TENCHI WAKUSEI, BOOK ONE: "NO DREAMS FOR TENCHI" By Joe Meadows (gpabn@yahoo.com) NOTA BENE: This novel (comprising 24 chapters, a Prologue, and an Epilogue) is a sequel to the "Tenchi Muyo Television Series" ("Tenchi Universe"), with some "Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki!" original OAV series characters and elements included where--in the author's opinion--they don't conflict with "Tenchi Universe." For example, in order to flesh out a family background for Ayeka and Sasami, rather than create new characters, I used the existing parental figures of King Asuza and Queen Misaki from the OAVs. In order to bring the Galaxy Police more into the story, I re-instated the Grand Marshall as Mihoshi's grandfather and used an existing character from the Tenchi Muyo mangas, Chief Tor Bodai. And so on. AIC and Pioneer LDC, whose kind indulgence I am counting on, own the copyrights on the original Tenchi Muyo characters. The character of Chief Tor Bodai was created by Hitoshi Okuda for the Tenchi Muyo manga series and is also copyrighted by AIC and Pioneer LDC. All truly new characters are my creation. Those characters and the actual story are copyright 2002 by yours truly. The lyrics for both versions of the theme song for "Speed Racer," the Beatles' "Abbey Road" album, the Beach Boys' "Surfing USA," the theme to "The Brady Bunch," and "Amore" are copyrighted by their various owners. The events that comprise the "Tenchi Universe" series are discussed in this novel; consequently, spoilers lurk within. Be warned. Please check out the "Chapter Notes" at the end of some of the chapters. Feedback is very welcome! I can be reached at gpabn@yahoo.com and thanks for taking the time to read this novel. ------------------------------------------------------ CHAPTER FOUR No Need For A Wake-Up Call __________________________ The next morning, Tenchi and Tris work up to a very quiet house. That was not unusual. But, after showering and shaving (and, for Tris, jogging painfully partially up the temple's stone steps), the house was still quiet. That was unusual. Tenchi and Tris actually switched on the TV in the living room while waiting for Sasami to arise and breakfast to be cooked. Tris noticed that the set was tuned into an American satellite channel that showed nothing but cartoons. "Who watches this?" Tris asked. "Oh, Sasami and Mihoshi like to watch that anime about the schoolgirl who becomes a magical warrior and fights monster tennis rackets and things. I forget the name." "Why don't they watch the home-grown version locally? It's not censored." "They like the American commercials," Tenchi explained. Tris shook his head wonderingly. Well, it proved that the super satellite system of Washuu's actually worked, at least. Hmmmm...it gave him an idea. He had to pay a visit to their dorm room back at the University soon anyway to pick up more clothes since he had only brought enough for a three-day stay. Maybe that package had arrived. On the screen, Tom and Jerry were busily disemboweling each other in gorgeous Technicolor. Forget that! Tris shut the set off. He shook his head. And American parents complained about violent anime! "Tenchi...Tristram." Lord Yosho stood in the hallway. "Yes, Grandfather?" Tenchi asked. "I will prepare breakfast for us three this morning. I just prepared something for your father before he left for the office." "Why, sir? What's up?" Tris chimed in. Tenchi's grandfather smiled slightly. "The young women were up, Tristram. Up last night that is, until quite late." Tenchi and Tris looked at each other. "Thought I heard voices but I wasn't sure," Tenchi said. Tris shrugged. He'd slept like a log. As always. "Yes, Tenchi...voices," Yosho said. "There was an extended discussion in the women's bedroom. It became a bit acrimonious, I fear. It lasted until around four a.m." "Four in the morning!" Tenchi exclaimed. "What was it about, Grandfather?" "I do not know," Yosho said severely. "It is certainly none of our business, Tenchi. Suffice to know that the women, including Sasami, are quite exhausted and will need to slumber well into the morning and perhaps early afternoon." Again Tenchi and Tris looked at each other. Instantly, guilt bloomed on their faces, although they really had no idea what had happened. Yosho almost chuckled as he observed them. Then he said, "Tristram, since you're planning to return to the University to bring back more clothing and necessities, this would be an excellent time to do so. Tenchi could accompany you, if he wishes." Tris goggled at Lord Yosho a moment. Darn it, how did Lord Yosho know this stuff? He had only briefly mentioned it to Tenchi this morning. "Fine with me, Grandfather, " Tenchi said. "Tris?" "Sure. That's fine with me, too," Tris replied. "Very well. Now I'll prepare a simple breakfast," Yosho said, rubbing his hands with a solemn enthusiasm as he strode to the kitchen. "Nothing elaborate, of course. I'm not Sasami." Hours later, female forms finally stirred in the women's bedroom. Slowly, painfully, the women and little Sasami struggled up out of their futons. Sasami, with her inbred sense of responsibility, was the first to look at the wall clock above the doorframe. "Twelve o'clock!" she wailed wearily. "I missed preparing breakfast! It's already lunch time!" "That's okay, Junior Princess," Ryoko said, slumping back onto her futon. "I'm too tired to eat it, anyway." "Ryoko!" Ayeka scolded tiredly. "That nickname..." "I'm too tired to listen to you, too," Ryoko mumbled. "I'm not too tired to eat, Sasami," announced Mihoshi. Sasami started to rise from your futon. "I'll fix you something to eat, Mihoshi. It's lunch time, after all...gosh, I'm tired." "You stay right there, dear," Ayeka told her, sounding tired and cross. "Mihoshi! There are other things besides your stomach." "Yes, Mihoshi," Kiyone said, her voice drugged with weariness. Mihoshi blinked drowsily. She stroked Trissy's plush hair. It made her feel better. But she was still hungry. A gentle knock sounded from the closed door. "Yeah?" Ryoko rapped out. "It is I." Lord Yosho's voice issued from behind the door. "Oh, Lord Yosho. Please do come in," Ayeka said, favoring Ryoko with a significant stare. Ryoko shrugged. The door slid open. Lord Yosho stood in the doorway. "Ladies," he said, "there is hot tea and a plate of rice cakes on the dining room table. I have also warmed some of the excellent beans and rice left over from last night." "Yay," said Mihoshi, somewhat tiredly. "Lord Yosho, you doll!" Ryoko told him warmly. "I could kiss you. I could marry you, even." "That is not necessary, Ryoko," Yosho said with good humor. "Don't let the food get cold." He smiled at them and gently closed the door. "I feel kind of guilty," Sasami said. "Lord Yosho...having to cook!" "Do not feel guilty, dear," Ayeka said. "None of this is your fault." Now she turned to Ryoko. "You just had to say "kiss," didn't you, Ryoko?" Ryoko grinned through her fatigue. "It just slipped out...say, what a honey lamb that Lord Yosho is! I really could kiss him!" "That would just make his day, I am certain," Ayeka said dryly. "It would make any man's day, Princess." "Hey," Sasami intervened. "Like Lord Yosho said, we shouldn't let the food—-and tea-—get cold." "Right you are, Sasami," Kiyone said. She slowly stood up. The other women just as slowly followed her example. Kiyone was certain she felt something creaking as she stretched. She trudged to her wardrobe to put on her bathrobe and bath slippers. She would eat first and then soak in the Grand Baths for about a year. Then she saw Mihoshi actually kiss that stuffed animal before she put it down and finished tying the belt of her robe. "Mihoshi...don't kiss that thing. Germs!" Mihoshi started guiltily. "Yes, Kiyone." But she stared fondly at Trissy. Then she turned and followed the other women as they all headed downstairs to the dining room. Tenchi's and Tris's dorm room seemed strange, although they had only vacated it for a little more than a week. The whole dormitory was weirdly quiet, aside from the sounds of the maid service employees performing their cleaning chores. Everybody, of course, was away for Spring Break. Tris was packing a few more unmentionables into a zipper bag. Beside the bag was a parcel from the US, plastered with Japanese customs stamps. It was, in fact, a "care" package from a good buddy of his at his former University in the States. Tris had been gratified to find the package in the little campus post office, which was open, of course, even through the break in classes. He had shaken the package on the way to the dorm and it had rattled. Good. Tenchi sat at the small desk on his side of the dorm room. The room was the usual glorified closet, with barely space for two rather uncomfortable single beds, two desks with chairs, shelving attached to the walls, and two wardrobe closets. If anyone had wanted to, say, walk more than five paces without barking their shins on something, they would have been out of luck. Somehow Tris had managed to shoehorn in a small multi-system TV monitor and VCR combination. Both his and Tenchi's laptop computers were stored away in the secure storage facility the University maintained. But Tris figured no one would steal the TV-VCR, since it was so beat-up looking. It worked fine, though. He had run many a great old classic movie video through it for his and Tenchi's entertainment. He was toying with the idea of purchasing a mini-DVD player. Tenchi was reading a printed semester calendar that he had found in his campus mailbox. It announced the upcoming events for the new term. "They're having some guest lectures...some more of those classical music sessions...some heritage festivals...a whole lot of nothing, really," Tenchi remarked. "Just like last semester," Tris noted. He zipped up the bag. "I've got the loot. Let's scoot." "Yeah, let's. This place is dead enough with people in it! It's like a cemetery now." "Jeeze Louise...where is everyone?" Washuu had made one of her rare public appearances, to find no public to appear before...except Lord Yosho. They were standing in the living room, which Yosho had entered from the outdoors to make a telephone call. He had just hung up the receiver when Washuu popped in. "Tenchi and Tristram are paying a visit to their college dormitory to acquire some items Tristram will need for his extended stay with us," Lord Yosho explained. "And the girls?" "Ahhh...they had rather a long night of it." "A party?" "Not exactly." "Aha! A fight!" Washuu grinned. Lord Yosho said nothing. "I suppose it's too much to ask what the fight was about?" "I really don't know," Yosho told her. "I did not inquire." "I'll bet that Tris character was involved, somehow. Ayeka and Ryoko came to me to complain about him--oops, I wasn't supposed to mention that." Washuu, at least, did not mention their desire to have her ship off Tris. Lord Yosho only smiled. "How long did the girls stay up?" "Until almost dawn," said Yosho. "Yikes! No wonder they're dragging," Washuu said, not without sympathy. "Yes." Yosho turned to leave. "If any group of young ladies needs a night of nourishing sleep, it is they. I will be at the temple." He stopped and then turned around again. "Is there something I can do for you, Professor Washuu? Perhaps prepare you something to eat?" "No, but thanks, Grandpa. I'll just raid the fridge. Where are the girls now?" "I believe they are relaxing in that marvelous bathing facility you devised for them." "Shucks, t'weren't nothin'," Washuu said modestly. Her puppets did not appear this time to contradict her modesty, for which Lord Yosho was suitably grateful. "The thing is," Ryoko said glumly, as she and the other women stood in the steamy antechamber to the Grand Baths, divesting themselves of robes, "it was stupid to argue like that. I was being as stupid as anyone. I admit it." "I think we were all being stupid, except Kiyone and Sasami," Ayeka added. "What about me?" asked Mihoshi. "You too, Mihoshi." Ayeka smiled. "I apologize for excluding you." "That kinda narrows down the field, doesn't it?" Ryoko asked the Princess. "That just leaves me and you being stupid." "Yes it does," Ayeka replied coolly. "Well...maybe you're right, Princess. The worst part of it is that after all that we didn't settle anything," Ryoko noted. "Oh yes, we did," Kiyone said firmly. "We established that we're never going to argue like that--ever again. If we ever do, I'm out of here and so is Mihoshi. We'll camp out in Yogami if we have to." "Kiyone!" Mihoshi, shocked, missed the hook for her robe. Her robe crumpled to the floor. Her face crumpled also. Her partner's ultimatum shook her badly. "I do not blame you, Kiyone, for how you feel," Ayeka said, her voice troubled. "None of us want you or Mihoshi to leave. Please believe that." "I don't blame you either, I guess. But please don't leave us," Sasami said plaintively. Tears streamed down Mihoshi's face. But she kept quiet. Kiyone looked at Ryoko. "Yeah...I don't want you two to leave, either," Ryoko admitted. "And you're right, Kiyone--never again! That kind of arguing is just no fun. Besides, we've been through too much together to break up now." Kiyone nodded. "All right. Agreed. Now, stop crying, Mihoshi. There's already plenty of water around here!" Mihoshi smiled happily through her tears. They entered the baths. Lord Yosho slowly walked back towards the temple following his talk with Washuu and after having checked on the five weary females again. His hands were clasped behind him. His head was sunk in thought. That aura around Tristram. Again, it seemed significant. The young American was meant to be here to perform some necessary task...and it wasn't trimming grass. Yosho allowed himself a slight smile at his own witticism. Tristram, as Tenchi's friend, was welcome at any rate, of course. But that aura told Yosho that Tristram must stay. Yosho smiled again, recalling the spectacle just that morning of the young American stumbling down the temple steps, winded. His dash up the steps had yielded no further progress than the day before. Tristram was rather out of condition, not to mention clumsy and just a tad slothful, Yosho had divined. An unusual vessel for whatever significant—-and possibly dangerous--task lay ahead. But Lord Yosho, Juraian prince of the blood, had encountered more unusual vessels-- that bounty hunter, Nagi, for instance. His smiled faded as he now also recalled that he had felt that intruder--the Presence--last night. He had felt it a number of times before, always late at night. It was not something he could really pinpoint. It was wispy, ephemeral. But it was something invading the Masaki homestead. And it was not friendly. Yosho knew that absolutely. One could not grasp smoke. One could only remain alert and try to discern the fire beneath. Yosho raised his head. He heard the low roar of Tristram's rather overpowered, but beautiful old automobile. He turned and watched it pull up at the gate, quite close to him. As he regarded his nineteen-year-old grandson sitting in the front passenger bucket seat (the convertible top was down), he felt proud. Tenchi was everything he could have hoped for in a grandson and more. Best of all, Tenchi was no mere well-trained and indoctrinated hothouse orchid. He was a young man of strong traditional beliefs, yet with a worldly outlook and diverse interests, as his friendship with Tristram proved. One had to be somewhat a man of the world to best protect it. "Hi, Grandfather!" Tenchi called. "Hello, sir," Tris called also. Yosho smiled by way of greeting. He walked up to the two young men as they exited the car. "You made very good time," he observed. "Yes, Grandfather," Tenchi said. "The University is really dead. No need to hang around there." "Traffic was okay too, sir," Tris added. "Not dashboard-to-dashboard?" Yosho asked, smiling again. Tenchi and Tris laughed. "Well, since it's only early afternoon, perhaps you two can still attend to your chores." Both Tenchi's and Tris's faces fell. "Yes, Grandfather." "Yes, sir." They both walked around the car to the trunk to unload Tris's belongings. Neither of them seemed quite so chipper now. Lord Yosho nodded at them amiably and continued on to the temple. Meanwhile, the women weren't exactly chipper, either, but they felt considerably better. Soaking in the heavenly hot baths had helped tremendously. With Lord Yosho's simple but nourishing repast in their stomachs and hot water massaging their bodies—-and the truce they had agreed on settling their minds--Ryoko, Ayeka, Kiyone, Mihoshi and little Sasami were quite comfy and content. They had not talked very much during the hot soak. A few comments like, "Move your big foot, Mihoshi," and "Don't hog all the towels, Princess," had sufficed. As a group, they slowly left the Grand Baths and returned to their communal bedroom. As a group, they dressed slowly, still somewhat sleepy and warm from the hot water. One individual wanted to bring her stuffed doggie with her, but was dissuaded by the others. As a group, they sat down to more hot tea prepared by a revived little Sasami. And as a group, they wandered outdoors...even Sasami. "Look," said Ryoko, as they all sauntered onto the lawn. "Hah! The woodsmen tame the wilderness!" She indicated Tenchi and Tristram. The two young men were a distance off, one raking up cut grass, the other making more cut grass with his garden shears. The two were working closely together, feeding off each other's slight feeling of injustice at having to work on the grounds after their flying trip to the University and back. "Ah, the sweeties...working hard all day," Mihoshi said fondly. "Hardly working all day, you mean," Kiyone corrected her. "Going on that nice leisurely drive to that University of theirs." Lord Yosho had told them of Tris's and Tenchi's road trip. "Probably took their sweet time about it and had a beer on the way home. Nice work, if you can get it." Kiyone's mood really wasn't sardonic. Her ironic words were just her defensive mechanism, automatically activated, rather like that of the two wooden Guardians who sat, ready to defend their Princess, just outside the gate. That mechanism, which had served Kiyone so well in the past, had been triggered by how very nice it was to see Tris. It was hopeless, though, she realized. Being brittle and tough wasn't going to cut it this time. The fact was, she didn't feel brittle and tough inside. A strange, soft warmth welled in her. Instinctively, she tried to squelch it. But it refused to be squelched. Aw...who was she kidding? She felt the way she felt and that was that. She was getting stuck on a goofy Earth boy. Damn it! Her career was in ruins, she was broke, and she had kissed Tenchi's college roommate. Her life was in the toilet! And yet...that funny glow inside persisted. Aw, hell. "I've never had a beer," Mihoshi, walking beside her, reflected. "I should have asked Tris for one when we were at the nice restaurant." She smiled. "Something to look forward to next time!" "What next time?" Kiyone asked, her tone a bit dangerous. "Keep it cool, girl," Ryoko said. "Even I want some peace and quiet for a while." "You, Ryoko? I am astonished...but grateful," Ayeka murmured. "Hey, the boys see us," said Sasami. "There are the girls," Tenchi said. "Hey, they're coming toward us." "Yeah," Tris said. "Wonder what we've done now?" Multiple blades of defenseless grass fell before his furious scissoring onslaught. "I don't know." Tenchi stopped raking. "But they don't look happy, Tris. Look." Tris looked up. Tenchi was right. None of the females were smiling. The reason was, simply, that they were still feeling somewhat woozy. Actually they were at peace with the world and (for the moment) with each other. Their attitudes toward the two young men were composed of varying degrees of fondness, ranging from he's-not-so-bad-I-guess to I-love-him-more-than-life. But such tender sentiments were not reflected on their slack, somewhat droopy visages, which, from a distance, appeared rather truculent. Tenchi and Tris mistook their mood entirely. Both were still feeling vaguely guilty about the verbal donnybrook the women had reportedly engaged in the previous night, again without knowing the details. Besides, as Tenchi said, the group of females looked unhappy, which was enough to worry the two young men. When females are unhappy, males feel apprehensive. This is as it should be. Nature takes no chances with propagating the species. "They look like a whole troop of unhappy campers," Tris opined. "And they're coming toward us." Tenchi noted. Indeed they were, but with the friendliest intentions possible. "Look at those sweet boys," Sasami said warmly. "The little dears," Ayeka said. The glow of the hot bath still suffused her soul. "Tenchi...what a man!" Ryoko said, getting down to brass tacks. "That big stiff," Kiyone said with tenderness. She wasn't referring to Tenchi, of course. "Why are they staring at us like that?" Mihoshi asked. "They look funny." It was true. Now that they were closer, the women and Sasami could see the expressions of consternation on Tenchi and Tris. "They look like we're going to bite them or something," Ryoko said, uncomprehendingly. "Look like scared rabbits," Kiyone agreed. "Or scared puppy dogs," Mihoshi contributed, thinking of Trissy. "I just don't get it," Sasami said, sounding concerned. "Aren't they glad to see us?" Suddenly Ayeka laughed. She got it. "Why...those two! They think we are angry with them. I quite understand. They do not know why we—-talked--so late last night." "You mean, fought like banshees last night," Ryoko amended. "I do not! At any rate, I daresay they think we are upset with them and I imagine they feel guilty as well." Ayeka laughed again at the silliness of the two young men. "That Ayeka is chuckling now," Tris commented to Tenchi. "Man, I've never heard such an evil chuckle...not since that wicked old witch tried to take Toto to the pound before the tornado hit." Tenchi nodded. He remembered the movie. "Looks like a tornado is going to hit us too." "Yeah, and not a fruit cellar in sight." "But they're wrong, the poor boys," Sasami reasoned, as she and the women continued to approach the men. "We should smile and wave. Let them know we're not upset with them." "No, Sasami," Ayeka said. "That is what we should not do." "But...why not, big sister?" "Oh, dear, you have so much to learn about men," Ayeka told her. Ryoko raised an eyebrow. She could have slipped a real hot one in there, but she wanted to hear what the Princess had in mind. "You see, Sasami, when men feel guilty or apprehensive, that is the time to get something from them," Ayeka explained. Ryoko was glad she had restrained herself. She regarded Ayeka with uncommon respect. "I like your thinking, Princess!" "Not a bad notion at that." Kiyone smiled. "You mean...fool them?" Sasami asked. "No, dear," her big sister replied. "If those two are silly enough to think we are angry with them, whom are we to disabuse them?" "Right," said Ryoko. "Instead, we'll just abuse them!" She laughed. This was just too perfect! "See...now that Ryoko is cackling," Tris observed. "It's going to be a real cruncher. Been nice knowing you, Tenchi." "Same here." "But, big sister...is this a right thing to do?" Sasami asked dubiously. "Of course, dear! You will understand when you are older." "I doubt it," Sasami murmured. "But what are we going to get from them?" Mihoshi asked. Walking slowly with the others, Kiyone wiped her forehead as beads of sweat formed there. Her red headband was soaked. Her skin was still toasty from the hot baths. It was so darned warm for spring. Then, suddenly, she chuckled. "I know!" she said. "Those two can just go down to the village to that confectionery shop I saw--and get us ice cream! Lots of ice cream!" "Yay!" cried Mihoshi. "I like the way you think too, Kiyone." Ryoko smiled at her. Kiyone smiled back at Ryoko. "Thanks!" "I guess I would like some ice cream," Sasami admitted, seemingly mollified. "It is a wonderful idea, Kiyone. Just the thing after those hot baths and this warm weather." Ayeka sounded pleased. "Very well, then. The boys shall buy us ice cream. I am certain that Lord Yosho and Mr. Masaki would like some, also," she added primly. "And Miss Washuu-- let us not forget her." "Of course, Princess. Wveryone likes ice cream," Ryoko agreed. "I love it!" Mihoshi was excited. "What flavor should we ask for? Chocolate, vanilla, peach, strawberry...?" "Yes," said Kiyone. "Yay!" The group of females advanced on the two young men. "Don't fire," Tris advised Tenchi sternly, "until you see the whites of their eyes." "Listen, Tris," Tenchi warned. "Whatever they say--just agree! No back talk, no wisecracks. Okay?" "Okay," Tris agreed soberly. "You're right. They have us outgunned, outnumbered, and outclassed, anyway." And so what else was new? Tenchi thought. "Hey, Kiyone...before we get within hearing distance..." Ryoko began. "Yeah?" "It's none of my business, I admit, but..." "But what?" Kiyone asked. "Com'on. 'Fess up, will you, girl? Is that goofball your boyfriend or not?" The others stopped. They all seemed to tense. Ayeka opened her mouth to chastise Ryoko, then closed it. She was ashamed about it, but she wanted to know, too. Kiyone walked a few more steps. Then she also stopped. "Yes," she said. "Whether that goofball likes it or not!" She walked on. The others stared after Kiyone, their faces registering various degrees of shock. Then they silently followed her. It was evident that none of them had really expected her to answer that question-- much less to answer it the way she did. "Come on, Mihoshi," Sasami said, noticing that the blonde Galaxy Police officer still had not moved. "Ice cream!" "Okay..." Mihoshi started walking again. But she didn't seem as enthusiastic for the cold creamy stuff as she had been. Twenty minutes later, Tenchi was sitting in Tris's car and clutching a huge bag (triple wrapped at his insistence) of assorted containers of ice cream. Many flavors were represented in that bag. Tenchi had insisted on that, too, when he had gone into the confectionery store. Tris was driving the Mustang, on a bearing back to the Masaki homestead. "This bag feels pretty well insulated," Tenchi said. "Hope the ice cream doesn't melt before we get home." "Yeah. As long as we get it in your freezer right away, it should be okay." Tris shifted into fourth, a nice cruising gear. "Say, Tenchi, I don't get it. After all that build-up...and all those girls wanted was ice cream?" "I know. It's a surprise to me, too." Tenchi placed the bag in the car's carpeted floor well. He didn't want his body heat to warm the ice cream. "I'll tell you this, though," he added meaningfully. "I think we got off lucky!" After another delicious dinner, thanks again to Sasami, the ice cream party commenced. For once, everyone in the Masaki household joined in, even Nobuyuki. Tenchi made certain his father, arriving just after dinner, got a bowl of ice cream and even pulled him to the table to be with everyone. Washuu was there, too—-no one had to be drag her out of her lab this time. She showed up on her own accord, wanting to take a peek at the girls after what she'd heard about the night before. She stayed for two bowls of chocolate ice cream. The great scientist thought ice cream was one thing Earthlings did right. In fact, Washuu was feeling pretty positive about the whole clan. Okay, so they fought furiously sometimes when she wanted peace and quiet, and demanded things from her, and invaded her laboratory when she was in the middle of an experiment, and sometimes called her an old maid...well, maybe she didn't feel so positive after all... She spooned up another chunk of ice cream. Aw...she did like them. Especially the girls. Sometimes she felt darned motherly toward them. Of course, she didn't look anywhere near old enough to be anyone's mother. She swallowed ice cream and grew thoughtful. She really didn't do much to help out around the place, she admitted to herself. Too busy with pushing the scientific envelope. Perhaps it was time to give something back. "Hi, Washuu," Tris said to her. He was carrying a bowl of ice cream in for Mihoshi, who was stuffing herself on peach-and-chocolate combined (one scoop of each in a bowl). "Hi yourself, you troublemaker," Washuu said amiably. "Me?" Tris asked. He put the bowl down in front of Mihoshi. She smiled at him and attacked the bowl with gusto. He sat down beside Washuu. "Aren't you having any?" Washuu asked. "Had some. I'm a troublemaker?" "Sure, cutie. I heard about the girls' fight last night. You provoked it, no doubt." "I did?" "You didn't mean to. But you did, I'll bet." Mihoshi heard their conversation. She ate ice cream and looked at Tris and Washuu. She wanted to stick up for Tris, but Washuu was right, as it happened. Gosh, this ice cream was yummy... Tris was framing a reply to Washuu when Kiyone came into the dining room with her bowl full of vanilla (Tris would never has guessed vanilla for Kiyone). She sat down of the other side of him. She sat so close to him that her hip pressed warmly against his. She smiled sweetly at him. Funny, but Kiyone seemed very openly pleased with him suddenly. He wasn't complaining, but...it sure wasn't what he expected from her. Maybe Kiyone really, really liked ice cream. Now he turned his attention back to the great scientist. "I'm sorry to be such a disruptive element, Washuu. I'll try to clean up my act." "Please don't!" Washuu told him. "Things haven't been so fun around here in ages. I'm enjoying it. Hey, this ice cream is good." "Tenchi and Tris went and got it," Kiyone said. She smiled at Tris again. "See? You're aces with me. Tris. Keep things hopping around here. Nothing's worse than monotony." Washuu ate the rest of her ice cream with evident enjoyment and asked for a second bowl of the same. Tris obliged her. Well, what do you know, he thought, scooping ice cream in the kitchen. The Washuu seal of approval. This time around, everyone was in bed and fast asleep long before midnight...except Washuu. She sat in her sub-dimensional laboratory. The great scientist was busily inputting data into the translucent console that she never (almost never) went without. That console was vital to Washuu. It allowed her to tap into her super computers and the mighty intra-galactic servers that pulled in information and data from all points of the galaxy. The Royal Science Academy might have booted her out (again!) but Washuu had access to all its data through that console. Besides, there was a great video game in the hard drive. But the great scientist was not busily zapping cyber critters for relaxation. She had decided to help her family after all...some of them, anyway. She would ensure the women not only would have the peaceful night's sleep Lord Yosho had mentioned they needed after last night's marathon mouth session, but also enjoy the ultimate great night's sleep. She decided to include Tenchi and Tris, too-- why not? After all, they bought that ice cream. Washuu smiled with satisfaction as her nimble fingers flew over the console. This was a stupendous achievement, a true leap forward in sleep therapy. And it was so beautifully simple. At least, it was to Washuu. She would insure that the sleeping gals and guys would dream...they would dream good dreams...great dreams! Dreams are caused by REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. That occurs when the eyes are closed, but actively moving, as if looking at objects. REM supplies the cornea with oxygen and produces the vivid dreams people remember the following day. Delta sleep is the deep sleep following dream sleep that allows the body to rest and recuperate from the day's activity. Certainly, the girls needed lots of Delta sleep, Washuu knew, but it would be even more enjoyable for them if they had a smidgen of enjoyable REM dreaming. So far, so abecedarian. Washuu had discovered in an arcane text written by some researcher at the Royal Science Academy long ago that the nature of REM dream-sleep was determined by the patterns of brain waves. For the sake of her dedicated (some might term it obsessive) collection of all data that might even be remotely useful someday, Washuu had recorded the sleeping brain wave patterns of everyone in the Masaki clan. A scanner of her own brilliant design that sought out and recorded brain waves within a pre-determined radius (in this case, the Masaki home) had accomplished this. It was simply a matter of powering on the device in the general vicinity of the sleeping subject and collecting the scan. Washuu had just added the sleeping brain wave pattern of that Tris character the other night to her collection. (His sleeping brain wave patterns were pretty dodgy—-Washuu could just imagine what naughty things that guy dreamed about!) Anyway, that researcher had amply demonstrated that when the brain-wave patterns were erratic, bad dreams resulted (like Ayeka's brain wave pattern chart showed, poor Princess--she definitely needed a few nice dreams). The trick was to try to modulate the sleeping brain wave patterns during REM sleep to insure that those pattern was all nice and regular--result: Sweet dreams. That researcher hadn't indicated if he had found a way to do that. No matter. Washuu had. Just recently, Washuu had been able to re-program her brain wave scanner to not only seek out and collect sleeping brain waves, but also to actually redirect them—-transmit them--to her console. There the brain waves would come under the ministrations of a software program (another Washuu invention) that would modulate them--that is, render them nice and even and regular. Then the buffered brain waves would be beamed back to their owners. Presto! The sleeping subjects would enjoy lovely dreams. Once REM sleep ceased, and the dreams ended naturally, everyone Washuu had decided to try her experiment on—-Tenchi, Tris, Ayeka, Ryoko, Sasami, Kiyone, and Mihoshi—-would drift nicely into Delta sleep and wake up refreshed...and wonder where those fabulous dreams had came from. On her console screen, the seven subjects' sleeping brain waves were represented, pulsating and surging, as horizontal bar graphs. All Washuu had to do is wait until the first person dropped into REM sleep and then ensure that the software locked him or her into the program. That person's brain waves would be gently modulated into a nice, regular pattern and returned to that person. The program would automatically lock in the others when they reached REM sleep and perform the same brain wave modulation. Simple. Foolproof. And another scientific triumph. Now the first REM sleep pattern appeared on one of the graphs. Washuu smiled. The graph represented little Sasami's sleeping brain wave pattern. So she was the first to achieve a dream state! Great little kid, wonderful cook. Washuu was glad. She watched her software program lock in Sasami's brain waves. Done. Washuu made a few final inputs into the program. Done and done. Washuu rose from her console. She yawned. Speaking of sleep, she'd better get some shuteye herself. She walked toward the futon she kept in the lab. Who knows, Washuu thought, as she slipped under the covers. If the invention worked as well as she thought it would, she might even use it on herself. On the console screen, the seven little bar graphs pulsed and pulsed, except for one graph that glowed green--the locked-on sleeping brain waves of Sasami. Suddenly, an error window flashed on the screen. But Washuu, of course, was not there to attend to it. A glitch in the program caused by conflicting software code had occurred—-it was a new program after all, a beta program at best. Even great scientists made programming flubs. Now, instead of receiving the seven brain waves from the seven sleeping subjects, the program reversed itself and began to transmit brain waves back into those subjects via the scanner. It transmitted, specifically, the sleeping—-and dreaming--brain waves of the person the program had locked into first...Sasami. Thanks to Washuu's new invention, whatever Sasami dreamed, the others would also. Little Sasami turned over on her futon. Her blanket was off, since it was a warm night. A single sheet covered her. The little girl began to smile in her sleep. Beneath her eyelids, her eyes darted to and fro, as she drifted into full, clinical REM sleep. Sasami began to dream...a very nice dream, indeed. * * * It was the start of another great day in the life of that typical schoolgirl, Sasami. The pretty little girl jumped out of bed. She ran to the window and threw it open. Outside, the morning sun glinted on the Tokyo Tower. "Hello, tower!" Sasami said. Suddenly, a furry little figure scampered up to her. Sasami looked down. There sat Ryo-Ohki, her pet and secret mentor. "Good morning, Ryo-Ohki!" Sasami said. "Good morning, yourself," Ryo-Ohki replied. "You'd better hurry and get to breakfast!" "Right!" She closed the window and scrambled to the bathroom. Ryo-Ohki was right! She had to hurry! She had to go to school like all the typical schoolgirls. As she washed herself and brushed her teeth, she could hear her mother and father talking in the dining room. She smiled. Mom and Dad loved her and she loved them. Dressed in her beloved schoolgirl's outfit—-a cute sailor suit with a short hem, known as the sailor fuku ("sailor blouse," the official girls' school uniform in Japan)--Sasami exited her bedroom and skipped to the dining room.(1) Her Mom and Dad smiled at her as she entered. "Hello, Sasami!" they chorused. "Hello, Mom and Dad!" Sasami replied back. Her Dad, sitting at the table, put down his newspaper. He was very handsome in his business suit and striped tie. He had auburn hair and one dimple showed in his smile. (It was Tris.) "Well, Sasami," he said with a manful smile. "What will my little princess do today?" "Go to school, Dad. And maybe play at the video arcade after school." "Okay." Dad grinned. "Don't come home too late!" "I won't, Dad." "Be sure you're not late, young lady," her Mom said. She was a very pretty lady in a house dress and apron and high heels (a little of the old American TV programming Sasami sometimes watched was creeping into her dream). Mom had long, dark teal hair and, incongruously, wore a red headband (it was Kiyone). Mom was standing by the stove, cooking something. "You'd better eat your breakfast now while you can, honey. You don't want to be late for school!" "Yes, Mom!" (In Tenchi's and Tris's bedroom, Tris smiled in his sleep at the picture of Kiyone in the house dress—-and high heels. Ha, ha, Kiyone! Kind of a dopey dream, though.) Sasami ate her delicious and nutritious breakfast as her handsome Dad and pretty Mom beamed at her. No one could cook like Mom! Finished, she rose and grabbed her schoolbooks. Gosh...she hated to leave Mom and Dad, but she had to go to school and have adventures. "Goodbye, Sasami!" Mom and Dad said, waving at her from the front door as she left the house. "Goodbye, Mom and Dad!" Sasami waved back. Gosh, she must have the best Mom and Dad in the whole world! She turned and walked away. Mom and Dad and the house faded in the distance. (Asleep, Kiyone tossed a bit on her futon, confused. If this was a dream about her and Tris getting married, how come they were already out of the picture? And what was Sasami doing there--and Ryo-Ohki?) Sasami was well on her way to school now. She skipped down the sidewalk, carrying her schoolbooks. Everybody was nice and waved to her. She waved back. She saw Ryo-Ohki bounding up to her. "Ryo-Ohki, you can't come to school with me!" she admonished. "Oh, yeah. Have a nice time at school, Sasami. I'll see you later." Ryo-Ohki bounded away. Sasami shook her head. She was lucky to have Ryo-Ohki, but the cabbit was kind of forgetful at times. Then, behind her, Sasami heard a noise. It sounded like someone had tripped and fallen. She turned. A girl was sprawled out on the sidewalk. She was a blonde with big blue eyes. She cried because she had fallen and dropped her schoolbooks and her stuffed dog. (It was Mihoshi, whose womanly body stretched her schoolgirl's uniform almost beyond modesty.) Sasami recognized her. It was her best schoolgirl friend, Miho! Miho was clumsy and funny, a good friend for a typical schoolgirl like Sasami. "Don't cry, Miho! I'll help you!" "Thank you, Sasami! You are such a good friend!" (Snuggled in her futon, Mihoshi smiled and hugged Trissy. Beside her, Kiyone stirred on her futon restlessly, still wondering why she was dreaming of being Sasami's Mom.) Sasami and Miho walked to their school. It was a big building, with lots of windows where the classrooms were. It had a big yard, with lots of schoolgirls and schoolboys in it, playing. It was a typical school. "Do you want to go to the video arcade after school?" Miho asked Sasami. "Yes! It will be fun!" "Yes, it will!" Miho agreed. They were standing on the sidewalk in front of their school. Someone accidentally bumped Sasami. "Oh, I'm sorry!" She turned around. A teenaged boy stood beside her. Romantic music played as Sasami's lovely coral eyes widened. It was that boy! That handsome older boy that she had seen around town. He was dreamy! The boy, a tall, slim young man with black hair and brown eyes (it was Tenchi), smiled at her. Sasami gulped. So did Miho. "It was not your fault, little girl," the handsome boy said. "I stumbled into you. Are you all right?" Sasami's eyes shimmered as she regarded him. He was the most handsome boy in the whole world! And he was talking to her! "I'm...all right," she said. "I'm glad! I must leave now. Good-bye!" "Good-bye!" Sasami said to him as he continued down the sidewalk. Miho just stared after him. "He's so wonderful. Do you think...I'll even see him again?" Sasami asked Miho wistfully. "I don't know," answered Miho, sighing. (Tenchi, lying in bed, frowned. What was he doing in this dream-—and what was Mihoshi doing in that little sailor suit?) The schoolbell chimed. It was time for school. School took place and was over very quickly (Sasami didn't know exactly what schoolgirls on Earth really did in school and it didn't sound very interesting at any rate). There was a brief sequence with Sasami and Miho sitting in a classroom where a short woman teacher with big red hair (it was Washuu) lectured. Sasami took notes while Miho slumbered. Soon the scene shifted again, and Sasami and her humorously clumsy friend, Miho, walked out of school at the end of the school day. "How did you do on the test, Miho?" Sasami asked. "I flunked everything!" Miho said dolefully. "How did you do, Sasami?" "Oh, I got honors in everything," Sasami said complacently. "You are so smart, Sasami! I wish I was as smart as you!" "Don't worry, Miho. Tomorrow is another day!" "That's right!" (Lying in his pallet, Tris murmured in his sleep, "Who wrote this dialogue?") "Let's go to the video arcade now!" Sasami suggested. "Yay!" said Miho. ("Yay!" said Mihoshi in her sleep. She snuggled against Trissy. She liked this dream so far, except for flunking all her schoolwork, of course.) Sasami and Miho went to the video arcade. It was in a building like all the other buildings except that it had a sign that read "Video Arcade." They went in. "Let's drive the race cars!" Miho said. In her excitement, she dropped her books and her stuffed dog. Laughing, Sasami helped her collect them. "Oh," said Miho. "Look!" Sasami looked. Standing at the counter was the video arcade manager. The manager was...that handsome boy! "Gosh," said Sasami as the romantic music played again. "But look!" Miho said. "There's those two mean older girls." Sasami looked again. Also standing at the counter and flirting with the handsome boy were two hard-looking girls dressed in sailor suits. One had spiky platinum hair and the other had deep purple hair. (Ryoko and Ayeka had finally made it into Sasami's dream.) "Those are bad girls," said Miho. "They're mean! They called me names and tripped me the last time we were here." "And they are shameless," Sasami added. "Look at them flirt with that handsome boy. They are annoying him." Indeed, the boy looked less than pleased at the attention he was receiving from the two older schoolgirls. (Soft thuds sounded in the women's bedroom as both Ayeka and Ryoko tossed and turned angrily on their futons, not liking this dream at all.) "Hello!" said the handsome boy, spotting Sasami and Miho. He left the counter, much to the obvious annoyance of the two older schoolgirls, and walked over to them. "Can I help you?" He smiled at them. Sasami and Miho gulped. "Do you need change for the games?" the boy asked. "I don't know." Sasami wasn't sure if she had "change." "What's this?" asked Miho as Sasami hesitated. She pointed at an arcade game. "This is new!" "Yes, this is our newest game! It is very fun. Shall I demonstrate it to you?" "Yes, please!" Sasami and Miho chorused. "Hey, stop talking to those little girls!" the spiky-haired schoolgirl called from the counter. "Yes, please pay attention to us," the other mean older schoolgirl added in a snooty voice. But the handsome boy ignored them. He put a coin in the video game machine. "You will like this," he told Sasami and Miho. "It's..." Suddenly the video game shuddered mightily. It began to grow! "Huh?" cried the handsome boy. The video game grew to twice its size--three times its size. Then long scaly arms sprouted from its sides. Scaly legs burst out from the bottom of the video game. The screen became a huge ugly face! It stood on its legs! It was a monster! The two mean older schoolgirls screamed and hid behind the counter like cowards. (The sleeping Ryoko and Ayeka were thrashing with impotent fury on their futons now.) Miho cried and tried to hide behind Sasami. "What is it, Sasami?" "It must be a demon! A demon in that video game!" The video game monster's scaly hands grabbed the handsome boy! "No!" cried Sasami. "I'm so scared!" sobbed Miho. Sasami walked up to the video game monster. "Put him down!" "Get away, little girl!" the handsome boy told her, in the grip of the monster. "You'll get hurt!" "Put that boy down. In the name of justice and truth and fun video games! I command you!" Sasami told the video game monster. The latter made a noise that could be interpreted (rather freely) as a sneering laugh. Suddenly Ryo-Ohki appeared, seemingly from nowhere. She leaped onto Sasami's shoulder. "Sasami," Ryo-Ohki whispered, "you must become Pretty Sammy right now!" "Right!" Sasami whispered back. Ryo-Ohki leaped off Sasami's shoulder. Sasami again faced the monstrous video game. "You asked for it!" Sasami declared. "I will punish you!" Now she raised her hand. Suddenly, something shimmered, became solid, in that little hand. It was a jeweled scepter...and the largest jewel was a heart-shaped brilliant gem set on top. Dazzling light radiated from the heart gem. "You will not hurt that boy!" Bright twinkling lights surrounded Sasami. Triumphant music filled the air. Quickly, her clothes changed from the schoolgirl uniform to a most becoming, and somewhat revealing, costume—-very tight fitting and with a short skirt. A sort of pink stole covered her shoulders. Her ankle socks and flat-heeled schoolgirl shoes became booties sporting huge poms. Somehow, Sasami's childish body seemed to assume more mature, womanly proportions. The twinkling lights slowly faded. Sasami stood there, holding her scepter aloft, in her costume and boots. Only, she wasn't just little Sasami any more. She was-- "Magical Girl--Pretty Sammy!" Miho shouted out the name. She dropped her schoolbooks and stuffed dog and clapped. "Yay! Yay!" ("Oh, no," Ayeka groaned in her agitated sleep. "Not Pretty Sammy again!") "I am Pretty Sammy!" said the now super-schoolgirl-magic-warrior to the video machine monster. "You are evil. Possessed by a demon! I will chastise you severely!" The demon-monster video game made a sound that rather resembled a growl. Its arms raised the now-kicking handsome boy--and brought him to its screen which had opened and now spouted long, sharp teeth. It was a mouth! The monster was going to eat the handsome boy! "Nooooo!" Miho shouted. "Pretty Sammy--do something!" Pretty Sammy obliged. She raised the scepter. "Fizzom frazzom frizzom froom!" The heart gem blazed. "Sweet love power! Stop that evil demon!" Bolts of pure love and truth and girlish fantasy spurted from the fiery heart gem. The bolts were in the shape of hearts. They smacked into the monster video game with a resounding thud. The monster moaned and dropped the handsome boy. He thumped on the floor, hard. ("Bet that hurt," Tris muttered in his sleep. In his bed a short distance way, a fitfully sleeping Tenchi groaningly confirmed it.) "Sock it to that awful monster, Pretty Sammy!" Miho cheered. Pretty Sammy did just that. Flaring heart beams kept stabbing into the monster video game. Billows of smoke poured out from it now. It staggered. It moaned. It made a grab at Pretty Sammy, who stood her ground like a true magical warrior. She directed beam after beam from her scepter into the monster, blasting it with a shower of sparks and a surge of incandescent, super schoolgirl power. "Aim at its mouth, Pretty Sammy!" Miho cried. Pretty Sammy nodded and pointed her pulsating scepter toward the monster's massive, fanged mouth. Love beams surged into the black maw. That did it! With a crash that shook the very building, the monster arcade game's scaly arms and legs melted away and the now impotent piece of high-tech coin-robbing machinery hit the floor and smashed to smithereens. "Yay! Oh—-yay!" Miho cheered and cheered. "Pretty Sammy saved the day!" Modestly shaking off compliments from Miho and the other arcade customers, Pretty Sammy walked to the fallen boy. Gently, she helped him rise. "You saved my life, Pretty Sammy," the handsome boy told her. "It was my duty." "You're wonderful!" Pretty Sammy's reply was interrupted by an odd noise. Everyone turned to look. The two mean older schoolgirls rose, shakily, from the floor. They were covered by the smoky soot of the monster video game's demise. "Look at them!" Miho said. "They look so funny!" She laughed. The handsome boy laughed. Pretty Sammy laughed. Everybody laughed (except the two mean older schoolgirls) as the wonderful dream faded out... * * * Sasami sighed happily in her sleep. She turned over again. Soon she was silent, as she sank into deep, dreamless, Delta sleep. The transmission ceased from Washuu's console. The other six beneficiaries of the great scientist's latest invention also now entered that dream-free slumber state as Sasami's dream flickered off. Even Ayeka and Ryoko, who no longer tossed and turned with deep annoyance. Later that night, the entity once again came but could not penetrate the programmed slumber. It left. The controller cursed, foully, somewhere in the deep blackness. The next morning, breakfast was strangely subdued. Not as subdued as the breakfast prior, when almost nobody showed up for the morning repast, but close. Neither Lord Yosho nor Nobuyuki Masaki knew what to make of it. Nobuyuki had to dash for his bus anyway, so he couldn't spend much time dwelling on it. Yosho surveyed the silent table of alternately cheerful, bemused, and disgruntled faces, finished his breakfast, and departed for the temple. Sometimes young people were simply unfathomable. Tenchi was of the bemused-looking group, as were Tris and Kiyone. He glanced at Ryoko and Ayeka, who were glowering at each other and at everyone else. They were definitely members of the bad-mood bunch. On the other hand, Sasami and Mihoshi appeared quite jolly. For some reason, both seemed to need to restrain themselves from giggling when they looked at each other. Tenchi wondered what could have affected everybody so profoundly. He knew, naturally, what was bothering him somewhat—-he'd had a crazy dream last night, where he was almost eaten by a video game and Sasami became that make-believe magical girl again and zapped the monster with some sort of weapon. He remembered the dream vividly, every detail of it, which was not the case usually with his dreams. Weird! He could not imagine what could have provoked it. It resembled, faintly, one of those animes that Sasami and Mihoshi watched. Shrugging off his bemusement, Tenchi asked, "Doesn't anyone have anything to say this morning?" "Breakfast is sure yummy, Sasami!" Mihoshi said. She laughed, as if at a private joke. "Thank you, Mihoshi," Sasami replied with equal merriment. That helped a lot, Tenchi thought sourly. "Uh...anyone else?" Kiyone shrugged. She was covertly glancing at Tris and at Sasami. Somehow, she never figured Tris for a business suit. She certainly never figured herself in a house dress and apron, wearing high-heeled pumps, not in a million years. Besides, if she was going to dream about marriage, she would have expected to dream about...well not that! Ryoko glared at Sasami, although she knew the little girl really wasn't at fault for that rotten dream last night. Ryoko was just about convinced she was cracking up...wearing some schoolgirl's outfit...hanging out with Ayeka...letting some little kid take Tenchi away from her...yeah, sure. When Ryo-Ohki really learned to talk, maybe! Ayeka didn't glare at her little sister, but she was definitely piqued. Sasami's silly little fantasy caused by watching all that awful anime with Mihoshi was bad enough--not to mention Sasami's continuing crush on Lord Tenchi--but, good heavens! After finally not suffering one of those dreadful, wracking nightmares, why did she have to dream about Pretty Sammy? And about herself acting rude in a common video arcade with Ryoko! That was the limit! Tenchi gave up. He resumed eating his breakfast. Everyone just seemed in a strange mood this morning, except Sasami and Ryoko. At least that made sense. Of all of them, those two had the largest reserves of good cheer. Thank goodness for that! Tris squirmed on his mat. Lots of strange and weird things had happened recently...but that dream! He couldn't get it out of his mind. Like Ryoko, he suspected he might be going a little bonkers. He looked at Sasami. He had to smile. Pretty Sammy! Cornball but cute too, in a way. "What are you smiling at, buster?" Kiyone demanded. Her tone was proprietary. She sat very close to him again. It was nice, for sure. But Tris knew he was going to have find out what it meant. "Well..." He laughed. It was so screwball that he had to spill it. "It's funny what sticks in your mind. Tenchi and I glanced at the TV yesterday morning, and there was that American cartoon channel on. Well, I guess that's what caused it." "Caused what?" Kiyone's voice was softer now. "Aw..." He laughed again. "Sasami, you're not going to believe this, but I actually dreamed last night that you were my daughter." Immediately, all eyes fastened on Tris. He blinked at the sudden, ferocious attention. "Well, it was just a dream, you know." "Go on." Kiyone's voice had increased markedly in intensity. "Well," Tris continued, looking apprehensively at the others who seemed to hang on his words with a death grip. "Like I said, I dreamed I was Sasami's Dad and Kiyone...hey, don't get mad." Sasami's eyes widened. "Gosh." "I was your wife...and Sasami's mother in your dream," Kiyone supplied tersely. "Hey, that's right, good guess. Just a dream, you know, Kiyone. Anyway, then Sasami went to school and Mihoshi was her friend at school. You should have seen Mihoshi in that schoolgirl outfit!" He grinned. "No offense, Mihoshi!" "I did see her," Kiyone stated flatly. "Huh?" "I had the same dream." Tris looked at her askance. "Yeah, right!" "Yeah. Right." Tris's jaw dropped. Kiyone wasn't kidding. "You both had my dream, too?" Sasami was amazed and gratified. "This is so cool!" Then she looked mystified. She realized the import of what she had just said. "Not cool, Junior Princess," Ryoko grated at her. "I had that crummy dream too." "You, Ryoko?" "And I, also," Ayeka admitted. "Really, Sasami--" "Wow!" Mihoshi jumped in. "That means you all saw me! You saw Pretty Sammy zap that video game monster! Wasn't it neat?" Five pairs of eyes targeted Mihoshi, who colored under all the sudden attention. Then those eyes swung to Tenchi. Tenchi looked flabbergasted. "Yeah, me too...same dream." "But that's impossible!" Kiyone insisted. "Absolutely impossible!" Ayeka agreed. "It better be impossible," Ryoko gritted. "But..." Sasami said wonderingly. "But it happened...didn't it?" That stopped the denials. They all sat there, not touching their breakfasts, each one furiously trying to make sense of it all. When the answer came, it arrived as one word. "Washuu!" "You rang?" the great scientist beamed, walking into the dining room. "Good morning! I just came in to see your bright-eyed, bushy-tailed selves this fine day..." She stopped. The group stared at her with a singular lack of bonhomie. Definitely not a bright eye or a bushy tail in the bunch. "What's up?" she asked, surprised at her reception. "What did you do, you crazy scientist?" Ryoko demanded. "Huh? Who's a crazy scientist?" "You are! And if those puppets of yours pop up to contradict me, I'll serve 'em fireballs for breakfast!" The puppets stayed put. Washuu crossed her arms, peeved. "What's with you, Ryoko?" "Washuu," Tenchi intervened. "It seems that Sasami had a dream last night..." "And I'll bet it was a honey!" Washuu smiled at Sasami. "Right, Sasami?" Sasami smiled uncertainly. "Well, yes." "We all had dreams," said Tenchi. "Well..." Washuu's smiled widened. "We all the same dream." "I know that...what?" Washuu looked startled. "The same dream!" Ryoko told her, her voice seething. "The same durn dream! A little kid's dream!" "But...it wasn't supposed to work like that." Washuu was clearly taken aback. At that moment, if Ryoko could have had her way, Washuu would have been clearly taken apart. "Hah! So you were behind it!" "What was not supposed to work like that, Miss Washuu?" Ayeka's manner was more controlled, but her held-in-check anger obviously matched Ryoko's. "You could call it a Dream Machine, I suppose," Washuu explained. "It's a new invention. I decided to give it a test run..." "On us?" Tenchi demanded. "Oh, there was no danger. It simply modulates your sleeping brain waves to that you have nice, enjoyable dreams..." Washuu's voice trailed off. "It didn't work that way, huh?" "It sure didn't," Kiyone replied. "That's strange. Well, perhaps not so strange. I suppose if the programming went a little off...the scanner broadcasts as well as receives...Sasami's REM dream state was locked on first..." Washuu mused. "Hmmm. Well, I guess that's possible. You really all had the same dream, huh? That's never been done before!" Washuu looked somewhat pleased with herself. "Neither has a two-headed transplant," Tris said sourly. "Well, actually..." "Washuu!" Ryoko cut in before another technical lecture began. "You went and messed with our heads. With my head! I've ravaged whole planets for less than that!" "But you're retired from all that..." "I can un-retire! In a heartbeat!" "Miss Washuu, what were you thinking of?" Ayeka chimed in. "Think of the possible consequences. We were fortunate that it was Sasami's dream that we were exposed to. Sasami has been raised properly and her dreams are perhaps a bit callow, but respectable. What if things had gone the other way, and, for example, Sasami had been subjected to a certain person's sordid dreams?" Ayeka glanced at Ryoko and shuddered delicately. "I'd call it educational, Princess," Ryoko told her with a hard grin. Sasami didn't look at all adverse to the idea. "Listen, everybody--I was thinking I was going help you all. That's what I was thinking." Washuu was beginning to get a mite irked herself. "Yeah? Like how?" Ryoko demanded. "A good night's sleep for all of you, that's how A great night's sleep!" "Washuu," said Tenchi pointedly. "Does it look like we had a good night's sleep?" "Nope," Washuu admitted. "I know your intentions were good, but--" "I get it," Washuu said. She was angry, and showing it. "That's what I get for trying to help and making a teensy mistake. Okey- doke, then. See ya." She turned and swiftly left the dining room. Ryoko rose. "Hey! I'm not through with you yet." "Yes, you are," Tenchi told her. "Please sit down, Ryoko." Ryoko sat. She glowered but she stayed put. Despite his own irritation with Washuu, Tris had to admire Tenchi. He couldn't imagine ever telling Ryoko to sit down, even when she was in a good mood. "Was it such an awful dream, then?" Sasami asked very quietly. "I liked it a lot!" Mihoshi told her. "It was a nice dream." "It stunk on ice," Ryoko grated. "Ryoko!" Ayeka cried. Ryoko saw that little Sasami's eyes were tearing up. Aw, nuts. That wasn't what she wanted. She liked the Junior Princess a lot. "Well..." she said. "Next time, let me wear something with a little more dash, okay Sasami?" "Okay." Sasami smiled wanly at Ryoko. "You know, that part about the monster video game trying to eat Tenchi--that was pretty good, Sasami." Tris chuckled. "Yeah...and you in your business suit and power tie." Kiyone told him. She ran a forefinger down his polo shirt front and then gently clipped his nose when he looked down like a chump. "I'll bet you don't even own a tie." "Do too. It's glows in the dark and says, "Will You Kiss Me In The Dark, Baby?"" "Not if you wear that tie, I won't," Kiyone promised him. Tenchi grinned. "Sasami, I couldn't believe you had me working in that video arcade! At college, everybody stomped me when we played video games. I always lost. I stopped playing a long time ago." "No wonder that video game wanted you for supper, Tenchi," Ryoko said, amused. "I was scared, though, for you, Tenchi," Mihoshi told him. "Hey, I was scared for myself!" Tenchi admitted. Now Ayeka burst out laughing. "Oh, Mihoshi! How you looked in that sailor suit. You were almost...immodest!" "Was I?" Mihoshi asked. "I think the skirt was too short, really." Tris waggled his eyebrows. "Not from where I sat-—ouch!" Kiyone smiled and lowered her fist. She sipped her tea. It was cold, but she didn't mind, this once. Now the table was filled with friends laughing over each other's performances in Sasami's dream. It was a shame Washuu hadn't lingered a few minutes longer. After breakfast, Kiyone made a point of helping Sasami carry the breakfast dishes into the kitchen. "Sasami," Kiyone said after they both deposited the assorted tea cups and bowls on the kitchen counter. "Why did you dream about Tris and me being married?" "Well...I guess because I like you both so much. And I think you'd both be a great Mom and Dad," Sasami said shyly. Kiyone reached down and patted Sasami's cheek. "You little dickens!" Her voice was soft. "Just don't tell that big stiff that...okay?" "Okay, Kiyone." "So, Professor Washuu was responsible for the odd demeanors I noticed at breakfast this morning?" Lord Yosho asked Tenchi a little while later. "That's right, Grandfather. Man, when I first leaned that, I could have taken this," he brandished his Bushido staff, "and conked her on the head!" Tenchi and his grandfather were in the outbuilding-dojo by the temple, engaging in Bojutsu practice. A longer session this time, since Tenchi had missed practice yesterday due to that trip to the University. Lord Yosho shook his graying head. "I can understand your feelings, Tenchi, but you should never say such a thing concerning a martial art...even in jest." Tenchi nodded somberly. "Yes, Grandfather." "I imagine," continued Yosho, "that Professor Washuu is feeling quite chastised by her impulsiveness. You say she was somewhat upset when she left?" "That's right, Grandfather. We were pretty rough on her, I guess." "Perhaps such a mishap bears good fruit, Tenchi. Good things do come from bad things, at times. Professor Washuu will doubtless think more carefully before she plunges ahead in an endeavor. Having experienced such a change in life roles in that dream might give all of you a different perspective on your true aspirations. Even if it was staged as a childish fantasy." Lord Yosho chuckled warmly, thinking of Sasami's Pretty Sammy alter ego. It did have its roots in actual supernatural warrior traditions of Jurai. Tenchi looked dubious. "You're saying it may have been a good thing, Grandfather?" "Perhaps, Tenchi. We shall see." Yosho raised his staff. "Now, grandson--let's discover how skillfully you can guard against this attack which, I assure you, is not a dream!" The staffs clattered as grandfather and grandson practiced the ancient martial art. "Watch what you're doing, Mihoshi!" Kiyone snapped as her partner seemed about to drop the can of floor wax. Mihoshi was supposed to deposit a judicious amount of the wax on the wooden floor for Kiyone to work in with her sponge mop. She and Mihoshi were accomplishing—-or, trying to accomplish—-the task they were supposed to have finished the previous day (which had been deep-sixed by Mihoshi's impromptu trip with Tris). That task was to wax--eventually--all the wooden floors upstairs. Kiyone had decided to commence with the women's communal bedroom floor. She wanted to get started now, so the floor would be dry by lunch. Hopefully, they could start on another floor that day. But speaking sharply to Mihoshi while she was trying to concentrate was usually fatal, as Kiyone should have known if anyone did. Kiyone had let her impatience get the better of her. Mihoshi dropped the can. Floor wax splashed out. Mihoshi showed commendable speed in avoiding the splashes. Kiyone did not. Liberated floor wax impregnated the front legs of her blue jeans, rather thoroughly. "Ahhhh—-Mihoshi!" Kiyone yelled. "I'm sorry!" Mihoshi wailed. She swooped down and picked up the can. She snapped the top back on. "Well, we did get the floor wax on the floor," she observed. "And on me! Mihoshi! All over my jeans legs! They're soaked!" "But those are your work jeans, Kiyone," Mihoshi said. "They're my everyday jeans. I wear them to meals too, you know." Looking down at her jeans, Kiyone got that sick, helpless feeling again. Thanks to the heavy deductions from their Galaxy Police salaries to maintain their lodgings near GP Headquarters, Kiyone and Mihoshi had very little money left over. Kiyone insisted that she and Mihoshi contribute something to their board at the Masaki home, so, after deducting that (and it was a pitiful amount too, Kiyone believed, for all the food and sundries they consumed), just a dab of actual disposable income remained. Clothes were expensive and nuking a pair of jeans—-they were real Levis, too--was close to being a calamity. Of course, she and Mihoshi could give up their expensive digs near Galaxy Police Headquarters...but Kiyone wouldn't do it and wouldn't let Mihoshi do it. Apartments anywhere remotely near Headquarters were nearly impossible to find—-the waiting list was months long—-and besides, to do so would be like acknowledging that Kiyone wouldn't be back at Headquarters. Her far-off apartment was a symbolic link to her hoped-for career resurrection, one that Kiyone couldn't bear to break. God...it had been so nice when she was earning a Detective Sergeant's salary... "You have those navy slacks, those real nice ones." "Yes, Mihoshi--and I want them to stay nice!" In fact, Kiyone had worn those slacks on her date—-no, trip—-no, damn it, date—-with Tris. She wasn't about to let them get spoiled. Dispiritedly, she looked around the communal bedroom. Her glance took in the wardrobes of Ayeka and Ryoko. She envied Ayeka's beautifully turned out formal robed gowns, and the way Ayeka kept them spotless, despite the many household chores she did. And Ryoko...the space pirate had her wardrobe absolutely packed with clothes...many of them stolen! That was one way to get by on a low-to-no budget! Anyway, Ryoko did so little work around the house, her clothes had little chance of being soiled, aside from her naps up in the presumably dusty ceiling beams (although Ayeka did try to clean them with a sort of telescoping dust mop). Kiyone had some nice clothes, like her sweaters and blouses and Capri pants and stirrup slacks, but they weren't appropriate to wear for chores and she really didn't want to wear them casually around the house, either. Her favorite white belted tunic, for example, which she wore with her black stirrup slacks, was a virtual dust and dirt magnet. "You...you can wear my dressy jeans, Kiyone." Mihoshi was tearing up. She obviously felt awful about Kiyone's ruined Levis. "No, Mihoshi. I'll find a way to use these jeans somehow, if that's at all possible. Maybe the floor wax will come off after all, and..." She stopped. Oh no! All that talking had allowed the floor wax to dry on her bare feet. Arrrgh! "What's wrong now, Kiyone?" "My feet are waxed a heck of a lot better than this--this floor is going to be--" Kiyone sputtered. "Yeah, they are waxed. Huh. They are nice and shiny, though." Trust Mihoshi to look on the bright side. "Wonderful!" Kiyone groaned. How did one get floor wax off one's feet? Perhaps Sasami would know. Washuu sat on a couch in her lab. She had been tapping at her console, but had stopped. She wasn't in the mood, suddenly. The truth was, she felt badly. Not over making a mistake with her programming code on that brain wave modulation app. That happened sometimes when new programs were first deployed. No, she felt bad about not doing well by the gang...and about the ethical question they sort of raised with her. "Messing with people's minds." That was how Ryoko had put it. The space pirate had been absolutely incensed, even to the point of bringing up her rather bloody buccaneering past. It took a lot of provocation these days to make that happen; Ryoko usually tried to avoid the subject of her criminal past—-at least, the gorier aspects of it—-because she wanted to marry Tenchi and didn't want him to become leery of her again. Washuu understood that. Poor Ryoko! She yearned to be the life-mate of a young man who was not only a high-caste Juraian—-a Prince, if you please!--but also destined to become the priest of the Masaki shrine when his grandfather retired. Tenchi's past, present, and future demanded both steadiness and respectability, in which a most-wanted galactic space pirate did not seem to fit in at all. In fact, she seemed a liability. From that perspective, Ayeka was far better suited for Tenchi than Ryoko--and didn't the Princess know it, just! Washuu tended to view Ryoko and Ayeka's covert and overt struggle for Tenchi with some amusement...but also with some sympathy. Then a visitor who had braved the sub-dimensional portal interrupted Washuu in her ruminations. It was Kiyone. Washuu was surprised but rather pleased. "Hi, Washuu," the Galaxy Police officer said somewhat hesitantly. "Hi, there! Come right on in, Kiyone!" "Thank you." Kiyone walked into...or, rather, she trudged into Washuu's lair. She had put on white athletic socks over her waxed feet and wore her house slippers as well. Washuu felt concern as she observed the down-in-the-mouth demeanor of the exceptionally sharp and competent galactic police officer. Washuu had a lot of respect for Kiyone. She well remembered how Kiyone had crawled into a shell, so to speak, and stayed there when she and Mihoshi had returned to Tenchi's after their demotion and disgrace. Kiyone had appeared to bounce back only recently. Washuu hoped that this wasn't a relapse. It wasn't. It was embarrassment. "Washuu," Kiyone began with difficulty. "I know we're a little on the outs right now." Washuu waved a hand dismissively. "I've been thinking it over. You all have a real point about my invading your minds. I didn't mean to, but..." "We all understand that, I think," said Kiyone. "We just had to vent--you didn't experience Sasami's dream, you know!" "I know. I wish I had it on tape, from what I've heard about it." Washuu chuckled. "What can I do for you, Kiyone?" "Can you...can you get floor wax off feet?" "Huh?" That was a new one. Kiyone explained. "Mihoshi's doing, huh? Well, it's probably not a good idea to yell at anyone holding a full can of floor wax," Washuu said, grinning. "Especially our Mihoshi!" "Yeah, I learned that!" "I can whip up a solvent that'll get the wax off. No problem." "Great!" Kiyone smiled gratefully. "What about my jeans? Can you get these wax spots off?" "Yes, that's too bad. Bottom line, Kiyone—-I don't know squat about stains on clothes. Ask Sasami." "I just did. She said she could get food stains out but didn't have a clue about floor wax. She thought you might know." "We both struck out, huh? I'm sorry." "At least, if you can get this wax off my feet..." "In two shakes. Coming right up." Washuu rose from her chair. She walked to a table loaded with bottled liquids and glass containers. "Haven't done wet chemistry for a while. This should be interesting." "Uh-huh..." "Oh, I'm using an established formula, Kiyone. Don't worry." "Okay." As Washuu poured and mixed ingredients, she asked, "How's that boyfriend of yours? He's a cutie." "You mean Tris?" "None other." "Why do you think that he's..." Kiyone hesitated. "A cutie? I have eyes." "No, I mean...that he's my boyfriend?" "Hey, it's obvious!" Washuu grinned. "If you could only watch you two together--fidgety, nervous, glancing at each other when you think the other's not looking. Classic symptoms. You're telling me he's not your boyfriend?" "No," said Kiyone. "I'm not telling you that." Washuu shook her head. "I never had you pegged for getting hooked up with a boyfriend, Kiyone...not until you had your career all settled the way you want it. You're not like those other girls. But I guess it's true. It's when you're not looking, particularly, that you find it." "I guess so." Kiyone appeared uncertain. Washuu cocked her head at Kiyone. "Is there a problem?" "Well..." Kiyone felt she could trust Washuu. The petite scientist had proven to be a sympathetic and discreet friend from time to time. And Kiyone really needed to talk to someone frankly about Tris. "I really haven't been in a situation like this before. I'm kind of new at this, but...I really don't think he knows that he's my boyfriend." "What?" Washuu set down a beaker with a thump. "What kind of a dummy is he?" "Maybe it's my fault." Kiyone was venturing into terra incognita and was unsure about it. "I kind of made up my mind about it. I know it's only been a short time we've known each other, him and me. I sure didn't expect it. But I've made up my mind, anyway. Yet I'm not sure he even has a clue how I feel about him." "Have you hinted?" "With just about everything but a sledgehammer!" Kiyone growled. "In other words, you've been tossing off signals and he's too dense to catch them?" "That's about it. He's clueless!" "Men! Heads like bricks, sometimes. There was this cute galactic physicist once. Couldn't get the big galoot to even hold my hand. Of course, being exiled kind of dried up my social life..." Washuu reminisced. "Washuu..." "Oh, sorry. Well, Kiyone, you've had to deal with all sorts of folks as a cop. What do you usually do with meatheads who don't get it?" "Make 'em get it--real fast." "There you go. Make Tris get it." Washuu walked up to Kiyone and handed her a bottle. "Splash this on your feet and rinse them with cold water. Presto. No more wax." Kiyone smiled with warm regard for the redheaded super scientist. "Thanks, Washuu. For everything!" "Don't thank me. Just remember me in your will." A short time later, Tris was working on a monumental backache while the sun baked the back of his head. In other words, he was trimming impertinent blades of grass that dared poke their impertinent heads above the stones comprising the walk path between the shrine and the lake. He had actually made some progress on that one path. He might even get it done before he returned to the University. What an accomplishment! Guiness would need to hold the presses. Of course, the grass would only grow back... A shadow fell over the stone path before him. He looked up. It was Kiyone. He grinned, always glad for a break and especially so when it involved his favorite Galaxy Police Detective First Class. He rose to his feet, knees popping rhymatically. "Hi, Kiyone—-hey, what happened to your jeans? Kinda nasty looking." "Never mind that!" Kiyone quickly moderated her voice. "I mean, that's not important...Tris." "If you say so, Blue Eyes." He grinned and made ready to duck. "I say so, Tris," Kiyone told him softly. "Huh?" Tris stared at her, a bit puzzled by her placidity. "You all right, Kiyone?" "Oh, I'm fine...darling." Tris's jaw dropped. Darling? He could not understand this. He eyed Jiyone warily. "Why are you calling me that all of a sudden? I thought "Boy Toy" was the designated appellation." He didn't mention the follow-up jab that usually went with it. "Oh, you're a Boy Toy, too. But you're also...well, kind of a darling." Tris had never heard Kiyone's voice sound so sweet. And her eyes glowed at him. It was damned mysterious. "I am?" "Aren't you?" "Well, let me think. I guess I could be. You did let me kiss you." "That's right! Do you think I'd let just any boy kiss me?" Kiyone's voice was back to normal. She crossed her arms. With Kiyone, that gesture was the equivalent, Tris had learned painfully, of an Earth cop unsnapping the top of his holster. "No, of course not." "Well?" Tris hated questions like that. "I'm trying to understand you, Kiyone. Are you saying I'm not an idiot anymore?" "Oh, you're an idiot." "I'm not a big stiff any more?" "You still are," Kiyone told him, matter-of-factly. "Not a goofball?" "I never called you a goofball." "Well, there's that, anyway," Tris said. "But you are, of course." Tris frowned. "Kiyone, you've got to help me out here. What's just been said doesn't usually go with words like "darling." You know?" "But you are a darling. You're a darling, idiotic goofball of a big stiff." Kiyone used that sugary tone again. Her violet blue eyes sparkled. "You're my darling." "Kiyone, now listen..." "I'll prove it to you." "Wait a minute--" "Don't be so dense!" Kiyone walked up to him. She slipped her arms around his neck. Her lips sought his, found his, and clung... When they broke, Kiyone said, "Now...are you my boyfriend or not?" "Wow. Okay. I'm your boyfriend." "Good. Because I've already been your girlfriend for over 24 hours." Tris stared at her, nonplussed. Finally he said, "Day late and a dollar short. That's me." "That's for sure." They kissed again. Longer this time. "When's our next date, buster?" Kiyone asked him when they came up for air. She kissed his nose. It was kind of stupid-looking but she liked it. "I don't know," Tris said. "I kinda hesitate to take out a girl who won't even put on decent jeans to neck--" A second later, he had adroitly jumped backwards, avoiding her lightning-quick jab. "Now, Kiyone," he told her, backing up slowly. "If you're going to date me, you'll have to get used to the jokes." "And you'll have to get used to a few things too, buster," Kiyone said, edging toward him. "Come here and I'll show you." "Huh-uh. You'll have to catch me first--" Ryoko, soaring through the air, happily avoiding the Princess's many offers of gainful employment back at the house, suddenly beheld a rather unusual spectacle. Just past the house and near the lake, she espied two figures. They were running. Ryoko thought it was rather warmish to be running, especially running so hard. Besides, lunch was due any minute. She lazily swooped down. She identified the runners. They were Kiyone and that goofball, Tris. Ryoko knew they were both exercise fiends (which, to Ryoko, meant they exercised), but this was peculiar even for them. Tris was out in front, displaying the racehorse gait that had helped him immensely in running the 440-yard-dash in high school. Right behind him streaked Kiyone, who demonstrated the relentless pace that had won her Special Mention at the annual Galaxy Police Academy Track and Field Invitational. The space pirate blinked, uncomprehendingly. She swooped lower to investigate. "Stop—-(pant-pant)—-stop—-I'm going to catch you —-(pant-pant)—- anyway—-" That was Kiyone's voice. "You're just making it—-(pant- pant)-—harder on yourself--" Tris didn't answer. He had no breath to spare. Besides, Kiyone was gaining on him. Ryoko shook her head in wonderment. That goofball could run! But Kiyone could burn up the track, too. Ryoko wouldn't have accepted anything but even odds on either of them. However, a handicapper who had done his research would have uncovered Tris's penchant to trip. As mentioned previously, Tris almost never tripped while running. This time, however, his high school track coach was not there to bird-dog him. In addition, Tris suddenly had Ryo-Ohki hopping playfully at his feet. The cabbit loved to chase things. "Ryo-Ohki!" Ryoko yelled from the air. "Look out! That goofball will step on you!" "Will not!" Tris panted, hearing Ryoko. And he didn't—-he missed Ryo-Ohki—-and he missed his step, too. He wobbled, and then tripped. The young American plowed into the turf with considerable velocity. His high school coach would have given him ten extra laps for that carrier landing. "Ooooooffffff—-" Tris commented on the firmness of the ground. He lay still, without further remark. Ryo-Ohki bounded up to him. The cabbit sniffed Tris, concerned. She nuzzled the back of Tris's neck. Tris stirred. "Meow-er!" Ryo-Ohki was relieved. She hopped off Tris and bounded away. Ryoko was relieved, too, although she'd hardly admit it. The most concerned had been Kiyone. She increased her speed somehow upon seeing Tris tumble, convinced the idiot had broken his neck. Then she saw him move. Thank God! She stopped, then bent over, panting, trying to catch her breath. Ryoko swooped down to her. She hovered above Kiyone. "What's going on?" the space pirate demanded. "What's the foot race for?" "We're just getting acquainted," Kiyone wheezed, still winded. "Huh?" "Please go, Ryoko," Kiyone requested. "And tell Sasami we may be late for lunch." Ryoko looked at Kiyone. Then she looked at Tris. She shrugged. "Whatever you say, girl." "Don't leave me, Ryoko," Tris pleaded from where he lay face down on the ground, his voice muffled by grass. "Sorry, guy...I've got my orders." Ryoko rose into the air and floated away. "Where are Tris and Kiyone?" Tenchi asked Ryoko again, as the family ate lunch in the dining room a little while later. "I told you, sweetums...taking a little jog by the lake," Ryoko replied. "Now? Missing lunch?" "You know how those fitness nuts are," Ryoko said, shrugging. "Tris never misses lunch." Tenchi was insistent on that point. "I think he had something to eat." Ryoko grinned, thinking of the grass in Tris's mouth when he had last spoken to her. Mihoshi's blue eyes were anxious. "Ryoko, are you sure they were all right?" "Mmmmmm...pretty sure..." Ayeka eyed Ryoko suspiciously. "Did you do something to him, Ryoko?" "Me? I'm insulted, Princess!" "Is that a "no"?" Ayeka persisted. "That's a big N-O," Princess." Ryoko gave an exaggerated toss of her platinum hair. "I was just flying around, minding my own business..." "Avoiding work and sticking your nose where it does not belong," Ayeka translated. Tenchi intervened. "It all does sound strange, Ryoko," he told her. Lord Yosho began to rise. "I'll go look for them, Tenchi..." "Look!" Sasami cried. "They're here!" Everybody turned toward the dining room entrance. Tris and Kiyone stood there. Kiyone held Tris's arm. Her long, dark teal hair was mussed a bit, her blouse still soaked with perspiration. Tris was a mess. He had grass stains on his polo shirt and khakis. His face betrayed direct contact with the good earth. "Miss lunch?" Kiyone asked. "No," Sasami said, her eyes wide. "I'll go get some more for you." "Thank you." Kiyone turned to Tris. "Shall we sit down?" "Only if I don't have to get up again." "Idiot. Isn't he an idiot?" Kiyone said with satisfaction. They sat down, Tris taking his time about it. "Everything okay?" Tenchi asked his buddy. "I'll tell you about it later," Tris replied. "No you won't," said Kiyone. "No I won't," said Tris. Lord Yosho now slowly sat down, too. "But—-" Tenchi said. "Tenchi," Lord Yosho said. "Let Tristram and Kiyone eat." "Yes, Grandfather." Lunch continued. The conversation was somewhat muted, but Tris and Kiyone did get fed. After lunch ended, Ayeka quickly exited the dining room and then impatiently waited in the living room...until Ryoko appeared. Then she reached out and grabbed the space pirate. "Hey, Princess! What gives?" "You better tell me what happened out there!" Ayeka demanded. "I mean it, Ryoko!" She was almost dying of curiosity. Ryoko shrugged. "Well, I didn't see all of it, Princess. But I can sure tell you one thing." "What?" "When it comes to boys, that Kiyone can teach us both something," Ryoko said with something like awe. ______________________________________________ CHAPTER NOTES (1) The sailor suit for Japanese schoolgirls is so ingrained in that country's popular culture that one almost forgets that it's just a school uniform. It's worn by girls in middle and high school only. The sailor fuku's origins are actually a tribute to the first gajin the Japanese people saw on a regular basis--sailors from European and American ships. This writer will never forget one of the first things he saw on his first visit to Japan--a middle school opening its doors for recess and little girls running out, all reading sailor fuku.