Well, here goes. My first fanfic. Please be kind to me.
Home At Last
Chapter 1: First Impressions
Sitting on a cushion that seemed to float in mid-air, a small girl with a huge fountain of spiky red hair typed away happily on a smoky transparent keyboard. The smile on her face disappeared when what she was typing was rudely replaced by the appearance of a crab holding a banner that read "Spatial distortion detected Washu-chan". Bringing up the telemetry that had detected the anomaly brought the smile back and then some. "Well, well, well. This ought to be interesting." The maturity in her voice belied her youthful looks.
"What should be interesting Washu-san?" The voice from nowhere startled her even though she should be used to it by now. Looking over her left shoulder, Washu saw a blonde woman dressed in her usual summer attire.
"Mihoshi-san, what are you… how did…raaagh! Never mind. Where is everybody? We have an intruder on the premises." Washu looked at her as if skeptical if she could even manage that.
Mihoshi put her finger against her chin and looked lost in thought for a moment. "Hmmm. Let's see, Tenchi-sama is practicing with Ojii-san at the shrine, Ayeka-san is cleaning so she sent me to help out Sasami-chan in the kitchen, which reminds me. Are you coming out for lunch? Sasami-chan says it won't be long."
Washu grabbed her by the shoulders and looked her in the eyes. "What about Ryoko? Where's Ryoko?"
Mihoshi smiled at her. "She's on her way to meet Tenchi-san after practice. Why?"
On a warm summer day such as this, any breeze is welcome. But this strong gust that popped out of nowhere made the small hairs on the back of Ryoko's neck stand up. In addition to the wind, there was a strange static discharge that didn't quite feel right by her reckoning. Sitting up, she used her vantage point on top of the red Tori'i that stood in front of the steps that led to the shrine.
She could spy nothing that seemed out of place, but the feeling would not go away. Ryoko was about to teleport over to the shrine itself to make sure that nothing had happened to Tenchi, when she saw a bright light in that direction. "Tenchi!"
Tenchi felt these practices were just getting ridiculous lately. Perhaps Grandpa was losing it? Okay, I can see the value of learning to fight while balanced on tiny blocks of wood stuck into the ground at odd angles. I can even understand standing under a waterfall wearing just a yukata in the dead of winter. But this? Juggling seven stones with a bokken while standing on red-hot coals? What's the point in that? When is something like this ever going to come up?
So entranced was he with keeping the stones (not to mention his feet), moving that he almost missed the change in his grandfather's posture. "Ojii-san? What is it?" Unnoticed by Tenchi, the stones fell to the ground as he walked forward out of the coals.
The light glinted off Katsuhito's glasses as he adjusted them with his fingers. "Tenchi. Do you remember the lessons in preparedness that I taught you?" Immediately, Tenchi went into a battle stance.
With several loud bangs, a ball of lightning appeared some twenty feet off the ground. When it dissipated, it left behind a swirling cloud of dust and a woman dressed all in a black and red leather armor with white hair, in a semi-conscious state, unsupported in midair- right over Tenchi. The result was as predictable as it was inevitable. The woman fell onto Tenchi and they ended up in a heap in front of Katsuhito, who just shook his head and sighed.
With a groan, the woman pushed herself up into a sitting position. "Ugh. It's never been that bad before. I wonder why it was so unpleasant this time? I bet it was all that "white lightning" I had."
"How do you do Miss?" Katsuhito's voice startled her. Looking up, she saw his wizened face that had seen many hardships. Looking down, Katsuhito was immediately struck by her beauty. The waist length fall of white hair framed her face, and the leather armor did nothing to hide the overly generous proportions of her figure. "Would you mind getting off of my grandson?"
The woman looked down and saw that she was straddling the young man's abdomen with her hand firmly planted on his chest. Blushing fiercely, she removed her hand from its resting place. "Eep!" Tenchi appeared down for the count, his eyes swirling from the impact.
Neither got any further in their introductions, as that's when Ryoko finally arrived flying full tilt toward the mysterious woman sitting on top of her Tenchi. Letting loose a primal scream, Ryoko moved faster than either of them could react to. Slamming headfirst into the woman, Ryoko started throwing punches, but was surprised at the resistance on the first try. A force field? Good, I won't have to hold back now.
The other woman wasn't idle during all this however. Kneeing Ryoko hard in the gut, she turned the attack into a back flip, throwing her attacker off and simultaneously drew two handguns from hip holsters. Standing in a battle ready position, she scanned the bushes for any sign of the one who had attacked her. "Looking for me?"
Whirling around, she found Ryoko hovering above her, a sword of energy at the ready. "Who are you? Why did you attack me?"
Ryoko fumed at the woman. "Hey! That's my line! I'll teach you to attack my Tenchi!" Ryoko threw the sword at the woman, which became a bolt of energy and exploded where just moments earlier her victim had been standing. Ryoko threw bolt after bolt at the woman, but the stranger was too agile, and the few direct hits were absorbed by her force field.
The woman had emptied both her clips at Ryoko and the few shots that had hit didn't seem to bother her at all. Ryoko decided to try a different tack and grabbed the intruder, before teleporting over the lake next to the house. Letting go of her, Ryoko watched the forty-foot drop with satisfaction. She was surprised when the woman not only didn't fall, but also actually came level and glared at her, chest heaving in an effort to catch her breath. A mysterious wind seemingly sprang from nowhere to whip their hair around wildly. "Now, are you going to listen to what I have to say, or are we going to continue to bash each others heads in?"
"I for one would like to hear what you have to say." Looking to the side, the two combatants saw Washu standing on air next to them. The wind that assaulted their hair didn't seem to touch Washu's.
Noticing movement below them, the woman saw two other women on the ground, one of which was pointing a gun in her direction. She apparently knew when she was outgunned; for she carefully holstered her own spent weapons.
Ryoko looked shocked at the diminutive scientist. "But Washu, she attacked Tenchi!"
Washu looked over to the woman. "Well?"
She looked indignant. "That's not true! I wasn't attacking him. I uh… I sort of… fell on him."
Ryoko exploded. "Fell on him! You expect us to believe that?"
The woman looked angrily at Ryoko. "Well it's the truth! If you don't believe me, just go ask the old man. He saw the whole thing. He'll tell you it was an accident."
Washu flew between them. "Why don't we discuss this over lunch? Sasami-chan says it's ready." The last was aimed Ryoko's way. Ryoko humphed and flew down to the ground. "I'm sorry about that. She tends to fly off the handle with anything that concerns Tenchi. My name is Washu, but you may call me Washu-chan."
The woman looked over the small figure before her. "I'm Samantha, Samantha Nys."
Washu arched an eyebrow before smiling. "Well come on then. They're waiting on us." The pair flew down to the ground and was instantly greeted by a small crowd of women. Washu quieted them down and made the introductions. "Ryoko you already met, Samantha-san, this is Ayeka-dono," The purple haired girl made a small bow. "GP detective first class Mihoshi," The bubbly blonde nodded and holstered her pistol as her name was mentioned. "And the one hiding back there is Sasami-chan." The small girl could be seen hiding behind Ayeka's robes. "Everyone, this is Samantha. Oh, the last two are Katsuhito-dono and Tenchi-dono. In case you were wondering, Tenchi is the one you were lying on top of."
This last statement caused Samantha to blush furiously and stare at the ground as if something very interesting had just appeared there. The others were less than happy to hear this. Ayeka glared at the newcomer with her fists clenched to her sides so tightly that her knuckles turned white. Mihoshi looked surprised at Samantha before heading inside, oddly quiet.
"Pleased to meet you Samantha-san." Sasami came forward and bowed.
Samantha bowed in return. "Likewise." Sasami smiled up at her and grabbed her hand leading her inside.
"Come on everybody, lunch is getting cold." Sasami's upbeat demeanor immediately put Samantha at ease. Everyone gathered around the low table, waiting for the last two stragglers to wander in. Samantha blushed again when Tenchi and his grandfather walked in.
Samantha bowed as she sat on the floor in apology to Tenchi. "I apologize for my rudeness earlier. I hope that I didn't injure you."
"That's alright. I'm sure that you didn't do it on purpose." Tenchi's smile reassured Samantha that he really didn't hold it against her and caused her cheeks to color again slightly. His generosity however, did not go over to well with Ayeka nor Ryoko, who both looked a little miffed over the incident. Samantha was introduced again to the two Masakis, and lunch began.
As they ate, Samantha and Katsuhito related how the whole misunderstanding started, which soon had everyone in a better mood. "So Samantha, how and why did you come here?" Tenchi's question, while innocent enough, seemed to cast a darkness over the snow haired woman.
Samantha put her bowl of rice down and set her chopsticks down on top. "I came here with the help of a wormhole generator. As for why, I… I really don't think that it's a suitable subject for the dinner table. I'm sorry."
They all stared at her. "Samantha…" Sasami's big heart opened up to her in sympathy.
Samantha wiped at her face with the back of her hand. "If you'll excuse me, I think I need to freshen up. Where's your bathroom?"
Mihoshi, ever cheerful, volunteered. "I'll show you. This way Samantha-san."
When they were sure that she was out of earshot, they all started talking at once. "Did you see that?" "She was crying." "I bet it was an act. She's probably here to try to take Tenchi away." Tenchi finally calmed them down.
"Now we don't know anything about her, so don't go leaping to conclusions. I want you all to treat her the same way you treat each other, understand?" Tenchi looked at them all in turn. Each one nodded or agreed, albeit, some more reluctantly than others. "As for why she's here, I'm sure that she'll tell us when she's ready." He looked at Washu. "This means you Washu. I know that your curiosity can get the better of you sometimes, so I want you to keep a tight rein on it, alright?"
Washu actually managed to look hurt by this. "Tenchi, I assure you that I will be the model of restraint."
Samantha had just managed to reach the bathroom before the tears came. Turning on the sink to cover her sobs, she stood there trying to gather herself together. A few moments and many deep breaths later as well as some splashes to her face, she regained control once again. Samantha looked into the mirror above the sink and sighed at her appearance. Bloodshot eyes stared back at her, and she was mortified to see that there were still bits of foliage still clinging to her tangled mane. Pulling a broken comb with half the teeth missing from a pocket, she tried as best she could to make herself presentable. Deciding that there was nothing more to be done about it short of a hair salon, she settled for washing her face and hands in an effort to erase some of the weariness from her features.
Seeing that there was nothing more to be done, Samantha turned the faucet off with a squeak. Taking one more deep, cleansing breath, she stepped out and almost ran over Mihoshi. "Whoa! Uh, Mihoshi-san was it? What were you doing there?"
Mihoshi beamed back at Samantha. "I was making sure that you didn't need anything. Everything OK?"
Samantha was a little taken aback by her seemingly eternal sunny disposition. "Err… yeah. Just fine. Thanks." She then stepped around the blonde woman without taking her eye off her, and walked back to the dining room. Mihoshi followed behind, still beaming.
Walking into a suddenly silent room, Samantha felt that she could guess what the topic of discussion had been. She bowed at the waist, intent on apologizing once again, but failed to notice Mihoshi right behind her who was focused on the food at the table. Mihoshi kept going, bumping into Samantha and causing both to tumble forward. Right toward Tenchi. Tenchi, being the gentleman he was raised to be, tried to catch both falling women and they all ended up in a pile on the floor.
Samantha opened her eyes to find herself in a lip lock with her host. Sitting up, she started apologizing profusely, her face as red as Washu's hair. "Oh God! I'm so sorry! I mean, I… that is…" Unable to come up with anything to say that couldn't be taken two ways, she took the easy way out and just shut up.
"Owie! By dose." Looking behind her to the source of the voice, Samantha saw Mihoshi with her face just inches from Tenchi's crotch, her nose a rosy hue. A strangled noise from the table attracted her attention. Turning back, she saw Sasami and Washu were doing their best not to break out laughing and seemed about to fail. Ryoko and Ayeka stood still as statues, looks of shock marring their features. The only sound to be heard was Katsuhito calmly taking another sip of his miso soup. Tenchi, for the second time today, was lying on the floor, eyes swirling.
