Disclaimer :
Most characters in this story are property of AIC and Pioneer.
They are in such a situation solely because of my imagination.
This story was written purely for fun.

I would also like to extend my whole hearted thanks and gratitude to
Patrick "Seion" Stewart, who gave me permission to use his character
Seion in Darkness & Light .

Seion, if you're reading this and you find I screwed him up, please
do inform me, I'll do my utmost to put him right. Thank you ^_^.
                                                               
Seion's work can be found in Gensao's TMFFA, at www.tmffa.com.

NOTE : It has been a while since I submitted a chapter but this 
chapter is certainly quite a mouthful. I've posted a break as
======BREAK====== near the middle of the story, just in case you 
all need a breather. Juz search for the =BREAK= n you'll get there.

Just a reminder too, the last chapter ended with Kiyone bending over
Seion and him telling her "I am your brother."

CHAPTER XVII : No Need for Discord

This can’t be happening…

The world around her had started to shatter, fray at the
edges… it seemed to be spinning, whirling around in
impossible curves to form a nightmarish kaleidoscope within
her consciousness.

No… no… please don’t let this be…

She prayed, but her senses could not, would not, refute the
evidence of her senses. Although part of her was crying and
sobbing as she watched, her blue eyes refused to tear
themselves from the scene…

She wouldn’t do this to me! She wouldn’t!

Still, she had watched as her friend jerked away from *him*,
only to be seized by her shoulders, and though she pulled
both his hands away, but her eyes were still locked onto his,
still staring at him unblinkingly.

How could you do this to me…!?

Another spate of talking, then she saw… their faces finally
drew close together, as he leaned forward as if to take her into
his own world, then her tears mercifully blurred her vision
altogether.

NO! It’s NOT fair! She already has one who is hers, why must
she DO this to me!? Isn’t one enough for her!? How could
she!? It’s not fair, not fair!

Dimly she made out his half naked form withdraw slightly, as
the lady all but swooned over, in what looked like an extremity
of pleasure.

He must be such a good kisser, and they look so good
together… I wish I were in her place! It SHOULD be me! It’s not
right that she should have so many and I have nothing, no one
for myself, not a single soul at all!

Unable to control the pressure of pent up emotions, building
up within herself for god knows how long already, she burst
out at last. 

“KIYONE!”

She saw the long-haired lady just manage to turn around and
look up, just manage to muster up the barest dregs of
cognisance to see who she was and where she was standing
up on the stairs.

“Mi… Mihoshi?” Kiyone stuttered, her quivering voice
reaching to where the blonde had been watching them from
about five metres away.

“Mihoshi!” Seion exclaimed as he caught sight of Mihoshi over
Kiyone’s shoulder, his voice full of uncertainty and anxiety. 

So you two are guilty, huh!? Caught in the act, huh!? Well that
won’t help you!

“I HATE YOU!” She screamed at them from her place halfway
down the stairs, at the very top of her voice.

Their eyes widened with shock.

Acting innocent, huh!?

“BOTH OF YOU!” Her tears were filling her vision, her sorrow
choking her throat, and she was rapidly losing strength and
vehemence in her voice as the sobs welled up. She had
thought she would be able to at least scream something more,
but apparently that was not to be so.

Seion and Kiyone stared, like two people witnessing the
impossible, as Mihoshi, still crying miserably, vanished up the
stairs.The corridors of Tenchi’s house were a blur, and she
dimly remembered bumping into some walls, but she didn’t
really notice. All she did was just keep on trying to run and run
in a new direction, until she finally got moving again. Dimly she
remembered a door sliding open and hearing Tenchi’s voice
say half of her name before she had rushed by him, and by
some remarkable fortune found herself back in her room,
where she tripped over something, then knocked over
something else. It must have hurt badly, or she wouldn’t have
heard that loud grunt of pain, but she staggered on anyway,
and struck the bedpost, before bouncing off it to land amidst
the pillows and sheets of her bed, hopefully a place where she
could at last go drown in her weeping and sorrow, alone and
uncared for.

====================================

‘I’m your brother…’

“That Mihoshi?” She asked, semi-dazed. Her head was still
spinning, the hammerblows within had intensified to what
should have been excruciating levels, but she felt light and
bodiless, like her thoughts had somehow left her spirit
hanging in the air, almost in limbo, unfettered by her physical
hurts. “Sure didn’t sound like Mihoshi to me.” At least not the
words.

Seion stared at her, his face an expression of shock and
surprise, which, before her almost unseeing eyes, gradually
changed into disgusted revelation. “OH NO!”

“What oh no?” Kiyone tried to get a word between.

‘I’m your brother…’

Kiyone was not even sure what her mind was thinking, but
apart from feeling like she had been struck by a thunderbolt
out of the blue, now she also just might have been
experiencing what might be the much more intense equivalent
of the pain and surprise at being bitten by a beloved and
normally docile pet hamster. “You’re not my brother, are you?”

“DAMNIT!” Seion cursed aloud, and quickly tried to stand up,
but Kiyone casually, almost subconsciously, clung on to him. 

‘I’m your brother…’

“You don’t really expect me to believe that, do you?” Her voice
was a monotone, even, like the voice of one who has gone
over the Niagara Falls of insanity and is calmly treading water
in the peaceful pool below. “Do you?”

“Hang on, gimme a second, okay!?” He cursed again, trying to
shake her hand off, then just as suddenly Kiyone let go of her
own accord. “Mihoshi!” Seion sprinted over to the steps, then
leaning against the wall for a moment to catch his breath and
recover from the agony streaking up from his injured
midsection, proceeded to bound his way up the stairs.

Kiyone blinked as she watched him vanish from sight, then
leaned back against the wall.

‘I’m your brother…’

Oh…

Her head hurt a lot worse than before, and now, with her eyes
closed, she could feel the pain returning and rearing up with a
vengeance as she tried to gather the scattered remnants of her
wits about her and make sense of the impossible that she had
just heard from the lips of a stranger.

So… he’s my brother?

The vision of his face… his dark green hair and emerald eyes,
uncannily akin to hers…

He… can’t be.

The image of her mother rose up from within, and she could
almost see her in him, just like she could almost see her
mother in her own reflection.

‘I’m your brother…’

You never said you had another child. You never said I had a
brother.

So, he must be lying.

Yet his eyes… his face… they make me think of you…

Emitting a bone-weary sigh, Kiyone leaned forward, seeming
almost to collapse in slow motion and lie against the cold floor
of the house. Her head tipped forward over before sinking
back into her forearms, her dark green hair streaming out over
her head to be spread out all about her, covering her head
completely as her body quivered to waves of fear and
confusion.

Kova-chan, still mad at me? Are you feeling all right, do you
still hurt?

Seion, who are you, what do you want with me? Can you truly
be my brother?

Mihoshi, why? Don’t you care for me anymore? What
happened, to hurt you so bad?

She gave a sob full of doubt and apprehension…

Oh how will this story end? Can me and Kova-chan ever…?

Feeling dreadfully alone, vulnerable, helpless and confused
with her future, the future that she had once looked forward to
so hopefully (well as hopefully as possible with only Mihoshi in
her way), obscured behind growing clouds that seemed to
herald even more oncoming trials, Kiyone could almost feel the
grains of hope and happiness start to slip through her fingers
like sand through a sieve…

====================================

“Washu?” The little princess called, as she emerged into yet
another section of the lab. Sasami tried to remember how
nothing ever happened to Mihoshi on her trips on finding
Washu in the lab, short of the direct causality issues that
involved triggering some device, but even now and then she
still felt her flesh creep as the darkness hemmed in around,
filled with flashes from mechanical contraptions that seemed
to move with a life of their own. Small wonder it was that she
felt relief as she entered this section, well lit to almost normal
light levels, and unlike most other sections which were
cluttered and cramped with devices and machinery, this one
was spacious and roomy. “Washu?”

Before her was a massive, gargantuan structure, its faintly
grey left and right frames stretching from either side of this
huge room, easily over a hundred metres from end to end.
Lines of light rays were running from either frame, cutting and
forming different angles so it seemed to outline a faintly
familiar shape. And, in front of and dwarfed by the structure,
was just visible the tiny shape of Washu’s high backed,
cushioned revolving chair, and to one side of the chair long
lengths of scarlet hair showed, hanging over its edge.

“Washu? That you?” Sasami hurried over to the chair, only to
see the occupant curled up comfortably in a foetal position,
almost like a child, in the cushioned seat, snatching a set of
forty winks that seemed, from the serene, content, peaceful
expression on her face, very much appreciated indeed. The
spectral laptop was hovering before her chair, its screen full of
coded scientific gibberish, as usual, while hovering beside it
was a rack of test tubes, empty but for a single, half filled tube
of what looked like blood.

Sasami hesitated for a while, for Washu’s kawaiiness could
well be at times comparable to that of Sasami’s own, and the
little princess, an astute and keen observer, noted that here
and there there were odd rose blemishes about Washu’s skin
that looked similar to that of those of healing welts some hours
after the scientist had attended to them after their stint on the
Comet, but her concern for Kova and Kiyone, as well as her
curiosity as to what actually happened last night, eventually
won out.

“Washu?” She reached over, gently shaking Washu’s
shoulder, almost gingerly. One hardly ever had any chance to
see Washu asleep, much less wake her. “Washu?”

It was a while before the scientist regained consciousness,
looking more than a little testy.

“Huh… what now!?” Washu waved a hand irritably about to
the world in general. “Leave me alone!” She cuddled up a little
more into her cushion, revealing the peeking round open eye
of her classically cute crab logo emblazoned onto it.

Sasami shook her gently. “Oh please… Washu?”

Washu opened one eye, still irked. “Whoever you are, just…”
Her one open eye blinked as she realised the eyes looking
over her face were the concerned, worried pink eyes of the
cutest princess in existence. “Oh.”

“Sorry to wake you up Washu…” Sasami started.

She opened her other eye, and stretched. “It’s you, Sasami…
well okay then.” Washu yawned. “But make it fast, okay? I’ve
got work to do.”

“Well… I was wondering if you could tell me what happened…
especially to Kova and Kiyone…” Sasami murmured. “They
looked pretty upset a while back.” There was a brief hesitation,
as she added the last remark. “And about Seion.”

Washu sighed. It felt like she had been neglecting her own
interests too much since she embarked on this return trip, from
designing devices to try to handle the threat of tracing the
Tachyon Ray, even if some of them had been rather satisfying
both to invent and to use, to her current interests in refitting
and reconstructing the Yagami, a process that was
technologically elementary and simple, albeit somewhat
tedious simply because some sections were badly fragmented.
As for Seion’s blood sample, she wasn’t quite sure if that was
for personal interest, curiosity, or for pragmatic reasons, but
most likely for all.

“All right, then. I’ll try to keep it simple…”

====================================

Sitting up groggily, she looked around with some sort of weary
yet wary trepidation, as if watching out for new threats and
attempting to assess the place as quickly as possible, then
relaxed, though not completely, as she recognised the familiar
surroundings. 

Looks like I pulled through again.

Shifting herself, she reached over her shoulder to drape the
cloak over her body, as her lithe, slim legs slid lightly over the
edge of the spartan bed, to step a little unsteadily on the floor.
Her leather boots and clothing still clung to her, and she could
still feel her body protest as the burnt fibres clung to the places
where her skin had been scorched off to reveal the sensitive
flesh.

I guess there are things that not even Ken-oh-ki can help me
with.

If she were someone else, she might have sighed at this point,
but all she did was tighten her lips into a thin straight line.

Well… those days are over.

She smiled a cold smile to herself, as if reminding herself.

If they had ever been, in the first place.

Not withstanding the ache all about her, she flexed her fingers,
and violet light shone against the insides of the ship as she
tested her weapon out, for though she was, as always, one
hundred percent confident in her combat prowess, somehow
the light of her companion from so many near death situations
always made her feel that little bit better and secure.

It had been a long time since she met this kind of challenge,
apart from Ryoko. But where Ryoko was more of a challenge
in tracking, cornering, baiting, with only fighting as a last
resort, this latest personality, this Kova Kashiro, readily
provided the thrill of combat skill, endurance, cunning and
intelligence. While these traits were not in themselves a rare
combination within those who had the dubious honour of
crossing her path, that they were all present in sufficient
quantities to provide sufficient challenge for her was rare
indeed. It was almost a pity, Nagi thought, that he might not
have survived the night’s encounter, for even the shot he had
taken in his shoulder from Kiyone looked grievous, not to
mention the deflected attack she had sent tearing into his
back. 

But Kiyone… was that really Kiyone? It seemed… so strange.

Thinking a little, she tried to make sense of what had happened
after she had lost consciousness. If she was reading her own
body’s condition and the time elapsed correctly, it would seem
that something had inflicted wide area damage across her
body after she had been knocked out from his base trick, and
from the more severe burns on her back, likely from another
explosion. Glancing across from her bunk to the medical
screen, she saw the results of the tissue regenerator did
indeed correspond to the readings. The device was one of the
most advanced healing devices available in the universe, and
she knew few doctors and scientists, of course excluding the
seemingly ever redoubtable Washu, could equal its efficiency,
but apparently the device rated a rather high reading, so the
damage done after she had been knocked out must have been
quite a bit.

Nagi shook her head to herself, almost amused.

Maybe I should have died. But for meeting Ryoko last year on
Venus, it has been such a very tiresomely long time since I’ve
had this kind of opportunity…

As always, she banished the thought before it could have any
bearing on her disposition. Nagi wasn’t one to let emotions
have any say, much less get in the way. It might have been
different, once, but she generally did not think enough about it
to even be sure.

Walking a little delicately to one side, near the full body length
mirror that was the door to her wardrobe, if such it could be
called, Nagi started to strip down. 

Some things simply had to be done by oneself, she mused, as
she attended to her less serious hurts. At least life is a lot
simpler now.

====================================

“What is it, Tenchi?” Ryoko asked, as Tenchi slid the door
shut, his face an expression of puzzled bewilderment.

“You look apprehensive, lord Tenchi,” Aeka added, looking
concerned.

Tenchi nodded in confirmation of Aeka’s words. “That looked
like Mihoshi… seemed like Mihoshi… but I’ve never seen or
heard her this way before.” Tenchi sighed, worried.

The space pirate’s eyes widened in surprise. “You mean… that
was her shouting?” She blinked, standing up. “Mihoshi?”

The boy nodded solemnly in reply to her words.

Aeka was no less worried, but she was either too tired to be
that astonished, or perhaps there was an overriding calm
within her that seemed to make her seem more composed.
Either way, the news didn’t seem to affect her expression that
much. “What’s wrong with her, Tenchi?”

Tenchi sighed, waving his hands about helplessly in the air. “I
don’t know… how could I?” He asked bitterly. The encounters
from last night weren’t helping his disposition anyway, and he
didn’t feel particularly inclined to talk, much less examine the
reasons for Mihoshi’s distress. The only thing he could feel
most keenly was how tired he was, and if Ryoko and Aeka
were feeling fine.

The elder princess, seated upright in his bed, looked curiously
up at him, her gaze level and piercing at him. “I’m all right now,
Tenchi.” She whispered, just audibly. “But what’s going on?”

“I… I’m not really sure.” He mumbled, himself confused. “I
think it has something to do with Kiyone, Kova and Seion, but I
really don’t know…”

Ryoko sighed, leaning back. “So… it’s up to me again, I
suppose?”

Then, unexpectedly,  she saw Aeka turn to her, a winsome,
petite smile of gratefulness on her face. “Thank you, Ryoko.” 

Ryoko and Tenchi blinked together.

Huh? Why is she saying that?

Aeka’s smile broadened. “Really, Ryoko, I would appreciate it
very much indeed if you would go check on the rest of them.”

Ryoko arched an eyebrow queerly, suspicion clouding her
brows.

Aeka thought for a moment, wondering if she should take the
chance, then decided she would come clean. “I was also
thinking how nice it would be to be able to talk to lord Tenchi a
while, in private.”

OH! Tenchi thought. So that’s what she had in mind…

Ryoko gave Aeka a perturbed look, only to be met by the
bedridden princess’ guileless smile and trusting gaze.

What’s going on? What is she trying to do?

No matter, whatever it is, I am certainly NOT going to let Aeka
have more chances on Tenchi…

Or would I?

Her gaze met her rival’s one once again, violet amethyst eyes
watching her unwaveringly.

But why did she say it plain? Does she really trust me? What
makes her think after she announced her intention plainly I
would go on to let her have her way?

The space pirate snatched a quick sidewards glance at Tenchi,
to see him not only surprised at Aeka, but she could see he
was still pretty upset about the commotion Mihoshi had kicked
up, as well as the tumultuous events of the previous night.

Sighing as she realised, with both Tenchi and Aeka… hey,
when did Aeka ever count anyway!?… wishing her to do this,
she could not refuse them this favour, and she bowed her
head, preparing to teleport away…

Strange, it almost seems as if I were more perceptive, more
acute than before. Yet why does it seem that, perhaps, all of
this heightened sensitivity and care for others makes it that
much more difficult to get things the way I want them?

As she disappeared, she just made out Aeka’s voice. “My
gratitude and Tenchi’s love go with you.” Indeed, Tenchi might
have tried to snatch a word, but the princess’ words effectively
reduced him, once again, to a state of baffled perplexity…

Ryoko found herself smiling to herself, happily, and
somewhere inside her, it troubled her, made her feel uneasy
and think it inane that she could find herself glad about, of all
people, her rival’s compliment. It was also with some surprise
she realised the triumphant sarcasm she had so often heard in
Aeka’s voice from the past had hardly ever been, and in most
cases was the product of her own imagination…

Perhaps it is true that a heartfelt compliment, as acknowledged
by an opponent, is the truest compliment that can ever be
received.

====================================

Bursting through the door, notwithstanding the fact that it was
already open, Seion looked hastily around the unlit room, and
sure enough, his eyes came to rest as they focused on the
figure sprawled diagonally across the bed in a depression.

“Mihoshi?” Seion rushed over, making out as he did so the
faintly quivering figure which, along the spasmodic bobbing of
the curls of golden hair, generally gave the impression of
having gone through a much more intense and strong bout of
trembling that was subsiding even as the clammy touch of
despairing sorrow seeped through the mental barriers of hurt
and pain, and he felt something in him break down at seeing
the seemingly ever cheerful blonde so upset.

Seion was no greenhorn, and considered himself, correctly,
quite a romantic, as well as a rather able person with women,
at least in the short term, but in this moment, as he watched
Mihoshi’s form quiver, face down upon the bed, with her face
buried in her pillows and her arms invisible under the blanket
under the pillow except for the occasional tremor that briefly
outlined them, he felt himself at a loss, completely uncertain
how to comfort this recent acquaintance of his.

There was, just barely audible, another muffled, soft and
high-pitched sob, and Seion winced as he could felt her pain,
from that one heartbreaking sound, arc through him, the pain
of one who has waited long and suffered silently, keeping up a
good cheer and a positive outlook when things did not quite
go one’s way, only to find at the end of the road there was
nothing, not even the barest hint that the ghost of a dream so
long neglected and far away could come true.

What could have happened to her?

Another pang of remorse shook him.

Operative 231 was basically a simple person. Except for the
caution and care he had invested in when executing
operations, life had been simple for him. Before this he had
lived a more or less carefree life during the brief intervals
between assignments, was jocund, and found pleasure in the
simple things in life like a good laugh with his SpecOp
comrades, a generous helping of spirits, preferably Amanese
rum, and kept his dealings with women simple, open and
mutually pleasurable. He found that honour, good cheer and
sincere goodwill, lubricated now and then with alcohol,
generally sufficed to keep his daily interactions friendly and
tension free. Yet everything had changed now. Mitsuki had
proven a pretty bad choice for a colleague, he had been made
to tiptoe around Kiyone, who was probably still skeptical and
deliberating about his identity, he had more or less turned his
back on the only life he had ever known, and now there was
Mihoshi here…

If I’m going to sort things out, one at a time would be a good
way, now would be a good start, and as soon as possible
would be a good time to start.

He looked at the pathetic, tremulous figure on the bed once
more, and he felt his heart wrench with sorrow again to see her
so hurt.

It doesn’t matter … she’s upset, and it was my fault, I *have* to
do something.

And he did do something, essentially what a simple man does
when faced with an unfamiliar situation. 

He let his instincts take over…

Lightly moving over behind Mihoshi, he gently took hold of
her…

“Seion?” he heard a quivering, soft voice ask as she tilted her
head slightly, to reveal blue eyes, wet and blurred, opening to
stare at him out of the corner of her eye, somewhat unfocused,
before he carefully but deftly turned her over to look full at him.

Then, for a reply, he gently cupped her face with both his
hands, and let his thumbs brush the tears away.

“I’m dreaming, aren’t I?” Mihoshi murmured, seeming to be
staring into space, as someone’s hands gently tousled
through her hair, then after lightly touching upon her neck
came to rest upon her shoulders.

The blonde looked up, as the man paused, his curl of dark
green hair coming down over the front of the left of his face,
and she could just make out his shining green eyes, the same
ones she had last seen at such close range, belonging to the
same person who had just stopped his ministrations so she
could take a good look at him.

“No…no!” Mihoshi suddenly exclaimed, and shut her eyes
tight. “No.. you’re not him… he’s downstairs… with Kiyone…”
Her voice trailed away in agony, and Seion winced as he felt
her body tremble with pain at her own words.

Something soft and smooth as a pair of rose petals brushed
gently on one closed eyelid, then another, and she felt her
anxiety drain away. As the touch left her other eye, she opened
it slowly again, half expecting to see nothing, but instead she
saw his lips slowly rising from above her face, and smooth into
a genial smile, somehow delighted yet also concerned.

“It’s not … I don’t deserve this… I’m just… no one…” She
mumbled, her lips moving in a slow yet hurried fashion as it
stumbled over the stream of words and emotions that flowed
too quickly from her brain for her to be able to speak
coherently. “… with her… don’t bother… just a dream… not
here…” Her shivering began to increase, and she began to
speak faster, her eyes glazed over as her body shook.
“Alone… I’m just imagining… no…” The tears were beginning
to blur her eyes, mercifully, at least to her.

Seion bit his lip, his feelings in tumult as he watched Mihoshi
writhe in her misery.

What can I do to tell you I’m here? That I am here to care for
you, to comfort you?

Closing his eyes, he gently leaned forward and lowered
himself onto her. Mihoshi, in the middle of her sorrow, blinked
as she saw his face fill her vision, and then her frenetically
denying voice was cut off as something warm and soft and
tender closed over her mouth, and her eyes widened as he
kissed her forcefully, as if to say ‘I’m here now. Don’t hurt
yourself no more, and don’t be sad.’

I… I’m dreaming…

An artful flick of his tongue within her sent a wave of pleasure
down her, and almost instinctively, she responded eagerly,
and her hands reached out for him, closing around his bare
body, while his presence awakened in her a part of herself she
had known but once, a part untouched for so long now, only
manifested in her daily life by the way she gave the best of
herself she could, even as she did now…

As he drew her close, or perhaps she drew him close, a brief,
worrying thought flashed through Seion’s mind.

I forgot to close the door!

There was an equivalent of a mental shrug.

Big deal.

Then the thought was promptly tossed out the window, in
favour of other, more pressing preoccupations, and one hand
slid under Mihoshi’s knees, to lift her body up and lay her full
onto the bed…

====================================

Kova stirred, as he felt someone touch him. His eyes nearly
sprang open, and his lips was about to form to first syllable of
her name, when his mind took over again…

STOP THIS YOU DIMWIT! 

A gentle sigh escaped his lips.

She’s gone and left you. And now you’re dead, or at least,
might as well be.

He felt the touch again, this time settling down on his arm.

No… it’s not Kiyone-chan. Her fingers are longer, her touch
gentler and less clumsy and heavy.

He would have berated himself for still thinking of Kiyone in
that fashion, and maybe tried to think who it was touching him,
but then he realised, in his slough of despair, that neither could
possibly make a difference and decided he simply couldn’t be
bothered.

“Kova?”

In direct defiance to one of the odd laws that seemed to govern
most cartoons, he stopped himself from opening one eye and
studiously kept both shut.

“Kova!” The voice was louder now, and sounded high pitched
and irked, very much the way one would expect a very young
girl would sound when tugging a parent’s sleeve and pointing
to a certain toy. “Wake up!”

Quite unexpectedly, a finger poked lightly into his right side,
and he winced slightly as his muscles at his side contracted -
he was, despite all appearances, a ticklish man. The volume of
the voice became louder, as another hand seized his right arm
and started shaking him vigorously. “All right, I know you’re
awake!”

Seeing as he had little choice, Kova sighed softly and opened
his eyes, although he already knew full well who was facing
him. “What is it, Sasami?” He asked, his breath like a sigh of a
wraith.

The little princess edged over to his side, craning her neck
slightly so she could gaze into his face. The corpse-like pallor
had not left, nor had the look of bleak despair. If Sasami didn’t
know better, she would have vouchsafed she was looking at a
dying man. Perhaps not so much a dying man, as one who no
longer possessed the will to live.

“Kova, why are you mad at Kiyone?”

“Mad?” He asked, his voice uncertain. “Maybe. Maybe not.”
His head lolled slightly to face Sasami, although whether
intentional or not it was hard for her to tell. “Does it even
matter?”

“Yes it does!” Sasami pouted, earning a curious stare from
Kova.

“To each, his or her own,” the spy answered wryly. Even in his
mental and physical state of weakness he still had not lost his
tongue in cheek mannerism.

“Kova!!!” Sasami shrieked. “If you don’t tell me I’m going to get
very mad!”

“And pray tell, who are you to say that?”

Sasami blinked as she felt a cold metal point press into the
small of her back.

“You could die.” He added, almost good humouredly.

“You won’t.” Sasami said, confidently. “I know you won’t.”

“In case you forgot, or have never been told, princess,” he
whispered softly. “I used to be a space pirate. I killed people for
a living.”

“I don’t know that…but I know you’re my friend, you wouldn’t
do that to me.”

“Perhaps.”

Sudden streaks of pain shot out from the small of her back,
and Sasami nearly screamed except she bit her lip, and the
sudden shock nearly sent her on her knees, but her will held,
and the next moment the sensation was gone, leaving just the
vestiges of tears in her eyes.

“Perhaps not.” He watched, bemused, as Sasami leaned
forward slightly, trying to recover her breath. The pain was low,
maybe about the same as that administered by a knuckled
punch, but nonetheless it was considerable when applied to a
child’s body.

“That hurt…” the princess managed, her voice trembling, more
with shock than anything. 

“Yes… and it could hurt worse.”

Taking a deep breath, her pink eyes flashing anger, Sasami
answered. “You don’t want to do this… I *know* you.”

“Oh?” He smiled, but it was brittle and frosty, his eyes mirrors
where Sasami saw herself, weary and in pain. “Let’s hear it.”

“You think you’re going to leave or die because Kiyone
doesn’t love you anymore.” The princess spoke. “And you’re
trying to get me to hate you so when that happens I won’t feel
sad…”

“Impressive, princess.” The lips curled into a cold sneer. “How
imaginatively optimistic. You do give me too much credit.”

“There!” Sasami declared. “You’re doing it again.”

Kova, the expression on his face not changing, was about
send another surge of energy into Sasami when he spotted the
light in the distance, and a figure entered…

“Ah… my end draws near.” He lay back, in resignation and
Sasami heaved a sigh of relief as she felt the chill metal point
leave her back, and turned to look. “The executioner.”

“Kiyone!” She cried in delight, as she recognised the
silhouette of the detective ere the door closed behind her and
shut out the line of light, then, her ponytails bouncing, she ran
towards the approaching figure. “Oh Kiyone you simply must
talk to him there’s been some kind of…”

She blinked as Kiyone quite nonchalantly sidestepped her
dash, as if she were no more than an inanimate obstacle.

“Kova-chan,” she murmured, softly, as Sasami turned around
in surprise.

“Kiyone-chan.” He acknowledged, as she came to stand at the
foot of the examination table. “Seeing me off so soon?” The
words became bitter. “Isn’t he going to come and gloat?”

Kiyone didn’t speak, didn’t move. He tried to see her face, but
she was standing just within the light over his table, so that the
light only illuminated her body but left the portion above her
neck in the dark, while the proximity of light ruined his limited
night vision. There was a sigh from her. “Why do you keep
doing this, Kova-chan?” Brokenly.

“Why do you keep me alive, Kiyone-chan?” Came the curt
reply.

Kiyone bit her lip hard, just managing to keep from swearing
out loud, another tear coursing down her face. “Kova-chan,
won’t you please give me a chance?”

“I am neither deaf or blind.” He returned. “I can tell what’s
going on…” There was a soft smile from his face. “But it’s
okay… he’s better suited for you anyway. He can and will take
care of you.”

“But it’s NOT the SAME!” Kiyone burst out. 

“True.” Kova nodded slightly. “Not being outlawed, pursued,
hunted, or chasing after Synereans or a Tachyon Ray.” The
smile broadened. “That’s a nice life.” His hand made a weak
gesture. “I’d take it if I were you.”

“No.” There was a deep breath, from the darkened face he
couldn’t see. “You wouldn’t.” Her voice became firm and
determined. “I *know* you wouldn’t.”

There was a silence.

“I’m sorry, Kiyone-chan.” He murmured, his hands plucking
feebly at the sheet over him. “I’ve never been so weak, hurt so
badly before.”

Oh… Sasami thought. So that’s another reason why he hurt
me, to feel in control…

Kiyone finally walked forward to lean over him, her dark green
hair falling about him like a drape, shielding him from the
blinding light above. “It’s okay… it’s okay to be weak…” Her
hand gently cradled his face, and she forced herself to smile
despite seeing the state he was in.

“Yes.” He turned his face away, and Kiyone felt her heart chill
within her. “It’s okay to be rendered thus, but *not* okay to be
rendered thus by you.”

“Kova-chan, I…”

“It’s not okay…” his voice was rising. “It’s not okay to be
standing in front of the one you *love*, to be standing in front
of the one you *trust*, and to be suddenly be shot down by
her.” He exhaled, his breath deep almost as if he wished to
expel all the air from his lungs so he could rest.

“But Kova-chan…” Another line of tears ran down Kiyone’s
face. “It wasn’t me! It really wasn’t…”

There was a snarl from him. “I know what I saw!” He grated,
and his ferocious gaze caused Kiyone to start back. “I saw you
behind me… I saw that golden beam burst out from my
shoulder…” He gazed hard at her. “And I turned… and you
wanted me dead…” He closed his eyes from the pain, and
something glimmered from within.

“It was a cyborg! It really was!!” Kiyone cried, shaking him
slightly. “Why don’t you listen to me like you used to!?”

“The beam was gold.” He returned, softly. “The ones we met…
they only fire red ones.”

“This one was different!” She tried again, desperately. “It could
alter its beam colour…” She thought of Kova firing from
behind her and striking Seion. “Yes, that must have been it!”

“Why should I believe you?” his reply was cold, and to the
point.

“DAMNIT!” She screamed, standing up. “Because it’s the
TRUTH! Because it’s the GODDAMN F***ING truth!”

There was silence again, followed only by Kiyone trying to
catch her breath.

A voice broke the silence, a young voice, yet steely and
confident. “You’re wrong, Kiyone.”

Too emotionally drained to even be surprised, Kiyone turned
to look at the speaker, as did Kova, who regarded the person
oddly.

“Oh? Do enlighten me, young one.” He asked, curiosity
spurring him on.

Could have sworn Sasami was trying to reconcile me with
Kiyone, was she not?

The little princess composed herself by taking a deep breath.
“You’re wrong, Kiyone.” She answered. “Washu told me
everything.”

Kiyone blinked. “Then you know! It was NOT me, I was with
Washu all along!”

Sasami shook her head earnestly. “No, you’re wrong.”

Kova flinched, feeling a soul numbing chill settle upon him,
sucking his life out…

Had it really been Kiyone-chan!?

The green-haired detective stared at Sasami, her eyes wide
with disbelief. “WHAT THE HE…!”

“Please… Kiyone. Listen to me.” The princess replied evenly,
and her pink eyes met Kiyone’s flustered, dilated ones. The
detective froze in mid sentence and stopped, and Kova kept
silent, as he realised that somewhere deep inside him, he still
prayed and longed to believe that Kiyone truly was not the one
who had shot him. Sasami nodded, satisfied, the sober,
earnest expression not leaving her face for a moment. “You…”
She tilted her head at Kova. “Asked Kiyone why you should
believe her, right?”

Kova nodded, slowly, his eyes still misted with astonishment.

“And you, Kiyone… what did you say?” Sasami asked gently.

“I said…” Kiyone sighed. “Because it was the truth.”

Here Sasami smiled, and lifted up a reproving finger. “No no
no… my point exactly.” She smiled gently. “That’s wrong…”

“But it’s the TRUTH!” Kiyone shrieked at her again. “I *didn’t*
h…”

“So what if it is the truth?” Sasami smiled sweetly, and Kiyone
and Kova both blinked in confusion. “It’s the wrong answer.”

Kiyone turned to Kova, too much at a loss to speak. He
regarded her, his eyes questioning, in genuine puzzlement. If
Kiyone wasn’t herself perplexed, she might have noted there
was no longer animosity in his eye, but pleading… 

“What is it, then?” Kova asked, turning away from Kiyone.

“Because she’s Kiyone.”

There was a silence, and though Sasami was standing in the
dark, it seemed that the curtains had gone over both Kiyone
and Kova, and she was the only one left on stage. They could
hear her voice now, seeming to fill the darkness and the light,
both darkness and light, of their own making, and now her
words shone out, to be burned and etched indelibly into their
minds for all of the rest of their lives.

“You should believe her because she’s Kiyone.”

“Because she’s the one that you love.”

“Because she’s the one that will always be there for you.”

Quite calmly, slowly, and unhurriedly, Sasami put down the
metaphorical microphone, and stepped out of the limelight.
There was a brief crack of light as the door opened, and they
could see her, her shadow outlined as if with the radiant
wisdom that shone out from around her, then she was gone.

Kiyone was still staring, stunned, when she felt someone
gently clasp her fingers.

“Kova-chan?” She turned around, slowly, almost not daring to
believe what was happening.

“Can you…” He swallowed, mustering a smile as he squeezed
her hand slightly, and though his face was wet with tears
running freely down his face, with his expression turned into
that of deepest remorse and regret, her heart leaped within her
as she realised his face was steadily flushing with blood that
banished the pale countenance, and it felt good to see him
with a human expression rather than the cold void of feelings
he wore earlier. “… forgive…” His other hand reached out for
her, but his weakness, induced by his sudden overwhelming
emotions, overtook him, and he faltered as his hand fell.

“Kova-chan…” Quick as a flash, Kiyone had seized his other
hand, and was holding it to the side of her face, even as she
gently leaned over and knelt down slightly. “There’s nothing to
forgive…”

“I’ve…” His voice was thick with emotion, and he seemed to
choke slightly. “…been weak.” She felt his hand by her face
gently brush her face. “Hurt you…” He closed his eyes once
again, bitter tears of self reprove running down them once
more. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay… everything’s all right now…” Kiyone murmured.

“Help me…” He quavered slightly. “I’m weak… help me.”

Inside, part of Kiyone trembled with emotion. Kova rarely
asked anyone for help, and this time, there was no veneer of
sophistication, no careful persuasion or words of dignity. It
was a plea, a supplication, pure and simple.

“I’m here for you…” She lifted his upper body up carefully, so
as not to hurt him, and let him lean against her as she sat on
the side of the examination table. “I am…” she stroked his hair
softly, even as his hand rested on her lap. But even then, she
was not a saint. It was not easy to forget after he had hurt her
so, and there was something she simply had to ask. “Do you
believe me now, Kova-chan?”

“Yes,” he uttered softly. “But it doesn’t matter, and I was a fool
to believe it did.”

“Oh?” She asked, but she already knew in her heart what he
was going to say.

“As long as we love each other, nothing else matters.”

“Yes…” Kiyone smiled as she stroked his hair, and felt his arm
around her caress her neck. “And nothing is going to stand in
our way.”

====================================

She waited until the door closed behind her and…

“YAY!” Sasami laughed, doing a little dance of her own in
pleasure.

A figure, sitting anxiously by the door, looked up in surprise as
Sasami emerged. “Huh?”

Thinking of what she had just pulled off, Sasami emitted
another series of delighted giggles, congratulating herself
immensely.

“What’s going on here!?” The person beside her stood up,
sounding a little irate.

Sasami turned to look at her, too satisfied with herself to even
be surprised. “Oh Ryoko! I’m so happy I did it!” She laughed,
hugging the space pirate.

“What the…?” Ryoko looked down at the little princess. 

I saw a sullen Kiyone go in… and a happy Sasami come out…

“Erm… could you please tell me what is going on?” She
asked, a little discomfited.

Smiling broadly, her kawaii face full of delight, Sasami replied.
“I’m very, very, very happy! I finally got through to them!”

“Got through to who?” Ryoko asked.

Well if Sasami is happy then things can’t be that bad… though
Kiyone certainly looked pretty bad when I got her up.

“Well… Kova was pretty mean…” Sasami said thoughtfully, if a
little haughtily, although it wasn’t her fault, she did indeed
deserve one or two pats on the back and rounds of applause
for her rather ingenious method. “And Kiyone wasn’t listening
either.”

“Oh?” Ryoko blinked. She had tried talking to Kiyone, trying to
ask what was wrong. The detective had used her merely as an
animate prop to pull herself up, ignored her concerned
questioning, and coldly ordered her not to follow her as she
entered the lab. “How did you get them to listen?”

“Well… I like to think I can understand them pretty
well…”Sasami mused. “It all comes to figuring out what they’re
upset with.”

“Really?” and Ryoko started thinking…

Hey… I might be able to work things out with Tenchi this way!

I might even be able to edge out Aeka by being more sensitive
as her! Yes, that’s it!

“How’d you do it?”

“Kova was just so mad and upset, he forgot how much Kiyone
meant to him.” Sasami giggled. “As for Kiyone, by answering
him straightforwardly, she was making him think of all the
reasons to feel worse, rather than think how much she means
to him, and that made them both feel even worse.” She gave
another laugh. “It’s all very simple really.”

“Uh.. could you repeat that again?” The space pirate looked at
her in blank astonishment. “How did you do all that?”

Sheesh, this is making me feel stupider than even Washu’s
scientific explanations.

“You just have to pick them up when they are listening.” She
winked conspiratorially. “And you also have to see what
they’re really hoping for, then maybe… you *don’t* give it to
them.” Ryoko’s smile remained where it was as the rest of her
face fell behind it. “Then if you need to you remind them what
matters, and the rest should work out just fine.” 

After thinking about it a while, and then, her face still blank,
Ryoko replied with an “Oh.” 

Great… just *what* is she talking about?

“This is great!” Sasami jumped up again, and for want of
something to do, hugged herself for a moment in
congratulation. “I think I’m going to make breakfast, you’re all
going to be so hungry!” So concluding, she skipped her way
into the kitchen, humming to herself.

Ryoko stared after her with an rather common mix of
consternation and astonishment. “Well…” she sighed to
herself. “Guess this just ain’t my piece of cake.”

====================================

Some while ago…

She had been in heaven for what seemed at once eternity yet a
fleeting moment, then the kiss ended, and as she regained her
senses she became aware of his presence, ever so close to
her, the press of his muscular chest on her form, of his hands
gently running over her, and though his touch was
pleasurable, they brought back memories, painful ones from
long long ago, of more eagerly groping, less gentle and skilled
hands…

‘But I was so sure he loved me!’ She could hear her own
words, spoken to Kiyone, once, years ago, echoing dimly in
her mind.

“Uh…” She started struggling, slightly at first, but surely.

With one hand just having gripped the base of her tank top,
Seion blinked. “Mihoshi?”

But I had been pulling all the right moves!

“Let go of me.” She said softly, though part of her screamed at
herself for being insane. “Let go, I said!” She cried, not very
loudly, but a cry nevertheless.

Sensing the desire had ebbed from her, and that she was
struggling with the earnest intention not to go along, Seion
quickly pushed back from on top her. 

Still slightly groggy and disoriented, Mihoshi got up, propping
herself up on her elbows, her eyes, still slightly sore, looking
around the room, and settling on the figure straddling her
thighs, sitting back on both his knees in the traditional
kneeling style.

“Are you… really…” Mihoshi blushed slightly, even as her eyes
managed to focus. “…him?” 

He smiled slightly. “I’m Seion, if that’s what you mean.”

Her eyes widened slightly as she saw his muscles ripple
across his chest as he spoke. “Oh.” She looked at where he
was. “Er… how did you get here? What happened?” There
was a strange feeling in her throat, like honey had just dribbled
down it, and she was feeling light headed, and no longer
unhappy anymore, at least not noticeably.

“Erm… well…” Seion scratched his head uncomfortably. “I
had came up here to comfort you… and…” 

…tried to take advantage of you?

No! I wouldn’t do such a thing! I just…

“…tried to make you happy.” He smiled, a little uncertainly.
Part of him wondered at that. It was not like he had no
encounters with women, and generally he wouldn’t have
minded, but he realised he wanted Mihoshi to think very, very
highly of him, indeed.

And this is a shitty place to start, he pointed out to himself as
he thought of where he was. 

“Oh.” Mihoshi put a finger to her lip, which felt funny. She did
vaguely remember crying, and feeling sad, but it had passed
now, although not completely, and a thought dawned on her.
“Was it a kiss?” She blushed slightly.

“Uh… yeah.”

“Oooh.” Her blush deepened. “I haven’t been kissed very
much, you know?” She smiled sheepishly.

“Well… it was a pleasure.” Seion beamed back. He was feeling
his blood start to run hot again, given his position over looking
Mihoshi, who was still on the bed, her tank top a little unkempt.

“It was very n…” She paused sudddenly. “Oooh… how
embarassing!” She burst out into nervous girlish laughter.

He leaned forward, attracted by her display of kawaii
innocence. “You’re very…”

“Erm…” She shifted suddenly, as she realised where he was.
“Could you get off me please?”

“Huh?” He blinked again.

DAMN I could have sworn she liked me!

“Well.. you know get off… stop sitting on my legs like this, you
know…”

“Oh.” He exclaimed disappointed, as he moved off from on top
of her.

“Thanks…” Mihoshi replied, but while it was flattering to him it
was also discomfiting the way her eyes were nailed onto him,
watching him almost warily, as her memories seeped back
ever so slowly.

“Er… what’s wrong?” He asked. “Do you… not like me?” He
tried lamely.

Man, something must have gone and screwed up my mind!
The most important of them all, then my mind goes on strike
and I ain’t my usual dashing self!

“No… it’s not that.” Mihoshi’s eyes were wide now, and her
mouth had subsided from her original smile into a small thin
line, like those at once timid and fearful. “I don’t know you.” 

“What, me?” He blinked again. “I’m Seion, see?”

“Yah. But I don’t know anything about you…” Even as Seion
watched, she brought her knees up in front of her, as if trying
to make herself as small as possible, and it was with a sinking
feeling he realised she was shrinking away from him.

Mihoshi shut her eyes, and she could see Seion again, leaning
against the corner of the wall as Kiyone approached him
eagerly, and their faces came close together.

“Go away.” She said softly, and to Seion’s alarm, when she
opened her eyes, he could see the shine of tears once again.
“You are wasting time here…” She drew her legs closer to
herself. “I’m not worth your time.”

“I…”

“I know you like Kiyone… don’t pretend to want me.” She
closed her eyes, the dull throbbing ache returning to her heart.
“I’m not smart like her.” She sniffled slightly. “I always do
something wrong.” 

“You’re not… you’re…”

“No. I always get people mad.” Seion could see the sadness
build up in her eyes, and as she closed them, hugging herself
even tighter, he could see glistening trails across her
beautifully tanned chocolate brown skin. “And I’m not
beautiful…”

The image of Tenchi, standing before her, defending her from
Ryoko with only a hoe… the image of Kova, pulling her away
from the gunshots and hurling the cup to distract the
gunman… Tenchi on board the Comet, with Tenchi-ken sailing
through the air to meet Terminus’ scarlet ball of energy… But
all the nice guys, they all went to someone else. They always
did. 

Just like Seion.

“Course you are…” he tried.

“I can’t even get anyone to like me…”

“No!” Seion exclaimed, a little too loud.

Mihoshi’s sky blue eyes turned to meet his, but they were no
longer the same trusting, open, guileless blue eyes that he had
first seen in the apartment. “What do you mean?”

“I… like you.” He said, licking his lips nervously. “I think you’re
cute.”

Great… Mr Makibi, great time for your suave side to go AWOL
(Absent Without Official Leave).

“I don’t know you.” Her brows narrowed together. “And you
like Kiyone more anyway.”

“I do… but…” Seion blinked as his own words sunk in. “Ack
no! That was not what I…”

“You think I’m just another one of them, do you!?” Mihoshi
accused him. “You’re just trying to use me because Kiyone
already has got someone else! Do you think I’m stupid!?” She
blinked a moment, surprised at her words, then continued
anyway. “And so what if I am!? I’ve been hurt before, and I’m
not going to let people like you hurt me again!”

He started, seeing the anger and pain seething inside Mihoshi,
the bottled up resentment that had so often been displaced by
her good nature, finally start to show after such a long time,
such a long time of seeing everyone happy, and herself pining,
always pining and waiting and hoping… in vain.

“Please… I…”

“Go away!” Mihoshi cried, tears running freely down her
cheeks. “You’re just trying to make use of me…” Her heart
constricted as she thought how Kiyone had betrayed her by
tempting Seion. “Even Kiyone… she betrayed me!”

“She didn’t! She was…”

“I said go away!” Mihoshi grabbed a pillow and hurled it at
Seion, who winced painfully as it struck near his wound in his
stomach, but Mihoshi didn’t notice. “I’m not worth your time or
your love! I’m just another stupid, brainless blonde bimbo that
you want to try on for fun!” She paused suddenly, in mid swing
with a pillow. “And… I don’t even have a best friend
anymore…” Here her voice was soft, silent, broken.

“Mihoshi, that’s not…”

There was a slight movement in the air, before Seion turned,
full of wary alertness, to look upon Ryoko who materialised out
of thin air and blinked as she saw Mihoshi lying on the bed, her
tank top looking way too stretched for normal cases, while
Seion sat beside her, half naked, of course, as he did not have
a shirt.

“What are you doing here?” Seion and Ryoko asked each
other, almost simultaneously.

Mihoshi gave a heartrending wail, and turned away to bury her
head into the pillows. It had been bad enough seeing him with
Kiyone, and she certainly was not going to look or listen to
Ryoko making out with Seion.

“All right, what did you do to her!?” Ryoko snarled at Seion in
irritated anger, but he ignored her and bent over towards
Mihoshi, reaching out a comforting hand for her shoulder…

“Mihoshi…” he murmured. “Life ain’t such a bitch…” She
couldn’t hear his words, having pressed the pillows to the
sides of her head, but she did stiffen as she felt him lay a hand
on her shoulder to pat her.

“Go away!” Mihoshi suddenly lashed out, her hand swinging in
a wild arc from behind her.

Ryoko, who had been readying herself to drag Seion away if
he tried to force himself on Mihoshi, blinked as she watched
the SpecOp stay exactly where he was, and by some quirk of
fate, Mihoshi’s hand struck him across the face. His handsome
face tightened and the lips curled up in resolve even as his
green eyes quivered with emotion, for though he had been
subject to some of the most gruelling conditions during his
training both as a SpecOp and a Torabushi warrior, Seion had
never in his life willingly allowed someone to hit his face when
he could avoid it, nor let someone get away with it just like that.
It hurt him no less that one such as Mihoshi, who, from all
records and sources, was a person with almost negligible
reserves of enmity, could muster enough of it to strike him
thus.

Although Ryoko sensed something was odd, Mihoshi did not.
Her hand flailed out a few more times, and given Seion’s frame
and built, it was of little consequence where they struck at first,
but then Mihoshi balled her fist, yet still Seion stayed there
unflinchingly, his expression almost as one who had been
turned to stone, taking a few more blows, before Mihoshi
subsided. It was hard to tell what was going on in Seion’s mind
as she raised her face from the pillows once more, but if the
action certainly did not register any strong emotion on Seion’s
face.

“Go away…” Mihoshi mumbled. “…please.” 

The only reply was the feeling of his hand, which had been
frozen there as she had struck out, reanimating, gently
stroking and patting her shoulder, and the silence in the room
was almost overwhelming, for Mihoshi’s sobbing had
subsided too, as if she too were holding her breath. 

It was with mounting trepidation that Ryoko realised she felt
like she should leave, like she had intruded into a temple that
was sanctified and should go, which gave the place an odd
feeling of gravity, even though it included Mihoshi, the person
one would least associate with gravity.

I’m growing soft, Ryoko thought to herself, as she thought of
the places she had happily barged into from what seemed like
eons ago.

No, she realised. It’s just that… I’ve learnt how to love.

“I…” Mihoshi started, breaking the silence. “…hope I didn’t
hurt you.”

“You didn’t,” he answered, his heart within him smiling
gratefully, as his large hand, seeming almost capable of
crushing Mihoshi’s shoulder, gently drew itself up from where
it had been, and there was a twitch from the detective, making
it seem almost as if the blonde would turn around to stop him
from going, but she didn’t move. Instead she relaxed, as
though she would fall limply down on the bed, like she was a
person whose soul had just left, drawn out by his last lingering
touch, and for a moment Ryoko thought she could leave at
last, but something told her not to go, something that told her
just in case she would want to learn from these two. Oddly,
though her normal senses would have been to stay in case
Seion tried to hurt Mihoshi, she felt no such anxiety, for the
notion seemed so utterly unthinkable.

Then he added, “And I’m not going.”

There was a sharp intake of breath, and Ryoko saw Mihoshi
tense up once more to a closer semblance of life, before going,
weaker this time... “Go away…”

Silence, once more.

“I… I…” Mihoshi tried to think, but her mind was too hazed up.
“I’ll hit you!” She suddenly reared up and turned to face Seion,
another pillow in her grasp, poised to lash out at Seion, her
blue eyes blazing an odd tint of sparkling emotions, with fury
and sorrow clashing within its cerulean depths against
gratefulness and love.

“Hit, then.” Seion moved a little closer to her.

Out of desperation and confusion, fear too at him advancing
on her, her face a mask of reluctance and pain, Mihoshi struck
out at where it seemed it would have most effect…

Seion flinched, his brows knitting as the force of the pillow,
followed by that Mihoshi’s fist through the stuffing, struck into
his bandage near his stomach, and this time he could feel
some blood ebbing out again from within.

Ryoko and Mihoshi both gaped as he smiled back at the
blonde, a smile full of pain, like he had just been shot through,
yet a smile nevertheless.

“If that’s all it takes to make you feel better…” he whispered,
painfully. “It’s a bargain I’ll take.”

Mihoshi watched his sincere green eyes, somewhat misted
with pain, watched the red on the bandage soak a deeper
crimson, then with a choked cry, let the pillow fall back down
on her bed, and she buried her head into her knees, crying
softly to herself, to the worried and concern gazes from both
Ryoko and Seion. “Why don’t you just go!!?”

“I’m not going away.” His voice announced, resolutely. “I’m
staying so I can be here for you. If no one else will share your
misery, if no one else will hear your cry… I will. If no one else
will listen to your fears, know the pain that you feel, I will.” He
reached out for her again, his hand gently running through her
golden hair. “I *want* to be here…” Mihoshi trembled slightly to
his touch. “… for you.”

That was the last thing Ryoko remembered seeing and hearing
before the urge to leave this place finally overwhelmed her…

Oh Tenchi… 

====================================

Earlier too…

“Aeka?” Tenchi asked worried. The princess had lain back
slightly into the bed and rested herself as Ryoko had vanished,
almost too at ease with her closed eyes facing a spot
somewhere on the wall, close to the ceiling. “You okay?”

“I don’t feel like myself, Tenchi.” She whispered. “It’s like
something else came to me… and I’m not completely myself.”
A gentle smile lighted off her face. “But I can’t say it’s a feeling I
dislike.”

Tenchi blinked, and somehow Aeka seemed to sense it without
even regarding him.

“Tenchi… part of me feels embarrassed, sorry, that I should be
resting on your bed, that I have dirtied your clean sheets and
kept you from getting a good night’s rest, and I should
apologise.” She seem to radiate some form of brilliance, that in
Tenchi’s mind it lighted up the room. “But I think we both know
it’s understood… and I just want to let you know I never take
you for granted.”

“Thank… you,” Tenchi stuttered, confused. “Err… no I mean
you’re welcome!”

She chuckled softly, and there was no telling how much
Tenchi was relieved by that simple gesture, for it seemed as if
she were human once again rather than an untouchable angel
resting there, waiting to take wing and return to the heavens.
“You brought me somewhere Tenchi… there was a garden,
wasn’t there?” His jaw dropped. Even in his vision, Aeka had
been unconscious when he took her there. “I’ve been there
before… it’s where all the trees that are the source of Juraian
power live, a beautiful, beautiful place.” 

“Yes, it was…” Tenchi thought hesitantly, for only at this
moment had he realised the majestic splendour he had gone
through. The shimmering fields that shone like emerald gems,
the flowers that each shone like a miniature star, all had been
lost on him in his fear for Aeka… oh yes, and the trees. There
was no way to describe them. They seemed the most ordinary
of all in the garden, yet at once the most exquisite and
extraordinary, perhaps simply because they seemed so out of
place surrounded by such beauty, and perhaps also because
their thick buttresses had segments and lines drawn
immaculately yet textured softly with bark, with sparkled
rainbow dew running down over just visible varicose veins of
the leaves that seemed to pulse with warmth and life.

“You brought me to someone… I wasn’t awake then, but she
sensed something, when I asked her if I was hurt beyond
seeing you again, and this was her answer.” There was a slight
pause, almost unnoticeable, and somehow it seemed to Tenchi
that Aeka was taking a deep breath, though she couldn’t have,
given the time span of the pause and her physical condition.
“You will see him again, but I can’t heal all your hurts myself…
when you next see him, I’ll be with you for a moment. I can only
help slightly, and he will have to heal the rest of you…”

“But… but… I’m no healer!” Tenchi exclaimed.

“She said you needed to heal… my heart.” Aeka’s smile faded
away, and the light on her glimmered. “I’d like to apologise to
you, Tenchi… for both of us.”

“Both of *us*?”

Aeka gave a sigh, and the sudden glimmering of the light
contrasted the girl he saw sharply against herself, like at one
moment she was in the dark, then in the light, one moment frail,
another moment strong… “We couldn’t help it… falling for
you.” There was a soft sigh. “Perhaps if only one of us did…
you might be a happier Tenchi than you are now.”

“What!?” His brown eyes widened. “Who?”

Aeka bit her lip, and her eyelids quivered as if she would open
them, but she restrained herself. “Ryoko,” her voice seemed
reluctant. “… and me.”

She’s… speaking for Ryoko!?

“I’m beginning to see how, for all three of us, that must have
been the sweetest mistake of our lives…” There was a soft, yet
wistful smile. “Sometimes I wish it would be better, but when I
look back… I realise I’d do it all over again.” She exhaled a
little, letting her breath slip out of her lips, and drawing part of
her soul out into the open. “It’s a stab I would take again… and
perhaps it made me stronger… and made me more human.” 

There was a moment of silence, as the thoughts sank in ever
so slowly into Tenchi’s mind. There was no doubt he was
shocked that Aeka would reveal something so intimate to him,
the first time she ever opened up so completely about herself,
yet something, possibly the serene yet troubled expression on
her face, allowed the gentle emotions elicited within his heart
to be voiced. “So would I… Aeka. So would I.”

“I know, Tenchi,” Aeka nodded. “And… so would Ryoko.” She
opened her eyes, and finally turned to look at Tenchi, who was
looking upon her with something akin to utter incredulity. “

He licked his lips, finally, subsiding. “Aeka… I don’t mean to
sound selfish or anything…”

“It’s okay,” the princess replied gently. “They say the best
medicine tends to be bitter…”

“No, it’s not anything like that.” Tenchi sighed. “Sometimes, I
just wish you could always be like that, and stay this way…”
he blinked in surprise. “No, *what* am I saying!? I don’t mean
bedrid…”

“I know what you mean, Tenchi,” she interrupted him. “To be
able to think and feel for Ryoko, right?”

 He nodded dumbly, and though there was no outward
appearance of sorrow or anything, he sensed he had
somehow hurt Aeka in a way.

“She may never know, Tenchi, but she means a lot to me,”
Aeka whispered. “I might never have known too, except…
things happen. And you start learning more about yourself
than you ever wanted to…”

Tenchi bowed his head slightly. “You were upset, back then,
right?”

“I was, Tenchi.”

He sighed, almost angrily at himself. “It was my fault… I
practically ignored you! And it was for my sake that you…”

“NO.” Her voice rose, gaining a determined edge, and Tenchi
suddenly could imagine Aeka, queen of Jurai, giving
commands to her very last breath… her outward delicacy hid
tempered steel that would show in the worst moments. “It was
not just for you. I thought at the time it was… but I was wrong.”
Her voice lowered. “It was for myself too.”

“Oh,” he answered lamely, for lack of something better to say.

“Are we both… very alike, Tenchi?”

He might once have been surprised princess Aeka would ever
stoop to comparing herself with pirate Ryoko, and asking for a
frank opinion that might prove a rude awakening. For a
moment his mind filled with the countless occasions they had
seemed the same to him, then he reminded himself, how
different the way they carried themselves, the things they did,
the things they liked to do and, “No… not really, I suppose…”

Aeka looked around pensively, before staring at her body,
resting on the bed. “Tell me, Tenchi… who do you love more?”

That was so unexpected, he was so totally unprepared, he
just… stopped. He wasn’t sure what it was, but it seemed he
stopped breathing, he stopped seeing Aeka there on the bed.
All he could make out was her words, her ‘who do you love
more?’ It was a good while before he could muster enough will
to say what he had told himself he would always say if
confronted with this question. “Neither of you,” he whispered.
“And both of you.”

Aeka nodded, and if Tenchi were less in tune with his fears and
emotions, he might have been badly disconcerted to note her
expression was serene, almost clinically detached. “I thought
so,” he heard her say, and for a moment he wondered if she
was going to burst out into tears of sorrow or clam back up
into her marble maiden act. “Your heart is the wisest, Tenchi.” 

He blinked once, then again, then tried blinking once again to
make sure.

“Deep down inside… you see us for who we are…” Aeka
smiled. “And we are very alike, aren’t we? Almost like
sisters…” There was no reply from the boy, who was currently
trying to untangle what felt like a knot somewhere between his
mind and his mouth, unsuccessfully. Perhaps it was because
too much of his mind was paying attention to his ears. “That’s
why you love us both equally.”

Tenchi might have looked surprised, or he might not have. It
was hard to tell at times, when one was distracted with things
such as listening to Aeka and trying to get un-tongue-tied.

OH! I never thought of it that way before.

“It’s okay, really, I can’t blame you for it…” she sank back
down onto the bed, into the pillows. “Blame someone for
having a big heart? They say a ruler must be able to love all her
people… so how could I possibly grudge you loving two?”

Suddenly he felt bad. Very bad. Aeka was making it sound so
good he felt so guilty…

“And… it’s a good feeling. It makes me almost feel like I could
fly away sometimes, fly up into the ethers, to dance within the
garden back on Jurai with her… it makes me feel less selfish,
more pure and free, and happy…” she mused, almost dreamily.
“That I can have Aeka and Ryoko in my heart too… that much
as I want myself, Aeka, to be happy, like all selfish humans do, I
can care for Ryoko too…” 

Tenchi swallowed. He suddenly felt very very small, like he
was an insect in the presence of a goddess…

“Sasami… she knew all along, didn’t she? What it was like to
love everyone around her? Now that’s a true princess…” A
brief release of resignation. “It’s hard, but it feels good, in a
way… I wonder, do you think Ryoko would ever find her way
to this stage?”

Though technically addressed to Tenchi, he didn’t quite feel
like answering. Aeka’s eyes were staring at the ceiling, and it
seemed almost rhetorical.

“And if she did, would she like it?”

“Princess, you make me *soooooooo* jealous at times, you
know *that*?”

Tenchi nearly jumped out of his skin at hearing her voice.
“Ryoko!” as the space pirate sauntered, almost as if
catwalking, through the closed door.

“Really, Ryoko?” Aeka laughed, her voice stronger, as she sat
up to face the ‘intruder.’ “That’s a good thing to hear from
you.” She winked at Ryoko, a gesture that shocked Tenchi so
much he stumbled back, coincidentally backing away so there
was a clear line of sight from Aeka on the bed to Ryoko at the
door, a hand poised saucily on her hip. 

“You’re damned lucky, princess,” Ryoko retorted. 

“I know,” Aeka almost purred to herself. “But it wasn’t easy
getting there.”

“And even harder to have someone like me in your boat.”
Ryoko took another step closer to Aeka.

“So how long have you been listening?” Aeka replied
confidently, notwithstanding her semi-incapacitated state.

“Heh, long enough to just miss hearing any juicy fantasies you
might have been trying to share with Tenchi, ne, princess?”
Ryoko flashed a grin at Aeka, before glancing at Tenchi, who
gave her a shocked look. The space pirate pouted a little at
seeing Tenchi’s expression, realising this was not going to be
as fun as she had anticipated. “Okay, so yeah, it was serious
stuff.” She gave Aeka an odd, almost assessing look. “Sheesh,
to think anyone, much less someone like you, could possibly
think like that.” While it seemed to be spoken with disdain,
Tenchi was nonplussed to hear respect within Ryoko’s voice.

The princess smiled. “Well, once upon a time, I would have
been hard pressed to believe someone like *you*,” the word
was emphasised like a disgusting nasal spit, atypical of the
way Aeka addressed Ryoko once upon a time. “…could even
begin to comprehend finer feelings.”

“Hey, hey, I’m a woman too, you know,” Ryoko arched an
eyebrow as her sultry reply ended. 

Tenchi found himself hard pressed to believe his ears, for they
were both acting like they were alone in his room, and talking
like they were… old friends… fellow conspirators…

As if to dispel that thought, Ryoko chose that precise moment
to grin at him. “Oh, and especially Tenchi, I’m sure you know
how much of a woman I am, don’t you, hmmm?” she swivelled
her hip at him, and Aeka’s expression darkened as Tenchi
teardropped.

“All right, you can stop pretending, I know where you stand
with lord Tenchi.” Aeka snorted.

“Heh, you don’t know men well enough, princess,” Ryoko
smiled. “There are things husbands don’t tell their wives…”

“Why thank you, Ryoko,” Aeka smiled sweetly at her. “I’m glad
you’d bless me for going that far…”

Ryoko blinked, as she realised she had inadvertently went
pro-Aeka for a moment. “All right, all right already!” She
growled, a little irritated. “Right, so I do care!”

“That’s really very nice, Ryoko,” Aeka beamed, somewhere
between patronising and encouraging. “Tenchi would really
like that…” She cast a wistful look from Ryoko to Tenchi, and
Ryoko swallowed as she got her message.

“We’re both still a long way from that, Aeka.” Ryoko gave a
sidelong glance at Tenchi too.

“Yeah…” the princess sighed. “But is *that* what we really
want?” Her voice quavered as she lowered her eyes to the
blanket, away from Ryoko.

Would someone please tell me what the hell are they talking
about!? Tenchi almost screamed.

Ryoko shook her head, her frame trembling, but nevertheless
she forced a reply. “Tenchi would like it.” Then came a bitter
smirk that seemed more like a inward stab. “We don’t have a
choice, do we?” She brought her hand up gingerly as she
lowered her eyes to look at it, and a lock of cyan fell over her
shoulder, but even then Tenchi could see her laboured
breathing, and spot the tiniest sparkle as a droplet of
something fell into her shaking hand. 

“We don’t have a choice,” Aeka whispered, still visibly shaken,
but compared to Ryoko, many many times more in control of
herself.

Tenchi’s eyes widened as he saw orange sparks start to form
up around Ryoko’s hand. “So much power, princess, so much
power…” Quickly he turned to see if Aeka had noticed, but if
she did, there was no indication of her having done so.
“But…” The orange energy started forming up within the room,
and though small, it visibly increasing the light level. 

Within Ryoko, burning images, of Kova stepping out of the
portal carrying Kiyone as he saw her burn in the escape
capsule… and most recently, of Seion, of the words he spoke
to Mihoshi, of the feelings she read running within his veins,
and she felt her heart tighten and clench in paroxysms of
envious jealousy she thought she might have been able to
hold back…

Ryoko’s frame wavered, seeming almost to fall, but the orange
energy increased in intensity, and though Aeka seemed
unconcerned, Tenchi jumped to his feet, even if inside he was
unsure if he should catch Ryoko or prepare to draw
Tenchi-ken lest she unleash her power.

“…for *what*!?” She hissed. “I can’t even get that which is
most important to me…” The orange glow faded away, even as
the princess replied.

“Nor can I, Ryoko,” her voice was even, in control, but not
completely so. “And I am princess… no… crown princess… of
the planet Jurai.” The princess sounded amused, almost
sardonic. “The planet Jurai… with my countless citizens… my
countless happy citizens… yet what am I?” Then she steeled
herself, and looked up as Ryoko mustered her resolve to do
the same. “Let’s face it.” Violet eyes met amber pupils once
more, as their gazes met. “Neither of us would ever kill each
other.”

Ryoko nodded. “Or… let the other die.”

“I don’t think we even hate each other’s company like we used
to…” Aeka whispered. 

“Well,” the space pirate smirked bitterly, not at Aeka, but at
herself. “So miracles can actually happen…”

“And it seems we can only hope for more…” Aeka’s eyes
wandered elsewhere, to a certain corner of the room. “Or
perhaps we can make one of our own…”

There was an odd shimmer of amethyst, shining brightly
across, that seemed to ripple across the surface of Aeka’s
eyes, so that not only did Tenchi start from his stupor, even
Ryoko was roused from her pensiveness, and their gazes
converged on the place Aeka was staring at. 

It was the box, the gift repaired by Washu, sitting almost
serenely in its little corner of the room.

“Ryoko?” Aeka asked softly.

She didn’t have to say more than that, before Ryoko’s fingers
had slid the catch back, causing the box to be flicked back
open by the mechanism within, and once again, the two crystal
doves gently circled upwards, seemingly winging their way out
of the box, to the sound of soft tinkling music and wafting
fragrance, before settling to a halt facing Ryoko. It might have
been his imagination, but it seemed to Tenchi that the silver
locket with his name on seemed to shine exceptionally
brightly…

Aeka… Ryoko… Tenchi.

His eyes flitted from the three sets of words embedded within
the objects, and he realised he didn’t really know what he was
thinking, except that he felt a warm, calming feeling steal over
him, to the time of the soft gentle music, and the fragrance
made him think of cherry blossoms, of trees, and from there a
garden, and oh the majesty…

“Tenchi?” Ryoko asked, in surprise, as the boy was suddenly
standing by her side, but he seemed not to notice her. A soft
voice within him was calling, whispering, guiding…

He will have to heal… the rest of you.

He could almost see her, the wispy ethereal lady from the
vision, whispering that to him, guiding him gently on, and he
realised that all along, Aeka had always been speaking for both
of them…

Ryoko actually found herself at a complete loss as Tenchi
reached down and gently slipped off, with each hand, the band
of purple and cyan hair around the neck of each dove,
intertwined together, and Aeka and Ryoko both felt their hearts
skip a beat…

He’s going to offer it to one of us!

Tenchi blinked.

What?

He looked down at the two wristbands in either hand.

Huh? Yeah sure I know what I did but why did I…?

Someone was looking directly, at him, and his eyes rove
slightly down to see Ryoko staring at him, wide-eyed. He didn’t
have to look to know Aeka was sitting up slightly in her bed.

“Tenchi?” Ryoko reiterated, but this time rather than in
surprise, it was in questioning, almost pleading. Perhaps she
knew she shouldn’t be doing this, but the idea of getting
Tenchi to bind his pledge to her was too much for her, and she
reached out a hand…

Aeka bit her lip as Tenchi, his hands dumbly open, watched, as
if dazed, as Ryoko’s right hand slipped into his left, and after
savouring the feel of his skin on hers, Ryoko drew back, and
Tenchi’s hand was empty.

Oh… the pain…

He let her!

That could have been me! If I could but…

It’s all over now…

As Ryoko, smiling softly at the seemingly stunned Tenchi,
prepared to put on the wrist band, the light caught off the
object, shining off intertwined hairs…

 They might have been separate once, but they were together
now.

Cyan and amethyst.

Ryoko paused, and Aeka realised she wasn’t breathing. She
wasn’t sure why. Maybe she had been hoping Tenchi would
stop Ryoko, or that he would snatch both bands back and
place them back around the doves, she wasn’t sure. All she
knew was that her original intention was to give a band to
Tenchi, and keep one for herself, but she found herself hoping,
for something to happen…

No, Tenchi would never do any of that. 

Then what is it I am hoping for?

Bowing her head in indecision, Ryoko suddenly lay her other
hand on Tenchi’s right.

“Huh?” Tenchi briefly glimpsed Ryoko smiling weakly, sadly,
back at him, then she slowly faded into nothingness right
before his eyes… “Ryoko!” He reached forward, but she was
no longer there, and both his hands were empty now…

“For you.” Was all that could be made out, and Tenchi spun
around, only to see Ryoko sitting by Aeka, in the chair he had
fallen asleep in. 

“Ryoko?” Tenchi whispered.

There was a moment of silence, as Aeka contemplated what
she held in her hand, light glimmering off the surfaces of the
band, then she relaxed, leaning back down onto the pillows.
The pain returned, the pain from her injury that she had
ignored as she sat up, the pain from that exertion, but she
found somehow it was lessened… “Thank you…” Her gaze
met that of her rival’s, the softness a sweet expression of
gratitude, and Ryoko’s strangely pained yet glad expression
strengthened, then she bowed her head, biting her lip, and
Aeka, not wishing to see her that way, looked away too.

Getting over his initial shock, Tenchi treaded over, somewhat
gingerly, and they both looked up to regard him. “Erm… you
both all right?”

Aeka and Ryoko both closed their eyes and took a deep
breath, letting the gentle fragrance filling the room calm them
and ease their fears and anxieties for the moment…

“We’re fine.” They both said, opening their eyes as one.

Tenchi teardropped, as he looked at both of them. Ryoko
leaned back in the chair as Aeka relaxed even more.

Perhaps this was meant to be?

The light shone off either wristband, one around Ryoko’s right
wrist, the other around Aeka’s, each representing a union…

Oh…

Then, though he knew not why, he smiled.

Yes, perhaps it was.

====================================

She opened one eye just very slightly, looked around carefully
to see that she was still in the same room, checking that there
was no one around, and then, smiling slightly at having had an
undisturbed night’s rest, sat up, yawning, and stretched. 

Heh, it’s been a while since I’ve slept till so late.

Which was true. Mitsuki was a light sleeper, for obvious
reasons. She needed to snatch rest sometimes on missions,
but might be woken up on a moment’s notice. It did not help
that she was now on an assignment, and that her quarry was
nearby, but she gave herself the leisure. Much as she wanted
to take on the criminal, it was foolish initiative, when there was
no Seion or Kiyone around, to wake up early and try finding
him. If she were spotted by the fellow she might well be
finished, and she knew it, so she reasoned if SpecOp 231 or
Kiyone showed up saying they’ve got a lead on the fellow, all
fine and well, but if not, she could just try to sleep in a little
later.

There was a nagging unease as she washed her face, which
was caused by something else apart from the pathetic stream
of water and the lack of heating system, and she pondered it
as she made for the door to Tenchi’s house…

First there was Mihoshi. Mitsuki had once left her out of the big
picture, but ever since the time Mihoshi flew the Yagami to
burst the corridor in the GP HQ and allow Kiyone to escape
from Mitsuki’s clutches last year, there was some underlying
respect for Mihoshi. Perhaps not really respect, but more fear.
Mitsuki liked to take everything into account, but Mihoshi
seemed not to fit in properly anywhere, and she feared that
card as a poker player might fear a joker. Sure, she was a
ditz… but she got by somehow. And as that episode showed,
not just getting by through Kiyone’s skills and ability, but also
holding her own too. That Seion obviously liked Mihoshi made
her no less tricky to handle, yet if she remembered correctly
her time on Midorishu, most of the Operative questions were
about Kiyone, and he did seem to like her too. Then there was
when Mihoshi did not want to go with them to capture the
criminal. It was odd… almost as though she felt Kiyone was
safe.

That Kiyone had gone alone to find the criminal reinforced this
thought. Kiyone had never been one for negotiations. If what
she saw was correct, Kiyone certainly knew she was no match
for the rogue, and it would have been entirely reasonable to
take Tenchi, Yosho, Aeka, Ryoko, along… maybe even
Mihoshi… yet she didn’t. 

Then there was that utterly ridiculous and impossible way
Kiyone had thrown her captor off. Even with the greatest of
imagination, Kiyone should have been killed on the spot, yet
she had survived. That could only mean one thing - that
Kashiro fellow must have wished to keep her alive…

Her brow furrowed. She remembered Kiyone fighting in front
of her against the man, slamming her heel into his chin, trying
to knock him out with a neck chop from behind… she also
dived in immediately after Seion without thinking, so she
couldn’t possibly like the person…

Mitsuki shook her head.

I’m growing old, I’m forgetting even what I know of a person
like Kiyone, and in fact, of most of us GP graduates. If the odds
are okay, we try to save a team member. Expected obligation. 

Then the bath. That was just… inexplicable. I got the
impression she was trying to get me away… but there didn’t
seem to be anyone in there, yet Washu and her talked about
meeting him…

She smiled as she stepped into Tenchi’s house, where the
atmosphere seemed more pleasant and airy, both because of
more windows and the country side.

Ah well, lesson number thirteen at the Academy was never to
come to conclusions based on too few facts, but wait for more
evidence to present itself. Besides, my puzzle is almost fully
set up… one or two more pieces should clinch it. 

She hummed a tune as she paused before the bath, and
almost lightheartedly moved her fingers behind her chest to
unbutton her, or rather, Kiyone’s dress. She had picked one of
those long dresses with buttons reminiscent of the GP
function dresses, that Kiyone must have got when she first
came here, but the green-haired detective had since found
other alternatives.

She allowed herself a smile as she thought of the bath. It was
hard not to be sunny in the face of looking forward to it. There
had been lesson number thirty five, that said if evidence was
insufficient, relax your mind in meantime. Mitsuki had ceased
bothering with it the instant she graduated, what with thinking
and trying to find ways to scale the promotional ladder faster,
which meant putting your minds on some hard cases
belonging to other cops, quickly getting a solution and
claiming credit, yet she found herself inadvertently applying it
as she put her hand on the handle and slid the door open…

“Oh!?” She blinked.

“Good morning,” the brown, slightly wrinkled face smiled back
at her in serene composure, yet with a touch of mischief, as he
too withdrew his hand from the handle of the door. “Would you
like to use the bathroom, lady?”

“What?” Quickly, she composed herself. “Yes please, thank
you, sir.”

Katsuhito stepped aside, and Mitsuki blinked as she saw what
she was looking at. “This isn’t the bathroom I want!”

“Oh?” Katsuhito smiled, stepping out from around her. “It’s the
certainly the only bathroom in this house…” So saying, he
stepped past her, somehow, though in Mitsuki’s opinion she
certainly seemed to be blocking the entrance to the bath, and
walked leisurely past her, mumbling half to herself and half to
himself. “Really must speak to Tenchi, bringing so many
people into the house without even the courtesy to introduce
them…”

Mitsuki stared after the old man as he descended down the
stairs, clad in his odd shinto priest outfit, before staring back at
the bath. 

Yes… how could that magnificent bath ever have fitted in
here?

Reluctantly, she closed the bathroom door, and turned to go
downstairs.

No, it’s Washu we’re talking about here, and she just might…

Just as she was about to turn back to try again, she heard
something.

“Aeka?” she heard someone cry, a high pitched cry of
dismayed surprise. “*AEKA*! What happened!?”

Curiosity innate to most successful detectives brought Mitsuki
over to the side of the stairs, and she bent to peer between the
railings at the scene below her, only to see Sasami rushing out
of the kitchen towards where the two girls stood together. 

“I’m fine, Sasami,” Aeka attempted to force a smile, and failed
most dismally, as she tried to stand up again, only to be falter
and nearly fall forwards, except that Ryoko grabbed the back
of her collar, and though she did so a little gingerly and with a
somewhat distasteful look on her face, it was clear to see there
was no ill intention in her action. If Mitsuki was any judge, more
like… embarrassment. Aeka too, quickly regained her balance,
but now the detective could make out that her face looked
somewhat pale and worn, and while she was clearly weak,
Ryoko stood close by her, almost like a guardian. The
princess’ hand went to her own midsection, and then she bit
her lip trying to cease the natural impulse, but already her
sister had seen through it.

“No you’re not!” Sasami ran to her side, supporting her. “How
did you get hurt, Aeka? Is it very bad?”

“It is nothing,” Aeka smiled at her sister, but her forced mirth
was wracked with pain.

“There wasn’t only one casualty last night, Sasami,” Ryoko
muttered morosely, as Aeka gave her a glare of disapproval.

Sasami looked from Aeka to Ryoko, then… “Tenchi’s fine, isn’t
he?”

“Yeah,” the space pirate replied.

“He should be brushing his teeth about now…” Aeka added.

The little princess looked in surprise from her sister to Ryoko,
then up the stairs. 

For a moment, the young princess was torn between fussing
over her sister the way she should and normally did, making
sure she was all right, but there was the alternative… and
besides, Tenchi apparently didn’t mind…

Something tugged lightly at her skirt, and she looked down
into Anako’s eyes. The kitten had apparently been sleeping all
alone in Aeka’s room, and now that she was awake, she had
naturally went to find her mistress… but Sasami was no Aeka.

Anako mewed softly, and her eyes seemed to glimmer with
strange depths.

Turning from the kitten in surprise, Sasami inadvertently
glanced at Ryoko again.

The same catlike eyes… but so different. One giving, one
taking…

And where do I belong?

At that moment, Aeka flashed a quick smile at her sister. It was
neither the sheepish nervousness of one who was asking be
left alone, nor the forced façade of one who was trying to hide
pain and say everything was fine. It was a simple expression
that merely said this was the way she would have things, and
for that, she was glad.

The light from the two violet-cyan bands around their wrists
caught in her eye, and Sasami took a step back, half in
surprise, and half in surrender.

“I think I’ll go lay the table then get some breakfast for
Kiyone…” she ended the sentence haltingly, then, her eyes
flashing a moment of apprehension, hurried away from them
back into kitchen, trailed by Anako, who waved a paw
cheerfully at Aeka, before gambolling away after the little
princess.

Ryoko blinked. In that brief moment, she didn’t even get time to
note hers and Sasami’s eyes had met, until this moment as the
princess was vanishing into the kitchen, and the gaze…
somehow warningly, as though Ryoko was being told ‘you
had better take good care of her or else…’, yet also hopefully,
though hoping for what, Ryoko had no idea.

====================================

“Thank you, Sasami…” Kiyone whispered softly, flashing a
brief smile, as she accepted the bowl from the little princess,
before turning back to tend to her beloved once again. 

Sasami watched them for a while, an odd, wistful expression
on her face, for long though she had known Kiyone, it was still
new to her, the glimpses of her tender side that were rarely
shown. Only on the rare few occasions such as during the few
milliseconds when entering unannounced into Kiyone’s flat at
night, while the detective was still not cognisant of one’s
presence, could one hope to catch but the barest, fleeting
glances of that secret side to Kiyone. While the green-haired
lady never moved suddenly or tried furtively to pretend that
she was not pulling the covers back over Mihoshi, such as
Aeka might do if caught trying to sneak a message to Tenchi,
Kiyone always gave Sasami the impression that she was
someone who reserved exclusively for herself the knowledge
and expression of her tenderness. 

In a way Sasami felt beneath her at times… everyone knew she
was the one who cooked all the meals, who helped with the
chores, and so she had been accorded the appropriate credit.
Yet for Kiyone, all they ever saw was her yelling at Mihoshi,
and perhaps the blonde might never know, only sense, the
depth of her partner’s affections for her. 

The little princess had her suspicions, but currently she could
only surmise that Kiyone must have had, at some point or
another, helped to talk to either Ryoko, Aeka or Tenchi when
the going got tough. Certainly Washu would help too, but she
tended to be a lot less accommodating and considerate of
individual emotions, while Kiyone was more down-to-earth, in
a way.

Gentle waves of pleasure radiated from Sasami, lighting up her
face as she watched…

Perhaps, at the end of it all, it was fair. Trust that it would take
someone like Kova to make Kiyone’s beauty shine through
more vividly, just like darkness would make light seem to shine
more brilliantly…

You’re very lucky, she thought, as she watched Kova gingerly,
but definitely happily, taking his breakfast via Kiyone’s
attentions.  

In days to come, perhaps you will be the one that Kiyone can,
and will always, show her true self to.

A thought struck her. Perhaps it was only a fancy, but then
again… no.

Distant images… Kova, bending over Kiyone in the darkness
of the room as she slept… of him opening the evacuation
capsule from the Yagami on board Ryoko… Kova helping out
with lunch…

Hiding… they both are, aren’t they? Perhaps that is what
makes them alike, they both try so hard to conceal that
sensitive inner side of them, buried deep within their souls.
They both try to be so strong, yet they are so in need of each
other.

She regarded him intently, watching his unblinking eyes. She
saw now, they were shining shimmering and deep pools, with
ripples of feelings gently forming over the surface as he never,
not even for a moment, took his eyes off Kiyone.

How different, from the cold metallic steely mirrors Sasami
herself had faced… 

Mirrors. That’s what they were. 

Kiyone was his mirror, as he was hers, only unlike them, these
let the watcher see further and more truly into themselves than
perhaps the watcher had ever realised they could.

“Sasami?”

The little princess blinked, shaken out of her reverie by the
gaze of the blue eyes looking upon her, now that he had tilted
his face slightly to the side. Though she saw in them kindness,
openness, trust and gratitude, they were by no means as
expressive to her as they had been when he was watching
Kiyone…

“Yes, Kova?” she moved over by his side, level with his
shoulders and facing him, as the spy looked away for a
moment, lost in his thoughts, and Kiyone sat back, silently,
covering the bowl with her hand to hopefully help a little in
keeping breakfast warm.

It was odd, in a way, but sweet, Sasami reflected to herself. She
could easily envisage both of them being together for one
whole day, and not have to speak at all, if the situation did not
require such.

“Sasami, I have a gift for you… your hand please.”

The little princess unhesitatingly stretched out her palm
towards him, and though she did remember the earlier episode
of how Kova had hurt her, she did not doubt his word.

There was a glimpse of silver, then a flicker of darkness, before
a little tiny metallic thing fell into her hand. Kiyone stirred from
her stillness slightly, to see what it was, while Kova slumped
back down. Upon closer inspection by Sasami, it was little
more than a plain, thin silver ring, almost completely
unadorned, except for two odd markings that probably
denoted the top of the band. Squinting at it, Sasami quickly
realised the words were so small she could not make them
out…

“Feel it.” Kova said, answering her question before she could
even speak.

Kiyone watched as Sasami ran her finger slowly over the
surface of the ring. “What is it?”

“It’s… kanji.” Sasami whispered concentrating. The shallow,
tiny markings were difficult to discern. “Earth… aged?”

Kova gave a little laugh. “Close, but it is not exactly kanji. The
characters are similar.” He paused for a moment. “It’s the
second half of a four word phrase meaning, supposedly, ‘as
lasting as the heavens, as old as the earth.’” 

“Oh!” Sasami blinked. “Heaven… Earth… Tenchi?”

“Perhaps.” He smiled a secretive smile to himself that only
Kiyone could discern from his seemingly unmoving features.
“But no. Simply put, the phrase means eternity, and refers to
eternal love.”

Kiyone arched an eyebrow slightly. She might once have
thought she would be irked by this, but somehow that little
smile from Kova to himself seemed to reassure her, rather
than, as other women might think, make them more
suspicious, though she couldn’t be sure why.

“Oh…” Sasami’s wide pink eyes regarded the silver band with
some amount of awe. “But why give it to me? I’m not in love
with anyone… and where is the other ring?”

“I don’t know.” He shook his head gently, sitting up again. “I
never knew what happened to the other ring. All I know is that I
pray the other person is still alive, and though it’s been over a
century and I have no cause to hope, I still do.”

A jolt went through Kiyone, as she felt the emotion thick in
Kova’s voice.

No, he can’t be referring to someone else before me. If there
were, he would not hide the ring, but wear it himself, and he
certainly would not give it to Sasami.

“It belonged… to a very strong, but a very sad person.” He
smiled an uncertain, fragile smile at Kiyone. “A lady.”

“Oh?” Kiyone asked, a little alarmed, but not showing it.

“Yes… she was a teacher,” he sighed softly. “My teacher.” His
expression darkened to mild melancholy, causing Kiyone’s
heart to sink with his. “She taught me a lot. About many, many
things.”

“You never told me about this before.” Kiyone noted, almost as
if making a passive observation, but neither Kova nor Sasami
could miss the feeling of hurt in her voice.

“It was a very long time ago, Kiyone-chan,” he whispered.
Something in his tone told her that it was something not about
himself at all, but about different lives, about a story that
excluded both himself and herself, a story, that was about to
be told, for the first, and maybe, the last time.

“She was blind, and her constitution was poor. Every now and
then she’d fall ill, with a frequency that depressed even me, but
inside, I’ll swear she has the strongest bit of will anyone in this
universe could ever have.”

His eyes went to a lost, far-away look, as he stepped back
through the corridors of his memories, brushing aside the
dusty cobwebs about the shelves, and breathing the life back
into people and places long gone.

“She never did know exactly who I was. She would be
teaching all the kids in the school, and I’d be listening to the
lessons from the rafters or from outside the windows. At first,
it’d be hard to believe she was blind. Her eyes weren’t dulled,
but in fact seemed to shine at times. I was too young to notice
this then, but looking back, I realise that for all her graces and
occasional mirth, the sorrow never did leave her. Sometimes
I’d follow her as she returned home, and I’d note the cane she
used, the way she always rubbed the ring on her left hand, as if
calling for strength on that lonely road back to her run-down
shack. When I eventually decided to question her on her
lessons, I employed the voice of a young boy, telling her that I
was from a different class and had stopped by to ask as I lived
close by. Nevertheless, it was uncanny, the way she looked at
you as you spoke, as if she knew almost exactly where your
face was, and her eyes were extremely expressive, the way
they seemed to be able to look right into you.” 

A soft smile passed over his face, like a fleeting ray, then was
gone.

“Eventually, I don’t know how, she realised I was not, in fact, a
student, but she could sense my curiosity, my hunger to learn
more, to carve out the right road for myself… and she started
telling me more, of things outside the classroom, of people and
places. As I listened, I noted she seemed to have this lasting
feeling of sorrow about her, how she always alluded to the
more unfortunate side of life, and I pressed her for details,
especially how she had lost her sight. In retrospect, I doubt
she would have told me if I was her student, but she saw I was
one feeling around for where I stood in the world. Perhaps she
meant to move me, when she said what she did, but in those
moments, she poured out her heart to me…”

He paused, closing his eyes, his features wracked as if he
were fighting back an invisible pain, then he pulled himself
together again and managed to continue.

“I won’t go into the details of her description, but suffice to say
she broke down as she spoke to me about *it*.”

There was a finality about the last word, that caused Kiyone to
press her lip together in pain, sympathy, and anger. “So that’s
why…” the detective breathed, as if she had finally fitted
another piece into a puzzle that was facing her.

“Yes, Kiyone-chan.”

All Sasami could do was look at one from another in surprise.
For while she was wise and all, she still had the privilege of
being innocent, and all that meant to her was that something
bad had happened to the lady…

“At the end of it all, the man, if such he could still be
considered, struck her hard, from behind, and when she got
up, she could not see…”

“End of what?” Sasami asked, unable to contain her curiosity.
“And what about the ring?”

“Well… from the fragments I could gather, someone took care
of her after she went blind. She had never in her life seen his
face, but he was someone kind, caring, understanding and
warm.” 

There was a brief, painful pause, and Kova looked uncertainly
to Sasami.

“Yet just as she was beginning to love this person, and
consider marrying him, she… found out she was carrying a
child.”

Kiyone’s eyes widened in horrified understanding. “He… he
didn’t leave her, did he? What happened to the child?”

Sasami blinked again. To her it seemed perfectly normal to
have a child once you found someone you loved and had
married, or decided to marry, that someone. How was a
question she had not come to understanding yet.

“No, he didn’t. He took her in anyway.”

“Oh.” Kiyone seemed relieved, and Kova smiled back at her.

“I know it might seem odd to you, but sometimes it warms my
heart to know that someone like me is not alone in this
universe.”

“Well…” Kiyone arched an eyebrow at Kova. “I think perhaps
you *wanted* to be like him.”

“Maybe.” Kova replied abruptly, and for a moment the subject
was left hanging. “Anyway they got married, and together they
raised her daughter.”

Sasami sensed something funny in the statement, but before
she could grasp it Kova brought in a point that she had been
wondering about all along.

“And this ring you hold there, was her wedding ring.”

“Oh?” Sasami smiled at it. “So what happened?”

Kova sighed. “They were together for only a while, sadly. A
border broke out about four years down the road, and she was
separated from her family. Given the circumstances, I think
they were all killed, and she was lucky to escape, but she
doesn’t believe that. She say her husband got away with the
child… but she’s just a blind woman and everything was merry
hell at the time.”

“I see,” Kiyone breathed, her words laced with deep empathy.
“So… what were their names? And how did she eventually
die?”

Kova broke out into a smile, but she could see he was still
clearly upset as he thought of her. “She always insisted on
being called Mrs Ketsuri, even though sometimes in school her
colleagues and students would wonder where Mr Ketsuri was.
As for her child, she was called Minari, for the brief four years
that she was by her side…” The blue eyes darkened as he
thought about Kiyone’s second question. “I asked her soon
after, how did she manage to keep on going through all the
pain she went through. She told me that… on everyone, the
same disasters and pains might befall. She wanted to be able
to stop people from taking the wrong road, from hurting other
people the way she was hurt…” 

Then, softly, so softly they had to strain their ears to hear him.

“Perhaps she needed someone to know about her… maybe I
never should have asked. Perhaps she would have stayed
longer…”

Then just as suddenly, he continued the story, as if all was
normal. 

“Anyway, not long after that she fell ill again. It was quite
normal for her to be bedridden at times, and she usually got
well again. It was my fault, I guess.” He pressed his lips
together. “I took her life for granted…”

Catching the tremors in his voice, Kiyone quickly, but
somehow at the same time seeming to have been doing so
naturally, put the bowl aside and leaned forward to take his
hand. “It’s okay… it’s not your fault.”

“It was, it was…” he whispered, brokenly. “I… didn’t see it
coming, I didn’t hear her voice!”

“That’s not true, you *know* that’s not true. You were too
young, too young to know when a person knew her time was
up…”

“But I should have…” He trembled a while, and Kiyone gently
ran her hand through his strands of dark hair ere he stopped.
“We were talking, except with her bedridden, when she
suddenly almost sat up, her eyes roving around shining ever
so brightly… she said he was near, he was coming, and she
tried to get up to meet him, but I could see she was in no
condition to get up, so I asked her to describe him to me.
Instead she pressed her ring into my hand…” There was a
deep breath from him that seemed almost like the sigh of a
departing soul. “I can still remember her words… ‘You’ll
know… my little Nari should be about your age, and there’ll be
his ring… just show mine… bring them here…’ I was so
shocked she took off her ring, but somehow, I had to obey. So
I raced out, searching anxiously, for a man and a blue-haired
girl, but I simply could not…” he lay his head back upon the
pillow in grief. “…and when I got back… she was gone.”

Sasami looked at Kova, tears in her eyes, and looked at the
ring once more. “I… I understand.” Gingerly, almost reverently,
she put the ring on. It was a little loose, but it held. “But if you
want me to know the joys she never could have known… why
not keep it yourself?”

Kova turned to face Sasami, his eyes shining oddly, and
Kiyone felt his hands clasp hers tightly. “I’m…not very sure
about us.” Kiyone’s expression tightened too. “But I just have
this feeling that even if none of us pull through… you will.” His
look became wistful and far away. “Besides I think she meant
to save something for someone, someone who will have the
ring, someone who will live on no matter what, and so she
gave it to me. Even though… she never did know my name.”

“Thank you, Kova,” Sasami smiled sweetly, and though she
was as kawaii as ever, she seemed at once wise and
comforting, and Kova’s heart skipped a beat as he thought he
might have seen just the vestige of that face from so long, so
long ago… “But don’t worry, everything will be fine…”

For a reply, Kova nodded tersely, and notwithstanding his
pain, leaned to one side so he could wrap an arm around
Kiyone’s waist. Kiyone bowed her head, moving closer so
Kova would not have to strain himself, and let her hand run
through his hair again, and her fingers gently traced the outline
of his face.

“Have faith.” The little princess nodded, and Kiyone smiled
weakly.

Side by side, they watched together as a brief window of light
opened once more into the lab, ere their little princess
vanished through it, then all was darkness again.

======BREAK======

Well… I never thought I’d see the day…

She could not help thinking from where she looked out upon
the scene before her.. It was a facet of her old friend that she
had never seen before, the way she tenderly attended to the
person on the examination table, almost like… he was her own
child…

For a moment a pang of remorsefulness struck her, but it
almost immediately evaporated into nothingness. Such
incidents were nothing new, for this was not the first time
circumstances had brought her into direct opposition with an
old friend, and even though they had known each other for a
good while already, there was still this thrill, this high of being
on the verge of making a break into a great rewarding case,
that generally overrode whatever regrets or indecisions that
might otherwise be factored in.

“Hey!” her colleague exclaimed, indignant, shattering the
image of peaceful serenity. “I told you… don’t sit up!”

“But… I’m fine! Honest!” Mitsuki’s brows furrowed in
puzzlement as she realised the voice was quite, if not totally,
different from that of the one she heard in the alleyway by the
riverside, for it sounded for all the world like that of a
prepubescent boy. “Come on!”

Mom, she thought almost instinctively. It did seem like that
would be the word spoken after that statement.

“No, absolutely not! Lie down you! And quit using that voice
on me, god knows I’m feeling old enough already
sometimes…”

“Well, I can feed myself.” Mitsuki blinked again as she realised
the voice had sunk, and now sounded like a gentleman’s
voice, just barely recognisable as that of the man she, Seion
and Kiyone had fought with yesterday night. “Honest, I’ll
manage…”

“No no no! Sheesh, I’d hate to be your mom.” A brief pause, as
if to draw in breath from another inaudible sigh. “If you had
one, that is.”

“Heh, mothers are optional here. You’re certainly more than
enough for me to handle… though I’d love to see you a mom
sometime.”

Mitsuki couldn’t be quite certain, but she thought she might
have made out a tinge of rose on the detective’s face.

“THAT does it! I told you, cut that out! Or no breakfast!”

There was a brief silence, punctuated by what seemed to be
poorly stifled laughter.

“Look,” she heard her friend try again. “As much as I want to, I
can’t spend all day with you. I want you back up on your feet
the sooner the better…”

There were some shifting sounds, then the figure settled back
down. 

Kiyone smiled a little and spooned up some food for him.
“Now say ah…”

“Oh please! I may be hurt but I am not blind,” his eyes rove
over her face. “And verily, that sight is a true blessing, if you
don’t mind me saying so.”

“You and your honeyed tongue!” Kiyone laughed softly, as
she leaned over… “You never change, do you?”

At that moment, Mitsuki saw, and any doubts or uncertainties
she might have had were dispelled in an instant, for there was
no mistaking the cutting of that face, with its sharp, darkly
charming features, at that moment showing up clearly within
the sickly wan light of the lab in a sincere glow of joy…

Affirmative then.

Mitsuki was surprised, even now, but not as surprised as she
thought she might have been. Though in denial of the fact at
times, she did know Kiyone quite well, and seeing this new
side of her, directed at, of all people, a space pirate, should
have been rather more shocking than what registered.

Even as the thoughts went through her head, she was backing
into the shadows to approach the door to the lab.

I must have sensed it quite a while back, I guess. She seems to
be mellowing…

Then, quite suddenly, going against every creed of training
and every ounce of common sense she possessed within her,
she halted, turning to take one more look at the scene… 

There Kiyone was, emerald eyes full of concern and care,
smiling, at once so glad yet so sad, letting herself be immersed
into the depths of the azure pools that were his eyes, now so
full of feeling and warmth, that Mitsuki suddenly found it hard
to believe he was in reality a cold-blooded murderer…

Treasure this moment, Kiyone… 

A cold laugh from within her, as part of herself noted. 

Looks like Kiyone isn’t the only one mellowing out.

Treasure it, while you may.

Reaching her objective, there was a deft flick of the prop that
had kept the door just barely open as Sasami had left, then just
slipping innocuously by it, she was gone.

Kova swallowed, harder than he should have been expected
to. “Kiyone-chan?” he asked, concerned.

There was a brief moment before the apprehensive
countenance vanished from her face. “I’m okay,” some mirth
returned to her face, for his question clearly showed the depth
of his affection for her. “You just get well.”

“But I *am* well!” he returned.

“Better, then.”

====================================

How long has it been?

He couldn’t believe it, though in retrospect, it was strange. It
had been over a year since Ryoko and Aeka came to the
Masaki household, but this was probably the first time he was
actually completely relaxed with both of them at the breakfast
table, and beside each other, no less.

He looked up from his food at the two girls sitting side by side,
only, unlike before, no longer with trepidation or fearful
anticipation, but instead with relaxed curiosity. No more
battles, no more fear of exploding fireworks that threatened to
rip apart the house, the peace, and most importantly, the two
people who, he could finally admit to himself, were dearest to
him.

Quite suddenly, the image was dispelled as Aeka gave Ryoko a
warning glance as the space pirate was watching to see if the
princess was in pain as she took her breakfast. Ryoko blinked,
then her amber eyes desisted from staring, even as Aeka gave
a satisfied smirk that seemed rather overly pronounced.
Tenchi was still puzzling over her behaviour before he caught
the briefest of winks from Aeka, and the slight twitch from her
face that masked a quick laugh, almost reminiscent of Ryoko
rather than Aeka.

Why did she…?

*WHY* is it I always seem to be missing something!?

Well at least she obviously does not intend to antagonise
Ryoko.

Just when I think I understand them…

He sighed softly to himself, to the arching of an eyebrow from
Ryoko as her eyes swivelled from Tenchi to Aeka, who herself
seemed perplexed by Tenchi’s reaction.

There was a soft mew as Koneko popped his head over
Washu’s back to gaze at the stairs, and the sound broke
Tenchi’s half-frustrated, half-relieved train of thought, as well
as any conclusions that might have been in the making within
Aeka’s or Ryoko’s mind.

“Oh there you are,” Washu beamed as, following the kitten’s
gaze, she saw the figures of Mihoshi and Seion descending
the staircase. “Had fun, you two?”

Seion smiled back nervously, unsure how Mihoshi would
react, but the blonde didn’t disappoint.

“Huh? What fun?” She asked. Washu responded with a
meaningful sidelong peek at Seion, which caused Mihoshi to
blink. “Oooh… er but I don’t even know him…” she whispered
almost solemnly. 

Seion blinked, as Mihoshi discreetly stepped away from him.
To Tenchi’s surprise, the blonde did not settle down into one
of the two empty seats side by side, usually reserved for the
two GP detectives, but between Washu and Sasami.

Hey! I could have sworn I didn’t do anything wrong! Seion
thought, before settling into one of the two remaining seats.
Reaching for his bowl, he suddenly looked up and realised
Mihoshi hadn’t moved or said a word since she settled down at
the table. “Mihoshi?” No response, except that almost
everyone else was looking at him with varying states of
bemusement, most notably Mitsuki, who seemed to be in an
extremely satisfied state, but he really couldn’t care less. “Erm,
you eating?”

“Oh!” the blue eyes cast a puzzled glance at Seion, then the
blonde reached forward for her own share. Seion kept his eyes
on her until she had taken the first bite, then proceeded to start
on his own share.

Finally, unable to stifle her mirth, Mitsuki almost blurted out.
“Well well well! What a morning this has been… I never thought
I’d see the day.”

“What?” Seion asked her, irritated, as Tenchi surreptitiously
returned to breakfast, Mihoshi acted as though deaf, and the
rest watched on with interest, even Aeka, who looked faintly
amused.

“Oh please… you? Acting gentlemanly? I couldn’t even begin
to imagine!”

Just as he was about to snap back, another figure loomed up
behind Seion.

“Wha…!?” The Operative, detecting the slight decrease in the
light level around him, just managed to stop himself from
lunging sideways and away, which would have bowled Tenchi
over, before turning around to look up into…

“Oh morning, Kiyone!” Sasami smiled, as Seion relaxed. “You
must be hungry!”

“Not really.” Her emerald eyes flitted from Sasami to Mihoshi,
mutely working away at her breakfast. Though she would
rarely have given her partner the credit, she knew the blonde
had noted her presence but chose not to respond. Apart from
that, the small matter of seating…

“Hmm?” Seion blinked as he saw Kiyone’s eyes latch onto him
meaningfully. 

“And why, pray tell, are *you* sitting there?” Kiyone asked, a
tad ticked off. Sure, he might be my brother and all, but it’s
nothing certain, and till then, he ought to know how to keep his
distance.

“Well, the place just happened to be vacant and I was hungry
and…”

Kiyone glared hard at him. “What happened between the two
of you?” she growled.

Seion teardropped, as he noticed, out of the corner of his eye,
Mihoshi flinch. It certainly did not help that it certainly sounded
like he and Kiyone were an item, provided one was ignorant of
the presence of the spy, which for the time being he assumed
Mihoshi was. 

“Look Kiyone, I really didn’t do anything to her…”

“Then you mind explaining to me what she is doing over there
and not here?”

To everyone’s consternation, it was at this moment Mihoshi
chose to stand up. “I’m… not hungry.” Before making to move
off.

“STOP.”

Mihoshi froze in her tracks as she heard the icy sharp tone of
command that boded no argument.

“Kiyone, I…” Seion began again.

“Shut up, just shut up, will you?” the green haired detective
sighed, and mentally snarled at her red-headed colleague who
was consuming her breakfast, with eyes on the scene, and
obviously in a state of almost daemonic satisfaction and glee.
“Something… happened. My assignment commander is not
too happy about it, and my partner *certainly* is not thrilled…”

The operative bristled slightly. “Maybe,” deliberately ignoring
her aggravated expression at being interrupted in the middle of
what might have been a theatrically good pause, he forged on.
“But I’m hungry now. Don’t know if you are, but I sure am, and
you could at least bloody sit down.”

For a tense moment, it looked like Kiyone might explode, when
she just as suddenly deflated and half-collapsed, as if
exhausted, onto the cushioned seat beside Seion. 

Blue eyes widening more, Mihoshi bit her lip, then tightened
her resolve and moved away into the kitchen.

 “So much for waiting…” Washu noted drily. Kiyone pursed
her lips, but otherwise ignored the scientist, who continued. “I
guess this is as full this breakfast table will get today, so I
guess I should get started…” Washu looked around the table
once, to see if there were any reaction, which there wasn’t, and
was of course what she had naturally foreseen, so… “I have to
get going.”

“Huh?” Sasami looked up in surprised disappointment from
her breakfast. “Going? Where, Washu?”

“Well in case you all forgot, there is still a small, minor problem,
of the Tachyon Ray technology…”

“But I thought we got that back already?” Sasami asked,
puzzled. 

“Perhaps. But there is a good chance, about 98.89479 percent,
actually, that the technology for the Ray was obtained.”

“Heh, looks like we’re on the run again,” Ryoko grinned, as
Tenchi blanched at leaving Earth so soon. “So whose joint are
we gonna wreck this time?”

Washu smirked. “Need I say?”

“Erm…” Tenchi tried to get a word in, but…

“It’s high time we returned them the favour, hmm? They’ve
been paying this place two house calls too many.” Washu
ignored Tenchi. “Right?”

Katsuhito nodded, but only just.

 “I haven’t always been looking forward to visiting other
places,” Aeka thought back to the times she went on her
marriage meetings. “But I must say that it wouldn’t do not to
make an exception in the face of such a delightful purpose.”
Tenchi blinked in surprise, for though the princess was smiling
sweetly as she spoke this, her demeanour gave him the
impression of a wounded beast snarling in eager anticipation
of settling the score. Sasami too, gave Aeka a queer look, but
licked her lips and kept quiet.

“As long as I get my man, I don’t care where we go,” Mitsuki
provided herself the liberty of commenting.

Seion looked up briefly from his bowl, where he seemed to
have lost himself in for a while. “I’m with her…” As he buried
himself back into the delightful breakfast, Mitsuki noted with
surprise he did not point out to her, as she expected, that it
was “we get our man” instead of “I get my man.”

“Moving out at last? Now that is the best news I’ve heard in a
while…” Kiyone commented drily as she sat back, almost as if
she had eaten her fill, but her food was scarcely touched. “I
have a thing or two to settle over there… and also especially,
like *Mitsuki*, I look forward to completing my assignment.”

“Oh, you mean the assignment is yours alone?” Mitsuki
retorted. “Besides, how do you know that the man *I* want will
be there?”

Kiyone smiled ever so placidly at Mitsuki. “I think that you, of
all people, should have the least need to know the answer to
that question.”

“I’m with you,” Seion murmured, inviting a glare from his
red-haired colleague.

“Sure I’d like to go along too, Washu,” Sasami butted in to try
to defuse the tense situation between the three GP cops. “But
what does Tenchi think?”

“I…”

There was a loud crash of smashing crockery from the kitchen.

“Oops…” A brief commotion, then Mihoshi’s head popped
around the corner of the kitchen. “I’m so sorry I broke
something I was just trying to wash up and…” Her eyes took in
everyone looking at her, yet somehow blotting out the images
of Kiyone, Seion and Mitsuki from the table, an act which went
not unnoticed by her three fellow detectives. “Err… am I
interrupting something?”

Washu rolled her eyes. 

Kiyone quickly replied. “We were just talking about leaving
here to go…”

“Uh huh…” Mihoshi added blankly, still not making eye
contact with her partner. “Err… I’ll go back to clean up…”

As Mihoshi vanished back into the kitchen, her partner
frowned before turning to glare at Seion. “So tell me, exactly
*what* did *you* do to *my* partner?”

“Honest, Kiyone, I didn’t do anything to her!”

“Cut that out, you two…” Washu looked from one to the other,
noting the similarities as well as startling differences. Both
green haired, with the same bright dark green eyes, their locks
mirrors of each other, with equally striking facial features… but
one was tanned while the other was fair, one muscular and tall
with the other slender, though no less strong in her own way.
“If you want to sort things out, do it somewhere else. So
anyone else have anything to say?”

“Well it’d be great to get away from work again for another
vacation,” Nobuyuki noted. “You won’t be forgetting my
medical certificate for my job, will you Washu?”

“Yeah, no problem.”

Sometimes I wonder why I stoop to doing such things…
Washu thought.

“So, Tenchi, what have you to say?” She stared full at him, and
grinned inwardly as she saw Tenchi was about to say
something, except that everyone at the table was looking at
him expectantly, minus Kiyone, who seemed distracted, but
nevertheless, still watching. “Of course, you could always stay
here and wait for our good friend Seida to send you more
robots to play with…”

The boy looked helplessly around the table.

I like it here, it’s so peaceful on Earth… can’t everything just
stay the way it is? Why must this kind of thing *always* happen
to me? Why me, what did I do to deserve this kind of…

Tenchi sighed softly. “I just hope I can finish my homework
before vacation ends.”

====================================

“Mihoshi?” a feminine voice asked gently to the soft sound of
the door shutting behind her.

The blonde bit her lip, pausing in the action of packing up her
wardrobe, then resolutely continued.

A hand landed on her shoulder. “Look, I know you’re…”

Deep bitter emotions, deliberately bottled up and stashed
away, bubbled up to the surface again with the touch of that
hand. “Let go of me!” She spun around, and Kiyone’s face
widened in surprise as she saw the glare that hid Mihoshi’s
anguish and insecurities at Kiyone’s perceived betrayal under
the roaring flame of rage that glittered menacingly over the
shimmer of the fresh tears . “What do you know, what *can*
you know!?”

Memories stirred in her mind once more. Of many faces, many
other men, anxiously seeking to make her more than
acquaintance, some of whom she actually felt a liking… and
Kiyone telling her to turn them all away. Of Kiyone, who up till
now, had never felt the need for any man in her life, while deep
within herself she had pining all the while. Of Tenchi defending
her from Ryoko using only a hoe…. Kova snatching her out of
the way of the bullets… but they were both gone, taken. Seion
now… having done… nothing for her…?

“Mihoshi, there’s nothing going on between me and Seion.”

Unbidden visions surged from within, of him holding Kiyone,
bringing his face close to hers as she let herself be pressed
him into a corner, close to his bare chest…

“You just go…” Mihoshi’s voice quavered, nearly breaking, as
she backed away from her partner, lowering her gaze. “…and
be with them.” 

Kiyone swore in frustration as she recalled the scene too.
“That wasn’t the way it seemed, Mihoshi!” Already she had
made the decision to keep Seion’s secret to herself, until she
could be certain of it.

“He… likes you very much, Kiyone.” She whispered. She
could hear him, asking about Kiyone, how Kiyone was doing,
wif she had a boyfriend…

“He doesn’t!” Kiyone paused, uncertain how to phrase it. “At
least… not that way!”

The moist azure eyes looked up in surprise at Kiyone. “What
way? He likes you… and you like him too, don’t you?” Her
gaze intensified, and Kiyone backed half a step away in shock.

“It’s not the way you think…”

“WHAT way!?” Mihoshi shrieked, unwilling to hear, or accept,
the admission she had just drawn out from her partner.

How could Kiyone do this to me!? She already has Kova, why
does she have to like *him*!?

“So he likes you, and you like him, and nobody likes *me*…”
Her blue eyes started to fill with tears again.

“We’re just friends!” the green-haired detective shot back.

For a reply, Mihoshi stared stolidly and stonily at her, her blue
eyes cold and dark with anger. “I might be stupid, Kiyone,”
Mihoshi whispered. “But I know what I saw.”

“I was just talking to him!”

Mihoshi smiled a very sweet yet ghostly smile, and Kiyone felt
her heart skip a beat as she was reminded of Kova’s ghostly
smile just the night before, by the riverside, when he was
suggesting Kiyone and Seion turn him in. It looked so out of
place, yet there was something almost ethereally radiant about
Mihoshi’s expression. “Please, take good care of him. Maybe
like Aeka, Ryoko and Tenchi…”

Kiyone blinked at the utterly ridiculously incongruous
suggestion forwarded to her, before bursting out more out of
outrage than in actual anger. “Are you listening to me!? I love
Kova-chan! I don’t love Seion the way you say!!”

Oh my god this is almost like talking to Kova-chan all over
again…

Mihoshi turned away from Kiyone, and the detective could just
barely hear her whisper. “But does he know?”

“Yes.” Kiyone noted a tremor down Mihoshi’s form as she
heard that, a quick intake of breath.. “He knows.”

“Does he…”

“I would have shot him dead if he tried to hurt Kova-chan, and
he knows that.”

Silence.

“He did something to you, didn’t he, Mihoshi?”

Silence again, but almost guilty.

“What happened?” Kiyone moved forward, tenderly moving
over to stroke Mihoshi’s hair. “Did he hurt you?”

“He… tried to comfort me.” Mihoshi whispered.

A brief wave of emerald locks to a brief nod of her head. “Did
you give him a chance?”

“I… I couldn’t help myself, Kiyone… it felt so good…” Mihoshi
sobbed slightly. “…to be held, to have someone care…”

Kiyone’s eyes widened. “You didn’t…!?”

“No… I wouldn’t let that happen again.” There was an
uncharacteristic cold laugh from the blonde that ended off into
another sob before Mihoshi could help herself. “I let him stay,
though.”

“So, are you going to give him a chance?” Kiyone
remembered the earnest way Seion spoke to her about herself
and Mihoshi the night before, when Kova was hiding under the
bed.

“I don’t know…”

“Don’t worry, I certainly will not be falling for him,” Kiyone
smiled. “So it’s up to you…”

“Really?” The blonde murmured, uncertainly, but inside
Kiyone was glad to note there was no longer that sorrowful
edge to her voice already.

“Yeah… but we don’t know him all that well yet, so be careful,
all right?”

“I’ll try, Kiyone,” Mihoshi finally turned to look back at her
partner, the vestiges of sorrow and apprehension still in her
expression. “I’ll try.”

“And I’ll be keeping an eye on him for you?” Her hand patted
Mihoshi’s shoulder reassuringly. “After all, you’re my partner.”

“Thanks, Kiyone,” Mihoshi finally managed, and a gentle warm
smile broke her frigid expression. “You’re the best…” Slowly,
she put her arms around Kiyone, who held her gently.

“You are too…” Kiyone sighed, satisfied with herself, as she
felt her partner’s chin rest on her shoulder, and her back
moving up and down as she drew breath. “Best ever.”

====================================

“MIYAAA!”

Moving gracefully yet with lightning swift speed, she was off
the bed and in a half-crouched combat stance, her eyes roving
around wildly.

Nothing… there’s nothing around… relax.

With a bit of concentration that seemed almost natural, she
returned into a state of comfortable relaxation, and she rose
elegantly but cautiously to her feet. Her hand casually reached
out for her cloak by the bed before she almost carelessly
draped it over her naked form which was still marred with
minor scars here and there.

“Miya,” she heard the sound again. “Miyaaamya. Meeya?”

“Alright, alright.” She bowed her head slightly, trying to stop
the mild headache, then mentally chided herself for it. “Who is
it?” As she was walking rapidly to the bridge, the swirls of
black cloak parting to reveal her legs and slender form. 

“Miya…myaaa.”

Nagi nodded, flashing a brief smile at no one in particular, a
smile that just as rapidly faded away as she considered the
current state of her being, and what had caused it.

“Well?” she stepped onto the bridge. The person on the
screen arched an eyebrow tartly as she made out the bounty
hunter’s cloaked form, with the occasional glimpses of
something more beneath the shadowed robe. Nagi gave a wry,
cold, disdainful smirk. “What did you learn?”

There was a brief clearing from the throat of the informant.
“He’s on Earth.”

Nagi yawned.

“In Japa…”

Nagi flashed her a fierce menacing stare that caused Mitsuki to
raise an eyebrow in surprise. “Quit wasting my time. Money’s
trickling through my fingers as we speak… as well as through
yours.”

“All right, he’s in Washu’s lab, now.”

Hmm, that is a surprise…

Outwardly nonchalant, the bounty hunter stood her ground.
“Hardly helpful. I am aware of Washu’s capabilities and I have
no wish to antagonise her. What of his movements?”

“Hmm… as to his immediate movements, he does seem to be
in some… difficulties.”

“Really? So how is it you haven’t already laid your hands on
him?”

“I face certain…opposition. Opposition you might find
interesting…”

“And who might that be?”

“Kiyone, at least.”

Nagi blinked, losing her composure for the first time. “Kiyone?
On his side?” Hardly what she would consider conceivable,
especially after seeing Kiyone blast a hole in his body last
night… but was that really Kiyone? But then again, in Nagi’s
view, Kiyone was to the detective profession what Nagi herself
was to the bounty hunter vocation. “Explain yourself.”

“Well, she does seem to have some affections for him.” Mitsuki
answered smugly.

Nagi smiled wickedly. Here was a language and reason she
understood all too well. “Interesting. So tell me, is he as
devoted to her, or is he playing her for a sucker?”

“Couldn’t be sure, but he certainly looks like he’s really hit the
roof for her.”

Nagi nodded to herself. 

But he is a spy, after all. He should be used to pretending to be
what he is not… after all if he is injured he will have serious
need of her.

“What of the rest of them?” Nagi asked, but naturally she
already had her own view.

“They seem unaware of his presence, except Washu and
Sasami. I’ll wager that they’re all with him, though, except
maybe Seion.”

“Hmm, that might prove difficult…” the bounty hunter was
aware of her injury, though she did not give the slightest hint
of weakness. “Do they happen to be making any movements
soon?”

“Yes, I believe they will be…”

“Very well, I will make the necessary arrangements.” Nagi
acknowledged.

“My dues?”

Nagi sighed. Even for herself, a bounty hunter, Mitsuki’s
mercenary tendencies were a tad wearying. “Yes yes, they will
come in due time. And now, if you please, speak.”

====================================

Tenchi looked at his house.

“You know, I never seem to get used to this.”

“Hey, don’t worry!” Ryoko winked at him. “All you have to do is
spend more time with me, and you’ll be getting used to it in no
time.”

“Excuse me, Ryoko, but I do believe you are forgetting
something?” Aeka pointed out tartly. “In case you forgot,
Tenchi has got his school to go to, as well as other more
important matters.”

“Is that so? Spending time with you can hardly be considered
important.” Ryoko returned.

“You dare slight me?” Aeka countered. “I’ll have you know that
if that were the case, spending time with you would be of even
less import!” 

I will never really understand why they keep on doing this,
Tenchi thought, as he bent down to peer more carefully at his
house, before gingerly hefting it up. It almost seemed like a
game now, the way they insisted on this almost hostile
bantering. It seemed less vehement than before, and certainly
the shouting was less, but maybe that had something to do
with the fact that Aeka, still having difficulties walking, was
leaning on Ryoko for support.

“Maybe it is not so much import, but rather, what Tenchi
enjoys doing.” Ryoko reminded. “I’m sure there can be no
comparison in the satisfaction to be had in my company as
compared to when doing other, more ‘important’ matters.”
Such as spending time with you, was an unnecessary
extension, for it was clearly understood.

“Yes, I will have to agree with you on that statement, Ryoko,”
Aeka replied evenly. “Surely the pleasure there is to be had in
your company is so insignificant when placed against that in
the alternative case that there is indeed, no possible
comparison to be made between the two cases…”

Interestingly, Tenchi noted, gone were the references either
party made to each other with respect to their social standing,
whether princess or pirate, and also, there were no longer
direct attacks on each other. It seemed to be more as though
they were using his mood and bearing as a measure for their
standing, he thought as he looked back for a moment at the
two of them even as he entered the Yagami

Kiyone was still checking out the new controls Washu placed
inside her reconstructed ship, especially at the bridge, as
Tenchi came in.

“Where you want me to put this?” 

“The usual place,” Kiyone replied without looking at him, one
hand holding a mini-brush with dark blue paint. She had
tactfully got Mihoshi to go take a look at the Midorishu, just so
she could ascertain which equipment did what without
worrying about her partner trying to figure out what happened
*after* she pressed a button. And as always, when it came to
buttons Mihoshi had a liking for red. Washu had explained she
was busy with something else, so she had automated the
reconstruction of the Yagami, hence the many red buttons.
Kiyone, as she painted over yet another one of those,
sometimes wondered if she meant to construct a
non-Mihoshi-proof Yagami purposely, especially considering
what Mihoshi meant to Washu.

“Where’s Kova?” Tenchi looked around.

“I put him in the ship’s living quarters.” Kiyone replied. “I
guess Washu’s viewscreen from my bedroom to the bridge
does serve its purposes…”

“How come I don’t see him in it?” Tenchi asked.

Kiyone paused, then exasperatedly looked up at the screen.
Sure enough, it only showed an empty interior of her bedroom,
including her bed with somewhat rumpled sheets. “Damnit
*what* will it take to keep him down?” she muttered under her
breath. “I thought I just saw him lying there about three
seconds ago.”

The boy blinked as Kiyone hurried away, then followed her,
but only because that was the way to the ship’s hold where he
could place his house.

Meanwhile, orbiting the planet, Ken-oh-ki maintained his
vigilance.

====================================

He leaned back as the transmission came through, followed by
the verification. “Axis confirmed, from Solar System to
Colrathius System.”

The man in the other screen nodded in acknowledgement.
“Permission to impinge on Synerean territory, sir?”

“Granted. If necessary, you can call for back up and it will be a
joint operation.”

The captain whistled to himself, impressed.

Wow they must really want this sucker bad…

“Roger, moving out,” he opened transmission to his
comrades. “Let’s go, teams.”

====================================

“Now what?” He sat up from his slouched position as he
spotted a change in the console display. 

And blinked. 

“DAMN!”

“Why, what’s wrong?” Mitsuki asked evenly as she strolled
into the bridge from her own quarters. “Oh.” Her eyes locked
onto the display. “What a coincidence, it does seem as if it’s
quite a mission… this GP squad looks pretty big, even by
squad standards.” She put her hand up to her chin in the
classic gesture of thoughtfulness. “Now do you think we
should try to assist them?”

Seion threw her a suspicious glance that she pretended not to
notice, then… “Mido, Yagami. *Now*.”

====================================

“I said, get back down!”

“Really?” He grinned back. “Hmm, is it my imagination or are
you actually enjoying this?”

For a moment, she was undecided whether to scream, laugh or
cry, and just as she was about to settle for just shouting his
name, the shrill blare of klaxons rang through the insides of
the room.

“Looks like I get my way after all…” he whispered, smiling
wryly as he saw her bewildered face before his, gradually
change into one of dismay. Another round of alarms went off
again. “Shouldn’t you be attending to something,
Kiyone-chan?”

Kiyone gave him a withering glare, but all that did was make
him look more amused. Mentally heaving a sigh of resignation,
she clambered off him and hurried to the viewscreen Washu
had installed. “All right, *now* what!?”

Mihoshi blinked as she saw Kiyone’s flustered face. “Erm…”

“Wait… don’t tell me,” Kiyone’s expression fell, as she slapped
a hand onto her face and sighed. “You accidentally did it again,
didn’t you? The red button again, right?” She was beginning
to regret the choice of the button she abstained from painting
over, if only because Mihoshi pressing it would be a minor
inconvenience compared to if she had tried any other red one.
Out of the corner of her eye she just caught Kova moving from
his prone position on her bed to a half sitting one. “Hey get
back down! You’re supposed to be resting!”

“It’ll do,” he winked back at her. “I’m feeling better now and
besides… if you want me back down you’ll have to get me
back down yourself.”

“Kiyone?” Mihoshi piped nervously from the viewscreen.

“*Now* what!?” the detective glared at her partner once more,
only this time her face was flushed even more, both from
embarrassment and annoyance.

“Well… Seion says… we’ve got company.”

Kiyone blinked once, then quickly tapped two buttons under
the viewscreen, causing Mihoshi’s image to fade into the
background as the sensory part of the ship console display
showed up. “Oh… DAMN!”

“Bye…!” Kova waved cheerfully after her as she raced out of
the room.

“And why don’t you just lie down and rest!!” Her words were
left hanging behind in her wake.

“Because… I’m feeling better already,” he answered, to no one
in particular, for Kiyone was already too far to be able to make
out his words.

====================================

“I’m sorry, but I simply do *not* understand what you are
talking about.”

“But princess, headquarters have given me specific orders on
capturing the criminal, and there is absolute confirmation that
this being is on board one of…” the squadron leader tried
plaintively in the face of three stolidly set faces glaring at him
from the transmission screens, two indignant and one
disinterested.

“Hey, come on! Let’s not be mean, shall we?” Ryoko smiled
cheerfully as she popped her head over Tenchi’s shoulder,
between the boy and Aeka, before giving the squadron leader
a daggered gaze and a grin that made him think of steel and
knives.. “If it’s me you want… I’m all game!”

“No no!” He tried again. “We’re not looking for you, Miss
Ryoko…”

“Hah!” The space pirate exclaimed disdainfully. “Well if you’re
chicken, just admit it and quit wasting our time…”

The captain decided to give up and try the third screen. “Look,
Operative 231, you should know how much he means to HQ
and to the SSS now, after all, he IS your mission objective,
right?”

Seion replied by yawning. “Look, you know me well, and you
know I’m the kind who ain’t gonna go back till I got my hands
on that bastard, and so if I’m not turning back that means I ain’t
got none of my fingers squeezing that bugger’s neck yet.”

      Grimacing nervously again in the face of united
opposition, the fellow tried again, albeit to the second ship in
communication. “What about you, Chief Inspector Kiyone? Are
you absolutely sure that the aforementioned fugitive is, as you
have stated in your earlier statement, in transit to the
Colrathius System, and not, as our source indicates, on board
your very own ship?”

Kiyone’s eyes hardened even further, and the captain flinched
as he made out the cutting edge. “With all due respect, sir, do I
look like someone to go for a space cruise and leave my area
of jurisdiction for no particular reason? As for the implied
accusation I am harbouring this person on board the Yagami, I
would like to remind you, sir, that as an officer within the ranks
of the Galaxy Police, my loyalty and allegiance to the law is, as
always, and always will be, absolute.”

“Hmmm…” he gazed from Kiyone to Aeka, from Ryoko to
Seion. “Very well then, Chief Inspector. Could you swear by
your job as a GP officer that the criminal is not seeking
sanctuary in your craft?”

“I sure wou…” Kiyone began, but was cut off…

“Are you kidding me!?” Ryoko burst out into a round of
laughter. “This little cop just got her ship blown up couple of
days ago, and you expect her to take proper care it!?” Kiyone
glared at Ryoko through the screen, as the captain blinked in
surprise at her outburst. “Man… you GP types really tickle me!”

“*Ryoko*!” Kiyone snarled back. “Are you saying I…”

“Hey hey hey…” the captain interceded. “I didn’t come here to
see two chicks fight.”

The green-haired detective glared back at him. “What was that
you called me!?”

“In case you forgot, Inspector…” the squadron leader replied
coldly. “I’m a superior officer…”

“Well, *sir*… I’ll have you know that…”

The captain sighed and bowed his head slightly, scratching
his forehead in a resigned manner. “All right, all right! You
win!” he judiciously tried to ignore Ryoko who was holding her
stomach, clinging on to Tenchi for support and laughing her
guts out, to the discomfiture of Tenchi and the aggravation of
Aeka, and instead gave Kiyone and Seion a meaningful look, at
least as meaningful as he could manage while backing down
and trying not to seem nonplussed. “I’m sure you’re both
aware of the consequences if you’re found harbouring a
wanted criminal, right officers?” That they both nodded in
acknowledgement, even if a little stonily, gave him a much
better sense of comfort. “Good luck for your assignment. Both
of you have excellent service records, and I sincerely hope that
this is all just a misunderstanding…” 

Seion smiled back genially. “Thank you, Sensei Hushira…”

The captain smiled fondly, as he remembered his days
coaching Seion in the protocol of the GP after his long stint in
Torabushi territory on the planet Amano. He was lucky in that
he won the respect of the young “renegade”, as Seion was so
regarded at the time, and the youth always insisted in calling
him Sensei, and as he was only about six years older than
most of the Operative Cadets he trained, he had been able to
relate more closely to most of them. “That’s sir, Seion.”

The Operative laughed good-naturedly. “Yes, sir!”

“Thank you,” the captain gave one more approving nod. “Out,”
and the transmission screen to squadron flagship AR-6837
blanked out.

The crews of all three ships relaxed visibly, and Seion gave a
long, weary sigh. “Man… I hated doing that.”

Kiyone gave him an odd look via transmission screen, as if
evaluating where her cause stood within his loyalties, before
giving Ryoko the thumbs up. “Thanks…”

“Heh, used to doing such crap,” the cyan-haired lady winked
back.

“Well,” Aeka pointed out, still a little ticked off. “You mind not
leaning so much on Tenchi next time?”

“Aeka, Aeka, Aeka…” Ryoko smiled winningly yet
patronisingly back at her. “You know where I stand with that,
right?”

“Fine,” she turned to regard Tenchi. “What do you think, lord
Tenchi?”

“Errr…” he teardropped as they both fixed their eyes onto him.
“Could we just pretend… this never happened?”

“Kiyone?” a voice asked nervously, then Mihoshi’s face
peeked out from behind her partner. “Is it all right to come out
now?”

“Should think so,” Seion grinned at her through his
transmission screen. 

“Oh…?”

Washu nudged Ryoko mischieviously. “If you don’t mind,
Ryoko, how about some privacy for them, like about now?”

“Righto!” Ryoko returned and promptly closed off Ryo-oh-ki’s
transmission.

“Well, Mihoshi, I’ll be getting along about now too, I guess,”
Kiyone sounded a bit droll, but  Mihoshi, who was looking
wide eyed at the blank screen where Ryo-oh-ki’s crew had
once been on display, and wondering what was going on,
wasn’t exactly receptive. “Kova-chan will be missing me…”

As she left Mihoshi, she wondered about what she was doing
still.

Well… he’s on my side, and friendly and everything… but…

My brother?

She shuddered. It was hard to imagine anyone actually
managing to fall for Mihoshi, with all her ditzy baggage, much
less one who was her brother…

Well, Mihoshi *is* nice… but…

What if he was looking just to…?

She shut the nasty thought out, even as it came to her. She
had spoken to him, been with him… and she doubted he was
looking just for that.

I’ll just have to wait and see. Brother of mine or no, he’d better
prove it.

“Not bad…” 

Quick as a flash, she had spun around, blaster at the ready,
pointing upwards at the source of the sound, then… “Oh, it’s
just you…” she relaxed, smiling, then just as suddenly, her
face fell. “HEY! You’re supposed to be RESTING!!!”

“Just wanted to congratulate you, Kiyone-chan,” he smiled, as
he let go of the ventilator tube, causing his upper torso to fall,
resulting in an upside down suspension from the ceiling,
facing Kiyone, with his legs gripping another something,
grinning face level with Kiyone’s own. “That was a pretty good
act up there…” His long hair hung down from the top of his
head, and he looked quite a comic. That his grin was topsy
turvy made him look even odder, but for all that, it didn’t really
help…

“Get the hell down from there!” Kiyone shouted at him. “Or I’m
not talking to you!”

“But I’m…”

“No you are *not*!” She retorted. “You think I’m blind, that I
didn’t see you grimace as your body swung low?”

“It only just hurts a little…”

“Absolutely NOT! Now get back where you belong!” With that
having been spoken, Kiyone turned around and stormed down
the corridor in a huff. 

====================================

Meanwhile, as Ryoko had shut off the transmission, three
figures, two normal sized and one pint-sized, were walking
side by side towards the back of Ryo-oh-ki. 

“Well, Aeka, you think that will be the end of it?” 

“I don’t know… really.” The princess replied, her voice full of
unease. “He didn’t seem that convinced.” She shook her head.
“Even if he wished to be…”

Well, at least it seems I’m not alone in being bonded to my
duties…

“Yeah, sis, you’re right,” Sasami noted, sighing a little. “I’m
scared, Aeka.”

“Don’t worry, Sasami,” Tenchi smiled, if a little apprehensively.
“We’ll take care of you…”

Sasami nodded. “Yeah, I know.” Try as she might to pretend it
never happened, she had dreamed just last night, of when they
were on board the Comet… of the laser beams streaking right
through her own shield to go through both herself and Aeka…
“I’ll try not to be…” Her fingers brushed against the silver band
Kova had given her, and she remembered what he said about
how if no one else would get through it, she would.

“You’re a smart kid, Sasami,” Ryoko joined in amicably as she
materialised on the side of Tenchi away from Aeka. “They’d
probably be packing something for us. Hell even in my days I
don’t think I’ve even seen such a big group of those bastards
anywhere…”

“Quite true, Ryoko. They must have some faith in their source
too, and the one calling the shots for Kova must be someone,
to be able to pull in so many ships so quickly.” Aeka mused.
“This almost seems like when we were on the run from
Kagato…”

“Not a time I particularly want to remember…” Tenchi groaned.
“Why do these things always happen to me!?”

“Because you can handle it, Tenchi,” Ryoko laughed, hugging
him, as Aeka gave him a reassuring pat on his shoulder,
causing him to smile weakly, at least.

“I sure hope so.” He answered weakly. “I just wished someone
could tell me how to deal with all this…”

“Well…” Sasami pointed out brightly. “Why don’t we all go ask
Grandpa?”

“Good idea,” Aeka smiled at Sasami, who giggled back.

“Thanks, sis!”

Ryoko furrowed her brow in irritation. “Now where did Washu
say she put that door…?”

====================================

Mitsuki smiled to herself as she watched Seion whisper
various petty nothings to Mihoshi. The blonde was clearly
lapping it all up, and although she had the sense to try to hide
that, she wasn’t doing a very good job at it. It was almost
pathetic, the way she tried to look away with that brilliant blush
of hers, and though her skin was beautifully tanned, the rose
tinge still showed up quite clearly. Knowing the Operative,
what with him having a sharp eye for ladies, she must
practically have been glowing. Not that he wasn’t either, of
course. 

You poor, poor dear. 

She thought as she watched Mihoshi. Glad though the blonde
was with the attention accorded to her, there was still that
barrier standing between her, and Mitsuki sensed that Mihoshi
was still rather uncertain and suspicious, especially about
Seion’s involvement with Kiyone, but she was drawn to him
much like a moth drawn to a flame.

Don’t you know all men are like that, just trying to get to go
with the lady? Oh yeah, I forgot, you’re Mihoshi. Well, just a few
more sessions like this, and you’ll be putty in his hands. Good
luck… though if I heard right from some people, he’s quite a
stud, especially when it comes to riding…

It would be interesting though, if anything happened. I’d like to
see how you take it. And Kiyone too, if she ever found out.

Turning from the viewscreen, she lay back against the pillows
of her bunk, and stretched. It wasn’t uncomfortable, but it
wasn’t particularly comfortable either. The Midorishu was
rather spartan, and even with the bits and pieces Mitsuki
managed to scrounge up in the short while before going off
with Seion, there wasn’t that much difference. The real reason
why Mitsuki had chosen to stay in while Seion was handling
the GP squad captain was that, knowing herself, she was
afraid she might let something slip, and that was not
something she wanted particularly keenly to do. No doubt,
Seion and Kiyone must both have their suspicions, but
dropping more hints would certainly not help her cause in the
least.

Yes… my cause. The path of righteousness, justice, of
bringing the guilty to stand before the court of law and pay for
their crimes, of avenging the innocent and the fall…

Oh yes, I nearly forgot, she smiled to herself. The small matter
of at least a million Synereals, and perhaps a promotion.

====================================

“Grandpa?” Tenchi peeked into the living room of Masaki
household, currently in residence on board the newly refitted
Yagami.

“Shhh…!” there was a tension in the original Masaki’s voice.
“Not now Tenchi!” Katsuhito gave another look of extreme
deliberation, then looked into the eyes of his opponent, his
hand resting on his weapon. “There…” Slowly, ever so slowly,
he lifted his hand up…

Out of curiosity, Ryoko moved closer to take a look, and
Tenchi, Aeka and Sasami followed suit. Naturally the situation
made little or no sense to Ryoko, but from what Tenchi and
Aeka could make out, Katsuhito was on the roll, ready to make
mincemeat of his opponent, whose face was screwed up into
nervous and intense concentration as he tried to anticipate his
foe’s next move.

“Your turn,” Katsuhito replied in a monotone, carefully keeping
his face expressionless. “Heh heh…” he smiled slightly at the
worried look on the face of Nobuyuki.

“I’m thinking…” Nobuyuki stared at the board.

“Will someone please tell me what is going on here?” Ryoko
butted in before Tenchi or Aeka had a chance to point out to
her that interrupting their game was not exactly standard
social intercourse. Not that Ryoko would care, of course.

“Well… your dad here…” he was a little used to talking to
Tenchi about this game, so Katsuhito just employed the term.
“…tried a little too hard to end the game earlier. Now he’s
paying the price.” Indeed, most of Katsuhito’s pieces were
positioned in advantageous positions, and looked set to
massacre the routed enemy. 

Sasami sighed softly as she looked at the board. “Game
over…” she turned away.

“Well, too true…” It wasn’t often that Katsuhito laughed softly
in the open, and even less so in a vindictive manner, but he
certainly was doing so now. “Eventually.”

“No, not really,” Sasami whispered softly to herself, but only
Tenchi and Aeka just managed to hear and ponder over it,
while Katsuhito certainly did not.

“The price of trying too hard is steep, my son…” Katsuhito
continued.

“Yes it is…” Nobuyuki deliberated hard for a moment, then
suddenly broke out into a wide beam. “Yes… very steep.” With
a mischievous sidelong glance to make sure everyone, with
the exception of Sasami, was watching his move, he quite
suddenly moved an almost perfectly harmless piece into what
was a perfectly innocuous place. “Yes… especially after
almost two hours on this game too…” Katsuhito’s eyes bulged
out as Nobuyuki sighed pretentiously, as Sasami, still not
looking at the board or players, shook her head to herself.
“Check…” Just to make sure Katsuhito got an idea of the big
picture, he tapped another innocently placed piece lightly, that
had seemingly been there all along. “And on the next move…
mate.”

Katsuhito stared up in shock, as he mentally ran through all
the options available for his general, but all the escape routes
were covered, ironically some by his very own attacking
forces. Then slowly, ever so slowly, he smiled. “Well,
Tenchi…” he turned to look at his grandson, his face settling
down into a solemn look as he cleared his throat. “You…
ahem… have leant a very important lesson here?”

“Huh!?” Tenchi blinked. “I… have?”

“Nah, he’s just upset he lost,” Nobuyuki laughed, at least till
Katsuhito threw him an imperious glance that caused him to
subside suddenly into sheepish murmurings. “Although of
course, he usually does have a point… respect for your elders
if very important, Tenchi…”

Katsuhito turned to face Tenchi once more. “You see, the
enemy may seem to be routed at times, but so long there is an
opponent is seated before you, the battle is yet unfinished, and
you should watch out lest your enemy is staging a comeback.”

“Oh…” Tenchi managed. “I supposed you and dad saw
everything going on from the TV?” Washu had installed a ship
connection so the people in the house could be informed of
developments at the bridge.

Katsuhito pointedly ignored his question. “All right, lesson’s
over.” And he quite naturally turned back to face Nobuyuki,
still seated opposite him across the board, and started
resetting the pieces.

“Huh?” Nobuyuki asked. 

“I was only demonstrating to Tenchi, my son. It is important he
learns,” Katsuhito replied evenly. “Care for another game?” 

====================================

“You know, you really are getting on my nerves.” Kiyone
laughed, despite herself, looking up at him.

“Yes, I believe so,” he winked back. “And I can see you are
very angry at me, indeed.”

“Kova-chan!” Not for the first time, Kiyone wondered if her love
for him was a blessing or a curse. Even without talking about
their standing within the darkness or the light, just caring for
and being with him was at once wonderful yet upsetting in a
way. She still remembered how he had came in, staggering
towards his place of rest, and when she approached him to
help him, he had suddenly pounced on her and now here they
both were…

Maybe I’m too used to being in control… I should relax.

“Well look at it this way - so long as you stop wriggling about
like that I would be content to stay where I am and rest like you
wanted me to.” He relaxed and leaned forward, and Kiyone
almost instinctively put an arm around him as he came to rest
upon her.

“Well I did say I wanted you to rest on my bed… but not with
me stuck between you and its surface.” She answered softly,
her hand ever so gently stroking his back. She could still feel
the deep long scar line left by Nagi’s whip, and the
unevenness in his flesh courtesy of the burnt marks from the
explosion.

“Believe me… I could never rest easy without you by my side.”
He whispered, his lips just brushing by her ear. He could feel
her closeness, her warmth and her full, womanly form…

“Then I’m very sorry to inform you that once we are through
with your past, you will never rest easy.” Kiyone giggled as
she felt him press upon her.

Kova blinked, unsure if that was an invitation or a threat, then
quickly decided it must be the former. “Well, appetisers first,
then.” He let his lips brush her ear again, only this time, he held
it a little longer, just letting the tip of his tongue touch her
earlobe, and grinned as he felt Kiyone tense up. “Bon
appetit?”

Kiyone gave a soft sigh, full of burning passion, as she felt her
heart beat faster, her skin flush warm and she almost gave in
to the flame…

But… I can’t.

“No thank you,” she opened her eyes, moving from him, and
Kova looked evenly as she turned her gaze on him. “We really
can’t…” Her eyes hardened as she saw his expression on her,
loving, tender, yet almost bitter, like he was denying himself,
while it seemed ripples of emotions ran across his face,
causing his form to quiver against hers. “You never had the
intention of loving me, did you?” Kova pressed his lips
together before her accusation. “You chose this time, and
place, simply because you knew no matter what, even if we
both succumbed, we couldn’t.”

He nodded, lowering his gaze, and at the same time he moved
slightly to one side of her. Kiyone glared once more, then sat
up on the bed, staring at the other one opposite the room,
Mihoshi’s, as Kova settled back down by her side, watching
the ceiling as he lay down. “Kiyone-chan, I don’t want to,
unless…” But even then she could see it was gone now,
except for the slight tingling of the lip, which passed as his
words faded way.

“Shut up,” she snarled. 

There were some moments of silence, the two of them side by
side, yet alone, their own thoughts racing through their heads,
yet somehow, going in the same direction.

“So any ideas what to do about them?” Kiyone broke the ice.
“They obviously aren’t going to let us go.”

“I know. They might start any time now.” Kova answered, the
barest touch of cold in his voice.

“What’s your options?” Upset though she was, she still cared
more for his options than her own.

“I could eliminate sections of the fleet using my Tachyon Ray,
you could turn me in, I could EMP them , and I could run away
on my own.” His voice was even and composed. 

“Running away and meeting up later…?”

“We’re short of time, we can’t risk Seida actually getting a
working version of the Ray.” Kova pointed out. “Besides… I
wouldn’t rest easy knowing you’d be taken into custody when
Seida obviously wants you, and all of us, dead. Even the GP
are not entirely free of the Synerean influence.”

“Sounds like you only have one option, then.” Kiyone sighed.
“What’s your efficiency?”

“Low, given the size of this fleet. At best the beam can only
affect up to five ships with every shot, and using the field will
only disable a relatively small part of the fleet at any one time.”

Kiyone bit her lip. “Looks like we have no choice.  Till then, we
will have to make do.” She felt Kova take her hand, and
squeeze it gently.

“Take care, Kiyone-chan.” He murmured, his voice trembling,
and she could hear the fear in it.

“Don’t worry,” she smiled weakly, turning to face him once
again. “Apart from Ryo-oh-ki, we now have Midorishu with us.
It won’t happen again.”

“It hurt…” he whispered, bowing his head. “…bad.”

“I know.” The detective let her forced cheeriness fade away. “I
felt it too.”

There was a deep breath from Kova, then as he exhaled
slowly… “How pathetic we are. Before we met, I would have
faced this without any fear, and I know you would have, too.”
He looked up at her, his eyes smouldering in what seemed to
be anger. “Don’t you feel cheated?”

“I do.” Kiyone smiled, this time genuinely. “We’re in love.”

Kova laughed weakly, trying to sound cold and biting and
mocking, to both himself and her, but as his laughter
manifested it became mirthful in its own right, to his own
astonishment and Kiyone’s delight.

“So, how does it feel?” she asked gently, as she watched his
face light up even in the growing dark.

Unable to resist, Kova grinned at her, if a little reluctantly, his
sapphire eyes glimmering brightly. “I wouldn’t exchange this
feeling for the entire universe.”

“Thought so,” Kiyone noted wryly, not that her emerald eyes
were in any way lacking the lustre of his. “So now that we’re
through with the mush, why don’t you get to your post?”

“Yes ma’am!” He raised his hand to his foreead in a parody of
the GP honorary salute, even as he got up, his conversation
with her seemingly returning him to his usual swiftness.

“Oh, and don’t forget to…” Kiyone’s voice trailed off as she
saw he had gone. “…rest.” 

====================================

“You do not seem to understand the situation here, captain.
Things are quite the opposite of what they seem out there.”

“But sir, detective Kiyone has given her word the fugitive is not
on her ship, and Operative 231 has backed up her statement.
Not to mention a direct disregard for their words is likely to
initiate a series of hostilities from princess Aeka as well as
Lord Tenchi and Professor Washu…”

“Well,” the Chief murmured. “Yet on the other hand we have
the word of at least two other  extremely dependable sources
that the said criminal is indeed on board the…”

“Excuse me, Chief, if you please…” a cool, gentle voice calmly
interrupted. “But did I heard someone mention the princess
Aeka?”

The Chief tilted their heads slightly to look at the man on the
third transmission screen who had been merely overseeing
this operation that his side claimed to have such high stakes
in. 

“What about it, sir?” the squadron captain asked. 

“I do believe there has been some mistake…” a thin smile
curled about his face, causing his thick raven moustache to
shift slightly up. “I have just forwarded some enquiries to Jurai
and they have assured me that the princess Aeka is in fact, still
back on Jurai…”

“Is *that* so?” the captain arched an eyebrow sceptically, and
seemed more than a little taken aback. “She certainly seemed
regal enough to me…”

“I hope you can substantiate that piece of information, captain
Dosonoi,” the Chief replied evenly as he sat back in his
armchair, clasping his hands before his barely noticeable
paunch.

“Well that I certainly can do, gentlemen, so if you’ll allow me…”
quickly the signals flashed across the screen to the
commands of the Synerean ship captain, and they beheld a
fourth transmission screen open up, putting them in to Jurai.

The GP squad captain frowned, suspicious, though his Chief
seemed perfectly at ease. Sure enough, after the while it took
for the signal to travel across the intervening cosmos, they
recognised what was certainly the interior of the Juraian
palace, and…

“Good day, your Highness,” the Synerean bowed to the image
of the princess on the screen.

“What is it now?” Princess Aeka opened one eye from where
she had been caught almost nodding off on the throne…
“You’ve certainly kept me waiting long enough!”

“There has been some news of notable interest for you, your
Highness.” The thin smile on the Synerean’s face became
even broader. “Squad captain, sir, if you please?”

The GP squad captain arched an eyebrow at his Chief through
the transmission, who pressed his lips together, for the
readout of the location of the transmission source as well as
voice matching corresponded exactly to the co-ordinates of
the Juraian palace and that of their crown princess exactly…

Catching the curt nod and the grave look on his superior’s
face, “Well, you see, your Highness…”

=================================

“Sights locked on enemy,” she murmured. “Washu, anything
yet?”

“Not yet, but it won’t be long now.” The professor replied.
“Ready to intercept any command sent out by their flagship.”

“Ryo-oh-ki’s on the alert, and I’ve got some red peppers at the
ready.” Ryoko added. “And we’ll try not to hurt them…” she
grinned, despite the odds. “…too much.”

“Well, I guess that’s the best I can hope for from you,” Kiyone
turned to the Midorishu. “Seion, decided on your course of
action?” 

“Check,” the operative replied grimly.

“I would like to remind you, Kiyone, that we are taking only
evasive action, and that is only *if* there is a hostile reaction
from the squad escorting us.” Mitsuki emphasised, almost too
emphatically.

“I don’t like this, Kiyone.” Mihoshi whispered, as she looked at
Seion and Mitsuki through the transmission. “I think
something’s wrong...”

“Oh, I’m sure,” Kiyone murmured sarcastically. 

Of course something is wrong you twit! Here we are, three
ships peacefully cruising along, then we are surrounded by an
‘escort’ of over sixty GP patrol crafts, and you only *think*
something is wrong?

She licked her lips tensely. 

Well at least if there’s someone I don’t have to worry about, it’s
Kova.

“Kiyone-chan, I’m not waiting any longer.”

“Huh?” Kiyone stared in surprise at the third screen that had
just popped up. “But Kova-chan, you said you would…”

“I don’t care.” He ground his teeth together. “I’m no cop, so I
sure as hell don’t have to sit here and wait for my friends to be
massacred.” He raised a hand up for silence as he saw her
mouth open again. “I don’t want to risk you, not now, and not
ever again. Meet me at Colrathius if we lose touch.”

“Wait a minute!” Kiyone tried. “*What* exactly is it you intend to
do?”

“If I had to I’d kill every single last person in the universe just to
be sure I’ll be with you.” He replied, his eyes gazing hard on
her, cold unfeeling sapphires that seemed to radiate the
strongest of wills.

For a moment, Kiyone felt an icy sliver of fear pierce her heart.

What is this monster that I have fallen for?

“Don’t worry, Kiyone-chan!” he smiled suddenly, banishing his
chill and steely expression, and the demons in her heart fled
from the light of his expression. “You know I wouldn’t.”

And before she could reply, the screen to the Shuriken
blanked out.

=================================

I have deep misgivings about this.

Squad captain Hushira mulled over his thoughts. 

But going against a direct order, with clear evidence backing it
up? Everything in my mind tells me I should do this, yet my
heart doesn’t say so…

“Prepare for engagement,” he heard his lips say. “Objectives –
disable all three ships. If need be, destroy the Yagami and
Ryo-oh-ki. The Midorishu is to be preserved at any cost.”

“Affirmative,” he heard from his various squadron
commanders.

“Now, wave one, prepare to…”

“Captain!” He heard an urgent cry. “Squadron under attack!”

“What!? Details, SC7?”

“I’ve just lost contact with four of my five ships!”

Whew, he thought as he noted the GU ships from squad 7
were still present. “Any…” 

“No enemies in sight, sir!”

“Scan the vicinity using the link to my ship, lieutenant!” the
Synerean Captain Dosonoi, still visible on Hushira’s screen,
quickly ordered the GP squadron commander. “The lives of
your men are at stake!”

There was a flash of red from the direct visual view into space,
and instinctively Hushira spun his wheel to one side, and there
was a shudder as a yellow beam struck his ship’s shield. 

“DAMNED!” He cried, but his quick reactions had saved his
life, for the beam, rather than plunging into the engine core of
the ship after piercing through the shield, just brushed by only
the metal outer side of the craft before striking and dissipating
on the inside of another portion of his shield.

“They’re attacking!” He heard SC2 cry, moments before the
ship SD-7942, of squadron 2, vanished from within his
command list to a ‘SHIP DESTROYED’ wording.

Swearing an oath, he quickly gave the order. “All ships,
engage!” 

“Enemy spotted.” SC7 noted. “Request back-up from squads
5 and 9.”

“Approved,” he replied, as his ship unleashed light blue beams
towards the three ships in the centre of the circle. 

“Roger, moving in,” Hushira heard SC5 and SC9 reply.

“Enemy stats?” Scarlet beams just streaked by his ship. It was
fortunate that, contrary to his superior’s recommendation, he
insisted his flagship be a destroyer class cruiser rather than a
battleship, thus providing the mobility that had saved his life
so far.

“Miniature, extremely quick. Break formation and fan out as
you approach!”

=================================

“Huh?” Nobuyuki looked up from the game as Katsuhito was
deliberating his next move, towards the window, as he saw the
ships outside clustering around. “Hey grandpa, isn’t it funny
that… WOOAAH!” He cried as out of the darkness several
streaks of cerulean burst out towards the ship, and the next
instant the view from the window was spinning and winding
away chaotically.

“I see,” Katsuhito placed his piece down. “No more than what I
expected.” His eyes went to the universe, now bursting with
laserfire amidst the darkness. “And it’s your turn.”

=================================

“Wow…” Mihoshi murmured.

Kiyone cursed again as she pulled Yagami out of the dive
towards DF-5191, letting the enemy’s lasers just streak by
under the hull, and the beams from behind just brushed by the
back of the Yagami’s shield. “Damnit Mihoshi why didn’t you
fire!? That angle was bloody perfect!”

“Huh? I thought you were just moving…” The Yagami spun
through 270 degrees before arcing obliquely away to head off
a salvo of enemy beams.

“MIHOSHI! I have to concentrate on steering! Just fire at them
with the tracer, the tractor beams, the gyro rays, the
anti-gravity missiles, whatever!” The 3D radar diagram
registered at least twelve ships actively engaging them, with
the rest engaging Ryo-oh-ki and the Midorishu.

“WOAH!” Mihoshi cried as Kiyone spun the ship a full turn,
which had a net effect of doing a screeching brake, and the
beams aimed right before it just missed in front to plunge into
an enemy GP ship, where they merely dissipated on the shield.
“Oh my god Kiyone you’re fabulous! How did you do that!?”

“Drat!” Kiyone broke out into cold sweat as another volley just
missed the ferrari red craft as it went through the radius of its
braking circle, brushing against the right side. “I hate lousy
pilots! Can’t they just fire towards the logically correct
coordinates of the enemy!?” For those beams would have
missed completely if Kiyone had driven straight ahead, but in
this case only the large radius of the spin prevented the salvo
from ripping apart the Yagami’s midsection. “MIHOSHI! Do
something!”

“Uhh…” Mihoshi deliberated an instant, then pressed the red
button.

“Not that one!” Her partner screamed as half of the
transmission screen vanished to show the view of their
bedroom. 

“Oops… sorry.” 

Kiyone spun the control as she struck the reverse switch,
taking Yagami into an upward oblique reverse tailspin. Seizing
the respite as the startled enemy started, she hit the control to
clear away the interfering transmission, while a GP ship behind
backed into the line of fire of another ship, only to have the
deadly cerulean lasers dissipate on its shield harmlessly.

“Washu, we need their beam decoder!” Kiyone snarled as she
noted that, still taking care to keep her eyes on the screen. “Or
we won’t be able to break out!” The Yagami shuddered as
another hit scored, albeit not directly hitting any vital parts.  It
was a tribute to Kiyone’s skill it had taken but a few hits so far,
which were effectively absorbed by Washu’s improved
shielding system, but there could be no doubt a prolonged
engagement would result in a rather terminal conclusion. Right
from the start she had had to pour all her attention into evasive
manoeuvres, and by now the taxation was starting to show.

“Hey, things aren’t that easy here, you know,” Washu pointed
out, not that she seemed to mean what she said. The scientist
was apparently sitting down on the floor of the Ryo-oh-ki,
calmly typing away on her spectral terminal. “I’m trying to get a
lead on this, there seems to be other crafts in this.”

“What is it you need, Kiyone?” Tenchi interrupted. He was
holding Aeka to him, trying to steady her, while Ryoko was too
busy directing Ryo-oh-ki’s beams and evasions to notice.
Overall the boy seemed to be taking it rather well, perhaps
because he had another to take care of.

“Oh NO!” Sasami shouted as a large band of light blue blazed
towards Ryo-oh-ki. Swerving itself aside, the Ryo-oh-ki just
managed to avoid the beam. “Oh… whew!”

“Grr, I’ll get you for that!” Ryoko swore, and a stream of
crimson fire blazed from her ship towards the enemy ship,
though there really wasn’t time for Ryoko or Ryo-oh-ki to see if
it had struck home before the cabbit craft spun and pulled
away again.

“Really, Sasami,” Aeka chided her little sister, not withstanding
her own fears. “You ought to put more faith in Ryo-oh-ki.”

“Just a moment now, Tenchi,” Washu smiled to herself as she
worked leisurely away. While she seemed to be sitting on the
floor of the ship, it was worth noting that as the rest stumbled
now and then to a direct or indirect hit, Washu never seemed
to be disturbed in the least. “I think I might just have something
you can help me with…”

“Really?” The boy asked, surprised. All he had ever
understood from ship battles was that he was to hang around,
pretend to be comforting the other people and not look too
frightened of being vaporised.

“And Kiyone, you need to concentrate…”

The detective, lost in the situation, didn’t register as Washu
casually cut the transmission off.

“Miyaa?” Ryo-oh-ki cried in surprise as within her sights, a pair
of shuttles, each roughly a quarter of the size of the average
spacecraft, shimmered out of nothingness within the airspace.
Dimly it could be made out that their surfaces were subject to a
cloaking field, hence an ethereal texture to them. One was
close to Yagami, firing alternately at the GP crafts and
Ryo-oh-ki, while the other one was trailing after Midorishu but
firing at Yagami and the various GP crafts with a variety of
beams.

“Oh!!” Aeka exclaimed in surprise. “So they were the ones who
started all this!”

“I knew they were there all along from the moment that beam
just appeared out of nothingness to destroy that ship. They
too are the ones that are keeping this battle going, or the GP
would have noticed by now the Yagami and the Midorishu
aren’t returning fire,” Washu noted wryly, watching the figures
on her computer intently. “I just need to check certain things
about them…”

“You mean they shot that poor ship in cold blood?” Sasami
exclaimed, surprised. “How could they?”

“Is that so?” Ryoko laughed. “You really have to get to know
me someday, Sasami…”

“Locked on Synerean craft…” Even as Washu intoned, the
dimensional door lying on the floor at the back of Ryo-oh-ki’s
bridge suddenly righted itself to lean against the wall.

“Miyah!!!?” Ryo-oh-ki shrieked, as the spacecraft swerved
wildly before suddenly descending down then sweeping right.

“WASHU!” Ryoko spun on her heel to turn from the window to
space and face Washu. “What the HELL do you think you are
doing!?”

“Relax, Ryoko.” Washu grinned. “I need to close the distance.”

“MIIIIYYYYAAAA!” Ryo-oh-ki cried out in fear as a salvo of
beams streamed towards her from a variety of directions, but
something seemed to be wrong, she couldn’t change her
course…

There was a collective sigh of relief as a rapid counter spin by
the cabbit-ship sent the beams ricocheting off an angle to her
shields.

Aeka her face pale, turned to face Washu, before announcing.
“I demand you cease this at once!”

“Miya!” Ryo-oh-ki added.

“Hey I’m just borrowing Ryo-oh-ki for a while…” If anything,
the scientist seemed more delighted with the glares of anger
and fear from Ryoko and Aeka. “Now stop glaring at me like
that, you two will have to help Tenchi.”

“Huh?”

“Not bad, we’re getting closer,” the professor grinned
wickedly, as the door slid open, the void beyond solidifying
from semi-transparent jet and shimmering with touches of
silver as though ripples were passing over it. “Now Tenchi,
and those who will wish to accompany him, kindly step this
way…”

=================================

!!!!

Nothing short of pure reflexes would have done the job, and
nothing short of pure reflexes did it. 

How in the world…!?

Only now did he feel his pulse race as his craft swung out from
its comfortable cruise, pulling away from the rays streaming
towards him. Looking out at the universe, he saw the silver
blue enemy ships falling away from each other to spread
themselves out, even as more rushed in from various
directions. 

They must have spotted me!

How they did, though, was a question that did not even
impinge on his consciousness, for already the Shuriken was
whirling like a bullet away from the beams as he savoured the
adrenaline rush he had not felt since the Wanderer had fallen
to ruin. The craft was so small a single ray could envelop the
entire craft, and although it would be unlikely that a hit would
be immediately fatal, due to the shields, there was only so
much that a craft meant to be invisible could take.

The pilots of the incoming crafts swooping in for the kill all
started as they saw the tiny red blip on their radar move out of
its gentle cruise.

Damn that thing is fast! Thought SC5. 

“Fire! Engage aiming systems, or it will get away!”

Unable to see the miniature spacecraft against the vast void
that was the universe, dotted with other light blue crafts, the
GP pilots let their ships’ computers engage their aiming
systems, with only timing subject to the pilots’ judgement, and
streams of laserfire burst out as the Shuriken zigzagged
erratically in space.

Come on!

Kova ground his teeth as he spun the craft away and
diagonally down, while taking care not to maintain consistent
speed, opening fire as he did so. Although the many shots
whirling around the Shuriken were obscuring his sights, his
senses and detectors still served him well amidst the lines of
light blue bursting through the space about…

“I’m h…!”

SC9 swore as his squad mate got cut off to a almost invisible
bolt of misty silvery white struck the friendly ship, setting off a
barely visible ripple in the matter in the vicinity of the stricken
ship LQ-2793, which stopped it dead in its tracks. 

Well at least we spread out… SC9 thought as he briefly
glimpsed the four frozen ships from squadron 7 amidst the
blue shots. At least they aren’t casualties… I hope.

“Tighten the firing ring!” SC9 ordered, but another misty silver
disturbance in the air just close by SC5’s RM-4538 gave SC9
cause for concern, for he respected SC5 as a good pilot, yet
the beam, whatever it was, had just barely missed his
compatriot’s ship. “Back us up, squad 8!” 

Kova smiled as the ships’ fire changed in an attempt to hem
his ship into a small space for the kill, but nevertheless he just
managed to weave the Shuriken into safety before the deadly
net of beams closed, even as another six crafts disengaged
from the fray with the Midorishu, Yagami and Ryo-oh-ki to turn
to him.

Interesting, this is almost worth it all. Not to mention the odds
are better for Kiyone now…

A blaze of blue enveloped the Shuriken momentarily, and for a
moment as the craft quivered as if it would fall to pieces, but
the next instant it was clear and away, to the rapid thumps of
his heart.

The odds are stacking.

The smile turned into a ghoulish grin.

Just the way I like it.

=================================

Seion sighed, before helping himself to the last shot from the
bottle. 

This is great, just about the most fun I could ever get… if only.

He looked at Mitsuki, hard at work at the controls. Even with
Midorishu’s advanced auto-pilot with evasive capabilities
activated, it helped significantly that the red-headed one was in
the seat, for during the days at the academy, she had been
second to none save one.

I don’t get it, why can’t I ever seem to pick this up?

His brows furrowed for a moment in determination as the
whiskey dribbled down over his throat to soak against his
uniform, then the empty bottle was sent spinning away…

Now is NOT the time to do *this*!!!!

Something screamed this at him from the back of his mind, but
Operative 231, assisted by what had once occupied the thing
that shattered against the walls of the Midorishu, casually
gagged, trussed up and booted away his common sense. 

“Huh!?” Mitsuki’s eyes widened as the Midorishu suddenly
swerved into the path of a beam cluster, and its speed bar
shuddered downward as the sudden manoeuvre lost the ship
speed, causing it to just pass behind the enemy fire. “Get away
from THERE!” She shouted to Seion, who had just settled
down in the other pilot seat.

“Hey, share some of the fun, willya?” He grinned boyishly at
her.

Mitsuki’s eyes widened, and she very nearly threw herself at
Seion, before another shot loomed high on the screen.
“WATCH OUT!”

The two of them simultaneously reacted, only Seion, thinking
he was swinging the craft to the left, pulled a stationary left
turn, even as Mitsuki swung diagonally right and upwards.

“Hey, this feels great!” The Operative laughed as the jet ship
spun away upwards like a plane that had been struck in one
wing, only that while planes spin earthwards as they fall away,
this one spun upwards and away…

“You’re MAD!” Mitsuki shouted back in frustration, then
inspiration struck, and she flicked open the captain’s control
box… 

“Alpha controls disabled.” The feminine voice of the Midorishu
sounded.

Seion blinked as he tried the controls again, to no effect.
“HEY!”

But Mitsuki was too busy to bother as she just brought the
craft out of the spin to weave around more salvoes, the
moment of distraction nearly costing them dear.

Operative 231 growled. “First class detective Mitsuki, I *order*
you to…”

There was a flicker across the screen, then he had spun
around to face the monitor, as the transmission appeared.

“Seion, why *are* you resisting arrest!?” The face of Squad
Captain Hushira boomed.

For a reply, Hushira watched as Seion stood up, ever so
slowly, like a formidable giant rising out of the chair, and
several seconds of silence passed as the emerald orbs that
were his eyes fixed onto him, seeming to enlarge and grow to
surround him.

“Seion!?” he asked, surprised.

The Operative lowered his gaze, but his anger was palpable.
“Sensei, you know bloody hell why.”

“How dare you, you…!”

“Something is wrong.” Seion’s gaze met his again. “You sense
that, you *know* that… like me. Only I do what I feel is right,
and that is my duty.”

There was a moment of stunned silence from the captain, then,
“I ORDER you to surrender yourself and your ship!”

“Duty calls.” Seion gave him a cold smirk. “*Sir*.”

“Sei…!!” The next moment the transmission was cut off.

Throwing himself back down back into Alpha pilot’s seat, there
was a moment of brooding silence, then the next moment
Seion’s arm slammed into the armrest of the seat. There was
some ragged breathing, as his face contorted into a visage of
fury and misgiving, then as he raised his arm again to hold his
head, there could be seen clearly the mark of his arm on the
metal…

Mitsuki, who had seemingly been occupied with the situation
the whole time, smiled to herself.

Another transmission flashed on, and Seion half stood up,
almost about to shoot back some remarks, when he realised it
was Washu.

“I see things don’t look too good with you either,” Washu
noted composedly. “Tenchi’s moving in to capture their beam
decoder on board the Synerean craft, and once we have it we
might be able to get out of this.”

“No problemo,” Seion sat back giving her the thumbs up,
numb to the chaos in the space about him. “My Midorishu will
be flying high when you get to it.”

No thanks to you if that happens, Mitsuki thought, sweat
beading on her brow.

“Heh, you ain’t half-bad for cop.”

“I ain’t never been no chicken, and I ain’t gonna start being one
now.”

“Maybe,” the professor swivelled her eye a bit to the side. “But
someone might.”

Seion blinked as the transmission went off, then his eyes went
to his colleague at Delta pilot controls. 

She hasn’t questioned my actions so far…

His jaw fixed stolidly as he gazed upon her.

Best be careful.

=================================

I’m growing soft. 

The Ken-oh-ki watched the battle detachedly.

Who would have thought the great Nagi would be letting the
GP do the dirty work for her?

She shook her head, trying to uproot the disturbing thought.

I have let others, even scum, do my dirty work before… why
should I be taken aback now?

Even before she properly acknowledged that, a brief pinprick
of pain pentrated her consciousness, and she cursed her own
weakness. 

But I doubt he’d fall so easily. 

True enough, for while outnumbered, they were clearly holding
their own, although it puzzled Nagi why a rather large group of
GP ships seemed to be tied up dealing with what seemed to be
empty space.

And even if he did, I’d get the money…

For an instant, the darkness of the bridge of Ken-oh-ki was
shattered by a burst of purple light, then it darkened to
blackness again, broken only by the sound of hissing breath
through clenched teeth.

The money doesn’t count damnit! You know that now, you
knew that all along, and you were just kidding yourself all
along… and so what if it’s a lot!? No amount of money will
return you to those days of old… That part of your life is over,
and that person you once were is dead.

The blue eyes hardened to frosty ice.

All that matters is the hunt, the prey, and the challenge.

Her knuckles whitened against her whip, but the weapon did
not flare up from its handle.

I’ve grown now. There is nothing left for me, but I can, and will,
survive on nothing.

====================================

“Ryoko, take care of Aeka…” Tenchi set his lips grimly
together as he looked down the corridor of the Synerean
shuttle. He could still remember the turrets, the guns popping
out at various angles, and he remembered the doors, or rather,
a specific door.

And I’m not going to be taken down by a ‘door’ again…

“I don’t need to be taken care of!” Aeka glared indignantly
Ryoko. “I might still hurt, but I can take care of myself.”

“Tenchi said…”

“Well, who really counts?” Thus did the princess cut the pirate
off first, to the mild surprise of Ryoko, who somehow did not
expect she would ever let that pass. “Me, or Tenchi?”

Ryoko gave her a withering look, as Tenchi disappeared round
the corner, sword in hand. “All right, then.” That there hadn’t
been any visible reception, as far as she could tell, worried her.
She vanished to appear around the corner.

Tenchi paused a moment to catch his breath, the blaze of blue
trailing him coming to rest, and Ryoko stared as she saw him
beyond the four guards, even as Aeka moved up beside her,
her breathing a little ragged, but otherwise fine wrapped within
her shimmering shield, which, though lesser than on previous
occasions, was still formidable.

The Synerean guards stared from princess to pirate, then
turned around to look at Tenchi, whose back was faced to
them, then the clattering sound of four pieces of metal falling to
the ground milliseconds after one another reverberated
through the passage, shattering the silence.

“Please,” Tenchi whispered, and though they could not see
his face they knew his expression was grim. “I don’t wish to
hurt anyone.”

As one, the guards lay what remained of their weapons,
namely the handles, on the ground, and stepped aside to let
Ryoko and Aeka pass through.

“Which way to the bridge?” Aeka demanded, as she went
between the men.

The Synerean gave her an odd look, almost as though he were
offended, and though he was unarmed while the air around
Aeka pulsed with cerulean power, there was something in his
demeanour that gave Aeka pause, before a stoic silence
ensued.

“Hey!” Ryoko suddenly reached over and grabbed the man by
the collar, lifting him off the floor with only a hand. “She asked
you a question!” The guard’s eye widened, and his expression
tensed as if expecting some blow to be meted out, but the
stolid look remained unmoved. Amber eyes narrowed to slits
and orange sparks spat from her hand, giving a ghastly hue to
the man’s face, but all that changed on his face was that he
seemed resignedly expectant, awaiting the blast that would
send him to oblivion.

Then the light died.

“Forget it, Ryoko,” Aeka whispered.

Ryoko looked at Aeka behind her, with one hand placed on her
shoulder, then she reluctantly lowered the man down. “After all
they’ve done, how they’ve hurt us… you’re going to let them
get go just like that?”

The princess shook her head reprovingly. “You know it’s not
them.”

The man appeared unmoved as Ryoko shoved him back and
away from her, though he did wince as his body struck the
side of the wall. “Count your lucky stars, man.” Then she spun
on her heel, moving off towards Tenchi… “Tenchi?” she
asked, as they drew nearer the boy, who seemed stunned. 

Tenchi blinked, as he recovered his senses. “Uh… yeah!” he
scratched his head nervously. “I’m fine.” Ryoko looked
curiously at him, but he thought he saw from over her
shoulder, Aeka smile sweetly at him.

It wasn’t a palpable feeling, or something definite that he could
put his finger on. It was just this feeling that had seemed so
elusive at times… a harmony, a blending of chords from mere
raw noise, and where once only cacophony existed, the ghost
of a melody could be found in the making…

“Let’s get going, it can’t be easy out there for them,” Aeka
interrupted his train of thought before he could make full sense
of it.

“Erm… okay!” Tenchi nodded, dumbly. It was a stupid
reaction, he knew, but some things just came along and
knocked you on the head, especially when and where you
least expect it, and after that you were just barely able to take
what comes along. Not that he noticed.

Several turns and about twenty guards later, they arrived at
what they felt certain was the entrance to the bridge.

Tenchi stared at it, warily, while Aeka and Ryoko tensed up
behind him, all of them with the same thoughts on their minds.

No cyborgs, no gun turrets, not even marines… the men here
never even got to fire a shot, even though their loyalty to the
Synerean cause was unquestionable… too easy …

Standing an arm’s length from the door, Tenchi bit his lip, and
raised Tenchi-ken, preparing to dive aside at the least sign of
any threat.

Well, here goes…

The blaze of blue arced down and into the door.

=================================

Logic dictates that where a battle of such magnitude occurs in
such a dilapidated border sector between Juraian and
Synerean territory, there are bound to be interlopers, even if
they are prudent enough to keep a respectable distance away.

“What do you think, Kul?” 

“Strange…” a gruff voice whispered. Kuldarian seemed to be
an older man, with streaks of white mixed in his blonde hair,
forehead wrinkled from much furrowing, and a long scar along
the side of his face, but nevertheless, under his ragged simple
shirts and pants, topped by an old leather vest, he was still as
lean and mean as he ever was. “There is more than meets the
eyes.” 

His various compatriots, dressed in richer clothes more suited
to their ‘income’, nodded to the words of their leader as they
awaited his verdict.

Moments of silence passed, as the motley company of grey
battle-scarred ships, their surfaces punctuated here and there
with shining pieces of newly fitted armaments and repairs,
watched the distant bursts and flashes of light within the
formidable ring of GP crafts.

“Interesting.” Kuldarian whispered. “The Ryo-oh-ki lies
within.”

“That would make that red GP ship the Yagami.” Pylcarde, his
lieutenant and a veteran in his own right, added. “And there
seems to be another black rebel GP ship nearby. Do we wait,
Kul?”

“Most certainly. There’s something big out there.” His eyes
flashed with menace born of uncertainty. “In case you didn’t
notice, Pyl, Nagi is here.”

“Nagi? Why should she be here!?” Pylcarde expressed
surprise before he finally caught the shine of silver off the
surface of Ken-oh-ki.

“Then there’s that cluster of GP ships over there seeming
winging around and battling with nothing… except there’s at
least seven of them immobile.” His eyes narrowed warily, but
he smiled. “I’m sure we won’t want that ‘nothing’ as a foe,
would we?”

“No offence, Kul, but much as I would like a pal like that I
wouldn’t appreciate making enemies of his enemies. Don’t
even talk about those foes we don’t know, the ones here
would be enough.”

Kuldarian gave a cold laugh. “That’s the problem with you, Pyl,
you care too much about risks. Just to let you know, indeed,
these ones aren’t the only ones out there…”

Pylcarde’s eyes widened as he made out, even further away, a
fleet of at least another ten Synerean craft watching, and
waiting. “What the…!?”

“So you see, our ‘friend’ out there is unlikely to be able to get
through this on his own.” There was a cold gleam from the
brown eyes. “He probably would appreciate some help.”

“Whatever you say, Kul, but seriously, why do this?” Pylcarde
did not seem surprised by his commander’s decision to take
on what seemed to be ridiculous odds. 

“Heh, if we pull this off right, there’ll be war.” The blonde leader
of the gang grinned. “And as with war, you know the rules.”
His eye glimmered with the light of the distant battle. “They
beat the crap  out of each other, and we get to take everything
in between.” 

“Is that all, Kul?” Pylcarde smiled knowingly at the notion. “I’ve
known you for too long, and that can’t be the only thing, can
it?” 

“Cross my heart and hope to die.”

=================================

Captain Dosonoi shook his head half in wonder and half in
dismay as he saw the red beep indicative of enemy activity
within shuttle 6382PX.

Damn him to hell, how in the blue blazes does he know all
this? They’re cloaked, and besides, there are over fifty other
decoders on the GP ships… how the freak does he do all this!?

His finger twitched over the control button. A single flick, a
quick touch, and the shuttle would quite simply, self-destruct.

Quick, simple, clean.

No… there must be some way I can outwit *him*…

The shadow of yet another GP craft passed over the line of
sight as he fixed his eyes on the Yagami and the Shuriken, at
least where his advanced detection system indicated it was,
and quite suddenly, inspiration struck…

=================================

Too easy…

Tenchi looked around the controls, with the ruined door
behind him as Ryoko, grinning maniacally, with both energy
blasts forming up in both hands, hemmed the terrified five man
crew of the shuttle into a corner, while Aeka kept a look out for
more guards approaching the bridge. He didn’t worry about
Ryoko hurting the crew though, no doubt she was just having
her own form of fun.

Where is that thing?

A quick scan, then Tenchi quickly reached behind his back
with one hand to remove the detector.

Luckily Washu foresaw this possibility.

Facing the device and watching intently for a hint of the
decoder, Tenchi did not notice the shuttle was starting to move
on its own, nor did anyone else.

There… he watched as the base of the controls flash red, then
the detector released the casement controls, causing a section
to open up and reveal the decoder, a dirty grey cylinder about
a forty centimetres in diameter, its length embedded within the
ship’s controls interior.

Two locks clockwise, three anti, then one clockwise, he read
off the detector Washu handed him.

Putting Tenchi-ken aside, the boy took hold of the device’s
handle with both hands, and turned it clockwise to the sound
of two clicks, then anti-clockwise…

=================================

 “Squad captain? Hushira?”

“What is it, captain Dosonoi!?” Hushira tried to keep the
frustration in his voice down. He had long since ceased trying
to fire upon the Midorishu, lest he accidentally score a vital hit,
and was irked that he was unable to communicate with Seion
and move him into submission. The pilot of the Midorishu was
obviously someone skilled, certainly not Seion, but seeing the
manoeuvres, he doubted that the person would be his match
should he set his mind to bringing the ship down.

“The space pirate Ryoko, the impostor Aeka and the earthling
Tenchi have breached one of our reconnaissance shuttles
near Ryo-oh-ki!”

“I don’t see any Synerean shuttles around.”

“They’re cloaked… that’s why they’re used for
reconnaissance.” Dosonoi urged urgently. “Quick inform your
men to be on the look out!”

“Very well, sir.” The boosters of destroyer class GP patrol
cruiser AR-6837 fired off, moving closer to Ryo-oh-ki, keeping
a watchful eye out for any disturbance in the space that might
indicate the rogue craft.

=================================

Sitting back, Washu took time out to watch Anako chasing
Koneko around the Ryo-oh-ki again. Although the black kitten
was male and seemed to be a wee larger, why it always got
picked on by Anako, Washu wasn’t really sure.

Heh, Tenchi…

She grinned.

Not that Tenchi was taller than Ryoko.

Meanwhile, Sasami watched the battle in space, not excluding
the Ryo-oh-ki, with worry. True, there didn’t seem to be
anything that could get by between both Ryo-oh-ki’s innate
manoeuvrability and Washu’s intellectual capability, but the GP
ships weren’t getting any lesser, and it made Sasami’s heart
jump when she saw an enemy ship nearly get hit, because
deep inside of her, she knew that they weren’t really the
enemy. There was also no way to tell how Kova, Kiyone or
Seion was doing, and most importantly, how Tenchi was
doing. “Washu?”

“Yes, Sasami?” The professor looked kindly upon the girl. That
the situation regarding the Ryo-oh-ki was pulling through fine
so far, in a sort of comfortable equillibrium, especially after two
GP craft withdrew from engaging them, was after all, merely an
ongoing compliment to her ability, and Washu’s mood was all
the sunnier for that. 

“Something is wrong…”

“Really? And what might that be?”

“I… don’t really know.” Sasami appeared worried. “Just feel…
please make sure… please.”

Washu arched an eyebrow at Sasami, and the way her kawaii
face was darkened in a look of genuine fear was such that
even Washu could not ignore it. “Well, I’ll check.” Turning to
the terminal, Washu’s eyes widened as she realised the
Synerean shuttle Tenchi and company had boarded was
moving off at a moderately high speed away from the
Ryo-oh-ki towards the thick of the GP ships…

=================================

There… Tenchi nodded, and prepared to pull the device out. In
the background could be heard the squealing of a crew
member as Ryoko playfully tugged on his ear.

“How is it, Tenchi?” Aeka asked, as she stepped back through
the door. Outside the corridor was another patrol group of four
Synerean guards, who had just turned round the corner to the
bridge before Aeka was upon them. It was a good thing for
them she had reduced her power, or the energy unleashed
upon them would have ended their lives rather than leave
them, as it were, out cold on the ground for at least an hour.

“Going fine so far…” Tenchi pulled. “Huh!?”

“What’s wrong?” Aeka moved over, delicately.

“Let me try again!” Tenchi pressed his lips together, gripped
tight, and… “Unnngghhh!”

The princess blinked as he tried to catch his breath. “Tenchi?”

“It’s stuck!” the boy cried.

“Hey if there’s a problem, you can leave it to me,” Ryoko
smiled turned around, nonchalantly throwing the hapless crew
member into the corner, then the golden pupils
widened…“Huh!?” 

Tenchi and Aeka, noticing the odd catch in Ryoko’s voice,
looked up, only to see.

“Uh oh…” the boy gulped as he saw the ship was hurtling
through space, right towards a somewhat modified GP ship.
The ship, seemingly oblivious to the presence of the craft, was
headed directly for the shuttle too.

“I think we’re going to hit it.” A sweatdrop formed on Aeka’s
brow as the vessel drew close with rather terminal velocity. Her
gaze sweeping over to the bridge, she saw with alarm that all
the controls had sunk into the metal surface of the bridge
system, and now there was no way to control the craft at all…

“Come on out damn you!” Tenchi tugged on the decoder
desperately, and Ryoko, fear pumping through her veins,
phased directly beside him to pulled on the decoder
desperately.

“What in the F***ing hell is wrong with this thing!?” The space
pirate cursed as the device remained stubbornly immobile.

“Aeka, get back!” Tenchi shouted, still struggling with the
device.

“Let me help!” Rather than obeying him, the violet haired
princess came running up.

“No, Aeka, get awa…oof!” The next moment he was flying
through the air, and struck Aeka, before they both fell back out
of the doorway. “RYOKO!?” He looked up in disbelief as the
hand that had swatted him away like a fly gripped the other
handle of the decoder.

“You two, out, *NOW*!” The space pirate swore as, despite
using all of her extremely prodigious strength, the thing held.
“Run for it! I can teleport out!”

“Ryoko, I won’t…!”

“Aeka, do your job!” The space pirate snarled urgently.

Tenchi was about to run back in, when Aeka grabbed him.
“Come on!” Before he could protest, she shoved him away
from the bridge door to the side, then he was pushed around
the corner.

“Aeka!!” He shouted at her.

“Ryoko knows what she is doing!” At least I pray she does,
Aeka thought to herself. “We’ve got to get away from here!” 

Tenchi watched as she ran past him, at least as best as she
could with her injury.

“Come on, Tenchi! You know Ryoko wouldn’t give you up for
the universe, you think she would just let herself die like that!”
Aeka stopped, staring bewildered at him. “But if you died she
wouldn’t live on… and nor would I.”

The boy hesitated, his eyes still moving warily back.

 Biting her lip, the princess stopped completely. “Fine, if you
wish to die, I’m here with you.”

The violet gaze cut deep into Tenchi, and he mentally flinched
at their cold resoluteness…

I could die for either one of them… but could I take either one
of them with me?

“All right, I’m moving!” he heard himself say, then he *was*
moving again, to the immense relief of Aeka.

A few turns, they were back at the door, and the princess
quickly pulled it open…

Both pairs of eyes, brown and amethyst, widened.

There was nothing but a thin film of empty blackness, through
which they could see the rest of the Synerean’s ship interior.

=================================

I can’t get past it!

Washu swore out loud, her preoccupation blotting out the
frightened look Sasami was giving her as she saw the
redoubtable scientist ruffled. The little princess was sitting in a
corner, her eyes flitting anxiously from the red-head, to the
insane frenzy of ships outside, and the door. The door that
stood at the back of the ship, its interior a thin film of lifeless
black before the back of the Ryo-oh-ki.

The cloaked Synerean shuttle fired into the path of the
Ryo-oh-ki, preventing the ship from drawing near, and causing
several GP ships to alter their flight path or be hit, while others
winged over, anxious to see if it were the rogue craft. Clearly it
was firing not to score a direct hit, but merely to prevent the
passage of the Ryo-oh-ki towards the other cloaked shuttle,
and its efforts, combined with those of the typically ignorant
GP crafts hounding the cabbit ship, were paying off well.

Her pink eyes dilated in fury and frustration as she saw on her
sensors the other shuttle winging for the GP flagship moving
in towards the decoy shuttle that was also preventing her from
closing the eight hundred metres…

DAMNIT! We can’t wait!

“Sorry Ryo-oh-ki…” she ground her teeth.

“Miya!?” Ryo-oh-ki shrilled as she moved into the path of the
shuttle’s beams… “MIYYAAA!” Her shielding quivered before
the barrage, and two beams got through, causing the ship to
quake. One beam struck a crystal tip of her form, and the next
moment the torque, combined with the momentum of the
speeding craft, sent the cabbit ship spinning haphazardly
towards the shuttle.

=================================

The bridge of Synerean shuttle 6382PX was by now empty, the
crew of the shuttle having fled as they looked upon the face of
impending annihilation. Or rather, almost empty. 

Amber eyes burned with frustration, rage and desperation, and
beads of sweat glistened off her hands and face, the only parts
of her body not covered by her crimson and sable battle suit.

This doesn’t make sense!! Who the F*** designed this…!?

Just managing to stop herself from smashing the whole
contraption into scrap metal, Ryoko beheld the blissfully
unaware GP cruiser looming large on the screen, and her
pulse accelerated, for she could barely see the darkness of
space anymore, most of it taken up by the body of the
cruiser…

Three seconds at best…

Orange light shone as the blade formed in her hand.

So I’ll just have to get this whole damned thing back to
Washu…

=================================

Almost there now, Dosonoi grinned as he watched AR-6837
speeding towards its doom.

A direct collision would be most acceptable if I wished to
ensure your demise. But unfortunately, your destruction is not
the only one I have to be assured of.

He grinned devilishly as he imagined the enemy preparing to
pull back in the last possible second before collision, as his
hand hovered over a rather nondescript black button.

And since they’re the enemy, why not take away that precious
last second?

=================================

 “It’s not working!” Tenchi exclaimed with dismay as he
stepped through the door, only to emerge on the other side of
the corridor as if it were nothing but a mere frame.

The princess bit her lip as her gaze met his, which was
mirroring the fear in the depths of her amethyst eyes through
the thin film of blackness in the doorframe. “I don’t…” Her eyes
widened as she lost sight of him through the door, the thin
shadowy black between them darkening to an opaque void
that shimmered with silver ripples…

=================================

His finger alighted on the button, which sunk down in
response to the pressure…

=================================

Hushira’s eyes widened as he just managed to glimpse, for the
barest fraction of an instant, the form of the Synerean shuttle
filling his screen.

HOLY S…

His hands instinctively made to swerved his craft away, but by
then it was too late. Blinding golden and scarlet light streaked
threw his vision, before finally settling down into darkness.

===End of Chapter===

PLEASE send COMMENTS & CRITICISMS! (C&C)

Firstly I would like to apologise for making my readers wait so long
before releasing this chapter, but I myself am currently on enlisted
in a job, and also on the prowl for... hmm. Let's leave it at that. 
Suffice to say I am growing up, and I'm trying to squeeze time for
writing whenever I can, yup. So, this is chapter 17. Enjoy it, and juz
KIV I will try to get my Tenchi Muyo: Fantasy Chapter 1 - Onslaught, out,
before going back to chap 18. Thanx ^_^.

With no visible date set for the completion of the fic, I am currently 
setting up some kind of mailing list for D&L. Basically just to 
tell u when a new chapter comes out.
Please mail your Name & Email to zyraen@yahoo.com, no other data is reqd.
If u like u can provide your age, sex, and readiness to C&C.

NOTES:
Kova is in a way, an SIed character. Pls include him in your
comments, whether I have portrayed him as a person, as a friend
or foe, as one of the gang, and most importantly, as a human being.
I have some pictures of him, not too good pencil drawings, if you
wish to take a look pls mail me.

I hope you have enjoyed this Fanfic as much as I have typing it.
If there are any more grammar errors, I beg your forgiveness, as
my sole proofreader is myself, and Serajadeyn ^_^.

This is my first FF, so go ahead and mail me at zyraen@yahoo.com
with comments, especially on character portrayal, realism.

PLEASE send COMMENTS & CRITICISMS! (C&C)