi*?" He gave a slightly apologetic chuckle, "Sorry, I guess that is in pretty bad taste, huh? It's nothing against you, just... Oh, I don't know." Kiyone picked up the slack, knowing what he meant. "Actually this wouldn't be the first time we've passed on dates to each other. I'm just wondering why Mihoshi? You said you were looking for more of a long term relationship after all." "I am," he agreed, "I just want to know more about her. She's certainly fun to hang around with, and I find that sort of chronic happiness rather appealing. It was my sense of fun that killed my first marriage." Kiyone was surprised at that and frowned at the implication. "This is new. When were you married?" Shoji gave a full-blown cackle at that. "Her name was Mai. I met her at college. It was sort of a whirlwind romance type thing. We fell in love, got married, realised we couldn't stand each other after about a year and got divorced. I was single again by twenty. That's why any relationship I go for now I'm going to take slowly." "Right. So you're going to see if Mihoshi fits the bill." Shoji shook his head. "I wouldn't put it like that, I was just going to see if we could work. Anyway, I'm not sure now. I mean, you're not even human, it kind of puts a spin on it." "That doesn't mean much," came Washu's voice from the hall. "Kiyone here is only half Juraian, and Tenchi is a meagre eighth. You and the bubble head would be quite compatible, although I think you're asking for trouble." Shoji looked over at her, rather put out by her opinion. "Aren't you full of understanding and compassion." It did give him pause for thought though. "Come to think of it she does seem to be rather, well, ditzy I suppose. More than is normal I mean, and I remember you said it's not something to do with her race." "That's just Mihoshi," said Kiyone. "She can be clumsy and forgetful, but she's good at what she does, and she can always find the good side of *anything*. It actually gets depressing at times." "Well," said Washu, "I have at least managed to work out how she won at table tennis, and I have to tell someone so you'll do." Kiyone flopped back in her chair. "Okay Washu-chan, let's hear it." "Well, it turns out that she was playing on as much instinct as skill. It probably helps in GP work too, her unconscious reaction to stimuli is what drives her when the adrenaline kicks in. Combine this with her natural trigger response and the 'Mihoshi Factor' and she beats every one of us. If it had been a life or death situation instead of a game she would have done even better than she did." "So what's that 'Mihoshi Factor' then," Shoji asked. Washu shrugged. "I haven't got a clue, and don't think I haven't tried to work it out. It's probably lots of little things that all work together, or she's blessed by some goddess or other." Shoji was still pondering that a while later, and he still didn't know much more than when he had first asked. *** Naturally his next question when they were all together that night was how they had managed to congregate on Earth, and everyone chipped in as the story got told, from Tenchi sneaking into the cave to Mayuka's arrival as a new baby. Something struck Tenchi however once the story was done. "I think there is a little more though. Before any of you came here." The others looked at him with puzzled expressions while Ryoko paled. "You two met before you came here, didn't you?" Tenchi asked, motioning to Ryoko and Ayeka. Grateful he hadn't mentioned how he had come to know this Ryoko decided answer. "Yeah. Kind of freaky actually, how we kept bumping into each other." "Indeed," replied Ayeka, "you just couldn't stop harassing me." "But if you were being held by that Kagato guy..." Shoji started but was cut off by Ryoko's response. "I did manage to get away. Once. I had about a hundred years on my own before he decided to catch up with me." "One whole century and all she could do was make a nuisance of herself. It never crossed your mind to do something constructive with your time did it," Ayeka challenged, no longer feeling as intimidated by the pirate as she had been. "Hey, I tried. How was I supposed to know what to do, huh? All I'd ever done was steal stuff and fight. And when I figure it out you come along and screw it up. *Every time*." "Slow down girls," Tenchi said raising his hands and hoping to ward off any potential fight, "Why don't you just calmly tell us how it happened." "Simple Tenchi-sama," Ayeka huffed, "I was kidnapped by this disreputable pirate." "I was on the run! I had no choice," Ryoko came back. She turned to the others, "I just got away from Kagato. He let me out to rob some temple or something without trying to force me, 'cos I tricked him into thinking I got to like it. Anyway, the Galaxy Police found me and I had to run since I was already 'the most wanted space pirate Ryoko'. That was also when Nagi started going after me but I can't remember too well. Umm, well, since I had to deal with her these Galaxy Police officers nearly got me on some planet but I threw a barrel at them and drenched some kid, so I grabbed her so I could get away without getting my head blown off. Turned out that kid was crown princess of Jurai, and she'd just managed to lose her guardians." "Couldn't you just regenerate or something?" asked Tenchi. Ryoko shook her head. "There's only so much I can do without stopping, especially when I'm weak. They'd just capture me." Ayeka took up the story from there. "Well, *she* took me to this squalid little hut and leaves me in there with barely enough to eat for days." "At least I fed you!" "I was only thirty two! I was alone and scared with one of the most dangerous people in the galaxy! I had nightmares for years afterwards. She disappeared off every few hours leaving me tied to the bed so I wouldn't escape. Then when we finally left she used me to fight her way into a ship! I still have the mark from that blast." "Your ankle..." Sasami whispered, referring to the only lasting injury Ayeka had ever had and shocked beyond belief at what she was hearing. Washu whispered to Tenchi and Shoji that Ayeka would have been equivalent to six years old at the time. "I spent the two weeks as her hostage until she finally bargained me off for another ship so she could get Ryo-ohki back." "You loved playing pirate when you weren't whining about something. I learned to do it 'cos Kagato let me read stuff where pirates were the heroes. I wasn't the bad guy then, going around the galaxy stealing from all those rich idiots. I didn't know there was anything wrong, I never learned any different. And you loved it!" "I was merely a child trying to cope with what you were doing to me!" "And when I let you go you take the one thing I'd ever managed to find for myself that *I* got for *me*, without Kagato beating the shit out of me for it!" "A bunch of flowers was hardly recompense for what you did to me, and everyone else over the centuries. You destroyed *planets*!" "*KAGATO* DESTROYED PLANETS! I hated that, and he hated me for it! I was supposed to kill stuff! IT WAS ALL I *COULD* DO!" Ryoko calmed herself a little as Tenchi looked worriedly at her again. "And when I do try and do something instead of pirating you run me off. I tried selling stuff, I cleaned floors, I got to work in a fucking luxury hotel where no-one knew who I was, and you screwed it up every time!" "I was avenging myself for what you did to me! And when I was old enough to know better you were playing games with me! I would have let it go at that hotel, you had seemed to be trying but you were stealing from them!" "Come on, it was only a little booze," Ryoko said, not seeming to get the point. "It was still theft Ryoko!" Ayeka carried on, "Of course I reported you to the staff. And what makes it worse is that you took off laughing, in a stolen boat no less! You had no compunction about it at all!" "Hey, I tried, and I ended up doing what I did best! That was the fifth time in as many decades you screwed me over, it was practically a game by then so I was sure as hell going to enjoy it, and Kagato got me in the end so it never mattered anyway!" Shoji watched the two glare at each other, tears threatening both from the intensity of their arguments, and he realised he had wandered into something that was far deeper than it had first seemed. *** 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: Well, our bad guy finally reveals what he is up to and you should be able to see how that has affected events to date. Did anyone guess it? If you are wondering about Sasami still suffering from cramps, as said in chapter 02 I am writing that Juraians do not reproduce as often as humans due to their life spans, so I would figure their reproductive cycles would be slightly different as well. For those that missed it in here a Juraian menstruates for approximately one week every two months, so Sasami is just about finishing hers here. And you can finally see why I used the Universe series as well. That scene with Nagi was one of the first I had planned. *** 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: March 10th - 2003 Posted: April 2nd - 2003