TENCHI WAKUSEI

by Joe Meadows

A sequel novel to "Tenchi Universe," full and complete.

25. CHAPTER 24: No Need To Say Goodbye

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.

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CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

No Need To Say Good-bye

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A few days later, Tris Coffin sat at his tiny desk in his tiny dorm room at Okayama University. He was plowing through a textbook on Feudal Japanese literature, or at least trying to. In a few days, classes would resume and he would be better off having prepared somewhat for them. But his heart wasn't in it. His heart wasn't in anything.

He was alone in the dorm room. Tenchi wasn't with him. It was likely he would never be again, except in passing.

Tris had popped the tape of "Abbey Road" into his cheap old boom box. The cassette player was set on Constant Play. Tris considered turning off the boom box, even though the volume was set on low, so low he could barely hear it. The album's cuts were dredging up memories. And Tris knew he needed to put aside those memories, so he could read the damned book and maybe get rid of the lump that seemed to fill his stomach.

He frowned. Was he over-reacting to what had happened the last few days? No. Well, maybe. Tris took a moment and reviewed those days in his mind...

* * *

The day after he and Tenchi had gone out for that beer, they had begun to try to clear some of the debris from the lawn. It had been slow and dirty work. They filled two borrowed wheelbarrows in nothing flat and they soon had a mountain of compost. It was clear they needed trucks to haul away the debris and volumes of soil to fill in the craters. Then the new soil in the craters needed re-seeding, perhaps even re-turfing. It was just too big a job for Tenchi and Tris.

Nobuyuki had gone out to watch their progress and had delivered the verdict. The two young men were wasting their time. If he had to bring in professionals with trucks to remove debris and cart in soil, he might as well have those professionals clear that debris and place that soil. The condition of the lawn would be hard to explain to outsiders, but Nobuyuki hadn't appeared worried about that. Even the potential cost hadn't fazed him. He had friends in the landscaping trade who would perform the work cheaply for him, friends Nobuyuki had helped win construction contracts in the past. They would do it for practically nothing, in fact, glad of the opportunity to pay Tenchi's Dad back. Perhaps even a fishing lake might be worked into the overall project, Nobuyuki had hinted.

While this was great news, it also meant Tenchi and Tris were no longer united in a project. They only had a week or so before Spring Break ended, and suddenly were without regular tasks to perform. Both Tenchi and Tris had swept the temple steps and around the temple, but that was accomplished quickly. Then they had both hung around the house until the women shooed them out; the women needed to get their own housework done. Then the two young men had tossed a baseball to each other, aimlessly. Both of them had realized that leisure time was only enjoyable, ironically, if there was something to do. They talked about perhaps another trip to the beach, but without Kiyone and Mihoshi, such an outing would seem anticlimactic.

It was when they brought Tenchi's ball and gloves back to his bedroom that Washuu had stopped them.

"Hey you two, come into the dining room. Mihoshi called in again and we're having tea."

Tenchi and Tris had obligingly put away the baseball and gloves and then joined the women in the dining room. Lord Yosho was there, too. Nobuyuki had already departed for a meeting with his partners.

The conversation in the dining room had been highly consequential-- even momentous. Tris recalled a portion of it:

"Mihoshi told me that their promotions were made official in their records. They also were given their back pay. Mihoshi can't wait to spend it!" Washuu grinned. She took a moment to sip some tea.

"I'll bet," Ryoko commented. "No wonder she's always broke!"

"Well, that back pay could very well be considered found money...and under the circumstance, why not spend it and enjoy it?" Ayeka asked Ryoko. "They both deserve a little reward after all they went through at that Headquarters of theirs."

"Besides, they got a nice fat raise in salary," Washuu added. "They're sitting pretty financially, all right."

"I'm so glad," Sasami said. "For so long, those two had to pinch every yen. I know it got them down."

"They're really up now, Sasami," Washuu told her. "Mihoshi was really pinging with happiness as she talked to me. In fact, she kinda acted mysterious...that is, I think she did. You never can tell with Mihoshi!"

Lord Yosho smiled. "The two Sergeants have every right to be happy, Professor Washuu," he said mildly.

"That's true, Grandpa. Hey, speaking of them feeling good--Kiyone must be high on good feelings, too. Just wait until you hear this! Remember our friend Mitsuki?"

"Sure," Ryoko said. "She's in custody now, right?"

"Uh-uh, Ryoko. Wrong."

"Well, she certainly must have been dismissed from the Galaxy Police," Ayeka said. "I almost feel--well, I do feel sorry for that woman. The stigma will haunt her forever. She will be fortunate to find even a menial job."

"That's pretty rough," Tenchi said sympathetically.

"Oh, sweetums, don't waste any pity on her!" Ryoko retorted. "She got just what she deserved. I hope she ends up working at some greasy spoon out Orion spaceway and gets stiffed on the tips!"

"Well, if she does go down Orion spaceway, she'll do it in a Galaxy Police cruiser," Washuu said.

"What?" Ryoko all but shouted. "You can't mean--she's still a cop?"

"That's exactly what I do mean, Ryoko." Washuu replied.

"No way, Washuu!" Tris insisted.

"Miss Washuu!" Ayeka said, her voice disbelieving.

Tenchi frowned. "How could that happen?"

"Simple," Washuu explained. "The Grand Marshall decided to adjudicate Mitsuki's case personally, rather than have her court-martialed by a panel of senior officers. That meant he decided on her punishment. Chief Bodai asked that the case be handled that way, apparently. By the way, he's slated for a big promotion. Anyway, Mihoshi told me that even the High Commissioner endorsed the Grand Marshall making the call. That doesn't happen very often! As it turned out, thanks to several folks testifying in her behalf--and one in particular--Mitsuki wasn't kicked off the force."

Lord Yosho smiled and quietly nodded with satisfaction. The others stared at the great scientist with varying degrees of bafflement.

"Tell us who testified, Washuu," Tenchi requested.

"Glad to. Chief Bodai, Sergeant Katzaar, and Mihoshi all testified before the Grand Marshall and all three asked for leniency for Mitsuki. Then someone else testified, too, and told the Grand Marshall a few things while she was at it..."

"Kiyone did that!" Sasami said brightly.

"Right!" Washuu smiled at Sasami. "Our Kiyone. She told the Grand Marshall that she felt partially responsible for what happened. She informed him about the competition she and Mitsuki engaged in while at the Academy, and how that soured everything between them. She also said it had been wrong to assign Mitsuki as her assistant and that she was wrong to lord it over Mitsuki. The Grand Marshall was so impressed with what Kiyone said, according to Mihoshi, that he allowed Mitsuki to stay in the GP--but with a few strings attached."

"Strings? They should have strung her up!" Ryoko said heatedly.

"What strings, Washuu?" Tenchi asked, pointedly ignoring Ryoko.

"Mitsuki was busted down to Basic Constable--that's the rank an Academy grad has when they are graduated and join the force. She's on probation for five years. She won't be promoted for two years and she'll have pretty dreary duty...no, not around here, but in another backwater. If she does a good job, she'll have a future in the Galaxy Police. But she'll never catch up to Kiyone. So, the competition is over. Kiyone won. Now they can both get on with their lives."

"Wonderful!" Lord Yosho said, smiling. "I was hoping Kiyone would do something like that. It proves she has grown both as a person and as a professional. That truly is a victory. Kiyone has won, as you say, Professor Washuu. She has defeated the greatest enemy of all...her own self."

"That's so true, Grandfather," Tenchi said, smiling also. "Kiyone always had that short fuse and she really took things personally. Too personally. It always sounded to me like she had something to do with her own downfall. Now that she's realized it and admitted it, she won't make the same mistakes again."

"That's right, Tenchi, and that's important," Washuu agreed. "So many people just repeat the same mistakes, all their lives." Suddenly she looked rueful.

"That's right, Washuu," Ryoko said knowingly.

Tris nodded. "Well, there's our Kiyone, all grown up now. You know, I'm proud of her, too."

Ryoko shrugged. "Well, at least they did something to that Mitsuki, though it seems pretty mild. And I think I get what you're all saying about Kiyone. I knew that she needed to chill out, especially if she was going to have people working for her. I wouldn't have wanted to serve under her! But letting that Mitsuki stay in the GP--I don't know. It sounds like a boner to me."

"It might be, Ryoko," Ayeka said thoughtfully. "It might be an unwise move. But it also may signal that we no longer have a "one- mistake" Galaxy Police, where so many careers are ruined by a single mishap. I have heard our Royal Yeomen discussing that problem. They feel that most GP officers are too intimidated by that "one mistake" trend to take really independent action when the circumstances call for it. Too much hiding behind regulations and too little policing is how they put it, as I recall. So this may lead to improvements in the Galaxy Police. I hope so."

"Not me, Princess! That's just what I don't need--better cops!" Ryoko grimaced.

"So? What do you care?" Washuu asked her.

"Huh? You know why I care, Washuu. Those new and improved cops will still be after me!"

"Think so? Don't you know that Kiyone and Mihoshi have written a report about the defeat of Klove that mentions you very positively?" Washuu grinned at the space pirate.

"They what?" Ryoko looked astonished. "I didn't know!"

"Gee, I guess I should have mentioned that, huh?" Washuu had a twinkle in her eyes.

"Washuu..." Tenchi admonished her.

"Okay, okay. Yes, the report will speak of you in glowing terms, Ryoko...and it will also mention your help in the battle against Kagato. I understand that a certain Juraian Princess will also append a statement to that report--a statement so positive about you that you should blush with embarrassment, Ryoko."

"Princess!" Ryoko stared at Ayeka, clearly flummoxed. "You'll do that...for me?"

"It is already done, Ryoko," Ayeka told her briskly. "The statement and the report will be on the Grand Marshall's desk by the end of business today. I have instructed our Lord High Chamberlain to contact our Galaxy Police liaison at the Headquarters. The liaison will discuss the report with the Grand Marshall and the High Commissioner tomorrow. Our Lord High Chamberlain will then proceed to file a writ with the Galactic Union's High Tribunal, requesting total clemency in the nature of a full pardon for you. That writ has the full support of my father, the King. It will be granted, of course. I estimate you will no longer be a wanted fugitive in...oh, say three days, Ryoko. Sasami, may I have some more tea, please?"

Ryoko stared at the Princess, her mouth sagging open. Sasami quickly rose to make more tea. She was smiling and wiping away tears. Even Washuu covertly piped her eyes a moment with a napkin. The men just looked monstrously pleased.

Now Ryoko slowly stood up. She was actually quivering with emotion. A moment later, she was kneeling beside Ayeka. And hugging her.

"Free! My God...I'll be free! Free!" Ryoko said, awed. "You did it, Ayeka. You did it!"

"No, Ryoko, you did it yourself," Ayeka said softly. "Twice you have faced our mutual enemies in battle and risked your life. I have never met anyone more brave and more willing to fight to protect her friends, even to protect someone she does not consider a friend, perhaps. You should have been pardoned long ago, Ryoko. This merely gives you what you have deserved for so long."

"You see, Ryoko, there is justice after all," Lord Yosho added gently. "It may be slow in coming, but it comes. You entered a life of piracy because you did not know that. But you know it now."

Ryoko sniffled. A tear rolled down her cheek. "Yes, Lord Yosho. I do know that now." She hugged Ayeka tightly. "You are the finest woman I've ever known," Ryoko told the Princess, her voice breaking with emotion. "And my best friend. And...you can all quote me!"

"Thank you, Ryoko." Ayeka smiled at her. She gently disengaged from the space pirate--the soon-to-be former space pirate. "Ah, Sasami. That was very quick." She took the cup of tea that her little sister poured for her and sipped it. "Delicious as always, dear. Thank you."

"You're welcome, big sister." Sasami's gaze was devoted as she smiled at Ayeka.

Ryoko resumed her place at the table. Tenchi leaned over and used his napkin to wipe away the tear. Ryoko smiled lovingly at him. Ayeka appeared not to notice.

"Well!" Lord Yosho said jovially. "It seems that more than one person has won a victory today."

"Yes, Grandfather." Tenchi smiled fondly at Ayeka and Ryoko. He then turned his smile on little Sasami and Washuu. "I think it's a victory for every one of us."

"You're right, grandson. It's at least a victory we can all share."

Tris, although he had kept quiet, had been enormously happy for Ryoko. She had looked truly overjoyed at the news of her certain clemency and pardon. And why not? The galaxy was hers again to live in--not to be hunted in. And she was now, finally, free of the stigma that may have hurt her chances for marrying Tenchi and settling down with him--at least in her own mind. Yes, Ayeka had done a wonderful, unselfish thing. And Washuu had helped, as well as Kiyone and Mihoshi. Tenchi and Sasami and Lord Yosho had supported a pardon for Ryoko for a long time, he knew. Tris had witnessed real friendship and love between a group of dissimilar people who probably would have never even met in the normal pattern of life, much less become close. It was a sort of miracle...the kind of miracle that transcended special powers or technologies. This was a miracle of the heart--a victory, as Lord Yosho had expressed it.

Yet--and Tris had felt rotten at perceiving things this way--it was a victory that didn't include him. He had nothing to do with this. He could not have helped Ryoko even if he had tried. That pointed up the fact that he really didn't register in the long run with these folks. They had a long history together, and he was just a temporary addition, useful in a small way, and that was it. The battle with Professor Klove was over and his contributions to that had been minimal, really--just happenstance that he had a small skill that had proven handy. If that small skill hadn't been outlawed in the Galactic Union, his contribution would have been nil. He knew they accepted him--most of them, anyway--and were willing to continue accepting him as long as Tenchi wanted him around...but that was it. And that was the way it would always be. It was significant that no one spared him a glance as they had looked with happiness at each other and congratulated Ryoko. Tris, of course, had congratulated Ryoko himself and she had accepted his kudos with unusual grace. But his congratulations meant very little to her, he felt certain.

The incident was a sort of revelation for him. He had just assumed he was part of their group now--and that assumption had been premature. He had also assumed that he and Kiyone would have at least some sort of relationship after he returned to the University--and that had been premature, too. What a chump he had been, worrying that Kiyone might have been getting too serious too fast! What an egotist he had been! Washuu hadn't even bothered to tell him during that discussion that there were no messages for him from Mihoshi. Well, that was it. He'd just have to live with it.

It had been after dinner that evening when Tenchi let the other shoe drop.

They were in their shared bedroom and Tris had been speculating about when they should return to the University. Of course, they didn't want to go back too early, but they needed a couple of days to get their books and take care of other administrative matters. Their dorm room probably needed a bit of attention, despite the contract cleaning staff's minimum-wage efforts. Tenchi had listened to him, and he had been unusually quiet. Then he had said:

"Tris...I'm not going back with you."

"What--huh? You're not going back to college?"

"Oh, sure. I'm going to get my degree. I really need it and I really want it, Tris. That hasn't changed. But...I not going to live in the dorm any more. I'm going to commute, like Dad does."

Tris had been thunderstruck. He had never expected this. Tenchi had been so adamant about showing his independence. Now he was abandoning all that. And he was sort of abandoning Tris too, in a way.

"I meant to tell you earlier, Tris, but that discussion with Dad about the lawn and then what we found out during the tea break...it's no excuse, I should have told you sooner, anyway."

"Well, you're telling me now." Tris said. Tenchi was sitting on his bed. Tris now squatted on his futon. "It's none of my business, but..."

"Oh, it's your business. You should at least know why you'll be alone in that dorm room next term." Tenchi had looked uncomfortable, but also resolute. "You see, last night Ryoko and Ayeka kind of cornered me. It was after you went in bed, Tris. We had a long discussion in their bedroom, and Sasami was there, too. Anyway, they both told me they wanted me to live at home from now on."

As stunned as Tris had felt, he had nodded with understanding. It had all become clear now.

"Don't look at me like that, Tris. I know what I said about living my own life and all. And I did, for a whole term. But Ayeka and Ryoko want to see me a lot more often than they have. That's kind of selfish, in a way, but it's understandable. You know, that fight with Klove reminded me just how uncertain things are. To Ryoko and Ayeka, things really are uncertain. They don't know whom I'll choose or when I will choose. They put up with that for a long time. Then they watched me go off to college, away from them. Now they want to be with me as much as they can until I make my choice. Tris, I really can't say no this time. They both have been so great lately. And they're right."

Tris had not replied. Tenchi had looked at him a moment and then pressed on.

"I talked to Dad and Grandfather after I talked to the girls. They both agreed it was time for me to live at home again. Both of them even kind of laid down the law to me. I have to make my choice...and I have to make it soon. Dad's got his business now, you know, and he must be able to invite clients over, occasionally. You know our culture, Tris. It's just impolite as heck not to open your home to people you do business with. He could get away with it while he was a salaryman, but not as a businessman. You understand that."

Tris had indeed understood that. Hospitality was required in Japan, whether or not it involved a business associate or a social acquaintance.

"And Grandfather really would like to retire in the near future. He's even talking about going back to Jurai for a while and maybe mending some fences there. So I really need to start training as a Shinto Priest, maybe as soon as next year. That all means I have to choose Ryoko or Ayeka as my fiancée and the others will then need to leave for good this time. Maybe not Washuu, but that's all. Mihoshi and Kiyone are likely gone for good, so the exodus has already begun, in a way. It's not what I want, Tris. You know that. It's just what has to be."

Tenchi's logic had been inescapable, even if it had seemed a bit cold and calculating. "I know. It's your duty and your obligation to your family and to the shrine."

Tenchi had smiled. "You really do understand us, Tris. It's rare that foreigners do." It had been the first time that Tenchi had called him a foreigner--gajin--and Tris found that very significant. "So I'll commute--if Dad can do it, I can."

Tris had felt their closeness eroding even as they spoke. Maybe it hadn't been deliberate, but it had happened, nonetheless. "Sure you can. But aren't you giving up your half of the dorm room?"

"No. It's too late for a refund, and, besides, there might be a few evenings, before finals, when I'll want to stay overnight there." Tenchi had smiled again. "So, hey, you may still see me occupying that other bunk a few times. Anyway, you'll have the whole place to yourself, Tris. And we'll still see each other on the campus--we have some classes together."

Tris had realized that Tenchi was only softening the blow with that statement. The fact was that Tenchi, who would someday be an important figure in the community, needed to start meeting and hanging out with other Japanese, needed to start networking and becoming a part of that community. Lord Yosho and Nobuyuki had likely told him that, too. He would have no more time for an American transfer student who would likely be gone after the next term. And if Tenchi was going to commute from rural Okayama every day, he would need to leave for home as soon as his last class was over. Tris knew he would see Tenchi seldom outside of class. Eventually, he probably would not see him at all.

Inside, Tris had felt hollow as the reality of Tenchi's words slowly sunk in. He was being cut off again, cast adrift. He had lost his own family, and now he was losing a close friend and a group of people who had come to seem like a second family. But Tris could see that Tenchi was adamant. And Tenchi, from his perspective, was right. So Tris had just shrugged and kept any angry or hurt comments to himself.

"Right-o. I do understand, Tenchi."

"I glad you do, Tris." Tenchi had even stopped called him "buddy." "It's best this way, and it has to be this way. Again, it may not be what I want--"

"But it's what has to happen. I know. You don't need to tell me twice."

Tenchi had again looked uncomfortable. "We have a few days before you really need to leave, Tris. I guess we can come up something to do..."

Tris had stood up then. He hadn't needed a two-by-four across the head to read that signal. "Well, I think I'd better just get packed up and leave tomorrow morning. You're right, there's not much to do around here. Not even a walkway to trim! Let Ryoko and Ayeka have you to themselves for at least a few days before you have to start commuting. They deserve that much. That much I can contribute around here."

Although Tris had spoken the words, he had really hoped Tenchi would say no, would insist he stay for the last few remaining days. But Tenchi had actually looked relieved.

"Well, we'll hate to see you go, Tris. But maybe it is better this way. I know Ryoko and Ayeka will appreciate it."

And that was that! Tris had steeled himself. He wasn't going to say anything more about it.

He had left the bedroom and went outside and fiddled with the Mustang a while. He needed to get all the leaves and twigs out of the engine compartment--their presence was due to the explosive end of Professor Klove's mind monster. Azaka II and Kamidake II had spoken amiably to him as he did. They both had seemed well disposed toward him. Oddly enough, it had affected him greatly.

No one had bothered to come out as see how he was doing. Sasami had finally poked her head out of the front door and asked him if he wanted some tea. He had told her no. She had looked at him for a moment and then slid the front door shut. He had worked on the car until it had gotten too dark even with a flashlight. Then he had slammed down the hood and walked in. The girls and Tenchi had been watching TV in the living room. Tris had just waved at them and went to the bedroom. He had read a little while--he couldn't recall what he had read--and then had put on his pajamas and slipped into his futon. When Tenchi had come in, Tris pretended to be asleep. He had just wanted to break contact so leaving the next day would be easier. He had been glad when Tenchi just undressed, put on his pajamas, climbed into bed, and turned out the light. Even so, it had taken Tris a long time to fall asleep.

The next morning had been even less fun.

Evidently, Tenchi had told the family Tris was leaving right after breakfast while Tris had been in the bathroom performing his morning ablutions. When he arrived at the breakfast table, everyone had seemed especially cheerful. He had not known quite how to take that, but decided to join in with the cheerfulness. Washuu had even been present, so Ayeka's wishes in that regard seemed to be panning out. Tris had not had much appetite, even though Sasami had cooked a knockout breakfast.

Nobuyuki, who had an appointment, had left just as everyone else had finished breakfast. He had asked Tris to walk to the door with him. Tris had complied. As they had walked, Nobuyuki thanked Tris for his help against Professor Klove, expressed polite misgivings at Tris's early departure, and requested he return soon. Tris had promised to do so, politely. Then Nobuyuki and he had reached the front door. Tris had noticed Nobuyuki was carrying a smart new leather portfolio (a vast improvement over that overstuffed briefcase). They had stopped a moment.

"Tristram...one bit of advice. Never burn your bridges. And let me say again: You'll always be welcome here."

Then Tenchi's father had held out his hand. Tris had taken it and they shook hands. With a smile, Nobuyuki had slid open the front door and left. Just as Tris slid the door shut, and Nobuyuki was already out of sight, he had remembered the rain check--rain checks-- he had given Tenchi's father for a ride in the Mustang. He had felt badly that he never made good on those. Tenchi's father was a great guy.

Rather than return to the dining room--he'd had enough of acting cheerful--Tris had gone to Tenchi's bedroom and packed. He had two bags to pack, but it hadn't taken long. At first, he had searched frantically for Dad's A-2 jacket, then remembered he had given it to Kiyone. He still didn't regret the impulse. He had been serious about not wanting to cocoon himself so much with memories of his parents. Besides, maybe Kiyone might wear it sometimes--and the ID bracelet as well--and think of him. It had been a nice thought, anyway.

Packed, Tris had grabbed both bags and walked into the living room. He had planned to be completely cowardly about it and say goodbye to Tenchi and the others while they were still in the dining room. Instead, he had found them all in the living room...evidently waiting for him.

Oh, well. He should take proper leave of them, anyway.

Tris had bowed low to Lord Yosho and thanked him for his hospitality. Lord Yosho had returned the bow amiably and had said, "Thank you, Tristram. Hospitality is for guests. You are family now, and you are welcome to return any time." It had been a nice thing to say, even though Tris had heard at least one person mutter under their breath. Ryoko? It hadn't mattered. He wasn't family and he wasn't returning.

After Lord Yosho had departed the room, Ryoko had walked up to Tris, smiled sweetly--and then jabbed him, sharply. Tris took the blow in his shoulder--God, it had felt familiar! Tenchi had remonstrated with Ryoko, but she only said, "Hey, I thought he might be missing Kiyone. Just wanted to give him something to remember her by." She had then trained her golden eyes on Tris and added, "You and that cop have one thing in common--you both know to get out while the getting's good!" Then she had floated up to the rafters.

"Ryoko! How disgraceful!" Ayeka had called up to the rafters. She had received a yawn in reply. The Princess had shaken her head and smiled affectionately at Tris. "Never mind her, Tristram. It is just her way. I do not know why you must leave so early but I am certain you must have good reason to. Thank you for being a gentleman. And thank you for being with Sasami when...well, you know. I shall miss you, Tristram. Do come back and see us soon." She had held out her hand and Tris had taken it, briefly. He had repeated his promise to return. Politeness dictated he do so.

After Ayeka had turned away, it had been Washuu's turn to walk up to Tris. "Really got to go, cutie?" she had asked, raising her eyebrows at him. He had told her yes. "You sure? Hmmmm." She had looked pensive. Then her expression had brightened. "Well, okey-dokey. You take care and watch where you step. Let's hear from you." She had shaken hands with him and then walked away. After only a few steps, though, she had stopped. "Hey, Tris."

"What?"

"You know the fat lady?"

"What fat lady?"

"The one who hasn't sung yet."

"Oh...yeah, that old saying. What about it?"

"I told you...she hasn't sung yet. See ya."

Tris had shrugged, unable to decipher Washuu's cryptic comment. He had then looked down. Sasami was there. The little Princess had been sad-faced. Her eyes had glistened. She had held out her arms to him. Tris had knelt down and embraced her.

"I don't see why you have to leave now, Tris," she had whispered to him. "No one wants you to go. We all love you."

Tris had gotten a bit misty-eyed himself. The little sweetheart! She really did like him. She thought everyone else felt as she did. Too bad she would have to grow up someday. Tris had released her and she walked away, very quickly, toward the kitchen.

Now only Tenchi had stood before him. He had picked up one of Tris's bags. "Ready?" he had asked, smiling.

"Ready," Tris had answered. "Now, how does it go? Oh, yeah. There's no place like home...there's no place like home..."

"Wise guy."

Tenchi had slid the front door open. They had slipped on their street shoes in the genkan--Tris for the final time--and then walked outdoors. It had been another beautiful and very warm spring day. The lovely weather had failed to raise Tris's spirits, but that was hardly the weather's fault.

With a "meow-er!" Ryo-Ohki had bounded toward them as they walked to Tris's car. She had rubbed against Tris affectionately. He'd known what she wanted. He had taken a moment to apply a little rub-a-tummy therapy. As he did, he had noticed that the cabbit's fur was almost shed of the burnt hair. Amazing recuperative powers. Amazing animal.

Then, straightening and taking his bag again, he and Tenchi had walked up to the Mustang. After saying his good-byes to Azaka II and Kamidake II, Tris had popped open the trunk. He and Tenchi had slung in his bags. Tris had slammed the old trunk lid shut. Then he and Tenchi had stood facing each other a moment. Tenchi had stuck out his hand. They shook hands.

"Tris...like I said. Things aren't ending up exactly like I wanted them to."

"I know. Well, see you in the funny papers." Tris had then walked to the driver's side door and opened it. He had slid into the car. He had considered putting down the top, but it wasn't that kind of occasion.

"Tris!" Tenchi had called to him just before he fired up the old V-8.

"Huh?"

"We'll get together when I go back to the University. Let's do lunch. And...well, if I ever hear anything from..."

"Gotcha. See you later. It was great being here, Tenchi. Unbelievable, a little painful, but great. I mean that."

"I'm glad. See you around campus, Tris."

Tris had nodded and started the engine. He had let it warm up a minute and then shifted into first and let out the clutch. He had pulled away from the gate. Just as he had turned the last corner in the gravel drive to enter the roadway, he had glanced in the rearview mirror. Tenchi had been still standing there...

* * *

No, he had not been exaggerating recent events. What happened was what happened. In the past few days, no one had called...then again, Tris hadn't called, either. What for? A few polite words of conversation? Learning neither Mihoshi nor Kiyone had contacted anyone? He'd pass.

Yet he was overreacting, he decided. He was feeling sorry for himself and he had no right to. He had lived an incredible experience, one that seemed even more incredible every day that passed. Stop wah- wahing, already!

He needed to get some perspective on what had happened the last few weeks. He had a lot to be thankful for--just for being with Tenchi and the rest, and seeing things and knowing things and experiencing things that exceeded his wildest fantasies. If it had come to an end, well, just about everything good did. Life 101.

Then Tris had an idea. His eighth grade teacher had made him read "Robinson Crusoe" for a book report, even though it was kind of Politically Incorrect. Old R.C.--now there was one of literature's biggest whiners! And the way he beat up on that poor old guy, Friday! Kind of like Kiyone with Mihoshi, only Mihoshi at least packed some heat with her. Anyway, in the book, old R.C. had made a list of credits and debits so he could objectively evaluate his situation. Why not try that? Tris opened a notebook, found a pen, and began compiling his own ledger:

__________________________________________________________________
GOOD THING------BAD THING

Sasami's Cooking------Gained at least five pounds

Ran Up All The Temple Steps------Shin splints for life

Met Kiyone------I'll never play the violin again (ouch!)

Helped defeat an alien monster------Nearly got killed by an
alien monster

Traveled in outer space------Just to go to some crummy planet
and breathe green air?
___________________________________________________________________

Hmmmm. This was taking a decidedly pessimistic turn. Try to be positive. Yeah, that was it...

___________________________________________________________________
GOOD THING------BAD THING

Now I know there's life on other planets------Yes, and they don't
act any better than we do

Ryo-Ohki was cute------As long as you fed her carrots

Sasami's cooking------You already listed that

Finally spilled my guts about the past------Spilled my guts to
someone who won't even call
___________________________________________________________________

Tris put down his pen. Now he had a inkling why R.C. had taken it out on Friday.

He sat back in the chair. It creaked...or was it him? Probably both. He had been sitting for hours, trying to plow into that textbook. All it had really said so far was that folks back in the Middle (Nippon) Ages couldn't write, mostly, so they drew pictures. Sort of like manga. If they had managed to draw the pictures on sheets of whatever they used for paper back then and flipped the edges, they could have had the first anime. Well, no, the book hadn't said that--that was Tris's spin on the subject. Tris debated pointing that out to Professor Nehito the first day of class. Naw, better not. If he did, it might end up being his last day of class.

But who cared? What good were all these insular Japanese studies going to do him, anyway? Maybe he could work in a discussion about haiku style while he was telling the fry cook to hold the mayo--doing about the only job he would be qualified for after he was graduated. That greasy spoon down Orion spaceway might have an opening...yeah. He could just picture it now--lousy tips and no dental insurance. One day, Kiyone would walk in. She'd be sorry then, boy--after she stopped laughing her head off. Something to look forward to.

Tris yawned hugely. Tired. Of course he was tired. He had sat on his butt all morning! But, no...he really was tired. Maybe he was just tired of reading about picto-graphs, tired of Okayama, tired of everything. Well, not everything. There were still swimsuit models.

That made Tris chuckle. His eyes moved over to the wall opposite him, where, as partial consolation for being on his own, he had plastered a giant poster of that Number One Pin-Up Girl, Fumie Hosokawa. He had bought it at an a poster shop on the very same street in Okayama where he had bought the mangas (and the hentai) during the shopping trip with the women.

He had chosen a pin-up of Fumie modeling a leopard-print thong bikini--it was about as brief as Ryoko's had been. Tris smiled wistfully, recalling the ex-space pirate (the pardon must have gone through by now) in that barest of bikinis. Ryoko was a stunner, all right. Still, Tris's thoughts kept drifting back to a teal-haired beauty who had worn a bikini that somehow had engaged his interest more...much more. Aw, he had to stop thinking about that. He took enough cold showers these days as it was.

He yawned again. He couldn't shake his sleepiness. Even Fumie couldn't. Well, it wouldn't hurt to rest his eyes for just a moment. Then he'd go visit the excellent gymnasium the University campus boasted, and after that maybe catch that new show on Fuji TV. There was lots of interest in that show already, since it featured gajin (ones who could speak Japanese) sharing their impressions of Japan with Japanese audience members. Supposedly, some of the discussions got pretty wild--wild that is, for a talk show in Japan. The land of the Rising Sun was not yet the land of Jenny Jones--thank all the gods! Tris chuckled again, tiredly. He ought to go on that show. He could tell those folks a few things they didn't know, boy.

He closed his eyes. He laid his head on his arms that rested on his desktop. Yep...just rest the eyes a few minutes...

A few minutes later, he was fast asleep.

------

Meanwhile, back at the Masaki homestead, Ryoko was feeling both ecstatic and bored.

Ecstatic because formal notification of her full pardon had finally been received by Princess Ayeka in a message sent to her from Jurai via her two Guardians. The Princess had brought Ryoko and everyone else the news at lunch. Everyone had congratulated the now-former space pirate warmly...so warmly that Ryoko finally had to leave rather abruptly just to keep from losing her composure in front of them. She hoped they understood.

But now, having kicked her way through the debris that covered just about everything outdoors, Ryoko was feeling bored. She couldn't fly because that landscaping crew was on the Masaki property, attending to the clean up and re-sodding of the grounds. Ryoko waved at the guys in the trucks and they waved back to her amiably. She grinned. Those Earthlings had seen her as a normal Earth woman, she was certain. That was great! The locals would, too, eventually. Then Tenchi would realize that she would be no liability as his wife and helpmate. It meant a lot that she wouldn't have to worry anymore about some Galaxy Police dragnet or a bounty hunter like Nagi swooping down someday to try to take her into custody.

She really was free! Free to travel the spaceways...and free to marry Tenchi, finally. All he had to do was pop the question. Ryoko just knew he would, someday soon. It was all a matter of time now. Ironically, all this was now possible because of Ayeka. In the end, she had proven to be a real friend--the best friend Ryoko could ever have imagined having. Ryoko sighed and kicked at a largish clump of leaves and branches. She hoped Ayeka would prove to be as good a loser as she had proven a friend...

Ryoko had just reached the edge of the grounds where things became more woods-like than lawn-like. Jeeze, but just walking around the debris-choked grounds was a drag. She couldn't see the trucks now. Those guys must have left. It would be safe to take to the air now. How did folks get by not being able to fly? It must be awful. She was very fortunate to have been born with all those special powers. She didn't know how she had acquired them or even who her parents were. But she was grateful to them. She had forgiven them ages ago for leaving her at that lame orphanage on planet Urekia.

As was her habit when alone, Ryoko paused in her perambulations to say a quiet prayer for her parents, whoever and wherever they were. She bowed her head and clapped her hands several times, just as she had seen Tenchi and Lord Yosho do when they honored the dead. She couldn't be certain her parents were dead, of course, but--

"Giving yourself a hand, Ryoko?"

The voice was female, low-pitched, and filled with contempt. Ryoko had heard that voice before, several times. She looked up, startled.

Nagi Katsumoro, the bounty hunter, stood before her.

"Yeah, you think you've won. Ryoko. A full pardon, huh? But maybe you're applauding your little scam too soon. This show isn't over yet, Ryoko! There's still one last act to play!"

For a second, Ryoko goggled at the sight of her arch-nemesis, the most deadly and successful bounty hunter in the galaxy. Nagi was the last person she expected to see on Earth--and the last person she wanted to see, to boot.

Nagi stood there, so tall and imposing, yet so gorgeous, a true Amazon in height and proportions and looks. Winner of that bikini contest, long ago. She was dressed all in shiny black--black tunic, black leggings, black boots, even a black hooded cape. Her short but spiky silver gray hair fluttered in the slight breeze. Her pretty, classically featured face was still marred with those combat stripes. Nagi looked as purposeful and deadly as before...and her blood-red eyes glittered with a cold fire.

"Cabbit got your tongue, Ryoko?"

"Nagi! What--what are you doing here?" Ryoko sputtered.

"I didn't save your ass way back when from the Juraian military just so you could live happily ever after, Ryoko," Nagi replied. "I bided my time, certain you'd leave Earth eventually. But I've come to think you might just stay on this hick planet...maybe even marry that half- breed Juraian Prince." Nagi still maintained her disdain for Tenchi, Ryoko noted, despite Tenchi's magnificent victory over Kagato. Nagi seemed to respect no one but herself. "Now that you've gotten Princess Ayeka to have you pardoned--I'm sure of it."

"But..." Ryoko was confused. She did not understand Nagi's still smoldering animosity toward her. Truth to tell, Ryoko had not thought of the bounty hunter in some time. She had assumed that Nagi had just written her off. "Back then we were fighting that creep, Kagato--you joined us, Nagi. You spent time with us, remember? You were rewarded damned well by the Jurai royal family. The Princess has told me that you're more successful than ever--richer than hell, too. So why can't you drop this? Go your way and I'll go mine."

Nagi laughed that nasty little laugh of hers. Ryoko remembered it all too well. "Don't be so stupid! I got what I have by my own efforts. Unlike you, I don't owe anything to those Jurai royals. As long as they pay cash, I'll work for them. And I've told you before, what we got between us is personal. Some put-up pardon isn't going to get you off the hook with me."

"That pardon wasn't put up, Nagi!" Ryoko snapped. "I earned it! I nearly got killed defeating that Professor Klove and his mind monster."

"Really? That's your story, Ryoko. Personally, I think that tale is just a batch of moonshine, cooked up to justify Princess Ayeka's over-long stay in this backwater, and she bribed you with a pardon to keep you quiet--"

"What? That's just plain crazy, Nagi!"

"Well, it's all over the galaxy now, Ryoko. Real important folks, like the Poctisumme clan, believe it. The minority leader of the Galactic Parliament has already filed a protest over your pardon, Ryoko, although the High Tribunal won't back down, probably--everyone knows they're in King Azusa's back pocket. Most folks in the real galaxy--I mean, off this godforsaken rock--don't give two Jurais for your stupid pardon, Ryoko. You're still about as welcome out there as the Okuda Plague!"

Ryoko felt herself boil with anger inside. She clenched her fists. Nagi stood there, sneering at her.

"What's the real story, Ryoko? You and the Princess both have your pleasure with that Lord Tenchi? Maybe someone wasn't taking care of business? Everyone knows that the Princess will have to submit to a full medical scan when she returns to Jurai to guard against her bringing back some Earth bug. That scan will pick up any sign of-- well, let's call it a mishap. But if she can claim she got injured by fighting some so-called monster and that renegade scientist, Washuu, can do a little creative surgery...any physical evidence of a scandal can be covered up. Of course, there's still you to take care of. Have to make sure you don't blab. So your price was a pardon."

Ryoko's face flushed with anger. "That's a filthy, goddamned lie, Nagi! The Princess is a straight arrow. She'd never--and neither would I--everyone knows that. You know that!"

Nagi shook her head. "What I know is--that story's a whole lot easier to swallow than that fairy tale about a brain-dead old coot in a mental institution somehow threatening you all. Threatening you, Ryoko, and the Princess, and those two Jurai princes, and that Washuu--all of you with all that power you possess. What a crock! And how convenient--it all happens just when the Juraian people are clamoring to have Princess Ayeka return to get that father of hers off the throne and back into retirement. This little fable of yours is sure to generate sympathy for the Princess and justify her being here--you think! But you're wrong. You and Princess Ayeka have been living with these knuckle-draggers too long, Ryoko! We're a little smarter out in the real galaxy."

"You're all as stupid as hell if you believe that Ayeka would--or even I would--" Ryoko fumed. "And what about the Galaxy Police? Kiyone and Mihoshi? They proved--"

"They proved they were bribed too!" Nagi shrugged. "That Grand Marshall's been angling to get his granddaughter out of the soup-- there's been lots of pressure on him to have her dismissed from the service along with Kiyone for trying to cover up their misdeeds. So naturally he falls in with this scheme. It allows him to rehabilitate his ditzy granddaughter's reputation, finally close the books on those serial murders the GP can't solve, and the Juraian royals end up owing him big-time. It also saves his own bacon, too, because the GP High Commissioner had targeted him for early retirement. That Kiyone is one lucky cop. Being teamed with Mihoshi has finally paid off--and I mean paid off!"

Ryoko's mind buzzed with hurt and indignation. It was all a pack of rotten lies! But she had to admit--Nagi's perversion of the truth sounded damned plausible! Yeah, lots of folks with no love for the Juraian royals--and no love for her--would believe it. It meant that everything was spoiled. Her pardon was just a piece of paper, less than that, maybe. Many hands were still raised against her. She'd be seen and treated as some sort of Juraian royal embarrassment, a space pirate rehabilitated just to satisfy some royal scheme. Oh, hell! That damned Nagi!

"But it just isn't true!" Ryoko tried to reason with the bounty hunter. "I've never lied to you, Nagi. I'm not lying now. Just look at this place! We fought a hell of a battle here. I thought you'd pick up on that, Nagi, being a warrior--"

"I'm a mercenary, Ryoko--not a warrior," Nago interrupted flatly. "That warrior stuff is for those poseurs on Jurai. You never lied to me? What about during that beauty contest? You promised to meet me for combat after it was done--instead, you ran off and stole my prize money!" The bounty hunter's face reddened at the memory. "And how hard is it to kick up a little dirt and leaves--especially when the Princess's reputation is on the line? You and your conspirators will have to do a lot better than that, Ryoko!" Nagi laughed contemptuously.

"Who's been telling you all this guff? They probably have an axe to grind, and--"

"You think so?" Nagi said. "Better think again. I got most of this from my own investigation--just like the media has! That's right, Ryoko--that upsets you, I see. It's all over the Union news networks! A certain Lieutenant Zay're, who resigned his commission with the GP because of his disgust over the corruption he saw at the Headquarters, is telling it like it is. What happened--did you all forgot to bribe him, too? Too bad. He's gotten a lot of good coverage from the media. He's going to run for office and the word is he's a shoo-in for the Galaxy Police Civilian Advisory Board--the High Commissioner knows which side of his bread is buttered. How long do you think that Mihoshi and Kiyone will hold onto their Sergeant's stripes when that happens? They'd better watch their backs--that's all!"

With a supreme effort, Ryoko calmed herself down. She realized that she had overreacted to Nagi's bad news. The situation wasn't all that disastrous. It was just the same old story. Politics. Of course the Poctisumme clan and the Zay're clan and all the other envious powerful cliques wanted to put a negative spin on what had happened. It served their interests to keep the Juraian royals and their allies on the defensive. Ryoko knew she should have anticipated this. None of it affected her pardon, not really. She was still free from arrest--and Tenchi would still be hers. Nagi was just mad as hell about finally, unequivocally, losing her battle with Ryoko. Well, to hell with her and to hell with politics!

"Okay, Nagi. You said what you came to say. I think it's a bunch of sour grapes and I know it's all based on lies. I'm still officially pardoned, regardless. Now, scram. Or you can explain to the GP what you're doing in a restricted area! You didn't illegally hack a few nav buoys to get here--did you?"

"My, my! The law-and-order space pirate!" Nagi's red eyes glittered dangerously. "I go where I want, Ryoko, and the GP can go hang! Three powerful families are financing this little excursion...some of the folks you robbed and all but ruined with your crimes! They don't give a damn about your pardon. They want you dead! And I'm going to get paid for doing something I'd do for free!"

Suddenly, before Ryoko could react, Nagi whipped up a hand weapon from a concealed holster in her right sleeve. Ryoko stared at it. It was a hand-held proton mini-cannon. It was not powerful enough to kill her, of course, but it would knock her for a loop--that was for sure! Ryoko's heart sank.

Nagi pointed the mini-cannon at Ryoko. "This will neutralize you, bitch, until I can get a neuron-plasma lasso around you. Then you'll die, slowly. I'm instructed to bring back your head. Your lover, Tenchi, can have the rest of your body. Maybe he'll find it before it gets cold!"

The bounty hunter's mocking laugh galvanized Ryoko. She wanted to kill Nagi then and there, and to hell with her vow to the others--the vow that she had made just an hour ago that she would avoid violence and live up to her pardon. Then she remembered that one of the persons she had made that vow to was Tenchi.

Tenchi! His image filled her mind. How proud he had looked, how affectionate, when she had pledged to be worthy of the freedom she had been given. A kind of strange, warm calmness suffused Ryoko. The thought of her true love gave her the strength to resist the urge to kill...and gave her inner peace as well. The look she gave Nagi now was almost pitying.

"I won't fight you, Nagi," Ryoko told the bounty hunter.

"You bet you won't! You'll just die!"

"Maybe. But I'll die knowing that someone loves me--and will mourn for me. That's a hell of a lot more than I had even after I robbed the Galactic Depository. It's more than you have, Nagi--and more than you'll ever have."

"What? Are you crazy, Ryoko? Who gives a damn about that stuff once you're dead?" Nagi's classical features mirrored her incredulity.

"We all die, Nagi. But I won't die unloved. That's for losers like you." Ryoko wouldn't fight, but she would try like hell to escape. If she could throw Nagi off guard...she braced herself to teleport.

"I'll show you who the loser is! You! You lost, bitch! You're the only one who ever escaped me, and now I'll have a perfect record! Get ready for it, Ryoko--"

Just as the bounty hunter cocked her weapon, a thrumming sound seemed to vibrate the air above her and Ryoko. Nagi looked up. Ryoko did too.

Hovering above the two women were Ayeka's two Guardians.

"Please lower that hand weapon, Miss Nagi," Azaka II instructed the bounty hunter.

"And please be quick about it," Kamidake II added.

"What? Huh?" Nagi responded, taken utterly by surprise.

Ryoko stared up at the two Guardians. Her mouth sagged open. She was just as startled by their sudden appearance as the bounty hunter.

"Miss Ryoko is under our protection," Azaka II informed Nagi. "Her person is not to be threatened. We are authorized to use deadly force to protect her."

"Lower the weapon or you will perish, Miss Nagi," Kamidake II amplified.

Nagi slowly let the hand holding the mini-cannon drop to her side.

"But...you are the Guardians of Princess Ayeka," she said wonderingly. "What the hell!"

"Please watch your language, Miss Nagi," Kamidake II requested. "It is not seemly."

Despite her astonishment, Ryoko grinned. There could be no doubt who had instructed those Guardians!

"But...but..."

"We have been instructed by Princess Ayeka to protect the person of Miss Ryoko," Azaka II explained. "For the record, we are pleased by this."

"We would be pleased as well if you would put that weapon away, Miss Nagi...thank you," Kamidake II added.

Nagi complied. Fighting the two Juraian Royal Guardians was tantamount to suicide.

"That Princess of yours must have gone crazy!" Nagi growled. "If she were here, I'd tell her--"

"You would tell me...what, pray?" asked Princess Ayeka Jurai. She walked up to them. Taken aback by the intervention of the two Royal Guardians, neither Nagi nor Ryoko had heard her approach.

Both the bounty hunter and the ex-space pirate now stared at the Princess silently.

"Cabbit got your tongue, Miss Nagi?" Ayeka asked politely.

"Ayeka!" Ryoko cried in wonderment.

"Hello, Ryoko." Ayeka smiled at her. "You seemed a bit distressed when you left us at luncheon. I thought I had better check up on you."

Ryoko just grinned at her friend, the Princess.

"Keeping an eye on your little stooge--huh, Princess?" Nagi had finally found her voice.

Ayeka looked at the bounty hunter with disdain. "Stooge, Miss Nagi? That seems strange, coming from a person who stalks people for money. Ryoko has never performed any act for hire. Perhaps you should rephrase that last statement."

"I'd call covering up for you to get a pardon--" Nagi began.

Ayeka held up a hand. "Please, Miss Nagi...do not further incriminate yourself. I intend to sue everyone who has spread all those lies. I shall be relentless about it, I warn you. If you persist in repeating these slanders, I shall be obliged to take you to court as well."

"You wouldn't dare! Expose yourself in open court? Don't make me laugh, Princess!"

Ayeka sighed slowly, sorrowfully. She looked up at her hovering Guardians. "Please inform my solicitors to serve Miss Nagi with a subpoena," she instructed them.

"At once, Princess," Azaka II said. His pilot light blinked as he relayed the transmission.

"Wait--wait!" Nagi cried.

Ryoko smiled grimly. She understood the bounty hunter's sudden change of heart. It was damned obvious that the Princess was not bluffing. Nagi was learning, just as Ryoko had learned, that Ayeka Jurai meant what she said--always.

"Please postpone that transmission," Ayeka told her Guardians. She turned to Nagi. "Well?"

"I...I might have made a mistake," Nagi muttered. Ryoko looked at her. The bounty hunter appeared to have sagged six inches lower. Ryoko almost felt sorry for her.

"You made several mistakes, Miss Nagi," Ayeka informed her. "You aligned yourself with envious people whose machinations against my family and the Galactic Union are both infamous and ill-advised. They have failed in the past and they will fail now. Perhaps taking some of their wealth in court fines will cool their hopeless aspirations. You also flaunted an official pardon to threaten a woman who is as free of legal jeopardy as you are. You took on a murder contract, Miss Nagi, and I do not like that one little bit. Furthermore, you are here on this planet illegally. Very well, then. Henceforth, if I ever see you anywhere near Ryoko again--or anywhere near this planet--I shall personally swear out a warrant for your arrest. Do I make myself clear?"

Nagi glared at Ayeka. But Nagi had not survived as a bounty hunter by being inflexible. This was one situation that only retreat would alleviate.

Watching her, Ryoko now did feel sorry for Nagi. All she had were her contracts and her reputation. Now she would have to go back to those families who hired her and admit failure. That would blast her reputation and she would be just another bounty hunter, scrambling for work among her seedy peers. It was poetic justice for Nagi, but it didn't make Ryoko feel very good about it. In a way, Nagi reminded Ryoko of how she herself had been, long ago. The difference was that Ryoko had opened her heart and become a whole person. Nagi probably never would.

"Yes, Princess." Nagi all but spat out the words.

"Fine. Now, please leave. You are not wanted here. I doubt if you are wanted anywhere, Miss Nagi."

"Ayeka..." Ryoko began.

"Meow-er!"

Ryo-Ohki appeared on the scene. Spotting Nagi, the cabbit began hopping ecstatically. Ryoko understood why. Nagi's presence mean Ryo-Ohki's boyfriend was nearby. Ryoko groaned.

"God--no!" Nagi groaned, too.

Then a swooshing sound filled the air. Now two cabbits were on the ground.

"No, Ken-Ohki!" Nagi shouted.

"Wait, Ryo-Ohki!" Ryoko likewise shouted.

Too late. The two cabbits bounded away together. They disappeared into the woods.

"Damn it!" Nagi swore.

"That Ryo-Ohki...she always gets her man." Ryoko had to grin. "Just like her mistress!"

"Your cabbit seduced my cabbit!" Nagi charged. "She's nothing but a brazen strumpet! Like her owner!"

"What?" Ryoko's sympathy for Nagi evaporated. "You take that back!"

"I won't!"

Ryoko and Nagi glared at each other. The hovering Guardians blinked with puzzlement.

Ayeka just laughed. "Well, Miss Nagi! It seems that you do not have the means to depart, and you will not have the means for some little while, I would guess. Very well. Please come with us. We will have some tea...and discuss a few matters."

"Discuss? Discuss what?" Nagi demanded.

"Why, discuss how I may be persuaded to relent and offer you a permanent retainer," Ayeka said mildly. "I have long felt the need for a--what is the term? Oh, yes--a troubleshooter. With so many clans so willing to scheme against myself and my interests, such a troubleshooter would be...convenient."

"Me--work for you?"

"Yeah, work for her!" Ryoko told Nagi. "Listen, you don't want to go back those cruds who hired you, do you? Forget them! Ayeka pays real money--and she doesn't let people down. How many clients like that have you had? Huh?"

"Well..." Nagi actually looked a bit uncertain.

"We can discuss it over tea, at any rate," Ayeka said. "You do recall Sasami's tea, do you not? It is ambrosial! Just the thing to cool down one's nerves and allow one to see things clearly. This way, Miss Nagi, if you please. You too, Ryoko."

And with that, Ayeka turned and walked with regal grace back toward the house. Ryoko grinned and followed the Princess. With a moment's hesitation, Nagi followed them. The two Guardians brought up the rear.

Nagi didn't know it then, but she had just joined the Masaki clan. It would prove to be a strange interlude for the bounty hunter, but not an unprofitable one. And she would eventually learn what Ryoko had learned...that truly, no man or women is an island. They only think so until a crisis hits. Then, support and affection--and even love--come from the most unexpected places. And the island is no more.

------

Things remained quiet at the dorm as the afternoon waned. Tris slept like a dead man.

Suddenly--it seemed like only minutes had passed since he closed his eyes--he was startled awake. The floor was shaking--shaking? Shaking! Earthquake!

This was Japan--land of tea ceremonies and deadly earthquakes. Tris groggily sprang from his chair--and his head hit the overhanging bookshelf. The bookshelf's fragile nature was finally revealed to him. Books tumbled on him like a meteor shower. He ignored that, though. He was trying to think as the floor and he shook in tandem-- in case of earthquake, where was he supposed to go again? Outdoors? The gym? Damn it, they had told him at orientation--but he'd forgotten. Great! He was going to die right here and--

The floor stopped shaking.

A moment later, Tris stopped shaking.

He had no time to wonder what had happened. For a blinding light now spilled out from behind the closed and latched doors of one of the closets--Tenchi's closet. The light seemed almost material, it was so intense. Material? Plasma? Plasma! Professor Klove--! Wait, he was dead. Well, was he really dead? They thought he was brain dead the last time and just look what happened--

The light winked out.

All was still. All was calm.

Rubbing his head where a heavy volume on the post-war reforms achieved by the Japanese Diet had bonked him, Tris wondered if anything had really happened at all. All he had for evidence was a broken bookshelf and a pile of books on the bed and floor. His hard head had done that. Earthquake--hah! The place would be jumping with people if that were the case. A bad dream was the most likely answer. Yeah, that was likely it. No big deal...although bad dreams had a way of becoming deadly reality, he had learned.

Then someone knocked on the door.

No, not the front door leading to the hallway. The knock sounded from the door to Tenchi's closet.

At that point, Tris knew he had lost it. He sat down on his bed and waited for the pink elephants and purple snakes to appear. All those bangs on the head must be catching up to him. That damned bookcase hadn't helped.

No funny animals appeared, though. Instead, the knocking on Tenchi's closet door--from the inside of that door, no less--grew louder, more insistent.

"Go away," Tris called out helplessly. "I ain't afraid of no ghosts. Go haunt someone else."

He heard a female voice ask someone else behind the closet door: "Has he spent every waking moment watching movies?"

"Just about," a male voice answered.

Wait a doggone minute! Those voices sounded familiar. No...no...it couldn't be. That's what he got for moping around the dorm for days--dumb old hallucinations about a certain incredible family and its focal point, his college roommate, former college roommate--

"Tenchi! It's Tenchi!" the male voice yelled. "Tris! Open up!"

Tris stood up. A suspicion was taking form in his mind. He hurried to Tenchi's closet door and unlatched it. He flung the double doors wide open--

Tenchi stood there.

Tris recoiled. He backpedaled, jerkily, nearly falling. Tenchi sprang forward, grabbed Tris, and steadied him.

Tenchi grinned. "Hi, Tris. Hope I didn't interrupt anything."

"Just about ten years of growth!" Tris was astounded. It was true! Tenchi was here! Inside his closet! But how? How?

Suddenly, inevitably, he knew--

"Washuu!"

"You rang?" The diminutive redheaded super scientist appeared in the closet behind Tenchi.

"You did this, Washuu!" Tris said. "You--!"

"Of course I did! Aren't I the number one genius scientist of the whole galaxy?" Washuu grinned, stepping out of the closet. "I've created teleport tunnels before, but I gotta admit, I really outdid myself this time."

"You really did, Washuu," Tenchi agreed.

"Tunnel? Tunnel from where?" Tris asked.

"Why, a teleport tunnel from the upstairs utility closet at the house to this closet...that's all! Aren't I a wonder though?"

"You mean...at the other end of this closet is...the house?" Tris asked, staggered.

"That's right, cutie. Just boggles your mind, doesn't it?"

"More like it blows my mind, Washuu," Tris admitted, his voice charged with wonderment. "But if anyone could do that--you could."

"Well, thank you, cutie! Kinda caught you by surprise, huh?" Washuu surveyed the dorm room with the bookshelf and a pile of books littering Tris's bed and the floor. "Yow! And people call me a lousy housekeeper!"

Tenchi surveyed the dorm room, too. "That's just great!" he groaned. "You've only been here a few days, bonehead, and you've already trashed our room!"

"You trashed it--surprising me like that!"

"How can you get scared at a little tremor and a tiny flash of light after what we went through with that mind monster and everything?" Tenchi shook his head.

"I didn't get scared!" Tris retorted.

"You did, too!"

"Did not!"

"Did, too!"

"Boys..." Washuu intervened.

Tenchi and Tris turned to face her.

"Tenchi, I think you have something to say to Tris. And Tris, you need to listen up for once--with both your ears open this time." The redheaded scientist's voice brooked no backtalk. "There's been too much assuming and second-guessing and too little listening around here. Got me?"

The two young men nodded.

"Good! You carry on from here, Tenchi." Washuu turned to depart.

Tris stared after her. Evidently, Washuu meant to keep her softer, more feminine look. Today she had her red hair brushed into that less spiky bang style, and she wore a chartreuse tunic, belted at the waist, with her legs encased in Spandex-like black leggings. It was an attractive outfit and made Washuu look quite mature and womanly. It appeared that Washuu had decided that her romance with Nobuyuki was no flash in the pan. Tris was happy for her. After being alone for so long, Washuu now had companionship and affection from someone she cared for deeply. If anyone deserved that kind of happiness, it was the plucky genius scientist.

"By the way, cutie," Washuu added. "The fat lady finally has sung. See ya."

She disappeared into the closet.

Tenchi and Tris looked at each other a moment. Then they both burst into speech at the same time. They laughed, and Tris said, "Okay, you first."

"All right. I guess we've both kind of misread things, buddy. I--"

Tenchi was interrupted by a voice that demanded:

"Don't be such a slow-poke, Princess! Move it!"

"I shall move at my own pace, Ryoko! No faster!"

"Yeah, you and the other elephants!"

Tenchi groaned. "I told them to wait--!"

Low muttering issued from the open closet. Suddenly Ayeka appeared in the closet doorway. She smiled at Tenchi and then looked at Tris.

"Hello, Tristram," she said, stepping into the room. "I suppose you are a bit surprised to see us." Her ruby eyes twinkled.

"That's a fact, Ayeka."

Ryoko also walked into the dorm room from the closet, nearly bumping into the Princess. She too smiled at Tenchi before acknowledging Tris. She was dressed to kill in a tight purple sheath dress with a low-cut neckline, cinched in the middle with a wide yellow plastic belt. Ayeka looked demure and lovely as always in what she termed her "royal raiment"--the exquisitely detailed robed gown.

"It just goes to show you, goofball," Ryoko said to Tris with an impudent grin, "you can run from us but you can't hide!"

"My...what a lovely way to put it, Ryoko," Ayeka said, her voice saturated with sarcasm. She smiled with sincere warmth at Tris. "Perhaps there was a...misunderstanding, Tristram, between us. But you are part of our family now, as Lord Yosho told you. Let us have no more silliness about it."

"Can't pick your family around here, boy," Ryoko added. "It picks you!"

"That is so true," Ayeka agreed primly. "This family has at least one member no one would have picked!" She looked pointedly at Ryoko. Clearly, despite her efforts to get Ryoko pardoned, Ayeka intended never to cut her rival even an inch of slack. Which probably suited Ryoko. Tris sensed that the comfort level between the two willful women included a healthy portion of sniping and one-upmanship. After all, there was still Tenchi to be won.

"Yeah, but we got Sasami along with you, so we broke even on that deal," Ryoko riposted. While Ayeka gritted her teeth at the bon mot, Ryoko surveyed the dorm room.

"You mean to tell me you lived in this shoe box, sweetums?" Ryoko demanded, affecting deep shock. "You wanted to live in this dump instead of our home? I don't believe it!"

"It is not a dump!" Tenchi replied, annoyed. "It's what college students get, and--"

"But it is dreadful, Lord Tenchi!" Ayeka added. Both women had moved deeper into the room, surveying its cramped and less than pleasing layout. "It is so small! And look! Even the fixtures are faulty!" She pointed to the downed bookshelf and the pile of books.

"That's not the room's fault," Tenchi muttered, glancing at Tris.

"Indeed, Lord Tenchi? I would venture to say that there is little about this abode that is not at fault." Ayeka shuddered delicately. "I would not board Ryo-Ohki here! To think that the two of you actually shared these cramped quarters...dreadful!"

"Yeah, sweetums, this place is a hole. Ryo-Ohki? I don't even like the idea of Tris living here!" Ryoko asserted.

"Now listen, you two--" Tenchi began.

"Hey--what's that?" Ryoko interrupted him sharply.

"What--What is this?" Ayeka seemed in high dudgeon.

Tris groaned. Ryoko and Ayeka were now staring at the poster of Fumie Hosokawa. Neither of their expressions was amiable as they surveyed the shapely woman wearing the tiny bikini and the big smile.

"Just who is this hussy?" Ayeka demanded.

"Yeah! Who's the tramp?" Ryoko also demanded.

"I don't know!" Tenchi insisted. "I never saw her before!"

"Oh?" Ayeka asked archly.

"Hah!" Ryoko said.

Tris knew he needed to intervene and fast. "I put that poster up a few days ago," he explained. "Tenchi's never seen it before."

Tenchi spared Tris a grateful look.

"Oh..." Ayeka said, all fire gone from her expression.

"We should have known better, sweetums," Ryoko said contritely.

"Yes, you should have," Tenchi agreed.

The two women contemplated the poster silently for a moment.

"Tris," Ryoko said. "You better take that poster down, and right now. Trust me!"

"Yes, Tristram," Ayeka agreed. "It would be best if that poster were not displayed."

Tris looked at Tenchi. Tenchi just nodded. "They're right. For your own good, Tris--take it down, now."

"But..." Tris began.

"I'll take care of that for you, Tris," Ryoko told him. She floated into the air. She glided to the wall where Fumie held everyone's attention.

"Now be careful taking it down," Ayeka instructed Ryoko. "We know that Tristram spent money on it...although, really, you should not have, Tristram. It is not healthy for young men to ogle such displays...and besides, it is demeaning to women."

There was a tearing sound. Ryoko had grasped the top of the poster and pulled, seemingly ignorant of the double-sided tape that affixed it to the wall. Now Fumie had a split personality--or, at least, a spilt image.

"Hey!" said Tris.

"Ryoko!" yelled Tenchi.

"Sorry, guys. Sometimes I don't know my own strength, and that's a fact," Ryoko said over her shoulder. She pulled at the poster and more tears appeared. Tris groaned. Tenchi gritted his teeth. But the damage was done.

"Well, this is no good anymore...might as well trash it," Ryoko commented. She finished tearing the poster from the wall, then balled up the shards in her hand. She floated back to Tris and smilingly handed him the remains of his poster. Then she floated over to stand beside the Princess.

"Thanks a whole heap, Ryoko," Tris told her. He tossed Fumie's remains into the wastebasket. He shrugged. He could always buy another one...but he knew he wouldn't.

"That seems unusually clumsy--even for you, Ryoko," Ayeka observed sardonically.

"Well, I am the Love Monitor, Princess...remember?" Ryoko said, looking quite judicial.

"The what?" Tenchi asked.

"Never mind, Lord Tenchi," Ayeka replied. "Someone has a silly notion that they can sit in judgment of others, that is all."

"For that, Princess," Ryoko said in a stern voice, "I sentence you to laundry duty all month!"

"Considering the lack of help I get from certain persons," Ayeka retorted, "I might just as well have it all year."

"Done!" Ryoko grinned.

"Now you listen to me, Ryoko--"

"Girls!" Tenchi said. "We aren't home now...right?"

"Aren't we?" Ryoko shrugged. "There's only this dopey closet separating this room and the house now. Hey, maybe I'll take some classes here. I'll become a co-ed!"

"Do not be silly, Ryoko." Ayeka sniffed. "This University has standards."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ryoko glared at Ayeka.

"It means you're both leaving now," Tenchi told them. "I need to talk to Tris. You know."

"Indeed we do know, Lord Tenchi. We will see you later, Tristram." With a smile at Tenchi and Tris, and a supercilious look at Ryoko, Ayeka walked into the closet and disappeared.

"Wait, Princess!" Ryoko called into the closet. "Weren't we supposed to check out something? Remember?"

"Oh, yes!" They heard Ayeka's voice. Now the Princess re-appeared in the closet's open doorway. She studied Tris closely. "What he is wearing will suit, I believe. We shall tell her to go ahead."

"Huh?" Tris asked.

Neither Ryoko nor Ayeka appeared to have heard him.

"Right. At least he's not wearing those old khakis and that beat-up alligator shirt again," Ryoko agreed, staring at Tris critically. "Nice to know you don't always dress like a bum, Tris."

"What?" He was wearing a white long-sleeved button-down collared shirt and gray pleated slacks, but only because he had intended to visit his counselor that day and then had wussed out.

"He doesn't dress like a bum, Ryoko," Tenchi said, irritated.

"Yes, sweetums." Ryoko clearly didn't agree.

"Of course he does not. Come, Ryoko! We have bothered Lord Tenchi and Tristram enough. Besides, I must finish settling terms with Miss Nagi." Ayeka disappeared into the closet again.

"We haven't bothered you nearly enough, goofball, but we'll get around to it later." Ryoko grinned impudently at Tris. "I promise I'll knock before I come in the next time...if I remember to."

"Ryoko..." Tenchi said warningly.

"Yes, sweetums." Ryoko gave Tris a sassy look. Then she stepped into the closet and was gone.

Tris shook his head. Those two! All of this was still pretty hard to accept all at once.

"Sorry about the poster, Tris," Tenchi said.

"Me, too. Oh, well." Then something occurred to him. "Nagi? That bounty hunter? She's here?"

"Uh-huh. Believe it or not." Tenchi looked as if he still didn't believe it.

"But, you said she was after Ryoko."

"She was! She came here to kill Ryoko! Some families hired her to. But Ayeka has put Ryoko under royal protection, just like she did for the rest of us. You too, by the way. So when Nagi tried to blast Ryoko, she found herself with Ayeka's two Guardians ready to blast her."

"I'll bet that ruined her day." Tris chuckled.

Tenchi chuckled, too. "Just about! But somehow, Ayeka got through to Nagi. Sasami's tea helped, I think. Now Nagi's in the dining room with Sasami and she's going to accept a contract with Ayeka. She'll be sort of Ayeka's roving troubleshooter in the galaxy. The only stipulation is that she promise to leave Ryoko alone. Nagi agreed to that."

"Wow! That's a pretty good deal all around."

"You bet. And it's smart of Ayeka. This way, Ryoko won't have Nagi hounding her anymore. And when the word gets out that Nagi is looking after Ayeka's interests, some of those folks who are always conspiring against the royal family are going to keep a lower profile."

Tris nodded, inwardly marveling at Ayeka. "That's our Princess! You know, it's true...you don't pull on Superman's cape, you don't spit into the wind...and you don't mess with Ayeka!"

"That's a fact," Tenchi agreed.

Now the two young men fell silent.

Tris broke the silence. "Seems a lot happened since I left."

"Oh, man." Tenchi shook his head. "A whole heck of a lot! Wait until you hear..." His voice trailed off. He looked at Tris, his expression pensive.

"Tris, like I said, I think we both misread each other," Tenchi began again. "That's what Washuu meant about listening with both ears--that applies to me, too."

"But...I don't think I misread you," Tris insisted, feeling more than a bit confused. "I mean, it was obvious you'd have your hands full taking classes and commuting and doing your chores at home. Besides, you have to start preparing to officiate at the shrine. That makes me a fifth wheel in your life, and--"

Tenchi held up a hand. "Whoa! Tris, old pal, I hate to admit it, but you did read me right there. Kind of. I meant what I said about not liking it, though. But you didn't seem to believe me."

"Well..." Tris shrugged.

"Oh, I don't blame you for that! I know I agreed real quick that you should leave early. But I thought I was doing what the girls and Dad and Grandfather wanted me to do. Boy, was I wrong!"

"Really?" Tris was taken aback. "Didn't Ryoko and Ayeka want you all to themselves? Didn't your Dad and Grandfather want you to start getting better acquainted with the local folks and stop wasting time with me? And--"

"Wait a second, Tris," Tenchi requested. "I think I'd better just tell you what happened after you left. I think it'll explain everything."

"Okay."

"After you drove off, I started feeling like a rat. I did, Tris. Sending you packing after all we'd been through together. "Let's do lunch"--I should have been shot for that alone!"

Tris didn't say anything, but he smiled slightly.

"I see you agree! Anyway, I went back into the house and I found Sasami and Ryoko and Ayeka in the kitchen. Sasami was crying about your leaving. Ayeka and Ryoko were comforting her. They both told me they wanted to know the real reason why you left early."

"And you told them...?" Tris asked, intrigued.

"Yeah. Like I said, I thought they'd be pleased. But once I told them, they really lit into me, Tris! They told me that their wanting me to live at home and commute didn't mean they wanted me to distance myself from you. They didn't like what had happened at all--and they let me know it, in no uncertain terms!" Tenchi grimaced.

"Yeah? Even Ryoko?"

"Even Ryoko. She's kind of funny about making friends. She just decides she likes you, but she never really tells you. She also won't cut you any slack when she decides to like you, so it's hard to know if she does. But she kind of told you, Tris. Remember when she popped you on the shoulder?"

"I sure do. A proxy punch from Kiyone, right?"

"Wrong, although that's what she said. She was ticked off because she thought you were bailing out on us. She's had that happen to her before, and it tears her up inside. So she hit you."

"Huh." Tris considered that. "I'd hate to think of what she does when she doesn't like someone."

"Wise guy! Anyway, I read both her and Ayeka completely wrong. I have to admit, that threw me. So I went to talk to Grandfather at the temple and then he kind of lectured me. He pointed out that I had made the same mistake that Dad almost made when he got fired. Remember? You don't abandon people you're close to just because a problem arises. You work out the problem. When Dad came home at dinnertime, he told me the same thing."

"Man..." Tris was both gratified at finding out the women--even Ryoko--cared so much about him, and sorry for Tenchi for having to take so much guff. Tenchi had been just trying to handle things as he saw best. "You weren't abandoning me--not really. You just have a lot of folks to answer to and a lot of responsibilities."

Tenchi smiled gratefully. "Thanks, buddy. Maybe Grandfather's old saying about good things coming from bad things holds true again. You're the best pal I've ever had, Tris, and now I know we can stay pals."

Tris smiled back. "Well, that does double for me, buddy. And it's true--a lot did happen after I left."

"Oh, I'm not done yet."

"No?"

"No. You see, just as we finished dinner the day after you left, Kiyone and Mihoshi came back!"

"What?" Tris was stunned.

"They came back. To stay. For good." Tenchi spoke slowly, emphasizing each word. He apparently enjoyed the consternation on Tris's face.

"But..." Tris hadn't expected this. He had written Kiyone out of his life. At least, he thought he had. But the sudden flood of emotion that filled him at the news belied that notion. "Their promotions! How can they work at their Headquarters and still live here? They can't intend to commute."

"They won't be commuting. They're based here in our solar system again, Tris. They have a lot bigger job than they had before, but they get to live here. Kiyone arranged it."

"She...she did?" Tris asked, flabbergasted.

"She sure did," Tenchi told him. "And guess how she reacted when she did all that and traveled all the way back here and then found you'd left?"

Tris groaned eloquently.

"Yup. You guessed it," Tenchi said.

"I'll bet she raised holy hell..."

"Holy hell," Tenchi told him, "is an understatement!"

"Man...!"

"It took all of us--and Mihoshi running interference--to keep Kiyone from turning around and leaving. She was madder than hell at us for assuming she'd gone for good when she hadn't told us that--and for convincing you to think the same way."

"But you were just judging her based on what she did before," Tris objected. "That was her track record--get promoted, leave, don't stay in touch--right?"

"Right," Tenchi nodded. "And that's what finally cooled her off. We were all at fault, her included. Bless that Mihoshi! She figured out immediately what had happened and didn't stop talking to Kiyone until Kiyone gave in and agreed to let bygones be bygones. After all, Mihoshi had also assumed Kiyone planned to stay at their Headquarters and never come back. Kiyone all but strangled Mihoshi when she told her that--but fortunately, everything we were saying to her must have sunk in. It ended up that we apologized to her and she apologized to us."

"Sounds like a fun evening," Tris muttered.

"Well, it was a long evening, anyway," Tenchi admitted. "But it did clear the air...we finally set a few things straight."

"That's good, anyway."

"Uh-huh. But I said we set a few things straight. Kiyone still plans to deal with you."

Tris groaned again. His shoulders and shins were aching in anticipation.

"Sorry, buddy," Tenchi said.

"That's okay. They've got that emergency clinic here, you know."

"Aw...it won't be that bad," Tenchi said.

"You wanna bet?"

"Not me! I'm still trying to save up for those new speakers."

Tris had to chuckle as he recalled those two alien brats blowing Tenchi's stereo speakers. It seemed a lifetime ago. Then he thought of something. "Say, how come you didn't call me and tell me about all this?"

Tenchi grinned. "I meant to, the next day. But Washuu told us at breakfast that she had a better way to get in touch with you."

"She meant this teleport tunnel, right?"

"Right! I was warned not to alert you. The girls wanted it to be a surprise. So I didn't."

"Thanks a load!"

Tenchi just grinned again. "By the way, this teleport tunnel isn't just for you, you know. Don't get too swollen a head, pal. The girls were worried about me having to commute back and forth. So this tunnel lets me live at home and just walk upstairs and through the utility closet to get to school. Now that's handy!"

"I'll tell someone it is!" Tris agreed. "And I can eat all my meals at Café Sasami! My stomach likes this teleport tunnel already."

"Yeah, you just go though my closet and you're in the house. It's like having your own room at the house, Tris. And to the folks here, it'll seem like I'm still living in the dorm. I walk out of our room in the morning and go back in the afternoon. Nobody will know the difference."

"That's slick all right! Washuu really came through."

"Yeah, she sure did. Dad gave her a big kiss when she showed us the portal. Right in front of all of us." Tenchi looked a little bemused. "Those two are getting serious. I guess I'll have to--"

Again, they were interrupted by a voice:

"It's so dark in here!"

Both Tenchi and Tris turned toward the still open doors of the former's closet as they heard the voice from within. It sounded like Mihoshi.

"It's okay, Mihoshi." That was definitely Sasami's voice. "Just hold my hand...I can see the other end now..."

Tenchi gave a hopeless shrug. "I was almost through, anyway..." he muttered.

Tris grinned in sympathy.

Two figures, holding hands, emerged from the closet. The first was tall, tanned, and blonde Mihoshi, dressed in her favorite combo--pink mock-turtleneck top and stone-colored denims. The second was little Sasami, dressed as always in her very formal but very cute robed gown with the wide sash.

"Tris!" Sasami and Mihoshi both cried.

A blonde whirlwind made a beeline to Tris--but this time she met her match in a smaller, pig-tailed whirlwind. In an instant, Tris was bent over hugging Sasami, who laughed happily. When she released him, Mihoshi then hugged him tightly. Behind the three huggers, Tenchi just shook his head and smiled.

"We're back together Tris!" Sasami cried. "This is so cool! Now your dorm room is attached to the house...sort of. You'll have all your meals with us and watch TV with us, and--"

"Sasami, Tris and I have to go back to attending classes, remember?" Tenchi told her. "So we'll miss some meals and we'll need to study during the weeknights."

"Oh, that's right..." Sasami looked a little let down. Then she brightened. "But we're still together again. All of us! I prayed this would happen."

"Did you, kitten?" Tris asked her fondly.

"Uh-huh! Mihoshi prayed, too, all the time she was gone...didn't you, Mihoshi?"

"I sure did!" Mihoshi beamed her brilliant smile at Tris. "I thought we were gone from Earth for good! But Kiyone really surprised me. After we got our medals and our rank back and everything, Kiyone talked to Chief Bodai. Now we're in charge of a group of sectors, including this one, and we get to live here. Isn't that great?"

"That's great all right, Mihoshi," Tris agreed. Just seeing the sweet, effervescent blonde again had raised his spirits. And, of course, little Sasami was a real spirit-booster all by herself.

"It really is," Sasami said. "We were all so glad to see Mihoshi and Kiyone come back."

"Yes, we were," Tenchi agreed. He smiled at Mihoshi, who smiled affectionately back at him.

"I'll bet you're glad to be back, aren't you, Mihoshi?" Tris asked her.

"Oh, yes! Everyone's been so nice! Well...mostly. Ryoko and Ayeka made Kiyone and me give up our short-shorts, though." Mihoshi looked wistful. "They said since we have plenty of money now for clothes, we didn't have to wear cut-up jeans anymore. Kiyone said okay, because she didn't want to argue. She's sure changed since we got our rank back. She doesn't argue half as much as she used to, Tris!"

"Really?" He wondered if Kiyone only hit half as much as she used to, as well.

"Uh-huh. She still yells at me a lot, but that's okay. You know?"

"I know," Tris said. To Mihoshi, being yelled at a lot by Kiyone was part of the price of being her friend. It was a small price to pay.

"Golly...this sure isn't a very big room," Sasami commented, looking around. "Both you boys lived here?"

"Yes, Sasami," Tenchi answered. "It wasn't so bad."

Sasami looked dubious.

"This is even smaller than our old apartments back on Vestra," Mihoshi said, glancing around the room. "A lot smaller. I'm so glad we gave them up. You really should live somewhere nicer, Tris."

"I'll be all right here, Mihoshi," Tris said. "But thanks."

"You sure?" Mihoshi surveyed the room appraisingly. "Maybe if you'll let me decorate it for you. I could make it nicer, I think. Do you like pink, Tris?"

"Uhhhh..."

"Mihoshi, we'd better go now," Sasami told her.

"But I want to talk to Tris some more. I haven't seen him in ages, and--"

"You know we told her we'd only stay a minute," Sasami said firmly to her friend. "She's getting pretty impatient. It's time to go."

Tris concealed a smile. Sasami was clearly taking charge. He had always marveled at how responsible and mature the little Princess acted, and how wonderfully she cooked and cared for them all. Now he noted that Sasami seemed even more grown up. Perhaps it was due to the fight with Professor Klove. Sasami had finally proven that she could do more than just cook and otherwise stand on the sidelines. She had proven she could battle her enemies and do so as well as anyone. It was rather special, seeing the little girl kind of grow up before his eyes.

"Okay." Mihoshi gave Tris a knowing look. Sasami smiled at Tris, somewhat mysteriously.

"You all mean Kiyone, right?" Tris guessed, finally catching on.

"Right!" Mihoshi said. "Wait until you see her, Tris! You'll flip!"

"You sure will!" Sasami confirmed.

"I will?" Tris queried.

"Uh-huh. It's so cool! You'll see!" Sasami now grabbed Mihoshi's hand. "Let's go, Mihoshi." She pulled the blonde young woman toward the closet. "Goodbye, Tris. We'll see you real soon."

"Yeah, 'bye, Tris." Mihoshi allowed herself to be pulled by Sasami to the closet. "Tenchi, Ryoko and Ayeka said you'd better come on back, too."

"Right behind you," Tenchi said.

"Okay." With a wave, both she and Sasami entered the closet and were lost from view.

"I guess I'd better not keep Kiyone waiting any longer, either. We'll talk later, buddy. You're pretty much up to speed now." Tenchi walked to the closet.

"Okay. But if you see something big and yellow running out of the upstairs utility closet, don't shoot--it'll be me."

Tenchi chuckled. "It'll work out, Tris. Kiyone's had a couple of days to think things over and she still wants to see you. That's a good sign."

"Yeah--like a sudden drop in barometric pressure," Tris said glumly.

Tenchi turned to look at him. "You know the saying--no guts, no glory, Tris. And no guts...no girl. If I've learned anything in these past few years, I've learned that. Tris, I'll say it again-- you're one of the family now, for better or worse. It's not always fun or comfortable to be around us. But it's never dull. And whatever happens between you and Kiyone...well, it won't change your status with us."

"Roger that. And thanks, buddy. For everything."

Tenchi nodded, smiling. Then he turned and walked to his closet. He stepped into it. A second later, Tenchi was gone.

But this time he wasn't gone for good. Tris knew that now. He still had his friend and a new family and a new life, as well. And maybe he still had...well, he'd have to wait and see what Kiyone had to say about that.

Tris didn't have to wait long.

He heard footsteps--clicking footsteps?--issue from the open door of Tenchi's closet. A figured appeared from the darkness within.

It was Kiyone.

Kiyone walked into the dorm room. She shut the closet firmly and locked it. Then she turned to face him.

"Well, hello, you idiot," she told him.

Tris didn't answer. He couldn't. Kiyone had always been a beautiful woman--but now she was a knockout!

She was wearing a simple, elegant, but very sexy black dress. That dress seemed familiar...it was! It was the dress they had looked at back when he and Kiyone had lunch in the village. Kiyone had completed the ensemble with misty black-tinted nylons and black pumps--no, not the stiletto-heeled ones they had seen in that shop window, but moderately heeled pumps Regardless, her long, shapely legs were dynamite in the nylons and pumps--and her slim, well-curved figure was just made for that black dress.

Kiyone smiled at him, seemingly in spite of herself. "Okay, idiot, you can pick your eyeballs up from the floor now!"

"Yes, Officer." Tris shook his head, still floored by the sight of Kiyone in the dress. "There's one word for how you look, Blue Eyes. Scrumptious."

"Well, thanks, clown. It seems I didn't waste my money buying this dress--it's the first dress I've ever owned, by the way." Then she stopped smiling. "On the other hand, maybe I did waste my money."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I mean that I arrange everything to get a great assignment and still live on Earth--and what do I find when I get back? No boyfriend, that's what."

"Kiyone..."

"Well, you still remember my name--that's something!"

"Look," Tris tried to explain, "I thought you weren't coming back-- that's one reason I left early. A big reason!"

"Did I tell you I wasn't coming back?" Kiyone demanded.

"Well...no."

"That's right--no!"

"I just assumed...I was wrong, Kiyone. I should have realized you wouldn't just stay away without telling me. You're right. When it comes to you, I'm an idiot, a goofball, and a big stiff. I guess I always will be."

Kiyone regarded him a moment. "You forgot "clown.""

"Okay, that too!"

"Well...as long as you admit it." She looked at him with considerably less hostility now. "I know why you thought I was gone for good. Tenchi and all of them thought so, too. Even Mihoshi, that ding-dong! I guess I did kind of set a precedent the last time I was here." Kiyone frowned. "You didn't mention that, Tris."

"That's because that was their opinion. I'm supposed to be able to think for myself. If I don't, it's my fault, not anyone else's."

Kiyone's eyes softened. "That's one thing I learned from you, Tris Coffin. You should always take full responsibility for what you do. I finally did, you know, about what happened between me and Mitsuki."

"I heard about it. I was very proud of you. You won and you also made sure Mitsuki wasn't ground into the dirt. That's pretty wonderful, Kiyone. Maybe you and she can become friends again someday."

"I doubt it!" Kiyone shrugged. "Besides, I'll always out-rank her. That'll be a barrier, I think. By the way, Youri Katzaar mentioned to me that Mitsuki told him the reason she came to my place while you were there. She actually did want to talk to me. Maybe we would have worked out something, had I been willing to talk to her then. Who knows?"

Tris nodded. So Mitsuki had come calling to Kiyone's apartment on Vestra holding out an olive branch...well, that was irrelevant now. At least Kiyone appeared to have learned something from it.

"That's just it--you can't know," Tris said. "You had plenty of reasons to be wary around her."

"Yeah, that's right. At least I know I won't have to worry about her trying to get even with me. That's a relief. Hey, get this--she and Katzaar are getting married!"

"Really?" Tris smiled, amused.

"Really. You know, Youri's not a bad guy, not really, when you get to know him. Now that he's through toadying up to that drip, Zay're, he's a lot easier to take. He's going to be transferred to a Command Post, which is what he wants. The Command Post skipper will be that Lieutenant Ketquaraz...you know, the records officer who tried to help me. That's what he's wanted for a long time, a real assignment. He might just make Captain before he retires." Kiyone seemed much more relaxed now, talking shop to Tris.

"That's great! Sounds like the good guys won all around."

"Oh, it's even better than that, Tris!" Now Kiyone's face was radiant with excitement. "You remember my mentioning Chief Bodai? He's going to be the new personnel director. Well, I talked to him privately and I learned that the Grand Marshall will give him a free hand to clear out the deadwood--the little empire-builders and the staff pukes--from Headquarters. When I asked him about my remaining on Earth even as a Sergeant, he said he had a reform in mind that would send the Sergeants who administer an area out into the area they administer...and give them a sector to patrol, too, so they can keep their police skills sharp and not forget what their subordinates have to deal with."

"That sounds like a hell of a good idea," Tris said.

"It is! Instead of a Sergeant Katzaar issuing orders to his patrol teams from on high--from Headquarters--and spending his spare time "networking" with other paper-pushers, he'll have to deal with his detectives directly and do a little police work, too. Tris, it's fabulous! Chief Bodai has made Mihoshi and me his test platform. We're in charge of our old area--that's ten sectors and the assigned patrol teams under our command. We'll still personally patrol our old sector--your solar system--as well as supervise and inspect the other sector patrol teams. Chief Bodai assured me that a Sergeant doing a bang-up job in a field assignment will be promoted faster than a Sergeant doing staff work at Headquarters. That's a switch! So that means I could be a Lieutenant in no time! Think of it, Tris!"

"I think that's outstanding," Tris told her warmly, pleased that things had gone so well for Kiyone. Yet that old, cold feeling welled up in him. Old man Reality had come calling--the old fart! But Tris couldn't ignore him. Her words about her future had brought him back to the real situation between him and Kiyone. They were two entirely different people going in two entirely different directions. Kiyone's manuvering didn't change that...nor did his selfish wish to hold onto a girlfriend whom he'd be only be a drag on. "I guess you really will end up as Grand Marshall someday."

"Who knows?" Kiyone smiled. "I know that Ayeka wouldn't mind seeing that...in time. She'd support me, I know. Of course, I have a hell of a ladder to climb first."

"You'll climb it. Nothing will stop you now, Kiyone. You're the Comeback Kid, all right. I'll follow your career with great interest. Tenchi will keep me informed about it. We're buddies again, you know."

"I know." Kiyone gave Tris a knowing look. "You two never stopped being friends, you goof. You're both just typical men! Always on the prod!"

"Aw..." Tris thought that better described women. But he had gotten by so far without a jab and he wanted to keep it that way. Suddenly he noticed that Kiyone wasn't wearing her red headband. It seemed she wore it while on duty or engaged in everyday pursuits--but not for dressing up. Yet, in a way, she always wore that red headband--at least, what it signified was always with her. Which was that here was a young woman who was very serious, very determined, and very self reliant. That headband symbolized what Kiyone Makibi was--and what she wasn't. At that moment, Tris knew, with a sinking certainty, what he had to do.

"That's a brilliant reply! And what do you mean, Tenchi will keep you informed? You'll see it first hand, idiot."

"No, I won't," Tris said, sadly but firmly.

"What?"

"Look, Kiyone, all we do is fight. You don't respect this planet-- this "backwater"--and you don't really respect me. That's why you're always yelling at me or poking me. If I ever tried to live in your galaxy, you'd just be embarrassed constantly. I'd just be a drag on you and your career and I don't want that. The fact is, we're just not compatible. Millions and millions of miles seperate us, and in more ways than one. Let's still be friends and all, or at least pretend to be, so there's no friction when we see each other around Tenchi's place. But let's stop trying to be a couple. That's a dead end."

With that, Tris held out his hand. "You know I'm right. You're on your way now and you don't need anyone holding you back. Let's do that Earth caveman thing and shake on it."

Outwardly, he was cool and collected. Inwardly, he felt horrible and empty. He was deliberately killing their relationship. This was the point of no return for them. Kiyone would not beg or plead even if she wanted them to stay together that badly, and Tris would not want her to. Kiyone really would head up the GP one day. That was an immensely high position, he knew. She would work hand-in-hand with Ayeka, who would someday be Queen of Jurai--the single most powerful being in the galaxy. How could he fit in with that? He couldn't. Period. As he and Tenchi had discussed, Tris did not mesh with Kiyone's world--her galaxy. Moreover, Kiyone deserved better than another ride on that off-kilter merry-go-round they had called a relationship. She really was the best, and she deserved the best.

Slowly...Kiyone took his hand. Her expression had ranged from shock and anger, to disbelief, then to resignation, all in a flash. Now her expression was neutral. She shook his hand limply, then released it.

"You do know that this is it?" she asked softly. "I won't come again, Tris."

"I know. I don't want you to. Sorry you wasted the money on the dress and all. But there's some lucky guy who will see you in it again, I know. That guy is just not me. Never could be. Never will be."

Kiyone retained her neutral expression. She shrugged. "I know...I know now. In some ways, you're smarted than I am, Tris. Good-bye."

"Good-bye." In a way, Tris felt relieved. Kiyone hadn't pitched a fuss. And now they could go on with their lives. Not that he had much of a life. Without Kiyone, it would be even less of one. But at least Kiyone would have the life she was entitled to.

Kiyone turned and walked to the closet. She began to unlatch it. She seemed to struggle with it.

"Hey, this stupid thing is stuck. Help me...Tris."

Somehow, her not calling him a name really hurt. Their relationship really was over. Tris felt a sharp pang. But he had asked for it. He walked over to the closet.

Suddenly Kiyone whirled around and grabbed his arms. Tris stared at her, startled.

"Listen you--I just want to know one thing," Kiyone rapped.

"What?"

"How do you feel about me? The truth, now!"

"Huh?" Tris tried to pull away, but Kiyone's grip was too strong.

"Answer me!"

"Well...I guess I like you a little."

Kiyone shook him, hard. "Damn it! Tell me or I'll clobber you!"

"The hell you will!"

"The hell I won't!"

"Okay, okay. Damn it, you know--you ought to know--"

"I want you to tell me!"

"Okay!" Tris all but shouted. "I love you! Satisfied? Now let go!"

Kiyone let him go. Her expression was suddenly gentle, her eyes regarding him, glowingly,

"Oh, Tris...telling me that you love me. I think that's..." Kiyone said softly.

Then Kiyone's glowing eyes grew hard. Her lovely face seemed to radiate skepticism.

"...just a bunch of hooey!" she snapped. "You love me? Sure you do! That's why you walked out on me--twice! I don't think I believe you. What do you say about that?"

"Hooey?"

"Yeah, hooey--rhymes with phooey!"

At first, Tris just stared at Kiyone, flummoxed. Then he saw red. Not the particular hue of russet that preceded his pummeling of Munt, of course. But he saw red, nonetheless. Anger and frustration just poured out of him as he addressed Kiyone.

"All right, that's really it!" he fumed. "I spent days feeling rotten because I thought I lost you forever, and I spill my guts out to you. And when I do, you just give me grief. Fine! You can just go jump in that cop ship and chase jaywalkers and get promoted to Drum Major for all I care! Enjoy! And besides--"

Tris never did finish that sentence. No matter. Yelling at Kiyone proved singularly unsatisfying, anyway--her expression softened and her eyes glowed again as he verbally paid her back, with interest. He couldn't understand it--Kiyone seemed happy for some reason.

Then, without warning, she launched herself at him. Her arms gripped his neck and she wrapped herself around him.

"Darling!"

"Oops!"

Unfortunately, Kiyone had ignored the extremely cramped conditions in the dorm room. Her springing momentum forced Tris backward, so that the back of his legs hit the side of his bed. His knees buckled, and he fell onto his bed, with Kiyone on top of him. The elderly bed frame groaned with their combined mass. They weren't the only occupants on the bed. A few of the fallen books were there and Tris's head collided with that immense volume detailing the activities of the Japanese Diet in the postwar years--the same book that had bonked him before. Although that tome had failed to pique his interest before academically, it was certainly making an impression on him now-- actually, a second impression--

"Ow!"

"Oh, Tris! Your poor head!" Kiyone shook with laughter. "Oh, you poor clown!"

"Thanks, loads!" he groaned.

Lying on top of him, Kiyone gently felt the back of his head. "Are you badly hurt, goofy? Oohhhh, what a lump...!"

"Ow! Ow!"

"Sorry, darling." Kiyone chuckled. "I'll just kiss you and make it better."

Then she lowered her head and pressed her lips against his. This was no casual kiss. It was a lover's kiss, a deep, probing, and sweetly passionate kiss, and it lasted a long time. When she lifted her lips from his, Tris's head was spinning--and not just from making contact with that book again.

"Kiyone," he muttered weakly. "What the heck...?"

"You love me! You really love me! You angel!" Kiyone said to him, her face alight with love and ardor.

"But I thought you said you didn't believe me."

"Don't be stupid! No one talks like you just did to me without meaning it. You even tried to break us up because you thought it was best for me. You do love me! Don't deny it!"

"I'm not denying it."

"Good. It's 'way past time you told me," Kiyone added with tender exasperation. "I just had to make sure you meant it, that's all. Now I'm going to tell you something, darling. I love you, too. I think I have for a long time. I knew it for sure when you drove Mihoshi and me to go get that ice cream, just before Klove attacked us."

"Ice cream?" Tris blinked, confused.

"That's not important! What's important is: I love you, clown! And you love me! All words of one syllable. You got it now?"

Tris slowly grinned. "Got it, Blue Eyes. But what about what I said? About us not being compatible and all?"

"That was just an idiot talking! Do you think Ryoko and Tenchi are compatible? Or Ayeka and Tenchi? Lord Yosho, a powerful Juraian prince, married a rural Earth woman! They were happy, Tris! I love you and you love me. I can have my guy and my career and I'm gonna have both! We're going to be happy. Damned happy! Case closed!"

"Well..."

"And I do so respect this planet! I love Earth! I already told you that once. And I respect you, too. I wouldn't love you if I didn't. You have a lot of integrity, Tris Coffin, and you're brave to the point of stupidity. Trying to catch me when Klove's monster dropped me! Idiot! And the way you pitched in and worked around the house with the rest of us. You could have just taken your ease--you were a guest--but you didn't. I watched you out there, working in the yard with Tenchi, no fussing, just working. And you care about people. I've seen you tell a joke--a stupid joke--or try to do something fun when people around you were in the dumps. That all counts a lot with me, buster. I don't care if you have a big learning curve when it comes to the galaxy--you'll learn! I'll see to it. And if you don't like being poked or yelled at--too bad! You're stuck!"

"I guess I am," Tris said sheepishly.

"You bet you are! Remember the sake party we had after we shipped off those brats from Souiis? I told you then that you were stuck. I may have been a little tipsy, but I wasn't that tipsy. I guess I kind of knew it even back then. And now you know it."

"Yeah...now I know it."

The crazy thing was that they were both right...but Kiyone was more right. Ultimately, if they loved each other and were willing to work hard--real hard--they could stay together. After all, all sorts of "impossible" couples celebrated their silver and golden anniversaries while "perfect" matches ended up in divorce court. Tris's mother had hated fighter pilots--she'd thought they were a bunch of swaggering asses. She was engaged to a calm and competent civil engineer. Then she met Tris's Dad at the Officer's Club one day--and that was it! All of her friends and family were shocked as hell, but no matter. Mom and Dad became an item, then a couple, and then...Tris resulted. How could he argue with that? Mis-matches--happy mis-matches--ran in his family.

Besides, it was true. He loved Kiyone.

"Okay, then," Kiyone said, her voice considerably softer. "Now give me another kiss, you old piker--and make it a good one!"

They kissed. It was a good one.

Kiyone slipped off him and rose. She grabbed Tris's arms and pulled him into a seated position. Then she sat on the bed beside him, very close beside him. She crossed her stockinged legs. The static whisper of her nylons rubbing together drew Tris's eyes to her legs as surely as a cabbit to a carrot patch.

"Nice nylons," he told her. "Nice heels."

"Never mind that!" But Kiyone smiled at him. "You're so dense, Tris! I see that I have my work cut out for me. But at least you told me you love me, you goofball. Now everything can begin."

"What can begin?" Tris asked, still distracted by Kiyone's glossily stockinged legs.

"Our life together! We're going to have a wonderful time now--just wonderful. Don't you know that?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"You guess? Boy, I really do have my work cut out for me!" Kiyone now seemed to finally take notice of the dormitory room. "Yow! What a hole! Worse than the dorms back at the Academy, even. You and Tenchi actually lived here?"

"Sure. I told you it wasn't much."

"You were right!" Kiyone regarded the fallen books and the dislocated shelf that littered Tris's bed and the floor. "Can't you even keep this cracker box tidied up? Hoo boy! If we have to hire a maid, you're paying for it, buster!" Kiyone picked up one of the books lying on the bed. She glanced at its title. "Feudal Japan? What kind of degree are you getting, anyway? What kind of job are you going to be able to get with it? That's what I want to know."

"Job?"

"Yeah. You know. Work! If you think we're going to live off just my salary, you got another think coming!"

"Huh?"

"Answer me, you!"

"I don't know the damned question!"

"Figures!"

Kiyone took a deep breath. She appeared to be counting to herself.

Then she seemed to relax, a bit. "Never mind, clueless. We'll talk about it over dinner. We've got a lot to talk about."

"Ummmm...yeah..." Tris was uncomfortably aware that Kiyone was taking a rather proprietary stance toward him. He had a sinking feeling about what Kiyone wanted to discuss. Well, he had put his foot in it by telling her he loved her. Just like his Dad had with Mom, and Tenchi's Dad with Tenchi's Mom, and millions--billions--of other hapless males. Dinner, though--Sasami's cooking--that at least sounded good. He stood up from the bed.

"Know what Sasami's preparing for dinner?" he asked.

"Who cares?" Kiyone replied. "We're not eating with the family tonight."

"We aren't? How come?"

Now Kiyone stood up. "Do you think I did my hair and put on this dress and nylons and heels just to eat at home? Are you completely dense?"

"Um...we're going out to eat, huh?"

"Brilliant!"

"And that's why you had Ayeka and Ryoko scope out what I was wearing, huh?"

"Well, you do catch on eventually," Kiyone admitted. "I told you before, you piker--I want to be dated! Lots of dates! You got away with that cheap Charlie stuff before, but not anymore. You're going to wine and dine me. Got it?"

Tris groaned inwardly. But he answered, "Got it."

"And we're going to start tonight. You told me you'd take me to the most expensive place in the city--and you're going to do it, right now!"

"Kamachi's?" Tris asked, puzzled. "That place? But you need reservations and it's too late--"

"Tenchi's father made the reservations for us. It's all set. The reservations are for two hours from now. You know how to get there?"

"Yeah." Tris had passed the immensely overpriced eatery once or twice while tooling around Okayama City with Tenchi. That place was one attraction that Tris had, up to now, felt no desire to visit. Well, now he was going to--him and his big mouth--and his credit card was going to get a workout. Big time! Hey...wait a minute! If Kiyone already had reservations made, then she planned all along to-- damn it! He'd been set up! Hooked and reeled in!

But...he looked at Kiyone, beautiful Kiyone, standing there, so devastating in that little black dress. It would be worth it, he knew. Anything would be worth it to be with her. Even...well, even commitment.

"I like the way you're looking at me now, Tris," Kiyone told him softly. "No doubt about it...my idiot boy loves me." Now her eyes scanned him. "Ayeka and Ryoko were right. You're dressed well enough. But you've got to put on a jacket and tie, you know."

Tris nodded. "Got just the thing." He walked to his own closet and opened it. He withdrew a dark blue garment.

"A navy blazer." Kiyone smiled her approval. "With brass buttons. The kind that don't tarnish."

"That's right." Kiyone had recalled their conversation outside that dress shop in the village. Neither of them had known then how significant that conversation would become. It was a funny old world--a funny old galaxy--and no mistake.

Tris also withdrew a tie from his closet. Kiyone examined it critically. It was red with small paisley designs. "Well, at least it doesn't ask me to kiss you in the dark--baby--so it'll do." She rendered her verdict with another smile.

"Glad you approve." Tris slipped the tie into his collar and began to tie it. Suddenly a pair of soft hands took the ends of the tie from him and began to knot it expertly. Tris looked at Kiyone, surprised.

"Let me. I tie a tie just about every day. My uniform, remember?" Kiyone told him.

"Oh, yeah."

Boy, when a woman starts dressing you...! Oh, well.

Kiyone finished tying his tie. It was perfect, of course. She gently straightened his collar, buttoned it down, and then kissed him on the nose.

Tris slipped the navy blazer on. He was ready.

"You don't dress up half badly, Tris," Kiyone approved. "I guess you won't embarrass me. Now you can take me on a quick tour of the campus and then we'll go eat. Right?"

"Right." Tris walked to the door--the door to the hallway--and opened it. Smiling, Kiyone walked past him out the door. "Where are you going to take me first around here?" she asked him.

"The Student Union annex. I want the other guys to see my hot date and--ow!"

The door closed behind them.

Unnoticed, barely audible, and almost at the end of the cassette tape, the old boom box on Tris's desk issued the Long Medley's final stanza from the "Abbey Road" album. The Beatles couldn't have known it, but in that tiny studio located at that famous address decades ago, they created music and lyrics that spanned not only generations, but planets as well:

And in the end
The love you take
Is equal to the lo-o-o-o-ove
You make