*********************************************************************** *************** I know, I know, another chapter, far too short. WHO CARES? I HAVE A LIFE TOO YOU KNOW! I AM NOT HERE TO WRITE FAN FICTION 24-7 FOR PEOPLE I DON'T EVEN KNOW! GEEZ! Oh, sorry. Lost my temper there. Anyways, I do not own Sailor Moon or Tenchi Muyo. Later! -The SoJ *********************************************************************** *************** Raye walked up the steps to the temple. She was going to see if she could get a job as a priestess there. She remembered her grandpa saying that his friend owned a small shrine in the mountains where she was. She also needed to get out of the house the others were renting. It only had about four bedrooms, one kitchen, one bathroom, and a living room. It was awfully crowded, but it was the only thing the girls could afford off of Haruka, Michiru, and Setsuna's salaries. Serena, Amy and Raye were in one room, Lita and Mina in another, Rini and Hotaru in what was practically a closet, and Haruka, Michiru, and Setsuna in the Master Bedroom. Raye and Serena had already been in about four fights, Rini had thrown a fit after she lost her suitcase, and Mina burned the soup she had made for dinner yesterday. Raye suddenly realized she had been climbing the steps for about five minutes. How- (pant)-many more- (cough)-steps- (sputter)-can there be? She thought. All of a sudden, the steps were gone! Before she realized it, she was lying facedown on the concrete at the top of the steps. "Ow," she moaned. *********************************************************************** *************** Raye felt herself being turned over. She opened her eyes to find herself staring into two large brown ones. She screamed. Whatever the eyes had belonged to had arms that had been supporting her, but when she screamed, they let her go. She dropped back to the concrete. "Raye?" asked the eyes. The face they were in came into focus. It was Tenchi, the boy Amy had introduced them to the other day. "Tenchi?" asked Raye. "What are you doing here?" they asked in unison. Raye stood up and smoothed her hair. "I'm looking for a job. Is the master of this shrine around?" she asked. "Uh, yeah! He's my grandpa," replied Tenchi. "I live here." Raye looked around. This is ironic. I see this guy in a vision, in school, and now at a temple. Too weird. thought Raye. Tenchi was thinking the very same thing. Suddenly, an old man came up the steps. "Can I help you Miss?" he asked kindly. "Yes, are you the keeper of this temple?" Raye asked. "Why, yes I am," the old man answered. "Listen, my name's Raye Hino. You know my grandfather, right?" she asked. "Hino, Hino," the old man pondered. Then his eyes lit up. "Short, bald man?" Raye nodded. "Yes, I remember now! I met him when I went to Tokyo on business. I remember him saying something about his granddaughter training to become a priestess," the old man explained. "Do you think you could give me a job working here? I've done everything. I can clean, help out visitors, and do pretty much anything else you can think of," she said. Geez, thought Tenchi. She's not short on self-confidence. "I believe I could give you a job," said the old man. "We have plenty of room down at the house." "Wait! Grandpa, you're not saying she's moving in are you? Don't we have enough people in the house?" Tenchi cried. "What are you talking about?" said Tenchi's grandfather. "The more the merrier. Now why don't you take Raye and find her a room. She can go back to her house later and get her things. You'll want to introduce her to the others too." "Great. Just great," muttered Tenchi. Raye heard him. "Well, excuse me! I didn't ask to move in with a bunch of people I don't know! I just wanted some money so me and my friends could buy a better house!" she cried indignantly. Tenchi looked at her. She was obviously mad. Her eyes were flashing and her hands were on her hips. Then Tenchi smiled. "What are you smirking at?" asked Raye. "Nothing. Come on, it's a long walk," Tenchi replied. *********************************************************************** *************** Tenchi and Raye reached Tenchi's house a short time later. Ryoko was on the porch waiting for him. "Hi!" she greeted, then looked questioningly at Raye. "Ryoko, this is Raye. She's a new priestess at the shrine," Tenchi explained. "A word of warning Raye, or whatever your name is. Stay away from Tenchi and the witch Aeka," warned Ryoko. "Yeah. But Ryoko I've got to show Raye around right now, okay?" Tenchi replied. "Just walk away," he whispered in Raye's ear. In the kitchen, a girl of about eight was cooking dinner. "Sasami, I want you to meet Raye. Raye, this is Sasami. She does most of the cooking and cleaning around here," Tenchi said. Raye looked at the girl. She was cute, and reminded her of Rini. "Hi Sasami," she said. "Hi! Are you moving in? What do you like for dinner? Do you like noodles, or fish, or carrots-" A small animal jumped on Sasami's shoulder at the word "carrots". Sasami and Tenchi laughed. "Not for you Ryo-Ohki!" Sasami giggled. Ryo-Ohki just then noticed Raye. She hissed like a cat might at first, but then she sniffed her. Ryo-Ohki began to purr. "What is she?" Raye asked. Ryo-Ohki looked like a rabbit, but made noises just like a cat. "We'll talk to Washu later and she'll explain," replied Tenchi. Raye didn't ask who Washu was. Tenchi led Raye out into the living room. There, a girl with long purple hair was watching TV. To Raye's surprise, to giant logs were hovering next to her. She looked questioningly at Tenchi. "Raye, this is Aeka," said Tenchi. "Oh! The one Ryoko told me about," Raye said. Just like Ryo- Ohki at the mention of carrots, Aeka turned around to face Raye at the name of Ryoko. "What did that no-good space pirate say about me? Wait, don't answer. Let me just tell you, whatever is was, it was a lie. Ryoko! This is no way to treat a princess!" Aeka cried, and ran off to find Ryoko. Raye gulped when they mentioned princess. They didn't know about her, did they? "You see, Ryoko is an ex-space pirate, and Aeka is the Crown Princess of Jurai. Sasami is a princess too," Tenchi explained. Raye sighed with relief, then processed what Tenchi just said. "Wait, where the heck is Jurai? And what do you mean by space pirates and princesses?" Raye questioned. Tenchi slapped himself in the head. He'd said too much. "Never mind," he said. "I'll explain later." Suddenly, two young women about Haruka's age came bursting through the door. "SorryTenchigottagowho'syourfriendbye!" the cried quickly, then they were gone. Tenchi rolled his eyes. "Do I want to know?" asked Raye. "Galaxy Police officers. Kiyone and Mihoshi. You'll meet them later," explained Tenchi. He walked to a door. "This is your room Raye." He opened the door. It was larger than the one she shared with Serena and Amy. There was a large window overlooking the lake. She turned to Tenchi. "Thanks! It's way better than the room at the house I live in now," she said. "Why don't you invite your friends over for dinner tonight? They can help you move your stuff in, and we can get to know each other better," suggested Tenchi. "That's a great idea!" said Raye. Maybe this won't be half bad thought Raye. She looked at Tenchi. He practically read her mind.