"Uh - Tenchi!  I didn't hear you come in..."

Despite Washu's best efforts to hide it (much as her 4'6"-odd frame
could have tried to do so), Tenchi was still able to ogle the piece
of hardware with an unobstructed curiosity.  "Sasami said it was 
time for... is that," here he pointed at the towering equipment, "a
- ?"

"Karaoke machine," Washu supplied, not without some embarrassment.
"I, uh, wanted to, well, do something... to rest my brain.  Isn't
all this," she waved the sleek black casings covering some ten of
kilowatts in amplification power that happened to be the closest
part of the system, "so low-tech?  I mean, will you talk resistors
and semi-static - "

"Washu," Tenchi said, not really hearing her, "I didn't know you 
sang."

"What?  No, no."  She made rapid up-down waving movements subtly
signifying that she wanted him to think that she didn't want to
walk about it, while she really wanted to have a chance to ask 
him if he wanted a sample.  "Silly thing's just parts that 
happened to be around..."

"You just happened to have a copy of the Maison Ikkoku karaoke CD
lying about?"

"Okay," she neatly exploded.  "I bought it off of Ryoko."  She
tried to extract the CD from Tenchi, who gave her a glance that
said that he didn't need a sample.

"I... I heard you.  Earlier, on the way in."  Tenchi smiled, then
covered it in a blush.  "I thought, it couldn't be you... I mean,
why would Washu be singing in her laboratory?"

"Why did the chicken cross the road?"

"Huh?"

Washu shook her head.  "Never mind.  Let's go."

"Because it could."  Tenchi turned to Washu, who stopped.  "I 
don't get it."

She didn't turn, though.  "You don't, do you."  She pivoted on her
heel deliberately.  "Tenchi... in that fight with Kagato, you knew
how powerful he was... you knew that Ryoko was powerless to stop
him, that none of you were able to stop him...."  She levelly set
her eyes with his.  "Why did you go?"

Tenchi looked flustered.  "Because I had to."

"He let you be.  Ryoko was a felon.  Mihoshi was a cop.  Ayeka 
would have gone and sent Jurai on your say-so.  YOU WEREN'T NEEDED."  
She watched the point set in.  "Why did you go?"

Tenchi nodded gravely.  "Because the chicken crossed."

She waved the microphone before her.  "Because you wanted to sing."
She put the cordless in his hands, closing them with her own.  She
slid around him without letting go.  "Because, sometimes, you have 
to sing... to know your heart can beat to someone else's tune... to
play someone's sadness... your lips with his..."

The CD began playing... the light was just so... he looked up into
her eyes... with a leaning forward, he pecked her lightly on the 
cheek.  She turned her head, and fell on his lips fully.  She broke
off, walking ahead to the door.

"What was that for?"  he asked.

He couldn't figure if she choked slightly or hid a sniffle.  "Because
you could have done better, Tenchi."

***

Bleah.  Where do these things come from?  I think Valentine's finally
caught up with me.

Switch
The Nikholas F. Toledo Zu @ WWW: The Entertainment Capital of UP Village
Vector, Switch, Yebah, Rain Man, goo, Pervert, Scruples, Hollie, NomaD, 
 Blitz, Gee, Datzo, Jewel, Elf, Radler, Pinball, Mayhem, Chaos, Father, 
 Attar @ http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Flats/3145/mezza9.html (or not)
Fanfiction Page @ http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Flats/3145/fanfics.html
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