The Lonely Girl
Sasami continued to run through the abandoned streets of the dark and cold town. She knew that she had seen him, even if it was just a glimpse. She didn't care what happened to her. She just wanted to see her brother again. As she turned a corner, she saw him run into an alley. "Tenchi," she yelled. "It's me, Sasami. Stop!" She ran into the alley that Tenchi had just entered. A smiled appeared on her face when she saw him. The smile soon faded when Tenchi slowly turned around with a gun pointing straight at her. "Tenchi, what are you doing?"
He smiled as he uttered the horrid words. "The Tenchi you knew is dead. This is the new Tenchi, the Tenchi that lives for the thrill of the kill." The gun fired and Sasami fell to the ground. She couldn't believe that her own brother shot her. As she fingered the shot wound, a group of policemen ran behind her ready to fire.
Tears filled her eyes as she yelled at them to stop, but it was too late. She heard Tenchi's gun fall to the ground. She looked at her brother's dead body in front of her. "Tenchi!"
She sat up in bed as she yelled his name. "It was only a dream." She got up and opened the curtains to let the bright sun in. 'This is the eighth night in a row,' she thought as she dressed into a white t-shirt with a pink jacket and a green skirt. 'It all started on my eleventh birthday. It's been over a year since he left. I should be over it, but I'm not. I still can't forget his face. She heard Ayeka's voice downstairs. "Kiyone and Mihoshi must be here again. They must have news on where Tenchi is." She decided to make her way downstairs but stopped at the door. "I almost forgot." She went to the bed stand and put on her heart-shaped locket.
"You shouldn't have raised the reward before talking to us, Ayeka," Kiyone said as Ayeka loaded her shotgun. "You should notify us so we can make proper arrangements."
"So what if I did?" Ayeka whined. "The FBI is too lazy to do anything about Ryoko or Tenchi. This way a bounty hunter will do the work for you."
"But, Ayeka, you should leave the work to us," Mihoshi instructed. "We are the FBI after all. We aren't that lazy." Ayeka locked the chamber. "Can I use your bathroom? I really have to pee."
"See what I mean? You're standing here instead of out looking for those two. For all you know, Tenchi and Ryoko could be in the city right now. I'm fed up with waiting." She pointed the gun at them as they raised their hands in the air.
"What are you going to do with that, Miss Ayeka?" Mihoshi asks.
"What I should have done when that ugly Ryoko showed her face for the first time. I'm going to find her and blow her head off!" Kiyone walked over to her slowly.
"I know you're upset, but you need to calm down. We're going to find Tenchi. Why don't you give me the gun?" She grabs the gun, but Ayeka won't give it up. Mihoshi puts her hands between her legs and starts to cry.
"I need a bathroom, please," she yells. Suddenly, the gun goes off and hits the chandelier. It falls in front of Mihoshi. Ayeka and Kiyone are still fighting for the gun when Sasami comes in.
"What's going on, Ayeka?" she asks. The gun is pointed at Sasami and goes off. The shot just barely misses Sasami but clips off some hair from her pigtails. The women look at Sasami with a worried look. Sasami faints into a woman's arms from the shock.
"Oh my god, Sasami," Ayeka says as she drops the gun and runs over to Sasami.
"She'll be alright," Washu says as she lifts the girl off the ground. "I'll put her into bed. As soon as she wakes up, we'll start our lesson." She carries her out of the room. Ayeka looks at Mihoshi.
"The bathroom's upstairs," she says.
"I don't need the bathroom anymore," Mihoshi announces with a worried look. Kiyone starts to yell at her.
"Mihoshi, you didn't!" She looks at the FBI agent. Her pants are completely soaked from surprise of the gunshots.
Sasami starts to wake up in her room. "That's funny. How did I get here?"
"Well, you just didn't walk up here in your sleep." Sasami sits up and stares at the professor.
"Professor Washu, you scared me. What happened?"
"Oh, you just got shot at and then you fainted, nothing to special." Sasami suddenly remembered what happened earlier that day. "You know, you've been out for twelve hours. It's already dark." Sasami looked out her window and sure enough, the moon was out with the stars. "I have something to ask you, Sasami. The shock of being shot at contributed to your fainting, but that's not all. The past couple of days you have lost your appetite. You haven't eaten anything in probably seven or eight days. I'm worried, Sasami. What's wrong? And be honest. I'm a scientist. I need to know the facts." Sasami got out of bed and walked to the window. Tears started to fill her eyes.
"I've been having these dreams…about Tenchi. I miss him so much, Washu. Ayeka has been nothing but good to me and I think of her as a big sister, but I feel so empty."
"Of course, you would. After your grandpa and father died in the church fire, I can only imagine how hard it's been for you. Don't worry. We'll find Tenchi."
"I don't want anyone to find him." Washu was shocked at the statement. "Tenchi is nineteen now. He has committed numerous crimes with Ryoko. Do you think that when they find him that the FBI will just bring him home? I don't think so. If they don't shoot him on site, they'll arrest him and hang him." Sasami fell to her knees in hysteria. Washu embraced and tried to comfort her.
"It's ok, Sasami. Everything is going to be alright."
"I miss him, Washu. I feel so lonely. I need him back before he dies."
