Tenchi Muyo! is owned by AIC Pioneer, I am merely using them for my own amusement, so don't sue me. I am just a student and have enough trouble just paying for the tapes to expand my anime collection. ^_^ ' ' : thinking " " : speaking Chapter 7: The Joyous Day Yosho woke with a sense of anticipation. Maybe today would be the day. Seeing that there were a few hours still before the sunrise, he decided to take a quick run down to the onsen. While there, he washed his hair and body, and dried briskly with a large, soft towel. After carefully combing his hair, he bound it back into his usual tail, then walked back out into the crisp scented morning. The trek up into the mountains was a pleasant one, and he heard the birds begin to wake up as he strode through the damp, waving grass. In a rather peculiar humor as he ascended the cliff, when he reached the edge, he sat down on it and dangled his feet over the valley below. He felt like a young boy sitting in a chair too large for him as he waited. He found himself smiling gently as he regarded the peaceful valley below, then, yawning, he lay back on the grass to watch the clouds race by overhead. As the bird song rose into an almost deafening chorus, he realized that it was almost time and he stood once again. A small sliver of the sun appeared quickly over the horizon and the light it shed rushed towards him, dispelling the lingering shadows. He held his breath as more and more of the sun rose, and the sky began to fill with a tapestry of rainbow color. Then it was up and the magical sunrise faded into the general warmth of the fragrant morning. Yosho was confused, he had been so sure. (Earlier) "I am going." "But...but..." "No arguments father, he is waiting for me and I am going." Kyokki said firmly. Through the window she was watching Katsuhito on the mountain, his face turned expectantly towards the rising sun. She felt totally revived, and she knew her father was only protesting because he wanted to keep her there longer. She ran her fingers through her hair and smoothed her eyebrows. "How do I look?" "Marvelous, like always. But I do wish you would stay just a bit longer." He protested, a downcast look on his face. "You can come with me, you know." She told him gently. Tentousama hesitated. "Not yet, but I will have to, soon." Kyokki's eyebrows lifted, "Oh, and why is that?" "Well, you would not have just anyone perform the marriage ceremony, would you?" "Oh, father." Kyokki cried delightedly. She rushed up to him and put her arms around his neck. "Of course I would not." She kissed his cheek. "All right, if you insist on going, I will show you a present I got you. But, you can't have it yet." Kyokki pouted dramatically and Tentousama tapped her outthrust lower lip with one finger. "Now, none of that, missy." He chided. Then he reached out and pulled her present from the air. "Oh, father." Kyokki said once again, this time tearfully. Then she looked back at the window, and her eyes grew wide. "The sun is up, I have to go." Tentousama nodded and they shared a last, long embrace. Then she vanished from the house. (Earth) Kyokki rematerialized hovering in the air. She looked down and saw that she was behind the despondent looking Yosho. She floated to him, and after a moment decided to use a technique she had seen Ryoko use on Tenchi on a number of occasions. Smiling wickedly, she came up behind the unsuspecting man and glomped onto him. Yosho was just giving into despair when suddenly something pounced on him from behind, and he turned swiftly to find a familiar face staring back at him, the blue eyes filled with joy and love. "Surprise." She said. Yosho, overcome by the violent mood swings, fainted. Kyokki looked down at him in exasperation. "It must be hereditary." Then she laughed and knelt down to gather him to her. Yosho heard a voice calling to him. "Katsuhito, Katsuhito, wake up now." He felt someone shake him lightly, "Wake up." He opened his eyes, then closed them, then opened them again. He couldn't be sure if he were imagining things. The face looking down at him was faintly amused. He reached up to touch it, cupping the smooth cheek in his hand. Kyokki moved her head into the touch, smiling gently. "You're really here." Yosho said. Kyokki nodded. He sat up, a bit woozily. "I'm not imagining things." Kyokki shook her head, smiling brightly, though her eyes filled with tears. "I will never leave you." She assured him a bit shakily. Yosho reached out and enfolded her in his arms, hugging her tightly to him. She buried her head in his strong chest for a moment, then looked back up at him. "I love you." She said. "I love you, with all my soul." Then he kissed her. All doubt fled as their mouths touched and she eagerly responded when he deepened the kiss. Suddenly she giggled. "Your mustache tickles." She said into his mouth. He broke the kiss and leaned back. He removed his glasses. "There...there's something I need to tell you." He said nervously. "No one else knows." "That this is not your true appearance." Kyokki finished. "I already knew. But it does not matter." She placed a delicate finger on his chest. "It is what is in here that counts." Yosho was shocked. "But...but how did you know?" "My father showed me. I had some suspicions before, though." "Why?" He said curiously, " No one has ever seen through my disguise, except my mother." He conceded. "As to how I could tell." She thought a moment, "It was your eyes, they were not the eyes of an old man. Plus the way you moved. When men age, they get slower, they stoop a little bit. You do not. But mostly, it was the way you made me feel every time you looked at me, every time you touched me, you set me afire." "I did?" "Yes, you did." She touched his face. "It is not the face, it is the man inside it." Yosho looked at her for a moment, then concentrated. Underneath Kyokki's hand the skin smoothed and grew soft, the hollows of his face filled out. And his hands became stronger and suppler. "I need to be this man when I am with you. You may say it is the man, but looking the way I did before, I felt like a lecher." His voice was softer, younger. He sounded remarkably like Tenchi. Kyokki laughed delightedly. "I like them both. But will you keep this one around the others?" She asked curiously. "I don't think so, not yet, and I don't want to hurt Ayeka, we were betrothed once. She is my sister." He told her. A number of things clicked together in Kyokki's mind at that admission. He was Ayeka's brother; that meant. "You are Prince Yosho!" She exclaimed suddenly. "Yes, I am. But how did you know that?" Yosho's eyebrows lifted. "I knew..." Yosho cut her off with a kiss. "Why don't you tell me later." He said softly. They made love in silence underneath the patient sky, their only sounds the soft slap of flesh meeting flesh. Energy surrounded the lovers as their emotions unleashed and flashed into the sky, as bright as a star. They lay together, exhausted, when it was over. Kyokki snuggled her face into the space between his shoulder and cheek and sleepily murmured, "I love you, Yosho." She brushed her fingers through a few strands of the long dark hair that had escaped from his ponytail and smiled. Yosho moved around until he was lying on the ground and Kyokki was lying comfortably against his chest. He smoothed his fingers across her cheek, "I love you too, Kyokki." Then they both fell asleep under the furiously blushing sky. Back at the house Washu was looking curiously heavenward. "Now that's something you don't see everyday." She muttered. (Later) The sun shone down, warming the couple that was still entwined in each other's arms. The birds sang questioningly as they flew through the empty forest, chirping about the sky, and seeds, and nests. The scent of crushed grasses filled the air with its sweet and tangy perfume. Yosho awoke first, and half sitting propped on one elbow, he reached down to brush a few tendrils of coppery hair out of his beloved's face. As he watched her, so peaceful in slumber, he thought about all that had occurred in his life from the time he had first sighted this small blue and green planet from the bridge of his ship. He had found love and lost it and now, he had found it again. After all his years of watching those he cared about first grow old and fade from existence, then more slowly from memory, he had found someone who would never leave him. He could spend eternity with this woman. He smiled down at her. Kyokki woke and opened her eyes to see Yosho's face, framed by the sun behind him, making his outline glow with radiance, smiling down at her. She grinned happily and stretched out upon the grass. They exchanged a long and joyous caress. Then Yosho spoke, "I think that the others will be looking for me soon. Perhaps we should get dressed and go to meet them. They will be so happy to see you." He paused, "But not as happy as I am." Kyokki touched his face warmly with one hand, and then slid it around to the back of his neck to pull his face down for another kiss. When they finally came apart, gasping for air, she said. "We do not want to get distracted," she smiled whimsically at him and, standing, he laughed. He reached down a hand to help her up, and she rose gracefully to stand beside him. They locked eyes for a moment. "Not get distracted." Yosho muttered, and Kyokki laughed once again before going to retrieve her dress. Yosho turned in search of his own garments, which were strewn, quite liberally, across the hilltop. He turned back to find her sliding her gown on over her sleek body. "You know, as wonderful as your body is," he stated, "I think you might want to wear something more concealing. Otherwise, it'll take Tenchi a week to recover from the shock." "I have noticed that your family is prone to fainting spells," she noted, looking down at herself appraisingly. Then she reluctantly slid the dress back off, much to the delight of the man watching her. She folded it and set it to the side. Then she stood on her tiptoes and stretched her arms to the sky. A ray of light fell on her then became a tapestry of twisting, shifting color that bathed her from head to foot. Her hair tossed in the force of the light. When the colors dissipated Yosho was startled to find her wearing traditional robes of Jurai, white, embroidered with golden trees and leaves. Her hair was bound low, almost to her ankles, and two gold barrettes held a few locks of the hair that cascaded down over her shoulders. "Wow." Was all Yosho could say for a moment. Then he asked, "How do you know the traditional costume of my home planet?" Kyokki looked at him for a few moments, her face pensive. "Get dressed first, Yosho. Then, as we walk back, I will tell you a story." "Yes, dear." He agreed impudently. Then he dressed quickly, replacing his glasses and rebinding his hair when he was done. He turned to her. "Are you not forgetting something?" Kyokki asked. She took his hand and held it up, it still had the appearance of a young man's hand. Yosho lifted his other hand to touch the middle of his forehead, and he shifted back into his disguise. Kyokki did not relinquish his hand as she reached up and kissed him. "Should I call you Katsuhito again?" "No, they all know that I am Yosho. They just don't know anything about my appearance." He smiled down at her. "Besides, I like the way it sounds when you say it." "Yosho." She said, long and soft. "Let us go. I will now tell you of how I know Jurai." They started to walk, hand in hand, down off of the verdant cliff. "Many, many years ago, when the colonization of this planet was still new, a man approached me. He had heard the stories about me, and that is how he knew he could trust me with his secret." She paused. "What secret was that?" Yosho asked curiously. "That he was not an earthling. You know, back in those days, they did not even know other planets existed. The people would have been frightened of him, may have thought him a demon. He was curious about me, about my powers. I did not tell him much about myself, really, but after a time he confided in me. He told me that he was there to make sure that the colonization of the planet had taken hold. Then he told me that he was the king of Jurai. His name was Azusa." She stopped walking for a moment, and Yosho paused with her. "Anyway, my father had told me about Jurai, and how it had come to colonize Earth, but you probably already know why, do you not?" Yosho thought for a moment, "Yes, I think so. I remember my father saying that they had hoped to establish the culture of Jurai on other planets in order to increase the security of the empire." He frowned, "but you know, the funny thing is I never found a trace of the original colony. I know it was here, because of the costumes and language, but whatever happened to it? Do you know?" Kyokki smiled at him fondly. "Yes, I do know. The site of the colony of the original settlers was built on a continent that disappeared long ago. When it was destroyed all memory of Jurai was destroyed with it." "What continent was that?" "You may have heard of it, it was called Atlantis. And contrary to popular belief, it was located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Which explains why the culture of Japan is so close to that of Jurai." "Astonishing." He said absently. Kyokki pinched him playfully. "Now let me continue with my story. Where was I?" She said thoughtfully. "Oh, yes." She continued. "The explanation that have gave me was true, as far as it went, but that was not the whole truth behind his coming. He wanted to seek a wife among the people. My clan was the most powerful at that time, mostly because I was shaman, but the headman was also a strong and intelligent ruler. He had a daughter whom I was particularly close to, because she was my acolyte. Her name was Funaho." "Mother?" Yosho exclaimed. Kyokki nodded. "She was intelligent and beautiful, and very refined. The moment Azusa saw her I knew that his search was over." She laughed, "It was funny, the way he reacted when he first laid eyes on her. He went red, then pale, then red again. And she was in no better state. It was truly love at first sight." She squeezed his hand. "I introduced him as the son of a chief who was on a journey. This made my headsman happy, for he was a wise man, and he knew he had already lost his daughter to this mysterious stranger. This way she would not lose status. That night Funaho came to me and told me that he had asked her to go away with him. I was a little surprised at the haste, but not too much. I gave her my blessing. Then she left my house, her eyes glowing with happiness and a spring in her step. The next morning they were both gone." Her eyes were sad. She was thinking of the pain of her headsman having lost his only daughter. "When I first left Earth several centuries after, my destination was Jurai. I found Funaho every inch the queen, though the burdens of being on a foreign planet weighed heavily on her. She told me that she was happy and that she had a son, Yosho. She introduced me to Misaki. You must have been away on a long business trip, for I stayed several years, and during my stay Ayeka was born, she was a beautiful baby. I learned Jurian customs and ways and I was content. But one day I decided that I wanted to see more of the universe. Your mother was sad, for we had grown ever closer during my stay. But she resigned herself to my leaving. The morning that I left she came to me, and gave me this gown." She indicated the dress she held clasped to her with her free hand. "Then told me that I was now her sister and anytime I came to visit her I would be welcome. I journeyed for a long time before coming back home." "And you miss her." Yosho said wisely. Kyokki nodded through tear-filled eyes. "She was the only one that I knew would not fade and die before I turned around twice. That was one of the reasons I left the earth, I could not stand to see another of my loved ones grow old before my eyes. I was her link to the planet of her birth. Our love for each other goes beyond that of sisters." Yosho was startled that she had echoed his earlier thoughts so closely, they were two of a kind it seemed, and suddenly he was overwhelmed once again with love for this woman. He stopped her and turned her to face him, then lowered his face to hers in a fervent kiss, letting all his love flow through her. They stood like that for a long moment when suddenly they heard footsteps charging up the stairs. With a regretful glance, they parted as Tenchi burst into view. "Hey everybody, I've found him." He called out. Then he looked more closely. "And her," he added softly. "Good afternoon, Tenchi."