Hey all! Sorry about getting this chapter up so late! I was having internet troubles... it froze after I was on for more then five minutes!!!! I feel really bad... especially since I'm not going to be able to post chapter six for a long while!!!! At least not 'til next week or weekend.... I have auditions on Friday and a music 'thing' all weekend... so i've been preparing for that and haven't had time to write... i'm really sorry! : ( You can hit me now..... Also, check out this website!! It has the cutest little anime kitties.... www.angelfire.com/anime/artz/kadopt1.html

Disclaimer: Ok, ok! You guys just don't seem to be catching on... I don't own Tenchi Muyo!!!!!

A.N. Ok, this is even longer than the last chapter (wo-hoo!) And... it has Mihoshi in it!!! Another thing that is happening... a plot is starting to develop (no... anything but that!!!)!! Yeah!!! Please Review... I know so many of you have all ready, but please *gives audience puppy eyes* pretty please????? I love you??? Did that work??? No??? But... but.... please??

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Chapter 5

"Tsunami, let's go in there!" Achika pointed to a huge, dark forest with curiosity in her eyes.

"Um…let's not and say we did?" Groaned a very worn out Tsunami!

"But… but… we've only gone exploring in the caves, swimming in the lakes, hiking in the woods, flower-picking in the meadows, cabbit chasing in the groves, horseback riding in the fields, flying over the palace, battling with the gnomes, building sand castles beside the river shore, and we haven't even blown anything up yet or gotten into any trouble!"

"Oh, quit your whining! That is quite enough for one day!"

"But we haven't even began to have fun yet!"

"We have had plenty of fun!"

"We have?"

"Yes, we have!"

The two of them started to head back. Achika was being to quiet, which really troubled the goddess. This only could mean one thing… she was devising some sort of devious plan!

"I guess you're right Tsunami." Achika said acting a little too innocent.

"Hmm?"

"Well, we have done an awful lot, I guess."

"Yeah? What are you getting at?"

"Nothing! Honest…" Achika crossed her fingers behind her back.

"Alright… if you say so."

They continued to walk a little more and then Tsunami looked down at Achika to see what she was doing now. It turned out that Achika knew she was going to look at her just then and hit her (Tsunami) with her weak spot… puppy eyes. However, these weren't just any set of puppy eyes, these were super-duper cute, nobody-could-do-it-better, straight-from-an-angel puppy eyes!

"Uh...hhh...hhhh! Why me? Why you? Did you have to do that? Honestly? How did you know that I would just melt along like that?" cried Tsunami.

"I don't know, I just did." Achika pouted with dismay. Her plan hadn't ended up the way she wanted it to; she didn't get to go back to the forest.

"Well you were probably keying in on my thoughts, huh?"

"I wasn't either!" shouted Achika. She didn't know why her friend was accusing her of anything. Then a thought hit her. "...Well, at least I wasn't trying to."

They both pondered about this one for a moment.

"Hey, do you want to go get some ice cream or something?" Tsunami figured that Achika couldn't control her powers. So she came up with a plan that would, for sure, keep Achika occupied until she could talk to someone like Washu.

"Mmmm... I don't know." Achika said trying to figure out what the blue-haired woman was getting at.

Tsunami wasn't expecting that at all! 'Her, not want ice cream?! This is to weird! Maybe, somehow, she is picking up something from my thoughts and part of her is telling her not to go along with me... quick think of a plan.'

"But, Achika, you love ice cream. And I'll let you have as much as you want in what ever flavors you want! No telling, I promise!"

"I know you're trying to bribe me, I'm not that stupid for crying out loud." Tsunami sweatdropped. "However, I could go for some ice cream right about now."

Tsunami smiled and felt relieved now that that episode was over. The two decided to walk back to the palace.

* * *

Tenchi was running all over the palace trying to find Ryoko, but he couldn't find her anywhere!

'What have I done? I've got to find her.... but what if I don't? What if I've lost her? Don't think that, you're going to find her no matter what!'

"My dear emperor, what are you doing?" asked Kamidake. He was standing around with a few 'rookies'.

"Everything is fine," Tenchi said falsely.

"Do you need help with anything?"

"No... Well... I... uh... have you seen Ryoko?"

The rookies laughed at this. They had never heard anyone call their Empress in such an informal manner.

"No, but I can help you find her, if you would like."

"Sure, why not."

Kamidake called Azaka and then gave his crew a command to go do something and the three men left to hunt out their friend.

* * *

Ryoko was flying over her favorite grove of Yoshino cherry blossoms. She was still crying.

'How could he have been so cruel?' She was remembering every word that he said and they each hit her twice as hard. Then another voice in the back of her mind popped in and asked 'What if he was right?'

She shouted aloud "Leave me alone!" And it went away as quickly as it had come except she was left to think about it. All of a sudden she ran into someone. She looked up and there was a tall figure before her. She instantly recognized him. She was feeling so emotional she just grabbed onto him and hugged him tightly. They both started to saunter down towards the ground. The man spotted a bench near by and carried her over to it so that they could sit. He noticed that his feelings had started running wild ever since she first touched him moments ago. She leaned against him and continued to cry, this time into his shoulder.

After a while, she calmed down enough to talk.

"Why did you come here?"

"To see you, of course."

"I'm so glad that I can now talk to someone. My damn husband is being a dick-head that won't listen to anything I fuckin' say."

'Husband… she has a husband? Well, he doesn't seem to be treating her like he should. She only deserves the best.' He started to become angry at the thought that anyone would be treating Ryoko like this. "Well, you know, I'm always here for you."

"Yeah Tessae, just like you were there for me that one time…," she said upon remembrance of the incident where he left her alone to get busted by the police.

"Well, at least you got out of there…well, I mean the galaxy police station. Besides, I was just an apprentice then. I didn't know what to do."

"Alright, you have a point. But still, I never get caught."

"Unless it is someone else's fault." She eyed him for a while with a very disapproving look. She noticed, while she was glaring at him, that his silver tresses were now longer, which made him look very desirable. 'What are you thinking? You still have Tenchi!'

She let out a laugh that relaxed Tessae.

* * *

"Here you are." Kiyone handed Achika her double-fudge mousse ice cream cone. Achika looked at it with wide, glowing eyes. It was her favorite flavor and it had... sprinkles! She quickly grabbed it and started to lick it immediately and very fast, too.

Kiyone, Washu, Tsunami and Achika were in Washu's lab. The three adults were talking, or what seemed like droning on about nothing to Achika, and had been talking for a while before Achika had gotten her ice cream cone. If she hadn't remembered about it then, she wouldn't have gotten one! 'How could they forget about my ice cream like that?!' Achika thought. Washu was listening in on her thoughts and scolded her.

Achika was slurping away at her ice cream like there wouldn't be anymore if she didn't hurry. "Slow down, little one. You're going to get brain freeze." Achika finished her cone in a flash. She then asked, "What's that?"

"Brain freeze is an occurrence that happens when..." Washu began.

"What she means to say is that it is when you eat something really cold really fast and it gives you a headache."

"Oh, that is why my head hurts then, huh?" Everyone sweatdropped and then fell over.

"I think too much of Mihoshi has rubbed off on her." Kiyone answered.

"Actually, Mihoshi hasn't been around for a long while now." Tsunami replied.

"You guys, I was just kidding. I feel fine."

"What?! No brain freeze?!" Washu turned on another computer and started typing away. "Oh, that's why. She can't get brain freeze!" Everyone looked over at Achika, who asked if that was a good thing.

"I wonder what Mihoshi is doing. She never talks to me anymore either." Kiyone mentioned.

They sat and thought of things that the old Mihoshi would've been doing.

"Maybe it isn't a good idea to wonder about those things." Kiyone laughed.

"Why don't we call her up." Tsunami suggested.

"Alright, but do you have her number?" Kiyone inquired.

"No..."

"But, I do!" shouted an overjoyed Washu. She turned on yet another computer, this time a larger one, and had it find out where Mihoshi was and call her at that location.

A few minutes later a man with a deep voice answered. "Yo! This is Clyde. Whatcha need?"

"Can we talk to Mihoshi, please?" Achika replied.

"Look little girl, Mihoshi has enough fans. She can't talk to all of them." He snapped.

"Why I oughta..." Kiyone grabbed Achika and said "Excuse me, but do you know who we are?"

"No, should I?"

"Yes, you should. I am Washu and this is the goddess, Tsunami and the Commanding General of both Jurai and the GP, Kiyone. Now, we would like to speak to Mihoshi."

"Well, just because you are more famous den da' rest, doesn't mean you get ta talk ta her!"

"Excuse me, sir." Tsunami appeared on the screen. "But we are Mihoshi's closest friends, alright? And we are going to talk to her now."

"Yes, ma'am. One moment please." The man was in a deep trans.

"Well, even I could've done that." Washu said lamely.

"Hallo, hallo!" Mihoshi came into view and was overjoyed to see her friends. "Wow, how are you guys doing? I've missed you so much!"

"Hi, Mihoshi!" they all answered.

"So, what are you guys doing calling me?"

"Well, we did want to talk to you, but other than that, I really don't know why." Washu joked.

"Huh?" Mihoshi asked in confusion.

"Never mind!"

"Oh, alright."

"So, what are you doing right now?" Kiyone wondered.

"Well, nothing really. I just finished one of my afternoon concerts... that's why Clyde answered the screen-phone earlier... I might have a couple of shows to do later and maybe a few photo shoots, but I'm not sure."

"Not to busy, huh?" Tsunami added whimsically.

"Well, if you're not too busy, maybe you can come back for a few days." Washu suggested.

"Yeah! That would be great and that concert was the last of my tour dates that we have scheduled for right now so it's not like I can't afford to take a few days off. Wow! I'm going to go ask Clyde..."

"Wait a sec, Mihoshi, before you go ask that Clyde guy... and before he says no... just remember that if he does say no that we say you have to. And that is the 'we' as in the royal 'we' of Jurai. OK?"

Mihoshi left for a few minutes and went to go talk to Clyde. She came back with a very puzzled look upon her face.

* * *

"Well?" the three on the other end of the screen-phone said.

"Well... I think he said yes, but I'm not entirely sure."

The three fell down. "How could you not be sure," asked Washu.

"Well, there was an awful lot of yelling. And that is what threw me off. He seemed kind of mad. He must have been upset about something. But I can't wait to come and see you all." The blonde was absolutely ecstatic about going to see her friends.

Just then, the exasperated Clyde came in the room. Mihoshi hadn't noticed that he had come in. "Mihoshi!" he yelled, "Where do you…"

"Oh, thank you Clyde for letting me go and see my friends! You don't know how happy I am!"

"But…"

"Oh, I have to go pack and make flight reservations and… and… and"

"But- but… I never… said…" Clyde presumed this case impossible and figured that he should just let her go.

"Clyde," he heard another voice and looked down at the screen-phone. "Just give it up, Mihoshi is impossible. You, at least, should know that by now."

He nodded his head in agreement and told them that he would send them Mihoshi's flight information. Afterwards, he pleaded good-bye and ended the connection.

He walked down the hall and paused at Mihoshi's room. She was in there, packing. She would toss all of her clothes out onto the floor, looking for something, and then would have to look through the pile around her feet for the next item that was on her mental list. "To, bad you're vacation won't be that long, my angel. I'm afraid it will have to end quite soon in deed." He whispered to himself in a menacing tone.

* * *

Washu laid in her bed, which naturally was in the sleeping quarters of her bedroom. Her bed was a rather large one, though she never understood why, and it was full of big, comfy pillows and fluffy blankets and sheets. Her bedroom was decorated with light pastel colors. Some of her furniture was suede and brought out one of the light greens on the wall, the rest of it was light wood to compliment all of the soft color. The walls were also decorated with abstract paintings and beautiful portraits of her family. Her family. She laid there thinking about it. Her family. She finally had her own family and no one could take them away from her; not no one, not no how. She thought about the conversation she had with Tenchi a few days before when he had asked her if she was truly happy and she had answered truthfully- yes. A peaceful and serene smile crossed her face. Then, she heard someone open the door into the living quarters of her room. She waited to find out who the intruder was. After a few moments the door began to open, and a little head popped in. It was Achika.

Achika was trying to be as quiet as she could, even if that wasn't very quiet at all, but that would change. Washu closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep. Achika was now on the little ladder, used to get up into the bed, and was ready to pounce. She leaped up and yelled "Arghhhhh!" and then landed right next to her grandmother on all fours. She sat there with a snarl on her face and gleamed at the woman who was no longer asleep.

"Ahhhh! What are we going to do there is a ferocious beat here on my bed and it is going to eat me? Oh, what should I do? Someone please help me!" Washu cried out, trying to sound like she was scared of the little girl on her bed. Achika then let out a growl.

"I think I need to tickle her!" Washu grabbed her granddaughter and started to tickle her as best she could. The young girl immediately started laughing.

"Hey!" she said between her giggle-fits, "That's not fair! You're cheating! I was supposed to eat you up!"

"Eat me up! Maybe I should eat you up!" she continued to tickle the young girl.

"Ahhhh! No, don't eat me!"

"Oh, alright." She then stopped tickling Achika, who was still laughing. They laid there for a few minutes until Washu spoke up. "So, what brings you here, little one?"

"Nothing, just bored and... and... mommy and daddy won't get up!"

"They won't, will they? Well, how about we wake them up?"

"But, I already tried!" Achika pouted.

"Ah, yes, but you must have forgotten that I am The Great Washu and I can do anything!"

Achika still didn't believe in the theory that her grandmother didn't make any mistakes but she did really want to know what Washu had in mind. Maybe they would set a small bomb in there that would explode with bubbles or something or maybe they could set off an air horn or something else of the nature. This was going to be fun!

* * *

Ryoko was sleeping rather peacefully in her huge, comfy bed while Tenchi was forced to sleep on the couch on the other end of the room. Achika stuck her head through a portal and looked around the room with a large, mischievous grin on her face. Washu pulled her back to the other side where she scolded her for using her portals without permission.

"You knew it was going to happen sooner or later." Achika's wit had indeed surpassed that of her age and could, at times, be greatly annoying.

"Just be careful or you're going to get us caught!"

Ryoko rolled over and realized she was cold and then reached for a blanket. She then discovered that she was no longer lying on her bed, she wasn't even in her bedroom for that matter. Instead, she was floating in mid-air above one of the various lakes in the outer courtyard. She felt herself plunge into the freezing water. All of a sudden she was back in her bedroom standing upright next to Tenchi, who was, likewise, drenched. She then shouted out "WASHU!!!!"

* * *

"You know you just got me in a lot of trouble, young lady!" Washu said upon hearing her daughter scream her name.

"Yeah, well, I wasn't the one who suggested all of this, now was I?"

"Well, it was pretty hilarious, I've got to admit!"

They both laughed for a while until they heard the lab door fly off its hinges.

"Um… I think mommy's mad…"

"You've got that right!" Ryoko yelled out.

"Now, mommy…"

"Washu, I swear, I've put up with an awful lot from you, but this time, you've gone too far!"

"Mommy…" Achika was still trying to get her mother's attention.

"Now, what was up with the whole 'let's see how long Ryoko can tread water' thing?!"

"Well, Achika was bored and wanted you two to…"

"Oh, don't you even think about bringing my daughter into this! You are just a bad influence on her."

"But, mommy…"

"Oh, I'm a bad influence, what about you? Waving around that big temper of yours and just daring someone to set it off?"

"Excuse ME?!"

"Ryoko! Washu! I can't believe you two!" Tenchi, who had followed Ryoko, had had about enough of this.

"You two are standing here blaming each other for things that you are both guilty of. I thought that you guys would've changed by now. Maybe you two should reconsider whose side your on- yours or Achika's." He then grabbed Achika and left the room.

"You know, he is right. Let's go follow them." And with that, the two women walked out of the room and followed.

* * *

The porter shuttle landed and Mihoshi stepped out to see all of her old friends there. All of the faces, at least almost all of them, looked familiar. There were still a few people with them that she didn't know, only heard about. She instantly ran down the steps of the shuttle and hugged them all, even the people she did not know- but that's Mihoshi for you. Of course everyone returned the embrace, some more responsively than others did. They then headed back towards the palace.