Noike had been rather sure of herself for the entire duration of her 182 year life. She was still pretty much a child in most eyes. So...when Kiyone had her head turned in another matter, Noike had slipped away altogether. To view the sights around her before she met her fiancée, sort of, and subsequently began the whole series of events again.
Such beautiful green leaves and wooden trunks reminded her of Startica on Jurai. Her mother Seto has taken her to see the festival many times. Of course...being the daughter of the "Demon Princess" of Jurai...didn't leave her any time for a love life, so here she was pretending to have one.
It was to her surprise, she found a child like...thing...trying to capture a butterfly. She watched from the sidelong trees for a moment before getting ready to turn away. That is until she saw the child slip from the edge. Vaguely she heard a shout, too occupied on capturing the child before it feel to its certain doom.
This was how she found herself, staring into those gorgeous brown eyes, her hand barely touching his as they both held onto the child...the poor thing almost entirely forgotten. She wasn't too bothered...he seemed to be speechless and staring as well. Probably her teal colored hair...it had attracted attention from a few other locals as well.
The boy however hoisted the child up within no time and was giving it a run over, checking every little thing to make it was ok. "Ryo-ohki...I warned you about this ledge," he spoke to the child warmly. He stood up ruffling Ryo-ohki's hair. "Thank you for helping save her." And he gave her such a pleasant bow, he was just too cute.
She patted the child's head and smiled, "That's quite alright...just make sure to keep an eye out for her." The boy gives her another small bow and returns to his work with the child in the nearby field. It was at that moment...seeing the boy play with the child she was reminded...of those first few moments in her life...that were chaotic. "Brother," she whispered...and tumbled backwards.
She was vaguely aware of strong arms pulling her up and away from the edge of the field, carrying her bridal style to an embankment. She lay there exhausted, remembering those precious memories...of her onii-chan. She did however notice that she was laying down, after a while. She also noticed then, that there was a slightly exhausted boy sitting beside her, looking at the child called 'Ryo-Ohki'.
He seemed so...strong and solid in that moment. A solid base to grasp in the sometimes chaotic whirlwind of politics, and life. She couldn't help herself...but roll on her side and grasp him, while still 'asleep'. He looked down at her startled she could tell, but he slowly relaxed and sighed. It seemed he also dealt with much stress in his day to day basis.
It was fifteen minutes later she was awoken, "I think its time you get up now miss," came the surprisingly...so wise voice of the boy she was grasping. But she kept of the charade and sat up yawning lightly. "Oh...where am I?"
He gives her a small smile and plays along, she was sure of it, "You almost fell over after saving Ryo-Ohki with me." He seems content to play along, to cover up that she had held him and they had no clue who the other was. But it just felt...right...like it couldn't hurt to hold the other, and if anything, could only make things better.
The boy stood and offered her his hand to help her up, which she gratefully took and continued to hold for a little bit before letting it drop, "Thank you ah...?" She just realized she didn't know his name.
"Tenchi, just Tenchi," he says warmly, giving her a light bow. Tenchi hmmm? Could he be...no. Not at all. Her fiancée was supposed to a prince...not a farmer. She returned his bow.
"I'm Noike, just Noike," she said teasingly. Ryo-Ohki could see the sparks fly between the two...but it wasn't like the normal sparks she saw between her older sister and Sasami's sister. These seemed like connecting sparks...where they brushed the person opposite before heading off.
Noike in the meantime found herself looking at one of the carrots, "May I try one of these? I can pay for them!" Tenchi looked absolutely fine about it.
"It's quite alright Noike-san, they're free." What a generous person? You couldn't just accept generosity for what it was. You HAD to give them something for offering to take nothing. She racked her brain for a second and had just the solution in mind, "How about I help around in the fields for these carrots? It's only fair."
Ok...so she had him...and she knew it. You could tell she knew it, because she was grinning. Or smirking. Either way you want to describe it. She knew. So Tenchi being a gentleman, gave in just as he gave into many things. "Its absolutely fine...let me just go..."
However he was cut off as he watched her dust one off and take a good sized bite from it, "Its delicious. No wonder, this is its home planet." Tenchi wondered if she was another galactic...before waving off the issue. Of course she was! She had Teal colored hair for crying out loud!
"They're...not even washed," Tenchi's already dead and wasted statement came a minute too late. He was really getting drawn into those eyes. Those strange, and yet so caring gray eyes. They called out to him. To him it felt...and only to him. He had an image in his mind...of a little teal haired girl in his arms as they floated through time and space...in a dimension all of its own. He also had an image...of a dark being...who desired to kill Tsunami's sister, Tokimi...and a glowing ball...himself he thought, soothe the being, with a kiss.
He was called out of his dreams by a wave in front of his face. There before him...he saw the older version of the first girl, and the younger version of the second. It was so strange...and yet he knew it. Some level of thought told him that it was. Of course...this didn't exempt him from panicking, and flying backwards, dragging Noike with him as the thumped onto the embankment.
Noike found herself...positioned precariously above this...farmer Tenchi...and could see such innocence in his eyes she knew he hadn't done it on purpose, and had forgiven him before he could utter a word. She could see the panic in his eyes, and she soothed him before it became stressful. She saw realization in his eyes...and was confused by it. Till a vision...that nightmare came again.
Tenchi looked up at her...now giving a soft smile as her hands rubbed the top of his head slowly...soothing him of his panic. And he didn't realize however, that she was slipping down...coming slowly, ever so slowly towards him. He didn't realize this, until their faces were centimeters apart...and their breath caressed the other's face.
It didn't take thought...all it took was guts, and the two kissed. It was nothing special, and yet it was everything. It was everything because it was that final spark, as Ryo-Ohki saw it, that bonded them. That set the two closer together than any amount of words might ever have. So it is indeed true...that actions speak louder than words.
Such soft lips...moans...and...gulp...tongue? Tenchi couldn't think, but as I said he didn't need to. He was where...wherever this was. Home? Safe? It had a word perhaps. But he could not think of it. All he cared for was those soft lips...and the gray eyes boring into his own...and the teal covered curtain making the sphere of the only thing that mattered in their world right then.
Noike felt...not quite as soft lips. They had a quality as such to them. But they were distinctly male. And as such, she felt absolutely...giddy as she was forced...not really...into a deeper kiss. His tongue melding into her mouth and pressing against any and all warm surface it could find. Now her eyes fell shut as she felt her world flip around and she found herself being pressed down upon by that comfortable weight.
It was only the gasp of a little girl that broke the kiss. And when her head cleared of enough fog...that is the result of Tenchi charisma...she looked up to see indeed, a little girl with long light blue pigtails.
"Sasami...is that lunch?" he asked warmly. Disengaging himself...mostly...but keeping a firm hold of her hand beside him as he sat up. The little girl seemed shocked before she giggled.
"Yes it is...perhaps I should just go back home with it and make room for another?" she asked teasingly. Her high pitched voice sounding musical. Which...is technically cheating because she's a goddess...or at least will be.
Tenchi and Noike couldn't help but blush at her comment, but it was Noike who responded, "Oh no...I actually need to see a Masaki Tenchi," the two looked dead panned at her. She couldn't figure out why. "What? Do you know him?"
The farmer Tenchi just waved at her, "I'm...Masaki Tenchi," he says. Ah...that would be why the little girl...Sasami?...was it was giggling over there again. This changed things. She didn't care if the engaged bit was a pretext. She'd have to discuss with mother about making it real.