Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Tenchi Muyo! They are owned by AIC and Pioneer North America. I did not create them, and their use here is strictly for the enjoyment of myself and anyone who gets bored enough to read this. In other words: Please don't sue my poor ass. Tenchi Muyo! From the Blood of the Gods-- Part 4: Demons Dream (or No Need for Emotions) The Lady before him was beautiful. Such a word was the only that could fit, because there was no human word that could adequately describe it. She possessed an aura, a radiance, that forced him to his knees. He felt humbled and exhalted that he should be allowed to gaze upon such a being. She spoke to him, in his soul, whispering sweet promises to him. He could not hear the words themselves, but he could feel their message. It was a song, something that moved him to the very core of his being. It's implications and decrees, promises and hopes were enough to drive him mad, and back into sanity. He awoke from the dream, his forehead covered in a thick layer of sweat. More and more, he had been having this dream. He thought of it as a dream, at first. Then, it's true form had become revealed to him. It was no dream, but a nightmare. It taunted him, like a devil, urging him to act, to obey. He sat on the edge of his bed, his face buried in his hands, on the verge of tears. The irony of it made him sick. The ruler of half the galaxy, crying from a nightmare. He stifled his cries, only enough to get out a single, whispered curse. "Tokimi. Damn you." He did not even know if that was her name, or if that was who he saw in his dreams. He felt it, though, in the song. That accursed song who's melody reached into his soul and pulled his strings like a puppet, forcing him to sit and watch in horror as it overtook his mind and body. Watch in horror as it forced him to act. *** Lady Funaho looked around the dark bedroom. Any normal Earthling would never be able to see clearly in the darkness at this late hour, but she had never been a normal Earthling. It was one of the reasons her husband had first taken notice of her. She had known her entire life that she possessed something, a quality, a power that very few humans, Jurain or Earthling, had ever been privilidged to bare. It had been a sacred duty for her to have this gift, this power that allowed her to see through the dark as easily as she saw through her son's disguise. Her adopted sister, Misaki, lay a few feet away from her on the large bed that they shared with their husband, the Emperor of Jurai. But the husband was not here, this night. She lifted herself out of the bed, setting out to find him. This was not the first time it had happened. A few months after they had returned from unsuccessfully attempting to convice their children, and her great grandson, to return to Jurai, he had been sleeping less. He never mentioned it, and she had never thought it wise to do so. She would simply wake up, and he would be gone from her side. Enough was enough. She began to wander through the halls of the Royal Palace, not really knowing where to look. He had been acting so strangely for the past two months, after the waking became worse. She or Misaki would find him standing alone, just staring out into nothing. She walked into the throne room, almost unintentionally. It had been floating in her thoughts, but she didn't realize she was going there, until she found herself looking at the raised dias upon which sat the throne. It was actually very plain, with little decoration or finishing to it. That was because the throne didn't need it. It was carved directly into a royal tree-- the Emperor's tree. The canopy created the cieling of the throne room, letting in a small glow of moonlight. Again, with even so little light, Lady Funaho could see, in perfect detail, the solemn figure sitting in the king's throne. As she approached him, climbing the steps of the dias, she began to be more and more worried. He sat motionless, his face pale and tense. Funaho touched his hand when she finally reached him. Almost immediatly, she recoiled in horror. It was ice cold. She looked closer. He was breathing, but his touch... it was like death. His eyes were blurry, unfocused. He seemed to just be staring at something. Lady Funaho, for the first time in nearly seven hundred years, gave out a cry of fear. Her husband was terrified. He couldn't move, breathed slowly, and the look in his eyes... Funaho swallowed the terror down, forcing it not to affect her. She grabbed her husband by his shoulders. "Azusa. Azusa, wake up! Wake up!" The Emperor blinked. He slowly looked around, as if just coming to his senses. He looked up, and saw the face of his wife, Funaho. Tears were forming on the edge of her eyes, but she kept her face calm. He quickly realized that he was in the throne room. Just like in the dream. "Funaho, what... what are you...?" "You were sleepwalking, husband. I followed you in here, and you sat down on your throne, your eyes wide open." She sighed. "Come, I'll take you back to bed." She helped him rise to his feet. "Thank you, Funaho." As they started to walk back, the empress asked him, "Are you sure that you are all right?" He nodded. "Yes. It was just a mild nightmare, that's all." His own thoughts berated him. "Coward. Liar." "Hmm," Funaho mused. "I remember when Sasami used to have nightmares. She'd always come in late, asking for her mother." She wondered for a moment if Sasami still had nightmares. *** Sasami sat on the couch, unsure of what to do. Ayeka ran out of the house a couple of hours ago, not saying anything. She looked like she was crying, but she had moved too quickly for Sasami to be sure. Shadow Dog wouldn't let anyone go after her, saying only that she needed to be alone. Even when Kiyone interrogated him, and threatened to lock him in a room with Mihoshi, he didn't say anything. He sat back on the couch, next to Sasami, drinking ice water through a straw. "Shadow." Her voice echoed in his head through their own mental link. He looked down at her, his red eyes not betraying any emotion. "Please, Shadow, at least tell me why you and Grandfather won't let anyone go after her." He sighed, inwardly. He might as well tell her. It couldn't hurt, and everyone would have to know, sooner or later. "You love Tenchi, right?" Sasami paused for a second, confused. "Yea... but, he's like a big brother. I don't love him like that! He's my best friend! And why does that matter?" Sasami could feel her Guardian's red eyes holding her image. "Tenchi loves Ryoko. He finally told her, and Ayeka heard. It's..." "Tenchi loves Ryoko!" Sasami blurted out. "What?!" Shadow Dog facefaulted to the floor as Nobuyuki, Kiyone, Mihoshi, Ryo-ohki and Washu jumped out from behind the couch. He picked himself up and turned around, glaring at the stunned group. "What the...? You were listening?" "Well, you're not the only one who can sneak up on people," Kiyone commented. Shadow Dog grumbled, "Good point, I guess." He sat back down next to Sasami, folding his arms over his chest. "Don't tell me you didn't see it coming, Washu?" He grinned. All eyes turned to Washu, who blushed. "Well... uh... actually... I..." A large bead of sweat formed on her head. "Oh, come on, Washu. I know you vidoetaped Tenchi watching Ryoko sleep." "How do you know about those cameras?" Washu yelled, ready to tear into Shadow, and realized that she had just let one of her secrets out of the bag. She checked herself and stared at Shadow. He leaned his head back, and grinned at her. His gem flashed, happily. "Miss Washu, what cameras would you and Shadow Dog be referring to?" Washu could see a vein in Kiyone's head, a sight that, despite her constant yelling at Mihoshi, rarely anyone saw. The next few seconds were filled with screams of terror as Washu scrambled to her lab, closely followed by the rest of the Masaki household. Shadow and Sasami stayed on the couch, the bounty hunter trying not to laugh. Sasami only sighed. "You mean, Tenchi really loves Ryoko?" Sasami tried to get back on the subject. "Yes, he does." "Well, then how did you know? If he didn't tell Ryoko until just two hours ago, then you couldn't." Shadow looked down at her again. She was so innocent, sometimes. He would truly be sad to see that taken from her. "You should know me better than that, Mistress Sasami. I'm a very good judge of character." She looked at him, skeptically. "You're that good?" He nodded. Sasami laughed, and leaned back against the couch. "So, Tenchi loves Ryoko. But, Ayeka loves Tenchi just like Ryoko does. Do you think she's going to be okay, Shadow?" He looked out the windows, whatching the sky grow darker as twilight came near. His time of day, when the shadows grew long. "You're sister is stronger than she knows, Mistress. I believe she'll be fine. Besides, she should be happy for Tenchi. He's been hiding his own feelings from himself for so long, after all." Sasami smiled. Shadow knew how to comfort, she could be greatful for that. "Shouldn't we start dinner, now? I'm getting really hungry." "You've got a bigger appetite than Mihoshi and Kiyone," Sasami teased. *** It would be getting dark, soon. She knew that it was wrong to worry Sasami, but she couldn't go back, yet. It hurt so much for her to think about the reason she had ran. To hear Tenchi tell... that... that >monster< that he loved her. Her! The person who had destroyed her palace, walked over the fallen bodies of her people, had taken her brother away from her. "Who saved your life, once." She jumped. Had she done it, again? Spoken to herself without realizing it? This was really beginning to scare her. How was it that she had been able to speak without conciously thinking about it? "Or are you just speaking your heart?" She thought to herself. Ryoko had saved her life, once. When they fought Kagato, seeking revenge for Tenchi. The pillar Ryoko had tried to use to crush him had fallen apart, and was about to smash her. Then Ryoko teleported both of them out of the way. The demon woman had saved her life. And then there was the time, about one year ago, when Ayeka had told Ryoko how much it hurt to see Mayuka trying to get Tenchi's affections. Ryoko had laughed, and told her not to get weepy. "Sasami would laugh if she saw you, now." Ayeka had looked at the memory so many times, since then, from so many different angles and views. Now she saw something she hadn't quite realized before, or had just ignored. Ryoko was crying. Ryoko was just as hurt as she was, and still, she acted like the wild, stone hard space pirate Ayeka had always thought of her as. The only other peson besides Tenchi and Sasami who had been truthful to Ayeka. That's who Ryoko was. But... Tenchi. "I love him, too." Ayeka wanted to be angry at him, wanted to think that he hadn't bothered to think about her feelings, about how much she cared for him. She knew that wasn't true. Tenchi had never been the best at dealing with women, but he worried about other's feelings. She knew he didn't want to hurt her. He would never mean to hurt her. She had to face it. Tenchi had finally made his choice. There was no denying it, that Ryoko had been chosen over her. At least now she knew why he had been acting so strangely yesterday morning. It must have been difficult for him, to finally say it. She wondered briefly how long he had known? "Where does that leave me?" She had told Ryoko that she always thought that she could go back to Jurai, back to her home and her palace. Then what? Live out the life of a Jurain noble, until she married some... person... like Seayrio? She couldn't think of >that< man without shivering. Tenchi's defeat of him, well, technically it was Mihoshi's defeat, was the only thing that allowed Ayeka to stay here. What would happen if she went back? She knew. She didn't like it, at all. A return to living as she was told, to having a husband chosen for her, to being forced to live as a good Jurain Princess should live. She couldn't take Sasami with her. Her sister had grown so attatched to this place, it would break her heart to leave it. She knew Sasami didn't like being a princess, anyway. Ayeka was the only one she had ever told about it. Sasami didn't like having to act so formally, like she was special for no reason. That was exactly the way she had put it, once, before they left Jurai for Earth. "Ayeka, I don't wanna be a princess. They treat me like I'm special for no reason." At the time, Ayeka had been shocked to hear it. She had always lived her life believing that being the Princess of Jurai was a great thing, an honor and a privilege. Now? Now she knew how Sasami felt. She didn't want to be a princess. She was alone there, with people who barely contained their cruelty and disapprovement. Her father had an empire to run, and her mother... She loved her mother, but Misaki had never treated Ayeka like a young woman. Always as the little girl. She didn't want to go back there. She thought that if she ever went back, it would be with Tenchi. She could be happy with him there, at her side. That wasn't going to happen. She wanted to blame Ryoko, to say she was the cause of it all. Being stuck on this planet, chasing her brother away, Kagato's attack, and now Ayeka wasn't going to be with Tenchi. She could blame Ryoko, if she didn't know it just wasn't true. "Ryoko isn't to blame. She can't control Tenchi's emotions." She was pretty sure Ryoko had a hard enough time controlling her own. "And no one can control mine." She came to a desicion, at that moment. She could spend the rest of her life miserable, or live it. "Princess Ayeka?" She turned around, and saw her two Guardians, Azaka and Kamidake, coming towards her. Azaka floated ahead of his companion. "Princess, are you alright?" Ayeka stood, taking a moment to realize where she was. She hadn't even paid attention to where she was going. Too many thoughts ran through her head for her to do so. She was standing at the base of her brother's tree, Funaho. She tilted her head down, and smiled. "Yes, Azaka, I am fine. Why are you two out here?" "Princess Sasami sent us to look for you," Kamidake answered. "She became worried when you didn't come home in time for dinner." Ayeka turned around. "Yes, I've been worrying them, haven't I? Let's go home, then." She had made her choice. *** Sasami handed another dish to Shadow, him drying and her washing. Ayeka hadn't come home for dinner. Sasami knew she had to be alone, but this was too long! Grandfather and Shadow still wouldn't let anyone go look for her, either. It had gotten so dark outside. "Mistress? Sasami?" Sasami's attention snapped back to Shadow Dog. "You're worried about your sister." She looked at him, her face pleading. "Please, Shadow! Let me go look for her! You can come with me, and I'll be fine." He sighed. Sasami had a plea that would make almost anyone give in. "All right. Fine." Sasami smiled, and hugged the bounty hunter. "Tsunami, what have you done to me? You've gone and made me soft." "I heard that," Sasami said. The young girl let go of him when she heard the front door open. Shadow Dog's red gem flashed as he recognized the scent of the power. Sasami ran to the door, in the hope that the person walking in was her sister. "Ayeka!" Sasami ran up to her sister, and hugged her around the waist. The first Princess of Jurai stood in entrance to the house, the Guardians Azaka and Kamidake behind her. She gave her younger sister a hug, and looked up at Shadow Dog, who was standing in the door to the lounge. "We were all so worried about you, Ayeka. You shouldn't run off like that." "I'm sorry Sasami. You're right. It was wrong of me to worry you." Shadow almost fell back. Was this the real Ayeka? The Princess and her sister broke off their embrace, and she looked at Shadow. "Where is Tenchi?" "He's... uh... um... still in his room, with Ryoko," Shadow wasn't sure how she would react. She responded, calmly. "Would you tell him that I would like to talk to him, alone. In the garden." Ayeka started to head there, but paused for a second, looking at Shadow. "I also want to talk to you about bath etiquette, later." She continued on her way. Sasami and her Guardian stood there for a moment, not sure whether they should be shocked or worried. Probably both. Sasami looked to Azaka and Kamidake. "Thank you both, very much." "Of course, Princess Sasami," Kamidake said. "Who sent you two out after her?" Shadow asked them. Large beads of sweat formed on the two Guardians of Jurai. *** Tenchi stepped out into the garden, the first time he had left Ryoko's side since they had escaped from the bounty hunter. It suddenly occured to Tenchi that they hadn't even learned the man's name. He pushed the thought aside. It wasn't important at the moment. What was important was the young woman standing at the other end of the garden. He stood there, tasting the night air on his tongue. It was uncommonly humid. He wiped away some sweat from his forehead. As he walked over to her, he tried to think of what he would say. Normally, he could predict how Ayeka would react, or at least have a pretty good idea. Now...? He stood in front of her for a moment. He could barely see her eyes. She had an odd nack for hiding them from him when she had something important to say. Tenchi took one last deep breath. Here goes nothing... "Tenchi, I--," Ayeka began. "Ayeka, please. Let me start." He cut her off. "I never wanted to hurt any of you. Any one of you. I couldn't imagine the thought of something happening to any person in this house. Both you and Ryoko mean a lot to me. Probably more than you'll ever be able to realize, Ayeka. But I love Ryoko. It's been hard enough to just admit that to myself, to make myself realize that. It was even harder to say because I know you'd be hurt." Ayeka listened, calmly. When she looked up, Tenchi suddenly became even more confused. Her face was almost serene. She smiled slighty. "Tenchi," she continued what she had wanted to say, "I am happy for you." Tenchi didn't know what to do. His entire perception of the world had just come crashing down around him. "You have been my closest, dearest friend, Tenchi. You have treated me with kindness since you first met me, and not because I am a princess. You and Miss Ryoko are the only people in my entire life who have been honest with me. I thank you for that. "I still love you, Tenchi. I can't change that. Yes, it did hurt to know that...," she paused for a long moment, "but, pain doesn't last forever, Tenchi. I will get better." Ayeka embraced him in a warm hug. Tenchi stood there, slightly suprised from what he was hearing. Was this the same Ayeka? "Um, Ayeka? Are you all right? Do you want to sit down, or something?" Ayeka squeezed a little harder. "Ugh... sorry." She let go of him. "I'm fine, Tenchi. I think I've just... grown up. That's all." She started to walk back into the house, leaving Tenchi stunned. "Good night, Lord Tenchi." *** Later, at the front gate of the Masaki property, Azaka and Kamidake were recieving payment for services rendered. "Thank you, Miss Ryoko," Azaka said. "Shh! Keep your voice down, you idiot. Now I'm paying you so you don't let anyone know that I sent you out to look for Ayeka, got it? I never want to hear another word about it." "Yes ma'am," Kamidake said. "You can count on us." Ryoko grumbled, and teleported back into Tenchi's bedroom. She fell onto the bed, slightly dizzy from the strain of using her powers when she still had a fever. She gave a sigh of relief. Thank God that's over with! She raised her head as Tenchi walked in. He looked dazed. Ryoko furrowed her brow. "Tenchi, are you okay? With the way you look, you'd think Mayuka just spoke her first word in Jurai, or something?" Tenchi sat down on his chair next to the bed, and shook his head. "No. I talked with Ayeka." "Oh. I see." Ryoko sat up, and pulled her knees up to her chest. She rested her chin on them. Tenchi could feel her yellow, feline eyes looking him over. "And?" "I think you'll have to see it to believe it. It's like... she's a different person, almost." Ryoko blinked. What was he talking about? "I guess I will have to see." *** The house became quiet, eventually. This didn't mean that everyone had gone to sleep. Ayeka sat up reading a story to Sasami and Mihoshi, with Kiyone sleeping soundly, and snoring. Nobuyuki had gone to sleep after putting his granddaughter, Mayuka, to bed in her crib, his last concious thoughts being of how proud he was of his son. The boy had finally picked a girl. Ryoko had managed to convince Tenchi that she felt too ill to get up from his bed. He laid on the floor of his room, on the spare futon he kept in the closet. He had been sleeping on it a lot, lately. Sasami had been having more nightmares, but she never managed to remember them. When she heard the sounds of his breath as he slept, Ryoko opened one golden eye. She floated over to Tenchi, and laid down next to him, placing one arm over his chest. His skin was warm. Tenchi wasn't quiet asleep. He felt Ryoko's body next to his, and her arm over him. He decided it didn't matter, anymore. There was no need for him to back away from her, now. He just hoped Ayeka didn't see Ryoko laying next to him like this. He was pretty sure she would still be upset. That, and his hormones were still making him a little nervous. The only light that could be seen on that night came from the shrine above the valley. Lord Katsuhito sat in his shrine office, up late, as usual. He wasn't alone, though. Across the table, Shadow Dog sat sipping a cup of tea. Long ago, they knew each other as Yosho and Seayo. "Well, looks like it finally happened," Shadow Dog commented. Yosho nodded. "Yes." He thought about how his half-sister had taken it. He was proud of her. She had become a stronger person. "She will make a good queen." "Hm? Oh, you're thinking of your sister. I told Mistress Sasami that her sister was strong." "Do you have to call Sasami 'mistress?' It... makes me uncomfortable." Shadow cocked an eyebrow in his usual fashion. "You know I can't help that, Yosho. I was chosen for this, and I can't change it." He squinted for a moment, looking closely at his old friend. "There's something else bothering you, isn't there?" Yosho nodded. "Yes, you're right. I feel... something. There is a force out there, close now. I am worried... AARRGH!" Yosho doubled over in pain, clutching the sides of his head. "Yosho!?" Shadow Dog dropped his tea and went to his friend. Yosho breathed, trying to supress the pain in his head. He started to push Shadow away. "I... I'm fine. I fine, Seayo." He sat up, the pain subsiding. "I felt it, now. >Something< has... broken loose. It's roaming free." Shadow sat back, the gem in his forehead glowing with agitation. He stood, and walked into the shadows. "I'll go stay with Mistress Sasami. Thank you for the tea, Yosho." He quickly left. Yosho nodded. "Good luck, my friend. We will need it." He looked out the window at the dark sky. The stars twinkled back at him. "Well, Tokimi. You have begun it, already? You're just as impatient as they say." *** It stretched it's limbs, as they again took a shape. So long. So long it had been in here, a prisoner. Trapped deep beneath the earth as decades, centuries, millenia passed in the world above. Existence as a shapeless mass of ethereal energy had only been a long rest for it, time to cultivate and strengthen it's powers. Gave it time to harness its anger. Rage for being trapped in this stone, only to be further buried beneath the earth. Rage at the young girl who had used her own blood to do so. Rage at the entire world for being so foolish as to think that it deserved to be imprisoned. "Calm your rage. Do as I ask, and you will be freer than you have ever known." That voice echoed once again inside his mind as his head took shape above his body, and solidified into physical form. For the first time in... hell, it never cared for the concept of time, anyway. The Lady had came to it as it slept in the earth, promising veangance and freedom. All it had to do was take away a princess. Steal her away into the night. Just complete the task, and the Lady Tokimi would promise it's absolute freedom. Just promise to pay her back. It licked it's lips, it's long tongue going over fangs that had once torn into human and demon flesh alike. Then it smiled. The Bane of Dragons was reborn. Now to find the girl. "Sasami..." It whispered her name, and sniffed the night air. It caught her scent and began to run. She was so conviniently close. But then, niether time nor distance mattered to it. Only it's freedom. *** The greatest genius scientist in the universe diligently typed away on her holocomputer. She had been up all night. The new data she had gathered on Tenchi's Light Hawk Wings had put her in a good mood, but there was a small voice in the back of her head, bugging her. The voice that told her she should get some sleep. She had been sleeping less and less lately. It wasn't insomnia, which she hadn't had in over twenty thousand years. She... just wasn't needing sleep. It was beginning to bother her. She didn't feel tired, at all. It as like she was turning into one of her machines, staying up all night, working all day. Her sleep cycles were decreasing to once every two or three days. She tried to quiet the voice. She had work to do. Tenchi had used his Light Hawk Wings against the bounty hunter who kidnapped him and Ryoko. What was that man's name, anyway? Tenchi's use of his powers was becoming easier. The degree of skill with which he used them had never been a problem. It was probably as simple as breathing, to him. But summoning that power had always been a problem. She finished typing in the data, and turned her attention to her next project. A small glass tube floated over to her on a small table. She picked up the tube, carefully looking over it's contents. Inside was what appeared to be a writhing piece of black... stuff. She knew better than to touch it, however. It had been a particle of Shadow Dog's soul fire. Washu managed to collect it from him when she trapped him in her lab. Of course, she had to do it while he was unconcious. If Shadow knew she possessed this, there was no way to predict what he would do. It had started out as only a minute particle. In the past couple of weeks, it had grown. Washu wasn't sure what it meant, but it must have something to do with the nature of his being. If she could discover that, then maybe she could figure out his connection with Sasami and Tsunami. Alarms suddenly went off in her lab. Washu jumped, taken by suprise. She set down the sample, and checked her moniters. Something had just happened. A massive energy spike from under the earth, just a few kilometers away. *** Lord Hikage had been pouring over the data for over an hour Finally, he looked up at the bounty hunter, Ito Gasam. He nodded. "Thank you, Gasam. This is very... beneficial. You'll recieve your payment." Ito smiled, despite the dull pain still in his head. He'd been in constant pain since that... boy stopped him. If Ito hadn't changed part of his body to energy when the Light Hawk Wings had struck him, he would definatly be dead now. "Thank you, my Lord Hikage. You are too generous. Although, you must realize that my ship requires repair, and this will be included in my cost." Hikage's jaw tensed, but it didn't bother Ito. He was a bounty hunter-- he owed no loyalty to this Jurain brat. "If I may say, Lord Hikage, the power that the boy displayed strongly resembled your planet's legndary Light Hawk Wings. I thought that only the ships of the royal family could generate such power. How is it possible that a mere boy could harness it?" Hikage gave a slight grin. He had never been so dramatic before, but recently it seemed appropriate. "I don't know how it is possible, myself, Gasam. No one who knows of his abilities, and those people are few indeed, has any clue as to how he can." Hikage nodded, and Ito Gasam felt someone grab his arms from behind him. He struggled, but Hikage's servant Asagi was too strong. Hikage clenched his left hand, and Ito could see a strange glyph light up on it. He felt more pain as he fell to his knees, some force pushing him down. He tried to raise his head, to spit at Hikage, but his body wouldn't obey him. He heard Hikage move closer. "And now that you know, you will have to keep it a secret. You and your whole crew." Hikage pressed the palm of his hand to Ito's forehead. "Now, your will is not your own. Not anymore. You serve me, and through me, the will of Lady Tokimi." Ito felt imense energy burn it's way into his head, though skin and skull, drilling through the gray matter of his brain. The energy spread to his neck, and he finally collapsed to the ground. He could feel it. Slowly, he rose to his knees, and looked up at Lord Hikage. If he could, he would have killed him, then and there. "Yes. I will serve Lady Tokimi." He wished, instead, that he could kill himself. Better that than live forever with this feeling inside his head. The will of Lady Tokimi. Author's notes: Damn, my shortest one yet. I hope I put more in the next one. Anyway, I think it's better than the last one, despite it's brevity (ooh, big word!). I feel Ayeka has never been given enough credit, always seen as being a bratty princess. I hope this appeals to any Ayeka fans reading this story. Or anyone reading this story. If anyone does read this story. If you are reading this story, and you like it, or even if you hate it, especially if you hate it, send any feedback of any kind to killersquid@ticnet.com (yes, this is as desperate a plea as it sounds). *** Kamidake: Um, sir? Loneshark: Yes? (heavy annoyance) Azaka: We would like to thank you for including us. Loneshark: Oh, well... your welcome. Just don't mention it again. Ever. Kamidake: Well, actually... Azaka: Would you mind putting us in anymore? Loneshark: (mild grumbling, and then mad raving) That's IT! Where's my ax? You two overgrown fenceposts are firewood! (screams of terror and homicide echo throughout the land)