TENCHI WAKUSEI, BOOK ONE: "NO DREAMS FOR TENCHI"

By Joe Meadows (gpabn@yahoo.com)

NOTA BENE: This novel (comprising 24 chapters, a Prologue, and an Epilogue) is a sequel to the "Tenchi Muyo Television Series" ("Tenchi Universe"), with some "Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki!" original OAV series characters and elements included where--in the author's opinion--they don't conflict with "Tenchi Universe." For example, in order to flesh out a family background for Ayeka and Sasami, rather than create new characters, I used the existing parental figures of King Asuza and Queen Misaki from the OAVs. In order to bring the Galaxy Police more into the story, I re-instated the Grand Marshall as Mihoshi's grandfather and used an existing character from the Tenchi Muyo mangas, Chief Tor Bodai. And so on.

AIC and Pioneer LDC, whose kind indulgence I am counting on, own the copyrights on the original Tenchi Muyo characters. The character of Chief Tor Bodai was created by Hitoshi Okuda for the Tenchi Muyo manga series and is also copyrighted by AIC and Pioneer LDC. All truly new characters are my creation. Those characters and the actual story are copyright 2002 by yours truly. The lyrics for both versions of the theme song for "Speed Racer," the Beatles' "Abbey Road" album, the Beach Boys' "Surfing USA," the theme to "The Brady Bunch," and "That's Amore" are copyrighted by their various owners. The events that comprise the "Tenchi Universe" series are discussed in this novel; consequently, spoilers lurk within. Be warned. Please check out the "Chapter Notes" at the end of some of the chapters. Feedback is very welcome! I can be reached at gpabn@yahoo.com and thanks for taking the time to read this novel.

------------------------------------------------------

CHAPTER ELEVEN

No Need For Sand Castles

________________________

The next morning, Tenchi and Tris took no chances.

Tenchi set his alarm for 5 a.m. When it jangled both of them awake, Tris heaved himself from his pallet and stumbled for the shower. Tenchi slipped out of bed and started packing his swim trunks, sandals, towels, and waterproof sun block into a nylon bag. He also added an old compact stereo radio with extra batteries. When Tris returned, showered and shaved, Tenchi took his shower while Tris dressed in polo shirt and khaki shorts and Top-siders and packed a similar nylon bag full of beach clothing and accessories. Tenchi returned from his ablutions and donned a tank top, cargo shorts, and leather strap sandals.

"Did you hear voices in the dining room?" Tris asked.

"Yeah. They're there already." Tenchi grinned.

"Actually, that's good, this time around. It's a long drive to Katsurahama Beach, you know."

"I know. Okay, here we go."

Carrying their small nylon gym bags, Tenchi and Tris deposited them on one of the couches in the living room. Then they walked into the dining room.

This time neither of them was surprised to see all the women-- including Washuu--sitting to breakfast, all dressed in loose, casual clothing.

"The sleepyheads are finally up," Ryoko told Ayeka.

Ayeka smiled at the two young men. Tris looked at her, a little sheepishly. Ayeka smiled especially at him.

Fortunately, the Princess had gotten over her anger quickly last night. Kiyone had helped. After she had controlled her laughter, she told Ayeka what Tris had told her and Ryoko. Nobuyuki had quickly confirmed that Tris had given him the G-rated version of the magical soldiers' manga advertures. Ayeka had come to like Tris, very much, and she had also come to know him. She realized that the incident had been another of his patented bonehead plays. In addition, she had confiscated the hentai from Sasami and Mihoshi before they had seen more than a few pages (and both of them had pleaded for her not to be mad at Tris). She wanted to shield Sasami, most particularly, from the vulgarities of life, but she knew that her little sister was bound to be exposed to them, bit by bit-- including the naughty bits. She bore Tris no grudge. In fact, privately, she had laughed a little herself at the incident.

Ryoko had carried Tris back to the house once Ayeka had stopped yelling and Tenchi had called the all-clear. The space pirate had then taken Tris straight to the bathroom, where he cleaned himself up (the flight had experienced nauseating turbulence). While he had done so, she talked to him about some of her adventures as a space pirate. Her actions had been meant to settle Tris down and to prevent him from embarrassing himself in front of the others, and she had succeeded. It was true, Tris had come to realize. Ryoko was a big softie inside if she liked you.

"Come and eat, you two. We're burning sunlight," Ryoko said now. Tenchi smiled at the space pirate's impatience and walked over to his accustomed place between her and Ayeka. Kiyone patted the mat beside her. "Come here, you," she said to Tris. Tris sat down next to her. She then pressed against him, warmly...her accustomed position.

Both Mihoshi and Sasami smiled at Tris, glad that last night's storm had blown over. Besides, they had finally gotten the proper mangas and were quite happy with them. They planned to read them during the drive to the beach. Kiyone had persuaded Mihoshi not to bring her plush stuffed pooch, Trissy, to the beach with her. She had convinced Mihoshi that her plush puppy dog would be stolen, which Kiyone privately rather doubted...who'd want that mutt?

"Gee," Tris said. "Maybe a whole cup of tea for breakfast this time. You think?"

"I think," Kiyone told him, "you'd better hush up and eat."

Tris took her advice. So did Tenchi. The women talked about their plans for the beach, but kept glancing at the two young men. Their impatience to get going was palpable.

Then they all heard the front door open and close. Lord Yosho walked into the dining room.

"Tristram," he said. "You have two gentlemen looking for you outside."

"The cops finally caught up to you, huh?" Ryoko laughed...and then realized what she had accidentally alluded to and fell silent. The other women, aside from Washuu, also fell strangely silent. Tenchi and Washuu looked at them, uncomprehendingly. Lord Yosho also looked at them, perhaps not so uncomprehendingly.

Tris set down his teacup. He'd only gotten a few sips out of it and his steaming bowls of miso soup and noodles lay untouched. He should have known! He rose.

Kiyone touched his arm. "Tris?"

He grinned down at her. "If I'm not back in ten minutes, send Trissy after me with a flask of brandy."

Mihoshi giggled, although she really didn't understand the comment.

"Huh?" Kiyone said. Tris winked at her and left the dining room with Lord Yosho.

Nearly everyone seemed puzzled and/or concerned over Tris's sudden departure. Except Tenchi. He said, "I'm pretty sure I know what Tris has up his sleeve, everybody. I think you'll like it."

"Phew! As long as it's not..." Ryoko quickly returned to her noodles.

"Not what?" Washuu asked.

"Now, Miss Washuu, you had better hurry up and eat," Ayeka told her. "We shall leave very shortly."

Washuu shrugged and did as she was bidden.

Ayeka exchanged a quick but significant glance with Ryoko, and then looked at Tenchi...who was looking at her. She smiled at him. He smiled back, quizzically.

Mihoshi, as worried about Tris as her partner was, started to lean toward Kiyone, who was looking after the departed American. "Think we ought to go see--?"

Kiyone held up her hand, shook her head. She had spotted some movement outside the dining room and heard footsteps. Then Tris walked in with Lord Yosho. The idiot was grinning. Oh, thank heavens!

"So they delivered it, huh?" Tenchi asked.

"They sure did! Right on time. That's what I call service," Tris said.

Behind him, Lord Yosho smiled. "And that is what I call thoughtfulness and regard for your friends, Tristram."

"Thank you, sir," Tris said.

"Say, what's this all about?" Washuu asked. "Somebody going to let me in on this?"

"Well, if Tris is behind it--duck!" Ryoko said, but with a grin.

Tenchi rose from the table. He walked up to Tris. "Ready to tell them?"

Lord Yosho said, "I suggest that it would be better to show them, grandson."

"Good idea, Grandfather. Tris?"

"Sure."

Tenchi turned to the table. "Come on outside, everyone." He followed his grandfather and Tris out of the dining room.

Kiyone shook her head. Then she rose. "Well, com'on...we'd better go see what the big stiff has done now."

------

When they had all trooped outside, they saw what Tris had done.

Parked beside Tris's car was a minivan. Only, the appellation "mini" hardly applied. It was a slightly stretched-out version of a people- carrier, designed to take ten or more people where they wanted to go in style and comfort. It gleamed dully in the heightening glow of incipient daylight. It also made a curious contrast with Tris's Mustang...the past and the present, both with their own appeal.

It was a Daihatsu Atrai Seven. But with the custom extended undercarriage and panels, it could rightly be called an Atrai Ten, one of the Kei class of Japanese minivans and a perennial favorite of day trippers.

Nobuyuki, in his suit and carrying his briefcase, walked out the front door on his way to the bus. He stopped and stared at the minivan. "A Daihatsu! Tristram, you have chosen well."

"Thanks, Mr. Masaki."

"Remember the Daihatsu Hijet van we drove on that fishing trip, son-in-law?" Yosho asked.

"I sure do! Rugged little thing. I remember the sliding rear doors. Useful."

Tris smiled at them both. "This one holds ten...how about it?"

"Yeah, Dad! Grandfather!" Tenchi urged.

Nobuyuki shook his head. "I dearly wish I could. And I will someday, Tenchi."

Lord Yosho also shook his head. "This day is for you young people. You have worked hard for it and you deserve it. Please enjoy it! Besides," he added, "I must prevent Ryo-Ohki from becoming too lonely."

"Meow-er." Ryo-Ohki rubbed at Lord Yosho's ankles. The cabbit had been instructed by her mistress to stay home. Ryo-Ohki would be a bit hard to explain away on the public beach.

"I understand, Dad...Grandfather," Tenchi said.

"Next time, though," Tris said.

"I will take you up on that, Tristram." Nobuyuki picked up his briefcase, said his goodbyes, and walked off to the bus stop.

"Come, Ryo-Ohki. We will see about your breakfast," Lord Yosho said to the cabbit. Ryo-Ohki gave her approval. They both went into the house.

Tris was walking to the back of the Daihatsu to open the cargo doors in order to start loading in gear when he was grabbed--by Kiyone.

"You!" she said. "Letting me get all worried--!"

"Worried about what, Blue Eyes?" Tris grinned.

"You know what." Kiyone looked at the maxi-minivan. "You big goofball. This is perfect. Now I'm glad I bought that extra-skimpy bikini. My goofball deserves a treat."

"Ummm...extra skimpy?"

Kiyone laughed at him. "Get those eyeballs back in your head, idiot! You have to drive us, you know."

"Gosh," said Mihoshi, running her fingers along the side of the van. "Do we really get to go in this?"

"Sure," said Sasami. "Help me go get the food baskets, Mihoshi."

"Okay." The two returned to the house.

Tenchi walked to where Tris and Kiyone stood by the rear of the van. "Better get loaded up, Tris."

"Right-o." Tris opened the rear cargo door. Ayeka and Ryoko walked up carrying their bags and Mihoshi's, Kiyone's, and Sasami's as well. Ayeka had spent a moment telling her two Guardians, Azaka II and Kamidake II, where she was going and ordering them to remain at the house. They had blinked with protest, but obeyed their Princess, of course. Both were rather interested in seeing an Earth beach...but never mind.

Ayeka and Ryoko loaded the bags in the van. Washuu walked up behind them with her bag.

"I sure hope you haven't brought one of those crazy gadgets along," Ryoko told her.

"Nope." Washuu grinned. "Just my crazy swimsuit."

"Hah! Wait until you see mine. You'll go bury yourself in the sand and stay there."

"That bad, huh, Ryoko?" Washuu asked in mock commiseration.

Tris and Tenchi left to collect their gear. As they walked back to the house, Tenchi said, "Tris, I know this is setting you back a little--no, a lot. I just can't sit back and let you..."

"Tenchi," Tris interjected. "If you hadn't bucked the forces of alien female fury and let me stay, I would have spent a heck of a lot more bread just be-bopping around the Ginza and Akihabara in Tokyo.(1) And I wouldn't have had a tenth as much fun. And I wouldn't have gotten to know Kiyone and found out just how hard a woman can hit. So let's not waste daylight on the distasteful subject of money. Okay?"

"Okay." Tenchi smiled at his friend.

They entered the house--and nearly collided with Mihoshi and Sasami, who were carrying food baskets and Thermos bottles. Fortunately, no food was lost, although Mihoshi did drop a basket on Tris's foot. Tenchi and Tris (who was now limping a bit) went to the couch to collect their nylon bags and Sasami and Mihoshi continued on to the van. Minutes later, the two young men returned to the van as well. They were all just about ready to leave--and to hit the beach.

Of course, no one could leave until the seating arrangements were worked out. Tenchi started to climb into the passenger-side front seat beside Tris, but Ryoko and Ayeka thwarted him. They held him as Kiyone, smiling her thanks, slipped into the front seat herself.

Then Ryoko and Ayeka directed Tenchi to the first passenger bench seat. They all three sat down, with Tenchi in the middle.

Surveying the situation with a jaundiced eye, Washuu said to Mihoshi and Sasami, "Guess we're next, girls." The three piled into the second passenger bench seat. That left a third bench seat unoccupied. Behind that seat, secured in a handy cargo net, were everyone's beach gear and food and drink.

Tris started the engine. The motor, located just beneath his feet, rumbled agreeably. He popped the automatic transmission into drive, just remembering not to bother to depress the nonexistent clutch. Old habits die hard.

"This driver's compartment is opposite to the one in your car," Kiyone observed. "Sure you can handle it?"

"Yup. That's why I specified an automatic."

The van moved forward. They were off.

"Yay!" shouted Mihoshi. "Oh, yay!"

"I second that "yay"!" Kiyone said.

------

After feeding himself and Ryo-Ohki, Lord Yosho walked to the shrine. He walked slowly, hands clasped behind his back. He was in no hurry. And he was thinking.

He had been perhaps too noncommittal to his grandson and son-in-law and Professor Washuu yesterday about the Presence that he had sensed, the evil that invaded their home like a foul vapor, seemingly without substance, but full of menace all the same. He had agreed with them that perhaps the Presence was ebbing and would eventually vanish. But he doubted it...he doubted it very strongly.

It was good that Tenchi had come home for an extended stay. Yosho had been able to train his grandson back to razor-sharpness. The Shinto priest and Prince of Jurai felt his grandson might soon require that supreme martial skill--and that he might also need to unsheathe Sword Tenchi again. Perhaps for the final time this time around. Lord Yosho reverently hoped so.

Yosho felt something worrying at his ankles. He looked down. It was Ryo-Ohki.

"Meow-er!" The cabbit seemed pensive.

Yosho knelt down and gently stroked Ryo-Ohki. "Yes, we are both quite alone right now, aren't we?"

"Meow-er!" Ryo-Ohki rogered that.

Yosho gathered the cabbit in his arms and rose. He continued on toward the temple. Ryo-Ohki snuggled in his arms.

The princely priest was glad the young people would have this day for themselves. Darker days threatened on the horizon.

------

"So you've been to this beach before, Tris...Katsurahama Beach?" Kiyone asked him. They were on the main thoroughfare and traffic was actually moving at a quick snail's pace. The rush hour would soon end and, hopefully, that pace would pick up. It would be a two-and- a-half hour drive from Okayama City to reach Kochi City (crossing, by bridge, the Seto Inland Sea) where the beach (a famous spot for viewing the moon) was a major attraction.

"Sure. You see, I had a roommate who beat feet out of Dodge every weekend and holiday, so I had to do something," Tris said, with a quick glance back at Tenchi. "I did a lot of sightseeing in this part of Japan."

Tenchi leaned forward. "Well, at least you know why, now." He grinned. "It's not like I had a choice in the matter."

"What's that supposed to mean, sweetums?" Ryoko looked at Tenchi narrowly.

"Yes, Lord Tenchi, what do you mean by that?" Ayeka asked pointedly.

Tenchi grasped the back of his head with a hand and laughed somewhat nervously. "Oh, nothing..."

Kiyone quickly asked Tris, "But aren't there other Americans at that college of yours, Tris?"

"Sure. Okayama U. has a full international student program. There's a number of other Americans there."

"So why didn't you just hang with them?" Kiyone asked.

"Yes, Tristram, why?" Ayeka was clearly curious as well.

"Well...about half of the other American students go around like the big-shot Yanks. The folks around here got enough of that guff during the Occupation. And the other half try to "go Japanese" so much, it's kind of embarrassing."

"Yeah," Tenchi agreed. "We laugh at those types of foreign students. They aren't Japanese and never will be...so why bother? They should be what they are."

"But..." Ryoko seemed confused, a mite. "You speak and even read Japanese, Tris, and you have a lot of the manners and customs down pat. I'd have thought you'd want to "go Japanese," too."

"Not me. I came back here to enjoy the people and the culture again and to maybe learn something. But..." Here Tris took a shot at a James Cagney impression. "I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy...Yankee Doodle do-or-die...a real live nephew of my Uncle Sam...born on the Fourth of July. Well, actually, September 18th."(1)

"If you plan to start singing again," Kiyone told him, displaying a balled fist, "I have five good reasons here for you to think about it real hard first."

"Yes, Officer," Tris said.

"I think that is admirable, Tristram," Ayeka said, adroitly moving the conversation along. "You should be loyal to your own people but that does not mean you cannot appreciate the customs and lifestyles of other people." The First Princess of Jurai obviously felt very strongly about this.

"That's right, Ayeka," Tris said. "You've got to be true to your school. But you don't have to go dissing other folk's schools."

"Well, it still sounds kinda weird," Ryoko muttered.

Ayeka looked across Tenchi at her. "That is because you have no country or planet to call your own, Ryoko."

Ryoko grinned and leaned against Tenchi. "Oh, yes I have, Princess. I owe my allegiance to Planet Tenchi. Right, sweetums?"

"Uh..." Tenchi laughed again, still a trifle nervously.

Sitting somewhat boredly on the bench seat behind Tenchi and Ryoko and Ayeka, Washuu asked, "What are they talking about up there?"

Mihoshi, who, along with Sasami, was reading one of the mangas Tris had bought them, just shrugged. "Something about Planet Tenchi." Unlike men, women can read and carry on a conversation at the same time.

"Sounds like a rocking place." Washuu looked around the van. It was a crude conveyance, though not as crude as that motorized cart Tris drove. But the seats were comfortable and since these people foolishly insisted on sticking to conventional travel, it was probably the best they could do. Besides, Washuu liked the idea of the beach. She actually enjoyed fresh air and sunshine, sometimes. And she looked forward to showing off in her swimsuit. It had been a long time since she had garnered some male attention. Too long, really. Today, she would make up for it.

Washuu sighed with satisfaction and opened her translucent console. She could at least check the readings on the sentinel scans she had set up around the Masaki shrine. Lord Yosho had been too blasé yesterday about the seeming dissipation of whatever was intruding on them. Washuu knew he was far more worried than he let on.

"Washuu...you're not supposed to use that outside, are you?" Sasami asked her.

"Oh, I won't use it on the beach, Sasami. Just a little work inside this van thing. The people in the other cars will think I'm working with one of those primitive laptop computers."

"But, " Mihoshi spoke up, "can those people see through their laptop computers?"

Washuu sighed again, but not with satisfaction. She closed down the console. "You have a point there, Mihoshi. Got another one of those comic books?"

"Sure!" Mihoshi handed her one of the mangas.

"Pretty magical soldiers," Washuu muttered, flipping the pages. "Jeeze. These Earthlings have no clue."

------

Some time later, they had sun and sand and sea. But the music wasn't quite right.

The radio blared out a song that seemed intent on describing just how many times the singer could use a rather commonplace obscenity. It was a "progressive" station playing "progressive" rock.

"Forget that!" Tris said, twisting the dial on Tenchi's stereo radio. "We've got to find some beach tunes, man."

"Try that oldies station again," Tenchi suggested. "I think you can pick it up out here."

"Good idea," Tris said. He found it on the dial. As it happened, he and the gang were fortunate in that regard. Due to the warm weather, the disc jockey at the station had decided to play a long list of Beach Boys tunes. At the moment, he was spinning "Surfin' U.S.A."

"All right, all right, on Saturday night!" Tris exclaimed. "Them's the tunes!" He turned up the volume.

"Great!" Tenchi enthused. "Just right. Of course we have no surfing here."

"Just a detail, my man."

"A bushy, bushy blond hairdo? Mihoshi?" Tenchi laughed, listening to the song.(2)

"Naw." Tris grinned. "Long before her time."

He put the radio down on the expansive red and white striped beach blanket that the Masakis had not used for many moons. He and Tenchi had already visited the men's dressing hut and changed into their beach togs. Tenchi wore black Speedo swim trunks, perfect for power- swimming and looking good. Tris wore a pair of ugly jams...red, white, and blue, spotted with tiny lithographs of native girls in grass skirts doing the hula-hula.

They sat on the blanket, staring out at the gently rolling surf as it washed up on the sandy shore. Beyond it loomed the wide Pacific Ocean.

Katsurahama Beach, Kochi City, lay at the foot of a hill where one could spot the remains of Urado Castle, where the feudal lords had once held sway. Standing on the bluff above the beach and facing the Pacific Ocean was the statue of Ryoma Sakamoto. Tenchi had told Tris that Sakamoto had helped bring Japan out of its self-imposed isolation and into the modern world--he was considered one of the founding fathers of modern Japan. Tris had given the statue a respectful bow before he sat down on the blanket.

Tenchi had even been able to recite a famous poem about the beach: "Miyoya Miyo/Minatsukinomino/Katsurahama/Umino omoyori/izuru tsukikage." This translated to: "Look everyone! Katsurahama and the moon. From the waves the moon is rising."

The two young men had rented several large beach umbrellas and placed them in the sand, so positioned that the area covered by the beach blanket was bathed in shadow. They had kept the food in the van, parked not too far away, ready to be brought out at lunchtime. Right now though, neither Tenchi nor Tris were thinking about food.

"When are those girls going to come out with their swimsuits?" Tris groused. "The tide's gonna come in before they come out!"

"Well, you know women," Tenchi said. He was getting a bit piqued himself. "When it comes to stuff like this, they take their time."

"Well, you at least saw them once in bikinis at that pleasure planet you all talk about. This is a big premier for me."

"Yeah, you really missed something. I still can't believe none of our girls won that contest," Tenchi reminisced. "That Nagi! I mean, she's not bad. But, still...and that swimsuit she wore!" He grinned. "Ryoko stole all the prize money, anyway!"

"Good for her!" Tris chuckled. "Nagi? That bounty hunter? The one that's still after Ryoko? That one that kidnapped you that time?"

"Yeah." Tenchi smiled, remembering. "Not my favorite person! But, like I said--she's not bad in a swimsuit."

"Who's not bad in a swimsuit?"

The voice was Ryoko's. Tenchi and Tris's heads turned--in more ways than one.

All the women and Sasami stood before their gaze now...all in their swimsuits...mostly barely-there bikinis. Had the sand been not so soft, the sound of Tenchi's and Tris's jaws hitting the blanket would have been audible.

The sight of just one of the women in a brief bikini would have gently scorched any red-blooded male's eyeballs (a few green-blooded males may have sat up and taken notice, too), but the sight of five of the exotic alien women in their skimpy swimwear was nothing short of electrifying. The two young men had, after all, been stirred simply by Mihoshi and Kiyone in their short-shorts. Thus, Tris and Tenchi just sat there, eyes wide, mouths agape, pulses racing--the works. It was a near religious experience for them; a scene they would always remember, especially on cold winter nights.

As it turned out, the women who had gone shopping yesterday ended up buying the first suits they had selected to first try on, even though they had tried on others afterward (a common enough shopping occurrence). Thus, Mihoshi wore the tiger-print bikini, Kiyone wore the blue Piñata bikini, Ayeka wore the flower-print bikini, and Ryoko wore--if that is not too liberal a usage of the word--the bright, lime green bikini-thong. Little Sasami was again awfully cute in her frilly sea horse-print swimsuit. And Washuu! She wore a one-piece black swimsuit--with some of the pieces missing. Her back, her sides, much of her midriff was bared. With her diminutive size and big red hair, she might have passed as an adult arcade Kewpie doll.

Watching Tenchi and Tris, Sasami giggled. The boys were so cute in their reaction...the way they slowly melted into puddles at the sight of the women. She couldn't wait to grow up.

"Well?" Ryoko said impatiently. "Don't just sit there with your mouths hanging open like frogs. Tell us what you think!"

Tris tried. "Sha..." he faltered.

"...Zam!" Tenchi finished for him.

Mihoshi giggled. "I think they like our bikinis!"

"What was your first clue?" Kiyone asked her. "The drool or the eyeballs rolling in the sand?"

Mihoshi giggled again. She especially liked Tris's reaction. He looked like someone had hit him with a brick or something.

"Do you really like my bikini...Lord Tenchi?" Ayeka asked hesitantly.

"It's wonderful," Tenchi said reverently.

"And mine, sweetums?" Ryoko asked, with a wink.

"It's...unbelievable, Ryoko," Tenchi gulped.

Kiyone stood in front of Tris, hands on her very nicely curved hips. "Well, buster? Was it worth waiting for?"

"I'd take a number at Hell's customer service center and wait--just to see you in that, Blue Eyes," Tris said, his voice just a little husky.

Kiyone grinned. "Good enough, I guess." She sat down beside him. Very close beside him.

Mihoshi looked disappointed. "Isn't anyone going to say anything about my bikini?" she asked.

Tenchi, with Ayeka and Ryoko sitting on either side of him now, knew better than to say anything. Tris, noting the tiger print on Mihoshi's bikini, performed a pretty lame tiger growl. Still, it pleased Mihoshi. She sat down on the other side of Tris. Kiyone did a sort of growl then, and she wasn't imitating anything. Mihoshi heard it and scooted a few inches away from them.

"Isn't Sasami just a darling in her swimsuit?" Ayeka asked. There was general agreement. Sasami colored, very pleased. She sat down, close to Tenchi and Ryoko and her big sister.

"Hey, what am I? Chopped liver?" It was Washuu, feeling neglected.

Ryoko eyed her cut-down, one-piece swimsuit. "Where did you buy that thing--the kiddie's store?"

"No kiddie ever wore anything like that," Tris said. Then he added, "Ooof," as Kiyone's elbow found its mark.

"Thanks, Tris." Washuu smiled. "Well, I know the rest of you are speechless over this smashing swimsuit I found on the Net, so I won't press you for any more compliments." She walked over and sat down in the back of the blanket, deep into the shade.

"Speechless? I'm practically breakfast-less," Ryoko cracked.

"Keep it up, Ryoko...you're going to be less something else," Washuu promised.

------

The controller was constantly on his back. It was a good position from which to dream...and to make others dream.

He lay perfectly still. No expression moved the lips. No movement at all animated the facial muscles. That face was shaved by others once a week.

Looking at him, one would think the controller was dead, laying on the stark white sheets of the utilitarian bed, in the cold, antiseptic chamber. But his chest moved, slowly, rythmatically.

The door to the chamber opened. Footsteps. The controller noted them from where he resided in the depthless, hidden darkness, a Stygian darkness so deep, it would not register on sensitive instruments. The darkness that was his realm.

He heard voices.

"Let's get it done, then."

"Okay. It's like feeding a corpse, though."

"It is. Can't wait for my transfer."

"Lucky stiff."

"You're talking to the wrong one." Laughter, muted. The attendants knew the chamber was monitored constantly.

Hands, ungentle hands, rolled up a sleeve. At the joining of elbow and forearm on the thin, emaciated limb was a small tube with a slightly larger metallic collar. A hand holding another tube reached down. The end of that tube was fitted into the collar. There was the slightest of hissing sounds.

"Turn it on."

Now the hum of machinery could be heard. The controller noted it. He had heard it so many times before. He felt the nourishment enter his body. His body accepted the nourishment because he willed it to. The vessel of his corporeal body, as weak as it was, must be maintained. The great brain, the everything that the controller was, must live. No revenge, no triumph, could be wrested without the living brain.

The forced-feeding concluded. The machinery was turned off. The tube was removed. The controller's sleeve was rolled down.

"I wish the Union would change its laws. This is useless, keeping him alive."

"It pays our salary. Besides, he may still wake up someday and finally get what's coming to him."

"After all this time? Useless, I say."

The voices faded away. The door to the chamber closed.

The body absorbed the nourishment. The brain rested...until it could reach out again.

------

"Look out, Ayeka!" Tenchi yelled.

The Princess looked. Too late. The colorfully striped beach ball smacked her head. It was a soft blow, though.

"Ryoko!" she shouted.

"Hey, I said, "think fast," Princess. Guess that was a waste of breath." Ryoko laughed.

Tenchi, Ayeka, and Ryoko were at the water's edge on the beach, tossing a beach ball around. Ayeka had looked down at a shell by her bare feet when the ball made personal contact with her head.

"You did that on purpose," Ayeka charged.

"You snooze, you lose, Princess."

"Why don't you throw the ball back, Ayeka?" Tenchi said. "I'm sorry you were hit."

"It is not your fault, Lord Tenchi." Ayeka took a deep breath and smelled the sea. It was a lovely scent. The sun was wonderfully warm on her skin, the spring breeze was gentle, and Tenchi looked so manly in his swim trunks. The Princess refused to let Ryoko spoil this lovely, rare outing for her. She bent over and picked up the beach ball. She tossed it at Tenchi, who caught it and tossed it, in turn, to Ryoko.

Ryoko smiled at the Princess--and then tossed the ball back to Tenchi. Ayeka just crossed her arms. Tenchi gently threw it to Ayeka. She caught it and smiled at Tenchi.

------

"What's the score on the ball game?" Kiyone asked Tris, dryly. They had been walking hand-in-hand by the water's edge, alternately stepping on wet sand and on the foam of rolling surf. It was highly pleasant, Kiyone thought, although the water was chilly. She had just chewed Tris out over the hula girls on those awful swim trunks he called jams. But it was so like him, she secretly was amused. Now they were observing Tenchi, Ryoko, and Ayeka toss the beach ball.

"Looks like Ryoko: One, Ayeka: Zip. But I think the umpire just may call the game on account of aggravation," Tris observed.

Sure enough. When Ryoko again didn't toss Ayeka the beach ball, Tenchi talked to the women briefly, took the ball, and walked to their home blanket. Ryoko and Ayeka followed him, darting significant glances at each other. Kiyone and Tris watched Tenchi then toss the beach ball toward Mihoshi, who laughed with delight, laid down her manga, and picked the ball up. She and Sasami raced out from the shaded blanket area and into the sun. They began to toss the beach ball to each other, laughing happily, with Mihoshi dropping the ball half the time and chasing it when her foot accidentally hit it.

"That's my partner," Kiyone said sardonically.

"You wouldn't have it any other way...would you?"

"Hell, yes!" Kiyone said shortly. Then she watched Mihoshi laugh even though she had fallen down again. The sweet, hopeless ding-dong! Kiyone started to shake her head...then she sighed and laid her head against Tris's shoulder. "No, I guess not."

"That's my pretty protector of the galaxy," Tris said.

"Looks like I'm stuck with a ding-dong partner and an idiot boyfriend. And all I ever wanted was to be a good police officer and make rank fast and have no complications to slow me down. Where did I go wrong?"

"You ran up against life, Blue Eyes."

"Yeah. I guess I did."

"Don't worry about it. It's better to live life than to try to tiptoe around it. It's more fun, and you end up with grandchildren who don't believe any of your boring old stories anyway."

Kiyone nuzzled her head against his shoulder. She said, "Keep it up...and I'm going to kiss you, right here, right now."

"Whoa! This is a family beach, you know--ow!"

"Sometimes," Kiyone observed sweetly, "a punch is as good as a kiss!"

------

They were being observed.

"Well," Washuu told Tenchi, "she hit him again." She was laying outside the shaded main blanket area on her own blanket, catching some rays. Tenchi had just squatted down beside her.

"Right on the shoulder, too," Tenchi noted. "I'm surprised he can still lift that arm after all those punches."

"Yeah, well, it's the single life for me," Washuu told him.

"Is it, Washuu? Seems a shame."

"Hey," she said, raising her head and looking at him. "Is that a proposition?"

"Washuu...!"

"I just knew that wearing this hot swimsuit would raise a few male temperatures." Washuu smiled. "I'm glad it raised yours, Tenchi."

Tenchi grinned and shook his head.

"It raised his gorge, you mean," Ryoko told Washuu, walking up to them.

"Oh, hi, Ryoko," Washuu said. "Lost your beach ball, I see. Can't you two girls play nice?"

"Aw, the Princess couldn't catch a cold in a bucket."

"Not when the bucket is thrown at my head--Ryoko!" Ayeka joined them now, too. It was getting awfully crowded in this nice quiet spot she had picked out for herself, Washuu thought.

"Look, everyone, I was trying to get a little sun here," Washuu said.

"And to flirt with Tenchi," Ryoko charged.

"Miss Washuu flirted with Lord Tenchi?" Ayeka asked, startled.

"She did not," Tenchi said.

"Yes, I did." Washuu smiled at him devilishly.

"Washuu!"

"Don't fight it, Tenchi." Washuu was beginning to enjoy herself, seeing the expressions on Ryoko and Ayeka. "It's stronger than both of us. It's fate. It's undeniable. It's kismet. In fact...it's kiss-me."

Tenchi jumped to his feet. "Come on, now!"

"It's not kismet--it's kiss-off," Ryoko growled. "Kiss off, Washuu!"

Washuu blew a kiss at Tenchi and then lay back on her blanket. Her petite form in the black peek-a-boo swimsuit quivered with silent laughter.

"Hey," said Tenchi, looking for an escape. "You girls race with me to the water!" He took off. After a moment, Ryoko and Ayeka followed. They passed Mihoshi and Sasami who were still tossing the beach ball to each other. All three of them reached the water's edge, not far from Tris and Kiyone. They splashed into the roiling surf.

"Yow!" said Ryoko. "This water's cold!" She was standing in the surf with Tenchi and Ayeka. "It's freezing!"

"Of course," Tenchi said. "It's only spring, you know. The air is warm, but the water hasn't had a chance to heat up yet."

"I...I wish you would have mentioned that a bit sooner, Lord Tenchi," Ayeka said, holding herself, her teeth chattering.

"I'm sorry, Ayeka." Tenchi splashed over to her. He put his arms around her and led her back to the sand. "Are you warming up now?"

"Oh, yes, Lord Tenchi." Ayeka smiled. She snuggled against him.

"Grrrrrrrr..." said Ryoko. She followed Tenchi and Ayeka out of the ice-cold water and back onto the beach.

------

"Now I think the ball game's even...Ryoko: One and Ayeka: One," Tris said. He and Kiyone had watched the three of them splash into the surf and then splash right out again.

"I thought that game was called," Kiyone said.

"That game may never be called!"

------

Tenchi, despite the coldness of his quick splash, was studying the sea. It was a heck of a note to come all this way and not get wet. The water hadn't seemed that cold.

Tenchi walked up to Tris and Kiyone. "Hey, Tris, you want to swim?"

"Sure!" said Tris.

Tenchi had learned to swim quite well as a boy in the Masaki Lake, a skill few of the women had bothered to acquire...especially after Ryoko pointed out that the fish relieved themselves in the water. Kiyone and Mihoshi, who were naturally game for anything, hadn't learned swimming beyond the basics because it seemed to them a useless skill. They were rarely near large bodies of water and swimming had not been in the regimen at the Galaxy Police Academy. But Tris had been taught by his parents to swim and he had even earned his Mile Swim Badge as a Boy Scout. Tris may have been a stumbler on land but he swam like a fish.

Racing each other, Tenchi and Tris splashed into the surf. They again experienced the coldness of the seawater.

"Man, it's cold. Wow!" Tris said.

"I didn't know you were so dainty," Tenchi taunted between chattering teeth.

"I'm not!" Tris was beginning to shiver in the icy water.

"You are, too!"

"I am not!"

"Okay...then swim out with me to that buoy out there." Tenchi pointed to a bobbing buoy, around a quarter mile out.

"You're on!"

"Let's go!"

They went. Both dove in the water and almost immediately surfaced. If either of them could have walked on water, they would have done so--back to the beach. Too late now...they were committed, there was the buoy out there, and there was also one of them ready to rag the other if either wavered. Besides, they told themselves, hard exercise in the water would warm them up. Eyes bulging with the shock of being immersed in the frigid seawater, they nevertheless began to stroke and stroke toward the buoy. Tenchi used an Australian crawl, while Tris displayed a fluid sidestroke. It was a useful demonstration of how one male challenging another male can lead to noteworthy acts of stupidity.

The demonstration was not lost on the women watching them.

"What the hell are they doing?" Kiyone cried. "Tris!"

"Tenchi! Lord Tenchi!" both Ayeka and Ryoko called.

"They're both idiots," Kiyone marveled.

"Lord Tenchi is not an idiot, Kiyone," Ayeka corrected her. "He is simply acting like an idiot at this moment."

"Well, idiots or not, they're going to freeze like ice cubes before they get to that buoy," Ryoko said.

"No...they're going to freeze like ice cubes after they get out of that water."

That pronouncement came from Washuu, who had watched Tenchi and Tris dive into the water and decided to leave her blanket to investigate. Kiyone, Ayeka, and Ryoko turned to look at her. "The thermal shock will be pretty severe," she added.

"I can imagine." It made Kiyone shiver just to think of it.

"Actually, they're both pretty good swimmers," Washuu observed. "That's one sweet stroke Tris has, nice and efficient. That can eat up miles if you're fit. Now, Tenchi is a bit faster, but it costs a little in breath to use that forward stroke. If you compare--"

"Miss Washuu," Ayeka interrupted.

"Yes?"

"We are not interested in hearing about swimming styles."

"No?"

"No. We are interested in what we can do for those foolish boys when they return."

"Oh, that." Washuu shrugged. "Just get some towels ready to cover them with. They'll shiver for a while, but they'll be okay. Massage might help."

"How about a real stiff massage?" Kiyone asked the great scientist, smacking one fist in her other palm.

"Oh, I'd suggest you postpone hitting Tris until he warms up-- otherwise, he'll be so numb with cold, he'll hardly feel it," Washuu advised, smiling at Kiyone.

"Thanks for the info, Washuu."

"Don't mention it. See ya." Washuu walked back to the blanket.

------

Tenchi, due to the faster momentum generated by his Australian crawl, reached the buoy first. Tris reached it a moment later.

"This is great, huh?" Tenchi said, teeth chattering.

"Great!" Tris teeth-chattered back.

"Kinda cold, though."

"Yeah, kinda."

"In fact...I'm kinda frozen."

"Me, too."

"I've had better ideas," Tenchi admitted, shivering so hard he could barely hold on to the buoy.

"You have." Tris gave up trying to hold onto the buoy and treaded water, jerkily. "Oh well."

"Game to go back?" Tenchi asked his friend.

"Sure. It beats the alternative."

They began to stroke back. They were already a nice shade of blue.

------

Fortunately, just as Tenchi and Tris emerged from the surf and proceeded to become pop sickles (as Washuu had predicted), blue pop sickles to be precise, Ryoko, Ayeka, and Kiyone met them with towels. Tossing the towels over the badly shivering young aquanauts, the women hustled them over to the big beach blanket. Tenchi and Tris sat down on the blanket and did rather fair imitations of paint mixers. Ayeka and Ryoko rubbed Tenchi with towels, while Kiyone and Mihoshi did the same for Tris. Sasami watched with concern and Washuu watched with amusement. Presently, a young man in a striped tank top, black trunks, and a safari helmet walked up to them. He bowed politely.

"Good work, ladies. That's just the thing to do," the polite young man said approvingly. He was, obviously, a lifeguard.

"Thanks, cutie," Washuu replied from her prone position on her beach blanket.

The lifeguard spared a glance for Washuu and didn't seem to quite believe what he saw. He carried on, regardless: "You two shouldn't have tried to swim." He addressed Tenchi and Tris with polite remonstrance. "Far too cold this time of year. We've posted advisories on the beach. Haven't you read them?"

Shivering, Tenchi and Tris just managed to shake their heads, no.

"You have to understand, sir...these poor boys have trouble reading," Kiyone told the lifeguard, smiling. "We only let them out of the home once a year. We should have watched them better. We're sorry."

The lifeguard raised his eyebrows. The young American had just yelped. Did that pretty woman pinch him? The lifeguard decided not to pursue the matter.

"Yes, well, please be more careful. Good morning...or, I should say, good afternoon." The lifegaurd bowed and left.

"Lord Tenchi, that was so foolish of you," Ayeka scolded him.

"Yeah, you had a real brain dump there, sweetums," Ryoko added.

"Well, idiot boy here didn't help," Kiyone said. She toweled Tris's head with real vigor. He would have protested, but he felt too miserable and cold.

"I almost flew out to you guys, and to heck with the gawkers," Ryoko said. "If you two hadn't kept swimming so strongly, I would have. And then where would we have been?"

"That is right, Lord Tenchi...Tristram. You boys must not be so foolhardy." For once, Ayeka agreed with Ryoko one hundred percent.

"Please don't do that again, Tris," Mihoshi requested. She toweled Tris's feet far more gently than her partner's technique called for. "We were awfully scared for you and Tenchi."

"We really were," Sasami agreed, watching the toweling and the shivering with concern. Why did boys do such silly things? Kiyone was right...they had to be watched carefully. Then a thought occurred to her. "Didn't that nice lifeguard say afternoon?"

"Let me see your watch, Moby Dick," Kiyone said. She grabbed Tris's wrist with the Omega strapped on it. She glanced at the watch's face. "Hey, it's half past noon. Lunchtime."

"Yay!" Mihoshi stopped toweling Tris's feet and, instead, wrapped them nicely in the towel. "Let's go get the food, Sasami!"

"Okay!"

Mihoshi and Sasami both scampered to the van. Tris had already entrusted Sasami with the keys.

"That is fortunate timing," Ayeka noted gratefully. "Now we can get some hot tea down these boys."

"Sounds great," Tenchi said. His skin was turning a nice shade of pink again, as was Tris's towel-scrubbed skin.

"Maybe we should just dump the tea on them." Kiyone smiled and kissed the top of Tris's towel-scrubbed head. "Would you like that, Boy Toy?"

"Actually," Tris admitted, "the way I feel, that doesn't sound half bad."

Kiyone chuckled and ruffled his hair. She then bent down and quickly whispered in his ear, "Please stop scaring me like that! I didn't have any idea you could swim so well. You need to tell me these things."

"Roger that," Tris muttered. He caught Tenchi's eye. Tenchi, still being towel-rubbed and lectured by Ryoko and Ayeka, grinned at him. Tris grinned back. It sure wasn't the first dumb stunt they had pulled together...and it was unlikely to be the last. And it was certainly one way to have pretty women pay lots of attention to you! Even if a few pinches and pokes and scolding did go along with the TLC.

------

Sasami's lunch was superb. Somehow, she had managed to keep fresh fruit cool (little plastic bags of ice in the fruit containers), tea nice and steamy (Thermos jugs), and everything as fresh as if she had just cooked it and placed in on the chabudai table back home. It added to the gaiety of the group immensely (good food always has that effect) and went a long way toward restoring Tenchi and Tris back to their former fine fettle.

In fact, right after lunch was happily consumed (everyone had two helpings and Mihoshi had three...she couldn't get enough melon balls), Tenchi and Tris decided to have a little stroll around the beach together to "walk off the food." They talked vaguely of possibly taking a closer look at the ruins of Urado Castle or even venturing into the Katsurahama Park aquarium. They casually stood up and wandered off.

"Aquarium, huh?" Ryoko muttered. "Wonder if that aquarium has mermaids--wearing bikinis?"

"Yeah, I can just picture those two archeologists poking around the castle remains," Kiyone said sarcastically.

"I'll bet those mermaids all have real nice tans," Ryoko continued with her speculation.

"Yes, it all does sound rather fishy," Ayeka admitted.

"Fishy! That's funny, Ayeka!" Mihoshi laughed.

"Really? It was not meant to be."

Washuu sat up from the blanket where she had been trying to take a snooze after lunch. "Why don't you cut those boys some slack? They just want to look around."

"You bet they want to look around!" Ryoko said.

"We didn't buy these bikinis so those two could go gallivanting about ogling other women," Kiyone said flatly.

"Well said, Kiyone!" Ayeka approved.

"But they'll be back...won't they?" Mihoshi asked.

"Of course they will," Sasami asserted.

"Well, who wants to sit around and wait for them to get tired of eyeballing beach bunnies?" Kiyone said. "Why don't we have a nice little stroll ourselves and check out the hunks around here?"

"That's a plan, Kiyone!" Ryoko enthused. "Especially if those two just happen to spot us being admired by the local talent."

"You know," Ayeka admitted, "that idea has quite a bit of appeal. I could do with another walk on the beach."

"Of course you could. We need to walk off the food, too," Ryoko said.

Kiyone stood up. "Let's go."

Now Washuu sat up again. "Are you girls sure you want to do that?" she asked.

"Of course, Miss Washuu. We are merely getting some exercise," Ayeka answered.

"You may get more exercise than you counted on," Washuu warned.

"Just walking around the beach, keeping our eyes open? Come on, Washuu!" Ryoko scoffed.

"Okay, it's your call." Washuu lay back down.

"Coming, girls?" Kiyone said to Ryoko and Ayeka.

They rose and followed Kiyone.

Mihoshi and Sasami watched them leave.

"I don't understand," Sasami said. "Why don't they just go get the boys and bring them back? Or find them and walk with them?"

"I don't know," Mihoshi admitted.

"Because they don't want the boys to know they want them back," Washuu said, stretching a little as she lay on her towel.

"Oh. Then how will the boys know to come back if the girls don't want them to know they want...?" Mihoshi appeared confused.

"See? It doesn't make sense," Sasami said.

"You two have a lot to learn," Washuu told them. "None of it makes sense!" She turned over on her side. "About all it does make is babies, eventually." She yawned. "Sure is a lot of trouble...but kinda fun sometimes, though." She drifted off to sleep.

Mihoshi and Sasami looked at each other.

"Let's build a sand castle, Mihoshi."

"Okay."

------

Actually, Tenchi and Tris were not walking around enjoying the bikini- clad eye candy scattered all about the beach. Not that they hadn't checked out a few of the women in their swimming apparel--and not that some of those women hadn't indicated they were available for chatting up. But since the two of them had gorgeous girlfriends, they really hadn't felt the need or desire to engage in a flirtation walk. There is some fidelity in the male species and it tends to show up at unexpected times.

No, what they really had a need and a desire to do was...play beach volleyball.

The two young men had stumbled across a pick-up game organized by a group of beachcombers just over the last rise. A volleyball net, somewhat more Swiss-cheesy in appearance than regulations usually called for, hung limply between two aluminum poles sunk in the sand. Add a group of tanned, fit young men and women and a volleyball and all the makings for sweat, sand, and spikes were complete. Tenchi and Tris, both of whom liked volleyball (especially the spiking part) immediately joined in.

Those sort of pick-up games were casual in spirit...no formal teams, one could switch sides without condemnation, and keeping score was a hit-or-miss affair that nobody took too seriously. The important thing was to serve the ball over the net and then leap for it when it returned--hopefully knocking the ball back over said net--and, if one were in the front row, the chance to slam the ball down on one's opponents--the dreaded "spike"--always presented itself. As a formal competitive game, beach volleyball had its shortcomings. As fun in the sun, it had no equal.

Tenchi, a natural athlete who had endured long hours of training, was a strong player. He delivered good, straight serves that never went awry and that almost always just skimmed the top of the net, so that a too-quick move from an opposing player sent the volleyball pinging out of bounds. He knew how to return volley if he was in the right position to do so, and how to set up a return volley for a teammate. Tenchi's cheerfulness and natural fairness made him an instant favorite. His father and grandfather would have been proud to see him at play behind the net, and not been a bit surprised, either.

Tris was rather another story. He did smack out nice, sharp serves that were very hard to deal with, and his joking and equanimity made him quite welcome with his teammates, mostly local youth from Kochi City. Of course, the fact that he spoke decent Japanese helped considerably in his acceptance. But when it came to his turn in the front row, Tris had a tendency to address the ball with, perhaps, an excess of enthusiasm. Sometimes he managed to spike the ball terrifically, so that his opponents just ran out of its way. However, sometimes he missed completely and piled up more than once in the sand. But that was equally acceptable to his teammates...and more than acceptable to the other team. They were all there to have fun, and watching the lanky American either spike the ball or spike the sand (unintentionally) was equally amusing, if not particularly instructive.

The game continued for a while without incident. Both Tris and Tenchi worked up a good sweat and also worked off the heaviness of the noon meal. Their muscles were nicely warmed up, they were playing in close harmony with their teammates, and there was even a small crowd to cheer them on. In other words, the situation was ripe for a mishap.

Tenchi served the ball. It sizzled across the net. A pretty local girl in an itsy-bitsy, teensy-weensy, yellow polka dot bikini who had been eyeing Tenchi most of the time took note of the volleyball and deftly deflected it into the air. The volleyball described a high arc and hurtled down right before the net. It was a perfect setup for a spike. A tallish young man wearing jams almost as ugly as Tris's rose to the challenge. He leaped, right arm extended, hand cupped, ready to ram-slam that volleyball onto the opposing team.

Tris faced him across the net on the opposing side. He also leaped high, both arms extended, hands cupped, to deflect the ball. His long legs carried him higher than his opponent, up to just below his opponent's hand that now cupped the ball. The other young man rammed the ball downwards. It streaked about half a foot--and then it clobbered Tris's head. The two colliding spheres made a sound rather like a ripe melon being thumped. Both Tris and the ball plowed onto the sand. The ball rolled away. Tris lay still.

Tenchi groaned. He should have known...whenever there was a ball and Tris's head in the same general vicinity, the two inevitably made contact.

That stopped the game temporarily, until Tenchi could help Tris to his feet and shuffle him away.

"Did that guy spike the ball or just my head?" Tris asked, slowly touching the now-tender top of his cranium.

"The ball...but your head was so close to it, it kind of amounts to the same thing," Tenchi replied.

"Tell me about it," Tris groaned.

"Hey, just be glad it wasn't an atom-destroying volleyball." Tenchi chuckled.

"Huh?"

"Never mind. Before your time with us. Just be glad--trust me!"

"Okay, if you say so. Want to go see the aquarium now?" Tris asked, still rubbing his head. "I hear they have hammerhead sharks there."

"Let's postpone seeing your relatives," Tenchi said with a grin, "and go see what the girls are up to."

------

Kiyone, Ryoko, and Ayeka were not having much luck in their debut performance as beach bunnies on the prowl...or, rather, they were having too much luck.

They had strolled about, collecting comments, winks, and whistles (non-Japanese) from assorted male beach-goers. There were some nice hard male bodies around, for sure; if Ryoko, Ayeka, and Kiyone had been so inclined, some social interaction would no doubt have taken place. Even the guys with girlfriends had (understandably) paid at least eye tribute to the stunning alien women...especially to Ryoko in her thong bikini. The three women had been amused to see one very nice-looking guy, whose girlfriend had been oiling his back, shoot them a look that had inspired said girlfriend to dump the contents of the sunscreen bottle on his head. All very satisfying. They were certainly getting some good mileage out of their bikinis.

But they hadn't found Tenchi or Tris. If they had walked a little further toward the rise where shouts and laughter were issuing, they would have discovered the two boys innocently enjoying themselves in (non-contact and non-compromising) sport. But they didn't. They did not think to do so, and besides, they were being followed.

The three stalkers were young male college students from Hiroshima who had decided to favor Kochi City and its famous beach with their presence. The three had seen the three gorgeous exotic women just walking around aimlessly, and felt this was a sure sign they needed male companionship. Certainly, they could count...three manly men for three lovely ladies. The women didn't look Japanese, which raised the interest of the three college students immeasurably. The notion that foreign women were especially accommodating was as strong with the three boys as it had been with Ginkar and Munt. Such notions, it seemed, were truly universal...or, at least, galactic.

The three students--Ichiro "Chiro" Kono, Ito Izumi, and Toti Naka, were all from wealthy families and had busted their behinds to get into the best college in Hiroshima (the shiken jigoku, or "examination hell," was an apt term for those entrance exams). Now, more or less, they were taking life's ease once in college. Chiro was thin and gawky, with a prominent Adam's apple and a "buzz" haircut, Ito had a bit of a weight problem (uncommon in Japan but not unheard of) and wore glasses of a particular fearsome prescription, and Toti, who actually was a reasonable looking young man, seemed convinced he was the Japanese Tom Cruise. They all wore cut-off jeans and loud Hawaiian-style shirts. They (at least Toti and Chiro) thought they were irresistible, although their lack of female companionship at the moment would seem to indicate otherwise.

"I think those three awful boys are still following us," Ayeka murmured.

"How can you tell, Princess?" Ryoko grunted. "Every time I look in their direction, those shirts they're wearing blind me."

"Forget them," Kiyone advised. "Well, I'm getting tired of wandering around. I'm for a return to our spot and getting some rays the right way...laying down. You girls with me?"

They were with her. They started back. The three college students followed.

The boys were not really shy. There is a widely held belief among males that one needs an "opening"--some sort of excuse--to go to a woman and chat her up. Try it without a good "opening", and failure was certain. Why some happenstance would suddenly make a woman receptive to a male advance is a question rarely asked. Men have faith in the power of the "opening," and that is that.

"Those are some fine, foxy ladies," Chiro remarked.

"Yeah. But I kind of think maybe they're a bit...out of our league." Ito may have been somewhat too generous in second and third helpings at the dinner table, but he had more of a clue about things in general than his buddies. This, of course, made him the subject of ridicule.

"Speak for yourself, Chubby," Toti snapped. "I'm just what those foxes are looking for...especially that wild-haired looker in that thong. That's my date tonight. Chiro, that sweet little thing in the flowered bikini--she's probably your speed."

"I think you're right, Toti," Chiro agreed. He deferred to Toti on all matters amorous, mainly because Toti was better looking and bragged more convincingly about imaginary past conquests.

"What about me?" Ito noticed he was left out.

"That brunette. She's kind of tough-looking...maybe you can get her sympathy, though," Toti proclaimed, having performed a quick analysis.

"Yeah, maybe." Ito did not sound too convinced. Usually all he got from girls was derision.

"Hey, it's a package deal, Ito," said Toti confidently. "They want us two stud muffins, they got to take the third muffin." Both he and Chrio laughed. Ito joined in, half-heartedly.

"So, when are we going to make our move?" Chiro asked. He was impatient. That sweet-faced little fox in the flower bikini looked particularly hot. Those quiet, demur-looking ones usually were (or so he'd been told).

"Well, they're still walking right now." Toti was considering all the angles. "When they stop, we'll make our move. Invite them to a quick tour of the city and then a quick bite to eat and then--a get- acquainted session in the Love Machine." Toti meant his van, which they had traveled from Hiroshima in. The back of it was fitted with comfortable bench seats that folded down...enough said.

"Do you think they'll go for that?" Ito queried. The women just didn't seem that sort, somehow.

"Figure it out, Chubby," Toti said impatiently. "They probably came

on some package tour, been in a tour bus all the time, finally got some free time--and they now get wheels and they get us. It's a natural."

"All right, if you say so, Toti." But Ito still sounded unconvinced.

------

Finally, Ryoko, Ayeka, and Kiyone stopped walking. For they had spotted their umbrella-shaded blanket...and they spotted Tenchi and Tris squatting down beside that blanket.

Normally, one would have expected the three women to find that a welcome sight. But several factors intervened to prevent that. The hunk patrol had petered out into a wolf-whistle walk, punctuated by hostile looks from other women. The only men who showed enough gumption to approach them were those characters in the hideous Hawaiian shirts. Worse, the three women hadn't had the satisfaction of catching Tenchi and Tris in flagrante delecto, vis-à-vis bikini spotting. In fact, the two young men were looking as innocent as angels, now assuming the duty of building Mihoshi's and Sasami's sand castle.

Tenchi and Tris, after not finding Ryoko, Ayeka, or Kiyone back at the blanket, had mentioned an idea they had come up with while walking back from the volleyball game. The idea had set very well indeed with Mihoshi and Sasami. They had then asked Tenchi and Tris to help with their sand castle; the structure was clearly in violation of several local building codes. The two young men had pitched in and ended up monopolizing the project. But Sasami and Mihoshi didn't seem to mind a bit. They obviously enjoyed having the two boys all to themselves for once.

"Hey, Tenchi," Kiyone, Ryoko, and Ayeka now heard Tris say. "Let's dig that moat deeper. We need to keep those pesky Galaxy Police types out--and other unwanted guests!"

"Right," agreed Tenchi, scooping sand. "I've got an idea--let's put alligators in the moat! We can feed 'em trespassers."

Both Sasami and Mihoshi laughed with huge enjoyment. It was just like Mihoshi not to take offense at the Galaxy Police crack. To Ayeka, Ryoko, and Kiyone, however, both Mihoshi and Sasami seemed to enjoy being alone with Tenchi and Tris (Washuu was dozing, still) a little too much.

"They need to build a dungeon in that sand castle," Kiyone remarked sourly. "I've got just the idiot to test-drive the Iron Maiden."

"That Mihoshi is sure yucking it up," Ryoko observed with equal sourness.

"And Sasami...is she trying to flirt with the boys?" Ayeka sounded miffed. "I really need to have a talk with her."

That talk was postponed as the women became aware of others entering their space. Led by Toti, the three college students were finally making their move.

"Hi, foxy lady," Toti said suavely to Ryoko. "I like your bikini."

"Huh?" Ryoko asked him. She blinked as her eyes took in his garish shirt.

Chiro sided up to Ayeka. "Saw you were bored, Beautiful," he smiled, showing all his teeth. "We thought we'd give you a break."

"I beg your pardon?" Ayeka asked politely.

Ito, filled with common sense (and assorted cellulite), took one look at Kiyone's piercing glance and did not invade her personal space. He gulped, "You girls from around here?" It was the only pick-up line he knew.

Inwardly, Toti and Chiro groaned. The lamest line of all!

"Sure," Kiyone replied, dryly. "Don't we look like we're from around here?"

"Uh...well..." Ito's mind went blank--which turned out to be quite fortunate for him.

"Forgive my fat friend," Toti told Ryoko, smiling. "He's a little new at this."

"I'd say you all are," Ryoko said.

"And that is so charming...calling your friend names," Ayeka added, disliking Toti's manner.

"What do you guys want, anyway?" Kiyone asked.

"We could see you lovely ladies were lonely," Toti explained. "And we have the cure for loneliness."

"Yeah? We could use a cure for cluelessness about now," Kiyone said. She was getting a bit steamed at the boys' crust.

"I'm not talking to you, sweet cheeks." Toti was obviously getting a bit steamed himself. He addressed himself to Ryoko. "I'm talking to the prime fox here."

"You boys had better leave," Ayeka warned.

"Maybe we got off on the wrong foot, Beautiful," Chiro said to the Princess, trying to keep their (nonexistent) momentum going. He decided to cut to the chase. "Listen, we got wheels. We can show you the city, spring for a meal at one of the seafood stands, and, well..."

"And well...what?" Ayeka asked.

"Well, it's a very comfortable van...most ladies just love it." Again, Chrio favored Ayeka with a glimpse of his pearly whites. He winked to drive his point home.

"You'll love it, too," Toti advised Ryoko, who was staring at him with disbelief. "All the comforts."

"Let me get this straight," Kiyone said. She gently pushed Ito out of the way (she felt a bit of sympathy for him; Toti had been right). She walked up to Chiro and Toti. "You want to take us in your van, show us a city we've seen enough of already, feed us as cheap as you can, and then you expect us to put out for you...in your "comfortable" van? Is that the agenda?"

"Hey, you're crashing the party," Toti objected.

"No, I'm ending the party. Get lost."

Toti, losing face in front of his buddies, decided that this lady needed a little firm handling. He stepped up to her, with Chiro right behind him. "Look, you're not even invited now." He made a move to push past her. "We'll just hear from--"

As soon as his hand touched Kiyone's shoulder, he regretted it. Immensely.

In the wink of an eye, he was on the sand, gasping for breath. Kiyone had admired the solar plexus punch Tris had administered to Munt. She now discovered it was as serviceable as it had looked.

Chiro's reflex action in seeing his buddy go down was to try to grab the Galaxy Police officer. What he grabbed was air. Kiyone's snap kick connected with his left kidney and he too ended up on the sand in a world of hurt.

Kiyone dusted her hands, unfazed. She looked at Ito. "Find yourself some new friends," she advised. "And lose some weight. You're not a bad looking boy, really."

Then she turned on her heel and walked toward the Masaki beach blanket and those sitting on it. Ryoko and Ayeka, exchanging broad smiles, joined her.

"Yes, indeed," Ayeka remarked. "It is so nice to have the police around."

------

Tenchi and Tris, along with Sasami and Mihoshi, had looked up from their sand castle construction in time to see the tête-à-tête between Kiyone and the hapless Toti and Chiro. Sasami and Mihoshi now let out anxious breaths as Kiyone finished dispatching the two cretins.

Tenchi and Tris looked at each other. Then they applauded, loudly.

"Oh, shut up," Kiyone told them. She walked up to them. She stopped before the sand castle. "Permission to cross the moat?" she asked sarcastically.

"Permission granted," Tris said. "Mind the gators."

Then Washuu rose from her blanket. She grinned at Kiyone. "Can't say I didn't warn you."

Kiyone looked as if she wanted to practice that solar plexus punch just one more time.

Tenchi stood up and walked out to Ayeka and Ryoko. "Where were you three?" he asked, curious.

"Where were you, Lord Tenchi?" Ayeka countered.

"Tris and I played volleyball. Then Tris got a little hurt and we came back," Tenchi said.

"Oh..." said Ayeka.

"Oh..." said Ryoko.

"We were wanting you to come back. Tris and I have an idea."

"What is that, Lord Tenchi?" Ayeka's voice had resumed its quiet softness.

"I hope it's a good one, sweetums," Ryoko told him. But the golden eyes regarding him were soft.

"This beach is famous all over Japan for the moonrise...the view is supposed to be really something. Tris and I thought, if you girls agree, that we'd stay, have dinner at a restaurant in the town, and watch the moonrise."

"Why, that is a lovely idea...just lovely," Ayeka said.

"That's a good one all right, sweetums," Ryoko agreed.

"Do you want to do it, really?" Mihoshi called out excitedly. "It's going to be so much fun!"

"They want to do it, Mihoshi." Sasami smiled, watching her big sister and Ryoko close around Tenchi.

Tris felt Kiyone sit down beside him. Then he felt her hand stroke the back of his neck. Ironically, it was the same hand that had just punched that dweeb in the Hawaiian shirt. That had been one sweet punch.

"You big idiot...that is a lovely idea," Kiyone told him.

"Glad you like it, Blue Eyes."

"Tenchi said you were hurt..."

"Just a volleyball on the noggin. Don't worry. The volleyball wasn't hurt, either."

Kiyone chuckled softly. Then her lips brushed his ear. "So tell me...are you going to kiss me under the moonlight?" she whispered.

"I can just about guarantee that," Tris murmured.

Glancing at Kiyone and Tris, Sasami added, "Kiyone wants to do it, too, Mihoshi. We're staying!"

"Yay! We can all watch the moonrise together!"

"Good," Washuu muttered. "Maybe I can get some rest, finally."

------

But Washuu ended up watching the spectacular moonrise at Katsurahama Beach with the rest of them some hours later.

All of them had donned their street clothes. It was still only spring and the evening was a bit cool, but not uncomfortably so. Dinner at an outdoor café in Kochi City had been long and boisterous and happy, and the seafood sublime. Now, glowing Japanese lanterns dotted the beach, adding to the magical scene.

The full moon, a ball of soft molten gold, slowly and majestically ascended the perfectly clear, star-studded night sky. Its incandescent glow was reflected dazzlingly on the silvery sea.

Tris kept his promise. He kissed Kiyone, long and slow, under that golden moon.

A distance away from them, Ryoko and Ayeka sat on either side of Tenchi. Mihoshi and Sasami sat a few dozen yards behind them. Washuu, in turn, sat a little distance behind them.

Washuu stared at the gold and silver show. Even the great scientist was impressed. More...she thought about that galoot from long ago. She wished she had his hand to hold. Being single was sort of becoming a drag, Washuu admitted to herself. Frankly, she was tired of it. First Ayeka and Ryoko and Tenchi...and now Kiyone and Tris. It was time that she started thinking about a fella for herself. Suddenly, a man's face flashed in her mind. Him? No way. Well, then again...

In the darkness behind her, the radio played. The night disc jockey at the station had seen the day shift play list and decided to keep the Beach Boys marathon rocking on. It added a piquant tone to the moon-lit scene.

"This is so great," Mihoshi sighed, feeling happy and contented and at peace. "I wish...I wish every day and night could be like this. Don't you, Sasami?"

"Yes, Mihoshi. Sometimes I feel so sad that it's going to end," the little Princess replied, a bit dolefully.

"Huh? Why do you say that?" Mihoshi asked, surprised.

"Oh, Mihoshi, you don't know. Papa has been calling Ayeka and me more and more often lately." Sasami was referring to her and Ayeka's father, King Azusa of Jurai, who communicated with his absent daughters via Azaka II and Kamidake II. "He really didn't want us to come back here. If Mama hadn't intervened, I doubt we'd still be here now. And he wants us back....he wants us back, awfully bad."

"But Tenchi hasn't made his choice," Mihoshi pointed out.

"I think Papa is tired of us being here, waiting for that. Ayeka has her duties as First Princess. The people back on Jurai haven't seen her for a long time. I think Papa's afraid the people may want somebody else to succeed him if Ayeka keeps on staying away. Papa doesn't want that! He wants to retire again, awfully, but he also wants Ayeka to succeed him. I think he might even have a new Prince Consort picked out for Ayeka. Papa doesn't believe we should marry just for love...but also for duty."

"Gosh." Mihoshi considered this. "What do you think Ayeka wants, Sasami?"

"Oh, she wants Tenchi. She'd give up the throne for him."

"And what do you want, Sasami?"

"I want to stay here," the little girl asserted. "I've never been so happy as I am here. I really think of this place as home. I don't want to go back."

Mihoshi smiled and gave Sasami a quick hug. "Then stay!" To Mihoshi, it was as simple as that.

"Oh, Mihoshi!" But the little Princess laughed softly, fondly, at her friend's sweet simplicity and directness. If only her and Ayeka's lives could be as easily ordered as that! She dropped the discussion and watched the moonrise with Mihoshi.

Two others also watching the moonrise now broke their silence.

"What are you thinking about, Tris?" Kiyone asked softly. They sat together, embracing, on the sand. They had just kissed again. One kiss had just led to another...and another. As far as both were concerned, that was just fine.

"Oh, that it'll be mighty hard to have to go back to school. Musty old books and Professor Narita's dirty looks."

"Don't talk about that now," Kiyone told him. "We can talk about that later."

"It's only a couple of weeks, Blue Eyes."

"Then it can just wait a couple of weeks."

"Okay." Tris stroked Kiyone's long teal hair. "You know, that there moon really shines. If there were two moons, they'd be your eyes, Kiyone. I think I fell right into those beautiful eyes of yours at the very beginning and just sank. I never want to come up."

Kiyone held him closer. That was what she wanted to hear. "You darling idiot," she whispered.

They kissed...they kissed on...and on...this was going to be a long one...they kissed and kissed...on and on...for the moment they were wonderfully oblivious to everything but each other. Reality could come calling another day.

That feeling was shared by three others.

"You know, it's just the moon," Tenchi said, where he sat with Ayeka and Ryoko. "But it seems special tonight, somehow."

"But it is special, Lord Tenchi," Ayeka said quietly. She leaned against him. "It is very special. We are all together...and I think we are all happy, finally. It will not stay this way, but at least we have it for now."

"Speak for yourself, Princess," Ryoko murmured, pressing against Tenchi on his other side. "I plan to stay right here...with my sweetums."

Tenchi looked at Ayeka. "Say, Ayeka...do you plan to leave us?"

Ayeka pressed closer against Tenchi. "No, Lord Tenchi. I do not plan to leave."

"Great," Ryoko muttered. "Go and get a girl's hopes up..."

"But you know this cannot last, Lord Tenchi." Ayeka ignored Ryoko. "I do not know what the future holds for us. It...It does frighten me a little."

"We can't know the future, Ayeka," Tenchi told her. "But I do know we can't let that affect what we have now. Otherwise, we go through life without enjoying it."

"That's right, Princess," Ryoko said. "You're the biggest worrywart I've ever known. Besides, good stuff can happen as well as bad. Back when I was dodging the GP and bounty hunters like Nagi, could I have known that someday I'd be here in this lovely place with my sweetums? Of course not."

Ayeka laughed gently. "Well, I suppose you do have a point, Ryoko." She looked out over the silvery sea, thoughtfully. "In all those endless days back on Jurai, attending to my duties, hosting official functions, and trying to moderate inter-family feuding, I never dreamed I would come to a place like this, and..." She pressed against Tenchi again. "And...well, everything."

"We're so happy you did come to us, Ayeka," Tenchi told her. "And that you came back."

"Really, Lord Tenchi?"

"Really, Ayeka."

"Well, some of us, anyway..." Ryoko muttered.

They would have to leave soon. It was a long drive back. And Grandfather and Dad would be waiting for them. Tenchi thought about rising and getting going. But he decided to wait just a bit longer. Ayeka and Ryoko were grateful.

In fact, they were all grateful. It was a happy interlude for all of them. The beach and the moon had lived up to their reputations. Occasionally, the best things in life really were free.

_______________________________________

CHAPTER NOTES

(1) The Akihabara is an area of Tokyo famnous for its electronics stores. It's where the latest electonic media players and gadgets can be viewed and purchased, sometimes up to a year before they are offered for sale in the US. This writer has many fond memories of buying laser discs in the Akihabara, laser dics of classic and cult films that were not available in any format in America until the advent of DVD. The Ginza district is Tokyo's fabulous shopping and nightclub area. Meeting someone under the Wako clock tower in the Ginza is a oft-heard phrase in Tokyo.

(2) From the film "Yankee Doodle Dandy," the filmic life of flag- waving Broadway performer and composer George M. Cohan. Cohan really was born on the Fourth of July, by the way.

(3) In case you're not entirely familiar with the lyrics to that classic beach song, here's the first stanza:

If everybody had an ocean Across the U.S.A. Then everybody'd be surfing Like Californ-i-a You'd see 'em wearin' their baggies Huarachi sandals too A bushy, bushy blond hairdo Surfin U.S.A.