====================
Flowering Potential.
====================
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extreme prejudice.
Disclaimer: I do not own the series depicted within, but go buy it anyway.
Conventions:
~ ~ are used for thoughts and Telepathic communication.
The series is archived at http://www.lum.co.uk/cobalt/
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Chapter 12
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Tenchi was getting very good at sneaking around the house in the very early hours. She had
to check the fields, and then she had morning practice with Grandfather. She even managed
to get to the door before anyone got up. Quickly and quietly she left, taking a large snack
with her. She probably wouldn't eat until lunch.
Sasami only just woke up to hear Tenchi leaving.
~ Damn, she's gone already. ~ She thought sourly.
Tenchi had become more unpredictable as the week had gone on. At least she was returning
to a more normal behaviour pattern, even if it was a bit more extreme than before.
~ Why hide from us? We aren't going to hurt her. ~
~ Tsunami: Yosho suggested she hide from the Queens, since they have their hearts set on
making Tenchi less shy. ~
The Princess sighed. ~ Sasami: Ah. Mom should have realised that Tenchi has to be
worked on gently. But then it took me most of a week. ~
~ Tsunami: Oh they realised, but they tried the method of confronting the problem first. I
think they were trying to take advantage of our handiwork. That isn't working by the way. ~
~ Sasami: So what are they planning to do now? ~
There was a chuckle in Sasami's mind.
~ Tsunami: Well... ~
***
"Good morning sleepy head." Ryoko teased as Ayeka opened her eyes.
"Mmm? Oh my. We didn't spend the whole night here did we?"
Ryoko smirked. "Oh yes we did. I must say, you were holding me very nicely when I woke
up."
Ayeka noticed the position of herself in respect to her companion and blushed.
Ryoko laughed. "Don't worry, I wasn't much better." She gave the princess a tight
squeeze. "Now, what to do?"
"I don't think pretending it never happened will work. How about we just forget about the
whole thing?"
"OK. But it will cost you."
"What did you have in mind?" Ayeka asked.
"Well we are in the baths."
***
Sasami turned to see her tired mother come into the kitchen yawning.
"Mom? What are you doing up so early? You could do with some more sleep."
"Oh it's OK dear." Misaki replied. "I was hoping to catch Tenchi, but I overslept."
"I think I heard her leaving when I got up. You didn't do anything did you?"
"No dear, we didn't get that far. We wanted to." She admitted.
"We have to be gentle with her." Sasami pointed out.
Misaki smiled sweetly. "Thanks for the advice dear. But I don't want to leave without
another try."
"How about catching her in the baths?" Sasami suggested. "I think she has practice this
morning."
"Really? Thanks for the information. Do you want to join us?"
"Mom! I'm an impressionable young girl." She complained.
Misaki giggled. "I know. That's why I asked. What's for breakfast?"
***
Yosho found these early morning training sessions helped keep Tenchi's interest in the
afternoon ones. She was doing well until he felt the surge. He leapt over the distortion wave
effect that occurred as she executed a slightly slanted horizontal slice. The poor trees
however couldn't move out of the way and were sliced clean through up to the point where it
hit the rising ground. Even that didn't stop it for a few seconds.
Tenchi swore, sounding very unladylike. "I'm so sorry Grandpa. I don't know what
happened."
"Hum..." Yosho was thinking.
"I mean one moment I'm just following the pattern, the next I'm watching as some sort of
ripple slices through the trees."
"Yes, yes. It is OK Tenchi. It showed that I am still on my toes. You obviously infused
your weapon with your power. Normally that would just make it stronger, however your
power is such that it acted like a template and caused the effect. An impressive technique.
Try not to do it during practice though. It might cause a serious accident."
***
Kiyone came to a halt after her lap of the lake and checked the stopwatch.
~ Ten minutes for a 3 km run is fine. ~ She thought to herself as she caught her breath.
"I don't see why you do it." Minagi said as she floated down.
"Some of us don't have your advantages." The detective replied. "I mean, Ryoko hasn't
changed in 700 years."
"I'm sure Washu could sort something out." Minagi teased before an energy blast shot out
across the lake.
"What was that?" Kiyone asked.
"It looked to be about level 4." Minagi said.
Up on the mountain Yosho was trying to calm down Tenchi.
"You managed to catch it. That was good control."
"It shouldn't have happened in the first place!" Tenchi was beside herself. "If I hadn't been
alert I could..." She felt another one coming on and turned skyward. "Duck!"
The blast was much stronger than the last, and Tenchi felt the energy rocket out of her. She
collapsed and began shivering.
Washu was the first of the regulars on the scene.
"What happened?" She demanded of Yosho as she jumped out of a portal.
"Tenchi is demonstrating her offensive potential." Yosho noted dryly.
Washu was infuriated. "That's a fine way of saying she's throwing energy bolts around.
She just did a level 5 blast."
Yosho's look turned deadly. "And she is barely in control of them."
That knocked the bluster out of the redhead.
"We've got to get her into the practice room I created. It can take a level 8 blast."
"Get back." The voice was barely above a whisper. "It's starting again."
Washu opened a portal. "Through there, quick! It will take you..." She noticed Tenchi
begin to shudder not with exhaustion but with power only just under any restraint. The air
began to ripple from the energy.
"I think we should move away." Yosho noted.
Washu nodded and moved back, the portal she had created warping and becoming de-
coherent.
"What's going on?" Minagi asked as she approached. Washu and Yosho, on some
unknown communication, turned and grabbed an arm before running. The space around
Tenchi began to crackle with power and fold in on its self.
"Faster." Was all Yosho said.
To Funaho, Misaki, Ayeka, Ryoko and Kiyone the sight of Yosho and Washu running
towards them dragging Minagi said something along the lines of 'WE don't think sticking
around here is a good idea, neither should you.' It was not reassuring.
Space-time was beginning to visibly warp around Tenchi's position. Light was falling into
the growing sphere of effect.
"Get back!" Washu shouted. She could feel subspace begin to ripple and warp. That meant
Tenchi was trying to stop a black hole forming. The gravimetric flux everybody must have
been feeling meant she was failing.
"What's going on?" Funaho demanded.
"Tenchi's trying to keep from blowing up the galaxy and failing!" Washu yelled. "Get
your ships into normal space now!" She switched from dragging Minagi, who had got the
point, to typing on the fly. She 'safed' all non-essential systems, secured all samples and
brought up every shielding device she had to protect the lab.
Normally, the appearance of four ships above the house would be cause for concern and this
was no exception. But it meant that they would have a chance of surviving whatever Tenchi
was doing.
An area of blackness formed around Tenchi's position, but arcs of blue-white light shattered
it.
"Come on Tenchi, you can do it." Washu said as the group made the house. The
indications showed that the power was beginning to peak.
A worried Sasami was in the living room. Ryo-Ohki was staring terrified in Tenchi's
direction.
"Mom? What's wrong?"
Washu transferred the information to the main screen. The energy level was off the scale,
but the increase was levelling off.
"I suggest that we hold onto something solid." Yosho told them. "This could get a bit
rough."
The ground began to shake, but Washu was concentrating on the readings. The energy
forms were beginning to shift into phase.
"Washu!" Ryoko called.
Spontaneous coherence was forming between totally disparate forces. Washu had never
seen anything like it.
"Mom!" Ryoko tried again.
This got Washu focused on the present. "Five seconds!"
The vibration frequency climbed rapidly. The clock on the screen counted down.
Three.
Two.
One.
The energy surge flattened them, moments before an ultrasonic boom rocked the house. It
took two minutes for it to stop. It was a further minute before anyone felt strong enough to
move.
"Is everyone all right?" Yosho asked.
"We will be." Ryoko had absolutely no bluster in her.
Washu managed to move her head enough to see the screen.
"Level 20?!?" She croaked. That was so far beyond anything she could even imagine she
almost refused to believe her own work.
"What about Tenchi?" Sasami's small voice came from between her mother and her sister.
It galvanised everybody into action.
Ryoko was the first one there and she found Tenchi seemingly unconscious, lying on
nothing. Where the ground should have been was emptiness. A rock solid emptiness as she
found out when she tried to get under Tenchi to lift her.
~ Washu: Take care! ~ The thought roared through her mind.
Ryoko decided not to move her, feeling a pulse and gentle breathing. It was the strangest
sight she had seen. Everything for 10 metres around Tenchi was gone, yet you could feel that
everything that had been in the sphere of effect was still there. Trees in the immediate area
were missing large portions of their trunks, yet this didn't seem to have harmed them in any
way. Ryoko didn't want to think about it, she could leave that to Washu.
Funaho, Yosho, Washu and the Guardians came into view.
"An interesting development, wouldn't you say so mother?" Yosho said.
"Quite." Funaho was too shocked to say anything more.
"Be careful out here." Ryoko warned. "You might not see what you could trip over. It's
weird."
Washu absently nodded and walked over the emptiness to Tenchi. She gave her a cursory
examination.
"Let's get Tenchi to her room."
***
"Anything broken?" Misaki asked.
"No, but it sure is dusty." Sasami replied. "Everything got shaken around a lot."
"Mihoshi still hasn't woken up you know." The Queen said.
"Don't worry about it Mom. She does that all the time." Sasami sighed. She hoped Tenchi
was all right.
Upstairs Ryoko and Yosho were carefully putting Tenchi to bed.
"Well Washu?" Funaho asked.
"Don't rush me." Washu typed. "What she did was just about unbelievable, and I'm doing
about five things at once just to make sure it's over."
It was several tense and quiet minutes later when Washu breathed a sigh of relief.
"We're all in the clear. Way to go Tenchi." Smiling faintly Washu turned to Ryoko. "I
wish I had her as a daughter."
"This is not the time or the place for that Washu." Ryoko said.
"True. We should leave. She needs her sleep."
Yosho was the last out, quietly closing the door behind him.
"Lady Funaho. It is now safe for you to return yours and Lady Misaki's ships to subspace."
Washu told the Queen. "We don't want Tenchi getting worried when she wakes up."
"After what has just happened, that would be a good idea." Funaho agreed.
"Is Tenchi OK?" Ayeka asked as the group descended.
"She will be if she gets her sleep." Washu replied.
"If you will excuse me," Yosho said, "I have to check on the shrine."
He left by the patio door, as his mother made her way to the kitchen to talk with her Sister.
Washu flopped down across a chair.
"That will teach me not to focus on the warning signs." She muttered.
"OK Washu," Ryoko growled, "what just happened?"
Washu turned a tired look on her daughter. "You don't want to know." It was totally
sincere.
"You're hiding something." The former pirate accused.
"Yes I am." Washu admitted. "Because it scares me half to death."
"That's got to be something serious." Minagi said as she and Kiyone came in. "I've never
known you to be scared."
"Oh I've been scared." Washu told her with a rueful smile, "I just don't show it."
"We have to know what we are dealing with." Funaho said as she, Misaki and Sasami came
in from the kitchen.
"You remember the dimensional cannon?"
There was a chorus of nods around the room. Misaki and Funaho kept quiet.
"It's a mere slingshot compared to what Tenchi did. It would be like me throwing a rock at
a Juraian battle cruiser. Completely insignificant." Washu shuddered at the thought.
"It may help if we knew how powerful the dimensional cannon is." Funaho pointed out.
"Let's put it like this, level 5 corresponds to a primitive fusion weapon. About 8-900
kilotonnes, right?" Washu began. She wasn't relishing the fact she was teaching the Queens
of Jurai about weapon power levels. "Level 6 is about 50-60 megatonnes, level 7 about 2-3
gigatonnes et cetera, et cetera. Now, the dimensional cannon is a level 13 weapon in that it
can destroy a small galaxy."
"Impressive." Misaki noted.
Washu sighed. "I don't know how powerful exactly Tenchi was, but it was well into level
20." She paused. "Level 20. I can't think of anything that comes even remotely close. If
Tenchi hadn't fought so hard to control it, the nearest 20 galactic superclusters might not be
around at the moment. I think. I really, honestly don't know."
"What's this?" Ryoko mocked. "The great Washu doesn't know? Surely I misheard."
"Don't push it Ryoko." Washu warned.
"Is every body OK?" A small and exhausted voice asked from upstairs.
"Tenchi!" Washu gasped. "You shouldn't be up!"
"I'm a big...girl now Washu." Tenchi said weakly. She was drooping on the banister.
Misaki appeared at Tenchi's side.
"You're going back to bed young lady." She said severely.
"No." The amount of steal she put into the one word was all the more remarkable given her
condition. "Not until I know everybody is OK."
"Tenchi," Misaki explained patiently, "would we be lounging around here if something was
wrong?"
Tenchi would not rest. "Where's Grandpa? I ought to go see him."
Misaki gave Tenchi a dark look and hoisted the woman over her shoulder.
"Put me down." Tenchi said.
Misaki ignored her and walked to the stairs. The others did nothing but watch, at least until
they needed to help.
"I said..." Tenchi gathered what power she had. "Put me down Misaki."
"Don't try anything Tenchi." Misaki growled. "You need to sleep and recover."
"What I need is for you to put..." Tenchi concentrated. "...Me..." The energy surged,
bringing everyone's attention sharply back to her power. "...Down."
Misaki did so, but the look she bestowed on Tenchi said she was not at all happy about it.
"Don't you dare try that." Funaho warned. "You could put yourself in a coma." The first
Queen walked up to the landing. "Don't be so damn stubborn all the time. Admit to
yourself, you need rest. We will not let you put yourself in a situation that could have been
avoided if you just rest."
"I can take care of myself." Tenchi's tired voice returned.
"Sure you can Tenchi." Sasami agreed. "But who will take care of us if you are wrong?"
"I never thought you to be cruel." Tenchi accused.
"No!" Minagi snapped. "It's you that's being cruel. To yourself and to us. You're scaring
us."
Tenchi just stared darkly into oblivion and walked off to the baths.
***
Tokimi had felt the energy blast echo through her very being. At first she thought it had
been one of her Sisters, but it was wrong. So she had looked. And watched. And been
fascinated by what was happening. At last she had an answer. Her Sisters were there
because of this being. This was... interesting.
***
Tenchi soaked languidly in one of the small pools to the far side of the baths. She wasn't
stupid in that she knew she needed to rest, she just didn't like it being forced on her.
~ Yep. ~ She thought to herself. ~ They're definitely becoming overprotective. ~
The soothing waters of the pool were ebbing away the aches and pains she had, relaxing her
such that she would have sworn she could feel her power dribble back.
Unfortunately, Tenchi also knew that the peace and quiet she was enjoying wouldn't last.
Which was why she had chosen the out of the way pool, as it would increase her chances of
getting far enough that she wouldn't be forced to bathe with anyone. She could just about
stand the girls after all these months, but she had to stare into space to keep from having a
nosebleed. Being a girl at the moment did not help matters in the slightest. It was not fun,
unlike her dad who would no doubt enjoy having two more beautiful women to leer over.
What he would make of having a daughter now she couldn't say. She had finally admitted to
herself that, yes, she was beautiful. She had only just stopped the nosebleed when she had
looked at herself this morning.
~ It's not as though I wanted to be this way. ~
Her paranoia was playing up, and Tenchi mostly trusted it. It tended to overreact a bit, but it
hadn't failed her yet. She got out of the pool just in time, as the portal to the baths opened.
Tenchi didn't care who came through; she wasn't going to be available for them to pummel.
Of course Tenchi's luck being what it was at the moment (Bad. Real bad), the worst
happened and the Queens came in. Tenchi slipped into a corner and hid.
~ Why me? ~ She asked herself for the millionth time.
"I think Tenchi's playing hide and seek." Misaki joked.
"Or hard to get." Funaho smiled.
In her corner Tenchi shuddered. A bad situation just got much worse. Tsunami was
probably laughing her head off somewhere. It wasn't far from the truth.
"Come out, come out wherever you are!" Misaki called.
"You know Sister," Funaho said, "I'm disappointed in Tenchi. One would think she would
leap to be with us."
~ Oh I'll leap all right. ~ Tenchi thought, eyeing the side of the baths.
"It's not as though we would hurt her." Misaki agreed
Tenchi didn't want to consider the alternatives.
"If I were Tenchi where would I be?" Funaho mused.
~ As far away as possible. ~ Tenchi wished.
"Are we sure she is still in here?" Misaki asked.
"Ryo-Ohki kept an eye on the door. She hadn't finished her carrots when we came back."
~ That's a lot of carrots. ~ Tenchi thought. Great, now they were bribing people to keep
an eye on her.
"We might as well make the best of it." Misaki sighed.
Tenchi quietly ducked down and closed her eyes. She might be here for a while, and
watching was not an option.
***
Hidden away in a higher dimension Tsunami sighed. Why wouldn't Tenchi just accept the
inevitable? Because then Tenchi wouldn't be Tenchi.
She briefly considered giving the Queens a poke in the right direction, but that wouldn't be
fair to Tenchi.
Pop up beside Tenchi and have a long chat? Wouldn't work. It would also give Tenchi's
position away.
What she needed was a way to make Tenchi give herself away. But at the moment, that
would take a miracle. She got it.
Tenchi stifled a sneeze. It wasn't much, but it was enough for the Queens to find Tenchi.
"Oh there you are!" Misaki exclaimed happily. Tenchi averted her eyes as the blue-hared
Queen dragged Tenchi upright and lifted her up in a bear hug.
"What's the matter Tenchi?" Funaho asked. "We are all women here."
Tenchi couldn't speak, no doubt part of the plan.
"Come join us." Misaki said.
Tenchi shook her head, but the woman holding her ignored it and dragged the now half-
asphyxiated and terrified Tenchi to the main baths.
The intake of air as Tenchi was released was somewhat marred by the fact it was just so the
two Queens could both get a better grip on the young woman.
~ I'm doomed. I'm doomed. I'm doomed. ~ Kept going though Tenchi's head.
"Now, isn't this nicer?" The Sisters asked.
***
Tokimi had been the one to give Tenchi a poke, just to see what would happen. The fact
that this was one of the most powerful beings in creation and she was worried about
something as unimportant as this was an amusing contradiction. No wonder her Sisters kept
so close, it was so much fun to watch.
***
Sasami was trying to do lunch but the images her other half was showing her kept
distracting her.
~ Sasami: I think she's in shock. ~
~ Tsunami: I can't think why. ~ Sasami could feel the smile.
Sasami continued her efforts to cook lunch.
~ Sasami: Oh Mom. ~ She complained as Misaki tried to get Tenchi to loosen up.
~ Tsunami: It's only a massage. ~
~ Sasami: I think I remember her telling me that's how she seduced Father. ~
~ Tsunami: Really? ~ Tsunami sounded interested. ~ I thought it was the evening
together beforehand. Although it was rather marred when Funaho started that pillow fight. ~
The tree chuckled.
The little princess sighed.
~ Sasami: Could you let me prepare lunch? You can show me later. ~
~ Tsunami: If you like. ~ The images disappeared. ~ I'll give you all the gory detail after
lunch. It's looking good so far. ~
~ Sasami: Because Tenchi is probably in a coma at the moment. ~ The azure-hared girl
replied.
~ Tsunami: It's not that bad. She's just paralysed with fear, that's all. ~
~ Sasami: That's all? We've got to have a long talk sometime. ~
~ Tsunami: I'm all you. ~
***
Despite her best efforts Tenchi was relaxing again. Although for safeties sake she had
decided to stay in the bath. Keeping her eyes well away from her companions helped a bit as
well. Other than that it was still a terrifying ordeal.
"See Tenchi. We don't bite." Funaho said.
Misaki's efforts hadn't relaxed Tenchi that far yet.
Funaho sighed. "Need a hand Sister?"
Misaki smiled and shook her head. "No, but thanks for the offer. It might go better if
Tenchi would get out of the bath."
Funaho took a close look at the recipient of the blue-hared Queen's ministrations.
"I don't thing she's got past the severe shock stage." She replied, leaning closer to Tenchi.
"Believe me," She told the petrified young woman, "it will be so much better if my Sister
could get at everywhere she needed to."
There was zero response from Tenchi. Not even a flicker of life in the eyes.
"I don't think Tenchi is ready for any more." Funaho said sadly.
Misaki sighed and stopped, sliding back into the waters on the other side of Tenchi.
"At least you are resting." She told the statue of a person next to her. The look she gave her
Sister said that this was a lot more difficult than she had thought.
"She's behaving like she's never had a bath with women before." Funaho noted.
"I would think Tenchi was used to it by now, with Ayeka and Ryoko." Misaki sighed.
There was a slight shake of the head from Tenchi. It caught the ladies attention.
"You have bathed with them?" Misaki asked, pleased to be getting some response.
Tenchi nodded her head very slowly, as if she really didn't want to admit it.
"Willingly?" Funaho pressed.
There was a definite shake of the head from Tenchi this time.
The two Queens sighed. Finally some answers to Tenchi's compulsive shyness.
"Relax Tenchi. You should be pleased to have so many young ladies wanting to bathe with
you." Misaki smiled.
~ Not when they keep blowing things up. ~ Tenchi thought.
***
Ryoko was sat on the rooftop, just admiring the view. Now she wasn't the sentimental type
but she liked the freedom she had now. Freedom from that damn cave, freedom from the
darkness of Kagato's control. That last one caused her no end of bad dreams (OK,
nightmares. She admitted it). It was one of the reasons she kept a close eye on Tenchi, even
though the object of her affections didn't like it. Tenchi was a living reminder that He was
dead. Gone forever, never to cause her misery again. Just one more thing she loved Tenchi
for.
Tenchi. Ever since she had first seen him, he had fascinated Ryoko. When Tenchi had
released her, she had wanted to thank him. Unfortunately, she had not been in the best of
conditions and had scared him off. The blasted sword had been a major nuisance as well.
When she finally made herself 'presentable' she had followed him to his school, wanting to
play. And work out some anger, as she had readily admitted to Tenchi on the roof. That
caused her to 'play rough' as she put it, destroying the school. She had lost to Tenchi, or
more specifically the Tenchi sword (although she couldn't tell which really), so she had
headed to his home. The expression on his face when he had seen her in his bed had been
priceless.
Of course, that had led to Ayeka and Sasami being stranded on Earth with her and Ryoko
would be the first to admit that she and the first princess didn't get on at all at that time. Then
Mihoshi had shown up. It had probably been the first time Ayeka and Ryoko had agreed on
something other than Tenchi; she must die. That idea had to be put on the back burner, then
thrown out as Tenchi had accepted her into his home as he had done with them. They found
something else to agree on; they didn't want to upset Tenchi and Sasami, who had taken a
liking to her.
Next came what Ryoko jokingly referred to as the 'Time of Changes' (She had seen the
term in one of Tenchi's father's Manga and liked it). She tried to make light of that time and
the pain it had caused, because of the unhappy memories it brought up.
But it had brought Washu to the house, though Ryoko didn't like the idea of having Washu
claiming to be her 'mother' and probably never would. She fixed the house up good, and her
knowledge and resources had helped enormously.
Next had been Minagi. That had been a shock, to say the least. She never quite knew where
she stood with her once it had been all sorted out. Mother? Yes, in a roundabout sort of way.
Sister? Also yes, but that felt strangely comfortable and she didn't really know how to deal
with it. She was at least a friend now, and that was probably the way she best felt about
Minagi. At least a friend.
Things were never dull around the house, which she and the others suspected suited Tenchi
and Noboyuki quite well. Tenchi, because he had always been bored and getting into trouble.
The activity around the house, while frustrating him (and showing him the virtues of a quiet
life), kept him interested.
Noboyuki, while giving the appearance of barely coping, was thoroughly enjoying himself.
Having all these beautiful women around the house delighted him (as did the fact most of
them were after his son).
Then had been Washu's and Sasami's revelations about their respective pasts. Sasami's had
particularly worried both her and Ayeka. Who wouldn't be worried when you knew the little
girl with a heavy crush on their target would out shine them and most probably already had a
secure hold on Tenchi's heart.
The incident with the Mass had been very strange, even by this household's standards.
Little Ryo-Ohki's assimilation and new forms had speeded up her development. At the
moment she could only speak their names and 'carrot', and she stayed in her younger form
mostly but...
Dr. Clay's attack had been something they hadn't expected, which was the nature of things
she supposed. She could still feel Zero, the android who had become her, in her mind. It had
taken weeks for her to get back to normal after the merging. She hated the way Washu had
gently bent her will until she had accepted something she now knew she had needed. That
gentle loving side of her had been so embarrassing though.
The visit of the heads of the Royal family had been tumultuous, threatening to rip the
household apart. Though she would never admit it, it had become a family for them. Thank
god for the typical Mihoshi landing. Washu had upgraded Yukinojo so much by now the
ship was practically three whole classes above what it had been.
Then, out of nowhere, Kiyone had arrived. That had really caught them unawares. It had
lessened Mihoshi's tendencies toward impossible events, or more precisely their
consequences. None of them really believed the Pretty Sammy bit though. Ryoko was
jealous of her because, like Sasami, she was someone Tenchi relaxed around. This was
because, as she had found out, she didn't feel about Tenchi that way. It was something that
relaxed yet annoyed her immensely.
The smell of lunch drifting faintly from the kitchen brought Ryoko back to the present with
a resounding thud. The image of Tenchi, at the moment a stunningly attractive and beautiful
young woman, flashed across her consciousness. She had no idea what the two guests were
doing, but from what she had seen of their attitude towards Tenchi suggested that they had
seen something that worried them and were taking steps to correct that. The fact they most
certainly had their girls' best interests at heart gave her some relief. Besides, they seemed to
be having a little success. She might want to have a chat with one of them later.
***
"Will you cut that out?" Tenchi asked. "Please?"
"You're no fun." Misaki pouted.
~ No wonder the princesses get so worried when she comes to visit. ~ Tenchi thought as
Misaki let go of some distracting holds.
Funaho smiled on the other side of Tenchi. At last Tenchi was talking again. Maintaining
that balance and working on the problems at hand was going to be more fraught than they had
anticipated.
"Don't think you will be able to survive like that against any of the girls." Misaki warned.
"Relax more, see?" She stretched languidly.
Tenchi didn't move her gaze from the distant point on the wall at the far side of the bath.
Funaho smiled adoringly at her Sister.
"Please let me die now." Tenchi muttered as she closed her eyes for a second.
"I don't think so." Funaho said.
"I want to know which god I angered to deserve this."
"At least Tsunami likes you. Especially wearing those outfits." Misaki grinned.
"Why don't you just accept I'm not cut out for this?" Tenchi asked.
"I think you are doing rather well." Funaho said. "If you will let us, we could make things
so much easier."
"Uh huh. And what will it cost me? I'm not a woman for heaven's sake. I am just stuck
like this through no fault of my own. I don't want to be this way, yet you keep trying to drive
a square peg into a round hole. It doesn't work. Now, why? That's what I want to know."
Funaho sighed.
"Think of the opportunity you have Tenchi. You can get closer to the girls, and us, than
would have been possible had you still been male. No worries about seeing us less than
really dressed, since you experience that every day yourself. No delicate sensibilities to
endanger because you are all the same sex."
Misaki sat up and practically draped herself over Tenchi.
"You don't have to worry about bathing with us, since we've seen it all before." She said.
"I'm not worried about you, much. It's how long until the king kills me for doing this that's
worrying me." Tenchi concentrated on the spot on the far wall with all her might.
The two Queens looked at each other. "Ah."
"It's not as though it is improper." Misaki said.
"I don't think he'll see it that way."
"He will never know." Funaho assured her. "We will not tell him."
"Oh, he'll know." Tenchi disagreed. "If I was him, I wouldn't let you two out of my sight.
Who knows what mischief you would get up to?"
Misaki hugged Tenchi. "You're so sweet!" She said, planting a big kiss on her cheek.
"Don't you think so Sister?"
Funaho placed a more chaste kiss on the other cheek.
"She is." She agreed. "See Tenchi? You have all these sterling qualities, and yet you
ignore them. That has been puzzling me since I first knew of you."
"I'm just an ordinary boy." She said.
"Oh no. You were never ordinary." Misaki disagreed, coming closer. "You always have
been, and always will be, special."
"And you have to love of so many girls." Funaho pointed out.
"Which I never really wanted." Tenchi admitted. "They, and you, don't realise that I'm
ruining their lives."
"You are wrong there too." Funaho said sternly. "Without you they would have never met,
never had the friendship that pervades this house. I sensed it before, when we were last here.
You have given them a strength they would never had known."
"That hasn't stopped them blowing up the house several time." Tenchi said.
Misaki held back the comment that they wanted Tenchi to choose, and that she didn't have
to as she could marry them all. Tenchi had not moved from her position that she would not
go to Jurai.
Funaho held back the comment that she should express herself more, as that would only lead
to trouble.
She reached out and turned Tenchi's head to stare into her eyes.
"You need to be more confident with them. That playful side we have seen now and again
suits you."
"You're lucky to have seen it at all."
"There is such a thing as being too serious." Misaki said from the other side.
"Tell that to my life. I have to take things seriously. I can't laugh them off. I can't ignore
them or pretend that they're normal." Tenchi sighed. "I am who I am, and no one has the
right to change that."
Tenchi stood up to leave but Misaki had kept hold of her towel, pulling it off. Taking
advantage of the brief period of shock, the blue-hared Queen grabbed and pulled Tenchi back
down into her lap.
"You can't leave now." She said in a strangely soft voice. "I still have to give you your
reward for saving my Sister."
Tenchi tried to pull away, but it was too late. Misaki had her, and soon afterwards Funaho
added her strength against that of Tenchi.
"I don't need, or want a reward." Tenchi said angrily. "Why are you doing this to me?"
"Because we can't bare to see you like this." Funaho said. "You need love, but you turn it
away. We will not let you do that."
"So..." Misaki said slowly. "We will give you that love."
"I was perfectly happy with what was happening before. But no, you had to see problems
where there were none. Had I been left alone, yes I may have coped. What is it with your
fascination with fixing things that would have fixed themselves if you had left well enough
alone?"
Misaki sighed and let go.
"Because we have to be sure. Especially with important people like you. Do you know
how dangerous it is for you to be uncertain?"
"Don't you start." Tenchi growled. "Sasami used exactly the same line. Who would I be if
I let you fix my problems?" She grabbed the towel away from Misaki and covered herself.
Funaho reluctantly let go as well.
"What you fail at is recognising your problems." She said. "And your problems at the
moment are your shyness, your lack of self-confidence and you inability to accept help."
"What I need..." Tenchi said, "...is to be in my own body again. But you went and fitted
this..." She fingered the necklace. "...And killed my hopes of that happening anytime soon.
All it did was prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that I am not a person. I'm just a toy for
you to pull around as you like. You may as well forget me, and get ready to accept Ayeka as
the future ruler, since what will happen is that I will not accept a condition or three and they
will not back down, leaving us deadlocked."
"Tenchi, Tenchi, Tenchi. What are we going to do with you?" Funaho sighed. "You are
important to us, all of us, personally. We don't want you to get yourself killed because you
were distracted at some moment. Now I admit the necklace idea didn't work out quite as
well as we hoped, but it will work if you just accept our help and guidance. Don't you see we
are doing all in our power to help you through this?"
"You are just making things worse, don't you see that?" Tenchi said tiredly. "If you hadn't
started helping me, we wouldn't be in this position."
"You can be as stubborn as Azusa." Misaki shook her head. "Anyway we can't go back in
time and change what we've done."
"Don't bet on it." Tenchi said. "I'm sure Washu has something in her lab."
"The point I was trying to make is that we did what we though was best at the time."
Funaho told Tenchi. "We are only human."
"Did you forget I'm not?" Tenchi asked.
"From what I saw..." Misaki teased, "...You were quite human."
Tenchi favoured her with a dark look.
"I wonder if Ayeka dreams of you like this." She continued.
"Lady Misaki..." Tenchi deliberately used her title.
"Lighten up Tenchi." She complained. "You needn't be so serious." An idea presented
itself. "Think of being female as a vacation from your male self. Relax, and enjoy yourself.
It's only temporary. Think of yourself as somewhat of a different person now."
"That's a wonderful idea Sister." Funaho enthused. "The old Tenchi's not dead, he's just
gone on holiday for a while."
Tenchi was giving them weird looks.
"If I didn't know better," She said, "I'd think you two were crazy."
"What's wrong with it?" Misaki asked, "It's a great idea. You don't have to worry about
being female because you are female. The male Tenchi is temporarily out of contact. You
can do all the things you wouldn't do because you were male." She sidled up and put her arm
round Tenchi. "And you don't have to worry about the consequences."
"But I am male."
"Believe it or not," Funaho told her. "you have been acting more female. Accept it, for a
short while, and enjoy it." She followed her Sister's lead. "If you thing about it, it makes
sense."
"But I don't want to be female." Tenchi complained.
"Tenchi, we may treat you as female but we will always know you are male at the core."
Misaki leaned ever closer. Tenchi thought she was acting more like Ryoko.
Funaho move to a distracting position.
"Aren't you tempted?" She asked. "Aren't you the slightest bit curious about what it can be
like?"
"Not really." Tenchi shuddered. "You know, one might think you were trying to seduce
me."
"Us?" Misaki asked, shocked. "Why would we do that? We're married women."
~ A fact that you seem to forget when it suits you. ~ Tenchi thought.
"Besides," Funaho added, "You are also female."
~ It doesn't stop you two. ~ Tenchi said silently.
Misaki whispered in her ear. "You know, Juraian law doesn't recognise relationships
between women as against the law. Unless of course it's involuntary."
Tenchi drew back in shock, to see the slightly predatory smile on the lips of the princess's
mother.
"You see Tenchi," Funaho whispered in the other ear, "there is no need to worry at all."
Tenchi quickly moved her gaze from one Queen to the other.
"I think I should leave."
"Aw, don't go." Misaki complained. "You're like a Sister to us."
Tenchi caught the subtle emphasis.
"Forget think. I know I should leave." She got up and out of the bath. The Queens didn't
stop her this time.
"Can you at least try to be female?" Funaho asked as Tenchi approached the door.
Tenchi stopped. For several seconds she appeared to be wrestling with herself to turn
around and say something, before she straightened and walked out the door.
"Well, that went better than expected." Misaki shrugged.
"At least it was a minor success." Funaho said, putting a loving arm around her Sister.
"That idea about Tenchi was inspired. I think you need a little reward." She smiled.
"Too bad Tenchi isn't here to enjoy hers." Misaki said as she leaned over her Sister-Queen
and kissed her.
***
In a little-used section of the lab, Kiyone, Mihoshi and Washu were engaged in target
practice.
The two GP officers were using their not-quite-so-standard-anymore issue weapons. Washu
had, as with nearly everything about the house, upgraded them slightly. 'Slightly' meant a
multi-mode emitter that was 3.5 times as powerful as the previous one, capable of anything
from microwaves to X-rays. 'Slightly' meant weapons that lasted longer than the average GP
ship, and could now blast through anything from steal plate (The previous limit) to
duritainium alloy bulkheads. 'Slightly' meant a useful range of between 30 to 40 kms.
Washu had got bored for an hour.
Washu was using her natural energy projecting ability, which showed that it was something
Ryoko had 'inherited' from her 'Mom', rather than had been designed into her.
"Cease fire." A synthesised female voice called out.
The people on the firing range did so. A holo-screen appeared in front of them.
"Position one." The computer said, for Mihoshi. "Shots fired: 234. Shots on target: 194.
Accuracy: 82.9%."
Mihoshi smiled.
"See Kiyone?" She bubbled. "I'm getting better."
Kiyone sighed.
"Position two." This was Washu. "Shots fired: 187. Shots on target: 166. Accuracy:
88.8%"
"I need more practice." Washu shrugged.
"Position three." Kiyone's turn. "Shots fired: 160. Shots on target: 150. Accuracy:
93.75%"
"I know, I know." Kiyone sighed again. "I need to increase my fire rate."
"Overall casualties: 450 Enemy, 1 Civilian. Position one deducted 500 marks."
"Whaa!" Mihoshi wailed.
"Position three: 2500 marks bonus. Position two: 1000 marks extreme range bonus.
Position three wins by 3700 marks."
"See?" Washu smirked. "I told you this would help."
"Isn't it lunch time?" Mihoshi asked.
"That sounded almost relevant didn't it?" Kiyone asked rhetorically.
"And it's true. It is almost lunch time." Washu told her.
The threesome walked back through the lab, Kiyone and Washu keeping Mihoshi between
them for safeties sake.
"I hope Tenchi's calmed down a bit." Kiyone said.
"That's not the problem." Washu shrugged it off. "She bounces back from that sort of
thing easily. No, what I'm worried about is that she's recovered from what she did this
morning. She nearly exhausted herself completely."
"At least we now know her limits." Kiyone pointed out.
"Only the limits of her self control." Washu said. "Her power hasn't yet reached a peak."
"You're kidding me."
"I'm afraid I'm not." Washu admitted. "When I reviewed the data I collected I found
Tenchi's power had stayed constant the whole time. She had to use her life energy to control
it."
"That means that Tenchi has to work on the efficiency of her control, right?" Mihoshi
asked.
Her two companions looked suspiciously at her.
"Are you feeling OK?" Washu asked.
"Um... Yeah. Why?"
"Twice in ten minutes." Kiyone muttered. "That's got to be a new record."
~ Mental note: Do full scan of Mihoshi at earliest opportunity. ~ Washu thought to herself.
***
Mihoshi wasn't the only one acting a bit strange. Tenchi was arguing with herself about
what to wear, and she was really starting to get annoyed with her guests.
~ Great. They've got me half believing in that stupid idea of theirs. ~
~ But it is a good idea. Let's try something a bit more spectacular. ~
The part of her that never changed, those core attributes of Tenchi, decided to step in at this
point.
~ I could always do both. ~
Tenchi realised she was developing a split personality.
"Now I'm in trouble." She muttered as the familiar surge that heralded Tsunami flowed
through her.
"Lunch is almost ready." The image said innocently.
The woman sat on the bed turned a tired gaze on the visitor.
"You don't like the idea, do you?" Tsunami asked.
"No. Especially when it's giving me two headaches to deal with. How do you cope?"
Tsunami sighed and sat down beside Tenchi.
"It gets harder." Tsunami told her. "But we are more considerate of each other than you are
of yourself."
"That's helpful." Tenchi muttered sourly.
"I thought it was a brilliant solution to a unique situation."
"Have you been hanging out with Washu too much?"
Tsunami gently put her arm around Tenchi.
"It was not easy for me to be assimilated with Sasami at the beginning. The flow of
emotion was unknown to me at that time, so I ignored it until Sasami learnt some control. It
helped us both. Don't deny what you have here, a chance to see life from another side. It is a
remarkable experience, one that few of us get to have. In all this time I have never regretted
my action. You should not regret what fate has bestowed up on you, for it will never come
again."
"I should have expected philosophy from a goddess." Tenchi said dryly. "The problem is, I
don't think that I could accept the change or the change back." She looked into the beautiful
pink eyes of Tsunami. "I want stability. Fate, and in some respect yourselves, have taken
that away from me one piece at a time. How do you think I felt waking up like this?"
"About the same as I did when I 'awoke' to being Sasami as well as myself. I coped,
Sasami didn't and created this persona of being my creation. You finally corrected that and
the two of us have never been as at peace as now."
"Lucky you. Because of everybody, I keep having to change." Tenchi closed her eyes and
turned away. "Much faster than I am ready for."
"I, or Sasami, will always be around for you to talk to. Just be female, and we'll keep the
male side safe."
"That makes just about as much sense as Mihoshi suddenly not acting bubble-headed 2 and
a 9th tenths of a fortnight, except on odd days of the month. Not including when it's a full
moon."
Tsunami paused to consider the statement.
"That..." She said slowly, "...is the most convoluted example I've ever had the privilege to
hear." She smiled. "I like it. It sums up everything that you're going through."
"Thanks."
"Don't mention it. Lunch is ready, so dress pretty and come down." Tsunami's image
dissipated.
"Dress pretty she says." Tenchi muttered. Who was she to disregard the whims of a
goddess?
***
"Lunch is ready!" Sasami called.
One of the little known skills of a Queen is the ability to dress fast when the occasion
demands, and look as though they spent hours on it.
"Where's Tenchi?" Misaki asked. She and her Sister-Queen looked picture perfect. "She
left the baths a while ago."
"Well she hasn't been down yet Mother." Ayeka and Sasami answered simultaneously.
"You didn't upset her again?" Minagi asked.
"I don't think so. Do you Sister?"
Funaho shook her head.
"We attempted to talk to her, but she left."
Sasami knew that it was a lie. It was a good lie though, being mixed mostly with truth.
She'd have to remember the technique.
Ryoko was nearly the last to the table. She faded into view from phasing through the roof.
"What? No Tenchi? It smells so good though."
"Tenchi hasn't got here yet." Washu said.
"I hope I'm not too late." Tenchi said as she came down the stairs. She was wearing a short
off-cream skirt and matching jacket. The jacket seemed a few sizes too small, being only
fastened at the neck. The necklace was over it, semi-emphasising the gap between the sides.
What was visible could have been lacy black underwear, then again it may not. It was hard to
tell, but the watcher would have been wondering which was probably the point. The black
stockings finished off a nice outfit, just formal enough to make you wonder what informal
would be like but loose enough to allow full movement.
"I just threw it on." Tenchi explained sheepishly.
Most of the people there wondered what it would be like if she considered her choice.
Tenchi winked at the Queens. Misaki fought very hard not to blush, even though nothing
had happened. Not that she hadn't wanted it to secretly.
"What is it?" Tenchi asked as she sat down, completely ignoring the looks she was
receiving, particularly from Ryoko and Ayeka.
"Try it." Sasami said.
During lunch everybody got the chance to give Tenchi the once over. Tenchi just focused
on her lunch and ignored it. But it slowed down lunch though.
"It's too bad I don't usually get to enjoy lunch." She said as she finished. "But the fields
need lots of attention."
Remarkably, no fights had broken out between the girls. The regular inhabitants usually had
at least one messy disagreement over lunch. It wasn't as damaging as the ones Ryoko and
Ayeka had at dinnertime around Tenchi, but it had resulted in at least three quick rebuilds of
the furniture by Washu.
"Well," Tenchi said, standing, "I'd better go and get dressed properly."
"There's nothing wrong with what you are wearing." Ryoko, Sasami and Misaki said at
once. There were nods of agreement from elsewhere around the table.
"Come on. This is not something I would want to be seen in."
"Tenchi." Funaho said to the young lady. "What they are trying to say is that that look suits
you."
"I knew this would be a bad idea." Tenchi muttered. "But I had to be in a hurry."
"So if you don't think about it, you dress like that?" Washu asked. "That talent I would
love to have had when I was younger."
That comment caused a lot of raised eyebrows.
"Ho hum." Washu sighed. "Those were the days. A cute young lady could have cut
swathes through the Science Academy back then."
"Right." Tenchi said, giving the redhead an odd look. "I'll just go-hey!"
Ryo-Ohki had appeared out of nowhere to grab hold of Tenchi's waist.
"Way to go Ryo-Ohki." Ryoko told the little catgirl.
"Ma-ow." The young spaceship said happily.
"What's up with you?" Tenchi asked.
"Is Tenchi playing fashion model today?" Mihoshi asked.
Kiyone and Washu looked at Mihoshi.
"Three in a row." Kiyone said cryptically.
"She must not be feeling well." Washu agreed.
Tenchi had a dark look as they returned their attention to her.
"I like the idea." Ayeka said.
"Don't you dare." Tenchi growled, backing away.
"All those in favour?" Washu asked.
Everybody but Tenchi raised their hand, including Ryo-Ohki allowing Tenchi to get loose.
The others quickly surrounded her.
"It'll be fun Tenchi!" Sasami enthused.
Tenchi looked around frantically for an escape route. Here she was, arguably one of the
most powerful beings in creation, trapped. She was definitely more powerful that Ryoko.
What she wouldn't give to be able to tele-
***
-port.
Tenchi finished the thought outside her door. Autonomous reactions kicked in and Tenchi
shot into her room.
Meanwhile downstairs a group of shocked ladies were staring at the space Tenchi had just
occupied.
Washu looked thoughtful, tapping her chin with one hand while the other called up a
keyboard and typed in the latest data on Tenchi.
Mihoshi summed up the general feeling.
"Whaa! Now we won't be able to see Tenchi in all those pretty dresses Washu made!"
"Four." Kiyone noted absently.
Washu typed a few commands. A subspace portal opened beneath Mihoshi, dropping the
oblivious, teary blond into her lab.
"Well, it looks like Tenchi can teleport." Washu said. "Good. Good. I'll just check on the
bubblehead. Shouldn't take long."
The redhead disappeared into the lab.
"Rats." Ryoko said, making a half-hearted swing across the front of herself with her right
fist. The empty air was used to worse. "That will take all the fun out of things."
"All we need do is not stress Tenchi too much." Funaho said, sitting back down.
"Why don't we not stress Tenchi at all?" Minagi asked. "Aren't we being too tough on
Tenchi anyway?"
"Minagi's right." Kiyone said, helping Sasami with the dishes. "We are being tough on
Tenchi. We should cut her some slack."
Back in her room, Tenchi was catching up with things in her mind.
~ So I can teleport huh? ~ She thought. ~ That is the most useful thing to come from this.
~
She began looking through her clothes for something more acceptable to her. She sighed
and closed her eyes in exasperation when she felt the almost now common place surge of
Tsunami's arrival.
"What did I do now?" Tenchi asked tiredly.
"Aside from teleporting, nothing. Yet."
Tenchi turned to face the image, who she found to be wearing not the formal robes of
before, but something like the brown and green kimono-like outfit Sasami wore. Besides
being form fitting, the main difference was the colouring of the top. It was leaf green with
autumn red sleeves. The whole thing was trimmed in cherry blossom pink.
"That's a new look for you isn't it?"
Tsunami smiled. "Like it?" She asked as she twirled for Tenchi.
"It suits you." Was all that Tenchi would say on the matter.
"I thought I should try some new styles. It never hurts to be prepared."
Tenchi rolled her eyes.
"I'm getting subtle hints that you would like me to reconsider my position on my
appearance?"
"Really? You will?" Tsunami switched to a Mihoshi-like voice.
"Don't do that." Tenchi shuddered. "It's scary."
The image giggled.
"No, I won't reconsider." Tenchi continued. "I want to be as normal as possible."
Tsunami gave Tenchi a tired look.
"I would say 'What is normal?', but I know you wouldn't appreciate it." There was a bright
flash and Tsunami returned to her formal robes. "What I will say is, you are both so far and
so close to your wish that you could touch it if you could see it."
Tenchi rolled that around in her head for a minute.
"Uh huh. Can you try that in Japanese this time?"
A blank and empty look was her only response.
"Thought so." Tenchi sighed. "Will you please leave now? I want to get changed."
Another stony silence greeted her.
"Are you listening to me?" She asked.
"Yes. When I feel the need to speak I will."
"I could easily order you out you know. But I'm asking. Please leave so I can get
changed."
"Tenchi. I will leave only when you accept you can not be who you were anymore. You
are too far beyond that. But you can be close to that."
"Which I'm trying to do, thank you." Tenchi said coldly.
"No. What you are doing is hiding from the truth like my 'other half' did. You see what
that cost her. It is a mistake you can ill afford to make, as is your denial of your
responsibility."
"I said I would help you with Tokimi..."
"This is about your responsibility to the beings of the empire you are avoiding."
"I'm just sick and tired of all this talk of the mighty Juraian Empire I am 'born to rule'.
Why don't you rule it? You are a princess as well. I am not able to rule this house, let alone
a galactic empire!" Tenchi snarled.
"We can teach you the basics."
"I. Don't. Want. To. Rule." Tenchi spelled it out. "But I am not going to renounce my
position just yet. I have my reasons. Now, leave. Before I make you."
Tsunami stood resolute. "You will have to. I hope you understand what you are doing."
"Only too well. This is your last chance. For Sasami's sake, leave now."
"You do understand." Tsunami said sadly. "But not well enough to see the terrible mistake
you are making."
"Shame, isn't it? Sasami will have to marry someone more worthy of the both of you."
Tenchi summoned the Master Key.
Tsunami gasped as the realisation hit her. "No! You wouldn't!" But she knew Tenchi was
as resolute as she was. So she threw herself at Tenchi. Through the sword.
The jolt of power flattened the both of them, nearly sending Tsunami unconscious. It took
all of her control not to let her younger self be hit by the feedback.
Tenchi, however, was rendered immobile by the shock. She could feel the control of her
body start to return quickly. Unfortunately it wasn't fast enough to stop Tsunami's image
grabbing her.
The battle began in earnest as Tenchi's mind and will clashed with Tsunami's.
~ I will not let you destroy her dreams. ~ Tsunami's voice was immensely powerful in
Tenchi's mind.
~ And I will not let you dictate my life! ~ Tenchi roared back. She did something she'd
never thought she would do. She struck back right at Tsunami's most vulnerable spot. Her
connection to Sasami.
Tsunami protected that most valuable possession with a fury that would have caused
supernovas. Her shock and horror only added to her fear, which caused her to counter-attack
much too hard.
Tenchi stopped. Completely, totally and utterly. No thought, no heartbeat, not even a single
cell changed.
"Oh no..." Tsunami whispered, terrified by the merest thought of the realisation. "What
have I done?"
She had killed...no, it was worse. Tenchi no longer existed, not as the universe had known
before.
The image fought to stay calm. She could solve this, she had to.
The goddess-tree searched for the merest trace of power that wasn't hers. It was getting
increasingly desperate when she found the trace, still holding on to the line that connected the
two joined beings.
~ Please. ~ Tsunami prayed. ~ Let this work. ~
Flowering Potential.
====================
C&C can be sent to cobalt@elhazard.net Flames will be ignored with
extreme prejudice.
Disclaimer: I do not own the series depicted within, but go buy it anyway.
Conventions:
~ ~ are used for thoughts and Telepathic communication.
The series is archived at http://www.lum.co.uk/cobalt/
##########
Chapter 12
##########
Tenchi was getting very good at sneaking around the house in the very early hours. She had
to check the fields, and then she had morning practice with Grandfather. She even managed
to get to the door before anyone got up. Quickly and quietly she left, taking a large snack
with her. She probably wouldn't eat until lunch.
Sasami only just woke up to hear Tenchi leaving.
~ Damn, she's gone already. ~ She thought sourly.
Tenchi had become more unpredictable as the week had gone on. At least she was returning
to a more normal behaviour pattern, even if it was a bit more extreme than before.
~ Why hide from us? We aren't going to hurt her. ~
~ Tsunami: Yosho suggested she hide from the Queens, since they have their hearts set on
making Tenchi less shy. ~
The Princess sighed. ~ Sasami: Ah. Mom should have realised that Tenchi has to be
worked on gently. But then it took me most of a week. ~
~ Tsunami: Oh they realised, but they tried the method of confronting the problem first. I
think they were trying to take advantage of our handiwork. That isn't working by the way. ~
~ Sasami: So what are they planning to do now? ~
There was a chuckle in Sasami's mind.
~ Tsunami: Well... ~
***
"Good morning sleepy head." Ryoko teased as Ayeka opened her eyes.
"Mmm? Oh my. We didn't spend the whole night here did we?"
Ryoko smirked. "Oh yes we did. I must say, you were holding me very nicely when I woke
up."
Ayeka noticed the position of herself in respect to her companion and blushed.
Ryoko laughed. "Don't worry, I wasn't much better." She gave the princess a tight
squeeze. "Now, what to do?"
"I don't think pretending it never happened will work. How about we just forget about the
whole thing?"
"OK. But it will cost you."
"What did you have in mind?" Ayeka asked.
"Well we are in the baths."
***
Sasami turned to see her tired mother come into the kitchen yawning.
"Mom? What are you doing up so early? You could do with some more sleep."
"Oh it's OK dear." Misaki replied. "I was hoping to catch Tenchi, but I overslept."
"I think I heard her leaving when I got up. You didn't do anything did you?"
"No dear, we didn't get that far. We wanted to." She admitted.
"We have to be gentle with her." Sasami pointed out.
Misaki smiled sweetly. "Thanks for the advice dear. But I don't want to leave without
another try."
"How about catching her in the baths?" Sasami suggested. "I think she has practice this
morning."
"Really? Thanks for the information. Do you want to join us?"
"Mom! I'm an impressionable young girl." She complained.
Misaki giggled. "I know. That's why I asked. What's for breakfast?"
***
Yosho found these early morning training sessions helped keep Tenchi's interest in the
afternoon ones. She was doing well until he felt the surge. He leapt over the distortion wave
effect that occurred as she executed a slightly slanted horizontal slice. The poor trees
however couldn't move out of the way and were sliced clean through up to the point where it
hit the rising ground. Even that didn't stop it for a few seconds.
Tenchi swore, sounding very unladylike. "I'm so sorry Grandpa. I don't know what
happened."
"Hum..." Yosho was thinking.
"I mean one moment I'm just following the pattern, the next I'm watching as some sort of
ripple slices through the trees."
"Yes, yes. It is OK Tenchi. It showed that I am still on my toes. You obviously infused
your weapon with your power. Normally that would just make it stronger, however your
power is such that it acted like a template and caused the effect. An impressive technique.
Try not to do it during practice though. It might cause a serious accident."
***
Kiyone came to a halt after her lap of the lake and checked the stopwatch.
~ Ten minutes for a 3 km run is fine. ~ She thought to herself as she caught her breath.
"I don't see why you do it." Minagi said as she floated down.
"Some of us don't have your advantages." The detective replied. "I mean, Ryoko hasn't
changed in 700 years."
"I'm sure Washu could sort something out." Minagi teased before an energy blast shot out
across the lake.
"What was that?" Kiyone asked.
"It looked to be about level 4." Minagi said.
Up on the mountain Yosho was trying to calm down Tenchi.
"You managed to catch it. That was good control."
"It shouldn't have happened in the first place!" Tenchi was beside herself. "If I hadn't been
alert I could..." She felt another one coming on and turned skyward. "Duck!"
The blast was much stronger than the last, and Tenchi felt the energy rocket out of her. She
collapsed and began shivering.
Washu was the first of the regulars on the scene.
"What happened?" She demanded of Yosho as she jumped out of a portal.
"Tenchi is demonstrating her offensive potential." Yosho noted dryly.
Washu was infuriated. "That's a fine way of saying she's throwing energy bolts around.
She just did a level 5 blast."
Yosho's look turned deadly. "And she is barely in control of them."
That knocked the bluster out of the redhead.
"We've got to get her into the practice room I created. It can take a level 8 blast."
"Get back." The voice was barely above a whisper. "It's starting again."
Washu opened a portal. "Through there, quick! It will take you..." She noticed Tenchi
begin to shudder not with exhaustion but with power only just under any restraint. The air
began to ripple from the energy.
"I think we should move away." Yosho noted.
Washu nodded and moved back, the portal she had created warping and becoming de-
coherent.
"What's going on?" Minagi asked as she approached. Washu and Yosho, on some
unknown communication, turned and grabbed an arm before running. The space around
Tenchi began to crackle with power and fold in on its self.
"Faster." Was all Yosho said.
To Funaho, Misaki, Ayeka, Ryoko and Kiyone the sight of Yosho and Washu running
towards them dragging Minagi said something along the lines of 'WE don't think sticking
around here is a good idea, neither should you.' It was not reassuring.
Space-time was beginning to visibly warp around Tenchi's position. Light was falling into
the growing sphere of effect.
"Get back!" Washu shouted. She could feel subspace begin to ripple and warp. That meant
Tenchi was trying to stop a black hole forming. The gravimetric flux everybody must have
been feeling meant she was failing.
"What's going on?" Funaho demanded.
"Tenchi's trying to keep from blowing up the galaxy and failing!" Washu yelled. "Get
your ships into normal space now!" She switched from dragging Minagi, who had got the
point, to typing on the fly. She 'safed' all non-essential systems, secured all samples and
brought up every shielding device she had to protect the lab.
Normally, the appearance of four ships above the house would be cause for concern and this
was no exception. But it meant that they would have a chance of surviving whatever Tenchi
was doing.
An area of blackness formed around Tenchi's position, but arcs of blue-white light shattered
it.
"Come on Tenchi, you can do it." Washu said as the group made the house. The
indications showed that the power was beginning to peak.
A worried Sasami was in the living room. Ryo-Ohki was staring terrified in Tenchi's
direction.
"Mom? What's wrong?"
Washu transferred the information to the main screen. The energy level was off the scale,
but the increase was levelling off.
"I suggest that we hold onto something solid." Yosho told them. "This could get a bit
rough."
The ground began to shake, but Washu was concentrating on the readings. The energy
forms were beginning to shift into phase.
"Washu!" Ryoko called.
Spontaneous coherence was forming between totally disparate forces. Washu had never
seen anything like it.
"Mom!" Ryoko tried again.
This got Washu focused on the present. "Five seconds!"
The vibration frequency climbed rapidly. The clock on the screen counted down.
Three.
Two.
One.
The energy surge flattened them, moments before an ultrasonic boom rocked the house. It
took two minutes for it to stop. It was a further minute before anyone felt strong enough to
move.
"Is everyone all right?" Yosho asked.
"We will be." Ryoko had absolutely no bluster in her.
Washu managed to move her head enough to see the screen.
"Level 20?!?" She croaked. That was so far beyond anything she could even imagine she
almost refused to believe her own work.
"What about Tenchi?" Sasami's small voice came from between her mother and her sister.
It galvanised everybody into action.
Ryoko was the first one there and she found Tenchi seemingly unconscious, lying on
nothing. Where the ground should have been was emptiness. A rock solid emptiness as she
found out when she tried to get under Tenchi to lift her.
~ Washu: Take care! ~ The thought roared through her mind.
Ryoko decided not to move her, feeling a pulse and gentle breathing. It was the strangest
sight she had seen. Everything for 10 metres around Tenchi was gone, yet you could feel that
everything that had been in the sphere of effect was still there. Trees in the immediate area
were missing large portions of their trunks, yet this didn't seem to have harmed them in any
way. Ryoko didn't want to think about it, she could leave that to Washu.
Funaho, Yosho, Washu and the Guardians came into view.
"An interesting development, wouldn't you say so mother?" Yosho said.
"Quite." Funaho was too shocked to say anything more.
"Be careful out here." Ryoko warned. "You might not see what you could trip over. It's
weird."
Washu absently nodded and walked over the emptiness to Tenchi. She gave her a cursory
examination.
"Let's get Tenchi to her room."
***
"Anything broken?" Misaki asked.
"No, but it sure is dusty." Sasami replied. "Everything got shaken around a lot."
"Mihoshi still hasn't woken up you know." The Queen said.
"Don't worry about it Mom. She does that all the time." Sasami sighed. She hoped Tenchi
was all right.
Upstairs Ryoko and Yosho were carefully putting Tenchi to bed.
"Well Washu?" Funaho asked.
"Don't rush me." Washu typed. "What she did was just about unbelievable, and I'm doing
about five things at once just to make sure it's over."
It was several tense and quiet minutes later when Washu breathed a sigh of relief.
"We're all in the clear. Way to go Tenchi." Smiling faintly Washu turned to Ryoko. "I
wish I had her as a daughter."
"This is not the time or the place for that Washu." Ryoko said.
"True. We should leave. She needs her sleep."
Yosho was the last out, quietly closing the door behind him.
"Lady Funaho. It is now safe for you to return yours and Lady Misaki's ships to subspace."
Washu told the Queen. "We don't want Tenchi getting worried when she wakes up."
"After what has just happened, that would be a good idea." Funaho agreed.
"Is Tenchi OK?" Ayeka asked as the group descended.
"She will be if she gets her sleep." Washu replied.
"If you will excuse me," Yosho said, "I have to check on the shrine."
He left by the patio door, as his mother made her way to the kitchen to talk with her Sister.
Washu flopped down across a chair.
"That will teach me not to focus on the warning signs." She muttered.
"OK Washu," Ryoko growled, "what just happened?"
Washu turned a tired look on her daughter. "You don't want to know." It was totally
sincere.
"You're hiding something." The former pirate accused.
"Yes I am." Washu admitted. "Because it scares me half to death."
"That's got to be something serious." Minagi said as she and Kiyone came in. "I've never
known you to be scared."
"Oh I've been scared." Washu told her with a rueful smile, "I just don't show it."
"We have to know what we are dealing with." Funaho said as she, Misaki and Sasami came
in from the kitchen.
"You remember the dimensional cannon?"
There was a chorus of nods around the room. Misaki and Funaho kept quiet.
"It's a mere slingshot compared to what Tenchi did. It would be like me throwing a rock at
a Juraian battle cruiser. Completely insignificant." Washu shuddered at the thought.
"It may help if we knew how powerful the dimensional cannon is." Funaho pointed out.
"Let's put it like this, level 5 corresponds to a primitive fusion weapon. About 8-900
kilotonnes, right?" Washu began. She wasn't relishing the fact she was teaching the Queens
of Jurai about weapon power levels. "Level 6 is about 50-60 megatonnes, level 7 about 2-3
gigatonnes et cetera, et cetera. Now, the dimensional cannon is a level 13 weapon in that it
can destroy a small galaxy."
"Impressive." Misaki noted.
Washu sighed. "I don't know how powerful exactly Tenchi was, but it was well into level
20." She paused. "Level 20. I can't think of anything that comes even remotely close. If
Tenchi hadn't fought so hard to control it, the nearest 20 galactic superclusters might not be
around at the moment. I think. I really, honestly don't know."
"What's this?" Ryoko mocked. "The great Washu doesn't know? Surely I misheard."
"Don't push it Ryoko." Washu warned.
"Is every body OK?" A small and exhausted voice asked from upstairs.
"Tenchi!" Washu gasped. "You shouldn't be up!"
"I'm a big...girl now Washu." Tenchi said weakly. She was drooping on the banister.
Misaki appeared at Tenchi's side.
"You're going back to bed young lady." She said severely.
"No." The amount of steal she put into the one word was all the more remarkable given her
condition. "Not until I know everybody is OK."
"Tenchi," Misaki explained patiently, "would we be lounging around here if something was
wrong?"
Tenchi would not rest. "Where's Grandpa? I ought to go see him."
Misaki gave Tenchi a dark look and hoisted the woman over her shoulder.
"Put me down." Tenchi said.
Misaki ignored her and walked to the stairs. The others did nothing but watch, at least until
they needed to help.
"I said..." Tenchi gathered what power she had. "Put me down Misaki."
"Don't try anything Tenchi." Misaki growled. "You need to sleep and recover."
"What I need is for you to put..." Tenchi concentrated. "...Me..." The energy surged,
bringing everyone's attention sharply back to her power. "...Down."
Misaki did so, but the look she bestowed on Tenchi said she was not at all happy about it.
"Don't you dare try that." Funaho warned. "You could put yourself in a coma." The first
Queen walked up to the landing. "Don't be so damn stubborn all the time. Admit to
yourself, you need rest. We will not let you put yourself in a situation that could have been
avoided if you just rest."
"I can take care of myself." Tenchi's tired voice returned.
"Sure you can Tenchi." Sasami agreed. "But who will take care of us if you are wrong?"
"I never thought you to be cruel." Tenchi accused.
"No!" Minagi snapped. "It's you that's being cruel. To yourself and to us. You're scaring
us."
Tenchi just stared darkly into oblivion and walked off to the baths.
***
Tokimi had felt the energy blast echo through her very being. At first she thought it had
been one of her Sisters, but it was wrong. So she had looked. And watched. And been
fascinated by what was happening. At last she had an answer. Her Sisters were there
because of this being. This was... interesting.
***
Tenchi soaked languidly in one of the small pools to the far side of the baths. She wasn't
stupid in that she knew she needed to rest, she just didn't like it being forced on her.
~ Yep. ~ She thought to herself. ~ They're definitely becoming overprotective. ~
The soothing waters of the pool were ebbing away the aches and pains she had, relaxing her
such that she would have sworn she could feel her power dribble back.
Unfortunately, Tenchi also knew that the peace and quiet she was enjoying wouldn't last.
Which was why she had chosen the out of the way pool, as it would increase her chances of
getting far enough that she wouldn't be forced to bathe with anyone. She could just about
stand the girls after all these months, but she had to stare into space to keep from having a
nosebleed. Being a girl at the moment did not help matters in the slightest. It was not fun,
unlike her dad who would no doubt enjoy having two more beautiful women to leer over.
What he would make of having a daughter now she couldn't say. She had finally admitted to
herself that, yes, she was beautiful. She had only just stopped the nosebleed when she had
looked at herself this morning.
~ It's not as though I wanted to be this way. ~
Her paranoia was playing up, and Tenchi mostly trusted it. It tended to overreact a bit, but it
hadn't failed her yet. She got out of the pool just in time, as the portal to the baths opened.
Tenchi didn't care who came through; she wasn't going to be available for them to pummel.
Of course Tenchi's luck being what it was at the moment (Bad. Real bad), the worst
happened and the Queens came in. Tenchi slipped into a corner and hid.
~ Why me? ~ She asked herself for the millionth time.
"I think Tenchi's playing hide and seek." Misaki joked.
"Or hard to get." Funaho smiled.
In her corner Tenchi shuddered. A bad situation just got much worse. Tsunami was
probably laughing her head off somewhere. It wasn't far from the truth.
"Come out, come out wherever you are!" Misaki called.
"You know Sister," Funaho said, "I'm disappointed in Tenchi. One would think she would
leap to be with us."
~ Oh I'll leap all right. ~ Tenchi thought, eyeing the side of the baths.
"It's not as though we would hurt her." Misaki agreed
Tenchi didn't want to consider the alternatives.
"If I were Tenchi where would I be?" Funaho mused.
~ As far away as possible. ~ Tenchi wished.
"Are we sure she is still in here?" Misaki asked.
"Ryo-Ohki kept an eye on the door. She hadn't finished her carrots when we came back."
~ That's a lot of carrots. ~ Tenchi thought. Great, now they were bribing people to keep
an eye on her.
"We might as well make the best of it." Misaki sighed.
Tenchi quietly ducked down and closed her eyes. She might be here for a while, and
watching was not an option.
***
Hidden away in a higher dimension Tsunami sighed. Why wouldn't Tenchi just accept the
inevitable? Because then Tenchi wouldn't be Tenchi.
She briefly considered giving the Queens a poke in the right direction, but that wouldn't be
fair to Tenchi.
Pop up beside Tenchi and have a long chat? Wouldn't work. It would also give Tenchi's
position away.
What she needed was a way to make Tenchi give herself away. But at the moment, that
would take a miracle. She got it.
Tenchi stifled a sneeze. It wasn't much, but it was enough for the Queens to find Tenchi.
"Oh there you are!" Misaki exclaimed happily. Tenchi averted her eyes as the blue-hared
Queen dragged Tenchi upright and lifted her up in a bear hug.
"What's the matter Tenchi?" Funaho asked. "We are all women here."
Tenchi couldn't speak, no doubt part of the plan.
"Come join us." Misaki said.
Tenchi shook her head, but the woman holding her ignored it and dragged the now half-
asphyxiated and terrified Tenchi to the main baths.
The intake of air as Tenchi was released was somewhat marred by the fact it was just so the
two Queens could both get a better grip on the young woman.
~ I'm doomed. I'm doomed. I'm doomed. ~ Kept going though Tenchi's head.
"Now, isn't this nicer?" The Sisters asked.
***
Tokimi had been the one to give Tenchi a poke, just to see what would happen. The fact
that this was one of the most powerful beings in creation and she was worried about
something as unimportant as this was an amusing contradiction. No wonder her Sisters kept
so close, it was so much fun to watch.
***
Sasami was trying to do lunch but the images her other half was showing her kept
distracting her.
~ Sasami: I think she's in shock. ~
~ Tsunami: I can't think why. ~ Sasami could feel the smile.
Sasami continued her efforts to cook lunch.
~ Sasami: Oh Mom. ~ She complained as Misaki tried to get Tenchi to loosen up.
~ Tsunami: It's only a massage. ~
~ Sasami: I think I remember her telling me that's how she seduced Father. ~
~ Tsunami: Really? ~ Tsunami sounded interested. ~ I thought it was the evening
together beforehand. Although it was rather marred when Funaho started that pillow fight. ~
The tree chuckled.
The little princess sighed.
~ Sasami: Could you let me prepare lunch? You can show me later. ~
~ Tsunami: If you like. ~ The images disappeared. ~ I'll give you all the gory detail after
lunch. It's looking good so far. ~
~ Sasami: Because Tenchi is probably in a coma at the moment. ~ The azure-hared girl
replied.
~ Tsunami: It's not that bad. She's just paralysed with fear, that's all. ~
~ Sasami: That's all? We've got to have a long talk sometime. ~
~ Tsunami: I'm all you. ~
***
Despite her best efforts Tenchi was relaxing again. Although for safeties sake she had
decided to stay in the bath. Keeping her eyes well away from her companions helped a bit as
well. Other than that it was still a terrifying ordeal.
"See Tenchi. We don't bite." Funaho said.
Misaki's efforts hadn't relaxed Tenchi that far yet.
Funaho sighed. "Need a hand Sister?"
Misaki smiled and shook her head. "No, but thanks for the offer. It might go better if
Tenchi would get out of the bath."
Funaho took a close look at the recipient of the blue-hared Queen's ministrations.
"I don't thing she's got past the severe shock stage." She replied, leaning closer to Tenchi.
"Believe me," She told the petrified young woman, "it will be so much better if my Sister
could get at everywhere she needed to."
There was zero response from Tenchi. Not even a flicker of life in the eyes.
"I don't think Tenchi is ready for any more." Funaho said sadly.
Misaki sighed and stopped, sliding back into the waters on the other side of Tenchi.
"At least you are resting." She told the statue of a person next to her. The look she gave her
Sister said that this was a lot more difficult than she had thought.
"She's behaving like she's never had a bath with women before." Funaho noted.
"I would think Tenchi was used to it by now, with Ayeka and Ryoko." Misaki sighed.
There was a slight shake of the head from Tenchi. It caught the ladies attention.
"You have bathed with them?" Misaki asked, pleased to be getting some response.
Tenchi nodded her head very slowly, as if she really didn't want to admit it.
"Willingly?" Funaho pressed.
There was a definite shake of the head from Tenchi this time.
The two Queens sighed. Finally some answers to Tenchi's compulsive shyness.
"Relax Tenchi. You should be pleased to have so many young ladies wanting to bathe with
you." Misaki smiled.
~ Not when they keep blowing things up. ~ Tenchi thought.
***
Ryoko was sat on the rooftop, just admiring the view. Now she wasn't the sentimental type
but she liked the freedom she had now. Freedom from that damn cave, freedom from the
darkness of Kagato's control. That last one caused her no end of bad dreams (OK,
nightmares. She admitted it). It was one of the reasons she kept a close eye on Tenchi, even
though the object of her affections didn't like it. Tenchi was a living reminder that He was
dead. Gone forever, never to cause her misery again. Just one more thing she loved Tenchi
for.
Tenchi. Ever since she had first seen him, he had fascinated Ryoko. When Tenchi had
released her, she had wanted to thank him. Unfortunately, she had not been in the best of
conditions and had scared him off. The blasted sword had been a major nuisance as well.
When she finally made herself 'presentable' she had followed him to his school, wanting to
play. And work out some anger, as she had readily admitted to Tenchi on the roof. That
caused her to 'play rough' as she put it, destroying the school. She had lost to Tenchi, or
more specifically the Tenchi sword (although she couldn't tell which really), so she had
headed to his home. The expression on his face when he had seen her in his bed had been
priceless.
Of course, that had led to Ayeka and Sasami being stranded on Earth with her and Ryoko
would be the first to admit that she and the first princess didn't get on at all at that time. Then
Mihoshi had shown up. It had probably been the first time Ayeka and Ryoko had agreed on
something other than Tenchi; she must die. That idea had to be put on the back burner, then
thrown out as Tenchi had accepted her into his home as he had done with them. They found
something else to agree on; they didn't want to upset Tenchi and Sasami, who had taken a
liking to her.
Next came what Ryoko jokingly referred to as the 'Time of Changes' (She had seen the
term in one of Tenchi's father's Manga and liked it). She tried to make light of that time and
the pain it had caused, because of the unhappy memories it brought up.
But it had brought Washu to the house, though Ryoko didn't like the idea of having Washu
claiming to be her 'mother' and probably never would. She fixed the house up good, and her
knowledge and resources had helped enormously.
Next had been Minagi. That had been a shock, to say the least. She never quite knew where
she stood with her once it had been all sorted out. Mother? Yes, in a roundabout sort of way.
Sister? Also yes, but that felt strangely comfortable and she didn't really know how to deal
with it. She was at least a friend now, and that was probably the way she best felt about
Minagi. At least a friend.
Things were never dull around the house, which she and the others suspected suited Tenchi
and Noboyuki quite well. Tenchi, because he had always been bored and getting into trouble.
The activity around the house, while frustrating him (and showing him the virtues of a quiet
life), kept him interested.
Noboyuki, while giving the appearance of barely coping, was thoroughly enjoying himself.
Having all these beautiful women around the house delighted him (as did the fact most of
them were after his son).
Then had been Washu's and Sasami's revelations about their respective pasts. Sasami's had
particularly worried both her and Ayeka. Who wouldn't be worried when you knew the little
girl with a heavy crush on their target would out shine them and most probably already had a
secure hold on Tenchi's heart.
The incident with the Mass had been very strange, even by this household's standards.
Little Ryo-Ohki's assimilation and new forms had speeded up her development. At the
moment she could only speak their names and 'carrot', and she stayed in her younger form
mostly but...
Dr. Clay's attack had been something they hadn't expected, which was the nature of things
she supposed. She could still feel Zero, the android who had become her, in her mind. It had
taken weeks for her to get back to normal after the merging. She hated the way Washu had
gently bent her will until she had accepted something she now knew she had needed. That
gentle loving side of her had been so embarrassing though.
The visit of the heads of the Royal family had been tumultuous, threatening to rip the
household apart. Though she would never admit it, it had become a family for them. Thank
god for the typical Mihoshi landing. Washu had upgraded Yukinojo so much by now the
ship was practically three whole classes above what it had been.
Then, out of nowhere, Kiyone had arrived. That had really caught them unawares. It had
lessened Mihoshi's tendencies toward impossible events, or more precisely their
consequences. None of them really believed the Pretty Sammy bit though. Ryoko was
jealous of her because, like Sasami, she was someone Tenchi relaxed around. This was
because, as she had found out, she didn't feel about Tenchi that way. It was something that
relaxed yet annoyed her immensely.
The smell of lunch drifting faintly from the kitchen brought Ryoko back to the present with
a resounding thud. The image of Tenchi, at the moment a stunningly attractive and beautiful
young woman, flashed across her consciousness. She had no idea what the two guests were
doing, but from what she had seen of their attitude towards Tenchi suggested that they had
seen something that worried them and were taking steps to correct that. The fact they most
certainly had their girls' best interests at heart gave her some relief. Besides, they seemed to
be having a little success. She might want to have a chat with one of them later.
***
"Will you cut that out?" Tenchi asked. "Please?"
"You're no fun." Misaki pouted.
~ No wonder the princesses get so worried when she comes to visit. ~ Tenchi thought as
Misaki let go of some distracting holds.
Funaho smiled on the other side of Tenchi. At last Tenchi was talking again. Maintaining
that balance and working on the problems at hand was going to be more fraught than they had
anticipated.
"Don't think you will be able to survive like that against any of the girls." Misaki warned.
"Relax more, see?" She stretched languidly.
Tenchi didn't move her gaze from the distant point on the wall at the far side of the bath.
Funaho smiled adoringly at her Sister.
"Please let me die now." Tenchi muttered as she closed her eyes for a second.
"I don't think so." Funaho said.
"I want to know which god I angered to deserve this."
"At least Tsunami likes you. Especially wearing those outfits." Misaki grinned.
"Why don't you just accept I'm not cut out for this?" Tenchi asked.
"I think you are doing rather well." Funaho said. "If you will let us, we could make things
so much easier."
"Uh huh. And what will it cost me? I'm not a woman for heaven's sake. I am just stuck
like this through no fault of my own. I don't want to be this way, yet you keep trying to drive
a square peg into a round hole. It doesn't work. Now, why? That's what I want to know."
Funaho sighed.
"Think of the opportunity you have Tenchi. You can get closer to the girls, and us, than
would have been possible had you still been male. No worries about seeing us less than
really dressed, since you experience that every day yourself. No delicate sensibilities to
endanger because you are all the same sex."
Misaki sat up and practically draped herself over Tenchi.
"You don't have to worry about bathing with us, since we've seen it all before." She said.
"I'm not worried about you, much. It's how long until the king kills me for doing this that's
worrying me." Tenchi concentrated on the spot on the far wall with all her might.
The two Queens looked at each other. "Ah."
"It's not as though it is improper." Misaki said.
"I don't think he'll see it that way."
"He will never know." Funaho assured her. "We will not tell him."
"Oh, he'll know." Tenchi disagreed. "If I was him, I wouldn't let you two out of my sight.
Who knows what mischief you would get up to?"
Misaki hugged Tenchi. "You're so sweet!" She said, planting a big kiss on her cheek.
"Don't you think so Sister?"
Funaho placed a more chaste kiss on the other cheek.
"She is." She agreed. "See Tenchi? You have all these sterling qualities, and yet you
ignore them. That has been puzzling me since I first knew of you."
"I'm just an ordinary boy." She said.
"Oh no. You were never ordinary." Misaki disagreed, coming closer. "You always have
been, and always will be, special."
"And you have to love of so many girls." Funaho pointed out.
"Which I never really wanted." Tenchi admitted. "They, and you, don't realise that I'm
ruining their lives."
"You are wrong there too." Funaho said sternly. "Without you they would have never met,
never had the friendship that pervades this house. I sensed it before, when we were last here.
You have given them a strength they would never had known."
"That hasn't stopped them blowing up the house several time." Tenchi said.
Misaki held back the comment that they wanted Tenchi to choose, and that she didn't have
to as she could marry them all. Tenchi had not moved from her position that she would not
go to Jurai.
Funaho held back the comment that she should express herself more, as that would only lead
to trouble.
She reached out and turned Tenchi's head to stare into her eyes.
"You need to be more confident with them. That playful side we have seen now and again
suits you."
"You're lucky to have seen it at all."
"There is such a thing as being too serious." Misaki said from the other side.
"Tell that to my life. I have to take things seriously. I can't laugh them off. I can't ignore
them or pretend that they're normal." Tenchi sighed. "I am who I am, and no one has the
right to change that."
Tenchi stood up to leave but Misaki had kept hold of her towel, pulling it off. Taking
advantage of the brief period of shock, the blue-hared Queen grabbed and pulled Tenchi back
down into her lap.
"You can't leave now." She said in a strangely soft voice. "I still have to give you your
reward for saving my Sister."
Tenchi tried to pull away, but it was too late. Misaki had her, and soon afterwards Funaho
added her strength against that of Tenchi.
"I don't need, or want a reward." Tenchi said angrily. "Why are you doing this to me?"
"Because we can't bare to see you like this." Funaho said. "You need love, but you turn it
away. We will not let you do that."
"So..." Misaki said slowly. "We will give you that love."
"I was perfectly happy with what was happening before. But no, you had to see problems
where there were none. Had I been left alone, yes I may have coped. What is it with your
fascination with fixing things that would have fixed themselves if you had left well enough
alone?"
Misaki sighed and let go.
"Because we have to be sure. Especially with important people like you. Do you know
how dangerous it is for you to be uncertain?"
"Don't you start." Tenchi growled. "Sasami used exactly the same line. Who would I be if
I let you fix my problems?" She grabbed the towel away from Misaki and covered herself.
Funaho reluctantly let go as well.
"What you fail at is recognising your problems." She said. "And your problems at the
moment are your shyness, your lack of self-confidence and you inability to accept help."
"What I need..." Tenchi said, "...is to be in my own body again. But you went and fitted
this..." She fingered the necklace. "...And killed my hopes of that happening anytime soon.
All it did was prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that I am not a person. I'm just a toy for
you to pull around as you like. You may as well forget me, and get ready to accept Ayeka as
the future ruler, since what will happen is that I will not accept a condition or three and they
will not back down, leaving us deadlocked."
"Tenchi, Tenchi, Tenchi. What are we going to do with you?" Funaho sighed. "You are
important to us, all of us, personally. We don't want you to get yourself killed because you
were distracted at some moment. Now I admit the necklace idea didn't work out quite as
well as we hoped, but it will work if you just accept our help and guidance. Don't you see we
are doing all in our power to help you through this?"
"You are just making things worse, don't you see that?" Tenchi said tiredly. "If you hadn't
started helping me, we wouldn't be in this position."
"You can be as stubborn as Azusa." Misaki shook her head. "Anyway we can't go back in
time and change what we've done."
"Don't bet on it." Tenchi said. "I'm sure Washu has something in her lab."
"The point I was trying to make is that we did what we though was best at the time."
Funaho told Tenchi. "We are only human."
"Did you forget I'm not?" Tenchi asked.
"From what I saw..." Misaki teased, "...You were quite human."
Tenchi favoured her with a dark look.
"I wonder if Ayeka dreams of you like this." She continued.
"Lady Misaki..." Tenchi deliberately used her title.
"Lighten up Tenchi." She complained. "You needn't be so serious." An idea presented
itself. "Think of being female as a vacation from your male self. Relax, and enjoy yourself.
It's only temporary. Think of yourself as somewhat of a different person now."
"That's a wonderful idea Sister." Funaho enthused. "The old Tenchi's not dead, he's just
gone on holiday for a while."
Tenchi was giving them weird looks.
"If I didn't know better," She said, "I'd think you two were crazy."
"What's wrong with it?" Misaki asked, "It's a great idea. You don't have to worry about
being female because you are female. The male Tenchi is temporarily out of contact. You
can do all the things you wouldn't do because you were male." She sidled up and put her arm
round Tenchi. "And you don't have to worry about the consequences."
"But I am male."
"Believe it or not," Funaho told her. "you have been acting more female. Accept it, for a
short while, and enjoy it." She followed her Sister's lead. "If you thing about it, it makes
sense."
"But I don't want to be female." Tenchi complained.
"Tenchi, we may treat you as female but we will always know you are male at the core."
Misaki leaned ever closer. Tenchi thought she was acting more like Ryoko.
Funaho move to a distracting position.
"Aren't you tempted?" She asked. "Aren't you the slightest bit curious about what it can be
like?"
"Not really." Tenchi shuddered. "You know, one might think you were trying to seduce
me."
"Us?" Misaki asked, shocked. "Why would we do that? We're married women."
~ A fact that you seem to forget when it suits you. ~ Tenchi thought.
"Besides," Funaho added, "You are also female."
~ It doesn't stop you two. ~ Tenchi said silently.
Misaki whispered in her ear. "You know, Juraian law doesn't recognise relationships
between women as against the law. Unless of course it's involuntary."
Tenchi drew back in shock, to see the slightly predatory smile on the lips of the princess's
mother.
"You see Tenchi," Funaho whispered in the other ear, "there is no need to worry at all."
Tenchi quickly moved her gaze from one Queen to the other.
"I think I should leave."
"Aw, don't go." Misaki complained. "You're like a Sister to us."
Tenchi caught the subtle emphasis.
"Forget think. I know I should leave." She got up and out of the bath. The Queens didn't
stop her this time.
"Can you at least try to be female?" Funaho asked as Tenchi approached the door.
Tenchi stopped. For several seconds she appeared to be wrestling with herself to turn
around and say something, before she straightened and walked out the door.
"Well, that went better than expected." Misaki shrugged.
"At least it was a minor success." Funaho said, putting a loving arm around her Sister.
"That idea about Tenchi was inspired. I think you need a little reward." She smiled.
"Too bad Tenchi isn't here to enjoy hers." Misaki said as she leaned over her Sister-Queen
and kissed her.
***
In a little-used section of the lab, Kiyone, Mihoshi and Washu were engaged in target
practice.
The two GP officers were using their not-quite-so-standard-anymore issue weapons. Washu
had, as with nearly everything about the house, upgraded them slightly. 'Slightly' meant a
multi-mode emitter that was 3.5 times as powerful as the previous one, capable of anything
from microwaves to X-rays. 'Slightly' meant weapons that lasted longer than the average GP
ship, and could now blast through anything from steal plate (The previous limit) to
duritainium alloy bulkheads. 'Slightly' meant a useful range of between 30 to 40 kms.
Washu had got bored for an hour.
Washu was using her natural energy projecting ability, which showed that it was something
Ryoko had 'inherited' from her 'Mom', rather than had been designed into her.
"Cease fire." A synthesised female voice called out.
The people on the firing range did so. A holo-screen appeared in front of them.
"Position one." The computer said, for Mihoshi. "Shots fired: 234. Shots on target: 194.
Accuracy: 82.9%."
Mihoshi smiled.
"See Kiyone?" She bubbled. "I'm getting better."
Kiyone sighed.
"Position two." This was Washu. "Shots fired: 187. Shots on target: 166. Accuracy:
88.8%"
"I need more practice." Washu shrugged.
"Position three." Kiyone's turn. "Shots fired: 160. Shots on target: 150. Accuracy:
93.75%"
"I know, I know." Kiyone sighed again. "I need to increase my fire rate."
"Overall casualties: 450 Enemy, 1 Civilian. Position one deducted 500 marks."
"Whaa!" Mihoshi wailed.
"Position three: 2500 marks bonus. Position two: 1000 marks extreme range bonus.
Position three wins by 3700 marks."
"See?" Washu smirked. "I told you this would help."
"Isn't it lunch time?" Mihoshi asked.
"That sounded almost relevant didn't it?" Kiyone asked rhetorically.
"And it's true. It is almost lunch time." Washu told her.
The threesome walked back through the lab, Kiyone and Washu keeping Mihoshi between
them for safeties sake.
"I hope Tenchi's calmed down a bit." Kiyone said.
"That's not the problem." Washu shrugged it off. "She bounces back from that sort of
thing easily. No, what I'm worried about is that she's recovered from what she did this
morning. She nearly exhausted herself completely."
"At least we now know her limits." Kiyone pointed out.
"Only the limits of her self control." Washu said. "Her power hasn't yet reached a peak."
"You're kidding me."
"I'm afraid I'm not." Washu admitted. "When I reviewed the data I collected I found
Tenchi's power had stayed constant the whole time. She had to use her life energy to control
it."
"That means that Tenchi has to work on the efficiency of her control, right?" Mihoshi
asked.
Her two companions looked suspiciously at her.
"Are you feeling OK?" Washu asked.
"Um... Yeah. Why?"
"Twice in ten minutes." Kiyone muttered. "That's got to be a new record."
~ Mental note: Do full scan of Mihoshi at earliest opportunity. ~ Washu thought to herself.
***
Mihoshi wasn't the only one acting a bit strange. Tenchi was arguing with herself about
what to wear, and she was really starting to get annoyed with her guests.
~ Great. They've got me half believing in that stupid idea of theirs. ~
~ But it is a good idea. Let's try something a bit more spectacular. ~
The part of her that never changed, those core attributes of Tenchi, decided to step in at this
point.
~ I could always do both. ~
Tenchi realised she was developing a split personality.
"Now I'm in trouble." She muttered as the familiar surge that heralded Tsunami flowed
through her.
"Lunch is almost ready." The image said innocently.
The woman sat on the bed turned a tired gaze on the visitor.
"You don't like the idea, do you?" Tsunami asked.
"No. Especially when it's giving me two headaches to deal with. How do you cope?"
Tsunami sighed and sat down beside Tenchi.
"It gets harder." Tsunami told her. "But we are more considerate of each other than you are
of yourself."
"That's helpful." Tenchi muttered sourly.
"I thought it was a brilliant solution to a unique situation."
"Have you been hanging out with Washu too much?"
Tsunami gently put her arm around Tenchi.
"It was not easy for me to be assimilated with Sasami at the beginning. The flow of
emotion was unknown to me at that time, so I ignored it until Sasami learnt some control. It
helped us both. Don't deny what you have here, a chance to see life from another side. It is a
remarkable experience, one that few of us get to have. In all this time I have never regretted
my action. You should not regret what fate has bestowed up on you, for it will never come
again."
"I should have expected philosophy from a goddess." Tenchi said dryly. "The problem is, I
don't think that I could accept the change or the change back." She looked into the beautiful
pink eyes of Tsunami. "I want stability. Fate, and in some respect yourselves, have taken
that away from me one piece at a time. How do you think I felt waking up like this?"
"About the same as I did when I 'awoke' to being Sasami as well as myself. I coped,
Sasami didn't and created this persona of being my creation. You finally corrected that and
the two of us have never been as at peace as now."
"Lucky you. Because of everybody, I keep having to change." Tenchi closed her eyes and
turned away. "Much faster than I am ready for."
"I, or Sasami, will always be around for you to talk to. Just be female, and we'll keep the
male side safe."
"That makes just about as much sense as Mihoshi suddenly not acting bubble-headed 2 and
a 9th tenths of a fortnight, except on odd days of the month. Not including when it's a full
moon."
Tsunami paused to consider the statement.
"That..." She said slowly, "...is the most convoluted example I've ever had the privilege to
hear." She smiled. "I like it. It sums up everything that you're going through."
"Thanks."
"Don't mention it. Lunch is ready, so dress pretty and come down." Tsunami's image
dissipated.
"Dress pretty she says." Tenchi muttered. Who was she to disregard the whims of a
goddess?
***
"Lunch is ready!" Sasami called.
One of the little known skills of a Queen is the ability to dress fast when the occasion
demands, and look as though they spent hours on it.
"Where's Tenchi?" Misaki asked. She and her Sister-Queen looked picture perfect. "She
left the baths a while ago."
"Well she hasn't been down yet Mother." Ayeka and Sasami answered simultaneously.
"You didn't upset her again?" Minagi asked.
"I don't think so. Do you Sister?"
Funaho shook her head.
"We attempted to talk to her, but she left."
Sasami knew that it was a lie. It was a good lie though, being mixed mostly with truth.
She'd have to remember the technique.
Ryoko was nearly the last to the table. She faded into view from phasing through the roof.
"What? No Tenchi? It smells so good though."
"Tenchi hasn't got here yet." Washu said.
"I hope I'm not too late." Tenchi said as she came down the stairs. She was wearing a short
off-cream skirt and matching jacket. The jacket seemed a few sizes too small, being only
fastened at the neck. The necklace was over it, semi-emphasising the gap between the sides.
What was visible could have been lacy black underwear, then again it may not. It was hard to
tell, but the watcher would have been wondering which was probably the point. The black
stockings finished off a nice outfit, just formal enough to make you wonder what informal
would be like but loose enough to allow full movement.
"I just threw it on." Tenchi explained sheepishly.
Most of the people there wondered what it would be like if she considered her choice.
Tenchi winked at the Queens. Misaki fought very hard not to blush, even though nothing
had happened. Not that she hadn't wanted it to secretly.
"What is it?" Tenchi asked as she sat down, completely ignoring the looks she was
receiving, particularly from Ryoko and Ayeka.
"Try it." Sasami said.
During lunch everybody got the chance to give Tenchi the once over. Tenchi just focused
on her lunch and ignored it. But it slowed down lunch though.
"It's too bad I don't usually get to enjoy lunch." She said as she finished. "But the fields
need lots of attention."
Remarkably, no fights had broken out between the girls. The regular inhabitants usually had
at least one messy disagreement over lunch. It wasn't as damaging as the ones Ryoko and
Ayeka had at dinnertime around Tenchi, but it had resulted in at least three quick rebuilds of
the furniture by Washu.
"Well," Tenchi said, standing, "I'd better go and get dressed properly."
"There's nothing wrong with what you are wearing." Ryoko, Sasami and Misaki said at
once. There were nods of agreement from elsewhere around the table.
"Come on. This is not something I would want to be seen in."
"Tenchi." Funaho said to the young lady. "What they are trying to say is that that look suits
you."
"I knew this would be a bad idea." Tenchi muttered. "But I had to be in a hurry."
"So if you don't think about it, you dress like that?" Washu asked. "That talent I would
love to have had when I was younger."
That comment caused a lot of raised eyebrows.
"Ho hum." Washu sighed. "Those were the days. A cute young lady could have cut
swathes through the Science Academy back then."
"Right." Tenchi said, giving the redhead an odd look. "I'll just go-hey!"
Ryo-Ohki had appeared out of nowhere to grab hold of Tenchi's waist.
"Way to go Ryo-Ohki." Ryoko told the little catgirl.
"Ma-ow." The young spaceship said happily.
"What's up with you?" Tenchi asked.
"Is Tenchi playing fashion model today?" Mihoshi asked.
Kiyone and Washu looked at Mihoshi.
"Three in a row." Kiyone said cryptically.
"She must not be feeling well." Washu agreed.
Tenchi had a dark look as they returned their attention to her.
"I like the idea." Ayeka said.
"Don't you dare." Tenchi growled, backing away.
"All those in favour?" Washu asked.
Everybody but Tenchi raised their hand, including Ryo-Ohki allowing Tenchi to get loose.
The others quickly surrounded her.
"It'll be fun Tenchi!" Sasami enthused.
Tenchi looked around frantically for an escape route. Here she was, arguably one of the
most powerful beings in creation, trapped. She was definitely more powerful that Ryoko.
What she wouldn't give to be able to tele-
***
-port.
Tenchi finished the thought outside her door. Autonomous reactions kicked in and Tenchi
shot into her room.
Meanwhile downstairs a group of shocked ladies were staring at the space Tenchi had just
occupied.
Washu looked thoughtful, tapping her chin with one hand while the other called up a
keyboard and typed in the latest data on Tenchi.
Mihoshi summed up the general feeling.
"Whaa! Now we won't be able to see Tenchi in all those pretty dresses Washu made!"
"Four." Kiyone noted absently.
Washu typed a few commands. A subspace portal opened beneath Mihoshi, dropping the
oblivious, teary blond into her lab.
"Well, it looks like Tenchi can teleport." Washu said. "Good. Good. I'll just check on the
bubblehead. Shouldn't take long."
The redhead disappeared into the lab.
"Rats." Ryoko said, making a half-hearted swing across the front of herself with her right
fist. The empty air was used to worse. "That will take all the fun out of things."
"All we need do is not stress Tenchi too much." Funaho said, sitting back down.
"Why don't we not stress Tenchi at all?" Minagi asked. "Aren't we being too tough on
Tenchi anyway?"
"Minagi's right." Kiyone said, helping Sasami with the dishes. "We are being tough on
Tenchi. We should cut her some slack."
Back in her room, Tenchi was catching up with things in her mind.
~ So I can teleport huh? ~ She thought. ~ That is the most useful thing to come from this.
~
She began looking through her clothes for something more acceptable to her. She sighed
and closed her eyes in exasperation when she felt the almost now common place surge of
Tsunami's arrival.
"What did I do now?" Tenchi asked tiredly.
"Aside from teleporting, nothing. Yet."
Tenchi turned to face the image, who she found to be wearing not the formal robes of
before, but something like the brown and green kimono-like outfit Sasami wore. Besides
being form fitting, the main difference was the colouring of the top. It was leaf green with
autumn red sleeves. The whole thing was trimmed in cherry blossom pink.
"That's a new look for you isn't it?"
Tsunami smiled. "Like it?" She asked as she twirled for Tenchi.
"It suits you." Was all that Tenchi would say on the matter.
"I thought I should try some new styles. It never hurts to be prepared."
Tenchi rolled her eyes.
"I'm getting subtle hints that you would like me to reconsider my position on my
appearance?"
"Really? You will?" Tsunami switched to a Mihoshi-like voice.
"Don't do that." Tenchi shuddered. "It's scary."
The image giggled.
"No, I won't reconsider." Tenchi continued. "I want to be as normal as possible."
Tsunami gave Tenchi a tired look.
"I would say 'What is normal?', but I know you wouldn't appreciate it." There was a bright
flash and Tsunami returned to her formal robes. "What I will say is, you are both so far and
so close to your wish that you could touch it if you could see it."
Tenchi rolled that around in her head for a minute.
"Uh huh. Can you try that in Japanese this time?"
A blank and empty look was her only response.
"Thought so." Tenchi sighed. "Will you please leave now? I want to get changed."
Another stony silence greeted her.
"Are you listening to me?" She asked.
"Yes. When I feel the need to speak I will."
"I could easily order you out you know. But I'm asking. Please leave so I can get
changed."
"Tenchi. I will leave only when you accept you can not be who you were anymore. You
are too far beyond that. But you can be close to that."
"Which I'm trying to do, thank you." Tenchi said coldly.
"No. What you are doing is hiding from the truth like my 'other half' did. You see what
that cost her. It is a mistake you can ill afford to make, as is your denial of your
responsibility."
"I said I would help you with Tokimi..."
"This is about your responsibility to the beings of the empire you are avoiding."
"I'm just sick and tired of all this talk of the mighty Juraian Empire I am 'born to rule'.
Why don't you rule it? You are a princess as well. I am not able to rule this house, let alone
a galactic empire!" Tenchi snarled.
"We can teach you the basics."
"I. Don't. Want. To. Rule." Tenchi spelled it out. "But I am not going to renounce my
position just yet. I have my reasons. Now, leave. Before I make you."
Tsunami stood resolute. "You will have to. I hope you understand what you are doing."
"Only too well. This is your last chance. For Sasami's sake, leave now."
"You do understand." Tsunami said sadly. "But not well enough to see the terrible mistake
you are making."
"Shame, isn't it? Sasami will have to marry someone more worthy of the both of you."
Tenchi summoned the Master Key.
Tsunami gasped as the realisation hit her. "No! You wouldn't!" But she knew Tenchi was
as resolute as she was. So she threw herself at Tenchi. Through the sword.
The jolt of power flattened the both of them, nearly sending Tsunami unconscious. It took
all of her control not to let her younger self be hit by the feedback.
Tenchi, however, was rendered immobile by the shock. She could feel the control of her
body start to return quickly. Unfortunately it wasn't fast enough to stop Tsunami's image
grabbing her.
The battle began in earnest as Tenchi's mind and will clashed with Tsunami's.
~ I will not let you destroy her dreams. ~ Tsunami's voice was immensely powerful in
Tenchi's mind.
~ And I will not let you dictate my life! ~ Tenchi roared back. She did something she'd
never thought she would do. She struck back right at Tsunami's most vulnerable spot. Her
connection to Sasami.
Tsunami protected that most valuable possession with a fury that would have caused
supernovas. Her shock and horror only added to her fear, which caused her to counter-attack
much too hard.
Tenchi stopped. Completely, totally and utterly. No thought, no heartbeat, not even a single
cell changed.
"Oh no..." Tsunami whispered, terrified by the merest thought of the realisation. "What
have I done?"
She had killed...no, it was worse. Tenchi no longer existed, not as the universe had known
before.
The image fought to stay calm. She could solve this, she had to.
The goddess-tree searched for the merest trace of power that wasn't hers. It was getting
increasingly desperate when she found the trace, still holding on to the line that connected the
two joined beings.
~ Please. ~ Tsunami prayed. ~ Let this work. ~