Little did Tenchi know that he was so right.
"Ah! There we go!" 'Little' Washu exclaimed. "My transport machine is done!"
"Finally! Now we can get back to Earth without being noticed, right?" Ryoko asked her "Mother".
"Yes! Of course! I just invented it, you know. Not hard, for a genius like me!"
"Yeah, yeah, lets go!"
"Right! Well, Ryoko, just step in here…And we push this button…and Here we go!" Ryoko and Washu's shapes blurred, like a bad television reception, and they disappeared.
~
Tenchi walked past the storage door, heading for dinner, when a cold wind blew out from the sides of the door, and a loud thump! Announced someone's arrival.
"Yahhh!! What the heck? Who's in there?" He yelled, crouching into a fighter's stance.
"Tenchi?!?!" Came a chorus of muffled cries. "It's Washu!" "And Ryoko!"
"HUH? What are you guys doing here?" The door opened, and Ryoko jumped at him, giving him a huge hug.
"TENCHI!!" She squealed. "Did you miss me?"
"Hey, where have you guys been? What happened?"
"Oh, this Galaxy has been very heavily guarded lately, so I couldn't get back to see you. Washu here escaped from her space capsule-prison, with my help of course, and invented a teleporter to bring us here. Aren't you happy, Tenchi?"
"Yeah…ecstatic. Where's Ayeka and Sasami and everyone?"
"Who knows? Who cares? Its just you and me, Tenchi."
"Ahem, Ryoko, but your dear old Mother is also here, and guess what that means? Rules, my dear. Rules."
"Aww…come on, Washu. Please?"
"No! No! No!!"
"Well, well, now, this IS interesting. The two most wanted criminals in the galaxy, together. I wonder, did you have an escape route planned, Ryoko, Washu? Or were you just going to sit nicely for me?" A deep, malicious voice asked. Kirra stood in the doorway, hidden in the shadows. She was wearing a white tube top shirt and pants, but it blended with the wall perfectly.
Ryoko froze, then turned to look at her. She stared for a minute, then laughed. "You don't scare me, little girl. Leave the big fights to the big people."
"Hey!" Washu said angrily. "Now just a minute, Ryoko…"
"Shut up Washu!"
"Let big people do the fighting, hmm, Ryoko? Is your ego that large? I warn you, don't underestimate me."
"I think that you are the one underestimating someone, but I guess I will just have to lower myself to fight with you. Lets go outside. Come on, Tenchi." She said to him. "Cheer for me!"
"Now, wait just a minute! Kirra, you can't fight! You haven't even been out of bed a day!"
Kirra glared at him, but before she could say anything, Ryoko cut in. "You went to bed with her, Tenchi? No, say it isn't true!"
"Its not, Ryoko. Her spaceship crashed here."
Kirra entered the conversation now. "You don't have to worry about me taking your man, Ryoko. You had better worry about where I'm going to take you. Tenchi, stay out of this."
"Ohhh….So the big, strong, little girl isn't so strong after all! Still want to fight me, little Kirra?"
"I don't need my full strength to defeat you, Ryoko. Let's go."
They walked out the back yard. Washu and Tenchi sat off to the side, with Tenchi yelling for them to stop, couldn't this be worked over peacefully? Kirra and Ryoko ignored him.
"Are you ready, pirate?" Ryoko didn't bother to answer, at least in words. Instead, a green blast shot at Kirra, and the battle began.
Kirra was too weak to use her body to fight, though she would never admit that. Instead, she pulled out her gun and dodges Ryoko's blasts, returning fire when possible.
Gradually, time began to take its toll on Kirra. She was breathing hard, no matter how she tried to hide it, and finally, one of Ryoko's blasts hit her. She didn't scream, cry, or anything, just fell over, her clothes burning along her right side, by the hip. This wasn't scary-she had been through worse, much worse. Kirra was done.
Ryoko knew it, too. "What's-a-matter, little Kirra, want your mommy? Aww…did I hurt you?"
Kirra looked at her with eyes full of hate, a blind hate of everything and everyone. She didn't care what happened at all, not even to herself. She didn't care about catching Ryoko.
"What?" Asked Ryoko, startled. She stared at her. Kirra's eyes held something now, but not hate…fear. Fear of something, not Ryoko. A memory.
Her eyes rolled back into her head and her body became rigid. Her mouth moved, but no sound escaped. Slowly, her voice came, quietly at first, them louder.
"No…no…not…not you…please god, not him!…help…somebody…anybody…oh, god, help me, please! NOOOOOOO!!!" Kirra screamed as if she had been killed. She rolled, twitching to the side, her arms flailing, until she was still.
Everyone stared, horrified. "Tenchi, what's wrong with her?" Ryoko asked in a small voice.
"I told you I found her in the wreck of a spaceship, didn't I? Well, right after she woke up, I asked her what had happened, and she wouldn't tell me-it was like she was so scared that she won't even think about it, or tell anyone. Terrified of everything. She hid it, but I could tell. I don't think she cares about anything anymore. One thing I did get out of her was news about you girls…she works with Mihoshi and Kiyone something, they should be looking for her." Tenchi said unhappily.
Everyone looked at the unconscious girl. Her rolling has put out the fire, and her white clothes and blonde hair were now covered in soot. He Police Badge was falling off her shirt. Kirra's face was expressionless.
"She'd make a good study subject. Interesting psychological development." Washu said, looking away.
"Washu…" Ryoko warned her. "Its not time for scientific stuff…"
"Hey, that's not a bad idea!" Tenchi interrupted. "It might help her…remember. Well, I'd better take her inside now."
Tenchi picked up Kirra's thin body and carried her inside. Ryoko and Washu stayed to talk for a while.
"I'm calling Ayeka. She should see this." Washu announced.
"What? No! Not Ayeka! Call… Sasami!"
"Nice try. Its obvious what's happening!" Ryoko stared blankly at her. "Can't you see? Mihoshi and Kiyone will be looking for her, and they'll come here, Mihoshi will find someway to stay… and eventually Ayeka and Sasami will come, whether I call or not. So you can stop whining and go eat or something."
Ryoko growled at Washu. "Can't we wait? I'm not anxious for a reunion. I don't mind Sasami, but Ayeka? Yuck." She spat.
Washu ignored her and continued into the house. Ryoko went inside and at dinner with Tenchi, his father, and grandfather. Kirra slept. And Mihoshi plummeted to earth.