Chapter 10: No Need for City Life
Ash slept soundly in the VR room after Tenchi's girls removed Team Rocket from his life. Pikachu slept with Ryoko after she requested for it. Sasami came to Ash's room with Ryo-Ohki and looked to the bed. Seeing the smile on Ash's face made Sasami come closer to him. 'Maybe…' she thought. 'Maybe Tsunami would also like Ash. He's helping with us so much…' As she leaned in, Ash started to wake up. Sasami giggled to seeing Ash's face. "Good morning, Ash! Did you sleep well?" Ash giggled to the warm welcome.
"I got to try that once," he teased.
"As long as I'm not naked." That made Ryo-Ohki laugh. "I did want to come by and ask if I could watch over Pikachu again while you're in the city with Tenchi and his father."
"Of course. Ryoko will make sure he's good with her as well."
"Right… but I still worry about Ryoko handling Pikachu and what she could do to Ayeka." The three of them laughed as they reached the kitchen. After breakfast, Nobuyuki was in the car with Ash and Tenchi.
"Hopefully, we see the house standing when we come back," Nobuyuki wished.
"Relax, pops," Ryoko scoffed.
"You take care, Ash!" wished Sasami.
"Don't worry," Ash assured. Pikachu waived to the men before they left. Ash turned to Tenchi about something.
"Tenchi, has it been hard being without a mom?" he asked.
"It has," Tenchi replied. "Trust me, it still hurts about my mother's death. I was only five when it happened." Ash gulped, wishing he didn't bring it up.
"I know the girls were talking about your mother before, Ash," Nobuyuki returned. "Have you felt jealous about families that have both parents?"
"I might have," Ash replied. "But if I did, Mom would tell me that not everyone has both a mom and dad, and some might not even have either."
"Sounds like your mother taught you what kindness was," Tenchi believed. In the city, the car stopped by a café where Tenchi and Ash stepped out. They entered where a large raven-haired young man in glasses greeted them.
"Tenchi!" he greeted. Tenchi smiled to the greeting.
"Amagasaki!" welcomed Tenchi. He saw a few more teenagers.
"Hey, who did you bring with?" a dark brunette girl asked.
"This is Ash," Tenchi introduced. "I thought I'd help show him around while my dad takes care of a few deals that called our house."
"Oh, so the rumors about you having a few girls at your home is false?" a slimmer raven-haired young man in glasses questioned. Tenchi laughed a little, feigning to answer.
"That's a little private, Kamikura," he deflected.
"Hey, better that you have a nice boy rather than a horde of older women," a carmine-haired teen girl joked. "Anyway, Tenchi… Could you help us with this?"
"With what, Asuna?" wondered Tenchi. As the new arrivals got drinks, Pikachu and Ryo-Ohki played around the kitchen while avoiding Sasami who seemed to be preparing a snack for the pair. Ayeka came into the room.
"Sasami?" she called. Everyone turned to the elder princess.
"Ayeka…" she hushed. Ayeka noticed the shakiness Sasami displayed from her hands.
"Did Ash do something to you?" Looking to her hand, Sasami wondered what to say.
"Yesterday before Team Rocket tried to attack us, Ash held my hand… and it felt… soft." The others pondered to her briefing. "I wonder… Could I show Tsunami to Ash?" Ayeka's eyes widened.
"The… Juraian Goddess? Whatever do you mean?" Turning her head, Sasami no longer faced her sister.
"After we held hands, I wonder if it's love and if Tsunami could accept him as well." Pikachu's curiosity began to grow.
("Who is Tsunami?") he asked. Hearing Pikachu, the sisters turned to the Mouse Pokémon.
"Are you asking about Tsunami?" guessed Ayeka. Pikachu nodded. "Tsunami is a goddess of Jurai, and believed to have created the universe." Pikachu gasped to the information.
("And she's real!?") he squeaked. Ryo-Ohki seemed confused. Sasami continued to wonder about it. Ash and Tenchi started to leave as Tenchi's classmates joined.
"It's a pleasure to see you and to disprove the rumor about Tenchi," Amagasaki greeted.
"I wasn't trying, but sure," Ash accepted as they shook hands. Asuna came to Ash and kissed him by the eye.
"And thanks for the pointers, Tenchi," Kamikura praised.
"Me too," Tenchi replied. They parted and Ash and Tenchi started heading to a fixed direction. "Luckily, Dad's office is a ten-minute walk from here."
"Maybe I'll see some of his work," Ash pictured.
"Of course." As they walked, Ash had a feeling about another topic.
"Say, this is not going to sound like me… but I think I'm developing feelings for Sasami." The admission irked Tenchi.
"Oh? Could you explain?"
"Yeah, and I think it started after I caught Ryo-Ohki after Pikachu and I got lost. As soon as we saw eye-to-eye, I… wasn't sure about it until last night when I accidentally grabbed her hand."
"I heard about it from Kiyone. Were you reaching for something?"
"A towel to clean the knife I used." Suddenly, a scream from a nearby shop.
"STOP!" someone yelled. "THIEF!" Ash and Tenchi stopped and turned, finding a man in a jacket carrying various jewelry in his arms. He came Ash and Tenchi's way.
"Makes me glad I switched belts for this," Ash grinned as he and Tenchi started to clear the way for the thief to cross before Ash flung his unfastened belt. It caught a leg and tripped the thief to the ground. Tenchi pounced, pinning the thief to the ground and grabbing the belt. He tied the thief before a car arrived with men in blue uniforms.
"Stand back!" one of them ordered. Tenchi stood up and the uniformed man took the belt off and replaced it with handcuffs.
"Him again," the other uniformed man grumbled. "You never learn, huh?"
"Shut up!" snarled the thief. Tenchi and Ash gathered the loot before giving it back to a young man in a business suit.
"Thanks!" he praised. "I thought I had all the security devices necessary."
"Don't worry," Tenchi assured. "We're just in the right place in the right time." The uniformed men photographed the stolen jewelry. After the reports were filed, the jeweler came to the pair.
"Thanks again," he praised. "That was about 385,000¥ of my accessories."
"Yeah, I can't imagine that being lost and pawned elsewhere," Tenchi believed.
"Tell me about it," the jeweler sighed. "As a reward, I can gift you one of the items I have." Ash wove his hands in front of him.
"That's alright," he denied. "Neither of us have the money for it."
"Oh, don't worry," the jeweler giggled. "You're not going to pay. He will." Ash and Tenchi laughed to the rebuttal. Tenchi thought of something and leaned into Ash's ear, whispering the idea. Ash blinked, unsure of how to proceed. After the stop for the gift, Ash and Tenchi reached an office building. Nobuyuki was on the phone.
"That's brilliant!" he cheered. "I'm glad you made your choice through some of the designs I have." There was a pause. "Of course. Well, I'll be in touch with the builders and we'll have the payments adjusted." Another pause… "Alright, it's not a problem. Thanks for telling me and I'll relay. Okay, bye!" He hung the phone up as Ash and Tenchi entered with a box in Ash's hand. "Hey boys! Landed a new project around Yokohama!"
"That's great, Dad!" awed Tenchi as Ash studied pictures of buildings.
"Are all of these yours?" he asked.
"You've noticed!" replied Nobuyuki. "Some of them were early projects to get off the ground with business. I've also helped in repairing some of the stadiums."
"You lucky Houndour!" chuckled Ash. "Stadiums? If there's a way back, I'd like to have Mr. Goodshow contact you about some ideas." Nobuyuki laughed, sensing more work ahead.
"Goodshow, huh?" he repeated. "Anyway, Sasami wondered about some Donburi tonight. Let's hit the grocery store before we head back."
"Sure thing," Tenchi agreed. The three left as Nobuyuki locked the office door. After a stop at the grocery store, they returned to the household while Nobuyuki learned about the stoppage of a jewel thief.
"And he offered you a gift?" he guessed.
"Well, he said the thief is paying for it," Ash corrected as they exited the car.
"And my classmates don't mind that Ash is with us without knowing of the rest of the family," Tenchi assured.
"Yeah, we have way too much drama as it is," Nobuyuki sighed as Sasami, Pikachu and Ryo-Ohki came to see the man and boys.
"Welcome back!" she greeted. Pikachu leaped onto Ash's shoulder.
"I see that you behaved," Ash smiled.
("Why wouldn't I?") squeaked Pikachu. Sasami and Kiyone help bring in the groceries as Ash hid a package in the VR room. He returned back upstairs and helped Sasami and Tenchi with the Donburi. After that, Ash and Pikachu took a dip in the bath. ("You stopped a thief? Without my help?")
"It's funny that I used a 'normal' belt instead of my Trainer's belt," Ash admitted. "But the jeweler gave me something on the thief's dime."
("I can see that working.") Suddenly, the faucet to the tub they relaxed in ran, filling the bath over the rim. Ash and Pikachu began to freak. ("Turn it off!") Ash twisted the knob, but it wasn't shutting the water off.
"I can't!" Quickly, the room filled with water. Ash and Pikachu held whatever breath they could gather before they wondered where to go. There was a light above. The two swam up and surfaced before gasping for air. As soon as they recovered from nearly drowning, Mihoshi pounced on Pikachu, only wearing a towel around her shoulders.
"You came!" she cheered. They submerged for a second before resurfacing. Mihoshi nuzzled Pikachu's cheeks. "The experiment Washu reconstructed brought you and Ash to the spa!"
("This is a spa?") gasped Pikachu.
"Ash!" called over Washu. "Pikachu! Join us!" Ash and Pikachu turned to see the other girls, all wearing pink towels around their shoulders. Ash became red in embarrassment.
"Oh boy…" he gulped. Mihoshi held Ash's hand while holding Pikachu in her other arm.
"Don't be shy!" she teased. Reaching, Kiyone guided Ash over between her and Washu.
"Never been in a hot tub with girls before?" teased Ryoko.
"Not this many," Ash admitted as Pikachu swam to Kiyone.
"It's funny," Ayeka started. "We've all been enjoying your company after your misplacement." Ash and Pikachu became curious.
"You didn't know about Jurai," Sasami recalled. "We didn't know about your world…"
"It's not that we're all aliens, right?" assumed Ash.
"Well, we are and we're not in a way," Ryoko shrugged. "It's just… We all want to get you and your buds back home in any way possible." Kiyone nodded.
"Again, rare that the space pirate and Galaxy Police officer agree on something," she muttered.
"I do find it surprising that I've learned a lot while here," Ash admitted. "Some with Mihoshi." The tanned blond giggled.
"We still want to give you a chance to see space and what we do," she offered. Ryoko sneaked to be behind Ash and hugged him. Startled, Ash flailed a little.
"Hey, calm down," Ryoko eased. "Besides, I heard from Tenchi how you saved the day. It makes me want to ask if all Pokémon Trainers are crime fighters." Ash shyly giggled.
"There are a few," he confirmed somewhat. "But I only do it because it feels like the right thing to do."
"Okay, fair…" sighed Ryoko. "So, this little patch of dirt on your back is from that?"
"Oh, I didn't know," Ash gawked.
"Glad I found it," Ryoko grinned before grabbing Ayeka and shoving her onto Ash before they fell into the water. They stayed under and stared to each other for a few seconds before rising, grabbing Ryoko by the feet and lifting her.
"How rude of you!" they snapped as they threw Ryoko into the water. Ash took a deep breath while Ryoko gawked in surprise. Ash felt his nose, worrying Sasami.
"Are you okay?" she asked as she swam to Ash.
"Yeah, I'm holding it together-" he replied while turning. He saw Sasami with her towel over her body. Ash swallowed hard. "And that's pretty hard." Seeing pinking cheeks, Kiyone and Washu giggled.
"I bet he's never been that close to a girl only wearing a towel!" snickered Washu. "And that's after we bathed." Ash sighed a fluster. Sasami palmed Ash's head.
"Maybe it's best to stay calm," she suggested. Ash nodded, knowing that there's nothing he could do to get over seeing near-naked girls… and one he's started to have feelings for.
TO BE CONTINUED...