Aikan Muyo
Chapter 11 - No Need For Two Swords, Part 3

Story by Happosai (happosai@jps.net)
Pre-reading by Ryan Anderson, Michael "Brazil" Borgwardt
Special thanks to the folks in #Fanfics on DALnet
Web: http://ucsu.colorado.edu/~andersor/fanfic/fanfic.html

Imaginary seiyuu
Kintarou: Seki Toshihiko (Mousse, Tezuka Shinobu, Karu Su, Tieh)
Torakami: Genda Tessho (Ninja Master Gara, Spy-D, Captain Jebra)
Kurotsu Chisato: Yamadera Kouichi (Ryouga, Kaji Ryouji, Juubei, Chiryuu)
Kizakan stripper: Sakuma Rei (Shampoo, Arshes Ney, Morrigan)
Onodera Tatsuhiro: Yara Yuusaku (Captain Brenten, Boice)

Disclaimer: Tenchi Muyo and its characters are the property of AIC and
Pioneer. If any of their lawyers are reading this, please don't sue me.
Instead, pass my humble work on to the creative geniuses behind this my
favorite series, in the hope that they might actually like it. The term
"Kizakan" for Mihoshi's race is the creation of Ryan Matthews, and used
with his permission.


     "A waking world of innocence,
      So grave those first born cries.
      When life begins with needles and pins
      It ends with swords and knives.

      Oh dangerman, oh dangerman,
      Your blade fits like a glove.
      When forged in steel
      Time cannot heal
      That blood red bond of love."
        -- "Swords and Knives", Tears For Fears


A score or so parsecs beyond the outer marches of the Empire of Jurai,
one of that empire's ships sped through the silent dark. The ship bore
the name Maki-oh, and on her bridge a male youth with long, loose blond
hair and garish blue and green robes paced impatiently back and forth
across the wooden deck. He stopped and stared ahead for a moment at the
star directly before Maki-oh's bow.

"Gensao, is that it? Are we there yet?" he asked for the several dozenth
time, turning his pale green eyes towards one of the guardians as he
pointed at the star with his finger.

"Hai, Kintarou-dono, that is our destination," replied Gensao, luckily by
his nature incapable of becoming annoyed at his master's repeated
queries. "We'll be there shortly."

Kintarou glanced at the other guardian. "Be alert, Nabasu. This is a den
of thieves we enter, after all."

"The ship is ready for combat at a moment's notice, Kintarou-dono," the
guardian assured him.

The star rapidly grew in apparent size as Maki-oh rushed towards it.
Other points of light also glowed brighter and larger. The ship adjusted
course towards a brilliant speck approximately six light-hours from the
system's primary, and very soon the Juraian vessel floated above a
barren, frozen planet, the star's radiance dazzlingly reflected off the
inhospitable world's outer crust of crater-scared ice.

High above the planet's surface a space station many times the size of
Maki-oh hung in synchronous orbit, surrounded by numerous spacecraft of
various sizes, origins, and apparent states of repair. Kintarou shook his
head in disgust.

Scum. All of them, scum. If it weren't for the rendezvous he planned with
*her*, he knew he could not restrain himself from cleaning out this nest
of vipers. It would be so easy, he knew, eying the many ships docked
helplessly to the station. So sure of their safety, so complacent in
their evil. So simple it would be for Maki-oh's fire to burn them to
cinders as a reminder of the price of wrongdoing. Kintarou smiled,
imagining it, proud of the power at his command and confident of the
skill with which he would wield it if it were necessary to...

"A ship, aft and above, Kintarou-dono," Nabasu said calmly as a
holographic tactical display appeared in the air.

Kintarou froze for a moment, bewildered and shocked, before frowning
angrily at the screen. "I told you to be attentive! How could you allow
it to get that close?!"

"I'm sorry, Kintarou-dono, but it appears to be equipped with some sort
of sensor-masking system," replied the guardian.

"It's out of the arc of our weapons. Shall I maneuver to bring them to
bear?" asked Gensao.

"Incoming communication from the vessel," announced Nabasu, before his
master could speak.

"On screen," snapped Kintarou. It wasn't sufficient to be caught off-
guard by filthy criminals. Now he would have to be soiled by deigning to
converse with them as well. "And get me data on that ship," he added.

The holo-screen flashed as the picture switched to the interior of the
other vessel, the view centered on grey eyes set in a lean, tan-
complected face framed by shoulder-length black hair. A gold ring with a
single blue gem in it flashed as he reached up, idly stroked his neatly-
trimmed beard, and regarded Kintarou with great amusement.

"You wished to speak to me?" the young Juraian asked testily.

"I couldn't help but notice that that's a Juraian warship you've got
there," the man replied casually. "You don't usually see those around
here. Any particular reason why you're here, kid?"

Kintarou gritted his teeth. "And who are you that I should tell you
anything?"

The man smiled. "I'm the one who'll send you straight to hell if I don't
get an answer I like."

With effort, Kintarou dominated his pride, promising himself that
vengeance for this insult would merely be postponed, not forgone. "I have
business to conduct, aboard Hyouzou Station."

An eyebrow arched. "Don't tell me your empress has gone through her
entire supply already?"

Kintarou's face reddened and his hands balled into fists. "You *DARE*
insinuate that Her Majesty would...!!!" he began, his voice shaking as he
fought to control his desire to turn his ship and attack to avenge the
insult. He caught himself and took several deep breaths. "I am not here
on Her Majesty's behalf. And that is all I will tell you," he said icily.

"Just curious. Now, drop to docking speed and go ahead with your
approach. I'll be right behind you, so don't do anything stupid, kid."

Angrily, Kintarou waved his hand to cut the signal. "Nabasu! The data?"
he demanded.

"Vessel is a standard Galaxy Police patrol cruiser, Kintarou-dono,"
replied the guardian. "However, numerous modifications to the drive and
weapons systems are apparent, as well as alterations of the outer hull."

Kintarou's eyes widened. "Galaxy Police?"

"Hai, Kintarou-dono. I also have a 99.99%-probability identification of
the person you conversed with."

"And?"

Images of what looked like the same man flashed onto the holographic
screen, along with a long list of text data. "Facial features and vocal
characteristics match those of ex-Detective First Class Chisato Kurotsu.
Wanted for three-hundred thirty-four counts of murder, including his
partner, Detective First Class Hitoshi Muratana. Other warrants for theft
of Galaxy Police ship 'Hogosha' and associated equipment, impersonating a
Galaxy Police official, breach of Galaxy Police primitive world contact
protocols, tampering with Galaxy Police records, smuggling, kidnaping,
piracy, organ running..."

Kintarou's eyes narrowed as he listened to Nabasu recite the lengthy list
of charges. If it wasn't for meeting he had planned, which he looked
forward to for reasons beyond duty...

He shook his head. Punishment could be meted out another day. He waited,
trying to ignore the shame as the stolen Galaxy Police ship escorted
Maki-oh towards the station. 

As it did, untold light years away a ship of identical design floated in
a much more peaceful region of space.

"Remember, that whole box has got to last until payday," warned Kiyone,
looking over at her partner before taking a sip from her can of coffee.

Blissfully unaware of Kiyone's remark, Mihoshi continued munching on her
stick of banana-chocolate giant Pocky. She finished it, brushed the
crumbs from her uniform blouse onto Yagami's deck, got another one out of
the box, and starting eating it.

Kiyone shook her head and returned her attention to the computer display
on the console in front of her. A few taps on the screen completed the
information necessary for the file and sent it on its way. Another day,
another patrol report to transmit. She sighed and closed her eyes for a
moment as she tried her best to suppress the boredom she felt. At least
this one had something in it, even if it was nothing more than a traffic
citation. She wondered how much longer it would take for word to get out
that the Sol system was no longer a convenient place for teenagers to
take their parent's ships, get drunk, and play "chicken" with their
navigation beacons shut down.

Mihoshi polished off the Pocky stick and checked her wrist unit. "Uh,
Kiyone... shouldn't we be getting home soon? We've got to wake up so
early tomorrow, and I'm getting sleepy already." As if to emphasize her
last point, Mihoshi yawned and slumped slightly in her chair, her eyelids
starting to droop down over her eyes.

"Yeah, you're right," replied Kiyone. She glanced over at Mihoshi and
smiled for a moment. "You can get some sleep. I'll pilot us back."

"Thanks, Kiyone," said Mihoshi, yawning again. She closed her eyes and
had just reached the threshold of sleep when the buzzing of the comm
system jolted her awake.

Kiyone pressed the console screen and activated the holo display, which
materialized in the air in front of the officers' seats.

"Well, Kiyone and Mihoshi. Long time no see!" said red-haired woman who
appeared on the display.

"Hi, Mitsuki!" said Mihoshi cheerfully. "It's so good to see you again!"

Kiyone nodded in agreement. "It's been a while." Her eyes caught one of
the text notations on the screen. "I take it this isn't a social call.
Not if you're running the shadow program."

"No, this is official. It's my first communique as Junior Director of the
Jurai Liaison Office."

"You're moving up in the world, aren't you?" said Kiyone in a rather
quiet voice.

Mitsuki's lips curled into a smile that stopped just short of becoming a
sneer. "How about you? I'll bet patrolling the Sol System is an exciting
assignment."

Mihoshi nodded enthusiastically. "We wrote someone a speeding ticket
about half an hour ago," she said proudly. "Kiyone just sent in the
report. That's our fifth one this month!"

"Wow, that's great!" said Mitsuki, as if congratulating a child for
having successfully tied their shoes. "At that rate, you'll both be
getting promotions in no time."

"See? I *told* you," said Mihoshi, beaming, looking at Kiyone before
turning to Mitsuki again. "Kiyone keeps saying that this is a dead-end
assignment, and that her career's doomed, and that kind of stuff. I wish
she wouldn't worry so much over nothing."

Kiyone gritted her teeth. "What was this 'official business' you
mentioned?"

"I'm relaying a transmission to you from Jurai. Something about
contacting Princess Aeka and Princess Sasami."

"Not this again," grumbled Kiyone. "What are they going through you for,
though? They usually just contact us directly."

"I guess they're not satisfied with the answers they're getting, and
wanted to go through official channels to make sure that got noticed.
Plus its somebody fairly important this time. Lord Torakami. He's the
Juraian Empress' younger brother and one of their senior fleet
commanders." 

Sweat beaded on Kiyone's forehead. "What do you mean, 'not satisfied.'"

"I don't know exactly, but they've lodged a formal complaint. I wish I
could bury it or something, since we're classmates and all, but," Mitsuki
smiled and shrugged as if utterly helpless, "there's really nothing I can
do but file it. Sorry."

"Thanks anyway," said Kiyone, glaring at the screen.

"Well, I'll put him through now. It's been nice talking to you two."

Kiyone frowned. "Yeah."

"Bye-bye, Mitsuki!" said Mihoshi.

As Mitsuki moved her hand to cut the channel, Kiyone's eyes narrowed and
a smile formed on her lips. "By the way, Mitsuki..."

"Yes?"

"How are things with you and Chisato-kun?" Kiyone asked in a friendly
tone of voice.

The color instantly drained from Mitsuki's face. Her fists clenched at
her sides, trembling with suppressed rage, as a vein protruded
prominently on her forehead. After a few moments, she calmed down enough
to cut the channel.

Mihoshi giggled. "It's really not nice to tease her about that, Kiyone."

Kiyone didn't answer, instead coming to attention as a blue-green haired,
stern-faced, middle-aged Juraian in ornate robes appeared on the screen.

"Officer Kiyone Makibi, at your service, sir. How may I be of
assistance?"

"You may assist me by permitting me to speak with Aeka-hime," Torakami
said gruffly.

"I'm sorry, sir, but she's given me specific instructions that she
doesn't wish to speak directly to anyone off-planet unless her mother
deems it an emergency," replied Kiyone. "I realize you may not have been
informed of this but..."

Torakami abruptly cut her off. "I have been so informed. Nonetheless you
will put me in touch with her." His eyes narrowed. "At once!"

Out of the corner of her eye, Kiyone noticed Mihoshi sitting in
uncharacteristic silence, watching the holo-screen just a little
fearfully. "I can't do that, sir. I apologize, but her request was quite
explicit. No direct communication from home, except from Her Majesty the
Empress."

The frown on Torakami's face deepened. "I find it difficult to believe
that she would refuse all communication from her loved ones."

"I'm not privy to all of her reasons, sir. But she has told me that she's
enjoying her vacation very much and that's she's needed to take one for
some time now. And she doesn't want her stay interrupted by, as she put
it, 'weighty matters.' I'll relay a message to her if you like, but
that's all I can do."

"I trust you realize the potential consequences of such a refusal,"
warned Torakami.

Kiyone straightened her back and fought the urge to wipe away the sweat
gathering on her brow. Hoping that what she was about to say wouldn't
completely destroy her career, she swallowed hard before fixed the
Juraian's gaze as resolutely as she could. "Sir, Aeka-hime has given me
her personal trust to handle this for her, and I will not violate that
trust. And may I say that I resent your attempt to pressure me into doing
so."

Torakami bridled at her remark for a moment, before calming down and
nodding. "Very well."

Kiyone tried not to let her sigh of relief show too much. "Do you have a
message you would like me to pass on?" she asked.

"Please tell her and Sasami-hime that her Uncle Torakami and her cousin
Amaiko send their love, that we hope they're enjoying their vacation, and
that we look forward to seeing them very soon." He paused for a moment,
about to end the transmission, before he remember something else. "Also,
please ask Aeka-hime from me to procure some of the native handicrafts.
Her cousin has recently taken up collecting primitive folk art." He
raised an eyebrow. "I trust that the regulations regarding such items may
be relaxed in this case?"

Kiyone nodded rapidly. "Hai, Torakami-dono. That won't be a problem."

"Good. We're expecting Aeka-hime on Jurai in time to officiate over the
Startika festival, and I don't want to cause her any delays."

"No, of course not," said Kiyone, becoming even more nervous.

"Thank you for your time," said Torakami, before breaking communications.

Kiyone wiped her forehead and sat down in her chair. "Well, it sounds
like he's convinced, for the moment," she said. "I hope he doesn't start
making waves for us at headquarters."

"What was he being so mean for?" asked Mihoshi worriedly.

"I think Aeka's family is getting a little nervous about her being gone
so long," answered Kiyone. She sighed wearily. "I sure hope she
appreciates this."

"But she does!" insisted Mihoshi. "Remember how happy she was the other
day, about Tenchi? And how she said she'd cover for you if you wanted to
get a boyfriend on Earth?"

Kiyone nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right," she said. She paused in
thought for a moment, then looked over at her partner. "Um, speaking of
Tenchi... you're OK about him now, right?"

For the briefest instant, Mihoshi hesitated, before smiling her usual
cheerful smile. "Sure! Fighting for justice and being the partner of the
best detective in the whole Galaxy Police force is enough for me, any
day. You're the one I'm worried about. You should listen to Aeka, and
find somebody nice. If all you think about is your career, you're going
to wind up an old maid."

"Gee, thanks," muttered Kiyone in annoyance. Telling herself that Mihoshi
only meant it well, she wiped the frown from her face and turned her
attention to the navigation controls. "I'm taking us back to Earth, so
you can go back to sleep."

"Thanks, Kiyone," replied Mihoshi, yawning instantly at the mention of
the word "sleep." She sank back into her seat, closed her eyes, and began
quietly snoring in a matter of seconds.

A few minutes later, as Yagami passed the orbit of Jupiter inbound
towards Terra, Mihoshi turned in her sleep. "Kiyone..." she murmured
softly.

Kiyone smiled. Mihoshi was probably dreaming of yet another trip to the
karaoke bar. Somehow, they'd have to scrape together the cash to go again
soon.

Mihoshi shifted again slightly. "Tenchi..." she said sweetly.

Kiyone looked over at her, then sighed and shook her head as she
continued to pilot the ship.

"Kiyone..."

Kiyone's eyes widened as she nervously stared at her sleeping partner, a
really bizarre suspicion entering her mind regarding what Mihoshi might
be dreaming about. With another shake of her head, she focused her
attention totally on the helm as Yagami sped towards its parking orbit
above Earth.

Back on Hyouzou Station, Kintarou wound his way between the patrons of
the station's most popular bar, feeling more and more... *soiled*... with
each and every step. He'd given up holding his breath to avoid inhaling
any of the thick, noxious haze that hung in the air. Hopefully the
effects of whatever narcotics produced the fumes would not be permanent.
Or instantly incapacitating, for that matter. He coughed and did his best
to ignore it, just as he ignored the almost-deafening music thundering
out a rapid beat for the dancers strutting on the stages.

A sudden surge in the chaotic motion of the crowd drove in from behind
him. Out of panicked reflex he spun around and reached for his sword. No
attacker presented themselves but the press of bodies forced him
backwards, off-balance, and shoved him on his back halfway onto one of
the stages. Smooth, dusky skin entered his peripheral vision on both
sides. Then the face of Crown Princess Aeka loomed before his eyes. The
shock of the sight passed in a moment when he realized that it was Her
Majesty's likeness on a bill of Juraian currency, gripped in a rather
hairy hand reaching a foot or so above him.

Kintarou slid to the side and managed to sit up on one of the low stools.
He glanced around to find out where he was, fighting down the fear that
at any moment a blade might be thrust into his back or slashed across his
throat. Catching motion out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the
spot he'd been a moment before.

Caramel skin. Slightly-pointed ears. Small fangs that glinted in the
light of the flashing strobes. A Kizakan, he realized. A long mane of
thick sable hair cascaded down her back all the way to her waist. In
front of her sat a burly Juraian in rich, traditional robes, shoving bill
after bill into the stripper's g-string while she hugged his head and
pressed his face between her bare breasts.

Kintarou's eyes widened in horror at the sight, as his fellow Juraian
took several more banknotes of the currency of the realm, each bearing
the image of the First Princess, and rubbed them against the Kizakan's
crotch.

Presently the man decided he'd had enough stimulation for the time being,
and turned to speak to the person seated next to him. For a few moments,
Kintarou directed a withering look of pure malice at him. The man didn't
seem to notice. Then, once again, Kintarou reminded himself that he had
other reasons to be here than to enforce decency, as if such a thing were
possibly in a place like *that*.

"Hi," said a voice in his ear.

Startled, he turned and looked directly into a pair of large green eyes
set amidst light brown skin and black hair.

"That was my last number on-stage," said the stripper. "Wanna have a
private dance?"

Kintarou blinked. "A... what???"

The Kizakan giggled, and moved closer. "A private dance," she repeated.
"You're cute. I'll only charge you half price," the woman offered,
licking Kintarou's neck.

Kintarou stood up in a furious rush, wiped away the blood from his nose,
and shoved her aside in utter disgust. Quickly he resumed his search for
the one he was to meet with. He elbowed several rather tipsy patrons out
of his way and pushed through and out of the throng gathered around the
stages until he reached the less-crowded space near the rows of dimly-lit
booths. His eyes began to dart from booth to booth amidst the smokey
gloom.

Some of them contained people huddled together in discussion, sometimes
in the midst of handing objects across the table. More than once
Kintarou's gaze met with a suspicious, threatening return stare. Here and
there a customer busily indulged in one of the "private dances" the
Kizakan had tried to tempt him with. In one of the booths, a figure lay
slumped over on the table. Dead or drunk, preferably the former, thought
Kintarou, but in the poor lighting it was impossible to tell.

Red eyes glinted at him from within the concealing folds of a hooded
cloak. Kintarou's footsteps stopped, and his heart nearly did as well.

It was her!

In the shadows of the hood, lips curled into a cool, sardonic smile.
Kintarou rushed forward for a moment before catching himself and trying
to look more dignified. Slowly now he walked towards the booth and bowed
his head slightly. Receiving a nod, he sat down.

"I came as quickly as I could, Nagi-sama," Kintarou said in a low,
worshipful voice.

The bounty hunter idly swirled the iridescent green liquid in the fluted
glass in front of her, then took a sip and set it down again. "Did you
bring the files?"

Kintarou nodded and pulled a data disk out of his robes. "All of the
unauthorized frontier crossings for the last quarter-year. Times,
trajectories, energy profiles, silhouettes, particle discharge
signatures, everything." A twinge of conscience nagged him for a moment.
This was classified information. There was no way he could see that it
could be used to harm Jurai, but still, technically what he was about to
do was treason.

"Will it be of use to you?" he asked.

She nodded. "It'll show me just the right spots to ambush them," said
Nagi. "If it's accurate."

"I assure you that it is," replied Kintarou. It was worth it, he decided.
Giving Nagi this information would help Jurai. And it would help her. The
insolent smugglers and thieves foolish enough to operate near Jurai's
frontier would pay in blood for their crimes and disrespect. Nagi would
reap everlasting glory with each head she took, each evildoer she
consigned to the depths of Hell. And with each victory he would rejoice
at having helped bring it about, in a small way. His only regret was that
he wouldn't be there to watch the battles, to see her cut through the
scum like an unstoppable scourge of beautiful, righteous, searing fire.

He set the disk on the table and pushed it towards her. "Smash them,
Nagi-sama," he said reverently.

Nagi smiled as she took the disk and sipped her drink again. "I'm going
to be making a trip out to the Sol system pretty soon. Still interested
in the goings on there?"

Kintarou nodded. "Yes. The information you gave me before sparked a great
deal of concern. I would be very grateful for whatever you can tell me."
His eyes widened with sudden realization. "You're going there to slay
Ryoko, aren't you?" He remembered some of the things he'd heard about the
Galaxy's most-wanted criminal. In particular he recalled the torment
she'd inflicted on Princess Aeka. Though he only knew of them third or
fourth hand, there were at least three separate occasions when the pirate
had attacked or insulted Jurai's future empress.

Nagi's eyes narrowed as she frowned. "Not yet," she replied, managing to
keep the frustration out of her voice. "I need to scout around a bit
first. Then it's 'Sayonara, Ryoko.'"

Kintarou reached over and grasped her weapon hand. Nagi watched, amused,
as he bent down and tenderly kissed it. "May that day be soon, Nagi-
sama."

"It won't be long now. Not since she's hooked up with that guy." Nagi
shook her head in disgust. "Until I actually saw it, I couldn't believe
it. Ryoko's never been *that* stupid before." She downed her drink. "It's
too bad she's gone soft. It takes a little of the fun out of it."

"I see," replied Kintarou thoughtfully, scanning the crowd now and again
for any threats. "May I ask a question?"

"Sure."

"Was it really necessary for us to meet," he sneered in revulsion,
"*here*?"

Nagi motioned for a waitress as she watched the crowd as well. "There's
some other business I need to take care of here. It doesn't have anything
to do with you, though. You can leave if you want."

Kintarou looked over at her. "You're going to take someone's head?" he
asked in a low, conspiratorial voice.

"Mmm-hmm. I'm expecting him to show up here some time tonight," answered
Nagi, just before the white-bikini-clad waitress arrived at the table. 

"Anything I can get you?" the waitress asked.

Nagi handed over her empty glass. "Another refill. And a bowl of carrot
juice."

The waitress blinked. "Carrot juice?"

"Carrot juice," repeated Nagi.

"O... K..." said the waitress, shaking her head as she jotted down the
order. "And anything for the gentleman?"

"A glass of kajitsushu," said Kintarou, making sure his eyes didn't stray
below the waitress' neck.

Once the woman had left, he turned to Nagi again. "I would consider it an
honor if you would allow me to stay and watch," he said. "It's something
I've longed to see for quite some time now."

Nagi shrugged. "Just make sure you don't get in my way when it's time for
me to take him down."

"I would never dream of such a thing."

"Alright. It could be a while before he gets here, though. You might want
to have a lap dance or something, to pass the time."

Kintarou stared at her in total shock. "But, Nagi-sama," he protested,
deep hurt evident in his voice, "They're... they're nothing but filth.
The lowest kind." He nodded towards another booth, in which a dancer
ground her body against an unsavory-looking customer. "Not merely
harlots, but the playthings of... of *lawbreakers*. I would never permit
one of them to touch me, much less pay them to do so. Some men follow the
urging of their loins and seek nothing but pleasingly-shaped flesh. I
desire higher things." He glanced over at Nagi for a moment, then looked
away. "And there are those whose beauty far outshines theirs, in any
case," he continued quietly. "I would much prefer to pass the time
talking to you."

Nagi briefly looked at him out of the corner of her eye, then smiled.
This could be interesting, she decided. After all, she too needed a way
to entertain herself during the potentially-long wait. Noting the
approach of the returning waitress, Nagi sat in silence.

"One house special, one plum wine, and one..." the waitress snickered,
setting the glasses and bowl down on the table "... carrot juice. Enjoy!"
she added, before turning and heading off to another booth.

Flashing a brief hint of a grin, Nagi scooted up right next to Kintarou
before picking up the bowl of carrot juice and setting it down on spot
where she'd previously been sitting. She pretended to ignore the young
man's sudden tenseness, instead snapping her fingers twice. Out from
under the table hopped a white cabbit wearing a blue collar, who began
immediately lapping at the contents of the bowl.

"So, how are things on Jurai these days?" Nagi asked idly in a deep,
sultry voice as she stretched sinuously across the table to reach for her
drink. Her cloak flowed off her arms and gathered behind her as she did,
giving Kintarou an unobstructed view of her lush curves. The dim ambient
glow alternated with the harsh flashes of the strobes, vividly
highlighting the blue and black bodysuit that clung tenaciously to the
bounty hunter's full chest and smooth, flat stomach.

Almost as tenaciously as Kintarou's eyes, before he somehow managed to
tear them away.

"V-v-very well," he stammered. "Startika will be wonderful, if the
weather holds. From what I've heard, it will be quite a celebration this
year."

Slowly Nagi eased back into her seat and set her drink down in front of
her. Her thigh touched Kintarou's ever-so-slightly. Noticing how dry his
mouth felt, he reached for his glass, now very glad that he'd ordered
something to drink. He raised it for a toast.

"Justice," he said, looking over at Nagi. She raised her glass and
clinked it against his, then drank. Kintarou took a deep gulp of his pale
yellow-green wine before setting it down again and glancing over at the
cabbit, who was busy licking the last traces of carrot juice from the
inside of the bowl. "That's Ken-ohki? Your ship?" the youth asked.

"That's him," said Nagi. "Ken-ohki, say 'hi.'"

The cabbit looked up at Kintarou. "Shaow! Shaow!" he said. His eyes went
from the empty bowl to Nagi's face, back to the bowl, then to her face
again. "Shaow?" he asked expectantly.

A momentary look of concentration flashed across Nagi's face.

Ken-ohki hopped onto the table, then down again on the other side of
Kintarou from Nagi.

"Shaow!"

Nagi shook her head. "Not right now. You'll have to wait."

"Shaow!" insisted Ken-ohki.

"I said 'no.' Now get back over here," ordered Nagi.

"Shaow!"

Kintarou smiled. "I'll get him for you," he offered, reaching for the
cabbit.

Ken-ohki backed up, hissing menacingly and baring his fangs as his fur
bristled. Kintarou turned to Nagi and looked at her, puzzled. "Did I...
do something wrong?"

Nagi let out a very heavy sigh that made her breasts jounce a bit,
mirthfully noting Kintarou's momentary downward stare. "When he gets like
this, he usually won't let anyone but me handle him," she explained. She
got up onto her knees on the seat, then leaned over across Kintarou to
fetch Ken-ohki. The Juraian's eyes widened as Nagi put her hand down onto
the seat to steady herself -- right between his legs. She extended
herself further, reached out with her free hand, and grabbed Ken-ohki.
Once sure of her hold on him, she started leaning back. The back of her
hand pressed briefly against Kintarou's crotch, and he gulped nervously.
An amused smile formed on Nagi's lips. She withdrew the hand and used it
to hold her cabbit as she sat back down. Kintarou swallowed again, harder
this time, as her posterior slid across his lap before finding its place
next to him on the seat.

"Sorry about that," she said. "He can be pretty stubborn sometimes."

"N-n-no apology is necessary, Nagi-sama," replied Kintarou, blushing
furiously.

Nagi set Ken-ohki down on Kintarou's thigh and began to pet the cabbit.
At the end of each stroke down along Ken-ohki's back, Nagi's hand brushed
along Kintarou's leg for just an instant. After a minute or so, he tried
to shift his legs, a look of intense discomfort on his face.

"I'd rather you didn't move around," said Nagi. "If he gets upset again,
he may run off, and I'll have a hell of a time finding him."

Kintarou froze, perspiration beading on his brow. "Of... of course, Nagi-
sama. I... quite understand."

"Is something wrong?" asked Nagi.

"N-n-no, nothing... nothing at all," answered Kintarou, swallowing again.

Nagi's hand stroked down along Ken-ohki's fur and momentarily slid across
Kintarou's thigh again.

Sweat drenched the young Juraian's forehead. "Nagi-sama, I... I have a
confession to make."

"What's that?" she asked.

"I've been having... impure thoughts about you," said Kintarou.

"Oh, really?" said Nagi, arching an eyebrow.

"Y-y-yes."

The motion of Nagi's hand didn't break its stride. "When was this,
exactly?"

"W-w-well, among other times... *now*."

Before Kintarou had finished his sentence, Nagi's eyes focused suddenly
on something in the distance. Her hand stopped in mid-stroke and reached
down towards her belt.

Immensely grateful for his momentary respite and not as yet having noted
the direction of Nagi's gaze, Kintarou picked up his glass with a
trembling hand and downed the entire remaining contents.

"If my thoughts offend you, I will endure any punishment you see fit to
mete out, Nagi-sama," he said. "Humbly, and with joy."

Nagi gathered her legs under her, crouched on the balls of her feet on
top of the seat while holding her as-yet-inactive energy whip in her
hand. Noticing this, Kintarou turned and looked at her.

"Nagi-sama?"

The bounty hunter's eyes narrowed. "Shhhh!" she hissed angrily.

Realizing that he was about to witness what he'd waited to see, Kintarou
eased away to give her room. Nagi flipped her cloak behind her to make
sure it didn't get in her way. She stood poised and motionless, the
promise of sudden violence contained in her graceful, patient form as if
graven by a master sculptor. Her whole body tensed, like a taut bow drawn
almost to the breaking point in readiness to unleash an arrow in swift
flight towards its target. Kintarou watched in awe, hardly daring to
blink or even breathe. He did his best to follow the direction of her
gaze so he could see the criminal she was about to bring down.

A mustached and heavily-muscled man, decked out in white furs and black
leather, wound his way through the crowd. Pulsing strobelight glistened
on the leather and the man's bald head. He stopped here and there to talk 
momentarily with some of the other patrons. They seemed to be exchanging
greetings, but it was impossible for Kintarou to hear anything that far
away amidst the thumping music from the sound systems and raucous cheers
and whistles from all over the bar. With a parting wave to the last
person he'd spoken to, the man headed into the thick of the crowd again.

Nagi's eyes never left him, and Kintaro's eyes switched rapidly back and
forth between her and the man he knew was already as good as dead.

The man stopped near a stage on which two tall and shapely cat girls
gyrated to the music, their long blonde hair reaching nearly down to
their ankles. They began slowly removing their tops in perfect
synchronization, drawing enthusiastic shouts from her onlookers. The
crowd around the stage shifted, drawing closer. The man skirted the outer
edge of the circle of patrons, looking for a seat. Only two or three
other people now stood between him and the blood-red eyes that watched
him.

Kintarou looked over at Nagi again. The bounty hunter's knuckles whitened
as she tightened her grip on the handle of her energy whip. The intensity
of her concentration sharpened further, and Kintarou could see her
nipples stiffening through her tight body suit. A droplet of perspiration
trickled unnoticed down her temple.

The crowd thickened, then thinned again, and for a moment the line of
sight was completely unobstructed.

With a hum and a loud crack, Nagi's whip blazed to life and flashed
outward. Glowing tendrils closed around the man's neck and jerked him off
his feet, the burning line of magenta light connecting him to Nagi's
outstretched arm as she stood on the table. She jumped down onto the
floor and started walking towards him. Matching her pace, the whip line
withdrew into the handle to maintain tension.

All conversation stopped. A hundred eyes locked on the striding bounty
hunter. Hands fumbled for weapons.

Nagi halted and threw back her hood. Her gaze swept across the crowd,
promising death to any who intervened.

Nervous recognition rippled through the onlookers. One by one they backed
off and turned their faces away from the hunter and her snared prey. Most
of the patrons at the stage nearest the fallen man started frantically
thrusting handfuls of bills to the flustered strippers, who did their
best to resume their dances. Others gawked at the fallen man, watching in
morbid curiosity.

Nagi reached the man and hauled him up with her whip while pulling out a
holographic wanted poster with her free hand. Her eyes scanned the face
in the poster photo and the face of her captive. They were identical --
except for the minor difference that the wanted poster showed a look of
manly bravado while the as-yet-living man's expression was one of abject
terror.

"My, my," said Nagi, eying the long list of charges on the wanted poster.
"We *have* been a naughty boy lately, haven't we?"

"Please... no..." he begged, his face contorted in agony as he struggled
for speech. "Please...!"

Nagi looked down at him, her whole body still tensed.

"What...ever... you want... anything... tell you..." the man offered in a
tortured voice. "Anything... just don't... please... don't..."

"You should have thought of this before you killed the crew of the
'Gingitsune,'" chided Nagi. "I'd be going after someone else if the
multiple homicide charges hadn't increased the bounty on you."

Suddenly the man's eyes widened and his voice rasped louder as he put
every last bit of strength into his plea for mercy. "PLEASE!!!"

Nagi smiled a bemused smile. "Sayonara, Tatsuhiro."

Full power surged through the whip. With a bright flash and a crackling
zap, the energy line constricted and bloodlessly severed head from body.

Nagi stood for there for a few moments, perspiration streaming down her
body as she panted rapidly, her chest heaving but not from any physical
exertion. The excitement of the kill hadn't relieved her pent-up tension,
and her body craved release. Promising herself that she'd deal with that
problem as soon as she was safely aboard her ship, she pulled a sack out
of a pouch at her belt, bent down, picked up the slain man's head, and
put it in the sack. Then she straightened up and turned back towards her
booth.

Kintarou stared at her in unrestrained wide-eyed awe, two paces away.

Nagi drew the back of her hand across her sweat-drenched forehead. A pink
flush still colored her cheeks, and her breathing continued to come in
labored gasps.

"Nagi-sama... domo arigato gozaimasu," said Kintarou, bowing his head.
"That... that was a sight I will always cherish. Always. I swear it."

The bounty hunter wiped more perspiration from her brow. Another hot rush
of breath hissed out between her teeth.

"Nagi-sama... are you alright?" asked Kintarou.

Nagi's eyes narrowed slightly. "Your ship... what bay is it docked at?"

Kintarou blinked. "Bay seven. Why?"

Nagi grabbed Kintarou's arm almost hard enough to dislocate his shoulder
and dragged him after her towards the exit. Ken-ohki took a few quick
bounds and followed them out into the main promenade. She half-led, half-
dragged the young Juraian towards the corridor marked "Docking Bay 7",
and even those who didn't recognize the galaxy's most notorious bounty
hunter on sight immediately gave way on seeing the fierce look of grim
determination on her face. A trio of pirates in powered armor scrambled
frantically out of her path as she rounded the corner and strode down the
ramp into the bay. Moments later a pale-skinned, rail-thin man in a grey
jumpsuit stepped off his ship and froze in terror.

"Oh, shit!" he gasped. "It's Nagi!"

The man got back aboard his vessel as quickly as he could, and just about
everyone else in the bay followed his example. The crowd parted in front
of the bounty hunter like water being pushed aside by a ship's prow. In
moments the entire bay was deserted.

Kintarou's eyes lit up with immense pride on Nagi's behalf, though she
hardly seemed to have noticed the criminals' departure. Having realized
that she intended to go aboard his ship, and barely daring to hope about
what might happen after that, he managed to pull her to a stop. Now that
they were in the docking bay, they were clear of the field that prevented
energy transport to and from the main body of the station.

"Gensao, Nabasu -- bring us aboard!" he ordered hurriedly. He and Nagi
shimmered and dissolved in a flash of emerald light, then reformed on the
lush green lawn that carpeted most of Maki-oh's deck.

They were barely solid again when Nagi spun around and kissed him.

Kintarou put his arms around her, scarcely able to believe that the lips
pressed against his own were those of the goddess whom he worshiped. He
slid a hand onto her rear and started caressing it. Moments later the
other hand slipped down to join it. Nagi moaned slightly. Kintarou
started kissing along her jaw and down onto her neck. Then, not wanting
their lovemaking to be interrupted by the lawbreaking denizens of Hyouzou
Station, nor for the act to take place in the shadow of the lair of
criminals, he broke the kiss for a moment.

"Gensao! Take us back into Juraian space," he ordered, knowing the
guardian could hear him no matter where in the ship he spoke.

"Hai, Kintarou-dono," came the reply from the vicinity of the bridge. "Do
you have any further orders?"

Nagi's hand began urgently rubbing Kintarou's erection through his robes.

"Do you have any further orders, Kintarou-dono?" repeated the guardian.

"Yes! Be silent and leave me in peace until I call for you!" snapped
Kintarou angrily. As Maki-oh disengaged from the station, he resumed his
kisses, now headed towards Nagi's ear. "Nagi-sama... do you wish to... go
to my bedchamber?"

"Never mind that... just... get your... damn clothes off...!" she gasped
in reply. She pulled herself away and looked at him, her eyes burning.

Kintarou bowed. "Hai, Nagi-sama. Command me. I will obey. With all my
heart." Multiple layers of rich fabrics, colored in multiple hues of
bright blue and green, started piling around him as he disrobed.

Nagi tossed aside the bag containing her recent quarry's severed head.
She'd retrieve it afterwards. She pulled off one boot, then the other.
Her cloak landed on the grass at her feet. Her bodysuit joined it moments
later, along with a small arsenal of weaponry. On top of it all she set a
pair of glistening-wet black panties.

Dropping on all fours, Kintarou began affectionately kissing the tops of
her feet. He lifted one foot, then the other, pressing his lips against
the soles. Slowly he worked his way up her calves. He passed her knees.
The kisses proceeded higher and higher, the slick, salty layer of sweat
on Nagi's skin growing progressively stickier as Kintarou's lips neared
the apex of her thighs.

Kintarou's tongue slid through a neatly-trimmed thatch of azure hair.

A slight hiss of breath escaped between Nagi's teeth.

Kintarou slipped a pair of fingers inside her while gently sucking on her
clit.

Crooning wordless encouragement, Nagi placed her hands against the back
of his head.

No further prompting was needed. Kintarou pressed his face into Nagi's
crotch, licking, sucking, kissing, stroking, passionately devoting every
fiber of his being to giving her the pleasure that was her due.

Nagi moaned and squeezed her thighs together around Kintarou's head. The
boy's skill was only average, but enthusiasm counted for a lot. And after
the excitement of the kill, she desperately needed release. Besides, she
found a certain thrill at having a member of mighty Jurai's proud royal
family kneeling in abject devotion at her feet, burying his face between
her legs, and worshiping her with his tongue. Even if the kid *was* only
three-hundred-and-something in the line of succession.

Untold light years across space, another member of Jurai's royal house,
this one only a heartbeat away from the throne, began to dry her tears.

Tenchi stared at her, for a minute or so struck speechless in shock.
"You're leaving?" he asked slowly, once he managed to find words again.

Aeka nodded.

"But... *WHY*???"

Shivering, Aeka closed her eyes and clung to Tenchi again. In return he
squeezed her tightly against him, his own eyes wide as he tried to figure
out what had brought about her decision. He desperately needed an answer,
but first he needed to let Aeka calm down. As patiently as he could,
Tenchi continued to hold her, the question still ringing in his head.

Why?

Something had happened while she was in the room, before he'd come in.
But what? He couldn't think of anything that could have made her make
such a decision in so short a time. His first thought was of Aeka's
parents, and what she'd said before about the possibility that she'd be
forced to leave, eventually. But neither Kiyone nor Mihoshi had relayed
any sort of message that he knew of. The phone hadn't rung, and besides,
he couldn't picture either of them handling it so impersonally, anyway.

Maybe it was *his* fault, Tenchi considered. Something he'd done, or
said. But that didn't make any sense, either. Aeka had been in a good
mood when she'd headed upstairs. Playfully seductive, in fact, alluding
to something "special" she had planned. She hadn't been upset with him,
then. Yet he'd arrived to find her grief-stricken. Whatever had happened,
he hadn't been there. How could he have caused her sorrow and driven her
to such a decision without being present to say or do anything?

*Something* had happened. Aeka had gone from cheerful to shattered in
mere minutes. But for what *reason*? It didn't make any sense at *all*.

Tenchi continued to wrack his brain for the sought-for answer but found
none. He noticed the trembling of Aeka's body. "It'll be OK, Ae-chan," he
whispered to her. "I'm here. It'll be OK." He repeated it several times,
wondering if it were really true. "Everything will be OK."

Aeka said nothing, savoring the feeling of Tenchi's protective embrace,
knowing this was the last time she would have his arms around her.  The
thought of that, the thought of leaving him, was almost more than she
could bear. He obviously still loved her, even if not as much as Ryoko.
But Aeka had seen what lay ahead of her. Tenchi had chosen, and his love
for her would wane until it dwindled to nothing. It would be best to
leave him now, she had decided. Now, while he still *did* love her. While
she still had a little dignity. Before the knowledge of his vanishing
feelings for her reduced her to even more of a shattered emotional wreck
than she already was.

"Ae-chan, *why*?"

"Please, Ten-chan..."

"I'm not going to let you just leave, without even telling me *why*,"
said Tenchi as he looked at her, bewilderment written all over his face.
"Is it something I did? Something I said?" He shook his head. "If you
don't love me anymore, at least tell me why."

Aeka's voice shook as she looked Tenchi unflinchingly in the eyes. "I
*do* love you, Ten-chan." She sniffled. "More than anything, and with all
my heart. I love you. Never doubt that, *never*, not for a single
moment."

Tenchi nodded. "Then why?"

The princess closed her eyes and lowered her head. "Because... because
you no longer love *me*," she said quietly, trying and failing to keep
accusation out of her voice. 

Tenchi's eyes widened as he stared at Aeka. "Ae-chan, what are you
*talking* about?!"

"You've chosen her. I can see that, even if you can't."

"But I haven't! I love both of you!"

"You delude yourself, Ten-chan. As I did," Aeka sniffled. "You've made
your decision. You... you simply haven't realized it, yet. I don't think
she has, either. Yet it is clear to me, and I," she shook her head, "I
cannot deny it." She wiped away some of her tears. "Much though part of
me wishes that I could."

Tenchi moved his face to hers. "I'm *not* deluding myself, Ae-chan," he
said, kissing her. "I love you."

Aeka flinched. "Ten-chan, you may say that, and think that... but your
actions speak otherwise."

"What actions?"

"I don't... I don't wish to seem bitter, Ten-chan, but..." began Aeka.

"Tell me," he said, kissing her again.

With painful effort, Aeka turned her face away. "Please, Ten-chan.
Don't... don't do such a thing. Not without meaning it."

"I *do* mean it. What have I done to make you think I don't love you?"

"Ten-chan, please..."

"What did I *DO*???"

Aeka put out her arm and pointed a trembling finger. Tenchi followed it's
direction, then frowned and shook his head, as confused as ever.

"Ae-chan, it's just a picture."

But even as he spoke the words, he realized they were wrong.

"Is it?"

Tenchi stared at her, unable to answer.

"You see? When I saw that, I knew. I *knew*. You were hers, even then."
Aeka sniffled and wiped away a tear that ran down her cheek. "Even then.
I could never win your heart."

"Will you stop talking about it like its some kind of contest?"

Aeka laughed bitterly as more tears flowed. "That's just it, Ten-chan. It
wasn't. I never had the slightest chance. I fought with her, all that
time, trying to keep her away from you until the day would come that you
would love me. I waited and waited for you to tell me that you'd given me
your heart. But you never did, because is was already taken." She looked
away again, the pain so intense it seemed to tear her heart open. "I
never had any hope of winning. I'd lost before I'd even begun."

"It's not like that, Ae-chan. I love you. Believe me. *Please*!"

"I wish more than anything that I could believe you. Even if it were
false, even if it was just so that I could be struck down and die
thinking that you loved me, happy and unaware that it wasn't so."

Tenchi shuddered in horror. Tears welled in his eyes. For the slimmest
fraction of a second he felt shame at the unmanliness of them. Then he
shoved those thoughts violently aside. Pulling Aeka close, he gazed down
at her and brushed away some of her tears. "Ae-chan," he said, he voice
choking, "never say anything like that, ever again."

More tears ran out of the princesses eyes and streamed, hot, past
Tenchi's fingers as they tried vainly to stem the flow. "Why not? It's
the truth. I would give my life just to be able to *believe* that you
love me." Her eyes took on a faraway look for a moment. "These last few
days, when I thought you really did... that was the most beautiful
feeling I have ever known."

"I *do* love you," said Tenchi, one of his own tears trickled down his
face. He bent down to kiss her. "Stop talking like this, Ae-chan."

As he had for her, Aeka brushed away Tenchi's tear. "You pity me, Ten-
chan. Pity, not love. You don't wish to hurt me, and both of us mistook
that feeling for love. Look deep into your heart. Am I really there? Or
are you simply pretending that I am, to spare me pain?"

Tenchi searched his feelings, wondering how he could manage to convince
her. Hearing Aeka insist so earnestly that he didn't love her was almost
more than he could bear. A pained expression filled his face as he sifted
the contents of his heart, trying to find something, anything he could
say to make her see.

Aeka nodded, still weeping slightly. "Be truthful with yourself. I know
I've hurt you by saying these things, and that's the last thing I wish to
do. I wish there was some other way. But you must see." She kissed him
gently. "I love you far too much to wish your heart bound to an
illusion."

"But it's *NOT* an illusion!" he countered, hurt and almost angry. "It's
not! How can you say that?"

Aeka's only answer was a quiet sob. The two sat there, not speaking a
word, for what seemed like an eternity, while Aeka's tears slowly ceased.
A few more moments of still silence passed while she gathered her
resolve. Then she started to get up. Tenchi immediately grasped her wrist
to keep her from going, fear starting to stir in his widened eyes as he
stared at her.

Aeka looked down at his hand and his face, puzzled. Then she sighed,
reminding herself that even if Tenchi no longer loved her, the thought of
her suffering pain would still hurt him. "I'm not leaving yet, Ten-chan,"
she assured him. "Not until you understand."

"OK," he replied quietly, letting go of her with reluctance.

Walking over to the wall opposite the bed, Aeka took the picture down,
all the while trying her best not to look at it. Then she sat down next
to Tenchi once more, holding the picture in her lap.

"Do you see what is written on your face, here, Ten-chan?" the princess
asked tremulously.

Tenchi nodded, the emotion of the moment depicted in the picture coming
back to him. It was the first time he'd glimpsed the vulnerability under
the brash, carefree exterior that Ryoko wore like a suit of emotional
armor. His gaze wandered to their hands. It was the first time Ryoko's
affection hadn't terrified him, and the first time he had ever returned
it. He still remembered the warmth of her hand as he had squeezed it
reassuringly, having seen the look in her eyes. He stared, transfixed, at
those eyes again, and at the face that framed them, thinking of that
instant and what Ryoko's expression seemed to say -- that, for once, she
wasn't going to push him or force him, and that she was waiting. Waiting
to see what he'd do, now that she'd fearfully placed her heart in his
hands. Showing him that she trusted him and would let him decide what to
do, despite knowing how easily Tenchi could choose to callously tear her
heart to pieces...

A shimmering drop of clear liquid splashed on the picture. Then another,
and another. Tenchi looked up.

Aeka's eyes, full of tears, pain, and fear, met his. The tears streamed
down her cheeks and landed on the glass frame of the picture, watering
the scene with her sorrows. Tenchi realized that he'd been staring at it,
ignoring Aeka's presence in favor of the memory of Ryoko -- precisely as
she said he did.

"Now do you see, Ten-chan?" Aeka asked, her voice shaking almost
uncontrollably. "You were hers, from that moment. The only reason you
didn't show it more openly was that I was here, and you didn't want to
hurt me. And it's only because... because Ryoko felt it would help *her*
that anything happened between us at all." Aeka closed her eyes and bowed
her head. "Because I had always stopped her, and she knew that if she
forced me to do what I hadn't the courage to try..." She stopped,
wringing her hands for a moment, "I would have to stand aside and... and
at least let her attempt to win you herself. Were it not for that,
nothing would have happened between us, despite all my naive hopes." Then
she raised her head to look at him again. "And that's what hurts the
most, Ten-chan. That all my hopes were in vain. That I was foolish enough
to actually believe you might... might love me."

And then her will snapped and she burst into uncontrollable tears again,
her whole body shaking with the force of her sorrow, her voice bespeaking
the unbearable torment of a shattered soul. His heart outracing his mind,
Tenchi tried to put his arms around her, but found that he couldn't. The
picture, still lying in Aeka's lap, was in the way.

He took the picture away from her and set it down on the floor, leaning
it against the side of the bed. Then he pulled Aeka to him, holding her
close and rocking her gently back and forth. At first she shook her head
and feebly tried to push him away. But her heart just wasn't in it.
Gradually her struggles grew weaker, then ceased altogether. Finally Aeka
lay in Tenchi's arms, sobbing on his shoulder.

As he tried to comfort her, inwardly Tenchi cursed at himself, awash in a
horrible flood of guilt. How could he have done this to her? Aeka
deserved much more than to live in Ryoko's shadow. He clutched her
tighter, holding the warm bundle of sobbing princess pressed tightly
against his chest. Every shudder, every tear, every sound of her grief
reminded him that he had caused it. Instead of returning her love and
devotion in full measure, he had repaid her with pain, instead. He still
wasn't sure of all the things he had done to hurt her, but if his staring
at Ryoko's picture was any indication...

But wasn't this just pity again, as she had said? Pity, not love?

The two were hard to separate, sometimes, when it came to Aeka. Sorrow
seemed intertwined with everything about her. Even the day she'd arrived
she'd been melancholy, except when fighting Ryoko. Tenchi still
remembered how sad she'd looked, sitting at the table while Katsuhito
told her to "forget all of your worries, just for today." He recalled as
well how she'd slowly brightened as he'd taken her on a tour of the hills
and woods, and the warmth in his heart when he'd seen her finally smile.

And yet now, she would be gone, and he'd never see her again. Just as
he'd dreamt, two days before. He'd never been able to overcome his own
timidity until Ryoko had forced him to, and now, he knew, he would pay
the price for his cowardice. As he listened to the gradually-ebbing sound
of Aeka's pain, words his grandfather had spoken flashed unbidden into
his head.

"A woman is to a man as a sword is to a samurai. If you handle them
clumsily, you will break them. And if this were the old days, you'd be
lucky to be committing seppuku right now!"

"Clumsy" didn't even begin to describe the way he'd acted, he decided. As
the princess stopped sobbing and sniffled a few times, Tenchi closed his
eyes and sighed. "I should have known something like this would happen,"
he said quietly.

Silently, Aeka raised her head from Tenchi's shoulder and faced him.

"I took you for granted, all that time. I... I just figured you'd always
be here. I guess it's true, sometimes you don't realize just how
important someone is to you, until it's too late."

Aeka did her best to put aside her own pain for a moment. Leaning forward
a little, she kissed him. "I'm sorry, Ten-chan. I told you, I didn't do
this to cause you pain. I don't wish to hurt you."

Tenchi opened his eyes. "Ae-chan, I haven't hurt this bad since my mom
died. That's what it feels like. I'm losing someone I love, and I'm never
going to see them again," he said. "Only this time, it's my fault."

The princess stared at him, not knowing what to say or even think. She
knew that the death of his mother was the single greatest loss Tenchi had
ever suffered. If losing Aeka made him feel at all the same way, what did
that mean?

For a moment, Tenchi sat in silent thought, once more contemplating the
first time he and the princess had met. "Ae-chan?" he said, after a
minute or so.

"Yes?"

"What would you have done, if I'd kissed you, that day?"

Aeka blinked. "That day?"

"The day you arrived. On the stepping stones, by the tree."

"You... you were going to kiss me?"

"I wanted to. I almost did. What would you have done, if I had?"

Aeka considered it for a moment. "I don't really know, Ten-chan. I would
have been surprised, certainly. Why?"

"You wouldn't have been offended? Thought I was a jerk, and slapped me,
or something?"

"No, of course not. Why would I have been offended by what I felt like
doing, myself?"

"Why didn't you, then?"

"Ten-chan, we'd only just met. I feared that you'd consider it... too
forward. Brazen. I could tell right away that you were special, and I
didn't want you to think of me as that kind of woman."

Tenchi smiled. "I could never have thought of you that way, Ae-chan."

Aeka gave him a quizzical look. "You truly thought I'd slap you?"

"Something like that," he replied. "What else should I have expected? A
beautiful girl comes to visit, and practically the first thing I do is
lure her out into the woods and try to take advantage of her?"

"That's not how I would have seen it. As I said, it would have come as a
surprise. But a very pleasant one."

Tenchi nodded. He held Aeka's chin in his hand as he leaned forward and
pressed his lips against hers in a gentle yet passionate kiss. For the
moment the princess managed to shut out her grief, savoring the warm,
tender feeling of closeness as Tenchi held the kiss for what seemed like
a very long while. Their lips parted finally, and he looked into her eyes
as he brushed a few strands of her hair out of her face.

"That's what I should have done, that first day. What I *would* have
done, if I'd had the guts. And Ae-chan, don't you *dare* tell me that I
didn't mean it."

Aeka looked into Tenchi's face, seeing nothing but sincerity. "Ten-
chan... I..." she said, "I've never once known you to lie, to me, or to
anyone. But... I don't know what to think anymore. It sounds as if you're
trying to tell me that you fell in love with me at first sight, and I...
I'm not sure I can believe that."

Tenchi shook his head. "That's not what I'm saying. I'm not really
talking about that moment, except that I did feel like kissing you. What
I mean is, that's the way I act most of the time, in general. I'm just...
a little timid." He frowned. "OK, very timid. I don't know when I fell in
love with you, but it was a long time before I was brave enough to show
it."

Tenchi sighed, wishing he was a lot more eloquent, because his words
didn't even come near to expressing his feelings. He moved to sit on the
edge of the bed, then gently pulled Aeka over to sit beside him. He put
his arm around her. After a few moment's hesitation, Aeka lay her head on
his shoulder, and he decided to try again.

"What I said goes for a lot of things," Tenchi said. "Remember what you
said about Ryoko making you do what you wanted to do, but were too scared
to?"

"Yes."

"That's how it was for me, too. I told you, remember?"

Aeka nodded, thinking back to the conversation they'd had, in the dark
closet, six nights before.

"If you really thought I didn't mean it, why didn't you say so, then?" he
asked.

"I... I don't know, Ten-chan. I wasn't thinking of such things at the
time. I was afraid, and then you were there, and we made love... and
after that there was no room for worrisome thoughts." She closed her
eyes. "Not after I'd spent such a long time imagining it and wanting it
to happen," she said quietly.

Tenchi nodded, then sighed again. "I've thought a lot about that, these
past few days, Ae-chan," he said. "Believe me, I have. Even before, I
used to wonder sometimes if I was weird or something, the way I was
acting. Then everything happened, and I guess I expected it all to be OK
after that." He slowly hung his head, and continued, shame lacing his
voice. "But it keeps coming back to me. All the things I did." He looked
over at her again. "And all the things I *didn't* do. All the things I
felt, and didn't let anyone see, not even myself. Everything I could have
had, if only I hadn't been too chicken to realize that I wanted it. Like
hearing you say that you love me. And being able to say that I love you,
and know that you'll believe me."

Aeka turned to face him. "I love you, Ae-chan," he said. "It's true now.
And if I'd had the guts to say it before, it would have been true then,
too." He leaned a little closer. "All Ryoko did was make me stop running
away from my feelings. But she didn't make me have those feelings. And
even if she did put us in the closet together, everything that happened
after that was up to us. If it happened all over again, the only thing
that would be different is that she wouldn't have had to push me." 

Tenchi hung his head for just a moment, then faced her again as a new
thought occurred to him. "Do you really think I'm the kind of guy who
would take you to bed if I didn't love you?" A hint of anger entered his
voice. "Is that what you think of me? That I just want you to stay so I
can sleep with you?"

"No, Ten-chan," said Aeka, shaking her head rapidly. "That's one thing of
which I'm certain. You could never be that sort of person."

"Then listen to me," he said as firmly as he could. "I know how I feel
about you. *I* know. Maybe I haven't shown you the way I should. Maybe
I've done things, or not done things, or... or whatever, to make you
think I don't love you. But I do. I *KNOW* I do." The anger in his voice
rose a notch or two. "Somehow, I've convinced you that I don't love you,
and I'm sorry." His voice shook. "But you'll never convince me."

Aeka stared at him, wide-eyed, as he let out his breath and calmed
himself down. Once he had, he reached over and once more gently cupped
her chin in his hand. He bent down and kissed her, then looked into her
eyes. "I love you," he said softly. "Do you believe me?"

Tears welled in the princess' eyes. One by one, they began to trickle
down her cheeks as she stared up into Tenchi's face. 

Tenchi face went slack. It felt as if his heart had frozen in his chest.
He let go of Aeka's chin and lowered his arm to hang limp at his side. A
tremor went through his body, then another, then another.

"Hai," said the princess, as the faintest trace of a warm smile showed
itself.

Tenchi blinked.

Aeka reached out and put her arms around him. Tenchi recovered his senses
just in time to embrace her in return, before their lips met. They held
each other tight, basking in the warmth that seemed to radiate outward
from their kiss. With a heavy sigh of intense relief, Tenchi let out his
breath and closed his eyes.

Outside, a momentary spark flashed through the speckled blackness
overhead, dying as it descended east.

Ryoko lay on the torii, frowning up at the heavens, her mood and
expression much darker than the sky. She was angry. Angry at Tenchi, for
ordering her around and being so ridiculous about her sparring with his
grandfather. Furious at herself, for being angry with Tenchi. And filled
with hatred for Nagi, for refusing to leave her in peace.

It had been working. Given a chance to train against Katsuhito, she'd be
able to keep in form. He was the most skilled opponent she'd ever faced,
Nagi included. If she could train against Katsuhito until she was able to
hold her own against him, when Nagi showed up again Ryoko could defend
herself. Perhaps she could even end the problem once and for all. Kill
Nagi, or at least hurt her badly enough to make her leave Ryoko in peace.
Otherwise... 

Ryoko sighed.

Otherwise, the odds were not good.

Frowning deeper, Ryoko shook her head. She could handle the whole
"dutiful wife" routine just fine, as long as all it entailed was acting
on her own initiative to try to please Tenchi. She could even go along
with doing her share of the chores when he asked her to -- if he noticed
that she'd done so. But to just back down, meekly hang her head, and
*obey* when Tenchi commanded her to do or not do something... that was
different. That was how most of the Earthling women seemed to act. Was
that what Tenchi expected of her? It wasn't something she would enjoy
doing, even for him. She wasn't sure she'd be able to do it at all.

Tenchi was just trying to protect her, she knew. He thought he was doing
the right thing. Ryoko still remembered, vividly, waking up in his arms
after the crash, looking up at his concerned face and feeling safe. She'd
never dreamed that Tenchi's protectiveness would feel the way it did now,
strangling her like the tendrils of Nagi's whip tightening around her
throat.

"Bye, bye, Ryoko," said Nagi's voice.

A shiver of fear shot through her as memories of chase after chase across
dozens of worlds rose in Ryoko's mind. Nagi always at her heels, just
behind her every second of very day, whether physically present or not.
Going to sleep wondering if she'd wake up to see red eyes staring down at
her before her head became Nagi's greatest trophy. And worse than that...

"I've got your man. If you want him, come to Venus."

Ryoko shivered again. She'd faced the threat of painful death before,
many times, but the prospect of losing not only her own life but Tenchi's
as well was easily the most terrifying experience she'd ever been
through. No matter what, she never wanted to go through anything like
that, ever again.

"Bye, bye, Ryoko."

As she continued to stare up at the sky, a tinge of despair crept across
Ryoko's face. Why couldn't Nagi just forget about her and leave her in
peace? Even after the argument she'd had with Tenchi, Ryoko was happier
than she'd ever dreamed she'd be before. And now that life held such
promise for her, the thought of dying frightened Ryoko like it never had
in the past. The only thing worse would be Tenchi dying, as he easily
might if Nagi came back.

"I've got your man."

She had to be able to fight off Nagi. She *had* to. To protect herself,
and to protect Tenchi. Why did he have to be so thick-headed? Even if
Ryoko didn't rub his nose in his relative weakness by coming out and
saying she was practicing to defend herself against Nagi, wasn't it
obvious that a most-wanted criminal would be used to a little danger now
and again?

"Bye, bye, Ryoko."

Couldn't Tenchi see that he was being completely ridiculous? Ryoko was
overjoyed that he didn't feel threatened by her anymore, but did the
pendulum have to swing entirely the other way, until he acted as if she
were a frail, sickly little girl or something?

"I've got your man."

Didn't he realize that by forbidding Ryoko to keep in form, he was as
good as sentencing her to death? And maybe himself as well?

"Bye, bye, Ryoko."

There just had to be some way to make him understand how important it
was. Somehow!

"I've got your man."

Ryoko catapulted to her feet, standing on the torii with her hands
clenched trembling at her sides as she stared up into the black-vaulted
sky. "Tenchi, you *BAKA*!!!" she shouted in frustration. Once more upset
with herself for getting angry with him, but feeling much relieved for
having voiced her thoughts, she sighed and shook her head. "I love you,
but sometimes... sometimes..." She started to sit back down again when
she noticed Katsuhito standing nearby with his back to her, looking up
into the heavens.

An idea swiftly began to form in Ryoko's head. She floated down off the
torii and landed on her feet next to him. "Ojiisama?" she asked.

"Yes?" replied Katsuhito, still gazing up at the stars.

Ryoko hesitated for a moment before speaking. "About sword practice..."

Katsuhito nodded.

"Can we... you know, do that when Tenchi isn't around? When he's at
school, or something?" asked Ryoko.

"Hmm... sneaking around behind his back already, I see," said the old
man, smiling at the star-lit sky.

Ryoko hung her head slightly. "It's... it's for his own good. There are
things he doesn't understand." She closed her eyes and continued in a
quieter voice. "Things I don't want him to have to understand." She
opened her eyes again. "It's too important, ojiisama. I have to do it,
even if Tenchi doesn't want me to."

Katsuhito held his chin contemplatively. "You know, perhaps it's
different in outer space, but around here, the husband decides and the
wife obeys. Even if he *is* being a baka."

Ryoko reddened with embarrassment. "I... I didn't really mean that."

"Perhaps. But it's expected that the woman doesn't argue when the man has
made a decision. He's the lord of the household. He knows best, and his
word is final. That's the traditional way. Far better to make a wrong
decision and die because of it, than to be seen being ordered around by
one's wife!"

Instantly Ryoko scowled at him. She stood there in silence, brooding, the
absurdity of Katsuhito's statement having brought back her anger at
Tenchi's foolish, stubborn insistence that she not practice against his
grandfather.

"You don't agree?" asked Katsuhito, after a while.

Ryoko continued to stand, unmoving, fists clenched at her sides. She knew
she couldn't afford to offend the old man by arguing with him, but she
could never agree with what he'd said. She didn't answer.

"I'm only telling you this to be helpful. You won't have many arguments
with Tenchi at all, if you do what's expected of you and be obedient. But
if you insist on being so headstrong, this won't be the last time he'll
be angry with you."

The pirate thought about it for just a moment. "I don't care," she said.

Katsuhito raised an eyebrow. "You don't?"

"No. I don't care how mad he gets at me, just as long as he's safe."

Unseen by Ryoko, an impish grin formed on Katsuhito's face. "I see." He
stepped onto the path towards the shrine.

"Umm, ojiisama...?" asked Ryoko.

"We can discuss this tomorrow," he said, walking up the weathered stone
steps.

Ryoko watched him make his way up the hillside, wondering if he meant
they'd discuss sword practice, or her being "headstrong." With a weary
sigh, she decided it would probably be better to sleep on it. Her wary
eyes swept the heavens one more time. Then she vanished.

Meanwhile, in his bedroom, Tenchi pulled back the covers of his bed and
held them up while Aeka slid under them. Once she had lain down he kissed
her. He noticed the slight stickiness on Aeka's face, the drying remnants
of tears, and thought again about just how many he must have made her
shed that evening. He smoothed the covers over her and kissed her again,
deciding on some small things he wanted to do for her.

"I'm going to the kitchen for a couple minutes, Ae-chan," he said. "I'll
be right back."

Aeka instantly tensed up, and Tenchi realized that he'd said precisely
the wrong thing. Again.

"I was going to go get you a washcloth for your face, and make you some
herb tea. It'll calm your nerves," he explained. "Never mind. I should
have known it was a stupid idea."

The princess reached over and held Tenchi's hand. She looked up at him,
managing a slight smile. "No, you were trying to be helpful, and I was
being foolish." She squeezed his hand. "Some honey and just a little
lemon with the tea, if you please, Ten-chan."

"Are you sure you'll be OK while I'm gone?" asked Tenchi worriedly.

Aeka nodded. "Yes, yes. I'll be fine."

"I'll be right back," he said, kissing her again. "I promise."

"I'll be right here when you return," she replied. "*I* promise."

Tenchi nodded, kissed her once more, and headed towards the door. As he
opened it, he glanced back at Aeka lying on the bed. She looked... frail,
somehow. It almost seemed as if, were he to lift her up, she'd weigh less
than the down quilt that covered her. He blinked, then stared, frozen in
the middle of the doorway.

Aeka sighed. "Please don't look at me like that, Ten-chan," she said
quietly. "I... I know it must be difficult to respect me, like this, but
please... please don't look on me with pity in your eyes."

Tenchi focused on Aeka's face and saw the humiliation that filled it.
There had always been a certain shyness and timidity about her, but even
when, last Saturday, she'd bowed and offered to renounce her throne and
crawl in the dirt at his feet to gain his forgiveness, she'd still
maintained her air of pride. Now all that was gone.

Slowly she lowered her head and closed her eyes. "I'm still worthy of at
least *some* respect," she asked, in an even fainter voice. "Aren't I?"

Hearing the pleading tone in her voice spurred Tenchi to action. He
walked back over to the bed and knelt beside it. "I'll always respect
you, Ae-chan. And I always have. Like I said, I can't really say for sure
when I first fell in love with you. It's too tough to draw a line with
something like that. But I've known you were a person worthy of being
honored, from the moment I first saw you." He smiled and bowed his head.
"You will always be my oujo-sama. No matter what."

Aeka's face brightened. She reached over, brushed Tenchi's cheek, and put
her hand on his shoulder. "Thank you, Ten-chan."

"I'll stay if you want. Or I'll go get the things, and be back as fast as
I can. Which do you want me to do?" he asked.

The princess considered it for a second or so, then decided. If she was
so broken that she wasn't strong enough to endure Tenchi being out of the
room for five minutes, she would never be able to respect herself, even
if he did. "Bring me my tea, please, Ten-chan. And some for yourself as
well. I must have given you a rather awful fright."

Tenchi nodded and sighed. "Yeah. You sure did."

Aeka sniffled, which reminded her of something. "Oh. And a box of
tissues, if you wouldn't mind terribly."

"Hai," answered Tenchi, nodding again as he got up. "Anything else?"

"No, thank you, Ten-chan," Aeka responded.

Tenchi stood and smiled at her, then turned and headed out the door,
quietly shutting it behind him. Aeka's hand gripped the covers tightly as
he vanished from sight, the shaft of light from the hallway narrowing
until the door clacked softly against the frame, leaving the room in
darkness. Trying to ignore the sinking feeling inside her, she smoothed
the quilt over herself and stared up through the skylight at the stars,
all the while fighting off the doubts that assailed her.

Aeka focused her thoughts on Tenchi's reassurances about his feelings for
her. The doubts retreated but did not vanish altogether. Tenuous images
remained, fleeting imagined glimpses of what Tenchi and Ryoko were doing
at that very moment. Once again Aeka tried to drive out thoughts of
anything but Tenchi's love. Knowledge of that love blazed in her heart
like an enormous bonfire, enfolding her with comforting warmth and bright
light. But beyond the flickering edges of that light lay darkness, and in
that darkness Aeka's doubts lurked and watched and waited, like
terrifying, demonic predators with fangs and yellow feline eyes.

She closed her eyes and began slowly repeating Tenchi's words in her
mind. "I love you, Ae-chan. I love you, Ae-chan..." Weariness crept over
her, a fatigue born of the long and painful journey her heart had taken
from belief in Tenchi's love, to disbelief, and back again.

In the kitchen, Tenchi poured hot water into two cups containing bags of
chamomile tea. He sniffed at the fragrant steam rising in the air before
he opened the refrigerator and fished out a lemon. Hearing a yawn from
the doorway, he turned around and saw Sasami, dressed in her sleeping
kimono, walking into the kitchen. "Oh, hi, Tenchi," she said, sounding a
little sleepy.

"Hi, Sasami-chan," he replied. He sliced the lemon into quarters and was
about to squeeze one of them into one of the cups of tea before he
stopped and looked thoughtful. "Um, Sasami-chan, when Aeka says she wants
'just a little lemon' in her tea... exactly how much is that?"

Sasami took one of the slices and squeezed a few drops into the tea.
"That much," the princess said, smiling and reaching sideways for the jar
of honey on the counter without looking. She drizzled a small amount into
the cup. "And that's how much honey she wants," Sasami added.

"Thanks," said Tenchi, looking at princess as a memory came back to him
of sitting with her having tea on Saturday afternoon while she did her
best to explain Jurai's weird courtship rituals.

Then he angrily but silently scolded himself. No matter how strange
Jurai's customs might seem to him, to Aeka they were sacred traditions,
and they meant a lot to her. He remembered the words she'd spoken, out
under Ryuu-oh.

"If a man that she feels strongly for dishonors himself, a woman of Jurai
is expected to correct him, to make him see his error. It's a sign of
affection. If she doesn't, it means that his honor doesn't matter to her
because she doesn't intend to be with him in the future." 

The more he thought about it, the more he realized that he *had*
dishonored himself. He'd plunged Aeka into despair so deep that she'd
very nearly drowned in it. If that wasn't cause for shame, nothing could
be. He wasn't sure exactly what he'd done. Somehow, a picture didn't seem
enough, no matter what it depicted. There was something else, and he
would ask her. But regardless of what it was, there was something he knew
he needed to do to show her that he was truly sorry for what he'd done to
her.

"Um, Sasami-chan?" he asked in a rather timid voice.

Sasami took a drink from the glass of water she'd gotten for herself.
"Yes, Tenchi?"

Thinking of what might be in store for him, Tenchi balked. "Um..."

"What is it?"

Tenchi swallowed and began to twiddle his fingers nervously. "Sasami-
chan... do you know where your sister keeps her... uh... her whip?"

Sasami eyes widened. She giggled and smiled impishly. "You've been
naughty, haven't you, Tenchi?"

Tenchi sighed and hung his head, then nodded. "I guess you could call it
that."

"Didn't she tell you where it was when she sent you to get it?" asked
Sasami. She giggled again. "If she told you and you forgot, I'll bet
you'll be in even *bigger* trouble!"

"Sasami-chan, this isn't funny, OK?" said Tenchi wearily, closing his
downcast eyes. "And she didn't send me for it. It's my idea. I've... I've
done something to make her feel hurt," he said in a quiet voice. "I'm not
sure what, exactly. But I want her to know that I'm sorry."

The young princess put her arms around his waist and hugged him almost as
tightly as Ryoko usually did. After a few seconds Sasami let go and
looked up at him, her face beaming.

"I'm glad you love oneesama so much, Tenchi," she said. "I really am.
None of the men that daddy sent her to see could ever make her as happy
as you do. Not ever."

All of the tears Aeka had shed while sobbing in his arms came back to
Tenchi. "Yeah, but did any of them ever make her cry?" he asked guiltily.

Sasami stared at him. "You made oneesama cry?"

Tenchi nodded. "Yes. A lot, Sasami-chan. A whole lot."

A hint of a frown formed on the princess' sweet face. For a few moments
she looked at Tenchi in total silence.

"Wait here. I'll go get her whip for you," said Sasami evenly. She turned
and headed out the door.

Minutes later, he closed his bedroom door behind him, walked over to the
nightstand, and set down the tea tray, a box of tissues, and Aeka's
coiled whip. He sat down on the bed and picked up her cup of tea. "Ae-
chan?"

Silence.

"Ae-chan?"

His ears caught the faint, shallow sound of the princess' breathing.
Realizing that, drained from her emotional ordeal, she must have dozed
off waiting for him, Tenchi set the cup down again and sighed. He'd been
looking forward to letting her fall asleep in his arms.

As his eyes adjusted to the dark he looked down at the whip. He'd planned
to kneel and hand it to her, telling her that he'd accept whatever she
chose to do. But apparently that would have to wait until morning.

Well, at least there was one thing he could do.

Tenchi reached onto the tray and picked up the damp washcloth he'd
brought. Then he leaned over and began to gently clean the dried tears
from Aeka's face. The faint starlight cast a pale glow on her soft
alabaster skin as she lay there, peacefully asleep, while Tenchi did his
best to wipe away the physical reminder of the pain he'd caused her.

Once he was done, he kissed her, then picked up his tea and started
sipping. Ripples danced across the surface of the liquid in the cup.
Noticing this, Tenchi stared at his hands and realized that they were
trembling.

He took a quick look over his shoulder to see if Aeka was still there.

She was.

He gulped down the rest of his tea before getting under the covers.
Unconsciously, Aeka snuggled up to him, and Tenchi eased her head onto
his shoulder. He bent down and kissed her.

"Oyasumi, Ae-chan," he whispered.

As if in answer, the princess shifted slightly in her sleep. Her hand
slid across Tenchi's chest to embrace him. He brushed his fingers across
her cheek and kissed her again, then pulled the quilt up to cover the two
of them more completely. Gradually he drifted off to sleep.

Aeka pulled herself closer. The quilt shifted, knocking over the picture
Tenchi had left leaning against the side of the bed. With a faint slap
that disturbed neither of the sleepers' repose, the picture landed on the
floor, face-down.

Downstairs in the kitchen, Ryoko stood in front of the open refrigerator
as she rummaged through the leftovers for a before-bed snack. She'd been
in such a black mood during dinner that she'd barely eaten anything, a
fact which her stomach now felt compelled to remind her of. She placed a
couple of riceballs on the plate she was holding, along with a stick of
yakitori chicken and a few korokke. She hurriedly searched around some
more, hungry but not wanting to spend any more time than necessary
standing there shivering while the box spewed cold air all over her.
Eventually she gave up looking for the tempura. All of it must have
gotten eaten.

Ryoko had just shut the refrigerator door and set her plate down on the
counter when she suddenly jerked her gaze in the direction of the nearest
window. A moment later a warbling cry from outside cut through the night.
The cry went up and down in pitch and volume, then died out after a few
seconds, only to be taken up again.

The pirate slowly put her hand over her face and let out her breath in
exasperation. "Damn it, the little furball's in heat again," she groaned.

Ryo-ohki gazed longingly up at the stars and let out another lonely wail.
In the midst of the call, the sky above her shimmered and vanished as the
cabbit's mistress materialized over her and glowered at her in unbridled
wrath. Ryo-ohki abruptly silenced herself and cowered down against the
ground in response to Ryoko's harsh telepathic reprimand.

"Now let's get things straight," the pirate said out loud, picking up the
cabbit by the ears. "You're going to stop that *RIGHT* *NOW*.
Understand?"

"Miyaaaaaa!" protested Ryo-ohki plaintively.

Ryoko's eyes narrowed. "I... DON'T... CARE!" she snarled.

Ryo-ohki's face drooped and tears formed in her eyes. "Miyyyaaa..."

"I said 'no' and I mean 'no'! What's going to happen if he answers you
and shows up, and I can't beat Nagi? Did you even think about that?!
Huh?!"

"Miya," replied the cabbit, hanging her head.

"Alright, then."

"Miiyaaaa," said Ryo-ohki sadly.

Ryoko shut her eyes and made a visible effort to restrain her temper
before opening them again. "Once Nagi's out of the picture," she
insisted. "Not before."

"Miyaa," whimpered the cabbit.

Ryoko looked away and pretended not to hear.

"Miyaa," repeated Ryo-ohki.

"Yeah, yeah," answered Ryoko.

"Miyaa."

"I heard you the first two times."

"Miyaa."

"Will you stop saying that?" sighed Ryoko, holding Ryo-ohki in her arms
and gently petting her. "I'm sorry I got mad at you. OK?"

Ryo-ohki put her head on Ryoko's chest. "Miyaa."

"I know you do. But I can't let you be with him, not until I beat Nagi
somehow." She stroked Ryo-ohki's soft fur some more. "I'm sorry. I know
how you feel. But it's way too dangerous. So will you please control
yourself? Please?"

"Miya," said the cabbit reluctantly.

Ryoko petted her spaceship's head. "Thanks. Let's go inside now,
alright?" She smiled. "Want me to get you some nice, juicy carrots while
we're in the kitchen?"

Ryo-ohki shook her head, and her ears drooped.

"Yeah, I know. Just trying to cheer you up, OK?"

Phasing into the kitchen, Ryoko quickly finished her snack, then
teleported upstairs to the bedroom. She touched down on the floor
quietly, but not quietly enough. Sasami opened her eyes and looked up at
her.

"Hi, Ryoko."

"Hi, Sasami-chan. Sorry if I woke you up," said Ryoko. She placed the
cabbit down on the pillow next to Sasami's head. "Here. I brought Ryo-
ohki for you."

"Thank you. But I wasn't asleep. I wanted to stay awake a little longer,
until you got here."

Ryoko snapped her fingers. "Oh. Yeah. Bedtime story, huh?" 

Sasami smiled and nodded. 

"I don't think I'm going to be able to think of any happy stories
tonight, Sasami-chan," said the pirate quietly. "I'm just not in the
right mood for it."

"But why not?"

Ryoko slipped under the covers on her futon and looked up at the ceiling.
"I'm just upset about some things, that's all."

"Oh," said Sasami, sounding quite disappointed.

Ryoko turned onto her side and looked across at Sasami. "I'll make it up
to you next time, OK?"

"That's alright, Ryoko. Is it because you and Tenchi were mad at each
other?"

At the reminder of her argument and the reasons surrounding it, Ryoko
frowned and drew the covers tighter around her. She nodded.

"Were you fighting with oneesama again?" asked the princess worriedly.
"Was that what it was about?"

Ryoko shook her head. "No, for once, that's not what happened, Sasami-
chan. Don't worry about it."

Sasami looked down at the Tenchi doll in her arms, and thought for a
moment. She picked it up and held it out to Ryoko. "Would you like to
have this for tonight?" she asked. "Maybe it would make you feel better."

The pirate smiled, reached over, and patted Sasami's head. "Thank you,
Sasami-chan. But I'm fine." Then she frowned slightly. "Besides, you
won't like sharing him. Trust me on that."

"I don't mind. Really." She leaned over and slid the doll under the
covers with Ryoko. "There. Now it's just like you're in Tenchi's room
tonight."

Ryoko chuckled. "Not exactly," she said under her breath, as she rolled
over on her side and closed her eyes. "Thanks, though. I feel better
already. Oyasumi."

Sasami yawned. "You're welcome, Ryoko. Oyasumi." 

Sleep rapidly overtook both girls. Soon the room was silent except for
the quiet sound of their breathing and the nearly-inaudible hiss of quilt
brushing against futon when one or the other shifted in her sleep. The
hours ticked by until, sometime around 4:00am, Sasami began to toss and
turn fitfully. She shook her head rapidly from side to side every few
moments, the movement accompanied by a soft whimpers of fear that almost,
but not quite, formed words.

Sasami cowers next to Tenchi's grandfather as the pool of blood around
Katsuhito's fallen body slowly spreads. Sinister, self-satisfied laughter
ripples through the air. The princess shivers in terror. Then she
dominates her fear and stands in front of Katsuhito, her arms spread
wide, as a shadow falls over her.

"I won't let you take Achika!" she says. "I won't *let* you!"

Her fear mounts higher and higher, threatening to spiral out of control.

*I mustn't be afraid! I MUSTN'T be afraid! I'm the only one left, and
they're COUNTING on me!*

Sasami stands her ground, small and alone but unflinchingly defiant. She
hears Ryoko's voice cry out weakly to her.

"No, Sasami! Run! RUN!!"

Sasami screams in sudden pain and crumples, Ryoko's anguished shriek of
"NOOOO!!!!" echoing in her ears as everything turns black.

"Sasami-chan?" asks Ryoko's voice.

Sasami huddled into a ball and clutched her quilt tightly against her.
Ryoko shook her again. "Sasami-chan, wake up."

The princess opened her eyes and saw Ryoko and Ryo-ohki looking down at
her, concern on both their faces.

"You were having a nightmare, Sasami-chan," explained Ryoko. "It sounded
pretty bad."

"Yeah, it was really scary," said Sasami, rubbing her eyes. "I'm sorry I
woke you up."

"That's OK. Actually, it was Ryo-ohki who woke me up. She was really
worried about you."

"Miya!" agreed Ryo-ohki, rubbing her head against Sasami's face.

Sasami giggled. "Thanks, Ryo-ohki."

Ryoko straightened out the quilt over the princess. "Are you OK to go
back to sleep?"

"I think so. I only have bad dreams like this every once in a while. I've
never had more than one in the same night."

"What was it about?"

Sasami thought for a moment. "I was in some strange place I've never been
to before. Tenchi's jiichan was hurt, and there was somebody trying to
take away Achika, and I tried to stop them. Then they hit me, and that's
when I woke up."

"Take away Achika? You mean Tenchi's mom?"

"Uh-huh. That's weird, though. Didn't she die when Tenchi was really
little?"

"It's just a dream, Sasami-chan. Don't worry." Ryoko proceeded to tuck
the princess in again. "I'm right here. If anybody tries to hurt you,
they'll have to get past me and Ryo-ohki first. Right, Ryo-ohki?"

Ryo-ohki sat down on the pillow next to Sasami's head and looked fiercely
around the room as if daring someone to come challenge her. "Miya!"

Sasami smiled and closed her eyes. "Thank you. I'll go back to sleep."

Ryoko sat back down on her futon, folded her hands over her knees, and
rested her chin on them. After a while, she could tell that Sasami had
fallen asleep again. She looked over at the princess, then back at the
wall, and thought.

There were other things tying her to Earth, besides Tenchi, she realized.
Not as strongly, but still with enough force that she couldn't simply
leave them behind if they were in danger. And not just individual people,
either. The place and the feelings that went with it were also things she
had grown to cherish over the months since she'd invited herself there to
stay. All of it rolled together put emotions behind what had, before,
been nothing but a meaningless word to Ryoko.

"Home."

It felt warm, comforting, peaceful...

Terrifying.

Ryoko had been on the run from Nagi almost from the outset of her career,
and over the years of fight and flight, she'd learned that her survival
depended on there being nothing to prevent her from escaping at a
moment's notice. It wasn't a conscious decision, for the most part. It
was instinct borne of coming of age with death seemingly always at her
heels. It was a cruel lesson reinforced every time she heard of someone
whose head Nagi had taken.

Always be ready to run. Always.

She remembered something from a movie that she, Aeka, Mihoshi, and Kiyone
had gone to see with Tenchi on his birthday, a few weeks before. Besides
Tenchi's fearful resistance to her trying to get close to him in the
darkened theater, Aeka's furious reaction when Ryoko had phased through
the seats and sat down in Tenchi's lap, and Mihoshi spilling a large
bucket of popcorn all over Kiyone, Ryoko recalled some advice spoken in
the movie by one criminal to another.

"Have no attachments. Allow nothing to be in your life that you cannot
walk out on in thirty seconds flat if you spot the heat around the
corner."

The words summed up Ryoko's unconscious philosophy prior to coming to
Earth, almost exactly. It was strange, hearing explicitly stated what
she'd always known yet had never been fully aware of.

She had many attachments now, things she *couldn't* walk out on when Nagi
showed up, not in thirty seconds, not ever.

And if she couldn't walk away, she had to be able to fight. There was no
other way, even if she'd wanted to avoid it, which she didn't.

She had to be able to defeat Nagi. To do that, she had to be able to spar
with Katsuhito. She had to. And that was all there was to it.

Why did Tenchi have to be so... *impossible*???

How could she convince him?

What would she do, if she couldn't?

She'd meant what she'd told Katsuhito: that she'd do what it took to
protect Tenchi, even if it meant him getting angry with her. But given
the chance, she much preferred *not* being yelled at. If he remained
stubborn, she could still go behind his back anyway.

Ryoko sat and thought some more about how she could sway Tenchi. She
needed to do it when he was in a mood to listen. And she needed to do it
soon.

It would be dawn soon. That would be her first chance. And maybe it would
be the right time. She would have to forgo her usual method of waking him
up. If she did that, and then asked him, he might think she was trying to
persuade him with sex. Best to go lie in the bed, let him wake up next to
her, and talk with him about it then, when they were alone together and
everything was calm and quiet.

Ryoko nodded. That's what she'd do. She floated up out of the bed and
passed through the structure of the house onto the roof, where she sat
down.

A pale glow lit the eastern horizon. Dawn was just breaking. Quickly
Ryoko swooped back down into the girls' bedroom.

Aeka wasn't there yet.

She flew out through the door and down the hall, stopping in front of
Tenchi's bedroom door and the two Juraian guardians flanking it.

"Ohayo, Ryoko," they said.

"Ohayo," answered Ryoko. "Has Aeka come out of Tenchi's room yet this
morning?"

"No, she hasn't," said Azaka.

Ryoko frowned and sat down against the wall to wait. As the minutes
crawled by, she grew more and more impatient.

"What's keeping her so long?" she grumbled out loud, after a while.

"Perhaps morning wood, as you said yesterday," suggested Kamidake.

Ryoko glared at the guardian as if about to smash it into kindling.

"I was only joking," Kamidake said nervously.

A few more minutes passed. "Damn it, when's she going to come out?"
wondered Ryoko out loud. "How late is she going to be this time, anyway?"

"Late?" asked Azaka.

Ryoko looked up. "How long has it been since dawn?"

"It is fifteen minutes, forty-three seconds since local sunrise,
according to Terran reckoning," said the guardian.

"She's got five more minutes," said Ryoko. "And that's it. I'm not
waiting all morning."

"I'll inform you when the specified time has elapsed," said Azaka.

Ryoko cracked her knuckles and waited, very impatient and very, very
annoyed.

"It is now exactly twenty minutes, forty-three seconds since local
sunrise," Azaka informed her finally.

With a tense inhalation of breath, Ryoko floated upright and towards the
door.

She stopped and hesitated for just a moment, listening very carefully. It
relieved her, just a little, to hear no sounds coming from the other
side. Still, she knew she definitely wouldn't like what she'd see when
she went through. She briefly considered going away and coming back
later. Decided against it, she floated into Tenchi's bedroom and looked
down at the bed in front of her.

Aeka, dressed in a white satin nightgown, lay next to Tenchi, her head
resting on his shoulder and one arm stretched across his bare chest. The
quilt was pulled up just past Tenchi's waist. Beams of nearly-horizontal
sunlight slanted down onto the bed, bathing it and it's occupants in a
soft, warm glow.

Ryoko frowned angrily as she floated closer, stifling a growl. Aeka
hadn't even woken up yet! There she was, sleeping next to Tenchi, a full
twenty minutes into Ryoko's allotted time. The princess had absolutely no
right to be there, in Tenchi's bed, pressed close to him like that. That
was where Ryoko was supposed to be, now. The tranquility of the whole
scene irked the pirate even further. It was the perfect setting to sooth
and cajole Tenchi into letting her practice against his grandfather. Yet,
in only a few minutes, the alarm clock would sound, and Tenchi would have
to start getting ready to go to school.

Stopping in front of the bed, she glared down at the princess. For just a
moment Ryoko's hands formed into fists, but she swiftly caught herself
and tore her eyes away, knowing that she had to stop looking at Aeka and
Tenchi together if she were to have any hope at all of calming down. She
found herself staring at a small shiny object on Tenchi's desk, and a
second later she recognized it: the daruma doll Tenchi had finished
painting, two mornings ago, when Ryoko had brought breakfast up to him.

"You paint in the first eye when you make a wish. Then, when the wish
comes true, you do the second one."

"So, what did you wish for?"

"For you two to stop fighting."

She remembered watching him, the careful, patient attention to each
stroke of the brush speaking of the importance he placed on what he had
wished for.

Ryoko focused all of her thoughts on Tenchi's words, on his desire for
friendship -- or at least peace -- between the two girls. Her breathing
slowed, a little, and her hand gradually unclenched. Silently, Ryoko
promised both herself and Tenchi that she wouldn't do any of the things
she longed to do to Aeka, such as prying her loose from him and tossing
her through the window.

Satisfied that she was finally in control of herself, Ryoko turned around
and leaned down, doing her utmost to see the princess out of context, to
separate her from the bed and the other person in it, and to not think
about what Aeka had almost-certainly been doing with him scant hours
before. She reached out and put her hand on Aeka's shoulder.

"Hey, princess, wake up!" whispered Ryoko, shaking her as gently as she
could.

Aeka continued sleeping.

Ryoko shook her a little harder. "I said, wake up!"

In response, Aeka shifted in her sleep, drawing herself closer to Tenchi.
The hand lying on his chest moved a few inches up his side to tighten her
embrace.

Closing her eyes and gritting her teeth, Ryoko counted to ten, took a
deep breath, and opened her eyes again. She tapped the princess on the
shoulder several times, then shook her some more. "Aeka, wake up, will
you?"

Aeka's head slid down from Tenchi's shoulder onto his chest. He stirred
just a bit, but didn't awaken.

Balling her fists in frustration, Ryoko glanced at the alarm clock, then
back to the bed. She scowled at the sleeping princess, scarcely able to
contain her anger. What little patience she possessed had worn almost
totally away. Desperately she tried to think of a way, *any* way, to make
Aeka leave quickly and without disturbing Tenchi. Even if Ryoko managed
to awaken her, the first thing the princess would likely do is move
around or say something, waking him up in the process.

The clock advanced another minute just as Ryoko looked at it again. Her
gaze returned to the bed. Aeka had slipped just a little further onto
Tenchi, and one of his arms now curled slightly around her waist. A
tremor of anger shook Ryoko's body as she watched in every-growing
rancor.

*DAMMIT!!! If I could just pick her up and TAKE her out of here...!!!*

She halted and stood completely still, blinked twice, and considered
those thoughts.

It would work. She could just pick up Aeka, dematerializing her in the
process so as not to disturb Tenchi, and deposit her back in the girls'
bedroom. It would look really, really bad if either Tenchi or Aeka woke
up in the middle of it, and the princess would be absolutely furious
afterwards, but it would work. Besides that, it was only fair. It was
Ryoko's day, after all. That was their agreement. Thankful that she'd
found a way to solve the problem, Ryoko quickly bent down towards the bed
to pull the princess out of it.

Then she stopped, staring at Tenchi's peacefully-dreaming face looking up
at her. Ryoko stared at him for a few seconds, then glanced at her own
over-eagerly-extended arms, then at Aeka, then back to Tenchi. She sighed
and nodded. "Alright, Tenchi," she said very softly, as if he'd spoken to
her. "Alright. I won't do anything bad to her."

Ryoko dematerialized, floating under the bed and up through Tenchi. She
gently slipped her arms under Aeka's and lifted her up, phasing the
princess out through the covers and Tenchi's arm around her waist. No
longer held up by solid matter, the arm dropped onto the mattress. Ryoko
looked back and tensed nervously.

Tenchi didn't wake up.

Ryoko let out her breath, relieved, only to freeze again a moment later
as Aeka smiled and embraced her. "Ohayo, Ten-chan," the princess said,
planting a warm kiss on Ryoko's lips. The pirate's eyes bugged out, and
it was all she could to do not to fling Aeka away instantly. She jerked
her head to one side, breaking the kiss and spluttering in disgust.

Aeka's eyes opened, then widened in horror at the sight of her beloved
inexplicably transformed in her arms. "Whaa...?!?!?!"

"Shhhhh!!!" hissed Ryoko angrily. "You'll wake him up!"

"RYOKO, WHAT ARE YOU...?!"

In desperation, Ryoko clamped her hand over Aeka's mouth to silence her.
"Be *quiet*, I said! You'll wake up Tenchi!"

Aeka squirmed and frantically tried to free herself. Ryoko hung onto her,
determined not to let her go, and the two girls continued struggling in
mid-air. Images flashed into Aeka's mind of what had happened in the
baths almost exactly a week before. The frightening memories gave the
princess an added burst of strength. She tore herself out of Ryoko's
grasp and landed on the ground in a heap next to the bed, looking up at
the pirate with fear, confusion, and anger in her face. She waited and
prepared to defend herself when Ryoko sprang on her again.

Then she noticed that Ryoko wasn't looking at her, but was instead
nervously watching the bed. Tenchi rolled over and stretched out on the
bed, but seemed to remain asleep. Ryoko wiped her brow and exhaled, and
Aeka began to wonder if things might not be all that they appeared.

"Alright, you're awake now," said Ryoko, turning to face her. "So get
going."

Remembering what she'd done right after waking up, Aeka grimaced and drew
the back of her hand across her mouth. "What exactly were you...?" she
started to ask.

"Shhhh!" ordered Ryoko, putting a finger in front her lips. She nodded
towards the bed.

Aeka lowered her voice, deciding that Ryoko apparently didn't intend
anything violent. Not for the moment, at least. She stood up and faced
her. "What were you doing?"

"Taking you to your room. You're almost half an hour late."

"What?!"

"You were late. It's my morning. I needed to get you out of here,
somehow," explained Ryoko, quickly growing impatient.

"'Get me out of here?'" asked Aeka slowly, a dangerous note of anger
entering her voice.

"I was a hell of a lot nicer about it than I had to be," said Ryoko. "I
was going to put you on your futon in the other room. That's all. Now,"
she pointed at the door and frowned, "make yourself scarce."

"You were just going to drag me out of Ten-chan's bed, is that it?"
demanded the princess.

"I wasn't 'dragging' you. And we had a deal, or have you forgotten that?"
Ryoko countered.

"Our agreement did not include you abducting me whenever you got
impatient!" Aeka said, now visibly angry. "If I don't rise quickly enough
for your taste, we can discuss it afterwards and resolve the matter."

Ryoko's frown deepened to a scowl. "I'm not going to wait around while
you sleep in!" She pointed at the door once more. "For the last time: get
going!"

Aeka stood there, staring at her and slowly shaking her head as she
thought of what had transpired between Tenchi and Ryoko recently. He'd
shown new boldness in his love for her and spent a whole extra morning
with her -- not to mention the portion of the afternoon he'd spent making
love to her in this very bedroom, on Aeka's day. And yet, even after
Tenchi had shown so much affection to her, Ryoko still wasn't satisfied,
and jealously hoarded every moment with him.

"What are you waiting for?" demanded Ryoko harshly.

"After everything you've done with Ten-chan these past two days, all the
time you've had with him, you won't even allow me the small satisfaction
of waking up next to him?" asked Aeka, her voice shaking slightly. "Not
even that? You'll just snatch me from his side, and when that fails, push
me out the door? Is that it?"

It occurred to Ryoko that taking Aeka out of the bed might not have been
such a good idea, if it made the princess so upset that she wouldn't
leave. "Look, Aeka..."

"No! I'm tired of being reasonable. I'm through worrying about seeming
petty. And I've had far more than I can stand of trying to think the best
of you and to believe that your motives aren't what they appear," said
Aeka, barely keeping her quaking voice down. "I've tried my utmost to get
along, and all it's gotten me is walked on like a tatami!"

Ryoko clenched her fists and rapidly floated forward a few inches, then
stopped, catching herself. She hovered there motionless, silently
seething.

No, it had definitely *not* been a good idea, she decided. She really 
didn't care how upset the princess chose to get, as long as she did it
somewhere else, but Ryoko was realizing that Tenchi was going to be
almost as mad, if he found out. And the way things were progressing, he'd
find out for sure, the moment he saw Aeka's face at the breakfast table
and asked her what was bothering her.

"I *mean* it, Ryoko!" Tenchi had said angrily. "You better not have tied
her up again or something so she won't get in your way!"

Those weren't words she wanted to have to hear from him again. Ryoko
summoned up every last scrap of reasonableness she had from her rather-
sparse reserve. "We can talk about this later. OK?" she offered. "You can
yell at me all you like, down in the bath. If you can start making some
sense, maybe I'll even listen to you. But right now I need to be with
him, and you're *really* starting to get on my nerves."

"I'm not going to let myself be brushed aside *again*," said the princess
firmly. "I'm staying."

"WHAT?!?!?!"

Startled awake by the loud sound, Tenchi began to slowly open his eyes.

Aeka folded her arms across her chest while. "I said, I'm staying."

"Now wait just a minute! We agreed about this!" insisted Ryoko.

"We agreed that we would share him equally, not that I would have to live
in your shadow and content myself with whatever I chanced to receive,"
said Aeka. "Now if you don't mind, I'd like some privacy."

"We had a deal!"

Tenchi blinked, accustoming his eyes to the sunlight for a moment. He was
dimly aware that there was an argument going on and that, as had almost
always been the case for several months, the dispute centered on him.

"You didn't seem to care much about it yesterday, when he came home and
carried you upstairs," countered Aeka, her voice trembling as she pointed
a finger. "After that, I think this is only fair."

"Dammit, I told you...!"

"What if I'd chosen to enforce *my* right to him, yesterday? What would
you have done if I'd come in while he was making love to you, reminded
you of our agreement, and dragged you out of his arms to take your
place?" the princess demanded. "I doubt the house would still be
standing!"

Aeka's words grabbed hold of Tenchi's mind and jolted it to full
wakefulness. 

*She knew about that? Is that what she was so upset about last night, why
she was going to leave? I KNEW there had to be more to it than just the
picture!*

He was about to say something to try to stop the argument when Ryoko
spoke, her voice menacingly harsh. Tenchi cringed and remained silent.

"I've just about had it with your high-and-mighty 'dragged me out of his
arms' crap!" said the pirate, baring her fangs. "It's *nothing* compared
to what you tried to do to me the day Kiyone showed up!"

"What are you talking about?!"

"Forgot about that, princess?" asked Ryoko. "I haven't. Azaka? Kamidake?
'I'm just helping the police?' Sound familiar now?" she demanded
bitterly.

Vivid memories of what he'd said and how he'd felt that day filled
Tenchi's mind even as he desperately tried to block them out. He didn't
want to think about this, not again, but he did anyway. He remembered
waving to Ryoko, cheerfully telling her that he'd write to her while she
was in jail, and feeling immensely relieved that he was finally going to
be rid of her.

"That wasn't going to be for a few minutes," continued Ryoko, the volume
of her shaking voice rising with her anger. "That was going to be
forever! *FOREVER*!!! I was never going to see him again, and he didn't
even care yet!"

Tenchi grit his teeth on hearing Ryoko express her feelings about that
day, knowing how much his words and actions must have hurt her, and how
little that had bothered him at the time. Remembering it made him want to
go back to that moment and beat his old self into unconsciousness. Full
of shame, he stealthily inched the quilt up over his head. He couldn't
face Ryoko just then, if she chanced to notice that he was awake. He
simply couldn't.

"So don't start whining about me taking you back to the other room, you
stuck-up little bitch!!!" the pirate finished, her face livid.

"Then don't you complain to me about what happens when your crimes catch
up to you!" the princess countered in full fury. "It was only what you
deserved! And after what you did yesterday, I wish...!!"

"I TOLD YOU ALREADY, I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!!" shouted Ryoko. "Tenchi did!!
It was his idea!! Deal with it!!"

"That is precisely what I'm doing now!!" Aeka shot back. "That's what I
did all evening long! And if you think I'm going to suffer what I've
suffered and then let you kick me around besides, you're mistaken!! I'm
staying!!"

Tenchi winced. That *was* what had prompted Aeka to want to leave. And
the girls must have been arguing about this before, maybe even since the
previous afternoon.

"If you're not out of here in about ten seconds, I AM going to kick you
around!!"

Aeka's eyes narrowed. "You're quite welcome to try!"

Realizing that fight was probably about to start, Tenchi cringed.

"Maybe if you'd come down off your damn throne and *talked* to me about
yesterday, I'd have let it pass this morning, but right now I wish I'd
just taken you out over the lake and dropped you in!" She floated up and
towards Aeka. "Now, this is my time to be with Tenchi. Alone. And I'm not
going to have you..."

Ryoko stopped in mid-sentence, her eyes focused on something just behind
the princess. The pirate's stare remained fixed on whatever it was for
many moments before she met Aeka's gaze again, the sudden hurt in her
face swiftly giving way to anger. Ryoko's eyes narrowed. "I see what you
mean, about 'doing your utmost to get along,'" she said, her voice
breaking under the strain of barely-enforced calm.

"What?" asked Aeka, puzzled. She glanced behind her to see what had
caught Ryoko's attention.

Lying face-down next to the bed was a picture. Ryoko glanced behind her
to certain spot on the wall and confirmed her immediate suspicion: the
portrait of her and Tenchi that she'd hung on the wall the previous day
had been taken from its place and tossed onto the floor. Aeka picked it
up and looked at it curiously, unable to recall how it had gotten there,
while Ryoko, remembering something she'd seen but hadn't taken notice of,
floated back towards the nightstand and reached down next to the alarm
clock. Her hand came up holding Aeka's whip.

Aeka frowned, recognizing it at once but now even more confused. "How did
that get here?" she slowly asked herself out loud.

Ryoko stared at it, remembering how it had been used the previous
Saturday. Words Aeka had spoken that day returned to the pirate's mind,
about the princess' attempt to drive Tenchi's love for Ryoko out of him
with pain.

"If a man that she feels strongly for dishonors himself, a woman of Jurai
is expected to correct him, to make him see his error."

Instantly she realized what must have happened. Aeka, angered by Tenchi's
actions on coming home, had punished him by forcing him to take the
picture down, threatening him with the lash if he didn't comply. Or maybe
there had been more than threats. Half of her hoped that Tenchi had
capitulated immediately, that he hadn't given the princess an excuse to
use the whip on him. The other half wished that he'd defied Aeka and
endured as much pain as he could possibly take. Ryoko's breathing grew
more and more rapid as she eyed the weapon in her hand. She closed her
eyes and clenched her fists, floating a foot above the ground as rage
swirled inside her.

"You bitch," she said in a slow, trembling voice. "You bitch."

"Excuse me?" replied Aeka, instantly standing straighter and facing her
adversary.

Ryoko's hand shook violently as she held the whip in front of her for a
moment. Then she flung it onto the floor next to the door and opened her
eyes, her face a mask of sheer fury.

Aeka's jaw dropped for a moment. Then her own expression filled with
anger to equal Ryoko's. "How *DARE* you show such disrespect! That was my
mother's, and her mother's, and hers!"

Tenchi blinked, confused for a moment before he remembered something Aeka
had said to him before.

"It has been handed down from mother to eldest daughter since the
beginning of Jurai's royal line," the princess had told him. "Perhaps
before. It has been a sign of the power of the women of our house since
antiquity."

*Her whip? But who brought that... WAIT A MINUTE, I DID!*

He pushed the quilt down and sat up. The girls faced each other, the
tension between them obviously near the breaking point. "Ano..." he said
hesitantly.

Utterly focused on each other, neither of the women noticed him.

"I... DON'T... CARE...!" growled Ryoko, flexing her fingers and moving
slowly closer to Aeka. 

Aeka glanced down at the picture she was holding, then contemptuously
hurled it against the wall.

Ryoko's eyes darted towards the point of impact and back to the princess.
She surged forward and stopped less than a foot in front of her. "GET...
OUT...! NOW!!"

"Ano..." repeated Tenchi, in vain.

"No!" answered Aeka adamantly. "I'm not going to be pushed around, any
longer!"

"I SAID, GET OUT!" Ryoko snarled, her fangs gleaming white as she did.

Tenchi swallowed fearfully. "Ano..."

Aeka planted her feet and stood her ground. "NO!"

Sparks began to fly between the two, flaring brighter with each passing
second. Acting on reflexes learned over the course of months, Tenchi did
what he always did whenever a fight started: he cowered and hid, hoping
not to get caught in the crossfire. He slowly pulled the quilt completely
over his head again and waited for the room to explode around him.

Ryoko roughly grabbed Aeka's arm and pulled her towards the door,
preparing to eject her bodily from the room. Outraged, Aeka drew back her
free arm and slapped Ryoko across the face as hard as she could. Ryoko
stepped back, then with a snarl hurled herself at Aeka fist-first, only
to receive a painful shock when she struck the princess' newly-activated
force-field. Stifling a cry, with her remaining momentum Ryoko vaulted
over her and stopped above the bed, where she turned and crouched in mid-
air gathering energy in her hands.

Aeka quickly turned around as well. Seeing the pirate's preparations to
attack, she went on the offensive. Small force-field logs surrounded
Ryoko, who teleported away a split-second before the air above the bed
filled with jagged bolts of violently-arcing electricity. The windows
next to the bed shattered and exploded outward in a storm of broken
glass. Underneath the quilt, Tenchi cringed, flattened himself against
the mattress even further, and prayed.

With a shimmer, Ryoko reappeared between the bed and the door and
unleashed the blast she'd been preparing. Aeka frantically dodged. The
beam of searing orange energy sizzled just past her and detonated with a
deafening roar when it slammed into Tenchi's desk, showering the room
with burning wood and paper and molten chunks of CDs. Ryoko cursed and
cut loose with a hail of bolts, but by then Aeka had surrounded herself
with her forcefield once more, and Ryoko's attacks simply ricocheted off
it in all directions. Deflected splashes of glowing plasma punched
through the walls and blew the door into the hall in a cloud of
smoldering splinters. Refusing to give up, the pirate floated up over the
nightstand, formed a massive energy ball in her hands, and hurled it at
Aeka. It burst against the forcefield just like the others, half-blinding
Ryoko for a moment in the hot backlash.

Seizing the chance, Aeka charged. She closed the distance as she gathered
the power of her forcefield and focused it in her fist. Ryoko saw her
coming just in time and flipped backwards through the wall. Unable to
check her swing, the princess smashed the nightstand and everything on it
to unrecognizable fragments. Tenchi squirmed to the other side of the bed
as fast as he could, but all that followed was ominous silence.

Horrifying thoughts sprang in his mind of what one of the girls might
have just done to the other, and then it dawned on him that this fight
was quieter than all the previous ones had been. Before, there had been a
sort of playful animosity involved. Taunts and insults had flown just as
readily as blows. But this time not a word had passed since the fighting
began. This time, they really seemed to mean it.

Slowly, Tenchi overcame his fear and peeked out from under the quilt.
Thin wisps of smoke floated through the air, and the tang of ozone filled
his nostrils. Pulverized debris covered the floor. Here and there, small
tongues of flame licked the walls. Aeka stood a meter or so away from the
bed. From what Tenchi could see she wasn't hurt, and from her stance she
didn't seem to think the fight was over yet, so that probably meant that
Ryoko wasn't hurt too badly, either.

Aeka balanced on the balls of her feet, ready to dodge, as she looked
warily about the room. Ryoko was nowhere to be seen. Aeka's eyes swept
all around her as she fought the impulse to put her back against a wall
for safety. Against Ryoko, that would offer no protection. The best place
was the center of the room. The smoke stung her eyes and made them water,
and she did her best to ignore it as she continued to stand ready.

Tenchi watched hopefully. Maybe Ryoko had given up for the moment. Maybe
the fight was over. Maybe...

Aeka caught sight of a flash of orange light above her and jumped out of
the way as Ryoko plummeted down through the ceiling, her energy blade
whirling towards the princess in a deadly blazing arc. The sword singed
one of Aeka's ponytails before cutting a meter-long gash through the
floorboards. Ryoko spun around and swung her weapon again, but it
shattered against Aeka's freshly-reactivated forcefield, slamming the
pirate back towards the door.

Shaking her head for a moment to throw off the effects of the painful
shock, Ryoko gathered energy in her hands for yet another attack. The
orange glow burned brighter and brighter until Aeka's forcefield logs
appeared around Ryoko and the pirate teleported away to avoid being
electrocuted. She rematerialized just outside the doorway and swung her
arms forward to hurl the bolt.

"Azaka! Kamidake!" snapped Aeka.

The guardians on either side of the doorway enclosed Ryoko in their
spherical forcefield just as she hurled her energy blast. The doorway
vanished in a thunderous explosion not quite loud enough to drown out the
pirate's scream of pain.

Tenchi's blood ran cold and he frantically scrambled out of the bed, only
to slip and fall onto the floor. Aeka remained focused on the doorway as
the smoke cleared, revealing Ryoko on all fours, her clothing shredded in
numerous places and blood trickling from a cut above her eye. Both
guardians lay knocked over on either side of her. She coughed and wiped
the soot from her face, then summoned her sword and charged in a rage.

Tenchi got to his feet and interposed himself between the two girls as
swiftly as he could. "STOP IT!!!!!!!!!!! STOP IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Ryoko halted in her tracks. Both she and Aeka stared at Tenchi,
remembering his presence for the first time since the fight had begun.
Wide eyed, Tenchi looked them up and down, trying to tell if they'd been
hurt. Ryoko definitely seemed to have gotten the worst of it, but she
appeared much more angry than injured. Aeka looked more or less
unscathed. He breathed a sigh of immense relief that neither of the girls
had suffered serious harm. They were safe. Both of them, safe. The fear
that had gripped him, the terrible worry that something would happen to
them, quickly vanished, and a wave of anger surged in to take its place.

"How could you do this?!" he demanded. "I thought all this was going to
over now! I trusted you two!" The sound of betrayal in Tenchi's voice
grew with its volume. "I *trusted* you!"

A slight twinge of guilt washed over each girl's face before both of them
averted their eyes.

"You could have hurt each other! *Really* hurt each other! And what if
somebody had been outside the door when you blasted it?" he asked
angrily, turning his now-downright-wrathful gaze on Ryoko. "What if
Sasami-chan had been out there? Or my dad, or jiichan? They don't have
powers to protect them. You could have killed them! Didn't you stop to
think about that before you starting blowing things up? And what if you'd
hit *me*? What would you do, start fighting over who gets to bury the
body?"

Both of the girls quickly turned to face him again, now looking deeply
hurt.

"Ten-chan..." said Aeka.

"Tenchi..." began Ryoko.

Tenchi ignored them and continued on, his voice rising almost to a shout
as he surveyed the smoking ruin that had been his bedroom only minutes
before. "What about my room? Where am I going to sleep tonight, huh?
There's no *way* I'm going to be able to fix this today! It'll take me
most of a week, at least! Don't you realize how much work you just made
for me? Don't you care how much time I'm going to have to waste repairing
all the damage you've done?"

More guilt crept into Ryoko and Aeka's expressions.

"And you've blown up almost everything I own! All my music, all my books!
All my schoolwork, too!" Tenchi grit his teeth. "My history paper is
*gone* now, and I spent almost two weeks on it! This is worse than
anything you two have ever done before! Ever!"

Aeka and Ryoko hung their heads.

"And I trusted you! I thought you'd grown up a little, and stopped acting
like a couple of little kids fighting over me like I'm a toy or
something! You were supposed to be getting along now!"

"Get along? With *her*?" responded Aeka angrily. "Don't be ridiculous!"

"Not if Her Highness thinks she doesn't have to keep her word!" snapped
Ryoko.

Aeka turned and glared at the pirate. "I've kept mine far better than you
have yours!"

"I'm not the one who threw our agreement out the window this morning!"
Ryoko shouted back.

"I was merely making you obey the spirit of it!" answered the princess.

"What agreement?" asked Tenchi.

"You just think you can change it whenever you feel like it!"

"We never agreed that you could just grab me and drag me away from him!"

"And we never said that you could just *decide* to stay!"

"I decided to stop allowing myself to be humiliated by you!"

"You think being humiliated means someone not kissing your butt fast
enough!"

"WHAT AGREEMENT?!" shouted Tenchi.

"The one we made on Saturday," answered Ryoko. "The one Her Highness is
backing out on."

"I wasn't backing out on it! All I wanted was a little fairness! You've
had so much more time with him, the way he's been doting on you, and that
still hasn't satisfied you!"

Tenchi blinked. "Huh? What do you mean, doting?"

Aeka turned and stared at him in disbelief for a moment. "What do I
*mean*? You stayed home with her on Tuesday, didn't you?"

"She was *upset*, Ae-chan!" answered Tenchi. "I can't believe you're
still getting jealous over things like that. I thought you were to the
point where you'd be more understanding and less petty!" 

"Petty?" bridled the princess, as Ryoko started to grin.

"I was just trying to make her feel better, alright?" said Tenchi,
sounding very annoyed.

"Oh, I see! So that's why you were rutting in the bath like a pair of
minks?"

Ryoko's grin vanished as Tenchi stared, puzzled, at the princess. "How do
you know about that?"

"I *SAW* IT!" yelled Aeka. "I WAS THERE! 'I liked that, Ryoko. Let's do
it again sometime!' Wasn't that what you said? But I suppose I'm just
being petty, aren't I?!"

Tenchi winced, remembering that he had indeed spoken those words.
Suddenly he also recalled how distracted Ryoko had seemed at the time.
"You knew about this, didn't you?" he said, his face a deepening scowl as
he turned to face her.

Ryoko flinched and quickly looked away, unable to meet his eyes.

"I asked you, and you said she wasn't there!" shouted Tenchi.

The pirate closed her eyes.

"I can't believe you lied to me about that!!" he shouted even louder.

Clenching her fists, Ryoko bowed her head and started to tremble
slightly.

"What am I saying?!" continued Tenchi. "Of course I should expect it!
You've been tricking me ever since you showed up!!!"

Full of fury, Ryoko threw herself at Aeka, and Tenchi barely managed to
interpose himself again. He held onto her as she tried to squirm out of
his grasp and get her hands on the princess, and Ryoko had just enough
presence of mind not to exert her strength and hurt him in the process of
struggling to break free. "YOU BITCH!!! YOU SAID YOU WOULDN'T TELL
HIM!!!"

Tenchi was almost surprised enough to lose his grip. "WHAT?!?!" He
somehow managed to retain his hold on Ryoko while he turned around to
look at Aeka. "You both *agreed* to lie to me?!?!"

Aeka's expression became contrite for a moment. "I didn't say anything
because I didn't want to seem jealous and..." she said, raising her face
and becoming angry again, "...and *petty*!"

"Ha! What do you mean, 'seem'?!" shot Ryoko.

"What else have you two been doing behind my back?!" he demanded,
glancing from one to the other.

"Behind *your* back?" asked Aeka, incredulous. "What about what you did
in the bath?! And what about what you did yesterday?! What about what you
did when you arrived home?!"

"That's none of your damn business!" snarled Ryoko.

"Well?!" demanded Aeka, staring at Tenchi and ignoring the pirate.

"That just *happened*, Ae-chan! I was just trying to be less... less..."
Tenchi paused, desperately searching for a word to describe his behavior
that wasn't *too* terribly insulting to himself. "Less timid," he finally
decided.

"You never had to be forward with her -- she's always thrown herself at
you! But I needed you to do that with me!" she said, hurt creeping into
her voice. "I *needed* that, Ten-chan. All that time, I needed it..."

Ryoko smirked. "Maybe Tenchi prefers someone who doesn't hold back," she
said.

Aeka's face blushed burning scarlet. She rushed forward in livid rage,
and suddenly the girls were striking at each other around Tenchi until he
pushed them apart again.

"You're both impossible!" he shouted. "How long are you going to keep on
doing this?! STOP IT!!!!"

Both girls momentarily backed down, glaring at each with hostility
simmering in their eyes.

"How am I ever going to trust you again, after you *both* lied to me
about getting along?"

"Tenchi! That's not fair!"

"You asked the impossible of us, Ten-chan!"

"It's not fair that I ask you not to kill each other?" countered Tenchi.

"I tried, dammit! I really did!" insisted Ryoko.

"And so did I!" added the princess.

"If you'd tried any harder, you'd have blown up the whole house!" said
Tenchi, gesturing at the devastation around him.

"Ten-chan, that's completely..."

"I've gone out of my way to..."

"I don't want to hear this anymore!" shouted Tenchi.

"There are some things I just can't *do*, Tenchi!" said Ryoko. "Not even
for you!"

"You could as easily ask me to move mountains with my bare hands!" said
Aeka.

"What's so impossible about acting halfway decent towards each other?!"
Tenchi demanded.

"I'VE *TRIED*, TEN-CHAN!"

"I DID MY BEST!"

"WELL IT OBVIOUSLY WASN'T GOOD ENOUGH!"

"Excuse me," said Washuu.

"WHAT DO YOU EXPECT OF ME?"

"I EXPECT YOU TO LIVE TOGETHER WITHOUT TRYING TO KILL EACH OTHER!"

"Tenchi, that's crazy! Can't you see that?!"

"That's probably the only thing I'll agree with her about, Ten-chan."

"How do you know it's crazy if you don't even give it a chance?!"

"BUT I *DID*!!!"

Washuu cleared her throat. "Excuse me."

"NO, YOU DIDN'T!!!"

"Excuse me!" said Washuu, for the third time. Suddenly noticing the
scientist's presence, Tenchi, Ryoko, and Aeka stopped their argument and
looked down at her.

"Maybe you haven't noticed, but the walls are on fire," Washuu pointed
out.

Tenchi and the girls looked around and saw that, indeed, the flames
ignited by Ryoko's energy blasts had spread and grown larger. He
immediately turned to run out of the room -- to douse his room with the
garden hose, or call the fire department, he hadn't decided yet -- but
Washuu grabbed him by his boxers and prevented his departure. Using
Tenchi's underwear like a leash, Washuu stepped out into the hall,
motioning with her free hand for Ryoko and Aeka to follow.

"WASHUU, LET GO OF ME!!!" screamed Tenchi. "I'VE GOT TO PUT THE FIRE OUT
BEFORE IT SPREADS!!!"

"Hold on just a second," Washuu replied calmly. She let go of Tenchi's
shorts and her fingers danced over the translucent keyboard that suddenly
appeared beneath her hands. The sound of rapidly-pounding footsteps could
be heard coming up the staircase as a shimmering force-field filled the
doorway to Tenchi's bedroom. The flames swiftly flickered and died, just
as Nobuyuki reached the top of the stairs, wet, winded, and dressed in a
white bathrobe.

"What... was all that... noise I heard?" huffed Mr. Masaki, as he tried
to catch his breath.

"Aeka and Ryoko had one of their little fights," answered Washuu.

"Oh, was that all?" asked Nobuyuki, relieved. "Wow. It's been, what, a
whole week since they've done that?" He turned and smiled at the girls.
"You two are really making a lot of progress!"

"DAD!! THEY NEARLY KILLED EACH OTHER, THEY NEARLY KILLED *ME*, AND THEY
DESTROYED MY ROOM AND EVERYTHING IN IT!!"

"Calm down, Tenchi. As long as nobody got hurt, that's the important
thing."

"BUT THEY ALMOST BURNED OUR ENTIRE HOUSE DOWN!!!"

"You don't need to worry about that, the fire's out," assured Washuu.
"I've removed all of the oxygen from the bedroom. All we have to do now
is wait for the hot spots to cool down."

Tenchi sighed with relief, then frowned again. "Thanks, Washuu. I'm glad
*somebody* around here can do something useful instead of just
demolishing things," he grumbled.

Washuu's glance darted over to Ryoko and Aeka just in time to see them
visibly wince. A brow arching over one of the scientist's green eyes was
the only change in her expression as her little finger tapped a key on
the console. A loud "CLANG!" reverberated through the air a fraction of a
second later.

Tenchi held his skull and contorted his face in pain as he bent his neck
under the weight of the large, open-mouthed toad statuette sitting on top
of his head. "OWWWWW!! Alright, alright, thanks, Washuu-*chan*. Is that
better?"

Noting something out of the corner of her eye, Washuu turned towards the
stairs. "Ah, Sasami-chan. Ohayo. You're just in time," she said, as the
princess came into view, wrapped in a pink towel.

"Ohayo," replied Sasami. "So this is where everyone is. I went and got
Kiyone and Mihoshi, and we've been down in the bath waiting for you."
Then she looked around at signs of combat -- the debris blasted into the
hall, the guardians tumbled on the ground, and Ryoko's wounds -- and
frowned sternly. "You've been fighting again, haven't you?"

Washuu smiled. "Don't worry. Everything's going to be alright, Sasami-
chan. And nobody got seriously hurt."

"But what about Azaka and Kamidake?" said the princess, rushing over to
the fallen guardians. "Are you OK?" she asked them.

"We're fine, Sasami-hime," said Azaka. "We thought it would be better if
we stayed quiet."

"We didn't want to get involved in the argument," said Kamidake.

Hearing the guardians' voices, Ryoko glared at them suspiciously. She
backed away an inch or so as they floated upright and took their places
on either side of the remains of the doorway.

"Take Ryoko and your sister down to the bath so they can get cleaned up,"
Washuu said to Sasami. "You and Kiyone and Mihoshi can keep an eye on
them, right?"

Sasami nodded and looked at the two older girls expectantly, but neither
of them budged. "I'm not leaving until I've had my say," insisted Aeka.
"And I'm certainly not going to simply walk off after someone accuses me
of oath-breaking. Such things matter," she shot a sideways glare at
Ryoko, "...to *me*, at least."

"Could have fooled me," returned the pirate.

Aeka grit her teeth and continued. "And furthermore, I'm not going to let
you tell me that I haven't tried to make peace with her, when I know that
I *have* tried! You've no right to say that to me, Ten-chan, no right at
all!"

Ryoko tried to think of another incisive barb to set into the princess,
but this time she couldn't seem to find one. Aeka's words expressed many
of her own sentiments too well for her to argue with them.

"I love you, Ten-chan," finished the princess, slowly shaking her head
"but there are limits."

Tenchi stared mutely at her, the toad statue still perched precariously
atop his head, while she waited for a reply. Receiving none, Aeka turned
on her heel and strode down the stairs. The rest of the group stared as
well, except for Washuu, who reached over and tapped Sasami on the
shoulder. After a moment, the princess nodded, took hold of Ryoko's hand,
and tried to drag the rather-distracted pirate after Aeka.

Her mind on the here and now once more, Ryoko looked over at Tenchi. She
was about to float up next to him and start pleading for forgiveness, but
stopped, the statue on Tenchi's head reminding her of what he'd said just
before Washuu had dropped it on him. She thought, too, of the words Aeka
had just spoken. She didn't like following Aeka's lead, but...

"That goes for me, too, Tenchi," she said. Then she headed down the
stairs, floating in the air alongside Sasami.

Tenchi slowly set down the statue and rubbed his skull as he stared,
wide-eyed, after Ryoko. This was a totally new experience, and he had
absolutely no idea what to think. Both of them were angry, at *him*?
After what they'd just done?

Once the girls had vanished from view, Nobuyuki put his hand on his son's
shoulder. "Now, Tenchi, can you tell me what happened here?" he asked.

"There's... there's some stuff that I didn't know about that they've been
arguing about, and they started fighting about it this morning," Tenchi
replied.

Nobuyuki tightened his bathrobe and sat down with his back against the
wall. "Oh? Like what?"

"Don't you have to be at work soon?" asked Tenchi.

"They can get by without me looking over their shoulders for a few
hours," Nobuyuki answered.

"And I have to start getting ready for school."

"Don't worry about that. And stop making excuses."

Tenchi sighed in resignation and sat down next to his father. Washuu took
her seat on the opposite site of Tenchi from Nobuyuki. "Well... one of
the things was my staying home with Ryoko the other day. I'd said some
things that upset her, and I wanted to make it up to her, that's all. But
I guess it made Ae-chan really jealous."

"Even after you explained to her why you stayed home?"

"I, uh, didn't explain it to her," he replied guiltily. "I just never
thought about it." 

Nobuyuki shook his head. "You really should have told her, son. They're
jealous enough of each other without you making it worse."

"Yeah," sighed Tenchi again, thinking. "I wonder if that's part of what
made her want to leave last night," he said in a quiet voice.

"Leave?" asked Nobuyuki, his eyes widening. "Are you sure?"

Tenchi nodded. Remembering Aeka's grief the previous evening immediately
cooled his anger towards her. "She said that I'd..." He stopped. "I'd
rather not talk about it, dad. It's private. Alright?"

Washuu smiled and remained silent as Nobuyuki reached over to Tenchi and
put his arm around him. "Tenchi, have I ever told you how I've felt about
Ryoko and Aeka fighting over you?"

"No, but I can guess," replied Tenchi, a little puzzled at the change in
subject. "I'm really sorry about all the damage they've caused."

"Well, I haven't exactly *liked* that, but it isn't so bad," chuckled
Nobuyuki. "No, I've been proud. Proud that there are two beautiful young
ladies who think my son's so important that they're willing to blow the
house up over him. They care more about you than anything, Tenchi, but
you can still lose them, if you take them for granted. You have to
remember that."

"Believe me, dad, I was thinking about that a lot last night," said
Tenchi, looking at the floor.

Nobuyuki nodded. "Did you manage to change her mind?"

"Yeah. Only barely," said Tenchi. "We didn't talk about it much,
afterward, though. She fell asleep pretty quick." He closed his eyes and
hung his head. "I think it was from all that crying."

Nobuyuki's face pulled into a frown, and for a moment he was silent.
"Tenchi, you're going to make it up to her."

"I know, dad. I know."

"Don't brush it off like that," said Nobuyuki sternly -- the sternest
that Tenchi had heard him in a long, long time. "No son of mine is going
to go around making the women who love him cry themselves to sleep at
night. Understand?"

Tenchi nodded.

"Alright," said Nobuyuki. "Now, what else were they upset about this
morning?"

For a few moments, Tenchi ran over the details of the argument he'd had
with the girls after their fight. "I think part of it had to do with
something that happened later that day, when I stayed home with Ryoko,"
he said.

"Oh? What?" asked Nobuyuki.

"Well... after breakfast," Tenchi began, sweating nervously, "Ryoko and I
went to take a bath." He swallowed. "Together. Things sort of, well...
*happened* after that..."

Nobuyuki's face lit up. "That's my boy! The ladies always love a little
daring and spontaneity!"

Tenchi cringed and blushed, embarrassed by his father's reaction and
feeling very uncomfortable discussing the subject with him. "I wouldn't
exactly say I was daring or spontaneous," he said. "But... I guess Ae-
chan walked in and saw us." Tenchi's voice flared with anger. "And Ryoko
lied to me about it! She didn't just not tell me -- I *asked* her if Ae-
chan was there, and she said 'no'!"

Washuu shook her head. "You're a fairly bright young man, Tenchi, but
you'd make a terrible scientist. You know why?" 

Tenchi bridled slightly at the insult. "Why?"

"All you care about are surface phenomena. You almost never search deeper
for the underlying causes of things," explained Washuu. "Let's look at
this logically. To start with, why'd you ask Ryoko if Aeka was there?"

"She said she had to go talk to her."

"Any idea what about?"

"I don't know. Something about making sure she and Ae-chan didn't fight."

"Fight about what?"

"Me, of course. It's always about me." He thought for a second. "She
probably wanted to calm Ae-chan down about finding us in the bath."

"I see," said Washuu. "Well, if she got up and left you, I guess at least
that means she's not hanging onto you like she used to."

Tenchi shook his head. "No, no. She's does that, same as always.
Sometimes worse, even. Every single minute she doesn't spend with me
upsets her. You remember yesterday morning, right, dad?" he asked,
thinking of the look on Ryoko's face as she'd watched him walk away to
school.

Nobuyuki nodded. "She must have thought talking to Aeka was pretty
important."

"Oh. I hadn't thought of that," said Tenchi, hanging his head. "I guess
she really was trying hard to keep the peace," he added quietly, mostly
to himself. Then he frowned again. "But her lying about it only made it
worse! If I'd known what had happened, *I* would have gone and apologized
to Ae-chan. That would have fixed things. They wouldn't have still been
mad at each other and fighting about it this morning!"

"And if Ryoko had told you that Aeka had seen you, would you have been
upset?" asked Washuu.

"Of course I would have been upset!" replied Tenchi angrily. "Don't you
realize how much is must have hurt Ae-chan to see that? I *told* Ryoko
someone might walk in on us, but she kept at me until I gave in!"

"Do you think that's what she expected?"

"Yeah, I suppose."

"So, you're mad at Ryoko because she tried to solve the problem herself,
instead of risking you getting angry with her?"

"You're making it sound like everything is my fault!" snapped Tenchi.

"Tenchi, this is something you should have realized by now," said
Nobuyuki. "Part of being in love with someone is caring about what they
think of you. When they're mad at you, it *hurts*. And these girls may be
tough in most ways, but when it comes to how you feel about them, they're
more fragile than anyone I've ever seen. Way more than your mom was with
me. Not that we had many arguments," he added wistfully, his eyes taking
on a faraway look. "It wouldn't have done me any good. She was never the
type to back down when she knew she was right."

"Ryoko and Aeka didn't exactly back down this morning. They were just as
mad at me as they were at each other."

"Well, maybe that's not such a bad thing. I don't want the three of you
to fight, and I don't want the girls to hurt each other. But it's not
right for them to be scared of you, Tenchi."

Tenchi turned and looked at his father. "Scared of me?"

"Well, maybe not scared of you, exactly. Scared of what you can do."

Washuu nodded. "You're dad's right. When it comes to the girls, you have
a lot of power, and you're very careless with it sometimes."

"You make it sound like I'm Ryoko, going around blasting things," Tenchi
said defensively.

"That's not far from the truth," replied Washuu. "Because even if you had
an energy sword like hers, she and Aeka wouldn't be half as afraid of
what you might do to them with it as they would be of the way you might
look at them or speak to them."

An image formed in Tenchi's mind of the conversation he'd had with Ryoko
on Tuesday, when she'd come in to get lunch for herself and Aeka.
"Tenchi," she'd asked, in a quiet, hesitant voice, slowly and fearfully
raising her eyes to look at him, "what if, sometimes -- just once in a
while, I mean -- it doesn't turn out... well, completely, totally...
*perfect*?"

"You need to be more careful than you've been," said Washuu.

Tenchi nodded, becoming somewhat lost in his thoughts. Ryoko had seemed
so worried then. She really had been afraid of him becoming angry with
her, if she failed to smooth things over. And she'd spent most of that
day, the day he'd stayed home to be with her, out by Ryuu-oh with Aeka.
She'd put a lot more effort into it than he'd given her credit for, he
realized.

"You need to remember that very small actions on your part can have
devastating effects, if you don't watch what you're doing," Washuu
continued.

"Yeah. I know, I know," said Tenchi, wondering why Aeka hadn't come to
him and told him about what she'd seen. She had to have known that he'd
feel terrible about it and do his best to comfort her. Didn't she? But
instead she'd let Ryoko try to do that, instead. Aeka, too, had tried,
tried hard, to make things work.

"And you need to pay closer attention to things," the scientist added,
reaching into a subspace hole that appeared in front of her and producing
a gleaming black sphere, which she handed to Tenchi. "Here you go."

"Thanks. What is it?" asked Tenchi, as the orb began to emit a low hum.

Washuu smiled. "It's a nova bomb. It's used for blowing up planets."

Tenchi and Nobuyuki immediately broke out in a sweat, and Tenchi almost
gave in to his initial reflex to hurl the ball away from him.

"Now, be careful. The triggering mechanism is very sensitive," warned
Washuu in a sweet, nonchalant voice. "Jostle it too hard and anyone on
Mars will have a nice, unobstructed view of Venus."

The two men stared, frozen in perspiration-drenched terror, at the bomb
sitting in Tenchi's trembling hands.

"That's a pretty heavy responsibility, having that much power in your
hands, isn't it?" asked Washuu.

Tenchi gulped and gave a slow, careful nod. "Hai," he whispered.

"No need to be scared of it, Tenchi," Washuu assured him. "It's perfectly
safe, just as long as you keep your mind on what it is you're holding,
and treat it properly."

Barely daring to breathe, Tenchi kept his eyes riveted on the sphere
resting in his palm.

Without warning, Washuu deftly snatched the orb from Tenchi's grasp and
tossed it up in the air, then caught it. Tenchi and Nobuyuki screamed and
grabbed each other, waiting for the world to explode. Smiling, Washuu
dropped the sphere into a subspace pocket that appeared in an instant and
vanished just as suddenly.

"Of course, to make a nova bomb explode, first you need to put some
antimatter into it," said Washuu.

After a few minutes, once he and Tenchi had regained their power of
speech, Nobuyuki stood up. "I need to call your school and tell them you
won't be coming in today," he said. "And I have to go into town to get
the lumber and paint for the repairs. Now, once the girls are done with
their bath, you're going to have a talk with them. Right?"

Tenchi nodded. "Yeah."

"I'll make sure he does," said Washuu. "Besides, I think I might want to
discuss this a bit more with him."

"No more... bombs?" asked Tenchi, swallowing nervously. "OK?"

Washuu chuckled. "I told you, it wasn't armed. Can't you take a harmless
little joke?"

"Heh heh heh. Tenchi always was the serious type," laughed Nobuyuki,
walking down the stairs.

"Mmm-hmm. Like his mother," Washuu agreed quietly.

Overhearing her words, Tenchi looked quizzically at the scientist. "How
would you know about my mom?" he asked.

Washuu froze and remained completely silent for a moment or so. "Don't
change the subject," she said finally. "Now, learned anything from our
talk so far?"

"Well... it sounds like you're trying to tell me that what happened this
morning is all my fault," said Tenchi quietly. "Right? That doesn't
really seem fair."

"I wasn't saying that it's *all* your fault. But it's more your fault
than you seemed to think."

Tenchi nodded. "Yeah. Alright. Some of the things they were upset at each
other about, were things that I did. I just wish they'd gotten mad at me,
instead of fighting each other." He sighed, thinking back to the battle
that had taken place in his bedroom. "I thought they were going to get
hurt, maybe even killed, Washuu. Now that I think about it, that's why I
was yelling at them, mostly. I mean, I was mad about all the damage they
did. And I'm still mad. But I more than anything I was angry about what
might have happened to them."

Washuu smiled and patted his hand, choosing to ignore his failure to use
her preferred form of address. "I know. That's why it was such a small
statue," she said.

"So what do I do now?"

"You're asking for my advice?"

"You were going to give it to me anyway, right?"

"It'll be a lot more helpful if you really want it," replied Washuu. "Do
you?"

Tenchi nodded again. "But we agreed, no more 'blow-up-the-world' stuff,
OK?"

"Just as long as I got the point across, and it made you understand a
little of how the girls feel."

"How they feel? What do you mean?"

Washuu looked at him very seriously. "Because you're their world, Tenchi.
Remember that. OK?"

Tenchi sat and considered that for a moment. "You're right. But that's a
lot of pressure to have to live with," he said. "Have any advice on
that?"

"First I think you should fill me in on how all this happened," said
Washuu. "Even a genius needs data to make her analyses."

"Where should I start?"

"Start with whatever initiated the change in the situation between the
three of you."

"Well... the first thing I noticed happened last Tuesday morning," said
Tenchi. "Ryoko snuck into my room before I woke up, and then she..." He
stopped, an intense red blush covering his face. "Umm, I don't have to
tell you all of the, you know, details... do I?" he asked, feeling
incredibly embarrassed.

Washuu grinned fiendishly. Tenchi's eyes widened and he began to sweat
before her expression softened into a smile. "I can read between the
lines just fine. Go ahead."

"While Ryoko was, uh, in my bed, Ae-chan showed up, and then..."

Downstairs, Aeka shut the door behind her as she entered the bath. She
nodded and returned Kiyone and Mihoshi's greetings, more out of reflex
than anything else, before she undressed and sat down next to them. An
uncomfortable silence fell as the princess started soaping up.

"So, how's your morning going?" asked Mihoshi cheerfully.

Aeka frowned. "Foully," she grumbled, as she continued washing herself.

"Oh. Well, um, sorry I asked." Mihoshi began singing as she shampooed her 
thick mane of blond hair. "Where did you go? Wait a minute, Mr. Criminal,
if you hide, I can't arrest you...!"

Gently scrubbing her arms, Aeka critically eyed a few red blotches
starting to form -- flash burns from a near-miss by one of Ryoko's energy
bolts. Her eyes narrowed. Hopefully, there wouldn't be any permanent
marks to mar her prized milk-white complexion and for Tenchi to notice,
but if there were...

"It's a Police Magic!" continued Mihoshi gaily. "If you wanna see me..."

If there were, Aeka vowed, she'd shave the pirate bald.

"...you can whistle... whenever... you..." Mihoshi's voice faltered and
stopped as she stared at Aeka's angry face. "Ummmm... was I bothering
you?"

Aeka blinked and returned her thoughts to her immediate surroundings.
"No, no. I didn't mean to give that impression."

Mihoshi smiled. "Oh, OK. Say, Kiyone, aren't you going to tell Aeka about
the message from her uncle?"

"My uncle?" asked Aeka, turning to face Kiyone, who looked very
embarrassed.

Kiyone put her face in her hands. "Mi-ho-shi!" she growled slowly. "I was
going to tell her later. Can't you see she's in a really bad mood right
now?"

Aeka sighed. "Whatever the message is, I'd best hear it now before you
have to leave for work," she said. "And I'm sorry for being rude. It's
nothing to do with you, I'm upset with someone..."

The door hissed faintly against its frame as it slid open.

"...else," finished Aeka, gritting her teeth and glaring as Ryoko walked
in with a stack of towels in her arms. Ryoko stopped and directed an
equally-rancorous stare at the princess, and the two stood facing each
other down, a thread of almost-palpable malice crackling in the air
between them.

"Ohayo, Ryoko!" called Mihoshi. "Wow, what happened to your clothes? You
look like Sasami ran you through the food processor!"

Ryoko turned her threatening gaze on Mihoshi, who suddenly looked much
less cheerful.

"I, um, guess you're in a bad mood, too, huh?" said Mihoshi meekly,
before she resumed shampooing her hair.

Discarding the torn remnants of her clothes in a heap, Ryoko sat down and
examined her injuries. Bruises covered much of her body, though they were
fading quickly as her regenerative abilities took hold. She filled a bath
pail with warm water and doused herself with it, then picked up a nearby
bottle of liquid soap and began lathering up her arms while she sat in
sullen silence.

As Ryoko started washing, Sasami alternately watched her and Aeka,
wondering what she could do to help reverse whatever damage had been
done. She looked over at the pirate and her heart sank a bit. It wasn't
right for Ryoko to be sitting all by herself, but the princess could
sense that it would only make things worse to try to drag her over by the
others. Still, Sasami didn't want to appear to take sides by sitting with
either her sister or Ryoko. She picked a spot about halfway between the
two, then sat down and started to wash distractedly, every now and then
casting a concerned glance at Aeka or Ryoko.

Aeka took her wary eyes off the pirate and turned to Kiyone. "So, what
was this about a communique?" she asked in a low, guarded voice.

"Your uncle, Torakami-dono, was rather anxious for me to put him in touch
with you," explained Kiyone.

Mihoshi nodded. "I'll say he was. He was really mad at Kiyone when she
told him she wouldn't let him talk to you."

Kiyone frowned at her partner. "That's not Aeka's problem, OK, Mihoshi?"

"No, it is," insisted Aeka, doing her best to put aside the morning's
previous events and deal with the matter at hand. "I really do appreciate
your helping me get some peace and privacy, without my family calling
every day to ask when I'll be home. Thank you," she added, glancing over
at Mihoshi. "Thank you both."

"You're welcome," replied Kiyone, smiling. Mihoshi nodded in agreement.

"Knowing my uncle, he probably threatened to file a complaint with your
superiors."

Kiyone grimaced. "Well..." She sighed and nodded. "Yes."

"He has no excuse to speak to you in that fashion," said Aeka, frowning
as she shook her head. "Ever since Aunt Shikibu died, he's been like
this. I wish mother would hurry up and arrange a second marriage. Men can
be so insufferable when they have no one to guide and correct them. He's
worse than father is, sometimes." She sighed. "Please accept my apologies
for my uncle's behavior. He doesn't mean you any harm personally, but
he's been a warrior all his life, and anyone who stands in his way he
treats like an enemy on the battlefield. If he's caused your careers any
damage, I'll see to it that it's undone."

"Thanks," said Kiyone. "Anyway, he says that he and your cousin send
their love. And he says she's started collecting art, and wants you to
get her some pieces from Terra."

"Ah. I see," said Aeka, dwelling for a moment on fond memories of her
younger cousin. "Yes, that would make a wonderful gift. But I've always
understood that removing cultural relics from planets without spaceflight
was restricted. Do you suppose you could handle the permits for me?"

"I'm already taking care of it. Your uncle said he doesn't want anything
delaying your arrival for the Startika celebration," said Kiyone.

Aeka's eyes widened. "S-startika?"

"Uh-huh. He said something about you officiating."

"Yes," said Aeka, slowly nodding to herself. "Of course. It was expected
that I'd have chosen a suitor by now, and that I would make the
announcement during the festival."

Mihoshi's face lit up. "Does this mean that me and Kiyone get to be
bridesmaids?" she asked excitedly. "Does it?"

A wave of pain flashed over Aeka's face as she sought the words for a
reply. Seeing her expression and thinking she knew its cause, Mihoshi
calmed down. She looked at her hands and wrung them nervously as she,
too, struggled to properly phrase what she had to say. 

"Um, Aeka," she said hesitantly, "you don't have to worry about me trying
to ruin your wedding or something because I'm upset at not getting him,
OK? I wouldn't do that. No matter what, you're still my friends, and I
want you to be happy." She paused for a moment, then continued. "Anyway,
I'm over him. Sort of. Mostly. And I... I promise I won't... screw up,
either. So, can we be your bridesmaids? Me and Kiyone?"

Aeka stared at her, totally at a loss for words.

"Besides, I can't think of anyone better than Kiyone to handle your
bachelorette party. Remember the one we had for Yuko last year?" she
asked, glancing at her partner.

Kiyone nodded. The look on Aeka's face confirmed suspicions that had
grown steadily over months of fending off inquiries from the Juraian
royals. She really wished Mihoshi would shut up and stop torturing the
princess, but Mihoshi was so well-meaning and earnest that Kiyone
couldn't muster up enough harshness to deal with her partner's ignorance
in the usual manner.

Mihoshi clasped her hands. "Please?"

Aeka's eyes moved to Kiyone and noted her expression of helpless
sympathy, then returned to Mihoshi, who sat holding herself still
awaiting an answer. Finally managing to think of a response, Aeka nodded
and forced a smile. "I wouldn't dream of having it otherwise," she said.
"Ten-chan and I will not be wed without both of you there as maids of
honor. You have my word..."

Mihoshi's face lit up like a sunrise, and she was just about to jump up
and shout with joy but stopped as Aeka continued speaking.

"...but keep it a secret. Ne?" said the princess. "No formal plans have
been made as yet."

"Oh, sure, Aeka!" agreed Mihoshi, her head bobbing. "You can count on
me."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome!" Mihoshi replied cheerfully. She poured a bath pail full
of warm water of her head to rinse out the shampoo, then went to get a
towel to start drying off. Seeing her withdraw, Aeka closed her eyes and
breathed a sigh of relief.

"Aeka?" said Kiyone.

The princess opened her eyes. "Yes?"

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault, Kiyone."

"I know. But I'm still sorry."

"Thank you," said Aeka.

"When are you going to have to leave?" asked Kiyone.

"I don't know. There's still a while yet before Startika, and the faster
the ship they can spare, the later it will come. That's a firm limit. But
they'll want me to return sooner. The pressure will grow, as the festival
nears."

Kiyone thought for a few seconds. "Aeka, I'll stall them for as long as
possible. I'll give you and Tenchi every last second together that I can.
Just promise me one thing."

"What's that?" asked Aeka.

"Promise me you won't waste any of it," said Kiyone. "I'm buying you time
so you can be with Tenchi, not so you can fight with Ryoko. OK?"

Aeka frowned. "Kiyone, I appreciate what you've done for me, truly I do,
but what happened this morning wasn't my fault!"

Kiyone sighed. "I wasn't there, so I don't know. I'm not trying to accuse
you of anything. I'm just saying this as a friend, Aeka -- make the most
of the time you've got."

"I'll give it some thought," answered Aeka quietly.

"Alright. I'll see you later -- Mihoshi and I need to get to work, and
we're running late."

Aeka nodded, looked down at the tiles, and began to contemplate Kiyone's
advice as the officer dried herself off, got dressed, and departed with
Mihoshi, leaving the bath to Ryoko and the princesses.

On the other side of the bath, Ryoko squeezed her bottle of soap again,
and found that she'd emptied it. She looked around her for a replacement,
found none, then noticed the bottles Mihoshi and Kiyone had left sitting
near Aeka. She shook her head. Obviously, she couldn't go over and get
it. Then she frowned.

*Well, why the hell not? What am I, afraid of her?*

Aeka scrambled frantically into a defensive crouch an instant after Ryoko
phased into the air a scant meter away. The two watched each other for a
long, tense moment before Ryoko slowly floated down, and their eyes
remained locked as the pirate's feet touched the floor. Even more slowly,
Ryoko crouched, then suddenly snatched up the soap bottle. Aeka nearly
jumped out of her skin, but her expression was even more hostile once she
recovered. The two glared at each other for a while. Finally, deciding
that going back to her original spot would make Aeka think she'd
frightened her off, Ryoko sat down and resumed washing.

Sasami's face brightened with hope. Aeka and Ryoko were still obviously
angry, but at least they were sitting together, and she could try to find
a way to begin to repair the damage. She waited for a minute or so, then
quietly got up and sat back down behind them. Noticing Sasami's arrival,
both of the older girls relaxed ever-so-slightly, though they still shot
occasional malicious glances at each other while they bathed.

Eventually, Sasami ventured to break the uncomfortable silence.

"Is it OK if I ask you something?" she asked, trying not to sound too
timid. 

Ryoko and Aeka frowned but didn't answer, so Sasami decided to press on. 

"Why are you fighting again?" the young princess asked.

The frowns deepened but no reply was made.

"I thought you promised not to do this anymore," said Sasami. "Except
when you were yelling at each other yesterday afternoon, everything
seemed to be alright. So, why?"

"Because your sister's a lying little bitch," said Ryoko, glancing over
at Aeka. An angry look passed over the elder princess' face but she
managed to restrain herself.

"Sasami, I think you'd best leave," Aeka said. "You're much too young to
be exposed to the kind of language favored by gutter trash."

Behind her, Sasami stood up, her hands clenched into little fists at her
side as she glared furiously down at the two older girls. Then she picked
up a bath pail, filled it with cold water, came up behind Aeka and Ryoko,
and splashed the entire contents on them. Both of them shrieked and
wheeled around, shivering and furious. "S-S-S-SASAMI!!!"

The young princess looked down at them, her face stern and full of
intense disapproval. Ryoko and Aeka each curbed the reflexive impulse to
strike back, knowing that they couldn't -- and didn't want to -- deal
with Sasami the way they dealt with each other. What was more, an angry
Sasami was something they were quite unaccustomed to dealing with. Slowly
they turned around as their flash of anger subsided, shivering from the
chill dousing they'd received. It only took a minute or so before Ryoko
couldn't stand it anymore and hurriedly slid into the warm bath with a
relieved sigh. Aeka grit her chattering teeth and managed to suppress the
urge to emulate the pirate for a while, then gave in and joined her.
Finally, after another brief pause, Sasami moved over next to the bath,
sat down, and waited.

"Do you really like fighting better than being friends?" asked Sasami,
after a while. "I've liked the way things have been since you started
being nicer to each other. It made me happy to see that, instead of you
being mean all the time. Tenchi loves both of you. You don't have to
fight. And if you don't have to, why should you?"

Sasami lowered herself into the water next to them. "Remember when we
were here last Sunday? How Ryoko pretended she was going to dive into the
water and splash us, and you didn't yell at her like you always did
before when she played jokes? You were happy then, both of you. I could
tell. We were together, having fun, the way I wanted it to be. It was
almost like Ryoko was our sister."

"Sasami, don't be *absurd*," growled Aeka through clenched teeth.

"I'm not," insisted Sasami. "We all sleep in the same room now, all three
of us, except when one of you's with Tenchi." She looked at Aeka. "You
even said it was a good idea, when I asked you. And now you both tell me
bedtime stories, and tuck me in at night, and help me go back to sleep
when I have bad dreams. Then at breakfast on Sunday, you asked Ryoko to
go shopping with you. And on Monday, you said you liked her poem. You've
never said nice things like that to her before, and you've never, *ever*
wanted her to go someplace with you. And Ryoko is helping us with the
housework now. She even helped me wash dishes Monday night, while you
were sitting with Tenchi, and she didn't get mad or anything."

Ryoko sighed in annoyance. "Sasami, are you going to tell us about every
single second that we haven't killed each other since Saturday
afternoon?"

Sasami frowned, then nodded. "Yes, I am," she said firmly. "And if you
don't listen to me, all you're going to eat is instant ramen from now
on."

Aeka and Ryoko looked at her nervously for a moment, then resigned
themselves to the inevitable. Satisfied, Sasami continued.

"And when you asked her to, Aeka told Azaka and Kamidake to guard
Tenchi's bedroom, so his father wouldn't come in and take pictures of
you. You were friends enough with her to ask her, and she was friends
enough with you to say yes. That's a really big favor of her to do that,
Ryoko."

Ryoko flexed her hands, remembering the explosion of less an hour before.
"Yeah, some favor," she muttered.

"But it is!" said Sasami. "Those are her guardians, Ryoko. They're very
important servants of the royal family of Jurai. They're supposed to
protect us, and this is the first time they've guarded anyone but me and
Aeka since she was born."

Aeka looked curiously at her sister. "Who told you that, Sasami?"

"They did. I asked them Tuesday afternoon. And that was when you were out
by Ryuu-oh, talking. You were there for hours and hours, and I didn't
hear you fighting or anything. Ryoko even came and got lunch for you.
Remember?"

"There are things about that that you're not old enough to understand
yet, Sasami," said Aeka testily.

"I'm not too little to know that Tenchi wouldn't have let you come to
school with him yesterday, if you'd still been fighting," countered
Sasami, becoming slightly angry in turn. "He'd have been afraid you'd
blow it up or something. But when he saw you were being friends, he knew
it was OK for you to go with him. Is fighting better than being with
Tenchi?" She put her arms across her chest. "I think you're both being
silly."

Aeka and Ryoko looked down at the water and said nothing.

"And there's the necklace you got for her, Aeka," said Sasami. She turned
to the pirate. "I thought that after she gave you such a pretty gift,
you'd get her one, too, Ryoko, instead of fighting with her."

Ryoko turned and stared, puzzled, at the young princess. "What are you
talking about, Sasami? What necklace?"

Sasami blinked. "The one she bought for you at the mall, Tuesday morning.
I was going to ask you why you haven't been wearing it. Don't you like
it?"

Aeka closed her eyes. "I don't want to discuss this, Sasami," she said,
an angry edge to her voice.

"But why not?" asked Sasami. "You wouldn't have gotten her a present if
you weren't trying to be friends. And you were smiling when you were
buying it. I saw you."

"I said I don't want to discuss it!" snapped Aeka.

"Well, I *do*!" answered Sasami angrily. "You were smiling. You were
doing something nice for Ryoko, and it made *you* feel nice, and that's
what being friends is. Why don't you want it to be like that?"

Ryoko frowned and shook her head. "I don't care about any damn necklace,
Sasami. We haven't been fighting because we made an agreement about it,
that's all. Except that some people," she turned and glared at Aeka,
"think that if they're royalty, they don't have to keep promises they
make to 'gutter trash,'" she said sarcastically. "Right, your highness?"

"I've told you, I'm not going to tolerate having my honesty impugned,"
said Aeka through clenched teeth. "I keep my word, no matter whom I give
it to. Even the likes of you."

"Oh, really?" scoffed Ryoko. "Care to explain what you pulled back in
Tenchi's bedroom, then?"

"As soon as you explain yesterday afternoon," Aeka shot back.

"I'm not talking about what day belongs to who anymore," Ryoko said, her
voice rising. "You said you weren't going to use that damned whip of
yours on Tenchi. You swore it, princess. And then you went ahead and did
it anyway. Isn't that how you always say *I* am?" Ryoko laughed grimly.
Then the mirth died and she glared at Aeka. "I thought maybe I'd started
to understand you a little. I knew you'd be mad at him for yesterday, but
I didn't think you'd hurt him for it." The light gleamed on sharp fangs
as Ryoko's lips pulled back in an angry snarl. "How many times did you
have to hit him with it, before he lied and told you he was sorry?" Ryoko
leaned a little closer. "Well?"

"I haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about," answered Aeka.

"Then what was your whip doing there?" demanded Ryoko.

"Tenchi brought it," said Sasami.

Both girls turned and stared at her in shock. "WHAT???"

Sasami nodded and looked at Aeka. "He came downstairs last night and
asked me where it was. He said he'd done something to make you cry but he
didn't know what, and he wanted to show you that he was sorry. So I went
and got it for him, and he took it back to the room with him."

"I... I fell asleep while he was downstairs, Sasami," said Aeka, her
voice suddenly very far away. "He only said he was going to get some
tea."

"That's what he was doing, but then he asked me about the whip," said
Sasami. "He looked really scared about it, too."

Ryoko's eyes widened as she quickly looked away without replying, and
Aeka made no answer either as she contemplated this discovery. Tenchi had
intended to offer her the whip, fully expecting that she would use it on
him? It wasn't a decision made in ignorance of the consequences -- Tenchi
knew perfectly well the pain each lash would inflict, for he'd
experienced nine of them on Saturday. She thought back and remembered the
harsh snap as she wielded it on him, the grunt of pain that escaped him
each time it bit into him, the red lines criss-crossed over his back, and
she shuddered. She shuddered again as she recalled the angry, accusing
words he'd hurled at her once she'd stopped. But this was light years
away from that. On his own initiative, Tenchi had intended to submit
himself to painful correction, without even knowing what it was he'd done
wrong.

She closed her eyes and smiled a little sadly, wishing that she'd managed
to stay awake just a while longer the previous night. Next to her, Ryoko
stared downward, her face red from embarrassment at finding out her
accusation had been false. While the tension had already been high due to
Aeka's refusal to leave, Ryoko finding the whip had been what had pushed
things over the edge. If she hadn't jumped to conclusions, Ryoko knew,
the battle might not have happened. Tenchi's room wouldn't have been
demolished, he wouldn't have found out about Aeka having seen them in the
bath, he wouldn't have seen her fail to keep the peace with the princess
as he'd asked, and he wouldn't have gotten angry and yelled at her. What
was more, Aeka was never going to let her hear the end of this, and there
wasn't anything Ryoko could think of to say in defense.

As the pirate had anticipated, Aeka finally came out of her blissful
reverie and glared at Ryoko. "There, you see? I *do* keep my oaths," she
said in haughty, righteous indignation. "To think of having my honesty
questioned by the likes of you! The very idea! So now Ten-chan's
bedchamber is destroyed, and he's angry at me, thanks to your ridiculous
delusions! I do hope you're satisfied with all of the havoc you've
managed to cause. As usual."

Ryoko hung her head. Sasami looked at her and her face immediately
saddened in sympathy. "Aeka..." the young princess began to protest.

"Well?" demanded Aeka. "Do you have something to say, perhaps, Ryoko? Or 
do you only care to speak when you've some malicious falsehood about me 
that you'd like to tell?"

"Aeka..." said Sasami again, as Ryoko sank a little lower in the water.

"Surely you have *something* to say in your defense, Ryoko? Something
which would justify what you did? Something which would explain why you
saw my whip there and simply assumed that I must have broken my word? I'm
sure that Ten-chan will be interested to hear it."

Ryoko jerked her head around and leaned over, nose to nose with the
princess. Aeka flinched at the pirates suddenly-threatening posture but
stood her ground. 

"And what was I supposed to think, huh?" demanded Ryoko. "After what you
pulled last Saturday, of course that's what I thought!"

"I've apologized for that already," said Aeka evenly. "Was my apology
accepted, or wasn't it?"

"It was, but you don't forget something like that, Aeka. Believe me, you
don't," Ryoko growled. "Maybe if somebody tried to make Tenchi swear
never to love *you* again, you'd understand a little better!"

Aeka glared back at her but didn't reply.

"So when I see your whip next to the bed, after you kept going on and on
about how pissed you were that he took me upstairs yesterday afternoon,
yeah, I'm going to think you decided to do just what you did before when
you got mad at him being with me! Seeing that damn thing of yours doesn't
exactly bring back lots of happy memories. Understand, princess?" Ryoko
leaned even further forward. "Understand?!"

"I'm sorry, Ryoko," said Sasami quietly.

Ryoko blinked and looked over at her. "Huh?"

Sasami meekly hung her head. "I thought it was sweet of Tenchi to want to
do that. I didn't know it would hurt your feelings. If I knew it would, I
would have told you about it last night, so you wouldn't worry. All I
wanted was for Tenchi to make oneesama feel better." She glanced up at
Aeka for just a moment before looking down again. "And I'm sorry if I
helped make Ryoko mad at you, oneesama. I didn't mean to."

Both older girls stared at Sasami as the younger princess got out of the
bath.

"I really liked the way it was, for a little while," said Sasami, her
voice full of sadness. "It was the nicest its been since we've all been
living here." She sighed, closing her downcast eyes. "I'm sorry," she
said once more, then picked up her clothes and exited. Once the door was
shut behind her, Sasami sniffled and wiped away the tears gathering in
her eyes.

Suddenly, Sasami turned her head on hearing the sound of something smack
hard against the front door. A moment later Ryo-ohki phased through it
and scrambled as fast as she could towards the princess, skidding to a
halt at her feet. The cabbit looked up at Sasami, a look of urgent
concern in her eyes, and miya'd.

"Ohayo, Ryo-ohki," said Sasami, trying her best to be cheerful. "Why are
you in such a hurry?"

Ryo-ohki leapt into the princess' arms and started purring as she rubbed
her head against Sasami's chin. Sasami giggled at the ticklish sensation
and petted the cabbit affectionately, heading off to the kitchen in the
hopes that Aeka and Ryoko's argument might be more easily reconciled over
their favorite breakfast dishes.

Back in the bath, Ryoko sighed, opened her eyes, and glanced stealthily
at Aeka. The princess had a thoughtful yet guilty expression on her face 
-- much like the one Ryoko saw on her own, reflected in the water.
Feeling herself being watched, Aeka turned towards Ryoko. They stared at
each other for a few seconds before quickly looking away and resuming
their silent, very similar thoughts.

Each of them knew very well the efforts she'd made, how hard it had been,
the many battles she'd fought against herself -- and quite a few times,
won -- to do what Tenchi had wanted. Being reminded of those things
stirred a certain sense of pride in each of those victories, each one a
gift for him wrested from herself with great difficulty and sometimes
even pain. And for him to dismiss all of them because of one failure,
however dramatic and disastrous a failure, hurt.

But beyond that, each girl was beginning to grudgingly remember that the
other had also done her part, won her own victories, beyond the ones
Sasami had directly reminded them of. Ryoko's thoughts began with what
she'd seen and heard in Ryo-ohki's memories of Tuesday morning.

"DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND THAT I DON'T WANT TO BE REMINDED OF *HER* RIGHT
NOW?!?!" Aeka had screamed at the cabbit. "LEAVE ME *ALONE*, YOU STUPID
THING!!!!"

Then the princess had burst into tears, obviously terribly hurt from
having had to actually see Tenchi with Ryoko. The pirate definitely knew
how *that* must have felt. And yet, once the girls had talked about it,
Aeka had kept it a secret. She hadn't tried to use it to gain sympathy
from him, or make him angry at Ryoko. It wasn't until the midst of their
argument that morning that Aeka had said anything, and even then she'd
blamed Tenchi for it.

For her part, Aeka's thoughts dwelt on words Ryoko had spoken later that
day, after she'd ended the princess' silent brooding depression with a
toss into the lake.

"At least you're not acting like you're going to... kill yourself or
something," Ryoko had said. And even now, thinking back on it, Aeka was
struck by the fact that Ryoko had seemed truly worried, had actually
seemed to *care* that the princess might do such a thing, and had forgone
time with Tenchi in order to prevent it.

She slowly turned to peek out of the corner of her eye at Ryoko, trying
to reconcile the person who'd been afraid that Aeka might commit suicide
with the person who'd been hurling lethal blasts of energy at her in
Tenchi's bedroom. After a moment, Ryoko noticed and glanced back at her,
making Aeka hurriedly look away once more and began thinking about all of
the things that had taken place the morning before.

Ryoko had convinced Tenchi not to go off without waking up Aeka to say
goodbye. *Convinced* him. Ryoko had known the hurt Aeka would have felt
if Tenchi had simply left, more clearly than he had. The pirate had
actually talked Tenchi out of spending more time alone with her.

Then, too, Aeka remembered, this time with pride, how she had put aside
her own animosity and made a sympathetic gesture to Ryoko when Nobuyuki
had brought up the painful subject of children. A vivid recollection of
her hand coming down gently on Ryoko's shoulder filled her mind. It was
probably the first benevolent physical contact they'd ever had. And she
recalled, as well, the expression on Ryoko's face and the simple nod
acknowledging the significance of the act.

Under the water, her fists balled in frustration. She'd faced her dislike
for Ryoko then. Confronted it, and conquered, for a few moments. Why
couldn't Tenchi have been there, seen her do *that*, instead of what he'd
seen this morning?

Next to her, Ryoko's thoughts were about the morning's battle as well.
She wished very much, now, that she'd hadn't jumped to conclusions about
the whip, that she'd backed down before the fight started, or that she'd
given up on trying to remove the princess. Or, for that matter, that
she'd just resigned herself to talking to Tenchi later. She could have
spoken to him about it that night, when they went to bed, for instance.
Not that it did any good to think of that *now*. And getting into a fight
in his room and destroying everything in it certainly wasn't going to
convince him to let her practice against his grandfather. It would take
days, maybe weeks, before he'd be in the right mood for her to approach
him, if he ever *could* be talked into it after what had happened.

Ryoko sighed. Hearing it, Aeka glanced over at her. Their eyes met, their
expressions seeming to communicate a single, shared thought.

*We tried. Didn't we?*

At the same time, upstairs, Tenchi and Washuu's conversation continued.

"Let me see if I understand this," she said. "The future Empress of Jurai
and the galaxy's Most Wanted space pirate have been madly in love with
you for months. Now you've fallen in love with them, too, but besides
that, nothing else in your life is going to have to change? Even after
you've asked them to make such a big change in *their* lives?"

"All I asked them to do was stop fighting. What's so wrong about me
asking them to change that?" asked Tenchi.

"Nothing. It would make things a lot more enjoyable around here if they
did. But a person's behavior has inertia and momentum, almost like a
physical object. Their fighting is like a big boulder they've started
rolling down a hill. Now you're asking them to get in front of it and
make it stop. That's not going to be easy for them, and they'll have to
spend some time slowing it down first."

Tenchi nodded. "I guess I should get in front of it with them and help
them stop it," he said. "Is that what you're saying?"

"You made the analysis. I just showed you the data, Tenchi," said Washuu.

"Thanks for the physics lesson," chuckled Tenchi.

Washuu grinned. "I'll give you a physics lesson anytime you want," she
said.

Tenchi blinked and stared at Washuu in bewilderment.

"Never mind," she said, still smiling. "Scientist joke."

"Anyway, I know I shouldn't have let it go, but they didn't seem to want
me to do anything. It looked like they were getting along just fine,"
protested Tenchi. "I thought I could trust them not to fight."

"Since when have you trusted Ryoko and Aeka with something important like
that?" asked Washuu.

Tenchi sighed. "When you love someone, aren't you supposed to trust
them?" he asked rather helplessly. "I didn't want them to think I didn't
believe in them, that I was going to be watching them all the time just
waiting for them to mess up. I just wish they'd *told* me about all
this."

"We've been over this before, already," Washuu reminded him.

"I know, I know," sighed Tenchi again.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm starved," said Washuu, standing
up. She sniffed. "And from the smell of that, Sasami's already busy in
the kitchen."

Tenchi sniffed as well, catching a vague cinnamon scent among other
smells. "You know, I'm getting kind of hungry, too. I hope the girls have
calmed down enough to eat breakfast." He smiled as he looked over at
Washuu. "And Washuu-chan... thanks. I'm glad we talked."

"You're welcome, Tenchi," replied Washuu. "Besides, you three were
starting to distract me from my research."

"The noise, you mean?" asked Tenchi. "But I thought your lab was
soundproof."

Washuu made no reply as they headed downstairs and into the kitchen,
where they found Sasami in the midst of fixing breakfast. The cinnamon
smell turned out to be bean paste fritters, which the princess was fixing
in addition to the usual fare. Hearing them enter, she turned around and
smiled, though less cheerfully than usual. "Oh, hi. Breakfast will be
ready in about five minutes," she said.

"Where are the rest of the girls, Sasami-chan?" asked Tenchi nervously,
looking around.

"They're still in the bath," answered Sasami.

Tenchi sighed with relief. "Alright. I was worried they might have
started fighting again, but I guess Kiyone and Mihoshi can handle them."

Sasami shook her head. "Kiyone and Mihoshi left. They had to get to work
early."

Tenchi's face turned deathly pale as he stood frozen stock-still for a
moment. Then he tore out of the kitchen and dashed towards the bath.
Washuu shook her head and pressed some keys on her suddenly-present
console moments before Tenchi slammed open the door to the baths and
stopped himself inside. Both girls looked up, startled at the sudden
noise, and Aeka covered herself reflexively before she realized who the
intruder was.

Not completely sure if his new relationship with the girls meant that he
should look, or not, Tenchi chose discretion and turned his reddening
face away. "I, um... I... I thought... I thought maybe you might be
fighting," he said.

They stared hard at Tenchi, his mention of fighting having immediately
bringing into focus all of the words he'd shouted at them upstairs.
Neither of the girls replied.

"Breakfast is just about ready, but I have to take a bath. Can you wait
for me in the living room after you're done eating? I want us to have a
talk," he said. He turned and looked at them. "Alright?"

Seeing them nod, Tenchi sighed and shut the door behind him as he left.
He reopened the door and went into the mens' bath, his mind far too
occupied to consider this was the bath he should have found the first
time.

As the door to the women's bath closed, Ryoko and Aeka shared a look of
mingled hurt and anger, each wondering if Tenchi actually thought either
of them had wanted the fight instead of having tried to avoid it, and
that they'd resume the moment he took his eyes off them. They frowned and
turned away from each other, then started getting dressed.

A while later, he entered the living room to find Aeka sitting at one end
of the couch and Ryoko standing near the opposite end, looking through
the window at Sasami playing outside with Ryo-ohki. Both girls noticed
his presence but neither acknowledged it, seemingly lost in thought.
Ryoko being the closest, Tenchi walked over and put his hand on her
shoulder to try to show that he wasn't angry at her anymore.

Ryoko tensed. Without a word she reached up, firmly grasped Tenchi's
wrist, and pulled his hand off of her before floating over the couch and
sitting down. 

A surprised expression on his face, Tenchi paused for a moment, then
moved to sit down between the girls. He stopped, Aeka's very disapproving
frown saying in no uncertain terms that he definitely wasn't welcome near
her, either. Trying to digest this new experience, he slowly went to the
chair across the table from them and watched them, thinking. He'd been
expecting to gently dispense forgiveness, but it was starting to sink in
that he would have to ask it, instead. He searched for the proper words
while Ryoko and Aeka silently watched him.

At first, he balked at the very idea. They were the ones who were
fighting, and who had destroyed everything, after all. Even considering
that the material things that had been lost were trivial compared to the
prospect of the girls being hurt or killed, they were the ones who had
tried to do the hurting and the killing. But he reminded himself of what
he'd begun to see, while talking to his father and to Washuu: that the
pressure he'd put on Aeka and Ryoko had been immense. He'd asked them to
suddenly start acting completely differently from their usual selves, to
bottle up their hostility and hide it away so he wouldn't have to see it.
The pressure had built up and up, unseen by him, worsened by his own
carelessness, until that morning, in the bedroom, it had all exploded in
his face -- a whole week's worth of their usual arguing and fighting
compressed into the space of a few minutes.

He wondered if Washuu would consider his assessment scientific. He wasn't
sure. He sighed and continued trying to decide what he would say.

"I'm sorry for getting so mad at you," he said finally. "You didn't
deserve that. And I shouldn't have yelled at you that way. I know it's no
excuse, but I was scared about what might have happened to you. It was
really unfair of me to get that angry and blame you for everything when
so much of what was making you fight was my fault."

Aeka and Ryoko each gave him a curious look and waited for him to
continue.

"I should never have said you hadn't tried to get along," he said. He
looked at Aeka. "You're right. I had no right to say that to you, Ae-
chan. Or to Ryoko. You went almost a week without fighting at all, even
with all the things I did that made it harder for you, and I just took it
for granted -- the way I've taken both of you for granted." He glanced at
his hands for a moment. "Even though things didn't go the way I wanted
them to this morning... thank you. And I'm sorry."

Ryoko sighed, feeling somewhat mollified. "I'm sorry about fighting with
her, and wrecking your room, Tenchi," she said. "I know you wanted me to
be friends with her. But I tried. I really tried." She looked directly at
him, the hurt of his previous accusation still showing in her face a
little. "I did the best I could."

Aeka nodded. "It meant very much to me that I not disappoint you, Ten-
chan. I know it didn't seem that way, because of what transpired this
morning, but that wasn't at all what I wanted to have happen. I wish I
hadn't failed you, and I'm sorry for all the unpleasantness -- but I did
try, even though it was difficult. Because you wanted it."

"I know," he sighed, hanging his head a little. "I know. Thank you. Thank
you both. I guess I just figured that was the way things should be, so I
didn't say much about it. I'm sorry I didn't appreciate it the way I
should have." He stared down at his hands and silence fell, until after a
minute or so Ryoko broke it.

"Tenchi?"

He looked up. "Yes?"

"Why don't you come sit on the couch," she suggested.

Tenchi nodded. He walked over and sat between them. "I'm sorry," he said
again. "And... I know I overreacted this morning, but you two have never
fought like that before." He swallowed the lump in his throat as he
relived the terrifying thoughts that had gone through his mind during the
fight. "I thought I was going to lose one of you, this time," he said
quietly.

After a few moments, Ryoko and Aeka scooted next to Tenchi. He hesitated,
then put an arm around each girl and drew them closer to drive away the
memory of his earlier fears.

"Ten-chan, I..." Aeka began to say.

"Please don't say anything right now, Ae-chan," Tenchi interrupted
softly. "Just sit there. Please. OK?"

Aeka nodded. The three of them heaved a collective sigh, feeling an
immense tide of relief flow over them as the girls closed their eyes and
gently lay their heads against Tenchi. Tenchi closed his eyes as well and
bowed his head slightly. He could feel their love for him as an almost
tangible thing, as if it were a soft, warm glow reaching out to gently
enfold him. The trio sat there for several minutes, not saying a word,
Aeka and Ryoko silently basking in Tenchi's affectionate presence, and he
in theirs. Finally, he found the words to speak.

"Before, whenever you two fought, it always upset me," he said. "I hated
having my life disturbed like that. I hated the noise. I hated having to
fix all the damage you caused. And whenever it happened, I'd think, 'What
did I ever do to deserve this?'" He paused, then continued in a quieter
voice. "I still think that sometimes, but it means something totally
different now."

"I'm very sorry about what happened, Ten-chan," said Aeka.

"I know," replied Tenchi. "I know. I'm not happy about it, but dad's
right. Things can be replaced. I could never replace either of you. If
one of you had really hurt each other this morning, I don't know what I'd
have done."

"I'm sorry, Tenchi," said Ryoko.

"Please don't scare me like that, ever again," Tenchi pleaded. "If you
do, I'll... I'll..." He searched for the right threat to make. "I'll..."
He laughed, deciding to pick the most ridiculous thing that came to mind.
"I'll marry Sasami-chan. How's that?"

Ryoko and Aeka's eyes widened fearfully as they raised their heads to
stare at them. Tenchi looked back and forth at them and blinked.

"I was *joking*," he said. Both girls slowly let their breath out, and
Tenchi shook his head, surprised and mildly amused that they could think
he was at all serious about such a thing. He sat quietly with them for a
while longer. "Can I ask you something?" he said eventually. Both girls
nodded. "Were things getting better between you, besides you not
fighting? It looked like it was, a little. I know some of it was just my
wishful thinking, but there've been times these last few days when it
really seemed like you were enjoying each other's company. Last Sunday,
for instance..."

Ryoko and Aeka laughed, looked at each other, and laughed some more.

"Uh, what's so funny?" asked Tenchi.

"We already got this lecture from Sasami-chan, Tenchi," explained Ryoko.
"We don't have to hear it again."

Tenchi smiled. "I'll have to thank her, then. But just now, when you were
laughing together -- that's what I want to see. Was it really so bad?"

"Yep. We *are* going to hear it all over again," Ryoko said, though most
of the amusement was gone from her voice.

Aeka sighed. "Ten-chan, I tried. So did Ryoko. But you can't expect us to
change just because you want us to, no matter how much we might wish to
please you."

"I'm sorry," said Tenchi. "I'm doing it all over again." He shook his
head. "I just don't want either of you to get hurt. That's all that
matters about it to me, anymore. It isn't just so I can have peace and
quiet. If not arguing in front of me was what made things build up,
then... then go ahead and argue. I won't get mad. Well... I'll try not
to," he corrected. 

Aeka and Ryoko nodded. "I think that might help somewhat, Ten-chan," said
the princess. "

"Can you understand how it is for me, though?" asked Tenchi. "If someone
else came here and tried to hurt one of you, or insulted you, and I just
stood by... I'd feel like I was nothing. I'd *have* to do something. I'll
do my best not to pressure you, but how can I just pretend not to notice,
when you do those things to each other?"

Ryoko sighed. "Yeah, I can see that, Tenchi. It's just... hard."

"If you want me to help, ask me," he said. "And if I do something that
makes it harder for you, just talk to me about it. A lot of the stuff you
were mad at each other about this morning was *my* fault," he said,
hanging his head. "The bath, and yesterday afternoon, and my staying home
on Tuesday -- if things like that happen again, tell me. I'll try to
listen better than I usually do. OK?"

The girls nodded again, and Tenchi turned to look at Aeka.

"I wish you'd told me, Ae-chan," he said, gently laying his cheek against
the top of her head. "I would never have let it get as far as it did.
Last night was another thing I don't want to have to go through ever
again."

Ryoko frowned curiously, wondering what Tenchi was referring to, but
remained silent.

"Ten-chan, regarding last night," said Aeka. "Sasami told me about your
bringing my whip to present to me." The princess closed her eyes and
snuggled closer to Tenchi. "Thank you," she said softly.

"I meant it," said Tenchi. "I guess I was trying to say that I'd rather
be hurt that way, than for you to leave. I didn't know if it was the
right thing or not."

Ryoko's eyes went wide. Slowly she turned her head and stared at the two
of them.

Aeka moved her hand over Tenchi's and clasped it. "The only thing wrong
was that you feared I might punish you, once you had come to me seeking
forgiveness. The woman gives pain only to guide the man, to help him see,
not to avenge herself on him and make him suffer out of spite. Not if she
truly loves him." She squeezed his hand tightly. "And I do love you, Ten-
chan. More than anything there is."

Tenchi hugged Aeka more tightly to him. Ryoko watched them as patiently
as she could manage, until finally she couldn't keep quiet any longer.

"Um, would you mind explaining something to me?" she asked.

"What is it?" asked Tenchi.

"What exactly did you mean by 'leaving'?"

Tenchi hesitated, unsure whether he should answer or not. He knew he was
supposed to be open and truthful with Ryoko, but this was a private
matter between him and Aeka, and it wasn't clear which mattered more.
Then he decided that this particular topic could never been something
that was truly private between him and just one of the girls.

"Ae-chan was going to leave," explained Tenchi in a pained voice. "She
thought I didn't love her anymore."

Ryoko's face lit up. "You mean I'd...?!"

She stopped, staring at the disapproving and deeply-wounded look on
Tenchi's face, then quickly turned away. He pulled her a little closer,
trying to understand and telling himself that he couldn't really blame
her for feeling how she felt, but at the same time remembering Aeka's
grief the previous night, and wondering how it could be something that
would make someone happy.

Slowly, the princess nodded. "Yes, Ryoko. You'd won. I was going to ask
Kiyone this morning for transport back to Jurai. Once I was gone, you
would have had Ten-chan all to yourself."

Ryoko's memory fixed on the look she'd seen in Tenchi's face moments
before, and she knew in her heart of hearts that Aeka's last statement
was totally untrue.

"Why?" she asked quietly.

"As he said, because I thought he no longer loved me. It seemed that he'd
given his heart to you completely, and simply hadn't realized it yet. I
didn't think even you had seen it yet. But after watching him carry you
up to his bed yesterday, and seeing the way he'd hung the picture of the
two of on the wall, so proud of it..." Aeka closed her eyes. "Those might
sound like small things now, but then, there was no room left for doubt.
And as for how it felt," she squeezed Tenchi's hand, and he reciprocated,
"consider yourself fortunate for never having experienced it."

"Is that why you were so upset about me trying to make you leave, this
morning?" asked Ryoko.

Aeka nodded. "Yes. At least, that was the main reason."

Ryoko sat, contemplating these revelations amidst many conflicting
emotions. She knew Tenchi would want her to say she was glad Aeka wasn't
going to leave, but there was no way she could tell such an incredible
lie convincingly. And yet, while part of her felt great disappointment
for having victory snatched away from her, somewhere within her lay a
degree of sympathy that she tried and failed to hide from herself.

"Ryoko," said Tenchi, after a while.

"Yes?"

"I have to make it up to her. I have to spend some extra time with Ae-
chan, enough to make things right between us, because I want to make sure
she never feels that way again," he said. "Can you understand?"

After a few moments, Ryoko nodded.

"I want to be sure you know I'm not doing it to hurt you," said Tenchi.
"It's because I love her, not because I don't love you." He closed his
eyes and sighed. "Kami-sama, this is hard."

Ryoko looked at Tenchi's face again, took a deep breath, tensed, then
exhaled. "Aeka, remember our deal, last Saturday?"

Aeka looked across Tenchi at her. "Of course."

"I'm changing it a little," said Ryoko. "Today's yours. And tomorrow, and
Saturday. Sunday morning, we start over. Sound fair?"

Tenchi opened his eyes and gaped at her, then frowned. "Ryoko! I'm not a
thing you two can trade back and forth!"

"I was just trying to make it easier for you, Tenchi," Ryoko answered,
hanging her head. "You looked... like it was hurting you."

Tenchi's expression softened. "Yeah, it was," he agreed. "I'm sorry for
yelling at you." He turned to Aeka. "Is that alright with you, Ae-chan?"

"Yes, it is," the princess said, staring at Ryoko with a faint look of
amazement on her face. "Ryoko... thank you," she said slowly.

"Yeah, well, be sure you don't sleep in again on Sunday," said Ryoko, not
meeting Aeka's eyes.

After looking at Ryoko for a moment, Tenchi reached out, placed his hand
against her cheek, and gently pulled her head around to face him. He
gazed down into her eyes, seeing the sadness starting to grow in them and
knowing that the prospect of being apart from him was the cause. He
smiled a hopeful smile for her. "Thank you, Ryoko," he said, before
bending down to tenderly kiss her. 

Once his and Ryoko's lips parted, Tenchi turned and noticed Aeka
watching. He cast his eyes down, again caught in the middle of his
emotions for both girls, until he felt the princess squeeze his hand ans
saw her nod reassuringly. She leaned over and gave him a kiss, then lay
herself against him again. For a while, Tenchi sat between both girls in
silence once more, feeling much more at peace with himself than he would
have thought possible a few hours before.

"About this agreement of yours..." he said eventually.

Aeka and Ryoko looked at him rather nervously.

"Was it supposed to be a secret?" he asked.

"Not really," answered Ryoko. "We just figured that we'd handle it."

Aeka nodded. "I'm sorry to say it, but making decisions isn't one of your
strong points, Ten-chan."

"It's in the morning that you, um, hand me off, right?" asked Tenchi.

"At dawn," replied Aeka. "It seemed as good a time as any other."

"Well, next time, if you two get in an argument about it, I'd like to be
awake so I can stop it. From now on, it's noon," he said firmly. He
smiled. "Besides, wouldn't you rather be able to sleep in, instead of
getting up and switching beds?"

The girls looked thoughtful, then nodded in agreement. "Dawn was rather
inconvenient," said Aeka.

"Good. I'm glad you're letting me make *some* decisions about this,"
Tenchi laughed. After a moment, his smile vanished. "I'm sorry again, for
letting you carry the whole weight of this," he said. "And I'm sorry for
not appreciating how hard you tried for me." He sighed and paused for a
moment. "This is the last time I'm going to say this, and then I'll shut
up about it. I know I can't decide for you if you're going to become
friends or not. But don't give up on it because I pressured you too much
and made it hard for you. Give it another try, for yourselves, not for
me. I think you're both missing out on something if you don't."

"You meant it well, Tenchi," said Ryoko.

Aeka nodded, looking thoughtful. "Ten-chan, I was wondering... where will
we sleep tonight?"

Tenchi shook his head. "I don't know. I really didn't get a close look at
the damage, so I'm not sure how long the repairs will take."

"I'm very sorry about that," said Aeka. Ryoko nodded guiltily in
agreement.

"I told you, all that really matters is that you're both OK," said
Tenchi. "I'll fix the rest of it, somehow. Besides, it could have been a
lot worse if Washuu hadn't put the fire out. I'd better thank her."

"No big deal for a genius, really," said Washuu from the doorway nearest
the kitchen. "But you're welcome."

"How long have you been there?" demanded Ryoko suspiciously.

Washuu smiled. "Oh, a little while."

"I really would appreciate it if you'd allow us our privacy," said Aeka,
controlling the anger in her voice.

"Just checking to see if someone listened like they should have," said
Washuu, walking over and sitting down on the chair opposite them. She
looked at Tenchi. "Not bad. I'll give it a B-minus."

"What is she referring to, Ten-chan?" the princess asked.

"We had a talk about some things," he answered. He looked at the
scientist and laughed. "Thanks for the physics lesson, Washuu-chan."

Ryoko and Aeka blinked, then bolted upright off the couch and glowered
wrathfully down at Washuu, their fists clenched trembling at their sides.

Washuu grinned.

"You better not have," warned Ryoko, pointing her finger. "Because if you
did..."

Aeka nodded. "I do hope this is simply a misunderstanding," she said
threateningly.

"Uhhh... did I say something wrong?" asked Tenchi, looking and feeling
very confused.

"Don't worry, girls. It was just advice, not a demonstration," said
Washuu, her mischievous grin softening to a warm smile. "Besides which,
he's got the science wrong. It was chemistry."

Tenchi blinked. "It sounded like physics to *me*," he said.

Ryoko glared down at Washuu. "You'd better not give Tenchi anymore
'science lessons' unless I'm in the classroom to keep an eye on you," she
growled.

"Well put," said Aeka, giving the scientist an equally-harsh look.

"And it's not a half-bad idea, coming from Ryoko," said Washuu, standing
up. 

"What's that supposed to mean?" demanded the pirate.

Washuu started heading towards her lab. "Just follow me," she said, as
she opened the door.

Reluctantly, the three of them followed Washuu into the darkness of her
laboratory, where she stood typing on her console.

"Is there something we're supposed to see?" asked Tenchi, looking around.

"Just hold on," replied Washuu, typing a few commands. "Now," she said,
hitting the final key with a flourish, "class is in session."

Suddenly, chairs and desks appeared out the lab floor directly underneath
Tenchi, Ryoko, and Aeka, forcing them to take a seat or be knocked aside.
They sat. Washuu walked in front of them, dressed in a professor's robes,
and tapped a podium that had appeared in the same manner as the desks.

"We will begin by studying the relationship which you three are in, a
grouping which chemists call a 'covalent bond,'" said Washuu.

Ryoko smirked. "Aeka's the one who's into bondage, not *me*."

A large ceramic cat statue landed on Ryoko's head with a loud "clang!"

"Owwwww!"

"Raise your hand for permission to speak," admonished Washuu. "As I was
saying, a covalent bond is when two atoms are held together by sharing
electrons."

Aeka raised her hand.

"Yes, Aeka-san?" said Washuu, nodding.

"Do you mean, when two are joined because one has an electron and the
other doesn't?" asked the princess.

"No..." replied Washuu.

A large salt shaker landed on Aeka's head.

"Owwww...!"

"...that's *ionic* bonding. The subject of today's class is *covalent*
bonding." 

A large viewscreen appeared behind her, showing two atoms with swarming
electron clouds around them. Strangely enough, the nuclei looked a lot
like Ryoko and Aeka's faces. In addition, one of the electrons looked
like Tenchi. It hovered between the Aeka nucleus and the Ryoko nucleus,
wavering back and forth. Washuu cleared her throat, then raised her
pointer and tapped the Tenchi electron. 

"Atomic theory tells us that a valence electron in a covalent bond will
interact with both nuclei equally, and the overlap of the atoms' orbitals
makes it impossible to determine which atom the electron belongs to. In
fact, it would be more accurate to say that the electron belongs to
*both* atoms. Understand this so far?"

Tenchi, Aeka, and Ryoko nodded tentatively.

"Of course, all that assumes that the molecule we're talking about is a
homogenous diatomic one," added Washuu. "Otherwise, the electron's
position will be influenced by a variety of factors such as..."

She stopped, noticing their blank stares.

"Never mind," she said, shaking her head. "Anyway, the formation of bonds
in general is often an extremely-violent event, involving the release of
large amounts of energy, depending on the reagents in question." The
screen filled with an image of the Hindenburg crashing to the ground in
flames. "Here we see the formation of covalent bonds between hydrogen and
oxygen atoms."

"Ouch," winced Tenchi, under his breath.

"Once the bond is formed, the atoms become a stable molecule, and they
will resist being broken apart..."

Ryoko and Aeka glanced at each other, their expressions very skeptical.

"...but a stable covalent bond will not form between atoms which just
share *one* electron."

Aeka, Tenchi, and Ryoko blinked, looked at each other, then glared at
Washuu. "NO WAY!!!" they shouted simultaneously.

Washuu rapped each of them over the knuckles with her pointer. "Raise
your hands before speaking!" she reminded them.

Then she sighed and took off her cap, placing it on the podium. She
walked behind Ryoko and Aeka and put her hands on their shoulders. "All
I'm saying is that you two need to have something in common besides
Tenchi," Washuu said gently. "Understand?" Then she frowned. "I'm doing
this against my better judgement. Next time I'm just going to change you
into kappa again -- all three of you, this time. It'd be a whole lot
easier, and you've certainly got some wrongdoings to contemplate."

The girls each gave Washuu a nasty look, and Tenchi looked momentarily
terrified, but then he smiled. "Thanks, Washuu-chan."

"You're welcome, Tenchi," replied Washuu.

The crab chime rattled as the door materialized next to it and opened.
Nobuyuki poked his head into the lab. "Ah, so this is where you are," he
said. "Time to start on the repairs. I've got all the things we'll need.
Come on out and help me unload the van."

"Yeah, dad, be right there," answered Tenchi. He started for the door,
then halted in his tracks and looked back at Aeka and Ryoko, unsure if he
should leave when they might need his help, or stay and make them think
he didn't trust them.

"We'll be fine, Tenchi," said Ryoko.

Aeka looked towards the Nobuyuki. "Would it be easier if we assisted you,
otou-sama?" she asked.

Nobuyuki smiled and shook his head. "No, no. Us guys can handle it. You
ladies have had a rough morning." He thought for a moment. "Say, it's a
nice warm day out. Maybe you should go for a swim in the lake." He looked
over at his son. "Coming, Tenchi?"

Tenchi nodded and headed out the door with his father.

"A thousand yen says he was just trying to get a look at us in bathing
suits," said Ryoko, once the men had gone.

"No wager," replied Aeka.

"I'd take the bet, but it's a little hard to answer the question
conclusively without a cortex scan," said Washuu.

Ryoko and Aeka turned around and looked down at her curiously. "What
exactly did you discuss with Ten-chan?" asked the princess.

"Just a couple of things he has a hard time thinking straight about,"
replied Washuu, looking up at the two girls.

"Oh. I see," said Aeka.

Ryoko looked down at her feet. "Umm... uhhh..." She glanced up at
Washuu's face, then down to the floor again for a few more seconds.
"Thanks," she said finally.

Aeka nodded. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," said Washuu.

The girls let themselves out of the lab. Once they had left, Washuu went
back to stand behind the podium, staring wistfully at the professor's cap
that sat atop it. She picked up the pointer and tapped the end against
the floor a couple of times, then raised her face and looked out from
behind the podium at the now-empty desks. Her eyes widened a little but
her gaze didn't waver as a tear welled in one of them and trickled down
her cheek to land on the cap.

"Che," Washuu said, shaking her head. "I'm getting old." She sighed,
summoned her console and pressed a few keys, banishing the classroom back
whence it came before reapplying herself to her latest experiment.

Upstairs, the sound of clashing metal erupting from the television's
speakers filled the living room. Sasami and Katsuhito sat on the floor
right in front of the set, their fingers working the game controllers in
their hands while on the screen a colorfully-robed shrine maiden was busy
repeatedly striking a helpless old samurai in a yellow kimono.

"No, no, no," chided the princess, as the woman's naginata struck home
again with blinding speed. "You need to remember the special moves. Make
him duck down and use the nodachi -- the really big sword, I mean."

Katsuhito frowned at the TV. "I know what a nodachi is, Sasami-chan," he
said. "And I'm not going to let you beat me four times..."

The samurai toppled, felled by a vicious thrust of the shrine-maiden's
weapon.

"...in a row," finished Katsuhito, looking mildly perturbed.

Sasami patted him on the head. "Don't feel bad, ojiisama. You're really
doing much better!" She smiled. "Do you want to try it again?"

Tenchi and Nobuyuki walked in through the open front door, each carrying
some boards. "Alright, we're ready to start on the repairs," Nobuyuki
said to his father-in-law, stopping as he headed up the stairs. "Are you
coming?"

Katsuhito's brow wrinkled contemplatively. He glanced up at Nobuyuki,
then down at the game controller, and thought for a few moments.

Sasami smiled at him. "Another game?" she asked hopefully.

Katsuhito stood up. "I'm very sorry, Sasami-chan. But I really have to go
help Tenchi and his father," he said, walking away with just a hint of
haste in his step.

The young princess sighed in disappointment. She started flipping through
the discs in search of a different game to play, but hadn't decided on
one yet when she heard Ryoko and Aeka enter the room. Seeing them
together and not obviously angry at each other, Sasami's face brightened
immediately. She waited until the sat down on the couch before moving to
sit next to them.

"You're friends again, right? You listened to what I said in the bath?"
asked Sasami hopefully.

Both of the older girls hesitated for a few moments. "We're not upset
anymore. And we're going to try not to fight. Is that good enough,
Sasami-chan?" asked Ryoko.

"You didn't listen," sighed Sasami. Aeka and Ryoko fell silent, and she
got down off the couch, stood in front of them, and frowned. "I want you
hug each other and say you'll be friends. Otherwise, I'm going to be
really, really mad at you," she warned.

Aeka sighed. "Sasami, come sit. I think I should explain this to you,"
she said, patting the seat between her and Ryoko.

Sasami folded her arms across her chest, looked away, and refused to
budge.

Aeka got up off the couch, took hold of Sasami's arm, and gently tugged
her to the couch between herself and Ryoko. "Sasami, this isn't something
which a wise person would try to force," she said. "And it also is unfair
to Ryoko, and to me, for you to try. Whether or not two people are
friends is something for them to decide, not others."

"But you *should* be friends," protested Sasami, pouting sadly. "You
should be."

"I will do my best to treat Ryoko as I would any other person," assured
Aeka, firmly but gently. "If friendship grows from that, so much the
better. But that is something that should happen of its own accord."

Sasami turned and looked at Ryoko, an unspoken question on her face. The
pirate nodded. "Same here, Sasami-chan. Just let us try it our own way.
OK?"

"I guess so," said Sasami, looking very disappointed. "Are you going to
start wearing the necklace oneesama gave you, though?" she asked. The
frown quickly returned to her face. "Even if you're not friends, it's
mean to not wear it, after she gave it to you."

Ryoko turned to Aeka in puzzlement. "What's this necklace she keeps
talking about?"

"You mean she hasn't given it to you yet?" asked Sasami. She hung her
head and looked at her sister. "Did I spoil the surprise, oneesama?" she
asked worriedly. "I'm sorry."

At the word "surprise", the pirate's expression turned from confusion to
mild shock, but she didn't say anything. Aeka sighed. "No, no, you
didn't, Sasami."

Sasami's cheer returned swiftly. "Oh. Why haven't you given it to her,
then?"

Aeka looked away. For several long moments she didn't answer. "I..." she
began finally, then stopped and closed her eyes, briefly falling silent
again. "I threw it into the lake," she said quietly.

Sasami blinked. "But why? You spent so much time in the store looking for
just the right one!"

Once more, Aeka was silent for a while. "I was... angry, Sasami." She
opened her eyes and looked over at Ryoko. "Something which I saw upset me
very much."

"What?" asked Sasami.

The two older girls stared at each other, comprehension dawning on
Ryoko's face. "This was... Tuesday morning?" she asked slowly. "Right?"

Aeka nodded, and she and Ryoko continued their silent stare.

"That's why you were out of the house?" asked Ryoko.

Once more, Aeka nodded.

"So, you were coming to give me a gift, when you...?"

Aeka gave another nod. "Essentially," she said.

Ryoko broke the stare, looked down at her hands, and said absolutely
nothing.

"But what was it you saw that made you upset?" asked Sasami.

"Sasami-chan, I don't think your sister wants to talk about this
anymore," said Ryoko quietly. "OK?"

Sasami looked at Aeka's face, then nodded. "Alright. But if you threw it
in the lake, won't it probably still be there?"

"I... suppose so," said Aeka thoughtfully.

"Well, why don't we go get it, then?" suggested Sasami.

Aeka contemplated this briefly. "I don't know. At the time, it felt so...
final an act. I really hadn't considered retrieving it."

Sasami stood up. "If you don't want to get wet, I'll go get it for you,"
she said.

"No, I should do that," replied Aeka, also standing. "I remember where it
sank, I think."

Ryoko floated up and followed the two princesses out the front door, not
saying anything as they walked out towards the lake. When they reached
the shore, Aeka looked around for a few minutes, trying to catch sight of
a metallic glint amidst the glare of the sunlight reflected off the
water. Finally, she gave up, deciding to try something else. First she
removed the geta and tabi from her feet. Then a ring of small logs
surrounded her as her forcefield crackled into existence. Ryoko gave a
twitch and stifled the reflexive urge to assume a combat stance. Instead,
she stood and watched as Aeka strode carefully out into the lake, the
bubble-shaped field holding back the water as she pushed in, trying not
to slip on the now-exposed mud and pebble lake bottom.

Once she reached what she thought was the place, she began to move
around, ignoring the shimmering water that now reached up to her
shoulders. It took her some minutes, but she eventually found what she
sought. She rolled up the sleeve of her kimono and picked up a
suspiciously-shaped clump of ooze at her feet, smiling triumphantly as
some of the mud slid off to reveal the points of shining gold petals.

"Did you find it?" called Sasami.

Aeka nodded and headed back. Once to shore she washed her feet, then the
necklace, carefully removing all of the silt from the gleaming gold
flower petals and locket before turning around to face Ryoko. After
hesitating for a moment, she decided to proceed the way she'd intended
when the idea had occurred to her, as if she'd never stumbled upon Ryoko
and Tenchi together in the bath and the discussion in the living room
about it had never taken place.

"Ryoko, this is for you," she said, holding out the necklace towards her
and suddenly feeling rather awkward. She bowed. "I hope... I hope that
it's to your liking."

Ryoko returned the bow and accepted the necklace as graciously as she
could, likewise rather uneasy with the unprecedented situation. She
smiled and examined it. "Thanks, it's..." She stopped, her eyes widening
a little when she saw Tenchi's name engraved on the locket. "I mean, it's
really nice. Thanks."

"The pleasure is mine," said Aeka, bowing again. The two stood, staring
at each other, for half a minute before Sasami ventured to speak.

"Aren't you going to put it on?" she asked.

Ryoko blinked. "Oh. Yeah. Forgot about that," she laughed nervously. She
unclasped the necklace and fastened it behind her neck. "There. How do I
look, Sasami-chan?" she asked, unable to break old habits and leave
herself wide open for an insult by asking Aeka.

"Wow! It makes you look even prettier, Ryoko!" gasped Sasami. "And it
matches your eyes, too! Go look in the water at your reflection so you
can see."

Ryoko smiled. Instead of following Sasami's advice, she floated out of
herself. Sasami giggled and Aeka reflexively stepped back a pace in shock
as one of the pirate's halves stopped a couple of meters away from the
other and appraised her appearance.

"It really does look nice, Aeka," said the Ryoko not wearing the
necklace. "Thanks again."

"You're... you're welcome," stuttered the princess, flustered now not
only by Ryoko's rare display of politeness, but also by there being two
of her.

Sasami smiled happily at the two -- or three -- older girls, then,
deciding that things seemed patched up enough between them for her to go
back to the house and watch some TV with Ryo-ohki, she excused herself
and left.

Ryoko didn't really notice Sasami's departure. She was busy looking at
the necklace that hung around her neck -- specifically, the kanji forming
Tenchi's name, cut into the locket. It reminded her a lot of similar
things she'd seen the Earthlings put on their pet cats, the more so
because of the "koneko" nickname Tenchi seemed lately to think was so apt
for her. But it didn't seem so much a claim of "belonging to" -- though
she had said she'd given herself to him -- as it was a statement of
"belonging with." It was as if the name was there to say, "this is who
I'm supposed to be with, and if I'm not, please take me to him, because
he wants me back, and I don't want to be lost and alone anymore."

She wondered if that's what Aeka had meant to say, if she could have made
such a gesture, and what she would have done if, while trying to make it,
she had seen what Aeka had seen.

"Ryoko?" asked the princess, after a while.

Both pirates turned and looked at her. "What?"

"Could you please... not do that?" Aeka asked. "I don't mean to be
impolite, but it's rather... disconcerting to me."

Momentarily realizing what Aeka was talking about, Ryoko nodded and
merged into one self again. She held the locket in her hand and
contemplated it some more.

"That's for when he's at school," said Aeka. "It's to remind you that
even when he's gone, he's with you in your heart." She looked away, once
more feeling awkward and embarrassed. "I thought that it might comfort
you a little during the day. Make it easier for you to accept his
absence." She paused for a moment. "And I also meant show that I
sympathize with you about that, that I understand how you feel, even if I
don't agree with how you want to deal with it."

"Thanks," said Ryoko again, quietly.

"You're welcome. I hope it helps you a little," said the princess.

Ryoko shook her head. "That's not what I meant. Thanks for seeing that
he's in my heart."

A pained expression washed over Aeka's face for a moment. She looked down
at the ground. "Actually... I'm glad that he is," she said, though her
sad tone clashed with her words. "It will be a comfort to me, when..."
Her voice trailed off, and she sighed.

"When what?" asked the pirate, now on the verge of amazement. Aeka was
*happy* that Ryoko loved Tenchi?

"I'll explain later," said Aeka.

Ryoko nodded and idly examined the necklace a little more, scarcely able
to believe what she was hearing Aeka say. Suddenly, she realized
something that had been just below the surface of her thoughts. Her
memories raced back through the years to a field of flowers, beautiful
flowers, all of them in bloom. She ran the chain of gold petals through
her fingers, thinking of other blossoms, real ones, soft and fragrant,
strung together in a similar fashion.

"This isn't just about Tenchi," she said -- a statement of fact, not a
question.

Aeka nodded and smiled a little. "Ah. You noticed that?"

"How old were we when that happened?" asked Ryoko.

"I'm not sure," answered Aeka.

"Anyway..." Ryoko said, offering her hand, "apology accepted, princess."

Aeka frowned at her.

Ryoko laughed.

After a moment, so did Aeka. But her mirth died all too quickly, and
melancholy descended on her like darkness at dusk. "Ryoko, there are some
things I need to discuss with you."

"Another talk? Haven't we been doing a little too much of that lately?"
asked Ryoko. "I was going to go pop in on Tenchi."

"Yes, but these are matters of the utmost importance," said Aeka. "I
believe you'll agree with me, once I explain. In fact, I think you'll
consider it rather good news."

"OK, if you say so," said Ryoko. "Back inside, or out here?"

"Under Ryuu-oh," answered the princess. "This needs to be private. I
don't want anyone else overhearing us."

Ryoko nodded. "Meet me there. I'll go get the tea," she said, before
vanishing.

Upstairs in Tenchi's bedroom, he and his father and grandfather were busy
clearing the wreckage in preparation for their repairs. The bed and the
potted plant were the only pieces of furniture still intact, everything
else having borne the brunt of one of the girl's attacks or been struck
by ricocheting plasma. While Tenchi carefully filled a trash can with the
broken glass, Katsuhito and Nobuyuki worked on the broken pieces of wood
that crowded the doorway -- the aftermath of the violent interaction of
Ryoko's energy bolt and the guardian's forcefield. Nobuyuki's eyes
widened and Katsuhito smiled just a little as they pulled away one of the
last fallen boards and looked underneath.

"I, uh, found something, Tenchi," said Nobuyuki, holding up Aeka's whip.

Tenchi glanced up from his work, blushed, then quickly walked over and
relieved his father of it. "Thanks, dad," he said nervously, poking his
head out the door. "Sasami-chan!" he called.

"Be right there!" came the girl's voice from down the stairs.

Nobuyuki stared at the whip in utter disbelief after nearly falling over
in shock. "That's... Sasami-chan's???" he gasped. "I thought for sure it
was Ryoko's." He frowned at Tenchi. "Now, son, I know I've always given
you a hard time about your shyness problem, but she's only eight years
old. That's just not right!"

Tenchi face-faulted. "DAAAAAD! HOW CAN YOU EVEN *THINK* THAT?!?!" he
shouted, once he got up. "I'd never do that to Sasami-chan! Besides, I'm
having a hard enough time with Ae-chan and Ryoko as it is!"

"Never do what, Tenchi?" asked Sasami.

"Ummm..." he said, cringing and turning around. "Uhhhh... I'd..." He
self-consciously put his hand on the back of his head and laughed in
embarrassment. "I'd... I'd never imagine you having to use one of these,"
he said, handing the whip to her. "Like I said last Saturday." He gulped
and started to sweat. "Remember?" he asked hopefully.

Sasami smiled. "You're really sweet, Tenchi," she giggled.

Tenchi exhaled. "Anyway, put that back wherever Ae-chan keeps it, OK?"

The princess nodded and left, and Tenchi relaxed a little bit more until
he noticed his father staring at him.

"That belongs to Aeka?" asked Nobuyuki.

"It's not what you think, dad," said Tenchi defensively. "Don't say
anything about it, alright? She gets offended really easily when it comes
to that. It's some kind of tradition, back on Jurai."

Katsuhito nodded sagely. "I won't say a word, son," promised Nobuyuki,
and the three of them went back to removing debris.

"Dad?" asked Tenchi, after a few more minutes.

Nobuyuki looked up. "What, son?"

"Did you and mom have any arguments as bad as this one?" he asked.
"Without the explosions and all that, I mean," Tenchi added hastily. "I
was wondering how you handled it."

"I told you, we didn't have that many arguments," laughed Nobuyuki. "Your
mom always had a stronger personality than me, from the very start.
*MUCH* stronger. I learned pretty quick to just agree with her. Things
were a whole lot easier that way."

"I can't believe you never disagreed about anything at all," said Tenchi
skeptically.

"Oh, we did, sometimes. Just not very often," Nobuyuki replied. "And I
always lost anyway. But your mother never gloated about it, so I really
didn't mind. Besides, she was so sweet and gentle most of the time that
when she got mad... well, whenever she'd frown at me and say 'I've had
enough! I will not allow this!', suddenly whatever it was we disagreed
about just seemed so unimportant, compared to seeing a smile on her face
again." He sighed. "She had the prettiest smile..."

Tenchi became rather quiet. Katsuhito nodded. "She had a very strong
will. I was always quite proud of her for that," he said. "And you're
right about the smile, too."

"What about you and baachan?" asked Tenchi, turning to his grandfather.

"Hmmm... since when do you listen to my advice?" asked Katsuhito, looking
just a little amused. "Are you sure you're feeling well?"

"I just want to handle it better than I've been doing," replied Tenchi,
downcast. "Better than this morning, anyway."

Katsuhito nodded. "Commendable. And wise. Now I know you're sick. Perhaps
we should have Washuu take your temperature."

Tenchi cringed and an expression of utter terror filled his face. "T-t-
that's not funny, jiichan!"

"Well, your grandmother and I had our share of arguments. But we usually
managed to resolve it without too much fuss, after we'd been married for
a few years. We both learned to avoid the things that led to making each
other angry," Katsuhito explained.

"And when you didn't avoid it?" asked Tenchi.

"If things had become too heated, we would always have a tea ceremony
afterwards, to put everything into proper perspective," said the old man.

Tenchi looked puzzled. "Tea ceremony? Isn't that a little old-fashioned?"

"Perhaps, but it served its purpose very well -- tranquility reached
through harmony and respect. Sitting down as equals for the cha-no-yu
always reminded us that, even though we had disagreed, it wasn't
important who won or lost, but that we chose the right path, because we
walked that path together, side by side."

Thinking this over, Tenchi slowly nodded. It reminded him of what Washuu
and his father had said, about Ryoko and Aeka being afraid of him. That
wasn't what he wanted at all. In fact, now that he had thought it over
during the recent days, he realized that their confidence -- except when
it came to him -- was one of the things he loved them for. He wanted to
respect them, hard though that had been sometimes when they were so
overly-eager for the slightest sign of approval or affection from him. In
a way, their refusal to immediately seek his forgiveness had actually
felt... good. 

Then it occurred to him that the idea didn't just apply to respect
between himself and the girls. It was true between Aeka and Ryoko as
well.

"Thanks, jiichan," he said. "Do you think maybe you could tell me how to
hold the ceremony? I know basically what you're supposed to do, but I
want to have one with the girls, as soon as I can, and I want to do it
the right way."

Katsuhito shook his head. "Then you need to curb your impatience," he
said. "I'm no tea master, but even a novice knows that haste has no place
in the cha-no-yu. The spirit of your preparations will show through in
the ceremony itself. Rushing them is a very grave insult to your guests."

Tenchi hung his head. "Sorry, I forgot about that."

"We'll discuss it later," said Katsuhito.

"I guess it's silly to expect things with me and the girls to be a lot
like how they were with you two and mom and baachan," said Tenchi.
"Besides the sharing problem, at least you weren't from different
planets."

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe that's a little bit of it," said Nobuyuki. "But
I think it's more that you don't seem to do much with them outside of the
bedroom. There has to be more to a relationship than that, son. If you
put too much of an emphasis on sex, it's unhealthy."

Tenchi turned and stared at his father, not entirely sure if he'd heard
him correctly.

Nobuyuki blinked. "Is something wrong, Tenchi?"

"No, dad," replied Tenchi slowly. "No, nothing at all."

"Oh. Well, anyway, I'm glad to help. Don't be afraid to ask me for more
advice. I've got plenty of experience," said Nobuyuki. He pulled himself
up a little straighter. "Your old dad was quite the ladies man in his
younger days."

"Hmmm... That's strange," said Katsuhito, looking contemplative. "I seem
to recall Achika once telling me that you'd never dated before the two of
you started going out."

Nobuyuki laughed nervously, picked up a board, and started repairing one
of the blast holes in the wall. Katsuhito and Tenchi began work as well,
and as Tenchi hammered in the nails he mulled all of the advice he'd
received that morning. 

An idea began to form in his head. At first, he resisted it -- the very
concept made him extremely nervous. He warily circled the plan that had
started, half against his will, to take shape. The more he thought about
it, the more dangerous consequences came up, but it also started
increasingly to make sense. It was a little crazy, but it definitely
might work. Besides, he knew the level of risks the girls were willing to
dare for his sake. This was the merest fraction of that.

He finished one board, then moved over by the window to repair some of
the damage there. Outside, he could see Aeka sitting underneath Ryuu-oh,
seemingly lost in thought. The princess was only slightly startled when
Ryoko phased into the air in front of her and set down a tray of tea
before taking a seat next to Aeka. Looking back to the house and catching
sight of Tenchi, Ryoko waved and Aeka, seeing the pirate do so, followed
her gaze, then waved as well.

Tenchi waved back and nodded to himself. They deserved for him to at
least try. But first, he needed to talk to Washuu, once the repairs were
completed. He picked up his hammer and went back to work.

Ryoko nibbled at a cookie and waited while Aeka pensively sipped some
tea. Every so often the princess glanced over at her for a moment, then
looked down at her tea, weighing in her mind her next course of action as
Tenchi had been doing. Finally she overcame her apprehension and spoke.

"Ryoko, I'm about to tell you something which you could use against me,
if you so chose," she said. "I would never have told you this before. I
want you to understand that by telling you now, I'm giving you my trust."

Ryoko paused briefly in thought, then nodded. "OK. What's on your mind?"

"First, I want you to promise that this stays between us. No one else
must hear of it, especially not Ten-chan and Sasami," she said. "Is that
understood?"

Ryoko nodded again. "Sure."

"Do you remember what I said on Saturday, about the conduct that is
expected of me in matters of marriage?" asked Aeka.

"Yeah, sort of. You said your parents don't want you sleeping around, and
that your dad would get really, really pissed if he found out about you
and Tenchi. Is that what you're worried about -- that your dad won't
think he's good enough?" Ryoko frowned. She didn't at all like the
prospect of Tenchi becoming Emperor of Jurai, but she decided for the
moment to treat the subject hypothetically. Besides, she was almost
certain that he would much rather stay on Earth.

Aeka nodded. "That's understating the matter. My mother might be a little
shocked, but I think she would understand. Father would be simply
furious. And not just him. Others in my family would also be angry. And
many, many of the Juraian people, as well. The idea of an Earthling
commoner sitting on the throne would not be a popular one at all," she
explained, feeling terribly ashamed on behalf of her relatives and
subjects.

Ryoko's eyes narrowed as she gave Aeka a hard stare.

"You know very well that isn't how I think of him," said Aeka firmly,
holding the pirate's gaze. "But it won't change things if I delude myself
about how others see him."

"I just don't like the idea of someone thinking Tenchi's not good enough
for something," said Ryoko angrily.

"I didn't say I was apologizing for them. I'm not."

Ryoko nodded, then looked puzzled again. "But I don't get it. What does
it matter what they think of him? It's not like they have any choice over
whether or not you're going to be queen. And anyway, can't you just have
their heads chopped of or something if they start badmouthing you or
Tenchi?"

Aeka sighed. "It's not that simple, Ryoko. As I told you before, I am
expected to choose a husband according to how a marriage with him would
strengthen Jurai. I am not supposed to allow my personal feelings to
enter into the decision, except perhaps whether I consider the man
honorable or not. Certainly Ten-chan's character is not in question, but
he commands no fleets, no armies. He holds no planets. His bloodline is
completely unknown, and he comes from a backwater world. Those things
don't matter to me, but if I went before the people of Jurai and told
them that, it would be seen as treason. Even if my father approved of my
decision, he would be forced to remove me from the line of succession.
Doing otherwise would mean casting Jurai into civil war."

Ryoko tried her best to keep from looking pleased at the revelation that
Tenchi would never have to sit on Jurai's throne. And besides, if the
Juraians couldn't appreciate Tenchi the way she did, Ryoko had no
sympathy for them at all. Putting those thoughts aside, she turned and
looked at the princess again. "Aeka, if it came down to having Tenchi or
being Queen of Jurai, we both know which you'd choose."

"Yes, quite so," said Aeka, nodding before she sighed once more. "But
again, it's more complex than that. Firstly, Sasami is next in line to
the throne, after me. And once it was known what I had done, the rest of
the family would force my father to see to it that she never had the
opportunity to do likewise." Aeka hung her head guiltily and continued in
a sorrowful voice. "They would make her live with her heart chained to
the throne, Ryoko. I do not wish such a thing on her."

"Neither do I," agreed Ryoko thoughtfully. Her mind went back to her
Sunday night conversation with Sasami, on the subject of the princess'
crush on Tenchi and the young girl's concern about whether she'd find
someone of her own. The prospect of Sasami's just-awakening awareness of
romantic love being strangled didn't sit well with Ryoko at all.

"Ordinarily, as second in line, Sasami's marriage would be less
important, so she would have at least some choice in who her husband
would be. Were she to become First Princess, she would have none. And in
any case, she doesn't want to be Empress. She's said so. If I were to
abdicate, I would be stealing my sister's freedom, and piling all my
duties and burdens onto her." Aeka shook her head. "I don't know if I
could be that selfish."

Reflexively, Ryoko thought of a caustic reply or two, then drove them out
of her mind. "And secondly?"

"Even if I said I was giving up my claim to the throne, many would not
believe it. And if my father forced me to, few would believe that I would
accept that, either. They would suspect that I was biding my time,
gathering off-world allies while I waited for them to relax their
vigilance," her voice started to break, "intending to have Sasami
assassinated and place myself in power by force."

Ryoko's jaw dropped as she stared, stunned, at Aeka for several seconds.
Finally, still a little shocked, she shook her head slowly. "Look, I've
thought some pretty nasty stuff about you over the years, but even I know
you'd never hurt Sasami-chan."

"Thank you, Ryoko," said Aeka quietly. "I find it... extremely strange...
to consider that you might think more highly of me than some of my own
subjects. But such a deed wouldn't be without precedent. Treachery and
ambition have gone hand-in-hand before, and intrigue is nothing new to
the Royal Court."

"Almost sounds like a space pirate guild," said Ryoko.

Aeka blanched, her face suddenly turning white as a ghost's.

Ryoko blinked, confused by the princess' reaction but realized that Aeka
probably found it insulting to hear her family compared to criminals. The
pirate folded her hands over her knees and sat in silent thought for
while, and in the meantime Aeka gradually relaxed again. "If they wanted
Sasami as queen, and they thought you were going to try to kill her,
they'd try to kill you first, wouldn't they?" Ryoko asked finally.

"Yes," said Aeka.

"Is that why you're telling me all this? So I'll cover your back, because
Tenchi cares about you?" asked Ryoko.

Aeka shook her head. "No. That's not it at all. I'm asking you to protect
Ten-chan."

Ryoko instantly tensed up, jerking her head around to look straight at
Aeka. "What?!"

"I've told you what would happen if my involvement with Ten-chan was
widely known on Jurai, or if some of the more opportunistic members of
the royal family found out," said Aeka. "If I can come to these
conclusions, so could others. Others who would immediately move to ensure
that the knowledge remained hidden, so that these consequences would
never come to pass." She looked off into the distance, a fearful look on
her face, and her voice shook when she spoke again. "Rumors that the
First Princess had taken a lover could be dismissed far more easily if no
evidence of his existence could be found."

Ryoko slowly clenched and unclenched her fists. "Who?"

"Perhaps my father, for one, though I'd like to think he wouldn't do such
a thing. But many of my relatives would consider it their duty to protect
Jurai from possible strife. Compared to the prospect of civil war or
rebellion breaking out on Jurai, Ten-chan's life wouldn't matter to them
in the slightest." Her voice started to shake again. "Some them might...
might even think that they were protecting my honor in the eyes of the
people of Jurai. They would believe that to kill him would spare me
public shame, like removing an unsightly stain." She slowly lowered her
gaze, her eyes wide in horror. "Do you have any idea how that makes me
feel?"

Ryoko didn't answer, keeping her jaw tightly clenched and trying to
control the desire to lash out at something to vent her mounting rage.
"You know damn well you don't have to ask me to protect Tenchi," she said
once she had calmed down a little. "If one of your relatives lays a
finger on him -- any of them, I don't care if it's your dad, or your mom,
or your brother..."

"I don't have a brother," said Aeka.

"Whatever," Ryoko nearly snarled. "Anybody. I don't care who. If I even
*think* they're going to hurt Tenchi, there's going to be a closed-casket
funeral back on Jurai for you to go to. Understand?"

"My mother would never even consider harming Ten-chan," replied Aeka. "My
father... I'm not sure. But as to anyone else," she raised her head and
managed an expression of grim pride, "should they threaten him, you may
do as you please with whatever is left after I am finished with them."

"I won't argue with that," said Ryoko approvingly. "When's all this going
to start happening, anyway?"

Aeka's proud look drained away. She shivered and fell silent.

"Well?" asked Ryoko, growing impatient after a minute or so.

"If I can handle things properly, it won't happen. That's something else
I need to talk with you about," said Aeka.

Ryoko frowned. "Wait a minute. You just said that if your family finds
out, some of them would try to kill Tenchi. Won't they start getting
suspicious if you stay away for a few years? Or if they ask you to come
home for something, and you don't go? What happens when they send
somebody to check up on you?"

Aeka closed her eyes, but didn't answer.

"I asked, what happens when someone from Jurai drops by to find out
what's going on?" asked Ryoko, starting to get angry. "What are we going
to do?"

"What I will do is say my farewells," said Aeka in a quiet, trembling
voice. "And what you will do is rejoice in the knowledge that from that
moment on you need never share Ten-chan's heart with me again."

Ryoko's eyes widened as she stared in silent shock. "You're just going
to... leave?" she asked, once she found her voice again.

"I will have no choice but to go," answered the princess. "I refuse to
endanger Ten-chan any more than I have already done." The princess
swallowed the lump forming in her throat, and continued in a trembling
yet resolute voice. "I love him too much to expose him to such peril. So
when they send a ship for me, I will hide my tears and smile, and pretend
that our love does not exist, that he has merely been a kind host to me."

"Why don't you just tell him to crawl under a rock like a cockroach or
something?" growled Ryoko.

Aeka closed her eyes again and lowered her head.

Ryoko sighed. "Sorry. It's just... I told you, I don't like the idea of
people looking down on him."

"If I thought it wouldn't endanger him, I would proclaim my love for all
of Jurai to hear," said Aeka. "This very moment, without hesitation."

"Why are you telling me all this?" demanded Ryoko. "You know you don't
have to ask me to protect Tenchi, any more than I'd have to ask you."

"I'm telling you these things, because I have a favor I wish to ask of
you," Aeka said.

"Go on."

"Kiyone brought me a message from Jurai this morning, that indicated that
it won't be very long before my father sends for me. Perhaps weeks,
perhaps days, perhaps even tomorrow. Before the Startika festival on
Jurai, in any event. My remaining time with Ten-chan may be very short,
and I don't want it wasted or filled with bitterness and strife." She
looked over at Ryoko. "This has nothing to do with his desire for us to
become friends. All I ask is, will knowing that I will leave soon make it
easier for there to be peace between us while I'm still here?"

Ryoko simply stared back at her, trying with great difficulty to digest
the revelation of Aeka's imminent departure.

"That's the favor I ask of you, Ryoko: that whenever you see us together,
you simply remind yourself that the day is fast approaching when you'll
finally be rid of me," Aeka said. "Every moment I have left with him is
precious to me," she added. "I don't want to spend them fighting with
you, instead. So, are we agreed?"

Slowly, Ryoko nodded. "Yeah," she said quietly. "Yeah."

"You don't have to pretend to be upset, Ryoko," said Aeka, her voice
bitter. "This is what you've wanted, from the moment I first arrived."

Ryoko looked away and said nothing.

"Please take care of him. I don't think I resent the feelings you have
for each other, anymore. When I return to Jurai, the knowledge that he is
with someone whom loves him as much as I do will give me some solace." A
tear rolled out of Aeka's eye and started down her cheek. "Love him, and
keep him safe, Ryoko." Another tear followed the path of the first.
"Please."

Ryoko swallowed the lump forming in her throat. "Don't worry, Aeka. I
will."

"Thank you," said Aeka, sniffling. More tears began to flow. It seemed to
her that weeping was almost all she had done of late, and she wondered if
it was all she would be destined to do from then on. Out of the corner of
her eye she noticed the tear-blurred shape of Ryoko, and her face
reddened with embarrassment at having the pirate see her like this.
"That's all I needed to tell you," she said weakly. "I'd prefer to be
alone now, please."

Ryoko sat for a moment, sympathy rising unbidden in her. Despite the
welcome knowledge that Tenchi would soon be hers and only hers, she
couldn't help but feel sorry for Aeka, because she knew how painful it
would be to suffer the same thing. She was about to get up when a memory
came to her of words spoken in Tenchi's room on Monday afternoon.

"Come to gloat, huh, princess?"

"No, Ryoko. I came to see if you needed someone to talk to. I'm sorry to
have disturbed you."

After briefly hesitation, Ryoko reached over and put her hand on Aeka's
shoulder. The princess turned towards her, startled.

"Want me to go?" asked Ryoko.

Aeka thought about it, then shook her head and lowered it again, tears
still trickling down her face. Ryoko kept her hand where it was. Doing so
was a lot less difficult than she would have thought. After a while, she
gave the princess a pat or two, but that was the maximum gesture she
could find it in herself to show.

"Does Tenchi know about any of this?" Ryoko asked, once Aeka had stopped
crying and started to dry her eyes.

"He knows that my family may summon me back to Jurai, and that some of
them wouldn't approve of him. But he doesn't know how soon I'm likely to
have to leave."

"Going to tell him?"

Aeka shook her head. "No. I want whatever time I have left with him to be
overshadowed by that as little as possible. I don't want him to think
about it. And I'm going to do my best to forget." She dabbed her cheeks
delicately with the sleeve of her kimono. "There is one thing that occurs
to me, however."

"What?"

"Should things go badly, and someone comes to try to assassinate me..."
began Aeka.

Ryoko nodded. "Don't worry. They won't get past me."

"That's not what I meant," said Aeka. "If that happens, Ten-chan would
try to protect me." She turned to Ryoko, her face grim. "You must not let
him do that. No matter what he does, no matter what he says to you, take
him and flee."

"Do you have any idea how pissed he'll be at me if I do that?" demanded
Ryoko.

"Yes," replied Aeka. "Do it anyway. It will be far too dangerous for him.
Tell him that I asked you to." She thought for a moment. "And if I can
know that he is safe, I won't be distracted, and I'll be able to protect
myself more ably. Tell him that. Perhaps he'll understand."

Ryoko didn't answer for a few seconds. "Think you could do the same thing
for me?" she asked, after a while.

Aeka looked over at her. "What do you mean?" she asked curiously.

"I told you about Nagi, remember?"

"Yes. Do you think she'll be back?" asked Aeka worriedly.

"Uh-uh. I *know* she'll be back," answered Ryoko. "I won't be able to
beat her. If it weren't for Tenchi, I'd just run, the same as always. But
if I did that, she'd just come back and grab Tenchi to use as bait. I'll
have to fight." A worried look passed over her face. "I'll lose. And
Nagi's not the merciful type."

Aeka nodded. "She didn't strike me as such."

"But if someone was protecting Tenchi, I could leave and come back once
she'd decided to give up for a while," Ryoko said.

"Of course I'll protect him. This needn't even be said," replied Aeka.
"But if she can defeat you, she could probably defeat me as well. That's
no guarantee of Ten-chan's safety."

Ryoko shook her head. "I don't think you'll have to fight her. She wants
my head, bad, but she's not crazy enough to attack Juraian royalty."

"She did so on Venus, if you recall," reminded Aeka.

"Oh. Yeah, you're right," sighed Ryoko.

"Never mind," said Aeka. "Perhaps I wouldn't be a match for her by
myself, but Azaka and Kamidake are not at all to be trifled with."

Ryoko frowned, remembering her earlier experience along those lines.

"I'm... sorry about that," said Aeka.

"Forget about it," said Ryoko.

Aeka thought for a moment. "This is why you were practicing against Ten-
chan's grandfather yesterday, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Ryoko sighed. "That's why I wanted you out of there so bad this
morning, too. I wanted to talk to him about it."

"I see," said Aeka. "Well, I'll do my utmost while I am here. But I've
told you, I won't be staying much longer." She thought for a moment.
"Perhaps you should ask Kiyone and Mihoshi to help you with this. I know
she keeps Yagami in orbit almost directly overhead. Perhaps they could
arrange some way to alert you, should Nagi's ship enter the system."

Ryoko blinked. "You might have something there. I just never thought of
asking them. I mean, they're GP, and I'm on the Most Wanted list."

"They'd have tried to arrest you long ago if that's all there was to it,"
Aeka pointed out.

"I suppose." She turned at looked Aeka. "So, we're agreed? I'll protect
him from your relatives, no matter what. You do the same about Nagi, as
long as you're here?"

The princess extended her hand, and Ryoko took it. "I think this is an
agreement we can hold to more easily," said Aeka.

"You're right about that," said Ryoko.

"Regarding this morning... I'd like to think that will be the last fight
between us."

"I'm pretty sure it will be. It's just not fun anymore."

Aeka stared at her. "'Fun'??? What in the world are you talking about?"

Ryoko laughed. "It was fun. Every time except this morning. Don't kid
yourself."

"I think you have a slightly different perspective on this than I do,"
said Aeka, frowning.

"Whatever you say, princess." She picked up the tray and stood. "Anyway,
it's almost soap opera time. We'd better get back."

Aeka quickly got to her feet as well. "Oh, yes. Of course." She looked
around to make sure she hadn't left anything. "Let's hurry. I don't want
to miss the beginning."

Walking briskly along the path, the two girls headed back to the house.

Later that day, the Masaki family sat down to an early dinner, Sasami
having fixed an especially large and hearty meal to satisfy the appetites
the men had worked up during the labors.

"Well, the damage looked much worse than it really was," said Nobuyuki,
between bites from his second bowl of beef and potato stew. "Most of what
got blown up was the furniture. But the windows are fixed, and the holes
are all patched, so the room itself is pretty much back to normal."

"Except for the door," Tenchi reminded him.

"Oh, yeah. I forgot," said Nobuyuki. "Well, that's no big deal. It's not
like you have to worry about someone sneaking in."

Ryoko and Aeka frowned, and their knuckles whitened around their
chopsticks. Tenchi suddenly looked extremely worried.

"Anyway, I'll get a new one as soon as the store has them in stock,"
Nobuyuki said.

Sasami blinked. "But why don't you just take the door from one of the
other rooms that no one sleeps in?" the princess asked, confused. "They 
look like they're the same size."

Aeka and Ryoko turned and stared at each other for a moment, then smiled.

"An excellent suggestion. You're very wise for one so young, Sasami,"
said Aeka.

"Yeah, great idea, Sasami-chan!" agreed Ryoko. "Don't you think so,
Tenchi?"

Tenchi nodded and quickly stood up. "We can use the door from dad's
office," he said. "I'll go get started right now."

Nobuyuki very briefly frowned at Sasami, then sighed.

"You can do that after we practice, Tenchi," said Katsuhito.

Tenchi stopped. "Jiichan, I'm kind of tired. Aren't you? We just spent
all day doing repairs."

Katsuhito took another bite of food. "Tired, eh?"

"Well, yes," said Tenchi.

"Then let's hope you're always blessed with courteous foes," said the old
man. "That way you'll only have to fight when it's convenient for you."

Tenchi sighed. "Alright, alright. Can we wait until we're done eating,
though?" he asked, sitting back down.

Katsuhito nodded. "Of course. Very few enemies are so rude that they
won't let you finish dinner."

Once the meal was over and the table cleared away, Tenchi, Aeka, and
Ryoko left the house and headed up the path towards the shrine, Katsuhito
having already gone ahead of them. As they walked up the steps, Ryoko
slowly mustered the courage she would need to ask him what she had
intended to that morning. They were halfway up the slope when she spoke.

"Tenchi, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, Ryoko."

"I really need to practice against your grandfather." Seeing him frown,
Ryoko pressed on, a slight hint of urgency in her voice. "It's important.
Please tell him it's OK."

Tenchi sighed and shook his head. "No, Ryoko. I don't want you to. I just
don't like it."

"I'm not going to get hurt. It's just practice."

"I don't care. I'm not going to let jiichan hit you."

Ryoko floated closer and put her head on Tenchi's shoulder. "I really
need to do this, Tenchi."

He shook his head again, then put his arm around her. "No. I'm sorry."

"Please?" she asked again.

"No, Ryoko. Now will you please stop pestering me about it?"

Ryoko hung her head, wondering if she should explain the Nagi situation
to him, and if that would change his mind.

"Ten-chan," said Aeka.

Tenchi turned and looked at her. "Yes?"

Aeka frowned sternly at him. "You're being ridiculous." 

"I am?" he asked, becoming a little nervous on seeing the look on her
face. Next to him, Ryoko also turned to stare in surprise at Aeka.

"Yes. Extremely so, as a matter of fact," said the princess in a firm
tone of voice. "And I said as much to you yesterday, if you recall."

"Oh," said Tenchi. He silently contemplated this for a minute or so, and
the three of them continued walking. Once they reached the top of the
stairs, he stopped and thought some more. Finally, he sighed again and
nodded. "Alright. I'll tell jiichan that it's OK," he said.

Ryoko grabbed him in an intense, joyous hug. "Thanks, Tenchi."

"You're welcome. Just try to do it when I'm not around, OK?" he asked.
"Maybe it's silly, but I don't want to have to watch somebody hit you,
even if it's just practice." He looked up, seeing his grandfather step
out of the shrine, holding two bokken. "Hi, jiichan."

"Ready to begin?" asked Katsuhito.

Tenchi nodded and disengaged himself from the girls, who sat down to
watch. Ryoko stared silently at Aeka for while before speaking. "Ummm...
thanks," she said at last.

"I said I'd help you protect him against Nagi, didn't I?" replied Aeka.

"Yeah. Thanks anyway, though," said Ryoko.

"You're welcome."

After a swinging his bokken through the air a few times to warm up,
Tenchi turned and faced off against his grandfather. "Jiichan, about
Ryoko practicing against you. I'm not going to say anything about it
anymore. If it's OK with you and her, it's OK with me."

"Hmmm... less than a week, and already you're being ordered around by
your woman," said Katsuhito, shaking his head.

"Women," corrected Tenchi. "And I told you, they're not mine. They're
their own."

The hint of a smile played across the old man's lips. "Interesting," he
said.

"Just one thing," Tenchi said.

"Yes?"

"If I find out you've made her strip and stand under the waterfall, like
you did to me last summer..." he warned in a low growl, his eyes
narrowing.

"I see. So it's threats for old jiichan today, is it?" He raised his
bokken. "I think you need to be reminded how to speak to your elders."

Tenchi raised his weapon in turn. "Ready when you are."

The two of them stared each other down for half a minute. Then Katsuhito
spoke. "That's quite a pair of swords you have there."

Tenchi nodded. "I know, jiichan. And thanks for teaching me the Second
Rule. I should have listened to you more."

Katsuhito blinked. "'Practice and cultivate the science'?"

"Uhh... I thought it was 'Become aware of what is not obvious,'" said
Tenchi.

"That's the Seventh Rule," said Katsuhito, shaking his head sadly.
"Sometimes I wonder if everything I tell you goes in one ear and out the
other."

A grin broke across Tenchi's face as he altered the heft of his sword a
little. "Want to find out, jiichan?"

Katsuhito nodded.

Tenchi studied his grandfather's stance for a few moments. Then, with a
loud, confident battle cry, he charged.




Hasheen!

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Happosai (happosai@jps.net), devout member of the Ryoko Forever Fan Club, 
#WASHU# lab assistant in training, and Silver Knight of the Knightly 
Order of Mihoshi Enthusiasts.

Read Aikan Muyo at http://ucsu.colorado.edu/~andersor/fanfic/fanfic.html
Voted Best Tenchi Muyo Fanfic Spring'98, GenSao's TM! Fanfic Archive!