Kith and Kin
============
A Tenchi Muyo! fanfiction by Matt Griffiths
tiger_cow@yahoo.com

Chapter One - Invitations
-------------------------

      Ryoko hummed a cheerful tune to herself as she walked down the busy
street. Tomorrow was the special day, the one for which she had been preparing
for the best part of a week, and looking forward to for months. She adored
special occasions, and never missed an opportunity to celebrate one in the
best possible style. However, tomorrow was exceptional, and the build-up to
it had lifted her spirits in a most welcome manner. Even the heavy shopping
bags she carried did nothing to slow her down. Nevertheless, she breathed a
quiet sigh of relief when she finally reached her car, and set the bags down
inside.
      She was still humming as she started the engine, and she flicked on the
car radio. The buzz of static interference that burst from the speakers was
somewhat unwelcome. She tutted and switched the radio off again. The radio
stations had been getting worse lately, she had noticed. However, this could
still not dampen her good humour, and she drove carefully out of the parking
lot.
      She congratulated herself briefly; she was really getting the hang of
this driving thing. Until recently, she had still been a little shaky out on
her own, despite having passed her test with consummate ease. Perhaps, she
thought, it was the other drivers that made her nervous. Some people could be
so inconsiderate when they were behind the wheel, and Ryoko used to think,
rather irrationally, that she was a magnet for bad drivers. The hardest part
about dealing with people like that was keeping her temper in check; her
tendency to fry anything that upset her had no place in her life now, and she
had worked so hard to fit in amongst humans. However, she had done a pretty
good job of blending in, and most of her friends had absolutely no idea of her
origins or abilities. She began to tap out a rhythm against the steering wheel
with her hand.
      Ryoko had never heard of 'Murphy's Law', the universal axiom that states
if anything _can_ go wrong, it _will_ go wrong. This was the reason why she
couldn't put a name to that horrible sensation that something nasty would
almost certainly occur to change her good mood to bad, such as getting stuck
in a traffic jam. Ryoko hated traffic jams more than she hated inconsiderate
driving, and the one she was stuck in now was beginning to take the edge off
her merry demeanour. Sitting in tailbacks was the one bugbear of having to
drive everywhere. At times like this, she wanted to just give up her pledge
and teleport away to where she wanted to be. A greater test of willpower she
had rarely faced before she had moved into the city. The fact that she had
decided to do the shopping herself today was not making the traffic any easier
to cope with, and she momentarily wished she hadn't volunteered.
      She scolded herself for being so selfish; after all, someone had to get
things ready for tomorrow, and it was just bad luck that she had hit traffic.
She couldn't expect anyone to run around for her, and one thing she was very
proud of was her independence. Still, this damn traffic...
      She breathed deeply, and folded her arms in front of her. She wasn't
going to break her promise, not after so long.
      She hadn't used her powers in over two years.

                          *          *          *

      Ayeka stepped from her bedchamber into the morning light, and yawned
hugely. She opened her eyes slowly, trying not to let the brightness aggravate
her pounding headache. The events of the previous night had left her somewhat
drained, and she was wishing she could have had just a few more hours sleep.
As if the duties of a Juraian queen were not enough, she had been working with
the Juraian Royal Guard for several days on a case of great importance, and
they had finally made a breakthrough the previous afternoon. Naturally, she'd
spent the rest of the evening celebrating, and had desperately overestimated
just how much she could drink. The last thing she could remember for certain
was ordering her royal fleet to mobilise immediately. There was a vague
recollection of her staggering around in an alcoholic haze, wandering down the
corridors of the royal palace and laughing uproariously at anything and anyone
she could find. At least she had found her way back to one of her bedchambers,
though she was beginning to worry about what might have happened before that.
      In fact, looking around, this wasn't her usual bedroom. Furthermore, it
did not appear to be a room in the royal palace at all. Realisation crept
slowly across her face, like an eclipse, as it finally registered where she
was.
      "Good morning, Queen Ayeka," boomed a voice as immense and sturdy as an
oak.
      Ayeka moaned softly, and clutched at her head. The thunderous voice set
off a million tiny explosions in her abused brain, and she cursed herself once
again for last night.
      "Dammit, Azaka! Keep the noise down!" she barked. "And go and get me
some water!"
      "Yes, ma'am!" he bellowed again, his words sounding like the rumble of
falling timber.
      Ayeka shuddered again, and wrinkled her brow. Already she was wracking
her exhausted brain for the answer to only one question. Her slightly blurry
gaze fell upon Kamidake, who remained solidly at his post. Summoning up enough
resolve, she strode towards the guardian and bellowed with all the force she
could muster.
      "What am I doing aboard the Ryu-oh?!"

                          *          *          *

      With a weary sigh, Mihoshi glanced up at the clock on the wall of her
office for the fifth time that minute. Lacking any other mental stimulation,
she had been clock-watching for nearly an hour, and had made scant progress
on the report she was supposed to be filing. Today, she just couldn't
concentrate, for some reason. She tapped the pen irritably against the desk,
and leaned back heavily in her chair.
      Outside the door, Superintendent Kiyone paused as she heard the crash
of a seat falling over, and a yelp of surprise. She shook her head, and waited
for the annoyed whining to subside before knocking on the door.
      "Enter," came Mihoshi's voice, sounding a little shaken. Kiyone opened
the door. Mihoshi was sitting unnaturally straight in her chair, with a look
of deliberate authoritativeness that was only slightly spoilt by her
hastily-tidied hair.
      "Good afternoon, Superintendent Kiyone, sir," she smiled.
      Kiyone rolled her eyes in mild exasperation. "How many times do I have
to tell you, Mihoshi? You don't have to be so formal with me. I'm not your
superior any longer, remember?" She eyed the gleaming brass plaque on
Mihoshi's desk with thinly-veiled disdain. She was still having trouble
accepting the fact that Mihoshi had been promoted, some four weeks earlier,
and was now the same rank as herself.
      "Yes sir," said Mihoshi, relaxing slightly.
      Kiyone suddenly found herself at a loss. Once again Mihoshi had
succeeded in making her forget why she came to see her in the first place. She
shook her head. and mentally rewound the last minute of her memory.
      "Oh yes," she remembered, "it's about this request for leave you
submitted." She fished into her pocket and produced a slightly crumpled white
envelope. "Headquarters have finally processed your application."
      She slapped the note down on the desk and turned to leave.
      "Thank you, Kiyone sir," said Mihoshi.
      With a hushed sigh of relief, Kiyone closed the office door behind her.
Even after working with her for so many years, Kiyone thought, Mihoshi could
still try the patience of a saint. She took some solace in the fact that her
ex-partner had been foolish enough to apply for leave, knowing that in all
likelihood, she would be turned down. Galaxy Police HQ had been so busy lately
that even skipping overtime would be frowned upon.
      With trembling hands, Mihoshi tore open the envelope and pulled out the
contents, which she had also managed to tear into several pieces. Hastily
shuffling the numerous segments of the letter, she scanned the text for what
she wanted to read. There it was! She squealed with delight, and threw herself
back into her chair.
      Walking back along the corridor, Kiyone winced as she heard Mihoshi's
joyful cries, followed by the thud of a chair falling again.

                          *          *          *

      For seven hundred years I had lived the way They told me to. Wore what
They told me to wear, say what They told me to say, behaved how They thought
fitting. And I was happy like that. I had never known there _was_ another way
to be. Until that day seven years ago. That day when I opened my eyes for the
first time, saw what I could be, instead of what I was forced to be. I was
free. And I met someone who showed me what to do with my freedom.
      Then They came to take me back again. Pulled me away from the world I
longed to stay in forever, and tried to force me back to what I was before.
But They could not. I had grown too big for my old shell.
      Now They want to destroy what remains of the freedom I once had. To
destroy that special person who gave me his kindness.
      So I run. I still have enough time to warn him. I owe it to him.


Chapter Two - Convergence
-------------------------

      Hitomi was getting worried. She tutted irritably, and forced herself to
stop biting her nails, instead drumming them noisily against the glass counter
top. Her friend was late back, very late. She glanced about cautiously again,
making sure that the manageress was not around, and walked once again to the
window at the front of the shop. She pressed the side of her face against the
cool glass, staring out onto the busy street, trying to spot her colleague.
She wrinkled her brow.
      A sudden and unsettlingly deliberate cough from the back of the store
informed her she was at last under the gaze of Ms. Li, the steely-eyed
manageress. She started guiltily, and attempted to look occupied by tidying
the already neat trays of rings and chains, watches and bracelets that gleamed
and shone in the shop window. Not that her little charade would be even
remotely convincing now the manageress had spotted her. She knew all too well
that the manageress had long since realised one of their number was
inexcusably late back from lunch. Again.
      Hitomi could feel herself shrinking under the merciless glare. Unwilling
to face another confrontation with 'The Ice Queen' (for that was what most of
the staff whispered when they thought the manageress couldn't hear), she
scuttled like a frightened vole back to her counter.
      It was some small mercy then that her friend chose that moment to
return, saving her from another stern lecture on the value of good
timekeeping. Instead, it was to be the late arrival to receive today's
tongue-lashing.
      The Gaze was already lying in wait for the breathless figure as she
closed the door behind her.
      "Have you any idea of the time?" snapped a voice from the office, sharp
as a splinter of glass.
      "Wuh...uh..." she gasped, trying to suck air into her lungs.
      "I have warned you about this in the past, have I not?"
      "Y..Yes, Ms. Li. I'm..."
      "Sorry, are you?" the broken-glass-voice sneered.
      "Yes."
      "I see," came Ms. Li's barbed voice. "Then I await an explanation for
your tardiness."
      "Well, I..."
      "I don't want to know now!" she spat. "But you will explain yourself in
my office after closing. Now you will get back to work."
      Not wishing to incur Ms. Li's outrage further, she let her head sag, if
only to avoid The Gaze, and gingerly trod her way back to behind the counter.
Hitomi gave an understanding smile, and a sympathetic glance that she had long
learned was the perfect antidote to the barbed tongue of Ms. Li.
      "It's okay, Ryoko," she whispered, noticing her friend's obvious sorrow.
She held out a reassuring hand, but Ryoko shied away momentarily.
      "I didn't mean to be late. The traffic..." she sniffed, her eyes already
beginning to sting.
      "It's alright," Hitomi interrupted, "you don't have to explain yourself
to me. Here." She started to dust down Ryoko's creased uniform. "Get yourself
cleaned up first."
      Ryoko mumbled her thanks and slipped away to the staff washroom.

      Under the white harshness of the fluorescent light, Ryoko stared into
the mirror. With slow, deliberate strokes, she brushed her lengths of dark
hair back into place. Since moving to the city, she had taken it upon herself
to eschew her wild green locks, dying them black and styling them to conceal
her ears. She wore tinted contact lenses to cover the yellow of her eyes. She
had even shunned her usual wardrobe of insanely garish clothing in favour of
more conventional attire. She couldn't hope to blend in looking like some wild
rebel, let alone hold down a job. To begin with, she had liked it. For two
thousand years no one had truly accepted her, and all of a sudden she had a
job, she had friends, she felt human (or at least what she thought it would
feel like to be human). She had been swept up in it all, dizzy with the
elation of her new life. Over time this enjoyment had settled to forbearance,
followed by tedium, as if the novelty of it all had worn off. Time and again
she had told herself to be grateful for the hand she had been dealt, and
little by little she had grown accustomed to the relative quietness of life
in the city.
      She shook herself out of her thoughts. Feeling sorry for herself was not
very becoming, and she knew for a fact she was far tougher emotionally than
her self-empowered manageress. She wiped her eyes quickly, and turned her
thoughts to what tomorrow held. Tomorrow was to be the culmination of her new
life. Tomorrow was that special day.
      Tomorrow was her fifth wedding anniversary.

                          *          *          *

      Ayeka sat at the helm of her ship, clasping her sixth glass of water and
regarding with some interest the view from the main window. The gentle splash
of running water around her was beginning to ease her headache, and she smiled
thinly. The ship's bridge was bathed in blue light reflected from the planet
that hung below, turning slowly in its sea of black. It was not a view that
Ayeka expected to see ever again, not after her last departure from the
planet.
      Even five years on, she could remember every moment in the finest
detail. In particular, her bitter tirade directed at Ryoko hung in her memory,
her spontaneous magnum opus of rage and hatred that had been building up for
seven hundred years. She felt it might have had more impact if, after leaving
her words ringing in her nemesis' ears and taking off in her ship, she hadn't
had to return a few moments later to retrieve Sasami. She could still hear
Ryoko's sniggering to this day.
      Sasami, of course, had not wanted to leave, and was most upset to be
dragged away by her elder sister. She had liked staying on Earth, and had not
taken very well to being forced to go back to Jurai. Ayeka shuddered at the
memory of the weeks her younger sister had spent locked in her room, refusing
to speak. She was pretty sure Sasami still bore a grudge about it even now.
      Still, she told herself, no sense in wallowing like that. She refused
to let herself get depressed by what happened back then. There was still the
future to look forward to. Because at last, she had something to be pleased
about. At last she had the chance for reprisal, for everything that
monster-woman had put her through.
      The push of a wooden control lever started her ship's descent into the
Earth's upper atmosphere, and Ayeka watched as around the rim of the spinning
planet crept the islands of Japan. Unable to contain herself any longer, she
started to laugh, long and loud. It took Azaka and Kamidake a full ten minutes
to make her stop again.

                          *          *          *

      Mihoshi stretched and arched her back, trying to bring some feeling back
into her legs. As if the trip on her cramped Galaxy Police shuttle wasn't
gruelling enough, the plane journey that followed was, she concluded,
marginally less comfortable than the holding cells back at Galaxy Police HQ
(which she had managed to get herself locked into on more than one occasion).
Earth aircraft were obviously not designed for someone of her height, and two
hours wedged into economy class with her knees practically under her chin had
given her backache. Not only that, but the foul recycled air had started to
make her sneeze, for which there was scarcely enough room.
      She wished she could have just landed where she wanted, but Yukinojo had
advised her against entering commercial airspace in a Galaxy Police shuttle. 
Instead, she had parked the ship deep in the Pacific Ocean, using the shuttle's 
limited teleporting ability to get her to the nearest airport before catching the
'plane to Okayama.
      Earth was almost exactly the way she had remembered it. She did so like
to have solid ground below her, natural air to breathe, real oceans and trees
to admire. Life aboard the Galaxy Police space station was beginning to get
her down, full of synthetic-this and artificial-that. Not that her job
bothered her; GP patrols brought her to some of the best, and the worst,
places in the galaxy. But the invitation she had received a few months earlier
evoked such clear memories of her time on Earth that Headquarters had seemed
dull and lifeless by comparison. Earth as she remembered it, though, did not
include cramped planes and endless delays, each little foible that seemed
deliberately contrived to put an end to her good mood. Perhaps it was just
that she wasn't as tolerant as she used to be.
      Well, she told herself, she shouldn't complain. She had no reason to be
dispirited, but her emotions had been a little unsettled for the past few
weeks, something which she put down to her anticipation at first. She knew she
should be happy; she was back on Earth! The only planet she could really call
home! Then why did she just want to cry?
      She breathed deeply to calm herself, and turned her face to the warmth
of the sun as it beamed through the glass roof. She stretched again, and
looked down at the wreckage of her clothing; wrinkled, covered in crumbs and
annoyingly uncomfortable. She decided to change quickly before leaving the
airport. She hoiked her bags onto her shoulder, narrowly missing a porter, and
headed for the washrooms.

                          *          *          *

      Tenchi watched as another plane rumbled overhead, its thunderous roar
pummelling the ground on which he stood, adding further to his general
discomfort. The summer heat was proving almost unbearable, and he tugged at
the collar of his immaculate suit. Looking out over the parking lot, he
squinted at the rows of shining automobiles, as they wavered slightly in the
rising heat. He had been waiting here for almost two hours now, and the
constant flurry of activity around him served only to make the time seem to
pass even slower. At least it was a day's break from his job at the office.
It wasn't that he disliked his job; far from it. He had his father to thank
for getting him into a promising career in the architectural firm he had
founded a few years previously. Whilst he did admit it was a little odd having
his own father as a boss, he liked being able to spend time with him again.
With looking after alien princesses and Galaxy Policewomen for so long, he had
scarcely any time left for normal things like family life and so on. And
finally, when his extended family began to wend their separate ways, he could
settle down to a normal life again. Whilst he did enjoy the relative peace and
quiet, he did miss his old friends, and was always glad when they wrote, or
called, or even visited from time to time.
      He was snapped out of his thoughts by the blare of the airport tannoy
announcing the next arrival. This flight _must_ be the one he was waiting for.
He turned his attention to the horde of travellers that had just been released
from the arrivals gate as they gradually diffused themselves throughout the
airport lobby. Families reunited, old friends visiting, couples back from
their holidays, suited businessmen. There was still no sign of the one person
he was meant to meet, though. He pushed his glasses up slightly, and peered
keenly out over the crowd.
      He had resigned himself to deciding that perhaps this wasn't the right
flight, when he suddenly felt a massive blow to his side. Totally unprepared
for such an occurrence, he crashed awkwardly to the ground, alongside the
person that had walked rather solidly and unexpectedly into him. He turned his
head to the cause of all this disturbance, and found himself looking at a
slender yet pretty face that, despite being scrunched up with distress and
embarrassment, and despite being half covered with long blonde hair, he
recognised immediately.
      "Oh my, I'm so sorry..." Mihoshi whimpered. She pushed her hair from her
face and opened her eyes. There was a brief moment where everything seemed to
stand still.
      "Tenchi!" she squealed. She lunged at him, hugged him by the shoulders,
kissed him quickly on each cheek (an Earth custom she had picked up), and
burst out laughing, much to Tenchi's bewilderment.
      "M...Mihoshi!" he gasped. He was still slightly winded from their
earlier collision. Aware of the attention the two of them were attracting, he
helped Mihoshi to her feet, and picked up her bags.
      "What are you doing here?" Mihoshi asked, somewhat predictably.
      Tenchi smiled. "I'm here to collect you," he said. "I thought you'd been
told." He rather suspected she _had_ been told, and had simply forgotten.
      "I'm sorry. I've been so busy with a case back at Galaxy Police, I
haven't had a moment to sort things out. I was lucky to even get time to reply
to Ms. Ryoko's invitation."
      "Keeping you busy, are they?" Tenchi replied, feeling a little ashamed
for doubting her so.
      "Well, yeah, I suppose. Um, could we go and get something to drink
before we go?"

      As Tenchi sat in the airport caf�, he found himself deep in thought
about Mihoshi. He hadn't seen her in nearly three years, since she had dropped
in to introduce everyone to her new fiancee, Keisuke; a pleasant and charming
Galaxy Police officer, who seemed to suit Mihoshi perfectly. In the ensuing
years, they had heard very little from her, and he was surprised by how she
had changed in such a short time. Apart from the obvious differences brought
by age - her slightly narrower face, softer voice and far-less-unruly
hairstyle - she had also appeared to have matured well beyond the dizzy,
scatterbrained child she had been upon her first arrival on Earth. After all,
she had been promoted several times now, and had written to everyone each time
she had something important to announce. She really seemed to be getting her
life together. She had, however, been oddly quiet on their short walk to the
cafe, and Tenchi sensed something of a hidden agenda in their coming here.
      "Here we are, two coffees," Mihoshi smiled. She set the tray down on the
table and took up her seat.
      "So," Tenchi began, "how have you been? I haven't heard much from you
since..."
      "...since I got married?" said Mihoshi with a wry smile. She waited to
see the expression on Tenchi's face.
      "R...really? That's wonderful!" he enthused. "You should have told us
all. You finally married Keisuke? I'm so happy for you!"
      "Yes," Mihoshi smiled, bowing her head shyly. "I'm sorry I couldn't
write to you, but the Galaxy Police has been so busy, as I said, and between
work and everything..."
      "It's okay," said Tenchi. "I know your work is important."
      "There's a case we've been working on for nearly two years now. I know
I shouldn't really talk about my work, but the case is nearly complete, and
I've been moved off the investigation team anyway." Mihoshi stirred her coffee
and took a long sip before continuing.
      "When we started reviewing some of our oldest unsolved cases, we came
across one event in particular, in Space Calender Year 5913. On the planet of
Jurai, there was an attack on the royal palace, and a valuable artifact was
stolen. Now, whilst this might not seem serious enough for the Galaxy Police
to still be investigating after nine hundred years, the results of this theft
were quite terrible. Apparently, without this precious artifact, Jurai could
no longer support their huge armies of ships; there simply wasn't enough
energy on their planet alone to do that. Slowly, their ships began to wither
and die, until eventually only the royal fleet remained. The Juraian royal
family fell into despair, and the many worlds that made up their empire
started to dwindle in their numbers. Eventually, there were only seven worlds
remaining in the Juraian empire. In just a hundred years the mightiest force
in the galaxy had become a shadow of its former self. Naturally, Jurai would
like to find out who stole the artifact, and where it is now.
      "Well, whilst I was investigating this case, I came across some new
evidence. At first, we were only looking into the case out of interest, but
this new evidence caught the eye of the Juraian Royal Guard. They provided
funding for a further investigation, and worked closely with the Galaxy Police
to speed the case along. All of this from one little piece of evidence I
uncovered. I know it was just a chance occurrence, but my superiors thought
my efforts shouldn't go unrewarded. They promoted me to superintendent of my
division a little over four weeks ago."
      "So I heard," Tenchi smiled. "I'm very happy for you. You've done
yourself proud, Mihoshi."
      "I have another announcement, too," she said, smiling at him over the
rim of her coffee cup. She left a pause significant enough to pique Tenchi's
interest before continuing. "But I'll wait until we're back. I'll tell you all
then." She gave him another enigmatic smile, and stood to clear the table.
      There was an embarrassingly loud ripping noise, and Mihoshi froze.
Slowly, she reached behind her, and her face bloomed red. Hanging off a loose
screw on the chair was a considerable quantity of torn fabric. Mihoshi had not
only ripped the back out of her skirt, but had also lost a fair chunk of her
underpants as well. Tenchi tried desperately not to burst out laughing, seeing
poor Mihoshi's distress; she looked close to tears. She jabbered a flustered
apology and dashed to the washrooms to change.
      She hadn't altered all that much, then, Tenchi decided.

                          *          *          *

      I have been away from this planet for so many years, so long that I had
never thought I would see it again. Yet, as I touch its surface once again,
I can remember everything as though it were but yesterday. The smell of the
air, the feel of the ground, the clear blueness of the skies, the pulse and
surge of the planet's energy. I allow myself a smile.
      I have to walk amongst the planet's natives unheeded, and for myself I
make new garments, feeling them take form around my body. I gather my feelings
and step out onto the bright streets. This place is not where I used to live,
and terrifying in its unfamiliarity, assaulting me with its noise and
turbulence. I close my mind to this din and disorder, focusing only on why I
am here and where I am going. I walk through the crowds unnoticed.

Chapter Three - Monday's Child
------------------------------

      The closing of the shop's metal shutters sounded an empty clamour in the
alleyway, setting Ryoko's nerves jangling again. As a biting wind struck up
a wailing symphony through the drainpipes and dustbins, Ryoko hugged her
jacket around her for warmth. It afforded her little comfort, for it was not
the cool evening air that made her shiver; she felt a chill that bit deeper
than the coldest of gales could. She started to walk along the alley, noticing
for the first time how her footsteps echoed behind her, as if she were being
followed. She started to quicken her pace, determined not to look behind her.
A tiny, still-rational part of her mind told her there was nothing there to
be fearful of, but nevertheless she strode briskly on.
      For the first time in her life she was feeling such a conflict of
thoughts, she could not console herself with any outlook.
      She no longer had a job.
      Somehow this simple fact refused to settle in her mind. She just felt
a strange bleakness. In some small way she was happy, free from the tyrannical
authority of her former boss, able to make decisions on her own again. But
still, she had acquired an uncertainty in her life, just when she thought
things were working out for her. She should have been feeling at least a
little guilty; her tardiness was in part to blame for this incident. These
kinds of burdens she could do without. She had been putting so much effort
into being human, and now with this unsettling desolation of emotion, she was
driven to wonder if this was how it was supposed to feel.
      A rumble overhead announced the approach of a summer storm, and Ryoko
felt the first drops of rain prick her face. As usual, she started to feel the
faint tingling in her body as the storm's charge started to build in the air.
By the time she reached her car, the thin drizzle was already becoming a heavy
downpour. She fumbled momentarily with her keys, but they slipped from her
trembling hands and hit the ground with a wet clink. She crouched to retrieve
them, but stopped, and slowly straightened again. The sight of her own face,
reflected in the puddle of water at her feet, suddenly seemed so repulsive.
She ran one hand over her gaunt and colourless face, clotted with greasy make-
up, and through her limp, tangled hair. And she found she could no longer
remember what she used to look like.
      A sudden squall of rain chilled her skin again, making her grit her
teeth and shiver with the cold. She wanted to be warm again. She wanted to be
held by her dear husband. She wanted to be held by her dear Tenchi.
      Clenching her fists, she summoned from deep within her a force that
spread from the centre of her heart to the very tips of her fingers and toes.
She raised her head to the scowling clouds above, and screwed her eyes shut.
She didn't mind the rain that battered against her face, for at least it
washed away the tears. She faded away into the air, and was gone.

                          *          *          *

      The journey back to the city had not been entirely pleasant for either
Tenchi or Mihoshi. Tenchi had the appalling weather to contend with, though
he could feel a lot more sympathy for Mihoshi. Right now, she was out in the
pouring rain, leaning against the side of Tenchi's car, letting out an
occasional piteous moan.
      "I thought you were used to travelling," Tenchi called from inside the
car.
      Mihoshi said nothing.
      "You've probably gone a million light-years across space and you still
get carsick on a seventy mile journey?"
      "Not funny," was Mihoshi's terse reply.
      Tenchi shook his head. This was the third time on their journey that
Mihoshi had asked him to stop for some fresh air. He knew for a fact that she
_was_ a good traveller; if she could survive space journeys that left _him_
feeling nauseous, a simple road trip should have been easy. But, seeing her
shivering and gasping out in the rain, he could hardly believe this was the
same person as all those years ago.
      "You feeling any better?" he said, then wished he hadn't, as poor
Mihoshi's stomach finally gave up the battle.
      "Ugh," was all Mihoshi could manage as she returned to her seat. She
produced a handkerchief from her top pocket and wiped her brow.
      "'Feel a little better now," she muttered a few moments later.
      Tenchi just nodded. There was very little he could have said. He started
the engine again and drove back on to the road, hoping that they wouldn't have
to stop again.

      Mihoshi had, somewhat mercifully, fallen asleep in the passenger seat
by the time they finally drew up outside Tenchi's apartment. It seemed a
little heartless to wake her, as she appeared to be blissfully peaceful for
the first time since the skirt-ripping incident at the airport. With the storm
raging around them, it was a wonder she was still asleep at all. The least he
could do was to try and rouse her slowly.
      "Mihoshi!" he whispered, shaking her shoulder gently.
      There was a clap of thunder, and a bright flash outside the car that
cast everything with dark shadows. Mihoshi stirred a little.
      "Mihoshi!" he tried more insistently.
      "Mmm?"
      "Come on, wake up!"
      This seemed to elicit more of a response from the slumbering figure.
      "Keisuke, honey...?" she mumbled, throwing one arm sleepily around
Tenchi's shoulder.      
      "It's me!" he hissed. "Wake up, Mihoshi!"
      "Wanna sleep s'm more..." She threw her other arm around him and pulled
him closer.
      "Cut that out! Wake up!" Tenchi tried to pull himself free of Mihoshi's
grasp, but he was held in her grip as tight as wrestler's headlock. It was
with no small measure of horror that he realised he was being drawn inexorably
closer. His struggles became more panicked.
      It was then that several things happened at once. Mihoshi finally
managed to open her eyes, and they met those of Tenchi. In the tiny moment of
realisation before she let out a mortified squeal, there a deafening crack and
a flash of light illuminated the car again. This time, it cast a whole new
shadow across the rain-spattered windscreen. As Tenchi spun around to look,
he caught a glimpse of the figure standing at the front of the car. Mihoshi
screamed and tightened her grip on Tenchi's neck. In the dancing after-image
on his retina, Tenchi could clearly see the terrible, staring expression on
the thin and rain-soaked features of Ryoko.
      And he screamed as well.

                          *          *          *

      Along the drenched streets of the city walked a remarkable figure. She
was attracting a lot of attention from passers by, as she strode forth through
the crowds with steely determination. It was not her spectacularly
ostentatious dress, with its billowing robes and extravagant colours that
people noticed. Neither was it her long purple hair, braided and sculpted into
an elegant coiffure. Nor was it that she seemed to be followed by two sizeable
floating logs, which appeared to be engaged in a lengthy debate with the
woman. Despite these curiosities, which alone might be enough to put most
humans into a state of shock, what was actually causing the biggest stir was
how the rain was simply bouncing away about four inches from her head,
surrounding her a mist of droplets that bestowed upon her a mysterious,
spectral atmosphere.
      "Queen Ayeka, you simply must listen to us," said one of the logs to the
woman.
      "Yes," agreed the other log. "Can you not see that you are being
completely unreasonable?"
      "Azaka, Kamidake," said the woman as she rounded on the duo. "What are
your jobs?"
      Somehow, the logs appeared to be momentarily puzzled.
      "Guardians?" ventured the one.
      "Exactly. And what is it that guardians do?"
      "Our duty is to serve and protect the royal subjects of the House of
Jurai!" barked the other.
      "So when I want you to start acting as my advisors as well, I will tell
you. Understand?"
      "Yes, Queen Ayeka," they said, somewhat abashed.
      "Very good," she nodded.
      She turned again, and continued apace through the gawping crowds.

                          *          *          *

      It is the first time in so many years that I feel the rains of this
world. Yet they are not as I remember them. Once, they fell cool and
revitalising, their cascade bearing life and vigour. But these rains feel
different, bringing loss and despair, a great sense of foreboding. I begin to
fear that it may already be too late for my friends.
      As I reach my destination, I breathe my relief. They are still unaware
of the danger they are in. For a moment, I behold the building that is my
final destination; towering against the sky as of a huge monolith, dirty and
monstrous. A great dissimilarity from what I expected, but I gather my spirit
and enter. As I reach the door, I pause.
      I know what I am doing is wrong by others' measures, and that I will
surely pay for my deeds. I know too that this is the right thing to do by my
own measure. I must carry out my duty, and repay my debt to the one I held in
such awe and respect. To repay the debt to my dear Tenchi.


Chapter Four - Swansong
-----------------------

      In the snug warmth of Tenchi and Ryoko's apartment, the soaked and
shivering threesome were already drying out. The earlier misunderstanding had
been cleared up, and although Ryoko seemed averse to laugh, she did at least
accept Tenchi's explanation as to exactly why he was found in another woman's
arms. If there was one thing Ryoko _did_ trust, it was her husband's word.
      On the way up to the apartment some twenty minutes earlier, Tenchi had
feared the worst. For a start, he knew that Ryoko could be almost insanely
jealous, and he remembered how possessive she had been, particularly during
the first few months of their relationship. What was more, she had not stuck
around after the incident, fleeing the scene faster than any human could run;
this, Tenchi realised, meant she must have broken the pledge she made to him.
What was more, there were no lights on in the apartment. None of this bode
well, and Tenchi had been, if anything, decidedly relieved to see Ryoko
sitting at the window, staring out as the rain streamed down the glass. He had
seen her do this many times before, and she had always seemed peacefully
contented as she did so. But this time, despite her smile, there was something
in her bearing that merely hinted at her inward discord, so subtle that only
a husband could notice.
      Her behaviour thereafter had been unusually normal; she had welcomed her
husband back home, and received their guest with the warmth worthy of such a
long-standing friend. What was disturbing about her manner was how placid
Ryoko seemed, how her smile was slighter than usual, and coupled with an
almost imperceptible look of strain, as if that smile might snap at any
moment. Tenchi noticed it immediately, and had been feeling a little unsettled
at first. Whilst Mihoshi did not remark on the slightly tense atmosphere, she
too appeared somewhat ill-at-ease.
      However, as the three of them sat at the kotatsu, warming themselves
through with piping hot tea, the mood eased and within minutes, the
conversation was in full flow. Anecdotes were exchanged, past tales recounted,
tea-cakes consumed, and the evening's earlier events forgotten.
      They had been talking for almost an hour, and had reached a slight lull
in the conversation when Tenchi remembered something Mihoshi had mentioned to
him earlier at the airport cafe.
      "Didn't you say you had an announcement to make, Mihoshi?" asked Tenchi.
      "Hm? Oh, yes!" Mihoshi remembered. "I was going to wait until tomorrow
to tell you all, but I guess I can't keep it a secret much longer."
      Intrigued, Tenchi and Ryoko leaned a little closer. Mihoshi set down her
cup and folded her hands across her stomach.
      "Well," she continued, "it's early days, but since Keisuke and I are
married now, and we've been trying for a few months..."
      (Already Tenchi had guessed what the rest of the sentence was going to
be.)
      "...anyway, I got the test results back just before I left. Keisuke and
I are having a baby!"
      Mihoshi tried to hide her slight disappointment at the response this
announcement provoked. Whilst she could see that Tenchi was trying his best
to react with all the enthusiasm a revelation such as this should command, 
Ryoko's response was more than a little reserved.
      "Is...is something the matter?" Mihoshi ventured. "Have I done something
to upset you?"
      "No, it's okay Mihoshi," Tenchi assured her. He turned to look Ryoko in
the face, trying carefully to judge his wife's disposition. A slight nod
prompted him to continue.
      Though it pained him to do so, Tenchi began to relate how, over the past
few years, he and Ryoko had also been trying to start a family.
      "I thought at first that we might be, well...biologically incompatible,
what with me being human and Ryoko..." Tenchi said, struggling to find the
words. Mihoshi nodded in understanding. "But we saw Washu a few months ago,
and she was equally puzzled. She said there was nothing wrong with either of
us."
      "I understand," Mihoshi said. "Had I but known..."
      "There's no need to apologise," Ryoko said at last. "We shouldn't
concern you with it, really..."
      "But I shouldn't be upsetting you," Mihoshi protested, "not when it's
your anniversary tomorrow..." She glanced at the clock on the wall as it
ticked past midnight. "...today." She corrected herself.
      As though blessed with an impeccable sense of dramatic timing, there
came at the door three short, sharp knocks. The room fell silent as all eyes
were turned on the apartment door.
      They waited.
      The three knocks came again, no louder or faster, yet seemingly with a
greater sense of urgency.
      Ryoko nudged Tenchi in the ribs by way of a prompt. He got to his feet
and walked to the door.
      As he opened the door, he was confronted by a face that was so instantly
familiar that he had already drawn breath to greet the visitor before he
realised that, in fact, he did not know who she was.
      "Uh...good evening, miss..." he faltered.
      "No, Lord Tenchi, I fear it is not." the woman replied.
      Tenchi reeled. No one had called him 'Lord Tenchi' in years. He
desperately searched his memory for some recollection of her face.
      The woman regarded him with quiet, beseeching eyes. Though her attire
was plain and unassuming, and her hair had been cut and tied back, her face
bore a simple and sedate beauty that no disguise could conceal.
      "S..Sasami!"

      In the few short minutes since Sasami's arrival, the three of them could
not fail to notice how much she had changed. Gone was the sparkle from her
eyes and the spirit from her voice.
      Her arrival was completely unexpected. Though Tenchi and Ryoko had
extended an invitation to Sasami and Ayeka, it had been turned down flat
without so much as a reason. It had not escaped Tenchi's attention how,
following his and Ryoko's wedding, they had heard very little from Ayeka and
Sasami; in fact, it had been as though his marriage to an ex-criminal had been
such a grievous insult to the Jurai royal family that they had severed all
ties with him since.
      It quickly became apparent that the reason for Sasami's presence here
was far from being merely a social one; she had barely settled at the table
before she began to tell her story.
      She told of how, just a few weeks after her departure from Earth, Ayeka
had ordered the Jurai royal guard to reopen enquiries into all the crimes that
were committed by the space pirate Ryoko, believing that she might uncover
some technicality that had been missed or detail that had been overlooked.
When this failed, she took to studying Juraian law, and had spent long nights
poring over ancient tomes in the hope of finding some way to catch her
nemesis. Her search was to prove fruitless. In desperation, she started
investigations into some of Jurai's most notorious unsolved crimes, this time
enlisting the help of the Galaxy Police. One case in particular caught her
eye; a theft from the royal palace some nine-hundred years previously, which
was believed to be one of the key elements that started the collapse of the
Jurai empire.
      "It was there," Sasami concluded, "that she found what she was looking
for."
      Ryoko was already a step ahead of her. "And I'm somehow responsible for
this 'event', am I?" she said.
      Sasami nodded. "It is no longer a question of criminality or
accountability. What it is, Ryoko, is retribution, plain and simple."
      "Why should I be afraid of her?" said Ryoko dismissively. A hint of
doubt crept into her voice. "I can take anything that little bitch can throw
at me."
      Sasami shook her head. "You misunderstand, Ryoko. All she wants..."
      "...is to see you dead, monster-woman," came Ayeka's venomous sneer.

      Seeing Ayeka for the first time in five years was a shock. Her physical
appearance had changed very little. What _had_ changed was her whole manner
and bearing; how she held her head aloft and looked down her nose at everyone,
how she regarded all before her with contempt, even disgust, and how she
seemed totally convinced of her absolute superiority. As she stood in the
doorway of Tenchi and Ryoko's apartment, the moonlight casting a pale aura
about her, it were as though she believed herself to be the centre of the
universe, as if a single word might make the very gods bow before her.
      With chilling slowness she raised one hand, one pointing finger, and as
she directed it towards the shocked figure of Ryoko, her lips curled around
a one lone word, imbuing it with such a measure of rancour and malice as to
almost sear the air with her anger.
      "You!"
      In the silence and stillness that followed, Ryoko rose to her feet and
folded her arms across her chest, taking a stance of fierce defiance. Nobody
else dared even to move. Then, quietly at first, Ryoko started to laugh, a
confident murmur that grew by degrees to a mirthless, wicked cackle.
      "Well, if it isn't the little princess," she jeered. "Haven't seen you
in a few years. Finally decided to come out of your ivory tower, have you?"
      Ayeka's outstretched hand began to quiver with rage. She clenched it
into a fist to try and conceal it, but the trembling bloomed to overcome the
rest of her body. She drew and held a deep breath before speaking, and forced
her words through bared teeth.
      "Ryoko!" she snapped. "For seven hundred years you have remained one of
the most wanted criminals in the galaxy. The Statute of Limitations has
absolved you up until now, but you are guilty of a crime that overrides even
that protection. The time has come for justice.
      "My duty as a Juraian queen gives me the capacity to arrest not only
you, but those that are associated with you as well. You, Lord Tenchi, and
you, Sasami, are both guilty of consorting with a criminal. Your betrayal of
Jurai's royal family is an offence of the most reprehensible nature. Despite
the fact that you are of royal blood, I will treat you both no differently to
this...common criminal." Ayeka practically spat the final two words out.
      Throughout Ayeka's speech, Ryoko had remained in the same stance,
steadfast and bold, her top lip curled back in a scornful leer.
      "Really?" she said derisively. "So the little princess has come to lock
me away, has she? She wants to make sure that her laws are abided by, does
she? Or is it something a little more personal, eh?"
      Ayeka was taken aback. She tried to compose a pithy response, but
managed little more than a faltering babble.
      "You're not here to seek justice," Ryoko continued. "You're not on some
morality mission. You only want revenge. You've been holding a grudge against
me for seven hundred years, haven't you? First you blame me for taking your
dear Yosho away, then you think I took Tenchi as well. Is it that, little
princess? Is it just jealousy? Couldn't you bear it that Tenchi chose me?"
      "I...I am NOT JEALOUS!" Ayeka's vociferous scream was itself pierced by
a splintering explosion as every piece of glass in the apartment shattered
into a million tiny fragments. She threw back her trailing robes, stormed
towards the stoic figure of Ryoko and grabbed her roughly by the collar of her
blouse.
      "Sister, stop it!" cried Sasami, trying to prise them both apart.
      "I'll kill you!" Ayeka carried on, shouting with the greatest of force.
"I swear I will see you punished for everything you've done, even if I have
to tear you apart with my bare hands!"
      At that remark, the sneer on Ryoko's face narrowed into an ominous lour.
Her hand shot out and grasped Ayeka under the chin, lifting her a clear twelve
inches off the ground. The princess' legs kicked and flailed ineffectually in
mid-air. Her already-flushed face started to deepen towards purple.
      "Don't even think for one moment," said Ryoko in a low, menacing voice,
"that you can intimidate me, threaten me or try to arrest me. I'm a free woman
and you cannot force me to do what you say." She hoisted her captive a few
inches higher.
      "Ryoko," Tenchi murmured with a shake of his head. "Don't."
      Reluctantly, Ryoko lowered the gasping Ayeka to the ground and stepped
back. Ayeka hacked and spluttered for a few moments, and wiped a film of sweat
from her brow.
      "You were foolish to come here," Ryoko continued. "Did you believe that
_you_, one lone vigilante, could even hope to take me without a fight?"
      Much to Ryoko's surprise, Ayeka began to smile, a conceited smirk that
she almost habitually wore when talking down to anyone she deemed lowlier than
herself.
      "Oh, poor witless Ryoko," she said. "It's just like you to underestimate
your enemies. You've always been the same." She breezed past Ryoko to the
apartment's shattered window, and cast her gaze towards the heavens. "Behold!"
she cried.
      Tentatively, Ryoko, Tenchi, Mihoshi and Sasami approached the window and
followed Ayeka's line-of-sight into the clear night sky. As Ayeka raised her
arms high, they saw something that made their blood run cold.
      The stars were moving.
      Though this sight instilled a deep and absolute terror in its
observers, only one of them knew what it meant. With tears in her eyes, Sasami
watched as a thousand stars detached themselves from the great dome of the
night, spinning and growing, as a thousand Juraian warships powered up their
engines, turning the sky a bilious purple.
      In an eerie, almost mournful silence, the five of them watched as the
fleet soared towards them, the brilliance of their engine flares blazing
closer and brighter by the second. When the noise from the approaching royal
fleet hit, it struck with the force of an explosion, a thunderous wall of
sound and wind that upturned cars and plucked trees from the ground. As the
storm swept in, random flashes of lightning jumped and flickered from pylon
to pillar, and the raging typhoon howled its baleful chorus. Framed by the
jagged window and the chaotic squall outside, Ayeka, with her arms held aloft,
her robes billowing in the gale and her hair whipped up into great serpentine
fronds, looked for all the world like some creature of forgotten legend. Above
the noise and confusion, her voice rang out, uttering phrases in a sinister
and alien tongue. Tenchi and Ryoko clung to each other for reassurance, and
Mihoshi clapped her hands to her ears to stave off the relentless din. Only
Sasami recognised Ayeka's fearful intonations, for they were citations from
the ancient Juraian scriptures.
      Her chanting drew to a close as the thousand-strong fleet of royal
warships converged upon their destination, filling the skies with their
gargantuan floating masses.
      "Tenchi and Ryoko Masaki," Ayeka's voice boomed, "as of this moment you
are prisoners of the queen. You are guilty of crimes against the Juraian
empire. You have been tried, convicted and sentenced by the Holy Counsel. Your
punishment is..." She paused and moistened her lips. "...death."
      At the flourish of one arm, the largest and most grandiose ship of the
fleet - the royal flagship Ryu-oh - turned slowly to face the enfolded figures
of Tenchi and Ryoko head-on. With a second gesture, a pencil-thin beam shot
from the bow, and quickly expanded into a wide shaft that engulfed the
apartment in a searing light, accompanied by a piercing scream that seemed to
tear the air asunder. To Ryoko and Tenchi, still wrapped in each others arms,
it felt as though every particle of air was forcibly ripped from about them,
as though every inch of their bodies were ablaze.
      The shrieking grew to a crescendo, to a point where it was more
sensation than sound, when it was abruptly cut off. The glaring light receded,
and as their vision cleared, Tenchi and Ryoko saw a new shape in the night
sky. Eclipsing the royal flagship, the shape stood out boldly against the
throng of other craft, sleek and elegant, a beautiful, terrifying ten-winged
angel.
      In the centre of the room, at the hub of a pale, shimmering dome of
energy, Sasami floated, a few inches clear of the floor. The emblem on her
forehead glowed brightly, yet her eyes blazed with a fiercer intensity still.
A thin smile spread across her face as in the skies above, the mighty ship
Tsunami unfurled its ten great wings, and behind it the light from the
royal flagship crackled and spat, before finally dying. The flares from the
Ryu-oh's engines flickered once, twice, then finally extinguished, and the
ship began to tumble end-over-end in the sky.
      "No!" Ayeka gasped, a mixture of anguish and disbelief. "NO! Not my Ryu-
oh!" She rounded on her sister, her eyes streaming tears. "Sasami, you
traitor!" she cried. "You deceitful witch!"
      Her head started to swim, her mind ablaze with a thousand thoughts, and
she had to steady herself against the wall. She thought of all the work, all
those months of study and investigation that had led up to this one moment.
She reminded herself of how she had treated her sister, and to still be
surprised when she betrayed her. She felt the thrash and torment of her ship
in its death throes. But worst of all, she knew without doubt that her enemy
would escape her once again.
      She screamed with rage and lunged towards Ryoko, clawing at the air with
her hands.
      "I'll kill you myself, here and now!" she bellowed.
      A fraction of a second from grasping Ryoko around the neck, Ayeka felt
a powerful blow to her arm. She staggered momentarily, and dropped to the
ground. Across the room, Mihoshi stood with her pistol still levelled at the
pale and shaking princess.
      "Stay perfectly still," Mihoshi ordered, her voice trembling but stern,
"or the next shot won't be as harmless."
      Ayeka clutched at her paralysed arm. "You...you _maniac_!" she gasped.
"How _dare_ you attack a Juraian dignitary!" She started to clamber to her
feet, but froze when a second shot scorched the floor within millimetres of
her fingers. Mihoshi gave her a look that told her she was serious, deadly
serious.
      Without turning a hair, Mihoshi spoke. "Tenchi, Ryoko, are you both
okay?" she asked. They both nodded hesitantly.
      "You _wouldn't_!" Ayeka said, still gasping for breath. "Mihoshi, I'm
warning you! It's your badge and your career if you do..."
      "Shut up!" Mihoshi snapped. With a twitch of her gun, she gestured to
Tenchi and Ryoko. "Go," she muttered.
      Momentarily, they looked baffled.
      "Go!" she insisted.

                          *          *          *

      As I watch the two of them leave, inside I feel a bewildering duality
of emotion. I feel the warmth of satisfaction, of a duty done, of a debt
repaid. Yet I also know the chill of a great foreboding, of dishonour, of
betraying my kinsfolk. Though my future floods with uncertainty, I tell myself
to be strong. The tide has begun to turn.


Epilogue - Breaking Even
------------------------

      Away they fled from the noise, the fury, the chaos, away from their
home, from the city. High above the ground Ryoko soared, heading west, as
behind her the first rays of dawn shone over the horizon, casting their light
on her back. Through the retreating night they had flown, she and Tenchi
clinging to each other for warmth. The pinprick lights of the city had long
been left behind, and they had drifted onwards through the darkness in
silence. With the advancing dawn, the countryside below them flooded with
golden light and long shadows, a picturesque patchwork of fields and forests
that glided lazily by.
      Through the mountains they headed, heedless of the chilling winds and
cloud-sodden air. Though neither of them had spoken throughout their journey,
Tenchi already knew to where he was being carried, and as they cleared the
summit of one snow-capped peak, they saw in the sprawling valley below them
a place of comforting familiarity. There the shimmering lake, the lush forest,
the dark caves, and standing amongst them, the proud and lonely shrine.
      Tenchi was momentarily panicked as Ryoko, still clutching him tightly,
descended towards the surface of the lake, showing no signs of stopping.
      "Hold tight," she said to reassure him.
      So shocked was he when they broke the surface without so much as a
splash, that it took him a few moments to realise that the only reason he was
not drowning was that he no longer appeared to be breathing at all. He was not
holding his breath; rather it had not yet occurred to his body to inhale - it
just didn't seem necessary. As this realisation suddenly dawned on him, he
started to panic again, releasing his grip on Ryoko, thrashing his arms around
as great bubbles of air boiled from his mouth, open in a silent scream.
      'Calm yourself, my Tenchi' he heard Ryoko say, and the words came into
his mind, restful as a summer's breeze. He felt her lips press against his,
and his airless lungs filled by her sweet breath, bringing a warm serenity to
his cold frame, melting his fear with the same warmth that first melted his
heart. He clung tighter to his wife's body as they descended into the depths
of the lake.
      Below them in the gloom of the lake bottom a silhouette of hard edges
and sharp angles awaited them, pulsing steadily as though breathing, slowly
and patiently. As they drew closer, the pulsing grew faster and stronger, and
as flashes of energy licked across its surface, the shadow took form; a vast
pearlescent dome encircled by many stark prongs, dark and vicious and pointed.
At an unspoken command from Ryoko, the shape began to rise from its resting
place, churning up great clouds of mud and sediment from the lake floor.
Surging forward once more, Ryoko and Tenchi plunged into the cloying murk of
disturbed silt. Through the darkness inside came a deep, sonorous growling,
like some mighty creature awoken, as dim and sinister shapes drew in around
them.
      As the gloom parted and the shadows took form, Tenchi saw they had
arrived in a vast bejewelled chamber, with crystalline walls that glowed and
shone. Reflected in every polished facet, there he saw mirrored a thousand
times over the image of himself, side-by-side with Ryoko, afloat in the very
heart of the chamber. With one arm raised high, Ryoko delivered a single
command with unparalleled boldness and confidence.
      "Go, my Ryo-ohki!"
      The great ship hastened its ascent towards the lake surface, and as it
broke the surface with an almighty splash, it let out a cry filled with the
elation of release, the joy of freedom.
      Watching the ground receding below him with dizzying speed, Tenchi
clutched his stomach as a sensation of queasiness grew in his belly. It was
partly the massive acceleration that turned his stomach, but he knew this
feeling too well to mistake it; a kind of empty nausea that foretold some
great uncertainty ahead. This would be, almost without doubt, the last time
he would see his home planet. He would spend the rest of his life as an
outlaw, the second most-wanted criminal in the galaxy, and his wife the first.
They were fugitives now, a couple on the run, a spacebound Bonnie and Clyde.
Such were the consequences of loving a criminal.
      As the Ryo-ohki soared away from the great blue disc of the Earth,
Tenchi turned to Ryoko, and saw _her_ for the first time in years. She seemed
complete again, her whole countenance renewed, wearing a smile she had waited
half a decade for. For she was not born for a life of drudgery and routine, for
a suburban flat and a deadend job. A life of captivity was never her dream.



END



notes:

The "kotatsu" mentioned in chapter 4 - a "kotatsu" ( ���� ) is a type of low
table with a heater underneath and a long drape ("kotatsugake" ( �����‚��� ))  
around the edge to retain the heat. They are often used in Japanese households 
in cold weather to keep the feet and legs warm. Take a look at the GP Mihoshi's
Space Adventure OAV special - "Space Pirate" Ryoko has one in her "hideout".