I'd like to collectively thank everyone who wrote to me with C&C. After
considering all the minute details of your responses, I decided to let the
story simmer while I took care of some real-life things (not-so important
things like finding a job).

Anyway, this version of Silence has a few continuity fixes (someone pointed
out a whole bunch of mix-ups I made between TV and OVA events). And the ending
has been totally re-written and expanded. Hope you all like it!

Anyway, it's still kind of  beta, so if there are any grammatical errors I
missed in my proofing, please let me know!

Ben-Ohki
--
http://members.xoom.com/absurd_ideas
Lt.Stadi: "Do you always fly at women at warp speed, Mr.Paris?"
Paris:    "Only when they're in visual range."


----------
Absurd Ideas presents a fanfic by Ben-Ohki
"Tenchi Muyo!" and all its characters are licensed property of Pioneer LDC
Characters and concepts used without permission. This story and the original
concepts within are not for sale.

"Silence in a Noisy House"

	He looked over at her while sitting quietly on the couch. It was a funny
thing living in the crazy environment that was his home. He never thought of
himself as a Casanova, nor did he ever behave in any way that would suggest
that he was one. Just the same, life during the last few years had taken a
turn he would never have imagined...
	But for this particular moment, everything was quiet for a change. It was
almost, dare he think it, normal. Well, it was as normal as it would ever be
in a house with him and 4 alien roommates � all of whom were trying to win his
love. He wondered when he had developed such an animal attraction.

	She was sipping tea on the adjacent couch. It was nice to relax after a long
day. They still weren't making any real money � just enough to get by. Their
apartment was small but was just right for two people. She didn't like
thinking of it that way. There was a time when she thought her partner was
dead � at least, she had hoped so after she went missing in action. The life
of an interstellar law enforcement officer was never a sure thing. One tiny
mistake in the far reaches of space and nobody knew what could happen. But
then one day she received a lead on where Mihoshi might have crashed from a
backwater world in the middle of nowhere. So she was sent to the Sol system to
investigate. She later found out, to her disappointment that her partner was
indeed alive and well on an insignificant planet known as Earth. She was
miserable that day.
	She never thought her life would turn out this way. After the reunion, they
had received new orders: stay in the system as standard patrol representing
the Galaxy Police. But the only way to sustain themselves for the moment was
to take on whatever demeaning odd jobs they could find. And thanks to the
bumbling incompetence of her partner, they didn't even manage to hold any
steady jobs they did find.
	It was all so frustrating to live like this. She was the best officer in the
force, she had to remind herself. This was just a temporary setback to her
career. So she now sat in the house that served as home to her Earthling
liaison, a young man named Tenchi Masaki.

	He looked over again as the commercial break began. She was still sipping
tea. He wondered what it was like, speeding through space and arresting
criminals that threatened the galaxy. He further wondered how it felt that she
was now forced to stay on Earth sharing the planet with a certain space pirate
that just happened to be his roommate.
	He tried to stay out of her way, but like it or not, Ryoko was his roommate
now � where else would a bandit from outer space stay? When she literally
crashed into his life late one afternoon, he probably should have tried to
stay away... but she was so helpless then. She was being chased by a huge
armoured construct that he only later discovered was a police officer. Would
there ever be a warrant out for him on the charge of aiding a criminal? Then
there was Washuu, Ryoko's creator and mad scientist... what she had to do
living in a pocket dimension accessed through the closet door, he'd never
figure out. He just hoped that he would never open the door in the middle of
the night for some towels or something only to find Washuu "studying" him.
	Finally there were the Jurai sisters... royalties from a far away kingdom.
How was it that they ended up staying with him too? Oh, yes, they were here to
pick up Mihoshi. Why was it that it seemed he was the only person in the
universe who didn't know Ryoko was a crook? Like he had come to think before,
it was a funny thing living here in his home.

	The steam brushed at the tip of her nose warmly and then cooled immediately
as she lowered the cup. She savoured the flavour lingering on her tongue and
swallowed slowly. This was nice � definitely better than the last few nights
alone with Mihoshi at the apartment. She made fine company, but there was
something about her silly behaviour that drove her nuts � the very same
behaviour that got them assigned to this stupid planet, she decided.
	But this was the planet Tenchi lived on. And that was okay, she guessed.

	Tenchi glanced at Kiyone on the other couch one more time as the commercials
ended and the evening movie began again. He felt at ease and nervous at the
same time. How well did he really know these visitors from space? Not very
well � in fact, all he knew was that they were more or less human when it came
with social settings. That and they each seemed to have their own reasons for
being obsessed with trying to seduce him. Oh, they all had their ways of
showing their affections, sometimes gross and at other times subtle. Ayeka was
always prim and proper and would never lean into him too harshly, but it was
obvious she liked him from the way she fought with Ryoko. And Sasami was
always nice to him in a very innocent way.
	But here was Kiyone who seemed to be the most human of them all. In fact,
aside from a dark green highlight to her hair, she passed for a native
Earthling. Even more importantly (to him anyway), she was one of the few who
didn't seem preoccupied with seducing him. That was nice... but he kept
wondering, why? What if she just hid it behind her professionalism better than
the others did? Yes, he was nervous... just a little.
	He flicked his eyes back to the television and pretended to pay attention to
the show. Somehow the room was conspicuously empty tonight. Everyone had
gathered around to watch the televised movie but one by one they all drifted
away. He wondered why Kiyone was the only one left... He chewed on another
cracker.

	She took another sip of tea. The warmth spread into her chest and again she
felt the steam nip her nose. It tingled as it cooled. She wondered where her
partner went � Mihoshi was always interested in Earth culture, even if she
never retained anything she learned. But with as short an attention span as
hers, it wasn't surprising that she drifted away with everyone else. Wait, not
everyone had left � there was Tenchi a little to her right.

	Tenchi popped another cracker into his mouth. Kiyone made good company, he
decided. She never spoke too loud and when she did, it always made sense. Now
she sat just a little his left and he could be certain that between the two of
them, she was probably more relaxed than he.
	Her hair was down tonight, unhindered by the headband that usually kept her
tresses out of her eyes. She wore a loosely cut shirt over a pair of plain
grey tights. Everything about her spelled stress-free. The dimmed lights gave
her graceful features a soothing glow and Tenchi couldn't help glancing over
every few moments.
	Uh oh. He though he had inadvertently made eye contact. He turned to offer
her a cracker from the box he held.

	Uh oh. She thought she had made eye contact. But before she turned her
attention back to the television across the room, he was looking right at her.

	"Cracker?"
	"Um, thank you."

	The cracker was salted. It tasted strange in her mouth and by comparison, the
tea was bitter. She sipped the tea again. No, the tea was still bitter. Or the
cracker was too salty. She wasn't sure.

	He turned back to the movie somewhat relieved. She had taken his offering and
had gone back to her tea. All of a sudden everything was different.

	Her last sip emptied the teacup. She set it gently on the coffee table and
refilled it. The pot was still half full and surprisingly, a bit of steam
still escaped from the spout. Tenchi's cup rested on the table opposite to
hers.

	"More tea?"
	"Oh er, yes, please."

	Tenchi left the crackers on the table and picked up the ceramic cup with both
hands, one underneath supporting the weight, and the other on top for balance.
The traditional Asian cup warmed very quickly without a handle like its
western counterpart. Tenchi took a careful sip of the hot liquid and then
placed it back on the table. It felt very warm.

	Kiyone smiled � she felt very warm for some reason. For an evening without
sake, it seemed she still felt very warm. She caught a reflection from a
mirror off to the side. It was difficult to tell in the dimness, but was she
blushing? Nonsense, what was there to blush about?

	Tenchi still felt warm, even after the first sip of tea was gone down his
gullet. He tugged at his sweatshirt. Who was he kidding? He was sitting alone
in a dim room with a beautiful woman. He wondered if he was going crazy or did
his experiences with the others in the house numb him to the realities of
being with ladies who didn't necessarily throw themselves at his feet. Maybe
he was tired or the light was playing tricks on him ...or maybe Kiyone was
blushing. He heart began to thump in his chest making him unsure whether or
not Kiyone could hear it.

	He was handsome. He was in khakis tonight and a school sweatshirt. A touch of
youth, she decided, on a quickly maturing man. It had been some years since
they first met. Times like this seemed very far removed from times like
before... when all she wanted was to get off this rock. And only moments ago
she had thought that this was nice. Yes, it was. Who was she kidding? Yes,
Tenchi was heck of a guy to put up with the harassment that he goes through
every day. She almost pitied him.
	No, maybe it wasn't just pity. Maybe working in the police force had numbed
her more simple wants and desires. Life wasn't just a occupational ladder to
be climbed, was it? She squinted at the mirror again, maybe she was blushing
after all.
	She hoped Tenchi didn't hear her heart pounding in her chest... No, this was
wrong, she thought. Was being on the job constantly getting to her? There were
plenty of guys at the academy when she was still a cadet. But none of them
were right for the time � it was as she'd always been told: long-distance
relationships did not work.
	With that in mind, the heat on her cheeks died down a little. She glanced at
Tenchi... this was hardly long-distance, she reconsidered. They were even on
the same planet! That certainly helped.

	Oh no � she's from outer space, for crying out loud! Besides, you know those
alien types... She's probably a few hundred years older than you are. Come to
think of it, he wondered how accurate the story was of Washuu's stay in the
cave behind the shrine... Yeah, it was definitely better that he kept his
mouth shut.
	But maybe it wasn't his own choice to make regarding his friendships.
Certainly it took two people to form a relationship. He was startled by not
only this revelation, but also by the only sound other than the television...
	Yes, his companion was speaking, wasn't she?

	"You, er... don't get a break, do you," Kiyone was saying. "From your
room-mates, I mean."
	"No." Tenchi thought momentarily that she was joking � even though he knew
full well that in the time that they had known each other, Kiyone wasn't much
for humour. There was something underlying the words that she was saying to
him. "They've been somewhat better in the last couple of years, I suppose."
	"Oh, that's good."

	No, maybe she was too used to the silly stone-faced professionalism of being
in the police. She felt like a machine sometimes... definitely not a good
thing if she wanted to make friends with Tenchi. He was so human and she...
well, she wished she could mellow out herself a little.
	But that wasn't just theory. Tenchi didn't look as relaxed as he did a moment
ago... Maybe there was something to be said about her blush � not a trick of
the lights after all.

	"Is everything alright?" Tenchi peered over at her with concern. Not that it
was difficult to notice that she could have very asked him the very same
question.
	No, the only reason he'd asked something like that was to throw her off.
Maybe he had the same fluttering feeling tickling him from inside his belly.
"I'm okay," she replied. After a pause, she thought change her answer.
	"Is something bugging you?"
	Great, he's taking control of this conversation... how does he do that?
Kiyone grasped at the proverbial straw wondering how she could turn everything
around to find out what Tenchi was thinking. "Nothing really... except � it's
awfully quiet tonight, isn't it?"
	Tenchi looked as though he was straining to hear something. "It is," he
finally though out loud.
	It worked, she thought. She thought she'd try not to be pushy. Yes, I'm a
cool and competent officer of the galactic law, she convinced herself. I don't
blurt out things I don't mean to say. Timing herself for 60 seconds, she
started again hoping to catch Tenchi off guard. "You okay?"
	
	Tenchi was remarkably perceptive, as if he'd manipulated the manipulator. It
was either that, or he'd called her bluff. He bluntly turned to face her,
swinging his legs off the couch he sat on. "Yeah, I'm okay � as okay as you
seem to be."
	Uh oh � did he know what was up?

	He tried desperately to keep his heart from leaping from his throat. His
gamble would either reveal what Kiyone was thinking, or it'd make him look
like a complete idiot. The former was preferable, but for him, the latter was
something that happened quite frequently anyway.

	"Tenchi, I... I like this house."
	"So do I."
	He isn't buying it, she thought. "Thanks for having us over."
	She was right. He smiled, but it wasn't a smile of generosity, she knew it as
a smile of understanding. She knew that Tenchi heard something from her that
she had yet to say out loud to him. He confirmed her worry with his next
sentence. "You mean thanks for having you over with me, don't you."

	He knew he played his cards right. Tenchi watched the commanding policewoman
break down before him. In its place sat a quietly demure woman that hid behind
the Galaxy Police duty, regulation, and protocol.
	"Yes, I'm glad we got to spend some time together. We've known each other for
so long but..."
	He laughed. "Y'know," he began uncertainly. "For a long time I wondered if
there was something I didn't know about you. I mean, you usually act so...
normal."
	"Normal as in completely disinterested in you romantically?"
	"I suppose," Tenchi found himself admitting.
	Kiyone sat up to the edge of her sofa and regarded him carefully. Tenchi was
unsure if she was completely serious, or teasing him as so many of his
roommates did. "You don't have anything to worry about," she said finally.

	Tenchi and Kiyone leaned dangerously close to each other. The television
screen faded to black and credits began their slow crawl up to infinity as
they met for the first time.

The End