(THUMP)
"Oww!"
Tenchi jumped up to a sitting position in his bed, looking at the source of the sound that had woken him. In the dim light he could see the outline of Sasami as she stood rubbing her nose.
"Sasami? Are you all right?" Tenchi scrambled out of the bed to approach Sasami and make sure she was fine.
"I'll be okay Tenchi. I woke up like I always do, and started wandering to where my clothes would have been if I'd been sleeping in my own room, but instead, I ran into the wall. I wasn't quite awake, yet."
Tenchi could hear the sheepishness in her voice, though he couldn't really see her face due to the darkness. He reached out and took her by the hand and pulled her away from the wall into his arms. He heard her suck in her breath as he did so and smiled.
"So, is there a reason you're wandering around my room at..." Tenchi looked at his clock. "...Four-thirty in the morning?"
"I wanted to get started on breakfast of course. I skipped out on breakfast and dinner yesterday, I have to start again."
"Sasami, we'll survive for a day without you making us breakfast. It's your day until breakfast is ready, right? If you don't go and make breakfast now, your day will last a little longer. Of course your mother is probably already up and making breakfast, just like yesterday. It's Ayeka's turn, after all."
"But, I wouldn't feel right if I just skipped out on it."
"You can start again with lunch today Sasami, then you'll have a whole week before you skip any. That's plenty. If it really makes you feel bad, you can do something else around the house."
"Well, maybe..."
"Okay, what can I do to convince you to stay here and just relax for a while?"
She turned her head so that their faces were directly opposite each other, and she was now close enough that he could see her face. She was chewing on her lip, but Tenchi could see the twinkle of mischief in her eyes.
"I suppose if you kissed me, I might be willing to forget about it..."
He'd sensed that coming, and realized he couldn't be mad at her. Any of the others would have done something similar, so hearing it from Sasami shouldn't be any different.
"Sasami..." He did his best to put the warning in his voice.
With the laughter audible in her voice, Tenchi knew he was doomed. He turned her around and gave her a tiny shove in the direction of the futon.
"Now go back to bed, it's too early to be moving around yet."
"Yes, Tenchi."
--
Ayeka studied her reflection in the mirror, making sure it met with her standards. She'd debated long and hard over what she was going to wear today, and waiting through everyone else's turn to get here had been excruciating. None of that mattered now, though. It was finally her turn, finally her chance to show Tenchi why she was the one he should choose.
She had been working on this dress in her spare moments for the last week. In the end it was similar to the lavender one she worn the other day, but this one was dark red. It was low-cut, just showing the top of the gap between her breasts, and made of a tight-fitting material which also stretched a bit so that it hugged the curves of her hips. It had wide straps at the shoulder, no sleeves, and it stopped about the middle of her thighs, showing more of her legs than she ever thought to except in private with the man she loved.
The reaction she'd gotten from Tenchi the last time confirmed her expectations of what he would like, so she was going with a similar look today. She just wished her perfect skin hadn't gotten blemished from all her time out in the sun. But there was no turning back now, and Tenchi seemed not to mind the extreme suntan Mihoshi had, so a little color wouldn't be too bad.
It still grated that she had to go last, the only thing consoling her at all was that she would be the last to make an impression before his one day off from spending time with a specific girl. She would do her best to see that the impression she left was a lasting one.
She wasn't sure if Tenchi had anything in particular in mind for them today like he had for Sasami. She hoped so, but if not, she would just enjoy spending time around him without the presence of any of the other ladies, and especially Ryoko, of course. Trying to get Tenchi away from her presence was near-impossible, but she would be forced to leave them alone this time. She had a few ideas for things they might do if Tenchi didn't have plans.
(KNOCK, KNOCK)
"Ayeka?" Misaki called from outside Ayeka's door.
"Yes mother?"
"I think breakfast should be about ready, at least Funaho seems to think so any way. She wouldn't let me try any of the other things I wanted to. So you can go get Tenchi now."
Ayeka rose to her feet and hurried to the door. She opened it to face her mother, and blushed a tiny bit upon receiving her mother's inspection.
"Well, he'll like that, I'm sure. Now get going," said Misaki.
"Thank you mother."
Ayeka took a couple quick steps toward the stairs before she caught herself, and stopped to turn back and embrace her mother. Then she hurried down the stairs to go and greet Tenchi.
--
"Tenchi?"
Tenchi opened his eyes and turned to face Sasami. He'd been dozing for a while, not really asleep, and obviously Sasami had noticed. She was sitting up, with her arms wrapped around her knees, a look of concentration on her face.
"Yes, Sasami?"
"Is it so hard? Thinking of me like a woman, that is."
"Is it okay if I say yes and no?"
Sasami's brows furrowed a bit, and she angled her head to look directly at him.
"It's like this, Sasami. I can look at you, and I'm very attracted to what I see. But your personality hasn't changed much. You're still the same mischievous, playful, sweet, stubborn girl underneath. Depending on the moment, I think of you in different ways."
"I guess. This is just really hard for me. It's bad enough trying to be someone for you to like, but I know that if I get what I want, it'll hurt my sister, and my friends, too."
"Why do you think I've struggled with this so much, Sasami? No matter what, somebody I care for very much gets hurt."
"So why do you have to choose?"
"Would that make you feel any better? If I told you all that I didn't want you, what would you think? What would you feel?"
Tenchi could almost see the thoughts running through Sasami's mind. If he guessed right, they were similar to ones he himself had thought, though from the other side.
(KNOCK, KNOCK)
Sasami bounced to her feet, and headed for the door. Tenchi was about to protest, when he realized that the women had been answering the door for him every morning, except that first one with Washu when there was nobody else to answer it except him. He crawled out of bed, and smoothed his hair a bit as he went to greet Sasami's sister.
"Good morning, Ayeka." Sasami gave her sister a quick hug, then turned around and headed back into the house, presumably to find her things and get changed.
"Good morning, Sasami. My, those pajamas are rather... tight, aren't they?"
"Yeah, mom picked them out. They're actually pretty comfortable, I think I might keep wearing them. At least, once a week any way."
Sasami disappeared into the bathroom as she said this, missing Ayeka's shocked look. Tenchi grimaced as she turned her gaze on him, then he composed himself.
"Good morning, Ayeka. I, uh, think she was telling the truth about your mother picking them."
Ayeka's look gradually eased from a frown to a considering look, and she answered, "Good morning to you, Lord Tenchi. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised by anything my mother does any more. I'm not sure if she changed while I was away or if I just never noticed it, but she seems to have developed a definite matchmaker's personality quite suddenly."
"Well, you were betrothed to grandfather before, so she probably thought her work was done with you at least."
"You may be right. So, did you have a good time with Sasami last night?"
His eyes nearly popping from their sockets, Tenchi answered, "Er... Well, I guess I did."
"It wasn't too hard to treat her fairly?"
"Um, can we wait until she's gone before we discuss this?"
"You're right of course. Well, care to show me around quickly?"
"Aah, well, you're seeing it pretty much. Not much to show, there's the kitchen, the living room of course, there's a storage closet back there, and that's my room. Sasami's in the bathroom, of course. It's pretty small, really."
Tenchi motioned to the various areas as he described them, turning in place to point, as there was no need to do anything else.
"It's very nice, Tenchi. You should be proud of your father, and I suppose we should all thank Washu and him for doing this for us."
"Yeah, I suppose."
The door to the bathroom opened, and Sasami came out, wearing her typical Juraian clothes.
"Bye you two, see you at breakfast. Thanks Tenchi, I had a great time last night."
Sasami scampered out of the house leaving Ayeka and Tenchi alone.
"Excuse me a minute, make yourself comfortable," said Tenchi, then he
disappeared into the bathroom himself. A few minutes later he returned,
his hair combed and some fresh clothes in place. He walked over to
Ayeka, and offered her his arm.
"Well, shall we go, princess?"
Ayeka giggled, and took his arm. "Yes, let's. And please just call me Ayeka."
"Only when you call me just Tenchi instead of Lord Tenchi all the time."
"Ah, I will try Lo... Tenchi."
They began the walk to his father's house, then Tenchi said, "That outfit looks very nice on you, Ayeka."
He received a tight squeeze on his arm in return, but forced himself not to look at her. His cheeks reddened a bit, but he kept walking.
"Thank you, Tenchi."
--
"Really, mother. He was very nice and he didn't do anything you wouldn't approve of." Sasami was hovering between laughing and crying as Misaki questioned her about her time spent with Tenchi the previous night.
"That's good. Not that I expected otherwise, but he is still a man, so you can never be certain."
"Please, mother..." Sasami sighed, and turned her face away to send a pleading look at Funaho. She heard snickers coming from everyone else around the table and flushed a little bit in anger. "Aunt Funaho, nothing happened. Can you get her to leave me alone?"
"I never interfere with a mother parenting her child, Sasami." Funaho smiled as she shook her head.
Sasami bowed her head for a moment to clear her head, then snapped it back up to face the table. "Nothing happened! Really!"
"Of course, dear. You already said that. Would you please go get the last dish from the counter in the kitchen?" Misaki hummed quietly as she set down the dishes she'd been carrying.
"Aaarrgghh!" Sasami jumped to her feet and stormed into the kitchen.
"Do you usually grill your daughters in front of a crowd? I'm wondering if it makes them listen to you better that way." Washu laughed in Ryoko's direction, but her daughter failed to rise to the bait and instead just grimaced.
"Whatever works. Sasami needed to know I was going to be monitoring her carefully, that's all."
"Nothing happened mother!" Sasami growled, returning from the kitchen.
"Yes, dear."
Sasami set the dish down heavily, and flopped into her seat, mumbling to herself. She didn't want to look at all the grinning faces at the moment, so she buried her face in her hands.At that moment Tenchi and Ayeka walked in, and Sasami thankfully began eating along with everyone else. She vowed revenge on everyone for laughing at her, everyone except Mihoshi who'd watched the whole thing with bright puzzled eyes.
"Interesting dress, Ayeka. Good thing it's not windy today." Ryoko pointedly looked at her food while commenting.
"Actually, I doubt the wind would do much to that dress, Ryoko. It looks like it's stuck to her pretty well." Washu also commented without looking directly at Ayeka, who colored slightly.
"It looks great, Ayeka," said Kiyone. "Ignore the peanut gallery."
"It's very pretty Ayeka," said Mihoshi. "You should show off your legs like that more often, right Tenchi?"
Tenchi nearly choked on the rice he had been shoveling into his mouth to pretend he wasn't listening.
"Thank you, Kiyone, Mihoshi. I'll think about it." Ayeka smiled at the two GP officers, then frowned at Washu and Ryoko.
"So, Tenchi. What are your plans for today?" asked Funaho.
Tenchi sighed, he still didn't like talking about these things in front of everyone. "Well, I kinda thought I might take Ayeka for a walk back by the hill where all the flowers are growing. And I was hoping we might have a picnic underneath Funaho. The tree, that is..."
"I think we all knew which Funaho you were talking about, Tenchi. That sounds quite nice. Enjoy yourselves today, you two." Misaki smiled in their direction before sipping some tea.
"That sounds wonderful, Tenchi. I can't wait." Ayeka squeezed his arm momentarily.
"Ah, yes, well, I should really get going. Ryo-Ohki?" Tenchi stood up and left, and the cabbit hopped out after him.
After he was out of earshot, Washu commented, "Anybody else notice he seems to be putting a little more thought into things now than when we started?"
"He's learning of course," said Funaho. "He's inexperienced, Washu, not stupid."
"Yeah, that's maybe what has me worried. We're gonna turn that boy into something dangerous if we're not careful. I don't think it's a good idea to let him out of our sight too often, at least not where other ladies might be present."
"How... noble of you, Washu."
"Hey, just protecting my investment. I don't want him running out and bringing another dozen women back from town to live with us. I'm not sure even I could keep up with the amount of damage this house would suffer."
"Of course." Funaho sipped some tea as numerous sets of eyes turned to look at the doorway Tenchi had disappeared through. "Tenchi the lady killer. That could be interesting. The young noblewomen on Jurai will be swooning when we bring this news back, Sister."
"Indeed," answered Misaki.
--
Tenchi carried Ryo-Ohki back to the fields, having chased her down for the third time that morning. "All right, enough for today? I can't keep chasing you like this Ryo-Ohki. The carrots are doing pretty well, though, I guess we can head back."
"Miya!"
Tenchi smiled, and picked up the tools in his right hand so Ryo-Ohki could grab his left. They headed back for the house hand in hand, Ryo-Ohki humming happily to herself.
"Can you keep a secret, Ryo-Ohki?"
"Miya!"
"You can, huh? Okay, don't tell any of the ladies this, but I think I'm starting to like this whole kissing and dating thing."
"Mreowr?"
"Yes, well, you're probably a little young to really understand yet. For some reason they seem to end up wearing these really amazing outfits whenever it's their turn, like they think they need to so I'll notice how pretty they all are. It's unnecessary, of course, I figured out a long time ago how beautiful they all are, but I can't say I really mind when they end up in some of those tiny outfits."
"Meow..." Tenchi noticed the red in Ryo-Ohki's cheeks, and laughed as he felt his own cheeks heating up.
"Yeah, that's pretty terrible of me, isn't it, ogling the girls all the time. I just can't help it though. You know, you looked pretty good in those shorts and tank top at the beach the other day. If you're not careful I might set my sights on you, too."
"Miya? Miya, meow, miya!"
"Heh, heh, I'm not quite sure what you're saying right now, Ryo-Ohki. Oh, well, it's kind of nice having someone to talk to right now who isn't scrutinizing every thing I say for its hidden meaning regarding our relationship. Even if the conversation is pretty one-way." Tenchi smiled down at Ryo-Ohki.
"Miya!"
Tenchi laughed, and they finished the walk back to the house, Ryo-Ohki swinging his arms back and forth merrily.
--
"I guess it's time for you two to head over there. Bring your battle histories books to studies later, we're going to teach you some military strategy for a change. Your Shinto studies are going very well." Yosho turned to head back for his shrine, while Tenchi gathered everything up.
"Okay, grandpa." 'That should be interesting,' Tenchi thought. 'Grandpa hasn't ever taught me anything like that before, only asked me to read some of those books to learn a little about warfare.'
He and Ryoko wandered back over to the practice grounds where Misaki was instructing only her two daughters today, with Mihoshi and Kiyone on patrol.
"Welcome, you two. Well, now that you're here, Ayeka, you can practice with Tenchi for a bit, Ryoko, you and Sasami." Misaki shuffled them into place quickly, and started instructing them in a few more movements, and the reasons behind them. Eventually she announced time for sparring, and Tenchi and Ayeka nervously faced each other.
"You know, Ayeka, I haven't really gotten used to the idea of sparring with any of you. It feels pretty weird."
"I find I do agree with you on that, Lord Tenchi."
"Ahem..."
"Ah... Tenchi."
"Better. Shall we?"
"Yes."
Tenchi and Ayeka started some light sparring, and Tenchi quickly realized he was much too fast for Ayeka. He rapped her numerous times, and they broke it off shortly with rueful smiles on both their faces.
"I guess you're too skilled for me, Lo... Tenchi."
"I guess."
"I don't," growled Misaki. "That was pitiful, Ayeka. I want to see you actually using your skills, not acting like a pitiful damsel who can't protect herself. Let's see, how do we motivate you this time?" Misaki looked at Tenchi for a moment. "Ah, I know. Every time Tenchi lands a blow, we'll let him spank you. How does that sound?"
"What?!" yelled Tenchi and Ayeka in unison.
"You heard me. And no backing off Tenchi, I know what you can do, I can tell if you're not trying just like I can tell when my daughter isn't trying."
"But mother..." cried Ayeka.
"Yes?"
"Er..."
Tenchi said, "I don't think I can do that, Misaki. Spank her, I mean. I can probably go full out sparring, but not that."
"Really? You wouldn't like to lay your hands on that nice, round, firm bottom, then? Fine. Every blow Tenchi lands, Ryoko gets to spank Ayeka."
"What?!" cried Tenchi and Ayeka in unison, once more.
Ryoko grinned evilly from where she and Sasami had stopped to watch Misaki. "Sounds good to me. Let her have it, Tenchi."
"Mother... surely you don't mean it." Ayeka looked at her mother desperately.
"Well, take your pick, Tenchi or Ryoko. It's gonna be one of them. Of course all you have to do is defend yourself against Tenchi properly and it really won't matter, will it?"
"Ah... well, in that case I would prefer it to be... ah... Tenchi." Ayeka turned bright red, and couldn't look him in the face.
"Bah, no fair! Oh, what the heck. Let her have it Tenchi, spank her good for me." Ryoko hovered in the air in a sitting position to watch carefully.
"Um, I don't think this is a good idea..." Tenchi started.
"I think it's a very good idea. None of my daughters will grow up to be wimpy little girly-girls, I don't care who they're fighting. She needs to get that message to stick in her brain somehow." Misaki turned her commanding gaze on Ayeka, who flinched back from it.
"Um, okay... Ayeka? Ready?"
"I... well, okay." Ayeka took a few deep breaths before taking her place opposite Tenchi. Her mind was racing, she couldn't seem to get it under control at the moment. But if she didn't concentrate she would be...
"Begin!"
Ayeka threw her defense up as Tenchi started attacking, desperately fending off every attack he made. She slipped punches, blocked some more, and threw some punches and short kicks in return. She avoided watching his eyes, preferring to concentrate on the center of his body so she could read his movements.
Tenchi circled and attacked warily now. His huge speed advantage was obviously a thing of the past, she must have been holding back. He couldn't manage to slip past her guard at all, not that he wanted to terribly. He'd be about as mortified as she would if he had to spank her...
(THWAP)
Tenchi found himself lying on the ground looking up at the sky. "Ugh!" He levered himself up to a seated position and shook his head carefully to try and clear the haze of red in his vision.
"Tenchi! Are you okay?" the ladies all swarmed over to him as he swayed on the ground.
"Um, yeah, I think so. Wow, you laid me out, Ayeka. I never saw it coming."
"Er, yes I suppose I did, didn't I? You are sure that you're okay?" Ayeka knelt down and looked at his face carefully.
"Yeah, I guess."
"Well, Ayeka, looks like you escaped your punishment, just as I said you might. Maybe next time he'll keep his mind on the match." Misaki shook her head as she looked at Tenchi. "I've half a mind to tell your grandfather what just happened."
"Er... I was trying, Misaki. I just lost my focus there for a second."
"Yes, I know. Fortunately for her, Ayeka did what she was supposed to do and capitalized. Too bad, Tenchi, you missed out on a golden opportunity." Misaki laughed at her daughter's blushing cheeks. "Next time concentrate or I will tell your grandfather, so don't screw up again."
Tenchi hung his head and said, "Yes, Misaki."
--
"Did you put some chopsticks in, Sasami?"
"Yes, Ayeka."
Sasami tried to ignore her sister hovering around the kitchen, investigating everything she had prepared for the picnic with Tenchi. She'd asked about everything at least twice now, to Sasami's count. Having had enough she rounded on Ayeka and said, "Enough. Out. It's all prepared, everything you'll need is packed. Go find Tenchi, please."
"Ah, yes, well I suppose that would make sense, wouldn't it? Thank you, Sasami."
"You're welcome, Ayeka. Now go!"
Sasami hustled Ayeka out of the kitchen and then slumped against the counter. She didn't fault her sister necessarily for wanting things to be perfect, but getting rid of her for the moment was a welcome relief.
Finally able to relax, Sasami wandered outside to get some fresh air and was surprised to see Ryo-Ohki in her adult form struggling to walk with Ryoko holding her hand.
"Ryo-Ohki! You're walking! Good for you!" Sasami ran over to take Ryo-Ohki's other hand as the cabbit wobbled forward some more.
"Miya!"
"Yeah, she suddenly decided she wanted to start learning to walk in this body. She wouldn't tell me why, though. She wouldn't leave me alone til I helped her. I'd have rather been spying... er, I've got things I could've been doing right now, but noooo... here I am helping her walk." Ryoko scowled at Ryo-Ohki who ignored her completely.
"Ryoko. You're not going to do anything to mess up Ayeka's day, are you?"
Ryoko got a guilty look and laughed, "No, of course not. I'm not gonna lose my time with Tenchi for anything. I thought I might keep an eye on them today, though. You know, just see how things were going and stuff."
"Ryoko! You'd better not, just leave Ayeka alone. This is her day, and she should get to enjoy it without having to worry about anything you're doing."
"She wouldn't know I was doing anything."
"I would. No, Ryoko."
"Fine. Have it your way. It's not like Ayeka has anything for me to worry about, any way."
The two of them fell silent and helped Ryo-Ohki walk for a while longer. Eventually Ryo-Ohki got tired, and transformed back into her cabbit form, jumping up onto Sasami's head.
"That was great Ryo-Ohki! Let's go get you a carrot."
"Miya!"
Ryoko watched the two head back into the house, then turned to look in the direction of the Juraian tree Funaho. She glanced back and forth between the house and the tree a few times, then sighed and disappeared back into the house as well.
--
Tenchi leaned back against the trunk of Funaho and watched the clouds rolling through the sky. Next to him sat a beautiful girl in a pretty dress, and they had just finished a delicious picnic. This was how it was supposed to work, wasn't it?
He glanced at Ayeka out of the corner of his eye, and smiled as she daintily dabbed her cheeks with a cloth napkin. While it wasn't really funny, you always noticed Ayeka's refinement. It wasn't that the other ladies had bad manners, except maybe Ryoko, but they just didn't look quite the same as she did at the moment. It was hard to picture the classy young lady next to him as the same person who had nearly knocked him out just a short while ago.
"Tell me, Ayeka. Manners and etiquette seem to be very important to you, yet your mother doesn't seem to be quite so formal. Not that she has bad manners or anything, she just seems more casual in general. Why is that?"
"Well, it depends on what you're asking, I suppose. If you're asking why I act as I do, it's probably because I admire Aunt Funaho. At some point when I was younger, it suddenly struck me that she seemed like the perfect lady. If you're asking why I don't take after my mother more, I guess I don't have that answer. Everyone is different I guess, Sasami seems to be the one who takes after mother in our family."
"That's true. It won't be long now and you'll think Sasami and your mother are actually sisters, not mother and daughter. Sasami's going to look an awful lot like her, except two ponytails instead of one."
"Yes, I imagine she will. I wouldn't put it past Sasami to try and pretend she's mother at some point."
Tenchi chuckled and nodded his head. "That would be like her, wouldn't it? Has she always liked playing jokes on people?"
"Pretty much, yes. Unfortunately, I've been her target much of the time, as well."
Tenchi chuckled some more. He closed his eyes and asked, "So what's it like, Jurai that is?"
"Jurai is a big place Tenchi. You'll have to be more specific."
"Right. Ah, what's it like living in the palace, then?"
"Dull... and interesting, too... and stressful... and relaxing. How to describe it? When things are happening, like council meetings or visiting dignitaries, it's very busy. The servants hustle from place to place. And when there's nothing special going on, it's big and empty. There are still people moving about, but slowly, and less of them. Learning to be a princess was trying, but being a princess gave me access to things like the beautiful gardens and sculptures.
Tenchi opened his eyes and let out a long sigh. "I have such a hard time picturing it. I'm sure I'll go visit some day, but I don't know that I really want to. I like things here too well right now."
"And what man wouldn't, living alone with six beautiful women?"
Tenchi glanced at her again, and saw the small indication of a smile on her face to let him know it was a joke. "That's not what I meant, of course, though I'm certainly not complaining, mind you. What I meant was, I have a peaceful, simple life right now. Good friends, good food... a good life all around, even if certain things about it seem a little crazy. I'm not sure I'm ready for something else any time soon."
Ayeka watched him in silence, not sure what to say. She had always hoped that she would bring him back to Jurai and marry him, but at the moment that didn't seem so important. Just being with him right now felt good, even if she didn't get him to herself forever.
Tenchi sighed again, then stood up. He offered his hand to Ayeka, and helped her to her feet. "I would love to do this for the rest of the day, but I need to go study with Grandpa some more. Military tactics, now. I'm not sure whether I like it or not, but it's interesting some times. I'll see you after that again, of course."
"Yes, Tenchi. You should learn as much from Yosho as you can, he's a very skilled warrior, and a wise man as well." She sighed, "I have some work to do as well, and then lessons with Aunt Funaho."
Ayeka was still trying to understand why she kept having so many problems with Juraian history. She thought she was keeping up in class, but she kept encountering things on the tests which didn't seem to be in her textbooks. Others in the class didn't seem to be having that problem, however.
"Yeah, I heard about that. Learning about Juraian history and culture, etiquette and stuff. It seems logical for you and Sasami, but everyone else?"
Ayeka smiled, fighting off a giggle. "I'm sure there are reasons. Education is never a bad thing and mother and Aunt Funaho are sometimes very persuasive in getting people to do things they might not otherwise."
"Your mother certainly is..."
She couldn't stop the next giggle when answering, "Yes."
They walked back the rest of the way arm-in-arm, Tenchi surprised by his lack of desire to flinch away from her.
--
Ayeka stared at her latest results once again in disbelief. She continued to struggle with Funaho's Juraian history tests. Granted it was only the second one, but Ayeka knew she should be doing better than this. She had no problems with the etiquette or protocol lessons, but for some reason history kept giving her problems. What she couldn't understand was why her Aunt had again put questions on the exam which were not covered in the assigned reading.
The sound of Ryoko snickering next to her brought her out of her reverie. She frowned at the former pirate, then turned away with a sniff. That only elicited a quiet chuckle.
Ryoko whispered, "Imagine poor old me getting a better score on her Juraian history test than the current Princess of Jurai herself. Hard to believe, isn't it?"
Ayeka hissed back quietly, "Who did you copy from this time?" Ryoko only smiled in response, causing Ayeka to grind her teeth. "We'll see who has the last laugh. I believe the final exams will be one-on-one sessions with Funaho, no one else in the room at the time." Ryoko paled slightly as the smile slipped from her face, and it was Ayeka's turn to smile.
"Okay, everyone," Funaho's voice stopped all other conversation, "it's time to move on. We'll move on to structure of the Jurai ruling council at this point. Ah, Sasami? Are you all right? You don't look well."
Heads swiveled to regard Sasami who fidgeted in her seat, a worried expression on her face. Her face got paler as Funaho approached, and Sasami gulped before answering, "Yes... well, sort of."
Misaki was quickly in front of her daughter, examining her carefully. Her brows rose a fraction after examining Sasami, realizing the cause of her discomfort. She said, "Well, out with it. Which prank you've played has gone awry this time, Sasami?"
Sasami managed to blush at that point, removing the paleness from her face. She squirmed in her seat some more, looking longingly at the door. She then turned and sighed to answer, "It's Ayeka. I'm the reason she's doing so badly. I removed some sections from her book."
"WHAT?!" both Ayeka and Ryoko exclaimed at the same time.
Sasami held her head sheepishly and blurted, "I thought it would be funny. Everyone knows she should be doing really well at all of this stuff."
Misaki sighed, shaking her head. "I'm very upset with you right now, of course. I'll have to think about a suitable punishment. For now, how about we make sure Ayeka has a proper book and we move on with class?"
Lessons quickly resumed, with Ayeka throwing a superior smile in Ryoko's direction. Ryoko only scowled and turned to start paying attention to Funaho seriously for the first time since they'd begun. Sasami held her tears in check for the rest of class, barely able to listen at all as she thought about how she would make it up to her sister.
Out on Yukinojo, Kiyone just watched her view screen of Funaho while shaking her head. This was the family she was considering getting seriously involved with?
--
Ryoko watched silently as Ayeka left with Tenchi. This was a moment she hadn't been looking forward to. Ayeka had already spent some time with him today, but now she was going to be with him for the rest of the night. Deciding she didn't want to think about it any more, she started floating off towards her room.
"You're not going to go drink, are you Ryoko?"Sasami's voice made Ryoko pause and spin around in the air. "You drink too much. Why don't you stay here and have fun with everyone?"
Ryoko looked suspiciously at Sasami, then at everyone else. "I'd rather have fun with Tenchi. No offense, but none of you are my type."
Sasami's eyes narrowed and her hands rested on her hips as she stared at Ryoko. "We all want to spend time with Tenchi, you know. You're not the only one who isn't happy when he's with someone else. The rest of use deal with it and are still friends with each other, but you think you have to go get drunk so you can ignore it. Why are you so mean?"
Ryoko blinked hard. "So what, then? I should stay here and play kiddie games and watch TV with all of you?"
Sasami's eyes narrowed even further, but she nodded and said, "Yes."
"Yes? Nothing else, just yes? I can understand you, Sasami, and Mihoshi, too. But the rest of you? Can't you find something better to do than just hanging out here like you're all a big happy family?"
Kiyone answered, "Actually, that's the point, isn't it? As long as we're living here, we pretty much are a family, albeit a really dysfunctional one some of the time. Being friends and spending time together is what families should be doing, not going off and getting drunk sulking."
Ryoko stared at Kiyone in disbelief. "You, too? Of everyone here, I figured you'd be the one who wouldn't want to be around everybody, but you joined right in. What's up with you?"
"I'm making the best of my situation, that's what. Regardless of what Tenchi might decide with all of us, Mihoshi is my partner, and now Sasami and Washu and the queens, and even Ayeka," Kiyone looked hard at Ryoko, "are my friends. Why be miserable if I don't have to? I've got friends here to spend time with besides Tenchi. Do you really think Tenchi's going to spend every second of every day with you if he chooses you?"
"Well, of course not. But we're not gonna live with all of you."
"Are you sure about that, Ryoko?" This time it was Mihoshi joining in the conversation. "Tenchi invited me to stay for as long as I wanted, and even if he chooses someone else, if he'll let me stay, I think I will. I like it here."
"You're not serious!" Ryoko looked around at everyone incredulously. Sasami and Washu nodded their heads.
Kiyone said, "I'm not sure I'd want to actually live here, but someplace close by would be nice, so we could still see each other. My life doesn't revolve around Tenchi. I'm just trying to fit him into it somehow."
Ryoko was almost forced to start pulling her hair out. The people living here were all insane. If Tenchi chose someone else, she'd... She paused in amazement, as she realized she didn't know what she would do. She was so focused on making sure she got Tenchi, she had refused to consider the possibility of not getting him. Everyone else had apparently accepted the fact and decided what they might do.
"Aauugghh! I can't take it any more!" Ryoko disappeared, teleporting outside the house. She flew up into the sky as fast as she could, not stopping until even she felt the bitter cold of the high altitude.
She slowed down and finally stopped, looking about at all the stars, and down at the earth far below. It seemed strange to think how much time she'd spent on that planet. The only place she'd ever spent time before was the Souja, she'd never really had what you'd call a home. Now the thought of being somewhere else was terrifying.
What would she do if Tenchi didn't choose her. Would she and Ryo-Ohki go back to being pirates? That wasn't even a completely accurate description, just one that had stuck for some reason. She had never made a career out of preying on vessels traveling through space. She'd attacked some of course, just like she'd attacked cities and planets, but it was not her career. She'd been following Kagato's orders, and they'd spent more time tracking down rumors of ancient artifacts than actually attacking anything. Even occasional incidents piled up over the course of a few thousand years, though.
No, being a space pirate wasn't something that interested her, and she doubted Ryo-Ohki would want to either. She got a thrill from the battles, but the thought of doing it all the time wasn't appealing. If not that, then what? Nothing interested her except living with Tenchi, as she thought about it. If the only thing she wanted was to live with Tenchi, but he wanted one of the other women, could she still live here just to be near him but not have him?
She slowly fell back towards the earth and eventually hovered over the houses, one filled with ladies relaxing and spending time together, the other by the man she loved and the woman she considered her worst rival. Deciding to find out whether she could stand it or not, she drifted down through the roof of the house back to the living room where everyone else was.
"So... Say I was to stay here with all of you for the time, what's on tap for fun tonight?" Ryoko put on her best smile, though she didn't really feel it at the moment. "Please tell me it's not some sappy soap opera. I can't stand that mushy stuff." She earned some laughter with that. "What?"
Sasami embraced Ryoko in a hug. "Come on, we're playing cards right now." She pulled Ryoko over to the floor in front of the couch. "You can play, it's an easy game, though Mihoshi always seems to win..."
Washu shared a knowing smile with the queens, and turned back to the group as Sasami started explaining the rules to Ryoko.
--
Tenchi brought the two cups of tea over to the couch, handing one to Ayeka as he sat down. He tried to avoid looking at her exposed legs, then blushed as he realized how obvious he was being about it when Ayeka laughed at him quietly. He could see the blush in her cheeks as well, which made him feel only marginally better. They both quickly started sipping their tea to cover their embarrassment.
He thought things should be getting easier at this point, but he felt just as nervous now as he had days ago with Washu. Maybe the second day with each of them would be a little better, but these first dates had all scared the heck out of him. And so far all he'd learned was that he liked every single one of the women, not exactly helping him out in the search for if and which one he might want to get truly serious with.
Struggling for what to talk about, he sipped his tea some more. Conversation was so much easier when it was just casual in nature, not more intimate like this. He finally sighed and went with the cliche, "We've had some nice weather lately, haven't we?"
Ayeka smiled, the laugh barely held in check. "Yes, it is, isn't it?" Relieved to be talking herself, it broke the tension somewhat. "It still seems strange sometimes to not have control over the weather. It's kind of charming in its own way, though, never knowing what the next day might hold."
Tenchi chuckled, imagining perfect weather all the time. The farmers would love that, food supplies would soar. "Every time I get comfortable with all of you, there's always something to remind me of the different worlds we come from. Weather control... I can barely picture what that would be like. We must seem so primitive."
"Well, in a sense, yes. As Washu likes to remind you, the technology here is eons behind the rest of the galaxy. But ignoring that, you're really not much different in the end. It hasn't stopped anyone from staying here with you, now, has it?"
"Yeah. I think I noticed that somewhere along the way, now that you mention it."
Ayeka shared the laugh with Tenchi, finally starting to relax. "Not that I wouldn't mind a smaller crowd, mind you, but I'm enjoying my stay here so far. It's been very relaxing."
"Relaxing? You and Ryoko cause more havoc than any two people I've ever met. Well, not counting Mihoshi and anyone. You call that relaxing?"
Ayeka's smile dipped slightly at mention of Ryoko, but she knew he hadn't meant anything by it. "Compared to living in the Royal Palace back on Jurai? This is incredibly relaxing. I told you a little about it before, but not much about what goes on on a daily basis when you're a princess. Meeting dignitaries, entertaining nobles, politics, schooling, training with mother... Well, I still get to do that now, lucky me..."
Tenchi nearly spit out the sip of tea he had just taken. Swallowing, he laughed and said, "She's really good. I knew I couldn't quite keep up with grandpa, but I never would have guessed how good she was. You're not bad, you know. Some more practice, and you'd hardly need Azaka and Kamidake for protection. Why'd you hide it?"
Ayeka sighed, not really liking the turn in the conversation, but resolved herself to be honest with Tenchi. "It never seemed very feminine to me. It's not like I refused to learn it, but it never seemed that important. People don't challenge women to duels very often. Aunt Funaho's had to a few times, but that's mostly due to her being 'not-Juraian', silly as that is."
"Great-grandma's had duels? That's hard to picture."
"Tell that to the people she beat."
Tenchi laughed, trying to picture Funaho in a sword fight. "So how come your mother's not training anyone with swords, then?"
"Two reasons, probably. One, it's fairly common to start without weapons to get your general fitness. That's where Sasami is right now. Two... brother Yosho. It would likely lead to arguments. I think he'd feel compelled to butt in and correct her due to his superb skill, and she doesn't want to give him any opportunities. She's almost his match without a sword, but with it, he's too good."
"Yeah, you could almost feel the rivalry between the two of them. I couldn't decide if it was friendly or not. There had to be some history there."
"I've heard occasional rumors and gossip, but it was mostly before my time. They trained together a lot when they were younger. I think mother had a crush on him til grandmother Seto found out."
"What? Your mother and grandpa?"
"Well, they were actually very close in age, if you think about it. Mother's quite a few years younger than Funaho."
Tenchi just shook his head. That was just one more thing about his family he really didn't want to think about. "Life is never simple, is it? As much as we'd like it to be, there's always complications."
"I suppose so. I've never thought about having a simple life. I knew from the start it was going to be complicated. You don't like the thought of living on Jurai, do you?"
Tenchi heard the catch in her voice, and turned to face her directly. "I'm not sure. Right now, I just can't picture it, that's all. When I do go, and I'm pretty sure I will some day, I think I could handle it as long as I had someone like you there with me. Someone to show me the ropes, so to speak, but who also understands the place that I come from. More than anything, I'd be afraid of not fitting in because I didn't know what to do. You wouldn't let that happen, though."
"No, I wouldn't. Something you ought to remember about Jurai, Tenchi. Just because I'm the princess, and just because Yosho's the prince, doesn't mean one of us will be the next ruler. It could very well be someone else, politics play a part in who becomes king. Not only politics, but power. Juraians respect power, don't ever forget that. You're likely more powerful than anyone there."
Tenchi shook his head, but Ayeka continued, "You are, Tenchi. I know you don't think of yourself that way, but it's a fact. Nobody else can make Lighthawk Wings without a royal tree, and very few people have a tree. And their tree can't always be there with them, but that doesn't matter for you. I think you'd find that many people there would respect you greatly, whether you felt you deserved it or not. You'd fit in just by being there."
Tenchi shook his head some more. Jurai was so different from what his life was like, and yet here next to him was a perfect example of how the people from Jurai were so similar in many ways as well.
"Whenever you're ready to go, Tenchi, I'll be there with you."
Ayeka blushed a bit, wondering if that had been too forward, but Tenchi obviously took it the way she had meant it. He smiled and nodded, then turned away again, obviously deep in thought. She realized he was probably putting a lot of thought into how different Jurai was from his current life, and decided that it would be a good idea to move his thoughts elsewhere. She rose to her feet, and walked over to place her teacup in the sink. Then she turned around to face him again.
"Thank you for a wonderful day Tenchi. I've wished for this for a long time. I suppose it's getting late, however, I would like to get ready for bed now. May I use your bathroom, please?"
Tenchi looked at her strangely, then laughed. "You don't need to ask my permission, Ayeka. Please, don't let me stop you. I'll probably go get ready in my room while you're in there."
Tenchi also rose to his feet and just smiled as Ayeka bowed for him, managing a tiny one of his own while she turned to disappear with a bundle of clothes. She was such a contrast to most of the others, usually so polite and formal. At times he found it almost silly, but others it was nice knowing she wouldn't be doing anything that would catch him by surprise, like groping his backside.
He closed the door behind him as he entered his bedroom. He rummaged for some pajamas, and slipped into them quickly. Tomorrow night he'd be here by himself for the first time in a week. It would probably be nice to get a good night's sleep for once, he'd slept fitfully much of the time he knew one of the ladies was in his room... usually wearing something that made his brain race.
(KNOCK, KNOCK)
Tenchi tossed his dirty clothes into the basket in the closet, and then turned to open the door. Once again he was frozen in place by the sight before him, and it took him a few moments to tremblingly step back and allow Ayeka into the room.
She was wearing what looked to be one of her under robes from the formal dress robes she usually wore, much like the one she'd been wearing that day long ago in the shed where they'd escaped the rain. He calmed himself down, he'd seen her dressed like this before. In fact he'd seen her in less than this before thanks to Ryoko. He blushed, realizing what he was thinking, and hoping she didn't realize it.
Ayeka shyly walked into his bedroom and looked around a bit. She'd only glanced in before, she hadn't actually looked it over. She pointedly turned to look everywhere in the room, hoping it wouldn't be too obvious she was trying to make Tenchi look at her from every direction. When she finally looked at his face, she saw that he'd been doing just that and blushed a bit.
"It's not very big, is it?"
"Huh?" Tenchi guiltily started, than blinked as he tried to fathom what she was talking about. She couldn't be talking about...
"Your room, it's not very big. This whole house really is pretty small. It's much better suited to being a guest house than someplace to live permanently."
"Ah... ha, ha, yeah, I suppose. That's what dad had in mind, anything more might have seemed a bit extravagant. We still do most things in the other house, any way, so this one doesn't have to be very big." Tenchi breathed a sigh of relief. She'd been talking about the house, of course.
"Yes. Your father's idea certainly has worked out nicely, hasn't it?"
"Um, yeah, I guess." Tenchi rubbed his head furiously. She was obviously just making conversation as she waited for him to do something. She could see where her futon was, though, she didn't need him to point it out to her. "Er... he's a little crazy sometimes, but he's still my dad. It would be nice if he could come out to visit more often, but with me living here right now, he and Rea haven't been able to without inconveniencing someone."
"Yes, he does have an unusual personality sometimes." She continued to stand in the middle of the room looking straight at Tenchi, wondering if he was ever going to realize why she was waiting. She'd been hopeful for the entire day, but so far he hadn't done it. She had resolved that she wasn't going to ask.
Tenchi chuckled. "All the time is more like it. Ummm... I guess it's really about time for bed, it's pretty late."
"Yes, I suppose so. Good night, Tenchi."
Tenchi frowned as he heard the sadness in her voice. She moved past him towards the futon when it finally struck him what she'd been waiting for him to do, probably for the entire day. He caught her by the hand, and decided to do his best to make up for his ignorance.
He turned her to face him, looking into her eyes. "One last thing..." He heard her breath catch as he pulled her close into an embrace. He could feel her trembling, and as he started leaning his face towards her, she shut her eyes. He fought down the chuckle, and gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek. Her eyes flew open, and he could see the tears forming in disappointment, and that's when he kissed her on the mouth. She slumped in his arms, and the tears started trickling out of her eyes.
Tenchi eventually broke the kiss and smiled at her, seeing the happiness in her tear-filled eyes. "Now it's time for bed." She only nodded, and Tenchi chuckled as he realized he was going to have to lay her down since he was still supporting all of her weight. After he had her down on the futon, he stood back up. "Good night, Ayeka. Pleasant dreams."
Ayeka smiled, still lost in thoughts of finally being kissed by Tenchi. "I'm sure they will be..."
--
Washu studied the reports streaming across her display, wondering whether she should do anything about it. Typically only Yukinojo was detectable in local space, but now another was registering. Unless Washu missed her guess it was a Juraian ship with a royal tree. The queens' two ships were tucked away in subspace at the moment, so it shouldn't be either of them. It was attempting to remain hidden, but Washu had quickly figured out how to detect even those after the queens had made their sudden appearance, not wanting to be surprised again.
There could be many reasons for a Juraian ship to be here, of course, so it wasn't necessarily ominous. Washu didn't know the reason, and therefore she intended to keep on eye on things until it was gone or she knew why it was there.
Sure enough, Washu glanced at another monitor which showed the shuttle plunging into the lake, though it appeared her defensive screen had deflected the huge wave from striking either house. That had worked this time, though who knew how many times it had failed in the past. Washu hated success rates in the low teens of percentages. That was all she could manage when Mihoshi was involved.
She turned back to her original screen, and a sliver of fear crept into her. The other vessel was now moving in closer to the earth instead of remaining stationary where it had been previously. She decided she would head out to warn somebody before returning here to monitor the situation.
She wandered out through her lab doorway to the main house. She wandered up the stairs as well, stopping at the door to what she still thought of as Tenchi's room.
She knocked and called quietly, "Funaho... Misaki..."
After a brief moment, Funaho opened the door with Misaki looking over from the desk. Funaho said, "Hello Little Washu. What can we do for you?"
"I just thought I'd let you know that what I believe is a Juraian ship is approaching earth. Any idea who it might be?"
Funaho frowned and looked to Misaki who nodded her head. Funaho sighed, saying quietly, "It's almost certainly our husband. He disappeared from Jurai a little while ago, causing a stir of course. He didn't announce his plans to anyone, but it wouldn't be surprising for him to show up here, since we're here, of course. Do you have an idea how soon he might arrive?"
"Well, I guess it depends on how close the ship needs to get for him to transport down. I'd say within the hour, though."
"Not now! Why couldn't he show up one day later?" Misaki got to her feet with an irritated expression evident. "Well, if Ayeka's going to be able to finish her day, we'd better go head that numbskull off before he finds out what's going on. He'd do something rash. Ready?"
Funaho nodded and followed Misaki from the room, giving Washu a quick "Thanks."
Washu smiled as she followed them downstairs and then disappeared into her lab again. She laughed a bit at the thought of the reception the two queens were going to give their husband. Her laughter faded to a forlorn smile as she thought about the notion of being married again.
--
Marco watched the older man as he stepped out of his vehicle. Their wasn't much resemblance between he and his son, but that didn't always say much.
When the man turned his back to Marco again to pull a few things from the small van Marco made his move. He flashed out of the shadows and threw a stunning blow to the back of the man's neck. The man dropped with a grunt, but amazingly didn't fall unconscious. He shook his head a couple times, then turned his face towards Marco, receiving Marco's full punch across his jaw.
This time he fell senseless, and Marco quickly lifted the body and hustled it into the shadows next to the house. He couldn't remember the last time he'd failed to stun a man from behind with that first blow. There was more to this man than appearances indicated. He shifted the weight carefully, then sprinted with the body to his own vehicle parked close by. He threw the body in, then got back in behind the wheel used to maneuver these primitive vehicles. He congratulated his foresight in first taking the former owner of the vehicle hostage and having them point out the basics of driving the car, or he'd have never been able to do this as easily.
He drove the few miles to the rough terrain where he had set up for transfer back to his ship. He smiled in anticipation of the duel he was going to force on the unsuspecting young boy. He only hoped the boy was foolish enough to bring Kiyone Makibi as an exchange for his father.
--
Comments and Criticism definitely wanted. It's hard to improve without it.