Disclaimer: Do I really need to say it? I obviously don't own Tenchi. Otherwise I'd have no need to even write this as a fanfic. ***************************************************** Ryoko lay spooned against Hotsuma on the maroon couch in her replica of the Masaki living room. Familiar rice-paper walls, art, and furniture surrounded her. She'd been lulled nearly into sleep by the warmth of being curled next to the tall space pirate under the throw blanket. So she wasn't pleased at all when an insistent computer beep drew them both back to full consciousness. Ryoko cursed lividly as the two space pirates hastily disentangled themselves and rushed to dress. It was a silent agreement between the pair, that no one see them behaving too intimately. Even if their gang knew about them, they should only show such familiarity in private. To do otherwise would be detrimental to their control of the other pirates. Ryoko grabbed her black and red two-piece dress off the wraparound side of the couch. She fumbled with the buttons, having to redo the top after spotting a pucker of black satin where a toggle button had been missed and the red cherry blossom pattern failed to match up. Behind her Hotsuma quickly captured his flowing hair into one of his customary ponytails. She noticed that Hotsuma seemed less flustered as he slipped into his black vinyl vest and zipped the silver pull. Of course, Hotsuma could hide being flustered (among other emotions) surprisingly well. As a result, Ryoko still couldn't tell what he was thinking most of the time. She whipped her head back around and straightened her spine as Hotsuma moved to stand beside her with an appropriate distance separating them. Once the desired image had been created, Ryoko gave Hotsuma a nod, and he activated the holographic display above the room with his remote. The image of a small greenish blue man looking nervously over his shoulder flickered into view. At the answering beep from his computer the man fixed his gaze upon them. He showed obvious relief as he appraised the duo. "Well, Well...." Ryoko began. "What's up, Zel?" She planted her fists on her hips and gave him one of her scarier snarls. He already looked nervous, and that could be a very bad omen. An arms dealer who feared someone more than he feared her might roll her over to that bigger fish. She intended to make certain that Zeltris knew exactly who to fear. "Good to see you too, Ryoko," Zeltris greeted her with a slight bow of his head. "I put your message out to the right people, so you should have a fine selection of associates at your rendezvous point. I wanted to send you a warning about two of the interested parties, though." He added uncertainly, as he glanced behind him. Over his shoulder Ryoko was able to make out a substantial mess in his usually efficient hangar. A pair of techs was trying to repair the haphazardly amputated nose cone of a cargo ship, while another young kid tinkered with a welding robot that was shooting sparks from its control panel. Other signs of chaos and destruction surrounded the businessman's lair. "It looks like they had a wild little soiree at your place," Ryoko acknowledged wryly. She chuckled audibly as Zeltris paled at her words. He paused seeming shocked at her ability to accept such damage without concern. It was the reaction Ryoko wanted. He should be fully aware that she could create havoc on a far greater scale. "If this is important enough to call us in the first place, Zeltris," Hotsuma said with smooth menace. "Then I would also assume that it is important enough for you to give us the relevant information without wasting anymore of our valuable time." He crossed his arms over his chest as he spoke and met the small man with a frigid stare. Zeltris launched into his tale about the two rough pirate chicks who were in the process of extorting information from him when Hotsuma's transmission had arrived. "That blonde was insane! Everything in the hangar was breaking and exploding around her, and she just stood there giggling! And that teal haired one was as cool as they come!" Ryoko flinched at the description and quickly sought to hide it behind narrowed eyes. The details certainly described Kiyone and Mihoshi, but how would they think they could possibly infiltrate Ryoko's gang. They certainly wouldn't be going to such lengths for a social visit. If something were wrong on Earth, they wouldn't beat around the bush either. Perhaps, they were simply planning a GXP trap in space. Hmm.... That wasn't Kiyone's style. She wanted the credit of a big collar badly enough that she wasn't about to share it in a big anonymous ambush. Thoughts churned inside Ryoko's mind as she tried to decide exactly how to deal with her former roommates. This could be fun. "Just leave them up to me," she said suddenly. "I think we'll let those two prove themselves." She grinned evilly at her compatriots and walked out of the room still wondering what her former friends could be playing at. Hotsuma turned to watch her go. She knew something more than she was telling, and he was torn somewhere between admiration and annoyance. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. The woman knew exactly what she was doing, that much she'd proven already. He just didn't like being on the outside of her plans. Without a backwards glance he shut off the transmission from Zeltris. Very well, it wasn't like he didn't have secrets of his own to maintain. He too had a private room in this compound; in case of emergency his lab housed a crystal transmitter to Yugi. Unlike her shadow, Yugi didn't just peer into Hotsuma's mind. Perhaps, it was a testament to the distances involved in space travel, but even on Earth he'd been afforded more privacy than her other minions. He would allow Ryoko hers, for now. But he had no intention of relinquishing his hold upon Ryoko and returning to the darkness. Towards that end he would keep any secret. *************************************************************** "Oh, Kiyone!" twittered the ecstatic blonde Galaxy Police Officer as she hopped about Yagami's cockpit, "I'm so excited about seeing Ryoko again! It's been so long since...." "This is not a social visit!" Kiyone snapped in annoyance. "We are going there to infiltrate Ryoko's gang and apprehend her!" She could see her partner's enthusiasm immediately drain away, as Mihoshi turned large tearful blue eyes upon her. Dealing with Mihoshi never was easy. She sighed and waited for the weeping outburst to commence. It seemed that she'd already explained this a hundred times. "Why do we have to arrest her? Ryoko's our friend, and you're supposed to give friends a second chance," Mihoshi reasoned simplistically. She twiddled her fingers and stared miserably at them. "Because she's hurting people, Mihoshi! People are losing their money, their jobs, their health...." Kiyone groaned. "Aren't the other Galaxy Police Officers your friends too? She's put half our class from the academy in the hospital!" That half of the class included a certain snide redhead whom Kiyone had disliked throughout their academy days. Kiyone grinned privately upon that reflection. "Well, I still think something must've driven her to this, Kiyone," Mihoshi sniffed, as she wiped her tears away. "And I'm going to find out exactly what!" Declared the blonde, as she smacked her fist into her palm determinedly. "Or else I'm not First Class Detective Mihoshi!" "You do that, Mihoshi," Kiyone nodded. It was the best she was going to get out of her partner at the moment. She donned a spiky pink wig, and adjusted the zippered vinyl jumpsuit. Her makeup was on quite heavily, and a pair of alien looking orange contacts and a fake scar on her right cheek completed the ensemble. "Now how do you like this wig on me? Do you think with the makeup it'll fool Ryoko?" "Wow! I wouldn't even recognize you in that outfit, Kiyone!" Mihoshi grinned exuberantly. She clapped her hands in appreciation. "Oh! It's my turn next," she giggled, rummaging through assorted costume pieces. A pink flowered housecoat and a pair of clown shoes soared past Kiyone's head, and the luckless officer began to worry about exactly what sort of costume pieces Mihoshi had for undercover work. Kiyone shook off the disturbing images as her partner called to her from across the room. "How about this? I don't think Space Police Policeman could do any better even. Hey I wonder if my action figures will fit inside this pouch?" Mihoshi rattled excitedly. A spandex, leopard-print top and miniskirt showed off Mihoshi's astonishing figure, and Kiyone covered herself with her arms, feeling suddenly self-conscious. The ditzy officer had found a lilac colored Afro wig, which was indeed a striking contrast to her normal wavy blonde hair. She'd mismatched her contacts, and had one reptile eye paired with one cat eye. That much was easily fixed. She'd glued pointy ear extensions over the tips of her own ears to make a cat-girl look, but the edges needed more glue and were curling up. All in all the effect wasn't bad with a few adjustments. By the time they boarded the small transport ship, which they had been assigned for this mission, Mihoshi wore a perfected version of her cat-girl costume. Kiyone had finally convinced her to leave her action figures on Yagami, and the pouch, which Mihoshi wore slung around her hips contained items that Kiyone considered practical essentials--money, blaster, costume makeup, hacking and lock-picking gear. They blasted off for sector zero point two ready for anything. The hopeful pirate wannabe's assembled in the backroom of a smuggler's bar on the industrial planet of Kemvar at the edge of the band of waste planets. One big city covered the over-populated and polluted planet, and it was legend that the last tree on Kemvar had died from the pollution two hundred years ago. In its dark crowded streets and rooms the pirates easily blended in with the bleak and sinister citizens. "This place looks like a cyberpunk nightmare!" Ryoko complained to her partner, as they entered the crowded room. He grunted in agreement, and both pirates broke from the conversation as they surveyed the room's occupants. Surly, muscular men filled the room to capacity. Most of them were covered with scars and excessive body hair. Ryoko scanned the room for a flash of teal and blonde but came up empty. Still searching the room, she noticed that there were only two women in the entire crowd. They were seated on the far right of the room, and one was desperately trying to restrain the other from waving. She suppressed a snicker as she studied them from the corners of her eyes. Oh, the costumes were lovely, but they weren't difficult to see through under the circumstances. Where the hell had Mihoshi been keeping that wig anyhow? Ryoko sincerely hoped she didn't wet herself laughing tonight. It would be bad for her image. "All-right, you wannabe's!" Ryoko snarled as she hopped onto the nearest table. She unsnapped her cape and let it fall to the table. "This is where we separate the men from the boys! You may think you're good enough to join my gang," she challenged with a wide grin, "but now you have to convince me!" An enthusiastic roar greeted her words. The promise of violence carried a great deal of weight with this crowd. At her nod, Hotsuma reached behind a framed beer poster and tripped a concealed switch. The dingy greenish wall in the back rolled apart to reveal a fighting pit surrounded by catwalks and set so that anyone in this room could easily watch the action. It wasn't uncommon on Kemvar for people to wager on fights to the death. It was however illegal, and so the bars and clubs kept hidden fight parlors. Ryoko had rented out both backrooms for the night, so that she could hold these tryouts. These might not be fights to the death, but Kiyone and Mihoshi were going to have to earn their pay tonight. "It's time for you all to divide up by specialty. Blaster experts, over there! Knife fighters, left front of the room! Bare-handers by that long table! All- arounders in the middle!" She pointed and nodded as she directed each group of fighters. Ryoko nodded with satisfaction as the pirates all filed into their groups. Mihoshi had joined the ranks of the blaster experts, whereas Kiyone was grouped with the All-around fighters. Ryoko was going to have fun with this one. Ryoko ordered the members of the groups to pair off, and transmitter targets were assigned to each combatant. The object of the test was to destroy the opponent's transmitter. Winners would advance to face each other, and the pirates who held the top ten positions from each discipline would be allowed into the gang. "Blasters!" Ryoko bellowed. She grabbed Mihoshi and a creepy pirate with a robotic eye. "Looks like you two are up first! Show me what you've got," she chortled, as she pushed them towards the ring. "Give'em hell, girl!" she advised, giving Mihoshi a slap on the back before taking a seat beside Hotsuma. The other groups clustered together on the catwalks to watch, and Ryoko laughed to herself. "That poor slob won't even know what hit him," she told Hotsuma with a wink. He watched the cyborg spook glare meaningfully at the shaking cat-girl, who was stammering something about a good fight. "You're kidding right?" he replied, raising an eyebrow. "That's Ro-shen. He's famous in the Orion Belt." Hotsuma only recognized a couple of the hopefuls as having built a reputation, and Ro- shen was easily the most successful of them. Ryoko just sat cross-legged on her chair and leaned forward, laughing brightly with excitement. Hotsuma shook his head and watched as Ro-shen drew his blaster and fired a quick volley at the woman with the Afro. She yelped pitifully, and avoided the shots by quickly dodging to the left and right of them. "What the hell is she doing?" he asked in shock, as the woman covered her eyes with one hand, and began rapidly firing at her opponent. Ryoko laughed so hard that she had to hold her sides, as she watched Mihoshi clumsily rush and fire blindly at the confused sniper. She cheered loudly, when one of Mihoshi's blasts struck home and sent the target shattering to the corrugated metal floor. She turned to face her awestruck partner. "I think she might just go all the way in that category," Ryoko choked as she wiped the corners of her eyes. "That was dumb luck!" Hotsuma replied in disbelief. She didn't match Zeltris's description to the slightest degree, but this obviously had to be one of the women he'd warned them about. Judging from Ryoko's reaction, Ryoko knew of her. He let his questions wait for now; they'd be answered soon enough. For now, it was enough to know that Ryoko didn't consider the women any immediate danger to them. "Yeah, they don't get any dumber or any luckier," Ryoko responded cheerfully. The bold blue-haired woman and her reserved partner continued to trade observations and quips as they watched the blaster contest unfold before them. >From the sidelines Kiyone too was cheering her partner on. In the final pairing, Mihoshi faced down a brown haired space cowboy with a customized spread shooter. It used internal splitters and mirrors to disperse six separate shots in each blast. Ryoko gripped the edge of her seat for support, as she watched Mihoshi hop past. The ditz was desperately running away from the cowboy's preemptive attack, and her mewling ow's and oh's filled the room like a litany. Ryoko snorted quietly as a flash from the six-shooter singed the backside of Mihoshi's micro mini. "Yeeeeep! Hey, that's no fair! You're not supposed to...oh...oh...oh... " Squealed the desperate officer. Her blaster had run out of charge, so Mihoshi dug through her pouch searching for her backup. Everything else seemed to come to hand first, and she settled her grip upon the first solid square object that she happened upon. The harried officer pulled the item out and held it between her and the attacking cowboy, like a vampire hunter holding off the undead with a crucifix. At the same instant the cowboy fired again. He watched in dull horror as Mihoshi pulled out her makeup mirror and held it between them. The flares of light raced through the air between them, and the one that was meant for the cat-girl's transmitter bounced harmlessly off the outstretched mirror. It reflected back at her pursuer and exploded against his target. The young man's eyes widened, and his jaw dropped. "Did I call it, or what?" Ryoko barked. "That match was like taking candy from a baby!" She nodded decisively, and she and Hotsuma continued a running commentary during the next two categories--alternately proving and disproving their theories on the abilities of each fighter. When the All-around fighters lined up to go, Ryoko again developed that intensity that she'd displayed during the Blaster Face-off. The third match in would mark the debut fight of the pink-haired punk girl, who'd been eyeing the rowdy space pirate all evening. Kiyone fought exceptionally well against her opponents, despite the nagging fear that Mihoshi would somehow blow their cover while she was preoccupied with her qualifying fights. The first man she faced loomed over her at easily twice her size, and Kiyone wondered exactly which pro-wrestling school he'd failed out of before moving on to piracy. Although he was capable with weapons, he favored barehanded attacks, and Kiyone spent most of her time on the defensive. She dodged, using her speed to full advantage, while she looked for weaknesses to exploit. He used his left fist in a guard stance to block his transmitter from direct blows, while lashing out with his other meaty fist and kicking with his muscular, trunk-like legs. He seemed ready to believe that as a girl she would be easily deterred by the thought of having to really hurt him to get to the transmitter. Kiyone waited for one of his kicks and ducked between his legs. She punched straight up into his groin and cursed in pain when her knuckles struck a protective cup. Kiyone bit back a scream and kicked the back of his supporting leg out from under him, as she scrambled out of the way still cradling her injured fist. She saw him limp to his feet and come after her again. Kiyone still angry about her bloodied knuckles pulled her blaster and aimed for his transmitter. The same fist came up protectively, testing to see if she really was tough enough to shoot through him. Kiyone narrowed her field of vision to her intended target and calmly squeezed the trigger. She watched the giant drop his hand immediately and try to jump out of the way of her shot. At the opening, Kiyone leapt forward and aimed a sidekick for his now exposed shoulder. His own inertia carried him into the line of her kick and red glass target button shattered under her spiked heel. Kiyone snapped her leg back quickly and hopped backwards as the muscleman overbalanced and fell towards her. He was too tall to avoid entirely, and the detective loudly crashed to the floor on her bottom as the man landed facedown between her sprawled legs. "Why does this stuff always happen to me?" she moaned at her graceless finish. >From above a woman's voice cackled stridently, while Mihoshi grinned cluelessly and gave her partner a thumbs-up signal. Kiyone too made it to the final match in her division, and her opponent was not only fast and strong but also seemingly untroubled about using excessive force during his attacks. He displayed it openly by firing a blaster shot at her head rather than her transmitter. Kiyone screamed and quickly beat out a small fire, which had started in her wig. The man sneered at her and gave her a condescending wink. This fight could get dirty. Kiyone felt her contacts stinging in her eyes at the smoke from the charred tips of pink hair. She let the anger charge her with energy, but kept her mind concentrated on only the battle before her. He'd pay for that, but only if she kept control rather than falling into an obvious trap. She watched him reach back to draw a sword from a sheath on his back. His long brown hair was bound just above his shoulders and wrapped with a red leather thong just like the handle of his katana--only the last foot of hair swinging free below the wrapping. He narrowed his yellow-green eyes, and the stretchy red fabric of his top rippled with his muscles like a predatory second skin as he rushed her. Kiyone caught a glimpse of silver in his black wrist sheaths, and she jumped to the side, ducking under his swipe as she drew one of his own blades to use against him. "Woohoo! Way to go Kiy... um... Kei-lynn!" Mihoshi caught herself from above. Kiyone grimaced at the close call and redoubled her efforts to beat him as quickly as possible. At the same time she saw an opportunity for revenge against his hair, and she grasped it roughly by the binding, while she smoothly severed the last foot and a half of hair with his razor sharp knife. He whirled to face her, the remaining binding unraveling and releasing his roughly shorn locks, which now only reached to just above his waist. Kiyone held up her prize triumphantly and shot him a wink before tossing the severed mane at him. She braced herself for the onslaught of venomous curses and brutal attacks, but she was completely unprepared for what happened next. He caught the shorn ponytail, and after a moment of staring silently his deep chuckle filled the fight parlor. "That's the best luck you've had all night, lady!" he goaded. Kiyone instantly flashed back to her many close calls and inelegant wins from the night. So what if she wasn't lucky, she had the skill to compensate. "It had nothing to do with luck," she replied aloofly. "You just left yourself open." She watched the nearly murderous anger fill his eyes again, and she grinned in satisfaction as he attacked her with a series of lunges and slashes. It took everything she had to avoid his attack, but he was getting sloppier with his fury. Finally, she managed a successful back flip over one of his swipes and stood stunned for a moment. He used her disbelief to his advantage and grabbed her wrathfully, spinning her around, and placing the blade against her throat. "Playtime is over." He growled at her leaning his head forward so that he could whisper threateningly in her ear, as he reached for her transmitter. Ryoko and several other spectators rose in alarm, poised to intervene if he didn't stop at the transmitter. Kiyone felt the flat side of the cool metal resting against her skin and knew that she didn't have time to think if she wanted to stay in this competition. She kicked her leg straight upward, smacking him in the head, before twisting her body around in his grasp. She swept his leg out from under him, riding him down to the ground as he grasped her upper arms. Before he could move further, she shot out her right fist. It was still sore from her unlucky punch earlier, but it would suffice. As they landed winded on the corrugated metal, she smashed his transmitter with a hard jab. The man panted tiredly, still holding Kiyone by the arms, and eyed the strange woman with something approaching respect. "So you're not just a pretty face," he rasped at her. "Next time, you're toast, ...Kei-lynn." He promised with a deep chuckle, before blowing her a little kiss. After that final battle the top ten from each division lined up according to their fighting rank, and Hotsuma took down their names. The losers were inconsequential and were dismissed without further word. Kiyone gave her name as Kei-lynn, and bit the inside of her cheek when her final rival identified himself as Aicheron, a class A criminal who she'd been trying unsuccessfully to track for the past three months. She quietly looked forward to busting his ass. Kiyone nearly stopped breathing when the cold blonde pirate asked Mihoshi for her name. Mihoshi paused thoughtfully. "Um.... It's Mi... Yah!" she screamed as Kiyone stamped on her foot from the next line. "Miya?" Hotsuma queried with raised eyebrows. Ryoko had her back turned trying to smother a bout of laughter at the officers' antics and the ludicrous pseudonym. "Um... yep! I'm Miya!" Mihoshi replied cheerfully. "That's my name! Miya- miya," she tittered sounding vaguely like Ryo-ohki. She giggled at the serious man, as he wrote it into his record. Kiyone noticed once again just how easily things seemed to go for her partner, and she sighed in private frustration. She could feel eyes studying her from behind, and she shot around to hit Aicheron with a dirty look when she caught him staring at her. The new pirate band were led back to the hidden base, and those with smaller ships were carried aboard Gaiyan with their ships either docked in one of the larger vessels or carried by tractor beam. The two detectives were among those aboard Gaiyan, and Ryoko was taking the opportunity to order them about--asking them to serve her sake and going over ridiculous duty rosters with them. Upon arriving at the base, Kiyone decided to take the opportunity to explore while the rest of the gang settled in. She kept Mihoshi close in tow, as they navigated the cave tunnels looking for information on the pirate's operation. As they reached the junction between two hallways the sound of voices stopped them in their tracks. "I do believe you promised me an upgrade," Ryoko's voice purred from around the corner, and Kiyone peeked around the wall to see the cyan haired woman cornering her partner against one of the rough, stone walls. "Careful, Princess, anyone could come along and see us," Hotsuma cautioned as he adjusted his glasses. "You know I'll be only to happy to see to your needs in private," he replied silkily. Kiyone couldn't see exactly what Ryoko did next because her body blocked the action from view, but she had a fine guess as the tall man closed his eyes and arched his neck back, breathing rapidly. As Kiyone watched, he grabbed Ryoko roughly against him and kissed her heatedly, exploring the softness of her mouth with his sensitive tongue. The blue haired woman wrapped her arms around his neck and made small hungry noises, which filtered down the empty corridor. "You seem to be in a fine mood tonight, partner," he observed as he finally broke away from the pull of her lips. He traced his fingers lightly along the smooth skin of her cheek, and Ryoko leaned into his warm hand. "Of course! Tonight was wonderful," she grinned. She traced a finger slowly down Hotsuma's chest. "But you made me a promise this morning that I'm still going to hold you to," the pirate cooed suggestively. "Now, let's teleport someplace a little more private and discuss it." She leaned in towards his lips again, just before the pair flickered out of being in the quiet passageway. "He he. That was so sweet!" Mihoshi bubbled, clasping her hands and staring dreamily at the spot the two pirates had just vacated. "Now I'm not nearly so worried about Ryoko. Don't you agree, Kiy..." Kiyone clamped her hand over the bouncy blonde's mouth. She was still in a state of shock. Ryoko had never been more than three inches from Tenchi, if she could help it. Now she was suddenly pirating in space with a strange new lover. It wasn't just that it was such a large change, but it had happened so fast to Kiyone's knowledge. "Actually, Miya, I'm just starting to worry now," she whispered. Kiyone heard the soft thud of footfalls directly behind them and whirled around. She stared directly into a pair of yellowish-green eyes, and her breath caught in her throat. What else could happen to her tonight?