[RFC] Being You is Deculture

[Black Aeronaut]

Okay you guys, here we go!  Presenting the Letters From Home segment!

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Minmei was not as badly shaken up by the experience as I thought she'd be.  After we rearranged every thing, cleaned up the oil from the friers, and made our reports to our section's Shelter Officer I then went to my room just to relax.

There was a knock at my door.  No rest for the weary.

"Come in," I called out, not bothering to lever myself off my bed.

Hikaru poked his head in.  "You okay, Garrick?"

"Yeah, I'm alright.  Just a bit drained from that experience."

Hikaru scoffed as he came into the room and shut the door behind him.  "No kidding."

There was a moment of uncomfortable silence.  I was just about to break it when Hikaru spoke first.

"Were you serious back there?  About joining up with the Spacy?"

I sighed at that.  No point in refuting it now.  "Yeah, Hikaru.  I'm gonna give it an honest shot.  Whether it works out for me or not..."  I let that hang, but he knew perfectly well what I meant.

"Yeah.  So.  You were in the Navy."

"Not an experience I'd recommend for the faint of heart.  I had to deal with so much crap that it'd make a sanitation worker blush."

Hikaru laughed at that.  "I'll take your word for it.  But for the Spacy... If you're joining up, then I will too."

"Really?" I asked.  I was honestly worried that he wouldn't, given that he didn't have Minmei needling him along this time.

"Yeah.  Someone's gotta be your wingman, you old fart."

I snorted at that.  "Only old enough to know better."

"Old enough for me," Hikaru shot back.

"Must be, I don't even see any peach fuzz on that face of yours, kid!"  At that, we started into some spirited, brotherly fisticuffs.  Soon enough, though, Minmei knocked and poked her head inside.

"What are you two doing?" she asked archly.

I gave her my best innocent look.  "Why, we're settling a difference of opinion in the time honored tradition of men."

"Oh, is that what this is?" asked Hikaru blithely.

"Coulda fooled me," said Minmei.  "You both look like you're acting like a couple of kids."  Before we could retort, she added, "Despite the excitement, evening board is ready.  You guys may wanna come down and eat with us before it gets cold."  And with that she shut the door behind her.

"Dunno about you, Hikaru, but this is the best I've eaten since my time in the Navy.  Let's go get some."

"Sure thing.  Age before beauty," teased Hikaru.

"Good thing I got both, kiddo."

##

Once everyone had settled in for the night, I called up the door to my C-Space and, after double-checking no one was lurking about it the hall, I ducked inside and made my way to my garden.

GAR-KUN! came her voice happily ringing in my head as Katherine set to beaming radiant rays of light excitedly all over the garden, making me smile at her exuberance.

“Hey there, Sprout,” I answered.  Though I really couldn’t say she was a ‘sprout’ anymore now that she was only a sapling by the technical definition.  The years we spent in Equestria had been good to her as she had not only drank up the stipend of power she drew off of Tsunami, but also the ambient magical energy of the world we had previously occupied.

It was no surprise that the top of her canopy was now just over my head.

I wondered what had become of the seed she gave to Twilight?

I pushed the thought aside as I went methodically through the purely ceremonial process of checking Katherine over for parasites or signs of disease.  More than anything else, it was simply a show of affection from me to her.

Oh, another batch of letters came in, Gar-Kun.  You wanna read them?

“Oh, please!  Thank you!”

Of course!

Right away, a portfolio folder materialized in my hand by way of the C-Pod’s book app and I laid down in the moss around Katherine’s trunk as I opened it up.

Garrick,

So you wound up in Macross, huh?  Of course, you realize now that I want to know everything about their so-called Overtechnology.

Get cracking, boy.  I’m grading your ass on this one.

Also, I want you to be careful about what you do over there.  While you can use your C-Space as a bunker in the event of a worse-case scenario, there’s still the collateral damage to consider.

And yes, I’m talking about provoking the Zentradi.

That’s a very delicate situation.  From what I’ve seen of the anime, Breetai seems like an extremely reasonable man, and incredibly intelligent as well.  But that can only go so far.  Don’t force that man’s hand, Garrick.

In fact, I’m hoping that you’ll smooth things out somehow.  Not quite sure how you’re going to do it, though - you’re always so delightfully unpredictable in that way - so keep me posted.

I’ve been making progress on the transmat idea.  The Doctor was right - if we can send energy and a signal through the connection, then we should be able to send other things through.

Maybe even people.

It won’t be a solution for you.  There, of course, we kinda run into the chicken and egg paradox - the same reason why the door to the C-Space needs to be anchored at all times in real-space whenever you’re occupying it.

However, if we can send people through...  I’m pretty sure I don’t need to spell it out for you!  

Anyhow, you got letters from all the usual suspects in this batch, and they’re all eager to hear more from you.  Take care of that before getting back to me on anything else - I know how you are when you get caught up in a project.

Sincerely,
Washu-chan
(The greatest teacher in the multi-verse!)

YOU BEAUTIFUL MAGNIFICENT CHILD!!!

Garrick, if you were here I would kiss you!

You have single-handedly caused the biggest uproar I have ever seen in the Emperor’s Court!

Bigger even than when the previous head of House Amaki was found guilty of treason.

Bigger than when my son-in-law brought home little Funaho.

And bigger than when my darling daughter told everyone where to shove it and how far when she abdicated her right to being First Wife.

With you being vetted by Katherine as having created your own Lighthawk Wing, these fools have all been running around, confused, angry - some of them are cursing your name already!  (Your parents, on the other hand, are utterly ecstatic and proud of your achievement.)

I have never had such entertainment during a state function, and I have you to thank for that, my darling, beloved, chaotic grandson.

I am certain that Washu-chan already gave you the broad strokes, so I will explain some of the finer details for you.

First of all, a power such as yours cannot be permitted to go free.  You would be a security threat to the Empire if you were in anybody else’s hands but ours.  And since we can’t very well force you to stay and be loyal, we do the next best thing.

We make you into the head of your own clan among the royal clans of Jyurai.

Of course, this is going to upset the entire dynamic of the Royal Council.  Oh, you have no idea how satisfying it is to see Kumato Amaki seething at the very thought of you, a ‘foreign upstart’ gaining so much power so suddenly - and at that thought that his power is going to be diminished with us having to add another seat to the Council.

That smug bastard has been a thorn in my side for so long - and I just know that he was party to his father’s treachery.  I just don’t have any evidence for it.  But the look on his face at his sister’s funeral told me everything.

And now I get to rub his nose into this!

WONDERFUL!

And now Washu-chan tells me that she is working on a means to transmat to your garden where little Katherine is planted!

Oh, this is going to be so wonderful!  Especially once we can start sending people over!  We need to get you married to those wonderful women of yours... and properly engaged to that beautiful little dear, Yuki.

Oh, I cannot hide it!  I am so smitten with her!  She’s as lovely as Funaho, but with a fire in her belly like my Misaki.  Some of my girls have already started calling her the Mistress of the Forge because of her passion and diligence.  After all, it’s no secret that you, the Forgemaster of the Throne are taken with her.  We could all see it in the way you looked at each other.

Anyhow, Washu-chan has briefed me about this new world you’re in.  Needless to say, I find myself fascinated.  Had such a thing happened in our world...  Well, granted, the response would be swift and decisive.  But I believe that we would become quite involved before these Zentradi could have a chance to glass Earth.

At any rate, my darling grandson, be strong.  I won’t tell you to ‘stay safe’ because I already know you’re gonna find the biggest hornet’s nest out there and poke it with something explosive.

Have fun and tell me all about it once the dust settles.

Love,
Grandmother

Dear Garrick,

Well, it’s official - I’ve entered the second trimester!

Mom gave us a thorough examination yesterday and has pronounced that Hikari is doing just fine and that all signs point to her being strong and healthy when she’s born.

Mom credits the excellent genetic material for that - and not just mine.  In fact, she says that, aside from hair and eye color, she is probably going to have a lot of your features as well as a predisposition for math and engineering.  (You should have seen her face - she was absolutely giddy.)

Yuki was hovering EVERYWHERE during the examination.  Poor girl is absolutely envious.  Yes, she understands that she’s not really ready for it.  But, like mom said, girls will be girls.

The new house is coming along slowly.  I was surprised at how thorough the survey had to be, especially that they even did a few core drillings to make sure there would be no surprises once we started digging.  But now, in retrospect, it only makes sense.

At least now the foundation has been laid - complete with a basement that will act as a storm shelter as well.

I’m still a little disturbed that the people here make nothing of living in a place where a sudden storm can drop something that destroys homes with such frightening efficiency with little or no warning...

...Well, some warning.  A lot more than you get for a seismic event, at least.  Your meteorologists are an admirable bunch.

Stay safe for us, Gar-kun.  I love you and I miss you every day you’re not here.

Love,
Minagi

To My Own:

Your daughter, My Own, is a nuisance.

A pregnancy for me should only take five months - our young develop relatively quickly in the womb.  But our child has apparently decided that she’s going to take her sweet time and go the entire nine months.

To say the least, I was not expecting this.

Don’t you dare laugh.

Fortunately, my maturation has finished, so that is one less hassle for me to deal with.  I’ll make certain to send pictures once Washu has figured out the communications protocol for it.  I am fairly certain that you will not be disappointed.

As for our Hotaru, she is doing well.  Washu extracted a genetic sample and has checked for any potential issues.  There have been a few - some faulty protein sequences that would have left our child incapable of surviving outside my womb.  Fortunately, though, your genetic material is remarkably malleable - Washu was easily able to shut down the troublesome genes.  She will still carry them and when her own time comes, we will need to carefully monitor Hotaru’s pregnancies.

However, at this time all signs point to her becoming a fine daughter for us.

I’ll have expectations of her - mainly that she excels at what she does.  I’m very much aware that she may be like you in your youth - a dreamer with her head lost in the clouds.

I would not mind, to be honest.  I was my own sort of dreamer in my youth.  I will simply have to seed ambition in her psyche so she will pursue her dreams instead of watching them pass by.

But I need you to be there for her.  She cannot truly be your daughter unless you are there to help me mold her mind.

Come back to us soon, my own.  We are waiting.

-Yume

Dearest Garrick,

Pregnancy is weird.

My hormones are all over the place and I was getting really bad morning sickness.  The worst part is that Washu-chan can’t do much for me.  The swings in my hormones are so sudden and extreme that it’s hard to counteract the effects.

The best she’s been able to do for me is to create an extract from several species of mint in order to quell my morning sickness.  Oddly enough, your favorite varieties seem to be the most effective.

I think Akatsuki is trying to tell us something.

Little brat.

I know I’m gonna love her without any reservation, but I can already tell that she’s going to be the troublemaker of the bunch.  But then I guess that only stands to reason.  I was the black sheep of my own family, rejecting the culture of my birth, barely doing any better for that of my father’s, and basically turning into a hot and sexy tomboy that likes to break shit and ruin the bad guy’s day.

And then there’s you, Mr. Dangerous Mind.  Our Lord of ‘Let me see what sort of devious and diabolical ways I can come up with to maim and frighten my enemies today’.  He who completely derails everyone’s expectations.

Our child is going to be an unholy terror.  I can’t wait to turn her loose on Seto.

My own health issues aside, Washu-chan reports that everything is fine.  Akatsuki is growing as she should be and my body, despite the hormone shifts, is handling the pregnancy well.

But I’m sure as hell not looking forward to the part where my bladder all but disappears.  I’m already starting to feel the squeeze down there!

Get your ass home as soon as possible.  I am not raising her without you.

Besides.  I want you to do that thing again.  This time without getting me knocked up.  

Love and Missiles,
Achika

My Gar-kun,

I thought maybe things might be easier once Washu-chan helped me test-out of school.

I was kinda right... but still so very wrong.

I guess this is like when I stowed away.  I got ahead of myself and now I have to work harder than ever.

But it’s okay.  Actually, I think I like it this way much better.

Even if I am working much harder I get to be much closer to my family now.  I wake up with Sasami-chan every morning and we make breakfast for everyone together, and after I help her clean up, I spend the rest of the morning with Minagi-onee practicing my sword drills.  I then help Sasami-chan in the kitchen again to make lunch, then afterwards I spend the afternoon with Washu-chan.   Or, I should say Washu-sensei.  She is a tough sensei... but fair.  And even when she’s being tough on me, she still manages to be kind.  Sometimes I wonder if I’m her favorite student ever, but that’d be presumptuous of me.

And then dinnertime comes, everyone helps in the kitchen (We still call it Gar-kun’s Rule), and I spend a couple of hours talking with Yosho-dono and Ayeka-onee, learning about becoming a noble woman of Jyurai.

Everything is changing so much.

Minagi and Achika haven’t started showing their pregnancies yet, but you can see it on Yume - even though her body matured, she didn’t really grow much taller.  But she is very pretty.  I can’t wait for you to see her pictures!

I’ve been growing, too.  I’ve gone up by two centimeters since we left Earth - Washu-chan tells me that I’ve been on a growth spurt ever since then.  I didn’t believe her at first, but then she showed me the pictures you had been taking.

I was so surprised!  At first I was like a little girl, and then suddenly my body starts changing shape!

...

Washu-chan also tells me this is why I wanted to get all kissy with you before.  Stupid hormones.  Even now, when I went with my sisters for their examination with Washu-chan, I caught myself wondering what it would be like to be pregnant!

That caught me by surprise so badly that the others noticed and Washu-chan had to explain to me that it was alright for me to have thoughts like that.

I thought I had changed before, but this... well, I guess I should not be surprised.  I’m still growing, after all.  But that won’t last forever.  Someday soon, I’ll be grown up, and there will be no one that can stop me from being your wife.  (Well, the Emperor and his wives can, but we already know they have given their blessings.)

I miss you Gar-kun.

Sometimes I cry at night, thinking about you, and Sasami-chan has to hold me until I go to sleep.  Sometimes even through the night.  She says that she doesn’t mind... but I can tell that it makes her sad, too.

One of your favorite authors once said, “Shared pain is lessened, shared joy, increased...”  I know that now that I am not alone... but it still hurts so much without you here, Gar-kun.  I know the others won’t say it, so that leaves me to be the brutally honest one.

I miss you so much that it hurts.

Love,
Yuki

I had to stop reading there for a moment.  Knowing that my ladies were all hurting, and having it put so vividly by Yuki...  I had to take a moment to let the emotions ebb while Katherine comforted me gently.

Dear Brother,

I can’t believe it’s only been three months for us, but already years for you!  Washu-chan says the time differential might vary from one world to another, but it still worries me.

And what’s this I’ve heard about a ‘magic sword’?  Did you actually do something with the Hielzein-S ingots the people on Yatsuka gave us?

And to say nothing of the Lighthawk Wing!

DETAILS, DEAR BROTHER!  GIVE US ALL THE DETAILS!

Now that that is out of my system...  I miss you.  As I have told you before, I love Lord Tenchi with all my heart, but you are like the brother I never got to have.  More so than Yosho - he I only saw as my future husband.  But you I love so dearly as I love Sasami-chan.

I miss having you around with your infectious smile and your teasing and your cajoling.  I miss your manic little songs you sing as you go about your day.  You make home seem more like home.  But without you here it is like there is a cold and empty hole in the places where you’d stand among us.

When you finally come home I will wait my turn.  But when that turn comes, I don’t think I’m going to let you go for a long time.

From your sister with love,
Aeka

Dearest Onii-sama,

I know you’re safe.  But I know you’re sad a lot, too.  I can feel it through Tsunami, who feels it through Katherine.

And the rest of us can tell you’re sad, too.  I know you try hard, but it shows anyhow.

But it’s okay, onii-sama.  Someday we’ll all be together again.  I know it.  Especially if The Doctor’s idea works.  It’s practically the only thing Washu-chan works on now.  She’s hardly ever left her lab and I always have to bring her meals.  I also use that as an opportunity to check on her.  Washu-chan doesn’t know it yet, but Mihoshi accidentally got me an account in her computer so I can use it to keep an eye on her.

Really, she’s doing okay.  She does take care of herself - not that she really needs much.  Washu-chan is waaaayyy outside from being baseline.

But really, she’s just putting on a brave face in her own way.  She just has a lot more experience at it than the rest of us do.  A lot of it has to do with the work she does.  Like I said, she’s really throwing herself into it.  But at least it’s not just work for the sake of working.  She’s genuinely making progress.  Sure, she has setbacks.  She’s not afraid of complaining about them whenever I’m around.  But she’s still making progress, and for her that’s what helps the most - she knows she’s getting closer and closer to the solution.

Out of everyone here, though, I think Yuki-chan has been hit the hardest.  She cries herself to sleep on my shoulder almost every night.  Her connection to you is really profound, onii-sama.  It’s not like she depends on you, but without you here it really is like part of her is missing.  Everything she does has an almost robotic quality to it.  It’s not so bad as everyone else notices, but because I’m so close to her it’s obvious for me.

Though I think Yume has noticed, too.  It explains why she tries to spend as much spare time with Yuki as possible, and I know Yuki appreciates that.

Anyways, I heard about what happened with you and Tirek.  That was so awesome onii-sama!  It’s amazing that you were able to create your own Lighthawk Wing.  You’re definitely gonna be like Tenchi-kun, and that makes me really happy for you!  In fact, Seto told me that this means you’re gonna get your own clan.  That’s so cool!  Tenchi-kun is really sweet, but Gar-kun is the cool brother!

Really, I think that when you get back, you and Tenchi-kun are gonna make an awesome team together.

Get strong, onii-sama.  We’re all counting on you to get home.

Love,
Sasami

Yo!

You know I’m not good at this kinda thing, so I’m gonna keep it short and sweet, as usual.  You know me, after all.

Really, it sucks not having you around.  You’re one of the few guys around here that can hold his liquor better than Yosho can.

Otherwise... It hasn’t hit me as hard as it has with the others.  I mean, it’s not that I don’t get it.  Really, I do.  All I have to do is imagine that if it had been Tenchi instead of you...  Yeah, the less I think of THAT, the better.

But I think it’s for the best, anyhow.  While everyone else has their moments, I get to be the one that cheers people up.  Oh, I know what they think.  ‘It’s just Ryoko being Ryoko.’

And I’m fine with that.  I don’t need any extra recognition or anything like that.  As long as Tenchi loves me, then I’m happy.

So anyhow, you take it easy out there, buddy.  I want you in one piece when you get back.  Because if what I’ve been hearing is for real, then we might be able to have a little fun.

I dunno if you realize it, yet, but I could never really spar with the others... at least not on the level I’d like to.  It takes a bit for me to get the blood pumping, ya know?
Hurry it up, man!  I’m getting bored over here!

-Ryoko

The next letter was another wall of text - several pages of uninterrupted eidetic memory playback - from Mihoshi.  Which I won’t inflict on anyone that doesn’t deserve it.

Katherine, on the otherhand...

Sprout, you think you can do something about this?

Sure thing, Gar-kun.  It’ll take me all night, but I can summarize it for you.  Want to keep the original text, though?

Yeah.  There might be something hidden in that mess that a summary would cut out.

Got it.  Should be ready in the morning,

Thanks, Sprout.

Anytime!

Dear Garrick

Well, after three months I think it’s safe to say:

Things are REALLY different without you here.  I don’t just mean the way everyone is missing you.  I miss you, too, but...

You once said I have a nasty habit of fading into the background.  I didn’t really believe you then - I felt that with everyone dragging me into strange situations that I never really had much choice in the matter.

But ever since you left, everyone’s eyes have been on me more and more.  It’s only now that I realize what you did around here.

It’s strange.  Even though you were so bold and up front about things, you never really made a big deal about it.

As weird as it sounds, you had become not just our leader, but the head of our house.  You made sure that things got done, and not really by bossing people around (though you did often make suggestions).  Instead you called people out on bad habits and behaviors.  Like how you got all of us on letting Sasami do all the cooking here without doing much to help her besides peeling vegetables.

And I allowed it to happen because I didn’t want that job.  I just did whatever jobs needed to be done and let things run on autopilot.  And then you showed up and once we trusted you, there were suddenly rules and structure.

Sasami isn’t allowed to be alone in the kitchen.

Nobody gets to hound Ryoko after she’s done her fair share of work.

Nobody is allowed to mess with Mihoshi’s guidance beacon.

Bath time is family time.

Washu-chan must come out of her lab at least two times a day.

And more.

We still follow all of these rules, but that’s mostly because I had to step into your shoes and remind everyone about them.

I never told you about this before because I knew you didn’t need to hear about it on top of everything else you were going through, but things were bad here the first week you were gone.  Everyone was so angry and upset, and no one knew for sure what to do.  We had no way of finding Professor Clay (I think that made Washu-chan more upset than anything else) and no way to bring you back home sooner.

And then I noticed that everyone was breaking the rules you made.  So I started reminding people about them.  It was kinda hard at first.  Ryoko actually yelled at me, saying what good was it that you weren’t here anymore.

Minagi came to my rescue.  She told Ryoko that she was acting like you had died.  She said you were just lost and that when you would show up that you’d be really unhappy with everyone if we were all acting like this.

Things changed after that.

We all pulled together and made things as normal as we could... and it worked.  It was still kinda strange.  Without you here it was a little like how things were before you came.  But then, there was Minagi, Yuki, Yume, and Achika all hanging around.  Sometimes even Minaho and Tennyo come over.

Which is really great because now I get to spend time with my sister and get to know her.  She’s really fun, even if her pranks do get a bit out of hand.  Grandfather tells me that she’s a lot like how my mother was, and Tennyo has also been telling me lots of stories about how she grew up with mom.

And Minaho...

...Uhm.  I think I have another fiance now.

I wish you could have warned me about this...  You did know about it, right?

But... I think it’s alright.  Minaho and I have been spending time together.  I guess you could say we’ve been dating.  And Minaho’s really a very nice person when she’s not working for Seto.  Sure, she can be very tough and sometimes scary - she has a lot of scars!  But so far, she’s... different from the others.

Unlike everyone else, she actually came and said that she likes me and said that she wanted to see if we fit together.  There were no crazy situations, no hidden agendas, no weird plots.  It actually felt... normal.

In fact, she even warned me that Seto might actually force someone else into the picture - while having Minaho, Aeka, and Sasami as my brides might look good, Seto might feel better about my odds if there was another bride from Jurai.  One that nobody could possibly mess with.

Could you give me a hint, brother?  Please?

Sincerely,
Tenchi

Garrick:

Noboyuki here.  I’m glad you agreed in your last letter to let me take charge of your holdings on Earth.  The others, while well-meaning, honestly have no idea what the markets here on Earth are like.

Really, I’m quite surprised that you had amassed so much liquid assets in the time you’ve been here.  It almost makes me wonder if I got into the wrong profession, but then again computer hardware of that caliber here on Earth is obscenely expensive.  You were fortunate to have those machines of yours when you arrived.

At any rate, your money is in good hands.  There is a stock brokerage in Tokyo that has had the implicit trust of the Masaki family for as long as Japan has had a stock market.  They’ve put together a portfolio for you that looks pretty good.  However, any input on where to invest in the future would be welcome.

With this you’ll be independently wealthy when you return.  At least, on Earth you will be.

As for your holdings among the Empire...

You may remember Mimi Tatsuki Jurai.  It turns out that she is quite an accomplished merchant and economist.  I’ve advised Achika to task her with managing your wealth and she took it.  Mimi has been doing an admirable job thus far; she has developed a portfolio for you that is making some modest returns.

As soon as I am able to, I’ll send you annotated spread sheets detailing all of your holdings and assets and what returns you’re gaining.  If anything is not to your liking by even an iota, then by all means let me know.

Sincerely,
Noboyuki Masaki

And that was all they wrote.

With a sigh, I closed the portfolio and dismissed it.  I’d go back and reread it later before writing out my replies.

Seems like everyone is doing as well as they can over there, huh?

Yeah, seems so, Sprout.  So we’re gonna have to do the same.

I stood up and affectionately went over Katherine, once more performing the all-but ceremonious check for signs of disease or parasites.  No sticks for me to collect yet, but the very first ones I got I would make into hair ornaments for my ladies.

So, if you’re gonna be in boot camp, aren’t you gonna need a way to hide your bracer?  It’s... kinda showy and I made it so it doesn’t come off... it being attached to the C-Pod and all.  There was a slightly nervous chuckle at that from Katherine.

It’s alright, Sprout.  I don’t mind.  It just means that no one can take it away from me.  But that is a problem in this case...  think we can disguise it with a hologram?  Like Yosho’s and Noboyuki’s disguises?

Sure!  I’ll get it on it right away.  It should be ready in the morning.  I’m pretty sure that will be soon enough for you.

I snorted at that.  Yeah, that should be fine.  Thanks, Katherine.  I don’t know what I’d do without you.

Hey, the feeling is mutual.  After all, mother made me just for you, so I wouldn’t exist if you hadn’t shown up.

I smiled at that.  Touche, my Sprout.  Touche.

---

This concludes this Letters from Home segment.  I'll put more up later tonight.  Right now, I'm about to drop dead.  :p