Chapter 2: Sasami's Family Secrets


After being separated from Misty, Brock, Peitra and Togepi, Ash and Pikachu came across Sasami and Ryo-Ohki where the trainer and the little sister seemed to be admiring each other. Rather than going back to find his friends, Ash was taken by Sasami back to her home. Ash's and Sasami's cheeks were red. 'I wonder if this is a fairy tale with this handsome boy who came to me,' Sasami thought, Ryo-Ohki walking by her. Sasami walked Ash up the staircase hand-in-hand.

'Okay, my glove's on my hand she's holding,' he thought. 'But I can still feel how soft her hand is.' Pikachu and Ryo-Ohki looked to the hand-holding curiously. Seeing Ryo-Ohki, Ash wondered about her. "I do apologize about believing you were a Pokémon." Ryo-Ohki mewed in accepting the apology. "I do wonder what you really are." Pikachu was also interested.

"Ryo-Ohki's a cabbit," Sasami replied. Ash and Pikachu blinked to Ryo-Ohki's species.

("Cabbit?") repeated Pikachu. Ryo-Ohki mewed happily to the reaction.

"She's got the face and sound of a cat, but the rest of the body is of a rabbit," Sasami clarified. "And she loves carrots." Ash laughed to Ryo-Ohki's description.

"You're a unique creature, Ryo-Ohki," he awed. Ryo-Ohki mewed happily some more. They came across two giant wooden cylinders with a light each by the top. One had a blue symbol while the other had red.

"The entrance is up ahead," Sasami mentioned. Ash saw the two cylinders with the markings.

"You got some pretty neat looking logs," he pointed out. "Are they decorations?" Sasami giggled to the question.

"Not exactly…" she denied. Ash and Pikachu blinked to the denial when the logs turned to them.

"Welcome home. Princess Sasami!" they greeted. Ash and Pikachu jumped, surprised to hear from the logs.

"What the heck!?" gasped Ash.

("They can talk!?") squeaked Pikachu.

"Thank you, Azaka," Sasami addressed the log with the blue marking before turning to the red. "You too, Kamidake. Are you two doing okay?"

"We are, Princess," Azaka briefed. "And I see that you've found Ryo-Ohki." The cabbit mewed in greeting as Kamidake noticed Ash and Pikachu with their mouths agape.

"Princess, who is this young man standing by you with the mouth hung open?" he addressed. "And what in the world is that strange yellow creature?" Sasami turned to the faces Ash and Pikachu with the shocked faces.

"Oh, these are my new friends," she giggled. "Ash Ketchum and his Pikachu. They're going to be here for a while." Azaka and Kamidake seemed to be interested.

"Ah, guests are they?" pondered Kamidake.

"Well… in that case…" spoke Azaka.

"Welcome Ash Ketchum and Pikachu!" they greeted together. "We hope you enjoy your stay here in the home of the Masaki Family." Ash and Pikachu seemed humored by the logs greeting them.

"Uh… thanks," Ash sighed before turning to the girl. "Sasami, not that I don't appreciate the welcome… but who, or what, are those things? And what's with them calling you 'Princess'?" Sasami shyly turned her head, somewhat embarrassed.

("Are you really a princess?") questioned Pikachu. Azaka and Kamidake seemed curious to Sasami's behavior.

"Princess, does he mean to say that you never told him about yourself?" irked Azaka. Sasami giggled once more, feeling apologetic to hiding details from Ash and Pikachu.

"I mean…" she shrugged. "I'm not the only princess living here." Ash and Pikachu rose eyebrows curiously.

"Two princesses?" believed Ash.

"Yes, and Sasami is the younger of the two," Kamidake confirmed. "We are guardians of her and Princess Ayeka." Ash and Pikachu blinked more to Azaka and Kamidake's titles.

"Guardians, huh?" repeated Ash. "And Princess Ayeka?"

"She is Princess Sasami's older sister," Azaka answered. Hearing the name, Pikachu became highly interested.

("Let's go see!") he squeaked. He leaped off Ash and headed up the stairs some more. Ryo-Ohki followed, worried about her new friend. Seeing the two, Ash and Sasami recalled what the latter invited the former for.

"I do need to get dinner started," she recalled. "Come on!" She led Ash up but he turned to Azaka and Kamidake.

"Hey, it's nice meeting you!" he praised.

"You too, Ash!" replied Azaka and Kamidake. Back at the house, Ayeka looked to the pathway she swept with a broom. It had been a while since Sasami chased after Ryo-Ohki. Ryoko emerged out of thin air.

"I hope Sasami is okay," she wished.

"And you're supposed to be the big sister," Ryoko taunted. Ayeka jumped at Ryoko's appearance before steaming.

"Back off, Ryoko!" She swung the broom, but Ryoko floated clear.

"Why should I? From all you know, Tenchi came back early."

"If he did, wouldn't his father be with him?" This made Ryoko realize the occurrence.

"Oh, Nobuyuki dragged him along? I wasn't aware." Her curiosity made Ayeka question.

"Where were you this morning?" The question made Ryoko scoff.

"That's my business and not yours." Frustrated, Ayeka swiped at Ryoko again. Ryoko was out of reach when she spotted Sasami's hair. She came back down. "She's coming…" Ayeka believed it was the two who vanished while during laundry.

"Sasami!?" They had no idea of who Sasami and Ryo-Ohki came with.

"There hasn't been one dish that you hated?" asked Sasami as she and Ash arrived at the top.

"Not from my mom or from Brock," Ash replied. Seeing who Sasami was with, Ayeka and Ryoko blinked to the sight.

"Either Washu found a way to reverse Tenchi's age, or that's not Tenchi at all," Ryoko pondered. Pikachu heard Ryoko spotted the two.

("Company!") he alerted. Ash stopped by Pikachu's voice, but Sasami continued with Ryo-Ohki.

"I'm back, Ayeka," she greeted.

"What took you so long?" wondered Ayeka. "I thought you'd be back in a matter of minutes." Sasami itched her head with a shy giggle.

"Let's just say I was meeting new friends," she summarized. Ryo-Ohki mewed as Ryoko flew to Ash and Pikachu.

"I was gonna say that he looks too young to be Tenchi," she observed. Ash sighed a laugh.

"Sasami told me about Tenchi," he briefed. "And I'm kind of interested to see him." Ayeka came to Ash and Pikachu, the latter catching her interest.

"What in the world is this creature?" she awed. Pikachu looked to Ayeka curiously.

("You mean me?") he squeaked. Ayeka plucked Pikachu from Ash's shoulder. ("I guess so…") Ryoko also looked at Pikachu with intrigue.

"This one can give Ryo-Ohki some competition," she teased. Pikachu giggled to the idea.

"I was saying the same thing when I saw Pikachu for the first time," Sasami admitted. Ayeka awed the name.

"So, your name is Pikachu?" she realized. Pikachu squeaked to confirm. Ayeka softly hugged Pikachu to get a feel of the Pokémon. "You're so warm…" Ryoko believed Ayeka found someone new to love.

"It's quite the looker," she giggled. She turned to Ash and petted his hair sticking out of his cap. "Now, this boy with Sasami…" Ash turned to Ryoko, causing her to stop.

"What about me?" he wondered. Ayeka also faced Ash.

"This is yours, right?" she asked.

"Yeah…" confirmed Ash. "I'm Ash Ketchum. Pikachu's my Pokémon and best friend."

"Are you sure?" joked Ryoko. "I think Ayeka might have taken your friend away." Pikachu cooed to being held by Ayeka.

"Now now, Ryoko," she smiled. "What makes you think you won't want to hold him to find out?" Ryoko had little to make a comeback.

"I'm… tempted…" she shuttered. Getting an idea on names, Ash felt informed.

"So, you're Sasami's sister?" he figured to Ayeka.

"I am," she replied. "I am Princess Ayeka Masaki Jurai." Ryoko crossed her arms.

"And I'm Ryoko Hakubi," she named herself. "We have no relation except who we're after." After hearing the names, Ash seemed clued in.

"For a minute, I thought Ryoko was Sasami's sister," he admitted. The women laughed to the mistake as Pikachu's ears caught something. Coming down was the spacecraft Kiyone and Mihoshi left in.

("What's that!?") he shouted. Everyone turned but Ash gasped to the sight.

"Is that… a Spaceship!?" he yelped as the ship touched down.

"They're back from their patrol," Ryoko murmured. Mihoshi and Kiyone emerged from the ship.

"Man…" complained Kiyone. "Chief had another pair come by halfway of our patrol, even though we still had to cover the few sectors Galaxy Police assigned us for."

"At least it wasn't my fault," Mihoshi sighed. "At least from what other staff said." Kiyone knew Mihoshi was going through some stress.

"Not this time," she assured before turning to the group and noticing Pikachu in Ayeka's arms. "What in the world?" They approached Ash and the girls.

"Aren't you usually gone for around 30-some hours policing space?" nagged Ryoko.

"Yeah, keep talking," Kiyone barked. "By the way, what's that?" Pikachu turned to Mihoshi and Kiyone in curiosity. Mihoshi became elated at Pikachu's cuteness. She snatched Pikachu from Ayeka and hugged him tightly.

"It's so cute!" she squealed. "Oh, I want him forever and ever…" Pikachu couldn't breathe as his body was crushed by Mihoshi's tight hug.

"Pikachu doesn't like you doing-" warned Ash before Pikachu let out a blast of electricy, shocking Mihoshi. She screamed at the pain before Pikachu stopped. Mihoshi was charred.

"Well… that… was… stunning…" she stuttered before collapsing to the ground.

"What did it do?" wondered Ryoko.

"Pikachu's an Electric Pokémon," Ash replied. "He's learned moves like Quick Attack, Agility and Thunderbolt." The women awed Pikachu's electrical output as Kiyone picked Pikachu back up but petted him over hugging.

"A defense mechanism…" she realized. Ayeka chose to speak up about the two.

"Ash, Mihoshi and Kiyone are Galaxy Police Officers who go around space to arrest troublemakers," she presented. "The one Pikachu shocked is Mihoshi Kuramitsu. The one holding Pikachu is Kiyone Makibi." Kiyone heard the names and smiled.

"Ash, huh?" she repeated. "I can see what the hubbub is all about." Pikachu relaxed from Kiyone's petting. As the girls were knowing about Ash, a door formed from a wall . It opened and a young woman with a massive amount of pink hair emerged. She wore a black t-shirt over white sleeves, green shorts and mustard yellow leggings.

"Whew, after 20 experiments in a row, I could use a break," she huffed. She turned to the kitchen. "Let's see what Sasami's making…" She entered the empty kitchen. She looked befuddled. "It's not like her not to make anything…" She found the girls outside, raising her curiosity. "They don't normally gather outside without a reason." She stepped outside where she saw the reason for the gathering.

"You're all from a different planet?" gasped Ash.

"It does explain our royalty a bit better," Sasami added.

("Amazing…") awed Pikachu. The pink-haired saw Ash and became elated.

"YOU'RE ADORABLE!" she yelped as she tackled Ash to the ground. Ash felt the grip of the pink-haired holding him like a vice. "Oh, how I wish you were someone I call a son!" She pelted Ash with kisses all over his face.

"ACK!" he yelped. Ryoko and Kiyone reached and pulled the pink-haired woman off.

"INAPPROPRIATE, WASHU!" they snapped.

"Hey, let me go!" the pink-haired whined. Ayeka and Sasami helped Ash get up from the pink-haired woman's tackle and kissing.

"What was that!?" he winced. Sasami brushed off any dirt.

"That was Washu Habuki," she mentioned. "She's a scientist from Jurai as well." Washu settled, though Ryoko and Kiyone were cautious.

"Are you calm?" wondered Ryoko.

"Yeah…" whined Washu. "I was getting hungry, so I checked the kitchen and noticed Sasami wasn't there." Sasami gasped, nearly forgetting dinner.

"Oh no!" she realized before running inside. Ash and the women could only shrug.

"Anyway, sorry about that," Washu apologized. "I guess I got carried seeing you and thinking that you might be someone I'd take care of as a mother." Ash's cheeks bled red to the wish.

"I-I see…" he stuttered.

"After all, you can learn a lot from a super genius like me," Washu bragged. A tiny robot that looked like Washu popped up on her right shoulder.

"YOU ARE WASHU," it cheered. "YOU ARE A GENIUS!" Another tiny robot that looked like Washu popped up on her left shoulder.

"YOU ARE WASHU," it cheered. "YOU ARE THE BEST!"

"WASHU!" they cheered while Washu cackled. Nervous sweat dripped from Ash's head.

"And I thought all of my Pokémon were prideful," he admitted. Ryoko wondered what Ash meant.

"All of your what?" she pondered. Ash straightened out before reaching for his belt.

"These!" he announced. He tossed up five red/white balls with one having cyan on it. "Come on out!" The balls opened as lights came from the orbs. They formed into different creatures. One was a yellow owl with black triangle feathers on the breast, red wings and a large eyebrows over the eyes. One was a blue mouse-like creature with a long nose and red spots on its back with a cream color front. One was a small blue crocodile with red scales over its back while happily dancing. One was a blue creature with a large green bulb plant on its back. The last was a yellowish-green dinosaur with a leaf portruding from the head and tiny bulbs around the neck. The women were awed but mystified to them.

"What the heck are they?" wondered Mihoshi. The dinosaur came to and nuzzled Ash's face.

"Bayleef, I know what you want," Ash laughed. That's when the engine was heard. The women turned to find Nobuyuki and Tenchi arriving. Nobuyuki gawked to the sight of all of the creatures that arrived.

"What the heck is going on!?" he yelped. He and Tenchi brought bags to the house, though two of them came after Tenchi.

"TENCHI!" cheered Ryoko and Ayeka. They hugged Tenchi wildly and grabbed a bag each.

"Did you do some extra shopping?" asked Ryoko.

"We did," Tenchi confirmed. "Sasami called Dad and said that she couldn't find any curry powder or chicken, so I helped Dad get that for him." Seeing Tenchi and the bags, Sasami, wearing an apron with a carrot as a decoration, came out.

"Thanks, Tenchi!" she praised before she spotted Ash's creatures. "Who brought a zoo here!?" Ash giggled, thinking he needed to clear everyone up.

"They're actually my Pokémon, Sasami," he confessed. "Pikachu's not the only one." Bayleef chirped to Ash's reply. Tenchi and Nobuyuki came to Ash about the Pokémon.

"I gotta say, Ryo-Ohki doesn't have to feel alone about being the only critter," he awed. Ayeka chose to introduce the father and son.

"Ash, this is Tenchi Masaki," she briefed. "And his father, Nobuyuki,"

"I see," Ash smiled. "Nice to meet you." Nobuyuki grabbed Ash's reaching hand to shake.

"At least it's a boy and not another girl like the six around here, huh Tenchi?" he pointed out.

"Not that I mind, actually," Tenchi shrugged before shaking Ash's hand.

"Sasami invited Ash over since she offered him," Ayeka informed.

"Not that we don't get it," Tenchi irked. "But that doesn't explain everything else." Then, Sasami giggled to the crocodile's dancing.

"Aren't you energetic!?" she laughed. Ash sighed to the crocodile's new fan.

"Totodile's always happy as he can be," he named. Ryo-Ohki boarded Bayleef who looked to her curiously. Ryo-Ohki mewed to greet Bayleef. Thinking it was a welcoming gesture, Bayleef chirped a greeting.

"So, who are they?" wondered Washu as the owl flew to her arm. "Hey, someone else thinks I'm wise."

"Noctowl has his own smarts," Ash giggled. "Anyway, Ryo-Ohki's chatting with Bayleef…" Next was the blue creature with the bulb. "That's Bulbasaur…" Next was the blue mouse-like creature. "That's Cyndaquil…" Totodile came to Ash who picked him up. "And here's Totodile…" Washu petted Totodile as Sasami returned to the kitchen. After meeting with the Pokémon, everyone else came inside where Nobuyuki gave Ash and Pikachu a tour. Ash came to the kitchen and saw Sasami mixing the curry broth with a smile. His mind and heart began to race.

'Look at her,' he minded. 'She's cooking with such a smile on her face. I thought Mom would be the only one but… There is so much I wanna learn from her that I don't wanna leave so soon.' He watched in awe as she mixed chicken and stock while Katsuhito emerged from behind.

"So, you're the new boy who came by," he spoke. Ash jumped and turned as did Sasami.

"Did you come for dinner, Grandpa?" she asked.

"Of course, Sasami," Katsuhito acknowledged. "I also heard some interesting noises so I wanted to come over…" He lifted Cyndaquil to show Ash and Sasami. "Luckily, Tenchi was able to relay the occurrence as well as Ayeka."

"Yeah, believe me," Ash sighed. "It wasn't my intention to come here." Katsuhito placed a hand on Ash's shoulder, a sign of comfort.

"Not everyone has their path set in stone, young one," he consoled. "Perhaps, there may be a reason you are here. It's best to think away from it." Ash nodded to Katsuhito's wisdom. Everyone sat down and ate, including the Pokémon. Ryo-Ohki wasn't one who wanted to eat a dish of curry with chicken, beef stock, grated apple, onion and rice. Ash took one bite of it and froze. The taste of the curry, chicken and rice made his eyes water,

'What is this… flavor that's making me tremble?' he minded. The Pokémon also tried the curry. Sasami watched as the Pokémon began to fly, tasting heaven from the curry and cheering.

'The Pokémon like it, even Bayleef!' she smiled. Suddenly…

"I've tasted some curry, but this is the best one!" cheered Ash. "It even beats Brock's cooking!" Sasami came to Ash. Bayleef became worried.

"Is this true?" she wanted to believe.

"Are you kidding?" laughed Ash. "There's nothing about this that can't work. You have an awesome talent with cooking and this shows!" Sasami began to beam highly of Ash's compliment.

'He loves my food!' she realized. 'Maybe… Just maybe… He is the one for me! I don't care if they fight for Tenchi. Ash is the one!' Ryoko came to Ash with a cup of a clear liquid.

"You know, curry goes down easily with this," she offered. Ash looked to the drink.

"What's this?" he asked.

"Look, don't get scared from a drink," she urged. "Besides, it's not gonna kill ya."

"Maybe, Ryoko…" mulled Washu. "You think you can give Ash Sake and not think he's too young for it?" Ryoko slinked her head to the side.

"I thought he would be…" she tried to play innocent. Washu offered milk to Ash.

"Besides, this is what he needs," she offered. Ash took a drink of the milk and sighed in relief.

"At least I know who's the life of the party," he teased.

"Maybe, Ash," Ryoko played along, rubbing his head. "But you're the real life of it." They had a laugh, knowing that they'd get along. Night fell and Nobuyuki offered the couch in the living room to Ash and Pikachu.

"I'm amazed that you've adapted to the girls as fast as my son," he awed. "I guess you have plenty of girls like that back home with the same thing." Ash scoffed, missing one girl in mind.

"Except Sasami who might be all that I didn't know I felt until today," he muttered. Nobuyuki smiled, thinking it would help everyone.

"What we can do is try to find a way back to your friends."

"We'd appreciate that." As Nobuyuki allowed Ash and Pikachu to sleep, he watched as the two snuggled into the couch with the sleeping bags.

'Washu wanting to be a mother to Ash…' he reminded. 'Oh, Achika… How I wish you were still here…' Ash and Pikachu called it a night and slept. Who knows what else goes on within the Masaki household.


TO BE CONTINUED...