Tenchi Muyo!
______
Disclaimer: This episode of Tenchi Muyo! is of my own creation as well as the character Hayato. I do not own any portion of Tenchi Muyo. "Tenchi Muyo!" and all related characters, names, etc. are ©1992-2003 AIC Inc. and Pioneer LDC. All rights reserved.
Note: This episode takes place shortly after the events of Tenchi Muyo! Special Episode: Here Comes Jurai Part Two.
______
Of Happiness and Sorrow
Episode 13:
Guest Mates and Goddesses
______
Hayato stands before his family, his arms crossed and a small smirk on his face. "Hey Tenchi. Long time no see huh?"
Tenchi and Yosho stand flabbergasted staring at the man in front of them. They haven't seen Hayato for several years. This unexpected visit is, needless to say, quite a shock. Hayato is looking directly at Tenchi. He does not know about Yosho actually being Katsuhito so he just dismisses him as one of Tenchi's guests, his Uncle Nobuyuki did say that there were going to be a lot of them.
Tenchi's face suddenly breaks into a huge smile. He walks up to his cousin and they embrace like brothers. Yosho decides to act inconspicuous and just smiles contently. "How've you been Tenchi?" Hayato asks while ruffling the top of Tenchi's head.
That action brings up an old memory in Ryoko's head. "Hey! I remember you!" she suddenly shouts, pointing a finger at Hayato, "You're Tenchi's cousin right? You haven't been around here for a long time."
Hayato turns to look at the pirate. Tenchi has to suppress a chuckle at the startled look on his cousin's face as he eyes Ryoko from head to toe. "We've met before?" he asks while scratching the back of his head. "I think I would remember meeting someone as...exquisite as you."
A slight flush comes to Ryoko's face as everyone in the room chuckles lightly. "Well," Tenchi begins, "she met you...sort of. You never really got a chance to meet her."
Hayato's eyebrows rise up extremely high. "I...uh...you kinda lost me there. Would it be too much of a bother if you'd explain a little better? And..." he gestures around to the very large family in the living room, "perhaps introduce me to everyone? I feel like a major outsider here."
The prince smiles lightly. "Heh, sure. I'm sure we would've been doing a lot of explaining soon anyway."
______
A few hours later, all introductions and explanations are finished. "Whoa," is all Hayato manages to mutter out.
"Yes," Yosho chuckles, "it is quite a lot of information to pull in."
"Well that would explain those three gigantic ship looking things and what looks like an onsen hovering over the lake, and those two talking logs that greeted me when I was making my way onto the grounds."
Misaki suddenly steps forward, looking surprised. "Oops! Silly me! I forgot to have the ships engage their cloaking devices! Just give me a minute, I will be right back!" She makes her way through the small gathering of people and out the front door.
Kiyone, who has been very quiet and has kept mainly to herself for the last week, is watching the entire situation in front of her suspiciously. This guy, Tenchi's cousin, appears just a short while after the Jurai Royal Family comes to earth again. It could just be a coincidence, but Kiyone's old Galaxy Police instincts are kicking in full force. "I have a question for you Mr. Hayato," she asks, pointing an accusing finger at him.
"Please, just call me Hayato. I've never been big on the whole title or formality thing."
Kiyone sighs lightly. "Okay, Hayato, I have a question for you: why did you just suddenly decide to show up?"
Nobuyuki raises a hand. "Uh, I invited him. Right after Tenchi choose," he gives his son a look of admiration, "I called him up in America and asked if he'd like to come by for a while. His father, my brother, and his mother would have come too, but they got tied up with their jobs."
Hayato gives Kiyone a strange smile. "Satisfied?" he asks with a wink.
The GP officer feels her face flush slightly. "I...um...yes," she stammers out.
Mihoshi starts to giggle. "Kiyone, you're starting to turn red. Why is that?" she teases. Her partner wisely chooses not to answer.
Just at that moment, Misaki comes back in, looking as cheerful as she can. "All taken care of! So, did I miss anything?"
"No sister," Funaho responds, looking highly amused, "we just talked a bit."
Hayato clears his throat lightly, gathering everybody's attention. "I just wanted to know where I can put my bags," he reaches behind him and picks up a small dark suitcase and a tan travel bag. "I would go to one of the spare rooms, but I assume that each of them is in use."
"You can toss them in my room," Tenchi exclaims, "and you can stay in my room as well. I'll get a spare sleeping bag for you tonight."
"Thanks cousin!' Hayato shouts while running up the stairs.
Tenchi notices that Kiyone quickly glances over and eyes his cousin up and down, a small smirk on her face. She turns her head, only to discover Tenchi staring pointedly at her, smiling brightly. The GP instantly flushes and directs her gaze to the floor. The prince chuckles at her antics. He looks around, only to notice that something is different. "Is it my imagination, or is the living room bigger?"
"You're not imagining anything Tenchi, I expanded it!" Washu says happily next to Yosho. "I thought a little extra room in here would be appreciated."
"And it is very much," Funaho beams. "Thank you Miss Washu."
"Oh yeah, that reminds me," the genius starts. "Will you three be sleeping in your ships or would you rather stay in the house? I have several very accommodating rooms that you'd enjoy in my lab."
Azusa scratches his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm.I think I would like to stay here. I do enjoy my ship but this house has a much more comfortable and lively feel to it."
Funaho wraps her arms around her husband's right arm. "Good choice dear."
______
A couple hours later, everyone has just finished lunch and they are splitting up into separate groups. Washu and Yosho disappear, nobody knows where they go off to, nor do they want to explore. Ryoko and Ayeka go to do the laundry. Ever since Tenchi admitted his feelings for her, Ryoko has been more into doing chores around the house, something Ayeka is quite grateful for.
The emperor and his two wives relax on the living room couch and watch some television. Misaki quickly took hold of the remote and turned on the daily soap operas, much to Azusa's dismay. Mihoshi goes up to her room for her afternoon nap while Kiyone stays in the living room to talk with the Royal Family, on the commercial breaks of course.
Sasami and Ryo-Ohki go into the kitchen to clean up from lunch. The little princess is so happy that she is bouncing with every step she takes. "Oh Ryo-Ohki, I'm so glad my mommy is back!"
"Me too!" the teen chimes in. Ryo-Ohki always loves getting a lot of attention and Misaki practically bathes her in it. Although she now is constantly in her human teenager form, the empress still insists that she is 'The cutest thing I have even seen!'
Meanwhile out in the vegetable fields, Tenchi and Hayato are busy digging out the weeds. The prince stops for a moment and wipes his brow. "You know you don't have to help me with the fields, I'm fine doing this by myself."
"Oh you worry too much Tenchi. I don't mind a little manual labor. Besides, Uncle Nobuyuki invited me here so I feel kinda obligated to help around the house."
Tenchi smiles warmly at his cousin. "I'm glad you came. It feels nice to have another guy around my age here. That and we desperately needed to try to even out the ratio!"
The two cousins share a good bout of laughter. After several moments, Hayato speaks up, "So tell me, what all is exactly going on between you, Ryoko and Ayeka? Uncle Nobuyuki was very vague."
"Sure, but only if you answer one question for me," he suddenly looks mischievous, a look he doesn't get a whole lot, "what do you think about Kiyone?"
______
"So Ryoko," Ayeka begins, "you mentioned seeing this...Hayato before?"
The pirate stops folding the laundry and looks up thoughtfully. "Yeah, but it's been a while since I've seen him. When I was still trapped in that damn cave," she shudders involuntarily, "I would watch Tenchi every time he ever came near. Every few years or so, his cousin would stay for a little while. It was fun watching those two run around in the forest." She smiles warmly.
The princess joins her. "Oh I wish I could have lived so carefree when I was a child. Unfortunately for me, I was constantly being trained to be a perfect princess and one day, an empress. I never had any real friends."
"Geeze, that sucks. But now that I think about it, I don't even remember my childhood...if I even had one." Her brow furrows in thought. "Hmm, looks like I have something else to talk to Mom about. Hey Ayeka," she starts, while turning towards the crown princess, "would you mind if I go and ask her right now?"
"No, I do not mind," she answers with a kind smile. "Besides, we are almost finished. Go, ask her."
"Thanks princess." And with those words, she teleports away, leaving Ayeka behind to calmly finish folding the laundry.
______
The former space pirate appears in front of the Masaki shrine. "Should've known," she sighs to herself. 'Hey Mom?' she asks telepathically.
Washu, who is talking with Yosho in his office, looks up, completely surprised by the sudden call from her daughter. 'Yes my little Ryoko?' she responds.
'Can we talk?'
'Sure, just give me a minute.' She looks over to Yosho, who is now giving her a funny look. The genius taps her head. "Ryoko."
"Ah, then I will leave you to speak with her privately." The Shinto priest stands up and leaves the office. He notices the pirate standing outside. He smiles warmly at her. "She is waiting inside."
"Thanks." She teleports inside next to her mother. "Hey."
"Hey yourself. So what do you want to talk to me about?"
Ryoko takes a deep breath. "Did I ever have a childhood? Was I ever a kid?"
Washu is completely taken aback by the questions. "W.why have you taken such a sudden interest?"
"Well I was talking to Ayeka and our little chat went towards childhood. I just realized that I don't remember anything about mine."
The former goddess scratches her chin lightly. "Hmm, I was wondering if you were ever going to ask me. You were born in a lab, but you were a baby nonetheless. You grew up like every normal child."
"But why don't I remember anything?" she asks, now getting upset.
"You can blame that ass Kagato for that," she answers, the bitterness in her voice clearly heard. "When he kidnapped me and took control of you, he squashed away all of you memories of your previous life. I'm sorry to say that he succeeded there. You haven't been under his total control for over 700 years, but part of him still affects you." She begins to cry. "Damn it! Why couldn't I have stopped him? He just attacked so quickly and I was so surprised that he would do such a thing, I never saw it coming!"
Ryoko wraps her arms around her mother. "Its okay Mom. He's dead now. He can't tear us apart ever again."
Washu stops crying after a few minutes. "You know," she starts, now sounding hopeful, "I could try to restore all of your old memories of growing up."
"Really?" she asks, her eyes going wide.
"Of course," she brightly replies. "I am Washu, the Greatest Scientific Genius in the Universe and former Goddess of Wisdom!"
Ryoko moans lightly. "Great, now you've got an even bigger title!"
Washu slaps her daughter on her arm. "Hey! I can't help it if I am so great!"
The pirate groans loudly as her mother cackles merrily next to her.
______
"Wow, so you met Lady Funaho on this planet?"
"Yes," Azusa chuckles, "I met my dear Funaho on this nice little planet." He pats the top of his first wife's hand gently. Funaho smiles warmly.
Misaki leans in closer to her husband's side. "That was such a long time ago honey."
Just at that moment, Ayeka comes downstairs, finally finished with the laundry. "Hello everyone, do you mind if I sit with you?"
"Oh not at all Ayeka," Misaki replies brightly, "come and sit next to Mommy!"
The princess holds in the sigh that is longing to come out and sits next to her mother. Funaho is just about to ask her something when the front door opens and Tenchi and Hayato walk in, both covered in a layer of sweat. "Oh Lord Tenchi," Ayeka starts, "you are done quite early."
The prince scratches the back of his head. "Yeah, it goes a lot faster when I have help." The two of them start to go up the stairs.
"So what are you two doing know?" Funaho asks politely.
"We're getting some clothes and take a quick dip in the onsen. Hayato really wants to check it out."
"Yeah, so does anybody wanna join us?" Hayato asks with a cheery smile.
"Ooh!" comes a boisterous voice from the top of the stairs. Everyone turns to see Mihoshi, now fully awake. "I'd love to take a dip!"
Hayato's face flushes lightly. "I...uh...wow, I really didn't expect anybody to accept the offer!" He scratches the back of his head, looking amazingly a lot like his cousin at the moment.
"So...you don't want me to go and wash up with you?" Mihoshi's voice holds a tint of seductiveness in it. Everyone who knows the GP officer well is in utter shock at what she has just said. She has changed a lot from the klutzy carefree woman they once knew, more into the person Kiyone remembered years ago.
Hayato, on the other hand, just goes a deeper shade of red. "I...I..." he sighs deeply, "oh well, I...I guess you can join us." He shakes his head lightly. 'Oh that went real well!' he thinks sarcastically to himself. 'Next time I should just keep my big mouth shut!'
Kiyone suddenly stands up. "You know, I would like to wash up too. I think I will join you."
"Really?" Mihoshi squeals, "That's great!"
Tenchi and Hayato both look at each other and exchange knowing glances. "Alright then," Tenchi responds, "see you in the onsen girls!" The two young men go up the stairs and go into Tenchi's room.
Mihoshi and Kiyone both run up to their room. They dig through their clothes and find something nice to change into. "So Mihoshi," Kiyones begins while picking up a large white sweater and tight black pants, "why exactly did you decide to go in the onsen with Tenchi and Hayato?"
"Oh no reason really," the blonde replies, a strange twinkle in her eyes. "Tenchi's cousin is new here and we really don't know a thing about him. When we're in the onsen, I wanna talk to him."
"Is that the only reason?" Kiyone asks with a frown.
"No," her partner giggles. "I think he's kinda cute, don't you?"
"Yeah, I guess so," she whispers out, avoiding Mihoshi's glare.
The blonde giggles harder. "I thought so! You have a crush on him!" And with that, she grabs a change of clothes and bounces out of their room.
Kiyone grabs her hair and tugs at it in frustration. "Argh!" she screams. "I've got to learn to keep my big mouth shut around her!" She looks around the room, taking in the giant mess of clothes courtesy of her partner. She sighs deeply. "Oh well, I better clean this up first."
______
Ryoko and Washu appear in the genius' lab. They are in the experimentation area of the lab. Ryoko floats around, looking at some of the alien creatures confined within the area. After a few minutes of exploring, she teleports in front of her mother. "So now what are you going to do?"
"First off, I want you to lay down on that table over there."
The pirate does what she is asked. Right when she lies down, the machines around the table come to life and start emitting flashes of light and beeping noises. Ryoko winces lightly, expecting a bunch of metal cables to come up and wrap around her tightly. When none do, she sighs in relief.
"What?" Washu asks, sounding amused, "Did you think I was going to tie my only daughter up? Oh come now, you should give me better credit than that."
"Yeah? Well I still haven't forgotten what you did to me before," she responds angrily. "You may be my mom, but that doesn't mean that I completely trust you." She looks over to Washu, only to discover that she is crying.
"I...I'm sorry," she whispers out, her lower lip trembling, "I never meant to hurt you. I told you before why I did that to you. I promise that I will never do that to you ever again. All I want to do now is to help you, to guide you, to be a good mother."
The pirate smirks at her. "Ah you don't need to get all mushy on me now mom. So you want to be a good mom? Well you can start by giving me back all my memories of growing up, okay?"
Washu sniffs and wipes the tears out of her eyes. "Alright then, let's get this show on the road!"
______
Kiyone smiles contently to herself. All the clothes that were strewn about are now folded and put away properly. 'I swear, Mihoshi can be such a pig sometimes!' she thinks with a frown. 'But she does have such a sweet and gentle heart.' The GP reaches over and grabs her clothes and turns to go out the door, only to drop her clothes in surprise and bow deeply at the person in front of her.
Standing proudly in front of the door, wearing a beautiful crown over her long light brown hair and an elaborate and stunning gown, is Tokimi, the goddess of Justice. "Hello Lieutenant Makibi," she starts, her voice sounding sweet and warm, "it is nice to see you again."
To be continued...
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Author's notes: I know I haven't done much with this series lately, Sorry. I've just been busy with my other stories to remember to get back to my 'roots' so to speak. Now in the story, I'm trying to focus on all characters equally, since they all have interesting stories to tell. -- lighthawkdemon
Questions or comments? E-mail me at: lighthawkdemon@yahoo.com
Next episode: Onsen Romances
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Disclaimer: This episode of Tenchi Muyo! is of my own creation as well as the character Hayato. I do not own any portion of Tenchi Muyo. "Tenchi Muyo!" and all related characters, names, etc. are ©1992-2003 AIC Inc. and Pioneer LDC. All rights reserved.
Note: This episode takes place shortly after the events of Tenchi Muyo! Special Episode: Here Comes Jurai Part Two.
______
Of Happiness and Sorrow
Episode 13:
Guest Mates and Goddesses
______
Hayato stands before his family, his arms crossed and a small smirk on his face. "Hey Tenchi. Long time no see huh?"
Tenchi and Yosho stand flabbergasted staring at the man in front of them. They haven't seen Hayato for several years. This unexpected visit is, needless to say, quite a shock. Hayato is looking directly at Tenchi. He does not know about Yosho actually being Katsuhito so he just dismisses him as one of Tenchi's guests, his Uncle Nobuyuki did say that there were going to be a lot of them.
Tenchi's face suddenly breaks into a huge smile. He walks up to his cousin and they embrace like brothers. Yosho decides to act inconspicuous and just smiles contently. "How've you been Tenchi?" Hayato asks while ruffling the top of Tenchi's head.
That action brings up an old memory in Ryoko's head. "Hey! I remember you!" she suddenly shouts, pointing a finger at Hayato, "You're Tenchi's cousin right? You haven't been around here for a long time."
Hayato turns to look at the pirate. Tenchi has to suppress a chuckle at the startled look on his cousin's face as he eyes Ryoko from head to toe. "We've met before?" he asks while scratching the back of his head. "I think I would remember meeting someone as...exquisite as you."
A slight flush comes to Ryoko's face as everyone in the room chuckles lightly. "Well," Tenchi begins, "she met you...sort of. You never really got a chance to meet her."
Hayato's eyebrows rise up extremely high. "I...uh...you kinda lost me there. Would it be too much of a bother if you'd explain a little better? And..." he gestures around to the very large family in the living room, "perhaps introduce me to everyone? I feel like a major outsider here."
The prince smiles lightly. "Heh, sure. I'm sure we would've been doing a lot of explaining soon anyway."
______
A few hours later, all introductions and explanations are finished. "Whoa," is all Hayato manages to mutter out.
"Yes," Yosho chuckles, "it is quite a lot of information to pull in."
"Well that would explain those three gigantic ship looking things and what looks like an onsen hovering over the lake, and those two talking logs that greeted me when I was making my way onto the grounds."
Misaki suddenly steps forward, looking surprised. "Oops! Silly me! I forgot to have the ships engage their cloaking devices! Just give me a minute, I will be right back!" She makes her way through the small gathering of people and out the front door.
Kiyone, who has been very quiet and has kept mainly to herself for the last week, is watching the entire situation in front of her suspiciously. This guy, Tenchi's cousin, appears just a short while after the Jurai Royal Family comes to earth again. It could just be a coincidence, but Kiyone's old Galaxy Police instincts are kicking in full force. "I have a question for you Mr. Hayato," she asks, pointing an accusing finger at him.
"Please, just call me Hayato. I've never been big on the whole title or formality thing."
Kiyone sighs lightly. "Okay, Hayato, I have a question for you: why did you just suddenly decide to show up?"
Nobuyuki raises a hand. "Uh, I invited him. Right after Tenchi choose," he gives his son a look of admiration, "I called him up in America and asked if he'd like to come by for a while. His father, my brother, and his mother would have come too, but they got tied up with their jobs."
Hayato gives Kiyone a strange smile. "Satisfied?" he asks with a wink.
The GP officer feels her face flush slightly. "I...um...yes," she stammers out.
Mihoshi starts to giggle. "Kiyone, you're starting to turn red. Why is that?" she teases. Her partner wisely chooses not to answer.
Just at that moment, Misaki comes back in, looking as cheerful as she can. "All taken care of! So, did I miss anything?"
"No sister," Funaho responds, looking highly amused, "we just talked a bit."
Hayato clears his throat lightly, gathering everybody's attention. "I just wanted to know where I can put my bags," he reaches behind him and picks up a small dark suitcase and a tan travel bag. "I would go to one of the spare rooms, but I assume that each of them is in use."
"You can toss them in my room," Tenchi exclaims, "and you can stay in my room as well. I'll get a spare sleeping bag for you tonight."
"Thanks cousin!' Hayato shouts while running up the stairs.
Tenchi notices that Kiyone quickly glances over and eyes his cousin up and down, a small smirk on her face. She turns her head, only to discover Tenchi staring pointedly at her, smiling brightly. The GP instantly flushes and directs her gaze to the floor. The prince chuckles at her antics. He looks around, only to notice that something is different. "Is it my imagination, or is the living room bigger?"
"You're not imagining anything Tenchi, I expanded it!" Washu says happily next to Yosho. "I thought a little extra room in here would be appreciated."
"And it is very much," Funaho beams. "Thank you Miss Washu."
"Oh yeah, that reminds me," the genius starts. "Will you three be sleeping in your ships or would you rather stay in the house? I have several very accommodating rooms that you'd enjoy in my lab."
Azusa scratches his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm.I think I would like to stay here. I do enjoy my ship but this house has a much more comfortable and lively feel to it."
Funaho wraps her arms around her husband's right arm. "Good choice dear."
______
A couple hours later, everyone has just finished lunch and they are splitting up into separate groups. Washu and Yosho disappear, nobody knows where they go off to, nor do they want to explore. Ryoko and Ayeka go to do the laundry. Ever since Tenchi admitted his feelings for her, Ryoko has been more into doing chores around the house, something Ayeka is quite grateful for.
The emperor and his two wives relax on the living room couch and watch some television. Misaki quickly took hold of the remote and turned on the daily soap operas, much to Azusa's dismay. Mihoshi goes up to her room for her afternoon nap while Kiyone stays in the living room to talk with the Royal Family, on the commercial breaks of course.
Sasami and Ryo-Ohki go into the kitchen to clean up from lunch. The little princess is so happy that she is bouncing with every step she takes. "Oh Ryo-Ohki, I'm so glad my mommy is back!"
"Me too!" the teen chimes in. Ryo-Ohki always loves getting a lot of attention and Misaki practically bathes her in it. Although she now is constantly in her human teenager form, the empress still insists that she is 'The cutest thing I have even seen!'
Meanwhile out in the vegetable fields, Tenchi and Hayato are busy digging out the weeds. The prince stops for a moment and wipes his brow. "You know you don't have to help me with the fields, I'm fine doing this by myself."
"Oh you worry too much Tenchi. I don't mind a little manual labor. Besides, Uncle Nobuyuki invited me here so I feel kinda obligated to help around the house."
Tenchi smiles warmly at his cousin. "I'm glad you came. It feels nice to have another guy around my age here. That and we desperately needed to try to even out the ratio!"
The two cousins share a good bout of laughter. After several moments, Hayato speaks up, "So tell me, what all is exactly going on between you, Ryoko and Ayeka? Uncle Nobuyuki was very vague."
"Sure, but only if you answer one question for me," he suddenly looks mischievous, a look he doesn't get a whole lot, "what do you think about Kiyone?"
______
"So Ryoko," Ayeka begins, "you mentioned seeing this...Hayato before?"
The pirate stops folding the laundry and looks up thoughtfully. "Yeah, but it's been a while since I've seen him. When I was still trapped in that damn cave," she shudders involuntarily, "I would watch Tenchi every time he ever came near. Every few years or so, his cousin would stay for a little while. It was fun watching those two run around in the forest." She smiles warmly.
The princess joins her. "Oh I wish I could have lived so carefree when I was a child. Unfortunately for me, I was constantly being trained to be a perfect princess and one day, an empress. I never had any real friends."
"Geeze, that sucks. But now that I think about it, I don't even remember my childhood...if I even had one." Her brow furrows in thought. "Hmm, looks like I have something else to talk to Mom about. Hey Ayeka," she starts, while turning towards the crown princess, "would you mind if I go and ask her right now?"
"No, I do not mind," she answers with a kind smile. "Besides, we are almost finished. Go, ask her."
"Thanks princess." And with those words, she teleports away, leaving Ayeka behind to calmly finish folding the laundry.
______
The former space pirate appears in front of the Masaki shrine. "Should've known," she sighs to herself. 'Hey Mom?' she asks telepathically.
Washu, who is talking with Yosho in his office, looks up, completely surprised by the sudden call from her daughter. 'Yes my little Ryoko?' she responds.
'Can we talk?'
'Sure, just give me a minute.' She looks over to Yosho, who is now giving her a funny look. The genius taps her head. "Ryoko."
"Ah, then I will leave you to speak with her privately." The Shinto priest stands up and leaves the office. He notices the pirate standing outside. He smiles warmly at her. "She is waiting inside."
"Thanks." She teleports inside next to her mother. "Hey."
"Hey yourself. So what do you want to talk to me about?"
Ryoko takes a deep breath. "Did I ever have a childhood? Was I ever a kid?"
Washu is completely taken aback by the questions. "W.why have you taken such a sudden interest?"
"Well I was talking to Ayeka and our little chat went towards childhood. I just realized that I don't remember anything about mine."
The former goddess scratches her chin lightly. "Hmm, I was wondering if you were ever going to ask me. You were born in a lab, but you were a baby nonetheless. You grew up like every normal child."
"But why don't I remember anything?" she asks, now getting upset.
"You can blame that ass Kagato for that," she answers, the bitterness in her voice clearly heard. "When he kidnapped me and took control of you, he squashed away all of you memories of your previous life. I'm sorry to say that he succeeded there. You haven't been under his total control for over 700 years, but part of him still affects you." She begins to cry. "Damn it! Why couldn't I have stopped him? He just attacked so quickly and I was so surprised that he would do such a thing, I never saw it coming!"
Ryoko wraps her arms around her mother. "Its okay Mom. He's dead now. He can't tear us apart ever again."
Washu stops crying after a few minutes. "You know," she starts, now sounding hopeful, "I could try to restore all of your old memories of growing up."
"Really?" she asks, her eyes going wide.
"Of course," she brightly replies. "I am Washu, the Greatest Scientific Genius in the Universe and former Goddess of Wisdom!"
Ryoko moans lightly. "Great, now you've got an even bigger title!"
Washu slaps her daughter on her arm. "Hey! I can't help it if I am so great!"
The pirate groans loudly as her mother cackles merrily next to her.
______
"Wow, so you met Lady Funaho on this planet?"
"Yes," Azusa chuckles, "I met my dear Funaho on this nice little planet." He pats the top of his first wife's hand gently. Funaho smiles warmly.
Misaki leans in closer to her husband's side. "That was such a long time ago honey."
Just at that moment, Ayeka comes downstairs, finally finished with the laundry. "Hello everyone, do you mind if I sit with you?"
"Oh not at all Ayeka," Misaki replies brightly, "come and sit next to Mommy!"
The princess holds in the sigh that is longing to come out and sits next to her mother. Funaho is just about to ask her something when the front door opens and Tenchi and Hayato walk in, both covered in a layer of sweat. "Oh Lord Tenchi," Ayeka starts, "you are done quite early."
The prince scratches the back of his head. "Yeah, it goes a lot faster when I have help." The two of them start to go up the stairs.
"So what are you two doing know?" Funaho asks politely.
"We're getting some clothes and take a quick dip in the onsen. Hayato really wants to check it out."
"Yeah, so does anybody wanna join us?" Hayato asks with a cheery smile.
"Ooh!" comes a boisterous voice from the top of the stairs. Everyone turns to see Mihoshi, now fully awake. "I'd love to take a dip!"
Hayato's face flushes lightly. "I...uh...wow, I really didn't expect anybody to accept the offer!" He scratches the back of his head, looking amazingly a lot like his cousin at the moment.
"So...you don't want me to go and wash up with you?" Mihoshi's voice holds a tint of seductiveness in it. Everyone who knows the GP officer well is in utter shock at what she has just said. She has changed a lot from the klutzy carefree woman they once knew, more into the person Kiyone remembered years ago.
Hayato, on the other hand, just goes a deeper shade of red. "I...I..." he sighs deeply, "oh well, I...I guess you can join us." He shakes his head lightly. 'Oh that went real well!' he thinks sarcastically to himself. 'Next time I should just keep my big mouth shut!'
Kiyone suddenly stands up. "You know, I would like to wash up too. I think I will join you."
"Really?" Mihoshi squeals, "That's great!"
Tenchi and Hayato both look at each other and exchange knowing glances. "Alright then," Tenchi responds, "see you in the onsen girls!" The two young men go up the stairs and go into Tenchi's room.
Mihoshi and Kiyone both run up to their room. They dig through their clothes and find something nice to change into. "So Mihoshi," Kiyones begins while picking up a large white sweater and tight black pants, "why exactly did you decide to go in the onsen with Tenchi and Hayato?"
"Oh no reason really," the blonde replies, a strange twinkle in her eyes. "Tenchi's cousin is new here and we really don't know a thing about him. When we're in the onsen, I wanna talk to him."
"Is that the only reason?" Kiyone asks with a frown.
"No," her partner giggles. "I think he's kinda cute, don't you?"
"Yeah, I guess so," she whispers out, avoiding Mihoshi's glare.
The blonde giggles harder. "I thought so! You have a crush on him!" And with that, she grabs a change of clothes and bounces out of their room.
Kiyone grabs her hair and tugs at it in frustration. "Argh!" she screams. "I've got to learn to keep my big mouth shut around her!" She looks around the room, taking in the giant mess of clothes courtesy of her partner. She sighs deeply. "Oh well, I better clean this up first."
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Ryoko and Washu appear in the genius' lab. They are in the experimentation area of the lab. Ryoko floats around, looking at some of the alien creatures confined within the area. After a few minutes of exploring, she teleports in front of her mother. "So now what are you going to do?"
"First off, I want you to lay down on that table over there."
The pirate does what she is asked. Right when she lies down, the machines around the table come to life and start emitting flashes of light and beeping noises. Ryoko winces lightly, expecting a bunch of metal cables to come up and wrap around her tightly. When none do, she sighs in relief.
"What?" Washu asks, sounding amused, "Did you think I was going to tie my only daughter up? Oh come now, you should give me better credit than that."
"Yeah? Well I still haven't forgotten what you did to me before," she responds angrily. "You may be my mom, but that doesn't mean that I completely trust you." She looks over to Washu, only to discover that she is crying.
"I...I'm sorry," she whispers out, her lower lip trembling, "I never meant to hurt you. I told you before why I did that to you. I promise that I will never do that to you ever again. All I want to do now is to help you, to guide you, to be a good mother."
The pirate smirks at her. "Ah you don't need to get all mushy on me now mom. So you want to be a good mom? Well you can start by giving me back all my memories of growing up, okay?"
Washu sniffs and wipes the tears out of her eyes. "Alright then, let's get this show on the road!"
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Kiyone smiles contently to herself. All the clothes that were strewn about are now folded and put away properly. 'I swear, Mihoshi can be such a pig sometimes!' she thinks with a frown. 'But she does have such a sweet and gentle heart.' The GP reaches over and grabs her clothes and turns to go out the door, only to drop her clothes in surprise and bow deeply at the person in front of her.
Standing proudly in front of the door, wearing a beautiful crown over her long light brown hair and an elaborate and stunning gown, is Tokimi, the goddess of Justice. "Hello Lieutenant Makibi," she starts, her voice sounding sweet and warm, "it is nice to see you again."
To be continued...
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Author's notes: I know I haven't done much with this series lately, Sorry. I've just been busy with my other stories to remember to get back to my 'roots' so to speak. Now in the story, I'm trying to focus on all characters equally, since they all have interesting stories to tell. -- lighthawkdemon
Questions or comments? E-mail me at: lighthawkdemon@yahoo.com
Next episode: Onsen Romances