Chapter 20: No Need for Mothers
It was the moment at the festival that Ash and Sasami shared their first kiss. The Pokémon Trainer and the younger Juraian princess expressed their love for each other and sealed it in their moment. They told the Masaki household of the new relationship and everyone was happy to know about the news. For the next couple of days, Ash and Sasami were doing a lot of stuff together like cooking, cleaning and gardening. The others watched as the two people who began to fall in love upon their first meeting grew closer together as if it wasn't possible. Washu and Ayeka also viewed the dating couple in the virtual bedroom and the futon with Pikachu and Ryo-Ohki. No one had any arguments to the pair, not even Ryoko and Ayeka. One day, Ash was in the garden with Tenchi and Ryo-Ohki. They raked the rich dirt with Ryo-Ohki ready to plant seeds. A stack of vegetables were gathered, including carrots. "Quite the harvest we're having," Tenchi observed. "Who knew we'd be in for something great for you and Sasami to cook!"
"Oh yeah!" agreed Ash. "And Ryo-Ohki's enjoying the extra carrots!" The boys watched Ryo-Ohki nibbling on a large carrot.
"I've been meaning to ask, but I wanted to give you and Sasami a few days to get comfortable as a dating couple."
"And what would that be?"
"What's it like? Sure, it's with a princess of Jurai, but the feeling has to be high." Posting the hoe, Ash thought to his new life.
"Where do I begin?" He rested his head on the long pole. "I never wanted to fall in love to begin with. All I wanted to do was be a Pokémon Master before anything else… but seeing Sasami and knowing about her, I started feeling different about it all. Now, I feel like I'm the luckiest guy ever. I don't care that Sasami's a princess, but that we have mutual feelings to each other just makes having Sasami as my girlfriend is more than what I bargained for, but it's worth every penny to have." The confession made Tenchi laugh.
"Seriously, I get what you mean. The way you sound, you're on top of the world." Ash itched his head with a sheepish giggle. "But, don't you think this could cause problems? After all, Misty might come by at anytime and see you with Sasami."
"That's alright. We can have a talk and if she's upset about it, she can tell me what feelings she has."
"Fair enough… Anyway, I think we can bring in the vegetables and get ready for dinner."
"Alright…" They gathered the vegetables and tools as Ryo-Ohki finished her carrot.
"Sasami's got something special I heard."
"Oh, I bet!" Ryo-Ohki mewed, ready for more. As they reached the house, a sudden scream stopped them. The high-pitched scream made the boys pause and look to each other. "What was that?"
"I'm afraid to know." Nodding, Tenchi opened the door. They came in to see Misaki nuzzling with Pikachu.
"You're so adorable!" she happily cried. Behind her was Funaho who smiled at Misaki having fun with Pikachu.
"It's Queen Misaki and Queen Funaho!" gasped Tenchi. Funaho looked to Tenchi with a smile.
"It's nice to see you again, great-grandson," she greeted as Katsuhito and Nobuyuki came from a different room. Ash gasped while Ryo-Ohki leaped onto Misaki's shoulder.
"Great-grandson!?" repeated Ash.
"We do not hold secrets about the family secrets to those we trust," Katsuhito briefed. "But yes, Queen Funaho is my mother." Ash and Pikachu's jaws dropped at the information.
"Are you serious!?" gawked Ash. "That queen is your mom!?"
"Juraians live for centuries and rarely age while on our homeland, unlike Earthlings," Funaho added. Ash couldn't believe the detail.
"And people believe my mom uses makeup to look young herself," he shuttered.
"I'm guilty on that," Nobuyuki shrugged. Ayeka came forward to further understand the family matter.
"I do apologize about my mother's joyous screech," she expressed. "She just fell in love with Pikachu at first sight."
"And he's such a cutie!" cooed Misaki. She held Pikachu tightly, but it didn't bother him.
"Okay, you're Ayeka's and Sasami's mom," Ash realized.
"I am!" confirmed Misaki. "I'm Queen Misaki Masaki Jurai, 2nd Queen of the Juraian royal family."
"And I'm Queen Funaho Masaki Jurai, 1st Queen of the Juraian royal family," Funaho named herself. "We know the household on Earth, not just Funaho's son and my daughters."
"They know Washu, Ryoko and Mihoshi," Tenchi added. Ash felt one member was missing.
"Not Kiyone?" he guessed.
"Not in person until now," Kiyone corrected. Sasami offered an explanation to Misaki.
"Mom, that's Ash's Pikachu," she pointed out. "Ash and Pikachu are from a different land on Earth." Misaki giggled to the information.
"Is that so?" she joked. "I thought he was yours." She turned to Ash. "So, Ash is your name… Part of me wishes I was also your mom." Ash shyly giggled to the observation.
"That might not be far off," Sasami interjected. "I know it's been only a few days ago, but Ash is my boyfriend." Misaki froze. She constantly heard "boyfriend" in her mind echoing over and over. She fumbled Pikachu, but he landed on his paws. She and Ash looked at each other.
"You… and my youngest daughter?" she started to growl. "How dare you…" Ash became a bit frightened by Misaki's sudden change in tone. "Be…" Out of nowhere, Misaki smiled and lunged at Ash to hug him. "Such a handsome boy to take my daughter out! Oh, I'm so happy that my Sasami is in love with you!" She constantly hopped, shaking Ash around.
"For a second, I believed Mother would wring Ash's neck," Ayeka sighed.
"Like she almost did to Ryoko?" reminded Sasami. Ayeka nodded.
"Honestly, I would've wished that so that Tenchi would solely be mine," she muttered to herself. Misaki stopped and released Ash for him to reset.
"I would like to know you and Pikachu more, Ash!" an excited Misaki wished.
"I don't only have Pikachu," Ash corrected. "Come outside and I'll show you." The mothers followed Ash. Outside, Ash released his other Pokémon. Quickly, Misaki grabbed and hugged Cyndaquil.
"Oh, aren't you just as cute!" she happily yelped. "I bet that snout is ticklish!" She tickled Cyndaquil's nose, causing him to giggle.
"This woman sometimes acts as if she doesn't get out often enough," Funaho sighed. Bayleef hummed to Ash about the two new women.
"They're mothers like Washu had wanted to be to me," Ash clarified. "They've got their own families." Bayleef awed Misaki's and Funaho's lifestyles. Funaho came to Ash and Bayleef.
"This creature seems rather aware of its surroundings," she snickered as she petted Bayleef on the head. "Are you afraid of being away from Ash?"
("He's my darling…") whined Bayleef.
"It's that Misaki and I saw ourselves raising Ash as our own son," Funaho assured. "Would that be okay?" Bayleef was reluctant to answer. Totodile hopped excitedly to Misaki as Sasami came to Ash and Funaho.
"I'll finish making dinner," she assured. "I bet you wanted to spend time with the moms." Ash nervously laughed.
"Why don't you come with me to the shrine?" she requested. Feeling like a chance to know the family more, Ash followed. As they walked up, Azaka and Kamidake flew in and saw the queen.
"Lady Funaho!" realized Azaka. "We were not aware of your presence!" Funaho smiled.
"Azaka…" she realized. "Kamidake… How have you been?"
"We've been at peace for the duration, Lady Funaho," Kamidake replied. "What brought you back to Earth?" Funaho smiled to the question.
"We missed Ayeka and Sasami, but we didn't expect Sasami to be dating someone like Ash," she briefed.
"We heard, though we do believe King Azusa would oppose Princess Sasami of… dating Ash," Azaka warned.
"That is for Misaki and I to deal with," Funaho told.
"If you wish," Kamidake sighed. "We will meet with Lady Misaki." Azaka and Kamidake flew off as Ash and Funaho continued on.
"I still find it hard to believe that you're Katsuhito's mom," Ash started. "And you still look as young as my mom."
"Yes, Princess Ayeka supplied me with that picture of her," Funaho recalled. "I find her rather attractive… to have long conversations over tea, understanding the actions of our sons… Our husbands would be happy to grow the circles of friendship."
"King Azusa is your husband from what Azaka said. Who's Queen Misaki's?" Looking up, Funaho came clean.
"Misaki and I share the same husband, King Azusa." That made Ash pause.
"Wait, the king married you and Misaki!? How does that work!?"
"You see, I nursed Azusa after he was injured after the space pirates attacked, and we fell in love. Then, we rescued Misaki and restored the House of Masaki on Planet Jurai. I gave birth to Yosho, but you know him better as Katsuhito. Misaki first gave birth to Princess Ayeka."
"So, that means that Katsuhito and Ayeka are half-siblings?"
"Yes. To fully unite, Yosho and Ayeka were to wed and that was after Princess Sasami was born. Suddenly, Yosho left Jurai. Even to this day, it still baffles me as to his reasoning."
"Maybe because learning that Ayeka's his sister, even though part of it, was enough not to go through with it."
"Perhaps… but it may be a blessing in disguise as I can see Tenchi as the one to take Princess Ayeka's hand."
"That depends on Tenchi…" A nod from Funaho.
"By the way, I was actually referring to your mother's husband, your father." The clarification made Ash's head dip down. Funaho paused and looked to Ash. "Your father… wasn't with you?" Ash shook his head.
"I don't know who my father is. I never met him. Heck, I don't even know if he's alive." Surprised, Funaho came to and hugged Ash.
"Forgive me, I did not mean to upset you." The hug surprised Ash, but he accepted Funaho's hug. They soon reached the shrine. They made a prayer at the shrine. As they prayed, Katsuhito emerged.
"Mother, I know Father will denounce Princess Sasami's relationship with Ash," he addressed.
"I am aware, Yosho," Funaho understood. "He will meet and learn from Ash." She turned to the household. "We also learned that the goddess Tsunami has appeared. I believe Azusa listen and learn about why she appears here." To Katsuhito, it was about Ash.
"From what Princess Ayeka described, Tsunami has accepted Ash and Princess Sasami be together."
"All we can assume at this point is that he'll listen to both sides of the case when he gets here."
"I hope so." Prayers made, Funaho and Ash returned to the household.
"Ash!" voiced Ayeka. Ash reached Ayeka with Pikachu on her shoulder.
"What's up, Princess?" he asked.
"I had wondered what you and my stepmother were doing?"
"I wanted to know more about Jurai and Funaho helped out. She also… hugged me when I told her my family situation." Misaki heard Ash's set of events. Funaho whispered to her co-wife. Misaki's eyes nearly left her head while Ryo-Ohki watched on with a carrot in her paws. Misaki came to Ash, hugging him as well.
"Oh Ash, I'm so sorry!" she cried. After a minute, Misaki broke the hug. "When the time comes, I want you to be the man your father will never be." Ash nodded when another spaceship started descending. It was larger and it seemed to be unnerving on the princess.
"Father's arriving!?" gasped Ayeka. This brought Sasami to come out and see the occasion.
"Father?" repeated Sasami. Inside was a tanned, purple-haired man with a massive goatee and his hair having braided on the side. He also wore a beige cape under his robe. Could he be Azusa?
TO BE CONTINUED...