Ep 8 – True Friends

I'm Russell Piper, and what you're about to read is my first real 
attempt at a fanfiction.  It's based around Tenchi Universe (Tenchi 
TV) and the OVA so most of the main characters you've seen from 
there will appear here as well.  It also crosses a bit with Dragonball 
Z with the existence of Dragonballs and immensely powerful 
warriors.  Ryoko and Tenchi had finally chosen to be together, and 
Aeka is still living at the house for now.  You'll see when it 
happens.  Anyway, I'll stop flapping my yap and let you get right 
to the story.  Enjoy!  Send all hate mail / fan mail to 
russael@mediaone.net.

*Note: the song titles that I use here are typical MP3 filenames that 
you can find on Napster or FTP servers.  If you want to hear what 
Russ is playing on his stereo or on the organ, you can look these 
things up and download them, so you can play them back and 
listen to it for yourselves.  Russ only will compose music out of 
Tenchi Muyo (all series), so the characters will now be aware of 
the music.  Kind of neat, eh? ?

*Note2: New website going up for the Tenchi fans!  Visit it at
http://russael.cjb.net  The fanfic will be posted there too.

	"Where on earth are we going to put something like that?" 
Aeka asked, as she checked out the new addition to the household.  
She touched the gleaming white keys and the many buttons all 
over the console, admiring the craftsmanship of the organ.
	"Well, I figured we'd put it in the living room, kiddy-
cornered by the glass door, by the stairs.  There's an outlet over 
there, and it's really a good spot for it," he answered.  "I just need 
someone to help me carry it in."
	"I'll be glad to help," Russ said, reaching into the van, 
lifting an end of the organ as if it were a piece of foil, and pulling it 
part way out.  "Anyway, who's the musician here?"
	"Well, it's something I've always wanted to get into, and 
I thought of possibly getting Tenchi involved in playing music as 
well.  I got a great deal on this thing, which is why I bought it.  
I've been saving up for one for a long time."
	"How much did you pay for it?" Aeka said, still staring at 
the instrument.
	Nobuyuki laughed nervously.  "I paid five hundred eighty 
five thousand yen for this thing," he said, eliciting a facefault from 
everybody within earshot, except for Russ.  "I got it seventy five 
percent off the normal price because it's an older model, and it was 
returned for some reason.  Aside from the scuff marks, its in 
perfect shape!"
	Aeka furrowed her eyebrows together and started hard at 
Nobuyuki.  "You paid that much money… for THIS?" she said, 
her arms trembling.  "We always thought you were broke!  How 
dare you keep this kind of secret from us!"
	Glancing over at her, Russ got a little angry.  "Hey, it's 
his money, and he can do as he pleases with it.  He said he was 
saving for this for a long time, and he finally got a great deal on 
one," he said, causing Aeka to soften up slightly.  "It's none of our 
business what he does with his money.  He earned it, and he can 
spend it as he pleases."  Russ turned completely toward Aeka, still 
holding the end of the organ.  "He does pay for all the expenses 
here, so we've got no room to talk, okay?"
	Aeka and Sasami looked taken aback, and then she hung 
her head.  "I'm sorry, Nobuyuki.  I didn't mean anything.  I'm just 
surprised you spent that much money on this."
	Nobuyuki looked back and forth between Russ' glare and 
Aeka's shame.  Slowly walking to Aeka, he put his arm around her 
shoulder.  "Don't worry about it.  I can see why you're concerned, 
but I've had this money set aside for a long time, and we don't 
have any financial difficulties, and I don't see any in the future."  
He squeezed her shoulder and looked into her downcast face.  
"Please don't fret over it.  And besides, it cost way less than I had 
anticipated, so I still have a lot of money left over."
	Noticing her melancholy appearance, Russ started feeling 
bad as well.  "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, but it 
drives me crazy when other people tell others what to do with their 
money or how to spend it."  Russ lifted the entire organ off the 
van's floor and held it awkwardly from the backside, trying to 
balance it somewhere in the middle of his hand while supporting 
the top part of it with his other hand.  Several cracking noises came 
from the wood, but it held together just fine.  "Well, let's get this 
thing inside.  Oh, Sasami?"
	"Yes?"  She looked up from admiring all the buttons and 
the keys on the console.
	"Could you get the bench and help us carry that in?"
	"Sure thing, and then I'll start on lunch," she said, 
smiling.
	"Great.  Thank you.  Nobuyuki?"
	"I've got the foot pedals.  Just carry that inside and set it 
down where I told you," he said, releasing Aeka, who was now in a 
slightly better mood, as she watched Russ play a balancing act with 
the oversized organ.  She giggled softly, as he nearly lost his 
balance with the thing, and then moved over to him and helped 
steady it.
	"Thanks, but I've got it," Russ said quietly, as he 
continued to walk toward the living room.
	"Don't worry about it.  I don't mind at all," she said, as 
Sasami, Ryo-Ohki, and Nobuyuki followed, carrying the foot 
pedals and the bench.

	The living room was deserted, except for Ryoko, who was 
attempting to fall asleep in her usual place on the beam, despite the 
scorching heat up near the ceiling.  Tenchi had left to go work at 
the field and gather more carrots, and Washu remained in her lab.  
Kiyone and Mihoshi had gone into the onsen to soak and talk about 
moving out, and once again live on their own.
	Aeka slid open the door, and Russ carefully maneuvered 
himself through it, trying to fit him and the organ through, and 
trying to keep from banging the thing into the door.  Ryoko sat up 
and looked down, puzzled at what was coming inside.  She silently 
slid off the beam and onto the floor, and watched Russ and Aeka 
carry the organ over to the designated corner, and set it down.  
Nobuyuki and Sasami came inside, and set down their items.  Russ 
lifted up the foot pedals and connected them to the organ, then 
placed the bench in its place in front.  Sasami smiled and bowed, 
and hurried off into the kitchen.  Russ reached behind the organ, 
grabbing the cord, and plugged it in.
	The organ itself was very large.  Having nearly eighty 
pushbuttons, two keyboards, the foot pedals, and even piano foot 
pedals, it was one of the most awesome organs Russ had ever seen.  
Everybody looked it over up and down, admiring the gleaming 
white keys and the glossy black keys, the LCD screen in the 
middle of the console, and the cherry oak rack that held the sheet 
music.  Off to the left side, there was another console, labeled 
'MIDI Computer,' and that had a floppy drive mounted right inside 
the cabinet.  There were dozens of sections for the pushbuttons.  
Rhythms, instruments, drum sets, and many other features that told 
Russ that Nobuyuki should've spent well over two million yen for 
this thing.  He wiped off his brow and did his best to contain his 
excitement, since music was one of the things that brought him 
joy, aside from fighting.  Having played the organ in the past, and 
was really good at it, this was a perfect opportunity to show off 
another trait that was unusual for a Saiyan to have.  Drawing on his 
knowledge of personal computers and his knowledge for music, he 
knew that this organ was the next best thing to a one man band, 
complete with drums, guitars, and many, many other instruments 
to choose from.  This was a good opportunity for him to compose a 
few pieces that were swimming around in his mind.
	Russ turned toward Nobuyuki.  "Think you can play 
something for us?  Give this thing a test drive?"
	Nobuyuki smiled and scratched the back of his head, but 
he sat down, cracking his knuckles, and then turned the organ on.  
Dozens of little red lights flashed to life on the console, and the 
LCD screen displayed which instrument was selected for each 
keyboard, including the foot pedals.  It was currently selected for 
Piano for both keyboards, and nothing for the foot pedals, except 
for the ones that were designated piano playing.  "Is there anything 
in particular you'd like to hear?"
	"I don't know, just play something you're comfortable 
with," Russ said, as he took a seat on the couch.  Ryoko, Aeka, and 
Ryo-Ohki all joined him.
	Nobuyuki began to play 'Michael, Row the Boat Ashore,' 
and doing a really poor job of it.  Everybody within earshot heard 
the noise, and all started to perspire, but Nobuyuki was even more 
stressed out, as they could see his shirt becoming damp.  A few 
minutes later, he finished, and everybody applauded politely, even 
though the music he played was a disaster.
	"I'm a little out of practice," Nobuyuki said, laughing 
nervously.  "Can any of you play?"
	Russ stood up and made his way over to the organ, as 
Nobuyuki slid off the bench.  "I'm okay at it.  What would you like 
to hear?  Any requests?"
	"No, nothing in particular.  Play whatever you feel like."
	"You sure?  Aeka?  Anything you'd like to hear?"
	She shook her head and smiled.  "Play anything you 
want."
	Russ thought a moment, and began to press the keys 
rapidly, playing Beethoven's Fifth Symphony.  Everybody in 
earshot stopped and froze in surprise, and then made their way 
over beside Russ, as they watched his hands fly over the top 
keyboard, transfixed at the music he was creating.
	Sasami came out of the kitchen and stared with her mouth 
agape, which quickly became a smile as she moved over next to 
Russ, watching him play.
	Aeka's eyes widened as her hand went over her mouth 
when she gasped, and she slowly stood up from her seat and stood 
next to Sasami in awe, as she watched Russ' hands skillfully and 
swiftly fly over the keys, producing an amazingly beautiful song.
	Even Ryoko watched, amazed that a clunky instrument 
could produce such amazing sound.  She watched as Russ moved 
with the music, his upper body swinging from side to side, and his 
gaze was a mask of concentration, as his hands struck the keys, 
gently but swiftly.
	A few minutes later, he finished, taking a deep sigh, as a 
big round of applause erupted behind him, causing him to jump 
slightly and blush.  He stood up and bowed, a huge smile creasing 
his face and giving him small dimples.
	Nobuyuki came up to him and slapped him on the back.  
"Well, at least someone can take advantage of this thing.  I'm glad 
it was money well spent."
	"I thought you said you were decent, Russ.  I think you're 
better than you're leading on," Aeka had said, smiling up at him.
	"Nice thing about this organ is it can play all the 
instruments to a song.  I can create songs on here that have a full 
orchestra behind it, if I wanted to.  However, it requires me to 
replay the song a lot of times, once for each instrument.  I can do 
more than one at once, but it's difficult.  The fewer instruments, 
the easier it is, but the more plain it sounds.  I'll be happy to 
demonstrate," he said, as he looked over the organ.  "Say, you 
didn't happen to get any floppy disks, did you?  You can actually 
save the music you play onto one and play it back later."
	Nobuyuki reached into his pocket and produced a box of 
ten disks, and handed them over to Russ.
	"Ahhh, excellent."  Russ looked around the room.  "You 
wouldn't happen to have a pair of headphones too, would you?  It 
sounds really weird when I start a song, but once I finish it, I'll 
play it back for you."  Russ took a seat on the bench again.
	"Sure," Nobuyuki said, walking over to the TV stand and 
producing a pair of earmuff style headphones from one of the 
enclosures.  "Are these good enough?"
	"Oh yeah.  Those are perfect," he said, accepting the 
headphones and plugging them in.  He touched a few of the keys, 
confirming that the sound only played from the headphones.  
"Well, I'll do a quick song, and then I'll play it back once I'm 
finished.  Sound good?"
	"Okay, just let us know when you're done!"
	"It'll be a few hours, so if you have something important 
to do, go ahead and do it."
	Sasami returned to the kitchen with Ryo-Ohki perched on 
top of her head, as Ryoko and Aeka returned to their seats on the 
couch, flipping on the TV and turning it to a soap opera.  Russ 
cringed when he saw what they put on, and quickly turned away 
and put on the headphones to drown out the sappy rubbish they 
were watching.  Nobuyuki made his way up the stairs to his room, 
where he was planning on watching a little TV, deciding to relax 
for his one, solitary day off.
	Turning his attention back to the organ, Russ cleared out 
all the memory banks on the midi computer, deciding if there was 
anything there it wasn't worth listening to.  Selecting his first 
instrument and rhythm, he hit the record button on the computer, 
and began to play.
	Aeka and Ryoko both turned toward Russ, hearing the 
soft clunking of the keys, as he pressed them in time with the 
rhythm he had selected.  Grabbing the remote, Ryoko turned up the 
volume to the TV a little more, while they both watched one of 
their favorite programs.

	Over two hours after Russ began playing, he finished the 
song, and took in a deep breath, wiping the sweat off his brow.  
Sasami had brought him a cold glass of ice water, and sat it down 
on a small table that she placed next to him, nearly an hour ago.  
She also invited him for lunch, but Russ never noticed her, 
devoting his full concentration to the creation of the music.  He 
removed the headphones, which more or less peeled themselves off 
of his ears.
	It must've been a hundred degrees inside the house, and 
Russ felt even more uncomfortable from concentrating so hard, 
however, he felt that it was worth it.  Looking around the room, he 
totally forgot that Sasami had prepared lunch.  He noticed that 
Sasami was no longer in the kitchen, but was outside playing with 
Ryo-Ohki.  Aeka was lying on the couch, silently watching Russ, 
as he turned his gaze toward her and smiled.
	"I'm done," he said.  "Would you like to hear it?"
	Aeka slowly sat up and nodded.
	"Okay.  Here we go.  Keep your fingers crossed.  I played 
every instrument except for the piano.  I'll do that now and record 
it, as it's playing," he said, as he hit the play and record buttons on 
the computer.  He adjusted the volume to a medium level, waited a 
few moments, and then the song began.
	The sound of thunder rumbled through the sound system, 
and Russ used some weird effect on it, in a steady rhythm.  Sounds 
of raindrops also were discernable.  A moment later, a light bass 
instrument came though the speakers, vibrating the floor slightly, 
along with another electronic instrument.  Russ then began playing 
the piano portion and making it echo, in perfect time with the 
rhythm he had set up on his own.  As the song progressed, more 
and more instruments joined in the piece.
	Aeka sat and listened, in total amazement at what he had 
done.  A slow smile spread across her lips, as she sat back on the 
couch, listening to the music increase in tempo and then go into 
full force.  Nobuyuki came down the stairs, Sasami came inside, 
Ryoko and Tenchi both came out of the kitchen, Kiyone and 
Mihoshi followed Nobuyuki, and Washu happened to come out of 
her lab.  All of them walked into the living room at once and 
stopped, almost as if drawn in by the sound of music, as Russ 
continued to play the piano portion of the song.
	About seven minutes later, he faded the song out and 
stopped the midi computer from recording, letting out a deep 
breath, as a roar of applause erupted behind him.  He whirled 
around and saw everybody standing there, clapping his or her 
hands.  Everybody smiled, and continued applauding, as Russ 
blushed a deep scarlet, in complete embarrassment.
	Russ finally slid off the bench and stood up, waving his 
hands around.  "Oh, stop it.  I'm not that good.  He then bowed.  "I 
take it you guys enjoyed that?"
	"I'm glad I got that organ now.  I'm so happy that 
someone here can use it to its full potential," Nobuyuki said, as he 
slapped Russ on the back.
	"Thanks," he replied, shyly.  "The name of that song was 
called Children, and it was originally composed and done by 
Robert Miles.  That was the Dreamland version.  He was one of 
my favorite New Age Jazz musicians," he explained, and thought a 
moment.  "As a matter of fact, I think he was the reason I bought 
my first music CD."
	"Wow, I never knew you had musical talent like that," 
Aeka said, from the couch.  "You keep showing us some really 
extraordinary stuff.  I would not have ever known you could play 
an instrument like that."
	"Yeah.  Although it did take me," Russ looked at the 
clock, "over two hours to input that song into the organ, I am 
pleased with the final result.  The music came out almost flawless.  
This organ is a very useful tool for creating and playing music."  
Russ reached behind him and ejected the floppy disk.  "I saved that 
song onto this disk, so you can play it back whenever you like," he 
said, as he applied a label to the disk and set it down.
	"Wow, that was great," Sasami said, standing next to 
Aeka, with Ryo-Ohki, still on top of her head.  "Can you play 
anything you want on that organ?"
	"More or less," he said, smiling.  "You know of anything 
that you'd like to hear?"
	"No, not really.  I wish I did, though."
	"Hmmm, I know.  I'll do a little something tonight, just 
for you," he said, causing Sasami's face to light up like the sun.
	"Really?"
	Nodding, Russ made his way over to her and patted her 
on the shoulder.  "Of course.  I thought of a song and rhythm as 
soon as I saw you.  I'll let you know what I'll call it, tomorrow, 
after it's done."  He looked around the room, and decided he would 
do a theme for just about everybody, just for the fun of it.
	Washu walked up to him and handed him a little device.  
It was the gravity enhancer he forgot to take with him after he 
undressed during his examination.  "You forgot this," she said.
	"Whoops, seems I did.  Thanks," he said, accepting it and 
wrapping it around his left arm.
	"Did you get those plans you were telling me about?"
	Russ slapped his head.  "Aw geez, I forgot that too," he 
growled, and after that, laughed.  "Be right back," he said, placing 
two fingers to his forehead and vanishing.  About ten seconds later 
he reappeared in the same spot, holding a data pad.  "This is it," he 
said, surrendering the pad over to Washu, who studied it for a few 
moments.
	"This is a pretty complex piece of technology.  This ought 
to be a lot of fun to build.  I wonder if I could make it have more 
uses than just a regeneration tank."
	"Just as long as it can still heal someone, you can do 
whatever you please with it."
	"Hmmm," she said, disappearing back into her lab.
	Turning back to everybody, he smiled.  "Well, I'm glad 
you enjoyed that, but now I have to get to training.  I've been 
slacking off for the last day.  I'll be right outside, so if you need 
me for something, I'll be right over there," he said, pointing to the 
lake's shoreline, near a bunch of trees.
	"We'll come get you when it's dinner time," Tenchi said.
	Russ nodded, and afterward went outside.
	Tenchi turned back toward his father.  "Why did you get 
this organ?"
	"It's something I always wanted to get involved in, and I 
hoped you'd take an interest in it, too," Nobuyuki responded.
	"I don't know.  I really don't have the time to do anything 
like this, having to take care of the field and the many other 
responsibilities I have around the house."
	"It's not something that needs to be done right away.  If 
you feel like it, give it a try and learn something new."
	"I'll think about it," Tenchi said, turning toward the door.  
Ryoko grabbed him in a hug from behind.
	"Where are you going?" she asked, pitifully.
	"I have to go clean the shrine, and possibly practice with 
Grandpa.  You know how it is."
	Ryoko's expression saddened a little, as she followed him 
outside.  Aeka just watched the couple, the pain from seeing them 
together still not fully healed or gone away.

	It's been nearly six months since the incident with 
Haruna.  Tenchi thought he had chosen Ryoko, however, he never 
knew that it was actually Aeka who had given up the chase, to save 
him.  "I want you to go to him.  Don't you see?  You're the only 
one who can reach him!" Aeka had said to Ryoko, as the dream 
world was collapsing.  Those words continued to echo in her mind, 
even though it has long since been over with.  It still pained her, 
remembering that traumatic episode, and being without Tenchi for 
the six months that Haruna kept him captive.  The price to save 
him had been too high, and she knew it, but it was necessary, all 
the same.
	What if it was different?  What if the incident with 
Haruna had never occurred?  What then?  Aeka thought about it a 
little more, and drew up an old conclusion.  He would've never 
chosen, and Ryoko and herself would continue to fight over him, 
as they had from the first day they met him.  Was that better than 
what was happening now?
	Aeka stood up and walked over to the organ, sitting down 
on the bench, and looking at the keys that Russ had tapped and 
played for over two hours today, still lost in thought.
	No, what happened with Haruna was for the best.  It 
showed which one of them was willing to go the entire way for 
Tenchi.  And she knew who could reach Tenchi first.
	She turned her attention outside, and watched Russ near 
the edge of the lake, doing pushups.
	And what about him?  Could he show her love?  Or would 
this be another mistake, as it had been with Tenchi?  Was Tenchi a 
mistake?  No… no.  Tenchi could not even be considered a 
mistake.  Tenchi had been the best thing that had ever happened to 
her.  He was the first person to treat her as a woman, and not a 
princess, and he didn't care how many ships she had, how many 
planets were under her empire, or how much money she had, or 
even a throne.  None of that mattered to him, and he saw through 
all of that, to see the sweet, innocent girl that landed in front of his 
house, so long ago.  It seemed so long ago, anyway.  But now, here 
was another man, her age, which had the same aspirations as 
Tenchi.  He too, didn't care about a throne, or her power, or 
anything like that, and he liked her as a person, and that is 
something she had longed for.  He too, was treating her as a 
normal person, and not a princess.  He didn't bow down to kiss her 
feet, as most other men would have if they knew of her title.  
However, truthfully, he DID know of her title and where she was 
from.  It was mentioned last night.  But that didn't matter to him 
either.
	Russ also seemed to be kind of sad, in a lonely kind of 
way.  She felt it as he told her the many stories from the night 
before, and he always alluded to the fact that he had done most of 
them alone.  He kept his feelings behind a mask of happiness, and 
she had a hunch that he was lonely, and needed someone.  But 
why didn't he ever have a companion?  Was it because of his race?  
She wouldn't know, because this was the very first time she has 
ever seen, or even heard of a Saiyan.  Watching the fight earlier 
today was totally astounding, but frightening too.  Maybe that was 
why he was shunned and rejected wherever he went.  But she 
could draw conclusions the whole day, and may never come up 
with the real reason he was alone.  She was alone, too.  Hopefully 
one day he, or even she, would decide to change all that.
	Standing up from the bench and stretching, she decided to 
go make herself busy, and water the flower garden.  Stepping 
outside, she picked up the hose and turned on the water, and began 
spraying the flowers on the side of the house, in plain sight of the 
lake, and Russ.  He still had his face pointed toward the grass, 
continuing to do his pushups, but from what she could see, he was 
having a really hard time with them, and he appeared to be out of 
breath.  Releasing the trigger for the sprayer on the hose and 
silencing the water, she could faintly hear Russ grunting under 
some tremendous strain, as he rose and fell with each thrust.
	Aeka watched him silently, forgetting that she was 
supposed to be watering the flowers.  Snapping out of her 
daydream, she shook her head and resumed spraying the plants, 
giving them a much-needed drink of water, especially on such a 
scorcher of a day.  However, her mind continued to wander, 
considering the possibilities of a life with another man.  It was still 
much, much too early to tell if he held any kind of romantic 
attraction to her.   However, the chance of falling in love with 
another man was not very high, especially after having her love 
turned down more than once.  She didn't know if her heart could 
handle another rejection, and that was frightening to even consider.
	The puddle under her feet started flooding around her 
combat boots, beading on the leather but keeping her feet dry.  
Finally noticing the growing puddle, she sighed, then moved onto 
another part of the flower patch, and decided that, only time would 
tell, if her heart could stand one more chance at true love.

	"Is there something you want to talk about, Ryoko?" 
Tenchi asked, while walking up the stairway to the shrine, with the 
space pirate floating beside him.
	She looked back at him, a calm and peaceful aura about 
her.  "No, not really.  I just like looking at you.  You're still as 
handsome as the day I met you," she said, eliciting a blush from 
Tenchi.
	"You're very beautiful too, Ryoko," he said, glancing 
over at her and smiling.  "But anyway, is there something you want 
to talk about?  You usually don't just follow me out here without a 
reason."
	"So I need a reason to be with the man I've fallen in love 
with?" she said, playfully, as she floated over behind him, 
wrapping her arms around his body and squeezing him tightly, 
placing her chin over his shoulder.
	Tenchi chuckled.  "Of course not.  I just thought you 
wanted to talk or something.  Unless you want to help me clean the 
shrine," he said, grinning.  But to his surprise, she nodded.
	"Sure, I'll help you," she said, continuing to hang on him.  
"It'll give me something to do, and give me another reason to be 
close to you."
	Smiling and blushing, Tenchi took her arm and caressed 
it, then pulled her along side him and gave her a tight hug.  "That's 
very sweet of you," he said, as she returned his affection.  He gave 
her a light kiss on the cheek.  As he was pulling back, Ryoko 
grabbed him in a crushing embrace; giving him one of the most 
awesome, soul-probing kisses she ever mustered.  She moaned 
softly, sounding almost like a kittens purr.  They held that embrace 
for nearly a minute, and then she backed off, allowing Tenchi to 
come up for air.  He stared back at her, dumbfounded, as she 
giggled alongside him.  "Wow," was all he managed to say, which 
made her giggle harder.
	"Are you sure you have to clean the shrine NOW?  Can't 
you do it a little later and instead spend some time with me?  Let's 
go do something fun."
	"Sorry, Ryoko.  But I have to clean the shrine or Grandpa 
will be quite angry with me.  I've missed practice once already last 
week, and I already know I'm going to get it for that."  Tenchi 
watched as her happy expression melted away, becoming sad, 
while she watched the steps in front of her, not meeting Tenchi's 
gaze.  "It won't take too long.  Then we can go do whatever you 
want.  Is that okay?  If you help me, I can get it done twice as fast, 
which means even more free time."
	Her expression changed to an amused smirk.  "Always 
trying to con me into doing chores around the house, aren't you," 
she snickered, poking him in the ribs.  Gazing wistfully at the blue 
sky, she sighed.  "Remember what I told you a long time ago?"
	"You've told me a lot of things, Ryoko.  You'll have to be 
a little more specific."
	"You don't remember, do you?  I was floating alongside 
you, except you were on your way to school."
	Tenchi thought a few moments, as the memory came back 
to him.  "You had said, 'Oh Tenchi, isn't it so nice?  It's like a 
carnival every day.  Oh, I wish these days could go on just like this 
forever and ever,'" he said, also lost in thought.  "Yeah, I 
remember it like it was yesterday.  Why do you ask?"
	"Because I want this to last forever," she said, gazing into 
his eyes.  "I don't ever want this to end."
	Tenchi gazed back into her golden, feral eyes.  "What is it 
you're not telling me, Ryoko?"
	Sighing, she wrapped her arms around his chest once 
again.  "Do you ever… think about Aeka?"
	He looked at her with mild surprise.  "Only as a good 
friend.  She's one of the best friends I've ever had.  You are too, 
and a whole lot more," he said, returning her hug.
	"She's depressed, Tenchi.  She tries to hide it, but I can 
tell.  She's still upset, considering that she'll never know your 
affections like I do.  I feel bad, and a little guilty, for her.  Doesn't 
that sound strange, especially coming from me, her worst enemy?"
	Tenchi shook his head.  "Not at all.  We've all lived 
together for over a year, and you two have become friends.  Even 
though it was a rocky start, considering both your pasts, you both 
have emerged triumphantly, and left that past behind," he said, 
starting back up the shrine steps.  "But yes, I have sort of noticed 
that Aeka has been sad a lot more.  I wish I could do something to 
help, but I don't know what I can do."
	"Me neither.  Would you actually believe that I was 
considering SHARING you with her?  She's hurting," she said, 
sadness in her voice.  "I know I would've gone insane if she 
hadn't… uh… if you hadn't chosen me over her.  You're this 
pirate's most valuable treasure.  You're the universe to me, and I 
can't imagine life without you," she said, tears welling up in her 
eyes.
	The tears started trickling down her face, as Tenchi tried 
to brush them away with his thumb, taking her face in his hands.  
He then smiled.  "This is why I love you so much.  You care for 
others, much more than you yourself realize.  Deep down, under 
that pirate's exterior, lays one of the kindest hearts I've ever seen," 
he said, pulling her close, and allowing her head to rest against his 
chest.  He slowly ran his fingers through her wild mane of cyan, 
kitten-soft hair and lightly patted her back, stopping his ascent up 
the stairs again, as she quietly sobbed into his chest.
	"Seeing Aeka so unhappy is making me unhappy too.  I 
can't imagine what I'd do if I couldn't have you," she said, quietly, 
as the tears continued to trickle down her cheeks onto Tenchi's 
kimono.  "And I know Aeka must feel what I would've felt, and I 
don't wish that on anybody.  Not even her."

	Ever since Tenchi had met Aeka, there had always been a 
tinge of sadness about her.  From the very first day he met her, 
when she arrived to rescue Mihoshi, her unhappiness had surfaced 
a couple of times.  Even when Grandpa had suggested that he take 
Aeka around the shrine and the surrounding area, she seemed 
distracted, and almost unwilling, but Grandpa insisted that she take 
advantage of her unexpected day off, and that she forget about her 
duties as the First Crown Princess, just for one day.
	He remembered taking her to the small pond to see the 
massive tree, and to see the surrounding mountains, which were 
filled with the colors of fall.  And then, when they were leaving the 
tree, she slipped and fell, ever so delicately into Tenchi's arms.  
She slowly stood back up, and they looked into each other's eyes, 
with just a hint of attraction between them.  Of course, being as 
shy as they both were, they turned away, blushing fiercely, and 
making up silly excuses.
	"I have never felt like this, in my life," she said to herself.  
Afterward, he offered to take her up to a much higher spot, near 
the top of the hill where the shrine was located, which overlooked 
the valley and gave quite a view.  That was when she started to cry, 
but she said it was nothing, and that it was the most perfect day off 
she had ever had.  And the more he thought about it, the more he 
realized, that on that day, she was actually falling in love with him.  
And now, that possibility of love was taken away, from the only 
man that she had ever fallen in love with, all on her own.

	Tenchi sighed and continued to hold Ryoko, as she finally 
stopped whimpering into his kimono.  He gently released her and 
allowed her to float beside him.  "Do you feel a little better now, 
Ryoko?"
	"A little.  Damn my conscience.  We have to do 
something to make her happy again, or it's going to drive me 
crazy," she said, now smiling, as she sniffled.
	"Well, what would you suggest?"
	"How about a present or something?  From both of us?"
	"I suppose that could work.  But material possessions 
aren't important to Aeka," he said, lost in thought.  "What if we 
talk to Russ, and have him come along with us when we go get that 
present?  I'm sure she'd feel a bit better if it came from him, rather 
than the both of us."
	"Oooh, you mean, play matchmaker?" Ryoko grinned.  "I 
have noticed Aeka has been spending a little bit of time with him, 
but really, I think it's too early to get those two involved in a 
relationship.  I mean he only arrived yesterday, and she's not one 
to move things along quickly, and Russ doesn't strike me as one 
who would either."
	"I suppose.  But anyway, we can still get her a gift.  But 
what would she like?"
	Ryoko and Tenchi both looked at each other, and then 
shrugged their shoulders.
	"You've got me.  She's never expressed an interest in 
anything here on this planet.  She keeps to herself quite a bit, 
except for when she was pursuing you, my Tenchi," she said.  
"Why don't we go into the mall a little later and shop around?  
There's got to be something that she'd like."
	"I think she'd like the thoughtfulness behind the gift, 
rather than the gift itself," Tenchi responded.  "But it's got to be 
something she'd like."
	"I know!  We could ask Sasami!  We can have her come 
with us too, when we go," Ryoko said, excitedly.  "She knows her 
sister better than anybody."
	"Great idea, Ryoko!  We'll ask her as soon as I finish 
cleaning the shrine and practicing with Grandpa, then we'll all go 
to the mall, together.  We'll take Aeka with us as well.  Maybe she 
just needs to get out of the house a little bit more, too."  Tenchi 
smiled at her, and took her hand.  "Let's get busy and then we can 
go."
	Ryoko sighed to herself and smiled.  This was the reason 
she fell in love with Tenchi.  He was always kind hearted, and had 
always strived to never hurt anybody, willfully or accidentally.  
Ever since that first day she crash-landed near the Masaki's home 
and was found by Tenchi, she almost immediately began to fall in 
love.  Here was a farmer's boy, who didn't care where she was 
from, or why she crashed.  She was passed out from a hangover 
when he found her, then gave her some water, and asked if she was 
all right.  Nobody had ever said those words, and was happy to see 
that she was uninjured.  She remembered gazing up into his 
smiling face as she came to, and felt surprisingly happy.  Even 
though she had lied to him and told him that she was actually the 
damsel in distress, and that Mihoshi was the space pirate, he still 
accepted her into his home and took care of her, along with 
everybody else whom crash-landed at his place, and even 
threatened his life.
	He even risked his own life to save her, when a notorious 
criminal, Kagato, had captured her and took her aboard his ship, 
the Soja.  It didn't matter that she was a space pirate, or those past 
deeds.  He nearly died for her, and only survived due to Tsunami, 
who found him and reconstructed his body, after Kagato nearly 
destroyed Ryo-Ohki.
	Pushing those unpleasant memories behind her, she 
continued to float alongside the man she fell in love with, as they 
made their way to the shrine.  "I'll be happy to help you clean the 
shrine, Tenchi.  In fact, if I clean the whole shrine, and you 
practice with your Grandfather, it shouldn't take long at all, and 
then we can go whenever both of us finish.  How does that sound?"
	Smiling, Tenchi shook his head.  "You don't have to do 
that if you don't want to."
	"But I want to, Tenchi.  Because it's you, and you asked 
me to help you, right?"
	"I guess so," he said, grinning sheepishly.  "Thanks a lot.  
We'll be able to leave a lot sooner in that case.  Secondly, the mall 
is air conditioned, which is awesome, and we're both going to be 
dying in this heat."  They reached the top of the steps, where 
Katsuhito was standing on the porch of the shrine office, just out of 
the sunlight.
	"Hey Grandpa, I'm here for practice," Tenchi called out 
to him.  Katsuhito nodded then produced two bokken from behind 
his back.  Ryoko floated over to the far end of the porch where a 
broom was propped up against the wall, and she began sweeping 
the walkway.
	Katsuhito took notice and allowed his surprise to crease 
his expression.  "Since when does Ryoko do any work around 
here?  You wouldn't happen to know anything about this now, 
would you, Tenchi?"
	He laughed and grinned.  "Whatever do you mean, 
Grandpa?"
	Katsuhito just shook his head and led Tenchi to the 
training area, for a short practice.  "I'll never understand your 
relationship with her, Tenchi."
	"I had asked her to help clean the shrine while I practice.  
We both plan on going to the mall later on today."
	"Oh?  How come?"  Katsuhito handed him one of the 
bokken.
	"Well, Ryoko and I both noticed that Aeka seems to be 
depressed lately.  We were all going to go to the mall, and Ryoko 
and I are going to get her a present, which will hopefully cheer her 
up a little."
	"So you've finally noticed it?"
	"What do you mean, finally?  I knew it was going to be 
hard on her once a choice was made, but she has done quite a feat, 
hiding her depression from me," Tenchi said, looking at the 
wooden sword in his hand.  "I'm just not sure what I should get 
her.  And I don't want her to know it's because I saw her 
depressed, either."
	"Hmmm…  You've got yourself quite a predicament 
there."
	"Yeah, I know.  It's hard on me, too, knowing that she 
still has feelings for me.  It's probably torture for her to see me 
with Ryoko all the time."
	They arrived at the training area, and moved to their 
respective positions.  Bowing to each other, they swung their 
wooden swords around, warming up a bit before they began 
sparring.
	"I've noticed Aeka seems to be taking a liking to Russ," 
Katsuhito said, who was now ready to begin the match.
	"Me too.  However, I think she's afraid of being rejected 
again.  And I have no idea how Russ feels about her."
	"It's too soon to tell if he would have any feelings for her.  
Right now, it's only a friendship.  It's up to either one of them to 
progress it any further than that.  Don't pressure either of them to 
do that, or they may get angry with you."
	Tenchi took up a defensive stance, also ready to begin.  "I 
understand.  I remember how it felt when Ryoko wanted to move 
things along so quickly.  It was uncomfortable, to say the least.  
Plus, with Aeka there, whenever Ryoko tried to pursue me, it 
usually wound up with apocalyptic results."
	"Yeah, the house was nearly leveled a couple of times 
from those two, wasn't it?" he said, smiling.  He swung the bokken 
and prepared to attack.  "Are you ready, Tenchi?"
	"Yes," he said, matching Katsuhito's move.
	They both stood apart, each staring into the other's eyes, 
waiting for one of them to lose patience or break his concentration.
	In his typical tactic, Katsuhito glanced at something over 
Tenchi's shoulder.  "Oh, hi Aeka, what are you doing here?"
	"Aeka?" Tenchi said, starting to turn around, and then 
instantly realized his mistake… again… and parried the blow from 
his grandfather, resulting in a loud crack of wood against wood.
	"You still fall for that same old trick, don't you, Tenchi?  
Even Russ didn't fall for it, and instead almost nailed me, since I 
wasn't expecting it," he said, leaping back and swinging the 
bokken in a wide arc, directly for Tenchi's leg.
	He leapt over it and swung his own bokken down in a 
wide arc, trying to nail his grandfather in the shoulder, which was 
sidestepped.  Katsuhito thrust his own bokken right for Tenchi's 
chest, which he swiftly parried, as their two swords locked against 
each other, and they began a quick test of strength.  Tenchi 
trembled under his grandfathers amazing power.  They quickly 
broke their stance and leapt back a few feet, taking up defensive 
postures.
	"Well, I see you're learning," Katsuhito smirked, once 
again charging Tenchi, swinging his bokken in a random cycle, 
making jabs and swinging at various parts of Tenchi's body.  
"Have you decided on what you're going to get Aeka for a gift?"
	Swiftly dodging and parrying all the blows, Tenchi saw 
an opening and started his own offense, swinging his own bokken 
in a standard pattern, which was easily avoided.  "No, I haven't a 
clue as to what to get her.  I was hoping Sasami would help us 
out," he said, now beginning to pant and breathe a little harder, and 
his eyes stung from the salty water from his perspiration.
	"She would know what Aeka would like.  But, what 
would you like to get her?  It would mean more if you were the 
one to decide on what to get," he said, restarting his own offense, 
his bokken connecting with Tenchi's as they locked in another test 
of strength.
	"I suppose you're right, but at least she could give us an 
idea," he said, grunting under the pressure.  "But I've never been 
good at picking out gifts.  What could I possibly get a girl who 
hasn't wanted anything except to be with me?"  Tenchi leapt back 
a few feet and held his bokken ready.
	Katsuhito stopped his offense, and lowered his bokken 
down to his side.  Seizing an opportunity, Tenchi sprung at his 
grandfather, thrusting his sword toward his head, but Katsuhito 
casually nodded to the side, then brought his own bokken up in 
between Tenchi's legs, stopping less than an inch away from his 
crotch.  Tenchi turned blue for a moment, slowly backing off.
	"I have no idea what gift to suggest for you to get her.  
That's something that you have to decide for yourself.  Just make 
sure she'll be happy with it, and won't dredge up old feelings," he 
said, tapping his sword in his hand and sitting down on his usual 
boulder, which thankfully was shaded from the scorching sun.  
"Oh, and Tenchi?"
	"Yes?"  He hopped on the small wood stakes in the 
ground to practice balance.
	"Be careful about when an enemy appears to lower his 
defenses.  He may be trying to trick you.  It isn't over until it's 
over," he said, snickering.
	"I'll keep that in mind, Grandpa," he said, leaping from 
stake to stake, repeatedly hitting a chunk of wood into the air with 
his sword.  "I wonder what Russ is going to get her, if he decides 
to go with us."
	"You plan on inviting him along, too?"
	"Yes, of course.  Why wouldn't I?"
	Laughing to himself, Katsuhito thought a moment.  "I 
don't know.  Just something odd about him, is all."  He looked at 
Tenchi with a grin.  "You going to try to get Aeka in a relationship 
with him?"
	"No, not really," he said quickly.  "Mainly just to invite 
him along.  It'd be a good chance to get to know him a little 
better."
	"Ahhh, I see.  How are you going to get there?"
	"I was hoping dad was going to drive us or something," 
he said, smacking the hunk of wood back into the air, skillfully 
keeping his balance on the stakes.  "I haven't really thought too 
much about it."
	"Well, I'll leave that up to you to sort out," he said, 
looking into the sky, which was littered with small, white clouds.  
"Looks like we may get some rain tomorrow."
	"I hope so.  This heat is crazy."  Tenchi swatted the block 
into the air again, and quickly wiped his brow off with the back of 
his hand.
	"Yes, it is hot, but a samurai must show no weakness.  
You may be required to fight whether you're comfortable or not, 
sick or well, hot or cold, and even in places where you never 
thought of fighting before."  Katsuhito wiped his own brow with 
the sleeve of his own kimono.  "Well, practice for another ten 
minutes, then you can go home.  I don't want you getting sick out 
here."
	"Thanks, Grandpa.  The mall will be nice and cool, since 
it's air conditioned," he said, catching the wood block in his left 
hand and hopping off the stakes.  "It'll be wonderful to cool off for 
a while."
	Walking up the path to the shrine, Katsuhito grinned, as 
Tenchi continued his routine exercises.

	Making his way out of the training area, Tenchi spotted 
Ryoko, who was just finishing sweeping the walkways.  Her hair 
wasn't its usual, spiky appearance, but more matted to her head 
from the scorching heat.  She stopped and stretched toward the 
sky, then turned around, noticing Tenchi walking toward her.  She 
put the broom down and floated over to him.
	"Hi, Tenchi.  I'm done," she moaned, giving him a hug.  
"I'm burning up out here."
	"You and me both.  Let's go get ourselves cleaned up and 
then we'll go to the mall.  Is that okay?"
	"Yes, of course!  I must look my best for my Tenchi," she 
giggled.
	He walked over to the broom and put it in its place on the 
porch.  "Grandpa, we're going now.  We'll be back later," he 
called through the office door.  Turning around and taking Ryoko 
by the hand, he led her back to the house.

	Having just finished watering the flowers, Aeka was in 
the process of winding up the hose on the reel.  She finished, 
turned around, and saw Tenchi coming toward her, trailed by 
Ryoko.  They were both smiling, but weren't looking at each other 
for once, but instead were looking directly at her.  She straightened 
herself and smoothed out her gi, and met them at the edge of the 
garden.
	"Hi Aeka.  Ryoko and I are going to go to the mall.  
Would you like to come?  We're going to invite everybody, if they 
want to go."
	Hiding her surprise, she nodded.  "Sure, I'd like to go.  
It'll give me a chance to shop around, and see if there is anything 
new I'd like."
	"Great!  Glad to hear it," Ryoko said, with a big grin.  She 
landed on the ground and stood next to Tenchi, but didn't touch.  
"We're going to go take a quick bath and clean ourselves up a 
little.  Care to join us for that too?"
	"I guess so.  It is really hot out here," she said, not 
sounding very convincing.
	"Okay, we'll meet you in the onsen."
	"I'll just go take a quick shower in the house.  You girls 
go on ahead," Tenchi mentioned.  "We'll all meet in the house.  I'll 
see if dad can give us all a lift or something."
	"Alright.  Let's see if Russ wants to go too."  Ryoko 
began making her way over to him, who was now rapidly kicking 
in the air.  His foot was nothing but a blur and his face was 
contorted with strain.  "He sure does know how to exercise.  
Wow."
	Aeka nodded, following, with Tenchi just behind her.  
"He did a lot of pushups and sit-ups.  He just started doing that 
about fifteen minutes ago," she said, watching him.  Almost at that 
same moment, Russ changed over to his other foot and began 
kicking in the air, his foot nothing but a blur.  His back was now to 
them, and didn't see them approach.
	"Hey Russ!"  Tenchi said, loudly enough so he could hear 
over the noise of the wind, which sounded very similar to a fan.
	Russ stopped, and turned toward them, breathing heavily 
and sweating profusely.  "Yeah?  What's up?"
	"Geez, are you okay?  You're really sweating a lot," 
Ryoko said, looking concerned.
	"Yeah," he said, between deep breaths.  "I just have the 
gravity enhancer up to five hundred times Earth's normal gravity."
	Tenchi, Aeka, and Ryoko all facefaulted, then recovered.  
"Did you say, five hundred times normal gravity?"  Tenchi looked 
exasperated.
	Nodding, Russ pointed toward the little machine on his 
arm.  "Washu made this for me.  It's great for intense training.  I 
normally weigh about two hundred, twenty two pounds, or exactly 
a hundred kilograms.  With this machine set at five hundred g's, I 
weigh a hundred, eleven thousand pounds, or fifty thousand 
kilograms."
	Everybody facefaulted again, then recovered.  "That's 
impossible!  Anybody should be crushed under that much gravity!" 
Tenchi shouted.
	Russ grinned and shook his head, and jumped into the air 
about two feet, then landed on the ground.  His impacts made his 
feet sink into the ground about six inches, which resulted in a 
chorus of gasps from the three.  "Trust me, I weigh as much as I 
said."  He grinned, as he stepped out of the holes.  "I want normal 
earth gravity."
	The machine beeped, as the tremendous weight that was 
bearing down on Russ was lifted in a few seconds.  He stretched, 
becoming used to the gravity again.  "Ahhh, that was a great 
workout.  I'll have to continue it later," he said, as the threesome 
continued to stare at him.  "Err, is something wrong?  I've been 
saying that a lot lately, haven't I?"
	Snapping out of their bewilderment, they shook their 
heads.  "No, everything is just fine.  We just came over here to ask 
if you wanted to go to the mall with us.  We're all going, and we 
wanted to know if you wanted to come along."
	Russ curled his upper lip as his face showed disgust.  
"Shopping?  In a mall?  Oh boy…"
	"Come on, Russ.  It won't be too bad.  All of us are going, 
and it'll be nice and cool inside the place, since it's air-
conditioned.  Are you sure you don't want to go?" Aeka pleaded.
	Sighing in defeat, he nodded his head.  "Okay, I'll go just 
this once.  Normally, I hate shopping, unless I'm going to an 
electronics store," he said, grinning.  "I love technology.  At least, 
earth based technology.  Washu's lab is too crazy for me."  He 
started laughing.
	"Great," Aeka said, now smiling widely.  "We're all 
going to get ourselves cleaned up, so we'll meet you inside the 
house in about five or ten minutes.  Is that okay?"
	"Whatever," he said, not sounding enthusiastic at all, but 
managing a small grin.
	Aeka turned toward Ryoko.  "You know, it would be nice 
if we had a bath inside the house, instead of having to come all the 
way out here to this onsen."
	"You know, you're right.  I hate walking through the rain 
and other inclement weather.  Washu could set us up, couldn't 
she?"
	Aeka nodded.  "Of course.  For the greatest scientific 
genius in the universe, it should be no trouble at all," she 
snickered.
	Russ and Tenchi both looked back and forth between the 
two girls while they conversed, as they made their way toward the 
house to get a fresh change of clothes.
	Heading inside the house, Tenchi spotted Sasami playing 
off near the shrine steps with Ryo-Ohki.  "I'll go ask Sasami if she 
wants to come along with us," he said.
	"Okay, see you in about ten minutes in that case," Ryoko 
said, not turning around.  She floated up to Tenchi's room and 
disappeared through the door, and Aeka went to her own room.  
Russ started to go inside, but Tenchi tugged on his gi and motioned 
Russ to follow him outside, discretely.  Nodding, he steeled a look 
back inside the house, and then went back outside with Tenchi.
	"What's up?"
	"Ryoko and myself are going to buy Aeka a small 
present," he said, jumping right to the point.  "She seems to be 
depressed lately, and we wanted to get her something special, to let 
her know we still care about her."
	"I see.  And why did I need to know this?" he asked 
politely.
	"Well, we want to keep it secret from her.  We're going to 
give it to her later today.  It's just a little sympathy present.  Would 
you mind, once we get to the mall, accompanying Aeka, while 
Ryoko and myself go and get her gift, and maybe something for us 
too?"
	"Sure, not a problem.  I kind of figured that was going to 
be the plan anyway," he said, grinning.  "But it's fine with me."  
He turned thoughtful for a moment.  "I have noticed she seems sad.  
Maybe I should get her something too.  I'll be with her, so 
whatever she picks out I'll buy.  But, there is a small problem.  I 
don't have any Japanese currency."
	"Don't worry about it.  I'll give you some money to buy 
just about anything she may want."
	"If you say so," Russ said, snickering.  "Most women 
love the same things, which are usually all outrageously priced."  
He started laughing.
	Tenchi just started at him.  "Well, she's not like that.  She 
really doesn't have any wants or desires."
	"Doesn't matter.  But I'll see about getting her something 
nice."
	"Okay.  Good enough.  I'm going to go ask Sasami, 
Washu, Kiyone, and Mihoshi if they'd like to go."
	"Right," he announced, nodding his head.  "I'll go take a 
fast shower and put on some normal clothes.  Who is taking us?"
	"I hope dad will.  He has today off, so it shouldn't be too 
bad."
	"Alright.  See you in ten minutes."
	"Good.  Now remember the plan," Tenchi said, holding 
up his index finger.  "Don't tell her about our present, or it will 
ruin the surprise."
	"Yeah, yeah.  I know the routine," he laughed, and then 
walked up the stairs to his room.

	Ten minutes later, everybody, even Washu, piled into the 
van with Nobuyuki at the wheel.  Russ was now dressed in a light 
blue t-shirt and a pair of jeans shorts that went down to his knees.  
His muscles were so large that the shirt was being stretched around 
the sleeves.  Everybody else dressed in his or her normal, everyday 
clothes.  Aeka in her blue, green and purple kimono that she loved 
to wear, Sasami in her pink and green one, Washu in her standard 
science academy uniform, Ryoko in her blue and yellow kimono 
that had a tail, and Tenchi, now wearing cargo shorts and a tank 
top.
	Ryo-Ohki wanted to come along, and put up a fit when 
she found out pets weren't allowed in the mall.  She transformed 
into her childlike human form, and continued to protest.
	"Oh, I guess you can come," Sasami giggled.  "Just make 
sure you stay that way while we're in the mall or we may get 
thrown out."
	Ryo-Ohki meowed an affirmative and hopped onto 
Sasami's lap.  She was wearing her pink dress with that cute carrot 
logo on the front.
	Two seconds after they all piled into the van, Kiyone's 
wristband started beeping.
	"Oh great!  This just figures.  We have an emergency!  
Let's go, Mihoshi!"  Kiyone re-opened the door and jumped out.  
	"Oh no!" Mihoshi whined, being pulled out of the van by 
Kiyone.  "Why does this always happen to us?"
	"I know it's annoying, but we've got a job to do!"  
Kiyone turned back toward the van.  "Sorry guys, but we have to 
go.  Have fun for us while you're there, okay?"
	"Sorry you guys.  You can come with us the next time we 
go," Tenchi offered.
	The two Galaxy Police officers ran behind the house, and 
a moment later, their shuttle roared out of the backyard and into 
the atmosphere.

	The ride to the mall was short and uneventful, but 
uncomfortable even with the van's air conditioning system.  
Nobuyuki dropped everyone off and said he'd return in two hours.  
Everybody walked inside and made their way through the eatery, 
which was right inside the entrance to the place.  They all breathed 
a sigh of relief when they felt the rush of nice, cool, seventy-four 
degree air come in contact with their skin.
	"Okay," Tenchi began, standing near a fountain.  "We'll 
go our own separate ways.  Ryoko and I are going to go shop 
around, and the rest of you can divide up as you please.  We'll 
meet back here in two hours for dad to pick us all up."
	Everybody nodded, except for Russ, who frowned.  He 
turned toward Aeka.  "Well, would you mind if I accompanied 
you?  Tenchi and Ryoko want to go off on their own, and I'll go 
with you," he said, and then turned his attention to Washu, Sasami 
and Ryo-Ohki.  "What about you three?  You're welcome to tag 
along with one of our little groups or go off on your own."
	"Actually, Sasami?" Tenchi said, shifting uneasily.  "Now 
that I think about it, would you mind coming along with us?"
	"Sure, I don't mind," said the little blue haired princess, 
smiling the whole time.  "Where are we going first?"
	"We'll think of something.  What about you, Washu?" he 
asked.
	"I think I'm going to tag along with Russ and Aeka.  Who 
knows, I may split off and go off on my own too.  But for now," 
she said, latching onto Russ, "I'm going with him!"
	Aeka's bitter streak skyrocketed and she was about to 
protest, when Washu released him.  "Okay then, have fun!  See 
you guys in a couple hours," Tenchi said, and made his way over 
to the escalator, tailed by Ryoko, Sasami and the spaceship.
	"Well, where would you like to go first?  Is there anything 
that had interested you?" Russ asked both Washu and Aeka.  "I'm 
just here because you talked me into going."
	They all stood and looked at each other for a few 
moments, and then Russ shrugged his shoulders.  "Well, let's just 
browse.  What's that, over there?" he said, making his way over to 
the first store, which was filled with leather jackets and other 
leather accessories.  He stopped in front of the window, checking 
out a full-length leather coat.  Aeka and Washu were behind him, 
admiring him rather than the jacket he was looking at.
	Sensing something odd, he turned around and looked at 
the two girls, who both had the same, mischievous smile on their 
faces.  He began to perspire slightly, then snickered.  "I'm going 
inside.  There may be something in there that's nice."
	The two girls followed him inside, as he stopped by the 
coat rack.  Checking out the full-length, black leather coat, he 
pulled it off the hanger and held it up, as it made little squeaky 
noises.  He put his arms in the sleeves and slid the coat on, draping 
it over his muscular form.  "I feel like someone out of The 
Matrix," he snickered, while he admired himself in a mirror that 
was nearby.  "All I need now are…" he spied exactly what he was 
looking for, in the perfect style, "sunglasses."  He put them on his 
nose and put his arms to his sides, and did his best impression of 
Morpheus.
	Washu and Aeka both looked at him, and were very 
impressed.
	"I think that coat and sunglasses look good on you," Aeka 
giggled, walking over to him and checking him out.
	"I agree," Washu added.  "It actually suits you, with your 
black hair."
	"You think so?" he said, smiling.  "I don't know.  Let's 
get out of here or I may wind up buying something."  He laughed, 
and put the coat and sunglasses back where he found them.  
Turning around, Aeka grabbed him by the arm.
	"Do you want that coat?"  Aeka asked.
	Russ shook his head.  "No.  I was never really into 
leather.  I just wanted to check it out.  Besides, fifty five thousand 
yen for a coat is a little insane, if you ask me.  Besides, it's the 
middle of summer."
	"Well, if you say so," she said, sounding a little 
disappointed.  Russ gestured for the ladies to exit the store, which 
they accepted graciously.  Russ followed behind them.
	After they left the leather store, they checked out the store 
next to it.  It was filled, wall-to-wall with movies and DVD's.  
Russ rubbed his chin thoughtfully and looked at the two women.  
"You want to go in here?  I wonder if there are any new anime that 
I'd be interested in."
	Aeka had already begun to make her way into the store, 
heading over to the drama section.  Washu headed over to the 
nature and science area, and Russ made his way to the anime 
section.  Browsing the many DVD videos that were available, he 
set his eyes on several anime that he enjoyed.  Nearly everything 
was here, too.  Vision of Escaflowne, Record of Lodoss War OVA, 
Record of Lodoss War – Chronicles of the Heroic Knight, all the 
Gundam series and movies, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Ninja 
Scroll, Sonic the Hedgehog, Sailor Moon, Ronin Warriors, Blue 
Submarine Number 6, and even Outlaw Star.
	"Wow, awesome.  They still have all of this stuff.  
However, it's a bit more expensive than it used to be.  Darn 
inflation," he grumbled to himself.  He looked up and over the 
shelves, and saw Aeka, who had a couple tapes in her hand.  He 
moved his way over to her and looked over her shoulder, trying to 
get a better look of the covers.
	"What do you have there?" he asked, startling her 
slightly.
	She looked up from browsing the hundreds of tapes.  "I 
was just checking out some movies that I haven't seen yet, that are 
supposed to be really good."  She handed him the tapes.  One of 
them was Titanic, which Russ resisted the temptation to shudder at, 
and the other tape was Terms of Endearment, which he had never 
seen.  "I was also looking at this one," she said, pointing at another 
tape, with the label, Gone With the Wind.
	Russ resisted the urge to make croaking and gagging 
noises at her picks for movies.  "Would you like to get these 
movies?" he asked, instead.
	"Well, I was going to get these two, but I don't know 
about this third one here."
	"Get it.  What's to lose?"
	She looked at him incredulously, and then smiled.  "Yeah, 
you're right," she announced, picking up the tape.
	"Anything else you may want?"
	"I think this is enough for now.  What about you?  Did 
you see anything you wanted?"
	"Not really.  I heard there were two good movies 
produced while I was off-planet.  One of them was called Titan 
A.E, or Titan - After Earth, which was produced a few years ago, 
and another one was called Blue Planet, which was only recently 
produced.  They're both computer animated movies, and they look 
really cool."
	"Well, why don't you get them?"
	"Nah.  I'd probably be the only one to watch them."
	"Why should that stop you?" she asked, looking at him 
with a hint of confusion.
	"Who cares?  Where is Washu?  I wonder if she picked 
out anything," he said, avoiding the question.  Aeka continued to 
look at him, trying to figure out why he wouldn't just buy the 
movies.
	"Aw, come on.  Just get them, if it'll give you something 
to do for a rainy day," she begged.
	"I guess.  I'm a little thrifty though.  I don't spend money 
unless I need to."
	"Give me a break," she said, rolling her eyes.  "I'll buy 
the videos if you don't.  What were those titles again?"
	"Oh no you don't.  You aren't buying me anything," he 
retorted, sternly.  "I'll get them some other time, like for Christmas 
or something."
	Not used to being refused, she challenged him a little 
more.  "No.  We'll get them now.  I want to see them," she 
declared, glaring at him.  She put down two of the tapes she was 
going to buy.
	He stared back at her, furrowing his own eyebrows 
together.  "I can be as stubborn as you, Aeka.  No," he growled, as 
he turned around to go find Washu.  She grabbed his arm and spun 
him back around, producing a look of total shock on Russ' face.
	"What are you doing?" he snarled.  "I told you I don't 
want the movies.  Sheesh."
	"I told you that I wanted to see them.  You said they were 
Titan A.E. and Blue Planet?"
	Russ continued to glare at her and didn't say anything.
	"Fine, I'll go look for them," she snapped, turning on her 
heel and making her way to the animated section of the store.  Russ 
continued to watch her in total surprise and bewilderment, then 
shook his head, and picked up the two tapes Aeka had left behind.  
He then moved over to the science area, in search of Washu.

	In another part of the mall, Ryoko, Tenchi, Sasami, and 
Ryo-Ohki were browsing through a clothing store, checking out 
sweaters, t-shirts, shorts, pants, and other various clothes.  Ryoko 
was playing dress-up with Tenchi, making him put on dozens of 
different clothing combinations, trying to decide what looked best 
on him.  Sasami was doing almost the same thing with Ryo-Ohki, 
except they traded off after each set of clothes.
	Ryoko was having a lot of fun, dressing up Tenchi in a lot 
of different styles and colors.  After about the twelfth combination, 
he started complaining since Ryoko wasn't dressing up herself.
	"No, I'm not putting on these clothes!  I'm getting tired of 
this.  It was fun the first couple of times but now it's annoying," he 
complained.  "Why don't you try on some of this stuff?"
	"Because it's more fun to dress you up, silly," she 
giggled, as she handed him yet another handful of clothes.  This 
particular combo had blue jeans shorts and a lighter blue t-shirt.  
"Come on, just try this last pair on and then I'll stop, okay?" she 
begged.
	Tenchi sighed in defeat.  "Oh, alright.  But this is the last 
pair!"  He made his way into the changing room for the thirteenth 
time and began dressing.
	Ryoko checked on Sasami, who had now dressed Ryo-
Ohki in a fluorescent yellow-green dress that went down to her 
knees.  Like with most of her other dresses, this had a logo of a 
large, orange carrot on the front.  Surprisingly, it really brought out 
the yellow in her eyes and she meowed in approval.  Giggling, 
Sasami handed her a straw hat that she put on the cabbit's head and 
stepped back.
	"I like this," she said, smiling.  "Lets get this for you, 
okay?"
	Ryo-Ohki meowed an enthusiastic approval and smiled.
	"Hey Sasami?" Ryoko said, walking over to the little 
princess.
	She turned.  "What is it, Ryoko?"
	"Do you think your sister would like anything in here?"
	Sasami looked a little confused by the question, but she 
brightened up and smiled.  "Well, not really.  She wears kimonos 
most of the time, and she never really cared for earth clothes."
	"Oh, I see.  Well, if we find a store that has something in 
it that she would like, would you tell us?"
	"Sure, but why?"
	"Tenchi and myself want to get Aeka a present, to cheer 
her up.  She seems to be a lot sadder than usual, and we want to get 
her something special."
	"So you noticed it too, huh?" she mumbled, her face 
turning downcast a little, but immediately bouncing back to her 
cutest smile.  "Sure!  I'll be happy to show you the things she 
would like!"
	"Okay, but keep it a secret from her.  It's going to be a 
surprise."
	"You can count on me!"  She thought a moment.  "This is 
the reason you wanted me to come long with you guys, isn't it?"  
She winked, and turned her attention back to Ryo-Ohki.  At that 
moment, Tenchi came out of the dressing room, dressed in the 
clothes Ryoko had given him.
	Tenchi slowly turned around, showing off the style.  
"Well?  What do you think of this set?"
	Giggling, she grabbed him in another hug.  "You've 
looked good in everything I've put you in.  I don't think it matters 
what style of clothes you wear," she whispered into his ear.
	"Stop that.  You're going to spoil me," he snickered.
	Ryoko became serious for a moment.  "I asked Sasami 
what Aeka would like.  She's going to help us out, and keep it a 
secret."
	"Well, at least we'll get an idea of the things she'd have 
an interest in."  Tenchi turned to go back into the dressing room.  
"Ready to get out of here and go on to the next store?"
	"Yeah, okay."  Ryoko held up a pile of clothes.  "I'm 
getting you all of these, and the clothes you have on."
	"Ryoko!  I don't need all that stuff!  I've got plenty at 
home and I don't have the closet space."
	"Yeah right," she giggled.  "You had plenty of room even 
after I put all my clothes in it."
	Groaning, he returned to the dressing room to put his own 
clothes back on.  Ryoko put the pile of shorts, shirts, and 
underclothes into a carryall basket and moved back to Sasami, 
watching her with interest.
	"We're getting ready to leave the store here, Sasami, so 
get everything you want together," Ryoko informed her.
	"Okay."  She turned toward the spaceship.  "Come on, 
Ryo-Ohki."  She followed Sasami back to the dressing room as 
Tenchi emerged with his clothes on.
	"Do you know how much these things cost, Ryoko?"
	"It doesn't really matter to me, Tenchi," she whispered 
seductively.  "Nothing is too expensive for my love."
	"It does matter.  I didn't bring a huge amount of money 
with me."
	"Who said anything about paying for them?"
	Tenchi looked back at her in utter horror.  "What?!  
You're not stealing these things!"
	"Aw, come on, Tenchi!  It'll be fun!  And remember, I am 
a space pirate.  I need the practice," she begged, grinning from ear 
to ear, with her soft, golden, kitten like eyes gazing into Tenchi.
	"NO!"
	"But, Tenchiiiiii!"
	"I said, NO!"
	Ryoko looked about ready to cry and she hung her head, 
placed the basket of clothes on a shelf, and started to slowly walk 
away.  Once again, Tenchi's conscience pricked at him for being 
mean to her.  
	"Oh, okay, Ryoko."  She immediately brightened back up 
and nearly tackled him.  "But we're not stealing them.  I'll just buy 
the things, okay?"
	"Oh, you're no fun, Tenchi."  She made little cooing 
noises as she continued to hug him.  Sasami and Ryo-Ohki came 
up behind them, unnoticed.
	"Are you two finished and ready to go?" she asked, 
startling both of them, but only embarrassing Tenchi.
	"Yeah," they both said at the same time.
	They carried all the clothes up to the cash register and 
paid for them, which put quite a dent in Tenchi's wallet, but he still 
had enough for a nice gift for Aeka.  Leaving the store, they slowly 
began walking down the mall corridor, checking out the interiors 
of most of the stores and searching for something that would peak 
Aeka's interest.
	Coming to a jewelry store, Sasami stopped and pointed.  
"Aeka loves jewelry.  And so do I."  She grinned, and stepped 
inside.
	Ryoko, Tenchi and Ryo-Ohki all followed the little 
princess, admiring the precious metals and stones through the glass 
cases.  An older gentleman approached the four.
	"Can I help you with anything today?" he asked, politely.
	"Not at the moment.  We're just looking," Tenchi 
answered.
	"Okay.  Let me know if you see anything you like," he 
said, walking back toward the counter and turning around.  He 
continued to watch them as they slowly made their way around the 
store.
	"Well, what would you recommend, Sasami?" Ryoko 
asked.
	"Just about anything in here, actually," she replied, 
pushing her face near one of the showcases that were filled with 
various pendants and lockets.
	Tenchi looked over her shoulder, also giving everything 
in the case a good look over.  A few moments later, one item 
caught his eye.  "Hey, what do you think of that?" he questioned, 
pointing toward a small pendant, designed as a bird, and had an 
amethyst stone for an eye.
	The three girls looked over at what he was pointing at, 
and all of them smiled and nodded.
	"That's really pretty," Ryoko stated, putting her arm 
around Tenchi's waist.  "Doesn't that bird have a special meaning 
behind it?"
	"That bird is actually a phoenix," said the gentleman, who 
had overheard them.  He made his way over to the case and opened 
it up, removing the pendant and allowing Tenchi to get a closer 
look at it.  "It is a mythical bird that supposedly had lived in Egypt 
for over five hundred years, and later it consumed itself by fire, 
and was later reborn from those ashes," he explained.  "It can be 
interpreted as a symbol of immortality.  It also means a thing of 
unsurpassed excellence or beauty, or a paragon."
	Tenchi, Ryoko, Sasami and Ryo-Ohki all looked at each 
other, realizing the same thing at the same time.  It's the ideal item 
to get for her.  Ryo-Ohki meowed an encouragement, tugging on 
Tenchi's shirt.
	"I think it's perfect!" Sasami beamed.  "It has all the 
necessary meanings behind it."
	"I don't know," Ryoko began.  "The thing about the 
unsurpassed beauty part of it, anyway."  She grinned at Tenchi, 
pulling him a little closer.
	"It is very pretty," he said, fingering the pendant.  "Do 
you really think she'd like this?"
	"Yes!  She'd be so surprised to get that from you, 
Tenchi," Sasami declared.
	"Actually, both Ryoko and myself are giving her the gift."  
He turned toward the clerk.  "We'll take this."
	The salesman smiled.  "Nice choice.  It's fourteen karat 
gold with diamond cuts.  The stone is an amethyst, and it weighs in 
at a little less than four grams," he said, as Tenchi handed over the 
pendant.  "Would you like to take a look at our fine selection of 
chains to go with it?" he inquired, gesturing to a glass case a few 
feet further into the store.
	"Yeah, okay," he said, as all four of them moved over to 
the showcase.  They all admired the gleaming gold, silver, and a 
couple platinum necklaces, in different cuts and lengths.
	"Well, Sasami?  Recommendation?" Ryoko said, placing 
her hand on her shoulder.
	"I don't know.  They're all so pretty," she said, still 
peering into the case.  "She does like things that sparkle though."
	The spaceship meowed an agreement.
	"I guess we could get one of those," Tenchi said, pointing 
toward a rope chain.  "That looks like it has a lot of sparkle and 
dazzle to it."
	"Yeah, but it also looks kind of plain," she mumbled.
	"I don't have a fortune to spend either, Sasami.  But I 
think she'll like it."
	"Yeah, you're right.  She's really going to love that 
pendant too.  The gem is real close to Aeka's eye color."
	"What do you think, Ryoko?" Tenchi said, nudging her 
gently.
	"I think it's wonderful," she responded, smiling.  "It'll 
really make her happy, and me too."
	Tenchi was about to wave the salesman over, but he was 
already on his way.  "See anything you like?"
	"Yes, we want that one, right there," he answered, 
pointing to the chain in question.
	"Okay.  That one is also solid fourteen karat gold, and is 
diamond cut.  It's eighteen inches long, and weighs about six 
grams," he said, opening up the case and withdrawing the gold 
necklace.  "Will that be all for today?"
	Tenchi nodded.  "I don't think I could afford anything 
else."  He smiled meekly.
	"Well, you came at a good day.  The two items you 
picked out were on sale," the clerk said, moving over to the cash 
register.  He entered the two items into the computer and slid the 
pendant onto the chain, and then put them both in a small, 
rectangular box.  "Your total comes to twenty thousand, twenty 
nine yen."
	Nearly having a heart attack from the cost, his forehead 
beaded with perspiration.  "This stuff is more expensive than I 
thought.  And it's on sale too?"
	"Yeah.  Fifty percent off the marked prices."
	"Well, better get it now before the price goes up again," 
he said while fishing out his wallet.  He handed over the money 
and accepted the box.  He gave a small bow, and the clerk did as 
well.  The four turned and left the store, re-entering the chaos of 
the mall.
	"She'll really be happy with that gift, Tenchi," Sasami 
reassured him.
	He breathed a sigh of relief.  "Yeah, I think she'll like it 
too.  It just cost a lot more than I was expecting.  Mall prices are 
always too high though."
	"You could've been like me and stolen it, Tenchi," Ryoko 
cooed, poking him in the ribs.  Tenchi laughed and took her by the 
hand.
	"No, I couldn't do that.  I don't like getting into trouble."
	"You don't get into trouble if you don't get caught, 
Tenchi," she giggled.  "I should know that better than anyone."
	"And how could I have gotten away with this with the 
guy standing right there in front of us almost the whole time?"
	Ryoko stopped and thought a moment.  "Yeah, you're 
right.  Oh well."  Her stomach croaked lightly.  "Oh boy, I guess 
I'm getting hungry."
	"Well, we could get a light snack if you want.  It is almost 
dinner time, and dad should be here in a little while to pick us up."
	"A light snack will do just fine," Ryoko answered.  She 
looked around and sniffed the air, catching a hint of pastries 
wafting through the mall.  "Mmmm," she moaned softly.  
"Cinnamon rolls."
	She started walking toward the scent as the other three 
followed closely behind.  Eventually they all came to a rather large 
bakery, which had dozens upon dozens of various pastries laid out 
on display.  Chocolate-chip cookies were in the glass cases along 
with jelly filled doughnuts, cinnamon buns, baked pretzels, even 
loaves of freshly baked bread.
	"Wow!  Yum!"  Ryoko walked up to the counter, trying 
to decide what she wanted.  Ryo-Ohki came up next to her and 
pointed at something, meowing.
	"What do you want?" she glanced down at her spaceship 
and then to what she was pointing at.  "Carrot cake?  I don't think 
you'll like that."
	Ryo-Ohki stubbornly insisted that she wanted it.
	"I'll get it for you," Sasami said, coming up from behind.  
"I think I want to try some of that too."
	Tenchi then came up to the case and browsed for 
something that would tide him over for a little while, but not spoil 
his dinner.  "Hmmm… I think I'm going to have… that," he said, 
pointing to a small box that was filled with various flavors of 
doughnut holes.
	A clerk took all their orders and handed them their 
pastries, and the foursome took a seat at one of the nearby tables.  
Ryoko got cinnamon sticky buns, Ryo-Ohki and Sasami both got 
carrot cake, and Tenchi had his doughnut holes.
	"Be right back," Tenchi got back up from his seat.  "Do 
any of you want something to drink?  Pastries always dry me out if 
I don't have something to wash them down with."
	"What do they have?" Sasami asked.
	"They've got pop, water, juice, probably coffee, and tea."
	"I'll have orange juice," Sasami asked.  "Please?"
	"I want some tea, Tenchi."  Ryoko smiled up at him.
	"Well, okay.  What about you, Ryo-Ohki?  Do you want 
pop?"
	She shook her head.
	"Tea?"
	She shook her head again.
	"Water?"
	She meowed disappointment and shook her head yet 
again.
	"Juice?"
	She nodded and meowed.
	"Well, what flavor?  They've got Orange…"
	She shook her head.
	"I think she wants carrot juice," Sasami said.  Ryo-Ohki 
nodded enthusiastically.
	"They don't have carrot juice, unfortunately.  Sorry, Ryo-
Ohki.  Do you have a second choice?  How about just plain old 
water?"
	The spaceship's expression became downcast, but she 
nodded and meowed an affirmative.
	"Okay, I'll get you water.  I'll give you some carrots once 
we get home, okay?"
	She immediately brightened back up and smiled, then 
began eating her cake.
	Tenchi smiled and went to the counter, got the drinks, 
then returned.  Ryoko smiled at him, as she licked off the frosting 
on her fingers, ignoring the napkins that were on the table.  
Suddenly she came up with a naughty idea, as she took another 
bite of her bun, making sure to get more frosting on her fingers.  
Then, after her index finger was sufficiently coated, she looked 
over at Tenchi, and let out a sultry, "Mmmm…" as she noisily 
sucked on her finger.
	Tenchi glanced over at her, noticing what she was doing, 
but trying to keep himself under control.
	"Ryoko," he whispered.  "Don't do that here!  Not in 
front of Sasami!" he begged.
	Her eyes smiled as she continued to taunt and tease him.  
A little bit of frosting stuck just under her lower lip, and she deftly 
let her pink tongue slide out, cleaning off the frosting, once again 
letting out a long and seductive, "Mmmm…"
	Tenchi found himself unable to look away, as Sasami and 
Ryo-Ohki started whispering to each other, giggling half the time.
	Ryoko once again lifted her cinnamon bun to her lips and 
took another bite, getting more frosting on her face.  She chewed 
slowly, and then swallowed, loudly enough to let Tenchi hear it.  
His head beaded with perspiration, despite the cool air.  Once 
again Ryoko allowed her tongue to circle her lips, licking off the 
frosting that coated them, as her eyes continued to watch him, 
promising, pleading.
	"I'm going to tell Aeka you're being perverted in front of 
me, Ryoko," Sasami giggled.
	Suddenly remembering Sasami was sitting there with her, 
Ryoko blushed fiercely and so did Tenchi.  "Okay, okay, you win," 
she sighed, smiling, never letting her gaze leave Tenchi's face.  He 
breathed a sigh of relief.

	Everybody finished his or her snacks a few minutes later, 
and Tenchi checked the time.  "Well, we might as well head back 
to the fountain.  Time sure flew while we were here."
	"Boy, you weren't kidding!"  Sasami looked at a clock 
that was on the wall.  "It's past dinner time.  I bet Father and 
Grandfather are starving."
	"I wouldn't worry about it.  Dad can cook, even though 
he's not a gourmet chef like you, Sasami," he said, smiling, and 
causing her to blush lightly.  Everybody got up from the table and 
discarded their litter into a trashcan and walked back out into the 
mall, trying to avoid the growing crowd of people.  It was a few 
minutes before five o'clock, and people were getting off of work 
and flocking to the mall to shop and cool off.  Ryoko sprinted 
forward a few steps and latched onto Tenchi's arm, and Sasami 
took Tenchi's other hand.  Ryo-Ohki meowed a protest and latched 
onto Sasami.
	"Ahhh, to be surrounded with two beautiful ladies," 
Tenchi said, drawing Ryoko a little closer and squeezing Sasami's 
hand.  "This is bliss."  He looked at both girls and they at him, then 
all four of them started laughing.
	"Tenchi, you're being spoiled," Ryoko teased, as she 
walked along side him.  "Maybe I should walk with Ryo-Ohki 
instead."
	Chuckling, Tenchi shook his head.  "Maybe it's you who 
is being teased, Ryoko.  Maybe I should walk between Sasami and 
Ryo-Ohki."
	Ryoko grinned, in such a fashion to show the tips of her 
fangs.  "You're going to force me to humble you again, Tenchi," 
she said, seductively, as she started making little cooing noises and 
giggling while she nudged up against him.
	"Okay, okay, you made your point," he chuckled.
	They made their way to the fountain they originally split 
up at, and took a seat on a nearby bench to wait for Russ, Aeka, 
and Washu.  They didn't wait long, though.  Aeka was walking 
next to Russ, both of them eyeballing each other here and there, 
and Washu walked on the other side of him.  All three of them had 
a bag of goodies in their hand.
	"So," Tenchi said, as they made their way to the bench.  
"You guys find everything you wanted?"
	"Yeah, pretty much," Russ answered.  "These girls are 
torture.  Do you have any idea how many different pairs of clothes 
they made me put on?  I lost count!"  Both Tenchi and Russ started 
laughing.
	"Well, at least I'm not the only victim of dress-up today," 
Tenchi laughed.  "Ryoko loves doing that to me whenever we go 
to the mall."
	"Aeka here has good taste in clothes, but man, she's 
picky!  I tried on FIVE different clothing combinations before she 
settled on one that she liked."
	"I just wanted you to look good," she snapped, glaring at 
him.  "There's no reason for you to look like a barbarian in 
public."
	"I am not a barbarian!  I'm just as civilized as you are," 
he said, sticking out his tongue and giving her a raspberry.  Her 
face went to surprise, and then she glared at him, balling up both 
her fists and growling at him.
	"Well you should have better taste in clothes!"
	"My tastes are none of your business, Miss Prissy Pants," 
he shot back.  "I didn't see you trying on anything."
	"I have enough clothes, thank you," she retorted.  "You 
just came in with a little duffel bag and nothing else!"
	"So what!  I don't need fifty million shirts and shorts.  As 
long as I've got enough to rotate them out to the washing machine 
I'm fine.  I don't care about clothes.  Sheesh.  Lighten up."
	"No!  You need some variety, rather than just wearing 
your karate gi in different colors.  I liked what I picked out for 
you."
	"I don't care!  I like my clothes, and I didn't need any 
others, especially the ones you picked out!"
	"Fine!  Live like a big, dumb barbarian!"
	"Oh, shut up!  I told you my preferences are my own!  
You can wear a toga for all I care!"
	Everybody perspired as they watched the two bicker back 
and forth.
	"So, Washu," Tenchi said discretely, trying to stay out of 
the verbal war between Russ and Aeka.  "Have they been doing 
this the whole time?"
	"Not really.  Whenever they disagree it usually winds up 
like this.  Aeka isn't used to being refused something, or disagreed 
with."  She continued to watch them, as Russ kept on making 
teasing gestures.  "I think it's rather cute."  She started giggling.
	Tenchi shook his head and grinned.  "Well, we got Aeka 
something really nice.  But anyway, did Russ get her anything?"
	"I think so.  He was looking at a few movies that he 
wanted to see, but he wasn't going to get them.  Aeka noticed it 
and she tried convincing him to get the movies, which he refused, 
and then she went and bought them instead of the tapes that she 
picked out.  Without her knowing, Russ bought the two tapes she 
was looking at originally.  It's rather sweet of him, even though 
he's currently acting like a six year old," she whispered, still 
keeping an eye on both of them.  Fortunately they weren't shouting 
at each other or flinging energy balls around.
	"Do the world a favor and put a sock in it, you bitch!" 
Russ snarled at Aeka.
	"What?!  How dare you speak to me like that, you 
ruffian!" she returned.
	Ryoko resisted the urge to explode laughing, as she 
remembered the arguments she used to have with Aeka.  They 
were a lot of fun, and she also got the feeling that Aeka enjoyed 
them too.  It was a wonderful way to let off steam in a non-violent 
way, however, between herself and Aeka, it usually turned into a 
brawl.  But so far, he seemed to be keeping better control over 
himself in comparison to the way she used to behave.  However, it 
was still amusing to watch and remember.  Like the time she had 
tied up Tenchi and pulled him into Washu's cave, then tried to 
seduce him for the first time which didn't work, because of Aeka.  
The fight that ensued was a lot of fun, and after it, Washu was 
released from her prison, who joined the family.  Ahhh, those were 
the times.
	Sasami was about to interrupt the two, but Ryoko stopped 
her.  "Just let them fight.  Aeka needs this.  It's been such a long 
time since she's been able to vent her frustrations," Ryoko 
whispered to the little princess.
	She reluctantly nodded and continued to watch them, with 
perspiration beading on her forehead.
	"Don't you tell me what I should do, you jerk!" Aeka 
nearly shouted.
	"So what gives you the right to do that to me?!" he yelled, 
matching Aeka's fury and volume.
	A large spark arced between their eyes.
	"I think it's time to make our exit.  Dad should be here 
any minute," Tenchi said to Washu, Ryoko, Sasami, and Ryo-
Ohki.  He turned his attention back to Russ and Aeka, who looked 
about ready to murder each other.  "Hey guys, it's time to go.  Can 
you do this later?"
	Both Russ and Aeka ignored him and continued to stare 
each other down, seething with rage.  Suddenly, Russ straightened 
up, and once again stuck out his tongue, giving Aeka yet another 
raspberry.  "I've had enough of this for now.  It's time to go.  After 
you, Little Prissy Princess," he smirked, continuing his taunting.
	She turned her nose up at him, letting out a "Humph!" and 
making her way toward the door, just as Nobuyuki's van pulled up 
to the entrance.
	"Perfect timing!  Let's go, everybody," Tenchi 
announced, as he made his way outside into the sweltering heat 
again.  "Ugh.  I hope it cools off a lot tonight.  This heat sucks."
	"You got that right, Tenchi," Ryoko said, as she held onto 
his arm, letting him guide her out of the mall and into the van.  
Russ got in first, followed by Aeka, who rode shotgun, Ryoko, 
Sasami, Ryo-Ohki, and then Tenchi.
	"So, did you kids have a good time?" Nobuyuki asked as 
he pulled away from the door.
	"Yeah.  We got everything we came for," Tenchi said, 
patting the bags he carried with him.
	"That's good.  Anyway, your grandfather and myself 
already ate, so you guys can either make your own dinner, or I can 
quickly take you guys to a fast food joint so you guys can grab 
something to eat there."
	"Just take us home.  No fast food place can match 
Sasami's cooking," Ryoko declared, while grinning toward her.
	"Okay, home it is then!"  Nobuyuki turned on the stereo 
and set it to an oldies station, causing Russ to cringe.
	"Oh great, one of the only genres of music I never cared 
for," he quietly grumbled to himself, but not quietly enough.  Aeka 
shot him a look and he returned it with a glare of his own, then 
they both looked out the windows.  "Little Prissy Princess," he 
thought to himself, and then snickered.

	Fortunately for them, the trip home was uneventful, aside 
from the occasional glare between Russ and Aeka.  Nobuyuki 
made good time getting home, even though it was now rush hour.  
He pulled into the driveway about twenty minutes after leaving the 
mall, and shut off the van.  Everybody piled out, and went into the 
house to put their bags into their rooms and hang up the clothes 
they had bought.  Russ pulled Aeka's two tapes out of his bag and 
took them downstairs, and set them on top of the TV, then went 
outside.
	Washu was going to return to her lab, and she told 
everybody that she didn't want to be disturbed.
	Aeka pulled out the two videos she had bought for Russ, 
and tossed them onto her bed, glaring at them.  Sasami walked into 
the room a moment later.
	"What's wrong, Aeka?" she said, concerned.
	"Oooh, that Russ.  He's so thick headed!  Did you hear 
those names he was calling me!?  I'm the First Princess of Jurai!  I 
deserve more respect than that!"  She started shaking with anger 
again.
	"Well, you were insulting him too, you know," she said, 
smiling.
	"Yeah, well, he started it," she said, but her resolve and 
anger almost melted completely away, and she sighed.  "That did 
feel good though.  I haven't fought like that in a long time.  I 
almost missed it."  She was now smiling, and she patted her sister 
on the head.  "Well, what did you get, Sasami?"
	She held up a couple of new dresses.  "I got these, and I 
also got some shorts, and t-shirts.  I got Ryo-Ohki a couple of new 
dresses too."
	"That's nice, Sasami," she responded, looking at the 
various items she produced out of the many bags.
	"What about you, Aeka?  Did you get anything?"
	She slight frown creased her expression.  "I got these two 
videos for Russ, and this one for me," she said, holding up the 
tapes.
	Sasami took a closer look at both videos.  "Are those 
animated?  They look really neat!"
	"Yeah, well, I shouldn't have gotten them, not after the 
way he treated me."
	"You keep forgetting that you were doing it too, Aeka," 
she frowned.  "Well, go put those on the TV or something and I'll 
make us dinner.
	"Okay, I'll help you with that.  I'm hungry too," she said 
as her stomach rumbled lightly.  "Oh my."  She blushed, then left 
the room and went downstairs, and Sasami followed.  As she 
approached the TV, she saw a couple videos already sitting on top 
of it.  Taking a closer look, she realized it was the two movies she 
was looking at originally.  She became surprised, and she looked 
around the room, but nobody was in it, so then she looked outside 
and saw Russ near the lake, as his ki exploded around him in a 
green fireball.  She watched him with interest, as he brought both 
his hands out in front of him.  Suddenly, he began firing ki blasts 
into the air at a very high rate of speed, alternating from hand to 
hand, and then quickly using both hands at the same time.  A 
moment later, he threw a couple of yellow discs into the air and 
started firing more ki balls after it, resembling a machine gun.  
"Barbarian," she said to herself, and then started giggling as she 
watched him train.

	Tenchi and Ryoko both went to their room, and emptied 
their bags onto the bed.  Tenchi had a much larger pile than Ryoko 
did, as he made his way over to the closet to get a mass of hangers.
	"You sure made me get enough stuff, Ryoko.  I think I 
went a little overboard," he said, looking flustered.
	She giggled and hugged him.  "It all looks good on you, 
Tenchi.  At least I'm not as bad as Aeka when it comes to what 
style you wear."
	Tenchi kissed her on the cheek.  "Yeah, that's true.  Poor 
Russ," he said, making both of them start laughing.  "What was the 
deal with him, anyway?  He was fighting with her like you used 
to."
	"I know.  It's been so long since we've had a fight, that I 
think she missed it.  We really didn't have anything to fight over 
anymore, except when she pesters me about doing house chores.  I 
think she needed that."
	"You think so?" he asked, thoughtfully.  "Well, as long as 
they don't blow up the house like you two nearly did on several 
occasions, I guess it's alright."
	"Tenchiiiiii!  I can blow up the house even without her," 
she grinned wickedly, as she pushed Tenchi onto the bed, kissing 
him.
	"Whoa," he yelled, then started laughing.  "Come on 
Ryoko!  Let's put this stuff away," he said in between laughs and 
kisses.  She giggled and continued kissing him, as her tail swished 
back and forth in excitement.  "Ryoko!  Come on now, I'm going 
to get mad," he tried to say though his laughing.  He made an 
attempt to sit up but she pushed him back down, making little 
cooing noises.
	"I…" she kissed him.  "Don't…" she kissed him again.  
"Care…" she purred, as she continued kissing him.  Tenchi 
wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, giving her one 
of his own crushing embraces.
	"Now Ryoko, we have to put this stuff away, and Sasami 
is making dinner," he said, as she continued to grope and paw at 
him.
	"So what," she moaned sensually, while she continued 
kissing him.  "I'm not hungry anymore."
	"Well, I am.  Come on, Ryoko," he begged.
	She stopped and lifted herself up with her hands on either 
side of Tenchi's head, her face tinged with hurt.  "Don't you like 
that?"
	"I didn't mean it that way," he said, quickly.  "But we 
have other things to do, okay?"
	"Wouldn't you rather do this, instead?" she said, her 
voice pleading.
	Tenchi grinned.  "I've never done it before.  But we have 
other things to do first."
	"I've never done it either," she said, causing Tenchi to 
widen his eyes in total bewilderment.  "What, you think I used to 
sleep around?"  Her expression became even more hurt.
	He shook his head.  "I'm sorry.  I should've known 
better."
	"When you're an A1 class criminal, you don't get 
attached to anybody.  Not even for a one-night fling.  Besides, I 
was never interested in guys until I met you, Tenchi.  Being a 
criminal was fulfilling enough."
	He smiled, and then pulled her down, kissing her.  "I'm 
sorry, Ryoko.  I didn't mean to hurt your feelings.  I'm just a little 
timid."  He frowned and thought a moment.  "Really timid about 
this kind of thing.  It's all new to me."
	"I'll have to fix that," she smiled, getting up off of him, 
and hauling him up to a sitting position.
	He breathed a sigh of relief.  "Let's get this stuff put away 
and go get some dinner," he said, as his room started flashing with 
colored light.  Both he and Ryoko looked toward the window in 
shock.  "What the heck was that?"
	They both ran to the window and watched Russ rapidly 
shoot hundreds of various colored ki balls and discs into space.  
"What is he doing?" Ryoko asked.
	"He's probably training again.  It's amazing how he can 
do that."
	"Well don't forget," she said, poking him, "that I can do 
that too."  His room filled with orange light has her sword flashed 
into existence.  She waved it around casually, and then let it vanish 
as suddenly as it appeared.
	Almost at that same moment, Russ stopped firing ki balls.  
He held out his hand, as a small, green ball of energy formed in his 
palm, and he squeezed.  The ball quickly deformed and exploded, 
shrouding him in a cloud of smoke.  He tried again five more 
times, and all five attempts to form a sword of his own blew up in 
his face.  He stomped his foot in frustration and restarted firing ki 
blasts into the atmosphere, as Ryoko and Tenchi watched from 
their bedroom window.
	Ryoko giggled.  "I guess he still can't form a sword."
	"I can't either.  I have to use Sword Tenchi in order for 
me to use an energy sword, unless I call upon the lighthawk sword.  
I wonder how the lighthawk wings would stand up against him?"
	"Who knows?  I'd rather not have to find out," Ryoko 
said, worry in her voice.
	"Yeah, but what about that Zorpheus guy he told us 
about?  From what Russ says about him, he is as strong as he is.  
What happens if Zorpheus defeats him?  None of us can beat either 
of them right now.  I want to be able to protect you guys from 
whatever wants to bring harm to us."
	Ryoko looked into his eyes and seeing nothing but 
serenity.  "Tenchi, that's so sweet.  My own treasure defending his 
captor," she said, kidding him on the cheek.  "But it should be the 
other way around.  The pirate is supposed to defend her treasure."
	"No, I would never have it that way," he said, looking her 
in the eyes.
	"Tenchi, listen to me.  You're the single most important 
thing to me.  If something should ever happen to you, I'd die, 
because I'd have nothing left to live for."
	Tenchi's eyes went wide in shock.  "Ryoko, don't talk 
like that.  It's morbid," he said, pulling her close and sitting back 
down on the bed.  "You are the single, most important thing to 
me."
	"But it's different for me, Tenchi.  You are the only thing 
I've got, and you're the only person who ever truly cared about 
me.  Likewise, if something were to happen to me, you'd be the 
only one who would care.  You're my life, Tenchi," she said, 
almost on the brink of tears.  "You're everything to me.  The rest 
of the universe could cease to exist, but as long as I have you, I 
could live with it.  I'd destroy everything, just to be with you.  And 
I'd follow you into death, as well.  I could never bear the thought 
of losing you."
	Tenchi hugged her tightly.  "Ryoko… I'm not just the 
only person who would care.  Everybody here would miss you in 
his or her own way."  He hugged her tightly.  "I don't think you'll 
ever lose me, or will it ever come to that.  I'll make sure of it, and 
Russ would, too.  As you know, good always triumphs over evil."
	Ryoko looked up at him and smirked, as a tear fell from 
her eye.  "So you think."  She kissed him.  "Remember that I was 
the evil space pirate for a long time, and nobody stopped me."
	"Oh?  And what am I?  Chopped liver?"  He started 
chuckling.
	She thought a moment.  "You're right.  You are the only 
one to ever stop me."  She hugged and kissed him again, and he 
did the same.
	"Come on, Ryoko," he whispered into her hear, his voice 
almost inaudible.  "Lets get this stuff put away and go get some 
dinner."
	She nodded and got up off the bed, as they both sorted out 
their clothes and put everything away, until the house started 
shaking.  "Now what is Russ doing," Ryoko said, irritated.  She 
went to the window and looked outside, but he was just standing 
there, looking up into the sky.  Tenchi looked up in the same 
direction he was, and saw something coming out of the 
atmosphere.
	"I think Kiyone and Mihoshi are home," Tenchi said.  He 
quickly hung up the rest of the stuff and left the room, and Ryoko 
followed.  They both went outside and joined Russ, as a large 
vessel neared the house.  Aeka poked her head out of the kitchen, 
catching a glimpse of Ryoko and Tenchi as they ran outside.  A 
few moments later, a large, red ship landed in their backyard.
	Kiyone and Mihoshi both exited the ship and walked 
over.  "Hi guys!  We got a new ship!" Kiyone said, gesturing to the 
massive hulk sitting behind her.  "It's a newer Yagami class vessel.  
It's a lot better and more comfortable than that dinky patrol shuttle 
we were forced to use."
	"Congratulations!  It looks really nice," Tenchi said, 
walking over to Kiyone.
	"Yeah!  Galaxy Police headquarters had handed these 
things out to just about everybody, but we were one of the last to 
get one," Mihoshi pouted.  "You'd think they'd give them to 
everybody at once."
	"Yeah, it would've been nice to have one of these things 
when they started producing them, but oh well.  We have one now 
and we shouldn't complain."  She turned back toward everybody.  
"Well, anyway, what about dinner?  I'm starving!"
	"Yeah, me too.  All we have on board are these cardboard 
ration bars because we can't afford…" Mihoshi had a hand over 
her mouth.
	"Shut up, Mihoshi!"  Kiyone looked at everybody and let 
out a nervous laugh.  "What about that dinner?" she asked again.
	"Sasami should be just about finished with it.  Let's go 
see," Russ said, making his way back to the house.  Everybody 
followed suit and went inside.  Sasami was putting the last of the 
dishes on the table.
	"Oh, you're all just in time for dinner!" Sasami beamed as 
they all took a seat.  "I hope everybody's hungry!  I know I sure 
am!"
	"Yum!"  Russ was almost drooling over himself.  Aeka 
giggled lightly, noticing him.  "All this stuff looks so good!  But I 
better wait until all of you are done eating, and then I'll eat the 
leftovers."
	"Nonsense.  You sit there and eat with us," Aeka told 
him, pulling him down to a seat next to her.
	He quietly growled to himself and sat down.  "Being 
ordered around by a woman!  What's next?!?!" he thought to 
himself.  "Whatever." He said, aloud, picking up a plate and filling 
it with food.

	Dinner had past without incident, except for Ryoko's 
subtle flirting with Tenchi, and the occasional glare between Russ 
and Aeka.  Once the table was cleared off, everybody went off to 
do various evening activities.  Kiyone and Mihoshi went back to 
their ship to set it up the way they wanted it.  Russ sat down at the 
organ, plugged in the headphones once again, and began to create 
the little theme he promised Sasami, randomly hitting a few keys, 
until something sparked his imagination.  He hit the record button 
on the computer and began playing.  Sasami and Ryo-Ohki sat in 
front of the TV, playing a video game.  Aeka had gone off for a 
walk in the forest, with the sun setting in the distance, and the 
temperature dropping steadily, but slowly.  Many large clouds 
lingered in the sky.  Ryoko and Tenchi went to their room and 
retrieved the present for Aeka, and noticed that she was walking 
off toward the forest.  They quickly left the house and caught up 
with her.
	"Aeka!  Hold on a minute," Tenchi called, as he jogged 
over to her, with Ryoko floating by his side.  "Wait up!"
	Aeka slowed down her pace and allowed them to catch 
up.  "Yes Tenchi?  What is it?  Is something wrong?" she asked, 
looking worried.  She stopped and faced them.
	He shook his head.  "No, nothing is wrong.  At least, not 
at the house."  He produced a small box from behind his back.  
"Aeka, Ryoko and myself noticed you seem to be a little depressed 
lately, so we bought you a little gift, from both of us, in hopes that 
it would make you feel a little better."
	Tenchi thought about his words and how much he wished 
they could've expressed the true depth of the feelings that he had, 
and how much he valued their friendship.  He wished he could've 
presented his words and the gift with much more grace, but he was 
never really good at doing this sort of thing.  He watched Aeka's 
expression go from worry to mild shock, and he grinned in 
response.  Ryoko also smiled.
	"This is for you, Aeka, from both Tenchi and myself.  I 
hope you like it," Ryoko said, as Tenchi handed over the box.
	"You shouldn't have," she whispered, accepting the box 
as graciously as she could.  She gave a small bow, and Tenchi and 
Ryoko did too.  She removed the box top, revealing the glittering 
gold necklace, and the shiny amethyst stone on the pendant.  She 
gasped, placing a hand over her mouth as she did, and a few tears 
started streaming down her face.  "It's… beautiful," she said, 
choking back a sob.
	"This isn't quite the reaction we were hoping for," Ryoko 
whispered to Tenchi, but Aeka overheard it.
	"No, no… it's wonderful," she said, lifting the gold out of 
the box and letting it hang from her hand, watching the small bird 
swing back and forth, catching the dim sunlight and glittering with 
radiance.  She admired the jewelry for a few moments, and then 
put it back inside the box, sliding it into her kimono.  She grabbed 
Tenchi in a crushing hug, sobbing quietly on his shoulder.  "Thank 
you, Tenchi," she cried, squeezing him a little tighter, and then 
letting him go.  She looked up at Ryoko, moved over to her, and 
gave her a hug too.  "Thank you too, Ryoko.  You guys mean so 
much to me."
	"You're welcome, Aeka," Ryoko said, holding the 
princess in a firm grasp.  "It's the least we could do, to let you 
know we still care very much about you and your feelings."
	"Aeka, we did it because we still care about you and love 
you.  We don't want to see you depressed anymore, so we had to 
try to make you happy again."
	Aeka sniffled and let go of Ryoko, and took a step back, 
pulling out the necklace again and looking at it.
	"The bird is a phoenix," Tenchi explained.  "It means a 
sign of unsurpassed beauty.  We thought it would be the perfect 
gift and meaning to give to you."
	Aeka looked up, stunned at both Tenchi and Ryoko, and 
her tears began anew.  She grabbed Tenchi in another hug, nearly 
crushing the life out of him.  He returned her embrace, and gave 
her a little kiss on the cheek.  "We will always love you, Aeka.  
You're the greatest friend I've ever had."
	Ryoko swallowed a lump in her throat.  "That goes for me 
too, Aeka," she said, quietly.
	Aeka had never felt so moved by people, in her entire life.  
Before she had crash-landed on Earth, she had attended many 
marriage meetings, trying to find a suitable husband, besides 
Yosho, that would strengthen her home.  It was not her place to 
choose a husband out of her own feelings, because it was 
considered very selfish.  The men she had met at those meetings 
had always presented her with gifts, ranging anywhere from the 
galaxy's finest silk to the most extravagant jewels that could be 
found.  However, all of those meetings seemed so… false.  
Everything was carefully planned out, as if they were following a 
script, and not their hearts.
	The simple gold necklace that Ryoko and Tenchi 
presented to her was nothing in comparison with the priceless 
jewelry she was presented with during those marriage meetings, 
but the meaning behind the gift was worth more to her than all the 
gold and jewels in the entire universe.  She continued to clench the 
small bird in her hand, with the shining amethyst gem that matched 
her eyes perfectly, and she really cherished the meaning behind all 
of it.  It was a feeling that words cannot describe, and it was the 
most beautiful, wonderful, most fulfilling emotion she has ever 
felt.
	Her tears began once more, slowly trickling down her 
face.  "Thank you, Tenchi, and Ryoko, for the gift.  What you have 
given me is almost worth more than anything I've ever gotten 
before, and I'll treasure it, always."
	"It didn't cost that much," Tenchi said, holding her and 
gently scratching her back.
	"No," she sniffled.  "The meaning behind it all is the most 
valuable gift you have given me.  I… don't know how to repay 
you."
	"We didn't give this to you expecting to be repaid.  We 
gave it to you because… because we care about you, and we 
wanted to let you know that we still care about you.  All we want is 
your continued friendship, and nothing more," Tenchi told her, 
giving her a reassuring squeeze, then letting her go.
	She let out a heavy sigh, and dried her eyes with the 
sleeve of her kimono, then smiled.  She held up the chain once 
more, looking at the glittering amethyst as it caught the remaining 
rays of sunlight before the sun disappeared behind the shrine.

	"Hey Sasami?"
	"What is it, Russ?" she asked, moving next to him.
	He looked over at the karaoke machine.  "Do you like to 
sing?" 
	She smiled.  "Yeah, just about everybody here does.  
Ryoko, Aeka, Washu, Kiyone, Mihoshi, and myself all have sang 
songs before.  Why do you ask?"
	"Well, I finished your theme, but it's kind of short.  I was 
just curious if you'd like to sing something.  I have another piece 
floating around in my head, and I wanted to know if you would 
sing it."
	Her eyes went wide as she gasped, and gave one of the 
cutest smiles Russ had ever seen.  "Yes!  I'd love to!"
	Smiling, Russ patted her on the head.  "I'll write up the 
lyrics tonight, and I should have the song ready by tomorrow."
	"I can't wait!"  She bounced lightly on her heels as Ryo-
Ohki meowed her enthusiasm on top of her head.
	Russ chuckled.  "Ryo-Ohki, you're so cute," he said, 
scratching around her long, floppy ears.  "I'm surprised I haven't 
sneezed that much around here.  I wonder if I'm finally able to 
cope with my allergies."  He tried breathing through his nose, but 
snorted.  "Well, at least I'm not sneezing."
	Sasami giggled.  "Can I hear my song now?"
	"Oh yeah!  I almost forgot about that.  I saved it to this 
disk here, so you can play it back whenever you want.  But 
anyway, I hope you like this.  I haven't really decided what to call 
it.  'Happy Sasami', 'Sasami Kawaii', and 'Cute Sasami' all seem 
to fit this.  But anyway, here it is."  He pulled the plug to the 
headphones, hit the play and record buttons on the computer, 
turned up the volume, while the sound of drums started playing 
through the speakers, along with other various instruments.  The 
song progressed, and Russ began playing the main instruments.  
He used a xylophone on the lower keyboard, and some other 
instrument on the upper keyboard while he played along with the 
rhythm, keeping perfect time.
	Tenchi, Ryoko, and Aeka were just outside the door, out 
of sight, as they all sat on the porch.  They all heard the music 
coming from the living room, and stopped talking to listen.  As the 
song progressed, Tenchi thought about the very first time he met 
Sasami, when she arrived to pick up her sister.  He was looking up 
toward the sky, and noticed a white vapor trail forming behind 
what he originally thought to be a jet, until it started darting all 
over the place, making circular patterns.  Backing up from the 
shock, he tripped over a tree root and fell over, and then heard 
someone giggling at him from behind.  He rolled over and looked 
up, and that was the very first time he saw Sasami.  He snickered 
to himself, remembering how silly he must've looked.
	Russ finished the song about a minute and a half later, 
faded the music out, and hit the stop button on the MIDI computer.  
He turned toward the little princess.  "So, does it get the Sasami 
seal of approval?" he asked, smiling.
	She nodded.  "Thank you!  That was so nice of you to do 
that for me."
	"It's your own personal theme.  You can play it back 
whenever you want.  Just pop the disk into the organ and load up 
the song, and hit the play button.  The whole song is complete, so I 
don't have to sit here and play any extra instruments.  But now, 
I'm going to work on another song, and this one will probably take 
me a lot longer to complete than the one I just did.  It will have a 
lot more instruments, and it will be kind of like a rock song.  I 
think you'll like it."
	Sasami gave him a little hug.  "I'm sure I will.  And I get 
to sing along with this song?"
	Russ nodded, and Sasami clasped her hands together in 
excitement.  Ryo-Ohki started meowing like crazy, then jumped 
off of Sasami's head onto the bench, next to Russ.  She looked up 
at him and started meowing even more.
	"What do you want, Ryo-Ohki?"
	She meowed a few more times and nodded her head 
toward the organ.
	Russ watched her, perspiration forming on his brow.  "Do 
you want to play the organ?"
	She shook her head and meowed a few more times, 
nudging him then nodding toward the organ again.
	"I think she wants you to make her a theme too," Sasami 
said, reading the cabbit's thoughts almost as if she were 
telepathically connected with it, as Ryoko was.  Ryo-Ohki meowed 
an agreement and nodded her head.
	"So you want a theme as well, eh?  Well, I guess I can do 
that for you, you cute little thing," he chuckled, scratching on top 
of her head.  He sighed.  "Well, I'm going to do this new song, 
starting right now.  I've actually got it all planned out in my mind, 
and all I've got to do is put it into the organ," he said, excitedly.  
He plugged the headphones back in.  "I'll be doing this for a while, 
Sasami, so don't disturb me.  Actually, even if you did, I probably 
wouldn't notice!"  Laughing, he put the headphones back on, 
changed the instruments, hit the record button on the computer, 
and silently began playing.
	Ryo-Ohki jumped off the bench and resumed her perch on 
top of Sasami's head, as she went outside, trying to escape some of 
the heat from inside the house.  She stopped as soon as she exited 
the door, seeing Aeka, Tenchi, and Ryoko, all sitting on the porch, 
quietly conversing with each other.
	"What are all of you doing out here?  It's getting dark, 
and it looks like it's going to rain," she said, pointing to the many 
clouds that were now blanketing the darkening sky.  Walking over 
to the group, she noticed that Aeka's cheeks were stained with 
tears.  "What happened, Aeka?"
	She looked up at her younger sister.  "Nothing, Sasami.  
They just gave me the most perfect gift I could have ever gotten 
from anybody."
	Letting out a huge sigh of relief, she smiled.  "So you 
liked the pretty necklace that Ryoko and Tenchi picked out for 
you?"
	"Yes."  She held it up by the chain for Sasami to see.  
Looking at it for a long minute, she lowered her hand and smiled at 
her two very best and closest friends.
	"Aren't you going to put it on, Aeka?  It would be rude 
not to."
	"Oh my gosh, I never even thought of it.  I've just been 
admiring it this whole time," she giggled, then unfastened the 
chain and redid it behind her neck, and allowing it to drape over 
her kimono.  She thought a moment, and then put it under her 
clothing.
	"Why did you do that?" Tenchi asked.
	"Now, it's closest to my heart, as you two are," she told 
them.  "I'll never take it off.  Never."
	"That's so sweet, sis," Sasami said, giving Aeka a hug, 
then Tenchi, and then Ryoko.  "I'm so glad everybody is happy 
again."
	"Me too, Sasami," Aeka responded, smiling warmly.  
"I'm so glad to have friends like I do here."
	"I second that," Ryoko added.
	"I agree as well," Tenchi said.
	"And I agree with you guys!" Sasami giggled.  A few 
moments of silence passed.  "So, now what do we do?"
	"We could watch one of the movies I bought today," 
Aeka suggested.
	"Good idea!  What did you get, Aeka?" Ryoko asked, her 
tail twitching lightly.
	"I got 'Gone With the Wind', a movie called 'Titanic', 
and another movie, that I just forgot the name to," she laughed.  "I 
bought Russ a couple movies too.  One of them is called 'Blue 
Planet', which looks like an action movie, and the other one is 
called 'Titan A.E.', which looks like an action or adventure 
movie."
	"That's a lot of choices.  What do you girls want to see?" 
Tenchi said, looking back and forth between Aeka and Ryoko.
	"I think I want to see Titan A.E.  It sounds cool," Ryoko 
suggested.
	"I was thinking about Titanic, myself," Aeka added.
	"Blue Planet sounds really neat," Tenchi recommended.
	All three of them looked at each other in surprise and 
laughed, then looked at Sasami.  "You pick one of the three movies 
we want to see," Aeka demanded.  "I don't care which one."
	"Why don't you play Rock, Paper, Scissors?" Sasami 
asked.
	Again, the three looked surprised, but obliged.  All three 
of them balled up their fist, and shook it three times.  Aeka got 
paper, both Ryoko and Tenchi got scissors.
	"You're out, Aeka!" Sasami giggled and Aeka frowned.  
"Now for the tiebreaker!"
	Tenchi and Ryoko stared each other down as they balled 
up their fists again, and shook them three times.  They both picked 
scissors again.  Raising an eyebrow, Tenchi balled up his fist 
again, and Ryoko did the same.  They shook their fists three times, 
and this time Ryoko picked paper, and Tenchi picked rock.
	"Yay!  We're going to see Titan A.E.!  I'll go make some 
popcorn!"  Sasami ran inside the house, leaving Ryoko grinning 
from ear to ear at Tenchi and Aeka.
	"Well, you win.  It should be a good movie though, from 
what I hear," Tenchi stated, looking over at Ryoko.  "Shall we go 
inside?"
	"Of course.  We can't see it sitting out here," Ryoko 
grinned, the sarcasm tainting her usually sweet voice.
	"Ha, ha.  Glad to see your normal sense of humor has 
returned," Aeka snickered.  Ryoko continued to grin while she 
stood up.  Aeka and Tenchi both got to their feet, and they all went 
into the house together, and sat down at the couch.  A few minutes 
later, Sasami walked in, carrying a large bowl of buttered popcorn.
	Aeka looked over at Russ, while he continued to play his 
latest piece.  "What's he doing now?"
	"Russ is making another song that I can sing to," Sasami 
smiled.  "He said it was like a rock song, whatever that is."
	"Oh?  Well, we'll all have to hear it when he finishes.  I 
wonder if he'd be able to play something that I've got."
	Ryoko and Tenchi both looked at her.  "What do you 
mean, Princess?" Ryoko asked.
	"Well, it's not really a song.  Just lyrics.  It doesn't even 
have a title.  I had written it a while ago, but never made any music 
to go with it."
	"Give it to Russ.  I'm sure he could come up with 
something.  So far, he's done some pretty amazing stuff," Tenchi 
suggested, gesturing to him, who had his back turned, and was 
rocking back and forth in rhythm to the music.  The thumping of 
the keys was rather noisy, and they could faintly hear the 
instruments coming through the headphones.
	"He sure plays that loud," Ryoko mentioned.  "I can 
actually hear it."
	"Me too.  Oh well.  Sasami?  Would you do the honors 
and start the movie, please?" Tenchi asked, smiling.
	"Sure thing!"  She got up off the couch and went to the 
TV, pulling the cellophane wrapping off of the tape, and putting it 
in the VCR.  She turned the TV on and picked up the remote, then 
returned to her seat on the couch.  A few moments later, the 
opening previews came up on the screen, which Sasami fast-
forwarded over.  She hit the play button when the previews ended 
and the movie began.  Turning up the sound a little more, 
drowning out the thumping of the keys on the organ.  She slid up 
next to her sister and leaned against her, munching a few kernels of 
popcorn, as the opening credits came up on the screen and the 
music began to play.

	A little over an hour and a half later, the ending credits to 
the movie began scrolling up the TV.  Tenchi, Ryoko, Aeka, and 
Sasami all stood up and stretched, giving their bodies some much-
needed movement.  For the whole movie, they watch with 
unwavering interest, really engrossed in the action.  Russ had 
stolen a couple glances over at them when he was switching 
instruments, but they were all watching the screen intently.  Even 
Aeka, who wasn't into anything much except for soaps and chick 
flicks, watched it, hardly ever allowing her eyes to wander.
	"Wow!  That was an excellent movie!" Tenchi exclaimed.  
"I really enjoyed that."
	"Yeah, I did too, even though it wasn't my style of 
movie," Aeka stated.  "He has better taste in movies than I 
thought."
	"That was really neat.  It reminded me of outer space and 
the many battles I had fought with patrol craft and police officers," 
Ryoko said, eliciting a stare from Tenchi and Aeka.  Sasami just 
giggled.  "What…  It's what I used to do.  But anyway, that was a 
good movie.  They had an interesting way of animating that."
	"Yeah, I agree.  That whole movie, except for the 
characters, was animated entirely using computers.  I bet Washu 
would like this movie and the Blue Planet movie that we got."
	"Maybe, maybe not."  Aeka looked at the clock on the 
wall.  "Well, I'm tired.  I'm going to turn in for the night.  Thank 
you for the wonderful gift, you two," she said, giving Tenchi a 
hug, and bowing to Ryoko.  "See you in the morning."
	"I'm going to turn in too," said the little princess.  Ryo-
Ohki meowed an agreement and yawned.  "See everybody in the 
morning."
	"Good night, Sasami, Aeka.  Have a good night's sleep."
	"I'm sure we will, Tenchi."  She smiled as she floated up 
the stairs, exercising her new ability to fly.  She lightly landed on 
the floor and looked down, seeing Ryoko's grin and showing one 
of her own.  She disappeared into the hallway, on her way to the 
bedroom.  Sasami followed a moment later.
	"Well, Ryoko.  We sure had a busy day, didn't we?"
	"Yeah.  It all worked out perfectly.  You're so sweet and 
kind, Tenchi," she said, grabbing him in a kiss.
	"Thanks," he said, after she let him go.  "You are too.  
Well, anyway, are you ready for bed?"
	"Yeah, let's turn in a little early tonight," she said, a little 
evil twinkle in her eye and grinning, showing the tips of her fangs.  
Her tail twitching increased as well.  Tenchi noticed it and a little 
sweat beaded on his head.
	"Ryoko… I hope you're not thinking what I think you're 
thinking."
	"And what would that be, Tenchi dear?" she said, taking 
his arm and kissing him on the cheek.
	He shook his head.  "Never mind.  Let's just go to bed."  
They walked upstairs to their bedroom, and went inside.  Tenchi 
undressed himself, except for his boxer shorts, and slid into the 
bed, making sure to turn out the light.  Ryoko shed all her clothes, 
and floated over him, phasing through the sheets like a phantom, 
pressing herself close to him.  She wrapped her arms around him 
and squeezed, feeling the warmth of his body against hers, and 
then started kissing him on his face, slowly working her way down 
his neck.
	"What are you doing, Ryoko?" he said, not objecting, but 
more out of curiosity.
	"It's early to go to SLEEP, Tenchi," she purred 
seductively, kissing him on the lips.
	He broke out in a cold sweat, looking over at her feline 
eyes, which were filled with hungry lust, as she continued to kiss 
him.
	"I don't know if this is such a good idea, Ryoko.  We're 
not married or anything."
	"Not yet, Tenchi.  But it's inevitable."
	"But still…"
	"Shhh, stop objecting.  I've waited for over a year… a 
year and a half, to have you Tenchi, all to myself.  I can't stand to 
wait any more."  She whispered into his ear.
	He fell silent, and contemplated the idea.  He had the 
desire as well; since he had the most beautiful woman he had ever 
laid eyes on, in bed next to him.  Here was a woman who loved 
him, and wanted to be with him for the rest of her life.  She was 
willing to die for him, and to die with him.  Her love for him was 
downright obsessive and almost scary, but it was one of the most 
comforting feelings he had ever felt.
	Resolving his conflict, he looked at Ryoko, who looked 
back at him with her golden, kitten eyes, pleading, and he smiled, 
kissing her on the lips and pulling her close.  He ran his fingers 
through her soft, cyan hair and caressed her face, looking into her 
eyes with acceptance.
	"Oooh, Tenchi," she moaned, kissing him once again, and 
squeezing him tightly.  "Prepare to be plundered," she whispered.  
"You're all mine, tonight."  She kissed his cheek.  "And if you try 
to run away," she said, balling up her fist in front of his face, 
baring her fangs, "you're going to get it."
	"I'm all yours, Ryoko.  Always, and forever," he 
whispered.
	They both lost something that night, besides a good 
night's sleep, and gained a whole lot more.

	Aeka lay on her futon, feeling tired, but not able to fall 
asleep just yet.  She reflected on the events that day, and how it 
turned out so well.  Even her argument with Russ felt good.  
Feeling that he probably didn't mean anything that he said to her, 
made her feel even better.  She reached up to her neck and fingered 
the gold phoenix that hung on the chain, sighed, and smiled.  It was 
the absolute perfect gift anyone has ever given her.  The meaning 
behind it was a landslide of emotion, and all of it was positive and 
good.  She thought about both Tenchi and Ryoko and them being 
together, but now, it didn't seem so bad.  They both still cared for 
her, deeply, and they showed that to her today.
	"Aeka?  Are you still awake?" Sasami whispered.
	"Yeah," she quietly answered.  "What is it?"
	"How do you feel, right now?"
	"I feel…" she thought a moment to describe how she 
really felt.  "Wonderful.  I feel so happy and fulfilled right now.  I 
feel really, really good."
	A soft sigh was heard from Sasami's futon.  "I'm so glad 
everything worked out so well today."
	"Yeah, you and me both, Sasami.  Even fighting with that 
big, dumb barbarian called Russ was fun.  I haven't done that in a 
very long time.  It felt really good to release those pent up 
frustrations."
	Sasami giggled.  "You two were acting like a couple of 
kids my age, today.  It was really funny to watch, but I was 
worried too.  I'm glad you two didn't start blowing up the mall or 
anything."
	"Sasami!"  Aeka sat up and glared at her sister.  "I would 
do no such thing."
	"Oh yes you would."  She giggled even harder.  
"Remember that time when we went to go visit Kiyone and 
Mihoshi at their first apartment?  You and Ryoko got into a fight 
and nearly blew the place apart."
	"Uhhh… That was a long time ago, Sasami.  I've matured 
since then."  She lay back down, staring up at the ceiling, her face 
flushed hot from embarrassment.
	"Okay."  Silence ensued for a few minutes.  "Aeka?"
	"Yes?"
	"Can you tell me a bedtime story?"
	"Yeah, I can do that for you."  She thought a few 
moments, and then settled on one of her old favorites.
	Sasami fell asleep before she finished the story, but she 
finished it anyway.  She turned over in her bed, now lying on her 
side, touching the pendant once more before drifting off to sleep 
herself.

	Mihoshi and Kiyone both came into the house through the 
sliding glass door.  The only illumination that was provided was by 
the organ lamp that Russ had turned on, as he continued to work on 
the music he was composing.  They were both tired out from 
working on their new patrol craft, but it had been worth it.  All the 
controls were now configured to something Kiyone found very 
efficient, and Mihoshi was very happy to have a large TV in the 
crew quarters.  They both checked over the entire ship and made 
certain that everything was in perfect, working order.  The shields, 
weapons, propulsion system, and all essential systems were 
checked, and came out in perfect shape.
	"Oh man, I'm beat.  I'm glad we have tomorrow off too," 
Kiyone groaned as she trudged her way up the stairs to her room.
	"I don't know why you're so tired, Kiyone!"
	She turned and glared at her partner.  "If you did 
something besides sleep the entire time, I wouldn't be as tired and 
you would be ready for bed!  We could've been done in half the 
time if you moved your lazy butt!"
	"Shhh!  You'll wake everyone up!" Mihoshi hissed.
	Kiyone's stern resolve melted away into drowsiness.  
"I'm going to bed.  I'm beat."
	"Yeah, I guess I should go to bed too."  Mihoshi followed 
her partner into the bedroom and plopped herself down on her 
futon, not bothering to turn on a light.  She quickly undressed and 
slid under the covers.
	"Tomorrow, we should look for another apartment to 
move into.  I'm tired of being a burden to the Masaki home," 
Kiyone muttered, as she slid under the sheets.
	"I don't think we're that big of a burden.  We're really not 
here all that much."
	"But still…  The thought of living off of someone drives 
me crazy.  I feel like a teenager rather than a grown woman out on 
her own."
	"That's silly, Kiyone.  They offered to take us into their 
home."
	"But it's not like me to take advantage of it for so long!"  
She yawned, stretching out and getting settled in.  "Oh, we'll argue 
about this in the morning.  I'm too tired right now."
	"Okay.  Good night, Kiyone."
	"See you in the morning, Mihoshi."
	Both Galaxy Police officers fell asleep only a few minutes 
later.

	Russ had just finished creating the music for his new 
song.  He stood up and stretched as his back, neck, and shoulders 
popped from being still for so long.  Groaning softly, he sat down 
at the organ again, and played back the music once more, making 
sure it was flawless.  Hitting a few keys, he saved his work onto a 
floppy disk, and turned off the organ and the lamp.  Quietly 
floating up to his bedroom, he slid open the door and turned on the 
light, squinting from the sudden brightness.  He sat down at the 
desk and pulled out a sheet of paper that was in one of the drawers, 
and a pencil, then began to write the lyrics that would go with his 
song.  He would present them to Sasami tomorrow morning for her 
to learn and memorize.
	"Tomorrow is going to be a fun day," he thought to 
himself.  That is, until a rumble of thunder came in from the 
outside.
	"Oh great.  Rain.  Oh well.  At least it'll cool things off a 
bit," he muttered to himself as he got up and opened his window, 
letting the cooler air into his room.  "I need a fan or something.  
It's too quiet in this house.  I'll have to go to my ship tomorrow 
and get mine."  He returned to the desk and sat down, humming 
the song to himself has he continued writing the lyrics down on the 
paper.
	After a half hour, he dozed off, bonking his head on the 
desk and rousing him back out of slumber.  He looked at the paper 
in front of him, and smiled, since he was now finished.  He stood 
up and turned out the light to the room, discarded all of his clothes 
onto the floor except for his briefs, and plopped onto the bed, 
falling asleep almost instantly, as the sound of the soothing rain 
from the outside lulled him into a deep slumber.

	Washu was in her lab, drawing up the plans for the new 
bathroom Aeka had asked for.  After they had left the video store, 
she asked her if she'd make a bathroom inside the house, just for 
the girls.  Aeka had said that it was inconvenient to walk outside to 
the onsen, just to take a bath.  It was really inconvenient when it 
rained, because as soon as you got out of the place, you had to run 
back into the house, getting soaked the whole time.  Washu had 
agreed, and set to work.
	After a few hours planning, she had finished, and fell 
asleep just as she finished inputting the plans into her computer.  
Several cushions automatically appeared under her, catching her 
before she hit the floor, and allowed her a peaceful night's 
slumber.  She fell asleep with a smile on her lips, dreaming of 
pleasant memories long ago, but not forgotten.