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 14:
Onsen Romances
______
Tokimi stands proudly over her servant, Galaxy Police officer Kiyone Makibi. She suddenly frowns as she notices Kiyone begin to tremble in fear while still bowing deeply at her. The goddess reaches over and pulls the GP officer up into a standing position. She was able to look into her eyes for a brief moment and see pure terror in them. She is now frowning even more. "Tell me my child," she begins in her soft, soothing voice, "why are you so afraid?"
"I failed you my Lady," Kiyone whispers out. "I failed the mission you gave to me and now you are going to punish me." She starts to tremble more after these words.
The goddess sighs lightly and smiles. "Look at me," she calmly commands.
Kiyone does as she is ordered to do and looks into her Lady's deep, beautiful eyes. She instantly feels a calm relief flow through her, though she is still frightened at what her punishment will be.
"You have not failed me in any way and henceforth you will not be punished," Tokimi says calmly. "In fact, you proceeded with the mission exactly as I had planned and you fulfilled it perfectly."
The teal haired woman raises an eyebrow in confusion at the goddess. "But what are you talking about my Lady? You told me to get together with Tenchi."
The Goddess of Justice 'tsks' loudly while crossing her arms and shaking her head from side to side slowly. "That is the problem with you children today, you never fully listen! I ordered you to get closer to young Masaki, closer, not together. You, my dear, were the key element in helping him in his decision and the full unlocking of all of his powers."
"Oh," Kiyone meekly replies. She lowers her head in sadness and shame. "I thought you wanted me to get together with him. I would've liked that because I really liked him, he is so...different from all the others men I've been with in the past."
"Yes, he is quite special," Tokimi agrees, thinking about her first 'meeting' with him about a week ago. 'Such stamina!' she thinks with a sultry smile. The goddess shakes her head of those thoughts and brings them back to her servant. She places a hand on her shoulder in a comforting manner. "I am sorry that you misinterpreted what I was ordering you to do, but I can make it up to you in a way. It waits for you right at this moment and if you do not hurry to it, it just might get taken." She grabs her shoulders and begins to push her out the door with her change of clothes. "Go on now, I will contact you if I have another mission for you."
Kiyone mutters a quick, "Thank you my Lady," before the goddess tosses her out of the room and closes the door.
Tokimi smiles to herself and is about to leave when the air next to her shimmers with a mystical light as her younger sister Tsunami appears in all her glory. "That was quite sweet of you sister," she says in her rich, lovely voice.
"Thank you Tsunami, though I must admit, I heavily enjoyed trying to be the matchmaker this time."
The Goddess of Light places a hand over her mouth and giggles lightly. "Yes, Washu and myself have been wondering if you were ever going to join in." She suddenly frowns and puts her hands on her hips, a look that is not too common for her. "I know what you did with Tenchi, and on the day he chose! How could you?"
Now it is Tokimi's turn to place a hand over her mouth and giggle lightly. "Oh come now Tsunami, tell me you were never interested in him, even a little bit." Tsunami turns her head away, but the light flush across her cheeks can easily be seen. Tokimi's smile turns mischievous. "I thought so. He must have a curse on him or something where every interstellar woman he comes into contact with develops instantaneous feelings of want and desire for him." She chuckles after this comment. "Also, the boy is destined to be the ultimate ruler of the universe and husband to both my Champion and the Champion of Washu. I was interested in seeing if he was worthy."
"And was he?" Tsunami huffs.
"Oh yes," the elder goddess purrs. "He met my expectations, and exceeded them!"
______
"Hey Kiyone," Hayato starts, noticing the GP finally enter the floating onsen, "I was wondering if you were coming or not." He, Tenchi and Mihoshi are relaxing in the newest addition to the onsen, a large circular Jacuzzi. Ryoko decided to add it in a few days ago after hearing how comfortable they are from Nobuyuki, who was in one once a long time ago when he and his wife first married. Hayato and Mihoshi are both drinking a little bit of saké to help them relax even more.
"Oh, I've been meaning to try that hot tub thingie out," Kiyone ponders out loud. "So how is it?"
"It's great Kiyone!" Mihoshi happily states. "Hurry up and come on in!"
Her partner wastes no time in sprinting into the changing room and coming out very shortly afterwards in a large white towel. She gets in and sits down next to Mihoshi, so where those two are on one side of the Jacuzzi while Tenchi and Hayato are on the other side. The water jets feel extremely comfortable on her body so she wiggles down a bit so they are now spraying her entire back. "Wow, this is heaven!" she loudly exclaims.
The three other people in the hot tub with her chuckle lightly. Tenchi sinks in down to his neck and sighs happily. "I'm glad Ryoko put this in. This hot tub really helps to soothe my tired muscles."
"That's for sure," Hayato adds while taking a small sip of his saké. He looks over to Kiyone, who has closed her eyes and is relaxing happily letting the water jets do their work. He then looks over to Tenchi and Mihoshi, who nod slightly.
The Champion of Tsunami closes his eyes and lies back, hoping that the first step in he, Hayato and Mihoshi's plan works out well.
Hayato scoots forward towards Mihoshi and lifts one of her long, slender legs and places them on his lap. With one last look towards Kiyone and another nod from Mihoshi, Hayato begins to give the dark skinned GP a foot massage.
Mihoshi giggles loudly as his fingers touch a sensitive spot on her left foot. "Be careful, I'm really ticklish there," she coos at him.
This instantly gets Kiyone's attention as her eyes shoot open. Her eyes sink in the vision in front of her: Tenchi is sitting down across from her with his eyes closed and appears to be sleeping, Hayato is intently looking down at the dark foot in his lap and is gently massaging it and her partner is now laying back with a happy smile on her face and a light flush across her cheeks. Whether it is from the saké or from something else, she cannot tell. A strange sense of jealousy wells up inside of her. 'What?' her mind shouts, 'why am I feeling jealous? I mean I barely know this guy and all he's doing is giving Mihoshi a foot massage.'
Suddenly, another voice pops up inside of her head, 'Why are you lying to yourself? Just admit it, you already really like this guy and you want to be the one getting your foot massaged by him.'
Kiyone sighs deeply and grumpily looks away. Mihoshi giggles again and Kiyone strongly fights the urge to hit her very hard on the head. 'Damn it, I can't believe I'm already getting into this guy.'
Mihoshi glances at her partner and happily notes the very grumpy look on her face. 'She must like him more than I thought!' she thinks with a smile. 'I hope that Hayato is noticing how jealous she looks.'
The aforementioned cousin of Tenchi is meanwhile still gently giving the dark skinned beauty her foot massage. 'Her skin is so soft,' he thinks in awe. 'And it is so dark too! With her bright blue eyes and yellow hair...I've never met anyone so beautiful before!' He stops for a moment and blinks a few times. 'Wait a minute, I'm supposed to be keeping an eye on Kiyone! That's why I'm doing this in the first place, to see if she gets jealous. If she does, then that must mean that she likes me!' He smiles and glances over at the teal haired GP. His eyes go wide and he quickly looks back at Mihoshi's foot and continues to massage it. 'Whoa, she looks pissed! Can she like me that much already? Naw, it's just my imagination.' He places Mihoshi's left foot down and picks up her right and begins to massage that one as well.
The blonde squirms a little in his grasp. She looks over and can tell by the look on his face that he saw Kiyone and is doing a lot of thinking. 'Good, hopefully we can get those two together soon...but after this massage! Ooh this feels sooo good!' She giggles once more and swears that she hears Kiyone growl at her.
______
"Alright, we're done."
Ryoko pulls the strange helmet looking device off of her head and sits up on the table. She is in a brief state of awe at the new, yet old memories that are flooding through her consciousness. Washu warily walks up to her, holding a hand over her heart. "Is everything okay?" she slowly asks. "How are you feeling?"
The pirate turns her head towards her mother. Their eyes are locked for several moments, neither daring to make a sound. Ryoko's eyes suddenly fill up with tears just as she runs, arms outstretched, towards Washu. "Mommy!" she shouts just as the two embrace in a warm hug. "I remember," she cries out. "I remember everything! Thank you so much! Now I finally have a past!"
The former goddess pats her daughter calmly on the head while whispering out, "Anything for you, my precious little Ryoko."
______
Yosho is meanwhile sitting down in his shrine office drinking some green tea. He looks up as someone knocks on the office door. "You may come in," he responds politely. The former prince is not surprised to see his father and his mother come walking in. "Ah, Mother, Father. Just give me a moment to get you both cups so you can have some tea."
"Thank you Yosho," Funaho replies. The emperor and his first wife sit down in front of the table near the window. The empress gazes out the window, a slightly wistful look adorning her face. "It is always such a pleasure to be back home."
Yosho walks back to his parents with two cups. He gives them one and pours them some tea. "I noticed that Misaki is not with you at this moment. Where is she?"
"She is in the kitchen helping Sasami with dinner," Azusa replies. He takes a small sip of his green tea before continuing. "There is something we need to discuss with you Yosho."
The Shinto priest sighs deeply. "I still have no interests in becoming emperor Father. I enjoy my quiet little life here on earth and I wish to remain here for the rest of my days."
Funaho smiles warmly. "That is not what we wished to speak to you about Yosho. Your father, Misaki and myself have discussed this matter and have agreed that Tenchi is your rightful heir to the throne of Jurai. He will make a grand leader of the people. Besides, your father said earlier that Tenchi was to rule didn't he?"
Yosho sweat drops slightly. "Oh, you...you did? Well I...uh..."
The empress closes her eyes and begins to speak in an annoyed tone. "As usual, children never listen to their parents when they are discussing something important to them."
Azusa chuckles lightly. The former prince and great swordsman gulps loudly. "If you did not wish to speak to me about that matter, then what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?"
Funaho reaches into her robes and pulls out a small circular device that looks like it has been carved from one of the royal trees. "Our Lady Tsunami came to me in a dream and informed me of Tenchi's decision to give Ryoko back her other two gems. That meant that your tree would begin to die, causing you to do so as well." She reaches over and places the device in her son's hands. "One thing a parent never wishes to do is live longer than their children. This device was blessed by Tsunami and her incredible powers. When you place it on a royal tree bonded to a member of the Jurai Royal Family whose tree has taken root on a planet other than Jurai or any of its subsidiaries, it will give it the life that it would normally have had it not taken root."
Yosho stares at the small device in his hands in awe. "You...you mean..."
Azusa smiles slightly. "Yes Yosho. With that device, you will live out your normal Jurai life expectancy, meaning that you still have a very long time to live."
The priest smiles widely. "I was somewhat concerned over how much longer I had to live. Now I have a much longer time to even think about worrying about that. Mother, Father, thank you." He stands up and bows deeply to them both.
The emperor and first empress also stand up and bow to their son. "You are welcome," Funaho responds, "but it is not us who you should be thanking. You should be thanking Lady Tsunami."
Yosho smirks lightly. "I think I will."
"There is one more matter we wish to discuss with you," Azusa adds.
"And that is?"
Funaho smiles widely. "Your relationship with Miss Washu Hakubi." Yosho sweat drops again while scratching the back of his head nervously.
______
Ayeka is sitting out on the second floor porch knitting a purple sweater. Her mind occasionally lingers on her friend Ryoko, and if she was able to get her old memories back. "I do hope so," she whispers aloud. "It is a terrible thing not remembering your childhood."
As if she was summoned, Ryoko teleports in right in front of the first crown princess. She remains floating in midair while placing her hands on her hips calmly. "Hey."
The princess is instantly on her feet, clasping her hands together. "So? Did it work?"
Ryoko grins widely. "Yep. It's funny, but I feel kinda...whole now." She suddenly wraps her arms around Ayeka in a great big hug. "Thank you so much Ayeka. If it hadn't been for our little chat, I would've never thought about my childhood like that."
Ayeka smiles warmly and returns the hug with her good friend happily. "Think nothing of it Ryoko. I am just glad that you have all of you memories back."
"Me too princess. Me too."
______
Tenchi, Hayato, Mihoshi and a slightly grumpy, although she's trying to hide it, Kiyone leave the floating onsen. The three non-grumpy people are happily chatting on about the hot tub and how comfortable it is. Kiyone stays a step or two behind the group, remaining relatively silent. Her quiet thinking and somewhat broody mood is interrupted by Tenchi calling her name. "Kiyone? Hey Kiyone?"
"Hmm? What is it Tenchi?" the GP responds.
"I was planning on taking Ryoko and Ayeka out tomorrow night and I was wondering if you wanted to come along with us."
"W...what!" she asks startled. "Why would you want me to come with you?"
The prince scratches the back of his head. "Well...I noticed that you've been a little down lately so I figured that maybe going out would cheer you up."
"That's really sweet of you Tenchi, but I wouldn't want to get in you and Ryoko and Ayeka's way. I'd feel too much like a third wheel."
"Actually," Mihoshi chimes in, "you'd be more like a fourth wheel!"
Kiyone grumbles angrily and looks to the side. Luckily for Tenchi and Hayato, she didn't see their shoulders shaking from suppressed laughter. The prince quickly regains his composure and speaks up again. "Well if you feel that way, how about you go with Hayato?"
The teal haired GP freezes in her tracks. "G...go with Hayato?" she questions. "What does he think about it?"
"I think it's a wonderful idea," Tenchi's cousin replies. "I'm sure that we'd both have a lot of fun."
"You think so?"
"Sure!" Hayato says with a cheery smile. "I know that you've got to have a bunch of really neat stories about your job, and I'm a great listener!"
Kiyone's cheeks go a slight shade of red as she smiles as well. "Okay then, it's a date!" She looks up at the sky, thinking, 'You were right my Lady! Thank you so much!'
______
Meanwhile, Washu is in her lab, watching the events unfold with Kiyone and their newest houseguest, Hayato. She clasps her hands together and makes a very cute face. "Aww," she begins in her childish voice, "young love!"
To be continued... ______
Author's notes: For those of you who don't read my 'The More Things Change...' storyline, I specifically created the character Hayato for Kiyone. She is one of my favorite characters but the prospect of something really going on between her and Tenchi is quite difficult what with several very beautiful interstellar women already after his heart. This way Kiyone stays happy and so do I for not leaving her without someone. -- lighthawkdemon
Questions or comments? E-mail me at: lighthawkdemon@yahoo.com
Next Episode: The First Date
______
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 14:
Onsen Romances
______
Tokimi stands proudly over her servant, Galaxy Police officer Kiyone Makibi. She suddenly frowns as she notices Kiyone begin to tremble in fear while still bowing deeply at her. The goddess reaches over and pulls the GP officer up into a standing position. She was able to look into her eyes for a brief moment and see pure terror in them. She is now frowning even more. "Tell me my child," she begins in her soft, soothing voice, "why are you so afraid?"
"I failed you my Lady," Kiyone whispers out. "I failed the mission you gave to me and now you are going to punish me." She starts to tremble more after these words.
The goddess sighs lightly and smiles. "Look at me," she calmly commands.
Kiyone does as she is ordered to do and looks into her Lady's deep, beautiful eyes. She instantly feels a calm relief flow through her, though she is still frightened at what her punishment will be.
"You have not failed me in any way and henceforth you will not be punished," Tokimi says calmly. "In fact, you proceeded with the mission exactly as I had planned and you fulfilled it perfectly."
The teal haired woman raises an eyebrow in confusion at the goddess. "But what are you talking about my Lady? You told me to get together with Tenchi."
The Goddess of Justice 'tsks' loudly while crossing her arms and shaking her head from side to side slowly. "That is the problem with you children today, you never fully listen! I ordered you to get closer to young Masaki, closer, not together. You, my dear, were the key element in helping him in his decision and the full unlocking of all of his powers."
"Oh," Kiyone meekly replies. She lowers her head in sadness and shame. "I thought you wanted me to get together with him. I would've liked that because I really liked him, he is so...different from all the others men I've been with in the past."
"Yes, he is quite special," Tokimi agrees, thinking about her first 'meeting' with him about a week ago. 'Such stamina!' she thinks with a sultry smile. The goddess shakes her head of those thoughts and brings them back to her servant. She places a hand on her shoulder in a comforting manner. "I am sorry that you misinterpreted what I was ordering you to do, but I can make it up to you in a way. It waits for you right at this moment and if you do not hurry to it, it just might get taken." She grabs her shoulders and begins to push her out the door with her change of clothes. "Go on now, I will contact you if I have another mission for you."
Kiyone mutters a quick, "Thank you my Lady," before the goddess tosses her out of the room and closes the door.
Tokimi smiles to herself and is about to leave when the air next to her shimmers with a mystical light as her younger sister Tsunami appears in all her glory. "That was quite sweet of you sister," she says in her rich, lovely voice.
"Thank you Tsunami, though I must admit, I heavily enjoyed trying to be the matchmaker this time."
The Goddess of Light places a hand over her mouth and giggles lightly. "Yes, Washu and myself have been wondering if you were ever going to join in." She suddenly frowns and puts her hands on her hips, a look that is not too common for her. "I know what you did with Tenchi, and on the day he chose! How could you?"
Now it is Tokimi's turn to place a hand over her mouth and giggle lightly. "Oh come now Tsunami, tell me you were never interested in him, even a little bit." Tsunami turns her head away, but the light flush across her cheeks can easily be seen. Tokimi's smile turns mischievous. "I thought so. He must have a curse on him or something where every interstellar woman he comes into contact with develops instantaneous feelings of want and desire for him." She chuckles after this comment. "Also, the boy is destined to be the ultimate ruler of the universe and husband to both my Champion and the Champion of Washu. I was interested in seeing if he was worthy."
"And was he?" Tsunami huffs.
"Oh yes," the elder goddess purrs. "He met my expectations, and exceeded them!"
______
"Hey Kiyone," Hayato starts, noticing the GP finally enter the floating onsen, "I was wondering if you were coming or not." He, Tenchi and Mihoshi are relaxing in the newest addition to the onsen, a large circular Jacuzzi. Ryoko decided to add it in a few days ago after hearing how comfortable they are from Nobuyuki, who was in one once a long time ago when he and his wife first married. Hayato and Mihoshi are both drinking a little bit of saké to help them relax even more.
"Oh, I've been meaning to try that hot tub thingie out," Kiyone ponders out loud. "So how is it?"
"It's great Kiyone!" Mihoshi happily states. "Hurry up and come on in!"
Her partner wastes no time in sprinting into the changing room and coming out very shortly afterwards in a large white towel. She gets in and sits down next to Mihoshi, so where those two are on one side of the Jacuzzi while Tenchi and Hayato are on the other side. The water jets feel extremely comfortable on her body so she wiggles down a bit so they are now spraying her entire back. "Wow, this is heaven!" she loudly exclaims.
The three other people in the hot tub with her chuckle lightly. Tenchi sinks in down to his neck and sighs happily. "I'm glad Ryoko put this in. This hot tub really helps to soothe my tired muscles."
"That's for sure," Hayato adds while taking a small sip of his saké. He looks over to Kiyone, who has closed her eyes and is relaxing happily letting the water jets do their work. He then looks over to Tenchi and Mihoshi, who nod slightly.
The Champion of Tsunami closes his eyes and lies back, hoping that the first step in he, Hayato and Mihoshi's plan works out well.
Hayato scoots forward towards Mihoshi and lifts one of her long, slender legs and places them on his lap. With one last look towards Kiyone and another nod from Mihoshi, Hayato begins to give the dark skinned GP a foot massage.
Mihoshi giggles loudly as his fingers touch a sensitive spot on her left foot. "Be careful, I'm really ticklish there," she coos at him.
This instantly gets Kiyone's attention as her eyes shoot open. Her eyes sink in the vision in front of her: Tenchi is sitting down across from her with his eyes closed and appears to be sleeping, Hayato is intently looking down at the dark foot in his lap and is gently massaging it and her partner is now laying back with a happy smile on her face and a light flush across her cheeks. Whether it is from the saké or from something else, she cannot tell. A strange sense of jealousy wells up inside of her. 'What?' her mind shouts, 'why am I feeling jealous? I mean I barely know this guy and all he's doing is giving Mihoshi a foot massage.'
Suddenly, another voice pops up inside of her head, 'Why are you lying to yourself? Just admit it, you already really like this guy and you want to be the one getting your foot massaged by him.'
Kiyone sighs deeply and grumpily looks away. Mihoshi giggles again and Kiyone strongly fights the urge to hit her very hard on the head. 'Damn it, I can't believe I'm already getting into this guy.'
Mihoshi glances at her partner and happily notes the very grumpy look on her face. 'She must like him more than I thought!' she thinks with a smile. 'I hope that Hayato is noticing how jealous she looks.'
The aforementioned cousin of Tenchi is meanwhile still gently giving the dark skinned beauty her foot massage. 'Her skin is so soft,' he thinks in awe. 'And it is so dark too! With her bright blue eyes and yellow hair...I've never met anyone so beautiful before!' He stops for a moment and blinks a few times. 'Wait a minute, I'm supposed to be keeping an eye on Kiyone! That's why I'm doing this in the first place, to see if she gets jealous. If she does, then that must mean that she likes me!' He smiles and glances over at the teal haired GP. His eyes go wide and he quickly looks back at Mihoshi's foot and continues to massage it. 'Whoa, she looks pissed! Can she like me that much already? Naw, it's just my imagination.' He places Mihoshi's left foot down and picks up her right and begins to massage that one as well.
The blonde squirms a little in his grasp. She looks over and can tell by the look on his face that he saw Kiyone and is doing a lot of thinking. 'Good, hopefully we can get those two together soon...but after this massage! Ooh this feels sooo good!' She giggles once more and swears that she hears Kiyone growl at her.
______
"Alright, we're done."
Ryoko pulls the strange helmet looking device off of her head and sits up on the table. She is in a brief state of awe at the new, yet old memories that are flooding through her consciousness. Washu warily walks up to her, holding a hand over her heart. "Is everything okay?" she slowly asks. "How are you feeling?"
The pirate turns her head towards her mother. Their eyes are locked for several moments, neither daring to make a sound. Ryoko's eyes suddenly fill up with tears just as she runs, arms outstretched, towards Washu. "Mommy!" she shouts just as the two embrace in a warm hug. "I remember," she cries out. "I remember everything! Thank you so much! Now I finally have a past!"
The former goddess pats her daughter calmly on the head while whispering out, "Anything for you, my precious little Ryoko."
______
Yosho is meanwhile sitting down in his shrine office drinking some green tea. He looks up as someone knocks on the office door. "You may come in," he responds politely. The former prince is not surprised to see his father and his mother come walking in. "Ah, Mother, Father. Just give me a moment to get you both cups so you can have some tea."
"Thank you Yosho," Funaho replies. The emperor and his first wife sit down in front of the table near the window. The empress gazes out the window, a slightly wistful look adorning her face. "It is always such a pleasure to be back home."
Yosho walks back to his parents with two cups. He gives them one and pours them some tea. "I noticed that Misaki is not with you at this moment. Where is she?"
"She is in the kitchen helping Sasami with dinner," Azusa replies. He takes a small sip of his green tea before continuing. "There is something we need to discuss with you Yosho."
The Shinto priest sighs deeply. "I still have no interests in becoming emperor Father. I enjoy my quiet little life here on earth and I wish to remain here for the rest of my days."
Funaho smiles warmly. "That is not what we wished to speak to you about Yosho. Your father, Misaki and myself have discussed this matter and have agreed that Tenchi is your rightful heir to the throne of Jurai. He will make a grand leader of the people. Besides, your father said earlier that Tenchi was to rule didn't he?"
Yosho sweat drops slightly. "Oh, you...you did? Well I...uh..."
The empress closes her eyes and begins to speak in an annoyed tone. "As usual, children never listen to their parents when they are discussing something important to them."
Azusa chuckles lightly. The former prince and great swordsman gulps loudly. "If you did not wish to speak to me about that matter, then what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?"
Funaho reaches into her robes and pulls out a small circular device that looks like it has been carved from one of the royal trees. "Our Lady Tsunami came to me in a dream and informed me of Tenchi's decision to give Ryoko back her other two gems. That meant that your tree would begin to die, causing you to do so as well." She reaches over and places the device in her son's hands. "One thing a parent never wishes to do is live longer than their children. This device was blessed by Tsunami and her incredible powers. When you place it on a royal tree bonded to a member of the Jurai Royal Family whose tree has taken root on a planet other than Jurai or any of its subsidiaries, it will give it the life that it would normally have had it not taken root."
Yosho stares at the small device in his hands in awe. "You...you mean..."
Azusa smiles slightly. "Yes Yosho. With that device, you will live out your normal Jurai life expectancy, meaning that you still have a very long time to live."
The priest smiles widely. "I was somewhat concerned over how much longer I had to live. Now I have a much longer time to even think about worrying about that. Mother, Father, thank you." He stands up and bows deeply to them both.
The emperor and first empress also stand up and bow to their son. "You are welcome," Funaho responds, "but it is not us who you should be thanking. You should be thanking Lady Tsunami."
Yosho smirks lightly. "I think I will."
"There is one more matter we wish to discuss with you," Azusa adds.
"And that is?"
Funaho smiles widely. "Your relationship with Miss Washu Hakubi." Yosho sweat drops again while scratching the back of his head nervously.
______
Ayeka is sitting out on the second floor porch knitting a purple sweater. Her mind occasionally lingers on her friend Ryoko, and if she was able to get her old memories back. "I do hope so," she whispers aloud. "It is a terrible thing not remembering your childhood."
As if she was summoned, Ryoko teleports in right in front of the first crown princess. She remains floating in midair while placing her hands on her hips calmly. "Hey."
The princess is instantly on her feet, clasping her hands together. "So? Did it work?"
Ryoko grins widely. "Yep. It's funny, but I feel kinda...whole now." She suddenly wraps her arms around Ayeka in a great big hug. "Thank you so much Ayeka. If it hadn't been for our little chat, I would've never thought about my childhood like that."
Ayeka smiles warmly and returns the hug with her good friend happily. "Think nothing of it Ryoko. I am just glad that you have all of you memories back."
"Me too princess. Me too."
______
Tenchi, Hayato, Mihoshi and a slightly grumpy, although she's trying to hide it, Kiyone leave the floating onsen. The three non-grumpy people are happily chatting on about the hot tub and how comfortable it is. Kiyone stays a step or two behind the group, remaining relatively silent. Her quiet thinking and somewhat broody mood is interrupted by Tenchi calling her name. "Kiyone? Hey Kiyone?"
"Hmm? What is it Tenchi?" the GP responds.
"I was planning on taking Ryoko and Ayeka out tomorrow night and I was wondering if you wanted to come along with us."
"W...what!" she asks startled. "Why would you want me to come with you?"
The prince scratches the back of his head. "Well...I noticed that you've been a little down lately so I figured that maybe going out would cheer you up."
"That's really sweet of you Tenchi, but I wouldn't want to get in you and Ryoko and Ayeka's way. I'd feel too much like a third wheel."
"Actually," Mihoshi chimes in, "you'd be more like a fourth wheel!"
Kiyone grumbles angrily and looks to the side. Luckily for Tenchi and Hayato, she didn't see their shoulders shaking from suppressed laughter. The prince quickly regains his composure and speaks up again. "Well if you feel that way, how about you go with Hayato?"
The teal haired GP freezes in her tracks. "G...go with Hayato?" she questions. "What does he think about it?"
"I think it's a wonderful idea," Tenchi's cousin replies. "I'm sure that we'd both have a lot of fun."
"You think so?"
"Sure!" Hayato says with a cheery smile. "I know that you've got to have a bunch of really neat stories about your job, and I'm a great listener!"
Kiyone's cheeks go a slight shade of red as she smiles as well. "Okay then, it's a date!" She looks up at the sky, thinking, 'You were right my Lady! Thank you so much!'
______
Meanwhile, Washu is in her lab, watching the events unfold with Kiyone and their newest houseguest, Hayato. She clasps her hands together and makes a very cute face. "Aww," she begins in her childish voice, "young love!"
To be continued... ______
Author's notes: For those of you who don't read my 'The More Things Change...' storyline, I specifically created the character Hayato for Kiyone. She is one of my favorite characters but the prospect of something really going on between her and Tenchi is quite difficult what with several very beautiful interstellar women already after his heart. This way Kiyone stays happy and so do I for not leaving her without someone. -- lighthawkdemon
Questions or comments? E-mail me at: lighthawkdemon@yahoo.com
Next Episode: The First Date