I don't own Tenchi Muyo, any of the characters or any of Washu's crazy 
inventions for that matter. I'm not exactly sure who owns them but I know that 
it's distributed in the U.S. by Pioneer. This fanfic is written without the 
consent of aforementioned owners and yadda yadda yadda. 


                          
Wings of the Light Hawk



 Prelude




She stood on a plane that led to all the infinite possibilities. She existed in 
a place that was nowhere and yet everywhere at once. She was timeless but 
touched every moment of eternity. She was ethereal yet she could shake the 
foundations of the universe. She was Tokimi.

Before her floated a scene of apparent domestic tranquillity.

"What is your opinion, D3?" she asked.

She felt the gathering power as D3 appeared next to her. He looked at the view 
that she was currently studying.  Many times they had spied on the Masaki 
household trying to ascertain the facts of any recent developments that might 
have happened. Particularly, she was interested in the activities of Washu and 
Tsunami. Also, since the advent of  the seeming spontaneous ability to generate 
the Light Hawk Wings, the boy known as Tenchi Masaki was now of great interest 
to her.

"That one is dangerous," she thought.

Studying the view, D3 noted that the Masaki house seemed to be undamaged for 
once. Which was a rarity. Usually there was at least some damage to be seen. 
There had even been times when the aforementioned damage unfolded before thier 
eyes. The Lady Ayeka and the Space Pirate Ryoko being the main offenders. Of 
course, there was the time when Washu had exploded out the front door and ran 
screaming for the lake while behind her a noisy explosion  blew out every window 
in the house.

Most beings in the universe would have found such goings on to be humorous. 
However, both the Lady Tokimi and D3 were sorely lacking in the humor 
department.

"An uneventful day. So it looks," D3 noted.

If Tokimi had been human she would have growled in frustration. She had hoped 
that events would have precipitated a confrontation between the main 
participants by now.

Certainly, the confrontations between the Lady Ayeka and Space Pirate Ryoko were 
not in short supply. However, the Lady Tokimi was not interested in them. They 
weren't powerful enough for her to even bother thinking about them except to 
note their effects on those who   Tokimi was interested in.

No, she was only interested in the condition of Washu, Tsunami and the young 
prince of Jurai. She had a long history with both Washu and Tsunami. Even if 
they didn't remember it. As for the boy, she remembered watching as  he deployed 
the Light Hawk Wings and seemingly defied the very laws of the universe as he 
actually broke the gravitational pull of a black hole, shining like star and 
blazing with power and glory. Such a being was a power to be reckoned with.

"If the desired events won't come to pass on their own then I must induce them 
myself," Tokimi said. 

"How so?" D3 asked.

"It needs some planning to be sure," Tokimi said. "Still, I am confident that I 
will prevail. Washu is still unaware of the truth of my existance. That is, 
other than my capacity as Clay's former employer. The advantage is still mine."

"The Lady Washu knows about the treatments that I used on both Clay and Zero," 
D3 said. "She will not rest until she discovers the truth."

Tokimi sighed. "We can't allow that to happen yet. For her to know the truth or 
even worse, for her to find her way here would be a disaster at this point in 
time."

"Lady Washu wouldn't even be aware of anything if it were not for Clay," D3 
pointed out. "I knew he was not to be trusted."

"We had to work with what we had," Tokimi said.

"He was a weak tool. Quick to be bent and broken," D3 said. "One such as he 
could never hope to outwit someone as clever as the Lady Washu."

"We have had this discussion before and I do not wish to discuss it again," 
Tokimi said with just the slightest hint of anger. "Thanks to Clay's 
incompetence we discovered the ability of the human boy. So even though it was a 
fiasco Clay's mission wasn't a total loss. What we must think about now is our 
future course of action."

"Yes. What shall we do?" D3 asked.

"The boy's control over the manifestations of the Wings of the Light Hawk is as 
yet minimal. While this is not yet a pressing matter it will become so in time. 
In his present state the boy is all but useless to me," Tokimi said.

"How do you plan to change this?" D3 asked.

"What I wonder is why Tsunami does nothing to correct this situation. Surely she 
must realize the danger he is in. Even now there are forces moving against the 
boy."

"Perhaps we should separate Tenchi from source of danger for the time being," D3 
said. "This could also help with the situation in regards to Lady Washu."

"How so?" Tokimi asked, her interest piqued by the idea.

"Lady Washu needs to be distracted from her current effort to break through the 
memory blocks that I placed in both Dr. Clay and Zero," D3 replied. "Such things 
have been arranged before.Perhaps we can initiate an event ourselves. Relying on 
human agents to do our bidding has thus far been unsuccessful."

"Perhaps you are right," Tokimi concurred. "This could be to our advantage in 
several ways. The removal of  Tenchi would certainly distract Washu. Also, we 
could more closely study the boy and his inablity to control the Light Hawk 
Wings. Perhaps even remedy the situation. It seems that he can manifest the 
Wings in times of extreme duress."

"If we were to manufacture such times of extreme duress...." D3 said.

"Yes, exactly," Tokimi said. "What type of event were you meaning?".

"My thoughts were to use a reality contruct," D3 told her.

"The idea has merit," Tokimi conceded. "However, there is the problem of seeing 
to it that Tenchi is transported to the reality construct."

"Simple, we'll use a dimensional interface. It will be simplicity itself to 
penetrate their local time-space," D3 told her.

The Lady Tokimi remained silent for a moment and pondered that statement. "Yes, 
that will  be just the thing."

"As you wish, my lady," D3 said. "I shall see to it."




Chapter One - Part A : Morning of the War




Arriving in kitchen Tenchi would have said that this morning was much like any 
other in the Masaki household. Sasami busy cooking. Ayeka busy setting up the 
table for the morning meal while muttering about an absent and presumeably still 
sleeping Ryoko. A sleepy Mihoshi acquiring her first cup of coffee and promptly 
dumping it on the floor. Washu  destractedly sipping her tea while typing away 
on her holographic computer. Ryo-ohki getting underfoot while trying to score 
yet another carrot.

"Morning, everyone," he said as he poured himself a cup of coffee. "That 
certainly smells delicious, Sasami. Of course, everything you make does."

"It'll be ready in a moment, Tenchi," Sasami replied. "Maybe someone should wake 
up Ryoko and tell her breakfast is ready."

"Hmmpphh," Ayeka snorted. "If she is too lazy to wake up at a decent hour then 
cold leftovers is just what that woman deserves."

Tenchi sighed. Yup, another normal day at the Masaki home. "I'll go wake her 
up," he volunteered.

"No! You mustn't!" Ayeka said loudly. Realizing everyone was now staring at her 
she blushed just the slightest bit. "That is, I meant to say that I will go wake 
her up myself."

"Now there's an idea guaranteed to have the house in a shambles," Washu 
muttered.

"What was that?" Ayeka said, turning her "don't piss with me" gaze on Washu.

"Oh, nothing at all," Washu said. "You know me. Busy with my scientific research 
and all. Too busy to pay attention to whatever it is that you're talking about. 
Say! I have an idea. Why don't you go wake up Ryoko?"

"When I came down this morning I noticed her sleeping on the couch," Mihoshi 
said to Ayeka.

Ayeka stared at Washu until the diminutive scientist broke eye contact and 
resumed doing whatever it was that the Number One Scientific Genius of the 
Universe did when working on her holographic computer. Satisfied, Ayeka did an 
about face and headed for the couch in the main room. "I bet that worthless 
space pirate won't even say "thank you" for the wake up call."

"With that attitude she sure won't," Washu observed after Ayeka was out of 
earshot.

Tenchi was really trying to enjoy the morning and so had studiously ignored both 
Washu and Ayeka. However, the sounds of Ayeka waking up Ryoko proved impossible 
to ignore.

"What the hell do you want?" came the voice of a now awake and angry Ryoko.

Washu grinned and kept typing on her computer.

"I'm waking you up for breakfast, you ungrateful barbarian!" Ayeka yelled and 
then stamped her foot in annoyance.

Tenchi rolled his eyes and finished the cup of coffee.

"Yeah, well I didn't ask you to!" Ryoko shot back. "Can't you see I'm trying to 
sleep!?"

"Fine! Sleep all day. See if I care!" Ayeka shouted. "I hope you miss every meal 
from now and starve to death!" 

Ayeka loudly stomped her way back to the table.

"That woman is impossible!" she snarled as she sat down next to Tenchi.

Several minutes later Sasami laid the morning meal out on the table. 

 Ayeka decided to put the unpleasantness behind her. "More coffee, Lord Tenchi?" 

"Um, sure. Thanks," he replied.

"And here's some orange juice," Ayeka said as she poured him a glass.

"Actually, I don't want...."

"Now, let's not be difficult," Ayeka replied. "Orange juice is an excellent 
source of Vitamin C. It's essential that you get enough, Lord Tenchi. I don't 
want you to get sick."

Tenchi resisted the impulse to roll his eyes. "You know what sounds good? A 
glass of orange juice. That's what." So saying he picked the glass and drained 
it.

"Good health is the key to happiness," Ayeka said as she sat down next to Tenchi 
and sipped daintily from her own glass. "Or at least that's what I've always 
heard." 

"You don't say," Mihoshi said. "I've always heard that ignorance is bliss."

"In that case, you must have cornered the market on bliss," Washu said under her 
breath.

Breakfast proceeded peacefully from there. Ayeka contentedly eating in her 
deliberate and methodical manner next to Tenchi while the chair on his other 
side remained empty. Mihoshi stared longingly at the chair from across the 
table. However, she made no move to fill the chair in question. She had learned 
a painful lesson as to what happened if Ryoko found someone sitting "her" chair 
next to Tenchi at mealtime. In fact, Mihoshi had recieved that lesson several 
times. So now she merely cast a longing gaze at the empty chair next to Tenchi.

Tenchi was aware of Ryoko's presence several moments before anyone else at the 
table due to an invisible hand running through his hair. Moments later another 
unseen hand joined in the fun. However, this hand strayed over his chest for a 
moment before taking a sharp turn to the south.

Acting on instinct, Tenchi made a grab for the empty air just above his crotch. 
And snagged Ryoko's wrist just as her hand was about to find it's goal.

"You're no fun at all," Ryoko complained as she finally made her morning 
appearence.

"Ryoko, how many times do I have to tell you not to do that?" Tenchi complained.

"Well, now that I'm up I'm really hungry," Ryoko said, settling into her chair. 
She hungrily eyed the food covering the table. "It all looks so good. I guess 
I'll just have to try it all."  She was as good as her word and quickly filled 
her plate to overflowing.

"Some people just have no concept of manners," Ayeka sniffed as she watched 
Ryoko stuff her mouth until she resembled nothing so much as she did a blue 
haired chipmunk. 

Ryoko had to settle for glaring at Ayeka as she heroically tried to swallow her 
mouthful of breakfast.

Ayeka sneered at Ryoko. "Perhaps it would be better if you always had your mouth 
full. It certainly is a pleasant change from your constant insults and 
boorishness. Not to mention the fact that your voice grates on the nerves like 
fingernails on a chalkboard."

"You're about to have a mouthful of fist!" Ryoko snapped as soon as her mouth 
was empty enough to talk. "Let's see what you sound like with a mouthful of 
broken teeth."

"You're certainly welcome to try, my dear," Ayeka said with a chuckle.

"I'll do more than just try," Ryoko said.

At this point Tenchi felt it necessary to try to head off the coming explosion. 
"Er, girls can't we all just eat in peace this morning?"

Ayeka turned to Tenchi and pointed at Ryoko. "Lord Tenchi, I am trying to be 
peaceful. Surely you can see that it's this blue haired monster woman who is the 
cause of all our distress."

"Um, well..."

On his other side Ryoko grabbed his arm and gave him her best "sad puppy dog 
look".  "See Tenchi? See how she always attacks me and says mean things to me?"

"I...um..."

"That's just like you. Always trying to twist things around," Ayeka said to 
Ryoko.

"I'M the one twisting things around?" Ryoko said incredulously. "Talk about the 
pot calling the kettle black."

"How dare you!" Ayeka snarled, her teeth clenched.

"Truth hurts, huh?" Ryoko taunted.

"The truth? You wouldn't know the truth if it walked up and bit you," Ayeka 
replied.

Ryoko held up her fist. "Something's gonna bite you alright but it ain't gonna 
be the truth."

Tenchi tried again. "Um... girls can we all ju-"

Both girls turned on him.

"Are you just going to stand there while this murderous space pirate disrupts 
the whole household?" Ayeka demanded.

"I... uh..."

"Tenchi, how can you take her side when it's obvious that she started it?" Ryoko 
asked, her gold eyes now wide with "innocence".

"Ha! Still, either way I will finish this," Ayeka said, standing up as the 
kitchen was suddenly filled with small logs.

Ryoko quickly jumped to her feet as her hands began to glow with intense energy. 
"Take your best shot," she said contemptously.

"Why do you two have to do this at the table!?" Tenchi wailed.

Washu's holo-computer vanished as she quickly got up from the table. "Now would 
be a good time for a strategic retreat."

Sasami looked back and forth between Ayeka and Ryoko as the two girls stared 
each other down. "But breakfast isn't even over yet. All that food will go to 
waste," she said mournfully.

"Little Washu is right, we should get while the getting is good," Tenchi said. 
He wasted no time, hoisting Sasami under his arm and making good his escape from 
the kitchen with Washu right behind him.

When they reached what Tenchi considered to be a safe distance from the house he 
stopped running and turned back to look at the house. 

"Hey, where's Mihoshi?" Sasami asked as Tenchi set her down.

Washu looked around. "Do you mean that bubblehead is still in the kitchen?"  She 
let out a sigh. "That girl really is hopeless. Well, if she wants to wants to be 
in the middle of a firefight that's her problem."

Right on cue they heard Ryoko scream and a moment later a massive fireball 
exploded out of the kitchen window.

Tenchi put his face in his hands. "Why me? That mess is going to take forever to 
fix."

"I just hope they're alright," Sasami said as she looked worriedly at the house.

"I'm more worried about Mihoshi," Washu said. "I'm sure that both Ayeka and 
Ryoko are fine. Of course, if something did happen to Mihoshi then my lab would 
be safe."

"Little Washu, how can you think such a thing?" said an outraged Tenchi.

"Just kidding!" Washu said hastily. "No need to get all upset. Besides, I'm sure 
Mihoshi is alright. She always is. You could shoot that girl into a black hole 
and she'd come out with no scratches."

"Already been done," Tenchi said.

"Exactly," Washu said.

Tenchi sighed heavily. "I still have to fix up the kitchen now."

"Weeeeell....maybe not," Washu said.

"No?" asked Tenchi hopefully.

"I could easily whip up some repair bots to do it," Washu told him. "It's 
easy... for the Greatest Scientific Genius of the Universe!"

"Thanks,  Little Washu. I really appreciate it," Tenchi said.

"Not so fast there, Tenchi," Washu said. "If I'm going to do you a favor then I 
think you should do me a favor as well."

"Sure, Little Washu, what is it?"

"There's a certain sample that I need from you, Tenchi," Washu answered.

Tenchi sighed and his shoulders slumped. "If anyone needs me I'll be in the 
kitchen working."

"But... don't you want to...?"

"Forget it, Little Washu," Tenchi said, cutting her off. "I don't need those 
repair bots that badly." He set off back to the house.

"What kind of sample were you talking about, Washu?" Sasami asked as she watched 
Tenchi walk away.

Washu blushed faintly. "Ummmm.... well just a sample. Like a blood sample. Only 
a bit different is all."

Sasami had a feeling that it was one of those subjects that she wasn't supposed 
to know about. "Oh," she replied and let the matter drop.



Ayeka and Ryoko stumbled out the door and into the yard while half heartedly 
brushing the soot from their clothes. They looked up to see Tenchi approaching 
them.

"I'm sorry, Tenchi," Ryoko said.

"Lord Tenchi, please forgi..." Ayeka said, trailing off as Tenchi pushed past 
them and continued walking to the house.

"Tenchi?"

"Lord Tenchi?"

Tenchi stopped and turned to face the two girls. "Who do you think is going to 
fix that mess? Everytime you two make a mess it seems like I'm the one who has 
to clean it up. I asked you not to start a war in the house but you two wouldn't 
listen."

"I'm so sorry, Tenchi. Let me help you with..."

"Yes, Lord Tenchi, I'll help you clean..."

Both girls went silent as Tenchi glared at them. "I think you've done enough 
damage for one day. I'm really not in the mood to look at either of you right 
now." He turned his back on them and walked away.

"I'd say he's pretty pissed," Ryoko said as she watched Tenchi walk away.

"Very much so," Ayeka agreed.

"No point in hanging out here looking like I fell down a chimney," Ryoko said 
and then faded from view.

"Off to drink sake till she passes out, I shouldn't wonder," Ayeka said as she 
looked at the spot where Ryoko had been moments before. "No use standing around 
covered in soot. May as well go get cleaned up in the onsen."





Mihoshi pushed the remains of the table off of her and stood up. "What 
happenened?" I sure hope it wasn't the shuttle again."

Looking around she noticed that there was no one in what was left of the 
kitchen. Then she noticed that she was holding the handle of her coffee mug, the 
mug itself being long gone. "I guess breakfast must be over." 





Ayeka slid the door aside and stepped into the onsen only to find that it was 
already occupied. She was greeted the familiar sight of spiky blue hair and the 
smell of sake.

Ayeka sighed and turned to leave. She really could use a nice relaxing hot soak 
but not at the expense of having to endure Ryoko's company.

"Too good to share the onsen with me, Princess?" Ryoko said without turning to 
look at Ayeka.

"Miss Ryoko, I think it best we avoid each other as much as possible," Ayeka 
said.

"C'mon on in," Ryoko urged. "The water's good and hot."

"Maybe later," Ayeka replied.

"I have sake," Ryoko said, waving a bottle at the princess. "Besides, we need to 
talk."

Ayeka turned back and slid into the water. She gulped down a large quantity of 
sake after Ryoko handed her the bottle.

"Whoa! Slow down, Princess," Ryoko said, watching Ayeka."You'll pass out if you 
keep that up."

"You wanted to talk, so talk," Ayeka replied.

"I want to talk about this morning," Ryoko said. "I think we went overboard this 
morning. I haven't seen Tenchi this pissed since the time I accidently ripped 
the sleeves off of that kimono that belonged to his mother."

"Yes, I don't recall Tenchi ever being quite so angry," Ayeka concurred. "In the 
future we really should avoid fighting inside the house. Of course, it wouldn't 
have happened if you hadn't been so hostile this morning."

"Oh, I see. It's always my fault," Ryoko grumbled.

"You bit my head off for trying to wake you up!" Ayeka snapped. "I was only 
trying to see to it that you didn't miss breakfast."

"I had a rough night," Ryoko said. "I didn't get much sleep."

"If you go to bed late then it's no one's fault but yours," Ayeka told her.

"I couldn't go to bed!"Ryoko yelled. "Washu had me locked up in her damn lab for 
half the night!"

"Whatever for?" Ayeka asked.

"She said something about needing to check Zero's memory," Ryoko answered.

"Well, she's had  Lord Tenchi tied up in her lab before and he's never 
complained about it," Ayeka said. "Or at least he didn't complain much."

"She also didn't tie him up and then leave him alone for half the night either," 
Ryoko retorted. "It was damn cold in there and she left me with only a tiny 
little shirt. And that's not to mention it was dark and lonely." Ryoko shivered 
despite the heat in the onsen.

"I see," Ayeka said. "I'm assuming you haven't confronted Washu about this yet."

"What good would it do?" Ryoko asked.

"Well, you didn't have a problem blowing up at me this morning even though I 
didn't do anything to you," Ayeka pointed out.

"I guess I just took it out on you because I'm more used to fighting with you," 
Ryoko told her. 

"That doesn't make it right," Ayeka replied.

"What? You want an apology?" Ryoko asked. "Fine. I'm sorry. Happy now?"

"Are you unwilling to confront Washu because she claims to be your mother?" 
Ayeka asked.

"I don't know, " Ryoko said softly. "I was getting to the point where I was 
almost getting used to thinking of her as my mother. But now...."

"Why not ask Tenchi to talk to her about this?" Ayeka asked. "I think he'd be 
upset if he knew about this."

"No, I don't want that," Ryoko replied. "I don't want him coming to my rescue 
yet again. Besides, right now would be a bad time to ask him for favors."

"I could confront Washu for you," Ayeka offered.

"You?" Ryoko said in disbelief.

"Ryoko, we are not close friends to be sure," Ayeka said. "But I don't hate you. 
Even if you think that I do. Nor do I believe that you hate me. At least I hope 
you don't."

"No, I don't hate you," Ryoko admitted.

"Lord Tenchi considers everyone that lives here to be family," Ayeka said. "As 
guests in his house we should try to remember that and act accordingly."

"Are you saying that you consider me to be family?" Ryoko asked with a chuckle.

"Tenchi does and that's what matters," Ayeka answered.

"I guess I could think of you as a pain in the ass relative," Ryoko said.

"That's very sweet of you," Ayeka said drily. "So we can agree to no more fights 
inside the house?"

"It's a deal,"Ryoko confirmed. "From now on we'll take our fights somewhere 
where there isn't much to damage. Like the carrot fields."

"That might upset Ryo-ohki," Ayeka pointed out.

"I think we'd be better off blowing up carrots rather than kitchens," Ryoko 
said.

Ayeka stood up and made her way out of the water.

"Leaving already, Ayeka?" Ryoko asked.

"If I soak any longer I'll start looking like a prune," Ayeka told her. 
"Besides, Tenchi should have cooled off by now. Perhaps now he'll allow me to 
help him."

"Perhaps he'll allow US to help him you mean," Ryoko said. "No way am I gonna 
let you do everything."





Tenchi looked at the pile of debris and sighed. Even though the amount of debris 
he had removed from the kitchen and piled in the yard was sizable there was 
still plenty left inside. His shoulders slumped when he thought of the actual 
repairs to be made. It would be a lot of work. A LOT of work.

He looked up to see both Ryoko and Ayeka approaching him.

Ayeka spoke up as the two girls stopped in front of Tenchi. "Lord Tenchi, please 
hear me out before telling us to leave. We are sorry for what we did. It won't 
happen again, I swear. Please let us help you clean this up."

Tenchi looked the girls for a moment. "I could use the help," he admitted. "Even 
with your help it will take forever to get this done. Not to mention that I have 
to work in the fields AND Grandfather expects me to train with him today."

"If you'd just give me that sample I want then you wouldn't have to worry about 
fixing the kitchen," Washu piped up from behind him.

"Sample? What sample? Ayeka and Ryoko asked.

"Er... just a sample," Washu said. "I told Tenchi that if he'd just give it to 
me that I'd fix the kitchen for him."

"What kind of sample?" Ryoko asked as she and Ayeka crowded Washu.

"Just a sperm sample," Washu said in a small voice.

"Miss Washu!" Ayeka said, outraged. "How dare you try to blackmail Tenchi in 
such a manner! And for a sperm sample even!"

"SPERM SAMPLE!?" Ryoko shouted, all but choking on her rage. She grabbed Washu 
by her jacket collar and yanked the short red-head's face up to her own. "Give 
me one good reason why I shouldn't shove you down the toilet and give it a good 
flush!"

"If you do then I won't be able to help Tenchi with the kitchen," Washu said 
calmly.

"You listen to me and listen good, "Mom"," Ryoko snarled. "There's no way you're 
getting a sperm sample from Tenchi."

"Miss Washu, this type of behaviour is beneath you," Ayeka said. "Lord Tenchi 
has generously allowed you to live in his house, patiently endured your poking 
and prodding him with your "examinations" and that's not to mention the fact 
that he rescued you from Kagato. Now you're attempting to twist his arm by 
withholding help you could easily give. That is shameful behaviour, Miss Washu."

"Of course I'm going to help Tenchi," Washu said as she rubbed the back of her 
head. "I was just joking about the sperm sample." She laughed nervously as 
Tenchi and the girls stared at her.

"It's settled then," Ayeka declared. "Washu will take care of the kitchen and we 
will see to the fields for you, Lord Tenchi. You can go to the shrine to meet 
your grandfather."

"Thanks, I really appreciate it," Tenchi said and then started out for the 
shrine.

After Tenchi was safely out of earshot Ayeka turned toWashu. She bent down until 
she was nose to nose with the small scientist. "We're going to have a long talk 
later, Miss Washu."

"Er, sure, whatever you say," Washu replied. "What about?"

"Manners," Ayeka told her. "Lately you've been showing a shocking lack of them."  
She turned to Ryoko. "Ready?"

Ryoko looked back and forth between Washu and Ayeka several times. "Whenever you 
are," she said, shrugging.






It was later that evening when Ayeka had her talk with Washu.

Washu was working on trying to find a way past Zero's memory blockage when she 
heard someone knocking on the door that lead to the Masaki home. "Come in," she 
called out. She turned the holo-computer off and stood up and stretched. She 
wasn't any closer to finding a solution than she was an hour earlier and she 
could use a distraction.

Ayeka opened the door and entered the lab. "I hope I haven't caught you at a bad 
time, Miss...er...Little Washu."

"Not at all, Miss Ayeka," Washu told her. "You're here to have a talk about 
manners I assume."

"Yes, that's right," Ayeka replied.

"Look, I already told you that I was just joking about the sperm sample," Washu 
said. "Besides, I already fixed the kitchen. What more do you want?"

"I'm not here about all that," Ayeka said. "Ryoko told me what you did to her 
last night."

"No need to thank me for that," Washu said.

"Thank you?!" Ayeka said, anger creeping into her voice. "I'm hardly here to 
thank you. What you did was irresponsible. Not to mention mean-spirited."

"You're upset because of what I did to Ryoko?" Washu asked, not quite able to 
believe her ears.

"Normally I wouldn't care that much," Ayeka admitted. "However, what you did 
ended up causing severe damage to the house as well as disrupting the smooth 
running of this household."

"Of course you are completely blameless," Washu said sarcastically.

"I admit that I am guilty as well, as is Ryoko," Ayeka admitted. "We talked 
about it and have agreed that it won't happen again."

"You two actually talked?" Washu asked, boggled by the idea of Ryoko and Ayeka 
talking to each other like calm rational adults.

"It is possible you know!" Ayeka snapped. "Anyways, I'm not here to discuss 
that. I'm here to tell you that what transpired last night in this lab had 
better never happen again. And if you've suddenly decided that everyone in this 
house is fair game for your "examinations" I will guarantee that there will be 
severe repercussions."

Washu scratched her chin. " I was thinking about examining Mihoshi," she said 
thoughtfully. "The only problem would be to make sure she didn't destroy the lab 
in the process.

"Washu..." Ayeka said with her teeth clenched.

"And the whole Sasami/Tsunami thing just begs to be investigated," Washu said as 
she tapped a finger on the bridge of her nose.

"WASHU!!" Ayeka screamed as she bent over so that she was face to face with 
Washu. "If I ever find out that you had Sasami tied up while she was wearing 
nothing more than a skimpy t-shirt  for one of your experiments you're going to 
have to use that incredible brainpower of yours to invent a way to breathe 
through a gaping hole in your throat!"

"Just joking," Washu said hastily, holding up her hands and backing away from 
Ayeka. "Of course I wouldn't touch Sasami."

Ayeka looked at Washu for a moment longer. "I can see there is no use trying to 
talk to you right now. Just remember what I said." With that she turned to 
leave.

"It's touching to see that you have a soft spot in your heart for my daughter," 
Washu said as she watched Ayeka walk away.

"I already told you, this isn't about Ryoko," Ayeka said,  stopping but not 
bothering to turn to look at Washu. "It's about keeping the chaos around here to 
a minimum."

"So, you're not concerned about Ryoko's well being at all then?" Washu asked, 
her tone clearly spelling out her disbelief.

"What do you care?" an obviously annoyed Ayeka asked in return.

"Ever since you characters brought me back from the Soja I've been curious as to 
why you and Ryoko feel it neccassary to fight over Tenchi," Washu said.

"It seems quite simple to me," an irritated crown princess said as she turned to 
face Washu. "Since we both want him but only one of us can have him conflict is 
unavoidable."

"Hmmmm.... I have to say that the Ladies Misaki and Funaho seem to get along 
famously," Washu said as she looked up at the ceiling of her lab.

Ayeka scowled at the seeming sudden change of converation topic. Sometimes Washu 
was impossibly cryptic. "What are you talking about?" she demanded.

Washu just gave her an evil sounding cackle. 

Ayeka's eyes widened moments later when she realized that Washu hadn't changed 
the subject at all. "NO! No possible way! Share Tenchi with Ryoko? With That 
Woman?! I'd sooner be dead."

"You're absolutely right," Washu told her. "Since your current strategy is so 
successful why would you want to consider switching tactics?"

"Miss Washu, the idea of sharing Tenchi with Ryoko is one that I find 
loathsome," Ayeka said. "I truly would prefer death."

"Are you saying my daughter is loathsome?" Washu asked, her voice low and her 
eyes narrowed dangerously.

"May I ask why we are even discussing this?" Ayeka asked, avoiding Washu's 
question. "I thought you wanted Tenchi for yourself."

Washu chuckled. "Oh, I like Tenchi well enough. I certainly wouldn't mind some 
good sack time with him. Too bad he's even more scared of me than he is of 
Ryoko. Nah, I just like seeing him blush. He's such a cutie when he gets all red 
in the face. And I get a real kick watching you and Ryoko when you two get all 
worked up."

Ayeka sighed. "This conversation is pointless. Even if I were of the mind to 
share Tenchi it wouldn't work. Neither Tenchi or Ryoko would allow such a thing. 
As a Juraian I am accustomed to the idea of polygamous marriage, however, Ryoko 
nor Tenchi have any such cultural predisposition."

"As if Ryoko gives a damn," Washu said with a laugh. "If tumbling Tenchi meant 
she had to take turns with a battalion of horny and desperate space amazons I 
doubt she would hesitate for even a second."

Ayeka silently agreed with Washu's assessment. She remembered the night when 
Ryoko had offered to let Ayeka "go first". Ryoko wasn't always easy to read and 
at the time Ayeka had assumed Ryoko was bluffing. However, she hadn't had the 
nerve to call Ryoko's bluff. Now she wasn't sure that Ryoko had been bluffing at 
all.  

"Even so, Tenchi would not allow it," Ayeka replied.

"Spare me, Princess," Washu said. "It's funny how you are quick to point out his 
alleged Earthling cultural bias against polygamous marriage but haven't a word 
to say about a much more certain cultural bias against marrying within the 
family."

"What do you mean?" asked Ayeka.

Washu gave her a look that plainly said, "idiot". "You are Lord Katsuhito's 
sister. That makes you Tenchi's great aunt. He is your grand nephew. I can 
assure you that Earthlings as a rule have a much MUCH stronger cultural bias 
against incestuous marriage than they do against polygamy."

Ayeka looked at the floor. She knew what Washu said to be true.

"Fortunately for you, Tenchi either doesn't care or the fact that you are his 
great aunt hasn't occured to him," Washu continued. 

"Why must everything always be so difficult?" Ayeka asked. The question was 
directed more to the universe at large than it was to Washu and the princess 
didn't expect an answer from the red headed scientist.

"I don't know," Washu told her. "I've been around for more than twenty thousand 
years and I still can't answer that. All I can tell you is, "This too shall 
pass"."

Ayeka looked up. "It's getting late. I should go." Again she made her way 
towards the door of Washu's lab.

"Ayeka!" Washu called out when Ayeka reached the door.

Ayeka turned around to face Washu. "Yes?"

"Let me ask you something. Just how has your constant fighting with Ryoko helped 
you get closer with Tenchi?"

Ayeka was silent for several moments. "Point taken," she finally responded.

"I know this goes against your grain as well as Ryoko's but don't you think you 
should try a different approach?" Washu asked. "You three don't need to be quite 
as miserable as you are. Besides, it's a pain in the backside with you and Ryoko 
knocking holes in the wall every other day."

"Why aren't you having this discussion with Ryoko?" Ayeka asked in return.

"Ryoko isn't someone who listens to reason," Washu answered. "And right now 
isn't a good time for me to try to approach her."

"I'll think on the matter," Ayeka promised. "Now, if you don't mind it's past 
time I went to bed. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Ayeka," Washu said as she watched the princess leave the lab.






Ayeka was in her bedroom preparing to go to bed when Ryoko floated through the 
wall and sat crosslegged in the air. 

"So, talked to Washu already?" Ryoko asked.

"Ryoko, I really wish you would knock at the door instead of just barging in," 
Ayeka said, irritated. "Yes, I talked to Washu."

"And?" prompted Ryoko.

"I don't think you have to worry about it again," Ayeka told her.

Ryoko gave the princess a long look. "Thanks, Ayeka. Maybe I should have talked 
to her myself but I was afraid if I did I might have done something that we'd 
both regret. And after this morning I don't want to cause any more damage around 
here. Tenchi would never forgive me."

"Washu said some things that are worth thinking about," Ayeka told the space 
pirate. 

"Such as?" Ryoko asked.

"We've been fighting over Tenchi pretty much since I came to Earth, haven't we?" 
Ayeka said.

Ryoko just nodded.

"How much closer are either of us to Tenchi than when I first arrived?"

Ryoko looked at the floor. "We aren't," she whispered.

"Only fools continue to use an approach that does not work," Ayeka said. "It's 
time for different tactics."

"Oh yeah?" Ryoko asked. "And what are those?"

"I've been thinking," Ayeka told her. "And here's my plan...."




Chapter One - Part B : The Dying Light


The man stood up from monitering scope he had been hunched over for the last 
several hours and stretched.

A man at another monitering scope nearby looked up and sighed. "Packing it in 
for the night, Marcus?"

Marcus rubbed his eyes. "Yeah, another fruitless night. It's the story of my 
life." He looked around the room. There dozens of scopes like the one he was 
standing in front of. All of them currently unattended. "Huh, we're the last 
ones here. I hadn't even noticed."

"Well, it is twenty four fifteen," Marcus's companion noted glancing at the wall 
clock.

"Too late to be here then. Damn, just looking at the clock is making me 
tired,"Marcus said. He grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair. "Aren't 
you going to go home too, Calydon?"

Calydon turned back to his scope. "Nah, I think I'll stick around for a while."

"You don't need to do that," Marcus told him. "Even if something does come up 
we'll have the tapes to review tomorrow."

"Which isn't as good as having someone on-site when an event happens," Calydon 
pointed out. "I know how important this is to you."

Marcus reached out and grasped Calydon's shoulder. "Thanks, you're a true 
friend. There's not too many of those around any more."

"Don't worry, you'll find what you're looking for,"Calydon said.

Marcus sighed in defeat. "No I won't. Time is running out."

"But the Institute...."

"The Institute will do what it's told to do," Marcus said, cutting the other man 
off. "Just as soon as it's funding is threatened this project will be shut down. 
You can take that to the bank."

Calydon looked away. "I'm sorry, we failed you."

"You have nothing to apologize for," Marcus replied. "The failure is mine and 
mine alone."

"But..."

Marcus cut him off. "If you don't mind I would like to drop it now. Goodnight, 
Calydon."

"Goodnight, Marcus," Calydon said as Marcus exited the room.





Marcus made his way across the Science Institute's campus to one of the outlying 
shuttleparks.  The shuttlepark was empty except for a lone jet black flitter. As 
he walked across the shuttlepark's smooth black surface he touched his wrist 
computer and the flitter's engines whined to life.  Another touch and the 
driver's side door slid open.

He was just about climb in when a voice spoke up from behind him.

"I thought you might be here."

Marcus sighed and turned around. "So, you couldn't resist showing up to gloat. 
Congratulations, Dr. Aurora," he said. 

Aurora shook her head, her long curly brown hair stirring in the gentle breeze. 
"Believe it or not, I'm not happy over the imminent demise of your project."

"Bullshit!" Marcus said bitterly. "You've been trying to shut me down ever since 
you became Director of the High Energies Lab."

"What do you expect me to do?" Aurora asked. "Your project is monopolizing our 
resources with nothing to show for it. And for what? What's the status of the 
project?"

"Unchanged," Marcus answered, looking away.

Aurora took a step closer to him. "Don't you see?" she asked softly. "This isn't 
the pursuit of science. It's an obsession with you now. Five hundred years of 
scouring the universe and you are no closer to finding the answer than when you 
first started. It's time you walked away."

"You don't understand!" Marcus shouted, slamming a fist against the side the 
flitter.

"I understand well enough," Aurora said. "I understand that you're throwing your 
life down a black hole. And have gained nothing for your troubles."

"I've sunk everything I have into this effort," Marcus told her. "I simply can't 
give up now. I just can't."

"You've run out of money, influential friends and political capital," Aurora 
pointed out. "What's next? A mortgage on the villa?"

"If that's what it takes," Marcus replied.

"Don't be stupid," Aurora said coldly. "The money won't even last a month."

"What do you want me to do? Just give up?"

"I want you to stop pissing your life away!" Aurora snapped. "Your project has 
scattered probes all over the universe at great cost to the Institute for a 
purpose that apparently only you know about. I'm tired of being out of the loop. 
What is so important that you'd go to this length to find it?"

"I've already told you...."

Aurora cut him off. "I'm sorry but the term "High Level Dimensional Reaction" is 
meaningless to me."

Marcus flipped the braid that hung down his back over his shoulder and tugged on 
it. "If you are quite finished with me, Madam Director, then I'd like to leave."

"Marcus, I'm not your enemy," Aurora said.

"Yeah, I've heard that one before," Marcus said with a bitter laugh as he 
climbed into the flitter's cockpit. "That's what Lord Arkady told me the first 
time he tried to cut my budget out of the appropriations bill."

"Marcus, I...."

"Goodnight, Director," Marcus said.

"Goodnight, Professor," Aurora returned.

Marcus closed the flitter door. Aurora stepped back as the flitter's engines 
ramped up for takeoff. With a blast of air that whipped Aurora's hair and 
clothes the flitter took to the night sky.




Aurora watched as the flitter banked and flew over the city before finally 
dissappearing into the night.

"What the hell does he expect from me?" she growled in frustration as she turned 
away.




Note: I have found out that starting a fic out with a "normal morning at the 
Masaki household" is something of a no-no in Tenchi fanfics because it is so 
overused. Well, too late now. Besides it sets up the rest of the chapter and it 
will be important in future chapters as well.