%Here we go again:
Vacation Days
Chapter 8
Wheee!!! This was quick!
% Hardly. I had honestly believed it would be less than two weeks in
releasing this when I sent out the last chapter. That was a conservative
estimate at the time. It took me three weeks. Odds are I'll do another
story before starting on chapter 9 of this. We'll see how my mood is.
the pass
through the mountains. There was virtually no cover in the rocky
terrain,
and if the Shihana was as close as Malgaunt believed, then it
should be
just on the other side of the pile of rubble.
Wasn't Mihoshi trying to open this thing last installment? Methinks
they'll find an empty casing. Oops!
% Could be.
should
have been. Ariana had been assigned the task of scouting forward.
Funuyaki
had been ordered by Malgaunt to go as well so that Stargrave did
not have
one up on him. Being treated like a pawn so openly made her pride
swell,
she thought bitterly.
That last sentence doesn't sound right. Why would her pride swell at
openly being treated as a pawn?
% Whoops! Wrong wording. Should have been 'sarcastically' not 'bitterly'
Upon seeing what was on the other side, Funuyaki gave a wide smile
that
nearly split her face in half. She turned back towards the other
members of
the party farther back in the pass. "Hey Stargrave! Malgaunt! Come
on over!
You've just got to see this!"
She's enjoying their lack of success, maybe too obviously. She'd
better watch herself.
% Around Malgaunt, anyway. She knows Stargrave doesn't like her. Besides,
she honestly believes she's home free now. The poor sucker.
By the time the others made their way around the pile, Funuyaki
had already
made her way to the other side and positioned herself so she could
witness
both men's reactions at the same time. The pair looked in horror
as they
saw Funuyaki standing next to an empty adamantine container, as
though it
was a prize trophy fish she had caught. She decided all of the
problems
from the overland trip had been worth seeing those two look that
shocked.
Hahaaaa!! I knew it! Can't stop Mihoshi for long. Nope, nope!! :)
% Not even Washuu can stop the elemental force that Mihoshi is.
Funuyaki found it easy to address him now that her
superior appeared more frazzled than a Wushanari thrown into a
blender.
Heh.
% Wushanari are really frazzled when that happens to them, trust me on
that.
Stargrave turned on Autolycus. "The hell I won't! We're almost
upon our
goal. There's no way I'll back off now." He turned away from
Autolycus and
began to head towards the opposite end of the pass.
The Voice of Reason is oft ignored.
% Too true. But reason rarely encourages risks, as well. Especially great
risks. So it should be listened to bearing that in mind.
I *really* want to see Autolycus get out of this in one piece. I'm
beginning to like the ugly little sack. :)
% Well permenantly parting company from the others was a step in the right
direction. ^_^
Sirocco's
outward form has changed so much that she's physically
unrecognizable, and
she's taking great efforts to mask her presence, but it is her.
She is
powerful. Perhaps even more powerful than before." He paused a
moment to
allow the information to sink in. "Think about it, Sa'bre. A first
generation space tree at your command. It'll be true power for
you, not
this bone the Yagdagron intend to throw at you for helping them
overthrow
an empire."
Hmmm, the Sirocco sounds tailor made for a certain quarter-Juraian
to stumble upon.
% Oh, let's just say Sirocco will be popping up somewhere all right, it's
identity revealed. It just might not be in this fic, or in this series.
(and that's all the veiled hints you're getting)
others, you can become a force in this universe that could
conceivably make
the Jurai Empire tremble. It doesn't matter what they did to you
before.
You have to go beyond petty schemes of vengeance. You have to be
willing to
let go of the past and move forward with the future, otherwise
you're
doomed to failure. That I can guarantee."
It would be interesting to see what Autolycus would make of Tenchi.
Tenchi has potential, but what kind, exactly? Someone like Autolycus
would be able to say. Interesting.
% yep. No guarentees if they'll meet, though.
[snip]
The others obeyed and picked up their packs once more. To
Funuyaki, the
pack seemed a lot lighter, now that she had finally decided on
what to do.
The group set off in the direction that their prize had been
taken.
Funuyaki is taking the route of duty and acceptance of her fate.
This feels very Japanese.
% Thanks.
Slightly,
only because when you hung around people that could move through
walls,
summon floating logs, and turn your storage closet into an access
portal to
another dimension, and all of said people had an active interest
in you,
you already had a tendency to be paranoid, and you got used to the
feeling
after a while. When you were almost certain you were being hunted
by one or
more bad guys intending harm upon your person, the paranoia was
higher and
more constant, but remained at acceptable levels.
Heh, sounds like battle fatigue. :)
% Or just plain desensitization.
"I can carry it a while longer." It was true that Mihoshi had
insisted on
pulling the sled at least half of the time, and it was the fair
thing to
do, but chivalry, along with a bit of a desire to be macho, made
him want
to pull it at least fifty minutes out of every hour.
MALE ALERT!!!
"Oh... it's just Tenchi."
:P
% Heh. Tenchi does show signs of masculinity sometimes. :P
And here I thought it was
just because the place was really warm. Anyway, we had a really
fun time
and all got along really well. The waiters were very accommodating
too."
...accommodating, too."
Mihoshi got a far off look in her eyes. "One of them gave me a
nine inch
sausage."
*FACE-FAULT!!*
% Better than a strangling noise, I suppose.
Tenchi made a strangling noise.
The sounds of inadequacy, yup! :)
% Or just plain shock.
"It was bigger than anything I ever had before. I was so proud of
myself. I
managed to swallow the whole nine inches on the first try."
Tenchi began choking on air.
LOL!!!
% He didn't think even Mihoshi was that skilled. ^_^
"Even Ryouko was impressed by that. She said she wanted to try
too, but she
could only get seven inches down before she gagged."
Oh, dear...
% Ryouko felt so inadequate after their little jaunt to the meat market.
Tenchi's heart began to fail.
"Aeka said that was nothing and got a nice, fat, juicy foot long
one down
in a single gulp. She said she was so good at it because of her
Juraian
bridal training. Who'd have thought they taught that sort of thing
in
bridal training, right, Tenchi? Tenchi?"
Ojou-sama!!!
% It's a very versatile training they undergo.
Once consciousness returned, Tenchi shot to his feet. "Mihoshi!
How could
you betray me like that?!" He gave her a cold glare as he leveled
an
accusing finger at her.
O_o??
Tenchi's eyebrow twitched so violently it was nearly a blur. "I
knew you
meant sausage as in food instead of sausage as in... sausage."
So what's he getting so riled up about?! Wishy-washy boy!!!
% Oops. I didn't make it clear. He's trying to save face there. He really
thought she meant 'sausage not in the food sense.' I've added something
about him thinking 'of course he hadn't known that, but it wasn't like he
was going to admit to the mistake.'
"That's okay," Mihoshi assured him.
"No, no. I should have acted more calmly." The intensity of his
reaction at
the perceived betrayal had surprised even him. He was going to
have to
think on why it had been so violent later.
I think he'd better!
% For later.
[snip]
"Can you really eat a nine inch sausage in one gulp?"
"Tenchi, I could do eleven if I had to."
A silly grin spread across Tenchi's features. Mihoshi truly was a
girl of
many talents.
O_o
o_O
:)
One of which was...
"Mihoshi, this matchbook is wet."
"Oh, don't worry about it. Just make a fire to dry it out."
BONG!!!
% You knew it was there, waiting to come. Misdirection is such a useful
tool.
...the ability to frustrate the hell out of him sometimes. The
silly grin
disappeared, replaced by the shivering from the cold. "Do you have
something else I could use to make a fire so I can dry these
matches out
and use them to make a fire?"
The ability to comprehend sarcasm easily was not one of Mihoshi's
many
talents. Being able to swallow eleven inches of sausage went a
long way to
balancing that out, though.
Oh, you're going to burn for that one. :)
% it's a distinct possibility. ^_^
Tenchi was about to ask her what the problem was as the rocks
struck one
another. A bright red-colored light formed where the rocks
contacted, then
a wave of heat knocked Tenchi unconscious.
So much for the Boy Scout... or is that Chibi Scout... or Sailor
Scout but I'm really a guy Scouts? :P
% But he is trying.
Onita
mentioned that with the trail Mihoshi and whoever was traveling
with her
were leaving behind, even he could have tracked them. He was
content to
allow Ariana to lead, and subsequently trigger whatever ambushes
or traps
the opposition might have left behind.
Esprit de corps at it's most non-existent.
% That's the problem with having highly amoral comrades. When things are
going fine, no problems. When things break down, they have a bad tendency
to turn on one another, or at least work with minimal effciency.
[snip]
killing themselves, Mihoshi somehow got them to begin worshipping
her as
their new leader and they began following her. That was a real
mess. It
took over a month of one of the special divisions of the
department to
deprogram them. And afterwards the entire unit ended up having to
take a
vacation from the stress involved in forcing them away from her.
>From what
the reports said, they cultists were hopelessly devoted to her.
The whole
'Cult Of Mihoshi' case was one that's still talked about to this
day.
Somehow... you just *have* to believe it. :)
% When it comes to Mihoshi, what's not to believe?
roles were the easiest; the bad guys never suspect them of being
dangerous
and always make mistakes around the girls. Guys like me always get
all the
attention because we're supposed to be the dangerous ones, and
whenever
things go down, all guns get turned to you first. That's why I
always like
feeling out whoever I'm working with, especially the female
officer since
they could make the difference between life and death for me."
Yeah, yeah. Get on with it. :)
% This was intentional. Onita, in contrast to Funuyaki, rambles a lot and
is not a percise person. It's his 'voice' so to speak.
thought maybe I could serve the public the way they told us in the
academy.
Maybe I could have made a difference, or at least been like she
was instead
of the way I was. I think maybe part of me wanted to be more like
her. She
seemed a lot happier than me.
Interesting...
% A brief look at how thing might have been different for him if had he
been in a different situation.
reason behind his speaking. "Yes. It did. After a while, I began
running
short of money. The Galaxy Police has good benefits but minimal
pay, and
I've always had problems with managing my finances. I mentioned
that to my
partner, and he said I could get some of the money as well. At
first I
resisted, but I admit it didn't take much for him to talk me into
it. I
think he wanted me involved as additional insurance for him. After
all, I
couldn't very well turn him in if I was guilty of doing the exact
same
thing."
You're really pulling on the reality of police work here. I mean,
this is discussion that could be heard in any locker room of any
police force in the world. It lends a great deal of verisimilitude
to these characters and to the story as a whole. Kudos.
%Thanks. It serves to show that neither of them started out with the
intention of becoming bad guys. On the contrary, they joined the GP with
the intention to do good. But various situations and circumstances, most of
them regrettably bad, helped to contribute to their downfall and how they
became the corrupt people they are now. Bear in mind they are not victims
of circumstance; they weren't forced into breaking the law and using their
positions in a corrupt manner. They still made conscious decisions to take
these paths, and are responsible for their actions, but it does show the
slow deterioration of morality, especially in Funuyaki's case, that made
her what she is at the present.
"How come?" Onita asked.
Stargrave bit off the sharp reply on his tongue. He hated being
interrupted, but he wanted to finish his tale more than wasting
time with
the reprimand.
Nice little bit of characterization for Stargrave.
%Thanks. His past crops up in the next chapter
When they
were alone, he was open in ways that he never was with others. She
knew
more about him than anyone else. While it was true that she did
not know
the exact details of his past, it was something from there that
drove him
to become the man he was today. She was the only one that came
close to
understanding him. Even if he did not love her now, there would
come a day
when he would look upon her in a new light and at long last love
her in
return. She knew it in her heart. And until that day, she would
willingly
and faithfully serve at his side as long as she drew breath in her
body.
This is good writing, DB. You've made the villain a sympathetic
character and have caused us to care about her. Very nice.
%Thanks. None of these people, with the possible exception of Malgaunt, are
simply 'evil'. And even then Malgaunt is partially doing this at the
perceived frustration that he can no longer advance in the ranks of the GP
(which is incidentally true, BTW)
"At least I managed to get a fire going using some of the excess
flames you
produced."
"I noticed you did that before you put me out."
"Well, you were the one that wanted a fire going. I was just
trying to
help, and it's not like you got burned much."
"I see."
"I have a marker if you want to try and draw your eyebrows back
on."
HAAAHAHAAAAAAA!!!
Tenchi is likely to think twice before going on another vacation
with ANYBODY. :)
% Got that right. Work is far more relaxing and less stressful when
compared to this.
"No thank you!" Tenchi snapped. Having his eyebrows burned off was
the only
injury he had sustained, but it was a critical blow to his pride.
It had
been his own fault. He should have known better than to tempt fate
like
that, but he had been cold and not thinking straight. If he had
been
thinking more clearly...he probably would have done the exact same
thing.
But at least it would have been with a clear head.
Which makes all the difference in the world. :P
% Well, at least to him. ^_^
She withdrew her embrace, considerably happier that she had been.
The two
began to relax as they prepared themselves for sleep. Mihoshi,
still
feeling very excited, began talking. "I wonder what Aeka and
Ryouko are
doing?"
Aye, there's the rub! :)
% Opening of next chapter. They've been in just about every other one since
chapter 2.
It was nearly five hours later, and still several hours before the
morning
dawn, that the call of nature forced Mihoshi awake. There had been
a single
instance of her deliberately refusing it and remaining asleep
anyway. It
was then she learned how difficult it was to remove certain kinds
of stains
from Galaxy Police uniforms.
Ever practical, our Miho. :)
% She does try to keep from making the same obvious blunder twice. She just
goes on to make new ones later.
sweeping arc into her side and up through her chest, slicing clean
through
tissue and bone just as effortlessly as it had the metal and low
level
energy field of the blade. White hot shards of agony cut a trail
through
her, following the path of the strike. It was over in a second, as
the
blade finished its cut and nearly severed Tenchi's opponent nearly
in half.
The world turned black for Ariana, and her last thoughts were of
Sa'bre,
and that she had failed the man she loved, for now there was no
one to warn
him of the unsuspecting dangers he faced at the hands of the boy.
And then there was nothing.
Wow. That little bit of drama caught me off-guard, but it wasn't
unexpected, I guess. They would have to face one another at some
point.
% Yep. And then there were four. Things will have to come to a final climax
soon. There's almost no one left and the shielding on the Shihana is down
to one easy to take out field.
Tenchi saw the blade slice more cleanly through the woman than it
had upon
his pale-skinned opponent from so many months ago, a surge of
revulsion
threatened to overwhelm him. He had seen the blood and bone that
the blue
blade of energy had cut through, and it nauseated him. When he had
driven
his sword through Kagato, there had been nothing -not even an
obvious wound
on his body- before he dissolved into a death so clean and
sanitary that it
had not even seemed real.
Yeah, that's an excellent point to make. Tenchi really hasn't had to
deal with the more visceral aspects of killing.
% I believe I got into a discussion over this with someone once. He had
mentioned that he had been disappointed that Tenchi never seemed to think
much about having to (apparently) kill Kagato in the OVAs. That was what
made me consider how Tenchi might have thought about it, and why there
seemed to be so little reaction on his part. This is what I came up with.
It made sense to me. I think it would fit into his character as well.
Kagato's death was
sort of unreal to begin with... and may not actually be true, if
what I understand from the 101 Tenchi facts is correct.
% 'If there's no corpse, assume there was no death either.' Words to live
by in any work of fiction. Since Kaggy-pooh simply seemed to disappear,
albeit along the cut Tenchi gave him, its easy to assume he survived.
"I can't believe you'd hit me in the back of my head and try to
take
advantage of me while I was unconscious!"
"I did not-
"You didn't have to knock me out. If you wanted to have sex, all
you had to
do was ask."
Tenchi facefaulted. That proved both a mistake and wake up call at
the same
time.
*laughter*
% The Voice had to come back at least one more time, don't you know. ^_^
[Oi there. Did I just hear what I think I heard?]
Once she paused to take a breath, Tenchi finally said, "Actually,
it was
that woman over there who hit you. She was trying to kill you and
me. I had
no choice but to kill her instead."
Mihoshi looked in surprise at the body. "Oh. Okay. I'm sorry I
accused you
of that, then."
Turns on a dime. :)
% She doesn't remain too concerned about the past. She's easy to accept it
was a mistake and move on, especially since there's so much on hand to
deal with at the moment.
[snip]
Mihoshi's reaction was to visibly pale as she fell to her knees in
shock at
the impossible image before her. There was only the faintest of
whispers
upon her lips, but it was loud enough for Tenchi to hear.
"Shihana."
Ah, she *does* know what it it. Interesting...
% Everyone knows about it. It's a biolgical boogyman, and a great
propaganda tool for the Juraian government to explain why the Whipwreck
were so 'evil' and had to be defeated and exiled. It ensures that everyone
knows the Jurai were the good guys in the war.
Very nice, DB. Another fine installment. Looking forward to the
next.
% Thanks. It was about time I deleved into the remaining characters pasts
and explain partially how they became what they are. And As I said, I'm not
making any predicitons this time around for the next chapter.
% Thanks for the detailed C+C.
D.B. Sommer