Second Chances Chapter 1: Unfamiliar Pickle For some people, mastering chopsticks requires a multitude of visits to Chinese restaurants and time poorly spent on squinting at the ill-conceived pictoral instructions on the packaging of disposable, splintery chopsticks. For Kagato, it took a minute or two, with the application of observation, calculation, and an initial attempt at stabbing the offending food object through the eye. "This. A vertebrate. What is it?" Kagato gestured impatiently with her chopsticks at the lightly charred skin of the fish. Pink flesh peered out moistly from beneath. "Grilled salmon." It came out terser than he meant, and Katsuhito irritably wondered what was taking the girls so long getting Washu. Her lab was just through the living room closet. He then wondered why he had bothered sparing this woman from the combined wrath of Ryoko and Ayeka. Oh, that's right, he thought. A misguided sense of justice. Almost forgot about that. "Which is...?" "A local aquatic vertebrate used for food." Katsuhito feigned nonchalance at Kagato's piercing gaze. Those eyes were oddly pretty, in their own strange and perversely evil manner. Katsuhito looked away, pretending to pick at a fishbone. "Why is it cooked?" A look of disgust crossed her face. "It's a local custom." Katsuhito set down his chopsticks and took a sip of tea, careful not to appear as if he were staring. Not that he was, really. After all, this was still Kagato, even if she was shapely, boyishly slender, and had a pair of rather nice breasts hiding under that form-fitting green dress. Was this girl really Kagato? Katsuhito hoped not. He wondered if Kagato had ever had a sister by the same name. It wasn’t impossible. There were many different strange societies of people in the universe. Katsuhito took a deep breath, and suppressed a sigh. This was definitely one of the most unusual breakfasts he had ever had. At least, ever since that morning that he tried serving his parents breakfast in bed when he was a child. Now that was memorable. Katsuhito silently prayed that this breakfast wouldn't end in nudity. On second thought, maybe he did...no. Katsuhito forcibly put the thought aside. After all, this was probably Kagato. "And this thing. Some sort of vegetable? Why is it this color? It appears to be artificial." Kagato peered sidewise at the damp, strange-smelling yellow slices. "Pickled daikon." "Pickled?" "It's a local form of food preservation where the food is preserved in brine or vinegar." "I see." Kagato let her eyes run over the rest of the unfamiliar dishes set about the table. No use for further questioning; experience had taught her that experiment was still the best solution to solving problems, both scientific and breakfast. One last look and it was time to try. Her chopsticks reached out to a nearby dish whose red color looked particularly appealing to her tastes. This looked like something similar to...to what? Kagato couldn't remember. Well, it didn't matter, her system required food, and no matter how appalling or barbaric it appeared, she would just have to cope with it. Kagato took an experimental bite. Her expression changed significantly. Katsuhito tried not to laugh. He reached out to pour her some more tea. She had such delicate hands with long, slender fingers. He wondered if she had ever...no. "What. Is. This?" Kagato managed to choke out. Her eyes narrowed dangerously at him as she quickly set down the little red pickle of doom, and took a long drink of tea to clear out the offensively sour flavor. "Umeboshi. A pickled plum." "Are you trying to poison me?" "It's an acquired taste. Perhaps you should try something else. The miso soup is very good this morning." "What is miso? Another form of pickle? These colonists seem far too fond of such food preservation methods." "Fermented soybean paste." Kagato set down the bowl of rice, looking downright murderous. Katsuhito sighed, and took another sip of tea. Perhaps another strategy was in order. "So, is this your first time on earth?" “Miss Washu! Miss Washu!” The frantic pounding on her laboratory door resounded neatly with her headache. Mumbling to herself, Washu dragged her head painfully up from her previous reclining position. Last night had been a particularly long night. Her experiment had somehow glitched, and she had spent the rest of the night painfully sorting through millions of lines of code to find the bug. Painfully. Her head throbbed at the effort. “Yes, yes, what is it? And that’s ‘Little Washu.’” Somehow that didn’t feel so funny this morning. Good gods, all she wanted was a nice quiet morning to sleep in and… Ayeka peeped in through the door. “Excuse me. Washu-chan, I’m sorry to bother you this early, but…you’ll have to see this one for yourself.” “Well, whatever it is, it’d better be good.” Washu pulled herself straight, stood up, and started stalking toward the main house. What was it with these people? Just one quiet morning was all she wanted, and now she was getting dragged out for yet another ‘emergency.’ What was it this time; did Ryo-ohki eat all the daikon too? Turning the corner toward the dining room, as she followed Ayeka, Washu resumed her tirade. “Because if this isn’t earth-shattering, someone’s going to…Sweet Mother of Tsunami, what in the…” Kagato looked up from her breakfast, turning to stare at Washu, her eyes slowly taking in the diminutive scientist. Seated across from her, Katsuhito shrugged helplessly at Washu as the rest of the household stood about nervously, as if waiting for Washu to make a final assessment. Washu tensed, preparing for the worst. Instantly, her mind calculated the odds of Kagato appearing. Not completely unlikely, but as a woman? A woman? Suddenly her brain felt as glitchy as last night’s experiment. "You.” Kagato’s voice came in a clipped, almost authoritative tone. An odd look crossed Kagato’s face, and she reached up to adjust her pince-nez. Washu mentally prepared herself, silently arming her defenses, ready to launch an array of offensive attacks and neutralizers should they come. What sort of trick was this? “I absolutely adore what you've done with your hair. It’s quite stylish." As if to accentuate the point, Kagato brushed back her own loose lock of silvery-pale hair. Washu then, did the absolutely most logical thing that any of the other contenders for the title of the greatest genius in the universe would have done in her place. She face-faulted. “Okay, both of you stop talking. You first, Ayeka.” Washu rubbed at her temples as the girls sat around her in the living room. She could faintly hear Katsuhito and Kagato talking from the other room. Was she flirting with him? Light laughter filled the air. Washu did *not* want to know. She turned her attention back to Ayeka. “…So you see, Washu-chan, that’s when I heard Tenchi cry out. Naturally, I assumed that this was Ryoko’s doing, but then, when we both ran into each other running to his room, we realized it was something else.” Ayeka worked the edge of her cloth belt nervously in her fingers. “Right.” Ryoko cut in. “That’s when we found Tenchi in bed with…with…it.” Ayeka glared at Ryoko. “We were both about to do something about it when Grandfather came up to see what was going on. But it was very strange. She didn’t seem to recognize any of us. Only Tenchi.” “Then the old coot sent us out of the room and told us to get you to figure out what to do. Of course, I stayed to make sure that Tenchi was safe,” Ryoko added. “I’m scared, Washu. What if he wants to hurt us?” Sasami looked distraught. Ryo-ohki’s eyes were filled with sadness and concern, as she pressed closer against Sasami. “That bastard wouldn’t be able to, not with me around,” Ryoko stated defiantly, her hands clenched into fists. A spark of hate flashed through her eyes. She wasn’t about to let anyone else get revenge before her. “And me,” Ayeka added softly, her hand squeezing her sister’s reassuringly. Washu’s voice took on a quiet, deadly serious tone. “We don’t know who this person is. They look like Kagato, but we have to first find out who this person is and what they want. And make certain that this is Kagato. Maybe I can convince her to let me examine her. Then I can find out for certain.” Or not. “No. That is impossible.” Kagato leaned back comfortably against the cushions of the couch, and looked up at the ceiling. A pair of feral yellow eyes glared at him from a thick wooden roofing beam before disappearing with a soft whoosh. Kagato blinked, and then turned her attention back to Washu. Internally, Washu fumed. She had expected her to be resistant, she had expected her to be treacherous, but knowing that didn’t make things easier. And she thought that Ryoko was an infernal little bitch when it came to talking her into a physical exam. “Oh, come on. You’ve probably never had a medical examination in your life. Why don’t I give you a check-up? In case you’ve caught some virus or have some disease that we can’t diagnose from visual observation.” “I’ll take my chances.” A movement caught her eye and she turned her head to see a pair of crimson eyes glaring at her as Ayeka walked past the couch. Kagato chanced a half-smile, only to be met with an indignant humph and a quickened step. “So tell me, Kagato, since you don’t want me to help you out. Where did you come from? Why are you here?” “Well, if the machines were correct, I am approximately three days old today. I woke up in a vat of goo about 70 hours ago, I think. Oh my, almost four. What lovely milestones I’m making today.” Washu’s jaw dropped. Three days? THREE DAYS? She quickly got her expression in order. “Th…that doesn’t explain why you’re here.” “Oh, that.” Kagato waved her hand dismissively. “My memories are incomplete, but I do remember a few things. Most notably, Tenchi. I thought by coming here I could solve the lack of complete memories. Plus, I believe he owes me one, as it were. After all, he did kill me. Well, at least the original.” “You know about that? How do you know!” “Please.” Kagato rolled her eyes. “Any half-witted child armed with a name and some patience can bring up the information via the Galactic Network. See?” Kagato raised her hands and a spectral screen appeared. She typed out a few words, and suddenly news report after news report cycled through the screen on the demise of the Ruins Buster. She turned the screen disparagingly toward Washu. Washu took a deep breath. As she opened her mouth to speak, Ryo-ohki peeked out from behind a chair, her long silver-blue hair cascading around her shoulders, tiny fingers clutching the side of the chair, the edge of her little carrot dress pressed against the heavy upholstered fabric. Kagato suddenly stood up and walked over. Quickly. Washu sprang up, ready to protect the child-formed Ryo-ohki as Kagato fell to her knees before her. Ryo-ohki’s eyes grew wide with surprise, her nose testing the air with all the enhanced senses of a cabbit. Kagato pressed her hands against Ryo-ohki’s shoulders, and looked closely into her crystalline eyes. “Ryo…ohki?” Ryo-ohki nodded shyly. A little ‘miya’ escaped her lips. “Oh!” Kagato pulled Ryo-ohki close in one quick movement, clutching her tight. Washu nearly fell over herself trying to run over to the two. “Oh my poor little Ryo-ohki! What have these people been doing to you? Has that nasty Washu done something awful to my precious one?” Washu hit the floor with a thud. An hour later, Ryoko and Kagato were sitting on the couch, Ryoko barely managing to contain her anger and bitterness at the whole situation. Washu had stomped off to her lab for some ‘research’ and had charged Ryoko and Ayeka with the task of ‘keeping Kagato company,’ but that damned Ayeka had decided to weasel out of the situation by saying she had to go care for her little sister. Ryoko muttered to herself. “Coward.” “Hmm?” Kagato finally broke the tense silence between them. “It’s none of your business. Why don’t you go drink some more of that tea of yours?” Ryoko crossed her arms, and looked away. “Yes. Thank you.” Kagato looked at the heavy ceramic cup in her hands, the ridged mug radiating heat to her hands. Such a sensation. She took a sip of the delicately flavored tea, letting the steam rise up around her face and gently cloud her pince-nez. She turned her head towards the window. Outside, the snow fell silently, masking the world in whiteness. “Ryoko.” Ryoko turned back to Kagato irritably. “What?” “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. I’ve read so much about you.” Ryoko hid her initial surprise behind a mask of hostility. “Don’t play your games with me, Kagato. I don’t care what you look like. You’re still you with all your stupid tricks. You know who I am.” “Do I?” Kagato breathed into the cup, and inhaled the fragrant vapors evaporating off of the hot tea. “There’s not a lot I remember.” “You remembered Washu.” “Yes.” “You remembered Ryo-ohki.” “Yes. That was a surprise to both of us, I believe.” “You remembered Tenchi.” “Yes.” “You don’t remember me.” “No.” “Drink your tea.” This was ridiculous. Tenchi knew he should listen to the dictates of his grandfather, but he was starving. It was already mid-morning, and the noise from downstairs had subsided to the usual morning bustle, albeit with less broken dishes. Mihoshi must be sleeping in, he thought. But enough was enough. He had finished his morning ablutions over an hour ago, and had been sitting around half-heartedly trying to finish some math homework, with the bulk of his attention attuned to the sounds of the household for signs of danger. If by now they had decided that whoever woke him up so unexpectedly this morning was dangerous, he would have known. Tenchi decided to go down. “Ohaiyo, every…” His words trailed off as he descended the staircase. Ryoko and Kagato were sitting on opposite ends of the couch, studiously ignoring each other. Ryoko and Kagato. The way the two of them sat,with their basic postures and expressions identical. Both unconsciously mirroring each other. Tenchi blinked as if to clear away the image. So that’s where she got it from, Tenchi thought, astonished. All this time he thought that it came from Washu… “Oh, good morning Tenchi!” Ryoko quickly floated up toward him, glad to be excused from her tiresome guest. She folded her arms around him familiarly, and pressed her cheek to his. “And how are you this morning?” Tenchi flailed, his mind still on the red-in-yellow eyes that watched the two of them ironically. “Um, hi Ryoko. Heh, I was just thinking of what a wonderful breakfast Sasami must have for us.” He gently shrugged her off, and continued down the stairs. Kagato raised her hand over her mouth, hiding a trace of a sharp smile. Just then, another pair of feet came clattering down the stairs, knocking Tenchi off balance. Ryoko quickly reached out to steady him. “Oh my, I must have overslept again! Sasami-chan! Do you need help with the dishes?” Mihoshi pattered down the stairs, her hair in a happy disarray, as she absently tugged her morning coat on over her pajamas. Mihoshi froze when she saw Kagato sitting by herself on the couch. “WAH?!” Kagato raised a hand and waved to Mihoshi, a little sarcastic motion of her fingers. Tenchi’s eyes followed Mihoshi as she raced back up the stairs. He turned to Ryoko. “Did she just say that she knows what to do?” Ryoko shrugged helplessly. Suddenly, Mihoshi ran back in and pounded down the stairs, lugging a splashing plastic tub of water. Droplets flew as she skidded to a halt behind Kagato. “I saw this in on TV once! It should work!” Mihoshi announced triumphantly, as she dumped the contents of the tub onto Kagato’s head. Kagato coughed and sputtered in surprise as lukewarm soapy water poured down her head, soaking her to the skin. A few bras, followed by some underwear splatted wetly onto her shoulders and head. Tenchi’s eyes grew wide, and he ran back upstairs, holding a hand to his nose, Ryoko following in his wake. “Uh oh.” Mihoshi’s expression grew sheepish as Kagato stood up and turned around, a pair of panties falling to the floor behind her. Kagato’s eyes gleamed with anger. “Um, I guess that didn’t work?” Mihoshi giggled nervously. “If you wanted to make me very angry, then yes, that did work.” “Oh. I thought maybe you would turn back into a boy. You know, like on TV.” Kagato merely glared. A bra slid off Kagato’s shoulder and landed with a wet slap onto the ground. “Er…let me get you a towel…” “Is this another one of your local customs? Taking baths on the furniture in the middle of the house?” Kagato wrung water out of her sleeves furiously. Impatiently, she began to unbutton the top of her dress. Katsuhito’s eyes widened momentarily, before he feigned nonchalance, coughing into one hand. “I’m terribly sorry. Mihoshi can be…enthusiastic.” “Well, this is ridiculous. This dress is ruined.” Kagato pulled off the rest of the top of her dress, letting it hang around her slim bare waist as she turned to wring water out of her hair, puddles of soapy liquid pooling on the linoleum of the kitchen floor. Katsuhito turned slightly pink, and grew increasingly flushed as Kagato moved to slide the rest of the dress off. “Well, um…oh, hello, Mihoshi. Why don’t you take our guest to the onsen where she can freshen up?” “Oh, Miss Kagato! Um…aren’t you cold? You…um…look a little…er…perky… Do you want a towel? I brought two. This one’s pink because all the girls use the pink towels, but this one’s green, because I thought maybe you might like a green towel and…and…Miss Kagato?” Kagato glared at Katsuhito, her scarlet eyes flashing. He looked away, embarrassed. “Point it out to me, I can find it myself.” “Daaaad! What are you doing?” Tenchi had found his father with a pair of high-powered binoculars in the upstairs sitting area. “I thought you said you bought this for bird watching!” “It’s a special kind of bird, Tenchi. I’m just doing a little research on our visitor.” Nobuyuki looked up at Tenchi for a second, and winked. “Now quiet, I’m trying to…ooh, that’s nice. She might be cold, but she’s got some legs to die for.” Tenchi sighed, exasperated. “Dad, will you cut it out?” “Oh come on, I’m just having a little fun. What’s the harm in it?” “Dad, you do know that she used to be a man, right?” “Really?” Nobuyuki paused as he refocused the binoculars. “Well, they’re doing some really great things with surgery these days.” Kagato took a deep, calming breath. Above her, snow fell onto the clear dome, melting and dissipating as it hit the warm glass. Around her, wisps of hot steam curled about her as she sank deeper into the hot water, the soothing heat soaking into her limbs, making her finally realize how cold her surface temperature had been. She stared at her body, made up of pale flawless skin unblemished by scars. She let her fingers drift to the soft, rounded breasts and other secondary sex characteristics that established her gender to the world. This was her body, yet it was not. She let her mind sweep through a kaleidoscope of broken memories and incomplete data, thousands of technical terms, impressively long numerical sequences, and the rush of power as thousands of tons of metal, stone, and ceramic moved at her command. A sherd of memory, the refusal to indulge in such physical tactile experiences as hot baths. A sensation, the overriding cold of loneliness. Kagato sighed, and let herself sink further into the water until her whole body was immersed, her long hair floating about her in a silvery-blue veil. She held her breath; she closed her eyes, as the water gently lapped about her, and imagined being born again into this world, rising from the waters. “Ta da!” Washu unveiled a grab-bag assortment of various devices. Little metal and wooden toys bounced around, spun, or vibrated off the coffee table as she dumped them out. “As I was saying, before I was so rudely interrupted, if I can’t get her to submit to a test, these probes can secretly seek and collect samples for me. I’ll put them everywhere. All I need is a hair!” Washu gloated, rubbing her hands together. “It’s so perfect! Oh, I am such a genius.” “Yeah, you just keep saying that, mom.” Ryoko rolled her eyes in exasperation as everyone crowded around to see Washu’s latest and greatest. Good luck, she thought. You’re going to need it. Kagato yawned and stretched. That was enough of that. As she stepped out of the steamy bath, her hair plastered wetly to her shoulders, a movement flickered out of the corner of her eyes. Without thinking, almost as though it were instinctual, her hand lashed out and a pure beam of green light shot out, blasting something into pieces. Kagato shrugged. Oh well. Hopefully it wasn’t something too valuable, she thought. Suddenly, something else moved behind her and she spun around to meet it… “Damnit! Three down! Well, not to worry…I’ve got another three hundred thousand of these babies…” Washu grinned as she activated a dozen little probes… Three weeks and two hundred thousand nine hundred ninety nine probes later… “You do realize that your efforts are futile, don’t you?” Kagato stated coolly, as her chopsticks dipped into the hot udon bowl, steam fogging up her pince-nez. “I’ll get you tomorrow.” Washu busily mixed up the various vegetables into her soup. “I’ve got time.” “Time? You’ll need more than that, my dear.” Kagato delicately picked out a limp square of seaweed, examining it closely. “Oh yeah? Well who’s the greatest scientific genius in the universe? It definitely isn’t you.” Washu stabbed a pink and white slice of fish cake and shoved it in her mouth, chewing furiously. “No, but I hear it’s short fuzzy girl with an attitude problem. Oh, what was her name again? Started with a ‘Y’?” Kagato finally decided to put the seaweed into her mouth, and chewed experimentally. “You haven’t changed a bit in the last five thousand years. You’re still the smarmy little bottle-washing assistant who can’t stand to lose. Oh, you know I’ll get you on my lab table if it’s the last thing that I do.” Washu glared as she sprinkled Japanese sansho pepper into her bowl. “Try me.” Kagato poked at the fish cake, trying to decide what kind of food amalgam it was. Just because Washu ate it didn’t mean that it was palatable. She had always felt that Washu’s taste was irrevocably bad. “Um, girls, do you mind? We’re trying to have a nice dinner and…” “YOU STAY OUT OF THIS, TENCHI.” Kagato and Washu fumed at each other as they realized they had both spoken simultaneously, before turning away to studiously ignore each other. Ryoko nudged Ayeka, and they both rolled their eyes. “They’re totally hopeless.” “Utterly incorrigible.” Disclaimers and thanks: All characters belong to AIC and Pioneer. Special thanks goes out to SC, Cyrus Marriner, Dr. Geoduck, and Mary Morris for their help in pre-reading, especially Mary who suggested some of the jokes, including the binoculars scene. Please feel free join us in #muyoff on Dal.net for Tenchi fanfiction discussion and general chat. http://www.muyo.org/muyoff/muyoff.html http://www.fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=119143 Author’s notes: A visit to Kagato's lab? Non-stop girl-girl action! And who is Kagato's long-lost boyfriend?! All this and more, in future chapters of “Second Chances.” Questions and comments can be sent to cori_ohki@hotmail.com. Thank you for reading.