[RFC][SI][Multi-Xover]Being You is Suffering

[Black Aeronaut]

So, here it is.
The idea started out as a solo-run version of the Brother's Grimm Collaborative Project my brothers and I were working on, because given our schedules and our being on different parts of the country it become difficult to collaborate.
And this snowballed pretty quickly.
Quick-and-dirty: this is an SI, slightly ahead from current events and supposing a terrible tragedy in the family.  RL me is highly susceptible to depression, so what better way to make his entire life go BSOD prior to somebody saving the files and booting them up in another machine?

---

So, there I was,
driving down Interstate Ten, bound for one of the most miserable
places on Earth – Seattle.

Now, don't get me
wrong. Seattle actually has some pretty awesome sights, like the
Space Needle, the ferries of the Puget Sound, the Fremont Troll, the
Pike Place Market, and a more than a few metric tons of art. It had
a lot of the industries going on over there that were right up my
alley. But it rained there. Frequently. Not a lot of actual rainfall, mind you - less than many East Coast cities actually.  But the frequency and duration of the rainfalls... Let me put it this way, Seattle usually only see about fifty-eight sunny days out of the year.  The rest are covered by an iron curtain of overcast skies.

Seattle was known
as the Emerald City because the green color was from all the moss
that grew there. It was also known to be the leading major
metropolitan area in suicides year after year without fail. I knew
for sure that I was gonna be on anti-depressants within a year.

The thought itself
was so depressing that it made me drowsy, causing me to doze at the
wheel. Not even the Uber Monster energy brew that I finished off not
even ten minutes ago seemed to be helping. I was considering
stopping at the next rest stop when I dozed again, imagining pulling
onto the off-ramp and letting myself blissfully zone out to the tune
of my faithful little truck's engine purr softly while blowing warm
air over my cold–

The sudden jarring
of my truck jolted me right out of my doze as adrenaline began
flooding my system, augmenting the energy supplement I had earlier.
I reacted instinctively – foot off the gas, clutch in, pump the
brakes, keep the wheel under firm control and try to get the truck
back on the shoulder!

Where's the road!?
TREES! AVOID AVOID AVOID! HOUSE! STOOOOP!

My truck was
heavily laden with the back end filled all the way to the top of the
camper shell, and a four-by-eight foot trailer loaded to it's full
capacity as well. But my truck, a well used and well cared for 1998
Mazda B2500 which I had lovingly named 'Scrappy', had front wheel
anti-lock brakes and the rear axle had enough weight on it to really
dig in.

I was shocked when
all I did was just bump against the house with a dull thud.

For a moment, all I
did was sit there and have a moment of BSOD. My limbs shaking I
applied the emergency break, almost forgot to put Scrappy into
neutral before letting off the clutch, and shut the engine off.
Leaving the headlights on, I opened the door and clamored out of
Scrappy. The first thing I checked was how badly damaged the house
was. I wasn't worried about my vehicle because I was driving a truck
– albeit a small one, but still a truck.

Looking around the
front end I saw that I had done nothing more than scuff the paint.
Probably about ten bucks to get the right color of paint and touch it
up. The most troublesome part would be the color matching.

With a huge and
explosive sigh, I then went on to inspect my vehicle, then the
trailer, and finally their respective loads. Scrappy's rear axle,
being equipped with only drum brakes, didn't have ABS like the front
axle did, and so the rear wheels locked when I fire-walled the brake
pedal and had carved furrows into the soft earth of the driveway.
Which was probably my saving grace. So long as you're keeping it in
a straight line, the quickest way to stop in soft earth was to just
floor it.

But how had I wound
up on this driveway? Interstates, even in Texas, did not usually
have residential drives right off the highway itself – that's what
the frontage roads are for. Did I somehow take a highway to heaven
and wound up here?

There was also
something off about this place. I couldn't place my finger on it,
but it sure as hell didn't feel like west Texas. Or even New Mexico.

“Oi! Nan-des'ka?”

I just about jumped
out of my skin. I never heard anyone approaching and the odd pitch
of the voice threw me as well. I snapped around and was confronted
with a child-like figure with a massive, barely organized mess of
pink hair. She was wearing the sort of tired look that only people
woken in the middle of the night by strange travelers would wear.

“Whoah! Jeeeeze,
you startled me there,” I said. I hate being keyed up on
adrenaline like this. I kinda like being on the jittery side, but
not this much. “Ah, sorry about this mess,” I continued lamely.

“Heeeehhhhh?”
said the girl as she leaned in to inspect me more carefully.

That sound,
combined with the odd pitch in her voice raised a flag in my head.
It was a sound I had grown familiar with, and even loved triggering
in the people of Japan.

“Anatawa Nihon o
shitte imas'ka? ” she said, which cinched it for me.

“Ah... Iie,” I
replied. “Choto-choto Nihongo. Very few words.”

“So you are an
American then,” she said in surprisingly clear English that smacked
of something either Brooklyn or Jersey – I could never tell the
difference with those accents. This was getting very weird so my
next question was very much to the point.

“Uhm, pardon my
ignorance, but could you tell me where I'm at, little miss?”

“Sure. You're in
Japan. And if I'm guessing right you were someplace else before
hand.”

“Texas,” I
confirmed. Was this some sort of crazy put-on?

The girl nodded her
head with a smug, satisfied smile. “Well, why don't we see if we
can get you sorted out?”

“Uhm, mind if I
use the toilet first?” I asked. If I really was in Japan, then
this would tell me for sure.

“Sure sure,”
she said breezily. “Go around the side, through the sliding door,
up the stairs and it's the door at the very end of the hall. Can't
miss it. Just don't go stomping around and waking anyone up.”

“Thanks,” I
said as I pocketed my keys and anything else that might jangle. As I
made my way inside the house and up the stairs I couldn't help but
notice that this place seemed insanely familiar to me, but I just
couldn't quite place it.

Just as I reached
the top of the stairs I heard a sound like static and a woman walked
through the wall to my side, just inches from me. I yelped in
surprise, startling her into yelping and punching me in the face.
Stars flashed in my eyes and the next thing I knew I was weightless
and looking up at the timbered ceiling.

I had just enough
time to think to myself, Oh fuck, this is gonna be bad.

My neck hit first,
and a horrible, wrenching pop sounded throughout my head.

Then I felt nothing
more. Just a terrifying numbness that overcame me. I couldn't move.
I was still breathing... but it was so faint.

Oh god... my neck
was broken! Can't move, can't speak, breathing is starting to slow
down... I was going to die in a few minutes and there wasn't anything
I could do!

Feet came pounding
my way – the girl from before.

“Hey! Are you
alright!?” she cried out. “Say something, will you?”

I could only give
her a helpless look.

“Oh hell no!”
she breathed and proceeded into outright crisis mode. “RYOKO!”
she cried out. The woman that startled me before appeared overhead.
Apparently she knew that if whatever happened had this girl that
upset then she should be concerned. In fact, she had an expression
of 'Oh crap, I fucked up this time, didn't I?' on her face.

She made some terse
instructions in Japanese that I had no way of catching with my
limited vocabulary as she opened... some kind of... hole in the air?
And began to rummage through the unseen contents. With a short bark
of success, she removed some unremarkable oblong device that fit
neatly in the palm of her small hand.

“Boy I am so glad
I never throw anything like this out. Hang on, mister, we'll get you
through this.” She then looked to the woman she called Ryoko and
nodded. The woman then gestured and I was somehow levitated up off
the stairs. Before I could really start to wonder how the hell that
was happening, the smaller girl pushed my shirt up and planted the
device at the very bottom of my solar plexus. Suddenly my breathing
picked up.

Right away I knew
that the device was somehow stimulating my diaphragm muscle to keep
working even though it was no longer receiving commands from my
brain. Who the hell are these people?

And now, more were
showing up. A girl with cerulian blue hair and crimson irises.
Another with impossibly long vividly violet hair and equally violet
eyes. A cat... rabbit... thing... A dusky-skinned, blue-eyed blonde
with hair cascading in tight ringlets, and a boy with short-cropped
black hair and brown eyes.

A sudden surge of
questions, imprecations, and explanations, all in Japanese, suddenly
ensued. The messy-maned pink-haired girl had to verbally beat back
the violet-haired one, and seemed to imperiously command the young
man to usher everyone back to their rooms. Reluctantly, they all
left except the tall woman with cyan-hair and amber eyes who
sucker-punched me earlier.

“Okay, now that
the riff-raff are dealt with, that muscle stimulator should keep you
alive for the moment,” said the girl. “Let's get you into my
lab.”

LAB!?!?

---

Within minutes, the
tiny woman that could only be Washu Hakubi had me on a medical table,
my neck set, and my spinal cord and vertebra swiftly being mended by
the medical nanomachines she had injected me with.

The were no jokes,
no slapstick, no pratfalls, not even any whimsical retorts. Washu
remained professional, alert, and competent throughout the entire
process, and Ryoko simply stood by watching for any sign that she
needed any help.

“I apologize for
my daughter's sudden reaction,” Washu said as she sat back to
relax, wiping what little sweat had accumulated on her brow. “You
should be able to talk now. Give it a shot.”

Tentatively a
muttered a few vowel sounds. Wonder of all wonders, I could talk
again.

“It's okay,” I
croaked. “She saw a strange person in her home in the middle of
the night. What scared me was that she came through the wall. By
the way... is your name Washu-chan?”

“It is,” said
Washu slowly. “Who are you?”

If I could have
shaken my head, I would have. “Nobody,” I said. “Just someone
who's lost in more ways than one.”

“Hey, you got a
name, don't you?” grumped Ryoko. I heard something go thunk in the
background which caused Ryoko to growl indignantly.

I sighed. “She's
got a point. I'm just feeling sorry for myself. We'll get into it
later, but for now, my name is Garrick Grimm.” I froze in
surprise. Where the hell had that come from? “Uh, no, that's not
right. I must have hit my head harder than I though. Really, my
name is Garri-” I froze as the unwanted monicker tried to come out
of my mouth once more.

“Is something
wrong?” asked Washu as she leaned over me with a concerned
expression.

“That's... that's
not my name,” I said in horror. Really, I decided I was going to
try and force it out – strange compulsion be damned, I liked my
name! But the more I tried to think of it, the more it eluded me.
It was like as though my old name had been completely blanked out
from my memory and replaced with something else.

“My name... it's
gone.”

Washu and Ryoko
exchanged horrified looks. They had heard of all kinds of terrible
things being done to a person, but transporting them across
continents and then altering their minds to fit some twisted
scheme... it was the absolute worst sort of crime.

I suddenly felt
Washu's hand lay gently on my head. “Don't worry,” she said
gently. “Garrick Grimm is a good name. Garrick means He That
Rules With A Spear, and Grimm is an ancient surname that means The
Fierce One. Whoever gave that name to you was not thinking lightly
of you.”

“I don't feel
very fierce now,” I muttered. “Just hurt... and so far from
home.”

“Where is your
home anyhow?”

“I was in the
middle of moving when I arrived here, so it doesn't matter really...
but in spirit, my home has always been the City of San Antonio in
Texas.”

Washu nodded.
“Home of the Alamo and one of the most famous Pyrrhic victories of
earth's Modern Age.”

“Pyrrhic
victory?” asked Ryoko.

“A hollow
victory,” I replied. “Named for a general who led a siege
against another city-state. He successfully sacked the city, but his
entire army had been reduced to but a handful of men. In the case of
the Battle of the Alamo, General Santa Anna led about 2,000 men
against the 200 in the fortified mission. After six days, the Alamo
did eventually fall, and all but two of the defenders were tortured
and slain – those two were sent to warn the rest of the Texian Army
that Santa Anna was coming and would not take any prisoners.
However, the battle was a hardship for his army. It was reduced in
effectiveness, and the message brought by the messengers to the
capitol, located in what is now called the City of Houston,
galvanized the entire population. The messengers also warned
everyone they came across, causing everyone to flee to the capitol.
The end result was a massive surge of volunteers for the Texian Army,
and Santa Anna was completely defeated.”

Ryoko made an
appreciative whistle at that. “Sounds like you guys don't put up
with much.”

I smiled. “We've
had a long-standing slogan in my home – 'Don't mess with Texas.'”
Ryoko cackled and Washu shook her head, but she was smiling
regardless.

“Okay you two,”
said Washu. “I can see now that the healing process is going well,
so we're going to put you in a bed and sedate you so you don't move
while you heal – the new tissues being constructed are very
delicate at this stage.”

“Alright then,”
I sighed. “But can someone turn off the headlights in my truck
before they drain the battery? I'd hate to have to ask for a
jumpstart... Oh, and get my cat. He's probably pretty shaken up by
now.”

“A cat?” asked
Washu. “Is he...”

“He's a big,
sweet natured guy... but he's something of a bully with other cats.
If you leave him in the room with me with a litter box, water and
food he'll be okay. He'll just curl up on top of me and go to sleep.
He doesn't even knead his claws on me.”

“That's...
impressive.”

“Not really. He
found out the hard way that I don't like feeling claws in my skin.”
I smiled. “He knows that if he wants my attention he can meow or
even put his paws to my legs... without the claws. I reinforced that
behavior with positive attention.”

Washu chuckled.
“Okay then. So, headlights and cat. Anything else?”

“Nah, not unless
you guys need my truck moved right away.”

“It'll keep.”

So, in short order,
I was placed in a small but comfortable room in Washu's lab, left
with my cat purring deeply at my side, and whacked up on enough
sedatives to knock out a horse. I was, for the moment, content, but
I knew that would not last forever. I was in Tenchi Muyo and here
Murphy ruled with an iron first.

[Dartz]

Why the name change? It does suggest somebody with deliberate intent... which begs the question of who and why? Something that needs to be hinted at anyway....

Also, I'm curious about the world structure and why the protagonist is involved, or has been otherwise selected for such deliberate treatment. It's something that needs to be tackled anyway. Generally, if you're doing a multi-crossover you want to have something tying everything together in some way, some sort of underlying framework that's reasonably consistent.
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[Foxboy]

One, the name change provides a level of "this isn't really me" psychological distancing that can keep someone who's "shy" writing an SI that's posted live. It also keeps folks from making comments where it's publicly posted referencing the character from feeling like a personal attack against the author.

Two, changing a name in that specific way lets you know there's Weird Magic Shit going down. There's a series of My Little Pony SI fics collectively called "My Little Heartbreak" that used the "Fair Folk" as the mechanism for transfer and they stole the "SI's" name after stuffing him into a "mare suit" and branding her where the cutie mark would go before giving her the name Heartbreak.

The folks renaming BA's avatar here seem nicer about it. It may also have to do with the "Significant Names" thread of Tenchi Muyo!
''We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat
them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.''

-- James Nicoll

[Dartz]

That wasn't exactly what I meant. I suppose, without a longer section to fill it out it it just feels a little bit too brushed over. I'm aware that it hints at something, but I'd like a little more to go on. Maybe it might require a little more acknowledgement.
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--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

[classicdrogn]

Okay, doing this as I read.

clamored (making a lot of noise) -> clambered (climbed)

Most of my usual smart alec-y comments and speculation are headed off by having been told going in that this is a TM cross. You might want to add something about the differences between animation and living detail that threw you of from recognizing Washuu and Ryoko straight off, though.

I can see the point of the name change - I avoid putting my real name on the internet myself - but agree with Dartz & Foxboy that having it done that way will need to be addressed in some way at some point. Yes, I know you've already said there was a ROB and Tsunami involved in the other thread, but it might be simpler to just use a nom de plume and add an author's note at the end that no, it is in fact not your real name, so don't bother trying to RL search for you by it

At any rate, it looks like a solid start, so keep on chuggin'!
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows

[Dartz]

was a ROB

Maybe that's part of it. I have a distaste for stories doing the ROB route, born out of many odious fics on Spacebattles. The Random Omnipotent Being approach has a place, but at the same time it's cutting off a bunch of plot threads before they can even be spun. There's a slight suggestion here that this particular instance might have a point beyond 'ROB sets up the pins for the SI to knock down'.... and I really do hope that's the case. I find it hard to like ROB stories where things happen for the sake of it, without it even being acknowledged.

Then again, I've been a bit peculiar lately myself. The last fic update I put out got more of a mixed reception than normal, so I don't know anymore.
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--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

[Black Aeronaut]

Well, the name change was originally intended as a sort of protection... you know how in some of those magical system the big bad needs to know your 'Real Name' in order to have absolute control over you? Granted, it's usually something other than your birth-name, but why give them any more chances than they need?

As for the whole point of the story... Well, our main character would like nothing more than to settle down and start on a family... but the situation will be preventing that. And so, he'll have to compromise between getting what he actually wants - a family to care for and that cares for him in return - and having to let go of the people and places he cares about. (And of course, there's going to be a lot of explodey stuff along the way.)

Eventually, he will be brought back to Tenchiverse and be welcomed with open arms... but along the way, he's going to gather his own family. Of course, in fine Tenchi-verse fashion this is just keeping up with the neighbors.

EDIT: Oh, and let's not forget that this ROB is going to be getting the flying middle finger fairly early on. Garrick will view Tsunami as his patron Goddess.  True, really, when she goes out of her way to make a few things happen for him... or at least Sasami does (you know that whole Sasami/Tsunami thing.)  You know how she is about hard luck cases, and this one just about breaks her heart.

[Black Aeronaut]

Have some more.  Got plenty of it... though I may need to start filling in some of the gaps I've left before I post more...

---

When I woke up,
Washu was there.

“Good morning
sleepyhead,” she chirped cheerfully. There was something odd about
the words coming out of her mouth, but I couldn't quite place my
finger on it.

“Mornin'
Washu-chan,” I muttered as I began to stretch out my oh-so-sore
muscles. My cat, Renee, began meowing intently right by my head.
With a grumble of, “get over here you big lug,” I pulled the
hefty feline – a solid twenty-five pounds of which only a slight
minority was fat – up onto my chest and gave him the attention he
wanted. “Any chance I can get an anti-inflamatory? Like some
Ibuprofen? Not sure what the Japanese name for it is.”

Washu chuckled.
“Oh, no worries Garrick. I know exactly what you mean.”

I blinked at that.
“You're speaking Japanese.”

“Yup!” said
Washu happily.

“And evidently so
am I.”

“You got it.”

“You did
something to my language centers while I was out.”

“You're on a roll
now.”

“... What else
did you do?”

“Not much else,
really,” said Washu.

“Washu-chan. I
don't know if you ever took the Hippocratic oath, but I am your
patient, and this patient has some very serious questions he'd like
answered.”

Washu huffed. “Oh,
fine. Spoilsport. Basically, I fixed a few things that could become
serious problems for you later on. Stuff like Alzheimer’s Disease,
Cancer, Diabetes and one of the mildest cases of Dyslexia I've ever
seen.”

I raised an
eyebrow. “You didn't fix anything else?”

“There was a
couple of other things I wanted to fix, but I thought better of it.”

“These things
being?”

“An odd
combination of ADD and Asperger's Syndrome. That's kinda weird –
you're capable of being distracted real easily when your bored, but
you can also hyper-focus to the point of starvation. Being you must
be painful sometimes.”

I snorted. “C'mon.
You're Washu Hakubi, intergalactically renowned supergenius. Surely
a defect in brain chemistry isn't that exciting for you?”

Washu sniffed
disdainfully. “It's one thing to read about it. It's another to
observe for yourself and draw your own conclusions. Besides, we
never really got to discussing how you seem to be so knowledgeable.”

“Oh yeah. Sorry
about that tangent back there. If you thought that one was bad, you
should have seen my brothers and I on a good night – one of us
would start a debate over some matter, and the towards the end of the
night we can't even remember what we started out on.”

Washu laughed.
“Yes, nice try just now, too. Now spill it.”

I shrugged. “I'm
a dimensional displacee through some means not of my knowledge or
power. In my home universe, someone created an animated short-run TV
series called Tenchi Muyo which chronicals the misadventures of a
young manned named Tenchi Masaki who has unwittingly gained the
attention and affections of five powerful women... Six now, if you
include Ryo-Ohki.”

Washu raised an
eyebrow. “Pretty smooth delivery there. How long have you been
working on it?”

“Honestly, I'm
kinda surprised myself. Are you sure you haven't fiddled around with
anything else in my brain?”

“I assure you I
haven't. Anyhow, if it weren't for you being plugged into all my
medical diagnostic equipment I'd say you're lying to me. But you're
not. And even if you could fake that somehow, I have other methods.
But you can't, so I won't resort to it.”

“So, what happens
now?” I asked.

“Good question.
We don't exactly have room for you here unless you started living up
in the shrine. Pretty sure old man Yosho's got a few extra rooms
there.”

“Sure, have me
just stay put. I'm pretty sure I can pull my own weight around here
by fixing the tractor whenever it breaks down. Oh wait, there's no
tractor.”

“Quit being so
passive aggressive. Really, what did you have going for yourself
back home?”

I sighed. “I was
taking an aerospace engineering program at a prestigious university
back in the USA. But my mother wound up passing away and I lost my
job, which killed my tuition, which killed my education, so I had to
start over again.”

“Surely you could
have transferred your credits over to another school,” said Washu.

“Sure, but the
last semester is shot – I've lost those credits. And then there's
the whole new-school bit that I wasn't looking forward to – you
know, adjusting to the new staff, new curriculum, new schedules and
new settings... It's all just a real punch to the gut after
everything else I've been through – you know the drama, who gets
the family bible and whatnot. I just count myself lucky since
everything I own is in my truck.” I suddenly had a horrifying
thought and asked, “My stuff is still intact, isn't it?”

Washu p-shawed.
“Of course it is. I just shifted it all here into the lab so it'd
be safe.”

I breathed a sigh
of relief at that. “Thanks, you have no idea how much that means
to me. Some of the stuff in there... it just cannot be replaced. I
mean... computers and electronics, sure. No problem... but a picture
of me with my sister and all my cousins when we were little, sitting
with my grandparents...”

Washu smiled.
“Yeah, something like that you can't put a price on.”

“No, you can't.”

Washu sighed.
“Well, at any rate I know that Tenchi will be glad to have a truck
around here and someone to drive it.”

I snorted. “As
if I could take it out on the roads here.”

“You might be
surprised,” said Washu as she handed me my wallet. Perplexed, I
opened it up...

...And found a
Japanese driver's license. “WHAT.”

“We also found an
American passport with your visas all in order, a Japanese resident
alien card, and your truck has the proper plates and inspections.
Even your road tax is all paid-up.”

“Oh, c'mon! You
seriously mean that you didn't do all this?”

“Nope,” said
Washu artlessly. “Honest promise! I did not hack any government
systems and I did not make any false paperwork and/or IDs.”

“Well if you
didn't then who did?”

“Not anyone
here,” she said matter-of-factly. “I'd have noticed.”

“Well fuck.
Washu, we got a ROB.”

“A rob?” she
parroted.

I nodded. “A
Random Omnipotent Being.”

And now she
scowled. “So that's how it is then?”

I nodded. “That's
how it is.”

“... Garrick,
with your permission I would like to fit you with a device that will
let me track you where ever you are, even if you get sent to another
universe. I'll even give you a communication device so you'll have
some kind of life line in the event you do get transported again. Do
you agree?”

“No argument
here, Doc. I'll take every advantage I can get.”

---

Washu performed the
procedure with little fanfare. A simple injection was all it took.
As for the communication device, it came in the form of something
like my 5th generation iPod Nano on a wristband. The
coolest part about it was the tiny little dimensional pocket it had –
just big enough to carry the earpieces. I would never lose a headset
again.

The maraschino
cherry on top was that it was disguised as an iPod Nano... complete
with the music playback functions. It even worked with my iTunes
software, only I could put as much music as I wanted on there.
Sweet!

On the downside, my
iPhone was all but useless. The first generation iPods were just
debuting in this time period, so my iPhone working here was right
out.

As for my rooming
issues... Washu assured me that could be worked out. I'd hoped she
was serious on that matter.

---

What happened next
was like a scene straight out of a manga.

“Okay everyone!”
said Washu cheerfully. “As you all know we have a new visitor that
will be staying with us for a while. Now, I know that when he first
arrived it gave everyone quite a scare, but thanks to my superior
medical technology, he's as good as new. So, I would like you all to
meet Garrick Grimm.”

I mentally shrugged
and then bowed to the company of the Tenchi Household seated at the
table before me.

“A pleasure to
make your acquaintance. Please take good care of me.”

“Great!”
chirped Washu. “Now, does anyone have any questions for our
visitor?”

“What can you do
around the house?” asked Ayeka.

I shrugged.
“Pretty much anything. Being the oldest out of all but one among
my generation in my family, I had to learn how to do a myriad of
tasks. I do dishes, laundry, windows, carpets, hard wood, bedding,
cooking (as long as I have a recipe to go by), and I can even balance
the check book and the budget. I can also fix things. I can replace
windows and doors, patch walls, paint, hang pictures, as well as
repair, replace, and even install electrical and plumbing fixtures.
My technical skills are not to be overlooked, either. I can
troubleshoot and repair computers (of Earth origin), or even build
one out of parts, with your choice of Apple, Windows, or Linux
operating systems (sometimes even combinations of any). I can even
set up home theater systems. I'm also a shadetree mechanic. I do
all my own maintenance on my pickup truck from oil changes and tire
rotation all the way down to engine overhauls and transmission
rebuilds. I have also been military trained as a maintenance
technician, munitions handler, hazardous materials manager,
firefighter, security sentry, and safety watch. And yes, I know how
to use a gun, and I'm not too shabby at it.

“Oh, and I know
first aid for trauma, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and the Heimlich
Maneuver.”

Everyone blinked at
me.

“Okay, we're
keeping him,” said Ryoko.

“What kinds of
food do you like?” asked Sasami.

I grinned. “I
have been called a human garbage disposal in the past. While I may
not eat as much in one sitting as some might, I will pack away more
food over time than most. And I'll eat just about anything, as long
as it's not alive and is safe for human consumption. Although I will
say this: I hate wasabi and horseradish. Bleagh!”

“Oh! Thank you
for saying so. It shouldn't be a problem, Mr. Grimm.”

“So, where do you
come from Mr. Grimm?” asked Mihoshi.

“I'm from the
United States of America – on the northern continent east of the
Pacific Ocean.”

“Oh? An
American?” said Ayeka with interest. “I've heard about your
people. Is it true that you always get drunk and make a lot of
noise?”

I shrugged. “Some
do. A lot don't. I won't say the stereotype isn't deserved, but
many of us despise the people that earned it for us. Really, a lot
of us are as normal as can be. Our culture just differs because we
have no issues with looking people in the eye.”

“That's something
I've never really understood,” said Tenchi. “I mean no offense,
Mr. Grimm, but why do you your people do that?”

I shrugged. “For
us, it's sort of like acknowledging the other person. Of course, the
trick is not to stare... unless you want their attention. It's sort
of like knowing exactly how deep your bow should be.”

“So... it's like
greeting everyone you see?”

“Pretty much.
Granted, a lot less of it happens in the really busy cities, like New
York or Los Angeles. Another reason, though, is trust.”

“Trust? How so?”
asked Ayeka.

“Have you ever
noticed that someone that is hiding something from you has trouble
looking you in the eye?”

“Oh... why, yes!
I see what you mean, now. You confront people immediately to
determine if they're trustworthy. But even so, isn't that a bit
rude?”

I shook my head.
“It's a hold-over from our frontier days. If you came across
somebody back then you wanted to be sure they weren't going to pull
something on you because you could literally be hundreds of miles
from any sort of help. And, as you know, old habits die hard.

“But at any rate,
I think the most important things to keep in mind about us Americans
is that even though we can be ill-tempered and ill-mannered at times,
we tend to be fiercely loyal to our friends. We often put ourselves
into danger for each other. Sometimes we even do it for people we
don't even know.”

“Ahh... you
certainly seem to know how to use chopsticks,” said Mihoshi
nervously.

“Thanks. It took
me a while to get it just right. I've had a few years experience
just trying it on my own. Then I came to Japan while I was in the
Navy, and a girlfriend I had there taught me the proper way.”

“You had a
girlfriend?” remarked Sasami. “Here in Japan?”

I chuckled. “The
Japan of my world, yes. Though she might exist in this world as
well... but she'd probably be too young. In my world, she was five
years younger than me – it was okay because I was thirty and she
was twenty-five. But here? She'd be about fifteen, sixteen years
old. Very inappropriate, don't you think Sasami-chan?”

“Oh, but that's
so sad,” pouted the cyan-haired cook.

“It wouldn't work
out regardless,” I sighed. “At the time, I was more in love with
the ideal than with her.”

“What ideal?”

I sighed. “Oh, a
sweet and loving wife that does everything she can because she loves
you with all her heart. Someone with those Japanese eyes that are so
exotic by American standards. The grace and the beauty of the
Nadeshiko Yorishiku. Someone whose faith in their husband is backed
not just by their love, but by the cultural mores of a warrior
society. Someone that, once I ask for her honest and unabashed
opinion of me and how I do things, will give me a straight answer
even if it hurts me to hear it.

“It also doesn't
hurt that I saw geisha on an educational program when I was very
young... I thought they were the prettiest women I had ever seen.”

I smiled as I
noticed that Sasami had gone all googley-eyed. “Earth to Sasami.
Come in Space Cadet Masaki!”

Sasami blushed as
she came back to us and I laughed. “Don't worry, Sasami, it will
come to you eventually.” I then sighed. “You're all very lucky,
you know that?”

“What do you
mean?”

“If all of you
play your cards right... you won't have to have your hearts broken
over and over again like I have.”

“Speak for
yourself,” grumbled Washu.

“Yeah, well the
light at the end of your tunnel isn't an express train this time
around.” Washu snickered and shook her head. “Look... Tenchi,
I don't know what Washu has told you guys, but I'm literally someone
who's been on the outside looking in. Don't bother asking why or how
– it's too complicated to explain and it will only give you guys
migraines. But I know that you've got room in your heart for all
these wonderful girls. You just need the time it takes to realize
that love. Though in the meantime, I'd highly suggest you make a
trip to Jurai at some point in time here and see if one of those
trees in the Royal Nursery doesn't take a shine to you. Because at
the rate you're going you're gonna look as old as your grandfather
before it finally hits you.”

You could hear a
pin drop in that place. I simply polished off the last of my rice,
leaving a clean bowl on my place setting.

“Thank you kindly
for the delicious meal. If you folks would be so kind as to excuse
me, I'm going to go for a run – been laying around in a bed for too
damn long.”

---

The hills that
surrounded Tenchi's home were anything but an urban landscape... but
that meant nothing to a free-runner.

Known also as
Parkour, free-running is a fun, fast-paced sort of running that
focuses entirely on getting from point-A to point-B in as much of a
straight line as possible, no matter what obstacle is in your way.

It was also very
physically demanding – an energy intensive workout that taxed every
part of the body. For someone whose favorite parts about childhood
was climbing trees, this was ideal.

I had only been
doing it for about a year an a half. I was... decent. I'm not as
flashy as some of the people you might see on youtube... but what I
lacked in flair I more than made up for in speed. I usually would go
by so quickly that the only response elicited was a fervent WTF.

The grounds of the
Masaki estate and shrine were beautiful beyond compare. The only
thing I had in my memories that came close was the Olympic Rain
Forrest of Washington State.

Having my music
available to me just made it all the better.

After a few minutes
of not-too-much-fussing with my computer, the C-Pod, as I had taken
to calling it, now had my entire music library on it, fully arranged
as I had it on my computer. As I ran, jumped, and swung through the
woods, I enjoyed the sounds of one of my Movement playlists.

Was I bothered that
I was here?

A little bit.

But I had to admit,
I had gotten off pretty damn easily. I was at a point in my life
where I was completely free. Mother was gone, Father, and my
brothers barely talk between us, and so there were no more family
obligations. My job had been taken away from me and the school had
expelled me.

I was still
heartbroken, though. I still wanted to raise a family of my own, and
be able to introduce my children to the wonderful person that would
be their grandmother. And now... it seems that I'm forced to let it
all go completely.

I had no delusions
about the matter. I wasn't going to go back. This place would
change me on many levels; obvious, subtle, and profound all at the
same time. No one would recognize me... not that it mattered. Few
people ever did since I was always away.

Away from San
Antonio, the home that I had known as a child, doted on by my
grandparents, aunts, and uncles while I played with my cousins.

Away from my
brothers as they came into their own as adults and became their own
people.

Away from my only
sister as she had children of her own, went through her own trials by
fire, and came out of it a strong and independent woman.

But more
importantly... always alone.

I wasn't entirely
fine with that. Sure, I had my anti-social tendencies, especially as
a child. Anyone that wasn't family (and even then there was Mom and
then there was God) had no business telling me what to do.

But I knew after
long experience, being alone sucked. Sure, being out amongst the
people in the city was nice. It gave a false sense of not really
being alone. But I would take having a few close friends over that
any day of the week. In fact, the best times of my life were spent
that way – a few close friends, going out, exploring the lesser
known hidden corners of civilization.

But could I have
that same experience here?

Somehow, during my
cool-down walk, I had found may way to the little island in the lake
where Yosho's Tree, Funaho, had taken root. Knowing that she
wouldn't mind, I jumped and began to shimmy my way up into the boughs
of the great tree. It was Autumn here and the crisp, cool air was
rapidly pulling the sweat off my body. I decided to lean against a
comfortable branch and wait until I dried out completely before going
back inside. I wouldn't smell as bad that way.

“Point in your
favor: Funaho seems to like you.”

I looked down to
the ground and saw Washu standing below, look up at me with a grin.
It suddenly struck me exactly just how much like an impish little
girl Washu really seemed like. The anime and manga simply did not do
her justice.

I grinned back at
her. “She is a magnificent tree. I wish there had been more like
her when I was growing up. In Texas we had mostly Pecan trees, but
they were all big seventy-footers. The lowest branches were two
stories off the ground. And in Washington State we had Redwood
Pines. No climbing those suckers without special equipment – I was
definitely too small for lineman's boots.”

“Be interesting
to see, I bet,” replied the little scientist.

“Oh, I bet. I
would have jumped at the chance, too.” I looked down again and
smiled at Washu. “You know what I always loved about you whenever
I read the Manga or watched the TV series?”

“Do tell.”

“20,000 years
old, and you still cling to that wonderfully child-like spirit...
even if it is every bit as mischievous as I used to be.”

“Aw, geeze,
you're gonna make an old woman blush.”

I laughed. “Sorry.
Just calling it as I see it. So, how badly did I shake everyone
up?”

“It was food for
thought for all of them,” Washu admitted. “Me as well. I just
hope that the rest of them don't get carried away.”

“Washu-chan, it's
a given. They'll go overboard with this just like everything else.”

The pink-haired
girl sighed. “Yeah, your right. But then it'd be pretty boring
regardless.”

“Even so, I think
it would be best if I helped Tenchi.”

“Oh? What do you
have in mind?”

“Well, it's
pretty obvious no one's ever taught him how to deal with womanly
attention. Kiyone passed away before she could teach him anything
about that sort of thing, and Noboyuki has been more than useless on
the matter.”

“And Yosho is
just plain useless,” added Washu.

I shrugged. “He
teaches Tenchi swordsmanship. That counts for something. But
evidence against him in that matter exists. He did, after all, run
from that perfectly wonderful little lady Ayeka.”

Washu snorted.
“I'd hardly go that far.”

“She's got a good
heart. Sasami would be a very different person if she didn't.”

“True,” Washu
allowed. “But then, Yosho simply didn't love her that way.”

“He did love
somebody. We wouldn't have Tenchi around if he didn't. Anyhow, he
could have given Tenchi advice at some point in time. Thus, ground
gained by teaching him swordplay is lost by his virtually destructive
inaction in neglecting Tenchi's education in the woman's heart. So,
yeah. Useless.”

“Agreed,”
chirped Washu. I could almost see Yosho doubling-over in pain
somewhere. “So, what does the love-doctor have in mind?”

I snorted. “Hardly
a love-doctor. Just advice for better interaction with the ladies.
And getting it through his head that it's fine to schedule dates for
each of them! Godsakes, it shouldn't be a competition, and one date
isn't going to seal the deal regardless.”

“Well, this is
all well and good for Tenchi, but what about you?”

“What about me?”
I asked, arching an eyebrow.

“Tenchi can't
have all the fun now. So what about you?”

I sighed, feeling
the heaviness in my gut once more. “I've been alone for a long
time, Washu-chan. I can stand to go a little bit longer. Besides,
bad things happen to those that poach on Lord Tenchi's turf. It's a
law of this universe.”

“Are you
serious?”

“Deadly.”

Washu snorted.
“Alright, fine then. But it's not like Tenchi is gonna get every
girl in the world.”

“Don't tempt
Murphey. He's a cold-hearted bastard. And no, I know better than
that. It's just...”

“Too soon?”
asked Washu.

“... Yeah. Too
soon. Too much hurting. If I get a girl's attention now it's going
to be like Sasami – poor Grimm-kun and all that.”

“M'yeah. That
pity thing really wouldn't sit well. Though it's cute coming from
Sasami.”

I smiled a little.
“Yeah. She's such a sweet heart. Tenchi had better watch out for
that one once she gets older. She's already got Ryoko and Ayeka
running scared.”

“Can't expect
anything less of her, after all she is... Well, you know about
Tsunami, right?”

“Yeah. There's
been a lot of conjecture about their relationship. A lot of people
think that she actually is Tsunami after that incident on Jyurai.”

“Pretty apt
description. Close enough, really. So, you gonna come down or do I
gotta send Ryoko in their after ya?”

“Now why would
you do that to poor Funaho here?” I teased back. “She doesn't
deserve that sort of treatment.”

“Just get down
here. I got something to show you!”

“Alright, Ahm
a-comin', Ahm a-comin',” I mock-grumbled as I swung myself out of
Funaho's boughs.

---

Washu led me back
to the house, up the stairs, and to a door that didn't exist earlier.

“Is this what I
think it is?” I asked.

“Why don'tcha see
for yourself,” replied the tiny mad genius with a grin.

I leveled a
suspicious glare at her, but the look I was getting back was an
impish 'you're never gonna find out if you don't open that door
yourself' look. So, with an irritated sigh, I reached for the
doorknob and gave it a turn.

Oddly enough, the
C-pod pulsed on my wrist as the latch clicked, allowing the door to
glide open on silent hinges.

It was an empty
room.

Just that and
nothing more. The floor was bare concrete as were the walls and
ceiling.

“I thought it
would be more impressive than this,” I said absently.

“Honestly, I
could have pulled some kind of gag, but I figured you're not quite
ready for that yet.”

“Thanks for that.
So, pocket universe?”

“Yup.”

“Integral life
support and all that?”

“He's on a roll
again. What else?”

“Just how tough
did you make this door?” I asked.

“It's about as
strong as mine. Nothing short of Tsunami herself is getting through
it.”

“Ah. So I have a
place to hide from Ryoko and Ayeka... Mihoshi may be another issue
entirely.”

Washu groaned at
the reminder.

“You know, if you
figure out how Mitoto does it-”

Another groan.

I shrugged and went
on. “So, I take it there's a way to change up things in here?”

“Of course. Take
a look at the options on your C-pod.”

I raised an
eyebrow, but otherwise did as requested. Interestingly enough, there
was a new icon in the homescreen titled “C-Space”. I gave the
icon a tap and jumped when a holographic image of a cube with a white
rectangle centered on the bottom edge appeared, hovering right in
front of my face.

“Ahh! So you
like to peek and poke, too!” said Washu. “Wonderful! You'll
find that it's pretty intuitive, but all the same you should probably
read the manual.”

“What manual?”
I asked. Suddenly the hologram changed into an image of a
not-unreasonably sized book – it was about the same size and look
of a Haynes Automotive Manual, bore an image of my C-Pod beaming a
projection of an open door, and was titled “Washu-chan's C-Space
User's Manual”.

“Nice,” I said
emphatically as I took the manual in my hands and began to page
through it. “Full range tactile response – even feels like real
paper. You even included a feature to disguise it as something else
so as not to raise any suspicions. Clever.”

“Of course, of
course,” preened Washu. “Nothing is too clever for the greatest
genius in the galaxy!”

I looked down at
Washu and snorted, scruffling that pink head of hers.

“Hey!”

“Well, if you're
gonna wear the twelve-year-old body, then you get the twelve-year-old
treatment... Washu-chaaaannn.”

Washu could only
moan in a way that indicated that she was stuck somewhere between
wanting to hurt me and wanting to glomp me.

---

I pretty much spent
the rest of the afternoon studying the manual. Part of me wanted the
get Scrappy unloaded so I could help Tenchi, but if I was going to do
that then I needed a place for everything to go. And that meant
learning how to reconfigure my space however I wanted or needed.

It turns out that
the C-Space was very flexible.

The maximum amount
of available space was... well, huge. To draw comparisons, I had
roughly the same amount of volume available to me as a Nimitz-class
aircraft carrier... rounded up to a suitably round figure, of course.
And of course, I could have it in whatever shape I wanted.

As for actually
forming the spaces, it was as simple as drawing them. I had a
virtual toolbox that allowed me to do a myriad of things such as make
walls, windows, doors, electrical outlets, plumbing fixtures, and so
on and so forth. I could even make additional doors and windows that
led to the outside, and there was also a huge assortment of preset
textures and colors.

And as I learned I
began to mess around with it. Right away, I set the ceiling to a
lofty fourteen foot clearance so I would at last have a room spacious
enough to accommodate my loft bed without my needing to hunch over in
the slightest.

A sleeping area is
supposed to be just that – a place of rest. And therefore, it
should be as such. No computers, no TVs, none of those distractions,
period. However, I did want it to remain a part of my space. Sure,
I could have partitioned the actual bedroom off in a separate room in
my C-Space, but that wouldn't work for me. The C-Space all on its
own provided me with all the privacy I could want. And I wanted
anyone that I invited in to feel the sense that I was not simply
inviting them into a different room of the house, but a place that
was without any doubt my home.

That said, I
decided to partition off the sleeping area with a heavy draw-curtain.
That way, when it was time for sleep I could draw the curtain and
shut out the distractions, but in my waking hours I could leave it
open and inviting.

After that, I
decided on a full-blown Japanese-style bath... but not the fixtures.
You see, I love the way the Japanese do things. You scrub down
first, rinse, and then have a nice long soak. For sanitary reasons,
the sink area and the toilet area all get their owns spaces –
usually adjacent but always separate. But fixtures.... My formative
years were spent in my grandfather's and great-grandfather's
houses... and they had the most wonderfully dated fixtures going as
far back as the 1940's, where sinks, toilets and bathtubs were
mammoth, blocky things – always in the most gorgeous egg shell
white – and handsome chrome features, again in that big blocky
style.

I don't know why,
but I have always loved it. Maybe it's just because it exuded a
sense of tasteful masculinity. I could almost hear the deep baritone
of Brian Blessed booming in my head, “Here there be a Man's
Bathroom. Respect is appreciated, but fear of breaking anything is
unwarranted.”

So, my bathroom had
no sweeping, graceful curves, except where demanded by such things
where water was directly involved. It was all right angles and
forty-fives with just the bare minimum of rounding out.

The tub, while the
inner walls were smooth and comfortable to lie against, was a massive
slab-sided affair.

The sink; a tall
and proud pedestal sink with separate hot and cold water faucets and
a true basin that can honestly be used for a bathroom sink's primary
purpose: the grooming of the face.

And the toilet... a
massive commode that would never clog no matter what the
circumstance. High-volume and high-flow were the buzzwords here.
The amount of water used mattered little – it was all recycled in
the C-Space system. That aside, the massive flow was better for the
plumbing anyhow.

Eventually, I got
away from the bathroom and back to the rest of the space in general.

I decided on a nice
ceramic tile floor – so much easier to maintain – with a rich,
dark brown color of stone. Area rugs of various patterns helped with
insulation of both sound and temperature. The walls I made eggshell
white with a smooth, matte texture. I would hang pictures and such
later.

I added a
kitchenette. It was small, as the title implies, but it was
comfortably appointed with all the amenities of a larger kitchen...
just smaller.

I added a 'balcony
floor' that overlooked the 'common area' and lined it with inset
bookshelves and curio cabinets running from floor to ceiling. Having
room for more books would never be a problem for me anymore.

Then there was the
garage and workshop. Everything I needed – vehicle lift, gantry
crane with light- and heavy-duty hoists, welding table, work bench,
soldering station... It wouldn't let me create all the tools I needed
– just the really big ones. The rest would come in time, as I knew
they would with an engineering-type like me. Although, I was
surprised to see that one option was a rapid prototyper. Knowing
just how endlessly useful that would be I went for it right away.

And that was pretty
much it.

I had arranged the
library over the bathroom and kitchen area, with a railing
overlooking the lounge. My hobby area was adjacent to the library
and sat over the sleeping area. The garage and shop space was on the
other side and could be accessed from both levels.

“What are you
doing, Grimm-san?”

“Huh?” I said
coherently as I looked up and saw a cerulean head with fuchsia eyes
blinking curiously at me. “Oh! Hey Sasami-san.”

“You can call me
Sasami-chan,” she said with a smile. “Everyone else here does.”

I smiled back.
“Well, in that case you can just call me Gar-kun.”

Sasami's smile then
went to her eyes. “Thanks! I will!”

I chuckled
indulgently – she was adorable! “As for what I've been doing,
well... Washu-chan gave me a space much like her lab... only nowhere
nearly as big.”

“How big?”

“Well... Big
enough to fit several Ryo-Ohki ships inside it.”

“Why would
Washu-chan give you so much space?”

I shrugged. “Just
in case something happens.”

Sasami made a
thoughtful sound, then nodded as she accepted that at face value –
small wonder considering that 'just in case' can be just around the
corner in this place.

“So, what will
you do now, Gar-kun?”

I shrugged. “Just
help out I guess. I have a license to drive, and I have my truck. I
guess I can help Tenchi out with the field work that way. Also, I
think Tenchi can use a big brother.”

“Why?”

I grinned
mischievously. “Because, you adorable little imp, shonen manga is
not how real relationships work.”

Sasami chuckled
nervously. “Uhm, how do you know about that?”

“Outside looking
in, remember?”

“How?”

“You sure you
really want to know? It's kinda scary. It's even kinda scary for
Tsunami-sama.”

“Then I gotta
know!”

“Okay, okay,
settled yourself down, cute stuff. Hate to have to see you redo
those pigtails of yours. Anyhow, you know those TV programs you and
the others like to watch?” Sasami nodded. “Well, imagine that
you could somehow get into one of those shows with everything that
you know about what happens there.” Sasami gasped as the
implication hit her. She was cute, and maybe a little naïve, but
she was by no means stupid.

“That's what you
did!?” she cried out in amazement.

“That's what
happened to me,” I corrected her soberly. “While I always
thought it would be fun to meet you guys, I never really wanted to...
for it to be like this.”

“What do you
mean?”

I sighed and shook
my head. “I know it's kinda silly Sasami-chan, but I feel like
some sort of spy that's become a refugee in the very country he was
spying on.”

“But you're not a
spy, Gar-kun!” replied the blue-haired girl suddenly. “You were
just someone that liked a TV show... and some meanie put you here.”

“And what about
everything I know?”

“I don't think
you're a bad person, Gar-kun. You won't do anything to hurt us.”

I shook my head
again and sighed. “I haven't always been a nice person,
Sasami-chan. I'm worried I might... slip.”

“I don't care. I
love Big Sister Ayeka even though she does mean things sometimes.
And I even like Ryoko even though she did terrible things in the
past.

I smiled, but I
knew it was a wane looking one. “Sasami... I can appreciate that.
I know because I have brothers back... where I came from. They...
were neglectful. They hardly ever supported me when I needed it the
most. I couldn't do anything – couldn't go to school, could barely
hold down a job... we couldn't even make the budget work. We were
always falling behind and any windfalls we came into went into
repaying debts just to keep the lights on and the water running. I
tried my hardest to support them, but all it really did was hurt me.
They were apathetic towards me, and it took them a long time to
realize that I would not be around forever.”

I was rambling, I
know, but with something like this it was like opening the flood
gates – kinda hard to stop once I started. Sasami, though, didn't
seem to care one bit. She was giving me her undivided attention.

“What did you
do?” she asked with sad looking eyes.

“I laid down the
law. I told them that once my obligation to my parents had been
fulfilled that they would be on their own, and nothing they could say
or do would change my mind. It was only then they saw how badly I
was being held back. It was slow at first, but eventually they
started taking care of themselves – just in time for us all to go
our separate ways. That was about three years ago.”

“What happened
then?”

I shrugged. “We
all drifted apart. We suck at correspondence, so we didn't even
really keep in touch with each other. The only person that really
did was... Mom.” God, it still hurt to think of her, to know that
she was gone. It didn't even help now to think that she was in a
better place because part of the belief system that I had been
brought up with said that we would all be together someday.

But now I had been
cast off into the wilderness – a different universe with different
rules and different powers that ruled over them. What became of a
lost soul like myself when my end finally comes?

I will admit now, I
was raised as a Mormon... and us Mormons have an interesting take on
Hell. It was not so much being cast into 'The Pit' with all the
other damned souls to be tortured by demons for eternity.

It was worse than
that.

It was being cut
off from the light of God, the one that gave life to the Universe
itself... to be completely shut-off from that, and cast away forever
in the darkness. Utterly alone and cold until... oblivion.

Was I in Hell?

“DON'T THINK
THAT!” came Sasami's voice suddenly... or was that Tsunami's? I
had no way to tell for sure, but I do know that suddenly Sasami threw
her arms around me and damn near broke out into tears. “You're not
alone anymore, Gar-kun. And I don't want you to feel alone anymore.
If Gar-kun needs a family, then I will be his little sister!”

I was absolutely
floored. For one thing, there was the simple physical sensation of
nearly being tackle-glomped by this little tween-ager, feeling her
force the sobs back into her body because she didn't want to cry.

And then there was
the fact that she was honestly and truly sad for me. This was no
pseudo-sympathetic 'you have my condolences because propriety demands
it' thing. This poor little girl, cursed with a heart so big it gave
a Goddess pause for consideration, felt true sorrow for me.

I was all but a
stranger, and yet she felt so bad for me that she wanted me to be
part of her family, just so I wouldn't feel alone anymore.

I gently wrapped my
arms around Sasami and hugged her back.

“It's okay to cry
a little now and then, even when you're trying to be strong.”

“How can you be
strong and cry at the same time?” asked Sasami in a strained
whisper.

“We do it in
private mostly,” I told her. “Where no one can see us. But
sometimes... like now... it's okay to do it quietly... Where the
people we care about very much can see us... my beloved little
sister.”

Sasami froze, then
looked me in the eyes. The tears had been stabbing at my eyes for
some time now and they had been flowing freely once I realized just
how much this sweet little girl cared.

Without another
word, Sasami threw herself back into my chest, arms wrapped around me
tightly, and began to quietly sob.

Little did I know
just how serious she was about her claim.

---

That evening, life
went on as usual in the Masaki household. Tenchi came in from the
fields with Ryo-Ohki in tow. Ryoko finally rousted herself. Ayeka
finished with her household chores. Mihoshi performed one of her
infamous crash-landings in the lake. Washu appeared from her lab.
And Sasami served dinner.

“How was your day
Tenchi?” asked Sasami.

“It was good. It
looks like the carrots will be ready to harvest next week.”

“I should have my
truck and trailer unpacked by then,” I chimed in. “We'll be able
to get the entire harvest in one go.”

Tenchi gave me a
surprised look, then beamed. “Thanks! But are you sure your truck
can handle all that?”

I shrugged. “It
handled all my stuff at highway speeds. Granted, not quite as fast
as it normally would, but fast enough for it to be safe. If we can
keep Ryo-Ohki from eating the majority of them at once, we might even
be able to take some of our harvest to the market.”

“That would be a
huge boost to our income,” said Washu. “I knew you'd be useful
to keep around.”

“Yeah, well the
sort of 'useful' you guys usually need isn't of the handyman
variety,” I sniped back. “But anyhow... I just realized that
fuel could be an issue – it was bad enough in my time when it
started running close to about a hundred yen a liter. And my truck
has a sixty-liter tank. Having another vehicle like my truck around
is a boon... but it's also an expense. Washu, think you could help
me out on converting my truck into a diesel-electric?”

“Diesel-Electric?”
asked Tenchi, a little unfamiliar with the concept.

I sighed. “Of
course, most of your locomotives are straight-up electrical. A
diesel-electric drive train is one where you have a diesel engine
turning a generator which supplies power for electrical traction
motors that drive your vehicle. A lot of railroad locomotives in the
USA are like this because the runs between rail yards and depots tend
to be measured in the hundreds of miles. If you remember your
science classes then you'd know that's too far to transmit power
efficiently... at least, using regular power lines.

“Now, this is
opposed to hybrid drive trains that you hear about in some vehicles
because in those the gas engine and the electrical motor do the same
work together – driving the car. It's just that in a hybrid system
the computer is able to balance how much work the engine does with
the motor, and how much work the engine puts into generating
electricity instead of providing driving power. It's very
complicated and requires a lot of moving parts.

“Now, I'm an
engineer, which means I believe perfection is achieved not when there
is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.
I would go for the diesel-electric system – much simpler that way.
Also, add a nice little bank of batteries and a couple of one-farad
capacitors, and then have those capacitors working in conjuction with
some high-efficiency direct-drive dynamos – that way I can reclaim
energy whenever I brake to slow down.”

“Pretty clever,”
said Washu.

I shrugged.
“Wasn't my idea. Someone else came up with it, then slapped a
patent on it so only they could make money off it. I'd do it
differently – patent it, yes, but make it so anyone can use the
basic system, free of charge.”

“You wouldn't
make any money off it,” said Washu shrewdly.

“My reward would
be when global warming starts to look a lot less like a myth here in
the next couple of decades and right-leaning politicians begin to
start rethinking their agendas. Oh, and also it'll be nice for when
the price of gas skyrockets.”

“Good point,”
she conceded. “At any rate, it sounds doable. Though that sort of
vibration tolerance is pretty high. You sure Earth's technology is
up to snuff at this time?”

“Pretty sure. It
may not be in the same class as 'off the shelf parts' but it's out
there. We can work out the details later.”

“Good idea. Food
now, work later.”
Later on, Washu and
I worked at the table once all the food had been cleared away. She
had rolled out a largish piece of clear film over the table and
engineer's diagrams of my truck appeared all over it. I don't know
how she managed to get a hold of it all, but it covered everything
about the Mazda B2500 pickups you could imagine.

We got around
talking about instrumentation and how it would all have to be
changed, I then heaved a sigh as I had an epiphany.

“You know what,
I'm not so sure I want to go through this anymore,” I said.

“What? Why
wouldn't you?” said Washu in surprise.

I shrugged. “I've
got a lot of sentimental value in that truck. Kinda like to keep old
Scrappy the way he is now.”

“You got any
other ideas in mind?” asked Washu.

“Well... there is
a four-door option of this truck here in Japan. I wouldn't mind
trading-off the longer bed in exchange for more comfortable seats in
the back.”

“You don't have
to,” said Washu. “We could just get both versions, cut them in
half, and keep the parts we want.”

“Maybe,” I said
thoughtfully. “It'd take some time to make it happen. There's a
few other options I want to look at as well, like a camper-shell with
an air conditioning unit and cargo-bed seating. Not enough seats for
everyone otherwise.”

“Why's that
important?” asked Washu.

“I thought it'd
be nice if we can go out on road trips now and then. You know, nice
normal stuff. Though if we want the same sort of experiences I had
when I was a kid, we'd have to hit everyone with an American Generic
language pack and head over to the USA.”

Washu snorted. “That'd be something to see. But I think you're
onto something about them enjoying it.”

“Yeah. I think Ryoko would especially like Texas. And I'm pretty
sure that Ayeka and Sasami would like the Riverwalk.”

“What about Mihoshi and me?”

“Lots of schools chock full of fresh-faced science and engineering
majors for you to terrorize.” Washu cackled gleefully at that.
“As for Mihoshi... eh, she'd have a blast anywhere. She would
probably get lost in the barrios and wind up finding one of those
nice hole-in-the-wall panderias and blow her entire budget on
pandejevo and sweet empanadas. And she will never eat any pastries
but conchas and semitas and empanadas afterwards.”

“You sure about that?”

“Latin Americans are renowned for their sweet tooth. Just you wait
and see.”

“And what about Tenchi?”

I grinned. “I'll take him to Lackland Airforce base. If I look
through my stuff, I'll bet that my DD-214's have changed to reflect
my shift in time and space accordingly and I can get Tenchi in with
just a little bit of effort.”

“How so?”

“Whisper into a recruiter's ear that he's considering service in
the US Airforce over the JASDF.”

And now Washu snerked. “You evil person you.”

I grinned and I knew I had that wicked gleam in my eyes. “It's a
gift, I know.”

After that evening with Washu, I put the finishing touches on my
C-Space, and then got myself my sleeping pad, pillow and some
blankets, as well as my cat and his basic necessities, then sacked
out. It was empty and hollow sounding, but it was my space and
tomorrow I was going to fill it.

[Foxboy]

Ah. Garrick's playing the most involved part of the Sims franchise: Building the gorram house.
''We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat
them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.''

-- James Nicoll

[classicdrogn]

What's the C for in your Washuu-tech?

Also, AAARGH! "TWEEN" IS NOT AN ACTUAL DEVELOPMENTAL STAGE! It's just something markers came up with so they could sell barely-reworked products to a new, younger market segment.

Kind of laid on the angst a bit heavy with this segment, but then you did need to explain why the protag isn't perturbed about leaving the world he knew behind to stay in this one, and naturally it will take some time even with generally positive interaction with the Tenchi cast for his mental space to adjust and hopefully get to a better perspective.

I'm afraid most of my own brain is filled with dancing visions of Macross mecha after spending most of the day poking around looking for new toy pictures after failing to find a VF-4 3d model for download - every time I look at my VF-4 sig I want to do a tiger-stripe patterned one, but I had hoped to find one rather than needing to model it myself - because seriously, I have dozens of original modeling projects I could be working on if I'm going to put time into that. I've been trying to spit out some other thing about this update that's tickling my brain, but the shinies keep distracting me.
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows

[Rod.H]

Hmm, I'm thinking 'C' stands for conceptual, yes/no?

[Foxboy]

Or "crab" -- it is Washuu after all....
''We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat
them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.''

-- James Nicoll

[Rod.H]

....crab-pod....crab-space.... It's Washuu.

[Bob Schroeck]

Oh, I'm liking this so much, BA. Can't wait to see more.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Black Aeronaut]

Foxboy wrote:

---

Ah. Garrick's playing the most involved part of the Sims franchise: Building the gorram house.

Heh-heh.  Like I said, he did spend pretty much the entire afternoon at it.  And just imagine how involving it would be doing it with a full interactive hologram!  :p

ClassicDrogn wrote:

---

What's the C for in your Washuu-tech?

Rod H wrote:

---

Hmm, I'm thinking 'C' stands for conceptual, yes/no?

Foxboy wrote:

---

Or "crab" -- it is Washuu after all....

Rod H wrote:

---

....crab-pod....crab-space.... It's Washuu.

Yep, in a nutshell. 
Mental Note for Garrick: tease Washu mercilessly about her crab thing - while she's not as bad as Dr. Clay is, it is quite pervasive in her own work. 

ClassicDrogn wrote:

---

Also, AAARGH! "TWEEN" IS NOT AN ACTUAL DEVELOPMENTAL STAGE!
It's just something markers came up with so they could sell
barely-reworked products to a new, younger market segment.

Could have been worse.  Could have used the term 'teeny-bopper' on her.  But anyhow, the name kinda stuck with me for the 10-12 year-old bracket for some reason.  *shruggs*

ClassicDrogn wrote:

---

Kind of laid on the angst a bit heavy with this segment, but then you
did need to explain why the protag isn't perturbed about leaving the
world he knew behind to stay in this one, and naturally it will take
some time even with generally positive interaction with the Tenchi cast
for his mental space to adjust and hopefully get to a better
perspective.

Yeah, it's going to take a while.  The simple fact of the matter is that he is grieving and it is justified - not only for his mother, but also for everyone and everything else he left behind.  In fact, part of the road trip idea is so that he will have a chance to reconnect to part of his past, but then again he's kinda worried he might find an analogue of himself or even his family while out there.  While not necessarily bad, it could be... uncomfortable for him.

ClassicDrogn wrote:

---

I'm afraid most of my own brain is filled with dancing visions of
Macross mecha after spending most of the day poking around looking for
new toy pictures after failing to find a VF-4 3d model for download -
every time I look at my VF-4 sig I want to do a tiger-stripe patterned
one, but I had hoped to find one rather than needing to model it myself -
because seriously, I have dozens of original modeling projects I could
be working on if I'm going to put time into that. I've been trying to
spit out some other thing about this update that's tickling my brain,
but the shinies keep distracting me.

We'll get there eventually, but we'll have quite a ways to go.  The ROB's intention is that Garrick stay in Tenchi-verse for quite some time in order to pick up what It deems to be 'useful skills' before trying to move him on to the next playing field.

Bob Schroeck wrote:

---

Oh, I'm liking this so much, BA. Can't wait to see more.

In that case, Bob, I'll try and keep the updates coming. 

[classicdrogn]

Hmm, useful skills?

PiccoloRyoko: DOOODGE!

Mihoshi: Oops!

Washuu: Now if I just tweak this a bit...

(looks back over story) Wait, Kiyone is dead? What? You... you monster... P_P

And, I wasn't really talking about your SI's shlep to Macross, just fanboying after you got me actively thinking about it again. Are there any mecha toys or (especially) kits in your/his gear, or mod-and-fly games like Armored Core or the Artdink Gundam and Macross games? Washuu getting the idea that you'd be interested in acting as understudy/assistant while she builds a robot (possibly one which turns into a vehicle as discussed, or like the Gadgetmobile and able to change between several vehicle forms for different roles) two would qualify as picking up a useful skill.
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows

[deadpan29]

ClassicDrogn wrote:

---

(looks back over story) Wait, Kiyone is dead? What? You... you monster... P_P

This appears to be the OAV continuity.  In this contiuity, Kiyone is the name of Tenchi's mother, who passed away when he was little.  
Galaxy police woman Kiyone is from the TV continuity as is Tenchi's mother being named Achika Masaki.  
----------
No, I don't believe the world has gone mad.  In order for it to go mad it would need to have been sane at some point.

[Bluemage]

Add me to the list of People Who Enjoy What You're Making.  Maybe underline my name a few times.
It's got a definite Sleeping With The Girls flavor, but you've already made the differences show up rather nicely.  Also, starting off with a transition while driving?  I approve. ^^
As far as writing quality goes, it's well-constructed, fun to read, and easy to visualize.  I feel like Washuu is a touch too accommodating- she hasn't really tried to tease or scare the SI yet, which is odd- but that might just be her being in serious-mode the whole time.  Can't really find anything else to offer potentially-constructive criticism on, so I'll just sit here and wait for the next bit of it.
/does his best imitation of a begging puppy, looking forlornly at the screen

---

My Unitarian Jihad Name is: Brother Atom Bomb of Courteous Debate. Get yours.

I've been writing a bit.

[ordnance11]

“Well, it's
pretty obvious no one's ever taught him how to deal with womanly
attention. Kiyone passed away before she could teach him anything
about that sort of thing, and Noboyuki has been more than useless on
the matter.”
Wasn't Tenchi's mother Achika? And Kiyone was Mihoshi's partner?
__________________
Into terror!,  Into valour!
Charge ahead! No! Never turn
Yes, it's into the fire we fly
And the devil will burn!
- Scarlett Pimpernell

[robkelk]

Wasn't Tenchi's mother Achika? And Kiyone was Mihoshi's partner?

This appears to be the OAV continuity. In this contiuity, Kiyone is the name of Tenchi's mother, who passed away when he was little.

Galaxy police woman Kiyone is from the TV continuity as is Tenchi's mother being named Achika Masaki.

--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[Bob Schroeck]

“Because, you adorable little imp, shonen manga is not how real relationships work.”

I remembered this while shoveling snow a couple hours ago. You mean shojo. Otherwise she's tricking Ryoko and Ayeka into taking relationship advice from stuff like Dragonball Z. (Which, come to think of it, would explain a lot.)
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[ECSNorway]

Tenchi's mother being Achika is from one of the movies, which is technically in the 'Tenchi Universe' timeline.

Kiyone as Mihoshi's partner is also from 'Tenchi Universe'.
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.

[Black Aeronaut]

ClassicDrogn wrote:

---

Hmm, useful skills?
PiccoloRyoko: DOOODGE!

Mihoshi: Oops!

Washuu: Now if I just tweak this a bit...

Oh god, if only you knew how close you are to what's coming down the pipeline...

Deadpan29 wrote:

---

ClassicDrogn wrote:

---

(looks back over story) Wait, Kiyone is dead? What? You... you monster... P_P

This
appears to be the OAV continuity.  In this contiuity, Kiyone is the
name of Tenchi's mother, who passed away when he was little.  
Galaxy police woman Kiyone is from the TV continuity as is Tenchi's mother being named Achika Masaki. 

ordnance11 wrote:

---

Wasn't Tenchi's mother Achika? And Kiyone was Mihoshi's partner?

ECSNorway wrote:

---

Tenchi's mother being Achika is from one of the movies, which is technically in the 'Tenchi Universe' timeline.

Kiyone as Mihoshi's partner is also from 'Tenchi Universe'.

Pretty much what Deadpan, Rob, and Norway said.
I admit that I myself was a bit confused on the matter, given that I had no idea that the movie Achika appeared in was actually part of the Tenchi Universe/In Tokyo Continuity.
You see, there's really several continuities going on here.  First and foremost, you have the OVA series - three OVA's that culminated in Tenchi is God; all further arguments are invalidated!
In the OVA continuity, his mother's name is actually Kiyone Masaki.  She is not to be confused with Kiyone Makibi, who only exists in the Tenchi Universe/In Tokyo series.  (There are also other subtle differences, such as Ryoko is not Washu's daughter, Washu is not a Goddess in disguise, etc.)
The Universe/In Tokyo series are more mundane.  There are no Goddesses running around (with the possible exception of Tsunami and even then her relationship with Sasami is much different) and the girls are really nothing special in the grand fabric of the universe.  Just regular princesses, pirates, cops, and mad scientists from other planets.
Of note: the Manga continuity stems from the OVA series... but veers off course from the point after OVA2.  We do get an outcome similar to OVA3, but Tokimi isn't involved in the Manga version.  That said... there is A LOT! of great story material in the manga series - so much that I am sorely tempted to include it.  It won't take much futzing around to make it happen, and the Manga's climax would make a great precursor to OVA3 (and also all the more reason for Seto to sic Noike on them - 'dem darn chilluns need sum suparvisin').  The only drawback is the A LOT! part.  It would make for a saga all unto itself.  Thoughts?

ClassicDrogn wrote:

---

And, I wasn't really talking about your SI's shlep to Macross, just
fanboying after you got me actively thinking about it again. Are there
any mecha toys or (especially) kits in your/his gear, or mod-and-fly
games like Armored Core or the Artdink Gundam and Macross games? Washuu
getting the idea that you'd be interested in acting as
understudy/assistant while she builds a robot (possibly one which turns
into a vehicle as discussed, or like the Gadgetmobile and able to change
between several vehicle forms for different roles) two would qualify as
picking up a useful skill.

Might happen.  But I have something else in mind... it would probably even distract Washu from making any robots and has to do with including the manga storylines.  What would you say if Garrick started down the path of becoming a master swordsmith?

Bluemage wrote:

---

Add me to the list of People Who Enjoy What You're Making.  Maybe underline my name a few times.
It's got a definite Sleeping With The Girls
flavor, but you've already made the differences show up rather nicely. 
Also, starting off with a transition while driving?  I approve. ^^
As
far as writing quality goes, it's well-constructed, fun to read, and
easy to visualize.  I feel like Washuu is a touch too accommodating- she
hasn't really tried to tease or scare the SI yet, which is odd- but
that might just be her being in serious-mode the whole time.  Can't
really find anything else to offer potentially-constructive criticism
on, so I'll just sit here and wait for the next bit of it.
/does his best imitation of a begging puppy, looking forlornly at the screen

LOL!!!  Coming from someone that is also writing an SI I'm loving?  High praise indeed.  Don't worry, I'll be posting more later.  I need to pace this stuff so I can keep up regular posts - my buffer won't last long.
Yeah, Washu just feels that messing around with him too much would be like kicking a lost, starving puppy.  Literally.  So she's being gentle with him until she feels he's recovered enough to mess around with him.  Of course, once she does start she'll come to find that Garrick, unlike Tenchi, will rise to the occasion and meet her with his own antics.  It's gonna be fun to see how she reacts when he has his first full-blown ADHD-mood-swing in their presence.
Also, I'm glad to know that it is easy to visualize - it's something that I've been striving for in my writing and not always easy to pull off.  I hate having to rework something, and sometimes the muse has me just so that I have to get the dialogue down ASAP and then work on everything else later.  (-_-  (That's pretty much what happened here.  Great monologue!  Now what do I do with it!?)
As for the Sleeping With The Girls you mentioned...  It really comes as no surprise, since the original Brothers Grimm story was in reaction to ATC's most epic and dearly loved fic (we can only pray he finds the time and inspiration to finish it).  And this 'solo-run' is basically what it says on the tin - instead of all the brothers, just one on his own.
And in all honesty, I think part of the reason why this story is standing up so well on its own is because the protagonist feeling so desperately alone.  For one thing, Garrick wouldn't have felt nearly so bad about his situation if he did have his brothers with him, even as much as they annoy him.  And for another, I think that sort of lonesome feeling really speaks to us as people deep down in our cores - the idea of being cut off from everyone and everything we once knew, and more than likely not being able to go back.
It's a very frightening proposition. And I seem to be very well equipped to convey that feeling.  (Much to my surprise, believe me!)  I guess this is mostly due to my own experiences with childhood depression and in dealing with isolation - even among my own family!  My dad would hold me to a brutally higher standard than any of my younger siblings and it isolated me from everyone else, even though I would sit with everyone at the dinner table.  Mom considers it a miracle I never did anything horribly self-destructive like experimenting with drugs or alcohol or start cutting myself.  At this point, being ADHD is actually a blessing because you have moments where you can say to yourself, 'Screw this, I'm gonna have some fun and damn the consequences.'  Maybe not so concisely, but you get the idea.
And really, that's part of what's going to happen to Garrick a few times over the course of his stay in Tenchi-verse - the ADHD part of him is gonna overcome his depression, and then things will get very interesting.

Bob Schroeck wrote:

---

“Because, you adorable little imp, shonen manga is not how real relationships work.”

I remembered this while shoveling snow a couple hours ago. You mean shojo. Otherwise she's tricking Ryoko and Ayeka into taking relationship advice from stuff like Dragonball Z. (Which, come to think of it, would explain a lot.)

....... D'OH!I hate it when I make that mix up.  I'll fix it in the final draft, I promise!  orz
.....
Coming up next chapter, Ayeka meets Garrick's Special Friend!http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ln1DgogO5I8/T ... CN6114.JPG
NOTE: this post delayed due to Internet outage in my area.  :p

[Black Aeronaut]

Fun thought.  In a perverse sort of way, you can apply Peter Gabriel's Big Time to Garrick's life at this point.  Look at the lyrics and start drawing the parallels!  Wheee!
Hang on to your pants!  We're kicking this one off with a celebrity introduction!

---

Moving is always an odd experience.

A new place with new spaces and you have to figure out where to put
everything. In this case, I had an advantage in that I made this
space with all my belongings in mind – I already knew where I
wanted everything to go. But what made this very different was an
experience that was completely novel to me: I did not have enough
stuff to fill up my space.

I'm used to living in smaller spaces, but I have always wanted
something sprawling like I had designed. So I may have gone just a
bit overboard. Oh, it wasn't ridiculously huge. It wasn't it felt
like my bed only occupied a small corner of the Dallas Cowboys'
stadium. It's more like my sleeping area seemed to have a largish
empty spot that my brain quickly tagged as 'big enough to fit a plush
leather sofa on one side, a matching loveseat ninety-degrees over,
and a coffee table between them'. Rather, it did so with the image
of such instead.

As I assembled my bed, a strange, yet familiar voice rang out,
echoing in my still mostly empty C-Space.

“So, you catch the interest of a galactically renowned scientist,
gain the liking of First-Generation Royal Tree, and steal the heart
of my granddaughter. What am I to do with such a strange person?”

I turned, blinked in shock, and said, “Holy shit, you're Seto
Kamiki Jurai.”

Seto smiled. “Oh, not going to use that 'Devil Princess of Jurai'
title?”

I raised an eyebrow and replied, “Does a man tell a fire-breathing
dragon she's ugly?”

Seto smiled, chuckling. “Charming. I can see why the others like
you. You don't just run and hide like Tenchi does. You fire back.”

“Well, I must admit that part of me is screaming at the rest of me
to take strategic cover. But the other part says that she'll just
nuke me from high orbit if I do that.”

Now it was Seto's turn to raise a speculative eyebrow. “Now why
would I do that?”

“Because I just might make myself too dangerous to allow running
loose.” I then shrugged as I gave it more thought. “Then again,
you are the sort to keep us 'potentially dangerous' types closer than
your 'friends'. Just please don't try to marry me off to someone. I
may be lonely, but I'm not ready. Just ask Washu-chan.”

“She told me all about it,” Seto reassured me. “Don't worry,
that's not on the table right now.”

My eyebrow went up like a flag again. “Right now, she says.
Twelve months later, you'll be setting me up with Minaho.”

“Oh?” said Seto, as though catching wind of something tasty.
“Why Minaho?”

I shrugged. Don't worry, it's not all I do – I'm just resigned to
my fate here and now.

“I think she's cute and I might as well make my preference known
now. Dunno if she'd like me though. I got a nasty streak in me and
it rears it's ugly head when I get pissed. You're best bet is to arm
me up, aim me at someone particularly nasty, and say, 'Sic 'em,
boy.'”

Seto actually looked a bit sour about that. “Is that really
necessary?”

I sighed. “Sorry about that,” I apologized sheepishly. “Just
a bit of that nasty streak I mentioned. I'm kinda
passive-aggressive.”

“So I see,” she replied with a rueful smile. “Look, before you
start to get silly with me, young man, why don't we sit down and
talk?”

I looked around glumly. “Well, I apologize I don't have any seats
to offer you, so I guess we can go to the den. But! I insist on
making a pot of tea.”

“As you wish, Mr. Grimm.”

---

“That's a nice fragrance,” Seto said as I set the tray with a
steaming pot and empty cups down in front of her.

“The tea masters that made it call it 'Sleepy Time', but I like it
for more than just that. I figure I should calm my nerves anyhow.
Try it with a bit of this wildflower honey. It's good enough without
it, but just a bit of sweetness really brings out the flavors.”

“Thank you. Would you do the honors?”

“As you wish.” I poured the tea, added the honey, and gave it to
Seto before serving myself.

“This is nice. I can see why they call it Sleepy Time. Would you
mind if I took some back with me?”

“I can spare a few teabags. Your best bet, though, is to sneak
onto one of the larger US Military bases with a fake ID and pick some
up at the Commissary. That, or go straight to the US for it.
Probably less troublesome that way anyhow.”

“I would appreciate your gift. This would be the best after a
particularly stressful day... Not that those happen very often these
days.”

I had to grin at that. “Yes, you being that master manipulator and
all. Seriously, my hat is off to you. Not many people, even those
with enhanced lifespans like yours, become as good at pulling the
strings as you do.”

“Well now,” said Seto with a smile. “I don't know whether to
be flattered or insulted.”

I gave her my patented 'Pull the other one, it has bells on it' look,
and said, “You do it, usually, with the best intentions in mind.
Though I gotta admit, getting your husband to marry you because
you'll kill him otherwise... that's something else. Your kind is
certainly rare and I wish there were more of you around.”

“Oh dear Tsunami no! It'd be chaos!”

I laughed. That evil look was there, I just knew it. “I know,
right? It would be so epic! Fifty Xanatos Pile-Ups left and right!”

“Xanatos?”

“A fictional character from my home timeline that was known for
being a magnificent bastard – manipulating the other characters so
that just when they think they got one over on him, they really just
played into his hands. His plots were what came to be known as
Xanatos Gambits, and a collision of multiple Xanitos Gambits by
different characters was known as a Fifty Xanatos Pile-up. You know,
like a cascading traffic accident on a super-highway.”

“You certainly like exposition.”

I shrugged. “I have long felt that Raven is my totem animal.”

“And that means?”

“Incessantly chatty, ever observant, smart, clever, devious, and
one hellacious mean streak. Magnificent birds, really. They make
wonderful and loyal companions if you can ever get one to take a
shine to you, but unfortunately they're protected by federal law in
the US.”

“Pity. But then, I doubt their laws apply to me. Maybe I should
go see if one does take a liking to me. Mikagami could use the
company.”

I chuckled. “Just don't bring in anything shiny if you don't want
it to get snatched – unless that's your intention in the first
place. Ravens love shiny stuff.”

“Duly noted,” said Seto bemusedly. “You know what, I think I
do like you, Garrick. However, ever since the whole fiasco with Lady
Funaho we are understandably leery of adopting another human into our
family.”

I blinked. “Sasami doesn't kid around, does she?”

Seto's smile got a bit bigger. “No, she doesn't. The little
darling. I hope that someday she'll be able to fill my shoes.”

I smiled and shook my head. “Somehow, I don't doubt that. That
adorable little imp.”

“At any rate, if you are going to join our family, Garrick, you
will need to ostensibly prove your worth to the rest of the
politicians on Jurai.”

I glowered at Seto. “You should know that I don't suffer
politicians very well.”

“Oh? And what about me?”

“You're different. You actually act with the interests of your
people in mind... granted, your people are the Royal Family, but
seeing as yours aren't a bunch of tyrants I can let that slide.”

“And if we were?”

“I'd play along, get myself into a suitable position of power
within the Royal Household, and then stab everyone that deserves it
in the back.”

“Well, you were right about being devious and mean. Anyhow,
Funaho, that is Yosho's Tree, wanted you to have this.” she then
hold her hand out, and in it was a tiny, round, brown-colored,
acorn-like object.

“That... is a seed...” I said slowly.

“It is,” replied Seto. I could swear she had canary feathers on
her face.

“From a first-generation tree...” I looked up in here eyes and
said, “I don't deserve this.”

“I only need you to take care of it for a while, Garrick. If word
got out that there was a Royal Tree here on Earth that was able to
produce seeds then there would be no end to the trouble that could
cause us – even if that information was restricted within the
Counsel Chamber.”

I blinked. “They would demand that Yosho return to Jurai... and
you wouldn't do that to him because he likes it here – it would
break his heart.” I then gave her sidelong look. “And
entrusting this seed to me would be a perfect way for you to test my
character.”

“Garrick, please... just accept this for now. I don't know of
anyone else more convenient than you right now. Ayeka has her
seedling. Sasami-chan... doesn't need one. And Tenchi... We have
plans for him.”

I sighed. “Alright, alright, you got me. I'll take care of the
little one.” I held out my hand and Seto gently placed the seed in
my palm. I looked down at the tiny thing, so innocuous looking.

“It's strange,” I said, “How something so small can, with time
and nurturing, growing into something as great and powerful as
Funaho.”

“We are all like that, Garrick.”

“Yes. I suppose we are. May I name this one?”

“I suppose it would be alright.”

“Your name will be Katherine. Yours is to be intelligence,
cunning, beauty and grace fit for royalty.”

“A laudable goal. Do you think she will be up to it?”

“This is one of Funaho's. She will be.”

“At least you show some wisdom despite being so young.”

“I know. I must seem like such a child... but that is what makes
us Earth people so special. Our lives are so brief that we can feel
them flickering and burning away like a candle in the wind. And so,
with that sense of urgency behind us, we push so hard for a better
tomorrow, because for us nothing ever comes soon enough.”

“That is why I accepted Funaho into the family. I knew that she
would shake things up a bit, and she did. And now here I am,
considering accepting another human, this time one of you infamous
Americans. I wonder how much you will shake things up?”

I looked over at Seto and smiled. “Like throwing rocks in a pond
and seeing what sort of ripples you make. But just you watch, Seto.
This rock is gonna grow wings and skate across your pond, making
ripples wherever it goes. I'll be damned if I don't have some
control over my destiny.”

Seto looked absolutely delighted. “Do your best, Garrick. I will
eagerly anticipate the show you put on.”

I chuckled at that. Seto anticipating my show? I had better not
disappoint her then. I then look down at the seed once more and
gently slipped it into one of my pockets.

“She'll be safe in there for the moment. Anyhow... so, plans for
Tenchi? I take it they involve the words 'First Generation'?” I
hazarded.

“Nothing other,” Seto replied. “I have already decided that he
is to be the next in line for the throne.”

“Ouch! Don't let the poor guy hear that – he'll have the anxiety
attack to end all anxiety attacks.”

Seto chuckled. “Of course not. He won't find out until he finally
decides he's gonna marry those girls.”

“Again, ouch.” I sighed. “I got to admit though. I do envy
him.”

“Do you now? You could take a little of the heat off him.”

I snorted. “I'll tell you the same thing I told Washu-chan – bad
things happen to those that poach on Lord Tenchi's turf. It is a
mandate of this universe.”

“Are you so certain now?” she asked.

“Deadly. Although, there is also the mandate that anyone that gets
involved with Tenchi will have his luck and misfortune rub off on
them. Just watch out for an up-and-comer called Seina Yamada. He's
Tenchi's cousin. Nice guy, but he's got bad luck so bad you could
literally weaponize it.”

“I see. And you think it will rub off on you as well?”

I shrugged. “Time will tell. If it does, great! Just be careful
about who you allow to associate with Tenchi-kun in the future. If
it doesn't oh well. At least I'll have some interesting stories for
the grandkids.”

“A little presumptuous, aren't we?”

“Nah, just walking the fine line between fatalism and optimism.
More tea?”

“Please. Without the honey this time.”

“Of course.”

---

Seto and I nattered on for another hour before she decided her time
was up. She reminded me to take care of Funaho's seed and I gave her
the teabags. She then bade me farewell, and left just like that.

I cleaned up the cups and the tea pot, then went over to Washu's door
and knocked firmly, but politely on the door while removing the seed
from my pocket. The door popped open perfunctorily and Washu's voice
came from inside.

“Come on in, Garrick.”

“Thanks,” I said as I went in, closing the door behind me.

“You know,” said Washu as she entered some random data on her
main holographic console from her floating cushion. “...you're one
of the few people here that observes the proper protocols when it
comes to gaining access to my lab.”

I shrugged. “Not much to it. Just knock and wait and see if you
get an answer. If not, then you're probably in the middle of
something more important.”

“Which I'm not as you can see,” she said as she dismissed the
console with a grand flourish and spun around to face me. “What's
up, Gar-kun?”

I smiled, shaking my head. This was so unreal.

“Whulp, courtesy of our favorite little junior princess
manipulator, my application for adoption into the Royal Family of
Jurai has been received by the senior princess manipulator and is
pending approval.”

Washu cackled. “HAH! I knew it! I mean, sure, I knew Seto was
here talking to you, and I didn't eavesdrop... but still, I knew it!”

“Har-dee-har. Once you're done getting the giggles out of your
system, oh high and mighty genius of the entire universe, I need some
basic how-to's for taking care of this kid here.” I then showed
her the seed.

Washu blinked and whistled. “She really wants to see what you're
capable of.”

“No kidding,” I grumbled. “Not that I'm backing down or won't
give it everything I got... but still...” I shook my head. “Look,
you can't just whip up a central unit for a Juraian treeship for me,
can you?”

“Nope. And Ayeka has the only spare we had.”

“Damn.” I then looked down to the seed and sighed. “I'm
sorry, Katherine. Guess we'll have to wait a while before I can
plant you.”

“Hold that thought,” said Washu. “I said I couldn't make a
central unit. I never said I couldn't make something to properly
nurture her. And the best part is that we can add it onto your
C-Space.”

“So you mean that I can properly see to this little one's well
being?”

“Of course!”

“Let's get started then! I want this garden to be the envy of all
Jurians!”

“Well, if that's your aim then I suggest we bring someone else in
on this.”

---

“What?” said Ayeka, at a complete loss for any other words.

“I know, right?” I sighed. “I mean... I like to think that
I'm a nice guy and all... but I'm pretty surprised by this turn of
events myself.”

“Well of course!” replied Ayeka haughtily. “It take more than
just being a nice person. You must have strength of character,
gravitas, and the perseverance and bearing of a noble.”

“Ayeka, my dear Princess? Any more cheese in that line and we'd be
able to set up a delicatessen.”

“Don't mock me!”

I smiled and cajoled her, “Oh, come on. You just make it too easy
sometimes. Why do you think Ryoko picks on you so badly?” I then
lowered my voice and added, with a conspiratorial grin, “Not that
she doesn't leave herself wide open for a verbal assault herself.”

Ayeka grinned back. “She does at that, does she?” Her
expression then shifted to something more anxious. “Do you really
feel that I... leave myself open?”

“Well, you certainly don't have the most approachable demeanor at
times. My advice? Save the untouchable princess act for state
functions. You want your people to think of you as someone who will
hear them out, right?”

“Well, of course,” the princess replied, this time in a more
sober tone. “It is one of our highest responsibilities to hold
open court so we may hear the grievances of our people.”

“Well, there you go then... I think that someone you might want to
emulate a bit is a famous Queen of Earth's history, a woman known as
Elizabeth the First. She was a remarkable woman. So great was her
desire for there to be stability in her land that she forewent
marriage. 'I am the bride of England' she would say.”

“But... how did she have an heir?”

I shook my head. “Sadly, she didn't. For one thing, rampant
inbreeding led to infertility and impotence in the royal family of
England. A few even think that Elizabeth was not really the true
successor. Her being a bastard-daughter lends a bit of credence to
the matter. Also, there was a lot of corruption in the royal
household at the time from the Catholic Church trying to interfere in
the matters of Britain. Religious fanatics and power mongers. Long
story.”

A look of realization blossomed on Ayeka's face. “So to ensure
that she would never be influenced she sought no suitors. What a
terrible fate!”

I nodded sadly. “She was an incredible woman. She led Britain
into a golden age the likes of which was never seen again... But
during her time, there was no other like her. Such was the adoration
of her subjects that she would even go out to dance among the
commoners. Especially if the minstrels played a particularly rousing
tune.”

“Well, if that is true then I suppose she at least had some
happiness in her life.”

I smiled. “Ask me about her favorite playwright sometime. At any
rate... Princess, please... it really would mean a lot to me if you
help me.” For emphasis, I pull Funaho's seed out of my pocket and
showed it to her.

I knew I had her. I couldn't really see it in her bearing, but in
her eyes... I could tell she just melted as if I had shown her a
particularly cute puppy.

“Alright, Garrick. But not for you,” she added quickly. “I am
doing this for Funaho... and for this little one.”

“Katherine.”

“Who?”

“I decided that I would name her Katherine.”

“What sort of name is that?”

I smiled. “It is an ancient and much loved name for a princess.”

---

Ayeka was, simply put, astounded at what I did know. Having learned
gardening from my mother the same way I learned auto mechanics from
my father, I had a lot of common sense knowledge at my disposal, as
well as some of the more zen like teachings.

“Oooh!” cooed Ayeka. “These flowers are so big! And such
vivid colors!”

“Yes. It's a tropical plant called a Hibiscus. Because it likes
light so much we'll have to put it with the Trigona.”

“Trigona?”

I pointed to the Euphorbia in question, a six-foot tall collection
triangular-shaped stems with spines and tear-drop shaped leaves along
the edges of each, all branching upwards from a central stalk, and
colored a mottled leaf-green.

“What is that thing?” she remarked with wide-eyed shock at the
rather imposing plant.

“Euphorbia Trigona,” I told her. “Common name: African Milk
Tree. I just like to call it a Trigona.”

“It... has thorns. All over it.”

I smiled. “Yeah. It can be a nasty customer to bump into,
especially since it's sap is absolutely poisonous.”

“It's POISONOUS!?”

“Relax,” I replied, scolding her. “Mainly it's just to keep
things from eating it. I'd imagine that if your trees didn't have
you Juraians to protect them from predators they would have evolved
some nasty defense mechanisms as well.”

Ayeka blinked, then smiled nervously. “Oh. Well, when you put it
that way I guess I can see why. But why would you have something
dangerous like this?”

“Because, look at it! It is magnificent, lovely, and yet imposing
as well. And despite that it is an easy going sort of plant. It
requires very little care and it disdains pampering. It propagates
through cuttings but under loving and patient care it will even
flower. Oh, and it absolutely loves sunlight. Desert plant, you
know.”

“I have always thought it is strange how plants can thrive in
deserts,” the Princess said as she stepped closer to the Euphorbia
to get a better look at it.

I smiled. “Someday I need to take you guys to the Mojave. It's
hot and dry, but if we go in the springtime it's pleasant. The cacti
and sage all blossom, the birds sing, and the land comes to life all
around you. If not for the heat, you'd think you weren't in a desert
at all.”

“Well that does sound like a pleasant idea,” she said absently.
She was now utterly fascinated by the plant.

“I'll talk to Tenchi and Washu-chan about it sometime. But anyhow,
would you like to try growing one yourself?”

That got her attention as she looked up at me in surprise. “Ah...
well, you did say it was easy to care for, right?”

I smiled. “Pretty much. Just needs a warm and sunny spot. Pot it
with peat and perlite, and water it generously about once a week –
just long enough for the soil to dry out. That simulates the weather
patterns this plant is native to – sudden torrential downpours
followed by days of dry weather. Feed it once every three months
with a plant food for desert-dwelling plants. It's a very hardy
plant, so if you want to err on the side of caution, don't water it.

“So, you want a cutting?”

Ayeka thought about it, but only for a moment. “Yes, I would like
one.”

I smiled then went to the box with my smaller bits of gardening
supplies, got out the pruning shears and a rag, then went to my
Trigona.

I ran my finger along the smooth side of one of the larger stalks and
said, “Just a small bit, my friend, so someone else may know the
pleasure of your presence.” I then found one of the newer growths,
just six inches in length, and growing in a direction that would make
it a little more cumbersome to move anyhow, placed the shears, laid
the rag over it, and cut.

Ayeka gasped as the thick milky-white sap spurted a drop on my hand.
I didn't mind – I don't react as badly to the sap as some do... at
least as long as I get to it in a timely manner. For the moment, I
set the pruning shears aside and laid the newly cut stalk of Trigona
on the rag and offered it to Ayeka.

“Here,” I said as she gingerly took it from me. “Let it dry
out a bit in someplace warm. A week or two should do it. Then,
plant it and water it judiciously. And just so you know, it will
take a while to start growing.”

“Really? Why's that?”

I smiled. “Well, people aren't sure, but I'm certain it's because
the plant wants to be sure it can trust you.”

“Really?” said Ayeka, her curiosity piqued.

“Yes. My mother gave this one to me as a gift – it was already
established and it took a month of my care before it decided to grow
out.”

“Ah, Garrick? What about your hand?”

“I'm getting to it. Unlike some, I'm not hyper-sensitive to it.”
I then made deed to word by getting out another rag, wiping the sap
away, and then following it up with a disinfectant wipe. I had a
bottle of them in my gardening supplies just for these occasions.
“See, all done. Now, let me show you some pictures of the native
Texas wildflowers. I guarantee you'll love it.”

We didn't spend much more time going through my catalog of plants.
There weren't a whole lot since I never had much room for a garden
before. And most of my plants were cacti anyhow. Ayeka was
disdainful at first, until I showed her what they looked like when
they blossomed... and then I told her that some even fruited
afterward, and that the fruit made excellent candies and jellies.

Suffice to say, she was rather eager to try her own hand at caring
for cacti. If nothing else, it would give Sasami-chan something new
to try her hand at.

---

Eventually, Ayeka and I had hammered out a rough plan for my garden.
We'd fill in the details the next day. At dinner time, she
positively gushed about everything she'd learned from me about Earth
flora, especially the desert-dwelling varieties, and went on about
how she wanted to learn more about earth's plantlife.

Sasami-chan looked absolutely pleased by this turn of events. I
figured that it was primarily because to her it seemed that Tenchi
was the only thing on Earth that she had any real interest in. Ryoko
on the other hand was so befuddled that she couldn't even think to
look for an opening to crack down on Ayeka. Mihoshi was just
pleasantly clueless and asked simple questions about what Ayeka
learned. And Washu just kept shooting me bemused looks as though to
say, “You little player, you!”

Tenchi, for his part, was befuddled as well, but it was the pleasant
sort. I wasn't one-hundred percent sure, but it was possible that
this was a side of Ayeka that Tenchi had never seen until now... and
he seemed to like what he saw.

Yosho just smiled. He knew Ayeka to a tee, so I guess he figured it
had only been a matter of time. He also shot me looks, but unlike
Washu-chan's... his were more speculative. I had a feeling why:
Yosho was a favorite of Seto, and it would not surprise me if he knew
about her interest in having me adopted into the family.

---

First thing after breakfast the following morning, I made my way up
to Yosho's shrine. Though what he had enshrined up there I had no
idea. But knowing the so-called Old Man's sense of humor, it was
probably some knick-knack of his from Jurai.

Autumn had hit hard. It wasn't freezing, but I had judiciously
shunned the idea of going wearing only long sleeves and jeans.
Instead, I wore my trusty Levi's Red Tab winter-weight jean jacket, a
sweatshirt, a pair of sweatpants under my cargo pants, and wool socks
to go with my old, trustworthy Navy boots.

Once I got to the shrine, I went through the proper cleansing ritual
of washing your hands and mouth, and then went to the offering box to
drop off a few fifty-yen coins. I then went to the shrine itself,
clapped my hands twice, then bowed my head in prayer.

As I lifted my head once more, I heard Yosho's voice call out to me.

“You seem to be having a crisis of faith.”

“You could say that,” I sighed as I turned to face him. “I was
raised as a Mormon. Recent events have kinda... invalidated a lot of
my beliefs.”

“Mormon you say? I've known a few of their missionaries. Good men
with good hearts. They don't come much better. I can see some of
that upbringing in you... though you certainly seem a little more
worldly.”

I shrugged. “I never went on my mission. Never felt the call, I
guess. Makes me wonder if that has anything to do with all this.”

Yosho shook his head. “I have no idea why you are here, Garrick,
but I do know that's the wrong way to think about this. Come, let's
have some tea. There's a lot for us to talk about, and I think
that's exactly why you're here.”

“Thanks. It's been a while since I've had some proper green tea.”

---

I was sat down in Yosho's quarters at his kotatsu (a heated table
with a quilt tacked to the edges) and the tea was poured. After I
took my first long sip, Yosho broke the silence.

“As I said, there is a lot that we need to discuss, but I think the
foremost item is your faith.”

I was taken aback by that – enough that it took me a moment to
formulate a response. But Yosho, if anything, was patient.

“Seto wants to see if I'm up to snuff, and you want to discuss
religion?”

Yosho smiled kindly. “Whether you like it or not, Garrick,
religion is a very important aspect of a person's sense of self.
You've suffered a very traumatic blow to that sense of self.
Sasami-chan has told me all about it. You're hurting and there is
nothing in your belief system for you to fall back on in this
scenario. I know this because I've gotten all the discussions from
those missionaries I mentioned.”

I sighed. I felt numb and hollow by this point in time. I figured
that I might as well go through with this because it couldn't be any
worse than I felt now.

“I... don't know for sure what to believe in any more. I mean...
some power has drop-kicked me out of my home-world and into yours...
where I know for a fact that three goddesses, of which Tsunami is one
of them, created this particular universe. I know all this. And I
know that it invalidated just about everything I believe in... but
now... I just don't know what to believe in any more.”

Yosho nodded. “I can understand that. Though I think it's a
little less knowing what to believe in, and more the loss you have
suffered. Sasami-chan said you were horribly lonely, and the ability
for a family to remain together eternally is a central tenet of the
Mormon faith. Suddenly, you've been gifted with a seed, from my
Funaho no less! And little Sasami wants you to be our brother. I
think that someone is trying to get your attention, boy.”

I blink. “Tsunami? But why? I mean... I'm not that important.
I'm dust compared to her.”

“That may be true, but the thing is that Sasami-chan cares about
you. And that matters to Tsunami more than you might think.”

Because Sasami cares.

Sasami is Tsunami and Tsunami is Sasami.

And anyone that Sasami would care about would have the Goddess's
attention just like that.

“I see...” I said slowly. “Thank you for bringing that to my
attention, Yosho. I don't know if I would have noticed it myself or
not. Just... this is gonna seem kinda silly, but how does one pay
their respects to Tsunami-sama?”

Yosho smiled. “When you come back tomorrow I'll start teaching
you. But for now, let's move on to more practical topics... little
brother.”

I blinked. “Hoo boy.”

Yosho barked a laugh. It was short and relatively quiet, but it was
quite a guffaw just the same.

“You have a delightful knack for ironic understatement. Don't
worry, though. Mother has decided that she will be the one to take
you under her wing.”

I blinked once more. “As in Head of Military and Political
Intelligence Funaho?”

“Of course.”

“... You were right. 'Hoo boy' doesn't even begin to cover it.”

Yosho chuckled at my expense. “Don't worry too much. She simply
wishes to debrief you. She'll be gentle about it. After all, she's
considering making you her son.”

“So I really would be Sasami's brother then. Although I certainly
won't be the older one.”

Yosho passed it off with a shrug. “Subjectively, she's only
experienced twelve years of her life. And Ayeka's experienced only
eighteen. As far as Sasami-chan is concerned, you are their elder.”
Yosho then grinned mischievously. “Although you'll still be
subordinate to me.”

I rolled my eyes and replied in a droll tone, “Oh gee, just what I
always wanted: an annoying older brother.”

“I am not anoying,” said Yosho defensively, but I saw straight
through it.

“Like hell you are. You aren't even the old man you pretend to
be.”

“Ah, so you know that as well.”

I shrugged. “No worries. Not like I'm gonna go blabbing about it.
But if you want some advice, I'll give it to you: might want to
consider dropping the act sometime. Not right away – I'd wait
until Tenchi finally gets himself settled down. Oh, and Noboyuki
winds up getting remarried as well.”

“Oh? Who?”

“That cute assistant he's got in his office. The one that comes
from an alternate universe. Kinda like me, only without Random
Omnipotent Beings getting involved. They have a son together and
eventually he winds up going to his mother's homeland to make all
kinds of trouble there and a harem as well. Seems like it runs in
the family.”

Yosho stared at me with wide-eyed amazement. “Is this some kind of
joke!?”

“Not a bit. Just don't let on to Noboyuki. Might jinx the whole
damn thing.”

Yosho blinked. “I guess I'll just have to take your word for it
then. Mother is going to have a field day with you.”

I snorted. “Don't I know it.”

The old man chuckled, but then turned sober once more as he asked,
“Tell me Garrick, what do you know of the way of the sword?”

I blinked as I thought about the implications of this question: all
of them pointed to pain in my future.

“I've dabbled in it somewhat in the past.”

Yosho nodded. “I thought as much. Your movements are like that of
a grappler. It's a great skill to have, however, among the Royal
Household, any formal challenges to a dual you may face are to be
decided through your ability as a swordsman.”

“I see. When do you wish to begin, Yosho-sensei?” No sense in
delaying the inevitable.

“Tomorrow. After your lessons of doctrine.”

---

The rest of my day would have been relatively uneventful. With my
truck and trailer parked in my workshop, I had easy access to unload,
stage, and unpack everything. Let me tell you, having enough room to
pre-organize everything for unpack really helps.

However, as I was just finishing with the staging part, I heard a
knock on a door somewhere. Just as I was wondering where it came
from, a screen popped up in front of my face displaying a pensive
looking Ryoko through a wide-angle lens.

“Huh. Peep-hole,” I said thoughtfully as I began to make my way
to the door.

“Ah, hey,” said Ryoko nervously as I opened my door to her.
“Mind if I come in?”

“Sure, come on in. I was actually wondering when I'd get my first
visitor.”

“Oh. Cool.” Ryoko followed me in and then whistled. “Nice.
Isn't it a bit big?”

I shrugged. “It is for now, but I plan on filling it up
eventually. Honestly, I've always wanted a place like this. You're
mom gives out the coolest stuff.”

Ryoko made a sour look at that as we went from the common space and
into the workshop. “Don't call her that.”

I rolled my eyes but let it go for the moment. “So, social call or
did you just want to see what I was up to in here?”

“Bit of both,” said Ryoko. “Really... people been talking...
and I kinda guess I never really apologized for what happened.”

I looked at her in surprise. “You mean that whole thing with the
sucker punch off the stairs? I already told you guys it was okay.”

“No, I mean... I need to apologize for myself. Not let someone
else do it.”

As I got back to work with unloading my stuff and sorting it all out,
I suddenly realized that someone, either Washu, Sasami, or both put
Ryoko up to this. I then figured that I might as well make this easy
on her.

I smiled gamely over the top of a large box full of bed linens and
said, “Thanks. I do appreciate that coming from you, Ryoko. And
really, it was just an accident. No hard feelings. So what do you
say? Buddies?”

“Heh. Sure thing. You know, you're a pretty laid back guy,
Garrick.”

I gave a lopsided grin. “I just try not to sweat the small stuff.”

“For a human a broken neck isn't small.”

“For your mom- sorry, Washu-chan, it is. Though really... try not
to let it happen again... hate for me to be in that situation without
her to fix me up.”

“Ah, don't worry Garrick. Ain't nothing gonna happen to you with
me around. Say, you mind letting me hang out in here now and then?”

“As long as you aren't trying to dodge chores. I'd prefer it if
Ayeka didn't think I was letting you hide in here.”

“Ooooh! Kissing up to the princess?” Ryoko teased.

I shrugged as I hefted another box of books. I had quite a few of
those. “No. It's just that Ayeka's a nice person and I'd really
like it if she were a friend and not an adversary.”

Ryoko rolled her eyes. “If only she'd take that stick out her
butt.”

I sighed. “Brutal, but somewhat true. Gotta get past that
untouchable princess facade, but the thing is that's all it is –
just a facade.”

“Oh, and how do you know?”

I gave Ryoko a flat look. “Ryoko, you do realize we're talking
about Misaki's daughter, right? You know, our lady of
adores-all-that-is-cute and giver-of-bone-crushing-hugs?”

“I don't think-”

I cleared my voice and then squeaked, “MOMMY!”

Ryoko crashed to the shop floor, laughing herself silly. “Okay!
Okay! You got me! HAH-HAH! I'd almost forgotten about that!”

I chuckled. “You see, the Princess has a softer side to her.” I
then sighed as I pulled over my larger office chair and plunked
myself down into it. “Really... in a way I think she's softer than
Sasami is.”

“What!?” cried out Ryoko. “Even though she can be such a
bitch!?”

I nodded. “It's a defense mechanism.”

“What do you mean?” grumbled Ryoko.

I sighed again. “Look, I know because I've been in her shoes
before. I don't mean the whole position-of-priveledge thing. Far
from it. What I've been through was similar in that I was a boy with
a very sweet and tender heart... and everyone around me seemed to
want to stomp it flat.”

“What? So, stomp 'em back.”

“That's what I did. So, for some people I was a very sweet boy...
until I came across someone I didn't like, then I was like a little
demon-spawn child.”

“That's the idea!” cheered Ryoko.

I gave her a sober look. “But I didn't have very many friends
because of that.”

Ryoko gave me a funny look. “But some people had to like you.”

“A few did,” I said, shrugging. “Most heard it from others how
horrible I was and either avoided me or teased me.”

Ryoko blinked in wide-eyed amazement. “Oh.”

“So, just imagine this adorable little princess. She is sweetness
and sunshine – she's so cute she'd almost make you gag, except
she's such a nice little kid you just can't bear to hurt her. With
me so far?”

“okaaayyyy,” Ryoko drawled suspiciously.

“So, one day she meets some other kids visiting the Royal Palace...
but they're all jealous of her, so instead of being her friend like
she wants to be, they tease her, take her things, and pull her
pigtails. Isn't that just horrible of them?”

“Yeah, that is horrible,” said Ryoko, looking a little sheepish.

“The poor, sweet little princess runs to her mother, crying her
eyes out. She feels so hurt that she can't even bear to tell her
mother what happened. She has the horrible realization that there
are people out there that are just plain mean, and the best thing to
do is to be mean right back at them so they can't hurt you.

“So, the next day, instead of letting the kids hurt her like they
did before, she calls the guards on them and has them thrown out of
the palace.”

“Oh... wow... I never really thought of it that way.”

I nodded. “Now, there's a bit of a difference between her and
Sasami... Sasami is strong in ways Ayeka isn't. Sure, she can be
hurt, but she bounces back with a vengeance. And she also had Ayeka
to watch after her... someone who already knew how mean some people
could be... and knew how to be mean right back at them so Sasami
didn't have to be.”

Ryoko grumbled. “Even if I know all this and I try to be nice to
her, she's still gonna be a first-class bitch.”

“For a while. It's gonna take time, Ryoko. This isn't like when
you feel like having some sake so you go and raid the pantry for a
jug. It's more like growing a flower. You have to give it sunlight,
warmth, food and water, and most of all, time.”

“It sounds so boring though!” groaned Ryoko.

“Hey, I'm not saying you two can't banter. Believe me, you two can
have a lot of fun just messing around with each other as long as you
don't let it go too far. My brothers and I used to do that a lot.”

Ryoko raised an eyebrow. “Your brothers?”

I sighed. “Yeah. Five of 'em. And we'd mess around with each
other in ways you wouldn't believe. I really do miss those
knuckleheads, Ryoko.” I then gave Ryoko a sober look. “You got
an opportunity here that you really shouldn't squander – and I'm
not simply talking about Tenchi's affections here.”

Ryoko gave me a look that was almost a glare. “What do you mean?”

“These people, Ryoko... they're like family. Ayeka, Sasami, even
that adorable ditz, Mihoshi – they're all like sisters to you.
And the most terrible part is... you don't even seem to realize it.”

Ryoko scoffed. “We're not family.”

I gave Ryoko a glare. “How about you try going out there and
telling it to that beautiful blue-haired little princess?”

“What!?” snapped Ryoko. “What the hell, Garrick! I thought
we're supposed to be friends here!”

“And I'm doing what any friend would do,” I snapped back sharply,
“telling you how it really is. Because someone that isn't your
friend wouldn't give two shits about it. And I want my friend to be
happy in the end – even if that means she shares a husband with a
mean spirited spit-fire of a royal pain in the ass. Because if my
friend would just realize it, that princess would be her mean
spirited spit-fire of a royal pain in the ass.”

“Oh, come on Garrick. It's never gonna be that way.”

“It can be Ryoko. Just... please... trust me on this. It's better
to give this a shot than to regret it later on. There's enough
regrets to go around as it is. And I don't want anyone else feeling
as lonely as I do. Trust me, if you felt what I do, it would kill
you.”

“And what do you feel?” she asked, a hard look on her face, but
in her eyes...

“Gone,” I said softly. “Everyone. My family. Not dead. Not
missing. Just gone. And me, cursed to never have the chance to see
them again, not even in death where it had been promised since time
began that families would be reunited. Instead, just cold and lonely
eternity.”

“Are you serious?”

“Do I look like I'm lying?”

Ryoko shook her head, at a loss. “How do you deal with that?”

I sighed. “It's hard. Fortunately for me, that beautiful
blue-haired little princess out there came to my rescue. She can
sense how badly I'm hurting, and she doesn't want to see me hurt like
that anymore. And I've pretty much just latched onto the lifeline
she's thrown me. Because, I know that if I don't...”

“You'll drown,” Ryoko finished. She then sighed. “You're
right. It would kill me if I ever felt what you feel. Even after
Yosho sealed me away I at least had my anger. And even when that
faded, I didn't have any real memories to fall back on. No real
past, so nothing to have lost. And then... there was Tenchi. I saw
him grow up.

“And now I have all these people around me... I guess... that's
what kinda scares me... the idea of losing them.”

I nodded. “It's something we all have to deal with. Fortunately
for you, they're all pretty tough customers. It'd take something
real nasty to take any one of your family out.”

Ryoko snorted. “That's definitely something I have to give to the
bitch. She definitely knows how to duke it out.”

I scoffed affectionately at the thought. “She does at that,
doesn't she?” I then shook my head and got back up out of my chair
and surveyed the unpacking thus far. “Anyhow, this stuff isn't
gonna get itself unpacked. Mind lending a hand?”

Ryoko sighed. “Do I really gotta?”

“No, but it does mean I'll get to sitting down and drinking with
you sooner than later, buddy.”

“Okay, when you put it that way... what do you want me to do?”

I smiled. “The boxes over there next to you have my library in
them. They'll need to be brought over to the bookshelves upstairs
and then shelved. Don't worry about them being in any sort of order.
I just want them out of the boxes and on the shelves for now – I
can sort through them later.”

“Huh. Sounds easy enough.”

“Especially for you – you can levitate and go through the walls.”

With Ryoko helping me, the unpacking went a lot faster than it would
have gone with just me working at it. Also, having a lot more than
enough space to put everything helped as well – I didn't have to
'tetris' anything to get all my belongings into place.

So, when Sasami-chan brought us both lunch, I left her some very
specific instructions for Southern-Style Peach Iced Tea, and that it
was to be saved for something special later on after dinner.

That night as the dinner table was being cleared, I made the
announcement.

“Hey guys! Good news! Thanks to Ryoko's help, I'm all unpacked.
All there's left for me is the settling in.”

A round of cheers went around the table and I held my hands up,
signaling I had more to say.

“To celebrate, I'm going to share some of my Good Stuff with
everyone tonight... at least everyone that is old enough to partake.”

“Good stuff?” said Ryoko, her curiosity piqued.

“What sort of stuff is this?” asked Ayeka.

I smiled. “You'll see. I'll be right back. Sasami-chan? Would
you be so kind as to get that iced tea out and some tumbler glasses?”

“Sure thing, Gar-kun.”

Quickly I went to my room and got the special wooden box that
protected the six mason jars inside it and then went back down to the
main room. I got there just as Sasami was setting out the tumblers.

“What is that?” asked Sasami as I opened the box and carefully
removed one of the jars.

I grinned and said, “Mountain Dew. White Lightning. Moonshine.”

Yosho blanched. “You mean that's American Corn Liquor!?”

I cackled softly. “Oh yeah. It's the genuine article. The only
way it could be even more authentic is if I had purchased it from
someone that hadn't paid the liquor tax on it. Don't worry though.
This stuff is only one-hundred-fifty proof.”

Yosho made some inarticulate noises as his face went white.

“Grandpa!?” cried out Tenchi in alarm.

“That 'stuff' of his,” croaked Yosho, “is ten times stronger
than the sake we usually get!”

“Whoah,” said Ryoko fervently.

Everyone else just looked at me in wide-eyed horror.

I just grinned back at them all. “Yes people, this is the beverage
of choice for the people that made their livings in the smokey
mountain hills of the Appalachians and the rugged steppes of the
Tennessee River Valley. They would sit on their back porches after a
long and hard-day's work, and ease the aches and pains in their
bodies by slowly imbibing this liquor. This is a working man's booze
– strong enough to knock a mule off its feet.

“Of course, such a beverage commands respect, so many of these
hardy working types would mix it with something... and what better
than an ice-cold glass of tea, sweetened by the nectar of peaches
picked at the peak of ripeness.”

I then began mixing the drinks. For Tenchi, Ayeka, Mihoshi, and
Yosho just a jigger of moonshine to theirs. Myself, Washu, and Ryoko
got the half-and-half treatment. Sasami, of course, just had the
straight iced tea... I specifically instructed her to watch her drink
vigilantly.

“A toast!” proposed Washu once all the drinks were poured. “To
our new family member: Garrick Grimm! Let's hope he finds a cute
wife!”

Sasami gleefully agreed.

Ayeka found it delightfully scandalous.

Ryoko would have made a spit-take if she hadn't waited for Washu to
finish.

Mihoshi wondered out loud if any of her old classmates might like me.

Ryo-Ohki 'mii-ahh'ed.

Tenchi laughed.

Yosho just smiled and raised his glass.

I smiled as well, shaking my head. “Oh, I know what you're after,
Washu-chan, but I'll drink to that anyhow.”

“KAMPAI!” we all cheered as we clinked our glasses together.

[classicdrogn]

Connecting with Ayeka... over cacti. Long lived plants that are tough and prickley, but which flourish and flower beautifully if given the proper care. No symbolism there, certainly not

And seriously, a second generation seedling? Holy crap. Welcome to High Expectations, population you.

Ryoko actually opened up a bit fast, I think - I'd have expected quite a bit more denial about caring for anyone there but Tenchi, though I suppose "You want to tell Sasami that?" is a strong counter-argument.
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows