** Note **
** This is chapter five of "Reflections of a Shattered Glass." If you haven't read chapters one through four, you're in the wrong place.
** Happy reading,
**--Krin (krin@hotmail.com)
** http://www.geocities.com/mode6.geo/fanfic/
** /Note **


Reflections of a Shattered Glass
-- five --

flirting with danger

Funaho finished braiding her hair back for sleep and rose, crossing her dressing chamber toward the door leading to the bedroom. She gestured at the control plate and the lights dimmed quickly, giving her eyes just enough time to adjust to the dimmer light of the bed chamber. Misaki was just emerging from her own dressing room, directly opposite Funaho's, and the empress cast a smile at her sister-wife.

They approached one another, touching hands and sharing a brief kiss. The action was partially a genuine act of tender greeting and partially a cover for Funaho's barely voiced question of, "It proceeds apace?"

Misaki adjusted Funaho's hair, tucking back a strand that had fallen loose, and answered, "It does. The second turning will be reached with the dawn."

"Are you sure this is the correct course?" Funaho asked, touching Misaki's hand again before turning to walk silently toward the bed.

Misaki's answer, given across the breadth of the bed, was in the form of a quick twitch of her fingers as she reached for the coverlet. To an onlooker it would have seemed meaningless, but Funaho knew it to be a signal of strong affirmation. Her sister-wife was confident of their course and dedicated to its fulfillment. Funaho had come to trust Misaki's council, even when it seemed as bizarre as now.

"Come to bed," Azusa said tiredly, rolling onto his side in the center of the mattress. "It's late and I must address the Council tomorrow."

"Yes dear," answered Funaho, sliding into bed beneath her side of the blanket. Misaki echoed the sentiment from her place across the way.

Funaho slid close to her husband, resting her cheek on his out-stretched hand to feel the roughness of his fingers against her skin. In all the centuries she had spent on Jurai and for all the things she had seen and done, the touch of her husband never failed to make her feel like the love struck young girl who had gone away to the stars with the handsome, charming prince from another world. She ran her fingers along Azusa's side from his shoulder down to his hip and then along his leg, encountering Misaki's hand already resting on his thigh. She entwined her fingers with those of her wife and closed her eyes to greet sleep.

"Did I do rightly be Aeka?" Azusa asked tiredly, sounding half asleep.

Funaho opened her eyes again and asked, "I thought you wished to go to sleep?"

"Mmm," Azusa sighed, "but it weighs heavily on my mind."

"You did well dear," Misaki whispered. Funaho heard the soft sound of her wife kissing her husband's neck gently and mirrored the action, brushing his beard with her cheek as she kissed Azusa's collarbone.

"Yes," she agreed. "You did the best you could. Though I do not know that you will be able to uphold your promises."

Azusa sighed, rolling onto his back between them. "I must," he said in a quiet rumble.

"The Lessons are a part of Jurai," Funaho pointed out, gently stroking his chest. "The people need them."

"They were not always so," Azusa answered. "The most ancient histories speak of a time before them. And other worlds function without having them."

"The people are set in their ways, Azusa. They will not easily be persuaded to change."

"Change comes to everything," Misaki said quietly in answer to Funaho's protest. "Jurai can not remain as it is indefinitely. The legends tell us that doing so led to the Breaking. If we try to hold back new buds too long we will wither and die."

"Or suffer another Reformation," Azusa sighed. "Perhaps in five hundred millennia they will call Hevar Uran the first Emperor and Himori will be as dusty a memory as the times before the Trees."

"Don't talk of that man in bed," Funaho warned. "He is a distasteful little being and I do not wish to think of him before sleep."

"It grows later," Azusa sighed. "Let me sleep, women."

"As if he were not the one who started this," Funaho said conspiratorially toward Misaki. The other empress chuckled softly and pushed herself up on one elbow, leaning forward to kiss Azusa goodnight. Funaho waited her turn, kissed her husband, then kissed her wife only inches from Azusa's nose. The emperor made an appreciative noise and both women laughed softly.

"Even after all this time," Funaho asked incredulously, "you never tire of watching, do you Azusa?"

"Two beautiful women, both of them my wives; what is there to tire of?"

"What do you say, sister?" Misaki asked playfully. "Shall we give our husband a show?"

"Not tonight, not tonight," Azusa groused. "I must see the Council in the morning."

"Of course dear," Misaki said gently, laying back on her pillow.

"Perhaps tomorrow," Azusa added.

Funaho sniffed derisively but took hold of his arm and drew herself close again. "Perhaps," she agreed. She draped an arm across Azusa's chest and touched Misaki, tapping in a gentle rhythm too light for their husband to notice.

Misaki made no indication of noticing either, but a few moments later Funaho felt the lightest scratching at her finger.

"Do not worry," Funaho translated from Misaki's touch-code, "Vianna will do as I instruct her and nothing more. The best guardian beast is the one that all believe to be wild, despite being held upon the shortest chain."

Funaho sighed softly and closed her eyes again. Tomorrow promised to be a very long day.

* * *

"Da jinbe!" Sasami announced happily, scooping up the cards on the table. Aeka vented a frustrated groan and tossed her own hand down, glaring at her sister.

"Monla phoheda," Aeka accused sullenly, shuffling her hand back into the pile while waiting for Sasami to prepare the next turn.

"Solla phemana!" Sasami denied, looking over her handful of cards. "Iheda!"

"Who cheated?" Ryouko asked as she entered, glancing between the two sisters.

"Aeka says I did," Sasami explained, separating a portion of her cards and placing them face-down on the table. "I've won the past five turns."

Aeka took the top six cards from the pile and put them beside Sasami's, flipping over the top card of each. She cursed softly in Jurain before saying aloud, "See? Mi hibe, and for the fourth time in a row!"

Sasami grinned and handed the rest of her cards to Aeka, taking the two small piles and putting them together before shuffling through them curiously. "It's not my fault I'm better at it than you are."

"And since when are you better at jinbe than I am?" Aeka asked. "When I left you were lucky if you won one turn in three."

"I taught some girls at school to play," Sasami explained, putting down a card face up between them. "We played after school a lot and I got better. You should play Ayumi sometime, Aeka. She beat me almost every turn."

"Probably just cheats better," Aeka snorted, putting her own card down atop Sasami's, the following it with another.

Ryouko leaned down to peer over Sasami's shoulder and observed, "Hudumo on the paumo."

"Duh," Sasami agreed, putting down the appropriate card.

"You play now, too?" Aeka asked, looking up at Ryouko.

"Sure," the cyan-haired woman agreed, straightening. "Sammy taught me."

"No wonder she learned how to cheat," Aeka observed, putting down a card atop the growing stack, then wincing and following it with another one.

"You should've put down the mep first," Ryouko pointed out. "Then you wouldn't have had to double."

"Oh, and now I'm getting advice on playing jinbe from a space pirate," Aeka sighed, rolling her eyes dramatically. "Maybe Ryou-ohki will beat me next?"

"She doesn't know how to play," Sasami said, shuffling through her hand. Finally she dropped a card and smiled. Aeka looked down at it, then at her hand, then back down at the card.

"Isn't that-"

"Da jinbe," Sasami agreed happily.

"That's it," Aeka sighed, pushing away from the table. "I give up."

"Good," Ryouko said pleasantly. "Then maybe you want to go into town with the space pirate and get some lunch?"

Aeka stood and nodded. "That sounds nice. It is easy to forget how different real Japanese food is from that made on Jurai. I missed soy sauce."

"Mmm," Ryouko agreed, "and real pickles."

"Just let me go upstairs and get changed," Aeka said, heading for the stairs. "Is Tenchi coming?"

"No," Ryouko called after the princess, "he's up on the mountain with Grandpa."

"Can I come?" Sasami asked, cleaning up the card game.

Ryouko glanced after Aeka and asked, "Do you mind staying home this time? I haven't done anything with Aeka in a while and I thought we'd go out, just us two. You know? I'll take you out tomorrow, if you want."

"It's okay," Sasami said, smiling. "I'm glad you and Aeka get along now."

Ryouko shrugged. "What do we have to fight over?"

"I dunno," Sasami said thoughtfully, shuffling the cards together, "but you still do it a lot, whatever you're fighting over."

Ryouko laughed, "Yeah, I guess, but we don't Mean it anymore."

Sasami chuckled and nodded. "Could you stop at the store and get a couple of things on the way home? I want to make something special for dinner tonight since we're all together again."

"Mihoshi and Kiyone aren't here," Ryouko pointed out.

"Yeah," Sasami sighed. "I hope Mihoshi's okay. But Most of us are here."

Ryouko nodded. "Make me a list and we'll stop on the way home."

Sasami put away her cards in their little faux-wood case while Ryouko watched silently, considering. Finally she asked in a hesitant voice, "Sammy? I- I'm not sure how to ask this-"

"Ask what?"

"I was wondering if- that is, can I... Can I talk to Tsunami for a minute?"

Tsunami nodded gently and smiled. "You already are, Ryouko."

Ryouko blinked and said nervously, "Er- hi."

"Hello, Ryouko," the goddess answered, smiling softly. "Sit, let's talk."

Ryouko sat down where Aeka had been, looking down at her fingernails and trying to decide how to say it. Finally she sighed and asked, "Do you know about- about before? In the lab?"

"Do you wish me to?" Tsunami asked.

"Y-yes," Ryouko agreed hesitantly. "It'd make it easier than explaining."

"Sasami will know," Tsunami cautioned. "She is here with me in her body. It is not like the Inner Chamber where mind and body may be separate."

"Oh," Ryouko sighed. "I- Can you keep a secret for me, Sammy?"

"Sure," Sasami agreed.

"It's a big secret," Ryouko warned. "And if you see it, you shouldn't even admit to yourself that you know. Just pretend like you never heard it? Even to me?"

Sasami frowned and asked cautiously, "Is it a bad secret?"

"Oh, no," Ryouko assured the younger woman. "It's just really private and I don't want anybody to know yet. But I need to talk to someone about it and I'm hoping Tsunami can give me some advice."

"I am afraid I cannot tell you if you will have a child, Ryouko."

Ryouko blinked. The goddess was back, her presence somehow superimposed on Sasami's. "I guess Sammy agreed to keep it secret?"

Tsunami nodded. "She will allow me to put her memory of this conversation away for a time. When you have decided to allow others to know of your suspicions I will release the memory."

"You can do that?" Ryouko asked curiously. "But why didn't you just do that when I asked if I could talk to alone on Jurai?"

"Sasami must give me her permission," Tsunami explained. "We are one body and, one day, will be one mind. It would not do for us to fight one another."

Ryouko nodded slowly. "Why can't you tell me about the baby? I thought you could see everything."

"I can see nearly all things," Tsunami agreed. "When I choose to. But there are an infinity of possible futures, Ryouko. It is not a simple progression from past to now to then; there are different paths and different means for walking them. What you do now will alter which of the many futures comes to pass, and what you do in the future may even alter what has gone before. I can tell you which future I see in occurrence, but to do so will skew fate. By merely speaking the prophecy, the future will be altered and what I foretell may well not be what comes to pass."

"So if you tell me I'm going to have a baby, I won't?" Ryouko asked, wondering how that could possibly work. Simply knowing she was pregnant would not suddenly change the fact, would it? *But maybe if I know now Tenchi and I will decide to abort, and if I don't know for a month we won't.*

"That is a possibility," Tsunami acknowledged. "Or, if a child is what I see for the future, my telling may alter other things."

Ryouko sighed. "I was hoping you could help me. I talked to Tenchi and he wasn't upset like I thought he would be, but he didn't tell me what to do. I guess I should have expected that; he's always supportive. I guess I was just kind of hoping he would sit me down and say, 'Ryouko, you're not having a baby' or 'Ryouko, I won't let you have an abortion.'"

"You wished the decision to be taken out of your hands," Tsunami observed. "But you know that Tenchi would never do that. The child would be as much yours as his and he would not presume to tell you what your decision should be. If he did, I think you would grow to resent it."

"You're right," Ryouko admitted quietly, nodding while the goddess spoke. "But it's such a big decision. If I have a baby everything will change. I'll have to drop out of school and stay home to take care of her and Tenchi and I won't be able to go planet hopping until she's old enough to come with. But if I don't have her, could I really be happy knowing I could have had a little girl? Everything Tenchi and I do, I'd wonder what it would have been like if she was there."

"It is a difficult decision," Tsunami agreed. "And one that you and Tenchi must make together. Being a father will change his life as well, Ryouko. He does not wish to state his opinions too strongly for fear that you will see him as selfish, but he has all the same concerns you do."

"So what should I do?" Ryouko asked desperately. "It's all so...big."

"I cannot tell you what to do," Tsunami said sadly. "I am sorry, Ryouko, but in this the only advice I may offer is that which anyone could give you: wait until you know if you are pregnant to come to your decision."

"I guess I should have expected that," Ryouko sighed. "But I hoped- I hoped you might just tell me what was going to happen so I wouldn't have to worry about it."

Tsunami smiled gently and touched Ryouko's hand comfortingly. "Life is never so simple as that, Ryouko. Even I have things I wish could be simply answered for me."

"Alright Ryouko," Aeka said, coming down the stairs and back into the living room, "I'm ready. Are you coming Sasami?"

"No," Sasami answered, rising with her card box in hand, "I think I'm going to go up and watch Tenchi practice."

"Have fun then," Aeka said with a smile. She leaned close to her sister's ear and whispered something Ryouko could not hear but which made the younger princess smile.

"Bye Aeka, bye Ryouko," Sasami called as they headed for the door. Ryouko waved over her should and dug into her purse for the car keys.


Aeka climbed into the car on the passenger side, looking slightly startled as Ryouko slid behind the wheel. "You can drive?"

"It's not That difficult," Ryouko said, pulling on her seat belt and waiting for Aeka to finish getting in before starting the car. "Tenchi taught me while we were in Tokyo. Mom even made me a license."

"Perhaps you could teach me sometime?" Aeka asked, watching as Ryouko pulled out of the driveway and headed up the tree-lined road leading away from the house.

"Sure," Ryouko agreed. "So where do we want to eat?"

"I don't know... It has been some time since I went out to eat further than the palace kitchens."

"We'll have to go to Tokyo one night, there's a place there you'd love. Everybody wears traditional Japanese clothes and everything's served the way it would have been a few hundred years ago."

"That does sound interesting," Aeka admitted. "Perhaps Hirotsu's for lunch today?"

"Sounds good to me," Ryouko agreed. "And speaking of traditional clothes, that's a nice outfit. I didn't think you even owned anything like that."

Aeka looked down at the sheer, low-cut blouse and form-fitting jeans she wore and blushed slightly. "I don't, these are Sasami's."

"Really?" Ryouko asked, glancing over at the princess in surprise. "Sammy made it sound like you hated the way she dresses."

"Sasami is a woman now," Aeka said with a tone that Ryouko thought sounded more like she was talking to herself than to her companion, "and what she wears is her own business. If I do not always approve... I thought I might show her that I do not entirely detest her style of dress by borrowing a few of her things."

"You look good," Ryouko said supportively. "And I'm sure Sammy appreciates the effort."

"Why do you call her that?" Aeka asked curiously.

"Call her what? Sammy?"

"Yes," Aeka agreed.

Ryouko shrugged. "Her friends at school call her that and I guess I just picked it up. I think she likes having a nickname."

Aeka sighed. "There is so much about Sasami I do not know. It feels as though I have been gone for a decade rather than only a few months."

Ryouko nodded. "She grew up fast. I guess she couldn't help it. I don't know how it works on Jurai, but when someone looks a certain age here people expect them to act that way. Sasami couldn't stay a little girl when she looked like a woman. She's always been smart enough to see what people expected out of her, I guess she just did what she thought would let her fit in."

"I miss my little sister Sasami, though," Aeka sighed. "I thought I would have most of a year before her Change when it came, I suppose I've still not gotten my thoughts around that fact. She's so different now."

"Not That different. She's still the same Sasami under the new clothes and the way she talks now. Sometimes she's still just a confused little girl."

"Did you- did you know this Eto boy that she liked?"

"Yeah," Ryouko agreed with a touch of anger in her voice, "I met Eto."

"You did not like him?"

"I never trusted him" Ryouko agreed. "Tenchi said we should let Sasami handle her own social life, though, so I didn't say much. I'd like to wring that little prick's neck."

"You would?" Aeka asked, seeming startled.

"Sure. After what he pulled I'd like to smack him from here to Jurai."

"What he-"

"You don't know?" Ryouko asked, glancing away from the road to look at Aeka.

"No, Sasami only said that they broke up. She did not mention why."

"Oh."

"Well? Aren't you going to tell me?"

"I don't know," Ryouko said nervously. "If Sammy didn't tell you, I don't know if I-"

"Come now, Ryouko. I'm her sister. Surely something she told you, you can tell me?"

"I don't know, Aeka. I promised her I wouldn't say anything."

"She is obviously still upset about losing this boy," Aeka said stiffly. "How am I to comfort her if I do not know what happened?"

"I'm sorry," Ryouko sighed. "I just can't, Aeka. I promised Sasami and I can't just break that. Why don't you talk to her about it?"

"Mmm," Aeka murmured neutrally. They drove on in silence for a time and Ryouko turned on the stereo to fill the uncomfortable void. Eventually, when they were over half of the way to Kurashiki, Aeka spoke again.

"What happened, Ryouko?"

"What?" Ryouko asked, startled by the princess' sudden question. "What happened to what?"

"To you," Aeka explained. "Everything has changed so much... A couple of years ago we probably would have come to blows over your refusal to tell me what happened between Sasami and this Eto boy, but now I find myself admiring your steadfastness in honoring a promise. Sasami-"

Aeka paused and vented a long breath through her nose, her eyes closed, before speaking again, "Sasami said that she wishes I could be more like you. She thinks very highly of you, Ryouko. She told me how supportive of Tenchi you have been, and how happy you made him. She says that you not only go to school now, you even worry over your grades and stay up at night studying. You are not the woman who destroyed my Ryu-oh, Ryouko. What happened?"

Ryouko stared at the road, thinking about Aeka's question. What Had happened? Was it simply Tenchi's influence? But he had changed too, over the past year. And the changes had not stopped a month after his birthday, either. He had been changing in little ways over the whole course of the time, and the sum of the differences was much more than any of them alone. He was not a boy anymore, he was a man she wanted to be the father of her children. He was not the boy she had fallen in love with, he was her husband and protector, confidant and provider. Ryouko realized what had changed and smiled softly.

"I grew up, Aeka."

"What?" The princess seemed startled at the answer, as though not truly expecting to receive one at all and doubly surprised by the content when it came.

"I grew up," Ryouko repeated. "I was over five thousand when Tenchi let me out of the cave, but I was still a little girl. I had maybe a dozen years worth of real time in all the centuries I'd been alive. Moments stolen here and there when...Kagato was busy with something else. All I wanted was Tenchi and I fought with you over him like a little kid who wanted a piece of candy. Last year... I thought Tenchi just unlocked all the emotional parts of my brain, but that's not what he did. I mean, I guess that's Technically what he did, at first anyway, but it's not really what happened.

"He woke me up, and since then I've realized that there are a lot of important things in life. Making myself happy isn't my only goal anymore. I want Tenchi to be happy, and I want Sasami to be happy. I don't want people to be afraid of me because I can beat the crap out of them, I want them to respect me for being a real person. I want to do well in class because I like learning things; and because Tenchi was always so proud when I showed him that I was getting good grades. Mom told me I'd grown up a lot since I got out of the cave, but I didn't listen to her." Ryouko chuckled quietly and shook her head. "Guess she was right again."

"You grew up," Aeka said a few moments later, her voice deeply sad. "Tenchi grew up. Sasami and even little Ryou-ohki grew up. Where does that leave me, Ryouko? I lost another love and that- that thing took away my body. Everyone's changing around me and I feel like I'm just stuck in place while you leave me behind..."

"No one's leaving you behind," Ryouko assured Aeka with all the gentleness she could muster. "I'm sorry you've had to go through so much, Aeka, and I don't understand why you did. Tsunami says there's no set future, so I guess there's no such thing as fate, but it seems like you've gotten a really raw deal. But we're friends, right?"

Aeka nodded, sniffing quietly and wiping at her eyes.

"And we'll stay friends," Ryouko said confidently. "Whatever else happens, I'll be there for you Aeka. So will Tenchi and Sammy and everybody else. We're a family, even if it's kind of a weird one. Though I guess we're not much weirder than some Jurain ones, now that I think about it."

Aeka laughed, following it with a cough and another sniff. "I'm happy to have a family, Ryouko. Truly I am. But I just don't know if that's enough. I've been in love twice... Maybe almost three times. And every time he's been pulled away. I want someone to share my life with, Ryouko. I don't want to be alone anymore."

"You'll find someone," Ryouko promised, reaching over to squeeze Aeka's hand confidently.

Aeka sighed and squeezed Ryouko's hand back, staring out the window. Ryouko glanced over and saw tears reflected on the princess' face. The rest of the trip they spent in near silence, though one of a more companionable nature than the first. It was broken only when Aeka sang, so softly that Ryouko doubted she was meant to hear, along with a song about lost love that played over the radio.

* * *

"Grandpa?" Tenchi asked, pushing the rice-paper door aside and glancing around the shrine office. There were mounds of paper stacked on and around the desk, but no sign of the old man.

*I hope I never have to run this place,* Tenchi thought, closing the door to the office. *The chores are bad enough, but I couldn't stand the paper work.*

The sound of laugher drew Tenchi's attention toward the edge of the paved clearing. Katsuhito and Washuu were just emerging from the woods, walking side by side. They did not hold hands, but their body language made it clear even to Tenchi that they were together.

*It's going to take a long time to get used to Grandpa looking so young,* Tenchi reflected, watching them approach. They had seen him, but made no effort to hurry. *Now Mom looks like the older woman.*

Tenchi blinked, startled at his own thought. *Mom? Well, I guess she is. Step-mother at least, and Ryouko must be rubbing off on me. I wonder what she'd do if I called her that?*

"Tenchi!" Katsuhito called in greeting as they approached.

"Hi Grandpa, Washuu."

"Hello Tenchi," Washuu replied pleasantly. "Did Ryouko find you?"

Tenchi nodded. "She took Aeka into town for lunch."

"What can I do for you, Tenchi?" Katsuhito asked. "Miss Washuu and I were about to have tea."

"Oh. I just thought you might help me work out for a while. I've been kind of letting it slide lately..."

Katsuhito glanced at Washuu who smiled indulgently and patted his arm. "Go ahead, Kat. Play with your grandson, I'll go in and start lunch."

"Thanks Washuu."

She smiled and patted Tenchi's shoulder as she passed on her way into the building.

"So what will it be Tenchi?" Katsuhito asked, following Washuu. "Swords? Staves? Barehanded, maybe?" He balled his hands into fists and swung a teasing punch at Tenchi's arm.

"You're in a good mood," Tenchi observed.

"Mmm," Katsuhito agreed, glancing at the door leading further into the building through which Washuu had vanished. He walked to the closet and took out a pair of bokken, holding one out to Tenchi. The younger man took it, immediately snapping the blade toward Katsuhito's face. The attack was effortlessly blocked and the priest smiled. "Good, Tenchi. But outside, shall we?"


Tenchi adjusted his hair, tightening the thong that held it in place. Katsuhito was stretching, so Tenchi did the same. He had stretched before jogging up from the house, of course, but the old man had long held that there was no such thing as stretching too much.

Katsuhito picked up his bokken, assuming the Moonlit Branches stance. Tenchi shifted his weight and adopted Two Moons Rising, waiting for his grandfather's attack.

Instead of attacking, the priest only stared levelly at Tenchi, his wooden sword still as stone and his gaze unblinking. Tenchi did his best to hold his position as carefully, only his hair moving as the wind picked at the trailing ends and tossing them around his back.

"Come then," Katsuhito offered neutrally after they had stared at one another for what Tenchi thought must have been a good five minutes.

"No," Tenchi answered, not moving any more than Katsuhito had. "You come."

"Good," Katsuhito said appreciatively, but made no move to attack. Tenchi began a series of minute muscle exercises to keep himself loose despite holding his body so long in one position. The minutes stretched on and Tenchi wondered if his grandfather would ever attack. A bead of sweat slowly made its way down Tenchi's back, but he refused to scratch at the tickling trail it left.

Suddenly, just when Tenchi thought he would have to relent and attack, Katsuhito shouted and charged. His feet shuffled surely, one leg never crossing the other, and he circled slightly to the side. His bokken moved through Greet the Dawn, an attack that Tenchi easily deflected while sidestepping his grandfather's charge.

"So how is Washuu?" Tenchi asked, moving to the offensive with The Maiden Dances. Katsuhito blocked and responded with Across the River.

"She is well," the elder man answered. "And Ryouko?"

Tenchi briefly considered telling his grandfather about his conversation with Ryouko, but discarded the idea. If Katsuhito somehow knew about it, he would make his knowledge known. If not, Tenchi did not want to share the information just yet. When they knew for sure, he would probably ask his grandfather for advice; but until then it was between him and his wife. "She is well," Tenchi echoed. "Have you ever been to Yall?"

"Once," Katsuhito agreed, testing Tenchi's defense with Orange Dawn. He nodded in appreciation when Tenchi made the proper response to the attack. "The falls are quite beautiful."

"They are. Ryouko and I are going to return on our honeymoon." He stepped into Tree of Life, bringing his bokken up in an ascending arc with Gathering Rushes. Katsuhito side-stepped and asked, "Have you decided a date for the wedding?"

"August twenty-third," Tenchi said, backing off a step. Katsuhito's defense seemed weaker today than usual, but Tenchi assumed it was some sort of trick.

"Her birthday?" Katsuhito asked, backing away a step of his own.

"She gave me her heart on my birthday, I can give her what she's waited for so long on hers."

Katsuhito murmured appreciatively. "There are more fortuitous dates, but a good sentiment. Will you have a Shinto wedding?"

Tenchi leapt forward with an attack and Katsuhito slid easily backward into The Emperor Kneels to deflect.

"We haven't decided," Tenchi admitted. "We're thinking of having one now, and going to Jurai to have a Jurain wedding and renew our vows in a year." He dodged a feint by his grandfather and had to hustle the bokken around to avoid a crack on the arm.

"Will you perform the ceremony?" Tenchi asked, defending against a series of further attacks. "If we have a traditional wedding, that is."

"I would be honored," Katsuhito agreed. "Where have you been studying, Tenchi? I did not recognize that defense."

"I picked it up from Ryouko. Try this." He snapped the tip of the wooden blade downward, lunging forward with his fist and bringing the sword forward and up at the last moment.

Katsuhito deflected with Touch of the River and nodded. "Improvisation. That's good, Tenchi. And this?" He darted his sword through a complicated maneuver that Tenchi did not recognize. The younger man made to block, but the sword somehow moved around his own, ending in a place wholly other than where Tenchi expected the blow to fall. He had to duck wildly to keep from being struck on the side of the head, his sword held uselessly near his hip.

"What was that?" Tenchi asked, stepping backward to regain his balance while assuming a more defensive posture.

"It is called 'Kinnetsu heda terr.' That's Tedrin. It means something like 'Rotating the glass cylinder.'"

"Tedrin?" Tenchi asked, relieved that his grandfather's next attack was something recognizable.

"Yes, a race of simian-like beings from near the Core. Most of their martial arts maneuvers are impossible for humans. That one was meant to be performed with a six-section flail wielded in the upper three arms."

"Upper three?"

"Yes," Katsuhito agreed. "They have seven."

"I don't think I would want to fight one," Tenchi observed, moving cautiously back toward the offensive.

"It is not as difficult as it would seem. They are horribly unimaginative and have trouble fighting anyone who uses a style they do not recognize. The key to victory is not physical prowess, Tenchi-"

"It is strategy," Tenchi finished with a grin. "I didn't forget Everything while I was away, Grandpa."

"So I see," Katsuhito admitted, dodging an attack he could not deflect quickly enough.

"What's wrong?" Tenchi asked. "You're better than this, Grandpa. I hardly ever went this long, and now I've barely broken a sweat."

"Nothing is wrong, Tenchi," Katsuhito said calmly. "I am as good as I ever was, you are simply getting better."

*He's trying to trick me,* Tenchi thought, circling his grandfather warily. *He'll try to lull me into security and then take me when I lower my guard.*

Tenchi saw no weakness in his grandfather's defense, so moved forward with a cautious attack: Striking through Fog. Katsuhito blocked, and grinned. "You'll have to try harder than that, Tenchi."

Tenchi nodded and tried again. And again. And again. They traded blows back and forth until Tenchi was blinking sweat from his eyes, loose strands of hair sticking to his face. He was separated from his grandfather by half the width of the yard and held his sword defensively, shifting in a wide, slow circle while trying to decide what to do next. Katsuhito might not seem up to his old level of skill, but he was still very, very good. None of Tenchi's attacks had come close to scoring but he had more than a few near misses in dodging those of the old man.

"I think I smell lunch," Katsuhito observed from across the way. He raised his wooden sword and called, "Let's finish this, shall we?"

Tenchi nodded and readied himself. Katsuhito advanced, raising his sword above his head, and Tenchi moved forward to meet him. Wood cracked against wood, then again and again in a staccato burst of attack and defense. They danced back and forth, blades weaving complex patterns as Tenchi vied for an edge. Whatever the reason for Katsuhito's handicap, he was determined to press it. If the old man would not fight at his best, today would simply be the day he finally lost.

Tenchi twisted his sword through the delicate arc of Edge of the Shadows, catching Katsuhito's blade and whipping it aside. The older man's grip failed and his bokken clattered across the paving stones. Rather than concede, though, Katsuhito leapt backward through a hand spring and landed nimbly on his toes.

"Effective," he complimented, shifting from one stance to another. "Now what will you do, Tenchi?"

"Win," the younger man answered confidently, advancing with sword raised. Katsuhito waited motionlessly while Tenchi approached, then snapped a kick at his grandson's hands just as the bokken approached his shoulder. Tenchi yelped and his hand went limp, sword slipping away and skidding across the ground.

"You could have done that at any time," he said, stepping back hurriedly.

"Perhaps," Katsuhito agreed. "Or perhaps you let yourself become too confident and I took advantage of the weakness."

"I'm not as bad at this as I used to be," Tenchi warned, taking an aikido stance.

"So I see."

Tenchi shuffled forward and feinted with one hand while striking with the other, reaching for Katsuhito's collar. The priest pushed the grasping hand aside, snatching Tenchi's wrist and pulling the younger man in closer. Tenchi shifted, drawing Katsuhito across his shoulder, but the priest spun aside gracefully and used Tenchi's movement to twist his arm around to a painful angle.

Tenchi lashed out with a punch to his grandfather's hand, striking the pressure point between thumb and first finger with a knuckle. Katsuhito's grip loosened and Tenchi pulled away, abandoning aikido for a moment to throw a kick at his grandfather's head.

Katsuhito lifted his own leg, hooking his foot around Tenchi's knee and pulling the attacking leg back down. He stepped forward and struck at Tenchi's neck with a stiffened hand, only to be blocked by a casual flick of his grandson's wrist. Tenchi grabbed Katsuhito's shirt with both hands, trying to sweep the old man's legs while twisting him off balance. Katsuhito responded by shoving his arms between Tenchi's and forcing them apart, his balance solid enough that the sweeping leg did nothing. He followed with a pair of snapped punches toward Tenchi's abdomen that forced his grandson to dance backward, out of reach.

*Well that's not going to work,* Tenchi thought, considering. Aikido was all about throws, but his grandfather was considerably harder to get ahold of than Mataeo. He also seemed to like fighting in close where he could easily put Tenchi off balance, so Tenchi resolved to keep his distance. He was just a hair taller than his grandfather and, judging from Katsuhito's fighting style, probably slightly more comfortable using his feet to attack.

Katsuhito tried to close, but Tenchi swept low and snagged the priest's legs out from beneath him. The elder man went down, but immediately sprang back to his feet and launched himself at his grandson. Tenchi caught the weight of Katsuhito's leap and rolled backward, hitting the ground hard and using the impact to throw his grandfather away with a grunt. Katsuhito rolled across his shoulder and spun back to face his opponent.

Tenchi sprang upward and danced around into something closer to a traditional stance, waiting for his grandfather's approach. But instead of attacking immediately, Katsuhito took a step backward and reached into his shirt.

*Now what?* Tenchi wondered. He took a step toward Katsuhito just as the elder man pulled the master key from his waistband.

"Wha-"

Katsuhito gave Tenchi no time to complete the question, igniting the blade of the sword and leaping forward. He swung it in a downward arc toward Tenchi's face, forcing his grandson backward. Tenchi tripped and fell heavily, catching himself with one arm and scrambling backward.

"Grandpa, what are you doing?"

"Remember what I told you about practice fights?" Katsuhito asked, swinging the sword around in a glowing arc.

Tenchi thought furiously, trying to find his feet. "There is no such thing as a practice fight," Tenchi quoted. "Never assume a handicap or you will be handicapped in every real battle."

"Good," Katsuhito said approvingly. "Now defend yourself." He stepped forward again, swinging Tenchi-ken through The Maiden Dances, angled low toward Tenchi's prone form.

Tenchi raised his hand, the familiar pain shooting through his veins as the Lighthawk sword burst into being just in time to catch the blade of the master key. The two met with a crack and Tenchi pushed himself upward, rising to his feet while thrusting his grandfather away.

"Grandpa," he protested, blocking another attack, "this is dangerous!"

"Combat is dangerous, Tenchi. Now are we playing, or are we fighting?" He lashed out with a flurry of attacks that Tenchi barely deflected, their swords humming through glittering arcs and shedding painfully bright flares with every contact.

*Fine,* Tenchi thought, *he wants to play rough...* He took the offensive, forcing his grandfather further backward.

"Good," Katsuhito said approvingly. "Now perhaps the fight can really begin."

* * *

"Mmm," Aeka sighed, closing her eyes and chewing appreciatively. "This is wonderful."

"Yeah," Ryouko agreed, poking at her own lunch, "Hirotsu's always had the best beef sukiyaki."

They ate in companionable silence for a time. When Aeka had finished her food and Ryouko had eaten all she could--her appetite did not seem to be full strength that day--she asked, "So... How are you, Aeka? I mean, I know what you said in the car and all; but how are you feeling?"

Aeka shrugged and popped one of the few remaining pickles left on her plate into her mouth. "Well enough, I suppose. Washuu did a fine job of healing me after--"

Ryouko nodded. "How do you feel about all that? It wasn't really that long ago, but with that thing destroyed I guess I've just sort of pushed it all out of my mind as being over."

Aeka sighed. "I don't know, Ryouko. When I close my eyes at night... Half the time he's there, looming over me with a knife and I- I'd rather not talk about it, Ryouko, if you don't mind. I am dealing with it, but I do not feel comfortable discussing it."

"That's alright," Ryouko said gently. "How's all that stuff you wanted to get done on Jurai going?"

"Not well," Aeka said gloomily. "The Council has no interest in listening to my views, and father refuses to support them. Though perhaps that may have changed... He seemed so different the last few days we were on Jurai. I can almost forgive him for- for-" Aeka shook her head, leaving the thought unfinished.

Ryouko tapped her chopsticks together and tried to think of something else to talk about. Most of Aeka's life lately had revolved around Jurai, what else Could they talk about? Ryouko looked around for inspiration and saw their waiter approaching.

"Anything else for you today?"

Aeka looked up, startled at the sudden presence beside their table. Ryouko started to say no, but Aeka cut in with, "I would like a cocktail. How about you Ryouko? It's still early, we'll have something to drink before we go home, alright?"

"I- I don't know, Aeka," Ryouko said nervously, thinking of her possible pregnancy. She doubted alcohol would ever get anywhere near her womb, it generally didn't even make it to her stomach unless she wanted it to, but Ryouko did not want to take any unnecessary chances. She tried to think of a good excuse and hit upon, "I have to drive home."

Aeka sighed and rolled her eyes. "Well, do you mind if we stay so I can have something? I think I need one right now."

Ryouko smiled and nodded. "Sure Aeka. Bring me a tea?"

The waited bowed briefly and turned away, heading for the kitchen. Ryouko looked back at Aeka to find the princess staring at her curiously.

"So why don't you want a drink?"

"I- I have to drive home, like I said," Ryouko explained nervously.

"Come on, Ryouko. When has responsibility ever gotten in your way?"

"I'm a married woman now," Ryouko replied primly. "Tenchi would Not be happy if I got arrested for driving drunk."

"I bet," Aeka murmured, still staring at her. "I don't think that's it. You're hiding something, I can tell."

"I'm not hiding any-" Ryouko paused, spying a familiar face near the door. "Oh god," she moaned, sinking down in the seat, "it's my composition professor."

"What?" Aeka asked, turning to look. "Where?"

"Don't look!" Ryouko growled. "He'll see- oh no, he's coming over here."

"Him?" Aeka asked, watching the man with the long brown hair and neatly trimmed goatee approach.

"Yes Him," Ryouko sighed miserably. "He hit on me from my first day in the class, now he's going to-" She painted a pleasant smile on her face as the man approached and greeted, "Hello professor Laurance."

"Miss Hakubi, what a pleasant surprise," the man said cheerfully, his Japanese edged with a slight British accent.

"It's Masaki now, actually," Ryouko said with a broad smile.

"Really? Congratulations. Who's the lucky man?"

"Tenchi," Ryouko explained curtly. "You remember Tenchi? I introduced you to him a few times."

"Tenchi," the professor said thoughtfully. "Tenchi... No, I'm afraid I don't remember a Tenchi. Well, congratulations in any case. Are you going to introduce me to your friend?"

"No," Ryouko muttered low enough that she was sure only Aeka would hear. "Professor Laurance, Jurai Aeka. Aeka, Professor Laurance."

"Hello sir," Aeka said formally, tipping her head slightly. The professor bowed, though in something closer to the western manner than the eastern, and replied with, "A pleasure, Miss Jurai. Please, call me Steven. We are away from the classroom after all. Would you ladies mind if I join you? I'm afraid this is my first time to Kurashiki and I only ducked in out of the rain, but I could not ask for more fortuitous companions to take lunch with."

"We already ate," Ryouko protested as he sat down beside Aeka, not waiting for permission.

"We were just going to have something to drink before we left," Aeka further explained, sliding away from him.

"Well, it won't be the first time I've drunk my lunch," Steven said with a grin, signaling to a passing waiter. "Double scotch and a glass of white wine, if you will."

"Sir," the waiter agreed before moving off.

Steven turned his grin back on the two women, asking, "So, what brings you ladies to this fine city?"

Ryouko started to lie, but Aeka answered first with, "We just came into town for lunch. We're staying with family not too far away."

"Family? You're related?"

"Yes," Ryouko said for the sake of expediency, "Aeka is my-"

"Cousin," the princess finished. "I assume you teach at the University of Tokyo?"

"Composition," Steven agreed. "Fine school, that. I just came over from Europe last year. My brother teaches at Tokyo and the headmaster and I had a bit of a falling out at my last place of employment."

"Oh?" Aeka asked curiously while Ryouko tried to think of a way to get the guy to leave. He was so blatantly flirting with the princess it was disgusting. "Where was that?"

"I'd really rather not say," Steven said smoothly as their waiter arrived bearing drinks. Ryouko took her tea and sipped carefully, casting venomous glances at her professor over the rim of the cup in the hopes that he would get the idea and go away.

"What brings you to Kurashiki, if I may ask?"

*Damn it Aeka,* Ryouko thought angrily, *don't encourage him.*

"Pleasure entirely. There was not enough demand for my services over the summer semester for me to be gainfully employed, so I thought to see the sights of my new homeland." His eyes roved over Aeka and he smiled before saying, "And I must say, I'm beginning to change my mind about Paris being the most beautiful city in the world."

*Ugh,* Ryouko thought, rolling her eyes and taking another sip of tea. *If Aeka falls for that one I'll-*

"You've been to Paris?" Aeka asked with what seemed to be genuine interest. "Oh, I've heard it's wonderful."

*God, Aeka. Could you be any More of a...what's the word I'm looking for here?* Aeka batted her eyes and listened attentively to Steven's description of the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triumph. *Ah, right. Flirt.*


Ryouko finished her tea and sat for what felt like hours listening to the pair chatting across the table from her. He was regaling her with French now, a language of which Ryouko had picked up no more than a half dozen words; most of which she looked up after the professor tried to use them on her. She was not sure, but Ryouko thought he had just called Aeka a cabbage.

"We've got to get going," Ryouko said, interrupting the language lesson. "Sasami's going to get worried."

Aeka glanced at her watch and gasped. "Oh my, you're right Ryouko. I didn't realize we had been here so long. Please excuse us, Steven, but we must be going."

He rose with them and bowed formally. "It has been a pleasure. Please, take my card. You have an amazing talent for language, Miss Jurai. I know a woman with poetry in her soul, and you most certainly have it."

Ryouko suppressed the urge to roll her eyes and grabbed Aeka's hand. "Come on, Aeka. Let's get going."

Aeka took the card and waved as Ryouko pulled her toward the door. "It was nice meeting you."


"God, Aeka," Ryouko muttered as they got into the car.

"What?" The princess asked, sounding perplexed. "Is something the matter Ryouko?"

"Could you possibly be any more...flagrant? God, I thought you were going to climb into his lap."

"What? Why, I have no idea what you're talking about Ryouko. Steven and I were merely chatting over our drinks-"

"'Steven and I were merely chatting over our drinks,'" Ryouko mocked. "You know he called you a cabbage?"

"He did?" Aeka asked, glancing back toward the restaurant.

"Yes," Ryouko agreed, "he did."

Aeka giggled behind her hand and Ryouko cast a sideways glance at her. "What? You think being called a cabbage is funny?"

"No," Aeka gasped. She was laughing now, one finger raised to point at Ryouko, "But the look on your face..." She dissolved into helpless laughter and Ryouko drove on, staring firmly ahead and trying not to blush.

* * *

Katsuhito stepped through Striking through Fog, but Tenchi was too off balance to deflect. The blade of the master key hissed through the air, sizzling when it contacted his arm, and Tenchi leapt backward with a surprised yelp of pain.

"Shit! Grandpa!" His arm was bleeding now, a long, ugly, black-red gash partially cauterized across the outside of his forearm.

"Defend yourself, Tenchi," Katsuhito advised. "You can summon three wings; use them. Had you had a shield, that would not have happened."

"This is going too far," Tenchi muttered, circling defensively.

"Do you wish to end it, then?" Katsuhito asked, not lowering his sword.

*Will he stop if I say yes?* Tenchi wondered. The pain of the power burning through him was almost imperceptible now. He had had the sword in his hand for nearly half an hour; much longer than he had ever used it before. Now the only really pressing concerns were fatigue and the gash on his arm. *Do I want to say yes? I've nearly had him a few times. A little longer and I can wear him down.*

"No," Tenchi answered finally, "keep going."

"Good," Katsuhito said approvingly, advancing again. He lashed out with The Maiden Dances, moving fluidly from it into Edge of the Shadow, to Rain Falling on the Cliff, and then pirouetting into Summer Blossom Spreads Its Petals. Tenchi dodged and danced, blade shimmering and humming as he parried, deflected, and out-right absorbed his grandfather's attacks. He made his own offensive movements with Orange Dawn and Harvesting Berry Trees, but as he stepped out of the final movement he found his grandfather a meter further than he had expected and to the right.

"How-" Tenchi gasped, sure that the old man could not have moved that quickly, but did not have an opportunity to finish the question. Katsuhito's blade flickered forward, striking for his shoulder. Tenchi flinched reflexively back from the hissing sword, trying to will it away from his flesh. The sword in his hand dimmed, then steadied, and the master key ricocheted off a glowing field hovering inches away from his body. It faded quickly when Katsuhito retreated a step, sword weaving around cautiously.

"That's two," Katsuhito observed.

"No. Shit." Tenchi gasped, pain flaring through his skull. The power was nearly overwhelming, and he could not seem to put it away. He thought he might be able to cut it off entirely, but if he did he would be left defenseless and his grandfather was attacking again.

*I can't take this,* Tenchi thought, his muscles screaming in protest as he moved to block Katsuhito's attack. *It's too much...*

The second wing flared again when Tenchi's sword hand slipped, letting the master key come dangerously near his hip. It rebounded from the glowing field, but the surge of power burst through Tenchi's body with all the pain that a successful attack would have brought.

"Grandpa-" Tenchi gasped, "I-"

Katsuhito circled warily, eyeing his grandson. The blade of the master key dimmed and flickered out. "Tenchi? Are you-"

Tenchi lashed out, blade curving upward toward Katsuhito's midsection. The old man pulled back, holding up the quenched sword defensively. The Lighthawk blade skittered and hissed across the resultant shield, warping and distorting its shape as power battled power. Tenchi pulled back from the attack, sword flaring and stuttering before glowing strong again.

"Good," Katsuhito observed. "Lure the enemy into a position of weakness, then strike at the gap."

"Shut up," Tenchi gasped, flicking his blade through Greet the Dawn. "Fight, old man."

Katsuhito dodged the attack and struck out with Orange Dawn in return. Tenchi instinctively lowered his free arm, the master key striking the field that sprang up to envelope it, and thrust with his own blade. Katsuhito sprang sideways, the glowing katana passing inches away from his cheek, and let himself fall into a roll. He hopped to his feet on Tenchi's right, sword tracing a complex line in that weird alien style he had employed before.

Tenchi watched the approaching blade, seeing this time how it would twist. He brought his own sword around to block, then saw at the last moment that his grandfather's muscles were pulling wrong for the attack; he was going to take it in another direction. Tenchi whipped the blade of his sword down, somehow putting it in position an instant before the master key arrived, and spun his arm to push the attack away.

"That won't work twice," Tenchi growled.

"Indeed it won't," Katsuhito agreed, blade spinning as he assumed a new stance.

* * *

"Ryouko?" Aeka asked. The car had been quiet but for the radio since the princess stopped laughing. Ryouko would have spoken, but could not seem to think of anything to talk about except the way Aeka had acted with her professor.

"Yes?"

"Ryouko, was I- was I really flirting with Steven?"

"Yes," Ryouko agreed neutrally. She could not decide why she was angry with Aeka for her actions. Because she knew that her professor was a womanizer and absolutely not Aeka's type? Because he had spoiled their lunch together and Aeka did not seem upset? Ryouko refused to countenance the possibility that she was mad that Professor Laurence had so easily given up on her and then focused entirely on Aeka. Not that she Wanted his attention, but being passed up for the princess was something of a new experience for Ryouko.

*Okay, maybe I'm just a little bit jealous. Maybe thinking I'm pregnant Does leave me feeling a little unattractive. But I'm not jealous, I just don't think Aeka should have been flirting with that jerk out in public like that. Tenchi would have kittens if he knew Aeka acted like that.*

"I did not realize," Aeka sighed. She took his card from her pocket and turned it over, looking at his home number scrawled hastily across the back. "Ryouko, do you-"

"No, I Don't think you should call him."

Aeka flashed a glare at Ryouko, then looked back down at the card. "I was going to ask if- Oh, never mind."

Ryouko sighed, "Alright, Aeka. What?"

"No, nothing," Aeka said testily. "You are obviously not in the mood to be civil."

"I'm sorry," Ryouko groaned. "Come on Aeka, what is it?"

"I just..." The princess sighed and put the card back in her pocket. "Do you think I should...look for someone?"

"What? You mean like a boyfriend?"

Aeka nodded, looking out the car window. "I- I need someone, Ryouko. For so long I had Tenchi. Well, not really Had Tenchi, but he filled the role for me. I could look forward to being with him one day and not worry about finding someone. But now- now that's not true anymore, and I don't even know where to begin starting over. I thought I could just go back to Jurai and everything would work out. I would be the crown princess again and everything would be laid out for me... But it didn't happen that way."

"Oh?" Ryouko asked. "It looked like they had everything pretty well plotted out for you back there."

Aeka shook her head. "No, they plan meals and interviews, but personal details are left to the family. Father was too busy to think most of the time I was there and my mothers... They were very understanding. They sent me on one marriage interview, but I- I agreed to it first."

"So how'd it go? I guess you didn't hit it off?"

Aeka rolled her eyes. "No, we did not 'hit it off.' Men who attend marriage interviews are either hopelessly inept or from very traditional families."

"Inept?" Ryouko asked with a grin. "You mean ugly?"

"No," Aeka laughed, "there are certainly those, but most often they are simply too sheltered to have any idea how to court a woman. So they attend interviews to find a wife whom they will not have to seduce."

"Ah. So which category do you fall into, princess?"

"Really, Ryouko. I am only talking to you about this because you said you would be civil."

"Sorry," Ryouko sighed. "Old habits. So which was this guy? Traditional, ugly, or just a recluse?"

"A little of the former and the latter. He was quite handsome, really."

"So why no sparks?"

Aeka shrugged uncomfortably. "I don't know. He just wasn't... My type, I suppose."

"And Steven is?" Ryouko asked, accenting the 'Steven' to better express exactly what sort of opinion she held for her former teacher.

"No, I suppose not. He was interesting, but I do not think I would really wish to spend any amount of time with him. He thinks very highly of himself, doesn't he?"

"Mmm," Ryouko agreed.

"So what do I do?"

"About what?"

"Men," Aeka sighed. "I don't even know where to begin."

"You're asking Me?" Ryouko asked, surprised.

"You are my only friend with anything like a normal relationship, Ryouko. Who else would I talk to?"

"You should ask Ai," Ryouko suggested. "She's had boyfriends."

"But I do not Know Ai. For better or worse, we are friends, Ryouko. Are we not?"

"We are," Ryouko agreed firmly.

"So what shall I do? You've lived in the city for some time, are there...bars or something?"

Ryouko nodded. "There are, but you don't want to go to those places."

"Then what?"

"Have you..." Ryouko paused, considering how to approach the subject. Appearance had always been a sensitive topic with Aeka. "Have you thought about maybe changing the way you look?"

"You mean body alteration?" Aeka asked, frowning. "I do not think I am That unattractive, Ryouko. Just because my chest does not look like a pair of beach balls-"

"No, not that," Ryouko interrupted before the princess could go any further. "I meant get your hair done, buy some new clothes, maybe try some different makeup. Even get your ears pierced."

"Do you really think all that is necessary?" Aeka asked, still frowning.

"Not Necessary, no," Ryouko said carefully. "But you said you want to start over. Maybe if you change your looks a little you'll feel differently about yourself. Then it'll be easier to do new things."

"I don't know. What sort of clothes?"

Ryouko shrugged. "I don't know. Something a little more trendy than your usual? I love kimonos, but you would kind of stick out if you wore one to a singles bar. Maybe something like what you've got on now."

"This?" Aeka asked, plucking at her borrowed blouse. "Don't you think that it is a little..."

"Hmm? Remember who you borrowed it from."

"Yes, well. Perhaps you're right, Ryouko. Sasami has had two relationships in the past year, maybe I should take a cue from her." Aeka chuckled. "Modeling myself on my little sister... What would mother say?"

"How about we go shopping tomorrow?" Ryouko suggested. "We'll pick you out a few new outfits, have lunch, go get your hair done... It'll be fun."

Aeka thinned her lips but nodded. "Yes. I think I'd like that."

* * *

"Focus, Tenchi. You must maintain your focus. It is imperative that you do not let the power-"

"Shut up!" Tenchi growled angrily. *How am I supposed to focus if he keeps babbling at me?* Tenchi pushed away from his grandfather, swords disengaging from the lock they had held for the past minute.

Katsuhito nodded and flicked his sword offensively. Tenchi sidestepped, batting the attack away with his shielded arm. He had found that his grandfather could not penetrate his shields unless he was distracted, so was focusing primarily on trying to overcome Katsuhito's defenses. Not an easy task.

Tenchi moved through one attack after another, each easily deflected or dodged by his grandfather. The pain of holding the wings in place and the effort required to keep his concentration was too much, he could not move as gracefully as the Jurain style required while doing it. But if he released even one of the wings, he would leave himself open to attack. More and more of Katsuhito's probes were penetrating his defensive maneuvers to skitter across the glowing aura of his shield and Tenchi knew that if he dropped it he would lose much more quickly than he could regain enough composition to improve his defense.

"Focus," Katsuhito repeated again. It seemed like that was all the old man said anymore. "You must control the power. You cannot afford the luxury of letting it control you, Tenchi. Fight it or you will not be able to fight me."

Tenchi roared, bringing his blade up and slashing downward. He was sick of Katsuhito's advice. Sick of being told to focus, sick of having things he understood quite well explained to him, and sick of trying to pay attention to three things at once.

Katsuhito raised the master key to absorb Tenchi's wild swing, catching the descending energy blade with his own. Tenchi growled and pushed harder, gasping the end of the bar of light that was the Lighthawk sword with both hands. Katsuhito shifted his feet slightly for leverage, pushing up against Tenchi's weapon.

"Raw force will not overcome, Tenchi," Katsuhito warned. "Without skill force is useless."

"Enough power can substitute for skill," Tenchi muttered. Who had told him that? Someone important...

"Perhaps," Katsuhito agreed reticently, "in some cases. But you don't have enough in this case."

"The hell I don't," Tenchi replied angrily. He pushed harder, forcing the master key closer to his grandfather's face by one centimeter at a time. Katsuhito grunted and pushed back, levering the Lighthawk sword away.

Tenchi felt the power surging inside him, begging to be used. Demanding to be used. It was rampaging through his veins and his mind, crying desperately for him to but tap it. Let himself drink from the font, it promised, and he would win easily. He would burn his opponents away before his gaze. *I can't,* Tenchi thought angrily. *I can't control any more.*

*Why don't you ask Ryouko for help?*

Tenchi blinked, his control of the sword slipping enough that Katsuhito pushed it away by another few centimeters before he regained his focus. *She's too far away,* Tenchi reasoned. *I can't contact her all the way in town.*

*Or are you just afraid?*

*I'm not afraid. What is there to be afraid of?*

*That if something ever happens to her, you won't be able to do anything. If Ryouko were too hurt to help you summon the wings, then what? You'd be left just like this. Unable to even defeat an old man. What kind of husband would you be then? What kind of protector?*

Tenchi roared and pushed against Katsuhito's blade. It went down by another half dozen centimeters, hovering only a hand's span away from his face. The Lighthawk sword flared brighter, its furious blue deepening further toward white.

"Three," Katsuhito gasped, beads of sweat standing out on his forehead and muscles quivering with the effort of keeping his grandson at bay.

Tenchi screamed incoherently, a sound of pure rage and pain. He eyes flicked from side to side rapidly, pupils burning with fiery green light. The symbol on his forehead was gleaming too brightly for Katsuhito to look upon directly, and his body quivered nearly as much as the old man.

"I'm not beaten yet," Katsuhito growled. He closed his eyes and muttered softly, still exerting all the strength he had left to keep the blazing brand of Tenchi's weapon away from his face.

Katsuhito's eyes snapped open and his hands glowed green around the shaft of the master key. Its blade flared and spit crackling tongues of energy to coruscate to the paved ground. Katsuhito growled again and pushed the Lighthawk sword away with a grunt. He leapt backward, out of sword reach, and held his blade at the ready while gasping for air.

Tenchi stood plainly, adopting no stance. His shoulders heaved though he was breathing normally and the fiery green pinpoints in his eyes expanded and contracted in rapid cycles.

"Tenchi! Keep hold of yourself, Tenchi. Don't let your mind be consumed by it."

Tenchi snarled and stepped forward, raising his sword. He lashed out, a blind strike fueled only by power and utterly lacking in form or grace. Katsuhito dodged out of the way, rolling to his feet a few meters away. Tenchi turned and stepped forward again.

"Remember yourself, Tenchi! Remember Ryouko, your wife! Remember your child!"

Tenchi's lip curled back in a feral gesture, exposing his canines as a low hiss emerged from his throat. He made no other response to Katsuhito's advice, but took another step to close the distance between them.

"Tenchi!" Katsuhito called sternly. "Stop this, Tenchi. You are using more power than you can control. Release it until you have yourself in focus again."

"How many times," Tenchi snarled, "do I have to tell you to Shut Up?" The Lighthawk sword whipped up toward Katsuhito's chest, leaving a flaming swath of energy in its path. Katsuhito brought the master key around to deflect, a horrible screech ripping through the air as one blade slid across the other.

Tenchi attacked again and again, utterly without plan or strategy. He simply brought the sword up and down, or curving in from the side, or rising in deadly arcs from below. Wherever an attack left the blade, he whipped it back toward Katsuhito. The older man fought hard to keep it away, dancing and leaping to avoid the blazing sword as often as possible. When it was impossible to avoid he caught it with his own blade, the master key's bar of energy distorting and sputtering around the Lighthawk sword.

"You must remember your training," Katsuhito advised. "You can not win this way."

"Why not?" Tenchi asked in a low growl. "If it were not for interference, I would have won this way the last time."

Katsuhito frowned and fought on in silence.

Tenchi launched another volley of attacks, screaming as they came to a furious crescendo with a downward strike at Katsuhito's head. "Death to the Jurai!"

"Tenchi!" Katsuhito gasped. "You-"

Tenchi hissed and came on, ignoring his grandfather's continued protests. He saw the green flames of his eyes reflected in Katsuhito's, but the sight only drove him to fight harder. It looked so familiar. Just like the last time. Like before the old man sealed him away in the cave.

"Never again!" Tenchi screamed wildly, blade flashing toward Katsuhito's shoulder. The priest brought up the master key to block the attack, but Tenchi's swing slammed into it with all the inevitable force of an avalanche. The master key sputtered and died in Katsuhito's hands. The old man flung himself down and to the side, out of the path of the oncoming sword, and stared at it in shock.

"Four," he gasped, watching tendrils of energy pulse around the solid white core of Tenchi's weapon. "Four wings..."

Tenchi screamed again, this time without words. He brought the sword down on the paving stones where Katsuhito lay a moment before. The rock shattered under the blow, sending stone fragments flying into Tenchi's legs and Katsuhito's arm where he lay a few meters to the side. He had rolled away just in time to avoid the attack and now scrambled to his feet.

Tenchi's head swiveled toward him, his gaze an inferno of green and his whole being lit by a pale emerald radiance. His shoulders were heaving and all the muscles of his face and hands twitched spasmodically, pulling themselves this way and that. He held himself upright only by sheer force of will, the pain having burnt logical thought away under its onslaught what seemed an eternity ago.

"Stop Tenchi!" Katsuhito shouted, raising his empty hands. The master key lay useless on the shattered tiles of the courtyard, lifeless as any other hunk of wood. A blue-green phosphorescence built up around Katsuhito's raised hands, edged in tiny flickers of silver.

Tenchi opened his mouth, but only a strangled, choking noise emerged. His face twisted into a hideous mask that flickered between pain and hatred as he fought with his own arms to raise the sword.

Katsuhito rushed his grandson, slipping around space to dodge the inevitable attack. His hands flashed toward Tenchi's body, their glittering coronas leaving sparkling paths in the air through which they passed, but rebounded ineffectively off the younger man's shield. Tenchi whipped the sword around again and Katsuhito stepped across space once more. He flickered from in front of Tenchi off to one side, the action drawing a grimace to his features.

Tenchi attacked again and Katsuhito dodged once more, ducking in low to drive a punch for Tenchi's stomach. The shield absorbed the impact but distorted slightly under Katsuhito's continued force. The priest fell backward and away, rolling across the paving stones before rising once more to his feet.

"Tsunami give me strength," he whispered. "I'm an old fool who did not realize the course of his actions. Let me stop him before he injures himself..."

Tenchi howled in agony and rushed forward, his feet half stumbling over themselves and each other. The blade of the Lighthawk sword, a solid beam of white cutting a hole in the air, traced a messy arc toward Katsuhito. The priest flickered out of its way, reappearing beside Tenchi and delivering a series of punches to his grandson's side. One after another they impacted the shield and were repulsed, but with each attack it distorted further, sending ripples across the near-invisible surface of the barrier enveloping the man.

Katsuhito drew back his hand and shouted before driving it forward. Silver flames flared against blue-white, but the priest's stiffened fingers passed through the barrier and slammed into Tenchi's kidney. The younger man howled and danced aside, shield flickering and flaring around the gaping hole near his waist.

Tenchi turned his head in a jittering motion to look down at it, then brought his empty, burning gaze back to the priest. His lips twitched like live creatures and a gurgling moan rose from his chest. His mouth gaped wide and something like a dry rattle welled forth. The world dimmed before Katsuhito's eyes and the aura of energy sheathing his hands winked out. He gaped down at them for only a split second before refocusing on his opponent. Tenchi's whole body was wracked with shuddering jerks, his arms twitching uncontrollably and weaving the sword around in strange patterns.

Solid light blazed from the gaping wound in the shield and it sealed over before Katsuhito's eyes. Glimmering fields formed around Tenchi's torso, arms, and legs, solidifying into dead-white plates of energetic nothingness.

"Five," Katsuhito whispered despite himself. Tenchi pulled one hand away from the sword and its twin blazed to life in his grasp. Katsuhito gaped, unable to control himself. Power rolled off of Tenchi in waves, driving rippling patterns in the stone dust covering the unbroken tiles of the yard. The twin supports of the porch, a good dozen meters away, exploded. Shards of burning wood whistled through the air and those that made it as far as the two men vaporized as they approached Tenchi, leaving only thin trails of smoke to mark their passage. The master key shuddered across the yard, vibrating like a struck tuning fork.

"Six... By the tree..."

Tenchi took one shuddering step toward his grandfather, his footstep resounding through the clearing like a thunderclap, and something silver-white streaked out of the forest toward him.


Katsuhito watched Vianna's approach as though in slow motion. Her face was set and determined, eyes blazing. The name of the House Jurai was on her lips and fields of almost-there silver flame curled around her fists. She streaked across the paving stones in much the way Katsuhito had moved before, slipping around space and stepping between the span of seconds. She moved faster than anything Katsuhito had seen since training under his mother Misaki. Tenchi moved faster.

Vianna whipped the wooden blade from her back, silver fire rushing along its length as she brought it around in a skillful arc. For the tiniest fraction of an instant Katsuhito thought it would connect, then Tenchi's weapon was there. He did not move, that the priest could see, he simply was no longer in the position he had occupied a moment ago. The wooden blade shattered under the impact of one of Tenchi's swords and the other followed it, curving toward Vianna's neck. Somehow she slipped the blow, rolling across the yard and springing back to her feet meters away.

Tenchi swung his head between her and Katsuhito, swords moving in shuddering arcs to point in both directions.

Katsuhito dropped to his knees, bowing his head and spreading his arms wide. He called in as clear a voice as he could manage, "I submit!"

The sword pointed at the priest swung around to face Vianna and Tenchi took a step toward her. In that step he traversed the space between them, going from here to there without, that Katsuhito could discern, moving through or even around the space between. His blades flashed down, but again Vianna somehow managed not to be there when they struck. She half dashed, half rolled across the yard and snatched the inactive master key up from the stones. Katsuhito knew she should not have been able to touch it, but it no more stopped her than it worked when she attempted to ignite it.

Tenchi glared across the distance at her as she fumbled with the useless weapon. His hands came together, the swords evaporating. In there place came a bar of solid light, burning from where he stood though the empty air of the yard and through Vianna's chest. It flickered and faded as she fell, limp and lifeless, to the stones.

Tenchi's face calmed when she hit the ground, the twitching gone. The furious inferno in his eyes shrank to pinpoints and Katsuhito saw his lips moving. The priest's ears rang with the buzz of his grandson's power, but he was nearly positive that Tenchi whispered Ryouko's name.

Tenchi moved across the space between himself and the fallen guard, again without traversing any of the area between them, and knelt beside her. He gently rolled her onto her back, looking down at the gaping hole where her right breast once was. Tenchi brought up one hand, palm up and open, and a tiny sextet of rotating lights formed above it. Katsuhito watched as they spun faster, then streaked toward the guard's body. The corpse shook when they impacted her forehead, thrashing limply against the ground. Solid light flared from the hole in her chest, a beam piercing the clouds above and too bright to even glance in the direction of.

When his vision cleared, Katsuhito saw Tenchi collapsed on the ground beside the guard. Her clothes were ragged and charred, but her breast was whole again and, as he watched, it rose and fell with her breathing.

* * *

Tires squealed when Ryouko stood on the brake, swerving off the road and nearly driving the car into a ditch. Aeka shrieked, bracing against the dashboard as the vehicle bounced and lurched across uneven ground.

"Ryouko!" Aeka shouted when they had come to a halt, but the cyan-haired woman made no response. She was staring hard into the distance, eyes wide with fright. Her fingers were wrapped around the steering wheel in a white-knuckled grip and she appeared to be shaking.

"Ryouko, what-"

"Tenchi," Ryouko gasped, "he's..."

"What?" Aeka asked, shaken and confused. Cars whistled past.

"He's in trouble," Ryouko whispered, half to herself. She turned to look at her companion and said quickly, "I'm sorry Aeka, I have to go to him. I'll be back for you as soon as I can."

"Ryouko, what are-"

Ryouko vanished from the driver's seat, car still running, and Aeka finished quietly, "-you talking about?"

* * *

Ryouko shouted Tenchi's name and dashed across the paved yard of the shrine, stumbling over pieces of shattered stone and yet smoldering wood. Tenchi was not moving and, in her focus on her husband, Ryouko barely noticed Vianna, Katsuhito, or Washuu.

"Tenchi," Ryouko cried again, falling to her knees beside him. She shook him, but he did not respond. She was vastly relieved to find that he was breathing, but his breaths were long and ragged and muscles all over his body twitched randomly while she watched.

Pressing a hand to his forehead, Ryouko leaned down and listened to Tenchi's chest. His heartbeat was very fast, but strong and even for all its speed. His face was flushed and coated with sweat and the muscles of his forehead were twitching around under her fingers.

"Talk to me Tenchi," Ryouko pleaded. "Wake up. Come on Tenchi, wake up." But he did not; he just laid there on his back with his eyelids flickering as the orbs beneath jittered around. Ryouko shut her own eyes and concentrated, trying to focus the way her mother had taught her. After what seemed an eternity and when she was suspecting she simply could not do it so far from the lab, the interface of Washuu's computer blossomed in her mind like an unfolding lily. Ryouko opened her eyes to find the terminal floating above Tenchi's chest, waiting for command.

"Hang on Tenchi," Ryouko whispered, tapping with the speed of desperation at the keys. Charts and graphs sprang up around her arms and Ryouko's eyes flickered between them, gleaning information about her fallen husband from their shifting patterns. She spread a field across Tenchi's body to deaden his nervous system, ending the random twitching. He was alive and well enough, so far as she could tell, just unconscious. As her concern for Tenchi ramped down from obsessive to merely worried Ryouko took in the shrine clearing. Paving stones were shattered or entirely gone in a few places, rubble from their destruction scattered across the unbroken portions of the surface. The porch roof of the building had collapsed, the supports little more than charred stumps jutting up like fangs from the foundation. A few meters away Vianna lay, her chest half exposed and clothing singed, apparently as unconscious as Tenchi. And, leaning against the wall of the shrine building, sat Katsuhito. His shirt was undone and hung loose around his shoulders, sweat glistening from his neck and chest. Washuu knelt beside him, gently dabbing his forehead with a damp cloth. His eyes were closed and she was facing away, so Ryouko was not sure if they even knew she was there. How they could not, given her screams before, she did not know. Most of all though, power rang through the air around her. It was like the feeling of a coming storm, potential for great destruction permeating the world and flooding her senses. The dust and rock littering the ground was distributed in perfect waveforms, disturbed only by her own footprints. She could see two loci of focus for the waves, rings of rock and dirt spreading out from them like waves atop the surface of a pond to mingle and cancel where they interfaced. One was a few meters away, the other was directly beneath Tenchi's supine form.

Confident that her husband would live and, in time, wake up naturally, Ryouko rose and stalked toward her mother and grandfather.

"What the hell happened?" Ryouko demanded. Washuu glanced up at her daughter as she approached and Katsuhito cracked an eyelid for a moment, but neither replied.

Ryouko growled and asked again, "What happened here? Who was Tenchi fighting?"

Again there was no response. A little orb of information popped into being before Washuu and she rotated it, studying one facet after another of Katsuhito's well being.

"God damn it," Ryouko fumed, reaching down and catching her mother by the collar. She pulled Washuu away from her charge and held her an inch above the ground. "I asked what the hell happened to my husband."

"Calm down Ryouko," Washuu sighed, not trying to disengage herself from her daughter's grasp. "Tenchi is fine, now please put me down so I can finish attending to Kat?"

"Tell me what happened first," Ryouko demanded. She did not understand what was going on or why her mother would be so closed-mouthed suddenly. And why would she have left Tenchi convulsing like that? He was Obviously not 'fine.'

"Tenchi and his grandfather were sparring," Washuu explained. "Things got a little out of hand."

"A Little?" Ryouko asked in disbelief, looking around the yard. "It looks like someone fought a war up here. And my bond with Tenchi got cut off, that's only happened when he lost control of the wings. What the hell was he doing using them?"

"Put your mother down, Ryouko," Katsuhito sighed. "It was my fault and I will explain. Let her finish her ministrations or she will blame herself every time I have an ache in my knee."

Ryouko reluctantly put Washuu down, then stood with her hands on her hips and waited for Katsuhito's promised explanation. The old priest sighed and rubbed his forehead over still-closed eyes. His hand shook slightly.

"Tenchi must learn to control his powers without your help, Ryouko."

"What?" Ryouko frowned down at Katsuhito and asked, "Why? I'm always going to be there for him, why should he have to do that?"

"What happens if you are injured?" Katsuhito asked. "Or too far away for Tenchi to find you with his mind?"

"That won't happen," Ryouko said confidently.

"You don't know that," Katsuhito scolded. "What if there were another of Tokimi's servants? What if it were to injure you before either of you could react, and you were unable to help Tenchi?"

"He could defend me," Ryouko asserted. "He's strong enough."

"Indeed he is," Katsuhito agreed, rubbing his shoulder. "But the last of those beings was powerful. If another were sent, it would likely be even stronger. Tenchi would fight with his life to save yours, you know that. He would not hesitate to use any means at his disposal to defend you. And what would happen were he to summon the power without you there to help him control it? He would lose himself in it and, once he had destroyed his enemy, destroy himself."

Ryouko frowned. What he said was true enough, but she did not have to like it. "You don't understand what it feels like. He hurts so much when he uses the wings without me. It's... I can't explain how bad it is."

Katsuhito shook his head. "I'm sure I don't, but that does not change the facts of the matter. If Tenchi cannot control himself, it will eventually lead to his destruction."

"So you're trying to teach him to?" Ryouko asked. The old bastard had made her Tenchi summon the wings unaided? How could he possibly be so cruel?

"Some paths cannot be learned," Katsuhito sighed, "they must be walked. Tenchi is the only one that can teach Tenchi how to control the power. There is no other in the universe, besides you, perhaps, who has the sort of ability he does. I wished to help him, but I did not fully grasp what I was doing. He lost control. I think that he believed himself to be you, for a time, and struck out at me in fear. Vianna interceded on my behalf, I'm guessing, and Tenchi killed her."

Ryouko glanced toward the prone woman, watching her breathing. "She looks alright to me."

"He killed her," Katsuhito asserted. "He vaporized a large portion of her chest. After it was done he somehow found himself again. He went to her and repaired the damage, then restored her life. I have seen miracles worked with the power of Jurai, but never anything like that. Her heart and much of her lungs were gone entirely, but he put them back and restored the soul to her body."

"Like Tsunami did for him," Ryouko whispered, staring at her husband's limp body. "I- I didn't know he had that much power. I wouldn't have guessed we could even do that together."

"He was wielding six wings by the time Vianna appeared," Katsuhito said, his tone touched with awe.

"Six? But how? I didn't think he could do more than three."

"He can't," Washuu agreed, speaking up after closing down her terminal. "Looks like you'll live, Kat."

"Then how, Mom?"

Washuu turned away from Katsuhito to look at her daughter. "Tenchi has enough power tied up in his body to command three wings, the same as a moderately powerful Jurain starship, and apparently the same as you. When I felt him summoning those, I came out to see what was going on. Tenchi seemed to have it under control, and was holding his own against Kat, so I let them play. Then it all collapsed too quickly for me to do more than watch. Tenchi siphoned off power from the master key, from Kat, and as far as I can tell from Aeka, the tree Funaho, and a dozen other places scattered across the surface of the globe. He only has the power for three wings, but he's like a living incarnation of a Jurain key. He can tap Jurai energy directly, but so far from the Network and without a tree to link him to it, he had to take it straight from other sources. Combined, there was enough power to double his normal compliment. If he were actually On Jurai I have no idea what he would be capable of. The only limit to what he could draw from the Network would be his own body; he could easily pull in so much power that he burns himself out. Not just his mind as he risked before, either. He could vaporize his body with the power just as well as he did Vianna's."

* * *

"Tenchi? Are you awake?"

Tenchi opened one eye slowly, then the other. Everything hurt.

A cyan-topped blur moved into view but it was too hard to focus for Tenchi to make out more than that. He tried to say her name, but despite his lips moving no sound came out.

Ryouko moved around, a shifting image of colors against a duller-colored background, and Tenchi felt something cool and wet on his lips.

"Drink," she instructed. Tenchi tried his best, but much of the liquid spilled around the corners of his mouth when he could not make his lips and throat work correctly. Ryouko dabbed at his face, clearing away the tangy, sweet liquid she had fed him.

"Wha," Tenchi managed, voice groaning and sliding even across the single syllable.

"It's something Mom made," Ryouko explained. "She said it would help with the restoration process." She sighed and sat down at the edge of the table, or whatever it was, where he lay. Tenchi tried to move his head to look at her, but either something was restraining him or it simply would not work.

"I'm sorry," Ryouko said quietly. "It's my fault you can't move, Tenchi. I- I overreacted when I found you and I did something without really understanding what I was doing. You kind of burned out most of your central nervous system while you were fighting with Katsuhito, but your body was regenerating itself when I got there. I saw you twitching around and I thought there was something wrong, so I used Mom's machines and generated a field to stop what was going on inside you at the time. It turns out that I actually kept you from getting better, so now Mom has a bunch of nanites running around in your body rebuilding the damage. It's a lot slower than whatever you were doing, but Mom doesn't know how to recreate that. Not yet, anyway. She says she'll probably have it figured out in a couple of weeks."

Tenchi felt his eyelids growing heavier and let them slide shut on the blurred Ryouko sitting beside him. As he slipped back into unconsciousness he heard her say, "Sleep now dear, you'll feel better when you wake up."

* * *