The Gift

*****

Ryoko awoke to the sound of her alarm clock going off.  As her light saber impaled the harmless time
 piece, she realized that last night she had set it for a very special reason.  Instantly, she phased
 through the roof of the Masaki household and headed in the direction of town.

It was a beautiful morning.  The sun was just rising, the birds were singing and the morning dew
 glistened like diamonds on everything below her.  Ryoko looked about at all this beauty and sighed.
  As much as she wanted to take a walk through this beauty on this Aeka-free morning, she knew 
that she just didn't have the time.  With a burst of speed, she tore through the morning air towards town.

*****

"Hey Aeka, where do you think Ryoko went off too?"  Sasami's question made the groggy Aeka shoot
 up from her futon.  "What?  What do you mean?"  As Aeka bolted towards the window Sasami was
 standing at, Aeka saw Ryoko flying off into the distance.  "Ohh, I'll just bet she's working on some
 scheme to get Tenchi.  Well, I'll be damned if I let that happen!"  Aeka stormed out of the room as
 Sasami rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and sighed.  "It's going to be another one of those days..."


*****

"Damn!  What Am I suspossed to get anyways?"  Ryoko stood in the department store feeling
 perplexed.  The sales clerks and customers were feeling the same way.  Ryoko was wearing her
 cleavage-plus outfit, and not very tightly I might add.  After some straw drawing, the winner went up to
 her.  "Can I help you ma'am?" The store clerk asked.

"Well, for starters, my head is up here."  Ryoko lifted the salesman's chin skyward and leveled his eyes
 with her own.  "Uhh, right.  Sorry."  Ryoko motioned to the case before her.  "I need something special.
  You see, I'm shopping for something..we..I've never had to shop for anything like this before, yo see.."
 (I usually don't shop at all; I steal what I need) she thought to herself.  "Right.  Well, what exactly is
 this for?"

*****

Aeka cursed silently to herself.  She had dressed in a hurry and had tried to keep up with Ryoko as
 best she could.  From where she was, she could see her hated enemy, but she couldn't make out what
 she was doing.  "Ohh, I bet she's trying to buy something for Tenchi and win him over with a gift.  Well
 two can play at that game!"  Aeka lept up from the center of the clothes rack she was hiding in and
 after startling a store patron to death with her sudden appearance, screamed for a sales clerk.
  "Service!  I demand service!"  

A clerk rushed over to the princess and bowed.  "How may we help you?" the clerk asked.  Instantly
 Aeka whipped out a wad of cash and flung it at the clerk.  "I demand the biggest, most expensive gift
 that a lady can give to a man.  NOW!"  The sales clerk bowed.  "Yes ma'am," he chirped as he picked
 up the cash and led her off.  Ahh sales clerks, she thought, Royal Logs with feet and arms.


*****

It was dusk as Ryoko silently phased into the Masaki household.  In her hands, a small package was
 being clutched for dear life.  As she looked around, she saw the coast was clear.  No one was around
 and even Mihoshi's favorite spot in front of the TV was vacant.  "What the hell?" Ryoko said aloud.
  Finally, she noticed the note on the coffee table.  It read:

Dear Gang,

Grandpa, dad, Mihoshi, Sasami and me went into town to pick up a few things.  Dinners in the fridge.
  Don't wait up!

Tenchi

"Hmm, that's odd.  I wonder why Aeka didn't go along..."  Ryoko was cut short by an all-too-familiar
 voice.  "Well, well, well.  Miss Ryoko, I guess your little scheme backfired, didn't it?"  Ryoko turned to
 face her long time advrasary.  "What the hell are you talking abou..."  Ryoko stopped as she saw what
 was behind Aeka.

Behind the first crown princess of Jurai sat a ten foot tall head that had to weigh at LEAST three tons. 
 "What the hell is that?!"  Aeka smiled the smile of a champion.  "That, as you so elequantly put it, is 
an Aztec ceremonial wedding gift."  Ryoko scratched her head.  "Why the hell did you waste your 
money on something like that?"  Aeka put her nose in the air.  "The sales clerk assured me that it was 
the biggest, most expensive wedding gift in the store.  It should run your pathetic little gift into the 
ground."

Ryoko stood dumbfounded.  "Wait a minute.  I saw that hideous thing in the department store today...
 you followed me?"  Aeka nodded.  "Why?"  "I knew what you were up to," Aeka screamed, "You were 
trying to get a gift for Tenchi so you could seduce him, but I'm not going to let you get away with it!  
When he sees my gift, he'll certainly choose me over you!"  Ryoko stood with her hands on her hips. 
 "What gave you an idea as stupid as that?"  


Aeka crossed her arms in front of her.  "What do you mean.  Sasami assured me it was the reason 
you..."  Aeka froze as she listened to her own words.  "SASAMI!!!!!!!"  Ryoko rolled across the floor, her
 body convulsing in hysterical fits of laughter.  "Ha!  You baka!  You thought I was getting a wedding gift
 for Tenchi?  Ho, thats funny...although, not a bad idea..."  As Aeka charged up her logs and prepared
 to do battle, Ryoko looked at her wrist.  "Oh, look at the time!  I'm sorry, little princess, I'd love to stay
 and chat, but I've got a gift to deliver.  By the way princess, I always thought you had a big head, now I 
know for sure!"  As Aeka screamed in rage and fired, Ryoko snickered and phased through the floor.


*****

Washu walked into her lab toweling off her head.  A trip to the baths always calmed her down when she
was too high strung to focus on her inventions, and with everyone out for the day, she couldn't think of a
 better time to just go and relax.  As she walked to her floating futon, she paused.  Something was not
 right.  Something was different.  That something was... a package.  It was lying on her futon, wrapped
in brown paper.  "Hmm, what's this I wonder?"  Washu examined the package carefully and after
 making at least 27 theories as to what it could be, she opened it.  What she found she chalked up to
 theory 28.  

It was a small red broach in the shape of a crab.  With it came a note.  Washu picked it up, read it,
 read it again, and smiled.  Silently she put the broach on and looked at herself in a mirror that only
 moments before did not exist.  Satisfied, she carefully set the box and card in a dimensional pocket
 and got back to work.  As she typed, a smile crossed Washu's face.


*****

Ryoko sat atop the Masaki's roof and stared out into the heavens.  The stars, the stars she had sailed
 through countless times in her life, looked like tiny diamonds in a great black velvet curtain.  It was
 calm, clear and beautiful.  As Ryoko stared out into space, she whispered, "Happy mother's day, 
mom."

***********************************************************************************************************************


I thought this would make a nice little fanfic for mother's day.  I know, I've got a couple months to go, but
 I figured I should get a jump on things.  

BTW: This is the work of a groggy man without a spellchecker (BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!)

Tenchi & Co. are woned by AiC and Pioneer.  I don't own anyone in this story.  Don't sue.

All C&C goes to BGlanders