Chapter 1 - Tenchi and Sasami
Tenchi slowed the car for the turn up the drive to the house. He thought briefly about the many times he'd waited for the school bus at just this spot. And now, here he was driving past as a grown man, his education complete and his entire life ahead of him.
The progression had seemed so natural and effortless that the time had passed in a blur. Even now, Tenchi could scarcely believe that his years of schooling and training and apprenticeship were over and that next to him on the seat was his own framed certification; he was a full-fledged architect.
Nobuyuki had been happy and proud when Tenchi decided to follow his footsteps into architecture. Tenchi had always had a knack for drawing and a love of beautiful structures and shapes; it was an easy decision to make.
Tenchi sighed. Once he'd completed high school, he set about finding a college to attend. The girls all assumed he'd attend the nearby university and that their lives would go on much as they had before. But, at his father's suggestion, he'd applied to Tokyo University, not really expecting to pass the entrance exams.
He hadn't told anyone about applying there; only his father and grandfather knew. To get away to Tokyo without the girls tagging along, he used the pretext of going with his father to check the construction of a building. He felt bad about lying to them, but he really didn't feel like he had a choice.
When the time came to return to check the exam results, Tenchi didn't know which would be worse: being accepted or being rejected.
Tenchi and Nobuyuki had been waiting side by side in the courtyard along with hundreds of other hopefuls. Nobuyuki seemed very calm - almost too calm. "Aren't you nervous, dad?" Tenchi asked him.
"Oh, no," he replied. "Not at all. After all, I'm not the one who's trying to get into the best university in the country. And, anyway, even if you don't get in here, you've already been accepted at my old school." Nobuyuki smiled reassuringly at Tenchi. Tenchi returned a wan smile of his own.
"Besides, son," Nobuyuki continued. "It's if you do get in that you're going to really have problems! Explaining to those girls that you're going to be away for several months each year. I don't envy you that chore!" Nobuyuki chuckled.
Tenchi sighed heavily, his shoulders slumping. He'd been thinking about just that more and more and as yet he had no good answer. He was afraid they'd hate him or maybe even follow him to Tokyo, getting in the way of his school work. Just last week he'd awoken in a cold sweat after dreaming that Washu had rigged up a sub-space doorway connecting the Okayama house to his dorm room, giving the girls unlimited access and stripping him completely of any privacy. He shuddered now just thinking about it.
"Looks like this is it, Tenchi!" Nobuyuki said excitedly. Tenchi looked up and saw that the scores were being posted on the boards set up for that purpose on the courtyard. There was a surge forward, the crowd moving as one to see their results.
Tenchi didn't move, he just looked at the boards.
"Go ahead, son." Nobuyuki said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "No matter what, we'll work it out."
Tenchi smiled gratefully at his father and began to move forward toward the crowd. Over the heads of those in front of him, he could see the people closest to the board reacting with excitement or disappointment as they found their scores. They streamed away on either side of him, smiling broadly and clapping each other on the back or shuffling dejectedly away with their heads hanging.
Nobuyuki watched Tenchi move forward and reach the boards. He saw Tenchi scan quickly then stop and turn and walk back toward him. His expression wasn't happy.
When Tenchi reached him, Nobuyuki put his hands on Tenchi's shoulders and said, "I'm sorry, Tenchi. But not getting in Tokyo University isn't the end of the world."
Tenchi looked up at his father, his expression bleak. "You don't understand, dad," he said. "I did get in."
Nobuyuki nodded. "I think we should talk to your grandfather."
The went up to the shrine as soon as they got back and, after explaining the situation, the first words out of Katsuhito's mouth were, "I think we should talk to Washu." Before long, all four of them were sitting around the table in the shrine office.
"So, what's the problem?" Washu asked as they all settled.
"Tenchi has a problem," Katsuhito said. "He needs the help of every one of us to solve it."
They all turned and looked at Tenchi, who said simply, "I was accepted into Tokyo University."
"Wow! That's great Tenchi! My little guinea pig is going to the best school in Japan!" Washu cackled with delight. Then her expression turned thoughtful and she put a finger to the side of her jaw. "Oh, wait," she said, "the girls."
Katsuhito and Nobuyuki nodded gravely. "Do you see the dilemma?" Katsuhito asked.
"Oh, I sure do! They'll be absolutely impossible to live with if they only see Tenchi every few weeks!" Washu gestured and her computer terminal appeared before her. "I think though," she said, concentrating on the display, her fingers almost a blur. "That I can make a portable dimension gate that can link the house here in Okayama with Tenchi's room in Tokyo. The girls could see him whenever-"
"Oh no!" Tenchi cried, lunging for the terminal. "That's not the problem at all!" Tenchi passed cleanly through the terminal and, with a cry, fell full length onto the floor, his arms stretched on either side of Washu's hips where she sat and his face nestled firmly in her lap. Tenchi craned his neck upward, his mouth twisted in a grimace of embarrassment. Washu looked down at him, smirking, her eyebrow quirked.
"Oh, M-M-M-Miss Washu!" Tenchi stammered. "I'm s-s-s-"
"Tenchi," Washu said with a soft, lilting note. She reached down and placed a hand on his cheek. "Does this mean you're ready to give me that sample I need? I can go get changed..."
Tenchi froze for a moment, his mouth open and eyes wide with shock and fear. Then he leaped up and darted away, pressing his back into a nearby corner, his look that of a trapped animal.
"Tenchi, stop fooling around. This is serious," Nobuyuki said to him.
"Yes, sit down and pay attention, boy." Katsuhito took a sip from his tea.
Tenchi cautiously approached the table and resumed his seat. He reached down for his cup of tea and noticed as he raised it that his hand was shaking. He glanced at Washu, who smiled and winked broadly. Tenchi gulped and set his tea back down.
"Now," Katsuhito began. "If everyone is settled, perhaps we can continue. Miss Washu, I think it's clear that Tenchi doesn't want the girls to be able to visit him all the time. I think we can all see that would be a bad idea."
"I'll never get any peace at all," Tenchi said.
"Hmm," Washu said, drumming her fingers on the table. "I see what you mean."
"What we need is a distraction," Nobuyuki said. "Something to keep their minds off Tenchi."
"It would be nice if they had something to do with their time other than fighting and getting into trouble," Tenchi said.
"Well, since you mention it," Washu began. "I was thinking it might be time to get my career back on track. Since I never resigned my chair at the Royal Space Academy, technically I'm still on the faculty and I can reassume my position at any time - tenure is a wonderful thing!"
"How does that help, Little Washu?" Tenchi asked.
"That's easy: as an Academy professor, my children automatically qualify to attend. I'm thinking it's time my Little Ryoko went back to school!"
"Oh, Little Washu, that's great!" Tenchi said enthusiastically.
"Hmm. While we're on the subject, Tenchi," Washu said. Something in her tone made Tenchi nervous.
"Yes-s-s-s..?" he asked hesitantly.
"Well, professors also have the right to sponsor one student. How would you like to go to the most prestigious school in the galaxy?" She batted her eyelashes, "With the prettiest professors..?"
"Well, uh..."
Washu leaned in and nudged him in the ribs with her elbow. "Come on Tenchi, what do you say? I think I might be able to arrange some extra credit assignments." She leaned forward, giving a revealing glimpse of her cleavage. "I'll even let you polish my apples...", she said.
Tenchi began to look around wildly, clearly searching for an escape route.
"Ahem." Katsuhito cleared his throat and Washu sat back down, smiling. "I think it would be best for everyone concerned if Tenchi went to school here on Earth, as planned. After all, if the goal is to get the youngsters to concentrate on their studies, putting them together at the Academy isn't going to help."
Washu's smile disappeared, she was clearly disappointed.
"I'm sorry Little Washu, but I agree with grandpa," Tenchi said. "And I guess I'm really looking forward to going to Tokyo University."
"What about Ayeka?" Nobuyuki asked.
"I think I might be able to help there," Katsuhito said. "Since it is the Royal Space Academy, the Jurai royal family is also automatically qualified to attend. I attended, once. It was... It was an experience I'll never forget." Washu looked at Katsuhito with an odd gleam in her eye, then her expression became briefly sad; she shook her head and it was gone.
"So," Katsuhito continued. "I think that with a message to Jurai, I might be able to arrange for Ayeka to attend Royal Space Academy. I'm sure that our parents would agree that a degree from the Academy would be in order."
"It's settled then!" Nobuyuki said happily. "Tenchi, you're going to Tokyo University! I'm so proud of you!"
Tokyo University had turned out to be surprisingly easy for Tenchi. Only a few classes had given him any trouble at all. He found that his mind quickly absorbed the concepts and used the rules and formulas to shape materials into beautiful structures and designs. He had entered several design contests and had done well in all of them, garnering honorable mention several times. This had led to a choice apprenticeship and to good offers from several firms.
He knew his student days were done. It hadn't seemed rushed or brief at the time, but now that was all over.
Tenchi stopped the car in front of the house, shut it off and sat for a moment, thinking. He decided he couldn't really see where all this was going right now, so he would just do what he always did: come up with a general idea and see where his life took him. He knew by now that life seldom let you follow through with detailed plans.
Grabbing his certificates to show everyone, he got out of the car and went to the door.
Sasami finished chopping and dumped the results into the pot. She dipped a spoon in the simmering broth and tentatively took a sip. Satisfied, she set the spoon down, turned the heat under the pot to low and began working on the fish cakes.
She was taking special care with dinner and happily making more than she had been making for a while. Tonight, for the first time in months, everyone would be here. Sasami smiled happily, excited to have the house full of the people who had become her family.
It had been a few weeks since the incident with poor Ken. Sasami had looked him up once or twice, but he didn't seem interested in seeing her any more. It was just as well; she really wouldn't have time for a boyfriend with everyone coming out for the summer.
It was also just as well because Sasami had less time for a boyfriend because of Tsunami. Since the incident at Funaho, they had been spending more and more time with each other.
As she and Sasami had grown closer, Tsunami's avatar, which had once been little more than a phantom, had become more substantial. Now it was nearly indistinguishable from Sasami herself. Tsunami projected her avatar and she and Sasami might sit in the sun and throw rocks into the pond or walk through the forest kicking leaves and looking at the birds. They'd nap cuddled up together in the afternoon, Tsunami holding Sasami or sometimes Sasami holding Tsunami.
Other times, Tsunami was just a presence in Sasami's mind. At first, Sasami found it distracting and bothersome; it was a lot like having someone looking over her shoulder all the time and sometimes commenting on what was happening. But before too long it was more like sitting very close to a friend in a movie theater, talking quietly about what they were watching. It got so that Sasami felt a little lonely when Tsunami wasn't there. But that was less and less of the time now.
When she first understood the idea of merging with Tsunami, Sasami had been absolutely terrified; afraid she'd lose herself in a personality most considered a goddess. She couldn't imagine what it would be like to be the tiny person that was Sasami in the vastness of Tsunami; overwhelmed to the point of nonexistence.
But, so far, the whole experience had been positive. She felt closer to Tsunami than she even did to Ayeka. And she still found that if she wanted to, she could close herself off so that Tsunami wasn't with her.
Sasami realized that she had finished the preparation; all that remained were the things she needed to do just before serving. She glanced at the clock and decided she had a little time before the others arrived.
"Time enough for a quick bath!" She wiped her hands on a towel and hung her apron. Humming to herself, she left the kitchen and went to the onsen. She was hanging up her clothes and getting ready to scrub when she realized that she wasn't alone.
"Tsunami!" she said happily, as Tsunami entered the onsen and closed the door behind her. "Good. You can scrub my back."
"That was the idea," Tsunami said, smiling.
Tenchi entered the house, saying, "I'm home!" as he took off his shoes. He paused for a moment, listening. "Hmm, nothing. Something sure smells good, though. Actually, something smells like it's burning!"
He went into the kitchen, finding dinner mostly ready to go on the table and a pot of soup boiling over onto the stove. He turned the burner down to low and soup settled back into the pot. "That's odd," he said. "Sasami!"
Hearing nothing, he made a quick check of the rest of the house; including knocking on her door. He found himself back in the living room a couple minutes later, scratching his head.
"Well, I guess there's only one more place she could be." Tenchi considered for a moment and decided that if he was careful he could still fetch Sasami out of the onsen while respecting her privacy.
He went to the onsen and opened the door, not looking in. "Sasami!" he called. All he heard was the rush of water. He sighed and stepped in.
Looking down at his feet, he walked gingerly into the onsen and turned the corner to the bathing area. He heard the murmur of voices over the water. Stopping and carefully looking down, he cleared his throat and said, "Sasami..?"
"Tenchi!" he heard Sasami say.
"Hi Tenchi!" he heard her say again - from a different place.
Forgetting himself in his confusion, Tenchi looked up and saw two of Sasami. "Sasami? What..?"
"Oh, sorry Tenchi," one of them said, smiling. "Tsunami is with me."
The other Sasami - Tsunami - waved and smiled.
Then Tenchi realized that, while Sasami had begun to look more and more like Tsunami as she grew up, now the resemblance had became uncanny. Sasami and Tsunami looked enough alike to be indistinguishable. Tenchi looked back and forth, searching for some difference between them and failing.
And then he realized that they were in the middle of scrubbing. They were naked and wet and covered with soap suds.
"Woah! Sasami - Tsunami! I'm sorry!" Tenchi began to back toward the door. "I just came in tell you that I was home and that you left the soup on high and it boiled over. Sorry to intrude!"
"Tenchi, it's okay!" Tsunami called. But, even as she spoke, Tenchi turned to leave and slipped, banging his head on the open door - hard. He reared back off balance, his arms windmilling, then fell flat on his back and didn't move.
"Oh, no!" Sasami yelled.
"Tenchi!" Tsunami shouted.
Both jumped up and hurried over to Tenchi, kneeling on either side of him. Tenchi moaned quietly; there was a gash on his forehead that was starting to bleed.
"Oh Tenchi," Sasami said. "Do you think he'll be okay, Tsunami?"
Tsunami put her hand on Tenchi's head. "He'll be fine," she said. "I think I'd better go for now. And you'd better put something on." Sasami nodded as Tsunami disappeared. Then she felt Tsunami settle into her mind.
Sasami looked down at Tenchi and as she did she felt a strong spark of emotion from Tsunami.
'Tsunami? You feel something about Tenchi, don't you?' she asked.
'Yes, Sasami. He's absolutely wonderful. Don't you think so?'
'Huh. Well, Tenchi's really nice, but he's more like a big brother to me. I really don't think of him that way.'
Sasami sensed Tsunami laughing. She wrapped herself in a towel, then took a small towel and went to the kitchen for some ice. Returning to the onsen, she gingerly put the ice on Tenchi's forehead; noticing that it was already swelling and turning black and blue.
Tenchi was starting to wake up and he hissed and flinched when he felt the ice pressed up against his head. "Sasami?" he said.
"Yes, it's me, Tenchi. Are you okay?"
"I guess I'll be all right. I'm sorry; I didn't mean to peep," he said.
Sasami giggled. "It's all right, Tenchi. Really. No harm done!"
"Thank you, Sasami. Is Tsunami still here?"
"Not like she was when you came in, but she's still with me."
Tenchi took the ice from Sasami and held it himself, sitting up slowly. "What's that like?" he asked, looking at her.
Sasami shrugged. "Well...", she began, looking up in thought.
"At first I was scared. I thought I'd just disappear, that Tsunami would be here and I'd be gone. But it's not like that. It's more like having a close friend who's with me almost all the time. But it's more than that, too.
"When she started spending time with me - inside my head, I mean, not when she's physically here - I'd get tired fast and sometimes I'd get headaches. But that stopped and now I miss her when she's not there. It was sort of like breaking in new shoes, I guess. The more you wear them the more comfortable they feel until you don't even know you have them on.
"Does that make sense?", she asked.
"Well, sort of, I guess," Tenchi replied. "You two look identical now, did you know that? I didn't really realize it until I saw you next to each other." Tenchi smiled, "Uh... Sorry about that."
Sasami giggled again. "I told you it's okay! Stop apologizing."
"We do look alike, I know," she continued. "I don't know if that's because of the assimilation or if I was always going to look like this. Tsunami doesn't know, either."
"Tsunami doesn't know?" Tenchi asked in surprise.
"No, Tenchi," Sasami said patiently. "Tsunami doesn't know everything. She doesn't even know everything about herself. She and I may be like this just by luck or maybe I'm some a part of her that's been missing for a long time. We don't know, and I don't think we care. It's just nice to have each other."
"It's nice for Tsunami, too," she continued. "An avatar isn't like a real person; they can't feel and taste and smell the same way we can. Everything is dimmer and weaker. So I spend a lot of time touching things and smelling and tasting them for Tsunami. I think I might be getting fat!" She patted her backside to emphasize her point.
"It didn't look that way from where I was standing," Tenchi said.
Sasami smiled and patted him on the face. Then she said, "Tsunami asked me to do this."
And she leaned forward and kissed him on the mouth.
Tenchi slowed the car for the turn up the drive to the house. He thought briefly about the many times he'd waited for the school bus at just this spot. And now, here he was driving past as a grown man, his education complete and his entire life ahead of him.
The progression had seemed so natural and effortless that the time had passed in a blur. Even now, Tenchi could scarcely believe that his years of schooling and training and apprenticeship were over and that next to him on the seat was his own framed certification; he was a full-fledged architect.
Nobuyuki had been happy and proud when Tenchi decided to follow his footsteps into architecture. Tenchi had always had a knack for drawing and a love of beautiful structures and shapes; it was an easy decision to make.
Tenchi sighed. Once he'd completed high school, he set about finding a college to attend. The girls all assumed he'd attend the nearby university and that their lives would go on much as they had before. But, at his father's suggestion, he'd applied to Tokyo University, not really expecting to pass the entrance exams.
He hadn't told anyone about applying there; only his father and grandfather knew. To get away to Tokyo without the girls tagging along, he used the pretext of going with his father to check the construction of a building. He felt bad about lying to them, but he really didn't feel like he had a choice.
When the time came to return to check the exam results, Tenchi didn't know which would be worse: being accepted or being rejected.
Tenchi and Nobuyuki had been waiting side by side in the courtyard along with hundreds of other hopefuls. Nobuyuki seemed very calm - almost too calm. "Aren't you nervous, dad?" Tenchi asked him.
"Oh, no," he replied. "Not at all. After all, I'm not the one who's trying to get into the best university in the country. And, anyway, even if you don't get in here, you've already been accepted at my old school." Nobuyuki smiled reassuringly at Tenchi. Tenchi returned a wan smile of his own.
"Besides, son," Nobuyuki continued. "It's if you do get in that you're going to really have problems! Explaining to those girls that you're going to be away for several months each year. I don't envy you that chore!" Nobuyuki chuckled.
Tenchi sighed heavily, his shoulders slumping. He'd been thinking about just that more and more and as yet he had no good answer. He was afraid they'd hate him or maybe even follow him to Tokyo, getting in the way of his school work. Just last week he'd awoken in a cold sweat after dreaming that Washu had rigged up a sub-space doorway connecting the Okayama house to his dorm room, giving the girls unlimited access and stripping him completely of any privacy. He shuddered now just thinking about it.
"Looks like this is it, Tenchi!" Nobuyuki said excitedly. Tenchi looked up and saw that the scores were being posted on the boards set up for that purpose on the courtyard. There was a surge forward, the crowd moving as one to see their results.
Tenchi didn't move, he just looked at the boards.
"Go ahead, son." Nobuyuki said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "No matter what, we'll work it out."
Tenchi smiled gratefully at his father and began to move forward toward the crowd. Over the heads of those in front of him, he could see the people closest to the board reacting with excitement or disappointment as they found their scores. They streamed away on either side of him, smiling broadly and clapping each other on the back or shuffling dejectedly away with their heads hanging.
Nobuyuki watched Tenchi move forward and reach the boards. He saw Tenchi scan quickly then stop and turn and walk back toward him. His expression wasn't happy.
When Tenchi reached him, Nobuyuki put his hands on Tenchi's shoulders and said, "I'm sorry, Tenchi. But not getting in Tokyo University isn't the end of the world."
Tenchi looked up at his father, his expression bleak. "You don't understand, dad," he said. "I did get in."
Nobuyuki nodded. "I think we should talk to your grandfather."
The went up to the shrine as soon as they got back and, after explaining the situation, the first words out of Katsuhito's mouth were, "I think we should talk to Washu." Before long, all four of them were sitting around the table in the shrine office.
"So, what's the problem?" Washu asked as they all settled.
"Tenchi has a problem," Katsuhito said. "He needs the help of every one of us to solve it."
They all turned and looked at Tenchi, who said simply, "I was accepted into Tokyo University."
"Wow! That's great Tenchi! My little guinea pig is going to the best school in Japan!" Washu cackled with delight. Then her expression turned thoughtful and she put a finger to the side of her jaw. "Oh, wait," she said, "the girls."
Katsuhito and Nobuyuki nodded gravely. "Do you see the dilemma?" Katsuhito asked.
"Oh, I sure do! They'll be absolutely impossible to live with if they only see Tenchi every few weeks!" Washu gestured and her computer terminal appeared before her. "I think though," she said, concentrating on the display, her fingers almost a blur. "That I can make a portable dimension gate that can link the house here in Okayama with Tenchi's room in Tokyo. The girls could see him whenever-"
"Oh no!" Tenchi cried, lunging for the terminal. "That's not the problem at all!" Tenchi passed cleanly through the terminal and, with a cry, fell full length onto the floor, his arms stretched on either side of Washu's hips where she sat and his face nestled firmly in her lap. Tenchi craned his neck upward, his mouth twisted in a grimace of embarrassment. Washu looked down at him, smirking, her eyebrow quirked.
"Oh, M-M-M-Miss Washu!" Tenchi stammered. "I'm s-s-s-"
"Tenchi," Washu said with a soft, lilting note. She reached down and placed a hand on his cheek. "Does this mean you're ready to give me that sample I need? I can go get changed..."
Tenchi froze for a moment, his mouth open and eyes wide with shock and fear. Then he leaped up and darted away, pressing his back into a nearby corner, his look that of a trapped animal.
"Tenchi, stop fooling around. This is serious," Nobuyuki said to him.
"Yes, sit down and pay attention, boy." Katsuhito took a sip from his tea.
Tenchi cautiously approached the table and resumed his seat. He reached down for his cup of tea and noticed as he raised it that his hand was shaking. He glanced at Washu, who smiled and winked broadly. Tenchi gulped and set his tea back down.
"Now," Katsuhito began. "If everyone is settled, perhaps we can continue. Miss Washu, I think it's clear that Tenchi doesn't want the girls to be able to visit him all the time. I think we can all see that would be a bad idea."
"I'll never get any peace at all," Tenchi said.
"Hmm," Washu said, drumming her fingers on the table. "I see what you mean."
"What we need is a distraction," Nobuyuki said. "Something to keep their minds off Tenchi."
"It would be nice if they had something to do with their time other than fighting and getting into trouble," Tenchi said.
"Well, since you mention it," Washu began. "I was thinking it might be time to get my career back on track. Since I never resigned my chair at the Royal Space Academy, technically I'm still on the faculty and I can reassume my position at any time - tenure is a wonderful thing!"
"How does that help, Little Washu?" Tenchi asked.
"That's easy: as an Academy professor, my children automatically qualify to attend. I'm thinking it's time my Little Ryoko went back to school!"
"Oh, Little Washu, that's great!" Tenchi said enthusiastically.
"Hmm. While we're on the subject, Tenchi," Washu said. Something in her tone made Tenchi nervous.
"Yes-s-s-s..?" he asked hesitantly.
"Well, professors also have the right to sponsor one student. How would you like to go to the most prestigious school in the galaxy?" She batted her eyelashes, "With the prettiest professors..?"
"Well, uh..."
Washu leaned in and nudged him in the ribs with her elbow. "Come on Tenchi, what do you say? I think I might be able to arrange some extra credit assignments." She leaned forward, giving a revealing glimpse of her cleavage. "I'll even let you polish my apples...", she said.
Tenchi began to look around wildly, clearly searching for an escape route.
"Ahem." Katsuhito cleared his throat and Washu sat back down, smiling. "I think it would be best for everyone concerned if Tenchi went to school here on Earth, as planned. After all, if the goal is to get the youngsters to concentrate on their studies, putting them together at the Academy isn't going to help."
Washu's smile disappeared, she was clearly disappointed.
"I'm sorry Little Washu, but I agree with grandpa," Tenchi said. "And I guess I'm really looking forward to going to Tokyo University."
"What about Ayeka?" Nobuyuki asked.
"I think I might be able to help there," Katsuhito said. "Since it is the Royal Space Academy, the Jurai royal family is also automatically qualified to attend. I attended, once. It was... It was an experience I'll never forget." Washu looked at Katsuhito with an odd gleam in her eye, then her expression became briefly sad; she shook her head and it was gone.
"So," Katsuhito continued. "I think that with a message to Jurai, I might be able to arrange for Ayeka to attend Royal Space Academy. I'm sure that our parents would agree that a degree from the Academy would be in order."
"It's settled then!" Nobuyuki said happily. "Tenchi, you're going to Tokyo University! I'm so proud of you!"
Tokyo University had turned out to be surprisingly easy for Tenchi. Only a few classes had given him any trouble at all. He found that his mind quickly absorbed the concepts and used the rules and formulas to shape materials into beautiful structures and designs. He had entered several design contests and had done well in all of them, garnering honorable mention several times. This had led to a choice apprenticeship and to good offers from several firms.
He knew his student days were done. It hadn't seemed rushed or brief at the time, but now that was all over.
Tenchi stopped the car in front of the house, shut it off and sat for a moment, thinking. He decided he couldn't really see where all this was going right now, so he would just do what he always did: come up with a general idea and see where his life took him. He knew by now that life seldom let you follow through with detailed plans.
Grabbing his certificates to show everyone, he got out of the car and went to the door.
Sasami finished chopping and dumped the results into the pot. She dipped a spoon in the simmering broth and tentatively took a sip. Satisfied, she set the spoon down, turned the heat under the pot to low and began working on the fish cakes.
She was taking special care with dinner and happily making more than she had been making for a while. Tonight, for the first time in months, everyone would be here. Sasami smiled happily, excited to have the house full of the people who had become her family.
It had been a few weeks since the incident with poor Ken. Sasami had looked him up once or twice, but he didn't seem interested in seeing her any more. It was just as well; she really wouldn't have time for a boyfriend with everyone coming out for the summer.
It was also just as well because Sasami had less time for a boyfriend because of Tsunami. Since the incident at Funaho, they had been spending more and more time with each other.
As she and Sasami had grown closer, Tsunami's avatar, which had once been little more than a phantom, had become more substantial. Now it was nearly indistinguishable from Sasami herself. Tsunami projected her avatar and she and Sasami might sit in the sun and throw rocks into the pond or walk through the forest kicking leaves and looking at the birds. They'd nap cuddled up together in the afternoon, Tsunami holding Sasami or sometimes Sasami holding Tsunami.
Other times, Tsunami was just a presence in Sasami's mind. At first, Sasami found it distracting and bothersome; it was a lot like having someone looking over her shoulder all the time and sometimes commenting on what was happening. But before too long it was more like sitting very close to a friend in a movie theater, talking quietly about what they were watching. It got so that Sasami felt a little lonely when Tsunami wasn't there. But that was less and less of the time now.
When she first understood the idea of merging with Tsunami, Sasami had been absolutely terrified; afraid she'd lose herself in a personality most considered a goddess. She couldn't imagine what it would be like to be the tiny person that was Sasami in the vastness of Tsunami; overwhelmed to the point of nonexistence.
But, so far, the whole experience had been positive. She felt closer to Tsunami than she even did to Ayeka. And she still found that if she wanted to, she could close herself off so that Tsunami wasn't with her.
Sasami realized that she had finished the preparation; all that remained were the things she needed to do just before serving. She glanced at the clock and decided she had a little time before the others arrived.
"Time enough for a quick bath!" She wiped her hands on a towel and hung her apron. Humming to herself, she left the kitchen and went to the onsen. She was hanging up her clothes and getting ready to scrub when she realized that she wasn't alone.
"Tsunami!" she said happily, as Tsunami entered the onsen and closed the door behind her. "Good. You can scrub my back."
"That was the idea," Tsunami said, smiling.
Tenchi entered the house, saying, "I'm home!" as he took off his shoes. He paused for a moment, listening. "Hmm, nothing. Something sure smells good, though. Actually, something smells like it's burning!"
He went into the kitchen, finding dinner mostly ready to go on the table and a pot of soup boiling over onto the stove. He turned the burner down to low and soup settled back into the pot. "That's odd," he said. "Sasami!"
Hearing nothing, he made a quick check of the rest of the house; including knocking on her door. He found himself back in the living room a couple minutes later, scratching his head.
"Well, I guess there's only one more place she could be." Tenchi considered for a moment and decided that if he was careful he could still fetch Sasami out of the onsen while respecting her privacy.
He went to the onsen and opened the door, not looking in. "Sasami!" he called. All he heard was the rush of water. He sighed and stepped in.
Looking down at his feet, he walked gingerly into the onsen and turned the corner to the bathing area. He heard the murmur of voices over the water. Stopping and carefully looking down, he cleared his throat and said, "Sasami..?"
"Tenchi!" he heard Sasami say.
"Hi Tenchi!" he heard her say again - from a different place.
Forgetting himself in his confusion, Tenchi looked up and saw two of Sasami. "Sasami? What..?"
"Oh, sorry Tenchi," one of them said, smiling. "Tsunami is with me."
The other Sasami - Tsunami - waved and smiled.
Then Tenchi realized that, while Sasami had begun to look more and more like Tsunami as she grew up, now the resemblance had became uncanny. Sasami and Tsunami looked enough alike to be indistinguishable. Tenchi looked back and forth, searching for some difference between them and failing.
And then he realized that they were in the middle of scrubbing. They were naked and wet and covered with soap suds.
"Woah! Sasami - Tsunami! I'm sorry!" Tenchi began to back toward the door. "I just came in tell you that I was home and that you left the soup on high and it boiled over. Sorry to intrude!"
"Tenchi, it's okay!" Tsunami called. But, even as she spoke, Tenchi turned to leave and slipped, banging his head on the open door - hard. He reared back off balance, his arms windmilling, then fell flat on his back and didn't move.
"Oh, no!" Sasami yelled.
"Tenchi!" Tsunami shouted.
Both jumped up and hurried over to Tenchi, kneeling on either side of him. Tenchi moaned quietly; there was a gash on his forehead that was starting to bleed.
"Oh Tenchi," Sasami said. "Do you think he'll be okay, Tsunami?"
Tsunami put her hand on Tenchi's head. "He'll be fine," she said. "I think I'd better go for now. And you'd better put something on." Sasami nodded as Tsunami disappeared. Then she felt Tsunami settle into her mind.
Sasami looked down at Tenchi and as she did she felt a strong spark of emotion from Tsunami.
'Tsunami? You feel something about Tenchi, don't you?' she asked.
'Yes, Sasami. He's absolutely wonderful. Don't you think so?'
'Huh. Well, Tenchi's really nice, but he's more like a big brother to me. I really don't think of him that way.'
Sasami sensed Tsunami laughing. She wrapped herself in a towel, then took a small towel and went to the kitchen for some ice. Returning to the onsen, she gingerly put the ice on Tenchi's forehead; noticing that it was already swelling and turning black and blue.
Tenchi was starting to wake up and he hissed and flinched when he felt the ice pressed up against his head. "Sasami?" he said.
"Yes, it's me, Tenchi. Are you okay?"
"I guess I'll be all right. I'm sorry; I didn't mean to peep," he said.
Sasami giggled. "It's all right, Tenchi. Really. No harm done!"
"Thank you, Sasami. Is Tsunami still here?"
"Not like she was when you came in, but she's still with me."
Tenchi took the ice from Sasami and held it himself, sitting up slowly. "What's that like?" he asked, looking at her.
Sasami shrugged. "Well...", she began, looking up in thought.
"At first I was scared. I thought I'd just disappear, that Tsunami would be here and I'd be gone. But it's not like that. It's more like having a close friend who's with me almost all the time. But it's more than that, too.
"When she started spending time with me - inside my head, I mean, not when she's physically here - I'd get tired fast and sometimes I'd get headaches. But that stopped and now I miss her when she's not there. It was sort of like breaking in new shoes, I guess. The more you wear them the more comfortable they feel until you don't even know you have them on.
"Does that make sense?", she asked.
"Well, sort of, I guess," Tenchi replied. "You two look identical now, did you know that? I didn't really realize it until I saw you next to each other." Tenchi smiled, "Uh... Sorry about that."
Sasami giggled again. "I told you it's okay! Stop apologizing."
"We do look alike, I know," she continued. "I don't know if that's because of the assimilation or if I was always going to look like this. Tsunami doesn't know, either."
"Tsunami doesn't know?" Tenchi asked in surprise.
"No, Tenchi," Sasami said patiently. "Tsunami doesn't know everything. She doesn't even know everything about herself. She and I may be like this just by luck or maybe I'm some a part of her that's been missing for a long time. We don't know, and I don't think we care. It's just nice to have each other."
"It's nice for Tsunami, too," she continued. "An avatar isn't like a real person; they can't feel and taste and smell the same way we can. Everything is dimmer and weaker. So I spend a lot of time touching things and smelling and tasting them for Tsunami. I think I might be getting fat!" She patted her backside to emphasize her point.
"It didn't look that way from where I was standing," Tenchi said.
Sasami smiled and patted him on the face. Then she said, "Tsunami asked me to do this."
And she leaned forward and kissed him on the mouth.