Disclaimer: I don't own this dribble.
Kamidake noticed the looks on the faces of the citizens as he walked through the Great Hall on Jurai. Usually, he got joyful greetings as he sauntered through the grand entrance to the palace. Today, every face he met scowled upon his arrival. He wondered what had changed in the past 24 hours which made his people hate him so much.
"Hello! How are you today?" Kamidake greeted a Juraian elder with a grin. The old man grunted a bit and turned away. Kamidake had never gotten this kind of treatment before. What was going on? A familiar voice rang out behind the soldier, and he turned to face Sasami.
"Kamidake! Where have you been the whole time I've been here? We've hardly said two words to each other!" the small girl scolded the man. He chuckled a bit and patted her head.
"Hey kiddo. Sorry about that. What do you want to do today? You and me. I'll make it up to you. What do you say? Any ideas?" Sasami giggled and grabbed her friend's hand. Kamidake was then carted off to the gardens of Jurai.
The tree that cradled Ryoko was tall and healthy. It's leaves were full and brilliantly green. Most of the gardens could be seen from this spot, and Ryoko enjoyed the view tremendously. She had just woken up from a nap, and had looked down to see a red head and a smaller blue head. The pirate grinned and listened intently to the interaction of her two friends.
"Kamidake, look! It's so beautiful!" Sasami squealed. She hopped up and down a little and pointed at a flower that was out of Ryoko's range of vision. Kamidake walked in the same direction as Sasami's outstretched hand and squatted beside a large purple bush.
"Hmm. . .I think it could use some improvement," he stated with a smile and plucked the gorgeous blossom from it's home. He then turned to the little girl beside him and tucked it behind her ear.
"If anyone asks, you didn't get this from me." Kamidake said so quietly that Ryoko had to strain to hear. The man winked and chuckled, and Sasami laughed with him.
Ryoko just sat and watched. Her heart had a strange feeling, and it alarmed her. A warmth was rising in her chest and she felt like she might burst. This was happiness. The space pirate was giggling like a schoolgirl at Kamidake's playful antics. She had only gotten these light feelings a few times before. Tenchi was the only one who could take her burden of her past away. But now, watching the scene below her, her pain was washed away and she was entirely in the moment. She laughed, and she loved life, if only for a moment.
That evening at dinner, Tenchi sat between Ryoko and Ayeka, and Ryoko sat between Tenchi and Kamidake.
"Ryoko, how was your da-"
"OH Kamidake, that was hil-AR-ious!" Ryoko burst into laughter at the conclusion of a joke that Kamidake had just finished telling. Tenchi had been completely cut off in his inquiry, and his eyebrows furrowed. This was the Juraian Dining Hall, but something like that had never stopped Ryoko from draping herself around him before. She had hardly paid him any mind since they arrived on Jurai. What was the deal?
"RYOKO. How was your day?" Tenchi tried again. This time, Ryoko turned to him, trying to stop laughing from the supposedly show stopping hilarity of the man on her left.
"It was good Tenchi. Very good. What about you? Did you do anything fun?" she replied.
"I took a walk around the grounds. Tried to figure out what I was going to do about this 'You're our prince' situation."
"Oh. That sounds interesting." In fact, Ryoko sounded about as disinterested as she could, and she kept stealing glances at Kamidake. An urge to ask Ryoko to move seats with him overtook Tenchi, but he suppressed it with a bit of alarm. He wasn't jealous. How can you be jealous over a friend? You can't.
Kamidake got up from his seat and sat down with Ayeka.
"Is your head feeling better, Miss Ayeka?" he asked politely. She smiled and nodded.
"Thank you for the concern, Kamidake"
"Are you sure? It seemed like something else was bothering you as well." the soldier gently prodded. He hoped for a certain answer, but knew better than to think he would get it.
"Can I tell you the truth Kamidake?" Ayeka lowered her voice as she said this. Kamidake's heart skipped a beat.
"Y-yes. Of course Miss Ayeka." "I was jealous of you and Ryoko." Kamidake could have died and gone to heaven at that moment. He could kiss Ryoko for what she had done for him. He gathered himself up enough to prod a bit more.
"Jealous? How so?" he innocently asked, his heart pumping furiously and a large grin creeping onto his face.
"Well. You two looked so happy together. It made me think-" she paused midsentence and lowered her voice even more. Now she was hardly audible in the crowded Dining Hall. "It made me think about what I might not ever have with Tenchi, and what I want so badly"
All of the oxygen left Kamidake's lungs. He felt like he had been hit with an anvil.
"Wha-what you'll never have with T-Tenchi. . ."he began, shakily. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you unhappy." The soldier had covered well, but his disappointment was strong and he no longer wished to be here. He just wanted to get away.
"Ayeka. I have to go. I have guard duty. I'm sorry. Perhaps I shall see you tomorrow."
The princess watched as he left. The change in his body language was so sudden, and he had NEVER called her 'Ayeka'.
