Chapter 9: No Need for Rockets
The new morning started with Ash still asleep with Ryo-Ohki, the 24-hour period almost over. He started to yawn as he started to realize he wasn't able to move. He looked to the chest where Ryo-Ohki slept. That's when he saw the arms and used his eyes to trace them to the origin. His face went flush as Washu was in bed with them. 'Washu!?' he thought. 'How? Why?' A slight move had Washu grab and pull him to her while still sleeping.
"Not now," she cooed. "A little longer…" Ash couldn't move while Ryo-Ohki snuggled between the two. Ash surrendered, allowing Washu to cuddle with him for as long as she wanted. After an hour, Ash and Ryo-Ohki emerged from the lab and to the living room.
"Washu seriously wants me as her son," he admitted. Ryo-Ohki mewed while pawing his cheek. "You too?" A happier mew came from the cabbit.
"It sounds like Ryo-Ohki had a splendid time with you," Ayeka brought up. Ash and Ryo-Ohki turned to the royal sisters with Pikachu on Sasami's shoulder.
"Good morning!" he greeted. "I suppose it's time to return our partners."
"Yup, though I don't think Ayeka wanted to let Pikachu go," Sasami teased. Ash and Ryo-Ohki blinked to Sasami's statement. Ayeka became red in the face.
"He probably wanted to feel what it's like sleeping with both princesses," she shyly guessed.
("You were having a bad dream,") Pikachu corrected.
"Anyway…" urged Sasami. Pikachu hopped off Sasami as Ryo-Ohki hopped off Ash. They crossed, but Ryo-Ohki put a paw on Pikachu. It caused him to stop before Ryo-Ohki kissed his cheek. Pikachu blushed, humoring the others. After breakfast, Ash, Sasami, Pikachu and Ryo-Ohki helped with the garden where they pulled out large carrots. Ryo-Ohki's mouth was on the cusp of watering with Tenchi looking over.
"See, Ryo-Ohki?" he called down. "This is what happens with patience. Now look, some pretty big carrots for about everyone!" Ryo-Ohki gleefully mewed.
"It's still funny how Ryoko teased everyone to believe that Ryo-Ohki was Tenchi's child," Sasami giggled.
"Wait, what?" laughed Ash.
"Oh, Ryoko wanted something weird when Nobuyuki guessed that she was pregnant with Tenchi's baby," she started. "Even though it had only been a few weeks since Ryoko crashed and was Tenchi's first girl he's interacted since moving here." Ash and Pikachu had a laugh.
"Hey, Dad can be gullible into wanting me to be a man," Tenchi proclaimed.
"But it was still funny to see your reaction!" laughed Sasami.
"Don't feel bad, Tenchi," Ash sympathized. "When Togepi was born, I thought I was raising it, but Brock and I fought before Misty won him. I mean, it would've been funny to raise a baby from an egg." Sasami looked to Ash with astonishment.
"Oh wow!" she gasped. "So Pokémon are the same way?"
"Sure!" he replied before blinking. "Wait… Ryo-Ohki came from an egg?" Tenchi came after Ash and Sasami to clarify.
"It's a little more complicated than that," he briefed. "Though, Ryo-Ohki did hatch from one held by Ryoko. It's far, far different than when babies are born." Ash and Pikachu shyly put their hands up to acknowledge their limit.
"Was Togepi the only egg you see hatch?" wondered Sasami.
"It is so far," Ash smiled. "Who knows, maybe down the road will be more of them." Tenchi, Sasami and Ryo-Ohki could only imagine what raising a Pokemon Egg would be like. As they resumed to work, binoculars from afar.
"This is where the twerp and Pikachu are," a woman voiced. "Though, the little twerpette isn't so bad as the redhead one." From behind binoculars were two adults and a whitish cat with a coin embedded in its forehead.
"Jessie, anyone would be better than the redhead twerpette," the man with ice-violet hair muttered. He wore a white uniform with black gloves and boots and a red "R" imprinted on the shirt. The woman had crimson hair while her uniform, mostly similar, had a skirt to the man's pants.
"I don't tink dat's what Jessie's tinkin' about," the cat mewed. "Maybe she tinks of someone easy to get ta Pikachu and give it to us."
"Oh, so we don't dirty our hands in the process?" the ice-violet-haired man guessed.
"That may be an idea, James," Jessie pondered. "Still, there are others around that we may need to watch out for." The three looked out further as Ryoko and Ayeka came together.
"You know, I can't help but imagine the struggles before Ash came by," Ryoko started.
"Oh, what do you mean?" wondered Ayeka.
"Well… Ash and Sasami are definitely a couple. Our talks with them, the way they interact…"
"Of course, and that Pikachu and Ryo-Ohki enjoyed their time during the swap. I even heard of Ryo-Ohki wanting to try Pokémon training. Such a curious cabbit." The thought made Ryoko laugh. "But in all honesty, if we do find a way to bring Ash home… Sasami should go with him." Ryoko blinked to the claim.
"You've already decided?" Then, Ryoko snickered. "Of course, I have no say in this."
"No, but you did aid in that determination."
"I guess so… but if Sasami leaves…"
"Did you forget that Tenchi received some lessons from Sasami?" The reminder made Ryoko gulp. Mihoshi emerged and overheard the conversation.
"Are you two talking about Ash and Sasami?" she asked. Ryoko and Ayeka turned to Mihoshi who seemed interested.
"We were," Ayeka confirmed. "Did something come up?" Mihoshi cupped her chin.
"Well…" she thought. "I just remembered something in accordance to the Juraian Royalty stipulations." Ryoko blinked to Mihoshi's claim.
"There are stipulations?" she repeated.
"You're not of Juraian nobility, Ryoko!" snapped Ayeka. Mihoshi restarted.
"I've been trying to recall at how the next heir of the Juraian Kingdom would need to be married should anything happen to the king and queen," she thought back. "And hearing about how close Ash and Sasami are together…" Ryoko and Ayeka gasped, thinking of the possible unity of Ash and Sasami going to marriage.
'Wait, I remember that stipulations,' Ayeka thought. 'And if it's true… I won't be the next to run Jurai and my sister will!' Ryoko turned to Ayeka, thinking there was a reason of their panic.
"This could be a problem," she lowly muttered. "Wait, they're still very young! It might be too soon to think of them as being husband and wife."
"That's true," Ayeka agreed. "Still, I believe they need time alone at some point." With night falling, Ash and Sasami were in the kitchen with Ash cutting up pork and Sasami working on broth.
"I didn't know that curry originated outside of here," Ash awed.
"When I first made curry after arriving," Sasami started. "I heard Nobuyuki joke in thinking I had traveled to Mumbai in India to get the recipe for it. Heck, there are a lot of stuff I still want to learn to cook." Ash giggled to the wish.
"Hearing that, it makes me wish for more to eat," he replied. Sasami laughed. "How's the rice?" Sasami opened a rice cooker and took a sniff.
"Not yet," she determined. She saw the cutlets and the carrots nearby. "They look good. Nice job."
"Thanks," he replied before reaching for a cloth as Sasami reached the carrot. When Ash grabbed, it wasn't the cloth to clean the knife. It was Sasami's hand. They froze before turning to each other, much closer than when they first met. Their eyes seeing much clearer and glistening.
'Those milk chocolate eyes,' Sasami minded. 'They look so sinful to look at, but there's so much about him that… that I can't turn away.'
'Eyes as pink as cotton candy,' Ash hushed in his mind. 'This is more than I bargained for, but I don't think I mind at all.' Suddenly…
"How long until we eat?" sounded Nobuyuki. Ash and Sasami snapped alert. Their blushing faces turned to the father, seemingly baffled to the reaction. "Did I… interrupt something?" Ash and Sasami frantically shook heads. Watching from the doorway, Pikachu and Ryo-Ohki begged to differ.
("He interrupted them,") the Mouse Pokémon squeaked. The trio outside were still watching from the trees.
"So, what we can do is wait until they fall asleep before we enter to take Pikachu," Jessie plotted. "Maybe that little fluffball with the ears as well."
"Jessie, don't be so greedy," the cat snarled. "I know it seems ripe for da takin', but we have Pikachu ta give to da boss." Little did the three know, Ryoko appeared behind them.
"That being said," James voiced. "We need to make sure we can escape."
"I know, James," Jessie assured. "This is why I have a plan to return back home and to Team Rocket headquarters." James and the cat seemed sure of the plan to succeed.
"I'm sure dis plan will work!" the cat cackled.
"You said it, Meowth!" agreed James.
"They won't know what hit them!" laughed Ryoko.
"Dat's for sure!" agreed Meowth. Soon enough, they stopped laughing to the new voice.
"That wasn't me," Jessie muttered. They turned to find Ryoko floating above with a ball of energy in her hand.
"Hi!" she sneered. The three yelped at Ryoko and what she could do. At the front door, Ash and Tenchi stepped out.
"Nobuyuki wanted to go into town for something?" asked Ash.
"He apparently has a client that wants to discuss a bit of refurbishing to their business to make it more economically accommodating," Tenchi briefed. "I also have a few friends over at a café where I meet up with them."
"And I bet they know the chaos you go through with the girls."
"No, I try to keep that private. I already have enough on hand without any additional distractions." That's when a blast alerted the boys. "What was that!?" The sisters and creatures came out to observe Ryoko bringing in the trio burnt.
"Team Rocket!?" gasped Ash. "You're here too!?" Meowth groaned in pain.
"I don't tink ya'd believe Meowth if we said da breeding twoip was looking fer youse two," he winced.
"Even then, it wouldn't make sense if it did happen like that," James whimpered. Washu, Mihoshi and Kiyone also arrived to see the ruckus.
"What's going on?" wondered Mihoshi. Ryoko returned to the group.
"I caught these two snooping the area," she briefed. "Going on about taking Pikachu and crap like that." The news made the group blink.
"Now, why on Earth would these two want Pikachu?" pondered Ayeka. Jessie pushed herself up through the pain.
"That's for us to know and you to butt out of it!" she stammered. Kiyone irked to the refusal.
"Alright then…" she sighed before turning to Ash. "Now, why on Earth would these two want Pikachu?" The repeat of Ayeka's question made Ash sigh.
"It's actually these three," he corrected. "Meowth is a part of it, even though he's a Pokémon."
"And a Pokémon that can talk human," Mihoshi understood. "But, wasn't the way back for Ash and Pikachu blocked off?"
"It was, but we actually blocked it again by accident," James groaned. "We used our latest mech to burrow through the mountain's pass before it took too much damage. We bailed before it blew up!" Jessie growled to James's reveal of their plan.
"So, help me understand what they want with Pikachu," Kiyone requested.
"Team Rocket goes around to take rare and valuable Pokémon from everywhere they look," Ash summarized. "It doesn't matter if the Pokémon is owned or not, they'll take it." The girls seemed surprised with the trio's plans.
"They what!?" snapped Ryoko.
"Take Pikachu from us?" gulped Ayeka.
"Forever?" whimpered Sasami.
"Oh, quit your blabbering!" growled Jessie. "It doesn't concern any of you!" That was the last straw as the girls shot glowing red eye glares at Team Rocket. Jessie scoffed to the glares. "Oh, did I hit a nerve? Maybe grow up and show how mature you are."
"We don't need to since you confessed to the police!" mulled Mihoshi as she brought out a gun and pointed to the trio.
"Galaxy Police, at your service," Kiyone said. Jessie remained undeterred.
"Big deal, you don't have a prison that can hold me!" she bragged. "Besides, that twerpette should be arrested for attacking Pokémon Trainers!" She referred to Ryoko.
"Jessie, the laws about Pokémon Trainers doesn't apply here," Ash corrected. "And this is a family you wanted to attack. You know how family look out for each other." Mihoshi and Kiyone fired blasts of electric charges that struck Team Rocket, stunning them.
"Not as bad as Pikachu's Thunderbolt," Meowth stuttered. Sasami stood up.
"Let's go, Ryo-Ohki!" she ordered. Ryo-Ohki snarled before jumping and transforming. This time, it was a large pink rabbit mech. When the chest opened, Sasami entered. When it closed, lights illuminated inside. With the controls, Ryo-Ohki was under Sasami's command. She picked Jessie and James. They struggled before Ryo-Ohki tossed them upward.
"Azaka!" called out Ayeka. "Kamidake!" Azaka and Kamidake flew up above Jessie and James before falling and pinning them. Tenchi picked Meowth by the scruff.
"You three are a disgrace, taking a pet away from a child," he mulled.
"It's our job!" snapped Meowth as he tried to scratch his freedom, but to no avail.
"While I'm surprised that this cat has someone's tongue," Washu joked. "I have a place where they can all go… and we don't have to worry about them again!" She brought out a large projection-like device and then flashed Team Rocket. They screamed before vanishing. When it was done, Team Rocket was gone.
"What did you do?" wondered Kiyone.
"They're transported to a different dimension where I will let Mihoshi finish the job," Washu offered. Mihoshi aimed at the projection-like device before shooting. The device was destroyed when struck.
"Why did you want me to destroy your invention?" she wondered after the fact.
"Easy," Washu smiled. "With the device in hand, I can transport them back here if I wanted, but without… they're stuck there for all eternity." Ash and Pikachu smiled, knowing that Team Rocket wouldn't bother them again.
"Well, after that experience," Ayeka sighed. "We could all use some shut eye."
"Agreed," Tenchi sided. Ash and Pikachu agreed as well, but Ryoko picked Pikachu from Ash's shoulder.
"It might not be tonight, but I want to cuddle with you on one of these," she wished. Knowing that Ryoko helped save him, Pikachu squeaked to accept. "I knew you'd like it!" Ash and Pikachu knew that Team Rocket won't be an issue. He only wished Misty and Brock followed to reunite as he and the rest reentered the household.
TO BE CONTINUED...