Aikan Muyo
Chapter 6 - No Need for Discipline


     "Kiss the boot of shiny, shiny leather,
      Shiny leather in the dark.
      Tongue of thongs, the belt that does await you,
      Strike, dear mistress, and cure his heart.

      Severin, Severin, speak so slightly,
      Severin, down on your bended knee.
      Taste the whip, in love not given lightly,
      Taste the whip, now plead for me."
        -- "Venus In Furs", Velvet Underground


The birds outside Tenchi's bedroom sang to greet the warm sun as its
rays streamed down through the window, just as they had three days
before. This time, however, no dark, menacing shadow lurked, no swift
and graceful hunter stalked an unsuspecting victim. Instead, the
predator slept curled up next to her prey, her head resting on his
chest. Her yellow eyes were closed peacefully, and her ear lay
directly over his heart. She'd fallen asleep listening to it beat.

After a while, the chirping and the beams of sunlight made Ryoko stir.
She sniffed for a moment, then sighed happily. Her eyes opened. She
smiled as she looked at Tenchi's face.

He was still sleeping.

Ryoko grinned, deciding that she was going to alter that. She floated
over the bed. Then her head passed through the covers and down between
Tenchi's legs, and she began to do her very best to wake him up.

It took a while. She'd really tired him out, the previous night. But
she was patient. It wasn't long before he was squirming,
semi-conscious and covered in sweat. Eventually he was completely
awake, still perspiring but holding mostly still.

Underneath the covers, Ryoko paused and smiled. There was obviously no
need to split herself and hold him down, this morning. And she wasn't
going to be interrupted at the last second, either. She teased him for
a bit, kissing and licking. Then she resumed, enjoying the rising
tension in his body as she brought him closer and closer.

Tenchi arched his back and moaned "Ryoko!"

Ryoko heard him, and she held him tight, swallowing until he was
completely finished.

After she cleaned up, she floated above the bed, then got under the
covers the mundane way and lay down next to him.

"Ohayo, Tenchi," she said, smiling.

"Ohayo, Ryoko," he answered, holding her. With his free hand, he wiped
the sweat from his brow. "I think I could get used to waking up like
that."

Ryoko gently scratched his chest with her nails. "You're going to have
to," she promised.

"Is there a particular reason why you're so interested in doing that,
anyway?" he asked.

"If you *remember*, Tenchi, the very first thing you did when  you met
me was try to get me to drink something," she replied, chuckling. "So
what do you expect?"

He shook his head. "You've got a very dirty mind, Ryoko."

"Thank you. I try." She smiled and stretched, then sighed. "I can't
believe I'm finally here."

"Hmmm?"

"With you, I mean."

"I'm glad you are, Koneko," he said, brushing her hair with his
fingers.

Ryoko laughed. "`Koneko'?"

"How about `Kaizoku-chan', instead?"

Ryoko moved her face close to Tenchi's and looked at him, smiling but
serious.

"I'll be your kitten whenever you want me to, Tenchi. Pet me, and I'll
purr. And you're this pirate's most precious treasure." She paused,
and held his gaze. "But I want to be more than that to you. Much
more."

He hung his head. "You are, Ryoko. Believe me."

She kissed him. "Thank you, Tenchi." She sighed. "I know you meant it
well. But for a while I'd thought you'd forgotten all about me. Even
my name. So I want to hear you say it."

"I'm sorry," he said, squeezing her tight. "I love you, Ryoko. I think
I have, for a while now. I was just too scared to see it."

She clasped his hand and closed her eyes. "You don't know how much
I've wanted to hear you say that, Tenchi," she said softly.

Tenchi kissed her, then grinned. "You know, if you hadn't chased us
away from grandpa's shrine that first night, I wouldn't have gotten in
the habit of running away from you."

"I should have fucked you as soon as I saw you," Ryoko mused
wistfully. "On the ground. Right there. Right then. That would have
made everything perfect."

Tenchi briefly considered whether that would have made things better.
Or worse. Then he remembered a minor detail Ryoko seemed to have
overlooked. "Uh, what about Mihoshi?"

"Wouldn't you have protected me from the vicious space pirate?" Ryoko
asked, huddling against him in mock fear. "I was so *scared*!" She
began to kiss his neck. "And I would've rewarded you, for being so
brave, defending me when I'd crashed in a strange place all alone,"
she whispered. "I'd have done anything you wanted me to, to thank you.
Mmmmm.... *anything*, Tenchi..."

He smiled. Ryoko was starting to turn him on again, even though the
picture she was painting, of herself as terrified and helpless and him
as her valiant protector, was ridiculous bordering on surreal.
Completely upside down, the exact opposite of...

"The only protecting I can remember, is you saving me from Nagi," he
said. "I don't recall ever thanking you for that, now that I think of
it."

Ryoko rested her head on his shoulder. "You did thank me, Tenchi. Just
a minute ago. I've waited a long time to hear those words from you."
She chuckled. "And besides, you thanked me all last night. Ready to
thank me again?"

"Not really. Sorry, but I'm exhausted. I hope grandpa lets me pass on
sword practice today."

Ryoko cuddled closer and grinned at him rather lewdly. "Sword
practice, huh?"

"Yeah, he's expecting me out there today," said Tenchi, not noticing
her expression. "If he doesn't let me skip it, you can watch, if you
like."

"Sure, Tenchi. Aeka and I were just watching you practice with your
sword the other day."

Tenchi blinked. "You were?"

Ryoko pushed herself up on her hands, looked down at him, and nodded,
her face very amused. "Uh-huh. We were really admiring the way you
handled it."

"Thanks," he said, feeling very flattered.

"I was going to give you some help, but Aeka didn't like the idea,"
said Ryoko. Then she sighed to emphasize her disappointment.

"Well, she *was* right. Grandpa says that concentration is the most
important part." He smiled. "You really liked watching?"

"Oh, yeah, it was *very* exciting," said Ryoko, letting a little
seductiveness creep into her voice.

Tenchi still didn't notice. "If you think I'm good, you should watch
grandpa sometime. Now *he's* impressive!"

Ryoko couldn't contain herself anymore, and she collapsed against him,
laughing so hard she cried.

"What's so funny?" asked Tenchi.

After a while, Ryoko calmed down enough gasp out a question. "Has he
taught you any new thrusting techniques you'd like to show me?" she
asked.

Something in Tenchi's brain finally clicked. He shook his head again.
"Get your mind out the gutter, Ryoko."

She stopped for a moment. "Let me know when you'd like to sheath your
sword, Tenchi," she cooed. Then she resumed laughing as hard as
before.

"Really, is that all you think about?"

She stopped and managed to catch her breath. "Yep," she answered
finally, with a proud nod. "Anyway, what was it you were saying, about
Mihoshi?"

"Just that there was no way I could have beaten her, with that
hardsuit of hers."

"But your grandpa was able to stop her," said Ryoko, starting to laugh
again. "She *really* found out how impressive his sword was!"

"But what about me?" he asked. He wasn't so much interested in the
answer anymore, as in the principle of making her give him one.

"I think your sword's pretty impressive, too."

Tenchi groaned. "But what about *Mihoshi*?"

"Tenchiiiiiii! Do you use your sword on *every* girl who shows up at
your house? Besides," she added, giggling, "knowing Mihoshi, she'd
probably wind up breaking it or something."

He gritted his teeth and asked one more time, trying to phrase his
question so that she couldn't twist it. "What if we'd been doing that,
and Mihoshi showed up, and I couldn't stop her?"

"Then we'd have died in each other's arms, just like we vowed to!"
Ryoko sighed dreamily.

"Uh... I *still* don't remember taking this vow you keep talking
about," he said.

"Would you like to, now?" she asked, her voice suddenly serious.

"Neither of us is going to die any time soon, Ryoko," Tenchi assured
her. "I really wish you wouldn't talk like that."

Her eyes shimmered as she grasped his hands and gently kissed him.
"Nothing will ever separate us, Tenchi. I'll die, rather than let that
happen. Anything that comes between us, I'll destroy. If someone tries
to take you from me, I don't care who, I'll kill them. And I mean
that."

For a moment Tenchi was stunned by Ryoko's utter sincerity. Then he
nodded, trying to think of an adequate response. "I don't know what to
say," he told her finally.

"I know I sounded a little strange just now, Tenchi," she said
quietly. "But I was alone for a long time. And I don't want to be,
every again."

"You won't be, Ryoko," he said, suddenly feeling just a little like
the protector she'd made him out to be. "I won't run away from you,
anymore. I promise."

Much later that morning, Ryoko slipped into the steaming bath and
hummed softly to herself. She was in a very good mood. She was
prepared to listen respectfully when Washuu explained her latest
contraption. She'd give Ryo-oh-ki all the carrots she could eat. She
wouldn't do anything to embarrass Tenchi. She wouldn't poke fun at
Aeka about her bust size. She'd even do her share cleaning up around
the house. 

Well, OK, maybe not that last part. But the joyous memory of the
previous night, and hearing Tenchi say he loved her, blotted out
everything that had happened before it. Ryoko was definitely ready to
be, if not friendly, at least civil to Aeka. There was one subject in
particular that they needed to talk about, right away: how to
equitably divide Tenchi's sack time. 

Alternating nights? Jan ken? Some other way? Just as long as they
could both see it was fair. Arguing about it would simply divert time
and energy better spent on something else, namely, sex with Tenchi.
She smiled proudly as she remembered how exhausted he'd been once she
was done with him. Then she grinned. 

*Another week, Tenchi, and you'll be lucky if you can still stand up.*

As she stretched and luxuriated in the hot water, she decided
something else. Tenchi was going to become more familiar with the
inside of the women's bath. She relaxed further and waited for Aeka to
show up so they could have their talk.

Maybe they could even compare notes.

Meanwhile, Aeka was waiting on the couch as Tenchi walked down the
stairs. "Ohayo, Tenchi-sama," she said. Her smile demure but subtly
seductive, she beckoned to him and patted the seat next to her.

"Ohayo, Aeka-san," he replied, coming over and sitting down.

"Ten-chan, there is something important I wish to speak with you
about."

"Oh?"

"There is a Juraian ritual I would like you to undertake. It would
mean very much to me, Tenchi."

"You don't mean... engagement?" he asked, worried.

Pain pricked Aeka's heart for just a moment. *Must he say that so...
fearfully?* She shrugged it off and forced a smile and a laugh.

"No, no, no. Nothing so formal," she assured him, holding his hand.
"There is something the women of Jurai do to demonstrate how deeply
they care for the man they love," she said, entwining her fingers with
his. "I would like to do this, for you, Ten- chan." She brought his
hand to her heart and held it there. "So you will truly know how I
feel about you."

He leaned forward and kissed her. "I *already* know, Ae-chan. There's
no need for you to show me. But if this matters to you, sure. Whatever
you want."

Her heart soared. "Then let us go out to Ryu-oh," she said, standing
up.

"Is there anything I should take along?" he asked, rising beside her.

Aeka smiled warmly. "Bring a blanket. To spread on the ground. We will
need it. Afterwards."

Tenchi's breath caught in his throat.

Aeka. Then Ryoko. And now Aeka again.

He considered his situation for a moment. He was living with two
beautiful girls whom he loved, who loved him, and who wanted to sleep
with him.

He had no problem with that. No problem at all. Something in the back
of his mind, however, warned him that he was going to have to choose
one or the other. It was a very painful thought.

They walked through the woods, holding hands, Aeka resting her head on
his shoulder part of the way. The morning sun shone down on them, and
all around them the air was full of the sound of teeming life. When
they came to Ryu-oh, she kissed him and gestured to the ground. They
sat facing each other in the shade underneath the tree that had been
and would be Aeka's ship.

"If Ryu-oh were able, I would take you into space for this. Amongst
the stars. That is the proper place for it, in the case of a member of
the royal family." She kissed him. "But to be with you is what matters
to me, Ten-chan. It is the spirit of the thing that is important, in
any case."

"Thank you, Ae-chan," he said sincerely, bowing his head. "You do me
too much honor."

"No, I do *not*," she replied, lifting his head back up. "Oh,
Ten-chan, that would not be *possible*!"

"But, Ae-chan, you're a princess, and I'm just a..."

She put her fingers to his mouth, stopping his words. "No! Ten- chan,
never *say* such a thing!" she gasped, distraught. "Never even *think*
it!" She leaned forward and kissed him tenderly. "To hear you say
that, to hear my throne come between us, makes me wish I was not a..."

Now Tenchi silenced her in return. "Don't *you* say *that*."

"Very well," she said. "I won't." Then she smiled at him. "You are
ready, then, Ten-chan?"

He nodded. "I am. And I'll try to be worthy of your tradition."

"I'm sure that you will be," she answered happily. "Now, Tenchi..."

"Yes?"

"I need to bind your hands."

He glanced down and saw the coil of rope that lay in her lap.

Tenchi tried to hide his surprised grin. This definitely wasn't
something he would have expected Aeka to have a taste for. Ryoko,
maybe, but not Aeka. Well, if Ryoko had a vulnerable side, then Aeka
could certainly have a kinky streak in her. If the last two days had
taught him anything, it was that life could be a lot more interesting
if he loosened up. *Just imagine all the fun you've been missing.*

He held out his arms in front of him.

She bent and kissed his wrists, then wound the rope around them and
tied it, firmly but not tightly.

She motioned for him to rise, and he did.

Aeka tossed the end of the ropes over Ryu-oh's lowest branch and
caught it as it fell again. Then she pulled, hauling his arms up over
his head. She tied it again around his wrists, and he stood there, not
quite hanging. She walked behind him, out of sight.

Tenchi considered a few of the things she might do with him while he
was bound and helpless.

He liked them. *All* of them.

Something tugged at him and *snick*ed. He felt her fingertips against
his back, through a hole in his shirt that hadn't been there before.
Then cloth ripped as she tore it off of him and discarded it on the
ground.

There was strength in those slender fingers, he realized. One just
didn't get to see it used very often.

That was two shirts gone, now.

As if he cared.

Her arms wrapped around his now-bare torso. He felt her chest pressed
against his back, and she kissed his neck from behind. "Wait right
there, Ten-chan, beloved," she whispered hotly in his ear before
letting go. "I must prepare myself for you."

Even if he'd been able, Tenchi wouldn't have moved an inch.

Moments later, his ears caught a faint fluttering sound as something
sailed through the air to his right and landed a few paces in front of
him.

Aeka's obi and kimono.

Tenchi's eyes widened. *I sure hope Grandpa doesn't decide to take a
walk in the woods right now!*

Other objects followed the kimono. Her geta. Her tabi. Her bra. Her
panties. He gulped, excited. This too was very unlike Aeka's usual
behavior.

Then, for a couple of minutes, he heard rustling sounds behind him,
and an occasional squeak.

She stepped back in front of him, and Tenchi's eyes bulged nearly out
of his skull. Now this was very, very, VERY unlike Aeka.

She was clad only in black leather and bare skin. And not *much*
leather, at that.

Bracers were wrapped around her forearms. Shiny boots reached up past
her knees. Her micro-miniskirt, stretched tightly over her rear, went
not even halfway down her thigh. And a three-inch wide halter
attempted to cover breasts which, despite Ryoko's remarks, Tenchi
found quite inviting.

And that was it, except for one thing that hung at her waist.

A whip.

"Uh, Aeka..." he started, but she immediately cut him off.

"`Oujo-sama' to oyobi!" she commanded sternly.

Tenchi stifled another grin. OK, he could play along with this. *Is
she going to make me lick her feet, or something?* He didn't doubt
much that he would if she asked -- or, rather, ordered. Just so long
as it wasn't anything worse than that.

"Hai, oujo-sama. Gomen nasai. I *really* like that outfit. Where did
you get it?"

"It was a gift from my mother, when I left for my marriage meetings,"
she answered.

Tenchi gulped. From her *mother*?!

It must be a very *interesting* family.

His eyes went back to the whip that dangled, threatening, from her
belt. "And did she give you *that*, too, oujo-sama?"

"Yes," Aeka said proudly. "It has been handed down from mother to
eldest daughter since the beginning of Jurai's royal line. Perhaps
before. It has been a sign of the power of the women of our house
since antiquity."

Tenchi breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. *OK, so it's some kind of
symbolic family heirloom.* "I'm just glad you're not going to use it
on me... oujo-sama."

"Oh?" She smiled and draped the whip over his neck. She pressed her
lips to his, and one rubbing hand against his erection. She held the
kiss for a moment, looking deeply into his eyes. "Won't I?" she asked.

Then with her other hand she yanked the whip-handle downward, hard.

Tenchi winced as the leather left a painful weal on his skin. Aeka put
both arms around him and began tenderly to kiss the wound she had just
inflicted. She returned to his lips. Then she started moving down, and
when he tilted his head to hold her kiss she thrust the handle of the
whip firmly under his chin and kept it there while she kissed his
neck. After a minute or so she stepped back and composed herself,
holding her head high.

"Obey me, and I will give you love. Disobey me, and I will give you
pain," she decreed regally, her voice warm and cold, threatening and
passionate, warning and promising, all at the same time.

Tenchi laughed nervously. "And if you ring a bell, I'll drool.
Right... oujo-sama?" He smiled for a moment, hoping she got the joke,
but she didn't seem to.

Aeka frowned. *Why doesn't he understand?* She embraced him tightly,
pressing herself against him, letting him feel what he could have if
only he would choose the right, the obvious, the only possible path.

"Those are your options," she said, her face an inch from his. "Your
obedience, my body," she kissed him, "my heart," again "my soul," and
again. "Your disobedience," she pressed the handle against the
stiffness in his crotch "my whip." Then her amethyst eyes shimmered as
she gazed downward and rested her head against his chest, once again
the Aeka he'd known, sweet, gentle, fragile. "Is that such a
*difficult* decision, Ten-chan?" she asked softly, and despite her
whip and his bonds, it was Aeka's voice that pleaded.

Somehow, Tenchi knew his choice wouldn't be that simple.

She slid fluidly around his body to hold him from behind again. Her
hands glided down into his pants, under his briefs, and began to
stroke tantalizingly. Her voice spoke softly and warmly just next to
his ear.

"Would you like us to make love, right now, Ten-chan? To join our
souls and flesh as one and lie in each other's arms on the grass?" She
bent and kissed under his chin. "Does your blood burn for me? Mine
does, for you. Like fire. Feel how I burn for you, Ten-chan." She
sighed, and her breath flowed hot over his neck. "Do you desire me, as
I desire you? Shall we satisfy those desires? Tell me, Ten-chan. Would
that give you pleasure?"

He nodded enthusiastically. He knew it would. He was just a little
concerned about what the price for all this would be.

"Very well then. There is a thing you must do first, Ten-chan. But a
small thing. A simple thing. A harmless thing, in which there is not
the slightest pain," Ae-chan whispered to him.

"OBEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Oujo-sama screamed imperiously.

He cringed at the sudden sound and nearly jumped out of his skin.

*Yikes! She's really acting WEIRD!* He waited to see what she'd do
next.

"Then, until that hesitation disappears, I will bind you by these
chains." She reached to his wrists for a moment, and he felt cold
metal against his skin. He looked up.

A delicate cord of gold links was tied in a bow about his wrists.

*What did she do that for? With the ropes, I can't break free, anyway.
And without them, I could snap that thing if I wanted to. No problem
at all!*

She let go and backed away, trailing her fingers along his side for a
brief moment before she was out of reach.

"Where are you going, Ae... I mean, oujo-sama?" He tried to turn his
head, but couldn't see where she was standing.

"You will look on me again, when I have purified your slackened
heart," she intoned ritually. "With force!"

"Oujo-sama, what did I, uh, do?" he asked. He was starting to sweat a
little.

*Doesn't he know? How can he NOT know?!*

Aeka assumed a wide stance, hefted the whip, and thought back to the
day when her mother had told her about men and women and things of the
heart. "The first time you bring your love to repentance is special,
Aeka. You'll remember it fondly, all your life. And so will he."
Tenchi would kneel at her feet and beg her forgiveness. Gladly,
*joyously* she would grant it. And he would be hers, and she his,
forever.

She aimed for his back, looking at the skin that her hands had
caressed and which she now prepared to smite with pain. Her arm shook
as she readied, and she closed her eyes, unwilling to see the results
of what she was about to do.

*Please, Ten-chan. Please submit quickly. PLEASE!!!*

"Tenchi, I want you to swear to me that you will never look at, or
speak to, or... touch... *HER*, ever again."

"Nani?!"

A tear trickled out of one of Aeka's tightly-shut eyes. *Will you
really make me do this to you, Ten-chan? Would you truly give me up
and choose her and the pain instead?*

"SWEAR IT!"

"Ae-chan, can't we discuss..."

"`OUJO-SAMA' TO OYOBI!!"

"It's not right of you to ask that of me, Aeka!"

"`OUJO-SAMA' TO OYOBI! AND I DO NOT *ASK*!"

"I don't want it to be this way!"

"Tenchi," she said quietly, with all the coldness she could force out
of herself, "I warn you, for the last time. Swear it to me. You will
not look at her. You will not speak to her. You will not touch her.
You will banish her from your body, from your mind, from your heart,
and you will never say her name again. Swear it. Or you force my
hand."

"This is *wrong*! She wouldn't try to do this to *you*!"

To... *her*? Ryoko wasn't even here. Whatever was he talking about?

*I'm sorry, Ten-chan. But you must learn. And I must teach you.*

Her arm jerked back, then forward.

CRACK!

Unseen by Aeka's still-shut eyes, a red line appeared across Tenchi's
back. He jolted against the ropes and gritted his teeth.

That *hurt*!

In many different ways.

"SWEAR IT!"

Tenchi shook his head. "No! I don't want to hurt *either* of you!" He
winced as the whip bit into him again.

"SWEAR IT!"

"NO! I won't!"

The whip lashed again.

"SWEAR IT!"

"NO!!"

Aeka's face was wet with tears, and she choked back a sob so that
Tenchi wouldn't hear it, wouldn't doubt her resolve to see his heart
cleansed of the awful stain on it.

*Please, Ten-chan, why? Why must you make me DO this to you?*

CRACK! "SWEAR IT!" CRACK! "SWEAR IT!" CRACK! "SWEAR IT!"

"NO! I WON'T!"

Aeka paused for a moment, shaking, desperately wanting to scream to
release the pain inside her. She knew that she couldn't. Tenchi
mustn't think her love for him had wavered. Tears filled her eyes. She
could barely see.

*Submit, Ten-chan! I BEG YOU! Don't you know that I would take the
pain for you, if only I could?*

CRACK! "SWEAR IT!" CRACK! "SWEAR IT!" CRACK! "SWEAR IT!"

Involuntarily she sobbed. Agony wracked her as fear rose within that
he'd heard her. Heard her, and would think she doubted that he would
make the right choice in the end. That he would suspect that she had
no faith in his love for her, that she was afraid that Ryoko had
stolen it from her.

*RYOKO!!!*

She drew back her arm to lash in fury at her enemy, but something made
her open her eyes and look at who was really at the other end of the
whip.

Tenchi's back was criss-crossed with bleeding wounds.

Aeka tried to force herself to strike again, but her arm shook
uncontrollably and whip fell from her trembling fingers. She looked at
the red blood from the lashes, wishing she'd never had to inflict
them, wanting somehow to undo what she'd done. The voice of Juraian
tradition screamed inside her, reviling her for stopping. She knew she
wasn't to put down the whip until Tenchi's honor was restored. But she
couldn't bear to continue. She hoped Tenchi could forgive her for
leaving his heart impure, but there was no way she could force herself
to inflict any more pain on him.

She picked up her kimono and walked behind him. Out of her inro, Aeka
pulled some gauze and a tube of salve, and started to treat his
wounds. Tenchi winced for a moment in pain, then twisted in the ropes
in an attempt to turn around and face her.

"What did you stop for? I'm not dead *yet*, am I?!" he asked, the thin
veneer of sarcasm in his voice not quite concealing the wellspring of
anger underneath.

Aeka fought down grief and resentment at his accusation, wondering how
he could think such a thing of her after what she'd just tried to do
for him. "Please stay still, Ten-chan. I need to tend to your back."

"You were tending to it just fine with your whip!" he spat, squirming.
"Why the sudden change?"

"Ten-chan, I said stay still," she repeated, still working on his
injuries while trying not to see them. "I want to be sure to treat
these wounds properly."

"What *for*? You're the one who gave them to me!"

"But, Ten-chan, you *forced* me to! Didn't you listen to anything I
said? I tried not to have to do this. I tried so *hard*! I gave you
every chance to avoid it. But you refused at every step, and you left
me with no choice at all!" An angry sob stopped Aeka's words for a
moment, then she continued. "How could you be so *cruel*?! How could
you make me *do* this to you?!"

"`Make you'?! What are you *TALKING* about?!?!"

"Why do you refuse to submit over such an unimportant thing?" she
asked, as she dropped the gauze and salve, and moved around in front
of him.

"Ryoko is *NOT* unimportant to me! I love her!" he said angrily.

Aeka trembled. It felt like Tenchi had reached into her chest with a
hand of ice, and squeezed. Before she could stop herself, she slapped
him across the face.

"You said you loved *me*, Ten-chan! I gave my heart to you!" Aeka's
whole frame shook as tears ran down her angry face. "My *HEART*!! How
can you put *her* in the same place as *me*? She's a creature of lust,
and her body is all she'll ever offer to you!"

Tenchi's face became a mask of fury. "Don't you *DARE* talk about her
that way! She's not a tramp, like you called her before! I love her,
and she loves me!!"

"But *I* love you, Ten-chan! *I* *LOVE* *YOU*!!! How many times must I
say that before you'll understand? Why can't you *see*?!"

"*THIS* is how you show me you love me?!"

"YES!!!"

"BY *BEATING* ME?!?!"

Aeka forced herself to calm down a little. "I know it is difficult for
you to understand, Ten-chan. But everything I've done is out of love
for you, even if it caused you pain."

Tenchi glared at her in utter disbelief. "That's crazy! This isn't
love. You did this because you're *jealous* of her, Aeka!"

The princess' brief moment of tranquility vanished in an instant. "I
am not envious of *her*!" she insisted, barely keeping her voice under
control. "I did it because I don't wish you hurt by that horrible,
wicked... *MONSTER*! If you truly think my whip caused you pain, that
is *nothing* compared to what you'll feel when you realize how she's
used you, once she tosses you aside like a toy she's become bored
with!"

"STOP TALKING ABOUT HER LIKE THAT!!!" shouted Tenchi. "YOU DON'T KNOW
WHAT SHE'S LIKE AT *ALL*!!!"

Aeka moved back a pace, her heart pounding and her breathing labored,
as she tried again to calm herself, so she could explain things to
Tenchi. So she could cure his blind naivete. "I have known her much
longer than you have, Ten-chan. Listen to me. *Please*!"

"I've learned more things about her in a *day* than you have all your
life," he retorted. "You're just afraid to see her the way she really
is, because you don't want to find out how wrong you've been!"

The anger drained from Aeka's face. "Yes, Ten-chan, I *am* afraid.
Because if I lost you to her, I don't know what I'd do!"

Tenchi smirked. "You'd tie me up again and whip me. What else?"

"There are *reasons*, Ten-chan! Important reasons. I see now that I
should have explained them to you. Forgive me. If you were raised on
Jurai, you would *know*, but..."

"I thought you told me you didn't care about that," Tenchi interrupted
coldly, his eyes narrowing.

Aeka shook her head, her face full of hurt. "I don't, Ten-chan. I
never did. And I never will."

"That's what this is all about, isn't it? `Oujo-sama to oyobi', you
said. So I'm supposed to call you `princess', and bow to you, and
follow all your commands, no matter how awful they are? I would have
done *anything* you wanted, anything in the world -- except *THAT*!
You wouldn't have had to order it. I would have done it to make you
happy." His voice hardened. "But that's not how you want it to be. You
don't ask. You *TELL*! You don't see me as someone you *love*. You
look at me as just another one of your *subjects*, don't you?"

"Is that *truly* what you think of me, Ten-chan?!"

"After *that*, what do you expect me to think?!"

Tears welled in eyes already filled with pain. "You're *wrong*,
Ten-chan. You don't know how much."

He smiled bitterly. "Of course! The princess *always* knows more than
ordinary people."

Aeka looked away for a moment, unable to face him. No matter what she
said, her words seemed to turn around and bite her.

*Has she tempted him so completely, in one short night? What has she
DONE to him, to make him speak to me with such hatred? What awful lies
did she whisper in his ear while they were together in the darkness?
Surely whatever base pleasure she must have given him could not make
him forget his love for me so SOON!!*

"Look, Aeka, I'm through with this stuff. I want to go back to the
house now," Tenchi said. "So get these ropes off me, OK?"

Aeka's blood ran cold in her veins as her gaze snapped back to him,
her eyes wide and her expression one of pure horror. Her body reeled
and she almost fell. "NOOOOOO!!" She sounded as if he'd just asked her
to slowly torture herself to death. "TEN- CHAN," she continued, her
voice bordering on hysteria, "YOU CANNOT MEAN THAT!! YOU *CANNOT*!!!!"
She pressed a hand to her chest as she gasped desperately for breath.

*Calm yourself! CALM YOURSELF!! He has no idea what he just asked of
you! He didn't really mean it! He hasn't closed his heart to you. Not
yet. There is still hope. He doesn't understand the meaning of those
words.*

For just an instant, total confusion superseded Tenchi's anger, and he
blinked, wondering what in the world he'd said to elicit such a
reaction. But the anger returned swiftly as he thought of Ryoko's
anguished face the previous night, and his promise that he'd never run
away from her again. Letting himself be driven away would be the same
thing, he decided.

Finally breathing normally again, Aeka met Tenchi's gaze. Seeing the
inexplicable, causeless rancor in his eyes, she tried with
ever-lessening success to contain her tears. His expression burned
into her, his entire face one single angry accusation, but she didn't
understand at all what he was accusing her *of*. It didn't seem to
really be about the pain, anymore. Tenchi didn't appear to grasp the
reason and the meaning behind the rite, and Aeka knew now that she had
to allow for that. But there was something else, something that eluded
completely all her efforts to find out how Tenchi thought she'd
wronged him, and how she could atone. Sorrow and confusion filled her
voice as she spoke.

"What do you wish me to say, Ten-chan? If it will make you forgive me
for whatever you feel I've done, I will say it."

"I can't think of anything you can say that will *make* me...
oujo-sama."

Knowing that no half-measures would do, and unable to think of
anything else, Aeka decided to offer the most valuable thing she had,
in the hopes that doing so would open Tenchi's eyes. She wept and her
whole frame trembled as she gathered up her resolve. Then she knelt in
front of him, and stared up, her tear-streaked face still proud
despite her humble position. "Do you wish me to renounce my throne,
Ten-chan? Would you like me to crawl before you?" she asked, a sob
nearly strangling her words before she voiced them. "If a princess of
Jurai's royal family puts her face in the dust at your feet, could you
forgive her for the pain she caused you? And believe her when she says
she loves you?" Her voice trembled, almost uncontrollably. "Tell me,
Ten-chan. I will, but only if I must."

Tenchi shook his head. She had to be lying, he decided. There was no
way Aeka could possibly do any of those things. "I don't see how you
can say you feel anything for me, after what you just did."

Tears cascaded down the princess' face as despair began to overwhelm
her. "No! Please believe me, Ten-chan! I love you! And you said you
loved me!"

"I thought both of those things. But now, I'm not sure anymore."

Aeka collapsed at his feet as if she'd been crushed by a falling
mountain. In terrified desperation she clung to Tenchi, her arms
around his legs as she sobbed against his knees, willing him to take
back the awful words he'd just spoken. But though Tenchi felt a pang
of guilt at seeing Aeka in such pain, the memory of her whip still
stung along his back, and vastly greater agony at the thought of what
she'd demanded he do to Ryoko wrenched his heart.

Inside Aeka's head, she saw Ryoko holding Tenchi close, their lips
locked and their hands all over each other. Ryoko broke their kiss for
a moment, and looked at Aeka, smiling.

"Too *bad*, little princess. I guess you weren't as fun in bed as you
thought," chuckled Ryoko. She sighed happily. "I gave you your chance,
and you threw it away because of your stupid tradition. Oh, me and
Tenchi don't *really* love each other, but I'll make him feel so good
that he won't *care*. Don't be sad, Aeka. I'll let you watch us
together, any time you like!" And Ryoko laughed sadistically, on and
on and on...

Aeka tried desperately to drive the apparition from her mind. She
couldn't. She stopped crying, but all she could do was hold onto
Tenchi in fear and shiver as if she'd been dumped naked into a
snowdrift.

After a few minutes, Tenchi decided that he'd had enough of her act.
"Would you *please* cut me down now? My arms are getting tired."

"Sure thing, Tenchi!"

Red light flashed over his head. As he stumbled backwards, Ryoko
teleported underneath him, caught him, and kissed him. Her sword
materialized for just a moment as she cut the ropes from his wrists.
Then she gently lowered Tenchi to the ground and sat next to him, one
arm wrapped around him affectionately.

"Nice outfit, Aeka. It's definitely *you*," said Ryoko, her voice
cheerful, just before she saw the tears and the expression on the
princess' face. She blinked. "Uh, is something wrong?"

Aeka glared at her, furious at the interruption and the way Ryoko was
holding Tenchi.

Ryoko sighed, realizing that it looked like she'd been spying on them,
when -- for once -- she hadn't been. Seeing Aeka and Tenchi together
was starting to bother her, but memories of his confession of love
soothed her and swept the unease away. "I'm sorry I interrupted your
bondage game, princess, but I was trying to find you to talk to you
about something. And then I heard Tenchi say his arms were tired, so I
let him down." She smiled, and kissed him again. "I didn't know you
liked that kind of thing, Tenchi. Can I tie you up, too, sometime?"
She started to reach down towards his crotch.

Aeka cleared her throat. Ryoko stopped and looked over at her.

"Will you please stop *pawing* at him? At least while I have to
watch?" she asked softly.

Ryoko tensed angrily for a moment, then nodded, understanding
slightly. She withdrew her hand, then moved away from Tenchi.

She froze, sniffing the air. A scent had caught her attention.

Blood.

*His* blood.

She looked down at Tenchi's back, and saw red seeping from wounds
she'd brushed against while holding him. She dabbed a bit on her
finger, and showed it to Aeka accusingly, eyes stabbing like knives.
Ryoko waited for a few moments, forcing herself to calm down, but when
she spoke her voice was extremely dangerous.

"This better not mean what I think it means, Aeka," she warned, baring
her fangs menacingly.

The princess turned her face away, refusing to look.

Ryoko closed her eyes, taking very deep breaths before continuing. "If
Tenchi said this was OK, then I'll try to forget about it, but if he
didn't..."

Aeka wouldn't answer.

"Tenchi," asked Ryoko, still watching Aeka. "Tell me. Did you let her
do this?"

"Not really," he started to say. Ryoko immediately clenched her fists
and started to get up. Tenchi put his hand in front of her. He
motioned for her to sit back down, and she did. Very, very
reluctantly.

"I've already talked with her about it," he said evenly. "You don't
need to worry yourself."

Ryoko watched Aeka, her gaze promising death. Then, as she considered
the implications, she smiled.

*I should make you pay for hurting him. But at least now he's seen how
you really are. And it doesn't sound like I need to worry anymore
about having to share him with you.*

"So, is this one of those high-and-mighty `Juraian traditions' you're
always talking about?" asked Ryoko sarcastically.

"Yes," answered Aeka quietly.

"Well, would you mind *explaining* it? I've never been to a *royal*
*ceremony* before." 

"It's not something we discuss with just anyone," retorted Aeka
proudly. "I'll explain it to Tenchi-sama. Later. When we're *alone*." 

Ryoko shook her head and smiled. "You know, princess, I don't think
you're going be alone with Tenchi any time soon. So if you're going to
say something, I think you should say it now."

Aeka fought back tears for a moment. "Well, 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." 

"Hmm... I guess that does make sense, in a twisted sort of way." Then
the smile vanished from Ryoko's lips. "Hey, wait a minute. What do you
mean, `dishonors himself'?" 

Aeka stared back at her, silent, cold, unwavering.

The blood drained from Ryoko's face as full realization dawned on her
of what Tenchi had done that Aeka would find `dishonorable.' A brief
memory of his arms around her flashed in her mind and ignited a
maelstrom of searing rage. *'Dishonorable'?! To finally return my love
for him? `Dishonorable'?!?! To hold me after I pushed him into your
arms and paid the price in pain so bad it made me almost want to DIE?*

Her hands balled into trembling fists as she stood up and fought with
all her strength the desire, welling up inside her, to tear her rival
apart. Slowly she spoke, her voice shaking. "Aeka... YOU... TAKE...
THAT... BACK!!" 

Tenchi rose, standing next to Ryoko. He put his hand on her shoulder,
almost like he was trying to reassure her that he was still there. He
stared down at the princess.

When she saw his face, Aeka's eyes widened in disbelief.

He looked as if she'd just...

As if she'd...

As if...

*NO! It isn't true! IT ISN'T!!*

As if Aeka had just done something horrible, to someone Tenchi loved.

Desperately she tried to make herself believe everything she'd told
herself before. Ryoko had no place in Tenchi's heart. His attraction
to her was just a physical thing. He couldn't possibly have feelings
for her. He would turn his back on her, suffering no pain or regret,
and his love for Aeka would make him forget that Ryoko had ever
existed.

But looking at his face, she knew that all those things were nothing
but lies.

Ryoko reached up to her shoulder and clutched at Tenchi's hand,
entwining her fingers with his. She bowed her head for a moment as
tears ran down her cheeks. Then she seemed to draw strength from
Tenchi's comforting touch. She glared at Aeka, her expression one of
anger and grief, her eyes blazing with rage and filled with tears.

As if Aeka had inflicted some cruel torment on her.

As if Ryoko loved Tenchi, and Aeka had tried to force him never to
return that love again.

Once more, Aeka tried to shield herself from an awful realization.
Ryoko was terrible and heartless. It was impossible for her to care
for anyone. Certainly not Tenchi. She only pretended to, in order to
hurt Aeka. To Ryoko, he was just one more thing the two of them had
fought over, through the years. His only value to her was that Aeka
also wanted him. Once Aeka had taken Tenchi away from her, Ryoko would
be angry at having lost, but she'd move on and find someone else, some
other man to indulge her capricious lusts with.

And once again, seeing Ryoko's face, Aeka couldn't escape the
knowledge that none of those things were true.

*You tortured both of them, and you never knew what you were doing.*

*What do you mean, "never knew"? Haven't you deluded yourself
enough?!*

"By my love for Tenchi, I swear it to you, Aeka-hime," Ryoko had said.

"You know I don't believe your lies about that! Think of something
else," Aeka had answered.

And she remembered how Ryoko had looked, bowing in front of her,
wracked with pain that Aeka had been too enraged to see.

Like Ryoko was, now. And this time, Aeka couldn't blind herself to it,
no matter how hard she tried.

*She's your enemy, and you've fought her since you were little, but
aren't there any limits to the pain you're willing to inflict on
someone, even her? Weren't you being as cruel and selfish as you think
SHE is, by trying to take Tenchi away? Isn't that what you've feared
from her, all this time? Remember how much the thought of that hurt
you. How could you wish something so bad on ANYONE?*

*But I had to! She was trying to take him away from ME!*

*Was she?*

Memory flooded back, of the first time she'd felt Tenchi's body
pressed against hers. Of her arms wrapped around him. Of what he'd
said, before he'd finally made love to her.

"She led me up here and pushed me in."

*Remember how you felt, when you saw how she'd come so close that
morning, and almost had him? The agony in your heart, even though you
managed to stop her? But she didn't stop you. She didn't even let you
stop yourself. She wanted him so badly, she was willing to let you
have him, too. Have him FIRST. Can you understand how much she must
love him, to have been able to endure that? Do YOU love him that
much?*

And if that wasn't enough, there was what Tenchi had said, afterwards,
once he'd given her what she'd wished for, for so long.

"If she hadn't, I would have probably waited forever."

Aeka shuddered at the thought of being shut out in the freezing,
lonely darkness, never to know the light and warmth of Tenchi's love
again.

But wasn't that exactly what she'd demanded he do to Ryoko?

If Tenchi loved Ryoko, wouldn't he be willing to be hurt, instead of
hurting her? To take the pain on himself, rather than see Ryoko suffer
it?

If Aeka had tried to make him torment someone he loved, wouldn't he
hate her for it?

Wouldn't it be cold, merciless, perfect justice for her fate to be the
one she'd wanted for her enemy?

And wasn't that what Tenchi was going to do, now? To punish her for
what she'd done, and tried to do, to someone he loved?

Aeka looked up and saw gold eyes and an orange-red blade, each burning
in fury.

For just a moment she held Ryoko's glance, her face full of regret for
what she had done and stark terror at what she knew was about to
happen. Not death, though Ryoko's expression left no doubt that she
intended that, and Aeka certainly didn't want to die. But what Tenchi
would say next would be far worse. Compared to that, Ryoko's sword
would be a gentle instrument of mercy.

Tears streamed from Aeka's eyes, but she remained silent. Slowly she
lowered her head in shame. She only hoped that Ryoko would strike
before Tenchi spoke, so that she'd never have to hear him utterly
reject her. She waited, trembling.

Ryoko's sword arm went back, preparing for a fiery downward sweep.

Tenchi moved closer and grabbed at her hand to stop her. As angry as
he was over what Aeka had said and done, he didn't want her to die.
"Don't, Ryoko," he said firmly. "Please!"

But Ryoko had extinguished her sword the moment before he'd spoken.

She clenched her fists and closed her eyes as anger and pity warred
inside her. Then Ryoko opened her eyes, looked down at Aeka, and
saw... 

Herself.

During the brief instant their eyes had met, the bleak despair on the
princess' face had been like a mirror, and in it Ryoko had glimpsed
her own reflection.

Remembered voices spoke to her.

"I *mean* it, Ryoko. You better not have tied her up again or
something so she won't get in your way. If you've hurt Ae- chan..."

"I haven't done anything to her, Tenchi. I know you won't believe me,
but it's true. I'm sorry to have worried you. And to have bothered
you, all this time."

She knew exactly how Aeka must feel. How *she* had felt, when for a
few horrible moments she'd thought Tenchi had rejected her forever. It
was a feeling that, having experienced, Ryoko couldn't wish on anyone.
Even on Aeka. And she couldn't help but feel *some* sympathy for a
person who had suffered the same torment. Even if that person was her
worst enemy.

But Ryoko had seen more than that, in Aeka's face. There was something
else.

Regret.

Ryoko closed her eyes again and shook her head, trying to stop her
thoughts from going where they seemed to be headed.

*So what if she's suffering? She deserves it! So what if she's sorry?
She'd better be! All she's ever done is try to stop you from getting
Tenchi!*

*She didn't try to stop me last night. And it was a night I'm going to
remember, forever.*

*And she just tried to take all that away from you!*

*She didn't succeed. He loves me. And she knows that, now. Tenchi just
showed her.*

*What if she had?*

*She couldn't have. He loves me. I trust him.*

*How can you show any mercy to her, after what she DID to him? She
hurt him! And she'll hurt him, again! If you really love him, kill
her! KILL HER!!*

*That would hurt him much worse. That's the way Tenchi is.*

*KILL HER!!! It's to protect him! You can make him understand!*

*NO! Even if he doesn't love her anymore, knowing that someone died
because of him would break Tenchi's heart.*

*But it wouldn't be his fault! KILL HER!!!!*

*He would think it was.*

*KILL HER!!!!!*

*No.*

Ryoko noticed Tenchi's hand wrapped around her wrist. She stepped back
to reassure him that she wasn't going to do what part of her
desperately needed to.

"Thanks for stopping me, Tenchi," she said.

"I didn't stop you, Ryoko. You stopped yourself," he answered, letting
go of her arm.

"No, Tenchi. You did." She clasped his hand for a moment, then turned
to face him. "Say what you have to to her, Tenchi. I'll be at the
house."

Then she was gone.

Tenchi looked at Aeka, still on her knees with her head downcast. He
couldn't leave her like that, he decided. His anger had cooled for the
moment, and he couldn't bear to see someone that way, obviously
hurting, and not try to relieve their pain a little. He put his hand
on her shoulder.

"Aeka, we need to talk," he said. Then he sat down in front of her.
She raised her tearful eyes and looked at him.

"Do you... love her, Ten-chan?" she asked, obviously dreading the
answer.

"Yes. Very much." Aeka's bleak expression in response to his words
tore at him. It disturbed Tenchi that, now that he'd finally ceased
blinding himself to his and Ryoko's feelings for each other, knowledge
of those same feelings could cause someone pain. The only pain they
caused *him* was regret at not having recognized them sooner.

"I see," said Aeka. A tear ran down her cheek. "Then, why did you come
out here with me? And allow me to bind you? When you did that, I was
certain you'd chosen me, instead of her. What else was I to think?"

"I *hadn't* chosen. Choosing was the last thing in the world I wanted
to do. I'm sorry if I misled you." Tenchi closed his eyes as his
conscience directed harsh accusations at him.

"I suppose that, in a way, I have chosen for you. Though not in the
manner I expected." She sighed, and dried her eyes. "I will need to
speak to Kiyone and Mihoshi, to see if they can arrange passage back
to Jurai for me. Will you allow Sasami to remain here? I think that is
what she'll want."

"You don't have to leave, Aeka," said Tenchi, trying to hide his
worry.

Aeka shook her head. "Yes, I do. The only reason I've stayed so long
is that I loved you, and I hoped that you would grow to love me. I
neglected my duties as a princess of Jurai, because of that. But now
that you say you do not love me, I must fulfill my obligations, and
go."

Tenchi looked her in the eyes, his expression serious. "Aeka, I never
said I didn't love you."

"But..." she started.

"I said I wasn't sure."

A wave of hope swept over Aeka's face for a moment, then died away. "I
would do anything you ask, Ten-chan, for you to be sure that you *do*
love me. *Anything*," she said sorrowfully, "But I've already said all
that I can say to you. What more must I do?"

"Apologize."

"But I *have*, Ten-chan!" she insisted, sounding confused, hurt, and
terrified. "I meant what I said. Every word of it. With all my heart!"

Tenchi nodded, not saying that some of the words she'd said, he wished
she hadn't. He didn't like the idea of her offering to crawl or kneel
in front of him, at all. "I know. But that's not what I'm talking
about."

Aeka became even more bewildered. "I don't understand, Ten-chan. What
else can I *do*?"

"You can apologize to the right person," he said.

Aeka blinked. "You mean... to *Ryoko*?"

"Yes," said Tenchi, nodding again.

"What you ask is impossible, Ten-chan," she said, looking away.

Memory of her terrible demand stirred anger within him. "You asked the
impossible of me, first," he reminded her, his voice pained.

"But, Ten-chan...!"

He pressed on, trying to make her see. "If you'd just tied me up and
whipped me, I could have forgiven you. Easily. But you asked me to
give up Ryoko. She has *feelings*, Aeka. I know you don't like each
other, but she has a heart, just like you do. And you tried to make me
break it. I can't love someone who's cruel, or who'd force me to be."

"I wasn't trying to be cruel, Ten-chan," said Aeka, hanging her head.
"I didn't realize you loved each other. I only sought to assure myself
that you loved *me*."

"I know you weren't," said Tenchi, nodding. Then he sighed heavily.
"And I suppose I can't blame you completely for not seeing, because I
didn't, either, until last night. That's why I said I'm not sure about
you."

"I would try, since you ask me, Ten-chan. But I don't think Ryoko will
forgive me," said Aeka. "There's far too much between us."

Tenchi's spirits rose on hearing her at least consider the idea. "Give
her a chance to, Aeka. Neither of you is as bad as the other says."

"It will be... hard for me, Ten-chan," she said, looking at the
ground. "Very, very hard."

For a moment he tried to think of something he could say to make it
easier for her, but nothing came to mind. "I can't love someone who
hurts people on purpose. Or who hurts people by mistake, and isn't
sorry afterward."

"I *am* sorry, Ten-chan," Aeka said. Then she brought her gaze up and
met his, her eyes begging him for mercy. "Isn't it enough that I tell
you that?"

"No," he insisted firmly. "Apologize to her. If she forgives you for
what you tried to do to her, so do I. The rest of it, I can forget
about." He winced, then smiled. "At least, as soon as my back stops
hurting."

For nearly a minute, Aeka thought silently. Tenchi held his breath,
wondering if, after she'd tried to make him hurt Ryoko, Aeka was going
to force him to be cruel to her as well. 

"I will speak to her, Ten-chan," she said at last.

Tenchi quietly exhaled, relieved. "Try to understand, Aeka. I love
*both* of you. I know each of you wants to be the only one, but I
don't know how to decide. I don't *want* to decide. It would hurt me,
more than I can say. So please don't try to make me choose between you
anymore."

"You... love me, Ten-chan?" Aeka asked, wanting to believe what he'd
just said.

Tenchi rose, and extended his hand to her.

"I love the shy, sweet princess who landed in front of my house, who I
showed around on her day off last fall. I love her, as much as I love
Ryoko. But the person who tried to make me hurt someone who wasn't
even here to defend herself..." Tenchi shook his head sadly. "I've
never met that person before, and I never want to again." He smiled.
"Show me that wasn't really you, Aeka. Then we can start over."

Aeka returned his smile, accepted his hand, and let him pull her up.
She put on her kimono over her leather outfit. Then they started
heading back to the house. 

As they did, the contrast between the walk to and the walk from Ryu-oh
weighed heavily on her. Aeka wanted to take Tenchi's arm, to lean
closely against him, as she had before, but something about his mood
told her he wouldn't let her. And she knew he wouldn't respond to any
affectionate words she might say. He didn't seem really angry anymore,
just distant. After the closeness she had felt, that distance ate at
her. As her heart sank lower with each step, Aeka vowed silently that
she would do whatever she must, in order to regain what she had lost.

Meanwhile, Ryoko floated in the middle of the living room, pacing
nervously back and forth in the air. She ignored the delicious smells
wafting from the kitchen. She had other concerns. Almost the moment
her internal debate over sparing Aeka's life had ended, another
argument had begun inside her head, and it still raged on.

She didn't like leaving Tenchi alone with Aeka. Not at all. Not after
what had happened.

Might Aeka have tied him back up, and resuming hurting him? She could
subdue Tenchi with her force field, easily, then take up her whip
again. Was she inflicting horrible pain on him, even now?

Or, once he was helpless, the princess might do even worse things.
Ryoko knew, from personal experience, the thoughts that arose in the
mind of someone who was desperate and cornered. And she had seen a
little of what the princess was capable of. Might Aeka decide that if
she couldn't have Tenchi, neither could Ryoko? Murder him, and kill
herself over his body, claiming him forever in death -- like she'd
tried to, the very first day she'd arrived?

Even if all Aeka was going to do was kill herself, Ryoko didn't want
Tenchi to find out, much less *watch*. She could picture the haunted
look his eyes would have, after witnessing such a thing. In those
moments when she'd contemplated what she'd do if Tenchi utterly
rejected her, it was always her concern that Tenchi never know. She
hoped that if that was what Aeka intended to do, she would have the
same decency.

Ryoko shook her head to clear out the awful thoughts.

Whatever Tenchi was going to do, he needed to do it himself. It had to
be his decision. She didn't want him to think she'd made him give up
Aeka, as the princess had asked he do to *her*.

But what if, right now, Aeka was carrying out a tearful seduction of
Tenchi? Looking broken and helpless, convincing him that everything
was the fault of the terrible, wicked space pirate? Swaying him with
tears where her whip hadn't worked, making him feel guilty for having
strayed from the one he'd been with first? Telling him that loving
Ryoko was wrong, persuading him to stop?

She shook her head again, violently. Tenchi loved her. She had to
trust him. There was no other way.

Suddenly, a voice startled her.

"Hi, Ryoko!" greeted Sasami cheerfully. "Would you like to try
something I just made?"

"Thanks, Sasami, but I'm not very hungry right now," answered Ryoko.

"Pleeeaaase!" begged the princess.

"Oh, alright," said Ryoko, smiling. She decided that she might as well
do something to distract herself. As Sasami walked into the kitchen,
Ryoko followed in the air behind her.

"Here it is!" said Sasami proudly, pointing to a plate sitting on the
table.

Ryoko looked at the plate. On it was a steaming circular object, with
a heart drawn in red-brown sauce.

"What is it?" she asked.

"It's okonomiyaki," answered Sasami. "There's a lady on a TV show I
watch sometimes that makes them, so I decided to do an experiment."
She smiled. "Like Washuu!"

Ryoko looked back and forth carefully. "Don't say anything, but I like
your experiments better. They taste good. And they don't explode."

"But Washuu's inventions don't blow up *that* often," protested
Sasami, slicing up the okonomiyaki.

"What TV show did you see this on, anyway?" asked Ryoko. "One about
cooking?"

"Uh-uh. It's a show about a boy, and all the girls who love him,"
answered Sasami. "It's really funny. And the girl with the big spatula
is the one who makes these."

Ryoko sifted her memory for a few seconds. Then her face brightened.
"Oh, I think I remember now. Is this the one that stars the girl who
turns into a cat?"

"Yeah, that's Shampoo," replied Sasami. "But I like Kasumi the best.
She cooks things for the people she loves, and she's never, never mean
to anybody. Everyone else hits each other all the time."

Ryoko picked up a slice of okonomiyaki and tasted it. "Mmmm... this is
*good*, Sasami."

"Thank you!" Then she paused and thought for a moment. "Ryoko, why
does the little man in the purple clothes keep trying to steal all the
ladies' underwear?"

"I don't know," answered Ryoko, grinning. "Why does Tenchi's dad keep
trying to peek into the women's bath?"

Both of them shuddered, then giggled. Noboyuki's voyeurism was one of
the few subjects all of the girls were in perfect agreement on.

"By the way, where are Aeka and Tenchi?" asked Sasami. "I want to see
if they like it, too."

Ryoko tensed for a moment. She'd really needed to take her mind off of
her worries. Beyond her apprehension about what Aeka had tried to do,
and what might at that very moment be going on in the woods, the
terrible *seriousness* of the day was like a heavy weight on her
shoulders. It had felt very good to laugh again, for a little while.
But now she'd been reminded once more.

"They're out by your sister's tree," she answered.

"When will they be back?"

"I don't know," Ryoko answered quietly.

"Is something wrong?" Sasami inquired, her voice concerned. "You look
kinda sad."

Ryoko was about to answer when she heard a voice from the living room.

"Ryoko?" called Tenchi. He cringed in surprise for an instant as she
appeared in front of him out of nowhere. He *still* wasn't used to her
doing that.

She embraced him and held him tightly for a moment. He responded with
a kiss.

"I told Aeka I'd forgive her if she apologized to you," he said.
"She's in her room, getting changed. Just let her know when you want
to talk."

"But, Tenchi...!" she protested, sounding hurt. Ryoko had known that
Tenchi might try to patch things up with Aeka, but she'd hoped that
he'd find some way to gently let her go, instead.

"Try to listen to her, Ryoko. Please." He started walking to the
stairs. Then he noticed Sasami standing near the entrance to the
kitchen, holding a plate. "Sasami-chan, when I come back down, can you
help me put some bandages on my back?"

"OK, Tenchi," answered the princess. As Tenchi went upstairs, Sasami
turned and looked at Ryoko, her expression puzzled. "What does Aeka
have to say she's sorry for? Were you two fighting again?"

"No, not exactly. She tied up Tenchi, and whipped him," answered
Ryoko.

Joy suddenly filled Sasami's face. "Oh, boy! She finally decided to
show Tenchi how much she loves him!" she shouted, dropping the plate
and jumping up and down. It broke when it hit the floor, but she
didn't seem to notice. She ran to Ryoko and hugged her around the
waist. "And he kissed you, Ryoko! Tenchi kissed you! He loves *both*
of you! I *knew* he did! I'm so happy! Now you and my sister won't
have to fight anymore, and you can be friends, and you'll never be
mean to each other ever again!"

Ryoko looked down at the little princess' happy eyes, hating herself
for what she was about to say. Strangers or enemies she could inflict
pain on without hesitation, but not someone sweet and innocent like
this.

"I'm very sorry, Sasami-chan. I wish I didn't have to tell you, but
that's not how it's going to be."

Sasami blinked. "But, why not?" she asked.

"Aeka hurt him, Sasami. I'm very angry with her. And so is Tenchi."

"But daddy never seemed to mind, that much, when mommy whipped him
after he'd been bad," reassured Sasami. "You shouldn't worry. Really.
Tenchi will be OK."

Ryoko frowned, her curiosity piqued slightly, but for now she'd had
all she could stand of the marital habits of Jurai's royal family.

"It isn't just the whipping," she said. "It's what she said he had to
do, to make her stop."

Sasami looked confused. "I thought she'd say he had to tell her he
loves her. Isn't that what she said?"

"No, Sasami-chan," Ryoko said, her voice breaking. "She said he had to
say he doesn't love *me*."

All of the happiness vanished from Sasami's face in an instant.

"No..." she said quietly, slowly shaking her head. "No. She wouldn't,
Ryoko. She *wouldn't*." For a moment she'd thought she'd finally get
to see what she'd wanted for so long, but now those hopes had been
dashed, replaced with the prospect of her worst fears coming to pass.
She sat down, staring at the floor, on the verge of tears. "No...
no... no..." she repeated, over and over.

Ryoko stood there, frozen, looking at the damage she'd had to inflict
and didn't know how to repair. Deciding that anything she might do
would only make things worse, she sat down on the couch.

"Is that what Tenchi said she had to say she's sorry for?" asked
Sasami, after a minute or so.

Ryoko closed her eyes and nodded.

"Will you listen to her?" asked Sasami hopefully.

Ryoko shook her head. "No. Not after what she did."

Sasami moved in front of Ryoko, knelt, and bowed her head. "Please
don't be mad at her so much, Ryoko," the princess begged. "She's
scared of you. She's afraid you'll take Tenchi away from her, and
leave her all alone."

"What makes you think *that*, Sasami?" scoffed Ryoko.

"She said so. Lots of times. But last night she was really, 
*really* scared, and it made her cry a lot. I told her you wouldn't do
such a mean thing to her, but she wouldn't believe me." Sasami paused
for a moment and looked up, her expression very concerned. "You
*wouldn't*, would you, Ryoko?"

"But that's what she tried to do to *me*, Sasami!" snarled Ryoko. Her
fists clenched and her body shook before she managed to control it.
Then she continued, her voice full of cold fury. "There's no way I can
forgive her for that."

Sasami got up and backed away, fear in her eyes as she held her hand
over her mouth. This was the first time she'd ever really felt scared
of Ryoko, the first time the space pirate had ever spoken angrily to
her. For a brief instant, she remembered things Aeka had said, about
what a terrible, cruel, vicious person Ryoko was. Sasami spent a
moment summoning up her courage. Then she sat down next to Ryoko and
looked up at her, her concerned expression tinged with hurt.

Seeing Sasami's face, Ryoko realized that she'd just lashed out
unthinkingly at someone who'd never been anything but kind to her.
Guilt piled up on top of all the grief she'd been through already. It
was just too much. Ryoko doubled over, sobbing uncontrollably.

Sasami's eyes widened in surprise. Ryoko was always so brave, so
strong, and Sasami had never, ever seen her cry before. It made her
feel like crying, herself, and she almost did. But she told herself to
be strong and brave, like Ryoko usually was, and she put her arm
around her.

Ryoko nodded, acknowledging the little princess's gesture, but she
kept on weeping. Gently Sasami pulled her closer and guided the
pirate's head down onto her shoulder. For what seemed like a very long
time, Sasami sat there in silence, holding back her tears for Ryoko's
sake and softly patting her on the back to reassure her that
everything would be alright.

Eventually Ryoko stopped crying, and began to dry her eyes. She
sniffed, then hugged Sasami tightly. "Thank you, Sasami-chan," she
said. "I really appreciated that. I shouldn't have yelled at you."

Sasami looked down, and her face became very sad. "That's OK. My
sister cried that way, too, last night. And she got mad, when I said
that you wouldn't take Tenchi away from her."

Ryoko blinked, unable to think of anything to say.

Then the tears Sasami had held back started to roll down her cheeks.

"I've wished so *much* for you and Aeka to be friends. I've wished for
it, every day. But it never comes true," she said. "And now one of
you's done something so mean, it never *will*." Sasami shook her head.
"I don't want my sister to be so sad. But if I ask you to forgive her,
it makes *you* sad. And nothing I can do will make things better!"
Then she leaned on Ryoko and put her head against her side, crying.

Ryoko fought with herself for a moment. She could only think of one
thing to comfort Sasami as the princess had done for her. It would be
hard, very hard, but she knew she had to.

"Don't worry, Sasami-chan. I'll listen to her," assured Ryoko.

Sasami looked up at her. "You will, Ryoko?"

"I can't promise to forgive her, Sasami-chan. She tried to make Tenchi
say he didn't love me, and that's the cruelest thing anyone's ever
done to me. She'll have to be sorry. *Very* sorry. But I'll listen."
Ryoko smiled. "So don't cry." She reached over and started to brush
the tears from the princess's face.

"She *is* sorry, Ryoko. I just *know* she is. If I did that, *I'd* be
sorry. So she *has* to be."

"I hope you're right, Sasami-chan," said Ryoko, not wanting to crush
the little girl's hopes again.

Sasami beamed. "I *am* right. Everything will be OK. You'll see!"

Ryoko looked at the princess, and couldn't help but smile. 

She heaved a sigh of resignation, deciding that she'd better go and
listen to Aeka's apology now, while the memory of her promise to
Sasami was still fresh. "When you see Aeka, tell her I'm waiting for
her to come talk to me," said Ryoko, standing up.

"But, where are you going to be?" asked Sasami.

Ryoko thought for a moment. There wasn't a spot in the Masaki home she
could truly call her own, where she could wait as mistress of her
domain for Aeka to come to her. Washuu had her lab. The princesses had
their bedroom. But there was no place in the house where Ryoko could
stand and say she belonged.

Suddenly she realized that, now, there *was* a place. Ryoko's heart
warmed with happiness for a moment. Then her eyes flared as cruel,
vengeful thoughts entered her mind.

She'd wait for Aeka in Tenchi's room. The first thing the princess
would see, when she opened the door, would be her rival sitting
triumphantly on Tenchi's bed. Where Tenchi wanted Ryoko to be. Where
she could go now, whenever she felt like it, and be welcomed with
love, not rejected and pushed out.

Where Aeka would never hope to be, unless she humiliated herself to
Ryoko's satisfaction.

Ryoko bared her fangs and flexed her fingers, imagining what she'd
say.

"So, Tenchi doesn't love me, is that it, princess? Then why am I here?
Take a good look. I'm going to be here again, a lot. Would you like a
chance to be here, too? Just a chance? Then *crawl*! And maybe,
*maybe*, I'll think about it."

"Ryoko?" asked Sasami.

"Yes?" answered Ryoko, looking at the princess' face.

"Where should I tell me sister to look for you?"

Ryoko closed her eyes and with great effort controlled her intense
desire for revenge.

"I'll be in the women's bath," she said quietly, before she vanished.

Meanwhile, Princess Aeka stood in her bedroom, changing into a fresh
kimono after having removed her leather gear. She sat down on her
futon, picked up her whip, and eyed it regretfully. Things hadn't gone
at all like her mother had led her to expect.

*That's because mother would have NEVER given up, like YOU did. She'd
have lashed until father gave in, or he died.*

*I doubt that. And I would not kill Ten-chan for not returning my
love.*

*Ha! Beauty, brains, and lots of power? Is that what you say you're
gifted with? Your looks weren't enough to hold Tenchi, you stupidly
let your guard down against Ryoko, and power is nothing without the
will to use it. Such a fine queen YOU'LL make!*

*I sought to hold him with my heart, not my beauty. I could not have
stopped Ryoko forever. And I wish Ten-chan to love me, not be my
slave.*

*So you're going to act as if you're HER slave? Are you REALLY going
to bow, in front of HER? Apologize, to HER?*

*I apologized to her before.*

*That was NOTHING compared to what you're going to have to do now. You
can't possibly go through with it.*

*Yes, I can. Ten-chan asked me to. And there is another reason.*

*Another reason? Such as WHAT?*

*It is what's right.*

*HAHAHAHAHA!!!! It's RIGHT for YOU to apologize to HER?*

*After what I tried to do to her, yes.*

*And the things she's done to you? What of those?*

*Nothing either of us has done to each other has ever been as terrible
as what I did today.*

*Both of you have tried to take Tenchi from each other. What's so
different about this?*

*We didn't try to take him. We tried to have him. We both raced
towards his heart, each trying to get there first and to slow the
other down. But once we both were there, and he'd shown his heart
could contain her AND me, what reason was there to ask him to renounce
her? Why should I ask him not to love her, if he could love me as
well? Ten-chan is right. I should not have hurt her that way.*

*So what? She's nothing! You're a princess, and she's a criminal. Do
what you like to her! Why should you care what kind of pain she
suffers?*

*This has nothing to do with my throne or her crimes.*

*Then what does it have to do with?*

*I am not cruel. That is not how I wish others to see me. That is not
how I wish Ten-chan to see me. And that is not how I wish to see
myself.*

*Cruel? You've always been cruel to each other. Why this sudden
weakness?*

*It has never gone this far before. And I should never have let it.
There are some things even the worst of enemies should not do to each
other.*

*Your pathetic display of goodwill won't help you with Ryoko. When she
sees it, she'll go for the throat. She's going to make you CRAWL. So
don't say you weren't warned.*

"Aeka?"

She started jump in surprise, but she recovered. "Yes?"

Sasami closed the door, and stood next to her sister. "Ryoko says
she'll be in the bath, when you want to talk to her."

Aeka nodded. "Thank you, Sasami."

"And Aeka?"

"Yes, Sasami?"

"Don't worry. Ryoko will listen. She promised."

Aeka blinked. "She did?"

"Uh-huh," replied Sasami proudly. "I asked her."

"I'm sorry if all this has troubled you, Sasami," said Aeka, shaking
her head. "This is my burden. You shouldn't have to bear it for me."

Sasami knelt down next to her. "You're my *sister*, Aeka. I want to.
And everybody being happy is what I want, too. So I don't mind."

"Thank you. That's how a princess should think. How a queen should
think." She sighed and hung her head. "I think, perhaps, you would
make a better one than me."

Sasami stared at her, not understanding.

Having reminded herself of her duties, Aeka sighed again. "If I must
leave, Sasami, do you wish to go with me, or..."

"No!" said Sasami angrily, standing up and glaring at her sister, her
face extremely cross. "No! You're staying, and I'm staying! Anything
else would be so sad, I'd cry forever and ever!" She calmed down
slightly, but her voice remained stern. "You're sorry, and Ryoko says
she'll listen if you tell her, so everything will be OK. I won't let
anything else be true. I won't let it. I won't!"

Aeka smiled, very proud of her little sister's ability to be concerned
and to command, at the same time. She bowed her head.

"Yes, Queen Sasami. I hear, and obey," she said, still smiling. Then
she rose, bent down, and kissed the younger princess on the forehead.

Sasami hugged her, briefly but tightly. "You'll *see*, Aeka," she
said. "Everything will turn out fine. It has to."

"Thank you, Sasami. I needed someone to tell me that. I hope you're
right."

"I *am* right," declared Sasami confidently.

They walked out of their room and down the hall, hand in hand, Sasami
bounding happily at every step.

"Do you really think I'd be a good queen?" she asked.

"Oh, yes," responded Aeka.

Sasami thought for a moment. "But a queen has to be mean sometimes,
and tell people to hurt each other. Right?"

Aeka nodded. "Sometimes."

"I don't want to be a queen, then," said Sasami.

"There are times, Sasami, when a princess must also do those things,
if there is a reason."

Sasami shook her head. "I won't," she said vehemently. "Not ever. I
*won't*. There isn't any reason good enough."

Suddenly, they were standing in front of the door to the bath.

As her sister watched, Aeka slowly summoning the strength of will to
open the door. She closed her eyes, preparing herself for a difficult,
painful task. At first the flimsy panel of wood and paper seemed to
weigh as much as a giant stone block. Then it moved aside. She opened
her eyes, and made herself look.

Ryoko sat in the bath, her gold eyes simmering. The eyes glared at
Aeka for a moment. Then they went to something else, and softened.

Beside Aeka, Sasami returned the pirate's gaze hopefully.

The fire in Ryoko's eyes cooled to embers, and she nodded,
acknowledging her promise to Sasami.

Aeka braced herself, walked inside, and closed the door behind her.

Sasami sighed with relief. Then, for just a moment, doubts and worries
stirred inside her. She repeated to herself what she'd told Aeka and
Ryoko.

"Everything will be OK. I'm right. You'll see."

She nodded, then smiled. She skipped out to the living room, to wait
for Tenchi.

He was already there, sitting on the couch and wearing his kimono.
Next to him sat a first aid kit.

"Ready, Tenchi?" she asked.

"Uh-huh," he responded. He pulled his arms out of the sleeves, letting
the top of the kimono gather around his waist. Then he lay down on the
couch, on his stomach.

"Wow!" Sasami gasped, looking at the wounds across Tenchi's back. "She
*really* loves you. Really!" She curiously touched one of the welts
with her finger.

"Ouch!" winced Tenchi. "Don't poke at them, Sasami!"

"I'm sorry, Tenchi," said the princess, as she opened up the first aid
kit. She counted the lashes. "Only nine times?"

"Only?" asked Tenchi in a surprised voice.

Sasami didn't notice his tone. "Mommy said once that the first time,
she whipped daddy until he fell unconscious. She said he really liked
to play hard to get!"

Tenchi cringed and remained silent.

"Hmm... it looks like Aeka already put salve on them," observed
Sasami.

"Yes, but Ryoko brushed most of it off by accident."

Sasami got out some cotton swabs and a bottle of hydrogen peroxide,
and began cleaning the wounds. "Mommy will be kind of upset, though.
It's against tradition, a little. But I think it's sweet."

*Sweet?!?!* Tenchi shook his head in disbelief. "What do you mean,
`against tradition'? Aeka said this *was* a tradition."

"Not before you're *engaged*, Tenchi!" giggled Sasami. "Otherwise it's
very, very naughty. But that's why it's sweet. She doesn't care,
because she loves you so *much*."

Tenchi sighed sadly. He knew how much Juraian traditions mattered to
Aeka. If she was willing to break them, it could only be for some
incredibly-important reason.

*Why did she HAVE to demand I do the ONE thing I wouldn't do for her?
Why did it have to be THAT? WHY? WHY? WHY?* 

Sasami got out some bandages, and started applying them.

Tenchi's fists clenched in anger. He wished that, somehow, things had
gone differently. If Aeka had just said *something*. If she'd only
*asked* him first, instead of tried to force him. He would have been
very angry, but he could have explained to her *why*, before
everything got out of hand.

"What's wrong, Tenchi?" asked Sasami in a concerned voice, halting her
bandaging of his wounds. "Did I hurt you?"

"No, Sasami-chan," he answered. "It's just that what Aeka wanted me to
do was very bad."

"Yeah, Ryoko told me," Sasami answered sadly. "I'm sorry Aeka did
that, Tenchi. Please don't be mad at her anymore."

Tenchi sighed again. "I can't promise anything, Sasami-chan."

Sasami shook her head. "I keep saying that everything will be alright,
but no one wants to believe me," she said. Then her voice hardened.
"If everybody keeps being mean to each other, I'll be mean, too. I
won't cook anymore, and you'll have to eat Ryoko and Aeka's food."

Tenchi shuddered. "That's not a very nice thing to say, Sasami- chan."

"If you make me unhappy, I'll make you unhappy," she replied
stubbornly. Then she remembered her conversation with her sister.
"Aeka says that a princess has to be mean sometimes, and hurt people,
if there's a good reason. And Aeka and Ryoko's cooking will really,
*really* hurt you!" She paused for a moment, then continued in a
concerned voice. "Don't tell them I said that, though, Tenchi. Please?
It would make them very sad."

"I won't. But it's not up to me, anyway, how things go," said Tenchi.
"It's between your sister and Ryoko, now. If Ryoko forgives her, I
will, too." He wondered how true that was. Even though he had promised
Aeka that things would be the same as they were before, how long would
it be before he could trust her again?

"Then it'll be OK. Just like I said," answered Sasami.

After a few minutes of silence, Tenchi spoke again.

"Sasami, can you explain some of these Juraian traditions to me? The
ones about the whips, and all that, I mean?"

"Sure, Tenchi!" answered Sasami cheerfully, as she closed up the first
aid kit. "Would you like some tea, while I tell you?"

"Thank you. That would be nice."

"Let's go to the kitchen, then..."

Down in the pocket dimension that contained the women's bath, the two
rivals for Tenchi's heart met once again. This time, it was the
galaxy's most-wanted criminal who sat in the water, thinking. And it
was the crown princess of planet Jurai who entered, as if summoned by
the space pirate's thoughts.

Aeka slowly made her way across the tiles towards Ryoko. Hostile
feline eyes warily observed the princess' every step, piercing the
clouds of steam like amber needles. The vapor rising from the bath
made it seem as if the heat of Ryoko's anger was causing the water to
boil. The slight draft Aeka had let in when she came through the door
passed through the humid air, making it swirl chaotically, mirroring
the thoughts and emotions clashing within Ryoko's mind.

Memories of insults, injuries, and hosts of other wrongs, great and
small, real and imagined, rose up and clamored loudly for vengeance.

Ryoko fought them all down. Tenchi had asked her to listen. And she'd
*promised* Sasami that she would. Honesty usually didn't mean that
much to Ryoko, but she knew that if she wanted to be able to look
either Tenchi or Sasami in the face again, she had to at least hear
Aeka out.

Aeka kept coming closer, taking small, steady steps. Her back remained
straight and stiff, but her eyes watched the ground a few paces in
front of her, unwilling or unable to look Ryoko in the face. A meter
or so from the water, she stopped and stood still, not seeming to know
what to do next.

Then Aeka looked up, and for an instant their gazes met. A mix of
contradicting emotions rose in Ryoko's heart as she saw the panic and
misery that filled the princess' eyes. She'd always thrilled at her
ability to inspire terror in an enemy's heart, always savored the
sweet taste of fear. But this time it had a bitter flavor. And Aeka's
obvious grief and pain brought back memories of her own, again. Ryoko
tried very hard to hate the princess, and to enjoy the signs of her
anguish, but found that she couldn't. At least, not the way she had
before.

But hate, or no hate, she wasn't going to let Aeka off easily, if at
all.

As Aeka's gaze returned to the floor, something seemed to change about
her. Though her posture remained proud, everything else about her
seeming to collapse, until she was like a hollow shell of a woman
being held up solely by the last flimsy scraps of her pride.

And then those fell away.

Slowly, trembling as if her humiliation were physical pain, Aeka got
down on her knees. A slight smile of satisfaction played across
Ryoko's lips.

*So, finally decided to yank that steel ramrod out of your ass,
princess?*

Aeka placed her palms flat against the tiles, and put her forehead on
the backs of her hands. It was the humblest bow possible. Ryoko
couldn't help but be mildly impressed. It was probably the first time
in generations that a member of Jurai's royal family had managed such
a feat.

"I have come to apologize to you, Ryoko," said Aeka quietly.

"`Apologize'?" scoffed Ryoko.

"Very well. I have come to beg forgiveness of you, Ryoko. Whatever
humble words you wish of me, I will say. I only ask that you listen."

"I'm listening," said Ryoko. "For now. You'd better make it good."

Aeka kept her head bowed. "I'm sorry, Ryoko. For what I did to you."

"You've done a lot of things, princess. You'll have to be more
specific."

"I tried to make him renounce you. I shouldn't have."

"You tried to make him say he didn't love me." It was an accusation,
not a question.

"Yes," admitted Aeka.

"You tried to make him *lie*," said Ryoko proudly.

"I didn't know that, then. I do now. Ten-chan told me."

"What else did you tell him to do?" asked Ryoko.

The princess shivered for a moment. "I don't think you want to know,"
she answered.

Under the water, Ryoko's fists clenched. "Tell me, dammit! I can
guess, but I want to hear you say it."

Aeka swallowed hard. "I told him he wasn't to speak to you, or look at
you," she said, trembling with the knowledge that she might well be
uttering her own death sentence. "Or touch you. Or say your name."

Fire blazed in Ryoko's eyes. "And I should forgive you?" she demanded.
"For *that*?"

The princess shook her head slowly. "I didn't say that you should. I
merely asked that you do."

"Do you have any idea how it felt?" growled Ryoko, a hint of the
killing urge rising in her again.

"Yes, I do," replied Aeka, surety in her voice.

At first, Ryoko's only answer was a long span of silence.

"What can you do to make it up to me? What can you do to *prove*
you're sorry?" she asked finally.

"I don't see how I can do either," replied Aeka. "My sincerity you
must judge for yourself. As for making it up to you, I know of nothing
I have that you would want."

*And here's where she makes you crawl...*

"I'm sure I'll think of something," threatened Ryoko.

*See! Exactly as predicted!*

Aeka searched for something she could say. "I'm *sorry*, Ryoko. I see
that you love him. I should have never tried to take him away from
you. I know how much that hurt you, because I love him, too."

No sooner had she finished speaking, than a memory of her own voice
answered her, full of cruel, merciless contempt. "You know I don't
believe your lies about that!"

She looked up at Ryoko's face. The space pirate nodded for her to
continue, her expression unreadable.

"*Please*, Ryoko!" Aeka begged, her voice plaintive. "What can I say
that you will believe? I'm sorry for what I did to you, and to Tenchi.
I'm sorry!"

Again she heard herself answering. "Your apology is accepted.
Not that you've fooled me for moment into thinking it was sincere. I
shall tell Tenchi what you have done. But being what you are, it would
serve you right if he drove you out of here and never spoke a word to
you again! And I will do my best to convince him to do exactly that." 

Aeka bowed her head in shame. She could scarcely believe that she had
said those horrible words, to anyone. How *could* she have? Yet she
remembered them clearly. They sounded so different now, directed at
her.

*You did it to yourself. How can you expect her to forgive you, after
you said those things? Now she will refuse to listen. Just like you
didn't listen to her. And it will be what you deserve.*

She waited, trembling, for the sword of her own making to descend on
her. Seconds passed, and Ryoko said not a word.

*She's enjoying this. She's going to savor every bit of your shame,
and then she's going to laugh at you, and tell Tenchi she doesn't
believe you. And for what you did that morning, she's going to
humiliate you. She has every reason to. But you gave it to her. You
put that weapon in her hand, yourself.*

Then a thought occurred to Aeka: unmake the sword.

"I'm also sorry about what I said to you, in the bath the other day,"
continued Aeka. "I didn't apologize sufficiently before. I intend to,
now." She paused for a moment. "I shouldn't have called you a whore,
Ryoko. I shouldn't have said that you were insincere. And to tell you
that your love for Tenchi was a lie, or to threaten to make him send
you away... there was no excuse for that. I don't remember everything
else I said, but I take it back, now. Please forgive my insults, and
how I treated you."

Ryoko stayed silent for a while, and Aeka nervously waited to see if
she'd managed to placate her, or merely reopened old wounds.

"Tenchi asked you to apologize about that?" Ryoko asked, a trace of
confusion in her voice. "I didn't think he knew.

Aeka shook her head. "I wouldn't tell Ten-chan about that," she
replied, ashamed. "It isn't something I'd wish him to know I did."

*And now she's going to go make sure he DOES know. Such brilliant
strategy! Most impressive, indeed!*

"Why should I trust you? How do I know you won't try this again,
sometime?"

"I swear to you, Ryoko. I won't." Hope stirred in Aeka's heart. It
sounded almost as if the apology she had fought so hard to force out
of herself was about to be accepted.

*Enjoy your hope while you can. She's about to destroy it.*

"How can I know you'll keep that promise?" demanded Ryoko.

*See?!*

Aeka tensed, not daring to suggest what she knew Ryoko was thinking
of.

"Swear by your love for Tenchi, princess. I'll accept that."

"You... believe me about that?" asked Aeka in disbelief.

"I know you, Aeka. For you to bow and say you're sorry, there had to
be a *very* good reason," Ryoko said, sounding both disappointed and
relieved.

Aeka nodded. "By my love for Ten-chan, I swear it to you."

"Apology accepted, princess. You can get up, now."

Slowly, Aeka rose. It was difficult to stand. All of her strength
seemed to have been expended in the terrible effort of kneeling and
speaking apologetic words. Wearily she reminded herself that she had
put herself in that position herself. But she wished very much that
she could have spared herself the pain. And Tenchi. There was a way,
she considered. A very strange way, something she had never
contemplated seriously before. Perhaps it might work, though. She
decided to try.

Then she got out of her kimono, and slid into the water. For a while,
the two of them sat, soaking, not making a sound.

"Ryoko, can we talk?" asked Aeka.

"Yes, last time I checked," replied Ryoko, not sounding very
interested.

"I mean like other people," the princess said. "Just have an honest,
open conversation. Without the usual... unpleasantness."

Ryoko chuckled. "I suppose it's *possible*. Any particular reason?
You're not exactly catching me in a good mood."

"We need to discuss Ten-chan," explained Aeka.

Ryoko nodded reluctantly. "Yeah, I guess we do."

"We have to come up with some sort of arrangement," Aeka suggested.
"So that things like this don't happen again."

Ryoko nodded again. "I don't really like it, but if we're going to
have to share him, I was going to suggest we alternate nights. Or
maybe use jan ken."

"Not jan ken," answered Aeka, shaking her head. "It would be
impossible to plan ahead. We could leave it up to Ten-chan, I suppose,
though."

"Then we'd spend all our time trying to convince him, and never get to
actually *do* anything. Besides, listen to what you're saying. Tenchi,
*choosing*?" Ryoko laughed, then smiled. "I wouldn't have him any
other way, but `Tenchi' and `decision' don't belong in the same
sentence."

Aeka nodded. "Ten-chan doesn't *want* to decide. About us, I mean. He
told me as much."

"Yeah, I figured. Tenchi can't make tough choices like that. Not yet,
anyway. Even if it's just for the night, instead of forever, he still
wouldn't be able to make up his mind."

"I don't wish him to have to. It would hurt him. As you say, it
wouldn't as much, each time, but it would still be a burden to him."

"You're right," agreed Ryoko. "And I don't want him hurt, either."

"There isn't any reason he should have to be, though. If we can at
least tolerate each other," said Aeka.

"Wow, right *again*!" gasped Ryoko sarcastically. "You're doing much
better than usual, princess."

Aeka glared at Ryoko.

"Sorry, sorry. Force of habit."

"Alternating nights sounds like the best idea, thus far. That way, we
know in advance. So we won't be disappointed. And if we have anything
special in mind," Aeka smiled, "it allows us time to plan."

"I don't like it as a permanent way of handling it, but it'll be OK
for now."

Aeka thought for a moment. "Ryoko, from now on, is there any chance we
can be..."

"We can't be friends," interrupted Ryoko, as quickly as she could.

"That isn't what I was going to say. Of *course* not!" replied Aeka
defensively. "But can't we be reasonable, at least?"

"We're being pretty reasonable now, I think," said Ryoko.

"I meant in general, with regards to Ten-chan. I think, if we'd talked
about it before, the last few days would have been much less painful."
She paused, and looked over at Ryoko. "For all three of us."

"All four of us," corrected Ryoko. "This hasn't been easy on your
sister, either."

"I'm afraid you're right. Seeing people fight has always upset her,
especially people she cares about," said Aeka. "She's told me many
times that she wishes you and I could be friends."

"She's told me that, too," said Ryoko sadly. "I'll be sorry to let her
down."

"Yes, she will be very disappointed. But she has to learn that,
sometimes, wishing for something doesn't make it happen."

Ryoko didn't completely agree, philosophically speaking, but she
nodded anyway. "That's quite a sister you've got. What would we do
without her?"

They both thought for a moment.

"Starve," they said at the same time.

They were silent for a while. Then Ryoko spoke.

"Mind if I ask you a question, princess?"

"No," Aeka replied.

"Tenchi *let* you tie him up, this morning, right?"

"Yes."

"He didn't go out there expecting to get whipped," continued Ryoko.
"He went expecting to fuck."

Aeka nodded, ignoring Ryoko's choice of words for the moment. "I
wasn't misleading him, though. I didn't expect to need to use the
whip. And we were going to make love, afterwards."

"But why did you care what he thought about *me*?" asked Ryoko. "Why
not just get him down on the blanket and enjoy yourself, instead of
worrying about what *I* was doing with Tenchi?"

"I thought you wanted to take him away from me," said Aeka. "Like the
flowers."

"Now, wait a minute!" protested Ryoko angrily. "Let's get things
straight -- *you* took the flowers away from *me*!"

They glared at each other for a moment, before calming down.

"Let's not bring *that* up again," Ryoko suggested. "Otherwise, we'll
be here all night."

"At *least*," agreed Aeka.

"So you thought I was going to do to you, what you tried to do to me?"
Ryoko asked. Aeka nodded. "Sasami told me you were upset last night. I
think I can guess why."

"It was very painful, knowing that you were with him." Ryoko nodded,
and Aeka continued. "The sound didn't make it easier, either."

"Oh, come on, we didn't make *that* much noise!" said Ryoko.

Aeka looked at her.

"I mean, we made a *little*, sure, but..."

Aeka continued to look at her.

"We were that loud, huh?" Ryoko asked.

"*You* were," said Aeka.

"I was just enjoying myself," said Ryoko, sounding just a little
sorry.

"That snarl of yours probably woke the whole house!" Aeka said, trying
to control her anger.

Ryoko blushed. "Well, OK, I guess I was kind of enthusiastic."

"I thought you were *killing* him or something!" said the princess.
"That's what it sounded like. So I went to his door. I was going to go
in, to see if he was alright."

"You're lucky you didn't, princess," said Ryoko, her face and voice
extremely serious. "If you'd interrupted *then*, I'd have cut your
head off before I even realized what I was doing."

Aeka swallowed hard, then continued. "But then I could tell that
Ten-chan was alright, because I could hear the two of you... anyway, I
couldn't stand it. So I went outside for a walk. I went out to Ryu-oh,
and sat for a while. When I came back, you'd opened the window to his
room, and I could hear the two of you again, even louder. Almost as if
you knew I was there, and wanted to make me listen."

Ryoko shook her head. "I had no idea you were out there, Aeka. Honest.
I just wanted to let the cold air in."

"I thought you didn't like the cold," said the princess skeptically.

Ryoko smiled. "Tenchi's plenty warm for me. Anyway, he was getting
sleepy. I wanted to keep him awake." She closed her eyes and sighed.
"It was quite a night."

When she looked back at Aeka, the princess was staring down at the
water. "Did I say something wrong?" asked Ryoko.

"I'm trying not to be jealous, Ryoko," replied Aeka, slowly shaking
her head. "Truly. But I'd rather not hear about last night anymore.
Not when I haven't been with Ten-chan, the way I wish to, yet."

Ryoko's eyes flared and anger filled her voice. "Now, wait a second! I
went through a *lot* of trouble to get you two into that closet
together. So don't complain!"

"I'm not complaining," Aeka assured her. "And I suppose I'm in your
debt for that, though I think I repaid it somewhat by not interfering
with you last night. But a closet is not exactly the place I would
have chosen."

Ryoko folded her hands behind her head, closed her eyes, and smiled.
"*I'd* have been *happy* to screw him in the closet," she said. "Or on
top of the kitchen table, for that matter." Then she paused, seeming
to contemplate the idea.

Aeka noticed. "Don't. *Please*."

Ryoko blinked. "Why not?" she asked, puzzled.

"Ten-chan would find it embarrassing."

"Yeah, maybe you're right," sighed Ryoko. "He is a little shy." Then
she grimaced. "Come to think of it, his dad would probably try to take
pictures."

Aeka shuddered. "Ughhh... I'm very glad Ten-chan did *NOT* turn out
like his father."

Ryoko nodded in enthusiastic agreement. "Yeah, Noboyuki gives me the
creeps sometimes, too. But what was so bad about the closet?"

"It wasn't very comfortable, for one thing," the princess answered.
"But it wasn't the place, really. It was that I'd wanted it to be much
more romantic than that."

"Moonlight? Soft music? Love poetry? That sort of thing?" asked Ryoko,
trying to keep her voice from showing the contempt she felt.

"Oh, no," answered Aeka. "Later, certainly. But I didn't have enough
rope to bind him properly. I didn't even have my *whip* with me."

"I... see," said Ryoko, frowning.

"And after waking up, tied up in the dark, I wasn't in much of a
position to command him, and appreciate his obedience."

"Uh, yeah."

Aeka sighed. "*Today* was going to be my *real* first time with
Ten-chan. When he would kneel before me, and profess his love with
trembling voice. Submit his body without question to my every whim.
Joyfully allow me to bind him and keep him imprisoned within my very
soul..."

"Aeka..."

"Swear his heart in fealty to me, and bow to my desires. Give himself
as tribute, that I might possess him, and use him in whatever fashion
I wished. Steadfastly labor to fulfill my commands, to render to me
all the pleasure I would demand of him. Kneel and pay homage to my
flesh with his own..."

"Ummm, Aeka..."

"Show me how strong was his loyalty, again and again and again!" the
princess sighed.

Ryoko cleared her throat.

"Yes?" asked Aeka.

"I get the picture," Ryoko said angrily. "So, he's your *slave*, is
that it? I don't think I like the sound of this."

"No, not a slave. A knight, rather. But only to be commanded in
matters of love. Not in other things."

"As long as `matters of love' doesn't include anything like what you
tried this morning," warned Ryoko.

"You needn't worry. I swore I would *not* do that, so I won't."

"OK. Just make *sure*."

Aeka sighed again, sadly this time. "I suppose I shall have to wait a
while longer, in any event."

"Well, you had him night before last, I had him last night, so I guess
that makes tonight your turn again," Ryoko forced herself to say.

"Yes, but I wasn't expecting to have to whip him. At least not more
than once. Until his wounds heal somewhat, I doubt he'll feel like
it."

"You're probably right about that," Ryoko agreed.

"Ah!" said Aeka suddenly. "Ryu-oh's sap!"

"Huh?"

"Sasami told me it's properties were able to cure Ten-chan's illness
before. So it should also heal his wounds. So tonight I will take him
out to Ryu-oh..." Aeka closed her eyes and smiled.

Ryoko struggled with herself for a moment. *Here it is. It's much too
late to back out now. She'll be with him tonight, and you can't be.
What are you going to say?*

"Make sure he enjoys himself, Aeka," she said quietly. Then she
glared, her voice threatening. "And take it easy with the whips and
chains stuff, OK? Please?"

"You needn't worry about that, Ryoko. I told you, I never wished to
hurt him. And besides, there isn't much I can do with him if he's
unconscious, is there?"

"Oh, I know at least one thing," said Ryoko, smiling. "It wakes him
up, every time."

Aeka quickly looked away. "I don't think I wish to do that," she said.
"Not yet, anyway."

"Why not? He likes it." Ryoko grinned. "He *really* likes it!" Aeka
shook her head. Ryoko expression became a little angry. "Let me guess,
a princess isn't supposed to *demean* herself like that."

Aeka glared at her. "That's not it at all!" she protested. "It's just
that it involves some rather unpleasant memories."

"Like what?" asked Ryoko.

Aeka looked sadly down at the water again. "Seeing you with Ten- chan,
three days ago."

Ryoko frowned. "Sorry if I don't seem very sympathetic, but it wasn't
easy sitting outside the closet and having to listen to you two,
either."

"You stayed there?" asked Aeka, eyes widening. "Why?"

"So that no one could barge in and stop you," said Ryoko.

"I suppose it must have been... difficult for you," said Aeka, trying
to sound sympathetic.

"Difficult?" asked Ryoko mockingly. "Hearing *that*, after I hadn't
even gotten him to kiss me yet? Listening to him say your name while
he fucked you, when all he ever did when I tried to touch him was run
away?" Angry fire flickered in the pirate's resentful eyes. "Oh, no,
not difficult at *all*, princess."

Aeka sighed, realizing she'd touched a painful subject. "I think,
perhaps, we should talk about something else," she suggested.

Ryoko calmed down and shook her head. "No, go on. What were you going
to say, about that morning?"

"You're sure?" asked Aeka. Ryoko nodded, and the princess continued.
"It was like a game we played. The way we fought over Ten-chan, I
mean. One of us would move, and then the other, and we would argue
along the way. The day that one of us would win seemed so far off. But
when I saw you, in his bed that morning, *touching* him... suddenly
the game was about to end, and so it was no longer a game. It was war.
Victory, or death."

Ryoko nodded again. "I wonder how long our truce will last," she said.

"I was wondering that, as well. If it is peace, or just a temporary
stalemate."

"Even if it's not about Tenchi, I don't think we'll stop fighting."

"You're right," agreed Aeka. "It's gone on far too long for that."

"If it means having Tenchi at least *half* of the time, I can put up
with you," said Ryoko, looking over at Aeka. "Just make sure you keep
our bargain."

Aeka held her head up proudly. "I swore that I would. And I keep my
word, regardless of what you may think of me. But what of you? You
haven't promised *me* anything. And even in the world I *made*, you
managed to take him from me, somehow." She looked hard at Ryoko. "How
do I know you won't be whispering in his ear when you're with him,
trying to possess him and steal his soul?"

"I'm *not* the Demon of Rashomon, Aeka," said Ryoko, slowly shaking
her head.

"Yes, but there's something I don't understand about that. In your
`perfect world', you took Ten-chan away from me. That's what I
expected you to try to do again," said Aeka.

Ryoko nodded.

"Then, why? Why did you do what you did?" the princess asked.

"Arrange for him to fuck you, you mean?"

"I wouldn't put it so crudely, but... yes. Why?"

"Alright, I'll be honest," said Ryoko, giving a reluctant sigh.

"That would be an interesting thing to see."

Ryoko glared at Aeka.

"I'm sorry. Go ahead."

"I had to have him, Aeka. I *had* to. And that was the only thing I
could think of that I hadn't tried. I wasn't going to share him with
you. I figured I'd only have to let you have him once. But,
afterwards..."

Aeka waited while Ryoko looked down at the water and smiled.

"Afterwards, I was so happy that Tenchi loved me, I didn't care about
anything else. If I could just hear him say `I love you, Ryoko', and
be able to touch him without him trying to run away... nothing
mattered to me, besides that." 

Silently Ryoko recalled the alternatives as she'd seen them. The
presence of someone she intensely disliked, even hated. Or the absence
of the only person she loved. Irritation. Or loneliness.

It wasn't a decision at all.

She looked over at Aeka. "That's what I was coming to tell you, this
morning. I waited in the bath for you, but you never showed up."

Aeka hung her head. "I took my bath very early. I didn't want you to
be able to interfere."

"Would you have listened, if I'd talked to you then?" Ryoko asked.

"I'm not sure," replied Aeka. "Unless I'd seen that Ten-chan loved
you... I just don't know. I truly wish things could have gone
differently."

"No point in dwelling on it, I guess." Ryoko thought for a minute or
so. "I still don't get the thing with the whip, though. You didn't
*want* to hurt him, right?"

"Of course not! I told you before!" snapped Aeka, quickly becoming
angry.

"Why, then?"

"Juraian tradition demanded it," said Aeka.

Ryoko frowned and shook her head. "I don't buy it. If you cared about
tradition more than Tenchi, you would have gone home as soon as Kiyone
showed up with the Yagami. I'm sure the Galaxy Police wouldn't mind
leaving an out-of-the-way system like this one unpatrolled for a
little while, in order to get the crown princess of Jurai back to her
family. So don't give me that crap."

Aeka rankled at the slight to her honesty, but restrained herself.
"I'm not saying tradition was more important. But it wasn't something
I could just *dismiss*. And, in any case, that was how I was taught to
handle such a thing. If there was another way, that I thought would
have worked, I would have taken it."

"Well, then, if you wanted to make him obey, why not just seduce him?
OK, all your ancestors would have turned in their graves, or
something. So what?" Ryoko grinned. "At least it would have been fun
for Tenchi. Do you think he'd have minded us competing with each other
*that* way?"

"That's not what I would call a fair contest," said Aeka meekly.

Ryoko looked at her, very puzzled. "Why not? All kidding aside, I
don't think either of us has anything to worry about, as far as looks
go."

"That isn't what I was talking about. It's just that, well, you're
a... you're more... *experienced* in those matters than I am."

Ryoko smiled. "Tenchi was my first, Aeka." Aeka blinked and stared at
her, wide-eyed in shock. "Didn't expect *that*, did you, princess?"

"You're... joking, of course," Aeka said, her voice filled with utter
disbelief.

"Nope."

"But the way you *act*..." started Aeka.

Ryoko interrupted her. "I'm after Tenchi. You think I should act like
*you*, and never get anywhere?"

Aeka fumed at the insult, but continued to press her point.
"Everything you said and did made it seem just the opposite!"

"Oh, I was supposed to advertise it? Like *some* people?" Ryoko asked
innocently.

"But you're so shameless!"

"I love him. I want to fuck him. What's to be ashamed of?" said Ryoko,
sighing happily.

"What I meant was, you're so... sure of yourself," said Aeka, trying
her best not to let her words become a compliment.

It didn't work. "Thanks. But I always have been. With everything."

"But what about all the times you made fun of *me* for that?" the
princess demanded angrily.

"I needed a *reason* to make fun of you?" laughed Ryoko.

Aeka ground her teeth, memories of every one of Ryoko's boasts of her
superior sexual prowess coming back, made all the more insulting by
the pirate's unbelievable revelation that she'd been bluffing all
along. She made herself calm down just a little before continuing. "So
all those jokes you made, all the things you said you knew... you were
*lying*?"

"Hey, I said I'd never been with a man. I never said I was *stupid*,"
answered Ryoko, unable to stop herself from rubbing it in a little.
"Besides, what do you think I watched during all my long trips aboard
Ryo-oh-ki? The news?"

"You mean you watched things like... Tenchi's father's tapes?" asked
Aeka.

Ryoko smiled knowingly. "Oh, you've been going through his collection,
huh, princess?"

Aeka thrust her nose into the air. "It was in the machine. I didn't
know what it was, before I started playing it."

"Which one was it?"

Aeka blushed and twiddled her fingers. "I didn't watch the opening
credits."

"But what about the label?" demanded Ryoko, grinning and pressing home
her attack. "What did it say?"

Aeka sighed, defeated. "The Shameful Diary of the Nurse."

Ryoko thought for a moment. She had the list memorized, and she didn't
remember that title. "When was this?" she asked.

"I think it was the night before my sister's little shoujo manga
prank," replied Aeka. "Which reminds me. Some of the manga on the top
shelf are dirty versions of a program Sasami watches in the morning.
That man is so *disgusting*! Sometimes I just can't believe he's
actually Tenchi's father!"

Ryoko nodded, preparing another trap. "By the way, has he gotten the
latest tape in the Horny Secretary Loves A Raw Dick series yet?"

Aeka shook her head. "I don't know, I haven't checked lately." Then
she cringed, realizing what she'd just said.

"Aha!!" shouted Ryoko triumphantly. "Maybe they should retitle it
`Horny *Princess* Loves...'"

Aeka cleared her throat. "I believe I said I wished this to be a
*polite* conversation, did I not, Ryoko?"

"Sorry. I couldn't resist."

"Did you *try* to?"

"I said I was sorry."

"Alright, then."

"What were we talking about, anyway?"

"Your claim that you hadn't been with anyone, before Tenchi."

"It's not a `claim.' And I said I hadn't been with a *man*."

Aeka's eyes widened, and she slowly started backing away along the
side of the bath. "You mean... you've been with other *women*?" she
asked.

Ryoko shook her head. "Not *other* women, exactly."

Aeka blinked. "I don't understand."

"Sometimes it's very convenient having two of yourself," answered
Ryoko, grinning broadly.

It took a few seconds for Aeka to understand. When she did, she
blushed blue and shivered.

Noticing the princess' reaction, Ryoko decided to needle her again.
"If you like, I'll trade you time with Tenchi, for time with me," she
offered, rising up and licking her fangs. "I'm pretty good. Want me to
wake you up, the way I did Tenchi?"

Terrified, Aeka began retreating even more quickly than before. Seeing
this, Ryoko sank back into the water, laughing.

Aeka clenched her fists. "Will you *please* stop *doing* that! It's
very disturbing!" She sighed. "I'm trying very hard. I thought if we
could learn to talk, we could tolerate each other, a little, and not
upset Ten-chan so much. Don't you care about that at *all*?"

"OK, OK. I'll stop for now. I promise."

The princess calmed down again. "I wish I'd brought some sake. It
would have made things easier."

"Maybe. Anyway, you were saying...?" prompted Ryoko.

"You'd never been with a man, before Ten-chan?" asked Aeka, still
sounding very skeptical. "Truly? I would think that as a... well, a
person not answerable to anyone, without any responsibilities, you
could have done as you liked, in that regard."

Ryoko chuckled. "You'd be surprised," she said bitterly.

"That wasn't how it was?"

"Nope," answered Ryoko, shaking her head.

"Why not?"

"Well, I started my career before I started being interested in guys.
And after that, I was busy. I made a reputation for myself *real*
*quick*. It wasn't long before Nagi set her sights on me. When she's
after you, you hide, or you run. You don't spend your time finding
someone to hook up with. Especially since that `if you want your man
or your woman, come get them' routine is her favorite." Ryoko shook
her head. "I know of a few people who tried to save someone they cared
about from her, and wound up dead. So I made sure I *didn't* care
about anyone, and didn't risk starting to."

"Well, surely you didn't *need* to *care*..."

Ryoko glared at her. "I'll tell you just one more time, Aeka. That's
not how I am."

Aeka nodded. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it the way it sounded."

"Besides, most men don't just walk up and talk to A1 Most Wanteds. Any
man who *would*... well, Nagi's not the only bounty hunter out there.
Not to mention other pirates who'd be happy to get rid of a
competitor. It would have been too risky. In my line of work, you
never let your guard down, or you don't stay in business -- or alive
-- for very long. And the guys you run into aren't exactly full of
charm, either." She frowned, and under the water her hand clenched as
if crushing something. "Towards the end, there was one bastard who
kept saying he wasn't sure if I was even a woman. Said he'd like to
find out if I was one, after all." She brought her fist up in front of
her face, and it shook. "I'd like to hand him his *nuts*."

Aeka stared at her.

Ryoko looked back at her, and smiled. "Don't get your hopes up,
princess. I'm not planning to go off looking for the guy. Besides, he
was Most Wanted, like me. Nagi's probably already found him in a bar
someplace and cashed in his head. Serves him right."

Aeka sighed, gazing at the water again.

"*NOW* what's wrong?" asked Ryoko, her voice irritated.

"Well, I'd thought that was one thing I'd given him that you hadn't,"
she said in a quiet, despairing voice. "That it would make him think
of me as special. And yet it seems it wasn't so."

Ryoko rolled her eyes. "If it matters that much to you, Tenchi doesn't
know. I said I'd never been with a man. I never said I hadn't been
with anything *shaped* like a man."

"I... see."

"So will you quit acting like I did something awful because I didn't
sleep around before I met him. OK?" She sank down further into the
water, looking very annoyed. "It's not like I *planned* it that way,"
she muttered.

Aeka nodded. "I didn't mean to imply that. I'm just rather surprised."

"Disappointed is more like it," said Ryoko.

"Perhaps," admitted Aeka.

"So, what about you?" asked Ryoko. "Any men in your life, before
Tenchi?"

Aeka shook her head. "No. I had to maintain my chastity. It was
expected of me. Besides my duty to produce an heir to the throne, and
the bonds of tradition, a royal marriage is a matter of great
political concern. I am obligated to place the interests of Jurai
first when choosing a husband. Treaties, alliances, even wars are
often decided by such things. And until the marriage takes place, all
options must remain open. I must not allow myself to choose, or even
*appear* to, for personal reasons. It would be a breach of loyalty for
me to do so." She stopped for a moment, then continued more
contemplatively. "As I *have* done. My parents will be most upset with
me, should they learn. Especially my father."

"Uh, speaking of `heirs', shouldn't you take some, you know,
precautions?" asked Ryoko, sounding a bit concerned.

"I already have. I started quite some time ago, actually. Washuu was
most helpful."

Now it was Ryoko's turn to stare in shock.

"You *planned* to sleep with him?" she asked, incredulous. "I didn't
think you'd gotten past dreaming about your first kiss!"

Aeka smiled. "I may not be as forward as you, but that doesn't mean I
didn't desire him. But what about you?"

"Well, I had a talk with Washuu, too," said Ryoko. Then she sighed,
and hung her head sadly. "Tenchi and I aren't completely...
compatible. Unless I ask her to pull some magic out of her hat,
nothing's going to happen, as far as that goes."

Aeka's eyes widened. "I suppose that should make me happy, but I'm not
sure that it does," she said, her voice just a little sympathetic.

"Thanks," said Ryoko quietly, looking into the water again.

"In any case, most of the men I went to see were *not* the kind I
would have chosen." Aeka shuddered. "The last one was probably the
worst. Insufferably arrogant, but without any justification for his
pride. And he had pink hair! Really, where does my father *find* them?
A circus?"

"Pink hair?" laughed Ryoko.

Aeka nodded, smiling. "To think of being touched by something like
*that*... brrrrrrr!!!" She thought for a moment. "Ryoko, please don't
take this the wrong way, but what attracted you to Ten-chan? Even if
you hadn't found anyone before, I would have thought you'd want
someone more... aggressive, or something."

"I'm not sure when I really started to love him, exactly. But
something hit me, when I first saw him." Ryoko closed her eyes and
thought back, her face happy.

"I know you crashed after your battle with Mihoshi. And I heard about
the fight at the shrine, later that night. But neither you nor
Ten-chan has ever told me about what happened in between."

"Well, I woke up in the middle of the wreckage, and Tenchi was holding
me. He gave me some water, and he asked me if I was hurt." Ryoko
smiled, remembering. "I guess it doesn't sound like much, does it?"

"Not really, I suppose," agreed the princess.

"It was."

Aeka waited for Ryoko to continue.

"Like I said, I'd always been alone. But that really didn't seem to
matter. I didn't have anything holding me down. I didn't need or care
about anything, anyplace, or anyone. And I *prided* myself on that.
But it cut both ways, and I didn't realize how empty that made me
feel, until someone *did* care, for a moment. When Tenchi found me
that day... it was the first time I can remember that someone wanted
to help me, instead of trying to kill me or capture me and claim the
reward money. The way he asked if I was hurt, not *wanting* me to be,
instead of hoping he'd found an easy kill." Ryoko paused and thought.
"You know, I guess I should thank Mihoshi for shooting me down. It was
the happiest crash landing of my life." She looked over at Aeka. "What
about you? Tenchi doesn't have a crown or anything. He's not out to
carve himself an empire. And he treats you pretty much like he treats
everyone else around here -- a little more polite, maybe, but no
official protocol, no ceremonies, *nothing*."

"But that's exactly why I love him," said Aeka, smiling.

"Oh?"

"I met quite a few men. That was why I was going to the marriage
meetings, after all. As I said, none of them appealed to me. They were
very polite, and they *pretended* to care. All so carefully planned,
so calculated, so... false. So many sweet words, and not one of them
sincere. But Ten-chan was *different*. He was the first man who tried
to make me happy, without caring that I was crown princess of Jurai.
Looked at me with concern in his eyes, real concern, from his heart,
not from his desire for power. Treated me as if I were a real person,
not someone who would one day occupy a throne, with the throne being
much more important than *me*. None of the others had ever even
*tried* to do that." She sighed. "I suppose I should also thank
Mihoshi, for sending that distress call. She wasn't the one needing to
be rescued. I was."

"Sounds like you've got a pretty good reason," admitted Ryoko.

"You, as well," agreed Aeka reluctantly.

"I think we've been soaking long enough," said Ryoko. "And I think
we've gotten everything off our chests, for now."

Aeka braced herself for the inevitable wisecrack at her expense.

It didn't come.

"Want to shake on our agreement?" asked Ryoko.

Aeka extended her hand, and Ryoko accepted it. "Well, then. Tonight
he's mine, tomorrow night he's yours, and so forth afterwards. Where
do we divide things?"

"How about at dawn?"

"Fair enough. No fighting over Ten-chan. Neither of us may ask him to
decide between us, nor sway him against the other. We share him
equally."

"And no whips or that kind of thing," demanded Ryoko. "Unless he wants
to."

"Very well," said Aeka. "I think we should also try not to argue, at
least in front of him," she suggested. "If we can avoid it."

"Fine," agreed Ryoko. "I think that covers everything."

"I believe so, as well."

"Then I swear, by my love for Tenchi, that I'll hold myself to this.
If you do, too," Ryoko said, her face and voice solemn.

"And I swear, as I love Ten-chan, that I will also abide by this. So
long as you do as well," replied Aeka, equally serious.

The kept their hands clasped for a moment, each one looking the other
in the eye, just the faintest hint of respect in their expressions.
Then, silently, they got out of the bath and began to dry off and
dress.

In the kitchen, Sasami continued trying to explain things to Tenchi.
She wasn't making much progress.

"Well, there was the time mommy was reciting one of her poems for the
Royal Court, and daddy said some mean things about it. So everyone
left while she made him see how bad he'd been."

Tenchi blinked. "Your mom whipped your dad because he made fun of her
poetry?"

Sasami laughed. "Don't be *silly*, Tenchi! The whip is for when you
*do* bad things, not for when you *say* bad things. That's what candle
wax is for!"

"C-c-candle... wax???" shuddered Tenchi.

"Oh, that's right! I don't think we have any candles, so I'll have to
get some for Aeka. Can you remind me, if I forget?"

Tenchi cringed at the very thought. Sasami noticed, and looked at him
curiously.

"But, why are you worried, Tenchi?" she asked. "You haven't said
anything mean to my sister, have you?"

"Well, no, I don't *think* so..."

Sasami smiled and jumped out of her chair. "I'd better write it 
down, just in case!" she said, grabbing her shopping list. After
adding "candles" and "burn creme" to the things she needed to get, she
sat back down. "I'm so glad my sister decided to show you how much she
loves you, Tenchi," Sasami declared happily. "Aren't you?"

Tenchi groaned. "Is it really true that your *mom* gave her that
whip?"

"Sure! It was at Aeka's birthday party four years ago. Mommy said she
was a big girl now, so she could have a whip. And she could stay up
later, too." Sasami's eyes danced. "I can't *wait* until I get
*mine*!" she said enthusiastically.

Tenchi laughed at the image that conjured up.

"What's so funny, Tenchi?" asked Sasami.

"I just can't picture you with a *whip*, Sasami-chan," he answered.

"Why?" asked the princess, pouting very sadly. "Do you mean boys won't
think I'm pretty?"

"No, I didn't mean it that way," assured Tenchi.

Sasami still looked rather hurt. "If I was mean, I'd tell Aeka you
said that. It wasn't very nice."

Tenchi wracked his brain and tried to think of what the proper way to
apologize would be. He smiled and patted her on the head. "I'm sorry,
Sasami-chan. I'm sure you'll have a whip, too, when you grow up. But
you'll be so pretty, you'll never have to use it."

The sound of two throats being cleared caught their attention.

"You shouldn't flirt with someone your older sister is interested in,
Sasami," said Aeka, smiling and standing in the doorway.

Next to her, Ryoko nodded, also smiling. "And it's dangerous to try to
steal a pirate's treasure. Watch it, kid."

Sasami's eyes went wide. She jumped out of her chair and threw herself
at the pair, trying her very best to hug both of them at the same
time. After a while she gazed up at them.

"You're friends now, right?" asked Sasami.

Aeka and Ryoko sighed. Then they looked at each other, smiled, and
shrugged.

"Perhaps a just little," replied Aeka. Ryoko nodded in agreement.

Sasami turned around and looked at Tenchi as she stood in front of
Ryoko and Aeka, the little princess' face very happy and very proud.

"So, everything's OK?" asked Tenchi.

"More or less," said Ryoko. "Everything's decided on."

"Uh, don't I get a say in this?" he asked.

She smiled. "We don't have *forever*, Tenchi."

"Well, then, is there anything I should know?"

"You needn't concern yourself, Ten-chan," assured Aeka. "We don't wish
to burden you. We've agreed not to fight over you. Isn't that enough?"

Hearing that, Sasami's face brightened even more.

"I guess I don't have any choice," muttered Tenchi, just a little
perturbed.

Ryoko chuckled. "Since when have you *wanted* to choose, Tenchi?" she
asked, smiling affectionately at him. Tenchi hung his head for a
moment, apparently having heard this sentiment before. "I *can* make
my own decisions, you know."

"Not without pain," replied Aeka. "And for you to be hurt is the last
thing in the world either of us wants. You do not wish to choose one
of us, so you will have both of us. That is what we've decided upon."

Tenchi grinned. "Both of you? At the same time?"

"NO!!" they replied simultaneously.

"*Really*, Ten-chan! How absurdly vulgar of you!" sniffed Aeka.

"He's his dad's son, all right!" growled Ryoko.

"I was just kidding," Tenchi said sheepishly. "Then, uh, what's the,
you know, *schedule* going to be like?"

Ryoko looked over at Aeka. "I don't think he deserves to know,
princess. Do you?"

"After what he just suggested? Certainly not!" answered Aeka
haughtily. "The consequences of his folly will teach him wisdom." Then
her proud expression broke with a laugh.

"You're worse than grandpa. Both of you," Tenchi said. But he was
smiling. "So, what now?"

"Dinner. I'm *starving*," said Ryoko.

"Yes, I'm rather hungry, as well," agreed Aeka.

Sasami hung her head, ashamed. "I forgot to fix something," she said
quietly. "I was talking with Tenchi, and I forgot all about it. I'm
really sorry."

"It's my fault, Sasami-chan," said Tenchi. "I shouldn't have
distracted you. I'm sure there's *something* we can eat." He got up,
went to the cupboards, and started pulling things out, while Sasami
searched through the refrigerator.

After a few minutes, they sat down at the table over a meal of instant
ramen, instant miso soup, and some rice Sasami had hurriedly cooked.
Once they finished, Aeka got up, and stood next to Tenchi.

"Would you like to go out to Ryu-oh with me, now?" she asked.

Tenchi swallowed hard. "I'm not sure I'm ready to do that, right now.
Not after what happened."

Aeka's face looked very hurt. "But, Ten-chan! You promised me!"

"I'm sorry, Aeka. I'm just not ready."

"I see, *Tenchi*," she answered pointedly.

He looked down at the floor. "Ae-chan, it may be a while before I feel
alright about that stuff again."

"Ten-chan, you said we could start over. Can we at least walk
together? Just walk, and talk to each other? Nothing else?" She looked
him in the eyes. "You gave me that much, when we were but strangers."

Ryoko sighed, then spoke, her voice almost inaudible. "Go with her,
Tenchi," she said, staring at her empty rice bowl. "I've forgiven her.
You should, too."

He nodded, and got up. As he did, Ryoko watched him as if he were
marching off to war and might not return, her expression very sad and
worried.

*You agreed to this. Live with it.*

*I'm beginning to wish I hadn't.*

*It was to make Tenchi happy.*

*Yes, but what about me?*

Tenchi glanced over at her, and saw the distressed look on her face.
Aeka averted her eyes as Tenchi walked over to Ryoko and kissed her.

"I'll... see you later, Tenchi," she said softly.

He reached down and squeezed her hand, reminding both of them of
another painful decision he'd forced her to make.

*Her idea of a perfect world is being with me, and all I do is keep
taking it away from her.*

"Aeka, I need to talk to Ryoko for a couple minutes, outside. I'll be
right back. OK?" he said. The princess nodded silently, then turned
around and watched them go, trying to hide the terrible distress on
her face.

*How long will it go on like this? Will I have to share him with her
forever?*

*Is it better than not having him at all?*

*But I was supposed to be going off with him! Why must he go and talk
to her, now, when he should be with ME!*

*You're being selfish and short-sighted. She doesn't want to share
him, any more than you do. He knows that. He wants to comfort her. She
needs his reassurance. Don't begrudge her that. Because tomorrow
night, when he takes her to his bed, you'll want him to do the same
for you.*

*But all he might give ME tonight is kind words!*

*You'll have to persuade him to give you more, then, won't you?*

Tenchi led Ryoko out the front door, and they stood under a sky full
of stars. He watched the sad expression on her face for a moment, then
looked up. Uncounted points of light twinkled in accusation, each one
bringing to mind the disappointment she'd endured on his behalf.

"I'm sorry to make you give up another dream, Ryoko," he said quietly.

"I'll be OK, Tenchi. Don't worry."

"If you look like that, I'll worry."

Ryoko tried to make herself seem happy, and didn't succeed very well.

"It's a nice night for stars," he said. She nodded slightly, staring
at the ground. "I thought you liked to look at them."

"I'd snuff out every last one, if it meant I could have you for
myself," Ryoko said.

Tenchi paused, very taken aback. "I guess I should say `thank you',
but wouldn't that hurt a lot of other people?"

"I don't care," said Ryoko. "I just want to be with you. The rest of
the universe could vanish, and I wouldn't mind."

"I'd mind. There are lots of people who're special to me, and I'd miss
them." He hung his head. "I'm sorry if that means I don't love you as
much as you love me."

Ryoko put her arm around him, shaking her head. "Don't *say* that,
Tenchi! That's not what I think, at all. It's different for you. You
*have* other people. But you're all I've got. What I said about the
universe vanishing, works the other way, too. If I disappeared, you're
the only one in it who'd care." She pulled him close. "I don't want to
be alone again, anymore."

"You're *not*, Ryoko," Tenchi promised. "And I think the rest of them
would care, a little, in their own way. We're all a lot closer to each
other than we seem to be."

Ryoko didn't answer. She looked off into the distance, not sad
anymore, but not happy, either. As Tenchi watched her, the wind rose
and stirred her hair.

"Ryoko?"

"Hmm?" she answered, still gazing at the horizon.

"Please smile. You'll look like you did, then."

Ryoko turned, her face puzzled. "Like I did, when?" she asked.

"In the car. When we were gangsters," Tenchi explained. He smiled.
"You really looked pretty."

Her expression became very surprised. "I didn't think you were
noticing yet, back then."

"I *noticed* from the beginning, even if that's *all* I did."

"Really?" she asked hopefully. 

"I've got eyes," he said, smirking.

"I wish you'd said something, Tenchi. It really hurt, not knowing."

"I'm sorry," said Tenchi. He'd hoped his compliment would have cheered
her up, but it only seemed to sadden her. It would be a while before
he figured Ryoko out, he decided.

"I'm not *mad*," she assured him, squeezing his hand. "It just would
have been nice to know you were at least looking at me. That there was
a chance you'd love me, someday."

"I told you this morning, Ryoko. I've loved you for a while now. I
just didn't realize it." He held her and kissed her again. "But I do
now. So stop acting like I'm going off to *die* or something. OK?" 

Ryoko nodded, starting to smile again.

"That's more like it!" said Tenchi happily.

"Can you do me a favor, though?" asked Ryoko.

He nodded. "Sure. What?"

"Say my name, once, when you're screwing her," she said, flashing a
wicked grin.

"Ryoko!" he said angrily.

"No, not like *that*!" she laughed.

"I'm serious! You wouldn't want me to say *her* name when I'm with
*you*, would you?" he asked.

"Not really," she admitted, frowning.

"Alright, then."

Ryoko smiled again. "Can I have another kiss, instead?"

Tenchi nodded, and started to move to give her one. Suddenly, Ryoko
grabbed him and crushed him in her embrace, pressing her body as
tightly against him as she could. She mashed her lips onto his and her
tongue darted into his mouth as she moaned. She held the kiss for a
long time.

"We can continue that, any time you like, Tenchi," Ryoko said, once
she let him come up for air.

Tenchi gulped. Love or not, it was still frightening to be pounced on
like a mouse. "Yes, but not right now. Aeka's waiting for me."

Ryoko gave him another kiss, a gentle one this time. "I'll be waiting,
too, Tenchi," she said, smiling warmly at him. "Have a good time."

"You're sure you want me to?" he asked.

"Yeah, I guess so," she answered, looking up at the sky. "You're
right. The stars look beautiful tonight."

"So do you," he said, taking hold of her hand.

Ryoko twined their fingers together. "Thanks, Tenchi," she said. Then
she sighed. "It's going to be a boring night. You'll be gone, and I
won't have Aeka to argue with, either."

Tenchi laughed. "Maybe you should go rob a bank, or something."

As they reached the house, he gave her hand one last squeeze, then let
go. Aeka was waiting just inside the door. When Tenchi kissed her,
Ryoko made herself look. It was something she knew she'd have to get
used to eventually, anyway. As Aeka and Tenchi walked out of the house
and down the path into the woods, Ryoko and Sasami stood, watching
them recede from view behind the trees.

Sasami smiled mischievously. "Should we follow them?" she asked.

Ryoko grinned, but she shook her head. "I think we should let them be
alone, Sasami. Why don't we go watch TV, or something?"

"Oh, that reminds me!" gasped Sasami. She turned and ran into the
living room, where she grabbed two videotapes off of the top of the
TV. Then she turned around to run back.

But Ryoko was already floating directly behind her. Sasami giggled.

"Remember the space pirate movie I asked if we could watch together?"
she asked. "Tenchi has *two* of them! He bought another one
yesterday." She held up the tapes, and Ryoko looked them over. One had
a picture of a caped man with a patch over his right eye, a scar on
his cheek, and a skull on his uniform. The other, still wrapped in
cellophane, showed five women outfitted in high-tech weapons and body
armor, clustered around a graceful- looking spaceship.

Ryoko smiled quietly for a moment, wondering if it was just a
coincidence. "I guess Tenchi really likes space pirates," she said
finally.

"So, which one should we watch?"

"Hmmm... it's still really early. How about the longer one?"

Shortly thereafter, Sasami was seated on the couch, and Ryoko lay in
the air next to her, as they watched the TV.

"Are you *sure* this is a space pirate movie, Sasami? It looks more
like it's about this guy flying an old airplane," yawned Ryoko.

"I don't know. Let's wait and see," answered the princess, as she fed
Ryo-oh-ki a carrot.

"My name is Phantom F. Harlock," said the man on the screen. "My
plane, with whom I shared joys and sorrows, is `Arcadia of My Youth.'"

Ryoko reached down and petted the cabbit as the carrot quickly
vanished between happily-munching teeth.

"I kept flying, believing in myself. I have no regrets about my life,"
continued the man.

Sasami grabbed a handful of popcorn from the bowl next to her.

"Dreams do not vanish, so long as people do not abandon them," said
the pilot, as he yanked back on the flight stick.

Ryoko nodded, understanding and agreeing completely. She floated
sideways and began paying closer attention, while the man and his
craft soared higher, defying lightning, cold, and the laughing voice
of death.


Preview of Next Chapter: No Need for Piracy

"So, what are we going to steal, Ryoko?"

Amber eyes glanced in vain about the graveyard-still void that wrapped
the blue-green planet. "I don't see anything *to* steal, Sasami. Just
satellites. And cutting off someone's ESPN service won't be any fun...
Wait a minute! *There's* something launching!" Ryo-oh-ki's sensors
focused on a tiny object over central Asia struggling weakly out of
the gravity well.

"It looks like it's headed towards that white thing with all the shiny
black panels on it," observed Sasami.

"Aha! I forgot, the Earthlings *do* have *somebody* out here." Ryoko
grinned her best predatory grin. "And I'll bet that's their supply
ship. We may get to do some pirating after all, Sasami- chan." A
Terran space-crewman's lunch might not be the most valuable cargo
she'd ever taken, but at least it was *something*.