THE JOB, Chapter 4: Truth Or Dare.
DISCLAIMER: Tenchi Muyou! is copyright AIC/Pioneer, LDC. I claim no rights to it. However, all events in this story are entirely of my own imagination. Please don't change them. Feel free to distribute this story as widely as desired.
FOREWORD: I'm keeping these chapters short so I can post them quicker. That way, the story stays on the top of the update list longer. Also, it makes it more satisfying for me, since I'm posting more frequently.
I've pretty much decided to turn this into a T+R fic. Many ideas and plans have suddenly come to mind for this story. I hope it turns out all right.
AUTHOR: Dreamr
LAST REVISION: 28 September 2002
EMAIL: TrueDreamr@Hotmail.com
BEGIN.
In an unusual and completely unexpected move, Ryoko had breakfast at the table with everyone else. Nobuyuki, Mihoshi, and Kiyone were at their respective apartments in town. So that left Tenchi, Ryoko, Aeka, Washu, Ryo-o-ki, Sasami, and Katsuhito to take breakfast together. With just six people and one small animal in the house, the dining table was actually just the right size. But, more disturbing than Ryoko's presence, was the giggling. She had starting giggling as soon as Tenchi sat down next to her at his normal place. Everyone cast nervous glances in her direction, afraid to ask what was so funny. Finally, Aeka lost her patience. She stood up and pointed her chopsticks at Ryoko.
"Agh! I cannot take this anymore! All right, Miss Ryoko. Will you kindly share with the rest of us what is so funny?"
With a queen-sized smile, she carefully set her chopsticks down next to her bowl of miso soup.
"Well, since you insist..."
She then reached down the front of her dress and pulled out a wad of money. Casually upending her hand, the cash spilled right into Tenchi's breakfast.
Aeka stuttered as she tried to comprehend the meaning of such a rare sight.
"Wha... What is the meaning of this? Where did you get that money? No. I believe the correct question is where did you steal it from?"
Ryoko leaned against Tenchi's shoulder and began twirling her finger in the shirt of his school uniform.
"I didn't steal it. I earned it."
Katsuhito began nodding enthusiastically.
"Mmm."
Washu leaned across the table and put her hand against Ryoko's forehead.
"No. She doesn't feel like she's got a fever. Are you sure you're feeling all right?"
Ryoko slapped the invasive hand aside and leaned forward.
"Take off, pipsqueak! I gotta job!"
Every person arrayed around the table, except for the gray-haired priest, fell to the floor in shock. Ryoko smiled brightly, pleased with their reactions. Aeka was the first to reappear above the surface of the table.
"It can't be..."
Katsuhito again voiced his approval.
"Mmm. I'm glad to see you've taken an interest in contributing to the family finances." He leaned forward and snatched the bills from Tenchi's miso soup. Inspecting the bills, he began to notice they were of fairly small denominations.
"Not very much here, hmm? I expect you will be bringing home more than this in the future."
Seeing her well-earned money disappearing before her very eyes, Ryoko thumped a hand on the table and leaned towards the older man to properly impose upon him the importance of the funds. With her free hand she made a quick swipe at the cash. He easily avoided her questing hand and tucked the money into his kimono.
"Hey, wait just a minute, Grampa! That's my money!"
"Ah, ho ho ho ho ho!"
Ryoko fell forward onto her face when she heard Aeka's haughty laughter. The princess knelt before her place at the table with one hand held in front of her mouth.
"Well. Perhaps now you will begin to understand how the people whom you have stolen from have suffered due to your criminally selfish ways."
Ryoko picked herself up and then leapt up on the breakfast table, sending various condiments scattering across the wooden surface. She stuck her pointer finger straight out and leveled it barely a centimeter from Aeka's nose.
"What the Hell do you know about suffering, you spoiled brat?! You've had a cushy life up there in your palace, ignoring what everybody else has to go through just to make a living! A catastrophe for you is finding moths have eaten through one of the dresses you've had hidden in a closet for the last three years!"
Aeka peaked over the top of her hand as she hurled a return insult.
"That is absolutely ridiculous! Only disgusting monsters such as you would allow moths to inhabit their wardrobe."
Ryoko suddenly launched herself forward, tackling Aeka to the floor. The others passively watched on as they tumbled and rolled across the floor, flinging insults and curses at each other.
At his place next to his grandfather, Tenchi put his palms together and politely bowed.
"Thank you for the meal, Sasami."
The little girl smiled in appreciation, despite the violence she was witnessing.
"You're welcome, Tenchi."
Tenchi then got up and left to catch the bus to school without so much as a backwards glance. All was normal in the Masaki household.
Having just finished her first shift on the dance stage, Ryoko took a seat at the bar next to Kiyone. For some strange reason, the officer had shown up again. What her purpose was in coming to the bar while she and Mihoshi were working was beyond Ryoko. Kiyone did not have a boyfriend. Maybe she was thinking of turning gay. That gave Ryoko an idea. Wearing just a bikini and a very thin silk scarf, she wrapped a warm arm around Kiyone's shoulders and whispered into her ear.
"Hey, honey. Looking for a good time?"
Kiyone suddenly lurched aside and looked at Ryoko like she was psychotic.
"What the Hell are you saying?"
Ryoko threw her head back and laughed as Kiyone's face began turning various shades of blue.
"Maybe you should concentrate more on your work."
"Naw! I'm off for an hour. I get to play with all the cute guys."
"What cute guys?"
Ryoko looked around at the nearly empty business.
"No kidding." She leaned back and yelled at the top of her lungs. "Hey, Rich! Where are all the customers?"
The answer came back from across the room.
"Aw, come one! We've only been open for two weeks! I'm still advertising!"
"Some advertising. Mmm..." Ryoko's eyes stared thoughtfully up at the ceiling. Then, slowly, a smile began to spread across her face. "Hmm..." Sliding from her seat, she tapped Kiyone on the shoulder.
"I'll be back in a little bit."
Kiyone watched as Ryoko walked out the front door clad in almost nothing. She shook her head and returned her attention to her drink. Mihoshi called to Ryoko from her place on the stage.
"Hey, Ryoko! Where are you going?"
She stepped dangerously close to the edge of the platform and stretched forward so she could see through the swinging door.
"Mihoshi! Watch what you're doing!"
Looking over at Kiyone, Mihoshi began to tilt over the edge. For a moment, she spun her arms, trying to keep her balance. Then her foot slipped out from under her, and she fell off the stage, right in to the waiting arms of one of the few customers. The delighted young man crowed his approval.
"Woo-hoo!"
Disgusted with her partner's performance, Kiyone dropped the payment for her drink on the bar and walked out the front door. Ryoko was standing to one side of the door, near a sidewalk sign, in a very tight, full-length, blue dress, with a red dragon that wound around her body. Kiyone stared at her in astonishment.
"How do you do that?"
Ryoko smiled, and batted her eyelashes at a passing businessman.
"A girl's gotta have some secrets."
The man sighed, then reluctantly moved on.
"Is this what you call advertising?"
"Absolutely. Hey, guys!"
Three young men walking along in casual clothes slowed to a stop in front of them. They began smiling and clustered around the two young women.
"Well, look at you." The tallest of them spoke. "What's the occasion?"
Ryoko grinned slyly, and nodded towards the door.
"Go in and you'll find out."
The shortest of the three took a quick look at the sidewalk sign.
"Do you work here?"
"That's right."
His smile grew wider.
"Tonight?"
"Mmm-hmm." Kiyone looked back and forth between the man and Ryoko as his interest quickly built.
"What time?"
Ryoko put a single finger to her lips as she thought about it.
"Mmm, about an hour."
"That's kind of a long time to wait."
Ryoko smiled again as she stuck two fingers into the seam of her dress. She withdrew a picture and held it up in front of the men.
"Why don't you go in and get to know her while you're waiting for me?"
The men collectively leaned closer to the picture of Mihoshi.
"Whoa!"
"What do you say?"
Grinning in anticipation, they started for the door as a group.
"See you in an hour!"
Ryoko waved to them as they disappeared into the bar. Suddenly, as if all the air had been let out of her, she sagged at the shoulders and let her arms hang down. The picture fell from her fingers and drifted to the ground. The change was so dramatic, Kiyone took instant notice.
"Something wrong?"
"I forgot how much of a pain it is to pretend that I like having guys stare at me that way."
"Ohh. Hmm. So you've done this before?"
Recovering herself, Ryoko folded her arms across her chest and began scanning the passersby again.
"Well, doy. Where do you think I learned to dance?"
Kiyone took a breath to answer. But another interested man stepped up and put his arm right around Ryoko's waist. He was not particularly good-looking. Being over-weight and balding, Ryoko immediately grimaced, though she managed to keep her smile in place.
"Hey, beautiful. I heard there was a new place here. Now I'm glad I came."
Ryoko gritted her teeth as the man let his hand slide a bit lower than was advisable. Seeing this, Kiyone took a surreptitious step back.
"Heh, heh. Uh, why don't you go on inside?" Ryoko suggested.
"All right. I'll be waiting." He let his hand slide around Ryoko's hips as he went for the door.
The perturbed young woman closed her eyes tight as his fingers glided over the front of her dress. Kiyone did not say a thing until she was certain he was well inside the building and out of earshot.
"I can't believe you let him do that."
Moving only her left arm, Ryoko reached up to her face a wiped something out of the corner of her eye.
"It's part of the job." She croaked.
"Part of the job?!"
"Look, some guys are like that. But most of them are pretty decent. They just want to have some fun, like me. If they want to toss money at me while I dance, fine."
She waved gamely at another pair of men. They gave her a cursory examination then moved on.
"Well, if you want to dance, fine. But why did you have to drag Mihoshi into this?"
"Actually, she dragged me into it. I just got her a better deal." Casting a quick glance in Kiyone's direction, she grinned a little more believably. "I could get you a good deal, too, if you want."
Kiyone's mouth dropped open.
"You've got a pretty good body. Why don't you give it a try?"
"I can't do that!"
"Why not?"
"Because! It's against regulations!"
Ryoko's smile disappeared as she told Kiyone what she thought of her precious regulations.
"Screw that. You need the money more than I do. Do what you gotta do."
"Is that why you're doing this, for the money?"
"Yup." Ryoko answered as she smiled at a tall guy, who paused, then altered course and entered the bar.
Kiyone stared at Ryoko for a long time, trying to understand what drove Ryoko to do the things she did. The only things she could think of were that she had some plane for the money that had to do with Tenchi. However, Kiyone did not think Tenchi would approve of Ryoko doing something like this.
"Tenchi would have a fit if he knew you were doing this."
"Tenchi's not going to find out, is he?"
"Gotcha." A small grin appeared on Kiyone's lips.
"It's possible."
Ryoko turned her intense glare on Kiyone, sending a clear message as to what her preferred course of action was on that. Seeing that she had Ryoko's full attention, Kiyone continued with her proposal.
"Of course, if I knew the real reason you were doing this, I doubt he would ever figure it out."
Ryoko returned her gaze to those passing by.
"Tsk. Some friend you are."
Kiyone waited a moment without receiving an answer.
"Well? Do I find out the truth, or does Tenchi?"
"It's none of your business."
"I'm making it my business."
Ryoko sighed loudly, making her lips flap together in imitation of a sound not unlike that of a horse.
"I guess it's not that big of a secret. I asked Tenchi to go on a trip once, and he said he'd like that. But, since we were in the middle of rescuing Aeka, I had to take a rain-check."
Kiyone blinked in surprise.
"That's it?"
"Yup. Happy now?"
"Jeez. Why didn't you just say so? In fact, I wish you luck."
Ryoko looked at Kiyone again. This time, she had a look almost like fondness on her face.
"Really?"
"Mm. I'll be waiting inside."
Kiyone gave Ryoko a goodbye wave as she turned to reenter the bar. Ryoko stood still for a minute as her feelings swirled around in her heart.
"Thanks, K."
Returning her attention to the money-laden people passing in front of her place of employment, Ryoko redoubled her efforts.
"Hey, guys!"
The next morning, when Tenchi awoke from his restful slumber, something thudded to the floor as he sat up. Looking blearily at the floor, he caught sight of a small bundle rolling across the carpet. Curious, he got up and retrieved the bundle. In his hand, he held a fairly good-sized roll of cash. Written across one of the exposed bills was the word "rent".
"Rent?" A small smile slowly spread across his face as he recalled the small pile of money his grandfather had acquired the other morning. "Mmm..."
END.
AFTERWORD: I think the next chapter is going to jump ahead a bit. I know Aeka hasn't found out yet, but she will, I promise. I can also see Nobuyuki walking in to the bar. THAT ought to be interesting. Heh-heh.