The TENCHI Chronicles
                     Chapter 3 - peace, of sorts

                       A Tenchi Muyo fanfiction
  by Michael "Brazil" Borgwardt (brazzy {at} gmail {dot} com)

<legal crap> 
Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-ohki and its characters are copyrighted by AIC/Pioneer.
I don't have any right to do this but I did it anyway. The rights to this
story, however, are mine. Please don't sell it and don't change it without
asking for my permission.
</legal crap>

If you haven't read the previous chapters, you should do so. They can be 
found at this URL:
http://fanfiction.brazils-animeland.de

A short summary of what happened so far:
Tenchi has told Aeka and Ryoko about his true feelings for them, that he
likes them, but is not in love with either of them and doesn't feel ready
for that yet. He also tells them how much he dislikes their fights and the 
way they never bothered to ask him about his feelings. Both girls are rather
shocked. Aeka retreats into her room, while Ryoko flies away. Washu follows
her and manages to at least get her out of the worst depths of depression.
Later, Ryoko shows up in Aeka's room and they end up on a trip into town.
They get along surprisingly well and Ryoko gets a look at a different side
of princess Aeka. Very late at night, they return home and are put into bed
by a very upset Sasami, Washu and Tenchi.

This chapter begins on the next morning:

                   ***********************************

Aeka woke up. She immediately regretted it. Never before in her life had
she experienced physical pain of this magnitude. All of her senses were
busily sending intensively unpleasant messages. Formemost was the pain in
her head which seemed more ready to burst every second but instead of
granting her the release, it just kept on hurting.

"Oooooohhhwwwaaarrgh*cough*cough*"

Her throat felt like dry sandpaper. She swallowed to try and make the
dryness go away, but it didn't work.

Then she made the mistake of opening her eyes tentatively. She shut them
instantly as searing lances of light shot through her eyelids and directly
into her pain centres. How could it be this incredibly bright even though
she didn't feel direct sunlight on her skin?

Finally, another sensation that had been in the background at first rudely
shoved aside the others and demanded attention. Nothing she could think of
could adequately describe the repulsiveness of the *taste* in her mouth.
Actually, it tasted a bit like raw scalbie, but only very few beings in the
multiverse are unfortunate enough to know that taste.

Ignoring the various other sources of pain, she opened her eyes just enough
to stand up and navigate her way into the bathroom next to her room. At the
moment, her top priority was to get that *taste* out of her mouth.

A few dozen cups of water later it was down to a manageable level, allowing
Aeka to fully savor the pain in her head again. She got back into her futon
and had just noticed that she would not be able to fall asleep now, when
the door slid open and Sasami came in, being her usual cheerful self.

"Good morning, Aeka-oneesama! Good to see you awake finally! Say, isn't
 it a beautiful morning?"

Aeka fought down the urge to strangle her younger sister.

"Sasami, could you perhaps refrain from screaming?!"

"Oh right. Washu-chan said that you would be very sensitive to sound. Sorry
 that I forgot."

The littel girl was almost whispering now. She then kneeled down to hand Aeka
the mug she had been carrying.

"She also gave me this for you, saying that it'll help cure that `hangover`
 thing." Sasami paused. "Sister, what happened yesterday? Everyone was so 
 worried, and Ryoko-oneechan has been sleeping late too, so we still don't
 know, and..."

"I'm not feeling well at all, Sasami. So could you please wait a while?
 I promise I'll tell you later."
 
"Sure! I... guess I'll just leave you alone then. Oh, by the way, I kept
 some breakfast for you if you still want it."

"Thank you Sasami."

Aeka couldn't help smiling as she watched her sister leave the room. Depend
on Sasami to make you feel better immediately. Or maybe not. Her head hadn't
stopped hurting. She examined at the mug in her hands. It looked like coffee.
Well, it couldn't possibly make her feel any worse, so she decided to take
a deep draught. At first, it also tasted like coffee, but then she noticed a
sour aftertaste. Not entirely unpleasant, and it certainly helped to make
the bad taste go away. She drank the rest of the mug.

Suddenly, Aeka noticed that she was still wearing the same clothes she'd left
the house with the day before.

"Oh gods, all that sake and... I must be *stinking* by now! I have to 
 take a bath immediately!"

                   -----------------------------------

Aeka slid aside the door to the onsen and entered. Eager to let the warm
water drive away the pain, she quickly got out of her robe, put on a towel
and stepped into the pool. She leaned back and sighed contentedly. The sigh
turned into a howl of pain as her head bumped against the wall behind her.
Normally she'd have hardly noticed, but now it almost made her head explode.

"Ah, so her highness is finally awake!"

Ryoko, completely naked as usual, was leaning over the edge of the pool that
was one level higher. She had a nasty smile on her face.

"Yyoouuuuu!!!!" Aeka growled fiercly, clenching her fists.

"And good morning to you too! I guess you aren't feeling very well either,
 are you?"

"At the moment, the only thing that's keeping me from killing you is that
 that would cause a lot of noise which I really can't take in my present 
 state."

Since Ryoko herself didn't exactly feel ready for an argument, she merely
raised an eyebrow and supressed a remark about the princess not being able
to harm her anyway.

"Hey, it's not as if I forced you!"

"You *did* force me into that.. place!"

"Ok, maybe a little. But you got drunk all by yourself. Besides, I'm not
 feeling very good either. That's the way it is. No pain, no gain."

Aeka eyed Ryoko incredulously.

"I thougth you could switch that off whenever you wanted."

"No. I can get rid of the *alcohol* in my blood in a jiffy. But it's
 different with the stuff it's processed into, that causes hangovers.
 I'm suffering just as much as you do, princess. Well, perhaps a little
 less, since it's not my first time."

"I don't believe you! You've felt this before and you *still* get drunk?"

Ryoko shrugged. "You get used to it. It's not as bad if you don't drink
quite as much as we did." She grinned. "Well, at least now you know that
there's something worse than being lovesick."

"What, being lovesick *and* suffering from a hangover?"

"Exactly."

"You're insane. Not as if that were something new." Aeka paused. "How long
does it last?"

"It'll slowly fade away in a few hours. Although that stuff Washu gave me
 seems to speed it up. At this rate, one or two hours. Hey, did she --"

"Yes, Sasami-chan brought me some of it."

"Good, at least that means you'll just be as annoying as usual and...
 OOWWWWshitimsostupid,ow,ow,ow"

The demoness had teleported in mid-sentence as she often did, but this
time she'd come down tumbling, clutching her head in obvious agony. Aeka
watched her, silently gloating over the other's discomfort, just like Ryoko
had grinned at hers, minutes ago.

"So your teleporting abilities don't go well with your drinking habits,
 do they?"

"Damn right they don't! Hell, why do I always forget?" She looked up at
the other girl. "Don't bother hiding your joy." She dove under the water
for a second and resurfaced next to Aeka where she sat down.

"Why are you mad at *me*, anyway? I'm not the one responsible for the mood
 that made you get drunk, after all!"

Aeka frowned. "What are you driving at?"

"If anyone is responsible for our current misery, it's --

"-- *Tenchi*!!" completed Aeka.

"Exactly. I think the way we were pursuing him gave him a very wrong
 impression of how he can treat us. The man needs to be taught a lesson!"

While saying this, Ryoko had developed a rather unpleasant smile and with
the last word she cracked her knuckles in a way that would have made Tenchi
consider leaving the country, had he seen it. A matching smile had appeared
on Aeka's face.

"So what kind of educative measures are you planning, Ryoko-san?"

"Uh? Oh. Actually... I haven't yet thought about that..."

Aeka facefaulted. Then she acquired a thoughtful expression.

"Well, we don't want to really harm him, so we have to be careful...
 I guess having you cook dinner for him isn't an option then."

Ryoko growled.

"Sorry, force of habit. Oh! I have an idea that might work. But... It would
 be a lot better if Washu-sama and Sasami helped us..."

"No problem there, Aeka. Maybe you didn't notice, but at the moment Sasami
 is rather pissed at Tenchi. Leave Washu to me. So, what is this idea?"

"OK. First we need to..."

                   -----------------------------------

Unaware of the doom that was brewing (or *being* brewed, rather) for him,
Tenchi was working the carrot fields. He couldn't get much work done, though,
because he also had to look after Ryo-ohki-chan. Everone else was unavailable
for one reason or another.

"You really don't have to help me, Ryo-ohki-chan!"

"Mi-yaaa!"

"Sure, I know that you can do it, and I appreciate it, but..."

He sighed as the little girl stomped on yet another carrot plant while
weeding. But he just couldn't get himself to tell her that she was probably
harming the crop more than the weeds.

"Miyaaaa! Miyaa-ah!"

"What..? No! Not that way!"

Now she was chasing a butterfly. Straight across a field of freshly sprouted
carrots.

"Why me?"

                   -----------------------------------

"Hi everyone, we're ba-ack!"

"Hello Tenchi-niichan. Hi, Ryo-ohki-chan! Lunch will be ready in half an
 hour, so you can--"

"Huh? I thought I was being late! Normally, we eat at this time."

"Um. Yes, but... I tried out a new receipe and it didn't work out, so I had
 to start over... Well, this way you can take a bath first, isn't that a good
 idea?"

"Yeah, I guess so..."

Tenchi was a bit confused. Sasami botching a meal? Sure, noone's perfect,
but... Anyway, taking a bath *would* be a good idea. While he got some fresh
clothes to put on after the bath, Tenchi wondered how Ryoko and Aeka were
doing. Were they still asleep?

Meanwhile, Sasami was talking into a little communicator Washu had supplied.

"He almost got me, but I don't think he suspects anything. Oh! Now he's
 leaving the house. He'll be there soon. Blue Cockroach over and out!"

She giggled. Then she noticed the curious look Ryo-ohki was giving her.

"I just talked to Aeka-oneesama. I' helping her and Ryoko-oneechan get
 back at Tenchi-niichan for hurting them. Come, Ryo-ohki-chan! We should
 be hearing him any second now!"

Still a bit confused, Ryo-ohki followed the princess outside. They looked
at the floating onsen. Unfortunately, they couldn't see the entrance from
where they were standing.

                   -----------------------------------

Tenchi entered the bath, eager to get rid of the sweat and dust of field
work. He laid out the fresh clothes and entered the pool, sighing
comfortably. Then he noticed something strange. The water seemed to be...
somewhat dirty, there was rusty tint to it.

His heart skipped a beat. It wasn't so much rusty, as red. Like blood.
And it was coming from the other side of the small peninsula in the middle
of the pool.
He rushed around it, cursing the water that was hindering his movement and
at the same time wondering if he really *wanted* to know... Then he saw
her. Ryoko. Sitting with her head resting on a boulder, her deathly pale
face turned skywards. The tint of the water was strongest around her, but
despite it, Tenchi could see the deep gashes in her wrists. And the knife
that was now lying next to her feet on the pool floor.

Even though it was comfortably warm in the bath, Tenchi began to shake. His
legs gave out under him and he sunk to his knees. <No. It can't be. Not
now. Not when...> A movement caught his eye. Ignoring the terrible tightness
in his chest, he looked up. At the other end of the pool, a body was floating
on the water face down. Dark purple hair, neatly stowed into a protective
net. Of course, the towel was still in place. Behind her, on the rim of the
pool, Tenchi could see a small white tube with green printing on it.

<You did that. You killed them, told them that everything they wished for
 was a lie. Just because you suddenly felt all manly and in charge. You
 thought you could solve it all just like that, And now they are dead. And
 it's *your* fault.>

"No." It was hardly more than a whisper. He covered his face, trying to
make it all go away.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!" a wail of anguish finally filled the air.

<Yeah, go ahead and deny it. You're setting new standards for pathetic
 behaviour, you know? How about some self-pity now? YOU IDIOT! Do you realize
 that Aeka may still be alive? sleeping-pills aren't exactly fast killers,
 and one can survive several minutes without oxygene. And Ryoko isn't human
 at all, who knows what it takes to kill her? Go ahead and *do something*
 you sorry excuse for a man!>

In a rush of adrenaline, he jumped up. Act now, think later. Sounded like a
good concept. He grabbed Ryoko's shoulder, put her right arm over her chest
and started to drag her towards Aeka at her wrist and elbow. She seemed
horribly light. When he reached the rim he jumped out of the water and dragged
Ryoko ashore, then jumped in again to get Aeka. He turned her around and used
the same grip as with Ryoko. When he had them both on dry land, he stopped
for a second.

<What now? How can I-- Oh god, they have to be brought to a hospital as
 quickly as possible!>

Cursing himself for the lost seconds, Tenchi screamed a the top of his lungs.

"HELP! SASAMI-CHAN, WASHU-CHAN, ANYONE! COME HERE IMMEDIATELY! HELP!"

Then he looked at Ryoko. <She's not bleeding anymore, so a bandage would be
pointless. What can I-- Wait!>. He dragged her towards a deck-chair and put
up her legs on it. Hopefully that would help counter the shock due to the
blood loss. <May the gods bless Nishimatsu-sensei and her first aid
lessons.>

                   -----------------------------------

Sasami was a bit disappointed. She'd hardly been able to hear Tenchi scream.

"Too bad I couldn't be there. Well, Washu-chan promised to videotape it, so
 I won't miss anything."

"Miyaa?"

"Yes, you can watch it too."

                   -----------------------------------

"Hey, what's he doing now?"

"Shock countermeasures. He's handling this surprisingly well, I must say."

"What do you think, Ryoko-san? Has he learned his lesson?"

"Nah. Give him some more time to let it sink in."

The girls giggled. It felt really good to be in control of the situation
for once. However, their amusement was cut short by Washu.

"OK, you've had your fun. It's been enough."

"Oh, come on, Washu! Just one minute more!"

"You end this now, or I'll do it."

Ryoko pouted. "Aw, you're no fun, Mom!"

Washu tried hard to keep her rebuking frown and not let the warm feeling
show that was suddenly flowing through her. But before she could reply,
Ryoko had already disappeared, quickly followed by Aeka.

                   -----------------------------------

Aeka wasn't breathing! <What now? I have to-- No! first check her pulse.
Oh god, please let her have at least a pulse!> Trying to ignore the
tightness in his own throat, Tenchi checked Aeka's jugular vein.

"Hey, Tenchi! Why are you playing with those dolls when you can have the
 real thing?"

"Yes Tenchi-sama! Explain yourself!"

Tenchi froze. He then slowly looked up at Ryoko and Aeka, who were standing
in the entrance of the bath. The barely suppressed smug grins on their faces
indicated that they were feeling quite well. Tenchi fought down the urge to
look back at the body before him and the other one a few steps away. Suddenly
he could see it all in perfect clarity.

"You... you planned all this. This is nothing but a *hoax*!!"

"Yup. Couldn't summarize it better. Worked out great, don't you think?"

"But... but *why* ?"

Aeka frowned. "You really have to ask? After what you did to us, Tenchi-sama?"

Tenchi stood up. At this point, he was really angry. The adrenaline flowing
in his veins, not anymore being needed for physical performance, directed
itself at the girls before him.

"Only *I* didn't do it for my personal amusement! This-" he gestured at the
 false bodies before him "-was NOT funny! I'm just trying to do what's right,
 and all it gets me is being made fun of!"

Tenchi wasn't sure what kind of reaction he wanted, but Ryoko grinning
even broader and Aeka blushing furiously was certainly not a part of his
expectations. Just when his anger was about to change into confusion, he
noticed that the towel he'd been wearing was gone, giving the girls a good
eyeful.

"That's *it*!" he shouted while storming towards his clothes, grabbing them
as well as a dry towel for modesty reasons. "I've had about *enough* of you!
I don't want to see either of you for the rest of today at *least*!!"

Having made himself clear, Tenchi pushed open the door forcefully, almost
running over Sasami who was standing outside. He glared at her.

"That includes *you*! I've kinda gotten used to those two being childish,
 but I really thought you were more m-"

Realizing just what he'd been about to say, Tenchi stopped and, giving
everyone the evil eye once more, turned around and marched back towards
the house.

There was a period of very uncomfortable silence that was finally broken
by Sasami:

"Have we gone too far?"

The question was answered by Washu, coming out of a subspace portal.

"No. We went far, but not too far. It's natural that he's angry now, just
 give him some tome to cool down."

Inside, she wasn't quite as certain, but what use was there in troubling
everyone else with it? 

                   -----------------------------------

"And what's *that* supposed to mean, Ryoko-san?"

"It's true, is't it? Tenchi *did* care for me first!"

"Of course he did! He was simply standing closer to you."

Ryoko grinned. Now move in for the kill...

"What I meant is that... *after* getting you out of the water, he still
 went to me first, even though he was already holding you at that time!"

That stuck. Ryoko gleefully watched Aeka's face turn red.

"That... that's simply because you had to choose that... flashy act with
 the knife and all! Yes, that's it!"

Ryoko grinned even broader. This was going well. Now Aeka was forced into
defense. But suddenly, the princess's face assumed a very smug expression
and she settled back into the couch much more comfortable than she had any
right to be.

"*However*, what do you suppose he was about to do when we interrupted him?
 Well? Hm?"

"Huh?" was all Ryoko got out, confused. She had enjoyed the look on Tenchi's
face too much to remember much else. Now, Aeka was the one with the feral
grin on her face as she played her trump card, enjoying every syllable.

"Mouth-to-mouth re-su-sci-ta-tion!! The--" She had to fight herself to keep
from breaking into a cackle here "-- kiss of life!!!".

"What? You- Hah! Only in your dreams, you--"

"STOP IT ALREADY, WILL YOU??"

And shut up the girls did, their minds momentarily unable to process the fact
that Sasami, the pleasant, cheery little girl had just screamed angrily at
them. After some time, Aeka managed to speak:

"Sasami-chan..."

"Didn't you notice that Tenchi-niichan is really, *really*, mad at us?
 Don't you think that's more important?"

Ryoko was a bit confused. "But Washu said..." 

Aeka interrupted her rival, much more serious than just moments ago.

"And do you normally believe everything she says? It's not as if she's
 never wrong and--"

"And what did you do to him this time, hm?"

"Oniisama!" Aeka gasped. None of the girls had noticed Tenchi's grandfather
approaching. Yousho sat down on the couch next to Aeka, very pleased with his
entrance.

"While I just walked down from the shrine, I saw Tenchi running towards the
 house, obviously very angry. What did you do to upset him like that?"

"And how has this become your business, all of a sudden?" Ryoko demandend.

"Oh, I just assumed that maybe you could need my help trying to get back on
 his good side. If I'm wrong, excuse me..."

He'd barely started to sit up when Ryoko's hand on his shoulder pressed him
back into the couch.

"Ok, to get started, tell me what happened."

After he'd listened to the girls' explanation, Yousho thought it over,
nodding gravely.

"Now I understand. That's quite a mess you've made there."

"I don't understand it. What exactly did he get so worked up about?"

"Ryoko, how would you react if you stumbled upon Tenchi's lifeless body and
 then, after nearly dying from pain and guilt, found out that it was just a
 bad joke and got laughed at by Tenchi?"

The demoness froze, a shocked expression on her face. This was mirrored by
Aeka and Sasami. Aeka was the first to regain enough composure to answer.

"I see. Oh Tenchi-sama, what have we done?"

Yousho shook his head sadly.

"It's really a very simple principle, trying to see things from the other
 person's viewpoint. It can be applied almost universally. And yet, all
 over the galaxy, people just can't seem to grasp it."

"But it was only a joke, Yousho-oniichan! It wasn't for real!"

"Sasami, that's perhaps even more important for you to learn. Things that
 aren't for real can still have very real and irreversible consequences
 and cause very real pain. That is the price we pay for having an
 imagination."

                   -----------------------------------

Tenchi was in his room, lying on the bed and rereading his favourite manga
while listening to Namie Amuro's last album. He'd been planning to do that
for quite a while, but with all the work he had to do in the fields, his
training with the sword and the constant trouble with the girls, he had never
found the time. Now that he had it, he couldn't concentrate.

<Haven't heard anything from them in the last hour. Nothing! I guess I made
 quite an impression... God, I'm hungry!>

After the incident at the bath, he'd gone straight to his room, skipping
lunch. Not a very good idea after working the fields all morning. But he
also didn't quite feel up to going downstairs now.

<Why? Why the hell did they do that? I guess my classmates *were* right
 after all. Trying to figure out girls is futile.>

Suddenly, he heard someone coming up the stairs. <I wonder who it is.
Can't be Ryoko, she'd simply teleport in here. And she wouldn't let Aeka
come here on her own.> Then the person was already before his door.

"Tenchi-dono, can I come in?"

<Washu? Now that's someone I didn't expect>

"Yes, Washu-chan."

"Um. Could you please open the door? My hands are full."

Tenchi got up and walked to the door, frowning. As he opened it, a wonderful
smell greeted him, making his mouth water. Washu was holding a tray filled
with several bowls of what seemed to him like the most delicious food he'd
ever seen.

"Wow, Washu-chan, you saved me! I was starving! Thanks a lot!"

He took the tray, carried it to his desk, picked up the chopsticks and began
to dig in. Washu watched him with an amused air.

"Of course it was Sasami who cooked it. Ryoko and Aeka wanted to help
 her, but I managed to talk them out of it. They're all feeling very
 sorry."

"You helped them too, didn't you?"

Washu snorted. "Of course I did! Where else could they have gotten those
perfect simulacri?"

Tenchi tried to get angry at her, but found himself unable to. Instead he
just asked "Why?"

Washu thought this over. "Basically, I didn't want everything to get back
to `business as usual`. These girls have to learn to think before they
act, and they have to learn it before it's too late, before someone gets
seriously hurt."

"So you decided to make them see that by having them punish me for telling
 them the truth?"

"No, Tenchi. The punishment was for not telling them earlier, and I think you
 deserved that.

Now the anger was coming.

"And that's yours to decide? What they should learn and how and what I should
 be punished for? Did you get some interesting research data out of it?
 Is this all just an experiment for you to see what humans can be trained to
 do, now that rats don't provide a challenge anymore?"

Washu's face was completely void of any expression after this explosion. Then
she turned around, but Tenchi thought that he'd seen something there. He
wasn't quite sure what it was. Amusement? Pain? With Washu, you never knew.

"You're right with your accusations., Tenchi-dono. I have to apologize, too.
 But you have to believe me, I really do care about you, all of you.
 Especially... It's just that old habits are hard to break. I of all people
 should know that. Doesn't make it easier though. Sorry."

There was an uncomfortable pause. Tenchi didn't know what to say.

"I'll leave you alone now, Tenchi-dono." She went to the door, opened it.

"Washu-chan? Tell Sasami that I'll be having dinner together with everyone."

She turned around, smiled. "Thank you, Tenchi."

                   -----------------------------------

When Tenchi came downstairs after hearing Sasami's rallying call ("Dinner's
ready!"), the atmosphere was unusually and uncomfortably silent. After
sitting down at the table, he looked around, but neither Aeka, nor Ryoko or
Sasami met his gaze. Tenchi was about to say something - anyhing - to break
the silence, when finally Aeka spoke.

"Tenchi-sama, about this afternoon... We all want to apologize to you for
 playing that cruel joke. Especially for myself, a princess of Jurai, such
 thoughtless behaviour is most unbecoming. I am very ashamed. Please
 accept my sincere apologies."

The whole speech was delivered with downcast eyes and a very serious voice.
Tenchi couldn't help but wonder what worried Aeka more: the way she'd hurt
him or the `unbecoming behaviour`. <damn, now that's something *you* should
be ashamed of! Can't you take an apology at face value?>.

"Yeah, Tenchi! I'm also sorry, just what the princess said... we didn't
 realize how much it would hurt you. Please stop being mad at me, Tenchi.
 Ne? Ne?"

To round it off, Sasami started to cry and threw herself at Tenchi.

"I'm so sorry Tenchi-niichan!"

After she'd let go of him, she joined the other two girls with their
impersonation of beaten puppies. Tenchi sighed heavily, then smiled.

"I could never be really mad at you. But don't ever again scare me like
 that, OK?"

"Yes!"   "Tenchi-sama!"   "I promise!"

Immediately he was surrounded by three very relieved girls. In her happiness
Aeka didn't even object to Ryoko flinging herself at Tenchi - for a few
seconds. After that, she used Ryoko's pinky finger as a lever to pull the
demoness off their mutual object of desire. After everyone had settled down
again, they began to eat.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Tenchi-niichan, Mihoshi-oneechan has called. She will
 be back tomorrow evening."

"Oh, that's nice. I just hope she doesn't crash this time..."

"Don't worry, Tenchi-dono. I have installed an autopilot guidance beacon on
 the roof. Mihoshi-san just has to lean back and let the autopilot do its
 work, and everything will be fine."

"Oh, good. Thanks a lot, Washu-chan!"

Aeka cleared her throat. "Tenchi-sama?"

"What is it, Aeka-san?"

"When Mihoshi-san arrives, you will talk to her, won't you?"

"Uh... sure. Why should I not talk to her?"

"No, I mean... *talk* to her. Like you did with myself. And Ryoko-san.
 Yesterday."

"What? But.. I mean... Why should I? She's not in love with me... is she?"

He looked around, nervously seeking for support, but could only find very
serious (and silent) faces. Finally, Sasami summed up everyone's feelings.

"Tenchi-niichan, you *dummy*!!"

                   -----------------------------------

The next evening, the Galaxy Police shuttle did indeed land next to the
house without any complications. As Mihoshi left the ship, she was first
greeted by Sasami with a big hug. The two girls cried almost as much as
when Mihoshi had left two weeks earlier.

"Sasami-chan! Tenchi-san! Washu-chan! Aeka-san! Ryoko-san! I've missed you
 so much, all of you!"

"We missed you too, Mihoshi-san. Right?"

Aeka, Ryoko and Washu (who mumbled something about `experiments`) looked less
than enthusiastic, but nodded their agreement. 

"Oh, that's so nice of you to say!"

The detective giggled and blushed furiously while she was greeted by Tenchi.
<Damn, I really am an incredible idiot. How could I not notice that?> the
young man thought.

"So how was your visit home?"

"It was wonderful to see everyone again. My parents always say I should visit
 more often. I'm glad that I can do that, now that I'm stationed here on
 Earth."

"Let's go inside. You must be hungry after such a long trip. Dinner is
 waiting, Sasami outdid herself again."

"That's wonderful! Wait, I almost forgot... I brought gifts for everyone,
 I'll go fetch them first, be back in a second!"

While Mihoshi got back inside the shuttle, Ryoko nudged Tenchi.

"You were going to talk to her, don't you remember? You promised!"

"Ryoko, I'm not *that* eager to break one more girl's heart that I can't wait
 until after dinner!"

                   -----------------------------------

"Man, I'm stuffed!" Tenchi exclaimed as he patted his stomach. "I'm just glad
 that I don't have to worry about getting fat, thanks to all the work I'm
 doing in the fields and grandpa's training."

"Well, seen from that angle, it's a miracle that Ryoko-san doesn't look like
 a sumo wrestler. Ohohohoho!"

"What's *that* supposed to mean, princess?" Ryoko growled menacingly.

"You hardly *ever* do any work in the house!"

"I have news for you, Aeka: occasional sewing jobs and watering the flowers
 doesn't count as `work-out` either. Besides, it's not true! I do help
 Sasami clean the dishes sometimes!"

"Yes, about once every two weeks."

"Oh, shut up, you- huh?"

Suddenly, both girls noticed a hand on one of their shoulders. They turned
around to find that Yousho had seemingly teleported from his place at the
table to their backs and was now looking at them with his usual unreadable
expression.

"If you girls are concerned about your figures, maybe you should start
 training too. What do you think?"

Ryoko and Aeka looked at each other. They had witnessed a few of Tenchi's
training sessions. A lot, actually. Especially during summer, when Tenchi
didn't wear much clothing because of the heat...

Yousho's training seemed to consist mainly of Tenchi lifting heavy objects,
running around with them on his back and regularly recieving painful bruises
whenever he let his guard down during their swordfights.

Suddenly, Yousho was alone, both girls having moved surprisingly fast to
the other end of the table.

"Anyway, the food was very delicious, Sasami. I think you should cook this
 `esukagou` meal more often!"

Sasami giggled. "Why, thank you! But I think I'll first try out some of the
recipes in the book Mihoshi gave me, the one with the specialties of her
home planet."

During this exchange, Tenchi had moved over to Mihoshi and whispered somthing
into her ear, causing her to blush slightly. Now, he cleared his throat.

"Um, Mihoshi-san and I have something to talk about, we'll be upstairs."

Tenchi and the Galaxy Police detective left the room in silence. After a
while, Washu spoke, "I think they've arrived. Let's see..."

The scientist summoned her terminal. After a few keypresses, it showed an
image of the big room upstairs, the one filled with giant plush carrots.
Tenchi and Mihoshi were standing in front of the window, looking outside.
Both of them were obviously very nervous.

"Tenchi-san... What is it you wanted to talk to me about?"

"It's... Ah, I don't really know how to say it..." then Tenchi's face took
on a very determined air. "Mihoshi-san... how do you feel about me?"

Mihoshi's impersonation of a ripe tomato was quite impressive. She began
to stutter, twiddling her index fingers.

"Oh... my! Tenchi-san, I... can't believe you're asking me this... It's so
 embarassing!"

Tenchi leaned forward and grabbed Mihoshi's shoulders.

"Please answer me, Mihoshi-san. I really need to know."

"I... don't know... I mean I really like you and..."

"Do you... love me?" By now, Tenchi was no less flushed than Mihoshi.

"L.. love you? I... oh, Tenchi-san... I'm not sure, but I... think I do."

Now it was out. Mihoshi felt quite relieved. Tenchi did not. This was the
part he dreaded.

"Mihoshi-san, please don't misunderstand me, but you have to realize that
 I do not return these feelings in the same way. I mean, I-"

"I know that." Mihoshi said, very softly. A single tear ran down her cheek.

"You... do?" Tenchi had not expected this.

"Yes." Mihoshi sniffled. "And when... I see how much Ryoko-san and Aeka-san
 love you... I would feel really bad to take you away from them, so I..."

The girl's words were choked by her sobs now. Tenchi was very, very confused.
But he simply couldn't bear the sight of this girl, the most guileless person
he knew, standing there crying. Because of him.

"M... Mihoshi-san..."

He just did what came naturally to him. He reached out and took her into his
arms, letting her cry on his shoulder.

Downstairs, Washu and Sasami were having a difficult time restraining Ryoko.

"Let me go! I'm going to-"

"You're going to calm down and let Tenchi-dono figure this out on his own!"

"But he's hugging her! Don't you-"

"Ryoko, is there something wrong with your ears? Mihoshi-dono just said that
 she does not intend to `take him away` from you! What else do you want?"

"But why..." Ryoko grew silent, realizing that Washu was right.

<That's one rival less. So what am I so upset about? Dammit, he never hugged
 *me*, that's why! Not even when he had this talk with... Oh, right. I flew
 away, he didn't have the chance to... Shit, why did I have to do that?>

Aeka had watched the videoscreen with stoic calmness during all this, not
paying attention to Ryoko.

Meanwhile, Mihoshi's sobbing had ebbed down. She disentangled herself from
Tenchi and rubbed the tears out of her eyes, smiling bravely.

"That's so embarassing... No wonder they alway called me `crybaby` at the
 academy. I'm sorry, Ten-"

"Don't be. But Mihoshi-san... I have a question."

"Yes?" Mihoshi asked, curiously.

"Why? What is it that makes you, Aeka-san and Ryoko-san fall in love with
 me?"

"Um. I... I can't speak for the others, but... You've always been so nice
 towards me. More so than anyone else. They think I don't notice... but I do!
 With you, Tenchi-san... I just feel so sure that you won't hurt me..."

Tenchi didn't know what to make of this. But he did know what he had to do.
He took Mihoshi's hands, looked her in the eyes and said with a very serious
voice:

"Mihoshi-san, I could never hurt you. I promise that I'll always be your
 friend, no matter what happens."

Again, Mihoshi blushed. "Thank you, Tenchi-san! I'm really, really glad that
you said that!"

Tenchi took a deep breath. This had gone *much* better than he'd thought.
Suddenly, Mihoshi's multi-functional wrist-watch began to beep.

"Oh, `X-Files` starts in 5 minutes! Don't wanna miss that... see ya there!"

And before Tenchi could get out another word, Mihoshi disappeared down the
stairs. Smiling, he followerd her at a slower pace. However, when he reached
the ground floor, he was intercepted by Ryoko and Aeka, their faces
predicting trouble.

"Uh... what is it?"

"Tenchiii" Ryoko exclaimed. "Why did you hug Mihoshi?"

"What? But... how-"

"Answer the question, Tenchi-sama!"

"Does that mean you like her better than me?"

Ryoko's expression was now very similar to the one you could find on Ryo-ohki
when there weren't any carrots left.

"N... no! That's not what it meant!"

"Then prove it! Hug me too!"

"What? But.."

"She's right, Tenchi-dono! Fair's fair, and you *wanted* to treat everyone
 equally, didn't you?"

He hadn't seen Washu approach, but there she was, arms crossed and rebuking
him with that particular tone of voice that is shared by teachers and
professors throughout the universe. However, Aeka was definitely also going
to have a say in this matter.

"What about me? I'm also entitled to an embrace!"

"Sure, you can get yours right after me..."

"And who determined that you go first, Ryoko-san? Hm?"

"I asked first!"

"That's not an argument!"

Ryoko eyed the princess with an air normally reserved for people who drive
half the permitted speed on a busy highway. Without breaking the eye contact
she raised a fist and waited till she saw understanding bloom in the other
girl's eyes.

"Jan - Ken - Pon! Pon - Pon - Pon - Pon!"

"Oh, *too bad* little princess! OK, now that that's settled..."

Tenchi had watched rather incredously. He didn't like the way they were
handling this matter (not to mention *him*), but he quickly realized that he
would have to accept having his decisions made for him, if he didn't make
them. Just when he'd arrived at this conclusion, he found Ryoko standing
before him and smiling. She looked a bit nervous, almost... shy?

Not wanting to disappoint her now, Tenchi smiled back and reached out... one
second later, Ryoko had him in an embrace so tight that it almost hurt. She
rubbed her cheek against his and breathed a whispered "Oh Tenchi!" into his
ear. Even though they'd been barely audible, the words conveyed an intensity
of emotion that frightened Tenchi. Frightened? Yes. He wasn't sure why, but...

Something else came to his attention. Two things, actually. Correction, make
that three... Ryoko was rubbing against him slightly, making sure that Tenchi
had every chance to `appreciate` her rather voluptous frame, while at the
same time grabbing a good feel of his butt with her right hand. Tenchi began
to sweat.

"*Ahem*!"

Ryoko could tell that Aeka was simmering pretty well by now. She fought down
the urge to ignore it and just keep clinging to Tenchi. If she did that,
there would be a fight, and that would ruin the moment. In a daze, she let go
of Tenchi (to the young man's amazement) and turned around, intent on
concentrating on the immediate past instead of what was about to happen.

<He hugged me! He didn't try to run away, even smiled! If only...>

Behind her, Tenchi faced his next challenge. Aeka stood before him, for once
looking so much more like a normal girl than a crwon princess of Jurai. She
blushed, and this time, Tenchi had no doubts about the sincerity of her
affection.

The embrace was very different. It was gentle, with both participants using
only the slightest amount of force necessary to get their message across.
What that message was, neither one was certain. 

As if they had trained it, Aeka and Tenchi broke the embrace at the same
time, releasing each other. Tenchi (still a bit dazed by the scent of Aeka's
hair) sighed, glad that the issue had been settled. Or so he thought, until
he saw the queue.

"I'm next, Tenchi-niichan!"

"Miyaa!"

"Sorry, Sasami-chan, but I was here first."

"*shoot...* Okay, Washu-chan..."

After the sweatdrop had disappeared, Tenchi groaned.

<Why me?...>

                   -----------------------------------

A very, very long distance away, a fleet of spaceships was crossing the
seemingly endless void that separates galaxies. The fleet was not very
homogenous, hardly two of its vessels looking exactly alike. There were small
ones, carrying just a dozen crew, and others that were the size of a large
asteroid or a small moon (actually, most of these *were* large asteroids,
hollowed out and equipped with engines). But even the biggest craft numbered
more than ten thousand.

The fleet had been travelling without interruption for an amount of time that
was equal to more than a thousand lifespans of its crewmembers. It didn't
matter; they didn't become bored and never questioned their mission. In fact,
the very concept of boredom was alien to them. So was the concept of
excitement. If that hadn't been the case, they would have been very excited
now, for the fleet was rapidly approaching its destination...

                   ***********************************

Yup, that's it this time. And I'm really very, very sorry that it took me so
long. I'll try to ge the next chapter out more quickly...

The hangover part of this is not based on first hand experience (and may
therefore contain errors) since I haven't yet had one myself and am not
planning to fill this gap. Thanks to Peter Stadlmaier who helped me
clarify a few things in that area.

Oh, and those who were annoyed or confused about the "scalbie" thing can
blame Andrew Huang.

What gave me the idea for that cruel joke Aeka and Ryoko played on Tenchi?
Well, you know the saying: You don't really appreciate anything until it's
suddenly gone...

Did you like the teaser at the end? Yes, this isn't going to stay a purely
emotional fic! However, there is still some character development I want to
do before getting serious, so the mood won't change until the end if the next
chapter (that's just an estimation, though).

Thanks for prereading go to Random and Happosai, who pointed out a lot of
clumsy grammar and some other mistakes to me.


C&C of all sorts (most definitely including corrections of grammar, spelling
and expression - English is not my native language) can be sent to:
brazzy {at} gmail {dot} com