The pirate sat on the edge of Tenchi's bed, motionless, staring bleakly
at the floor. Lost in her thoughts, Ryoko hadn't heard the sound of the
door sliding open. Another tear trickled down her cheek and landed on the
bed.

Aeka softly knocked on the wall.

Ryoko glanced up at her, then gazed downward again. "Come to gloat, huh,
princess?" she asked bitterly, sniffling and wiping her eyes.

Realizing that she was probably the last person in the universe Ryoko
wanted to see just then, Aeka restrained the angry impulse to turn around
and walk out, then waited until she could speak calmly. "No, Ryoko. I
came to see if you needed someone to talk to." Knowing how unwelcome she
was, the princess turned to leave. "I'm sorry to have disturbed you."

"Aeka, don't... go," Ryoko almost begged.

Aeka stopped for a moment. Then she walked over to the bed and sat down a
carefully-measured distance from Ryoko. Some sort of comforting gesture
was called for, she knew, but there was no way she could bring herself to
offer it, and she knew that Ryoko wouldn't exactly welcome it, anyway.
Several minutes of silence passed while the princess wavered in
indecision.

"I'm sorry, Ryoko," she said finally, part of her wondering if she really
was.

"Thanks," answered Ryoko quietly.

Ten or more wordless minutes went by as both of the girls sat motionless
on Tenchi's bed.

"Aeka?"

"Yes?"

"If I ask you a question, could you promise to answer it without making
fun of me?" asked Ryoko, vulnerability permeating her voice.

Hearing her rival's uncharacteristic weakness, Aeka fought down the urge
to unleash a cold, cruel, triumphant laugh, to seize the chance to rip
into the pirate's momentarily-unarmored soul.

"I promise," replied Aeka after a few moments.

Ryoko looked over at her. "Do you think I would have made a good mom?"
she asked.

Dozens of barbed answers flashed into the princess' mind, insults and
retorts instantly produced with long-honed skill.

"Aren't there enough juvenile delinquents to be found already?"

"Certainly! I'm sure you'd produce a wonderful brood of little monsters."

"I take it you've laid another egg, then?"

"Is most-wanted status hereditary, or will they have to commit crimes of
their own first?"

"Perhaps, but be sure you train them to use the litter box."

"Won't your cell at the prison get rather crowded, though?"

Aeka reined in her mental reflexes and banished the hurtful thoughts as
best she could, while trying to come up with an honest answer.

"I don't know about your abilities, but I'm sure your heart would be in
the right place," said Aeka. "Though I think, perhaps, you might over-
indulge them a bit."

A few tears streamed down Ryoko's face as she nodded and forced a bitter
smile. "I'd spoil them rotten."

Time passed, then Aeka spoke once more. "What of me?"

Ryoko thought about it. "You'll do OK," she said eventually. "I think
you'll be a little too strict, and maybe over-protective sometimes, but
other than that, you'll do a good job."

Silence filled the room again for a while as the two of them withdrew
into their thoughts. Recalling her own fears about never being allowed a
chance to bear a child of Tenchi's, Aeka considered for a moment the
other dangers that would present themselves if, beyond all hope, such a
thing *was* permitted to happen.

Dangers such as the one sitting next to her.

Aeka's mind conjured a vivid, horrifying image of Ryoko floating with her
sword in hand, its blood-red glare illuminating a face twisted in pain
and jealous lunacy as the pirate looked down at an unguarded cradle and
bared her fangs.

Then the princess glanced to her side. The same pain was evident on the
real Ryoko's face, but for the moment she looked nothing like her usual
fiery, violent self. She hardly seemed the same person Aeka had fought
for so long, and she definitely didn't fit the picture of a most-wanted
galactic criminal.

Doubt still nagged at Aeka, however. So she decided to find out. Now was
as good a time as any, after all. Perhaps better than most times, even.

"Might I ask *you* a question, Ryoko?"

"Sure."

"If Ten-chan and myself were to... have children," Aeka asked hesitantly,
"would you be... *hostile* to them?"

Anger flashed into Ryoko's face, but she didn't seem to have the strength
for her typical sort of reaction. "I can't believe even *you* would think
that of me," she said.

"I'm sorry, but I needed to ask," said Aeka.

"Even if they were just *yours*, I wouldn't want to do anything to little
kids. But they'll also be *Tenchi's*. Do you really think I'll hurt
Tenchi's baby, just because it's yours, too?" Ryoko asked incredulously,
looking terribly hurt as she slowly shook her head, for the first time
ever seeming to honestly care what Aeka thought of her. "I wouldn't. I
*couldn't*," she insisted emphatically.

"I suppose not," admitted Aeka. "I didn't truly think such a thing of
you, Ryoko, but I wasn't sure, and I wished to know. I was worried."

Ryoko stared at her for a moment. "Aeka, you're not...?"

The princess shook her head. "No. Not that I know of, at least. Washuu
assures me it won't happen unless I choose it to."

"And you *believe* her?" asked Ryoko, trying to force herself to laugh
but failing.

Aeka smiled. "In this matter, I suppose I have little choice. From what I
understand, the methods Earthling women have available to them are quite
primitive, and I hadn't thought to bring anything with me when I left
Jurai. I didn't anticipate a need." The princess paused for a moment,
thinking. "On the subject of Washuu, didn't you say she might be able to
do something about your... difficulty?"

"She said 'It's possible, but the probability is very low,'" Ryoko
sighed, shaking her head. "That's just her way of saying 'I can't, but I
won't admit it.' You know how she is."

"Yes. Nothing is impossible for...", Aeka started to say.

"...the greatest scientific genius in the universe," chimed in Ryoko, her
voice tinged with despair.

"I'm sorry, Ryoko," said Aeka quietly, this time knowing with absolute
certainty that she was.

"Thanks, Aeka. I guess I needed someone to be with, even you," Ryoko said
with a wan smile. She sighed again. "I wish Tenchi was here. He'd make me
feel a little better."

Aeka nodded in agreement. "He does have that effect, doesn't he?"

"Yeah."

"They'll be wondering what's happened to us," said Aeka, starting to get
up. "I think we should go back downstairs."

"You're probably right," agreed Ryoko, standing as well. 

Suddenly, Aeka gave her a rather hard look. "Now, I want you to
understand something," the princess said. "I would have done this for
anyone. This doesn't mean that we've become friends."

"Don't be stupid. Of course not!" snapped Ryoko.

Speaking no further words, the two of them walked out of Tenchi's room
and down the stairs. As they reached the living room, Sasami looked up
from the couch. She handed Taro over to Washuu, then got up and headed
over to meet the two older girls. They stopped in front of her, and for a
moment the young princess stood there, meekly hanging her head.

"I'm sorry if I said something bad, Ryoko," Sasami said.

Ryoko smiled and crouched down to face her. "You didn't say anything bad
at all, Sasami-chan."

The princess' face brightened slightly. "Really?"

"Uh-huh," said Ryoko, nodding. "Really."

"But why were you crying, then?" asked Sasami worriedly.

Ryoko sighed. "I'd... rather not talk about it, Sasami-chan. But you
weren't what made me sad. I promise." She'd hoped that she'd been able to
drive her emotions back down, but now her control was starting to slip
again.

"Then... when you and Tenchi have a baby, can I still be Auntie Sasami?"

"Sure," said Ryoko, her eyes widening as she nodded again and tried to
keep her voice from shaking.

Sasami beamed. "Thanks, Ryoko! I'd really like it a lot! And I promise to
watch the baby for you, any time you'll let me."

Ryoko grabbed Sasami with a motion so sudden it almost frightened Aeka
into unleashing her force field to protect her sister.

"Oww, not so hard, Ryoko!" protested Sasami, as the pirate hugged her
tightly.

After assuring herself that Ryoko wasn't going to break any of Sasami's
ribs, Aeka went over to the couch and sat down next to Washuu.
Remembering the scientist's previous words, the princess glared down at
her, having proven to Washuu and to herself that she could show kindness
even to an enemy. Then the princess smiled as if triumphantly tearing
Washuu's assessment of her to shreds.

Washuu smiled back, her expression curiously that of one whose theory has
been vindicated rather than refuted.

The smile died from Aeka's face, replaced by a look of confusion.
Something about Washuu's reaction was very unnerving, but for the life of
her Aeka couldn't determine exactly what.

Meanwhile, Tenchi sat under his usual tree, finishing off the contents of
the bento box Sasami had prepared for him. He munched the last bit of
burdock, then set his lunch aside, lay back against the trunk of the
tree, and yawned. The warmth of the air magnified his weariness, and he
fought against the temptation to surrender to his fatigue and sink down
into welcome sleep.

"Hiya, Yoshida-kun, how's it going?" asked a voice on the other side of
the tree.

"Hey, Sato-kun," replied another voice. "Kinda crappy, actually. Nanase
gave me the heave-ho over the weekend."

"What for?"

"She says she doesn't trust me anymore, after I got her drunk that time
so I could screw her."

"Man, what a bitch!"

"You're damn right she is."

Thinking back to the last time he'd overheard his two sempai, Tenchi
allowed himself a bit of smugness as an amused smirk spread across his
face.

"Well, you'd better get another one, quick. We've got to keep up our
reputation as the campus lady-killers."

"Yeah, but who?"

"Does it matter? They're more or less interchangeable, aren't they?"

Yoshida laughed.

"I hear Kikyo's not seeing anyone right now."

"Hmmm... yeah, she's got pretty nice legs, too."

"Not as nice as Mai."

"Sure, but Mai's flat as a board!"

"Then how about..."

As the two older students discussed in detail the various physical
attributes of the different female students and what they'd like to do
with them, Tenchi began to succumb to the warmth of the air, lack of
sleep, and the energy expenditure from the sort of exertions that
occupied much of Sato and Yoshida's conversation. Eventually, eyes
closed, he lay under the tree, dozing.

"Sayonara, Tenchi-sama," says Aeka, walking towards her ship. "On behalf
of Jurai's royal family, I thank you for your hospitality, but I must
resume my search for a suitor."

Tenchi stares at her in disbelief. "But... *why*?"

"I've waited very long for you to summon the courage to tell me how you
feel, but you never did. I cannot put off my duties to Jurai any longer,"
she says sadly.

"But I *have* told you!" protests Tenchi.

Aeka gives him a stern look. "You've delayed me. Made me forget all my
obligations. I've behaved shamefully, hoping for the day you'd no longer
look on me as lofty and untouchable. But that day never came. So be it.
That is how I shall act."

"But, Ae-chan...!"

"Hmpf!" sniffs Aeka, turning away. "How dare you be so familiar with me?"

"But I love you!"

"Even if that were true, it could never excuse such a shameful breach of
etiquette. Worship me from afar, as is fitting for one such as you, as
you've always done before."

"But...!" says Tenchi. Before he can further voice his objections, he
stands staring as Ryuu-oh climbs into space. Pain filling his heart,
Tenchi notices Ryoko standing next to him.

*At least I haven't lost both of them.*

Ryoko tosses Ryo-oh-ki into the air, and the cabbit morphs into spaceship
form.

"Take care of yourself, Tenchi," says Ryoko. "I'm leaving."

"Why?" asks Tenchi. "I love you, Ryoko!"

Ryoko stares at him. "Huh? You never said anything like this before."

"But...!"

"You never *wanted* me to come stay with you, right?"

"Yes, but...!"

"I'm not your *favorite* alien, am I?"

"I didn't really...!"

"If I go to jail, you'll write me, won't you?"

"Come on, Ryoko...!"

"I'm a good person, aren't I? Or maybe not? Which is it?"

"That's not fair, I...!"

"It's not like you even wanted to *look* at me or anything, after all."

"But I was...!"

Ryoko looks Tenchi in the face. "Tenchi, I loved you more than I've loved
anyone or anything. More than life itself. I waited so long for you to
understand. I tried so hard to make you see. But you never did."

"But I *did*, Ryoko!" replies Tenchi urgently. "I *did*! Don't you
remember?"

Ryoko sighs as she looks up at her ship. "Let's go, Ryo-oh-ki. I've
wasted enough time, wishing for the impossible to happen." She flies up
to her ship and passes into it, then it climbs towards space.

"RYOKO!!!!!!!!!" shouted Tenchi, bolting upright on the grass.

He looked around, and noticed that the school grounds were empty, and off
near the gym, a volleyball game was underway.

*Damn! I slept past the end of lunch!*

Tenchi slowly stood up, banishing the unpleasant dream from his head as
rapidly as he could. With luck, he hadn't missed too much of his next
class. He grabbed his empty bento box and ran across the lawn towards the
school buildings.

Shortly thereafter, Sasami, Aeka, and Ryoko followed Washuu down into her
lab, the younger princess holding Taro in her arms. As she reached the
main control console, Washuu stopped, cleared her throat, and tapped some
keys.

Multiple spotlights shone down on her amidst the loud fanfare of
trumpets. Washuu picked up a microphone and spoke, her amplified voice
filling the air.

"Before we get to the main event, I'd like to announce Phase II of one of
my recent inventions. An unprecedented feat of miniaturization! An
unbelievable success in the field of molecular transformation! You loved
them in their original size, so let me introduce..."

Another blazing spotlight filled a circle on the floor of the lab with
brilliant illumination.

"... the Chibi Mecha Tenchis!" shouted Washuu.

"Wow! They're so *kawaii*!" gasped Sasami, as Ryoko and Aeka began to
sweat.

In the midst of the light stood a dozen small super-deformed but
otherwise identical duplicates of Tenchi the same size as the copies of
Washuu that suddenly popped up on her shoulders.

"Hooray for Washuu, you're the greatest!" shouted Washuu-A.

"Hooray for Washuu, you're a genius!" added Washuu-B.

"We love them, Washuu!"

"They're just our size, Washuu!"

"Let us experiment on them, Washuu!"

"We'll make them our guinea pigs, Washuu!"

Washuu glanced over at both mini-bots in turn. "Since when did you two
become a couple of hentais?" she asked.

"We've always been that way, Washuu!"

"You programmed us, Washuu!"

"Hmm... yes, I suppose I did," said the scientist, grinning. She turned
back to face her guests, paused for dramatic effect, and spoke into the
microphone again. "Sagan batch!"

The twelve Chibi Mecha Tenchis expanded to full-Tenchi size with an
audible "Pop!"

"Heisenberg batch!" commanded Washuu.

Another "pop!" sounded as the robots shrank down again and air rushed to
fill the vacated space.

Sasami did her best to clap without dropping Taro, while Aeka and Ryoko
did little but stare. Washuu put her hands on her hips and frowned.
"There are scientists at the Academy who'd donate most of their internal
organs to see what I'm showing you people. How about some *appreciation*,
huh?"

Ryoko and Aeka shook off their disbelief-induced paralysis and walked
over to stand on either side of Washuu, frowning down at her.

"Am I to understand that, after we spent most of yesterday chasing down
these abominations of yours, you've created *more* of them?!?!" demanded
Aeka.

"You'd better have a *really* good explanation for this," warned Ryoko,
cracking her knuckles.

"You're forgetting that all the ruckus yesterday was due to, *ahem*, user
error," said Washuu, lookup up at Ryoko. "Besides, the brains in these
ones are blank. As far as the higher functions go, anyway. They're not
going anywhere."

"Is it OK if I pick one up?" asked Sasami, now standing next to her
sister.

"No, Sasami," answered Aeka. "These are very dangerous."

"They're perfectly safe!" retorted Washuu. "All of the problems yesterday
were due to the instability of the composite Tenchi-Nobuyuki personality.
And the risks inherent in letting a fool use a non-foolproof system."

Ryoko flexed her fingers and remained silent.

Washuu noticed, and smiled. "But to ensure that won't happen with
*these*, I've put in multiple safeguards, and a brand-new user-friendly
interface." She turned to the group of small Tenchi-bots again. "Sagan
one."

A single robot popped to full size.

"Fermi one," said Washuu.

"Now initializing Mecha Tenchi Administration Setup," intoned the robot,
his synthetic voice a perfect match for Tenchi's. "The following
parameter groups are available for customization: psychological profile
(not yet implemented), anatomical specifications, external accessories,
stimulus response levels, and hypothetical pre-coital activity. Awaiting
selection."

Ryoko smirked. "It's still your usual scientist gobbledygook, if you ask
me."

"That's why I put in a *special* mode, just for you!" replied Washuu,
smiling at the pirate for a moment before turning back to look at her
creation. "Ryoko one."

"Hi! Welcome to Mecha Tenchi for Dummies!" chirped the robot.

"Hey! That's not funny!" snarled Ryoko, as Aeka began to laugh.

"I'd ask you how horny or romantic you want me to be, and other stuff
like that, but I don't have a brain right now, so I can't," continued
Mecha Tenchi. "Would you like to change my hairstyle, or how well I'm
hung?"

Aeka stopped laughing and glared at Washuu. "Turn it off," she ordered.
"I won't have your perverted creations disturbing Sasami."

"But he's funny," giggled Sasami.

"What do you want me to wear?" asked the robot.

"I think you'd be kawaii if you dressed like Tuxedo Kamen," Sasami
answered.

The air around Mecha Tenchi shimmered for a moment, then cleared to
reveal him dressed in a formal black tuxedo and a mask.

"Wow! That's really neat, Washuu!" gasped Sasami.

"Thank you, Sasami-chan," said the scientist, her face beaming proudly.
She looked up at Aeka and Ryoko. "And it's all self-contained now, too.
Heisenberg one." The Mecha-Tenchi shrank back down, still wearing his
mask and tuxedo. "You can take him with you wherever you want, then
expand him to full size and use him however you like. The ultimate in
convenience!"

"Washuu, if you're planning to *sell* these things..." warned Ryoko
menacingly.

"No, no, no," said Washuu, shaking her head. "It's strictly to prove what
*can* be done." She sighed. "Now if only I can get Tenchi to sit still
long enough to put his full brain pattern into them."

Aeka frowned. "If Ten-chan does not wish to assist you in the matter, he
shall have all my power behind him."

"Mine, too," agreed Ryoko.

"But why don't you like them?" asked Sasami. "They're just like Tenchi,
except they're small and cuddly." She turned to Washuu. "Do you think I
could have one, maybe? Then I can take him with me when I go to bed at
night, like a teddy bear."

"Uhhhhh..." said Ryoko, and Aeka, staring at Sasami and sweating.

Sasami blinked. "What's wrong?"

Washuu shook her head. "Don't worry about them, Sasami-chan. They're
being silly." She walked over and picked up Tuxedo Kamen Chibi Mecha
Tenchi, then looked him in the face. "Gates one."

Nothing apparent changed about the robot as Washuu walked back and
offered it to Sasami. "Here, I'll trade you."

"Thank a lot, but I'd rather hold the baby," replied Sasami, still
cradling Taro in her arms. "I'll get Tenchi later."

Washuu sighed for a moment, then nodded, setting the robot on her main
console. "Don't forget him when we leave, Sasami-chan," she said.

Aeka stepped next to Washuu. "I hope for your sake that *thing* is safe
for her to handle," she hissed angrily.

"Don't worry," replied the scientist. "I just erased his whole system. 
He's nothing but a doll now. That's all."

"Is that why you brought us down here?" asked Ryoko. "To see these
things?"

"No, actually, I wanted to show you something else," answered Washuu.
"And it's just about time. Any second now." She pointed at a completely
empty area of the lab. "Watch!"

The girls turned and looked at the terminus of Washuu's gesture.

A wholly-uneventful minute passed.

"I take it something was supposed to happen?" asked Aeka.

"Just be patient," replied Washuu.

Several more minutes went by without anything unusual transpiring.

"Gee, this is sure fun," said Ryoko, sounding extremely bored.

Washuu frowned. "Something seems to have gone wrong," she muttered
contemplatively.

"Wow, like none of us expected *that*," Ryoko chuckled.

Washuu started to summon her phantom laptop but stopped when a door
appeared out of nothingness and slid open. Out of it walked Earth's
resident force of Galaxy Police, Kiyone looking quite annoyed and Mihoshi
appearing flustered yet cheerful. Each one had some clothes slung over
her arm, and Kiyone carried a bottle of sake.

"Whew!" gasped Washuu, wiping the sweat from her brow. Then she grinned,
brought her microphone up to her face, and shouted. "Announcing, the
grand opening of the Mihokiyo Dimensional Expressway!!!"

"Hi, everybody!" said Mihoshi in her usual bubbly voice. "Sorry we're
late, but it took me a while to find a clean change of clothes. Since
detergent has gotten so expensive, Kiyone and I have only been able to do
the laundry once every..."

Kiyone clamped her hand over her partner's mouth. "They don't need to
know about that, Mihoshi!" she growled.

"I should have expected this. Never forget the Fourth Law of
Thermodynamics," Washuu quietly reminded herself. "After the field test
of the dimensional portal yesterday, I made a few minor changes and set
it up to be fully operational," she explained. "This way, Mihoshi and
Kiyone can visit any time they like, without having to spend their money
on train fare. And they won't have to use the public baths anymore,
either. And we can go visit *them*, too!"

"Hooray!" cheered Sasami. "You'll come over all the time now, won't you?"

Letting go of Mihoshi, Kiyone bowed to Washuu, presenting her with the
bottle of sake. "We want you to have this as thanks, Washuu-chan. We
really appreciate it."

Washuu waved her hands and smiled. "Think nothing of it. Seeing one of my
brilliant inventions put to use is thanks enough."

"But it was such a nice thing for you to do," protested Mihoshi. "We
couldn't visit since I lost our Japan Rail passes and we couldn't afford
new ones until next payday, and I was feeling *really* *icky* 'cause we
don't have enough money to go to the public..."

Kiyone muffled her partner again. "Will you be quiet about that stuff?!"
she hissed. Then she calmed down. "But we *were*, uh, sort of planning on
using the women's bath, if you don't, you know, uh, mind..." she said,
sounding very embarrassed.

"That's not a bad idea," said Ryoko. "Nothing like a nice hot bath in the
afternoon."

Aeka nodded. "A bath and conversation always go well together. Let's
*all* take one."

"There's something I want to show Sasami-chan first," explained Washuu.
"We'll be along in a few minutes."

"What is it?" asked Sasami.

Washuu grinned. "A surprise."