Disclaimer: Characters and concepts from "Tenchi Muyo!" were created by Kajishima Masaki and Hitoshi Okuda, and are Copyright AIC, Pioneer LDC, and Viz LLC. This work is a parody and not to be used for any commercial purposes.

Author's Foreward: To fully understand this chapter (and many other things concerning anime and manga), the reader should know something about the book that Ayeka attempted to read in the last chapter. "Journey to the West", or "Pilgimage to the West" as it is sometimes translated, is one of the great classics of Chinese literature. Written by Wu-Cheng'en in the 16th century, it tells of the quest of a Buddhist monk to the western border of China to obtain a set of sacred Bhuddist writings or sutras. The story has become immensely popular in Japan, much like the English story of Robin Hood is universally known in the United States. A number of Japanese anime series use elements from "Journey to the West", for example "Dragonball" and "Ranma 1/2", in addition to "Tench Muyo" itself.

"Journey to the West" is loosely based on the historical travels of the twenty-seven year old monk Xuan Zhuang to India in the seventh century. For the novel, however, Wu-Cheng'en wrote a fantastical tale of gods, monsters, and magic. And although the mission for the sacred sutras is given to San Zhang (Sanzo or Genjo in Japanese, and sometimes Tripitaka in English), the story's primary character is the Monkey king Sun Wu Kong, or Son Goku in Japanese.

Monkey begins as a rebel against the established gods, born from a stone, then mastering many combat and magical skills and gaining immortality. Eventually, he invades Heaven, and the heavenly army subdues him only after many a battle. However, all attempts to execute him fail. Finally, the Buddha himself engages him in a duel to see who can jump furthest. Monkey leaps almost to a mountain range of five peaks, and then back again, only to discover that he has only been traveling along Buddha's palm, and the peaks are Buddha's fingers. (This is the meaning behind page 61 of the manga Vol 11, "Ayeka's Heart", which is labeled "not a Dragonball reference".) After his defeat, Monkey is imprisoned under a mountain for five centuries to calm him down.

When Sanzo the monk is directed to obtain the sacred texts, he is allowed to free Monkey from his imprisonment, and Monkey then becomes his loyal disciple and bodyguard. Sanzo also gains as companions the half-pig, half-human Zhu Ba Jie (Cho Hakkai in Japanese, also Pigsy or Pig), and the river-monster Sha Wu Jing (Sha Gojyo in Japanese, or Sandy in English). Pigsy has an appetite for both food and female companionship, and it was that last that got him thrown out of Heaven. Where Monkey uses a magic staff in combat, Pigsy uses, oddly enough, a rake. Together, the four face numerous monsters and obstacles on their quest of many years. The penultimate challenge is the Flaming Mountain. Incidentally, there really is a Flaming Mountain in China, which rivals Death Valley and the Sahara as the hottest place on Earth.

Tree and Infancy, Chapter III

"Wheee!" Ayeka shouted happily as she raced across the courtyard of the shrine.

"Myaaa!" Ryo-Ohki, in cabbit form, echoed as she also chased after the paper airplane a few feet above her.

"Slackers." Ryoko tried not to look up from her job of sweeping the courtyard flagstones. After the morning's events, it had been decided that Ayeka needed closer supervision, since her curiosity had evidently increased a great deal. But Ryoko had no intention of being the one doing the supervising.

"Oh, it's turning to the left again!" Mihoshi complained. And it was true; her creation made a slow bank and headed for the shrine entrance. "Catch it, girls!"
Ryo-Ohki put on an extra burst of speed, leaped into the air, and caught the errant plane in her mouth before it could hit the door to the shrine office. However, the door opened a moment later, and Katsuhito emerged, evidently not happy with the noise and activity. The shrine priest glanced around, saw the smiling faces of Ryo-Ohki, Ayeka, and Mihoshi, and paused.

"Hi, brother Yosho!" said Ayeka. "Mihoshi showed us how to fold paper airplanes. Washu says it's a good way to help my co'dnation and use my energy."

"Washu has an excellent idea." The priest temporized. "But I'm not sure the shine area was meant to be an airfield." Ryoko looked up hopefully.

"We tried it down by the lake, but, well, the airplanes kept going into the water." Mihoshi explained. "This is the biggest open area."

"I see." It was evident that Katsuhito was not yet satisfied. "But what if you accidentally run off the edge of the courtyard and fall on the steps?"

"Oh, we thought of that." Ayeka spoke up. "That's why Mihoshi is throwing from the edge of the coh'tyard, to the shrine."

Katsuhito realized that his guns had been spiked. "That was well thought of. But I note that your paper airplane has been rendered unflyable." And indeed the airplane had much of the rear section crushed in Ryo-Ohki's mouth.

"You're right!" Mihoshi said. "Time to make another one. It's just amazing how many we're going through." Ryoko's face expressed that she found nothing amazing about it, though she kept quiet.

"Perhaps I can help." Katsuhito said. He crossed over to where Mihoshi had a folder of blank pieces of paper. Taking one, he busied himself for a few moments, and then held up an elegant origami version of an airplane.

"Myaa!" Ryo-Ohki was enthusiastic. Both Mihoshi and Ayeka broke out clapping. Even Ryoko gave a judicious nod of approval when no one was looking.

"Thank you very much." Mihoshi accepted the new paper airplane. "Okay, Ayeka and Ryo-Ohki!" The little girl and the cabbit trotted up to the blonde. "Here we go!" The blonde drew back her arm, and threw her new toy. This time it sailed straight across the courtyard, and Ayeka and Ryo-Ohki charged after it with squeals of merriment.

The shrine priest who was also the Crown Prince of the Juraian Empire watched them go, remembering another courtyard, many light-years away and over seven centuries past.
Several times Mihoshi launched the paper airplane, and Ayeka and Ryo-Ohki vied to be the one to catch it when it descended. But at last, Ryoko's sweeping reached the last of the flagstones, and Mihoshi found herself throwing the little craft towards her.

"Ryoko! Watch out!" Mihoshi yelled.

The ex-space-pirate turned and gestured with her left hand. A red beam flared, and the paper airplane burst into flames and fluttered to the ground.

"Simply ducking would have been sufficient." Katsuhito fixed his gaze on Ryoko.

Unintimidated, Ryoko blew the last wisps of smoke from her fingertips like an old West gunfighter. "It's only fair that I should get to shoot down your ship once."

Whatever reply Katsuhito was planning was cut off as Sasami and Washu came up the stone steps to the courtyard. "We're done for the afternoon!" Sasami announced. "Who wants to join us in the onsen?"

"Count me in!" Ryoko answered. "I think more dust got onto me than onto the broom!"

"You did a lot of good work today, sister Ryoko." Sasami approved.

Ryoko turned so that the others wouldn't see her blush. "I'll get the saké if you'll get the soap and towels."

A few minutes later the five girls were in the floating onsen, preparing for a good long soak.
"Here's a bar of soap, Ayeka." Sasami said to her sister. "Oh, wait -- do we have a towel small enough for you?"

There was a loud ripping sound, and then Ryoko handed Ayeka half a towel. "We do now."

"Uhh . . . thanks." Ayeka said uncertainly.

Ryoko put on a cheery expression. "Don't mention it. I think the strong should help those weaker than themselves. Which in my case means just about everybody."

"That's a wonderful attitude." Mihoshi enthused. Ayeka looked less impressed.

All five busied themselves scrubbing off the day's dirt and perspiration. Ryoko was tempted to comment that Ayeka hadn't encountered as much dirt as she had, but remembered that Sasami was still the hardest worker of all. Next came rinsing off. Sasami insisted on helping Ayeka, since a full basin of water was now too heavy for Ayeka to lift.

"Yeeoww!" Ayeka yelled. "That water feels even colder this time!"

"Not surprising. " Washu replied. "The ratio of lower-energy fluid to higher-energy mass is now. . ." The red-headed scientist paused, noticing that the rest of the group was staring at her blankly. "Umm, there's the same amount of water but less of you."

"Oh." Ayeka's voice had a note of anxiety. "Does that mean the onsen water is going to feel hotter?"

"Yes, but only a little. We keep the water temperature only a bit higher than normal body temperature." Washu reassured her.

"All right, here I go." Ayeka tightened the towel around herself, then put a cautious foot into the water. "It's not so bad." She sat down on the edge of the pool and slid in. The trouble was that she kept sliding in, until only the tops of her pony-tails were above the surface. Furious splashes and bubbles came up for a few moments, and then Washu hastily reached in and hauled the little princess back out of the water.

"It's too deep!" Ayeka cried.

"Yes, we seem to have forgotten about simple linear dimensions as well." Washu said.

"I guess we're going to need some kind of booster seat." Sasami suggested.

"I'll build one later on," Washu said, "but for now I think Ayeka will have to sit on someone's lap."

Ryoko quickly folded her arms and shook her head. "Uh-uh."

"I've got a nice lap." Mihoshi offered.

"That sounds like a good idea," said Sasami.

"Okay. Thank you, Miss Mihoshi." Ayeka's voice sounded a little uncertain.

One by one, the girls entered the pool, each giving a sigh of contentment at the soothing warmth of the water. Ayeka settled her pint-size body on Mihoshi's legs and slowly relaxed.

"Who wants saké?" Ryoko held up a freshly unsealed bottle.

"Can I still have some?" Ayeka asked.

"Bad idea," said Washu. "Your smaller body and brain could be affected by the alcohol. Remember what the caffeine in the coffee did?"

"Well, you have a small body too." Ayeka countered.

There was a whoosh, and waves rippled outwards as Washu transformed into her adult size. "Now I don't." She held out her saucer. "Fill me up, Ryoko!" The cyan-haired woman poured a healthy measure of saké with a well-practiced hand.

Ayeka looked at the saké bottle with a sorrowful expression. Ryoko, however, seemed to be more cheerful than she had been in quite some time.

--------

Dinner that evening went without incidents, with Ayeka noticeably improving on both her speech and her abilities with chopsticks. Sasami broached the idea of Tenchi reading the bedtime story, and Tenchi readily agreed. (Not that he stood a chance against two cute blue-haired princesses.)

Some time later, Tenchi found he had an audience of all of the females in the Masaki household. Ayeka and Sasami were on their futons, listening raptly. Mihoshi had wandered in and was sitting to one side. Not to be left out, Ryoko had phased through a wall and was hovering cross-legged in mid-air. Even Washu was leaning in the doorway.

Tenchi turned the page and continued reading. "The local deity said, 'I will tell you of the Flaming Mountain, but you must promise not to be angry.'
'Go on,' Monkey said, 'Why should I be angry?'
'You are the one who made the Flaming Mountain,' said the local deity.
'What nonsense is this?' Monkey demanded. 'Am I the sort of person who starts fires?'
'I see you don't recognize me,' answered the local deity. 'There used to be no mountain here; but five hundred years ago, when you played havoc in Heaven, the gods seized you and put you in the Eight Trigram Furnace. But you kicked it over and a few of the bricks, still burning, fell down and became the Flaming Mountain. I was the one in charge of tending the furnace, and for my failure to protect it the Taoist Patriarch demoted me from Heaven and made me the local deity here.'" Tenchi reached the bottom of the page and paused.

"Hey, that's a lot like what happened with sister Ryoko and big brother Yosho!" Sasami exclaimed. "Monkey's invasion of heaven was like Ryoko's raid on Jurai, and then when Ryoko crashed here on Earth it made the lake, like Monkey made the Flaming Mountain. Then brother Yosho became the guardian of the shrine nearby, like the local god. And of course Monkey was buried under the Mountain of Five Peaks, while sister Ryoko was sealed in the cave."

"That's right!" Mihoshi nodded.

"I am NOT a monkey!" Ryoko said indignantly.

"But you got a tail!" Ayeka pointed out with glee.

"It's artificial," Ryoko shot back, "and it's supposed to be like a cat's tail, not a monkey's tail!"

"Well, I think it makes you look like a monkey." Ayeka said.

"Ayeka!" both Sasami and Tenchi said reproachfully.

"Sorry." Ayeka looked downwards, then thought of something else. "But Ryoko's flying is a lot like Monkey's riding the clouds."

"I think the flying abilities I gave Ryoko are much better than cloud-riding." Washu declared.

"And that would mean Tenchi is like the young monk Sanzo," Sasami pointed out, "because he freed sister Ryoko from the cave, and now she follows him everywhere."

"Stop that!" Ryoko protested. "For the last time, I am not like Monkey!"

"You are too!" sang out Ayeka.

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Well then, you must be like Pigsy!" Ryoko countered.

"Not so!" Ayeka disagreed. "Why would I be like Pigsy?"

"Because you're ugly!" Ryoko said with a wicked grin.

"I AM NOT!" Ayeka yelled, and then burst into tears.

"Ryoko!" shouted everyone else at once.

"Sorry." Ryoko looked downwards.

Washu put her head in her hands. "5,000 years old . . . she makes a mother so proud."

"Personally, I think Pigsy is more like me." Mihoshi said, putting her arm on the shoulder of the sobbing Ayeka. "He likes to eat and sleep a lot, but he's loyal, and fights using an unusual weapon, like me with my control cube."

"That's true," agreed Sasami.

"R--really?" Ayeka managed, her tears lessening.

"And I don't think you look ugly at all." Tenchi said.

"I'm not, Lord Tenchi?" Ayeka stopped crying entirely.

"No, in fact I think you're very pretty," Tenchi began to get nervous, "as a little girl."

"But how about as a grown-up?" Ayeka pressed. "That's what I would be in the story."

Tenchi noticed Ryoko, Mihoshi, and even Washu staring at him intently. "I think all of you are very beautiful," he said carefully, "including Ayeka and Sasami when they grow up."

"That's so sweet!" exclaimed Mihoshi.

"Thank you, brother Tenchi." Sasami said.

"Chicken." Washu and Ryoko muttered.

( To be continued . . .)

Author's note: For what it's worth, this writer's humble opinion is that Mihoshi is mistaken: the "Tenchi Muyo!" character most like Pigsy is Nobuyuki. Ayeka is apparently not based on any of the "Journey to the West" characters, but rather on the Shinto sun goddess Amaterasu. (There is a story of her retreating into a cave, somewhat like Ayeka's hiding in her room after the crash of Ryu-Oh.)