FOREWORD:
	I'm not prone to lengthy introductions, so I'll say what I have to
say and let you get on to the story.
	The characters within "Tenchi Muyou!" are copyright AIC/Pioneer,
LDC. I claim no rights to them, but the events within this story are
completely of my own imagination. PLEASE DON'T EDIT AND RECIRCULATE!
Otherwise, feel free to distribute this and the forthcoming parts as
widely as you see fit.
	I drew a lot of background information from the "True Tenchi
Muyou!" novels written by Masaki Kajishima and Yosuke Kuroda. If you're
curious about them, get on the Internet and go to this site:
http://homepage2.nifty.com/tatsumingo/world/world_e.html
	I based these adventures on the OAV world and the subsequent manga
by Hitoshi Okuda, so there are a couple of references to those events
and appearances by characters created by him. FYI, in the manga, Tenchi
dropped out of high school after the girls arrived. I changed that in
this story. These events take place after volume 9 of the manga, and
assume nothing of great import happens between then and next autumn,
when Tenchi begins his senior year of high school.
	At this point, Aeka's birthday and age are vitally important to
the story. I managed to find a couple of the characters birth dates.
Aeka Sept. 21 (Autumnal equinox), Sasami Feb. 14 (Valentine's Day),
Ryoko Aug. 21. Here's my solution to the question of the girls' ages.
Juraians normally live about as long as humans do. Those who are bonded
to a royal tree live many times longer. The aforementioned novels
clearly indicate that Yosho, Aeka, and Sasami all grew at a normal rate
until they were bonded to a royal tree. So, after a little time allowed
for preparations for Aeka's search, and a year on Earth, Aeka has
reached her 21st birthday, not including the 700 years spent searching
for her brother. That puts Sasami at almost 12 and Yosho at 25. Just
remember that Yosho was conscious and moving around for 700 years more
than his sisters were, and it shows in his maturity level.
	The inside of the Jurai ships consist of two parts: the bridge
which actually contains the royal tree and serves as a command center
(Captain Kirk to the Bridge!) and the habitat. The habitat is the part
where we saw Aeka's big house in OAV EP #2. At least that's the
impression I got. Either way, I left the distinction pretty fuzzy, so
you can draw your own conclusions.
	You will find I use the names Katsuhito and Yosho almost
interchangeably. Actually I refer to the character as Yosho when he is
acting more as the prince, and Katsuhito when things are less formal.
	I have one point of style. I don't know about everyone else, but
when I'm reading a book and I come to a full-page description of the
side of a mountain or whatnot, I get annoyed and skip over it. So you
won't see a lot of descriptive details here, unless there's special
attention required, or I was feeling particularly artistic at the time I
wrote that passage.
	What's to come: There are definitely 5 more parts to this volume.
They're already written and awaiting my final revisions.
	Volume 2 will probably be a little shorter than volume 1. I've
already started writing it. It'll deal exclusively with the Masaki
family on Earth. Fair warning, I'm going to turn the relationships
between Tenchi and the girls inside out. I'm also going to make it
painfully obvious who the guest character is.
	Volume 3 is planned out but not written. Can you say Galaxy
Academy?
	Volume 4 is in the planning stages. What was made wrong in volume
3 will be made right.
	In addition, there will be a series of INTERLUDES. Notice the
Caps? That's what they'll be titled as. Example: "INTERLUDE 3: Tropical
Heat". Yes, I already have three of them. The first two are in first or
second draft and the third is done planning. Catchy title, huh?
	You're probably saying to yourself "Yeah, right. I've heard that
one before." Let me assure you, the readers, that I thoroughly enjoy
writing these stories, and unless I get a nasty-gram from Japan saying
"stop writing", I'll keep on writing them.
	Did I say something about lengthy introductions? Okay, sorry! In
the future forewords will be much shorter, only giving the standard
disclaimer and a few explanatory details as required. Many thanks for
being patient.

I almost forgot the most important part! Comments and criticisms are
welcome. My email address is: TrueDreamr@Hotmail.com

You may refer to me as "Dreamr" ("Yumesha" if you're nasty).


INVASION Vol. 1, Part 1: Birthday Blues.

	Masaki Tenchi was not sure how Washu had done it, but she had
managed to find out when everyone's birthday was. The girls tended to
avoid the matter of exactly how old they were. Tenchi knew they were all
older than him by anywhere from just a couple of years to over twenty
thousand years. They sure seemed young. Today one of them had grown
older by another year. The family celebrated Aeka's birthday today. Even
Ryoko was getting into it. Although it may have more to do with the
large amounts of sake she was consuming.
	Tenchi entered the kitchen from the main room to get another plate
of snacks when a large crash from the next room told him something was
up. He hurried back with the snack, a large bowl of peaches in syrup,
hoping he could defuse the situation before it got out of hand.
	Just as he reached the door, it slammed open. Ryoko came flying
backwards into the kitchen. She did not see Tenchi and crashed right
into him. They both fell to the ground. The bowl of peaches went flying
into the air.
	Aeka came through the door next, a great big mallet in hand. She
hesitated to strike, seeing Tenchi entangled beneath her quarry. The
airborne peaches flipped and landed right on her head, soaking Aeka in
sticky syrup. The phone rang in the background.
	Ryoko pointed at Aeka and laughed heartily. Enraged at Ryoko's
mockery of her, Aeka swung the mallet. Tenchi covered his head, hoping
she would not hit him instead. Ryoko pulled him out of the way just in
time. Aeka's mallet-strike left a large hole in the floor.
	"Hey, Princess Peach-head! You almost hit Tenchi!"
	The unusual amount of care Ryoko was showing for Tenchi's safety
made Aeka hesitate again. It was just the opening Ryoko was looking for.
She swung a leg at Aeka, catching her in the midsection with a huge
round-kick. Aeka crashed through the kitchen wall, ending up in the yard
outside. Ryoko stood triumphantly in middle of the kitchen.
	"Got'er!" She immediately flew through the new exit out to the
yard in pursuit.
	For a moment, the kitchen was blissfully quiet. Tenchi remained on
the floor, staring at the ceiling. He was afraid of what he might see if
he got up and looked out the hole the girls had created. Aeka had looked
pretty pissed at Ryoko for making a mess of her party.
	Then again, it was pretty inconsiderate of Ryoko to mess with Aeka
tonight. The one-time space pirate could not stand anyone else being the
center of attention. And if one of them saw Tenchi interacting with the
other, they would immediately start arguing over which of them he liked
better. Tenchi hoped they would never force the issue with him. But in
truth, he knew that eventually they would. The day loomed large in his
mind.
	"Tenchi?" A young girl's voice asked him. Tenchi realized he had
closed his eyes. He opened them to see Sasami looking down at him with
concern.
	"Are you okay?"
	Tenchi sat up with a groan.
	"Yeah. Just a little tired, I guess."
	"Ooh. Are Aeka and Ryoko wearing you out?" She sympathetically
inquired.
	"Something like that." Tenchi looked around the now drafty
kitchen. "What a mess." He sighed heavily. "I guess I'd better start
cleaning-up."
	"Oh, no, Tenchi." Sasami insisted. "Don't you worry about this.
I'll take care of it. You go get some rest."
	"Thanks a lot, Sasami." Tenchi gratefully thanked her. "I think I
will."
	Before Tenchi could escape, the fourth arrival in the Masaki
household made herself known. Mihoshi peered into the kitchen. Her dark
skin and blonde hair were a stark contrast to the other more fair-
skinned girls.
	"Um, has anyone seen Aeka?" She asked of Tenchi and Sasami. They
both pointed to the hole in the wall with dour looks pasted to their
faces.
	"Oh, I see." Mihoshi bounded through the hole as if it had always
been there.
	"Aeka-a-AAyh!" There was a loud thump followed by a sore sounding
Mihoshi. "Ow-w-w..."
	Tenchi slowly climbed to his feet. Fortunately, the way to his
room upstairs was unimpeded by any debris from the girls' squabble. On
his way to the stairs, Tenchi noticed the phone was off its hook. Maybe
there was a call for Aeka. That would explain why Mihoshi was looking
for her. He heard the thumping of feet coming up behind him just in time
to avoid getting bowled over by Aeka as she hurried to field her call.
	"Excuse me!"
	Aeka picked-up the receiver and placed it against her ear, totally
forgetting about the peach juice in her hair.
	"Hello, Mother. How nice to hear from you."
	Tenchi realized he was being rude by listening in on Aeka's
conversation, so he continued on his way upstairs. As he passed directly
behind Aeka, Tenchi noticed how much of a mess her hair really was. He
had inadvertently taken a towel with him from the kitchen, so Tenchi
wordlessly held it out to Aeka. She accepted the towel, giving Tenchi a
glittering smile in return.
	Aeka's moment was spoiled when someone grabbed Tenchi's chest from
behind.
	"Tenchi-i!"
	Tenchi had no difficulty identifying his assailant as Ryoko. She
was the only one in the house who ever grabbed him that way.
Fortunately, Tenchi had some ammunition to use against her this time.
	"Ryoko, don't you know it's rude to make a lot of noise when
someone's on the phone with their mother?"
	Ryoko looked at Aeka, who made a pained face, then reiterated her
earlier greeting in a younger, more high-pitched tone.
	"I'm so glad you called, Mommy!"
	Ryoko turned three shades of green, then disappeared without
another word, happy to get away without becoming involved with Aeka and
Sasami's mother, Misaki. Tenchi congratulated himself on getting the
self-proclaimed seductress off of his back for a short time. He would
not mind her advances so much if she were a little more discreet. But
Ryoko was so blatant with her affection it was embarrassing. As Tenchi
finally began to make his way up the stairs to his third floor room, he
continued to compare the two girls in his mind.
	Aeka and Ryoko seemed such complete opposites at first glance.
Aeka was the First Princess of the Jurai royal family, the monarchs of a
huge galactic empire. In accordance with her upbringing, Aeka usually
behaved in a high-society sort of way, polite and well mannered. She
seemed the most reserved and respectable girl ever. She was so reserved
it was hard to tell she had feelings for him at all. At least it was
that way until Ryoko got involved. Then they dropped all pretenses and
became almost identical in nature, telling anyone and everyone exactly
how they felt. The ensuing fight usually ended up destroying part of the
house. And somehow, he always ended-up cleaning their mess! It was all
just so tiring.
	To add insult to injury, Tenchi had been required to attend summer
school to make up for all the school time he had missed last year. There
was little enough time for his studies now with having to tend the
fields. Here it was, the first day of autumn and he was already wishing
for a vacation. Tenchi's peaceful moment of self-reflection was
shattered by Aeka's cry of dismay.
	"I will not! And if you try to make me I'll... I'll go someplace
where you will never find me!" She slammed the receiver down so hard the
sound of cracking plastic could be heard all the way down the hall.
	Tenchi had only just gotten to his bed. If it was Ryoko Aeka was
arguing with, he would ignore it tonight. A moment later, he did indeed
hear Ryoko's voice.
	"What's the matter, Princess? It's a party, right? Live a little."
	"I'm afraid I don't feel much like partying, right now." Aeka told
Ryoko, still staring at the cracked telephone.
	"Bad news from home?" Ryoko melodramatically asked. Aeka snorted
in annoyance at Ryoko's apparent interest in her welfare.
	"As if you could possibly understand the complexity of the affairs
of the Jurai Royal Family."
	"Oh, so that's it!" Ryoko acted as if she suddenly understood
everything. "Your father's having an affair! Yep, that'll put a damper
on the ol' party spirit for sure." She watched Aeka closely, expecting
her to react fiercely to the insult.
	"You're disgusting." Aeka told her, turning to go out the door.
	"Well, that's different." Ryoko thought to herself as Aeka
slipped-on her sandals.
	"I'm going to go get my brother." Aeka matter-of-factly informed
Ryoko. She did not even look back when she exited the house. Ryoko could
only look on in confusion. She shrugged, then went back into the main
room.
	"Aeka just left." Ryoko announced. "So I guess she won't be
needing that piece of cake, will she?"

	Unaware of Ryoko's pilfering of her share of the birthday cake
Sasami had made, Aeka slowly walked up the steps to the Masaki Shrine.
The party had not been going on for long. But her brother, Yosho, the
First Crown Prince of Jurai, who now went by the name Katsuhito, had not
yet come down from the shrine at which he performed his duties as a
Shinto priest.
	Aeka reached the top of the hillside stairs just as her brother,
who also happened to be Tenchi's grandfather, was closing-up the shrine.
She left the stone walkway and cut a straight line across the grass
towards her objective.
	The priest turned from the shrine entrance, revealing the two
bottles of sake he held between the fingers of one hand. He looked
across the shrine grounds in surprise.
	"Oh, Aeka. I'm sorry. Have I kept the party waiting?" Katsuhito's
grey hair and moustache along with weather beaten face and wizened voice
made him appear every bit the grandfatherly type.
	"No." Aeka answered, slowing to a stop at the foot of the shrine
itself. "Ryoko was more than happy to start without you."
	"Ah, then it's a good thing I remembered to bring an extra
bottle." He held the bottles up with a grin. Aeka could see one of the
bottles was her own personal favorite. The other she had never tried
before.
	"Brother, you need not have gotten me anything."
	"But it wouldn't be a birthday party if there weren't any
presents. This one is yours." He handed Aeka the left-most bottle. "And
this other one should keep Ryoko occupied while you have yours." His
grin broke into an open smile. Aeka only barely responded to Katsuhito's
good-natured ribbing of her rival for Tenchi's affection. He did not
fail to notice her sense of melancholy.
	"Mmm... Feeling your age?"
	"Something like that..." Aeka looked away for a moment, unsure of
what to ask. "I just spoke with Mother and Father."
	"Ahh. I see. Why don't we head back to the house." Katsuhito
suggested, pointing back down the hillside. "You can tell me about it as
we walk."
	"All right." Aeka followed her brother back down the stone steps.
	"So. How are Mothers and Father?"
	"Well, Ladies Misaki and Funaho are well." Aeka partially
answered.
	"Mmm-hmm. And Father?"
	"Father... is insisting I return to Jurai and marry that
ridiculous Seiryuu."
	"Ohh! And what did you tell him?"
	"I told him I would run away."
	"So you would really leave Tenchi behind?"
	"Of course not! But..." Katsuhito could see Aeka was very
distraught over what their Father had told her.
	"Aeka, relax. It's not like he can force you to get married."
	Aeka remained silent for a short while, considering her options.
But the lack of hard information hampered her efforts.
	"Brother, what do you know of Article Twenty-three?"
	The former First Prince stopped on the second to last step before
the bottom of the stairway. His demeanor took on a much more serious
tone.
	"Aeka, if Father has invoked Article Twenty-three, you, as First
Princess, have no options. He has full legal authority to have you marry
anyone he so chooses, so long as you have not already been married by
your twenty-first birthday.
	The princess also stopped, but on the stone walkway at the bottom
of the steps. Her mood grew more despondent with each passing word.
	"I won't go." She stated quietly, yet determinedly.
	Katsuhito looked down at his sister, once again. It was quite a
fix. Like it or not, the King had every right to force Aeka into a
marriage. But why this way? Their Father was not a cruel man. Surely
this would drive a huge wedge right into the heart of the Masaki Family.
Something must have happened back on Jurai. Regardless, there was
nothing they could do about it here. Katsuhito tried to cheer his
younger sibling a little.
	"I have an idea. Since we don't know how much longer we have until
someone shows up to get you, why don't we drink-up tonight, and try to
have a little fun?"
	Aeka gave a small laugh through the wetness in her eyes.
	"It would serve Father right if he shows-up tomorrow morning,
expecting me to be ready to leave, and instead has to wait several hours
while I pack." She straightened herself up a bit.
	"Bottle, please." Aeka asked her brother. He smartly handed one of
the bottles to her.
	"Tonight, we drink." She pulled the cork barehanded and took a
huge slug from the bottle. "Right. That's better."
	Little did Aeka know how true her offhand comment was. At that
moment, one of the most powerful ships in the Jurai fleet was hurtling
through inter-dimensional space. Destination: Earth!

	The next morning, Aeka awoke to two horrible things. The first was
an alcohol-induced headache of legendary proportions. The second was the
sound of her mother trying to wake her. Unable to decide which was
worse, Aeka turned over, hoping at least one of them would go away. She
fell off the raised platform where they ate meals and landed flat on her
face.
	"Ah-hao-uw!" She painfully rubbed her nose. Aeka felt herself
being literally picked-up off the floor and set on her feet. Misaki
began to drown her in motherly affection.
	"My little Aeka! Are you all right? Here, let Mommy have a look."
	Misaki poked and prodded her daughter's face. Aeka opened her eyes
and tried to focus on her mother. She could not remember a thing after
the third karaoke album, which had accompanied the second bottle of
sake. She was still in the main room. The place looked like a pig's sty.
Sasami puttered around, picking-up the trash. Tenchi was attentively
standing by. The others were all still crashed out on the couches,
except for Ryoko whom she could not see.
	"Oh my head..." Aeka complained, lifting a hand to her temple.
	"Oh, no!" Misaki fretted. "Somebody bring my little Aeka aspirin
and a hot towel!"
	Tenchi immediately jumped to comply.
	"Yes! Right away!" He went running up the stairs to the second
floor restroom where they kept the medications.
	"Ohhh..." Aeka moaned.
	When Misaki got a good whiff of her beloved daughter's breath, her
expression went from very concerned to very cross. Her eyebrows formed a
large "V" on her forehead.
	"Aeka! Have you been drinking?"
	"It was... my birthday party." Aeka managed. Then she remembered
why her mother was there. "Mother, I can't marry Seiryuu."
	"Oh, Aeka," Misaki promptly forgot about the alcohol on her
daughter's breath. "I tried. I really tried to get your Father to change
his mind. But he just wouldn't listen." She pulled Aeka into a big hug.
	"But, mother, I don't love him. I..."
	Misaki gently rocked Aeka back and forth. "It'll be all right.
It'll work out."
	Aeka whispered something to her mother that she had never told
anyone else. Something she could not tell even to Sasami or Tenchi. Most
especially Tenchi. Misaki suddenly held her daughter out at arms reach.
Her eyes glistened with tears of pride and love.
	"Really?"
	"Yes." Aeka confirmed wiping her own tears.
	Tenchi came running down the stairs three at a time. He ran
straight over to Aeka and Misaki and presented the hot towel and aspirin
to Aeka.
	"Here you are, Lady Aeka."
	"Speak of the devil." Misaki said innocently. Both Tenchi and Aeka
began looking around overhead.
	"No, I don't see her..." Tenchi said.
	"You must be mistaken, Mother." Aeka agreed.
	Misaki looked completely lost. Sasami filled her in while she
picked-up the trash.
	"Mommy, did you forget Ryoko lives here, too?" She gave her mother
a stern look.
	"That's right! I did forget. Hey! That reminds me!" Misaki pulled
a stack of envelopes from her sleeve and handed them to Tenchi.
	"Here you go."
	Tenchi accepted the stack with one hand as Misaki took the hot
towel and it's tray with the other. She hooked her arm through Aeka's
and began dragging her to the door.
	"I can see we have so much to catch-up on! You have to pick out a
dress and flowers and -- Oh! Funaho's trying to get that silly law
repealed!"
	"Really?" Aeka got more interested in what her mother had to say.
"Is there something..." Their voices trailed off as they exited the
house.
	Tenchi was left with one hand empty, one hand full of envelopes,
and a mind full of questions.
	Sasami sighed.
	A small periscope rose over the top of one of the couches. The
lenses looked left, then right, up, and down, then descended back below
the cushions.
	"She's gone." Washu's voice announced.
	Suddenly everyone was awake, except for Mihoshi who still slept
peacefully on the floor under the coffee table. They all came around the
couches to see what Misaki had given to Tenchi. Ryoko teleported into
the room from wherever she was hiding. They stared eagerly at his hand.
	"Whatcha got there, Tenchi?" Ryoko asked.
	"Yes, indeed, Tenchi." His grandfather agreed.
	"Come on, Tenchi. Share the wealth." His father instructed.
	Washu started rifling through the stack.
	"Hey, hold on..." Tenchi tried to regain control of the situation.
	"This one's mine!" The diminutive redhead shouted triumphantly,
holding an envelope in the air.
	As soon as they realized there would be an envelope for each of
them, the others mobbed Tenchi, snatching their own envelopes before he
could sort them. In a moment he was left with only his own and
Mihoshi's. Even Ryo-o-ki had taken hers. Resigned to his fate, at least
for the moment, Tenchi opened his envelope. When he read the elaborate
script written on the card within, he felt something begin to churn
within his chest.
	"Holy shit!" Ryoko exclaimed.
	"Mya mya myah!"
	"I wonder if that old tuxedo will still fit..."
	"Mmmm..."
	"Aeka..."
	"And the winner is...!"
	Ryoko glommed onto Tenchi.
	"The goddesses of fortune have smiled upon the Masaki household!"
She decried as if it were the greatest thing to happen since sliced
bread.
	"Aeka is getting married! Isn't that great, Tenchi?"
	"No, I don't think it is."
	"Come on, Tenchi. It's a wedding. You should be happy!"
	"Aeka didn't look happy."
	"Aww, she's just nervous. She'll get over it."
	Mihoshi, finally returning to the land of consciousness, climbed
onto the couch Washu had been peeking over.
	"What's all the commotion?" she asked.
	"Aeka's getting hitched." Washu told her.
	"Oh, wow!" Mihoshi brightened. "Congratulations, Tenchi!"
	Ryoko didn't let that last for more than a moment.
	"Not to Tenchi, you moron!!!"
	"Sor-ry! My mistake. So who's the lucky guy?"
	"Why don't you try reading your invitation." Ryoko suggested. "Or
is that too difficult for you?"
	"No, I think I can manage that, unless it's written all funny like
they sometimes do." She began searching her pockets.
	"Oh for..." Ryoko plucked Mihoshi's invitation from Tenchi's hand
and personally walked it over to her.
	"Here. You can thank me later."
	"Well, thank you, Ryoko! That's so nice of you!"
	Ryoko fumed as Mihoshi carefully opened the envelope.
	"I... just... said...!!!"
	"Hey there, Ryoko. Take it easy. It's still early." Nobuyuki told
her. "Er, for her anyway."
	Ryoko imagined great steam vents letting the anger flow away.
Somehow she managed to regain control of her emotions. Mihoshi's lunacy
wouldn't get to her today.
	"You're absolutely right. This is a happy occasion! Aeka is
getting married!" To herself, Ryoko added on silently "To somebody other
than Tenchi!"
	Mihoshi finally found what she was looking for.
	"Seiryuu! That's nice. Umm, who's Seiryuu?"
	Ryoko nearly lost it. Veins bulged in her forehead and flames
blazed brightly in her eyes.
	"He's that pink-headed ponce from Jurai, you numbskull!"
	"Oh, that's right! I remember now. He's the guy Tenchi beat in a
duel!"
	There was a collective sigh of relief from everyone. Ryoko would
not blow-up the house again.
	"Hallelujah!" Ryoko exclaimed. "Somebody mark it on the calendar.
Mihoshi finally learned how to use the other half of her brain cell!"
She paused for a moment, catching her breath.
	"I'm takin' a bath. Somebody tell me when breakfast is ready."
With that Ryoko flew off to the onsen, mumbling to herself the whole
way.
	"Goddamn! No wonder the GP never caught me..."
	The others began to wander off, as well, talking excitedly amongst
themselves about making plans.
	Tenchi looked at his invitation again. It said the wedding would
be held at the Jurai Royal Palace in four days. He looked up to ask
someone how long it took to get to Jurai. But the others had all
disappeared. Poof! Well, he would find out soon enough. But, more
importantly, Tenchi wanted to talk to Aeka.

	They did indeed have to wait a couple of hours while Aeka's
possessions were packed and carried-off by the Royal Family's servants.
Several large, well-built men quickly and efficiently packed and removed
all of Aeka's belongings onto the front deck. A large beam of light
covered the movers and their charge. Everything within the beam
vanished, presumably transported onto Misaki's ship.
	The personal belongings were soon followed by Misaki, Aeka,
Sasami, and the two guardians, Azaka and Kamedake. Aeka looked very
formal in her full royal robe and hood. They trod down the stairs, a
wedding party that seemed more like a funeral procession. At the bottom,
Tenchi and the others stood waiting for them. Tenchi waited until Aeka
was near before he spoke.
	"Aeka." He called to her. "Do you have a minute?"
	Aeka paused only briefly to answer. She seemed very reluctant to
speak at all. Her face remained hidden inside her hood.
	"I'm sorry Lord Tenchi. I have very little time available. Perhaps
there will be time once we have boarded."
	"Oh, there's no need to be so formal, Aeka!" Misaki butted in. She
addressed the others. "Okay! Bus is leaving! Who's coming along?"
	"We all are." Tenchi spoke for the group.
	"That's great!" Misaki exclaimed, pleased with their attendance.
	"Grandfather was able to make the arrangements with my teachers,
so..."
	"Ah!" Misaki remembered something important. "Its okay if you want
to follow along with Ryo-o-ki, but I think some of the admirals in the
fleet might panic if they saw her following us, so I think you should
come aboard Karin. It'll be so much fun! I just know she'll like you
all!"
	Katsuhito finally spoke up.
	"How is Karin, Lady Misaki?"
	"Why Yosho." Misaki looked at Tenchi's grandfather in a way Tenchi
could not decipher. The look seemed pleasant enough. "I didn't know you
cared." She smiled. "Karin's fine, dear."
	Ryoko finally had enough of whatever it was that was going on with
the Masaki Royal Family.
	"Okay. The soup's getting thick. Come on Tenchi." She grabbed a
hold of Tenchi's arm, trying to drag him out of the house. Aeka's
response was swift. Her head snapped around.
	"You let go of Lord Tenchi immediately!"
	Nobuyuki, Katsuhito, Washu, and Mihoshi quietly began to withdraw,
hoping no one would notice. Sasami hid behind Azaka.
	"Down, Princess!" Ryoko began a carefully prepared comeback.
"Since you're engaged now, -- " She did not get to finish the second
part. Aeka's mother was suddenly standing in front of her. Misaki
promptly stuck her thumbs into Ryoko's mouth, stretching her face out
wide.
	"What did you say to my little Aeka?"
	"Ol nol leaz le go! Ahh!" Ryoko tried desperately to remember that
phrase to get Misaki to stop. A moment later it returned to her.
	"Serves you right." Aeka muttered under her breath.
	"I solly, retty lady!" Misaki immediate let go of Ryoko's face.
	"Oh, that's so cute!"
	Around the corner, Nobuyuki whispered to his father-in-law.
	"Good thing Misaki got there before Aeka, eh?"
	"Yup."

	Onboard Misaki's ship, Karin, the visitors were allowed to explore
the interior of the habitat at their leisure. Aeka, Sasami, and their
Mother were rarely seen, ostensibly preparing for the wedding.
	Ryoko flew around the habitat a couple times, then declared the
entire vessel boring. She disappeared into the branches of the Royal
Tree and emerged only at meal times.
	Washu seemed captivated by the chance to examine another Royal
Tree and asked to perform a few tests. Misaki's response was "Look, but
don't touch."
Mihoshi proclaimed how lucky she felt to be on board one of the gems of
the Jurai fleet and immediately set out to explore the entire vessel.
She was not seen again until just before they arrived on Jurai.
	Nobuyuki brought with him, in addition to a weeks worth of
clothes, a weeks worth of film for his cameras. All five of them. The
only word any one got out of him for duration of the trip was "Smile!"
	Tenchi wandered around in awe. This ship was a lot like Ryu-o. The
most interesting part in his opinion was the tree itself. Karin was
huge. How it could survive in such a contained environment was unknown
to him. But it seemed to thrive here. The air was heavy with moisture
and oxygen. Breathing it felt like the stuff of dreams. The dream turned
into a nightmare when Ryoko swooped down from the branches and grabbed
him.
	"Tenchiii!"
	"So this is where you've been hiding." Tenchi deducted. "Don't get
yourself into trouble up there."
	"Aww, nobody minds if I play around up there. Besides, the room
they gave me is way too cramped."
	"I guess..."
	"Wanna take a closer look?" Ryoko playfully asked.
	Tenchi could see the familiar look of mischief Ryoko had on her
face.
	"Uhh, I think the view here is fine."
	She ignored his polite declination.
	"C'mon!" Ryoko grabbed Tenchi around the waist and flew up through
the branches of the tree at full-speed. Tenchi closed his eyes in fright
at his unasked-for roller coaster ride through the arboreal scenery.
Amazingly, he felt only an occasional leaf slap against his hands. The
motion abruptly stopped.
	"Take a look, Tenchi."
	Tenchi carefully opened his eyes. He could see the entire ship
from this position above the tree. Not just the inhabitable portion, but
the exterior wooden hull, as well. Tenchi craned his head around, taking
in the view.
	"Like it?" Ryoko asked.
	"It's amazing." Tenchi responded. "But you could have warned me."
	"I did. But you didn't want to come and look."
	"That's because..." Tenchi began to try to explain to Ryoko why he
had not wanted to go with her to see the view, but no reason came to
mind, other than he was afraid she might scare him. The trip up had been
a little frightening, but not unreasonably so. It was what he had come
to expect from Ryoko. With no real reason for his reluctance, Tenchi
could only sigh.
	"Ryoko, could you put me down now?"
	"I could."
	"Would you, please?"
	"Don't you like the view?"
	"The view's fine. It's just..." Tenchi struggled to find an
excuse.
	"You don't like being with me, is that it?" Tenchi could easily
hear the disappointment in Ryoko's voice.
	"No! I'm just... not used to being up so high without something to
stand on. I feel like I'm going to fall."
	"I won't let go, Tenchi." Ryoko nuzzled against his ear. "Not
ever."
	Tenchi gulped.
	"That's what I'm afraid of."

	Other than a brief visit within the second Ryu-o unit, Yosho had
not been aboard a Jurai ship since his Funaho was forced down on Earth
seven hundred years ago.
	Although he did not agree with the circumstances surrounding this
little trip, it was nice to tour around the inside of a habitat again.
The journey to Jurai would take almost two days. With so much time and
physical space available, a short foot trip seemed to be in order.
	With a small pack of provisions on his back, and a walking stick
in hand, Yosho took a last look over his shoulder at Misaki's residence.
She would be miffed at him for not stopping in to talk for a while. But
it was probably better this way.

	Misaki's mental list of things to do was nearly complete. She had
done most of the legwork for Aeka's wedding, saving her a great deal of
stress. The poor girl was really distraught over the entire issue.
Unfortunately, there was little Misaki could do for her daughter except
complete the last item on her list, which was to sit down and have a
nice long talk. She boldly knocked on Aeka's door.
	"Can I come in?"
	"Of course you may." That was her girl, always polite. Misaki slid
the door open and walked confidently inside. Aeka sat on the edge of her
bed, a photo album in her lap.
	"Ooh! Pictures!" Misaki excitedly exclaimed. She quickly joined
Aeka on the edge of the bed. "Can I see?"
	Aeka began to explain how she had come by the pictures they were
looking at.
	"Tenchi's father was nice enough to make copies of the picture he
took while Sasami and I were staying with them." Aeka paused for a
moment while she turned the page. "I thought I might look through it so
I won't... forget."
	Before Misaki could begin her planned verbal encouragement, a drop
of water splashed against the album page. She looked up to see tears
running down Aeka's face.
	"Aeka..." Misaki reached out to her little Aeka and pulled her
close, comforting her as best she could. Aeka buried her face in her
mother's chest.
	"It's not fair." She complained. Her voice faltered as Aeka tried
to say how she felt. "It's just not... fair."
	"It'll get better." Misaki reassured her. "I promise."
	"No it won't." Aeka cried.
	"Have I ever broken a promise?"
	"No."
	"So then. It will get better, won't it?"
	Aeka could only hope for the best. But her future looked very
bleak.

	Being held in the air by his waist was starting to wear on
Tenchi's patience.
	"Ryoko, haven't we been up here long enough? I really need to go
talk to Grandpa."
	"If you're looking for him, forget it. He disappeared into the
hills this afternoon."
	"What?" If Tenchi's grandfather had gone walking around the
habitat, he probably would not been seen again until almost landfall.
Grandpa's foot trips were notorious for their length. Tenchi's plan for
gathering information about the wedding arrangements were dashed.
Ryoko's questing hands shook Tenchi from his reverie.
	"Are you going to let me down or not?"
	"Nnnn. You never spend any time with me." The false pain in
Ryoko's voice did little to convince Tenchi to do otherwise.
	"That's not true. We spend a lot of time together, but I never
have any choice about it. I don't feel like playing games right now, so
I want you to put me down on the ground."
	Ryoko knew better than to contradict Tenchi's wishes when he got
this way. If she continued, he would only get angry with her. She
started a slow descent through the branches of Karin, trying to prolong
her contact with Tenchi for as long as possible. As the greenery passed
slowly by, a voice spoke directly into Ryoko's mind.
	"Tell him you want to talk."
	Ryoko turned her head back and forth, trying to identify the
speaker. There was no one else within sight.
	"Quickly!" The voice spoke again. "Before you lose your chance!"
	"Who are you?" Ryoko mentally asked. The voice in her head
giggled. "Female." She decided.
	"Ryoko." Tenchi interrupted her train of thought. "I know you can
go faster than this."
	"I wanna talk!" Ryoko blurted out. She surprised herself by
following the voice's advice. Still, what could it hurt?
	"Talk?" Tenchi asked. "What about?"
	"Oh, shit." Ryoko thought. "Come on! You started this!" She
mentally shouted at the voice. "Help me out!"
	Silence answered her.
	"Ryoko..." Tenchi began to chide her for making up excuses to keep
him there.
	"Us!" Ryoko told him. She was even more surprised at what she came
up with. "I... want to talk about us."
	There was a slight pause as Tenchi considered his response.
	"I wasn't aware there was an 'us'."
	"Tenchi..." Ryoko grasped a handful of Tenchi's shirt and squeezed
it hard. "Please?"
	Tenchi sighed in resignation. He dared not so much as move while
he tried to understand this new development. Tenchi did notice how
Ryoko's hold around him had changed from enticing to something more
true. One thing he did not want to do was hurt her feelings. Tenchi
carefully put one hand over Ryoko's clenched fist.
	"If we talk about this, you have to understand that that's all it
is. We're just talking."
	"All right." Ryoko readily agreed. It was not everything she
wanted, but it was better than nothing.
	"First, you have to put me down."
	Ryoko quickly looked around. Finding a large branch, she floated
over to it then set Tenchi down within reach of the main trunk. He
steadied himself with a hand against the tree's thick bark. As soon as
he felt comfortable, Tenchi sat down on the wide branch. The branch had
to be at least a foot thick, providing an excellent place to sit, or
perhaps lie down, if one were so inclined. Ryoko followed the example
and sat next to him.
	"So," Tenchi began, "is there something specific on your mind?"
	Ryoko only looked sidelong at Tenchi. She had no idea what to say.
Luckily for her, the voice had more input.
	"Tell him how you feel."
	"I can't." She responded.
	"Ryoko." The love struck girl's attention was drawn back to
Tenchi. "You said you wanted to talk, but now you won't say anything."
Tenchi sighed again. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea."
	"No! I mean... Hell! I don't know. I'm no good at this." Ryoko
turned away from Tenchi and flopped down stomach first onto the branch.
He legs extended across Tenchi's thighs. Tenchi looked at her in
surprise, then started to laugh.
	"Ah, well, me either." It felt a little easier knowing Ryoko was
as uncomfortable with the current subject as he was. Tenchi let the
silence continue for a little while before speaking again.
	"I... don't want to make a mistake." He began. "A mistake I can't
fix." There was another long pause. "I guess... you want me to choose
between you and Aeka, but, I can't do that. Not unless I'm sure. And
right now I don't really know how I feel about either of you. I guess...
that's not what you wanted to hear." For some reason Tenchi felt wrong
saying these things. It made him feel like he was letting Ryoko down.
	"Aeka's getting married." Ryoko reminded him. "You don't have to
choose." Even though she was looking off in another direction, Tenchi
could tell from her voice that Ryoko was not pleased with his admission.
The reminder did give Tenchi a direction towards which he could vent
some of his other frustrations.
	"Then there's this marriage business. Something's not right about
that. Aeka shouldn't have to get married if she doesn't want to. How
would that make you feel?"
	Ryoko turned over. She slipped her hands behind her head.
	"Me? Married? Ha! Now that's weird."
	Tenchi reconsidered what he had just said.
	"Hm. Yeah, I guess you're not really the marrying type." Now that
he was thinking about it, Tenchi simply could not see Ryoko getting
married. Though he could see her drinking her way through the reception
party.
	"As long as we're being honest..." Tenchi decided to take
advantage of this little heart to heart chat to voice his opinion on
some of Ryoko's bad habits.
	"Why do you drink so much?"
	Ryoko gave Tenchi her traditional response to that question.
	"It's something to do."
	Tenchi gave her a quick glance then looked away.
	"You always say that."
	Ryoko was still staring up through the branches when the voice
came back again.
	"Liar."
	A pang of guilt lanced through Ryoko's chest. What she had said
was not a reason why she drank, it was only a statement about the
drinking itself. She had lied to Tenchi.
	"Wait." Ryoko sat up, putting her hands down in front of her. She
stared hard at the portion of branch between them. "That's not it." With
a sigh, Ryoko drew her legs up in front of her. She wrapped her arms
around her legs and set her head down against her raised knees. Her gaze
rested on the green leaves surrounding them.
	"I drink..." Ryoko stopped, then started again with a different
phrase. "When I'm drunk, I don't care what other people are thinking."
Her voice grew quieter as she continued to clarify her statement. "What
they're thinking... about me." The final words were barely more than a
whisper, as if Ryoko were revealing some great secret.
	Tenchi sat quietly, unsure of what to say. He was just coming up
with a response when Ryoko finally asked him a question.
	"Tenchi, what do you think about me?"
	Tenchi froze. He had no idea how to answer that.
	"Am I still a monster?"
	"No."
	"A demon?"
	"No, Ryoko. You aren't any of those things." He finally managed a
full sentence.
	"Then what am I, Tenchi? What am I to you?"
	Tenchi struggled for a moment. Then he found the perfect answer.
It was even witty. Ryoko would like it.
	"You're a pretty, young, lady."
	Ryoko's head immediately snapped up. A huge smile hung on her face
like the crescent moon.
	"Really?"
	"Uh, yes..." Tenchi verified while trying to maintain a neutral
expression.
	Ryoko began to giggle madly. She suddenly spun around and threw
her head and arms on top of Tenchi's thigh. Gratefully, she rubbed her
cheek and hands over his leg.
	"Tenchi..." At least she was facing away from him.
	When Tenchi realized Ryoko was not going to try to seduce him from
where she was, he decided to let her be for a while. He had been meaning
to show a little more consideration for Ryoko's feelings, since that
trip to the nameless planet last winter.
	"You're going to get into trouble..." He warned himself.
	"Don't be selfish." The rebuttal came back. "Let her know you
care."
	Carefully, and ever-so-slowly, Tenchi lowered his still upraised
right hand, palm first, down onto Ryoko's exposed neck. Her eyelids
flipped open a couple times, then they slid shut once more. She sighed
deeply. That was what he wanted to accomplish. Just to make Ryoko feel
good about herself.
	Tenchi looked again around the interior of the tree. It really was
very peaceful amongst the branches. For once, everything was quiet.

	"Okay, that's about it." Washu made one final check on the sensors
she was installing around the royal tree, Karin. The sensors were
arranged at three equidistant points around the base of the tree. There
was a sensor for every kind of energy she could think of, and Washu
could think of a lot. Now she just had to wait for something to happen.
Thirty minutes later, nothing had happened.
	"Aw, come on! Don't tell me nothing's gonna happen?"
	Ryoko descended from the foliage with Tenchi in her grasp. They
were facing partly away from her.
	"That's not what I meant." Washu griped. Still, this could be
interesting. She set the sensors to record automatically, then went to
go pester Tenchi and Ryoko.
	"Hey, guys! What's up?"
	Tenchi noticed Washu's approach first. He quickly offered an
explanation, as if he had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
	"Oh, hello, Washu. We were just talking."
	"That's it?" Washu asked. Skepticism ran thick in her voice. "I
created Ryoko to be the most physically attractive woman in the
universe, and you only talk to her?"
	"Well, sure." Tenchi looked confused. "What's wrong with just
talking?"
	"Tenchi, either I don't know anything about visual-psychological
tactics, or you have no libido what-so-ever." Tenchi just looked at her.
Seeing Tenchi was not going to divulge any juicy details, Washu directed
her next verbal probe at her daughter.
	"Ryoko, have you even been trying with Tenchi?" Ryoko did not
answer. It might have had something to do with the fact that she had her
face buried behind Tenchi's ear.
	"Hey! Crazy girl!" That got her attention.
	"Shut up! I'm savoring the moment."
	Washu reevaluated what she was seeing. Ryoko was all over Tenchi
and he did not seem to mind. She decided not to mention to them that she
had seen Nobuyuki in the area a moment ago armed with a telephoto lens.
	"Hmm..."
	Multi-hued beams of light erupted from Karin's leaves. The area
was filled with color. Bright lights danced briefly around them, then
faded into nothing as quickly as they had appeared. Washu rushed to her
sensor console. She was disturbed to find no readings had been recorded.
	"What the hell?! They're all blank! This is ridiculous! I refuse
to believe these results!" Washu plopped down on the ground to let the
strange occurrence stew within her mind. Tenchi and Ryoko stared at
Washu. It was unusual to see her thinking so hard. God only knew exactly
what she was thinking.
	Feeling a crushing sensation around his waist, Tenchi looked down
to see Ryoko still had her arms around him. Unknowingly, he had looked
down just in time to avoid Ryoko sticking her tongue behind his ear. She
opened her eyes in surprise when she missed her target.
	"Ryoko, I don't think I'm in any danger of falling from here, so
you can let go now."
	"So soon?" She complained.
	"Soon? We talked for over an hour! What more do you want?" Tenchi
instantly regretted his question.
	"Well, since you're asking..." Ryoko's hands started wandering
towards places they should not. Tenchi twisted around, somehow managing
to extricate himself from Ryoko's grasp.
	"I think we've spent enough time together for one day." Tenchi
almost changed his mind when he saw the look of disappointment which
came over Ryoko's face.
	"I'm sorry." He apologized, trying to sound more sympathetic.
"But, there's some other things I still have to do."
	"You'll come back, won't you?" Ryoko expectantly asked.
	"Ahh, sure." Tenchi assured her.
	"Great!" Ryoko brightened considerably. "I'll be waiting for you,
Tenchi." Her sly smile held a promise of things to come.
	As Tenchi left to go about whatever business he had, Ryoko mused
over the time he had granted her in the branches of Karin. For the
entire time they had been up there, she had been hearing a tiny voice
giving advice in her head. Out of any better ideas and her own lack of
experience, she had taken a chance and followed the voice's advice. To
her surprise and pleasure, it had worked. Ryoko wanted to thank whoever
had given her the advice, but she was unsure who to direct her gratitude
towards. Washu seemed a likely candidate.
	Ryoko looked to Washu to ask her about it. She changed her mind
when she saw the ground around the number one genius scientist in the
universe steaming. Washu was busily chewing on her thumbnail.
	"Maybe later..." Ryoko decided.

END of Volume 1, Part 1.