Disclaimer: This is a speculatory and purely hypothetical interpretation 
as to what might happen in the time after the conclusion of the second 
_Tenchi Muyo!_ OVA, and has no direct relationship to Pioneer or AIC, 
who own all rights to the _TM!_ characters that appear in this story.  
I do not own the _Tenchi Muyo!_ characters, nor am I looking to make any
money off this fic, nor am I looking to get sued, seeing as I have no 
money.  However, I ask that no one use or post this fic or any portion 
of it without my permission.

Pre-Note: Ok, folks.  Here it is, the second chapter in my first fanfic 
series.  Read and enjoy, but if you don't, don't hesitate to give me any
constructive input.  Um, by the way I'm not so good at Japanese names, 
so if you have any suggestions for changing current or for future 
character names, please share them with me and let me know just how 
incompetent I really am ;-)

Tenchi Muyo!: Trials and Fears
by "Master Kodama" (master_kodama@yahoo.com)
Chapter 2: "Breaking the Curse"

	It was the morning after the Kumanai incident, and Tenchi was 
tired.  He'd lain awake in bed, late into the night, going over a 
thousand and one things in his head.  His contemplation went from the 
mysterious summons, to Ayeka, to Ryoko, and back to Ayeka again, and 
then on to Ray, Washu, and the others staying at the house.
	In the morning, he delayed getting up.  For a long time, he simply
lay in bed, wide awake.  He knew he should go to breakfast, but it was 
just one of those days... he felt like nothing was going to go right for
the next twenty-four hours.
	Thankfully there was no Ryoko waiting at his bed side to pounce on
him.  Not that he expected it, since she hadn't done that in a long 
time, but he didn't think he would have handled it well.  It certainly 
wasn't that he missed her attentions, that wasn't why he was thinking 
about it.  Nope, not a chance.
	*Cut that out and just get up, baka,* he admonished.
	When he did eventually get up, Tenchi went downstairs for 
breakfast, hoping his premonition about the day was just nerves or his 
own situation depressing him.  Rubbing his eyes and yawning, Tenchi 
walked into the dining area to see that very few people were up.  Sasami
sat silently eating at one end of the table, watching everyone's 
breakfast get cold, while a similarly silent Ray had his left ear talked
off by a gregarious Mihoshi sitting next to him.
	Tenchi sat down on the opposite side of the table from Ray and 
Mihoshi, smiling sleepily.  Ray smiled back vaguely and Mihoshi 
continued chattering away.
	Tenchi watched Ray tolerate Mihoshi's constant stream of one-
sided, empty conversation.  She was obviously taken with the man, and 
Tenchi wondered why.  Then again, he had no idea why Ryoko and Ayeka 
were all over him.
	He studied Ray.  The man had a particular way he held himself, 
relaxed but ready, ready for whatever, and his eyes were always just a 
bit narrowed, as if he meant business, or had some great secret to hide.
Tenchi supposed he might project some vein of a "tall, dark and 
mysterious" sort of vibe.  Mihoshi was certainly responding to it, 
whatever it was.
	"You know, you look familiar to me," she was saying leaning back 
slightly and taking a good look at Ray.  "Have I seen you somewhere 
before?"
	At this Ray responded with a knowing smile.  "No doubt you have 
seen my face somewhere before...."
	"Oh, I know...!" Mihoshi exclaimed, looking surprised and leaving 
a moment of dramatic pause.  "You must be... you must be a galaxy-famous
movie star, aren't you!"
	Ray was so startled by this statement that he fell over backwards,
spilling his rice on the table.  He quickly jumped back up.
	"No, I'm not a movie star, dimwit!  Why don't you try checking 
your criminal records under Riuroshi Kumanai?!"
	"Oh... well, alright," Mihoshi said, a bit confused, bringing her 
wrist-communicator up to her face.  "Yukinojo?  Could you do a quick 
criminal record check on Riuroshi Kumanai?"
	"Right away, Ma'am," the voice of Yukinojo came from her wrist.
	Readouts began flashing across a small pop-up window above her 
wrist.  Mihoshi's eyes got wide and her mouth turned into a little "O" 
of surprise.
	"Oh no, you're not a galaxy-famous movie star!  You're a galaxy-
wanted criminal!"  Panicking, Mihoshi began reciting Ray his rights as 
she fumbled for her pistol, only to discover she didn't have it anywhere
on her.
	"Uh-oh..." she said, and looked up to see Ray grinning evilly.  A 
blue energy sword suddenly leapt to life in his right hand, extending 
itself slowly until it was poised under her chin.
	"Um, please don't hurt me Mister Kumanai..." Mihoshi begged.
	"Ray, quit messing around!" Tenchi broke in suddenly.  "Mihoshi, 
he's not a wanted criminal, he's served his time.  Now both of you break
it up and calm down... that means you Ray."
	Ray's grin subsided to a smirk but he dispelled his energy sword.  
Mihoshi made a hasty retreat from the room, claiming to have business 
elsewhere.
	Tenchi rounded on Ray.  "What the hell is wrong with you?  Mihoshi
wasn't doing you any harm!"
	"Hell she wasn't, she was pissing me off," Ray said, sounding 
surprising bad tempered.  "And I don't like GP officers...."
	"Really, Riuroshi, that is really quite crude for one of your 
upbringing," Ayeka scolded as she came to sit down for breakfast.  Ray's
spirits seemed to brighten slightly.
	"Yeah, well..." he muttered, but sounded more agreeable.
	Ayeka sat down next to Tenchi, and placed her hand over his own 
that was resting on the table.  She tried to meet his eyes but he turned
his gaze away, embarrassed and confused, and angry at himself for 
feeling that way.  Ayeka lowered her head, and Tenchi cursed himself for
hurting her, even in the slightest, even inadvertantly.  Then he cursed 
himself for feeling bad about it; he was too damned considerate.  And it
always seemed to be a bit too late; considerate after the fact.
	"I guess it's just one of those days," Ray was saying as he picked
at his breakfast.  Tenchi smiled, knowing exactly what he meant.  "And 
she was just talking and talking on and on about nothing... what's with 
that chick?"
	"She thinks you're cute, hon," came the reply from the doorway.  
Everyone was surprised to see Washu standing there, not only because she
had actually come to breakfast, but because she was in her adult form.
	Tenchi blinked.  "Oh... hello Little Washu," he said, still a bit 
stunned.
	"That's just Washu, Tenchi dear," she said, and winked at him.  
Tenchi swallowed as a large beed of sweat appeared at the back of his 
head.  No, she certainly wasn't little.  Slim, fit, and even busty, but 
not little.  Tenchi could see that at least some of Ryoko's good looks 
had been acquired by inheritance rather than purely by design.
	Washu came and sat down on the other side of Tenchi, joining them 
in breakfast.  A few moments later, Ryoko appeared.  She looked like she
was about to say good morning when she spotted Washu sitting next to 
Tenchi, who suddenly had a strange sinking feeling.
	Ryoko just stared for a moment, and then her expression turned 
dark.  "What are you doing?" she asked through her teeth.
	"Me?" Washu asked innocently.  "Eating breakfast, of course."
	Ryoko lowered her head, and Tenchi could sense her rage building. 
Tenchi practically cringed.  She bent over the table and slammed her 
fist down on it in front of Washu.
	"Not next to MY Tenchi you're not!" she shouted in Washu's face.
	"Miss Ryoko!" Ayeka cried indignantly.
	"Ryoko, shut up and eat your breakfast," Ray said nonchalantly, 
not even looking up from his own breakfast.  "Mom's not doing anything."
	Fuming, Ryoko complied, and sat down next to Ray, glaring certain 
death across the table at her mother, who simply beamed back innocently.
	Nobuyuki bustled in, dressed for work.  "I'm heading into work 
today.  I need to -- Gaaah...!" his jaw dropped in mid-sentence as he 
gawked at a much changed Washu.
	"Is something the matter, Mister Masaki?" asked Washu, still 
putting on her innocence act.
	Nobuyuki continued to stare.  "Miss Washu, you look very nice 
today!" he blurted.
	Tenchi noticed that his father's gaze was locked somewhere below 
Washu's own eyes.  "Dad!" Tenchi exclaimed.
	"Why thank you, Mister Masaki," Washu smiled.
	"Yeah..." Nobuyuki stumbled out of the room in a daze, brushing 
past Yosho who was just entering.  Yosho watched Nobuyuki leave and 
shook his head.  The elderly shinto priest sat down next to Sasami and 
began partaking of the breakfast she had made.  Sasami didn't comment, 
still looking troubled.
	"What seems to be the matter, Sasami?" Yosho asked her.
	"Riu..." Washu began, addressing her son, as Sasami explained her
troubling dreams.  "Riuroshi, I haven't asked you to do this before now,
because I was still getting to know you...."  Washu looked hesitant, and
she shifted in her seat uneasily.
	"Spit it out, mom," Ray said, his usual smile returning.
	"Would you please come into my lab so that I can perform some 
tests on you?"
	"Of course," Ray replied, rising.
	"Tenchi, would you please accompany us?  I have a hunch, and I'd 
like you to see this..." Washu said, sounding like she wasn't to be 
refused.
	Tenchi had sudden flashback of himself strapped to a machine with 
multiple blinking lights, and an eager Washu trying to get a gloved hand
in his underpants.  Tenchi swallowed, a bit fearful.  *Well, she 
probably won't try anything while Ray is present....*
	"Alright..." he agreed, still a bit nervously.
	"Watch out and make sure she doesn't deprive you of your powers 
and leave you strapped to some machine all night, Ray," Ryoko called 
after them.
	"Some people just can't take a little joke," Washu said to Ray, 
with a sigh.
	"Some joke!" Ryoko's yell came as they entered Washu's lab.
	The door shut behind Tenchi and gave him a little start.  He 
noticed a machine similar to the one Washu had strapped him to to take 
all her... samples.  It made him sweat just looking at it.
	At Washu's request, Ray stepped into the machine.  After several 
minutes of whirring and clicking and blinking lights and Washu typing 
away incessantly at her holo-computer, Washu leaned back in her chair 
and proclaimed, "Very interesting."
	"What is, Washu?" Tenchi asked, curious about the proceedings.
	"Well, Ray, you seem to have a seemingly endless supply of 
telomerase in ALL of your cells.  Not to mention a plethora of other 
unusal enzymes...."
	"What does this mean...?" Ray asked, even more curious than 
Tenchi.
	"Well, it means that the telomeres at the five-prime ends of your 
DNA -- "
	"The short answer," Ray interrupted, frowning.  "In lay terms."
	"Well..." Washu responded.  "I suppose it means you have enzymes 
in your body that make your cells essentially immortal.  They can divide
an infinite number of times without causing you to age, although that's 
tied in to some genetic irregularities in your DNA."
	"That would certainly explain why I haven't aged since my Jurai 
tree was destroyed," Ray said, looking a bit thoughtful.
	"Hmm, yes, that could have been an externality that triggered the 
production of these supposed 'immortality enzymes'," she replied, 
leaning back in her chair with her hands behind her head.  She looked 
over at her son.  "The truly amazing thing though is that, with so much 
telomerase in your system, your cells should have all turned into 
cancers by now and killed you.  But... they haven't."
	"That's a relief, but I think I could have guessed the last part 
myself," Ray said with a grin.  "Are we done here?" he asked stepping 
down from the contraption that had read so deeply into his inner makeup.
	"Yes, you may go now," Washu replied.  "Thank you so much, 
Riuroshi, you've been a big help to me."
	Ray smiled.  "No need to thank me, it wasn't any trouble."  He 
made his way out the door, and Tenchi began to follow, wondering why 
Washu had asked him to observe, when a voice came from behind him.
	"Not you Tenchi.  You stay here, I have a bit more business with 
you."
	Tenchi froze in mid-step and felt sweat roll off his face.  
Slowly, he turned to find Washu standing close behind him.  He gave a 
mental sigh of relief when he saw that her expression held none of its 
usual mischief.
	"I mentioned some genetic irregularities in my Little Riu..." she
began.
	"Yes, you did," Tenchi said, urging her to continue.
	"Well, I also noted that some of his genetic material is similar 
to yours.  A lesser mind would not have thought it important, but I have
a hunch."  She paused for a moment and then continued.  "There was also 
strange resonance in his astral pattern that matches a similar one in 
you, though I took it for granted when studying you."
	"What are you saying, Miss Washu?" Tenchi asked, wondering what 
she was getting at.
	"I'm saying that the power that Ray possesses is similar to your 
own.  Though I cannot be sure, he _may_ be able to summon the light hawk
wings just as you can, when the time is right, but it is doubtful."
	Tenchi thought about this.  It was certainly intriguing, but he 
didn't know what to think of it.  Did he really share common genetic 
elements with Ray?  If so, why, and how?  Now that he thought about it, 
he and Ray did have the same slim but muscular build, Tenchi supposed, 
but that was probably just coincidence.
	"And there is one more favor I'd like from you," Washu said.
	"What's that, Little Washu?" Tenchi asked, his mind still on her 
prior statement.
	The genius scientist's eyes sparkled with fiendish delight as she 
clasped her hands together.  "It's just one, little, _teensy_ sample... 
I _swear_ I'll make it worth your while!"  she pleaded.  Tenchi blanched
and beat a hasty retreat to the dining area.
	As Tenchi entered and sat down, continuing his interrupted 
breakfast, his grandfather looked up and spoke to him.
	"Tenchi..." he said, his expression serious as usual, "it is 
time."
	Tenchi swallowed the food he'd been chewing in one gulp, almost 
choking.  His eyes were wide.  "You don't mean... time for... now?"
	Yosho nodded to all three incomplete questions.  Tenchi sighed.  
Everyone else in the room looked clueless.
	Tenchi rose and followed his grandfather out the door, up the 
shrine steps, to the shrine.  In front of the shrine building, a long, 
fairly stout pole had been erected.  It stood about twelve feet off the 
ground, and had a small platform at the top, big enough to stand on with
one foot.  Tenchi stared at it.
	"How am I supposed to get up?" Tenchi asked skeptically, seeing as
there were no hand or foot wrungs.
	His grandfather smiled.  "That's the first part of the test.  
Getting up."
	Tenchi stood looking at the pole for awhile, and then shrugged.  
How hard could it be?  He prepared himself, and began climbing his way 
up the pole.  But he could never get very far past halfway.  The pole 
had been smoothed down so that it was impossible to climb.
	"This is impossible," Tenchi said, ready to admit defeat.  "I 
can't climb this."
	"You're not supposed to climb it," his grandfather responded.
	"Then how am I supposed to get up?"
	"Jump," his grandfather said, still grinning.
	"Jump?  Are you crazy?  There's no WAY I can jump that high."  
Tenchi looked up at the impressive height of the pole.  No way at all.
	"Well until you can, I'll be doubling your shrine duties."
	"What?" Tenchi blurted.  "Grandpa, that's ridiculous!  No ordinary
person could jump that high!"
	Yosho smiled knowingly.  "You are forgetting that you are not 
ordinary, Tenchi."
	"Yeah, well Juraian royal blood or not, NO ONE can jump that high,
much less land on the top and still keep their balance."
	Still smiling slightly, Yosho walked to a fair distance away.  
"Observe," he said, and took up a meditative stance.  After several 
moments of silence, Yosho gave out a yell, and made a running start for 
the pole.  Making a leap, the old man rose to an incredible height and 
landed squarely with on foot on the top of the pole.
	Tenchi was at a total loss for words.  His grandfather dropped to 
the ground, landing easily on his feet.
	"I would have needed less time to prepare in my younger days," he 
admitted to a tongue-tied Tenchi.  "Now Tenchi... it is your turn...."

	A thick fingered, heavy hand fell on Tenchi's shoulder from 
behind.  He was a matter of milliseconds away from instinctively tossing
who ever it was across the school hallway.  *Whoa, calm down, Tenchi,* 
he told himself.  He was really on edge.  He'd been thinking about the 
complications of his home-life in his math class, the women and his 
grandfather's ridiculously rigorous new training, instead of listening 
to the lecture.  *First week back at school and you're already driving 
yourself crazy.*
	Tenchi turned around to see whose hand was on his shoulder and was
greeted by a thick-lipped, chubby, visage.  The unforgettably 
unnattractive face belonged to someone just as unforgettable to Tenchi.
	"Amagasaki, hi," Tenchi greeted him.
	"Hey, Tenchi, how was your summer?" Amagasaki asked, his eyes 
concealed behind dirty glasses.
	"Not bad; same as usual.  Tending the shrine and fields and all 
that."
	"So pretty boring, huh?  Hey, I heard you moved your house up 
there by your grandfather's shrine.  Not much going on there, huh?" 
Amagasaki chuckled.
	"Yep, heh."  Tenchi thought about the goings on over the summer.  
It hadn't exactly been boring.  "But I got my fair share of action, I 
guess."
	"Action...?" Amagasaki grinned.  "You mean girls?"  Amagasaki 
talked about girls constantly.  It must have been related to the fact 
that they seemed to abhor him.
	"Don't remind me," Tenchi groaned, rolling his eyes.  "I've had 
enough trouble with women as it is."
	"Hey, Tenchi, you aren't two-timing again?  What'd you do now?  
Sleep with one of them?"
	Tenchi's hands tightened into fists, and he lowered his gaze to 
hide his rising temper.
	"Amagasaki," he said in a calm voice.  "Do you remember what 
happened last year....?"
	The crooked-toothed smile disappeared as Amagasaki turned a pale 
greenish hue.  He beat a hasty retreat through the crowded hall, 
muttering something about getting to his next class.  Classes were over.
	Feeling depressed, Tenchi walked down the hall, heading for the 
bus stop.  *I really need to get a car.*  He muttered a reply to some 
friends who said hello as he walked by, but didn't stop to chat.  Head 
bowed in thought, Tenchi turned the corner, and bumped straight into 
someone running the other direction and also failing to watch where they
were going.
	"Mia!" Tenchi cried, catching the girl as she stumbled into him.  
He noticed tears in her eyes.  "What's the matter?" he asked her 
hesitantly.  Mia was his friend, and, even in his own emotionally 
defunct state, he was concerned.
	"N... nothing," she stuttered, wiping her eyes.
	"Hey," he said reassuringly.  "It's me.  Tenchi.  You can tell me 
what's going on."
	"It's nothing really... just... my parents have been fighting 
recently, and things are not so good at home..." she admitted 
reluctantly.
	Tenchi considered her words.  Mia was a sensitive person, easily 
hurt, for reasons Tenchi and his other friends could not fathom, so they
all knew they had to watch out for her sometimes.  But this sounded 
fairly serious.  Apparently things in her homelife had changed over the 
summer.
	"Hey... you know there's a big test in history on Monday..." he 
began, unsure of himself, "so maybe we should go study at my house.  
It's up in the mountains, outside of town.... Give things some time to 
cool down at home...?"
	"Well... I wouldn't want to intrude," she replied, but looked 
hopeful.
	"No, it's no trouble at all!" Tenchi assured her, feeling very 
unsure himself.
	"Are you sure?"
	He wasn't.  "Absolutely!"
	Mia gladly accepted his kind offer, and they both made their way 
towards the bus stop.  Mia's spirits had obviously risen, but Tenchi's 
had sunk to an all time low.  What in the world was he thinking?  He had
enough troubles himself; he didn't have time to be considerate about 
other people's.  *Well, it's like they say: misery loves company,* he 
thought glancing over at Mia who was managing a smile, albeit a small 
one.  But he knew that wasn't why he'd made the offer.  It was his curse
of kindness again.
	When they exited the building, Tenchi excused himself a moment to 
make a quick pay-phone call home.
	"Masaki residence, Sasami speaking," the perky voice that answered
the phone said.
	"Hi Sasami," Tenchi said.  "Just calling to let you know I'm 
bringing a friend over to do some studying..." he glanced over to where 
Mia stood patiently at the bus stop, "probably staying for dinner.
	"Okay, Tenchi, I'll make an extra helping," Sasami replied.
	"Oh, and Sasami," Tenchi added, glancing again at Mia, this time 
to make sure she wasn't listening, "tell Ayeka and especially Ryoko to 
keep a low profile and keep the bickering to a minimum while we have 
company...."
	"Sure thing Tenchi!" Sasami agreed readily.  "Bye-bye!"
	"Bye Sasami, see you when I get home."  Tenchi hung up the phone 
and sighed.
	Later on the bus ride home, Tenchi once again began thinking he'd 
made a big mistake.  He turned to Mia.
	"I have to warn you ahead of time," Tenchi said, "we have a lot of
people staying at my house right now and it's a bit hectic."
	"Family from out of town?" Mia asked.
	"Um..." Tenchi had hoped she wouldn't ask that particular 
question.  "Not exactly.  Just some houseguests.  Plus me and my dad, of
course.  And Grandpa."
	"Houseguests?" asked Mia with idle curiosity.  "What sort of 
houseguests?"
	Tenchi felt himself sweating.  That was the second question he had
hoped she wouldn't ask.  "Uh, well... just some... friends, I guess."
	"Why are they staying with you right now?" she asked, thinking she
was making conversation, not realizing how uncomfortable she was making 
Tenchi feel.
	Tenchi considered her last question for a time.  Ayeka and Ryoko 
were there because... well, as near as he could tell they were just 
there to fight over him and confuse his emotions a great deal.  Sasami 
claimed she liked living there, and Ray was there because of Washu, but 
why was Washu there?  Or Mihoshi, for that matter?
	Unable and unwilling to stop himself, Tenchi started to laugh.  
Mia looked at him like he'd lost it.
	"What's so funny?"
	"I just realized..." Tenchi responded, still laughing, "I have no 
idea why they are there!"
	Despite her confusion at Tenchi's mirth, Mia soon joined in his 
laughter.

	"I'm home!" Tenchi called as he and Mia entered the house.
	To Mia's surprise, two unusual and beautiful women rushed in from 
another room.  One was very regal and lovely, with ruby colored eyes and
dark violet hair that was cut short just at her shoulders save for two 
long pony-tails that reached almost to the ground.
	The second was even more exotic in appearance.  In addition to 
remarkable figure, she had a wave of spiky, cyan-white hair that swept 
backwards and golden-yellow eyes like none Mia had seen before.  The 
girl felt a pang of guilt at her immediate jealousy of these women's 
beauty.
	"Oh good, you've arrived, Lord Tenchi!" the violet-haired girl was
saying, and Mia guessed she was of a similar age to herself and Tenchi.
	"Hey, who's she!" demanded the second, who looked somewhat older, 
pointing an accusory finger at Mia.  Mia was taken aback by the woman's 
attitude towards her.
	"Oh, this is my study partner, Mia," Tenchi introduced her.
	"Hmmm..." the two young women glared suspisciously at the girl, 
who had retreated to stand slightly behind Tenchi.  What was with these 
people?
	A door in the hallway opened, and a beautiful red-headed woman 
stepped out into the hall.
	"Hello, Tenchi.  Back from school?" the woman asked.
	"Hi, Washu," Tenchi waved distractedly.
	His expression turned serious as he looked at the two young women 
who were still glaring at a disconcerted Mia.
	"Listen," he said to them, "can I talk to you two for a second..."
he pointed towards the doorway, which Mia could see led into the living 
room, "_privately_?"
	They both stared blankly at Tenchi for a moment, until he said, 
"Now?" and the two women entered the living room he was still pointing 
to.
	He turned to Mia.  "My room is the first door at the top," he 
said, turning to go.  "I'll be up shortly."
	Mia stood in the entry way for a moment longer, and then decided 
she might as well get started with her studying.  Anything to keep her 
mind off her troubles at home, although the recent events that had taken
place upon her arrival, thoughts of home had been completely driven from
her mind.  Mia walked slowly up the stairs, wondering why Tenchi had 
three extra-ordinarily beautiful women as houseguests, and why they 
acted so strangely.
	Coming to the first door in the hallway, she opened it and looked 
inside.  A lounge-chair/bed lay on the floor in front of a patterned 
changing screen.  *Oh, Tenchi said first door at the top, so it'll be on
the third floor... this must be the guest room... or one of them.*
	Mia backtracked to the stairs going up, continuing up past the 
bend in the stairwell, and entered the first room on the left.  This was
definitely Tenchi's room.  She placed her book bag on the floor and 
began rummaging through it for her history textbook.
	A moment later the door opened and Tenchi entered, the two women 
from before standing hesitantly on the threshold.  "Sorry about that," 
Tenchi said, though the talk had been fairly short as near as Mia could 
tell.
	"Ayeka... Ryoko," he said, gesturing first to the violet-haired 
girl and then the cyan-haired one.  Mia thought that either one of them 
would have stood out in a croud, and not just because of their unusual 
hair and eyes.  "Apologize to Miss Mia, please," Tenchi finished.
	"Miss Mia, please accept my humble apology for any rudeness I may 
have displayed," Ayeka apologized, bowing hastily.
	"Yeah, really sorry," Ryoko added.  Both women looked emotionally 
pained.
	Mia smiled, finding the whole thing oddly amusing and wonder how 
in the world Tenchi had gotten them to apologize so quickly and easily. 
"That's all right," she replied.
	"Thank you, ladies," Tenchi said, walking over to his desk and 
removing his history book from his bag.  Mia noticed that the two women 
were still standing in the doorway, looking forlorn.
	"Uh... you can go now..." Tenchi offered, as he turned to see them
gazing at him sadly.
	Ryoko and Ayeka both blinked.  "Oh, yes... of course," Ayeka said,
shutting the door behind her.  Mia stifled a giggle.
	Tenchi sighed.  "Well, let's get to studying."  He sat down in the
chair in front of his desk.
	Mia was still curious about the behavior of Tenchi's amazing 
guests, but decided not to press the issue.  Sitting down on the bed, 
she opened her own book and they started studying.

	Tenchi was glad Mia hadn't asked any awkward questions about Ayeka
and Ryoko, but after a few minutes of studying, she brought it up.
	"When you said you had houseguests I didn't expect that they'd all
be beautiful women," she commented.  Tenchi felt a large sweat drop run 
down the back of his head.
	"Well, not ALL of them," he replied, laughing nervously.  He
paused, listening.  What was that noise he'd thought he just heard...?
	He quickly realized the source.  Walking over to the door, Tenchi 
opened it, and Ayeka spilled in with Ryoko landing on top of her.
	"Ayeka! Ryoko!" Tenchi exclaimed in embarrasment.  How could they 
do this to him?  Why him?  Why now?
	"Lord Tenchi!" Ayeka stuttered.  "My sincere... I was just walking
down the hall when...."
	*This is just great,* Tenchi thought.  *Soon the whole story will 
be out and all over school that I live with two beautiful women under 
questionable circumstances.  Just my luck.*
	"What were you doing out there?" Mia asked, perplexed.
	"Hey!" Ryoko retorted, jumping to her feet.  "What are YOU doing 
HERE!"
	Mia was lying on Tenchi's bed, propped up on one elbow with an 
open book before her.  She gave Ryoko a blank look.  "Studying."
	Ryoko was about to respond when Tenchi broke in.
	"Alright, enough of this!  Both of you out!  I told you, Mia is 
having problems at home right now, so don't you go trying to give her --
or me! -- any more trouble!"
	He shued a hurt looking Ryoko and an embarrased Ayeka out of the 
room.
	"This is all your fault!" Ryoko blamed Ayeka.
	"My fault?  If you hadn't..." their agitated voices began fading 
as they walked down the stairs.
	"And no fighting!" Tenchi called after them.
	Closing the door, Tenchi leaned against it and sighed in relief 
and exasperation.
	"What was that all about?" Mia asked, sounding worried.
	Sweat sprang instantly to Tenchi's forehead.  "Uh......"
	Before he could concoct a suitable answer, Mia giggled.
	"They like you, don't they?" she looked delighted at the concept.
	"Um, well you see..." Tenchi began, but trailed off, realizing he 
had no idea what he was saying.
	Mia giggled again.  "Don't worry, I think it's sweet."
	"You... you..." Tenchi stuttered, and then what she had said 
struck home, "you think it's WHAT?"
	"It's sweet... you know, kinda cute and all that."  She made a 
show of sitting up and clasping her hands together, her eyes full of 
mock bitter-sweet joy.  "How romantic!  Two beautiful women both after 
your heart!" She looked at Tenchi, a smile playing about her lips.  "Or 
is it three...?" Mia teased him mercilessly.
	"It's hell," Tenchi answered.  "You have no idea...."
	"Aw, come on, it can't be all that bad," she said, laying back 
down on the bed and making a few marks in her textbook.
	"Besides," she continued, when Tenchi didn't reply.  She looked up
at him, "I can tell why they like you so much."
	Tenchi began sweating anew.  "Uh, um... why is that?" he asked 
nervously.
	"Because you're such a great guy," she answered, turning back to 
her studying.  "I mean, you're really nice and all, I knew that.  You're
friendly with practically everyone in our class," she made a face, "even
Amagasaki.  But I guess I never really realized just how great a guy you
are until today."
	Tenchi didn't know what to say.  "Mia... I... I...."
	She smiled, not looking up from her textbook.  "Oh, don't worry, 
Tenchi.  I won't give you any more lady troubles than you already have."
She looked up and winked at him.  She had the most amazing bright-blue, 
almost aqua or turquiose eyes.  Why he had never noticed them very much 
before, Tenchi didn't know.
	"That's a promise," she finished, turning back to her work.
	Part of Tenchi felt relieved, but another was curious, and 
thoughtful.  Did he want more women trouble?  Certainly not.  But he 
couldn't shake the foolish, inquisitive doubt that wondered just what it
would be like if Mia had decided differently.

	It was Friday night, and Tenchi was out on a limb.  Or on a pole, 
more precisely.  Ever since he had finally managed the impossible task 
of jumping twelve feet high, not to mention the equally difficult task 
of actually landing properly, his grandfather had made him stand on one 
foot on top of the pole for steadily increasing hours upon end.
	He had thought tonight would be different.  Claiming that his 
grandson had earned a break, Yosho had invited Tenchi up to his shrine 
to relax, and had even convinced him to drink a little sake.  And then a
little more, and a little more.  While he had built up strong endurance,
Tenchi's body was not used to very much alcohol.  He had become somewhat
tipsy, then a little buzzed, and then a fair bit of drunk.
	Tenchi wasn't dead on his feet, which was thankful, since as soon 
as they had gone through the last bottle of sake, his grandfather had 
demanded that he stand atop the "discipline tower" that night for an 
unspecified amount of time.  Yosho had insisted it was a new test.
	It had taken Tenchi several tries before he successfully mounted 
the pole.  Now his slightly clouded mind wandered aimlessly while he 
tried to keep his balance atop the precarious perch.
	He thought back to his conversation with Ray earlier that evening.
Ray had found it very amusing when Tenchi had informed the man that Mia 
had gone around school the whole day telling everyone about how Tenchi 
had the "cutest guy ever" staying at his house....

	"Sounds like you're not the only one with female troubles," Ray 
grinned, and they both laughed.
	The two friends talked on for awhile about Tenchi's problems with 
Ryoko and Ayeka.
	"I guess what I really need to do is get to know them better.  
Individually; there's no way I can even talk to one without the other 
getting jealous.  It's ridiculous, really."
	"Well, if it's any help I think my sister would be more... 
'experienced' in certain areas, what with some two-thousand or more 
years of experience out in the vast cosmos," Ray offered helpfully, with
a knowing smile.
	"Really, Ray, how can you say that?" Tenchi was surprised at the 
man's words.  "And about your own sister!"
	"Well, you live as long as I do you tend to develop a pretty open 
mind about things."
	Tenchi was silent for a moment.  "You think she's actually...?"
	"'Done it?'" Ray finished for him.  Ray shook his head.  
"Truthfully, I doubt it.  Do you realize that before you she would kill 
as soon as look at any guy who got too friendly with her?"
	"No... I never knew," Tenchi replied, taken a bit aback.
	There was another pause in the conversation, which again Tenchi 
broke.
	"Sometimes I think she's not really interested in me as a person,
you know?  Well, like mother like daughter, I guess... Washu's only 
interested in me as her test subject or plaything."
	"What?"
	Tenchi felt himself break into a cold sweat when he suddenly 
remembered just who he was talking to.  He turned slowly to face Ray,
who was staring at him in disbelief.
	"Are you saying," Ray inquired, "that my sister AND my mother are 
both only after you to get you in bed?"
	Tenchi swallowed hard.  "Please don't kill me..." he murmured.
	The next thing Ray did was totally unexpected.  He burst out 
laughing.  "Oh, that is RICH!"
	"Hey, now... what's so funny?" asked a very confused Tenchi.
	When Ray's laughter had subsided, he spoke again.  "I hate to 
break this to you Tenchi, but you're not exactly 'the cat's meow,' if 
you get my meaning."
	Tenchi was completely confounded.  "I don't."
	"Do you really think two beautiful women, who could land any guy 
they wanted, would be after YOU just for sex?"
	Considering Ray's words for a moment, Tenchi realized how 
incredibly ridiculous that really did sound.  "What are you getting at?"
	Ray smiled reassuringly.  "I'm saying that Ryoko really cares 
about you.  And so does our mother, though probably not in the same 
way," he grinned again, "she just has a really weird way of showing it."
	Tenchi thought about this for awhile.  So Ryoko really did have 
some deeper feelings for him?  It was so hard to tell, with the way she 
acted all the time.
	"You've never thought that Ayeka has the same ends, have you?" Ray
asked him after a very short pause.  There was an odd seriousness in his
voice.
	Tenchi shook his head.  "No.  No, she's too demure, and polite, 
and... well, princessly.  Her aims seem somehow... purer, to me.  I've 
never considered her that kind of person."
	"Good," Ray said, his face unreadable.  "Because if you did, my 
noble upbringing would not allow me stand for such slander against the 
crown princess of Jurai."
	Tenchi was a bit surprised at the conviction in Ray's tone, but 
then he smiled.  "You're a strange guy, Ray.  I suggest something 
questionable about your mother and sister and you shrug it off, but even
the possibility of a suggestion about Lady Ayeka gets you defensive."
	"It's the way I was raised," he replied with a shrug.  "As a 
Royal Knight of Jurai I was trained to revere and protect the Royal 
Family, but not necessarily my own.  It's conditioned into me."
	"But you're not a Knight of Jurai...."
	"No," Ray said looking up at the starry sky.  "But I used to be."

	After that admission, the conversation had basically ended, with 
Tenchi heading up to the shrine and Ray led off by a toddler Ryo-ohki to
play some game or another.  Who would have guessed that not a few hours 
later Tenchi would be drunk, balancing atop a twelve-foot pole.  He let 
slip a giggle at the thought.
	Quite unexpectedly, Ryoko appeared directly in front of him, and 
Tenchi nearly dropped his bokken as he windmilled his arms to keep from 
falling.
	"Whoa!  Ryoko, don't sneak up on me like that!" he exclaimed 
regaining his nearly lost balance.
	Ryoko didn't answer.  He noticed the sad and painful look in her 
eyes.
	"Ryoko..." he said, "What is it...?"
	"Tenchi..." she responded quietly.  "Do I... frighten you?"
	"You sure scared the hell out of me just now," he replied, smiling
crookedly.
	"No, really... do I... scare you... Tenchi?" she was having a lot 
of trouble saying whatever it was she was trying to get out.
	"Well, I dunno, you're one scary person, Ryoko," Tenchi answered, 
still joking around.
	"Tenchi!" she pleaded with him to be serious.
	He thought about it for a second.  "What would give you that 
idea?" he asked.
	"Well..." she began hesitantly, "... I was talking to Ray, and he 
said that the reason you don't seem to like spending time around me is 
because I... intimidate you....  Is that true Tenchi?"
	Her eyes begged him to say it wasn't.
	He recalled his first encounter with Ryoko.  When he had first 
seen her, she had been practically mummified from being locked up in 
that cave for seven-hundred years.  That had been intimidating.  He 
thought of how she had shown up at his school the following day, 
chasing him around and levelling half the school in her enthusiasm.  
That had been intimidating, and the scariest part was that Ryoko later 
claimed she had had the same feelings for him then that she had now.
	But now she was a different Ryoko, and he was a different Tenchi, 
one that did not scare quite as easily.  She had changed, and not just 
since merging with Zero.  And, if Ray was on the level, her feelings for
him were more than they sometimes seemed.
	Tenchi's kind smile returned.  "No, I don't find you intimidating 
Ryoko," he finally answered.
	The former space-pirate's face lit up in pure joy.  She promptly 
tackled Tenchi in a constricting embrace that nearly knocked him off the
top of the pole.
	"Ryoko!" he cried.  "Let go, I'll fall!"
	Astonishingly, Ryoko complied.  She backed away, looking slightly 
hurt.
	"T... Tenchi..." she murmured quietly, dejectedly.
	"A bit too aggressive at times," Tenchi said after he regained his
balance, with the hint of a sarcastic smile on his lips.  "And very 
possessive, but not intimidating... not really."
	"So... you... you aren't afraid of me?" Ryoko asked hopefully.
	Tenchi made an expression of mock arrogance.  "Afraid?  Huh!  Who 
would be afraid of you?  You're harmless!"
	Ryoko grinned at him fiercely.  "Harmless you say?"  She swooped 
down and grabbed an extra bokken from nearby.  "We'll see about that!"
	Striking at him playfully, Ryoko's attack was blocked by a 
laughing Tenchi.
	"No fair at all!  I can't balance on this and fight back at the 
same time!" Tenchi protested, still chuckling.
	"Then get down and we'll even the odds!" Ryoko cried.  Tenchi 
grinned back at her and readily complied, hopping lightly backwards and 
dropping down from the twelve-foot height to land on his feet.
	Ryoko perched herself atop the pole, Ryoko looked down at him and 
said jokingly.  "Now I have to balance here, so the odds are even!"
	"Ha ha," Tenchi cried defiantly, still smiling.  Surprising Ryoko 
immensely, Tenchi took a few steps running start and leapt into the air,
over the pole, and swung at her while he was upside-down in mid-flip.  
However, his aim was off and Ryoko dodged easily.
	Landing awkwardly, Tenchi giggled almost hysterically and turned 
around to face his opponent.
	"No fair!  No fair!" he shouted, waving his wooden blade.
	"What now?" Ryoko demanded.  She was enjoying herself.
	"I'm drunk!" Tenchi laughed.  He took up a better fighting stance 
"Now!" he said.  "Come down from there and fight me like a man, demon!"
	"I'm neither, but I'll oblige you," Ryoko returned, pointing her
wooden sword down at Tenchi.  She leapt down and landed, cat-like, in 
front of him.
	The duel was on.  Despite his state of innebriation, Tenchi 
remained fairly agile.  Every now and again he'd slip up, sending him 
into fits of uncontrollable giggling.
	"Ha!" he said as he blocked a blow from Ryoko's sword and 
riposted.
	Ryoko dodged out of the way and giggled herself.
	"Oh, Tenchi, the way you thrust!  You're so eager to stick your 
sword in me!"
	Tenchi facefaulted, and due to his own embarrasment soon found 
himself lying on his back with Ryoko's bokken crossed with his own, 
inches from his neck.
	"Concede!  I win the match!" Ryoko cried.
	"Never!" Tenchi cried back.
	"I said give up!  There's no way out for you!"
	Tenchi raised an eyebrow.  "And what will you do if I don't?"
	Ryoko paused for only an instant.  "This!" and she promptly 
kissed him full on the lips.
	Tenchi lost his grip on his sword.  He was so startled, he sobered
almost instantly; it was some kiss.  Without realizing what he was 
doing, Tenchi started kissing back.
	A strangled sob came from nearby.  Ryoko raised her head, 
startled, and Tenchi saw the source of the odd noise.  Ayeka stood 
nearby, horror and disgust written on her face as she took in the scene 
before her.
	"Ayeka..." Tenchi started, suddenly realizing who he was and what 
he was doing.
	The princess's face was transformed into a mask of pure rage.
	"Azaka!  Kamidake!" she bellowed, and the two guardians appeared. 
She pointed towards Ryoko, "Arrest that... that _monster_ for assaulting
Lord Tenchi!"
	Acting quickly despite his head still spinning from recent events,
Tenchi got to his feet and pushed Ryoko behind him as the two Juraian 
guardians moved steadily towards them.
	"Stop!" he shouted, gripping his bokken in both hands.  The 
guardians kept coming.
	"As Second Crown Prince of Jurai, I COMMAND you to halt!" Tenchi 
cried in the most commanding voice he could muster.  The guardians did 
not even pause; as First Crown Princess, Ayeka's orders could not be 
overridden by his own.
	A low growl started in Tenchi's throat, and quickly grew into a 
shout, "If you won't stop, you'll have to get past me to get Ryoko!"
	"STOP!" Ayeka suddenly cried, and the guardians halted instantly. 
She stared at Tenchi in anger and disbelief.  "What are you doing, Lord 
Tenchi?  I cannot excuse the actions of that demon-woman!" she said, 
pointing at Ryoko, who gave a whithering look.
	Tenchi closed his eyes and tried to keep his rising temper under 
control.  His hand tightened around the wooden sword, and suddenly, it 
snapped in half.  In the same instant, Tenchi's eyes opened to reveal 
all the pain and frustration he had felt with the two women in the past 
months.  Ayeka's and Ryoko's eyes widened.
	"That does it!" he shouted, his voice reaching a volume never 
before achieved.  He flung aside the two halves of the well-made wooden 
blade that he had so recently snapped with one bare hand.
	"I... will... have... no more of this!" he growled in a voice that
was terrifying, even to Ryoko.  After a moment of breathing heavily, 
Tenchi composed himself and continued.
	"Ayeka," he said, addressing the frightened and confused princess.
"You think that this is Ryoko's fault..." he paused again, and looked up
meeting Ayeka's gaze.  "Well it's not.  It's my fault.  This is all my 
fault.  If I wasn't the... the person I am, this whole thing never would
have come about!
	"Well I've had enough!" he made a lateral gesture with his hand as
if he was cutting the whole sitution off at the knees.
	He calmed himself once again.  "There will be no more fighting.  
You will be civil to one another... or I will have to ask you to leave."
	Both women gasped.  This was not like Tenchi at all.  What had 
they done to drive him to this?  Tenchi knew that they were both well 
aware fo what they had done, and what they would have to do in the 
future.  To ensure his own peace of mind, he had almost snapped.
	Ayeka gazed at him, standing silent in the moonlight, for just a 
moment with tears in her eyes.  "Azaka... Kamidake... come," she said 
in a shaky voice, and walked off into the darkness.
	"Tenchi..." Ryoko said, reaching out a hand for him.
	"Don't, Ryoko," he said, somewhat harshly, and then ammended his 
tone.  "Please... don't."
	He was silent for a moment, and when he spoke again he sounded 
like someone in pain.  "I know you have professed, in one way or 
another, certain... feelings... for me....  And, for awhile I thought 
that maybe I felt the same, that I could somehow return your feelings, 
but I wasn't sure.  Something... a nagging doubt.  And then I 
realized..." he paused, still not turning to look at her, "that I don't 
know you.  I don't know anything about you.  I thought Ayeka was the 
mystery of you two, until I realized that the way you act around me 
isn't really you at all.  At least I understand why Ayeka acts like she 
does.  She is afraid.  She's afraid to lift her princessly veil, to 
show her heart.  She's afraid of being hurt, and she is afraid that if 
she shows her emotions she will somehow transgress her station."
	Tenchi finally turned to Ryoko, but was unable to meet her gaze.
	"Tenchi..." she whispered, and he could tell she was crying.
	"What are you afraid of, Ryoko?  What makes you do what you do?  I
thought that if I got to know you better, I might learn to share your...
feelings.  But you won't let me know you.  You hide from me.  You hide 
yourself in plain view and I can't find you, or what you really feel.
	"So tell me... what are you afraid of?"
	There was no answer.  Tenchi looked up to see that she was gone.  
He sighed.  *Oh, God.  That hurt.*
	And now, the only emotion left in him was anger.  Not anger at 
Ryoko, or Ayeka, or anyone but himself.  He was angry with himself and 
he hated himself for what he had just done.
	"I'm a stupid, damned baka!" he shouted to the stars, tears 
forming in his eyes.  But he had had to confront them.  Sooner or later,
it had to happen, but that didn't make it any easier for him.
	Picking up the bokken that was still intact, Tenchi looked up at 
the top of the pole.  He hated himself right now, and going back up 
there seemed like the best answer to his anger.  Tenchi let out another 
sigh and prepared himself.  He would stay up there as long as it took.

	Ryoko materialized in Tenchi's room.  She didn't know why she had 
come here, exactly.  It was the first place that had come to mind.  
Putting her hands over her face, she cried.
	*"What are you afraid of?"* his words echoed in her mind.
	"I don't know, Tenchi," she sobbed into her hands.  "I don't 
know...."
	Ryoko leaned against the desk, unable to stop the tears that 
flowed openly down her face.  What did she really want from him?  His 
affection?  His pledge of undying love?
	*What am I afraid of...?* she asked herself.  Was she really 
hiding something from him?
	Ryoko noticed a piece of paper lying on the desk.  Looking at it,
she saw that it had a pair of eyes sketched on it.
	She wiped away her tears, smiling.  "Tenchi, what's with you and 
drawing eyes?"
	But they weren't her eyes this time.  They didn't have any feline 
quality to them, and the irises had been colored, not a golden-yellow, 
but a bright blue.  Several characters scrawled beneath it spelled out 
the single word "Mia."
	Tears came to Ryoko's eyes anew.  She gripped the paper in a fist,
crumpling the drawing.
	*Damn him,* she thought.  *Why can't I ever know how he feels?  
Why can't he just tell me?*
	But Ryoko knew why.  It was because he didn't know how he felt.  
All Ryoko's affections did were confuse him further.  Why couldn't she 
leave well enough alone?  But she couldn't, even if she had wanted to.
	Why?
	Because she was afraid.
	Afraid of what?
	She didn't know.
	After an unknown time of crying and feeling helpless and hopeless,
Ryoko remembered who Ray had suggested she talk to.
	Steeling herself, Ryoko prepared to go and ask advice of the one 
person she most loathed to ask advice of.  Her mother.

	Washu was still up typing away at her holo-computer when Ryoko 
entered.  The small woman didn't seem to sleep hardly at all.
	"Um... can we talk?" Ryoko asked as she approached Washu, who was 
in her youthful form.
	"Sure," Washu said, turning away from her work.  "What seems to be
troubling you?"  Washu noted the red and puffy appearance of Ryoko's 
eyes and the moisture that still clung to her cheeks.
	"It... it's Tenchi," she began.  It was hard for her to tell this 
too Washu.  Even if the woman was supposedly her mother, Ryoko despised 
the way she tried to interfere with her life.
	"He... he..." Ryoko couldn't finish.  She broke down crying.  She 
was so embarrassed, crying like this in front of Washu.  She hated 
showing weakness to anyone, especially her.
	Ryoko was surprised to discover Washu cradling her head in her 
lap.  At the moment, Ryoko didn't care that it was Washu, she just 
needed to be comforted.
	"I know how you feel," Washu said, brushing Ryoko's tear-soaked 
hair away from her eyes.
	"How can you?" Ryoko snapped, and then continued crying.
	"I know exactly how it feels..." Washu insisted, "to be rejected 
by your loved ones... to lose the one you hold most dear...."
	Ryoko was surprised by Washu's admission.  Her tears subsided.
	"Let me tell you a story," Washu said, surprising Ryoko even more 
with her serious tone, and the look of sad rememberance in her eyes.
	"Once, there was a young woman.  Not very young, because she had 
already lived several thousand years, but young at heart, and still 
possessing the idealism and optimism of youth.  She fell in love, and 
was married soon after, and bore a child.  To her, her family was her 
world.  All she needed to go on living were her husband and her baby 
boy.  But her husband's family rejected her, and he and her child were 
taken away from her."
	Washu paused, and Ryoko saw that there were tears in her eyes now 
too.  "After that she almost gave up living.  For hundreds, even 
thousands of years after that, so many that she lost track, the woman 
worked away night and day at perfecting her new project.  All the love 
that she could never show her family was put into her work, and when she
was done, she had created a new family....  She had given birth to a 
beautiful daughter, who no one could ever take away from her because 
they were connected by a telepathic link that could never be broken....
	"But then someone did come to take her daughter away.  The woman 
fought back as best she could, but she was beaten, and her last light 
in the world was taken from her."
	Washu paused again, for a very long time.  Ryoko was stunned by 
her words.  "You were to young to remember," Washu continued, "but I 
remember the very day he came and took you from me.  I remember it like 
it was yesterday.  I remember the pain of that day, and in all the years
afterwards.  I knew you were suffering under his control, but I couldn't
stop it."
	"I... I had no idea," Ryoko murmured.  She was shocked beyond what
any words could express.
	Washu closed her eyes, and smiled sadly.  "How could you?  I've 
been so stupid in my actions towards you.  It was as if I had been 
separated from you for those thousands of years, only to discover I had 
forgotten how to love when reunited.  And you didn't remember me.  That 
made it even harder.  I was unable to express my motherly love properly 
to you... until your brother showed up, and showed me how again."
	Ryoko smiled slightly to herself as she gazed off into space.  "He
always told me you really did care about me, but I never believed him."
	"Well, believe it or not, I do," Washu replied, and then smiled 
similarly.  "And now I know it."
	"I do believe it," Ryoko said.  She smirked, "Ray is usually right
no matter what we argue about.  Damn, I hate that guy.  He keeps proving
me wrong!"
	Washu chuckled.  "He is wonderful, isn't he...."
	After a moment of thought, Ryoko spoke again.
	"You know, when I assimilated with Zero, I didn't really change.  
Zero was already here, inside of me, burried beneath years of pain, 
waiting to be remembered.
	"But I haven't remembered myself completely," She continued.  
"Tenchi told me I'm holding back, hiding some part of me from him.  He 
said I was afraid, and my fear makes me hide my true feelings from 
him... it makes me hide myself from him, he said."
	The tears were back in Ryoko's eyes, and she tried to blink them 
away but they were very determined tears.
	"What am I afraid of?  Why do I feel like I have to hide from 
him?" she asked in despair.
	Washu shook her head.  "I can't tell you that.  Only you can.  I 
may know how you feel for him, that your feelings are deeper than he 
suspects, but I don't know what you're afraid of.  You hide your fear, 
even from me."
	"But I don't want to!" Ryoko cried.  "I don't want to hide it any 
more!  I want Tenchi to love me for me, and he said he can't do that 
until I stop being afraid!  He said he doesn't know me and he can't love
me until he knows who I am!"  By now Ryoko's face was once again stained
with tears.  "I don't want to be afraid any more..." she whispered.
	"Sh-sh-sh, there, there, Little Ryoko," Washu said, stroking her
daughter's cyan hair.  "Not wanting to be afraid may be the first step 
to understanding your feelings for Tenchi," she said encouragingly.
	Ryoko smiled through her tears.  For a long while after that she 
simply stayed where she was, with her head lying in the reassuring lap 
of her mother, and afterwards she felt surprisingly better.
	As she moved to go, she turned back to Washu and smiled.  "Thanks 
a bunch... Mom."
	Washu smiled back.  "Any time, Little Ryoko."

	Tenchi blinked off sleep.  He denied it, rejected its power over 
him.  He watched the sun dawn over the mountains.  He had not answered 
his grandfather when the old man had told him he could come down.  He 
had not said anything.  Tenchi had balanced, switching to another foot 
when the first got tired, all night long, his mind blank, atop the stout
pole.  He knew he was punishing himself harshly, but the discipline and 
sense of duty that had been conditioned into him by his grandfather's 
training made him continue his brutal masochism.
	In a moment of revelation, Tenchi realized that at this point only
a small part of his training involved shrine duties to prepare him for 
becoming the caretaker of the Masaki Shrine.  The rest... well, his 
grandfather seemed to be training to be warrior more than a priest.
	Once again, Tenchi blinked, his balance faltering slightly as he 
fought the ever pressing need for sleep.  Idly, he supposed he wouldn't 
be satisfied until he passed out and fell off the pole.
	Quite suddenly, breaking his concentration and the peace of the 
early morning, a ship roared across the brightening sky, coming to rest 
over the lake.  With a sigh of resignation, Tenchi dropped from the top 
of the pole to land next to his grandfather, who stood below, the 
Tenchi-ken in his hand.
	"What now, Grandpa?" he asked, sounding remarkably calm to his own
ears.  Tenchi was too tired and subdued to be particularly worried about
anything.
	"Kumiro has arrived," his grandfather replied, as impassive as 
ever.
	"Arrived?  I didn't really expect he'd be coming."
	"Neither did I, Tenchi.  But he has come, and now I must face 
him."  Yosho began walking slowly down the long shrine steps, looking 
determined.
	Unsure of what to say, his grandson followed, still holding his 
bokken loosely in one hand.  He stepped over the broken wooden shards of
another similar wooden sword, and the events of the previous night 
flashed briefly through his memory.  How could he have become so angry 
at people he cared about?  The only time he had been that angry before 
was when Kagato had threatened his friends.  Tenchi was in such a calm 
state at the moment that he could never imagine becoming so wrathful 
with Ayeka or Ryoko.  Yet he had been that angry, and all the more 
reason to now be angry with himself.  If it weren't for the arisal of 
the current situation, Tenchi did not doubt he would still be standing 
atop that pole even now.
	They arrived at the lake, where the other members of the household
were already standing, waiting worriedly for something to happen, 
anything, that might clarify the situation.
	Yosho approached the lake's edge and called out in a surprisingly 
loud voice, "Kumiro!  I am here!  Come out and face me!"
	The same beam of green light as before shot out from the Jurai 
ship, and out of it stepped the same arrogant man they had seen before. 
	"I present... Lord Kumiro of the Kumanai," the man said with a 
haughty flourish.  He stepped aside and allowed a second man to emerge.
	As soon as Tenchi set eyes on the man, he knew this was not a man 
to be trusted.  An evil man; there was evil in his eyes.  He had long 
dark hair, done up in the traditional Juraian style, and wore the fancy 
hilt of an energy sword at his belt.  He looked on Yosho with a smirk of
contempt, as if the First Crown Prince were a worm to him.
	"Why have you come here?" Yosho demanded of Kumiro Kumanai.
	"You know why I am here, Yosho," the man replied, and for an 
instant, he reminded Tenchi of someone.  Kagato.  Absolute distilled 
evil with the semblance of a man.  Without knowing exactly why, Tenchi 
found himself hating the Lord of the Kumanai.
	"You also know how I abhor travel," Kumiro continued.  "So you and
your friends will pay dearly for making me come all the way out here, to
this remote cesspool of a world."
	Yosho said nothing, and took up a fighting stance.
	"I knew you'd come," a voice broke in, and Tenchi glanced over to 
see it was Ray.  The former criminal smirked, "It took you long enough 
to get here."
	"Ah, so it is true, old Doran's brat is here with you," Kumiro 
commented, eyeing his disgraced kinsman.  "Really, Prince Yosho, I 
thought you had better taste than to associate with such lowlife scum."
	"You leave my Riuroshi out of this!" Washu shouted, stepping 
forward.
	"And you must be the wench who led that fool Doran astray," Kumiro
said, still agravatingly calm and confident.
	Washu was about to speak, but Ray interrupted her.  "Peace, 
mother, it's a matter of honor to involve myself.
	"I may have been discharged from the knighthood, but I retain my 
sense of duty and honor," he said, forming a blue energy sword in his 
hand.  "Kumiro, you will have to get past me to harm the Prince."
	"You'll have to fight me too!" Tenchi declared, also stepping 
forward, gripping his wooden sword in both hands.
	Kumiro snickered, "And who is this whelp?"
	"I'm Yosho's grandson!" Tenchi shouted back defiantly.
	"Grandson to the Prince?" Kumiro said, his eyes widening slightly,
as though in amusement.  "Well then, boy, I will have to kill you after 
I deal with this old man who was once the Prince of Jurai."
	"Hey!" Ryoko growled loudly, holding up a threatening fist.
	"Leave Tenchi alone!" Ayeka cried.
	"Aha, the First Crown Princess Ayeka," Kumiro said, sighting her. 
"Do not worry.  After I kill Yosho and this boy, I will make you my 
bride, to strengthen my ascension to the throne."
	"No!" Tenchi cried, his bokken still held before him.  "I won't 
let you!"
	"That's enough Tenchi," Yosho commanded.  He paused.  "This is my 
fight.  Kumiro has challenged me and me alone."
	The Lord of the Kumanai laughed.  "Your grandfather is right, boy.
You cannot save him now.... Shall we proceed, Prince Yosho?"
	"Hmmh" Yosho nodded emphatically, a determined frown etched on his
brow.
	The duel began.  Kumiro pulled out his own energy sword from his 
obi.  Preliminarily, it resembled the Tenchi-ken, but it had longer, 
twisting cross-guards that stuck out from each side like spikes, and a 
similar spike protruding where the blade would be on a normal sword.  
This top spike untwisted itself, seperating and moving apart.  A blade 
of black energy leapt forth, in between the two twisted halves of the 
top spike.
	With a flash, the Tenchi-ken also came to life.  Kumiro charged, 
and Yosho blocked his attack.
	"Ah, I see you have retained much of your strength, even in your 
old age," Kumiro commented with a hint of surprise.
	Yosho pushed Kumiro away from him, and slashed at him.  Kumiro 
barely dodged back.  "And your speed as well, I see."
	Kumiro struck, and was blocked in turn.
	"And I see you still have your weakness, Kumiro," Yosho said 
calmly, as he dodged a second blow.
	"Pray tell, what is that, dear Prince?" Kumiro asked, mockingly.
	Yosho suddenly took up a new stance.  "You talk too much."
	He charged, struck with incredible swiftness, and Kumiro had 
hardly recovered from blocking before he was forced to block again.  And
again.  Yosho's attack was so fierce, his face grim and his eyes full of
an internal fire, that Kumiro was forced back nearly to the waters edge,
fear showing on his own face.  In a desperate attempt to halt the blows 
raining down upon him, Kumiro slashed out at Yosho, but the old man 
jumped easily over the attack, landing on his enemy's shoulders and 
bringing Kumiro to his knees.  Flipping off with a twist in the air, 
Yosho landed behind the man, raising the Tenchi-ken to strike.
	Kumiro's supporter drew his own energy sword, looking panicked, 
and charged the Prince from behind.
	At this sight, something suddenly snapped inside of Tenchi.  The 
incredible treachery of this action caused a meeting of ends in his mind
that unleashed something he had not known was in him.
	With an incoherent bellow, Tenchi launched himself at the man, 
lashing out with his bokken and striking him across the front of his 
head so hard that his skull cracked, showing blood, and his neck snapped
backwards, probably killing him instantly.
	Staring down at the man for an instant that lasted a lifetime, 
Tenchi was overwhelmed by horror.  When he had killed Kagato, the man 
had disappeared without a trace.  But now, this man whose name Tenchi 
did not even know lay on the ground, eyes bulging in fear and shock, his
blood seeping into the ground.  He was dead, and Tenchi had killed him.
	In the same instant that Tenchi slew the man and was presently 
disturbed by his own reckless action, Yosho turned halfway around, 
distracted from the deathblow he was about to deal.  Ironically, in that
short moment that he was distracted, Kumiro recovered, and spun to lash 
out at his older but more skilled opponent.  Yosho tried to jump away, 
but the dark blade bit into his side, leaving a shallow wound just below
his rib cage.  Yosho grunted quietly, his hand over the wound, but his 
own sword still ready in front of him.
	Kumiro, still on his knees, his head bowed, began a low, evil 
chuckle that slowly grew in intensity.  Tenchi backed away from the two 
combatants, confused and somewhat frightened by the man's laughter.  It 
made his hair stand on end.
	"Very clever, Prince Yosho, _very_ clever!" Kumiro chuckled.  He 
stood and looked at a still unreadable Yosho.  "Your strength and 
reflexes, all in perfect condition... even improved, since last we 
crossed swords.  Will you not come forward and reveal yourself, O 
honored Prince?"
	Yosho simply looked at his left hand, which was stained with his 
own blood.  "So you have seen through me, Kumiro.  But now you must 
realize that you cannot possibly win."
	"On the contrary," Kumiro countered.  "You may, in fact, be the 
most skilled swordsman on Jurai or elsewhere..." he paused, holding up 
his black-bladed sword, "but you do not have the power that his sword 
gives me.  Even the master-key cannot match it."
	The Lord of the Kumanai raised his left hand, and a blast of dark 
power shot forth from it.  The shock from the energy release sent Tenchi
to his knees, and his grandfather was completely obscured in smoke and 
dust.  The smoke cleared, and the figure of Yosho emerged, still alive 
but breathing heavily and looking battered.  And much, much younger.
	The man who stood before them looked like the Yosho who had chased
the space-pirate Ryoko across the galaxy, defeating her at her full 
power, seven-hundred years ago.  This was how that Yosho of the past 
must have appeared, not the Yosho of the present.
	Everyone was shocked, except for Kumiro, who laughed.
	"Splendid!" he announced.  "You haven't changed a bit!"
	"But you have," Yosho replied calmly, and he even sounded younger.
How was this possible?  It defied any explanation in Tenchi's mind.
	Kumiro laughed again.  "Yes, I have.  I have become far more 
powerful.  Thanks to this sword."
	Kumiro lifted the sword into the air, and drove it into the ground
before him.  A broken line in the earth shot out towards the youthful 
Yosho at a surprising speed, and he was flung some twenty feet back.
	Yosho was out cold.  He had been defeated.
	Tenchi was too shocked by everything that had just taken place to 
move.  Kumiro approached the fallen prince, and his face lit up as he 
bent to retrieve the Tenchi-ken.
	"At last... the master-key is mine..." he said with relish.
	There was no doubt he was very surprised when the sword suddenly 
slid several feet away from him, out of his reach.  Startled, he looked 
in the direction it had slid, and the Tenchi-ken flashed once bright 
blue and soared to the open hand of Tenchi, who was still on his knees.
	He met Kumiro's gaze, and there was a look of pure defiance in his
eyes.  Without a word, Tenchi powered up the sword and charged.
	Rendered momentarily imobile by the stunning ferocity and skill of
the mere boy's attack, Kumiro nearly lost his life, as the blade sliced 
into his right shoulder.  Gripping his upper arm, the Lord of the 
Kumanai jumped back, falling to one knee.
	"Train well with that blade, boy," Kumiro gritted out, pain and 
anger on his face.  "For when I return I will not be as lenient with you
as I was with your grandfather."  And with those last words, he and the 
body of his servant were surrounded by a green light and disappeared.
	Tenchi stood and watched the ship above them turn and fly away.  
Ray came to stand beside him.
	"He'll be back," Ray said.
	"I know," Tenchi responded, his face grim.  And he would be ready.
	Suddenly Ayeka rushed past them to where Yosho lay prone and began
shaking him mercilessly.
	"Why did you lie to me Yosho!  Why did you lie again!"
	Tenchi ran up and tried to pull her off.  "Ayeka, stop it!"
	Yosho opened his eyes and looked at the princess.  There were 
tears in her eyes.
	"I am sorry, my dear sister," he said, in a voice that was hardly 
more than a whisper.  "I'm sorry I had to hide this from you.  I did not
want my existence to interfere with your becoming Empress."
	"But why, why?" Ayeka shook her head.  "I don't understand...."
	Her half-brother smiled weakly.  "You will... you will understand,
someday...."  He closed his eyes again.
	"No!  Grandpa, don't die!" Tenchi cried, gripping the man who 
looked far too young to be his grandfather by the shoulders.  "Don't die
on me!"

To be continued... don't miss Chapter 3!
Author's Notes:  Ok, that wraps up the second chapter.  If you have any 
suggestions for this series, or you just want to tell me how much I 
totally suck, don't hesitate to email me with your comments and/or 
curses.  Also, if you've been following this fic on TMFFA and just can't
wait to read the next chapter (although that may be wishful thinking on 
my part), I am now posting the chapters on my own website as well as 
submitting them.  As a general reminder, while I don't own any of the 
characters from any of the Tenchi series, I did create the characters of
Riuroshi "Ray" Kumanai, Kumiro Kumanai, Mia Fushiro, and this story, 
which is Copyright (c) 2000 by Master Kodama, so please don't 
plagiarize!
Comments and Concerns to: master_kodama@yahoo.com
or visit my website: http://master_kodama.tripod.com/