"Remember how I'm always telling you not to wreck stuff in my house,
Ryoko?" said Tenchi.

Ryoko sighed. "Yeah, I know. I know."

Tenchi smiled. "This time, I don't mind..."

Nobuyuki walked back into the room, putting on his coat. "I'm going
into town to buy myself a new camcorder. You three want to come with
me?"

"...but you should have planned for *this*," finished Tenchi. "Dad,
what exactly do you need it for, anyway?"

Nobuyuki drew himself up proudly. "As your father, it's my duty to
record your development in s... uh, that is, *life*."

"I think we'll stay here," said Tenchi.

"OK," said Nobuyuki. He started to sprint for the front door, then
skidded to a stop. "Remember, don't move! Stay *exactly* like that!"
he said, turning around. "And don't do anything until I get my
camera." He dashed out of the house and slammed the door behind him.

All three of them sighed with relief as squealing tires announced Mr.
Masaki's departure, then tensed at the thought of what would happen
when he returned. Moments later the door opened again, and Sasami
walked inside.

"Hi, everyone!" she said, rushing towards the kitchen with Ryo- oh-ki
at her heels. "Excuse me, but I've got to fix dinner."

Ryoko thought for a moment.

"Get over here, Ryo-oh-ki," she commanded.

Reluctantly the cabbit left the princess' side and hopped up to stand
in front of Ryoko. "Miya?" she asked.

"You've got guard duty tonight," said the pirate. "You're going to
stand watch outside Tenchi's bedroom."

Ryo-oh-ki turned her face away. "Miya," she refused.

"OK, OK, I'll give you some carrots," grumbled Ryoko.

"Miya," repeated the cabbit.

"Well, what do you want, then?"

"Miyaaaaaa," answered Ryo-oh-ki, nudging her head against the air and
purring dreamily.

"No way! I told you, I'm not letting you *near* him! He's a
disease-ridden pest!"

"Miiyaa!" said the cabbit, looking at Tenchi.

Ryoko's eyes blazed as she glared at Ryo-oh-ki and hugged Tenchi. "Now
you cut that out! There's no comparison between the two!"

"Miya," replied the stubborn spaceship.

Ryoko and Ryo-oh-ki stared each other down, eyes locked in a fierce,
unblinking test of wills.

Seconds ticked by.

More seconds ticked by.

Even more seconds ticked by.

"Oh, alright," sighed Ryoko. "If he shows up, fine, but I'm not
letting you go looking for him. OK?"

"MIYA!" said Ryo-oh-ki happily, bounding into Ryoko's lap.

"Oversexed pain in the neck," muttered Ryoko, petting the cabbit.

Aeka looked at the ceiling and very carefully said nothing at all.

Later that evening, after finally giving in and letting his father
film him sitting with Aeka and Ryoko on the couch, Tenchi enjoyed a
short respite while Nobuyuki turned the house upside- down in a
desperate quest for a spare battery pack. All of them seemed to have
vanished suddenly.

Ryoko took the opportunity to give Tenchi another kiss. "Time to go
upstairs," she said, smiling and putting her hand on his knee.

Tenchi looked over at Aeka. "Do you mind, Ae-chan?" he asked.

Aeka closed her eyes for a moment. "No, go ahead, Ten-chan," she
answered very quietly. "I'll see you in the morning."

Ryoko stood up next to the couch, staring nervously towards the sound
of Nobuyuki rummaging through every closet in the house in search of
batteries for his camcorder. There was always the chance she hadn't
gotten *all* of them, and she'd realized that while Ryo-oh-ki might
make an alert lookout, she didn't have much stopping power in her
cabbit form. 

Ryoko turned and glanced down at Aeka. "Uh, princess, could ask you
for a teensy little favor?" she said.

"What is it?" asked Aeka.

"Do you think you could order Azaka and Kamadake to stand guard
outside Tenchi's room tonight?" asked Ryoko.

Anguish filled Aeka's face as she looked down at the floor, and after
a few seconds she spoke with a pain-laced voice. "I suppose so," she
replied bleakly.

Tenchi looked at Ryoko and frowned. "Wait for me in my... wait
upstairs, OK?" he asked in a tone of disapproval.

Ryoko nodded and floated towards the stairs. When she reached them,
she stopped and turned around.

"Um, Aeka?" she asked.

"Yes?" the princess answered wearily.

"Thanks," said Ryoko.

Aeka sighed. "You're welcome."

Ryoko vanished into one of the walls.

Tenchi turned to face Aeka and took hold of her hand. "I'm sorry,
Ae-chan," he said softly. "I wish this didn't hurt you so much. Either
of you."

Aeka nodded. "I know, Ten-chan. But what you gave me last night... it
was as I dreamed it would be. Now I must go back and sleep alone,
almost as if it never happened."

"It *did* happen," replied Tenchi, smiling. "And I'll never forget it,
oujo-sama."

Tenchi put his arms around Aeka and held her as he leaned over and
kissed her. She embraced him in return, hoping that these few moments
would help her endure the upcoming lonely night more easily.

"I love you, Ten-chan," Aeka said, when their lips parted. "Pleasant
dreams."

"I love you, too, Ae-chan," he answered, kissing her lightly again.
"I'm sorry it has to hurt like this."

Aeka squeezed his hand. "You needn't worry. I'll be fine," she assured
him. She smiled. "If Ryoko can endure it, so can I." The princess held
Tenchi's chin as she gave him a final goodnight kiss.

Then she froze, staring in horror at something less than ten meters
away. Noticing her expression, Tenchi slowly turned his head to follow
her gaze.

"DAD!!!" he groaned, looking directly into the lens of his father's
camcorder.

"Don't mind me," said Nobuyuki. "Just pretend I'm not even here."

Aeka blushed a vivid shade of red, scowling at Mr. Masaki. "Azaka!
Kamadake!" she shouted.

"Yes, m'am!" the two guardians replied, materializing on either side
of the couch.

Nobuyuki stepped back a pace, suddenly covered in sweat. "Uh, `bye!"
He dashed out of the living room, seeking safety in some other area of
the house.

For just an instant Aeka's offended sense of dignity urged her to send
the two guardians off to bring back Nobuyuki's head, but she quickly
forced the idea from her thoughts. The man was, after all, Tenchi's
father, regardless of how he might act sometimes.

"Tonight you will guard Ten-chan's room," Aeka commanded. "Should Mr.
Masaki seek to open the door, you will stop him, without harming him.
Is that understood?"

"Not entirely, Aeka-hime," replied Azaka. "Who is `Ten-chan'?"

"And where is his room?" asked Kamadake.

"Oh? Yes, I haven't told you," said Aeka. "Ten-chan is what I've
decided to call Tenchi-sama from now on."

"I see. Our congratulations," said Azaka.

"We're both very happy for you," added Kamadake.

Aeka nodded.

"May you have an enjoyable evening," said Azaka.

"Do you need us to get you any candle wax?" asked Kamadake.

"No, that won't be necessary," replied Aeka. "I'll be with Sasami if
you need further instructions."

"With Sasami-hime?" asked Azaka.

"We thought you were going to be with Tenchi-dono," said Kamadake.

Aeka frowned. "That will be quite enough," she said testily.

"Please excuse us, Aeka-hime," pleaded Azaka.

"We didn't mean to offend you," said Kamadake.

The two guardians vanished.

Tenchi and Aeka got up and repeated their interrupted good-night kiss.
Then Tenchi walked up the stairs, feeling Aeka's sorrowful gaze on his
back as he headed towards his room. His conscience started to bear
down on him, the weight of guilt increasing with each step.

*How can you go upstairs and be with Ryoko now, when you know how much
it's going to hurt Aeka? Just tell Ryoko that you want to sleep alone
tonight. Or don't you CARE, as long as you have a good time?*

*If only it were that easy. But if I told Ryoko that, she'd blame
Aeka, and they'd wind up fighting again. Things are even worse, in a
way, than before. It's like I'm walking a tightrope or something.*

*So you wish you'd picked one, and rejected the other?*

*No. Now that I've seen how they feel about me, how could I hurt them
like that?*

*So you wish only one of them loved you?*

*No. I'd feel empty without one of them.*

*What, then?*

*I just wish that I could love both of them, without it hurting both
of them. They aren't fighting, for now, but why do I have to feel
sometimes that when I kiss Aeka, I'm slapping Ryoko in the face? That
if I sleep with Ryoko, I'm torturing Aeka?*

*Well you are, aren't you? You saw the look on her face!*

*Why does it have to be like this?*

*Because you're greedy, that's why.*

*I'm not. I love Aeka, and she loves me. I love Ryoko, and she loves
me. Why can't that be all there is to it?*

As he neared the door, he saw that it was flanked by the two Juraian
guardians.

"Something strange has happened recently," commented Azaka.

"It certainly has," agreed Kamadake.

"What do you think it is?" asked Azaka.

"Your guess is as good as mine," replied Kamadake.

"Would you mind telling us what's going on?" said Azaka, when Tenchi
reached the door.

"We seem to be in the dark about something," said Kamadake.

"Maybe later," answered Tenchi wearily.

Ryoko passed halfway through the door and grabbed onto Tenchi, giving
him a passionate kiss. "Come on. I've got something special planned,"
she whispered.

"Now I'm really confused," said Azaka.

"That makes two of us," agreed Kamadake.

Tenchi looked into Ryoko's eyes as she stepped out of the door and
stood in front of him, her expression a mixture of love and
playfulness promising him that he'd spend the night warmed by her body
and heart as they held each other close.

It made him think of Aeka, how he'd condemned her to a cold night of
loneliness, and what she must be thinking of. He hung his head,
ashamed of himself.

Ryoko looked at him curiously. "Is something wrong, Tenchi?" she asked
in a concerned voice.

Tenchi stared at the floor, thinking that something was *very* wrong,
but there was no way he could say so without upsetting Ryoko as well.

"Is something wrong?" she repeated. Her face became worried. "You look
upset."

Tenchi sighed. "Ryoko, I want to be alone for a while," he said
quietly. He walked into his room, shut the door, and sat down on the
bed.

Ryoko stared at the door for a moment. Then she passed through it and
headed after Tenchi. She floated down next to him and put an arm
around him affectionately.

Tenchi shook his head. "Ryoko, I told you, I want to be alone," he
said impatiently. "I'm really not in the mood right now, anyway."

For a moment, a wave of surprised pain washed over Ryoko's face,
unseen by Tenchi's downcast eyes. "Is... that all you think I'm *for*,
Tenchi?" she asked in disbelief.

He frowned, not sure he'd heard her correctly. "What?"

"Tenchi, I'm not here so you can sleep with me when you like, and send
me away when you don't want to talk to me," she said.

Tenchi turned to face her. Seeing her wounded expression, he sighed in
frustration and looked down at the floor again, realizing that he'd
hurt *both* girls now. "I'm sorry, Ryoko. I didn't mean it like that."

"How *did* you mean it, then?" asked Ryoko. "It sure sounded that
way."

After a moment of indecision, Tenchi forced aside his desire to sit
there and inwardly bemoan his situation. For what to do about Aeka's
pain, he was at a loss, but he decided that he might be able to do
something to comfort Ryoko, a little.

He took hold of her hand and brought his eyes up to face her. He
searched his mind for a way to express how he felt. Then he hesitated
further, trying to come up with a reason for what he'd said, and not
finding one that helped. He decided to make himself be honest with
her. "Well, it's just that I thought that's what you had in mind." He
put his arm around her. "I don't think of you *just* that way, Ryoko.
But what else would we *do*, in here?"

The hurt deepened in Ryoko's face. "Tenchi, I wanted to talk  about
whatever's upsetting you. That's all."

"I realize that, now. I just wasn't thinking of it then. I've always
been used to being alone whenever something's bothering me. Jiichan
just gets philosophical, and dad never takes things seriously. So I'd
go to my room, or somewhere out in the woods, to be by myself. Having
someone sit with me when I'm upset is something I haven't really had
since my mom died." He sighed. "I know that's no excuse. I'm sorry for
what I said." He gently kissed her on the cheek. "Thank you. It would
be nice not to have to be alone when I'm feeling bad."

"Will you talk to me about what's wrong, then?"

"Not about this."

Ryoko hung her head. "Tenchi, I know I'm usually only good at breaking
things, instead of fixing them. But can't you let me try?"

"I'm sorry, Ryoko. If it was something else, I would. But not this."
He put his arm around her. "Will you stay with me anyway? It would
make me feel better."

"You don't ever have to *ask* me to be with you, Tenchi. No matter
what for," answered Ryoko.

"Thank you," said Tenchi. He resumed his seemingly-futile attempt to
find a way to handle the situation without hurting either of the
girls.

After several minutes, Ryoko sighed. "It's about Aeka, isn't it?" she
asked.

"Yeah," admitted Tenchi. He looked over at her, puzzled. "How did you
know?"

"Because I felt the same way she does, last night, and you had the
same look on your face when we talked outside," answered Ryoko.

"I just don't like hurting either of you," said Tenchi dejectedly.

Ryoko held his hand. "Whenever it hurt last night, I thought about how
I was going to be with you tonight, and that helped me stand it. Did I
go through that for nothing?"

Tenchi sighed. "No. It's just that..." He stopped and clenched his
fists, at a loss for words.

"When you're with her next time, I don't want you feeling bad like
this because of me," Ryoko said. "OK?"

"But I *will*!" replied Tenchi.

"If worrying about me when you're with her means that you'll worry
about her when you're with me, then don't," Ryoko said. "It's like
we're together, but part of you's not really here. And if I can't have
you all for myself, I want to at least have you some of the time." She
looked him in the eyes. "Am I going to have you *none* of the time,
Tenchi?"

"Alright," answered Tenchi. "I just wish I could find some way for it
not to hurt the two of you."

Ryoko leaned over and gently kissed him. "I know." She rested her head
on his shoulder.

Tenchi kissed her in return. "I'm sorry, Ryoko. I didn't mean to ruin
things for you."

"Enough with the `sorry' stuff," she said. "I'm here for you. Are you
here for me? For tonight, at least?"

He nodded and pulled her closer, and Ryoko wrapped her arms around
him. For a while she merely stayed that way, silently holding on to
Tenchi as tightly as she could without it becoming painful to him. As
time went by, he started to become slightly worried. "Is something
wrong?" he asked.

"I was just... thinking, Tenchi," she answered. She lay her head
against his chest. "Just thinking."

"What about?" When she didn't answer, he gave her a squeeze, and
smiled down at her. "Come on. I can listen, too, you know. What's
wrong?"

Ryoko looked up at him. "I wish it could go on like this, forever,"
she said, her voice soft and sad.

"I don't want it to end, either. But why are you so worried? It's not
going to, anytime soon."

"Tenchi, right now is the best my life's ever been. But I've never
managed to be happy before, for very long. And this is the longest
I've ever stopped in one spot since I was little. I know it seems like
nothing special to you, but it's the first place where I've *lived*
instead of just *stayed*. And it's where you are."

"Are you afraid I'm going to make you *leave* or something?" Tenchi
asked incredulously. He hugged her close. "Ryoko, everything I said
before, about not wanting you around -- forget about it. Every single
word."

"I *know* that, Tenchi. That's not what I'm worried about," she
answered. "But the reason I never stuck around is because I
*couldn't*. I had to leave, because if I didn't, I'd be caught, or
killed. Someday, sooner or later, that's going to happen here."

"I don't want you to have to leave, but..."

Ryoko shook her head. "No, Tenchi. I'm not *going* to leave. I told
you, nothing will ever separate us. But it won't be long before Nagi
makes another try. Not to mention every other bounty hunter there is
-- at least I know what Nagi *looks* like. And Mihoshi and Kiyone
won't be assigned here forever, either. I can't *always* win. One of
those times it's going to come down to me having to leave you behind
if I want to live." After a brief pause, she continued in a quieter
voice. "So I'll die. And I want to be with you, as much as I can,
before that happens."

For a moment, Tenchi just held her, struck speechless in horror. Then
he gazed down into her eyes, and kissed her. "Ryoko, if that ever
happens, promise me you'll run away."

Ryoko shook her head. "No."

"*Please*," he begged. "Even if I never saw you again, I'd want you to
be alive."

"If I was never going to see you again, I'd rather be dead," she
replied.

Tenchi sighed and thought for a while, holding Ryoko and considering
what she'd said. He couldn't bring himself to believe that what she
was saying was actually true, but it did explain why she seemed so
frantic and aggressive sometimes. She was treating every last moment
with him as if it might be her last. After a few minutes, his face
brightened slightly as an idea entered his head. "Couldn't you just
take me with you?"

Ryoko's eyes widened. "You'd go with me?" she asked, disbelief in
every word.

Tenchi nodded. "I'd rather stay, but if you have to leave someday, I
want us to leave together."

She lifted her head from his chest and gaped at him, momentarily at a
loss for words. "You'd go with me?" she asked again.

"Well, yeah," he answered. Then, trying to raise her spirits a little
and drive away the dreadful gloom left by the talk of death and
separation, he smiled. "Don't get any funny ideas, though. I'd much
rather stay around here where it's nice and quiet."

Memories flooded back to her of the journey she'd taken him on, in the
fantasy world she'd made for the two of them, the world he'd been so
eager to leave behind.

"Someday, Tenchi, I will take you on a *real* journey with me," Ryoko
remembered promising him. "I will. Someday."

Now he'd offered to let her do just that. A tear trickled down her
cheek as she stared at him, wondering when she was going to wake up
and find that the crash and everything afterwards had all been a
dream.

"You'd go with me?" she asked a third time, knowing it couldn't
possibly be true.

Tenchi reached up and brushed the tear away. "*Yes*, Ryoko." He leaned
forward and kissed her. "I love you."

Ryoko pressed her lips against Tenchi's and embraced him as tightly as
she could, holding onto him with all her strength as if every last
enemy she had in all the universe was coming to rip her away from him.

Meanwhile, downstairs Aeka tucked in Sasami and made ready to go to
bed herself. She lay down on her futon and pulled up the covers. "What
kind of story would you like me to tell you tonight?" she asked,
looking over at her sister.

"It doesn't matter, Aeka. Any story will be fine. I've always told you
that," replied the younger princess, smiling.

"Very well, then." She fell silent for a while, thinking, then cleared
her throat and started speaking. "Once upon a time, there was a
princess, gifted with beauty, wisdom, and power beyond measure." 

"I think I know who *this* is about," giggled Sasami.

Aeka smiled. "Do you wish to hear it anyway?"

"Sure."

"She valued the traditions of her planet and family more than her very
life, and she had sworn oaths on the spirits of all her ancestors to
fulfill her duty to them," continued Aeka. "So she traveled far,
looking for a someone to marry to carry on her line, and though all
the men she met said they loved her, she knew in her heart that none
of them did. Then, one day..."

About thirty minutes later, Aeka concluded her story, not having
noticed yet that her sister had dozed off halfway through it.

"...And when he saw her crying, he became very concerned, and he asked
her what was wrong. But she was so ashamed of being tempted to break
her oaths, she couldn't tell him. So she said `It's just that your
grandfather was probably right. This has turned out to be the most
perfect day off for me. Just perfect.' But he could see that she was
lying, and he said `Please don't leave.' And she said, `But I must. I
have a duty to my planet, and I've sworn to uphold it.' And he said
`I've never seen or heard of this planet you speak of, and I care
nothing for it, only for you. I love you, and I want you to be happy.
Please stay.' And then he kissed her. And his kind grandfather married
them in his shrine that very day, and the Earthling and the princess
lived happily ever after. Then End."

She lay back and gazed up at the ceiling, as if she could see through
it and out into space.

When would they come for her? she wondered.

And what would she do, when they did?

What *would* she do, if tomorrow a Juraian ship appeared in the sky,
with orders to take her back, leaving Tenchi behind?

Meekly submit to duty, as she always had until so recently?

Renounce her title, as if her father would ever permit such a thing?

Refuse to leave, and be dragged screaming into the ship, like a
stubborn child throwing a tantrum?

Say a tearful farewell to Tenchi, and then throw herself from the
cliff they'd stood on, falling like the leaves the two of them had
watched together last autumn?

Abase herself and crawl in humiliation at Ryoko's feet, until she
somehow convinced the pirate to attack with Ryo-oh-ki and destroy the
vessel, killing loyal Juraians who only sought to carry out her
father's commands?

And even if she did go back to Jurai, what would happen then, once
word spread that her heart was already given to someone, and she no
longer valued her suitors by the ships or armies or territory they
commanded? What would her father do?

Briefly the worst possibility entered her mind: he'd have Tenchi
killed, so that Aeka would be forced once more to see her potential
husbands through the unclouded eyes of duty, and not allow so trivial
a thing as love to be a consideration. She huddled against herself in
abject terror for a few moments, shivering, wondering if so awful a
thing could really happen.

*Gomen nasai, Ten-chan. I should not have brought this danger upon
you. I allowed desire to win out over reason, and because of my
selfishness, you may die. How could I have done this to you?*

Slowly, she calmed down a little, deciding that the first thing she'd
do, once her father found out, would be to swear to him that she'd
kill herself if he brought Tenchi or the Masakis the slightest harm.
*That* would deter him, she knew. In the darkness of the room, she
nodded to herself, satisfied that she'd found a way to shield Tenchi
from one hazard of the treacherous course she'd dragged him down.

But that still left unanswered the question of whether she'd stay, or
go. Of what her decision would be, when the dreaded moment was finally
upon her.

Jurai, or Tenchi? 

Aeka knew that she'd be forced to choose, eventually. Which one?

She didn't know. She loved both of them.

She turned her head and looked over at her sister, who was smiling in
the midst of some pleasant dream. Aeka sighed regretfully, and for a
moment tears threatened to well up in her eyes.

"Gomen nasai, Sasami," she whispered. Then she lay back, slightly
envious of the younger princess' untroubled repose, because she
expected her own to be very uneasy indeed.

Closing her eyes, Aeka reached over, grasped Sasami's hand, and slowly
drifted off to sleep.


Preview of Next Chapter: No Need for Two Swords

Katsuhito sighed and shook his head, looking very disappointed. "Since
my grandson seems rather thick-headed, I suppose I'll have to make it
clearer for him. A woman is to a man as a sword is to a samurai. And
the sword is the soul of the samurai. If he forgets it, or loses it,
*he will never be forgiven*."

"OK, OK."

"If you show no concern for your swords, they will be stolen from you.
If you handle them clumsily, you will break them. And if, because of
your foolish youthful pride, you are careless and unwary and do not
treat your swords with the respect they deserve, you'll soon learn how
sharp they are, first-hand."