Tenchi Muyo! is owned by AIC and Pioneer, the characters in this story are used without permission of the creators : P I, however, own the situation, Jingi, and Yasha, and I gave myself permission to use them. France and the French language are owned by the French. The quote used is from the book series, 'Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn.' By Tad Williams Special thanks to WillZ and to Jul-chan from the #TenchiFF chat room for their help and suggestions. Title translation: 'Stay the Hand' Arretez le Main "To stay the rising hand of fate, to clear the fogging mists of time, if early shall arrive too late..." It was a beautiful morning in the valley. The summer breeze rushed across the green grass, causing the dew to sparkle in the various colors of the rainbow. The fluffy clouds were tinted pink in the blush of the newfound day. The leafed out trees swayed gently and the cherry blossoms drifted through the sweet springtime air. Jingi watched this scene with great sadness in his heart that showed in his scarlet eyes. He breathed the air and exhaled softly, bent down to feel the soft, cool grass. He felt the wind ruffle through his long black hair. Yasha came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Why do you keep doing this?" she asked him gently, her breath skimming the back of his neck. "To remind me why I have to give you up." He said gruffly. "Computer, end program." He called out. The soft panorama disappeared, replaced by stark walls. His wife gripped him even harder. "You know I could have said no." She let him go abruptly and walked to the door. She stopped halfway out and said, not looking at the tall handsome man behind her, "I want you to have a happy life, a childhood with your family, my love." She looked down the hall, and shook back her curly, cyan hair, "If that means I am not a part of it...then so be it." She walked away, leaving him alone in the darkened room. He stared after her lithe figure as she floated away from him. "Damn it," he muttered. He would go after her in a moment, but first... "Computer, Masaki family portrait, date, April 2003." A three-dimensional picture shimmered into view. He walked up the line, peering into the faces of those he hardly remembered. There was Mihoshi, flashing a peace sign at the camera, a huge smile on her face, her arm around a suffering Washu. Aunt Sasami with a cute smile and a humanoid Ryo-Ohki clutching her hand. Grandpa Noboyuki stood next to Great- Grandpa Yosho. And there, in the middle were Ryoko, his mother Ayeka, and his father Tenchi. Perched on his father's hip he saw himself, a stoic toddler, his ruby eyes staring back. "For you," he whispered. "For all of you." He walked towards the door, and waited until he was outside before terminating the image. He could not stand to see them all disappear once again. ... Washu sat typing on her computer, filling in the final calculations on the machine. The machine that would hopefully fix all that had gone wrong in the past. She didn't even bother to name this one in tech; to her it was simply Ichiru, a ray of hope. The genius sat back and stretched, this one creation had taken her longer to complete than any other, mainly because she had had so many distractions during its inception. She leaned forward, her head bowed over the keyboard. Jingi's well being had come first, he always came first. A little child thrust upon her by such terrible circumstances, circumstances that had taken away his whole family, and hers. "Ryoko," she sighed. Then she straightened up as she felt someone come up behind her. Yasha laid her hand on the scientist's shoulder. "Is it almost done, mother?" She asked quietly. "It's almost done little Yasha. And soon we will see if it works." Washu leaned forward again and started tapping away on her keyboard. Clearing her throat she asked. "How is Jingi doing?" "Not so well, mother." Yasha sighed and sat on another floating cushion. "He doesn't understand why we have to do this." Washu shot her a crooked smile. "But we know we have to." "Yes, mother." Yasha pulled up one of her legs and clasped her arms around it, looking out at the barren earth that was once the home of a happy thriving people. She sighed softly, "It has to be prevented." The harsh lighting of Washu's laboratory caught in the few tears that slid down her smooth cheeks. <100 years ago> "Oh, Tenchi!" Ayeka called from the window. "Are those diapers dry yet?" Tenchi looked up from where he was checking the laundry hanging on the line. "Yes, dear, I'll have them up in a minute." Ayeka blew him a kiss before retreating back into the recesses of the house. Tenchi smiled and began taking down the soft squares of white cloth, carefully piling them in a basket. *Jingi sure does use a lot of these * he thought wryly. Ryoko appeared beside him and silently began helping. "Oh, hello Ryoko," he greeted her, "You're back early." Ryoko gave him a small smile. "I got done more quickly than expected." She said. "That's good." Tenchi stopped for a moment and watched her as she kept taking the diapers down from the line. She was beautiful, he thought, as lovely as his wife, just in different ways. He admired her bravery as she stayed, even after he had chosen Ayeka. His heart wrenched as he thought of the pain that must have caused her. Tenchi smiled a secret little smile. He had been discussing this with Ayeka. They both decided, that if Ryoko were willing, he would take her as his second wife. Hopefully she would forgive him for making her wait this long. Tenchi reached down and picked up the basket after Ryoko had folded the last diaper. He smiled at her, "Thanks for helping me Ryoko." Ryoko smiled back, and then phased out before Tenchi could continue. 'Oh, well,' He thought, ' it'll be better if we both ask her, anyway.' "Tenchi!" Ayeka's call came floating out of the house. Tenchi yelped and took off at a trot, made a bit awkward by the basket he was carrying. <100 years in the future> Jingi walked into the room where Washu and Yasha were looking over the last coordinates being placed in the computer. Washu hit a few more keys. "There, it's finally done." She sighed. Yasha nodded her head as Jingi came up and placed an arm across her shoulders. "I'm sorry dear." He said contritely, "I didn't mean to snap at you." Yasha touched his face gently; a gesture that said, without words, that all had been forgiven. "So...it's done, Washu?" He asked the scientist. "Yes, Jingi. Now all that's left is to see if it works." She stood up and ran a careless hand through her wild, red hair. "We will only have one chance at this." She looked at the two of them meaningfully, "and we should do it soon." Jingi glanced out the window at the barren countryside, absently running his thumb over the thin scar on his cheek, seeing the signs of approach. "They must have picked up the lab's energy readings." He commented. "How long can we wait?" Yasha asked. "About an hour," Washu told her, her eyes shining in sympathy. Yasha smiled, though her pink eyes were sad, "Then we will take this time to say our goodbyes." She took Jingi by the hand and led him out of the chamber. "We will be back in an hour, Washu." Then they disappeared out the door. After they left, Washu floated her pillow out to the dimensional window. She peered at the mountains, watching as the explosions began. These earthlings were a brave people. They kept fighting against all odds. Hopefully they would give her enough time; then this would never happen. They could still change things. Washu reached into her pocket and drew out a vidcube. Tears ran down her face as she pressed the tiny recorder button. She positioned it in mid-air and stood before it. "Hello, little Ryoko..." she began. <100 years ago> "It's ready!" Mihoshi called from the kitchen. They had all been a little concerned when, after Sasami left to visit Jurai, Mihoshi volunteered to cook. But surprisingly, apart from the odd gas explosion, she wasn't too bad. Tenchi helped to set the table, and then they all settled down to eat. Tenchi sat in his usual spot, with Ayeka on his right. On his lap he held his son. "Rice." Jingi said importantly, pointing at the dish in question. Tenchi laughed, "Yep, that's right, son." Ryoko sat on his other side, and then Noboyuki, Yosho, and Mihoshi took their places. Washu apparently had decided to join them. She emerged from her lab and sat beside Noboyuki. They ate in congeniality, chatting comfortably as they enjoyed Mihoshi's rather peculiar dishes. <100 years later> "That's all there is to it?" Jingi asked as he stared at the small transmitter the Washu had attached to his wife's arm. "No," Washu gestured at the tiny device, "That's all that is needed to receive the energy." Then she turned and made a broad gesture at the cavernous room the three of them were standing in. "THAT, is the real machine." "Hmmm." Jingi said as he held his wife closely. She rested her head on his shoulder. Washu sighed as she looked at Jingi and Yasha; they really were perfect for each other thanks, in no small part, to her genius in creating the woman. Watching them, she was reminded of herself and her husband, how happy they had been together. She began to have second thoughts concerning this whole enterprise. "Jingi, Yasha..." She started to say. "I'm ready mother," Yasha interrupted her. She felt Jingi's grip tighten on her hand and sighed, this was too important. She turned to him and saw the tightness behind his eyes. "Jingi, know that I love you, that I will always love you. And that is why I am doing this." She kissed him deeply, trying to reassure him that this was all for the best. "Hold here for only as long as necessary, you will know if I...well you won't know if I am successful." She took a few items that Washu handed her, and tucked them in her vest. "Good-bye mother." She said. "Good-bye little Yasha, and have a successful mission." Washu said bravely. After embracing the two of them one last time, Yasha walked out the dimensional door into the valley. Immediately after exiting Washu's lab she felt the changing of her physiological systems to compensate for the acidic air. She floated to the agreed upon spot and hovered there. "Here, mother?" she called out. A video screen popped up in front of her. "Two meters to your right." The image of Washu said. Yasha shifted her position accordingly. "I'm ready." She said again, and prepared herself. "Setting sequences," Washu said, looking down at her keyboard. "Yasha!" Jingi shouted from off screen, he moved into the picture, and held his hand up so the palm was against the image. Yasha did the same on her side. "Good Luck." He said. "5...4...3...2..." The computer counted down, and at the count of one, Yasha disappeared. "What do we do now?" Jingi tearfully asked Washu. The scientist looked out the dimensional window, seeing that the battle was growing closer. She took his hand. "We pray, Jingi." ... Yasha felt herself falling through the light. It was not too dissimilar than when she passed through matter, but this time she knew she was passing through years. Layer upon layer flashed by in suggestion as Yasha waded in the light. A century passed by, in reverse. Then everything stilled and her eyes widened at the sight before her. The valley... it was even more beautiful than the image in Washu's holographic room. ... Tenchi was just assisting Mihoshi in clearing the supper table. Which essentially meant that he attempted to save as many dishes as possible. The crashing of breaking pottery told him that he was unsuccessful. 'Washu will have to make us some new dishes...again' he thought, wincing. "Ouch." Mihoshi said. Ryoko was sitting on the couch watching a soap opera, and Washu retreated into her lab. Yosho went up to the shrine and Ayeka was putting Jingi down for a nap. Noboyuki was also sitting on the couch with some papers, surreptitiously sneaking peeks at the soap Ryoko was watching. Suddenly, a body passed through the glass part of the window, before anyone could react. Yasha stopped and looked around, seeing all the shocked faces, faces of those she knew, but had never met. Ayeka, Ryoko, Noboyuki, Ryoko, Ryo-Ohki, Tenchi. Mihoshi stuck her head out of the kitchen to see why everyone had gotten so quiet. Almost all of them were here. Then Yasha's eyes fell upon the toddler, Jingi. Her face grew stricken. The stranger astonished everyone by bursting into tears. Tenchi, his brown eyes concerned, approached the beautiful creature, noting her curly cyan hair, which was pulled up into a topknot, and her large tear-filled pink eyes. "Miss, is everything all right?" She stared at him, seeing her husband's face in his features, in his gentle eyes. She must do what she came here to do. She sniffled and wiped her eyes. "Where is moth...I mean, Washu?" The others exchanged looks. Ryoko shrugged, "She's in her lab. But you'll have to..." The woman floated over to the broom closet door, opened it and disappeared inside. "...knock?" She finished in time with the sound of the door quietly shutting. <100 years in the future> "The weapons systems are going down!" One of Washu's computers called. "Damn it!" Washu rushed over to the weapons system's primary console. "The shield systems are failing too." She slammed her palm down on the metal surface. Jingi rushed into the room, "Washu, they're trying to find the entrance, they have virus..." He stopped as he saw Washu's face. "They're going to get in, aren't they?" Washu nodded. "And if we leave, I will have to shut down the portal, permanently." She looked up at the young man before her. "We will never be able to get back." Jingi's expression was stricken as he peered at the scientist, then out the dimensional window at the invaders streaming over the wreckage of the valley. He looked down at the floor for a few moments. "Washu, do you know what I'm thinking?" He looked up at her and began to smile. Washu started smiling back, "Well, if we're going to go down." She pulled a large and menacing looking blaster out from behind one of her consoles and tossed it to Jingi. Then she pulled out another one and armed it, her emerald green eyes glittering evilly. "We're going to do it in style." <100 years ago> Yasha entered the cavernous laboratory, marveling that it, unlike the outside world, had not appreciably changed in the one hundred years since the disaster. "Washu!" she called, "Washu, where are you." Abruptly, the familiar face of the scientist popped up from behind one of the machines. Yasha was momentarily taken aback by the twelve-year-old aspect of her mother. But her Washu had told her that she would be like this. "How did you get in here?" Washu asked. Yasha smiled, "Mother prepared for this by using some of Mihoshi's DNA. That way I could enter the lab just as she does." Washu stepped around the machine. "Your mother knows Mihoshi? And me?" She stared hard at the woman who had intruded upon her. She took in the curly hair, just like Mihoshi's, the cyan color, just like Ryoko's. Her pink eyes were exactly the same shade as Sasami's, though shaped like Tenchi's, and her facial structure reminded the little scientist of Ayeka. "Who exactly are you?" She asked. Yasha reached into her vest and pulled out a small vidcube. She handed it to the red-haired scientist. "It is better if mother explains this," She commented. Washu examined the object that the girl had handed her, "This looks like one of my designs." She looked inquiringly at the girl, who just smiled. Washu sighed and pressed the small activator switch on the side of the cube. She stared wide-eyed, as the image of her adult self came into view, in a flickering, holographic image. the image pulled out a fan that read genius on it, She celebrated. Then as quickly as she had become animated, she sobered. Little Washu looked over at Yasha, who waved. Washu stared, enraptured, as the vid version of herself spelled out exactly what would occur. Yasha wandered about the lab, she had been shown this tape before, she had lived in the devastation; she knew what was being said. At the end of the recitation, the future Washu paused. < If Yasha is out of hearing, nod. > Little Washu glanced at the girl, and then nodded her head once. Both Washus began to smile. ... Ryoko stretched and stood up, that had been a good soap. She glanced over at Noboyuki, who was sniffling over his papers. He gathered them up and walked up to his room. His eyes were moist; she saw with raised eyebrows. She thought about the last scene before the program ended, where two of the characters had declared their undying love for one another. Just as she had hoped Tenchi someday would. She glanced back at the retreating back of the teary eyed Noboyuki, "The old softy," the ex-space pirate thought with some amusement. Ryoko floated over to the sliding glass doors, and looked outside. It was a nice day. Maybe she would go over to the cave and sit; just like she used to do when Tenchi was little, and pretend that it was just he and she again. Before Ayeka came. She floated through the doors and out into the sunshine. Or maybe she would hang around the house. Mihoshi popped out of the kitchen, "Ryoko." She called looking around the living room. "Hey, Ryoko...I wanted to ask you something." After checking the entire house, top to bottom, Mihoshi figured that the woman had gone outside. She left through the sliding glass doors. Tenchi and Ayeka emerged from the hall several minutes later; Ayeka carrying a change of clothes for their son. Tenchi looked around the room, "Where is everybody?" he asked, "I thought dad was looking after Jingi." His head was snapped around when he heard a cry from Ayeka, who was standing next to the couch. "Tenchi, Jingi's gone." Their eyes went to the open sliding glass doors, the lake and the forest beyond. "Oh, no!" Ayeka clasped her hand across her mouth, dropping the clothing on the floor. They both rushed out of the house. "Ayeka, you look in the forest. I'll check the lake." He wanted to spare her the horror if Jingi had gone in that direction. "Yes, Tenchi." Ayeka ran off towards the woods, yelling her son's name. ... Yasha and Washu emerged from the lab, each with a look of stoic resolve on her face. "Where'd everyone go?" Washu mused. Then she remember her other self's retelling of the days events. Yasha looked at her strickenly, then they both ran out of the house. ... "No, I don't have a sister...I don't know if you have a sister. Maybe a lot of people have my color hair. Like I said, I don't know." Fires were burning behind Ryoko's wrathful eyes as the blond policewoman asked her, again, if she knew the girl who had visited Washu. She was apparently convinced that she was some long lost relative. And she was also convinced that Ryoko knew more than she was telling her. "But...maybe you do have a sister, and she married one of my relatives, and she just found out about us...and..." Mihoshi refused to give up. Ryoko formed an energy ball in her hand. She did not really intend to fry the inquisitive Mihoshi... this was more of a... warning. "I'm telling you, " she raised her hand, "I don't..." The policewoman, in the midst of backing away from the angry ex-pirate, had tripped over a rock. Due to Mihoshi's sense of physics, instead of falling backwards, she fell forwards. She jogged the arm that held the energy ball and it flew off into the woods. A moment later, they heard a child cry in pain. Ryoko was shocked for an instant. "No." She whispered in disbelief and flew off to find the source of the cry. Mihoshi ran after her. ... Tenchi was just turning from the lake, relieved, when he heard a child's voice scream in pain. "Jingi!" He cried and raced off to the woods. Washu and Yasha saw him take off and hurried after him will all possible speed. They found Ayeka kneeling on the forest floor with Jingi in her arms. The child was crying uncontrollably. A line of blood trailed down his cheek. She looked up and saw everyone approaching her. "The rock...exploded." Her eyes glanced momentarily at Ryoko, then looked back at Tenchi. "A piece hit him." Ryoko hovered above her with an expression that conveyed such grief; Yasha thought it was a wonder she was not weeping. Ayeka's hesitation caught at the pirate as an accusation and for a moment she was taken back; back to when she was under Kagato's control. ... < Thousands of years ago > Ryoko was on a planet that Kagato had sent her to destroy. She had just blown up a house, and was surprised when a woman emerged, a woman holding a child. The woman choked on the dust in the air and collapsed, dead from asphyxiation. The child tumbled from her grasp. He rolled to almost under her feet. She was taken by an emotion, one she had never felt before...guilt, and she reached her hand to the child, a little boy. And he looked up at her with tearful eyes. Then Kagato had taken her over again, and she was helpless in his control. Her hand formed an energy ball... ... < Present day > Ryoko came down and stood upon the ground, staggered from the memory. Yasha placed a hand upon her arm and the ex-pirate shook it off. "Washu, could you take him, and heal him...in your lab?" Ayeka pleaded. Washu looked at Yasha, who nodded. They had agreed that if she were not able to stop the event from occurring, the least they could do was make sure the boy survived. Washu took the weeping child and cradled him in her arms. With a last look at them, she summoned her door and disappeared into the lab. At that moment, Ryo-Ohki wandered up from the carrot fields, "Miya?" she asked, going over to her owner. Ryoko stared at her. Then her eyes brightened with an idea. She would leave. She would leave and that way she couldn't hurt any of them again. <100 years in the future> "They're getting through!" Jingi yelled over the noise of the battle. 'Hurry, little Yasha,' Washu thought as she loosed another round of devastation upon the advancing troops. 'Hurry.' <100 years in the Past> "What happened?" Tenchi asked Mihoshi as Ryoko quietly picked up Ryo-Ohki and slipped away. "I'm sorry!" Mihoshi sobbed, "I bumped Ryoko and it just flew out of control...it was all my fault." Ayeka looked around, "Where did she go?" ... Ryoko floated to the center of a large clearing. Forbidden tears streaked down her face as she clutched Ryo-Ohki to her breasts. She was just about to launch the cabbit when she heard a voice behind her. "I don't want to hurt anyone." Ryoko whispered. Her eyes closed as she lifted the cabbit, she could see the features of Jingi, and that innocent little boy, curiously intermingled in her mind's eye. Could see once again, Ayeka's hurt and accusing eyes glancing at her. "Wait!" it was the young woman who had come to see Washu. The woman caught her arm in a surprisingly firm grasp. "Before you do anything hasty, I want you to look at this." With that she pulled another vidcube out of her vest. "It is attuned to your astral patterns, so no one else has been able to see it." Yasha pulled the confused Ryo-Ohki out of Ryoko's grasp and stepped back. "Please, watch it." Ryoko stared at the woman, she seemed desperate, and desperation was something Ryoko was familiar with. The woman turned the cube over in her hands, then finally sighed and pressed the button. The image of adult Washu appeared, sideways, and Ryoko hurriedly righted it. Washu sighed, tears rolling down her face < there are so many things I would like to say to you, but there isn't time. Above all, what you need to know is you can't leave this planet. Please Ryoko. I know I haven't been much of a mother to you, but please, listen to me. Let me show you what will happen if you try to go. > Washu's image flickered and was replaced by what seemed to be a video of the valley. Ryoko looked up, the sun was in the exact same position as on the tape, the cloud formations were exactly the same. She saw herself, standing in the middle of this same field. She saw Ryo-Ohki turn into a spaceship, and herself board. She saw Tenchi emerge from the forest at a dead run, as Ryo-Ohki started to lift away. She couldn't hear what he said, but suddenly the lighthawk wings formed. Ryoko leaned over the cube, her eyes wide. Ryo-Ohki seemed to struggle against the force of the wings, which seemed to be holding her in place. She saw herself fire a shot at Tenchi, trying to win free. The shot rebounded, bouncing back and forth a few times, growing in volume, in intensity. It exploded, and everything went black. Washu once again appeared. < When this happened, the entire valley and Ryo-Ohki were utterly destroyed. Only Jingi and I survived because we were in my lab. A few years later, the Earth was attacked. From what I was able to glean, upon hearing that all, except Sasami, of the heirs had died in an explosion, the Jurian empire was broken and overthrown. The empresses and emperor were killed, and Sasami was forced to retreat back to the Tsunami tree. 100 years later, the Earth is a war zone, since it is not protected by the empire of Jurai any longer. > The image of Washu flickered as a few of Ryoko's tears fell on the cube. < During those hundred years, I created Yasha, raised Jingi, and worked on a machine that would enable us to come back and change the future. > Washu's face turned knowing. Although she knew the scientist couldn't see, she nodded. The cube started to crackle as Tenchi's voice, calling desperately, became audible. * Ryoko, Ryoko! Wait please, don't go! It was an accident. Ryoko, Ayeka and I want you to join us! Ryoko, I want to marry you! Aren't you listening!? Ryoko! I love you! Ryoko! * The hiss of static cut him off. < Ryoko, you can save us. Love... your mom. > Her voice broke on the last words. The image flickered out. <100 years in the future> "We can't hold them back any longer." Washu shouted as one of her machines was incinerated. Then everything vanished. <100 years in the past> He had wanted her to stay so desperately that he had summoned the wings. He had wanted her to stay so much that they came to him. "I won't go." Ryoko said, her face down over the silent cube. "Tenchi loves me." She said, looking up. Her eyes shone with joy. She looked over at where Yasha was standing. "We did it, Jingi!" Yasha called in triumph. Then she began to fade away. Ryo-Ohki dropped to the ground as Yasha's form became insubstantial. ... As she faded out of existence, Yasha's life passed before her eyes. She saw the first time she had met her husband. She had been lying on a table in Washu's lab, and they were waiting for her to awaken from the generation process. The first time she had ever opened her eyes, he was there. "Hello, my name is Jingi." He had said, his scarlet eyes gentle and his voice soft. She saw the first time they had kissed. It hadn't started out as one, though. They had been walking the perimeter of the valley and his oxygen regulator had broken down. He was unable to breath the changed air. Yasha had panicked, then she had an idea. She pulled him close and covered his mouth with hers, breathing for the both of them. His eyes had widened. And when they finally reached the safety of the lab, he did not let her go. The desperate move for survival had turned into an equally desperate kiss. She relived when he had told her what had happened to his family, the way he had choked on his tears. He had asked her, that day, to do what she had just accomplished. She saw the first time he had told her he loved her, when they were in Washu's holographically rendered image of the valley. How the sun had glinted off his long, silky black hair. She saw their wedding day, with Washu officiating, a satisfied smile on her striking face. How they had recited their vows. How his eyes had locked onto hers as he said his with such feeling that she shivered from head to toe. She saw the first time they had made love, afterwards, when they lay tangled in the sheets. How he had brushed her hair out of her face and murmured lovingly to her for hours, while she cuddled up against his chest, watching him. She saw their goodbye again, how he had wished her 'good luck' when really what he was saying was, 'I love you.' All this and more flashed before her; a lifetime in an instant. Jingi was the last thing she thought about. She vanished with a smile on her face. ... "Thank you, sister." Ryoko murmured. The cube vanished from her hand. Tenchi came charging out of the woods at a dead run. "Ryoko, Ryoko! Wait...!" Ryoko turned to face her future husband, unshed tears in her golden eyes. ... Washu watched from her lab as Tenchi and Ryoko embraced, holding the, once again, happy toddler on her lap. "Well, now that that's done." She turned the toddler to face her. "How about we make you your future wife." "Wuff!" Jingi giggled. "Good thing I sent myself this DNA sample and memory chip." She laughed triumphantly. "I am SUCH a genius." ... <100 years in the future> It was a beautiful morning in the valley. The summer breeze rushed across the green grass, causing the dew to sparkle in the various colors of the rainbow. The fluffy clouds were tinted pink in the blush of the newfound day. The leafed out trees swayed gently and the cherry blossoms drifted through the sweet springtime air. Jingi watched this scene with the sun reflecting the light in his ruby eyes. He breathed the air and exhaled softly, bent down to feel the soft, cool grass. He felt the wind ruffle through his long black hair. Yasha came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. " It's a beautiful day," she said gently, her breath skimming the back of his neck. FIN I hope you have enjoyed this story my...fourth, I think. So anyways... Questions, comments, complaints? E-mail me at kyokki21@yahoo.com