The characters in this piece of fan fiction are owned by AIC pioneer. I am 
only using them for my own amusement and do not get anything but satisfaction 
from my writing. 


Every Princess Needs a Knight.
Chapter one...Guardian, My Guardian


	The royal bedchamber was dark; the only light to enter the room came from 
the enormous window that completely filled one of the walls. The light of the 
stars spilled in through that window and if you stood looking out the glass you 
could see the endless stretches of green trees that made up most of the 
topography of the planet known as Jurai. 
	The room was large, austere, and largely devoid of furniture, save for the 
enormous bed beneath the equally enormous window that proclaimed, without a 
doubt, what the intended purpose of this chamber was.
	In the large bed three figures could be seen beneath the rich bedclothes, 
outlined by the wan light pouring through the lone window. Soft snores and 
mutters occasionally were heard as the three royal personages slept in relative 
harmony on their tree-filled planet. The snores generally came from the form in 
the middle, which was slightly larger than the other two, and the mutters came 
from the Queen Misaki, who tossed and turned, fitfully fighting the covers on 
the left side of the bed. The Queen Funaho slept on the other side of her 
husband, peacefully enough, over the millennia she had learned to tune out the 
night noises of her bedmates. 
	In the corner of the massive room, where the shadows lay the thickest, a 
soft light began to form. A hazy blue, the color of still water beneath a crisp 
blue sky, it grew, and took on the form of a woman dressed in the ceremonial 
robes of Jurai royalty. Through the light of her own power, her eyes were a 
delicate pink and her long turquoise hair flowed like a calm stretch of river 
down her back. Tsunami had come to pay a call on the royal family of Jurai. Her 
light filled the room, turning the scenery outside the window to shadowy 
blackness. 
	Queen Misaki slept fitfully. She had never been a deep sleeper; she just 
had too much energy to be able to use it all in the course of a single day. She 
turned on her side then her stomach and punched the pillow. She heard a muffled 
grunt and opened her hazy eyes to make sure she had not just tried to fluff King 
Azusa, he had often awoken with unexplained bruises and she deemed it 
unnecessary to tell him how he had acquired them. 
	Through the mist of unrequited sleepiness, she saw light, a strange blue 
light, filling the room. She frowned and turned over in bed, wondering, muzzily, 
if someone had forgotten to extinguish one of the lamps. She saw the figure 
standing in one corner of the room, and, still muzzily, speculated on who had 
bought the strange light. The woman coughed politely, and Misaki was suddenly 
wide-awake. She looked around the room, somewhat frantically, where were the 
guards she had had posted? She tossed aside her covers, leapt out of bed and 
assumed the Jurian standard fighting stance, her eyes narrowed.
	The goddess looked somewhat taken aback at the queen's reaction. "Queen 
Misaki." she started to say, and broke off as the queen advanced purposely 
forward, her face assuming the 'Evil Misaki' look. "Queen Misaki," the woman 
continued quickly, backing up a few steps. "It is I, Tsunami." 
	The queen straightened and, much to the goddess's relief, her menacing 
stalking ceased.   The Second Queen of Jurai, director of the royal guards, of 
the Jurai royal council questioned. "Tsunami?" Her face was baffled. She peered 
closely at the goddess, "Did anyone tell you that you look a lot like my little 
Sasami?"
	Tsunami sighed; it was going to be a long night.

Earlier, on planet Earth
	The Princess Sasami sat listlessly staring out of the bank of windows that 
lined one wall of the Masaki house, her rose colored eyes sad. Soon, it would be 
soon, she thought, her mind tumbling over itself. Listlessness was not a 
characterization that usually colored the princess's make up. But she had to 
admit to herself that it was a true description. Sasami was now nearly 718 years 
old, but she had the appearance of an eighteen year old, thanks to the metabolic 
stasis that she was kept in during the search for her brother, Yosho. She 
sighed, her eyes on the dim day before her. It reflected her mood, stormy, the 
ash colored clouds tumbling over each other before the wind. 
	It was not that Sasami liked herself like that, of course. She was 
normally a happy and energetic girl. But recently, she found herself thinking 
thoughts that were not her own. She could almost feel herself changing, becoming 
Tsunami. She was thankful, of course, that Tsunami had allowed her to have a 
normal childhood, to grow up and go through the tumultuous teen years, but now, 
she could sense that it was almost time, and she would soon feel what it was 
like to be the goddess. The thing that bothered her was not that Tsunami had 
saved her life so many years ago, or the fact that they would become one. Her 
major concern was how it would affect her, the girl that was Sasami, her 
personality, her soul. She wouldn't really be Sasami anymore. She sighed again, 
and two tears trickled down her face. Soon, now...it would be soon.
	Within Sasami, the spirit of Tsunami was upset, not only because the one 
with whom she was so intimately entwined was so anguished, but also because she 
was not sure what to do about it. And unsure was definitely not one of the 
goddess's favorite positions. In reality, Sasami's strangeness with herself was 
only a part of growing up and an increasing awareness of the future. Her merging 
with Sasami was natural and it was nearly complete. Sasami was just using their 
assimilation as a scapegoat for her own uneasiness. 
	A distraction. What Sasami needed, she mused, was a distraction, something 
to take her mind off of the changes within herself. Like a boy, or man rather. 
Tenchi was out of the question, of course, he had his hands full with both Ayeka 
and Ryoko. She smiled, remembering their wedding day. At least those two had 
discovered that they were friends before they became sister-wives.
	What she needed was to look back over the bloodlines of Jurai; perhaps she 
could find a suitable young man. She wouldn't force Sasami to love him, but, 
just in case that should happen, maybe her son, she smiled, or daughter, would 
be another prodigy with the ability that she had so carefully cultivated, the 
ability to summon the light hawk wings. And if they didn't get along, Sasami 
would be so busy disliking him that she wouldn't have time to fight with 
herself. Tsunami was satisfied, what her other self needed, she concluded, was a 
knight. With that thought, she decided to pay a visit to the royal palace. 
Hopefully Funaho would be up. 

Later, on planet Jurai
	Her hopes...were in vain. Tsunami looked longingly over at the bed where 
Azusa and Funaho still peacefully slept. Then she looked back at the pink-eyed 
woman who was, sort of, her mother. Misaki was standing there with a confused 
expression on her animated face. "Queen Misaki, I need you to do something for 
me and for your daughter, Princess Sasami." The goddess said softly.
	Misaki settled herself more comfortably, cocking out one hip and tilting 
her head to the side. "Yes, Tsunami. Tell me what I can do for you."
	Tsunami looked thoughtfully out the shimmering window. "Sasami is having a 
hard time adjusting to her new status as an adult. What she needs is a 
distraction." She smiled faintly. "I had hoped that Tenchi would be the one, but 
fate has something else in store for him, as you no doubt know."
	The queen nodded. Tenchi was currently staying at the royal palace with 
his two wives. They were gradually introducing him to the politics and 
government of Jurai. This was the main reason for Azusa's nighttime mutterings. 
No matter how hard any of them tried, he just could not seem to warm up to his 
great-grandson. Misaki suspected that he was just being stubborn but, of course, 
she was ever the optimist.
	"I have come to you tonight to select a champion for your daughter. I 
already have Tenchi, but he is going to be busy for quite a while with his new 
wives and she needs someone who will always be close by."
	"Um, Tsunami." Misaki questioned. "What does your having a champion have 
to do with Sasami?"
	Tsunami sighed, she had explained this to the queen, Sasami had explained 
this to the queen, as had Ayeka, Funaho, Yosho, and Tenchi. Even Washu had had a 
go at it. But it seemed that she still did not get the concept that her daughter 
and Tsunami were one and the same entity. She steeled herself and explained it 
to the queen, again.
	"Oh, my poor little princess," the queen wailed as Tsunami got to the part 
where Sasami fell, just as she always did.
	Tsunami kept talking until she reached the end of her tale. When she was 
done she asked Misaki, "Do you understand?" 
	"Um, yeah. But what does Tenchi have to do with this again?" The queen's 
face shone with sincerity.
	Tsunami groaned, defeated. "He just does, Misaki."
	"Oh, all right then." She paused, "what is it that you want me to do?" 
	"I need you to pull up your computer files on all the men in the empire, I 
want to look through them." The goddess said.
	"Okay that's easy." The queen said brightly.
	"Thank god." Tsunami muttered, then laughed softly.
	Misaki walked over to the blank wall on the left side of the room and 
touched it. Light began to emanate from a formerly blank patch on the wall, 
Jurai characters blinked on. "Silent mode." Misaki told it. "User, Queen Misaki 
36 beta 2 4 1, password, 'So long, and thanks for all the fish'." The computer 
blinked in acknowledgement. Her eyes glued to the computer screen the queen 
said, "I'll start with my own troops, they are the best of the lot." Tsunami 
nodded. "Computer, personnel files, Jurai Royal Elite Guards." Names and 
pictures began to scroll down the wall. After a few seconds Misaki stopped it. 
"I assume you want someone young?" The goddess nodded again. "Age limit less 
than or equal to, 300." The computer started scrolling again, this time more 
slowly. "Pause." Misaki turned to the goddess, who stepped forward to get a 
better look at the screen. 
	"These are my top ten guards," the queen told her, "Loyal, chivalrous, 
best marks in the academy."
	Tsunami pointed a delicate finger at the first knight on the screen. 
"Could you show me a detailed description of that one?" She questioned.
	"Of, course." Misaki turned again to the screen and tapped on the man's 
picture. 
	He had long red hair and golden eyes, his face reflected kindness and 
gentility in its heart shape and gentle curves. "Royal Elite Guard number 01392, 
graduated top of his class. Expert in both hand to hand and weapons combat." The 
queen paused, looking at Tsunami. "I remember that they said he was the best to 
come through the academy since Yosho." She turned back to the interface and 
continued reading. "Shows limited ability with the light hawk wings. Has led 
forces in three suppressions of coups across the empire, and quite well too, 
nearly no bloodshed." She peered closely at the screen. "He is currently serving 
as patrol duty in sector 453-122 with his ship the Ryu-tai."
	Tsunami leaned back, crossing her arms. "Could you show me his lineage?"
	Misaki nodded and tapped the screen again. She started to read it, but 
Tsunami waved her to silence, her eyes quickly scanning over the list of names. 
	"Yes, I think this one will do quite nicely." She finally said, satisfied. 
	"How soon can he be on Earth?"
	"A manner of days, My Lady." Misaki told her.
	"Good," Tsunami said. "Tell him that with the incidents with Dr. Clay and 
Kagato, you have decided that the princess needs her own guardian."
	"I will, Tsunami." Misaki bowed slightly.
	The light that had filled the room during this discussion grew fainter and 
seemed to absorb back into the form of the goddess, until she was merely the 
form of a woman etched in blue light. Then she was gone and the now darkened 
chamber rang with the chime of a tiny bell-like sound.
	Misaki stood for a few moments looking at the spot that the goddess had so 
recently occupied, and then she turned back to the bed and the two, still 
sleeping, figures. 
	She trotted over and shook the lump that was Funaho. "Sister, sister, wake 
up." Funaho murmured sleepily, something that vaguely sounded like 'go away'. 
"Sister." Misaki hissed, and then pulled back the covers that the queen had 
pulled up around her ears. She pinched the sleeping woman's nose. Funaho 
sputtered and thrashed around, then she opened one eye and fixed her sister-
queen with a venomous, cycloptic, stare.
	"It is the middle of the night, Misaki, what do you want?" Her brown eye 
narrowed even further as she stared out from among her comfortable nest of 
pillows.
	"I just had a visitation." Misaki told her proudly.
	"Now, Misaki," Funaho yawned hugely, "Remember what I told you about the 
differences between sleeping and awake."
	Misaki scowled. "It wasn't a dream, sister." She sat down beside the 
sleepy queen and smiled broadly. "Tsunami came to see me. She was looking for a 
guardian for Sasami."
	Funaho sat up. "Oh?" She stared off into the recesses of their darkened 
chamber.
	"Yep, and we found one too. Tsunami just stole my best knight." She looked 
thoughtful, "I'm glad Sasami will get him, though."
	"You mean...?" Funaho asked incredulously.
	"Yes, Sasami's guardian will be Kamidake." Misaki yawned. "I think I'm 
going to go back to sleep, Goodnight Funaho."
	"Goodnight, dear." Funaho said absently. She heard Misaki as she got on 
the other side of the bed and arranged the covers to her liking. The First Queen 
of Jurai, director of information of the Jurai royal council, stared at the 
ceiling long after Misaki began to snore.

Sector 453-122 of the empire of Jurai
	Sir Kamidake was bored, really, really bored; there were no battles to be 
fought, no wars to be won, no one needed his protection. Kamidake was a man who 
loved his work; he loved to be in on the action. Above all he loved his empire. 
	Since the time that he was a young boy, he would beg his grandmother to 
take him to the practice grounds to watch the knights train. He could watch them 
for hours, learning their moves, admiring their deft handling of their weapons. 
Most of all he watched his grandfather and his father, thrilled each time they 
stopped for a moment to give him a wave and a smile across the green grass. And 
he knew, even from when he was a toddler, that that was what he wanted to be, a 
knight. He had started training himself from a young age, sparring with saplings 
and the other boys from his school. He soon outstripped all of them, much to the 
delight of his grandfather and father. They would tell him stories of battles 
and glories, and he would listen, his eyes wide, hanging on every word. One day, 
they told him that they were going away; there was a war on another planet in a 
small galaxy not too far from Jurai. His grandfather never came back. His father 
was still a knight through and through but there were times when he would tell 
the boy of the things he had left out of the stories. His eyes haunted, he would 
tell about the dying, the cries of agony of the wounded, and the horrors of the 
battlefield. Young Kamidake would listen seriously to the gruesome tales, then, 
when he was alone, he would ponder what he could do to make it different. How he 
could avoid the horrors his father spoke of. 
	He would talk of these thoughts with his grandmother, and she would 
listen, with tears in her golden eyes, of the big dreams of a little boy. Then 
she would hold him close and tell him that if anyone could do it, he could. He 
would hug her back and wipe the tears off her face. "Don't cry grandma." He 
whispered; his eyes locked on the starry universe spread before him. He had 
vowed to be the best knight ever, to serve his king faithfully, just as his 
family had done for many, many generations.
	The knight tried to keep his thoughts on the stars before him. When it was 
quiet and the only sounds were those of his own heart and the rustle of Ryu-
tai's branches, he found himself drawn back to his childhood, the innocence of 
youth. It was difficult to keep and hard to let go of. He sighed, and leaned 
back in his chair. "Ryu-tai, any activity?" The silence was negative. He sighed 
again and looked up at the dome of his ship. Ryu-tai had been in his family for 
many generations, a gift from the king of Jurai for a service rendered by one of 
his ancestors. It was now passed on to him; his father retired when Kamidake 
graduated from the academy and had given the bonding of the royal tree over to 
him. He stood up, walked over and placed a hand affectionately on her silvery 
trunk. "Well, I guess we're in for some more peace and quiet, old girl." Ryu-tai 
responded by pinging a few tiny beams of light off of the water that surrounded 
her. 
	He took up his key, which was a large, twisting staff with a red jewel 
imbedded in the end, and toyed with it as he paced around the main deck of his 
ship. He wasn't sure why he was patrolling this remote sector instead of the 
areas of main activity. The knight sighed and flopped into his chair, idly 
twirling the staff between his fingers. 
	Suddenly an alarm bell went off and a large view-screen popped up directly 
in front of him, 'urgent message' it flashed. The knight hurriedly stood up and 
straightened his uniform. "Play message." He told the ship. It was queen Misaki 
herself, no less. He stood straighter and saluted. "My queen."
	"Hiya, Kamidake." The queen exclaimed perkily. The queen was always perky. 
	"How goes the patrol?"
	"Quiet, your majesty." Kamidake said smartly.
	"Good, good." The queen paused for a moment. "The reason that I am calling 
is that you are to be given a new assignment." She grinned. "Given recent events 
that have taken place on planet earth in the Sol system, you are to be given the 
assignment of assuming personal protection of the princess Sasami."
	"Yes, your majesty." Kamidake said.
	"You are to proceed to your new station with all possible haste." She 
tapped a few buttons on her side of the screen. "Here are the coordinates." 
The coordinates appeared on the screen. "Ryu-tai set new heading." Kamidake 
commanded.
	"All right then, have a good trip. Tell Sasami her mommy says hi." The 
queen waved cheerfully at the screen. "Bye, now." The screen disappeared.
	"What have I done?" Kamidake mused aloud. "First, patrol, now guard duty. 
It just isn't my year." He had no idea.
...
	Sasami woke from a troubled sleep, full of shadowy images and half formed 
nightmares. Outside the window of her room the sun was just beginning to rise, 
although it was difficult to tell, it seemed that with its arrival the clouds 
that stained the sky just turned imperceptibly lighter. Sasami stretched, 
shaking off the last vestiges of sleep, and sat up on her futon. She looked 
around the room. It seemed so much emptier, now that Ayeka was gone. She had 
moved out right after the wedding and into, of course, Tenchi's room. But she 
was at least where Sasami could find her and talk to her. Now that she, Tenchi, 
and Ryoko had gone to Jurai for an extended visit, the house just seemed so 
empty. Of course, there was Ryo-Ohki and Grandfather, Noboyuki, and Washu, but 
it wasn't exactly the same. Mihoshi had also been gone for some time, she had 
been summoned to the headquarters of Jurai to make a report in person, at the 
request of her own grandfather, the grand marshal of the galaxy police force. 
Sasami had opted to stay behind, Noboyuki had contracted a cold right before his 
son left, and Sasami had stayed to take care of him. They all knew that it was 
an excuse, though. Washu could have easily and quickly fixed him up, but they 
had accepted Sasami's decision. 
	Sasami had various reasons for wanting to stay behind. First and foremost 
was her mother's desire to marry her off to some Jurai noble or another, second 
was her mother herself, she just didn't feel up to visiting her in her present 
mood, and finally, she didn't want Noboyuki to be lonely, the princess was 
tender-hearted like that. The princess rose, and as she was dressing, Ryo-Ohki 
entered through the door, she had disappeared at some point during the night.
	"Good morning, Ryo-Ohki." She told the little cabbit-girl cheerfully. Ryo-
Ohki usually was able to cheer the princess up.
	"Miya." Ryo-Ohki said, running up and wrapping her arms around the 
princess' waist. 
	Sasami laughed and smoothed the girl's hair. She reached down and took her 
hand, "Come on, let's go make breakfast." She led the girl down the stairs and 
into the kitchen. Sometime later, when the remaining members of her unusual 
family were polishing off their breakfast, Sasami had an unusual chat with her 
brother, Yosho.
	"Sasami," He asked over his miso soup, "have you heard from your mother 
lately?"
	Sasami shook her head negatively. 
	"Ah," He said, and that was all he said. 
	Unbeknownst to Sasami, Yosho had received a message the night before. 
	Apparently his mother, after an extended period of ceiling watching, had 
decided that her son needed to know what had transpired between Misaki and the 
goddess. She had told him that they would be getting a new addition to the 
household. After filling him in on the details, she had asked what he thought of 
it, he had replied. "I think our little goddess is up to something." After she 
had indicated her agreement, he had told her that they would just wait and see 
what Tsunami had in mind. Assuring her that he would keep in contact, they broke 
off the transmission. Two people that night, several thousand light years away 
from each other, had both taken up ceiling watching.
	Yosho nodded to himself. So, Misaki had neglected to inform the princess 
of her new acquisition. This should be interesting, things had been a little 
placid recently. His teacup hid his smile as he sipped Sasami's wonderful brew.

	Ryo-Ohki tagged along with Sasami as the princess went out into the 
blustery morning to visit the guardians, Azaka and Kamidake, and to retrieve the 
mail that the 42nd new postal carrier in two months had delivered. "You really 
need to stop scaring them," she told the guardians as Azaka dispensed the mail 
to her outstretched hand.
	"I assure you that it is not intentional, your highness," Azaka said in 
his deep voice.
	"We merely try to be friendly." Kamidake added.
	Sasami laughed helplessly, talking logs were just not on par with the dogs 
that postal workers generally had to deal with. Sasami was not sure why they had 
remained behind when Ayeka had left, but she suspected that her sister had given 
them instructions to watch after her. She smiled and laid an affectionate hand 
on Azaka's smooth bore, then walked over and did the same to Kamidake. "You two 
are hopeless." The logs somehow managed to look bewildered. As she turned back 
to walk down the smoothly worn path to the house, she heard a soft footstep 
behind her, and swung around. 
	"Who goes there?" Kamidake demanded.

	It had not taken Sir Kamidake long to arrive at his destination. He 
touched his ship down in a secluded location somewhere in the mountains near a 
tranquil waterfall; he figured Ryu-tai would like that until he found where he 
could dock her. He took his time walking towards the house that he had seen on 
his screen. He breathed in the sweetly scented air of the planet known as earth 
and, looking around at the turning leaves and the hardy flowers of the autumnal 
season, decided that this was indeed a beautiful planet. The wind tore at his 
clothing as he walked, ripping the leaves off of the trees lining the path that 
he had taken and scattering them across the ground. Even though the sky was a 
hazy gray, he still could feel the warmth of the sun on his ruby hair. He slowed 
his footsteps as he approached the house, through the trees he could now see the 
occasional glint of windows and a large lake. He approached what he imagined was 
the front entry of the house for he could now make out two large pillars at the 
edges of the fence. They looked like guardians. He got closer to the edge of the 
trees and stopped, feeling the sudden pain that gripped his chest. They were 
guardians, the two originals, Kamidake, his namesake, and Azaka. It was the 
sight of Azaka that caused him such agony. Azaka was his grandfather, named 
after the guardians, just as he was the latest in a long line of those who had 
carried on the tradition. He could feel the memories welling up at the sight of 
the progeny of his great-great-great grandmother. He could once again feel his 
grandfather's strong hands gripping his own as he corrected the boy's hold on 
his bokken. He could see the intense blue of his gaze when Kamidake had made him 
especially proud, the twinkle in his eyes, the smile on his face. Kamidake was 
assaulted by his past. He struggled against the sudden feeling that his 
grandfather was still alive, that one day he would come back and tell his 
grandson how proud he had made him. Kamidake gasped brokenly. He could feel the 
tears welling up in his eyes, all from the sight of the guardian.
	As he struggled to regain his composure, he noticed that a slight figure 
had emerged from the house, followed by an even slighter one. He watched them as 
they approached the source of his pain. One was a girl; probably eighteen, and 
her hair flowed like the waterfall in the valley where he had left Ryu-tai, a 
cascade of silken turquoise. As she drew closer Kamidake was able to make out 
her features more clearly, her pale flawless skin, and pink eyes, just like her 
mother's. The smaller figure was also a girl but younger, perhaps twelve, with 
somewhat spiky brown hair crowning her head and shorter fur covering her body. 
She had large golden eyes and was wearing a pink dress covered in carrots. 'That 
must be Ryo-Ohki,' he thought, recalling the description in his files.
	The two girls approached the guardians at the gate and stood talking to 
them for a few moments, obviously about happy things, he surmised from the 
laughter that floated back to him. It was beautiful and silvery, like the 
chiming of a chorus of tiny bells. The knight stood frozen for a few moments 
until, seeing that the princess was about to return to the house, he shook 
himself out of his reverie and approached, walking softly across the gravel. The 
princess must have had very keen senses, for she heard him approach even before 
the guardians had time to react and twirled to face him. Kamidake (the log) 
hailed him as he stood there in stunned reverence. He ignored his namesake as he 
saw his charge close up for the first time. He had seen pictures of her before, 
but there was no comparison between seeing the wavy holographic images and the 
real thing now standing before him. He fell instantly and irrevocably in love 
with her. 
	Sasami regarded the man closely, taking in the loose tunic and pants that 
were caught closely at the knee. His rich red hair was braided back from his 
face in a rather intricate way. Over the loose tunic the man wore a long 
embroidered vest of bright colors, and in his hand he held a staff embedded with 
a red jewel at its end. He was Jurian, she knew instantly, probably one of her 
mother's elite guards. She stiffened slightly, her mother didn't think she could 
take care of herself, that was also obvious.
	"What is your name, soldier?" She asked abruptly. 
	The man seemed startled, his eyes filled with chagrin. He dropped down on 
one knee in the dust before her, his eyes on the ground, his key thrust out at 
an angle before him. "I am Sir Kamidake, your highness. I was sent to take over 
the task of your personal protection." 
	At the mention of the knight's name, Sasami turned to the guardian who 
shared it. The log also turned slightly to look at her.
	"Kamidake?" The princess asked. "How odd."
	The knight looked up at her, his golden eyes respectful but also, somehow, 
she could see the sadness lurking in their amber depths. "Not really, your 
highness. My grandmother, several generations removed, created the two guardians 
that stand before us. She named them after her two sons, Azaka and Kamidake. We 
have held to the tradition of naming each in the order of his birth, my father 
is Azaka, my uncle Kamidake."
	"Rise, sir knight," the princess smiled, "you're going to get your clothes 
dirty."
	Kamidake rose gracefully, with the trained skill of one who was raised in 
court. 
	Upon standing he found that he had to look down at her, she was really not 
very tall with her eyes only level with his chin, but the sheer force of her 
presence made her seem taller. He smiled slightly, even had he not been ordered 
to, he would have gladly protected this princess with his life.
	The princess seemed distracted as she gave a few words of farewell to the 
two guardians, and then walked off towards the house, pulling a staring Ryo-Ohki 
behind her. 
	Kamidake hesitated a startled instance and then started after her. She 
entered the house and stopped briefly to remove her shoes, Kamidake did 
likewise. 
	"Grandfather!" the princess called, a note of iron in her voice. Ryo-Ohki 
prudently disappeared at that point.
	Another voice called faintly from another section of the house. "In here, 
Sasami."
	Kamidake trailed after the purposeful little princess as she started in 
the direction of the voice, looking around him at the interior of the structure. 
It was well built, but seemed a bit rustic, somewhat like the cabin his family 
had in the low hills of Jurai. But the lovely thing about the house was the 
light, windows were everywhere, spilling in and somehow amplifying the wan 
radiance from the muted sun. He followed as she led him into what appeared to be 
the common room, with a wall filled with more floor to ceiling windows 
overlooking the glassy lake he had seen earlier. Also in the room was a small 
dining area, at which sat an elderly gentleman reading a newspaper and 
thoughtfully sipping a cup of fragrant tea. Kamidake was staggered at the amount 
of power that he felt emanating from the man. Also there was an air of nobility 
that surrounded him like an aura, as well as a tinge of humor. Kamidake felt 
that he was looking at a mighty knight, the likes of which he had rarely met 
before. Being a man of likeable nature, Kamidake liked him. 
	Yosho looked up over his paper, seeing the man that his mother had 
identified as Kamidake for the first time. He seemed to be a good sort, noble 
and all. He reminded him of Azaka, Kamidake's father, and his grandfather as 
well, who was also named Azaka. 
	They had all been good friends and allies. He hoped that his initial 
assumption about this man was correct. There was no one he trusted more than A1 
and A2, as he had nicknamed them. The prince set down his teacup and paper and 
rose gracefully, also as one who had been raised at court. He walked over to the 
stunned young knight and took his hand in a firm grip. "Kamidake, it is nice to 
meet you, my boy. I knew your grandfather, and your father well." He said 
heartily. 
	Kamidake returned the handshake, 'He knows father and grandfather?' he 
thought. 
	Sasami, meanwhile, was watching the exchange through narrowed pink eyes. 
This confirmed her suspicions. "You knew!" She addressed the old man, "You knew 
what my mother was doing and you didn't tell me."
	Yosho sheepishly scratched the back of his head. 
	"Brother!" She told him in exasperation, and then retreated into the 
kitchen.
	Kamidake looked at the old man, wondering if his face was going to settle 
into a permanent expression of wonderment. "Prince Yosho?"
	Yosho continued looking sheepish.

	Sasami was chopping furiously, which reflected the way she was feeling. It 
seemed that everyone was trying to make her seem foolish, and she didn't like 
that one bit. She sighed heavily as she moved from the cutting board to the 
stovetop to test the progress of the meal she was preparing. She sipped the 
simmering soup after blowing on it to cool it. Almost done. She picked up her 
hot pads and slipped them on, then carefully moved the pot to the back burner. 
After she set it down and covered it, she turned to go back to her chopping, 
only to find that the job had been taken over. Kamidake stood, his back to her, 
now dressed in clothing that she recognized as belonging to her brother, 
chopping busily at the carrots that she had been preparing for Ryo-Ohki.
	"What are you doing?" She asked.
	Kamidake carefully set the knife down on the counter and turned to face 
her, his face stoic. Sasami couldn't help herself as she burst into delighted 
laughter.
	"It was the only one I could find." Kamidake said. He was wearing one of 
Sasami's aprons, which wouldn't have been bad in and of itself, unfortunately 
the one he had found was pink, with little cabbits and carrots chasing their way 
across it, it was also way too small.
	Sasami clasped one hand across her mouth in an effort to contain her 
giggles, the other was clutched about her middle. She couldn't remember the last 
time she had laughed so hard. Eventually she recovered herself, and, still 
chuckling, opened a cabinet and retrieved one of Noboyuki's aprons. She tossed 
it to him and he removed the pink apron and handed it to her, then put on the 
plain one. "Thank you, your highness." He said, bowing slightly.
	She made a gesture of dismissal, and then turned back to her cooking, 
listening as he retrieved the knife and began chopping again.

	Kamidake followed the princess around for the rest of the day, much to her 
obvious dismay. She thought that he thought she couldn't do anything herself. It 
seemed that every time she turned around, he was there, taking the wash from her 
and hanging it up, carefully pulling up the carrots that made up the little 
cabbit's diet, his golden eyes respectful and his face calm. 
Kamidake followed her in order to get a feel for her schedule and her habits; it 
seemed to him that she spent an inordinate amount of time cooking. In between 
mealtimes she did the wash, harvested the carrots, and still had time to play 
with Ryo-Ohki, who followed her everywhere as well. After a few days, this would 
no longer be necessary and he could give her some space, but until then. 
	As the sun was setting over the western hills, painting everything with 
golden light, they sat at the dinner table, eating one of her fabulous meals. 
Kamidake's mouth watered with the aromas and the taste, a rare treat for those 
whose taste buds were used to soldiers rations. Her looked out the window as he 
ate, watching the sun set on this planet, so beautiful, with the last rays of 
sunlight painting over the trees, mountains, and lake. 
	'This might not be as bad as I thought' he mused silently. His head was 
snapped around as he heard the sound of a door opening. He saw the broom closet? 
door had opened and a yawning young girl, perhaps twelve, emerged. She wore an 
ancient science academy uniform, and her pink hair was styled in such a way to 
remind him of a crab, for some reason. 'Washu' he thought, 'Well, that's about 
everyone.'
	Washu strolled over and plunked herself down at the table beside Noboyuki. 
	"Good morning everyone." She said.
	Sasami looked a little confused. "Washu, it's past sunset."
	Washu's eyes narrowed as she looked uncomprehendingly out the window. 
	"Hmm, well it is isn't it? Guess I got my days and nights turned around. 
That's easy enough to fix. You see, what happened was..." She was about to go 
off on some long-winded explanation when she noticed that someone new was seated 
at the dining table. 
	"Hello, I'm little Washu." She said cutely. 
	Kamidake bowed slightly, "It is a pleasure to meet an esteemed genius such 
as yourself, little Washu." He straightened, "I am Kamidake, Sasami's new 
guard."
	Washu was extremely pleased, not only did he call her little Washu with no 
prompting, a rarity, he also recognized her scientific genius. She smiled 
hugely. "I like you. Would you like to be a guinea pig for my experiments?"
	"Uh," Kamidake searched frantically for a polite way to refuse. "I think 
I'm going to be busy for a while, little Washu."
	"I can wait." Washu said firmly. Sasami sighed and Washu looked at her 
sharply, then back at the knight, who was pointedly not looking back. She 
finally shrugged and began to eat.
	During the meal they made polite conversation, varying on topics from the 
weather to inter-stellar politics. Kamidake joined in on the conversations most 
heartily, commenting on the beauty of the planet and such. He made it a point to 
ask Washu, whom he assumed arranged such things, where he could dock Ryu-tai.
	"Ah, I can make a sub-space pocket for her," Washu replied, "A simple 
matter really. I will do it first thing tomorrow."
	"So, you have Ryu-tai now." Yosho commented, "She is a beautiful ship."
Kamidake grinned. "Yes, she is."
	"And how is your family?" Yosho asked. "It has been a very long time since 
I have seen anyone from Jurai, aside from my family." He nodded at Sasami, who 
smiled at him.
	Kamidake swallowed, "My father and grandmother are well."
	Yosho looked concerned at the omission, "And your grandfather, Azaka?" 
Yosho noticed the look of pain that crossed over Kamidake's face and immediately 
wished that he had not asked. "Perhaps this is better not discussed at the 
dinner table." He said hastily. Kamidake nodded in relief. "But perhaps you 
would talk to me about it later." He added. The knight nodded his head in 
agreement.
	Later, after the supper table was cleared and Kamidake washed the dishes, 
Washu retreated into her lab muttering something about a timed experiment, 
Noboyuki went up to his room, presumably to work on his latest project, and 
	Sasami was curled up on the couch watching a television program, Kamidake 
joined Yosho on the deck of the house.
	Kamidake settled down next to the prince, who was looking reflectively out 
at the lake. They sat there for a few long moments in silence. 
	"My grandfather," Kamidake said finally. "Was a good man, a great warrior, 
as I am sure you know."  Yosho nodded, not taking his eyes off of the night 
before him. "When I was young, perhaps six years old, a war broke out on the 
planet Kabairo. My father and grandfather were the first into the fray. They 
were located where the battle was the thickest, and somehow, they were 
separated. When the battle was over my father went to look for grandfather, but 
he never found him. He did find his key though, and..." He trailed off.
	"He would never have surrendered it, or left it. Unless he was killed."  
Yosho said. Kamidake nodded. "Yes, your grandfather was a good man, and a great 
warrior." 
	If either of the men had looked behind them, they would have seen a small, 
blue-haired shadow slip back into the house.