Credits: Tenchi Muyo!/No Need For Tenchi is a product of Pioneer/AIC. As such, I'm getting no compensation for writing this fiction other than my own enjoyment, because the thought of getting sued is rather unpleasant. Mr. Long T. Tran for his "Tenchi Muyo: Ryoko's Love Prologue" story line, parts one, two, and three, and the characters created therein. His fiction can be found at GenSao's excellent Tenchi Muyo Fan Fiction Page: http://www.tmffa.com Disclaimer: All characters *I* have created are purely a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is pure coincidence. Anyone who thinks otherwise is probably just itching for a fight. Also, please do not try and distribute this story in some lame attempt to make a buck; it would be bad karma to say the least. Tenchi Muyo! "No Need For Sasami" A Fan-Fiction by Michael McAvoy Come live with me and be my love, And we will all the pleasures prove That valleys, groves, hills, and fields, Woods, or steepy mountain yields. -- Christopher Marlowe "The Passionate Shepard to His Love" If all the world and love were young, And truth in every shepherd's tongue, Those pretty pleasures might me move To live with thee and be thy love. -- Sir Walter Raleigh "The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd" -* Chapter Four *- In a void dotted by a million tiny stars, a lone sentry stood solitary guard over a border in space. Not demarcated by any permanent reference markers, such as planets or asteroids, the Jurai border beacon was one of a series of laser mounted automations designed to turn back unauthorized intruders from the special restricted space beyond. The space that included the colonized planet, Earth, in the Solar System. Facing outwards from the zone of protected space, the glossy and gold plated laser platform trained all of its sensors, straining to pick out potential intruders from the vast background of radiation, dust, and other noise that made up the emptiness of space. Using a series of ultra sensitive cameras that scanned all ranges matter, the little drone quietly went about its duty, year after year, its blinking red and blue warning lights adorning the outside of its casing the only sign of activity. So the sentry drone had gone about the past several hundred years, with never having to achieve alert status. After all, who would come through this part of empty space to visit a series of backwater solar systems? However, being a drone, it never occurred to the sentry to consider complaining about its unexciting lot in life. In the far distance, directly in front of the border sentry, a small distortion seemed to blur across the field of stars. Wholly unconcerned, the sentry continued to scan the immediate space, lights blinking unhurriedly. Moments later, the distortion increased in size until it became a definite shiny dot against the starry backdrop. Any of a large number of automated warnings, under normal circumstances, should have started broadcasting from the sentry as its lasers automatically trained on the rapidly approaching object. As the object continued to close on the border, however, the sentry showed no signs of activity. With a mighty rush of speed in the silence of space, a small, sleek vessel of Juraian origin flashed across the border within meters of the sentry. Quicker than a ray of light, the vessel continued its coarse and soon disappeared amongst the stars. Unknown to the sentry, and the Juraian engineers who created such things, it had just fallen victim to the latest in stealth technology. The border sentry remained quiet, its caution lights merrily blinking in red and blue as it remained scanning what it considered empty space. * * * A series of clangs from some part of the house downstairs brought me out of my lethargic afternoon daze that I was enduring. I never enjoy being in bed when I have every desire to stay awake. More often than not, oversleeping makes me feel thick headed and slightly ill, a condition which I have only recently had to deal with. For example, at this stage in my life, oversleeping makes my head hurt for some reason. When I was in college and high school, there were not enough hours in the day for me to get enough sleep. I prided myself on being able to sleep anywhere at anytime, and I enjoyed doing so. However, back in elementary school and kinder garden, there was nothing I hated more than the teacher imposed `nap time'. The thought of anyone forcing me to sleep at that stage of my life made me rather upset. Interestingly enough, I image that as I get into old age, I will once again return to a state where I enjoy oversleeping a lot more than I do now. It is rather odd, but I suppose that is just the way things work for me. At any rate I had no desire to stay bed ridden any longer. It was late afternoon by this point, and a faint smell of food coming through the house ventilation system made my stomach very aware of just how empty it really was. I smiled as I thought of the girl who had changed my bandages, Sasami, and who was probably well engaged in a meal prepared under her modestly described cooking skills. I really enjoyed talking with her for a while, because I did not feel uncomfortable around her, despite the fact she was having to take time out of her day to attend me. I knew that the accident was not my fault and that they all felt obligated to aid my recovery, it just seemed that Sasami was pleasant to talk in a way that seemed to project she did not mind being there to do so. Plus, she had a very nice voice. I know she complimented my `radio voice' when she first walked in, but in truth she had a similar soothing quality to hers as well. Also, her accent, though it sounded like it was from the States, had a peculiar tone to it that I could not quite place, though it tickled my brain continuously any time I thought about it. Interrupting my thoughts with a shake of my head, I made a concerted effort to propel my body up into a sitting position on the side of the bed. Doing so had the predictable effect as my head spun a tad and my shoulder began to ache in different places do to gravity. "Come on, body," I said to myself, "you've had worse than this any number of times." Putting both my feet solidly on the ground, I slowly stood up and made my way over to my backpack, which was still sitting in a corner. With much effort, due to my impaired vision, I dug through the pack until I located my change of clothes and some soap to clean myself up with. I wondered for a moment if the people who had attended me had been able to locate my glasses. It really bothered me having my world cut short to almost five inches from my nose. Additionally, I felt somewhat disappointed that I could not see what Sasami looked like, thinking back to our conversation. I mean, I was aware that she had long flowing blue hair, large eyes, and appeared to be several inches shorter than myself, but other than that everything was a big blur. In reality, not having my glasses probably emboldened me somewhat. You would not really think it, but there is quite an advantage to being able to maintain a constant unwavering eye contact with someone when you yourself can not see the other person clearly. It helps make up in confidence what I lose from not being able to see things, I guess. Anyhow, my point is I think I become less self-conscious when I can not see clearly, as weird as that may seem. Sliding my bedroom door open quietly, I stepped out into the hall and made my way down to where I remembered the bathroom being. I quirked my face a bit at the memory of trying to keep Doctor Washu out of the bathroom, convincing her that I could handle my end of things perfectly, despite my injuries. I could not tell by her facial expression, but her voice sounded disappointed for some strange reason. Locating a sink, I did my best to clean up the past day's wear and tear on my body, making an effort to clean as much of my face and upper body without disturbing Sasami's handiwork. Thinking about that girl made me smile in a goofy way, and I laughed at myself for letting my thoughts get so distracted while in a foreign country. "After all, Nathaniel," I said, looking at my blurry image in a mirror, "you're not going to be anywhere near this part of Japan for more than a day or two for the rest of your trip. Use your head." 'Actually,' my head responded, 'Unless you get your vision back pronto, you're not going to be able to go much of anywhere, period.' "Good point," I conceded. I sighed and fumbled about some more, trying my best to not make a total mess of myself. After drying off and inspecting my damaged shoulder again, I got into my change of clothes, which required quite a bit of finesse, seeing as how I was doing so with only one functioning arm. The shirt was not much of a problem, but try buttoning up a pair of jeans sometime with one free hand. It is *not* easy. Eventually, things were put in some semblance of order, and I packed up my dirty clothes and wash things and headed back to my room. * * * Nathaniel eased his way back to his room with no difficulties, and he stashed his dirty things back into his pack and slowly stood up straight. Walking over to a window, he then pulled back the shades to see - well, nothing, actually. He could make out the color of the sky, a soft red indicating the late afternoon, and the blurry shapes of thick trees and bushes, but not much else. Badly desiring his glasses, and catching a whiff of something good cooking, Nathaniel shuffled over to his bed and put on a thick pair of socks before getting up and heading to the door again. Just as his hand reached for the handle, a knock came from the other side as the door slid open smoothly. It was Sasami. "Oh! Geez," she breathed in English, "I'm sorry, you startled me! I didn't expect you to be standing right behind the door." Nathaniel smiled at her and responded, "My bad, I seemed to have spooked myself just as much. What's up?" Sasami seemed to think for a moment before realizing why she was there, "Oh, right. I came to collect you for dinner." "Sounds fantastic. My stomach is letting me know in no uncertain terms just how hungry it is." "Well, you're in for a treat," Sasami beamed, "because dinner is on the table and waiting." Her head cocked to the side slightly, and she said with some concern, "I'm glad to see you're able to get up and around, but are you sure you feel all right?" "I have a few aches," he admitted, "but nothing that's going to keep me away from your food!" A smile seemed to appear on her face. "Well, then. Please follow me." With that, she turned away from the door, and Nathaniel followed her slowly into the hallway. So far, everything seemed fine as far as Nathaniel's injuries went. However, when he got to the top of the stairs, Nathaniel experienced some vertigo as he could not see exactly how far down the first step was. Teetering on one foot as he reached down with the other tentatively, he lost his balance slightly and flailed with his good left arm. Just as Nathaniel thought he was *really* going to lose his balance, he felt Sasami at his left side, grabbing a hold of his arm firmly until he had steadied himself. "Thanks," Nathaniel nodded as he continued to try and get his bearings on that first step. "Here," she said worriedly, "you might get dizzy going down the stairs, so take my hand and I'll guide you down." Sliding her hand into his, Sasami slowly began to make her way down the stairs. Nathaniel knew that dizziness was not really his problem, and once he had the height of that first step judged properly, the rest were a piece of cake. The feel of his hand in hers, however, did threaten to make him dizzy despite all logic, so he did not dare let go as they descended the staircase. Finally, they reached the bottom of the steps. "There you go," nodded Sasami approvingly, "you made it." Nathaniel smiled back at her and bobbed his head in agreement, not saying anything. After a few moments, an embarrassed self-consciousness set in as Sasami was still holding his hand, and Nathaniel was not trying to set himself loose, either. Suddenly, Sasami became self-conscious as well, because she jerked her hand away suddenly and motioned down a side hall to the dining room. "Uh, we're in there," she stammered as she turned and walked in that direction. Nathaniel moved after her, trying to avoid running into things while sorting the `funny' feeling he could not seem to shake from the touch of her hand. * * * The conversation at dinner had been lively, to say the least. I found myself fairly dazed at the animated bantering that went on throughout the meal between the members of the household. Having come from a very small and quiet family, I simply sat back and let my senses absorb in the noise. Even though I still could not make out faces very well, I had managed to familiarize myself with the blurry images of people to identify them at close range. Also, I had no problem identifying and remembering everyone's voices around the table. As far as I could tell, however, the people at the table generally fell into one of two categories: loud, and not so loud. Ryoko was loud. I was simply amazed at the knack for talking that the woman had. And it was not idle chit-chat, either. Ryoko had a gift for engaging, if not occasionally risque, conversation that always seemed to draw my attention for some reason. She also seemed to go out of her way to draw out conversation from me as well, which did help to lighten up a somewhat awkward situation for everyone. After all, you could imagine how I felt being at a dinner table full of strangers in a foreign country, especially when those strangers were feeling extremely responsible for almost incurring brain damage upon me. Ryoko's daughter and mother were definitely in the loud category as well. While they did not talk as much as Ryoko, Doctor Washu certainly had a knack for inserting interesting observations or barbs at her daughter, while Yui, in spite of her embarrassment for knocking me out, had the enthusiastic chattering that comes from most normal teenagers. Doctor Washu also carried on a rather one sided conversation all evening with Tenchi's grandfather, Katsuhito. Katsuhito was definitely in the quiet category. He appeared to be dressed in something that resembled a martial arts gi, only nicer and more comfortable looking. To be honest, I do not recall him saying more than a few sentences all evening to anyone, though for some reason he still seemed to be a pleasant seeming fellow, if not cryptic. For example, when asked by Doctor Washu if he wanted any more of some soup, he replied in haiku that had something to do with sunsets and swans. Apparently that was an affirmative, because he got a refill in his bowl. Tenchi was also in the quiet category, though he was by no means as stoic as his grandfather. He asked me pleasant questions about where I was from and my life in general while engaging in friendly banter with everyone at the table. However, when his and Ryoko's conversations met, as they frequently seemed to do, the two of them seemed to drop into sweetheart voices like a couple who had not been married for very long. Actually, the range of affection that would enter their voices made me a bit embarrassed from time to time, as if I were eavesdropping on an almost private conversation. The only person who was absent from the table that evening was Tenchi's father, Nobuyuki. I had not had a chance to meet the man, yet, but as I understood it, he was away visiting relatives, or some such activity. The only other person at the table that evening was one I was constantly aware of the entire time. Sasami was to my right at the table and did her best to help me identify everything due to my impaired vision. She would pick out bowls of food and describe them, helping me choose out what I wanted to eat for the evening. After sampling her first two small dishes, I quickly decided that it was imperative I leave room in my stomach for everything on the table. Her food, to use a polite understatement, was simply mouthwatering. Everything was a delight to eat, even the items that I had never even seen the likes of before, as my experience with Japanese food was not all that broad. I think the highlight of the meal was a simple piece of tuna sushi that was not only incredibly tasty, but the flakes of meat seemed to melt in my mouth with the most pleasing of sensations. There comes a point in some meals where you just can not say, "Mmm, this is fantastic!" enough to describe it. Because Sasami was sitting close enough beside me at the table to help me out with getting food and drink with my still disabled arm, I had the opportunity to see her features a little more clearly than earlier in the day. The only problem was trying to stare at the woman without actually *looking* like I was staring. Her large lavender eyes were soft and had an inviting quality to them, with high, arching eyebrows that were covered by a series of bangs that kept falling down across her forehead and eyes. As irrational as it seemed, for some strange reason I had an almost insatiable urge to want to brush them back with my good hand. For a whole host of reasons, I sat on the temptation. Fortunately, I suppose, my attention was drawn away enough by the other people at the table to keep me from ever getting the chance to stare at Sasami too obviously. Ryoko, especially, kept throwing questions at me which diverted my gaze from Sasami, whenever she had just finished talking to me or helping me with dinner. However, though I did not really realize it until later, Ryoko also had a habit of ending a lot of her comments with something along the lines of, "Wouldn't you agree, Sasami?" which invariably gave me an excuse to draw my attention back to my neighbor at the dinner table. After a while, however, there was a snap of Tenchi's fingers from his side of the table, as if he had just remembered something important. "Oh," he said, "I just remembered something important." I grinned inwardly at my uncanny and completely useless precognitive abilities. Getting up off the floor, Tenchi walked over to a bureau and fished an item off of it. "I found these a little while ago," Tenchi stated, "they must have gotten knocked off pretty hard, because they were laying further down the staircase, several feet away." "Daaaad," whined Yui, "you don't have to rub it in." "That's okay, Yui," I assured her, excited to see my glasses had been found. "I'm just glad to have them back." I felt a comforting pat on my back and turned to see Sasami smiling at me. "Um," hedged Tenchi, "they're not exactly in the best shape. In fact, I'd say they're banged up pretty bad." With an apologetic nod of his head, he leaned across the table and deposited the contents into my outstretched hand. What tumbled into my hand were fragments of two broken lenses and one pair of slightly mangled metal frames. Scrunching my brow in consternation at the state of my glasses, I deposited the lenses fragments onto the edge of the table and tried to slowly bend the frame back into shape with one hand. "I don't know if that's such a good-" began Sasami, as there was a small snap from my hand, "-idea." As gentle as I had been, one of the arms of the frame that was bent had snapped in half, leaving me with absolutely nothing resembling a working pair of spectacles. I sighed heavily as my worst case scenario fears were realized. "Nathaniel?" asked Sasami. "I'm *really* sorry, sir," said Yui at the same time. "No, no," I said, trying to brush her apologies aside. "These glasses are beyond repair, but I'm not totally helpless, I think." "Really?" Sasami said with relief. "I take it you have a spare pair of glasses back at your inn?" I rubbed the side of my face ruefully as I disagreed. "No," I said, "that certainly would have been the smart thing for me to do, brining a spare pair of glasses with me to Japan. Unfortunately, this is the first pair of glasses I've broken since I was fourteen, so I just didn't think about it when I was packing." I chewed my bottom lip, considering my options that I could explore. Ryoko looked at me. "Can you get around without them?" I nodded, still in thought. "Sure," I said, "I can get around, I just can't see anything in focus unless my nose is a couple of inches from it. What I really need is a shop that can make a pair of glasses." "Well, we have that in town," Tenchi spoke up helpfully. "You can get a pair made there without much difficulty at all, I would suppose. Especially if you already know your prescription." "Hmm," I said grimacing, "I don't know it off the top of my head, but I think I have it in my portable brain back at the inn." "Portable brain?" asked Sasami, confused. "Ah, if I'm not mistaken," said Washu, "you are referring some portable record keeping device, right?" "You got it," I agreed. "In this case it's a small computer. I keep a lot of important information in it, just in case of emergency, and I'm pretty sure my prescription just happens to be there." I looked up from my broken frames and lenses and said, "All I need is just someone to direct me to where the eye glasses shop in town is." "No problem, then," said Tenchi, "we can catch the bus early tomorrow morning, and I can show you where - ooof!" Ryoko had just nudged her husband rather solidly in the ribs, causing him to catch his breath. "Now, Tenchi," she said sweetly, "you *know* you and I have something very important to do tomorrow morning." "We do?" he asked, rubbing his arm. "You do?" echoed Washu with amusement. "Yes, *mom*," Ryoko said a little less nicely, "we do." "That's all right," I interjected, "I'm sure if you just tell me where it is, I'll be able to find it." Ryoko shook her head, "No, we can't let you wander around bumping into things, especially in town. Sasami can take you instead." Ryoko looked over at Sasami. "That all right with you, Sasami?" she asked. "Uh, yes," she stuttered, "I'd be happy to help Nathaniel out." I looked over apologetically at her, and she returned a small smile at me. * * * Ryoko hummed to herself as she walked along the lake shore after dinner. Evening twilight was just beginning to settle over the secluded valley, leaving the lake waters twinkling in a ruddy color. Overall, Ryoko had a great deal to be happy about. Nathaniel was completely unaware of the deceptions being played around him, and the more Ryoko saw of him, the more she liked his personality. As entertaining as dropping the young man in the middle of the Pacific might have turned out to be, she was satisfied that such actions would not be necessary. Looking up at the night sky advancing across the horizon, Ryoko decided to head back for the house. With a smile, she shimmered and disappeared. A moment later, Ryoko reappeared outside the front porch. She was confident that Nathaniel was up in his room sleeping, so using her abilities was not a huge risk at this point. Ryoko was pleasantly surprised, however, to see her husband sitting on the porch waiting for her. Tenchi looked up and smiled at her arrival. "Ryoko-san," he said, sliding over to give her room to sit on the porch steps, "did you enjoy your walk?" Ryoko slid up beside Tenchi, worming her way under his arm while wrapping hers around his waist. "Mmmm-hmmm," she breathed. "You're warm." Ryoko snuggled up closer to her husband while sighing contentedly. Tenchi smiled down at his pirate wife, trying to think of the best way to broach the subject on his mind. If history was a judge, Ryoko had a way of taking things out of context to extremes, and the results of their misunderstandings could cause incredible headaches for everyone. Tenchi grimaced at the thought of some of his attempts at bringing up topics with his wife early in their marriage. It was a miracle, as far as Tenchi was concerned, that the house had ever survived. "Beloved, what are you doing to Sasami?" he asked finally. Ryoko disengaged Tenchi's arm from around her shoulders and sat up beside him. "I don't know what you mean," she began, "I've just trying to cheer up the princess." She crossed her arms in a slightly defense posture. "Why, what do you *think* I'm doing?" she asked, her golden eyes narrowing. Tenchi swallowed. This was not starting off well, judging by his wife's body language. "Um, I think you're really trying to make someone we all care about happy and carefree," he offered. "So, what's the problem?" Tenchi gulped this time. `Oh, well. I've already botched saying this tactfully,' he thought. Looking up at Mercury and Venus already shining brightly in the red evening sky, Tenchi pinched his brow searching for the best way to avoid making Ryoko crackle with energy. "Ryoko, do you remember when you and Ayeka both lived here?" he started. Ryoko cocked an eye at him. "Of, course," she said. "It hasn't been that long for me, remember?" Tenchi nodded, "I know, beloved, so you recall all the plotting and competition that went on between the two of you?" Ryoko managed to look fondly embarrassed at the mention of her and Ayeka's rivalry. "Sure, I remember all the fun *that* was. Sometimes I try to forget some of it." Ryoko looked up at Tenchi suspiciously. "What are you getting at?" "Well, it's just that sometimes-" `Frequently,' his brain added. "-the two of you became so wrapped up in the competition, you both lost site of your goal," Tenchi explained, wondering how Ryoko would take the jog down memory lane. "I know the two of you never intended to hurt me or each other-" "That's not true," Ryoko growled, "I *frequently* intended to hurt her." "-*but* it happened on occasion," concluded Tenchi. Ryoko had a dangerous look in her eyes, so he switched tracks to diffuse her anger as quickly as possible, while still getting his point across. "I know now that between you two, you were always the most genuine with your concern for me as a person, and that you would never knowingly hurt me or anyone else you love." Tenchi smiled, "Beneath that tough space pirate exterior, you're the most loving person I know." Ryoko had a slightly confused look on her face, as if she could not decide on being annoyed or in love with her husband. Tenchi took advantage of the moment and plowed on. "Ayeka was first and foremost a royal princess, and she always wanted me to behave like royalty," he continued. "She never really understood that was not who I was, but to the end I think she always believed I would suddenly become the prince she desired." Above the two of them, a wind chime sang softly as a light breeze wafted past the front of the house. Tenchi took one of Ryoko's hands in his own and said, "She believed that manipulating the situation like court politics would win out for her, but she was wrong, wasn't she? Even now, she thinks like the empress she is, manipulating Sasami to further the good of the Jurai family." "Tenchi," Ryoko said quietly, relaxing her hand in his. Tenchi turned fully to Ryoko and said, "I know you want to help Sasami, beloved, we all do. There's nothing I wouldn't do to help her, but this is something she has to solve herself, as a princess of Jurai." "I don't understand," Ryoko argued, "I'm just trying to hook up the princess with a nice seeming guy. What's wrong with that?" Her expression was one of helpless annoyance. "Nothing, really," he agreed, "but Sasami will be leaving in less than two weeks, right? What happens then? Are we going to let the cat out of the bag that Sasami and the rest of us are not exactly of this Earth? And if we do, what would that do to the two of them, knowing Sasami must leave so quickly?" Tenchi sighed and looked back across the yard in front of the house. "I'm just afraid that if you nudge Sasami any more and she gets attached to Nathaniel too much, she'll be in a lot more pain when it comes time for her to leave, that's all." "And how much different would that make me from Ayeka," Ryoko concluded, "pushing Sasami in a different direction just to thwart that empress?" "Oh, Ryoko-san," he said, looking up, "that's not what I meant. You're not trying to hurt Sasami." "No," Ryoko disagreed, "I may not mean to, but I'm hurting her in the end all the same." Her face became downcast as she sighed. "I guess I just hoped Sasami would throw off being a princess pawn to Ayeka if she met someone else here." Ryoko rubbed her head in frustration. "Ahh! Tenchi! I can't explain how much it burns me to see that woman taking away our Sasami!" Tenchi gathered his wife into his arms, whispering, "I know, beloved. Really, I know. The only thing we can do is support Sasami's decisions and trust her to do what's best for herself." "Because of me, we can't even accompany her to Jurai, can we?" she asked suddenly. "Seven hundred years isn't long enough for the royal houses on Jurai to forget my attack on the palace, is it? Even if I *was* under the influence of Kagato." Tenchi looked down at his wife thoughtfully. "No," he sighed, "I think that goes for both of us. I made it known quite clearly that I wanted no part of Jurai or being a royal heir to the throne so I could stay on Earth and marry you. I'm probably not much more welcome, either." Ryoko was quiet for a while. Finally, she said, "I guess I'll stop pushing on Sasami so obviously. I mean, if *you* noticed, I must have been fairly tactless." "Hey, now," Tenchi said, with a feigned look of hurt. "Don't worry, my prince," she laughed, "I wouldn't have you any other way." Settling into Tenchi's embrace, Ryoko grew thoughtful again. "Tenchi," she asked, "what if Sasami and Nathaniel start to work things out on their own? I mean, Sasami already gets a far away gaze now and again when he's around, and even though he can't see clearly, he obviously enjoys talking with her." "I don't know, Ryoko," he admitted. "It's only been a day, and maybe there's so little time left that nothing will happen." "I seem to remember both a demon space pirate and a haughty princess falling for *you* in under a week." "I know, please don't remind me," joked Tenchi, receiving a well deserved tweak on his nose. * * * There was always something Sasami found comforting about washing and drying dishes by herself after any one of the nightly feeding frenzies at the Masaki residence. Truthfully, since the population at the house had decreased with Ayeka, Kiyone, and Mihoshi's departures years ago, the toll pushed on the in-house cook had been lightened significantly. Especially with Mihoshi. There were days when Sasami could not understand where the bubble-headed Galaxy Police captain stored all the food she crammed in her mouth. Covered in an apron, Sasami repeatedly plunged her hands in the plugged up sink, removing the leftovers of her various concoctions from the more delicate pieces of dish ware. Sasami was *not* a glutton for punishment, however; a good majority of the dinner items automatically found their way each night into the dishwasher without fail. There was just something about the motions of cleaning some of the dishes by hand that refreshed Sasami's spirit. Wiping away the grease and grime of the day's meal, leaving a shiny and pure plate, was something of a metaphor for her soul. Removing the last dish from the soapy bath in the sink, Sasami rinsed and attacked it with a vengeance using her drying towel. Wiping away the last of the water as if it were all the problems in the world that could be brushed aside effortlessly, she finally eased up and settled the dish in a small drying rack with its mates. Sasami then stepped back and wiped her brow, leaving a tiny soapy trail across the two small marks on her forehead. Her large, bright eyes narrowed a bit as she chewed her bottom lip softly in thought. `I wonder if it's too late,' she wondered. `But then again, I'll be gone tomorrow morning.' Clucking her tongue against the roof of her mouth in decision, Sasami undid the back of her apron and folded it with purpose. "Meow-meow." "Oh!" she exclaimed, looking down at the Ryo-ohki. "There you are." Sasami reached down and picked the cabbit up gently, stroking her fur. "I've missed you today, did you know that?" "Meow-meow," Ryo-ohki affirmed. "Meow?" "Sure, it's safe to be out now," nodded the princess. "Our guest went to bed early tonight. He still has a lot of his strength to gather." The cabbit looked relieved and relaxed into Sasami's arms. She looked down at Ryo-ohki getting comfortable. "Say, Ryo-chan," whispered Sasami, "I don't feel like walking by myself. Would you like to come with me?" Ryo-ohki looked up happily at the princess and snuggled further into her arms. "Guess that's a yes," Sasami giggled. Holding Ryo-ohki in one arm, the princess walked over and turned the kitchen lights off, so that the only remaining light shone from a small fixture above the sink. Giving the kitchen a last once-over in the semi- darkness, Sasami opened the kitchen door and stepped outside into the night air. It was another warm evening in the mountains, but dark clouds were starting to build in the far distance, blotting out some of the stars. As Sasami stood out beside the house on a small deck, she could feel a warm breeze coming from the direction of the clouds. Through the darkness, now and again, she could spy brief flashes of light, indicating the approach of scattered thunderstorms that had spawned elsewhere earlier in the day. They were still very far away in the distance, so much so that neither Sasami nor Ryo-ohki could hear even the tiniest hint of thunder. Sasami made a decision. "I think we can be back in time before those clouds make it to us," she calculated. "We should be fine." Ryo-ohki purred in agreement. "You don't care, just as long as someone rubs you behind the ears, right?" Ryo-ohki nodded vehemently in agreement, causing Sasami to chuckle. Her facial features softened their tension considerably as she looked back up over the sky. "Wouldn't hurt to hurry, though." With that, the princess stepped off the deck and began walking up a path in the darkness towards the massive staircase leading up the side of the mountain. At first the lights still coming from the house were more than enough to guide her way, but as the shadows deepened around her as she passed under some trees, Sasami grew less confident of her steps. The encroaching clouds were obscuring the moonlight and starlight, making it difficult to distinguish any obstacles in her path. Pausing for a moment, Sasami peered about in the darkness, listening to the cicadas sing out from various trees around her as if they sensed a growing heaviness in the air. Sasami listened for a moment more before closing her eyes with a sigh. Still holding Ryo-ohki firmly, she began to chant softly in the darkness. "Spirits of the Earth," she whispered, "life that lives eternal in trees, grant me your power to illuminate my way." With her eyes still closed, Sasami repeated her mantra several times. Sensing power gathering about her, Ryo-ohki cautiously lifted one of her eyes and peered out into the darkness. Suddenly, both of her eyes popped opened in amazement. Falling gently from the leaves of the trees were tiny whips of light, each a speck of soft blue cutting through the dark night. At first, only a few of the droplets of light came down from the canopy above them, but as Sasami continued to whisper her chant, gathering more of her power, the little lights increased. Descending down, they quietly surrounded the princess and the amazed cabbit, dancing about them slowly and piercing the night for a few feet in every direction. "Me-ooooow!" exclaimed the cabbit. Sasami stopped her chanting and opened her eyes to see the results of her work. She smiled at the lights softly dancing around them, pleased with the outcome. "Yep," she said, "I'll have to agree with you, Ryo-chan. Maybe I've been ignoring some of Tsunami's - no... ignoring some of *my* abilities for too long." Sasami paused for a bit to watch the blue lights swirl slowly around them. They were very comforting, and they ensured Sasami would not stumble on her hike up the stairs to the Masaki shrine. The thought of the climb piqued her for a second. "Maybe I should concentrate on that flying thing," she considered ruefully. "I don't see Yui or Ryoko-san complaining about it very much." With that in mind, Sasami continued to the foot of the stone staircase and began her long hike up, holding a furry Ryo-ohki who was well on her way to falling asleep in the comfort of the princess's arms. "Oh, sure," Sasami mentioned quietly, "no problem for you. You're going to sit right there and let *me* do all the work, ne?" Ryo-ohki yawned in response. "Thought so." She continued on, her lights faithfully keeping pace. As she worked her way up the stairs, a slightly stronger breeze made its way past, stirring her long hair with a little more force this time. Through the trees, Sasami thought she could see distant flashes occurring more frequently, now, but she still could not hear the rapport of thunder. She decided to take advantage of her glowing light sources, however, and proceeded to quicken her pace up the stairs a bit. Several minutes later, she reached the top of the stairs, huffing noticeably from her efforts. Looking around while catching her breath, Sasami spied a couple of lights still on inside the shrine. "Whew! Oh, boy," she panted, brushing an errant lock of hair from her forehead, "that does it. Flying lessons begin for me as soon as possible." Recouping her breath, she walked towards the shrine, stopping to rap her knuckles lightly on the door before entering. "Come in, Sasami-chan," a voiced quietly responded from inside the shrine. Sasami slid open the door and entered the building, pausing to remove her sandals. Sliding her foot wear off, she slid the door shut and padded across the floor to where Yosho was seated. Sasami smiled at her half- brother and sat down beside him. "How did you know it was me?" she asked, depositing the now sleeping Ryo-ohki in her lap. "Another example of your never-ending training?" Yosho lifted a cup of tea to his lips, taking a small pull. "Actually," he replied in all seriousness, "I heard you talking to yourself outside the door quite loudly." He sipped from his tea again. "They say on television that such activity is the first sign of madness." Sasami's attractive face pouted slightly as she said, "Well, that's entirely understandable, since I feel like I'm two shades shy from going mad right now." "Ah," the older looking prince of Jurai nodded, "you are here to carry on our interrupted conversation from earlier this afternoon." Yosho placed his tea cup down on the small table in front of them and reached for another cup, pouring Sasami some tea. "For someone so young, you seem to have a great weight on your shoulders, but I think I can understand why." Sasami looked up. "You've heard, then?" she asked softly. "Indeed," he replied, folding his arms across his chest with the ever present serious look on his face. "Tenchi relayed to me all the basic points of your situation." Yosho pinched his gray eyebrows and said, "I take it you are not at all thrilled with the arrangements Ayeka has decided to make for you?" She shook her head, then stopped. "I-I really don't know," the princess admitted. "After all, it is my duty as a royal princess to marry someone suitable." Sasami's voice became quiet as she trailed off into depressed thought. Yosho observed the princess for several moments, considering her. "That really does not sound like an attitude the young Sasami-chan would have ever adopted," he said. "The young Sasami-chan would have been completely excited about performing another duty as a royal princess. However," he continued, "that little girl has obviously changed in many ways while maturing." "Sometimes," Sasami nodded, "sometimes I feel like people don't realize that I am different, almost as if they don't want to let go of the little girl they remember." Yosho shook his head at the princess, "Hmm, that could be part of the problem, but I think there is something else you should consider." "Something else?" echoed Sasami as Yosho sipped more of his tea. He set his cup down. "I wonder who is truly reluctant to let go of the little Sasami-chan," he mused, "members of our family, or, deep down in your heart, yourself?" Sasami adopted a confused look on her face, not comprehending what Yosho was trying to communicate. She absently began stroking the sleeping cabbit in her lap. "Have you stopped to consider that maybe it is you who most desires to see yourself as a child again?" he asked. "That little girl never seemed to experience much in the way on indecision in her life. She was always a light- hearted Sasami-chan that had no greater desire than to have a wonderful time, and most of that wonder came directly from the excitement of being a princess." Yosho paused to scratch the side of one of his arms momentarily before continuing. "Perhaps the start of your journey in understanding your feelings in this matter is to examine what has changed that little princess into the young woman you are today." "I just don't understand," she admitted unhappily, "what do you mean?" "Obviously," he elaborated, "you are no longer totally comfortable with the image of being a dutiful princess of Jurai. The path you should embark on, then, is to examine what in your life has led to your change of heart. Once you find that change in yourself, you can decide if you want to keep it or not." Sasami bunched her brow, thinking hard. "But, if I've already changed, how could I decide whether or not I just want to keep who I am? And who would I become, instead?" "Hmm, well that is the real question," admitted Yosho. "One might argue that a change takes place because it is necessary, and therefore should be accepted unquestioningly. In your case, however, to accept the changes in yourself might end in direct opposition to the life you are required to lead and the duties you are to perform." "What do I do if that happens?" she asked, with a sinking feeling. "You must either give up that person which you have become to be a princess," concluded Yosho, "or you must give up being a dutiful princess so that you can embrace the woman you are." "Must it be a choice?" cried Sasami. "Why can't I be who I am now *and* a royal princess who fulfills her duties?" "Dearest Sasami-chan," Yosho comforted, "if the solution were truly that simple, there would never be the conflict that now settles so deeply in your heart." Sasami heard her half-brother's words and felt the truth of them ring clear like a bell in her soul. Wiping away at her eyes gently, she replied softly, "I think I understand now. I guess I've been hoping someone would make my decision for me or show me an easy option to allow things to stay as they have been these past years." With a growing resolve in her gaze, Sasami looked directly at Yosho. "The only other option is to make my sister and the members of the other noble houses of Jurai see *me* differently, no longer as a princess expected to conform to royal duties, but as an independent princess in control of her own destiny." She looked down at her tea cup in contemplation. "That isn't likely to happen is it, Yosho-san?" she asked in a small voice. "No," he admitted, sighing. "The noble houses of Jurai have their own ideas of what is expected from the royal house, and they are not known for changing their positions." A look of regret came over Yosho's features, and he said, "Much to my own heartache did I learn how immutable and biased such positions can be towards a prince of Jurai. I was forced to make a terrible choice at the time. It is not a choice I would wish upon you." The princess searched Yosho's face intensely, watching the regret on his face slowly fade away into his more common stoic expression. "Do you ever miss Jurai?" she asked compassionately. "Hmm," he pondered, "once upon a time I missed Jurai intensely. But after a while, enough time passed for me to see the beauty and splendor of my new home, and also to appreciate the freedom I had over my own destiny. From that point, I have never missed Jurai or desired to return. This is my beloved home now, perhaps more so than Jurai ever was." Sasami stared off at a far wall of the shrine, her mind suddenly quiet of its fears and insecurities. Finally she spoke. "I hope," she whispered, "I hope that when the time comes I can be as strong and true to myself as you have been, Yosho-niichan." Flashing a rare smile, he replied, "When the time comes, Sasami- chan, I have no doubt you will have all the strengths you will require to make the right decision for yourself." She could only nod at his confidence in her. A moment of silence passed between the two of them as neither moved. Outside, barely audible in the far distance, the first rumble of thunder could be heard echoing off the mountain sides. It also sounded as if the wind's strength might be on the increase, as a stronger gust would occasionally brush past the shrine. Yosho looked thoughtfully at the door. "As much as I appreciate your keeping an old man company," he said, getting up and taking the tea cups away from the table, "perhaps you should be returning to the house." Another rumble of thunder penetrated the building. "You do not want to be running down those steps in the rain, especially with Ryo-ohki in hand." Sasami smoothly rose to her feet, barely disturbing the snoozing cabbit. Despite the perturbed expression on her face, she attempted to lighten the mood of the room. "Company, hmm? Well, *someone* has to come up here now and again to make sure moss isn't growing on you," she said with a smile. "It just happens to be my turn this month, that's all." "Moss, eh?" replied Yosho as he quirked an eyebrow. "Perhaps you would enjoy one of my morning training sessions. I could impress upon you how fast this old stone rolls." Sasami wisely thought better of taking him up on his offer. * * * Nathaniel woke up to the sound of falling rain. Granted, that did sound like a lyric from every fourth country song ever made, but nevertheless that was what he heard at some point in the predawn hours of the morning. Laying there in bed, in the blue darkness, Nathaniel rolled my head to one side and considered one of life's greater curiosities. `Why is it that the other three-fourths of country songs,' he asked himself, `always deal with drinking alcohol, cheating on a girl, or a good pick- up truck?' Some of life's mysteries are just too terrifying to confront, so he decided to let that train of thought derail. Nathaniel rolled his head gently over on his pillow towards with window and continued to listen to the steady, soft rush of water running off the roof to the ground below. Despite the fact that he was comfortably warm and thankfully dry, listening to the amount of rainfall coming down, hid mind did calmly run through hid present situation in a dreamy haze. Nathaniel decided he was in trouble. His glasses were smashed with no hope of repair, and as far as getting around anywhere that required me to be able to read signs or gauge traffic, he was now completely incapable of doing so. There *was* according to Tenchi, a shop in the nearby town where Nathaniel could order a new pair, if he had his prescription. However, based on the small size of the town, he was willing to bet that the shop probably sent orders out to some lab in a bigger city to be ground. If the process was anything resembling what it was in America, he could expect to wait anywhere from five to seven days for a new pair of glasses to show up. Bringing his good hand up to his forehead, Nathaniel grimaced at the thought of being stranded in town for a week unable to see properly. He sighed with annoyance at the realization he was now firmly awake, instead of almost asleep. Reaching over to the little table by the bed, Nathaniel snagged his clock and peered at the glow-in-the-dark hands. It was five fifteen. Perfect. Not enough time to try and go back to sleep, but still too early for him to really think about getting up and around. To make matters worse, his stomach decided to pick that moment to growl in a disgruntled fashion. "Oh, forget it," he grumbled out loud, as he swung his feet slowly out from underneath the covers and over the side of the bed. Sitting on the side of the bed for a few minutes staring out into the darkness, he gave himself one last chance to try and fall back asleep. It was not happening. Erupting a fairly huge yawn, Nathaniel gave in to Fate and slowly stood up and stretched as best as his body would allow. Things still ached this morning, but it was not quite as bad as before. Maybe that was a good sign for the day, he thought. At any rate, Nathaniel padded out of his room in the dark, making my way to the bathroom. `Might as well clean myself up,' he thought sleepily to himself, `no point in getting in anyone else's way if I can help it.' * * * "Eeeeeee-yaaaaaaaah!" yawned Sasami, leaning over the kitchen sink. The first summer rays of sunshine were just starting to pour over the mountains, indicating yet another beautiful day after the previous evening's rain. "Isn't that usually my line?" asked an amused Ryoko. Sasami finished yawning and went back to her breakfast preparations. "Actually," she said offhandedly, "I can't remember you ever being up this early on a regular basis to even *have* a line." "Ouch, princess," smiled Ryoko. "You know, you're getting much better at snippy comebacks. Sure you don't want to be a space pirate?" "You have *no* idea how seriously I've been considering just that," Sasami grimaced. "Dashing about the galaxy, the Galaxy Police hot on my heels. Sounds infinitely more interesting than, say, Princess Sasami, royal brood mare." Ryoko's laugh was brought up short as she involuntarily inhaled some of the tea she was sipping. Her eyes streaming, Ryoko flailed about the kitchen choking on the hot beverage that had just gone up her nose. "Drink tea often?" sweetly asked the princess. Ryoko coughed, "Why, uh, what would ever give you that idea?" "Must be your technique." "Oi! Sasami," Ryoko said, quirking an eyebrow, "you're in rare sarcastic form this morning. Feeling well?" Sasami hefted a pot off of a hot stove eye and set it aside to cool with a small grunt, "Sure, I'm feeling fine. Just a bit... how should I put this? Aggressive?" Ryoko clapped her hands together, "Now, *that's* what I like to hear from a young woman early in the morning! Although... there is something I wanted to tell you today, Sasami." "Mmm-hmm?" Sasami mumbled, rolling a bit of bread dough. Ryoko cleared her throat, "Well, it's just- ah, that is, Sasami." Sasami squinted at the pirate in apprehension. "Ryoko, did you scorch one of my pots again?" The princess sighed, "You *always* let the water boil away!" "Uh, no, actually," Ryoko disagreed, looking away slightly as she scratched her chin. "You realize you've picked up that nervous chin scratching look from Tenchi, ne?" "Eh? Oh, I guess you may be right," Ryoko admitted with a dreamy look on her face as she pushed back a long lock of cyan colored hair. Sasami rolled her eyes and went back to her dough. Ryoko caught the look and folded her arms. "Actually, princess, I wanted to apologize this morning." Sasami wiped the flour off her hands and slid the dough into an oven. "Apologize?" she asked. "Whatever for?" "Well, I think I may have been a little manipulative the last two days," admitted Ryoko, "especially last night at dinner with regards to our house guest." Ryoko set her tea down and looked steadily at Sasami, "If you don't want to escort Nathaniel into town today, Tenchi would be more than happy to go instead. I more or less dumped him into your lap without evening bothering to ask if you wanted go." Sasami finished fiddling with the oven controls and wandered over to the table where Ryoko was sitting. "Ryoko," Sasami said as she took a seat with a little plop, "it doesn't bother me at all. Why do you think it would?" "Well, I know you are being forced to go to Jurai by Ayeka for this silly husband mess," Ryoko said, looking very uncomfortable, "and it came to my attention that I might be just as controlling, forcing you to tag along with Nathaniel." She looked up at Sasami. "You see what I'm getting at?" "Hmm, that essentially you feel guilty for trying to get me stuck on a cute Earthling, because that makes you think you're pretty much like sister Ayeka?" "I don't know that I'd go *that* far," grumbled Ryoko, "but yeah, pretty much, princess." Ryoko's eyes then perked up, "Hey, wait a second - did you just say he was *cute*?" Sasami blushed just a bit. "I don't know," she tried to evade casually, "did I?" "I think you did," Ryoko seriously nodded. "What did *you* hear, Nathaniel?" she asked, looking pointedly over Sasami's shoulder. "Eh??" Sasami yelped, spinning her body around violently in the direction Ryoko was looking. Lost for breath, Sasami's mouth was agape as she realized no one was there. "RYOKO!" Sasami whined. "What?" Ryoko asked, her eyes wide and innocent. * * * "No, really," a pair of almost feral lavender eyes blinked at me, "what's it like living in America?" Looking up through my fuzzy vision, I saw Yui facing me over the back of her bus seat, arms crossed on the head rest and supporting her chin. After being extremely nervous around me at the bus stop, and a few kind and reassuring words from my direction, Yui had quickly opened up and begun to do what she did best: Chatter. "Really," I said back to her from my seat, "it's pretty much like living in Japan, except it's larger, a little less expensive, and a little less clean in the cities." Apparently, that did not suffice her curiosity very much as she slouched down in her seat a bit, making a disappointed sound. "Maybe if you were a little more specific, Yui?" offered Sasami, who was sitting on my left. "I don't think anyone could describe all the differences between two places like America and Japan." Sasami had been fairly quiet most of the morning since I had come down for breakfast at the Masaki residence. I did not know how to gage her personality yet, and not being to read her expression was not helping either. The talkative young woman who had changed my bandages the day before seemed to be elsewhere and at times a little on the grouchy side. So, I had begun chatting with Yui, who, after being convinced I was not mad at her for almost killing me, carried on an almost constant conversation. "Well," pondered Yui, "are there really cowboys in America who, like, ride horses and live on ranches?" "Cowboys?" I repeated. That sure sounded like an odd thing someone from Japan would ask. "Sure, there are plenty of cowboys in the western states. However, they don't do a lot of the things you'd imagine, I bet." "Like what?" "Well, they don't have gun fights or fight Indians or anything else you've seen in a movie," I explained. "Mainly, the cowboys have always lived out in remote places, looking after their ranches on horseback, truck, or even helicopter." Yui chewed on that for a moment. "Yeah, I kind of figured they didn't do all that movie stuff you see anymore," she admitted, tossing her mane of hair to the side. "Do they still get to live in really huge empty places?" "Yep, they still do," I nodded, wincing a bit as the bus hit a bump. "I've been to a lot of those places in the west like Wyoming, Nevada, Montana, and Arizona. You can drive for hours and hours across open range and never see another person at all." "Wow," said Yui thoughtfully, "you've gotten to go to places like that. That's really cool. I've always wanted to live out someplace under the stars, with a ranch house and a horse... *and* a cowboy." Sasami seemed to be surprised by this revelation, "You've never mentioned anything like this before, Yui. When did you get so interested in cowboys?" "I dunno, aunt Sasami," she admitted, "they just look so strong and quiet and handsome, not like the dork guys at school. I guess I just want to see someplace vast and unexplored where I can live on my own, too." "Be in charge of your own destiny, or something like that?" I asked Yui. Yui leaned her head sideways on her crossed arms and thought. "Yeah," she mumbled, "a place like the mountains here, but... I dunno. Someplace I've never been to." "In charge of your own destiny," echoed Sasami wistfully. "Are you dreaming of western skies, too?" I asked Sasami. "Hmm, not exactly," she said, looking away, "but it does sound nice. A place where you don't have to live by someone else's leave." As Sasami stared out into space, Yui looked at her and made a sighing noise. At that moment I felt like I had walked into an uncomfortable area of conversation judging by Sasami's cryptic remarks, so I beat a hasty retreat to a safer topic. "So, Yui," I said, with a bit over overly feigned interest, "what's school like in Japan?" "Boring," Yui stated. "Doesn't sound too much different from America," I sympathized. * * * Sasami and Nathaniel got off the bus when it reached town, stepping down swiftly and waving to Yui as it took off again. "She has to go even further every day to get to school?" Nathaniel asked in amazement as he watched the bus disappear with Yui. Sasami watched the bus depart as well and nodded. "Yes, but it's not too much further away. That's why not many folks live deep in the mountains." Reaching down, she then hefted Nathaniel's backpack and slung it on her shoulders. "Shall we go?" she asked quickly. "Um, yeah," Nathaniel responded. "That pack is really large for you," he said a little worried, "I could easily carry it on my good arm." Sasami shook her head and said, "Don't even think about it. It's not heavy at all." With that she started walking in the general direction of the town's inn. Nathaniel had to trot to catch up with her. For the next ten minutes, the pair trudged through town in silence. Sasami continued to plow ahead a good speed, even while going uphill, while Nathaniel struggled to keep up. Finding it hard to negotiate curbs on the sidewalk and suffering due to his disorientation from not being able to see, he stumbled along behind her slightly, his shoulder aching from the effort. Nathaniel more than once thought about asking Sasami to slow down some, so he could pick his way more easily, but the non-communicative attitude she had adopted since they had left that morning seemed only to have become more prevalent in town. Finally, after bumping into someone with his hurt shoulder in the center of the town square, Nathaniel spoke up. "Hey, uh, Sasami!" he called up in front of him, his face slightly red and perspiring. "What?" Sasami responded shortly, turning around with a slight look of annoyance that Nathaniel could not see. Even though her features were blurry, Nathaniel quickly picked up on her tone. "Look," he began, "I'm really sorry that you had to get up this morning to baby sit me into town, but I'm getting kind of dizzy, and I really need to sit down for a minute." The look across Sasami's face went from annoyance to guilt as she adjusted the weight of his backpack. Letting her shoulders slump a bit, she walked back to Nathaniel and assessed him. "There's a bench over there," she indicated with a nod of her head, "will rest there until you feel better. We're only another ten minute walk or so from the inn, anyway. No need to rush, I guess." Making sure she was not leaving Nathaniel behind this time, Sasami headed over to an empty bench in the town square. Reaching the bench, she slid off the pack and took a seat. Nathaniel eased onto the bench beside her, but obviously putting as much distance between them as possible. Taking a deep breath and adjusting his bandaged shoulder, he slouched a little as he tried to recoup some strength. Sasami looked away from him out across the square and chewed her bottom lip unhappily. `There you go,' she thought to herself, `the guy was just unlucky enough to get smacked by Yui, and here you are giving him a hard time just because *you're* feeling pissy.' Letting the breath slide out of her slowly, Sasami eased forward and placed her elbows on her legs and her chin in her hands. Watching the people pass them in the square in the early morning bustle, she finally spoke. "I really want to apologize to you, Nathaniel," she offered, still looking forward. Nathaniel opened his eyes from where he had been concentrating on getting his second wind. "There's no need," he said, "it was just an accident, and you and your family have been very kind to-" "No, that's not what I mean," she interrupted. "I want to apologize for being so rude to you this morning. You've been nothing but nice since the bus stop back home, and I. I've just been a grouch." "Oh," replied Nathaniel, not really knowing how to respond to her statement. He really did not think it would be wise to say anything that might sound like he was agreeing with her assessment. "I don't know," he said evasively. "No," Sasami sighed, "I really have been, and you're just being a gentleman again not to agree with me. As a matter of fact, you've been a gentleman ever since you woke up yesterday." "I have?" he asked, still a little off guard by her apology. She nodded, "Sure you have. I mean, you were knocked down a flight of stone stairs by my niece, cut up, bruised, and had your glasses smashed. Yet, ever since I came in to change your bandages yesterday, you've been good humored about the whole thing." A strange look came over Sasami's face as she turned her head in her hands towards him. "Why is that?" Nathaniel relaxed back against the bench and thought over her question seriously. "Well, I guess it's because there was nothing I could do about it," he offered. "I mean, I'm not *thrilled* Yui ran into me, but there's no point in getting upset about it. It was out of my control, so all I can do is make the best of it, especially since your family has been so kind since I woke up." "Gee," Sasami sighed, sitting back up on the bench, "you have a really good attitude. Mine's been pretty low lately, as you've probably noticed." Once again refraining from making a verbal judgment, Nathaniel asked, "It has? Why is that?" Sasami started chewing her bottom lip again, not wanting to give away her secret identity, but at the same time wanting desperately someone to talk to who was not part of her family. "I, uh, have to go back home real soon," she said unhappily, "and I really don't want to go." "You like living here." It was not a question. Sasami sighed and brushed a hand back through her hair. "Very much so. There are much worse places I could be," she mused. "True," Nathaniel agreed, "you could be kidnapped by space aliens and whisked away to another planet. I hear the medical tests and body probes they perform on people suck." Sasami slapped her hand over her mouth and stared at Nathaniel with huge eyes. A vein began to stand out on her forehead. Nathaniel raised an eyebrow, "Did I say something wrong?" A gale of laughter erupted from behind Sasami's hand as she could no longer hold it in. Gasping for breath she leaned forward and continued to chortle as if, at least as it appeared to Nathaniel, she were losing her sanity. Wiping her eyes, Sasami finally sat back up in the bench and tried to catch her breath. "Are you okay?" he asked, peering at her through squinting eyes. Nathaniel adopted a look of relief, "That's good. I was afraid you were going to say you were offended at first, because your father was an alien or something strange like that." Sasami let her head fall backwards and face the sky as she began to giggle furiously. For some strange reason, hearing a human make light of `imaginary' aliens just made her feel entirely light hearted. At the moment, that human was scratching his head, wondering if the young woman next to him was really as strange as she was acting. * * * Mayuka Masaki was bored. *Really* bored. Sitting in a comfortable and large command chair gazing at a sizable screen in front of her, she gazed at the pale blue planet turning slowly above; one of the most advanced patrol cruisers in the Galaxy Police fleet was baby sitting a lifeless planet. Slapping her hand up to her forehead, Mayuka groaned loudly. "Grr, Kiyone," she said out loud, "you didn't tell me it'd be *anything* like this." Bringing her hand down slightly, she started to rub her eyes while trying to sling one leg up and over an armrest. Shoulder cropped hair that had been pushed back from her face earlier took this opportunity to slide back down in an attempt to console the despondent young woman. Looking through her fingers at the view screen, Mayuka pondered Major Kiyone's exactly wording from three weeks earlier. "If you really are considering joining the Galaxy Police," Major Kiyone had said, "then you should really see the worst side of it before you make a final decision." At the time it had made perfect sense to Mayuka. Hop a Galaxy Police space cruiser and experience the seedy side of being an officer. The danger- all the gritty, torrid action of the galaxy. What could be worse than experiencing that for a few weeks? Nothing right? The major had something else in mind, however. Spend the time aboard a Galaxy Police cruiser in the outer ranges beyond the Solar system, patrolling the restricted zone of Jurai space, one of the most quiet and boring places in the galaxy. With Captain Mihoshi. "Please," Mayuka begged, "someone knock me out." Though she had known Mihoshi for her entire life, nothing imaginable had prepared Mayuka for dealing with the captain in the dead of space in a relatively small space craft for three weeks. More than once she had been amazed that Kiyone would send an officer with the rank of captain out on such a trivial patrol, but the more Mayuka experienced the mind boggling silliness that was Mihoshi, the more she realized the major was probably just trying to preserve her *own* sanity. A vaguely cylindrical object with two focusing lenses for eyes dropped out of the bulkhead above her and `cleared' its throat. "Ahem," the computer said, "I am sorry, Miss Mayuka, but I am unable to comply with your request." Responding to yet another groan from the young woman, the computer searched its data bases rapidly for anything that might be of use. "Miss Mayuka," chimed the computer brightly. "Wha?" she muttered. "While I am unable to render you unconscious by impact," apologized the little computer, "I have researched my data banks and referenced an option utilized by Major Kiyone in similar situations that you may find useful." "You-you have?" Mayuka raised her eyebrows in hope. "What is it, Corolla?" Corolla looked down at her and beamed, "It is called a Hurricane! It involves mixing three parts fruit juice to four parts Earth rum. Major Kiyone has listed it as a `certified method of escaping Captain Mihoshi for several hours'." The computer's eyes unfocused as it searched for more data. "She continues to say in the report that at least three dosages are usually sufficient," it offered helpfully. Mayuka could have cried. "And *where* am I going to find Earth rum on a police cruiser?" she demanded unhappily. "Searching records," Corolla announced. "Search completed. There is generally a supply of small quantities of alcohol on board all Galaxy Police vessels patrolling deep space -" "Excellent!" exclaimed Mayuka, raising a fist. "-however, by direct order of Major Kiyone, directive 5912-A-12, all alcoholic beverages prohibited aboard the Captain Mihoshi's space cruiser for the duration of Miss Mayuka Masaki's excursion. End of record." "Couldn't you *pleeeeeeeze* knock me out?" "I'm sorry, Miss-" Corolla started to apologize again, when the little computer cut itself off. "Proximity alert!" it said suddenly in an authoritative voice, making Mayuka jump out of her skin. "W-what is it?" she asked breathlessly. "Long range scanners have detected an unauthorized craft entering the restricted zone of Jurai space," Corolla reported quickly. As it spoke new screens of information began to spring up all around the main view. "All efforts at identification are unsuccessful. The craft appears to be running in a passive stealth mode at an unusually high rate of speed for this sector." "ALL RIGHT!" yelled Mayuka enthusiastically, "Finally, some excitement! I bet it's a pirate making a contraband run!" Corolla blinked and disagreed, "There is not enough evidence to make such a conclusion at this time. However, the craft is traveling in restricted space under suspicious and highly advanced attempts to remain concealed. Any legitimate and authorized vessel traveling in this area of space would also be emitting a flight code we could identify." Slamming the palms of her hands down on the ships console in excitement, Mayuka squeaked, "Please say they don't have a code!" "Affirmative. No code being transmitted from unknown craft." Mayuka flopped back into one of the command chairs and whooped out loud in near hysteria. Taking a deep breath with a gleam in her lavender eyes, she asked, "Great! So what do we do now?" Corolla answered without a pause, "The commander of this space cruiser, Captain Mihoshi, initiates a pursuit of the unknown craft while reporting the situation to headquarters." "Corolla, notify Mihoshi of the situation immediately and begin, uh, doing whatever it is you do when you're about to chase someone!" Corolla shook its head apologetically. "I'm sorry, Miss Mayuka. All attempts at raising Captain Mihoshi are unsuccessful." Looking a bit sheepish, the computer added, "I'm afraid she is watching some Earth soap opera on her vid and has turned off her cabin communicator." "Aghgh, no!" snarled Mayuka, running her hands along side her head through her shoulder length hair. "If she's watching those dumb shows, she'll stay locked inside her cabin for hours! We'll lose this perpetrator!" Freezing in mid-rant, a sneaky look crossed her face. Turning slowly towards Corolla, she leveled an innocent look at the computer "Say, Corolla," Mayuka purred sweetly. "Uh, yes, Miss Mayuka?" Corolla responded with some unease. "You don't suppose you could start the pursuit yourself, hmm?" she asked, "After all, the captain *is* temporarily indisposed, but I'm sure she'd want you to move the ship and chase this craft down, riiiiiiiiight?" A bead of sweat appeared from somewhere on Corolla's metal forehead. "Uh, according to Galaxy Police regulation GP-1041, such pursuit without commanding officer approval is-" "I'll re-lube your pivot joints for you," Mayuka said coyly. "When was the last time Mihoshi gave you proper maintanence?" "Too long," Corolla admitted in defeat. "Ahem, main engines beginning pre-burn ignition sequence-" "Yaa-hoo!" cheered Mayuka, throwing herself into the command chair and strapping in. "-all systems are adjusting to active pursuit configuration," the computer continued. "Pursuit and intercept course of suspicious craft being calculated. Destination confirmed. Colonized planet Earth in the restricted Solar System of Jurai. Estimated time of arrival is five point seven Jurai standard days." "Planet Earth?" she demanded, looking up from the console of the ship. "Oh, geez! The only time space crafts come to Earth is to crash on top of my daddy's house!" "Insufficient data for such conclusion at this time," Corolla said, "but historical precedence does suggest such behavior as probable. Main engines ready for burn. All systems awaiting pursuit command." A stray thought occurred to Mayuka as she raised her hand to give the word. "Say, Corolla," she asked mischievously, "is there any way you could start the ship in a *really* jumpy fashion?" "Affirmative. However, such a ship maneuver would cause considerable disarray to many of the ship's stores of items, including significant damage to the mess in Captain Mihoshi's cabin." "Exactly," grinned Mayuka, "maybe that would get her attention!" There was an uncomfortable pause. "You never saw me do this, right?" the computer asked quietly. "Mums the word," she whispered back. Mayuka sat up straight and in a louder voice said dramatically, "Engage!" There was a shudder through the ship as the engines burned, causing a momentarily sickening lurch to one side, slinging both Corolla and Mayuka heavily. From down the ship's main corridor, an unhappy cry of surprise came echoing forward. * * * In the heavy darkness of a subterranean world, the Tree of Darkness sat on it's tiny island, its leave undulating slowly with a sickly green hue. At the edge of the island, under drooping branches that all but touched the rank water, the humanoid creature stared intently at his reflection. Red eyes were all that was discernible from the water. After a few moments of observation, the creature stood up straight and stretched it's arms lazily, bringing them down by his sides. Looking over its shoulder back towards the tree, it focused on a simple hourglass which sat embedded in the side of the tree. Sand poured slowly from the top of the hourglass, which was about three quarters full, into the bottom. Looking back over the dark, slow waters, the creature revealed a toothy grin. "Soon, Princess," it whispered. "So very, very soon." * * * Coming up in Chapter Five: "I'll just kiss him..." Nathaniel checks out, Sasami recieves a sad insight, and a festival approaches! Comments and critcisms more than welcome! Send comments to Mike McAvoy http://www.angelfire.com/va3/shenandoah/ Last updated October 15, 2001.