Credits: Tenchi Muyo!/No Need For Tenchi is a product of Pioneer/AIC.
As such, I'm getting no compensation for writing this fiction other
than my own enjoyment, because the thought of getting sued is rather
unpleasant.

Mr. Long T. Tran for his "Tenchi Muyo: Ryoko's Love Prologue"
story line, parts one, two, and three, and the characters created
therein. His fiction can be found at GenSao's excellent Tenchi Muyo
Fan Fiction Page:
http://www.tmffa.com


Disclaimer: All characters *I* have created are purely a work of fiction.
Any resemblance to persons living or dead is pure coincidence. Anyone
who thinks otherwise is probably just itching for a fight. Also, please
do not try and distribute this story in some lame attempt to make a
buck; it would be bad karma to say the least.




Tenchi Muyo!
"No Need For Sasami"

A Fan-Fiction by Michael McAvoy




Come live with me and be my love,
And we will all the pleasures prove
That valleys, groves, hills, and fields,
Woods, or steepy mountain yields.
-- Christopher Marlowe
"The Passionate Shepard to His Love"

If all the world and love were young,
And truth in every shepherd's tongue,
Those pretty pleasures might me move
To live with thee and be thy love.
-- Sir Walter Raleigh
"The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd"




-* Chapter Four *-


In a void dotted by a million tiny stars, a lone sentry stood solitary
guard over a border in space. Not demarcated by any permanent reference
markers, such as planets or asteroids, the Jurai border beacon was one of a
series of laser mounted automations designed to turn back unauthorized
intruders from the special restricted space beyond.

The space that included the colonized planet, Earth, in the Solar
System.

Facing outwards from the zone of protected space, the glossy and gold
plated laser platform trained all of its sensors, straining to pick out potential
intruders from the vast background of radiation, dust, and other noise
that made up the emptiness of space. Using a series of ultra sensitive cameras
that scanned all ranges matter, the little drone quietly went about its duty, year
after year, its blinking red and blue warning lights adorning the outside of its
casing the only sign of activity. So the sentry drone had gone about the past
several hundred years, with never having to achieve alert status. After all,
who would come through this part of empty space to visit a series of backwater
solar systems? However, being a drone, it never occurred to the sentry to
consider complaining about its unexciting lot in life.

In the far distance, directly in front of the border sentry, a small
distortion seemed to blur across the field of stars.

Wholly unconcerned, the sentry continued to scan the immediate
space, lights blinking unhurriedly.

Moments later, the distortion increased in size until it became a
definite shiny dot against the starry backdrop.

Any of a large number of automated warnings, under normal
circumstances, should have started broadcasting from the sentry as its lasers
automatically trained on the rapidly approaching object. As the object
continued to close on the border, however, the sentry showed no signs of
activity.

With a mighty rush of speed in the silence of space, a small, sleek
vessel of Juraian origin flashed across the border within meters of the sentry.
Quicker than a ray of light, the vessel continued its coarse and soon
disappeared amongst the stars.

Unknown to the sentry, and the Juraian engineers who created such
things, it had just fallen victim to the latest in stealth technology. The border
sentry remained quiet, its caution lights merrily blinking in red and blue as it
remained scanning what it considered empty space.

* * *


A series of clangs from some part of the house downstairs brought me
out of my lethargic afternoon daze that I was enduring. I never enjoy being in
bed when I have every desire to stay awake. More often than not, oversleeping
makes me feel thick headed and slightly ill, a condition which I have only
recently had to deal with. For example, at this stage in my life, oversleeping
makes my head hurt for some reason. When I was in college and high school,
there were not enough hours in the day for me to get enough sleep. I prided
myself on being able to sleep anywhere at anytime, and I enjoyed doing so.
However, back in elementary school and kinder garden, there was nothing I
hated more than the teacher imposed `nap time'. The thought of anyone
forcing me to sleep at that stage of my life made me rather upset. Interestingly
enough, I image that as I get into old age, I will once again return to a state
where I enjoy oversleeping a lot more than I do now. It is rather odd, but I
suppose that is just the way things work for me.

At any rate I had no desire to stay bed ridden any longer. It was late
afternoon by this point, and a faint smell of food coming through the house
ventilation system made my stomach very aware of just how empty it really
was. I smiled as I thought of the girl who had changed my bandages, Sasami,
and who was probably well engaged in a meal prepared under her modestly
described cooking skills. I really enjoyed talking with her for a while, because
I did not feel uncomfortable around her, despite the fact she was having to take
time out of her day to attend me. I knew that the accident was not my fault
and that they all felt obligated to aid my recovery, it just seemed that Sasami
was pleasant to talk in a way that seemed to project she did not mind being
there to do so. Plus, she had a very nice voice. I know she complimented my
`radio voice' when she first walked in, but in truth she had a similar soothing
quality to hers as well. Also, her accent, though it sounded like it was from
the States, had a peculiar tone to it that I could not quite place, though it
tickled my brain continuously any time I thought about it.

Interrupting my thoughts with a shake of my head, I made a
concerted effort to propel my body up into a sitting position on the side of the
bed. Doing so had the predictable effect as my head spun a tad and my
shoulder began to ache in different places do to gravity.

"Come on, body," I said to myself, "you've had worse than this any
number of times."

Putting both my feet solidly on the ground, I slowly stood up and
made my way over to my backpack, which was still sitting in a corner. With
much effort, due to my impaired vision, I dug through the pack until I located
my change of clothes and some soap to clean myself up with. I wondered for a
moment if the people who had attended me had been able to locate my glasses.
It really bothered me having my world cut short to almost five inches from my
nose. Additionally, I felt somewhat disappointed that I could not see what
Sasami looked like, thinking back to our conversation. I mean, I was aware
that she had long flowing blue hair, large eyes, and appeared to be several
inches shorter than myself, but other than that everything was a big blur.

In reality, not having my glasses probably emboldened me somewhat.
You would not really think it, but there is quite an advantage to being able to
maintain a constant unwavering eye contact with someone when you yourself
can not see the other person clearly. It helps make up in confidence what I
lose from not being able to see things, I guess. Anyhow, my point is I think I
become less self-conscious when I can not see clearly, as weird as that may
seem.

Sliding my bedroom door open quietly, I stepped out into the hall and
made my way down to where I remembered the bathroom being. I quirked my
face a bit at the memory of trying to keep Doctor Washu out of the bathroom,
convincing her that I could handle my end of things perfectly, despite my
injuries. I could not tell by her facial expression, but her voice sounded
disappointed for some strange reason. Locating a sink, I did my best to clean
up the past day's wear and tear on my body, making an effort to clean as much
of my face and upper body without disturbing Sasami's handiwork. Thinking
about that girl made me smile in a goofy way, and I laughed at myself for
letting my thoughts get so distracted while in a foreign country.

"After all, Nathaniel," I said, looking at my blurry image in a mirror,
"you're not going to be anywhere near this part of Japan for more than a day
or two for the rest of your trip. Use your head."

'Actually,' my head responded, 'Unless you get your vision back
pronto, you're not going to be able to go much of anywhere, period.'

"Good point," I conceded.

I sighed and fumbled about some more, trying my best to not make a total
mess of myself. After drying off and inspecting my damaged shoulder again, I got
into my change of clothes, which required quite a bit of finesse, seeing as how
I was doing so with only one functioning arm. The shirt was not much of a problem,
but try buttoning up a pair of jeans sometime with one free hand. It is *not*
easy. Eventually, things were put in some semblance of order, and I packed up
my dirty clothes and wash things and headed back to my room.

* * *


Nathaniel eased his way back to his room with no difficulties, and he
stashed his dirty things back into his pack and slowly stood up straight. Walking
over to a window, he then pulled back the shades to see - well, nothing, actually.
He could make out the color of the sky, a soft red indicating the late afternoon,
and the blurry shapes of thick trees and bushes, but not much else. Badly desiring
his glasses, and catching a whiff of something good cooking, Nathaniel shuffled
over to his bed and put on a thick pair of socks before getting up and heading
to the door again. Just as his hand reached for the handle, a knock came from
the other side as the door slid open smoothly. It was Sasami.

"Oh! Geez," she breathed in English, "I'm sorry, you startled me! I
didn't expect you to be standing right behind the door."

Nathaniel smiled at her and responded, "My bad, I seemed to have spooked
myself just as much. What's up?"

Sasami seemed to think for a moment before realizing why she was there,
"Oh, right. I came to collect you for dinner."

"Sounds fantastic. My stomach is letting me know in no uncertain
terms just how hungry it is."

"Well, you're in for a treat," Sasami beamed, "because dinner is on
the table and waiting." Her head cocked to the side slightly, and she said with
some concern, "I'm glad to see you're able to get up and around, but are you
sure you feel all right?"

"I have a few aches," he admitted, "but nothing that's going to keep me
away from your food!"

A smile seemed to appear on her face. "Well, then. Please follow
me." With that, she turned away from the door, and Nathaniel followed her slowly
into the hallway.

So far, everything seemed fine as far as Nathaniel's injuries went.
However, when he got to the top of the stairs, Nathaniel experienced some vertigo
as he could not see exactly how far down the first step was. Teetering on one
foot as he reached down with the other tentatively, he lost his balance slightly
and flailed with his good left arm. Just as Nathaniel thought he was *really*
going to lose his balance, he felt Sasami at his left side, grabbing a hold of
his arm firmly until he had steadied himself.

"Thanks," Nathaniel nodded as he continued to try and get his bearings
on that first step.

"Here," she said worriedly, "you might get dizzy going down the
stairs, so take my hand and I'll guide you down."

Sliding her hand into his, Sasami slowly began to make her way
down the stairs. Nathaniel knew that dizziness was not really his problem, and
once he had the height of that first step judged properly, the rest were a piece
of cake. The feel of his hand in hers, however, did threaten to make him dizzy
despite all logic, so he did not dare let go as they descended the staircase.
Finally, they reached the bottom of the steps.

"There you go," nodded Sasami approvingly, "you made it."

Nathaniel smiled back at her and bobbed his head in agreement, not saying
anything. After a few moments, an embarrassed self-consciousness set in as Sasami
was still holding his hand, and Nathaniel was not trying to set himself loose,
either. Suddenly, Sasami became self-conscious as well, because she jerked her
hand away suddenly and motioned down a side hall to the dining room.

"Uh, we're in there," she stammered as she turned and walked in that
direction.

Nathaniel moved after her, trying to avoid running into things while
sorting the `funny' feeling he could not seem to shake from the touch of her
hand.

* * *


The conversation at dinner had been lively, to say the least. I found
myself fairly dazed at the animated bantering that went on throughout the
meal between the members of the household. Having come from a very small
and quiet family, I simply sat back and let my senses absorb in the noise.
Even though I still could not make out faces very well, I had managed to
familiarize myself with the blurry images of people to identify them at close
range. Also, I had no problem identifying and remembering everyone's voices
around the table. As far as I could tell, however, the people at the table
generally fell into one of two categories: loud, and not so loud.

Ryoko was loud. I was simply amazed at the knack for talking that
the woman had. And it was not idle chit-chat, either. Ryoko had a gift for
engaging, if not occasionally risque, conversation that always seemed to draw
my attention for some reason. She also seemed to go out of her way to draw
out conversation from me as well, which did help to lighten up a somewhat
awkward situation for everyone. After all, you could imagine how I felt being
at a dinner table full of strangers in a foreign country, especially when those
strangers were feeling extremely responsible for almost incurring brain
damage upon me.

Ryoko's daughter and mother were definitely in the loud category as
well. While they did not talk as much as Ryoko, Doctor Washu certainly had a
knack for inserting interesting observations or barbs at her daughter, while
Yui, in spite of her embarrassment for knocking me out, had the enthusiastic
chattering that comes from most normal teenagers. Doctor Washu also carried
on a rather one sided conversation all evening with Tenchi's grandfather,
Katsuhito.

Katsuhito was definitely in the quiet category. He appeared to be
dressed in something that resembled a martial arts gi, only nicer and more
comfortable looking. To be honest, I do not recall him saying more than a few
sentences all evening to anyone, though for some reason he still seemed to be a
pleasant seeming fellow, if not cryptic. For example, when asked by Doctor
Washu if he wanted any more of some soup, he replied in haiku that had
something to do with sunsets and swans. Apparently that was an affirmative,
because he got a refill in his bowl.

Tenchi was also in the quiet category, though he was by no means as
stoic as his grandfather. He asked me pleasant questions about where I was
from and my life in general while engaging in friendly banter with everyone at
the table. However, when his and Ryoko's conversations met, as they
frequently seemed to do, the two of them seemed to drop into sweetheart voices
like a couple who had not been married for very long. Actually, the range of
affection that would enter their voices made me a bit embarrassed from time to
time, as if I were eavesdropping on an almost private conversation. The only
person who was absent from the table that evening was Tenchi's father,
Nobuyuki. I had not had a chance to meet the man, yet, but as I understood it,
he was away visiting relatives, or some such activity.

The only other person at the table that evening was one I was
constantly aware of the entire time. Sasami was to my right at the table and
did her best to help me identify everything due to my impaired vision. She
would pick out bowls of food and describe them, helping me choose out what I
wanted to eat for the evening. After sampling her first two small dishes, I
quickly decided that it was imperative I leave room in my stomach for
everything on the table. Her food, to use a polite understatement, was simply
mouthwatering. Everything was a delight to eat, even the items that I had
never even seen the likes of before, as my experience with Japanese food was
not all that broad. I think the highlight of the meal was a simple piece of tuna
sushi that was not only incredibly tasty, but the flakes of meat seemed to melt
in my mouth with the most pleasing of sensations. There comes a point in
some meals where you just can not say, "Mmm, this is fantastic!" enough to
describe it.

Because Sasami was sitting close enough beside me at the table to
help me out with getting food and drink with my still disabled arm, I had the
opportunity to see her features a little more clearly than earlier in the day. The
only problem was trying to stare at the woman without actually *looking* like
I was staring. Her large lavender eyes were soft and had an inviting quality to
them, with high, arching eyebrows that were covered by a series of bangs that
kept falling down across her forehead and eyes. As irrational as it seemed, for
some strange reason I had an almost insatiable urge to want to brush them
back with my good hand. For a whole host of reasons, I sat on the temptation.

Fortunately, I suppose, my attention was drawn away enough by the
other people at the table to keep me from ever getting the chance to stare at
Sasami too obviously. Ryoko, especially, kept throwing questions at me which
diverted my gaze from Sasami, whenever she had just finished talking to me
or helping me with dinner. However, though I did not really realize it until
later, Ryoko also had a habit of ending a lot of her comments with something
along the lines of, "Wouldn't you agree, Sasami?" which invariably gave me
an excuse to draw my attention back to my neighbor at the dinner table.

After a while, however, there was a snap of Tenchi's fingers from his
side of the table, as if he had just remembered something important.

"Oh," he said, "I just remembered something important."

I grinned inwardly at my uncanny and completely useless
precognitive abilities. Getting up off the floor, Tenchi walked over to a bureau
and fished an item off of it.

"I found these a little while ago," Tenchi stated, "they must have
gotten knocked off pretty hard, because they were laying further down the
staircase, several feet away."

"Daaaad," whined Yui, "you don't have to rub it in."

"That's okay, Yui," I assured her, excited to see my glasses had been
found. "I'm just glad to have them back." I felt a comforting pat on my back
and turned to see Sasami smiling at me.

"Um," hedged Tenchi, "they're not exactly in the best shape. In fact,
I'd say they're banged up pretty bad." With an apologetic nod of his head, he
leaned across the table and deposited the contents into my outstretched hand.

What tumbled into my hand were fragments of two broken lenses and
one pair of slightly mangled metal frames. Scrunching my brow in
consternation at the state of my glasses, I deposited the lenses fragments onto
the edge of the table and tried to slowly bend the frame back into shape with
one hand.

"I don't know if that's such a good-" began Sasami, as there was a
small snap from my hand, "-idea."

As gentle as I had been, one of the arms of the frame that was bent
had snapped in half, leaving me with absolutely nothing resembling a working
pair of spectacles. I sighed heavily as my worst case scenario fears were
realized.

"Nathaniel?" asked Sasami.

"I'm *really* sorry, sir," said Yui at the same time.

"No, no," I said, trying to brush her apologies aside. "These glasses
are beyond repair, but I'm not totally helpless, I think."

"Really?" Sasami said with relief. "I take it you have a spare pair of
glasses back at your inn?"

I rubbed the side of my face ruefully as I disagreed. "No," I said,
"that certainly would have been the smart thing for me to do, brining a spare
pair of glasses with me to Japan. Unfortunately, this is the first pair of glasses
I've broken since I was fourteen, so I just didn't think about it when I was
packing." I chewed my bottom lip, considering my options that I could
explore.

Ryoko looked at me. "Can you get around without them?"

I nodded, still in thought. "Sure," I said, "I can get around, I just
can't see anything in focus unless my nose is a couple of inches from it. What
I really need is a shop that can make a pair of glasses."

"Well, we have that in town," Tenchi spoke up helpfully. "You can
get a pair made there without much difficulty at all, I would suppose.
Especially if you already know your prescription."

"Hmm," I said grimacing, "I don't know it off the top of my head, but
I think I have it in my portable brain back at the inn."

"Portable brain?" asked Sasami, confused.

"Ah, if I'm not mistaken," said Washu, "you are referring some
portable record keeping device, right?"

"You got it," I agreed. "In this case it's a small computer. I keep a
lot of important information in it, just in case of emergency, and I'm pretty
sure my prescription just happens to be there." I looked up from my broken
frames and lenses and said, "All I need is just someone to direct me to where
the eye glasses shop in town is."

"No problem, then," said Tenchi, "we can catch the bus early
tomorrow morning, and I can show you where - ooof!" Ryoko had just
nudged her husband rather solidly in the ribs, causing him to catch his breath.

"Now, Tenchi," she said sweetly, "you *know* you and I have
something very important to do tomorrow morning."

"We do?" he asked, rubbing his arm.

"You do?" echoed Washu with amusement.

"Yes, *mom*," Ryoko said a little less nicely, "we do."

"That's all right," I interjected, "I'm sure if you just tell me where it
is, I'll be able to find it."

Ryoko shook her head, "No, we can't let you wander around bumping
into things, especially in town. Sasami can take you instead." Ryoko looked
over at Sasami. "That all right with you, Sasami?" she asked.

"Uh, yes," she stuttered, "I'd be happy to help Nathaniel out."

I looked over apologetically at her, and she returned a small smile at me.

* * *


Ryoko hummed to herself as she walked along the lake shore after
dinner. Evening twilight was just beginning to settle over the secluded valley,
leaving the lake waters twinkling in a ruddy color. Overall, Ryoko had a great
deal to be happy about. Nathaniel was completely unaware of the deceptions
being played around him, and the more Ryoko saw of him, the more she liked
his personality. As entertaining as dropping the young man in the middle of
the Pacific might have turned out to be, she was satisfied that such actions
would not be necessary. Looking up at the night sky advancing across the
horizon, Ryoko decided to head back for the house. With a smile, she
shimmered and disappeared.

A moment later, Ryoko reappeared outside the front porch. She was
confident that Nathaniel was up in his room sleeping, so using her abilities
was not a huge risk at this point. Ryoko was pleasantly surprised, however, to
see her husband sitting on the porch waiting for her. Tenchi looked up and
smiled at her arrival.

"Ryoko-san," he said, sliding over to give her room to sit on the porch
steps, "did you enjoy your walk?" Ryoko slid up beside Tenchi, worming her
way under his arm while wrapping hers around his waist.

"Mmmm-hmmm," she breathed. "You're warm." Ryoko snuggled up
closer to her husband while sighing contentedly.

Tenchi smiled down at his pirate wife, trying to think of the best way
to broach the subject on his mind. If history was a judge, Ryoko had a way of
taking things out of context to extremes, and the results of their
misunderstandings could cause incredible headaches for everyone. Tenchi
grimaced at the thought of some of his attempts at bringing up topics with his
wife early in their marriage. It was a miracle, as far as Tenchi was concerned,
that the house had ever survived.

"Beloved, what are you doing to Sasami?" he asked finally.

Ryoko disengaged Tenchi's arm from around her shoulders and sat
up beside him. "I don't know what you mean," she began, "I've just trying to
cheer up the princess." She crossed her arms in a slightly defense posture.

"Why, what do you *think* I'm doing?" she asked, her golden eyes
narrowing.

Tenchi swallowed. This was not starting off well, judging by his
wife's body language.

"Um, I think you're really trying to make someone we all care about
happy and carefree," he offered.

"So, what's the problem?"

Tenchi gulped this time. `Oh, well. I've already botched saying this
tactfully,' he thought.

Looking up at Mercury and Venus already shining brightly in the red
evening sky, Tenchi pinched his brow searching for the best way to avoid
making Ryoko crackle with energy.

"Ryoko, do you remember when you and Ayeka both lived here?" he
started. Ryoko cocked an eye at him.

"Of, course," she said. "It hasn't been that long for me, remember?"

Tenchi nodded, "I know, beloved, so you recall all the plotting and
competition that went on between the two of you?"

Ryoko managed to look fondly embarrassed at the mention of her and
Ayeka's rivalry.

"Sure, I remember all the fun *that* was. Sometimes I try to forget
some of it." Ryoko looked up at Tenchi suspiciously. "What are you getting
at?"

"Well, it's just that sometimes-"

`Frequently,' his brain added.

"-the two of you became so wrapped up in the competition, you both
lost site of your goal," Tenchi explained, wondering how Ryoko would take
the jog down memory lane. "I know the two of you never intended to hurt me
or each other-"

"That's not true," Ryoko growled, "I *frequently* intended to hurt
her."

"-*but* it happened on occasion," concluded Tenchi.

Ryoko had a dangerous look in her eyes, so he switched tracks to
diffuse her anger as quickly as possible, while still getting his point across.

"I know now that between you two, you were always the most genuine
with your concern for me as a person, and that you would never knowingly
hurt me or anyone else you love." Tenchi smiled, "Beneath that tough space
pirate exterior, you're the most loving person I know."

Ryoko had a slightly confused look on her face, as if she could not
decide on being annoyed or in love with her husband. Tenchi took advantage
of the moment and plowed on.

"Ayeka was first and foremost a royal princess, and she always
wanted me to behave like royalty," he continued. "She never really understood
that was not who I was, but to the end I think she always believed I would
suddenly become the prince she desired."

Above the two of them, a wind chime sang softly as a light breeze
wafted past the front of the house.

Tenchi took one of Ryoko's hands in his own and said, "She believed
that manipulating the situation like court politics would win out for her, but
she was wrong, wasn't she? Even now, she thinks like the empress she is,
manipulating Sasami to further the good of the Jurai family."

"Tenchi," Ryoko said quietly, relaxing her hand in his.

Tenchi turned fully to Ryoko and said, "I know you want to help
Sasami, beloved, we all do. There's nothing I wouldn't do to help her, but this
is something she has to solve herself, as a princess of Jurai."

"I don't understand," Ryoko argued, "I'm just trying to hook up the
princess with a nice seeming guy. What's wrong with that?" Her expression
was one of helpless annoyance.

"Nothing, really," he agreed, "but Sasami will be leaving in less than
two weeks, right? What happens then? Are we going to let the cat out of the
bag that Sasami and the rest of us are not exactly of this Earth? And if we do,
what would that do to the two of them, knowing Sasami must leave so
quickly?"

Tenchi sighed and looked back across the yard in front of the house.
"I'm just afraid that if you nudge Sasami any more and she gets attached to
Nathaniel too much, she'll be in a lot more pain when it comes time for her to
leave, that's all."

"And how much different would that make me from Ayeka," Ryoko
concluded, "pushing Sasami in a different direction just to thwart that
empress?"

"Oh, Ryoko-san," he said, looking up, "that's not what I meant.
You're not trying to hurt Sasami."

"No," Ryoko disagreed, "I may not mean to, but I'm hurting her in
the end all the same." Her face became downcast as she sighed. "I guess I just
hoped Sasami would throw off being a princess pawn to Ayeka if she met
someone else here."

Ryoko rubbed her head in frustration. "Ahh! Tenchi! I can't explain
how much it burns me to see that woman taking away our Sasami!"

Tenchi gathered his wife into his arms, whispering, "I know, beloved.
Really, I know. The only thing we can do is support Sasami's decisions and
trust her to do what's best for herself."

"Because of me, we can't even accompany her to Jurai, can we?" she
asked suddenly. "Seven hundred years isn't long enough for the royal houses
on Jurai to forget my attack on the palace, is it? Even if I *was* under the
influence of Kagato."

Tenchi looked down at his wife thoughtfully.

"No," he sighed, "I think that goes for both of us. I made it known
quite clearly that I wanted no part of Jurai or being a royal heir to the throne
so I could stay on Earth and marry you. I'm probably not much more
welcome, either."

Ryoko was quiet for a while.

Finally, she said, "I guess I'll stop pushing on Sasami so obviously. I
mean, if *you* noticed, I must have been fairly tactless."

"Hey, now," Tenchi said, with a feigned look of hurt.

"Don't worry, my prince," she laughed, "I wouldn't have you any
other way."

Settling into Tenchi's embrace, Ryoko grew thoughtful again.

"Tenchi," she asked, "what if Sasami and Nathaniel start to work
things out on their own? I mean, Sasami already gets a far away gaze now and
again when he's around, and even though he can't see clearly, he obviously
enjoys talking with her."

"I don't know, Ryoko," he admitted. "It's only been a day, and
maybe there's so little time left that nothing will happen."

"I seem to remember both a demon space pirate and a haughty
princess falling for *you* in under a week."

"I know, please don't remind me," joked Tenchi, receiving a well
deserved tweak on his nose.

* * *


There was always something Sasami found comforting about washing
and drying dishes by herself after any one of the nightly feeding frenzies at the
Masaki residence. Truthfully, since the population at the house had decreased
with Ayeka, Kiyone, and Mihoshi's departures years ago, the toll pushed on
the in-house cook had been lightened significantly. Especially with Mihoshi.
There were days when Sasami could not understand where the bubble-headed
Galaxy Police captain stored all the food she crammed in her mouth.

Covered in an apron, Sasami repeatedly plunged her hands in the
plugged up sink, removing the leftovers of her various concoctions from the
more delicate pieces of dish ware. Sasami was *not* a glutton for
punishment, however; a good majority of the dinner items automatically found
their way each night into the dishwasher without fail. There was just
something about the motions of cleaning some of the dishes by hand that
refreshed Sasami's spirit. Wiping away the grease and grime of the day's
meal, leaving a shiny and pure plate, was something of a metaphor for her
soul.

Removing the last dish from the soapy bath in the sink, Sasami rinsed
and attacked it with a vengeance using her drying towel. Wiping away the last
of the water as if it were all the problems in the world that could be brushed
aside effortlessly, she finally eased up and settled the dish in a small drying
rack with its mates. Sasami then stepped back and wiped her brow, leaving a
tiny soapy trail across the two small marks on her forehead. Her large, bright
eyes narrowed a bit as she chewed her bottom lip softly in thought.

`I wonder if it's too late,' she wondered. `But then again, I'll be gone
tomorrow morning.'

Clucking her tongue against the roof of her mouth in decision,
Sasami undid the back of her apron and folded it with purpose.

"Meow-meow."

"Oh!" she exclaimed, looking down at the Ryo-ohki. "There you
are." Sasami reached down and picked the cabbit up gently, stroking her fur.
"I've missed you today, did you know that?"

"Meow-meow," Ryo-ohki affirmed. "Meow?"

"Sure, it's safe to be out now," nodded the princess. "Our guest went
to bed early tonight. He still has a lot of his strength to gather."

The cabbit looked relieved and relaxed into Sasami's arms. She
looked down at Ryo-ohki getting comfortable.

"Say, Ryo-chan," whispered Sasami, "I don't feel like walking by
myself. Would you like to come with me?"

Ryo-ohki looked up happily at the princess and snuggled further into
her arms.

"Guess that's a yes," Sasami giggled.

Holding Ryo-ohki in one arm, the princess walked over and turned
the kitchen lights off, so that the only remaining light shone from a small
fixture above the sink. Giving the kitchen a last once-over in the semi-
darkness, Sasami opened the kitchen door and stepped outside into the night
air.

It was another warm evening in the mountains, but dark clouds were
starting to build in the far distance, blotting out some of the stars. As Sasami
stood out beside the house on a small deck, she could feel a warm breeze
coming from the direction of the clouds. Through the darkness, now and
again, she could spy brief flashes of light, indicating the approach of scattered
thunderstorms that had spawned elsewhere earlier in the day. They were still
very far away in the distance, so much so that neither Sasami nor Ryo-ohki
could hear even the tiniest hint of thunder. Sasami made a decision.

"I think we can be back in time before those clouds make it to us,"
she calculated. "We should be fine."

Ryo-ohki purred in agreement.

"You don't care, just as long as someone rubs you behind the ears,
right?"

Ryo-ohki nodded vehemently in agreement, causing Sasami to
chuckle. Her facial features softened their tension considerably as she looked
back up over the sky.

"Wouldn't hurt to hurry, though."

With that, the princess stepped off the deck and began walking up a
path in the darkness towards the massive staircase leading up the side of the
mountain. At first the lights still coming from the house were more than
enough to guide her way, but as the shadows deepened around her as she
passed under some trees, Sasami grew less confident of her steps. The
encroaching clouds were obscuring the moonlight and starlight, making it
difficult to distinguish any obstacles in her path. Pausing for a moment,
Sasami peered about in the darkness, listening to the cicadas sing out from
various trees around her as if they sensed a growing heaviness in the air.

Sasami listened for a moment more before closing her eyes with a
sigh. Still holding Ryo-ohki firmly, she began to chant softly in the darkness.

"Spirits of the Earth," she whispered, "life that lives eternal in trees,
grant me your power to illuminate my way."

With her eyes still closed, Sasami repeated her mantra several times.
Sensing power gathering about her, Ryo-ohki cautiously lifted one of her eyes
and peered out into the darkness. Suddenly, both of her eyes popped opened in
amazement.

Falling gently from the leaves of the trees were tiny whips of light,
each a speck of soft blue cutting through the dark night. At first, only a few of
the droplets of light came down from the canopy above them, but as Sasami
continued to whisper her chant, gathering more of her power, the little lights
increased. Descending down, they quietly surrounded the princess and the
amazed cabbit, dancing about them slowly and piercing the night for a few feet
in every direction.

"Me-ooooow!" exclaimed the cabbit.

Sasami stopped her chanting and opened her eyes to see the results of
her work. She smiled at the lights softly dancing around them, pleased with
the outcome.

"Yep," she said, "I'll have to agree with you, Ryo-chan. Maybe I've
been ignoring some of Tsunami's - no... ignoring some of *my* abilities for
too long."

Sasami paused for a bit to watch the blue lights swirl slowly around
them. They were very comforting, and they ensured Sasami would not
stumble on her hike up the stairs to the Masaki shrine. The thought of the
climb piqued her for a second.

"Maybe I should concentrate on that flying thing," she considered
ruefully. "I don't see Yui or Ryoko-san complaining about it very much."

With that in mind, Sasami continued to the foot of the stone staircase
and began her long hike up, holding a furry Ryo-ohki who was well on her
way to falling asleep in the comfort of the princess's arms.

"Oh, sure," Sasami mentioned quietly, "no problem for you. You're
going to sit right there and let *me* do all the work, ne?"

Ryo-ohki yawned in response.

"Thought so." She continued on, her lights faithfully keeping pace.

As she worked her way up the stairs, a slightly stronger breeze made
its way past, stirring her long hair with a little more force this time. Through
the trees, Sasami thought she could see distant flashes occurring more
frequently, now, but she still could not hear the rapport of thunder. She
decided to take advantage of her glowing light sources, however, and
proceeded to quicken her pace up the stairs a bit. Several minutes later, she
reached the top of the stairs, huffing noticeably from her efforts. Looking
around while catching her breath, Sasami spied a couple of lights still on
inside the shrine.

"Whew! Oh, boy," she panted, brushing an errant lock of hair from
her forehead, "that does it. Flying lessons begin for me as soon as possible."

Recouping her breath, she walked towards the shrine, stopping to rap
her knuckles lightly on the door before entering.

"Come in, Sasami-chan," a voiced quietly responded from inside the
shrine.

Sasami slid open the door and entered the building, pausing to
remove her sandals. Sliding her foot wear off, she slid the door shut and
padded across the floor to where Yosho was seated. Sasami smiled at her half-
brother and sat down beside him.

"How did you know it was me?" she asked, depositing the now
sleeping Ryo-ohki in her lap. "Another example of your never-ending
training?"

Yosho lifted a cup of tea to his lips, taking a small pull.

"Actually," he replied in all seriousness, "I heard you talking to
yourself outside the door quite loudly." He sipped from his tea again. "They
say on television that such activity is the first sign of madness."

Sasami's attractive face pouted slightly as she said, "Well, that's
entirely understandable, since I feel like I'm two shades shy from going mad
right now."

"Ah," the older looking prince of Jurai nodded, "you are here to carry
on our interrupted conversation from earlier this afternoon."

Yosho placed his tea cup down on the small table in front of them and
reached for another cup, pouring Sasami some tea. "For someone so young,
you seem to have a great weight on your shoulders, but I think I can
understand why."

Sasami looked up. "You've heard, then?" she asked softly.

"Indeed," he replied, folding his arms across his chest with the ever
present serious look on his face. "Tenchi relayed to me all the basic points of
your situation."

Yosho pinched his gray eyebrows and said, "I take it you are not at all
thrilled with the arrangements Ayeka has decided to make for you?"

She shook her head, then stopped. "I-I really don't know," the
princess admitted. "After all, it is my duty as a royal princess to marry
someone suitable."

Sasami's voice became quiet as she trailed off into depressed thought.
Yosho observed the princess for several moments, considering her.

"That really does not sound like an attitude the young Sasami-chan
would have ever adopted," he said. "The young Sasami-chan would have been
completely excited about performing another duty as a royal princess.
However," he continued, "that little girl has obviously changed in many ways
while maturing."

"Sometimes," Sasami nodded, "sometimes I feel like people don't
realize that I am different, almost as if they don't want to let go of the little
girl they remember."

Yosho shook his head at the princess, "Hmm, that could be part of the
problem, but I think there is something else you should consider."

"Something else?" echoed Sasami as Yosho sipped more of his tea.

He set his cup down.

"I wonder who is truly reluctant to let go of the little Sasami-chan,"
he mused, "members of our family, or, deep down in your heart, yourself?"

Sasami adopted a confused look on her face, not comprehending what
Yosho was trying to communicate. She absently began stroking the sleeping
cabbit in her lap.

"Have you stopped to consider that maybe it is you who most desires
to see yourself as a child again?" he asked. "That little girl never seemed to
experience much in the way on indecision in her life. She was always a light-
hearted Sasami-chan that had no greater desire than to have a wonderful time,
and most of that wonder came directly from the excitement of being a
princess."

Yosho paused to scratch the side of one of his arms momentarily
before continuing. "Perhaps the start of your journey in understanding your
feelings in this matter is to examine what has changed that little princess into
the young woman you are today."

"I just don't understand," she admitted unhappily, "what do you
mean?"

"Obviously," he elaborated, "you are no longer totally comfortable
with the image of being a dutiful princess of Jurai. The path you should
embark on, then, is to examine what in your life has led to your change of
heart. Once you find that change in yourself, you can decide if you want to
keep it or not."

Sasami bunched her brow, thinking hard. "But, if I've already
changed, how could I decide whether or not I just want to keep who I am?
And who would I become, instead?"

"Hmm, well that is the real question," admitted Yosho. "One might
argue that a change takes place because it is necessary, and therefore should be
accepted unquestioningly. In your case, however, to accept the changes in
yourself might end in direct opposition to the life you are required to lead and
the duties you are to perform."

"What do I do if that happens?" she asked, with a sinking feeling.

"You must either give up that person which you have become to be a
princess," concluded Yosho, "or you must give up being a dutiful princess so
that you can embrace the woman you are."

"Must it be a choice?" cried Sasami. "Why can't I be who I am now
*and* a royal princess who fulfills her duties?"

"Dearest Sasami-chan," Yosho comforted, "if the solution were truly
that simple, there would never be the conflict that now settles so deeply in your
heart."

Sasami heard her half-brother's words and felt the truth of them ring
clear like a bell in her soul.

Wiping away at her eyes gently, she replied softly, "I think I
understand now. I guess I've been hoping someone would make my decision
for me or show me an easy option to allow things to stay as they have been
these past years."

With a growing resolve in her gaze, Sasami looked directly at Yosho.
"The only other option is to make my sister and the members of the other
noble houses of Jurai see *me* differently, no longer as a princess expected to
conform to royal duties, but as an independent princess in control of her own
destiny."

She looked down at her tea cup in contemplation.

"That isn't likely to happen is it, Yosho-san?" she asked in a small
voice.

"No," he admitted, sighing. "The noble houses of Jurai have their
own ideas of what is expected from the royal house, and they are not known
for changing their positions."

A look of regret came over Yosho's features, and he said, "Much to
my own heartache did I learn how immutable and biased such positions can be
towards a prince of Jurai. I was forced to make a terrible choice at the time. It
is not a choice I would wish upon you."

The princess searched Yosho's face intensely, watching the regret on
his face slowly fade away into his more common stoic expression.

"Do you ever miss Jurai?" she asked compassionately.

"Hmm," he pondered, "once upon a time I missed Jurai intensely.
But after a while, enough time passed for me to see the beauty and splendor of
my new home, and also to appreciate the freedom I had over my own destiny.
From that point, I have never missed Jurai or desired to return. This is my
beloved home now, perhaps more so than Jurai ever was."

Sasami stared off at a far wall of the shrine, her mind suddenly quiet
of its fears and insecurities. Finally she spoke.

"I hope," she whispered, "I hope that when the time comes I can be as
strong and true to myself as you have been, Yosho-niichan."

Flashing a rare smile, he replied, "When the time comes, Sasami-
chan, I have no doubt you will have all the strengths you will require to make
the right decision for yourself."

She could only nod at his confidence in her. A moment of silence
passed between the two of them as neither moved. Outside, barely audible in
the far distance, the first rumble of thunder could be heard echoing off the
mountain sides. It also sounded as if the wind's strength might be on the
increase, as a stronger gust would occasionally brush past the shrine. Yosho
looked thoughtfully at the door.

"As much as I appreciate your keeping an old man company," he
said, getting up and taking the tea cups away from the table, "perhaps you
should be returning to the house." Another rumble of thunder penetrated the
building. "You do not want to be running down those steps in the rain,
especially with Ryo-ohki in hand."

Sasami smoothly rose to her feet, barely disturbing the snoozing
cabbit. Despite the perturbed expression on her face, she attempted to lighten
the mood of the room.

"Company, hmm? Well, *someone* has to come up here now and
again to make sure moss isn't growing on you," she said with a smile. "It just
happens to be my turn this month, that's all."

"Moss, eh?" replied Yosho as he quirked an eyebrow. "Perhaps you
would enjoy one of my morning training sessions. I could impress upon you
how fast this old stone rolls."

Sasami wisely thought better of taking him up on his offer.

* * *


Nathaniel woke up to the sound of falling rain. Granted, that did sound
like a lyric from every fourth country song ever made, but nevertheless that was
what he heard at some point in the predawn hours of the morning. Laying there
in bed, in the blue darkness, Nathaniel rolled my head to one side and considered
one of life's greater curiosities.

`Why is it that the other three-fourths of country songs,' he asked
himself, `always deal with drinking alcohol, cheating on a girl, or a good pick-
up truck?'

Some of life's mysteries are just too terrifying to confront, so he
decided to let that train of thought derail. Nathaniel rolled his head gently
over on his pillow towards with window and continued to listen to the steady,
soft rush of water running off the roof to the ground below. Despite the fact
that he was comfortably warm and thankfully dry, listening to the amount of rainfall
coming down, hid mind did calmly run through hid present situation in a dreamy
haze.

Nathaniel decided he was in trouble.

His glasses were smashed with no hope of repair, and as far as getting
around anywhere that required me to be able to read signs or gauge traffic, he
was now completely incapable of doing so. There *was* according to Tenchi,
a shop in the nearby town where Nathaniel could order a new pair, if he had his
prescription. However, based on the small size of the town, he was willing to
bet that the shop probably sent orders out to some lab in a bigger city to be
ground. If the process was anything resembling what it was in America, he
could expect to wait anywhere from five to seven days for a new pair of glasses
to show up. Bringing his good hand up to his forehead, Nathaniel grimaced at
the thought of being stranded in town for a week unable to see properly.

He sighed with annoyance at the realization he was now firmly awake,
instead of almost asleep. Reaching over to the little table by the bed, Nathaniel
snagged his clock and peered at the glow-in-the-dark hands. It was five fifteen.
Perfect. Not enough time to try and go back to sleep, but still too early for
him to really think about getting up and around. To make matters worse, his
stomach decided to pick that moment to growl in a disgruntled fashion.

"Oh, forget it," he grumbled out loud, as he swung his feet slowly out
from underneath the covers and over the side of the bed.

Sitting on the side of the bed for a few minutes staring out into the
darkness, he gave himself one last chance to try and fall back asleep. It was
not happening.

Erupting a fairly huge yawn, Nathaniel gave in to Fate and slowly stood
up and stretched as best as his body would allow. Things still ached this
morning, but it was not quite as bad as before. Maybe that was a good sign for
the day, he thought. At any rate, Nathaniel padded out of his room in the dark,
making my way to the bathroom.

`Might as well clean myself up,' he thought sleepily to himself, `no
point in getting in anyone else's way if I can help it.'

* * *


"Eeeeeee-yaaaaaaaah!" yawned Sasami, leaning over the kitchen
sink. The first summer rays of sunshine were just starting to pour over the
mountains, indicating yet another beautiful day after the previous evening's
rain.

"Isn't that usually my line?" asked an amused Ryoko.

Sasami finished yawning and went back to her breakfast preparations.
"Actually," she said offhandedly, "I can't remember you ever being up this
early on a regular basis to even *have* a line."

"Ouch, princess," smiled Ryoko. "You know, you're getting much
better at snippy comebacks. Sure you don't want to be a space pirate?"

"You have *no* idea how seriously I've been considering just that,"
Sasami grimaced. "Dashing about the galaxy, the Galaxy Police hot on my
heels. Sounds infinitely more interesting than, say, Princess Sasami, royal
brood mare."

Ryoko's laugh was brought up short as she involuntarily inhaled
some of the tea she was sipping. Her eyes streaming, Ryoko flailed about the
kitchen choking on the hot beverage that had just gone up her nose.

"Drink tea often?" sweetly asked the princess.

Ryoko coughed, "Why, uh, what would ever give you that idea?"

"Must be your technique."

"Oi! Sasami," Ryoko said, quirking an eyebrow, "you're in rare
sarcastic form this morning. Feeling well?"

Sasami hefted a pot off of a hot stove eye and set it aside to cool with
a small grunt, "Sure, I'm feeling fine. Just a bit... how should I put this?
Aggressive?"

Ryoko clapped her hands together, "Now, *that's* what I like to hear
from a young woman early in the morning! Although... there is something I
wanted to tell you today, Sasami."

"Mmm-hmm?" Sasami mumbled, rolling a bit of bread dough.

Ryoko cleared her throat, "Well, it's just- ah, that is, Sasami."

Sasami squinted at the pirate in apprehension.

"Ryoko, did you scorch one of my pots again?" The princess sighed,
"You *always* let the water boil away!"

"Uh, no, actually," Ryoko disagreed, looking away slightly as she
scratched her chin.

"You realize you've picked up that nervous chin scratching look from
Tenchi, ne?"

"Eh? Oh, I guess you may be right," Ryoko admitted with a dreamy look
on her face as she pushed back a long lock of cyan colored hair.

Sasami rolled her eyes and went back to her dough. Ryoko caught the
look and folded her arms.

"Actually, princess, I wanted to apologize this morning."

Sasami wiped the flour off her hands and slid the dough into an oven.
"Apologize?" she asked. "Whatever for?"

"Well, I think I may have been a little manipulative the last two
days," admitted Ryoko, "especially last night at dinner with regards to our
house guest."

Ryoko set her tea down and looked steadily at Sasami, "If you don't
want to escort Nathaniel into town today, Tenchi would be more than happy to
go instead. I more or less dumped him into your lap without evening bothering to
ask if you wanted go."

Sasami finished fiddling with the oven controls and wandered over to
the table where Ryoko was sitting.

"Ryoko," Sasami said as she took a seat with a little plop, "it doesn't
bother me at all. Why do you think it would?"

"Well, I know you are being forced to go to Jurai by Ayeka for this
silly husband mess," Ryoko said, looking very uncomfortable, "and it came to
my attention that I might be just as controlling, forcing you to tag along with
Nathaniel."

She looked up at Sasami. "You see what I'm getting at?"

"Hmm, that essentially you feel guilty for trying to get me stuck on a
cute Earthling, because that makes you think you're pretty much like sister
Ayeka?"

"I don't know that I'd go *that* far," grumbled Ryoko, "but yeah,
pretty much, princess."

Ryoko's eyes then perked up, "Hey, wait a second - did you just say he
was *cute*?"

Sasami blushed just a bit. "I don't know," she tried to evade casually,
"did I?"

"I think you did," Ryoko seriously nodded. "What did *you* hear,
Nathaniel?" she asked, looking pointedly over Sasami's shoulder.

"Eh??" Sasami yelped, spinning her body around violently in the
direction Ryoko was looking. Lost for breath, Sasami's mouth was agape as
she realized no one was there.

"RYOKO!" Sasami whined.

"What?" Ryoko asked, her eyes wide and innocent.

* * *


"No, really," a pair of almost feral lavender eyes blinked at me,
"what's it like living in America?"

Looking up through my fuzzy vision, I saw Yui facing me over the
back of her bus seat, arms crossed on the head rest and supporting her chin.
After being extremely nervous around me at the bus stop, and a few kind and
reassuring words from my direction, Yui had quickly opened up and begun to
do what she did best:

Chatter.

"Really," I said back to her from my seat, "it's pretty much like living
in Japan, except it's larger, a little less expensive, and a little less clean in the
cities."

Apparently, that did not suffice her curiosity very much as she
slouched down in her seat a bit, making a disappointed sound.

"Maybe if you were a little more specific, Yui?" offered Sasami, who
was sitting on my left. "I don't think anyone could describe all the differences
between two places like America and Japan."

Sasami had been fairly quiet most of the morning since I had come
down for breakfast at the Masaki residence. I did not know how to gage her
personality yet, and not being to read her expression was not helping either.
The talkative young woman who had changed my bandages the day before
seemed to be elsewhere and at times a little on the grouchy side. So, I had
begun chatting with Yui, who, after being convinced I was not mad at her for
almost killing me, carried on an almost constant conversation.

"Well," pondered Yui, "are there really cowboys in America who,
like, ride horses and live on ranches?"

"Cowboys?" I repeated. That sure sounded like an odd thing someone
from Japan would ask. "Sure, there are plenty of cowboys in the western
states. However, they don't do a lot of the things you'd imagine, I bet."

"Like what?"

"Well, they don't have gun fights or fight Indians or anything else
you've seen in a movie," I explained. "Mainly, the cowboys have always lived
out in remote places, looking after their ranches on horseback, truck, or even
helicopter."

Yui chewed on that for a moment.

"Yeah, I kind of figured they didn't do all that movie stuff you see
anymore," she admitted, tossing her mane of hair to the side. "Do they still
get to live in really huge empty places?"

"Yep, they still do," I nodded, wincing a bit as the bus hit a bump.
"I've been to a lot of those places in the west like Wyoming, Nevada,
Montana, and Arizona. You can drive for hours and hours across open range
and never see another person at all."

"Wow," said Yui thoughtfully, "you've gotten to go to places like
that. That's really cool. I've always wanted to live out someplace under the
stars, with a ranch house and a horse... *and* a cowboy."

Sasami seemed to be surprised by this revelation, "You've never
mentioned anything like this before, Yui. When did you get so interested in
cowboys?"

"I dunno, aunt Sasami," she admitted, "they just look so strong and
quiet and handsome, not like the dork guys at school. I guess I just want to see
someplace vast and unexplored where I can live on my own, too."

"Be in charge of your own destiny, or something like that?" I asked
Yui.

Yui leaned her head sideways on her crossed arms and thought.
"Yeah," she mumbled, "a place like the mountains here, but... I dunno.
Someplace I've never been to."

"In charge of your own destiny," echoed Sasami wistfully.

"Are you dreaming of western skies, too?" I asked Sasami.

"Hmm, not exactly," she said, looking away, "but it does sound nice.
A place where you don't have to live by someone else's leave."

As Sasami stared out into space, Yui looked at her and made a
sighing noise. At that moment I felt like I had walked into an uncomfortable
area of conversation judging by Sasami's cryptic remarks, so I beat a hasty
retreat to a safer topic.

"So, Yui," I said, with a bit over overly feigned interest, "what's
school like in Japan?"

"Boring," Yui stated.

"Doesn't sound too much different from America," I sympathized.

* * *


Sasami and Nathaniel got off the bus when it reached town, stepping
down swiftly and waving to Yui as it took off again.

"She has to go even further every day to get to school?" Nathaniel
asked in amazement as he watched the bus disappear with Yui.

Sasami watched the bus depart as well and nodded. "Yes, but it's not
too much further away. That's why not many folks live deep in the
mountains."

Reaching down, she then hefted Nathaniel's backpack and slung it on
her shoulders.

"Shall we go?" she asked quickly.

"Um, yeah," Nathaniel responded. "That pack is really large for
you," he said a little worried, "I could easily carry it on my good arm."

Sasami shook her head and said, "Don't even think about it. It's not
heavy at all."

With that she started walking in the general direction of the town's
inn. Nathaniel had to trot to catch up with her.

For the next ten minutes, the pair trudged through town in silence.
Sasami continued to plow ahead a good speed, even while going uphill, while
Nathaniel struggled to keep up. Finding it hard to negotiate curbs on the
sidewalk and suffering due to his disorientation from not being able to see, he
stumbled along behind her slightly, his shoulder aching from the effort.

Nathaniel more than once thought about asking Sasami to slow down
some, so he could pick his way more easily, but the non-communicative
attitude she had adopted since they had left that morning seemed only to have
become more prevalent in town. Finally, after bumping into someone with his
hurt shoulder in the center of the town square, Nathaniel spoke up.

"Hey, uh, Sasami!" he called up in front of him, his face slightly red
and perspiring.

"What?" Sasami responded shortly, turning around with a slight look
of annoyance that Nathaniel could not see.

Even though her features were blurry, Nathaniel quickly picked up on
her tone.

"Look," he began, "I'm really sorry that you had to get up this
morning to baby sit me into town, but I'm getting kind of dizzy, and I really
need to sit down for a minute."

The look across Sasami's face went from annoyance to guilt as she
adjusted the weight of his backpack. Letting her shoulders slump a bit, she
walked back to Nathaniel and assessed him.

"There's a bench over there," she indicated with a nod of her head,
"will rest there until you feel better. We're only another ten minute walk or so
from the inn, anyway. No need to rush, I guess."

Making sure she was not leaving Nathaniel behind this time, Sasami
headed over to an empty bench in the town square. Reaching the bench, she
slid off the pack and took a seat. Nathaniel eased onto the bench beside her,
but obviously putting as much distance between them as possible. Taking a
deep breath and adjusting his bandaged shoulder, he slouched a little as he
tried to recoup some strength. Sasami looked away from him out across the
square and chewed her bottom lip unhappily.

`There you go,' she thought to herself, `the guy was just unlucky
enough to get smacked by Yui, and here you are giving him a hard time just
because *you're* feeling pissy.'

Letting the breath slide out of her slowly, Sasami eased forward and
placed her elbows on her legs and her chin in her hands. Watching the people
pass them in the square in the early morning bustle, she finally spoke.

"I really want to apologize to you, Nathaniel," she offered, still
looking forward.

Nathaniel opened his eyes from where he had been concentrating on
getting his second wind. "There's no need," he said, "it was just an accident,
and you and your family have been very kind to-"

"No, that's not what I mean," she interrupted. "I want to apologize
for being so rude to you this morning. You've been nothing but nice since the
bus stop back home, and I. I've just been a grouch."

"Oh," replied Nathaniel, not really knowing how to respond to her
statement. He really did not think it would be wise to say anything that might
sound like he was agreeing with her assessment.

"I don't know," he said evasively.

"No," Sasami sighed, "I really have been, and you're just being a
gentleman again not to agree with me. As a matter of fact, you've been a
gentleman ever since you woke up yesterday."

"I have?" he asked, still a little off guard by her apology.

She nodded, "Sure you have. I mean, you were knocked down a
flight of stone stairs by my niece, cut up, bruised, and had your glasses
smashed. Yet, ever since I came in to change your bandages yesterday, you've
been good humored about the whole thing."

A strange look came over Sasami's face as she turned her head in her
hands towards him. "Why is that?"

Nathaniel relaxed back against the bench and thought over her
question seriously.

"Well, I guess it's because there was nothing I could do about it," he
offered. "I mean, I'm not *thrilled* Yui ran into me, but there's no point in
getting upset about it. It was out of my control, so all I can do is make the best
of it, especially since your family has been so kind since I woke up."

"Gee," Sasami sighed, sitting back up on the bench, "you have a
really good attitude. Mine's been pretty low lately, as you've probably
noticed."

Once again refraining from making a verbal judgment, Nathaniel
asked, "It has? Why is that?"

Sasami started chewing her bottom lip again, not wanting to give
away her secret identity, but at the same time wanting desperately someone to
talk to who was not part of her family.

"I, uh, have to go back home real soon," she said unhappily, "and I
really don't want to go."

"You like living here." It was not a question.

Sasami sighed and brushed a hand back through her hair. "Very
much so. There are much worse places I could be," she mused.

"True," Nathaniel agreed, "you could be kidnapped by space aliens
and whisked away to another planet. I hear the medical tests and body probes
they perform on people suck."

Sasami slapped her hand over her mouth and stared at Nathaniel with
huge eyes. A vein began to stand out on her forehead.

Nathaniel raised an eyebrow, "Did I say something wrong?"

A gale of laughter erupted from behind Sasami's hand as she could
no longer hold it in. Gasping for breath she leaned forward and continued to
chortle as if, at least as it appeared to Nathaniel, she were losing her sanity.
Wiping her eyes, Sasami finally sat back up in the bench and tried to catch her
breath.

"Are you okay?" he asked, peering at her through squinting eyes.


Nathaniel adopted a look of relief, "That's good. I was afraid you
were going to say you were offended at first, because your father was an alien
or something strange like that."

Sasami let her head fall backwards and face the sky as she began to
giggle furiously. For some strange reason, hearing a human make light of
`imaginary' aliens just made her feel entirely light hearted.

At the moment, that human was scratching his head, wondering if the
young woman next to him was really as strange as she was acting.

* * *


Mayuka Masaki was bored.

*Really* bored.

Sitting in a comfortable and large command chair gazing at a sizable
screen in front of her, she gazed at the pale blue planet turning slowly above;
one of the most advanced patrol cruisers in the Galaxy Police fleet was baby
sitting a lifeless planet. Slapping her hand up to her forehead, Mayuka
groaned loudly.

"Grr, Kiyone," she said out loud, "you didn't tell me it'd be
*anything* like this."

Bringing her hand down slightly, she started to rub her eyes while
trying to sling one leg up and over an armrest. Shoulder cropped hair that had
been pushed back from her face earlier took this opportunity to slide back
down in an attempt to console the despondent young woman. Looking
through her fingers at the view screen, Mayuka pondered Major Kiyone's
exactly wording from three weeks earlier.

"If you really are considering joining the Galaxy Police," Major
Kiyone had said, "then you should really see the worst side of it before you
make a final decision."

At the time it had made perfect sense to Mayuka. Hop a Galaxy
Police space cruiser and experience the seedy side of being an officer. The
danger- all the gritty, torrid action of the galaxy. What could be worse than
experiencing that for a few weeks? Nothing right?

The major had something else in mind, however. Spend the time
aboard a Galaxy Police cruiser in the outer ranges beyond the Solar system,
patrolling the restricted zone of Jurai space, one of the most quiet and boring
places in the galaxy.

With Captain Mihoshi.

"Please," Mayuka begged, "someone knock me out."

Though she had known Mihoshi for her entire life, nothing
imaginable had prepared Mayuka for dealing with the captain in the dead of
space in a relatively small space craft for three weeks. More than once she had
been amazed that Kiyone would send an officer with the rank of captain out on
such a trivial patrol, but the more Mayuka experienced the mind boggling
silliness that was Mihoshi, the more she realized the major was probably just
trying to preserve her *own* sanity.

A vaguely cylindrical object with two focusing lenses for eyes
dropped out of the bulkhead above her and `cleared' its throat.

"Ahem," the computer said, "I am sorry, Miss Mayuka, but I am
unable to comply with your request."

Responding to yet another groan from the young woman, the
computer searched its data bases rapidly for anything that might be of use.

"Miss Mayuka," chimed the computer brightly.

"Wha?" she muttered.

"While I am unable to render you unconscious by impact," apologized
the little computer, "I have researched my data banks and referenced an option
utilized by Major Kiyone in similar situations that you may find useful."

"You-you have?" Mayuka raised her eyebrows in hope. "What is it,
Corolla?"

Corolla looked down at her and beamed, "It is called a Hurricane! It
involves mixing three parts fruit juice to four parts Earth rum. Major Kiyone
has listed it as a `certified method of escaping Captain Mihoshi for several
hours'."

The computer's eyes unfocused as it searched for more data.

"She continues to say in the report that at least three dosages are
usually sufficient," it offered helpfully.

Mayuka could have cried.

"And *where* am I going to find Earth rum on a police cruiser?" she
demanded unhappily.

"Searching records," Corolla announced. "Search completed. There
is generally a supply of small quantities of alcohol on board all Galaxy Police
vessels patrolling deep space -"

"Excellent!" exclaimed Mayuka, raising a fist.

"-however, by direct order of Major Kiyone, directive 5912-A-12, all
alcoholic beverages prohibited aboard the Captain Mihoshi's space cruiser for
the duration of Miss Mayuka Masaki's excursion. End of record."

"Couldn't you *pleeeeeeeze* knock me out?"

"I'm sorry, Miss-" Corolla started to apologize again, when the little
computer cut itself off.

"Proximity alert!" it said suddenly in an authoritative voice, making
Mayuka jump out of her skin.

"W-what is it?" she asked breathlessly.

"Long range scanners have detected an unauthorized craft entering
the restricted zone of Jurai space," Corolla reported quickly.

As it spoke new screens of information began to spring up all around
the main view. "All efforts at identification are unsuccessful. The craft
appears to be running in a passive stealth mode at an unusually high rate of
speed for this sector."

"ALL RIGHT!" yelled Mayuka enthusiastically, "Finally, some
excitement! I bet it's a pirate making a contraband run!"

Corolla blinked and disagreed, "There is not enough evidence to
make such a conclusion at this time. However, the craft is traveling in
restricted space under suspicious and highly advanced attempts to remain
concealed. Any legitimate and authorized vessel traveling in this area of space
would also be emitting a flight code we could identify."

Slamming the palms of her hands down on the ships console in
excitement, Mayuka squeaked, "Please say they don't have a code!"

"Affirmative. No code being transmitted from unknown craft."

Mayuka flopped back into one of the command chairs and whooped
out loud in near hysteria.

Taking a deep breath with a gleam in her lavender eyes, she asked,
"Great! So what do we do now?"

Corolla answered without a pause, "The commander of this space
cruiser, Captain Mihoshi, initiates a pursuit of the unknown craft while
reporting the situation to headquarters."

"Corolla, notify Mihoshi of the situation immediately and begin, uh,
doing whatever it is you do when you're about to chase someone!"

Corolla shook its head apologetically. "I'm sorry, Miss Mayuka. All
attempts at raising Captain Mihoshi are unsuccessful."

Looking a bit sheepish, the computer added, "I'm afraid she is
watching some Earth soap opera on her vid and has turned off her cabin
communicator."

"Aghgh, no!" snarled Mayuka, running her hands along side her
head through her shoulder length hair. "If she's watching those dumb shows,
she'll stay locked inside her cabin for hours! We'll lose this perpetrator!"

Freezing in mid-rant, a sneaky look crossed her face. Turning slowly
towards Corolla, she leveled an innocent look at the computer

"Say, Corolla," Mayuka purred sweetly.

"Uh, yes, Miss Mayuka?" Corolla responded with some unease.

"You don't suppose you could start the pursuit yourself, hmm?" she
asked, "After all, the captain *is* temporarily indisposed, but I'm sure she'd
want you to move the ship and chase this craft down, riiiiiiiiight?"

A bead of sweat appeared from somewhere on Corolla's metal
forehead. "Uh, according to Galaxy Police regulation GP-1041, such pursuit
without commanding officer approval is-"

"I'll re-lube your pivot joints for you," Mayuka said coyly. "When
was the last time Mihoshi gave you proper maintanence?"

"Too long," Corolla admitted in defeat. "Ahem, main engines
beginning pre-burn ignition sequence-"

"Yaa-hoo!" cheered Mayuka, throwing herself into the command
chair and strapping in.

"-all systems are adjusting to active pursuit configuration," the
computer continued. "Pursuit and intercept course of suspicious craft being
calculated. Destination confirmed. Colonized planet Earth in the restricted
Solar System of Jurai. Estimated time of arrival is five point seven Jurai
standard days."

"Planet Earth?" she demanded, looking up from the console of the
ship. "Oh, geez! The only time space crafts come to Earth is to crash on top
of my daddy's house!"

"Insufficient data for such conclusion at this time," Corolla said, "but
historical precedence does suggest such behavior as probable. Main engines
ready for burn. All systems awaiting pursuit command."

A stray thought occurred to Mayuka as she raised her hand to give the
word.

"Say, Corolla," she asked mischievously, "is there any way you could
start the ship in a *really* jumpy fashion?"

"Affirmative. However, such a ship maneuver would cause
considerable disarray to many of the ship's stores of items, including
significant damage to the mess in Captain Mihoshi's cabin."

"Exactly," grinned Mayuka, "maybe that would get her attention!"

There was an uncomfortable pause.

"You never saw me do this, right?" the computer asked quietly.

"Mums the word," she whispered back.

Mayuka sat up straight and in a louder voice said dramatically,
"Engage!"

There was a shudder through the ship as the engines burned, causing
a momentarily sickening lurch to one side, slinging both Corolla and Mayuka
heavily. From down the ship's main corridor, an unhappy cry of surprise
came echoing forward.

* * *


In the heavy darkness of a subterranean world, the Tree of Darkness
sat on it's tiny island, its leave undulating slowly with a sickly green hue.
At the edge of the island, under drooping branches that all but touched the
rank water, the humanoid creature stared intently at his reflection.

Red eyes were all that was discernible from the water.

After a few moments of observation, the creature stood up straight and
stretched it's arms lazily, bringing them down by his sides. Looking over its
shoulder back towards the tree, it focused on a simple hourglass which sat
embedded in the side of the tree. Sand poured slowly from the top of the
hourglass, which was about three quarters full, into the bottom.

Looking back over the dark, slow waters, the creature revealed a
toothy grin.

"Soon, Princess," it whispered. "So very, very soon."

* * *


Coming up in Chapter Five:

"I'll just kiss him..."

Nathaniel checks out, Sasami recieves a sad insight, and a festival
approaches!

Comments and critcisms more than welcome!

Send comments to Mike McAvoy
http://members.nbci.com/mmcavoy/

Last updated December 14, 2000.