Tenchi and all associated characters are the property of AIC and Pioneer LDC.  I don't own any rights to them at all.  Any other characters are property of their respective copyright holders, not me.

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Jurai, Here We Come

Chapter 1

A Day of Revelations

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 "Pregnant?" howled Ayeka.  "How can I be pregnant?"

The family was seated around the table eating lunch when Washu made the announcement.

"If you don't know that princess, what've you been doing for the last year, faking it?" teased Ryoko.

Ayeka whapped her across the head with her chopsticks, "I know perfectly well how my dear pirate, what I mean is that it shouldn't be possible.  At least not for another year at the earliest.  My contraceptive shot is good for five years, I got it just before I left Jurai and I've been here for almost four years.  Even if the dose was weak, it should last for longer than this."

"You're correct, but there's a flaw in your logic," said Washu between mouthfuls of rice.

Ayeka raised an eyebrow.  "Oh, indeed?  Would you be kind enough to explain grandmother-in-law-to-be-if-this-is-true?"

Washu reached across the table to fill her bowl again.  "You left Jurai over 700 years ago, right?  Well, that's your flaw."

The princess snorted.  "I was in cold sleep for those years, they don't count."

"I'm sorry, but they do.  Your metabolism slows down, almost stops in fact, but it doesn't stop completely you see.  Given the way Jurai's cold sleep technology works, I'd say you aged slightly over two years while you were out."

"Does that apply to me too Little Washu?" asked Sasami.

"Yes dear.  Exactly the same."  Washu patted her on the head.

"That means that I'm not going to be twelve this year, I'm going to be…"

"Fourteen, yes," the scientist agreed.  "But cold sleep retards development inversely to the aging process.  You'll look like an eleven or twelve year old for a while, then whoomph, it'll all hit you at once."

"You mean I'm going to grow, you know…" the little princess said, indicating her chest area, "all at once?"

Washu chuckled, "No, not overnight anyway.  But probably within a few weeks to a month or two.  And you'll get much taller too, once the process begins that is.  But before you ask, no, I can't tell you when that'll be; it's different for everyone your age that goes through cold sleep.  It could start now or two years from now, there's just no way of telling.  But don't worry, the body always catches up at some point."

"That explains it then," said Ryoko eyeing Ayeka over the rim of her teacup.

"Explains what?" asked the princess.

"Why, your own development of course," teased Ryoko.  "Don't worry, it seems there's hope for you yet."

The princess' face turned bright red.  "My 'size' doesn't seem to bother you some nights, and Tenchi enjoys…" she started to come back at the pirate.

"Excuse me," Tenchi interrupted, his own face reddening.  "Can we get back to this pregnancy thing.  What makes you suspect Ayeka is going to have a baby, Washu?"

"Tenchi, Tenchi, Tenchi," Washu admonished.  "Surely you've noticed that she's been feeling ill when she gets up in the morning?"

"Yes, but I thought it was just…"

"So did she, so she came to me for an examination.  I tested for everything possible and I'm glad to say everything was negative, except the rabbit died."

"Waaa!" cried Mihoshi. "You killed a cuddly little bunny?"

Washu flicked some of the rice that was left in her bowl at the blonde GP.  "It's a turn of phrase bubblebrain.  They haven't used actual rabbits on Earth for testing in… oh, for decades anyway.  It means that the pregnancy test came back positive."

Ayeka sighed heavily, "So I'm pregnant.  This could be bad, very bad."

"What'd ya mean?" Ryoko frowned at the princess.  "I'd be jumping for joy if it were me."

Ayeka shook her head, "Oh, it's not that Ryoko, but the ceremony on Jurai is in two months.  The general populace doesn't know about our marriage yet so how will it look, the First Princess of Jurai pregnant at her own wedding?  I don't imagine that's quite the image my parents will want to project, I'm supposed to be a role model after all."

"Your parents won't say a word," said Washu giving Ayeka a hard stare.  "They were at the ceremony here so they know your married already.  Your mothers'll certainly be thrilled and your father can't really believe that you and Tenchi haven't…  Well, maybe he can; but he still can't say a word about it, not without being a hypocrite anyway.  But if it's really bothering you we can…"

"NO, ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Tenchi slammed his fist into the table.

Everyone at the table turned to look at Tenchi.  His jaw was clenched and quivering and his face was bright red.

Seeing the anger on her son-in-law's face a realization dawned on Washu.  "Tenchi, calm down.  I didn't mean that, I'd only even consider that if there was a medical problem and there was absolutely no other choice.  What I meant and what everyone except you knows I meant is that there are methods of artificial incubation.  We remove the child from Ayeka and grow it outside her body.  I'd guess that's how most of the girls at this table were born.  Ryoko was, although she went a bit beyond the 'baby' stage of the process because I accelerated it for her."

"I was born that way too," said Ayeka.  "But mother chose to have Sasami herself, as I will have this child myself and damn the Juraian popular opinion."

"Oooh. But there's so much risk in carrying a child yourself, isn't there?  I mean I thought that everyone…" Mihoshi stared blankly at Ayeka.

The princess rubbed her belly. "I know," she said softly, "but there's something so… sterile about growing a child in an artificial womb.  Look around the table; Sasami is the most normal of all of us girls.  This child, boy or girl, is an heir to the throne of Jurai and I want to give it every advantage.  I want it to know that it was loved from the moment of conception."

A sudden commotion in the kitchen caused everyone to look in that direction.  Ryo-ohki in child form came charging out, a carrot clutched in either hand.  In close pursuit was a young boy, his ears resembled Ryo-ohki's and his body, the part that was visible outside his clothing, was entirely covered with short, white fur.  Both were laughing.  The boy skidded to a stop in front of the princess.

"Ay-eh-ka!" he said with a grin, then waited for her to reply.  Ryo-ohki had stopped next to Sasami to watch.

Ayeka stared at the lad, wide-eyed.  "Is that… is this… Ay-ohki?" she asked, stunned.

Washu chuckled, "Yep.  I wanted to tell you but he insisted that he be the one.  He's a quick learner that one is."

"Bay-be," said Ay-ohki, pointing to Ayeka's stomach.

"Why yes," Ayeka said, spreading her hands across her abdomen, "but how…?"

It was Ryoko's turn to chuckle.  She tapped her head, "They know things about us that even we don't know, trust me."

Ay-ohki turned and bowed to Ryoko then pounced at Ryo-ohki.  The other cabbit took off with a giggle and the two phased through the glass door onto the deck, continuing the game.

Washu shook her head.  "I pity you three; once he can assume a mature form, and it won't be long, there'll be no stopping them."  She turned to Tenchi, cackling maniacally, "And since Ayeka's pregnant, when she's far enough along that leaves you to keep Ryoko busy when it happens."

Ryoko put her arm protectively around her husband. "Oh, I think he can handle it," she said with a smirk.  "He's done ok with us so far."

Tenchi just sat at the table with a stunned look on his face.  Today was a day of revelations indeed.

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To be continued?

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Author's Notes

I'm giving this an "R" rating, not because of language or actions, but because of some of its rather 'controversial' subject matter.

Thanks to Dennisud for getting my mind working on this one.  Thanks guy, once you got my thoughts going I had to write this before I finished my other story.  I just couldn't get it out of my head until I put it down on paper (or in this case Word 2000). 

BobR

01/26/2002

Yet Another Note

This was originally posted under the title "A Day of Revelations" before I decided to continue it.  I've added a few little bits here and there for clarity and thus it becomes the first chapter of a new story (same storyline as all my others though, I haven't yet exhausted all my ideas for that one.)

BobR

2/7/02