Private Bet #6
by Shade 

Disclaimer: Tenchi Muyo! is the property of Pioneer & AIC. 
PenPen belongs to Gainex and his holy church of Penguins. 
No profits made from this, it's just entertainment. 
~~~~~~
Part 2: No Need for Flashbacks (Or, The Plot Sickens)
~~~~~~

�Pass the soysauce please.�

The request snapped Tenchi back to the present.

Sasami was beaming cheerfully at him, Ryo-ohki was 
perched on her head nibbling a carrot. 

Tenchi sheepishly scratched his head with one hand 
while he picked up the soysauce bottle and handed it 
to the adorable aqua-haired princess. His mind had 
been wandering again, once more trying to figure out a way 
to untangle this convoluted mess that was his life. 

{Sasami, cute and cheerful but with a 
mischievous streak that rivals Ryoko�s....}
~~~~~~~~~~

The first time they had met Sasami had 
made him try to steal her sister�s key, an 
ornamented headband. Which of course led 
to him running for his life while two giant floating 
logs did their best to vaporize him. And it was 
all because Sasami was bored.

Then there had been Shoujo Manga incident.
Okay, so maybe it was a little funny in hindsight,
but back then it had been a real pain....literally.

Ryoko did not know her own strength sometimes, that 
kick had hurt a lot.

 Then there had been the mess she had made in the kitchen 
when she had tried to cook and then forgot her concoction 
on the stove. It had taken him hours of scrubbing to finish 
cleaning it in time for Sasami to make dinner.

The less said of Ayeka and the rope strung across the stairs 
the better. Let�s not even mention the waste of yarn for what 
had eventually become Ryo-ohki�s new bed. 

Then to find out that all of their strange behavior was their way 
of trying to win him Earthstyle.....

He couldn�t believe it.
~~~~~~~~~~~

Toying with their emotions like that just wasn�t right, Sasami 
should have known better.

 A little voice of guilt reminded Tenchi that he 
wasn�t totally blameless either. 

[Are you any better, stringing them all along like you have?]

He countered with the fact that while his indecision sprang 
from truly not knowing which one he really loved Sasami�s 
actions had been solely to amuse herself.Besides it wasn�t 
as if he was actually considering Sasami as anything except 
a younger sister.

[ But what about Tsunami?] 

The same irritating little voice whispered. 

{Tsunami isn�t interested in me. Not in that way.}

There was note of doubt starting to creep into his thoughts.

[Are you sure?]

Tenchi started to say yes then hesitated, remembering the 
brief time he�d first spent with the Goddess of Jurai after she 
had healed him of the injuries that Kagato�s ship had 
inflicted on him. He had never told any of the others about it, 
not even Washu. Sasami was the only other person 
who knew about it, for she had been there. Tsunami�s voice 
had been beautiful; full of compassion and as sweet as a 
summer orchid in full bloom. And her smile......

Armies would march into the Valley of Death willingly 
and without hesitation for a such a radiance to be 
bestowed on them. But had it meant something more?

She had held him when she activated the sleeping 
power within Tenchi, the power of the Light Hawk Wings.
That one time Tsunami had been real, the feeling had been 
one beyond any he he could ever hope to describe. For a 
single moment in time they were joined as one. He had 
never forgotten it, even now the memory was as clear as if it 
had happened only moments before, not so many long months ago.

Had the emotions he�d seen in her eyes really 
been just simple concern? Or could it have been......

No, that was ridiculous.........wasn�t it?

Damn, this pointless wondering was driving him crazy!
He�d never be able to do anything about it anyway he 
consoled himself. By the time Sasami and Tsunami 
were one he�d be married. So why did he feel a brief 
sense of......disappointment?
~~~~~~~~~~

Tenchi started to pay more attention to breakfast 
to forget the new and disturbing thoughts that were 
now floating around in his head. He reached for some 
pickles then froze as movement from across the table 
caught his eye.

A small whimper escaped his lips.

Dear Gods, he�d never realized before that 
the simple act of eating could be such an erotic torture....

Mesmerized he watched as Mihoshi proceeded to savor 
and tease a choice bit of sashimi, her pink tongue darting out to
caress the soft red flesh that had been dipped in soysauce, 
her lips glimmering with the few drops that had escaped.

He swallowed hard. Sweat started to bead on his brow.
 
{Oh no...not the MISO SOUP!!!!}

Tenchi found to his horror that his body would not 
obey his commands to stop watching Mihoshi eat. 
As she lapped up the warm white broth his mind 
mutineed against his willpower and started to 
picture her lapping up something else.....

Higher brain functions went offline. As if drawn 
by a magnet his eyes went down south as Mihoshi 
continued to polish off her breakfast. 

Oh damn, those movements the blonde detective 
 was making as she ate were doing interesting 
things to that sleek physique of hers. 

He squirmed and fidgeted to try and ease the 
growing pressure rapidly rebuilding beneath the table 
without anyone noticing. If any of the girls saw the problem 
he was having right now........

{Don�t go there!!!  Down boy!! Heel!!}

If it had been anyone else Tenchi would 
have sworn that this display was being 
done on purpose. But this was Mihoshi!

Sweet innocent.......

Sexy.......passionate....

{Think of something else!!! ANYTHING ELSE!!!}

An image of Nurse Washu appeared in Tenchi�s head.

It worked like a charm, his libido took a nose dive instantly.
Nothing killed hot hormones faster then cold rubber gloves. 
This tactic had been all that had saved Tenchi recently when 
Ryoko had decided to try seducing him in bed again.
If the space pirate ever realized how close he�d come 
to succumbing to her bountiful charms he was so doomed. 

But that wasn�t really fair to Washu, his conscience argued.

[So she�s a little eccentric....]

{A LITTLE ECCENTRIC?}

[......but she loves you anyway.]

{...........}
~~~~~~~~~

At first he�d never thought 
about Washu-chan in that way.
Objectively Tenchi knew that she was 
much older then him but that kawaii 
body and act she usually used made her seem 
more like a little girl to him then a woman. And 
what a woman she was!!! Ryoko had definitely 
inherited her figure from her mother�s side.

The scary thing was that if he ever allowed 
himself to forget that Washu was capable of
of anything in the name of science and that she 
was older then his *planet�s* civilization he�d 
probably be doing the ecchi with her faster then you
could say �Jack Daniel�s�.  Something about that mature
beauty she possessed in her adult form just made him so...so.....

{.....Damn I�m doing it again! This is all DAD�S FAULT!!!}

Of course his houseguest�s brains 
were every bit as formidable as her beauty.
Without Washu�s help the Masakis would 
have been bankrupt long ago from the repair bills alone.
And as a tutor she was second to none, although her fee 
for that service meant that the Prince of Jurai had to keep a sharp eye 
on his family jewels less the sharp red-head wind up owning them.

Tenchi heaved a giant mental sigh.
He was lying to himself again.

These were only excuses, the real 
thing that had changed his perception
of her to that of the woman she truly 
was had been that second night with Taro 
in the house.

It was a memory he would treasure to his dying day.
~~~~~~~~~~
*Flashback*

Seeing Washu with Taro cradled in her arms 
had been the closest thing to seeing his mother.
His memories of Achika were few and distorted 
by the time that had passed since she had left them.

Those few moments they had spent together, alone save for a 
sleeping Taro had been......

Had been......

It had come as quite a shock actually. From the way 
the scientist behaved normally he�d never have guessed 
in a million years that Washu-chan had her tender vulnerable 
side. Feelings he�d never known he had surged forth, 
a strange tuggging at his heart with a nervous fluttering in the 
region of his stomach. Had he imagined the small blush he�d 
seen on her face that night as he sat beside her on the couch?
~~~~~~~~~~

*End FlashBack*

If Taro hadn�t woken up.......what might have happened?

{DON�T GO THERE!!!}

[I didn�t say anything.]
~~~~~~

*Flashback time again*

"Lineage, social status� Why should such things matter so much? 
That's how grown-ups are. If that's so� I'd be happier being a child,
never, ever growing up"

The pain Tenchi had heard in that voice had been eerly familar, it was 
all too similar to what he had felt that dark lonely day when his mother 
hadn�t been there for him and would never be there ever again. It was 
at that exact moment that Tenchi had been certain he loved Washu as 
much as all the other girls that entered his life. Each one had brought a
secret pain with her that his heart had done its best to fill, but her sorrow 
was one the greatest he had ever faced. Words were not enough, there had 
to be way to show her he understood, to show her that he....

That he..... 

Imagine his shock when he bent down to comfort the little Washu 
and got a very close view of �Big� Washu!

Of course that was nothing compared to his reaction when 
she declared she wanted to bear his CHILD!!!!

She couldn�t be serious!! Right? Right?! 

Right after that bombshell the Masaki weirdness 
meter blew a fuse and shutdown.
~~~~~~~~
*End Flashback*

Still....

Washu did look good on those rare occasions 
that she resumed her adult form. Too good for his comfort,
it hadn�t helped that the genius had been taking a page from 
Ryoko�s book  lately and trying some rather...daring outfits to get the 
sample she wanted from him. The intruder barrier to his room 
wasn�t any help, Washu was the one who designed it after all.

{Why me? What did I do to deserve this!?}

Here he was living what most guys would consider a dream life 
with beautful women all around him. Beautful willing women desperately
in love with him that would be all over him if he gave even the slightest 
indication that he had picked one. It was a nightmare!

�Tenchi? Tenchi!�

A familiar kawaii voice broke through the despondent 
clouds that hung over his thoughts

�Huh? Sasami? What is it?�

�Breakfast is over, silly!�

Looking around he realized that she was right,
everyone else had left the table and Sasami was
just finishing picking up the last of the dishes on the table.

�Where did everyone go?�

�Well Ayeka and Ryoko went outside fighting.�

�Again?!�

Listening carefully Tenchi could now hear the distant 
crashes and explosions that marked another one of their 
*differences of opinion*. He didn�t even bother to ask 
what had started it this time, it was safer to just let those
two blow off some steam.

�Mihoshi and Kiyone got called to work and Washu�s in her lab.
She said that she�s got a physical waiting for you. What�s a 
physical anyway, Tenchi?�

�Uh.....Why don�t you let me help you with the dishes Sasami!�

�Oh, Thanks!�

Giving a small sigh of relief at having avoided the question (something 
he�d become quite good at since the space girls had started moving in),
Tenchi reached over to get the last plate just as Sasami�s hand went toward 
it.

His calloused hand closed over her small delicate one as she picked up 
the dish.

�oh.�

A small blush filled the princess�s cheeks at this unexpected contact.

For once, the boy voted �most likely by Anime fans to never get a clue� 
noticed this. Of course that didn�t mean he knew what to do about it.

Releasing her hand as if it was a red hot ember the Masaki boy made 
haste to transfer the rest of the dishes to the kitchen before running out 
toward the carrot fields as fast as his legs could carry him.

Behind him he left a confused and slightly embarrassed Sasami.

"What was that all about?"

[Sasami dear, we need to talk.]

{Tsunami?}

{Yes Princess, it�s me. I must ask a favor of you.....}

(To be continued)
~~~~~
Author's note: 
If any of the internal ramblings seems wishy washy keep in 
mind that that's how Tenchi normally is.

*$*$*$*$*

"Hope springs eternal in the Human breast: 
Man never is, but always to be blest."

-Alexander Pope

Readers and listeners praise my books;
You swear they're worse then beginner's.
Who cares? I always plan my dinners
To please the diners, not the cooks.

-Martial

In Difficult Ground, Keep moving. 
In Pressed Ground, Make stratagems.
In Death Ground, Fight.

-Sun Tzu "The Art of War"

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