Then, she thought of herself in a traditional white gown.
She then realized that she hardly ever wore dresses. It had to
have been years since she last wore something that wasn't pants
or shorts. At least she did not have to worry about someone
calling her a tomboy.

That same image of her in a wedding gown appeared, she was
looking down with a veil covering her face. A pair of hands
reached over and lifted up the veil to reveal herself looking a
bit more beautiful than normally. Then, the owner of the hands
reached down and took her hands in his, when he leaned in to kiss
her, it turned out to be... Tenchi?!

Her eyes widened, looked about to find no one was there, and
screamed in agitation. She and Tenchi were just friends. Nothing
more or less. {Let the brat princess and the pirate bitch fight
over him, or even kill each other for all I care!} She mentally
screamed. She needed something to whack her head against, but
found nothing. 

     If there was someone who was playing with her mind, she
wanted to find out who was doing it and kill them. She had better
things to waste her time with than being married to a friend,
whom she did not love.

     That was when she realized she needed to go somewhere, a
place where she could calm down and ease her nerves. If she was
lucky, the public bath was still open and she could go in there
for a quick dip and head back to her apartment. 

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

     After the fiasco about the bathroom, Tenchi went up to his
room and completed what little homework he did not finished
because of the training, Ryoko's and Ayeka's bickering, and other
chaos that just happen to come along. 

     Although he was glad for a momentary silence, he knew it was
not going to last. He heard Ryoko's scratching at the door,
begging to be let in. 

     "I'm still working on my homework! Stay out!" Tenchi did not
want to lie, but the lack of privacy was driving him to the edge.
Ayeka was a bit more understanding about his privacy, but Ryoko
constantly made it clear that she was concerned for him. He
appreciated the sentiment, but he did not want to be watched over
twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.  He was not sure how
much longer he would be able to last. 

     Words could not describe what he would give to have a normal
life. To have a normal day at college, to come home to a normal
house, a quiet house at that, and to someday live a normal life
with a wife that he would care the way his dad did with his
mother. Although the prospect of having a boring life and
comparing it the one he had now, he would rather have something
in between. His life at the time was too exciting, it was too
much for any normal guy like himself to handle. 

     He leaned on his hand and started to scribble on a blank
sheet of paper. All the while, wondering if there was any hope
for a source of order in his chaotic life. A person he could turn
to whenever things got too rough for him to handle alone, a
friend that could understand where he was coming from.

     That was when he looked down to see that his scribbling had
drawn three hiragana amid the mess. 

     Ki-yo-ne.

     He sighed and realized he was thinking a bit too much about
that ordeal that happened half a month ago. He had to move on or
else who knew what would happen. He crumpled up the paper and
threw it into the trash bin and decided it was time to enter the
breach once more. 

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

     Lucky for Kiyone, there was hardly anyone else there and she
had the whole women's side to herself. And unlike other public
baths, none of the men could or would peep in on her. If they
did, she would not be responsible for the resulting fatalities. 

     Slowly easing herself into the water, she felt the pain and
tension ease into nothing. If there was something she was happy
about on this world, it was the baths and their unnatural healing
power. The sounds of the water splashing on the sides slowly was
the only sound she heard and she liked it that way. 

     There was no bratty princess talking about her nobility or
some space pirate bitch going about some delusion that never had
any basis in fact. And best of all, no bubble-headed partner to
ruin her life as much as she did. Even if she would not be here
for much longer, she was going to enjoy this temporary heaven as
much as she could.

     Heaven. Ten. Her nickname for Tenchi, her friend. Her best
friend. The only one who took her seriously and knew the pain she
felt sometimes. She thanked whatever powers that controlled the
universe for someone who could understand what she goes through.
A friend that she could spend the rest of her life with... NO! He
was just a friend. And that was the... what, seventh time she
told herself that today?

     What was going on with her? She shook her head in
resignation. She did not want to say it, nor would she. She
needed to clear her head. So, she began to gently sing a simple
chant from her home world. The volume she used was low enough
that if anyone did hear her, they would think it was something
from somewhere else. It was a chant of nocturnal serenity, meant
to calm the souls of those in torment at night.* 

     When the chant ended, she heard clapping from the other side
of the spa. She blinked when she happened to see a woman, about
twenty to twenty-two years old, approach her. Her white-gray
colored hair was tied back in a simple ponytail, and her
childishly large orange-yellow eyes made her stand out. Somehow,
this woman seemed somewhat familiar to Kiyone, but she could not
place where she met this face. 

     "That was beautiful." She whispered and took a seat beside
Kiyone. "You practice a lot?"

     She shook her head. On her homeworld, only the best singers
were made Bards. Such a lucrative career was rather eluded to
most of the people there. She had a talent for singing, it just
wasn't noticed and she didn't care about it. 

     They both let the silence in the room ease the tension a bit
before Kiyone spoke up again, "Can I ask you a question?"

     The woman nodded.

     "Do know of any two people that have been good friends for a
while, but they never fell in love?"

     "I do."

     "Yet, they keep on running into occurrence where they do
care for each other. Not because of some cosmic destiny, arranged
marriage, some 'love at first sight' crap, or other things like
that. But because of friendship, trust, understanding, and mutual
respect." Kiyone could not believe she was going on about this...
and all over just one guy was already taken by two girls already.

     The woman took a minute to put all those numbers into her
head, smiled, then nodded. 

     Blinking, Kiyone tried to make this woman's expertise with
people a bit harder. "And what if there are others that feel the
same way and it interferes with how these two friends feel? Yet
he doesn't show these others the same side that the friend sees."

     As if she was waiting for Kiyone to ask that, she replied
simply, "If he does love you, he will come out and admit it. Not
just based on love alone, but on those qualities you listed
earlier as well. Couples tend to stay together longer when they
trust, understand, and respect each other. As well as love."

     Kiyone remained silent, realizing that this woman knew what
she was talking about, "I might not have been around as longs as
some people, but I've been around long enough to know the good
and bad in such things."

     Looking down, Kiyone then acknowledged her defeat and asked,
"Then... if I want to know how he feels about me... what should I
do? I mean, I don't want to make it seem like I'm..."The woman
stood up and started to exit the spa. 

     "The Spring Festival is coming up. My brothers and I are
planning to play some music. We could use a singer. You play any
instruments?" she asked with a smile. 

     Kiyone was obviously taken back at the sudden offer. "Why?"

     The woman smiled, "It's because if you want to show how you
feel for him, do something out of the ordinary, yet it can get
your message across."         

     That seemed to make sense to her, so she answered, "Well, I
think I got an old lute back at my apartment. But it's been so
long since I've practiced on that." The woman appeared to be
ecstatic about the news, despite the fact that it had been too
long since Kiyone played her mother's hand-made lute. 

     "Don't you worry about a thing. We got about a week before
the festival starts. My brothers and I can help you find that
edge again. Are you up to it though? I mean, you still want to do
this?"

     Kiyone then weighed the options. She could continue acting
like an idiot for possibly nothing, or just get the realization
drilled back into her head that Tenchi and she were only friends.
Well, she didn't really have anything to lose. So, she agreed. 

     "Oh, by the way, who are you?" she asked as the woman nearly
left. 

     "My name's Sanko Uchikishi. And don't worry about finding
me, I'll give you a call tomorrow." She said as she left the
room. 

     Knowing that she might finally get her answer made her feel
a little bit better. Yet, as she stepped out of the spa, only
then did the full implications of what could happen come to her.
Crying in resignation, she knocked her head against the wall
several times. She was really going to be in for it, especially
if things turned out for the better.  

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

     The following week had been one of the most hectic for
Kiyone, if not for anyone else. On the first day she was to
practice with Sanko and her brothers, she could not even come,
due to a sudden work order and of course, Mihoshi decided to let
them know about her previous engagement, and in turn broke
Yoruto's flute. He had to get a new one that same day and they
were not cheap. 

The second day, she made it up to the others by using the lyrics
to an older song she knew of, that they could adapt with their
instruments. But Yoruto wasn't there for a while, he said he had
to help a friend of his build some sort of booth.

The day after that, Sanko and Kiyone had to spend most of their
rehearsal time in just getting the words right, since Sanko was
not that familiar with Kiyone's native language.

     The next day, Sanko's youngest brother, Rokuto, got into a
fight with a few boys at school and had detention. This left
Yoruto and Gouto, Sanko's other brothers, to be prepared in case
one of them couldn't make it in time. 

     On the fourth day, Yoruto had a previous engagement that he
made with his girlfriend the week before and they had to cut the
rehearsal short. 

     On the fifth day, they nearly got the whole song down, but
Mihoshi had followed Kiyone and of course, made a mess of the
Uchikishi's home. It was a miracle that the instruments were
intact. 

     The night before the festival, they finally got the rest of
the song completed and they only thing they needed left was the
proper attire for the festival. For the rest of that day, the
boys had to learn how to sew up the patches they needed to make
on their yukata. And as a way of saying thanks, Sanko took Kiyone
out and bought her a nice, yet inexpensive kimono that would suit
her just fine. 

As far as anything was concerned, Kiyone was ready. Scared out of
her wits, but ready nonetheless. 

     The week for Tenchi had been relatively quiet. It seemed as
though everyone was getting ready for this festival and wanted to
make a good impression in it. So, with what spare time he had, he
and his friends at school decided to put up a booth of their own.
It was somewhat based on a popular American booth, that if one
could hit a bull's eye in the center of a target, that would drop
a platform a certain person would be sitting on and that person
would fall into a tank of water. 

     Of course, Tenchi was the one that got voted to be the one
who would get 'dunked'. Although the though of falling into a
tank of water continuously wasn't that appealing, it was
certainly better than other things he's faced before. So, he
reluctantly went along with their decision. 

     But while designing the plans for the booth, his friends saw
a few of his accidental marks on some of the paper. All of them
were Kiyone's name. His friends never let him have a moments
peace as they asked who this mystery woman was. The finally shut
up when Tenchi threatened to introduce them to Ryoko. They heard
horror stories from him and he simply exaggerated about her to
scare them away. It seemed to have worked.

     It when the booth was nearly done that Tenchi finally broke
the glass with one of his friends. In fact, it was one of his few
friends that he could talk to out of school. One that he could
rely on for advice about a certain person.

     "Say Kenichi." Tenchi asked, putting the hammer and unused
nails away and walking up to his friend.

     "Yeah?" He said, stepping off the ladder after finishing
nailing up the sign. 

     "Can I ask you something?" 

     "Sure."

     "Well, you see... there's this girl..."

     "Aha! So that's who this Kiyone girl is. If you just said
that you were in love with her, we would have left ya alone."

     "That's not what I was going to say. We're just only
friends. Nothing more or less."

     Kenichi on the other hand, was not convinced. "Does this
Kiyone woman say the same thing?"

     He nodded.

     "And have you two been friends for a while? You know, the
trust, respect, and understanding most friends have for each
other."

     A nod.

     "And never had any intentions of going beyond that?"

     A nod.

     "And some odd circumstance that I'll not ask about, made you
start thinking about her more recently?"

     A nod. "Wait! Where are all these questions leading to
anyway?!"

     "What I'm trying to say is that, you may really like this
Kiyone girl."

     "But we're just..."

     "I know, I know. You're just friends. Or so you say."

     "What?"

     "Listen. You tell me of how much you don't like those two
girls bickering over you, but when you talk about this
friend/romantic interest, you seem to forget that the bickering
others are there. Also, you tend to go on how great she is from
time to time. Now THAT should say something."

     "But she's older than I am!" he protested, hoping that this
little piece of logic would get in the way of what seemed to be
the inevitable. 

     Kenichi merely smirked, "If what you told us about her is
true, then she is more than capable of waiting for you to grow
up. I figure she wants a man that can actually think about the
future and you seem to be doing that right now. Face the facts
Ten, you really do care for her."

     Tenchi had no choice but to listen to his friend's words.
So, putting the next thought into the right words, he asked,
"If... if it is true and I... really do care for her... how can I
do it the right way?"

     Kenichi shook his head, "Can't help you there. Sometimes,
destiny has an odd sense of placement and you will be given the
opportunity to say how you really feel. But watch out, you may
only get one chance."

     "But what about the others? I just can't dump them! It'd
kill them."

     Kenichi was silent for a moment before continuing, "Better
let them down now instead of later. It tends to make the wounds
heal faster that way. Just remember Ten, the longer you wait, the
worse it will get."

     Tenchi nodded after carefully absorbing the words spoken to
him. It even made sense that he better do it soon or else someone
might really get hurt. With a thank you, he left Kenichi and
another there. 

     The other helper with the booth walked up to Kenichi. "Did
he tell you about her?"

     Kenichi smirked and turned to his sky blue haired friend.
"Yoruto, I have no idea how you were able to guess what he was
going to say, but it happened just like you said. That's
amazing!"

     Yoruto pushed back some of his sky blue hair and said with a
smile, "Oh, it's nothing much really. I just want to help two
friends of mine make a star... or however that saying went."

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

     The festival grounds were filled with people coming to and
from booths set up everywhere. A hyper-active blond girl with a
pair of odango was leading a taller black haired man from booth
to booth, in an almost desperate attempt to try out all the
booths. The man was rather apprehensive at his girlfriend's
energy, but was laughing at how happy she was regardless. 

     Another hyper-active girl was dragging along a rather
passive looking blond boy about the same pace as the first girl
did. Behind them, a woman in a kimono, with a squirrel living in
her hair, followed slowly with a fan in her hands. Behind them, a
man with shades eternally locked on his face, was with a woman
that one could easily call his girlfriend. 

     In the fishing contest, a red head girl with a pigtail was
apparently bickering with another girl with a pageboy haircut.
The arguing intensified briefly, but then lessened when the
redhead screeched something she'd rather not have and crossed her
arms, embarrassed. In fact, when the redhead stopped, the other
girl looked at him in shock; but then her face softened, she
reached for her companion, and hugged her gently. The redhead
didn't seem to mind it that much.
     
     Elsewhere, a man with short hair and a pair of glasses was
carrying a woman on his back. Apparently, the woman had a bit
much to drink and she needed to be helped about. After settling
her on a bench, he stood beside her until she woke up again. When
she did come about, the man pushed up his glasses to the bridge
of his nose and knelt in front of the woman and asked if she was
alright. 

     A peppy girl hopped about like a cat, trying to see every
booth that was available to her. Behind her, a boy, no older than
twelve years old, and a girl about the same age as he, ran
behind. 

     At Tenchi's booth, he 'wasn't' having the time of his life.
Almost every person that threw the ball ended up hitting the
target by the second ball. It made Tenchi glad he got used to
being wet. Yet, it was good to know that most of the others were
leaving him alone since they were busy with their own things. 

Those hopes were dashed when Ryoko and Ayeka came along and
demanded that he be released. Fortunately, his friend, Kenichi,
volunteered to take his place and get dunked for a few hours. For
that, he was very grateful and promised that he would help
Kenichi with his next essay. He refused the offer and said he
just wanted to get wet for a while. 

Rubbing his head off with a towel, he was visited by the princess
and the pirate, of course. 

"Tenchi, come on. Let's go to the booths and you can win me a
prize!" Ryoko said while taking his hand. 

"Oh Lord Tenchi, please tell me you were going to do that for me
and disparage the delusion this woman has!" Ayeka said while
pushing away Ryoko into a nearby tree. Yet, it didn't faze Ryoko
as she redoubled her efforts to woo Tenchi. 

"No. He was going to take me! Weren't you Tenchi?" She asked with
a sweet face that wouldn't fool anyone. 

If fate ever was on Tenchi's side, it was at that moment when
Sasami, Washu, and Mihoshi came along. "Hey you guys! Kiyone's
going to be singing in a few minutes. Come on!" Sasami said
excitedly. Taking Tenchi's hand she dragged him to the grounds
where aforementioned woman was to perform. 

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

     Kiyone looked to the developing crowd with her lute over her
shoulder. Dressed in a dark blue kimono with black birds on it,
she forced herself to calm down. The last thing she needed to do
now was break down at this point. 

     Sanko walked up behind her, placed her hand on Kiyone's
shoulder, and gave a reaffirming squeeze. Kiyone looked to her
compatriot and heard her whisper, "It's all right. Just do what
we practiced., but have fun. Like we did at rehearsal." Even
though Sanko was the one the people was going to be paying
attention to, Kiyone was going to be right beside her. 

     She had no choice but to admire Sanko's optimism. But now
wasn't the time for admiration, now was the time to play music
for the people. 

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

     As each player of this small band brought out their own
instruments, Kiyone got a moment to search for her friends as she
strummed her lute. Gouto had just finished moving his taiko drums
to the correct places and Sanko asked them all if they were ready
as quietly as she could. 

Yoruto would be playing the wooden flute that he had purchased
while he repairing his original one that Mihoshi broke. Gouto
would be playing the drums to add in the percussion, and despite
his rather fiery nature, the volume of his instruments would be
minimal. Rokuto would be using a simple dance and singing back up
as he used his tambourines, specially made for him.

     At last, the time was ready and Sanko gave Kiyone one last
reassuring smile before she brought her hands to the instrumental
guitar she was using. What amazed Kiyone was how Sanko was able
to play almost several notes using only three fingers as she
played the opening chorus bars before she actually started to
sing. That was when Kiyone started to assist with her lute. 

~ Kalimondo, kalimondo dei ru hi. 
Kalimondo, kalimondo dei ru hi. 
Saldi takmie, de saun tiroihi mizoi deteir go tsur hi.
Sadi tak le bizon terioihi, kalimondo dei ru vi. ~

Kiyone knew it was her turn to join in with Sanko as she played
the bass part, note for note as she practiced. Despite the
difference of two in their notes, it fit to accentuate Yuroto's
flute that joined in.

~ Kalimondo, kalimondo dei ru hi. 
Kalimondo, kalimondo dei ru hi. 
Salde tak mei, mizon ti roi hi, biizon nea tea bo tsur hi.
Salier tagme, vizon tier mog hi, kalimondo de ru hi ~

     At that time, Rokuto had started to dance about them slowly,
making sure to wave his seashell tamborine at the right pace,
while singing a third voice for his sister and friend. And though
Gouto wanted to make a bit more noise than what he did with his
taiko, he knew the importance of being gentle in this song.
Besides, there were other ones where he could make a lot of noise
with anyway. 

     The audience didn't know what the words to the song meant,
but the combined effect of Rokuto, Kiyone, and Sanko's voices,
and the instruments made the music flow like a gentle mist
throughout the grounds. Within the minds of all who listened to
the music, they felt as if the mist was carrying them from
wherever they were and into a bliss that only the music could
provide. 

~ Kalimondo, kalimondo dei ru hi. 
Kalimondo, kalimondo dei ru hi. 
Salde dag vei, kizou ti roi hi, biison nea tea bo tsur hi.
Sali tagme, vizon tier mog hi, kalimondo de ru hi ~

     During the last sentence, Kiyone looked up to the audience
to find Tenchi was smiling at her. For that instant, everything
seemed lost and forgotten about them. It was if they were in a
world made just for them. A world meant only for those two alone.
For that instant, all the doubts they had slowly faded into
nothing. Whatever that warm feeling they both had, it was
certainly something they wished would never end. 

     Sanko saw Kiyone's smile and went back to her own singing
and playing. It was just as she had hoped things would turn out. 

     Kiyone smiled back and then returned to her lute, the song,
despite how wonderful it was to everyone, was almost done. 

~ Kalimondo, kalimondo dei ru hi. ~

     For a brief minute, the only sounds that could be heard was
Rokuto's tambourines and Gouto's drums that were nearly silenced.

~ Kalimondo, kalimondo dei ru hi. ~

     They let the other two brothers another moment of their
instruments before all five of them played the final couple of
bars. The crowd certainly voiced its enjoyment of the song well. 

     In the crowd, Ayeka looked to her right and saw Ryoko
looking more content than she ever did. And she wasn't even
holding onto Tenchi. So, figuring now would be a good time for
talking, she tapped the demon of cyan colored hair. Ryoko came
out of her daze and asked without the usual snide remarks or
surly attitude. 

     "Yeah?"

     "Ryoko... if it's not too much trouble... could you walk
with me for a minute?"

     Ryoko blinked. She never knew that the princess would
actually get off her high horse and ask her just to talk. She
looked about to try and find Tenchi, but found him gone. Since he
wasn't around, she decided to do what she was asked and walk with
the princess.  "Sure. Why not? Got nothing else to do anyway."

     Ayeka smiled inside. She was hoping that she and Ryoko would
finally be able to get along for a moment, if no other time. What
ever was in the air when that song was playing, she was certainly
grateful for it. 

     "Ryoko...  did I ever tell you that I am sometimes envious
of you? Well, no I never did. But I am at times. You can go where
ever you want, do whatever you want, and there's no one stopping
you." Ayeka said wistfully as she and Ryoko walked through the
crowds of people at booths. 

     Ryoko snorted. "Sorry princess, but it's not as good as you
think. When you're a space pirate, you don't have any peace at
all. You're constantly hunted by police and bounty hunters, so
you can't really rest that much. The only way you can get by is
by stealing from others. And despite what you may think, I do
have a conscience, although small, it's still there." Ryoko said,
looking to the side. "Being a princess of Jurai sure beats being
a space pirate. You can get anything you want, got servants to do
what you want, and so much other neat stuff you can't get as a
pirate."

     It was Ayeka's turn to snort, "So you may think Ryoko. As a
Princess, I do things that are expected of me. Such as being
beautiful so my moron of a father can use me to continue having
his power last. You can not have any real friends, on account you
are too busy being told what you are to be or not to be. You are
trapped, whether you like it or not. When you are born, your
future has already been written for you."

     Ryoko turned to her companion, "Is that why you really love
Tenchi? Because he doesn't treat you like all those other
supremacist pricks?"

     {If only that were so.} Ayeka thought forlornly, but lied
perfectly, "Yes. I am not some piece in some chess game to be
used to him. I am something much more with him. Could that be the
same reason for you?"

     "Well, it was because when he was young, he could see me and
became my first friend. But I wonder why he stays away from us. I
mean, we both love him, so why is he so scared?" She asked
looking up with a bit of agitation. 

     {And here I thought you were smarter than that.} Ayeka
thought before responding. "I am not completely sure. But it may
be the fact that we... may be a bit too forceful."

     Ryoko turned to her with a bit of shock, "But I love him!
What more does he need to be convinced that I really love him?"

     "Maybe... it is because we are not giving him the space he
wants."

     "What made you so thoughtful about all this?"

     "Call it the song, or maybe it's just been that I've been
thinking a bit more about it lately. The reason why he doesn't
really respond to us both."

     "Hmph. So your brain actually has more than one use." Ryoko
chided, which only got a sarcastic fake laugh back. 

     "Really funny pirate. But I do think that if we want to get
his affections, we need to let him have more space and choose for
himself." Ayeka said simply. 

     Ryoko looked as though she was just slapped, "But Tenchi has
to choose me! He just has to! I know he will." With that, she ran
off and left Ayeka alone. 

     {You were so close Ryoko... we could have been friends, but
you had to be selfish and now, neither one of us will be happy.}

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

     After the concert was complete, Tenchi told everyone, save
for Ayeka and Ryoko, that he wanted to talk to Kiyone. He saw her
walking to the edge of the grounds of the festival. So, passing
through the trees, he found her sitting on a bench he often sat
at after festivals of past years. She was looking at the moon,
deep in thought. 

     When he walked up to her from the side, it was then that he
noticed how the dark really made her look better than usual. So,
taking a silent breath, and making a silent prayer, he made his
move. 

     "Hi." He said simply. She turned to him and smiled as if she
was almost expecting him to come to her. 

     "Hi yourself, Ten. What's up?" She asked, leaning against
the back of the bench. 

     "Well, other than the fact that you really did a good job
out there, I'm ok." He said, taking the seat beside her. 

     She chuckled for a second, "Thanks. And the odd thing is
that I don't usually play instruments or sing. The only things
I'm really good at are being a cop and putting up with Mihoshi."
They both got a laugh from that and the comfortable silence that
followed, Tenchi made the next move. 

     "Say Kiyone... we're friends. Right?"

End Section 2   

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