Chapter 3: More Havoc Is To Come

"Ah ha! We found that wretched bounty hunter!" shouted a blue armored man with a number 1 on his chest.

The man with green armor and a number 2 on his chest then smiled, "It was a good idea that we managed to find out his life signals when we fought him last time,"

"Uh, you guys do remember the bounty hunter did flatten us last time?" gulped a purple-armored man with a goatee, and a number 3 on his chest.

The yellow armored man with glasses and a number 4 on his chest then said, "That was pure luck! No one's tougher than the Naradaka Squad!"

"Then why do we need those spheres?" asked Number 3, sweat dropping.

Number 4 began to sweat, "Uh…anyway, its time for some payback!"

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"Good morning, Princess Susami!" shouted the red-marked tube called Hasaka, floating around.

"Prince Hitori is already taking care of the cooking," said the blue-marked tube, Kamadaki.

Hitori's voice then shouted from the kitchen, "How many times do I have to tell you two not to call me that?!!!" Hitori, Roze, and Uzuki had been staying with Tenchi for a few days, until Hitori got a temporally place of his own.

Susami smiled as she walked into the kitchen and cheerfully shouted to Hitori, "Hi big brother!" She was eager to know about him, since she was a baby when he disappeared.

Hitori turned from the eggs he was frying, and said, "Hello Susami. I just wanted to do something to earn my keep here, so I decided to do some cooking,"

"Wow! You cook?" asked Susami, being a lover of cooking herself.

"When you live on your own, it's a must needed talent," smiled Hitori, before he went back to making breakfast.

Ayeka had been quietly watching, and she thought in amazement, "He actually smiled…perhaps he still has some of the gentleness he had when we still were still children…

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*Flashback*

"Can you reach it?" asked young Hitori, supporting little Ayeka on his shoulders. The two Jurian children were trying to get some sweets that the cook had made.

"I almost…" began Ayeka, her pudgy little fingers gripping the tray. Suddenly, Hitori lost his balance, and the two fell back.

Hitori landed on his backside, but managed to catch the tray without dropping a sweet.

"I got it!" smiled Hitori, but then he saw Ayeka was crying. Her knee was red and looked painfully sore. Hitori fell bad, and said, "Here…take them all. I made you fall,"
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Ayeka was alerted back to reality when Susami pounded on the frying pan with a spoon, shouting, "Wake up, everybody! Breakfast time!"

"Move over, blubber buns!" shouted Ryoko, pushing Ayeka's large self away.

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Some time later…

"Will you two just leave me alone?!!" shouted Hitori, walking through the woods as Roze and Uzuki followed him like little puppies.

"Yeah, you leave him alone!" shouted Roze, stepping in front of Uzuki.

Uzuki then scooped up Roze, and said, "He was talking to you!" She then threw her into a tree. "Now we're alone, my love," smiled Uzuki, wrapping her arms around Hitori's neck.

Hitori then decided to ask, "Hey, how'd you get into that jewel in the first place?"

"Well, long, long ago, I came to the planet Jurai. The people were astounded by my powers and my wisdom. The king was afraid his people might dethrone him and put me in his place, so he sealed into that stone with by the very sword you have there," explained Uzuki, pointing to Hitori's sword. It was fixed on his robe's belt, just in case of an emergency.

Hitori sighed, "Yeah, even the glorious king can have dark secrets…"

"Huh?" went Uzuki.

"Oh nothing," responded Hitori, as Roze climbed down the tree she had been thrown into.

"You little…" growled Roze, reaching for something on her leg.

"You two stop it! I get the feeling we got company…." said Hitori, pulling out his sword and extending the energy blade.

To Be Continued in Chapter 4: The Jurian Trap