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 because there is no way in hell you will ever hire me to work on the real thing! *** Faith, Hope & Carrot Soup - A Tenchi Muyo Fan-Fiction By Nutzoide – Chapter 7: Twisted Reality The house was remarkably quiet that night. In fact, by midnight even Tenchi was having difficulty trying to stay awake where he sat in the living room, despite the enormous about of extra sleep he had managed to get those past few days. Ayeka had still not returned from wherever it was she had gone and he was going to be sure that he was awake to welcome her back and explain his situation, even if it meant he still had to say goodbye to her the next day. Almost half an hour ago he had gone to get his walkman and some earphones to try and keep him up, noticing on the way that his father had fallen asleep at the kitchen table after having his late supper. The music was a little too abrasive for his tastes, but it had done a good job so far of keeping his eyes open. Now though he had got to the point everybody who uses music like this reaches, it was gradually fading into the background and letting his brain try and shut itself down for the night. He pulled off the earphones and stopped the tape, then reached behind his head and gave his small tail of hair a hard yank which brought him back to full alert, at least for the time being. He looked out of the large sliding glass doors again and into the night. He knew it was futile to try and see anyone out there, but it wasn’t as though he would miss anything by doing it, and it was certainly better than just staring at the walls and listening to Ryoko and his father sleep. They both snored. We’ll, actually, now that he came to think about it, his father snored like he was possessed by the spirit of a vengeful pneumatic drill, and Ryoko would give a loud snort, then somehow turn over on her beam above him and mutter something to herself. Listening to the combination for several hours could be *very* annoying. As such it came as rather a surprise to hear something new break into the rhythm the pair had going. A very quiet sniffle, accompanied by the padding of small, slipper clad feet. “Tenchi nii-chan? Are you down here?” Sasami said almost imperceptibly through one of Nobuyuki’s monstrous snores. He turned to see her peeking into the room. There were drying tears staining her cheeks. “Over here Sasami-chan.” She ran over to him as he got up and buried her face in his chest, almost knocking him back onto the sofa as she did. “Tenchi nii-chan!” she cried, her breaths heaving and quivering. Tenchi stroked her hair gently as he hugged her. “There, it’s okay Sasami-chan. Everything’s alright.” He held her as her sobs subsided, then gently eased her away and leaned down to look her in the eyes. “What’s the matter Sasami-chan? Did you have another bad dream?” Sasami looked down and nodded, fresh tears growing in her eyes. “I was so scared Onii-chan! And Ayeka wasn’t there and Ryo- chan and you were gone. I thought you all left me all alone!” Tenchi stepped in and hugged her again. “It’s okay. We’re all here. Do you want to tell me about the dream?” Sasami nodded and Tenchi sat back on the sofa, Sasami sitting close next to him. She looked down at her hands. She always felt so stupid when she did this. The dreams never sounded so scary when she told anyone and sometimes she couldn’t even remember half of what it was, but Tenchi or her sister would always make her feel better. “Everyone was upset and screaming. Ryoko nee-chan... Ryoko nee-chan was hurt and bleeding. I think she was dying and Washu-chan was crying. And... Onee-sama was fighting this girl and she killed her, but then she turned round and she was glowing and... she had no face!.. And then I w-woke up.” Sasami was crying violently by the time she finished. Tenchi held her again as she wept, overcome with pity for the girl. When she was done he looked down at her and smiled. “It’s okay Sasami. I’ve had dreams like that too. And remember, we always win when something bad happens!” He sounded a lot more confident that he felt. That had been a frighteningly explicit image, as abstract as any dream, but having a very defined event. One that he did not like in the least. And with dreams like this it was not a good idea to ignore them when they were Sasami’s. On the outside though he put on the reassuring face. “Feeling better?” Sasami sniffled but rewarded him with a nervous smile. “Mmm hmm.” They sat in silence for a while as the time ticked on. “Would you like a drink? Some hot chocolate?” Tenchi offered. Sasami shook her head. “No. Thank you.” She stifled a yawn. Nightmare or not she was still tired. Tenchi smiled. “Come on. Let’s get you back to bed hmmm? I’m staying up to wait for your sister.” He moved to pick her up but a small struggle stopped him. “No,” Sasami said, not wanting to go back to the empty room. “Umm... Can I stay with you?” “Err... Sure I guess, but it won’t be comfortable down here. I’ll get your futon.” His attempt to move was stopped by Sasami, still in his arms, crawling into his lap and snuggling up against his chest. She looked up to his startled face, a faint, worried blush colouring her cheeks. “Don’t go. Please?” Tenchi didn’t really know what to do. He knew that she liked him, but she had never done anything like this before. “Sasami- chan, you kno...” He stopped when he felt Sasami curl up tighter in his lap. “I know. I’m sorry. D-do you want me to go?” Tenchi didn’t really know the answer to that. In the end the decision was made for him. He didn’t have the heart to force her back upstairs. “Just... Try and sleep okay?” Sasmai looked up. “Thank you... Onii-chan.” She leaned her head back against his chest and closed her eyes. Five minutes later she was fast asleep in his arms. Tenchi thought about what she had said as he sat there. <‘And Ayeka wasn’t there and Ryo-chan and you were gone. I thought you all left me all alone!’. Ryo-ohki’s in the vegetable storeroom and we aren’t going anywhere, but... Didn’t Ayeka tell her she was leaving?> He looked down into Sasami’s calm face and sighed. “Sleep well Sasami.” *** Ryoko awoke early that morning. She should have known better and stayed up on her beam. Getting up early always seemed to be a bad omen for her. Her head was still killing her, so she teleported herself straight to the bathroom and downed a couple of painkillers before sighing and starting to brush her teeth. As if to spite her a large glob of foam from the brush dripped down her front. She looked down, then back to her unkempt reflection in the mirror. “Crap,” she said, spitting out the rest of the paste and washing off, then phasing into some new clothes. She itched at the back of her head. Surely she should have gotten rid of that headache by now, shouldn’t she? She groaned. She floated downstairs, just phasing through the walls as she came to them, and headed into the kitchen. After smirking at Nobuyuki still asleep on the table she touched down and walked over to raid the fridge. It was only... <8am! Sasami won’t be making breakfast for at least an hour! Hmmm... What have we got in here then?> Her eyes roamed around the leftovers and various fresh things until she spotted exactly what she was after. “Alright,” she said in triumph, “still come of that custard stuff left.” She took the small bowl over to the table, got a spoon and started to dig in. True she couldn’t taste very much of anything but she enjoyed it nevertheless. What she lacked from being able to taste she made up for with texture, and this was very much a luxury. Smooth but not slimy, not a hint of graininess and slipped down very nicely indeed. She would never admit to Sasami that she couldn’t understand what the others saw in some of her food though. Sasami was still the best cook she knew, whatever palette she had. She finished the bowl and licked it clean, then bopped Nobuyuki on the head with the spoon, startling him upright from his sleep. “Wha..? What’s that? Ryoko-san? Oh, guess I never make it to bed last night! Heh heh.” “Mornin’ pops, figured you’d want to get ready for work.” Ryoko casually dropped her bowl and spoon in the sink. Nobuyuki rubbed the sleep from his eyes. “What time is it?” “Eightish.” Nobuyuki stuck out his tongue. “*Bleagh*. Thanks Ryoko. I’d better have a bath before I get any stiffer.” He got up slowly, rubbing at his back from where he had been sleeping at the table. “They’re never going to give me any time off on this project!” he muttered to himself as he headed upstairs for the entrance to the onsen. Ryoko started to follow him, intending to watch Tenchi sleep for a while, but stopped after seeing his foot poking off the end of the sofa in the living room. She walked over. Had she been awake to notice she would have curled up besides him for the night, indulging in her fantasy. She now knew he wasn’t ready for her and didn’t like her trying to be playful, and she *would* try and calm down and not glomp onto him if that meant she had a chance for him to love her. That didn’t mean she wouldn’t enjoy being with him though. Then she saw the girl that had taken up that idea. Tenchi lay on the sofa sleeping peacefully, Sasami curled up next to him in his arms. Ryoko would have thought it was a cute sight if she hadn’t been so furious. “WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING YOU LITTLE HUSSY!?!” she almost screamed, her fists clenched at her sides. Tenchi and Sasami shot awake. Sasami grabbed onto him and looked around panicked before seeing Ryoko, startling Tenchi as he tried to sit up. “Ryoko, wha...” he started before he was cut off. “GET THE FUCK OFF MY TENCHI!” Ryoko’s mind was whirling. Sasami stared in abject terror at Ryoko. A woman she called sister who looked ready to murder her. , she wanted to say. But her mind was too drenched in fear to say anything. Without another thought she turned and fled with tears in her eyes, hating herself for being so weak. Tenchi watched helplessly as she ran. “Sasami-chan!” He turned back to the ex-pirate. “What on Earth to you think you’re doing Ryoko!” Ryoko looked at him in disbelief. “Wha..? But she... and you...” “Ryoko she was terrified last night! You think I was just going to throw her out?” “But you were *SLEEPING* together!” This time it was Tenchi looked in disbelief. “What the hell do you think... No, I *know* what the hell you think was going on! I can’t believe you’d honestly even consider that idea! She’s a *kid* Ryoko! You really think I would do anything like that? Huh? When someone needs you, you help them. It’s called compassion Ryoko, and Sasami needs it right now! You think any of what’s going on is easy on her? Do you?” Ryoko could only stare at him. “B-but...” Tenchi let out an angry breath. “Oh for God’s sake Ryoko *grow up*!” He turned away from her and hurried out to find Sasami. Ryoko just stood there reeling. It felt as though he had just slapped her. Again. She sat down, put her head in her hands and wept. “Why can’t I do anything right?” She felt a shadow pass over her and looked up. “P- please,” she begged the figure. “D-don’t hurt me!?” Tsunami just looked down at her. “Please?” Ryoko looked fearfully up at the goddess. Tsunami shook her head and sat down next to her, causing her to scoot over a little. “Tenchi is right Ryoko-san, Sasami is just a child. I know how you must feel, but I can assure you Sasami has no real intention towards him. She just cannot control the surge of hormones she has recently been getting. Control comes with time.” Ryoko looked nervously over. “You’re not mad?” Tsunami smiled. “I am upset at you, but I could no more bring myself to harm you than Sasami could.” “Ayeka said she was leaving, and Mihoshi doesn’t live here anymore. That means Sasami, and you I guess, are the only ones who could get in the way of Tenchi and me being together. And I’m jealous. It just got out. I mean, Sasami probably knows more about sex than Tenchi’s dad!” Tsunami had to suppress a giggle. “An... interesting image Ryoko, and you may be right from a technical point of view. Emotionally however she is only now discovering it, and she will need help coping with these new feelings. I know I am finding them difficult.” “You’re both feeling the same stuff, huh?” Tsunami nodded. Ryoko looked back to her hands. “Sasami won’t be a kid forever, and you aren’t now.” She paused and sighed. “You’re beautiful, so she will be too.” “That is very kind of you Ryoko. I can say truthfully though that as much as she might wish it, Sasami will not let herself be with him. She is sensible enough to know that he does not see her like that, and even if he did she would not let anything happen to cause either Ayeka or yourself any grief. And in her heart I am sure she does not see him that way either.” Ryoko looked back to the goddess in confusion. “Huh?” “Tenchi is the only real man she has known that could be the recipient of any affection she might have. In some ways her feelings were inevitable.” “I guess... I guess that’s what Ayeka meant when she asked me not to hurt her.” Ryoko clenched her fists. “I did though.” She turned to face her properly. “Tsunami, err- Tsunami-sama, is... is the something wrong with me? I don’t want everyone to hate me again.” Tsunami rose from the sofa. “I honestly don’t know Ryoko-san,” and without another word she left. Ryoko could have sworn she saw purpose in her stride, but she was too confused to really say. *** Outside Tenchi sat down heavily on the grass. Sasami could be anywhere by now, and he hadn’t seen which way she had gone. His thinking wasn’t helped by the headache he had. Waking up like that must have done it, but he found it very difficult to concentrate, and it crossed his mind that he should have got some aspirin before he started looking. He ran his fingers through his short hair and wondered. He had already checked the vegetable store shed and the garden Ayeka and Kiyone kept, but she was no-where to be found. She had definitely left the house though. He got up and brushed the dew off his trousers. The thought brought him to another point. He stared walking in the direction of the tree Funaho. Either of the princesses could be there. He now had both of them to find. he thought. He remembered what she had said to him the day before, when she had told him she would be leaving them. <‘I have even less for me there than I do here. I hate it all.’ I hope she doesn’t decide to run from everyone. But I can’t make her stay here either. I just hope her father isn’t as hard as he looked, she really needs a family somewhere. I don’t want to think of her alone out there.> When he reached the tree he found its island empty, the water around it still as he walked across the stepping stones. He would have asked the tree if he could, but its memory bank couldn’t tell him what it did not know. He sat down against the large rock near its base. “You know,” Tenchi said to himself, “it a lot nicer here than I remember.” He hadn’t been to the tree for a very long time. Not since before Yuhuza and Mayuka. *** Ryoko was still in a bemused, faraway place when she heard the door to Washu’s lab open. It just slipped by in the background as her mind whirled, filled with confusion about what had just occurred. If she had been in Tsunami’s place she would not have taken prisoners, but the goddess had merely talked with her, and in doing so she had forced her to realise a great deal. Tenchi’s words echoed in her head. <‘Oh for God’s sake Ryoko *grow up*!’ I... why can’t I grow up?> That was the root of her problem. She shut her eyes tight. When she looked up again the thought was dashed from her mind. Washu stood near the living room entrance looking for all the world like a stone figurine, emotionless and blank. Her mass of spiky red hair cascaded messily down her back, not bound by any of her usual ribbons or bands, and her clothes hung off her small frame looking far, far too big. For once her unrestrained enthusiasm wasn’t there to fill them for her. Ryoko blinked, expecting something, anything, from her. “Hey Washu, finally decided to get some air huh?” Washu just stood there, a single tear making its way down her left cheek. Ryoko stared in worried astonishment. No smart remarks, no whack for the lack of her cute title, nothing. She rose from the sofa and stepped towards the scientist, who for the first time looked very, very small in her eyes. “W-Washu-chan? You okay?” Washu’s face creased as the tears started in earnest and she ran headlong into the woman she had so longed to call daughter, knocking them both onto the sofa and holding onto her as if her life depended on it. “I’m sorry Ryoko-chan!” she sobbed, “I’m so, so sorry!” Ryoko sat there in shock as the self proclaimed ‘Greatest Genius in the Universe’ cried into her top. She tentatively patted her hair as she tried to work out what was going on. Then she remembered. It turned out there was a lot to remember. “Why am *I* the one trying to comfort you here Washu? You did all those tests on me. You used me as a decoy when the Masu got out. You turned me into a damn kappa! You tied me up and left me all alone in the dark. Do you know how much I hate the dark!?!” Washu just tightened her grip around Ryoko as she sobbed harder. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to hurt you!” Ryoko was furious. Another part of her mind rebelled against that though. Ryoko faltered. “Wh-why? Why did you do all that to me?” Washu looked up to her with a tearstained face. “I only wanted to hear you call me Mummy! It’s all I ever wanted to hear!” “I was *scared* Washu! You left me alone, just like in that cave! And... and what about everything else? I was raised on tests and the stuff Kagato told me, then the stuff he beat into me when I told him I didn’t want to do it any more!” “I know!” Wahsu cried, “I’m sorry I didn’t fire him when he started getting ambitious. But I could see what he did. I *was* there!” “How am I supposed to call you Mum? You never act like I’m anything but a weapon! That’s what you made me for anyway!” Washu’s look turned hard. “NO! You were *never* a weapon. You’re my daughter. I just wanted to be a mother again, but I wanted to give you everything. You... You’re better than anyone else in the galaxy at anything physical, and you’ve got the potential to be a genius like me if you wanted to! Can... can you blame me for wanting that for you?” Ryoko’s look back was almost harshly rueful. “You never treated me like it! You just thought you could do all that stuff because I could take it, just like Kagato did. You think I liked getting blown up by some stupid anti-matter blob-girl?” Washu buried her head in Ryoko’s dress again. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I did it. It was a good plan! I just didn’t think... Please, let me try again?” Ryoko was very tempted to say no. She didn’t need anybody but Tenchi, and she didn’t owe Washu anything. She wanted to grow up though, just like Tenchi said, and if she couldn’t do it like everyone else then she would just have to force herself to learn how. She shifted uncomfortably. “Okay. Just... don’t do that stuff any more. I don’t like it.” The smile that broke out on Washu’s face could have eclipsed the sun, and naturally new tears followed, only this time for the best of reasons. They sat there for a while, Ryoko wondering what to do next while Washu thanked the Gods that she had a second chance. Washu finally let go and sat up next to her. “Ryoko- chan?” Ryoko’s frown let her know that was the first thing to go and she cringed a little. She hope she would get to call her that eventually, but right now she wanted something else far more badly. “Ryoko? Will you call me Mother? Please?” Ryoko stared at her for a while, looking at her hopeful face with more empathy than she would admit. “Don’t... Don’t get used to it, but even if my life did get screwed up, I guess you tried. Thanks Mum.” And Washu’s heart melted. “Thank you Ryoko.” Ryoko shook her head, having had too much emotion for one day. “Yeah, well, I got to go get some more painkillers.” *** Time passed a lot more quickly than Tenchi realised as he sat there meditating. It was almost twenty minutes before his headache brought him back to reality and he realised he should be looking for the two princesses. he told himself. He got to his feet and headed back down the stepping stones to the path. He scanned the woods carefully as he went, calling out their names every now and again, but each time he was only met by silence. He picked up his pace, still keeping his eyes open. The woods all looked the same now, a never-ending mass of brown and green. If she were out there he would never find her. If she were out there she would be hypothermic by now. He shook his head to banish the thought. He shook his head again. A sharp pain brought him out of his thoughts and he slapped his hand to the back of his neck. “OUCH! Damned insects!” Whatever it was he had missed it. He growled and started walking again. He could see the old shed coming up. “Right! Maybe Ayeka spent the night here.” He ran over and slid open the door. He wasn’t prepared for what he saw. Nobody would have been. “A-ayeka-san?” Ayeka sat there in a simple white kimono, the obi tied loosely around her waist. The kimono’s front was open as she sat there, her legs tucked under her on the bench. Her eyes were closed, and she held a ceremonial tanto to her breast. Either she didn’t hear him or paid him no mind, as with one swift motion she pulled the weapon into her chest. She never made a sound. “*NO!!!*” Tenchi ran up to her and caught her as she fell, the blood draining from his face. He was completely unable to think as she lay in his arms, her blood seeping out around the blade and down her bare chest. “Ayeka! AYEKA!?” Tenchi only panicked for a moment before quickly laying her on her back and cradling her head. His mind was blank as he pulled the tanto from her, eliciting a gasp from Ayeka as it came free. He pressed his hand to the wound as the blood flowed out, and Ayeka whimpered, her eyes fluttering open. “T-tenchi... –sama...” Her eyes met his and for one brief moment he thought he could see into her soul, her loving smile lighting up her pained face. Then her eyes closed and he felt her slowly go limp. “AYEKA! No Ayeka, you... you’ve got to stay awake. Can you hear me? You’ve *got* to stay *awake*! Wh-what about Sasami-chan? AYEKA! *AYEKA*!” Tenchi sobbed as tears poured down his face. “I need Washu!” He turned to run out, but felt his hands still against Ayeka’s chest. “Pressure.” He looked around quickly, then hurriedly removed his shirt, pressed it against the wound and weighted it with a nearby stone. He didn’t know if that would do any good, but it was the only thing he could think of. Without another thought he ran, heading back to the house. *** Ryoko squirmed restlessly as Washu stuck the sensor ring onto her head. “Hey, come on Washu, leave me alone will you?” Washu frowned at her, setting her down as she summoned her laptop and began taking readings. “Ryoko, just sit down and let me take a look. There’s no way you of all people should have a hangover this long, and migraine isn’t an option. You’re not genetically capable of them.” “Washu it’s just a headache. People get them all the time! I’d be fine if you just let me get something for it!” She tried to rise again but was firmly pushed back down. “No.” Washu fixed her in the eyes. “If you’re going to take anything *I’ll* give it to you, and I won’t know what to give you if you don’t sit still.” Ryoko frowned, giving a small pout as she sat back and crossing her arms. “Jeez, one ‘Mum’ and she lets it go to her head!” she muttered to herself. Washu’s frown deepened as she scanned the data she was being given. “That’s odd. There’s nothing wrong with you.” Ryoko rolled her eyes. “*I* could have told you *that*. Why would a headache show up on that thing anyway?” Washu looked at her daughter again. “*Everything* shows up on here Ryoko. According to this though nothing’s wrong. Maybe I should give you a full scan.” “No!” Ryoko phased across the room, leaving the sensor ring to fall uselessly onto the sofa. “No more tests! You said!” Washu looked helpless at her. “I just want to see what’s wrong. And something *is* wrong Ryoko.” The argument became a moot point however when Tenchi careered through the door. “WASHU! Ayeka just stabbed herself! She needs help!” “*WHAT*!!!” The two women stared at him in disbelief. Tenchi gasped for breath. “Ayeka just tried to commit suicide. In the old shed. You have to help her! *Please*!” “BLOODY HELL! Stay here!” Washu yelled before phasing out. Tenchi leaned over with his hands on his knees, tears still staining his face as Ryoko’s own began to fall. Ryoko thought as she stood there in shock. The two of them were torn from their thoughts by the smash of breaking glass. Sasami stood there in the hallway opening, two shopping bags lying at her feet where they had fallen. “No.” She shook her head, trembling from head to toe. “Sh-she d-didn’t. IT’S NOT TRUE!” She turned and ran, and Tenchi bolted after her. “Sasami-chan!” He snagged her arm and pulled her back into a hug, crying just as much as she was. “Sasami-chan, it’s okay. Washu-chan went to help her, *sob* just like before remember?” In truth he hated himself for saying that. He couldn’t believe that she was dead. It’s wasn’t possible, not even in the worst of nightmares. Except that it was. He was screaming on the inside, because he had held her as she died. Sasami just stood there in complete shock, hugging back with all her strength. “It’s not true. It’s not true. It’s not true,” she wept into his chest. Ryoko just stood there. She could tell that Tenchi didn’t believe what he was saying, and it hurt her all the more that she knew it. All eyes turned to Washu when she phased back into the living room. She hung her head, and Sasami and Ryoko broke down, Sasami bawling into Tenchi’s chest and Ryoko into her hands. Tenchi looked over in shock, fresh tears pouring down his face. “N-no! Washu-chan you have to...” She cut him off before he could finish. “There’s no- one there Tenchi-dono.” Tenchi stared back in shock and the two girls looked up at her in confusion. “Wh-what?”. “The shed was empty Tenchi-dono. Ayeka-san wasn’t there.” “B-but I...” Tenchi stammered. Washu shook her head. “No, nothing. Except this.” He caught his shirt as she threw it to him. There wasn’t a mark on it. He looked down at his hands, but they were clean too. Both should have been covered in blood. “I saw it,” Tenchi said in disbelief. “I was there, I p-pulled the tanto out!” Washu walked over to the sofa and picked up the sensor ring, holding it out to him. “Put it on.” Tenchi looked at it dumbly for a bit, then he hardened his resolve and stuck it forcefully onto his head. He was going to find out what was going on, and if that meant putting up with Washu’s machines then so be it. Several minutes later Washu sighed. “Tenchi-dono, I haven’t got a clue. It looks like there are traces of a naturally secreted hallucinogen in your system, but secreted in massive amounts. Anything you’ve seen since it started could have been your mind playing tricks on you, but why I don’t know. I’d have to do a better scan than this to find out.” Tenchi collapsed back into the sofa. “Thank God, Ayeka’s okay. But she’s still missing.” Sasami looked up from where she was being comforted by Ryoko on one of the chairs. “Maybe... *sniff* maybe she went with Ryo-chan somewhere.” Ryoko looked down to her with raised eyebrows. “Ryo- ohki?” Sasami nodded. “I wanted her to come shopping with me, but I couldn’t find her.” She looked over at the bags by the hall, and at the broken glass that had fallen out of them. “I guess I need to go shopping again, huh Ryoko nee-chan?” Ryoko smiled. All further thoughts were halted when the glass doors slid open. Ayeka stood there smiling sadly at them. “Everyone, thank you for...” She was silenced when Tenchi tore up and embraced her. “Ayeka! You’re really okay! Ha haa!” Whatever Washu had told him he had still held her in his arms as she breathed her last, that was what he had experienced, real or not, and now here she was right before him. Ayeka stood there stunned as he kissed her, then practically got bowled over as Sasami ran up to join them in what became a monster of a hug. Ryoko and Washu just looked on, and Washu laid a hand on the taller girl’s arm. “Don’t worry Ryoko, he’s just glad to have her back.” Ryoko looked on in envy. “Yeah. Me too.” She thought back to something said for a bit of fun a long time ago, only now it held much more weight. Over with the others Tenchi and Sasami finally let go, letting Ayeka breath freely at last. “What is going on?” she asked, completely baffled as to what had just happened. Washu flippantly waved a hand. “Tenchi just flipped is all. I’m not surprised with the way you lot carry on.” She summoned her laptop again and started analysing the readings the sensor ring Tenchi was wearing was still sending her. “Where have you been Onee-sama?” Sasami asked when she had calmed down. “We were all really worried about you.” “I spent the night at the shrine with Onii-sama. I wanted to talk about my return to Jurai.” Sasami’s smile faded. “You really are going home?” Ayeka nodded. “Yes Imouto-chan. As pleasant as Tenchi- sama’s affections were just now I am returning to Jurai. You are old enough to be trusted on your own here, especially with Tenchi-sama and Ryoko-san to look after you.” Ryoko thought. She couldn’t help but feel happy that Ayeka had said that, and it wasn’t because the princess was still going home. “I didn’t think I’d told you yet though,” Ayeka continued, a little confused now. She had wanted to speak to Katsuhito before Sasami, hadn’t she? “I just, sort of, knew you were,” Sasami replied. “Tsunami said I might start feeling things sometimes if they were important to me.” “I see.” Ayeka smiled. “Well, maybe you’ll be the one looking after Tenchi-sama and Ryoko-san then.” They both giggled a little, then Sasami gave her a quick hug and headed for the kitchen. “I’ll put out some things for lunch.” As she left Washu looked up to Tenchi. “I hate to say this Tenchi-dono, but whatever it is that made you hallucinate is still going. You’ll get another happy trip in about two hours if my readings are correct. It’s like that section of your brain is still being stimulated, but without any stimulus!” Beside her Ryoko yelped in pain and clasped the base of her skull, jogging Washu as she did. “Hey, watch it Ryoko, I’m trying to work here.” Ryoko just grimaced. “Ow,ow,ow. Jeez, what was that?” All of a sudden the world fell out of focus and the bottom dropped out of her mind. “M-Mummy?” Washu looked up to see the whites of Ryoko’s eyes turn a sickly shade of green. “Oh shit!” She vaulted backwards just in time to avoid Ryoko’s energy sword as it sliced through the air where she had stood. Tenchi and Ayeka stepped back in shock. “Ryoko! What are you doing!” Ayeka cringed as Ryoko’s sword swung towards the scientist and she closed her eyes. The dull clang of weapon on weapon brought her up short and she opened her eyes to see Washu with her own shorter energy blade out fending off Ryoko’s attacks with surprising skill. Washu back-pedalled again to buy herself some room as Ryoko drew back for another swing and she flipped a steel statue at her with a flick of the wrist, drawing it from sub-space in no time at all. Ryoko turned it into slag in three swipes, but it bought her enough time to do what she needed. “TENCHI! TAKE OVER! SHE’S BEING CONTROLLED!” Tenchi already had his sword out and ready and leaped over the sofa to take her on, the Tenchi-ken ignited in his hand. He deftly dodged Ryoko’s prepared strike and slashed at her left arm, severing it completely. Ryoko leapt away holding the stump looked at him emotionlessly. Tenchi watched in sick fascination as the severed limb melted away and the power gem dropped with a clack to the floor. “Whew, that was WHOA!” Tenchi cried as Ryoko phased behind him and took a swipe at his back. He dodged and parried frantically as Ryoko went at him full force. “WASHU! WHAT’S GOING ON! I GOT THE GEM ALREADY!” He knew that he was the superior swordsman, if only by a bit, but Ryoko more than made up for it with power and versatility. He knew he couldn’t win against that, and killing her was not an option. “Give me a minute!” Washu called back, her hands blurring across the keyboard of her laptop as she simultaneously tried to lock onto Ryoko and isolate her bio-wave pattern from all the interference she was getting. “Tenchi nii-chan!” Ryoko turned from her offensive and flew straight at Sasami, her eyes as cold as her attack. Tenchi knew he wasn’t going to reach her in time to stop her. With a massive hiss of sparks and ozone discharge Ryoko rebounded only inches away from Sasami and fell crashing to the floor. Ayeka stood there with her arms outstretched, the shimmer of her force field surrounding herself and her sister. “You will not harm my Imouto!” Ryoko just lunged again and brought her sword down against the field again, right above Ayeka’s head. The princess could see the tension in the ex-pirate’s arms and the shaft of energy very slowly started to push its way into the field. A drop of sweat began to roll down her temple as Ayeka pushed as much as she could into maintaining the field that protected them. There was only so far the shield could hold before its structure collapsed, but the only way she could concentrate the power further was to shrink it, and she wasn’t going to leave Sasami vulnerable. Her wait ended when Tenchi reached them and Ryoko took a vicious slash to the back that would have killed any human instantly as it tore through their spine. The blade just cut and burned through Ryoko’s malleable flesh and she swung round to the Tenchi again. He raised the Tenchi-ken to block and was pushed back as strike after strike rained down on him. A swift kick knocked Ryoko to the floor and gave him chance to take her sword hand. He had noticed she had not bothered to regenerate her left one and knew she would have to use precious time to re-grow them both. To his surprise she flew straight back up and buried her fangs in the side of his neck. Before he had chance to react she flew back, ripping two painful gashes into his flesh and spitting out the skin she had managed to take off. Tenchi and Ayeka stared at her in horror as the blood dripped down her chin, her face still emotionless. Sasami buried her eyes in her hands as Ryoko leaped again and Tenchi readied to counter. As she flew a look of astonishment flashed across her face and she collided limply with her target. Tenchi was knocked to the ground with her, her sudden expression having thrown him off, and he struggled for a second before realising she was unconscious. All three looked to Washu, who flashed them a victory pose. “Just in time! Am I good or what?” Tenchi struggled out from under Ryoko. “Thank Washu- chan. What’s wrong with her?” He lifted Ryoko and lay her on the sofa, then walked over and picked up the red gem still lying on the floor. “I thought she would be okay once I got this.” He brought his other hand up to hold the hold two small gashes at his neck, wincing as he touched them. “Washu? Is Ryoko nee-chan going to be okay?” Sasami asked looking worriedly at her friend’s battered body. Washu nodded encouragingly. “Yep, she’ll be fine Sasami-chan. Give me an hour or two and she’ll be right as rain.” She looked over to Tenchi and took the gem as he offered it. “I don’t know whether you noticed Tenchi-dono, but Ryoko has a few built in safety indicators in case... something goes wrong.” “This wasn’t like when Kagato got her. If someone actually manages to take control of her mind or motor functions her irises change colour depending on what it is. If her consciousness is bypassed or corrupted then the whites change. Kagato liked to do both so he had complete control of what she did and what she remembered. This time only the whites went, meaning whatever happened caused her to just freak out. Something managed to shut down about 87% of her cognitive function and she was running on, for lack of a better word, auto-pilot. In this case it was a combative one.” She looked up at Tenchi with more than a little apprehension. “You, err... haven’t been having headaches recently have you Tenchi-chan?” “Umm... Yes?” he said with no small amount of trepidation. When Washu got familiar with you she was going to get weird. True to form she did, and started banging her head on the table. “Err... Washu?- Er, Washu-chan? Are you okay? Are the headaches what caused this?” Washu looked up tiredly. “It’s always the most obvious things isn’t it? A recursive loop of ambient alpha pitch waves. They’re everywhere, but if someone managed to direct them somewhere then they could cause headaches and promote additional chemical secretions to help cope with it, hence the hallucinations. I expect you’ve been having headaches too Ayeka.” Ayeka looked worried. “Actually yes. I’m not going to attack you am I?” “Naah. Give me a minute and I’ll whip up something to help neutralise the effect.” Her laptop floated over and she began typing. “Ryoko’s brain is very different to yours and Tenchi’s. Whereas yours were tricked into rebelling against you, the waves affected Ryoko in the same way a magnet will affect a roll of film. She has natural defences for this, but if it builds up enough it’ll shut down any number of mental processes. You have the same defences, but just react a different way when they’re breached. Luckily the damage is both very minor and temporary, so I won’t need to tinker around with her beyond regenerating her while she’s out. Waking up like this would be very painful. You’ll be fine once the chemicals are out of your systems.” She stuck her hand into a sub-space hole that appeared by her side and plucked out a small bottle of tablets. “Here, take two each.” The bottle was passed round but Sasami just held it when it came to her. “Umm... Washu-san? I haven’t had any headaches. Should I still take them?” Washu’s eyebrows rose. “Eh? No, in that case there’s no need. Errr... Whatever’s sending these alpha pattern waves will have effected everyone on the property, so I’m okay since they can’t reach sub-space, but I guess you have Tsunami to thank for your immunity.” “Yes.” They all turned to see the goddess standing at the table. “Sasami and I would be immune to the effect you describe, but that is not the only thing being broadcast, and none of us are immune to that outside your laboratory Washu-chan.” The diminutive scientist looked at her seriously. “What do you mean?” Tsunami bowed her head. “I believe there is a ship above us, and has been for a least the last two weeks. One I am unable to detect. It is somehow instigating this farce.” Sasami looked up at her. “Tsunami? You...” Tsunami looked back. “I will not allow my family to be hurt.” Tenchi looked curiously at the scientist. “Washu-chan? Wouldn’t a ship have shown up on your computers?” Washu cringed inwardly. “Yes, normally it would, but... I haven’t been myself lately Tenchi.” She looked up at him. “I am also still updating my labs from what I used before I was captured by Kagato. That’s no excuse, I’ve let myself get carried away with new projects, but if it uses very new technology it may not have shown up.” She hardened her resolve. There wasn’t any point in wondering what might have been. She could fix it now. “Well, we have to stop whatever that ship is doing. The pills are only a temporary solution. The alpha pattern waves would have to be continually broadcast at us for several days to get this effect, and they’ll still be going. Also it isn’t easy to harness them this way, in fact I don’t know anyone who has managed it to this level which is why I didn’t think of it earlier. Whoever it is doing it has put a lot of time and effort into this.” She looked at each of them in turn. “Sasami, please take those to Katsuhito-dono,” she said, indicating the bottle of pills, “he’ll want to take some too. If he’s behaving strangely come and find Tsunami and she’ll help you.” Sasami nodded and rushed off. “Tsunami, please go and call Kiyone and Mihoshi. We may well need their help, and they’ll have been affected by this too when they were here, whatever that other signal you mentioned is. Chances are they’ll want in.” Tsunami nodded and left for the hall phone. “Tenchi-dono, Ayeka-sama, follow me. I’ll put Ryoko to recover and we have planning to do.” She motioned to Tenchi’s neck where the two small cuts were still seeping blood through his fingers. “I’ll deal with those too.” The three of them got up and headed into Washu’s labs. Once they were inside Washu placed Ryoko into a medical tank and set the required program, then headed straight to her main monitoring station. A small light was flashing there. “Damn it.” *** Syren strode with purpose through the wire and pipe ridden innards of the Juraian ship. While the ship was certainly not tree powered it still kept the traditional wooden stylings under the mass of mechanical adaptations that had been made. Where the central tree pod should have rested were the main workshops, both her birthplace and her current destination. She tightened her grip around the small cloth covered mass under her arm. As she had thought, the plan had been executed with efficiency and precision. There was no chance of failure. Strangely, that was not as much of a comfort as it could have been. She knew that her master knew about her growing concern over the actions she was required to perform and she found it a troubling matter. He was her master, father, creator, call it what you will, she belonged to him. She should not be capable of anything other than total obedience, exactly what the man deserved. Why then did she try to distance herself from the actions she was required to perform, and would he still deign to keep her because of it? She reached the laboratory entrance and paused, allowing herself a moment of vanity to make sure she was suitably presentable before entering. “My lord,” she said, presenting the bundle to him, “the assignment is completed. There were no errors.” He looked over from where he worked and smiled broadly. “Excellent! Superb work Syren. I trust the anaesthetic was sufficient?” “Yes sir.” She unwrapped the cloth and pulled out the small, unconscious form of Ryo-ohki. She held her up by the scruff of the neck for verification. “Sir,” she said hesitantly, “I did observe some aberrant factors during the mission.” The surprise was evident of the old man’s face. “Oh?” “It appears that this specimen is of higher density that was originally projected. In addition she had no less than four common forms and shows the potential for high level energy focus and manipulation in all of them.” “Very interesting,” he mused as he peered at Ryo-ohki. “Washu must have made some modifications from her original design. Put it in containment. Whatever it can do it can’t cause us any problems there. Hmmm... This may even work in our favour.” He looked at Syren and nodded in approval. “Well done Syren. Take some time to yourself. I will prepare for our departure.” Syren felt a little anxious at that. There was still much she could prepare for and many variables that might have required her to be an active participant. Complacency was not something she could rationally understand. “Taishi-sama, would it not be more prudent for me to remain on combat alert in case we are discovered before we are capable of leaving? I observed that the child is rarely far from this one, and that she was searching for her while I was there. It was fortunate she did not find her. It would not be illogical to surmise that she would become aware of what I have done.” The old man shook his head. She was taking the responsibility heavily again. “What *we* have done Syren. The chance is slight since I have made sure the alpha generator is running full power. They have their hands full. If they do manage to discover what has been done soon enough to matter then we will repel them. Remain in combat readiness if it will ease your mind.” “Very well Taishi-sama.” Syren tucked Ryo-ohki under her arm again and left. It was not a long way to the containment area but she found herself slowly stroking the cabbit she held as she walked. She felt strangely attached to her thanks to the hours she had spent watching them all, and the cabbit was not the only one. As she entered the containment room she was greeted by a raspy growl. Inside one of the large force shielded partitions a slightly larger, grey cabbit was raised up on its haunches, its messy fur standing on end. “Chaaaaa!” Syren carefully placed Ryo-ohki on the floor and typed a command into a control panel in the wall, snapping another force shield partition around the area where Ryo-ohki lay. She walked over and looked at the grey cabbit. “Do not cause a disturbance. There is nothing you can do to but co-operate.” Ken-ohki just glared back up at her. “Chauu!” Syren decided to just ignore him. He had been confrontational ever since his separation from his partner/owner. She typed in another string of commands to have Ryo-ohki’s partition pump in the gaseous chemical she needed to recuperate, then left the two cabbits to themselves. When Ryo-ohki started to stir Ken-ohki was up against the transparent wall that separated them and looking worriedly at her. “Chauu?” Ryo-ohki shook her head as she got groggily to her feet, her ears flapping about her face. “M-miya?” “Chauu!” The two of them pawed at the shield between them for a while, then Ryo-ohki frowned at their prisons and phased into her humanoid form. Ken-ohki’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. That was new to him! Ryo-ohki continued to frown and stood concentrating, wondering if she could do the same sort of thing in this form that she could as a spaceship. The held her child-like arms out in front of her and felt a small energy ball form. With a sharp cry she shot it forward and watched it explode against the force field. True, it had only been a weak one, but could feel pleased with herself for at least being able to do it! Unfortunately it was nowhere near strong enough to break through the shield. She sat down dejectedly, “Miya?” Ken-ohki, still somewhat in shock from seeing Ryo-ohki looking like a human, shook his head. “Chau chauu.” He had already tried to break out by transforming into a ship, but the field was strong enough to teach him a real lesson in pain when he couldn’t break out of it to expand. “Chauu chiau.” Ryo-ohki nodded sadly. They would have to wait for their partners to get them out. *** Ryoko woke up to the unpleasantly familiar sensation of suspension in the sharp smelling fluid of a regen tank. She floated there and stewed groggily as she tried to will the sedative out of her system while she waited to be let out. As it turned out regen wards in hospitals were more secure than a high security prison. It was completely impossible to get out of one on your own. Thankfully Washu’s blurred form soon appeared and freed her from the smell that was know galaxy wide as the harbinger of very unpleasant surgery. Once out she phased a few feet across the room, leaving the liquid behind and getting into her blue and yellow outfit. She looked around at the others assembled there and the prosthetic tail she wore began to move nervously. “So, what got me?” The others shifted on their feet and Tenchi looked up at her from the floor. “That would be me.” Ryoko’s face fell in horror. “No, th-they got me again? Who did it? I didn’t hurt anyone did I?” Ayeka, Sasami and Tenchi looked nervously at each other, but Washu smiled. “Naah, you just gave Tenchi a good work out. Sorry I didn’t figure it out earlier.” Her face turned serious. “Follow us.” Washu turned and left the room followed by the others. “I’m glad you’re okay Ryoko nee-chan,” Sasami said. “We were all really worried about you.” Tenchi and Ayeka nodded. Ryoko smiled a little and followed them, rather confused and more than a bit wary. She frowned to herself. People were controlling her far too often for her liking and she swore for the thirty second time in her life that she would never let it happen again. She’d stopped believing it by the twelfth. “Hey, Ryoko, are you okay?” Tenchi asked. She blinked and looked up. “Uh, yeah sure.” She smiled again. “I’m fine.” Washu led them to a field-side park in the lush landscape that was her lab’s entrance. To the surprise of everyone there was a large Japanese table and a video board sitting there. Washu sat down on one of the cushions at the table and motioned for the others to do the same. “We have a problem.” Washu fixed them all with a deadly serious stare. “In low Earth orbit above us is a ship which, for some reason or other, is trying to break us down. As most of you know it is broadcasting Alpha waves at us and has been for the last 50 hours or so.” She brought up a diagram on the screen. “Alpha waves?” Ryoko asked, having missed out on the last explanation. Washu nodded. “They’re what got Tenchi-dono seeing things and shut down most of your mental systems. You were working on only a few mental systems, your tactical and combative ones among them.” Ryoko frowned but let her continue. “What’s more worrying is that there is a second signal coming down too, and I’m guessing it has been for at least the last two weeks.” Any further explanation was halted as a small beeper in the pin on Washu’s shirt started flashing. “Good, they’re here.” The quartet looked across the field to see Tsunami and Kiyone walking over to them. One thing was wrong though. “Huh? Where’s Mihoshi?” Tsunami knelt down delicately on one of the spare cushions and Kiyone sat down heavily on another. “Kiyone? Isn’t Mihoshi with you?” Kiyone shook her head. “She’s gone.” “What?” The others looked at her in disbelief. “Gone where?” Tenchi asked, worried. Ryoko’s question had more weight. “How do you mean... gone?” If it was possible Kiyone’s face fell even further. “Oh God!” She swallowed heavily. “I just figured I’d let her lie in after yesterday, but when the alarm woke me up for lunch she was gone. She’d packed up her futon and done the dishes, but she wasn’t in our apartment.” Ayeka walked over and put a hand on her arm. “Why didn’t you call us?” “I’ve just been asking around the area. Why would she come here without telling me? She still asks my permission to go out to the shops!” Washu leaned across the table. “Kiyone, have you been having headaches?” Kiyone looked up a little surprised. “Yes. I woke up with one. How did you know..?” Washu chucked her the bottle of pills. “Take two. Looks like your apartment’s been targeted too. I take it everyone there’s been on edge?” Kiyone thought for a second. “I don’t really know, but one of the students got evicted yesterday.” “Right. Tenchi-dono, Ayeka-san, please tell Kiyone-san what I told you. I’ll be back in a second.” She opened a door out of her lab then teleported over to Mihoshi and Kiyone’s apartment block, her laptop already out. There was a large focus of the alpha waves directed on the building. She looked around, then stuck her hand into sub-space and pulled out a little chibi Washu doll. She snuck around the building and under the stairway, then placed the doll there and pressed a button on its front. A small piton shot out and secured it to the wall. She pressed the second button, then took another look to make sure the coast was clear before phasing out and back to the house. Back in the lab the door re-appeared and she stepped back through. “Okay, I’ve set up a null field around your place so the people there will be okay for now.” She plopped back down on her cushion. “Now where was I?” Sasami raised her hand. “Something else besides the alpha things.” Washu smiled. “Thank you Sasami. You don’t need to put your hand up here though. I’d say that for about the last two weeks there has been another signal being broadcast at us. It’s a complex and quite subtle mix of things, but alpha waves are among them, so it’s probably being sent by the same device. It basically stimulates emotional responses. It’s the reason everything’s gone to hell recently.” Ryoko growled. “That bastard. He turned us against each other! Made us hate each other so he could do... whatever he’s doing! When I get my hands on him I’ll...” “Ryoko wait.” Washu was standing, as was Ryoko. Ryoko looked down at her puzzled, then sat when Washu motioned for her to. “What? That bastard’s been getting us to tear each other apart! Let’s just go...” “No.” Washu shook her head. “He didn’t do anything to us. We did it to ourselves.” “What? But you said...” “What do you mean Washu-chan?” Ayeka asked. Washu sighed. “You need to understand this. All he did was amplify what we already felt. When Ryoko got mad at you Ayeka it just pushed her that little bit more, but the effect was rather unpleasant as you well know. By the same token Tenchi-dono made a joke about Mihoshi’s mentality that he might have otherwise repressed, and it affected her more than it otherwise would have. I can’t prove any of it though. Anything that happened could have been us just as easily as it could have been the influence of these waves. It just made us less emotionally secure.” Kiyone put a finger to her temple and closed her eyes. “I... think I know the time it could have started. I locked us out of our apartment and got a bit steamed up, and Mihoshi actually asked if I was going to hit her. It just struck me as odd at the time, but I guess it could have been that. Even if she was, well, worried I don’t think she would have really asked like that. At least I hope not. I don’t want to think she’s actually been afraid of me.” Washu gave a depressed grin. “It’s devastatingly clever actually. Given long enough it would affect anyone, and anything could happen, but it would always just be a facet of their personality. If they hadn’t started using heavy alpha waves as well we’d never have picked it up. I still don’t get why they did that.” “It’s like shooting themselves in the foot,” Kiyone commented. Just then Sasami caught their attention, weeping from her cushion. “It’s... it’s my fault! I told Tsunami and Kiyone that something was wrong. They did it because I found out! Ryoko nee-chan got hurt because of me!” Washu slid over and hugged the young princess. “Shhh, it’s okay Sasami-chan. You may be right. They probably had someone watching the house, but you found out. That makes you smarter than them, and they got desperate. And now we can find them and stop them thanks to you.” Sasami looked up hopefully. “R-really?” Washu smiled. “Really, and Ryoko’s fine. That probably would have happened anyway.” What was one little white lie when it saved a young girl’s peace of mind? “Yeah,” said Ryoko, “and we’re still friends, right?” Sasami nodded happily, “Mmm hmm!” Tenchi looked over to Washu. “What about Mihoshi?” Washu grinned. “Leave the bubble brain to me.” As they all filed out of the lab so Washu could start searching in real space Kiyone made sure she was walking beside her. “Hey Washu-chan, don’t call Mihoshi that any more okay. It really upsets her, and she looks up to you a lot you know.” Washu nodded thoughtfully. “Yeah, okay. Just don’t expect me to be nice if she keeps trashing my lab.” *** The small group stood in front of the bar. They could hear a song start up inside. “Oh, yeah, they have Karaoke on Tuesdays too,” said Kiyone. They opened the door, and up on stage stood Mihoshi, singing her heart out. “~... around, and he was dignified. He showed me what it was to cry. Well you couldn’t be that man I adore, You don’t seem to know, seem to care, what your heart is for, I don’t know him any more.~” She sang in perfect English, almost no hint of an accent. At an unspoken signal the Masaki’s group took a couple of tables and sat down. This was just one of those moments you didn’t interrupt. “~There’s nothing where he used to lie, The conversation has run dry, That’s what’s goin’ on. Nothing’s fine, I’m torn, I’m all out of faith, This is how I feel, I’m cold and I am shamed, Lying naked on the floor.~” Washu slowly raised her eyebrows and rested her chin in her hands. “Who would have thought she’d snap like this?” Only the aliens could tell exactly what the lyrics were, but Tenchi knew enough English from school to understand most of it. The princesses had their expansive education, after all Earth was a Juraian colony world, and Washu had learned every earth language in her first week there. All four sat spellbound at the performance, as did most of the rest of the bar. “~Illusion never changed into something real, I’m wide awake and I can see the perfect sky is torn, You’re a little late, I’m already torn.~” Ryoko had an innate affinity for language. “She really was broken up about it, huh Kiyone?” Kiyone nodded, her Galaxy Police regulation translation chip letting her enjoy the music to the full. “~So I guess the fortune-teller’s right, Should have seen just what was there and not some holy light, But you crawled beneath my veins and now, I don’t care, I have no luck, I don’t miss it all that much, There’s just so many things that I can’t touch, I’m torn. I’m all out of faith, This is how I feel, I’m cold and I am shamed, Lying naked on the floor.~” Tenchi felt a tap on his shoulder and the waitress motioned for him to go over to the bar. “Do your party know the young woman on stage?” the barman asked in a quiet voice. Tenchi nodded. The barman smiled sadly. “She’s been here for the last six hours. She’s been doing one song every hour, and she’s brought in a lot of good people.” “~Illusion never changed into something real, I’m wide-awake and I can see the perfect sky is torn, You’re a little late, I’m already torn.~” “I’d like to offer her a job on our karaoke nights, to help get the good business in, but I haven’t got a word out of her except for song requests.” Tenchi nodded. “I’ll ask, but she’s been through a lot recently.” The bartender nodded understandingly. Tenchi looked over to the others to see Ryoko looking back at him with hope in her eyes. He bought a drink for everybody. “~Torn...~” Ryoko got up and helped him carry them back giving him a small note. “Thanks.” Once by one the others paid him for their drinks, Ayeka paying for Sasami’s. It was a surprise to him, but he wasn’t going to turn them down. He was poor enough as it was. “~There’s nothing where he used to lie, My inspiration has run dry, That’s what’s goin’ on. Nothing’s right, I’m torn, I’m all out of faith, This is how I feel, I’m cold and I am shamed, Lying naked on the floor.~” Ryoko smiled and closed her eyes, letting the music wash over her. Mihoshi was on very good form. She was brought back to reality when someone placed a hand over hers. She was met by a lean face, spiky bluish hair in a hooded cloak and a Juraian warrior’s tattoo. “~Illusion never changed into something real, I’m wide-awake and I can see the perfect sky is torn, I’m all out of faith, This is how I feel, I’m cold and I’m ashamed, Bound and broken on the floor, You’re a little late, I’m already torn.~” “Nagi!” “~Torn.~” The others all looked round sharply, Ayeka gasping when she saw who it was and Sasami ran over to her sister. Mihoshi stepped off the stage and saw the group. She seemed oddly calm. “Oh, hello everybody. What are you... Nagi-san!” Nagi looked seriously at them. “I’m not here to fight.” The others looked at her sceptically, and with no small amount of fear. The bounty hunter took her hand off Ryoko’s and rested her elbows on the table. “Sit down.” Slowly the others did. “There’s a guy whose been setting you up to gut each other. He’s in a Juraian ship in orbit over that shrine you live in.” “We know this already,” Washu said, “and that you’re working for him. Why tell us?” Nagi frowned menacingly. “*Was* working for him. I get paid, I get you,” she said, motioning to Ryoko, who tensed a little, “he gets his revenge, and he gets the cabbit.” “*What*?” There others looked at each other. Ryoko tried to feel Ryo-ohki across her link. There was nothing there. “S- she’s gone! You bitch! You helped him kill Ryo-ohki!” In a flash Ryoko was out of her seat and ready to beat Nagi to a pulp, but the hunter was also up, the tip of her blaster sword resting against Ryoko’s throat. “Don’t worry, she’s alive. He just cut her off from you.” “You’re lying!” Sasami looked worriedly at Washu “W-Washu-san?” Washu shook her head, having already tried to feel Ryo-ohki across her own link. “She... she could be dead, but Nagi could be telling the truth. It’s not impossible.” Nagi nodded. “It’s very possible. He has Ken-ohki too.” Ryoko slowly sat back down, as did Nagi, and Washu sighed. “So that’s what he’s doing, he was after the cabbits.” Mihoshi frowned. “But why would anyone want to take Ryo-ohki Washu-chan? Do you think he collects cute stuff?” Washu gave her a deadpan stare while the other sweatdropped. “No Mihoshi, I don’t.” She turned to the others. “I designed Ryo-ohki to be unique. Somehow someone must have got hold of the plans or something because there’s more than one cabbit out there.” “Five, as far as I know,” Nagi supplied. “Jeez,” Washu said, “I hope the queen never gets word of that. Anyway, somehow the secret stayed contained. What do you think someone would pay for a fleet of them?” “A fleet of Ryo-ohki’s?” Ayeka paled. “That would be...” “Bad,” Washu finished. “Looks like this just turned into a rescue mission. I trust you’ll let us take Yukinojo?” She asked, referring to the Galaxy Police shuttle Kiyone and Mihoshi had. Kiyone nodded. “I’ll get it ready.” She headed out of the bar, slowly followed by the others. “Hey Mihoshi,” Washu said, “have you been getting headaches?” Mihoshi nodded. “Yeah, but it’s gone now.” Washu held out two pills. “Take these. They’ll stop it coming back.” Mihoshi looked at the pills then swallowed them. “Thank Washu-chan.” As they reached the door the barman caught Tenchi’s eye. “Hey, Mihoshi, you like singing here right?” Mihoshi nodded. “Yeah. It made me feel better, you know?” “Would you like to get paid to sing like that?” Mihoshi smiled her first real smile in two days. “You mean like a job? Sure, that would be really cool!” Tenchi looked at the barman who was smiling broadly. “We’ll talk about it when we get back then.” At the front of the group Ryoko looked cautiously at Nagi. “You’re coming?” “Yes.” “It’s a truce then right? You don’t try anything, and when we’re done you leave.” “It took me eight days to find my way back here on this damned island. We both want revenge for this, and you’re the only ones who can help me get mine. You’re free for now.” Sasami looked up at the cloaked bounty hunter. “Why do you hate Ryoko nee-chan so much Nagi-san? Even she can’t remember any more.” Nagi looked sharply down at her, making the girl recoil slightly, then shifted her gaze to Ryoko, menace dripping from her features. Ryoko just stood there, hoping Sasami hadn’t said too much. Nagi stood silent for a while, then turned back and continued to follow Kiyone. Ryoko may have missed it, but Ayeka could have sworn she saw Nagi’s shoulders droop a little under the cloak. *** Back at the house Ayeka hung back from the others as they got ready to go out against the man above them. Another ‘adventure’ was coming, or perhaps it had long been here already. And in all of the commotion it was Tenchi’s attempt to approach Ryoko that she watched. He really did look very cute trying to pluck up the courage to say whatever it was. He actually managed to catch the cyan haired woman by surprise, no mean feat Ayeka knew. As it turned out however he wasn’t pledging his undying love for her. In fact it was quite the opposite. Ayeka stood there in surprise as he told Ryoko he didn’t want a relationship with her yet, with any of them in fact. And it seemed that Ryoko already knew. In fact she laughed at it as thought it were obvious! Ayeka wondered how long Ryoko had been privy to this one piece of information she had not. Not that it mattered though. Ayeka left them to it and walked slowly to her flower garden. Kiyone was missing, she was prepping Yukinojo for launch, but the princess didn’t intend to start gardening right now. She spent almost a minute looking at the flowers before selecting twelve and carefully picking them. She headed back to Ryoko and Tenchi, just in time to see Tenchi run off and up to the shrine. He had said he wanted his grandfather to look after Mayuka while they were away, and she would be ordering Azaka and Kamidake to do the same. Ryoko turned to see her walk up and smirked a little. “Too late princess, you just missed him.” Ayeka just stood next to her and offered the flowers. “They’re not for Tenchi-sama Ryoko.” Ayeka almost laughed at the jumpy look that crossed Ryoko’s face. “Hey, now wait a minute...” “I believe I owe them to you Ryoko-san.” Ayeka place the flowers in Ryoko’s hands. Ryoko blinked at them for a minute before catching on. “Uhh... Thanks Ayeka. I can’t un-kidnap you though.” Ayeka turned away. “There is something else you can do though, and I b-believe you will do it admirably Ryoko-san.” Ryoko looked in confusion at her. She had glimpsed her at the corner of the house as she spoke with Tenchi. She took a step forward as Ayeka began to walk away. “Hey, you’re comin’ with us to teach this guy a lesson, right?” Ayeka turned back and smiled menacingly. “Of course. I owe him a great deal of pain.” Ryoko raised an eyebrow. “That’s more like it!” She paused for a second. “Friends..?” Ayeka nodded, then twisted the inner band on the ring that adorned her left hand. She felt herself bathed in light, and when it faded she stood there resplendent in her Juraian battle armour. “Sisters in arms!” The two of them stood there looking at each other, then broke up laughing. *** On the pier of the decking that surrounded the Masaki house Nagi stood looking at the emerging stars. “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen them like this. Too long.” For some reason she couldn’t have explained if you asked her to she sat down, then lay back to watch the glimmering dots of light, listening to the water underneath her. “It’s all been too long.” *** 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. Also, feel free to visit my website at: www.geocities.com/nutzoides Author’s Notes: It’s strange, but some parts of this chapter ended up very difficult to write. The timing when everything happened gradually drifted away from my original plan as I got into the feel of it, so I ended up making some alterations that made working out the sequence of events difficult a little difficult. For those who don’t know and would like to, the song Mihoshi sang was ‘Torn’ by Natalie Imbruglia. I don’t usually like song fics due to my lousy music knowledge, but it felt right for the scene. I hope you agree. If you don’t know it don’t worry, the lyrics speak well enough by themselves for the purposes of the scene, which was the reason I included it. *** 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. Glomp: A very enthusiastic hug, almost physically throwing yourself at the target to be glomped. Imouto: Meaning ‘younger sister’ and often used with the ‘–chan’ suffix although other can be used. Kanji: The Japanese naming characters. Kappa: A Japanese water sprite. Karaoke: Popular pastime. Music is played along with the lyrics and you sing the song yourself. Kata: A set of martial arts moves linked together into a sequence for training purposes. Practised solo. 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. Tanto: A Japanese dagger. Often looks very much like a dagger sized katana. The katana is the traditional samurai sword. 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: May 14th – 2003 Posted: May 29th - 2003