All Alone

by Hananymous

Last chapter uploaded. Ryoko's past comes to haunt her. Washu tries to help, as is Ryo-ohki. Please read the A.N. on chap. 8.

4. Overhead, Rings the Thunder

Disclaimer: Tenchi Muyo! And all its' characters belong to Pioneer LDC.

Her deft hand shown with finger rings

Among the hairlike spread of strings.

She caught the pieces end to end

And, with a touch that never missed,

Not so much tied as made them blend.

Man's ingenuity was good.

He saw it plainly where he stood,

Yet found it easy to resist.

(Part four of, 'A Lone Striker' by Robert Frost)

Quick Pre-notes: All right, time to get to business; the first few chapters have been all peaceful, right? Well, this one's gonna change, count me on that. My other fic on Tenchi Muyo! "Washu's Journal," is coming out great! I'll post the first chapter coming few days, and if you guys like it, I'll do her other, twenty thousand years of life, hopefully by then, I'd have seen "Hello Baby!" and "Here Comes Jurai" again, since the last time I saw them was about a year ago. Too long to remember. So, this one might be a little depressing if you like…Hehehehe, you'll see.

All Alone (part 4)

It'd been a few days since the incident at the treehouse, Ryoko came back to the house after they had gotten Washu to snap out of her trance of surprise the space pirate had made while telling her she'd loved blueprinting for the longest time. Sasami had gotten over the shock of Ryo being deaf, and had come back to the house with Ryoko. Ryo-ohki, well, you could say she was as good as ever, despite the fact she was trapped in her adult form for a while. Anyways, everything was going out great! Except for one person…

Washu.

"Dear Journal,

You can't imagine how crappy I feel right now! Ryoko just told me that she'd loved blueprinting! She always has! I forgot about it and she told me about it the other day. I can't believe I hadn't remembered that she was obsessed with designing stuff when she was younger. Anyways, I tried fixing her tastebuds today; she's still in here. I haven't been able to give her the ability to read back though. Her brain is just like an endless maze of memories, mine would be probably much more complicated than hers and probably never would be able to find the center. Like I said, Ryoko's been pissed at me because I keep asking to talk to Zero or herself. I need to do that to make sure both entities are functioning properly. Damn, still can't believe I freaking forgot! My body transformed from grown-up to child and back again so fast my head was buzzing by the time I got enough conscious to write in you. Ryo's been a little sad, but makes up for it by listening and watching through little Ryoko's eyes. Ryoko has totally locked up the mental connection again, I can't speak a thing to her unless I force it open, but I won't do that. She has a right to lock it up, it's not like she has any privacy anymore, not that I couldn't talk to her while I trapped in the Soja. I have to go, Ryoko's gonna blow up a machine if I don't let her out soon."

The scientist sighed and pressed a button, and the screen disappeared, leaving the silence to her. Well, you could say silence, maybe if you were used to shutting out Ryoko's minute screams every few hours. Washu got up and took a look around her, seeing if she could find her daughter in eyeshot. "Ryoko?" she called out, stuffing her dirty hands in her pockets. Nobody answered. She sighed again and brought up a search engine of hers, then pressed another button gently, for not using this thing in a few thousand years. A light gray screen popped up on the monitor, showing her searching eyes that Ryoko had gotten into her old quarters. Washu smiled inwardly, hoping it to bring back memories of working in her own quarters in her lab. The scientist smacked herself in stupidity, "She won't remember, she might even be in severe pain right now!" she cried out and phased to that part of the huge lab.

Meanwhile…

"They sure have been in there for a while, I wonder what's going on…" Tenchi asked himself, wondering if he should go in there, but decided against it. Ayeka was folding laundry, so she didn't hear him whisper a worry about Ryoko. The black haired man sighed, and turned his gaze on the blank t.v. Screen. Sasami hadn't cooked since she got back from wherever she went, so it didn't pay to ask what was for dinner tonight. The half-breed rolled his eyes, and reached out for his book on how to handle your temper. At first he thought it was silly, since his father had given it to him in front of all the girls, then forced him to read it. Washu had been the only one who hadn't teased him after he'd gotten it, and he was kinder toward her for that. He learned how the scientist handled her temper better, by thinking of a loved one. Tenchi bet it would be Ryoko she thought of when she almost burst her bubble; then again, it could be Ryo-ohki. The young man sighed again, and continued reading.

He was about half way through when a buzzing sound filled his ears. Stopping in his spot, he looked around himself, wondering what that faint buzzing sound was. He shrugged it off and continued reading, trying to shut it off. Ayeka looked up from her folding, "Lord Tenchi? Is something wrong?" He looked up from his book, "Ah, just have this buzzing sound in my ear, won't go away." He eyes shifted back to the page. The Jurian Princess shrugged, and then put the rest of the clothes in the basket, "Lord Tenchi? Do you have any idea what happened to Sasami? She hasn't been her usual cheery self lately," Tenchi shrugged and put the book down, "I've no idea. The other day I saw her running across the fields crying, she looked like she had something in her arms. Anyway, she was headed toward the sakura orchard. I tried to catch up, but she was too far ahead. So I gave up after getting lost in the cherry blossoms again," Ayeka nodded, "That thing she was holding was Ryo-ohki. Ryoko said she knew where she went, but she also said that it was Sasami's secret, so I didn't pester he about it and went up to my room,"

Tenchi put a hand to his chin and thought for a moment, "Well, if that's Sasami's secret hideout, I guess I can't bother her. I've got my own, you see. Ryoko knows where that is though," the princess grumbled inwardly, "Seems the woman knows a lot of secret hideouts. She even said Sasami willingly told her about it. I'm her sister! Why didn't she tell me?" The half earthling stared into her red eyes, "Well, it's nice to keep things from your siblings sometimes, I mean. Sasami doesn't know that Funaho is your hideout, does she? And anyway, maybe she told Ryoko because she sees more of herself in her than you do, Ayeka," he ended and waited for a snide comment about Sasami not seeing anything in her except a demon woman. To his surprise, she looked…shocked. "Miss Ayeka?" his voice seemed to drive her back to reality. Dusting the lint off herself, she forced a smile at him, "Well, that may be true, Lord Tenchi. That may be true," she got up and walked outside, heading in the direction of the holy tree of the Masaki shrine.

Tenchi looked at her hard before getting up himself and walking toward the shrine, just to pay grandpa an extra visit.

Up at the shrine, Sasami was pouring her heart out to her brother Yosho, who had dropped his disguise. "I-I'm sorry for laying all this stuff on your shoulders," an exhilarated Sasami whimpered weakly while wiping away her tears and looking at them. Yosho took this all calmly, and put his arm around his sisters' shoulders, "Well, I have to ask you something, Sasami," he asked quietly, letting her finish her story. After a while of sniffling, she gazed at his young face, "W-What is it Yosho?" he faced her, "Well, you say Ryo-ohki is deaf and stuck in her adult body for a week? I think you shouldn't let it get to you. Why don't you teach her how to write? Or ask Washu to put a translator on you so you can understand something she says." Sasami's eyes brightened, "You really think she'd let me have one?" he nodded, "Of course, why don't you go ask right now?" she nodded and got up, "Thank you Yosho," and ran out with Ryo holding her hand tightly. Katsuhito smiled and put his mask back on, "Ah, kids…"

Washu looked around herself, noticing that it got quiet all of a sudden. After five minutes of nothing, she walked in the direction that the monitor told her to go. It was pitch black, as usual, and there was only one light in the distance and a door to her left which led to Ryoko's old quarters. The scientist walked to the door and stood beside it, with her ear pressed firmly against it. Inside, there was a noise of Ryoko shuffling wildly, not knowing that Washu had dropped the shield that made her unable to use her powers. The space pirate looked around herself curiously, looking for a switch or something that turned some lights on. She quietly hummed a tune to herself that just came to her when she entered this room. She backed up and hit the wall on accident, causing a hard blow to the head, "OW! Where the hell did that wall come from?" she asked to the air, fingering her numbing head.

She turned around and stared at the wall, letting her eyes adjust to the darkness. Not much appeared before her, just a little thing shaped like a tube. She reached out and touched it, caressing it lightly. Her fingers trailed themselves to a rough surface. Confused, the space pirate took her other hand and tugged it. The part came loose in a matter of seconds; a few other things fell also, bonking her on the head. She cursed herself lightly, and then blinked blindly as lights appeared automatically. She arched one of her eyebrows in curiosity. Then shrugged and walked to a table, now illuminated from the blinding light. After she got there, she set it down and examined it, brushing and blowing dust off here and there. She traced her fingers over the rough surface again and looked at it. Ryoko turned it slightly so she could see it clearly. "Masu… Was this how Ryo was created?" she asked herself. "As a matter of fact… yes," Ryoko jumped out of her skin when she heard Washu's voice. "Washu! The heck was that for?" Ryoko asked, turning to face her. "Well, you asked a question. It's not in my nature to ignore it," Ryoko made a mock sigh and turned back around.

She fumbled with the object for a few seconds, and then looked at the rough texture again. "What's this?" she asked, pointing to the scribbling for lettering. "That's the language we used to speak. It's called Deltan," "What's it say?" Washu walked up and brushed the dirt off the words, "It's quite sloppy, and you weren't the best at writing back in those days." Ryoko grumbled under her breath. "It says, 'Ryoko's Handy Dandy Workshop,'" the scientist laughed at the quote, "It's been a while since I've read that off something," the cyan haired woman stared for a second, and then returned her gaze back to the object. Then something clicked, "Hey! I remember now! There's some writing like this on the bottom of the onsen. I was confused why I scribbled it down at first, but now I know!" "You did huh?" Ryoko nodded, "Yup," Washu laughed. "Well, I bet the people outside are starving, want to make dinner tonight?" Ryoko slapped herself, "Geez! I totally forgot! I'll go do it right now!" she cried out and rushed to the exit.

The red head pouted for a few seconds, then cried out, "Aw, damn! And she was just softening up, too. Damn," she muttered then walked out of the room, shutting off the lights.

Tenchi came back to the house with Sasami in his arms, fast asleep. He walked to the couch and set her down, pulling a blanket over gently. He almost fell on top of her when the lab door swung open. Ryoko didn't pay any attention to him and rushed to the kitchen. The half-breed stood there, dazed by her behavior, 'what the hell? She didn't choke me! Er… Why do I care? This is great!' he smiled and returned to his seat, picking up his book again.

Ryoko flew into the kitchen, picking up a cookbook on the way to the kitchen. She flipped through the pages until she decided on a simple miso soup and some salad; she didn't exactly want to make anything difficult at the moment. The space pirate phased to the fridge: took out some ingredients and went to cooking. Ayeka came back into the house after a half an hour of sitting at the roots of the holy tree and was startled to find the house smelling of soup and her sister sleeping silently on the couch; with Ryo-ohki sitting next to her. The princess wandered into the kitchen; nearly choking when she saw Ryoko chopping food. "Ah! What're you doing, pirate?! Trying to poison us?" she shrieked. The cyan haired woman turned around and met her fierce gaze, then turned back to her food, "Hmph, I'm not the one who ate the "pirates" cooking last night. Sasami's sleeping, so I'm making dinner tonight; if that bothers you so much. Then go starve yourself in your room," she continued chopping.

Ayeka stood there, her jaw dropped. That's when Tenchi came to the rescue before anything blew up, "Hey, Ayeka? Why don't we sit down and watch a show or something?" he asked nervously, putting a hand on the back of his head and smiling weakly. "I'd love to, Lord Tenchi!" she cried, and walked out of the room. Ryoko tensed up after Tenchi left the room, and cut her veggies a little more harshly; pretending they were Ayeka's head. "Pssh, stupid princess," she picked up the food and dropped it in the pot rather sloppily. Ryoko went over to the next batch and made some simple salad; enough for everybody to have seconds if they wanted. The summoner sat against the wall for a bit, letting her sensitive ears pick up a sniffling Ayeka from the other room. "Probably some romance thing… Sheesh," she didn't hear anything else except Tenchi flipping through the pages of his book, probably not paying any attention to the soap at all. Ryoko walked back to the pot and stirred the soup for a bit, then let it heat up for a bit more (I have absolutely NO knowledge in cooking AT ALL, so if the directions are all messed up it's my fault).

Another half hour went by and everyone was seated at the table, minus Sasami and Mihoshi; whom were both sleeping early. Ayeka was eating the food through pursed lips, though the pirate could tell she was enjoying it. Washu was seated by the side of Ryoko, and Tenchi was on her other; leaving Ryo-ohki to sit with Nobiyuki. The scientist was only staring at her food; taking a few bites now and then. Ryoko was the first to question her, what's up? Something eating your tongue? Washu almost dropped her spoon when she heard her, Oh! No, just thinking, the redhead took a few bites from her bowl. Ryoko arched her eyebrows, but didn't bother her about it. Tenchi didn't make any sounds, but blushed a little when Ayeka started advancing on him. Washu's eyes set themselves on her daughter; who was fighting herself mentally to keep her temper down. Just ignore it, pretend she's flirting with a big fat guy or something; Ryoko spit out her food when she heard it, and started laughing. All eyes turned on her, "What're you laughing about, Ryoko?" Tenchi asked, trying desperately to shove off Ayeka, who was seemingly drunk. The pirate blushed, "Um… Nothing." She mumbled. Heh, didn't think you'd laugh on that, Washu exclaimed mentally, planting a big smile on her face. You keep forgetting that only Sasami knows about this mental stuff we've got. Maybe Mihoshi, but she's too much of a bubble brain to think she'd remember, The space pirate nodded, and sipped up the rest of her soup.

Ryoko took her dishes and put them on the sink; then cleaned up the kitchen before phasing to the roof. She didn't lean back like she usually did, this time she looked around the forest like she did a couple of days ago. Nothing was different, except the trees were blowing more than usual in the summer. She heard someone pop up behind her, then turned around; and as she expected, there was her mother. "Hey, Ryoko," Washu said quietly. "Mind if I join?" "No, go right ahead," the pirate sat down with her legs crossed, the scientist did the same. "So… Anymore nightmares lately?" Washu asked after a few minutes silence. Ryoko answered meekly, "Sort of. Same thing exactly though," The redhead nodded, "Okay then, thanks for telling," "Whatever…" Washu eyed her daughter curiously, "How did Ayeka get drunk, exactly?" The pirate snorted, "I drugged her, snuck some sake into her part; kind of funny if you ask me," they both laughed.

After minutes of trying, he finally managed to get Ayeka off his back and run to his room, holding the door shut with all his strength he could muster up. "Lord Tenchiiiiii! (hic!) Let m-me iiiiinnnnn! (hiccup!)" she cried out, banging against the door. "I said NO!" he cried, and slid the door open abruptly; causing her to fall and bump her head. The half-breed sighed meekly and carried her to her room, setting her onto the futon. He wiped his brow, "Sheesh, one minute she's sipping soup and the next…" he hung his head and walked out of the room, and back into his. Tenchi walked over and plopped onto his bed, leaning against the wall. He could hear Ryoko outside doing whatever, but he let the curiosity get to him and he glanced outside the window, his eyes nearly popping out when he saw that she was on the roof. He hopped up and ran to the window, trying to hide the fact that he was watching.

"Wow… Washu and Ryoko are actually getting along," he whispered, and walked back to his bed. "Man, this is weird. Am I missing something or did this happen over night?" he banged his head against the wall, "I am so DENSE!" he got up and ran downstairs, running through the broken widow pane. After he was outside, we walked back a bit so he could see a little better, "Hey Ryoko! What'cha doin up there?" he called, startling the two chatting. The summoner blushed once she saw him, "Oh, nothing! In case you haven't noticed, I've been sleeping here for the past six months!" the words chopped him up, 'My God! I forgot to give her a room!' he started cursing himself, then shouted back up, "You want a room?" her face suddenly looked fearful for a second, but it disappeared so quick he doubted it, "No thanks!" Washu stared at her, Why don't you want one? Ryoko looked the other way, I just don't, got a problem? The scientist shook her head, No, I think I'll go, looks like he wants to talk to you, the redhead winked mischievously and phased off.

"Why don't you come down here?" the half-breed cried out. Before he could reply, the summoner was right by his side. "What?" Tenchi crossed his eyes for a second, "Um, want to go for a walk?" Ryoko gagged for a second, "Nani?!" he smiled, "You want to go for a walk? I figure it's only fair because I did something with Ayeka this afternoon, you know?" she nodded nervously, "But you weren't paying any attention to her soap…" "Ah, I can't stand those things, too melodramatic; ya think?" The pirate nodded, "You bet! They make me want to barf! (A.N. This show isn't a soap thing, but the show 'Boy Meets World' it drives me nuts! Disney SUX!) Tenchi smiled, "All right, let's go," he said quietly and took her hand. She looked from his eyes and back to his hand as he tugged her along, causing her to blush slightly. "Tenchi… You're acting weird today," she stated after walking for a few minutes.

"I am? How so?" Ryoko shrugged, "Well, yesterday you wouldn't even let me into a one foot radius around you. Did this happen overnight?" he laughed, "No. Maybe I just realized my feelings," "Huh?" she asked, clueless to his speaking. He let go of her hand and shoved her against the tree, "Ryoko! I love you!" her eyes widened in surprise. "Wha-" she was stopped by his lips pressing roughly against her own. 'The hell is going on?'

A loud, buzzing sound filled her ears, feeling a cool object rub against her skin. Some small fingers pinched her cheek and pulled, followed by some quiet laughter after she snapped her eyes open. "SHIIIIIITTTTT!!!!!!!!!!" Ryoko cried, and hopped up from her position on the wall. "Watch your tongue!" Washu's sharp voice woke her up. The summoners amber eyes looked around the room, noticing she was back in the kitchen. "The hell…?" she picked up the alarm clock from the floor, and read it, "4:35? Washu! Why this early?" the scientist shrugged, "That was some dream you had; Tenchi was acting weird!" Ryoko blushed. "I won't tell! It was kinda funny though, you drugging Ayeka and all that," "Yeah well… When'd I fall asleep?"

"As soon as you sat down by the wall, I finished dinner last night,"

"You?"

"Duh, Sasami was asleep and I was the only one here besides Nobiyuki who can cook something edible,"

"…"

"You didn't starve while I raised you, you know,"

"Oh."

"Did they like it?"

Washu shrugged, "I dunno. Ayeka didn't give a crap, and Tenchi thought you cooked it," the summoner let her eyes half close. "Why exactly did you wake me up?" she asked after a moment of silence. "Heh, I'm not gonna let poor little Ryoko get all those dirty thoughts in her head," Washu said, pretending to have a sad look on her face. "Pssh," was all Ryoko said before standing up and stretching. Washu got up as well, "Well, if you're gonna go to sleep again; go right ahead. I'm gonna go for a walk," the scientist cracked her fingers, "Wanna come?" Ryoko shrugged, "All right. At least I know you won't shove me into a tree and kiss me, ick!" the redhead laughed, "Okay, let's go!" she phased them out to the lake.

The cyan haired woman didn't say much, just answered a few questions now and then, trying to not tense up when her mother tried to scoot up next to her. "So… When you meant, 'dirty thoughts', do you mean you think he was gonna do… that?" the pirate asked after walking with her without a word. "I was only joking; plus, Sasami was starting to wake up; so I decided to get you out of there before she screamed her guts out when she saw you sleeping,"

Ryoko rolled her eyes, "Whatever," the scientist stretched, then put her short arms behind her neck. "It's kind of awkward, walking next to my daughter as a twelve year old," her daughter scoffed, "Yea, you just now noticed that?" the redhead shook her head, "…Nooo! I didn't, you didn't look like you cared either way," Ryoko didn't move. Washu went to her adult state without question; rising an inch above her daughter's head, "Woo! That feels better," The pirates amber eyes examined the place before her, walking along with her mother as she tugged her arm gently.

They stopped walking a half hour after that, and leaned against the stumps that were covered in green moss. Ryoko fell asleep almost immediately; having not slept a good night in a while, leaving Washu just stare at her. A small smile stretched across her face as her daughters light snoring filled the silent air about her. After a while; she hummed quietly, humming the song she hummed for her so long ago. (I've decided on it too, it's the "Love Song" in Japanese at the end of the Tenchi Forever movie, kicks some major butt!)

The sky brightened in color a little in the next hour; birds squawking madly as some of the dim rays hit their nests. The mother of two also fell asleep shortly afterward; ignoring the uncomfortable feeling of the stump.

"Tenchi! Hey Tenchi! Have you seen Ryoko?" Sasami's now cheery voice rang outside his door, hitting the door with her pot. The half-breed grumbled quietly, flinging the blanket off of him and throwing on some descent clothing, since it was Saturday; he didn't have anything to do. The prince walked to the door and knelt down to her size, "No, last time I saw her was when she slammed out of the lab door yesterday; she did dinner you know," the younger girl nodded, "Okay; thanks Tenchi!" she cried out, and ran downstairs quickly. His shoulders slumped, "Guess I'll go find her…" with that, he put on his black coat, combed through his black hair with his fingers, and went outside.

The cold hit him hard, making him shiver a bit after just having brushed his teeth and taken a quick shower. "By god it's cold. Ah well, not as cold as that blanged waterfall, sheesh!" (the waterfall in the first graphic novel of, "No Need For Tenchi!") he walked off before Ayeka could spot him and drag him back inside. First place the successor went was the onsen; carefully covering his eyes so he could only hear her and not see her. Tenchi hopped right out of there when there wasn't anybody.

Next place he went to check was her favorite tree, not there either. "Hmm, not many other places… huh?" he silenced himself and listened to the soft snoring a little to his left. Stealthily, he walked over, hopping over twigs and such. Tenchi hopped onto a tree and climbed like a bear, hugging it tightly to his chest. The young man steadied himself on the first stable branch he could sit on. After that, he searched. His brown eyes caught a glance of fiery red hair jutting out in awkward directions as it pressed against the green stump; making it stand out even more.

Tenchi climbed over carefully to the next tree that made him see the clearing better, and sighed when he spotted them. Ryoko and Washu were both fast asleep, by the way he could see the stomachs moving, he guessed that they'd been there for awhile, and judging by the dust that smudged on both of them. They had one heck of a night. (Not in THAT way, pervs) "Well that's good…" Tenchi's foot slipped underneath him, making him fall. He caught hold of the branch before he fell off… but rather late. A scream hissed out of his clenched teeth as he struggled not to fall off the branch.

'Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!' was all he could think of while he balanced himself on the branch. Sputters of air escaped him as he tried desperately to stand back up. His eyes went crossed, and he toppled off the branch. The crunching sound startled Ryoko from her sleep, and turned around to find Tenchi trying to not scream. "Tenchi! You all right?" she asked, phasing next to him. The successor managed to turn his head, and squeak in a small voice, "D-Does it look like I'm all right?!" he turned back and knelt back into a ball. Washu stayed asleep. "I'll take you home," Ryoko requested, tapping him lightly on the shoulder.

"W-what about Washu?" he asked, still curled up. "Right… Be difficult why don't you," the summoner phased to her mother, nudging her a little. "Ah… What is it?" "I'm gonna take Tenchi home, you coming?" "Yea…. Be there in a minute…" Ryoko grinned and phased back to the curled up man. "Okay, to your room, or the living room? Or the rafters maybe?" "M-my room please," he mumbled, and felt her arms slip around his chest. "Don't move or I'll drop you, okay?" the pirate stated, and disappeared.

Tenchi was in too much pain to care whether she held him close or not, and probably would have found it funny if he looked on it a few years in the future. Ryoko held tight, but not too tight to cause him any more pain; and reappeared beside his bed. She set him down and turned around, "You're welcome," and phased off. Tenchi smiled, "Thank you."

The summoner didn't say very much to her mother while they walked back to the house, seeing that the scientist didn't remember ever replying to her a few minutes before. "And then. Whamo! Hit the branch straight in his balls, poor guy," Washu laughed at her daughter, not seeming to care about the smudges on their faces. Nearby the house, Sasami ran out and greeted them, "Where were you two? I've been looking all over! And Tenchi looks like a freight train just hit him, he's barely walking!"

"Nothings wrong, Tenchi had a little… accident. Anyways, sorry, I-we didn't mean to stay out late," Ryoko scratched the girls' head. The little girl giggled, "Okay then, come and eat! I left some food for you two," they followed her into the house and ate their fill. Ayeka was walking around with Tenchi, helping him when he stumbled. (If you want to know, I have NO idea how much it hurts, I'm a girl, so I'm just guessing from what I see on t.v. I'm not exactly sure if boys can walk after that… incident.) The princess glared at the pirate when she entered the room, "This is all your fault, demon woman! Lord Tenchi is hurting because of YOU!" Ryoko turned around, "Shut the hell up, he had an accident. He wouldn't BE here if I didn't take him to his room,"

Washu looked down at her feet as her daughter phased off again, leaving only her, Ayeka, and hurting Tenchi. "A-Ayeka, it wasn't Ryoko's fault, I-I…" he stumbled again. "You what?" "I lost my footing when I was climbing a tree and landed on a branch… ouch," he plopped down on the couch. The princess stared in disbelief, "Well, if you say so…" and walked off to her room. Washu sighed and sat down next to Tenchi. "No samples today… Please!" he cried out weakly, his face staring at the ceiling. The redhead smiled, "No, I've given up on that. Just want to say thanks for standing up for Ryoko, it means a lot," she got up and walked over to the other couch; flipping on whatever was on.

Mihoshi ran straight to the couch when she heard it turn on; watching intently as the news report flashed across the screen. "In further news… An unknown spacecraft has been orbiting around the third planet of the abandoned solar system, also known as Earth to most. The galaxy police have been unsuccessful at the present time to stop the ships orbit. It is said to have been one of the ruins buster, Kagato's sidekicks. But it is unknown at the time…" Washu watched curiously as a picture of the spacecraft was pictured. "This is believed to be a picture of the craft. Taken by a galaxy police's ship and sent before it was discovered that the craft had indeed, blown up the patrol ship."

The scientist hmmed for a second, "That ship looks awfully familiar…" the ditz snatched the clicker away and switched it to comedy planet.

Sasami ran out of the house, Ryo running along her side, looking for Ryoko. "Ryoko!" the younger girl called, running toward the lake. A silhouette of the pirate appeared in black at the side of the lake. "What is it, Sasami?" she asked, kneeling down when she ran up. Sasami stopped to catch her breath, "Have you sensed it yet?" the cyan haired pirate arched an eyebrow, "What? That ship?" "Yea." The summoner nodded, "Yup, it's been floating around this planet for a while now."

Ryo-ohki leaned against a tree, crossing her arms as she looked through Ryoko. Ryoko stood to her full height, and pointed to the sky, marking a very faint, silhouette of a space shuttle. "It's been hanging around here for days, whoever's in it is looking for something…" she trailed off. The princess jumped, "C'mon, Ryoko! Let's play! We've been too in the blue, you know?" the pirate smiled, "All right," she touched the child's forehead, "Tag, you're it," and started running. Sasami jumped and started running after her, and Ryo giggled. Ryoko ran ten times slower than she really could; which was about as fast as a bullet. But now she was running about as fast as a little kid would. "You can't catch me! Na, na, na, na, na, na!"

Washu walked out of the house and sat on the steps; watching them while smiling. Sasami was catching up fast, much to her delight, and managed to tap the summoner on the wrist before stumbling to the ground. "Awww, am I too hard on the little princess?" she asked, resting her hands on her knees, "Tell you what; no tag backs. I'm gonna get Ryo!" she ran off in the direction of the lake. After she saw Ryo-ohki's clueless expression; she screamed in the humanoids brain. Run you dimwit! And off they went, like bullets.

Ayeka walked downstairs and saw Tenchi sleeping on the couch, some drool coming out the side. She walked to the kitchen and made a sandwich; which really didn't taste like anything because of her poor hands moving in the exact opposite of the way she wanted. After finishing eating, she walked outside and sat next to Washu; who was laughing at the scene before her. All three of them were caked in mud, for they decided to get the other "it" they had to hit them with a clod of mud. So it was basically a mud fight really. The princess couldn't help but smile at the way her sister looked, blotches of mud slipping down her skin and clothes here and there, and her face full of laughter at the game.

For a second, she wished it were she who had made her that happy. "You can always go out there and play yourself, Ayeka…" Washu said quietly, looking at her face. She jumped for a second, then replied, "Yes, I guess I could…" "You want to?" "Of course! But…" the violet haired woman trailed off. "The kings not here to beat you senseless for getting dirty, you're not even on Jurai! It's not like they'll know. I've got some play clothes if you want to go," her red eyes glimmered, and the redhead snapped her fingers, immediately; Ayeka's clothing went from elaborate, to a simple short skort and a t-shirt. "Thank you, Washu," she made a quick bow and ran off.

The now completely unruled princess snuck into the bushes and grabbed a large glob of mud, letting her old self seep through the barriers the training of a princess had unconsciously set up inside herself. Ayeka snickered quietly and walked out quietly behind the floating Ryoko. Sasami wasn't paying attention to her and was giggling as a rainfall of mud balls appeared in the pirates' hand; making sure they didn't hurt the girl. "C'mon Ryoko! I bet you can't catch me with those muds!" Sasami cried out, waving her hands everywhere. "Ha! You haven't seen the- HEY!" the cyan haired summoner cried out as the large glop of mud hit the side of her face, splashing onto her other clothes as well.

She turned around and faced Ayeka, who was sticking out her tongue and pulling the skin under her eye down. Ryoko smirked playfully, "So the princess finally decided to join, eh? Thought you would." Ayeka placed her hand on her hips, "Nice shot huh?" "Not as good as this one!" Ryoko cried, phasing above her and dumping a bucket of mud on her head. Both Sasami and Ryo-ohki fell onto the damp grass, in fits of ferocious laughter at the sight. To the pirate's surprise, she laughed, laughed like the child she used to be long ago.

"Good one, Ryoko. How's about playing fair and no floating, huh?" the mud was swept away by the gentle sprinkle of rain that had now begun to fall. Ryoko smiled, and phased to the ground; facing her full, "Looks like you've let go. All thanks to my mother!" she cried proudly, and pointed her thumb to Washu, who looked like was running out to play also. Sasami picked up a piece of mud and flung it at Ryoko; who phased just before it hit, making it smack Ayeka's face. The pirate phased back into sight and started laughing at the mud-covered princess, clutching her stomach hard.

Washu was close enough and scooped up a large goop of mud, then flung it quickly at Ryo-ohki. She couldn't help but chuckle quietly when the humanoid fell to the ground as the mud knocked the air out of her. A piece of mud hit the side of her face straight on. "Hey! No fair!" she cried out playfully and tackled Sasami to the ground. "All's fair in mud battles!" Ryoko's voice rang out and a glob of mud hit the back of her head. The scientist hopped off Sasami and faced Ryoko, who was now battling Ayeka to the ground. If anyone planned on visiting Okayama would probably have found this a strange sight indeed.

"Hell, they'd probably think we're insane," Washu muttered, before receiving another blow to the head by Ryo. She shrugged it off and went to deal with the two attacking her.

A half an hour later, they were all sitting by the lake; laughing at each other's jokes. Not even Ayeka could care less about their looks at the moment. After a few minutes of resting, Ryoko jumped up into the air, floating for a second. "What now, Ryoko?" Sasami called out, letting the rain splash against her smiling face. The pirate grinned, "Its still summer isn't it?" Ayeka nodded, "Yea." "All right then,"

She let gravity do its job on her; pushing her down and making her fall into the lake, the splash wetting all of them. "Hey!" the elder princess shrieked, jumping up from her seat. Ryoko's head popped out of the water, spitting out an unlucky fish that got caught in her mouth, "Wanna join? The water's great! The fish are tasty too, yum…" Sasami and Washu laughed, and Ayeka prepared for a dive, "I'm gonna get you for that!" she cried, and dove in. "Uh-uh, you ain't gonna catch me that easy princess!" Ryoko smiled stupidly and dived into the water, swimming deeper… deeper.

Washu rolled her eyes, "That girl…" Sasami jumped up and ran into the water, but not before pulling Ryo back so she could nap better. Mud clouds erupted as soon as all four of them were in, playing, swimming races; the likes! Before long, they'd grown too tired to move a muscle, and climbed out of the lake; otherwise known as a huge swimming pool. Sasami had to be carried by Ryoko, since she kept stumbling every few feet, and Ayeka was struggling to stay awake. Washu woke Ryo-ohki up and they all walked back. Tenchi was the first to greet them, "Hello… Uh, what happened to you guys?" Ryoko grinned under the strain Sasami was putting on her back, "Oh, nothing. We had a little mud-ball fight, shame you didn't join, though you would've gotten creamed."

He smiled, "Is that so? Why don't we do it tomorrow then, I'll show you who'll get creamed!" Washu rolled her eyes and snapped them all into dry clothing. "Let's get to bed, we're gonna need some strength if we're gonna do it tomorrow as well, you know," they all murmured quietly and went in separate directions. "Here, I'll take her for you," Ayeka muttered, pointing toward Sasami. Ryoko smiled, "Yea. Here you go," the small body was lifted from the pirate's shoulders and then she stretched. "Ryoko?" the summoner stared at the princess, "What?" "Thanks a lot, I had a lot of fun tonight," she walked to her room, leaving the pirate clueless.

"Thanking you? You must've done something really nice to her, Ryoko." Tenchi said, smiling toward her. The cyan haired woman blushed, "Ye- We-. She." He put a finger to her lips, silencing her immediately. A warm shiver ran up her spine when she felt it, 'Oh god. I'm probably dreaming again,' she took her hand and pinched her cheek hard enough to feel it. A yelp escaped her lips, and she let her arm fall to her side.

"Checking to see if you're dreaming, huh?" Tenchi asked, smiling again. She hung her head low. "C'mon, I made a little snack, want some?" She stared at him, "Wha- Whe-? What for?" he shrugged, "Just to thank you for this morning." She followed him silently into the kitchen. He went to the fridge and brought out two sandwiches, and handed one to Ryoko. She sat down at the table, and munched on it. "Well, if it's just to thank me. You did. I don't let people who just got their balls crushed just sit there. That's plain cruelty period." He smiled, "Yeah, I guess you're right. But since you've been all avoiding me and stuff, I thought I'd just have one night to sit and talk. And since I did it with Ayeka, I thought it'd only be fair, you know?" she swallowed the last bite, "I'm not avoiding you, it's just that Ayeka's always-sometimes trying to pick a fight with me. It just so happens you're always in the room when she does it, I have to get out of there before I blow something up,"

"You're doing a pretty good job in my opinion," "Yea. Whatever," she leaned onto her hand and stared at the wall. "I mean it! You're doing a really good job! I swear to god!" "I am, huh?" he nodded. "That's nice to know…" she stared at her empty plate. "Want some more?" he asked, pointing to her plate. "Sure…" 'Well, at least I can feel the food. Jelly feels gooey, butter fells sticky, breads just soft, plain and simple.' Tenchi stayed silent while he made seconds, and walked back with three more in his hand. "Three?" Ryoko asked. :One for you, one for me, and maybe half for both if we're still hungry," he handed her one, and she took it, "Thanks," they ate in silence. The pirate made the next few, since they were still hungry. A scream startled them both halfway through the sandwiches. "Sasami?" Ryoko asked, and shoved the rest of the food in her throat.

Tenchi just threw the food out the window, and ran up the stairs into the Jurians princess' room. They opened the door and saw Sasami jerking violently in her sleep, the mark on her head glowing brightly. "No! Don't take her! Leave her alone!" she cried as Ayeka tried to shake her out of it. Tenchi ran over, closely followed by Ryoko. "Sasami, wake up!" he cried out, but she continued to scream, "Go away! Don't take her away from Washu again!" Ryoko's eyes went wide, and shoved Tenchi out of the way, shaking her more roughly, "C'mon! Wake up kiddo! Don't stay in a dream like that!" to all of their surprises, the nine year olds eyes snapped open.

Tears erupted from her cherry pink eyes, and she hugged Ryoko, crying loudly into her. The pirate looked at Ayeka sympathetically. The princess didn't seem to mind, but a relieved look planted itself on her face. Tenchi watched in amazement as Ryoko cooed quietly to her. "C'mon, no ones gonna take me. I'm right here, just let it all out," if he didn't know better, he'd have thought Ryoko was her mother. He motioned for Ayeka to leave, and soon after, left himself. Sasami's crying doubled over, soaking the summoners' shirt. She hugged tighter, and Ryoko continued to coo.

The little girl soon cried herself to sleep, still hugging the almost mother-like pirate tightly. Ryoko really didn't want to wake her, so she crawled over to a wall, and went to sleep. Ayeka stepped in and a flash of jealousy flashed across her face at the sight of Sasami clinging for dear life onto Ryoko, who had woken up when the door opened. "Oh, hey Ayeka." She mumbled, refraining from yawning, "Sorry, she's got a death grip on me right now, I can't get her off," the princess nodded, "It's all right. Want a blanket?" Ryoko nodded, and Ayeka tossed her Sasami's blanket. "Thanks…" she used her hands and put it over both of them, falling asleep again once she closed her eyes.

Ayeka sat and stared at the two of them for a while, remembering that it used to be she, whom Sasami cried into. She snapped her head around and forced herself not to look, then fell to sleep, trying to think of other things.

The young, Jurian princess awoke with a start, her eyes stinging because of last night. Her gaze fell upon Ryoko, whom she was clutching tighter than she thought she could. The pirate was snoring softly, her face pointed toward the ceiling. She noticed the dampness in the clothing as she twitched slightly, her back cracking loudly. She pushed herself up lightly, her stiff body not cooperating like she wanted it too. Sasami got up and stretched her short self, noticing the strain it put on her back when she did so. "Good morning, Sasami. Have a nice sleep?" Ayeka's drowsy voice filled the ears of the little girl. She turned around and nodded, "I'm sorry…" "Sorry?" "For acting like I did last night," Ayeka sat up in her futon, "Don't be sorry, you had a bad dream, that's all. If it's for clinging to Ryoko all night, I don't mind."

"Liar."

"How so?"

"You do care. You wanted to be the person that made me laugh yesterday. You wanted to be the person I cried into. Don't lie, Ayeka, your eyes deceive what you're saying."

"Fine. I did want to be. But I wasn't, so there."

"It's all right to be jealous…"

"I'm not jealous!"

"Liar, liar, pants on fire."

"Shut-up," she mumbled, and threw her pillow at her. The little girl laughed, and threw it back to her before walking out of the room, "I'm gonna go start breakfast, see ya later!" Ayeka stood up and made her bed, putting the blanket back on Ryoko and walking out of the room to take a bath. Washu walked up the stairs past Ayeka, and opened the door quietly. She glanced over and saw Ryoko snoring lightly and a damp spot on her shirt from where Sasami had cried into most of the night. Even if she couldn't admit it, she was incredibly proud of her for acting so much like a mother when she hardly had one for most of her life.

She watched intently as Ryoko turned in her sleep, falling off the walls balance and curling into a ball on the floor. The scientist got back up and walked out, closing the door quietly. Tenchi and the other's had slight bags under their eyes for staying up late. "Morning, Washu," Tenchi mumbled dryly, sipping some tea to wake him up some. A quiet chopping sound reverberated from the kitchen room, Washu guessed it was Sasami cutting up some quick food for everybody.

Ryo-ohki was staring into space, sitting on the couch and not really paying any heed to the people there. Mihoshi was giggling quietly at the manga book she was reading, flipping through the pages quickly. The redhead went over and sat back on the couch, flipping on the news. "Not much to date today ladies and gents of all species. The Galaxy Police are currently surrounding the ship, now recently discovered as the "Tiapora" one of the main assault ships of the Ruins Buster, otherwise known as Kagato. In other news..." Washu turned the tv off, and put a hand to her chin. 'That ship... I know that ship!' the scientist thought, and went outside; glancing at the cloudy sky.

***

Ryoko looked around herself, floating nowhere in the darkness that engulfed her entirely. "W-...Where am I...?" she muttered, her voice barely audible, even to herself. It took her a second to realize her eyes were clamped shut. The minute her amber eyes opened, the pirate regretted it, horribly. "Noooo... It's not possible... Not again! Shit! Not again!!!" her voice was just a whisper, and her belly felt like a pit. Fires of blood red surrounded the area, buzzing sirens were screaming their screams loud enough to blow a persons eardrums. Every thing imaginable to the universe that told that something was in danger was on. Ryoko clutched her head in horror as a maniac laughter filled the air.

The ex-pirate could not shut her eyes to the truth, her assault on Jurai had been a major part in her life; and she wasn't the least bit proud of it. She gritted her teeth and faced the horrible truth, letting her trembling arms, fall to her side. Ryoko's whole body shook with fear and agony; not wanting to be apart of this once again. The other Ryoko, sitting demonically on top of a rock; her eyes glowing a red feircer than it'd been when she remembered. She was laughing.

People all around her were running and screaming for help; all of the evacuation ships had been melted to a crisp by the hands of herself. More and more people were blasted to bits before the summoner's eyes. Woman and children alike, none given mercy. Galaxy Police ships had foolishly thought they could stop her, slipping into the Jurian orbit and getting blasted by Ryo-ohki. She saw a young man run wildly across a burning plain, crying in front of the space pirate and cursing loudly. Ryoko immediatly recognized this to be Yosho, only... he looked more innocent and tender. His crying eyes reminded her of Tenchi's, their warm glow never disappearing. Her throat knotted up as the scene changed to their fight on earth.

Ryo-ohki had forced her mistress out of the ship as it exploded into the middle of the forest, causing a fire to erupt immediatly. Funaho fell into an area close by and had caved in on itself. Her other self was floating in the air; the eyes flashing from red to white. The ex-pirate remembered this all too well, Kagato was losing the battle for control over her; and it had made her fighting clumsy because she was fighting mentally and phisically. That was one of the times Washu herself had been talking to her; helping her fight back the ruins buster. It was encouraging to know that her mother was with her the whole time she was on the Soja, telling her to never give up hope.

The scene went blank, and the summoner collapsed onto the invisible ground, crying her tears furiously, pounding the ground with her fists, cursing and saw blood covering her hand.

"DAMN YOU KAGATO!!!"

***

Ryo-ohki cried for her sister, cried for her agony, cried for her life. The humanoid rushed to the stairs and saw Washu already trying to shake her awake. The scientist would not allow her daughter to live in the past like that. "Damn you... Kagato..." the summoner mumbled; but Ryo knew better. The pirate wanted to scream to the heavens, scream to the universe and let it hear her pain. "Shit! Ryoko! Damn it! Wake up! Don't let yourself to that crap!" Washu cried loudly, seeing blood appear on her daughters hand, and shook harder, "WAKE UP!!!" Tenchi slammed into the room, his eyes widening when he saw Ryoko, "Oh my god... Is she okay?" the scientist glared at him, "Do you think she's okay? Do you think reliving the shit Kagato put her through on Jurai is okay?! The hell not! Damn baka!!!" she bellowed, returning her attention to her daughter.

Ryo-ohki shoved Tenchi out of the room, mouthing as best as she could to keep the others out. He nodded sadly, and kept the other curious people out. Ryo stepped back into the room and ran over to her mistress, helping her mother shake her. "Ryoko! Please! Wake up dammit!" she cried, pounding a fist on the floor; two unshed tears fell to the floor. The humanoid cabbit slid away, knowing that her creator needed the space. The pirate made a grunt, and three streaks of tears fell from her clamped eyes. The mother wrapped her arms around her daughters body; and pulled her into a tight hug, her true form now revealing itself.

"Please... Don't do this, wake up..." Washu moaned quietly, still shaking her crying daughter. Ryo watched closely as her creator hugged her daughter close, their hair pushing against each other so you counldn't tell where the ends ended. Blood dripped from the pirates left hand and onto the floor, seeping from the gem. It almost seemed that the gem itself was crying. Ryoko's eyelids softened, the clamped look disappearing from her face. The pirates shaking had stopped under her mother's firm grasp. The occasional gasps of air returned to their steady breathing, and her eyes opened slowly.

At first her face was unreadable to the cabbit; then it transformed to pure shock, and then the tears came. No pride stopped the pirate from putting her arms around her mother and crying. Crying into her mother's shoulder like a lost child who'd found it's parent. Ryo left silently, not wanting to disturb the two, and walked out the door to see Tenchi and the others with their ears near the door. Sasami was the only one not present, and the humanoid slapped them all, dragging them away from the room. She threw them onto the couch and miyaed furiously at them, whom were all surprised she had slapped them hard. Ayeka was fingering the now bruising skin, and Tenchi was looking down in ashame. Mihoshi was crying quietly, curling up into a ball in the corner of the couch.

Sasami came in and scoffed at the three sneaks, "You people! My god! Can't Ryoko and Washu have a little privacy?!" she practically screamed, clenching her fists in frustration. The elder princess took all the scolding in, knowing they full well deserved it. Tenchi mentally slapped himself stubbornly, repeating a line over and over again to himself. The officer was crying still, but not in a ditzy way.

Washu held her daughter close, letting the ex-pirate shed all her tears onto her shoulder. "I-it was... horrible... The at-ttack on Jurai a-all over again..." she cried, burying her face into Washu's shoulder, letting her emotions do their bidding. The scientist began some slight cooing, hoping it would settle her down, "It was just a dream, Ryoko. Don't let it drown you, please... Kagato's dead, he won't come back. I won't let him..." It continued like that for a few minutes, listening to Sasami's shrieks to the people downstairs. Washu rubbed her daughters back lightly, running her hand up and down her spine, calming her down slightly. The pirates sobs soon turned into hiccups, and then into steady breathing as she cried herself back to sleep.

The scientist waited for a half an hour, making sure that she was fully asleep before picking her up gently. Her fingers touched the pirates head and then lifted her body up, cradling her like a baby. Washu walked through the open door and wandered down the stairs, attracting stares from the couch. "Washu, is she all right now?" Tenchi asked, desperatly trying to hide the purple skin that threatened to show on his cheek. The redhead nodded, "She's fine, open the door for me please," he got up and opened her lab door. Ayeka didn't look up, for she was feeling incredibly stupid for eavesdropping like that.

Washu entered the lab and was instantly transported to her room; which was pretty simplistic. An American matress shoved in the corner, a few blankets on top of it, and a few play spots where Ryoko and Ryo would play when they were younger, she took one hand and pulled back the blankets; then put her daughter down, and stood back up, "No dreams are gonna attack you here, Little Ryoko. Me and my magic finger," Washu went to the wall and sat down, not really caring that it was only the afternoon, and watched her daughter sleep peacefully, in a world where time didn't matter.

"Have a nice sleep, Ryoko," Washu stated, and leaned her head back to the wall, catching up on her missed sleep.

Sasami gave up scolding the three and went outside and into the rain, letting the water pelt her body. She ran for the treehouse, closely followed by Ryo-ohki. The little girl and her playmate raced across the fields, ignoring the water that was wetting them by the minute. Mud spattered behind their feet as the ground became more and more damp, making them slow down a little. They continued to run, leaving the people behind and greeting the trees. The cherry blossom flowers fell as the rain slapped the petals, causing the plant life to stick to their wet skin. The treehouse appeared in a matter of minutes, making them oblivious to all the other things.

The two climbed the ladder and walked inside, just now noticing how filthy they looked, "Gosh, Ryo-ohki, we sure are dirty," Sasami smiled, squeezing out some water out of her clothing, and brushing some petals off her face. Ryo miyaed, and brushed off her clothing as well. "Oh well, good thing I brought some extra clothes here, you know?" the little girl grinned and skipped to her room. The cabbit rolled her eyes, and shook the old fashioned way. The fur on her body shook as the water on her flew off, hitting various walls and furniture.

"Pssh... Be that way." Sasami's voice said, walking into the room just before the cabbit was done. The young two went to the small living room and played Chess to pass the time.

The half breed and the princess were still sitting on the couch, the officer had gone elsewhere. They both felt ashamed at what they had done, and continued to stare at the floor. Tenchi was still repeating a quote Yosho had taught him, and Ayeka was just thinking about how her sister had scolded them.

The tv flashing on in front of them startled them out of their skin, "What the hell...?" the succesor mumbled, staring at the now serious looking Mihoshi, "Mihoshi... I thought you went to your room for awhile," "There's a ship floating around the Earth, the Tiapora; I found it in a class A list. The man inside calls himself, 'Mitis.' Whatever that means..." the two arched their brows at her, and returned to their self torturing. The blond haired officer kept her eyes glued to the screen; scribbling down the name and where it was orbiting. She got up and walked into Washu's lab, not giving a crap about the two people staring at her like she was crazy.

"Washu! Miss Washu?! Little Washu?" Mihoshi cried out, trying her best not to get distracted by thr buttons and such. "Washu-chan is currently sleeping in her dormitory, if you would like to leave her a note, message, or a picture. Place it on the pad on your right. And if you happen to be Mihoshi, please don't press any red buttons!" a computer like voice reverberated in the humungous lab.

The officer looked to her right and saw a pad with three sections, one for notes, one for recording messages, and one for pictures. Mihoshi pinned her note down and walked out; nearly tripping over her feet when she noticed a huge red button. "Oh god... I have to get this brain of mine fixed..." she said stupidly, bonking her head until it numbed.

Washu woke up in her sleep when she heard her computer talking, and shoved herself up in case it was Mihoshi. "Damn, my back's stiff as ice.... Geez," the scientist mumbled groggily as she walked into the lab. She got there in time to see Mihoshi bonking her head dumbly, then walking out of the lab before walking closer to the red button. Washu sighed in relief when she noticed nothing had blown up, then jumped when the message pad bumped her side. She noticed a piece of paper tacked to the board. The redhead ripped it from the board and read it slowly; almost passing out from the neatness and formatting.

Washu:

Could you do me a real quick favor and zoom in on the ship orbitting around the Earth? It'd be a great help. The government officials of Jurai asked me personally! Since my ships' in subspace; they say it would be near impossible for the person (calls himself: 'Mitis') to know that I'm an officer unless he read the uncensored report of mine (though it IS kinda long... heh heh, oopsies)

One of my old partners, name's Kiyone Makabi, she's gonna come here too to help in my search. She's a nice lady, loses her temper at me quite a bit more than you do, has extremely bad luck. Her appearance is pretty good, actually, very good considering the people Tenchi has here. She has a blue greenish hair; cerulean eyes, tall, and seriously dedicated to her work, can't stand the thought of failure.

I'm really going to work on my ditzy personality so it doesn't become more of a hell house for Tenchi (the poor guy) and so I can maybe reform my destroyed relationship with her. She was one of the best friends I had at the training sessions; probably my one and only. She's like a sister mostly, but I guess the work for patrol and stuff really got to her head, because one day she was all yelling at me for things she never yelled at before: Tripping, pressing wrong button, sleeping on the job, not getting enough gas, the likes!(the list goes on and on and on...)

Anyways, back to the subject. I need some info on the Tiapora so I can study it, you know, try to see if it has anything to do with Ryoko. I'm really sorry for bringing that up, but she was ONCE (notice: I said ONCE) a space pirate, and was real close on being turned in for the eternally wanted list, if it had no been for some peeps who found out Kagato was controlling her. I did stand up for her in those days, because she came once to my home planet (I've forgotten the name: silly me) and I saw her eyes were not like they had been posted on tv. No, this time they were a pretty amber, looking like they were screaming to the universe for help.

Of course, my mother was so shocked that she appeared on our doorstep, she instantly threw me into my room, blocking the door with herself, and cursing louder than I'd ever heard, (and let me tell you, it'd probably make Ryoko blush) my brains a bit foggy, so I can't remember much, but the next thing I know, she's crying. Ryoko was crying her guts out in front of a woman of no meaning. My mother was out of the way by then, and I shoved myself out of the room and went by her side, trying to make he tears go away.

I was lucky my dad was gone, or I'd have gotten the beating of my life for touching Ryoko. My mom didn't say a thing, but the last thing I heard or saw before passing out was seeing the amber turn to a blood red and my mother's shriek as I hit the wall hard. I was in the hospital next, and my actions were more clumsy than you can imagine. I was suddenly terrified of bright red things (like your buttons) and my first reaction is to punch it until it goes away, or run like hell.

Okay, what I'm trying to say is. The ship that Ryoko WAS using the Tiapora, and that she ACCIDENTALLY made me stupid. She WAS the past holder of the ship, until some man named 'Mitis' somehow is tied in with Kagato, and managed to get hold of the Tiapora when Ryoko attacked Jurai.

I'm sorry if I wasted your time by asking you to read this. But I'm trying real hard to make myself the way I was the first seventeen years of my life, not the ditzy ole' me that tends to hate bright red things. So if you have read this, and don't give a shit about a thing I say; go ahead and use it for some experiment... Or something.

Detective First Class Signing Out:

Mihoshi Kuramitsu

P.S. Could you do another tiny favor and make an extra room for Kiyone? I doubt she'll want to sleep within a one mile's radius from me... Hehehe, Sowwie!

The scientist smiled as new interperitions of the clumsy officer came into her grasp. She walked to the room again and sat down where she was sitting before, and read the note over and over again to make sure there wasn't a mistake in her reading. "So... Mihoshi's trying to be serious, eh? Guess this Kiyone girl must mean a lot to her..." the scientist pulled a laptop out of nowhere and typed a few codes. "There... Info on the Tiapora now sent to Mihoshi's ship, Yukinojo. Now to ask if another room is fine with Tenchi,"

She scribbled down a note in case her daughter woke up, and walked out of the lab to the half breed. The scientist spotted him on the couch where he'd been with Ayeka sleeping lightly on the other side. "Tenchi...?" he turned around and faced her, not hiding the bruise on his face like he did last time, "What is it, Washu?" "Is it okay if I make another room in the house?" "What for?"

"Mihoshi's old partner is coming to help her on a mission."

"Why won't she share a room?"

"She doesn't want her partner to feel like crud because she has to share a room with her."

"What's her name?"

"Kiyone Makabi. She also doesn't want it to be a worse hell house for you than it is."

"Okay, go right ahead."

She did a slight bow and walked back to her lab, noticing Mihoshi mouthing a thank you from the other room. Washu smiled and walked into the door. The redhead went straight to the room with Ryoko sleeping soundly in it, then pulled her holo back up, "All right... Just reajust the house's cordinates a bit... and, there! All done!" the scientist smiled, and put the computer back. Washu picked up an old book on a shelf nearby and read it silently aloud, hoping that Ryoko might remember it if she woke up.

Mihoshi walked around the house, trying to perfect her walking skills. "Okay, just a few more laps and I'll go work on my room." the officer smiled cheerfully and walked around the house three more times. She went to her room and grimanced when she saw all the garbage thrown around.

"Oy, this will not do, not at all," Mihoshi went back out of the room and came back with a garbage can. Tenchi walked down the hallway when she happened to trip over the books she stacked up, "Mihoshi! Want some help?" the officer rubbed her head and nodded sadly, "Yes, thank you. That'd be nice," she got back up and stacked the books in the corner this time, two neat stacks formed in the next three hours the two people cleaned the disaster zone. Tenchi wiped his brow, and smiled at their work, "Wow Mihoshi. This place can look really nice if we keep it clean," the blond haired officer nodded, "Yea... Thank you for helping, Tenchi. It means a ton to me," she made a quick bow and walked off.

Washu flipped through the pages quickly, muttering under her breath what it said. Ryoko mumbled a little and tossed around in her sleep; a smile glued onto her peaceful face. The scientist had finished about three books already of numerous pages, that of which would probably take a person a few months to finish. She closed yet another book and decided to write in her journal.

Dear Journal,

Wow... That's pretty much all I can say right now. Mihoshi actualy told me how she got all stupid and now she's really trying to fix it. All because her partner, name's Kiyone Makabi, is really sensitive around her and stuff. Ryoko actually hugged me this morning. She was crying because a dream about her attack on Jurai came to haunt her; Ryo's been a ton of help, hell. She slapped Tenchi, Ayeka and Mihoshi because they were eavesdropping on us. Lol. Sasami went to the treehouse, probably trying to calm her anger towards the three, or try and figure out what this new prophetic dream of hers says. Ryoko's sleeping on my bed (Oh the joy) cause I had to make it so she had a dreamless sleep; didn't want her having those freakishly real nightmares again. Ayeka's been silent, but she was back to her little girl self yesterday when she joined in the mud fight (God that was fun). Anyhoo, that's it for now, Ryoko's waking up.

Washu put the pencil in the pocket and closed the booklet, putting it back into her subspace locker. Ryoko sat up groggily, rubbing her tired eyes with her hand, "Where am I...?" "You're in my room." the pirate forced herself awake, "Oh. Why here?"

"Tenchi and the others were being snoops." she laughed quietly and stretched, her mouth widening into a yawn. "Sleepyhead," Washu teased, pokng her daughters belly. "Hey!" the scientist pulled her hand back before Ryoko tried to snatch it. "Teaser..." the cyan haired woman mumbled, rubbing her empty stomach, "...I'm hungry..." the scientist shrugged and snapped, food appeared before the pirates eyes. "Huh?" "Well, what do you think I eat when I lock myself in here, hmmm?" "Oh, thanks," Ryoko ate the food quietly, not complaing when she couldn't taste it.

She finished after a few minuted, not eating a mile a minute like she usually did. "You're eating slower, why's that?" the pirate wiped some rice from her lip, then shrugged, "I dunno. Maybe it's cause I know you won't steal my food," "That's nice to know," Washu smiled, and put the dishes back into subspace. Ryoko stood up and rubbed the rest of the sleep out of her eyes, then leaned onto the wall. "Here." the scientist said, handing her a bottle of water. She eyed her mother curiously, "What for?" Washu shrugged nonchalantly, "Wake yourself up. I'm gonna go outside, my butt's getting cramps from sitting next to you for five hours straight, you coming?" the summoner nodded, "Yea, be there in a sec..."

They both exited the lab at the same time, attracting some stares from Tenchi and Mihoshi. Ayeka was still sleeping silently. "Ryoko, you all right?" Tenchi asked, standing up suddenly. "Yeah, I'm all right. Really! Where's Sasami?" At the treehouse... Washu said mentally, walking outside. Tenchi shrugged, "Somewhere, I think in the sakura's." Ryoko nodded and phased away.

Washu walked to a tree near the lake, and sat down; her legs sprawled, "What to do... What to do..." she mumbled quietly as she pulled her journal out of subspace, and wrote down a poem to pass the time. (I'm real sorry, but I suck at poems big time unless I think about them two or three days, sowwie!) Her hand went quicker than her eyes as she wrote as her thoughts lifted themselves from her brain and onto the paper. The scientist barely realised she was writing in Deltan and not Japanese. Words formed quicker than the quickest tongue on earth could have said them, and the pages went from on to two, two to four, and stopped at five.

She ended the piece of work quickly and put it into the small pile she had formed unconciously, "Heh heh, oopsies," Washu mumbled softly and folded them into her pocket, then stared at the cerulean sky.

Ryoko appeared in the tiny living room, startling both the cabbit and Sasami from their reading, "What's up, peoples?" she asked cheerfully, waving childishly in the air. Sasami hopped out of her seat, "Are you all right, Ryoko? You screamed in your sleep this morning." the pirate nodded, "Yea, I know. Here, Washu told me to give it to you," she handed the princess a little earpiece, and she jumped for joy, "YES! She gave me the translator thingie I asked for! WOOO!!!" she danced around the room, leaving Ryoko in the dust. The pirate looked over at Ryo-ohki, who was backing up mockingly in her seat.

Ryoko shrugged playfully and sat down, drinking the rest of the water her mother handed to her. 'Geez, this baby can wake up the dead, my god...' Sasami slipped the translator over her ear and asked Ryoko to tell Ryo to say something. "Miya?" she asked, and Sasami laughed, "Great! The thing works! Now I can talk to Ryo-ohki better! YES!!!" Ryoko smiled at her happiness, and picked up a pencil and paper, and started drawing lines and figures for a small toy.

Sasami chatted with the confused cabbit for a moment, then gave up when she remembered she couldn't hear yet. The pirate put a few words here and there to memorize because she couldn't read...yet. 'Damn this brain of mine, I can't even read because of him,' the younger princess eyed the pirate curiously, then returned to her playing chess.

A loud, screaming sound filled the air as the familiar sound of a spaceship lowered to the ground. Washu was startled from her sleep as the ship landed nearby, followed by Mihoshi running out of the house. The ship, painted red and looking like Mihoshi's patrol ship, the Yukinojo. The scientist stood up and walked toward it, still unnerved by the unpleasent awakening the craft had given her. Mihoshi had a serious look on her face, and her uniform was on neater than usual.

A beam of yellow light appeared before her, and a golden sihoutte of a figure appeared; holding a bag of luggage. After the light disappeared, Washu guessed that this had to be Kiyone, by the color of her hair and eyes, and the look of determination glowing on her face. The visitor saluted, "Hello, detective first class Kiyone," Mihoshi tried to keep herself from crying, since she hadn't seen her friend in a long time.

Washu smiled, "Hello Kiyone, would you like to go to your room?" the officer's eyes widened, "Washu? Washu Hakubi? Here?" the scientist nodded, "Yep! You'll see everyone at dinner tonight, Ryoko and Sasami are somewhere playing. Ayeka's in the house napping, and Mihoshi's standing right there, trying to greet you," Kiyone turned around and found Mihoshi standing with as straight of face as she could manage, "...Mihoshi, it's been a long time," the blond haired officer managed a nod, but choked a sob down. "Will you show me to my room, hmmm?" Mihoshi nodded again and turned around, wiping a tear out of her blue eyes. Washu motioned her on and they walked off, Tenchi appeared at the front of the doorway, greeting them.

Mihoshi led her old partner to the newly assembled room, and didn't talk unless she asked her a question. "So, uh, is it nice here, Mihoshi?" Kiyone asked. The bond haired officer nodded again, her throat knotting up fast. "Why won't you talk?" she wiped another tear that threatened to fall, and opened the door to the newly made room. The teel haired officer eyed her curiously, then set her bag down on the bed; trying to get her partner's eyes to meet hers, "Mihoshi, what's wrong?"

Mihoshi turned her head to the wall and banged it hard with her head, letting two tears streak down her cheek. Kiyone's hand set on her shoulder, shaking it a little, "C'mon, look at me...please?" the blond officer turned around reluctantly and faced her friend, forcing a smile as three more tears fell down her face, "T-there.... h-h-happy?" she stuttered, choking on her tongue. Kiyone nodded, "That's much better. C'mon now, I won't lose my temper, go ahead and cry; it's been a long time."

Mihoshi leaned into her partner and cried silently, trying real hard not to howl loudly. Kiyone put her hands on her back and let her partner let her feelings out; smiling all the while. After five minutes, the blond haired officer stood back up, leaning against the semi-white wall. And smiled, "Thank-you, I thought you'd be all angry at me and stuff, cause those years ago you'd yell at me for almost everything." Kiyone laughed, "Yeah, that's true. But after I finally got away from you, I got this other partner and he was a perv. Always trying to seduce me. I finally sued him and had to start all over again, and then when I had Mitsuki as a partner. I finally realised it was a mistake in leaving you, you'd always make my day. Good or bad, mostly bad; but that didn't matter,"

Mihoshi snickered, "Let's go! I wanna introduce you to the peeps here!" she cried out, and tugged on Kiyone's arm, pulling them around the house.

Washu ran out of the house when Ryoko, Ryo-ohki, and Sasami were phased into the house's area and pulled them in; dinner already made. The pirate stared at the new girl, and turned to her mother again, "Is that the girl you told me about?" the scientist nodded, "Yup," they sat down around the table; trying not to stare at the newcomer. Mihoshi was chatting with her, telling her everthing that had happed in the past eight months she'd been there. Tenchi was sitting in his usual spot, talking with either Ayeka or Ryoko; blushing when Ryoko mentioned their bruises, "Heh, my sister gave that to you? Good lord," the pirate said, pointing to there purple cheeks.

Sasami ate happily, chewing her food semi-politely, since her manners were rubbing off and Ryoko's seeping in; much to Ayeka's dislike. Nobiyuki ate in silence, obviously in deep thought of a new architecture to be planned. Washu had her ears perked up; since a ship's landing was starting to fill the air, but only in the Hakubi's ears (minus Ryo). Their plates started rumbling, the sound getting increasingly louder. Tenchi slammed down his chopstick's and walked outside, looking toward the sky.

Washu and Ryoko got up too, since the ship's noises was screaming louder and louder by the minute. The two officers got their guns ready, and Sasami cleared the table before the dishes fell off.

The lake was churning violently, and the seven people watched intently, seeing the silhoutte of the ship that was on the screen. "The hell is that...?" Tenchi asked, sheilding his eyes from the laser beam that shot the nearby mountain. "Goddammit, it's the Tiapora, he's giving us a warning not to attack." Ryoko mumbled in responce, glaring at the landing ship. Mihoshi and Kiyone stood back to back, their guns set and ready to attack.

Washu watched as the humungous ship shot another laser into another nearby mountain, Katsuhito running down the shrine's steps. Tenchi ran to his room and back, and Ayeka had her gaurdians ready for a fight. The half-breed ignited the master key, attracting a stare from the newcoming officer. A red beam of light appeared in front of them, showing a silhoutte of a man.

Ryoko and Washu got their orange sword's in a battling position, and Ryo was set on protecting Sasami. "...My, aren't we the ready one's?" the man's low voice pierced the silence around them. The ex-pirate's eyes widenened in recognition of the voice, "You! You! Damn you! You're the one that's been haunting me!" he clapped mockingly, "No shit, you think I'd have any fun if I just came and took you two? Now where's the fun in that?"

"Mitis, who says you're going to take us, I'd say the odds are against you this moment." Washu mumbled, motioning towards the group of warriors ready to fight for their lives if needed. Mitis had a cloak much like Kagato's on, had a metal mask covering his eyes; though they could sense the sinister desire of this man. "Hmph, as if that matters, I could easily turn one of you against the other, very much easily," he sneered; causing Ryoko to shutter. He's talking about me, Washu... Ryoko whispered harshly, wavering on her words unconciosly. Yea... I know, try to fight it; you almost did seven hundred years ago... Tenchi bent his knees a little more, on the command of his grandfather.

Mitis glared at the eight of them and threw his cloak into thin air, the rain soaking them a little. He held his hand out and grasped a putrid green energy sword, about five times bigger than sword Tenchi, and looked a zillion times stronger. Ryoko's eyes flashed in color, and she clutched her head. No! Dammit! Get out of my head! Dammit!!!! Can't.........NO! I won't give up! Fight... Keep fighting........ I can't see, my vision.................... Tenchi............ Mom, help............. Please... Washu listened to her pleading, at the same time, blocking a blow with Mitis's sword. Ryoko continued to fight; her eyes kept flashing gold to green, her orange sword clashing with the barrier of Ayeka when she was under control.

Tenchi ran up and shoved Mitis away from Washu, who was getting cornered into a wall. The scientist ran to a clearing, closely followed by Mitis. Mihoshi and Kiyone were doing their best trying to fend off Ryoko, who was fighting clumsily because of the control Mitis had over her wasn't as strong as Kagato's.

"Nice! You're just like the old days!" Mitis cried, throwing another blow onto the scientist's body, who easily deflected it. Washu watched as he floated to the middle of the clearing, his hand held up high, charging up an energy volt. "That face...." she muttered, preparing to block the shock.

Fight! Fight, Ryoko, fight! FIGHT! the pirate cried out mentally; collapsing on the ground and clutching her head. A few seconds later, the control had taken over again, attacking the three people. Mitis continued to charge up, the energy now an enormously huge ball of lightning. "I know him........" Washu muttered again, backing up a little. Tenchi joined in, trying to get Ryoko off the three, but avoiding the prospect of hurting her. The pirate threw an energy ball at Tenchi, knocking him into the wall of the house. Ryo-ohki and Sasami were both fighting for each other. Sasami, now letting her Jurian powers of Tsuinami come to her aid, blowing away the black guardians that Mitis had summoned up.

The sinister villain pulled his arm down with all his strength, the ball of lightning tossing towards the small scientist. Washu pulled the sword up in front of her and was pushed back fifteen feet by the power. Her weakened body slammed against a tree as the blast engulfed her totally. Ryoko fought off the control another time when she saw her mother slammed against a tree, and phased next to the blast, knocking it away into the mountain two hundred feet away. The pirate caught Washu in her arms, who was seemingly unconcious from the attack.

Mitis glared at the two, "...So I see. So you are the daughter of the witch." Ryoko held her mother tight, letting her energy blade flicker back to life. She set her mother down and bent her legs in a fighting stance. Tenchi and the others ran to the clearing, stopping when they saw that Mitis no longer had control over the pirate. Ryoko charged at him, swinging down her sword with all the strength she could muster. Swords clashing together filled the air as the two warriors fought.

Sparks emitted from the blows, and they phased around, in sword play. Tenchi jumped out of the way when an energy blast flew in their direction, blowing up a nearby tree into flames. Mitis took the chance when they clashed together and punched his other fist in her gut, making her fly through a tree. The man laughed, and walked towards her, pulling his arm back and prepared to throw his putrid sword (ewwww!).

Washu stirred from her unconciosness and widened her eyes to see her daughter on the ground, struggling to get up. Her eyes clamped in pain as a trail of blood ran down her face, a large gash across her chest, "Damn... I have to.... Get up. OW!" she landed back on the ground with a plop and winced as the wet grass hit her cut.

The pirate couldn't see, the control was seeping back in, and a scurrying of feet across the ground was heard as she felt herself being shoved aside by tiny hands, and a loud scream entered her ears. The rain pounded down harder as she kept her eyes shut, not wanting to see who she had hurt.... or had she?

Open your eyes, Ryoko... Washu's faint voice entered her brain.

I can't!

Yes you can, and you will.

No!

You didn't hurt anyone, I promise you.

NO!

Please. You'll regret it if you don't...

What happened? Why is someone screaming? I can't hear, I can't recognize, I can't even see!

Open your eyes......

FINE!!!!!

The pirate opened her eyes slowly, and gasped as the a putrid green sword stained with blood was five inches from her face. Luckily, the blood wasn't hers. Unluckily, she looked up, and tears spurted from her face as the body collapsed onto the ground in a heap.

Overhead, she heard thunder.

Author's Notes: Yikes! I didn't think I'd end this chapter like that! (Gets thwacked in the head by a zilllion rotten tomatoes) Lol. It was kind of long. I'm sorry if it went a little fast, the battle and all. But if I didn't get it in there it would've been a lot longer than this. I'm sorta on a writer's block, I need some idea's peeps!!! AYeka and Mihoshi are a tad (that's an understatement) OOC, sowwie!