~^~^~
RAYANI: Disclaimer...disclaimer...disclaimer...enough with the disclaimers!
We know that Tenchi and the others do not belong to us, all right? Give the
disclaimers a rest!
MAGARU: Too true. Well, you'll enjoy this chapter, since we're not having a
bloody war or anything like that.
RAYANI: And no disgusting romantic parts!
MAGARU: But what about you and Kagato?
RAYANI: There are only romantic parts in there because you like it there.
If the whole story were up to me, it'd all be one big war waged
against...against...against...someone.
MAGARU: You're so bloodthirsty, Rayani.
RAYANI: And you're so lovesick, Maggie. On with the chapter!
~^~^~
Chapter Thirteen: Beach Trip!
Everybody had grown restless and decided to go on a vacation to a nice resort planet. Kiyone and Mihoshi managed to get some time off from duty, in addition to a small raise for apprehending Yume. Kenny managed to get away from school by saying he had a sick family member in the United States and would be gone for a month. Even Ayeka, now Queen of Planet Jurai and its empire, managed to get to Earth and meet up with everybody.
"Well, to tell the truth," Ayeka admitted as they arrived at the beautiful resort planet, "I snuck out of the palace with Sasami. I could never do anything with guards following me every waking moment." Ryoko laughed as she picked up the cooler and umbrellas. Sasami giggled happily as she clutched Kenny's hand.
"Ayeka, you're a naughty one!" Sasami laughed.
"What about possible assassination, PRINCESS?" Ryoko asked, still using the diminutive "princess" term. Ayeka sniffed airily.
"No matter. I can fend for myself, and YOU, of all people, should know that." Ayeka suddenly ducked behind Ryoko, hiding as a group of people walked by, chattering obliviously. Tenchi gave her a curious look.
"What are you doing, Ayeka?" he asked, looking over his shoulder at the people and nearly dropping his bundle of things. Ayeka looked cautiously down the beach.
"Those were some guards from Jurai that are off duty right now. They'd start following me around, yelling 'hail the Queen of Jurai' or things like that," Ayeka explained.
After a few minutes, they finally selected a rather secluded stretch of beach where they had enough room to themselves. Washu went off to look for an ideal place where beach specimens gathered, Kiyone went to go look for a bathroom, Kagato and Jakato went off looking for shells for unexplained reasons, and the Sasami and Kenny went for a walk down the beach. This left Ayeka, Ryoko, Tenchi, Rayani, Magaru, and Mihoshi to put the things out.
It only took a short while to get everything out that was needed, so they sat down and talked, not wanting to go swimming so early in the day. Ryoko was struck with a sudden idea and nudged Rayani.
"Hey, Rayani, you thinking about kids?" Ryoko asked quietly as she straightened her beach blanket out.
"No," Rayani replied flatly.
"Why not?" the demon asked, watching Kenny fall face first into an oncoming wave as he tripped on a clump of sand. Rayani grinned.
"First of all, there's Jakato. Second, I don't like the process involved with having kids," Rayani explained, gesturing for Tenchi and Washu to sit down with them.
"What're you two talking about?" Tenchi asked, handing Ryoko a soda. Ryoko grinned.
"She wants kids," Ryoko said, pointing to Rayani. Rayani went red and laughed.
"No, I don't," she said, shaking her finger at Ryoko. Magaru plopped down next to her.
"Yes you do," Magaru said mischievously, laughing at Rayani's increasingly red cheeks.
"Why not?" Tenchi asked, sighing as Kenny tripped again.
"I already explained this to Ryoko."
"Well, explain to us," Magaru laughed, throwing a towel at Rayani's head. She caught it deftly and grinned.
"Oh, all right," Rayani said reluctantly.
"Go on," Ayeka said, grinning.
"First, there's Jakato..."
"First?" Tenchi interrupted, gently brushing a little insect off his hand. "There's more?"
"...and second, I don't like the process involved with having kids." Everybody burst out laughing, except for Washu, who merely shrugged.
"Aw, come on! A little night fun won't hurt!" Ryoko remark, giving Rayani a playful slap on her shoulder. At this, Rayani went scarlet and laughed.
"Well, I'm going for a swim! See you later!" Rayani said hastily, running off and tripping on a rock. Everyone laughed again as she rubbed her head slowly. Rayani gave them an embarrassed grin and leapt into an oncoming wave. Washu shook her head in despair.
"Ryoko, stop teasing her," Washu muttered quietly. Ryoko shrugged indifferently.
"Well, it's funny," she said. Magaru nodded in agreement, but a look from Washu stopped her.
"Do you know WHY Rayani doesn't want to have kids?" Washu asked. Everyone gazed at her intently. "It happened at least 15,000 years ago. One of my experiments went horribly wrong, and it ended up with her injured from the waist down. She healed almost perfectly." Washu looked up at them, a smile absent from her face. "Her reproductive system was permanently damaged, though, and I couldn't fix it, and neither could the surgeons at the academy. Well, they could, but she refused to be put on chemicals for over a year. After that, she rarely showed any emotion towards the opposite sex, and she never really interacted much with males." Ryoko gave Washu a confused look.
"But what about Kagato?" Ryoko asked, perplexed. Washu smiled.
"Kagato is one exception, the only one. I don't know why--Rayani's always been weird like that," Washu explained. "She always hated the process involved with having kids--she never talked about it at all, even when she was okay. I guess her real reason for not wanting kids...is because she can't." Washu whacked Ryoko with a fan. "So lay off, Ryoko!" Ryoko rubbed her head and shot Washu an irritated look.
"All right, all right, I'll leave her alone!" Ryoko growled as Washu raised her fan again. Washu grinned cleverly.
"I knew you'd see it my way...who wants to go for a walk?"
They all agreed, with the exception of Magaru, who, when Jakato appeared, went off towards a more private area. Jakaru, Magaru and Jakato's new infant boy, was in a daycare center where Magaru had left him to play with the other little boys and girls. Ayeka tried hiding behind Tenchi, but to no avail, as the beachgoers could still see her. A lot of the crowd gazed with no shame at all, silently wondering if that was the Queen of Jurai or just some look-alike.
They walked down the beach, laughing and talking cheerfully. Ayeka gave up trying to hide, even though one section of the beach was covered with Juraians. The Juraians yelled, "Hail the Queen!" but a look from Ayeka silenced them. Washu, after spotting a cluster of enormous rocks, left to go do some searching.
As they reached another section of the vast beach, people seemed to not know who they were, so Ayeka walked a bit slower. Their expectations were shattered when a Juraian guard stopped in front of them. "The Royal Family!" he cried, getting on his knees and crossing his right arm across his chest as he spotted Ayeka, Sasami, and Tenchi. Ayeka took a step back, waving her hands nervously.
"No, no, no! Quiet!" Ayeka hissed as Tenchi and Sasami laughed. The guard looked at her, puzzled.
"But why, my Queen?" the guard asked, slowly getting off his knees. Ryoko could hear excited whispering from the beach crowd. Ayeka sighed.
"Never mind. At ease. Everyone, let's run!" They all broke into heavy runs, leaving the confused guard behind.
When they reached a cave surrounded by tall palm trees, they stopped, laughing and gasping for breath. "That was fun!" Sasami said, giggling as Ryo-ohki hopped from her shoulder. Tenchi thought he heard someone humming inside the cave. Intrigued, he left the others to rest among the trees and went inside the cave. Tenchi stifled a laugh. It was Kagato, searching among the rocks.
"Now, where did you get to, my little crab..." Kagato murmured, looking into a pool of crystal clear water. Tenchi smiled.
"What are you looking for?" Tenchi asked, walking into the cave. Kagato, preoccupied with searching the pool of water, didn't look at him.
"I spotted an oddly colored species of crab, so I started chasing it, and it ran into this cave," Kagato replied, and then stuck his whole head into the pool of water. Tenchi laughed as Kagato emerged, his head dripping. "Now, where did it go? No doubt the professor will want to study it also."
"Hey, I have a question for you," Tenchi said quietly. Kagato nodded as he lifted a rock and peered under it. "Aren't you still mad about what I did to you twenty years ago?" Kagato grunted as he lifted another rock.
"No, not really," he said slowly as he put the rock down.
"And...doesn't it bother you that Washu and Rayani are...older than you?"
"What's a mere 15,000 years?" Kagato answered as he looked between some ferns. Tenchi spotted an orange and violet crab resting on a rock next to him.
"Is this what you're looking for?" Tenchi asked, reaching for the crab.
"Don't touch it!" Kagato snapped as he pulled a jar out of his pocket. "It's poisonous. I've got a jar." The prince watched Kagato sweep the crab into the jar and place the lid back on. "Now I've got you, the little blaggard." Kagato gave Tenchi a small smile as he walked out of the cave, triumphantly examining his catch.
The chief of the GP walked cheerfully down the beach. He was on a well- deserved vacation with his family, and away from Detective Mihoshi. He had had way too much trouble with that clumsy officer; it was nice to be relieved of all that work and stress. Suddenly, he saw an all too familiar blonde officer skipping in his direction. "Oh no," the chief gasped. "Of all the planets in the universe, why did Mihoshi come to this one?" He was about to continue on his way when he suddenly blanched. Unless he was hallucinating, the Eternally Wanted Criminal Kagato was strolling down the beach. The chief blinked, unwilling to believe his eyes. When Kagato did not disappear, he pulled out the gun he always had in his pocket.
"Eternally Wanted Criminal Kagato, stop right there!" the chief bellowed. The whole section of the beach fell silent. Kagato stopped talking with Mihoshi and sighed.
"Oh my. You really scare me now," Kagato said calmly. The chef walked forward, his gun pointing at Kagato's head.
"Mihoshi, get your gun out!" the chief ordered. Mihoshi looked from the chief to Kagato--she was caught between two fires.
"But I--"
"That's an order, Mihoshi!" Mihoshi bit her lip and obediently pulled her blaster out. Kagato smiled, undaunted, and stared at the chief.
"What do you want me for?" he asked. "I haven't killed anyone--lately." The chief was about to answer when Rayani ran up behind Kagato, grinning.
"Kagato, you haven't eaten lunch yet!" Rayani said, breathless, as she took Kagato's hand and began pulling him over to their area.
The chief watched in disbelief as Kagato picked Rayani up and carried her the rest of the way, regardless of her loud protests. The chief frowned and followed them, determined not to be taken lightly. When he reached their little area, he pointed his blaster once more.
"Eternally Wanted Criminal Kagato, this is a warning. Stay where you are!" growled the chief.
Ryoko looked up and scowled, clearly not approving of the sudden appearance of the GP chief. Kagato sighed and got up, holding his hand out to blast the chief.
"I WAS going to leave you be, but why not destroy you instead?" Kagato said, his hand beginning to glow green. Kagato suddenly went cross-eyed and slithered to the sand as Washu removed a mallet from his head. Rayani glanced at the chief and placed a protective arm around his unconscious body.
"Hand him over to me," the chief said, pulling a pair of special handcuffs from his pocket. Rayani glared at him and didn't remove her arm. "You can be arrested for not cooperating!" the chief snapped in response to Rayani's defiance.
"Chief, leave Kagato alone," Ayeka said sharply. The chief, startled by the sudden appearance of the Queen of Jurai, shuffled backwards.
"But he's an Eternally Wan--"
"This area is under specific Juraian jurisdiction. Are you defying my authority, chief?" Ayeka asked calmly, standing up and gazing at the chief with an imperious glare.
"Er, no, Your Highness, but Kagato is an Eternally Wanted Criminal. I HAVE to take him in," the chief continued stubbornly. Ayeka took a step closer, her eyes blazing.
"Leave them be or I will have you arrested for treason to the Royal Family!" Ayeka growled, pointing at the chief. He nodded nervously and bowed before walking away, thoroughly embarrassed. Ryoko laughed mischievously.
"The trouble you go through for that guy, Rayani. Why bother?" Ryoko asked in disbelief as she pulled a bag of chips from the picnic basket. Rayani grinned and pat Kagato's head.
"What are you talking about? Who couldn't love a face like that?" she laughed. Rayani grinned at the disgusted looks on everyone's faces. "Aw, come on, what's with the funny faces?"
~^~^~
After two relaxing weeks on the planet, they returned to Earth. Fortunately, the chief didn't report Mihoshi OR Kagato for fear of fierce reprimands from the GP and the Juraians. Sasami laughed as she began pulling pots and pans out of the kitchen cabinets, preparing to cook dinner.
"Imagine, Kagato, not killing people. Isn't that strange?"
~^~^~
Chapter Thirteen: Beach Trip!
Everybody had grown restless and decided to go on a vacation to a nice resort planet. Kiyone and Mihoshi managed to get some time off from duty, in addition to a small raise for apprehending Yume. Kenny managed to get away from school by saying he had a sick family member in the United States and would be gone for a month. Even Ayeka, now Queen of Planet Jurai and its empire, managed to get to Earth and meet up with everybody.
"Well, to tell the truth," Ayeka admitted as they arrived at the beautiful resort planet, "I snuck out of the palace with Sasami. I could never do anything with guards following me every waking moment." Ryoko laughed as she picked up the cooler and umbrellas. Sasami giggled happily as she clutched Kenny's hand.
"Ayeka, you're a naughty one!" Sasami laughed.
"What about possible assassination, PRINCESS?" Ryoko asked, still using the diminutive "princess" term. Ayeka sniffed airily.
"No matter. I can fend for myself, and YOU, of all people, should know that." Ayeka suddenly ducked behind Ryoko, hiding as a group of people walked by, chattering obliviously. Tenchi gave her a curious look.
"What are you doing, Ayeka?" he asked, looking over his shoulder at the people and nearly dropping his bundle of things. Ayeka looked cautiously down the beach.
"Those were some guards from Jurai that are off duty right now. They'd start following me around, yelling 'hail the Queen of Jurai' or things like that," Ayeka explained.
After a few minutes, they finally selected a rather secluded stretch of beach where they had enough room to themselves. Washu went off to look for an ideal place where beach specimens gathered, Kiyone went to go look for a bathroom, Kagato and Jakato went off looking for shells for unexplained reasons, and the Sasami and Kenny went for a walk down the beach. This left Ayeka, Ryoko, Tenchi, Rayani, Magaru, and Mihoshi to put the things out.
It only took a short while to get everything out that was needed, so they sat down and talked, not wanting to go swimming so early in the day. Ryoko was struck with a sudden idea and nudged Rayani.
"Hey, Rayani, you thinking about kids?" Ryoko asked quietly as she straightened her beach blanket out.
"No," Rayani replied flatly.
"Why not?" the demon asked, watching Kenny fall face first into an oncoming wave as he tripped on a clump of sand. Rayani grinned.
"First of all, there's Jakato. Second, I don't like the process involved with having kids," Rayani explained, gesturing for Tenchi and Washu to sit down with them.
"What're you two talking about?" Tenchi asked, handing Ryoko a soda. Ryoko grinned.
"She wants kids," Ryoko said, pointing to Rayani. Rayani went red and laughed.
"No, I don't," she said, shaking her finger at Ryoko. Magaru plopped down next to her.
"Yes you do," Magaru said mischievously, laughing at Rayani's increasingly red cheeks.
"Why not?" Tenchi asked, sighing as Kenny tripped again.
"I already explained this to Ryoko."
"Well, explain to us," Magaru laughed, throwing a towel at Rayani's head. She caught it deftly and grinned.
"Oh, all right," Rayani said reluctantly.
"Go on," Ayeka said, grinning.
"First, there's Jakato..."
"First?" Tenchi interrupted, gently brushing a little insect off his hand. "There's more?"
"...and second, I don't like the process involved with having kids." Everybody burst out laughing, except for Washu, who merely shrugged.
"Aw, come on! A little night fun won't hurt!" Ryoko remark, giving Rayani a playful slap on her shoulder. At this, Rayani went scarlet and laughed.
"Well, I'm going for a swim! See you later!" Rayani said hastily, running off and tripping on a rock. Everyone laughed again as she rubbed her head slowly. Rayani gave them an embarrassed grin and leapt into an oncoming wave. Washu shook her head in despair.
"Ryoko, stop teasing her," Washu muttered quietly. Ryoko shrugged indifferently.
"Well, it's funny," she said. Magaru nodded in agreement, but a look from Washu stopped her.
"Do you know WHY Rayani doesn't want to have kids?" Washu asked. Everyone gazed at her intently. "It happened at least 15,000 years ago. One of my experiments went horribly wrong, and it ended up with her injured from the waist down. She healed almost perfectly." Washu looked up at them, a smile absent from her face. "Her reproductive system was permanently damaged, though, and I couldn't fix it, and neither could the surgeons at the academy. Well, they could, but she refused to be put on chemicals for over a year. After that, she rarely showed any emotion towards the opposite sex, and she never really interacted much with males." Ryoko gave Washu a confused look.
"But what about Kagato?" Ryoko asked, perplexed. Washu smiled.
"Kagato is one exception, the only one. I don't know why--Rayani's always been weird like that," Washu explained. "She always hated the process involved with having kids--she never talked about it at all, even when she was okay. I guess her real reason for not wanting kids...is because she can't." Washu whacked Ryoko with a fan. "So lay off, Ryoko!" Ryoko rubbed her head and shot Washu an irritated look.
"All right, all right, I'll leave her alone!" Ryoko growled as Washu raised her fan again. Washu grinned cleverly.
"I knew you'd see it my way...who wants to go for a walk?"
They all agreed, with the exception of Magaru, who, when Jakato appeared, went off towards a more private area. Jakaru, Magaru and Jakato's new infant boy, was in a daycare center where Magaru had left him to play with the other little boys and girls. Ayeka tried hiding behind Tenchi, but to no avail, as the beachgoers could still see her. A lot of the crowd gazed with no shame at all, silently wondering if that was the Queen of Jurai or just some look-alike.
They walked down the beach, laughing and talking cheerfully. Ayeka gave up trying to hide, even though one section of the beach was covered with Juraians. The Juraians yelled, "Hail the Queen!" but a look from Ayeka silenced them. Washu, after spotting a cluster of enormous rocks, left to go do some searching.
As they reached another section of the vast beach, people seemed to not know who they were, so Ayeka walked a bit slower. Their expectations were shattered when a Juraian guard stopped in front of them. "The Royal Family!" he cried, getting on his knees and crossing his right arm across his chest as he spotted Ayeka, Sasami, and Tenchi. Ayeka took a step back, waving her hands nervously.
"No, no, no! Quiet!" Ayeka hissed as Tenchi and Sasami laughed. The guard looked at her, puzzled.
"But why, my Queen?" the guard asked, slowly getting off his knees. Ryoko could hear excited whispering from the beach crowd. Ayeka sighed.
"Never mind. At ease. Everyone, let's run!" They all broke into heavy runs, leaving the confused guard behind.
When they reached a cave surrounded by tall palm trees, they stopped, laughing and gasping for breath. "That was fun!" Sasami said, giggling as Ryo-ohki hopped from her shoulder. Tenchi thought he heard someone humming inside the cave. Intrigued, he left the others to rest among the trees and went inside the cave. Tenchi stifled a laugh. It was Kagato, searching among the rocks.
"Now, where did you get to, my little crab..." Kagato murmured, looking into a pool of crystal clear water. Tenchi smiled.
"What are you looking for?" Tenchi asked, walking into the cave. Kagato, preoccupied with searching the pool of water, didn't look at him.
"I spotted an oddly colored species of crab, so I started chasing it, and it ran into this cave," Kagato replied, and then stuck his whole head into the pool of water. Tenchi laughed as Kagato emerged, his head dripping. "Now, where did it go? No doubt the professor will want to study it also."
"Hey, I have a question for you," Tenchi said quietly. Kagato nodded as he lifted a rock and peered under it. "Aren't you still mad about what I did to you twenty years ago?" Kagato grunted as he lifted another rock.
"No, not really," he said slowly as he put the rock down.
"And...doesn't it bother you that Washu and Rayani are...older than you?"
"What's a mere 15,000 years?" Kagato answered as he looked between some ferns. Tenchi spotted an orange and violet crab resting on a rock next to him.
"Is this what you're looking for?" Tenchi asked, reaching for the crab.
"Don't touch it!" Kagato snapped as he pulled a jar out of his pocket. "It's poisonous. I've got a jar." The prince watched Kagato sweep the crab into the jar and place the lid back on. "Now I've got you, the little blaggard." Kagato gave Tenchi a small smile as he walked out of the cave, triumphantly examining his catch.
The chief of the GP walked cheerfully down the beach. He was on a well- deserved vacation with his family, and away from Detective Mihoshi. He had had way too much trouble with that clumsy officer; it was nice to be relieved of all that work and stress. Suddenly, he saw an all too familiar blonde officer skipping in his direction. "Oh no," the chief gasped. "Of all the planets in the universe, why did Mihoshi come to this one?" He was about to continue on his way when he suddenly blanched. Unless he was hallucinating, the Eternally Wanted Criminal Kagato was strolling down the beach. The chief blinked, unwilling to believe his eyes. When Kagato did not disappear, he pulled out the gun he always had in his pocket.
"Eternally Wanted Criminal Kagato, stop right there!" the chief bellowed. The whole section of the beach fell silent. Kagato stopped talking with Mihoshi and sighed.
"Oh my. You really scare me now," Kagato said calmly. The chef walked forward, his gun pointing at Kagato's head.
"Mihoshi, get your gun out!" the chief ordered. Mihoshi looked from the chief to Kagato--she was caught between two fires.
"But I--"
"That's an order, Mihoshi!" Mihoshi bit her lip and obediently pulled her blaster out. Kagato smiled, undaunted, and stared at the chief.
"What do you want me for?" he asked. "I haven't killed anyone--lately." The chief was about to answer when Rayani ran up behind Kagato, grinning.
"Kagato, you haven't eaten lunch yet!" Rayani said, breathless, as she took Kagato's hand and began pulling him over to their area.
The chief watched in disbelief as Kagato picked Rayani up and carried her the rest of the way, regardless of her loud protests. The chief frowned and followed them, determined not to be taken lightly. When he reached their little area, he pointed his blaster once more.
"Eternally Wanted Criminal Kagato, this is a warning. Stay where you are!" growled the chief.
Ryoko looked up and scowled, clearly not approving of the sudden appearance of the GP chief. Kagato sighed and got up, holding his hand out to blast the chief.
"I WAS going to leave you be, but why not destroy you instead?" Kagato said, his hand beginning to glow green. Kagato suddenly went cross-eyed and slithered to the sand as Washu removed a mallet from his head. Rayani glanced at the chief and placed a protective arm around his unconscious body.
"Hand him over to me," the chief said, pulling a pair of special handcuffs from his pocket. Rayani glared at him and didn't remove her arm. "You can be arrested for not cooperating!" the chief snapped in response to Rayani's defiance.
"Chief, leave Kagato alone," Ayeka said sharply. The chief, startled by the sudden appearance of the Queen of Jurai, shuffled backwards.
"But he's an Eternally Wan--"
"This area is under specific Juraian jurisdiction. Are you defying my authority, chief?" Ayeka asked calmly, standing up and gazing at the chief with an imperious glare.
"Er, no, Your Highness, but Kagato is an Eternally Wanted Criminal. I HAVE to take him in," the chief continued stubbornly. Ayeka took a step closer, her eyes blazing.
"Leave them be or I will have you arrested for treason to the Royal Family!" Ayeka growled, pointing at the chief. He nodded nervously and bowed before walking away, thoroughly embarrassed. Ryoko laughed mischievously.
"The trouble you go through for that guy, Rayani. Why bother?" Ryoko asked in disbelief as she pulled a bag of chips from the picnic basket. Rayani grinned and pat Kagato's head.
"What are you talking about? Who couldn't love a face like that?" she laughed. Rayani grinned at the disgusted looks on everyone's faces. "Aw, come on, what's with the funny faces?"
~^~^~
After two relaxing weeks on the planet, they returned to Earth. Fortunately, the chief didn't report Mihoshi OR Kagato for fear of fierce reprimands from the GP and the Juraians. Sasami laughed as she began pulling pots and pans out of the kitchen cabinets, preparing to cook dinner.
"Imagine, Kagato, not killing people. Isn't that strange?"