All characters are property of AIC and Pioneer LCD accept one. This 
story line is based on the Tenchi Muyo OVA and Tenchi Universe. It is 
not my intentions to rip off other peoples' work so if this story 
resembles another, it does so inadvertently.  


No Need for Vindication


	Washu's work schedule wasn't effected by the changing of days as 
most people's schedules were. Saturday mornings were just as good a 
time as a Monday morning to work on some of her inventions and ideas. 
She usually worked furiously to complete a project but she had put in 
more time than usual on her latest piece of work. This was the twenty-
first day that she had been working on her current project and she was 
in desperate need of a good night's sleep. The only thing that marked 
the weekend was Tenchi being home from school during the day and 
coincidentally, in her lab more often. Tenchi had already came into 
check on her that morning and was relieved to find that she was almost 
done. A couple nights earlier, Tenchi found Washu curled up in her 
chair asleep. When he tried to put a blanket over her, she woke up and 
got back to work.  Tenchi stepped through the door to Washu's lab. The 
little crab noisemaker rattled again as the door closed behind him.
 "Good morning again Little Washu. Sasami wanted me to tell you 
that breakfast is almost ready." 
Washu didn't look up from her keyboard as she continued typing.
 "Great, I'm starving." Washu said.
 "You know, you should really get some sleep, you don't look so 
good." Tenchi advised with a hint of concern.
"I'll tell you what Tenchi, I'm going to get me get as much sleep 
as I can after this is done." Promised Washu. She ceased typing then 
turned to Tenchi with a mischievous look on her face.
 "But first I need a favor from you." Tenchi returned an awkward 
smile and started to scratch his head.
 " I hope you aren't up to anything." Washu stood up from her 
stool and a large device appeared next to her. It resembled a big 
screen tv. 
 "Not this time. Do you have the master key with you like I 
asked?" Tenchi removed the key from his pocket and showed it to Washu.
 "Good. Now I want you to generate a blade."  Tenchi placed his 
other hand on the hilt and held the key in front of him. Tenchi's face 
sharpened with concentration and then a blue blade erupted from the 
hilt. At the same instance, a little flashing light in the center of a 
set of cross hairs appeared on the screen of the machine next to Washu. 
The flashing light was accompanied by a beeping tone as well. Next 
followed a long sequence of numbers and letters in brackets beneath the 
cross hairs. Washu gazed at the screen now in front of her and examined 
the read out.
 "Hmmm.." She said while studying the material. Tenchi turned to 
Washu a little concerned.
 "Is that good or bad?" Washu looked back to Tenchi.
 "It is as I suspected all along." 
 "What is it!" Tenchi raised his voice with more concern.
 "You see Tenchi, the information in front of me proves." She 
paused. ".that I'M THE MOST BRILLIANT SCIENTIST IN THE ENTIRE 
UNIVERSE!" Washu spouted with glee. The blade vanished and Tenchi 
keeled over simultaneously. Tenchi started to rub his head from where 
it hit the ground as he stood.
 "Seriously, what does that mean?" Washu started to laugh like 
the mad scientist she was. Just then, the door to the lab opened once 
again. This time Sasami walked in with Ryo-Ohki on her shoulder 
followed by Ryoko who was returning an ugly look to Ayeka. Apparently 
the two of them had already had their morning bout.
 "Washu, Tenchi, breakfast is nearly ready. Hey, what's this 
thing?" Sasami asked as she walked up to the recovering professor. 
"It's my latest innovation!" Washu offered with a million-dollar 
smile.
 "Good Morning Tenchi." Ryoko sang as she materialized with both 
arms around Tenchi.
 "You keep your demonic hands off of Lord Tenchi!" objected 
Ayeka. 
 "Look Tenchi, Princess Priss is jealous of our love."
 "Ryoko!" Tenchi yelled. 
 "Tell me Tenchi, yes or no. Do you like to have a meaningful 
conversation after we make love?" 
 "NO!" Tenchi blurted. 
 "There you go Little Princess. Tenchi prefers to slumber in the 
solace that is my loving embrace after having a night of earth 
shattering sex rather than chitchat. Straight from the horse's mouth." 
Ryoko explained. 
"I DIDN'T SAY THAT!" Tenchi protested. "Ayeka's eyes bulged and 
then her face turned bright red at the thought of Tenchi and Ryoko 
together. 
"EHHHHHH.THE ONLY WAY A MONSTER LIKE YOU COULD EVER GET TENCHI 
INTO BED IS BY LASHING HIM THERE AGAINST HIS WILL!" Ayeka retaliated. 
Ryoko loosened her grip on Tenchi and the mocking expression on her 
face was replaced by one of anger. Ayeka saw this and decided to press 
the attack. 
"I mean I have no doubt that you have deluded yourself into 
thinking he is enjoying your touch in your dreams. This is just your 
subconscience making allowance for him having passed out by being 
violated by a DRIED UP, CRUSTY, OLD HAG!!" Ryoko teleported just inches 
in front of Ayeka. 
"Let me show you what a dried up, crusty, old hag can do to a 
dim-witted, squeaky-voiced little brat." Ryoko's fists were balled and 
orange sparks started to arc from them onto the floor. Meanwhile, 
Ayeka's force field was being erected around her and she stood as 
though this was going to be the final battle.  Washu stood with her 
arms folded in consternation. It was one thing to fight over Tenchi but 
it was something completely different to steal her limelight. Washu 
snapped her fingers and before her hand came to rest in its original 
position, two buckets appeared above the two quarreling females. Ryoko 
and Ayeka both looked up just in time to see the buckets empty their 
ice water contents in the two girls' faces. The two then stood in a 
frozen stupor. 
"I was saying this is my latest innovation." Washu spoke up.  
"Don't you mean invention?" A familiar voice said. Everyone 
turned to see Mihoshi entering the room trailed by Kiyone. The two 
galaxy police officers' uniforms and were torn, singed and caked with 
mud.
 "Oh my goodness! What happened to you two?" Sasami asked.
 "We were done with our patrol and we decided to stop by for 
breakfast. It has been a pretty rough morning." Kiyone explained. 
"It sure has." Mihoshi continued. 
"First we ran out of fuel then we crashed into the forest on the 
other side of the mountain, next Kiyone was chased by a bear, after 
that we got lost and I got stuck in the swamp. Kiyone fell in while 
trying to get me out then she lost her shoe in the mud, then my hair 
got caught in some briars.." Mihoshi was cut short by Kiyone's grimy 
hand clamping tight over her mouth. 
"How many times do I have to tell you!" Kiyone then turned to 
Tenchi. 
"Heh heh..could you be so kind to let us all wash up here before 
we head back?" Kiyone pleaded. 
"Sure, our house is your house." Washu shifted her stance a 
little. 
"Well, I guess we might as well bring everybody here." Washu 
raised her hand and snapped her fingers once more. This time Lord 
Katsuhito appeared before the crowd with a broom in his hand. Katsuhito 
turned to Washu.
 "I wish you would give me a little warning first." 
 "HEYY!!" A voice rang out from behind the group. Noboyuki was 
cowering behind Azaka and Kamedake with only a towel to cover himself. 
 "Can't I go one day without being zapped or transported to a 
parallel dimension or something. Especially while I'm in the bathroom." 
Noboyuki trailed off at the end. 
"Washu!" Tenchi scolded. 
"I said I'm a genius. I didn't say I'm perfect.yet." Washu 
stated.
 	"Now that everyone is here, I can demonstrate to you the 
brilliance of my latest innovation." 
"I'm sorry to brake this to you but, someone else has already 
invented television Washu." Ryoko quipped while trying to dry herself. 
"This is no television, silly girl. This is The Washu Super 
Tracker." 
"What does it do and why is it an innovation rather than an 
invention?" Asked Kiyone. 
"All excellent questions." Replied Washu.
"First of all, the pieces of machinery that comprise the Super 
Tracker have existed for some time. I'm the first person to put them 
together in this manner to get these kind of results. As for the second 
part of your question, this device can keep tabs on the location of 
anyone in the universe! It can also (in some situations) predict where 
something or someone is going to be!" 
"No way!" Tenchi doubted. Washu smiled at Tenchi's comment. 
"Allow me to explain. Every atom that moves in this universe is 
compelled to do so by energy. Now, rocks rolling down a hillside 
release energy but, in a chaotic form. There is simply no recurring 
pattern to the energy being released. On the other hand, living 
organisms release energy in a signature fashion. For example, no other 
being in the universe can contort or manipulate energy in the exact 
same manner during a given period of time as Tenchi. All I need to do 
is input a sample reading of how Tenchi regulates and distributes 
different types of energy and this machine can single Tenchi out of the 
infinite possibilities. Tenchi, generate a blade one more time." Tenchi 
held the key in front of him again and once again produced a blade. And 
once again the crosshairs and the beeping showed up on the screen. Then 
the numbers and letters appeared in brackets below the crosshairs. 
"What do these numbers represent, Miss Washu?" Ayeka asked. 
"Those are the exact coordinates of Tenchi's position in the 
universe. Accurate to within one nanometer." Washu replied with pride.
 "Why did Tenchi have to generate the sword in order to track him 
down oh Great Washu." Ryoko asked sarcastically. Washu faced Ryoko.
 "Could this be that my daughter has finally come up with an 
intelligent question on her own? I think I'm going to cry.I thought 
wrong." Washu responded with equal sarcasm. 
"The tracker would have taken a great deal longer to track him 
down out of the other billions of humans on this planet. When he 
generates the sword and manipulates the power of Jurai, he is 
distinctly and literally one out of billions. 
"Thank you." Tenchi smiled. 
"It is much easier for the tracker to track that energy down. I 
also plugged in the different types of energy patterns each individual 
can create. I can tell where someone is and I can tell what he or she 
is up to. I.E. Tenchi generating a blade or Ryoko teleporting or Ryo-
Ohki transforming into a ship so on and so forth." Washu finished.
 "What about me? I want to see me in there." Mihoshi said as she 
walked towards the machine. Washu leaped in front Mihoshi spread eagle. 
"You will never come any closer than what you already are to this 
machine. Do you understand?" Washu ordered. 
"But I just want to."
 "NO!!" Washu interrupted. Mihoshi's eyes started to tear up as 
she looked pleadingly at Washu. 
"Here, look at this." Washu raised her hand and a video screen 
popped up in front of Mihoshi. The screen showed exactly what was on 
the screen of the tracker. 
"Ohhh neat." Mihoshi started to trace the patterns on the screen 
with here finger. 
"Wait a minute, I'm not here. Kiyone! I'm lost again!" Mihoshi 
stammered. 
"No you are not on there. Whether you are lost remains to be 
seen." Washu stated flatly. 
"Like I said earlier, the tracker acquires unique and more 
prominent signals faster than lesser signals. As strange as this may 
sound, Mihoshi, Kiyone and Noboyuki are the closest thing to normal 
people we have in this house. Therefore the tracker is taking longer to 
zero in on them. Look, there you are." Washu pointed at the screen just 
as the Mihoshi's energy pattern appeared. 
"I think I would like to be singled out a little faster if there 
were an emergency." Kiyone pointed out. Mihoshi shook her head in 
agreement. Washu smiled and opened her hand, which contained three 
little pink pills. 
"I have already thought of that. I did you three the favor of 
inventing a substance which will react with your energy patterns in a 
way which will make you quite distinct to the tracker and has virtually 
no side effects." 
"Virtually no side effects?" Noboyuki complained.
 "Well, it is a stimulant. It will effect you the same way as 
caffeine does." Washu explained. 
 "Great, I could use a cup of coffee." Kiyone said while taking a 
pill from Washu's hand. The other two took a pill as well and downed 
them. 
 "Hey! That's not too bad! I feel like a million dollars." 
Complimented Kiyone 
 "You're right. I feel like I'm ready to take on the world." 
Added Noboyuki from behind Azaka. Mihoshi stood still except for slight 
tremble in her legs. Everyone shifted their attention to Mihoshi. They 
watched as the placid expression on her face slowly turned into an 
expression of shear bliss. Without warning, Mihoshi bolted from the 
room speaking a million miles an hour. The only thing that could be 
distinguished was an occasional "Kiyone." The little crab was nearly 
ripped from the door as Mihoshi exited the room. Washu gave a devious 
smile as Ryoko started to laugh uncontrollably. 
"Miss Washu, What exactly is wrong with her?" Asked Ayeka 
"One out of every ten will experience acute hyperactivity. How 
did I know it was going to be Mihoshi?" Washu spouted. Kiyone jumped to 
just in front of Washu and grabbed her by the collar. 
"How long will this last?!"  Kiyone growled. Washu only smiled. 
"The desired effects of the substance will last for fifty years. 
The residual effects of the substance's introduction will last no 
longer than twelve hours." 
"TWELVE HOURS?! WASHU, YOU ARE EVIL!" Screamed Kiyone. Ryoko was 
now in tears. If she hadn't been clinging onto Tenchi, she would be 
rolling on the floor. Even Tenchi couldn't help but crack a smirk at 
the situation. Kiyone produced her handcuffs from her pocket and ran 
screaming after Mihoshi. Sasami stood just in front of the machine and 
gazed at it. 
"Why did you make this Miss Washu?" Sasami asked. Washu walked 
over to Sasami. 
"After I found out that Clay had come so close to me without my 
knowing, I decided I needed something to keep tabs on those who don't 
have my best interests at heart. Also in the case of Kain, I'm now able 
to figure out where and when a breach in the time space continuum has 
occurred. Do you remember how much trouble it was for me to figure out 
when and where Kain would strike?" Washu said. Sasami nodded
 "All I have to do is get the readings from one side of a breach 
and I can now figure out when and where the other side of the breach 
will occur." 
"That's amazing Little Washu." Tenchi chimed. 
"Isn't it?" Replied an elated Washu. 
"Well, thank you for sharing your latest and greatest whatever it 
is with us Washu but I'm going to get into some dry clothes and eat 
breakfast." Ryoko said as she dematerialized. 
"Oh my goodness, I almost forgot about breakfast!" Piped up 
Sasami as she ran for the door. 
"Can you two give me a hand." Noboyuki asked Azaka and Kamedake. 
The two guardians drifted out the door with Noboyuki hiding behind 
them. Ayeka followed while mumbling something about Ryoko. Tenchi, 
Washu and Katsuhito walked to the door. As they were on their way out 
the door The Washu Super Tracker started to flash and make noises. 
Washu turned and walked back to the display on the tracker. Tenchi and 
Katsuhito joined her. 
"What is it Washu?" Asked Katsuhito. 
"The tracker acquired a preprogrammed signal but then it 
vanished." 
"Don't you have a way to look up what it was?" Tenchi asked. 
"I haven't hooked up the recorder yet but I can hack into the 
Galaxy Police Energy Anomaly Archive then cross reference the signal to 
my sources."
 "Will that take long?" Tenchi asked again. 
"It may take a while. It can wait until after breakfast though. 
It was probably Mihoshi anyway." Washu conceded while staring at the 
display. Nothing appeared before her. She then turned and headed out of 
the lab with Tenchi and Lord Katsuhito. Shortly after Washu left her 
lab, the tracker started to beep and flash once more. 

*		*		*

On the other side of the lake, opposite the Masaki Residence, sat 
a young boy. He stood and stretched. He then looked at the white cherry 
blossoms that surrounded him. He closed his eyes and took in a deep 
breath. He enjoyed the smell of the fresh flowers. He opened his eyes 
once more and fixed his gaze upon the house across the lake. 
"What a beautiful place! I always thought you had good taste." 
The boy closed his eyes once more and recalled a distant memory. His 
face saddened. His eyes opened again and then happiness replaced the 
sad expression. 
"All that is in the past now." He then sat again and grabbed a 
cane pole that lay next to him. He took the hook in his hand and placed 
a piece of bate on it. He then moved the cork on the line closer to the 
end. His arm drew back then swiftly forward, casting his line into the 
water. 
"It's been such a long time. Too long for my taste.then again, I 
have all the time in the world." He watched as the cork slowly moved in 
unison with the little waves that rolled across the lake. 
"Professor, we are going to have so much fun."

*		*		*

Sasami usually sped through her post breakfast clean up but there 
was no need for it today. Washu was holed up in her lab. Noboyuki had 
to go back into work to finish up some plans. Tenchi had some chores to 
do at the shrine and then he had practice with grandpa. Grandpa had 
some other responsibilities at the shrine before practice. Kiyone was 
still trying to get control of a wound up Mihoshi. Ayeka was trying to 
help Sasami clean up the house in order to win favor with Tenchi. She 
wasn't the fastest cleaner in the world but Ayeka was adamant about 
doing it herself. This way, all the compliments would be hers alone. 
Ayeka probably wouldn't be out the bathroom for hours. Azaka and 
Kamedake were at their usual posts outside the house. Nobody knew where 
Ryoko went. Sasami finished drying the last dish then walked into the 
living room. She sat down on the couch and Ryo-Ohki jumped in her lap.
"Well Ryo-Ohki, it looks like everything that can be done has 
been done." Sasami spoke to Ryo-Ohki.
"Miaaaa" Ryo-Ohki replied.
"I know. Let's go for a swim." Sasami suggested. Sasami ran to 
her room upstairs with Ryo-Ohki on her head. She placed Ryo-Ohki on her 
bed while she changed into her swimsuit. After she changed, she put 
Ryo-Ohki back in her place on her head and she trotted to the bathroom 
for a towel. When she opened the door, Sasami was almost knocked over 
by the bleach vapors. When Sasami was finally able to focus on 
something she witnessed her sister diligently at work scrubbing the 
tub. 
"Ayeka, you should really let some air in when you are using 
bleach." Ayeka slowly turned her head for Sasami to see eyes glazed and 
a silly expression on her face.
"I'm sorry my darling sister, I'll try to be more courteous next 
time." Ayeka responded in a dream like state. Sasami walked back into 
her room and retrieved a fan. She put it in the hall just outside the 
bathroom and turned it on high. She then opened the bathroom window.
"Thank you Sasami, I wish everyone could have a sister as 
wonderful as you." Ayeka said still in a dreamlike state. Sasami shook 
her head then stepped downstairs. Sasami ran out of the house and down 
the dock that pointed out towards the middle of the lake. She took Ryo-
Ohki off her head and placed her on the dock next to her sandals, and 
towel. She ran the entire length of the dock and performed a cannonball 
entry into the lake. When she surfaced, she saw Ryo-Ohki performing a 
cannonball right next to her. Sasami was caught a little off guard. 
"I know cats don't like water and I've never seen a rabbit swim 
but you seem to like it." Sasami noted. Ryo-Ohki meowed her usual 
response.
"Hey, you swim pretty good. I'll race you to the other side of 
the lake." Sasami said as she dashed for the far shore. The determined 
cabbit was keeping a good pace but was unable to keep up with Sasami. 
Both of them finally reached the far side of the lake. Sasami emerged 
from the water laughing at the near exhausted cabbit. 
"I'll tell you what, we'll walk back to the other side." Sasami 
told Ryo-Ohki. The two started back when Sasami saw something move out 
of the corner of her eye. She turned to see someone's foot sticking out 
from behind a tree. She started to walk towards it. Ryo-Ohki jumped in 
front of her and hissed a warning.
"Don't worry Ryo-Ohki. I just want to see who it is."

*		*		*

Washu was in a good mood. First of all, she had just eaten one of 
Sasami's renowned breakfasts. Second, she had just finished the 
diagnostics on the Washu Super Tracker. The machine was functioning 
flawlessly. Although this meant she was going to have to start diving 
through logs to find the source of the blip that appeared just before 
breakfast, it also meant that her technology was not to blame. 
Something out there made her machine react to a preprogrammed pattern. 
The problem is there are thousands of people Washu has programmed into 
the tracker already. Anyone of them could have triggered a read out. 
With any luck, it was someone at the Masaki residence that set it off. 
"Let's get down to the nitty-gritty." Washu exclaimed. She 
extended her hands outward and her keyboard and display appeared before 
her and she started to type rapidly.
"OK Galaxy Police, let's see what you can see." Washu continued 
typing fervently, until she reached a point where she needed a 
password.
"No password.No problem." The scientist continued to type.
"Bingo!" Washu said after successfully hacking into The Galaxy 
Police Energy Anomaly Archive. 
"Now let's see, 'Enter Time frame" she quoted. She punched in the 
timeframe in which her newest device detected the pattern. She then hit 
the download button. Washu strolled over to the Tracker and hit the 
analyze button. A flashing light appeared on the screen enclosed in 
crosshairs. Moments later the parenthesis lit up beneath the 
crosshairs. Unfortunately, the tracker wasn't able to lock onto the 
location of the anomaly.
"Ah ha! There you are. I may not be able to know where you are 
but I can see who you are." Washu hit the reference button. The 
reference popped up on the screen.
"CONFIRMED: TARGET IDENTIFIED AS  SHIRO TETSU (CONSERVATIVE 
STATE)" Washu's eyes widened. 
"Shiro." She whispered. Her hands started to shake.
"Calm down Washu." She said trying to bring her self to ease. 
Washu typed even more franticly. She tried again to get a rough 
estimate of where and when the anomaly might have occurred. This time 
the tracker was able to isolate the signal to somewhere on the other 
side of the universe.
"He's pretty far away." Washu spoke to herself. She then 
reanalyzed the information to see if the tracker had misidentified the 
signal. The first alarm only received a match for a moment. The second 
reading was confirmed and reconfirmed for 30 seconds.
"Thirty seconds should have been more than enough time to 
pinpoint him." Washu spoke to herself again. She turned to her right 
and a video screen appeared in front of her. The energy pattern was 
displayed on the screen. Washu stared at the pattern for a few moments. 
"A weak and jittery reading in his conservative state? Is he 
trying to hide himself. but why?" Washu asked. 
"I guess there's nothing I can do now. Maybe he's not alive. 
Maybe the tracker is wrong." Washu thought to herself while examining 
her hands. She noticed she was still shaking. She tried to make herself 
stop. She looked at them again and they became still. A nervous smile 
came to her face. Washu turned around and headed for the door. 
"It's probably just some residual." Washu thought to herself. 
Washu was no longer in a good mood. She walked out the door and made 
her way to the living room. She plopped down on the couch and leaned 
her head back so she could see the patterns in the wood of the rafters. 
Washu stared at the ceiling as her thoughts started to drift elsewhere. 
She was soon fast asleep.  

*		*		*

Sasami slowly walked around the tree to where the owner of the 
foot was laying. She saw that the person was a sleeping boy about her 
age. Sasami had never seen him before. She thought she knew just about 
everyone around the Masaki house. He had brown, shoulder length hair 
that was tied back in a ponytail and, he was wearing a red T-shirt with 
bluejean shorts. He didn't have any shoes on but Sasami soon noticed a 
pair of sandals propping up a cane-pole next to him. Sasami was sure 
she wouldn't have forgotten this boy. She got over her apprehension and 
let out a short laugh at the cute scene. It seemed appropriate for this 
warm spring morning. The boy blinked a few times before he turned his 
attention to Sasami.  She instinctively took a step back. Sasami could 
feel the boy's gaze cut right through her.
"I'm sorry." Sasami started "I didn't mean to wake you. I saw 
your foot sticking out from the tree and I thought you might be someone 
I knew." The boy looked down at his foot and twitched it a few times. 
He then looked back to Sasami. The emotionless expression on his face 
melted to a soft smile.
"That's alright. I'm sorry my feet distracted you." The boy said 
while shaking his feet. Sasami giggled. Just then, the fishing pole 
started to bend before it fell from its sandal supports. The boy jumped 
up, grasped the pole and fought with whatever was on the other end."
"This one has got some fight in him." The boy said eagerly.
"Can you give me a hand?" he asked. Sasami hurried next to him 
and grabbed the pole just above his grasp.
"Wow! It's got to be the biggest fish in the lake." Sasami said 
struggling with the pole.
"It's a whopper for sure!" The boy answered. The pole jerked 
violently to the right and almost caused the two to loose their 
balance. 
"Almost got'm!" the boy growled through grit teeth. Moments 
later, the line snapped. Sasami and the boy tumbled over one another. 
The two sat up and rubbed their heads. 
"Look's like he got away." Sasami observed.
"Yeah but he sure was a fighter. He won his freedom today." The 
boy exclaimed. Sasami giggled again and the boy started to laugh as 
well. Ryo-Ohki appeared from behind the tree. She approached Sasami 
with a meow.
"Well, I've never seen a cat like that before." The boy said.
"She's not a cat, silly. She's a cabbit. Her name is Ryo-Ohki." 
Sasami offered. 
"Pleased to meet you Ryo-Ohki." the boy said.
"Miaaa" Ryo-Ohki replied. The boy shifted his attention back to 
Sasami. Although his gaze remained pleasant, it started to cut through 
Sasami once again. Sasami didn't break off this time. Something about 
the boy seemed familiar. 
"I don't think I've ever seen eyes that color before. " Sasami 
said. 
"I can't believe I just said that!" Sasami thought to herself. 
The boy's happy expression didn't change.
"I get that a lot. You know, some say that eyes are windows into 
the soul." The boy countered. Sasami started to blush as she noticed 
the boy looking into her eyes.
"I don't think anyone around here has eyes like yours either." He 
observed. Sasami reddened even more.
"I'm not from around here." She admitted.
"Is that so?" The boy asked. Sasami felt as though she was going 
to burst. 
"My name is Sasami. It's a pleasure to meet you." Sasami said and 
bowed. The boy returned her bow and introduced himself.
"Pleased to meet you as well, Sasami." The boy replied.

*		*		*

Washu looked around and found she was in familiar surroundings. 
She was in her office back at the science academy. Washu walked up to 
her desk and found her things just as they were before Kagato kidnapped 
her. Washu looked at herself in the mirror. She realized that she was 
in her physically mature state. Then there was a knock at the door 
behind her. Washu turned towards the door. 
"Come in" She said then took her seat at her old desk. The door 
opened and Washu looked up to see who was coming in. Shiro stepped 
through the door. He looked just as he was supposed to as a student of 
the science academy. Washu was startled for a moment when Kagato walked 
through the door as well. He was much younger than the last time she 
saw him. Washu realized she was reliving a memory.
"You called for us professor?" Kagato inquired. Washu hesitated 
for a moment as she recalled the details of the conversation.
"Yes, I did? How is construction coming along?" Washu asked.
"The Souja is repaired and fully operational." Shiro replied. 
Washu then looked to Kagato.
"The Dimensional Cannon is two months from being completely 
congruent with you design parameters. The particle beam is now 17% more 
efficient and radial compression has been increased 62%, professor." 
Kagato summarized.
"Excellent work on the compression. The efficiency needs some 
work though. Are you going to the lab today? Washu asked.
"Actually professor, you caught us both on the way." Shiro said.
"Then by all means, don't let me keep you from your work. Kagato, 
you are free to go. Thank you for the progress report. Tetsu, I need to 
speak with you for a few minutes." Washu said as she leaned back in her 
chair. Kagato and Shiro looked at one another then faced forward. 
Kagato turned quickly and left the office. After the door closed, Washu 
crossed her arms. 
"What are you doing here?" Washu asked bluntly
 "I beg your pardon, professor." Shiro replied awkwardly. 
"I've noticed that you have been distracted from your work 
lately. I decided to do a little poking around and I found out some 
interesting information about you." Washu said. Shiro looked frightened 
for a moment before he hardened his appearance. 
"I figured you weren't paying attention to your work due to the 
personal matters. I started to look into your records to see if there 
was something I could isolate as a source of your lack of 
concentration. The deeper I looked, the more I found. You are a little 
older than your records say. According to your records you are twenty-
three but, according to what I found, you are at least thirty thousand 
years old. I couldn't go back any further because of the records on 
Wukito. They become unreliable beyond thirty thousand years. I also 
know you are harboring a fairly large amount of unidentifiable power. I 
reviewed the kinetic spectral readouts from the accident on board Souja 
last week. The accident caused a great deal of damage but I'm sure you 
know it could have been much worse. Buried in the energy readout of the 
blast from the main reactor was the residual signature of some type of 
organic containment field. When reduced to a more nominal bio-
signature, it strikes an amazing resemblance to yours. As a matter of 
fact, over 60% of it matches your nominal yield identically. I 
congratulate you on being able to hide it from me for so long but I 
wish you had come to me sooner. I can't imagine what that weirdo Clay 
would do if he found out. What I want to know is why you are hiding and 
here of all places?" Washu concluded. Shiro looked to the floor then he 
shifted his gaze to the park outside the office window. 
"It sure is a beautiful day outside isn't it?" Shiro stated.
"Yes it is." Washu replied.
"No matter how beautiful it is here, it will never compare to the 
beauty and serenity of Wukito. As you said, I'm at least thirty 
thousand years old. Honestly, I'm much, much older than that. I can't 
tell you how old I am because I can't remember. Millennia started to 
run together over the span of my lifetime the way seconds do over the 
span of a year. I do have significant ability but that is more of a 
curse than a gift. If I could relinquish it, I would. All I have ever 
wanted, as far as I can remember, is a normal life. My earliest 
memories are of Wukito and I love that place like it were a part of me. 
It's all I have left. Tensions have been growing between Hippon and 
Wukito regarding the rights to a planet near the boarder. It certainly 
has got my attention and more so, has caused me to be somewhat 
distracted. I realized my error last week on Souja by preventing the 
ship's destruction. I thought it would only be a matter of time before 
you figured out the truth." Shiro explained.
"If you knew I would eventually figure you out, why didn't you 
leave?" Washu asked. 
"It wouldn't have mattered. I would have been found out anyway." 
Shiro said.  
"It might have been easier for you to make me disappear." Washu 
said as her eyes narrowed.
"I'm not a killer, professor." Shiro said.
He then lowered his head. Washu was amazed that a creature of 
such power could be so impassive. A smile came to her face. Shiro 
looked up again to see Washu smiling at him. He smiled back before he 
spoke.
" I also know you are much more powerful than you let on. I don't 
think you would have let me make you disappear, professor." 
"Ha! I don't think so either." Washu said.
"Well, what now?" Shiro asked.
" Fret not, you're secret will be safe with me as long as you 
behave. I knew there was something about you, though. I have never seen 
eyes that color." Washu observed.
	"I get that a lot. You know some people say that the eyes are 
windows into your soul." Shiro said.
	"Really. What do you see when you look into my eyes?" Washu 
joked.
	"I see an eyelash. You may want to get that out before it causes 
your soul to become inflamed and itch." Shiro laughed. Washu laughed as 
well.
"You're kidding about he eyelash, right?" Washu asked. As soon as 
the last word left her mouth the room faded away. All was dark except 
for a dim light in the distance. Washu looked at her hands and saw that 
she was still in her grown up body. She slowly started to walk towards 
the light. It wasn't long before she recognized the echo from her shoes 
hitting the marble floor. She was in one of her old labs. As she got 
closer to the light, she noticed a candle created it. There was someone 
sitting behind it. She sat next to the person and she knew it was 
Shiro. The shadows danced across his face making him look older than 
she knew he looked. It wasn't just the candle creating optical 
illusions. Shiro's clothes were dirty and wrinkled. He also had a 
three-day stubble on his face. Washu continued to look at Shiro. He 
looked like he had just lost his best friend.
"What is wrong Tetsu? You haven't been in class all week." Washu 
finally spoke. Shiro continued to look at the candle as he spoke. 
"They are gone. It is gone.It is all gone." Shiro said almost 
inaudibly. Washu remembered what he was talking about. War had broken 
out between the Wukito and Hippon twenty years earlier. In a terrible 
turn of events, Hippon developed a weapon of horrific power. Two days 
ago, Hippon unleashed this weapon on Wukito and scorched the planet 
bare of life. Planet Wukito was left a charred wasteland. Washu reached 
out to put her hand on Shiro's shoulder but stopped when she heard 
Shiro speak.
"Please don't touch me professor." Shiro mumbled. Washu was about 
to speak again when both Shiro and the candle disappeared. She was on a 
black barren plain but the sky was blood red. Washu looked down at her 
feat and the ground started to glow red. The red turned to orange the 
same way steel does before it melts. Flames started to burst all around 
her. Washu started to hear whispers. Slowly, the whispers grew louder 
as the flames became more like a steady burning blaze. She shielded her 
face from the flames but then she noticed figures in the flame. It 
finally dawned on her that the whispers were the distant cries and 
screams of people being burned alive. Screams and moans became louder 
and unbearable. Washu started to run as flames licked at her heels 
Washu could see the figures of men, women and children roasting in the 
flames. As she ran, a familiar voice rang out above all the others.
"Stay out of my way, I'm going to make them all suffer as my 
people have suffered. As I have suffered" Tears started to roll down 
Washu's cheeks as she recognized Shiro's voice.
"I can't let you do this Tetsu!" Washu's voice sounded.
"Let's see you stop me!" Shiro's voice answered. An explosion 
ripped through Washu's ears followed by Shiro's voice screaming in 
agony. Washu fell to the ground and was immediately engulfed in flames. 
She could see her sleeves burn off of her arms along with her skin. The 
stench of her burning flesh filled her with terror. Washu tried to 
breathe but all she inhaled were flames. The pain ripped through every 
fiber of her being. 
 

*		*		*

"SHIRO!" Washu sat up straight and screamed. Mihoshi screamed at 
the top of her lungs also and nearly fainted. Everyone else in the 
living room jumped from their seats as though they were sitting on 
springs. 
"Damn it Washu! You nearly gave me heart attack!" Ryoko 
complained upon finding her seat once again.
"What day is it? Where am I?" Washu asked franticly. Tenchi 
caught his breath before speaking.
"It's Saturday afternoon and you are at the house. Are you ok 
little Washu? One minute you were sound asleep, the next you are 
yelling." Tenchi explained. Washu looked around then started to calm 
down. She then looked out the window and saw the sun was low in the 
sky. Everyone looked at Washu. They had never seen Washu so frightened.
"How long was I sleep?" Washu asked.
"Well, we all know that you haven't had that much sleep lately. 
When I came back from the office and found you asleep on the couch, I 
decided to leave you alone." Noboyuki stated.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Tenchi offered.
"No thank you." Washu replied while catching her breath. The fact 
that all she had experienced was just a dream dawned on her. Relief 
washed over her like a torrent of warm water.  Washu looked over to 
Mihoshi who was still crying her eyes out. Mihoshi's hands were cuffed 
in front of her. Washu realized that Kiyone must have caught and 
subdued her. Although she was balling uncontrollably, it looked like 
the side effects of the trace substance that she gave her earlier were 
wearing off. The thought of Kiyone racing after her hyper partner 
brought a smile to her face and made her relax just a bit.
"What is all the commotion?" Ayeka complained as she walked down 
the stairs into the living room. She was still wearing the clothes she 
was wearing when she was cleaning the bathroom and she was rubbing her 
temples in an attempt to remedy a pounding headache. 
"Are you still cleaning the bathroom?" Tenchi asked with 
surprise. Ayeka looked a little embarrassed.
"I. I am trying to be as thorough as I possibly can." Ayeka 
defended herself. Ryoko turned to face Ayeka and decided to capitalize 
on Ayeka's misfortune.
"I saw you in there examining the grout between the floor tiles 
intensely. At first I thought you had been too stupid to know that you 
are suppose to use bleach in a well ventilated area and you had passed 
out from the fumes. Now I see you were just attempting to find the best 
way to start cleaning. I can understand your problem though. I know how 
you pampered royal types are and how the concept of manual labor 
escapes you completely." Ryoko finished. Tenchi lowered his head. He 
knew what was coming.
"You saw me passed out in there and you left me! I could have 
needed medical assistance! I mean. uhh.if I had passed out." Ayeka 
stammered. Ryoko laughed. Ayeka became angry. Mihoshi was still crying. 
Everyone else became scared.
"You really should leave the cleaning up to someone who is much 
more competent, like Sasami." Ryoko assaulted. Ayeka's face twisted 
with rage but then it changed to one of shock. She looked about the 
living room quickly before saying a word.
"Where is Sasami?" Ayeka asked as she finally realized Sasami 
wasn't in the room. 
"Isn't she in the kitchen cooking dinner?" asked Tenchi. 
"No, she isn't." Kiyone said as she came out of the kitchen and 
into the living room.
"Who saw her last?" Ayeka said becoming worried.
"I saw her running down the dock in her bathing suit this 
morning." Tenchi said. Ayeka naturally assumed the worst and started to 
panic.
"THE LAKE?! AZAKA! KAMIDAKE!" The two guardians appeared beside 
Ayeka.	
"We need to find her!" Ayeka ordered.
"Hold your horses Ayeka." Ryoko advised. "Ryo-Ohki is with her. 
I'll just see through Ryo-Ohki's eyes and find out where she is." Ryoko 
closed her eyes and concentrated. A smile came to her face, which 
relieved everyone in the room. 
"She's just outside and walking up to the house. She'll be here 
in a minute." Ryoko announced. Everyone let out a sigh. Ayeka was still 
angry about Ryoko's remarks but how could she start a fight with 
someone who just found her sister. Sasami could have been in grave 
trouble. Ayeka felt the anger side winning but she was torn. Ayeka 
looked at Ryoko contemptuously.
"Thank you for finding my sister." Ayeka said with frustration.  
This surprised everyone. Everyone's attention was shifting back and 
forth between Ryoko and Ayeka during this exchange as though they were 
watching a tennis match. Ryoko was trying to pick a fight and in a 
since was a little disappointed. She understood that Ayeka was really 
trying to show her appreciation. Start a fight or take this one chance 
to act civil. Ryoko was now torn. A mischievous smile came to Ryoko 
then melted to a normal expression.
"Anytime." Ryoko replied. The entire room was astonished at what 
they had just witnessed. Was this a sign of things to come? Ayeka 
turned and started upstairs towards her room. The entire audience 
remained stunned and the room became deathly silent. Tenchi looked at 
Ryoko and his amazement was replaced with terror as he saw a devious 
grin creep its way onto Ryoko's face.
"Anytime, you dim-witted, pampered little brat!" Ryoko yelled. 
Ayeka whipped around fuming.
"I KNEW YOU COULDN'T LET IT BE YOU ANCIENT, DECREPID SHE WITCH!" 
Ayeka exploded as she leaped at Ryoko.
"LET'S GO!" Ryoko yelled as she summoned a ball of energy to each 
hand.

*		*		*

 Sasami strolled up to the Masaki residence with a dreamy 
expression. She reflected on the day she spent with her new friend. She 
couldn't remember the last time she actually got to spend time with 
someone her own age. Sasami saw the telltale flash of light an instant 
before she was going to open the door. Instinctively, she jumped to the 
wall as the door was blown off of the rest of the building. Sasami let 
a few minutes pass for the smoke to clear before she stepped inside. 
When she did, she walked past the group of semi-conscience people 
towards her room still thinking about the boy she just spent the day 
with.
"Dinner will be ready in about an hour." Sasami said as she 
strolled by.
"Th.thank you." The group answered in unison.

*		*		*

Ayeka and Ryoko had just finished cleaning up their mess when 
Sasami called everyone into the dining room for dinner. Everyone was in 
a good mood and laughing. Especially when they listened to Kiyone 
rehash the days events with her hyper partner. Kiyone was in a great 
mood. It was the best day of work she had during her whole time with 
the Galaxy Police. During the day, the two had arrested more criminals 
than they had in the previous month. Mihoshi was now back to her normal 
self. Kiyone was reluctant to take off her handcuffs but did anyway. 
Tenchi spoke of his day with his grandfather and rubbed the bump on his 
head that he earned during sword practice. Although she was still a 
little embarrassed, Ayeka recapped her tribulations in her attempt to 
clean the bathroom. Ryoko remained silent for Ayeka's story so she 
could enjoy her dinner and more importantly, stay on Tenchi's good 
side. Ryoko said that her day was uneventful but it was a great day. 
She spent it most of the day reclining in the branches of the cherry 
trees or so she said. Tenchi had the feeling he was being watched all 
day. As long as Ryoko stayed out of trouble, Tenchi didn't mind all 
that much. Washu didn't have much to offer. Everyone knew she had spent 
most of the day sleeping. Given her state when she woke, no one wanted 
to ask her what she was dreaming about. Next came Sasami's turn. 
"What did you do today Sasami?" Tenchi asked with genuine 
interest. The group was awaiting Sasami's response. Sasami's face 
turned flush. She didn't want to say that she had spent the day with a 
boy. She wouldn't hear the end of it. She decided to remain 
conservative with the details.
"I spent most the day playing and swimming." Sasami offered. 
Ryoko looked at Sasami with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh really, I think you did a lot more than that." Ryoko prodded. 
Sasami quickly looked to Ryoko to see Ryoko's trademark grin. One look 
and Sasami knew that Ryoko knew everything. 
"How do you know?" Sasami asked. She answered her own question 
before she finished asking it. She looked down at Ryo-Ohki asleep in 
her lap. Everyone at the table had stopped eating and was looking at 
Sasami inquisitively. Sasami turned bright red. She looked back up at 
Ryoko who was slurping up some noodles. 
"If you don't tell them, you know I will." Ryoko said with her 
mouth full. Washu started to slurp up some noodles as well. Sasami felt 
cornered so she decided to come clean.
"I met a very interesting person today." Sasami admitted. 
Everyone at the table looked a little disappointed but remained 
interested.
".who happens to be a very handsome boy about Sasami's age." 
Ryoko added. 
"Ohhhh!" the group replied. They were now very interested. 
"Is this true Sasami?" Ayeka asked with a smile. 
"It sounds like Sasami has a boyfriend." Katsuhito jested. Sasami 
thought she was going to die from embarrassment.  Sasami figured it 
couldn't get any worse.
"Well, well. What is it that you like about him Sasami." Tenchi 
said teasing. Sasami didn't notice Tenchi was joking. She was 
distracted by thoughts of the cute boy.
"He says some of the most amazing things." Sasami stated 
dreamily. Everyone was ready to put dinner on hold upon hearing this. 
The entire group was riveted.  
"Apparently, he said all the right things with that look you have 
in your eyes." Ryoko teased. Sasami looked back at Ryoko. Ryoko's 
comment jogged her memory.
"He said 'some people believe eyes are windows into your soul." 
Sasami quoted. Washu's head snapped in Sasami's direction upon hearing 
her last statement. Sasami gave Ryoko a funny look then her face 
brightened. She had finally realized what it was about the boy that 
seemed familiar.
"Hey Ryoko, his eyes are the same color as your hair." Sasami 
confessed. That was all that Washu needed to hear. Washu rocketed to 
her feet and started to cough severely. She was in such a hurry to 
speak that she forgot she had a mouthful of noodles and started to 
choke. Kiyone stood next to her and patted her back. Washu started to 
recover. After a few minutes passed, Washu said she was feeling better.
"Damn it Washu! That's the second time today you almost gave me a 
heart attack. What the hell is the matter with you?" Ryoko asked. 
"Are you ok Little Washu? You look upset." Tenchi said with 
concern. Everyone could see Washu was a nervous wreck. Washu was 
usually miss calm, cool and collect in the direst situations. The fact 
that she was so shaken caused everyone concern. Washu finally became 
composed.
"Sasami, I don't suppose he mentioned his name?" Washu asked 
still a little choked.
"Yes he did. His name is Shiro Tetsu." Sasami said.


*		*		*

Washu quickly walked over to a window and looked out at the lake. 
She felt as though he was watching her, which he probably was. 
"Is there something wrong Little Washu? You have been acting 
strange ever since this morning and why did you get upset when you 
heard about the boy Sasami met?" Tenchi asked with genuine concern. 
"It's a very long story." Washu replied trying to be evasive. 
There was a lingering silence. Washu turned from the window back 
towards the table. Everyone was looking at her. 
"Since this will eventually effect everyone here in some way, I 
guess you all have a right to know. That is, all except for you 
Sasami." Washu explained. 
"What? I was the first one to meet Shiro. I think I have the most 
right to know what's going on." Sasami protested.
"Sasami, please," Washu pleaded. Sasami looked at Tenchi. He 
nodded his agreement. Sasami reluctantly withdrew herself from the 
table with Ryo-Ohki in trail. When Sasami disappeared from sight, Washu 
started. 
"I swear that man just has to make this as hard on me as he 
possibly can by getting Sasami emotionally involved in this." Washu 
said.
"Did you just say man?" Ayeka asked. Washu looked at Ayeka. 
"He's just about as much a boy as I am a school girl. Actually 
less than because he's a great deal older than me. He and I have been 
friends for as far back as seven thousand years ago, that is up until 
five thousand years ago. You are going to be surprised to find out that 
Tenchi is the only one who doesn't know him. You would probably know 
him better as The Scourge of Hippon or.."
"THE UNHOLY INFERNO!!! YOU WERE FRIENDS WITH THAT MONSTER. MY 
LITTLE SISTER HAS A CRUSH ON A DEMON THAT INCENERATED AN EMPIRE!!" 
Ayeka yelled.	
"Ayeka, please remain calm. I have a lot to say and it will take 
a lot less time if I'm not interrupted." Washu requested. Ayeka calmed 
down.
"I was saying that he and I were good friends. He was.is an 
extremely powerful but capricious man. His power dwarfs anything 
compared to it. His power is even greater than the power of Jurai. As 
far as I know, he is one of the most powerful creatures ever. But for 
all of his power, I have never known him to use it against anything in 
a negative manner up until his most notorious deed. As a matter of fact 
he hardly ever used it at all. About ten thousand years ago, he told me 
that he wanted to try and live amongst normal people and he wanted to 
be apart of a civilization where he could live as and ordinary person 
on the planet he loved more than anything else in the universe. His 
culture's technology advanced at an exponential rate. It wasn't long 
before his people learned how to terraform and colonize planets. The 
Wukito Empire was growing faster than any other civilization in 
recorded history. About seven thousand years ago, the Wukito Empire's 
outermost border reached the boarder of another great empire, the 
Hippon Empire. The two great kingdoms signed treaties and lived in an 
uneasy peace for two thousand years.   One fateful day, the Planet 
Dijec near the Hippon/Wukito boarder was being probed for minerals and 
it was discovered to have a unique organic compound in great supply 
that would make Wukito ships run so efficiently that it would seriously 
damage the commerce of Hippon. Hippon took a major gamble and propelled 
a meteor towards the Planet Dijec. The resulting impact ended up 
creating a shockwave that killed off the microscopic creature that 
created the compound. Hippon's play to keep Wukito from gaining a major 
advantage in intergalactic commerce paid off. The meteor also wiped out 
half the Wukito population on the planet. Wukito declared war on Hippon 
and a very bloody conflict followed. Wukito was giving better than it 
received and it looked as though Wukito was going to capture Planet 
Hippon. Once more, Hippon gambled everything on developing a weapon 
that would incinerate planets from afar. Hippon fired this weapon and 
totally cleansed Wukito of all life. With Wukito's back broken, Hippon 
decided to finish the war quickly and fired this weapon at Planet 
Quotos. Quotos was Wukito's primary industrial planet. By this time, 
Shiro was emotionally dead. His kind and gentle nature burned away with 
his home. Without warning, Shiro attacked the planets along the outer 
rim of the Hippon Empire. That's where he got the name 'The Inferno.' I 
told him I would stop him if he continued. I thought he was going to 
start off with Planet Hippon. I was unable to get to him in time to 
keep him from destroying Planet Tehka. I arrived just in time to see 
him launch a fireball at the planet and burn it devoid of life. I 
wasn't able to stop him there or anywhere. He skipped from planet to 
planet burning all of the inhabitants to nothing. I had no choice but 
to wait for him to arrive at Hippon. I knew he would save the best for 
last. When he arrived, he didn't even look like the same person I knew. 
He was a hollow shell of a man who was eager to find an end. He didn't 
try to avoid me. He came directly towards the Souja. I opened fire with 
the dimensonal cannon just outside of Hippon's atmosphere. I don't 
think he thought I was going to do it. He caught the blast from the 
cannon to my surprise. I had grossly underestimated his strength. A 
phenomenon occurred that I failed to take in account. As Shiro caught 
the blast, the matter flow through the beam accumulated at the point 
where he was damming the flow. The immense energy saturation of space-
time created a micro black hole. Shiro was sucked into the black hole 
and the hole collapsed moments after the saturation was relieved. I 
would like to believe that he was killed. But I fear he was too 
powerful to be destroyed by a micro black hole. I thought that he would 
spend the rest of eternity in the dark nothingness. After Shiro was 
vanquished, The Hippon Empire signed treaties with rogue governments 
who waged war on the Wukito in exchange for the rights to the land they 
conquered. In time, nothing remained of the Wukito. The empire was 
reduced to planets with no real governments. They were havens for space 
pirates. When Yosho's grandfather became king of Jurai, he swept the 
pirates from the former Wukito Systems and claimed the systems for 
Jurai. The Hippon Empire would never rise again. The planet itself is 
now a place that has known peace since that day. Now, Shiro is alive 
and well here on earth and I have absolutely no idea of what his 
intentions are. Any questions?"
"Washu, you said he was much older than you. How much older is 
he?" Kiyone asked.
"I don't know and he doesn't know either. He has told me on an 
occasion that he can't remember anything of his youth. His explanation 
is he has reached capacity in his memory and the most ancient knowledge 
he possess is sacrificed for the new." Washu said.
"Little Washu, is there any authority we should notify about 
this." Tenchi piped up.
"Tenchi, this guy is one of the strongest beings in the universe. 
No one is going to stop him. Besides, he hasn't made his intentions 
clear yet. He could just want to catch up old times. If The King of 
Jurai found out that Shiro was alive on earth, he would probably try to 
wipe out the earth. So Kiyone, Mihoshi I think it would be best if you 
sat on this one. Mihoshi, please don't make me have to erase your 
memory." Washu explained. Mihoshi agreed. 
"Why did you freak out when Sasami said his eyes were the same 
color as my hair." Ryoko asked. Washu smiled.
"His eyes are the reason your hair is the color it is." Washu 
said.
"So if Shiro would have had brown eyes, Ryoko would have been a 
brunette?" Mihoshi asked. 
"Actually, no. Ryoko's hair was going to be the same color as 
mine but I thought his eyes were such a pretty color, I decided to 
change it at the last minute." Washu revealed. Ryoko envisioned herself 
with red hair then quickly discarded the thought.
"Don't you think if he held any ill will against you, he would 
have acted on it by now? I mean you only found out he was here today? 
He could have been here for much longer." Noboyuki suggested.
"You have a point but remember how ancient this guy is. Time 
means nothing to him." Washu said.
"From the way Sasami made it sound, he seems to be having a good 
time. Do you think he could just be here on vacation?" Mihoshi asked.
"I can't really say what he's planning to do. I've only been here 
for a short amount of time and on a backwater planet in Jurai territory 
that is extremely far away from Planet Wukito. I don't think this is 
coincidence." Washu answered. 
"Anymore questions? No. Well, I suggest we keep everything around 
here the same as it has been. I need to start some new projects given 
the most recent turn of events. Don't tell Sasami what he has done. She 
seemed taken with Shiro and it would break her heart to find out what 
he has done. Ryoko, I need to see you alone in my lab. Everyone else, 
good night." 
"What do you want from me?" Ryoko asked with some skepticism.
"All will be explained in time." Washu replied as she started 
towards the store room door. Ryoko followed Washu out of the room. 
Everyone else started for his or her respective rooms. Ayeka entered 
her and Sasami's room as quietly as possible. Sasami was sound asleep 
with a smile on her face.


*		*		*

"You and I need to talk." Washu opened bluntly.
"I kind of gathered that." Replied Ryoko. Washu paused for a 
moment and looked at the floor. Ryoko stood with her arms folded and 
waited for Washu to say something. The little scientist looked at Ryoko 
with glazed eyes. "Did you know that you are the greatest of all my 
creations?" Washu spoke softly. Ryoko didn't know what to make of 
Washu's statement so she became defensive.
"Oh come on Washu, I'm sure you can think of dozens of things 
you've made that top me. I thought that twenty slice toaster was the 
best thing since.well since sliced bread." Ryoko said. A warm smile 
crept onto Washu's face. 
"Although I was captive on Souja, I would see through your eyes 
and witness all your trials and tribulations. Even though you were a 
captive of Kagato as well, there were times you would go off and do 
things that you wanted to do. I enjoyed watching you make the most out 
of what little freedom you had. There were times when you didn't have a 
care in the world and there were times when the weight of the world 
rested on your shoulders. But all the while, you were still my carefree 
daughter. For the last two thousand years, you have been put through 
some extremely difficult situations. At no time did I think that you 
weren't capable of dealing with these situations in your current state. 
But now a change is needed. It's time for you to become more mature." 
Washu calmly stated.  Ryoko couldn't believe what she was hearing and 
became aggravated instantly.
"More mature?! Is this some sort of stupid lecture? You are 
telling me to grow up?" Ryoko said almost yelling. Washu laughed.
"No, you silly girl. I'm saying that you are not complete." Washu 
said. Ryoko was now completely lost and Washu could tell. 
"Pay close attention to what I'm about to say. During the time 
you had all three gems, you had everything you needed to become one of 
the most powerful beings in the universe but not once did you ever come 
close to using the gems full power." Washu explained.
"Bologna! I've felt the power of the gems coarse through me. I 
gave as much as they would give. They wouldn't give me more power no 
matter how much I tried to get it from them." Ryoko finished.
"Well that's because I put in a kind of safety mechanism into 
your design so you couldn't draw more than a fraction of the gems full 
potential." Washu clarified. Ryoko was almost bowled over. She had 
fought many dangerous creatures during her travels and she thought that 
the power she possessed was being used to it's fullest. Now she was 
being told that most power that she ever used was just the tip of the 
iceberg. 
"Why did you hold back? There were times when a stronger punch or 
a faster dodge could have saved me serious suffering." Ryoko lashed 
out. Washu looked at the floor once more.
"I know all about that Ryoko. I've seen all the suffering you 
have been through but there was no way I could help. In my judgement, 
you weren't ready. If your body wasn't conditioned properly, the 
immense power of the gems could have ripped you to shreds. I would 
rather you bare wounds than risk you being killed. I'm sorry for the 
pain you've been put through but you can see that I had your best 
interests at heart. Do you remember the first time you used what you 
thought was everything you had?" Washu asked. Ryoko thought back to the 
second time she tried to escape from Kagato. The first time was just 
after Kagato woke her. She didn't like the idea of being subservient to 
anyone. She fought Kagato with increasingly more powerful attacks but 
Kagato defeated them easily. The second time she fought him, she tried 
to go all out on the first shot. As powerful as Kagato was, she thought 
that that was the only way she could kill him. Unfortunately, releasing 
that much power at once drained her to the point where she had trouble 
remaining conscious. 
"That was a significantly lower yield than the real power of the 
gems." Washu pointed out. Ryoko thought about how she felt after that 
attack. It felt as though acid was pumping through her veins.
"Why are you telling me all this now Washu. I wouldn't be in your 
lab right now if you didn't have something in mind." Ryoko accused the 
scientist. 
"My intentions are to turn off the safety switch that regulates 
the amount of power you can draw from the gems. We are going to need 
all you can give if we hope to have a chance against The Inferno." 
Washu said.
"What's the catch?" Ryoko asked with obvious skepticism. 
"The catch is enabling you to draw from the gems fully will alter 
your appearance. Instead of looking like a woman in her late twenties 
you will look like a girl in her late teens to early twenties." Washu 
said bluntly.
"I do not look like I'm in my late twenties!" Ryoko growled 
through grinding teeth.
"Ryoko, I created you. I know exactly what I was aiming for when 
I made you. Be thankful I was generous enough to make you look the way 
you do now." Washu scowled.
"OK. For argument sake, let's say that I look to be around 
twenty-six. Why would I object to looking a few years younger?" Ryoko 
questioned.
"What is your major motivation for changing the way you appear 
these days?" Washu asked back. Ryoko thought for a moment. She suddenly 
looked stricken as the point Washu was trying to make finally sank in.
"Now you see why I have to ask you. Giving you the full power of 
the gems may destroy you, it will alter your appearance but what would 
really concerns you the most is that it may change the way Tenchi looks 
at you." Washu concluded.
"Why would Tenchi object to a younger more powerful me?" Ryoko 
asked.
"I don't know? How bad do you want to find out?" Washu countered.
"Tenchi could be repulsed by me, I run the risk of killing myself 
with my own power and for what? So I may be able stand up to a super 
powerful killer for a few moments longer before he burns me alive. Tell 
me something Washu, are you deliberately trying to make me miserable?" 
Ryoko sat on the floor and started to sob. Washu sat next to her and 
rapped her arm around her shoulders. 
"No Ryoko, I'm not trying to make you miserable and I think you 
know that. I have the power to do these things for you but I want to 
make sure you are aware of the possible consequences. Those are the 
worst things that can happen. I think Tenchi will see you as a lovelier 
version of the woman he already knows. I can't tell you what he would 
want but I know what you want. You want Tenchi to be safe and happy as 
you always have. Making such a sacrifice could be a decisive way of 
insuring that. You don't have to decide now but I hope you will have 
made your decision by tomorrow. The sooner we act, the more prepared we 
will be. " Washu whispered. Ryoko looked at Washu with tears in her 
eyes.
"How do you know Tenchi will let me have the gems?" Ryoko asked 
sounding a little choked up.
"Do you honestly think Tenchi would deny me in the interest of 
saving the world?" Washu asked in return. Ryoko shook her head.
"You sure know the right things to say to get what you want. I 
think you know how I will decide. We better take care of this now." 
Ryoko laughed nervously. 
"Try not to worry so much. Everything will turn out fine. I need 
you to come with me." Washu said motioning for Ryoko to follow. They 
walked until they came to what looked like a hospital bed.
  	"I'm going to have to put you into a deep sleep before I get 
started. I'm also going to need you to give me the one gem you have." 
Washu requested. Ryoko raised her right arm. The gem disappeared from 
her wrist then reappeared in Washu's open hand. Ryoko hopped up onto 
the bed then laid back. Washu looked down and saw Ryoko was afraid. She 
put her hand on Ryoko's cheek.  
"Don't worry. Everything will be fine." Washu reassured her. She 
reached down and pressed a red button on the side of the bed. Ryoko 
gave a brief, nervous smile then she was asleep. 

*		*		*

Breakfast was on the table right on time on Sunday morning. 
Sasami was still distracted by her thoughts of Shiro. She was even more 
perky than usual. Everyone was gathered at the table except for Washu 
and Ryoko. A strange silence hung in the air as everyone sat at his or 
her place. The door to Washu's lab opened. Washu strolled out and sat 
in her usual spot.
"Good morning everyone." Washu sang happily. 
"Good morning Little Washu. You sure do look happy this morning." 
Tenchi greeted.   
"That's how I am when I've completed a project." Washu added.
"You just invented The Washu Super Tracker yesterday. Now you 
have finished another invention, Miss Washu?" Ayeka asked.
"Actually, I haven't invented anything new since yesterday. I'm 
just upgrading an older system to a newer one. However, this upgrade 
will effect most of the people in the house and you in particular 
Princess Ayeka." Washu said before laughing maniacally. Ayeka wasn't 
usually involved with Washu's experiments and didn't like the thought 
of being involved this time. Especially when she laughs like that. 
Ayeka decided to change the subject. 
"Breakfast is very good this morning Sasami." Ayeka said. 
"Thank you. I tried to make it a little different. I was 
surprised at how well it came out." Sasami explained.
"Well, I think it's great. I don't think anyone here will 
disagree." Tenchi said as looked at everyone enjoying their breakfasts.
 "Has anyone seen Ryoko?" Tenchi asked.
"She's in my lab assisting me with my upgrade." Washu said with a 
mouthful.
"Ha! How much Sake did you have to give her before she agreed to 
help?" Ayeka laughed.
"Actually, she volunteered." Washu stated with a smile. Everyone 
turned their attention to Washu. It was very rare for Ryoko to 
volunteer for any kind of work and even more rare if it didn't involve 
Tenchi. Washu looked up to meet everyone's stare.
"I'll explain it all later." Washu finished. Everyone continued 
with breakfast. Sasami wasn't eating particularly fast. In fact, she 
appeared to be playing with her food. Ayeka noticed this.
"Aren't you hungry this morning Sasami?" Ayeka questioned. Sasami 
almost jumped at the question. 
"Yes, I was just daydreaming." Sasami admitted. Ayeka could 
imagine what Sasami was daydreaming about and she didn't like it. 
"Sasami, I would like it if you would help me clean the house 
today." Ayeka asked. Sasami's attention was once again diverted to her 
sister.
"But, I wanted to go play by the lake. Shiro said he was going to 
show me how to fish today." Sasami pleaded. Ayeka winced.
"I normally wouldn't ask you for your help. I think I'm going 
need it." Ayeka said. She then whispered in her ear.
"Absence makes the heart grow fonder. If you make him wait, I'm 
sure he'll be even more excited to see you next time." Sasami blushed 
instantly.
"You really think so?" Sasami whispered back.
"Yes. Besides, I want to hear everything you know about him." 
Ayeka continued. Sasami nodded to her sister. Noboyuki placed his 
chopsticks next to his bowl on the table then stretched.
"That was a great meal Sasami. If dinner is half as good as that, 
I think we are in for a treat." Noboyuki stood and headed for the door.
"Where are you going, dad?" Tenchi asked.
"I still have some work left over from yesterday. I have to go 
back in and finish it." Noboyuki explained. With that, everyone started 
picking up their dishes. Tenchi was about to do the same but Washu 
called out to him.
"Tenchi, may I speak to you?" She asked. Tenchi followed her into 
the living room.
"I'm going to need you to give me the two gems remaining in the 
master key." Washu stated.
"Sure, how long do you need them for." Tenchi said as he headed 
for his room to receive the master key.
"I'm afraid that I won't be returning them." Washu said. Tenchi 
stopped then turned to Washu. 
"I don't understand. Grandpa won't be able to live without the 
gems imbedded into hilt of the key."
"That's not true. All I have to do is recharge Funaho 
periodically and he won't miss a beat." Washu explained.
"Does this have to do with the boy Sasami met?" Tenchi asked. 
Washu nodded. Tenchi then ran up to his room and retrieved the master 
key. Washu extended her hand towards Tenchi.  Tenchi closed his eyes 
and concentrated. The two stones disappeared from the master key and 
reappeared in Washu's hand.
"What do you plan on doing with them? Tenchi asked.
"I'm going to give them to Ryoko." Washu stated calmly.
"YOU'RE GOING TO DO WHAT?!" Tenchi yelled. 
"Is there a problem?" Washu asked.
"Are you sure that is absolutely necessary? Ryoko is a handful 
with the power she has right now. What will she be like when she is at 
full strength?" Tenchi complained.
"Tenchi, in order to stand a chance against Shiro, we are going 
to have to pull out all the stops. If Ryoko is at the top of her game, 
that will be better for our side. Besides, I have a feeling she will be 
more subdued with her new found strength." Washu finished.
"What makes you say that?" Tenchi asked puzzled.
"When she gets angry now, she knows that her power will cause 
only small damage because she is very skilled at wielding what she has. 
The new Ryoko will have power that will surpass her comprehension and 
it won't be as easy as it has been to control it. This will cause her 
to be a little more reluctant to use her power. She doesn't want to 
kill or upset you." Washu said.
"But what if she forgets about her strength?" Tenchi asked.
"Well, I guess we'll just have to stay on her good side." Washu 
said. Tenchi slumped and almost fell over.
"Exactly how much more powerful will she be?" Tenchi asked again.
"There's no telling. I've never been able to bring the full power 
of the gems to being. Ryoko was designed to do that."
" I thought Ryoko had all three gems when she fought grandpa." 
Tenchi said.
"She did but she wasn't able to use the gems full potential due 
to a safety I incorporated into her design. I have just turned that 
safety off. We will soon see exactly what she is capable of." Washu 
explained.
"I don't like this one bit." Tenchi objected. Washu's eyes 
narrowed.
"Have a little faith in me, Tenchi. As far as Ryoko goes, I'm 
sure of what I'm doing." Washu said.
"What will she look like?" Tenchi asked curiously. Washu's eyes 
softened and she smiled.
"If I told you then it wouldn't be a secret anymore." Washu 
teased. Tenchi smiled.
"I guess I'll just have to go see for myself." Tenchi said as he 
walked towards Washu's lab.
"I don't think you would want to see her in the state.." Washu 
started.
"I can't remember a time when Ryoko didn't want to see me." 
Tenchi interrupted. 
"I can remember quite a few times when you didn't want to see 
her.naked." Washu blurted with a devious grin. Tenchi froze in his 
tracks. He the turned towards the front door then ran outside.
"Why is your face so red, Tenchi." Washu yelled after him. 

*		*		*

"He sounds like a really nice boy." Ayeka said.
"He is. I've never had so much fun with anyone except for Tenchi. 
I have only known him since yesterday but I feel that we are going to 
become good friends." Sasami admitted. Ayeka could feel her heart start 
to sink. She knew that this boy was the same person who was responsible 
for the deaths of countless trillions of people. How could she tell her 
sister that this person she likes so much has done such a terrible 
thing. She needed to talk to this boy and set the record straight. She 
was having a hard time matching the Shiro her sister spoke of with 
Shiro The Inferno.
"Do we have enough rice for everyone's dinner tonight, Sasami." 
Ayeka asked.
"We are a little low but I think we have just enough." Sasami 
answered.
"What about Kiyone and Mihoshi?" Ayeka persisted.
"No, I don't think we do. Did they say they were coming over for 
dinner tonight?" Sasami questioned.
"No they didn't but you know how they always show up when you 
least expect. I think it would be a good idea to get some more rice 
from the market in case they show up." Ayeka suggested. Sasami started 
towards the front door but stopped when she noticed her sister wasn't 
following.
"Aren't you coming?" Sasami asked.
"No I think I'll stay here and finish up with the cleaning. You 
go ahead. Get yourself some ice cream while you are out." Ayeka 
offered. Sasami's face lit up.
"What a good idea!" Sasami spouted as she ran out the door with 
Ryo-Ohki. Ayeka waited until Sasami had vanished from sight.
"Azaka! Kamedake!" The princess ordered. The two guardians 
appeared at her side instantly.
"Follow me." She ordered.
Ayeka walked along the edge of the lake to where Sasami said she 
had met the boy. She continued until she saw a prominent cherry tree. 
She walked to the other side and found the young boy asleep in the same 
manner Sasami described. Ayeka coughed to get the boys attention. The 
boy's head rolled to face Ayeka as his eyes opened. Sasami was right. 
His eyes were the same color as Ryoko's hair. The boy's expression was 
cold and emotionless. It then slowly melted into a very warm smile.
"Good Afternoon! It is afternoon isn't it? I seemed to have lost 
track of time." The boy greeted awkwardly. 
"Good afternoon! I'm the sister of the girl you met yesterday. My 
name is Pr. Ayeka" Ayeka introduced herself. The boy stood and walked 
toward Ayeka. Ayeka became uncomfortable being in such close proximity 
with a person she considered a demon. The boy stood directly in front 
of Ayeka. 
"So you are Sasami's sister. She spoke of you a lot. My name is 
Shiro." The boy said. Ayeka extended her hand. The boy's expression 
changed for a moment then returned. Shiro bowed and Ayeka did the same. 
"Please excuse me for not shaking hands. I have a bit of an 
aversion for it." Shiro explained.
"Oh, that's alright. Have you been here very long?" Ayeka asked. 
Shiro sat next to his cane pole and motioned for Ayeka to do the same.
"No I haven't. I'm on an extended vacation and am spending my 
time seeing the sights. I came into this area only last week. I was 
struck by the beauty of this place and decided to stay here a while 
longer. Do you live here with Sasami?" Shiro asked.
"Yes I do. We have been living here for some time and I was 
little surprised to hear that there was someone else living so close. I 
guess I should have known it was a visitor. How long do you plan on 
staying here?" Ayeka asked again. Shiro looked at her curiously. 
"Am I trespassing?" Shiro inquired.
"Not at all. It's just that Sasami thinks of you as a friend. It 
would be a shame if you had to leave. I think her feelings would be 
hurt." Ayeka said. Shiro looked out at his cork floating at the end of 
his line.
"Everyone gets hurt sooner or later. Perhaps this is a lesson she 
should learn while she is young." Shiro responded. Ayeka stood up at 
his last statement. 
"I love my sister very dearly and I won't let her be hurt!" Ayeka 
declared. Shiro place his pole on the ground and stood to face Ayeka.
"Miss Ayeka, I do what I want. If you try to get in my way, you 
probably won't like what will happen." Ayeka had heard enough. How dare 
this little boy threaten the crown princess of Jurai. She stormed right 
up to Shiro and grabbed him by the shoulders. 
"Listen here you pip squeak, if you do anything.."Her hands being 
removed from the boy's shoulders interrupted Ayeka. No one was touching 
her. Her hands were forcibly put in front of her. The boy glared at her 
menacingly. Ayeka suddenly became aware of her hands starting to burn.
"Let me go! LET ME GO! IT BURNS!" Ayeka screamed. Azaka and 
Kamedake charged Shiro. Shiro looked up at the two guardians and they 
were instantly knocked almost out of sight. Shiro released Ayeka and 
she fell backwards onto the ground. She immediately cradled her burnt 
hands. Shiro raised his left hand to his head to block out the sun.
"They sure are nimble for logs. Look at 'em go. Haha." Shiro 
laughed sadistically. He then looked back at Ayeka.
"You must realize that whatever I intend to do, I'm going to do. 
Have a little patience. All will be revealed in time. Until then, I 
suggest you stay out of my way." Shiro said malevolently. He then 
vanished. Ayeka sat in pain. She tried to use her wrists to steady 
herself while she tried to stand but the slightest movement sent pain 
coursing through her hands. She looked at her hands. Only the insides 
of her hands were burnt. They were swollen and bright red. Ayeka began 
to cry. Azaka and Kamedake soon appeared next to Ayeka. 
"Are you alright princess?" Azaka asked. Ayeka continued to cry 
and showed the guardians her burnt hands.
"Oh my! We had better seek medical assistance." Kamedake offered. 
The two guardians created a field around Ayeka and carried her towards 
the house.


*		*		*


"Good Heavens, Ayeka! What did you do, stick your hands in a bar-
b-q pit?" Washu asked. Ayeka was still crying and was trying to form 
the words to describe what happened.
"Come with me quickly." Washu said as she almost dragged Ayeka by 
her arm into her lab. Washu produced what looked like a pin. 
"Hold your hands out in front of you. This is going to take care 
of the pain." Washu informed. A yellow beam of light came from the pin 
and shined on Ayeka's right wrist. The left wrist followed. Ayeka's 
crying slowed to a sob.
"Thank you." Ayeka managed. Washu put down the pin and picked up 
what looked like a huge flashlight.
"This will fix your hands but it's going to take a while and they 
will be a little tender afterwards." Washu again informed Ayeka. Ayeka 
nodded her understanding. Washu held the flashlight over Ayeka's hands. 
Four tiny beams came from the device and made circular patterns on 
Ayeka's hands.
"Now, do you want to tell me what happened?" Washu asked. Ayeka 
sniffed before replying.
"I went to see Shiro." Ayeka said. Washu stopped for a moment to 
look at Ayeka.
"Are you out of your mind? Do you know how dangerous he is? He is 
The Inferno. The one responsible for the deaths of countless trillions 
of men, women and children." Washu lectured. Ayeka lowered her head so 
Washu couldn't see her eyes. Washu continued to mend Ayeka's hands.
"I just wanted to ask him what he wanted with Sasami." Ayeka 
pleaded.
"I understand you want to look out for your sister but he isn't 
the little boy he appears to be. He has no specific interest in Sasami. 
To him, playing with Sasami was a way to spend an afternoon. He has no 
friends, no family and now he doesn't even have a home anymore." Washu 
said. She paused and realized how lonely he must be. 
"He is carefree like a child. If he is treated like one then he 
will act like one. If you treat him like an adult he will act like an 
adult. I bet you tried to bully him didn't you?" Washu asked. Ayeka 
shook her head yes.
"I thought so. Well, I guess this isn't the time to beat around 
the bush. A more direct approach is needed." Washu suggested.
"What do you plan to do?" Ayeka asked. 
"I think it's time I go talk to him." Washu said.
"Are you sure that's a good idea. Look what he did to me." Ayeka 
said.
"I know how to deal with him. I think if he simply wanted to harm 
or kill me, he would have done it by now. He's waiting for something." 
Washu continued. A moment of silence passed.
"What exactly did you two talk about before this happened?" Washu 
asked.
"We exchanged pleasantries then I told him that Sasami might get 
her feelings hurt if he left so soon after making friends with her. He 
told me everyone gets hurt and maybe Sasami should learn this now 
rather than later." Ayeka summarized. 
"That doesn't sound like the man I know at all." Washu commented 
as she continued to work on Ayeka's hands.
"That's when I became angry and grabbed him by the shoulders." 
Ayeka finished.
"That would do it alright. He never liked to being touched." 
Washu added. 
"I don't know how Sasami is going to react when she finds out 
what he's done." Ayeka mumbled.
"Maybe Shiro is right to some extent. Shiro is a extremely 
powerful and I know you only want what is best for Sasami but 
technically, this is her problem." Washu said.
"How can you say that? You know who he is and what he's done." 
Ayeka said almost yelling.
"That's exactly my point. I know who he is, you know who he is 
but to Sasami he's just a boy she played with a few afternoons ago. 
Sasami is a good girl. She will do what is right." Washu said.
"I guess you are right." Ayeka admitted. 
"Of coarse I'm right." Washu said with a smile. Washu continued 
to work on Ayeka's hands for a half an hour.

*		*		*

Later that afternoon, everyone was sitting outside enjoying some 
sandwiches Sasami made. Kiyone and Mihoshi had returned from patrol and 
they brought their appetites with them. Washu quickly finished her 
sandwich.
"Little Washu, how long before we see Ryoko again?" Tenchi asked.
"She's almost done. She will be out and about later tonight." 
Washu replied.
"Don't tell me you have actually missed that loud woman?" Ayeka 
complained.
"It has been a lot quieter around here lately." Kiyone observed.
"It has but it just doesn't seem right." Tenchi said. Ayeka 
scooted closer to Tenchi.
"Hasn't the time you and I have been spending together been fun, 
Lord Tenchi?" Ayeka flirted.
"Yes, but.." Tenchi tried.
"Then I don't see any reason for that to change. Miss Washu, 
please don't feel rushed by us. Take your time with Ryoko. I'm sure 
then extra attention you give her will only be to her benefit." Ayeka 
pressed.
"And to yours." Sasami laughed. Washu stood and stretched. 
"Where are you going, Washu?" Mihoshi asked.
"I'm going for a little walk. I've been cramped up in my lab for 
a little while and some fresh air will do me good." Washu explained.
"Do you want some company?" Kiyone offered.
"No thank you. I want to be alone for a while. I'll be back 
before too long." Washu replied before she started towards the lake. 
Washu walked the edge of the lake until the shore started to become 
swampy. She adjusted her steps to follow an existing path that led to 
the beginning of the forest. Washu walked for about ten minutes before 
she came to large cherry tree close to the shore. She stepped off the 
path and walked around the tree. When she came to the other side she 
found a boy asleep in the grass with a fishing pole cast into the water 
next to him. Washu almost couldn't believe her eyes. The little boy was 
no doubt Shiro but his current form made him look very different. Washu 
crossed her arms and smiled.
"Your not fooling me, Tetsu." Washu stated. A grin came to the 
boy's face.
"I never could do that for too long, professor." Shiro said 
before sitting up.
"I'm no longer teaching at the academy. You can dispense with the 
'Professor" Washu clarified.
"I had grown so used to calling you that. I don't know if I can 
address you in any other manner." Shiro said.
"How about 'Little Washu." Washu recommended. 
"Little Washu? Is that a joke?" Shiro said with confusion. 
Washu's eyes narrowed and her mouth drew tight.
"Oh. I guess not." Shiro noticed.
"Little Washu it is. You don't have to be so formal with me 
either. I'm no longer a student as you may have guessed. Please just 
call me Shiro." The boy offered as he baited his hook and cast his line 
into the water.
"Agreed. What brings you to Earth?" Washu started.
"Space is such a cold and lonely place. I needed to get away from 
there for a while. This planet seemed to be a nice place. I came here 
to do some fishing and look who I run into. It's a small universe, 
wouldn't you agree?"  Shiro asked.
"Maybe a little too small, Shiro." Washu said. Shiro turned his 
head and glared at Washu. Washu glared right back. 
"Am I not welcome here, Little Washu?" Shiro asked.
"I doubt that the killer of trillions of innocent people is 
welcome anywhere." Washu said. Shiro stood and his expression softened. 
"It was a terrible thing to do. It wasn't a rational decision I 
made. It just happened." Shiro explained
"What was I supposed to do. Just chalk up Wukito's destruction as 
a stroke of bad luck. Hippon didn't mind burning me. Why should I mind 
burning them?" Shiro argued.
"I thought you were a better person than that. Good people do not 
commit genocide." Washu pointed out.
"Wukito is gone and forgotten. When Hippon burned my old life 
away, they burned away the only thing that kept me from becoming The 
Inferno. They brought this on themselves." Shiro snapped.
"If the infants you killed had the ability to talk, I'm sure they 
would disagree." Washu stated. Shiro was becoming irritated. 
"So I failed to be better than Hippon. I'm strong but I'm not 
perfect. What responsibility do I have to this reality? I'm not some 
kind of high guardian.  And what does that make you? You tried to 
incinerate me for the same reason. If you don't think that damn cannon 
didn't burn a little, you have another thing coming."  Shiro contested.
"Wrong. I was trying to defend people who couldn't defend 
themselves. What you did was commit murder." Washu accused. Shiro was 
now livid.
"What the hell do you want me to say? Yes, I murdered those 
people. I'll never be able to undo what I did." Shiro pleaded.
"What do you want, Shiro? You wouldn't be here if you didn't want 
something from me." Washu said. Shiro looked at the ground then back at 
Washu.
"You were my teacher and I was your student once. After you found 
out what I was, you and I became friends. You were the only person that 
knew about the real me and you treated me like a normal person. I want 
to have good times and be friends again like we used to at the 
academy." Shiro said.
"My friend was a kind and gentile man who would never think of 
doing the things that you did. The Shiro I knew died a long time ago." 
Washu said. Shiro's eyes began to tear. 
"You don't mean that. You can't mean that. We've done too much 
and there is still plenty of good times to be had. Please tell me you 
will be my friend again. I'll do anything for that. All you have to do 
is name it." Shiro said choking on his own sobs. Washu turned her back 
to Shiro.
 "There has been times when I thought of the possibility of 
seeing you again. I didn't think you could be destroyed so easily. I 
thought if you were ever able to escape from wherever it was you were 
trapped that you would be wiser for it. However, you haven't changed a 
bit from the day I fought with you. Look at what you did to Princess 
Ayeka. You severely burnt her hands for just touching you. The Shiro I 
knew would never do such a nasty thing. I'm sorry but we can never be 
friends again and it's all your fault." Washu said. Shiro just stood. 
Washu started back for the house. Shiro wiped the tears from his face. 
"I have to be somewhere right now. We'll continue this discussion 
later." Washu said. She walked back towards the house. Shiro plopped 
down on the grass and tried his best to stifle his emotions. He didn't 
know if he should be depressed or furious and the conflict was draining 
him. Shiro summoned a few pieces of wood from a stack he made earlier. 
He piled the pieces of wood in front of him then ignited them. He sat 
staring into the flames long into the evening. 

*		*		*

"Ah. Did you enjoy your walk?" Tenchi asked as Washu stepped 
towards the house. Washu's head was tilted so Tenchi couldn't see her 
eyes. 
"Actually, I don't feel as good as I did before I started." Washu 
said flatly before disappearing into the house.

*		*		*

Washu paced the floor in front of Ryoko's bed. Her work on Ryoko 
was complete and all she had to do was wake her up. Washu's thoughts 
were elsewhere at the moment. Shiro was going to react but she didn't 
know how. Hopefully there was enough left of the man she knew to make 
the right decision. If not, her actions would spark him to action which 
meant that there would be a conclusion in some shape or form soon. She 
stopped and looked down at Ryoko. Washu momentarily forgot about Shiro 
and thought of her daughter. She looked the same as before except for 
subtle differences. The subtle differences were many though. All for 
the better in Washu's opinion except for the massive increase in power. 
Bringing forth Ryoko's new and true form was a precaution for the 
aftermath of a wrong decision by Shiro.
"I think you have slept long enough." Washu said. She reached 
down and pushed the green button on the side of Ryoko's bed. The light 
turned red and an alarm made a beep. Ryoko's eyes moved under her 
eyelids as she regained consciousness. Her eyes slowly opened and she 
looked at Washu. 
"How do you feel?" Washu asked. Ryoko sat up slowly and brought 
her hands into her field of vision. She looked amazed as she examined 
her hands. She brought her hands to her face and felt the smooth skin 
of her cheeks. Ryoko couldn't answer. Washu took that as a complement. 
Washu raised her hand and a tall mirror appeared next to her. Ryoko 
teleported to just in front of the mirror. She took a step back after 
looking at herself. Ryoko then looked at Washu.
"Am I dreaming?" Ryoko finally managed.
"Wow! You like it that much?" Washu joked.
"That's not what I mean. I've had dreams where I looked into a 
mirror and I looked as I do now." Ryoko explained.
"You have always known that this is the real Ryoko. You were just 
in that other state for so long that you had forgotten what you are 
suppose to be." Washu offered.
"Get some clothes on. There's dinner that needs to be eaten." 
Washu said. Ryoko just stood and looked into the mirror. She then 
brought her right hand in front of her and opened it. Washu wasn't 
paying attention and it took her a moment to realize what was going on. 
When she did, she reacted accordingly.
"RYOKO! DON'T!" Washu yelled. Ryoko looked at Washu, which made 
the situation worse now that she was distracted. A ball of light glowed 
in Ryoko's right hand for a split second before it detonated and wiped 
out a fairly large portion of Washu's lab. Ryoko was unscathed. Washu 
and her lab were a mess.
"Sorry about that." Ryoko apologized. 

*		*		*

Everyone was gathered outside around the grill. Noboyuki asked 
Sasami for grilled salmon. The idea of an after hours bar-b-q was such 
an inviting idea, no one could think of a reason not to have one. Washu 
stumbled out the door into the yard. She had already changed clothes 
from the previous incident but had missed a spot on her face.
"What happened to you, Little Washu?" Tenchi asked seeing the 
soot smudge on Washu's face. Washu didn't say a word. She removed the 
mark from her face and walked towards the group. Her steps were awkward 
and labored. Ayeka's expression became sour.
"Ryoko is up and about I take it." Ayeka said. Washu shook her 
head yes. 
"Where is she?" Sasami asked. 
"She'll be out when she is ready." Washu stated. She then walked 
behind Tenchi so the others couldn't hear. Washu spoke into Tenchi's 
ear.
"She is a little self conscious right now. She doesn't know how 
you are going to react so she has to build up her courage first. I know 
you will be but I still have to ask you to be nice to her tonight. She 
has been through a lot in the last few days." Washu whispered. Tenchi 
agreed with a smile. Dinner was nearly ready and everyone was taking 
their seats at the table. Washu noticed a shadow move by the door just 
inside the house. She realized that Ryoko was still having trouble 
coming outside. She decided to make up her mind for her.
"Hey Ryoko! Get out here! You're holding up dinner!" Washu 
yelled. The shadow swiftly dashed out of sight but everyone had seen 
her move.
"Come on out, Ryoko." Noboyuki yelled. Sasami jumped up from her 
place and ran through the door. She stood silent for a moment before 
she spoke.
"Wow! Ryoko!" Sasami exclaimed. She grabbed Ryoko by the arm and 
pulled her out the front door slowly. Sasami let go and stood next to 
Ryoko. Ryoko was obviously nervous and stood clutching her right arm to 
her side. She had had the same body for the two thousand year span of 
her life. She never had to worry about any changes because she never 
aged but now, many things about her changed. She slowly lifted her head 
to look at the group that was waiting to see her in her entirety.  The 
group let out a collective gasp as they saw what happened to her. Ryoko 
was wearing a tight, classic white dress that accentuated her firmer 
frame. Her hair, although still spiked and the same shade of blue, was 
much shinier and tied back with a white ribbon. Her skin reflected the 
fire light like satin. Her most striking feature was her eyes. They 
were still the same glittering gold stones in the white of her eyes but 
now the appeared to glow slightly. Ryoko looked to be twenty years old. 
She stood silently staring at Tenchi with a fearful expression on her 
face. Tenchi was struck stupid at Ryoko's new look. Not only did she 
look more physically enticing but also the way she stood in front of 
everyone made her look so.innocent. Tenchi snapped out of it and a 
smile came to his face. He walked up to Ryoko. He looked into her 
pleading, iridescent eyes. 
"You look very nice, Ryoko." Tenchi said. Ryoko's face brightened 
and she became extremely happy. She wrapped her arms around Tenchi and 
gave him a hug. Tenchi felt Ryoko's pleasantly hard body squeeze 
against his and his face immediately turned flush. Ayeka was about to 
complain when she found herself receiving a hug from Ryoko as well. 
Ayeka looked over to Tenchi and saw him standing in a daze by himself. 
Ayeka couldn't believe the speed and silence that Ryoko traveled. It 
suddenly dawned on her that Ryoko was hugging Sasami. She couldn't 
follow her movements. Everyone got their hugs whether they knew it or 
not until Ryoko came to Washu. She stood in front of the little 
scientist with a grateful smile.
"How do you feel?" Washu asked with a smile.
"I feel complete." Ryoko replied. She then bent over and gave 
Washu a hug as well. 
"May I ask you for a favor?" Washu inquired.
"Yes." Ryoko said.
"Can you call me mom?" Washu asked.
"No, Washu. No I can't" Ryoko joked back.
"The more things change, the more they stay the same." Washu 
said. The two laughed for a moment then everyone else joined in. Ryoko 
took her place next to Tenchi. Although the tension had passed, every 
one couldn't help but give an occasional glance at Ryoko. Even her 
mannerisms were effected. She still flirted with Tenchi during dinner 
but it wasn't in her normal over baring fashion. Ayeka was at wits end 
trying to contain herself. Finally, she could stand no more.
"YOU EVIL SHE WITCH! YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE UP TO!" 
Ayeka screamed.
"Why Ayeka, whatever do you mean?" Ryoko mocked.
"YOU ARE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE SITUATION TO HIT ON TENCHI! I'LL 
SHOW LORD TENCHI THAT YOU ARE STILL THE SAME ATROCIOUS SPACE RABBLE 
THAT YOU HAVE ALWAYS BEEN!" Ayeka declared. 
"Tenchi, do I seem to be acting any worse than I usually do?" 
Ryoko asked. Tenchi turned his attention to Ryoko.
"I haven't noticed any." Tenchi started but was unable to finish. 
Before he could, Ryoko leaned forward and stole a quick kiss. Ryoko 
leaned back to her original position with a smile. Tenchi was sitting 
like a stone and remained motionless for a few seconds. Ayeka was 
burning with rage and her stark white knuckles clashing with the rest 
of her scarlet skin was proof of it. Ryoko stood up and walked around 
to the front of the table. She stopped and folded her arms. Ayeka 
walked around the other side of the table and stood trembling with hate 
just in front of Ryoko. Everyone knew what was about to happen and 
backed away quickly.
"You might have gotten away with your behavior tonight but there 
is no way that I'm going to let you get away with what you just did." 
Ayeka threatened.
"Tenchi didn't seem to mind." Ryoko offered. Everyone took three 
steps back. Ayeka raised her fists. Ryoko lowered her hands to her 
side.
"Umm, Ryoko. Don't you remember my lab this afternoon and what 
you did to it?" Washu asked. Ryoko raised her hand for Washu to be 
silent. Ayeka summoned the components of her power and they encircled 
Ryoko. Ryoko remained motionless. 
"I'm going to teach you once and for all to leave Tenchi be." 
Ayeka said.
"Two ladies locked in combat to decide who will win the 
affections of the man they both love. Who said chivalry is dead?" A 
voice rang out from the path leading up to the house. Every one turned 
to see a young boy in a red T-shirt walk towards them. Washu's 
attention was quickly diverted to the boy. Ayeka and Ryoko were forced 
to behave due to their new guest. The two women returned to their 
places.
"Shiro. What are you doing out so late?" Sasami asked. 
"I couldn't sleep, so I decided to take a walk. I saw that lights 
on outside your house and thought I would pay you a visit. I hope I'm 
not interrupting anything." Shiro said.
"Please join us for dinner." Lord Katsuhito invited. Shiro bowed 
his acceptance.
"Thank you very much." Shiro said. Sasami dashed from her seat 
and grabbed Shiro by the arm.
"Let me introduce you to everyone. This is Lord Katsuhito but I 
call him Grandpa." Sasami exclaimed.
"Pleased to meet you." Katsuhito greeted with a bow. Shiro 
returned the sentiment.   
"Next to him is Noboyuki. He is Grandpa's son-in-law. He is an 
architect. He designed and built this house." Sasami said. Shiro looked 
to the house in front of him. 
"Very nice. I imagine your bosses are happy with your work." 
Shiro stated.
"If they are, they don't let me know about it." Noboyuki joked. 
They both laughed before moving on. 
"This is Kiyone. She is a detective with The Galaxy Police." 
Sasami said.
"My pleasure Detective Kiyone." Shiro said. 
"Likewise." Kiyone managed. 
"This is her partner, Mihoshi. She is a detective with The Galaxy 
Police as well." Sasami continued. Mihoshi stood quickly and sent a 
bowl of Miso flying at Sasami. Shiro reached out and pulled Sasami out 
of the way in time to avoid the airborne soup. Sasami blushed when she 
realized Shiro was holding her next to him.
"Oops. Sorry." Mihoshi said.
"No harm, no foul." Shiro said. 
"I guess you're right." Mihoshi giggled. Shiro released Sasami 
and they continued around the table.
"Next to her is Princess Ayeka. She's my sister." Sasami said.
"How do you do, Princess Ayeka?" Shiro asked.
"I'm doing fine." Ayeka said with some trouble.
"This is Tenchi. He is Noboyuki's son and Katsuhito's grandson." 
Sasami said.
"You must feel pretty special having all these girls fuss over 
you." Shiro joked. Tenchi scratched his head and laughed.
"I wouldn't say special." Tenchi joked back. Shiro smiled.
"This is Ryoko. She is one of the most feared space pirates in 
the galaxy." Sasami added.
"THE most." Ryoko corrected. 
"A space pirate? You must be really strong." Shiro said.
"I can hold my own." Ryoko confirmed.
"Last but not least is Washu. She is the greatest genius in the 
universe. At least that's what she told me." Sasami said. Washu was 
still standing. She knew something was about to happen but she didn't 
know what.
"No arguments here." Shiro said. Washu sat back down. 
"Everyone, this is Shiro Tetsu. He is here on vacation and is a 
terrible fisherman." Sasami laughed. 
"Hey! I'm not as bad as some girls I know." Shiro teased. Sasami 
guided Shiro to his seat next to her. Plates were passed around until 
everyone took what they wanted and everyone started to eat. About an 
hour went by. The conversation was light hearted but everyone felt 
uncomfortable with Shiro around. Everyone except Sasami who was 
oblivious to Shiro's deeds. 
"How do you like it here, Shiro." Katsuhito asked.
"This is a very beautiful place. It reminds me of home." Shiro 
replied.
"How much longer are you going to be on vacation?" Kiyone asked. 
Shiro glanced at Washu then looked back at Kiyone. Not much longer, I 
have a lot of unfinished business back home. Washu felt the hair on her 
neck stand up.
"What kind of work do you do?" Noboyuki asked innocently. Shiro's 
expression became cold.
"I guess it could be best described as landscaping." Shiro said 
flatly. Washu was not at all amused. Shiro placed his chopsticks on the 
table and wiped his mouth with a napkin. 
"Dinner was wonderful. Thank you so much for having me." Shiro 
said.
"You aren't leaving are you?" Sasami asked. 
"I'm afraid so. It's getting late and I need to wrap up this 
vacation. Don't worry. I have no doubt that I will see you again." 
Shiro promised.
"What do you plan on doing?" Washu asked. Shiro grabbed his cane 
pole and looked over his shoulder. 
"Somewhere out there is the one that got away. I just can't let 
that be now can I? If you care to join me, you know where I'll be." 
Shiro said as he walked away. Washu jumped from her seat and dashed 
towards Shiro but he disappeared just before she reached him.
"Wow! How did he do that Miss Washu?" Sasami asked.
"We have to stop him!" Washu yelled
"Stop him? What's he going to do?" Tenchi asked.
"He's going to destroy Hippon!" Washu answered.
"WHAT?!" The group sounded off together.
"The one that got away. Unfinished business. Wasn't anyone paying 
attention?" Washu yelled.
"What should we do?" Kiyone asked.
"Get Yagami. We're going to have to catch up with him." Washu 
said.
"Miss Washu, how is he going to get there? Does he have a ship?" 
Ayeka asked.
"He doesn't need one. He's probably sitting there waiting for us 
already." Washu replied.
"Why doesn't he just blow up Hippon right now if he's already 
there." Mihoshi asked.
"Destroying me along with Hippon will be the icing on the cake." 
Washu said.
"Does he really hate you that much?" Tenchi asked.
"He doesn't hate me at all. As a matter of fact, he likes me 
quite a lot. Unfortunately for me, I know his little secret and I am a 
piece of his old life that he wants to get rid of. He's going to try to 
wipe his slate clean so he can start over again." Washu explained.
"What does that mean, Miss Washu?" Ayeka asked.
"It means he is going to try and destroy Planet Hippon, me, and 
maybe earth along with the rest of us."
"Why would he want to destroy earth?" Noboyuki asked.
"Because this is where I am. I'm not sure but it is a possibility 
that we must factor in." Washu added.
"I don't want to be destroyed!" Mihoshi whined.
"What are all of you talking about. Who's going to destroy what?" 
Sasami asked confused. Washu turned to Sasami.
"Sasami, I was hoping we could avoid telling you the truth about 
the boy you just met. Unfortunately, that seems impossible now. Shiro 
Tetsu is the one responsible for the downfall of the Hippon Empire five 
thousand years ago. He is The Inferno." Washu explained.
"That can't be true. Look at him. He's just a boy." Sasami said. 
"Am I just a girl, Sasami?" Washu asked. The truth started to 
become obvious to Sasami and tears formed in her eyes. 
"Sasami, I wish I didn't have to tell you but we may need you to 
help stop him." Washu said. Sasami shook her head as tears streamed 
down her cheeks. She ran into the house, crying the whole way. Ayeka 
ran after her. 
"What do you want us to do about Sasami?" Ryoko asked.
"Ayeka is the only one who can talk to her right now. Kiyone and 
Mihoshi, you two stay behind and wait for Ayeka and Sasami. I'll load 
the dimensional cannon on board Yagami while we are on our way to 
Hippon. Tenchi, Ryoko and I will take Ryo-Ohki. Lord Katsuhito, what 
are your thoughts?" Washu asked.
"I'll stay hear with Noboyuki. If this person can be beat, I'm 
sure you can do it. If not, then this is where I want to be." Katsuhito 
explained. Washu nodded. Ryoko tossed Ryo-Ohki into the air and the 
cabbit transformed into a ship. Washu, Tenchi, and Ryoko were 
teleported aboard then Ryo-Ohki sped skyward and was soon out of sight.

*		*		*

"The proposal by the High Senate requires a cut in some social 
programs in order to speed along the development of the new class of 
space freighter. It seems I'm stuck in between a rock and a hard 
place." The Prime Minister said.
"The High Senate believes that the ships will increase our 
intergalactic commerce. Not only will we be able to restore the normal 
budget in three years but, we will also be able to start new programs 
from the surplus created." The Senator said.  
"It sounds like a good deal, Senator. I think The Senate and I 
can finally agree on something." The Prime Minister said. She returned 
to her desk and sat.
"I think the decision on funding this new fleet is going to have 
to take a back seat for the moment Madame Prime Minister. Something 
more urgent is about to take precedence." A voice boomed from the back 
corner of the room. Both the Prime Minister and The Senator jumped to 
their feet.
"Who are you? How did you get in here?" The Prime Minister asked. 
"I'm just a messenger." Shiro said as he swiveled around in his 
chair. 
"If you are a messenger then what message do you bring? Also, 
what is this more recent problem you speak of?" The Prime Minister 
asked. Shiro stood and walked towards the large desk. 
"I find it ironic that an earlier decision regarding Hippon's 
ability to trade is the cause of your kingdoms newest problem. Your 
newest trouble is that The Inferno is on his way here." The boy said. 
Both The Senator and The Prime Minister looked worried for a moment. 
The Prime Minister smiled before she spoke. 
"Don't be ridiculous. An ancient relative of mine led the attack 
that destroyed The Inferno." She said with pride. The boy rolled his 
eyes.
"I guess some things will never change." The boy thought out 
loud.
"First of all, give credit where credit is due. Professor Washu 
was the one who stopped The Inferno. Secondly, your military never was 
nor will it ever be strong enough to even slow down The Inferno." The 
boy said with a hint of agitation.
"The message that I bring is this. Make preparations for the end 
for the end is at hand." The boy said with a wicked smile.
"I think it's time you go home little boy. Your mommy is probably 
looking for you." The Senator said. He reached for Shiro's shoulder. 
Shiro quickly slapped the Senator's hand away. The Senator then lunged 
at Shiro and clasped his hands tightly on Shiro's shoulders. The boy 
looked at The Senator with disgust. Shiro reached up with his left hand 
and grabbed the man by the throat. The Senator immediately kicked and 
punched wildly at Shiro with no effect. A recent memory flashed through 
Shiro's mind and he became angry. He pivoted to his right and threw the 
man across the office. The Senator slammed into the marble wall on the 
far side of the room before falling into a twisted heap at the base of 
the wall. Shiro regained composure and dusted his shoulders where The 
Senator held him. He turned and glared at the cowering Prime Minister. 
"He died quickly. The rest of you will not." Shiro said. A beep 
started to sound from the desk. The Prime Minister looked at the boy in 
horror.
"Are you expecting a call? You may want to get it. It could be 
important." The boy said. The Prime Minister continued to stare at 
Shiro in shock.
"I'll get it. You can't say that I never did anything for you." 
Shiro said sarcastically. He reached down and pushed a black button. A 
small video screen popped up from the desk. Washu appeared on the 
screen in front of him.
	"Hey! How did you know I was here?" Shiro spouted. Washu was 
surprised but she didn't let it show. She hacked into the Prime 
Minister's video line in hopes of warning her about Shiro so she could 
evacuate. Washu was too late.
	"Shiro, you didn't?" Washu asked.
	"Not yet." Shiro replied. He grabbed the Prime Minister by the 
shoulders and wheeled her in front of the screen. 
	"It appears you are a little late once again, professor." Shiro 
said.
	"Please don't Shiro. I'll be there shortly and you can deal with 
me then." Washu pleaded.
	"Washu, I could have dealt with you on earth. Why do you think I 
wanted you to come here?" Shiro asked. Washu remained silent. Shiro 
lowered his head in fake exasperation. He then looked up quickly at The 
Prime Minister.
	"I'm sorry. Where are my manners? Madame Prime Minister, this is 
the legendary genius Professor Washu. Little Washu, this is The Prime 
Minister of Planet Hippon". The Prime Minister was still speechless. 
	"Did you know that one of The Prime Minister's relatives is 
responsible for my death?" Shiro asked. Washu still didn't respond.
	"I know the truth about that fact first hand but now that makes 
me wonder about something else. If your great whatever was responsible 
for my death then that means he was a high ranking military figure. 
Possibly even the highest. It would certainly bode well for a person 
running for office to have hero in the family." Shiro speculated.
	"I'm willing to bet that this hero had some say in the decision 
that resulted in the incineration of my wife and daughters." Shiro said 
flatly.
	"Wife and daughters?" Washu said with surprise.
	"You mean there is something that Washu doesn't know? Isn't this 
a red letter day." Shiro mocked. He put his foot on The Prime 
Minister's chair and kicked her out into the middle of the room. The 
terrified woman let out a short yell then became silent again as her 
chair rolled to a stop.
"Madame Prime Minister, did you know there is a very ancient law 
on Hippon that basically states that a child isn't responsible for the 
sins of his or her father? I don't particularly agree with that law. 
Especially when they brag about their father's sins." Shiro said. She 
closed her eyes and started to cry. Shiro grasped the screen with both 
hands and glared into it viciously.
	"I have a question for you, professor." Shiro said through grit 
teeth. He turned the screen to face the woman in the middle of the 
room. The woman screamed and burst into flames. She jumped up and put 
her hands to her face trying franticly to put out the flames with no 
success. 
	"NOOOOO! STOP!" Washu screamed. The fire was suddenly 
extinguished but the damage was already done. The severely burnt woman 
fell to the ground and writhed in pain as she continued to scream at 
the top of her lungs. You couldn't even tell she was a woman by her 
looks.
	"Did my wife and daughters scream like that just before they 
died? DID THEY?!" Shiro roared.
	"You sick bastard." Was all Washu could manage. The door to the 
office flew open and in poured guards. They stood in shock at what lay 
before them.
	"Play time is over, professor. I intend on finishing what I 
began. Are you strong enough to stop me? I guess we will see soon 
enough." Shiro spat. Washu remained silent. The picture on the screen 
turned to static.

*		*		*

Washu sat on the floor aboard Ryo-Ohki. Tenchi and Ryoko didn't see 
what took place on the screen in front of Washu but the expression on 
Washu's face confirmed it wasn't pleasant. Tenchi sat down next to 
Washu and put his arm around her shoulder. Washu didn't respond. She 
just sat and stared at the floor. 
	"Is there anything I can do?" Tenchi asked. Washu looked up at 
him. Her eyes were glazed as though she was about to cry. Washu closed 
her eyes and composed herself. She stood up before she spoke.
	"All we can do is hurry. I won't be able to stop him on the 
planet itself. I can't fire the dimensional cannon at that proximity. 
You two are going to have to lure him into space. I'll fire at him from 
Yagami. The cannon is already in the cargo hold and Yagami isn't far 
behind us." Washu finished. 
	"How strong is this guy?" Ryoko asked. 
	"He is unlike anything you have ever faced. I can't tell you the 
limit of his power because I don't know. I do know that he caught a 
blast from the dimensional cannon and appears no worse for wear." Washu 
explained. 
	"If you weren't able to kill him with the dimensional cannon 
before, what makes you think it's going to kill him now?" Tenchi asked. 
	"I've made it a lot more powerful since the last time I've used 
it. When I used it on Kain, it was on it's lowest possible setting 
which is about the same yield as it was when I used on Shiro last." 
Washu said. She walked to the window and watched as Planet Hippon 
slowly moved closer.
	"This is very serious. I know why Shiro is so obsessed and full 
of hate. He won't quit until he or the Hippon race is dead. He knows 
this as well as I do. He won't fight like anyone else you ever fought. 
He may toy with you a bit at the beginning to see what kind of power 
you have but once he finds out, he won't hold back. Please be careful 
you two." Washu said as she placed her hand on the window. 
	"We'll do our best Little Washu." Tenchi promised.
	"I'll give it all I got." Ryoko said as well. Ryo-Ohki sped 
towards the planet. Washu continued to gaze out into space. She looked 
at the binary stars that made up the core of Hippon's system. A massive 
red giant star was slowly being consumed by a brilliant white dwarf. 
She was mesmerized by the celestial ballet. 
	"Look over there." Washu said as she pointed at the stars. 
	"That is a white dwarf. It is small, very bright and very 
beautiful celestial body. Don't be fooled by its outward appearance. 
Its gravity is so powerful that it is consuming the much larger red 
giant next to it. Eventually, the white dwarf will totally devour the 
red giant." Washu explained. Ryoko walked up to her.
	"What will happen after that?" Ryoko asked.
	"One of three things can happen. In the end, its mass and gravity 
will become so great that it will collapse on itself to form a black 
hole. Possibly in the end, it can just expend the rest of its nuclear 
fuel and die as a brown dwarf, floating alone in the universe for the 
rest of time. Or maybe in the end, it will explode as a super nova and 
create a place where other stars and planets are born." Washu said.
	"What do you think will happen?" Tenchi asked. Washu looked 
thoughtful as she turned to Tenchi and spoke.
	"I don't know. But what I do know is this. An end will come." 

*		*		*

"He's going to kill this planet NOW!" Washu yelled through the 
subspace communicator.
"What do we do?" Kiyone asked in a panic.
"We stop him. Get that thing here in a hurry. Mihoshi can fly the 
ship. I want you to warm it up. Start going through the checklists. 
Where are Ayeka and Sasami?" Washu said. 
"They are still on earth. Sasami is taking this badly." Kiyone 
responded. 
"Poor little girl." Washu sympathized. Everyone did as they were 
told. The youth floated just outside of Hippon's atmosphere. His arms 
were crossed and his head was bowed as though he was in deep thought. 
The two ships came online beside him. Ryo-Ohki drifted to a halt not 
far from Shiro. The Yagami appeared and slowed until it was next to 
Ryo-Ohki. The doors to Yagami's cargo bay opened, exposing Washu's 
Dimensional Cannon. Kiyone was already inside and was proceeding 
through the arming checklist. Washu pounded away furiously at the keys 
on her keyboard.
"Why hasn't he attacked? What is he up to?" Washu thought out 
loud. 
"What are you talking about Washu? You already said he was 
getting ready to destroy Hippon." Ryoko asked.
"That's certainly what it looks like he's up to but he is just 
sitting there. He isn't behaving like he usually does. He is up to 
something and with any luck I'll find out what it is." Washu explained.
"Here we go." Washu stated as she finished he computations. She 
hit the compute button on her keyboard.
"What the.." Washu started. 
"This doesn't make any since." Washu said. 
"Cannon is charged and operational. Just give me the word when 
you want to start the firing sequence." Kiyone advised.
"This doesn't add up. There are two Shiros but they are occupying 
the same space. How is that possible?" Washu commented. Washu directed 
her attention to Kiyone.
"Aim the cannon and stand by when ready. I want to try and talk 
him out of this." Washu said. Washu activated her subspace speaker.
"Tetsu.Shiro, don't do this. I know you know it's wrong. Don't 
make me destroy you." Washu warned.
"I seem to remember hearing that before. You can't kill me. 
Nothing can. That's the whole problem." Shiro said.
"Is that what you are trying to do? Are you trying to kill 
yourself?" Washu asked.
"I just told you that I can not die. If it was up to me, I would 
have been dead long before I met you." Shiro finished.  
"Washu, the cannon is armed and ready." Kiyone said through the 
speaker.
"Await my order." Washu instructed.
"Shiro, just give me twenty four hours to convince you. Please." 
Washu pleaded.
"I'm sorry professor but I've waited long enough." Shiro said. 
Washu wasn't really paying attention. She was stalling for time while 
trying to add up all the facts. She felt she had all the pieces but 
they just weren't fitting together. Shiro suddenly stood up straight as 
though he was alarmed. He quickly raised his hand above his head and a 
large blue light flickered in his hand. It grew until it was just a 
little larger than he was. 
"Good bye Hippon!" Shiro yelled. His arm started moving forward. 
Washu's mind was racing.
"Washu!" Kiyone yelled. Washu had no choice. She felt that firing 
the cannon wasn't a good idea but if she didn't act now, Hippon would 
be obliterated.
"FIRE!" Washu yelled. Kiyone depressed both the triggers on the 
controls. The barrel of the cannon split and a mass of energy gathered 
at the collector at the end of the barrel. Electricity began to arc to 
Yagami's deck from the cannon. Shiro looked over his shoulder to see 
the cannon finish its final build up. Washu closely scrutinized his 
expression. She was horrified when she saw a smile creep to his face. 
Shiro quickly pivoted to face Yagami with the huge ball of blue light 
between them. Suddenly, all the pieces fell into place. The weak 
reading from Shiro, the reason the tracker couldn't lock onto his 
position, the reason he didn't destroy the planet from the beginning, 
the reason he came to earth in the first place all made since. Washu 
panicked.
"KIYONE! ABORT! ABORT!" Washu yelled. Kiyone didn't hesitate. She 
slapped the override switch on the control panel followed by the abort 
button.  Shiro started to laugh maniacally.
"Too late, professor!" He cackled. The Dimensional cannon 
released its payload and ripped from Yagami's cargo hold. Shiro 
vanished but his ball of energy remained. The beam impacted Shiro's 
ball and lit up the Hippon planetary system brighter than the stars at 
its center. Washu's tracker began to flash and beep. It was as Washu 
thought. The tracker singled out Shiro only this time his energy 
reading was clear and extremely powerful. The beam from the cannon 
didn't progress any further than the place where Shiro had been. The 
beam and the ball both disappeared and where replaced by a small black 
hole. The hole grew larger until something emerged from out of its 
center. A brilliant white light obscured the object. The light subsided 
and a young man remained. He was dressed in fine white garments. The 
young man smiled.
"I thought I was never going to get out of there. Thank you for 
assisting me, professor. I'll see you soon." The man said before he 
vanished.
"I can't believe I was deceived so easily. Why didn't I see it 
coming?" Washu criticized herself.
"What are you talking about? What just happened, Washu?" Tenchi 
asked. 
"The little boy never existed. He was a fake Shiro. A replica 
created by Shiro and projected into this dimension. That's why my 
tracker couldn't lock onto him. The energy he was putting out was 
identical and in two different places. There was no way my tracker 
could lock onto him." Washu explained.
"A projection? Why would he do that?" Kiyone asked though the 
communicator.
"Because he was never here. He was trapped in the collapsed black 
hole that my cannon made. He just suckered me into using it to reopen 
it so he could escape. That's why he didn't destroy Hippon. He 
couldn't. He barely had enough power to project a convincing version of 
himself. He didn't have near enough power to destroy a planet." Washu 
continued.
"What do we do now?" Mihoshi asked.
"Right now, he's feeling pretty good about pulling a fast one on 
me. We need to contain or destroy him before he realizes he's supposed 
to be in a bad mood.

*		*		*

	"Haha. 'Washu The Duped' sure has a nice ring to it. Where are 
you, professor? It sure is taking you long enough." Shiro thought to 
himself as he sat back in his chair. He was sitting in an outdoor caf‚ 
near the beach. He watched the people enjoying the lazy afternoon next 
to the ocean. Shiro was starting to relax until he saw two little girls 
building a sandcastle. He was suddenly inundated with memories of his 
daughters and then he imagined their flaming demise.  Shiro ground his 
teeth and clenched his fists in front of him on the table.
	"It's not fair." Shiro mumbled as he tried to control himself. He 
found himself breathing deeply and a bead of sweat rolled down his 
cheek.
	"Are you alright?" Someone said. Shiro looked up to see a young 
waitress standing in front of him. She had short white hair and was 
very attractive. 
	"I'm fine. I get headaches sometimes." Shiro explained.
	"Do you want me to get you a doctor?" The waitress asked.
	"Honestly, I'm ok. I appreciate your concern though." Shiro said 
with a smile. The waitress smiled back. 
	"Why are you sitting up here all by yourself instead down at the 
beach?" The waitress asked. Shiro didn't understand her question at 
first. Shiro paused before he answered.
	"Sometimes it's more fun to just watch. There are times when you 
have to sit back and completely detach yourself from the situation in 
order to fully appreciate the finer moments." Shiro replied. The 
waitress looked towards the beach.
	"I know exactly what you mean. Sometimes when I get off work, I 
sit at that table and just watch everything." The girl said as she 
pointed at the table opposite Shiro.
	"It's nice to meet people with common interests." Shiro said as 
he toasted the waitress with his glass of juice. The waitress smiled 
again and pulled out a chair at Shiro's table and sat.
	"Damn! Too nice." Shiro mentally scolded himself. He knew it was 
in his nature to act and react in the extreme. He didn't really want to 
kill this girl just for being nice to him. Her time is limited. He 
decided that he was going to be pleasant rather than vicious.
	"I haven't heard anyone describe people watching like that 
before." The waitress observed. Shiro sipped some of his juice.
	"I get that a lot." Shiro said. 
	"I bet you do." The waitress said playfully. Shiro was amused 
that his charm worked so well on a girl he just met. The waitress 
presented her hand.
	"My name is Liusa." The girl said. Shiro hid his agitation behind 
a smile and shook her hand.
	"Hello Liusa. I'm Shiro. Pleased to meet you." He introduced 
himself.
	"Such a well spoken and hansom young man. I would be willing to 
wager that you have to beat the girls off with a stick." Liusa said. 
	"As a matter of fact, I know I'm being hunted down by a few right 
now. If they found me here talking to you, they would probably try to 
kill me." Shiro joked. 
"Would they now?" Liusa laughed.
"What would they do to me?" She teased.
"They would probably try to warn you about me." Shiro said 
enjoying the half-truth. He was extremely old and cultured but he was 
always amazed at how well flattery worked on him. He was now in a great 
mood and had all but forgotten the reason he was on Hippon. This young 
lady was to be counted among his victims soon but he decided to put his 
business on hold for the time being. He also decided that talking about 
himself was too dangerous. He needed to change the subject. The only 
women that he knew well that didn't talk about themselves were his wife 
and Washu. Washu always claimed that she was the greatest scientist in 
the universe but other than that, she said almost nothing about 
herself. Shiro looked into the Caf‚ and saw images on the video screen 
over the bar of the chaos at the Prime Minister's Mansion. Liusa looked 
inside as well.
"Isn't it terrible." Liusa said.
"What's terrible?" Shiro asked.
"You mean you don't know? A terrorist broke into The Prime 
Minister's Mansion and murdered, the Prime Minister, a senator and a 
dozen or so guards." Liusa explained.
"Really? Does anyone know who did it?" Shiro asked.
"Right now, no one knows who is responsible but the High Senate 
has even called in the Galaxy Police for assistance." Liusa said. Shiro 
didn't like where this was headed and changed the subject again.  One 
trait that Shiro prized most about women was that they love to talk 
about themselves. That was just fine with Shiro. He loved to listen.
"Why is such a lovely woman working here as a waitress?" Shiro 
flirted back.
"My parents own this caf‚. They needed some help this summer so I 
decided to take my vacation here." Liusa explained.
"You are on vacation? What do you do back home?" Shiro asked.
"Actually, this is my home. I go to school in The District of 
Topi Soryu." Liusa said.
"What are you studying?" Shiro asked.
"I'm majoring in Nano-biology." Liusa said.
"Wow. You must be a pretty sharp cookie. That's cutting edge 
stuff. What do you plan on doing after school?"  Shiro asked again.
"I want to attend the Intergalactic Science Academy." Liusa said. 
Shiro exploded into laughter. Liusa looked hurt. Shiro noticed. 
"NO! No. I'm not laughing at you. It just so happens that I'm 
very close to one of the greatest geniuses that ever taught there. I'm 
just surprised at the coincidence. I swear that woman haunts me." Shiro 
explained. Liusa smiled again. 
"Woman? Who is she?" Liusa asked.
"Professor Washu Hakubi." Shiro admitted. 
"You know her?!" Liusa asked with obvious surprise.
"I sure do." Shiro said.
"Well, what is she like?" Liusa exclaimed.
"Why don't you ask her yourself? She's standing right behind 
you."

*		*		*

Washu had localized Shiro's energy signature to within a few 
blocks of where she was now. Her tracker had detected Shiro teleporting 
to somewhere on or near this beach. Although the signal was 
unmistakably Shiro's, he was trying to hide his signal again. Ryoko, 
Tenchi and Washu all arrived on Hippon in the vicinity of where her 
tracker said Shiro was. They decided to stay together for mutual 
protection. Washu was getting ready to move on to the next block when 
she heard Shiro's voice. It was coming from the deck behind a caf‚. She 
walked to the corner of the building and took a quick peek. He was 
sitting at a table near the edge of the deck talking to a young girl 
with white hair. She was startled and jumped back when Shiro laughed 
out loud. 
"He's here." Washu said. Tenchi and Ryoko's expression hardened.
"He's talking to someone near the edge of the deck. Ryoko, I want 
you to teleport beneath the deck and wait until I give the word. 
Tenchi, you wait here in case he gets past me. I'm going to try and get 
the girl away from him." Washu explained. Ryoko disappeared from sight 
and Tenchi removed the Master Key from his pocket. Washu stepped around 
the corner and walked up to the table from behind the seated young 
woman. She heard Shiro speak her name out loud and noticed the 
conversation livened up just before she stood behind the girl. The girl 
turned in her chair quickly. She looked a little disappointed.
"That's not Professor Washu Hakubi. The professor is much older." 
Liusa said. Shiro, again, exploded into uncontrollable laughter. He 
steadied himself before he spoke. 
"Dear professor, excuse me. I mean Little Washu, the young lady 
doesn't know what she is saying." Shiro said as he tried to settle 
down.
"I don't mind that. You and I need to talk." Washu said bluntly. 
Liusa looked a bit put off by Washu's interruption. Shiro noticed this 
and spoke up.
"Liusa, this is one of the young women I told you about earlier." 
Shiro said. Liusa brightened.
"Oh I see. Let me guess, you are going to kill him." Liusa said. 
Washu looked a little surprised. Shiro folded his arms and suppressed 
his desire to laugh again. 
"Don't worry, Sweetie. You don't have to warn me about him. He 
told me the whole story." Liusa offered. Washu's eyes narrowed with 
suspicion. Shiro was at wits end trying to contain himself.
"I better leave so you two can talk. It was nice meeting you 
Shiro." Liusa said as she stood up. She walked to the door and turned 
before she went inside. She gave Shiro a wink then stepped inside. 
"What a pleasant young woman." Shiro commented.
"Will you please have a seat, Little Washu." Shiro offered. Washu 
pulled out the chair Liusa was sitting in and sat.
"Why couldn't you let it go, Shiro." Washu asked. Shiro unfolded 
his arms and placed them on the rails of his chair. 
"Let it go? There's no such thing. When you get as old as I am 
you start to see this reality as it truly is. 'Letting it go' is lying 
to yourself. It's forcibly forgetting so your memories don't inhibit 
your performance in the present. Well guess what? I never want to 
forget my family. I will not dishonor their memory by saying 'It 
happened a long time ago, so it no longer matters." Shiro spoke 
angrily. 
"Look around you Shiro. These are not the people who killed your 
family. These people and this civilization have lived in peace ever 
since that fateful day." 
"Even more reason to act. Their peace was built on the souls of 
my children and my people." Shiro said. 
"If you succeed, you will be no better than the people who did 
this to you." Washu said.
"I'm well aware of who I am, professor. What concerns me is this. 
I can not die. As I continue in this reality, I will always be plagued 
by the fact that my family was murdered and I had the power to exact 
justice but failed to do so because of semantics." Shiro said.
"Semantics?! These are living beings we are talking about, 
Shiro!" Washu yelled.
"SO WERE MY WIFE AND CHILDREN!" Shiro roared. He became enraged 
instantly. Shiro leaped from his seat and pointed the palm of his hand 
at Washu's face.
"Shiro, What are you doing?" Washu asked. Shiro didn't reply. The 
few people on the deck were staring at the angry young man. Washu saw 
Shiro's eyes narrow and his teeth began to show through his part lips. 
"Ryoko!" Washu alarmed through her psychic link. The floor 
splinter as Ryoko ripped through the deck. She reached for Shiro but he 
saw her and he launched himself through the air. He landed on the 
banister on the far side of the deck. Everyone who wasn't involved in 
the fray ran away in a panic. 
"You are going to have to move faster than that to defeat me." 
Shiro taunted. Tenchi bolted from around the corner with his weapon in 
hand. He lunged at Shiro and managed slice off a small piece of Shiro's 
outer-garment. Shiro crashed through the deck furniture as he avoided 
Tenchi's attack. He jumped to his feet and examined the damage to his 
clothing. 
"Your attack was well placed. If I hadn't seen you when I did, I 
would be a kabob right now." Shiro mused as he stuck his finger through 
the small hole in his clothes. 
"That's as close as you are ever going to get though." Shiro 
said. He clenched his right fist and a straight, white blade blazed 
forth. Ryoko created her orange blade and stood ready.
"I'm not going to give you the chance to touch Tenchi." Ryoko 
said. Shiro moved his left arm to his side and produced a white blade 
in that hand as well. 
"Let's see what you got, Space Pirate Ryoko." Shiro said. Ryoko 
ran towards Shiro. She swung at his head with her sword but he raised 
his left blade and blocked it. Shiro attacked with his other sword. 
Ryoko ducked and spun in the opposite direction of her original attack. 
She attempted to slice Shiro's legs with a low counter attack. Shiro 
anticipated this and performed a back flip to avoid her blade. He 
kicked out and connected with Ryoko's face. Ryoko was knocked back but 
she managed to fire a beam before she smashed through the banister. 
Shiro's toes just touched the deck prior to Ryoko's blast hitting. He 
quickly sidestepped the beam but he didn't see Ryoko teleport above 
him. As soon as the blast passed him, Ryoko let loose a much more 
powerful shot. Shiro noticed that Ryoko's first blast was a diversion 
too late to defend himself. He looked up just in time to receive the 
full brunt of Ryoko's attack. The force of Ryoko's attack blasted Shiro 
through the deck. When he impacted the underlying beach, the shockwave 
ripped the supports to splinters. Washu and Tenchi managed to leap 
through the open door of the caf‚ moments before the deck separated 
from the rest of the building and collapsed onto the beach below. Ryoko 
hovered in the air above the wreckage. She knew that she hit him hard 
but she also knew that wasn't near enough to kill him. She remained 
ready for him. Some of the planks from the wrecked deck began to move. 
Shiro emerged from the debris. His clothes were charred but he wasn't 
harmed in the slightest. Shiro crossed his arms and stared at Ryoko. 
Ryoko floated down to the beach about ten meters from Shiro with her 
back to the surf. Shiro unfolded his arms and tried to remove the dust 
and sand from his clothes with no success. 
"I'm impressed. You are definitely the professor's daughter. You 
are good but you are not good enough." Shiro said. Ryoko remained at 
the ready. Shiro looked around then looked back at Ryoko.
"We are at the beach." Shiro observed with mock surprise.
"So what?" Ryoko said.
"So, I hope you brought a towel. You are about to go for a little 
swim." Shiro announced. She was barely able to see Shiro move. He was 
so fast that Ryoko never had a chance to react. Shiro dashed at Ryoko 
and landed a powerful punch to her mid-section. Ryoko sliced through 
the ocean like a bullet. The speed at which she traveled backwards was 
so great that a large amount of sand from the sea floor flew into the 
sky along with ocean in Ryoko's wake. Ryoko was out of sight in the 
blink of an eye.
"That was fun. Who's next?" Shiro asked as he turned towards the 
caf‚. 
"Ryoko!" Tenchi yelled after he realized what had just happened. 
He jumped down to the beach and ran towards Shiro.
"Tenchi! Get Down!" Washu cried out. Tenchi dove to the ground 
without question. Shiro spun around to meet his attacker. To his 
surprise, he saw nothing as he looked out over the ocean. Shiro turned 
back to Washu.
"The old 'What's That Behind You?' I can't believe I fell for.." 
Shiro was cut off by a salvo of cannon fire that rained down from the 
sky.  The barrage shoved Shiro deep into the sand. Tenchi looked up to 
see the ten wings of the light hawk.  Washu ran to Tenchi to see if he 
was hurt. When she found him, he didn't have a mark on him. Not a 
single shot fired from Tsunami strayed. They both stood up and surveyed 
the huge crater on the beach. Shiro pulled himself from beneath the 
sand. He coughed and spit. He stood and once more, only Shiro's clothes 
were casualties of the attack. 
"At this rate, I'm going to be naked inside an hour." Shiro 
joked. He looked up to see the wings of the light hawk illuminated by 
the setting sun. It looked as though a phoenix was born in the skies of 
Hippon. 
"The Ship of Jurai? You guys are really trying to kill me aren't 
you?" Shiro mused. 
"Well this is starting to get out of hand. Jurai is just going to 
have to get itself another flag ship." Shiro said. He cupped his hands 
together and pointed them at Tsunami. Shiro was just starting to summon 
his power when he was distracted by a group of people rushing in his 
direction. The commotion that Shiro had created attracted the local 
authorities. Hundreds of vehicles sped towards the beach. Shiro lowered 
his hands so that they were now pointing at the oncoming traffic. 
"Shiro! Don't!" Washu yelled. Tsunami charged her cannons. Shiro 
sensed this.
"You aren't going to get me twice with the same trick." Shiro 
warned. Tsunami fired. Shiro quickly raised his left hand. A dim field 
appeared above him before the first rounds found their mark. 
Unfortunately, Shiro's defense caught every last round Tsunami fired.
"Sasami, Stop!" Tenchi yelled to the floating ship. At once, the 
salvo ceased. The hundreds of rounds were compressed into a dazzling 
ball of light that fit in Shiro's hand. He squeezed it in his clenched 
fist then lowered his hand to face the police.
"I don't like the looks of that." Washu announced.
"It will be the might of Jurai that takes care of these 
nuisances." Shiro declared. He was about to let it go until he noticed 
an odd noise coming from the ocean. As soon as he looked towards the 
sea, pain coursed through his face. The sound of Ryoko's punch landing 
flush on Shiro's jaw was the only sound that could drown out the sonic 
boom that heralded her coming. The soil exploded like a bomb when Shiro 
hit and the ball of light sped into the sky directly at Tsunami. The 
ship's wings caught the blast and dissipated its energy on contact. 
Shiro gouged a massive trough inland all the way to the horizon. Ryoko 
stood without a sound. Her eyes were squinted and her face was sour. 
Tenchi could feel heat radiating from her from where he stood. It might 
have been dangerous to approach her in the state she was in but Tenchi 
ran to her anyway. He had to shield his face as drew near her.
"Ryoko. Are you ok?" Tenchi asked. Ryoko relaxed and the heat 
subsided. 
"He landed a good one on me. It wasn't anything I couldn't handle 
though." Ryoko said as she grasped her stomach. She looked at the 
horizon to where Shiro should have stopped.
"I don't here you laughing now, Mr. Funny Man." Ryoko taunted. 
Washu ran up to the group.
"We need to press the attack while we still have the advantage." 
Washu advised.
"Advantage? I got news for you, Washu. I don't know why but he's 
holding back big time with us. When he hit me, I was able to sense his 
true power and he isn't even close to using it yet." Ryoko explained. 
Washu turned to Ryoko.
"I know that. But he isn't using his real power is he? He is just 
biding his time with us and that will give us the opportunity we need 
to defeat him. If he was using his real power, this would have been 
over a while ago." Washu said. 
"Why hasn't he used his real power yet? Everyone is here. Why 
hasn't he killed us?" Tenchi asked. 
"I can't say. It's not like him to put himself at disadvantage to 
just play around. That's not the way he works." Washu said. Ayeka, 
beamed down from Tsunami. Ayeka wasted no time in running to Tenchi.
"Lord Tenchi!" Ayeka yelled as she ran at Tenchi
"Uhmm Ayeka, you might want to slow down." Tenchi hesitated. 
Ayeka jumped at and tackled Tenchi. He was knocked senseless.
"Lord Tenchi, I thought you were hurt or.or." Ayeka tried to 
finish.
"Hey you little air head! He wasn't hurt until you bum rushed 
him!" Ryoko said.
"This is all your fault, Ryoko!" Ayeka accused.
"What? How in the hell do you figure that?" Ryoko asked.
"I don't know what you have been up to but where ever there is 
destruction, you don't seem to be far away." Ayeka said.
"Listen up little girl. It just so happens that that sawed off 
little runt is responsible for all of this." Ryoko said in her own 
defense.
"How typical of you to blame your screw ups on others." Ayeka 
said.
"Will you two knock it off. We have bigger problems. The Inferno 
is still out there." Washu said.
"Yeah, if you're not careful, I could sneak up behind you." Shiro 
said from behind the group. Everyone turned immediately to see the 
young man standing with his arms folded. 
"That was a pretty good punch, Ryoko. I haven't felt pain sense 
your mommy spanked me with that huge gun she has." Shiro said.
"It's not that far away, Shiro. I may just spank you again." 
Washu threatened. 
"Oh! I'm so scared of your little ray gun." Shiro mocked. "I 
don't think you understand what I'm here for, Professor. Allow me to 
make it simple for you." Shiro said. An instant later Shiro had 
Tenchi's arm folded behind him with a white blade to his neck. 
"I'm going to show you what real loss is." Shiro said. 
"TENCHI!" Ryoko screamed. The next thing he knew, Shiro was 
flying through the air and was laying face first in the sand. Shiro 
stood up again. "This is getting monotonous." Shiro stated with 
irritation. He looked over his shoulder to Ayeka's force field 
protecting Tenchi. "Apparently, I forgot about the power of Jurai." 
Shiro admitted.
	"You don't seem to be doing very well." Washu said sarcastically.  
Shiro looked to Washu. What she saw made her sorry that she said 
anything. Shiro's face was twisted with hate in the same manner as it 
was just before he tried to destroy Hippon. 
	"It does seem a little unfair. Let me even the odds a bit." Shiro 
said. He produced his white blade in his right hand and launched 
himself at Ryoko. Ryoko was ready to defend herself but at the last 
possible moment, Shiro changed direction and sped towards Ayeka. Before 
anyone had a chance to react, Shiro was standing in front of Ayeka with 
his blade piercing her chest and emerging out her back. Ayeka couldn't 
even manage the faintest of responses. The white blade disappeared from 
Shiro's hand and he quickly turned with his hands cupped, pointing 
towards the sky. Ayeka fell to the ground and didn't move. 
"Sisters should be together!" Shiro hissed. A monstrous blast 
erupted from Shiro and ripped through one pair of light hawk wings and 
cut Tsunami in half. The Jurain ship fell into the ocean and sank as a 
smoldering wreck. Everyone was in shock. Washu fell to her knees and 
tried to scream but nothing would come out. 
	"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Tenchi roared. Shiro turned to see the youth 
levitating in mid air. Three wings of the lighthawk cut through the 
air. Tenchi grasped one of the wings and formed the lighthawk sword. He 
dashed at Shiro. The white clad youth just stood and watched as Tenchi 
charged. Tenchi swung his blade but it passed right through Shiro. 
Tenchi was confused. Shiro took advantage of Tenchi's distraction. He 
raised his hand and fired a fine beam. The beam sliced through Tenchi, 
cutting him nearly in two. 
	"TENCHI!!!!!" Ryoko screamed. She flew as fast as she could 
towards Tenchi. Just before she reached him, she was stopped in mid 
air. Shiro had materialized behind her and caught her by the neck. 
Shiro hoisted her high into the air. Ryoko kicked franticly and tried 
to do anything within her power to get free from Shiro's ever 
tightening grip. Ryoko's kicking slowed. She removed her hand from 
Shiro's wrist and reached for Tenchi. 
	"How noble. Not in this lifetime." Shiro taunted. Shiro quickly 
jerked his arm and broke Ryoko's neck. He then dropped her to the 
ground. Shiro turned to see Washu kneeling in the sand. Her eyes were 
open but Washu was traumatized. 
"Don't kneel before me, Professor. I wanted to be your friend, 
not your master." Shiro mocked. "Don't be sad. I left you a few 
friends. Hell, I even spared that planet we were on. That's a lot 
more than Hippon left me." Shiro explained. 
"Let me show you something." Shiro grabbed Washu by the back of 
her collar and drug her over to Ayeka. Ayeka was face down. Shiro 
placed his foot under her body and rolled her onto her back. Ayeka's 
eyes were closed. 
"She was a friend of yours but all friends die. From what I 
understand, you didn't really know her all that long. I guess it's a 
good thing you two didn't get close." Shiro said. He then dragged her 
over to Tenchi. Tenchi too was face down. Shiro placed his foot under 
Tenchi and kicked but only Tenchi's torso rolled over while the lower 
half of his body remained still. 
"Oops! Sorry about that. This one you were really fond of. I 
think you were actually more taken with him than you were with me. 
Well, I guess there will be others." Shiro stated coldly. He then 
walked to Ryoko with Washu in trail. Ryoko's eyes were open and a small 
trail of blood ran from the corner of her mouth.
 "Ryoko was your daughter. You don't have a very good track 
record with progeny. I mean your first child was taken away from you 
back at the academy and this one is quite dead. At least she looks 
dead." Shiro said as he squatted. He scooped up some sand in his left 
hand. He then took a pinch of that in his right hand then sprinkled it 
into Ryoko's open eyes.
 "If she's acting, she's doing a rather fine job. I don't know 
anyone who can take that and not blink. Otherwise, I think it's time to 
call an undertaker." Shiro finished. He dragged Washu over to the deck 
wreckage. He found a chair in the debris and sat Washu in it. He then 
stood in front of Washu.
 "Well Washu, a terrible travesty has befallen your friends and 
family. They were all murdered in cold blood and their murderer stands 
in front of you. But that happened only minutes ago. I think you should 
put it behind you. I think it's time you let it go. What do you think 
of that? Does that sound like a good plan?" Shiro stated. Washu 
launched herself from her seat and produced an orange blade exactly 
like Ryoko's. She sliced off Shiro's left arm. Shiro fell backwards 
onto the beach. He didn't even get a chance to yell. Washu swung the 
blade as fast as she could manage. Tears were pouring from her eyes. 
"YOU EVIL MONSTER! HOW COULD YOU DO IT? HOW COULD YOU?!" Washu screamed 
as she continued to slice Shiro. By the time Washu stopped, you 
couldn't even tell Shiro was an animal. All that remained was small 
slices of bloody meat. Washu fell to her hands and knees and cried 
uncontrollably.

*		*		*

Washu was finally able to get a hold of herself. She had been in the 
same position for near an hour. When she looked up, the scenery had 
changed. She was on the same beach but there was no one there. There 
wasn't even a sign that fight had taken place. She looked around a 
little confused. The sky suddenly went dark and all the objects 
vanished. The next thing she knew she was sitting in her chair, at her 
desk, in her office, at the science academy. She examined her hands and 
found the she was her normal self. There was a knock at her door. 
"Come in." Washu said with a little hesitance. Shiro walked 
through the door. He looked just like he did back at the academy.
	"Good afternoon, Little Washu." Shiro said with a smile.
	"What's going on?" Washu asked.
	"You mean you don't know? Why professor, I'm shocked. Aren't you 
suppose to know everything?"   
	"No, I'm not. Can you please explain it to me." Washu said. Shiro 
took a step back. He had never heard Washu ask for anyone to explain 
anything to her before. Shiro presented his hand to Washu. She took it 
and he pulled her out of her chair.
	"It's a beautiful day outside today isn't it?" Shiro asked.
	"Yes it is." Washu agreed still confused.
	"I think we should go outside." Shiro said as he headed for the 
door with Washu in tow. The next thing Washu knew, she was walking in 
the park with Shiro. 
	" I bet you are a little confused right now but that means that 
everything I planned to happen has come out the way I wanted it to." 
Shiro explained.
	"Can you stop being so enigmatic and just say it." Washu 
complained. The two came to a bench and took a seat. 
	"You are dreaming Little Washu." Shiro said. Washu looked around.
	"I can't be dreaming. There is too much detail." Washu pointed 
out.
	"Well, I've been supplying the content of your dream sort to 
speak." Shiro claimed.
	"So you are actually still alive?" Washu asked.
	"Of coarse I'm still alive. You're cannon packed a mean punch but 
I think even you know that it didn't have what it took to kill me." 
Shiro explained.
	"So where are you?" Washu asked again. 
	"I'm still stuck in that micro blackhole. Actually, I'm stuck 
between subspace and space-time."
	"If you had the ability to talk to me all these years, why are 
you talking to me now?" Washu inquired.
	"Listen closely to what I have to say. I'm about to explain 
everything to you but I don't want you to say or ask anything until I'm 
finished." Shiro said. Washu agreed.
	"Well when you fired the cannon at me, I caught the blast and the 
subsequent saturation of space-time created a micro blackhole. I'm sure 
you knew this for some time now. I tried to get back out when the hole 
collapsed. If I had remained at the bottom while it was collapsing I 
would have been able to get out easily. Instead, the hole collapsed 
asymmetrically and caused me to get stuck between space-time and 
subspace. It took me a long time to recover the energy that I expended 
that day. Over a few years I realized there was only one way to get out 
but that much energy being released at on time would destroy me. So, 
I've been spending my time thinking about that fateful day. I know you 
were right. I was wrong in killing all those innocent people. I have 
been punishing myself by continuing to think about my actions. No 
matter how great my power is, there is no way I can bring those people 
back. During those few weeks, I thought I was avenging the memories of 
my family. The whole time I was betraying them. I don't think my wife 
and daughters would look on me kindly after what I did. Anyway, my time 
has come to an end. I don't have the ability to get out of the place 
I'm in and to be honest with you, I have no desire to. But, I just 
couldn't leave this reality without someone knowing why I did what I 
did. I did act like a monster and whatever punishment I get for the 
crimes I have committed will be welcome. I deserve to be labeled a 
monster but I want at least one person to remember the other side to 
me. Now you know why I acted the way I did. You are my favorite person 
in the world. I can't remember if I ever had a sibling but if I ever 
had a choice, it would be you in a heartbeat. I don't have the power to 
project myself into your reality. Or else I would have told you this in 
real life. Now, I run the risk of being forgotten with coming of day. 
The only thing I could influence was your dreams. I hope you will 
remember me the same way I thought of you." Shiro finished. Washu was 
speechless. She looked up at Shiro and then slapped him as hard as she 
could.
	"YOU BASTARD! You put me through all that torture to just have me 
remember you?" Washu asked incredulously. 
	"Well. yeah." Shiro replied rubbing his face.
	"You haven't changed a bit. That has to be the stupidest thing 
I've ever heard of. Of all the.why are you smiling?" Washu asked.
	"I can't remember the last time I've been slapped." Shiro said. 
Washu slapped him even harder.
	"Does that jog you memory?" Washu yelled.
	"Yeah. It seems like only a moment ago you hit me." Shiro said a 
little upset. Washu raised her hand again. 
"You know I can see your dreams as well influence them. If you 
slap me one more time, don't think I won't hesitate to stay around long 
enough to show Tenchi your dreams in some way, shape, or form." Shiro 
threatened. Washu turned beat red. The two looked at each other then 
broke out laughing. They laughed for a few minutes before Shiro stood 
up. 
	"Where are you going?" Washu asked.
	"It's time for me to go." Shiro explained. 
	"You can hang around a little longer, can't you?" Washu asked.
	"Actually, I can't. It has taken me a long time to save up the 
energy to pull this little fantasy off. If I stay any longer, I won't 
have enough left to breach space-time." Shiro explained.
	"I don't think you should do it. Let me help you get out of 
there." Washu offered.
	"I appreciate the offer but I've made up my mind." Shiro said. 
"Do you remember that day you confronted me in your office?" Shiro 
asked.
	"Of coarse." Washu replied.
	"That sure was a nice day." Shiro said.
	"Yes it was." Washu said. Shiro walked to Washu and kissed her 
gently on the forehead.
	"Dream a little dream of me sometime." Shiro said before he 
disappeared.

*		*		*

Washu awoke a bit groggy. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and then 
looked around. She was still in her lab clothes although she was in her 
bed. She stepped through her bedroom door and into her lab. She looked 
at one of her workbenches to see the Washu Super Tracker. She walked up 
to it and hit the recorder. The tracker recorded a breach in space-time 
two days ago. An explosion between subspace and space-time created the 
anomaly. 
	"How long was I out?" Washu asked herself. Washu walked to the 
door that led to the living room. She stepped out and saw everyone was 
gathered at the dinner table. Washu looked out the window and saw the 
sun had just set.
	"Guess who's coming to dinner?" Ryoko teased.
	"Good evening Little Washu." Tenchi greeted.
	"What day is it." Washu asked.
	"It's Friday." Kiyone said.
	"FRIDAY?! I've been asleep for five days?" Washu yelled.
	"You were asleep on the couch Sunday afternoon. When you didn't 
wake up for dinner, I took you to your bedroom. Sasami has been 
checking up on you since." Tenchi said.
	"Did you try to get fresh with me in my bedroom Tenchi?" Washu 
asked. Tenchi couldn't believe what he just heard and started to choke 
on the water he was drinking. After he regained composure he replied.	
	"Of coarse not!" Tenchi objected.
	"Too bad. Then I'm glad you didn't wake me then." Washu 
explained.
	"Washu!" Ryoko and Ayeka replied simultaneously. 
	"What's everyone been up to?" Washu asked.
	"Training." Tenchi replied.
	"Sweeping." Lord Katsuhito said.
	"Drawing." Noboyuki said.
	"Cleaning." Ayeka said. 
	"Watching training" Ryoko said.
	"Chasing." Mihoshi said.
	"Crashing." Kiyone growled at her partner.	
	"Miyaa!" Ryo-Ohki replied while eating a carrot. Washu looked at 
Sasami.
	"What about you Sasami?" Washu asked.
	"I did meet a boy at the market with the most interesting color 
eyes I've ever seen." Sasami said.

THE END


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