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^Tenchi Muyo: Sanctuary and Asylum^
-Verse Three-
Concentration (Part 1)
Visiting entertainment---with an open hand and steady eye.
Entertaining visitors---in a grateful focus to ally.
When the host expands his watch---what time will there be to move?
Although the expert is willing---will the experiment disapprove?
-ZJS
Ryoko and Aeka had completely ignored every subtle suggestion and deliberate direction towards working together to find Tenchi's whereabouts. A few bitter words between them and they were equally convinced that the other's hand was deviously delaying love's return. With everything but blood held out as witness, each had sworn not to let the other out of their sight till there was an arrival or an admission.
For nearly 24 hours they kept an eye on each other, favoring opposite ends of a card table. They rarely dared to blink for fear that a sinister plot might similarly unfold and refold on the back of the other's eyelids. Brilliant violet and amber oils eventually became stagnant pools circled by black wax canyons. By focusing so hard on appearing to have more physical stamina they almost forgot their agonizing worry. In keeping each other from conducting a search, perhaps such defiance of reason provided a subconscious hysteria blocker. Washu had told herself that it at least kept them both from messing up the real scientific search.
Sasami sighed solemnly into her soup, and with every second stir she stole a glance over her shoulder at her sister's sour expression. The purple plumed princess seemed to pulsate with a pouting putrescence at the pirate placed before her. Ryoko remained rigid with righteous refusal to retreat from the repulsive royalty residing at arm's reach. Neither wavered as Washu walked whimsically up to the two waning women with a wink at their wonderful cook.
"Well, since you two have taken it upon yourselves to forgo ^everything^ to perform this ridiculous mutual interrogation, I thought I should bring an update on the real world." Authority tried to be playful, but frowned seriously when former criminals and vacationing diplomats both continued to ignore her with little effort.
"Oh-^Kay^ then," She warmed herself up with moderate agitation before reading from a holographic report.
"Our weather today should go as follows: mostly sunny with a 14% chance of fog in the evening and a 28% chance of rain tomorrow morning. The price of shrimp has gone up by 40% in the past week as a result of tide abnormalities, so we wont be having that for dinner for a while. A new subway system was opened in western Tokyo and should be transporting its first load of passengers tomorrow."
Sasami and Mihoshi were captivated by all the professional cheeriness of an experienced broadcaster. Ryoko only took a ragged breath while Aeka shifted her cramped shoulders. Anchorwoman-Washu smiled knowingly and continued.
"In other news: the Mega-Super-Band concert last night required a relatively small number of riot police for crowd control, Ryo-ohki should be bringing Tenchi home in about three minutes, and there are reportedly environmental issues over foreign insect repellants being used by tourists. In a human-interest report, research is showing any research not conducted by the greatest, and cutest, scientist in the universe to be grossly inaccurate. Tune in for more updates at 11, central standard time."
Washu turned around but smartly, and led a beaming Sasami and Mihoshi out the front door. The exhausted rivals held their ground in strained silence till a giggle in the distance mentally dropped a rather large safety pin on a polished glass floor. Ryoko and Aeka blinked simultaneously before their drained faces sprang to life with bulging elation.
---
"And five---four---three---two-" Washu counted down as she stood at the edge of the lake, gazing up at the sky with her hands held smartly behind her.
The gladiators of love surged forth, one nearly shattering the front door, the other teleporting directly to the edge of the dock. They glared at the more alert champions between them till their faces were dragged upward by a jagged shadow spreading itself over the arena.
"Ryo-ohki!" Sasami shouted as she left her blonde celebrating partner and ran up to Washu's side. The ship thundered with a greeting meow that dwarfed Mihoshi's own squeal of excitement.
"TENCHIIIIIIIIIIII!" Ryoko and Aeka wailed as they raced up the dock.
Atoms swirled together on the ground below the ship and materialized into a familiar young man. He had a small amount of baggage and a warm smile quickly exchanged for a grimaced at the two tidal waves of desperate affection coming at him from either side.
Despite his lingering weariness, he quickly ducked and scuttled to the side like a cowardly crab. Washu, Sasami and Mihoshi took turns giving him hearty hugs as his two main admirers cuddled up to each other with all their might.
"Oh Tenchi, I was so worried!" Aeka cried.
"Where ^were^ you Tenchi...and when did your hair get so-" Ryoko's whine stopped curiously as she and her rival once again tied the realization race.
When disgust, rage, and humiliation all demand control of a person's face the result is simply ugly. Tenchi braced himself when they spied him again, but their pounce was distracted by the sound of a second teleport directly behind them. Only Sasami and Ryo-ohki remained oblivious to the new arrival as the young princess caught and nearly compacted the freshly regressed cabbit.
He stood tall yet relaxed enough for a long shower, his eyes remaining closed throughout his first long breath of earth's atmosphere. Everyone leaned forward with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion while the stranger tried to inhale every sound, light, and texture of the late afternoon. Were he not taking it with such calm dignity, Tenchi would have thought it to be his very first breath of natural or even artificial air.
While his lungs continued to fill, a cool breeze made a flag out of the blonde hair billowing lazily around his sleek cheeks. He brought both hands together against his chest and made a grated wedge by connecting each fingertip, clearly a practiced meditative posture. His exhale came forcefully, unveiling intense blue eyes and a nearly euphoric smile. The group blinked or frowned then looked at Tenchi for some explanation to this nature-boy dressed for an androgynous nightclub. When the curiosity in question spoke everyone promptly turned back around.
"Your home is very beautiful Tenchi." His soft, clear voice mixed humility and seduction for anyone listening.
"Do you know this person Lord Tenchi?" Aeka asked as if faced with a solar anomaly.
"Yeah, who is this guy?" Ryoko echoed in a distrusting tone.
Tenchi smiled absently and blinked hard to gather the memories of his strange escape.
"I can't really say. All I know is that he's a master of disguise and that he saved my life."
He shrugged a chuckle and began to understand how Washu must have felt every time she tried to explain one of her inventions in quick and simple terms. The crowd erupted in a symphony of confused sounds and alternate ogles at the man now calmly surveying the lake.
"Tenchi!" Everyone turned again toward the house and Katshuhito's voice. "I think the soup is ready."
"Oh my gosh, the soup!" Sasami gasped and ran inside with Ryo-ohki close behind her.
"Um, well, hopefully we can explain everything over a good meal...if you'd like to join us." The newest guest at the Misaki home turned from the tranquil view of the lake to the gathering of confused and curious faces.
"Thank you Tenchi, I'd be delighted."
Everyone received a lesson on how to accept an invitation without seeming too anxious. Perhaps it was made easier by Tenchi's inability to extend one without being caught between polite and practical nervousness. The stranger acknowledged his manners and soothed his memory with a low bow, apparently made awkward by his height.
The previously settled guests remained uncomfortably silent on the way to the dinner table while Tenchi gave a small introduction to his home and planet. The newcomer kept rolling his eyes about through the disclaimers of government and culture, not with disinterest so much as a preoccupation with absorbing all the sights of an alien Eden at once.
Tenchi paused a few times between titles and characters to keep from rambling as well as to leave room for his guest to offer back some information of his own. He soon figured it would be more polite to get to that after the initial shock of a new world wore off. All the girls remained followed in a crowd a few steps behind them, their rude stares unnoticed.
When everyone took their places at the dinner table Nobuyuki and his father- in-law quickly passed a puzzled expression from the tall western looking man to Tenchi, clearly asking what he'd brought into their home ^this^ time.
Tenchi looked down at the steaming bowl of soup. His stomach growled, but he hated the thought of trying to eat with everyone still silently intent on his report. He took a deep breath and let it out when the last place at the table was finally taken.
***
"As you can see, I was telling the truth." Aeka interrupted without the slightest effort to resist this opportunity to gloat.
"^Sooo^ I devised a code for Ryo-ohki and I to speak with, so that--- so that we could get home okay." Tenchi reached to bring them back before his guest could witness an infamous household pastime.
"Meow!"
The cheer from between Sasami's pig tales made Tenchi smile, thankful for the short distraction before he had to steady his voice for the story's turning point.
"Everything seemed to be going okay...then we came across this ship."
As his recount of events neared the climax he tried not to notice the worried rage building around him. When he told them of how Kagato 'walked in out of nowhere' Ryoko sprang to her feet.
"WHAT!"
Tenchi held up his hands to reassure the both of them that no one needed to be killed. He looked over to the next character, hopping to no avail that the separate but equally interested face would finish off with the happy ending. Everyone remained tensely silent till he wrapped up the adventure safely inside Ryo-ohki, who let out another proud meow at her heroism.
"So here we are, I hope my benefactor's soup hasn't gotten cold while I tried to do grandfather's job." Tenchi sighed humbly. The old storyteller indulged a smug grin before inviting himself to be overshadowed by the savior's spotlight.
"Wow! You saved Tenchi's life, thank you very much Sir. We were sooooo worried." Mihoshi beamed, before loosing herself and trapping Tenchi in a faraway stare. His blush was obscured by two very overt glares from either side of the table. She cowered away and returned her large thankful eyes to the guest who met them directly.
"You're very welcome, had I known I'd be receiving such gratitude I'd have tried to find him and save him from something sooner."
He'd done nothing more than help an elderly woman carry her groceries, but Mihoshi still blushed down at her food.
"Oh! I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce you to everyone," Tenchi spoke up politely. When the formal throat clearing was completed he nodded around the table, giving names to the still curious, disbelieving, and suspicious faces.
"This is my father, Mr. Masaki."
"Just call me Nobuyuki, I can't tell you how grateful I am to you for bringing my son back... it's kinda strange that you're not a woman though." Nobuyuki said maybe less than half jokingly.
"^Dad^!"
"What? Think about it Tenchi, so far every time someone from space has come here it's been a woman," he reconsidered his defense slightly, "though didn't you say there was some guy with pink hair who-"
Aeka breathed deeply at the memory of her unsuitable suitor and rose, bringing Sasami with her for a formal change of subject.
"I am Princess Aeka, first heiress to the throne of Jurai. This is my younger sister, Princess Sasami. We are greatly in your debt for coming to the aid of Lord Tenchi." Aeka bowed gracefully while Sasami closed her eyes on a wide smile.
"I can't believe somebody actually ^rescued Tenchi^! You must really be something." The little princess cheered. Aeka brought them both back down with a disgruntled whisper in Sasami's ear. The guest looked down with ever-humbled amusement.
"And this is my grandfather, Master Katshuhito." Tenchi continued.
"I also owe you a great deal of gratitude, please accept our every hospitality." Katshuhito bowed to the guest, yet kept his face somber.
"That's Mihoshi across from you. She's a galaxy police officer." Tenchi complimented.
"I know I already thanked you, but thank you so much again." Mihoshi giggled shyly.
"Next to her is-" Tenchi began, but the new guest cut him off with too much charm to be impolite.
"Professor Hakube, the greatest scientific genius in the universe."
Washu raised an eyebrow and twisted her mouth in questioning surprise.
"Everyone who enters the scientific community learns about you sooner or later. I wonder how some people would react if they knew you were still alive on this remote planet?" His voice remained soft, but the compliment grew a knowing edge.
"How bout we leave them in the dark for the time being." Washu said seriously with a straight glance. His attractive characteristics were cliché, yet undeniable, and reminded her of the cheap romance novels she had read back in college. She brought up her laptop and began to type furiously on it, wondering if this strange person might provide for some interesting study, and figuring she'd let him slide on not calling her 'Little Washu' for now.
"And this is Ryoko...she-" Tenchi hesitated and searched his mind frantically for the right words to introduce her. As he somewhat feared, she rose and introduced herself.
"I'm Tenchi's protector and soul mate," Ryoko stared at the guest humorlessly. "I don't know who ^you^ are and this story doesn't make sense. If you can impersonate people so well how do we know you're being," she paused to look him up and mostly down," ^straight^ with us?"
Not an eyelash quiver from either of them till Ryoko continued.
"You may have saved Tenchi, but where is this Hetmu guy now, huh, still waiting in his ship? I'm sure as hell not offering any hospitality unless I get some real answers."
"Ryoko!" Tenchi scolded with shock and embarrassment.
"Don't worry Tenchi, I'm not offended, in fact I'm surprised you haven't ask me these questions already." The stranger spoke sincerely and paused for a slight sigh. "I hope this food is reheatable, because I don't think there's any short or easy way to explain myself." Another pause turned into a different breath and a different voice, ready for a more than personal confession.
"Tenchi, do you have a book of names that are common in your nation?"
"Um---yes, I think so, let me look." Tenchi answered curiously as he walked over to the large bookshelf in the living room and returned holding a small paperback with all the wear of an heirloom.
"Thank you Tenchi." He rose, took the book with a bow, looked at it thoughtfully, and tossed it lightly into the air.
Ryoko crouched, her fingers clenching small balls of energy. The open book came down on his slender index finger with all the ease of a juggler's blade. He scanned the selected page thoughtfully as he sat back down.
"It has been so long since I have needed a name...it seems only appropriate that fate assign me a new one." His voice was quiet and distant enough to be talking to himself. Even Ryoko's face loosened in confusion while her energy bolts dissolved back into her hands.
"So what name did you get?" Sasami asked in polite anticipation. The guest closed the book and held it at his side.
"I believe the correct pronunciation is ^Say-ta^." The name curled out of his mouth without a hint that he was unfamiliar with their language.
"Hmmm, I think that's my accountant's name...or was it his brother?" Nobuyuki thought aloud.
"It's a fine name, Seita," Tenchi encouraged warmly after he and his grandfather silenced the man between them with a glare.
"Better than sir," Ryoko grumbled under her breath.
"Did you choose a family name as well?" Aeka asked with still lingering formality. Sayta remained silent and looked at the floor.
"I was born on a space station where people from many different worlds mixed. I was the only prospective heir, and my parents are long gone...just 'Seita' will do fine."
"I'm sorry to hear that. Do you have any other family or friends?" Tenchi searched, hoping that he didn't sound like he wanted to get rid of his new guest who'd just restrained his self-pity so well.
"No Tenchi, I doubt it." Seita took the few steps needed toward emotionless.
"What about enemies, you still haven't told me if this Hetmu guy is still waiting for his ^master^ to come back?" Ryoko masked her spite only to make it more intimidating.
"I should have told you this as well, Tenchi."
"Told me what?" Tenchi had to ask before he could scold Ryoko again.
"I think the expression is: 'If you play with blades, you will surely be cut'. Hetmu must have mistreated one of those energy cells; I felt the multi-explosion while you were sleeping. Based on how far away we were by then, the energy released must have been enough to destroy a small moon." Still from the deadpan, Seita managed to sound reassuring without taking any joy in the late Dr.'s demise.
"Well that's a relief, I guess." Tenchi anxiously broke the moment of silence before it could stretch any further.
"So how did you know him ^and^ Tenchi anyway?" Ryoko asked with half a breath's more trust in her voice.
Everyone adjusted-asserted themselves through the initial throat clearing, harnessing attentive postures in time for his final face check. Although progressively ethereal, he spoke in clear tones and with the focused grace of someone who'd been through a number of rehearsals.
"Kagato determined that I was the most qualified to help him with a special project, so he politely kidnapped me and commandeered my services. Tenchi, the portal I opened to transport us from Hetmu's ship is the inspiration ^for^, and the result ^of^ that project."
Tenchi clenched in a few places but did not allow himself to flinch.
"Unfortunately for him, his research with the portal progressed little if at all even with my help, and he was soon distracted by more...^lucrative^ opportunities." Seita gathered his thoughts again and looked from Ryoko to Washu respectfully.
"It will be hard for me to explain myself without involving you two. If I rekindle any painful memories, I am sorry."
Ryoko forced indifference and looked away from his sincere bow. Washu narrowed her gaze but nodded for him to continue.
"When Dr. Hakube published her report on the 'potentials' of merging the 'mass' with other life forms, Kagato already knew that she was already close to achieving a great success. He was determined to null his time as her assistant and beat her to the patent.
"Since we were in a rather remote area to study the portal, he decided that there was no time to find a fresh hutch of 'guinea pigs." Tenchi and Ryoko both shivered slightly at the mention of the infamous rodent.
"As I mentioned, Kagato was very impatient. Rather than worry about gestation times for a new organism he attempted to merge mass DNA with an already matured organism."
"You mean-" Washu interjected with jolt eye and drop jaw.
"Yes, Kagato tried to give ^me^ mass abilities directly. He approached the task as if I had a genetic defect to be replaced. This procedure was made illegal long ago, when most scientists were still trying to efficiently monitor and correct such potential defects in the zygotes of parents."
"In the what?" Sasami crunched a face.
"Never mind that Sasami," Aeka interjected, "please continue Mr. Seita."
"When Kagato added mass DNA to my own he was very vague in his explanations," he frowned slightly, "and merely annoyed at the pain it caused me. Although I was sure I would die as a result of the implantation, the irony is that I survived, but with only minimal evidence of mass ability. At this point I felt free to take comfort in Kagato's frustration."
No one was yet ready to give him when he looked up for one, and only Washu spoke through the collective silence, and only to herself.
"There are better ways to go about that kind of modification now, it only takes a little spark of genius to form an energy sword."
Seita thought he noticed Ryoko considering a reply, but didn't wait up for long.
"After I recovered I couldn't fly, teleport, or even project energy. All I could do was phase through matter and project a perception of myself."
"Project a what?" Ryoko asked in an irate snap.
"I guess I never really explained that, did I?" Washu snapped up from a sternly concealed reflection and offered a forced-cute voice that only redirected her daughters growing anger.
"May I explain Seita?"
"Certainly."
"One of the most singularly fascinating things about masses is their ability to make hallucinogenic projections of themselves." Washu sighed as she was bombarded with sounds of confusion.
"Lets see, how can I explain this simply? When Ryoko makes a duplicate of herself, well, it's not really a duplicate or even a manipulation of light; it's actually a psychic projection. The theory is that the masses evolved this tactic to deal with predators who were adept at seeing through organisms who projected holographic groups around themselves. The mass directly convinces anything within the range of its projection that it ^actually sees^ more masses than there are."
Ryoko was getting confused, and her mother saw that it would only increase her hostility as soon as it no longer distracted it.
"Your double isn't really there, your psychic projection of it simply connects directly to your perception and the minds of those around you so well that it might as well be real. Strange that that ability would be picked up; it probably evolved before the masses could produce energy blasts and isn't observed very often. The phenomenon has unbelievable potential however, and even I've had trouble really studying the true nature of even the simplest psychic abilities...I can't wait to get you into my lab Seita."
Washu finished with a devious chuckle that made Tenchi cringe, but that at least gave Ryoko something to think about rather than chew on.
"Uh...Little Washu, maybe that's not such a good idea."
"I'm honored at the invitation Dr. Hakube." Seita's trusting bow surprised even the scientist so accustomed to needing so many kinds of persuasion.
"Uh, I don't think I get it." Mihoshi mumbled, scratching her head.
"He goes into your head and makes you see things that aren't there!" Ryoko snapped. "And that still doesn't explain much."
A silent little apology smile managed to make Ryoko soften and look him over for a reevaluation.
*He's taller than anyone here, but he certainly doesn't look tough. Maybe I should cut him some slack; someone else put through hell by Kagato might provide a kindred spirit.
"Don't mind her, she can't seem to comprehend manners." Aeka reassured before giving a reflex return scowl for Ryoko's tongue.
"As I mentioned, when my body first accepted the mass DNA it was still exhausting to walk through even one wall or simply maintain a duplicate of myself for more than a few minutes. Yet, despite my stunted abilities, Kagato still tried to train me as an accomplice in his piracy.
"As powerful as he was he didn't like getting his hands dirty," Seita half shrugged his eyebrows, "but neither did I. Needless to say the training progressed slowly, so slowly in fact that impatience made him return to the portal neither of us had been able to figure out. He eventually admitted to creating it quite by accident.
"He'd sent a probe into a black hole, trying to see if any trapped energy could be siphoned off for his ship. His theory suggested that this vortex was actually of the rare order that serve as unstable pathways to other galaxies... or even other dimensions of our universe."
"How do you get energy ^out^ of a black hole?" Mihoshi wondered aloud. Washu opened her mouth to but Seita continued before she could interject.
"Sometimes volatile or explosive matter can collide within them. Kagato had stolen a rather advanced piece of machinery to focus such traveling detonations into usable energy. It seems that one occurred either inside or on the other side of the black hole that was so large it shorted out the apparatus, vaporized the battery, and left what he could only describe as a dimensional rift."
Everyone glanced over at Washu for clarification. They looked thoughtful but still confused, so she decided to hide her own fascination for the sake of security.
"Was that your diagnosis?"
A few quick uncertain blinks in her direction turned into a formal nod.
"Yes."
Washu looked back down on her plate and massaged her chin.
"Large, focused discharges of energy can, in theory, rupture dimensional integrity. But there are only a few studies on this principle, and even fewer reports of the actual phenomenon. Creating alternate artificial dimensions is no sweat for a genius like me of course, but I'd be curious to see one truly opened like that...by the way, I don't recall Kagato having any sort of monitored rift on the Soja." Washu locked eyes with the respectful challenge one scientist gives to another when debating theories. To her surprise, Seita returned it.
"Well, that is where the story gets complicated. Each time Kagato sent a probe into the opening it gave readings as if it were still inside the ship. After so many failed attempts to conjure something useful from my limited mass abilities, he became so frustrated that he 'suggested' I see the other side of the portal for myself."
Seita lowered his head again and took a deep breath. When he spoke again he looked directly at Tenchi.
"Do you remember the momentary sensation you felt when we traveled off of Hetmu's ship, and do you remember the aftereffect?"
"Unfortunately, yes." Tenchi replied with an ill face.
"Imagine being in that dimension for half of a terrestrial hour." Seita's voice went solemn for the experience of something intangibly frightening. Tenchi only stared in shock.
"Traveled?" Washu rethought the word to herself in lingering disbelief.
"When Kagato finally pulled me out of that dimension, I was nearly catatonic for days. He ran a few tests and found that, apart from overactive adrenaline, there were no negative physical side effects.
Tenchi felt an instant rush of sympathy as he watched his guest fight for composure amid memories that were probably hard enough to comprehend, much less explain.
"Inside that dimension there is no heat, yet I didn't freeze, and there is no atmosphere, yet I didn't need to breath. I told Kagato that there was truly 'nothing' inside the dimensional rift. He was so intrigued that he forced me back inside as soon as I had recovered my ability to think clearly. The second visit lasted an entire hour, or so Kagato documented.
"Once again, my memory was blank from within a few seconds of entering the portal to the two or three days it took for me to recover. I inevitably convinced myself I would lose my mind completely the next time he ordered me inside." Seita paused for another long breath.
"It was like being in limbo for the few seconds before I blacked out; my mind was active but went completely without stimulus save the tiny circle of matter that I came through and the cord that led me back to the ship. The initial disorienting weight of being inside made it impossible to coordinate myself enough to climb the cord. All I could do was hope the lack of tangible data would try Kagato's patience enough to make him abandon either the portal, or myself."
The speech almost slowed to a crawl. Everyone looked at Washu for another explanation, but she was completely focused on Seita. Her brows were drawn together tightly as if confronted with a perplexing equation.
"But something happened that I still cannot explain. After my second stay inside the dimension I could phase through objects and maintain a perception projection with noticeably more ease. Although Kagato hates experimenting blindly, he was enthralled with the connection.
"I kept spending more time in that psychological torture chamber, each time retaining consciousness a little longer and finding my abilities strengthened after shorter recovery times. Eventually I could phase through anything without a second thought and create the kind of perception projections that fooled Hetmu."
With almost professional speech timing, Seita blinked into Kagato, into Tenchi, and then into Ryo-ohki with all the simple dynamics of a slide show.
"Wow! That's neat Seita!" Sasami beamed. Ryo-ohki let out a puzzled meow as Sayta's form returned just as simply.
"It was entirely horrible, but not entirely unexpected, that I soon had to use this ability to impersonate wealthy merchants and bank owners---for obvious reasons. I could live with making Kagato richer, but I refused to cause physical harm to anyone. He tried all manner of threats and at this point I welcomed an end, however, he still made sure I didn't have an opportunity for ^any^ type of escape and continued to isolate me in that dimension.
"I assume he was hopping that I'd develop flight and energy projection as my other abilities strengthened, but I never did. One day he sent me to make a copy of Dr. Hakube's progress with her mass experiments, and was furious when I told him of Ryoko's potential. He created Hetmu from scratch soon after by plagiarizing the same basic designs, but when he was finished I couldn't help but laugh aloud at the latest irony.
"His new henchman was like the inverse of myself; he could project energy and fly with a great deal of effort," Seita paused for a silent chuckle, "but he could not phase through matter or create any sort of perception projection. So, naturally, Kagato put him in the portal to increase his strength.
"Although he designed Hetmu to be completely loyal, the dimension frightened him more than it had me. He went completely hysterical whenever Kagato tried to force him in and so he had to be sedated each time. Like myself, he never acquired the other half of his powers, and I believe being drugged greatly lessened the dimension's effects on the abilities he did have."
Sayta looked up at Washu and Ryoko with deep regret. They both raised an eyebrow.
"It's my fault Dr. Hakube, if I hadn't stolen copies of your files Kagato wouldn't have been able to imprison you and control Ryoko. He initially intended to make you watch Hetmu destroy your daughter." Sayta and Washu adjusted their throats in a silent swallow and shared a deep frown at the distant memory.
"But Ryoko took him out with one punch." Washu muttered nostalgically with a small smile.
"I don't really remember, but I guess it's a shame I didn't finish him off." Ryoko growled in low.
"Kagato hid his disgrace well, explaining to Hetmu that Ryoko was a mindless tool, that she was expendable. He said he would call on his ^real^ apprentice when he had an ^important^ job to do. I only saw another opportunity to anger him enough to discard me completely, so I mocked him, told him he'd never create anything as strong as Ryoko, and said that I couldn't wait till he inevitably lost control of her.
"Apparently it was enough, he threw me into the dimension again, this time without a harness to pull me back. A large energy blast passed over me, and right before I blacked out I saw the portal itself contract into nothing. Whenever I was inside I'd always tried to focus on the small fraction of Kagato's ship I could see through the opening. Somehow his attack disrupted whatever was maintaining the portal and it collapsed. When I saw it close I...."
Sayta breathed weakly and stared at his hands folded together in front of him. He spoke to discard a poorly prepared joke.
"I've always wanted to ask someone what it would be like to know you are moments away from death," he shared a half hearted se la vi smile around the table, "if anyone else is curious, just ask."
They were all silent again till Washu spoke with a coy bit of impatience.
"So then ^how^ are you able to use this dimension to travel?"
Expressions went unchanged.
"When I regained consciousness something was very different. I believed that I was dead, for now I was not only without stimulus. I was without a body. I was fully aware of all my thoughts and memories, but that seemed to be all I had. With hardly an urge for an internal ritual I accepted that I had indeed died in the strange vacuum, and that the afterlife, for me anyway, was limbo. Decades must have passed with me trapped in a numb daydream. But that dimension, however frightening, proved once again to be a blessing in disguise.
Expressions went unchanged as they followed each of Sayta's mundane movements for a sip of water.
"All I can recall is thinking of a bar I had often gone to on my home station...and then I saw it." Sayta continued to his glass in the slightly bewildered tone of someone still trying to figure out an old family member.
"Huh?" Mihoshi scratched her head.
"It'd changed dramatically in décor, and the usual crowd had been replaced, but somehow I knew I was actually ^looking^ at the same bar. Soon I realized that my vision of the place could pan around in every direction with only a thought. At first I heard nothing, then after a few seconds my mind exploded again with input. I could see and hear everything clearly as someone present in the same room, but since my body and other senses remained non-existent I had to chuckle to myself at the idea of being a ghost.
"I haunted every section of what had been my home even though there were only a few details left that confirmed where I was. I finally read a periodical and realized that two-" irony chuckled sadly to himself, "hundred years had passed since I'd been trapped in that dimension. My remaining family passed away before being abducted by Kagato, and now everyone I'd known was surely gone as well; alas I wasn't acquainted with any Jurains." Seita grinned simply at the princesses. Sasami and Aeka both blushed a little and tried smiling sympathetically. The moment's compassion ended with his intense stare back into his folded hands
"My vision passed through walls as easily and quickly as I could will it. I saw the unknown brilliance of the station's inner reactors. I looked from one far end of the station to the other in a fraction of a second, and I even admired it from every angle within space. My scope seemed limitless, able to blink to any place I could remember, though none of them were in fact as I remembered them. Soon the speed with which I could scan entire solar systems made the fastest ships seem frozen.
"Revelations aside, I realized that this new existence was far crueler than any limbo; to be able to see and hear everything in the universe, but to remain essentially dead. In desperation I actually tried to speak with a random stranger." Seita paused for another small chuckle at himself.
"He did not hear me of course...however, I heard myself. My voice was clear, yet it truly did sound like it emitted from a mouth left unused for centuries. I could not feel any part of my body, but I believed for a moment that I was still alive. And a moment was all I needed.
"My entire consciousness focused on making contact with the universe I'd once lived in. After a headache that felt ready to turn inside out and devour me---I began to see the empty white of the dimension again, gradually crowding around my vision. Thinking I was loosing my only bridge I tried to force my window back open, and it left me with a perfect circle slightly smaller than the one Kagato had put me through.
"I thought for a moment that this small peephole would remain my only way to create new memories, to keep whatever was left of me from dissipating into an insane circle of recycled thoughts. With a desperate cry I moved towards the window, and then I noticed the man I had tried to speak to; he was starring at me in terror.
"I got as close as I thought I could, praying for some kind of two-way window, not knowing I'd been given a revolving door till I suddenly felt a cool breeze touch me. A moment later I fell out of the dimension at the man's feet. If he'd know how ready I'd been to worship him like a New God he probably would not have run off so quickly."
Tenchi blinked hard while everyone else leaned in closer still.
"It seems that I had been completely preserved within the dimension. I was unchanged from when Kagato had banished me, save for a few important aspects: my mass abilities came with less effort than breathing, and after hardly more practice I could enter and exit the dimension at will. It gradually became a sort of highway for me; from inside I could travel through the universe, see and hear the wonders of planets whole galaxies away from any sentient life, and return to any place that'd made an impression with only a thought.
"When I checked back on civilization and learned that Kagato was still at large I thought it would be funny to show the old pirate that I...still couldn't fly, or project energy." Seita spoke with a slice of vehemence that echoed in Ryoko's eyes.
"But you never found him." Washu interjected into his story nonchalantly.
"No, I cheated my mortality by spending decades and centuries safely and numbly inside the dimension. My new obsession with confronting Kagato kept my mind occupied as I searched system after system, rarely taking a small break to age a little and remind myself that I was not, in fact, a ghost."
Seita rubbed his hands together, lingering on the reaffirming sensation of his own flesh.
"There is a lot of space in the universe, even with clues and my all but limitless scope I could not find him"
"So just what were you going to do if you did find him?" Ryoko asked with little apparent concern for his sentiment. Tenchi gave up her disappointed glance to his plate as she kept her own focus on the tall calm rising from the table.
"In addition to my mobility-" Seita sided stepped and was swallowed up by a two dimensional white hole that blinked shut again like a camera lens. He emerged from the same hole next to Ryoko, who was already on her feet to meet any sudden movements. "-and my perception projections." His face changed into an exact match of Ryoko's and back into his own in a single slow amorphous melt. "My phasing abilities have become so automatic that I am essentially invulnerable."
"Oh, is that so?" Ryoko asked in a challenging voice fresh with the sting of the last time someone had copied her face.
"Strike me as hard as you wish Ms. Ryoko."
"Ryoko!" Tenchi protested despite Seita's calm.
Her fist shot forward before he could finish the first syllable of her name and hit what appeared to be a perfect hologram. She stumbled forward a little, hand disappearing inside him with less resistance than a plume of smoke.
"What the hell?" Ryoko stared angry confusion into her fist.
"My body seems to sense any sort of impending damage immediately and merely relaxes its atoms. It happens in the same way you phase through a wall."
"^Atoms^? Fascinating." Washu spoke to her laptop as she alternated glances between the screen and Seita as he sat back down.
"But I understand your point Ms. Ryoko; although I may be fairly invulnerable, I am still essentially harmless. As luck would have it, someone got to him before I did, which only left finding Hetmu."
"Why wasn't he destroyed with the Soja?" Aeka asked.
"I believe the majority of Soja's storage dimensions did delete, however, he probably put Hetmu in a more advanced model, one which allowed him to watch the battle and see Tenchi in action. But the ones intended to preserve living organisms are often more separate from the system's whole and require periodic resettings of containment times. So, when neither the Soja nor Kagato were around to reset his dimension it collapsed and expelled him into space.
"He must have been strong enough to survive and devise the plan he had for you Tenchi. It really is astounding fortune that I was headed toward the area I'd heard Kagato was destroyed in, and thus noticed Ryo-ohki on the way."
"I'll second that." Nobuyuki raised his glass to Seita who blinked and picked up his own to imitate the gesture politely.
"That was...wow. I've never heard such a story." Tenchi shook his head in sympathetic disbelief and looked over at his new guest.
"Maybe I'll write a book." Seita replied with friendly sarcasm.
"It'd make a great manga!" Mihoshi chirped and blushed when her suggestion received an almost smug smile from the author. Ryoko's eyes narrowed and she hissed conspiracy across the table at Aeka. With a few nods she directed the princess to the way Mihoshi was looking at Seita, she watched her ponder for a moment and readied herself to share a devious grin. The rivals landed in the same boat again, instantly recognizing the possible benefit of keeping the stranger around. Aeka spoke up in her kind, diplomatic voice.
"You have my condolences for all that you have suffered Mr. Seita. May I ask what you plan to do now?"
As his new guest twisted his lips and looked to the side in thought, Tenchi, for once, actually took a hint.
"If it is alright with my dad, I'd be honored if you'd stay as a guest. It would be the least I could do to repay you, this planet has a lot of beautiful things that will hopefully make you forget about all that time in- --that limbo." Tenchi was good at being friendly while staying formal, but the only word he could think of still made him visibly uneasy.
Seita looked down and took a deep breath. He silently cracked his knuckles in an absent motion as if it were a more polite way for warmth than blowing on them. The smile and happy to be passive voice was for everyone though it pointed straight at the host. He placed his hands back on his lap, watching them as he bowed.
"The honor would be mine Tenchi."
***
Azaka and Kamadake absorbed the sunset from their respective posts, sensors blinking faintly as they let out a contented sigh in perfect unison.
"It's so good to have everyone together again," Kamadake mused.
"Indeed it is," Azaka agreed contentedly.
"I do hope that Lord Tenchi's new guest doesn't have too much trouble adjusting to his new surroundings."
"As do I, yet I have a feeling that it might be a while before we have any more peaceful days around here."
"You're probably right old friend, and you know what that means."
"Yes..."
"^We'll be mostly ignored^!^"
The guardians whined together into the sunset.
---------------------------
Standard Disclaimer:
I thank all the owners of the Tenchi characters who have chosen not to sue me for suggesting some alternative uses for them.
Standard Advertisement:
I thank all the readers who have perused my other submissions and favorite authors. Those who acknowledge someone for leading them this way will earn that kind person that same kindness three fold.
Standard Procedure:
If a guest room is not available, it is customary to offer one's own living quarters.
Tenchi Muyo: Sanctuary and Asylum
-Verse Three-
-Concentration (Part 2)-
The Misaki house was quiet. Its well-kept features still an invitation to strangers and a comfort to inhabitants. Tenchi approached with a content hum in his throat and a relieved beat in his step. Home awaited, ready to sooth the stress of his first week back at school.
Sasami's scream filled the entire house and erupted into the surrounding forest like a million hot needles. The earth had surely opened up to swallow her. Without a word and with only half a thought, Tenchi dropped his school bag and sprinted through the front door, looking wildly for Sasami and the source of her terror. Sapphire hair flailed upward as Sasami bounced on the recliner. He began racing towards her, but a lively chorus of laughter quickly let the steam out of him.
"Sasami?" Tenchi gaped and gasped in confusion. He looked past the pig- tales as they began whipping to the side and noticed Seita sitting across from her.
His latest guest had been staying at the house for a little more than a weak but he had seen him in almost 20 different outfits. Usually his attire was consistent with the flamboyant musician theme he'd arrived in, however, he now wore what looked to be a theme park uniform.
Tenchi continued to look at him ever more questioningly. Seita stayed with Sasami, his fingers spread and pressed together in an arch under his eyes. The almost darkly focused expression on his face made Tenchi slightly uneasy, but on the adjacent couch Mihoshi was watching them as innocently as a cartoon.
"Tenchi's home!" Ryoko cheered as she wrapped her arms around him from behind. Her embrace was actually too gentle to elicit a complaint, instead he inquired seriously.
"What the heck is going on Ryoko?"
"Oh, them. You remember how Seita said he could make people see things, well I guess he's pretty good at it. Sasami thinks she's on a roller coaster." Ryoko replied in a slightly annoyed voice.
"She does?" Tenchi asked again in near bewilderment.
"Yeah, he said it would be like a little vacation without actually going anywhere."
Tenchi looked at the two in the living room with a lost expression, then looked straight at Ryoko, who blushed slightly as she still usually did whenever he initiated serious eye contact.
"Is it?"
Ryoko turned away and crossed her arms to eye Seita as if he were eating something bizarre. She managed a secure answer, still sneaking a peak back at Tenchi's face to keep from losing all the blood in her cheeks too quickly.
"I don't know, he did it for Mihoshi, then Aeka tried it to make sure it was safe for Sasami---" Ryoko paused and added smartly: "She got a little sick."
"Washu tried it for a minute then ran off to her lab to prep him for some more tests. I don't know why he's not still in her lab. The whole thing's kinda creepy if you ask me."
Mihoshi walked up and smiled at Tenchi, then to herself.
"I think it's fun." She mused, twiddling a strand of hair.
"You would." Ryoko mumbled.
"Oh, Lord Tenchi. Welcome home. Did you have a nice day?" Aeka asked as she entered the living room with a basket of laundry.
"Hello Aeka," Tenchi answered, prying his eyes away from Sasami. He stole one more glance back into the living room before asking the elder princess about the situation with the same confused tone.
"I must admit; it is rather strange. I don't think it's dangerous, but maybe if he could recreate something less---^intense^, it wouldn't be so unnerving." Aeka answered thoughtfully as she sat down on the adjacent couch from the conductor.
"Yeaaaaaah! That was fun Seita!" Sasami called out happily.
"Please don't think of it as an invasive procedure your highness." Seita let his hands fall and sat up a little more to acknowledge any and all gathered about him. The sudden soft reverberations of his voice jerked their attentions.
"Awww, is it over already?" Sasami moaned and slumped forward in disappointment.
"Afraid so Sasami, Seita has to come with me now." Washu interjected as she emerged from her lab rubbing a rubber squeak from her gloves with an anxious smile.
"Just one more, pleeeeeeease."
"I'm sure you've had enough for today Sasami," Aeka announced with mild authority.
"Fine." The youngest princess sighed her doe eyes in defeat.
"If you'll be so kind as to step this way we can get started."
Seita dissolved into a different pair of clothes as he stood to Washu's prompt, the illusion of a plain park uniform replaced by pure white drawstring pants and a loose shirt, crossing a monk and a hospital patient.
The transformation gave Tenchi an urge to massage his brain as he still wasn't used to 'perception projections' in spite, or perhaps because of knowing what they were. He tried to blink hard enough as a cloth of blonde walked calmly behind a bush of red.
"Uh, Little Washu-" Tenchi began an uncertain question.
"Don't worry Tenchi, Seita's a big boy, and I already gave him time to feel welcome like you asked." Washu dismissed effortlessly as the closet door opened for them.
"Hey Seita," Noboyuki called as he joined the crowd in the hallway. He carried a roll of paper and clubbed it into his palm for emphasis as he addressed the latest guinea pig.
"Going into Little Washu's lab, huh? Don't let her prod you...too...much-"
The blueprint intended to give Seita a playful poke in the stomach passed into him as easily as Ryoko's fist had. Noboyuki's words trailed off as he wiggled the thin tube about, waiting to feel something solid.
"This, uh, doesn't ^hurt^, does it?" The architect balanced apologetically.
"No Mr. Misaki, not at all," Seita replied looking down at the humble weapon, "as I explained, my time in that dimension accelerated my phasing capacity to the point that my body is always at attention, and at ease. Even the smallest amount of force directed towards me is instantly evaded."
"I'll have to keep that in mind when I take my samples," Washu interjected thoughtfully.
"Wow, it really must be sort of like being a ghost. So you can walk right through walls like Ryoko too, right?" Noboyuki continued.
"It's really just a matter of detachment and inversion of atomic frequencies," Washu tried to cover and inundate any further questions, clearly growing impatient with the distraction.
"Wish I could do that." Noboyuki chuckled quietly.
"Oh, I bet you do, ya dirty old Peeping Tom!" A flash of green eyes brought the man of the house into a defensive blush.
"Now wait, I didn't say-"
"Mr. Misaki," Seita spoke up in his soft and relaxed tone, bringing his hands up again in the same meditative arch of fingers he'd made for Sasami's ride. "If you want to see what you must imagine you need only ask, such a perception is easy to create."
Tenchi and his father both raised their eyebrows to the roof in equal shock, though one of them with considerably more excitement. Ryoko, Aeka, and Mihoshi starred wide-eyed at Sayta, then each other, then at the childish grin on Noboyuki's face. They opened their mouths and closed their eyes, but their screams were cut off by a sickly sound curdling in someone's throat. When the three faced the would-be voyeur again, his grin had been turned into a frown of pronounced disgust. His eyes wailed in revulsion and his skin was quickly turning pale. Even Washu was completely at a loss when Noboyuki clapped a hand over his mouth and fled to the bathroom with a nauseous groan.
All eyes were on the projector as he lowered his hands with a disappointed sigh.
"Hm, I guess you ladies probably don't have the bodies of obese old men."
The implications sunk in quickly, prompting the girls to congratulate Seita in between bouts of vengeful giggling. Washu just folded her arms and shook her head with a small smirk. Tenchi searched the back of his neck for a disappear button.
"That'll teach the old pervert!" Ryoko jeered.
"Yes-yes, all very amusing. ^Now^ can we proceed?" Washu grumbled towards her lab impatiently. Seita followed with a lingering wrinkle of silent amusement.
The door closed behind them to a small sigh of Tenchi's relief.
*More than a week passed before this guy brought any drama to the house. I guess I should be happy by comparison...the look on dad's face was kind of funny.
*And he's certainly been polite, and the house is spotless. So is he come to think of it. If I hadn't seen him sweat in the field with me the other day I'd swear he^ was^ a ghost. Hell, he only takes a little room and board, and it doesn't look like he's going to be causing any fights around here. Who am I to say if someone is strange?
"I'm sorry Tenchi," Ryoko purred, bending towards the usual nervousness building in Tenchi's answer.
"Sorry, s-s-sorry for what?"
"I forgot to finish welcoming you home," she apologized playfully while pressing her face into his chest and wrapping her arms around his torso.
"Ryoko, I'm sure Tenchi has had a long day and doesn't need any extra burdens. Could I help you with your books Lord Tenchi?" Aeka offered with her uncanny ability to invert a harsh tone into a sweet one.
"Oh, uh," he chuckled, "I almost forgot that I dropped them outside when I heard Sasami."
"Don't worry Tenchi, I'll get em for you." Ryoko floated back and smiled brightly before quickly phasing through the door.
Aeka crossed her arms and grunted.
"I'd hate to see how completely useless she'd be without those powers."
"Hm, sometimes I wish you both were just normal girls," Tenchi mumbled.
"I beg your pardon."
"Oh---nothing."
"Hey Aeka, hey Mihoshi! Could you give me a hand with something?" Sasami called from the kitchen.
"Coming." A blur of blonde hair bounced on by.
"Just a minute Sasami," Aeka replied and turned back promptly towards Tenchi. "I hope you had a nice day anyway Lord Tenchi, I'm sorry if Sasami frightened you. I'll ask her not to play those games with Seita anymore."
"It's okay Aeka, I just wasn't expecting it. Maybe if it's so realistic I'll ask him for a ride myself."
"A-A-As you wish Lord Tenchi." Aeka answered hesitantly and bowed out to the kitchen. He watched her exit and admired the way her hair spun when she made sudden movements.
"Hey Tenchi, what are these things?" Ryoko phased next to him and held out a variety of colorful laminated flyers like a hand of cards. "They look kinda neat, especially this one." She dropped all but one.
"Oh, those. People are always passing out flyers at the campus. It's probably for some new club or restaurant." Tenchi explained with a sigh, bending to pick up and properly dispose of Ryoko's rejects.
"Fire-storm enter-tainment presents: Mon-u-men-tal. Mind blow-ing music by Japan's fresh-est DJ's." Ryoko tried to hide her developing reading skills, but still held it out to Tenchi for further explanation.
"Sounds like a rave," he answered with a slightly critical tone, taking the flyer unceremoniously from her hands.
Bright colors and excessively rounded letters stretched around an oversized robot, further disproportioned by baggy clothing and a surreally brimmed baseball cap. Its face was featureless, save for an imposing triangular window pouring green light onto a pair of turntables. Each record bent up at the sides from the weight of warlike chrome hands. Clearly anyone who didn't attend this party would be crushed or vaporized by this juggernaut of youth advertising.
"What's a rave?"
Ryoko's curious expression reminded him of when he had tricked her into looking at an imaginary something out the window while he tried to escape. A twinge of melancholic regret brought a soft smile to his face. He decided on a simple answer but to try not to condescend her.
"People who make dance music all get together and put on a show with a bunch of colored lights and that sort of thing. They can get pretty crowded and wild and..." Towards the end of his explanation, Tenchi began to notice the growing gleam in Ryoko's eyes and trailed off, he realized, far too late.
"Wow! That sounds like fun!" She breathed excitedly and snatched the flyer back to pour over it with spreading hoards of gold.
Tenchi gulped, now painfully aware of the direction the conversation was heading. He had to make it up to her for going (or at least attempting to go) with Aeka to Jurai, but the idea of Ryoko at a rave made him hunger for a nice quiet picnic.
"Well, uh, actually they're kinda loud and crowded and-"
"Have you ever been to one, Tenchi?"
"A rave? Well, uh, no actually but I hear-"
"Then how do you know were wouldn't have any fun?" Ryoko put her fists on her hips and smiled cleverly.
"We-" he fought to not be drawn into any accidental commitment.
"Come on Tenchi, if you can go into the depths of space with that princess I think you can go to one little dance with me."
"But-" he began to weaken.
"Please," her interruption came sweetly as she bowed slightly without taking her eyes off him.
Tenchi saw the hopeful expression on her face and froze. The way her chin, cheeks and almost elfin ears curved into each other was sleek and alluring even when she was practically begging. The sharp points at the ends of her eyes gave a perfect contrast to the slight trembling of her lips. He wondered how anything could look so simultaneously pitiful and gorgeous, thus his capacity to deny her anything slipped away on a defeated sigh.
"Where is it going to be?
Ryoko's cry of delighted triumph brought Aeka and Sasami back out of the kitchen. She had wrapped her arms lovingly around Tenchi's stomach and was nuzzling his chest, apparently unaware that she had floated them up a meter into the air.
"Okay, okay! Please Ryoko, you can put me down now!" He tried not to free himself too quickly, memories of accidental rear end bruises still fresh in his mind. To his surprise, Ryoko stopped her giggling, put him back on his feet, and passively stepped back.
"Sorry," she offered shyly.
"It's okay Ryoko," he caught his breath with surprised ease, "just no flying next time."
"If you say so Tenchi," she purred up again. Her arms curled gently around him as she smiling deviously over his shoulder towards the kitchen.
Aeka squeezed every last drop of water from her washcloth.
***
"This is absolutely delicious Sasami," Mihoshi called with another shameless reach towards the shrimp special.
"Yes, quite impressive," Aeka added, taking care to take her time.
"Here, here." Tenchi raised his chopsticks in a second motion.
"Mmifriliegoot," Ryoko mumbled through a mouth-full of rice.
"I guess it goes without saying," Washu chimed with a clever wink at her daughter.
When the compliments came round to Seita he was starring deep into his dish, chopsticks flag-polling a succulent morsel. Anticipant silence filled the dinning room for a few moments before he looked up and out-did them all.
"I don't think I've ever eaten this well in my entire life. You have an amazing gift Sasami."
His voice wavered with suppressed emotion, and he smiled at the young princess as if beholding some fantastic part of creation denied to him during a long prison sentence. As Yosho quietly watched the scene, he recalled that the new guest had regarded a number of things this way.
"Oh you guys, it's okay I gu-^ess^," Sasami cleared her throat, clearly embarrassed by the sudden pubescent crack in her voice. Yosho looked away from Seita and smiled a light tease.
"Looks like your culinary skills aren't all that's growing around here."
"Don't be embarrassed, this is a very special time in your life Sasami," Aeka spoke up supportively.
"If you say so, I thought after I took the water on Jurai everything would just change at once and be over with." Sasami's complaint fell softly onto her plate, but she quickly perked a little and stared out at memories of family pride, splendor, and the adrenaline rush of a sacred ritual. "The ceremony was really fun, though."
"I bet its nothing compared to what Tenchi and I are going to. Ain't that right Tenchi?!" Ryoko raised a fist in triumph and wrapped an arm around Japan's newest life of the dance party.
"I don't know, Ryoko."
"Come on Tenchi. If this guy's gonna be there it has to be huge." Ryoko proudly displayed the flyer to everyone at the table.
"Uh, Ryoko, I don't think-"
"Really," Seita raised an eyebrow, "when are you two going?"
"It's this Saturday, you'd probably get a kick out of it---if you don't mind being the third wheel." Ryoko winked at him confidently.
Seita looked at Tenchi, who was distracted in anticipation of Aeka's wrath. He smiled ever so slightly and looked over at Mihoshi.
"I'd like to Ryoko, but I already asked officer Mihoshi to show me her patrol territory." A well-tanned smile struggled over the officer's modesty. Ryoko took one look between the two, smiled devilishly, and clicked her tongue with a mock scold.
"So Mihoshi, trying to get a man alone with you on your space ship? That doesn't always work you know, does it, Aeka?"
"Just what are you implying!" Aeka slammed her palms onto the table and nearly stood to meet her rival's clever glance.
"Oh nothing," Ryoko put her hands up innocently, "you can taxi Tenchi around all you want, just so long as he keeps taking ^me^ to dances."
Sasami, unconcerned about the battle for once, sighed to herself as the role of diplomat feel to Tenchi. Yosho looked down at her with concern as his grandson tried to release their sister's steam.
"We only get used to a change in time enough to greet another." Yosho sagely voice slid in beneath the growing squabble. Sasami broke her trance of self-pity and smiled up at him.
"I'll second that." Seita raised his tea to the grandfather his smiled reflected in the politely searching spectacles.
When Yosho had heard that the new guest was helping Tenchi in the vegetable field, he'd actually been rather doubtful. Not that the priest ever considered himself judgmental, but physical labor was certainly not the first thing that came to mind when looking at the slender man in luxurious clothing. He'd noticed a number of times since their first introductions that this new guest moved about the Misaki home almost in a dream, still intent on absorbing every detail of his surroundings into his confident smile and intense gaze. Art, and perhaps priesthood had seemed more suited to him than science, much less farming. But the First Prince of Jurai could and would admit to being pleasantly surprised, if asked.
Seita swung a hoe with almost youthful abandon, seeming to enjoy the exercise the way full time farmers wished they could. By some miracle he had managed to do a more thorough job cleaning the windows single handedly than an entire household team. As far as houseguests went, this man was surely a model example, but thoughts of when he would move on brought a pause that Yosho hadn't been able to think through yet.
Something about the man's abilities, not to mention experiences, made him want to simultaneously meditate with him and test his composure behind a sword. Surely Washu's analysis would reveal something. The official elder watched her stirring her food and wondered if she could sense any or all of his interests.
"By the way, Mr. Misaki." All attentions went to the tall formality again.
"Uh, yes Sayta." Noboyuki, looked up from his meal with a touch of nervousness.
"I sincerely apologize for the chicanery earlier this afternoon. A gracious host such as yourself deserves better thanks than cheap tricks." He bowed slightly.
"W-w-what do you mean? I, uh, something I ate just disagreed with me today. Probably should avoid the office cafeteria for a while."
Noboyuki was a terrible liar. There were some concealed feminine giggles from around the table, the only slightly less embarrassed son hung his head with the usual sigh.
Eating resumed, and Tenchi found himself consumed with curiosity over what Washu's tests may have revealed about the new guest. Although such questions were almost morbid from his point of view, the new guinea pig had strangely emerged from the lab wearing the same serene and confident expression he'd entered with. Seita had explained himself thoroughly once, but Tenchi found himself eyeing Washu for more answers just the same, and soon found his grandfather doing the same.
"I understand that these...^gifts^, might seem strange, even unnerving to you all. Though my explanation of them must have sounded akin to some form of mind control, please don't think of my illusions as an invasive procedure."
Possible clairvoyance almost aside, this complete request to replace pity with understanding managed to raise and trap Yosho's attention along side his grandson's.
"As Professor Hakube will surely confirm when her analysis is complete, there is relatively little I can do to harm any of you. My time in that dimension, and my ability to travel with it have made my body somewhat--- 'ethereal' in nature, but let me assure you all that I've no desire to pick fights, or invade anyone's privacy."
Washu had looked up at the mention of her name. More than a few people noticed her focus as she brought up a holo-screen.
"I believe that the more I find out about you, dear boy, the more I'm going to want to know. I hope Tenchi doesn't mind you staying around for a little while longer." She spoke at a blinking icon as if everyone were gathered on it.
"No, of course not. You've been good, to have around I mean." Tenchi confirmed and convinced himself honestly.
"Thank you, everyone. You know, I've considered making a promise to myself, to only use my 'tricks' for the enjoyment of friends. My dry sense of humor is simply the best way I know to show affection." Seita continued with a sly for a dry smile.
"When I said that I could not control your actions, that I could only give suggestions to your perceptions---" he noticed and quickly enjoyed the rhyme in his words, "I neglected to mention a sort of middle ground that I came across quite by accident."
A few curious glances exchanged and collected as colorful fingertips came together in the same focused position he'd used during his vacation with Sasami.
"Involuntary functions, it seems, are influenced by a system similar and perhaps parallel to the one controlling perception. I admit that this takes a good deal more focus, but it is as close to 'mind control' as I'm ever likely to achieve. Rest assured these afterthoughts are all the physical influence I have." He closed his eyes and smiled a little wider.
"What are you-ah--ah--- ^achoo^!" Mihoshi barely managed to get a hand over her sneeze.
"Gesuntite," Tenchi offered before sending a loud and clear mist onto his plate. Washu picked up the hint long before anyone else, and smirked at the de-sterilization of it all.
"Sorry Seita, my sinuses have already been engineered to -hic-, to resist -hic-" The clearly annoyed scientist scowled and took a long sip of water. Her next hiccup came even louder and accidentally dissipated her computer.
"Hey, wish I could do that!" Ryoko cheered. "Don't worry Washu, I could hold a paper bag over your face---or maybe you could just stand on your head for a while."
"That's -hic- Little -hic- Washu -hic- to you." She failed intimidation as she reached desperately for the water pitcher.
"Maybe I should just jump up and scare yoUUUuuuUUU!" Ryoko's belch took over her speech and the rest of the sounds at the table completely, a hearty giggle had already started by the time it finished.
"Wow Sasami, that really ^was^ a good dinner."
"You are a disgusting creature Ryoko," Aeka fumed, "how Tenchi could bare to take you anywhere is beyond me!"
"Thanks Ryok-OOOOOOooohhhHHHHHH!!!" Sasami was understandably shocked by the crushing death of a hapless bullfrog in her throat, but she and Ryoko thoroughly laughed it off.
"Mr. Seita, that is enough!" Aeka commanded, rising to her feet. "I will not have you turning this household into a gang of crass brutes!"
Tenchi kept a hand over his mouth to suppress a giggle of his own and turned a pleading, yet still amused expression to the jester in question.
"As you wish, Princess Aeka," Seita agreed calmly. "Apologies, bodily functions were always a cause for great amusement at the home I remember. But I assure you; there will be no more belching due to my influence."
"Good." Aeka closed her eyes to regain a breath of composure, just as she was about to sit down again they grew wide with a strange sort of horror.
Everything went all but deadly silent. The First Princess of Jurai remained completely frozen, releasing her flatulence with rich and forceful reverberation.
Standard Disclaimer:
I thank all the owners of the Tenchi characters who have chosen not to sue me for suggesting some alternative uses for them.
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^Tenchi Muyo: Sanctuary and Asylum^
-Verse Three-
Concentration (Part 1)
Visiting entertainment---with an open hand and steady eye.
Entertaining visitors---in a grateful focus to ally.
When the host expands his watch---what time will there be to move?
Although the expert is willing---will the experiment disapprove?
-ZJS
Ryoko and Aeka had completely ignored every subtle suggestion and deliberate direction towards working together to find Tenchi's whereabouts. A few bitter words between them and they were equally convinced that the other's hand was deviously delaying love's return. With everything but blood held out as witness, each had sworn not to let the other out of their sight till there was an arrival or an admission.
For nearly 24 hours they kept an eye on each other, favoring opposite ends of a card table. They rarely dared to blink for fear that a sinister plot might similarly unfold and refold on the back of the other's eyelids. Brilliant violet and amber oils eventually became stagnant pools circled by black wax canyons. By focusing so hard on appearing to have more physical stamina they almost forgot their agonizing worry. In keeping each other from conducting a search, perhaps such defiance of reason provided a subconscious hysteria blocker. Washu had told herself that it at least kept them both from messing up the real scientific search.
Sasami sighed solemnly into her soup, and with every second stir she stole a glance over her shoulder at her sister's sour expression. The purple plumed princess seemed to pulsate with a pouting putrescence at the pirate placed before her. Ryoko remained rigid with righteous refusal to retreat from the repulsive royalty residing at arm's reach. Neither wavered as Washu walked whimsically up to the two waning women with a wink at their wonderful cook.
"Well, since you two have taken it upon yourselves to forgo ^everything^ to perform this ridiculous mutual interrogation, I thought I should bring an update on the real world." Authority tried to be playful, but frowned seriously when former criminals and vacationing diplomats both continued to ignore her with little effort.
"Oh-^Kay^ then," She warmed herself up with moderate agitation before reading from a holographic report.
"Our weather today should go as follows: mostly sunny with a 14% chance of fog in the evening and a 28% chance of rain tomorrow morning. The price of shrimp has gone up by 40% in the past week as a result of tide abnormalities, so we wont be having that for dinner for a while. A new subway system was opened in western Tokyo and should be transporting its first load of passengers tomorrow."
Sasami and Mihoshi were captivated by all the professional cheeriness of an experienced broadcaster. Ryoko only took a ragged breath while Aeka shifted her cramped shoulders. Anchorwoman-Washu smiled knowingly and continued.
"In other news: the Mega-Super-Band concert last night required a relatively small number of riot police for crowd control, Ryo-ohki should be bringing Tenchi home in about three minutes, and there are reportedly environmental issues over foreign insect repellants being used by tourists. In a human-interest report, research is showing any research not conducted by the greatest, and cutest, scientist in the universe to be grossly inaccurate. Tune in for more updates at 11, central standard time."
Washu turned around but smartly, and led a beaming Sasami and Mihoshi out the front door. The exhausted rivals held their ground in strained silence till a giggle in the distance mentally dropped a rather large safety pin on a polished glass floor. Ryoko and Aeka blinked simultaneously before their drained faces sprang to life with bulging elation.
---
"And five---four---three---two-" Washu counted down as she stood at the edge of the lake, gazing up at the sky with her hands held smartly behind her.
The gladiators of love surged forth, one nearly shattering the front door, the other teleporting directly to the edge of the dock. They glared at the more alert champions between them till their faces were dragged upward by a jagged shadow spreading itself over the arena.
"Ryo-ohki!" Sasami shouted as she left her blonde celebrating partner and ran up to Washu's side. The ship thundered with a greeting meow that dwarfed Mihoshi's own squeal of excitement.
"TENCHIIIIIIIIIIII!" Ryoko and Aeka wailed as they raced up the dock.
Atoms swirled together on the ground below the ship and materialized into a familiar young man. He had a small amount of baggage and a warm smile quickly exchanged for a grimaced at the two tidal waves of desperate affection coming at him from either side.
Despite his lingering weariness, he quickly ducked and scuttled to the side like a cowardly crab. Washu, Sasami and Mihoshi took turns giving him hearty hugs as his two main admirers cuddled up to each other with all their might.
"Oh Tenchi, I was so worried!" Aeka cried.
"Where ^were^ you Tenchi...and when did your hair get so-" Ryoko's whine stopped curiously as she and her rival once again tied the realization race.
When disgust, rage, and humiliation all demand control of a person's face the result is simply ugly. Tenchi braced himself when they spied him again, but their pounce was distracted by the sound of a second teleport directly behind them. Only Sasami and Ryo-ohki remained oblivious to the new arrival as the young princess caught and nearly compacted the freshly regressed cabbit.
He stood tall yet relaxed enough for a long shower, his eyes remaining closed throughout his first long breath of earth's atmosphere. Everyone leaned forward with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion while the stranger tried to inhale every sound, light, and texture of the late afternoon. Were he not taking it with such calm dignity, Tenchi would have thought it to be his very first breath of natural or even artificial air.
While his lungs continued to fill, a cool breeze made a flag out of the blonde hair billowing lazily around his sleek cheeks. He brought both hands together against his chest and made a grated wedge by connecting each fingertip, clearly a practiced meditative posture. His exhale came forcefully, unveiling intense blue eyes and a nearly euphoric smile. The group blinked or frowned then looked at Tenchi for some explanation to this nature-boy dressed for an androgynous nightclub. When the curiosity in question spoke everyone promptly turned back around.
"Your home is very beautiful Tenchi." His soft, clear voice mixed humility and seduction for anyone listening.
"Do you know this person Lord Tenchi?" Aeka asked as if faced with a solar anomaly.
"Yeah, who is this guy?" Ryoko echoed in a distrusting tone.
Tenchi smiled absently and blinked hard to gather the memories of his strange escape.
"I can't really say. All I know is that he's a master of disguise and that he saved my life."
He shrugged a chuckle and began to understand how Washu must have felt every time she tried to explain one of her inventions in quick and simple terms. The crowd erupted in a symphony of confused sounds and alternate ogles at the man now calmly surveying the lake.
"Tenchi!" Everyone turned again toward the house and Katshuhito's voice. "I think the soup is ready."
"Oh my gosh, the soup!" Sasami gasped and ran inside with Ryo-ohki close behind her.
"Um, well, hopefully we can explain everything over a good meal...if you'd like to join us." The newest guest at the Misaki home turned from the tranquil view of the lake to the gathering of confused and curious faces.
"Thank you Tenchi, I'd be delighted."
Everyone received a lesson on how to accept an invitation without seeming too anxious. Perhaps it was made easier by Tenchi's inability to extend one without being caught between polite and practical nervousness. The stranger acknowledged his manners and soothed his memory with a low bow, apparently made awkward by his height.
The previously settled guests remained uncomfortably silent on the way to the dinner table while Tenchi gave a small introduction to his home and planet. The newcomer kept rolling his eyes about through the disclaimers of government and culture, not with disinterest so much as a preoccupation with absorbing all the sights of an alien Eden at once.
Tenchi paused a few times between titles and characters to keep from rambling as well as to leave room for his guest to offer back some information of his own. He soon figured it would be more polite to get to that after the initial shock of a new world wore off. All the girls remained followed in a crowd a few steps behind them, their rude stares unnoticed.
When everyone took their places at the dinner table Nobuyuki and his father- in-law quickly passed a puzzled expression from the tall western looking man to Tenchi, clearly asking what he'd brought into their home ^this^ time.
Tenchi looked down at the steaming bowl of soup. His stomach growled, but he hated the thought of trying to eat with everyone still silently intent on his report. He took a deep breath and let it out when the last place at the table was finally taken.
***
"As you can see, I was telling the truth." Aeka interrupted without the slightest effort to resist this opportunity to gloat.
"^Sooo^ I devised a code for Ryo-ohki and I to speak with, so that--- so that we could get home okay." Tenchi reached to bring them back before his guest could witness an infamous household pastime.
"Meow!"
The cheer from between Sasami's pig tales made Tenchi smile, thankful for the short distraction before he had to steady his voice for the story's turning point.
"Everything seemed to be going okay...then we came across this ship."
As his recount of events neared the climax he tried not to notice the worried rage building around him. When he told them of how Kagato 'walked in out of nowhere' Ryoko sprang to her feet.
"WHAT!"
Tenchi held up his hands to reassure the both of them that no one needed to be killed. He looked over to the next character, hopping to no avail that the separate but equally interested face would finish off with the happy ending. Everyone remained tensely silent till he wrapped up the adventure safely inside Ryo-ohki, who let out another proud meow at her heroism.
"So here we are, I hope my benefactor's soup hasn't gotten cold while I tried to do grandfather's job." Tenchi sighed humbly. The old storyteller indulged a smug grin before inviting himself to be overshadowed by the savior's spotlight.
"Wow! You saved Tenchi's life, thank you very much Sir. We were sooooo worried." Mihoshi beamed, before loosing herself and trapping Tenchi in a faraway stare. His blush was obscured by two very overt glares from either side of the table. She cowered away and returned her large thankful eyes to the guest who met them directly.
"You're very welcome, had I known I'd be receiving such gratitude I'd have tried to find him and save him from something sooner."
He'd done nothing more than help an elderly woman carry her groceries, but Mihoshi still blushed down at her food.
"Oh! I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce you to everyone," Tenchi spoke up politely. When the formal throat clearing was completed he nodded around the table, giving names to the still curious, disbelieving, and suspicious faces.
"This is my father, Mr. Masaki."
"Just call me Nobuyuki, I can't tell you how grateful I am to you for bringing my son back... it's kinda strange that you're not a woman though." Nobuyuki said maybe less than half jokingly.
"^Dad^!"
"What? Think about it Tenchi, so far every time someone from space has come here it's been a woman," he reconsidered his defense slightly, "though didn't you say there was some guy with pink hair who-"
Aeka breathed deeply at the memory of her unsuitable suitor and rose, bringing Sasami with her for a formal change of subject.
"I am Princess Aeka, first heiress to the throne of Jurai. This is my younger sister, Princess Sasami. We are greatly in your debt for coming to the aid of Lord Tenchi." Aeka bowed gracefully while Sasami closed her eyes on a wide smile.
"I can't believe somebody actually ^rescued Tenchi^! You must really be something." The little princess cheered. Aeka brought them both back down with a disgruntled whisper in Sasami's ear. The guest looked down with ever-humbled amusement.
"And this is my grandfather, Master Katshuhito." Tenchi continued.
"I also owe you a great deal of gratitude, please accept our every hospitality." Katshuhito bowed to the guest, yet kept his face somber.
"That's Mihoshi across from you. She's a galaxy police officer." Tenchi complimented.
"I know I already thanked you, but thank you so much again." Mihoshi giggled shyly.
"Next to her is-" Tenchi began, but the new guest cut him off with too much charm to be impolite.
"Professor Hakube, the greatest scientific genius in the universe."
Washu raised an eyebrow and twisted her mouth in questioning surprise.
"Everyone who enters the scientific community learns about you sooner or later. I wonder how some people would react if they knew you were still alive on this remote planet?" His voice remained soft, but the compliment grew a knowing edge.
"How bout we leave them in the dark for the time being." Washu said seriously with a straight glance. His attractive characteristics were cliché, yet undeniable, and reminded her of the cheap romance novels she had read back in college. She brought up her laptop and began to type furiously on it, wondering if this strange person might provide for some interesting study, and figuring she'd let him slide on not calling her 'Little Washu' for now.
"And this is Ryoko...she-" Tenchi hesitated and searched his mind frantically for the right words to introduce her. As he somewhat feared, she rose and introduced herself.
"I'm Tenchi's protector and soul mate," Ryoko stared at the guest humorlessly. "I don't know who ^you^ are and this story doesn't make sense. If you can impersonate people so well how do we know you're being," she paused to look him up and mostly down," ^straight^ with us?"
Not an eyelash quiver from either of them till Ryoko continued.
"You may have saved Tenchi, but where is this Hetmu guy now, huh, still waiting in his ship? I'm sure as hell not offering any hospitality unless I get some real answers."
"Ryoko!" Tenchi scolded with shock and embarrassment.
"Don't worry Tenchi, I'm not offended, in fact I'm surprised you haven't ask me these questions already." The stranger spoke sincerely and paused for a slight sigh. "I hope this food is reheatable, because I don't think there's any short or easy way to explain myself." Another pause turned into a different breath and a different voice, ready for a more than personal confession.
"Tenchi, do you have a book of names that are common in your nation?"
"Um---yes, I think so, let me look." Tenchi answered curiously as he walked over to the large bookshelf in the living room and returned holding a small paperback with all the wear of an heirloom.
"Thank you Tenchi." He rose, took the book with a bow, looked at it thoughtfully, and tossed it lightly into the air.
Ryoko crouched, her fingers clenching small balls of energy. The open book came down on his slender index finger with all the ease of a juggler's blade. He scanned the selected page thoughtfully as he sat back down.
"It has been so long since I have needed a name...it seems only appropriate that fate assign me a new one." His voice was quiet and distant enough to be talking to himself. Even Ryoko's face loosened in confusion while her energy bolts dissolved back into her hands.
"So what name did you get?" Sasami asked in polite anticipation. The guest closed the book and held it at his side.
"I believe the correct pronunciation is ^Say-ta^." The name curled out of his mouth without a hint that he was unfamiliar with their language.
"Hmmm, I think that's my accountant's name...or was it his brother?" Nobuyuki thought aloud.
"It's a fine name, Seita," Tenchi encouraged warmly after he and his grandfather silenced the man between them with a glare.
"Better than sir," Ryoko grumbled under her breath.
"Did you choose a family name as well?" Aeka asked with still lingering formality. Sayta remained silent and looked at the floor.
"I was born on a space station where people from many different worlds mixed. I was the only prospective heir, and my parents are long gone...just 'Seita' will do fine."
"I'm sorry to hear that. Do you have any other family or friends?" Tenchi searched, hoping that he didn't sound like he wanted to get rid of his new guest who'd just restrained his self-pity so well.
"No Tenchi, I doubt it." Seita took the few steps needed toward emotionless.
"What about enemies, you still haven't told me if this Hetmu guy is still waiting for his ^master^ to come back?" Ryoko masked her spite only to make it more intimidating.
"I should have told you this as well, Tenchi."
"Told me what?" Tenchi had to ask before he could scold Ryoko again.
"I think the expression is: 'If you play with blades, you will surely be cut'. Hetmu must have mistreated one of those energy cells; I felt the multi-explosion while you were sleeping. Based on how far away we were by then, the energy released must have been enough to destroy a small moon." Still from the deadpan, Seita managed to sound reassuring without taking any joy in the late Dr.'s demise.
"Well that's a relief, I guess." Tenchi anxiously broke the moment of silence before it could stretch any further.
"So how did you know him ^and^ Tenchi anyway?" Ryoko asked with half a breath's more trust in her voice.
Everyone adjusted-asserted themselves through the initial throat clearing, harnessing attentive postures in time for his final face check. Although progressively ethereal, he spoke in clear tones and with the focused grace of someone who'd been through a number of rehearsals.
"Kagato determined that I was the most qualified to help him with a special project, so he politely kidnapped me and commandeered my services. Tenchi, the portal I opened to transport us from Hetmu's ship is the inspiration ^for^, and the result ^of^ that project."
Tenchi clenched in a few places but did not allow himself to flinch.
"Unfortunately for him, his research with the portal progressed little if at all even with my help, and he was soon distracted by more...^lucrative^ opportunities." Seita gathered his thoughts again and looked from Ryoko to Washu respectfully.
"It will be hard for me to explain myself without involving you two. If I rekindle any painful memories, I am sorry."
Ryoko forced indifference and looked away from his sincere bow. Washu narrowed her gaze but nodded for him to continue.
"When Dr. Hakube published her report on the 'potentials' of merging the 'mass' with other life forms, Kagato already knew that she was already close to achieving a great success. He was determined to null his time as her assistant and beat her to the patent.
"Since we were in a rather remote area to study the portal, he decided that there was no time to find a fresh hutch of 'guinea pigs." Tenchi and Ryoko both shivered slightly at the mention of the infamous rodent.
"As I mentioned, Kagato was very impatient. Rather than worry about gestation times for a new organism he attempted to merge mass DNA with an already matured organism."
"You mean-" Washu interjected with jolt eye and drop jaw.
"Yes, Kagato tried to give ^me^ mass abilities directly. He approached the task as if I had a genetic defect to be replaced. This procedure was made illegal long ago, when most scientists were still trying to efficiently monitor and correct such potential defects in the zygotes of parents."
"In the what?" Sasami crunched a face.
"Never mind that Sasami," Aeka interjected, "please continue Mr. Seita."
"When Kagato added mass DNA to my own he was very vague in his explanations," he frowned slightly, "and merely annoyed at the pain it caused me. Although I was sure I would die as a result of the implantation, the irony is that I survived, but with only minimal evidence of mass ability. At this point I felt free to take comfort in Kagato's frustration."
No one was yet ready to give him when he looked up for one, and only Washu spoke through the collective silence, and only to herself.
"There are better ways to go about that kind of modification now, it only takes a little spark of genius to form an energy sword."
Seita thought he noticed Ryoko considering a reply, but didn't wait up for long.
"After I recovered I couldn't fly, teleport, or even project energy. All I could do was phase through matter and project a perception of myself."
"Project a what?" Ryoko asked in an irate snap.
"I guess I never really explained that, did I?" Washu snapped up from a sternly concealed reflection and offered a forced-cute voice that only redirected her daughters growing anger.
"May I explain Seita?"
"Certainly."
"One of the most singularly fascinating things about masses is their ability to make hallucinogenic projections of themselves." Washu sighed as she was bombarded with sounds of confusion.
"Lets see, how can I explain this simply? When Ryoko makes a duplicate of herself, well, it's not really a duplicate or even a manipulation of light; it's actually a psychic projection. The theory is that the masses evolved this tactic to deal with predators who were adept at seeing through organisms who projected holographic groups around themselves. The mass directly convinces anything within the range of its projection that it ^actually sees^ more masses than there are."
Ryoko was getting confused, and her mother saw that it would only increase her hostility as soon as it no longer distracted it.
"Your double isn't really there, your psychic projection of it simply connects directly to your perception and the minds of those around you so well that it might as well be real. Strange that that ability would be picked up; it probably evolved before the masses could produce energy blasts and isn't observed very often. The phenomenon has unbelievable potential however, and even I've had trouble really studying the true nature of even the simplest psychic abilities...I can't wait to get you into my lab Seita."
Washu finished with a devious chuckle that made Tenchi cringe, but that at least gave Ryoko something to think about rather than chew on.
"Uh...Little Washu, maybe that's not such a good idea."
"I'm honored at the invitation Dr. Hakube." Seita's trusting bow surprised even the scientist so accustomed to needing so many kinds of persuasion.
"Uh, I don't think I get it." Mihoshi mumbled, scratching her head.
"He goes into your head and makes you see things that aren't there!" Ryoko snapped. "And that still doesn't explain much."
A silent little apology smile managed to make Ryoko soften and look him over for a reevaluation.
*He's taller than anyone here, but he certainly doesn't look tough. Maybe I should cut him some slack; someone else put through hell by Kagato might provide a kindred spirit.
"Don't mind her, she can't seem to comprehend manners." Aeka reassured before giving a reflex return scowl for Ryoko's tongue.
"As I mentioned, when my body first accepted the mass DNA it was still exhausting to walk through even one wall or simply maintain a duplicate of myself for more than a few minutes. Yet, despite my stunted abilities, Kagato still tried to train me as an accomplice in his piracy.
"As powerful as he was he didn't like getting his hands dirty," Seita half shrugged his eyebrows, "but neither did I. Needless to say the training progressed slowly, so slowly in fact that impatience made him return to the portal neither of us had been able to figure out. He eventually admitted to creating it quite by accident.
"He'd sent a probe into a black hole, trying to see if any trapped energy could be siphoned off for his ship. His theory suggested that this vortex was actually of the rare order that serve as unstable pathways to other galaxies... or even other dimensions of our universe."
"How do you get energy ^out^ of a black hole?" Mihoshi wondered aloud. Washu opened her mouth to but Seita continued before she could interject.
"Sometimes volatile or explosive matter can collide within them. Kagato had stolen a rather advanced piece of machinery to focus such traveling detonations into usable energy. It seems that one occurred either inside or on the other side of the black hole that was so large it shorted out the apparatus, vaporized the battery, and left what he could only describe as a dimensional rift."
Everyone glanced over at Washu for clarification. They looked thoughtful but still confused, so she decided to hide her own fascination for the sake of security.
"Was that your diagnosis?"
A few quick uncertain blinks in her direction turned into a formal nod.
"Yes."
Washu looked back down on her plate and massaged her chin.
"Large, focused discharges of energy can, in theory, rupture dimensional integrity. But there are only a few studies on this principle, and even fewer reports of the actual phenomenon. Creating alternate artificial dimensions is no sweat for a genius like me of course, but I'd be curious to see one truly opened like that...by the way, I don't recall Kagato having any sort of monitored rift on the Soja." Washu locked eyes with the respectful challenge one scientist gives to another when debating theories. To her surprise, Seita returned it.
"Well, that is where the story gets complicated. Each time Kagato sent a probe into the opening it gave readings as if it were still inside the ship. After so many failed attempts to conjure something useful from my limited mass abilities, he became so frustrated that he 'suggested' I see the other side of the portal for myself."
Seita lowered his head again and took a deep breath. When he spoke again he looked directly at Tenchi.
"Do you remember the momentary sensation you felt when we traveled off of Hetmu's ship, and do you remember the aftereffect?"
"Unfortunately, yes." Tenchi replied with an ill face.
"Imagine being in that dimension for half of a terrestrial hour." Seita's voice went solemn for the experience of something intangibly frightening. Tenchi only stared in shock.
"Traveled?" Washu rethought the word to herself in lingering disbelief.
"When Kagato finally pulled me out of that dimension, I was nearly catatonic for days. He ran a few tests and found that, apart from overactive adrenaline, there were no negative physical side effects.
Tenchi felt an instant rush of sympathy as he watched his guest fight for composure amid memories that were probably hard enough to comprehend, much less explain.
"Inside that dimension there is no heat, yet I didn't freeze, and there is no atmosphere, yet I didn't need to breath. I told Kagato that there was truly 'nothing' inside the dimensional rift. He was so intrigued that he forced me back inside as soon as I had recovered my ability to think clearly. The second visit lasted an entire hour, or so Kagato documented.
"Once again, my memory was blank from within a few seconds of entering the portal to the two or three days it took for me to recover. I inevitably convinced myself I would lose my mind completely the next time he ordered me inside." Seita paused for another long breath.
"It was like being in limbo for the few seconds before I blacked out; my mind was active but went completely without stimulus save the tiny circle of matter that I came through and the cord that led me back to the ship. The initial disorienting weight of being inside made it impossible to coordinate myself enough to climb the cord. All I could do was hope the lack of tangible data would try Kagato's patience enough to make him abandon either the portal, or myself."
The speech almost slowed to a crawl. Everyone looked at Washu for another explanation, but she was completely focused on Seita. Her brows were drawn together tightly as if confronted with a perplexing equation.
"But something happened that I still cannot explain. After my second stay inside the dimension I could phase through objects and maintain a perception projection with noticeably more ease. Although Kagato hates experimenting blindly, he was enthralled with the connection.
"I kept spending more time in that psychological torture chamber, each time retaining consciousness a little longer and finding my abilities strengthened after shorter recovery times. Eventually I could phase through anything without a second thought and create the kind of perception projections that fooled Hetmu."
With almost professional speech timing, Seita blinked into Kagato, into Tenchi, and then into Ryo-ohki with all the simple dynamics of a slide show.
"Wow! That's neat Seita!" Sasami beamed. Ryo-ohki let out a puzzled meow as Sayta's form returned just as simply.
"It was entirely horrible, but not entirely unexpected, that I soon had to use this ability to impersonate wealthy merchants and bank owners---for obvious reasons. I could live with making Kagato richer, but I refused to cause physical harm to anyone. He tried all manner of threats and at this point I welcomed an end, however, he still made sure I didn't have an opportunity for ^any^ type of escape and continued to isolate me in that dimension.
"I assume he was hopping that I'd develop flight and energy projection as my other abilities strengthened, but I never did. One day he sent me to make a copy of Dr. Hakube's progress with her mass experiments, and was furious when I told him of Ryoko's potential. He created Hetmu from scratch soon after by plagiarizing the same basic designs, but when he was finished I couldn't help but laugh aloud at the latest irony.
"His new henchman was like the inverse of myself; he could project energy and fly with a great deal of effort," Seita paused for a silent chuckle, "but he could not phase through matter or create any sort of perception projection. So, naturally, Kagato put him in the portal to increase his strength.
"Although he designed Hetmu to be completely loyal, the dimension frightened him more than it had me. He went completely hysterical whenever Kagato tried to force him in and so he had to be sedated each time. Like myself, he never acquired the other half of his powers, and I believe being drugged greatly lessened the dimension's effects on the abilities he did have."
Sayta looked up at Washu and Ryoko with deep regret. They both raised an eyebrow.
"It's my fault Dr. Hakube, if I hadn't stolen copies of your files Kagato wouldn't have been able to imprison you and control Ryoko. He initially intended to make you watch Hetmu destroy your daughter." Sayta and Washu adjusted their throats in a silent swallow and shared a deep frown at the distant memory.
"But Ryoko took him out with one punch." Washu muttered nostalgically with a small smile.
"I don't really remember, but I guess it's a shame I didn't finish him off." Ryoko growled in low.
"Kagato hid his disgrace well, explaining to Hetmu that Ryoko was a mindless tool, that she was expendable. He said he would call on his ^real^ apprentice when he had an ^important^ job to do. I only saw another opportunity to anger him enough to discard me completely, so I mocked him, told him he'd never create anything as strong as Ryoko, and said that I couldn't wait till he inevitably lost control of her.
"Apparently it was enough, he threw me into the dimension again, this time without a harness to pull me back. A large energy blast passed over me, and right before I blacked out I saw the portal itself contract into nothing. Whenever I was inside I'd always tried to focus on the small fraction of Kagato's ship I could see through the opening. Somehow his attack disrupted whatever was maintaining the portal and it collapsed. When I saw it close I...."
Sayta breathed weakly and stared at his hands folded together in front of him. He spoke to discard a poorly prepared joke.
"I've always wanted to ask someone what it would be like to know you are moments away from death," he shared a half hearted se la vi smile around the table, "if anyone else is curious, just ask."
They were all silent again till Washu spoke with a coy bit of impatience.
"So then ^how^ are you able to use this dimension to travel?"
Expressions went unchanged.
"When I regained consciousness something was very different. I believed that I was dead, for now I was not only without stimulus. I was without a body. I was fully aware of all my thoughts and memories, but that seemed to be all I had. With hardly an urge for an internal ritual I accepted that I had indeed died in the strange vacuum, and that the afterlife, for me anyway, was limbo. Decades must have passed with me trapped in a numb daydream. But that dimension, however frightening, proved once again to be a blessing in disguise.
Expressions went unchanged as they followed each of Sayta's mundane movements for a sip of water.
"All I can recall is thinking of a bar I had often gone to on my home station...and then I saw it." Sayta continued to his glass in the slightly bewildered tone of someone still trying to figure out an old family member.
"Huh?" Mihoshi scratched her head.
"It'd changed dramatically in décor, and the usual crowd had been replaced, but somehow I knew I was actually ^looking^ at the same bar. Soon I realized that my vision of the place could pan around in every direction with only a thought. At first I heard nothing, then after a few seconds my mind exploded again with input. I could see and hear everything clearly as someone present in the same room, but since my body and other senses remained non-existent I had to chuckle to myself at the idea of being a ghost.
"I haunted every section of what had been my home even though there were only a few details left that confirmed where I was. I finally read a periodical and realized that two-" irony chuckled sadly to himself, "hundred years had passed since I'd been trapped in that dimension. My remaining family passed away before being abducted by Kagato, and now everyone I'd known was surely gone as well; alas I wasn't acquainted with any Jurains." Seita grinned simply at the princesses. Sasami and Aeka both blushed a little and tried smiling sympathetically. The moment's compassion ended with his intense stare back into his folded hands
"My vision passed through walls as easily and quickly as I could will it. I saw the unknown brilliance of the station's inner reactors. I looked from one far end of the station to the other in a fraction of a second, and I even admired it from every angle within space. My scope seemed limitless, able to blink to any place I could remember, though none of them were in fact as I remembered them. Soon the speed with which I could scan entire solar systems made the fastest ships seem frozen.
"Revelations aside, I realized that this new existence was far crueler than any limbo; to be able to see and hear everything in the universe, but to remain essentially dead. In desperation I actually tried to speak with a random stranger." Seita paused for another small chuckle at himself.
"He did not hear me of course...however, I heard myself. My voice was clear, yet it truly did sound like it emitted from a mouth left unused for centuries. I could not feel any part of my body, but I believed for a moment that I was still alive. And a moment was all I needed.
"My entire consciousness focused on making contact with the universe I'd once lived in. After a headache that felt ready to turn inside out and devour me---I began to see the empty white of the dimension again, gradually crowding around my vision. Thinking I was loosing my only bridge I tried to force my window back open, and it left me with a perfect circle slightly smaller than the one Kagato had put me through.
"I thought for a moment that this small peephole would remain my only way to create new memories, to keep whatever was left of me from dissipating into an insane circle of recycled thoughts. With a desperate cry I moved towards the window, and then I noticed the man I had tried to speak to; he was starring at me in terror.
"I got as close as I thought I could, praying for some kind of two-way window, not knowing I'd been given a revolving door till I suddenly felt a cool breeze touch me. A moment later I fell out of the dimension at the man's feet. If he'd know how ready I'd been to worship him like a New God he probably would not have run off so quickly."
Tenchi blinked hard while everyone else leaned in closer still.
"It seems that I had been completely preserved within the dimension. I was unchanged from when Kagato had banished me, save for a few important aspects: my mass abilities came with less effort than breathing, and after hardly more practice I could enter and exit the dimension at will. It gradually became a sort of highway for me; from inside I could travel through the universe, see and hear the wonders of planets whole galaxies away from any sentient life, and return to any place that'd made an impression with only a thought.
"When I checked back on civilization and learned that Kagato was still at large I thought it would be funny to show the old pirate that I...still couldn't fly, or project energy." Seita spoke with a slice of vehemence that echoed in Ryoko's eyes.
"But you never found him." Washu interjected into his story nonchalantly.
"No, I cheated my mortality by spending decades and centuries safely and numbly inside the dimension. My new obsession with confronting Kagato kept my mind occupied as I searched system after system, rarely taking a small break to age a little and remind myself that I was not, in fact, a ghost."
Seita rubbed his hands together, lingering on the reaffirming sensation of his own flesh.
"There is a lot of space in the universe, even with clues and my all but limitless scope I could not find him"
"So just what were you going to do if you did find him?" Ryoko asked with little apparent concern for his sentiment. Tenchi gave up her disappointed glance to his plate as she kept her own focus on the tall calm rising from the table.
"In addition to my mobility-" Seita sided stepped and was swallowed up by a two dimensional white hole that blinked shut again like a camera lens. He emerged from the same hole next to Ryoko, who was already on her feet to meet any sudden movements. "-and my perception projections." His face changed into an exact match of Ryoko's and back into his own in a single slow amorphous melt. "My phasing abilities have become so automatic that I am essentially invulnerable."
"Oh, is that so?" Ryoko asked in a challenging voice fresh with the sting of the last time someone had copied her face.
"Strike me as hard as you wish Ms. Ryoko."
"Ryoko!" Tenchi protested despite Seita's calm.
Her fist shot forward before he could finish the first syllable of her name and hit what appeared to be a perfect hologram. She stumbled forward a little, hand disappearing inside him with less resistance than a plume of smoke.
"What the hell?" Ryoko stared angry confusion into her fist.
"My body seems to sense any sort of impending damage immediately and merely relaxes its atoms. It happens in the same way you phase through a wall."
"^Atoms^? Fascinating." Washu spoke to her laptop as she alternated glances between the screen and Seita as he sat back down.
"But I understand your point Ms. Ryoko; although I may be fairly invulnerable, I am still essentially harmless. As luck would have it, someone got to him before I did, which only left finding Hetmu."
"Why wasn't he destroyed with the Soja?" Aeka asked.
"I believe the majority of Soja's storage dimensions did delete, however, he probably put Hetmu in a more advanced model, one which allowed him to watch the battle and see Tenchi in action. But the ones intended to preserve living organisms are often more separate from the system's whole and require periodic resettings of containment times. So, when neither the Soja nor Kagato were around to reset his dimension it collapsed and expelled him into space.
"He must have been strong enough to survive and devise the plan he had for you Tenchi. It really is astounding fortune that I was headed toward the area I'd heard Kagato was destroyed in, and thus noticed Ryo-ohki on the way."
"I'll second that." Nobuyuki raised his glass to Seita who blinked and picked up his own to imitate the gesture politely.
"That was...wow. I've never heard such a story." Tenchi shook his head in sympathetic disbelief and looked over at his new guest.
"Maybe I'll write a book." Seita replied with friendly sarcasm.
"It'd make a great manga!" Mihoshi chirped and blushed when her suggestion received an almost smug smile from the author. Ryoko's eyes narrowed and she hissed conspiracy across the table at Aeka. With a few nods she directed the princess to the way Mihoshi was looking at Seita, she watched her ponder for a moment and readied herself to share a devious grin. The rivals landed in the same boat again, instantly recognizing the possible benefit of keeping the stranger around. Aeka spoke up in her kind, diplomatic voice.
"You have my condolences for all that you have suffered Mr. Seita. May I ask what you plan to do now?"
As his new guest twisted his lips and looked to the side in thought, Tenchi, for once, actually took a hint.
"If it is alright with my dad, I'd be honored if you'd stay as a guest. It would be the least I could do to repay you, this planet has a lot of beautiful things that will hopefully make you forget about all that time in- --that limbo." Tenchi was good at being friendly while staying formal, but the only word he could think of still made him visibly uneasy.
Seita looked down and took a deep breath. He silently cracked his knuckles in an absent motion as if it were a more polite way for warmth than blowing on them. The smile and happy to be passive voice was for everyone though it pointed straight at the host. He placed his hands back on his lap, watching them as he bowed.
"The honor would be mine Tenchi."
***
Azaka and Kamadake absorbed the sunset from their respective posts, sensors blinking faintly as they let out a contented sigh in perfect unison.
"It's so good to have everyone together again," Kamadake mused.
"Indeed it is," Azaka agreed contentedly.
"I do hope that Lord Tenchi's new guest doesn't have too much trouble adjusting to his new surroundings."
"As do I, yet I have a feeling that it might be a while before we have any more peaceful days around here."
"You're probably right old friend, and you know what that means."
"Yes..."
"^We'll be mostly ignored^!^"
The guardians whined together into the sunset.
---------------------------
Standard Disclaimer:
I thank all the owners of the Tenchi characters who have chosen not to sue me for suggesting some alternative uses for them.
Standard Advertisement:
I thank all the readers who have perused my other submissions and favorite authors. Those who acknowledge someone for leading them this way will earn that kind person that same kindness three fold.
Standard Procedure:
If a guest room is not available, it is customary to offer one's own living quarters.
Tenchi Muyo: Sanctuary and Asylum
-Verse Three-
-Concentration (Part 2)-
The Misaki house was quiet. Its well-kept features still an invitation to strangers and a comfort to inhabitants. Tenchi approached with a content hum in his throat and a relieved beat in his step. Home awaited, ready to sooth the stress of his first week back at school.
Sasami's scream filled the entire house and erupted into the surrounding forest like a million hot needles. The earth had surely opened up to swallow her. Without a word and with only half a thought, Tenchi dropped his school bag and sprinted through the front door, looking wildly for Sasami and the source of her terror. Sapphire hair flailed upward as Sasami bounced on the recliner. He began racing towards her, but a lively chorus of laughter quickly let the steam out of him.
"Sasami?" Tenchi gaped and gasped in confusion. He looked past the pig- tales as they began whipping to the side and noticed Seita sitting across from her.
His latest guest had been staying at the house for a little more than a weak but he had seen him in almost 20 different outfits. Usually his attire was consistent with the flamboyant musician theme he'd arrived in, however, he now wore what looked to be a theme park uniform.
Tenchi continued to look at him ever more questioningly. Seita stayed with Sasami, his fingers spread and pressed together in an arch under his eyes. The almost darkly focused expression on his face made Tenchi slightly uneasy, but on the adjacent couch Mihoshi was watching them as innocently as a cartoon.
"Tenchi's home!" Ryoko cheered as she wrapped her arms around him from behind. Her embrace was actually too gentle to elicit a complaint, instead he inquired seriously.
"What the heck is going on Ryoko?"
"Oh, them. You remember how Seita said he could make people see things, well I guess he's pretty good at it. Sasami thinks she's on a roller coaster." Ryoko replied in a slightly annoyed voice.
"She does?" Tenchi asked again in near bewilderment.
"Yeah, he said it would be like a little vacation without actually going anywhere."
Tenchi looked at the two in the living room with a lost expression, then looked straight at Ryoko, who blushed slightly as she still usually did whenever he initiated serious eye contact.
"Is it?"
Ryoko turned away and crossed her arms to eye Seita as if he were eating something bizarre. She managed a secure answer, still sneaking a peak back at Tenchi's face to keep from losing all the blood in her cheeks too quickly.
"I don't know, he did it for Mihoshi, then Aeka tried it to make sure it was safe for Sasami---" Ryoko paused and added smartly: "She got a little sick."
"Washu tried it for a minute then ran off to her lab to prep him for some more tests. I don't know why he's not still in her lab. The whole thing's kinda creepy if you ask me."
Mihoshi walked up and smiled at Tenchi, then to herself.
"I think it's fun." She mused, twiddling a strand of hair.
"You would." Ryoko mumbled.
"Oh, Lord Tenchi. Welcome home. Did you have a nice day?" Aeka asked as she entered the living room with a basket of laundry.
"Hello Aeka," Tenchi answered, prying his eyes away from Sasami. He stole one more glance back into the living room before asking the elder princess about the situation with the same confused tone.
"I must admit; it is rather strange. I don't think it's dangerous, but maybe if he could recreate something less---^intense^, it wouldn't be so unnerving." Aeka answered thoughtfully as she sat down on the adjacent couch from the conductor.
"Yeaaaaaah! That was fun Seita!" Sasami called out happily.
"Please don't think of it as an invasive procedure your highness." Seita let his hands fall and sat up a little more to acknowledge any and all gathered about him. The sudden soft reverberations of his voice jerked their attentions.
"Awww, is it over already?" Sasami moaned and slumped forward in disappointment.
"Afraid so Sasami, Seita has to come with me now." Washu interjected as she emerged from her lab rubbing a rubber squeak from her gloves with an anxious smile.
"Just one more, pleeeeeeease."
"I'm sure you've had enough for today Sasami," Aeka announced with mild authority.
"Fine." The youngest princess sighed her doe eyes in defeat.
"If you'll be so kind as to step this way we can get started."
Seita dissolved into a different pair of clothes as he stood to Washu's prompt, the illusion of a plain park uniform replaced by pure white drawstring pants and a loose shirt, crossing a monk and a hospital patient.
The transformation gave Tenchi an urge to massage his brain as he still wasn't used to 'perception projections' in spite, or perhaps because of knowing what they were. He tried to blink hard enough as a cloth of blonde walked calmly behind a bush of red.
"Uh, Little Washu-" Tenchi began an uncertain question.
"Don't worry Tenchi, Seita's a big boy, and I already gave him time to feel welcome like you asked." Washu dismissed effortlessly as the closet door opened for them.
"Hey Seita," Noboyuki called as he joined the crowd in the hallway. He carried a roll of paper and clubbed it into his palm for emphasis as he addressed the latest guinea pig.
"Going into Little Washu's lab, huh? Don't let her prod you...too...much-"
The blueprint intended to give Seita a playful poke in the stomach passed into him as easily as Ryoko's fist had. Noboyuki's words trailed off as he wiggled the thin tube about, waiting to feel something solid.
"This, uh, doesn't ^hurt^, does it?" The architect balanced apologetically.
"No Mr. Misaki, not at all," Seita replied looking down at the humble weapon, "as I explained, my time in that dimension accelerated my phasing capacity to the point that my body is always at attention, and at ease. Even the smallest amount of force directed towards me is instantly evaded."
"I'll have to keep that in mind when I take my samples," Washu interjected thoughtfully.
"Wow, it really must be sort of like being a ghost. So you can walk right through walls like Ryoko too, right?" Noboyuki continued.
"It's really just a matter of detachment and inversion of atomic frequencies," Washu tried to cover and inundate any further questions, clearly growing impatient with the distraction.
"Wish I could do that." Noboyuki chuckled quietly.
"Oh, I bet you do, ya dirty old Peeping Tom!" A flash of green eyes brought the man of the house into a defensive blush.
"Now wait, I didn't say-"
"Mr. Misaki," Seita spoke up in his soft and relaxed tone, bringing his hands up again in the same meditative arch of fingers he'd made for Sasami's ride. "If you want to see what you must imagine you need only ask, such a perception is easy to create."
Tenchi and his father both raised their eyebrows to the roof in equal shock, though one of them with considerably more excitement. Ryoko, Aeka, and Mihoshi starred wide-eyed at Sayta, then each other, then at the childish grin on Noboyuki's face. They opened their mouths and closed their eyes, but their screams were cut off by a sickly sound curdling in someone's throat. When the three faced the would-be voyeur again, his grin had been turned into a frown of pronounced disgust. His eyes wailed in revulsion and his skin was quickly turning pale. Even Washu was completely at a loss when Noboyuki clapped a hand over his mouth and fled to the bathroom with a nauseous groan.
All eyes were on the projector as he lowered his hands with a disappointed sigh.
"Hm, I guess you ladies probably don't have the bodies of obese old men."
The implications sunk in quickly, prompting the girls to congratulate Seita in between bouts of vengeful giggling. Washu just folded her arms and shook her head with a small smirk. Tenchi searched the back of his neck for a disappear button.
"That'll teach the old pervert!" Ryoko jeered.
"Yes-yes, all very amusing. ^Now^ can we proceed?" Washu grumbled towards her lab impatiently. Seita followed with a lingering wrinkle of silent amusement.
The door closed behind them to a small sigh of Tenchi's relief.
*More than a week passed before this guy brought any drama to the house. I guess I should be happy by comparison...the look on dad's face was kind of funny.
*And he's certainly been polite, and the house is spotless. So is he come to think of it. If I hadn't seen him sweat in the field with me the other day I'd swear he^ was^ a ghost. Hell, he only takes a little room and board, and it doesn't look like he's going to be causing any fights around here. Who am I to say if someone is strange?
"I'm sorry Tenchi," Ryoko purred, bending towards the usual nervousness building in Tenchi's answer.
"Sorry, s-s-sorry for what?"
"I forgot to finish welcoming you home," she apologized playfully while pressing her face into his chest and wrapping her arms around his torso.
"Ryoko, I'm sure Tenchi has had a long day and doesn't need any extra burdens. Could I help you with your books Lord Tenchi?" Aeka offered with her uncanny ability to invert a harsh tone into a sweet one.
"Oh, uh," he chuckled, "I almost forgot that I dropped them outside when I heard Sasami."
"Don't worry Tenchi, I'll get em for you." Ryoko floated back and smiled brightly before quickly phasing through the door.
Aeka crossed her arms and grunted.
"I'd hate to see how completely useless she'd be without those powers."
"Hm, sometimes I wish you both were just normal girls," Tenchi mumbled.
"I beg your pardon."
"Oh---nothing."
"Hey Aeka, hey Mihoshi! Could you give me a hand with something?" Sasami called from the kitchen.
"Coming." A blur of blonde hair bounced on by.
"Just a minute Sasami," Aeka replied and turned back promptly towards Tenchi. "I hope you had a nice day anyway Lord Tenchi, I'm sorry if Sasami frightened you. I'll ask her not to play those games with Seita anymore."
"It's okay Aeka, I just wasn't expecting it. Maybe if it's so realistic I'll ask him for a ride myself."
"A-A-As you wish Lord Tenchi." Aeka answered hesitantly and bowed out to the kitchen. He watched her exit and admired the way her hair spun when she made sudden movements.
"Hey Tenchi, what are these things?" Ryoko phased next to him and held out a variety of colorful laminated flyers like a hand of cards. "They look kinda neat, especially this one." She dropped all but one.
"Oh, those. People are always passing out flyers at the campus. It's probably for some new club or restaurant." Tenchi explained with a sigh, bending to pick up and properly dispose of Ryoko's rejects.
"Fire-storm enter-tainment presents: Mon-u-men-tal. Mind blow-ing music by Japan's fresh-est DJ's." Ryoko tried to hide her developing reading skills, but still held it out to Tenchi for further explanation.
"Sounds like a rave," he answered with a slightly critical tone, taking the flyer unceremoniously from her hands.
Bright colors and excessively rounded letters stretched around an oversized robot, further disproportioned by baggy clothing and a surreally brimmed baseball cap. Its face was featureless, save for an imposing triangular window pouring green light onto a pair of turntables. Each record bent up at the sides from the weight of warlike chrome hands. Clearly anyone who didn't attend this party would be crushed or vaporized by this juggernaut of youth advertising.
"What's a rave?"
Ryoko's curious expression reminded him of when he had tricked her into looking at an imaginary something out the window while he tried to escape. A twinge of melancholic regret brought a soft smile to his face. He decided on a simple answer but to try not to condescend her.
"People who make dance music all get together and put on a show with a bunch of colored lights and that sort of thing. They can get pretty crowded and wild and..." Towards the end of his explanation, Tenchi began to notice the growing gleam in Ryoko's eyes and trailed off, he realized, far too late.
"Wow! That sounds like fun!" She breathed excitedly and snatched the flyer back to pour over it with spreading hoards of gold.
Tenchi gulped, now painfully aware of the direction the conversation was heading. He had to make it up to her for going (or at least attempting to go) with Aeka to Jurai, but the idea of Ryoko at a rave made him hunger for a nice quiet picnic.
"Well, uh, actually they're kinda loud and crowded and-"
"Have you ever been to one, Tenchi?"
"A rave? Well, uh, no actually but I hear-"
"Then how do you know were wouldn't have any fun?" Ryoko put her fists on her hips and smiled cleverly.
"We-" he fought to not be drawn into any accidental commitment.
"Come on Tenchi, if you can go into the depths of space with that princess I think you can go to one little dance with me."
"But-" he began to weaken.
"Please," her interruption came sweetly as she bowed slightly without taking her eyes off him.
Tenchi saw the hopeful expression on her face and froze. The way her chin, cheeks and almost elfin ears curved into each other was sleek and alluring even when she was practically begging. The sharp points at the ends of her eyes gave a perfect contrast to the slight trembling of her lips. He wondered how anything could look so simultaneously pitiful and gorgeous, thus his capacity to deny her anything slipped away on a defeated sigh.
"Where is it going to be?
Ryoko's cry of delighted triumph brought Aeka and Sasami back out of the kitchen. She had wrapped her arms lovingly around Tenchi's stomach and was nuzzling his chest, apparently unaware that she had floated them up a meter into the air.
"Okay, okay! Please Ryoko, you can put me down now!" He tried not to free himself too quickly, memories of accidental rear end bruises still fresh in his mind. To his surprise, Ryoko stopped her giggling, put him back on his feet, and passively stepped back.
"Sorry," she offered shyly.
"It's okay Ryoko," he caught his breath with surprised ease, "just no flying next time."
"If you say so Tenchi," she purred up again. Her arms curled gently around him as she smiling deviously over his shoulder towards the kitchen.
Aeka squeezed every last drop of water from her washcloth.
***
"This is absolutely delicious Sasami," Mihoshi called with another shameless reach towards the shrimp special.
"Yes, quite impressive," Aeka added, taking care to take her time.
"Here, here." Tenchi raised his chopsticks in a second motion.
"Mmifriliegoot," Ryoko mumbled through a mouth-full of rice.
"I guess it goes without saying," Washu chimed with a clever wink at her daughter.
When the compliments came round to Seita he was starring deep into his dish, chopsticks flag-polling a succulent morsel. Anticipant silence filled the dinning room for a few moments before he looked up and out-did them all.
"I don't think I've ever eaten this well in my entire life. You have an amazing gift Sasami."
His voice wavered with suppressed emotion, and he smiled at the young princess as if beholding some fantastic part of creation denied to him during a long prison sentence. As Yosho quietly watched the scene, he recalled that the new guest had regarded a number of things this way.
"Oh you guys, it's okay I gu-^ess^," Sasami cleared her throat, clearly embarrassed by the sudden pubescent crack in her voice. Yosho looked away from Seita and smiled a light tease.
"Looks like your culinary skills aren't all that's growing around here."
"Don't be embarrassed, this is a very special time in your life Sasami," Aeka spoke up supportively.
"If you say so, I thought after I took the water on Jurai everything would just change at once and be over with." Sasami's complaint fell softly onto her plate, but she quickly perked a little and stared out at memories of family pride, splendor, and the adrenaline rush of a sacred ritual. "The ceremony was really fun, though."
"I bet its nothing compared to what Tenchi and I are going to. Ain't that right Tenchi?!" Ryoko raised a fist in triumph and wrapped an arm around Japan's newest life of the dance party.
"I don't know, Ryoko."
"Come on Tenchi. If this guy's gonna be there it has to be huge." Ryoko proudly displayed the flyer to everyone at the table.
"Uh, Ryoko, I don't think-"
"Really," Seita raised an eyebrow, "when are you two going?"
"It's this Saturday, you'd probably get a kick out of it---if you don't mind being the third wheel." Ryoko winked at him confidently.
Seita looked at Tenchi, who was distracted in anticipation of Aeka's wrath. He smiled ever so slightly and looked over at Mihoshi.
"I'd like to Ryoko, but I already asked officer Mihoshi to show me her patrol territory." A well-tanned smile struggled over the officer's modesty. Ryoko took one look between the two, smiled devilishly, and clicked her tongue with a mock scold.
"So Mihoshi, trying to get a man alone with you on your space ship? That doesn't always work you know, does it, Aeka?"
"Just what are you implying!" Aeka slammed her palms onto the table and nearly stood to meet her rival's clever glance.
"Oh nothing," Ryoko put her hands up innocently, "you can taxi Tenchi around all you want, just so long as he keeps taking ^me^ to dances."
Sasami, unconcerned about the battle for once, sighed to herself as the role of diplomat feel to Tenchi. Yosho looked down at her with concern as his grandson tried to release their sister's steam.
"We only get used to a change in time enough to greet another." Yosho sagely voice slid in beneath the growing squabble. Sasami broke her trance of self-pity and smiled up at him.
"I'll second that." Seita raised his tea to the grandfather his smiled reflected in the politely searching spectacles.
When Yosho had heard that the new guest was helping Tenchi in the vegetable field, he'd actually been rather doubtful. Not that the priest ever considered himself judgmental, but physical labor was certainly not the first thing that came to mind when looking at the slender man in luxurious clothing. He'd noticed a number of times since their first introductions that this new guest moved about the Misaki home almost in a dream, still intent on absorbing every detail of his surroundings into his confident smile and intense gaze. Art, and perhaps priesthood had seemed more suited to him than science, much less farming. But the First Prince of Jurai could and would admit to being pleasantly surprised, if asked.
Seita swung a hoe with almost youthful abandon, seeming to enjoy the exercise the way full time farmers wished they could. By some miracle he had managed to do a more thorough job cleaning the windows single handedly than an entire household team. As far as houseguests went, this man was surely a model example, but thoughts of when he would move on brought a pause that Yosho hadn't been able to think through yet.
Something about the man's abilities, not to mention experiences, made him want to simultaneously meditate with him and test his composure behind a sword. Surely Washu's analysis would reveal something. The official elder watched her stirring her food and wondered if she could sense any or all of his interests.
"By the way, Mr. Misaki." All attentions went to the tall formality again.
"Uh, yes Sayta." Noboyuki, looked up from his meal with a touch of nervousness.
"I sincerely apologize for the chicanery earlier this afternoon. A gracious host such as yourself deserves better thanks than cheap tricks." He bowed slightly.
"W-w-what do you mean? I, uh, something I ate just disagreed with me today. Probably should avoid the office cafeteria for a while."
Noboyuki was a terrible liar. There were some concealed feminine giggles from around the table, the only slightly less embarrassed son hung his head with the usual sigh.
Eating resumed, and Tenchi found himself consumed with curiosity over what Washu's tests may have revealed about the new guest. Although such questions were almost morbid from his point of view, the new guinea pig had strangely emerged from the lab wearing the same serene and confident expression he'd entered with. Seita had explained himself thoroughly once, but Tenchi found himself eyeing Washu for more answers just the same, and soon found his grandfather doing the same.
"I understand that these...^gifts^, might seem strange, even unnerving to you all. Though my explanation of them must have sounded akin to some form of mind control, please don't think of my illusions as an invasive procedure."
Possible clairvoyance almost aside, this complete request to replace pity with understanding managed to raise and trap Yosho's attention along side his grandson's.
"As Professor Hakube will surely confirm when her analysis is complete, there is relatively little I can do to harm any of you. My time in that dimension, and my ability to travel with it have made my body somewhat--- 'ethereal' in nature, but let me assure you all that I've no desire to pick fights, or invade anyone's privacy."
Washu had looked up at the mention of her name. More than a few people noticed her focus as she brought up a holo-screen.
"I believe that the more I find out about you, dear boy, the more I'm going to want to know. I hope Tenchi doesn't mind you staying around for a little while longer." She spoke at a blinking icon as if everyone were gathered on it.
"No, of course not. You've been good, to have around I mean." Tenchi confirmed and convinced himself honestly.
"Thank you, everyone. You know, I've considered making a promise to myself, to only use my 'tricks' for the enjoyment of friends. My dry sense of humor is simply the best way I know to show affection." Seita continued with a sly for a dry smile.
"When I said that I could not control your actions, that I could only give suggestions to your perceptions---" he noticed and quickly enjoyed the rhyme in his words, "I neglected to mention a sort of middle ground that I came across quite by accident."
A few curious glances exchanged and collected as colorful fingertips came together in the same focused position he'd used during his vacation with Sasami.
"Involuntary functions, it seems, are influenced by a system similar and perhaps parallel to the one controlling perception. I admit that this takes a good deal more focus, but it is as close to 'mind control' as I'm ever likely to achieve. Rest assured these afterthoughts are all the physical influence I have." He closed his eyes and smiled a little wider.
"What are you-ah--ah--- ^achoo^!" Mihoshi barely managed to get a hand over her sneeze.
"Gesuntite," Tenchi offered before sending a loud and clear mist onto his plate. Washu picked up the hint long before anyone else, and smirked at the de-sterilization of it all.
"Sorry Seita, my sinuses have already been engineered to -hic-, to resist -hic-" The clearly annoyed scientist scowled and took a long sip of water. Her next hiccup came even louder and accidentally dissipated her computer.
"Hey, wish I could do that!" Ryoko cheered. "Don't worry Washu, I could hold a paper bag over your face---or maybe you could just stand on your head for a while."
"That's -hic- Little -hic- Washu -hic- to you." She failed intimidation as she reached desperately for the water pitcher.
"Maybe I should just jump up and scare yoUUUuuuUUU!" Ryoko's belch took over her speech and the rest of the sounds at the table completely, a hearty giggle had already started by the time it finished.
"Wow Sasami, that really ^was^ a good dinner."
"You are a disgusting creature Ryoko," Aeka fumed, "how Tenchi could bare to take you anywhere is beyond me!"
"Thanks Ryok-OOOOOOooohhhHHHHHH!!!" Sasami was understandably shocked by the crushing death of a hapless bullfrog in her throat, but she and Ryoko thoroughly laughed it off.
"Mr. Seita, that is enough!" Aeka commanded, rising to her feet. "I will not have you turning this household into a gang of crass brutes!"
Tenchi kept a hand over his mouth to suppress a giggle of his own and turned a pleading, yet still amused expression to the jester in question.
"As you wish, Princess Aeka," Seita agreed calmly. "Apologies, bodily functions were always a cause for great amusement at the home I remember. But I assure you; there will be no more belching due to my influence."
"Good." Aeka closed her eyes to regain a breath of composure, just as she was about to sit down again they grew wide with a strange sort of horror.
Everything went all but deadly silent. The First Princess of Jurai remained completely frozen, releasing her flatulence with rich and forceful reverberation.