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Chapter Fifteen: The White Ghost

It was a day like any other. Ryoko and Ayeka stood at a high place, looking out over the city and its many buildings and people. It was amazing how many living beings could be packed into a few measly miles of cityscape. Ryoko drew out their lunch, contained within a brown paper bag and from that bag she drew a loaf of bread.

Tearing at it, she realized that one half was much larger than the other. They had a standing rule that the person who divides the loaf had to let the other person pick it. But Ryoko was hungry. If she gave Ayeka the smaller loaf, the other woman would take it without paying attention. But that would be dishonest.

Torn, Ryoko looked at the loaves piteously. Without a word, Ayeka reached out and snatched the smaller loaf. Ryoko sighed in contentment and began to munch at the larger half.

'We could check housing offices today.' suggested Ryoko through a mouthful of food.

'Yes, guess we could.' said Ayeka.

'What?' asked Ryoko. 'You're sad because you got a smaller piece of bread?'

'Did you eat the rest?!' asked Ayeka, voice accusing.

Ryoko turned around and leaned against the balcony with a smirk. Then she looked up. 'You know what they're doing at home?'

'Hmm?' asked Ayeka.

'I think the house must be really quiet and lonely without us.' said Ryoko. 'He's around here, I know it.'

'Sasami is at the Jurai Royal Palace.' said Ayeka. 'And Kiyone and Mihoshi are here with us.'

'Yeah,' said Ryoko, 'we're on the road, trying to keep hope alive.' Then she whirled around. 'Tenchi you big fat head! Where the hell are you?!'

Ayeka opened her mouth to speak, then smiled. 'That's right!' she cried. 'How could you leave a beautiful Princess like me?!'

'Come out!' cried Ryoko. 'We'll ditch Ayeka and then we can play!'

'You, you're the reason that he left!' cried Ayeka.

'You want to say that again!' cried Ryoko.

Ryoko summoned a sphere of power, and Ayeka's logs appeared. For a long moment, they faced each other down. Then they lowered their assaults and fell against the wall in discontent.

'It's been a while since we fought like this.' said Ryoko.

'Thank you for trying, Ryoko.' said Ayeka.

'Are you two through?' asked Kiyone as she came up, looking annoyed.

'What's wrong Kiyone?' asked Mihoshi. 'You got a belly ache?'

'No I don't!' snapped Kiyone.

Then there was an abrupt beeping noise. Ryoko arose and looked out over the city. 'I've got a reading.'

Both scanned the streets. Kiyone and Mihoshi came to the side and then they saw Tenchi. Yet not quite Tenchi, his hair was longer, and he was walking with a brown-haired woman in a pink dress.

'Meet me down there!' said Ryoko, leaping off the building and phasing down to the street.

Ryoko hit the ground and saw nothing. Yet she felt him. 'Tenchi!' she called. 'Tenchi!'

Yet no one answered. For a moment she remained silent. Then she punched her hand. 'Damn it! I lost him!'

'Ryoko!' cried Ayeka. The Princess approached, and Ryoko turned to note her. Ayeka looked more distressed than normal. 'Who was that woman with Tenchi?'

That's right. There had been a woman with him? Had Tenchi really left them to run off with… 'How should I know?!'

'Wow, it's so scandalous don't you think.' laughed Mihoshi. 'I mean him running away from home with a secret lover! It seems like-' A hand clamped over her mouth.

'Quit while you're behind, goofball.' said Kiyone. 'Oh, I just got a call from the GP. 'It turns out that there have been some space-time disturbances in this region of space.'

'So what does that have to do with us?' asked Ryoko.

'Every time we see Tenchi he disappears suddenly.' said Kiyone. 'Maybe this has something to do with it. Though maybe I'm just guessing.'

'So… clearly, that woman was some kind of witch!' said Ayeka.

'Or maybe Tenchi got sick of having six beautiful women fighting over him.' mused Mihoshi.

'Shut up, you!' snapped Ryoko and Ayeka.

Later after their shift in the diner was over Ryoko sat at the table, head resting in her hands. Kiyone eyed the space pirate and wondered if she should interrupt. That woman, none of them had seen her before at all. That was why Ryoko was so out of sorts.

'I have to know who she is…' muttered Ryoko.

'Ryoko!' snapped the boss.

Ryoko stood up to attention. 'Yes…'

'The customer at the counter would like some coffee.' said the boss.

'Oh yeah!' said Ryoko, before going about her business.

There was a crash and Kiyone glanced up to see that it wasn't Mihoshi, but Ayeka who had messed up. She was picking up the glass shards with a distressed look.

'Broke a cup, what's wrong with you girls today?' asked the manager.

'Sorry, it was an accident.' said Ayeka. 'I guess I'm a little tired today… ouch!' She'd cut her hand on the glass.

'I'll clean it all up.' said the manager. 'Go on, get bandaged for it.'

'Thank you.' said Ayeka, before running from the room sobbing.

Ryoko looked up from where she was serving coffee and Kiyone studied her reaction. She looked concerned. 'Ayeka…'

Kiyone knew what this was. Sometimes when people fell in love, they centered their whole world on being in love. What most people didn't realize was that one could fall in and out of love very quickly. It was why Kiyone was the least worked up of anyone here.

She followed after Ayeka and found her sobbing in the bathroom.

'Tenchi…' sobbed Ayeka.

'Are you all right?' asked Kiyone.

'No,' said Ayeka. 'I mean… I can…'

'It isn't the end of the world, you know.' said Kiyone.

'How can you say that?' asked Ayeka. 'Tenchi is gone and with that woman-'

'Ayeka,' said Kiyone 'it might have been someone else. And I don't know if you noticed, but Tenchi revels in your and Ryoko's affections. He likes having you fight over him, even if he would never admit it.

'Maybe he just got overwhelmed. This might just be a phase.'

'How can you be so calm about this?' asked Ayeka. 'You care about Tenchi too.'

'Sure, but he wouldn't be my first boyfriend.' said Kiyone, before catching Ayeka's look. 'Oh what, we live in his house. We eat his food. And we spend a large portion of time competing for his affections in one way or another.

'Yes, I'm physically attracted to Tenchi, but that isn't anything special. The key thing is that I'm not banking everything on marrying. I want to be known as a great detective, to rise in ranks and make the universe a better place.

'What do you want out of life, Ayeka?'

'I…' Ayeka paused and looked down. 'I've never really thought about it. I've spent my whole life going from one marriage meeting to another, waiting to be married off. When I found the man, I wanted to marry… I didn't even think about anything else.'

'You might want to start thinking about it then.' said Kiyone. 'Try getting a hobby aside from fighting Ryoko. It might help.'

'I… I thank you Kiyone.' said Ayeka. 'We'd best get back to our work. The manager will miss us.'

A door opened, and Tenchi's silhouette could be seen in the doorway. 'I'm home.'

Ayeka turned to face him and clasped her hands in joy. 'Tenchi, it's you!'

'Sorry I made you worry.' said Tenchi.

'Lord Tenchi it's really you!' cried Ayeka, running to him. Yet her hands passed through him, and he disappeared. Ayeka awoke with a start, grasping at the air. 'Lord Tenchi!'

She gasped and realized she was in their apartment. The alarm clock was ticking a little ways away. Ryoko, Kiyone, and Mihoshi were sleeping sounding near her. She sighed. Then looked at Ryoko in particular.

'Are you awake?' she asked.

'No.' said Ryoko.

'It's that girl we saw.' said Ayeka. 'She looked so content you know. Laughing and smiling. I've never seen anyone so radiant with joy.'

'Who? That girl?' asked Ryoko.

'No, Lord Tenchi.' said Ayeka. 'It seemed like we'd forgotten about us. Like we didn't exist. Is she really that precious to him Ryoko? Is he so in love with her that he can't even see us at all? Just who is she? How did she meet Lord Tenchi? And why is he with her?'

'Who knows?' asked Ryoko. 'I don't know anything more than you do, Ayeka.'

'But Lord Tenchi and her are together!' cried Ayeka.

Ryoko did not respond. Ayeka felt herself beginning to cry and started sobbing into her blanket. Then she looked up. 'I'm sorry I yelled. I didn't mean to.'

'You want to go home?' asked Ryoko.

'What?' asked Ayeka.

'If you want to give up, I wouldn't mind.' said Ryoko. 'I understand if that's what you want. We both saw it with our own eyes. It's been six months since we were with him. That's a long time. Maybe he's gone beyond our reach. He looked older and more mature. And he seemed happy.'

'Too old.' muttered Kiyone. 'Physically older than a seventeen-year-old ought to be. And anyway no one can grow out their hair that quickly, it'd take years to get a mane like that.'

'Well the girl was very pretty.' said Ryoko.

'But Ryoko…' said Ayeka.

'Things change, Ayeka.' said Ryoko. 'He may not want us to find him. Have you thought about that? Just don't torture yourself. You'll get all worn out. It's bad for the complexion.'

'Ryoko… you're so strong.' said Ayeka.

'Go to sleep.' said Ryoko.

'You are under arrest!' said Mihoshi, waking up with a start.

Later the four of them were washing the windows of the restaurant. Then there was that same blaring sound. Ryoko turned around and saw Tenchi walking down the street.

'That way!' she cried.

'Lord Tenchi!' cried Ayeka.

Ryoko sprinted across the crosswalk, nearly getting hit by a car in the process. However, the hunt was on and she didn't care. 'I've got him now!'

It only proved to be another dead end.

Ayeka came around the corner and Ryoko looked up. 'Damn it, I'm getting tired of Tenchi. He's such a pain.'

'Ryoko…' said Ayeka.

Haruna was busy sorting away the books while waiting for Tenchi to come home. As she did so, she stood up and made her way into his art room. There she found Tenchi's picture of her. It was a sketch, without color, but it was nice.

She smiled and turned to walk out. Then she halted and saw another picture. It was of three beautiful women. One was a police officer with blue hair. Another, a princess with violet hair. The third a cyan hair. It had deep and complex coloring and was very lifelike. She kneeled by it. He'd put so much effort into it, so much imagination…

She snatched it from the wall and crumpled it up before stalking out.

She hoped it would be the end of it. However, Tenchi came back and checked his art while she was cutting up vegetables.

'Haruna, the picture I just finished painting is torn.' he said. 'What is your problem?!'

Haruna felt tears coming to her eyes and began to sob while he came up behind her.

'Haruna, I'm sorry.' said Tenchi. 'I shouldn't have yelled. It's just… when you make art, you hate it when it gets wrecked. Do you want to go out to eat or something? We could go window shopping?'

Good, he was thinking about her again. Not them.

Later, Haruna and Tenchi made their way through the stores of a chain. Tenchi still felt bad about yelling at her. It might have been an accident, and he shouldn't have been so loud. After all, it was just a picture, and he could make a new one easily enough. But something about that picture had been… important.

Why should he be so attached to imaginary people? They weren't real.

They stopped by a jewelry store on Haruna's request. They stopped to look at various rings. Haruna slipped a jade one onto her finger and admired how it looked on her hand.

'I like the design of this one, it's beautiful…' she said.

It was also several hundred dollars. 'It's a bit expensive.' noted Tenchi.

Haruna put her hand before her. 'Yeah, we should give it back.'

'No, don't.' said Tenchi. 'I want to buy it for you…'

Haruna looked at him with wide eyes. 'You do?!'

'Sure, it's just money.' said Tenchi. 'The love of it is the root of all evil and all that.' Why was he remembering bible verses now? He thought he'd gotten over that phase.

'Oh Tenchi!' she leaned in and hugged him.

He sighed, before returning the embrace.

Another day, another bit of tiring work at the cafe. Kiyone poured out another cup of coffee at the diner, before turning to another person. 'Would you care for more coffee, sir?'

'No, thank you.' said the man.

'All right, enjoy your meal.' said Kiyone, before moving on.

'I graduated second in my class at the Galaxy Police Academy and now look at me. Working in a coffee shop while chasing after a guy.' thought Kiyone to herself.

Ayeka looked to be in a good mood though. She walked with a spring in her step and attended her duties without complaint. Mihoshi had been given a task which did not involve anything breakable. Ryoko just looked bewildered.

'What are you so cheery about, Princess?' asked Ryoko.

'Nothing I'm just back to my normal optimistic self.' said Ayeka. 'After all Lord Tenchi could drop by this very restaurant at any moment. Anything is possible.'

'Fine, do what you want.' said Ryoko. 'But remember that you're still at minimum wage.'

And then the manager was there. 'Minimum wage is still better than no wage at all, Ryoko, if you get my meaning. The customer is waiting for you.'

'I was only kidding, of course, sir.' laughed Ryoko warily while moving on. 'Work, work, work. Here's your order sir.'

'I didn't order that.' said the man.

'Oh,' said Ryoko, before turning around, 'oh sorry. This is your order, sir. Well, we've got it all straight now. Here is your bill-' And then there was a constant beeping noise.

Kiyone had been working the whole time, of course. She could do this kind of job in her sleep and still observe everything around her. And so she suddenly became aware that the customers had disappeared. The manager too. The restaurant around them had fallen silent. The streets that could be seen through the window were empty.

'What's going on?' asked Ayeka as they looked around.

'The time-space distortions…' said Kiyone.

Then Ryoko gasped. Kiyone followed her gaze and saw Tenchi sitting at a table with the same woman. They stared in stunned silence.

'It's Tenchi…' said Ryoko.

'He's right there…' realized Ayeka.

'Can we move?' asked Kiyone, walking around the tables towards them.

As they walked time seemed to slow around them. It seemed that no matter how far Kiyone went they could not reach him. Tenchi was looking at the woman, sipping his straw while she ate his meal. 'Haruna…'

'Yes?' she asked.

'I really hate to say this,' said Tenchi, 'but I think we went overboard. We'll have to really watch our expenses to make payments on these rings. I think we should return them.'

'I'm glad we got them.' said Haruna. 'Don't worry about the money, Tenchi.'

'I'm serious,' said Tenchi, 'our budget is tight. We can't just go splurging on things without regard to the cost.'

'Hey look at that!' said Haruna, drawing up her fork. 'It's funny when the macaroni sticks together like that.'

'Are you even listening to me?' asked Tenchi.

She was not. Ryoko, Kiyone and Ayeka reached them and stared down at them. Haruna glanced up and fixed them with a withering glare. Then looked away as though they weren't there.

Yeah, she was totally evil.

'Tenchi!' said Ryoko. 'Can you hear me Tenchi?'

Tenchi looked back to Haruna. 'Look Haruna, I'm not going to just drop this. I've already got student loans to pay for. Now stop pretending you aren't hearing what I'm saying.'

'All right,' said Haruna, giving a victorious glance to them. 'how about we think about it.'

'It's like he can't either see or hear us.' said Ayeka.

'But why can't he?' asked Ryoko. She reached forward to take Tenchi by the should and gasped as her hand phased through.

'He's not really there,' said Ayeka, 'it's like he's an apparition.'

Tenchi began to rub his head. Kiyone felt a surge of sympathy for Ryoko, and anger at the woman responsible.

'Look at me…' said Ryoko, 'I'm right here in front of you just…' She reached forward, desperately trying to grasp him. Yet each time her hand passed through. Tenchi's only reaction was to hold his head in his hands.

'What?' said Haruna. 'Oh Tenchi…' And she arose, phasing through Ryoko and kneeling down by Tenchi. 'I'm here it'll be all right, honey…' Then she glared at Ryoko, as this wasn't all her fault, to begin with.

'You bitch!' roared Ryoko. 'Give me back Tenchi!' And she flailed at the woman blindly. Yet her hands passed through, and she fell back and was caught by Ayeka. 'I can't reach them!'

'Who are you, tell me!' roared Ayeka.

The woman looked very cold, and there was an evil look about her. Then she turned to Tenchi and paid them no more heed. She must have looked very kind to Tenchi. Kiyone looked on in shock, unable to comprehend what was happening.

'Kiyone, sorry I'm late.' said Mihoshi. 'Am I missing anything?'

'…Yes,' said Kiyone, 'yes you are Mihoshi! That woman has kidnapped Tenchi and we can't stop her! Quickly Mihoshi, shoot her!'

'Okay!' said Mihoshi.

'Let's go home sweetheart-' began Haruna.

And then Mihoshi out her pistol put it to Haruna's head and pulled the trigger. There was a deafening sound, and Haruna screamed in agony as a beam of energy shot through her head. Her brow collided with the window. The window exploded outwards, and Tenchi shoved Haruna to the ground.

'Oh my god, Haruna, are you all right?!' asked Tenchi.

Then there was a phasing of reality, and they were standing back inside the diner. They were crowding around an empty table. Mihoshi put her gun away and looked around. 'Huh?' she said. 'Where did they go?'

'I don't know,' said Kiyone, 'but I'll bet she'll have a headache later.'

'How did you do that, Mihoshi?' asked Ryoko.

'I pulled the trigger silly.' said Mihoshi.

'Mihoshi can breach dimensions without knowing quite how she does it.' said Kiyone. 'I thought she might be able to fix our problem right away.'

'How could that happen though?' asked Ayeka. 'And who was that woman?'

'Maybe you should ask Yosho.' said Kiyone.

'What do you mean?' asked Ayeka.

'Remember the story he told us back before we discovered Sasami and Tsunami were one?' asked Kiyone. 'He mentioned a woman named Haruna. One who he loved.'

'…The white ghost.' said Ryoko.

'Hey, what do I pay you girls for!' said the manager. 'Back to work!'

'Yes, sir!' They all said.

Description
Chapter Fifteen: The White Ghost

It was a day like any other. Ryoko and Ayeka stood at a high place, looking out over the city and its many buildings and people. It was amazing how many living beings could be packed into a few measly miles of cityscape. Ryoko drew out their lunch, contained within a brown paper bag and from that bag she drew a loaf of bread.

Tearing at it, she realized that one half was much larger than the other. They had a standing rule that the person who divides the loaf had to let the other person pick it. But Ryoko was hungry. If she gave Ayeka the smaller loaf, the other woman would take it without paying attention. But that would be dishonest.

Torn, Ryoko looked at the loaves piteously. Without a word, Ayeka reached out and snatched the smaller loaf. Ryoko sighed in contentment and began to munch at the larger half.

'We could check housing offices today.' suggested Ryoko through a mouthful of food.

'Yes, guess we could.' said Ayeka.

'What?' asked Ryoko. 'You're sad because you got a smaller piece of bread?'

'Did you eat the rest?!' asked Ayeka, voice accusing.

Ryoko turned around and leaned against the balcony with a smirk. Then she looked up. 'You know what they're doing at home?'

'Hmm?' asked Ayeka.

'I think the house must be really quiet and lonely without us.' said Ryoko. 'He's around here, I know it.'

'Sasami is at the Jurai Royal Palace.' said Ayeka. 'And Kiyone and Mihoshi are here with us.'

'Yeah,' said Ryoko, 'we're on the road, trying to keep hope alive.' Then she whirled around. 'Tenchi you big fat head! Where the hell are you?!'

Ayeka opened her mouth to speak, then smiled. 'That's right!' she cried. 'How could you leave a beautiful Princess like me?!'

'Come out!' cried Ryoko. 'We'll ditch Ayeka and then we can play!'

'You, you're the reason that he left!' cried Ayeka.

'You want to say that again!' cried Ryoko.

Ryoko summoned a sphere of power, and Ayeka's logs appeared. For a long moment, they faced each other down. Then they lowered their assaults and fell against the wall in discontent.

'It's been a while since we fought like this.' said Ryoko.

'Thank you for trying, Ryoko.' said Ayeka.

'Are you two through?' asked Kiyone as she came up, looking annoyed.

'What's wrong Kiyone?' asked Mihoshi. 'You got a belly ache?'

'No I don't!' snapped Kiyone.

Then there was an abrupt beeping noise. Ryoko arose and looked out over the city. 'I've got a reading.'

Both scanned the streets. Kiyone and Mihoshi came to the side and then they saw Tenchi. Yet not quite Tenchi, his hair was longer, and he was walking with a brown-haired woman in a pink dress.

'Meet me down there!' said Ryoko, leaping off the building and phasing down to the street.

Ryoko hit the ground and saw nothing. Yet she felt him. 'Tenchi!' she called. 'Tenchi!'

Yet no one answered. For a moment she remained silent. Then she punched her hand. 'Damn it! I lost him!'

'Ryoko!' cried Ayeka. The Princess approached, and Ryoko turned to note her. Ayeka looked more distressed than normal. 'Who was that woman with Tenchi?'

That's right. There had been a woman with him? Had Tenchi really left them to run off with… 'How should I know?!'

'Wow, it's so scandalous don't you think.' laughed Mihoshi. 'I mean him running away from home with a secret lover! It seems like-' A hand clamped over her mouth.

'Quit while you're behind, goofball.' said Kiyone. 'Oh, I just got a call from the GP. 'It turns out that there have been some space-time disturbances in this region of space.'

'So what does that have to do with us?' asked Ryoko.

'Every time we see Tenchi he disappears suddenly.' said Kiyone. 'Maybe this has something to do with it. Though maybe I'm just guessing.'

'So… clearly, that woman was some kind of witch!' said Ayeka.

'Or maybe Tenchi got sick of having six beautiful women fighting over him.' mused Mihoshi.

'Shut up, you!' snapped Ryoko and Ayeka.

Later after their shift in the diner was over Ryoko sat at the table, head resting in her hands. Kiyone eyed the space pirate and wondered if she should interrupt. That woman, none of them had seen her before at all. That was why Ryoko was so out of sorts.

'I have to know who she is…' muttered Ryoko.

'Ryoko!' snapped the boss.

Ryoko stood up to attention. 'Yes…'

'The customer at the counter would like some coffee.' said the boss.

'Oh yeah!' said Ryoko, before going about her business.

There was a crash and Kiyone glanced up to see that it wasn't Mihoshi, but Ayeka who had messed up. She was picking up the glass shards with a distressed look.

'Broke a cup, what's wrong with you girls today?' asked the manager.

'Sorry, it was an accident.' said Ayeka. 'I guess I'm a little tired today… ouch!' She'd cut her hand on the glass.

'I'll clean it all up.' said the manager. 'Go on, get bandaged for it.'

'Thank you.' said Ayeka, before running from the room sobbing.

Ryoko looked up from where she was serving coffee and Kiyone studied her reaction. She looked concerned. 'Ayeka…'

Kiyone knew what this was. Sometimes when people fell in love, they centered their whole world on being in love. What most people didn't realize was that one could fall in and out of love very quickly. It was why Kiyone was the least worked up of anyone here.

She followed after Ayeka and found her sobbing in the bathroom.

'Tenchi…' sobbed Ayeka.

'Are you all right?' asked Kiyone.

'No,' said Ayeka. 'I mean… I can…'

'It isn't the end of the world, you know.' said Kiyone.

'How can you say that?' asked Ayeka. 'Tenchi is gone and with that woman-'

'Ayeka,' said Kiyone 'it might have been someone else. And I don't know if you noticed, but Tenchi revels in your and Ryoko's affections. He likes having you fight over him, even if he would never admit it.

'Maybe he just got overwhelmed. This might just be a phase.'

'How can you be so calm about this?' asked Ayeka. 'You care about Tenchi too.'

'Sure, but he wouldn't be my first boyfriend.' said Kiyone, before catching Ayeka's look. 'Oh what, we live in his house. We eat his food. And we spend a large portion of time competing for his affections in one way or another.

'Yes, I'm physically attracted to Tenchi, but that isn't anything special. The key thing is that I'm not banking everything on marrying. I want to be known as a great detective, to rise in ranks and make the universe a better place.

'What do you want out of life, Ayeka?'

'I…' Ayeka paused and looked down. 'I've never really thought about it. I've spent my whole life going from one marriage meeting to another, waiting to be married off. When I found the man, I wanted to marry… I didn't even think about anything else.'

'You might want to start thinking about it then.' said Kiyone. 'Try getting a hobby aside from fighting Ryoko. It might help.'

'I… I thank you Kiyone.' said Ayeka. 'We'd best get back to our work. The manager will miss us.'

A door opened, and Tenchi's silhouette could be seen in the doorway. 'I'm home.'

Ayeka turned to face him and clasped her hands in joy. 'Tenchi, it's you!'

'Sorry I made you worry.' said Tenchi.

'Lord Tenchi it's really you!' cried Ayeka, running to him. Yet her hands passed through him, and he disappeared. Ayeka awoke with a start, grasping at the air. 'Lord Tenchi!'

She gasped and realized she was in their apartment. The alarm clock was ticking a little ways away. Ryoko, Kiyone, and Mihoshi were sleeping sounding near her. She sighed. Then looked at Ryoko in particular.

'Are you awake?' she asked.

'No.' said Ryoko.

'It's that girl we saw.' said Ayeka. 'She looked so content you know. Laughing and smiling. I've never seen anyone so radiant with joy.'

'Who? That girl?' asked Ryoko.

'No, Lord Tenchi.' said Ayeka. 'It seemed like we'd forgotten about us. Like we didn't exist. Is she really that precious to him Ryoko? Is he so in love with her that he can't even see us at all? Just who is she? How did she meet Lord Tenchi? And why is he with her?'

'Who knows?' asked Ryoko. 'I don't know anything more than you do, Ayeka.'

'But Lord Tenchi and her are together!' cried Ayeka.

Ryoko did not respond. Ayeka felt herself beginning to cry and started sobbing into her blanket. Then she looked up. 'I'm sorry I yelled. I didn't mean to.'

'You want to go home?' asked Ryoko.

'What?' asked Ayeka.

'If you want to give up, I wouldn't mind.' said Ryoko. 'I understand if that's what you want. We both saw it with our own eyes. It's been six months since we were with him. That's a long time. Maybe he's gone beyond our reach. He looked older and more mature. And he seemed happy.'

'Too old.' muttered Kiyone. 'Physically older than a seventeen-year-old ought to be. And anyway no one can grow out their hair that quickly, it'd take years to get a mane like that.'

'Well the girl was very pretty.' said Ryoko.

'But Ryoko…' said Ayeka.

'Things change, Ayeka.' said Ryoko. 'He may not want us to find him. Have you thought about that? Just don't torture yourself. You'll get all worn out. It's bad for the complexion.'

'Ryoko… you're so strong.' said Ayeka.

'Go to sleep.' said Ryoko.

'You are under arrest!' said Mihoshi, waking up with a start.

Later the four of them were washing the windows of the restaurant. Then there was that same blaring sound. Ryoko turned around and saw Tenchi walking down the street.

'That way!' she cried.

'Lord Tenchi!' cried Ayeka.

Ryoko sprinted across the crosswalk, nearly getting hit by a car in the process. However, the hunt was on and she didn't care. 'I've got him now!'

It only proved to be another dead end.

Ayeka came around the corner and Ryoko looked up. 'Damn it, I'm getting tired of Tenchi. He's such a pain.'

'Ryoko…' said Ayeka.

Haruna was busy sorting away the books while waiting for Tenchi to come home. As she did so, she stood up and made her way into his art room. There she found Tenchi's picture of her. It was a sketch, without color, but it was nice.

She smiled and turned to walk out. Then she halted and saw another picture. It was of three beautiful women. One was a police officer with blue hair. Another, a princess with violet hair. The third a cyan hair. It had deep and complex coloring and was very lifelike. She kneeled by it. He'd put so much effort into it, so much imagination…

She snatched it from the wall and crumpled it up before stalking out.

She hoped it would be the end of it. However, Tenchi came back and checked his art while she was cutting up vegetables.

'Haruna, the picture I just finished painting is torn.' he said. 'What is your problem?!'

Haruna felt tears coming to her eyes and began to sob while he came up behind her.

'Haruna, I'm sorry.' said Tenchi. 'I shouldn't have yelled. It's just… when you make art, you hate it when it gets wrecked. Do you want to go out to eat or something? We could go window shopping?'

Good, he was thinking about her again. Not them.

Later, Haruna and Tenchi made their way through the stores of a chain. Tenchi still felt bad about yelling at her. It might have been an accident, and he shouldn't have been so loud. After all, it was just a picture, and he could make a new one easily enough. But something about that picture had been… important.

Why should he be so attached to imaginary people? They weren't real.

They stopped by a jewelry store on Haruna's request. They stopped to look at various rings. Haruna slipped a jade one onto her finger and admired how it looked on her hand.

'I like the design of this one, it's beautiful…' she said.

It was also several hundred dollars. 'It's a bit expensive.' noted Tenchi.

Haruna put her hand before her. 'Yeah, we should give it back.'

'No, don't.' said Tenchi. 'I want to buy it for you…'

Haruna looked at him with wide eyes. 'You do?!'

'Sure, it's just money.' said Tenchi. 'The love of it is the root of all evil and all that.' Why was he remembering bible verses now? He thought he'd gotten over that phase.

'Oh Tenchi!' she leaned in and hugged him.

He sighed, before returning the embrace.

Another day, another bit of tiring work at the cafe. Kiyone poured out another cup of coffee at the diner, before turning to another person. 'Would you care for more coffee, sir?'

'No, thank you.' said the man.

'All right, enjoy your meal.' said Kiyone, before moving on.

'I graduated second in my class at the Galaxy Police Academy and now look at me. Working in a coffee shop while chasing after a guy.' thought Kiyone to herself.

Ayeka looked to be in a good mood though. She walked with a spring in her step and attended her duties without complaint. Mihoshi had been given a task which did not involve anything breakable. Ryoko just looked bewildered.

'What are you so cheery about, Princess?' asked Ryoko.

'Nothing I'm just back to my normal optimistic self.' said Ayeka. 'After all Lord Tenchi could drop by this very restaurant at any moment. Anything is possible.'

'Fine, do what you want.' said Ryoko. 'But remember that you're still at minimum wage.'

And then the manager was there. 'Minimum wage is still better than no wage at all, Ryoko, if you get my meaning. The customer is waiting for you.'

'I was only kidding, of course, sir.' laughed Ryoko warily while moving on. 'Work, work, work. Here's your order sir.'

'I didn't order that.' said the man.

'Oh,' said Ryoko, before turning around, 'oh sorry. This is your order, sir. Well, we've got it all straight now. Here is your bill-' And then there was a constant beeping noise.

Kiyone had been working the whole time, of course. She could do this kind of job in her sleep and still observe everything around her. And so she suddenly became aware that the customers had disappeared. The manager too. The restaurant around them had fallen silent. The streets that could be seen through the window were empty.

'What's going on?' asked Ayeka as they looked around.

'The time-space distortions…' said Kiyone.

Then Ryoko gasped. Kiyone followed her gaze and saw Tenchi sitting at a table with the same woman. They stared in stunned silence.

'It's Tenchi…' said Ryoko.

'He's right there…' realized Ayeka.

'Can we move?' asked Kiyone, walking around the tables towards them.

As they walked time seemed to slow around them. It seemed that no matter how far Kiyone went they could not reach him. Tenchi was looking at the woman, sipping his straw while she ate his meal. 'Haruna…'

'Yes?' she asked.

'I really hate to say this,' said Tenchi, 'but I think we went overboard. We'll have to really watch our expenses to make payments on these rings. I think we should return them.'

'I'm glad we got them.' said Haruna. 'Don't worry about the money, Tenchi.'

'I'm serious,' said Tenchi, 'our budget is tight. We can't just go splurging on things without regard to the cost.'

'Hey look at that!' said Haruna, drawing up her fork. 'It's funny when the macaroni sticks together like that.'

'Are you even listening to me?' asked Tenchi.

She was not. Ryoko, Kiyone and Ayeka reached them and stared down at them. Haruna glanced up and fixed them with a withering glare. Then looked away as though they weren't there.

Yeah, she was totally evil.

'Tenchi!' said Ryoko. 'Can you hear me Tenchi?'

Tenchi looked back to Haruna. 'Look Haruna, I'm not going to just drop this. I've already got student loans to pay for. Now stop pretending you aren't hearing what I'm saying.'

'All right,' said Haruna, giving a victorious glance to them. 'how about we think about it.'

'It's like he can't either see or hear us.' said Ayeka.

'But why can't he?' asked Ryoko. She reached forward to take Tenchi by the should and gasped as her hand phased through.

'He's not really there,' said Ayeka, 'it's like he's an apparition.'

Tenchi began to rub his head. Kiyone felt a surge of sympathy for Ryoko, and anger at the woman responsible.

'Look at me…' said Ryoko, 'I'm right here in front of you just…' She reached forward, desperately trying to grasp him. Yet each time her hand passed through. Tenchi's only reaction was to hold his head in his hands.

'What?' said Haruna. 'Oh Tenchi…' And she arose, phasing through Ryoko and kneeling down by Tenchi. 'I'm here it'll be all right, honey…' Then she glared at Ryoko, as this wasn't all her fault, to begin with.

'You bitch!' roared Ryoko. 'Give me back Tenchi!' And she flailed at the woman blindly. Yet her hands passed through, and she fell back and was caught by Ayeka. 'I can't reach them!'

'Who are you, tell me!' roared Ayeka.

The woman looked very cold, and there was an evil look about her. Then she turned to Tenchi and paid them no more heed. She must have looked very kind to Tenchi. Kiyone looked on in shock, unable to comprehend what was happening.

'Kiyone, sorry I'm late.' said Mihoshi. 'Am I missing anything?'

'…Yes,' said Kiyone, 'yes you are Mihoshi! That woman has kidnapped Tenchi and we can't stop her! Quickly Mihoshi, shoot her!'

'Okay!' said Mihoshi.

'Let's go home sweetheart-' began Haruna.

And then Mihoshi out her pistol put it to Haruna's head and pulled the trigger. There was a deafening sound, and Haruna screamed in agony as a beam of energy shot through her head. Her brow collided with the window. The window exploded outwards, and Tenchi shoved Haruna to the ground.

'Oh my god, Haruna, are you all right?!' asked Tenchi.

Then there was a phasing of reality, and they were standing back inside the diner. They were crowding around an empty table. Mihoshi put her gun away and looked around. 'Huh?' she said. 'Where did they go?'

'I don't know,' said Kiyone, 'but I'll bet she'll have a headache later.'

'How did you do that, Mihoshi?' asked Ryoko.

'I pulled the trigger silly.' said Mihoshi.

'Mihoshi can breach dimensions without knowing quite how she does it.' said Kiyone. 'I thought she might be able to fix our problem right away.'

'How could that happen though?' asked Ayeka. 'And who was that woman?'

'Maybe you should ask Yosho.' said Kiyone.

'What do you mean?' asked Ayeka.

'Remember the story he told us back before we discovered Sasami and Tsunami were one?' asked Kiyone. 'He mentioned a woman named Haruna. One who he loved.'

'…The white ghost.' said Ryoko.

'Hey, what do I pay you girls for!' said the manager. 'Back to work!'

'Yes, sir!' They all said.