I'm sending Part 1 and Part 2, since I did some changes to Part 1.

No Need for 'Niichan!
*********************
An Insert for Turn the Page
All characters the property of their respective owners, and are being used
without permission.  Please don't sue me.

***

If one was to look up in the sky at exactly 10:23:22 AM, on June 30, 1995,
in the Okoyama Prefecture, one would see a rather reassuring sight.

Empty sky.

However, if one could go into the state known as 'no-time' at that exact
moment, and happened to look up then, in that location, they would see a
rather odd sight.

A largish, stocky, North American male, wearing black jeans, a white dress
shirt, and a dark green trenchcoat, flying across the sky at incredible
speeds.

And if one listened very carefully, one would hear the following:

"...why is it that every single time I have a date planned He comes up with
something to ruin it?  Or my stupid sisters?  Or the other girl does!  Jeez,
what am I, their personal gopher?  Need to go somewhere?  Ask Oniichan!
Need an errand ran? Ask Oniichan!  Christopher Angel, God of Moments, and
general flunky.  Sheeeeeeeeeeeesh...."

With that, he stopped and hovered in the air, pulling out a map.  "OK,
there's the mountain, so the tree should be..." he rotated in the air,
looking around, "...there! Good...good...that means the place I'm looking
for is..." a largish house came into his line of vision "...THERE!"

Chris paused and stared at the house.  "NICE place...what is that, 1000
square meters? It's freaking HUGE!"  He started to head towards the house,
stopping to place a quizzical glance on a field as he passed it.  "Somebody
likes their carrots."

As he flew towards the house at a lesiurely pace, Chris pulled the dossier
from his trenchcoat and read the instructions.  "Find the woman named Washu
Habuki, and read to her the letter placed herein."  He shook his head. "
Chris' Delivery Service. When you want it there...NOW!"

Chris landed on the porch and scratched his head.  "You know, I've got to
have a long talk with one of the other healing-aspect gods, this talking to
myself thing can't be healthy."  He stepped out of no-time and prepared to
knock on the door, when it exploded outward in a burst of red flame.

Throwing himself back and summoning his armor, Chris stared in bewilderment
at the cyan-haired woman who stood in the wreckage of the doorway.  She held
a long sword that appeared to be made of nothing but light, and wore a black
bodysuit embossed with red flames.  A glowing red crystal was embedded in
her left wrist.  The lecherous portion of Chris' mind took quite an interest
in her rather buxom figure.

"Who the hell are you?" Chris and the woman demanded in unison.

***

"You listen up and listen good, Ayeka, I'm sick and tired of you getting in
the way between Tenchi and me!" Ryoko growled, poking the princess in the
sternum with every other syllable.  "Mind your own damn business!"

Tenchi sat at the dinner table, his head in his hands.  *Why me? Which deity
did I offend to have to deal with this?*  He began to stand up to stop them,
and noticed Ayeka preparing her usual retort.  With a groan, he slumped back
to the table.  Ryo-Ohki, in her adolescent form, patted him on the back.

Ayeka made her trademark laugh, holding her sleeve up to cover her mouth.
"As if Tenchi-sama would want to spend time with a bakemono like you!"

Sasami gave Tenchi a look of sympathy, then shared a giggle with Ichi over
the antics of the two fighting women.

"Sasami-chan?" Ichi murmured softly as he watched the two fight.

"Hai?" she replied, gazing deep into his eyes.

Ichi blushed and tried to stay focussed.  *I wish she'd stop that, it's hard
to concentrate.*  "In the three years I've been here, we've watched those
two fight day in day out, and I've decided something."  He looked at Tenchi
again.  "I am NEVER getting involved with more than one girl."

"Good plan," Tenchi muttered.  "Wish I followed it."

"You'd better not," Sasami said dangerously.  "I don't share."  She paused
and considered that statement.  "Unless it was someone I REALLY liked," the
barely teenaged girl giggled, and focussed her attention back on the
argument.  "She'll be grabbing Tenchi-niichan right about...now."

Ryoko growled and teleported to kneel beside Tenchi, wrapping her arms
around him in a sensual hug.  "Tenchi doesn't feel that way, ne Tenchi? Ne?
Ne?"

The young man began to struggle out of Ryoko's grip, trying to not notice
Ryoko's assets.  "Aww, Ryoko..."

Ichi whistled softly.  "That's one of Ryoko-neechan's better hugs."

Suddenly Ryo-Ohki yelped and turned to the door to the foyer, her wild mane
of hair rising as she hissed at something.

Ryoko looked at the cabbit-girl, some communication passing between them.
She then glared at the door.  Ryoko stood, gathered a ball of power in her
hand. With a roar, she flew to the door and threw the energy blast.

***

"A summer's warm breeze
Winds through the rooms of my shrine
A lazy spirit."

Yosho grinned at the words on the page, savoring the feel of them on his
tongue.  "One of my better ones," he decided, folding the page and setting
it inside a drawer at his side.  He bent his head to write upon the page
once more.

Suddenly, he snapped his head up and stared towards the house.  A sick
feeling of dread shot up his spine.

"Dear Kami-sama, don't let them offend whichever one that is," he prayed,
and shot to his feet.  He sprinted out of the shrine at a pace that
completely belied his age.

***

Chris stared in astonishment as the woman walked warily towards him.  As she
got within a few dozen meters of him, he began backing up at the same rate.
"Now calm down! There's no reason to be violent.  I'm just here to see
someone."

"Hah!" Ryoko snorted.  "Like I'm dumb enough to let someone with a power
level like yours wander around."  Behind her, Ayeka peered through the
wreckage of the door and stepped through it, followed by Tenchi.

Tenchi looked at the man in blue-green metaillic armor and activated his
sword, moving to stand between beside Ryoko.  "A friend of yours?" he asked
Ryoko.

Sasami and Ichi looked around the doorframe at the newcomer. S asami
suddenly gasped, turned, and ran towards Washu's lab.  Ichi looked after her
bewildered, and moved to stand beside Ayeka.  He summoned his own dark-blue
blade, but didn't move to join Ryoko or Tenchi.

"Look, I didn't come here to fight!" Chris insisted as he backed up towards
the docks.  "Can't you people understand that?"

"Ryoko," Tenchi began, not banishing his sword but no longer advancing, "why
did you attack him?"

"Can't you feel it, Tenchi?" Ryoko growled.  "He's practically reeking with
power!  Why else would someone like that be here than to cause trouble?"

"Would you believe I'm just delivering something?" Chris suggested.

"No!" Ryoko snapped, and charged.  She swung her sword in a vicious arc that
would have bisected the giant of a man...

...if he had been there.

***

Sasami ran to Washu's lab and opened the door, not even bothering to knock.
She frantically searched the huge sub-dimension, her voice filled with
panic.  "Washu-chan!  Oh, please, Washu-chan, where are you?"

At her terminal, Washu turned towards the voice that called her.  The only
time she had ever heard Sasami sound like that was when something was REALLY
wrong.  She stood off of her cushion and ran towards the girl.  A moment
later she found the princess, and was nearly knocked off balance was Sasami
hurled herself into her arms.  "Whoa! What's wrong, Sasami-chan?"

"There's this weird man at the door, and Ryoko-neechan is trying to kill
him, and every time I see him I feel so sad!" the girl sobbed.

Washu frowned, and held Sasami up, and looked deep into her tear-filled
eyes.  "Tsunami, come forth," she commanded.  Sasami's eyes seemed to blank
out, and then the bipart triangle on her forehead disappeared and was
replaced by two golden circles.  Tsunami blinked and took a step back,
trying to control her tears.  "I was right, it's you who's sad, not Sasami."

"Hai," Tsunami replied.  "That man reminded me of something that I had hoped
to forget."  She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath.  "That
man is one of THEM, Washu.  He is one of His children, and Ryoko is trying
to kill him.  That CAN'T happen."

"What are you talking..." Washu began, and then trailed off as memories came
back to her.  Memories of a time long, long past, of her earliest years. M
emories of the one who created her and her sisters.  The first person she
ever loved, and the result of that love.  Other children.  Tears came to
Washu's eyes and she fell to her knees.  "My baby girl," she sobbed.  "My
little baby girl."

Tsunami knelt, wrapped her arms around Washu and held her tightly.  "I know,
Oneesama.  I know.  But we need to save that poor man before your other
daughter kills him and brings down His wrath."

Washu nodded, rubbed at her eyes a bit, and stood, sniffling.  "Hai."  She
shrugged off Tsunami's hands and walked back to her terminal.  She punched a
key, and a black doorway appeared.  Washu nodded to Tsunami to proceed her.
"Go on." The azure-haired girl ran through the doorway, and Washu started to
follow her.  Before entering the door, she stopped, and looked off into
space.  "This time, Kami-chan, I'm not going to let it go."

***

In no-time, Chris stared at the energy blade mere inches in front of his
face and tried to avoid fainting as he tried to maintain the jump at this
close proximity to another person - and one of power at that.  "Tyr's
testicles," he swore, "that's one nutso babe."

He carefully stepped away from her, giving her a good lookover as he did so.
"Bah.  Ami with a nasty streak," he decided, then cocked his head and
considered that statement.  "Wait, she already has a nasty streak.  OK, a
VICIOUS streak."  He chuckled to himself and walked over to the young man
who accompanied 'Ryoko' - Tenchi, he recalled.

Tenchi was a remarkably handsome man, with an obviously lithe, muscular
build that reminded him of Baldur's.  His sword was much like the energy
blade Ryoko used, except it was light blue and seemed to be coming from an
odd wooden hilt in his hands.

Chris frowned.  For a mortal, this guy was giving off a LOT of timestream
interference.  He could barely come within a meter of the man without having
to strain to stay in no-time - a figure almost on the order of the gods.
Ryoko's radius was similar, he realized, as he moved back towards her, only
the adrenaline in his system allowed him to stay in no-time when he was that
close to her before.

His curiosity aroused, Chris moved on towards the two people who were
watching.  The regal-looking young woman with purple hair had a half-meter
radius, while the young man with green hair and a blue energy blade was the
same, if not a bit more.

Walking towards some steps he saw leading up to a shrine, Chris sat down and
stared at the quartet.  "Who the hell are these people?" he wondered.  "I
mean, that Tenchi guy and that Ryoko chick have near-deity magnitude power
figures...and those other two have levels FAR beyond those of normal humans,
not to mention those bloody lightsabers they're all using."  He suddenly
frowned and squinted at the people.  "Waitasec.  Cyan hair?  Purple?  NEON
GREEN?  Have I missed a fad somewhere?  That other girl - the one Skuld's
age...she had azure hair!  By Saturn's beard, these people CAN'T be human!"

He stepped back into the timestream.  "Would you PLEASE stop that? I don't
want to hurt you!"

***

Tenchi's surprise at seeing the man disappear was short lived - in fact, it
was quickly replaced by a sort of dismay as he heard the man's words, and
turned to face him.  "You REALLY shouldn't have said that."

"Hurt ME?" Ryoko growled, and laughed coldly.  "You should be more worried
about me hurting YOU."  She flicked out of existence, and appeared a few
meters above Chris' head, her sword ready for a deadly blow.  "DIE!"  she
screamed as she fell towards him, but the man dove out of the way.

"SHIT!" Chris yelled and threw up his left arm.  Ryoko's blade impacted the
shield with a sizzle, and she hung there for a moment, almost as if she was
being held up by that merest contact alone.  With a roar, she pulled back
her blade and swung it in a sideways, only to have it slam against the
sword-blade on Chris' right arm.  Chris made a feint with the broad left
blade, and Ryoko teleported away.

"That's it," he growled.  "I tried to be nice, I tried to be an easygoing
guy, but I've had ENOUGH!"  He winked out of existence again, and reappeared
above and behind Ryoko.  Just as he began to fall, the flat of his blade
ready to strike Ryoko's head, Tenchi's voice rang out.

"RYOKO! BEHIND YOU!"

Ryoko whirled, her arm outstretched in a strike that took Chris in the left
side of his torso, cutting a good two inches into his body before the power
of his armor stopped the blade.  With a scream, Chris collapsed to the
ground, cluthing his side as crimson blood streamed out of the wound.

***

"Hmm...I need to adjust the feedback on this circuit," Skuld muttered to
herself as she worked in her room.

Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her side that nearly sent her into
unconsciousness.  "Oniichan!" she gasped.  She worked herself to her feet
and stumbled out her room, heading down the hall to the living area.

There, she found Belldandy crumpled in Keiichi's arms. Urd was kneeling in
front of the TV, her right hand clamped to her left side while she poked at
the screen with her left.  "Why the hell can't I teleport?" she demanded.

"We have to go to him!" Skuld cried.  Tears formed in her eyes, partly from
the sympathetic pain and partly from worry.  "He's hurt!"

"Don't you think I know that?" Urd snapped.  "Something stopping me from
teleporting!"

The phone suddenly rang.  Urd stormed over and picked it up.  "WHAT?!" she
growled, then paled.  "Gomen," she said quickly, and began to frown and
flush as she listened to the voice on the other end.  "Now just wait a
minute-" she took the phone from her face, stared at it in disgust, and
slammed it back to the reciever.  She walked back to the couch, flopped
down, and proceeded to curse.

"What did He say?" Skuld demanded.

"He's prevented us from teleporting," was Urd's sullen reply.  "'It's well
in hand,' He said.  'Trust Me,' He said."  She snorted in disgust.

Skuld simply gave her sister an agast stare.  "But...but..."

"I know, but what can we do?"

"Skuld?" the two sisters turned to look at Belldandy, who was now awake,
although still pale.  "Do you think you'd be able to make a tracking
device?"

The youngest goddess gaped at her sister blankly for a moment, and then a
gleeful cast came across her face.  "You bet!" she cheered, and ran off to
her room.

"I'm surprised, Bell," Urd said with a sort of smug smile.  "Disobeying
Kami-sama?"

Belldandy stood with Keiichi's help and smiled back at her sister.  "We may
not be able to teleport, but we have other means at our disposal," she said,
and then she scowled.  "Oniichan needs us.  I know it."

***

Ryoko brought her blade up for a finishing blow, when a hand caught her arm
in a steely grip.  Looking over, she saw Yosho holding her, a grim look on
his face.  "I cannot let you do that, Ryoko-san."

The skies began to thicken with clouds.

A black portal opened in the air midway between the stairs and the house,
and Tsunami jumped out, followed a second later by Washu.  Tsunami took a
frantic look around, and then spotted Chris laying on the ground, a scarlet
stain spreading beneath him. "No," she whispered. "This can't be happening!"

Washu placed her hand on Tsunami's shoulder.  "Panic later, Tsunami.  Right
now, we have a young man to save."  Together, they ran over to the injured
man and the two people struggling near him.

The sky, now thick with grey-white clouds, began to darken.

"Let me go!" Ryoko howled as she twisted and tugged in Yosho's grip.  "He's
got to die!  Can't you see?  He's evil!  He's dangerous!  He's-" she
suddenly collapsed, and Yohso looked in surprise at Washu.

"Kagato's work," she explained, disgusted.  "I should have known he'd have
arranged for something like this."  She over her shoulder at Tenchi.  "Take
her inside and put her to bed," she ordered.  "Ayeka, call your guardians,
we need them."

Washu turned to her many-times-great-grandson.  "Ichi, I want you to go to
my lab and ready that big table near my medical room."  The young man nodded
absently, but didn't move.  Instead, he was staring at Tsunami with a
confused look.  "ICHI!"  He jumped and began running towards the portal,
stopping just before he entered to look at Tsunami again.

She walked over to the wounded man, and knelt at his side.  She carefully
pulled his hand away from his wound, and winced at what she saw.  eeling
aorund the plate that was bound to the man's torso, she frowned.  "No
latches, no attachments, it's seamless.  I wonder how he gets it off?"

"Tsunami!"  The azure-haired girl was at her side in a flash.  "I'm going to
try to get him to lose this armor.  Once it's gone, you're going to have to
hold this wound together.  Got it?"  Tsunami nodded and moved to position by
the gash.

Thunder rolled and the air, once calm, began to pick up in a brisk breeze.

Washu moved to the man's head and lifted the helmet from his head.  She
placed her hand on his cheek, feeling how cold he was and cursed.  The last
thing she needed was him going into shock, and he was.  She slapped his
cheek gently.  "Hey, you, wake up!  Come on," she slapped him a bit harder,
and he stirred a bit and looked blearly up at her.

"Skuld?" he whispered, and then looked down his torso at Tsunami.  "Bell?"
He blinked a few times and squinted up at Washu.  "Not Skuld."

"Iie, I'm not your Skuld," Washu said kindly.  "We need you to get rid of
your armor, OK?"  He nodded and closed his eyes for a second, and the
blue-green armor sort of shimmered, and faded away.  Immediately, Tsunami
pressed a piece of her clothing against the vicious slash in his side,
holding it shut.  He gasped in pain, and Washu slipped her hand in his and
gripped it tightly.  "I know.  I'll make it better.  I promise."

"Was sure it was Skuld..." the man murmured as he fell back into
unconsiousness.

Lightning began to flash about the sky, and the wind started blowing dust
and leaves into the air.

"Washu-san," Ayeka said tentatively.  "I've brought Azaka and Kamidake."

"Good," Washu said, and extracated her hand from the man's grip.  "I want
you two to put your force field around this man and Tsu-er...Sasami.  Pick
up them, the ground, everything.  Move them back though the portal to my
lab."

"HAI!" the guardians responded, and positioned themselves at opposite sides
of the pair.  A misty film came into existence, and with a jerk, they lifted
Washu's patient up off the ground.

"GENTLY!" Washu roared.  "Gently!"  She shook her head as the two gaurdians
started to carry their burden at a more sedate pace.  "I've got enough work
as it is."  She supervised as they went through the portal and then turned
to Ayeka and Yosho.  "Get eneryone inside," she said, just as a heavy,
driving rain began to fall.  "This is gonna be one hell of a storm."

*********************************

"Ayeka-neechan?"  The princess looked up from the book she was reading and
smiled at Ichi, her cousin.  "Can I talk to you?" he asked pensively.

"Of course," Ayeka said, surprised and worried by his manner.  "What's
wrong, Ichi-kun?"

Ichi looked over at the door to Washu's lab, where Yosho stood, keeping a
vigil for news about both Ryoko and their 'guest.'  "What happened to
Sasami-chan?"

Ayeka felt her blood run cold, and dropped her book, grabbing the young teen
by the shoulders.  "What are you talking about, Ichi?  Please, tell me.
What's wrong with my sister?"

"I don't know!" he snapped, frustrated.  "When she saw that man, she just
burst into tears, and then when she came back later with Washu, she was all
different!"

"Different how?" Ayeka demanded, depsite the fact that she felt she already
knew the answer.

Ichi pointed to his brow.  "She had two golden circles here," he began.
"She talked different, and walked different!"  He suddenly scowled and
looked down at the ground.  "It was like it was Sasami-chan's body, but
someone else was inside."

"Tsunami."

The teen looked up into Ayeka's face.  "Nani?"

Ayeka sighed and released Ichi, and leaned back in her chair.  "It was
Tsunami. She is part of my sister, and she must have taken over."  She
patted Ichi on the shoulder.  "Don't worry, Ichi-kun.  There's nothing to be
worried about."  *I hope.*

The boy looked slightly relieved, but still confused.  He sat down on the
couch and sulked.  "This weird guy shows up, and then all of a sudden,
Sasami-chan's possessed by this Tsunami person, Ryoko-neechan goes all
insane, and there's this huge storm!"  He gave Ayeka a plaintive look, on
the verge of tears "I don't understand, Ayeka-neechan, what's going on?"

Moving to sit beside Ichi, Ayeka wrapped her arms around him tightly.  "I
don't know, Ichi-kun, I wish I did."

***

"Hey, squirt, how's it coming?"

Skuld wiped her sweaty forehead and glared up at her eldest sister.  "The
same as it did when you asked five minutes ago, so leave me alone and let me
work!"  She stood up, stormed to the door to her room and slid it shut with
a bang.

Urd blinked the door and shrugged sheepishly.  "I was just asking."  She
wandered down to the kitchen, pulled a bottle of sake from the cupboard, and
returned to sit in front of the TV.  She turned it on and poked at the
screen a few times half-heartedly before taking a long drink from the
bottle.

"...and the strange localized storm that appeared in the remote Okoyama area
seems to be dying down."  Urd choked on the sake and sprayed it all over the
screen.  he turned the TV up and listened closely as she wiped off the glass
with her sleeve.  "This storm appeared without warning at around 10:45 this
morning, and was unusually strong for this time of year and strangely small
for its strength.  Government meteorologists have no explanation at this-"
the living room was filled with silence as Urd switched the TV off.

"I FOUND HIM!"

***

Washu closed off the screen to her impromtu operating area, and gave Tsunami
a tired smile.  "He'll be fine," she informed the azure-haired girl.  A
holoterminal appeared in front of her, and she punched a couple keys.  "And
what do you know? The boy's out of danger, and the storm starts to subside."

Tsunami sighed in relief.  "Arigato, Washu. It would have been
very...bad...for Ryoko if that man had died."

"I'm hurt," Washu said wryly.  "I'm not 'Oneesama' anymore."

"Oops."  Tsunami looked at once worried and embarrased, an odd combination
for Sasami's face.  "What do you-I mean, it was just-"

"Give it up, imouto.  I remember everything.  Kami-chan, Tokimi, our
daughters, everything."  Washu's expression was grim as she turned looked
back at the recovery area she had left their guest in.  "I remember the
empty feeling I felt when He took them from us, just like how I felt all
those years later when my second mate took my son from me.  Just like I felt
when Kagato took Ryoko."  She began to shake in anger.  "I want to see her
again, Tsunami.  I want to know my daughter again, and I want her to know
me.  Somehow, that man is connected to all this, and I'm going to find out
how."  She looked sternly at Tsunami.  "Are you going to help me?"  The
red-head's eyes widened as she realized the girl was crying.

Tsunami leapt towards Washu and embraced her in an iron grip.  "Oneesama,
it's so good to have you back!"

"Aww, come on, I hate this mushy stuff," Washu complained, but hugged her
back with all her strength.  After a few moments, she pushed Tsunami off,
and smiled kindly at her.  "It'll be a while before whomever that is wakes
up, and we have some things to do first."

"What could that be?" Tsunami asked, bewildered.

Washu nodded towards the room Ryoko was being kept in.  "I'VE got to have a
talk with my OTHER daughter, and see if I can help her undo Kagato's little
trap," she explained, and then glared at Tsunami.  "And YOU'VE got to go
explain things to my grandson."  She shook her head in disappointment.
"Really, Tsunami, didn't you think he'd notice?"

Tsunami paled.  "Oh no."

***

"Ryoko, what were you thinking?" Tenchi demanded.  He was sitting on one of
Washu's floating cushions in what she liked to call her 'sample' laboratory.
Ryoko was bound up in one of the many restraint devices Washu loved to use
on Tenchi and Ichi.  Tenchi would have found the humor in seeing someone
other than him or Ichi trussed up more amusing if it wasn't for the
seriousness of the situation.

"Why won't you believe me?" Ryoko asked plaintively.  "He's dangerous!
We're all in danger!  Please, Tenchi, let me go before it's too late!"  She
began to struggle again, causing the cables holding her to tighten.

He shook his head and stood, walking forward to cup Ryoko's cheek, calming
the woman down.  "I can't do that, and you know it."  Ryoko rubbed her cheek
in his hand, and Tenchi smiled lightly.  "Why, Ryoko?" he begged her. " Why
are you so set on this?" He pulled his hand away and turned from her to look
off into space.  "I've never seen you like this before."

"If you knew her seven hundred years ago, you would have," a wry voice
responded.  Tenchi and Ryoko looked over to see Washu lounging against one
of the many machines in the lab.  "She acted almost that unreasonable when
Kagato sent her to attack Jurai."

Washu shook her head as he paced over towards the pair.  "Tenchi-dono, do me
a favor and go tell your grandfather that our visitor should be fine,
Yosho's probably worried sick."  At Tenchi's hesitation, she moved around
him and began pushing him towards the door.  "Go on, shoo!" she ordered,
then paused and grabbed his wrist, turning him to face her.  "Unless you'd
like to stay so I can get a few samples?" she asked with an evil grin.

"Uhh...No!" Tenchi yelped, and pulled his wrist from her grip.  "I'll go see
'Jiichan now," he babbled as he made a hasty exit.

"He is SO kawai when he's flustered," Washu giggled, staring after the
departing young man.  "Nice butt, too."

"Washu, when I get out of these..." Ryoko began threateningly, but was cut
off as Washu turned and glared at her.

"When you get out of those you're going to march over to that man and
apologise for trying to disembowl him!" Washu snapped.

"The HELL I will!  I'll kill him!"

Washu shook her head and sat down on the cushion Tenchi had vacated and
called up a holoterminal.  "Tenchi was right, Ryoko," she stated as she
typed away.  "This isn't like you, attacking someone without provocation.
Usually you have SOME reason for being homicidal."  Resting her elbows on
her knees, she propped her head up in her hands and looked quizically at
Ryoko.  "So, why?"

Ryoko began to struggle again.  "I don't know," she grunted as she tried to
free her arms.  "All I know is that he's dangerous, and that if I don't stop
him I'll regret it..."

"NOW we're getting somewhere!" Washu cheered.  "And have you ever felt this
way before?" she prompted.  "Like perhaps 700 years ago?"

"No," Ryoko grew pale and stopped struggling.  "It can't be!" she wailed,
shaking her head, and her eyes grew distant as she ran through her memories
of when she attacked Jurai.  "It is," she choked, horror, rage, and
self-loathing in her voice.  "It's just like then."  Tears formed in her
eyes and Ryoko shook her head angrily as she tried to surpress them.  "DAMN
YOU, KAGATO!"

***

Yosho blinked as Tenchi came running out of the lab.  "Problems?" he asked
amusedly.

Tenchi nodded wordlessly leaned against wall, panting.  "Don't tell Washu I
said this, but her, Ayeka, Ryoko, and Mihoshi is just a little bit more than
I can take."  He grinned sheepishly.  "One of these days I'm going to slip
and actually sleep with one of them," he sighed ruefully, "and then I'm
going to die a horrible death by the at least two of the other three."  He
looked peevishly at his grandfather as he began to chuckle.  "And what's so
funny?"

"You do realize you're complaining about a predicament most men would kill
for?" Yosho laughed.

"They can have it," the younger replied seriously.  "It's more trouble than
it's worth."

Yosho hummed in contemplation.  "Just consider your wedding night."

"To which one?!"

"Why, all of them."

Tenchi gaped at his Yosho.  "'Jiichan, you know that's illegal in Japan,
right?"

"Tenchi-kun," the elder man said in a gruff tone.  "You're a prince of
Jurai.  It's part of Royal Tradition.  You didn't think my father married
two women because he was the indecisive sort, did you?"

"Y-you-you mean..." Tenchi stammered. He trailed off and considered that
little tidbit seriously.  After a moment, a slow lecherous smile spread on
his face.  "Tradition, hmm?"

"Hai."

"All of them?"

"Indeed."

"At the same time?"

Yosho blinked and turned an astonished look on his son.  "Noboyuki's been a
bad influence on you," he said disapprovingly.

"I think I may like this," Tenchi replied expansively.  "Four wives.  I may
REALLY like this."  His cheer suddenly disappeared and he looked dejected.
"But they'd NEVER go for it...besides, I'm not sure if I really like ALL of
them that way.  Hell, I don't know if I like ANY of them that way."

"I can't help you with that, but I think I'm going to regret telling you
about that tradition," Yosho said, shaking his head in amused dismay.  His
mein turned serious. "Is there any news on our visitor?"

"According to Washu-san, he's out of danger."

Yosho nodded, and turned to walk to the living room.  "I should have known,
the storm was dying down."  He absently rubbed his chin as he looked out the
window.  "But the question remains, why is one of THEM here, and why now?"

"Who is he, Ojiisan?"

Turning, the elder man saw that Ayeka and Ichi had heard his musing.  Tenchi
had followed him into the livingroom, and it was he who asked the question.
Yosho smiled ruefuly and shook his head.  He moved to a free chair and
reclined with a sigh.  "Ayeka, do remember the stories I read you as a
child?"

Ayeka frowned in concentration as she thought back to her childhood, and the
time she spent with the man.  "The ones about Zao-shu, the Troublesome
Sapling?"  Tenchi and Ichi laughed.

"Not those," Yosho chuckled.  "The other ones.  The ones about the Planters.
The old Juraian poems - I have to admit I don't remember them very well."

"Ah," she nodded in understanding, and frowned as she began to recite the
story, pausing every few words to translate from Juraian.  "Lo and behold,
the Planters of the Tree, who watched the Stars form and led Jur from the
Darkness of Savagery into the Light of Civilization.  The Ones who guard the
Tree and gather the Seeds that fall, and plant every one as a new Life."
She blinked in surprise, and glowered at her half-brother.  "Yo-SHO," she
chided him.  "You don't honestly expect us to believe that...person...is a
Planter, do you?  That's ridiculous!"

"No, he isn't, but he's the Earth equivalent, and we should give him the
respect and treatment he deserves."

Ayeka shot to her feet with an outraged look.  "Under NO circumstances am I
marrying that man!" she screeched.

Tenchi and Ichi gaped, and then exchanged looks of astonishment.

Yosho waved his hands in surrender.  "No, Ayeka," he soothed.  "As I said,
he's not a Planter, he's the local quivalent.  They don't do that kind of
thing around here."

"What kind of thing?" Tenchi demanded.

Ayeka blushed and looked away.  "According to our people's history, the
first woman, Jur, married a Planter, and from their line rose the Royal
House.  There is an old family myth that a Planter will return to 'revive'
the line, and the eldest Princess of the House is to be married to him."

"Nice tradition," Ichi remarked, and shook his head disgustedly.  "Juraians.
Ow!"  He yelped as his head was swatted, and turned to look at his attacker.
"Sheesh, Sasami-chan, stop tha-" he froze as he noticed the golden circles
on the girl's forehead.   He growled, "Tsunami."

"You shouldn't talk about your own people that way, Ichi-kun," she scolded,
and then smiled sadly.  "I suppose I should explain about this," she
indicated herself with a sweeping movement, "and what it means."   She
nodded towards the door outside, where the sun had broken through the
rapidly disappearing storm clouds.  "Please?"

The green-haired teen glowered at Tsunami and stood.  "This had better be
good," he hissed as he followed her.

Ayeka watched them leave worriedly.  "Perhaps I should follow them," she
mused.  "Just in case."

"Don't," Tenchi advised.  "Trust me, he could never hurt Sasami-chan.  He's
just angry and confused."  He made a sort of rueful smile.  "I know how he
feels."  He stared after them for a moment, and then shook his head to clear
it.  "So, Ojiisan, what do we do about that...'Planter?'"

"'God,' Tenchi-kun.  Locally, we call them 'gods,'" Yosho explained, and
once again Tenchi gaped at his grandfather.

"You're joking.  'Jiichan, that's absurd!"

"Do we have to go through this again?" Yosho asked with a pained look.

***

"Are you sure about this, Urd?" Keiichi asked skeptically.  "How do we know
that Chris-san will really be there?"

Belldandy placed her hand on Keiichi's shoulder and squeezed lightly.  "It's
pretty definite, Keiichi-san.  We have very good idea what happens when a
deity is close to death or dies," she grimaced slightly as she considered
the unpleasant thought.

"Imagine a LOT of bugs in one place," Skuld piped up as she worked on her
scanner.  "Last time a god died a volcano erupted."

"But...," Keiichi protested.  "I thought you can't be killed because of the
Doublet System..."

Urd snorted.  "That only keeps us from killing each other, and even then, it
doesn't apply to 'Niichan.  He's got no demon assigned to him yet.  Won't
until he..." she trailed off as Belldandy sent a fiery glare her way.

Keiichi gave her a quizzical look.  "Until he what?"

"Uh...nevermind," Urd said uncomfortably.  "It's not important.  Let's just
say that if that mortal had actually killed 'Niichan, they would be having a
VERY bad day right now."  She grinned wickedly.  "Ygddrasil doesn't take
kindly to a mortal killing one of us."

"So you're all sure he's there, right?" Keiichi repeated.  At their
affirmation, he nodded once.  "I'll go see Tamiya and Ootaki then, they
should be able to get me a car."  With that, he picked up his helmet from
where he had left it beside the door and walked outside.

"Keiichi-san," Belldandy called, and followed him to his bike.  Before he
put his helmet on she kissed him quickly on the cheek.  "Arigato."

Keiichi blushed crimson as he put on his helmet.  "He's important to you,
Bell-chan, and besides, he's a friend."  Before he started the engine he
gripped her hand with a gloved one and squeezed.  "It'll be OK, Bell-chan,
I'll be back in less than an hour."  With that, he started the engine, and
drove off, waving goodbye.

"I hope so," Belldandy replied to the air.

--
Christopher "God-boy" Angel
c_j_angel@hotmail.com
http://www.geocities.com/~ca_godboy

Washu: "It's impolite to ask a girl's age."
Chris: "Since when was I polite?"

                            -No Need for 'Niichan/Turn the Page