No Need For an Exclamation Mark!
by Mark Doherty (mdoherty@mailbox.uq.edu.au)

In a mad scientist's transdimensional lab...

"Ano... Washu-chan..."

"Yes, Mihoshi?"

"Why am I tied up like this?"

Washu grinned as she straightened the cap of her nurse's outfit. "The way you
can pop up in a secure lab, the way you do _everything_ wrong but things
still turn out right, the way you've survived for as long as you have without
enough brain cells to rub together to start a fire... there has to be a 
reason you're so braindead lucky. And I'm going to find out what it is. Some
sort of power like Tenchi's? Perhaps you're the culmination of an experiment
in an ultimate weapon bio-form, designed to be activated when the people
who made you lost, like a doomsday device. Oh well, we can have fun finding 
out together."

"Washu-chan... what are you doing?"

"Just getting a few samples. I always did prefer the hands on approach."

"N...now now, Washu-chan. I don't think... uh... I don't think you should..."

"Nonsense. I am a doctor, you know. Sure, I picked up the degree on a bet
over ten thousand years ago, but what the hey. Say, are those panties standard
Galactic Police issue?"

"Wa... Washu! Stop... stop this right now! This i... is wrong! You must.....
oh... a little to the left, a little to the left."

+++

Everyone was gathered around the dinner table.

"So anyway," Washu continued her explanation to her shock-frozen audience,
"one thing led to another. And, well..."

Mihoshi giggled, holding up her hand to show the engagement ring. "It's an
Earth custom, but we couldn't resist."

Ryoko looked between the happy couple, and then took a slug of sake from the
bottle in her numb hand. When Aeka wordlessly held out her hand, the demon-girl
silently handed the bottle to her. Aeka chugged the bottle, before giving
it back.

It wasn't so much Washu's surprise announcement, Ryoko decided as she
brought out a second bottle. It was the contemplative glances that Sasami
had been giving her for the last few minutes...

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Dedicated to anyone who's ever done an irrational, no-explanations-offered
matchup fanfic.

************  
Mark Doherty  -  mdoherty@mailbox.uq.edu.au
The Weekly FFML Synopses Lists are at:
http://www.uq.edu.au/~zzhdoher/list.html
My fics are back - 
http://www.tass.org/~mdoherty/index.html

"Time grows short, but I remain tall."