*~Before you begin to read the story, I find that you must read this
annoying author's note first. . First, I forgot my disclaimer in my
earlier chapter. I do not own any of the Tenchi Muyo series characters,
places, etc. I am simply using them for this fanfic.
Also, although I didn't get the eight reviews that I had requested, I
decided to post this new chapter. Why? Because the reviews I did get were
all good, and they willed me to go on. I appreciate those of you who
reviewed, ::hug::
And now onto the story.... *~
Chapter One
Knealing outside by the quickly blossoming garden near the Masaki home, Ayeka sighed and glanced up at the sky. The sun was full and bright, it shone down it's rays with such force Ayeka found herself wishing that she could strip out of her robes and simply walk around in a slip or nightgown. Blushing a bit as this thought hit her, she rolled her eyes in frustration of herself and sighed.
"Foolish thinking will get nor you or I anywhere." It wasn't the first time that she had muttered that phrase under her breath, it was something that her father had long said to her, in fact she couldn't remember doing or saying something foolish and not have him say that to her.
Adjusting her large tan colored sun hat, Ayeka slipped her small amount of tools back into her pale violet garden bag, scooped up the sky blue water jug, and stood up. Looking around the empty yard, she could feel the imense power of the thick air around her. No one else was outside, there were no blasts or screams or the echoing blows of something, or someone for that matter, being tossed against a wall. 'It almost feels unnatural.' She thought, as she began to walk slowly back to the house, feeling sweat dribble down her forehead.
As she stepped inside the house, she was hit with a burst of cold air, and opened her eyes wider in surprise. Stepping into the living room, she glanced around and rolled her eyes. Kiyone was perched ontop of one of the large cushioned seats arms, Mihowshi was lying on her stomach on the sofa, Ryoko was sitting on the air conditioner, in a position that she would of liked to call sultry but a position Ayeka would of called... something that just simply wasn't in a princesses proper vocabulary, and Sasami was fanning herself with a large brightly colored paper fan with Ryo-Ohki in her lap.
"Ayeka!" Sasami cried, looking up at her elder sister in a mix of surprise and mild shock. "I can't believe you were outside working in this weather!"
As the others turned and looked at Ayeka, mirroring similar expressions to the one Sasami was upholding, Ayeka felt a light flush begin to creep up the bottom of her neck.
"Well, you see.. I wasn't working persay. I was simply checking on the lovely flowers that myself and my sister have worked for to keep healthy.. Isn't that right Sasami?" She had began talking with mild confidence, and then in the last bit she glanced back over to Sasami, her eyes wondering over her younger sisters face.
Nodding, Sasami smiled a bit and said, "Oh yes, Ayeka and I have worked quite hard on those flowers... Next time sister, you should ask me to help you, after all they're my flowers too."
After a few more minutes of idle chit chat and rather akward laughter, Ayeka quickly excused herself upstairs, and hurried up to the bathroom. There, she shut the door tightly behind her, and stared into the mirror.
Seeing how her sweat soaked bangs were smooshed against her forehead, and how her robes were slightly ruffled and then as she glanced down and saw the hanful or so of stray pieces of grass that decorated her shoes, she sighed and sat down on the edge of the tub.
'At least Tenchi didn't see me in this state.' She thought inwardly, slipping off her shoes and tossing them over near the door with a light clunk. It was a mild but somewhat rewarding consolation.
Standing back up, she splashed some cool water onto her face, and then brushed out her hair with her fingers, realizing that her brush wasn't still in the bathroom where she had left it the night before. Shrugging this thought off, she fixed her robes and cleaned off her shoes, before heading daintly back down stairs, knowing that lunch would soon be ready.
Scooting into one of the unoccupied kitchen chairs, Ayeka looked to her left and saw Kiyone; who at the moment was trying not to smack Mihowshi, and then looked to her right and saw no one. 'Maybe Tenchi will happen to sit there...'
In a moment of pure irony, Tenchi popped into the kitchen smiling idly, and then took the seat next to Ayeka. "Hello there Lady Ayeka, how are you doing today?"
Nearly jumping, Ayeka forced herself to smile pleasantly and said, "Oh I'm fine, thank you. How are you doing today Lord Tenchi?"
As he rambled on kindly about this or that, Ayeka bit down on her bottom lip a bit and tried to uphold a smile. Even the air conditioner wasn't killing all of the heat, and was trying her hardest to uphold her dignified position with class and elegance. Flopping over the table and smelling sickly of sweat and weak purfume certainly didn't qualify as either of those.
"And lunch is served." Sasami's sweet voice cut into Ayeka's thoughts and she looked over at her sister, as she procedded to place a large bowl of beautifully cut up salad in the center of the table.
As the others gushed over how nice it looked and how perfect it was for a day like today, Sasami slipped into a chair and beamed, a light tinge of a pale pink blush inching into her cheeks proudly. Ayeka smiled over at her sister, and poured herself some tea, before passing the kettle onto Tenchi.
"Thank you Miss Ayeka." He said, as he took the hot kettle from her dainty hands, and poured himself a small cup.
"You're welcome Lord Tenchi." She responded, in a tone that she hoped was of mild enjoyment and ease.
Later, in the midsts of the lunch, something happened that would make Ayeka feel like a little school girl again, giggling and laughing with her little friends and thinking about it long into the night when she should be asleep.
It started out harmlessly enough, Ayeka merely asked Tenchi to pass her the kettle again, and as he did so, the kettle began to slip from his hands, and as Ayeka reached to catch it, his hands enclosed over hers, and they stayed like that for a moment longer than expected.
Blushing, he murmmered, "I'm sorry Lady Ayeka, I er.. Didn't mean to drop the kettle.. Are you alright?"
Nodding, Ayeka said quietly, "Yes Lord Tenchi, I'm fine." And then turned away a bit, hoping to hide her flush.
The somewhat touching mood was quickly destroyed when Ryoko let out a loud belch and began to laugh, and the others stared at her, unimpressed.
"Oh Ryoko." Said Washu with a mixture of dissapointment and embaressment, for she had stepped into the kitched just in time to see and hear her belch.
At that Ryoko only continued to laugh, and then leaned over the table to peck an already embaressed Tenchi on the cheek, before phasing away.
"Lovely." Ayeka muttered under her breath, and Tenchi heard her and chuckled lightly.
"Oh yes, she is quite lovely isn't she? Just the ideal of class." He said, and gave Ayeka small wink.
It was later that evening, when Ayeka was perched out on the porch swing and writing in a small lilac colored notebook, when she Tenchi out by her garden. Looking up in mild interest, Ayeka stood up quietly and walked over to the edge of the porch, trying to see what he was doing.
Squinting her eyes in the dim light, Ayeka saw him kneal by the flowers, and saw him pluck one from the moist ground. He rose it to his nose and sniffed it, and she could barely make out the smile on his face. Just before he began to walk back to the house, Ayeka scurried back inside, feeling quite content.
*~Alright, there you have it, the official Chapter one. I've decided that as long as I get at least five reviews per chapter so far, I will continue this story. If not, I'll just leave it until I get them or until someone somehow contacts me and convinces me to continue on. I hope that you all like this story, and yes I realize that I left it off at a rather odd note. And everything will begin to interlock more and more as the story goes on, if I continue it I mean, so if you're interested please review!*~
And now onto the story.... *~
Chapter One
Knealing outside by the quickly blossoming garden near the Masaki home, Ayeka sighed and glanced up at the sky. The sun was full and bright, it shone down it's rays with such force Ayeka found herself wishing that she could strip out of her robes and simply walk around in a slip or nightgown. Blushing a bit as this thought hit her, she rolled her eyes in frustration of herself and sighed.
"Foolish thinking will get nor you or I anywhere." It wasn't the first time that she had muttered that phrase under her breath, it was something that her father had long said to her, in fact she couldn't remember doing or saying something foolish and not have him say that to her.
Adjusting her large tan colored sun hat, Ayeka slipped her small amount of tools back into her pale violet garden bag, scooped up the sky blue water jug, and stood up. Looking around the empty yard, she could feel the imense power of the thick air around her. No one else was outside, there were no blasts or screams or the echoing blows of something, or someone for that matter, being tossed against a wall. 'It almost feels unnatural.' She thought, as she began to walk slowly back to the house, feeling sweat dribble down her forehead.
As she stepped inside the house, she was hit with a burst of cold air, and opened her eyes wider in surprise. Stepping into the living room, she glanced around and rolled her eyes. Kiyone was perched ontop of one of the large cushioned seats arms, Mihowshi was lying on her stomach on the sofa, Ryoko was sitting on the air conditioner, in a position that she would of liked to call sultry but a position Ayeka would of called... something that just simply wasn't in a princesses proper vocabulary, and Sasami was fanning herself with a large brightly colored paper fan with Ryo-Ohki in her lap.
"Ayeka!" Sasami cried, looking up at her elder sister in a mix of surprise and mild shock. "I can't believe you were outside working in this weather!"
As the others turned and looked at Ayeka, mirroring similar expressions to the one Sasami was upholding, Ayeka felt a light flush begin to creep up the bottom of her neck.
"Well, you see.. I wasn't working persay. I was simply checking on the lovely flowers that myself and my sister have worked for to keep healthy.. Isn't that right Sasami?" She had began talking with mild confidence, and then in the last bit she glanced back over to Sasami, her eyes wondering over her younger sisters face.
Nodding, Sasami smiled a bit and said, "Oh yes, Ayeka and I have worked quite hard on those flowers... Next time sister, you should ask me to help you, after all they're my flowers too."
After a few more minutes of idle chit chat and rather akward laughter, Ayeka quickly excused herself upstairs, and hurried up to the bathroom. There, she shut the door tightly behind her, and stared into the mirror.
Seeing how her sweat soaked bangs were smooshed against her forehead, and how her robes were slightly ruffled and then as she glanced down and saw the hanful or so of stray pieces of grass that decorated her shoes, she sighed and sat down on the edge of the tub.
'At least Tenchi didn't see me in this state.' She thought inwardly, slipping off her shoes and tossing them over near the door with a light clunk. It was a mild but somewhat rewarding consolation.
Standing back up, she splashed some cool water onto her face, and then brushed out her hair with her fingers, realizing that her brush wasn't still in the bathroom where she had left it the night before. Shrugging this thought off, she fixed her robes and cleaned off her shoes, before heading daintly back down stairs, knowing that lunch would soon be ready.
Scooting into one of the unoccupied kitchen chairs, Ayeka looked to her left and saw Kiyone; who at the moment was trying not to smack Mihowshi, and then looked to her right and saw no one. 'Maybe Tenchi will happen to sit there...'
In a moment of pure irony, Tenchi popped into the kitchen smiling idly, and then took the seat next to Ayeka. "Hello there Lady Ayeka, how are you doing today?"
Nearly jumping, Ayeka forced herself to smile pleasantly and said, "Oh I'm fine, thank you. How are you doing today Lord Tenchi?"
As he rambled on kindly about this or that, Ayeka bit down on her bottom lip a bit and tried to uphold a smile. Even the air conditioner wasn't killing all of the heat, and was trying her hardest to uphold her dignified position with class and elegance. Flopping over the table and smelling sickly of sweat and weak purfume certainly didn't qualify as either of those.
"And lunch is served." Sasami's sweet voice cut into Ayeka's thoughts and she looked over at her sister, as she procedded to place a large bowl of beautifully cut up salad in the center of the table.
As the others gushed over how nice it looked and how perfect it was for a day like today, Sasami slipped into a chair and beamed, a light tinge of a pale pink blush inching into her cheeks proudly. Ayeka smiled over at her sister, and poured herself some tea, before passing the kettle onto Tenchi.
"Thank you Miss Ayeka." He said, as he took the hot kettle from her dainty hands, and poured himself a small cup.
"You're welcome Lord Tenchi." She responded, in a tone that she hoped was of mild enjoyment and ease.
Later, in the midsts of the lunch, something happened that would make Ayeka feel like a little school girl again, giggling and laughing with her little friends and thinking about it long into the night when she should be asleep.
It started out harmlessly enough, Ayeka merely asked Tenchi to pass her the kettle again, and as he did so, the kettle began to slip from his hands, and as Ayeka reached to catch it, his hands enclosed over hers, and they stayed like that for a moment longer than expected.
Blushing, he murmmered, "I'm sorry Lady Ayeka, I er.. Didn't mean to drop the kettle.. Are you alright?"
Nodding, Ayeka said quietly, "Yes Lord Tenchi, I'm fine." And then turned away a bit, hoping to hide her flush.
The somewhat touching mood was quickly destroyed when Ryoko let out a loud belch and began to laugh, and the others stared at her, unimpressed.
"Oh Ryoko." Said Washu with a mixture of dissapointment and embaressment, for she had stepped into the kitched just in time to see and hear her belch.
At that Ryoko only continued to laugh, and then leaned over the table to peck an already embaressed Tenchi on the cheek, before phasing away.
"Lovely." Ayeka muttered under her breath, and Tenchi heard her and chuckled lightly.
"Oh yes, she is quite lovely isn't she? Just the ideal of class." He said, and gave Ayeka small wink.
It was later that evening, when Ayeka was perched out on the porch swing and writing in a small lilac colored notebook, when she Tenchi out by her garden. Looking up in mild interest, Ayeka stood up quietly and walked over to the edge of the porch, trying to see what he was doing.
Squinting her eyes in the dim light, Ayeka saw him kneal by the flowers, and saw him pluck one from the moist ground. He rose it to his nose and sniffed it, and she could barely make out the smile on his face. Just before he began to walk back to the house, Ayeka scurried back inside, feeling quite content.
*~Alright, there you have it, the official Chapter one. I've decided that as long as I get at least five reviews per chapter so far, I will continue this story. If not, I'll just leave it until I get them or until someone somehow contacts me and convinces me to continue on. I hope that you all like this story, and yes I realize that I left it off at a rather odd note. And everything will begin to interlock more and more as the story goes on, if I continue it I mean, so if you're interested please review!*~