Never Give A Short Red-Haired Scientist Too Much Free Time
(part 2... continued.)


Ryo-ohki and Ryomitsu were playing the toddler version of tag in
the back yard.

Washu chuckled as she kept an eye on them.

"Little Washu?" Tenchi asked, concernedly.

Washu nodded, to let Tenchi know that she'd heard him, and kept
watching the little ones play.

"Why did you recreate him like that?"

"The real reason?" Washu asked.

Tenchi nodded.

"When the Masses broke out of the tank, and Ryo-ohki later
assimilated them," Washu began. "

"Washu..." Tenchi warned.

Ryomitsu and Ryo-ohki continued to chase each other in a
circle.

"Okay," Washu began. "The real reason is... shh." she
suddenly hissed.

"What..." Tenchi began, a gag appearing over his mouth.

There was silence for several minutes.

"Never mind." Washu shrugged "I guess I'm just hearing things."

Ryomitsu noticed a small butterfly and started to follow it.

Ryo-ohki let out a small plaintive "Miya" and followed Ryomitsu.

"Ryomitsu! Ryo-ohki!" Washu called to them. They kept on toddling
off after the butterfly, so she simply got up and went after
them. In a few moments she caught up with them and took hold of
the upper back part of Ryo-ohki's dress and the back of
Ryomitsu's kimono-shirt.

Ryomitsu made a few futile grabs for the escaping butterfly, then
slumped in disappointment. A moment later, he started to cry.

Washu hugged him. "It's okay, honey." She said, letting go of
Ryo-ohki in order to soothe Ryomitsu. "Tenchi," she said, "you
look after the kids a bit. I've got a couple things I need to
do." She walked off before Tenchi could protest.

"But..." was as far as he got.

Behind a nearby clump of bushes, Shingi sighed, his hedgeclippers
 circling a branch, paused in mid-cut as  Washu broke off, just
as she was about to tell Tenchi the  very thing that he, Shingi,
had been sent to find out.

"So much for short and sweet." He sighed, continuing to watch. "I
was hoping to be off this meaningless little planet by morning,
but at this rate I'll be here for another month."

"Good," said the Innkeeper from behind him. "then you'll have
time to finish mopping the hall." She thrust a mop into his hand
and pointed toward the inn. "And since you're so keen on doing
the shrubbery, you can take care of this once you're done."

Shingi sighed and headed toward the inn to do his chores.

***

Tenchi sat there on the grass. He looked down at the two children
who slept peacefully in his lap, their small furry heads resting
against his shoulders. They had worn themselves out playing and
were now taking a much needed nap. An insect landed on the tip of
Ryomitsu's ear which twitched in response causing the insect to
fly off again. Ryo-ohki's nose twitched.

"Probably dreaming about carrots." Tenchi mused quietly. A small
whimper caught his attention. He looked down at Ryomitsu. The
little Draalthi was trembling in his sleep. The little creature
seemed to be scared to death. Tenchi guessed he was dreaming of
Kain. It was odd. Washu had made certain he had no memory of his
past life. She hadn't wanted it to interfere with the new one.
But somehow, he still remembered Kain. Perhaps it was nature's
way of making sure he didn't make the same mistake this time
around?

Tenchi caressed Ryomitsu's shoulder, soothingly. "Shhh... it's
all right."

After some time, the little Draalthi stopped trembling.