Disclaimer : Most characters in this story are property of AIC and Pioneer. They are in such a situation solely because of my imagination. This story was written purely for fun. I would also like to extend my whole hearted thanks and gratitude to Patrick "Seion" Stewart, who gave me permission to use his character Seion in Darkness & Light . Seion, if you're reading this and you find I screwed him up, please do inform me, I'll do my utmost to put him right. Thank you ^_^. Seion's work can be found in Gensao's TMFFA, at www.tmffa.com. NOTE : It has been a while since I submitted a chapter but this chapter is certainly quite a mouthful. I've posted a break as ======BREAK====== near the middle of the story, just in case you all need a breather. Juz search for the =BREAK= n you'll get there. Just a reminder too, the last chapter ended with Kiyone bending over Seion and him telling her "I am your brother." CHAPTER XVII : No Need for Discord This can’t be happening… The world around her had started to shatter, fray at the edges… it seemed to be spinning, whirling around in impossible curves to form a nightmarish kaleidoscope within her consciousness. No… no… please don’t let this be… She prayed, but her senses could not, would not, refute the evidence of her senses. Although part of her was crying and sobbing as she watched, her blue eyes refused to tear themselves from the scene… She wouldn’t do this to me! She wouldn’t! Still, she had watched as her friend jerked away from *him*, only to be seized by her shoulders, and though she pulled both his hands away, but her eyes were still locked onto his, still staring at him unblinkingly. How could you do this to me…!? Another spate of talking, then she saw… their faces finally drew close together, as he leaned forward as if to take her into his own world, then her tears mercifully blurred her vision altogether. NO! It’s NOT fair! She already has one who is hers, why must she DO this to me!? Isn’t one enough for her!? How could she!? It’s not fair, not fair! Dimly she made out his half naked form withdraw slightly, as the lady all but swooned over, in what looked like an extremity of pleasure. He must be such a good kisser, and they look so good together… I wish I were in her place! It SHOULD be me! It’s not right that she should have so many and I have nothing, no one for myself, not a single soul at all! Unable to control the pressure of pent up emotions, building up within herself for god knows how long already, she burst out at last. “KIYONE!” She saw the long-haired lady just manage to turn around and look up, just manage to muster up the barest dregs of cognisance to see who she was and where she was standing up on the stairs. “Mi… Mihoshi?” Kiyone stuttered, her quivering voice reaching to where the blonde had been watching them from about five metres away. “Mihoshi!” Seion exclaimed as he caught sight of Mihoshi over Kiyone’s shoulder, his voice full of uncertainty and anxiety. So you two are guilty, huh!? Caught in the act, huh!? Well that won’t help you! “I HATE YOU!” She screamed at them from her place halfway down the stairs, at the very top of her voice. Their eyes widened with shock. Acting innocent, huh!? “BOTH OF YOU!” Her tears were filling her vision, her sorrow choking her throat, and she was rapidly losing strength and vehemence in her voice as the sobs welled up. She had thought she would be able to at least scream something more, but apparently that was not to be so. Seion and Kiyone stared, like two people witnessing the impossible, as Mihoshi, still crying miserably, vanished up the stairs.The corridors of Tenchi’s house were a blur, and she dimly remembered bumping into some walls, but she didn’t really notice. All she did was just keep on trying to run and run in a new direction, until she finally got moving again. Dimly she remembered a door sliding open and hearing Tenchi’s voice say half of her name before she had rushed by him, and by some remarkable fortune found herself back in her room, where she tripped over something, then knocked over something else. It must have hurt badly, or she wouldn’t have heard that loud grunt of pain, but she staggered on anyway, and struck the bedpost, before bouncing off it to land amidst the pillows and sheets of her bed, hopefully a place where she could at last go drown in her weeping and sorrow, alone and uncared for. ==================================== ‘I’m your brother…’ “That Mihoshi?” She asked, semi-dazed. Her head was still spinning, the hammerblows within had intensified to what should have been excruciating levels, but she felt light and bodiless, like her thoughts had somehow left her spirit hanging in the air, almost in limbo, unfettered by her physical hurts. “Sure didn’t sound like Mihoshi to me.” At least not the words. Seion stared at her, his face an expression of shock and surprise, which, before her almost unseeing eyes, gradually changed into disgusted revelation. “OH NO!” “What oh no?” Kiyone tried to get a word between. ‘I’m your brother…’ Kiyone was not even sure what her mind was thinking, but apart from feeling like she had been struck by a thunderbolt out of the blue, now she also just might have been experiencing what might be the much more intense equivalent of the pain and surprise at being bitten by a beloved and normally docile pet hamster. “You’re not my brother, are you?” “DAMNIT!” Seion cursed aloud, and quickly tried to stand up, but Kiyone casually, almost subconsciously, clung on to him. ‘I’m your brother…’ “You don’t really expect me to believe that, do you?” Her voice was a monotone, even, like the voice of one who has gone over the Niagara Falls of insanity and is calmly treading water in the peaceful pool below. “Do you?” “Hang on, gimme a second, okay!?” He cursed again, trying to shake her hand off, then just as suddenly Kiyone let go of her own accord. “Mihoshi!” Seion sprinted over to the steps, then leaning against the wall for a moment to catch his breath and recover from the agony streaking up from his injured midsection, proceeded to bound his way up the stairs. Kiyone blinked as she watched him vanish from sight, then leaned back against the wall. ‘I’m your brother…’ Oh… Her head hurt a lot worse than before, and now, with her eyes closed, she could feel the pain returning and rearing up with a vengeance as she tried to gather the scattered remnants of her wits about her and make sense of the impossible that she had just heard from the lips of a stranger. So… he’s my brother? The vision of his face… his dark green hair and emerald eyes, uncannily akin to hers… He… can’t be. The image of her mother rose up from within, and she could almost see her in him, just like she could almost see her mother in her own reflection. ‘I’m your brother…’ You never said you had another child. You never said I had a brother. So, he must be lying. Yet his eyes… his face… they make me think of you… Emitting a bone-weary sigh, Kiyone leaned forward, seeming almost to collapse in slow motion and lie against the cold floor of the house. Her head tipped forward over before sinking back into her forearms, her dark green hair streaming out over her head to be spread out all about her, covering her head completely as her body quivered to waves of fear and confusion. Kova-chan, still mad at me? Are you feeling all right, do you still hurt? Seion, who are you, what do you want with me? Can you truly be my brother? Mihoshi, why? Don’t you care for me anymore? What happened, to hurt you so bad? She gave a sob full of doubt and apprehension… Oh how will this story end? Can me and Kova-chan ever…? Feeling dreadfully alone, vulnerable, helpless and confused with her future, the future that she had once looked forward to so hopefully (well as hopefully as possible with only Mihoshi in her way), obscured behind growing clouds that seemed to herald even more oncoming trials, Kiyone could almost feel the grains of hope and happiness start to slip through her fingers like sand through a sieve… ==================================== “Washu?” The little princess called, as she emerged into yet another section of the lab. Sasami tried to remember how nothing ever happened to Mihoshi on her trips on finding Washu in the lab, short of the direct causality issues that involved triggering some device, but even now and then she still felt her flesh creep as the darkness hemmed in around, filled with flashes from mechanical contraptions that seemed to move with a life of their own. Small wonder it was that she felt relief as she entered this section, well lit to almost normal light levels, and unlike most other sections which were cluttered and cramped with devices and machinery, this one was spacious and roomy. “Washu?” Before her was a massive, gargantuan structure, its faintly grey left and right frames stretching from either side of this huge room, easily over a hundred metres from end to end. Lines of light rays were running from either frame, cutting and forming different angles so it seemed to outline a faintly familiar shape. And, in front of and dwarfed by the structure, was just visible the tiny shape of Washu’s high backed, cushioned revolving chair, and to one side of the chair long lengths of scarlet hair showed, hanging over its edge. “Washu? That you?” Sasami hurried over to the chair, only to see the occupant curled up comfortably in a foetal position, almost like a child, in the cushioned seat, snatching a set of forty winks that seemed, from the serene, content, peaceful expression on her face, very much appreciated indeed. The spectral laptop was hovering before her chair, its screen full of coded scientific gibberish, as usual, while hovering beside it was a rack of test tubes, empty but for a single, half filled tube of what looked like blood. Sasami hesitated for a while, for Washu’s kawaiiness could well be at times comparable to that of Sasami’s own, and the little princess, an astute and keen observer, noted that here and there there were odd rose blemishes about Washu’s skin that looked similar to that of those of healing welts some hours after the scientist had attended to them after their stint on the Comet, but her concern for Kova and Kiyone, as well as her curiosity as to what actually happened last night, eventually won out. “Washu?” She reached over, gently shaking Washu’s shoulder, almost gingerly. One hardly ever had any chance to see Washu asleep, much less wake her. “Washu?” It was a while before the scientist regained consciousness, looking more than a little testy. “Huh… what now!?” Washu waved a hand irritably about to the world in general. “Leave me alone!” She cuddled up a little more into her cushion, revealing the peeking round open eye of her classically cute crab logo emblazoned onto it. Sasami shook her gently. “Oh please… Washu?” Washu opened one eye, still irked. “Whoever you are, just…” Her one open eye blinked as she realised the eyes looking over her face were the concerned, worried pink eyes of the cutest princess in existence. “Oh.” “Sorry to wake you up Washu…” Sasami started. She opened her other eye, and stretched. “It’s you, Sasami… well okay then.” Washu yawned. “But make it fast, okay? I’ve got work to do.” “Well… I was wondering if you could tell me what happened… especially to Kova and Kiyone…” Sasami murmured. “They looked pretty upset a while back.” There was a brief hesitation, as she added the last remark. “And about Seion.” Washu sighed. It felt like she had been neglecting her own interests too much since she embarked on this return trip, from designing devices to try to handle the threat of tracing the Tachyon Ray, even if some of them had been rather satisfying both to invent and to use, to her current interests in refitting and reconstructing the Yagami, a process that was technologically elementary and simple, albeit somewhat tedious simply because some sections were badly fragmented. As for Seion’s blood sample, she wasn’t quite sure if that was for personal interest, curiosity, or for pragmatic reasons, but most likely for all. “All right, then. I’ll try to keep it simple…” ==================================== Sitting up groggily, she looked around with some sort of weary yet wary trepidation, as if watching out for new threats and attempting to assess the place as quickly as possible, then relaxed, though not completely, as she recognised the familiar surroundings. Looks like I pulled through again. Shifting herself, she reached over her shoulder to drape the cloak over her body, as her lithe, slim legs slid lightly over the edge of the spartan bed, to step a little unsteadily on the floor. Her leather boots and clothing still clung to her, and she could still feel her body protest as the burnt fibres clung to the places where her skin had been scorched off to reveal the sensitive flesh. I guess there are things that not even Ken-oh-ki can help me with. If she were someone else, she might have sighed at this point, but all she did was tighten her lips into a thin straight line. Well… those days are over. She smiled a cold smile to herself, as if reminding herself. If they had ever been, in the first place. Not withstanding the ache all about her, she flexed her fingers, and violet light shone against the insides of the ship as she tested her weapon out, for though she was, as always, one hundred percent confident in her combat prowess, somehow the light of her companion from so many near death situations always made her feel that little bit better and secure. It had been a long time since she met this kind of challenge, apart from Ryoko. But where Ryoko was more of a challenge in tracking, cornering, baiting, with only fighting as a last resort, this latest personality, this Kova Kashiro, readily provided the thrill of combat skill, endurance, cunning and intelligence. While these traits were not in themselves a rare combination within those who had the dubious honour of crossing her path, that they were all present in sufficient quantities to provide sufficient challenge for her was rare indeed. It was almost a pity, Nagi thought, that he might not have survived the night’s encounter, for even the shot he had taken in his shoulder from Kiyone looked grievous, not to mention the deflected attack she had sent tearing into his back. But Kiyone… was that really Kiyone? It seemed… so strange. Thinking a little, she tried to make sense of what had happened after she had lost consciousness. If she was reading her own body’s condition and the time elapsed correctly, it would seem that something had inflicted wide area damage across her body after she had been knocked out from his base trick, and from the more severe burns on her back, likely from another explosion. Glancing across from her bunk to the medical screen, she saw the results of the tissue regenerator did indeed correspond to the readings. The device was one of the most advanced healing devices available in the universe, and she knew few doctors and scientists, of course excluding the seemingly ever redoubtable Washu, could equal its efficiency, but apparently the device rated a rather high reading, so the damage done after she had been knocked out must have been quite a bit. Nagi shook her head to herself, almost amused. Maybe I should have died. But for meeting Ryoko last year on Venus, it has been such a very tiresomely long time since I’ve had this kind of opportunity… As always, she banished the thought before it could have any bearing on her disposition. Nagi wasn’t one to let emotions have any say, much less get in the way. It might have been different, once, but she generally did not think enough about it to even be sure. Walking a little delicately to one side, near the full body length mirror that was the door to her wardrobe, if such it could be called, Nagi started to strip down. Some things simply had to be done by oneself, she mused, as she attended to her less serious hurts. At least life is a lot simpler now. ==================================== “What is it, Tenchi?” Ryoko asked, as Tenchi slid the door shut, his face an expression of puzzled bewilderment. “You look apprehensive, lord Tenchi,” Aeka added, looking concerned. Tenchi nodded in confirmation of Aeka’s words. “That looked like Mihoshi… seemed like Mihoshi… but I’ve never seen or heard her this way before.” Tenchi sighed, worried. The space pirate’s eyes widened in surprise. “You mean… that was her shouting?” She blinked, standing up. “Mihoshi?” The boy nodded solemnly in reply to her words. Aeka was no less worried, but she was either too tired to be that astonished, or perhaps there was an overriding calm within her that seemed to make her seem more composed. Either way, the news didn’t seem to affect her expression that much. “What’s wrong with her, Tenchi?” Tenchi sighed, waving his hands about helplessly in the air. “I don’t know… how could I?” He asked bitterly. The encounters from last night weren’t helping his disposition anyway, and he didn’t feel particularly inclined to talk, much less examine the reasons for Mihoshi’s distress. The only thing he could feel most keenly was how tired he was, and if Ryoko and Aeka were feeling fine. The elder princess, seated upright in his bed, looked curiously up at him, her gaze level and piercing at him. “I’m all right now, Tenchi.” She whispered, just audibly. “But what’s going on?” “I… I’m not really sure.” He mumbled, himself confused. “I think it has something to do with Kiyone, Kova and Seion, but I really don’t know…” Ryoko sighed, leaning back. “So… it’s up to me again, I suppose?” Then, unexpectedly, she saw Aeka turn to her, a winsome, petite smile of gratefulness on her face. “Thank you, Ryoko.” Ryoko and Tenchi blinked together. Huh? Why is she saying that? Aeka’s smile broadened. “Really, Ryoko, I would appreciate it very much indeed if you would go check on the rest of them.” Ryoko arched an eyebrow queerly, suspicion clouding her brows. Aeka thought for a moment, wondering if she should take the chance, then decided she would come clean. “I was also thinking how nice it would be to be able to talk to lord Tenchi a while, in private.” OH! Tenchi thought. So that’s what she had in mind… Ryoko gave Aeka a perturbed look, only to be met by the bedridden princess’ guileless smile and trusting gaze. What’s going on? What is she trying to do? No matter, whatever it is, I am certainly NOT going to let Aeka have more chances on Tenchi… Or would I? Her gaze met her rival’s one once again, violet amethyst eyes watching her unwaveringly. But why did she say it plain? Does she really trust me? What makes her think after she announced her intention plainly I would go on to let her have her way? The space pirate snatched a quick sidewards glance at Tenchi, to see him not only surprised at Aeka, but she could see he was still pretty upset about the commotion Mihoshi had kicked up, as well as the tumultuous events of the previous night. Sighing as she realised, with both Tenchi and Aeka… hey, when did Aeka ever count anyway!?… wishing her to do this, she could not refuse them this favour, and she bowed her head, preparing to teleport away… Strange, it almost seems as if I were more perceptive, more acute than before. Yet why does it seem that, perhaps, all of this heightened sensitivity and care for others makes it that much more difficult to get things the way I want them? As she disappeared, she just made out Aeka’s voice. “My gratitude and Tenchi’s love go with you.” Indeed, Tenchi might have tried to snatch a word, but the princess’ words effectively reduced him, once again, to a state of baffled perplexity… Ryoko found herself smiling to herself, happily, and somewhere inside her, it troubled her, made her feel uneasy and think it inane that she could find herself glad about, of all people, her rival’s compliment. It was also with some surprise she realised the triumphant sarcasm she had so often heard in Aeka’s voice from the past had hardly ever been, and in most cases was the product of her own imagination… Perhaps it is true that a heartfelt compliment, as acknowledged by an opponent, is the truest compliment that can ever be received. ==================================== Bursting through the door, notwithstanding the fact that it was already open, Seion looked hastily around the unlit room, and sure enough, his eyes came to rest as they focused on the figure sprawled diagonally across the bed in a depression. “Mihoshi?” Seion rushed over, making out as he did so the faintly quivering figure which, along the spasmodic bobbing of the curls of golden hair, generally gave the impression of having gone through a much more intense and strong bout of trembling that was subsiding even as the clammy touch of despairing sorrow seeped through the mental barriers of hurt and pain, and he felt something in him break down at seeing the seemingly ever cheerful blonde so upset. Seion was no greenhorn, and considered himself, correctly, quite a romantic, as well as a rather able person with women, at least in the short term, but in this moment, as he watched Mihoshi’s form quiver, face down upon the bed, with her face buried in her pillows and her arms invisible under the blanket under the pillow except for the occasional tremor that briefly outlined them, he felt himself at a loss, completely uncertain how to comfort this recent acquaintance of his. There was, just barely audible, another muffled, soft and high-pitched sob, and Seion winced as he could felt her pain, from that one heartbreaking sound, arc through him, the pain of one who has waited long and suffered silently, keeping up a good cheer and a positive outlook when things did not quite go one’s way, only to find at the end of the road there was nothing, not even the barest hint that the ghost of a dream so long neglected and far away could come true. What could have happened to her? Another pang of remorse shook him. Operative 231 was basically a simple person. Except for the caution and care he had invested in when executing operations, life had been simple for him. Before this he had lived a more or less carefree life during the brief intervals between assignments, was jocund, and found pleasure in the simple things in life like a good laugh with his SpecOp comrades, a generous helping of spirits, preferably Amanese rum, and kept his dealings with women simple, open and mutually pleasurable. He found that honour, good cheer and sincere goodwill, lubricated now and then with alcohol, generally sufficed to keep his daily interactions friendly and tension free. Yet everything had changed now. Mitsuki had proven a pretty bad choice for a colleague, he had been made to tiptoe around Kiyone, who was probably still skeptical and deliberating about his identity, he had more or less turned his back on the only life he had ever known, and now there was Mihoshi here… If I’m going to sort things out, one at a time would be a good way, now would be a good start, and as soon as possible would be a good time to start. He looked at the pathetic, tremulous figure on the bed once more, and he felt his heart wrench with sorrow again to see her so hurt. It doesn’t matter … she’s upset, and it was my fault, I *have* to do something. And he did do something, essentially what a simple man does when faced with an unfamiliar situation. He let his instincts take over… Lightly moving over behind Mihoshi, he gently took hold of her… “Seion?” he heard a quivering, soft voice ask as she tilted her head slightly, to reveal blue eyes, wet and blurred, opening to stare at him out of the corner of her eye, somewhat unfocused, before he carefully but deftly turned her over to look full at him. Then, for a reply, he gently cupped her face with both his hands, and let his thumbs brush the tears away. “I’m dreaming, aren’t I?” Mihoshi murmured, seeming to be staring into space, as someone’s hands gently tousled through her hair, then after lightly touching upon her neck came to rest upon her shoulders. The blonde looked up, as the man paused, his curl of dark green hair coming down over the front of the left of his face, and she could just make out his shining green eyes, the same ones she had last seen at such close range, belonging to the same person who had just stopped his ministrations so she could take a good look at him. “No…no!” Mihoshi suddenly exclaimed, and shut her eyes tight. “No.. you’re not him… he’s downstairs… with Kiyone…” Her voice trailed away in agony, and Seion winced as he felt her body tremble with pain at her own words. Something soft and smooth as a pair of rose petals brushed gently on one closed eyelid, then another, and she felt her anxiety drain away. As the touch left her other eye, she opened it slowly again, half expecting to see nothing, but instead she saw his lips slowly rising from above her face, and smooth into a genial smile, somehow delighted yet also concerned. “It’s not … I don’t deserve this… I’m just… no one…” She mumbled, her lips moving in a slow yet hurried fashion as it stumbled over the stream of words and emotions that flowed too quickly from her brain for her to be able to speak coherently. “… with her… don’t bother… just a dream… not here…” Her shivering began to increase, and she began to speak faster, her eyes glazed over as her body shook. “Alone… I’m just imagining… no…” The tears were beginning to blur her eyes, mercifully, at least to her. Seion bit his lip, his feelings in tumult as he watched Mihoshi writhe in her misery. What can I do to tell you I’m here? That I am here to care for you, to comfort you? Closing his eyes, he gently leaned forward and lowered himself onto her. Mihoshi, in the middle of her sorrow, blinked as she saw his face fill her vision, and then her frenetically denying voice was cut off as something warm and soft and tender closed over her mouth, and her eyes widened as he kissed her forcefully, as if to say ‘I’m here now. Don’t hurt yourself no more, and don’t be sad.’ I… I’m dreaming… An artful flick of his tongue within her sent a wave of pleasure down her, and almost instinctively, she responded eagerly, and her hands reached out for him, closing around his bare body, while his presence awakened in her a part of herself she had known but once, a part untouched for so long now, only manifested in her daily life by the way she gave the best of herself she could, even as she did now… As he drew her close, or perhaps she drew him close, a brief, worrying thought flashed through Seion’s mind. I forgot to close the door! There was an equivalent of a mental shrug. Big deal. Then the thought was promptly tossed out the window, in favour of other, more pressing preoccupations, and one hand slid under Mihoshi’s knees, to lift her body up and lay her full onto the bed… ==================================== Kova stirred, as he felt someone touch him. His eyes nearly sprang open, and his lips was about to form to first syllable of her name, when his mind took over again… STOP THIS YOU DIMWIT! A gentle sigh escaped his lips. She’s gone and left you. And now you’re dead, or at least, might as well be. He felt the touch again, this time settling down on his arm. No… it’s not Kiyone-chan. Her fingers are longer, her touch gentler and less clumsy and heavy. He would have berated himself for still thinking of Kiyone in that fashion, and maybe tried to think who it was touching him, but then he realised, in his slough of despair, that neither could possibly make a difference and decided he simply couldn’t be bothered. “Kova?” In direct defiance to one of the odd laws that seemed to govern most cartoons, he stopped himself from opening one eye and studiously kept both shut. “Kova!” The voice was louder now, and sounded high pitched and irked, very much the way one would expect a very young girl would sound when tugging a parent’s sleeve and pointing to a certain toy. “Wake up!” Quite unexpectedly, a finger poked lightly into his right side, and he winced slightly as his muscles at his side contracted - he was, despite all appearances, a ticklish man. The volume of the voice became louder, as another hand seized his right arm and started shaking him vigorously. “All right, I know you’re awake!” Seeing as he had little choice, Kova sighed softly and opened his eyes, although he already knew full well who was facing him. “What is it, Sasami?” He asked, his breath like a sigh of a wraith. The little princess edged over to his side, craning her neck slightly so she could gaze into his face. The corpse-like pallor had not left, nor had the look of bleak despair. If Sasami didn’t know better, she would have vouchsafed she was looking at a dying man. Perhaps not so much a dying man, as one who no longer possessed the will to live. “Kova, why are you mad at Kiyone?” “Mad?” He asked, his voice uncertain. “Maybe. Maybe not.” His head lolled slightly to face Sasami, although whether intentional or not it was hard for her to tell. “Does it even matter?” “Yes it does!” Sasami pouted, earning a curious stare from Kova. “To each, his or her own,” the spy answered wryly. Even in his mental and physical state of weakness he still had not lost his tongue in cheek mannerism. “Kova!!!” Sasami shrieked. “If you don’t tell me I’m going to get very mad!” “And pray tell, who are you to say that?” Sasami blinked as she felt a cold metal point press into the small of her back. “You could die.” He added, almost good humouredly. “You won’t.” Sasami said, confidently. “I know you won’t.” “In case you forgot, or have never been told, princess,” he whispered softly. “I used to be a space pirate. I killed people for a living.” “I don’t know that…but I know you’re my friend, you wouldn’t do that to me.” “Perhaps.” Sudden streaks of pain shot out from the small of her back, and Sasami nearly screamed except she bit her lip, and the sudden shock nearly sent her on her knees, but her will held, and the next moment the sensation was gone, leaving just the vestiges of tears in her eyes. “Perhaps not.” He watched, bemused, as Sasami leaned forward slightly, trying to recover her breath. The pain was low, maybe about the same as that administered by a knuckled punch, but nonetheless it was considerable when applied to a child’s body. “That hurt…” the princess managed, her voice trembling, more with shock than anything. “Yes… and it could hurt worse.” Taking a deep breath, her pink eyes flashing anger, Sasami answered. “You don’t want to do this… I *know* you.” “Oh?” He smiled, but it was brittle and frosty, his eyes mirrors where Sasami saw herself, weary and in pain. “Let’s hear it.” “You think you’re going to leave or die because Kiyone doesn’t love you anymore.” The princess spoke. “And you’re trying to get me to hate you so when that happens I won’t feel sad…” “Impressive, princess.” The lips curled into a cold sneer. “How imaginatively optimistic. You do give me too much credit.” “There!” Sasami declared. “You’re doing it again.” Kova, the expression on his face not changing, was about send another surge of energy into Sasami when he spotted the light in the distance, and a figure entered… “Ah… my end draws near.” He lay back, in resignation and Sasami heaved a sigh of relief as she felt the chill metal point leave her back, and turned to look. “The executioner.” “Kiyone!” She cried in delight, as she recognised the silhouette of the detective ere the door closed behind her and shut out the line of light, then, her ponytails bouncing, she ran towards the approaching figure. “Oh Kiyone you simply must talk to him there’s been some kind of…” She blinked as Kiyone quite nonchalantly sidestepped her dash, as if she were no more than an inanimate obstacle. “Kova-chan,” she murmured, softly, as Sasami turned around in surprise. “Kiyone-chan.” He acknowledged, as she came to stand at the foot of the examination table. “Seeing me off so soon?” The words became bitter. “Isn’t he going to come and gloat?” Kiyone didn’t speak, didn’t move. He tried to see her face, but she was standing just within the light over his table, so that the light only illuminated her body but left the portion above her neck in the dark, while the proximity of light ruined his limited night vision. There was a sigh from her. “Why do you keep doing this, Kova-chan?” Brokenly. “Why do you keep me alive, Kiyone-chan?” Came the curt reply. Kiyone bit her lip hard, just managing to keep from swearing out loud, another tear coursing down her face. “Kova-chan, won’t you please give me a chance?” “I am neither deaf or blind.” He returned. “I can tell what’s going on…” There was a soft smile from his face. “But it’s okay… he’s better suited for you anyway. He can and will take care of you.” “But it’s NOT the SAME!” Kiyone burst out. “True.” Kova nodded slightly. “Not being outlawed, pursued, hunted, or chasing after Synereans or a Tachyon Ray.” The smile broadened. “That’s a nice life.” His hand made a weak gesture. “I’d take it if I were you.” “No.” There was a deep breath, from the darkened face he couldn’t see. “You wouldn’t.” Her voice became firm and determined. “I *know* you wouldn’t.” There was a silence. “I’m sorry, Kiyone-chan.” He murmured, his hands plucking feebly at the sheet over him. “I’ve never been so weak, hurt so badly before.” Oh… Sasami thought. So that’s another reason why he hurt me, to feel in control… Kiyone finally walked forward to lean over him, her dark green hair falling about him like a drape, shielding him from the blinding light above. “It’s okay… it’s okay to be weak…” Her hand gently cradled his face, and she forced herself to smile despite seeing the state he was in. “Yes.” He turned his face away, and Kiyone felt her heart chill within her. “It’s okay to be rendered thus, but *not* okay to be rendered thus by you.” “Kova-chan, I…” “It’s not okay…” his voice was rising. “It’s not okay to be standing in front of the one you *love*, to be standing in front of the one you *trust*, and to be suddenly be shot down by her.” He exhaled, his breath deep almost as if he wished to expel all the air from his lungs so he could rest. “But Kova-chan…” Another line of tears ran down Kiyone’s face. “It wasn’t me! It really wasn’t…” There was a snarl from him. “I know what I saw!” He grated, and his ferocious gaze caused Kiyone to start back. “I saw you behind me… I saw that golden beam burst out from my shoulder…” He gazed hard at her. “And I turned… and you wanted me dead…” He closed his eyes from the pain, and something glimmered from within. “It was a cyborg! It really was!!” Kiyone cried, shaking him slightly. “Why don’t you listen to me like you used to!?” “The beam was gold.” He returned, softly. “The ones we met… they only fire red ones.” “This one was different!” She tried again, desperately. “It could alter its beam colour…” She thought of Kova firing from behind her and striking Seion. “Yes, that must have been it!” “Why should I believe you?” his reply was cold, and to the point. “DAMNIT!” She screamed, standing up. “Because it’s the TRUTH! Because it’s the GODDAMN F***ING truth!” There was silence again, followed only by Kiyone trying to catch her breath. A voice broke the silence, a young voice, yet steely and confident. “You’re wrong, Kiyone.” Too emotionally drained to even be surprised, Kiyone turned to look at the speaker, as did Kova, who regarded the person oddly. “Oh? Do enlighten me, young one.” He asked, curiosity spurring him on. Could have sworn Sasami was trying to reconcile me with Kiyone, was she not? The little princess composed herself by taking a deep breath. “You’re wrong, Kiyone.” She answered. “Washu told me everything.” Kiyone blinked. “Then you know! It was NOT me, I was with Washu all along!” Sasami shook her head earnestly. “No, you’re wrong.” Kova flinched, feeling a soul numbing chill settle upon him, sucking his life out… Had it really been Kiyone-chan!? The green-haired detective stared at Sasami, her eyes wide with disbelief. “WHAT THE HE…!” “Please… Kiyone. Listen to me.” The princess replied evenly, and her pink eyes met Kiyone’s flustered, dilated ones. The detective froze in mid sentence and stopped, and Kova kept silent, as he realised that somewhere deep inside him, he still prayed and longed to believe that Kiyone truly was not the one who had shot him. Sasami nodded, satisfied, the sober, earnest expression not leaving her face for a moment. “You…” She tilted her head at Kova. “Asked Kiyone why you should believe her, right?” Kova nodded, slowly, his eyes still misted with astonishment. “And you, Kiyone… what did you say?” Sasami asked gently. “I said…” Kiyone sighed. “Because it was the truth.” Here Sasami smiled, and lifted up a reproving finger. “No no no… my point exactly.” She smiled gently. “That’s wrong…” “But it’s the TRUTH!” Kiyone shrieked at her again. “I *didn’t* h…” “So what if it is the truth?” Sasami smiled sweetly, and Kiyone and Kova both blinked in confusion. “It’s the wrong answer.” Kiyone turned to Kova, too much at a loss to speak. He regarded her, his eyes questioning, in genuine puzzlement. If Kiyone wasn’t herself perplexed, she might have noted there was no longer animosity in his eye, but pleading… “What is it, then?” Kova asked, turning away from Kiyone. “Because she’s Kiyone.” There was a silence, and though Sasami was standing in the dark, it seemed that the curtains had gone over both Kiyone and Kova, and she was the only one left on stage. They could hear her voice now, seeming to fill the darkness and the light, both darkness and light, of their own making, and now her words shone out, to be burned and etched indelibly into their minds for all of the rest of their lives. “You should believe her because she’s Kiyone.” “Because she’s the one that you love.” “Because she’s the one that will always be there for you.” Quite calmly, slowly, and unhurriedly, Sasami put down the metaphorical microphone, and stepped out of the limelight. There was a brief crack of light as the door opened, and they could see her, her shadow outlined as if with the radiant wisdom that shone out from around her, then she was gone. Kiyone was still staring, stunned, when she felt someone gently clasp her fingers. “Kova-chan?” She turned around, slowly, almost not daring to believe what was happening. “Can you…” He swallowed, mustering a smile as he squeezed her hand slightly, and though his face was wet with tears running freely down his face, with his expression turned into that of deepest remorse and regret, her heart leaped within her as she realised his face was steadily flushing with blood that banished the pale countenance, and it felt good to see him with a human expression rather than the cold void of feelings he wore earlier. “… forgive…” His other hand reached out for her, but his weakness, induced by his sudden overwhelming emotions, overtook him, and he faltered as his hand fell. “Kova-chan…” Quick as a flash, Kiyone had seized his other hand, and was holding it to the side of her face, even as she gently leaned over and knelt down slightly. “There’s nothing to forgive…” “I’ve…” His voice was thick with emotion, and he seemed to choke slightly. “…been weak.” She felt his hand by her face gently brush her face. “Hurt you…” He closed his eyes once again, bitter tears of self reprove running down them once more. “Sorry.” “It’s okay… everything’s all right now…” Kiyone murmured. “Help me…” He quavered slightly. “I’m weak… help me.” Inside, part of Kiyone trembled with emotion. Kova rarely asked anyone for help, and this time, there was no veneer of sophistication, no careful persuasion or words of dignity. It was a plea, a supplication, pure and simple. “I’m here for you…” She lifted his upper body up carefully, so as not to hurt him, and let him lean against her as she sat on the side of the examination table. “I am…” she stroked his hair softly, even as his hand rested on her lap. But even then, she was not a saint. It was not easy to forget after he had hurt her so, and there was something she simply had to ask. “Do you believe me now, Kova-chan?” “Yes,” he uttered softly. “But it doesn’t matter, and I was a fool to believe it did.” “Oh?” She asked, but she already knew in her heart what he was going to say. “As long as we love each other, nothing else matters.” “Yes…” Kiyone smiled as she stroked his hair, and felt his arm around her caress her neck. “And nothing is going to stand in our way.” ==================================== She waited until the door closed behind her and… “YAY!” Sasami laughed, doing a little dance of her own in pleasure. A figure, sitting anxiously by the door, looked up in surprise as Sasami emerged. “Huh?” Thinking of what she had just pulled off, Sasami emitted another series of delighted giggles, congratulating herself immensely. “What’s going on here!?” The person beside her stood up, sounding a little irate. Sasami turned to look at her, too satisfied with herself to even be surprised. “Oh Ryoko! I’m so happy I did it!” She laughed, hugging the space pirate. “What the…?” Ryoko looked down at the little princess. I saw a sullen Kiyone go in… and a happy Sasami come out… “Erm… could you please tell me what is going on?” She asked, a little discomfited. Smiling broadly, her kawaii face full of delight, Sasami replied. “I’m very, very, very happy! I finally got through to them!” “Got through to who?” Ryoko asked. Well if Sasami is happy then things can’t be that bad… though Kiyone certainly looked pretty bad when I got her up. “Well… Kova was pretty mean…” Sasami said thoughtfully, if a little haughtily, although it wasn’t her fault, she did indeed deserve one or two pats on the back and rounds of applause for her rather ingenious method. “And Kiyone wasn’t listening either.” “Oh?” Ryoko blinked. She had tried talking to Kiyone, trying to ask what was wrong. The detective had used her merely as an animate prop to pull herself up, ignored her concerned questioning, and coldly ordered her not to follow her as she entered the lab. “How did you get them to listen?” “Well… I like to think I can understand them pretty well…”Sasami mused. “It all comes to figuring out what they’re upset with.” “Really?” and Ryoko started thinking… Hey… I might be able to work things out with Tenchi this way! I might even be able to edge out Aeka by being more sensitive as her! Yes, that’s it! “How’d you do it?” “Kova was just so mad and upset, he forgot how much Kiyone meant to him.” Sasami giggled. “As for Kiyone, by answering him straightforwardly, she was making him think of all the reasons to feel worse, rather than think how much she means to him, and that made them both feel even worse.” She gave another laugh. “It’s all very simple really.” “Uh.. could you repeat that again?” The space pirate looked at her in blank astonishment. “How did you do all that?” Sheesh, this is making me feel stupider than even Washu’s scientific explanations. “You just have to pick them up when they are listening.” She winked conspiratorially. “And you also have to see what they’re really hoping for, then maybe… you *don’t* give it to them.” Ryoko’s smile remained where it was as the rest of her face fell behind it. “Then if you need to you remind them what matters, and the rest should work out just fine.” After thinking about it a while, and then, her face still blank, Ryoko replied with an “Oh.” Great… just *what* is she talking about? “This is great!” Sasami jumped up again, and for want of something to do, hugged herself for a moment in congratulation. “I think I’m going to make breakfast, you’re all going to be so hungry!” So concluding, she skipped her way into the kitchen, humming to herself. Ryoko stared after her with an rather common mix of consternation and astonishment. “Well…” she sighed to herself. “Guess this just ain’t my piece of cake.” ==================================== Some while ago… She had been in heaven for what seemed at once eternity yet a fleeting moment, then the kiss ended, and as she regained her senses she became aware of his presence, ever so close to her, the press of his muscular chest on her form, of his hands gently running over her, and though his touch was pleasurable, they brought back memories, painful ones from long long ago, of more eagerly groping, less gentle and skilled hands… ‘But I was so sure he loved me!’ She could hear her own words, spoken to Kiyone, once, years ago, echoing dimly in her mind. “Uh…” She started struggling, slightly at first, but surely. With one hand just having gripped the base of her tank top, Seion blinked. “Mihoshi?” But I had been pulling all the right moves! “Let go of me.” She said softly, though part of her screamed at herself for being insane. “Let go, I said!” She cried, not very loudly, but a cry nevertheless. Sensing the desire had ebbed from her, and that she was struggling with the earnest intention not to go along, Seion quickly pushed back from on top her. Still slightly groggy and disoriented, Mihoshi got up, propping herself up on her elbows, her eyes, still slightly sore, looking around the room, and settling on the figure straddling her thighs, sitting back on both his knees in the traditional kneeling style. “Are you… really…” Mihoshi blushed slightly, even as her eyes managed to focus. “…him?” He smiled slightly. “I’m Seion, if that’s what you mean.” Her eyes widened slightly as she saw his muscles ripple across his chest as he spoke. “Oh.” She looked at where he was. “Er… how did you get here? What happened?” There was a strange feeling in her throat, like honey had just dribbled down it, and she was feeling light headed, and no longer unhappy anymore, at least not noticeably. “Erm… well…” Seion scratched his head uncomfortably. “I had came up here to comfort you… and…” …tried to take advantage of you? No! I wouldn’t do such a thing! I just… “…tried to make you happy.” He smiled, a little uncertainly. Part of him wondered at that. It was not like he had no encounters with women, and generally he wouldn’t have minded, but he realised he wanted Mihoshi to think very, very highly of him, indeed. And this is a shitty place to start, he pointed out to himself as he thought of where he was. “Oh.” Mihoshi put a finger to her lip, which felt funny. She did vaguely remember crying, and feeling sad, but it had passed now, although not completely, and a thought dawned on her. “Was it a kiss?” She blushed slightly. “Uh… yeah.” “Oooh.” Her blush deepened. “I haven’t been kissed very much, you know?” She smiled sheepishly. “Well… it was a pleasure.” Seion beamed back. He was feeling his blood start to run hot again, given his position over looking Mihoshi, who was still on the bed, her tank top a little unkempt. “It was very n…” She paused sudddenly. “Oooh… how embarassing!” She burst out into nervous girlish laughter. He leaned forward, attracted by her display of kawaii innocence. “You’re very…” “Erm…” She shifted suddenly, as she realised where he was. “Could you get off me please?” “Huh?” He blinked again. DAMN I could have sworn she liked me! “Well.. you know get off… stop sitting on my legs like this, you know…” “Oh.” He exclaimed disappointed, as he moved off from on top of her. “Thanks…” Mihoshi replied, but while it was flattering to him it was also discomfiting the way her eyes were nailed onto him, watching him almost warily, as her memories seeped back ever so slowly. “Er… what’s wrong?” He asked. “Do you… not like me?” He tried lamely. Man, something must have gone and screwed up my mind! The most important of them all, then my mind goes on strike and I ain’t my usual dashing self! “No… it’s not that.” Mihoshi’s eyes were wide now, and her mouth had subsided from her original smile into a small thin line, like those at once timid and fearful. “I don’t know you.” “What, me?” He blinked again. “I’m Seion, see?” “Yah. But I don’t know anything about you…” Even as Seion watched, she brought her knees up in front of her, as if trying to make herself as small as possible, and it was with a sinking feeling he realised she was shrinking away from him. Mihoshi shut her eyes, and she could see Seion again, leaning against the corner of the wall as Kiyone approached him eagerly, and their faces came close together. “Go away.” She said softly, and to Seion’s alarm, when she opened her eyes, he could see the shine of tears once again. “You are wasting time here…” She drew her legs closer to herself. “I’m not worth your time.” “I…” “I know you like Kiyone… don’t pretend to want me.” She closed her eyes, the dull throbbing ache returning to her heart. “I’m not smart like her.” She sniffled slightly. “I always do something wrong.” “You’re not… you’re…” “No. I always get people mad.” Seion could see the sadness build up in her eyes, and as she closed them, hugging herself even tighter, he could see glistening trails across her beautifully tanned chocolate brown skin. “And I’m not beautiful…” The image of Tenchi, standing before her, defending her from Ryoko with only a hoe… the image of Kova, pulling her away from the gunshots and hurling the cup to distract the gunman… Tenchi on board the Comet, with Tenchi-ken sailing through the air to meet Terminus’ scarlet ball of energy… But all the nice guys, they all went to someone else. They always did. Just like Seion. “Course you are…” he tried. “I can’t even get anyone to like me…” “No!” Seion exclaimed, a little too loud. Mihoshi’s sky blue eyes turned to meet his, but they were no longer the same trusting, open, guileless blue eyes that he had first seen in the apartment. “What do you mean?” “I… like you.” He said, licking his lips nervously. “I think you’re cute.” Great… Mr Makibi, great time for your suave side to go AWOL (Absent Without Official Leave). “I don’t know you.” Her brows narrowed together. “And you like Kiyone more anyway.” “I do… but…” Seion blinked as his own words sunk in. “Ack no! That was not what I…” “You think I’m just another one of them, do you!?” Mihoshi accused him. “You’re just trying to use me because Kiyone already has got someone else! Do you think I’m stupid!?” She blinked a moment, surprised at her words, then continued anyway. “And so what if I am!? I’ve been hurt before, and I’m not going to let people like you hurt me again!” He started, seeing the anger and pain seething inside Mihoshi, the bottled up resentment that had so often been displaced by her good nature, finally start to show after such a long time, such a long time of seeing everyone happy, and herself pining, always pining and waiting and hoping… in vain. “Please… I…” “Go away!” Mihoshi cried, tears running freely down her cheeks. “You’re just trying to make use of me…” Her heart constricted as she thought how Kiyone had betrayed her by tempting Seion. “Even Kiyone… she betrayed me!” “She didn’t! She was…” “I said go away!” Mihoshi grabbed a pillow and hurled it at Seion, who winced painfully as it struck near his wound in his stomach, but Mihoshi didn’t notice. “I’m not worth your time or your love! I’m just another stupid, brainless blonde bimbo that you want to try on for fun!” She paused suddenly, in mid swing with a pillow. “And… I don’t even have a best friend anymore…” Here her voice was soft, silent, broken. “Mihoshi, that’s not…” There was a slight movement in the air, before Seion turned, full of wary alertness, to look upon Ryoko who materialised out of thin air and blinked as she saw Mihoshi lying on the bed, her tank top looking way too stretched for normal cases, while Seion sat beside her, half naked, of course, as he did not have a shirt. “What are you doing here?” Seion and Ryoko asked each other, almost simultaneously. Mihoshi gave a heartrending wail, and turned away to bury her head into the pillows. It had been bad enough seeing him with Kiyone, and she certainly was not going to look or listen to Ryoko making out with Seion. “All right, what did you do to her!?” Ryoko snarled at Seion in irritated anger, but he ignored her and bent over towards Mihoshi, reaching out a comforting hand for her shoulder… “Mihoshi…” he murmured. “Life ain’t such a bitch…” She couldn’t hear his words, having pressed the pillows to the sides of her head, but she did stiffen as she felt him lay a hand on her shoulder to pat her. “Go away!” Mihoshi suddenly lashed out, her hand swinging in a wild arc from behind her. Ryoko, who had been readying herself to drag Seion away if he tried to force himself on Mihoshi, blinked as she watched the SpecOp stay exactly where he was, and by some quirk of fate, Mihoshi’s hand struck him across the face. His handsome face tightened and the lips curled up in resolve even as his green eyes quivered with emotion, for though he had been subject to some of the most gruelling conditions during his training both as a SpecOp and a Torabushi warrior, Seion had never in his life willingly allowed someone to hit his face when he could avoid it, nor let someone get away with it just like that. It hurt him no less that one such as Mihoshi, who, from all records and sources, was a person with almost negligible reserves of enmity, could muster enough of it to strike him thus. Although Ryoko sensed something was odd, Mihoshi did not. Her hand flailed out a few more times, and given Seion’s frame and built, it was of little consequence where they struck at first, but then Mihoshi balled her fist, yet still Seion stayed there unflinchingly, his expression almost as one who had been turned to stone, taking a few more blows, before Mihoshi subsided. It was hard to tell what was going on in Seion’s mind as she raised her face from the pillows once more, but if the action certainly did not register any strong emotion on Seion’s face. “Go away…” Mihoshi mumbled. “…please.” The only reply was the feeling of his hand, which had been frozen there as she had struck out, reanimating, gently stroking and patting her shoulder, and the silence in the room was almost overwhelming, for Mihoshi’s sobbing had subsided too, as if she too were holding her breath. It was with mounting trepidation that Ryoko realised she felt like she should leave, like she had intruded into a temple that was sanctified and should go, which gave the place an odd feeling of gravity, even though it included Mihoshi, the person one would least associate with gravity. I’m growing soft, Ryoko thought to herself, as she thought of the places she had happily barged into from what seemed like eons ago. No, she realised. It’s just that… I’ve learnt how to love. “I…” Mihoshi started, breaking the silence. “…hope I didn’t hurt you.” “You didn’t,” he answered, his heart within him smiling gratefully, as his large hand, seeming almost capable of crushing Mihoshi’s shoulder, gently drew itself up from where it had been, and there was a twitch from the detective, making it seem almost as if the blonde would turn around to stop him from going, but she didn’t move. Instead she relaxed, as though she would fall limply down on the bed, like she was a person whose soul had just left, drawn out by his last lingering touch, and for a moment Ryoko thought she could leave at last, but something told her not to go, something that told her just in case she would want to learn from these two. Oddly, though her normal senses would have been to stay in case Seion tried to hurt Mihoshi, she felt no such anxiety, for the notion seemed so utterly unthinkable. Then he added, “And I’m not going.” There was a sharp intake of breath, and Ryoko saw Mihoshi tense up once more to a closer semblance of life, before going, weaker this time... “Go away…” Silence, once more. “I… I…” Mihoshi tried to think, but her mind was too hazed up. “I’ll hit you!” She suddenly reared up and turned to face Seion, another pillow in her grasp, poised to lash out at Seion, her blue eyes blazing an odd tint of sparkling emotions, with fury and sorrow clashing within its cerulean depths against gratefulness and love. “Hit, then.” Seion moved a little closer to her. Out of desperation and confusion, fear too at him advancing on her, her face a mask of reluctance and pain, Mihoshi struck out at where it seemed it would have most effect… Seion flinched, his brows knitting as the force of the pillow, followed by that Mihoshi’s fist through the stuffing, struck into his bandage near his stomach, and this time he could feel some blood ebbing out again from within. Ryoko and Mihoshi both gaped as he smiled back at the blonde, a smile full of pain, like he had just been shot through, yet a smile nevertheless. “If that’s all it takes to make you feel better…” he whispered, painfully. “It’s a bargain I’ll take.” Mihoshi watched his sincere green eyes, somewhat misted with pain, watched the red on the bandage soak a deeper crimson, then with a choked cry, let the pillow fall back down on her bed, and she buried her head into her knees, crying softly to herself, to the worried and concern gazes from both Ryoko and Seion. “Why don’t you just go!!?” “I’m not going away.” His voice announced, resolutely. “I’m staying so I can be here for you. If no one else will share your misery, if no one else will hear your cry… I will. If no one else will listen to your fears, know the pain that you feel, I will.” He reached out for her again, his hand gently running through her golden hair. “I *want* to be here…” Mihoshi trembled slightly to his touch. “… for you.” That was the last thing Ryoko remembered seeing and hearing before the urge to leave this place finally overwhelmed her… Oh Tenchi… ==================================== Earlier too… “Aeka?” Tenchi asked worried. The princess had lain back slightly into the bed and rested herself as Ryoko had vanished, almost too at ease with her closed eyes facing a spot somewhere on the wall, close to the ceiling. “You okay?” “I don’t feel like myself, Tenchi.” She whispered. “It’s like something else came to me… and I’m not completely myself.” A gentle smile lighted off her face. “But I can’t say it’s a feeling I dislike.” Tenchi blinked, and somehow Aeka seemed to sense it without even regarding him. “Tenchi… part of me feels embarrassed, sorry, that I should be resting on your bed, that I have dirtied your clean sheets and kept you from getting a good night’s rest, and I should apologise.” She seem to radiate some form of brilliance, that in Tenchi’s mind it lighted up the room. “But I think we both know it’s understood… and I just want to let you know I never take you for granted.” “Thank… you,” Tenchi stuttered, confused. “Err… no I mean you’re welcome!” She chuckled softly, and there was no telling how much Tenchi was relieved by that simple gesture, for it seemed as if she were human once again rather than an untouchable angel resting there, waiting to take wing and return to the heavens. “You brought me somewhere Tenchi… there was a garden, wasn’t there?” His jaw dropped. Even in his vision, Aeka had been unconscious when he took her there. “I’ve been there before… it’s where all the trees that are the source of Juraian power live, a beautiful, beautiful place.” “Yes, it was…” Tenchi thought hesitantly, for only at this moment had he realised the majestic splendour he had gone through. The shimmering fields that shone like emerald gems, the flowers that each shone like a miniature star, all had been lost on him in his fear for Aeka… oh yes, and the trees. There was no way to describe them. They seemed the most ordinary of all in the garden, yet at once the most exquisite and extraordinary, perhaps simply because they seemed so out of place surrounded by such beauty, and perhaps also because their thick buttresses had segments and lines drawn immaculately yet textured softly with bark, with sparkled rainbow dew running down over just visible varicose veins of the leaves that seemed to pulse with warmth and life. “You brought me to someone… I wasn’t awake then, but she sensed something, when I asked her if I was hurt beyond seeing you again, and this was her answer.” There was a slight pause, almost unnoticeable, and somehow it seemed to Tenchi that Aeka was taking a deep breath, though she couldn’t have, given the time span of the pause and her physical condition. “You will see him again, but I can’t heal all your hurts myself… when you next see him, I’ll be with you for a moment. I can only help slightly, and he will have to heal the rest of you…” “But… but… I’m no healer!” Tenchi exclaimed. “She said you needed to heal… my heart.” Aeka’s smile faded away, and the light on her glimmered. “I’d like to apologise to you, Tenchi… for both of us.” “Both of *us*?” Aeka gave a sigh, and the sudden glimmering of the light contrasted the girl he saw sharply against herself, like at one moment she was in the dark, then in the light, one moment frail, another moment strong… “We couldn’t help it… falling for you.” There was a soft sigh. “Perhaps if only one of us did… you might be a happier Tenchi than you are now.” “What!?” His brown eyes widened. “Who?” Aeka bit her lip, and her eyelids quivered as if she would open them, but she restrained herself. “Ryoko,” her voice seemed reluctant. “… and me.” She’s… speaking for Ryoko!? “I’m beginning to see how, for all three of us, that must have been the sweetest mistake of our lives…” There was a soft, yet wistful smile. “Sometimes I wish it would be better, but when I look back… I realise I’d do it all over again.” She exhaled a little, letting her breath slip out of her lips, and drawing part of her soul out into the open. “It’s a stab I would take again… and perhaps it made me stronger… and made me more human.” There was a moment of silence, as the thoughts sank in ever so slowly into Tenchi’s mind. There was no doubt he was shocked that Aeka would reveal something so intimate to him, the first time she ever opened up so completely about herself, yet something, possibly the serene yet troubled expression on her face, allowed the gentle emotions elicited within his heart to be voiced. “So would I… Aeka. So would I.” “I know, Tenchi,” Aeka nodded. “And… so would Ryoko.” She opened her eyes, and finally turned to look at Tenchi, who was looking upon her with something akin to utter incredulity. “ He licked his lips, finally, subsiding. “Aeka… I don’t mean to sound selfish or anything…” “It’s okay,” the princess replied gently. “They say the best medicine tends to be bitter…” “No, it’s not anything like that.” Tenchi sighed. “Sometimes, I just wish you could always be like that, and stay this way…” he blinked in surprise. “No, *what* am I saying!? I don’t mean bedrid…” “I know what you mean, Tenchi,” she interrupted him. “To be able to think and feel for Ryoko, right?” He nodded dumbly, and though there was no outward appearance of sorrow or anything, he sensed he had somehow hurt Aeka in a way. “She may never know, Tenchi, but she means a lot to me,” Aeka whispered. “I might never have known too, except… things happen. And you start learning more about yourself than you ever wanted to…” Tenchi bowed his head slightly. “You were upset, back then, right?” “I was, Tenchi.” He sighed, almost angrily at himself. “It was my fault… I practically ignored you! And it was for my sake that you…” “NO.” Her voice rose, gaining a determined edge, and Tenchi suddenly could imagine Aeka, queen of Jurai, giving commands to her very last breath… her outward delicacy hid tempered steel that would show in the worst moments. “It was not just for you. I thought at the time it was… but I was wrong.” Her voice lowered. “It was for myself too.” “Oh,” he answered lamely, for lack of something better to say. “Are we both… very alike, Tenchi?” He might once have been surprised princess Aeka would ever stoop to comparing herself with pirate Ryoko, and asking for a frank opinion that might prove a rude awakening. For a moment his mind filled with the countless occasions they had seemed the same to him, then he reminded himself, how different the way they carried themselves, the things they did, the things they liked to do and, “No… not really, I suppose…” Aeka looked around pensively, before staring at her body, resting on the bed. “Tell me, Tenchi… who do you love more?” That was so unexpected, he was so totally unprepared, he just… stopped. He wasn’t sure what it was, but it seemed he stopped breathing, he stopped seeing Aeka there on the bed. All he could make out was her words, her ‘who do you love more?’ It was a good while before he could muster enough will to say what he had told himself he would always say if confronted with this question. “Neither of you,” he whispered. “And both of you.” Aeka nodded, and if Tenchi were less in tune with his fears and emotions, he might have been badly disconcerted to note her expression was serene, almost clinically detached. “I thought so,” he heard her say, and for a moment he wondered if she was going to burst out into tears of sorrow or clam back up into her marble maiden act. “Your heart is the wisest, Tenchi.” He blinked once, then again, then tried blinking once again to make sure. “Deep down inside… you see us for who we are…” Aeka smiled. “And we are very alike, aren’t we? Almost like sisters…” There was no reply from the boy, who was currently trying to untangle what felt like a knot somewhere between his mind and his mouth, unsuccessfully. Perhaps it was because too much of his mind was paying attention to his ears. “That’s why you love us both equally.” Tenchi might have looked surprised, or he might not have. It was hard to tell at times, when one was distracted with things such as listening to Aeka and trying to get un-tongue-tied. OH! I never thought of it that way before. “It’s okay, really, I can’t blame you for it…” she sank back down onto the bed, into the pillows. “Blame someone for having a big heart? They say a ruler must be able to love all her people… so how could I possibly grudge you loving two?” Suddenly he felt bad. Very bad. Aeka was making it sound so good he felt so guilty… “And… it’s a good feeling. It makes me almost feel like I could fly away sometimes, fly up into the ethers, to dance within the garden back on Jurai with her… it makes me feel less selfish, more pure and free, and happy…” she mused, almost dreamily. “That I can have Aeka and Ryoko in my heart too… that much as I want myself, Aeka, to be happy, like all selfish humans do, I can care for Ryoko too…” Tenchi swallowed. He suddenly felt very very small, like he was an insect in the presence of a goddess… “Sasami… she knew all along, didn’t she? What it was like to love everyone around her? Now that’s a true princess…” A brief release of resignation. “It’s hard, but it feels good, in a way… I wonder, do you think Ryoko would ever find her way to this stage?” Though technically addressed to Tenchi, he didn’t quite feel like answering. Aeka’s eyes were staring at the ceiling, and it seemed almost rhetorical. “And if she did, would she like it?” “Princess, you make me *soooooooo* jealous at times, you know *that*?” Tenchi nearly jumped out of his skin at hearing her voice. “Ryoko!” as the space pirate sauntered, almost as if catwalking, through the closed door. “Really, Ryoko?” Aeka laughed, her voice stronger, as she sat up to face the ‘intruder.’ “That’s a good thing to hear from you.” She winked at Ryoko, a gesture that shocked Tenchi so much he stumbled back, coincidentally backing away so there was a clear line of sight from Aeka on the bed to Ryoko at the door, a hand poised saucily on her hip. “You’re damned lucky, princess,” Ryoko retorted. “I know,” Aeka almost purred to herself. “But it wasn’t easy getting there.” “And even harder to have someone like me in your boat.” Ryoko took another step closer to Aeka. “So how long have you been listening?” Aeka replied confidently, notwithstanding her semi-incapacitated state. “Heh, long enough to just miss hearing any juicy fantasies you might have been trying to share with Tenchi, ne, princess?” Ryoko flashed a grin at Aeka, before glancing at Tenchi, who gave her a shocked look. The space pirate pouted a little at seeing Tenchi’s expression, realising this was not going to be as fun as she had anticipated. “Okay, so yeah, it was serious stuff.” She gave Aeka an odd, almost assessing look. “Sheesh, to think anyone, much less someone like you, could possibly think like that.” While it seemed to be spoken with disdain, Tenchi was nonplussed to hear respect within Ryoko’s voice. The princess smiled. “Well, once upon a time, I would have been hard pressed to believe someone like *you*,” the word was emphasised like a disgusting nasal spit, atypical of the way Aeka addressed Ryoko once upon a time. “…could even begin to comprehend finer feelings.” “Hey, hey, I’m a woman too, you know,” Ryoko arched an eyebrow as her sultry reply ended. Tenchi found himself hard pressed to believe his ears, for they were both acting like they were alone in his room, and talking like they were… old friends… fellow conspirators… As if to dispel that thought, Ryoko chose that precise moment to grin at him. “Oh, and especially Tenchi, I’m sure you know how much of a woman I am, don’t you, hmmm?” she swivelled her hip at him, and Aeka’s expression darkened as Tenchi teardropped. “All right, you can stop pretending, I know where you stand with lord Tenchi.” Aeka snorted. “Heh, you don’t know men well enough, princess,” Ryoko smiled. “There are things husbands don’t tell their wives…” “Why thank you, Ryoko,” Aeka smiled sweetly at her. “I’m glad you’d bless me for going that far…” Ryoko blinked, as she realised she had inadvertently went pro-Aeka for a moment. “All right, all right already!” She growled, a little irritated. “Right, so I do care!” “That’s really very nice, Ryoko,” Aeka beamed, somewhere between patronising and encouraging. “Tenchi would really like that…” She cast a wistful look from Ryoko to Tenchi, and Ryoko swallowed as she got her message. “We’re both still a long way from that, Aeka.” Ryoko gave a sidelong glance at Tenchi too. “Yeah…” the princess sighed. “But is *that* what we really want?” Her voice quavered as she lowered her eyes to the blanket, away from Ryoko. Would someone please tell me what the hell are they talking about!? Tenchi almost screamed. Ryoko shook her head, her frame trembling, but nevertheless she forced a reply. “Tenchi would like it.” Then came a bitter smirk that seemed more like a inward stab. “We don’t have a choice, do we?” She brought her hand up gingerly as she lowered her eyes to look at it, and a lock of cyan fell over her shoulder, but even then Tenchi could see her laboured breathing, and spot the tiniest sparkle as a droplet of something fell into her shaking hand. “We don’t have a choice,” Aeka whispered, still visibly shaken, but compared to Ryoko, many many times more in control of herself. Tenchi’s eyes widened as he saw orange sparks start to form up around Ryoko’s hand. “So much power, princess, so much power…” Quickly he turned to see if Aeka had noticed, but if she did, there was no indication of her having done so. “But…” The orange energy started forming up within the room, and though small, it visibly increasing the light level. Within Ryoko, burning images, of Kova stepping out of the portal carrying Kiyone as he saw her burn in the escape capsule… and most recently, of Seion, of the words he spoke to Mihoshi, of the feelings she read running within his veins, and she felt her heart tighten and clench in paroxysms of envious jealousy she thought she might have been able to hold back… Ryoko’s frame wavered, seeming almost to fall, but the orange energy increased in intensity, and though Aeka seemed unconcerned, Tenchi jumped to his feet, even if inside he was unsure if he should catch Ryoko or prepare to draw Tenchi-ken lest she unleash her power. “…for *what*!?” She hissed. “I can’t even get that which is most important to me…” The orange glow faded away, even as the princess replied. “Nor can I, Ryoko,” her voice was even, in control, but not completely so. “And I am princess… no… crown princess… of the planet Jurai.” The princess sounded amused, almost sardonic. “The planet Jurai… with my countless citizens… my countless happy citizens… yet what am I?” Then she steeled herself, and looked up as Ryoko mustered her resolve to do the same. “Let’s face it.” Violet eyes met amber pupils once more, as their gazes met. “Neither of us would ever kill each other.” Ryoko nodded. “Or… let the other die.” “I don’t think we even hate each other’s company like we used to…” Aeka whispered. “Well,” the space pirate smirked bitterly, not at Aeka, but at herself. “So miracles can actually happen…” “And it seems we can only hope for more…” Aeka’s eyes wandered elsewhere, to a certain corner of the room. “Or perhaps we can make one of our own…” There was an odd shimmer of amethyst, shining brightly across, that seemed to ripple across the surface of Aeka’s eyes, so that not only did Tenchi start from his stupor, even Ryoko was roused from her pensiveness, and their gazes converged on the place Aeka was staring at. It was the box, the gift repaired by Washu, sitting almost serenely in its little corner of the room. “Ryoko?” Aeka asked softly. She didn’t have to say more than that, before Ryoko’s fingers had slid the catch back, causing the box to be flicked back open by the mechanism within, and once again, the two crystal doves gently circled upwards, seemingly winging their way out of the box, to the sound of soft tinkling music and wafting fragrance, before settling to a halt facing Ryoko. It might have been his imagination, but it seemed to Tenchi that the silver locket with his name on seemed to shine exceptionally brightly… Aeka… Ryoko… Tenchi. His eyes flitted from the three sets of words embedded within the objects, and he realised he didn’t really know what he was thinking, except that he felt a warm, calming feeling steal over him, to the time of the soft gentle music, and the fragrance made him think of cherry blossoms, of trees, and from there a garden, and oh the majesty… “Tenchi?” Ryoko asked, in surprise, as the boy was suddenly standing by her side, but he seemed not to notice her. A soft voice within him was calling, whispering, guiding… He will have to heal… the rest of you. He could almost see her, the wispy ethereal lady from the vision, whispering that to him, guiding him gently on, and he realised that all along, Aeka had always been speaking for both of them… Ryoko actually found herself at a complete loss as Tenchi reached down and gently slipped off, with each hand, the band of purple and cyan hair around the neck of each dove, intertwined together, and Aeka and Ryoko both felt their hearts skip a beat… He’s going to offer it to one of us! Tenchi blinked. What? He looked down at the two wristbands in either hand. Huh? Yeah sure I know what I did but why did I…? Someone was looking directly, at him, and his eyes rove slightly down to see Ryoko staring at him, wide-eyed. He didn’t have to look to know Aeka was sitting up slightly in her bed. “Tenchi?” Ryoko reiterated, but this time rather than in surprise, it was in questioning, almost pleading. Perhaps she knew she shouldn’t be doing this, but the idea of getting Tenchi to bind his pledge to her was too much for her, and she reached out a hand… Aeka bit her lip as Tenchi, his hands dumbly open, watched, as if dazed, as Ryoko’s right hand slipped into his left, and after savouring the feel of his skin on hers, Ryoko drew back, and Tenchi’s hand was empty. Oh… the pain… He let her! That could have been me! If I could but… It’s all over now… As Ryoko, smiling softly at the seemingly stunned Tenchi, prepared to put on the wrist band, the light caught off the object, shining off intertwined hairs… They might have been separate once, but they were together now. Cyan and amethyst. Ryoko paused, and Aeka realised she wasn’t breathing. She wasn’t sure why. Maybe she had been hoping Tenchi would stop Ryoko, or that he would snatch both bands back and place them back around the doves, she wasn’t sure. All she knew was that her original intention was to give a band to Tenchi, and keep one for herself, but she found herself hoping, for something to happen… No, Tenchi would never do any of that. Then what is it I am hoping for? Bowing her head in indecision, Ryoko suddenly lay her other hand on Tenchi’s right. “Huh?” Tenchi briefly glimpsed Ryoko smiling weakly, sadly, back at him, then she slowly faded into nothingness right before his eyes… “Ryoko!” He reached forward, but she was no longer there, and both his hands were empty now… “For you.” Was all that could be made out, and Tenchi spun around, only to see Ryoko sitting by Aeka, in the chair he had fallen asleep in. “Ryoko?” Tenchi whispered. There was a moment of silence, as Aeka contemplated what she held in her hand, light glimmering off the surfaces of the band, then she relaxed, leaning back down onto the pillows. The pain returned, the pain from her injury that she had ignored as she sat up, the pain from that exertion, but she found somehow it was lessened… “Thank you…” Her gaze met that of her rival’s, the softness a sweet expression of gratitude, and Ryoko’s strangely pained yet glad expression strengthened, then she bowed her head, biting her lip, and Aeka, not wishing to see her that way, looked away too. Getting over his initial shock, Tenchi treaded over, somewhat gingerly, and they both looked up to regard him. “Erm… you both all right?” Aeka and Ryoko both closed their eyes and took a deep breath, letting the gentle fragrance filling the room calm them and ease their fears and anxieties for the moment… “We’re fine.” They both said, opening their eyes as one. Tenchi teardropped, as he looked at both of them. Ryoko leaned back in the chair as Aeka relaxed even more. Perhaps this was meant to be? The light shone off either wristband, one around Ryoko’s right wrist, the other around Aeka’s, each representing a union… Oh… Then, though he knew not why, he smiled. Yes, perhaps it was. ==================================== She opened one eye just very slightly, looked around carefully to see that she was still in the same room, checking that there was no one around, and then, smiling slightly at having had an undisturbed night’s rest, sat up, yawning, and stretched. Heh, it’s been a while since I’ve slept till so late. Which was true. Mitsuki was a light sleeper, for obvious reasons. She needed to snatch rest sometimes on missions, but might be woken up on a moment’s notice. It did not help that she was now on an assignment, and that her quarry was nearby, but she gave herself the leisure. Much as she wanted to take on the criminal, it was foolish initiative, when there was no Seion or Kiyone around, to wake up early and try finding him. If she were spotted by the fellow she might well be finished, and she knew it, so she reasoned if SpecOp 231 or Kiyone showed up saying they’ve got a lead on the fellow, all fine and well, but if not, she could just try to sleep in a little later. There was a nagging unease as she washed her face, which was caused by something else apart from the pathetic stream of water and the lack of heating system, and she pondered it as she made for the door to Tenchi’s house… First there was Mihoshi. Mitsuki had once left her out of the big picture, but ever since the time Mihoshi flew the Yagami to burst the corridor in the GP HQ and allow Kiyone to escape from Mitsuki’s clutches last year, there was some underlying respect for Mihoshi. Perhaps not really respect, but more fear. Mitsuki liked to take everything into account, but Mihoshi seemed not to fit in properly anywhere, and she feared that card as a poker player might fear a joker. Sure, she was a ditz… but she got by somehow. And as that episode showed, not just getting by through Kiyone’s skills and ability, but also holding her own too. That Seion obviously liked Mihoshi made her no less tricky to handle, yet if she remembered correctly her time on Midorishu, most of the Operative questions were about Kiyone, and he did seem to like her too. Then there was when Mihoshi did not want to go with them to capture the criminal. It was odd… almost as though she felt Kiyone was safe. That Kiyone had gone alone to find the criminal reinforced this thought. Kiyone had never been one for negotiations. If what she saw was correct, Kiyone certainly knew she was no match for the rogue, and it would have been entirely reasonable to take Tenchi, Yosho, Aeka, Ryoko, along… maybe even Mihoshi… yet she didn’t. Then there was that utterly ridiculous and impossible way Kiyone had thrown her captor off. Even with the greatest of imagination, Kiyone should have been killed on the spot, yet she had survived. That could only mean one thing - that Kashiro fellow must have wished to keep her alive… Her brow furrowed. She remembered Kiyone fighting in front of her against the man, slamming her heel into his chin, trying to knock him out with a neck chop from behind… she also dived in immediately after Seion without thinking, so she couldn’t possibly like the person… Mitsuki shook her head. I’m growing old, I’m forgetting even what I know of a person like Kiyone, and in fact, of most of us GP graduates. If the odds are okay, we try to save a team member. Expected obligation. Then the bath. That was just… inexplicable. I got the impression she was trying to get me away… but there didn’t seem to be anyone in there, yet Washu and her talked about meeting him… She smiled as she stepped into Tenchi’s house, where the atmosphere seemed more pleasant and airy, both because of more windows and the country side. Ah well, lesson number thirteen at the Academy was never to come to conclusions based on too few facts, but wait for more evidence to present itself. Besides, my puzzle is almost fully set up… one or two more pieces should clinch it. She hummed a tune as she paused before the bath, and almost lightheartedly moved her fingers behind her chest to unbutton her, or rather, Kiyone’s dress. She had picked one of those long dresses with buttons reminiscent of the GP function dresses, that Kiyone must have got when she first came here, but the green-haired detective had since found other alternatives. She allowed herself a smile as she thought of the bath. It was hard not to be sunny in the face of looking forward to it. There had been lesson number thirty five, that said if evidence was insufficient, relax your mind in meantime. Mitsuki had ceased bothering with it the instant she graduated, what with thinking and trying to find ways to scale the promotional ladder faster, which meant putting your minds on some hard cases belonging to other cops, quickly getting a solution and claiming credit, yet she found herself inadvertently applying it as she put her hand on the handle and slid the door open… “Oh!?” She blinked. “Good morning,” the brown, slightly wrinkled face smiled back at her in serene composure, yet with a touch of mischief, as he too withdrew his hand from the handle of the door. “Would you like to use the bathroom, lady?” “What?” Quickly, she composed herself. “Yes please, thank you, sir.” Katsuhito stepped aside, and Mitsuki blinked as she saw what she was looking at. “This isn’t the bathroom I want!” “Oh?” Katsuhito smiled, stepping out from around her. “It’s the certainly the only bathroom in this house…” So saying, he stepped past her, somehow, though in Mitsuki’s opinion she certainly seemed to be blocking the entrance to the bath, and walked leisurely past her, mumbling half to herself and half to himself. “Really must speak to Tenchi, bringing so many people into the house without even the courtesy to introduce them…” Mitsuki stared after the old man as he descended down the stairs, clad in his odd shinto priest outfit, before staring back at the bath. Yes… how could that magnificent bath ever have fitted in here? Reluctantly, she closed the bathroom door, and turned to go downstairs. No, it’s Washu we’re talking about here, and she just might… Just as she was about to turn back to try again, she heard something. “Aeka?” she heard someone cry, a high pitched cry of dismayed surprise. “*AEKA*! What happened!?” Curiosity innate to most successful detectives brought Mitsuki over to the side of the stairs, and she bent to peer between the railings at the scene below her, only to see Sasami rushing out of the kitchen towards where the two girls stood together. “I’m fine, Sasami,” Aeka attempted to force a smile, and failed most dismally, as she tried to stand up again, only to be falter and nearly fall forwards, except that Ryoko grabbed the back of her collar, and though she did so a little gingerly and with a somewhat distasteful look on her face, it was clear to see there was no ill intention in her action. If Mitsuki was any judge, more like… embarrassment. Aeka too, quickly regained her balance, but now the detective could make out that her face looked somewhat pale and worn, and while she was clearly weak, Ryoko stood close by her, almost like a guardian. The princess’ hand went to her own midsection, and then she bit her lip trying to cease the natural impulse, but already her sister had seen through it. “No you’re not!” Sasami ran to her side, supporting her. “How did you get hurt, Aeka? Is it very bad?” “It is nothing,” Aeka smiled at her sister, but her forced mirth was wracked with pain. “There wasn’t only one casualty last night, Sasami,” Ryoko muttered morosely, as Aeka gave her a glare of disapproval. Sasami looked from Aeka to Ryoko, then… “Tenchi’s fine, isn’t he?” “Yeah,” the space pirate replied. “He should be brushing his teeth about now…” Aeka added. The little princess looked in surprise from her sister to Ryoko, then up the stairs. For a moment, the young princess was torn between fussing over her sister the way she should and normally did, making sure she was all right, but there was the alternative… and besides, Tenchi apparently didn’t mind… Something tugged lightly at her skirt, and she looked down into Anako’s eyes. The kitten had apparently been sleeping all alone in Aeka’s room, and now that she was awake, she had naturally went to find her mistress… but Sasami was no Aeka. Anako mewed softly, and her eyes seemed to glimmer with strange depths. Turning from the kitten in surprise, Sasami inadvertently glanced at Ryoko again. The same catlike eyes… but so different. One giving, one taking… And where do I belong? At that moment, Aeka flashed a quick smile at her sister. It was neither the sheepish nervousness of one who was asking be left alone, nor the forced façade of one who was trying to hide pain and say everything was fine. It was a simple expression that merely said this was the way she would have things, and for that, she was glad. The light from the two violet-cyan bands around their wrists caught in her eye, and Sasami took a step back, half in surprise, and half in surrender. “I think I’ll go lay the table then get some breakfast for Kiyone…” she ended the sentence haltingly, then, her eyes flashing a moment of apprehension, hurried away from them back into kitchen, trailed by Anako, who waved a paw cheerfully at Aeka, before gambolling away after the little princess. Ryoko blinked. In that brief moment, she didn’t even get time to note hers and Sasami’s eyes had met, until this moment as the princess was vanishing into the kitchen, and the gaze… somehow warningly, as though Ryoko was being told ‘you had better take good care of her or else…’, yet also hopefully, though hoping for what, Ryoko had no idea. ==================================== “Thank you, Sasami…” Kiyone whispered softly, flashing a brief smile, as she accepted the bowl from the little princess, before turning back to tend to her beloved once again. Sasami watched them for a while, an odd, wistful expression on her face, for long though she had known Kiyone, it was still new to her, the glimpses of her tender side that were rarely shown. Only on the rare few occasions such as during the few milliseconds when entering unannounced into Kiyone’s flat at night, while the detective was still not cognisant of one’s presence, could one hope to catch but the barest, fleeting glances of that secret side to Kiyone. While the green-haired lady never moved suddenly or tried furtively to pretend that she was not pulling the covers back over Mihoshi, such as Aeka might do if caught trying to sneak a message to Tenchi, Kiyone always gave Sasami the impression that she was someone who reserved exclusively for herself the knowledge and expression of her tenderness. In a way Sasami felt beneath her at times… everyone knew she was the one who cooked all the meals, who helped with the chores, and so she had been accorded the appropriate credit. Yet for Kiyone, all they ever saw was her yelling at Mihoshi, and perhaps the blonde might never know, only sense, the depth of her partner’s affections for her. The little princess had her suspicions, but currently she could only surmise that Kiyone must have had, at some point or another, helped to talk to either Ryoko, Aeka or Tenchi when the going got tough. Certainly Washu would help too, but she tended to be a lot less accommodating and considerate of individual emotions, while Kiyone was more down-to-earth, in a way. Gentle waves of pleasure radiated from Sasami, lighting up her face as she watched… Perhaps, at the end of it all, it was fair. Trust that it would take someone like Kova to make Kiyone’s beauty shine through more vividly, just like darkness would make light seem to shine more brilliantly… You’re very lucky, she thought, as she watched Kova gingerly, but definitely happily, taking his breakfast via Kiyone’s attentions. In days to come, perhaps you will be the one that Kiyone can, and will always, show her true self to. A thought struck her. Perhaps it was only a fancy, but then again… no. Distant images… Kova, bending over Kiyone in the darkness of the room as she slept… of him opening the evacuation capsule from the Yagami on board Ryoko… Kova helping out with lunch… Hiding… they both are, aren’t they? Perhaps that is what makes them alike, they both try so hard to conceal that sensitive inner side of them, buried deep within their souls. They both try to be so strong, yet they are so in need of each other. She regarded him intently, watching his unblinking eyes. She saw now, they were shining shimmering and deep pools, with ripples of feelings gently forming over the surface as he never, not even for a moment, took his eyes off Kiyone. How different, from the cold metallic steely mirrors Sasami herself had faced… Mirrors. That’s what they were. Kiyone was his mirror, as he was hers, only unlike them, these let the watcher see further and more truly into themselves than perhaps the watcher had ever realised they could. “Sasami?” The little princess blinked, shaken out of her reverie by the gaze of the blue eyes looking upon her, now that he had tilted his face slightly to the side. Though she saw in them kindness, openness, trust and gratitude, they were by no means as expressive to her as they had been when he was watching Kiyone… “Yes, Kova?” she moved over by his side, level with his shoulders and facing him, as the spy looked away for a moment, lost in his thoughts, and Kiyone sat back, silently, covering the bowl with her hand to hopefully help a little in keeping breakfast warm. It was odd, in a way, but sweet, Sasami reflected to herself. She could easily envisage both of them being together for one whole day, and not have to speak at all, if the situation did not require such. “Sasami, I have a gift for you… your hand please.” The little princess unhesitatingly stretched out her palm towards him, and though she did remember the earlier episode of how Kova had hurt her, she did not doubt his word. There was a glimpse of silver, then a flicker of darkness, before a little tiny metallic thing fell into her hand. Kiyone stirred from her stillness slightly, to see what it was, while Kova slumped back down. Upon closer inspection by Sasami, it was little more than a plain, thin silver ring, almost completely unadorned, except for two odd markings that probably denoted the top of the band. Squinting at it, Sasami quickly realised the words were so small she could not make them out… “Feel it.” Kova said, answering her question before she could even speak. Kiyone watched as Sasami ran her finger slowly over the surface of the ring. “What is it?” “It’s… kanji.” Sasami whispered concentrating. The shallow, tiny markings were difficult to discern. “Earth… aged?” Kova gave a little laugh. “Close, but it is not exactly kanji. The characters are similar.” He paused for a moment. “It’s the second half of a four word phrase meaning, supposedly, ‘as lasting as the heavens, as old as the earth.’” “Oh!” Sasami blinked. “Heaven… Earth… Tenchi?” “Perhaps.” He smiled a secretive smile to himself that only Kiyone could discern from his seemingly unmoving features. “But no. Simply put, the phrase means eternity, and refers to eternal love.” Kiyone arched an eyebrow slightly. She might once have thought she would be irked by this, but somehow that little smile from Kova to himself seemed to reassure her, rather than, as other women might think, make them more suspicious, though she couldn’t be sure why. “Oh…” Sasami’s wide pink eyes regarded the silver band with some amount of awe. “But why give it to me? I’m not in love with anyone… and where is the other ring?” “I don’t know.” He shook his head gently, sitting up again. “I never knew what happened to the other ring. All I know is that I pray the other person is still alive, and though it’s been over a century and I have no cause to hope, I still do.” A jolt went through Kiyone, as she felt the emotion thick in Kova’s voice. No, he can’t be referring to someone else before me. If there were, he would not hide the ring, but wear it himself, and he certainly would not give it to Sasami. “It belonged… to a very strong, but a very sad person.” He smiled an uncertain, fragile smile at Kiyone. “A lady.” “Oh?” Kiyone asked, a little alarmed, but not showing it. “Yes… she was a teacher,” he sighed softly. “My teacher.” His expression darkened to mild melancholy, causing Kiyone’s heart to sink with his. “She taught me a lot. About many, many things.” “You never told me about this before.” Kiyone noted, almost as if making a passive observation, but neither Kova nor Sasami could miss the feeling of hurt in her voice. “It was a very long time ago, Kiyone-chan,” he whispered. Something in his tone told her that it was something not about himself at all, but about different lives, about a story that excluded both himself and herself, a story, that was about to be told, for the first, and maybe, the last time. “She was blind, and her constitution was poor. Every now and then she’d fall ill, with a frequency that depressed even me, but inside, I’ll swear she has the strongest bit of will anyone in this universe could ever have.” His eyes went to a lost, far-away look, as he stepped back through the corridors of his memories, brushing aside the dusty cobwebs about the shelves, and breathing the life back into people and places long gone. “She never did know exactly who I was. She would be teaching all the kids in the school, and I’d be listening to the lessons from the rafters or from outside the windows. At first, it’d be hard to believe she was blind. Her eyes weren’t dulled, but in fact seemed to shine at times. I was too young to notice this then, but looking back, I realise that for all her graces and occasional mirth, the sorrow never did leave her. Sometimes I’d follow her as she returned home, and I’d note the cane she used, the way she always rubbed the ring on her left hand, as if calling for strength on that lonely road back to her run-down shack. When I eventually decided to question her on her lessons, I employed the voice of a young boy, telling her that I was from a different class and had stopped by to ask as I lived close by. Nevertheless, it was uncanny, the way she looked at you as you spoke, as if she knew almost exactly where your face was, and her eyes were extremely expressive, the way they seemed to be able to look right into you.” A soft smile passed over his face, like a fleeting ray, then was gone. “Eventually, I don’t know how, she realised I was not, in fact, a student, but she could sense my curiosity, my hunger to learn more, to carve out the right road for myself… and she started telling me more, of things outside the classroom, of people and places. As I listened, I noted she seemed to have this lasting feeling of sorrow about her, how she always alluded to the more unfortunate side of life, and I pressed her for details, especially how she had lost her sight. In retrospect, I doubt she would have told me if I was her student, but she saw I was one feeling around for where I stood in the world. Perhaps she meant to move me, when she said what she did, but in those moments, she poured out her heart to me…” He paused, closing his eyes, his features wracked as if he were fighting back an invisible pain, then he pulled himself together again and managed to continue. “I won’t go into the details of her description, but suffice to say she broke down as she spoke to me about *it*.” There was a finality about the last word, that caused Kiyone to press her lip together in pain, sympathy, and anger. “So that’s why…” the detective breathed, as if she had finally fitted another piece into a puzzle that was facing her. “Yes, Kiyone-chan.” All Sasami could do was look at one from another in surprise. For while she was wise and all, she still had the privilege of being innocent, and all that meant to her was that something bad had happened to the lady… “At the end of it all, the man, if such he could still be considered, struck her hard, from behind, and when she got up, she could not see…” “End of what?” Sasami asked, unable to contain her curiosity. “And what about the ring?” “Well… from the fragments I could gather, someone took care of her after she went blind. She had never in her life seen his face, but he was someone kind, caring, understanding and warm.” There was a brief, painful pause, and Kova looked uncertainly to Sasami. “Yet just as she was beginning to love this person, and consider marrying him, she… found out she was carrying a child.” Kiyone’s eyes widened in horrified understanding. “He… he didn’t leave her, did he? What happened to the child?” Sasami blinked again. To her it seemed perfectly normal to have a child once you found someone you loved and had married, or decided to marry, that someone. How was a question she had not come to understanding yet. “No, he didn’t. He took her in anyway.” “Oh.” Kiyone seemed relieved, and Kova smiled back at her. “I know it might seem odd to you, but sometimes it warms my heart to know that someone like me is not alone in this universe.” “Well…” Kiyone arched an eyebrow at Kova. “I think perhaps you *wanted* to be like him.” “Maybe.” Kova replied abruptly, and for a moment the subject was left hanging. “Anyway they got married, and together they raised her daughter.” Sasami sensed something funny in the statement, but before she could grasp it Kova brought in a point that she had been wondering about all along. “And this ring you hold there, was her wedding ring.” “Oh?” Sasami smiled at it. “So what happened?” Kova sighed. “They were together for only a while, sadly. A border broke out about four years down the road, and she was separated from her family. Given the circumstances, I think they were all killed, and she was lucky to escape, but she doesn’t believe that. She say her husband got away with the child… but she’s just a blind woman and everything was merry hell at the time.” “I see,” Kiyone breathed, her words laced with deep empathy. “So… what were their names? And how did she eventually die?” Kova broke out into a smile, but she could see he was still clearly upset as he thought of her. “She always insisted on being called Mrs Ketsuri, even though sometimes in school her colleagues and students would wonder where Mr Ketsuri was. As for her child, she was called Minari, for the brief four years that she was by her side…” The blue eyes darkened as he thought about Kiyone’s second question. “I asked her soon after, how did she manage to keep on going through all the pain she went through. She told me that… on everyone, the same disasters and pains might befall. She wanted to be able to stop people from taking the wrong road, from hurting other people the way she was hurt…” Then, softly, so softly they had to strain their ears to hear him. “Perhaps she needed someone to know about her… maybe I never should have asked. Perhaps she would have stayed longer…” Then just as suddenly, he continued the story, as if all was normal. “Anyway, not long after that she fell ill again. It was quite normal for her to be bedridden at times, and she usually got well again. It was my fault, I guess.” He pressed his lips together. “I took her life for granted…” Catching the tremors in his voice, Kiyone quickly, but somehow at the same time seeming to have been doing so naturally, put the bowl aside and leaned forward to take his hand. “It’s okay… it’s not your fault.” “It was, it was…” he whispered, brokenly. “I… didn’t see it coming, I didn’t hear her voice!” “That’s not true, you *know* that’s not true. You were too young, too young to know when a person knew her time was up…” “But I should have…” He trembled a while, and Kiyone gently ran her hand through his strands of dark hair ere he stopped. “We were talking, except with her bedridden, when she suddenly almost sat up, her eyes roving around shining ever so brightly… she said he was near, he was coming, and she tried to get up to meet him, but I could see she was in no condition to get up, so I asked her to describe him to me. Instead she pressed her ring into my hand…” There was a deep breath from him that seemed almost like the sigh of a departing soul. “I can still remember her words… ‘You’ll know… my little Nari should be about your age, and there’ll be his ring… just show mine… bring them here…’ I was so shocked she took off her ring, but somehow, I had to obey. So I raced out, searching anxiously, for a man and a blue-haired girl, but I simply could not…” he lay his head back upon the pillow in grief. “…and when I got back… she was gone.” Sasami looked at Kova, tears in her eyes, and looked at the ring once more. “I… I understand.” Gingerly, almost reverently, she put the ring on. It was a little loose, but it held. “But if you want me to know the joys she never could have known… why not keep it yourself?” Kova turned to face Sasami, his eyes shining oddly, and Kiyone felt his hands clasp hers tightly. “I’m…not very sure about us.” Kiyone’s expression tightened too. “But I just have this feeling that even if none of us pull through… you will.” His look became wistful and far away. “Besides I think she meant to save something for someone, someone who will have the ring, someone who will live on no matter what, and so she gave it to me. Even though… she never did know my name.” “Thank you, Kova,” Sasami smiled sweetly, and though she was as kawaii as ever, she seemed at once wise and comforting, and Kova’s heart skipped a beat as he thought he might have seen just the vestige of that face from so long, so long ago… “But don’t worry, everything will be fine…” For a reply, Kova nodded tersely, and notwithstanding his pain, leaned to one side so he could wrap an arm around Kiyone’s waist. Kiyone bowed her head, moving closer so Kova would not have to strain himself, and let her hand run through his hair again, and her fingers gently traced the outline of his face. “Have faith.” The little princess nodded, and Kiyone smiled weakly. Side by side, they watched together as a brief window of light opened once more into the lab, ere their little princess vanished through it, then all was darkness again. ======BREAK====== Well… I never thought I’d see the day… She could not help thinking from where she looked out upon the scene before her.. It was a facet of her old friend that she had never seen before, the way she tenderly attended to the person on the examination table, almost like… he was her own child… For a moment a pang of remorsefulness struck her, but it almost immediately evaporated into nothingness. Such incidents were nothing new, for this was not the first time circumstances had brought her into direct opposition with an old friend, and even though they had known each other for a good while already, there was still this thrill, this high of being on the verge of making a break into a great rewarding case, that generally overrode whatever regrets or indecisions that might otherwise be factored in. “Hey!” her colleague exclaimed, indignant, shattering the image of peaceful serenity. “I told you… don’t sit up!” “But… I’m fine! Honest!” Mitsuki’s brows furrowed in puzzlement as she realised the voice was quite, if not totally, different from that of the one she heard in the alleyway by the riverside, for it sounded for all the world like that of a prepubescent boy. “Come on!” Mom, she thought almost instinctively. It did seem like that would be the word spoken after that statement. “No, absolutely not! Lie down you! And quit using that voice on me, god knows I’m feeling old enough already sometimes…” “Well, I can feed myself.” Mitsuki blinked again as she realised the voice had sunk, and now sounded like a gentleman’s voice, just barely recognisable as that of the man she, Seion and Kiyone had fought with yesterday night. “Honest, I’ll manage…” “No no no! Sheesh, I’d hate to be your mom.” A brief pause, as if to draw in breath from another inaudible sigh. “If you had one, that is.” “Heh, mothers are optional here. You’re certainly more than enough for me to handle… though I’d love to see you a mom sometime.” Mitsuki couldn’t be quite certain, but she thought she might have made out a tinge of rose on the detective’s face. “THAT does it! I told you, cut that out! Or no breakfast!” There was a brief silence, punctuated by what seemed to be poorly stifled laughter. “Look,” she heard her friend try again. “As much as I want to, I can’t spend all day with you. I want you back up on your feet the sooner the better…” There were some shifting sounds, then the figure settled back down. Kiyone smiled a little and spooned up some food for him. “Now say ah…” “Oh please! I may be hurt but I am not blind,” his eyes rove over her face. “And verily, that sight is a true blessing, if you don’t mind me saying so.” “You and your honeyed tongue!” Kiyone laughed softly, as she leaned over… “You never change, do you?” At that moment, Mitsuki saw, and any doubts or uncertainties she might have had were dispelled in an instant, for there was no mistaking the cutting of that face, with its sharp, darkly charming features, at that moment showing up clearly within the sickly wan light of the lab in a sincere glow of joy… Affirmative then. Mitsuki was surprised, even now, but not as surprised as she thought she might have been. Though in denial of the fact at times, she did know Kiyone quite well, and seeing this new side of her, directed at, of all people, a space pirate, should have been rather more shocking than what registered. Even as the thoughts went through her head, she was backing into the shadows to approach the door to the lab. I must have sensed it quite a while back, I guess. She seems to be mellowing… Then, quite suddenly, going against every creed of training and every ounce of common sense she possessed within her, she halted, turning to take one more look at the scene… There Kiyone was, emerald eyes full of concern and care, smiling, at once so glad yet so sad, letting herself be immersed into the depths of the azure pools that were his eyes, now so full of feeling and warmth, that Mitsuki suddenly found it hard to believe he was in reality a cold-blooded murderer… Treasure this moment, Kiyone… A cold laugh from within her, as part of herself noted. Looks like Kiyone isn’t the only one mellowing out. Treasure it, while you may. Reaching her objective, there was a deft flick of the prop that had kept the door just barely open as Sasami had left, then just slipping innocuously by it, she was gone. Kova swallowed, harder than he should have been expected to. “Kiyone-chan?” he asked, concerned. There was a brief moment before the apprehensive countenance vanished from her face. “I’m okay,” some mirth returned to her face, for his question clearly showed the depth of his affection for her. “You just get well.” “But I *am* well!” he returned. “Better, then.” ==================================== How long has it been? He couldn’t believe it, though in retrospect, it was strange. It had been over a year since Ryoko and Aeka came to the Masaki household, but this was probably the first time he was actually completely relaxed with both of them at the breakfast table, and beside each other, no less. He looked up from his food at the two girls sitting side by side, only, unlike before, no longer with trepidation or fearful anticipation, but instead with relaxed curiosity. No more battles, no more fear of exploding fireworks that threatened to rip apart the house, the peace, and most importantly, the two people who, he could finally admit to himself, were dearest to him. Quite suddenly, the image was dispelled as Aeka gave Ryoko a warning glance as the space pirate was watching to see if the princess was in pain as she took her breakfast. Ryoko blinked, then her amber eyes desisted from staring, even as Aeka gave a satisfied smirk that seemed rather overly pronounced. Tenchi was still puzzling over her behaviour before he caught the briefest of winks from Aeka, and the slight twitch from her face that masked a quick laugh, almost reminiscent of Ryoko rather than Aeka. Why did she…? *WHY* is it I always seem to be missing something!? Well at least she obviously does not intend to antagonise Ryoko. Just when I think I understand them… He sighed softly to himself, to the arching of an eyebrow from Ryoko as her eyes swivelled from Tenchi to Aeka, who herself seemed perplexed by Tenchi’s reaction. There was a soft mew as Koneko popped his head over Washu’s back to gaze at the stairs, and the sound broke Tenchi’s half-frustrated, half-relieved train of thought, as well as any conclusions that might have been in the making within Aeka’s or Ryoko’s mind. “Oh there you are,” Washu beamed as, following the kitten’s gaze, she saw the figures of Mihoshi and Seion descending the staircase. “Had fun, you two?” Seion smiled back nervously, unsure how Mihoshi would react, but the blonde didn’t disappoint. “Huh? What fun?” She asked. Washu responded with a meaningful sidelong peek at Seion, which caused Mihoshi to blink. “Oooh… er but I don’t even know him…” she whispered almost solemnly. Seion blinked, as Mihoshi discreetly stepped away from him. To Tenchi’s surprise, the blonde did not settle down into one of the two empty seats side by side, usually reserved for the two GP detectives, but between Washu and Sasami. Hey! I could have sworn I didn’t do anything wrong! Seion thought, before settling into one of the two remaining seats. Reaching for his bowl, he suddenly looked up and realised Mihoshi hadn’t moved or said a word since she settled down at the table. “Mihoshi?” No response, except that almost everyone else was looking at him with varying states of bemusement, most notably Mitsuki, who seemed to be in an extremely satisfied state, but he really couldn’t care less. “Erm, you eating?” “Oh!” the blue eyes cast a puzzled glance at Seion, then the blonde reached forward for her own share. Seion kept his eyes on her until she had taken the first bite, then proceeded to start on his own share. Finally, unable to stifle her mirth, Mitsuki almost blurted out. “Well well well! What a morning this has been… I never thought I’d see the day.” “What?” Seion asked her, irritated, as Tenchi surreptitiously returned to breakfast, Mihoshi acted as though deaf, and the rest watched on with interest, even Aeka, who looked faintly amused. “Oh please… you? Acting gentlemanly? I couldn’t even begin to imagine!” Just as he was about to snap back, another figure loomed up behind Seion. “Wha…!?” The Operative, detecting the slight decrease in the light level around him, just managed to stop himself from lunging sideways and away, which would have bowled Tenchi over, before turning around to look up into… “Oh morning, Kiyone!” Sasami smiled, as Seion relaxed. “You must be hungry!” “Not really.” Her emerald eyes flitted from Sasami to Mihoshi, mutely working away at her breakfast. Though she would rarely have given her partner the credit, she knew the blonde had noted her presence but chose not to respond. Apart from that, the small matter of seating… “Hmm?” Seion blinked as he saw Kiyone’s eyes latch onto him meaningfully. “And why, pray tell, are *you* sitting there?” Kiyone asked, a tad ticked off. Sure, he might be my brother and all, but it’s nothing certain, and till then, he ought to know how to keep his distance. “Well, the place just happened to be vacant and I was hungry and…” Kiyone glared hard at him. “What happened between the two of you?” she growled. Seion teardropped, as he noticed, out of the corner of his eye, Mihoshi flinch. It certainly did not help that it certainly sounded like he and Kiyone were an item, provided one was ignorant of the presence of the spy, which for the time being he assumed Mihoshi was. “Look Kiyone, I really didn’t do anything to her…” “Then you mind explaining to me what she is doing over there and not here?” To everyone’s consternation, it was at this moment Mihoshi chose to stand up. “I’m… not hungry.” Before making to move off. “STOP.” Mihoshi froze in her tracks as she heard the icy sharp tone of command that boded no argument. “Kiyone, I…” Seion began again. “Shut up, just shut up, will you?” the green haired detective sighed, and mentally snarled at her red-headed colleague who was consuming her breakfast, with eyes on the scene, and obviously in a state of almost daemonic satisfaction and glee. “Something… happened. My assignment commander is not too happy about it, and my partner *certainly* is not thrilled…” The operative bristled slightly. “Maybe,” deliberately ignoring her aggravated expression at being interrupted in the middle of what might have been a theatrically good pause, he forged on. “But I’m hungry now. Don’t know if you are, but I sure am, and you could at least bloody sit down.” For a tense moment, it looked like Kiyone might explode, when she just as suddenly deflated and half-collapsed, as if exhausted, onto the cushioned seat beside Seion. Blue eyes widening more, Mihoshi bit her lip, then tightened her resolve and moved away into the kitchen. “So much for waiting…” Washu noted drily. Kiyone pursed her lips, but otherwise ignored the scientist, who continued. “I guess this is as full this breakfast table will get today, so I guess I should get started…” Washu looked around the table once, to see if there were any reaction, which there wasn’t, and was of course what she had naturally foreseen, so… “I have to get going.” “Huh?” Sasami looked up in surprised disappointment from her breakfast. “Going? Where, Washu?” “Well in case you all forgot, there is still a small, minor problem, of the Tachyon Ray technology…” “But I thought we got that back already?” Sasami asked, puzzled. “Perhaps. But there is a good chance, about 98.89479 percent, actually, that the technology for the Ray was obtained.” “Heh, looks like we’re on the run again,” Ryoko grinned, as Tenchi blanched at leaving Earth so soon. “So whose joint are we gonna wreck this time?” Washu smirked. “Need I say?” “Erm…” Tenchi tried to get a word in, but… “It’s high time we returned them the favour, hmm? They’ve been paying this place two house calls too many.” Washu ignored Tenchi. “Right?” Katsuhito nodded, but only just. “I haven’t always been looking forward to visiting other places,” Aeka thought back to the times she went on her marriage meetings. “But I must say that it wouldn’t do not to make an exception in the face of such a delightful purpose.” Tenchi blinked in surprise, for though the princess was smiling sweetly as she spoke this, her demeanour gave him the impression of a wounded beast snarling in eager anticipation of settling the score. Sasami too, gave Aeka a queer look, but licked her lips and kept quiet. “As long as I get my man, I don’t care where we go,” Mitsuki provided herself the liberty of commenting. Seion looked up briefly from his bowl, where he seemed to have lost himself in for a while. “I’m with her…” As he buried himself back into the delightful breakfast, Mitsuki noted with surprise he did not point out to her, as she expected, that it was “we get our man” instead of “I get my man.” “Moving out at last? Now that is the best news I’ve heard in a while…” Kiyone commented drily as she sat back, almost as if she had eaten her fill, but her food was scarcely touched. “I have a thing or two to settle over there… and also especially, like *Mitsuki*, I look forward to completing my assignment.” “Oh, you mean the assignment is yours alone?” Mitsuki retorted. “Besides, how do you know that the man *I* want will be there?” Kiyone smiled ever so placidly at Mitsuki. “I think that you, of all people, should have the least need to know the answer to that question.” “I’m with you,” Seion murmured, inviting a glare from his red-haired colleague. “Sure I’d like to go along too, Washu,” Sasami butted in to try to defuse the tense situation between the three GP cops. “But what does Tenchi think?” “I…” There was a loud crash of smashing crockery from the kitchen. “Oops…” A brief commotion, then Mihoshi’s head popped around the corner of the kitchen. “I’m so sorry I broke something I was just trying to wash up and…” Her eyes took in everyone looking at her, yet somehow blotting out the images of Kiyone, Seion and Mitsuki from the table, an act which went not unnoticed by her three fellow detectives. “Err… am I interrupting something?” Washu rolled her eyes. Kiyone quickly replied. “We were just talking about leaving here to go…” “Uh huh…” Mihoshi added blankly, still not making eye contact with her partner. “Err… I’ll go back to clean up…” As Mihoshi vanished back into the kitchen, her partner frowned before turning to glare at Seion. “So tell me, exactly *what* did *you* do to *my* partner?” “Honest, Kiyone, I didn’t do anything to her!” “Cut that out, you two…” Washu looked from one to the other, noting the similarities as well as startling differences. Both green haired, with the same bright dark green eyes, their locks mirrors of each other, with equally striking facial features… but one was tanned while the other was fair, one muscular and tall with the other slender, though no less strong in her own way. “If you want to sort things out, do it somewhere else. So anyone else have anything to say?” “Well it’d be great to get away from work again for another vacation,” Nobuyuki noted. “You won’t be forgetting my medical certificate for my job, will you Washu?” “Yeah, no problem.” Sometimes I wonder why I stoop to doing such things… Washu thought. “So, Tenchi, what have you to say?” She stared full at him, and grinned inwardly as she saw Tenchi was about to say something, except that everyone at the table was looking at him expectantly, minus Kiyone, who seemed distracted, but nevertheless, still watching. “Of course, you could always stay here and wait for our good friend Seida to send you more robots to play with…” The boy looked helplessly around the table. I like it here, it’s so peaceful on Earth… can’t everything just stay the way it is? Why must this kind of thing *always* happen to me? Why me, what did I do to deserve this kind of… Tenchi sighed softly. “I just hope I can finish my homework before vacation ends.” ==================================== “Mihoshi?” a feminine voice asked gently to the soft sound of the door shutting behind her. The blonde bit her lip, pausing in the action of packing up her wardrobe, then resolutely continued. A hand landed on her shoulder. “Look, I know you’re…” Deep bitter emotions, deliberately bottled up and stashed away, bubbled up to the surface again with the touch of that hand. “Let go of me!” She spun around, and Kiyone’s face widened in surprise as she saw the glare that hid Mihoshi’s anguish and insecurities at Kiyone’s perceived betrayal under the roaring flame of rage that glittered menacingly over the shimmer of the fresh tears . “What do you know, what *can* you know!?” Memories stirred in her mind once more. Of many faces, many other men, anxiously seeking to make her more than acquaintance, some of whom she actually felt a liking… and Kiyone telling her to turn them all away. Of Kiyone, who up till now, had never felt the need for any man in her life, while deep within herself she had pining all the while. Of Tenchi defending her from Ryoko using only a hoe…. Kova snatching her out of the way of the bullets… but they were both gone, taken. Seion now… having done… nothing for her…? “Mihoshi, there’s nothing going on between me and Seion.” Unbidden visions surged from within, of him holding Kiyone, bringing his face close to hers as she let herself be pressed him into a corner, close to his bare chest… “You just go…” Mihoshi’s voice quavered, nearly breaking, as she backed away from her partner, lowering her gaze. “…and be with them.” Kiyone swore in frustration as she recalled the scene too. “That wasn’t the way it seemed, Mihoshi!” Already she had made the decision to keep Seion’s secret to herself, until she could be certain of it. “He… likes you very much, Kiyone.” She whispered. She could hear him, asking about Kiyone, how Kiyone was doing, wif she had a boyfriend… “He doesn’t!” Kiyone paused, uncertain how to phrase it. “At least… not that way!” The moist azure eyes looked up in surprise at Kiyone. “What way? He likes you… and you like him too, don’t you?” Her gaze intensified, and Kiyone backed half a step away in shock. “It’s not the way you think…” “WHAT way!?” Mihoshi shrieked, unwilling to hear, or accept, the admission she had just drawn out from her partner. How could Kiyone do this to me!? She already has Kova, why does she have to like *him*!? “So he likes you, and you like him, and nobody likes *me*…” Her blue eyes started to fill with tears again. “We’re just friends!” the green-haired detective shot back. For a reply, Mihoshi stared stolidly and stonily at her, her blue eyes cold and dark with anger. “I might be stupid, Kiyone,” Mihoshi whispered. “But I know what I saw.” “I was just talking to him!” Mihoshi smiled a very sweet yet ghostly smile, and Kiyone felt her heart skip a beat as she was reminded of Kova’s ghostly smile just the night before, by the riverside, when he was suggesting Kiyone and Seion turn him in. It looked so out of place, yet there was something almost ethereally radiant about Mihoshi’s expression. “Please, take good care of him. Maybe like Aeka, Ryoko and Tenchi…” Kiyone blinked at the utterly ridiculously incongruous suggestion forwarded to her, before bursting out more out of outrage than in actual anger. “Are you listening to me!? I love Kova-chan! I don’t love Seion the way you say!!” Oh my god this is almost like talking to Kova-chan all over again… Mihoshi turned away from Kiyone, and the detective could just barely hear her whisper. “But does he know?” “Yes.” Kiyone noted a tremor down Mihoshi’s form as she heard that, a quick intake of breath.. “He knows.” “Does he…” “I would have shot him dead if he tried to hurt Kova-chan, and he knows that.” Silence. “He did something to you, didn’t he, Mihoshi?” Silence again, but almost guilty. “What happened?” Kiyone moved forward, tenderly moving over to stroke Mihoshi’s hair. “Did he hurt you?” “He… tried to comfort me.” Mihoshi whispered. A brief wave of emerald locks to a brief nod of her head. “Did you give him a chance?” “I… I couldn’t help myself, Kiyone… it felt so good…” Mihoshi sobbed slightly. “…to be held, to have someone care…” Kiyone’s eyes widened. “You didn’t…!?” “No… I wouldn’t let that happen again.” There was an uncharacteristic cold laugh from the blonde that ended off into another sob before Mihoshi could help herself. “I let him stay, though.” “So, are you going to give him a chance?” Kiyone remembered the earnest way Seion spoke to her about herself and Mihoshi the night before, when Kova was hiding under the bed. “I don’t know…” “Don’t worry, I certainly will not be falling for him,” Kiyone smiled. “So it’s up to you…” “Really?” The blonde murmured, uncertainly, but inside Kiyone was glad to note there was no longer that sorrowful edge to her voice already. “Yeah… but we don’t know him all that well yet, so be careful, all right?” “I’ll try, Kiyone,” Mihoshi finally turned to look back at her partner, the vestiges of sorrow and apprehension still in her expression. “I’ll try.” “And I’ll be keeping an eye on him for you?” Her hand patted Mihoshi’s shoulder reassuringly. “After all, you’re my partner.” “Thanks, Kiyone,” Mihoshi finally managed, and a gentle warm smile broke her frigid expression. “You’re the best…” Slowly, she put her arms around Kiyone, who held her gently. “You are too…” Kiyone sighed, satisfied with herself, as she felt her partner’s chin rest on her shoulder, and her back moving up and down as she drew breath. “Best ever.” ==================================== “MIYAAA!” Moving gracefully yet with lightning swift speed, she was off the bed and in a half-crouched combat stance, her eyes roving around wildly. Nothing… there’s nothing around… relax. With a bit of concentration that seemed almost natural, she r