Howdy there,
I just subscribed to the FFML a week and a bit ago, and this is my first
post. I have just finished the 7th chapter of my No Need For Sasami
fiction, and it's here for you to read.
If you have not read the first 6 chapters, I invite you to my website to
do so.
www.acm.vt.edu/~mmcavoy
It'll help make the reading of Chapter 7 much easier, because a lot can
happen 20 years from the OVA/movies. NNFS is a story created from Mr Long
T Tran's Ryoko's Love series, and I hope you will enjoy it.
C&C's welcome!
Sincerely
Mike McAvoy
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Credits: Tenchi Muyo!/No Need For Tenchi is a product of Pioneer/AIC.
As such, I'm getting no compensation for writing this fiction other
than my own enjoyment, because the thought of getting sued is rather
unpleasant.
Mr. Long T. Tran for his "Tenchi Muyo: Ryoko's Love Prologue"
story line, parts one, two, and three, and the characters created
therein. His fiction can be found at GenSao's excellent Tenchi Muyo
Fan Fiction Page: http://members.xoom.com/gensao/
Disclaimer: All characters *I* have created are purely a work of fiction.
Any resemblance to persons living or dead is pure coincidence. Anyone
who thinks otherwise is probably just itching for a fight. Also, please
do not try and distribute this story in some lame attempt to make a
buck; it would be bad karma to say the least.
Email appreciated!
Send comments to Michael McAvoy (mmcavoy@acm.vt.edu)
http://www.acm.vt.edu/~mmcavoy/
Tenchi Muyo!
"No Need For Sasami"
A Fan-Fiction by Michael McAvoy
Do, or do not. There is no try.
-- Yoda, Jedi Master
-* Chapter Seven *-
The Universe's greatest scientific genius paused a moment to
survey her morning's work. Standing in a small bedroom on the
second floor of the Masaki residence, Washu casually scratched the
side of her head and examined identical gadgets that occupied each
corner of the room. Fairly innocent looking, the devices were nothing
more than small, black cubes with highly reflective surfaces.
Washu nodded to herself and then proceeded to fish around in
one of her pockets. Grabbing a hold of the desired object, the petite
redhead pulled a small remote control out and keyed in a digital
sequence. With a little shudder and a click, each of the four cubes
raised up off the floor about an inch and emitted a small antenna from
the top. Almost instantly, a nearly inaudible hum began to resonate
from the four cubes, and the air in the bedroom seemed to sigh.
Washu peered at a series of readouts and flashing lights on
her remote control and nodded in satisfaction. Stuffing the remote
control back into one of her pockets, she took time to gaze at the
bedroom's other occupant.
Banged, bruised, and more than worn out, Nathaniel Swann
lay sleeping in the bed. His head newly bandaged from its most recent
knock, Nathaniel was under a very mild sedation, produced from
another of Washu's numerous gadgets. Not having stirred the entire
evening since having been brought back to the Masaki residence, the
straight sheets on the bed covered his other scrapes and abrasions.
Washu shook her head and turned towards the door. Sliding
it open, she stepped though it into the hallway, closing the door behind
her quietly. Looking out of the corner of her right eye, Washu gave an
arched look at a figure leaning against the wall.
"Sooo," Washu began, "at least this means you're talking to
me again? And the weekend isn't even over yet."
Ryoko Masaki turned her head towards Washu and crossed
her arms. "I'm still angry at you, Washu," she said quietly, "but it
really doesn't do me any good to stop speaking with you."
"Especially when you need my scientific genius, right?"
Washu smirked.
"Sure, why not?" Ryoko commented. "Is it ready?"
Washu turned around and looked at the door. "Affirmative.
All the devices are set and functioning perfectly. As of this moment,
the acoustic dampers could keep the sound of a small dimensional
explosion from reaching into that room."
With a small smile, Ryoko nodded and moved away from the
wall, heading for the stairs. Washu trailed along behind her.
"And the modifications to the stereo system I asked for?"
Ryoko inquired as she moved down the steps.
"Done," Washu stated. "The output has been doubled in the
system like you asked. I took it upon myself to install a digital
enhancer to the amplifier. It should help keep any sound waves that
peak over the speakers' range from making a hissing sound."
As Washu reached the landing at the bottom of the staircase,
she continued to follow her daughter into the living room. "Not
exactly rocket science, especially for *my* talents," said Washu
matter-of-factly, "but it is a bit of work before eight on a Sunday
morning. You planning on letting me in on your game, Ryoko, other
than the fact you're going to make a lot of noise?"
Ryoko had crossed the living room and now stood before the
enhanced stereo system. Looking at the series of equipment, now with
a zillion wires and cables running to a trademark Washu device on the
floor, the twinkling lights on the displays reflected in Ryoko's golden
eyes. In her right hand, she fingered a circular disk about two inches
in diameter.
"Why, Washu," Ryoko said with a toothy grin, "this isn't
noise, this is the beginning of an attitude adjustment."
Washu quirked an eyebrow at her daughter and then peered at
the object in Ryoko's hand. She recognized it as a mini-disc.
"Screamin' Jay Hawkins?" Washu asked dubiously.
Ryoko shrugged. "Beats me. I found it last night in
Nathaniel's backpack, but I think it'll serve my purposes."
Washu crossed her arms and frowned. "Attitude adjustment,
Ryoko? This seems a little harsh, even for you."
"Really? I think it's going to be wonderfully appropriate,"
Ryoko said, placing the disc into the stereo.
Shaking her head, Washu looked out a window at the already
bright morning. "What does Tenchi have to say about this?"
"He didn't ask," yawned Ryoko, cranking the volume of the
amplifier to maximum. "I just told him it'd be a good idea for
everyone to get out of the house early today."
"It's nice to see Tenchi has not lost his self-preservation
instinct," said Washu, rolling her eyes. "So, when is this acoustic
carnage going to begin?"
Ryoko peered over at a clock on the wall that read seven-fifty-
three. "Seven minutes," Ryoko decided.
"I'll be in my lab," Washu sighed, turning and walking back
to the closet door in the main hallway, her long red hair flowing
behind her.
Playing with some knobs and buttons on the system for a
moment more, Ryoko stepped back and surveyed the settings.
Grinning wolfishly, she fished a small pair of earplugs from the inside
of a sleeve.
"Sleepy time is almost over, princess," she mischievously,
putting the plugs in her ears.
* * *
Yui Masaki's view of the front lawn and lake was lopsided at
the moment. Sitting on the porch of her house with her head plopped
over in her father's lap, she sighed noisily and yawned. Tenchi smiled
down at her daughter and stroked her bushy hair comfortingly.
"Daaaaad," she complained, "I'm hungry."
"Seventeen and you're still whining?" Tenchi Masaki teased
her daughter, "I'd have thought you would have grown out of that kind
of thing."
"Well, Tenchi," Nobuyuki piped in from where he sat on the
porch, "I don't think it's whining, really. My stomach is making just
as much noise as Yui's is. I think we all could use a bite to eat!"
Also sitting on the steps, Tenchi's grandfather, Yosho,
nodded solemnly. "Breakfast the most important meal of the day,
Tenchi," he said.
"Then why aren't we inside *eating*?" Yui complained
loudly again. "What are mom and Washu up too, anyway?"
Tenchi looked down thoughtfully at his daughter, considering
how to frame an answer. "Do you remember what I always tell you
when you complain about the training being so tough? When you ask
why we are working so hard when your friends are out having a good
time?"
Yui opened her mouth and let out another tremendous yawn.
"Because... I'm a member of the Jurai royal family, and we have lotsa
enemies?"
"Wrong, kitten," Tenchi corrected, tapping his daughter on
the head in admonishment, "remember the *real* reason I repeat to
you every other day it seems?"
She scrunched up her features as she concentrated. "Oh,
yeah," Yui brightened, "because the challenges and sacrifices of
training make us stronger and better people, so we can help those
around us when they can no longer help themselves."
Yosho nodded in satisfaction. "Well said, Yui-chan. It is
refreshing in my old age to know that something got though Tenchi's
ears and could be passed down to you."
As Tenchi smiled and refused to rise to the bait, Yui brought
her head up a little and looked at her father. "But, dad," she asked,
"what does that have to do with Aunt Sasami?"
As Yui plopped her head back down in his lap, Tenchi's face
became a little sad. "Well, kitten, your Aunt Sasami hasn't had the
teaching you've had," he stated, "but she's always been a good person,
never treating people badly."
Yosho picked himself up off the porch and walked about into
the yard a ways. Folding his arms, he looked out over the lake,
observing the ripples as a warm breeze picked up. With the sun
shining down in a cloudless sky, it promised to be a hot day.
"Indeed," he nodded, "the behavior exhibited by Sasami over
the past few weeks has been deteriorating greatly. One could easy be
accepting of these changes, considering her feelings towards returning
to Jurai, but her actions this weekend..."
The aging prince of Jurai looked back over his shoulder at
everyone on the porch. "...are dishonorable and unacceptable,
especially for a member of the royal family," he finished.
Picking herself up out of Tenchi's lap, Yui laced her arms
underneath her legs and looked at Yosho with confusion. Her blonde
locks of hair tumbled down around her shoulders in a thick mane.
"So, mom and Washu," Yui guessed, thinking deeply, "are
going to do something with Sasami kinda like my training? To
challenge her?"
"Something like that," Tenchi agreed. "Your mother is going
to get Sasami up, and grandfather and I will work her all day long."
Yui frowned. "And this is punishment for what happened to
Nathaniel?" she asked.
"It is not punishment, Yui-chan," spoke Yosho seriously, "it
is to purge Sasami of the unreasonable depression she has been
suffering from, and to get her to take control of her life instead of
being swept along by others."
Nobuyuki looked up from his newest digital video camera he
had been fiddling with and shook his head. "I don't know, dad," he
said, "it all seems a little extreme. I know Sasami got into a lot of
trouble last night, but isn't this more than she deserves?"
Yosho sighed and turned to look across the lake again. "All
things being equal, it might seem extreme," he remarked, "but Sasami
will be leaving for Jurai in a few days. If she leaves with her current
self-destructive attitude, she'll only worsen under the stresses that
await her at court."
"That makes sense, I guess," said Yui, snaking her father's
arm around her shoulders. "So that's why mom and Washu are
keeping us out of the house?"
"Actually, kitten," Tenchi admitted, "I didn't ask Ryoko why
we have to be outside right now. She didn't offer to tell me, and
sometimes it's just better not to ask, especially with your mother."
"Marriage has brought you wisdom, Tenchi," Yosho
approved. "That bit of philosophy is key to any man surviving with
his wife."
"I'd have do agree with you on that one," Nobuyuki grinned,
scratching the side of his head. "Tenchi, you could have at least
suggested she let us grab *something* out of the refrigerator."
"I don't know, dad," Tenchi sighed, "Ryoko had one of those
gleams in her eye this morning."
"In my experience," Yosho said seriously, "having been on
the receiving end of a few of Ryoko's `gleams', I'd say we might want
to move away from the house."
Nobuyuki looked back towards the front door nervously while
Tenchi sighed and considered the structural integrity of the house.
"I wonder if Aunt Sasami is hungover," mumbled Yui though
another yawn.
* * *
Princess Sasami, daughter of the Jurai royal family and sister
to Empress Ayeka, was in hell.
Perhaps hell might have been a bit strong to any casual
observer peeking into the princess's room. One would be hard pressed
to deny that it was a less than pleasant sight, however. Sasami's
usually neat housekeeping was nowhere present as there was an
apparent path of chaos that led from the door of her room to her futon.
Clothes were tossed about on the floor, her shoes were scattered apart
from each other, and all in all it looked as if someone had been
dragged through the room. Sasami was still wearing her socks and a
stained shirt from the previous evening, and the rest of her appeared to
be no better.
Her hair disheveled, she was wound up in her blankets from a
spree of drunken turning and twisting earlier in the night. Now, the
princess lay on her back with her arms thrown wide and her head
titled to one side. Her mouth had opened up just a little bit, and there
was a hardened crust of drool that had made its descent down the side
of her face, eventually soaking into the futon. Additionally, Sasami's
face and arms were still covered with streaks of dirt and grim from her
little adventure.
Whimpering slightly, Sasami opened and closed her mouth in
reflex as her hungover brain attempted to monitor the situation. It was
not going so well. Though the alcohol had long since worked its way
through her system, Sasami's body had become very dehydrated
seriously unhappy. Nevertheless, her body had needs, and it struggled
to get through to Sasami's fogged brain.
Sasami tried to open her eyes, but they too, like her mouth,
were crusted up and sticky. With a Herculean effort, the princess
dragged an arm over towards her face and rubbed at her eyes. This
had the undesirable effect of shooting arcs of pain through the back of
her skull like a million little knives. Sasami tried to reflexively
cringe
away from her own head, but it and the pain followed her shoulders as
she curled up into a lose ball.
Almost to the point of crying, a little voice in Sasami's head
began rattling off a list of body needs that it would be a good idea to
take care of immediately. For one, Sasami was intensely aware of a
very full bladder, even though she craved water by the gallons. Her
stomach was also growling, but the thought of food made her horribly
nauseous.
The momentary stab of pain from rubbing her eyes having
past, Sasami now became away of a steady throb all across her skull.
It seemed to pulsate with every beat of her heart, and there was no
escaping it. The awareness of her headache also ensured that there
was no way Sasami could retreat back into unconsciousness now.
Sasami managed to peel her eyes back.
She instantly latched them shut again as her hypersensitive
eyes reacted to the bright morning light streaming through her
window. Once again, Sasami experienced the stabs of pain through
her pretty noggin. She decided whimpering was a good way to go, and
proceeded to continue. At this point, however, more sections of her
brain were starting to regain function and notice their surroundings.
"Ugggnnhh," groaned Sasami thickly, "my heads... hurts."
Struggling the best that she could with her blankets wound
about her, Sasami managed to almost prop herself up by her elbows
and look around. It was horribly bright, so she squinted a lot, trying to
keep her retinas from being fried. She smacked her dry lips a few
times.
"Need something to drink," she mumbled.
Propped up fully on her elbows now, she looked about her
room, blinking owlishly and trying to figure out how she came to be
this way. It took a few moments of mental backtracking, but Sasami
came to the conclusion that she had had probably too much to drink.
Worse, she had no idea how she had gotten home to her bed. As far as
Sasami was concerned, there was only this large black void of timeless
space.
Suddenly, Sasami's nose began to twitch a bit, as a rather
unpleasant odor became noticeable to her. Trying to process the smell
and its source, the suffering princess finally came to a conclusion.
'It's me,' she quailed to herself, 'I smell awful!'
Feeling totally sickened with her condition, and surrendering
to the increasing pain in her head, Sasami sunk her face back down
onto her futon and let out a pitiful moan. After a few moments, the
princess noticed something kind of wet on the side of her face. With
yet another mental struggle, she finally realized what it was.
"I drooled all over the futon," she cried miserably, rolling her
head over to a drier spot.
No, it was not hell, but it was close enough.
* * *
As the seconds ticked by on the living room's clock, Ryoko
idly adjusted the plugs in her ears, making sure they felt comfortable.
Smiling to herself, Ryoko was more than certain her hearing would
have been able to adapt to the increased noise levels, but they were
more for show than anything else.
'Letting the sleeping princess see wearing these,' she thought
with a smirk, 'will be a nice touch.'
Ryoko experienced a quick flash of guilt at the notion of
taunting Sasami, but quickly quenched it down. With a shake of her
head, Ryoko tried to stay focused. While she was more than willing to
admit her heart had lost a lot of its steel edge in the past, Ryoko
narrowed her eyes and managed to recall the icy composure of a
heartless pirate.
'I have my reasons, princess,' considered Ryoko, 'and I hope
you'll get the message.'
With ten seconds to go before the clock struck eight, Ryoko
turned slightly towards the stereo system and held one finger out. It
hovered slightly above the mini-disc 'play' button. With a hard smile,
Ryoko watched the second hand tick by until the clock rang out on the
hour.
Ryoko lit a little grin. "Let's get this show on the road!" she
called out, her finger pressing the mini-disc player to life.
There was a brief pause as the mini-disc spun up to speed and
searched for the track information. Selecting the first track on the
disc, it merrily began its job of transmitting the music signal to the
jacked up receiver. Ryoko smiled and shimmered out of the living
room.
And with a thunderous explosion of noise, the Masaki
residence began to vibrate to the sounds of a piercing slide guitar.
* * *
With a thunderous explosion, the wings of a hundred birds
rising in a panic came across the lake. Driven by the wailing pitches
coming from the Masaki residence, the water fowl cried out in
frightened protest, scattering to quieter areas of the mountain valley.
Spooked entirely, Yui latched onto her father's waist as the
porch of the residence began to rattle alarmingly. Nobuyuki, with a
painful expression on his face, had his hands clamped over his ears.
Tenchi, startled, but nevertheless calm, winced a bit at the volume that
hurt his ears while comforting Yui. Looking up at his grandfather, he
saw Yosho as composed as ever. Yosho, however, did raise and
eyebrow at his grandson.
Tenchi shrugged back helplessly. "It's like I told you," he
yelled over the music, "sometimes it's just better not to ask!"
* * *
A kaleidoscope of color and pain shot through Sasami's eyes
to the back of her head as the floor and walls of her room began to
vibrate horribly. On top of that, the piercing wail of guitar and a
rough blues singer were doing a fine job in making her teeth clatter.
For a brief moment, Sasami's nausea was completely forgotten.
Looking up in agony, the princess saw the air in front of her
shimmer and haze before Ryoko popped out of nothingness. With a
raised eyebrow and a caustic grin on her face, Ryoko beamed at
Sasami.
"I SEE YOU ARE AWAKE NOW!" Ryoko had to yell over
the din. "YOU DON'T LOOK SO HOT, PRINCESS! MAYBE YOU
COULD USE A BATH!"
With her head between her hands, Sasami looked up at the
space pirate in confusion and pain, totally not understanding what was
going on. Not waiting for a response, Ryoko shot over the princess's
futon and grabbed a hold of her. Grinning impishly, Ryoko wrinkled
her nose.
"YEP!" she called out, "YOU DEFINITELY NEED A
BATH. YOU SMELL LIKE YOU SLEPT IN A BARN, OR
WORSE!"
There was another shimmer, and the pair disappeared...
...Only to remerge in the magnificent women's onsen.
Choosing the proper pool of cold water, Ryoko hovered above the
spring with a terrified Sasami. Sasami clung to Ryoko in fright, not
daring, or capable, of moving an inch. Then, without warning or
ceremony, Ryoko let go.
A sharp cry was interrupted by Sasami hitting the cold, spring
water with a mighty splash, sending showers of water in all directions.
Stunned into clarity by the bitter shock of the cold water, Sasami
clawed her way to the surface, crying out loudly in dismay, her
clothes and hair hanging wet against her body.
Ryoko almost laughed, but caught herself feeling a bit
ashamed. Somehow, she did not feel right tormenting Sasami like
this. Ryoko shook her head in annoyance.
"No soft feelings, now," she muttered to herself.
As Sasami rose up out of the spring, her arms hung out at her
sides and shivering, Ryoko pulled out a remote control device and
pushed a button. Instantly, there was a tremendous silence that left a
buzzing in Sasami's ears. Trembling and unable to even form
coherent words, the princess climbed out of the onsen and began to
crawl on her hands and knees, dripping wet.
Not waiting for another hesitation in her spirit, Ryoko
dropped down beside the princess and grabbed onto her. Without
warning, the two disappeared again.
* * *
In the noticeable silence that followed the pulsating blues
which had almost rocked the house to its foundation, the members of
the Masaki residence lucky enough to be outside had grown quiet.
Here and there in the surrounding woods, a hesitant chirp or twitter of
noise came from the birds and squirrels that were coming up from
cover.
With his daughter's head resting on his shoulder, Tenchi let
his mind wander a bit, enjoying the coolness of the summer morning.
As was usual for him, comforting Yui left Tenchi in something of a
vulnerable state, more open to remembering images of the past,
happiness, or regrets.
Looking out in the front yard, Tenchi could very clearly see
images from a time some twenty years before. He did not look much
younger, thanks to the influence of the power of Jurai, but there was a
certain difference. Maybe a more youthful innocence in his eyes? Life
before all the weighty responsibilities of fatherhood had descended
upon him...
There was Ryoko. She, too, looked no younger than now, but
already Tenchi remembered the changes that were taking place in her
life. All the fear of losing Tenchi to Ayeka that had helped enforce
Ryoko's tough and sometimes caustic exterior were fading away. The
understanding of the feelings between Ryoko and Tenchi had allowed
her the room to relax, slowly revealing bit by bit the real woman
beneath the facade.
A warm smile crossed Tenchi's face and he closed his eyes,
letting the memories wash over him.
Ryoko always there waiting for him after school, perched
delicately on her favorite rock. The strong embrace each afternoon
that seemed to squeeze all the wear of the day away, and the lazy
summer days alone with each other. Sitting out on the porch in the
fall, warm in sweaters and each others arms with Tenchi's infant
daughter, Mayuka, snuggled softly in between.
Opening his eyes, Tenchi considered what had been so
different about Mayuka and Yui's arrivals into his life. With Mayuka,
the world seemed as it had been before marrying Ryoko, carefree and
laughing, but Yui had been different. Perhaps it was the intense
emotional connection to seeing Ryoko pregnant and giving birth and
all the feelings of protection that had gone along with that time.
Tenchi did not love Mayuka an iota less than Yui, but Ryoko giving
birth had opened his eyes to all the potential dangers and phantoms in
the world that could suddenly endanger his family. With Mayuka, her
birth had been in Washu's laboratory, something more mysterious and
personally detached. And so many people had been there to share in
her raising those first few years. It was his DNA, but Mayuka was
everyone's daughter in a sense.
Tenchi shook his head clear. There was never a time when
he would not have sacrificed everything for Mayuka or ever given her
less love than Yui, and he never for a moment felt she believed
otherwise. But still, Tenchi worried over Mayuka's own feelings about
where she came from. Ryoko had the makings of a fine mother, even
before Yui's arrival, but they had never hidden the fact from Mayuka
that Ryoko was not her birth mother. And it might have been
Tenchi's imagination, but Mayuka had seemed to grow up so
unusually independent and self-reliant for her age, especially after
Ryoko had died.
He shook his head again, not ready to head down the path of
those memories this early in the morning. Those memories were
fading again, but they would probably be with him for many years to
come.
'Ryoko-san,' he sighed to himself.
A familiar sensation crept down the back of Tenchi's spine
only an instant before Ryoko shimmered out of nothingness on the
front yard, holding an unsteady Sasami by the waist. The momentary
curiosity as to whether or not the others felt this same awareness just
before Ryoko's appearance was erased as he took in the princess.
Tenchi let his face go passive and featureless as he stood up from the
porch. His grandfather glided silently up beside him.
With a satisfied nod, Ryoko released Sasami, who promptly
let her knees buckle as she sank to the warm grass in a wet pile.
Squinting in the bright morning sunshine, the princess drew her hands
up to her face and tried to avoid the sun. Her matted hair fell all
around her in long, wet strands as her defenses dropped completely.
Ryoko spared a moments glance at the defeated Sasami before
fixing her gaze on those on and around the porch. Her hands firmly
on her hips, cyan hair striking out aggressively in the sun, Ryoko set
the most serious pirate face the group had seen in a long from her.
Yui was suitably impressed with her mother, wondering if maybe she
could get the look down on some of the more annoying jerks in her
school.
"Here is the princess," Ryoko stated in a calm and neutral
voice, "just as I promised. Are the members of her royal family
prepared to take custody of her highness?"
Crossing his arms and shifting his stance slightly, Yosho
nodded, "We are prepared, Ryoko. The royal house of Jurai humbly
thanks you for your trouble in rousing this unworthy princess. She is
in our charge now."
"Though we take no pleasure in it," added Tenchi in a quiet
and sad tone.
Ryoko nodded satisfactorily and stepped away from the bleary
eyed Sasami. Walking towards the porch, she passed the two Juraian
princes and climbed the steps. Halfway up, Ryoko paused.
"I give you the child," she said, finally, "bring me back the
adult." With that, Ryoko walked past the still sitting Yui and
Nobuyuki and stopped with her back towards the group.
The aging prince of Jurai nodded his head again, and turned
towards Sasami. Looking down at the bewildered woman, Yosho
considered his options. Beyond Sasami, in the distance, a few ducks
were beginning to return the lake, splashing down on the surface and
still wary of any more unexpected noises.
"Yui-chan."
"Yes, grandfather," Yui spoke, straightening up from where
she was sitting.
"Go inside the kitchen and retrieve one glass of water,"
Yosho demanded softly.
"Yes, grandfather!" she said, whirling up from her seat and
speeding around the side of the house to the kitchen door. As she used
her long legs to dash out of site, Sasami managed to find her voice.
"W-what's going on?" she whined pitifully. "Why have you
dragged me out here?"
Sasami drew her hands up to her temples and shuddered as a
wave of nausea passed over her momentarily. Looking up, her eyes
met with Nobuyuki's, who was visibly unhappy. Moving her gaze
towards Tenchi and Yosho, she was met with only a bland patience, as
if the two were wholly unconcerned with the world. Ryoko still had
her back to the princess.
"My head hurts," she complained in a little-girl voice to no
one in particular.
A slam of a door caused Sasami to look to her right as Yui
came around the corner of the house, not so quick this time, with a tall
glass of water in her hands. Sasami's mouth suddenly became terribly
aware again of the cotton stuffed feeling from earlier in the morning.
"Exactly what I wanted, Yui," Yosho said seriously. "Now,
take the glass to the princess and give it to her."
Yui obeyed and crossed the grass, kneeling beside Sasami and
putting the glass in her hands. Sasami's trembling caused some of the
water to slosh onto her lap. It was cold.
"Now, drink," ordered Yosho.
Still holding the glass in shaking hands, Sasami looked up in
confusion. "I d-don't understand-" she started to mumble.
"Drink!" he repeated sharply in a tone that allowed for no
argument, causing Sasami to launched the glass up to her mouth and
spill more water all over herself.
"Very well," Yosho frowned, uncrossing his arms and laying
them lightly at his sides. "Focus on the meaning of my words,
Princess Sasami, because when I am finished speaking, you will have
a decision to make."
Adjusting her weight under her soaked clothes miserably,
Sasami dropped the glass from her lips. "Decision? But what is-?"
"Quiet," growled Tenchi, his eyes almost as hard and
dispassionate as his wife's had been.
Sasami drew back as if physically struck, her eyes growing
wide in disbelief. She felt tears instantly begin to sting as she dropped
her head and let her hair fall forward. Having moved off to the side of
Yosho and her father, Yui clasped her hands together and held her
breath.
Clearing his throat, Yosho looked down at the princess.
"Sasami," he began, "your behavior on this planet has been
incorrigible for a member of the royal house of Jurai this past week.
You have allowed yourself to be carried into contrite and dishonorable
state of attitude, affecting those of our house and directly causing the
accumulation of additional injuries on our guest."
Looking up through her strands of hair, Sasami's mind
whirled as she blinked through her tears. She could not even being to
remember the night before, and Yosho's reference to Nathaniel's
injuries did not register.
"This will change," he concluded, in a hard voice.
Tenchi nodded and fixed a steady gaze on Sasami. "You
have two options, Sasami, so please listen to me closely. With the
behavior you have been exhibiting, I can no longer extend to you the
courtesy of living in my family's home."
Sasami's head jerked up, her eyes wide again and full of
astonishment. At the same time, Nobuyuki's shoulders slumped in
amazement just as Yui's jaw dropped. Ryoko remained unmoving,
calmly fixated on some part of the porch.
"You have endangered yourself and caused the harm of
others," Tenchi continued with a sigh, "and gone about with a total
disregard for everyone here. For that, it is best you should return to
Jurai immediately. We can have Ryo-ohki send you out to rendezvous
with the Juraian escort immediately so you may be returned to your
permanent home at court."
The mostly empty glass slid from dead fingers, tumbling off
Sasami's leg and onto the grass. Eyes tearing in disbelief, Sasami's
breath began to come in quick gasps as her chest tightened like a vice.
For a long instant, vertigo was instated as the world spun madly
around her.
"However," Tenchi continued quietly, "you do have the
opportunity to make amends for your actions and remain a loved one
in this household, if you are willing to make the effort to do so."
Sasami, still choked with tears, looked up distraught. "Effort
to d-do s-s-so?" she stammered in confusion. Her body slouched a
little more as her spine weakened.
Yosho nodded. "If you wish, Sasami," he said, "you may
continue to be welcome here. However, from this moment on you will
be required to obey every order given to you., and you will follow these
orders without comment or question. By the end of the day, if you are
still standing and have not given in to the maudlin state of mind you
have been immersed in these past two weeks, you may stay with our
love and happiest blessings."
"Do you understand?" asked Tenchi, his gaze never
wavering.
Sasami sniveled miserably and wiped her eyes and nose with
the back of one arm. Catching her breath in short gasps, the young
woman looked up at Tenchi through red and puffy eyes.
"What am I being punished for?" she cried unhappily.
"No questions, Sasami," Tenchi said with unyielding steel in
his soft voice. "Do you understand, yes or no?"
"Y-yes," quavered Sasami.
Yosho frowned. "Well, then, princess Sasami, what is your
decision? Do you wish to stay or leave now for Jurai?"
Unfortunately, the princess had fallen into a fit of hiccups at
that moment, brought on by her crying. With tears still brimming
over the edges of her luminous eyes and running down her cheeks, she
could only nod. A savage hiccup wracked her body, causing more
tears to flow.
Yosho moved closer to the princess. "Very well," he
rumbled, "there are only two rules today. You've heard the first, that
you must obey every order given to you until sundown. The second
rule is you are forbidden use of the words 'I can't' today."
Sasami looked up blankly, her hiccups less severe now.
"If any of us hear those or similar words pass your lips,
princess," he added, his aged features wrinkled in seriousness, "or if
you break the first rule, you will be sent on your way to Jurai. Are we
absolutely clear on this?"
Again, Sasami bobbed her head miserably.
"Excellent," Yosho grunted, rocking back on his heels.
"Tenchi, would you like to have the princess first this morning?"
With a hesitation, Tenchi gave a quick glance at his wife's
back and then shook his head.
"No, grandfather," he said, "you may have her first. I'll be
along later to take her from you, say, after lunch?"
With a nod, Yosho turned back towards the princess. "On
your feet, Sasami," he barked suddenly, "we have a long day ahead,
and I'm too old to spend it waiting on you!"
Sasami sniffed once more before slowly, and somewhat
unsteadily, dragging herself to her feet. Finally standing, she teetered
a little, waiting. Yosho shook his head in dissatisfaction.
"Weak as a kitten," he disapproved, "very well, follow me to
the temple, and do not fall behind." With that, Yosho took off for the
staircase leading to the temple at a brisk jog, not looking back.
Blinking owlishly, Sasami hesitated in confusion.
"Sasami."
"H-huh?" she mumbled.
"Please go," Tenchi said quietly.
With yet another batch of tears ready to spill over her cheeks,
the princess whipped her head around and began to stumble after the
retreating Yosho. Tenchi, Yui, and Nobuyuki watched them disappear
into the woods.
"I'm still not sure I understand, Tenchi" admitted Nobuyuki
after a moment. "She's so upset. Is it wise to do this to her?"
Before Tenchi could answer, Yui spoke up. "Is this like what
you and grandfather did to me last year?" she asked quietly. "Is this
like the test?"
With a nod and a small smile, Tenchi said, "Yes, kitten, it's
like your test, only..."
Yui looked her father with questioning eyes.
"... only it's going to be much more difficult for her," he
finished. "She hasn't had the training you had before you were
tested."
Yui shook her head seriously. "Poor Aunt Sasami," she
whispered.
"Don't waste sympathy on her yet, Yui-chan," Tenchi chided,
"it's a long time until sundown, and she needs thoughts of strength,
not sympathy, to get her through this. Speaking of which, finish your
morning chores and meet me at lunch in your training clothes. I'm
going to require your help with Sasami."
"Okay, dad," nodded Yui before wandering back around the
house towards the kitchen.
Nobuyuki slowly got up and stretched a bit. "Guess I'll head
into town, then," he said, "I have the film from the festival I'd like to
get developed."
Stepping down from the porch, Nobuyuki leaned over
Tenchi's shoulder and whispered, "Tenchi, I think Ryoko might
need-"
"Already on it, dad," Tenchi whispered back.
Nobuyuki smiled at his son and then walked away towards his
vehicle. In a few minutes he was in it and had disappeared down the
driveway, a cloud of dust in his wake. Tenchi watched him leave.
Turning around, he observed his wife, arms still crossed and back still
to the front lawn. Walking towards her, his weight on the porch steps
caused them to creak, giving away his approach.
"Tenchi..." she whispered.
Closing in on his wife, Tenchi wrapped up his wife from
behind in his arms. She was incredibly tense.
"It's okay, beloved," he whispered softly, "they'll all gone."
Ryoko relaxed noticeably, sinking back into Tenchi's body.
"I-I thought this would be different," she mumbled in a quiet voice.
"Different?"
"Yes, different," she said with a sniff, "I was so eager to help
teach Sasami a lesson this morning, to knock a little sense into the
princess, but now..."
Tenchi waited patiently for his wife to find the words. He
had long ago learned that it was nearly impossible to prod thoughts
from Ryoko. She would get to them in her own time.
"...Tenchi," Ryoko said hesitantly, "she looked so miserable
and unhappy, I didn't want to make her do this, but I dragged her out
here anyway! I mean, sure she really screwed up and she needs to
atone for that."
Tenchi felt two hot splashes on his arm as Ryoko's head sank
forward a little.
"Tenchi," she whispered again, "the woman helped raise
Mayuka and little Yui when I was gone... and this is how I help to
repay that? Oh, damn, why am I crying?"
Tenchi comforted his wife for a few moments, looking for the
right words to say.
"Sometimes love has to be tough, beloved," he said simply.
* * *
A train.
No, a bus.
Three hundred biker-clan hooligans?
Whatever it was that knocked me down, there was certainly
pavement involved.
One thing was clear as I opened my eyes, I was wearing
more bandages again. Things definitely ached a hell of a lot, though
in admittedly different place. My head hurt, but now it was the other
side from where I had banged my noggin on the stairs. Also, the side
of my face felt stiff, and my knees stung every time I shifted my legs.
Nothing was really happening in my injured shoulder, so I figured it
must be okay.
'What happened to me?' I asked myself.
No answer.
'Ryoko came to pick me up. I was at the festival. Sasami
took me to see the floats-'
Like a bolt of lightening, the replay of last nights came down
on my head, each memory playing in sequence until I at last
remembered falling. It was kind of fuzzy, but not all *that* hard to
recall. With a bit of struggle, I managed to sit up in my bed and feel
my injuries.
My head was indeed bandaged again. I sighed. It was not
healthy to smack one's skull too often. I shied back from touching my
cheek. That really hurt, and I remembered getting hit there. Oh well,
the tooth check was positive, all my teeth were accounted for, so I did
not worry to much about it. Lifting up the covers of the bed, I saw my
knees were bandaged up they were the source of a distant but stinging
pain. I let my head sink back down onto the pillows as I groaned.
"I think it'd be better for my health if I just went home," I
soured.
Letting the comfort of the bed lull me back to sleep, my brain
idly wondered where my pants had gotten off to.
* * *
There was a distinct sloshing sound coming from the middle
of Sasami's tummy. Breathing hard and slightly sick from the
exertion of being forced up the stairs so quickly by Yosho, the princess
wondered if drinking that water might have been a mistake. Bent over
at the waste with her hands on her knees, Sasami struggled to remain
upright and keep her stomach down. Then, she noticed a buzzing
noise through the ringing in her ears.
Was someone talking to her? Sasami started to look up, but
before her eyes could focus, her feet were swept out from underneath
her. With a cry, Sasami tumbled into the grass yard in front of the
temple.
"Pay attention, Sasami," Yosho ordered calmly, "I will
tolerate no day-dreaming from you, period. Now get up."
Moving slowly, the still dazed princess pushed back some of
her long hair from her face and struggled to her feet. A little of the
water in Sasami's stomach had come up her nose, making her cough.
Yosho began to slowly circle the wretched looking woman.
"Self-absorbed," he said, still walking around her.
"Dishonest."
"Willfully putting others in danger for your own excess."
He stopped in front of Sasami. "These are just some of the
traits that have surfaced in you, Sasami."
Sasami caught herself with her mouth slightly hung open.
She had the presence of mind, despite her confusion, to clamp it shut.
Crossing his arms in front of his body, Yosho gave Sasami a very
penetrating look.
"Perhaps you can not be blamed for letting these traits subdue
you," he admitted grudgingly. "It is very easy for one not to recognize
the depths to which they have fallen if they have never experienced
such a trial before."
For certain, standing in the light of the rising morning sun
and feeling the heat of the day beginning to build, Sasami was not
exactly sure what Yosho was talking about, but she was not ready to
speak up yet.
The prince began pacing slowly in front of Sasami. "Perhaps
I can even lay some of the responsibility on myself," he mulled, "I had
considered giving you some of the training Tenchi and Yui had
received, but I never imagined you having a difficulty distinguishing
between what is wrong and right as a member of the Jurai royal
family."
He paused and stared at Sasami.
"For *anyone*, actually," Yosho added. "No matter, what is
done is done. What matters is that you purge your spirit of these
principal vices. This will be your challenge today."
For an instant, a distant bell rang in Sasami's mind, as
Yosho's words stirred something that seemed important. However,
the thought slipped away from her as quickly as it had come. Sasami's
eyes crossed in consternation.
"The first step in cleansing the spirit is appearance," Yosho
continued on. "While the most superficial of changes, it is necessary
for you to begin to distinguish yourself from what you are now."
With a nod of his head, he indicated her clothing. "Sloppy,
casual, disheveled. All extensions of your current attitude," he
disapproved.
Sasami looked down at herself, dressed her dirty shirt from
last night and a crumpled pair of shorts, both still damp. In all
honestly, the dunk she had received from Ryoko had done a lot to
improve her appearance... and her smell. Sasami shifted her feet
uncomfortably as she considered that.
Yosho nodded sagely. "Indeed," he said, stepping back and
narrowing his eyes.
Sasami lifted her head in recognition as she began to sense
the power of Jurai being tapped. In front of her, there was a blinding
flash and release of power as prince Yosho used the Jurai energy to
change into a combative uniform. A cross between an Earth style gi
and a Jurai practice uniform, it was a white top with ink-black pants
that was loose and allowed for ease of movement. He looked even
more imposing that usual.
"You appearance is the extension of your thoughts, your
manner of being," Yosho droned on. "Let's see what your thoughts
are right now. Use the power of Jurai to change into something more
appropriate for physical activity, Sasami."
Swallowing several times, Sasami tried to calm her thoughts
enough to think straight. Steadying herself, Sasami closed her eyes
and concentrated. For several moments nothing happened. It was so
difficult to channel the power. After all, she had never had any real
reason to do so in the past.
A few beads of sweat began to appear on her forehead at the
hairline as she struggled to grasp the Jurai energy. It was just out of
reach.
"Highly disappointing for a member of the royal house to be
having such difficulties," Yosho said, shaking his head. "Yui could do
this by the time she was thirteen."
Sasami felt like she was about to explode. With a last frantic
push, she latched a hold of the Jurai power within her and released it.
There was another bright flash down her body as Sasami's clothes
were replaced by a traditional Jurai exercise uniform.
It was a very dingy gray.
Yosho raised an eyebrow. "So that is the color of your soul
right now, is it?"
Sasami rocked back on her heels and placed her hands on her
knees again, gasping for some air. She could not explain it, but in
struggling so hard to control the energy, she felt like she had pulled
something.
"Pay attention!" Yosho demanded, tossing something large at
her from out of nowhere.
By pure reflex, Sasami raised her hands just in time to keep
the long handle of a shovel from smacking her in the face. It bounced
off her arms and landed with a thunk in the grass. Sasami stared at
the shovel in shock.
"I require a hole, Sasami. A fairly large one."
* * *
The laboratory which occupied a portion of collapsed space
underneath the Masaki residence staircase was a little different this
day. To the casual observer, it might have been hard to pin down at
first. All the peculiar devices and forbidding experiments cluttered the
workspace, lights flashing and bubbles bubbling. In the center of the
room, beneath a gigantic workstation, tapping away at a fevered pace
was Washu, while in another corner, a sleeping Ryo-ohki continued to
take refuge from being spied by the resting Nathaniel. No, nothing
seemed out of the ordinary.
Except.
"Why is it so bright in here?" demanded Ryoko.
Washu did not even look up. "Well hello, Ryoko," she said
brightly. "My, talking to me twice in one day. Does this mean you're
no longer angry with moooom?"
Ryoko tossed her head to one side and hmphed. "Actually,
Washu, I'm here because I haven't been feeling well lately."
Her typing pace slowing a tad, Washu raised an eyebrow and
looked over at Ryoko. "Are you having some degradation in
performance?" she asked.
"Gee, you make that sound so warm and comforting," Ryoko
smirked back, "no, I'm not having some whatever-you-call-it in
performance. I just haven't been feeling... well the past few weeks,
that's all."
"Very well, very well," replied the red-haired scientist,
waving a hand negligently in the direction of a large contraption, "step
up on the scanner and I'll see what I can find."
With more than a bit of nervousness, Ryoko slowly stepped
back into the large cylindrical machine and let herself rest back in the
support pads. Her eyes narrowed reflexively. No matter how much
Ryoko might be softening, her instinct to avoid being at the mercy of
someone she did not fully trust was still high. However, Washu *was*
her 'mother', and the only one qualified to examine her.
Washu played with a few readouts and buttons on a small
virtual console that had appeared in front of her. Executing a
command, the device Ryoko was in suddenly whirled to life, causing
Ryoko to tense for a moment.
"Relax, Ryoko," said Washu, "this device won't bite you. So,
how is the princess doing?"
"I don't know," Ryoko replied through clenched teeth as a
scanning device removed itself from the side of the machine and
started to pass over her body, starting at the head. "She's with Yosho
right now, and I won't see her until later this evening after Tenchi is
done with her."
"You don't seem so excited about the whole thing anymore,"
Washu observed archly.
Ryoko did not respond. The scanner made its way to the tips
of Ryoko's toes before switching off and quickly retracting itself from
wince it came. In front of Washu, a new display popped up from
nothingness and began to display scores of data at a high rate of speed.
Washu peered intently at the information.
"Experiencing a general sense of exhaustion?"
"Yes."
"Periodic nausea?"
"Yes, Washu," Ryoko affirmed impatiently.
"Crankiness?" Washu asked with amusement.
Ryoko growled.
"Could never have guessed," she replied, pushing back from
the virtual console and swiveling her chair towards her daughter.
Leaning forward in the chair, Washu crossed her legs and smiled.
"Yes, you definitely have an ailment, Ryoko," Washu
grinned.
"What's so damn funny about me being sick, Washu?" Ryoko
grumbled, stepping down from the scanning machine.
"Oh, you're not sick, Ryoko," disagreed Washu, a huge smile
plastered across her face.
"Then what is wrong with me?"
"Simple," Washu grinned, "you're pregnant again."
Ryoko's look of shocked amazement quickly turned to one of
anger. Striding up to the little scientist, she grabbed Washu by the
collar and lifted her up to eye level.
"Don't make jokes with me, Washu," she growled, "I'm not
in the mood. You know Tenchi and I can't get pregnant without your
technology!"
"Yes, I know," Washu answered calmly, "but that was before.
Over the years you were slowly regenerating, I took the liberty of
adjusting your genetic structure just a tad."
Ryoko lowered her mother ever so slightly in suspicion.
"Adjusted?" she asked in a dangerous tone.
"Affirmative," nodded Washu, "it was simple, really. I just
made your DNA a little more compatible with that of Tenchi's. If you
hadn't died, I'd never been able to fiddle and make it work, actually."
A mischievous twinkle appeared in Washu's eyes.
"Congratulations, Ryoko. You and Tenchi can now breed like rabbits
without my help."
A stunned look on her face, Ryoko slowly deposited Washu
back into her console chair. Taking a hesitant step back, she looked
down at her flat stomach and covered it with her hands. Ryoko's
mouth fell open as she became speechless.
"Now, then," Washu beamed, "you can thank me later. I just
can't wait to see the look on Tenchi's face!"
"Is it true, Washu," Ryoko gaped, still unbelieving.
Washu grinned wickedly. "Consider it a gift from Mom."
Without warning, Ryoko leaned down and embraced Washu.
Taken completely off-guard by her action, Washu struggled wildly as
her daughter crushed her in an embrace. Totally flustered and
embarrassed, Washu finally managed to push Ryoko gently away.
Without a word and only a dazed smile, Ryoko turned away
and began to walk slowly out of the laboratory. Breaking through her
haze, however, a lifelike item standing in one corner caught her
attention.
"Washu, what the heck is that?" Ryoko demanded.
Without looking up, the scientist said, "Nothing, just my
latest experiment. Not bad looking, is it?"
Despite herself, Ryoko shivered. "It's creepy, Washu."
Without another word, Ryoko shimmered and phased out of
site. Washu grinned to herself and stopped typing to lean back in her
chair. Rocking back slightly, she looked up at the high ceiling of the
laboratory, now more illuminated than it had ever been in years.
"Maybe a reproduction of the ceiling in the Sistine Chapel
would be in order," Washu thought idly. "I could have me stretching
out my finger towards Tenchi, who'd be completely in the buff!"
With a ferocious fit of giggling, Washu turned back to her
console and started to madly type again.
* * *
With annoying slowness, a bead of sweat tracked its way
down Sasami's forehead and towards her eyes. Swiping at the sweat
before it could sting her eyes, for the twentieth time in the past two
hours, the princess streaked her face with dirt.
Standing waist deep in a hole, Sasami had been digging
furiously in the dark soil, making a pit as demanded by her half-
brother, Yosho, who sat in the shade nearby. Grinding her teeth, the
princess had to hack away at the soil as it got harder the deeper she
dug. In the time since she began, Sasami's confusion and tears had
been replaced by a flaring temper.
*Shunk* went the blade of the shovel as it bit into more earth
in the bottom of the five foot-diameter hole. Sasami winced a bit in
pain. Her hands, unaccustomed to this kind of work, were already
well on their way to developing blisters.
'This is stupid,' she seethed to herself, 'why am *I* being
made to do this? *I* didn't do anything.'
*Shunk*
'Having to dig this ridiculous hole. What good does that do
for me? Improving *my* attitude? Right.'
*Shunk*
'So I got a little drunk last night. Fine. And I probably
passed out and they had to baby-sit me. Fine. Where do they get off
telling me I can't stay here anymore?!'
Dropping the shovel with a barely contained huff, Sasami,
dropped to her knees in the dirt and became to scoop all the earth she
had disturbed, cupping it in her hands. Then, with considerable effort,
she crawled up out of the hole using her elbows and legs before
climbing to her feet and moving quickly across the temple courtyard.
Her uniform was noticeably stained and grimy.
'Making me carry this crummy dirt with my hands all the
way across the yard to pile it,' Sasami sulked. 'Don't drop any on the
grass, pile it *neatly*. Why are they doing this to *me*? They let a
complete stranger free-load in the house, but they're going to send
*me* back to Jurai just for having a bad day?'
Reaching a large tarp that had an enormous amount of dirt
already on it, Sasami all but threw her armful of dirt. Her hands were
almost black. With the expression of a vulture, Sasami whipped her
head around and stalked back to the hole. Once there, she stopped at
the side and waited.
Yosho raised an eyebrow. "Yes?" he inquired.
"The hole," Sasami panted slightly, pointing, "it's the size
you wanted it to be. It's finished."
Yosho leaned forward a bit an peered at the whole with
disinterest. "Yes, it is definitely a hole as I asked for. Well done."
Sasami began to straighten her back a little, thinking to
herself that this was not so difficult and that she had shown him.
"Fill it."
Sasami's jaw dropped.
"Fill it?" she demanded, "I just *dug* it!"
"Are you questioning my orders?" Yosho asked in a
deceptively neutral voice.
Sasami clenched her teeth again and dug her dirty finger
nails in to her palms.
"Fine," she agreed in a tight voice, "what should I fill the
hole with?"
"Obviously, with the dirt you just took from it," he replied,
shaking his head. "What else would you find around here to fill a hole
with?"
Spinning on a heel, Sasami turned towards the distant pile of
dirt before she retorted something nasty.
"Just a moment, Sasami," Yosho called, "I have a deal for
you."
Sasami looked stopped and looked over her shoulder, wiping
her forehead again with a dirty hand. She looked like she had been
beaten up by several bags of potting soil.
"Hrm," Yosho pondered with a hand at his chin, "it's just
after eleven. If you can fill up this hole with all of that dirt over
there
by lunch time, I'll dismiss you from your challenge, and you may
come or go as you please."
Sasami's eyes narrowed.
"You look suspicious," nodded Yosho with a frown, "I did not
realize you were in the habit of doubting my word when it is given.
Another example of your current attitude; you are dishonest with
yourself, therefore you expect the same from others."
"By lunch time?" confirmed Sasami with her fists clenched.
"Lunch time," Yosho agreed. "I certainly hope Yui brings
something cool to drink by then. It is most certainly hot resting in the
shade."
Sasami bit back her tongue and spun off towards the pile of
dirt, determined to end this ridiculous affair and be free of the dirt and
sweat before the afternoon even had a chance to begin.
'I'll show him,' she thought, wiping her brow with a dirty
and sweat-drenched sleeve.
It was getting hot.
* * *
Nobuyuki liked a lot of things. Architecture, cameras, pretty
girls, more pretty girls. Suffice to say, even if his advancing age had
slowed his step a little bit, it had done next to nothing with his
enthusiasm for his many interests in life.
Though no one would have ever thought to guess it, driving
was also up there on Nobuyuki's list of fun things to do. In fact, he
had a habit of driving up and down the curvy mountain roads in a
similar manner with which he did most things.
Almost just lightly out of control.
Nobuyuki had arrived in town fairly easily that morning, and
promptly dropped of his film in one of those one-hour photo shops.
Truth be told, he still preferred video equipment over stills, but
photographs had a way of catching a moment that digital imagery still
lacked. At any rate, he managed to kick around town for a while,
wandering in and out of shops and talking to a number of young,
bright-eyed women before returning for his pictures. Thumbing
through them quickly, lingering on just a few, Nobuyuki then left town
and sped back home at his usual breakneck driving pace.
Pulling into the Masaki residence driveway, he did slow down
noticeably, causing the cloud of dust being kicked up form his tires to
momentarily catch up with and envelope his vehicle. He always pulled
into home slowly, not wanting the rest of the family to catch on and
worry about his driving excesses.
Stepping out of his vehicle, Nobuyuki shuffled across the yard
towards the front door and entered the house.
"I'm home," he called out loudly.
"In the kitchen, granddad!" Yui called back merrily.
Taking off his shoes, Nobuyuki made his way through the
hallway and into the kitchen. Passing through the doorway, he was
greeted with a flurry of activity. On either side of the kitchen island,
Tenchi and Yui were engaged in competition. Each wielding a
wickedly sharp knife, the pair were furiously chopping food and
vegetables in a race to finish first. Tenchi's blade cam down in
smooth cuts, hardly disturbing the already chopped food a bit. Yui's
technique was a little less controlled, but also just as fast. In fact,
it
looked like Yui was going to finish her pile of food first.
"I don't know, Tenchi," Nobuyuki smiled, "looks like Yui-
chan is going to get the better of Yui."
"I can't lose!" Yui piped breathlessly, not letting up on her
chopping speed. "I'm finally going to beat dad!"
Without missing a chop, Tenchi said, "I suppose you'll run to
school tomorrow and tell your boyfriend, what's-his-name, all about
it?"
Blushing furiously, Yui faltered her chopping and looked up
at her father. "He is *not* my boyfriend!" she insisted loudly.
"Done," Tenchi interrupted unhurriedly, placing his knife
down on the table, "I win."
"Whaaaagh?" Yui cried, her jaw dropping. "B-but, that's not
fair, you did that on purpose!"
Tenchi smiled across the island at his daughter and shook his
head. "When did anyone ever say that your opponent will always be
fair?" he asked, proceeding to finish the lunches with the food he had
just diced.
Yui dropped her head down and completed her chopping.
"Well, I *almost* won," she pouted.
"If the two of you are finished," Nobuyuki began, "come here
and look at the pictures I took at the festival."
Taking time to wipe his hands with a dish towel, Tenchi slid
around the island and walked over to the kitchen table where his father
was seated. Yui followed Tenchi around as well, but purposefully
placed herself on the other side of Nobuyuki with a huff; she was still
smarting from her defeat. With his audience attentive, Nobuyuki
began to slowly flip through the pictures one by one, allowing
everyone a good look at each photograph. It did not take long for both
his son and granddaughter to come to the same conclusion.
"Gee," muttered Yui, "I didn't realize Aunt Sasami could
look so unhappy in each of these pictures."
Tenchi nodded. "It's obvious she didn't want to be there," he
sighed, "I guess we all just hoped she'd start enjoying herself."
Almost at the tail end of the stack of photos, Nobuyuki
stopped and lingered on a picture. Yui's eyes widened in recognition
as Tenchi frowned deeply.
There on the table was a picture of Sasami, passed out and
collapsed on Nathaniel, whose forehead was in contact with the
pavement. The trio stopped and stared at the picture for a long few
moments.
With a deep sigh, Tenchi straightened up and rubbed the
small of his back wearily. As much as he wanted to believe that he
had just woken up to find that the previous evening had been an
unpleasant dream, the pictures told otherwise.
"Dad," he said, as Yui and Nobuyuki looked up at him, "can I
have these last few pictures, the ones of Nathaniel and Sasami after he
collapsed?"
"Okay, Tenchi," Nobuyuki replied. "What do you plan on
doing with them?"
Tenchi took the pictures from his father with a nod and stood
scratching the side of his chin. "I think," he decided, "I think I'm
going to have Yui serve them for lunch."
"Huh?" Yui looked blank.
Tenchi looked at his daughter. "How well can you pull a
guilt trip, Yui-chan?"
* * *
Using her fingers nails to scrape up the last of the big chunks
of dirt from off the tarp, Sasami grinned in a partially maniacal
fashion that would have frightened anyone who knew her. She swept
up from the tarp and moved back towards the hole she had dug earlier
in the morning. Looking at the princess, she was a complete mess
with dirt streaked all over her face and arms. Her Juraian work
clothes were also stained quite a bit, making the dingy gray even more
dark.
As she moved across the temple courtyard, sweat streaming
down her face from the hot sun overhead, Yosho noticed some of the
earlier spring in her step was gone. Sasami was definitely tiring.
Regardless, with a harsh look of triumph on her face, the princess
made her way and dumped the last of the dirt back into the hole. The
fill she had replaced came up about two inches short from the top of
the pit. At that moment, Yui crested the top of the temple stairs with
a quiet swoosh, landing lightly on her feet with a pair of box lunches.
"Ah, Yui-chan," Yosho smiled pleasantly from his spot under
the shade of the temple porch, "is that lunch you've brought?"
"You bet, grandfather!" Yui grinned back. "Dad and I made
lunch for you, with something cool to drink, also."
Walking up to Yosho, Yui turned towards Sasami and looked
at her with a feigned look of curiosity. "Gee, Aunt Sasami," she asked
innocently, "why are you playing in the dirt in this hot sun?"
Sasami blew a strand of nasty hair away from her face and
eyed Yui's lunch boxes. She had not thought she was hungry before,
but her stomach decided that was a good time to let out an obnoxious
rumble. The thought of food and something to drink made Sasami's
mouth water. Not wanting to spoil the outcome of her bet with Yosho,
however, she kept her mouth shut.
"Ah, our lovely princess," Yosho motioned, "is learning an
important lesson. Now then, I'm starved. I think I'll go into the
temple and eat."
Sasami fidgeted in the bright sunshine, her uniform plastered
to her body in various places with sweat. Turning to the princess,
Yosho gave her an unhurried once over.
"I suppose you should have something to eat as well," he
admitted, "after all, you're going to need your strength. It's a long
time until sundown."
"Sundown!" Sasami exploded. "But the hole!"
Yosho raised an eyebrow. "What about the hole?"
The princess pointed animatedly at the dirt. "You said if I
filled it before lunch time, I could quit," she complain angrily. "I put
all the dirt back before Yui got here!"
"Yes, you did," he nodded, "but as you can clearly see, the dirt
you put back is a full two inches below the top of the hole."
Sasami's jaw began to hang open.
"Clearly you haven't filled the hole, have you?" asked Yosho.
"But-but..." Sasami was at a loss for words.
"Perhaps if you had not compacted the dirt in your haste to
carry so much at one time," he offered, "it might have filled to
the top. However, that is what happens when you take the best away
from you and leave an emptiness. No matter what else you find, it
never fills back up the hole you've made in yourself."
All the anger building in Sasami drained away as hunger and
fatigue swept in on her at once. Teetering slightly, she looked like she
could drop at any moment.
"Yui-chan," Yosho said, "would you please escort the
princess over to that shady tree over there? I suspect it will not be
long before Tenchi arrives."
"Sure thing, grandfather," Yui replied, bobbing her head.
With that, Yosho took his lunch and entered the temple
without a backward look. Sasami stood in the grass next to her mostly
filled hole, sweating profusely. Yui gave her aunt a speculative look
before taking her gently by the arm.
"Come on, Aunt Sasami," Yui guided, "you need all the
energy you can get before dad gets here."
Sasami blinked hard from the rolls of sweat that were
stinging her eyes. "Huh," she mumbled, "what do you mean I need
my strength? What's going on *now*?"
Yui stopped before a large tree and made herself comfortable.
Pausing to shake out her spiky blonde hair, she opened up the
remaining lunch box and began placing out its contents for Sasami.
"Sit," ordered Yui gently, "you eat while I talk, because you
don't have much time."
Sasami plopped down beside Yui, a bundle of stinky clothes
and sweat. Grabbing the drink that had been brought along, Sasami
began to gulp it rapidly.
"Um," Yui began, "you might want to drink slower, or you'll
get a nasty cramp."
Sasami ignored her. Yui shrugged her shoulders and plowed
on.
"Whatever," she shrugged, "anyhow, dad will be up here
soon, he's going to be a lot harder on you and you won't be finished
until sundown, remember? I see grandfather made you dig a hole.
You might want to pay attention to the lesson-"
"WHY?" Sasami exploded hotly, bits of food flying from her
mouth, "What have *I* done to deserve all this harassment? So, I got
a little drunk? What's the big deal? Ryoko and sister Ayeka used to
get drunk *all* the time!"
Yui looked at Sasami with a bit of annoyance. "You really
have no clue, do you?" she asked her aunt.
"Clue about what?" grumbled Sasami, still working on her
food, "All I know is I'm being treated horribly for nothing. I'd
probably be better off leaving for Jurai right now!"
A look of stone washed over Yui's face. "Well, maybe you
should," she agreed sarcastically, "then you wouldn't end up like this
anymore around us."
With that, the teenage Masaki began to throw a handful of
pictures, one by one, down on Sasami's lap.
"Here's you, just after you made it back to the booth, totally
bombed out of your kilter," Yui began critically. "I think that's puke
down the front of your shirt."
She flipped another one. "Oh, and here's another of you
having to be carried through the crowd back to one of the vans by
Tenchi and Yosho. I think everyone at the festival got a good look at
you."
Sasami's eyes widened as she looked at each picture that was
dropped into her lap. Yui continued relentlessly.
"Oh, say!" she exclaimed, "Here's a rather good shot of mom
and me having to hurriedly shut down our booth to help take care of
you. Wow, granddad Nobuyuki really has a good eye for taking
candid shots, doesn't he?"
Sasami weakly turned her head away and sighed, "Okay, Yui,
thank you for the sarcasm, I get your point. But I still think they're
treating me unfairly."
"Not half as unfairly as you treated Nathaniel," concluded
Yui, dropping the last photo on Sasami's lap.
The princess's eyes slowly dropped down to her lap again and
stared at the photo for a few moments without reaction. It was a hard
photo to make sense of. The picture was taken at a crooked angle, and
there were a number of people crowding around, but Sasami could
make out a several limbs all askew on the ground.
Her jaw fell open. "T-that's... me?" she stammered.
"Uh-huh," sniffed Yui.
"And that's-that's Nathaniel!" Sasami deduced, staring hard
at the picture.
"And *that's* what you did last night, Sasami," Yui replied
quietly, smoothing the front of her gi. "As best we can guess from
Nathaniel's few words last night, he found you drunk and being
assaulted by the punks you met in town before."
Sasami's spine stiffened as her head reeled from a powerful
flash of memory that returned at that moment. She could remember
being hauled up against the tree, feeling their hands pinning her back,
the leering faces. Not being able to grasp the power of Jurai, only a
scream before she passed out.
Putting her hands to the sides of her head, Sasami pressed
hard and pushed some of her matted hair back. "B-but, what's wrong
with him?" she demanded wildly.
Yui snorted. "Geez, Aunt Sasami, don't you remember *any*
of it?" she asked, looking at the princess with a hard look borrowed
from her mother. "What's wrong with him is he beat off those punks,
not before getting knocked around himself, and carried you on his
back all the way from the municipal park to the center of town."
The look of incredulity changed gradually to one of disbelief
on Sasami's face. Moment's later, her chin and lower lip quivering,
hot tears began to splash down Sasami's cheeks and onto the photos in
her lap.
"I didn't know," she sniffed, looking down at Nathaniel's
figure face-down on the pavement, "I didn't mean to!"
Leaning back on her hands, Yui remarked innocently, "Yeah,
I'm sure Nathaniel understands. I mean, besides splitting the *other*
side of his head open and tearing the skin on both his knees off, why
would it bother him at all? Oh! And you should see where one of
those guys hit him below the eye; it's all bruised up big!"
Leaning her face into her hands, Sasami began to sob in
shame. Sitting there in the grass, dirt-stained, grimy, stinking with
sweat, the young woman was awash with feelings of self-loathing, both
for what she had done and what she saw herself as. Choking on her
sobs and misery, Sasami cried until she was hoarse.
"I think that's enough, Yui-chan," she heard Tenchi's voice
say unhappily.
Raising her bleary, tear-stained eyes upwards, she saw Tenchi
standing behind Yui, dressed in a similar fashion as Yosho had been.
His patented look of concerned sadness was tempered, however, with a
look of purpose. A dry, hot wind swept down across the mountain,
rusting his clothes gently. Sasami felt the coolness on her cheeks
where her tears were drying in the heat.
"Nothing has been without a reason, today, Sasami," said
Tenchi, "and that will not change for the rest of the afternoon.
Grandfather's purpose was to make you see and feel with your own
hands what you are doing to yourself. I hope his message will not be
lost on you."
"I-I..." mouthed the princess, her shoulders hunched over.
Coming up closer behind Yui, Tenchi laid a hand on her
shoulder. Yui looked up at her father and gave a small smile.
"When we received these pictures," continued Tenchi, "I
decided to let Yui bring them to you. You've had an angry spirit,
arrogant and aloof, and I hoped Yui would be able to break it. I'm
relieved to see you still have a conscious about your actions."
Sasami blurted out, "I didn't mean to hurt anyone!"
Tenchi titled his head sideways. "Didn't you, though?" he
asked, "You did run off during the festival, you did make Nathaniel
feel unwelcome in our house, and you did abandon him when he was
under your care. It seems perfectly clear to everyone that you meant
everything you did this weekend."
Sasami stared straight ahead, her eyes red from weeping and
her nose runny. Her shoulders sagged low, she looked like she had
just been run over. Yui took notice of this.
"Do you remember last summer the test dad and grandfather
made me go through as part of my training, Sasami?" she asked.
Sasami looked up from her daze and focused unhappily on
her niece.
"I had to do this all day long, too," Yui said quietly, "and
believe me, it only gets much harder from now till sundown. You can
quit now and still go back to Jurai."
"Y-you just *want* me to leave!" Sasami accused, building
up for another crying fit. Her light, lavender eyes did not look like
they could handle much more.
"No," disagreed Yui, "I want my aunt back."
Yui collected the lunch box and things, standing smoothly to
her feet when she was ready. For an instant, Sasami felt a power and
poise from her niece she had never seen before.
"I hope I'll get to see her later this evening," was all Yui said
before turning and walking towards the temple stairs.
Moments later, she had disappeared over the edge of the
mountain. Tenchi and Sasami were left alone. Neither spoke for
several minutes as Sasami regained some of her composure, wiping
her nose and face with a dirty sleeve.
"W-what's going to happen now, Tenchi?" Sasami finally
asked, despondently.
Folding his arms across his chest, he responded, "Well,
Sasami, Yui was right about it getting harder from now till sundown.
However, like I said, everything has a reason. It seems like you are
genuinely upset with your actions, even if you are not ready to admit to
them. Unfortunately, even if you do feel sorrow, that darkness in your
spirit will not magically disappear with an apology."
Inhaling deeply, Tenchi let go of his breath slowly, patiently
taking his time so the princess would have a moment to let his words
sink in. It was now approaching the hottest part of the day, and all
around the valley, haze and heat waves hung low. Sasami bobbed her
head slightly.
"So," continued Tenchi, "together we are going to break your
spirit completely so the darkness there will have nowhere to hide.
After that happens, it'll be up to you how you rebuild your inner
spirit."
"Break m-my spirit," she echoed, "but-?"
"Remember, Sasami," Tenchi reminded her, shaking his
head, "no questions. You simply have to accept or quit. I won't lie to
you, Sasami. This will probably be the hardest thing you've ever
done."
Taking her hands, she pressed them forward into the grass,
feeling the relative coolness of the ground sink through her palms.
She breathed deeply several times, trying to gain the courage to look
up at Tenchi's face. Finally, she mustered her strength and gazed
upwards only to find herself choking up slightly at the compassionate
nature of Tenchi's warm eyes. Masked by the grime on her face and
the heat of the day, Tenchi missed the flush that briefly rose to
Sasami's cheeks.
For an instant, Sasami envied from her inner being Ryoko's
family and her happiness with Tenchi. She wondered if she would
ever meet someone - no... *could* ever meet someone who's soul
would reflect so wonderfully through the eyes as did Tenchi's.
Melancholy threatened on the edges of Sasami's consciousness again.
"Tenchi," she whispered slowly, "I look into mirrors... I look
into mirrors and I hate what I see. I hate having to be this marionette
that is forced to move by others."
Tenchi said nothing, choosing to let Sasami draw herself out.
She let her voice become emotionless for a moment. "At
night," Sasami said, "I have these dreams. They're horrible, and I can
never escape them. And it's been every night since just before sister
Ayeka's message came."
She looked up slowly. "I can't recognize myself anymore,"
she confessed, almost whimpering, "I don't know what I am or what I
want to be. I can't find any answers myself, so I've... I've..."
"Lashed out?" ventured Tenchi.
Sasami swung her head a little in affirmation. She was
confessing small secrets of her soul that she had never imagined
telling anyone else these past few weeks. Suddenly, she wondered why
she had never come to Tenchi in the first place.
Looking up with pleading eyes, Sasami begged, "I don't want
to be like this anymore. I don't want my family here hating me!
Please, Tenchi, what do I have to do?"
It was what Tenchi had been waiting to hear. "Trust me," he
smiled softly, his lavender eyes deepening in color, "trust me, and no
matter what happens between now and sundown, no matter what is
said or done to you, do not quit. Do not say 'I can't' and do not give
up as long as you can still climb to your feet."
"And... and this will help me?" she sniffled hesitantly, "This
will be good for me?"
"It will be what you make of it," Tenchi replied simply.
Taking her hands into her lap, she let her chin drop a little.
Sweaty locks of hair tumbled down her face, matted to her cheeks in
places and covering some of the smudges of dirt. It was hard to
distinguish her freckles unless you looked closely.
"How do we begin?" Sasami mumbled.
Tenchi's smile faded a little as his demeanor became more
serious. "Now, Sasami-chan," he said, climbing to his feet, "now, we
run."
* * *
There was a gentle knock at Nathaniel's door just before it
slid open. Nathaniel opened his eyes and sat up stiffly a bit in bed.
Entering the room with a tray, Ryoko shook her head.
"Don't move around too much, Nathaniel," she directed,
"don't want you to damage yourself anymore than you already have."
Ryoko tried to come off sounding light-hearted with her
comment, but it seemed to fall flat. Nathaniel sank back into his
pillow with a sigh. Feeling instant awkward, Ryoko stepped across the
room and set the tray down by his bed on a table. The smell of hot
food caught Nathaniel's attention, and his stomach growled.
"Glad to see that your appetite is still okay," she tried again.
"I can't imagine ever having problems eating food,"
Nathaniel answered, looking up. "By the way, thank you for bringing
me back. I apologize for all the trouble."
Ryoko blinked. "You weren't the trouble," she replied with a
bit of heat in her voice, "but you better believe the real trouble is
getting her attitude adjusted right now!"
"Oh," Nathaniel said, a little confused.
"Anyhow, I thought I'd come here to apologize for what's
happened to you," she continued on, "give you something to eat, and
maybe talk for a while."
"Talk?" asked Nathaniel, reaching for the offered food.
Ryoko nodded. "Perhaps about how we can make your next
couple of days here better than the last few," she said simply.
Nathaniel chewed on that as he sated his vocal stomach.
* * *
Princess Sasami stumbled to a dazed stop in the temple
courtyard, gasping deeply for breath with her hands braced on her
knees. For the past four hours, she had not stopped moving for any
length of time more than a half minute or so. Her Juraian gi, already
dirty before, was now almost black with stains.
Beginning with the run, Sasami had desperately tried to keep
up with Tenchi, but to little avail. The simple matter was that Sasami
had, despite her trim figure, nowhere near the physical conditioning
that he did. Tenchi had patiently waited every so often for her to catch
up at first, but had gradually become more and more irate with her
slowness as time went on. Finally, he had actually shown an outburst
of anger.
"Is *this* all you have?" he had demanded sternly as she
caught up again. "Is *this* as far as you are willing to go, because if
it
is, princess, then you might as well quit right now."
Sasami was shocked to the core at first, but Tenchi's words
from before the run sank in. She realized this was only the first
attempt of him trying to get her to quit. So, Sasami had hunkered
down and picked up the pace.
Had it just been running, perhaps Sasami might have been
able to make it. However, Tenchi's idea of a run included numerous
other things like crawling through underbrush, lots of sit-ups, and
anything else his imagination could come up with... and the pushups
that Sasami could not even begin to count. Her arms had long since
lost the ability to lift her own weight halfway through the run, and
Tenchi had then stood over her, pulling her through each of the
pushups by her gi. All the while, Tenchi continued to relentlessly
harass Sasami, telling her to just give up, that she did not have to do
this if she simply quit, and at the same time making her physical
activity even more difficult the more tired she became.
At some point during the middle of the run, being pulled
along by a length of rope Tenchi had fastened around the princess's
waist, Sasami's mind had begun to switch off of its own accord. From
then on, her body simply responded the best it could to Tenchi's
increasingly difficult commands while the part of Sasami that was her
consciousness watched from a distance quietly. She could not even
begin to remember how many times she had climbed and crawled up
the long stairs to the temple.
All this and more had transpired in the four endless hours
since lunch time. The heat and humidity of the summer day in Japan
had not even begun to dissipate yet, nor would it for several more
hours. Relief had come in a brief, but wonderful, two minutes for
Sasami just before the last time she had climbed the temple stairs.
Near the Masaki residence below, Tenchi had ordered the princess into
the lake, splashing through the muddy bank and reeds until she was up
to her chest. There, he ordered her to stop and do nothing.
Coming to a halt, the water had begun to lift up Sasami's
body, taking away all the strain and stress from her near dead muscles.
The coolness of the water washed over the princess in a wave of
languid relief, taking away the nastiness of the day and washing away
some of the sweat and dirt. All in all, it was a wonderful time... all
two minutes of it.
Now she stood at the temple again, still dripping and her gi
still dark despite the dip, with her mind still mostly turned off.
Suddenly, an icy cold sensation began at the top of her head and
spread around her shoulders. Still bent over with her hands on her
knees, Sasami's numbed mind tried to figure out why water was
falling around her face.
"I wouldn't waste this opportunity for a drink," Tenchi said
casually from behind Sasami, pouring a small bucket of cold water
over her head.
Instantly, without thinking, Sasami's hands came together
and cupped underneath her face, gathering the water that was running
off her head. Completely ignoring the dirt and bits of lake gunk that
washed from her hair only to accumulate in her hands, she drank
noisily, slurping as much water as she could. Tenchi noted this and
finished pouring the water. Stepping over to the temple steps, himself
quite sweaty and dirty from handling the princess, he sat down in the
shade of the porch and gazed at Sasami.
"More than I expected from you, Sasami," he noted to the
unresponsive princess. "You didn't complain once in the past several
hours. Not even Yui managed to do *that* last year. It seems you
found out rather quickly how to turn your mind off to the pain and
discomfort you've been enduring."
Shifting a little, Tenchi straightened his gi slightly, making
himself a little more presentable in the blazing heat. It was really
bright out, and he had to squint a little.
"Imagine that if you can do this while suffering extreme
physical activity," he continued, "how easy it becomes to deal with all
the little problems in life that most people struggle with. With
training and experience, those little distractions that sink most people
could become nothing more than a distant buzzing to you."
Sasami continued to stare intently at the ground, her chest
heaving and her eyes glazed over.
Tenchi's voice became disapproving. "However," he said,
nodding to someone a distance behind Sasami, "you can't go through
the world tuned out from everything. Part of your mind, Sasami, has
to remain actively engaged in events around you."
Sasami's dull eyes came up a bit as she registered the
humming sound of energy spring up from behind her. Bringing her
head around in what seemed like ultra slow motion, all she saw was a
blazing blade of light aiming for her head. Tripping over her own
feet, Sasami stumbled roughly to the ground as an energy blade passed
harmlessly over her. Crying out, she used her hands and feet to back
peddle awkwardly a few feet.
Completing her cut, Yui whipped around at the ready, her
stance natural and light with a look of stony calm on her face. Her
hands wrapped around the blazing energy, she was using the power
inherited from her mother to form a yellow sword. Part of Sasami
could still feel the heat on her cheek where the blade had passed so
near. In actuality, Yui's blade arc had never been in danger of cutting
the princess, but Sasami did not know that.
Tenchi shook his head, sighing. "I can't begin to describe,"
he grimaced, "how disheartening it is to see a member of the Jurai
royal family almost beheaded by a teenage girl."
An eyebrow raised slightly, Yui grumbled.
"My sincerest apologies, Yui-chan," Tenchi smiled a little
before turning his attention back to Sasami. "On your feet, Sasami!
You think that because you've run around for a few hours that your
day is even *close* to being finished? I'm sorry to say that we haven't
even started yet."
A little bit of Sasami's heart sank.
"I honestly do not know how you're going to make it to the
end," he continued on relentlessly. "Perhaps you should just quit
now?"
Trying to form words but failing, Sasami stumbled back to
her feet, shaking her head at Tenchi until she was standing, her leg
muscles wobbling like jello. Tenchi raised his eyebrows at her.
"So, you don't want to give up," he approved, "there is some
hope for you, yet. I'd suggest, however, you form a weapon before my
daughter's aim improves."
Yui stare became even more intense as her stance shifted ever
so slightly. Taking a few more deep breaths, Sasami adopted a
puzzled look as her dazed brain tried to figure out how to get a
weapon.
"The power of Jurai, perhaps?" suggested Tenchi, rolling his
eyes slightly.
Sasami nodded dumbly and reached out with her mind for the
well of energy supplied by the Tree of Light. After several moments of
intense struggle, just trying to fight past her weariness, she found and
tapped into her power. With what appeared to be an energy hiccup, a
blue blade hesitantly formed in her hands, flickering slightly.
"That is the worst weapon I have ever seen," Tenchi frowned,
"you can barely keep it going, can you? We'll have to work on that
later. Yui-chan, try not to beat on your aunt too much, but don't let
up, and keep her moving."
With barely a nod, Yui launched herself at Sasami, phasing
out of sight briefly enough to make the princess's eyes cross.
Reappearing to Sasami's left, Yui stuck with blinding speed. Sasami
raised her own weapon before her and was driven backwards with each
blow. Yui plowed on relentlessly, obviously holding back, but still far
beyond Sasami's abilities.
Tenchi looked on with a sigh. It was going to be a long and
late afternoon.
* * *
Not everyone in the Masaki residence was having a
particularly bad time that day. Actually, despite the sudden isolation
imposed by the arrival of Nathaniel Swann, Ryo-ohki did not have too
much to complain about.
In the late afternoon, just as the heat of the day was thinking
about abating, the ball of fuzz with ears that was Ryoko's battleship
decided to find someone to play with. Suspiciously, her little cabbit
brain processed, most of the humanoids she had encountered during
the day who normally doused her with affection were, well... just not
in an ear-scratching mood. In fact, Ryo-ohki, in her own way, was
fairly certain it had something to do with that awful blast of noise that
had woken her up in a panic from her favorite (now empty) carrot
basket.
So, Ryo-ohki had essentially wandered around most of the
morning, hopping from room to room, looking for someone to pay
attention to her. She looked for Sasami first, but she was nowhere to
be found. At any rate, there was something about Sasami that made
the little animal a bit on edge, though Ryo-ohki could not put a paw on
it. Ryoko, herself, was around the house, but the cabbit could tell from
her link with the space pirate that Ryoko was in no mood to play,
either.
Eventually, Ryo-ohki had made her way down into Washu's
laboratory, sliding through the temporal closet doorway. Washu was
in a better mood than Ryoko, characterized by an incessant cackling
that was interspersed with numerous declarations of self-proclaimed
intelligence. However, so engrossed in her work, Washu had not
really given the cabbit much of a glance, so Ryo-ohki had gone back
into the house for a nap.
Eventually, as all creatures do, Ryo-ohki got really bored with
sleep. With a mighty cabbit yawn, the little creature made a pretense
of grooming her fur before going to look for some carrots to eat.
Making her way to the kitchen, she failed to spy anything long and
orange, so she passed through the kitchen door and headed outside to
the shed. Peeking around the open door to the small shed, Ryo-ohki
was certain that Tenchi would have filled the bushel full of carrots by
now. After all, it was already late in the afternoon. Ryo-ohki
scratched absently at an ear for a moment, pondering where the day
had gotten off to. Maybe she did sleep too much... but that could not
be right, the cabbit happily decided as she looked into the bushel.
Ryo-ohki's eyes went huge and sad as she whined pitifully at
the sight of the empty bushel basket. Staggering out of the shed in a
dramatic fashion, the little cabbit hopped miserably, imitating the
antics of her mistress, Ryoko, she had observed from time to time. No
one came running up to ask her what was wrong, so Ryo-ohki gave up
and settled down. Suddenly, a bright idea struck the cabbit.
Hopping off the side porch into the grass, the cabbit made a
beeline for the temple stairs. If there was one person here besides
Sasami that would give Ryo-ohki lots of attention, it was Yosho. More
likely than not, the older prince of Jurai was likely to have something
tasty to snack on as well. In an excited dash, Ryo-ohki plowed up the
temple stairs at breakneck speed, stopping only a couple of times for a
distracted scratch or two.
As she neared her goal of the top of the staircase, the cabbit
began to purr happily, her eyes becoming dreamy at the thought of
finding someone who would pay attention to her. Making the very last
step, Ryo-ohki bounded over the top and meowed enthusiastically.
Landing on the grass lawn in front of the temple as she did so, Ryo-
ohki came down on a small stick, which snapped loudly.
Almost instantly, a blue, force bolt of energy sliced by the
little cabbit, passing right between her perked up ears. Completely
panicked to the point of being unable to move, Ryo-ohki's heart
stopped completely for several seconds as she teetered over slowly and
collapsed in a fuzzy heap on the grass. There was a noticeable smell
of singed fur in the air.
Princess Sasami, her eyes stretched open wide with narrowed
pupils, stared wildly at the spot where Ryo-ohki had been sitting
upright only a second before. Gasping heavily, she had her hands
extended out before her body, having summoned the power of Jurai as
she had whipped around to attack her opponent who had somehow slid
up behind her.
Looking a bit puzzled, Yui Masaki lowered her energy blade
a bit from where she was standing, which just happened to be nowhere
near the edge of the steps where Ryo-ohki lay passed out. Looking
over her shoulder, Yui threw a raised eyebrow at her father, who put
his hand to his forehead.
"I think that's enough, Yui," Tenchi said in a tired voice,
"Sasami doesn't even know what she's firing at."
Yui lowered and dissipated her blade completely as her father
lifted himself up off the temple steps and moved across the yard.
Walking around Sasami, whose legs were now trembling severely, he
bent down and picked up the dazed cabbit, stroking her ears gently.
Walking back towards Sasami, Tenchi casually took his bokken out
and tapped the princess on the side of her thigh. The completely mild
impact was more than enough to send Sasami sprawling to the ground.
There she lay in a collapsed heap, panting, while Tenchi walked back
to Yui.
"I think that's enough for now," he said quietly to his
daughter, depositing the still stunned Ryo-ohki in her hands. "Why
don't you head back to the house and help your mother with dinner?"
Yui accepted the cabbit gently from her father and turned to
look at the collapsed princess. Sasami's body was grabbing at the
opportunity for anything resembling a moment's rest, and she
continued to lay on the ground sucking in air, oblivious to the
conversation. Yui considered the princess as she raked her free hand
through her sweaty blonde hair.
"I guess," mumbled Yui reluctantly. "Dad, are you sure you
don't need-"
"Go home now, kitten," Tenchi interrupted his gentle smile,
"your aunt will be along in an hour or so, one way or the other. This
is something I'd rather she not have to finish with an audience."
"Okay," Yui replied, disappointedly, as she began to walk
towards the top of the staircase.
"Yui-chan."
"Yes, dad?"
"You did very well with Sasami today," Tenchi nodded in
approval. "Thank you."
A smile spread across Yui's face, making her look beautiful
and at the same time mischievous. Tenchi was suddenly aware of the
fact that his daughter was really going to break someone's heart one
day, if she had not already.
"Thanks, dad," she beamed, then turning away and
disappearing down the temple stairs.
Tenchi enjoyed a moment of pride watching his daughter
leave, but then turned his attentions towards the princess. In doing so
his demeanor became serious again.
The late afternoon sunlight streamed through the trees that
crested the mountain above the temple. In doing so, the temple
courtyard was alive with shimmering bits of light that danced in a
dizzying show of movement. Whatever beauty a poet might have
found in that moment, when the sun was beginning its decent and
relenting its attack on the valley below, was lost on Sasami. Every
muscle in her body ached beyond anything she had ever experienced
before, and most were adamantly refusing to function any further.
Adopting a stern look on his face, Tenchi decided that the
princess's rest time was over.
* * *
Encapsulated in darkness, the being who haunted the domain
of the Tree of Darkness was grievously irate. Having used its powers
to observe the various members of the Masaki residence take turns
abusing Princess Sasami over time and space, the dark creature's evil
mirth had turned from a sneaking suspicion to outright anger.
"Damn you, prince of Jurai!" the creature snarled at the oily
blackness that surrounded the dark tree. "I know what you are doing!"
Stalking around the small island, the humanoid being
gnashed its teeth, trying to see an option, a way of preventing what
was about to happen. It did not find one and savagely pounded its fist
against the Tree of Darkness. Upon impact, the leaves of the tree
pulsated slowly in their eerie green.
"How many weeks have I spent," it ranted on, "carefully
manipulating her attitude and dreams from this great distance, only to
have you, Prince Tenchi, to try and drive them from her! CURSE ON
YOU!!"
Quieting down and ceasing its stalking, the creature of
darkness folded its arms and viewed the dimension monitor for a few
more minutes. On the screen, Sasami could be seen laying on the
grass of the temple courtyard in the early haze of evening. Around
her, Tenchi walked and observed the princess.
"Curse on you," it repeated, more calmly this time. "Well
done, prince, using your training techniques to temper Sasami's body
and mind against my darkness. I had not suspected you and your ilk
would have the heart to give so much trouble to one bratty princess."
Leaning back against the Tree of Darkness, it took comfort
from the feel of the evil bark digging into its skin. The creature
observed the screen a few minutes more, watching Tenchi's actions.
The red eyes gleamed in the blackness. "I suppose it is
fortunate my influences were as subtle as they were," it conceded, "and
timed with the ridiculous empress's message. It would not do to have
the Tree of Light or her forces alerted to my manipulations."
Looking out across the blackness that stretched out over the
slow moving waters of the subterranean caverns, the foul creature
considered its options.
"You see, Yuzuha," it smiled grimly in the dark, "this is why
you always have a second option already in the works. It would have
been beneficial to have Sasami's mind weak as a lamb before
slaughter, but no matter. All the training in the short time you have,
princess, will not be enough to save you."
With that, the being phased out of sight and disappeared into
the darkness.
* * *
Coming up in Chapter 8:
"Looks to me like you're illegally parked over my daddy's house, bub!"
Sasami confronts herself, Nathaniel, and an unexpected royal visitor
arrives
as Yui defeats her father!
Email Appreciated!
Michael McAvoy
mmcavoy@acm.vt.edu
www.acm.vt.edu/~mmcavoy