Author's note: The next five chapters focus on that period of time where Ayeka and Ryoko are building their new house. In other words, all five chapters will be taking place in the span of a single month.

Fishing

Diary of Ayeka

Twentieth Day of June

Summer has arrived, meaning that the climate will become even warmer. I am starting to wear less and less as we continue to construct the new house--and as one might expect, Ryoko is taking… shall I say, "advantage" of this. At least she has the good sense to wear something, though.

Repairs are going rather slow. The house was completely blown away from the tree by the hurricane, and the remains shattered on the ground below. It will take us a very long time to salvage what we can from the ruins, and longer still to clean it all up. Initially, Ryoko and I set about our task as… well, something that might be considered friendship, but this quickly faded once we began to work together. Let me just say that we cannot agree on anything.

That aside, it shouldn't take us too terribly long to fix our house. In the meantime, we shall have to sleep in the cave. I am all for this, since it provides lovely shelter from the hot days and is always nice and cool. After I complete this entry, perhaps I shall busy myself with the house. We are currently on break; Ryoko has gone fishing, and I stayed in the shade to write in my diary. Perhaps, if I am in a good mood, and if she is not rude as always, I may join her.

Sincerely yours,

Lady Akeya, Princess of the Jurai Royal Family

Fastening a crude string onto a strong rod, Ryoko managed to create a fishing pole out of raw materials. A stone would be placed on the end to weigh the line down, and a piece of fruit would be the lure. She didn't expect to catch anything with what she had--the true purpose of this was to sit back and relax from her worries.

Whistling a tune to herself, Ryoko took her time as she walked towards the cape. While on one of her runs, she had found a nice little cape that just jetted out into the sea. It was perfect to observe a sunrise or a sunset, and the position it was in allowed for great fishing. Up until that point, neither of the girls had tried it out before, so she was going to be the first.

Letting out a gusty sigh, Ryoko popped all her loose joints as she carried rod, reel, and bait towards the cape. She paused as she stepped onto the outcropping of land, and took a huge breath of the delicious sea air. A gentle wind came from behind and tickled at her hair, and Ryoko let out a smile of content.

Wasting no time--even though she had all the time in the world--Ryoko grunted as she removed all clothes save her undergarments. She was fully aware of Ayeka's intolerance to nudity, and even though the exposure to the sun would leave her with tan lines, Ryoko felt she owed the feisty princess a break from all the misery she had caused--just a brief one, though!

Naked save for her underclothes, Ryoko sat down on the very edge of the cape. She smiled, and dipped the line into the water. She had never actually fished before, since Tenchi lived in an area with no lakes or oceans, so she wasn't sure what to do. Instead, she held onto the line with her toes and laid back on the cape, her hands beneath her head. She sighed again, and stared at the sky lazily.

This is nice, she thought to herself. I've got the whole place to myself. No Ayeka, no Mihoshi or Kiyone, no annoying Washu… of course, no Tenchi… Ah, well! We all need personal time! Ahhh… The sky above her remained a constant view, and the wild woman soon grew to wish for some sunglasses. She smiled and took in a deep breath, and let herself loosen up and relax completely.

I wonder what Tenchi and the others are doing? she mused. Chuckling, she tried hard to imagine. Who knows? Maybe they're out looking for us. Yeah, I bet they're looking for us. Of course, we've been on this island for a few months now, so I'd think we'd be able to see something now. There was that plane, but other than that, I didn't see a thing.

Did they… forget about us? No, that can't be right! I'm sure nobody forgot about us. Ha, who could? I'll bet Azaka and Kamidake are white with worry! Poor Sasami must be in tears right about now, and no doubt Mihoshi will be blubbering with her. Hm, Washu would… probably be helping Ryo-ohki search for me, and Tenchi…

She paused, and smiled briefly as the cool wind tickled her bare tummy. What would Tenchi be doing right then? Who would he be missing the most? Would he sigh forlornly every time he saw a picture of Ryoko? Or would he linger every time something reminded him of Ayeka?

Perhaps he…… moved on, considered Ryoko. She growled, and shook her turquoise mane. No! He… wouldn't do that to me! Huh, he wouldn't even do that to Ayeka! He'd……… …Aw, who am I kidding? I… don't know him at all. Maybe he… has found love… in the arms of another… But… I hope not…

Sighing, Ryoko tried pushing her memories of life at the Masaki home out of her head. Try as she might, the spacer could not, and soon a tear came to her eye. Angrily she wiped it away, but the sadness was not so easily erased. Ryoko muttered out a curse, and sat up to check on her line. Nothing.

"Oh well," she sighed quietly. "Didn't expect to catch anything anyway." Muttering another curse, the pirate groaned as she resumed resting on the cape, and stared back at the sky. Lazily, she raised an arm and began tracing images in the sky with her finger. She even began to babble, but with Ayeka writing in her diary, nobody would be around to see.

Yawning like a great lioness, Ryoko smacked her lips, feeling the soothing touch of Sleep on her eyes. The gentle rolling of the waves, combined with the crickets and seagulls, as well as the warm sky and soft wind, all played part in the symphonic lullaby. It then came as no surprise when Ryoko fell asleep…

Snorting, Ryoko quickly woke out of her catnap. She murmured something and rubbed her eyes, and a monolithic figure could be seen standing over her. Like herself, this figure wielded a fishing rod in her hand, and save for two very conservative pieces of underclothes, she was nude.

"What?" said the pirate. Ayeka made a light snorting sound and squatted down next to the pirate.

"Nothing," she replied, that snooty tone back in her voice. Ryoko muttered something, but couldn't help but smile as she saw Ayeka cast her line into the seas. An understandably long pause followed, and Ryoko was almost tempted to go back to sleep. After all, it was deliciously quiet out there, and even with Ayeka fishing right beside her, Ryoko could still snooze.

"I suppose you haven't caught anything yet," said Ayeka in a slightly bitter tone. Ryoko made an effort to shrug.

"Nope." A pause. Ayeka made a humming sound, but no other noise cam about.

"Say," said the princess after a very long intermission, "I have an idea."

"Yip-yip-yahoo," muttered the pirate. Ayeka made only a very low growling sound before continuing.

"My idea is for each of us to write down on a sheet of paper the reasons we hate each other," she began. "And on another sheet of paper, we should write down reasons we like each other. I assure you, though, one of my lists will be considerably longer."

"Ahuh," muttered the other woman. Ayeka let out a sigh.

"You have my permission to use my diary," she stated, though a bit selfishly. "And I want the truth. I will be expressing my true feelings, so I expect you to do the same."

"Right…"

"Never mind," sighed Ayeka. Ryoko allowed a tiny smile to grace her lips. Ayeka sighed and shook her head--and felt a tug on her line.

"Oh! I have something!" she said. Ryoko muttered something in doubt, and continued to sleep. Ayeka pursed her lips in a determined grin, and slowly began pulling on the line. It suddenly jerked, nearly taking the lady in the water with her.

"WHAT IN BLAZES!!!" she yelled. Ayeka screamed, suddenly placing all of her strength in yanking out the stubborn fish. Ryoko, though hardly interested in the struggle, sat up to watch.

"What now?" she moaned. Ayeka was oblivious to the pirate; every cell in her body was primarily focused on pulling in the fish, or whatever was on the other end. Ryoko let out another teeny smile as the delicate princess yanked on the rod with all her might, and secretly hoped that she would fall in. She almost pushed the princess in the water--but her conscience (and curiosity) prevented her from doing otherwise.

"Uuuggghhhnnn… allllmoooossst… gotttt… hiiiimmmm…" The princess clenched her teeth hard, veins bulging out of her body as she yanked on the rod. Ryoko knew full well that if she tried to help, the monarch would just push her away, so she kept still and continued to watch.

With a final jerk, Ayeka yanked out the offending fish from the water, and gasped in sheer awe as she held the beast in the air. It was a marlin, full and beautiful and shimmering in the summer sun. Even Ryoko couldn't help but gape as the extraordinary beast wriggled in the air, sending streaks of water around.

Ayeka almost screamed with delight as she placed the fish on the ground, and with several blows from a rock she had brought, the creature ceased to move. The princess gasped for air, perspiring just slightly as she leaned over her catch. Ryoko whistled, and expressed genuine amazement.

"Wow, what a catch!" she sang. "That's a big old whopper! Hey, congrats, Lady Pain-in-the-Butt!" Ayeka, still riding on her high, ignored even this insult as she bent down to scoop up her catch.

"Just for that," she snorted, "you'll have none of this delicious fish for supper!!"

"HEY!!! That's not fair!!!" Ayeka laughed in triumph, and scurried away with the marlin in her hands. Of course, she knew that she would have to clean, cut, and cook the beast herself, but it would all be worth it to see Ryoko's starving face that night…

Diary of Ayeka

Twentieth day of June

Today was the day that I caught my very first fish! And what a fish it was!! Never before have I ever seen such a magnificent specimen! It was a marlin, nearly two feet in length (you'll have to believe me on that one) and easily weighing in at 90 lbs. I'm going to stop now because the smell of it cooking is too intoxicating, but I just HAD to boast!

Love, A.

The night of June 20th was a soft and beautiful evening. A fire was burning merrily, a fish was cooking, the stars were out, crickets sang, and Ryoko grumbled in hunger. For Ayeka, the day could not become more perfect.

She did burn her fingers a little as she cut the fish apart, and several bones had to be cut apart or else spat out, but the marlin had been the most delicious thing that Ayeka had ever eaten since arriving on the island. It really was a big one, so she would be fed for days to come.

Still, she couldn't help but feel a little bad for Ryoko. The poor woman really hadn't eaten much that day, since she had spent most all hours on working on the new house, so her belly would doubtless be in pain. Sighing, Ayeka thought back to the day that Ryoko had shared her chicken with her. Sure, the pirate had caught all the fowls herself, but she didn't seem to care about that. Ryoko had shared her prize with Ayeka without hesitation; the least Ayeka could do was return the favor.

"Ryoko?" Ryoko murmured and looked up. She had been staring at the bonfire, so her catlike eyes had a kind of fiery glow to them. Her face became animated as the flames reflected off of it. Ayeka saw the hungry look on her companion's eye, and wordlessly handed Ryoko a large piece of fish meat.

"Here," she said. "I… ah, want you to have some." Ryoko paused, curiously glancing between the meat and the lady. She smiled faintly, and took the meat into her own paws. It vanished with the blink of an eye.

"Oh, WOW!!!" shouted the pirate. "Holy shitake! Ayeka, I… this is…… incredible! I…" She paused, and her smile grew kind and gentle. A tear almost came to her eye. "Thanks, Ayeka."

"Well, we're even now," said the princess wryly. Ryoko smirked and crossed her arms, but the smug looks on both their faces faded quickly. "…It was going to rot soon anyway," continued the princess. "I would hate to put this wonderful meal to waste, so please have as much as you want." Wordlessly, Ryoko's eyes began to shimmer with a gentle warmth, and another Thank You was uttered before the wild woman joined Ayeka for dinner.