[Devilish power, a time distortion, a gigantic space station, and a huge star ship. All these components and more led to the space station Babylon 5 being sucked into Sector 14, and staying there. However, due to that devilish power mentioned before, its changed from a time distortion to one of a massive reality distortion. Now, two Vorlons, Kosh and Uklesh, along with a devil named Murmur, are being forced to, among other things, review fan-fictions, by two captains and a psi-cop. These are indeed, the end days.] [And now, Pseudo-Evangelical Babylon Theatre 5 4/5. Featuring: The commentators: Murmur the Fallen: This is what is called, a blatant self insertion. Kosh: Right, ok, my last words were, 'I was scared'? Man. Uklesh: Boy, do I come off as a real prick. [And the Mad Captains, and cop: Captain Susan Ivanova: What? Those sons of bitches! That was a blatant-! Captain Katherine Lochley: I want more screen time. And Talia Winters: Jesus, what the hell was that? It came so far out of left field, I think it came from the parking lot.] [Ivanova is sitting in the captain's seat of the experimental White Star Heavy Cruiser Jeffrey Sinclair, with Winters on her lap, making out. [Enter Lochley. [Lochley: Damn it! You don't have time for that! We have to send this next fic to the Vorlons! [Ivanova&Winters (sim): Sorry! [Ivanova: Ok, establish comm to B5 C&C [Winters delicately steps off Ivanova's lap and goes over to the comm system, a crystalline structure that is modeled after standard Earth-Force equipment to lend familiarity to the human crew [Winters: comm established.] [Ivanova looks at the glowing holographic display of C&C. She sees a scruffy looking kid wearing glasses, and with a dirty pair of black feathered wings on his back, squinting back at her, and muttering. [Ivanova: Hello, Vorlon. Pleasant Morning, isn't it? [Murmur: Bite me. And, as I've said before, I'm not a Vorlon. I'm an effing fallen angel. [Ivanova: Well, I'm a non-practicing Jew, so bad hash for you. Now, get the other two, We've got another fic for the stooges to review. [Murmur: I don't go anywhere without my tea, first. [Ivanova: Do you want ANOTHER dose of 'The Barney Movie' piped through the comm system? I thought not. Go get them . . . NOW! [Murmur: yes, ma'am.] [Murmur walks towards the alien sector, muttering about megalomaniacal star ship captains and not seeing what Marcus saw in her. [Ivanova: Now, where were we? [Winters hops back onto her lap and resumes the kiss-fest, while Lochley clutches at her temples, looking pained. Soon the comm is re-establish, with Murmur, Kosh, and Uklesh on screen, all looking cranky and holding cups of tea. The Vorlons are not in their encounter suits, so are looking rather angelic. [Murmur: Woo Woo! [Kosh: Awww, how sweet. [Uklesh: Hmph! [Lochley: Ahem, since the captain is busy, I shall send you your fic. It's two of them, actually, both by the same author. The first is Love's Labor Lost by Ryan Anderson, and the second is Purple Haired Destiny, part four. Enjoy the emotional torment!] [Claxons and Alarms start beeping all over the C&C [Murmur, Kosh, Uklesh (sim): UH-OH! We've got FANFIC Sign!] [The first door: It's organic, much like the hull of a Vorlon Ship. It melts away once you come into contact. [The second door: It too is organic, but instead of Vorlon tech, it is Shadow tech. You punch through it with a PPG, and move on. [The third door: It's crystalline, much like the hull of a Minbari ship. It slides away, and you move on. [The fourth door: It is a regular, metal door, much like the ones onboard B5. It slides diagonally into the walls, and you go ahead. [The fifth door: It is Bester. He is smiling smugly, and, with his thumb and index finger ringed, he salutes you mockingly. You show him a picture of Chekov, and he goes away, sobbing in shame. You smile, and move onto the theater.] [Murmur, Kosh, and Uklesh sit on the seats of the theatre, waiting for the fanfic to start.] Love's Labor Lost [Uklesh: Ah, a proponent of Pro-Choice, I see. [Kosh: Quiet. Do you want to get flamed?] A Tenchi Muyo Fanfic By Ryan Anderson Chapter 3: The Mother of Lies [Murmur: Oh, my , Satan's a hermaphrodite! Hmm..that would explain a lot of the rumors around Dystopia.] --- The morning was only just beginning to lighten as Tenchi slowly awoke. Sending a sleepy glance out the window, it was all Tenchi could do to keep from curling up and going right back to sleep... It was just one of those days that felt like it would be better off spent in bed. [Murmur: Ah, don't I know that feeling.] Intending to do just that, Tenchi rolled over, but found himself unable to return to the blissful unconsciousness. For the first time in what seemed like eons, he hadn't dreamt of Tsunami last night. [Uklesh: I think it would work better if you say 'during the night', rather than 'last night'.] It was strange, but for the last couple of months, every night like clockwork he'd had a reoccurring dream where the goddess Tsunami had come to him. It seemed especially odd that now would be the time for those dreams to stop, right when it looked like he might actually get to see the goddess again. [Kosh: You know, considering that the Tenchi crew don't even know about The Three Goddesses (except for Washu, for some reason), it's interesting to see how much Tenchi literally worships Tsunami by calling her a 'Goddess' in his thoughts, and how often, as well. That sort of worship is not a good basis for a relationship, in my humble opinion. [Murmur: Yeah, but how many of us think that Tenchi is going to end up with Tsunami/Sasami? [Murmur, Kosh, Uklesh (sim): None of us, here.] That thought sent a shiver down his spine... could it be that Tsunami was really coming for him? He didn't dare hope... surely if she was going to all the trouble of aging Sasami faster, she was doing it for some greater purpose, not just for him... but it still made him shiver in anticipation that maybe, just maybe there was a chance.... [Uklesh: Hm, could it be that Tenchi actually concluded that the dreams that he is recieving is via Tsunami? [Murmur, Kosh (sim): Nah.] Smiling a large goofy grin, he curled up in a tight ball within the covers, hugging them around himself. He couldn't help but indulge himself in a wonderful fantasy where Tsunami, with her long, flowing blue hair, walked through his door, a smile on her face.... [Murmur: Woo Woo! Happosai-style Wet Dream! [Kosh: Quiet, sex-crazed idiot. [Murmur: Hmph. At any rate, in the above paragraph, it says, 'he curled in a tight ball within the covers, hugging them around himself.' Does he mean he hugged the covers to himself? How does one hug a cover? [Uklesh: When one is two dimensional, I'd think. [Murmur: I think that he meant 'Hugged his arms around himself.' [Kosh: Most likely] And as if conjured up by his thoughts, there was a sudden knock on Tenchi's door. Feeling almost guilty for even thinking that a goddess could possibly like him, he slowly sat up. [Kosh: Tsk, tsk. Another example of Tsunami-worship. [Murmur: Well, you have to admit, she is quite attractive, and powerful. It's only natural for him to 'worship' (ie, admire) her, to some extent. [Uklesh: But to such extent? No, given what we know about Tenchi, and the little clues in the previous chapters, I'd say 'Mind Control.' [Kosh: And you'd know everything about that, wouldn't you? [Uklesh: Grrr...] It was probably just Ryoko, come to try her version of "waking him up". Bracing himself for the worst, he called out, "Come in..." [Murmur: Oh, yeah, that's the worst thing to happen to a person. You don't know how good you've got it, you weenie.] ... And got the shock of his life, as Tsunami stepped slowly into the room. [Uklesh: Given that he has been pretty damned shocked in his life, he really should be having a coronary right about now.] Or rather, Sasami, but a Sasami so changed that it almost didn't seem right to call her that anymore. No more was the bubbly eight year old who he knew, the girl who stood before him seemed to be a strange cross between Sasami and Tsunami... and he definitely liked what he saw. [Uklesh: You know, I'm rather shocked how Tenchi so easily handles the conept of Sasami being erased, in favor of Tsunami. It's rather callous of him, and ego-centric. Oh, well, chalk it up to mind control again.] She looked to be about 16 now, not quite as old as the Tsunami who had rescued him after Ryuu exploded, but she had her hair pulled back in the same two long ponytails. She was also slightly shorter than Tsunami, but a lot taller than Sasami had been. All of these details Tenchi's mind noticed only really in retrospect, as most of his mind had chosen that moment to seize up completely as blood threatened to pour from his nose... because of what she was wearing... [Murmur: Very effective description. I've got a mental image in my head right now. And I don't think that anyone here wants to know what I'm doing with it. Hehe. [Kosh: Good God, you are a sex-crazed maniac. [Murmur: Yeah, me and every single anime fan out there. What do you think that line in that Bare Naked Ladies song means? [Uklesh: *sigh*] ...which wasn't very much at all. [Murmur: Woo Woo! [Kosh: I'm quite shocked. [Uklesh: Oh? You knew that it was going to happen, sooner or later. [Kosh: Yes, I suppose. But not this blatantly. After all, Sasami represents, just as Ryoko represents impulsivness, and Ayeka represents control, purity. She is, quite literally, a pure soul. [Murmur: You know, a comment about 'clay feet' would seem appropriate, here.] It seemed that though she had grown a tremendous amount overnight, her wardrobe had not. Consequently, the kimono she was wearing was *way* too short, barely covering her newly-acquired assets. [Murmur: Heheheheh. *Ass*ets. Hehhehehehheh. And what assets, at that. [Kosh: Oh, hush. Now you're sounding like that atrocious Beaver and Butterball pair on IGMN (InterGalactic Music Network)] It took an iron will, but slowly Tenchi pulled his gaze up to meet Sasami's eyes, and was surprised to find her blushing quite cutely. [Uklesh: It would seem that Tenchi does have some remnants of his iron self-control. [Kosh: Why would you assume that his self control is iron? Or even ferrous? [Murmur: Well, given his comments on the first OAV episode, he was quite a lecher. But, as his activities on the series have shown, he has not once given into his hormones and taken advantage of the girls' affections. [Kosh: Quite right. [Murmur: Of course, he could have just been lying like all teenage males are wont to do. [Kosh facefaults.] "Ohayo, Tenchi..." No 'niichan' suffix this time he noted idly... "um... I was wondering... do you think maybe we could go shopping after breakfast? I uh... seem to have grown out of my old clothes." [Uklesh: Che, the tease. Yeah, right, 'Shopping'. [Murmur: Heheheh. 'Shopping'. Heheheh. Shopping for clothes, like lingerie, and maybe, mmmm... groceries, like cucumbers, ripe, sweet plums, and maybe cherries...or A cherry. Heheheheh. [Kosh thwacks Uklesh. [Kosh: Now see what you've gone and started? [Uklesh: At any rate, it is interesing that Sasami doesn't call Tenchi her big brother, though I think it would work better if it went unnoticed and unmentioned. Or, if the author feels he must, mention it long after the fact, as a sort of mini-revelation as to the change in their relationship dynamics.] Some foggy part of Tenchi's mind vaguely grasped that he'd been asked a question, and he needed to answer... "uh... S- sure... Tsu-Sasami-chan..." both of them blushed and looked away as Tenchi stumbled over her name, trying to decide what to call her now. [Kosh: Ooo, now that is quite a nice scene. It showed perfectly the reaction that both of them would have for Tenchi's little Freudian slip. [Murmur: Heheheh, cherry, heheheh.] [Kosh thwacks Murmur. [Kosh: stop that.] He finally managed to look back at her, only to discover that she had the most radiant smile on her face... one which just seemed to light up the whole room to Tenchi. [Murmur: ARRGH! Too bright! [Uklesh: It's not that bright. After all, it's a smile, so there isn't any glare. [Kosh and Murmur facefault, much to Ukleshes delight.] "Thanks Tenchi-kun!" She called out as she left the room, which suddenly seemed a very dark and lonely indeed to the remaining occupant. [Ryouga: The world is a dark and lonely place. [Murmur, Kosh, and Uklesh look at him in shock. [Uklesh: Where the hell did he come from? [Kosh: And where did he go? [Murmur: Well, whatever. He does bring up a point, though. 'seemed a very dark and lonely indeed'. It should be 'seemed a very dark and lonely place indeed' or something to that effect.] *** The morning dawned in brilliant hues of reds and yellows, a magnificent display of the beauty of nature painted with such vivid colors that no artist could ever hope to match... [Kosh: Hmm..I don't know, 'Vivid'? I wouldn't describe the colors as 'Vivid'. that gives one the impression of bright, easily seperated, basic crayon colors. Perhaps something a bit more vague like 'magnificent' or somesuch, much like the colors themselves. [Murmur: Ah, just enjoy the view, you nit-picker.] Yet it was lost on the one who seemed to be watching it most intensely. Ryoko sat cross-legged on the roof, her face turned directly into the bright morning sun, but the warm light of the dawn didn't seemed to touch her dark visage. [Uklesh: Ok, let me get this straight. She's looking straight at the sun, yet the sun isn't striking her 'visage'? Good god, what does she have, a Shadow-cloak? [Kosh: Yes, that is a good point. Perhaps something along the lines of 'did not (mostly because the style of the scene seems to lend itself to more formal language) seem to reach into her darkened soul.' [Murmur: You poetic stud.] All night she'd been there, seeking an answer for the problems of her life. Thinking wasn't something Ryoko did often... usually if she had a problem of this magnitude, all it took was a little brute force and some well placed sword-swings and it was no longer a problem... but this one was different. [Kosh: Ah, yes, the Ryouko school of problem management. Destroy it utterly, and it's not a problem any longer. [Uklesh: I don't see what's wrong with that.] All night long her thoughts had circled around and around, always seeming to come to a dead end. Tenchi didn't love her, probably never had, she could see that now, and knew there was no use denying it, no matter how much it hurt. However, what to do about it simply alluded her. Every scenario she came up with inevitably ended with just making the situation worse... She felt completely helpless, and it was a feeling she hated. [Uklesh: Hmm..I think that it should be 'probably never had. She could see that now,' Two different senteces. It fits the cadence of the paragraph better, in my humble opinion.] What was wrong with her?? Was she ugly? She didn't think so, and people had told her before that she was beautiful... but then why then would Tenchi never look at her unless he was angry? Did he really hate her? But if he did, why did he come rescue her from Kagato? Or let her out of the cave at all?? [Kosh: Very good. I like how Ryoko is undermining her own self-worth by trying to figure out what it is inside herself that would drive Tenchi away. A very In Character moment. [Murmur: In character? This introspective, weak-willed Ryoko is in-character? [Kosh: But of course. You can see how it was Tenchi that(and this is, of course, from the previous chapters)gave Ryoko her humanity by showing her what it meant to be human. And so, she bases herself on how Tenchi reacts to her. And it is not a matter of being weak-willed, but rather about feelings of self-worth. And besides, you'd have to assume that Ryoko would have nothing to do BUT be introspective while in the cave.] It just didn't make sense... Ryoko had no answers for any of her questions and each one just seemed to drive her deeper into this dark spiral of depression. The more she thought about it, the more useless and frustrated she felt. She wanted to hit something, badly... but that was just it: if she did, it would only make things *worse* not better. She'd promised Tenchi she wouldn't fight anymore, not for a whole *week*, and *still* he wouldn't even smile in her direction... not a real smile anyway. [Uklesh: How sad. I feel sorry for her. To see one's true love everyday and know that that person does not love you is truly a hell. [Murmur: Yeah. I've been there. Not a fun place, let me tell you.] For what seemed like the millionth time, Ryoko's hands balled into fists as she struggled to hold back the flood of tears. Slowly though, as her fingernails bit into her palm, the chirping of birds began sounding around her, and the realization sank in that it was indeed dawn, and time for breakfast. [Murmur, Kosh, Uklesh (sim): OOOO, quite nice.] She almost shuddered at the thought. Dinner last night had been hard enough, but to go back and face Tsunami/Sasami now? She just wasn't sure she could take it. Still, it would mean that she would get to see Tenchi... maybe he'd had a change of heart... or maybe he'd been joking or something when he talked to Sasami the other day... yeah, that was it... but deep down she knew it wasn't true. She couldn't really even lie to herself anymore.... [Kosh: Truth is the glaring light that burns away the lies. [Uklesh: That leaves only pain behind. [Murmur: But Truth must be embraced, for the lies leave nothing behind. [Murmur, Kosh, Uklesh (sim): Or something like that!] Slowly standing and taking a deep breath to compose herself, Ryoko disappeared into the house. [Murmur, Kosh, Uklesh (sim): ..... Nothing to say.] *** Washu groaned inwardly as she came to sit down at the table for breakfast. Ever since she'd combined Ryoko and Zero, her link with Ryoko had been greatly dulled, but the strength of Ryoko's emotions had a bad habit of turning that tiny link she still had into a rushing torrent of emotions. And, at the moment, it made Niagara look like a leaky faucet. [Uklesh:In a metaphorical sense, of course. [Kosh, Murmur (sim): Of course. [Uklesh: It isn't as if a crashing ocean of emotions were literally being poured into her. [Kosh, Murmur (sim): Right. [Uklesh: Right. And it really should be 'the tiny link they still had'] Washu did her best to put on a cheery face as she took her place at the breakfast table, it was the least she could do since it seemed few of the others had anything to smile about... [Murmur: Except for Tenchi, who was going 'shopping' with Tsusami later. Heheheheheh. [Kosh: Oh, stop that. It's disgusting. [Uklesh: 'Tsusami'? What's that? [Murmur: That's what Sasami and Tsunami Fusion into. [Kosh: Tenchi Muyo is not DragonBall. [Uklesh: Yeah. The world would be destroyed a lot more often.] Stifling a yawn, Washu sent a scathing glance toward her youngest sister as she walked in, then mentally winced as she felt Ryoko's reaction to seeing the much-aged Sasami. It wasn't enough that the girl had to keep her up most of the night with her depression, but it only seemed to be getting worse... Washu hadn't thought it was *possible* to be that depressed... [Uklesh: It really would sound better if he used something besides depression that second time. [Kosh: Like what? Meloncholia? She didn't think it was possible to be that meloncholy? Is that a better alternative? [Uklesh: Not meloncholia. How about, oh, I don't know... [Murmur: Kimagure? [Uklesh and Kosh both Teke-blast Murmur] [Murmur: Oro ro. (Mumbling) Why don't you get off your encounter suited *sigh*...(slumps into unconciousness) [Uklesh: Never mind. At any rate, I've been meaning to comment on this for a while. I don't believe that it is cannonical for Washu to know that she was a Goddess, before she gave up her power to the gems. However, since this is purely a minor point at best, this will be the last time that that will be mentioned.] Briefly she pondered the thought that perhaps she had made an error in the construction of Ryoko, making her too emotional, but she quickly dismissed the idea. Not only was it far fetched that she'd have made such a mistake, but it was far more likely that Ryoko's feelings and wounded psyche could be attributed to her harsh upbringing... which made Washu feel even worse, since in many ways she was responsible for that too... [Uklesh: Washu's arrogance is quite IC, however I find how analytically she ponders if she made a mistake in making Ryoko (ie, that Ryoko is flawed and thus unworthy) to how guilty she feels about Ryoko's harsh 'childhood' (which lasted, how long?) to be inconsistent in characterization.] It was a painful lesson, having a love one stolen away from you, but it was a lesson that Ryoko just had to learn... Washu herself had learned that one all too well, and it hadn't been just a boyfriend she'd lost, but a husband and a son... Angrily Washu crushed that thought. Apparently Ryoko's depression was effecting her more thoroughly than she had thought, if it could cause her to dredge up such painful a memory that she'd so long ago buried. [Uklesh: Quite right, the harsh lessons should be learned immediately and frequently for that is the only way that one can develope MPD [Kosh: Ahem, despite the sardonic manner that he put it in, he does have a point. This seeming callousness (or however you would describe it) doesn't seem fitting with a Washu that would so take care of Tenchi's cousin in such a caring and maternal manner. It seems more fitting of a Takahashi parent, who are infamous for their callousness, and greed.] Still, as she struggled to maintain a cheerful outward demeanor towards the stony silence of the breakfast table, one thought consoled her... [Murmur: (as Washu) Mmm . . . miso shiru . . . aaaaahhh. [Kosh: Thank you, Homer Simpson.] Soon Azuza... Very soon now.... [Uklesh (again, as Washu): I shall have my Quiche! No, wait, that's not right . . . [Kosh: Thank you, Mihoshi. [Murmur (as Fone Bone): Stupid, Stupid Rat Creatures!] *** Tenchi frowned as he glanced around the table. Why were the girls taking this so hard? Geez, he thought, Aeka I can understand being upset, she probably thinks that her sister is being taken away from her... but Ryoko? [Kosh: Wow, he truly is unbelievably dense. [Murmur: Hey, what's tougher than depleted uranium? [Uklesh: KeiYurium. [Murmur: KeiYurium? [Uklesh: Yeah. It's so tough, that whenever it comes into contact with a planet, it smashes through it. [Murmur: Yowza. Ok, Tenchi is as dense as KeiYurium. [Dir-BLAMBLAMBLAM-Lovely Angels (sim): SHUT UP!! [Much mayhem is given to Uklesh, Murmur, and Kosh. It is not appreciated] Tenchi glanced over at the cyan-haired pirate. She was sitting accross from him at the table, barely even making a pretense of playing with her food. Her head was tilted forward slightly, just enough for her bangs to fall over her feline eyes. [Uklesh: I know I've said it before, but I truly feel sorry for her, especially with this very descrpitive paragraph. [Kosh: Well, we all know that Ryoko is going to end up with Tenchi, in the end. After all, this is Ryan Anderson. [Murmur: Oh, come on. This is, after all, a 'Sasami gets Tenchi' fic. [Uklesh: It may have been the intent of the challenge for it to be so, but, frankly, I can't tell who's going to win the Tenchi marathon in this fic. [Murmur: Usually it's a tie between Ayeka and Ryoko.] Something was obviously really bothering her... Maybe I should go talk to her about it? I can't just let her sit there and suffer alone... thought tenchi. And he was just about to act on that thought when Tsunami spoke up. [Murmur: Well, it's nice to know that Tenchi hasn't lost ALL of his sensitivity.] "So Tenchi, where can we go shopping?" Tenchi looked over at her startled, blushing slightly as their eyes met. She seemed to have finally found an outfit that fit, probably by stealing from Aeka, not that Aeka even came *close* to filling it out as nicely as she did... at least to tenchi's admittedly biast eyes. [Murmur: Mmm . . . yes, she does fill it QUITE well. Mmmm. [Kosh: Well, other than that rather blatant fan service (or, as you would say, scene description), I find that eyes meeting to be quite sweet. [Uklesh: Really? I found it to be rather pedantic and cliched. [Murmur: Oh, stop being such a cynic. [Kosh: Oh, and I believe that Tenchi is supposed to be capitolized.] "Hmm... well, I suppose we could go to that new mall...The Tennoji Mio shopping center I believe its called. I've been wanting to go check it out for a while now anyway. They're suppose to have this really cool arcade..." [Kosh: Well, it certainly doesn't take much to distract Tenchi from suffering. [Uklesh: All it took was Tsusami. [Murmur: But, admit it, would any of us even blink at a N-2 explosion five inches from us if Tsusami was looking at us like THAT. [Guilty silence from the two Vorlons [Murmur: I thought not.] The sudden smack of a pair of chopsticks being slammed down on the table interrupted tenchi's description, as three pairs of eyes turns to watch Ryoko stand up. For a moment she just stood there, as if frozen by indecision, but then her resolve firmed, and with one last look toward Tenchi, she disappeared. [Uklesh: I know that I've . . . [Murmur, Kosh (sim): Yes, yes, We know. So do we. [Uklesh: Great scene, and very believable reaction on Ryoko's part. Very human. You can feel her pain. [Murmur, Kosh (sim): Thank you, Bill Clinton.] Tenchi just sighed. Ryoko could be so rude sometimes... He was about to turn back to his conversation with Tsunami when Aeka beat him to it. [Kosh, Murmur, Uklesh: WHOA! What the hell was that? [Kosh: Mind control, definetly mind control. That's the only explanation on how Out of character that little comment was. [Murmur: Unless he's using Shin Tenchi Muyo continuity. [Uklesh: All you know about STM is that Tenchi temporarily dumped Ryoko for a supposedly human girl. And besides, you know as well as I do that this is obviously OAV continuity.] "Sasami, wouldn't you like to go shopping with me instead?" The tone of Aeka's voice made it quite clear that it was really more of a command than a question. [Murmur: Brr . . . wow, she can really lower the temperature of the room. [Kosh: So cold. [Uklesh: Cool dialogue, though.] Sasami paused for a moment, looking back and forth between Tenchi and Aeka, then said, "Thank you, Aeka-oneesama, but I want to go with Tenchi-kun." [Murmur: Oh-HO! So it's Tenchi-Kun, now is it? [Kosh: You know, I've been giving that some thought. Do any of you find the transition from the Tenchi-niichan dynamics to the Tenchi-kun dynamics to not only be rapid but TOO rapid? Uklesh: Well, there were hints that this was the direction that the fic was going to go in in the last two chapters, especially the last one, but . . . mmm, yes, I do find it to be too fast. [Murmur: I, on the other hand, think that there was sufficent build up in the previous chapters so that this new situation in the Masaki household did not come out from left field.] Aeka's reply was similiar to Ryoko's... slamming her chopsticks down on the table while glaring daggers at Sasami. [Kosh: And this gives credence to the popular idea among Tenchi writers that Ryoko and Ayeka aren't all that different, underneath it all. [Uklesh: The same could be said of Matter and Anti-Matter, and you wouldn't want those two together, would you?] "The meal was delicous" she said shortly, heading out of the room. Tenchi began to stand up as well, but Washu was faster. [Murmur: I say this once again, Ayeka is the master of the snub.] "You stay, tenchi... go on your date, I'll... I'll handle things here." [Kosh: One wonders why Washu hesitated. After all, the (in this fic, at any rate) the master manipulator was probably expecting something just like what happened. [Uklesh: Of course, if she is a master manipulator, then perhaps she is trying to throw off Tsusami by acting hesitant or unsure. [Murmur: Haven't any of you heard of Occam's Razor? [Kosh: I doubt that that theory hardly applies to any anime. [Uklesh: I rather doubt that it applies in reality as well.] D-d-date?? Tenchi felt the heat rising, as he was sure he turned beet red... Out of the corner of his eye he shot a shy glance over at Tsunami only to find her blushing just as much... but she wasn't denying it! Could it be? [Murmur: Could it be that I'll finally get some soup? [Uklesh: No soup for you! [Murmur: At any rate, it is nice to see these little bits of Tenchi-isms from Tenchi, just to show us that he hasn't had a complete personality over-haul (looks furtively around, and whispers) like the Captain's 'Friend'.] [A hidden ceiling mounted PPG blaster fires at Murmur, turning him into charcoal. The two other reviews rapidly run away, looking for some tea to drink. Murmur sits there, trying to regain his senses. It doesn't take long to find what little he had. [Murmur: Hey, wait for me! I want some tea too!] [The theatre darkens. The only light is that of the screen that is paused on the last scene shown.]