Later that day, Aeka was sleeping peacefully on the couch.  Outside the
house
the sun was setting behind the Masaki shrine.  Sasami had already left for
Jurai, and the others had gone to rent a video.  Suddenly, the phone rang
disturbing her royal slumber.
    Aeka cleared her throat, "Hello?"
    "Hey princess!"  It was Ryoko.  Aeka's temper flared up at the sound of
Ryoko's voice.
    "What do you want?" Aeka retorted.
    "Calm down, there's no reason to get all hot and bothered," Ryoko
taunted.
"I am not hot and bothered!" Aeka snapped.
Ryoko laughed, and then said, "We just wanted to let you know that we're on
our way back from the video store.  Tenchi left early, so he should be back
soon.  We were going to rent Erotic Torture Chamber, but I didn't want you
to
get your hopes up."
"Thank you so much!" Aeka growled.
"Don't mention it!" Ryoko replied and hung up.
Aeka slammed the phone down.  She glanced out the window for a moment and
saw
her Guardians resting peacefully on the porch.  She instantly felt more
relaxed.  She knew as long as her Guardians were near she would be safe.
Aeka lay back down on the couch and was just about to doze off when the
phone
rang again.
"What do you want now, Ryoko?" Aeka screamed, grasping the phone in her
fist.
"Hello, Aeka," sneered a sinister, scratchy voice.
"Ryoko," Aeka replied haughtily, "You can make fun of me all you want, but
it
doesn't change the fact that Lord Tenchi is my boyfriend."
"That's fine," the voice answered, "but this isn't Ryoko."
Aeka's heart jumped.  The voice was unfamiliar to her.  "Well…then who is
it?" She asked hesitantly.
"Guess?"
"I don't know," Aeka replied becoming flustered, "I can't."  She began to
suspect that the voice was Ryoko or Washu playing a trick on her.
"Do you like porn, I mean, scary movies, Aeka?" the voice questioned.
" No, I do not.  I have no desire to watch big-breasted women running up the
stairs when they should be running out the door, but what you do with your
personal time, Ryoko, is your business!" Aeka retorted.
"Shut up, bitch!  I already told you, this isn't Ryoko!  Don't make me go
through this again," the voice pleaded.  Aeka began to whimper.  The voice
continued, "Do you want to die, tonight, Aeka?  Mihoshi didn't want to die.
Actually, she didn't realize what was going to happen to her until the end.
But I'm sure if she had even a quarter of a brain she would have fought for
her life."
"Azaka!  Kamidake!"  Aeka shrieked, calling for her Guardians.
"They can't help you, now," the voice laughed, "turn on the porch lights!"
Aeka jumped off the couch and flipped on the porch light.  She gasped in
horror as she saw her two beloved Guardians being devoured by termites.
"What do you want?" Aeka asked assertively, trying not to let the voice know
frightened she was.
"I want to see what your insides look like," the voice hissed.  Suddenly, a
dark figure, its face hidden behind a white ghost mask, crashed through the
window tackling her to the ground.  She screamed as the intruder raised a
knife in the air.  Quickly, she kicked the attacker in the face with her
heel
and ran upstairs to her room.  Aeka slammed her bedroom door shut.  Her
heart
was pounding and she hardly dared to breathe.  She saw the menacing
silhouette of her attacker appear behind the flimsy fabric of her door.
Suddenly, the knife slashed through the door, tearing at the delicate
material.  Aeka screamed.  She covered her face with her hands, knowing that
at any moment she would feel the knife slicing into her flesh.  A hand
closed
over her shoulder.  Aeka screamed again.
"Aeka, what's wrong?"  It was Tenchi.  Aeka threw her arms around her
boyfriend.
"Oh, Lord Tenchi!  It was awful!  Mihoshi's killer is in the house!!"
"What?  Here?"
"Yes.  He was here just a moment ago.  I thought he was going to kill me.
Oh
Tenchi!" she sobbed.
"Where did he go?"  Tenchi demanded.  He stepped back, disentangling himself
from Aeka's grasp.  A cellular phone fell from the pocket of his jacket.
Aeka looked up at him in horror.
"Aeka, it's not what you think…" Tenchi stammered.
"Kiyone!" Aeka shrieked.   She stared at Tenchi in disbelief, tears filling
her eyes.  Kiyone, Washu, Ryoko and Ryo Ohki ran into the room.

"Aeka," Tenchi pleaded, "you know I would never do something like that.  I
left the video store early because I wanted to be here to keep you company.
Aeka, you know me!" but Aeka turned away from him sobbing.
    "Tenchi, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you some questions," Kiyone
said.  She laid her hand on his arm and lead Tenchi out of the room.
    "I'd better make sure she doesn't screw this up," Washu declared,
grinning deviously as she went after them.
    "What's happening?  Where's Kiyone taking Tenchi?" Nobuyuki asked
entering the room.
    "It looks like Tenchi may be the one who killed Mihoshi," Ryoko told him
sadly.
    "Tenchi," Nobuyuki called out, running after his son, "are you becoming
a
juvenile delinquent on me?"
    "Dad, I didn't do anything!" Ryoko and Aeka heard Tenchi's voice from
downstairs.
    "Washu will probably take him to her laboratory to interrogate him,"
Ryoko said.
    In the distance, the girls heard Washu call, "I'm ready now!"
    "Uh, what's with the nurses outfit?"  Tenchi's voice could barely be
heard.
    "I'm an angel of mercy, Tenchi!"  Washu laughed wickedly.
Ryoko closed the door to Aeka's bedroom.  "Are you OK, Aeka?" she asked.
    "I think so," Aeka answered shakily, "I just never would have suspected
Tenchi."  The two girls sat in silence as the sun at last sank into the
night.

    "Well," Kiyone said as she entered the room an hour later, "his story
checks out.  We checked the phone records and he wasn't the one who made
those calls.  Washu just wanted to do a few more tests on him."
    From downstairs, the girls heard Washu call out, "Hello?"
    "No!" they heard Tenchi cry.
    "I've got magic fingers!" Washu sang.
    "I don't care!"  Tenchi wailed.  Kiyone closed the door to Aeka's room.
    "Oh, I'm so happy," Aeka said in relief.  "I never really believed it
was
him."
    "You were the one who accused him!"  Ryoko protested.
    "I did not!" Aeka retorted.  "I just thought it was odd that he had a
cellular phone, but I never really believed he was the killer!"  Aeka and
Ryoko glared at each other.
    "Hi, Aeka, hi Ryoko, are we still going to have that party?" Tenchi
asked
as he staggered into the room.
    "Oh, Tenchi, my darling, I'm so glad you're OK."  Aeka threw herself
into
Tenchi's arms.
    "Tenchi," Ryoko pushed Aeka away, "I would never accuse you of doing
something so awful."  Ryoko put her arms around Tenchi.
    "How dare you?  You little hussy!" Aeka hissed.
    "Hey, princess, how about granting me a special interview and explain to
me why you accused your boyfriend of being a vicious killer?" Ryoko mocked,
hanging on Tenchi's arm.  Aeka clenched her fists.  The veins in her
forehead, which only appeared when she was really angry, bulged.  She
quickly
raised her right fist and struck Ryoko across the face.  Ryoko tumbled to
the
ground.
    "Bam, bitch went down!" Kiyone said as Aeka stormed out of the room.

    "Here's some ice for your right hook."  Nobuyuki handed Aeka an ice
pack.
 "When you're ready, come join the party downstairs."  He lingered for a
moment at the door, watching Aeka and Kiyone.
    "Thank you, Mr. Masaki," Kiyone said.
    "Sure, no problem," Nobuyuki said and darted out of the room.
    "You know," Kiyone said, "when I was working at the strip club, I could
have sworn I saw him there one night."
    "Now, Kiyone," Aeka said sternly, "I know that Mr. Masaki is a pervert,
but I'm sure he wouldn't do anything like patron a strip club!"
    "You're probably right," Kiyone sighed.  "So are you ready to go
downstairs?" she asked.
    "Yes, I'm ready," Aeka replied.
    "Bam, bitch went down!" Kiyone repeated as they left the room.

    In the Masaki's living room, everyone was already watching Halloween.
Aeka picked up a bowl of cookies and sat down on the couch.
    "Hey," Ryoko demanded, "give me a cookie.  That's the least you can do
after punching me in the face."
    "No, you've had enough cookies," Aeka replied.
    "Cookie hog!" Ryoko snapped.
    "Meow!"  Ryo Ohki said.
"You should be careful, little Ryoko, you don't want her to give you another
black eye."  Washu giggled.
    "Stay out of this, Washu," Ryoko warned.
    "OK, I'll stay out of it, but I have to ask you one thing, I wonder,
could you please, do you think you could call me 'Mom'?"  Washu asked.
    Ryoko glared at Washu and growled.
    Ryo Ohki hissed.
"Now don't fight," Tenchi pleaded.  "Have some more chips and tea."
    "I thought we were drinking sake," Ryoko said.
    "Oh, yeah, that's right.  We are drinking sake.  I don't know why I said
'tea'," Tenchi replied.
    "Meow, meow!"  Ryo Ohki agreed.
"Why do all of these movies have Jamie Lee Curtis in them?" Aeka asked, as
she glanced through the videos the others had rented.
    "That is an excellent, good question, Miss Aeka," Washu said, "It's
because she's the scream queen!"
    "Scream queen?  What's that?" Tenchi asked.
    "No, I won't tell you," Washu insisted, "Not unless…"
    "Unless?" Aeka questioned.
    "Unless you call me 'Little Washuuuuuu!'" Washu declared.
    "That will be hard considering you're over 20,000 years old!" Aeka
snapped under her breath.  Then she smiled, "Little Washu, will you tell us
about scary movies?"
    "Of course I will!"  Washu quickly phased into her professor's cap and
gown.  "There are three things you have to remember whenever you're watching
a scary movie.  Number one: virgins don't die.  Sorry Ryoko."
    "Hey, what's that supposed to mean," Ryoko snarled.  Aeka giggled.
    "Like you have any room to talk!" Ryoko growled, taking a drink of sake.
    "As I was saying," Washu interrupted, "Rule number two: don't do any
drugs or do any alcohol."  Ryoko turned and spit a mouthful of sake all over
Aeka.
    "Oh!  Why you little…"  Aeka glared at Ryoko, her face red with rage.
    "Now for the third rule," Washu interrupted again, "and this is very
important, so you should listen to this one."  Aeka, Ryoko, Kiyone, Ryo Ohki
and Tenchi leaned toward her in anticipation.  "Never, ever, ever say, 'I'll
be right back.'  'Cause you won't.  You'll be dead."
    "Meow!"  Ryo Ohki cried frightened.  Tenchi petted her head to comfort
her.
"Do you really think we're gonna believe that?"  Kiyone asked, "That's
ridiculous.  I'm going to get some more sake.  I'll be right back," she
mocked as she headed for the garage.
    Tenchi glanced around nervously.  "Maybe I should take a look around the
house, just to make sure everything's OK.  I'm worried and I want to be
certain that the attacker is not here.  Ryoko, would you come with me?"
    "Of course, Tenchi," Ryoko purred, wrapping her arms around Tenchi's
neck.
    "Excuse me, but just what do you think you're doing asking her to go
with
you?"  Aeka demanded.
    "Don't be angry, Aeka, but you were viciously attacked earlier, and I
want to be certain you're safe."  He smiled at her.  Aeka smiled back.
    "OK," she said, "but come back after you look around."  Tenchi nodded as
he and Ryoko left the room.

.