Disclaimer: Characters and concepts from "Tenchi Muyo!" were created by Kajishima Masaki and Hitoshi Okuda, and are Copyright AIC and Pioneer LDC. This work is a parody and not to be used for any commercial purposes.

Tree and Infancy, Chapter 8

Dinner was a much faster affair than usual. Washu retrieved the dishes that Sasami had been working on, and it took only a few minutes to get everything ready. For once there was no shortage of willing hands, even when Washu disappeared into her lab to get the karaoke equipment ready. She re-appeared ten minutes later, just in time to join everyone at the table.

Conversation during the meal was lively as the rest of the group filled in Ayeka and Minagi with the details of the fighting aboard the Toyosawa ship. Ryoko made sure to mention how she had lost a hand saving Tenchi. Ayeka and Sasami both looked concerned, but Minagi looked less impressed.

Clean-up after the meal went equally quickly. Tenchi brought the dishes into the kitchen, barely keeping up as Sasami washed with her usual speed. Ryoko, however, fell even further behind with drying, since she had to be careful not to shatter the dishes by using too much of her strength. In a few minutes she found herself alone in the kitchen as Sasami and Tenchi finished their parts and went to collect their favorite karaoke disks. And then Ryoko had the distinct feeling of 'deja vu'. A series of familiar thumps sounded from the living room. Having a good idea what she would find this time, she teleported out of the kitchen, materializing just in time to catch the pint-sized Ayeka on an upward bounce.

But when Ryoko glanced downward, she saw that the princess had not been jumping on a cushion, but on a karaoke disk, now broken in pieces. "Ayeka, what in space are you up to?" Ryoko demanded.

"I'm getting rid of that vile song!" Ayeka struggled in Ryoko's grasp for a moment, but she might as well have been pushing against an alloy steel bar.

Ryoko spotted the fragment of the disk with the label. "'Call Me Princess?' It sounds like just your kind of song to me."

"It is absolutely not!" Ayeka's voice went up a notch.

"What are you two up to now?" came Washu's voice. The redheaded genius leaned out of the doorway to her lab. "Hey -- Ryoko, did you smash my song disk?"

"Your song disk?" demanded Ayeka. "So you are the one who brought this trash into Lord Tenchi's house?"

"Trash?" Ryoko echoed. Her eyes narrowed as she noticed that Washu seemed to be wearing a tight black outfit with several cut-aways instead of her usual clothes. Ryoko strongly disapproved of suggestive displays in front of Tenchi when she wasn't the one doing the displaying. "Just what kind of song is 'Call Me Princess', anyway?"

"Never mind!" said Washu and Ayeka together. Washu swiftly retreated through the doorway.

Ryoko frowned for a moment, then set Ayeka down. "I'm going to assume you did a good thing this time," she said.

"You're welcome." Ayeka answered. "I guess this is why Washu stopped her experiments with coffee makers."

"No," Ryoko looked thoughtful, "it must be something a lot bigger to take that much of her time. I'd make her promise not to do anything drastic during your next exam, if I were you."

"Thank you for the advice. Ah . . . I hope I didn't hurt your new hand when I was trying to get loose."

"Oh, it's as good as it ever was," said Ryoko.

"I'm glad." Ayeka nodded. "I wish I could have been there to help."

"That's okay," Ryoko said lightly. "We managed."

Ayeka turned away to hide her expression. Ryoko started to go, but paused in the doorway. She stood there for several moments, then looked back.

"Ayeka?"

"Yes?" Ayeka raised her head again.

"It's still a chore having to create a new copy gem. It would have been good to have you there."

"Thank you, Ryoko." Ayeka turned thoughtful. "I wish I could help you with a new gem . . . could Washu make you one?"

"Plant a Washu special in my wrist?" Ryoko chuckled. "I'd rather stuff gunpowder in there. Anyway, it's a bit like the skydivers on this planet preferring to pack their own parachutes."

"Oh." Ayeka hesitated for a moment, then spoke again. "By the way, it seems quite a stroke of luck that Minagi was going to stop by right when Mihoshi had left to send her report."

"Yes, well, pirates have to be good at sifting rumors and scuttlebutt, you know," Ryoko said evasively.

"Even better for pirates is when they get inside sources." Ayeka looked squarely at Ryoko. Whatever might have happened to her height or her hair, the old Ayeka was behind those ruby-red eyes.

"Ahh. . ." Ryoko sweatdropped. "It's just that Sasami and Minagi enjoy seeing each other so much . . . and Minagi is kind of my sister. . ."

"I guess the Toyosawa must have managed to intercept your message," said Ayeka. "But you know, since Minagi has a mix of your DNA and Yakage's, you're more Minagi's mother than her sister."

"No way." Ryoko did not like the idea of being a mother without Tenchi being involved. "Would you like to tell Washu she's a granny?"

"On the other hand," said Ayeka, "sisterhood is a wonderful thing."

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Once again, Ayeka found herself looking enviously at the hearty quantity of saké being consumed by the larger girls. Sasami had made sure there was plenty of tea and fruit juice for herself and her sister, but Ayeka couldn't help longing for something stronger. With so many people in the room, she knew she'd be caught if she tried to sneak some, and it helped that Tenchi was also abstaining. For once, Minagi was on hand to prevent Ryoko from forcing saké onto Tenchi, which gave Ayeka a small measure of satisfaction. Still, she couldn't help pangs of jealousy when she saw Washu, Ryoko, and even Minagi downing the saké with lip-smacking enjoyment.

More by accident than design, the karaoke party acquired an 'oldies' theme. Minagi, as the guest of honor, went first with a well-delivered rendition of "My Heart Belongs to Daddy". Sasami followed with a Shirley Temple impression, doing a cleverly modified song, "How Much is That Cabbit in the Window", and got a generous round of applause. Ayeka followed Sasami's idea with an impression of the young Judy Garland, singing "You Made Me Love You", and making frequent eye contact with Tenchi. Most of the audience applauded, but Ryoko fumed. Next was the ex-space-pirate's turn, and she performed a version of "That's The Way I Like It" that had Tenchi squirming nervously in his seat.

Washu, changed into outfit like her usual style, tried to do a take-off on a Beach Boys classic with a number she called, "I Wish They All Could Be Lab-Created Girls". But she was roundly booed, most of all by Ryoko, so she switched to "She Blinded Me With Science". Tenchi riposted by doing an Elvis impression, singing "Never Say Yes". Minagi and Sasami cheered, while Washu looked amused, but both Ryoko and Ayeka looked doubtful.

As a finale before the younger girls' bedtime, Sasami, Ayeka, Minagi, and Ryoko brought down the house with a quartet of the Pointer Sisters' "We Are Family". Then Washu and Tenchi announced it was time for both Ayeka and Sasami to go upstairs.

"Can't we stay up a little--" Ayeka began, then clapped her hands over her own mouth.

"Now you know how I feel." Sasami smiled.

"Don't worry, Ayeka," said Minagi, " I promise the house will still be standing in the morning."

The two blue-haired princesses climbed the stairs, a little more slowly than they could have. They went down the hall to their room, but paused in the doorway for a few moments as the sounds of Ryoko and Minagi attempting to sing "A Pirate's Life For Me" could still be heard.

"It goes 'Yo-Ho, Yo-Ho', not 'Yo-sho must go', and you know it!" came Minagi's voice.

"You sing it your way, I'll sing it mine." came Ryoko's answer.

"It's supposed to be a duet, Ryoko--!"

Ayeka and Sasami smiled at each other, and closed the bedroom door behind them. Final preparations for bed took only a few minutes, since by now each had practiced helping the other with coiling up their hair and putting it in the cloth covers they used at night. After a quick change into pajamas, the two slid under the sheets and blankets of their futons.

"Have you had any more of those dreams, Sasami?" Ayeka asked with the note of someone trying a last chance.

"No, Ayeka. I'm sorry." Sasami said after a moment.

"You know, when Mihoshi turns in her report, everyone is going to know what's happened to me."

Sasami nodded. "She does include every embarrassing detail, doesn't she?"

"I guess it's just as well." Ayeka wiped away a tear, and tried to keep her voice steady. "I can't really be useful any more, for helping out, or for protecting you and Lord Tenchi, and everyone . . . even Ryoko." She paused. "Isn't it funny? I hate housework as much as Ryoko does, and now I want as much as anything else to be able to do it . . ." Ayeka looked at Sasami with new understanding. "That's how you've always thought, isn't it? It makes you feel that you belong here."

"It does." Sasami reached over to hold her sister's hand. "But you mustn't worry, Ayeka. You'll always belong here."

"Thank you, Sasami." Ayeka settled her small body in her usual position. "I just wish I could belong in my old place." She closed her eyes.

Sasami turned out the light, and closed her eyes also. Neither of them noticed the twin triangles on Sasami's forehead beginning to glow.

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Tea and fruit juice may not cause a hangover, but they can fill a bladder just as full. Ayeka awoke before dawn with nature calling, but her brain very reluctant to abandon sleep. The struggle lasted for several moments before a trip to the bathroom won out as the higher priority. Still in a very foggy state of mind, Ayeka staggered upright, went over to the door, and opened it, with her eyes threatening to close again at any moment.

A startled yelp sounded to her left, and she turned to see Tenchi standing in the hallway. At first she could not understand why he was staring at her with eyes open as far as his eyelids would go, and his nose leaking red. Then, when he put his hands to his nose and faced the other direction, she realized that she was not looking up at him, but on the same level. She glanced downward, and the daze of sleep cleared immediately as she saw that her body had returned to adult size, but her pajamas had not. Only a few shreds remained, covering nothing in particular.

An embarrassed shriek echoed through the house, and Ayeka bolted back into her room and slammed the door shut. Her face flamed red for a few moments. Then the positive points of the situation began to occur to her. She could help around the house again. She could drink sake again. She could stand up to Ryoko again. And, even more . . .

"I can give Lord Tenchi a nosebleed again," she sighed happily.

--------

Not surprisingly, Ayeka wanted to check on Ryu-Oh as soon as possible. But it obviously was necessary to put on some clothes first. And just a nightgown wouldn't do for such an occasion. On the other hand, formal robes weren't a good idea either, since she might have to do some work on the plot of soil. Ayeka settled on an outfit like her usual style, but with jeweled embroidery. Then there was the matter of her hair. It would take too long to arrange in her usual style, but it really did need some brushing. Twenty strokes should do--make it thirty. Now, about foundation and mascara . . .

Nonetheless, it was a remarkably quick forty-three minutes later that Ayeka entered Ryu-Oh's unit. There she saw what she had been hoping to see; Ryu-Oh had grown to nearly twice its former height, and there was now a second layer of leaves coming out of the main stem. Ayeka knelt and drank in the sight for a few moments.

There was a sound like a musical tinkling from the small pool behind her, and Ayeka knew even before turning around that Tsunami had appeared.

"Thank you, Lady Tsunami, for helping Ryu-Oh." Ayeka gave a deep bow.

"It is I who owe you thanks, Princess Ayeka." Tsunami replied. "Now I can tell you why Ryu-Oh was not growing. It was because she did not wish to grow."

"Did not wish to?" Ayeka echoed.

"The Royal Trees have wills of their own." Tsunami reminded her. "And Ryu-Oh knew from her bond with you what had happened fighting Ryo-Ohki and the Souja. It is no light matter to become a warship." Tsunami looked grave for a moment. "The Royal Trees are my children, and I would not force any of them to be something they do not want to be. Just as Sasami had to hear your true feelings, so Ryu-Oh had to sense them from you without my interference. You showed her that growing up is worth the dangers and the responsibilities."

"Now I understand." Said Ayeka.

"I look forward to the day Ryu-Oh returns to space." Tsunami waved her finger in a mock warning. "And do try not to fight with Ryo-Ohki any more."

For once, Ayeka was ready. "But, Lady Tsunami -- not even to protect the First Tree again?" she said, putting on her best butter-wouldn't-melt-in-her-mouth expression.

For the first time since the night she had revealed her relationship with Sasami, the goddess was caught off guard. "Ahh . . . well, in that case, I suppose it would be alright." Tsunami disappeared in a shower of twinkling motes of light.

Ayeka couldn't quite suppress a mischievous smile. After Grandmother Seto, dealing with a goddess wasn't so hard.

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Ryoko stood in a ready stance. Crackling filaments of energy played up and down the fingers of one hand, then the other, as if she were a dealer shuffling a deck of cards back and forth. Her mouth twisted into a grim smile. "You don't know how I've waited for this, Ayeka."

Ayeka faced her rival across the open ground. Her miniature logs slowly orbited her head. Her expression and her stance did not show as much eagerness as Ryoko's, but no observer would have seen any less determination. "Believe me, Miss Ryoko, it would not have taken so long if it had been up to me."

"Well, the part that's up to me will be real short. I've got just two words for you--" But at that moment Ryoko was interrupted.

"C'mere, Ryoko!" Came a shout from Washu. The cyan-haired woman looked behind her, and her eyes immediately changed from narrowed in anticipation, to widened in alarm. The genius scientist was running directly towards her. On her shoulder she carried a large device that looked much like a very high-tech butterfly net. Ryoko noticed that the net part was wide at the opening, then narrowed down to enclose a space just about the size of a four-year-old girl. "Your turn to have a childhood!" Washu called out.

And the dreaded space pirate Ryoko, once the scourge of the galaxy, leaped behind Ayeka and yelled "HIDE ME!"

T h e E n d