PenPen's Pebble
by Shade
~~~~~~
Part 2: No Need for Flashbacks
(Or, The Plot Sickens)
~~~~~~
"Pass the soy sauce, please."
The request snapped him back to the present.
Sasami was beaming cheerfully. Ryo-Ohki
was perched on her head, nibbling a carrot.
Tenchi sheepishly scratched his head with one hand
while he picked up the soy sauce bottle and handed
it to the adorable aqua-haired princess. His mind
had been wandering again, once more trying to figure
out a way to untangle this convoluted mess that was his life.
{Sasami, cute and cheerful, but with a mischievous streak that rivals Ryoko's...}
~~~~~~~
The first time they had met, Sasami had made him try
to steal her sister's key, an ornamented headband.
Which of course led to him running for his life,
while two giant floating logs did their best to vaporize him.
And all because Sasami had been bored.
Then there had been shoujo manga incident.
Okay, so maybe it was a little funny in hindsight,
but back then it had been a real pain... literally.
Ryoko did not know her own strength sometimes,
that kick had hurt a lot. Then there had been
the mess she had made in the kitchen when she
had tried to cook, and then forgot her concoction
on the stove. It had taken him hours of scrubbing
to finish cleaning it in time for Sasami to make
dinner.
The less said of Ayeka and the rope strung across the stairs the better.
Let's not even mention the waste of yarn for what had eventually become
Ryo-Ohki's new bed.
Then to find out that all of their strange behavior
was their way of trying to win him, Earth style...
He couldn't believe it.
~~~~~~
Toying with their emotions like that just wasn't right.
Sasami should have known better.
A little voice of guilt reminded Tenchi that he wasn't totally blameless, either.
[Are you any better, stringing them all along like you have?]
He countered with the fact that while his indecision
sprang from truly not knowing which one he really loved,
Sasami's actions had been solely to amuse herself.
Besides it wasn't as if he was actually considering Sasami
as anything except a younger sister.
[But what about Tsunami?] The same irritating little voice whispered.
{Tsunami isn't interested in me. Not in that way.}
There was note of doubt starting to creep into his thoughts.
[Are you sure?]
Tenchi started to say yes, then hesitated, remembering the brief
time he'd first spent with the Goddess of Jurai after she had
healed him of the injuries that Kagato's ship had inflicted on him.
He had never told any of the others about it, not even Washu.
Sasami was the only other person who knew about it, for she had been there.
Tsunami's voice had been beautiful, full of compassion and as sweet
as a summer orchid in full bloom. And her smile...
Armies would willingly march into the Valley of Death
without hesitation for such a radiance to be bestowed
on them. But had it meant something more?
She had held him when she activated the sleeping power within Tenchi,
the power of the Light Hawk Wings. That one time Tsunami had been
real, the feeling had been one beyond any he could ever hope to describe.
For a single moment in time, they were joined as one. He had never
forgotten it; even now the memory was as clear as if it had happened
only moments before, not so many long months ago.
Had the emotions he'd seen in her eyes really been just simple concern?
Or could it have been...
No, that was ridiculous... wasn't it?
Damn, this pointless wondering was driving him crazy!
He'd never be able to do anything about it anyway,
he consoled himself. By the time Sasami and Tsunami
were one, he'd be married. So why did he feel a brief
sense of... disappointment?
~~~~~~~~~
Tenchi started to pay more attention to breakfast,
to forget the new and disturbing thoughts that were
now floating around in his head. He reached for some
pickles, then froze as movement from across the table caught his eye.
A small whimper escaped his lips.
Dear Gods, he'd never realized before that the simple act
of eating could be such an erotic torture...
Mesmerized, he watched as Mihoshi proceeded to savor
and tease a choice bit of sashimi, her pink tongue
darting out to caress the soft red flesh that had
been dipped in soy sauce, her lips glimmering with
the few drops that escaped.
He swallowed hard. Sweat started to bead on his brow.
{Oh, no... not the MISO SOUP!!}
Tenchi found to his horror that his body would not obey his commands
to stop watching Mihoshi eat. As she lapped up the warm white broth,
his mind mutinied against his willpower and started to picture her
lapping up something else...
Higher brain functions went offline.
As if drawn by a magnet, his eyes went down south
as Mihoshi continued to polish off her breakfast.
Oh, damn. Those movements the blonde detective was making
as she ate were doing interesting things to that sleek
physique of hers.
He squirmed and fidgeted to try and ease the growing pressure
rapidly rebuilding beneath the table without anyone noticing.
If any of the girls saw the problem he was having right now...
{Don't go there! Down boy!! Heel!!}
If it had been anyone else, Tenchi would have sworn
that this display was being done on purpose.
But this was Mihoshi!
Sweet, innocent...
Sexy... passionate...
{Think of something else! ANYTHING ELSE!!}
An image of Nurse Washu appeared in Tenchi's head.
It worked like a charm. His libido took a nosedive instantly.
Nothing killed hot hormones faster then cold rubber gloves.
This tactic had been all that had saved Tenchi recently
when Ryoko had decided to try seducing him in bed again.
If the space pirate ever realized how close he'd come
to succumbing to her bountiful charms, he was so doomed...
But that wasn't really fair to Washu, his conscience argued.
[So she's a little eccentric...]
{A LITTLE ECCENTRIC?}
[...But she loves you anyway.]
{...}
~~~~~~~~
At first, he'd never thought about Washu-chan in that way.
Objectively, Tenchi knew that she was much older then him,
but that kawaii body and act she usually used made her seem
more like a little girl to him then a woman.
And what a woman she was!
Ryoko had definitely inherited her figure from her mother's side.
The scary thing was that if he ever allowed himself to forget that
Washu was capable of anything in the name of science, and that she
was older than his planet's *civilization*, he'd probably be doing
the ecchi with her faster then you could say "Jack Daniel's".
Something about that mature beauty she possessed in her adult form
just made him so... so...
{...Damn, I'm doing it again! This is all DAD'S FAULT!!}
Of course, his houseguest's brains were every bit as formidable as
her beauty. Without Washu's help, the Masakis would have been bankrupt
long ago from the repair bills alone. And as a tutor she was second
to none, although her fee for that service meant that the Prince of Jurai
had to keep a sharp eye on his family jewels,
lest the sharp redhead wound up owning them.
Tenchi heaved a giant mental sigh. He was lying to himself again.
These were only excuses. The real thing that had changed his perception
of her to that of the woman she truly was, had been that second night
with Taro in the house. It was a memory he would treasure to his dying day.
~~~~~~~~~
-Flashback to Episode 8
Seeing Washu with Taro cradled in her arms had been the closest
thing to seeing his mother. His memories of Achika were few,
and distorted by the time that had passed since she had left him.
Those few moments they had spent together,
alone save for a sleeping Taro, had been...
Had been...
It had come as quite a shock, actually.
From the way the scientist behaved normally,
he'd never have guessed in a million years
that Washu-chan had her tender, vulnerable side.
Feelings he'd never known he had surged forth;
a strange tugging at his heart, with a nervous
fluttering in the region of his stomach.
Had he imagined the small blush he'd seen on her face that night,
as he sat beside her on the couch?
-End Flashback
~~~~~~~
If Taro hadn't woken up... what might have happened?
{DON'T GO THERE!}
[I didn't say anything.]
~~~~~~~
-Flashback to ep. 8 again
"Lineage, social status... Why should such things matter so much?
That's how grown-ups are. If that's so... I'd be happier being a child,
never, ever growing up"
The pain Tenchi had heard in that voice had been eerily familiar.
It was all too similar to what he had felt that dark lonely day
when his mother hadn't been there for him, and would never be
there ever again. It was at that exact moment that Tenchi had
been certain he loved Washu as much as all the other girls
that had entered his life. Each one had brought a secret pain
with her that his heart had done its best to fill, but her sorrow
was one the greatest he had ever faced. Words were not enough,
there had to be way to show her he understood, to show her that he...
That he...
Imagine his shock when he bent down to comfort the little Washu
and got a very close view of "Big" Washu!
Of course, that was nothing compared to his reaction when
she declared she wanted to bear his CHILD!!
She couldn't be serious! Right? Right?!
Right after that bombshell, the Masaki weirdness meter blew a fuse and shut down.
-End Flashback
~~~~~~~~~~
Still...
Washu did look good on those rare occasions
that she resumed her adult form. Too good
for his comfort. It hadn't helped that the
genius had been taking a page from Ryoko's
book lately, and had been trying some rather...
daring outfits to get the sample she wanted from him.
The intruder barrier to his room wasn't any help;
Washu was the one who'd designed it, after all.
{Why me? What did I do to deserve this?}
Here he was, living what most guys would consider a dream life,
with beautiful women all around him. Beautiful willing women
desperately in love with him, that would be all over him if
he gave even the slightest indication that he had picked one.
It was a nightmare!
"Tenchi? Tenchi!"
A familiar, kawaii voice broke through
the despondent clouds that hung over
his thoughts.
"Huh? Sasami? What is it?"
"Breakfast is over, silly!"
Looking around, he realized that she was right.
Everyone else had left the table and Sasami was
just finishing picking up the last of the dishes
on the table.
"Where did everyone go?"
"Well, Ayeka and Ryoko went outside fighting."
"Again?!"
Listening carefully, Tenchi could now hear the distant
crashes and explosions that marked another one of their
*differences of opinion*. He didn't even bother to ask
what had started it this time; it was safer to just let
those two blow off some steam.
"Mihoshi and Kiyone got called to work, and Washu's in her lab.
She said that she's got a physical waiting for you.
What's a physical anyway, Tenchi?"
"Uh... Why don't you let me help you with the dishes, Sasami!"
"Oh, thanks!"
Giving a small sigh of relief at having avoided the question
(something he'd become quite good at since the space girls had started moving in),
Tenchi reached over to get the last plate just as Sasami's hand went toward it.
His callused hand closed over her small delicate one as she picked up the dish.
"Oh."
A small blush filled the princess's cheeks at this unexpected contact.
For once, the boy voted by Anime fans "most likely to never get a clue"
noticed this. Of course that didn't mean he knew what to do about it.
Releasing her hand as if it was a red-hot ember, the Masaki boy
made haste to transfer the rest of the dishes to the kitchen,
before running out toward the carrot fields as fast as his legs
could carry him.
Behind him he left a confused and slightly embarrassed Sasami.
"What was that all about?"
[Sasami dear, we need to talk.]
{Tsunami?}
{Yes, Princess. It's me. I must ask a favor of you...}
-To be continued
by Shade
~~~~~~
Part 2: No Need for Flashbacks
(Or, The Plot Sickens)
~~~~~~
"Pass the soy sauce, please."
The request snapped him back to the present.
Sasami was beaming cheerfully. Ryo-Ohki
was perched on her head, nibbling a carrot.
Tenchi sheepishly scratched his head with one hand
while he picked up the soy sauce bottle and handed
it to the adorable aqua-haired princess. His mind
had been wandering again, once more trying to figure
out a way to untangle this convoluted mess that was his life.
{Sasami, cute and cheerful, but with a mischievous streak that rivals Ryoko's...}
~~~~~~~
The first time they had met, Sasami had made him try
to steal her sister's key, an ornamented headband.
Which of course led to him running for his life,
while two giant floating logs did their best to vaporize him.
And all because Sasami had been bored.
Then there had been shoujo manga incident.
Okay, so maybe it was a little funny in hindsight,
but back then it had been a real pain... literally.
Ryoko did not know her own strength sometimes,
that kick had hurt a lot. Then there had been
the mess she had made in the kitchen when she
had tried to cook, and then forgot her concoction
on the stove. It had taken him hours of scrubbing
to finish cleaning it in time for Sasami to make
dinner.
The less said of Ayeka and the rope strung across the stairs the better.
Let's not even mention the waste of yarn for what had eventually become
Ryo-Ohki's new bed.
Then to find out that all of their strange behavior
was their way of trying to win him, Earth style...
He couldn't believe it.
~~~~~~
Toying with their emotions like that just wasn't right.
Sasami should have known better.
A little voice of guilt reminded Tenchi that he wasn't totally blameless, either.
[Are you any better, stringing them all along like you have?]
He countered with the fact that while his indecision
sprang from truly not knowing which one he really loved,
Sasami's actions had been solely to amuse herself.
Besides it wasn't as if he was actually considering Sasami
as anything except a younger sister.
[But what about Tsunami?] The same irritating little voice whispered.
{Tsunami isn't interested in me. Not in that way.}
There was note of doubt starting to creep into his thoughts.
[Are you sure?]
Tenchi started to say yes, then hesitated, remembering the brief
time he'd first spent with the Goddess of Jurai after she had
healed him of the injuries that Kagato's ship had inflicted on him.
He had never told any of the others about it, not even Washu.
Sasami was the only other person who knew about it, for she had been there.
Tsunami's voice had been beautiful, full of compassion and as sweet
as a summer orchid in full bloom. And her smile...
Armies would willingly march into the Valley of Death
without hesitation for such a radiance to be bestowed
on them. But had it meant something more?
She had held him when she activated the sleeping power within Tenchi,
the power of the Light Hawk Wings. That one time Tsunami had been
real, the feeling had been one beyond any he could ever hope to describe.
For a single moment in time, they were joined as one. He had never
forgotten it; even now the memory was as clear as if it had happened
only moments before, not so many long months ago.
Had the emotions he'd seen in her eyes really been just simple concern?
Or could it have been...
No, that was ridiculous... wasn't it?
Damn, this pointless wondering was driving him crazy!
He'd never be able to do anything about it anyway,
he consoled himself. By the time Sasami and Tsunami
were one, he'd be married. So why did he feel a brief
sense of... disappointment?
~~~~~~~~~
Tenchi started to pay more attention to breakfast,
to forget the new and disturbing thoughts that were
now floating around in his head. He reached for some
pickles, then froze as movement from across the table caught his eye.
A small whimper escaped his lips.
Dear Gods, he'd never realized before that the simple act
of eating could be such an erotic torture...
Mesmerized, he watched as Mihoshi proceeded to savor
and tease a choice bit of sashimi, her pink tongue
darting out to caress the soft red flesh that had
been dipped in soy sauce, her lips glimmering with
the few drops that escaped.
He swallowed hard. Sweat started to bead on his brow.
{Oh, no... not the MISO SOUP!!}
Tenchi found to his horror that his body would not obey his commands
to stop watching Mihoshi eat. As she lapped up the warm white broth,
his mind mutinied against his willpower and started to picture her
lapping up something else...
Higher brain functions went offline.
As if drawn by a magnet, his eyes went down south
as Mihoshi continued to polish off her breakfast.
Oh, damn. Those movements the blonde detective was making
as she ate were doing interesting things to that sleek
physique of hers.
He squirmed and fidgeted to try and ease the growing pressure
rapidly rebuilding beneath the table without anyone noticing.
If any of the girls saw the problem he was having right now...
{Don't go there! Down boy!! Heel!!}
If it had been anyone else, Tenchi would have sworn
that this display was being done on purpose.
But this was Mihoshi!
Sweet, innocent...
Sexy... passionate...
{Think of something else! ANYTHING ELSE!!}
An image of Nurse Washu appeared in Tenchi's head.
It worked like a charm. His libido took a nosedive instantly.
Nothing killed hot hormones faster then cold rubber gloves.
This tactic had been all that had saved Tenchi recently
when Ryoko had decided to try seducing him in bed again.
If the space pirate ever realized how close he'd come
to succumbing to her bountiful charms, he was so doomed...
But that wasn't really fair to Washu, his conscience argued.
[So she's a little eccentric...]
{A LITTLE ECCENTRIC?}
[...But she loves you anyway.]
{...}
~~~~~~~~
At first, he'd never thought about Washu-chan in that way.
Objectively, Tenchi knew that she was much older then him,
but that kawaii body and act she usually used made her seem
more like a little girl to him then a woman.
And what a woman she was!
Ryoko had definitely inherited her figure from her mother's side.
The scary thing was that if he ever allowed himself to forget that
Washu was capable of anything in the name of science, and that she
was older than his planet's *civilization*, he'd probably be doing
the ecchi with her faster then you could say "Jack Daniel's".
Something about that mature beauty she possessed in her adult form
just made him so... so...
{...Damn, I'm doing it again! This is all DAD'S FAULT!!}
Of course, his houseguest's brains were every bit as formidable as
her beauty. Without Washu's help, the Masakis would have been bankrupt
long ago from the repair bills alone. And as a tutor she was second
to none, although her fee for that service meant that the Prince of Jurai
had to keep a sharp eye on his family jewels,
lest the sharp redhead wound up owning them.
Tenchi heaved a giant mental sigh. He was lying to himself again.
These were only excuses. The real thing that had changed his perception
of her to that of the woman she truly was, had been that second night
with Taro in the house. It was a memory he would treasure to his dying day.
~~~~~~~~~
-Flashback to Episode 8
Seeing Washu with Taro cradled in her arms had been the closest
thing to seeing his mother. His memories of Achika were few,
and distorted by the time that had passed since she had left him.
Those few moments they had spent together,
alone save for a sleeping Taro, had been...
Had been...
It had come as quite a shock, actually.
From the way the scientist behaved normally,
he'd never have guessed in a million years
that Washu-chan had her tender, vulnerable side.
Feelings he'd never known he had surged forth;
a strange tugging at his heart, with a nervous
fluttering in the region of his stomach.
Had he imagined the small blush he'd seen on her face that night,
as he sat beside her on the couch?
-End Flashback
~~~~~~~
If Taro hadn't woken up... what might have happened?
{DON'T GO THERE!}
[I didn't say anything.]
~~~~~~~
-Flashback to ep. 8 again
"Lineage, social status... Why should such things matter so much?
That's how grown-ups are. If that's so... I'd be happier being a child,
never, ever growing up"
The pain Tenchi had heard in that voice had been eerily familiar.
It was all too similar to what he had felt that dark lonely day
when his mother hadn't been there for him, and would never be
there ever again. It was at that exact moment that Tenchi had
been certain he loved Washu as much as all the other girls
that had entered his life. Each one had brought a secret pain
with her that his heart had done its best to fill, but her sorrow
was one the greatest he had ever faced. Words were not enough,
there had to be way to show her he understood, to show her that he...
That he...
Imagine his shock when he bent down to comfort the little Washu
and got a very close view of "Big" Washu!
Of course, that was nothing compared to his reaction when
she declared she wanted to bear his CHILD!!
She couldn't be serious! Right? Right?!
Right after that bombshell, the Masaki weirdness meter blew a fuse and shut down.
-End Flashback
~~~~~~~~~~
Still...
Washu did look good on those rare occasions
that she resumed her adult form. Too good
for his comfort. It hadn't helped that the
genius had been taking a page from Ryoko's
book lately, and had been trying some rather...
daring outfits to get the sample she wanted from him.
The intruder barrier to his room wasn't any help;
Washu was the one who'd designed it, after all.
{Why me? What did I do to deserve this?}
Here he was, living what most guys would consider a dream life,
with beautiful women all around him. Beautiful willing women
desperately in love with him, that would be all over him if
he gave even the slightest indication that he had picked one.
It was a nightmare!
"Tenchi? Tenchi!"
A familiar, kawaii voice broke through
the despondent clouds that hung over
his thoughts.
"Huh? Sasami? What is it?"
"Breakfast is over, silly!"
Looking around, he realized that she was right.
Everyone else had left the table and Sasami was
just finishing picking up the last of the dishes
on the table.
"Where did everyone go?"
"Well, Ayeka and Ryoko went outside fighting."
"Again?!"
Listening carefully, Tenchi could now hear the distant
crashes and explosions that marked another one of their
*differences of opinion*. He didn't even bother to ask
what had started it this time; it was safer to just let
those two blow off some steam.
"Mihoshi and Kiyone got called to work, and Washu's in her lab.
She said that she's got a physical waiting for you.
What's a physical anyway, Tenchi?"
"Uh... Why don't you let me help you with the dishes, Sasami!"
"Oh, thanks!"
Giving a small sigh of relief at having avoided the question
(something he'd become quite good at since the space girls had started moving in),
Tenchi reached over to get the last plate just as Sasami's hand went toward it.
His callused hand closed over her small delicate one as she picked up the dish.
"Oh."
A small blush filled the princess's cheeks at this unexpected contact.
For once, the boy voted by Anime fans "most likely to never get a clue"
noticed this. Of course that didn't mean he knew what to do about it.
Releasing her hand as if it was a red-hot ember, the Masaki boy
made haste to transfer the rest of the dishes to the kitchen,
before running out toward the carrot fields as fast as his legs
could carry him.
Behind him he left a confused and slightly embarrassed Sasami.
"What was that all about?"
[Sasami dear, we need to talk.]
{Tsunami?}
{Yes, Princess. It's me. I must ask a favor of you...}
-To be continued