I suppose when you enjoy a series as much as I've enjoyed this one and
have spent as much time reading it as I have, it's time to give the author
a little feedback. This fic enjoys a permanent place on my hard drive and
it's one that'll stay there. On an interesting note, after checking the
RAAC archive, I believe this fic is the *longest* pure Tenchi fic out there
at this point. Which is quite an achievement as well, considering how Aikan
Muyo has maintained its same high quality throughout.

	Chapter #9 is a bit slow as far as the lemony bits go, though by now, what
is there is more making love than having sex. Happosai has managed a good
job of both advancing the relationships between Tenchi and the girls, while
still maintaining the tention between them. Ryoko's constant worry that
Tenchi cares more for Aeka than her, and Aeka's constant fear of being
summoned back to the Jurai homeworld help keep the level of conflict high,
even if it has become more an emotional and inner conflict than a physical
one. 

	Speaking of Aeka's fears, Happosai has from the start been using the
Tenchi Universe timeline with little bits of the OAV thrown in. Normally,
I'm not a big fan of the TV series, but Happosai has really done a good job
of making something that I felt was flimsy and silly become rather
enjoyable for me. Thank you, Happosai. For that matter, using the OAV
timeline at this point would be a bit of a copout. Too much of the tension
between Aeka and Tenchi rests on the uncertainty of what Aeka's royal
parents will do, and in the OAV series, that matter was resolved for us. 

	One of the other things I found interesting in this chapter was Tenchi's
trip to school. The surreality of such a normal activity was startling. We,
the viewers, have grown so used to seeing space pirates and alien
princesses blasting away at one another in mammoth spaceships that seeing
Tenchi in a 'normal' setting is just plain wierd. The little internal
dialogue Tenchi has about what to tell his friends is both funny and a
little sad. Sad because he has become different from his friends in an
irrevocable way such that old friendships will probably not survive the
change. Tenchi has changed while the rest of the world has stayed the same.

	I enjoyed the humor in this story as well. The little bit about Sasami
wanting one of Washuu's Tenchi robots as a doll to take to bed to her, and
better yet, Ryoko and Aeka's reactions to that, was hilarious. Happosai has
kept a goodly bit of laughter running through this story, even the more
serious stories, a tough act to pull off, but I've certainly enjoyed the
ride so far.

	Finally, the advice Katsuhito gives Tenchi toward the end about how to
deal with the girls and his comparison of them to two swords struck me as
rather appropriate. While I'm no scholar of it, I have read through the
Book of Five Rings once or twice, but I've never seen what's written in
there really applied to the 'real' world. Aeka and Ryoko are both dangerous
individuals, in their own ways, in both love and war. Watching how Tenchi
learns to 'wield' them will be a real treat.

	In conclusion, I'd have to give this fic 4 1/2 out of 5 stars. The lemony
bits are good, but more importantly they flow with the plot, advancing it
rather than interrupting it. And the plot itself has taken us on a
roller-coaster ride of emotions and gotten us to sympathize and really get
into the hearts and minds of the main characters. Thank you Happosai, for
this well crafted story. I hope to see the next chapter soon.

Thanks for listening,
Scott Pollert
----------

Scott Pollert [pollerts@hsonline.net]