Here goes my attempt at a second chapter. I hope it keeps you hooked (if you even were to begin with!)! Read and Enjoy. I do not own Tenchi.

Tenchi After Tokyo

Chapter Two: Come Tiptoe to my Window

Ayeka woke up extra early the next morning. She slipped most quietly out of the house, afraid Sasami's most sensitive ears would awaken her. Stepping into the bright morning sunshine, she began her journey towards the Masaki temple. In all honesty, Ayeka wasn't planning on doing anything in particular. She just wanted a chance to get away from everything for a few hours, just to be by herself and get the chance to stop and smell the roses.

The birds had begun their gentle chirping by the time Ayeka had reached the temple. She sat outside on the front steps for the longest time, just daydreaming. As she sat and thought, she felt a warm, soft body rubbing up against her legs. Thinking this creature might be something harmful, Ayeka jumped up, quite alarmed.

"What!?" she cried, but when she looked down, she saw a most peculiar sight. Beneath her was a gorgeous brown and white cabbit, about the same size as Ryo-Ohki, adorned with a glittering green collar about its neck.

Ayeka's eyes brightened when she saw the animal. "Oh how adorable!" she said as she picked it up. It began to purr as it lay in her arms.

"Where's your owner, little fellow?"

The cabbit purred even more, then hopped out of Ayeka's arms and onto the cobblestone walk-way. It looked up at Ayeka most hopefully with clear, purple eyes, and seemed to be asking her to follow it.

"Okay, I'm coming," she said, chasing after the animal. The cabbit led her away from the temple and through the forest. Eventually, when the sun was high in the sky, they reached a small clearing with a trickling stream running down from a rock cliff in the northern corner. It was a most beautiful sight to behold. Ayeka had never seen so many different kinds of flowers and shrubs, all in full bloom, the sweet aroma of weigela and jasmine spicing the air.

The cabbit skipped merrily through the plants up to the stream, which he sat under. The cool, wetness probably felt quite good on a day as hot as this one was.

Ayeka sighed with merry thoughts buzzing through her mind. "Maybe I will bring Tenchi here tomorrow afternoon for a picnic lunch," she said happily. Sinking down into the very depths of the glamorous flowers, she thought of how good it seemed just to be alive.

Ayeka drifted off to sleep for a while, but was slowly awakened by a gentle touch to her face. "Tenchi?" she murmured as she began to open her eyes. The person stroked her hair and held her head in his arms. It just felt right for Ayeka to be there, the person's caress so calming, the sound of the wind and the water so soothing. She didn't seem to have a care in the world, and what a great feeling it was.

"Tenchi.?" she asked again, looking up at the person whose arms she was in, and the sight greatly surprised her. The man was definitely not Tenchi. Actually, Ayeka had no idea who he was.

The man's thick brown hair hung loosely around his face, somewhat covering his soft, amber eyes. A worn, baggy school uniform concealed his strong shoulders and arms. Although considerably taller, he seemed to be about the same age as Tenchi.

Ayeka jumped up and took a step away from the man. "What? Who are you?" she asked, afraid of what she may have gotten herself into.

The man stood from his spot in the flowers. "Please forgive me, miss," he answered reassuringly. "Menishu, my cabbit, came to me not that long ago and led me to this spot. I saw you lying there and I thought you had fainted. I was only trying to give you head support and to awaken you."

"Oh!" Ayeka exclaimed, almost embarrassed for what she had said so rudely. "Thank you very much for your kindness, but I was just resting. My name is Ayeka." She bowed at the end, showing her Jurain courtesy.

"Yes, my name is Shindoji, Shindoji Mursuka." There was an awkward silence.

"So, Mr. Mursuka," Ayeka began.

"Just Shindoji, please."

"Alright. Shindoji, what brings you this far away from everything?"

Shindoji smiled. His smile was warm and sincere. It made Ayeka's heart jump. "Actually, I come to this spring a lot. The water here is the purest around, and it is such a good place to just relax and think." He paused to snap his fingers for his cabbit, Menishu, who jumped up into his arms. "What about you, Miss Ayeka? Did you come here to relax as well?"

Ayeka laughed. "No, I have never been to this place before. I live with some friends just down in the valley there, and your cabbit led me here."

Menishu nuzzled up into his master's chest. "Then it must be fate for us to have met." Ayeka nearly laughed again, but she saw the serious look on Shindoji's face and decided against it.

Shindoji saw the confused gestures Ayeka was sending and decided to explain. "You see, Ayeka, this is not an ordinary animal. This cabbit is hundreds of years old."

"Excuse me?" Ayeka asked.

"Yes. This animal has a certain history to it, or a legend, perhaps. It is said that Menishu has extraordinary abilities for a creature of its stature."

Ayeka watched Shindoji's face turn cold and serious as he told her the legend of his cabbit.

"I have been told that this animal is much like a fortune teller. What Menishu sets cannot be foregone. He is destiny. He is the very essence of hopes and dreams, and is the one who delivers them to us. We were destined to meet today, for reasons only he knows, but whatever they were, they had to have been spectacular for him to have brought us here of all places." Then Shindoji's face regained its warmth and twisted into a bright smile. "Or at least that is what legend says," he laughed.

For some reason, Ayeka couldn't help but believe him. "So then, how did you find all these things out?" she asked, curious to know more about this mysterious cabbit.

"Actually, my grandmother used to tell me that as a bedtime story when I was smaller. She said if I ever found the cabbit named Menishu with a collar of emerald, eyes of amethyst, and a coat of the earth and the clouds, to keep him with me always, for he would bring good luck."

"Oh." Ayeka took in a deep breath.

"Obviously he brought me more luck than I could have hoped for, for he brought me to you," Shindoji said. His tone seemed so genuine, and Ayeka felt so comfortable with him.

Ayeka just smiled and didn't say anything. "What is wrong with me?" she thought to herself. "I have just met this guy and I already have butterflies in my stomach!"

While Ayeka was lost in thought, Shindoji just gazed at her forever with wide eyes. "Miss Ayeka," he said, "I think it would be best if I go now. The sun is setting and we both have a long way home."

"Hmm.. Yes, of course. I hope to see you again, Shindoji," Ayeka called, waving to him as he turned back to the forest.

"We will, Ayeka. I'm sure of it."

* * *

Ayeka got home just in time for dinner that night, and many questions arose about her sudden disappearance.

"Ayeka! We were so worried about you when you didn't show up for breakfast. Tenchi even went to look for you!" Sasami exclaimed.

Mihoshi stood up from her spot at the table. "Yeah, Ayeka! Where were you?"

"I'm sorry," Ayeka began, "but I was just so caught up in the moment. I sort of fell asleep on a hillside of flowers, and that's pretty much it." She decided that it might have been better to keep Shindoji a secret for the time being. Ayeka didn't want everyone nagging her on how she was such a fool to go off and sit in the woods, far away from home, chatting with some stranger she had never even met. No, Ayeka did NOT like to be lectured.

"Well that's fine, Ayeka," said little Washu, "but you should try to be more responsible. We worried about you all day."

"Yeah, sure we did," Ryoko grumbled, throwing a chewed chicken bone across the table.

Dinner was somewhat quiet once again, except for the incessant purr of Ryo- Ohki, who was lying in Sasami's lap. Tenchi and Washu had their own little conversation about all the thousands of ways Washu had found that would make carrot picking easier.

"But I don't want to get electrocuted!" Tenchi would try to tell her.

Washu sneered at him from across the table. "Well, that would be a shame, but I promise you, my inventions are top class!"

After dinner, and when everything was all cleaned up, the entire gang ran into the living room to watch television. They were all greatly disappointed, however, when they arrived to find Mihoshi already had the remote and was watching yet another episode of Space Police Policemen. Sasami sat down with Mihoshi to watch the show while everyone else went outside to sit under the cherry blossoms.

Ryoko snuggled closely to Tenchi out on the front porch. Everyone else had gone to catch fireflies by the pond, and Ryoko took this as an opportunity she couldn't afford to miss.

Tenchi noticed Ryoko's friendly nature appear once again, but didn't say anything. He sat rigid and tight, completely uncomfortable with her nuzzling deep into his side. Ryoko, however, felt very comfortable indeed, and was unaware of any worries Tenchi had.

"Ryoko." Tenchi whispered.

"Yes, my dear Tenchi?" Ryoko answered in her softest voice. Her luck was overwhelming her. She felt like she was full of naught but burning desire.

"You're bruising my shoulder," he said.

"Oh!" Ryoko backed off. "Well, there came that danged waterfall to drown out my candle of love," she thought to herself.

Night fell over the Masaki home. Everyone was asleep except for Ayeka. She had wanted to stay awake a little longer to read for a while, and went to do so downstairs in the spare bedroom, so she wouldn't wake anyone up. Ayeka was reading one of Tenchi's math and algebra books, trying to find what he found so interesting about them, for he had his nose buried in school tablets half of the time he was home.

"I don't get it," she said to herself. "If A equals 4 B and C equals -6/8 A, than what would C be equal to if B is twenty-nine? There's nothing great about this stuff. It's just a bunch of letters and numbers!" Ayeka threw the book to the floor. "I don't know what Tenchi sees in you!" she yelled at it angrily.

After reading all of Tenchi's confusing books from school, Ayeka had a hard time going back to sleep. She stared through the small, narrow window of the guest bedroom, out past the lake and into the dense forest beyond. "What made me trust Shindoji so?" she said to herself, thinking of all the strange events that had taken place earlier that day. As Ayeka let her mind wander, she slowly began to close her eyes, and fall asleep.

Before Ayeka could really drift off, her ears perked to a melodic tune from somewhere outside. "Oh come and tiptoe, to my window, through the tulips, that's where I'll be," came a rich voice from outside. Ayeka opened her weary eyes and peered out of the window. Across the lake was a large, dark figure, walking towards the house. As he came closer, Ayeka could see a big bouquet of wildflowers within his hands.

"Come tiptoe, through the tulips, with me," sang out the voice. The man stopped upon the waters edge for mere moment, the moonlight shining upon his messy brown hair and cheerful eyes. It didn't take Ayeka long to figure out who this man was.

"Shindoji!" she exclaimed, watching him, followed by his cabbit, Menishu, draw ever nearer to her very window.

Mwuahhahahahaaa! It is alive! My creation, it's alive! Alright, I know, I am creepy (but in a warm and fuzzy sort of way, doncha think?). Anyway, thanx for taking the effort to continue reading. I hope you like my mini cliff hanger. Please review my fic, and I'm sorry if I'm wavering off the original storyline, as far as characters and such goes. I thought I might spice it up a bit!