"No Need for Arrests"
Ryoko opened the door to Tenchi's room quietly and slipped in, closing the
door behind her. It was around 3 o'clock in the morning, and Ryoko was sure
Tenchi was fast asleep. By his steady, slow breathing Ryoko knew she was right.
She floated in the air and maneuvered above Tenchi. She sighed contentedly as
she watched him sleep, a serene look on his face. She resisted the urge to wrap her
arms around the object of her affection and fall asleep in his arms, but she knew
that if she did he would wake up and get mad. So she watched and listened. She
lowered herself down and rested her head on Tenchi's chest lightly, listening for
the rhythmic beating of his heart.
"R-R-Ryoko?" a voice pierced her thoughts.
Ryoko looked up and swallowed. "Sorry, Tenchi," she apologized quickly
and began to fly towards the door.
Tenchi quickly grabbed Ryoko's wrist and pulled her back. The look on his
face reflected uncertainty and confusion. "Please, Ryoko. Don't go. I love you,"
Tenchi said.
Ryoko grinned wildly and embraced her love and kissed him deeply. When
the kiss broke, Tenchi smiled and said, "Wake up, Ryoko."
"What?"
"Wake up!"
Ryoko eyes snapped open and she was greeted by Ayeka's face. Damn, it
was just a dream... "Argh!" Ryoko growled. "What a wonderful thing to wake up
to!"
Ayeka snapped, "Would you rather I woke you up with a vacuum?"
"Why are you doing housework this early in the morning?" Ryoko asked.
"Early?! It's a quarter until twelve!" Ayeka informed. "Honestly, how
anyone can sleep in that late is beyond me."
Ryoko rubbed her eyes, "Where's Tenchi?"
"He went grocery shopping, so he can feed all of us. That's why I'm
cleaning, to show him my gratitude."
"Oh," Ryoko replied. She yawned once again and stood up. She climbed the
stairs and walked down the hall and into Tenchi's room. She sighed contentedly
and flopped onto his mattress and quickly fell back asleep.
Ayeka gritted her teeth in frustration. "How can she be so lazy?" she
muttered under her breath as she started the vacuum.
Now sooner had Ayeka finished sweeping the living room, she heard a
knock at the door.
"Coming!" she shouted as she quickly opened the front door. She was
greeted by several paper sacks that appeared to have feet.
"Help!" a voice exclaimed from behind the bags. Suddenly, one of the top
sacks tilted to the side nearly falling off, but Ayeka quickly kept it from falling
down.
"Tenchi, these bags are taller than you," Ayeka said.
"I know, I know! Could you give a ha-," Tenchi started.
"Tenchi!" Ryoko interrupted. She rushed her beloved, launching him out the
front door and out to the front lawn. Unfortunately, the groceries scattered all over
the yard. "Oh, Tenchi! I missed you sooo much!" Ryoko whined
"Uh-huh, I bet. How long ago did you get up?" Tenchi asked skeptically.
"About ten minutes ago, but that's not the point," Ryoko answered while
tightening her grip.
"How about letting a guy get some air, Ryoko?" Tenchi wheezed.
Ryoko sighed and loosened her grip on Tenchi.
Tenchi surveyed the mess, sighed, and rubbed his eyes. He began to pick up
the scattered groceries, and Ryoko released her grip on him to help. After a little
coaxing from Tenchi, of course. Ayeka also pitched in.
When he went to pick up a can that had rolled onto the sidewalk, a pale
hand also reached for the can. Tenchi traced the arm up to a young girl with teal
hair and sunglasses. She was wearing loose fitting jean shorts and a white tank
top.
"You look like you could use some help," the anonymous female said.
"Thanks!" Tenchi replied.
Ryoko however was not so grateful. I know I've seen that face before...
The four of them managed to retrieve the groceries and get them in the
house without too much trouble. As the girl was leaving, Tenchi met her at the end
of his driveway and said, "Hey, I haven't seen you around this neighborhood
before. Are you new here?"
The girl nodded and replied, "Yeah, I live a block away, and I was just
taking a walk."
"Well thanks again uhh..." Tenchi started.
"Oh, of course! My name's Kiyone Makibi," she informed.
Tenchi bowed and introduced himself. "The girls with cyan hair and purple
hair are Ryoko Hakubi and Ayeka Jurai, respectively."
Kiyone bowed and replied, "Well it was nice to meet you Mister Tenchi."
"No, just Tenchi please. I don't think my name sounds good like that,"
Tenchi insisted.
Kiyone stared at him blankly for a second and then chuckled. "Right..."
Suddenly, a high-pitched voice exclaimed, "There you are, Kiyone!"
Tenchi turned his head in the direction of the voice, and he saw a dark
skinned girl with blonde hair and blue eyes. The girl ran up to Kiyone and said,
"Hey Kiyone, how come you didn't meet me at the park like you said?"
"I got sidetracked, Mihoshi," Kiyone explained. "Mihoshi this is Tenchi
Masaki. Tenchi this is Mihoshi Kuramitsu, my friend and roommate."
"It's nice to meet you Miss Mihoshi," Tenchi greeted while bowing.
Mihoshi giggled and replied, "Polite _and_ cute. Now I see why you got
'side-tracked.'"
Both Tenchi and Kiyone turned a beet red, and Kiyone quickly clamped her
hand over Mihoshi's mouth.. "Come on, Mihoshi, we must be on our way now
shouldn't we?" said Kiyone, half-leading, half-dragging Mihoshi down the street.
"Mihoshi! How could you embarrass me like that?" Kiyone growled once
she was out of earshot of Tenchi.
"Calm down, Kiyone. I was only joking, but you have to admit, he is kind of
cute," Mihoshi said.
"Yeah, I suppose, but we're not going to stay here for long remember? We
just need to find who caused the explosion that the Major sent us to investigate.
Then we're out of here."
"You're always all work and no play. Well, if you're not interested in him
can I take him out?"
Kiyone moaned. "You're hopeless. Listen, chances are _Yagami_ is going
to be finished analyzing the data from the debris by tomorrow morning. We can
stay here a max of a week."
"But Earth's so pretty, can't we take our vacation here?" Mihoshi asked.
"Oh, can we, can we, can we?!"
"Mihoshi, you have the persistence of a five-year old," said Kiyone. "And it
always pays off!"
Mihoshi giggled, "We can? Yay!"
"But we have to take the data back to HQ first, and then we can file a
request. So it'll be about two weeks."
"Great!"
******************************************************************
Tenchi self-consciously put his hand behind his head and went back inside.
He noticed Ryoko sulking in the couch.
"Uh, Ryoko? Is something bothering you?" Tenchi asked.
"It's that girl, Tenchi. There's something about her I don't like. I know I've
seen that face before!"
"I think you're overreacting," Tenchi replied.
Ryoko bit her thumbnail. "I don't know."
"Try not to worry about it too much, OK?"
"OK, if you say so Tenchi."
Tenchi walked up the stairs and opened the door to the bathroom. What he
saw inside defied the laws of physics. Instead of the small bathroom that was
supposed to be there, there was the world's biggest onsen. One word ran through
his mind. "WASHU!" he shouted.
The petite scientist, who had been standing right next to Tenchi at the time,
clamped her hands over her ears. "Oh, I see you found the bathhouse," Washu
observed.
"What did you do to my bathroom?!" Tenchi asked.
"I didn't do anything to your bathroom. I simply created another dimension
linked to the door. I was just getting ready to put a DNA scanner on the door," she
informed.
"Why do you need a DNA scanner?"
"Why to keep you out, Tenchi... this is the women's bath," the scientist
explained.
"Oh, that explains it then. So what does the men's bath look like?" Tenchi
wondered.
"You can have the normal bathroom if its OK with you," Washu suggested.
"Sure, but you have to promise to quit making alternate universes in my
house without me knowing," Tenchi instructed.
Washu shrugged, "Fair enough." She tinkered with the door handle for a
moment with a small machine and said, "There you go. The DNA sensor is in
place. You can take your bath now, Tenchi."
"Thanks, Little Washu," he acknowledged as he opened the door and
stepped in. He shut the door as tight as he could and locked it, just in case
Washu's sensor did not work and Ryoko got any ideas.
As he took off his shirt, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. It had
been the first time since the battle since he had taken a good look at his wounds.
Most of them were relatively minor compared to the big one on his stomach. He
winced as he remembered the pain that had seared through his body, when Kagato
had thrown him around like a toy. Tenchi shivered as he shoved away the
memories of the battle. He took of the rest of his clothes and soaked his troubles
away in the hot bath water.
Meanwhile Ryoko sat in thought. Maybe Tenchi's right. Maybe I _am_
looking into this too much. She rubbed her temples and cracked her neck. She
decided that a visit to the onsen would be just what she needed. She went upstairs
and entered the onsen. She took off her clothes and soaked in the hot pool. She
smiled as she thought of Tenchi. Everything about him drove her crazy, his deep
brown eyes you could gaze into forever, his sense of honor, and his never ending
sense of obligation to his friends. "I love you, Tenchi," she muttered as she closed
her eyes and fell victim to the soothing properties of the hot water.
******************************************************************
Kiyone flopped down on her bed and let out an exasperated sigh. "Six stores
in three hours... I didn't think it was possible..." Mihoshi and she had been
shopping at the local mall. "I hope you got enough stuff, Mihoshi!"
Mihoshi, who had three bags in each hand, nodded excitedly. "But why
didn't you get anything?"
"Because we have to eat tonight. The cost of living on Earth is high. We
don't have much spending cash, and you just spent most of it."
Mihoshi's stomach growled loudly. "Speaking of food, can we get
something to eat now?"
"Yeah, sure. There's instant ramen in the cabinet." That's something not
even she could burn, Kiyone added silently.
"Okay. You want any?"
"No, I'm fine. I think I'm going to take a nap."
"Okay," Mihoshi said as she left into the kitchen.
Kiyone yawned and closed her eyes. Just as she was about to fall asleep, her
watched beeped loudly. She groaned and pressed a button on the side of it. A
hologram of the Galaxy Police logo was projected a couple of inches above the
watch.
"Incoming message from _Yagami_, please confirm name and password," a
mechanical voice chimed.
"Detective First Class Kiyone Makibi, Once upon a time," Kiyone recited.
The hologram shimmered and changed to a long text message. Kiyone
gasped. According to this, that explosion was the Class-A criminal Kagato's
ship, the _Souja_! She read on, revealing information on Kagato. Basic
information like planets destroyed, people killed, assistants, and property damaged
was displayed. Kiyone suddenly scrolled back to the file labeled assistants.
Ryoko and Washu Hakubi... why does that sound familiar...? Wait, Ryoko was
one of Tenchi's friends!
"That means Tenchi's been harboring a criminal, and if he knows then we'll
have to arrest him, too," Kiyone thought aloud. Kiyone shook her head. What had
to be done had to be done. "Mihoshi! We've got a job to do!"
******************************************************************
"Are you sure you guys need to leave? You're welcome to stay longer if you
like," Tenchi offered to Ayeka and Sasami. They had decided at dinner that they
were going to leave at sundown and the sun had just disappeared underneath the
horizon.
"No, Tenchi. We must leave. We've stayed here long enough. Our parents
will be home the day after tomorrow, and we need to be there," Ayeka informed.
"All right, but you guys know you're always welcome, right?" Tenchi
asked.
Ayeka nodded, "Thanks, Tenchi. Maybe we'll come over tomorrow."
Sasami cheered, "Yeah, or maybe you guys could come over to our house!"
Ayeka and Sasami waved good-bye as they left for their house.
As soon as Tenchi shut the door, Ryoko lifted him up and tossed him onto
the couch. She jumped on top of him and whispered, "Ayeka and Sasami are gone,
and Washu's holed up in her lab working on another experiment. You know what
that means?"
Tenchi swallowed hard and nodded. "It means we're all alone," he
answered.
"With no one to save you," she finished.
Tenchi's eyes grew wide and he squirmed, trying to get out from underneath
the vixen.
"I love it when you struggle, Tenchi! It's so _cute_," Ryoko said with a
smirk. She strained to keep Tenchi underneath her.
"Ryoko, enough is enough. Get off of me! I'm not kidding!" he barked. His
struggles were starting to become not-so-gentle. He managed to get loose enough
to place his feet on Ryoko's stomach and shove her off. "Stop!"
Ryoko looked hurt. The emotional blow was more painful than the physical
one.
Tenchi leveled a glare at Ryoko, but when he saw the hurt in her eyes, his
expression softened. "I'm sorry, Ryoko. I couldn't get you to stop..." When no
response came from Ryoko, he went upstairs. "I'm going to bed," he said. Again
no response. He hung his head and went into his bedroom.
Ryoko was left alone to think. She blinked back tears. Why can't I ever
control myself!, she cursed inward. I hope he knows what I really think about
him. I hope he knows I think he's the greatest thing in the Universe. I hope he
knows I love him.
Now how would he know that? she asked herself.
What do you mean?! I show him my affection!
By throwing yourself at him every chance you get? How about showing
him a little appreciation? He's not letting you in his house so you can make out
with him. He's doing it to be kind.
But it's so hard! I've never felt these feelings for a guy before. I don't
know how to express them!
Just think of how you would want to be treated.
Well...
Not that! How about...
The sound of the doorbell jarred Ryoko from her thoughts. "Yeah, yeah.
I'm coming," Ryoko shouted to the visitor. She got up to the door and was greeted
by Kiyone, wearing something _very_ different from what she was wearing earlier
that day. Ryoko suddenly slammed the door shut and locked it. "That was a
Galaxy Police uniform!" That's where she had seen her face before. She was one
of the best and the most promising officers.
"Space Pirate Ryoko, you have five seconds to open the door, or it will be
considered resisting arrest. One..."
Ryoko looked around for a possible escape,
"Two..."
She could use her energy sword to stab Kiyone through the door, but that if
she missed she would be in even more trouble.
"Three..."
She ran upstairs and positioned the table to provide cover for incoming fire.
"Four..."
Ryoko began gathering energy to fire at the Galaxy Police officer. They
were not going to get her without a fight.
"Five!" Kiyone kicked down the door and began firing at the table with her
blaster. Ryoko lied down, cursing for not finding better cover.
"What the-!" Ryoko heard a voice exclaim.
Tenchi! she realized.
Tenchi down the hall and gasped at the sight. Ryoko was lying behind his
table which was being fired at by Kiyone in a strange uniform.
"What the hell is going on here?!" he shouted above all the noise.
Kiyone looked in that direction and ordered, "Tenchi, get down it's not
safe!"
Ryoko took advantage of the situation and fired her energy blast at the
ground in front of Kiyone, causing a smoke screen. When the smoke cleared both
Ryoko and Tenchi were gone.
"Dammit!," she cursed as she activated her communicator. "Mihoshi, I lost
them. I think they went out the back door. Try and get them with the stun net."
"OK, Kiyone," her partner's reply came over the speaker.
Ryoko held Tenchi by the hand and was running at a dead sprint away from
the house.
"What's going on, Ryoko?" Tenchi asked as he was practically being
dragged away.
Before she could respond, they became ensnared in a large blue net fired
from somewhere in the bushes. They tumbled over top of each other. When they
had finally stopped, they both received a powerful shock and fell unconscious.