Matt Jasek (danlore@hotmail.com)
Regular
Unwelcome guest chap 3 "A choice"

        One week had past since Eric’s arrival and the Masaki household had
never been so peaceful.  That’s what Tenchi thought anyway.  The fighting
between Aieka and Ryoko was down to an all time low.  Every time they would
start a fight Eric would come into view and they would calm down.  It was
nice for Tenchi to finally have someone to talk to.  He had never had anyone
to confide in, and part of the reason he trusted Eric so quickly was because
he desperately wanted someone to talk to about his situation.  He couldn’t
talk to any of the girls and his father and grandfather always seemed too
busy to talk, or they didn’t seem to care too much.
        Tenchi looked out the window.  He wanted to go to the bathhouse and
relax,
but it was raining hard.  The sky was dark and lightning flashed in the
distance.  As the rumble of thunder reached him Tenchi walked out of the
room.  Eric was causing him to do quite a bit of thinking lately.  Next year
Tenchi was going to be a senior in High School.  And he still did not know
what he was going to do with his life.  He was almost eighteen.  He wasn’t
sure about college, a job, or if he was going to stay on Earth.
        Tenchi slowly walked down the stairs bracing himself for Ryoko’s
morning
assault.  As the living room came into view though, he saw no one was there.
        “That’s odd.”  He commented aloud as he walked into the kitchen.
        “Hello?”  He called walking around.  No answer.  Tenchi began to get
nervous, what was going on?  Where were they?  Were they okay?  He quickly
walked into Washu’s lab.  “Washu?”  He called.  There was no reply.  He
walked out, ran up the stairs and nearly knocked Eric over.
        “Whoa!”  Eric put out a hand to stop Tenchi.  “Where’s the fire?”
        “Huh?”  Tenchi was confused at first, but then understood what he
meant, “I
don’t know where any of the girls are!”  He said quickly, “Was Ryoko in her
room?”
        “Ryoko?  No.”  Eric said scratching his stomach, “She woke me up
earlier
and said they were going to take a bath or something.”
        “Oh.”  Tenchi said relieved.
        “I could use one myself.”  Eric said walking down the stairs.
        “Uhm, I don’t think interrupting them would be a good idea.”
        Eric said nothing and walked over to the sliding glass door.
“Rain.”  He
muttered.  He turned to Tenchi, “Don’t Kiyone and Mihoshi have the day off
today?”
        “Yes, today and tomorrow I think.”  Tenchi joined him at the door.
        “Why isn’t there a bath in the house?”  Eric muttered.  “By the time
we
make it to the bath we’ll be soaked.”
        “We?”  Tenchi looked at him.
        “C’mon,” Eric grinned, “You can’t tell me that you’ve never sneaked
a peak
at them.”
        “No! I never.”  Tenchi’s face got red, “That is to say that I never,
uh, on
purpose anyway.”
        Eric laughed, “Let’s go, Tenchi.”  He said merrily, “I feel dirty.”
        Tenchi groaned as Eric walked into the pouring rain and towards the
bathhouse.

        “I can’t wait for that pest to be gone.”  Ryoko growled.
        The girls were all lounging in a hot tub.  All dressed in their
usual
bathing clothes.  Sasami was splashing with Mihoshi and Ryo-ohki.  Kiyone
was lounging off to the side.
        “I don’t understand what your rush is.  Things have been quite
peaceful
with him here.  And he seems nice enough, he’s not bad looking either.”
        “He’s rather odd looking.”  Aieka commented.  “The way he makes his
hair
stand up, it’s all hard and it looks like he’s going to stab someone with it
or something.  And those spikes that he wears around his wrists all the
time, what purpose do they serve?  And why does he always dress so oddly?”
        “Maybe he likes to express himself.”  Ryoko stated, “It’s pretty
obvious
that he’s secure in who he is.  I wish Tenchi had that sort of self-esteem.”
        “Well if you like him so why don’t you just take him?”  Aieka
smiled, “Then
Tenchi could spend time with me like he really wants to.”
        “What?!”  Ryoko stood up, growling angrily, “Now you listen here you
little
priss!”
        “Go ahead!”  Aieka challenged, the two had their faces pressed
against each
other, “Try me!”  Aieka challenged.
        “Now girls,” Washu began, but quickly stopped when they shot her an
angry
look.
        Kiyone yelped and jumped out of the water and bolted towards the
door, the
water began to swirl around the two and electricity crackled in the air.
        “If you think that I’m going to leave you with Tenchi, you got
another
thing coming!”  Ryoko yelled angrily.
        “Well at least he doesn’t have to worry about me attacking him every
morning.”  Aieka retorted, “You really think he likes to get knocked over
and crushed by some demon first thing in the morning?”
        “Well at least I show Tenchi I like him!”  Ryoko retorted, “I don’t
just
walk around and avoid him.”
        “Well at least I don’t force myself on him.”
        “Well,” Ryoko began, but was interrupted by Mihoshi.
        “Stop fighting.”  She firmly said.  She gave both girls a serious
look,
“Tenchi asked us all to be normal and not to fight while that boy was here,
and I’m going to make sure that his wishes are carried out.”  Mihoshi turned
to Ryoko, “Now sit down or I’ll have you arrested!”
        Ryoko fell back into the water surprised; Mihoshi had never been so
forceful before.  Aieka quickly sat back down as well.  “Good.”  Mihoshi
said smiling and sitting back down, “Now let’s all just relax and have a
good time.”
        Kiyone crept back into the water.
        “Well now,” Washu said, “where’s my sample little Ryoko?”
        “If you want it so bad go get it yourself.”  Ryoko replied bitterly.
        “You see Eric more than any of us, Ryoko.”  Kiyone said, “Do what is
he
really like?”
        “Annoying.”  Ryoko said smiling.

        “So?”  Eric grinned at Tenchi as they walked.
        “So what?”  Tenchi looked confused.
        “We’ve spent the last week talking about the shrine.”  Eric said
shaking
his head, “And discussing the plan to get you alone with the girls.  So who
are you choosing first?  And when are we going to do it?”
        “Well,” Tenchi looked at the bathhouse.  The rain had stopped, but
the two
were still thoroughly soaked.  “I’ll decide soon.”  Tenchi said smiling.
        “You got someone in mind already don’t you?”  Eric grinned, “Who?”
        Tenchi shook his head and said nothing.
        “Awww, c’mon, who am I gonna tell?”
        “We’re here.”  Tenchi said as they reached the bathhouse entrance.
        “Well, let’s go!”  Eric eagerly walked in the door.
        Tenchi chuckled to himself, he felt kind of bad for letting Eric
walk in on
the girls, but at the same time he couldn’t wait to see their reaction.  He
caught up to Eric and crouched next to him.  They were hiding behind a tree,
Ryoko was talking about something and the others were all crowded around
her.  They all laughed and then began talking more.
        “What are they talking about?”  Eric asked.
        “Beats me.”  Tenchi said.  An idea hit Tenchi, “I know how you can
find out
though.”
        “How?”  Eric asked eagerly.
        Tenchi grinned a mischievous smile and shoved Eric hard.  Eric fell
forward
and slid across the wet floor stopping right in front of the pool.  The
girls stared at him for a minute and then began yelling.  Aieka grabbed a
towel and then began hitting Eric on the head yelling ‘Pervert’ and other
names.  Eric scrambled to get up as the other girls began chasing and
hitting him.  Eric ran as the girls threw shampoo bottles and anything else
they could get their hands on at him.
        “Tenchi!”  He yelled as they chased him, “I’ll get you for this!”
They
managed to get him cornered.  “Now girls,” he began nervously, “this is just
a really big misunderstanding.”
        All the girls had towels on except for Ryoko, “Let’s get him.”
Ryoko said
with an evil grin.
        “Uh, eheh, ladies?”  Eric pressed himself up against the wall even
harder
holding a hand out in front of him.
        Abruptly Tenchi fell out from behind the tree laughing, he was
holding his
sides and crying, “That’s…. the… funniest….” He said between tears and
breaths.
        “Tenchi?”  Aieka began.
        Eric took the opportunity to slip away and run.
        “Oh no you don’t!”  Ryoko took off after him.  Eric ran without
looking
behind him, Ryoko was too fast though, she tackled him and they both landed
in the pool with a huge splash.
        Tenchi laughed even harder.
        “Lord Tenchi!”  Aieka said in shock.  Sasami, Mihoshi, Kiyone, and
Washu
all laughed.
        Eric’s head popped out of the water, Ryoko had him in a half nelson,
“Give
up!”  She cried playfully.
        “Never!”  Eric cried back, he pushed himself back and knocked Ryoko
over,
they both went under in a big splash.
        Tenchi composed himself, “Okay, sorry that was mean.”  He was still
laughing, he cleared his throat, “Aieka, let’s go for a walk.”  He grabbed
her hand and pulled her out of the bathhouse.
        “But, my clothes!”  Aieka was saying as she was pulled out.
        “What was that all about?”  Kiyone wondered.
        Washu laughed, “C’mon let’s leave the two lovebirds alone.”
        They all looked back to Eric and Ryoko playfully fighting in the
pool.  And
they all left.

        “Okay, okay, you win!”  Eric conceded as Ryoko let him up for
breath.
        “Haha, victory is mine!  I told you I would win in a fight.”  She
swam
smugly away.  Eric coughed and threw his wet clothes up by the tree, and
then he swam after Ryoko.
        Ryoko laughed to herself, she hadn’t told the girls anything.  Eric
and
Ryoko stayed up until two or three in the morning talking.  She was amazed
how much she had in common with the young man.  Of course he was no Tenchi,
but he was fun and she liked spending time with him.  And he was flattering.
  Half of their conversations were Eric telling her how beautiful she was or
something similar.  He had convinced her to go with him to Tokyo whenever he
went there.
        “You only won because you cheated.”  Eric claimed swimming up to
her.
        “Oh?  How did I do that?”
        “Oh please!”  Eric swam next to her and smiled, “How could I think
about
fighting you when you’re dressed like that?”
        “Dressed?”  Ryoko suddenly got what he was saying and laughed.
“Well, I
still won.”  She said smugly.
        “Yea, but I was off guard, I’ll get you next time.”
        Ryoko laughed, “I can’t believe that Tenchi pushed you out there.”
        “Yea, me neither.”
        “Hey, where is everyone?”  Ryoko looked around the empty bathhouse.
        “Looks like the left us alone.”  Eric smiled and put his arm around
her,
“We should take advantage of it.”
        “No thanks.”  Ryoko knocked his arm off of her, “You know that I
want
Tenchi.”
        “I know.”  He swam away, “I just want you to know that I’m here in
case
Tenchi decides he doesn’t want you.”  Eric pulled himself out of the water
and began getting dressed.
        “What?”  Ryoko appeared next to him, “Has, has…” Ryoko swallowed
hard, “Has
he said something?”
        Eric looked at her and gave her a sad smile, “Get dressed.”  He
said.
        Ryoko quickly clothed herself and got up to Eric outside, “Has he?”
She
repeated.
        “Come Ryoko, have a drink with me.”
        “A drink?”
        “Something from America, it’s much stronger than that sake stuff you
people drink here.”  Eric spread out a blanket and took a bottle filled with
green liquid out of his bag.  Ryoko wondered briefly where the bag had come
from, she didn’t remember him having a bag earlier.  He sat down and poured
two glasses of the green liquid, “Drink up, but it’s pretty strong.”  He
warned.
        Ryoko looked at it for a moment and then smiled, “Cheers.”  She said
and downed the liquid.  She immediately began coughing.
        Eric laughed, “Told ‘ya.”  He said.  He took a sip of his, “Here
have some more.”  He smiled as he refilled her glass.

        “What did you want to talk about Tenchi?”  Aieka asked as they
walked along the path.  They had stopped at the house to get a dress for her
to wear and then continued to walk through the forest.
        “Nothing really.”  Tenchi said looking at the sky.  “I just realized
that, even though you’ve been here for a while I’ve never really been able
to talk to you.  To get to know you.”
        Aieka blushed, could he?  No, she mustn’t think that way.  “I see.
Well what do you want to know?”
        “Uhm,” Tenchi scratched the back of his head, “Everything really.”
        “Everything?”  Aieka looked surprised.
        “Yea, you’re hopes, fears, what you hope to do with your life.
Everything about you.”
        “Why the sudden interest, Lord Tenchi?”
        “Well, uh,” Tenchi looked around nervously, “It’s like I said, I’ve
never really gotten to know you that well, or Ryoko for that matter.  Or
well, anyone here.”  Tenchi stopped and looked at her, “You’ve all been here
for a while, and I don’t know very much about any of you.”  He turned away
from her and continued, “Next year is my senior year of school, and I’m not
sure what I want to do with my life.  I don’t know if I’m going to be on
earth or what.”
        Aieka beamed at what he might be implying, “Not on Earth?  Then
where.”
        Tenchi laughed, “You know where.”
        She smiled, “Yes I suppose I do.”

       “Ya knoow.  You…. Are a nicccceee guy.”  Ryoko was slurring her
speech badly.
       “Ya, I know.”  Eric smiled.
       “And if Tenchhiii wasn’t here there’sss no telling whut I would do.”
Ryoko slumped forward into Eric’s chest, “Tenchiiii.”  She sobbed.
       “He’s with Aieka right now.”  Eric said.
       “How could he?”  Ryoko looked up at Eric with tears in her eyes,
“Doessn’t he like me?”
       “I think he does.”  Eric said flatly, “But he wants to get to know
Aieka more than you.  I told him I’d distract one of you so he could be with
the other and he chose Aieka.”
       “Tenchi.”  Ryoko sobbed again.
       “Now.”  Eric gently queried, “I need some information, tell me, when
would be the best time to catch Washu unaware?”
       “Huh?”  Ryoko looked at him confused.
       “If you were going to capture Washu how would you do it?”
       “Well,” Ryoko thought for a moment, “I’d walk in and be all like ‘Hi,
Wassshuu,’ and then I’d grab her and shhe’d be caught.  Shhee wouldn’t
expect it then ya know?”
       “Ah,” Eric snapped his fingers and Ryoko sat up suddenly sober and
alert, “Now Ryoko, you will remember everything from today, except what I
asked about Washu.  Do you understand?”
       “Yes, Eric.”  Ryoko said as if she were a robot.
       “Excellent.”  Eric snapped his fingers again, and Ryoko fell back
into his chest crying about Tenchi.  He absent-mindedly stroked her head as
he thought about his mission.

And theres chap3.
A Breif Explanation of how Kiyone got into my OVA:  With so much happening
on such a remote planet, kagato, clay, jurai showing up, the galaxy police
decided that they should have someone a little more relaible than Mihoshi.
And so when Mihoshi came in for  a routine report, they sent Kiyone back
with her.
Okay, so its short and i should probably write a seperate story for it but
i'm finishing the first saga first. so onto 4!