THREE PRINCESSES...

Author: Daferge

Disclaimer: Tenchi Muyo! is a copyright AIC/Pioneer Ltd.

All respective characters are property of their original owners. All original characters and ideas are property of the author.

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Chapter 43... And this is...

( Aira Royal Palace… )

Akio Magma, the King of the Airaian kingdom and Supreme Governor of the Church, making him the head of the Airaian religion, was staring at the other end of the very long wooden conference table…

Or to be more exact, at a small device, which could fit in a person's hand that sat at that end, with a small almost lifelike figure of a young boy, with a shy smile, hovering above it …

The problem was that the King was having trouble imagining that THIS shy young boy was really the powerful Crowned Prince of Jurai that he had been hearing so much about…

But this wasn't what he expected Juraian Royalty to be, in other words snobbish, self-centered, self-important and looking down their noses at others...

His Intelligence organization had been sending in dozens of reports daily, detailing some rumor or other about the new Crown Prince of Jurai, ever since word of Kagato's death had gotten out...

Which meant that he had a mountain of reports concerning the prince, included photographs…

Why, he didn't even look like the person the king had seen in that dueling video that was so popular, taking on his powerful wife, the infamous ex-space pirate Ryoko, didn't he have more muscles?…

But still it didn't seem possible that this BOY was the person who had turned the Galaxy on its head and caused more changes in the past year than had accrued in the past thousand years…

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But this was the person whom Washu had just introduced as the Crown Prince…

And he could see the red eyes of the female sitting at the other end of the table, just above her fan and they were glowing with great amusement…

Lady Seto Kamiki Jurai, the 'Devil Princess of Jurai', one of the most feared people, male or female, within the Juraian Empire, was some one not to be taken lightly…

Even she had acknowledged that this was indeed a member of the Juraian Royal Family and thus related to her, there was joy in her eyes…

And then there was his own daughter, who had spent centuries avoiding involvement with ANY of the Royal families, admitting that it had been HER secret second daughter, with the Juraian Prince, who had given birth to this truly remarkable person…

It was the look of pride on her face, as she looked at the small figure at the end of the table that finally convinced him…

There could be no doubt this THIS was indeed the Galaxy famous Crown Prince of Jurai…

But it would still take time for him to get use to it…

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( Washu's Lab… )

Tenchi stood there trying not to be nervous, but it was difficult…

Not only were these people relatives that he hadn't known about, like Ayeka's parents, they were very important within the galactic community…

It had been a real shock to discover that not only was his grandfather's parents alive, but his great-grandfather was the Emperor of an empire that controlled a huge chunk of the known galaxy…

Now it turned out that not only was his grandmother still alive, but her parents had influence over almost as many people…

To top that off, it would appear that his great-grandfathers were major rivals…

And he had just found himself dropped right in the middle of it all…

From the expression on this great-grandfather's face, he didn't seem too happy about how things were turning out and Tenchi quietly sighed…

Wait until you find out some of our other Family secrets!...

He could hear Washu chuckling over to the side…

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( Aira Royal Palace… )

As he considered it, there was some thing else that was disturbing the King…

It was in the detail and quality of the small figure standing on the table, apparently being broadcast from clear across the galaxy…

This was indeed truly amazing technology…

While it was indeed common place for flat 2-dimentional images to be broadcast vast distances almost instantly, broadcasting a 3-D, almost lifelike image, was still in its very early stages…

Also, while 3-D Holographic communications devices close to this quality did exist, if he recalled correctly they usually need to be almost the size of this table and they certainly didn't fit in the palm of a person's hand…

And what worried him was the fact that it was a member of rival Royalty, the Juraians, who had access to technology that was clearly far more advanced than what which was available to his own Airaian scientist…

There was only one person in the entire Galaxy who could have created something like this…

But, did this mean that the infamous mad scientist and inventor, who was rumored to have created weapons that could destroy the very universe it's self, in the blink of an eye, Washu Hakubi, was now working for the Juraian Royal Family?...

If so, not only had the balance of power in the galaxy just been thrown out of balance, it had been remove entirely…

" Washu works for Washu… "

Startled, the king looked up to see Lady Seto smiling at him, her eyes dancing…

It was true what they said about her smile, as he felt a chill ran up his spine…

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At the other end of the table Lady Seto had been watching as the King stared at Washu's amazing devise and smiled as a look of panic slowly began to make its way onto his face…

That same look that Azusa, Jurai's Emperor, got when some thing he couldn't control worried him, usually something having to do with the Masaki family, some thing involving Washu…

She decided to give Airi some help with her parents, besides even Tenchi was now looking at her…

" Professor Hakubi doesn't work for Jurai, she is just watching over her daughters and family… "

As she looked down at him, Tenchi smiled and bowed his head slightly, she found herself quietly sighing…

" Daughters?... Family?... "

Looking back up, she saw there was some confusion on the King's face, her smile brightened…

" Why… The former infamous Space Pirate and now beloved wife of Crown Prince Tenchi Masaki, Princess Ryoko Hakubi Masaki… And her little sister… "

A small figure was now standing before Tenchi, his hands resting protectively on her shoulders, there was a great deal of pride in his voice…

" May I present my sister-in-law, Ryo-Ohki Hakubi… Washu's youngest daughter… "

The king had heard rumors that Ryoko and Washu could be related some how, but Ryoko had acquired her fearsome reputation on her own and not for whom she was related too…

In fact, until very recently Ryoko had no known relatives, blood or otherwise…

The kings mind began to spin, Washu had a second daughter?...

And there was some thing very familiar about her name, but the only Ryo-Ohki that he knew of was Ryoko's very powerful space ship?...

Lady Seto wanted to laugh as reality began to dawn on him and his eyes widened, his jaw dropped…

When it came to Kings and Emperors, neither could match the Masaki Family…

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( The Jurai Palace… )

Emperor Azusa had been walking down the hall when he felt some thing and stopped…

He could have sworn he had heard some one chuckle…

Looking both ways down the hall he saw nothing…

But it sounded so close and clear?...

Shaking his head he continued down the hallway…

A soft chuckling followed him...

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( In sub-space… )

A tall, dark-haired figure watched several screens at once…

On one was the room with Airi, her parents and Lady Seto…

On another was Washu's lab, with Tenchi standing in a section, surrounded by life-like images of Airi, her parents and Lady Seto…

On another was Tenchi's grandfather, sitting at his desk, doing shrine paperwork…

Another had the bounty hunter Nagi Katsumoro and princess Sasami descending the steps up to the shrine…

Another had a white haired male standing at a tavern bar talking to a Galaxy police officer…

While another followed Azusa down an empty hallway…

The final one was of a small baby crib and the sleeping child within…

This was the one the figure tended to watch the most…

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( Aira Royal Palace… )

On top of the table, keeping one hand on Ryo-Ohki's shoulder, Tenchi smiled and reached his other hand out to his side until it disappeared…

Seto smiled as she watched him pull his hand back and draw some one into existence beside him…

A female with light spiky hair appeared, she put an arm around Tenchi and rested her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes…

After a while she opened her eyes and smiled at the King…

For some reason, the King suddenly felt yet another chill ran down his spine as he made eye contact with her…

There was some thing in Ryoko's eyes that reminded the King of Lady Seto…

Behind Tenchi, Lady Seto managed to hide her smile behind her fan, but her eyes were aglow…

Raising her head from Tenchi's shoulder, Ryoko slowly turned to face Lady Seto and bowed slightly…

" It's good to see you again… Lady Seto… "

The King watched, as the most feared female Space Pirate to appear in the past 5 thousand years and the Juraian princess who was known to eagerly hunt down Space Pirates, singularly or in packs, with an insane glee, exchange greeting as if they'd been friends all their lives…

What had I gotten myself into?...

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The Queen had been sitting quietly, watching all this interchange with great interest and had to smile slightly…

All those intelligence reports that had come in had told her a lot, but even so there had been a number of questions that still hung, unanswered, in the air…

But she was beginning to understand why her daughter had made very few comments about her involvement with Prince Yosho over the centuries…

And it was no wonder why her daughter had kept the secret of her second daughter, Tenchi's mother, a secret…

But, it would seem that her great-grandson had chosen quite well, she couldn't wait to meet him and his family…

It was quite apparent that unlike others in the court who were known to have royal blood, here was a most unusual group of people, indeed…

For, even though they were perhaps some of the most powerful people in the entire universe, power and influence meant nothing to them, it was the family and the family alone that was most important…

Some thing told her that a lot of things were going to be changing…

The question was, for the better or worse?...

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( A distant Tavern… )

Fragga smiled as the local GP outpost commander leaned on his bar…

" I tell you Fragga, it's the weirdest thing I've every heard… A group of intergalactic assassins suddenly appear in a high security cell at the GP office on Jurai it's self and no one can explain it… "

Fragga barely managed to keep a straight face…

His bartender, who was facing away from them, was shaking slightly, from silent laughter…

He and several others had helped Fragga carry the unconscious assassins, who'd just failed to kill Crown Prince Tenchi, back into Fragga's office, under the very watchful eye of that red-headed female called Washu and her daughter Ryoko…

After that, the next thing they heard was that the assassins had reappeared on Jurai…

He didn't know or want to know how they'd gotten there, as long as Fragga said it was OK, it was alright by him, besides, he liked the young prince…

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" So… Why are you making inquires this far away from Jurai?... "

" Just some follow up… Seems this world was mentioned during interrogations… "

" Probably just passing through… I understand they take great pains in blending in, so nobody notices them… "

The officer nodded…

" Headquarters want us to check out all leads… No matter how small… They don't like unsolved mysteries… "

Fragga couldn't help smiling…

" Unsolved mysteries or embracing arrests?... Criminals arresting themselves sound like a novel idea… "

The officer had a worried look, so Fragga continued…

" Don't worry… If the GP gets dissolved, you can come and work for me… "

On that note the two raised a toast…

" TO THE GP!... "

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( Aira Royal Palace… )

Airi had also been watching things, Seto and Ryoko's exchange of greeting, her father's reaction and even her mother's…

Coming eye to eye with her mother, the queen smiled at her and nodded her head…

It would appear that she at-least had some support within the palace…

Meeting Tenchi and his wives would probably be the easy part, but there would be other things that might not go so easily, like their introduction of Tenchi's daughter…

Only a small handful of people in the entire universe knew of her existence and even fewer knew who her 'mother' really was…

She remembered her own reaction, SO, how would her parents take it when they introduced to their Great-great-granddaughter?...

And she had good reason to believe there was even more things that even she didn't know, yet…

It was that odd gleam that Yosho got in his eyes when she asked him if there was any thing else that she should know…

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( The Masaki Shrine… )

Katsuhito Masaki, the local priest was doing the monthly paperwork…

If he did it day-by-day as suggested, it wouldn't be such a bother at the end of the month…

But after 700 years of doing it, this was the way he did it…

Perhaps later he'd have time to write some poems…

He took another look at all the forms on his desk…

Probably not!

He smiled as he thought about all this one day being Tenchi's…

He couldn't help chuckling…

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( Aira Royal Palace… )

Lady Seto was watching the quiet interplay between Airi and her parents as well as that between Ryoko and Tenchi…

Ryoko was in one of her feline moods and as usual, didn't care who else was watching…

Cuddling up to Tenchi, her head resting on his shoulder, his arm holding her tight, she squeezed her eyes shut as a voice spoke up…

" You blazon hussy… "

Tenchi shut his eyes, sighed and reached out with his free hand, once again causing it to disappear…

As he pulled his arm back, he was holding some one else's hand…

Soon, a very recognizable female appeared, Ayeka Masaki Jurai, the 1st Princess of Jurai and one of Tenchi's other wives…

She had started to say something, but soon she too was cuddling up to Tenchi, his arm around her, her head on his other shoulder…

Her eyes shut, the smile on her face said every thing…

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Half way down the table, Queen AimiMagma, just managed to hide a smile as she watch the interplay between Tenchi and his two wives…

It would appear that every time she turned around there was even MORE to admire about this new Great-grandson and his family…

Here were two of the strongest, most determined independent females in the whole galaxy and in the arms of this young boy, they were like schoolgirls…

A thought accrued to her..

Was this how she and Akio had looked, after they first got to know and like each other?...

As was custom, as the daughter of the most powerful house in the kingdom, she had been betrothed to the child prince as a baby…

Her mother, was a priestess in the temple to Tsunami and her father, a high Lord in the Royal Council and famed military leader…

She had not actually met him, until they met by chance in the royal garden, neither knowing who the other was…

The shy young boy before her reminded her of the one she'd discovered asleep under the tree, so very handsome, so very long ago…

She still didn't know where the soft female voice came from, that whispered in her ear to tickle his nose with the long feather that lay nearby…

It had taken a while, but he had awakened to find a young girl, holding a long feather and giggling…

Unlike most boy in the upper classes, he hadn't gotten angry, he had just smiled and lightened up her life…

That feather now rested on the stand next to the master bed, in the royal bed chambers…

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( Aboard the Yukinojo… )

Mihoshi awoke from her nap and looked at the clock...

Oh my... I'm off duty...

In a sleepy haze, she began to enter data into the controls...

After a while she finished and considered...

I know I'm fogetting some thimg... Oh well, must not be important...

She then hit the enter button...

She smiled as the Yukinojo began it's automatic reentery into the planet's atmosphere, guided by the planetary beacon...

Soon she would be home and back in Tenchi's arms again...

" Mihoshi... Why are we moving?... "

Mihoshi sighed, she'd tried to to not wake Kiyone, but...

" I just set the auto pilot for the planetary beacon... "

She didn't get much further as Kiyone screamed back...

" MIHOSHI... THE AUTO-PILOT WON'T WORK...THIS PLANET DOSEN'T HAVE A BEACON!... "

Oh yea, that was what she'd forgotten...

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( Aira Royal Palace… )

As every one watched the image of Tenchi near the end of the table, the image suddenly began to shake and Tenchi held both Ayeka and Ryoko very carefully…

After things settled down, Tenchi turned to Ryoko and sighed…

Would you please go get our lost lamb?...

Giving Tenchi a quick hug, a smiling Ryoko disappeared, leave Ayeka alone in his arms, shaking her head…

Lost Lamb, hum, I'll have to remember that, the next time that lamb eats more than a pack of hungry lions…

Tenchi smiled and hugged Ayeka…

You remember how depressed she gets when she get back and can't find us, crying for hours, even after we return…

At that moment, Ryoko reappeared before them, holding onto a light haired female in a GP uniform…

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It took Mihoshi a moment to realize where she was, because her eyes were so full of water…

Finding Tenchi behind her, she spun around and threw her arms around him, still sobbing…

" Oh, there you are!... I got home and couldn't find you!... The auto pilot landing system wasn't working!... I looked all around!... We crashed!... I was scared!... Kiyone was mad at me!... No one was home!... Oh, there you are Ayeka!... What would I ever…. "

Tenchi pulled Mihoshi to him and pressed his lips to hers, helping to stop the flood of worries pouring forth from her…

Both Ayeka and Ryoko both smiled, for Tenchi used the same technique on them when he needed to get their attention or just get them quiet…

A calmer Mihoshi sighed and for the first time she noticed the other people…

As the images of the others were realistically produced around them, Mihoshi turned to Lady Seto…

" Oh… Lady Seto… Have you come all the way to the house for another visit?... "

Lady Seto smiled, watched, but didn't say any thing as Mihoshi then turned to Airi…

" Lady Airi… It's been a while, have you come all the way from headquarters for a visit also?... "

At first Tenchi thought Ayeka was crying, but soon realized she'd buried her face in his neck to keep from laughing out loud, while Ryoko and Washu were standing off to the side holding each other up, laughing hysterically…

Not noticing what was happening around her, Mihoshi greeted the other two people in her sight, the King and Queen…

" Oh hi… I don't think we've met… I'm Mihoshi Kuramitsu Masaki, Tenchi's wife… Let me welcome you to our lovely home… "

Tenchi couldn't help smiling…

That's our Mihoshi!…

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Lady Seto had been watching since Ryoko had returned with Mihoshi and hid behind her fan…

She had watched the King's first encounter with the Force known as Mihoshi and he was now completely speechless, she smiled, he'd never had a chance…

The Queen had been startled, but she had recovered quickly and was now enjoying things…

Her daughter, Airi had past experiences with officer Mihoshi, but even she had been caught off guard…

It would appear that becoming a princess hadn't changed Mihoshi very much…

Much to the enjoyment of family and friends, Airi sighed and took a deep breath, speaking carefully…

" Mihoshi… This is my mother and father… "

Without missing a beat, Mihoshi smiled at Airi, then her parents..

" How do you do, Mister and Misses Airi!... "

By now, Ryoko and Washu were on the floor, tears pouring from their eyes, banging the floor with their fist, both still laughing hysterically…

Even Ayeka would have lost it, if Tenchi hadn't been holding her, she didn't dare remove her face from his shoulder…

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Airi wasn't sure where this was going, but she did know wars had been started for less reasons…

Turning back to her parents, she found her father's eyes wide, his mouth open, his fist balled up, all the signs that he was about to explode…

But a calm sweet voice spoke up…

" That's quite right, my dear, we're Mr. and Mrs. Airi… "

Airi discovered her mother had moved down the table and was now standing beside her father, the King, her hand on his shoulder, a smile on her face…

Her touch and words caused the King to sigh and close his eyes…

When he reopened them, he had a slight smile on his face, as if he wished he hadn't gotten out of bed this morning?…

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" If I may have your attention… "

Every eye turned back to the comm-device, where a recovered Washu was standing, instead of Tenchi, her keyboard hovering before her…

Smiling, Washu turned to look at Lady Seto…

" Have you managed to install the doorway?... "

Lady Seto looked at Airi who nodded her head…

" As you requested… "

Washu turned to Airi before continuing…

" Is it in a secure place?... "

Airi looked at her parents, who were looking at her with a questioned look before answering…

" I installed it as per the instructions, in the closet door, in my private bedroom… "

She looked at Lady Seto, then Washu…

" However, no one has taken the time to tell me what it is, exactly… "

Washu looked at Lady Seto, who made a slight shrug of her shoulders, after all this was Washu's project and responsibility…

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( Washu's Lab )

Washu looked over to the side, where Tenchi and the others had been standing, watching…

Having been following the conversation, Tenchi smiled and nodded his head, giving permission for Washu to allow his great-grand parents access to the new special family commuting system…

Although Washu was in charge of the system, she still tended to defer to Tenchi, as the head of the Masaki family household…

Actually, there'd been a family discussion earlier, with all the immediate family members, Tenchi, wives, father, grandfather, Sasami and such…

Since there was a connection to the Juraian Palace, it was only fair that there be a connection at the Airaian Palace, after all even Captain Fragga's tavern had one…

There were only a few things that needed to be checked first…

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( Aira Royal Palace… )

Washu looked up at Lady Seto to be sure of her response…

" Did you press the security keypad to the wall next to the door, at a convenient level?... "

Lady Seto understood what Washu was asking, for she'd gone through this same process in Azsua's office at the Juraian Palace earlier in the week, with Queen Funaho's help…

Washu had reached the conclusion that his closet doorway was the most inaccessible spot in the palace, besides the dungeon…

She hadn't revealed any details, just that it was a surprise from Washu and the Masaki family…

Also, they would ALL like it when the time came…

She smiled and nodded her head slightly…

Airi wasn't exactly sure what it was that Lady Seto had done to her closet doorway, except for the odd keypad, there wasn't any sign of any thing out of the ordinary…

" Lady Washu?... Exactly what did we do to my bedroom closet door… "

Washu turned to Airi and smiled, a twinkle in her eyes…

" A little present from your grandson and his family to his grandparents… "

Looking to the side and getting Tenchi's nod, Washu continued…

" If you'll escort the King and Queen to your room, we'll demonstrate and answer all your questions… See you… "

And the small image of Washu disappeared, leaving a silent room behind…

It was Lady Seto who broke the silence, looking at Airi, the King and Queen…

" From past experience, I suggest we do as Washu suggest… I can assure you that it will be an experience you won't forget… "

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To be continued...

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Please feel free to comment and review for any errors...

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