The Strangest Days Begin

Never before had Tokyo seen such a motley crew stalking their streets, and that is saying something. Several women, with oddly colored hair and eyes, tagging along with a handsome boy, who seemed quite exasperated by the whole thing. A passerby could guess why; after all, these women looked rather crazy. Also, half of them were dripping water, a fact confusing to most anyone. In any case, no one would have thought the girls to be aliens, though they were.

Tenchi, for his part, was mulling over all the recent events in his mind. Things had been imperceptibly changing since the night he set Ryoko free, but now he was sure that things would begin to unfold at a far more rapid pace. It made him nervous, if he was honest with himself. All he really wanted to do was be a normal high school student and blend into the wall. Destiny, it seems, had other-far stranger-plans for him, however.

As Tenchi carried on his internal dialogue, the girls were each having their own in turn. Kiyone was again lamenting her fall from grace with the Galaxy Police and the ineptitude of her partner Mihoshi landing them in this part of the galaxy, in the first place. Kiyone also felt a bit of shame at the last thought because she knew they would have died had it not been for Mihoshi's uncharacteristically quick thinking. Hell, Mihoshi had even remembered aspects of the planet file that Kiyone herself forgot.

Kiyone then took a deep breath and made a silent promise to think of Mihoshi better. She was a ditz, but she was also a loyal partner and friend. Kiyone really should be more thankful, and she knew it. No matter what bungles Mihoshi caused, or got them into, she was always there to back Kiyone up, and wasn't that the sort of thing they were taught at the academy?

Either way, she knew she would not get anywhere blaming Mihoshi at the moment. Perhaps, when they got back to headquarters she could do so. What am I even thinking, Kiyone thought quietly.

Mihoshi knew much of what was on Kiyone's mind, though Kiyone would not have given her the credit of acknowledging that. Mihoshi was not dumb, just a bit silly. She knew she irked Kiyone and knew that she had been part of the reason that Kiyone has not already been promoted to the highest levels of the Galaxy Police. It was never on purpose, accidents just tended to find Mihoshi. Plus, it really is not far for Kiyone to blame her completely anyway. Kiyone has had her own hand in the bungles, just the far less visible one.

Also, who does Kiyone think she is anyway? Had not Mihoshi shown her the sort of loyalty and friendship that should satisfy her? Everyone makes mistakes and Mihoshi had saved Kiyone from her share of the mistakes. Did she even appreciate what Mihoshi did for her? Mihoshi continued to brood over these thoughts as an invisible wedge, that had been slowly growing throughout the years, gained more form and body.

The Juraian princesses faired no better, but Ayeka was in far worse a state of mind. She had seemed off kilter the entire escape from Jurai. Sasami was continually worried for her elder sister's internal state. If she was as off balanced as Sasami thought she was, who knows where that might land them. Honestly, Sasami resented it a bit. She has always had to be more adult than Ayeka and she was getting tired of it. How could she be so fragile?

Immediately after thinking that, Sasami cast that thought aside, believing it to be rather unfair. She was not next in line for the crown after all, and their father did not act as a royal taskmaster over her. Ayeka received the brunt of such abuses. Being royalty is not all it was cracked up to be and now, even that, has become unstable ground for her sister. Sasami could only pray to the gods of Jurai and hope for the best.

Ayeka's mind was a firestorm, a whirling maelstrom of doubt and self-consciousness. How could things change so quickly? So many people: dead. So much time, it seems, wasted in learning to behave as royalty, when the throne could be taken so easily. Nothing was permanent, nothing stable. People's lives are easily taken, loved ones losing their spirit at the whim of another. What sort of universe do we live in, she wondered.

Ryoko was casting furtive glances both at the new arrivals and her "mother," Washu. How could that woman be her mother? She looks all of 12 years old. Even if the claim were true, which continued to be doubtful to Ryoko's mind, who did Washu think she was? What sort of loving parent allows for the capture and subjugation of their child and then magically reappears hoping that everything would be just dandy. Ryoko let a low growl from her throat, sincerely desiring to punch a hole in the shop they were passing.

Once that fleeting moment passed, the barrage of thoughts that Ryoko was subject to began their steady flow. One single question kept cropping up in her mind: If this is my mother, where was she for the past millenia? Sighing inwardly, Ryoko then cast a glance in Tenchi's direction. She wondered just what was on his mind. He had to be reeling from all of this disruption, yet he seemed to be taking everything in stride. She had to admire his restraint and strength. It drew her even closer to Tenchi than she was already. The boy really had turned her entire universe on its head.

Unbeknownst to Ryoko, Washu could hear every thought passing through her daughter's head. They had a mental link that was established long ago at Ryoko's conception; well, her...creation really. Ryoko was both the product of science and Washu's own ovum. Washu was, after all, the greatest scientific genius in the universe. Science was her thing. Still, Ryoko always felt like more than a creation to Washu. She really had bonded with the child while she carried her in her womb, an experience she had only had once before. Her pregnancy with Ryoko was fraught with drama, as she had to revert to her adult body to properly bring Ryoko to term. Her feelings on being an adult were complicated at best. Still, she beamed with pride and felt an intense longing to be with Ryoko as a mother is with her child, even if she was now grown. So much had gone wrong, so much needed to be atoned for. She just wanted that chance. In time, she hoped Ryoko would realize the link in their minds and see the truth of what she was saying. Until such a time, Washu was going to stick around. It was going to be worth it, she was sure of it.

As the motley band neared Tenchi's Tokyo home, the sun was beginning to set, casting its light in bands around Tenchi and the girls. For just a second, each of them felt a sense of foreboding, a sense that things were about to get much, much stranger.

In their own way, they shrugged off the feeling and entered the house. There was much to discuss.