Credits: Tenchi Muyo!/No Need For Tenchi is a product of Pioneer/AIC. As such, I'm getting no compensation for writing this fiction other than my own enjoyment, because the thought of getting sued is rather unpleasant. Mr. Long T. Tran for his "Tenchi Muyo: Ryoko's Love Prologue" story line, parts one, two, and three, and the characters created therein. His fiction can be found at GenSao's excellent Tenchi Muyo Fan Fiction Page: http://members.xoom.com/gensao/ Disclaimer: All characters *I* have created are purely a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is pure coincidence. Anyone who thinks otherwise is probably just itching for a fight. Also, please do not try and distribute this story in some lame attempt to make a buck; it would be bad karma to say the least. Email appreciated! Send comments to Michael McAvoy (mmcavoy@acm.vt.edu) http://www.acm.vt.edu/~mmcavoy/ Tenchi Muyo! "No Need For Sasami" A Fan-Fiction by Michael McAvoy I drank what? -- infamous Socrates misquote -* Chapter Six *- It was turning out to be a wonderful vacation for Major Kiyone. Leaning her command chair back a bit in her spacious office at Galaxy Police headquarters, the major sipped a warm beverage and gazed contentedly out a massive port window at the million stars visible in her part of the galaxy. Kiyone lazily stretched her legs out in front of her and sighed happily. No Mihoshi. For three whole weeks, no Mihoshi. Kiyone did feel a momentary sensation of guilt for deceiving Mayuka Masaki slightly, thus trapping the young woman in near empty space with the outrageously silly captain, but only for a moment. "Far better for her to see the worst of it now than later," she murmured to the empty room. Though promotion had inevitably removed Major Kiyone from the pilot's command chair of a patrol cruiser in favor of more administrative duties, the past twenty odd years had been kind to her. A few slight hints of lines around the corners of her eyes and an occasional stray silver hair amongst the long black strands were all that could be said for wear on the woman. Besides, being promoted gave Kiyone these tiny excuses to send Mihoshi away from time to time on some harmless assignment. At least, the major *hoped* the assignment would be harmless. Kiyone had no scientific proof of this, but she often suspected that Captain Mihoshi was some kind of cosmic antenna for attracting trouble. An electronic buzzer from her office door captured Kiyone's attentions, drawing her away from the large window into space. "Enter, please," she announced, setting her beverage down on her desk. With a swoosh of hydraulics, her office door slid open quickly, revealing one of the lieutenant officers directly under Kiyone's command. He stepped rapidly through the door and saluted smartly, waiting to be acknowledged. Kiyone sighed inwardly. For several weeks she had been trying to break this new officer's rather stiff behavior, but to no avail. For some reason it seemed to Kiyone that the Academy was putting out a lot more uptight graduates these days. "Good morning, lieutenant, what do you have for me?" "Good morning, sir," the young lieutenant replied, moving quickly towards the major's desk. "Command dispatch picked up activity from a GP patrol cruiser early this morning near the Solar system." Reaching the desk, he set a series of short briefs on Kiyone's desk. Without looking at the briefs, Kiyone asked, "Captain Mihoshi?" "Yes, Major Kiyone," the young man replied, "As per your instructions regarding all communications from Captain Mihoshi, this was brought to your attention as soon as it was received and decoded." "And?" "Sir, Captain Mihoshi reports contact with a suspicious vehicle heading at high speed towards the colonized planet Earth in the Jurai restricted zone." Gesturing towards the top page of his report, the officer continued, "The captain reports that the ship is traveling under highly advanced passive stealth technology and not transmitting identification codes." Kiyone raised an eyebrow. "Analysis?" she inquired. "Sir," he responded, "it is highly unlikely any of our standard patrol cruisers would have been able to detect the vessel. That Captain Mihoshi is commanding one of the advanced prototype GP cruisers is probably the only reason she was able to detect the unknown craft." Something struck Kiyone as wrong as she glanced down at the report in front of her. "Lieutenant," she said, flipping through several pages, "this doesn't look like one of Mihoshi's regular reports. As a matter of fact, it would appear not to have been written by her at all. These are all complete sentences with no hand drawn pictures." "Sir, I assure you-" "No, no, nevermind" Kiyone interrupted him, "I'm sure this came from the captain. What is the status of the Mihoshi's vehicle now?" "Sir, it is on an intercept course with the unknown vessel." "Excellent, carry on lieutenant," Kiyone said, waving her hand at the young man. "Excuse me, sir." "Yes, lieutenant?" "Pardon me, sir," he began, "but standard procedure requires that violation of the restricted zone of Jurai space be reported to the Jurai royal house immediately." Kiyone considered her subordinate coolly as she drummed her fingers on her desk. "Lieutenant," the major said, "you are aware of the heated political disputes within the Jurai nobility regarding Earth, are you not?" "Yes, major, but-" "Then in this instance," Kiyone replied, cutting him off again, "seeing as how Captain Mihoshi has not made a positive ID on whatever vessel she is pursuing, perhaps it would be more prudent to withhold notifying Jurai until she has." "Sir?" "After all, lieutenant," Kiyone concluded, "we do not need the Galaxy Police to be seen as a source of inciting rumor or conjecture regarding Earth under these circumstances until we have more conclusive information." "I see, sir." "However, keep me informed the moment the situation changes. Once we have a positive ID, we will need to contact the Jurai royal house directly." "Very good, sir!" the lieutenant saluted, spinning on his heel and walking briskly out of the major's office. Kiyone sighed after the young officer and thought, 'Was I that stiff at his age?' Swiveling her chair back towards the view of the stars, Kiyone looked out the massive window and smiled. "Mayuka Masaki, you're writing Mihoshi's command reports. What else are you up to?" The major grinned and went back to sipping her beverage. * * * With a small grunt, Tenchi Masaki brought down the hatchback to his mini-van and dusted his hands. Wiping just a touch of perspiration from his brow, he then turned towards the front porch and looked up at his wife. “Are we ready?” Tenchi asked Ryoko. Ryoko put a finger thoughtfully to her chin and lazily strolled down the couple of steps towards her husband. “Sure,” she replied, “I think we have everything left that Yosho and your father didn’t have room for in their van.” Tenchi nodded and smiled. “We should be leaving soon then, Ryoko-san. Even with Sasami with them, they’re going to need more helping hands to get the booth up before grandfather performs his Shinto duties this evening.” “Teeeenchi,” Ryoko smiled back at her husband, “we’ll get there in plenty of time. As a matter of fact, there’s our guest now.” Ryoko waved at the porch and in English called out, “There you are, Nathaniel! Are you ready see our idea of a party?” Nathaniel Swann stepped out into the late afternoon sun and smiled hesitantly. “I love a festival,” he replied in slow Japanese, “and this sort of thing is exactly what I wanted to see in Japan.” Ryoko raised her eyebrows. “Ah, making a continuing effort to adapt to the local language?” Nathaniel nodded. “Well, you don’t make progress by not making attempts.” “Good attitude, Nathaniel,” Tenchi approved. “We’re waiting for my mother-in-law, so why don’t you go ahead and get in the van?” “Don’t bother, because you’re not going,” Washu’s voice rang out from behind Nathaniel. “He’s not?” asked Tenchi, slightly confused. “I’m not?” echoed Nathaniel, disappointment crossing his face. “Affirmative,” Washu replied, strolling past Nathaniel towards the van. “Washu,” growled Ryoko, “what’s the problem? Why can’t he come?” “That’s *doctor* Washu, Ryoko,” she replied primly, “and the problem *is* Nathaniel hasn’t recuperated enough to handle being at the festival all weekend.” Washu turned to Nathaniel and eyed him up and down. “You experienced exhaustion and some continuing dizziness yesterday in town after walking around just a little bit, correct?” “Well, yes,” Nathaniel replied. “And,” the little red-headed scientist plowed on, “you’ve also admitted to feeling somewhat weak today as well, correct?” “I wouldn’t exactly say ‘weak’—” “Well, then,” Washu beamed all-knowingly, “it is *obvious*, as your doctor, that your being exposed to the crush of people at the festival and being up half the night isn’t in the best interests of your health. We’d probably just end up having to bring you back home tomorrow sometime after you collapsed.” “Oh,” Nathaniel replied, somewhat despondently, “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize I was going to be such a potential hassle.” Ryoko bristled. “Washu,” she began with a small edge to her voice. “No arguing, Ryoko,” Washu interrupted smartly, headed for the mini-van. “Come along, Tenchi. We don’t want to be late.” With that, she hopped up into the tightly packed vehicle and shut the small side door. Tenchi looked after Washu and then back to his wife, who looked like she was doing her best not to explode. “Nathaniel, I’m sorry,” Tenchi started to say apologetically. “No, no, she’s right,” Nathaniel replied, putting his hands in his pockets, “I don’t want to inconvenience your family any more than I already have.” Ryoko’s anger momentarily dissipated as she felt a sudden sympathy for him. “You’re not an inconvenience, Nathaniel, no matter what my *mother* might have said.” Nodding slightly, Nathaniel asked quietly, “Is it all right then, I mean… I can stay here this weekend while you’re all gone?” That question made Ryoko feel like cringing. “Of course,” Tenchi said quickly. “In fact, I’d appreciate it if you could keep an eye on things while my family is away.” Ryoko flashed a smile at her husband for trying to find a way to lessen Nathaniel’s disappointment. As the van pulled away from the house, however, Ryoko looked back and saw the American’s figure standing alone on the porch in the retreating distance. And in that moment, Ryoko was personally reminded of what it meant to be isolated. * * * Watching the mini-van pull away from the house into the late afternoon haze, Nathaniel observed the small swirls of dust its tires kicked up, hanging low over the driveway that lead to the main road. He continued to stare for a while down the driveway until the dust settled back down, carried away slightly by a light breeze. His hands still in his pockets, Nathaniel stood staring out away from the house until, finally, his shoulders slumped significantly. Feeling completely isolated and incredibly lonely, he struggled for some words to articulate his emotions. “Crud.” That about summed it up, as far as he was concerned. * * * “And just *what* was that all about, Washu?” a very irate Ryoko demanded of her mother, as the vehicle they were in traveled down the winding mountain roads. “Why, Ryoko,” Washu replied in a feigned, hurt voice, “such a harsh tone for your mother.” “Don’t give me that ‘mother’ crap, Washu,” Ryoko snapped. “Ryoko-san,” Tenchi began, in an effort to soothe his wife. “Don’t try to distract me, Tenchi! I know Washu, and she’s up to something, and I guarantee it has nothing to do with Nathaniel’s well- being!” Ryoko continued to snarl. “Nathaniel looked fine to me, and all that talk about the crowds and having to bring him home collapsed was nonsense.” “Right you are, Ryoko,” Washu agreed, “it had almost nothing to do with Nathaniel’s health. As a matter of fact, I am quite certain my patient is doing more than well enough to have spent the entire weekend at the festival.” Ryoko sent Washu a chilly stare. “Washu,” Tenchi said, his brow furrowing as he looked at the scientist in the rear-view mirror, “what is this all about, then? I don’t like the fact that you lied to him and to us so we’d leave him behind.” “Oh, fine,” Washu sighed, “since you’re going to bother me until I explain. It’s simple. Sasami communicated to me earlier today that she is greatly unhappy with her life, and that while Nathaniel is not the cause of that unhappiness, he is a significant irritant.” “She *told* you this?” Tenchi asked, stunned. “Well, in not so many words, but—” “Oi,” Ryoko said quietly, “you mean you had us abandon Nathaniel for the weekend, as isolated as he must be feeling, just to accommodate Sasami’s having a bad day?” “More or less,” Washu replied. Ryoko turned back in her front seat and crossed her arms tightly, staring out at the road ahead, quiet for several moments. “Washu,” she finally spoke with a deep and emotionless voice, “do not talk to me again for the rest of the weekend.” “What’s the matter, Ryoko?” Washu inquired with some annoyance. “Can’t you trust that the Universe’s greatest scien—” “Oh, hush, Washu,” Tenchi uncharacteristically chided the little woman. Uncharacteristically for Washu, she complied and stared out a window. Tenchi sighed and considered going back for Nathaniel, but decided against it. They were already running late as it was, and Tenchi felt his doing so would not help the situation any tonight. ‘Maybe I can get him tomorrow,’ he thought, looking with concern at his wife out of the corner of his eye. The mini-van zoomed down the mountain road quickly, heading for town. * * * Racing through a remarkably empty section of the restricted zone of Jurai space, the latest prototype Galaxy Police patrol cruiser was a blur of motion against the stars. Bathed in its sleek, blue GP colors, sections of the bow reflected the light from the sun of the distant Solar system. Inside the ship, the door to the command center swooshed open, revealing a slightly disheveled Mihoshi. Yawning hugely, the blonde scratched at an arm and looked around blankly. “Are we still chasing the ship we can’t see?” she asked sleepily. Swiveling one of the two command chairs around, Mayuka Masaki turned towards Mihoshi and nodded. “We’re keeping up with it,” she replied, “but not easily.” “Oh,” Mihoshi mumbled, deep in what might be mistaken for thought. “Well, why don’t we just speed up and catch it with our new engines?” With a quiet thunk, Corolla disengaged itself from the ceiling and pivoted down to eye level with the two women. “Mihoshi,” the computer chimed, “we are unable to close on the vehicle in question due to the difficult nature of tracking it.” Mihoshi looked blank. Mayuka rolled her eyes. “Remember how I told you the ship had some very advanced stealth technology,” she asked Mihoshi. “Um…I think so,” Mihoshi replied. “Well,” Mayuka continued, “even with the most advanced ship in the GP patrol fleet, the ship is *so* hard to get a fix on, if we go too fast there’s the danger that ship could alter course and we wouldn’t even know it until it was too late.” Mihoshi blinked. “Sooo, we *have* to go slowly, you see?” asked Mayuka hopefully. “Right!” answered Mihoshi confidently. Crossing her arms across her chest, the captain then asked, “So why don’t we just go to Earth before it gets there?” “Mihoshi,” Corolla replied, “we are not absolutely certain that is the target vehicles destination. Additionally, were we to pass the vehicle, we would effectively lose our cover.” “Oh.” Mihoshi took the command chair beside Mayuka and sat back with a plop. Looking blankly at the data on the screens in front of her, she took time to adjust her GP hat. “So, why can’t we go faster?” she asked again. Mayuka counted to ten to prevent herself from exploding. “We can’t go faster,” she said through a tight jaw, “because the posted speed limits won’t let us.” “Oh, that makes sense,” Mihoshi beamed. “As a potential Galaxy Police officer, it’s important for you to observe all the laws!” “Yeah, I’ll keep that in mind,” Mayuka muttered. Running a hand through her short hair, the young woman drummed her fingers on the console, waiting for Corolla to report any intermittent signatures of the ghost ship. Instead, the little computer whirled around and faced Mihoshi. “Captain Mihoshi,” it announced, “incoming traffic from Galaxy Police headquarters!” Mayuka involuntarily tensed. She wondered if Kiyone might have realized she wrote Mihoshi’s reports. Even worse, she might have Mihoshi disengage the ghost ship because there was a civilian on the patrol craft. “What’s the message, Corolla?” the captain asked. “Decoding in progress. Decoding complete. Ahem,” the computer cleared its throat, “Captain Mihoshi: by order of Major Kiyone, you are directed to maintain pursuit of suspicious vehicle and make all possible attempts at identification. Report identification of target vehicle immediately upon verification on secured GP channel.” Mayuka relaxed noticeably. “Additionally,” continued Corolla, “you are to avoid engaging target vehicle if there is an obvious threat of endangerment to your civilian passenger.” “Understood!” Mihoshi declared. “Corolla, report to headquarters that we will engage this ship soon and arrest the trespassers!” Corolla nodded to the captain and turned to Mayuka. “Mayuka Masaki,” it said, “while Major Kiyone enjoyed for the first time reading a coherent brief submitted under Captain Mihoshi’s name, she requests that you cease writing her reports, as it sets a bad precedent.” Mayuka laughed. “Also, she requests you exercise caution in this pursuit as Major Kiyone has no desire to explain to your father why the ship you are in plunged into a black hole or the side of a planet.” “Aye, aye, Major Kiyone,” Mayuka replied, doing her best to imitate a pirate. Without missing a beat, Mihoshi asked worriedly, “We’re not going to plunge into a black hole, are we?” “I doubt it,” Mayuka said, shaking her head. “Whew!” the captain exclaimed. “I’d end up missing my Earth dramas on television if *that* happened!” Mayuka slapped her hand to her forehead and counted to ten again. “Attention!” Corolla exclaimed. “Target vehicle seems to have increased velocity!” “Can you verify that, Corolla?” Mayuka asked, leaning forward eagerly. “Due to the intermittent contact with the target vehicle, I can not be certain,” the computer admitted, “but the last faint contact seemed to indicate a significant increase in velocity.” “Destination?” Mihoshi demanded. “Best estimate is still Earth, captain,” replied Corolla. Mayuka shook her head and sighed. “Can we continue to track the ship at our current speed?” “Negative, Miss Mayuka. At our current velocity, all possibility of maintaining contact with target vehicle will be lost due to the increasing distance between our ships.” “So, basically we have to increase our speed as well, and hope we don’t run right past that ghost ship,” Mayuka concluded. Mihoshi looked up from a comic book she had brought up from somewhere. “We can go faster now?” she asked hopefully. Mayuka sighed and nodded, “Yep, Mihoshi, we can go faster now. Corolla, please do your best to match the ghost ship’s velocity.” “Increasing thrust to the main engines,” Corolla replied dutifully. “Current ETA of Earth arrival is now 2.9 Jurai standard days.” Mayuka nodded solemnly. That was fine with her, actually. There was not as much fun leisurely strolling around the dead of space when you could really burn some galactic rubber, so to speak. * * * As evening settled on the small Japanese town several valleys over from Masaki residence, the normally sleepy area erupted into excited noise and motion. All over the main square of the town, as well as most of the streets that interconnected as far as the eye could see, people moved in waves of bright color from their clothing. Across the streets lanterns of all descriptions hung from sturdy rope cables, each decorated with art, prayer, or advertisements of all kinds. Below the numerous lanterns, booths lined either side of the many streets that ran through the downtown. People running games, making food, and selling everything under the sky called out loudly from their areas, doing their best to encourage passersby to stop for only a moment. As the evening progressed, the number of festival attendees steadily increased. Eventually, around nine in the evening, people were shoulder to shoulder as they moved through the streets, laughing and cheering out loud now and again as someone demonstrated particular skill at one game or another. Now and again, little pools of clearing would form around sone musician, performer, or other as they did their best to entertain and amuse the crowds. All in all, it was a noisy affair. The Masaki booth was a regular feature of the town festival, and had been for more years than anyone would ever to bother to count. Situated very near the center of town, Tenchi and company enjoyed a constant stream of people seeking both food and amusement. A fairly large operation, the Masaki booth had several items a passerby could choose from. Naturally, there was food galore, steadily prepared by Tenchi, Sasami, and a slightly intoxicated Nobuyuki. Over an open grill and portable cooking table, the trio sliced, diced, and prepared a small variety of goodies for hungry patrons. Ryoko returned to her position as the cheerleader for the group, using her loud voice and seductive looks to entice customers in, while manning a decent sized goldfish and other small games. Washu, having been banned many years past from ever putting on another ‘House of Horrors’ by the festival organizers, had chosen instead to read fortunes. This generally involved the patron being hooked up to something that looked like a straight jacket which gave mild shocks of electricity, all the while Washu took scientific readings and made up whatever futures she wanted. As for Yui, she had been released by Ryoko to run around the festival with her friends, having helped get the booth ready for everyone earlier in the day. Ryoko smiled fondly thinking of her daughter’s youthful excitement. And yet, while laughter and amusement abounded all around, Ryoko felt herself coming back to the image of their guest fading away in the distance as their van left the Masaki residence. For some reason, despite her attempts to remain festive, Ryoko would return to brood about that more and more as the evening progressed. Sneaking a glance over her shoulder, the one time pirate observed the cooking area, where her husband and her father were busily making orders for people walking by. Shifting her gaze, Ryoko then looked at Sasami who was… well, who was doing the same thing she had been doing all evening. Looking despondent and moving around as if she could care less about being there. This made Ryoko bristle with annoyance. Not only did it bother her immensely that she had been involved in Washu’s lying to Nathaniel, but it was obvious to Ryoko that it had all been for nothing. Regardless of whether or their guest was here or not, Sasami was obviously determined to sinking into her depression all on her very own. For a moment Ryoko considered exactly what she could do to smack some sense into the unhappy looking princess. ‘I can’t believe this,’ she grumbled silently. ‘She’s acting just like her spoiled sister used to; self-absorbed with her own problems and not caring about any one else around her.’ A flash of anger darkened Ryoko’s face, momentarily causing several would-be goldfishing children to melt away hurriedly into the crowd. Ryoko cursed to herself and smoothed her face into something less scary. With a small break in the crowd in front of the booth, Ryoko relaxed her mind and let her thoughts drift over the mountains and back to the Masaki residence. came Ryo-ohki’s happy recognition of Ryoko’s mental presence. sent Ryoko, the cabbit affirmed and sent the her a series of images showing Nathaniel’s activities during the evening. Ryoko processed the images and sighed with a frown. Dropping her arms to her sides, she brought her brows together as she considered the possibilities. Nodding to herself with decision, Ryoko turned away from the goldfish pond and walked over to the grill, where her husband was preparing another batch of food. “Ah, Ryoko-san,” Tenchi smiled warmly, “would you like something to eat?” “Actually, Tenchi,” she replied, “I’d like the keys to the van.” “Keys?” he asked. “Did we forget something?” “In a manner of speaking, yes,” she nodded solemnly. “I’m heading back home.” “Home,” Tenchi said, looking surprised, “what’s wrong, Ryoko- san?” “What’s wrong is that we abandoned Nathaniel this evening just to humor the princess over there,” Ryoko answered, nodding her head over to Sasami, who was turned away, looking around uncaring for something or another. “Are you sure, beloved?” he asked, letting the food on the grill start to burn a little. “Tenchi, Ryo-ohki showed me what he’s been doing this evening, and he looks alone and miserable,” she stated matter-of-factly. Looking down at the ground uncomfortably, Ryoko then said quietly, “I know what isolated and alone, Tenchi. And that we did this to him tonight…” “Ryoko-san,” Tenchi said understandingly, fishing the van’s keys out of a pocket. “You can drive it, right?” Ryoko raised an eyebrow. Tenchi grinned and said, “Never mind.” Ryoko took the keys from her husband. “I’ll bring Nathaniel back to the festival tomorrow around midday.” “All right, Ryoko-san. I love you.” “I love you, too, my prince,” leaning over the grill and giving her husband a quick kiss, “but your food is starting to burn.” With a unhappy yelp, Tenchi turned his attention back to the burning food as Ryoko turned away fondly and walked past Washu. “Hey, Ryoko,” Washu called out, looking up from her latest fortune subject, “where you going to?” True to her earlier conviction, Ryoko refused to acknowledge her mother as she melted into the crowd. * * * It was near midnight when Nathaniel saw the headlights of the mini-van pull up the driveway. Sitting out on the edge of the lake’s dock with his feet in the water, he decided not to move until he had a better idea of exactly who was in the vehicle. Looking over his shoulder, Nathaniel heard the car door close and seconds later the kitchen door open and close quietly. Not long after, the kitchen door opened and closed shut again, and this time he could make out a silhouetted figure with a large mane of hair walking towards him. As the figure came closer, he eventually made a guess to who it was. “Uh, Ryoko?” he called out tentatively. “The one, the only,” Ryoko returned in English as she walked out onto the dock. “No, don’t get up, I was planning on joining you out here. Nice warm evening to be outside, eh?” “Um, yeah,” Nathaniel nodded, settling back down and putting his feet back in the water. “Why aren’t you at the festival, Ryoko?” Ryoko made her way to the end of the dock and nudged Nathaniel with one of her feet, indicating for him to make some room on the end for her. He slid over a bit. “Well,” she said seriously, “that’s a story I’ll get to in a bit, but first I thought we’d have a drink or two.” With that, Ryoko displayed a bottle of alcohol and a couple of cups. “Lift your spirits?” Nathaniel smiled half-heartedly and reached for an offered cup. “Normally, I don’t drink to feel better, but what the heck.” “That’s the attitude I like to hear!” Ryoko declared and filled his cup to the brim before topping her own off. “Bonsai!” “Cheers,” Nathaniel replied, and then took his drink in one pull. “Hey, not bad,” Ryoko approved, “have another?” “Please.” As Ryoko refilled the American’s cup, she wondered how much to tell him about why he was left earlier in the evening. Ryoko decided she had had enough of lies for the day, and decided to come clean. “I suppose I should tell you why I’m here so late,” Ryoko began quietly, swirling her untouched drink in her cup. “It seems my mother lied to you, Nathaniel.” Nathaniel stopped drinking in mid-tilt, and eyed Ryoko in the darkness. “Lied to me?” he echoed. Ryoko sighed. “I’m sorry, Nathaniel. It seems there was no good reason to prevent you from coming to the festival with us this evening.” “I don’t understand,” he said confusedly, “Doctor Washu said it wasn’t a good idea, right?” “Well, yes,” Ryoko nodded, sipping her drink, “but not for the right reasons.” Sighing a bit while looking out over the dark lake, Ryoko then said, “Nathaniel, I’m afraid you just happened to drop in with us at kind of a bad time. Specifically for Sasami, it seems.” “For Sasami?” Nathaniel asked. “This have anything to do with her having to leave soon?” “You know about that?” Ryoko looked surprised in the moonlight. “Yeah,” he said, “Sasami mentioned having to go home soon while we were in town, yesterday. She didn’t seem too happy about it.” “Actually, yes, that has something to do with it,” Ryoko agreed, taking another drink. “Sasami has some pretty big… issues with her family when she gets back home, and she’s not handling them too well, as far as I’m concerned.” “Oh.” “And that’s why my *mother* lied to you Nathaniel,” she continued, “She felt that you might be adding to Sasami’s aggravation and unhappiness. That’s why Washu made up that garbage earlier today.” “Me?” Nathaniel blurted out, startled. “I know, I know,” Ryoko said shaking her head while putting her empty hand on his arm, “don’t even worry about it one bit, please.” “It’s kind of hard not to,” Nathaniel complained involuntarily. “I’m so sorry, Nathaniel,” apologized Ryoko. “It’s just my mother gets these ideas in her head, and she automatically assumes that her methods are always for the best.” He simply nodded and took another drink. “So,” he sighed, putting his cup down, “what happens now?” Ryoko picked up his cup and refilled it thoughtfully, before topping hers off, too. “Well,” she said, “first, we’re going to finish off this bottle and then go to sleep. Tomorrow morning, we’ll head out to the festival and this go around I’ll make sure you have a good time.” “Are you sure I’m not going to be a bother?” he asked worriedly. “After all, Doctor Wash—” Ryoko snorted harshly and glared. “If it wasn’t for my mother and Sasami being ridiculous, you’d be there right now, as far as everyone else is concerned.” Ryoko emptied her cup with a flourish and brought it down forcefully on the dock. “Believe me, Nathaniel,” she stated, her golden eyes gleaming in the night, “I’m not going to allow any crap like this to go on again!” Nathaniel believed her. * * * With the coming of dawn, the light morning fog and mist that had collected over the valley town began to slowly burn away. The momentary cover the fog provided kept the hot summer sun from heating up the air, at least for a little while. Eventually, the sun did manage to piece the thick veil, and temperatures began to climb to something more expected for the summertime. By midmorning, in fact, it was significantly warm enough that people attending the festival were starting to seek refuge from the direct sunlight. As for most of the booths at the festival, it was still a bit too early for them to be really hopping with business. Aside from a few vendors selling cool drinks or ice treats, activity really would not start hopping again until later in the afternoon. Slouched in a fold up chair underneath the canopy of the Masaki booth, Sasami sat with a dour expression on her face, tapping the side of her head with a pencil in a bored fashion. Observing the festival patrons moving about the street, the princess found it remarkably easy to criticize their various attributes in her sour state of mind. Sasami had not slept well, as usual for the past couple of weeks, and camping out under the canopy on the side of the street had done little to improve her rest. There were small lines under her eyes, betraying her weariness, but a trip to a public bath had helped enough to wash away the rest of the previous night’s activities. Sighing discontentedly, Sasami frowned at the thought of having to endure another evening of work at the festival. The princess had come to the conclusion earlier the day before that she was certain she did not even want to be here, much less help cook all weekend long. However, in the end, Sasami simply chalked it up as something similar to a royal duty; regardless of how boring it might seem to her, it was important to keep up appearances. Anything less might be a sign of weakness and make the common people think less of the royal house. Sasami snorted so violently to herself that her entire body shook. “Sounds like a sorry page taken from sister Ayeka’s philosophies of life,” she muttered darkly. At any rate it was obvious to anyone walking by, who would have even bothered to notice, the princess had no desire to be anywhere near a festival, or anyone else for that matter. Still tapping the side of her head with her pencil, Sasami plucked a bit of her long hair with her other hand and idly examined it for split ends. ‘At least that American isn’t here,’ she consoled herself. ‘This weekend would be even more unbearable if I had to put up with being his nursemaid anymore.’ As if trying to rewrite recent events in her own mind, Sasami had convinced herself over the past day that Nathaniel was the end-all be-all of her problems, completely glossing over the fact that she had brought all her feelings upon herself. In an less than admirable attempt to bolster her own self-esteem, Sasami had been methodically tearing down Nathaniel in her mind with any number of depreciating and unkind thoughts. 'He's nothing more than an insignificant vagabond from across the Pacific,' she concluded. 'Why I've bothered to waste my time with an injured free-loader is beyond my comprehension.' With that, Sasami propelled herself up and out of her chair and headed off into the crowd, seeking some kind of diversion that would keep her from confronting the fact that her biggest problem was herself. * * * The crowds at the festival were just starting to build again when Ryoko and Nathaniel finally made it back into town. Parking the mini-van some distance out of town, due to the blocked off streets, the pair were forced to make the rest of the way on foot. It was quite hot by this point, and Nathaniel found himself frequently mopping his forehead. Nathaniel was glad he had one less thing to deal with, though. Early in the morning he had decided his shoulder looked well enough to warrant a lot fewer bandages and wraps. As a result his shoulder felt a whole lot cooler than it had the last time he had been walking though town. Nathaniel seemed to think his shoulder felt better in general, and he even thought there was more mobility, albeit stiff, in his arm. He did not think it would hurt to remove most of the bandages even if it did expose his shoulder a bit more, but Washu was not around for him to ask her opinion, and he was not sure he really trusted her anyhow. In the distance, where a good number of people seemed to be heading, Nathaniel heard a large amount of organized yelling and cheering. Threading his way through the crowd, closely behind Ryoko, he tapped the cyan haired woman on the shoulder. "Wha?" asked Ryoko loudly over the din. "Ryoko!" he said back, "What's all that shouting over that way?" "Oh!" she exclaimed back at him, after observing the direction he had pointed to, "That's the staging area for the floats!" "You mean like for a parade?" "Sort of," she nodded, "except all these floats are on huge wagon wheels or carried by hand!" Nathaniel had seen pictures of these before, but he still looked rather amazed. "You're kidding? I'd love to see them!" As the pair continued to move forward closer to the center of town, Ryoko called over her shoulder, "Well, I'll make sure you get to see them up close, then. Tenchi's grandfather is one of the Shinto priests blessing the occasion, so it shouldn't be a problem!" "Cool, Ryoko, thanks!" Nathaniel exclaimed. The pair plowed on through the crowds, making steady progress towards the center of town. Frequently, Nathaniel, impaired by his blurry vision, would accidentally bump into another passerby, sending interesting bit of pain lancing through his shoulder, but he managed to make due. Actually, he felt a little awkward when he realized he was by far one of the tallest people in the crowd. It made him feel a little self-conscious and exposed for some weird reason. Momentarily lost in thought, Nathaniel almost walked right into Ryoko's back as she stopped suddenly before a brightly colored booth. "Here we are!" Ryoko smiled at him. "Go on in and get out of the sun." Nathaniel complied and entered the canopy, squinting around looking for Sasami. Noticing her absence, he felt very relieved. Nathaniel decided he would much rather avoid getting in her way, if at all possible. Looking around, though, he instantly noticed Washu engaged with a small group of children on one side of the booth and Nobuyuki and Tenchi working on either side of a large grill not far away. "Ah, Ryoko-san," Tenchi smiled warmly, pausing to wipe at his forehead from the combined heat of the day and the grill, "welcome back." Ryoko walked up directly to her husband, giving him a fierce hug and a kiss before stepping back to observe him. "You look tired, Tenchi." "Well, it was a busy night," he replied. "We didn't get rid of this crowd until well after midnight." Beside him, Tenchi's father spoke up. "Indeed," the older man said, "and the crowds came back a lot earlier than we expected. There's hardly any time to watch the pretty women walking by!" "Hrm," Ryoko pondered, "would you agree with your father's observation about women walking by, Tenchi?" Tenchi shook his head. "I wouldn't know, beloved, I haven't been paying attention to things like that." "Good answer," Ryoko said, nodded wisely. "I can be trained," Tenchi replied, bowing gallantly. Nathaniel laughed, having been following the Japanese conversation. Tenchi turned towards Nathaniel and bowed. "Please accept my deepest apologies, Nathaniel," Tenchi said. "Had I known what my mother-in-law was up to, I would have never have left you behind." "Suuure, Tenchi," Washu called from over at her fortune telling experiment, "blame it on the wicked in-law!" Nathaniel put his good hand behind his head and managed to look quite a bit uncomfortable. "That's okay," he said, "No harm done, really." "Speaking of which," Ryoko muttered, looking around, "where is our ray of sunshine anyway?" Tenchi shook his head and shrugged his shoulders as he returned with his father to the grill. "I have no idea, Ryoko-san, but we could use her help. These crowds are only going to get heavier." "Can I help?" Nathaniel asked hopefully, wanting to really contribute something to the folks who were taking care of him. Tenchi looked thoughtfully at the American. "How's your close range vision," he asked, "think you can handle vegetable chopping?" "Dicing is my specialty," Nathaniel nodded. "Just put the knife in my hand and I should be able to do the rest." Tenchi grinned. "Hop on over here then," he said, waving a hand. "I suppose I'll leave you three boys, then," Ryoko said with satisfaction. "I have a pond of goldfish that needs attention." Falling into a rhythm of work, Nathaniel soon relaxed into his work, chopping away at various vegetables with good speed, despite his injured shoulder. * * * It was much later in the afternoon when Sasami finally wandered her way back towards the center of town. For most of the time, she had just let her feet take her wherever they desired. To be honest, Sasami had enjoyed the time to herself, away from her family, away from the responsibilities of the booth, and thankfully away from Nathaniel. In the crowd of thousands, Sasami found she could be wonderfully anonymous and unburdened. That all ceased when she returned to the Masaki booth. Stepping under the canopy, she was unhappily greeted with the site of Nathaniel doing *her* job at the grill. Sasami turned to see Ryoko leveling a cool stare in her direction. “It was nice of you to cut out this afternoon, Sasami,” Ryoko said offhandedly so the others could not hear, “especially without telling anyone. Of course, you can see we managed to find a poor, half-blind fellow to fill in nicely.” Sasami’s jaw instantly began to open in apology, when she suddenly clamped it shut. With an exaggerated toss of her hair, she instead adopted a bored expression of apathy. Ryoko smiled ever so slightly. “So,” she grinned wolfishly, “the old Jurai nobility streak of haughtiness isn’t limited to your sister, eh?” “I resent that, Ryoko.” Ryoko waved a hand at the princess. “If it makes you feel better, princess, go right ahead. I’ve had a lot of practice cultivating resentment from other members of your family, so I can more than oblige you…” Ryoko paused and eyed the princess. “… that is, if you want to keep *acting* like a spoiled child,” she finished. Before Sasami could get over her shock at being spoken to like that, Ryoko looked over her shoulder and called back to her husband. “Oi, Tenchi! Look who decided to show up,” she said in a much louder voice. “Ah, Sasami-chan,” Tenchi smiled, unaware of the conversation that had just been exchanged, “you’ve been gone a long time. We were starting to get worried.” Beside him, Nobuyuki nodded while Nathaniel made a detailed attempt to keep busy chopping at the grill. “You’re just time,” continued Tenchi, reaching under the grill and pulling out a lunch box. “This is dinner for grandfather. Would you mind walking it over to him?” Sasami stalked past Ryoko and took the box from Tenchi’s outstretched hand. “I’d be more than happy to,” she said in an icy tone. As she turned to leave the booth, Ryoko spoke up behind her. “Well,” Ryoko said innocently, “since you’re going by the floats, you won’t mind escorting Nathaniel, will you?” “What?” asked Sasami, off guard. “Hey, that’s an excellent idea, Ryoko,” agreed Tenchi. “After all, Nathaniel has been telling us all day how he’d like to get a close look at them, since he doesn’t have his glasses.” Part of Sasami wanted to argue vehemently against escorting Nathaniel across town, and had it just been Ryoko’s idea she might have done so. However, as much as she wanted to avoid Nathaniel, she found herself wanting to argue with Tenchi even less. “Fine,” she said flatly. “Come on, Nathaniel.” With that she turned and walked out from under the canopy. Nathaniel removed his apron quickly and followed Sasami, with a hesitant look on his face, before he lost her in the crowd. As Ryoko watched them go, Tenchi moved up beside her and slid his hand into hers. “Do you really think this was a good idea, beloved?” Tenchi asked, watching the pair melt into the crowd. Sighing loudly, Ryoko admitted, “No, my prince, I’m not sure. All I know is Sasami has been getting more and more difficult to deal with, and I’m not going to let her start walking over me, my family, or our guests.” “There’s a streak of Ayeka in her,” noticed Tenchi sadly. “That’s the first time I’ve ever seen it come out.” Ryoko slipped her arm around her husband’s waist. “Maybe it comes from being raised in a palace,” she said thoughtfully. “Have I mentioned lately how glad I am I never left Earth for that Jurai palace and married you, instead?” “No,” Ryoko smiled, squeezing Tenchi, “but I could really get used to hearing that.” “I’ll make a note of it,” Tenchi smiled back. * * * Nathaniel made a decent effort at keeping up with the princess for the first five minutes, but after that Sasami had no problem ditching the American in the crowd. She actually made the pretense of looking around a little bit, just so she could tell herself it was an unfortunate accident, but Sasami was satisfied when she could not find him. “There you go, Ryoko,” Sasami smirked, “now *you* can go and find your lost pet of a patient.” Turning on her heel, Sasami made her way purposefully towards one of the nearby booths and pulled out some money. Within moments, she had purchased four bottles of sake, all of them in a bag for easy carrying. Satisfied, Sasami then began to make her way towards the edge of town where a large and probably deserted park and forest lay waiting. Sasami smiled to herself. She had decided she would see just what Ryoko found so great about getting thoroughly drunk. Humming almost happily, the princess picked up her pace. * * * “Dammit all!” Nathaniel swore as he tried in vain to spot Sasami. He had only been following her for five minutes when, in the press of the crowd, the two had been separated. For several more minutes, Nathaniel had wandered back and forth, calling out Sasami’s name, but to no avail. Now, he was so thoroughly turned around, he could not even tell which direction he had come from. Accidently shoved from behind by someone in the crowd, Nathaniel headed over towards the side of the street out of people’s way and fruitlessly scanned the scene. “Come on, Sasami,” he mumbled to himself, “where are you?” * * * Where Sasami was, some time later, was completely sloshed. Sasami tilted the last empty sake bottle and peered into it with a dour expression. Despite her willing it to do so, no more alcohol suddenly appeared from the neck of the bottle, save one tiny drop. Letting the empty bottle slip from her fingers and land quietly in the thick grass, the very drunk princess sighed heavily and sagged up against the cherry tree behind her. "That whushn't... supposhed to happen," Sasami declared belligerently, glaring at the discarded bottle which was now left alongside several of its fellows. "I think I fiiiinally understansh why Ryosho always got so… UPSHET when her bottles got emptshy." Drawing her face into a pout, Sasami let her arms sag and drop beside her propped up body, her hands lying in the warm grass, palms upward. For several moments her head lolled from one side of her shoulders to the other, trying to decide if attempting to stay up straight was really worth it. Finally settling on her left shoulder, she stared down her body until her eyes rested on her feet. With a look of total concentration, Sasami then tried to tap out a beat with her toes in the air. Humming an offbeat tune in a slurred voice, she failed utterly to make any kind of connection between her mind and her toes that resembled control. Being drunk, she decided, was not as easy as Ryoko had made it out to be. It was an interesting progression, however, from Sasami's point of view. First, she had started off in a bit of despair, wandering around the fair with her bottles in a bag until she found her way to a more secluded part of the park. Then, after a few drinks, most of her more morose thoughts seemed to evaporate, and Sasami felt a great deal better, even kind of happy. Encouraged by her progress, she next downed a second bottle, at which point the pleasant buzzing between her ears turned into a sluggish intoxication. Everything seemed very thick to the princess, and her emotions were suddenly very dull and far away. It felt very good. Finally, Sasami was in her present state, thoroughly intoxicated with some of her emotions beginning to make their way to the surface again. Every thing around her seemed to be moving in extreme slow motion, and the blackness of her mood she had thought drowned was creeping back into her consciousness. "Bah!" Sasami muttered, wildly throwing her hand out in front of her in a dismissive gesture. "Who needsh me to be a marrigshed prinshess anyhow?" Almost toppling over with the wild throw of her hand and arm, Sasami lurched to one side and sat there, hanging limply like a marionette whose strings had been severed. "Who needsh me... anywaysh?" she asked sadly. * * * Hot, tired, and thoroughly disgusted, Nathaniel Swann finally gave up trying to make his way through the tight crowds and accepted the fact he was hopelessly lost. Doing his best to extricate himself from the mobs of people, he headed instead away from the center of town towards a less crowded area. In the space of only a few minutes, he had plenty of walking room all around him as he found himself at one of the entrances to a rather large park. Spying several trees nearby with rather large and inviting patches of shade, Nathaniel slowly made his way towards the park. Picking one of the trees at random, he settled himself down heavily in the shade and began to cool off. "Hell with crowds," he sighed after a while, "and bother with people named Sasami who act like some kind of spoiled-brat princess!" Nathaniel leaned back against his tree and closed his eyes, taking deep breaths while trying to cool down. Resting for several minutes, Nathaniel decided that he would simply wait here for a while until he had enough of his energy back. One thing he was completely certain of, though. “I want my glasses back,” he complained unhappily. Before he could bemoan his situation anymore, however, he heard a sharp scream come from somewhere deeper within the park. For a moment, Nathaniel considered ignoring it, but then he decided better. “After all,” he said out loud to himself as he moved to his feet, “someone might really need some help, even from someone as blind as a bat.” He hopped up and moved as quickly as possible in the direction the woman’s voice had come from. * * * Sasami was almost asleep from her intoxication when she was aware of several shadows passing right over her. Forcing herself to sit up straight, she knocked over a couple of empty sake bottles in the process. This cause a series of rather evil chuckles to emit from above her. Sasami squinted through her alcoholic haze. Standing above her were the three leather-jacket-wearing troublemakers she had bumped into the day before. Sasami’s jaw managed to fall open, though the rest of her body was beyond her control. “Well, well, well,” said the shortest of the three punks nastily. “Look what we have here.” The largest of the hoods grinned evilly and smirked at the princess. “Looks like the foreigner didn’t take our advice and clear out. Now we might have to do something about it, right?” “She’s quite the alcoholic, isn’t she?” the middle sized punk laughed. “That’s just the way I like ‘em,” the large one said, hauling Sasami roughly to her feet. Being handled so roughly brought Sasami a moment of clarity. Leaning hard into the unsuspecting punk, she managed to shove him backwards, despite his great size. “How *daresh* you,” Sasami seethed drunkenly, “how dare you putsch yer hands on ME, a memsher of the royal housh of Juuurai!” The smallest punk shoved Sasami back against the tree. “So, we have ourselves a royally drunk princess, huh? Well, we’ll bring you down off yer high and mighty perch. Impacting against the tree, Sasami instantly raised her hands up in front of her and through her haze prepared to obliterate her aggressors. “That’s IT!” she declared. “I’lsh shend you to an aftsher-life of pain and shuvvering for your impudensh!” With that, Sasami tried to concentrate and reach out for the power from the Jurai Tree of Light, her birthright. And to her horror found she was unable. Putting her hands to her head, Sasami realized in terror that she could not focus through the alcohol to make contact with the Jurai energy within her. Wobbling slightly, she teetered against the trunk of the tree. “Oooo, we’re scared, your highness,” the little punk sneered. “I say we teach the royal bitch a little lesson!” Seeing the punks draw in on her, Sasami did the only thing she could think of through her haze. She let out a terrified scream, but only to have it cut off as the largest hoodlum put his big hand around her throat, effectively choking her. “Shut up, princess!” he snarled at the weakly struggling woman. “Make another sound, and I’ll snap yer skinny neck!” The middle punk looked around nervously. “You think anyone heard her?” he asked. “Nah,” the little one replied, “you know how empty this park is during the festival.” They turned their attention back towards Sasami, who was so intoxicated that she had by now stopped struggling all together. The little punk grinned nastily. “Why don’t we have ourselves a little fun now,” he said, reaching for Sasami’s blouse and undoing the first couple of buttons. The punks were so focused on the princess, that they never heard or saw the figure behind them approaching rapidly over the grass. * * * The first punk never knew what hit him. I skirted up behind the three young men who had Sasami pinned against a tree, my feet mostly silent in the soft grass as I had kicked my shoes off just moments before. All three of them had their backs to me, with the smallest and largest of the punks holding Sasami. The middle punk was about my size and never heard my approach, but there was not much available to hit except his back, and I wanted him to go down quickly. "Hey there," I said maliciously in Japanese. This had the desired effect of making the first punk turn his head in surprise, giving me the perfect target to my already moving fist. Before the rest of his body could follow his head's lead, my fist connected on the side of his face right where the jaw met the ear. His head snapped back and eyes rolled as his knees gave way instantaneously. Before his body hit the ground I sidestepped to the right of the largest punk, who threw his left arm out in a wild attempt at a punch while still clutching Sasami with his right. This guy was huge, at least fifty pounds heavier than I was. In fact, I could count on my fingers the number of people I'd seen so far in Japan who even came close to his size. I had no intention of going toe to toe with this young fellow, so I let his punch come towards me, pushing it aside softly with my right hand as I continued to sidestep behind him to my right. Following my right hand's progress, I used my left to trap and secure his extended arm. With his back still mostly towards me, my right hand slid up to where his arm met his shoulder. A violent push with my right hand and a twisting jerk with my left and his arm gave way easily as it dislocated. Before the heavyweight could begin to scream, however, there was a blinding light and pain as the smallest punk punched me on the left side of my face. Letting go of the big fellow in a hurry, I let my sidestepping motion allow me to continue to fall to the right, striking the ground hard on my injured shoulder and rolling onto my side. Yanking my eyes open, I saw the blurry form of the short punk rise towards me with his right leg swinging back to kick. As his foot started to swing forward, I let my left foot thrust out and strike his left knee, just as his kick connected with my outstretched leg. Under my foot, I felt his kneecap give way and scrape with a nauseating sound. The smallest punk crumpled instantly and began to howl, writhing on the ground and clutching his leg. Without any thought to my injuries, thanks to the wonders of adrenaline, I pushed myself to my feet, ready to launch at the next fellow to get back to his feet. The punk I had hit first was out cold, susceptible to having glass jaw like ninety-nine percent of human beings everywhere. The huge guy was gasping in obvious pain, cradling his left arm that I had hyper extended. His arm hung from his shoulder at an obviously incorrect location, and any attempt at much movement seemed to aggravate the pain even further. The last punk was similarly in pain, though more severely as his cries were loud and frantic apparently from significant damage done to his knee. From start to finish, about nine seconds had passed. Maybe ten. The instant the two punks holding Sasami against the tree had loosened their hold, her knees had buckled as she slid down the side of the tree into a heap. I did my best to wake her quickly, but she was unconscious and refused to come around. Over the yells of the little punk, I heard a noise to my side as the big guy was trying to get to his feet. Spinning around from Sasami I raised my right fist quickly and prepared to strike him hard. Seeing my fist raise up against him, the punk flinched backwards, slipping on the grass and hitting the ground with a thump. This sent a lot of pain though him, because he started to scream like a banshee. "Bastard," I snarled in English, my vocabulary of Japanese swears non-existent. Turning back to the still unconscious Sasami, I attempted to stand her up on her feet, but the girl literally seemed to pour out of my hands, she was so limp. As her head swung past my face, I caught the almost overpowering smell of alcohol. "Oh, crap," I swore again, scooping the young woman up with both arms and, with some effort, began to stagger away from the injured goons. Making a beeline for what appeared to be a trail, as far as I could tell, I cradled Sasami like an overgrown baby in my arms and scooted away as fast possible into the twilight. For a good five minutes, I quickly shuffled down the trail through thick stands of trees, my right arm and shoulder screaming at me from the effort they were making. Pretty soon, the noise from the injured punks faded away as we went deeper into the park, disappearing completely once we were safely away. My shoulder, after heroic efforts, finally had enough and forced me to stop, almost dropping Sasami before I had the chance to ease her down and let her spill out of my arms. The girl was absolutely limp. At first I had thought the smell of alcohol might have been from the punks, but running with Sasami for the past several minutes had proven otherwise. She was tanked. Flopping on the path beside her, I began to cradle my right arm, feeling the sensations of pain lance through my shoulder continually. It was not as bad as when I had first woken up in the Masaki household, thankfully, but it still smarted pretty bad. However, it was pretty obvious I had reopened a wound, judging by the blood stain. I propped myself up against a boulder and took survey of my surroundings. The twilight was getting a bit deeper, but there was still enough light to move around in safely. All around us were trees thick with leaves, obscuring most of the darkening sky above. As my heart began to slow down (it really had not speeded up until the fight was over), I took several deep breaths and listened to a little stream tinkle merrily behind the boulder I was resting on. Enjoying a moments idle, I pondered getting back to my feet and carrying Sasami out of the wooded park before it got too dark to see clearly. However, much to my relief, a series of light posts, well blended in alongside the pathway, automatically switched on in response to the dwindling daylight. "Whew!" I exclaimed out loud. "At least that's something." "Huh? Wussit?" a heavily slurred Sasami uttered from beside me. Rolling over from her side onto her stomach, the young woman tried to speak, but ended up mostly eating a good deal of her hair that had fallen across her face. Not knowing what else to do, I moved over and scooped Sasami's upper body into my lap, clearing away as much of her hair from her mouth and face as possible. Her arms struggled weakly as she tried to open her eyes and focus. "N-nassaniel?" "Not quite, but close enough," I mockingly teased her. The confused and intoxicated look on her pale face indicated she had no comprehension of my sardonic humor, so I got a little more serious. "Yep, it's me, Nathaniel," I assured her. "How you doing there, Sasami?" Watching her screw her face up in exaggerated concentration as she tried to process my question, Sasami flopped her hand up to the side of her chin and let it sit there for a moment. "I-I don't shink... don't feelsh sho good," she slurred as her facial features seemed to sag. Brining one of my hands up to her pretty face, I felt her skin. It was cold and quite clammy. From previous experience I knew exactly what was about to happen next. "Nathanshiel," she slurred again, this time with a little burp, "don't feel... good. Chest tight." "There, there," I soothed, adjusting her weight so she was no longer so much in my lap, "I can help you, Sasami, but you have to do something for me, okay?" "Ugh," she groaned thickly. "Wha?" "Try to sit up on your hands and knees," I said slowly and reassuringly, hoping time would not run out, "you'll feel better, I promise." "P-promish?" "Promish, cross my heart and hope to die." "Okay," she said in a small, little-girl voice. With agonizing slowness, and several more burps, Sasami lifted herself all the way out of my lap with my help until she wobbly made her way to her hands and knees. She was breathing shallow and quickly now, and her face was becoming even more pale. "I don't feelsh any better," she complained unhappily as she started to shiver uncontrollably. "Trust me, you will," I lied as I began to gather her long hair from around her face and hold it up behind her head. "No, I'sh really don't shink-" she began to say before a violent contraction racked her upper body. And with the practiced ease of a skill I had the dubious privilege of perfecting years ago in college, I held Sasami's hair well out of range as she emptied her stomach of most of the alcohol she had drank earlier. * * * Wind whipped strands of hair across Sasami's face as she stood in the midst of a barren wasteland, her eyes closed. Vast stretches of mesa, scored by storms of unimaginable ferocity, raced towards every horizon. Blood red and marked with deep, black shadows, the land met with threatening skies that boiled in a metallic blue haze. With her arms by her sides and her hands thrown open, Sasami titled her head back slightly with the wind currents. They were dry and ominous, sucking the moisture from her skin. 'You will know truth,' a male voice seemed to echo from nowhere and everywhere. Sasami's eyes opened slightly to the sight of the wasteland. "W-who is that?" The skies continued to boil slowly, their color reducing from blue to a shiny green. There was a silence as the princess strained her ears for a reply, her imagination sensing noises that did not exist in the silent features of the terrain. 'You will *know* truth, Daughter of the Tree of Light,' the voice spoke again, sinisterly. In front of Sasami, a figure rose up from the red desert floor in a the vortex of a dust devil. She shielded her eyes up from the stinging winds, cowering behind her arms until the dust died down. Dropping her arms when the worst of the storm seemed past, Sasami cracked her eyes open and gaped. "What are you?" she stammered, staring at a shadowy humanoid that stood not ten feet from her. The humanoid had no face. 'Yes,' the voice continued, laughing now, 'you will know truth when you look into your own heart-' The shadowy figure raised a silver blade of energy and charged Sasami, moving fluidly and silently while bringing its blade down towards her head. Sasami cried out, back peddling over the rocky earth as she tried to avoid the weapon. '-and see fear-' In a total panic, Sasami reached out an sought the power from the Tree of Light and formed her chosen weapon, a gleaming staff of Jurai energy. Her arms shook from impact as her staff stopped the humanoid's blade inches from her face. With a scream the princess pushed the blade away and lurched to her feet. '-despair-' Seemingly caught by surprise, the faceless humanoid staggered back and rose its blade to the defense as Sasami wildly attacked, screaming hoarsely. Swinging her staff of energy in wide arks, she continued to thrust the offender away until, with a strangled cry and a mighty thrust, Sasami impaled the being through the throat with the end of her weapon. The humanoid began to quiver and dropped its blade, arms dangling loosely. Without warning, facial features began to form from the blank face in an expression of searing pain. Sasami's features became one of horror as the unseen voice spoke again. '-blackness,' the voice concluded with evil mirth. "N-n-no," stammered the princess, her body trembling as she continued to hold her staff, "it can't be!" The figure's lips moved slowly and with effort, trying to speak through a red froth that was gathering in its mouth. Finally, it managed to talk. "Saaasshami," a feminine voice gurgled, "how... could yooou?" The impaled figure went totally limp as its knees buckled, sliding slowly off of Sasami's staff of Jurai energy. It landed in a soft heap in the barren dust. Sasami's energy weapon disappeared instantly as the princess began to stagger backwards, her hands coming up to the sides of her head. "No. No. No," she repeated numerous times to herself. "NO!!" Closing her eyes, Sasami dropped roughly to her knees and arched forward till her head was almost touching the ground, her eyes closed. Somewhere, the invisible voice laughed mercilessly. Sasami whipped her head back and screamed. "MAYUKA!!!!" * * * Thrown totally off balance by the unexpected thrashing of Sasami's body, Nathaniel shuffled desperately from side to side as he tried to maintain his footing with her riding piggy-back. Stumbling in the low light of the trail, he finally lost his balance. Knowing he was going to fall, Nathaniel did his best to keep the struggling Sasami from hitting the ground as well, and with an audible thump, Nathaniel crashed to the crushed gravel trail on his knees. "Frijoles, lady!" he cursed through clenched teeth as pain lanced up through his knees and into his legs. The extra weight of the young woman on his back managed to drive him further into the sharp gravel, ripping through the knees of his jeans. Sasami, still on his back by some miracle, slowed her wiggling and let her head and arms go limp around Nathaniel's shoulders. "M-mayuka," she croaked in small, slurred voice before going totally limp. Nathaniel let his head hang as he breathed heavily, letting the energy expended in his controlled crash return. With his arms still firmly wrapped around Sasami's legs to keep her in place, Nathaniel waited patiently until the initial pain in his knees has subsided enough so he was no longer grinding his teeth. Raising up slightly, he turned his head until he could see Sasami's passed out expression. He grimaced. "Typical, sleeping like a baby, no doubt," smirked Nathaniel. "You better have one hell of a hangover tomorrow to even come *close* to making up for this." Turning his head back to the ground, Nathaniel breathed deeply several times before launching himself roughly to his feet. Grunting with the effort, one of his knees wobbled slightly as if deciding whether to support the ridiculous load or not. Finally, his legs found equilibrium and stability as he shifted here and there to center Sasami's limp weight. Then, Nathaniel felt something wet begin to dribble down the side of his neck as Sasami started to snore hesitantly. Screwing his eyes crossed in utter aggravation, a little voice in Nathaniel's head considered the idea of dumping Sasami right there and then. Unable to do anything about the drool sliding down his neck without depositing the wasted princess on the ground, Nathaniel looked out through the darkness trying to figure out which way to head. "One minute you're nice, the next minute you're about as distant as Pluto," he grumbled, silently assessing the options presented by the trail intersection. "You agree to baby sit me," he continued to no one in particular, "which I appreciate, but then diss me in the middle of a crowd when I can't see well enough to get back to your family's *bloody* booth!" A persistent stinging from his knees informed him, even though he could not see the stains on the rocks where he had crashed, that he was bleeding. "I mean, you could have at least let me share a bottle and work things out," he said, rolling his eyes. "But, you had to go off by yourself and get sloshed all by yourself," he sighed, "letting those thugs take advantage of you." Careening his head back at Sasami, he glared at her. "You could have been raped or worse, you dummy!" Sasami winced slightly in her sleep from his voice. Nathaniel immediately regretted barking at her, and turned his head back out to the dimly lit trails. Nathaniel's head fell a little in shame. "And you made me hurt those guys *and* myself just to bail you out of your mess," he regretted unhappily. "Thanks a bunch, Sasami. Let me know if I can do anything *else* for you during my stay." The moment he spoke those last words, he again felt regret at laying his anger on Sasami, even though she was beyond hearing it. Shaking his head to clear it of his frustration, Nathaniel looked up through the stands of trees in the park looking for any sign of a way out. With his vision, all the trails looked the same, and he had a sinking a feeling that they had been going in circles. "Come on," he said to the woods, "give me a sign here. I don't want to be carrying this *princess* here all night." No response. He shifted Sasami's weight again. "Come on, please?" he asked. "I'll promise to recycle more paper products if you help me out." The leaves in the tops of the trees rustled unhurriedly, obviously unconcerned with the plight of the two people below. "Great," Nathaniel muttered to himself, "now I'm talking to trees. Wonderful." Out of the corner of his eye, Nathaniel then thought he saw a flash of light through the darkness of the trees. He assumed it was his imagination, until he heard the distant report of a loud bang and pop. The noise was quickly followed by more blurry flashes of light and booms. "Fireworks?" he said. "Well, your royal pain-in-the-ass highness, looks like we're in luck after all." Clenching his teeth from the pain of walking and carrying Sasami's dead load, Nathaniel stumbled off down a trail that appeared to lead in the general direction of the fireworks. * * * Back at the booth, Yosho managed to look somewhat blank while maintaining his usual serious posture. "No, Sasami never brought me dinner, Ryoko," he said shaking his head. "I have not seen Sasami-chan all day, as a matter of fact. It's a shame, because I was hungry, too." Ryoko crossed her arms, her face repeatedly falling in and out of light and dark with each passing flash of the nearby fireworks overhead. "Where could those two have gotten off to?" she demanded furiously. "I'm sure they're all right, Ryoko-san," Tenchi assured his wife while squeezing her hand. "Though it's not like Sasami to not bring grandfather his dinner like that." "Well, I'm sure you've noticed, Tenchi, that Sasami's been doing a *lot* of things lately that aren't like her," growled Ryoko. Tenchi could only nod at this. Yui Masaki looked up from the goldfish pond, where she had been swirling her fingers in the cool water. “I’ve been all over town all afternoon, mom,” she offered with a shrug, “and I haven’t seen either one of them at all.” "Well," Nobuyuki offered, fingering one of his ever-present cameras, "maybe they made up and decided to go somewhere a little more quiet!" "Daaad, be serious," Tenchi groaned. "At any rate," his father continued, "there's no way we'll be able to find them until the crowd thins out, so we shouldn't get overly worked up." "Excellent point," Yosho agreed, nodding solemnly. However, before anyone could say another word, the crowd of people around the Masaki booth shuddered anxiously for a moment. Without warning, the crowd parted suddenly, revealing a grotesque looking form, hunched over in the semidarkness. Seeming to have two heads, four arms, and four legs, the monster staggered slowly over to the Masaki booth until it reached the front, stopping jerkily. Ryoko gasped as even Yosho managed to look alarmed when the monster raised up into the light of the booth. Bloodied and bruised, Nathaniel blinked owlishly from the light above the grill and tried to shift an unconscious Sasami into a more comfortable position. Gasping for breath, Nathaniel managed to say something with his parched throat. "M-made it," he croaked as his knees buckled and gave way under Sasami's weight. Crashing to the street on his knees, Nathaniel's grunt of pain was cut off as his forehead smacked onto the pavement immediately afterwards. Nathaniel could hear seemingly distant voices calling from all around him as he happily blacked out. Sasami rolled off Nathaniel's back lightly into a twisted heap, still wholly unaware of what was transpiring. There was a quick flash as Nobuyuki took a picture. * * * Coming up in Chapter 7: "Looks to me like you're illegally parked over my daddy's house, bub!" Ryoko gets bent, Sasami gets an unwelcome royal visitor, and Nathaniel's horizons are widened. Email Appreciated! Michael McAvoy mmcavoy@acm.vt.edu www.acm.vt.edu/~mmcavoy Last updated September 17, 1998.