I started this fic in response to the challenge a couple of days ago to
write a fanfic where Kiyone wins Tenchi's hear. I thought about this and
came up with this idea. C&C welcomed, but flames will be ignored.



The One Who Understands  by Tim Walsh

Chapter 1: Hello, Kiyone

     Tenchi was hiding in his room again.
     It had just become too much for him to handle anymore.  Ayeka and
Ryoko were always
fighting over him like he belonged to them.  More often than not, he wound
up being the rope in a
game of tug-o-war between the two women.  It had been worse since Mihoshi
had shown back up. 
She had crashed her ship in the lake again, but this time she hadn't been
alone.
          *              *              *
     Yagami was slowly disappearing to the bottom of the lake as Mihoshi
splashed her way to
shore stammering apologies on top of each other.

"I'msosorryIspilledcoffeeonthecontrolpaenleandIaccidentlyshutoffYagamis'seng
ines
andthenallthesirensandtheflashinglightsstartedandIjustcouldn'trememberwhatto
do..." Mihoshi
wailed as she reached the shore.  She saw Tenchi and immediately glomped
onto him, causing
Ryoko and Ayeka to glomp on as well, each trying to push the others off.
Tenchi bore this
silently.  He knew from experience that anything he said would just prolong
the arguments and
lead to more damage on the house that he had to repair.  He noticed
something else moving out in
the lake and tried to shift the girls around so he could see.
     A young woman with long black hair came storming out of the lake,
barreling towards
Tenchi at full speed.  Tenchi cringed, fully expecting that the addition of
another girl to the group
glomp would send him to the ground.  He was pleasantly surprised when she
not only didn't join
the group, she reached out and grabbed Mihoshi by the collar, yanking her
off Tenchi. 
"Mihoshi..." she began in a threatening tone.
     "What is it, Kiyone?" Mihoshi asked with an air of innocence.
     "You just dumped Yagami at the bottom of a lake and we don't have any
way of getting
down there to get it working again," Kiyone said, glowing faintly blue with
anger.
     "Don't worry, Kiyone," Mihoshi said with the air of the supremely
confident.  "Washuu-
chan will fix it for us.  She's a genius.  She fixed it for me last time."
     "Umm, Mihoshi," Tenchi started.  "Washuu's not here right now.  She
said something
about a scientific expedition that she was interested in and disappeared."
     "You mean we're stuck here!" Kiyone exclaimed.  "Mihoshi, you're going
to pay for this.  I
promise  I'll get you for this.  We're stuck here until we can get Yagami
out of the lake and we
won't be able to do our patrols."
     "Waaaahh! I'm sorry, Kiyone," Mihoshi started crying.
     "Umm, Mihoshi-oneesan," Sasami said suddenly, "who's your friend?"
     "Huh?  Oh, this is my partner Kiyone.  She's my best friend and the
most wonderful
partner I've ever had," Mihoshi replied with an empty smile, still hanging
by the collar from
Kiyone's outstretched hand.  "Kiyone, these are my friends.  That's
Ryoko(she's pretty mean
sometimes) and that's Princess Ayeka(she fights with Ryoko a lot), that's
Princess Sasami(she's
really nice and a really good cook) and that's Tenchi."  Mihoshi blushed
when she said Tenchi's
name.
     "I'm really sorry about dropping in on you like this," Kiyone said.  
     "It's alright," Tenchi replied.  "We're used to Mihoshi dropping in at
unusual times.  You
can stay with us until Washuu gets back."
     "Thank you.  I really don't want to inconvenience you, but this
airhead hasn't left us with
any other choice.  We'd be glad to stay here," Kiyone said apologetically.
     "I'll go and get two more futons ready for our guests, Tenchi-sama,"
Ayeka said,
disengaging from Tenchi, pulling a complaining Ryoko along with her as she
headed back to the
house.
     "I've got to get dinner ready.  I have to make enough for eight people
now," Sasami said as
she bolted after her sister.
     Kiyone finally let go of Mihoshi, who promptly flopped to the ground
and started crying
about how her butt hurt.  Mihoshi's watch beeped, and she jumped to her
feet, dashing inside so
that she wouldn't miss her favorite television program.  Kiyone stared
after her partner
despairingly.  When would Mihoshi grow up, she asked herself.
     Tenchi took the sudden moment of peace to assess the new arrival.
Like Mihoshi, she was
dressed in the uniform of the Galactic Police Force, although Kiyone's
uniform had a miniskirt
instead of the slacks that Mihoshi habitually wore.  Kiyone's long black
hair was held back by a red
headband.  She had a very pretty face and an excellant figure(although
Tenchi was getting pretty
used to well-proportioned women).  She was staring after Mihoshi with a
disapproving expression
on her face and shaking her head slightly.
     "So, Kiyone.  How long have you been working with Mihoshi?" Tenchi
asked, trying to
break the ice.
     "Far too long," Kiyone replied.  "We were assigned as partners
immediately after our
graduation from the Academy and I've had to work with that ditz for the
last few years."
     "Why weren't you with her when she came here before then," Tenchi asked.
     "I was ungoing a medical evaluation for a transfer I'd put in for,"
she replied.  "But after
the excitement that happened out here, the High Commander decided he didn't
want Mihoshi out
here alone.  I was told that she refused to work with anyone but me.  Lucky
me."
     "Oh, well come on inside," Tenchi said, turning towards the house.
"I'll show you around
the house.  By the way, watch out for Ayeka and Ryoko.  Those two are
constantly fighting."
               *              *              *
     There was a light knock at Tenchi's door.  Tenchi pushed himself away
from his
homework and opened the door, surprised to find Kiyone standing there.
She'd borrowed some of
Ryoko's clothes and was now dressed in a pair of tight shorts and a T-shirt.
     "Ummm, Tenchi, is it okay if I hide in here until dinner?"  Kiyone
asked nervously.
     "Sure, Kiyone," Tenchi replied.  "Why, is there something wrong?"
     "I just can't take the insanity downstairs anymore," she replied.
"Ayeka and Ryoko
constantly pick on each other, looking for any excuse to blast each other,
Mihoshi is always
engrossed in her television shows or whining about something and Sasami's
always doing
something in the kitchen.  I'd help, but I've never exactly been very good
in the kitchen."
     "Come on in," Tenchi said as he shut the door behind Kiyone, carefully
checking that none
of the other girls had seen her come in.  He moved back to his desk and sat
down again.  "I was
just working on my homework.  If you want something to read, I've got some
manga and books
you could read."  Tenchi pointed to a heavily laden bookshelf.
     "Thanks," Kiyone replied, wandering over to the bookshelf, pulling a
manga off the shelf
and flopping down on Tenchi's bed to read it.  "Hey, Tenchi," she said,
setting the manga down. 
"Why are you going to school here on Earth?  Mihoshi's report said that
you're a relative of the
Jurian royal family.  I'm surprised that that you're not getting tutored in
advanced sciences, Galatic
law and Jurian history." 
     "Washuu and Ayeka offerred, but I said no," Tenshi replied as he
copied out an equation
into his notebook.  "That kind of knowledge and advanced science isn't
really helpful for me here
on Earth."
     "You're going to stay here?" Kiyone asked, surprised.  "Ayeka seemed
sure that you'd go
back to Jurai with her and Ryoko seemd to think that you'd go off into
space with her.  I'm not
sure what Mohoshi thinks, and I'm not sure I want to know."
     "It's nice to know that they assume they know what I want," Tenchi
replied, a touch of
bitterness in his tone.  "I'm planning on staying here.  I may be of
Juraian descent, but I was born
and raised an Earthling and that's what I intend to stay.  I don't mind
going out into space
sometimes, but Earth is my home and I want to make my life here."
     "I can respect that," Kiyone said.  "A lot of my friends never
understood my desire to
become a Galaxy Police Officer.  All they wanted was to get married.  I
wanted a career.  If I
happen to fall in love along the way, that's fine; but my career comes first."
     "You're probably the only one in this house that would say that,
Kiyone," Tenchi said,
turning around to look at her on his bed.  The way she was lying on the
bed, her T-shirt hung
open, proving that she was not wearing a bra.  Tenchi felt a severe
nosebleed threaten, so he
quickly turned his gaze out the window, stealing quick glances at her every
so often.  God, she's
cute, he thought.  "Everyone else here expects me to do what they want and
not have an opinion
myself.  Ryoko wants me to go off with her and probably continue as a
space-pirate.  Ayeka wants
me to go back to Jurai with her and be a prince.  Washuu wants to
experiment on me to see where
my powers come from and I'm scared to think about what Mihoshi wants from
me.  No one thinks
that I might have dreams of my own."
     "I guess they think that their love will win you over to their
viewpoint," Kiyone said.  "I
agree with you though.  Maybe it's just my fear of being trapped by similar
circumstances.  I want
to follow my own dreams too.  Not those lain out for me by others."
     "This may seem kind of strange," Tenchi said.  "But you're the first
person to share those
sentiments with me.  I think this could be the start of a great friendship."
     "It's not so strange, Tenchi," Kiyone said, smiling a little.  "I've
had to put up with Mihoshi
for years.  If anyone can understand your situation, I can.  I'm glad you
consider me your friend."
     There was another knock at the door.  Ryoko's voice called in,
"Tenchiii, dinner's ready."
Another voice came through, Ayeka's, "Get away from the door, you bakemono!
 Tenchi-sama,
Sasami has dinner prepared.  Ryoko, what are you doing?!  You are not going
into Tenchi-sama's
room!"
     Tenchi and Kiyone looked at each other, sweat-drops forming as they
looked at each other
nervously.


The One Who Understands by Tim Walsh

Chapter 2: Kagato's Legacy

Deep space is silent.  Not quiet like a winter's night, but silent like death.
A ship flew through the void, slowly following the trail left by the ship
Sosha when it had passed
this way several months before.  The ships computer hummed as it computed
instructions that had
lain dormant until the seath of Sosha and Kagato.  A new light formed
inside, illuminating a figure
at rest.  The computer set about its task of awakening its charge.
               *              *              *
     Tenchi had had better days.  It had been a week since Mihoshi and
Kiyone had dropped in
on them and Washuu had yet to return.  Ayeka and Ryoko's fighting had
reached new levels now
that Mihoshi was back and Tenchi's privacy had dropped from next to nothing
to less than nothing
in the past week.  He had accepted the fact that with Ryoko around, there
was no chance he would
be left alone, but now Mihoshi was wandering around the house and popping
up at the most
awkward moments.
     This morning Ryoko had accosted him in the bathroom and Mihoshi had
somehow found
her way in-despite a locked door.  Then Ayeka had knocked the door down
when she had heard
Tenchi cry out.  He had fled the three of them as a fight ensued.
Rationally, Tenchi knew that
they wouldn't try and hurt him, but intent and accident aren't mutually
exclusive and he'd gotten
singed by being near one of their fights more than once.  Tenchi shuddered
to think of the damage
the fight was going to cause to the bathroom and made a mental note to call
the plumber again
about the repairs they were going to need.
     Tenchi slipped down the stairs quietly, hoping not to draw the
attention of the bickering
girls as he went.  Sasami had breakfast on the table and Kiyone, Nobiyuki
and Katsuhito were
already eating.  Tenchi sat down at the table and started to eat calmly.
He was surprised that he
had managed to get through an entire meal without his overly affectionate
suitors interrupting him. 
As he got up, he told his father, "Dad, we're probably going to need to
call the plumbers.  They're
fighting in the bathroom again."
     Nobuyuki nodded, sighing sadly.  He had been so happy to see his son
acquire so many
beautiful women that were in love with him, but they had caused so much
damage to the house
that he was amazed it was still standing, despite all the repairs he and
Tenchi had done.  Very little
of the original structure of the house was left.  Most of the lower floor
was now filled with patched
holes.  If only they would settle down into a loving relationship with
Tenchi.  And if only he could
get it on videotape.
     "Well, I'm off to school.  Are you coming, Kiyone?" Tenchi asked as he
picked up his
schoolbag and headed for the door.
     "Yeah, just let me grab my coat," Kiyone said as she got up from the
table.  I can't believe
that I'm working as a janitor at Tenchi's school, she thought.  Well, we
need the extra money if
we're going to be able to feed everybody.  Besides, I won't have to keep
this job after Washuu gets
back.  According to what I know of her, she should be able to get Yagami
off the lake's bottom
and in top shape in no time.  Then I'll be back to patrolling.  With
Mihoshi. She shuddered at the
thought of being alone with Mihoshi all of the time again.  Kiyone grabbed
her jacket, making sure
that her blaster was in the pocket that she had asked Sasami to sew for
her.  Seeing that it was in
place, she pulled it on and followed Tenchi outside.  
     She had been taking the bus with Tenchi to get to the school since he
had gotten her the
job.  He had made sure that she sat next to him, well aware of how his
classmates were going to
react to a beautiful woman working at their school.  They were drooling
over her enough to make
it hard for her to do her work that she didn't need them complicating her
trip to work.  It was
amazing how close they had become in the last week.  She knew that Tenchi
had desparately
needed a friend, but she hadn't realized how badly she had needed one.
     All her life she had been completely obsessed with her career, and it
had soured her
relationships with most of her classmates.  Mihoshi was the only one who
hadn't been driven away
by her obsessive need to be the best.  But Mihoshi was Mihoshi, and having
her as a friend wasn't
much better than having her as an enemy sometimes.  There had been the
occasional man during
her time at the Acadamy and in the years since, but she hadn't had a truly
close friend until she met
Tenchi.  He knew what it was liketo want to follow your dreams, but he
hadn't lost sight of
needing friends the way she had.  He had known that he needed a friend and
had been very quick
to notice that she had needed one as well.
     Kiyone had been surprised that she could relate to Tenchi so easily,
considering that he
was six years her junior and male to boot.  Although he was kind of cute.
And sweet.  Kiyone
could see why the other girls had fallen in love with him.  Good thing he
wasn't her type, otherwise
the other girls would have had some serious competition.
     The ride to school was uneventful.  Kiyone and Tenchi said goodbye and
went their
separate ways.
               *              *              *    
     Tenchi had been surprised at how close he and Kiyone had grown over
the past week.  It
was a great relief being around a girl who wasn't set on either getting him
in bed or some other
romantic situation.  Besides, he had a lot in common with Kiyone.  She was
determined to follow
her own dreams, just like he was, she was very skilled at fixing things(she
did a great job on the
dining room wall after Ryoko got knocked through it.  You could barely tell
it had ever been
damaged) and she even liked soccer, which was one of Tenchi's private
passions.
     What had surprised Tenchi the most was when Kiyone had asked him to
find her a
temporary job to help pay for food, expenses and repay Tenchi for the
clothes he had bought her
while she was staying with the Masakis.  The others hd never been
particularly suited to getting
jobs.  Tenchi had often shuddered at the thought of what could happen if
Ryoko or Ayeka lost
their temper at some public place, like a restraunt.  They did help out
with the household chores,
but Kiyone seemed to be stable enough to get a regular job without the risk
of massive destruction. 
So Tenchi had told her about the opening for a janitor at his school.  She
had shrugged and said
that one job was the same as another while she was here and taken it.  
     Tenchi had been prepared for his classmates reaction to Kiyone.  He
knew that his friends
were mostly ruled by their hormones, so he had expected them to be drooling
all over Kiyone. 
After all, she was very pretty.  Her long hair always seemed to shine and
her eyes were captivating. 
They were so full of intelligence and spirit.  The girls, of course, either
hated her or related to her
as a big sister.  Nor real surprises there.  What had shocked Tenchi was
his response to everyone
else's feelings about Kiyone.  He had really wanted people to like her, but
he got really angry when
he saw the other guys drooling over her or talking about her and he
couldn't figure out why.
               *              *              *
     The ship slowed as it fell into a high orbit around an insignificant
blue-white planet.  The
computers listed this as a planet in the protected Juraian reserve, but
that meant nothing compared
to the programmed imperatives that propelled the ship.  It had passed the
debris that was the
remains of Sosha hours before, its complex sensors sweeping through the
wreclage until it had
ascertained the energy signature that had destroyed Kagato and Sosha.  The
it turned its scanning
devices to the surface of the planet below, seeking that peculiar energy
pattern.  
     It was surprisingly easy to locate.  There seemed to be very very high
complexity energy
waveforms on the planet below and they were unusually concentrated on a
small segment of the
land area.  Analysis of the transmissions from the planet had revealed the
name of the land as
Japan and had given a complex language database to the computer.  This
information was encoded
into RNA and fed introvenously into the still sleeping form at the ship's
center.  Once the
information had been accepted, the computer had activated the final
awakening procedures.  Its
master, Kagato, would be avenged.
               *              *              *
     The end of this particular school day was not a pleasant one for
Tenchi.  He had gotten
stuck taking all of the school's trash out to the incinerator and, of
course, no one had their trash
ready until they were ready to leave.  So Tenchi wound up lugging cans full
of trash out behind the
school building as the last of the students were leaving.  He had just
gotten the last one back there
when he saw Kiyone coming out of the basement, covered in grease and soot,
carrying a toolbox.
     "That is the last time I try and fix that furnace," she said angrily
slamming the toolbox on
the ground.  "Next time it breaks down, I'm telling them to either replace
it or go to hell."
     "That bad, huh," Tanchi asked sympathetically.  He had privately
suspected that it was the
continual breakdowns of the furnace that had led the last janitor to quit,
but wisely kept his mouth
shut.  He continued dumping the trash cans in the incinerator, stacking
them inside each other as
he emptied them.
     Kiyone leaned back against the wall of the building.  This had been a
long day and she
would be glad for a long soak in the tub when it was over.  She felt a
little sleepy and her head
started to drop a little.  An insistant beeping suddenly made its way into
her consciousness.  She
opened her eyes to see Tenchi staring at her with questioning eyes.  Kiyone
looked down at her
bracelet, the source of the beeping, and pushed a little catch, popping the
top open.  Her eyes
scanned the data display briefly before looking at Tenchi, shock evident in
her eyes.
     Tenchi had just finished emptying the cans when he noticed that Kiyone
seemed to be
falling asleep against the side of the building, standing up no less.  She
looked so innocent when
her face relaxed like that.  It made him smile.  Then Tenchi started
hearing a strange beeping,
which apparently woke Kiyone as well.  She looked up from her bracelet, her
eyes wide in shock.
     "Something just entered Earth's atmosphere and is headed straight for
us," Kiyone said.
     "What!" Tenchi exclaimed in shock.  It wasn't everyday that something
dropped down to
Earth unannounced.  Every other day maybe, but not everyday.  "Where's it
going to land?"
     "Right here," Kiyone replied as a streak of light arced down from the
sky towards the
school.  
     Tenchi braced himself for an impact explosion, but relaxed after a
moment when nothing
happened.  It slowly dawned on him what had happened.  "Something just made
a controlled
descent, didn't it?" he asked Kiyone.
     Kiyone nodded.  "It's energy signature is strangely familiar.  I've
seen it somewhere, but I
can't place it."
     "Never mind that," Tenchi said.  "Don't you think we should get out of
here?"
     "I'm a Galaxy Police Officer," Kiyone replied.  "It's my duty to
investigate this.  This is a
protected planet and no one's supposed to come down hee like that.  That
descent was completely
unshielded.  It will have shown up on even the primitive detection
equipment that they have these
days."
     Tenchi sighed.  Kiyone was determined to check this out and he knew
that nothing he
could say would dissuade her, but he'd be damned if he let her do this
alone.  "Come on then, we'd
better check this out," Tenchi said.
     Kiyone smiled thankfully at him, glad he wasn't going to try and talk
her out of
investigating and glad he was going with her.  She felt safer with someone
to guard her back.
     Tenchi picked up his schoolbag from where he'd left it by the door to
the school and pulled
out the Tenchi-ken.  He was glad that he'd started carrying it around
constantly since the mess with
Kagato.  He wasn't sure if he could summon the Light-Hawk Wings without
Tsunami's help. 
"Where is it," he asked Kiyone.
     "I'm right above you," a soft voice called out.
     Tenchi looked up to see a man hanging in the air above him.  His jaw
dropped when he
saw who it was.  "Kagato..." he whispered.