(3/4)

Aeka ran through her mind the events of that morning, and how hurt and
angry she'd been. She wasn't at all confident that she could discuss them
without eventually flying into a rage. For several minutes she continued
to sit, attempting to find something trivial to bring up instead, but all
of the many irritations associated with Ryoko had been eclipsed.

"I've been *that* nice?" asked the pirate, finally growing tired of the
uncomfortable silence. "Wow. I must be slipping."

"I just can't think of anything in particular," said Aeka, trying to be
diplomatic.

Ryoko shrugged. "Well, in that case, *I'll* go first."

Aeka tensed for a moment, remembering those words spoken in a very
different context. Then she relaxed again.

"Hmm... let's see... what have you done lately that's gotten me really
mad..." Ryoko's face brightened. "OK, this morning you were late getting
out of Tenchi's room and coming to get me."

Aeka counted to ten before answering, thinking of how painful it had been
to leave Tenchi when he obviously wanted her to stay. "I'm sorry. I was
discussing something with Ten-chan."

Ryoko looked over at her, frowning. "What?"

"I *told* you, I'm sorry," said Aeka.

"It's *my* day today. *I'm* the one who gets to wake him up. Got it?"
warned Ryoko.

Aeka blinked, too puzzled to be angry. "I *didn't* wake him up," she said
slowly. "He woke up before I did. But I fail to see what's so important
about..." Aeka paused, realization dawning. She winced as she thought
back to the previous Wednesday and what she'd managed to stop. "Oh.
*That*," she said, the faintest trace of sneer in her voice. "I hadn't
realized you were so obsessive about it. Very well, if it means so much
to you, I'll be careful not to accidentally awaken him on your days.
Satisfied?"

"Sure," said Ryoko, nodding. "OK. Now it's your turn."

The subject of waking Tenchi up having reminded her of events the
previous morning, Aeka composed her thoughts, trying to be tactful.
"Alright. I would appreciate it if you didn't tax Ten-chan's endurance
quite so much, when you're... with him."

Ryoko's eyes narrowed slightly. "Look, you can do what you want when
you're with Tenchi. But what I do with him's none of your business."

"It is when he's exhausted once you're through with him," said Aeka,
starting to get angry. "It's not fair to me, and it's not fair to him,
either. Didn't you notice how tired he was yesterday morning?"

"Oh. Yeah, now that you mention it." Ryoko smiled guiltily. "But he looks
so *sweet* when he falls asleep, all worn out." She glanced over at Aeka
for a moment. "So, I guess he didn't, uh, perform last night?"

"I didn't ask him to. He obviously needed his rest, and *I* make it a
point to be considerate," Aeka said proudly. "You might try doing the
same."

"OK, OK," sighed Ryoko. "I'll try to hold back a little."

"Thank you. I appreciate it. And I think you'll find that Ten-chan will,
as well."

"You know, princess," said Ryoko, a wicked grin starting to form on her
face, "if you're aren't gettin' any, you should tell me." She leaned over
and put her hand on the princess' thigh. "I know *I* could satisfy you,"
the pirate whispered seductively in Aeka's ear.

Aeka nearly fell over in her haste to distance herself, and Ryoko doubled
up, laughing. Aeka glared furiously at her. "Will you please stop *doing*
that! It isn't funny!"

"It isn't? I thought it was hilarious!"

"I find the prospect quite disgusting!"

"Yeah. I know," said Ryoko, managing to stop laughing.

"I take it this is the end of any *serious* discussion?" Aeka demanded
angrily.

"No, it isn't. Sorry," said Ryoko. "You never *could* take a joke," she
grumbled.

"Sometimes I wonder if you're joking," retorted Aeka. "Now, I believe it
was your turn?"

Ryoko nodded and thought some more. "OK. It really bugs me when you try
to make me stop kissing Tenchi and stuff just because there are people
around. How about you stop doing that?"

"But it embarrasses him!" snapped Aeka. "Do you see most other couples
groping each other in public?"
                                     
"So? Maybe they just don't love each other as much as we do," said Ryoko
with a shrug. "And who *cares*, anyway?"

"Ten-chan certainly does," said Aeka.

"He's just not used to it yet." Ryoko smiled. "I can convince him."

Aeka's fists clenched and unclenched as thoughts ran through her mind
once more of how much control Ryoko seemed to be gaining over Tenchi. "It
isn't right to cause him so much discomfort!"

"That's between me and Tenchi," insisted Ryoko.

Aeka frowned and fell silent.

"Does this mean you're going to keep bugging me about it?" asked Ryoko.

"Do whatever you like," replied Aeka. "If he gets angry about it, it'll
be at you, not at me."

Ryoko nodded. "Thanks. OK, your turn again."

Aeka sank into thought once more. Her mind swiftly returned to the
morning's events, and this time she couldn't think of anything else to
discuss. "Stop trying to convince Ten-chan to stay at home."

Ryoko frowned and looked over at her. "What?!"

"I said, stop trying..." started Aeka.

"I *heard* that," interrupted Ryoko. She shook her head. "No. Forget it."

"All you're doing is making it difficult for him. That's all you're going
to accomplish. You *should* want to make it easier for him."

"I said 'no.'"

"It's important for him to..."

"*NO*, dammit!" snarled Ryoko.

"You will hear me out!" snapped Aeka. "It's important for Ten-chan to do
what's right, even if he doesn't want to. *More* important, in fact."

"What's so important about that stupid school thing of his?"

"It's not the specific thing. It's the importance of fulfilling one's
duties and obligations, in general. Of doing what one is supposed to do,
regardless of one's own wishes or feelings."

Ryoko began crumpling her empty juice can. "I've had just about all I can
stand of 'supposed to.'"

Aeka sighed, deciding to try a different route. "Ryoko, I know it hurts.
It hurts me as well. But he has to go. Do you want him to spend all day
aching inside just because you're too selfish to put aside your feelings
and stand behind him?"

Ryoko said nothing, concentrating on crushing the remains of the can into
the smallest space possible.

"It will make him feel better if he knows he has our support," said Aeka.
"Or are you only prepared to do easy things for him?"

Ryoko clenched her fist. The wadded aluminum oozed out between her
fingers like clay. "I'd do anything for him. So don't say anything like
that ever again," she warned.

"Then do as I did yesterday."

"What, push him out the door, you mean?" asked Ryoko.

"That is *not* what I did!" insisted Aeka, sounding more hurt than angry.

Ryoko shrugged. "Sure looked that way to me."

"I don't care *how* it looked to *you*!" Aeka took several deep breaths,
trying not to completely lose her temper. "Ten-chan worries whenever
someone close to him is upset. It will comfort him to see that we accept
his having to leave. It's something he must do, so we should see to it
that it hurts him as little as we can."

"Yeah, right. 'Ja ne, Tenchi. Don't worry, I won't miss you at all.' I'm
sure that makes him feel *terrific*."

Aeka shook her head. "You're utterly impossible!"

"No, I'm not. I'm just not going to hurt him like you do."

"*I'm* not the one causing him pain!"

Ryoko thought back to the things Tenchi had said that morning, and tried
her best to be fair. Her voice calmed and softened a little. "I'm not
saying you meant to, Aeka. But he doesn't really want to go. *I* sure
don't want him to." She looked over at the princess, and her eyes
narrowed. "And if you say *you* want him to, you're lying through your
teeth."

"I never said I *wanted* him to go, Ryoko," said Aeka sadly. "I'll ask
you once again. Help me. Do as I do. *Please*. It will be much better for
him."

"It would be better if *you* helped *me*."

Aeka blinked. "What?"

"I *told* you. He doesn't really want to go. He said me he wishes he
could stay."

"Of *course* he does, Ryoko, but..."

"Let me finish. I tried to talk Tenchi into staying. He *almost* did,
Aeka. Almost. Just a little more and he would have said 'yes.'" Ryoko
sighed regretfully. "Look, both of us got nowhere all that time because
we fought each other. I can't convince him by myself. But if you would
just help me, we could do it. He'd listen. I *know* he would." She looked
over at Aeka. "Come on. All we have to do is go and ask him to forget
about school and stay home with us. That's all it would take."

Aeka stood up. "I cannot *believe* you'd delude yourself for a moment
that I would do such a thing! I am *NOT* going to help you tempt him into
wrongdoing and dishonorable behavior! I am not at selfish as *you*
apparently are."

"I'm not being selfish. He'd be with you just as much, or can't you get
that through your thick head?" asked Ryoko, standing up as well.

"That's not what I meant! You're putting your feelings above his honor."

"Will you stop saying 'honor, honor, honor' like it's a war we're talking
about or something? It's school. That's *all*."

"Honor matters equally as much in small or great things."

"It's a good thing this isn't the old days his grandpa talks about
sometimes. Because if someone told Tenchi he had to cut his guts out,
you'd stand behind him, all right... with a sword."

Aeka blanched. For a few moments she faltered, so shocked she couldn't
speak. "How *dare* you accuse me of such a thing!" she said icily, once
she regained her voice.

"You're the one who keeps talking about honor. Is that all you care
about? If you love him, you've sure got a weird way of showing it."

"I love him just as much as you do," declared Aeka, her voice trembling.
"But I love him as he *is*. I don't want to change him, as you seem so
intent on doing."

"I'm not the one trying to make Tenchi do something he doesn't want to
do."

"Hmpf! If you're right, then why hasn't he done as *you* want?" demanded
Aeka.

"Sometimes Tenchi wants to do something, but he needs a push." A memory
came back to her, and Ryoko's eyes blazed with angry recollection as she
glared at Aeka. "I'm sure you can think of something I had to push him
into, a few days ago. Right, princess?"

Aeka's face went slack as she realized what Ryoko was talking about. She
tried to come up with a verbal counterattack, but all of the fight seemed
to have gone out of her. She sat down, closed her eyes, and looked away.
"I never asked you to do that, Ryoko," the princess said quietly. Painful
recollections came back of the long wait for Tenchi to become bolder, to
get closer to her, to acknowledge and return her feelings and desires.
The pirate's reminder that he had never done so, and that Aeka owed Ryoko
for forcing the issue, momentarily tore the princess' pride to shreds.
She tried to choke back a sob, and failed. Tears started running down her
face. The knowledge that Ryoko was watching her made it all the more
humiliating, and the tears came faster.

Ryoko looked on, the anger draining out of her as well as she remembered
why she'd come out to find Aeka in the first place. To apologize to Aeka
and make her feel better. For a while, it had seemed as if things were
improving. They'd actually shared a drink and a few laughs. But now Aeka
was sitting and crying, just as she had been when Ryoko had arrived.
Things had come full circle. No, they were worse. Even worse than when
she'd started. She ran the conversation back in her mind. Towards the
end, there were a dozen things she wished she hadn't said, but the words
were beyond recall. And what was the use in apologizing now when it was
an attempt at apology that had started it all in the first place?

Listening to the sound of Aeka weeping, Ryoko looked down at the ground,
ashamed at having failed Tenchi so miserably and more than a little
disgusted with herself. This was twice now that she'd seen Aeka humbled.
And much though she'd wanted it in the past, it now seemed such a
pathetic victory to strive for.

And then there was the matter of the faint but unmistakable feelings of
sympathy and regret inside her. Present, despite the rest of her psyche
trying to deny them and drive them out. She glanced over at Aeka,
wondering if there was anything she could do, then shook her head,
deciding that there was nothing she would accomplish besides making
matters worse. Ryoko stared back down at her feet and stood motionless
for a few moments.

"Sorry, Aeka," she sighed. "Sorry, Tenchi."

Then she was gone.

Back at the house, Tenchi came down the stairs, dressed and carrying the
breakfast trays he and Ryoko had used, along with the bottle of sake and
his schoolbooks. He returned the sake to its proper place -- he hoped his
dad wouldn't notice, as it was the expensive kind, reserved for special
occasions -- then went into the kitchen and began washing the trays and
chopsticks. Once he was done, he put everything away, got himself a can
of soda, and sat down on the couch. As long as Ryoko and Aeka weren't
around, he decided, he might as well make use of the time and study to
compensate for the day of school he was missing.

Resisting the temptation to turn on the TV, he opened up his science
textbook and began going over his assignment, which he needed to turn in
by the end of the week. He solved the first few problems relatively
easily, but after a dozen or so, they became rather difficult. Fifteen
minutes or more went by as he puzzled over one particularly tough one,
flipping back through the text in search of the information he needed.

He was still poring over the words, frowning in concentration, when
Washuu and Sasami came out of the lab amidst a blast of cold air and
swirling snowflakes. Tenchi looked up, stared at the snowflakes drifting
downward, then shook his head. There usually wasn't any point in trying
to figure out what went on in Washuu's lab.

"Konichiwa!" called Sasami, quickly walking over to the couch, followed
by Washuu and Ryo-ohki, who hopped up on the back next to Tenchi's
shoulder. "What're you doing? Homework?" asked the princess, sitting
down.

Tenchi smiled and nodded. "Yeah. I think some of it's going to have to
wait until I can ask my teacher tomorrow, though." Then he blinked,
remembering that there was a teacher standing not four meters away -- and
the universe's greatest genius, to boot. "Uh, Washuu-chan," he asked,
looking over at her, "could I bother you with a couple of science
questions?"

Washuu came over and peered down at his textbook, smiling. Seven hundred
years on sabbatical was just a little too long. "What did you need to
know?" she asked.

"Well, this one's kind of tough," said Tenchi, pointing to problem #16.

"Hmmm... having trouble with chemical bonding, huh?"

"Sort of."

"OK. The first thing you need to understand is..."

Meanwhile, Ryoko stood next to the torii that arched over the path from
the house to the shrine. She looked into the distance, watching Aeka
sitting under Ryuu-oh. The princess had stopped crying. At least, her
body wasn't convulsing as if she was. It was difficult to tell from that
far away. In any case, she'd calmed down, and now just stared at the
ground. For some reason, Ryoko found the sight more than a little
disturbing. Along with all of Aeka's talk about honor and duty, it made
Ryoko think back on the day the princess had arrived and the words Aeka
had spoken, high above Earth.

"There is nothing left for me to believe in. Well, if that's the case, we
*die*!"

While it didn't seem *too* likely, it was just possible that Aeka might
decide to commit suicide in her moment of grief, Ryoko decided. That last
comment, the one about Ryoko pushing Tenchi into the closet with Aeka,
must have really, really hurt. Once more she wished she could take the
words back. It didn't do any good, of course. Every now and then Ryoko
glanced nervously at the rope that, last Saturday, Tenchi had hung from
by his arms. It still dangled from Ryuu-oh's lowest branch.

So she watched, just in case Aeka's grief pushed her too far. Ryoko knew
that if Aeka were to kill herself, there was no way she could conceal the
reason behind it from Tenchi for very long. She was a good liar, but not
*that* good. And once he knew... it would be like what Aeka had
experienced on Saturday, but without any hope of forgiveness.

And that was the only reason she was concerned, Ryoko quickly assured
herself. Definitely. That was absolutely, positively her only interest in
Aeka not ending her life. Without a doubt. For certain.

Suddenly, Ryoko felt a hand grab her butt and squeeze several times.

"Never let your guard down, or your enemy will strike when you least
expect him to," chided Katsuhito.

Ryoko whirled around in a fraction of a second, her eyes blazing with
fury and her sword burning in her hand.

Katsuhito was standing at least ten meters away.

"Your reflexes seem to be a little slow, as well," the old man said.

"Just what the hell do you think you were doing?" demanded Ryoko, baring
her fangs menacingly.

"Testing a student's awareness and reaction time," replied Katsuhito.

Ryoko blinked, remembering that she was supposed to spar with Tenchi's
grandfather today. Now she desperately hoped the match wouldn't involve
getting fondled by him. At least all Nobuyuki wanted to do was look, not
touch. She extinguished her sword and bowed.

"I was going in to the house to have lunch," said Katsuhito. "I presume
you're coming as well. We need to decide when you want to practice."

Ryoko straightened up and looked worriedly at Aeka for a moment. She
definitely couldn't leave the princess distraught and unwatched to go eat
lunch. "Um, ojiisama, um... do you suppose we could, um... do that
tomorrow?"

Katsuhito frowned. "Is there a particular reason? I don't need *two*
inattentive students who keep skipping practice."

Ryoko made another furtive glance at Aeka before making herself stop.
"There are just some... things I have to do this afternoon. Very
important things."

"I see," said Katsuhito, holding his chin in his hand contemplatively.
"Alright. But don't make a habit of it."

"Thank you, ojiisama," said Ryoko, bowing again.

Katsuhito continued down the path towards the house. An idea occurred to
Ryoko, and she followed a few paces behind. Partly because that was the
respectful thing to do, and she definitely didn't want to offend
Katsuhito, but mostly to avoid being in a position to be groped.

Reaching the house, they went inside, and found everyone else in the
kitchen, filling up trays with food. Sasami turned and smiled cheerfully
at them. "You're just in time! Oh, Ryoko, did you find oneesama?"

"Uh, yeah. We're out by her tree, talking. I was coming in to get lunch
for us," explained Ryoko, a little nervously.

"Isn't it great how big Ryuu-oh has gotten since spring came?" asked the
princess.

"Uh-huh," agreed Ryoko, piling chilled noodles, pickled cabbage, and
sushi onto her and Aeka's trays. As she had the previous day, Sasami had
only fixed cold foods, in deference to the hot weather. Not able to
remember which kind of sushi Aeka liked best out of tuna, cucumber, or
daikon sprout, Ryoko selected a few of each.

"Is it OK if I come out and sit with you?" Sasami asked, looking up at
Ryoko.

"Uh... it's... it's sort of a private conversation, Sasami-chan,"
answered Ryoko. "I'll let you know when we're done. OK?"

Sasami nodded. "OK."

Tenchi stopped and frowned slightly, having noticed the unease in Ryoko's
voice. He waited until the others had left the kitchen, leaving the two
of them alone as she put ice in two large glasses and filled them with
lemonade from the pitcher on the table. He stood next to her and put his
hand on her shoulder. "Is everything alright, Ryoko?" he asked,
concerned. "You look a little nervous."

Ryoko looked away. "Well..."

"What are you two talking about that's got you so upset?"

"I... I really think it would turn out better if I didn't talk about it,
Tenchi," she said, still not meeting his eyes.

Tenchi reached over and took hold of her hand. "Alright. Whatever keeps
the peace between you two is fine with me. Just as long as it turns out
OK. That's what's important."

Ryoko hung her head. "Tenchi... what if, sometimes -- just once in a
while, I mean -- it doesn't turn out... well, completely, totally...
*perfect*?" she asked in a quiet, hesitant voice, slowly raising fearful
eyes to look at him.

Letting out a sigh, Tenchi smiled and put his arms around her. "Come on.
I'm not *that* unreasonable, am I?"

"No, not really," answered Ryoko, resting her head on his chest.

"The very first day she got here, you two went up into space and tried to
*kill* each other. Remember?"

Ryoko nodded, reminded once more of why she needed to get back outside,
quickly.

"So, I don't expect you to always get along perfectly. Sure, if you
argue, I won't like it. But I know it's going to happen." Still keeping
one arm wrapped around Ryoko, Tenchi put his free hand under her chin,
and tilted her head up to face him. "And I told you before, I'm really,
*really* proud of you for trying so hard. Both of you." He bent lower and
kissed her. Ryoko hugged him and held on tightly, silently promising him
that she wouldn't rest until things between her and Aeka were the way
Tenchi wanted them to be, at least as far as their current dispute went.

After a few moments, Tenchi broke the kiss and laughed, trying to cheer
her up. "OK, now go work out whatever it is you two are arguing over this
time," he said. "You're probably mad about who ate the last cookie,
again."

Ryoko managed to smile as Tenchi let go of her, gave her one more kiss,
and walked out of the kitchen. She picked up the trays and glasses and
teleported to the same spot near Ryuu-oh she'd gone to before. Then she
quickly glanced over to where Aeka had been sitting.

The princess was still there.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Ryoko walked to the tree and set down one
glass and tray. Then she went over to Aeka and looked down. The princess'
eyes were rimmed with red, and she sat motionless, staring at the ground.
If it weren't for the faint sound of breathing, Ryoko might have
suspected that the princess was dead. Aeka definitely didn't seem to
notice her presence.

"I brought lunch for you," said Ryoko.

Just as she had earlier, Aeka remained silent. But it wasn't just a
refusal to answer. She didn't even seem to know Ryoko was there.

Hoping that maybe a simple gesture might work better than words, Ryoko
wordlessly set down the tray and glass next to Aeka, then retreated. She
started in on her own lunch, but without much enthusiasm, eating with one
eye on her food and another on the princess, waiting for some reaction,
even a twitch. But none came.

Once she'd finished her lunch, Ryoko walked closer to Aeka again and
looked down at the untouched food. "You'd better eat that pretty soon.
The sushi'll go bad."

Silence.

Ryoko sat down, folded her arms across her knees, and lay her chin on
them. Many minutes passed, without a word from either of the girls.

"Aeka, I'm sorry about that stuff I said towards the end. It was really
shitty of me. I take it back, OK? I know you love him, and I know you
wouldn't really hurt him."

Silence.

"And what I said about me pushing Tenchi into the closet with you... I
know you probably don't want to think about that. I'm sorry."

Silence.

"It's not like it took so long because of he didn't like your looks. Like
I said before, putting aside the jokes and all, I don't think either of
us needs to worry about that."

Silence.

"I mean, it's not like *I* got anywhere with him, all that time, either.
And maybe nothing would have happened between him and me, if you hadn't
been with him first, and loosened him up a little."

Silence.

"You weren't that far off. You just weren't aggressive enough," said
Ryoko. She sighed. "And I guess I was *too* aggressive. Maybe all that
had to happen was for you to act just a little like me, and for me to act
just a little like you. Then everything would have worked out OK." Ryoko
smiled and looked over at Aeka. "Pretty profound, huh?"

Aeka continued to sit, motionless. The only sound was that of the cicadas
chirping. Ryoko sighed and looked down at the ground, as motionless as
the princess save for the occasional sideward glance. Another long
stretch of silence ensued. Finally, Ryoko stood up, her fists clenched at
her sides as she glared at Aeka and contemplated one last possible course
of action.

Ryoko picked her up and tossed her into the lake. The princess' surprised
and offended shriek ended in a loud splash.

After foundering for a moment, Aeka stood up in the shallow water and
started wading to shore, her face a scowl and the rage in her eyes
directed at Ryoko like a lance. "H-h-how *DARE* you!!!" she snarled in
fury, striding onto land as the water streamed from her drenched kimono.

Ryoko put a hand on her chest, closed her eyes, and sighed with relief.
"Now *that's* the princess I'm used to."

"Haven't I suffered enough humiliation at your hands today without you
doing *THIS*?!" demanded Aeka, pointing at her very wet self.

Ryoko grinned. "Sorry, Aeka, but that statue act of yours was getting
kind of spooky. I had to do *something*."

Aeka stood, hands balled into fists, taking deep breaths as her anger
mounted.

"If you're going to try to zap me with your forcefield, go ahead," said
Ryoko. "At least that would be *normal*."

The princess slowly calmed down. "I'm not speaking to you," she said,
after a while.

"Yeah, whatever. At least you're not acting like you're going to..."
Ryoko's voice became just a little quieter and rather more serious,
"...kill yourself or something."

Aeka blinked, then stared at Ryoko, an expression of confused disbelief
on her face. "Is that what you thought I was going to do?" she asked
slowly.

Ryoko hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

Aeka continued staring, completely at a loss for words. Finally, she
tossed her head and turned her nose up. "Hmpf! I wouldn't give you the
satisfaction!" she said contemptuously.

"It's not like I cared or anything," Ryoko said. "I just didn't want to
have to clean up the mess, that's all."

"I should have known laziness would be your motive," said Aeka, sitting
down.

"Weren't you not talking to me?" asked Ryoko.

Aeka picked up her lunch tray and took the chopsticks in her hand. "Thank
you for reminding me," she said, viciously stabbing the chopsticks into
the food and beginning to eat.

Ryoko glanced over at the princess, thought for a while, and stood up.
"Back in a sec'," she said, before dematerializing. Aeka stopped eating
and looked at the spot Ryoko had occupied, her expression once more
baffled and incredulous. She slowly shook her head for a moment, then
resumed eating her lunch.

Shortly thereafter, Ryoko re-appeared. Wordlessly she offered Aeka a dry
kimono. Just as silently, Aeka accepted it. While Ryoko stood watch, Aeka
went behind Ryuu-oh to change kimonos and wring out her undergarments.
Now significantly less wet, she sat back down, and finished her food. For
several hours the two of them sat, not speaking, sparing each other a
brief glance every so often but otherwise not acknowledging each other's
presence. As the sun started to go down, by some unspoken mutual
agreement they got up and walked back to the house.

"So, we're going to forget about the stuff we said before, right?" asked
Ryoko, as they approached the front door.

Aeka frowned. "I believe I said I wasn't speaking to you."

Ryoko sighed. "I said I was sorry."

Aeka briefly glanced at Ryoko, as if unsure of what to do, then turned
her face away and said nothing.

Heading into the living room, they found it deserted. Silently they sat
down, not looking at each other, lost in thought. They barely noticed
Tenchi when he came in, carrying a can of soda, and sat between them. He
set the can on the coffee table, then put one arm around each girl. "So,
you two are done talking now, right?" he asked hopefully. "Everything's
OK? No fighting, or anything like that?"

Ryoko and Aeka stared at each other for a moment.

"Oh, yeah, everything's fine, Tenchi," said Ryoko cheerfully.

"Yes. Nothing you need concern yourself with, Ten-chan," agreed Aeka.

Tenchi looked at each of them. "You're sure?" he asked.

"Quite sure," said Aeka.

Ryoko nodded. "Definitely."

Tenchi smiled and gave each of them a kiss. "Great. That's just what I
wanted to hear." He hugged them close for a moment, then took a sip of
soda and picked up the TV remote. "Either of you want to watch anything
in particular?" he asked, turning it on.

"Whatever you want to watch," the girls said, simultaneously. 

Tenchi looked back and forth at them, chuckled, shaking his head. He
flipped the channels until he reached a station playing music videos,
then stopped, considering whether to watch it or look for something else.

Then came the sound of the front door opening and shutting. "Tadaima!"
called Nobuyuki's voice.

"Okaeri, dad," replied Tenchi, as his father walked into the room.

"Okaeri nasai, otou-sama," said Ryoko and Aeka, not quite at the same
time, but almost.

Nobuyuki sighed. "That's such a wonderful sound to hear!" He handed a box
to Tenchi. "Here. I picked it up on the way home, like you asked."

"Thanks, dad," replied Tenchi. He set the box -- the label said "clock
radio" -- on the coffee table. "I'll take it upstairs when I go to bed."

"Just don't break *this* one," said Nobuyuki, sitting down and picking up
the remote. "Now, time for Pamela-chan. This is the first time this month
I've gotten home early enough."

Tenchi cringed. "Jeez, dad, not *that* show! All it is is girls running
around on the beach giving people CPR every five minutes."

"And...?" said Nobuyuki, switching channels. Moments later the screen
filled with tanned gaijin women in skimpy bikinis, and Nobuyuki watched
intently, not bothering to read the subtitles.

Shaking his head in disgust at his father's lecherousness, Tenchi pulled
Aeka and Ryoko closer. The girls looked at each other across him for a
moment, then lay their heads on either shoulder and did their best to
ignore one another's presence.

Soon, dinner was served. It passed rather uneventfully, except for a
groan from Tenchi at having unagi *again* and a polite request to Sasami
that it not be served three evenings in a row. Afterwards, as the dishes
were being cleared, Tenchi stood next to Ryoko. "Would you like to go for
a walk?" he asked.

"Walk?"

"Yeah. Ae-chan and I went for one yesterday, and I figured we could go
for one tonight. Maybe look at the stars."

Ryoko put an arm around him, smiling. "Sounds nice."

"I'll go say goodnight to Ae-chan, OK? In case she wants to go to sleep
before we get back," he said.

A nervous look passed over Ryoko's face as she wondered if, once Aeka was
alone with Tenchi, she might tell him about having walked into the bath
that morning. The princess had said she wouldn't tell him, but that was
before they'd started arguing. And if Tenchi found out *now*, he'd also
find out about Ryoko having lied to him, and the hurtful things she'd
said to Aeka. It would probably destroy all of the closeness that seemed
to have grown between Ryoko and Tenchi that morning.

"Come on, it'll only be for a minute or two," said Tenchi, misreading
Ryoko's expression.

Ryoko nodded. "I'll be outside," she said. She blinked out in front of
the house and sat down, dread weighing on her as she waited for Tenchi to
come outside and either walk with her, or yell at her.

Inside, Tenchi met Aeka as she walked out of the kitchen. "I wanted to
say goodnight. Ryoko and I were going to go for a walk, and I didn't want
you to have to stay up for me."

Aeka's spirits sank. "A... walk, Ten-chan?" she asked quietly, looking
away.

Tenchi sighed and put his arm across her shoulders. "Just for a while,
Ae-chan." He looked over at Nobuyuki, Washuu, and Sasami sitting on the
couch, and wished he was someplace more private. Out of the corner of his
eye he noticed the door to the laboratory. Considering it for a moment,
he turned to Washuu.

"Uh, Washuu-chan, do you mind if Ae-chan and I step into your lab for a
moment?" he asked.

Washuu nodded. "Sure. Just as long as you don't blow it up again."

"I won't," promised Tenchi. He and the princess walked over to the lab
and went inside, shutting the door behind them. Once inside, the door
vanished, and the two of them looked around, very puzzled.

The floor around them was covered with deep snow for a hundred meters in
all directions. Flakes drifted down through the cold air. For another
hundred meters outside that snow-covered ground, snowflakes filled the
air as well, but for some reason they seemed to vanish on reaching the
gleaming ice criss-crossed with skate marks. Beyond the ice not a trace
of snow or ice was visible, just Washuu's normal (if it could be called
that) lab equipment. A short distance away from where the door had been
sat a snow cabbit about ten times life size and a pile of snowballs.

"This is really *weird*," said Tenchi, forgetting for a moment why he'd
wanted to go into the lab.

Aeka nodded, then suddenly remembered. "Oh. Yes, Washuu-san decided to
make some snow to play in, because it was so hot outside today.

No sooner had the words left her mouth, however, when she remembered
where *she* had gone to refresh herself after enduring the uncomfortable
heat, and what she had seen the moment she'd opened the door to the bath.
Aeka looked over at Tenchi, her mind filled with the memory of him lying
underneath Ryoko with his arms around her, giving and receiving pleasure
and seemingly unaware that anything else in the universe even existed.
Pain welling up from deep in her heart filled Aeka's face.

Seeing it, Tenchi sighed, remembering what he'd came to do. He embraced
Aeka and kissed her, then held her as he looked down into her eyes. "It's
just a walk, Ae-chan. I took one with you yesterday, and if you want,
we'll go again tomorrow. OK?"

Aeka turned her face away slightly. "Yes, I'd... I'd like that, Ten-
chan."

"Ae-chan, I'm sorry. I know I'm asking a lot of you two." He hung his
head guiltily. "I kind of wonder if *I* could take it, if it was the
other way around. If there was another guy, I mean."

Aeka's eyes widened as she looked back at Tenchi. She brought her face
very close to his. "There could *never* be another, Ten-chan," she said
softly. "Please, don't even speak of such an impossible thing."

"Yeah, I know. That's what's so awful about it," said Tenchi. "You'd
never even *think* of hurting me like I'm doing to you. Neither would
Ryoko. And you two just take it." He shook his head slowly. "I'm sorry,
Ae-chan."

The princess stared into his eyes for several moments. Regardless of the
pain seeing him with Ryoko had caused Aeka, she couldn't bring herself to
blame Tenchi for it if he hadn't done it out of malice. Nor did she wish
to remind him of it. He looked remorseful enough as it was, over what he
thought was just a matter of him taking a walk with Ryoko. If he knew
what the true cause was and the severity of the anguish Aeka had suffered
as a result... 

No. Tenchi would try to bear the whole burden, place all of the blame on
himself even though he didn't deserve it. Aeka didn't want him to feel
that guilty.

"There is nothing you have done to be sorry for, Ten-chan," she said,
kissing him. "So long as she and I are equals in your heart, you needn't
be concerned."

"Don't ever worry about that, Ae-chan," Tenchi said. "Ever." He kissed
her deeply and held it for a long while as the snowflakes drifted down
around them.

"I'll see you tomorrow morning," Aeka said, after their lips parted.
"Oyasume nasai."

Tenchi gave the princess another quick kiss. "Oyasumi."

Aeka reached for where the door should be, and as usual, as if knowing
that it was needed, the door appeared. She opened it, and she and Tenchi
walked out amidst a brief flurry of snow.

Outside by the front door, Ryoko continued to sit. Tenchi seemed to have
been gone quite a long time. She tried her best not to imagine that Aeka
was telling him everything that had happened since the moment the
princess had walked into the bath, but each passing moment made it seem
more likely.

Behind her, the door finally slid open. Ryoko closed her eyes and braced
herself, trembling just a little, for Tenchi to begin shouting at her.

"Ready?" Tenchi asked, putting his hand on Ryoko's shoulder.

Ryoko let out her breath and stood up. "Let's go."

Tenchi crooked his arm, offering it to her, and she took it, smiling.
They walked off into the woods. Once they'd left the glow of the house's
lights, the stars shone down, twinkling crystals, and the faint glowing
band of the Milky Way stretched across the sky, unobscured by the light
of the thin crescent moon.

As they walked, Ryoko began to recognize some of the features of the
landscape. She looked over at Tenchi. "Was there anywhere in particular
we're going?"

"No place, really. Why?"

"Wait and see."

Ryoko steered him a little to the right, and they continued walking.
After a few minutes, they reached a clearing. Tenchi stopped and looked
around. Things seemed... familiar. Then he realized why.

"It was *here*, wasn't it?" he asked, turned to Ryoko.

Ryoko smiled and nodded, then pulled herself close.

The intervening months of weather had altered some of the features of the
crash site, and it was overgrown with grass now, but it was still
recognizable.

"Tenchi..." she whispered

He smiled at her. "Hmm?"

Suddenly, Ryoko grabbed Tenchi and wrapped her arms tight around him.
"Oh, help! My name is Ryoko and I'm being chased by a ruthless space
pirate! Please, I'm begging you, save me!"

Tenchi smirked and shook his head. Ryoko giggled for a while, then kissed
him.

"Want to stay here for a while?" she asked.

"Sure," replied Tenchi. He sat down on the ground. Moments later, Ryoko
floated onto his lap and put her arms around him. For about fifteen
minutes they alternately kissed and gazed upward at the brilliantly-lit
sky. Then Tenchi decided to lie down. He stretched out on the ground, and
Ryoko lay her head on his chest. They sat silently for a while, Tenchi's
arm partly wrapped around Ryoko, as they continued staring up into
silver-speckled blackness.

As her eyes roamed from star to star, recognizing some despite the
unusual Earth-bound vantage point, Ryoko chanced upon a blue spot amidst
the dark. In the center of her vision glowed the emission nebula IC 4604,
surrounding the star Rho Opiuchi, near the yellow star Antares, heart of
the constellation Scorpio.

Of course, she'd never heard of IC 4604, or Rho Opiuchi, or Antares, or
even Scorpio. Those were strictly Earth names, and few even on Terra knew
the first two, besides astronomers. Ryoko's knowledge of space was a very
casual thing in any case, and she depended greatly on her ship's
instincts to get around. "Ryo-ohki, go towards that big red star over
there," or "Take us back to Tenchi's house now," was usually about as
technical as she got.

But IC 4604 she was quite familiar with. She stared at it, recalling a
much closer view.

Memories of a glorious field of hot stars blazing with unbearably-bright
light, flooding space with searing blue glare from cores newly-ignited by
crushing gravitational collapse, came back to her. They were the most
beautiful stars she had ever seen. Faint, twinkling azure light half a
millennia old struggled down through Earth's atmosphere and shone in
Ryoko's eyes. She reached over and grasped Tenchi's hand, giving it a
gentle squeeze as she sighed regretfully and sadness crept across her
face.

Wanting to think of something more pleasant, she turned her mind to the
argument with Aeka. Things were both much better and much worse than they
could have been, but for now, Ryoko felt at ease. At least, for whatever
reason, the princess hadn't told Tenchi what had happened in the bath.
And, despite the final argument about him going away every day, Aeka's
idea of discussing their disagreements before things got out of hand had
actually worked, a little. Aeka would make sure not to accidentally wake
Tenchi up on Ryoko's days, and she wouldn't nag Ryoko with her silly
limitations on showing affection to Tenchi when people were watching.

Then Ryoko considered what *she* had promised. She'd have to... how had
Aeka put it? Not tax Tenchi's endurance, that was it. Ryoko frowned,
annoyed. As long as he was still able to have sex, what was the point in
stopping? It was silly. And she'd miss the warm, proud feeling of Tenchi
falling into exhausted sleep, knowing she'd satisfied him even more than
he could admit he wanted to be.

She sighed and did her best to put herself in Aeka's position. It *would*
be really disappointing if, one morning, Tenchi was too drained to do
anything. And if she handed him over, completely spent, to Aeka, the
princess might retaliate in kind. Ryoko doubted if Aeka would be able to
wear Tenchi out, but there was always the chance. Plus, if the promise
was broken, a fight might well result.

Ryoko reached over and idly fingered Tenchi's hair. "Do you mind if I
sleep with you tonight?"

Tenchi laughed. "Since when do you *ask* me about that?"

"No, I mean just *sleep*."

He paused for a moment, a little surprised. "OK."

"You're sure?" she asked.

"I think I'd like it, actually." He thought for a moment. "You know, it
just occurred to me. You don't have your own room, do you?"

"Not until lately."

"I'm really sorry, Ryoko. I should have noticed. It must have made you
feel really unwelcome."

"Don't worry." She grinned. "I've always thought of your room as
belonging to me, more or less. And I don't have anything to *put* in a
room, anyway."

Tenchi shook his head. "Still, I'm sorry if we made you feel bad. It's a
big house. We should have found *somewhere* for you that was private."

"Don't feel guilty, Tenchi. What you've given me this last week would
make up for anything you could have done since I got here. Especially
today."

"But..."

Ryoko kissed him. "Stop apologizing. I just want to be with you. The
place doesn't matter to me. So shut up, OK?"

"Gee, thanks."

"Besides, Sunday night I moved a futon into the princess' room, and I've
been sleeping there."

Tenchi looked down at her, puzzled. "Isn't it kind of crowded? And I
didn't think you and Aeka were getting along *that* well."

Ryoko tensed for a moment, then continued. "We're hardly ever there at
the same time, Tenchi. And this way, Sasami always has someone to keep
her company."

"Sasami-chan must like that."

"Yeah, we can talk about things." Ryoko smiled. "She's got a crush on
you, you know."

"She does?" asked Tenchi, amazed.

Ryoko kissed him. "Have you *always* been this blind, Tenchi?"

"I never thought about Sasami-chan. She *is* a great cook," Tenchi said.
"I'd never go hungry." He fell silent and his face took on a very
contemplative expression as he waited for a reaction.

Ryoko sat up and mock-punched him in the gut, then glared at him, baring
her fangs. "Tenchiiiii! I am *not* sharing you with *two* Juraian
princesses!"

"OK, OK," said Tenchi, pretending to cringe.

"You're getting to be just like your dad," said Ryoko, shaking her head.

"Hey! That's *NOT* funny!" shouted Tenchi.

Ryoko laughed and kissed him again. "I thought it was."

Tenchi frowned. "I'm not ecchi like he is."

Ryoko arched an eyebrow. "Isn't it just a *little* ecchi to fuck in the
women's bath?" she asked. "Hmmmm?"

"Well, maybe," admitted Tenchi, a sheepish grin on his face.

"Alright, then," said Ryoko, smiling.

Some time later, the two of them climbed the stairs and walked down the
hall to Tenchi's bedroom. Everyone else in the house had gone to bed,
except for Azaka and Kamidake, who stood, ever-vigilant, on either side
of the bedroom door.

"Oyasumi, you two," said Tenchi, yawning slightly as he and Ryoko entered
the room.

"Oyasume nasai," chorused the guardians, keeping their voices low to
avoid waking everyone up.

Tenchi shut the door, got his alarm clock out of the box, plugged it in,
and set the time. Then he undressed and got into bed, joining Ryoko, who
had already gotten under the covers. She quickly cuddled up to him and
gave him a kiss. "Oyasumi, Tenchi."

"Oyasumi, Ryoko."

Laying her head on Tenchi's chest, Ryoko closed her eyes and listened to
the beating of his heart, letting the sound lull her to sleep.

Less than six hours later, the clock radio switched on, filling the room
with a suave male voice.

"...by CoCo, and 'Oyasumi,' by Dreams Come True. To those of you just
joining us, oyaho. It's 4:00am and 21 degrees here at JOFV 80.2, and I'm
your host for the Love Overtime early morning show, Masayuki Suzuki. Next
we'll be playing four in a row by Princess Princess, so all you lovers
out there, don't go away, we'll be right back..."

Grumbling and barely awake, Ryoko reached out and fumbled at the
obnoxious sleep-interrupting device. She had just enough presence of mind
to know that she wasn't supposed to destroy it. In the process of trying
to silence it she yanked the cord out of the wall, and the sound died in
mid-word. Satisfied, Ryoko set the alarm clock back down on the
nightstand, then snuggled against Tenchi once more and started falling
asleep again.

Trying his best to keep from disturbing her, Tenchi gently pried Ryoko's
arms off of him and began slowly sliding away from her. He sat up on the
edge of the bed, yawned, and stretched. Awakened once more, Ryoko shifted
slightly under the covers. "Come back to bed, Tenchi," she said, before
yawning. "You must have set your clock wrong. You don't have to get up
for another three hours."

Tenchi yawned again. "I'm going to watch the sunrise with dad. Believe
me, I'd *love* to go back to sleep, but we do this every year, and he's a
little funny about it."

"But the sun won't come up for another hour or so."

"Yeah, but it takes a little while to drive to school."

Ryoko frowned. "School?" she asked, floating up behind Tenchi and
wrapping her arms around him. "Your bus gets here around eight, doesn't
it? This is making less and less sense."

"Dad and I are going out to my school to watch the sun rise and take some
pictures," said Tenchi. He tilted his head to one side, then to the
other, cracking the joints in his neck, then rolled his shoulders. "I'd
explain, but it's kind of a long story." He turned around and kissed her.
"Anyway, sayonara. I'll see you this afternoon." He kissed her again.
"Now, go back to sleep. I'm sorry you woke up."

"No, I want to see you off," said Ryoko.

Tenchi shook his head. "It's too early, Ryoko. Just because I have to get
up, it's no reason for you to have to."

"I said, I want to."

"Are you sure?" asked Tenchi, smiling at her. "You look really kawaii
curled up under the blankets."

Ryoko smiled back at him. "Is that so?"

"Uh-huh."

"How about getting under the blankets with me?" she whispered, leaning
forward.

"Sorry, but I just don't have time," Tenchi said. He stood and picked up
the school uniform that sat folded over the back of his chair. Ryoko got
out of bed and floated alongside him as he left the room.

"Ohayo," said the guardians, as Tenchi closed the door behind him.

"Ohayo," replied Tenchi and Ryoko, heading down the hall. To Ryoko's
surprise, Tenchi went past the princess' room without stopping. 

A thought occurred to her. Aeka would probably be rather hurt if she woke
up and Tenchi had left without saying goodbye.

*So what if she is? This is your chance to be alone with him just a
little more. It's not dawn yet. It's still your time with Tenchi.*

*We still haven't settled everything from yesterday.*

*What's that got to do with it?*

*It's my chance to show that I meant it when I said I was sorry.*

*Wait a minute, you're not going to...*

*He wants us to be friends. And if I were, then...*

"Uh, Tenchi, aren't you going to wake up Aeka?" asked Ryoko, tugging at
his arm.

"Come on, Ryoko. It's four in the morning. If you hadn't already woken
up, I would have let you sleep, too."

Inside Ryoko's heart, her love for Tenchi fought against itself. She'd
forced herself to make the suggestion, and he'd said no, so now she could
remain alone with him. But he wanted her and Aeka to get along, so...

"I... I really think you'd better wake her up, Tenchi," said Ryoko
hesitantly. "It'll hurt her feelings if you don't."

Tenchi blinked. "You really think so?"

Ryoko nodded. "I know *I* wouldn't like it."

After a few moments' thought, Tenchi walked back to the princess' room,
quietly opened the door, and tiptoed inside. Kneeling between the two
occupied futons, he looked down at Aeka. She lay in beautiful, serene
repose, and he hesitated again, not wanting to disturb her so early. But
Ryoko might be right, he decided. He bent down and kissed Aeka gently on
the lips. "Ae-chan..." he whispered.

Aeka slept on. Tenchi shook her, and after a couple seconds she stirred,
opening her eyes. He put a finger to his lips and jerked his head in
Sasami's direction, and Aeka nodded, sitting up. "Ohayo, Ten-chan," she
said in a hushed voice. She looked over at the darkness outside the open
doorway. "What time is it?"

"Just after four. I'm sorry for waking you up, but I'm leaving early
today, so in case you want to see me off..."

"Of *course* I do! Don't be absurd!" replied Aeka, pulling off the covers
and starting to get up. "Thank you for awakening me, Ten-chan."

"Well, actually, you should thank Ryoko," said Tenchi.

Aeka frowned, puzzled. "Ryoko?"

Tenchi straightened up and pulled Aeka with him. "Yeah. I was going to
let you sleep, but she insisted."

"I see," said Aeka slowly. This was something she never would have
expected. Suspiciously she searched for some possible ulterior motive
Ryoko might have, but none came to mind. It was very, very strange.

"Anyway, I've still got to take a bath and get dressed. I'll wait in the
living room for you once I'm done," Tenchi said, giving Aeka a kiss.

At the mention of the word "bath" the princess tensed slightly. Then she
returned Tenchi's kiss. He walked out of the room, and as she retrieved a
change of clothes, she heard Tenchi's voice from out in the hall.

"Well, you were right. I know I keep saying this, but I'm really proud of
you, Ryoko." Aeka heard the two of them kissing. "I mean it. Gambatte!"

"Thanks, Tenchi," replied Ryoko, the happiness caused by his words
unmistakable in her voice.

Aeka sighed regretfully, trying not to be jealous. Ryoko apparently *had*
prevented Tenchi from inadvertently hurting the princess' feelings, and
deserved his thanks for it. She thought about how she'd spent most of the
previous morning trying to do precisely the same thing, and imagined
experiencing Tenchi's gratitude at her efforts. But she'd thrown that
chance away, literally, and now Aeka wished very much that she hadn't.
She exited the room and shut the door quietly, then turned to see that
Ryoko had waited for her. The two of them stood, not quite meeting each
others' eyes.

"Ohayo," said the pirate.

Aeka nodded. "Ohayo." She hesitated briefly, then spoke again. "Ryoko...
thank you."

"You're welcome."

"About yesterday," said Aeka, as they started towards the stairs. "I
think it would be best if we simply forgot about it. And if we refrained
from discussing... that subject... any further."

"Yeah. You're probably right," said Ryoko. They began their descent down
the stairs.

"Ten-chan seemed most... pleased... with your having asking him to awaken
me," the princess said quietly.

Ryoko nodded. "Uh-huh."

Aeka stopped and turned towards her as they reached the foot of the
stairs. "Was it... worth it?" she asked.

Ryoko smiled and nodded again. "You bet."

The continued on to the bath, Ryoko floating behind while Aeka walked.
Arriving at the door, the princess reached out to open it, then stopped,
hearing the sound of Tenchi's voice from the other side. She continued to
stand, wide-eyed, frozen except for her trembling extended arm.

Ryoko reached past her and slid the door open. Aeka reflexively braced
herself for the terrible sight she was about to confront, even though she
knew that Tenchi was in the men's bath and Ryoko was standing right next
to her.

The women's bath was deserted.

They proceeded inside and shut the door. Aeka stood for several moments,
staring at the spot where Tenchi and Ryoko had lain the previous day. The
memories were far worse than she'd expected them to be. Then she placed
her clothes aside, got undressed, and joined Ryoko, who had already
started washing.

"Um, Aeka," said Ryoko, after a while.

"Yes?"

Ryoko searched for the least painful way to phrase things. "I'm not, you
know, a shrink or anything, but sometimes the best way to stop being
afraid of something is to face it head-on." That was the closest she
could get, Ryoko decided. Coming straight out and suggesting that Aeka
might banish her memories of Ryoko having sex with Tenchi in the women's
bath by doing so herself wasn't something she could manage. Accepting,
for a while, that Aeka could be with Tenchi was one thing. Encouraging it
was something else entirely.

Aeka nodded slowly, understanding Ryoko's meaning. She'd considered such
a thing herself, but now, looking around, she decided that she couldn't
go through with it. The place was too thick with the sights and sounds of
the previous day, as if Tenchi and Ryoko had placed an indelible mark on
it. "Thank you for your advice, but I think it would be best if I didn't,
just yet. Perhaps later."

Ryoko shrugged and continued washing. Soon the two of them rinsed and
dried off, dressed, and walked out of the bath. Entering the living room,
they saw Nobuyuki setting down a small stand with a samurai helmet on it
next to Achika's kami shrine. He clapped his hands, bowed his head, and
whispered for a few moments, then turned to walk to couch. Seeing Aeka
and Ryoko, his face brightened. "Ohayo!"

"Ohayo, otou-sama," the girls chorused.

"If you're looking for Tenchi, he's still in the bath," said Nobuyuki,
picking up a large paper streamer, painted to look like a fish, that had
been lying on the couch. "I hope he hurries up, I need him to..."
Nobuyuki stopped and looked over at Ryoko and Aeka. "Actually, could you
two lend me a hand with this?"

The girls rushed over to help him, holding the end and the middle of the
streamer as Nobuyuki carried the head out the front door.

Aeka frowned. "Since when do *you* help around the house?"

Ryoko paused for a moment. "Tenchi, um, asked me to."

"Oh. I see," said Aeka. "That explains a few things."

"Shut up," growled Ryoko.

Once outside, Nobuyuki turned around. "Just hold the koinobori while I
get a ladder?"

"Ladder?" asked Aeka.

"That's right. I need to climb up and tie this to the roof," said
Nobuyuki.

Without another word, Ryoko flew up, carrying the banner with her, and
tied it to the peak of the roof, letting it flutter in the light breeze.
Then she floated back down, and theatrically dusted off her hands.
"There. Piece of cake."

Nobuyuki chuckled. "Wow, it sure must be convenient to be able to do
that."

"Is this for some sort of festival?" asked Aeka, looking up at the
streamer.

"The koinobori, you mean? Ah, I forgot. You probably don't celebrate
Children's Day in outer space," said Nobuyuki. "Well, today is the day
everyone in Japan prays for their children to grow up healthy and strong.
The carp streamer is to honor the strength the carp has for swimming
upstream, so that the children will have the same strength."

"Oh," said Ryoko, suddenly very quiet.

"So, this is for Ten-chan, then?"

Nobuyuki nodded and smiled. "Yeah. But this is probably the last year I'm
going to do this. Tenchi's all grown up now." He glanced over at the
girls. "Especially this last week."

Aeka blushed, and Ryoko grinned, managing to shake off her momentary
gloom.

Nobuyuki turned away again. "Besides, it won't be long now before I'll be
doing this for my grandchildren, right?"

Ryoko's eyes widened, and she stood completely still. Aeka glanced over
at her for a moment, then looked away.

"Pretty soon, the house will be full of the sound of them. That's one of
the reasons I built it so big," he said quietly, gazing up at the
koinobori flapping in the wind. "Our dream house. For us, our children,
and theirs." A touch of sad humor entered Nobuyuki's voice. "Well, we
only had time for one, so I hope you two and Tenchi are going to work
extra hard."

Ryoko stared bleakly up at the waving streamer for a while, then sighed
and looked down at the ground. Watching from the corner of her eye, Aeka
wondered if she should do something, and if so, what.

*Do something? Yes, you SHOULD do something -- tell Nobuyuki that Ryoko
cannot bear children for Tenchi. Once he knows, he'll never approve a
marriage.*

*That would not only be cruel, it would be foolish. Tenchi doesn't
hesitate to defy his father, and he'd see the motive immediately. Even
Nobuyuki might, it's so pathetically transparent.*

*Even so, you owe nothing to HER.*

*What about this morning?*

Slowly, hesitantly, Aeka stretched out a trembling arm towards Ryoko. She
grit her teeth and stopped for a moment, then lay her hand on the
pirate's shoulder.

Ryoko started. Her eyes almost bugged out as she turned her head and
looked down at Aeka's hand, then up the arm to the princess' face. Ryoko
stared at her, briefly flabbergasted. Then, a surprised expression still
on her face, she nodded, acknowledging Aeka's gesture. Aeka withdrew her
hand, slowly and steadily, fighting the impulse to jerk it back, then
lowered her arm. The two of them continued staring at each other, neither
one quite able to believe what had just happened.

Nobuyuki turned around and noticed the looks on their faces. He reached
around and scratched the back of his neck, laughing nervously. "I, uh,
didn't mean to pressure you two or anything. I keep forgetting that women
nowadays want to have their own careers and all that. It wasn't that way
when I was Tenchi's age."

Before either of the girls could answer, the front door opened and shut
behind Tenchi. He walked towards them, dressed in his school uniform and
carrying his briefcase.

"Ready to go, Tenchi?" asked Nobuyuki.

"I guess so," replied Tenchi, a hint of weariness in his voice. He walked
over to Aeka and kissed her, then kissed Ryoko. "Sayonara."

"Sayonara, Ten-chan," replied Aeka.

"S-s-sayonara, Tenchi," said Ryoko sadly, her eyes pleading for him to
stay.

Tenchi walked over to the van, Nobuyuki already in the driver's seat.
When he reached it, he turned around and looked back.

Aeka smiled for him, but Ryoko's eyes stared at him, still begging him
not to go, the hurt written unmistakably all over her face. At her sides
her fists were clenched, and Tenchi could see them trembling as Ryoko
visibly fought to control herself. He wished, somehow, he could make it
easier for her.

Then a thought occurred to him. He started walking back towards them, and
at the first step hope bloomed in Ryoko's face. With each additional step
Ryoko looked happier and happier, and by the time Tenchi stood in front
of her, she was barely able to keep still. Meanwhile, Aeka fought inside
herself, desperately trying not to wish that Tenchi had decided to stay
home. She didn't want to influence him into doing wrongful things, but if
he chose to remain at home, it was her day, *her* day...

Tenchi stopped. "You know, I was thinking, maybe I could..." he began.

Unable to hold back any longer, Ryoko launched herself at Tenchi and
hugged him, tight. By now he'd become somewhat accustomed to it, so he
didn't try to dodge, and he didn't flinch that much. "I was saying, maybe
I could have you two come along. I'm sure my dad won't mind driving you
back -- he usually takes the whole morning off, anyway."

Ryoko sighed and looked up at him. "So, you're still going?" she asked
quietly.

"Ryoko, you *promised*," Tenchi reminded her gently, kissing her.

"Yeah, I know," said Ryoko, sighing again.

"Besides, this way we don't have to say goodbye until nine, instead of
right now. So do you want to come along, or not?"

Ryoko hugged him again. Tenchi let out an "oof!" from the pressure, then
smiled. "I guess that's 'yes'," he said. "What about you, Ae-chan?" he
asked, turning towards the princess.

Aeka nodded, doing her best to ignore Ryoko's closeness to Tenchi. "I
would like that very much," she said.

Tenchi extended an arm to her. Aeka took it and leaned against him as the
three of them headed to the passenger side of the van. He opened the
doors and helped Aeka inside. Ryoko didn't let go, choosing instead to
continue clinging to Tenchi as he climbed into the van, shut the doors,
and sat down.

"Dad, do you mind dropping off Ae-chan and Ryoko at home before you go to
work?" asked Tenchi.

"I'd be glad to," replied Nobuyuki. "Now, remember, no hanky-panky back
there," he added, trying -- and failing -- to be stealthy as he adjusted
the rear-view mirror.

Seeing his father's eyes reflected in the mirror, Tenchi groaned and
shook his head. Nobuyuki started the van and steered it onto the road.
"So, another year, another sunrise to watch, right, Tenchi?"

"Yeah," replied Tenchi, yawning. "I just wish we did this during the
winter, when the sun comes up later."

Ryoko rested against Tenchi and closed her eyes. "You said it."

"Why are we going to watch the sunrise at your school, though?" asked
Aeka, also leaning against him.

"Every since Tenchi started school, I've made a tape every Children's Day
of him going there in the morning," said Nobuyuki. "A few years later, we
decided..."

"You decided," corrected Tenchi, closing his eyes and putting one arm
around each of the girls.

"...that as long as we were already making a special day of it,"
continued Nobuyuki, "we'd get up early and greet the sun, too. And once
he started high school, we..."

"You," said Tenchi.

"...figured, as long as we're watching the sun come up, why not do it at
Tenchi's school?"

Tenchi shifted slightly, holding Aeka and Ryoko closer. "Because then
we'd have to get up even *earlier*, maybe?"

"Quit whining!" said Nobuyuki. "Anyway, it's a family tradition, now.
Just like going to the hot springs every fall."

"Hot springs?" asked Ryoko.

"There's an onsen we go to once a year," explained Tenchi. "Last year we
went about two weeks before you showed up. And dad, I don't think *she's*
going to let you come back again. Not after *that*."

"It was all a big misunderstanding," replied Nobuyuki. "And you know I'm
not afraid of *her*."

"I don't think I understand," said Aeka.

"I don't think you want to," said Tenchi, in a low voice.

"Now, how about some music?" suggested Nobuyuki, turning on the radio. He
tuned to a station that played American and British oldies, and began
singing along, very badly, to the Beatle's "Yellow Submarine."

Despite the noise of his father's singing, Tenchi began to doze off, and
Ryoko and Aeka soon did likewise.

Some time later, the van pulled into the parking lot at Tenchi's high
school, and stopped. Glancing in the rear view mirror, Nobuyuki quietly
picked up his Polaroid camera, got out of the van, and went around to the
side. Carefully he opened the doors.

Tenchi sat, slumped in his seat, Ryoko and Aeka lying against him on
either side. All three were asleep. Nobuyuki aimed his camera and took a
shot.

A motor whined, ejecting the snapshot from the camera. Disturbed by the
sudden sound, Aeka, Ryoko, and Tenchi awoke and opened their eyes, then
stepped out of the van. Nobuyuki slung his still camera and his
camcorder, and picked up a sketch pad he'd set on the dash, while Tenchi
picked up his briefcase and retrieved a picnic basket from the back of
the van. Nobuyuki leading the way, the four of them headed off into the
woods adjacent to the campus.

After a few minutes walking along the winding path amongst the trees,
they found themselves out in the open, at the top of a small hill
overlooking the school. Nobuyuki sat down, as did Tenchi, the girls
taking up positions on either side of him. Off in the east, the horizon
had started to take on a faint pink glow.

"We're just in time," said Tenchi, now wide awake. He opened the basket
and got out one of the two thermoses inside, then poured a cup of tea and
handed it to his father. Suddenly he realized that he'd only brought
breakfast for the two of them, but he decided to handle it as best he
could. He poured another cup of tea and started sharing in with Ryoko and
Aeka.

With patient slowness the eastern sky began to turn red, then orange,
then yellow, while overhead the stars lost themselves amidst ever-
lightening shades of blue. Light flared brighter on the horizon as the
sun peeked over it, casting golden illumination across the landscape. All
the while the four of them sat, quietly watching.

As the light of the dawn shone in her face, Aeka smiled, knowing that
until it rose again the next day, Tenchi was hers.

Then she frowned. She hadn't made love with him for two whole days now.
It was strange to think of that as such a long time, after having endured
months without so much as a kiss from him, but now it felt galling to
know that she'd have to wait until that night. The sunrise was more than
a little romantic, and if they'd been alone, truly alone, she and Tenchi
could go off deeper into the woods and partake of one another.

But such a thing was out of the question, with Nobuyuki there, and his
camera close at hand. The princess reminded herself that she and Tenchi
shared bonds deeper than flesh, and that she shouldn't be impatient. She
smiled and leaned more firmly against him.

Once it was light enough, Nobuyuki opened his sketch pad and began to
draw. Gradually the lines took recognizable shape: a house. It was the
Masaki home. Almost. A basic style was the same, but the layout was
larger. As his father continued to sketch, Tenchi dug into the basket
again, retrieving two covered bowls filled with rice, and two empty bowls
which he proceeded to fill with miso soup from the second thermos. He
held one of each out to Nobuyuki. "Dad. Breakfast."

"I'm not hungry," said Nobuyuki, still drawing. "You three can split it."

Tenchi nodded and handed the rice and soup to the girls. "I'll just get
an extra sandwich at lunch," he said.

"Ten-chan, I simply won't hear of it," insisted Aeka.

Ryoko nodded. "Right."

After a few minutes of futile attempts to persuade them to eat without
him, Tenchi shrugged and gave in. They proceeded to have breakfast, each
of the girls eating from her half of the food while Tenchi alternated
between them.

The sun climbed higher and higher into the sky, as Nobuyuki's pencil
scratched lines into the paper and Tenchi and the girls talked. Down in
the school the clock tower sounded the hours -- six o'clock, seven...

About halfway between seven and eight, Ryoko got tired of just talking
and the occasional kiss. She floated up, about to settle down on Tenchi's
lap, when her eyes met Aeka's.

Aeka frowned slightly.

Ryoko sighed and nodded. She gave Tenchi a quick kiss on the cheek, then
flew off and sat down next to Nobuyuki, pretending to be interested in
his sketch.

Tenchi stared after the departing pirate for a moment, then curled his
arm around Aeka's waist and kissed her. "You know, this is getting a
little weird, you two handing me off like a baton or something," he said
in a hushed voice.

The hurt showed in Aeka's face for a moment, before she managed to
suppress it. "Are you angry that Ryoko 'handed you off' to me?" she asked
quietly.

"No, it's not that," replied Tenchi. "It's just that you two do it
without asking me."

"We already discussed that, Ten-chan. Ryoko and I will deal with the
matter, so that you needn't trouble yourself over it."

"I know, but sometimes if feels like I'm five years old, and you two are
deciding what my bedtime's going to be."

Aeka smiled. "Has your bed been such a terrible place to be sent to, of
late?"

Tenchi chuckled. "Not exactly."

"Then cease your complaints," said Aeka, leaning over and kissing him.

Tenchi nervously glanced over her shoulder at his dad. Seeing Nobuyiki
still occupied, he held Aeka closer and returned her kiss.

"Wouldn't it be more comfortable if you lay back?" asked Aeka, moving
over and sitting on Tenchi's lap.

"Um, I really shouldn't," said Tenchi. "I'll get my uniform muddy."

Aeka put her arms around Tenchi's neck. "Tsk, tsk. Such mundane
considerations," the princess chided.

Tenchi kissed her. "You're getting to be as bad as Ryoko."

"Oh? And what is *that* supposed to mean?" she asked, running a fingertip
along his jawline. "When have you known me to be anything but ladylike?"

"Well, we *are* necking where anyone could see us," he said.

A twinge of pain went through Aeka's heart, thinking back to how bold
Tenchi had apparently been with Ryoko the previous day, and the timidity
he was showing now, with her. Once more she considered the way Ryoko
seemed to be able to make him dance like marionette, and wondered why he
wouldn't respond to her wants just as easily.

Perhaps she judged Tenchi too harshly. Perhaps she just needed to be a
little more insistent.

"No one is watching," Aeka replied after a moment. "Your father was quite
occupied, last time I noticed. And you'll see him, if he looks around,
won't you?"

"Yeah, you're right."

Aeka put her lips next to Tenchi's ear, her warm breath flowing over his
skin as she whispered seductively to him. "Perhaps we could go back along
the path through the woods, and find a less conspicuous place. Then, who
knows what we might decide to do?"

Tenchi shifted his legs a little. "I... don't think that's a good idea."

Aeka smiled as she reached down to his crotch, running her hand along the
erection she'd felt pressing against her thigh. "Are you sure that's what
you *truly* think?"

"That's not what I think with, Ae-chan," said Tenchi, grinning a little.

One of Aeka's eyebrows arched dangerously. "Oujo-sama," she corrected.

Tenchi's eyes widened slightly. "Oh," he said nervously.

"I desire you, Ten-chan," the princess whispered.

"This... this isn't a really good place. Or time," said Tenchi nervously.
"Can't it wait until tonight?"

Aeka shook her head. "No. Your flesh, and your obedience. I desire them,"
she said, softly kissing him as she continued to stroke his penis through
his pants. "*Now*."

"I really don't know..." said Tenchi. "What if... what if..."

"What if I had walked in on you in the bath and seen you making love to
Ryoko? What if *that*? Where were your thoughts of consequences
yesterday, when you were with *her*?" Aeka wanted desperately to ask. She
slew the words as soon as they formed in her mind, and buried them deep.
Then she kissed him again.

"Submit your body to my command, and fear nothing," the princess
admonished, slowly rubbing her hand up and down. "Will you obey me?"

"You *know* I will, Ae... oujo-sama," answered Tenchi, gulping.

"Perhaps I *don't* know," said Aeka. "Perhaps you should tell me."

Tenchi began to sweat. "Ae-chan, if you keep doing that, you're going to
make me cum in my pants."

"'Ae-chan'?" she asked, pointedly not stopping.

"Oujo-sama," said Tenchi.

"Yes, Ten-chan?"

"I'll obey you, oujo-sama."

Aeka stopped rubbing. "There, you see? Obedience makes everything so much
easier, ne?" She withdrew her hand as she leaned over and spoke next to
his ear, but before the words came, her commanding tone melted away,
replaced by her usual soft, shy voice. "We needn't go, if you truly don't
wish to, Ten-chan. I don't wish for you to be embarrassed."

Tenchi thought about it for just a moment. Then he smiled, and kissed
her. "I'll only be embarrassed if we get caught. And my dad's no ninja,
anyway. If he comes sneaking through the woods, we'll hear him." He
gently slid Aeka off his lap, then stood, pulling her up with him. "Come
on. We don't have much time."

After a rapid backward glance at Nobuyuki, who was still busy drawing,
they headed back along the path. Once the trees and shrubs thickened,
they ducked through a gap in the undergrowth and hunched down, shielded
from view by a large bush. Looking down at the bits of leaves and other
debris that covered the ground, Tenchi frowned thoughtfully.

"Is something wrong?" asked Aeka.

"I'm just trying to come up with a way we can do this without getting my
uniform messy," he replied.

Aeka considered the idea for a moment. Then she began taking off her
outer kimono.

"W-what are you doing?" stammered Tenchi.

"We can lie on this, and you won't get your clothes dirty, if we're
careful," said the princess, smiling a little. She moved to spread the
kimono on the ground, but Tenchi stopped her, picking up a stick. Using
the tip, he picked up a dried-up used condom from amidst the leaves, and
flung it and the stick away.

"I guess we're not the first ones to think of using this spot," he
chuckled.

Checking a little more carefully, Aeka lay the kimono down and knelt at
one end of it slipping off her panties. Tenchi knelt facing her, and,
undoing his pants, slid them and his boxers down to his knees. He stayed
that way, waiting, until Aeka leaned forward to kiss him and, taking his
hand, guided it in between her thighs.

Tenchi hesitated. "Uh, oujo-sama, aren't you going to, you know, tie me
up?" he asked.

Aeka smiled, thinking to what she had planned for him that night, the
things they would do once he was suitably chained. And if Tenchi was
willing to do things the Juraian way, it was only fair if she
reciprocated once in a while. "That won't be necessary, this time," she
said. "We'll make love Earth-fashion. Call me 'Ae-chan', and pretend I'm
a schoolgirl who goes here."

"That's crazy. You're prettier than any girl on campus," he said, putting
his free arm around her and holding her close. "Besides, you're not
wearing a sailor fuku." He started rubbing her sex. "And I haven't *had*
sex with anyone from Earth."

Aeka reached around him with one arm, and took hold of Tenchi's penis
with her other hand. It was already mostly hard. Closing her fingers
around it, she began stroking up and down, letting go every few seconds
to tickle his balls. She planted a warm, lingering kiss on Tenchi's lips.
"Prettier than *any* of them?" she asked.

Tenchi nodded. His fingers alternately teased Aeka's clit and slipped
between her labia to probe inside her. The princess crooned
appreciatively and started kissing the underside of his neck while his
erection grew stiffer and stiffer as it slid through her grasp.

After a while, Aeka gave him another deep kiss, then got onto his lap and
guided his penis into her. Tenchi closed his eyes and stifled a moan,
then put both arms around her. "Ae-chan, just one thing -- we're going to
have to be *quiet*. OK?"

"I know," said Aeka, nodding. She smiled. "If I need to silence myself, I
can always do this," she added, before kissing him and keeping their
mouths pressed tightly together. Then she began bouncing slowly on his
lap, the sounds of her pleasure muffled by Tenchi's lips.

Aeka was still riding him, the tension of her impending climax nearing
its peak, when there came the sound of someone jogging down the path, and
a loud male voice singing. Aeka and Tenchi froze.

"...with a mountain man, your heart's left in the valley when he climbs
again." The voice stopped right on the other side of the bush, and they
could hear the panting of breath. "Whew! I need a drink!"

Terrified recognition dawned on Tenchi's face as the man sat just over a
meter away, separated from them only by vegetation. Moments later came
the sound of something liquid being gulped, followed by a satisfied
"Aaaah!" The sounds repeated at least half a dozen times. 

Tenchi's expression of fear was matched, and then some, by Aeka's look of
frustration, annoyance, and disappointment, for at the first sign of
intrusion his erection had started to vanish, and now he was completely
limp.

A brief period of silence ensued before the sound of a match being
struck. Soon, cigarette smoke began to waft around the bush. Tenchi and
Aeka struggled to prevent themselves from coughing and giving themselves
away.

After leisurely smoking three cigarettes, the intruder got up, started
singing again, and continued down the path, pursued by the princess'
furious glare. Then she and Tenchi began waving away the smoke and
coughing. "Who *was* that person?" she asked angrily.

Tenchi sighed with relief. "*That* was my homeroom sensei. I forgot, he
takes his morning jog through here."

Aeka slid off of Tenchi's lap, shaking her head. "He chose the most
inopportune time he possibly could to intrude." She took hold of Tenchi's
flaccid penis and gently massaged it.

Tenchi glanced down, then hung his head. "I'm, uh, sorry about that, Ae-
chan," he said sheepishly, "but he scared me half to death."

"It's not your fault, Ten-chan," Aeka replied. She began doing her best
to revive Tenchi's member, but his nervousness and distraction made that
rather difficult. Her efforts had just started to bear fruit when Ryoko
phased into the air above them.

Ryoko's eyes widened, and she quickly looked away as Tenchi scrambled to
cover himself and Aeka gritted her teeth. "S-sorry to interrupt you two,
but Tenchi's dad is looking for him," the pirate said.

Tenchi shuddered. He quickly hiked up his pants and helped Aeka to her
feet. Picking up her kimono, he shook out most of the loose leaves, then
held it open for her. "Quick, before my dad gets here," he hissed. "I
don't want him seeing you like that."

Silently Aeka put the garment on. As she re-tied her obi, there came the
sound of Nobuyuki's voice. "Tenchi?"

"Coming!" Tenchi gave Aeka a quick kiss, then looked over the remaining
bits of leaves stuck to her kimono. "I'll go see what he wants. That'll
give you time to get all the stuff off your clothes." He looked up at
Ryoko. "Thanks." Then he vanished through the gap in the bushes again,
and ran off.

"Yes, thank you," said Aeka, scowling at Ryoko.

Ryoko turned and looked down at her, frowning. "Would you rather
*Nobuyuki* found you two?"

Aeka sighed. "No," she said quietly.

"Do you think I *wanted* to see that?" demanded Ryoko.

"No. Of course not," Aeka admitted, shaking her head. "I'm sorry. I spoke
hastily. You spared Ten-chan and I great embarrassment, and I appreciate
it. And I'm sorry you had to see us together."

Ryoko floated down to ground level. "Anything you can take, I can take,"
she said. "And it's not like I didn't know what you two were doing. It
wasn't anywhere *near* as bad as what I expected to see."

Aeka nodded. "Even so, it must have hurt." She looked Ryoko in the face.
"I just want you to know, I understand."

"Thanks."

"I suppose such things are inevitable, given the situation," said Aeka.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," said Ryoko. "And if we throw fits every
time we see each other with him, we'll go nuts."

Aeka nodded again, brushing small bits of detritus from the front of her
kimono. "By the way, is my back clean?"

Ryoko floated around behind the princess, peering closely. "Nope. Want me
to get rid of this junk?"

Aeka frowned suspiciously. "You're not going to tape another sign on my
back, are you?" she asked.

Ryoko considered the idea, then shook her head. "Nope. Tenchi'd get mad,"
she replied, picking pieces of leaf from the cloth. "OK, it looks alright
now."

Aeka ducked under the bush and Ryoko flew over it. Then the two of them
started down the path towards Tenchi and Nobuyuki.

In the meantime, Tenchi sat next to his father, looking over at the
drawings. "Going to build another house, dad?" he asked.

"Only in my head," replied Nobuyuki. "At least, that's where it's
probably going to stay. I was just seeing what improvements I could make
on ours."

Tenchi looked rather startled. "But dad, that's you and mom's dream
house. You can't just go and change it."

"Don't worry, I'm not. I was just seeing how a few extra bedrooms would
fit in," Nobuyuki explained. "At the rate people have been dropping in
lately, it wouldn't hurt to have some spare space. And even if I did
change things, mom would understand. Guests have to be treated right." He
added a few final touches and handed the pad to Tenchi. "Here, what do
you think?"

"The balconies would be great, dad," said Tenchi, after briefly examining
the drawings. "Same thing for the deck. And I like my bigger bedroom,
too." He examined what seemed to be a new room next to his, then laughed.
"Jeez, that walk-in closet is *huge*! I'm *never* going to need *that*
much space."

"Yeah, but women need *lots* of closet space," replied Nobuyuki.
"Especially when there are two of them."

Tenchi looked a little nervous. "Oh. I hadn't thought of that."

"Well, anyway, I just wanted to see what I could come up with. This
hill's still an inspirational spot." Nobuyuki closed the pad just as Aeka
and Ryoko arrived and sat down next to Tenchi. Then he got out his
camcorder and started taping. He captured a lot of footage of of Tenchi
sitting with the girls, as well as some of the school below, the
surrounding woods, a flock of birds, and a passing airliner.

Soon, students began gathering in the schoolyard below.

"Do you need to go now?" asked Ryoko worriedly.

"Not quite yet. At a quarter 'til," replied Tenchi.

Time passed all too quickly, however. As the time to leave neared, Tenchi
got up and made sure they hadn't left any litter from breakfast, then
waited as his father put a fresh blank tape in the camcorder.

"Do you think you two could walk with Tenchi while I stand behind you and
record it?" asked Nobuyuki hopefully, looking at Ryoko and Aeka.

The girls nodded. Tenchi thought for a moment, then frowned and walked
over to his father. "Dad, just one thing," he said.

"What?" asked Nobuyuki innocently.

"If you start focusing on their butts or anything like that..." warned
Tenchi.

"You just don't understand how women think, son," protested Nobuyuki.
"The ultimate compliment to a lady's beauty is to record it for later
viewing. Ignoring the best-looking parts would be rude. Just like not
peeping."

"Dad!" snarled Tenchi menacingly.

Nobuyuki sighed. "Alright, alright."

Satisfied for the moment, Tenchi went back to Aeka and Ryoko, took one
girl on each arm, and started walking. Nobuyuki followed, taping until
they left the woods. Once out in the open, Tenchi let go of the girls and
turned around. Nervously glancing at his father's camcorder for a moment,
Tenchi gave a kiss each to Aeka and Ryoko. 

"See you after school," he said. He cupped his hand and whispered in
Aeka's ear. "I'm sorry about my sensei interrupting us, OK?"

The princess smiled, and whispered a reply. "You'll make it up to me
tonight, ne?"

Tenchi nodded.

"Now, you three turn and smile for the camera," ordered Nobuyuki.

They turned and faced him, but Ryoko's face was anything but happy.

"Come on, Ryoko," said Nobuyuki. "Show me that pretty smile of yours."

Ryoko managed the faintest trace of smile. It vanished as Tenchi walked
away, waving, towards the lines of students forming in the campus' main
quad. She watched, detesting the people and the place that robbed her of
him. Hatred simmered in her eyes like yellow fire as she fought the urge
to snatch him away and rain death and destruction on everything in sight,
until not one stone stood upon another and flame and smoke climbed high
into the sky as testament to what would happen to anything or anyone that
dared come between her and Tenchi.

She knew she couldn't go through with it. Though they were rather broad,
Ryoko did have moral limits, and killing helpless people who didn't seem
to mean any harm fell outside those boundaries.

What if she did it at night? From what Tenchi said, no one was at the
school then.

No, someone might still see her. And if Tenchi found out, he'd probably
be angry at her, even if it was for his own good. He just wouldn't
understand, even now.

But what if she arranged for it to look like an accident? She could go up
into space with Ryo-ohki, and send a meteor hurtling down onto the
school. The Earthlings had no planetary defense system, she knew.
Certainly such things had to happen *sometimes*. And if a large chunk of
rock should just happen to fall on Tenchi's school, well, no one would
think to blame *Ryoko* for it, would they?

No, that wouldn't work, either. She could steer it down accurately
enough, but she didn't think she could judge the right size of meteor to
use. She'd never done anything like that before. And if she wound up
using one that was too big, it would kill a lot of people. Maybe even
Tenchi, if she misjudged very badly. And even if she managed to get that
detail right, Kiyone and Mihoshi kept the Yagami parked in stationary
orbit directly over their apartment. It's sensors would see her, and
while she knew they wouldn't be able to arrest her, they'd be sure to
tell Tenchi. So that was out, too.

The hatred in Ryoko's eyes gave way to despair as Tenchi and his
classmates filed into the buildings, Nobuyuki still taping him. As he
neared the door, Tenchi turned for a moment and waved one last time.

Ryoko swallowed the lump in her throat and waved back as he disappeared.
Aeka and Nobuyuki also waved, then headed back to the van, Ryoko floating
listlessly behind them. They climbed into the van, Aeka taking the
passenger seat while Ryoko lay on the floor in back, huddled in a fetal
position, quiet and still.

"I think I see why Tenchi wanted to stay home yesterday," said Nobuyuki,
sounding concerned, as the van pulled out onto the road.

"Yeah," said Ryoko, her voice barely audible. She closed her eyes and
tried to relive the memories of the previous day, but all she could see
was Tenchi vanishing into the school building amidst a crowd of
strangers.

"Cheer up, OK? He'll have summer vacation soon, and he'll be home all the
time."

"How many days 'til it starts?" asked Ryoko hopefully, raising her head.

"A little more than a month," replied Nobuyuki.

Ryoko lay her head back down again. "Oh," she said, as sad as ever.

"Just remember that he's doing it all for you two, now. He knows that
he's going to have to provide for you once you're married."

"That's not important to me," said Ryoko quietly.

Aeka turned her face away and pretended to look at the scenery rushing
past her window. Although Nobuyuki couldn't know it, so far as it
concerned her his statement was ridiculous. Either the Emperor would
approve a marriage, in which case Tenchi would have entire planets at his
disposal, or, more likely, the union would be forbidden, and she would
not be Tenchi's to support.

"Yeah, I know it seems that way now, but it *is* important," said
Nobuyuki. "Besides, Tenchi's the serious type. He takes after his mom
that way. Why, I'll bet his grades will go up, now that he knows he's
going to have two wives to support."

Both of the girls simultaneously suppressed shudders at the thought of
having to *permanently* share Tenchi. Putting up with one another while
Tenchi made up his mind, that was tolerable. But forever?

"Like I said, just remember that now, he's not doing it only for himself.
He's doing it because he loves you."

Ryoko's eyes widened a little as she considered this new angle. "You
really think so?" she asked.

"I *know* so. All the time I was studying during my last year of high
school, it was so I could become an architect and build the house his mom
and I would live in." A touch of sadness entered Nobuyuki's voice. "You
know, you two are the best thing to happen to him since she died."

"Thank you," said Ryoko, sitting up.

Aeka nodded. "Yes, thank you very much. I'm sure you do us both too much
honor."

Nobuyuki smiled. "I don't think she'd agree with you."

"So, how'd you two hook up, anyway?" asked Ryoko.

"Remember that spot we ate breakfast at this morning?"

The girls nodded.

"Well, one day I was sitting there drawing, and..."

A while later, the van pulled up in front of the Masaki home. Aeka and
Ryoko got out, and waved to Nobuyuki as he drove away again. Then they
looked at each other, considering what was probably the first serious
conversation they'd had with Tenchi's father.

"That sure was different," said Ryoko thoughtfully.

Aeka nodded. "Indeed. I do believe that's the longest I've ever heard him
speak without saying anything ecchi."

They walked in through the front door and found Washuu sitting on the
couch typing on her computer, a cup of tea steaming on the coffee table.
She looked up at them and frowned slightly. "I was wondering when you two
would get back. Sasami-chan was getting worried about you. You forgot to
let her know where you were going."

Aeka and Ryoko hung their heads, mumbling embarrassed apologies before
sitting down on the couch.

After a few minutes, Aeka looked over at Washuu. "Um, Washuu-chan, is the
item you were making for me finished yet?"

Washuu nodded. "It was ready yesterday. I've got it tucked away in
subspace for you."

Aeka's face lit up, and she bowed. "I would greatly appreciate it if you
would retrieve it for me."

"I think it would be better if I did that in Tenchi's room," said Washuu,
standing up. "That way you won't have to carry it upstairs. Platinum is
awfully heavy."

"What are you putting in Tenchi's room?" asked Ryoko.

"It's, well, something of a romantic nature," replied Aeka, blushing.

"Like what? A waterbed? Or a hot tub?" asked Ryoko hopefully. Then she
grinned and elbowed Aeka. "A mirror on the ceiling above the bed, maybe,
princess?"

Aeka blushed deeper. "Nothing of the sort!" she protested.

"Are we going upstairs, or not?" asked Washuu. "I've got analyses to sift
through."

"Yes, certainly. Let us go," said Aeka, starting towards the stairs, and 
Ryoko floated next her, following. The princess glanced to her side
nervously. "This is something of a private matter between me and Ten-
chan," she said.

"If it's going in his room, it's my business, too," said Ryoko. "Besides,
whatever it is, I'll see it tomorrow morning, won't I?"

Aeka sighed in resignation. "I suppose you're right. You might as well
see it now."

A minute or so later, in Tenchi's room, Washuu flexed her fingers, and
her keyboard appeared under her hands as she briefly glanced around. Her
eyes lingered for an extra moment or two on a shadow at the top of the
bookshelf before she returned her gaze to her computer display.

"So, how are things going between you two?" she asked.

The girls looked at each other for a moment. "Quite well, actually, all
things considered," said Aeka. 

Ryoko nodded in agreement. "Any reason for asking?"

"Just curious," said Washuu, typing some commands. A hole opened in the
air. One at a time, she reached in and brought out four long chains of
gleaming white metal, each with a manacle at one end and a flat circular
plate at the other. She pressed another key, and the portal vanished.
"Figure out where you want to put them, and press the flat part against
the surface," the scientist explained, turning to Aeka. "That'll activate
the adhesion field."

Aeka ran the chains through her fingers, closed her eyes, and sighed.
"Thank you, Washuu-chan," she said quietly, smiling.

"That's OK. Enjoy them," said Washuu. "I'll be downstairs."

As Washuu left, Ryoko looked at the chains and frowned. "Um, Aeka..."

Aeka sighed again and opened her eyes. "Yes?"

"Remember yesterday, when we said we'd let each other know if something
was bugging us?"

"Yes."

"I'm not sure I like this."

Aeka looked at her, puzzled. "I don't see what possible objection you
could have."

"It reminds me a little too much of... *Saturday*," said Ryoko quietly.

"Am I going to have to keep apologizing about that *forever*?" asked
Aeka, not meeting Ryoko's eyes.

Ryoko shook her head. "No. But we agreed, no whips or anything like that,
unless Tenchi said it was OK. Did he say you could do this?"

Aeka thought about it. "Not specifically. But I don't think he'd object.
And I presumed you simply meant you didn't wish me to inflict pain on
him." She looked the pirate in the face. "I promise, Ryoko. These won't
hurt Ten-chan at all."

"Yeah, I know," said Ryoko, still not sounding at all pleased.

"I don't see what's wrong, then," said Aeka, sitting down on the bed. "I
was very much looking forward to using these. If you don't mind my saying
so, I think you're being rather unreasonable."

Ryoko closed her eyes and sighed as she sat down as well. "It's just that
it makes Tenchi's room so much more... *yours*."

Aeka thought about it for a while. "If you don't object to this, I won't
protest if you add something of your own."

Over a long span of silence, Ryoko considered the idea. Then she nodded.
"I guess it's OK with me, then."

Aeka smiled. "Well, perhaps we *are* capable of working matters out
peaceably on occasion."

"I just wonder what I'll put in, though," said Ryoko, looking around the
room.

"I believe you were mentioning something about a mirror?" suggested Aeka.

Ryoko laughed. "I was kidding. That would be so *tacky*." She stared off
into space, her expression contemplative. Then she glanced down at the
chains. "Uh, Aeka, those are going to be in here permanently, right?"

Aeka nodded.

"Do you think maybe I could use them, sometime?" asked Ryoko.

The princess' fists clenched for a moment. "I must insist that you
don't," she said evenly. "No insult is intended, but they are of a
symbolic nature, and no one but me is to bind him with them."

Ryoko shrugged, then got up. "Alright. But I wanted Tenchi to use them on
*me*." She grinned. "No one's *ever* captured Space Pirate Ryoko before,"
she said proudly, as she phased through the wall.

A look of utter horror filled Aeka's face. Then she shook her head,
reminded herself that Ryoko had absolutely no idea what she was saying.
Still, it was unnerving. *Very* unnerving. "What is she going to do next,
start parading around the house in a wedding gown?" muttered the
princess, as she stood up and started attaching the chains to their
appropriate spots. Once they were in place -- two joined to the floor at
the foot of the bed, two to the wall above the pillows -- she lay back on
the bed, closed her eyes, and sighed, looking forward to a very blissful
evening with Tenchi.

The princess smiled. Blissful, but torrid as well.