I do not own any of the characters from Tenchi Muyo. They are the intellectual properties of
their creator. No profit is being made from this story. The only intention of this story is to bring
(possibly) some enjoyment to the people who read it.
Mihoshi's Secret
by Weirdbard
Chapter 2.
Washu paced back and forth in the Masaki front room. It had been exactly three weeks, two days
and 8 hours since Mihoshi and Kiyone had walked out of her lab.
Washu had called countless times in an attempt to get hold of them to find out if Mihoshi's
memories had came back so she could find out what had happened to her, but each time she
called she got a answering machine.
The first two days of attempted calling, Washu was only interested in having a minor mystery
solved. By the third day she was more worried about Mihoshi than in having the mystery solved.
Never had Kiyone and Mihoshi been away for such a extended length of time before. Usually
they were by at least every other day to use the bath or for Sasami's home cooking.
Normally Washu wouldn't let anyone see her being overly concerned for someone. It tended to
ruin her, 'I'm not that interested in people but only in science' reputation but at the moment
Sasami was cleaning up from lunch and Tenchi was out in the carrot fields. That only left Ayeka
and Ryoko in the front room and they were so entranced by the soap opera on TV they hadn't
even noticed Washu being upstairs and not in her lab.
"Would it be so difficult for Kiyone to call me and let me know if Mihoshi had remembered
anything? Where have they been?" Washu thought to herself as she paced.
Suddenly the phone rang. Before Washu could get to it to answer, Sasami popped out of the
kitchen and answered it.
"Hi Kiyone! We have all been worried about you and Mihoshi! When are you going to be able to
come over for dinner?" Sasami asked.
Washu made her way over to the phone with the intention of getting Sasami to let her talk to
Kiyone but just as she arrived Sasami said, "okay. That'll be great! Bye!" and replaced the
receiver on the phone.
"Sasami I wanted to talk to Kiyone!" Washu said in exasperation.
"Oh, I'm sorry Washu. Kiyone said they only had a moment before they had to get to a new job
they started a few weeks ago. She did say that her and Mihoshi would be over tonight for dinner
though. You can talk to her then." Sasami said apologetically and then went back into the
kitchen.
"I'll have to have Tenchi pick some more vegetables for tonight!" Washu heard her mutter as she
left.
"Hmmm, they have new jobs? I guess then Mihoshi and Kiyone must be doing fine then. I still
can't wait to see Mihoshi and see if I can convince her to let me run some more tests. If she still
doesn't remember anything from that missing time I will have to see if I can hypnotize her."
Washu thought to herself.
Washu could hear as Ryoko and Ayeka's soap opera ended behind her and they both got up from
the couch.
"That was very interesting." Ryoko said out loud. "But I can't believe you have to have a guy's
family turn out to be in organized crime, have his sister turn out to be really a complete stranger
that was hiding from the law and then have him have complete amnesia before a earth girl can
get a guy into bed!"
"Bah! I can understand a slight entertainment value in those programs but they really are quite
silly and not very intellectually stimulating!" Ayeka said with her nose up in the air. Walking
over to the dinning room table she picked up a crossword magazine and started trying to answer
the clues.
"So, same time tomorrow right?" Ryoko asked her with a grin.
"Oh yes, of course! We have to find out if the hero's uncle has that mysterious operation and
what it is for." Ayeka answered without looking up.
She continued to look at the crossword for several more moments before giving up and throwing
the magazine to the middle of the table. "These things are just too hard. It would take a genius to
be able to solve them!"
Washu peeked over her shoulder. "Did I hear someone ask for a genius?"
Ayeka gave a start. "Oh Washu you startled me. I was just saying that they make these crossword
puzzles too difficult."
"Nonsense. All it takes to solve those things are a good memory and good concentration skills to
be able to figure out the clues. That's all." Washu dismissed the magazine with a wave of her
hand. "I'll be down in my lab. Please have someone fetch me before dinner." And with that she
left.
Sasami watched the path leading to the house by the late afternoon light. It was getting late and
she was looking forward to seeing Mihoshi again. She missed the times they would watch earth
style cartoons together.
It was kind of odd. Mihoshi was so much older than she was but in her mind Sasami looked at
Mihoshi much as she would a sister that was the same age as her. Sasami loved her sister Ayeka
dearly but Ayeka would never be caught watching and laughing at cartoons. Sasami and Mihoshi
would watch them and laugh and then discuss what the cartoon characters should have done.
"Sasami?" Ayeka's voice rang out. "Isn't it time you started dinner?"
"Yes sister. I was just watching to see if I could see Mihoshi and Kiyone coming." Sasami
replied.
"They will be here when they get here. You know they might be late. Being Galaxy Police
officers they do get called away at the last moment at times." Ayeka reminded her.
Sasami was just about to tell her that she of course knew that, when she spotted Kiyone and
Mihoshi appear walking in the distance.
Sasami broke into a huge smile but then it quickly faded. Kiyone was in the lead and Mihoshi
was walking a distance behind her. While Sasami watched Mihoshi weaved slightly as though
she was either drunk or exhausted. She watched as Mihoshi paused by the lake and had a few
words with Kiyone. After a few moments Kiyone continued toward the house but left Mihoshi
with her back to the house staring at the lake.
Sasami was just about to run out and see what was wrong with Mihoshi when Tenchi walked up
behind her and looked over her shoulder at the approaching Kiyone. "I think there is something
wrong with Mihoshi." She said looking up at Tenchi.
Tenchi started to say something but by that time Kiyone had come within hearing distance. "Hi
Kiyone. Why didn't Mihoshi walk up with you?" He asked her.
Kiyone could see that Ayeka, Ryoko and Washu had joined Tenchi at the doorway and were
curiously looking in Mihoshi's direction. "She wanted me to talk with you guys first. You see we
have been really busy, what with two new jobs and the patrols in space and well she is looking a
little tired is all. She didn't want you all to be startled at her appearance."
Washu looked at her with a eyebrow raised. "What is the real reason Kiyone? How has Mihoshi
been? I kept calling and leaving messages and you never answered them."
Sasami looked at Kiyone and then looked curiously at Washu. "Is something wrong with
Mihoshi?" She asked worriedly.
"No. She's fine Sasami. Why don't you go inside and you and her can talk later?" Kiyone said
with a fake smile on her face.
"Yes Sasami. Go start dinner and you can talk to Mihoshi later." Ayeka instructed her younger
sister.
"But I want to know what is wrong with Mihoshi now!" Sasami briefly defiantly said but then
turned and headed toward the kitchen. "Come on Ryo ohki." She added to the cabbit.
Washu watched Sasami leave and then turned back to Kiyone with a angry look on her face. "I
feel the same way as Sasami! You told me you would call if Mihoshi had any problems after my
procedure where I fixed the damage done to her brain!"
"She really hasn't had any problems Washu!" Kiyone started to defend herself.
"The day she left here she went out and found us two new great paying jobs, she balanced our
checkbook and got our financial records in order. She even did a fantastic job on patrol that
night and caught some smugglers who were smuggling earth artifacts into space to sell. She's
been incredible!" Kiyone praised Mihoshi.
"But?" Washu asked.
"But.... She hasn't been sleeping well since that day. She wakes up from nightmares screaming
for someone to stop doing something to her. I've begged her to tell me what her dreams have
been about but she won't tell me. That is a first too. She usually regales me day after day about
her dreams but now she won't confide in me about any of them." Kiyone took a deep breath and
then plunged into the part she knew would make them all mad at her.
"The first two nights it happened, I comforted her and held her till she stopped shaking and went
back to sleep but...." Kiyone paused and looked at all of them guiltily. "I need my sleep." She
said in defense. "I told her on the third night not to wake me any more. And after that I never
heard her screaming in her sleep any more. On the fifth night I woke up and found that she had
moved her bed after I had fallen asleep to the front porch of the apartment and was sleeping
outside so as not to disturb me." Kiyone ended weakly.
"Outside?! Its freezing outside at night!" Tenchi said in obvious agitation.
"I know! I told her that night not to do it again but I think she still has been. She says she didn't
want to disturb me with her problems." Kiyone added.
"Again, why didn't you call me? If she is having nightmares that severe, I should have been
informed!" Washu said putting her hands on her hips.
"She begged me not to. She said she could handle it." Kiyone said.
"And you have no idea what these dreams are about and she hasn't told you what happened to
her during the time of those missing police records?"
"No. On the second night when she had a nightmare she woke me up screaming and then she sat
up and hugged herself and kind of rocked back and forth. She kept repeating, 'its in the past.
He's gone now.' I asked her who he was but she acted like she could not remember the dream
and refused to talk about it." Kiyone said looking over her shoulder at Mihoshi's back.
"Anything else?" Washu probed.
"She hasn't been eating very much since that day either." Kiyone said hanging her head down.
"Okay that is it!" Tenchi muttered out loud. "I am going to go get her and we are going to get to
the bottom of whatever it is bothering her!"
Tenchi quickly walked over to where Mihoshi was staring out over the water of the lake while
the rest stayed at the house.
As Tenchi reached Mihoshi's side he reached out and touched her on the shoulder. Mihoshi gave
a start and spun around to face Tenchi.
Tenchi was shocked beyond belief. Mihoshi usually wide, bright and somewhat innocent blue
eyes were dull and lifeless. Their sparkle gone.
Her cheeks were sunken in slightly and her beautiful blond hair was flat. She didn't even look
like the bubbly and happy person Tenchi remembered from just a few weeks ago.
"Mihoshi?" He asked worriedly.
"Hello Tenchi. Sorry I haven't been around for a while but me and Kiyone have been very busy
lately." Mihoshi said with a quiver in her voice.
"Mihoshi what is wrong? You look terrible!" Tenchi said and tried to step closer to her.
Mihoshi just backed up quickly to keep him at arm's distance. "It is nothing you can help me
with Tenchi. I have to solve this on my own."
"Are you sure? I can be a slight help at times." Tenchi said trying to lighten Mihoshi's mood. He
was pleased to see just the slightest hint of a smile light up her face before it slide away to be
replaced by the hopeless and sad face she had been wearing.
"Remember I helped to save you when you fell out of the clouds that day your ship got sucked
into that black hole? And then there was that time with Kagato! I thought we were all goners that
day......" Tenchi suddenly broke off his attempts to get Mihoshi to talk when she suddenly turned
deathly pale under her tan and started to shake violently at Kagato's name.
Tenchi quickly stepped to Mihoshi's side and wrapping an arm around her shoulders he quickly
steered her towards the house.
Ryoko seeing Tenchi with his arm around Mihoshi started to build up a good head of jealous
steam but promptly shook herself out of it when she got a good look at Mihoshi. The pupils of
Mihoshi's eyes had shrunk to the point of almost non existing and she was shaking like a leaf.
"What's wrong with her?" She asked Tenchi as she teleported the short distance to his side.
"I don't know! I was just trying to get her to talk by reminding her what all of us have been
through together and when I mention Kagato's name she freaked!" Tenchi said in desperation.
Mihoshi at the mention again of Kagato's name started moaning and whimpering.
"Quick! Get her to the couch!" Washu ordered and ushered everyone out of the way.
After a few moments Mihoshi was weakly sitting up on the couch and sipping some of Tenchi's
father's sake that he had fetched her. Fortunately Sasami had not heard the disturbance and was
still preparing dinner.
"I must have been out in the sun too long today." Mihoshi said without looking up at the group
gathered around the couch.
Washu kneeling down beside Mihoshi looked up into her face and said. "As the people of this
planet would say, cut the crap Mihoshi! It's time for you to tell us what happened to you and
who cut your brain!"
Mihoshi glanced briefly around the room. "Okay. I'll tell you but don't let Sasami hear this. She
doesn't need to hear the horrors that sometimes happen out in space."
Mihoshi lowered her head till she was staring at the ground again and began to talk in a flat
emotionless voice.
"My family has a long history of being in the Galaxy Patrol. My grandfather is the Grand
Marshall of it after all! And his father was it before and so forth and so forth. When my parents
gave birth to a female instead of a male there was some worries that I would not be able to
eventually take over the reins like I was expected to.
I worked hard however and soon there was no worries about my being suitable when the time
came. I graduated at the top of the police academy with very high marks. It should have been the
happiest day of my life but it was marred when right after the graduation party I had been told
that my parents had died in an accident while on patrol.
After that there was only my grandfather.
He treated me like a daughter and I was determined to make him proud. I rose up through the
ranks with no special privileges from him whatsoever.
One day I was patroling a sector of space and I got a call in from headquarters that they had just
had a robbery on a planet near my position. A whole historic site had suddenly vanished off the
face of the planet.
I went to the site and examined it and determined that the only way it could have been removed
would have been by one gigantic space ship.
I plotted and figured out where this titanic ship must be planning on hitting next and raced to the
next probably crime scene.
I knew that my space cruiser's weapons would most likely not make a dent in a ship of the size I
was estimating so I planned a sneak attack.
Using my ship I towed a asteroid into position and hid my ship behind it. When my ship's
sensors detected the huge space ship I was expecting I used my ship's engines to nudge the
chunk of space rock at it.
I figured that while the ships shields and weapons were blasting the giant rock I could slip in
behind the space ship and sneak on board and arrest whoever was stealing ancient artifacts.
Unfortunately, the giant space ship didn't even bother firing or trying to deflect the asteroid. It
just let it hit it! There was no damage from the impact even! But then again you've seen the Soja
and know it is one impressive ship."
"The Soja?! But that was Kagato's ship! You didn't meet Kagato till Tenchi and us fought him!"
Ayeka exclaimed.
"Yes Ayeka. I met Kagato before then." Mihoshi said with a quiver in her voice. Taking a
moment she then started her story again.
"Kagato used a beam of some kind of sound energy and knocked me out cold before I could even
fire a shot off. He then towed my ship aboard." Mihoshi paused for a long length of time. No one
dared to interrupt or ask questions. They could see how painful and hard it was for her to
continue.
"When I awoke." Mihoshi began again in the same flat monotone. "I found myself tied spread
eagle in his throne room. I was stripped naked."
Ayeka sucked in a breath. In the absolute stillness of the room it sounded magnified.
"He raped me." Mihoshi confirmed everyone's fears. "Over and over again. After he got bored
with raping me he had Soja do it with these metal tentacles he caused to rise up out of the floor
while he sat on his throne and laughed."
Ryoko shivered violently. While it was true that Kagato had controlled and had forced her to do
things he never attempted to touch her sexually. He probably figured that doing something like
that might have been enough to wake Washu from the sleep he had her imprisoned in because of
the connection she had to Ryoko through their mental link.
Ryoko looked over at Tenchi and saw that he had his eyes closed in pain and had his fists
clenched so tightly they were white.
Mihoshi after a moment where she sobbed silently resumed her story.
"He cut up my face and my body and kept abusing me. Finally one day I begged him to just kill
me and get it over with. That was when he laughed and said he had gotten what he wanted. He
had broken my spirit. He used his powers and threw me back into my ship. Right before he
pushed my ship out of Soja to drift he told me that if he got bored he would look me up and we
could 'play' again."
Mihoshi shuddered violently from the memories for a few moments and then with a deep breath
she began again.
"I drifted half dead till I was picked up by a Galaxy Police cruiser. The commander of the cruiser
knew my grandfather personally so instead of taking me to Patrol medical complex, he took me
straight to my grandfather."
Mihoshi sighed deeply.
"I was drifting half in and out of consciousness all the time so I don't think my grandfather or
that cruiser commander realized that I heard them talking. They decided that what Kagato was
trying to do was demoralize the Galaxy Police. To show his contempt for the patrol.
My grandfather decided that he couldn't afford to let anyone know what had been done to me. It
would have been too great a embarrassment to the patrol. So he had me taken to private medical
doctors who patched me up and healed my face and body.
After anything like what had happened to me, standard police procedures would have been for
me to take a long leave of absence and after I came back to be partnered with someone. Sort of
watch out for me and make sure I was not suffering from post dramatic syndrome or anything
like that but my grandfather didn't want to take a chance anyone in the patrol might find out
what had happened. So instead of having a organic partner, he had them install a robotic co pilot
in my ship."
Kiyone who had been listening to the story with the same shocked expression everyone else was
wearing muttered to herself. "I always wondered why your ship had Yukinojo in it. I have never
heard of any other Patrol ship with a robotic CO pilot before."
Mihoshi showed no signs of hearing her and continued with her story.
"One day we had reports of space pirates operating in an area I had been assigned to patrol.
Grandfather had chosen to station me in that area because it was normally dull and safe area. I
was an emotionally wreck part of that time I was patroling but I was Galaxy Patrol so I insisted I
was going to do my job. I tracked the pirates to a small moon. As I was coming around the moon
I came into the sun side and suddenly saw the pirates were docking with a space station there.
Coming from the dark side of the moon into the light so suddenly my eyes were dazzled and
caused the station to look a little like Soja's profile. I freaked and put the ship into maximum
overdrive. After I finally managed to calm down I found that I was many light years away from
where I had been. Needless to say the pirates got away.
As I was piloting back to where they had been I came across a star going super nova."
Mihoshi paused for a long moment and then added.
"I tried to pilot the ship into it."
It took everyone a few moments before the impact of Mihoshi's words made it into their brains.
"You tried to kill yourself Mihoshi?" Tenchi finally stuttered.
Mihoshi didn't look up from her staring at the floor but nodded her head.
"I couldn't take it anymore. I was in constant terror that I was going to run into Kagato again. I
couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat. I just wanted it to end!
But my grandfather had forseen that something like that might happen so he had the robotic unit
refuse to follow any orders that might lead to my death. The robotic unit turned the ship around
and started to take me straight back to my grandfather.
By the way Kiyone. This was before Yukinojo.
I went to a airlock to throw myself out into space but the robotic unit opened the door to my
living quarters as I walked by it and had the ship suddenly make a turn throwing me into my
room and then sealed it, trapping me inside."
Mihoshi paused and sipped the saki for a moment.
"My grandfather should have taken me to see the Police's psychiatrist but instead he was still
more concerned with how the news of what had happened to me would affect the Galaxy Police
organization so he refused to allow me to seek any mental help. After a few days though he
could not stand to see how badly I was doing so he asked me what I wanted."
Mihoshi dabbed at the tears in her eyes. "I told him that I just wanted to forget. To be able to just
not remember or relive what had been done to me."
Now it was Washu's turn to suck in a shocked breath. "You don't mean?"
Mihoshi nodded her head. "Yes. He sent me to a doctor he knew about. One he could be sure
would not let the story of what had been done to me get back to the Galaxy Police."
"How could he be certain this doctor would not tell anyone?" Ayeka asked quietly.
"The doctor was under investigation by the Galaxy Police for experimentation on sentient beings
and gross malpractice of medicine. Grandfather knew the last thing that doctor would do would
be to go a police officer and tell them about me. Grandfather assured the doctor that the
investigation would just disappear if he helped me. Dr. Xeverix agreed." Mihoshi told them with
her head hanging down so her long hair would hide her face.
"Dr. Xeverix?!" Kiyone yelled in shock.
Everyone glanced quickly at the kitchen door to see if the sudden shout would bring Sasami out
but the sounds of chopping vegetables continued.
Ryoko looked at Kiyone curiously. "You know this guy?"
"He was recently arrested. He had kidnapped a young woman from a planet to try some bizarre
medical treatment on and she turned out to be a very important official of the planet. I heard
about it in the last dispatch from Central. They say he is responsible for almost 32 missing
people."
"Well now you know the story Washu." Mihoshi said with a trace of bitterness in her voice. "I
went to the doctor and he botched the operation. Not only were my memories of Kagato and
Soja taken from me but my ability to concentrate or remember things I had just been told. My
career in the Patrol started to slide so my grandfather kept having me moved from location to
location to hide the problems I was having. He did do one thing for my benefit though. When he
realized that he no longer had to worry about me telling the story to anyone else, because I
couldn't even remember it any more, he had a partner assigned to me. Kiyone."
"I was your first partner?" Kiyone asked surprised.
"Yes. My first and only partner. When you suddenly asked to be transfered and went back to
Central to beg them on your hands and knees to let you escape from me, I was assigned a robotic
co-pilot again. Yukinojo. While I was patroling a area of space, waiting for you to come back
and get me after you got over your 'sickness' was when I got the call from Central that Kagato
might be in my area. My memories were cut off from me so deep, I didn't even recognize the
name and had to ask Yukinojo to fill me in on his criminal record." Mihoshi paused for a
moment.
"You knew that I had went back to Central to plead with them to reassign me?" Kiyone asked in
a shocked whisper.
"Not at the time. At the time I was good old simple Mihoshi. I just thought that you were telling
me the truth about being sick. It was only after Washu fixed the connections in my brain recently
that I started to put two and two together and figure out some things."
"But how come Kagato didn't recognize you when he attacked us?" Ryoko asked.
Mihoshi managed a very small shrug. "For one thing, with all the damage he had done to my
face and body and after the doctors patched me up. I looked slightly different than I did back
then. I also suppose that to Kagato...." Mihoshi almost sobbed as she said his name but continued
after a few breaths. "I suppose to him, it was no big deal and wasn't that memorable."
Washu standing behind the couch felt absolutely sick. Sick with rage at what Mihoshi's
grandfather had done to protect his precious Galaxy Police reputation. "I wish I could get my
hands on your grandfather Mihoshi! To think that anyone would do something like that to their
own flesh and blood!"
"Don't be too harsh on him Washu. He did what he thought was the right thing at the time."
Mihoshi said glancing back at Washu. "Besides, its not right for you to talk about your own flesh
and blood that way."
"Whaaaa?" Washu said in shock.
"Yes. You remember the son that was taken from you so very long ago? That was my
grandfather's great, great, great, etc. grandfather." Mihoshi replied.
Washu looked in shock at the young blond woman sitting in front of her. "Then that means.......
That means you are related to me as well!"
"Yes. Hi mega great grandmother." Mihoshi said quietly.
"But, but, but this can't be right!" Washu stuttered in shock.
"It is though and I can prove it. Its how I was able to always get past your locks on your lab back
when I was simple Mihoshi. I of course didn't know it at the time but I do now. The genetic
locks you put on the door to only allow yourself to pass? Well my family's genetics coming from
you are close enough to fool the lock. If you still don't believe check the medical readings you
took of me. Look at the DNA. You will see that we are related."
Washu prided herself on seeing all possibilities, all possible permutations of chance. It was one
of the things that made her the universe's greatest scientific genius but not even she could have
forseen that her baby that had been taken from her so very long ago, a one time student and a
ship she had created would all come together in such a horrible fashion as to result in the poor
broken blond woman if front of her now.
"I am so sorry that I wasn't there somehow to save you Mihoshi. I would have done anything to
have been awake and been able to help you." She said sadly.
"I'm glad to hear you say that Washu because I have a request now." Mihoshi said turning on the
couch to face her. "I want you to undo what you did to my brain. I want to go back to being
dumb, simple, 'she has a brain so small I'm surprised that Washu could find it to scan it',
Mihoshi."
Kiyone raised her hand to her mouth in shock. Mihoshi while she was asleep in Washu's
machine that day must have heard her.
Washu took a few steps back in shock herself. "I'm sorry Mihoshi but I can't do that! I am a
scientist! I took a vow to push back the curtains of ignorance every chance I got! To do what you
ask would be a gross misjustice!"
"Mihoshi you don't need for Washu to make you, um, simple again." Tenchi stated hesitantly.
"You know that Kagato is dead and that Soja is no more. He will never hurt you again and with
time and maybe some counseling you can move past the nightmares."
"I have already dealt with Kagato and those memories Tenchi. Oh I still have the bad memories
and occasionally break down but I know in my mind that you are right. Eventually I will get past
it all and be able to live in peace. But that is not why I want to go back to the way I was."
Mihoshi said glancing at him.
"Then why?" Washu asked.
"First. If my grandfather realizes that I have regain my thinking abilities and my memories he
will reassign me quickly so no one in the Patrol can find out about it. Even though Kagato is
destroyed, my grandfather did some pretty illegal and unorthodox things back then. He can't
allow that to come to light! I don't want to leave the earth. I don't want to leave my friends."
Mihoshi said looking down at the floor again.
"Let him try it! We now know about it and Jurai would definitely look unfavorably toward
someone like him!" Ayeka said angrily.
Washu watching Mihoshi closely realized that her grandfather was not the real thing bothering
Mihoshi. "What's the real reason you want to go back to 'simple' Mihoshi?'
Mihoshi replied so quietly they almost didn't hear her. "I want to go back to a time before I
realized that the most important person in my life hates me."
Kiyone looked at Mihoshi and then looked over at Tenchi. "Mihoshi? Tenchi doesn't hate you."
Tenchi jerked his head up in shock and looked over at Kiyone. "Kiyone she doesn't mean me!
She means you!"
"What? I am not the most important person in her life!" "Am I?" Kiyone asked Mihoshi.
Mihoshi just nodded her head slightly.
"I can't live with the fact any longer that the person I l.... Think of as my best friend can't stand
me." Mihoshi stuttered slightly.
Kiyone was in shock. "I don't hate you Mihoshi! We are friends! You sometimes used to make
me angry and frustrated but I never hated you!"
"But you don't feel the same way about me that I feel about you!" Mihoshi sobbed.
"I said we were friends!" Kiyone said and looked at everyone in desperation.
"Mihoshi means you don't love her." Washu finally spelled it out for the detective.
"LOVE? Mihoshi doesn't love me. She loves Tenchi!" Kiyone stated as she backed away from
the couch a short distance.
She could see Mihoshi shoulders as the blond started to sob pitifully.
Tenchi looked at Kiyone and shook his head. "I can't believe how dense you can sometimes be
Kiyone. Mihoshi has been in love with you for a long time. I saw it when you first arrived on the
earth. Remember? You came looking for her and when Mihoshi saw you, what was the first
thing she did? She grabbed you in a hug and started rubbing her cheek against yours. At the time
I thought maybe it was some kind of odd space greeting I didn't know about, but I noticed that
Mihoshi hadn't done that to anyone else before or since then."
"And what was it you said on that day?" Mihoshi with her shoulders slumped and without
looking up asked. "You said that when you had found out that I was still alive you were so mad.
You corrected yourself and added glad but you meant the first one. At the time I was just
'simple' Mihoshi so I didn't think anything of it but it stuck in my memory and once Washu
fixed my brain I started remembering all the other little slip ups and actions you did back then
and added them all up."
Kiyone looked miserable. Mihoshi was right. At the time she had hated her for being an obstacle
to her rise in the Galaxy Police.
"Do you want to know when I first started falling in love with you?" Mihoshi asked. She waited
a moment and then started speaking anyway when Kiyone didn't answer her.
"It was when we broke up that smugglers ring on the moon of Threala 3. Remember Kiyone?
You decided to attack the front door of their stronghold and sent me to the back. At the time
being 'simple' Mihoshi I thought it was because you wanted us to attack on two fronts but now I
know you just wanted me out of the way and figured I would never even find a backdoor. But I
did and was captured." Mihoshi paused.
Kiyone began to continue with the story. It was obvious to everyone in the room she was
remembering out loud. "After I finally broke down the front door I made my way into the
complex and rounding a corner I suddenly saw you hanging between two pillars. The punks had
tied your hands to some support pillars and had ripped open your blouse and was fondling your
breasts when I surprised them. They must have thought there was only one officer. You were just
hanging there. I couldn't tell if you were alive or dead..." Kiyone let her voice dwindle down.
"My conscious mind could not remember Kagato but my unconscious mind must have decided
what was happening to me was too close to what happened with Kagato and I passed out. When
I came to, I found all the smugglers dead in the room and you were holding me. You kept saying
over and over again that you were sorry and you would never leave me again. That you would
protect and be with me from that point on." Mihoshi said sadly.
"I was in shock. When I sent you off by yourself I almost got you killed. I wasn't even sure what
I was saying then." Kiyone nearly whispered.
Mihoshi nodded her head sadly. "I know that now but back then 'simple' Mihoshi thought
someone finally cared about her. Someone loved her.
It was only a month later that you convinced me to take my original ship and go on patrol while
you stayed behind at headquarters because you were 'sick'. Like I said earlier, I now know you
were there begging them to reassign you."
Kiyone opened and shut her mouth a few times without saying anything. How could she?
Mihoshi was again absolutely correct.
Mihoshi began speaking again. "When I got the call about Kagato my only thoughts were, I will
solve this problem fast and get back to Kiyone. Little did I know that Kiyone didn't want me to
get back. When I fell to earth and was rescued by Tenchi I will admit I was attracted a little to
him. He was the first male that didn't try to take advantage of me because I was 'simple'. But in
my heart, even being 'simple' Mihoshi, I knew who I loved."
Mihoshi took a deep breath and then turned to stare at Washu. "And now Washu I want to go
back to that. I want you to make me simple again. With my mind intact I know that Kiyone will
never love me but as simple Mihoshi I won't. Even if she someday succeeds and gets transfered I
will believe that she is only going to gone for a short time and will be back soon to be with me."
"I can't Mihoshi. Not only would it be wrong to do it. There is a danger that if I mess around in
that area of your mind again permant damage might result. It could even kill you! I am a genius
but the humanoid brain is a very fragile thing!" Washu explained sadly.
"I would almost welcome death than living and loving someone who doesn't love me back."
Mihoshi whispered.
Kiyone started to open her mouth to say something, anything to try and take away the pain she
could see that Mihoshi was in but was stopped when her and Mihoshi's police wrist
communicators went off suddenly.
Mihoshi glanced down at it and then said. "We have a report of pirates operating in this
planetary system. We have to go to work." She got up from the couch and started for the door
but then paused. "I will understand if you don't want to go with me Kiyone. I can handle this
myself."
"No. We are partners!" Kiyone said.
Mihoshi nodded her head sadly and added. "At least as Galaxy police officers anyway. And at
least for now." And then left the house to summon their space ship from orbit where it was
waiting.
Kiyone started to follow her out but was stopped by Tenchi as he grabbed her arm. "Take care of
Mihoshi Kiyone!"
Kiyone's face grew angry. "I don't need you to tell me that Tenchi! She is my partner and I will
protect her!"
A few moments later everyone in the house heard as the Yagami came down and a few moments
later took to the skies again.
"Where is Mihoshi and Kiyone?" Sasami said as she came out of the kitchen.
"They had a call." Ayeka told her sister.
Sasami looked everyone over curiously. She could tell they were all upset by something but she
didn't know what. "I will put their dinners in the oven and keep it warm for when they get back.
I hope they remember."
It was a solemn dinner that night. Sasami couldn't figure out what was causing the sadness in the
air but she knew she didn't like it. Yosho who had arrived from the shrine in time to see Mihoshi
and Kiyone leave aboard their ship didn't know what was going on either but he could sense the
heavy sadness in the air as easily as Sasami.
Even Ayeka and Ryoko acted differently that evening and didn't engage in their normal meal
arguments.
The only one who it seemed could not feel the tension and sadness in the air was Nobougki.
Tenchi's father continued to eat happily without noticing anything was amiss.
After dinner Sasami cleared the table and began to wash the dishes in the kitchen.
Ayeka feeling sad and depressed for Mihoshi picked up the crossword magazine and idly tried to
solve some of the clues.
"You know this just sucks!" Ryoko suddenly said out loud. "We all knew that Mihoshi had
feelings for Kiyone and I still think that Kiyone feels something for Mihoshi but she is just too
stubborn to say anything."
Tenchi looking around to make sure his father and grandfather had left on their evening walk
nodded his head. "Yeah. I think Kiyone cares as much about Mihoshi as Mihoshi does for her
but it will take something major for her to break down and admit it."
Washu sitting at the end of the table looked miserable and said. "I will reverse the healing I did
for Mihoshi if she asks me to again when she gets back."
Tenchi looked up sharply. "I thought you said it could be dangerous?"
"It can be but I can't leave Mihoshi unhappy like this! Its not fair to the girl after all she has been
through."
"Yes. Who knew that such a bubbly and cheerful young woman had been through such horrors?"
Ayeka said.
Tenchi nodded his head and started to say something but paused instead and then asked. "What
is that noise?"
Washu glancing up sharply listened for a moment. "Thats the Yagami's engines and they are
being pushed to the maximum!"
Everyone in the house raced outside and watched as the Yagami appeared in the night sky like a
falling star. At the last possible moment the landing rockets fired causing the ship to break to a
halt at the last possible moment.
As soon as the ship touched the ground the door was opening. Tenchi could see Kiyone framed
in the hatchway and even at a distance he could see she was almost hysterical.
"Washu! You have to help her Washu!!" She cried.
Running as hard as they could they reached the ship. "What happened?" Washu yelled as she
reached the hatch and saw Mihoshi lying motionless inside the ship. Washu pulled to a stop as
she saw a buzzing knife handle in the center of Mihoshi's forehead.
"We found a ship floating in space as though it was dead and after calling to it for several
minutes we docked with it and went on board." Kiyone managed to get out in between hysterical
sobs. "As soon as we were onboard we were attacked by pirates.
Mihoshi was amazing.
Between the two of us it looked like we would have the pirates beat but then their leader threw a
sonic knife at me. I knew I couldn't get out of the way in time but suddenly Mihoshi threw
herself in front of me, firing all the while. She got the leader but ended up taking the knife meant
for me herself. Is she going to be all right Washu?!" Kiyone sobbed.
"I don't know. The knife went deep into her brain but she is still breathing." Washu said as she
summoned her keyboard and typed on it with lightning fast fingers. "Ryoko! Take her to my lab
but make sure you keep the knife in phase with you and her the whole time! I maybe able to
remove it after I am sure it can't do any further damage!"
Ryoko nodded her head and picking up Mihoshi she disappeared.
Many hours later:
Sasami was sitting in her older sister's lap crying while Ryo ohki sat on the back of the couch
and meowed at her sadly. Tenchi was pacing back and forth nervously while Yosho sat in a
mediative pose calmly. "Tenchi. It will not help anything for you to make a nervous wreck out of
yourself." He said without opening his eyes.
Kiyone was sitting at the table staring straight ahead in shock.
"I don't know what I will do if she doesn't pull through this." Kiyone muttered.
"Why? It will be what you always wanted, won't it? Mihoshi will be out of the way and you can
go back to Galaxy Patrol headquarters with no problems at all." Ryoko barked at her.
Kiyone flinched as though she had been physically slapped.
"Ryoko!" Tenchi's voice broke the sudden stillness in the room.
"I realized tonight when I saw Mihoshi lying there on the floor of that ship with the knife stuck
in her how much she means to me. I realized that I would miss her in my life and I didn't know
what I would do if she was not there. I think I am in love with her." Kiyone looked at Ryoko
with tears in her eyes.
"Well isn't it a shame you didn't realize that before she threw herself in front of a knife for
you?!" Ryoko answered back sharply.
"Ryoko!! That's enough!!" Tenchi's voice cut through the room.
Ryoko glanced at Tenchi and then phased out and reappeared sitting in the rafters of the ceiling.
The door to Washu's lab suddenly opened and Washu came out. She didn't have a happy look on
her face.
"Is she okay?!" Kiyone asked as she leapt to her feet and raced to Washu's side.
"Well, yes and no." Washu answered her heavily. "I was able to remove the knife but there was
damage done. It is in the same general area as the botched surgery so long ago. I healed the
damage as best as I could but there seems to be some complications."
"Complications? What complications?! Is Mihoshi going to be all right?" Kiyone was
hysterically crying as she demanded an answer from Washu.
"Kiyone? What's wrong?" Mihoshi's voice called out from the doorway to Washu's lab.
Everyone in the room looked to the doorway and saw Mihoshi with a wide eyed innocent look
on her face rubbing her forehead. "I have such a headache! Did I trip and bump my head again? I
didn't break anything when I did, did I?" Mihoshi asked.
"No Mihoshi its okay. Why don't you sit down and watch tv for a while. I need to talk to the
others in the kitchen for a moment." Washu said gently and quietly as though she was talking to
a child.
"Um, okay." Mihoshi said with a large child like smile.
Everyone with many a look at the oblivious Mihoshi got up and filed into the kitchen except for
Ryo ohki who glancing up at Washu decided to stay and keep a eye on the woman.
As they shut the door to the kitchen Kiyone turned to Washu. "She's back to the way she was
three weeks ago isn't she?"
"Yes. I don't know if it will be permanent this time or if she will recover in a hour, a week or
months. Like I said out there, I fixed the damage done by the knife blade but her mind seems to
have retreated into itself. Its possible that she will recover completely." Washu gave a shrug. "Or
not at all. Only time will tell."
Outside in the living room Mihoshi got up and wandered over to the dinning table beside the
kitchen door. She was hungry and couldn't remember the last time she had ate. Sitting down at
the table she idly pulled the crossword magazine over to her and looking at it for a moment then
rapidly filled in the missing clues quickly and precisely. She looked at what she had done and
then frowned. Reaching up she massaged her forehead for a moment and when she took her
hand away, her eyes had gone from the wide eyed innocent happy look of a moment ago and was
back to being filled with infinite sadness. She had regained all her memories. All that was left to
do was let the others know and apply for reassignment. "Its the only thing I can do. I can't stay
with Kiyone knowing she doesn't care for me like I do for her and when my grandfather finds
out that my memories are back he'll be sure to reassign me somewhere far away from them all."
Mihoshi rose from the table and started to open the kitchen door. Inside she heard Kiyone crying
to Washu.
"I can't have this happen now! Not when I finally realize that I love her!" Kiyone was saying.
Sasami voice could be heard to ask. "What is the problem? Mihoshi is acting the way she always
has and I thought you two had told each other a long time ago that you loved each other?"
"Sasami?! You saw that Mihoshi was in love with me as well?" Kiyone asked in shock.
"Oh please! It is obvious to anyone who has ever seen you two together. Why else would
Mihoshi put up with someone who yells at her all the time?" Sasami reasoned. "And if you really
didn't want her with you, why didn't you ask to have her reassigned?"
Kiyone was shocked. Sasami was right. "All the times I applied for reassignment myself I never
once thought about asking to stay and have Mihoshi reassigned! Is it possible that deep down I
knew a long time ago that I loved her?"
"What will you do now Kiyone?" Tenchi asked her.
"Well, after a officer is injured in the line of duty like Mihoshi was, she can request a medical
leave for a time. I think I will put the request in for both of us and go somewhere nice. And there
I will tell her how I feel."
Mihoshi took her hand off of the kitchen door and walked back to the couch.
She thought long and hard and with a effort put the happy vacant look back on her face. Hearing
a disapproving meow she glanced up to see Ryo ohki watching her.
"I will tell them eventually Ryo ohki that I have all my memories back but if it gets back to my
grandfather he'll have me moved. Please don't tell them! At least let me have a trip with Kiyone
first."
Ryo ohki meowed again and it sounded slightly less disapproving.
"I won't hide it from Kiyone. I promise. I'll tell her as soon as we are where we are going for my
medical leave."
Ryo ohki smiled and meowed affirmatively.
Inside the kitchen Ayeka was suggesting vacation spots to Kiyone for them to spend their
recuperation leave at. "There is a lovely planet. Juron 2. It would be perfect place for you two to
explore your feelings for each other."
"Juron 2? But that is the vacation planet for members or friends of Jurai royalty! We can't go
there!" Kiyone protested.
"And why not? I do happen to be Juraian royalty and you both are very good friends of mine!
This is the off time for Juraian royalty to take vacations so you two will have the entire planet to
yourselves." Ayeka said with finality.
"Thank you princess. I will always be in your debt for this." Kiyone bowed to her.
"Nonsense! Just make sure you treat Mihoshi right. That is all I ask."
"Hey Princess. That was very nice of you." Ryoko said in surprise and put her arm around
Ayeka's shoulder.
"Yes, well don't expect that you will be allowed to go there any time soon Ryoko!" Ayeka said
and then pushed open the kitchen door and walked out.
Ryoko glanced over to Washu. "You know I was this close to liking her for a moment." Ryoko
said holding her fingers a inch apart.
As everyone left the kitchen and Kiyone told Mihoshi they were going on a vacation for a short
time, Washu glanced down at the dinning room table and noticed the now filled out crossword
magazine. Picking it up she examined it and noticed that the filled in answers were in Mihoshi's
handwriting. The answers were filled out in a neat precise hand and every one of them were correct.
Washu frowned and looked over to where Mihoshi was enthusiastically hugging Kiyone. Washu
saw Mihoshi glance at her and give her just the tiniest of winks before she started telling Kiyone
all the things they could do on their vacation in her 'simple' Mihoshi ramble.
Washu rolled up the magazine and started to go back to her lab. In her mind she was thinking
about contacting her distant relative, Mihoshi's grandfather and let him know in no uncertain
terms that Mihoshi's life was now her own to run and to keep his hands off of it.
The End.
their creator. No profit is being made from this story. The only intention of this story is to bring
(possibly) some enjoyment to the people who read it.
Mihoshi's Secret
by Weirdbard
Chapter 2.
Washu paced back and forth in the Masaki front room. It had been exactly three weeks, two days
and 8 hours since Mihoshi and Kiyone had walked out of her lab.
Washu had called countless times in an attempt to get hold of them to find out if Mihoshi's
memories had came back so she could find out what had happened to her, but each time she
called she got a answering machine.
The first two days of attempted calling, Washu was only interested in having a minor mystery
solved. By the third day she was more worried about Mihoshi than in having the mystery solved.
Never had Kiyone and Mihoshi been away for such a extended length of time before. Usually
they were by at least every other day to use the bath or for Sasami's home cooking.
Normally Washu wouldn't let anyone see her being overly concerned for someone. It tended to
ruin her, 'I'm not that interested in people but only in science' reputation but at the moment
Sasami was cleaning up from lunch and Tenchi was out in the carrot fields. That only left Ayeka
and Ryoko in the front room and they were so entranced by the soap opera on TV they hadn't
even noticed Washu being upstairs and not in her lab.
"Would it be so difficult for Kiyone to call me and let me know if Mihoshi had remembered
anything? Where have they been?" Washu thought to herself as she paced.
Suddenly the phone rang. Before Washu could get to it to answer, Sasami popped out of the
kitchen and answered it.
"Hi Kiyone! We have all been worried about you and Mihoshi! When are you going to be able to
come over for dinner?" Sasami asked.
Washu made her way over to the phone with the intention of getting Sasami to let her talk to
Kiyone but just as she arrived Sasami said, "okay. That'll be great! Bye!" and replaced the
receiver on the phone.
"Sasami I wanted to talk to Kiyone!" Washu said in exasperation.
"Oh, I'm sorry Washu. Kiyone said they only had a moment before they had to get to a new job
they started a few weeks ago. She did say that her and Mihoshi would be over tonight for dinner
though. You can talk to her then." Sasami said apologetically and then went back into the
kitchen.
"I'll have to have Tenchi pick some more vegetables for tonight!" Washu heard her mutter as she
left.
"Hmmm, they have new jobs? I guess then Mihoshi and Kiyone must be doing fine then. I still
can't wait to see Mihoshi and see if I can convince her to let me run some more tests. If she still
doesn't remember anything from that missing time I will have to see if I can hypnotize her."
Washu thought to herself.
Washu could hear as Ryoko and Ayeka's soap opera ended behind her and they both got up from
the couch.
"That was very interesting." Ryoko said out loud. "But I can't believe you have to have a guy's
family turn out to be in organized crime, have his sister turn out to be really a complete stranger
that was hiding from the law and then have him have complete amnesia before a earth girl can
get a guy into bed!"
"Bah! I can understand a slight entertainment value in those programs but they really are quite
silly and not very intellectually stimulating!" Ayeka said with her nose up in the air. Walking
over to the dinning room table she picked up a crossword magazine and started trying to answer
the clues.
"So, same time tomorrow right?" Ryoko asked her with a grin.
"Oh yes, of course! We have to find out if the hero's uncle has that mysterious operation and
what it is for." Ayeka answered without looking up.
She continued to look at the crossword for several more moments before giving up and throwing
the magazine to the middle of the table. "These things are just too hard. It would take a genius to
be able to solve them!"
Washu peeked over her shoulder. "Did I hear someone ask for a genius?"
Ayeka gave a start. "Oh Washu you startled me. I was just saying that they make these crossword
puzzles too difficult."
"Nonsense. All it takes to solve those things are a good memory and good concentration skills to
be able to figure out the clues. That's all." Washu dismissed the magazine with a wave of her
hand. "I'll be down in my lab. Please have someone fetch me before dinner." And with that she
left.
Sasami watched the path leading to the house by the late afternoon light. It was getting late and
she was looking forward to seeing Mihoshi again. She missed the times they would watch earth
style cartoons together.
It was kind of odd. Mihoshi was so much older than she was but in her mind Sasami looked at
Mihoshi much as she would a sister that was the same age as her. Sasami loved her sister Ayeka
dearly but Ayeka would never be caught watching and laughing at cartoons. Sasami and Mihoshi
would watch them and laugh and then discuss what the cartoon characters should have done.
"Sasami?" Ayeka's voice rang out. "Isn't it time you started dinner?"
"Yes sister. I was just watching to see if I could see Mihoshi and Kiyone coming." Sasami
replied.
"They will be here when they get here. You know they might be late. Being Galaxy Police
officers they do get called away at the last moment at times." Ayeka reminded her.
Sasami was just about to tell her that she of course knew that, when she spotted Kiyone and
Mihoshi appear walking in the distance.
Sasami broke into a huge smile but then it quickly faded. Kiyone was in the lead and Mihoshi
was walking a distance behind her. While Sasami watched Mihoshi weaved slightly as though
she was either drunk or exhausted. She watched as Mihoshi paused by the lake and had a few
words with Kiyone. After a few moments Kiyone continued toward the house but left Mihoshi
with her back to the house staring at the lake.
Sasami was just about to run out and see what was wrong with Mihoshi when Tenchi walked up
behind her and looked over her shoulder at the approaching Kiyone. "I think there is something
wrong with Mihoshi." She said looking up at Tenchi.
Tenchi started to say something but by that time Kiyone had come within hearing distance. "Hi
Kiyone. Why didn't Mihoshi walk up with you?" He asked her.
Kiyone could see that Ayeka, Ryoko and Washu had joined Tenchi at the doorway and were
curiously looking in Mihoshi's direction. "She wanted me to talk with you guys first. You see we
have been really busy, what with two new jobs and the patrols in space and well she is looking a
little tired is all. She didn't want you all to be startled at her appearance."
Washu looked at her with a eyebrow raised. "What is the real reason Kiyone? How has Mihoshi
been? I kept calling and leaving messages and you never answered them."
Sasami looked at Kiyone and then looked curiously at Washu. "Is something wrong with
Mihoshi?" She asked worriedly.
"No. She's fine Sasami. Why don't you go inside and you and her can talk later?" Kiyone said
with a fake smile on her face.
"Yes Sasami. Go start dinner and you can talk to Mihoshi later." Ayeka instructed her younger
sister.
"But I want to know what is wrong with Mihoshi now!" Sasami briefly defiantly said but then
turned and headed toward the kitchen. "Come on Ryo ohki." She added to the cabbit.
Washu watched Sasami leave and then turned back to Kiyone with a angry look on her face. "I
feel the same way as Sasami! You told me you would call if Mihoshi had any problems after my
procedure where I fixed the damage done to her brain!"
"She really hasn't had any problems Washu!" Kiyone started to defend herself.
"The day she left here she went out and found us two new great paying jobs, she balanced our
checkbook and got our financial records in order. She even did a fantastic job on patrol that
night and caught some smugglers who were smuggling earth artifacts into space to sell. She's
been incredible!" Kiyone praised Mihoshi.
"But?" Washu asked.
"But.... She hasn't been sleeping well since that day. She wakes up from nightmares screaming
for someone to stop doing something to her. I've begged her to tell me what her dreams have
been about but she won't tell me. That is a first too. She usually regales me day after day about
her dreams but now she won't confide in me about any of them." Kiyone took a deep breath and
then plunged into the part she knew would make them all mad at her.
"The first two nights it happened, I comforted her and held her till she stopped shaking and went
back to sleep but...." Kiyone paused and looked at all of them guiltily. "I need my sleep." She
said in defense. "I told her on the third night not to wake me any more. And after that I never
heard her screaming in her sleep any more. On the fifth night I woke up and found that she had
moved her bed after I had fallen asleep to the front porch of the apartment and was sleeping
outside so as not to disturb me." Kiyone ended weakly.
"Outside?! Its freezing outside at night!" Tenchi said in obvious agitation.
"I know! I told her that night not to do it again but I think she still has been. She says she didn't
want to disturb me with her problems." Kiyone added.
"Again, why didn't you call me? If she is having nightmares that severe, I should have been
informed!" Washu said putting her hands on her hips.
"She begged me not to. She said she could handle it." Kiyone said.
"And you have no idea what these dreams are about and she hasn't told you what happened to
her during the time of those missing police records?"
"No. On the second night when she had a nightmare she woke me up screaming and then she sat
up and hugged herself and kind of rocked back and forth. She kept repeating, 'its in the past.
He's gone now.' I asked her who he was but she acted like she could not remember the dream
and refused to talk about it." Kiyone said looking over her shoulder at Mihoshi's back.
"Anything else?" Washu probed.
"She hasn't been eating very much since that day either." Kiyone said hanging her head down.
"Okay that is it!" Tenchi muttered out loud. "I am going to go get her and we are going to get to
the bottom of whatever it is bothering her!"
Tenchi quickly walked over to where Mihoshi was staring out over the water of the lake while
the rest stayed at the house.
As Tenchi reached Mihoshi's side he reached out and touched her on the shoulder. Mihoshi gave
a start and spun around to face Tenchi.
Tenchi was shocked beyond belief. Mihoshi usually wide, bright and somewhat innocent blue
eyes were dull and lifeless. Their sparkle gone.
Her cheeks were sunken in slightly and her beautiful blond hair was flat. She didn't even look
like the bubbly and happy person Tenchi remembered from just a few weeks ago.
"Mihoshi?" He asked worriedly.
"Hello Tenchi. Sorry I haven't been around for a while but me and Kiyone have been very busy
lately." Mihoshi said with a quiver in her voice.
"Mihoshi what is wrong? You look terrible!" Tenchi said and tried to step closer to her.
Mihoshi just backed up quickly to keep him at arm's distance. "It is nothing you can help me
with Tenchi. I have to solve this on my own."
"Are you sure? I can be a slight help at times." Tenchi said trying to lighten Mihoshi's mood. He
was pleased to see just the slightest hint of a smile light up her face before it slide away to be
replaced by the hopeless and sad face she had been wearing.
"Remember I helped to save you when you fell out of the clouds that day your ship got sucked
into that black hole? And then there was that time with Kagato! I thought we were all goners that
day......" Tenchi suddenly broke off his attempts to get Mihoshi to talk when she suddenly turned
deathly pale under her tan and started to shake violently at Kagato's name.
Tenchi quickly stepped to Mihoshi's side and wrapping an arm around her shoulders he quickly
steered her towards the house.
Ryoko seeing Tenchi with his arm around Mihoshi started to build up a good head of jealous
steam but promptly shook herself out of it when she got a good look at Mihoshi. The pupils of
Mihoshi's eyes had shrunk to the point of almost non existing and she was shaking like a leaf.
"What's wrong with her?" She asked Tenchi as she teleported the short distance to his side.
"I don't know! I was just trying to get her to talk by reminding her what all of us have been
through together and when I mention Kagato's name she freaked!" Tenchi said in desperation.
Mihoshi at the mention again of Kagato's name started moaning and whimpering.
"Quick! Get her to the couch!" Washu ordered and ushered everyone out of the way.
After a few moments Mihoshi was weakly sitting up on the couch and sipping some of Tenchi's
father's sake that he had fetched her. Fortunately Sasami had not heard the disturbance and was
still preparing dinner.
"I must have been out in the sun too long today." Mihoshi said without looking up at the group
gathered around the couch.
Washu kneeling down beside Mihoshi looked up into her face and said. "As the people of this
planet would say, cut the crap Mihoshi! It's time for you to tell us what happened to you and
who cut your brain!"
Mihoshi glanced briefly around the room. "Okay. I'll tell you but don't let Sasami hear this. She
doesn't need to hear the horrors that sometimes happen out in space."
Mihoshi lowered her head till she was staring at the ground again and began to talk in a flat
emotionless voice.
"My family has a long history of being in the Galaxy Patrol. My grandfather is the Grand
Marshall of it after all! And his father was it before and so forth and so forth. When my parents
gave birth to a female instead of a male there was some worries that I would not be able to
eventually take over the reins like I was expected to.
I worked hard however and soon there was no worries about my being suitable when the time
came. I graduated at the top of the police academy with very high marks. It should have been the
happiest day of my life but it was marred when right after the graduation party I had been told
that my parents had died in an accident while on patrol.
After that there was only my grandfather.
He treated me like a daughter and I was determined to make him proud. I rose up through the
ranks with no special privileges from him whatsoever.
One day I was patroling a sector of space and I got a call in from headquarters that they had just
had a robbery on a planet near my position. A whole historic site had suddenly vanished off the
face of the planet.
I went to the site and examined it and determined that the only way it could have been removed
would have been by one gigantic space ship.
I plotted and figured out where this titanic ship must be planning on hitting next and raced to the
next probably crime scene.
I knew that my space cruiser's weapons would most likely not make a dent in a ship of the size I
was estimating so I planned a sneak attack.
Using my ship I towed a asteroid into position and hid my ship behind it. When my ship's
sensors detected the huge space ship I was expecting I used my ship's engines to nudge the
chunk of space rock at it.
I figured that while the ships shields and weapons were blasting the giant rock I could slip in
behind the space ship and sneak on board and arrest whoever was stealing ancient artifacts.
Unfortunately, the giant space ship didn't even bother firing or trying to deflect the asteroid. It
just let it hit it! There was no damage from the impact even! But then again you've seen the Soja
and know it is one impressive ship."
"The Soja?! But that was Kagato's ship! You didn't meet Kagato till Tenchi and us fought him!"
Ayeka exclaimed.
"Yes Ayeka. I met Kagato before then." Mihoshi said with a quiver in her voice. Taking a
moment she then started her story again.
"Kagato used a beam of some kind of sound energy and knocked me out cold before I could even
fire a shot off. He then towed my ship aboard." Mihoshi paused for a long length of time. No one
dared to interrupt or ask questions. They could see how painful and hard it was for her to
continue.
"When I awoke." Mihoshi began again in the same flat monotone. "I found myself tied spread
eagle in his throne room. I was stripped naked."
Ayeka sucked in a breath. In the absolute stillness of the room it sounded magnified.
"He raped me." Mihoshi confirmed everyone's fears. "Over and over again. After he got bored
with raping me he had Soja do it with these metal tentacles he caused to rise up out of the floor
while he sat on his throne and laughed."
Ryoko shivered violently. While it was true that Kagato had controlled and had forced her to do
things he never attempted to touch her sexually. He probably figured that doing something like
that might have been enough to wake Washu from the sleep he had her imprisoned in because of
the connection she had to Ryoko through their mental link.
Ryoko looked over at Tenchi and saw that he had his eyes closed in pain and had his fists
clenched so tightly they were white.
Mihoshi after a moment where she sobbed silently resumed her story.
"He cut up my face and my body and kept abusing me. Finally one day I begged him to just kill
me and get it over with. That was when he laughed and said he had gotten what he wanted. He
had broken my spirit. He used his powers and threw me back into my ship. Right before he
pushed my ship out of Soja to drift he told me that if he got bored he would look me up and we
could 'play' again."
Mihoshi shuddered violently from the memories for a few moments and then with a deep breath
she began again.
"I drifted half dead till I was picked up by a Galaxy Police cruiser. The commander of the cruiser
knew my grandfather personally so instead of taking me to Patrol medical complex, he took me
straight to my grandfather."
Mihoshi sighed deeply.
"I was drifting half in and out of consciousness all the time so I don't think my grandfather or
that cruiser commander realized that I heard them talking. They decided that what Kagato was
trying to do was demoralize the Galaxy Police. To show his contempt for the patrol.
My grandfather decided that he couldn't afford to let anyone know what had been done to me. It
would have been too great a embarrassment to the patrol. So he had me taken to private medical
doctors who patched me up and healed my face and body.
After anything like what had happened to me, standard police procedures would have been for
me to take a long leave of absence and after I came back to be partnered with someone. Sort of
watch out for me and make sure I was not suffering from post dramatic syndrome or anything
like that but my grandfather didn't want to take a chance anyone in the patrol might find out
what had happened. So instead of having a organic partner, he had them install a robotic co pilot
in my ship."
Kiyone who had been listening to the story with the same shocked expression everyone else was
wearing muttered to herself. "I always wondered why your ship had Yukinojo in it. I have never
heard of any other Patrol ship with a robotic CO pilot before."
Mihoshi showed no signs of hearing her and continued with her story.
"One day we had reports of space pirates operating in an area I had been assigned to patrol.
Grandfather had chosen to station me in that area because it was normally dull and safe area. I
was an emotionally wreck part of that time I was patroling but I was Galaxy Patrol so I insisted I
was going to do my job. I tracked the pirates to a small moon. As I was coming around the moon
I came into the sun side and suddenly saw the pirates were docking with a space station there.
Coming from the dark side of the moon into the light so suddenly my eyes were dazzled and
caused the station to look a little like Soja's profile. I freaked and put the ship into maximum
overdrive. After I finally managed to calm down I found that I was many light years away from
where I had been. Needless to say the pirates got away.
As I was piloting back to where they had been I came across a star going super nova."
Mihoshi paused for a long moment and then added.
"I tried to pilot the ship into it."
It took everyone a few moments before the impact of Mihoshi's words made it into their brains.
"You tried to kill yourself Mihoshi?" Tenchi finally stuttered.
Mihoshi didn't look up from her staring at the floor but nodded her head.
"I couldn't take it anymore. I was in constant terror that I was going to run into Kagato again. I
couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat. I just wanted it to end!
But my grandfather had forseen that something like that might happen so he had the robotic unit
refuse to follow any orders that might lead to my death. The robotic unit turned the ship around
and started to take me straight back to my grandfather.
By the way Kiyone. This was before Yukinojo.
I went to a airlock to throw myself out into space but the robotic unit opened the door to my
living quarters as I walked by it and had the ship suddenly make a turn throwing me into my
room and then sealed it, trapping me inside."
Mihoshi paused and sipped the saki for a moment.
"My grandfather should have taken me to see the Police's psychiatrist but instead he was still
more concerned with how the news of what had happened to me would affect the Galaxy Police
organization so he refused to allow me to seek any mental help. After a few days though he
could not stand to see how badly I was doing so he asked me what I wanted."
Mihoshi dabbed at the tears in her eyes. "I told him that I just wanted to forget. To be able to just
not remember or relive what had been done to me."
Now it was Washu's turn to suck in a shocked breath. "You don't mean?"
Mihoshi nodded her head. "Yes. He sent me to a doctor he knew about. One he could be sure
would not let the story of what had been done to me get back to the Galaxy Police."
"How could he be certain this doctor would not tell anyone?" Ayeka asked quietly.
"The doctor was under investigation by the Galaxy Police for experimentation on sentient beings
and gross malpractice of medicine. Grandfather knew the last thing that doctor would do would
be to go a police officer and tell them about me. Grandfather assured the doctor that the
investigation would just disappear if he helped me. Dr. Xeverix agreed." Mihoshi told them with
her head hanging down so her long hair would hide her face.
"Dr. Xeverix?!" Kiyone yelled in shock.
Everyone glanced quickly at the kitchen door to see if the sudden shout would bring Sasami out
but the sounds of chopping vegetables continued.
Ryoko looked at Kiyone curiously. "You know this guy?"
"He was recently arrested. He had kidnapped a young woman from a planet to try some bizarre
medical treatment on and she turned out to be a very important official of the planet. I heard
about it in the last dispatch from Central. They say he is responsible for almost 32 missing
people."
"Well now you know the story Washu." Mihoshi said with a trace of bitterness in her voice. "I
went to the doctor and he botched the operation. Not only were my memories of Kagato and
Soja taken from me but my ability to concentrate or remember things I had just been told. My
career in the Patrol started to slide so my grandfather kept having me moved from location to
location to hide the problems I was having. He did do one thing for my benefit though. When he
realized that he no longer had to worry about me telling the story to anyone else, because I
couldn't even remember it any more, he had a partner assigned to me. Kiyone."
"I was your first partner?" Kiyone asked surprised.
"Yes. My first and only partner. When you suddenly asked to be transfered and went back to
Central to beg them on your hands and knees to let you escape from me, I was assigned a robotic
co-pilot again. Yukinojo. While I was patroling a area of space, waiting for you to come back
and get me after you got over your 'sickness' was when I got the call from Central that Kagato
might be in my area. My memories were cut off from me so deep, I didn't even recognize the
name and had to ask Yukinojo to fill me in on his criminal record." Mihoshi paused for a
moment.
"You knew that I had went back to Central to plead with them to reassign me?" Kiyone asked in
a shocked whisper.
"Not at the time. At the time I was good old simple Mihoshi. I just thought that you were telling
me the truth about being sick. It was only after Washu fixed the connections in my brain recently
that I started to put two and two together and figure out some things."
"But how come Kagato didn't recognize you when he attacked us?" Ryoko asked.
Mihoshi managed a very small shrug. "For one thing, with all the damage he had done to my
face and body and after the doctors patched me up. I looked slightly different than I did back
then. I also suppose that to Kagato...." Mihoshi almost sobbed as she said his name but continued
after a few breaths. "I suppose to him, it was no big deal and wasn't that memorable."
Washu standing behind the couch felt absolutely sick. Sick with rage at what Mihoshi's
grandfather had done to protect his precious Galaxy Police reputation. "I wish I could get my
hands on your grandfather Mihoshi! To think that anyone would do something like that to their
own flesh and blood!"
"Don't be too harsh on him Washu. He did what he thought was the right thing at the time."
Mihoshi said glancing back at Washu. "Besides, its not right for you to talk about your own flesh
and blood that way."
"Whaaaa?" Washu said in shock.
"Yes. You remember the son that was taken from you so very long ago? That was my
grandfather's great, great, great, etc. grandfather." Mihoshi replied.
Washu looked in shock at the young blond woman sitting in front of her. "Then that means.......
That means you are related to me as well!"
"Yes. Hi mega great grandmother." Mihoshi said quietly.
"But, but, but this can't be right!" Washu stuttered in shock.
"It is though and I can prove it. Its how I was able to always get past your locks on your lab back
when I was simple Mihoshi. I of course didn't know it at the time but I do now. The genetic
locks you put on the door to only allow yourself to pass? Well my family's genetics coming from
you are close enough to fool the lock. If you still don't believe check the medical readings you
took of me. Look at the DNA. You will see that we are related."
Washu prided herself on seeing all possibilities, all possible permutations of chance. It was one
of the things that made her the universe's greatest scientific genius but not even she could have
forseen that her baby that had been taken from her so very long ago, a one time student and a
ship she had created would all come together in such a horrible fashion as to result in the poor
broken blond woman if front of her now.
"I am so sorry that I wasn't there somehow to save you Mihoshi. I would have done anything to
have been awake and been able to help you." She said sadly.
"I'm glad to hear you say that Washu because I have a request now." Mihoshi said turning on the
couch to face her. "I want you to undo what you did to my brain. I want to go back to being
dumb, simple, 'she has a brain so small I'm surprised that Washu could find it to scan it',
Mihoshi."
Kiyone raised her hand to her mouth in shock. Mihoshi while she was asleep in Washu's
machine that day must have heard her.
Washu took a few steps back in shock herself. "I'm sorry Mihoshi but I can't do that! I am a
scientist! I took a vow to push back the curtains of ignorance every chance I got! To do what you
ask would be a gross misjustice!"
"Mihoshi you don't need for Washu to make you, um, simple again." Tenchi stated hesitantly.
"You know that Kagato is dead and that Soja is no more. He will never hurt you again and with
time and maybe some counseling you can move past the nightmares."
"I have already dealt with Kagato and those memories Tenchi. Oh I still have the bad memories
and occasionally break down but I know in my mind that you are right. Eventually I will get past
it all and be able to live in peace. But that is not why I want to go back to the way I was."
Mihoshi said glancing at him.
"Then why?" Washu asked.
"First. If my grandfather realizes that I have regain my thinking abilities and my memories he
will reassign me quickly so no one in the Patrol can find out about it. Even though Kagato is
destroyed, my grandfather did some pretty illegal and unorthodox things back then. He can't
allow that to come to light! I don't want to leave the earth. I don't want to leave my friends."
Mihoshi said looking down at the floor again.
"Let him try it! We now know about it and Jurai would definitely look unfavorably toward
someone like him!" Ayeka said angrily.
Washu watching Mihoshi closely realized that her grandfather was not the real thing bothering
Mihoshi. "What's the real reason you want to go back to 'simple' Mihoshi?'
Mihoshi replied so quietly they almost didn't hear her. "I want to go back to a time before I
realized that the most important person in my life hates me."
Kiyone looked at Mihoshi and then looked over at Tenchi. "Mihoshi? Tenchi doesn't hate you."
Tenchi jerked his head up in shock and looked over at Kiyone. "Kiyone she doesn't mean me!
She means you!"
"What? I am not the most important person in her life!" "Am I?" Kiyone asked Mihoshi.
Mihoshi just nodded her head slightly.
"I can't live with the fact any longer that the person I l.... Think of as my best friend can't stand
me." Mihoshi stuttered slightly.
Kiyone was in shock. "I don't hate you Mihoshi! We are friends! You sometimes used to make
me angry and frustrated but I never hated you!"
"But you don't feel the same way about me that I feel about you!" Mihoshi sobbed.
"I said we were friends!" Kiyone said and looked at everyone in desperation.
"Mihoshi means you don't love her." Washu finally spelled it out for the detective.
"LOVE? Mihoshi doesn't love me. She loves Tenchi!" Kiyone stated as she backed away from
the couch a short distance.
She could see Mihoshi shoulders as the blond started to sob pitifully.
Tenchi looked at Kiyone and shook his head. "I can't believe how dense you can sometimes be
Kiyone. Mihoshi has been in love with you for a long time. I saw it when you first arrived on the
earth. Remember? You came looking for her and when Mihoshi saw you, what was the first
thing she did? She grabbed you in a hug and started rubbing her cheek against yours. At the time
I thought maybe it was some kind of odd space greeting I didn't know about, but I noticed that
Mihoshi hadn't done that to anyone else before or since then."
"And what was it you said on that day?" Mihoshi with her shoulders slumped and without
looking up asked. "You said that when you had found out that I was still alive you were so mad.
You corrected yourself and added glad but you meant the first one. At the time I was just
'simple' Mihoshi so I didn't think anything of it but it stuck in my memory and once Washu
fixed my brain I started remembering all the other little slip ups and actions you did back then
and added them all up."
Kiyone looked miserable. Mihoshi was right. At the time she had hated her for being an obstacle
to her rise in the Galaxy Police.
"Do you want to know when I first started falling in love with you?" Mihoshi asked. She waited
a moment and then started speaking anyway when Kiyone didn't answer her.
"It was when we broke up that smugglers ring on the moon of Threala 3. Remember Kiyone?
You decided to attack the front door of their stronghold and sent me to the back. At the time
being 'simple' Mihoshi I thought it was because you wanted us to attack on two fronts but now I
know you just wanted me out of the way and figured I would never even find a backdoor. But I
did and was captured." Mihoshi paused.
Kiyone began to continue with the story. It was obvious to everyone in the room she was
remembering out loud. "After I finally broke down the front door I made my way into the
complex and rounding a corner I suddenly saw you hanging between two pillars. The punks had
tied your hands to some support pillars and had ripped open your blouse and was fondling your
breasts when I surprised them. They must have thought there was only one officer. You were just
hanging there. I couldn't tell if you were alive or dead..." Kiyone let her voice dwindle down.
"My conscious mind could not remember Kagato but my unconscious mind must have decided
what was happening to me was too close to what happened with Kagato and I passed out. When
I came to, I found all the smugglers dead in the room and you were holding me. You kept saying
over and over again that you were sorry and you would never leave me again. That you would
protect and be with me from that point on." Mihoshi said sadly.
"I was in shock. When I sent you off by yourself I almost got you killed. I wasn't even sure what
I was saying then." Kiyone nearly whispered.
Mihoshi nodded her head sadly. "I know that now but back then 'simple' Mihoshi thought
someone finally cared about her. Someone loved her.
It was only a month later that you convinced me to take my original ship and go on patrol while
you stayed behind at headquarters because you were 'sick'. Like I said earlier, I now know you
were there begging them to reassign you."
Kiyone opened and shut her mouth a few times without saying anything. How could she?
Mihoshi was again absolutely correct.
Mihoshi began speaking again. "When I got the call about Kagato my only thoughts were, I will
solve this problem fast and get back to Kiyone. Little did I know that Kiyone didn't want me to
get back. When I fell to earth and was rescued by Tenchi I will admit I was attracted a little to
him. He was the first male that didn't try to take advantage of me because I was 'simple'. But in
my heart, even being 'simple' Mihoshi, I knew who I loved."
Mihoshi took a deep breath and then turned to stare at Washu. "And now Washu I want to go
back to that. I want you to make me simple again. With my mind intact I know that Kiyone will
never love me but as simple Mihoshi I won't. Even if she someday succeeds and gets transfered I
will believe that she is only going to gone for a short time and will be back soon to be with me."
"I can't Mihoshi. Not only would it be wrong to do it. There is a danger that if I mess around in
that area of your mind again permant damage might result. It could even kill you! I am a genius
but the humanoid brain is a very fragile thing!" Washu explained sadly.
"I would almost welcome death than living and loving someone who doesn't love me back."
Mihoshi whispered.
Kiyone started to open her mouth to say something, anything to try and take away the pain she
could see that Mihoshi was in but was stopped when her and Mihoshi's police wrist
communicators went off suddenly.
Mihoshi glanced down at it and then said. "We have a report of pirates operating in this
planetary system. We have to go to work." She got up from the couch and started for the door
but then paused. "I will understand if you don't want to go with me Kiyone. I can handle this
myself."
"No. We are partners!" Kiyone said.
Mihoshi nodded her head sadly and added. "At least as Galaxy police officers anyway. And at
least for now." And then left the house to summon their space ship from orbit where it was
waiting.
Kiyone started to follow her out but was stopped by Tenchi as he grabbed her arm. "Take care of
Mihoshi Kiyone!"
Kiyone's face grew angry. "I don't need you to tell me that Tenchi! She is my partner and I will
protect her!"
A few moments later everyone in the house heard as the Yagami came down and a few moments
later took to the skies again.
"Where is Mihoshi and Kiyone?" Sasami said as she came out of the kitchen.
"They had a call." Ayeka told her sister.
Sasami looked everyone over curiously. She could tell they were all upset by something but she
didn't know what. "I will put their dinners in the oven and keep it warm for when they get back.
I hope they remember."
It was a solemn dinner that night. Sasami couldn't figure out what was causing the sadness in the
air but she knew she didn't like it. Yosho who had arrived from the shrine in time to see Mihoshi
and Kiyone leave aboard their ship didn't know what was going on either but he could sense the
heavy sadness in the air as easily as Sasami.
Even Ayeka and Ryoko acted differently that evening and didn't engage in their normal meal
arguments.
The only one who it seemed could not feel the tension and sadness in the air was Nobougki.
Tenchi's father continued to eat happily without noticing anything was amiss.
After dinner Sasami cleared the table and began to wash the dishes in the kitchen.
Ayeka feeling sad and depressed for Mihoshi picked up the crossword magazine and idly tried to
solve some of the clues.
"You know this just sucks!" Ryoko suddenly said out loud. "We all knew that Mihoshi had
feelings for Kiyone and I still think that Kiyone feels something for Mihoshi but she is just too
stubborn to say anything."
Tenchi looking around to make sure his father and grandfather had left on their evening walk
nodded his head. "Yeah. I think Kiyone cares as much about Mihoshi as Mihoshi does for her
but it will take something major for her to break down and admit it."
Washu sitting at the end of the table looked miserable and said. "I will reverse the healing I did
for Mihoshi if she asks me to again when she gets back."
Tenchi looked up sharply. "I thought you said it could be dangerous?"
"It can be but I can't leave Mihoshi unhappy like this! Its not fair to the girl after all she has been
through."
"Yes. Who knew that such a bubbly and cheerful young woman had been through such horrors?"
Ayeka said.
Tenchi nodded his head and started to say something but paused instead and then asked. "What
is that noise?"
Washu glancing up sharply listened for a moment. "Thats the Yagami's engines and they are
being pushed to the maximum!"
Everyone in the house raced outside and watched as the Yagami appeared in the night sky like a
falling star. At the last possible moment the landing rockets fired causing the ship to break to a
halt at the last possible moment.
As soon as the ship touched the ground the door was opening. Tenchi could see Kiyone framed
in the hatchway and even at a distance he could see she was almost hysterical.
"Washu! You have to help her Washu!!" She cried.
Running as hard as they could they reached the ship. "What happened?" Washu yelled as she
reached the hatch and saw Mihoshi lying motionless inside the ship. Washu pulled to a stop as
she saw a buzzing knife handle in the center of Mihoshi's forehead.
"We found a ship floating in space as though it was dead and after calling to it for several
minutes we docked with it and went on board." Kiyone managed to get out in between hysterical
sobs. "As soon as we were onboard we were attacked by pirates.
Mihoshi was amazing.
Between the two of us it looked like we would have the pirates beat but then their leader threw a
sonic knife at me. I knew I couldn't get out of the way in time but suddenly Mihoshi threw
herself in front of me, firing all the while. She got the leader but ended up taking the knife meant
for me herself. Is she going to be all right Washu?!" Kiyone sobbed.
"I don't know. The knife went deep into her brain but she is still breathing." Washu said as she
summoned her keyboard and typed on it with lightning fast fingers. "Ryoko! Take her to my lab
but make sure you keep the knife in phase with you and her the whole time! I maybe able to
remove it after I am sure it can't do any further damage!"
Ryoko nodded her head and picking up Mihoshi she disappeared.
Many hours later:
Sasami was sitting in her older sister's lap crying while Ryo ohki sat on the back of the couch
and meowed at her sadly. Tenchi was pacing back and forth nervously while Yosho sat in a
mediative pose calmly. "Tenchi. It will not help anything for you to make a nervous wreck out of
yourself." He said without opening his eyes.
Kiyone was sitting at the table staring straight ahead in shock.
"I don't know what I will do if she doesn't pull through this." Kiyone muttered.
"Why? It will be what you always wanted, won't it? Mihoshi will be out of the way and you can
go back to Galaxy Patrol headquarters with no problems at all." Ryoko barked at her.
Kiyone flinched as though she had been physically slapped.
"Ryoko!" Tenchi's voice broke the sudden stillness in the room.
"I realized tonight when I saw Mihoshi lying there on the floor of that ship with the knife stuck
in her how much she means to me. I realized that I would miss her in my life and I didn't know
what I would do if she was not there. I think I am in love with her." Kiyone looked at Ryoko
with tears in her eyes.
"Well isn't it a shame you didn't realize that before she threw herself in front of a knife for
you?!" Ryoko answered back sharply.
"Ryoko!! That's enough!!" Tenchi's voice cut through the room.
Ryoko glanced at Tenchi and then phased out and reappeared sitting in the rafters of the ceiling.
The door to Washu's lab suddenly opened and Washu came out. She didn't have a happy look on
her face.
"Is she okay?!" Kiyone asked as she leapt to her feet and raced to Washu's side.
"Well, yes and no." Washu answered her heavily. "I was able to remove the knife but there was
damage done. It is in the same general area as the botched surgery so long ago. I healed the
damage as best as I could but there seems to be some complications."
"Complications? What complications?! Is Mihoshi going to be all right?" Kiyone was
hysterically crying as she demanded an answer from Washu.
"Kiyone? What's wrong?" Mihoshi's voice called out from the doorway to Washu's lab.
Everyone in the room looked to the doorway and saw Mihoshi with a wide eyed innocent look
on her face rubbing her forehead. "I have such a headache! Did I trip and bump my head again? I
didn't break anything when I did, did I?" Mihoshi asked.
"No Mihoshi its okay. Why don't you sit down and watch tv for a while. I need to talk to the
others in the kitchen for a moment." Washu said gently and quietly as though she was talking to
a child.
"Um, okay." Mihoshi said with a large child like smile.
Everyone with many a look at the oblivious Mihoshi got up and filed into the kitchen except for
Ryo ohki who glancing up at Washu decided to stay and keep a eye on the woman.
As they shut the door to the kitchen Kiyone turned to Washu. "She's back to the way she was
three weeks ago isn't she?"
"Yes. I don't know if it will be permanent this time or if she will recover in a hour, a week or
months. Like I said out there, I fixed the damage done by the knife blade but her mind seems to
have retreated into itself. Its possible that she will recover completely." Washu gave a shrug. "Or
not at all. Only time will tell."
Outside in the living room Mihoshi got up and wandered over to the dinning table beside the
kitchen door. She was hungry and couldn't remember the last time she had ate. Sitting down at
the table she idly pulled the crossword magazine over to her and looking at it for a moment then
rapidly filled in the missing clues quickly and precisely. She looked at what she had done and
then frowned. Reaching up she massaged her forehead for a moment and when she took her
hand away, her eyes had gone from the wide eyed innocent happy look of a moment ago and was
back to being filled with infinite sadness. She had regained all her memories. All that was left to
do was let the others know and apply for reassignment. "Its the only thing I can do. I can't stay
with Kiyone knowing she doesn't care for me like I do for her and when my grandfather finds
out that my memories are back he'll be sure to reassign me somewhere far away from them all."
Mihoshi rose from the table and started to open the kitchen door. Inside she heard Kiyone crying
to Washu.
"I can't have this happen now! Not when I finally realize that I love her!" Kiyone was saying.
Sasami voice could be heard to ask. "What is the problem? Mihoshi is acting the way she always
has and I thought you two had told each other a long time ago that you loved each other?"
"Sasami?! You saw that Mihoshi was in love with me as well?" Kiyone asked in shock.
"Oh please! It is obvious to anyone who has ever seen you two together. Why else would
Mihoshi put up with someone who yells at her all the time?" Sasami reasoned. "And if you really
didn't want her with you, why didn't you ask to have her reassigned?"
Kiyone was shocked. Sasami was right. "All the times I applied for reassignment myself I never
once thought about asking to stay and have Mihoshi reassigned! Is it possible that deep down I
knew a long time ago that I loved her?"
"What will you do now Kiyone?" Tenchi asked her.
"Well, after a officer is injured in the line of duty like Mihoshi was, she can request a medical
leave for a time. I think I will put the request in for both of us and go somewhere nice. And there
I will tell her how I feel."
Mihoshi took her hand off of the kitchen door and walked back to the couch.
She thought long and hard and with a effort put the happy vacant look back on her face. Hearing
a disapproving meow she glanced up to see Ryo ohki watching her.
"I will tell them eventually Ryo ohki that I have all my memories back but if it gets back to my
grandfather he'll have me moved. Please don't tell them! At least let me have a trip with Kiyone
first."
Ryo ohki meowed again and it sounded slightly less disapproving.
"I won't hide it from Kiyone. I promise. I'll tell her as soon as we are where we are going for my
medical leave."
Ryo ohki smiled and meowed affirmatively.
Inside the kitchen Ayeka was suggesting vacation spots to Kiyone for them to spend their
recuperation leave at. "There is a lovely planet. Juron 2. It would be perfect place for you two to
explore your feelings for each other."
"Juron 2? But that is the vacation planet for members or friends of Jurai royalty! We can't go
there!" Kiyone protested.
"And why not? I do happen to be Juraian royalty and you both are very good friends of mine!
This is the off time for Juraian royalty to take vacations so you two will have the entire planet to
yourselves." Ayeka said with finality.
"Thank you princess. I will always be in your debt for this." Kiyone bowed to her.
"Nonsense! Just make sure you treat Mihoshi right. That is all I ask."
"Hey Princess. That was very nice of you." Ryoko said in surprise and put her arm around
Ayeka's shoulder.
"Yes, well don't expect that you will be allowed to go there any time soon Ryoko!" Ayeka said
and then pushed open the kitchen door and walked out.
Ryoko glanced over to Washu. "You know I was this close to liking her for a moment." Ryoko
said holding her fingers a inch apart.
As everyone left the kitchen and Kiyone told Mihoshi they were going on a vacation for a short
time, Washu glanced down at the dinning room table and noticed the now filled out crossword
magazine. Picking it up she examined it and noticed that the filled in answers were in Mihoshi's
handwriting. The answers were filled out in a neat precise hand and every one of them were correct.
Washu frowned and looked over to where Mihoshi was enthusiastically hugging Kiyone. Washu
saw Mihoshi glance at her and give her just the tiniest of winks before she started telling Kiyone
all the things they could do on their vacation in her 'simple' Mihoshi ramble.
Washu rolled up the magazine and started to go back to her lab. In her mind she was thinking
about contacting her distant relative, Mihoshi's grandfather and let him know in no uncertain
terms that Mihoshi's life was now her own to run and to keep his hands off of it.
The End.