Season 2: Home Life and Shadow Plays
Episode 4: No Need for a Movie
The path to the Masaki house
Tenchi thought back across the last two months and
couldn't help but be depressed. He would have thought
that having one of those girls suddenly decide to stop
chasing him would be relieving. No, he had known that
it would be a relief if they had settled the matter
themselves. He just wished it hadn't been settled in
this way, Ryoko angry with him for Ayeka's burn out.
Rationally he told himself that the knights should
have been able to notice if it was possible. They had
centuries, hell, millennia, more experience than he
did. He kept telling himself that there was no
possible way for him to tell that Ayeka had been
burning herself out. It didn't do him much good.
His mind kept returning to the fact that his mother
had done the same to herself for him. To make matters
worse in that regard, they had gone back in time to
save her from Caine, not force her to burn out
fighting him. Now another Jurai woman he cared about
had burned herself out. It wasn't as bad a case this
time, or at least that was the way it seemed, but it
didn't change the fact that it had happened.
Now he had lost Ryoko, and that was the problem. He
felt selfish for thinking it, perhaps some part of him
had wanted to be the one doing the breaking up. At
least that is what he told himself. He tried to
convince himself that he only seemed to be interested
in Ryoko now because she was suddenly forbidden fruit,
and that was the only reason. It all still came down
to the fact that he had lost Ryoko. She wouldn't talk
to him, wouldn't even stay long in the same room with
him.
It wouldn't have been so difficult if Ryoko had
reacted in the way he would have expected. A Ryoko
dancing over the premature grave of a Jurai princess
would have been easy to ignore. She would have been
even easier to tell off. This train of thought didn't
help his general feeling out much. Now he felt guilty
about wishing that Ryoko cared less about Ayeka than
she did. Wishing, basically, that Ryoko was actually
as evil as people had portrayed her when everybody
first arrived.
He had been on several dates with Ayeka in the
recent past, but they hadn't been the pleasant
experiences he was hoping for. Tenchi had hoped that
at some point that they would have become less matters
of responsibility and more like real social outings.
Unfortunately the transition hadn't yet occurred. Oh
the movies and activities cheered them up for a brief
time, but the image of Ryoko's scowling face always
intruded into his thoughts.
He didn't know for sure, but he thought Ayeka had
noticed his distraction. She certainly seemed less
enthusiastic than she had originally. That was
something else praying on his mind. He had felt guilty
and confused about stringing along both Ryoko and
Ayeka. Now that he had only one choice he still felt
guilty and confused. He paused in his walk and sighed
resignedly.
"Why can't I have a normal life?" he asked the air,
before continuing walking along.
Masaki house
"It has really become quite boring around here,"
Ayeka declared to the surprise of Ryoko, Sasami and
Washu.
"Well, I can try to come up with a galactic
threat," Washu answered snidely. "But it will take
some time."
"I wasn't thinking of anything so drastic," Ayeka
told her. "Perhaps a communal outing to the local
cinema."
"If you want to go to a movie, I'm sure Tenchi will
take you," Ryoko suggested. Ayeka had yet to
understand why Ryoko didn't seem to be upset with her
at all, just Tenchi.
"Well, why don't we all go to a movie?" Sasami
asked, excitedly. "It sounds like fun! Do you think
Miho-Kiyo can come too?"
"Perhaps, they do have busy schedules, Sasami,"
Ayeka reminded her. "But it wouldn't hurt to make a
call."
"Thanks, but I think I'll stay here," Ryoko said,
lying back down on the couch.
"Oh come on, Ryoko," Sasami half-whined. "If we're
all going to go you should come too. Please?" Ryoko
tried to ignore the pleading child, but only managed
to do so for about a minute.
"All right, I'll go," Ryoko finally said, resulting
in a cheerful hop from Sasami.
"Excellent," Ayeka said happily. "I'll call
Miho-Kiyo." She walked into the hallway smiling
cheerfully and perhaps a little deviously.
"Hey, wait," Washu called. "Do I get any say in
this?" Ayeka popped her head around back into the
living room.
"Oh Ryoko," she called, still smiling. "Tenchi
should be on his way home now, could you go ask him to
join us?"
"Me?" Ryoko asked, looking at Ayeka as if she were
insane. "Talk to him?"
"You can get there quicker than any of us," Ayeka
noted practically. "It is the most efficient
solution."
"Okay, Washu," Ryoko said irritably, before lifting
up and teleporting away.
"Hey!" the scientist tried again to get somebody's
attention. "What's everybody picking on me for?" She
followed Ayeka back into the hallway, where Ayeka was
making her call.
Miho-Kiyo place.
"Hello?" Mihoshi said picking up the phone.
"Mihoshi?" Ayeka's voice said on the other end of
the line. "I was wondering perhaps if you, Kiyone and
the rest would like to join us for a movie?"
"Just a moment let me check?" Mihoshi turned to
where Kiyone was doing their budgeting. "Kiyone, Ayeka
wants to know if we can join them in going to a movie
tonight." Kiyone frazzled expression turned to one of
confusion as she looked up from the bills and
checkbook.
"Give me the phone," Kiyone said. Mihoshi
cheerfully handed the receiver to her teal-haired
partner. "Ayeka?"
"Oh, Captain Makibi," the voice on the other end
said.
"Definitely Ayeka," Kiyone thought.
"Are you and yours free from work tonight?" Ayeka
asked politely.
"Didn't we talk about this already?" Kiyone asked.
"I'm just waiting for Rikyu before leaving."
"Oh good, then you can come?"
"Of course I can come," Kiyone said. "Have you
thought of a movie yet?"
"Oh, I was thinking about that new American film,"
Ayeka said. "It appears to be a somewhat decent
historical fiction piece. I'm not certain what period
of the galaxy's history it's from, but I never did
care much for history."
"Are you talking about The Phantom Menace?" Kiyone
asked.
"Oh yes, that's the one," Ayeka noted.
"You're trying to make this look like a spontaneous
decision, aren't you?"
"Then we'll see you in an hour or so?"
"What's going on here Ayeka?"
"I have to go, I sent Ryoko after Tenchi, and they
should be back soon." Kiyone blinked, pulled the
receiver away from her head and looked at it like she
didn't know what it was for. She slowly returned the
item to her ear.
"Uh, okay, we'll see you soon." The phone on the
other end of the line clicked back down. Kiyone then
hung-up the phone and began to try and make sense of
that conversation. "It can't be what I think it is."
Masaki Residence
"Okay, Princess" Washu said, accusingly. "What's
going on here?"
"Isn't it obvious, Washu-Chan?" Ayeka asked. "We're
all going out to a movie."
"And the point of sending Ryoko to get Tenchi is?"
"To inform Lord Tenchi of our plans and suggest
that he accompany us," Ayeka answered as if that
should be obvious.
"And you're not doing this because Ryoko will stomp
all over him?"
"Yeah, Ayeka," Sasami added. "Ryoko has been really
mean to Tenchi since you got back." Sasami sounded
confused about that, but she thought that it perhaps
had something to do with how much time her onesan had
been spending with Tenchi.
"I am quite certain that it will all be fine,"
Ayeka asserted.
"One more thing," Washu put in.
"What is it?" Ayeka's pleasant attitude vanished.
"Were you talking about the Phantom Menace?"
"Yes," Ayeka said. "Why do you ask?"
"It's not exactly what you would call historical
fiction."
"Really? How odd."
The stairs up to the Masaki house
It was a scene he was used to, Ryoko just popping
into existence next to him. For a moment his mood
brightened, but it didn't last. Ryoko's new dismissive
attitude was still in full force. She wasn't even
floating, she was standing off to the side, arms
crossed. She looked as if she were on a displeasing
errand.
"What do you want Ryoko?" he asked, irritably.
"Ayeka wants us all to go to a movie tonight," she
told him.
"So why are you telling this to me?" Tenchi asked.
"You haven't spoken more than two words together to me
since.....since the battle." Ryoko narrowed her eyes.
"Ayeka sent me," Ryoko told him. "So let's get this
over with." The pirate teleported away with the last
word. Tenchi shrugged and continued climbing up the
stairs, he was in the house within two minutes.
"So what movie are we seeing?" Tenchi asked, he
avoided looking to Ryoko's position on the couch in
the living room. Ayeka turned to him smiling, and
seeming vaguely disappointed somehow.
"We're going to see The Phantom Menace!!" Sasami
shouted excitedly. Tenchi blinked, Ryoko sat up and
looked into the hallway.
"Yes," Washu called from somewhere. "We're just
waiting for the Miho-Kiyo group to get here."
"And this was Ayeka's choice?" Tenchi and Ryoko
asked simultaneously. Ryoko glared at him and lay back
down.
Miho-Kiyo place
"So any word on what movie we're seeing?" Rikyu
asked as he appeared in the mirror standing behind
Kiyone. The detective jumped, surprised by the
teleport.
"Gah! You and your mother!" she gasped, catching
her breath. "Don't either of you ever use a door?"
"Well, I haven't quite got the phasing thing down
yet," he said, smiling. "So this works better, besides
in moment there'll be Mihoshi, my mother, Ayeka,
Tenchi and everybody else. Right now it's just us." He
encircled his arms around her waste and leaned
forward. Kiyone smiled and formed her own ring around
his neck.
"So it is," Kiyone agreed, then she decided to
tease him a little. "And just how did you know I would
be here or that I wouldn't be...indisposed?"
"I have no idea," he answered, kissing her lightly
on the lips. "And I don't care."
"A very logical explanation," she responded with
her own little kiss. Things were progressing from
there when someone knocked on the door.
"Kiiii-yooo-neeee?" Mihoshi whined. "Are you done
yet?"
"Well, so much for that," Rikyu laughed quietly.
"Perhaps we should spare her this for a little
while more," Kiyone suggested, Rikyu nodded smiling
and teleported to the living room. "Coming right out
Mihoshi." Kiyone opened the door and Mihoshi rushed in
behind her.
"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you Kiyone," was
all the blonde said before unceremoniously closing the
door on an amused Kiyone.
"Ah, Captain Makibi," Rakkan said as Kiyone
appeared in the large open room.
The room was sparsely furnished, with items
scavenged from the Yagami's cargo bay. Fortunately,
most of the furniture had been in her and Mihoshi's
apartment for the battle so it had survived. It was a
rather bizarre collection. There were the old Masaki
couches, the simple wooden table from their beach
planet snack shop. A few chairs from that had missed
the Mihoshi explosion in the bar. Added to that stuff
that Ayeka or Ryoko had bought on impulse, or Mihoshi
had picked up from the ruins. It wasn't anywhere near
a unified interior style.
"Lord Rikyu has arrived," the Akuneko warrior
finished. Kiyone glanced over at the red-haired
Akuneko and smiled. Rikyu waved with an impish smile.
"I see," Kiyone responded. "Mihoshi won't be much
longer, either."
"So what movie are we seeing?" Rikyu asked.
"According to Ayeka," Kiyone suggested. "The
Phantom Menace, but I also thought she said something
about sending Ryoko to find Tenchi, so I might have
heard wrong."
"Oh did that work out?" Karya asked. Kiyone turned
and looked at the woman as if she had just found the
last piece of a puzzle.
"You know something we don't," Kiyone stated. Karya
began to sweat as all attention focused on her.
"Uhh....?"
Theater
They reached the theater early, actually it was
later than Ayeka had intended, but Rikyu and Tenchi
had convinced them that it would be next to impossible
to get enough seats if they came in close to start
time. So the entire crew ended up sitting around the
theater lobby for an hour, eliciting a large number of
stares, especially the three Akuneko.
Sasami and Mihoshi were busy playing video games,
the blonde had collected small number of predominantly
male watchers. Rakkan was watching the various
strangers with an almost paranoid fervor. The Akuneko
warrior was decidedly uncomfortable what with Kiyone
and five nobles to keep an eye on. Rikyu and Kiyone
were sitting together, mostly just relaxing, but at
least partially praying that Mihoshi didn't do
anything they'd have to clean up. Karya was sitting a
little ways from Kiyone looking rather nervous. Ayeka
was sitting with Tenchi across from Kiyone and Rikyu.
Ryoko floating off to the side, trying not to look
like she was enjoying herself. As for Washu, she had
the unenviable position of being officially Sasami and
Mihoshi's babysitter.
When they announced that seating would begin soon
the Akuneko easily secured the head of the line for
their group.
"Hey, that's not fair," somebody shouted.
"Akane-San?" Ayeka asked as she looked the party
just behind the Tenchi crew.
"Ayeka? What are you doing here?" Ayeka looked back
and saw Akane, Ukyou, and their boyfriends.
"Hey, it's that girl from before!" Ranma declared.
"Onesan, do you know these people?"
"Guys, they're opening the theatre, can we talk
later?" Ryoko noted. It didn't take much more than
that, and soon they were all seated. As the lights
lowered Karya turned towards Ryoko sitting next to
her.
"Excuse me, Lady Shinku," Ryoko crimped her neck at
the mention of the title and turned to face Karya.
"Would you mind switching seats with me?"
"Sure, no problem," the pirate floated up and let
the Jurai woman take her original seat. She then set
herself down. At virtually the same time, Ayeka,
originally next to Karya, turned to Tenchi.
"Excuse me, Lord Tenchi," she started. "I'd like to
sit next to my sister, could we switch seats, please?"
"Of course, Ayeka," he stood up and let Ayeka over
before sitting down himself. He and Ryoko sat down at
virtually the same time. The space pirate glared at
Tenchi as she noticed who she was sitting next to.
Tenchi noticed as well and glanced guiltily away.
"Karya, I chang.." Ryoko started
"Shhh, the movie's starting!!" someone shouted.
Ryoko stopped talking and sat back in her chair. She
reasoned that it was too late now, she'd just have to
deal with it. Then the movie started and she willfully
forgot the situation.
The Tenchi crew couldn't help but shift a little as
the movie progressed. They kept reaching scenes that
reminded them of the whole Kagato mess, especially
that last sneak into the palace using a battle as
distraction. Ryoko glanced at Tenchi as she recalled
them standing in the Yagami corridors. Ryoko trying to
convince Tenchi not to go and get himself killed,
while also hiding the fact that she was slowly
bleeding to death.
"...I'd love to go on a trip with you..." Ryoko's
eyes softened for a moment before returning to the
screen. Just missing that motion, Tenchi turned to
glance at her with his own memories from just after
his return to Earth.
"If you wait awhile, the carnival always comes
back, Tenchi," Ryoko's voice serene as they just stood
in the woods, holding each other. Then he, also,
turned back to watch the screen.
When the movie ended the Masaki group quietly stood
up and walked/teleported/ flew to the side and let the
theater clear out before starting to leave themselves.
As the other moviegoers filtered out the majority of
the Tenchi group just stood quietly and reminisced.
Ryoko especially seemed confused, glancing towards
Ayeka or Tenchi several times.
"Well, the path is clear," Washu noted. "Perhaps we
should get going."
"Yeah, catch you guys at home," Ryoko said,
glancing at Tenchi and then at Ayeka before vanishing
away.
"If you don't mind," Tenchi suggested. "I'm going
to head off by myself also, maybe get something to
eat."
"Oh its no problem at all, Lord Tenchi," Ayeka
responded. "Well shall the rest of us go?"
"See you later, Tenchi," Sasami waved. Most of the
group walked on ahead leaving Tenchi meandering
behind. Kiyone managed to catch Ayeka a little behind
the rest though.
"You are playing matchmaker, with Tenchi and
Ryoko?" Kiyone asked, half in disbelief.
"I don't have any idea of what you mean," Ayeka
denied, then she smiled a small proper smile. "But
it's working." Kiyone looked at her as if she had
turned green and then walked on.
=====
"Caffeinated Kender? What's that, a berserk spell?" -
Tribble, Kender Warrior of the Celestial Kingdom
Signed
He of Too Many Names (Thrythlind/Thryth/Luke/Hyperbole/Pika/Pooka)
http://members.aol.com/thrythlind/snake.html
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