Chapter 3

Hello! Ryo-ohki-chan

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[Masaki Residence]

[A week after the last incident]

Aeka is tossing and turning in her sleep from the dream she has.

It was more of a vivid memory of her time with Yosho, her older half-brother.

[Inside her dreams]

Aeka is picturing herself as a young girl, being back in her home planet in Jurai, on a slightly cloudy evening with a full-moon lighting the golden fields on a starry night. She was playing out in the fields, making some laurels for herself and Yosho. But suddenly, she spotted a particular royal-purple flower known as the "Ōken-no-Namida" (Royal Teardrop), thinking it's just a pretty flower and she plucked it. That's when Yosho called out to her and she ran as fast as her little body can and she caught up to her older brother and placed the handmade laurel on top of his head, after he crouched down to her level.

Yosho then asked, "Why are you out here alone?"

"Because you went away, leaving me behind, Onii-sama," Aeka cutely replied.

And Yosho cheerfully swept little Aeka off her feet and carried her in style as Aeka shyly asked, "One day, when I grow up, I will become a bride, won't I, Onii-sama?"

"When you grow up," Yosho kindly answered.

Then Aeka shows Yosho the Ōken-no-Namida flower that matches the color of his eyes, thinking it's just a pretty flower as she placed it on the laurel. Yosho concerningly puts Aeka down and say something that utterly changed her life forever, "This flower...isn't supposed to be used for happy occasions."

And then, Aeka felt an unexpected shockwave from behind her as she sees Ryoko firing her bolt shots, shooting down a few warships and terrorizing the planet as she laughs maniacally as if she was like a puppet, due to her red, glowing eyes. She sees Yosho pursuing against Ryoko with Naruto defending the citizens from the attacks as he fights against a mysterious man wearing spectacles.

"You! Devil!" Yosho shouted in anger as he charges at Ryoko with the Oken no Tenchi.

Aeka stood up in her adult self and yelled, "Onii-sama! Wait! Take me with you!" But he couldn't hear her as he and Naruto pursued the pirate and her battle craft Ryo-ohki.

Then Aeka kept on running in the vast darkness until she found not Yosho, but Tenchi instead, who then stated, "Yosho? He died a long time ago. I return this keepsake to you." And he gave the Ōken no Tenchi to Aeka as she sees the blade glow and then it ceremoniously "burns" in her grasp as she cried out.

And Aeka woke up with a terrible scream, with tears streaming out of her eyes, and broke into a sweat, while Sasami is still snoozing without a care in the world.

-NNFN&R-

[Elsewhere, in Naruto's and Ryoko's room, basement area]

Both Naruto and Ryoko Hakubi woke up from hearing Aeka screaming from one of her nightmares. They know of Yosho's real secretive identity, but they solemnly swore that they wouldn't dare to confess it to everybody else until the moment is right. Nevertheless, Naruto kissed Ryoko good morning like she was an angel, and said, "It's time, Darling."

"Yes, Dear," she agreed with a smile as they quickly got dressed to search the lake at the break of dawn. They were briefly watched by Aeka who is still disgusted with them being about the moment she woke up. The couple walked on top of the water before they sink through the water's atomic structure and looked through the rubble and found what looked to be a black egg. Ryoko and Naruto cuddled the egg and they kissed each other before returning to the living room couch without getting wet from the water.

-NNFN&R-

Sasami is trying to get her older sister to come out, but Aeka stubbornly refuses to leave, "I...I don't want to!"

"Onee-sama!" Sasami scolded, "You've been staying in this room for about a week now, and Naruto-oniichan and Ryoko-neesan are trying to warm up to you after they accepted your apology. Enough is enough! The residents are going to think that we, Juraians, don't have the courtesy to greet somebody!"

"No, they wouldn't!" Aeka shot back out of habit, before calming down, "But the man of the house is out now, is he?"

"The father have left the house, but Tenchi-oniichan is at home. Onee-sama, this is getting hard on Sasami, you know."

Aeka apologized to her sister as she is the who needed to be worried about such things and to take care of her only baby sister. And she straightened out her formal clothing as she exited the bedroom with Sasami close behind.

-NNFN&R-

Sasami excitedly went down the stairs ahead of Aeka. The sound of footsteps got the attention of Ryoko and Naruto.

(Naruto sent his doubles to help with the publishing and to get some seeds for a garden set aside for a special someone. They also go to Tenchi's school (whatever's left of it) to gather a new set of books to help with his education. He also buys some books for Sasami's education, since she's still of school age, as well as some cookbooks to tempting the palate of cuisines after watching some cooking shows from his enhanced antenna.)

Aeka is still displeased at what she thinks is an unpleasant sight, but Sasami dragged her out downstairs to get her to see Tenchi.

"Well, look who's here," Ryoko remarked.

"When I meant to keep Aeka-chan as a prisoner, Darling, I meant for her to enjoy her stay on Earth while she can," Naruto explained, "And not being completely confined in the house all the time. We thought that you're likely to end up being dropped dead, leaving your sister all alone, princess."

"Where's Tenchi-oniichan at?" Sasami curiously asked.

"Tenchi's outside for the moment to help with the plumbing," Naruto answered. He knows that because he and Ryoko inexplicably moved the residence to a different location.

Sasami is a bit disappointed, but then, she is curious about the egg that the Hakubis (Ryoko) are holding. "Hey, what have you got here? What is it?" she asked.

"Wanna know?" Ryoko questioned and Sasami excitedly affirmed. Aeka, however, still scoffed at the Hakubis' actions.

Naruto said to Sasami, "This little one is created this morning. Cute, isn't it?"

"Onee-chan, did you lay it?" Sasami asked a naïve and silly question.

"Are you calling us echidnas, little girl?" Naruto gave out a silly answer, making her even more curious.

Aeka reacted badly from what she witnessed and warned, "Sasami, you mustn't touch it!"

Just then, Tenchi entered the living room, wiping the sweat off his brow and noticed Aeka. The violette princess noticed Tenchi and blushingly said, "Ah, p-please allow me to express my gratitude for your hospitality to the Jurai Royal Family... Anyway, I sincerely thank you." And she gave a formal bow towards the young Masaki.

"Huh...oh, I... Yeah, sure," Tenchi nervously accepted.

"Come on, sonny-boy," Naruto called, "Be a man and put some courage into accepting her thanks. Don't be such a wimpy wuss!"

"Hey hey, Ojo-san, would you want to know about this egg?" Ryoko playfully asked, making Aeka very high-strung.

"I have no intention of listening to your insults!" the older princess spat out as she flat out refuses, but then she nearly forgot about Sasami as she sees her younger sister holding the black egg, "What are doing, Sasami!? You'll get germs from holding that!"

The skynette princess is rubbing her hand on the egg as she carefully holds it and said, "But...Ryoko-neechan's baby is going to be born. And Sasami's so wanted to see this." She turned the couple and asked, "So, you two are married for how long?"

"Let me guess, just recently?" Aeka sarcastically asked and the Hakubis just laughed and then stopped as Naruto plainly said, "No, try 4,984 Stardate years, counting the 700 year stay on Earth, and it so happens to be around next month."

Tenchi and Aeka facefaulted like a sudden fireworks display has gone off from the sudden discovery as they witnessed one of the oldest living couples in the planet, if not the entire galaxy. Sasami was enthralled and she curiously asked, "So, who's the father?"

"But the better question, little girl, is who's going to be the godfather?" Naruto pointed out as he and Ryoko whispered into Sasami's ear, not letting anybody else hear what they're saying.

"...you see?" Ryoko finished whispering.

"Eh? Tenchi-oniichan's the one‽" Sasami loudly exclaimed, shocking Aeka from the surprise as she turned to Tenchi, who looked like he was left holding the bag as he questioned, "Huh? Wha - -? Aeka-san, are you all right?", as he sees the violette princess beginning to lose her temper.

"This is definitely NONE of your business," Aeka exclaimed while clenching her fist in rage, "Why don't you just go to those monster godparents of yours and hold that egg or whatever that is?"

"Egg?" Tenchi naïvely questioned, "What are you talking about?"

Ryoko moved closer to Tenchi while holding the egg and said, "Can you believe it, Tenchi? It's a product of our love together - my husband and I. We're both happy for the child we're bearing."

"Ch-child‽" Tenchi exclaimed from the suddenness.

"You get to be the godfather, so hold on to it tightly, miboyo," Naruto singsonged as he gave his godson a slight pat on the back before giving him the egg.

"It won't be long now," both Hakubis said.

The suspense is building and Tenchi is still left in the dark about what kind of black egg he's holding as he felt something moving inside, ready to hatch. Is it like a bird? A fish? Or mayhaps a hideous monster? And then the egg heated up intensely as it started to crack, to reveal...a foot. A rabbit-like creature's leg to be specific. The sudden surprise made Tenchi drop the container that somehow amazed young Sasami as she watches the hatchling make meowing noises as it draws its first breath. The small baby creature looked like a it's crossing between a rabbit and a cat.

(It's more like having a lower body structure, legs, and a tail like a rabbit's and a head of a cat, and a uniquely pair of long ears that's more cat-like. But it was just born, so the ears will droop for a while. This specimen is what people called...a cabbit.)

It blindly uses its nose to check its surroundings as Ryoko picked up the newborn cabbit and petted it and gleefully said, "Come here, my sweet Ryo-ohki-chan."

"Ryo...ohki‽" Tenchi sputtered, "Your spaceship? Then that's the child of..."

The Hakubis laughed at the hilarity.

Aeka sternly questioned about Ryo-ohki's origin and Naruto said, "You better believe it, princess."

"This is the original Ryo-ohki's child," Ryoko explained.

"So a spaceship can have a baby?" Sasami asked.

"Only Ryo-ohki can do such a feat, little girl," Naruto chuckled as he explained, "Our ship was a total wreck, so it reproduced itself. You must be out of your mind to think that it's Tenchi's offspring, but not as crazy for him to be the godfather. Ha ha ha!"

"Uh-huh, I thought that was kind of strange, too," Sasami agreed.

But Aeka just couldn't take the joke and madly exclaimed, "You're mean, every last one of you! You're all just making fun of me!" And she angrily walked out of the living room, but Tenchi tried to reason with her and said, "Ano...Aeka-san, we weren't trying to spoof you. At least I'm not."

"I wouldn't do that," Naruto quietly warned as he and the witnesses see Aeka gave Tenchi a slap on his cheek to release her as she tearfully said, "You're just like all the other jokers. Why don't you go have a good time with your fossil godparents of yours?"

Ryoko chuckles from the scene for she and Naruto knew that it served him right. And Naruto thinks that the princess is taking things a little too seriously and he telepathically said to Ryoko, {Darling, maybe we went a little too far, you know.}

{Maybe so, Honey,} his wife communicated, {But she just bumped into Yosho-san. She'll eventually have to learn the truth about him, someday.}

-NNFN&R-

Then Ryo-ohki (revealed to be a female) started to open her eyes and started climbing up the couch and she rolled over onto the seats. As she licked herself to wash, Ryo-ohki looked at Sasami and it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship as she climbed on Sasami's shoulder and caresses her cheek. They looked so happy together.

-NNFN&R-

The Hakubis stretched as they yawned from getting up early in the morning. "She sure has a knack for curing the monotony, that Princess," Ryoko said to Tenchi.

"You...What kind of mischief are you two up to now?" Tenchi felt annoyed as he questioned, "Don't you have any considerable conscience at all?"

The godparents went to their godson as Naruto said, "Of course we do, sonny. You just got to learn not to take life too seriously, because you'll never get out of it alive." And he nudges his godson with quick nudges of his elbow and with clicks of his tongue.

"And you're just a sweet godson," Ryoko enamoredly said as she hugged Tenchi in a strangely "motherly" manner, "You're so sweet to be SO concerned about your godparents. So, Tenchi, where's the blade?"

"I gave it back to Aeka-san," he answered.

*Aooo-gah!*

"You idiot!" Naruto shouted as he grabbed Tenchi's cheeks with both of his hands, comedically squishing them, "That princess is holding other gems that holds my darling's power source!"

"What if she uses it?" Ryoko worryingly exclaimed, "Oh, I feel faint... Koro-koro..." And she backed away until she bumped into Katsuhito (that is, Yosho) as he shamelessly puts his hands on Ryoko's breasts and said, "Well, well. Second time I bumped into a young woman. Must be my lucky day."

"Grand...pa‽ When did..." Tenchi stammeredly questioned.

Ryoko moved Katsuhito's hands off of her chest and yelled, "Dirty old man!" And she was about to deliver a punch to him, but Naruto blocked it with his open palm and caught the blow and said, "Ah-ah-ah. Darling, you mustn't do that to the old goat. He's "venerable", you know."

"Right..." Ryoko mockingly agreed as she rolled her eyes.

Naruto turned to Katsuhito and angrily said with a beastly growl, "Hands off my prey, Grandpa!"

"Well, your wife really is a spry young lady, Naruto-san," the elderly man admitted and then he sees Ryo-ohki on top of Sasami's head and asked, "Now then, this must be Tenchi's godchild, is it?" And he rubbed the cabbit's chin.

"Not really, Jii-chan," Sasami said, "This is Ryo-ohki. She just hatched from an egg."

Katsuhiko patted both the girl and cabbit's heads and said to Tenchi, "Now that you're an anointed godfather of a child..."

"Just what are you getting at, Jii-chan?" Tenchi adamantly argued, denying that the cabbit is even related to him.

"You have to take responsibility for taking care of the little one," Katsuhito explained, "You've got a long, bumpy road ahead of you."

"That's not my child, nor it's my godchild!" Tenchi denied, "Oh! Just forget it, I'm going outside!" And he walks away.

"Tenchi, don't forget your practice this afternoon," the elder reminded.

"Onii-chan..." Sasami concerningly said.

"Don't worry about him, he takes after his late mother. He's the serious type."

"I'm going outside, too," Naruto said, "No need to be lazing around the house when there's a lot of work to do." Ryoko agreed as she joined her husband as they traveled through the house to the fields.

Then Ryo-ohki jumped off of Sasami and scampered to the glass screen door and bumped into it. She and the Sasami looked outside to see Aeka watching over the lake. Ryo-ohki molecularly went through the glass with ease, but Sasami couldn't pull the feat as she bumped her head on it, "Ow-ouch!"

-NNFN&R-

[Outside, at the Masaki Lake]

Aeka is watching the remains of her ship, Ryu-oh, trapped in the deep waters of the lake, as she is unable to leave back home in Jurai, not knowing where Yosho is either in hiding or presumably... She began to sob from the hopelessness, not knowing that Ryo-ohki was next to her feet, as she felt sorry for the woman. And as the baby cabbit rubbed against Aeka's ankles, the princess became frightened as if Ryo-ohki is a mouse and she lifted her dress to avoid jumping onto the little critter. And then, she stopped to see Ryo-ohki trying to get her attention.

"Meow!"

"Ryo-ohki!" Aeka nearly had herself look so silly and then she tried to shoo the cabbit off, "Sh! Sh! Go away, you dirty little thing!"

"Meow?" Ryo-ohki mewed as she draws closer to Aeka, the princess backs off. A few paces later, Aeka then said, "All right then, you just stay right here and I'LL be the one to go away. Now don't you dare follow me." And as Aeka climbed the stone steps, Ryo-ohki just followed not far behind her. As Aeka told the little cabbit not to follow her and Ryo-ohki hid herself in the greens.

Suddenly, Aeka noticed that next to Ryo-ohki is standing next to the Royal Teardrop flower and she plucked it. It reminds her of Yosho and her home planet of Jurai. "No, it couldn't be," she murmured to herself.

"It matches the color of her eyes."

"One day, when I grow up, I will become a bride, won't I, Onii-sama?"

Aeka never felt this depressed since the uneventful separation of her only elder half-brother. And she cried as some of her tears fell on her dress and then on Ryo-ohki, who is trying to comfort her. "Leave me alone," she stifled as she covered her face, "Please, just leave me alone."

Ryo-ohki sadly walked away for a moment, until she started to sniff around for a flower to help cheer poor Aeka up and she holds a plucked red and white flower in her mouth and gave it to the violette princess. Aeka knew that hating little Ryo-ohki was actually lying to herself as she petted the cabbit.

-NNFN&R-

[In Aeka and Sasami's room]

Ryoko had just finished her fighting session and peeped into their room to find the blade. She checked the unique drawers, wondering where did Aeka hid it. And then she looked at the holographic picture of Yosho in his prime. She knows that he's still here, incognito, as an old man. But her search for her precious item has to be halted because she hears Sasami calling out for her older sister and she teleported through the wall.

-NNFN&R-

[Back with Aeka & Ryo-ohki]

"So, tell me, what should I do now?" Aeka asked the young and pampered cabbit, "With my spaceship out of commission I can neither fly nor communicate with my people. The only clue I have is the blade. I wonder..." She looked into the lake in the distance. "...could my brother really be... Oh, but you don't understand the words I said."

But then Ryo-ohki scampered off to point Aeka out to something as the princess followed the cabbit. As she called for Ryo-ohki, she came across a training field and climbed up a tree to see where Tenchi is practicing his swings against a tethered piece of wood while trying not to trip on the wooden obstacles.

"Tenchi, watch your feet," Katsuhito warned, and sure enough, Tenchi missed that footing and slipped, right into his back, without getting poked by the stumbling sticks, as Naruto dimensionally uses his hands to drag him out of the small field without injuring the apprentice too much as he tosses Tenchi onto the flat plain.

"Try harder, nitwit," Naruto commented, "If you give the enemy an inch, he/she will surely kill you." Then both grandfather and grandson positioned themselves with the "basic patterns" while Naruto acts as the witness.

While Aeka notices the beginning of the routine, Katsuhito said, "Ready!"

"Hai!" Tenchi replied as both warriors charged at each other with their bokken blades.

The scene where Aeka was watching reminds her of Yosho and his fighting styles and routines of the Royal Juraian Family. And when she was about one step closer to the whereabouts, the branch she was supposed hanging onto suddenly broke off as she screamed on the way down. And Tenchi heard the disturbance when Katsuhito conks his grandson with a weird pose as he asked, "What's the matter, Tenchi? You're a sitting duck!"

"Old man, I'm sure that this isn't part of your routine, now was it?" Naruto asked.

"Nope," Katsuhito plainly answered.

And Tenchi looked to see Aeka...in an awkward position as part of her dress is revealing her legs and he smacked himself in the face in the embarrassment.

"Yeee-ouuuch! Why must I suffer from this kind of disgrace?" Aeka rhetorically asked and hastily covered her privates when she saw Tenchi witnessing the incident.

When the young Masaki moved down the embankment, he sees Aeka injured from the fall, leaving her with a gash on her leg and a twist on her ankle. He realizes that she can bleed like any human would have.

And before Aeka asked Tenchi's grandfather about his sword training, Naruto quickly summoned forth some bandages and some astringent to wipe the wounds off of Aeka. He warned that the injury is going to sting for a moment as he poured the disinfectant onto the cut and then wrapped the bandages to support the bad sprain and to cover the wound.

Katsuhito warned Tenchi that Aeka has to not use her foot for a while until it heals for at least a week and that she has to get to the house, promptly.

Naruto then said that he needs to check on Ryoko to see if she didn't get herself into trouble and told him that there's a shed nearby because the rains are coming in fast. He also said to look out for Ryo-ohki, because she can't resist a particular food item.

Tenchi didn't understand what the Beast-man godfather meant as the men of wisdom made their way back to the respective houses, leaving Tenchi alone with Aeka.

-NNFN&R-

And soon enough, it hit! A sudden downpour is drenching the Okayama countryside.

[In the Masaki residence]

Ryoko and Naruto are lying next to each other on the couch, feeling rather tired from watching the showers outside.

"Ryoko-neechan. Naruto-oniichan. Please stop the rain," Sasami requested, "My sister and the others are still outside."

Naruto turned to Sasami and plainly explained, "Little Miss, you're asking the wrong person for this kind of question."

"Heeeh... You got to realize that this planet doesn't have its own weather control system, so I'm afraid we can't help you on that," Ryoko added.

"And Aeka-chan still has the blade with her," the husband included, "Maybe Tenchi will win her over to give it up somehow. It'll be a win-win situation for Tenchi and for us."

"Oh, Darling, you are such a genius!" the wife gleefully praised her husband with a kiss. Of course, they have to stop for a moment, because Sasami was watching them and he asked, "Do...me a little favor, will you, Sasami-chan? Go and...hop it to the kitchen and help get dinner ready? My Honey and I are going to have a moment to ourselves for a... private session in the showers."

He summoned forth two doubles - one to help her with the cooking and the other to practice playing with a European-style mandolin to appropriate the setting. And both the Hakubis went to the bath-room to take a much needed shower to reinvigorate themselves and another "lesson in love" together.

(Confidentially, the Naruto double is playing "Mandolin Rain" and other tunes fashioned for the instrument.)

-NNFN&R-

[At the shed]

Tenchi took Naruto's advice and carried Aeka inside to get out of the rain, just in the nick of time. He set her down on the bench and removed his shirt and his towel around his shoulders. Aeka blushed at Tenchi's bare chest. So the young Masaki found a box full of kindling timber and set it at the open area at the center and used a lighter to ignite the low-smoking wood as a makeshift fireplace to keep Aeka warm while Tenchi waits outside as the former undresses herself - from the obi (sash), the kimono slip, the irotomesode, and then the hiyoku, until she is down to her nagajuban.

(Aeka is more of a traditionist kind of woman that wears multiple layers of clothing the way a middle-to-high class young women formally wear in the olden days of Japan.)

As she was wiping the some of the rainwater off of herself, she hears something crawling around the shed - a small creature with a pair of yellow eyes hopping and jumping around until it landed on Aeka's chest, making her give off a terrible shriek that got Tenchi's attention. When they calmed down, they realized that it was Ryo-ohki that lunged at Aeka, nearly giving her a sheer heart attack. The little cabbit is feeling very lonely as she mewed. But by the time the two people gotten themselves a little too close, Aeka and Tenchi felt surprisingly closer than ever. To break the ice of uncertainty, Aeka invited Tenchi to come near the fire, where it's warm.

While Ryo-ohki was roaming around, Aeka confesses, "I guess I must have misunderstood certain things about you. Since you were with Ryoko and Naruto, I thought that you were one of their crew members."

"Well, we weren't," Tenchi replied, "But I think it all started when I opened the gate."

"The gate?" Aeka asked.

"Nearby, there's a cave where my godparents were locked in it."

"My dear brother must've done it."

"Yosho...that's what the records said. Can I ask you something? What are you going to do now?"

"I know I cannot return back to my home planet now. I must continue the search for my dear brother... Only, it's hard for me, since I have no known relatives on this alien planet."

"Aeka-san, Please stay with us as long as you like!" Tenchi pleaded, "I'm the one responsible for all of this. And besides, we're "related", too...I guess."

"Yosho is my half-brother," Aeka explained, "You may think that it's rather odd to marry your closest relative, but even though my parents arranged the engagement, and he's already married to my grandmother's secretary, but I was still happy about it."

(To elucidate, Aeka and Yosho have the same father, but different mothers. Because of the laws of royalty, they were to be betrothed to each other by their parents' arrangement to keep the bloodline..."pure". Aeka doesn't know the whole truth that belies in the marriage and love with those that she cherished. To compensate the problem, Aeka was genetically modified to the person that she wished to be; in this case, to be more like her stepmother.)

"But just...just to think that I won't be able to share this feeling with him. I don't... I don't know what to do anymore..." And Aeka sobbed, knowing that her quest is beginning to become seemingly hopeless.

But then, Tenchi surmises, "His ship... It must have been destroyed, much like yours was... That must be it. And he was forced to..." (Aeka looked at Tenchi with tear-stained eyes.) "Well, so...you should... Cheer up! You should cheer up!" And that made the poor princess feel a whole lot better.

Ryo-ohki came by near Tenchi trying to get his attention. She seemed to be fascinated by a basket of carrots. So he picked one up and tossed one to the floor and the cabbit gave off the soulful eyes as she appreciated the vegetable that she liked as she started eating it like a rabbit.

"I can't believe you grow up to be a spaceship, right?" Tenchi asked the little cabbit and she replied with a simple, "Meow."

-NNFN&R-

The rain has finally let up as the campfire was put out as Tenchi helped carry Aeka back to the house. As he walked the pathway, with Ryo-ohki carrying a bunch of carrots on her back. Tenchi was thinking about visiting his godparents' former tomb in the cave, but Aeka pointed to the "Sacred Tree of the Masaki Shrine" first. It was said that if a person makes a wish on a full moon, it will come true, or if one prays for rain, it can happen. So Tenchi takes Aeka to the tree.

-NNFN&R-

[At the "Sacred Tree"]

Tenchi set Aeka down on one of the roots of the Sacred Tree as she investigated it. "No doubt about it. This is Funaho, named after Dear Brother's mother," she explained, "Like my Ryu-oh, this is the heart and soul of the ship.

"So this tree can turn into a spaceship?" Tenchi questioned.

"No," the violette princess answered, "This tree had taken root. It won't become a spaceship now." And she uses the Ōken blade and tapped Funaho's trunk and the energy from the blade connects itself to the tree as it began to glow and plays back the memory projected in front of Tenchi and Aeka.

The memory shows Yosho with Naruto as the Juraian pilots Funaho while pursuing an out-of-control Ryoko and Ryo-ohki as they come across Earth.

Then the memory shows Yosho and Naruto (in his Zoanthrope Fox Form) fighting against Ryoko. And the damaged warship fired piercing bolt shots past Ryo-ohki's shielding, causing it to be scuttled as it and some of the missed shots created craters on the land, inadvertently forming the lakes and rivers flowing throughout present day Okayama, Japan.

And finally, the battle-worn Naruto yelled at Yosho, who is suffering from a minor head wound, "Hurry! Go for the throat! Don't worry about me, just do it!", as he binds himself with the wild Ryoko, preventing her from causing any more harm to Yosho and the other witnesses. And the Juraian aimed his blade at both the Hakubi's necks and stabbed them through. The Ōken blade extracted the gem from Ryoko's throat and absorbed into the pommel as Naruto and Ryoko's lives "left" their bodies. They were later buried into a tomb inside a cave where they were laid to rest.

The playback was finished as Aeka knows that Yosho is still alive somewhere in this planet. And then she apologizes to Tenchi, "Forgive me. I've been very cruel to you." And she returns the blade to him and explained, "I learned that you are indeed related by the Royal Blood of Juraian Family. I am asking you to help protect us until by dear brother is found."

Tenchi barely knows how to handle the Ōken properly, as he was given the responsibility by the violette princess. But then, Sasami and Ryo-ohki came by, as they were walking the stepping stones. The skynette girl asked Aeka where she had been, as she had been worried about them after being stuck in the rain.

"I'm sorry, Sasami," Aeka apologized, "Did you get come all this way by yourself?"

"Mm-mm," the younger sister said, "Naruto-oniichan and Ryoko-oneechan are with me and then Ryo-ohki-chan met us halfway."

And the cabbit climbed on Sasami's shoulder with a confident "Meow".

"Well, well," Naruto remarked, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that those two have finally gotten along with each other. Isn't it, Darling?"

"It certainly is a friendly atmosphere, Honey," Ryoko agreed as Tenchi and the girls see the Hakubis walking on the water and then teleported next to the young Masaki.

Naruto puts his elbow lightly on Tenchi shoulder and said, "I guess you took my advice and used the shed for shelter, didn't you?"

"We couldn't make it back to the house, so, yeah," Tenchi admittingly agreed.

"And you got the blade back from Aeka-san, after convincing her?" Ryoko noticed as she gave her godson a pat on the shoulder, "Well done."

"Actually, I returned the blade to Tenchi," the princess elucidated.

After a pause, Ryoko chuckled as questioned, "Was there something that we missed out?"

"Tenchi and I are related by blood," Aeka said, "It's really none of your business."

"None of our business‽" Naruto exclaimed with Ryoko fuming with electrical sparks, "We came all this way to help you and this is the thanks that we get?"

Then the Hakubi couple sarcastically said together, "Well, excuuu~se me!" And they teleported to a different location.

Sasami felt rather sorry for them, while both Tenchi and Aeka exclaimed, "To help us?!"

Then the Masaki called out, "Hey, Ryoko! Naruto! It's all a big misunderstanding. We didn't mean any harm!"

But Aeka said, "Forget them for now, let's go."

"But you never know what they're going to do when they get upset," Tenchi concerningly stated.

"Oh? And here I thought you were going to protect us," Aeka sarcastically retorted, and she requested Tenchi to carry her back to the house.

Sasami and Ryo-ohki gave out a sighing remark as they enjoyed the sunny skies of Planet Earth.

§

To be continued...==»

A/N: Well, another day, another writer's block. After the hectic weeks of regular life outside the typing. It's going to a relative's house for the weekend, visiting the Kids' carnival while dressing up in Halloween costumes and a visit to a church far different from our regular community. Not to mention it was also a celebratory event for one of them as a Mexican restaurant, with an unusual committee singing out. As of when I finishing typing and publishing this chapter, there's a particular event I want to check out, that is more of a local event and all the BBQ I wanted to taste. Could it be one with a good sauce and well-cooked beef or will things not turn out just right?

But I digress, you noticed that I somewhat changed the scenarios a bit, but I'm trying to stay close to canon. It proves that I'm just a regular writer wanting to make an adaptational point of quality. Also, about Aeka's attire, I could be wrong, but researching what articles of clothing that she wore can be complicated in explaining which pieces of clothing goes where, besides the kimono and the obi sash. How she and possibly even other women formally wear many layers of lightweight clothing is not for me to explain. Just look it up.

Also, if you think there wouldn't be any conflict between Aeka and Ryoko, you better think again. They'll fight like a mother-in-law feuding against her daughter-in-law from time to time, And keep in mind, I'm using the Ryo-ohki timeline and not its branch-off continuities, so characters Nagi, Ken-ohki, Kiyone (Tenchi Universe and Tenchi in Tokyo), and even the characters from the Pretty Sammy and Magical Girl series are likely out of the question. Although, it's a good suggestion, I'm not planning on using them just yet. Not without the additional material, that is.

The heat of the moment will be on!

- blukmage19