Disclaimer: I don't own Tenchi or any of his supporting cast. I just wrote this to see if I could write something that wasn't utter crap. While this story's present takes place outside of any of the shows, its flashbacks really combine all of them. Without further interruption, I present Tenchi Muyo: The Clone Chronicles. ---- Dear Journal, It's been seven years since they all came into my life, seven long years. Seven years of their lives wasted, waiting for me to make a decision on which of them I liked... no, not liked, loved. How do you tell six of the most beautiful women you've ever seen and probably ever will see, that you don't love one of them, but in fact you love them all? I know they want me to make up my mind, but they have never once out right forced me to choose. But I know... god do I know they want me to make up my mind. But the idea of hurting any of them in the slightest way just makes me sick, so rather than hurting five and at least making one of them happy, I have selfishly ruined all six of their lives. I wish they'd never met me at times, maybe that way it wouldn't seem as though they were throwing away their lives. But I can't imagine my life without them so that is a wish made in vain. I'd love to be able to make a choice, but every time it looked like I had narrowed my choice to one of them, as if by magic, fate pointed out the same defining feature in each one of the other girls. What the hell is it about me anyway that makes these women love me? Make these women risk their lives for me? And makes these women wait for me? I am to put it bluntly, some native of a primitive world. Any of them could have any man they wanted on this entire planet and have them do anything they wished; yet they stay with me, Mr. Indecisive. I'm sure if any guy saw my situation they'd think I was insane for not choosing one or at least, why I hadn't slept with them all by now. But I just can't, not because I don't want to. It's because I think too highly of them to do such a thing. So rather than show favoritism or any affection, I treat them all like one of the guys. And I sense that routine is bringing them all closer to forcing me to choose or them to leave. I know my demeanor around them seems rather uncaring or unfeeling, but it's not that at all. It's I care too much and my feelings, my love is being stretched in six different directions. And the appearance of coldness I give is more sadness than anything. Because I just don't feel like I'm worth all this, but I will make this up to each and every last one of them. Today I'll make my choice. ---- With those last words he closed his journal more focused on the task he was about to under take. Tenchi Masaki, twenty four year old college student, possessor of seven light hawk wings, and apparently the most eligible bachelor in the universe, was about to do something it had taken him the greater part of seven years to figure out. He was about to risk everything, much like they did for him on numerous occasions, for the people he loved. ---- "Tenchi, breakfast is ready." The melodic, yet very flat voice chimed from the kitchen, it was a little unusual at first but like everything in the Masaki home, it quickly became the norm. The voice belonged to the newly assimilated Sasami. Even being a basic god she felt the need to keep up her routine of household cook. Everyone respected that wish without too much fuss. It took her a few weeks to gain her balance and coordination in the new body, but after awhile she got the hang of it. Now five years after it initially happened she was just as graceful as before. To go with her new grown up image, she changed her usually pig tail hairstyle to that of her mother Masaki's. As Tenchi stood and walked towards the door he slid it open and told her he would be down in a minute. On the way back to his desk he stopped and looked at himself in his full-length mirror and noticed his own physical changes. The first being his height, he figured with his father and mother being sort of short he would be as tall as he was going to be when he was seventeen. But that wasn't to be the case, apparently some where in his grandfather's Jurian ancestry was a very tall man or woman. Tenchi now stood roughly six foot three inches tall. Even though he reached this amazing height despite his parents' genetics, he couldn't believe how fast he reached it. He only remembered going to bed and waking up eight inches taller than the previous day. Washu explained something about Jurians having two puberty cycles. His other change being that he let his hair grow out. It now came to his waste and he kept it in a singular ponytail like his grandfather. Focusing on the present he put away his journal and made the usual commute to breakfast. ---- In the kitchen the usual suspects had all gathered, all showing the signs of the passed time. The first thing that was to be noted, none of them looked any older, save for Sasami. The only real changes came in the form of body, hair, and personality. Ryoko for starters, she'd let her hair continue growing at it's own accord and now it looked exactly like Washu's, only a silverish blue. She had also seemed or rather learned to co-exist with Ayeka. Seeing as they really didn't have much to fight over once they realized Tenchi didn't show favoritism towards any of them. Washu had been convinced by unknown forces (Tenchi) to forgive the cruelty of the adult world and embrace her adulthood. But she didn't want everyone to know why she started showing her adult form more and more, so she asked him to keep a lid on it, which he complied with. Ayeka on the other hand seemed far less uptight than she had in years past. She wore her hair much like her mother and Sasami, in one pulled back cascading like ponytail. She'd also fallen victim to the dual puberty ordeal, giving her quite an impressive set of breasts. Which she seemed to embrace and flaunt quite frequently. Most figured that was the cause of her prude nature, she was jealous of Ryoko's breasts. But now she had the same arsenal and felt more even in playing for Tenchi's affection. That is if he'd ever show any affection for any of them again. By this time Mihoshi and Kiyone had made their way to the kitchen via the portal from their respective apartments. They weren't around like they once were, but they usually stopped in for breakfast or the occasional "Hello". No one ever thought they'd see the day Mihoshi would live alone, or more importantly, COULD live alone. Mihoshi started wearing her hair down like Kiyone's rather than up in it's usual cropped manor to fit her new personality over haul. She had become a more independent person much to Kiyone's delightment, with that independence also came coordination, and intellect. No one had any idea how this development came about, it was of course another Tenchi wonder that none of the others knew about, but needless to say they were happy about it regardless. Taking her seat next to Mihoshi sat Kiyone. Nothing really changed about Kiyone physically, but her usual over scheduled and often over stressed demeanor was some how more relaxed and sedate. ---- It had been five minutes since Sasami first called Tenchi and they didn't like to eat without him so they waited. "Well, I guess I'll go call him again then," said Sasami, but as she rounded the corner she bumped head long into a rather well muscled individual's chest. "Oh, hey sorry Sasami." Tenchi said in an apologetic voice. "No problem, but come on your foods getting cold." Sasami said rather flatly. As he rounded the corner and greeted everyone he thought and knew why she always talked to him like that as of late. He knew she had a crush on him when they first met. In his on naive way, he figured she'd get over it. But unfortunately it grew as she did. Before long it was love. She was banking big on the assimilation, she figured he'd have to pick her once he saw her in Tsunami state. But when he failed to do so, she became slightly bitter towards him, funny thing is he didn't blame her. "Sorry to keep everyone waiting." he said again with an apologetic tone. Everyone else gave quick answers, but one cut through the group collective of voices. "Heh, you make us wait for everything else, why not breakfast to?" Sasami said really without thinking, but rather more out of feeling. The sound of plates and utensils suddenly stopped. He knew she was right, they knew she was right, but still the words hurt. He compared it being stabbed in the chest and having the knife kicked. The other women just sort of alternated looks between themselves, Tenchi, and the still lowered head of Sasami. No one spoke which only furthered his sense of something needed to be done or this was all going to end and end badly. "Tenchi, look, I'm sor--", Sasami was cut off by a rather pitiful sounding Tenchi. "Don't be. You had every right to say that and more. You waste seven years of your lives waiting around for me and how do I pay it back? Dodging a simple question... a simple question with no simple answer. For that I am sorry." He stood bowed deeply and left. No sound was heard for a while, but to an on looker it was obvious food was the last thing on anyone's mind. ---- Finally Ryoko decided to say something, "What the hell did you say that for?" Sasami did feel sort of bad for turning a five-minute breakfast delay into something so heinous. But still when she thought about the time and the out and out dismissal of her new body she just got upset. "Oh come off it. You're all just as sick of this as I am. You want to know his answer, as much as I do. So don't try to make it seem like I'm the only one. He walks around us all day looking like someone shot his Ryo-ohki. Quite frankly I'm sick of waiting." Sasami finished staring daggers at the surrounding women, almost daring someone to say she was wrong. "Could you all please come into the living room?" Sasami lead the group still looking rather angry compared to her usual happy upbeat mood, she walked past him like he wasn't even there and he sank a little lower knowing one of his biggest fears was coming true. He stared at his feet as the other women made their way by him, each one giving him a comforting pat on the shoulder or chest. They all sat on the now enlarged sofa waiting in front of the make shift karoke stage with a lone chair sitting on it. Tenchi walked from his spot in the kitchen door way to the stage and took his seat. From there he was going to make the most important decision he felt he'd ever have to make in his life, who he would choose. ---- "I was going to make this decision today anyway, the incident with Sasami in the kitchen just made me realize it has to be done. No avoiding the question, no running, and no regrets or worries about the outcome." He could hear his own heartbeat in his ears, as well as the ladies quickened breathing, he scanned their faces and began again. "In making this decision I just have to know what a space pirate... EX space pirate demigoddess, two galaxy police officers, and two princesses' see in me that's so special. They would put up with me. Do housework for me. Risk death for me. Wait for me without hesitation and even be seemingly put on auction for me to "choose" between like mere paintings. I ask simply that you tell me what reason it is you feel like this about me. I know Ryoko and Ayeka's reasons. But I wonder why the rest want me when you all could obviously have someone a lot better." He looked up and at their faces again they all looked sad, even Sasami looked down about this. Ryoko however looked more down than any of them. Unknown to him, she could actually smell his pheromones which all smelled like thick sadness. She contemplated teleporting him out of there, but her want, no need for this question to be answered kept her firmly in place. They all sat for a while in silence, no one was designated to go first and no one was exactly peachy about volunteering. He took the silence and lack of enthusiasm as more of a sign that he had waited too long to make this choice. Finally a voice that sounded a lot less bubbly and annoying than it used to came forth. "I'll go first." ---- It was Mihoshi. "You want to know why I waited and actually grew to love you, I'll tell you. As you all very well could see I wasn't the most coordinated or smartest person around. I just never felt right in crowds or groups. Every little mistake I made people laughed at me called me stupid, or some other mean name. Even if I looked hurt they still looked annoyed or laughed as they helped or stepped over me. Then when I crashed here, not only did you catch me when I drifted unconscious out of that black hole I heard; you by either luck or intent fell to Earth with me on top of you absorbing full impact of the fall. That alone was more kindness than I was used to being shown. Then you let me live here with your family, for free. But all that isn't what made me love you, it was the fact you never laughed. Even when everyone else whispered and looked at me like it was a miracle I could breath on my own, you didn't. Sure you did at first, but when you saw me actually look hurt by everyone's laughing you never did it again. Then from there, you willingly explained things to me over and over again. You didn't get upset when I forgot things. Even when I got small things right you made it seem like a big deal and congratulated me sincerely and was happy that I got it and not just happy because it was one less thing to explain. You even took classes from Washu to better explain the space related things to me and I still thank you for that. Once I began to understand things better you even went a step further and helped me with my coordination. And even I was shocked at the reason behind how poorly it had gotten. My desire to make sure people didn't laugh at me. I simply tried so hard that I messed up. Once that was addressed and corrected you helped me get a great job dealing in computers. I should have known. Then again with my mental state at the time I probably shouldn't have known. Anyway I was used to dealing with starship computers of course I should be able to do anything on these old things... no offense. You were the first person to treat me like something other than an idiot and actually tried to help me. You treated me like I had feelings compared to everyone else's attitude of "Oh the stupid girl probably doesn't even know what feelings are." So that's why I love you, regardless of your choice." Mihoshi sat down looking Tenchi in the eye; he smiled very brightly at her. But down the couch Ryoko smelled the same thing, sadness. The weird thing was, it seemed to get stronger after her story. ---- "Thank you Mihoshi. I want to say this before anyone feels upset by the goings on. I'm not trying to make this a competition; I just have to be sure before I commit to something like this. So if you feel I'm going too far asking this of you, you can easily refuse to tell me." Tenchi finished this with another face scan of the women. No one left so he took this as a good sign. "I might as well go next." Without looking in her immediate direction he knew it was Sasami. "It happened simple enough. I came to get Ayeka and go home, my ship's tracking device detected Jurian power coming from the forest near your home. I thought it was Ayeka so I had the ship teleport me down. Instead of Ayeka, I found you. The first thing you asked me is if I was lost. Your concern touched me. But the more important task of finding Ayeka demanded my immediate attention, so in your brief glance away I was teleported back to my ship. Later when your father brought me to the shrine to retrieve Ayeka there you were again. From here you said I was cute... you have no idea what that statement meant to me. True, I had heard it plenty of times but it was usually said in a kind of "Awe, cute baby" kind of way. From my point of view you were already the best looking, most attractive guy I had ever seen and for you to say that just, it just totally consumed me." "I told myself that there would be no way you could possible be with me, I mean come on I looked twelve. But the feelings still wouldn't go away and that was partly do to the fact I knew I was a few hundred years older than you were and it was only my looks holding me back. Despite that I still tried to deny my feelings, I was doing pretty well, until the whole feeding each other sweet potatoes incident. We fed each other like those couples on television and that made the feelings come back ten fold. Once again I managed to convince myself it was just a crush, only Ryoko or Ayeka stood a chance of being with you. Then the carnival came and you took ME! To me it was like a date, you'd never taken any of the other girls anywhere willingly and this crushed my last shred of denial. I loved you. I felt as though you loved me too, but my damn body was keeping you away. Fast forward two years, Tsunami comes to me in a dream and tells me it's done. I tried to question her about what "it" was, but she faded away into a light so bright I had to shut my eyes. When I woke up, I had what I thought to be my key to happiness, my key to you. I sat there fully assimilated and so happy I was about to explode. With this body and your, what I thought was favoritism towards me, I knew your choice had to be me. But..." Her voice began to float back into it's usual flat tone, he knew all to well why. She forced herself to continue. "But when you saw me... you looked like you were about to throw up. I thought maybe this was a new alternative to your usual nosebleeds, unfortunately it was your response to any sign of love toward you. I don't feel like taking this painful stroll through memory lane again so I'll stop here." With her fists clutched into her robe she sat back down, a few tears staining her pale face. ---- "I am so sorry." Was all Tenchi could verbalize after hearing her story. He felt something slowly slide down his face, at first he thought it was Ryoko. He still saw her shoes out of his lowered eyes and soon realized it was his own tears. Everyone was still silent in the wake of Sasami's story, but once they looked up and saw his tears, things really got bleak. "Thank you Sasami... for even being here after that, thank you." He didn't expect a response let alone the one he got when she finally looked up. "Don't worry about it, I'll be fine as long as you make up your damn mind already, sheesh." She said in her old upbeat voice as she dried her eyes. He knew she said it to lighten the mood and mustered a weak laugh through his pain and tears to help the joke along. Again a period of silence passed before another voice spoke up. ---- "Looks like I'm up next." The voice much deeper, but every bit as unusual, belonged to Washu. "Well now, my reason for, I guess loving you, is a simple one. I want to know how to create the light hawk wings." Just then a rather upset Ryoko chimed in. "Save the crazy scientist bit for someone who cares, you love him just as much as any of us. You know the link between us started running both ways along time ago." Washu turned about as red as her hair as she looked at her daughter with her mouth slightly open at the revelation. "And further more, you haven't attempted to get that final sample from him in about 6 years. Hell you even gave him his own lab." Ryoko added the last bit just for spite. Washu was now grinning a very cheesy grin and decided to just lay all her cards on the table about her feelings for the boy, no, the man. "Gee, since my daughter can't seem to keep her big mouth shut, I will admit I do have feelings for you Tenchi. Although my feelings don't run as deep as Sasami's" Ryoko cleared her throat in an accusing manner. "Damn it, fine they do run that deep! Happy now Ryoko!" "Anyway, I had every intention on thanking and leaving you all on Kagato's ship that day if you managed to defeat him. The appearance of the light hawk wings was something I never expected to see. So once I heard your story I decided to live here with you, possibly get a guinea pig, and from that guinea pig get the secret to the light hawk wings. But things took a weird turn, I of course captured you many a time against your will and it was during those times that something about you just got to me sort of. You always talked when I detained you. Nervous chit chat mainly and for a while it infuriated me. You always talked but I never talked back and you just kept on talking. I catch you and you talk like it's nothing strange at all, at first I thought you were into the whole S&M thing. I guess you felt comfortable enough with me that you weren't afraid of me after a while. Still this isn't where my feelings came into being, that happened when your chattering began to insight me to talk back." "You had this weird calming effect on me, so much so until I started telling you things, personal things I never wanted to think about, let alone talk to someone about. Still, you came back to my lab more and more still talking until I began to rattle off more and more of my past. Before long I had stopped bothering to strap you down, we just sat and talked. I had planned to leave after I had given up on figuring out the light hawk wings, especially since no one other than you, seemed to care what I did as long as they didn't have to come into my lab. Or so I thought at the time. Then as I was making my last minute preparations to leave, you came back as had been your routine for the past couple of years. I had a nice story worked up as to why I had to leave and everything if you asked why I was leaving. Of course you asked and as I started my great lie machine, you gave me this look... it was sadness. I'd seen sadness before; I even caused some of it. I just never cared, some how though your being sad hurt me. It just seemed to cut into me like one of my particle beam scalpels. I forced myself to continue my lie and I tried to look at you as another one of my experiments so I could leave emotionless, but every time I looked at you it hurt." "As I finished one of, if not the most painful lie I had ever told. You simply looked down at me still looking at me with that expression. That pained expression, you knelt down and hugged me goodbye. It was more affection than you had shown any of us in a long time and for it to be shown to me, the crazy scientist who poked, prodded, and drained your body, it meant a lot to me. "You can always come back when ever you like. And Washu, please try to make some peace with your past. All adults aren't like the ones who took your family from you, because I'm an adult now and I'd hate to think you hate me for being one." I was using every ounce of strength I had to detach the emotional bond I had formed with you, but damn it the idea of hating all adults, and the realization that you were one and you possibly thinking I would hate you for it... it just broke me." "I cried and if one of you so much as laughs, I'll turn you into a frog." Washu scanned the crowd who didn't respond good or bad to the threat. Seeing that she continued. "For the first time in a long time in his arms that day, I cried. I was in a state of happiness in that hug that I hadn't allowed myself in, in more time than I can remember. I was a little shocked when he picked me up. AND before you all go nuclear, he picked me up like someone picks up a small child and just held me on his hip, my feet just dangling on either side of him as he rocked me back and forth, my head resting on his shoulder. I could have stayed like that forever, but I figured, even with his excellent physical condition I'd start to get heavy sooner or later. He sat me back on my feet and dried my eyes and as he looked at me I knew I had to. I knew I had to rejoin a world I despised, a world that had taken everything from me, a world... a world that he was a part of, I had to rejoin the adult world. So with little effort I returned to the form you see now. Standing there almost eye level with him, I could really appreciate the small distance between us, I could feel the heat coming off his body and now once again I was using all my will power to resist taking him right there." "He asked if I was still planning on leaving and of course the answer was no. It'd take something pretty intense to make me leave him, for now I felt the same feelings Ryoko and Ayeka so openly felt. I felt love, deep unmoving, unyielding love. I decided to try and put some space between us before something physical would happen, on my attempt to walk around you, you grabbed my wrist and pulled me into another hug. God, I was almost lost it at this point, I forgot in becoming an adult, all my hormonal levels would return to normal and boy did they let me know they were back. I was slightly swaying, I can't remember if it was on purpose or if it was weak knees, all I know is the feel of him through that shirt, his chest rubbing against mine and my ni... let's just say I was completely his for the taking at that point. I think he sensed I was now rubbing against him and he slightly pushed me back, but he still had his arm around my waist. We just stared into each other's eyes for a while. Then he started to approach me for a kiss. Closer, closer, and his lips were millimeters away and then... "Oh, MOM." He froze and pulled back. Six months you had never come into my lab Ryoko, SIX MONTHS AND YOU CHOSE THEN!" Washu glared to the area of couch her daughter occupied with a contempt filled stare. Ryoko stopped her unwavering gaze on Tenchi long enough to eye her mom and give an evil grin. Washu calmed herself enough to finish. "I was ready to kill and if it wasn't for his obvious feelings for you and the fact you were my daughter I probably would have. When you found us, the physical contact wasn't there but the close proximity was. And when you asked what was he doing there, I was set to tell you, then he cut in with a weak excuse about asking me to build him his own lab for his sudden interest in science. I agreed with the story, which you seemed ok with. However to actually keep up the lie I built him a working lab. Like clockwork he continued coming to my lab, but he never got that close to me again. The lie some how started to become truth when he eventually started getting into science. This made me feel great because I took it as a sign he still wanted to be close to me. Unfortunately he only seemed to be focused on one aspect of me. My knowledge of cloning. Although I had cloned thousands of things, he didn't seem to get into it until people of this planet began to clone things. He drilled me more and more on questions about cloning and even let me tutor him. Hey it wasn't a kiss, but still I was able to be close to him, which I reveled in. Until eventually, he took his experiments to his own lab. He visited less and less, which I have to admit made me feel kind of used. I still answered the rare question or two he had to ask me, which I was happy to get after not really hearing from him that much. I thought of leaving again after a while, but I just kept thinking back to that day and I just couldn't bring myself to do it. The slightest chance of getting that kiss was enough to make me stay here for what I perceive as forever in terms of my life span. And even though I may not be picked, I still love you." Washu ended with that statement looking Tenchi directly in his eyes. ---- "So that's why you kept looking at me like I attempted to kill you, MOM." Ryoko couldn't help but rub it in. "Imagine how you'd feel if it happened to you, LITTLE Ryoko." Was all Washu replied with, she gave a glance at a now silent Ryoko and knew her point was understood. Everyone now turned their attention to Kiyone in anticipation as to whether or not she would take her turn. She sat there for awhile staring back at them. "Oh alright, I'll go." ---- "Yeah I know, how did Ms. Stick in the Mud let herself get caught up in this. Unlike most of you, I wasn't immediately carried away with him. When I first came here to get Mihoshi or find out if she was dead I saw him sweeping. I just figured I'd get the info I needed from him and be on my way. He pointed to where Mihoshi was sleeping and my first thought was "Why isn't she dead?!" I'm sorry Mihoshi but it's the truth. Then we all know what happened from there, the reassigning to this galaxy, the moving into our own apartment, and the countless dead end jobs to pay for the basics. On our usual visits here I couldn't help but notice how Ryoko and Ayeka argued and guarded you from any and all female opposition, even if the opposition wasn't really opposition. I just didn't see what the big deal was. I thought you were nice and everything, but you just seemed too wimpy for my tastes or so I thought. I wasn't physically attracted to you either, not like I am to the current you anyway." He smiled at that and so did she, as she looked him over sitting in the chair, she could feel the stares from the other girls burning a hole into her, so she started talking again. "As I was saying, I know it was kind of a shallow way of going about it, but the way Ayeka and Ryoko went on, it was like you were a god and I quite frankly wasn't seeing it." "When you had the second fight with Kagato on Jurai is when my perception of you changed. You were unrelenting, kicked down stairs, blasted, yet you kept getting up. And when you got the upper hand you just really let him have it. I finally got it. You weren't wimpy in general; you just were in comparison to Ayeka and Ryoko's attempts to gain your affection. Then after me and Mihoshi lost the apartment and had to move back in here, you seemed to have more confidence or something, I was starting to get slightly attracted to that side of you, but the physical was still missing. Couple that with my still wanting to get off this planet and get promoted in the GP I didn't really have time to dwell on my feelings about you. So after we finally got the apartment back you seemed to make it your goal to help us keep it. That's also around the time I started noticing Mihoshi was getting smarter and a lot more focused. Anyway, you suggested we look for jobs that would suit things we already knew and low and behold, I fit the role of a cop perfectly. And after dealing with the criminals of space most of these guys were pushovers here. I was solving more cases and putting more criminals away here and in space, thanks to the new and improved Mihoshi, than I ever thought possible." She looked over at her partner, the partner she always wanted. The partner that showed herself in brief few second glimpses who now appeared to be there to stay and smiled. Her smile was returned and with Mihoshi's smile Kiyone continued her tale. "Still it wasn't as fulfilling as I thought it would be, I was captain of the force here in about a year and with Mihoshi more competent than ever we were on our way back to HQ for sure with our success rate. But still HQ had been my one goal for a while and it represented nothing but happiness, but the closer we got to get there the sadder I became. Then on a day off I was thinking that we hadn't seen any of you in close to a year or more, not since Tenchi got us the new jobs and great apartments. I called Mihoshi, even though she lived across the hall from me now, and asked if she wanted to go visit you all, she said she had to work, excepting this I decided to go alone. I wanted to surprise you all, but when I got here no one was home or so I thought. I checked a few rooms called some names yet nothing. I figured I'd get a quick bath in the onosen seeing as I hadn't used it in a while." "Unknown to me Tenchi heard me calling from the carrot patch and came to investigate. I heard footsteps, so I decided I'd make myself known incase someone was trying to rob the house. I got my earth side arm and wrapped the towel around my body and made my way out into the hall. I rounded each corner slowly pointing the gun around ahead of me, I checked upstairs first seeing as that's where I heard the footsteps go. Checking room to room finally I heard what sounded like shuffling in Tenchi's room I entered that room like all others, but this time the gun was grabbed from me, and all in the same motion, that person tossed me to the floor. I thought I was dead, because this person was strong and obviously prepared for the worst, even with all my training, being in a towel coupled with the suddenness of it all, I figured I was threw. I opened an eye wondering why I wasn't hit yet and I saw the face of my potential murderer, I knew the face, but the body was just, out of place. "Ten... Tenchi?" I know I must have sounded dumb but come on, I didn't know he'd change like that in a year. He apologized and helped me back to my feet and after the usual round of questions he let me go back and finish my bath. After resting my sore back in the hot water, I finished up my bath and got dressed. The next scene will be etched in my mind permanently." "I walked up the hall and as I got to the living room he was changing shirts, apparently he didn't hear me, I almost fell down. I'd seen him shirtless before but not with that body, after I managed to learn how to breathe again the realization of my homely life settled in on me. At the time I hadn't been on a date or even thought about dating in years." She started to look kind of down. Her mind began to think about the time she had wasted: pursuing promotions and scheduling her life to the day. Unfortunately the time taken to reach her promotion goals were severely hampered throwing her life's plan into dismay. She let out a slight sigh and began where she left off. "I waited until he had his shirt on before I made my presence known. Unknown to me he already knew I was there and before I made my way into the living room he asked if I was going to stand there watching him all day or if I was going to come sit down and talk to him. I know I was blushing despite myself, but I decided to walk in as if I had never heard him say that. I took a seat next to him on the couch. He asked the usual questions you'd ask someone you haven't seen in a while. "How are your jobs treating you? Met anyone yet?" he asked me more but those seemed to stick out, especially the later. I breezed over the first one with mock and sincere joy, I was happy to be making it safe for people, but it wasn't making my life as joyous as I had originally planned and hoped. I then moved onto the more difficult question and oh how I wanted to answer this with "Yeah, I met a great guy at the office." Unfortunately I could only answer with "No". He gave me a reassuring speech. "Don't worry, a pretty, smart, strong girl like you can't be alone forever." At first it seemed to make me feel wonderful, but some where between joy and sadness was the reality." "I beat almost every guy who ever attempted to try and date me or be with me away with a stick. Even when I got compliments I acted as if they meant nothing, which a lot of them did, or I just made some kind of sarcastic remark and left it at that. In the GP all the guys basically knew or thought it was hopeless trying to talk to me so they treated me like one of the guys. At first I liked it, but when they started talking to me about OTHER women it made me realize how "one of the guys" I had become and I grew to loath it. Then at the station here, I figured I'd start over I'd acknowledge compliments if I got any. I got them, but still no one tried to approach me, I just came off as too strong for most of the guys liking. Couple that with the fact most of them were married and compliments were all I knew I'd be getting." Kiyone looked truly rejected at this point in her story, but she put on a more relaxed front when she started talking again. "Anyway. I guess I was too silent after Tenchi's pep talk and he asked if I was all right. I never liked getting personal, with anyone. I was of course ready to dodge his concern with some of my perfected detachment skills, when I turned and met his gaze, full of concern I just broke. The stress of acting like I didn't care about being lonely or only cared about promotions finally cracked me. He stared perplexed at me for a while, I guess he thought he'd upset me with something or other and he really started apologizing when I began to cry. I began to rattle off years of pent up frustration, anger, sadness, and the more recent realization, loneliness. He sat there and let me yell at him about things he didn't do. When I began to punch at the air he put a comforting arm around me; this proved to be a mistake. It's like a damn self-protection system, try to get close to me and I start trying to push you away. I punched, kicked, screamed and out right assaulted him. He just sat there and took it all... just holding me telling me things would be all right. He let me wail on him for... I don't even know how long, he didn't even try to stop me and I'm sure he could have. Heck he could have snapped me in half if he wanted to. Finally I got tired from all the yelling and swinging, I just wilted against him, still crying." "My will to pretend, gone. I just let that embrace consume me. It had been too long since I let someone get that close to me, physically or otherwise. Your arms, your chest, they just felt so good against me, it was just so, so relaxing. For the next couple of minutes, hours, hell I don't know time was again put on the back burner as you just held me. You didn't try to get a cheap thrill by groping me like the last few guys I had let get that close to me. Still, something tells me if you had tried I wouldn't have protested. When the silence was broken you asked me if I was ok, the feel of you against me some how made my answer of yes feel like it wasn't a lie. No it WASN'T a lie. I was ok. I was perfect, I was happy, I had someone here who cared for me, and for the first time in a very, very long time I didn't care about time or what I was supposed to be doing at that time. Much like Washu and the rest of you I'm sure, he began to make me talk. He didn't say anything I just felt like I could tell him things, anything. I told him about how I had made my career my pinnacle of happiness. How I made it out to be as great as Ryoko and Ayeka made him out to be, and ultimately how it didn't come to be like that. Still he sat silent at the end of my story. He pulled me into the hug a little tighter, letting it speak for him. That seemed to say more than words ever could. With the weight of all my stress and burden off of me, I began to drift with my thoughts, about finding that someone Tenchi said I would find. Only one problem showed on my image of this person, I was being held by that person right now. I tried to imagine someone else, I really did because I knew I'd be the last person he'd think about having a relationship with." "Beep, Beep. It was the GP. The job was saving me from the pain of dwelling on not having him, at least for a while. I stood up and dried my eyes before materializing the screen to hopefully get a mission to go deep into space for a few days, wrong. My superiors had called with the message that I waited to hear for years, "Detective First Class Kiyone, you and Detective First Class Mihoshi have been promoted to Head Quarters. No more patrolling that dead galaxy, congratulations Kiyone... Kiyone?" It was like having two dreams come true and then having them crushed by one another. On the one hand I had a guaranteed promotion with no chance of happiness and on the other, a possible one in three or so I thought at the time chance of being with a guy I now knew I loved. The chief stared at me awaiting some kind of response and Tenchi mustered a weak congratulations, I must have looked between the two faces a dozen times before finally saying something. "Sir, with all do respect I will have to decline the promotion at this time." The chief and Tenchi both looked at me like I had a second head. "Kiyone, you've wanted this so long what would possibly make you give it up and stay in that isolated location? Please think of your career." The chief pleaded with me. "That's all I ever thought about was my career, but today it's about me. And I don't want the promotion, I want to stay here with the man I love." I said it without a twinge of regret. "Very well, I will contact Detective First Class Mihoshi and see if she is as reckless with her future as you are." Heh, I guess she is seeing as she's still here. When I turned the screen off the next sight caught me off guard, Tenchi... looked sad? I didn't get it I said I loved him, although not directly to him he seemed sad. Just then I got a page from my Earth job and had to leave before I really had time to sort out his down look. Hopefully that smiling face we all love will come back... today I hope." She looked at him sitting in his chair on the stage; he looked at her and gave a bright smile, not a forced one but a genuine smile. The girls all let out a collective sigh, but despite herself jealousy crept in. "Why does she get a smile, huh Tenchi?" Ryoko threw at him not smelling any of his previous sadness. His response came, with smile plastered on his face "It wasn't just for her, it's for you all, you made this choice very easy for me just now." "Huh?" Came the collective answer. ---- Tenchi stood, looming as the stage's elevated height made him appear even taller. "I'll be right back" he said goofy grin still plastered on his face. Before the girls questioned him about where he was going he returned with a video, which he placed on the chair he was previously seated in. "I have something to show you all." He closed his eyes and concentrated for a second and the seven light hawk wings formed in a rotating circle in front of him. With a little more concentration they stopped spinning and began to fan into a straight line, one wing beside the other. "Uh, Tenchi we know you can form the light hawk wings what do they have to do with anything?" said a visibly confused Sasami. Tenchi just stared at the images that were on the reverse of the wings, images he wondered at times if he had imagined or if anyone else could see them. "This is what they have to do with all this." Again closing his eyes six of the seven wings floated to a stop in front of the women, who still didn't get the importance of the wings. One more mental command and the wings slowly turned in mid air showing the women the reverse of each wing; each woman's wing seemed to be playing certain scenes of her and Tenchi. None of them made a sound; they just looked no blinking, no breathing, nothing. ---- "I might as well start at the top. About the wings, I figured out the secret of the light hawk wings, or what I believe to be the secret." Washu shot out of her stupor first, "WHAT? No way you could figure out the secret, it wasn't in your blood, your DNA, nothing! What is the secret tell me now!" "Notice I said what I believe, it may be wrong, but I have a feeling I'm right. Remember when I first formed them on Kagato's ship? I only formed three, as I looked at them I saw faces on each wing. They weren't as clear on the wings as they are now, but they were definitely there. Sasami, Ayeka, and Ryoko. I figured at the time they must be giving me some kind of power to allow me to form them, with Sasami being part of Tsunami and Jurian, Ayeka being Jurian, and Ryoko's jewels possessing power that was Jurian in nature I found out later on. I just assumed I was feeding off them." Washu again chimed in, "That still doesn't explain anything, you could have been just feeding off their power, your body could have been just focusing the power that came from them to form the wings." Tenchi looked at Washu and smiled, he knew she wasn't going to except his self professed answer with ease, if at all. "True, that could have been what the deal was. But how do you explain Kiyone and Mihoshi? They aren't Jurian." He waited for her retort; she just wilted onto the couch, silent. "As I was saying, once we got Washu and came back here, I started my ventures into her lab, at first to get her for meals but then to talk to her. Fast forward to the day she was about to leave and we almost kissed. After I left her lab going back to my room to try and get my mind off the event that almost happened. I felt a weird something leave me, I thought I was going to pass out. Instead when I opened my eyes the light hawk wings were out in full swing. But instead of three, there were four. The newest wing had a faint image of Washu on it. I figured seeing as she was Tsunami's sister, I was now going to be feeding on her power now as well. I extinguished the wings and continued on. After each of the moments Kiyone and Mihoshi named a wing bearing their image appeared. After Kiyone's wing appeared I thought about what she said, her saying she loved me. I started feeling the same way about her and I started thinking, every time I felt love for one of you I got a new wing." Washu again chimed in. "If love is what creates the wings who is the seventh wing for? Is there another woman out here some where you've got held in limbo about your feelings for her?" Tenchi's look sort of went down, but he answered the painful accusation. "No, I don't have another woman out there confused and hurt. The seventh wing never had a face, its presence is what contradicts my love theory." He stopped for a moment to breathe when he heard a sharp exhale. He looked over the couch and noticed it was Ryoko. "Ryoko, what's wrong?" Everyone was now looking at her, after a few more seconds and a look of what would have been perceived as terror she spoke. "You could see me." she said it whispering, her eyes never leaving the image in front of her. "All those years I spent watching you from that cave you could see... why didn't you tell me?" She was on the verge of tears but she still kept looking at the wing. Tenchi's smile fell, but his spirits stayed high. "I will make this up to her" was the only thing his mind repeated over and over again. ---- "When I was small mom brought me to that cave I have memories of you from even way back then. When I was about three years old, as you probably know already Ryoko I didn't have any friends really. I was basically at the shrine with grandpa and dad, isolated and alone. I started imagining I had friends, on one of the few times grandpa gave me a break from sword practice I decided to go on an adventure with one of them. We made our way to the cave my mom brought me to so often, for some reason instead of my usual ninja like cohort; I saw him and a lady. Only one problem, I didn't remember making you up. You just stood on top of the cave entrance looking at the horizon, I stared at you for a while but you didn't appear to notice me, so Mamoru and me continued on our way playing. I then started spending more and more time at the cave. As always, you were there staring out. Then I noticed you sort of staring at me, god you looked sad. Even though I was staring directly at you for some reason or another you never gave me more than a glance or at least that I noticed. I told dad and grandpa, dad's response was my imagination was running away with me and grandpa started in with the demon lady story again. I just couldn't believe the beautiful, see through woman I saw was a demon, not only couldn't, but I wouldn't." "On the day mom died I remember going out there crying and for the first time you weren't on top of the cave you came down and were right in front of me. You were so close I swear I could feel your breath against my skin, even though I figured you were probably a spirit of a woman who had died long ago. Then you smiled if I'm remembering correctly, unfortunately I didn't smile back and you again looked sad. Then you faded away. I came back through the years, but you weren't there or if you were I could no longer see you. Eventually I started believing what dad had said about my imagination, still the image of you smiling I KNOW I didn't imagine that, I couldn't imagine that. After pleading to go into the cave for years grandpa finally relented, or rather tried to beat me out of the choice, by refusing me the keys unless I took them from him. With luck and I'm pretty sure a lack of effort by him, I got the keys. I ran harder that day than I even knew possible for me." "Standing at the place that was so familiar and at the same time, so foreign to me, I faced two choices. One: risk going in the cave and unleashing an evil demon on the world. Two: go into the cave and find the lady who dad thought wasn't real, but to me was very real, a lady who always stood watch here at the cave and free her spirit. I of course chose two. Deep in the cave I found Ryoko, mummified or dead, I still don't really. I just remember panic taking over when she grabbed me. Still I wasn't exactly scared, even in your vice like grip. She was holding on to me like I was her salvation or something, more than likely if you looked like you did on the cave entrance all those years ago I would have probably been more relaxed. At present I was starting to get scared especially when your eyes started to glow and the weird orbs started floating about. Then the sword blasted you and the moan you made was like in one of those horror movies. The demon story repeated in my mind and I ran. By the time I made it to the exit I thought you were a demon and feebly tried to reseal you in the cave, which I'm still sorry for. From there the whole thing at the school. I saw you sitting there on that roof, the woman from the cave in all her beauty and in the flesh... flesh that wasn't see through anyway. I was about to ask if you were her after looking you over... and over and over again." "But once I built up the nerve to start my questioning, you started with the energy blasts and I quickly built up fear towards you and the demon thing just kept echoing at me. Anyway, after all that I forgot all about the cave and your relation to it, that is until your image on the wing grew clearer, that's why I didn't tell you." Another deep bow and apology left him and he waited to see if she'd except another of his apologies. Ryoko still looking at the wing, remembering all the events that were being played out in front of her in overwhelming detail. She looked at the person bowed on the stage. The person who let her live with him even after she attempted to kill him. The person who didn't get to upset with her lack of cleaning up behind herself, the person who apparently saw her before she really saw him and risked unleashing a "demon" on a planet to help her soul be free of that cave. Despite his constant pushing her away, his lack of decision making in choosing her over the other girls, he had made one decision in her favor. The decision to release her. Despite all he was told about the "monster" in the cave he risked it to save her. His protests against her showing affection towards him hurt, but she knew he had to care for her some where to not kick her out or put her back in that cave, and the small ray of hope made her next words very easy to say. "Tenchi, it's ok. Just move it along I'm tired of waiting." True she was tired of waiting, but she knew she'd keep waiting if it came down to it. He again smiled, which seemed to bring the mood of the room back up. ---- "I was going to suggest you watch this tape to explain what I'm about to do, but I figured I'd just show you." The wings returned to Tenchi on a mental command, instead of extinguishing them, he seemed to absorb them. "I hope this makes things clearer," he said as his body began to glow, the women shielded their eyes and when the light disappeared he stood there looking no different. Ayeka was now about to speak when Tenchi came down the stairs and walked to a stop in front of Sasami. "Tenchi, so does that mean you choose..." he finished it for her, "You." The rest of the girls all just sort of slumped, where as Sasami didn't want to rub it in for the other girls but right about now they didn't even exist, she jumped from the couch to hug him, but he stopped her. "I just want to apologize for not doing this sooner, or rather figuring out how to do it sooner." She looked a little confused, again she attempted her hug, which was accepted and returned. With that they walked towards the kitchen for the purpose of sparing the other girls feelings. "That little, I should have known, if only I had sent her back to Jurai and." Ayeka was hurt, deeply hurt, and as she began to cry she felt someone put their hand on her shoulder. Figuring it was one of the other girls she accepted the comfort from one of her defeated cohorts. "Ayeka, I didn't just choose Sasami, I chose you as well." "Now I guess I'm going crazy, today has been a most eventful day. First I lose Tenchi, to my own sister no less and now I lose my mind, great." >From her viewpoint on the couch she could see Tenchi and Sasami talking at the kitchen table. "Princess please look at me." She turned figuring she had nothing else to lose and her gaze followed the hand on her shoulder upward to a face. "Tenchi?" She looked in the kitchen and at the person behind the couch, her eyes shot back and forth until she was dizzy. "But... But how? What, who, Washu what is this?" Washu just stared forward, she heard her name but at this point her name held little meaning to her, someone touched her shoulder now as well but she still refused to look. "Washu, hello? Little Washu, your guinea pig is trying to have a talk with you." "Tenchi will you please just leave me alone, you chose Sasami I'm an adult I can handle it." She said it as cold and as uncaring as she could. Obvious sadness rang through it as well, but she refused to cry. "I didn't just choose her." Came the response, Washu still sat in utter silence oblivious to everything other than the fact Sasami and HER Tenchi were chatting it up in the kitchen and Tenchi wouldn't stop his annoying chit chat at her from behind the couch so she could think. ---- "It's bad enough he chose her, but damn must he keep talking to me like nothing happened?" She thought to herself. Again she heard the distinct sound of Tenchi, one from behind her and one from the kitchen. "Washu will you please look at me? Come on give me a chance before you dismiss me like this please." Him asking her to do him any more favors after what had just transpired just pissed her off, she whirled off the couch ready to put him in one of any number of dimensions she had at her disposal, then she saw it. Tenchi sitting with Sasami. And at the same time Tenchi standing in front of her. Tenchi standing behind Ryoko. Tenchi standing behind Ayeka. Tenchi standing behind Kiyone, and Tenchi standing behind Mihoshi. "WHAT? TENCHI?" Her screaming of that name brought the other girls out of their incoherent blank stares. Sasami and her Tenchi came back into the living room; Sasami planted firmly against him with a giant smile. "So I see you've all met." Tenchi said. "All met?" Came the confused sound from Ryoko, Kiyone, and Mihoshi. Ayeka and Washu were both still speechless. "Look behind you, that all." the three women complied only to give the same response Ayeka and Washu now held, silence. Sasami just blinked to see if she was really seeing six of Tenchi. "I'm guessing you'd all like me to explain this." Tenchi said with obvious amusement. He detached Sasami and all six of Tenchi took the small stage. Again the bright light came, only from all six this time and when it faded there stood one Tenchi. Yeah, it's not the greatest story going, but I know it isn't the worst either. I'll be dropping Chapter Two off in a while. Feel free to drop me a line with your various opinions on it at redknight2k@hotmail.com.