********Note from the character mangle...er, author: I don't know whether to be 
sorry for this, to burn it in my fireplace with all the Sasami lemons, or to 
post it so that everyone can see what a disrespectful little twerp I am towards 
Tenchi canon in general.  Maybe I'm being too hard on myself.  Mihoshi *is* IC 
for this entire fic (AFAIK), and despite being a child of the Cartoon Network 
Tenchi, I like to think I've learned a thing or two in four years of college.  
So don't be too harsh on me, as per usual, this is my first Tenchi fic, and I'll 
eat cabbit if someone proves to me that this particular take on Mihoshi has been 
done before.********  
	
********I know this starts out like a typical lemon, so don't tell me, I *know 
already.*  But like most of my other fic works, I start out (stereo)typical, and 
then expands into something totally different (let's hope for the better, ne?)  
And let me say this for the record: I love Mihoshi.  I totally respect the 
character of Mihoshi.  I am a White Knight of KOME.  And I really, honestly 
tried to present her in as real and respectful a way as possible, while allowing 
her character to expand beyond the totally inept blonde retard that most fans of 
the series seem to cast her into.   So remember that, and also remember that I 
don't own any of these characters, they just occasionally allow me to chaperone 
them in the great field trip that is my imagination.  Tenchi, Mihoshi, and 
etcetera are Pioneer's and AIC's, but they support this type of thing anyway, so 
don't hassle them by insisting that OVA 3 come out sooner, OK ^_^?********

So, without further babbling, Nightweaver Productions presents:

			"When the Bough Breaks"
		  a Mihoshi fic by Daniel Harris 
	      Copyright 2001 by Nightweaver Productions

	
	The computer sat idle, blankly staring back at her, blue light splashing 
across the room and casting everything in an eerie light.  At least half a dozen 
empty foam cups of coffee lay piled on her desk, and countless gum wrappers 
littered the floor.  Mihoshi sat slumped in her chair, her hand still limply 
holding the computer mouse.  Her breathing, regular and soft, signaled she was 
sound asleep.  So asleep, in fact, that she didn't hear Tenchi as he climbed the 
back stairs, the wood creaking with each footstep.
	
	"I wonder if she's still working." Tenchi muttered to himself under his 
breath.  "If she is, then I'm going to have a real hard time explaining myself."  
He stopped on the last few stairs and peeked over the landing into Mihoshi's 
room.  He saw her silhouetted, still form sitting in her chair.  He swallowed 
hard and tried to soften his footsteps as he climbed the last few steps.

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

	Tenchi had finished watching television just a few minutes beforehand.  He 
had stayed up late finishing his homework.  Mihoshi had joined him in a midnight 
snack an hour or so ago, after which she told Tenchi that she was going upstairs 
to finish her quarterly report to her commander at Galaxy Police headquarters.  
With everyone except Mihoshi asleep, Tenchi decided to indulge himself in 
watching the adult channel on the TV in the living room, which he never put on 
during the day, for fear of being embarrassed if he was caught watching it.  
	
	His father always renewed the subscription to it every month, and everyone 
(except for Ryoko, who was really under no code to do anything) was under an 
assumed code of silence regarding it.  It was not to be watched, and no one was 
to discuss getting rid of it to Noboyuki.  It was bad enough, Tenchi figured, 
that Noboyuki was a pervert, but to have his actions silently condoned like that 
was almost too much for him to bear.  Tenchi couldn't help shake the feeling, 
though, that he was starting to turn out much too much like his father.  Ever 
since Tenchi hit puberty, he found his urges often got the best of him, and now 
with six girls in the house, he was finding fewer and fewer chances to 
masturbate in total privacy.  This was just such an occasion.  
	
	With everyone asleep, Tenchi flipped on the TV, and tuned it to the adult 
channel.  He lowered the volume just enough so that it wouldn't wake anyone up, 
but loud enough so that no one would hear him jerking off.  The movie was a good 
one; a beautiful blonde secretary (quite similar to Mihoshi, Tenchi thought) was 
laid out on a desk in an office, getting her brains fucked out.  The arousal was 
too much, and Tenchi soon slid off of the couch and onto the carpet.  He slowly 
pulled down his pajamas, nervous that at any moment, someone might walk in and 
catch him.  He began to stroke off slowly, on his knees, every fiber in his body 
tense with nervous energy.  Every minute or so, he shot a quick glance around to 
see if Ryoko was sneaking up on him.  For the first few minutes, the fear of 
being caught almost turned Tenchi on, despite the shame it would bring.  

	Finally, after a few minutes, with his heart racing too fast for him to 
even breathe, he sighed and flipped off the television.  He just couldn't do it 
there, right in the middle of the living room.  It just didn't feel right to him 
that night, especially with Mihoshi still awake two mere floors above him.  Wait 
a minute, he thought.  

	Mihoshi!
	
	Despite his failed masturbation attempt (or because of it), Tenchi was so 
bound up with sexual energy that he could barely breathe.  What the hell could 
he do?  He remained on his knees for a few moments, contemplating.  He had seen 
Ryoko and Aeka naked many times (well, Ryoko quite a bit more than Aeka).  
Although he never got used to it, seeing Ryoko nude was especially no big 
surprise.  However, the one girl who he never really thought about in his 
fantasies, but couldn't get out of his mind now was Mihoshi.  Images of Mihoshi 
showering and taking a bath in the onsen flashed through his mind like 
thunderbolts.  He imagined her sweet giggle, and the way her hair flowed like a 
golden mane down her back.  It was the whole mystery of what she looked like 
completely exposed that drove him totally mad with a curious perversion.  He 
just couldn't get her beautiful, bronzed body out of his mind, and seeing a 
blonde getting fucked on the adult channel tonight was no help either.  Suddenly 
Tenchi felt dizzy, and collapsed onto the couch in the darkness, lit only by a 
partial moon.  He clenched his teeth.  This wasn't right at all.
	
	He couldn't.
	Mihoshi was a sacred cow.
	He shouldn't.
	Mihoshi was too innocent.
	
	So why couldn't he stop thinking about her, upstairs, typing away, 
oblivious to the raging hormonal storm that was occuring fifty feet and a few 
floorboards from her?
	
	Then Tenchi thought of a plan, one that was innocuous enough to seem 
accidental.  He would go upstairs and brush his teeth before going to bed, but 
he would take the back stairs, the ones that led directly to Mihoshi's room.  He 
would sneak a peek at her before going to sleep, something to keep with him 
through the night.  Just a peek, he thought, or she'll get suspicious.  Of 
course, Tenchi figured, if she was awake, he would just walk right by, say 
goodnight, and that would be that.  However, if she was asleep...
	
	"Damn it.  This isn't like me at all.  What kind of respect am I showing 
her by sneaking around like this?  She's too sweet and innocent, Tenchi!  You 
can't take advantage of her like this!," the logical, chivalrous half of 
Tenchi's brain argued.  "But she *is* a woman, Tenchi, and a beautiful one at 
that.  What harm would a little peek do?,"  the other, teenaged side of his 
brain seemed to argue.  Either way, all Tenchi knew was that he would have to 
get rid of his goddamn erection somehow, or it was going to drive him insane.  
So he decided finally to let his hormones win, and pray that whatever happened, 
he'd be forgiven for it.
	
	Thoughts of Mihoshi continued to fill his mind as he crept into the 
library.  Lighted only by a faint blue glow that filtered down the stairway, 
Tenchi managed to avoid the books that littered the floor, and snuck past the 
dark shelves to the staircase.  He remembered their midnight snack just an hour 
or so ago.  Mihoshi had worn her thin cotton pajamas, and Tenchi's urges were 
stirred even more when he recalled how he thought he saw her nipples poking 
against the fabric of her pajama top.  He also recalled how cute she looked when 
she yawned and rubbed her eyes right after coming down.  Tenchi wanted nothing 
more than to embrace her then, right there in the kitchen, in the moonlight, but 
he managed to keep himself in check until she went upstairs.  It was then that 
those urges began to get to him, and led him to do this.  With a silent sigh, 
Tenchi mustered his courage and began ascending the stairs to her room.

*****************************************************
	
	Tenchi heard her soft breathing as he approached on tiptoes, and he knew 
she was asleep.  He reasoned that, once Mihoshi fell asleep, nothing short of a 
nuclear explosion could wake her up, so he lowered himself onto the balls of his 
feet and let out a sigh of relief.  

	"At least I don't have to tell her why I'm here," he mumbled under his 
breath.

	Mihoshi's computer hummed quietly as Tenchi walked around to her side to 
get a better look at her.  The pale moonlight mixed with the blue glow of the 
monitor to give her an almost angelic radiance in the stillness of the huge 
house.  He stood there and watched her for a few moments as her chest rose and 
fell gently, her full, round breasts pushing against her pajama top.  He then 
noticed the numerous coffee cups and wrappers strewn all over the room.  He also 
noticed that Mihoshi's hair was more tousled than usual, and she appeared quite 
exhausted.  
	
	"Oh, poor Mihoshi.  She tries so hard, it's a wonder why she keeps such an 
upbeat attitude all the time.  What a brave girl." Tenchi thought to himself as 
he smiled warmly at her.  A moment later, he corrected himself.  "No, not girl.  
Woman."  For despite her often childish attitude, she *was* a mature 23 year old 
woman, who through her life had managed to remain chaste, despite doubtless 
temptations.  No mental distraction about baseball scores or shrine chores that 
Tenchi could conjure up could shake that fact from his mind.
	
	Mustering courage that even he found amazing, Tenchi leaned over Mihoshi 
just enough to read what she had written on the screen.  Barely two paragraphs 
into her report, she had stopped writing.  Only a few lines down from the end, 
however, were written four simple words: 

	"I am so lonely."
	
	At that moment, Tenchi turned his head, and noticed one small tear run 
down Mihoshi's cheek, glistening faintly in the twilight.

End of Chapter One

Please send comments to nightweaver@bigmailbox.net
Chapter Two coming in late May 2001, with further ones to follow.  Flames and 
personal attacks will be ignored, LART'ed, or deleted.  White Knight of KOME 
since 2000.  Thank you, drive through.