From gorgo@kwangju.net Sat Dec 20 00:15:08 1997
Date: Thu, 18 Dec 1997 13:33:01 +0900
From: Fred Herriot <gorgo@kwangju.net>
Subject: [fanfic][lemon][UY] "A Remarkable Destiny" Part I


     The first world of the central system of the Fourth Cluster.

     The woman known commonly as either the Ashi'cha or Aiuoeiioei
bites her lips as the shower's throbbing spray danced over her
body.  It was shy of lukewarm, the cold sending sparks through her
nervous system, making her more mentally alert.  Most races view
cold showers as death to one's inner lusts.  The Sagussans, a race
that looked more to the psionic than the physical, yearned for
every chance to escape the bounds of their personal meipyokgh, feel
life as it was truly meant to be felt, with one's very soul.

     Already, her meijasha were hardening, as if Oioai-oiiiui had
spent time giving her some personal attention.  The Elder Mother
liked the doctor as a friend, but found the woman's lust for her
irritating.  Didn't she see Eiuoiiaoii giving her the droopy eyes
of a lovesick sandpanther every time they met in the Dreamscape? 
Well, it wasn't her problem.  If the de'ne couldn't take the hint,
she wasn't going to waste her time telling her the facts of life. 
How many times does one have to say "no?"

     Shuddering, she shuts off the shower, then steps out of the
stall, taking towel in hand to dry herself off.  Normally, it would
be back to cryostasis for her until she was asked to be Duty
Daishi'cha or else go put out some fire somewhere.  But a rover
unit had flashed her an update on worrisome events on Earth.  An
environmental disaster had nearly destroyed the planet's ecosystem,
stopped when Yaminokuni's crown prince had removed ecologically
devastating native mushrooms from Earth's biosphere.  Details were
still sketchy, but according to the rover unit, both the Daimon'cha
and the one suspected of being his Other were somehow involved.

     It grated her, not to mention the other Daishi'cha, that the
time wasn't right to reunite with the one who claimed their hearts
a dozen years ago.  The galactic situation around Earth was, put
simply, volatile.  Their mei'aidoei cousins on Zephyrus weren't
interested in enforcing the Galactic Non-Interference Treaty
despite the Daimon'cha's grandmother being a very influential
member of one of their churches.  The Federation worlds were so
busy shivering from the threats of the Seifukusu Dominion and the
Ipraedies Empire, they didn't once consider what their presence on
Earth was doing to the native culture.  Yet, if Sagussa stepped in,
what?  Would it lead to peace or the Keiseiri'cha's final victory?

     Suddenly, a voice echoes around her.  "*Noa?*"

     She looks up.  That was the name the Other gave her fourteen
years before, in days so innocent, she wondered now if she was ever
that same person.  "Yes, James?"

     "*A private message from Koruneko-sama,*" the Chamber of
Eternity's master computer reports.  "*Koosei Ryooki is dead.*"

     Noa looks up, her indigo eyes suddenly tearing.  Surprising;
she had never met the man.  "How?!"

     "*Supposedly, Niphentaxian rebels who could have deduced his
connection to us, then seen an opportunity to bring down the Church
of Lum,*" James sighs, a sad tone to his voice.

     *Oh, Lyna, not them!!* Noa grits her teeth as she reaches for
her black-and-gold duty jumpsuit.  "Does Henry know?  What's
Koruneko's reading on the threat to the Daimon'cha?"

     "*He believes the threat is presently more against Lum than
Ataru,*" James muses.  "*Still, given the fanaticism the Church
shows towards Lum, they could readily conclude that the 'Great
Evil,'*" the sarcasm in his voice was real, "*...was responsible.*"

     Noa shudders as she rapidly dries her chestnut brown hair,
walking out of the shower room and down the long corridor lined
with cryogenic chambers and their sleeping inhabitants.  "Damn!! 
Okay, threat against the Daimon'cha!!  I'm going to Earth to take
a look!  Get Honey up!  Put the 'Hasei'cha' crew and Pathfinder
Troop Six on first standby!!  Have Shuttle One-hundred ready!"

     "*Acknowledged,*" James responds...

                           *    *    *

                     "A Remarkable Destiny"
                   a Urusei Yatsura lemon fic
                         by Fred Herriot
                        gorgo@kwangju.net
                         **** **** ****
      Based on "Urusei Yatsura" created by Rumiko Takahashi
                         **** **** ****

NOTE:  All standard lemon warnings apply.  This is my second time
at this, so please give me a break.  I'll try to keep it as spicy
as possible without going too overboard.

WRITER'S NOTES

1)   This is my first attempt at a real lemon fic, though in my
eyes, story comes first.  Though this includes the Sagussans, the
Niphentaxians and the galactic situation as espoused in UY-TSY, I
wouldn't classify this as an alternate Tales of the Daishi'cha. 
This story is somewhat inspired by Todd Hill's "The Prince and the
Lecher."  A special nod to him, of course.

2)   Sagussan terms (for those not familiar with them):

daimon'cha     -    First Father.  Ataru's first title on Sagussa.
daite'cha      -    First Citizen.  Ataru's other title on Sagussa.
ashi'cha       -    Elder Mother.  Noa's unofficial title.
daishi'cha     -    First Mother.  Generic title for all Sagussans
                    at this point.
Other          -    The Sagussans' reference for Lum.
te'a           -    That Which Is Above mortal understanding.  The
                    divine nature of Existence.
Creation       -    The progressive force of Existence.
Entropy        -    The regressive force of Existence.
keiseiri'cha   -    Master of Entropy.
tomobiki       -    Place of fools and madmen.  In Romanized
                    Sagussan, would be spelt "toghmoghbiki."
mei'na         -    A person's living soul.
ki             -    Profane expletive.
de'ne          -    One who doesn't use one's mind.  Idiot.
mei'ne         -    Soulless person.  One who doesn't care.
mei'aidoei     -    Half-life.  Lowest insult on Sagussa.
Dreamscape     -    The Sagussans' mental World Wide Web.
Lyna           -    Sagussa's patron saint, heroine of the War of
                    Clone Rights.
paratanun      -    Windrider.  A bird with large wings and a
                    small body.  Sagussa's national symbol.
ran-jugh       -    Sagussan brandy.

Sagussan numbers:  ai (1), ei (2), ii (3), oi (4), ui (5), ao (6),
eo (7), io (8), uo (9), o (10), oa (100), oe (1000), oai (10,000),
ou (100,000).  A Daishi'cha's sequence number like Noa's (19282) is
usually read "Aiuoeiioei" (One-nine-two-eight-two).  When a zero
appears in the sequence number, like Catty's (40435), it is read
"Oioai-oiiiui" (Forty thousand, four-three-five).

And terms concerning relationships and sex:

marei'cha      -    One with whom you raise a child.  Equivalent
                    to the bond between parents.
surei'cha      -    One with whom you bear a child.  The person
                    you choose to be your child's co-parent.
do vanan'cha   -    Short for "Igh do vanan'cha" (My heart is
                    yours).  The oath of bonding.
mavan'shagh    -    Time of no secrets.  The lowering of psionic
                    shields to forge a psi-bond.
tamgh va ragh  -    Lover's dance, an erotic motion done to show
                    the love one has for one's marei'cha.  These
                    days, the phrase is used to describe sex.
namghmun       -    South gate.  A woman's vagina.
namghmuntogh   -    South gate door.  A woman's hymen.
namghmuntapgh  -    South gate tower.  A woman's clitoris.
namghsuyang    -    South ram.  A man's penis.
namghsupgh     -    South forest.  A person's pubic hair.
meija          -    Life bag.  A man's testes or woman's ovaries.
meijasha       -    Life bag hills.  A woman's breasts.
pughmun        -    North gate.  A person's mouth.  Oral sex is
                    frowned on between surei'cha but seen as quite
                    acceptable between marei'cha.
meipyokgh      -    Spirit walls.  One's psi-barriers.
meisuyang      -    Spirit rams.  The psi-bolts used to tap at
                    one's psi-shields.

3)   Sagussan vowels are short unless they're followed by "-gh,"
which while silent, serves the same function as the "-e" in bite. 
For example, namghmuntogh is pronounced NAME-moon-TOE.  When "u"
appears before "-gh," it sounds like the "u" in up.  Sagussan
phrases are always in VOS (verb-object-subject) order.

**** **** ****

PART ONE - SURPRISE REUNION

     *At least the rebuilding's going on schedule,* Ataru muses as
he dispassionately watches lines of construction equipment head to
different parts of Tomobiki from his window seat at a coffee shop
near the Ginza.

     Observers would see a lanky seventeen year old, plain by many
people's standards, a vacant stare in his eyes.  The natives saw
him as the idiot of idiots, cancer of Class 2-4 (soon to be 3-4) of
Tomobiki High School, and the sole cause for all their misfortunes. 
For the most part, Ataru's behaviour didn't contradict their
viewpoints, nor did he do much to change his behaviour, even now.

     His demeanour is truthfully a carefully constructed lie, one
which had duped almost everyone living close to him.  It disguised
an unsure young man wondering where his life was actually going. 
He feverently believed that if he leaned in any direction, outside
forces would seize him and drag him off.  THAT he loathed.  He
wanted control over his life, total control...yet there was nothing
he could do to help him take such control.  For now, what he'd done
seemed the best solution in such an awful situation.  Act like he
didn't know a thing, pretend he was what other people thought...in
some respects, he actually BELIEVED their words...and hope that
something would come along that could change the situation.

     Of course, knowing what was truthfully going on helped.  The
recent mushroom infestation was said to have spread over most of
Earth.  He knew it hadn't gone beyond Tokyo, courtesy of Zephyrite
wind-daises imported from Maigaru by his grandmother Nagaiwakai. 
The wind-daises, a breed specially grown to interact in Earth's
biosphere, decomposed and ingested the mushrooms faster than Rupa's
pigs ever could.  There was no threat to Earth from that quarter.

     Ataru wondered if Rupa had seen it from orbit.  Probably not. 
And if he did, what could he or Invader have done?  The wind-daises
were very prolific as well as brutally proficient; one cargo ship's
worth was enough.  And even if more were required, Ataru doubted
the Yaminokuni or the Urusians were crazy enough to interdict a
ship from Maigaru.  That was grounds for war in the Holy Republic's
eyes...and if that greatest of galactic states so much as sneezed,
the tiny Federation states would be knocked over like dominoes.

     He was able to relax and worry about stopping Lum from using
her memory-erasing device.  It turned out to be quite unnecessary,
but the thought of never seeing the Oni again had struck a deep
chord.  He wasn't ready to admit he loved Lum; even now, he wasn't
sure if he did or ever will.  But having her gone...he couldn't
have that!  Thank the gods that she had accepted that he didn't
want to forget her, then thrown the race on the last day.

     Ataru exhales between clenched teeth.  No place to go.  If he
gave in to Lum, he'd be off to the nearest chapel in the blink of
the eye...and Nagaiwakai Moroboshi would have the Oni assassinated
six hours later!  Ataru's part-Vosian grandmother loathed Lum with
such passion that EVERYTHING she did was suspect.  He knew the
Second Tag Race would just make Nagaiwakai worse.  There was no way
he could go plead Lum's case; Nagaiwakai wouldn't listen.

     And if he revealed Nagaiwakai's existence, it could lead to
the slaughter of everyone he knew.  Tomobiki had a mindset when it
came to Ataru.  He was the bottom of the pack and there he would
stay.  Learning he was the heir to Earth's richest woman, one with
galactic connections Oyuki would envy, would be too much.  They'd
try to destroy Nagaiwakai to ensure Ataru couldn't run to her...and
commit suicide.  With Zephyrus' power at her call as a Righteous
Gentile, it was simple arithmetic.  A Oni chief's daughter, a
Tritonian princess, a Fukunokami chief's daughter, a warped Seishin
teen and her brainless boyfriend, two priests, two rich zaibatsu
families and a district of a hundred thousand didn't stand up to a
ten millennia-old galactic state of two hundred-plus worlds and
technology light years ahead of anything Ataru had seen to date.

     Trapped.  No way out.

     At least he'd get three weeks peace from the idiots around
him.  His great-grandmother Kimaenowakai's bodyguards, the Sunin,
saw to that; they were brutally efficient when it came to dealing
with those who tried to hurt him.  Ataru didn't want them to come
to Tomobiki more often; it would've made even that idiot Mendou
suspicious.  That he didn't want.  Everyone, even Lum's friends
from space, were now in Tomobiki General, in bodycasts as they
recovered from the beating the Sunin gave them after the Tag Race
ended.  Lum was there now, visiting her friends with Ten-chan.

     Even his parents had been put in intensive care; no hearing "I
wish he never was born" from his mother over the next while.  He
couldn't run away even from them though he was tempted.  Who could
he turn to?  Lum?  Nagaiwakai?  Even his uncle's wards in town? 
No, those routes lead to trouble.  No way out.  Damn!  Trying to
figure a way out of this mess was like actually getting his harem.

     Ataru's eyes flick over a pretty girl heading to school.  He
smiles, then turns back to his coffee.  Not now...

                           *    *    *

     Lum bites her lips as she stares at Benten.  The Big Men in
Black (she called the Sunin that to tell them apart from the normal
MiB working in the U.N.'s Special Committee on Alien Activities)
left her best friend with a crushed rib cage, shattered lower legs
and a lot of internal damage.  Not fatal, but the message got
across:  leave Ataru alone.  The Oni was grateful that they hadn't
come after her like they did after the gang had dealt with Elle. 
*Maybe they like me with Darling...whoever they are,* Lum muses,
then taps her friend's shoulder.  "Benten!"

     The Fukunokami's eyes flutter open, then she coughs, wheezing
as the pain lances through her body.  "H-hi, Lum..." she tries to
smile, then coughs again.  "Y-you o-okay...?"

     "I'm fine," the Oni titters, looking as if she minded her
friends being hurt.  She knew she was in enough trouble from them
because of the Second Tag Race.  She hadn't minded the Sunin's
actions...too much.  "How are you?"

     "Sore..." Benten grunts.  "Fuck, they really let us have it
this time..."

     "You're lucky," Lum muses.  "This was just your second time. 
Everyone in Tomobiki got another dose a few months back."

     "That pseudo-war thing you told me about?" Benten stares at
her.  "The one where you lost your powers?"

     "*Tcha,*" Lum nods.  "I wish I knew where they came from..."

     "Ask Moroboshi; he has to know," Benten tries to shrug.

     "Every time I try, he runs away," the Oni frowns.  "I guess
they're something he likes to keep to himself."

     "Wonder what else he's got up his sleeve," the Fukunokami
grunts.  "If he's hiding things from you, I guess that means he
doesn't really care for you..."

     Lum jolts, then feels her body shudder.  Did he?  Didn't he? 
Her questions about Ataru's desires hadn't been answered by the
Second Tag Race.  "I won't forget you," he had said.  Not "I love
you" like she wanted him to say.  Did that mean...he didn't love
her?  He just tolerated her, put up to her, used her, ignored her
until something better came along, perhaps?  Looking down, she
ignores Benten's stare as her thoughts boil.  If he did, why was
she wasting her time?  Was that her fate?  First Rei, then Ataru,
then...?  No true love?  She didn't want that.

     "What're you going to do?" Benten coughs.

     "I don't know," Lum sighs, then blinks as a gentle wave of
cold washes over her back.  "Eh?!"

     She turns to a nearby storage closet just as the door opens,
a mini-blizzard flowing into the room.  As soon as the storm
settles into a pile of snow, it reveals a small, quasi-humanoid yet
feline being dressed in nice robes and a hate resembling a paper
hat kids made to play pirate.  Brushing his sleeves free of snow,
he walks out, then looks around.  In one paw is a wrapped book. 
"Ah, it's been a while since I was last on Earth," he muses, his
voice a deep baritone mixed with a purr.

     "Koruneko-sama, what are you doing here?!" Lum wonders.

     The famous felinoid, who owned a pub and restaurant on Sakusei
Station near Uru, smiles.  "Hello Lum.  Is Princess Oyuki about?"

     "Here," a voice summons from the bed across from Benten's.

     Lum stares sympathetically at Oyuki.  Atop getting a point-
blank blast from a flame-thrower, one of the princess' arms and
both her legs were in casts.  Most of her body was swathed in
bandages; fire and Tritonians didn't mix, even more so than with
other races.  "Oh, my," Koruneko muses as he walks up to her, then
stares at Benten, Lan and Rei (who had the other two beds).  "I
must confess, someone must be very angry at you people."

     "Story of our lives, especially since we met Moroboshi,"
Benten grits her teeth.

     Koruneko stares at her, then gazes at Oyuki.  "I wish my visit
was a simple visit to bring cheer, my dear...but sadly, I come here
today bearing very unfortunate news."

     Oyuki blinks.  "About what?"

     "About Koosei-kun."

     Lum's and Benten's attention was instantly rivetted on the
felinoid.  Koosei Ryooki, a Terran kidnapped by the Ipraedies a
decade before, who later became a galactic vagabond of sorts, was
a good friend to them as well as Oyuki's unofficial fiance. 
"Koosei-kun?" the princess innocently asks.  "What of him?"

     Koruneko closes his eyes, looking down.  Even after thirty-
five thousand years over a half-dozen consecutive lifetimes, he had
never got used to this.  "I am very sorry, Oyuki..."

     Hearing that, Oyuki turns sheet-white as the implication hits. 
"No!" she hoarsely exclaims, then shakes her head, tears flooding
her eyes.  "No!  No!!  It's not possible...!!"

     "It happened about a week ago," Koruneko stares at her.  "He
was on Gomiana, in the capital's Upper Town, when he was attacked
and stabbed to death.  I'm so sorry..."

     "NO!!!!" Oyuki screams as her strength escapes her.  "NO!!!! 
PLEASE, NOT HIM!!!!  KOOSEI-KUN!!!!!!"

     Lum runs over to take the wailing princess into her arms.  The
ward's door then flies open to reveal Sakura and Ten-chan, both
untouched by the Sunin.  "What's going on here?!!" the nurse,
dragooned to help the hospital staff, demands.

     "Oyuki-chan, you okay?!" the younger Oni gasps.

     Lum stares at them, her own face damp.  Oyuki shakes her head,
her face in the Oni's bosom, tears flowing in torrents down her
cheeks.  "Koosei...Koosei...Koosei...Koosei...!" she moans.

     Sakura jolts as memories of her old classmate flow back to
her.  "Koosei?!  Koosei Ryooki?!!  How do you know him?!"

     "How do YOU know about Koosei-onii-chan, Sakura-onee-chan?!"
Ten-chan spins on her.

     "Please."

     Eyes lock on Koruneko.  "Koosei-kun was taken from Earth a
decade ago, Sakura-san," the felinoid announces.  "Yes, I know of
you, child; he told me you were long friends."

     "He's in space?!" Sakura exclaims.  Koosei's fate had always
bothered her over the years.  But admittedly, even she couldn't've
imagined THAT happening to him even after meeting Lum.

     "Yes...he WAS in space," Koruneko sighs.

     The weight of that statement hits the Shinto priestess like a
ton of bricks.  "No...!!" she drops to her knees.  "He can't be..."

     "I'm very sorry," Koruneko looks down.

     Ten-chan stares at Sakura, failing to control her tears, then
to the wet-cheeked Lum and Oyuki, then back to Koruneko, his young
eyes suddenly very older.  "He's...he's...he's gone...?"

     "Yes," Koruneko nods.

     Ten-chan wails as he flies into Sakura's arms, happy memories
of his favourite babysitter flooding back.  Koruneko remains silent
as the others mourn, then turns to Oyuki.  "I wish I could give you
time to mourn, Oyuki, but sadly, there is business to be done."

     Oyuki stares at the diminutive felinoid.  He reaches to her,
his furry fingertip glowing.  A second later, the bandages explode,
her wounds healed.  Oyuki breathes out, then immediately rises to
dress.  "Wow!!" Sakura gapes.  "Can he do that with everyone else?"

     "I've never seen him do that before," Lum admits.

     A moment later, Oyuki stares at her friends, once again the
Crown Princess and Heir Apparent to the Throne of Koori.  "I'll be
back," she nods, then follows Koruneko into the space warp.

     Everyone watches as the warp disappears, leaving behind a
closet full of snow.  "Wonder what that was about," Benten muses.

     "Interesting fellow," Sakura muses.

     "He does things for his own reasons," Lum admits.  "Usually,
they're right on.  I wonder what he has in mind..."

                           *    *    *

     Moments after leaving Earth, Oyuki and Koruneko relax in her
reception room in Koori City.  Neptune loomed like an angry sea god
over her largest moon, the blue of her upper atmosphere hiding the
brutal scars the Seifukusu Dominion left behind a millennia before. 
If there was any proof needed for the Galactic Federation's desire
to keep Earth away from the Dominion's influence, it lay across the
surface of the eighth planet of Earth's very solar system.

     As soon as the two relax, the doors open, revealing a host of
couriers and two of Oyuki's cousins.  "Princess Oyuki!!" her lady
chamberlain bows low, her shock breaking through the characteristic
Tritonian calm.  "We heard the news!  Are you alright?!"

     "I'll...be fine," Oyuki tries to keep calm, then shudders as
more sobs escape her.

     "There, there, cousin," Pukaze, Oyuki's second cousin and the
Lady Constable, commander-in-chief of Triton's armed forces, kneels
to allow her to sink into her embrace.  "Let it out.  It's okay."

     "Koosei-kun...!" Oyuki tearfully burbles.

     Toji, Oyuki's first cousin and the next-in-line to the throne,
joins Pukaze in a group hug as the crown princess vents her grief. 
The others remain silent, then blink as a soldier walks in.  "My
liege, forgive me for interrupting your time of sadness," he bows.

     "Y-yes?" Oyuki stares at him.

     "President Oogi of Phentax Two is here," the soldier stoically
reports.  The respect a Tritonian would normally show to a leader
doesn't go as far as his eyes when it came to THAT head-of-state. 
"He humbly requests an audience with Your Highness concerning
Ryooki-sama's assassination.  He says he bears news on who did it."

     Oyuki blinks, a disgusted shudder tensing her body.  Oogi was
one of the most annoying creatures she had ever met, even lower in
the Tritonian's eyes than Lum's fiance.  His mad worship of the Oni
as a living goddess was comical at best, frightening at worst. 
Still, Niphentaxian help was better than no help.  "Send him in."

     The soldier bows, then leaves.  A second later, a handsome man
looking like a pointed-eared Mendou, right down to the cowlick and
the silver uniform, walks in, bowing very low to one he considered
one of the Goddess Lum's Holy Company.  "Oyuki-sama, my people have
sent me to present their sympathies after hearing of the passing of
your beloved," he announces reverently.

     If she hadn't've been broadsided by Koruneko's news, Oyuki
might have laughed.  Oogi had gone to incredible lengths to make
himself look like Lum's classmate.  However, despite her annoyance
at the Niphentaxians for a host of reasons, Oyuki did recognize
genuine feelings from their president.  "Thank you, Oogi-san," she
nods.  "But surely, your ambassador might have relayed your words
to me instead of having you personally come from Lumukyou."

     "That is true," Oogi rises.  "However, I bear tragic news. 
We've learned who is responsible for the dastardly act which
forever denied him the chance to be one of the Holy Company."

     "Who?!" Toji demands.

     "They're pagans from several of the Niphentaxian Union's
remote colonies, those who've not accepted the True Faith of Lum,"
Oogi sneers in disgust.  "While we have no motive as of this time,
we do suspect that this may be a preliminary step taken before they
move to destroy the Holy Company and Lum-sama Herself."

     "What?!!" Oyuki bolts up.  "Are you sure about this?!!"

     "Their friends on Phentax Ten practically boasted it to our
agents right after news of the nefarious deed came!" Oogi growls,
his fists shaking.  "I've sent troops out to locate them!  As of
yet, they haven't been found...but be assured, when we do...!"

     "You will bring them to me," Oyuki announces.

     Oogi stares at her, then nods.  "Yes, of course we will," he
smiles.  "But, Oyuki-sama, my agents may be so angered at the pain
the pagans have unleashed on you and Lum-sama, they may not be able
to control themselves when the time comes..."

     "I understand!" Oyuki growls.  "Bring them to me, alive!  I'll
have them face Tritonian justice!!"

     Oogi blinks, then nods.  "Of course, Oyuki-sama.  Please
excuse me, but I have to return to carry out the search."

     "Of course, Oogi-san," Oyuki nods.

     The Niphentaxian swiftly departs.  The Tritonians and Koruneko
relax.  "What an infernal creature!" Pukaze spits out.  "Were the
implications not so grave, I'd laugh at their stupidity!!"

     "Agreed," Koruneko smiles.  "But in comparison to others, he
is small.  In the meantime, my friends, I must ask you to leave us. 
My present business with your princess must be conducted alone."

     Everyone stares at him, then nods.  There were few people who
could ever make a demand like that concerning Oyuki, especially in
her own chambers.  Koruneko was one.  Rising, they swiftly exit,
the lady chamberlain closing the door behind her.  With that, Oyuki
stares at Koruneko.  "What business?" the princess wonders.

     Koruneko unwraps the book in his hand.  It is black leather,
a gold symbol on the front.  "My dear, I know how much you two
shared in your brief time together," he smiles.  "Still, at my
request, Koosei-kun kept one secret from all, including you."

     Oyuki breathes in, her eyes locked on the bird-like insignia
on the cover.  Resembling a phoenix, it was, she knew, called a
paratanun.  Depicted with its vast wings ascending to the heavens,
the creature had three stars under its tail and one between the
tips of its wings.  Only one planet made use of this symbol.

     "The Maidens of the Eternal Voyager," she nods...

                           *    *    *

     "Why's everyone so sad?" Shinobu wonders.

     Lum stares at her.  Having been at the edge of the crowd at
Tomobiki High when the Tag Race ended, Shinobu had escaped the
worst the Sunin unleashed.  One arm was in a sling; even her great
strength was hard pressed when dealing with two hundred very well
trained sumo-ninjas, the smallest weighing two hundred kilograms. 
Her health verified, Shinobu would soon be discharged.

     Lum, Sakura and Ten-chan now sit in the hospital cafeteria,
all with damp faces.  "Hi, Shinobu," Lum weakly smiles.  "We...just
got news of the death of a good friend."

     "Oh, gomen nasai!" Shinobu sits beside them, then staring at
Sakura, shudders.  "Who...?"

     "Someone you don't know," Sakura assures her.  "A former
classmate of mine...who, I've just learned, became the first Terran
in intergalactic space, a decade before Ataru."

     "Oh!!" Shinobu breathes out, relaxing.  "I'm so sorry.  Did
you know him well, Lum?"

     "He was Ten-chan's babysitter," Lum indicates her cousin, then
looks down, "...and Oyuki-chan's fiance."

     "Oh, no!" Shinobu covers her mouth.  Of Lum's friends, she
respected the Tritonian princess the most.  "Does she know?"

     "*Tcha,*" Lum nods.  "A friend of Koosei's...came down, healed
Oyuki-chan, then took her back to Triton.  He said it was something
very important.  I just hope Oyuki-chan's okay."

     "I hope so, too," Shinobu bites her lips, then stands.  "I'll
pass it on to the others.  Where's Ataru-kun, by the way?"

     "He refused to come," Lum wryly grins.  "Just like the other
times everyone got stomped by those monsters!"

     Shinobu shakes her head.  While still angry at Ataru and Lum
for allowing the mess with Rupa to happen, even she wondered what
her former boyfriend was like, what went on in his mind.  Right to
the end, he refused to give in, say he loved her.  What did that
mean?  Was he finally sick and tired of her?  What would it mean
for everyone else?  Things seemed so unsure now.  It was scary.

     "Miyaki-san?" a nurse comes up.

     "Yes?" Shinobu stares at her.

     "As far as the doctors are concerned, your free to go," the
nurse smiles.  "Just give your arm time to set in properly.  We'll
call if we want you to come in for a check-up."

     "Thank you," Shinobu stands.  "I better call my parents."

     "I might as well go, too," Lum stands.  "I'll get to my ship
and call Triton to see how Oyuki-chan's doing."

     "Lum-chan, I'll stay here, okay?" Ten-chan stares at her.

     The older Oni nods as she flies out.  "Behave, Ten-chan!"

     "I will," Ten-chan waves.  "'Bye, Shinobu-chan."

     "'Bye!" the Terran teenager follows her classmate out.

     Once alone, Sakura shifts the young Oni to face her.  "Now,
why don't you...tell me what Koosei-kun did after he left," the
nurse manages a smile, fresh tears in her eyes.

     "Okay," Ten-chan nods, his own eyes tearing...

                           *    *    *

     Ataru ignores the frightened stares people project his way as
he walks into the district park.  The rumour mill had spread the
word fast.  He didn't need any grief from them, so picking a spot
under a cherry tree, he sits down and stares at the clear sky.

     Almost two years before, his life had been turned totally
upside-down.  Intent on invading Earth, the Urusians were willing
to give his people a chance if he'd take their champion on in a
game of tag.  He was knocked head-over-heels when he saw who he was
meant to race.  Then he got knocked around again when he tried to
catch the Oni and tag her horns.  Only with Shinobu's encouragement
on the final night...and a suction-cup gun...did he succeed.  But
thanks to that encouragement, he wound up with a jealous alien
capable of firing huge bolts of bio-electricity as a "fiancee."

     Why didn't he say something then, prevented this whole mess
from starting?  One call to Nagaiwakai would've solved it right
there.  He couldn't believe the Zephyrites would've allowed the
Urusians to be so brazen not five light-years from their frontier
colonies.  He was going to leave his parents, unwilling to remain
in an unloving home.  They wouldn't've minded it; right after his
"engagement," his mother had told him to write home from Uru!  Why
didn't his grandmother do something?  Ataru never felt so alone.

     It went downhill from there.  Megane and his squad forming up,
at first wanting to take Lum for themselves, then vowing to ride
Ataru to ensure Lum's happiness.  Shinobu dropping him for Mendou. 
Mendou with his huge private army and that damn sword.  Lum's alien
friends.  Worse, her brat of a cousin.  Her former fiance, Rei, who
probably still hadn't accepted that Lum no longer wanted him.  All
the incidents.  Why didn't he say something?

     He had almost given up hope when Elle came.  His parents and
Lum's bullied him into saying "yes" when they demanded he marry
her.  Then he was dragged to Uru to get married...and just as he
was trying to escape, the Sunin sent everyone to the hospital.  He
wasn't alone!  But had Nagaiwakai and Kimaenowakai sensed what he
really thought, then allowed him the chance to make up his mind? 
So many questions.  Still so many questions.

     Ataru breathes out.  The chief of the Sunin had announced to
the bleeding wedding party a year ago that any engagement between
him and Lum was null-and-void and there was nothing no one could do
to change that.  Yet Lum just carried on as if the Sunin never
existed.  Was she THAT dense...or was he just a coward?  Who was to
blame here?  Her?  Him?  Both?  Everyone?

     He looks across the path at a small rose garden.  The flowers
were in full bloom, soaking in the afternoon sun.  Standing, he
walks over to gaze at them.  Red roses, his favourite.  He always
liked roses but never understood why.  Kneeling, he sniffs at one,
then gazes back at the cherry tree he had sat under.

     Ataru then blinks as a shower of light sparkles under the
tree...to reveal what to him was the most beautiful woman he had
ever seen!  Gaping, he shakes his head, then freezes as her eyes
lock on him, a warm smile cutting across her face.

     "Tell me, Ataru...what is the logic of presenting a flower?"

                           *    *    *

     "I can't take this."

     Koruneko stares at Oyuki.  The princess was tearfully gazing
at the book in the felinoid's hands.  "Why not?" he wonders. 
"Surely after what they did for your people a millennium ago, you
would be more than curious to know who and what they are."

     Oyuki blinks.  "Admittedly, I am," she sighs.  "But there are
said to be some secrets no one is meant to learn, for fear of the
damage such secrets may unleash.  Many feel the Voyager is one of
them.  I assume by now...you know who the Chosen One might be."

     "It's in here," Koruneko admits.

     "Then it's best I remain in the dark," she shudders.  "Whoever
that person is...how would I look upon him?  An ursuper?  A blessed
individual?  Someone who could bring peace or Armageddon?"

     Koruneko smiles.  "You passed the test," he places the book in
her hand.  "Oyuki-chan, Koosei-kun trusted you never to ask about
his time with them.  Those of us in the know locate trustworthy
people to take their place should they die.  Dakejinzou-chan chose
Nassur, for example.  Koosei-kun chose you.  It...proved how much
he loved you, Oyuki-chan...and how much you loved him."

     Oyuki tenses.  He was doing this for a noble reason, but he
had hooked her.  Invoke her love for Koosei and the princess leapt
high.  But what would this text reveal?  "Very well," she nods,
placing both hands on the book.  "I accept."

     "Wonderful," he pats her arm.  "You may find the identity of
the Chosen One...disconcerting.  It has always bothered Koosei-kun,
but to the end, he never told them.  I insist that before you
indulge your curiosity, you read everything about them.  This text
is as detailed as possible.  You'll find some things fascinating. 
Some things disturbing.  They're not gods, Oyuki-chan.  They're
people.  They have dreams and goals, just like we.  Be objective."

     "I will," she bows.

     With that, Koruneko departs.  The princess sighs, then looks
at the book.  She was curious, very curious.  Not just about who
the lucky man might be, but all about these women, dead once and
reborn, living on some strange planet thousands of parsecs away. 
Should she...no!  Do as Koruneko advised.  Sighing, she proceeds to
a chair, sits down, then begins to read...

                           *    *    *

     *I just died and went to Heaven!!*

     Ataru wonders how much time has passed.  She seemed not in a
hurry, content to gaze longingly at him.  His passions, able to
bubble forth at a moment's notice, had risen to the occasion again. 
But...it was different this time.  Not the urge to harass some
passer-by for her name and phone number, begging for a date.  Not
the thirst for the chase, with Lum howling after him.  Different,
but how?  More content.  She didn't fear him, hate him.  She cared
for him, was attracted to him.  Like Lum...almost.  Unlike the Oni,
to whom the concept of "compromise" was obscene, this chestnut-
haired beauty seemed willing to give him the choice to accept her
desires or back away.  Freedom of choice.

     Freedom!

     Was she what he was looking for?  Was his girl-hunts a private
yearning to be free of Lum?  He'd have to think about it.  Even
better, she'd give him the chance.  Not just freedom, but safety,
too.  The strength which bled from every pore on her body was
overwhelming!  She was here for a purpose and woe betide those
stupid enough to get in the way.  And that purpose...was him.

     *I'm gonna get burned!* one part of him warns.

     *No!* another laughs.  *You're gonna be roasted alive!!*

     Recovering, he moves to give her a look-over.  She remains in
place, smiling contently as he indulges himself.  Beautiful!  Hell,
NO ONE was like this!!  Lum's height, but bustier upstairs, slimmer
downstairs.  Not a blemish or excess weight.  Not anorexic like a
model, but certainly not stocky.  A dependable woman, the type any
man would want.  That she was an alien...Lan's race?...didn't
bother him.  The ears were elegant, their tips barely covered by
her hair.  The eyebrows, partially hidden under chestnut bangs, had
the barest hint of upsweep.  The canines were not too prominent.

     Even her clothes accentuated her looks without revealing much. 
White shirt, loose blue jeans, running shoes, purse slung over one
shoulder.  No bra, Ataru feels his pulse accelerate on seeing the
dark circles of her nipples in the fabric.  Small nipples, he
noted.  Perky breasts.  Probably no underwear either.  She seemed
simplistic concerning how she covered herself.  No makeup, not even
eye liner.  Even a little bit would be excessive.

     Finally, they gaze into each other's eyes.  She was physically
nineteen, but the eyes spoke a different story.  Ageless, or near
to it as one could get.  Knowledge, far beyond anything he could
dream, added to the ability to get more by whatever means possible. 
Wild passion; oh, yes, he'd be roasted if he got close...and he
would, no doubt about that!  A touch of innocence, which was so
damn erotic, he hoped he wasn't drooling.  As close to perfect as
one could get.  What'd he do to get THIS lucky?

     He then reflects on her question.  "I don't think people
here'd appreciate my taking roses the city grows."

     She laughs, a haunting sound reminding him of wind chimes.  "I
asked you that question twelve years ago, when I saved you from
some bullies who were harassing me," she muses.  "I was looking for
someone.  They were interested in sundering my namghmuntogh like
most adolescents from your planet.  I wasn't interested in giving
them the indulgence.  Then you came and told them to leave me
alone.  They decided to punish you for your interference...and I
chased them off.  That's when you gave me the rose."

     "I take it...that you didn't understand what that meant."

     "Put bluntly, yes," she nods.  "Back then, emotions were alien
to me.  You helped me, you helped my people allow us to understand
what they meant, how we could use them."

     "So what brings you back?"

     "The process is incomplete," she muses.  "You were just a five
year old boy; we didn't get the complete picture.  Further, as we
grew, we became fiercely loyal to you, in ways which would outdo
anything this tomobiki could ever do for Lum.  They've threatened
they would kill in Lum's name.  We wouldn't threaten.  We WILL kill
in your name and we could do that on a planetary scale.  And I now
suspect we'll be killing for you sometime very soon."

     "I wouldn't like that."

     "I wouldn't either.  But it is the way things are now, Ataru. 
If things weren't so urgent, we'd've waited until matters around
Earth calmed down.  However, we now suspect things will get very
exciting quite soon.  The first domino has fallen.  How many more
will fall depends on what you do, what you'll decide, over the next
while.  Your innocence will be shattered in ways Lum couldn't,
wouldn't dream of.  For that, I am truly sorry."

     He stares at her.  Her eyes were glistening, the look she
projected pleading for his forgiveness.  "I don't remember the time
we first met," he admits.  "But something tells me you'll get me
back up to speed concerning that, right?"

     "Yes."

     "I can't speak about anything I don't fully understand," he
smiles.  "But I thank you for caring.  It's been...a very long time
since circumstances have given me the chance to accept or reject
things without someone insisting I make the choice they wanted."

     "You're welcome."

     "What's your name?"

     She smiles, her eyes glittering in the sunlight.  "Noa."

                           *    *    *

     Shinobu breathes easy as she proceeds down the path.  It was
a sad day for Sakura and Oyuki, but if she was needed for emotional
support, she'll be there.  She hadn't failed her friends in that
regard.  She cared for those who came into her life, even Ataru. 
Damn, wouldn't things around him ever make sense?  In the times she
spent in a hospital thanks to the Sunin, he never visited once. 
Probably gloating in private over their misfortune.

     Where would it lead to?  She wish she knew.  When she first
went into the Destiny Management dimension, Inaba had given Shinobu
the chance to create her own future.  She had created one where
nothing had changed, all remained in chaos.  She was comfortable
there, admittedly.  But that future had been destroyed when Inaba's
co-workers tried to kill them, along with many others.  What would
the future bring?  She wanted to know...but would she like it?

     Her eyes look left, then she stops, her brown orbs widening in
disbelief as her mind overloads trying to register what they see.

     Ataru.

     A girl.

     Both kissing passionately.

     If Shinobu's jaw was any lower, it'd be on the ground!  The
two seemed oblivious to the world, their mouths inventing new ways
of becoming acquainted with each other.  They were in a relaxed
embrace, his hands holding her in place, her fingers trailing up
and down his spine.  Their eyes were closed...and they were crying!

     *Gods, who is she?!!* Shinobu wonders, a mosaic of emotions
thundering through her.  Ataru had never given Lum that sort of
passion, certainly not Shinobu.  She couldn't be a relative; the
kiss was a monster French kiss passionate lovers would exchange.

     Finally, an eternity later, Ataru and the woman break apart,
gazing into each other's eyes.  Even for a novice, their intent was
very plain.  No lechery on Ataru's part.  That was LOVE Shinobu
saw...and LOVE was what the stranger projected back.  They head out
of the park, ignoring everything save each other.  "Impossible...!"
Shinobu gasps.  Ataru couldn't give himself so totally to ONE girl;
it went against everything he professed to believe in!

     What should she do?  Tell Lum?  Oh, would THAT be a scene,
especially so soon after the Tag Race.  Or...would it now matter? 
Had Ataru actually come to the point where Lum no longer counted? 
Was he going to unveil what secrets he had and destroy those who'd
stop him from getting what he wanted?  What WERE Ataru's secrets? 
How did that girl fit into it?  What?  What?!

     Shuddering, Shinobu feels her legs propel herself after her
former boyfriend.  No matter what, she had to find out.  Gritting
her teeth, she moves to run after them...

     ...when an arm snakes around her throat.  In the blink of an
eye, Shinobu is piledriven into the concrete below her, two fingers
as hard as diamond on her throat!  Her vision quickly focuses on
another woman with unruly red hair standing over her, her green
eyes boring into the Terran's like lasers.  "What do you think
you're doing, Miyaki?!" the stranger growls.

     Shinobu's eyes widen as she tries to absorb details.  How did
the woman know who she was?!  The clothing exactly matched Ataru's
new friend.  However, she had two white batons in hand, one of
which was pressing against her throat, the other on her wounded
shoulder.  The woman was taller and bustier, but whipcord lean and
in great shape.  The steel in her eyes warned that she wouldn't
tolerate anything Shinobu did which hurt Ataru or her companion.

     "Wh-who are you?" the Terran stammers.

     "Name's Honey," the alien smiles, her fanged teeth and tapered
ears also hinting at Urusian ancestry.  "Do yourself a favour. 
Turn around.  Walk away.  Don't look back.  Ataru is lost to you
and all your friends.  Interfere in any way and you'll die.  Not
metaphorically speaking.  You'll DIE and never come back!  I'm a
nice girl so I'm letting you off easy.  Some of my friends aren't
nice...and they don't like you for what you've done to Ataru,
especially ABANDONING him all for that kimei'ne Mendou!  Killing
you will be child's play no matter HOW strong you are.  Remember
this, Shinobu:  there is ALWAYS someone stronger than you!"

     Honey stands up, then stows the batons on her belt.  "Use your
brains for something other than keeping your skull bones apart,
Shinobu.  You're a smart girl; strange coming from a native of this
tomobiki.  Use the brains Creation gave you.  Live your life...but
don't count being near Ataru as something you can depend on!"

     With that, she walks away.  Shinobu breathes out in relief,
then slowly gets back up.  Looking around, she blinks, a shiver
running up her spine.  Gone!  How did someone move THAT fast?!

     Shinobu looks down at her hands.  Being so strong, she could
easily defeat anyone she could imagine.  Honey had taken her down
without breaking a sweat.  What was going on here?  Had something
finally happened, something to bring forth a power which could take
on anyone trying to control Ataru?  What would she do?

     Shivering, she turns away.  Things were complicated enough. 
Perhaps Honey had a point.  She knew things Shinobu didn't.  She
guessed Shinobu might not be able to take whatever Honey knew,
wanting to save her from it.  Should she accept that and walk
away...or learn more?  What would she do?  What would she do...?

     Watching her from the branch of a cherry tree, Honey sadly
sighs.  Her brief contact with Shinobu told her a lot.  Ataru's
former girlfriend liked things the way they were, felt safe in all
that chaos, knowing her strength would save her when the chips were
down.  So innocent.  Lyna's Soul, so innocent...and so vulnerable. 
They would all suffer.  Even Honey, even Noa, even the Sagussans
back home.  But there was no way out now save allowing events to
play themselves out to their logical conclusion.

     Honey smiles.  Shinobu has such passion.  Properly prepared,
she would make an excellent Daishi'cha.  Suddenly, a deep warmth
thunders through her body.  Honey was as lonely as Noa, thirsting
for the passionate touch of body and mei'na her sister would soon
receive thanks to Ataru.  Absently rubbing her hardening meijasha,
she wonders if she could find pleasure in those hands, hands which
could shatter trees and rend steel like tissue paper.  Should she
try?  Would Shinobu back away?  Oh, no, Honey smiles.  Shinobu
wouldn't run.  She would come back, determined to learn the truth. 
Her innocence would be shattered, dreams turned to dust, her spirit
battered by forces so strong, it could crush her.  Experience would
hammer the perpetually angry girl into a mature woman.

     Honey just hoped someone was there fore her at the end.

     Maybe her, perhaps...?

                           *    *    *

     To Ataru's surprise, Noa owned a studio apartment in the
central part of Tomobiki, not a block from Toranoseishin Finances. 
It was registered to "Noa Aruka," a businesswomen who spent most of
her time overseas, but wanted a stable hearth to come back to when
she returned to Japan.  Ataru found it impossible to believe that
an alien was permitted to get away with this much.

     Seeing his surprised look, Noa laughs.  "The United Nations
has been aware of us for over the last decade, Ataru.  Unlike the
Federation, we DO acknowledge your rights as a sovereign species,
so we're permitted more leeway when our business brings us here."

     Ataru whistles as he takes in the decor.  Elegant but simple,
just like Noa.  He knew that citizens of the Federation such as Lum
were restricted to living within Tomobiki and were never permitted
to travel beyond the borders of the Kantou region unless special
permission was given, say for class trips.  That was guaranteed by
the Zephyrites, he later had learned.  An unspoken invitation by
Nagaiwakai to leave his parents and get away from Lum should the
need eventually arise.  But that didn't bother his host.  Damn,
whoever Noa's people were, they were a force to be reckoned with.

     Burned alive...

     Gazing into each other's eyes, they feel a growing need. 
Wordlessly, they drift into another kiss.  Noa's eyes didn't have
to glance down to see that Ataru's ram was straining to get at her
south gate.  The pressure on her lower abdomen spoke volumes, the
hunger in his eyes trumpeting his desire.  He wanted her.  No, he
NEEDED her.  Body and soul, especially the latter.  That aroused
Noa like nothing ever would.  She had to give it to him.  She had
to show him the delights only a Sagussan could enjoy.  She had to
awaken him to the vast world he was entitled to, that he would
receive without question or objection from Noa's people.  Yet...

     Lum.

     The Oni's image flashes in the Sagussan's mind.  Innocent in
so many away, just as innocent as the one she wanted to marry...

     *Ugh, what a revolting concept,* she mentally frowns.

     *And who's fault was that?!* one part of her accuses.

     *Anyone could've done it,* the other leaps to the defence. 
*What would Oioai-oiiiui have done?  Same thing.  Anyone would've
made the comparison to Ram and Atar.  We were ALL innocent then.*

     That was true, Noa gently bites her lips as Ataru begins to
kiss at her throat, his hands moving to take her shirt off.  Still,
regardless of how it happened, Lum was the Other.  Noa knew it
better than anyone; she made that possible.  Wouldn't it be more
proper for Ataru to sunder Lum's south gate first?

     Ataru summons all his willpower to slow things down, his hands
sensing Noa tense, more from concern than desire.  This was as much
the Sagussan's first time as it was his; he had no right to rush it
to the point where she'd feel left out.  But...damn, how could he
NOT want her?  There was a hidden dimension to Noa, a part of her
few would ever take the time to really see.  He felt its presence
as soon as he laid eyes on her.  It was even more intoxicating than
just her looks.  He lusted for that as much as her body.

     Yeah, he'd be roasted...and reborn, too.  Everything before
this point was hollow, useless.  Every girl he had once desired
were nothing but mindless flesh when compared to Noa.  Even Lum
paled before this.  Lum?  Oh, shit!  Was that what Noa was worried
about?  Wasn't the Sagussan as strong as he first suspected?  Had
he just waltzed into another damn cycle of lust and pain?  They
gaze into each other's eyes, her shirt gone and his unbuttoned all
the way.  Ataru felt Noa's power flow into every fibre of his being
as he gazes at those heavenly live-giving mounds.  No doubt.

     "Put her out of your head, Noa-chan," he gently strokes his
nose on her forehead.

     "It's hard, Ataru-chan," she breathes on his breastbone, her
hand automatically moving to unzip his trousers.

     "Lum can't understand, not now," he trails his tongue from the
tip of her ear down her neck, arching her back to get at her left
nipple, eliciting a throaty purr.  "If she wants to, she can be
shown the truth later.  If she doesn't...then it's over."

     "It's all my fault," she bites her lips.  "My fault..."

     "Then blame everyone," he draws her back to him as her hands
push down on his jeans.  "We've trapped ourselves here.  We all
have to break free.  You freed us, Noa-chan...freed us all..."

     Noa gazes into his eyes, feels the light of his soul deep in
those brown orbs.  All his attention was on her.  That was even
more intoxicating than aged ran-jugh.  The desire, the hunger, the
thirst a would-be surei'cha can give.  He intrinsically understood
the Sagussans' purpose, the primary goal of the Grand Design.  If
Lum couldn't understand, she'd be cast aside and forgotten.  Tragic
but necessary.  Loss of innocence.  Couldn't be avoided anymore.

     Sagussa's Elder Mother feels her inhibitions wash away as her
First Father tugs at her jeans, drawing them away.  A slight intake
of breath from Ataru confirms his suspicious about her lack of
underwear, his immediate approval on what he could see.  Her whole
body was afire, her namghmun screaming to be vented to the outside,
feel his namghsuyang shatter its togh, quake its tapgh to the point
where she'd lose all control of her body and from there, her soul
would be exposed for him to see and know.

     Without a second's hesitation, her hands grab his underwear,
yanking it down to free his suyang, then with a crouch, she rolls
onto the waiting futon, he landing softly atop her.  Their lips
interlock as his legs absently brush away the last bits of
clothing.  His ram was at full power, brushing over her forest, her
hairs sending sparks of passion into that stiffening rod.  Their
hearts were at transwarp speeds now, their minds yanking away the
barriers to expose their mei'na for the other's inspection.  It
would happen very soon; her sense of self-control was almost gone.

     Ataru gasps as his straining member dances over her pubic
hair, the curly chestnut locks sending bolts of passion which
threatened to have him explode all over her.  No, Noa wouldn't want
that; if he came, she wanted it to happen inside her.  That meant
he'd have to get to work downstairs quickly; he didn't know how
long he could hold it back.  With that, his kisses begin to dance
down the centre of her body, her musky scent drawing him in like
his mother's sukiyaki or his grandmother's shepherd's pie.

     Oh, man, he was going to enjoy this.

     Suddenly, her fingers press lightly but firmly on his temples. 
His eyes automatically lock with hers.  Revulsion flashes in her
blue orbs.  Whoops!  Bad guess.  No tasting her honey then.  Guess
lapping up a woman's love-juices was something Sagussans didn't
like from their men.  Probably the opposite was true, too.  It was
a relief.  He had once smelled his seed after a good wet dream. 
Damn, how could a girl swallow THAT?!  No problem, he nods as his
kisses began climbing back to her breasts; Ataru had other ways to
get Noa really going.  He'd figure out the whys of it later.

     Noa relaxes as Ataru's north gate begins to dance back up.  A
woman's tongue in her namghmun was okay, but to force a man to do
that, actually BOW to a woman?  Ugh, regressive or what?!  Sagussa
was still a matriarchy but damn, they didn't want to shove that
fact into people's faces all the time.  Now, what would he do...?

     She cries out as the tip of his ram strikes her gate tower,
sending a torrent of passion throughout her body.  If Ataru had the
powers of a Sagussan, he'd be getting a full blast of mavan'shagh
from Noa; she doubted in what last seconds of sanity she had left
that her meipyokgh were erect anymore...and he hadn't done it using
any form of meisuyang.  Lyna, he was perfect in every way and he
wasn't even Sagussan!  Wait until the others had their chance!!

     Ataru grits his teeth as he tries to do what he felt would
really drive Noa crazy; dance the tip of his member from her clit
down one side of her opening and up the other, repeating again and
again before finally taking her cherry.  But jeez, it was getting
so damn hard to concentrate.  Noa's body temperature was the same
as his, so why was she so damn warm?!  His whole body was aflame,
the passions overwhelming what rationality he had left.  Was this
it?  Was this what Noa, what all her people, could offer?

     This was great!

     Unconsciously, his ram stopped its orbit of her gate, then
dove past the tower right for the door.  Noa barely notices as
Ataru's engine slams into the barrier, then with another surge, he
smashes it down.  The awful pain one would expect of that break is
almost non-existent to the Sagussan; her nervous system was too
busy transmitting the data it absorbed from Ataru's mind to her
mind, overwhelming all her senses with a storm of images.

     Oh, Lyna, was this what it was like?!

     The pains.  The pleasure.  Grief.  Happiness.  Uncertainty. 
Desire.  Wonderment.  Fear.  Hate.  Love.  Everything that was
Ataru Moroboshi was Noa's for the knowing, the touching, even the
taking should she want to go down that dark route.  She was the
first.  All the others would see this, know this, touch this...but
they would also know that Noa had taken him first, shown him the
full extent of what he could do if he took the chance.  That was
just as intoxicating as he filling her with his seed.

     Gods, what's happening to me?!

     The centuries of immersion in logic.  Not even understanding
what they were missing.  The years of cryosleep, minds touching
each other in a gentle place, the Dreamscape.  *Was this what Noa
really was?* Ataru wonders.  The search then began, leading to an
innocent day in Tomobiki, when the destiny of two worlds were
forever changed.  The discoveries that followed:  happiness,
sadness, anger, pain, love, all the emotions.  A hundred thousand
like Noa, all wanting him.  What would he do?

     This made his dreams look so meaningless.

     It was perfect.

     So perfect...

                           *    *    *

     A dizzying eternity later, Ataru feels his sanity return.  He
was still locked inside Noa, his member deflating after expending
itself.  Panting, both gaze at each other, then he gently lifts her
off him.  The overwhelming musk of sweat and sex keeps them down as
the Sagussan reaches for a blanket to keep them from being chilled.

     They gaze into each other's eyes.  "I didn't remember half of
that," he admits.  "Damn, is that what it's like?"

     She shrugs sheepishly.  "As soon as you get your powers, after
you teach yourself some control, it becomes a lot easier if you're
more inclined to the physical tamgh va ragh.  But believe me, the
mental tamgh va ragh is so much better.  At least I think so."

     "I guess I'll have to become one of you to really understand,
eh?" he muses, gently kissing her nose.

     "I guess you will."

     Ataru smiles.  This was it, then.  No going back.  He was
burned...and he was reborn.  "Then whatever you desire from me," he
draws her into an embrace, "...you'll have me."

     Noa shudders.  The first step was done.  No going back, for
all of them.  "Thank you...oh, thank you..."

                           *    *    *

     In a hotel room several buildings away from Noa's apartment,
Honey gazes in her sister's direction.  Her senses had picked up
everything.  Ataru had agreed to accept his destiny.  Everyone
would be happy back home.  As for this dump...oh, well.  If they
fought it, too bad.  They'd get one warning, then they'd regret
even knowing Ataru Moroboshi.  But that was for others to decide. 
Honey had someone else on her mind...

                           *    *    *

     Shinobu tosses herself from side to side in her bedroom, her
thoughts storming.  By now, Ataru would have done something he had
dreamt of for so long.  Not only would he be filling his private
lusts with a beautiful woman, he'd be exploring that which he had
long avoided with Lum or Shinobu:  love.  What did it matter to
her?  Everything.  The past was dying, the future unfolding
relentlessly.  Would she be overwhelmed or would she survive...?

                           *    *    *

     In her scout over Tomobiki, Lum relaxes in her bedroom.  The
pains and uncertainties of the last few days now had crystal focus. 
When she called Triton, Toji and Pukaze had told her about Oyuki's
meeting with Oogi.  Great!  What the Oni DIDN'T need was that
lifeless moron sticking his nose where it didn't belong.  What
would happen if Ataru found out about the Niphentaxians?  Would it
bind them together or break them apart?

     Would Benten's warning actually come true...?

                           *    *    *

     "Fates!"

     Oyuki, daughter of Fuyu and Samui, heir to the throne of a
one-planet kingdom, a small player in the vast game of galactic
politics, had just learned how small they ALL were.  What had they
experienced, even the older races, which could BEGIN to compare to
what a hundred thousand women over the last ten millennia had
become privy to, had been reborn and mentally programmed to repair?

     Koosei's notes were as exacting as Koruneko had promised. 
Oyuki once believed that the secret of the Sagussans was something
no mortal person had the right to know.  Oh, Fates, how right she
was!  Especially the last page.  The page that told of the event
which had forever altered Sagussa's destiny...and would forever
change the destiny of every planet-state which for one reason or
another coveted the third world of her home solar system.

     Feeling tears brim her eyes, Oyuki places the book down, then
gazes at the twinkle of the distant Sun three billion kilometres
away.  On that third planet now lay a man who had once seemed so
insignificant.  Why one of her best friends wanted to marry such a
creature had long escaped the princess.  Especially now, when Lum
faced the greatest threat she would ever know.  What was worse,
Oyuki had sworn on Koosei's memory that she would NEVER tell anyone
that secret.  Not even Lum.

     Ataru Moroboshi.

     The Chosen One of the Eternal Voyager.

     "Oh, Koosei-kun, why me?  Why?  Why...?"

                           *    *    *

To be continued...^Z