Urusei Yatsura Fan Fiction ❯ The Senior Year ❯ Oyuki's Story ( Chapter 14 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Urusei Yatsura - The Senior Year: "Oyuki's Story"
by Fred Herriot
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edited by E.B. Kushnir
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Fourteenth of a series of fan fiction stories based on "Urusei
Yatsura," created by Rumiko Takahashi
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WRITER'S NOTES:

1) This story introduces the Intergalactic Boy-Chaser's Club
(I.B.C.C.) through Oyuki's cousin Toji. More about that group will be
introduced in "UY Twenty Years Later."

2) This story also introduces the Niphentaxians, although further
explanations about the Church of Lum will come in the next story,
"Final Cinba," as well as the seventeenth, "What Price For Love."

3) Toukonokouen is a temperate tropical world in the middle of
the triangle between Vos, Yehisril and Ipraedos. A neutral world
close to Reiner's Five, it is composed of a dark-skinned race with a
culture similar to Haiti's, as well as expatriate Vosians, Yehisrites
and Ipraedies living under native rule. More about Toukonokouen will
not be revealed until "UY Twenty Years Later."

4) "Lyzibf'm" is the term for an underworld overlord, a
godfather. "Pizp'fhif-pizral'pif" directly translates "hidden
pirate," the Yehisrite euphromism for a gangster. With respect to
Nettiquite, some terms mentioned in these stories are not translated
due to their meanings possibly being offensive to some readers.

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Neptune.

A hollow, empty, desolate world. Beautiful, ethereal from
deep space...but an endless landscape of death and destruction from
the surface. Ecologically destroyed eight centuries ago by
over-industrialization matched with no sense of environmental controls
imposed on the populace by the hordes of the Seifukusu Dominion. Now,
all that lives on the painfully slow healing world are the sherbet
birds, nestling in minute areas where the toxic poisoning would not be
fatal. It is to one of those areas that three people come today.

Two are female, Tritonian by birth, the third a Terran male.
The Tritonians are closely related, with silver ice hair in ponytails
and crystalline eyes. Both dress in matching white kimonos, their
heads topped by three-point coronets. They appear about to enter
puberty. The Terran is bespeckled, dressed warmly for the occasion.
He is entering his twenties. "Nice place," the Terran hums, seeing
the decaying skeleton of a great city in the distance.

"This was once the capital," one girl looks around. Her hair
is longer than the others...and it is obvious that she is Oyuki. "My
grandparents were born here."

The three step onto a building foundation. At one end is an
archway similar to what stands in front of Shinto shrines. "What was
this place?" Koosei Ryooki hums.

"It was a cathedral," the other smiles. "A marriage hall."

"You would know those things, wouldn't you," Oyuki sniffs.

"What did you think?" the other giggles.

Both laugh, then run down the length of the cathedral floor.
"Hey, hey!" Koosei races after them. The Terran catches the two
princesses near the gate. "Now, cut it out, you two!!" Koosei snaps.
"The King and Queen want me to keep an eye on you! Run off like that
again and I'll have to punish you!!"

Oyuki quickly composes herself, ashamed at her disobedience.
The other Tritonian gives Koosei a mischievous look. "Well, I want to
be spanked so...here I am! Ready?!" she giggles as she pulls her
kimono up, revealing that she has no underwear!

Koosei nearly passes out, blood leaking from his nose.
"Toji!" Oyuki gasps. "Have some pride! Behave yourself!"

"Oh, stop being so prissy!" Toji sticks out her tongue.

Koosei moans as he sits up. "You know, cousin..." Toji looks
at the gate, "...it was believed that if an unwed man and an unwed
woman walked through that gate, they would be engaged."

"Really?" Oyuki looks at the gate.

"Yeah," her cousin nods. "Bet you're going to do it when
Emperor Schwartz gets you married to his son," she winks.

Oyuki looks offended. "Certainly not! I will never marry an
Ipraedies. It would be like...why, it would be like marrying a
Seifukusu!" She then turns red. "Toji, stop teasing me!"

Toji giggles as Oyuki forms a snowball and tosses it at her.
It turns to a two-way volley as the cousins throw snowball after
snowball at each other. "Cut it out, you two!!" Koosei tries to break
it up. "You're princesses! Behave yourself!!"

He gets nailed by both girls. Koosei passes out. Toji laughs
while Oyuki looks frightened. "Koosei-sempai!" the crown princess
cries, running to his side.

As she kneels beside him, he grabs her. "Gotcha!!"

"Eeek!" Oyuki playfully yelps. "Let me go!"

Toji walks over and dumps a giant snowball on the two!
"You're it!!" she runs off into the distance.

"Hey!!" Koosei and Oyuki yelp as they get deluged.

Silence falls over the field as the two lay there, brushing
the snow off their clothes. "She is such a nuisance," Oyuki sighs.

"Oh, don't mind her," Koosei sits up. "She doesn't have to
worry about becoming queen one day like you."

"Oh, Sempai, you're so lucky," the Tritonian sighs. "You
don't have to worry about defending yourself from people trying to
marry you so they could have power here."

"Like what Emperor Schwartz is after?" the Terran hums.

"Unfortunately," she nods.

Sympathetic, Koosei reaches over and takes Oyuki in his arms.
"Oyuki-chan, do you want to know something?"

"What?"

"I'd marry you just because you're you."

The young girl looks excited. "Really?! Honestly?!"

Koosei nods. "Oh, thank you!" Oyuki hugs hum.

He kisses her on the forehead, then looks at the gate.
"Well...shall we go through?" he stares at her.

Looking at the gate, she angelically smiles. "Uh-huh!"

Lovingly embracing the other, they proceed through the gate...

* * *

"Koosei-kun..." Oyuki sighs.

It is four years later. Kneeling in front of the gate she
walked through with the man she now loves, the Tritonian princess
looks up to the hazy skies of Neptune. Whenever she felt melancholy
or lonely, she came here to remember the day Oyuki of Triton was
unofficially engaged to Koosei Ryooki of Earth. Now, after so long,
Koosei had returned home...and both could one day look forward to
finally consummating their relationship.

Oyuki knew the real truth underlying Koosei's return to Earth.
Oh, concern for the behaviour of people like Lum was important.
However, given Koosei's prior association with the Eternal Voyager,
the Tritonian knew that finding and protecting the Chosen One was his
primary motivation. Oyuki had a suspicion as to who the Chosen One
might be, but stayed quiet. Besides, if the Chosen One could not
fulfill his role, Koosei would be the next one sought. Oyuki
tolerated much from the man she loved, but that was going too far!

Standing, she passes through the gate, looking towards a small
one-room hut nearby. It had been built after Oyuki and Koosei walked
through the gate four years ago. It was their private place, where
almost none would dare intrude. The only exception was Toji whenever
she desires to bring her dates to a place where they could be alone.

Oyuki envied her cousin's freedom. Since she joined the
Intergalactic Boy-Chaser's Club the previous year, Toji had travelled
from one end of the local cluster to another, behaving in an utterly
scandalous manner. Then again, Toji did not have to worry about
inheriting the Crown of Koori, Oyuki's great-grandmother and the one
who led the Neptunians on the march to claim their new homeworld, a
present from the Eternal Voyager. That was another reason Oyuki
permitted Koosei his secrecy. Without the Voyager, her race would
have become extinct centuries ago.

Oyuki sighs...then jolts on hearing a heavily accented voice.
"It truly wounds me, dear Princess, to see you alone like this!"

"Eh?!!" she gasps, then turns...to see Emperor Schwartz
standing nearby. "Y-your Majesty...!"

The elderly Ipraedies walks over. He is smartly dressed for
the occasion, given his personal tastes and the weather. Oyuki
respectfully bows; despite the hostility between the Empire and the
Galactic Federation, procedure and rank had to be acknowledged.
Schwartz gently grasps her hand, then courtly kisses her knuckle.
"You are as beautiful as an angel, Princess," the Emperor smiles. "It
is good to see you again."

"Your Majesty, I was not aware of your coming here," Oyuki is
barely able to maintain her composure. "You should have at least
informed my father."

"Oh, come now, child. Can't I at least try to surprise him?"

"How so?" she looks curious.

He turns away. "As I said before, Princess, it wounds me to
see a fellow blood royal alone in this manner. Then again...as you
are no doubt aware...my son is equally alone."

Oyuki pales, realizing why Schwartz was there. "With all due
respect, I've no intention of marrying your son, sir," she turns away.
"It would be a hollow marriage. I've no interest in him."

"Perhaps," Schwartz nods. "Then again, you might learn to
love my son...or shall I say, you'll not have a choice in the matter!"

He snaps his fingers. A canister lands at Oyuki's feet. She
looks down as it detonates, spewing a noxious vapor into the air.
"G-gas...no...K-koosei-kun...!" she gasps, then passes out, her
coronet falling off as she impacts the ground.

Ipraedies soldiers race up as the gas dissipates. Schwartz
leans down and gently lifts the Tritonian in his arms. "Foolish
child!" he smiles. "Personal feelings aside, you'll not stop the
Empire in its quest to destroy your pitiful Federation. And don't
expect that slime Ryooki or that bastard Nassur to come to your aid!"
He looks to the troops. "Move!"

The soldiers salute, then they are teleported away. Silence
falls over the scene until a space-warp appears, revealing an older
Toji. Now utterly exquisite, Oyuki's cousin is dressed in a strapless
ice bikini not leaving much to the imagination. "Cousin!!" Toji
calls. "Are you here?! I hope you don't mind my visiting! Cousin?!"

No answer. Toji walks around, then her foot falls on Oyuki's
discarded coronet. Looking down, the princess shivers as she picks up
the coronet. "Cousin...!" Toji gasps...

* * *

"Go away!!" Reiko snaps. "I don't want to play with you!"

The Noukiite is proceeding to the Ishinomaki Academy alongside
Annabelle and several of their friends. Unfortunately, they have an
unwanted companion. "Aw, c'mon, Reiko-chan!" the young Oni whines.
"Don't go to school today! I wanna play!"

"I don't want to play with you!" Reiko snaps. "Go home! If
Daddy catches you, you'll be going back to *Uru* where you belong!!"

"Oh, yeah?!!" Ten-chan looks incensed. "If that creep tries
it, I'll fry him into a crisp!!"

One of the girls, Masako, looks at Reiko. "Reiko-chan, get
rid of the creep!"

"You actually know this pest?!" another girl, Minako, adds.

"Who's a pest?!" Ten-chan snaps.

Reiko sighs, then her eyes turn red. A garbage can drops out
of nowhere to trap the young Oni! "Hey!!!" Ten-chan yelps. "Get me
outta here!! Who turned out the lights?!"

"That won't stop him!" Belle sighs.

"You go ahead!" Reiko waves them on. "I'll get rid of him!"

"Yeah!" Masako waves as they race off.

By that time, Ten-chan has crawled out from under the garbage
can. Reiko marches up to him. "Honestly, Ten-chan, can't you learn
to listen?! When I say I don't want to play with you, I mean it!!"

"But, Reiko-chan...?" the young Oni tries to look innocent.

"Kinshou sent you, right?!" the Noukiite crosses her arms.

Ten-chan looks shocked. "How did you...?!"

"Great-grandma's spies told Nokoko-oba-chan and she told me!"
Reiko sticks out her tongue. Since Ataru's disowning of his parents,
Reiko refuses to address them as "Grandma" and "Grandpa." "I'll tell
Daddy when I get home. He'll call Great-grandma and she'll have you
send back to Uru! So there!!"

With a huff, she spins around and marches away. Ten-chan
looks sad, knowing that Ataru's mother was more determined than ever
to get Ataru to return to Tomobiki. Kinshou had explained that she
was willing to accept Reiko if Ataru would simply return home, leaving
his sister and her friends in Oshika. The young Oni did not pretend
to understand the hatred and bitter anger flowing between the
estranged parts of Ataru's family, but he did know that if Lum moved
to Oshika, he could not move with her; Ataru's house was deliberately
designed to keep him out. Hence, he agreed to Kinshou's request.

Dejected, Ten-chan turns...when he bolts in surprise on
hearing Reiko's shout. "Hey!! Let me go! Help!! Police!! Rape!!!"

"Huh?!!" Ten-chan spins around...then stops on seeing two
Kibajoomuu roughly grabbing the Noukiite and hefting her into the air.
"Hey!!!" the young Oni snaps. "Let Reiko-chan go, ya creeps!!"

One of the monstrous anthropomorphic porcupines slips a metal
collar around Reiko's neck. The other stares at Ten-chan. "Mind your
place, Oni! This is none of your affair!!"

"Oh, yeah?!!" Ten-chan breathes in. "Take this!!"

He lets go, roasting both Kibajoomuu with his flame...as well
as Reiko! "Ouch!!!" the Noukiite yelps. "Cut it out!! I can't
telekinetically protect myself, Ten-chan!! Ouch!!!"

"Ooops!!" Ten-chan looks embarrassed. "Sorry!"

An electric lash then belts the young Oni, knocking him out
with a powerful dose! "Ten-chan!!" Reiko cries. "Ten-chan!!!"

A suave man with tapered ears appears, picking the unconscious
Ten-chan along the way. "We'll take this one with us," he sighs.
"There's no need to plague the *lyzibf'm* with potential pursuers!"

"Wh-wh-who are y-you...?" Reiko gulps.

"You will find out in due time," the man mirthlessly smiles.
"What should be of your concern is whether or not the Great Evil will
come to your rescue...and therefore deliver the galaxy's greatest
power into the hands of the Gegranko Corporation!"

The Noukiite pales. "G-g-Gegranko...?"

* * *

"Ryooki-sensei!!!" Aisuru Megane screams. "This day, your
attempts at destroying Lum-san's dreams shall end!!!"

The guards' leader, dressed in an aikidoist's gi, charges at
Koosei Ryooki with a bo staff. The homeroom teacher keeps his place
until Megane is almost atop him, then with a flick of his hand, seizes
the bo staff and sends Megane crashing into the floor! Koosei twirls
the weapon, then readies himself. "Who's next?!"

Class 3-4 is now in the school gymnasium, spending homeroom
period venting their frustrations over the events of the last few
stories. The boys are busy trying to defeat Koosei in an
anything-goes martial arts free-for-all. The girls watch from the
sidelines. "Oh, he's the best!!" Momoe claps her hands.

"We're so lucky to have him!" Kumiko romantically sighs.

"Oyuki's so lucky to have him as a boyfriend!" Natsuko adds.

Shutaro Mendou and the other guards quickly try to overwhelm
Koosei by weight of numbers. Whipping the staff around, the homeroom
teacher quickly disarms and disables them. "Koosei-kun certainly
learned a lot when he was in space," Sakura watches from the side
bleachers with Cherry and Lum. "Who taught him all that?!"

"Nassur-chan and Dakejinzou-chan, I think," the Oni hums. "He
may not be hunter material, but he's better than I am!"

"The more Koosei cowers all of his class, the more Ataru will
embrace the power of the phoenix, guaranteeing that Doom will come to
Tomobiki!" the monk intones...

...then gets clobbered by Sakura's spirit-sensor! "Will you
stop boring us with that, Uncle!!" the priestess snarls.

"It's fate...!" he moans.

Suddenly, space explodes as a warp appears at one end of the
gym. "Huh?!" Ryuunosuke looks confused. "Is Oyuki coming to visit?!"

Koosei trembles. "O-o-o-Oyuki-ch-ch-chan...?!" he stammers,
his glasses fogging over. "C-c-coming h-h-here...?!"

Snow descends from nowhere as a lithe figure walks out of the
warp. "Hello?!! Koosei-kun?!"

"Oyuki-sama!!" Mendou gasps.

Koosei turns, calm and collected. "What are you doing here?"

Everyone is surprised. "Eh?!" Shinobu gasps. "Ryooki-sensei
isn't fainting?!"

"That sure doesn't look like Oyuki to me," Mie hums.

Everyone looks to see that the Kyushu native is correct as
Toji emerges. "Oh, Koosei-kun, there you are!" the princess embraces
her future cousin-in-law. "I'm so glad that you're here!"

"Toji-chan!!" Lum leaps up and flies to the Tritonian's side.
"What are you doing here?!"

"I thought that was Oyuki," Mendou hums.

The Oni and Toji greet each other with a joyful jig. "Oh,
hello, Lum-chan!" Toji smiles. "It's so good to see you again!"

"What are you doing here, Toji-chan?!" Lum looks confused.
"Not hunting for boys, I hope!"

"Well, let's see..." the Tritonian walks over to Mendou...then
grabs him painfully by the crotch!

Mendou howls. "Hmm..." Toji muses. "Not bad. I might come
for this one later..." she giggles as she walks away.

Mendou drops to his knees, hunched over in pain. "Is she a
princess or a prostitute?!" Shinobu gasps.

"Both, in a sense," Lan sighs.

"Oh, Lan-chan..." the Tritonian icily stares at the Seishin
girl. "Trying to make my future cousin-in-law miserable? Keep it up
and I'll have to take Rei-san away from you!"

Lan looks mortified. "Well, her heart's in the right place,"
Momoe concludes.

"Um...what's wrong, Toji?" Lum leans up. "You don't normally
come unannounced."

"Oh, yes, forgive me!" the Tritonian looks embarrassed. "I
forgot myself. I came for your assistance, Lum-chan. Oyuki-chan was
just kidnapped."

Everyone looks shocked. "Oyuki was kidnapped?!!" Lum gasps.

Koosei turns white as darkness forms around him. "Oyuki-chan
was kidnapped...?!" he echoes...then wails. "OH, NO!!!!!! OYUKI-CHAN
WAS KIDNAPPED!!!!!! OYUKI-CHAN!!!!!!"

Everyone else ignores the homeroom teacher as he mindlessly
runs around the gym crying for his beloved Oyuki. "Who kidnapped
Oyuki?!" Lum leans up.

"I do not know," Toji shakes her head. "Since Nassur-san is
on his *nicha* and Shogai-san is resting with your Darling, Lum, would
you come instead?"

"*Datcha*!" the Oni readily nods.

"We'll come!!" the bodyguards immediately volunteer.

"Oh, excellent," Toji giggles, giving the four an even stare.
"We can use some *snow-shovelers*. The palace would be deluged
without your help."

The guards pale, remembering their first visit to Triton.
"Um...on second thought..." Megane stammers. "N-never mind..."

"Let's go!" Lum prompts.

* * *

"I'm back!" Ataru steps into the living room.

"Hi, Ataru-chan!" Dakejinzou steps out of the kitchen. "Back
just in time! Lunch's ready!"

"Great!" he steps into the dining room as the huntress brings
out a small lunch. Moments later, the two relax in the living room.
"How was training the hybrids today?!"

"Oh, it was fine," she smiles. Since her coming to Oshika,
Dakejinzou had spent much of her time tutoring the Project:
Superwarrior hybrids currently in Sendai awaiting the end of Nassur's
*nicha*. "Hazel was acting up again because Yukio was insulting Lum.
Gods, Natsu-chan will have his hands full with that one!"

"Now, you know why I don't want anything to do with that brat
anymore!" Ataru sits tea. "How's Yukio-chan doing, anyway? Psyching
herself up for going back to Cademus?"

"Oh, yes," Dakejinzou nods. "Yukio has to return to bury her
friend Yukara, then while she's apprenticing under Hilmara, she'll
start looking for information on her mother. She's...hopeful."

"That's good," he sighs. "It's good that the hybrids are
going to get a chance outside of being slaves for the Ipraedies."

"Strange, hearing that from you," she hums.

"Well, while I don't like the idea of dealing with them
outside of Yukio, it doesn't mean that I want to see them hurt," he
looks up. "Until things with the Ipraedies settle down, they'll..."

The telephone rings. "I'll get it!" Dakejinzou stands and
answers the phone. "Hello, Moroboshi residence," she smiles. "Eh?!
It's for you, Ataru-chan! Some girl name Chie!"

"Reiko-chan's teacher?!" Ataru stands, taking the receiver in
hand. "Hello, Chie! Yes, I'm fine." A pause, then "Eh?! Reiko-chan
never came to class?! What happened?!" A pause, then Ataru looks
angry. "What did Minako-chan say?! A Oni boy was pestering her?!!"
He nods. "Thanks for telling me! I'll find her! 'Bye!!" He slams
the phone back into its cradle so hard, he shatters the receiver!

"What happened?!" Dakejinzou looks confused.

"Jariten, that's what!!" Ataru snaps. "C'mon! When I get my
hands on the little jerk, he's gonna regret coming to Earth!!!"

* * *

An hour later, Lum and Toji teleport back to Tomobiki High
School. By that time, Sakura has calmed Koosei down to the point
where he mopes in the stands, wailing for Oyuki. "Well?!" Mendou
walks up to the two women. "Who is the coward responsible for
Oyuki-sama's kidnapping?!"

"It was the Ipraedies," Lum sighs.

Koosei bolts, heat boiling from his body. "The Ipraedies?!!"
Shinobu gasps. "Why them?!! Isn't that a declaration of war?!"

"Not if Schwartz has his way," Toji shakes her head.

"***SCHWARTZ?!?!?!***" Koosei bellows.

Everyone yelps in fright as the homeroom teacher stands, fire
framing his body as he stares at Toji. "Did I hear that correctly?!!
That old slime took ***MY*** Oyuki-chan?!!"

"Um...y-yes...!" the Tritonian cowers.

"Who's this Schwartz?!" Ryuunosuke looks confused.

"The Ipraedies Emperor," Lum sighs. "He's been trying to get
Oyuki-chan in his clutches for the longest time!!"

"Why?!!" Mendou looks horrified.

"Why not?!" the Oni shrugs. "With Triton and Ipraedos
politically united, Oyuki's people would be pulled out of the
Federation. When that occurs, we'd be broken in half and Earth would
be ripe for an Ipraedies invasion!"

"WHAT?!?!?!" the students scream.

"How the heck can this geezer hope to do that?!" Megane
crosses his arms.

"By marrying my cousin to his son, the Crown Prince
Schwartzkoff," Toji replies.

"Oyuki marrying an Ipraedies?!" Shinobu pales. "That's sick!"

"It won't happen!!" Koosei growls. Everyone looks to the
homeroom teacher as he turns and snares Lan into a headlock. "Guess
what, Lan!!" he psychotically looks at the trembling Seishin girl.
"We're going to rescue Oyuki-chan...and **you** just volunteered your
scouts to take us there!!"

"What?!!" Lan screams. "Certainly not!!"

"What...was...that...?!" Koosei tightens the headlock. "You
forget that I know about your little attempt to sell Oyuki-chan to the
Ipraedies Circus!"

"Wh-who...little old me...?" Lan gasps.

Megane kicks the Seishin girl's backside! "Don't deny it,
airhead!!!" the leader of the guards growls. "You tried to do the
same thing to Lum-san!!!"

"Nassur may have punished you for that...but **I** haven't!!!"
Koosei adds.

Lan turns white in mortal fear. "I'll go with you, Koosei!"
Lum volunteers. "I won't let Oyuki-chan get married to anyone else
but you!!"

Koosei smiles. "Why, thank you, Lum! I'm sure Oyuki-chan'll
appreciate it!"

"Then take Lum's ship!!" Lan gasps.

"Quiet, you!!!" Koosei tightens the headlock.

"I'll come as well," Sakura walks up.

"Sakura-sensei!!" Mendou gasps. "But...why?!!"

"Why not?!" the priestess smiles. "I want to be the one who
marries Koosei-kun and Oyuki off!"

"Then I shall come!" Mendou volunteers.

"We're going, too!!" Megane exclaims.

"Mie-chan, can you come?!" Lum looks hopeful.

"Ah, why not!" the Kyushu native smiles. "I can get the
flying practice. You coming, Ryuunosuke?"

The tomboy is deluged by a tsunami as his father appears! "Be
a **man** and volunteer!!" Mr. Fujinami belts her with a sign marked A
MAN'S RESPONSIBILITY!

"I'm a **girl**!!!" she belts him through the roof!!

"I love the sea...!!" he wails as he flies away!

"Oh, okay," Ryuunosuke sighs. "I'll come!"

"Shinobu?" Lum looks over.

"Well, Nassur-kun won't be there," she sniffs.

Lum looks disgusted. "Humph!! Coward!" she turns away.
"It's no wonder people don't respect you! I hear that's the reason
Nassur-chan's going to marry someone **else**!!"

"WHAT?!?!?!" Shinobu explodes. "How dare you think that?!!
Fine, then!! I'm coming, too!!!"

"Should we get Ataru?!" Ryuunosuke looks at Lum. "I mean, he
likes Oyuki!"

"Nokoko and Dakejinzou could help," Sakura adds.

"I'm afraid not," the Oni sighs. "Komeru-oji-chan has forbade
all space-travel until Darling's psychologists and Chie-san say he's
fit to go someplace outside of Oshika."

"We don't need Moroboshi, that weird sister or that robot
anyway!!" Mendou snorts.

"What did you say?!!" Lum zaps Mendou!

The guards clam up. "Oh, what a wonderful day this is!!!"
Koosei tearfully proclaims through a megaphone. "Thank you, Lum!!!
Thank you, Sakura-chan!!! Thank you, everyone, for your loyalty!!!"
He then collapses to the floor. "Oh, I hope Oyuki-chan's alright...!"
he moans. He then sees Lan trying to sneak off. "***WHAT IS
THIS?!?!?!***" he deforms into a hideous monster. "***YOU'RE NOT
GOING?!?!?!***"

"I'm going, I'm going!!!" Lan waves the monstrosity off.

Everyone sighs...

* * *

"This is the place?" Ataru looks around.

Ataru and Dakejinzou stand on the street where Reiko
confronted Ten-chan. With them are Belle, Minako and Masako, along
with Chie Ikei, Reiko's homeroom teacher. "This is the place!" Minako
nods. "Moroboshi-san, why don't you just send that creep home?! He's
been pestering Reiko-chan for the last week!"

"I'm seriously considering it!" Ataru growls. "Any idea what
happened here, Dake-chan?"

"I'm not sure," the huntress shakes her head. "It's odd that
Jariten would leave his hover scooter behind like that!" she nods to
the discarded scooter beside Chie. "Something must've happened."

Ataru pales, automatically thinking the worst has happened.
"You mean...s-someone could've...?!"

"I can't say," Dakejinzou sighs.

Suddenly, a ramen kiosk master walks up. "Excuse me," he
waves a scrap of paper. "Which one of you is Dakejinzou Shogai?"

"I'm Shogai," the huntress stands. "What is it?"

"Some dork called my shop and asked me to pass this message to
you," he hands her the paper. "You ought to tell him to get your home
phone number!"

"Um...thanks," Dakejinzou sighs, then opens the paper and
reads:

"Miss Shogai,

"If the Great Evil desires to see his slave-child
again, you will bring him to Ryokurin within five
days. By all we hold holy, the power of the Eternal
Voyager will not be turned against the Great Lum or
Her Holy Company.

"The Gegranko Corporation."

Ataru looks at Dakejinzou in confusion. "What's happened?!"

The huntress has paled, realizing that a secret she was
entrusted with has now fallen into the hands of two of the most
undesirable groups conceivable! "Your daughter and Jariten were
kidnapped, Ataru-chan."

Gasps of shock utter from everyone around them!

* * *

The door to Lan's scout ship opens and everyone streams in.
"Here we are!" Koosei leans the pack inside. "Mie, Lum, get this
thing airborne!! Rest of you, settle in and relax!"

Mie and Lum race to the command deck. Lan looks around in
frustration as everyone else settles down in the living room. "Hey,
hold on a minute here!" she growls. "I didn't give you permission to
use my ship to rescue Oyuki...!!"

"Be silent!" Toji hisses as her powers freeze the complaining
Seishin teenager. "*I* have not punished you for your attempt to sell
my poor cousin to the Ipraedies Circus!!"

"Damn...you..." Lan groans.

"What do you suppose Ryooki-sensei and Toji-san have in mind
for that airhead?!" Megane hisses to Sakura.

"Knowing Koosei-kun, it's bound to be good," the nurse smiles.
"I remember back in North Tokyo High when people picked on him, he
engineered some really wicked plots of revenge that no one guessed
came from him. We didn't call him 'Jughead' for nothing!"

The Tritonian princess sits beside Mendou. "Mendou-san, I
apologize for my harsh treatment of you earlier," she coos, gently
stroking his chin, then whispers. "Would you care to join me in the
guest bedroom for a while?"

"M-me?!" the scion of Japan's richest family gasps. "Y-you?!"

"I don't see anyone else named Mendou," Toji looks around.

Before Mendou could object, he is dragged into the guest
bedroom. "That girl could've fit in North Tokyo High!" Sakura gasps.

"She makes Yuukiki look like an amateur," Ryuunosuke adds.

On the command deck, Koosei looks at Mie and Lum, now manning
the controls. "You two okay?"

"I'm fine," the Kyushu-raised teen smiles. "All power on
like...lift-off!!" she pulls back the throttle.

With a roar, the scout ship rockets into the heavens...

* * *

The "Goddess of Luck" rockets away from Oshika. Seated in the
cramped bridge are Ataru and Dakejinzou. "I don't get this!" the
teenager shakes his head. "What would this Gegranko character want
with me?! Who is he, anyway?!"

"He's *piz'fhif pizral'pif*," the huntress sighs. "The worst
in the whole galaxy if you want to know."

"Pizufu...huh?!" he looks confused.

"'Hidden pirate,'" she translates. "Consider him an
intergalactic version of your Yakuza godfathers or America's Mafia
dons. The Galactic Federation is rife with criminal gangs, of which
Gegranko's organization is the largest and most influential. Thanks
to the lack of regulation between the various Federation worlds,
criminal gangs have a field day operating in almost everything from
slaves to drugs to prostitution to smuggling anything imaginable.
Almost three-quarters of work carried out by people such as Natsu-chan
and I deal with gangs such as Gegranko."

"What's his game?" he crosses his arms. "Why's he after me?"

"I can't say," she replies, straight-faced. Understanding
Ataru's continued confusion about Sagussa, telling him about the
awesome power destined for him would not help matters. "Whatever it
is, it doesn't make sense, though. Gegranko may be many things, but
he would never succumb to kidnapping children to gain any advantage
over an opponent. In that, he's pure Yehisrite."

"Uh-oh!" he gulps. "What does this mean, then?"

"It could mean that this action was executed without telling
the old *lyzibf'm*," Dakejinzou muses. "It could be an advantage we
could exploit when the time comes. However, I'll need your help."

"You've got it! I'll do anything to see my daughter safe!"

"Okay," she turns to her controls, noticing that a sensor
light is flashing. "Eh?! Another ship's taken off from Earth."

"Who?!" Ataru looks surprised.

She pulls up a readout on her tactical control screen. "It's
Lan's ship," the huntress muses. "According to sensory, there's quite
a crowd aboard. I wonder what's going on."

"D'you think Lan's pulling something?!" he looks anxious.

"Let's find out," she activates her ship-to-ship
communications system.

"Where's Dake-chan going?!" Mie scratches her head as Lan's
scout approaches the "Goddess" from port aft.

"Odd," Lum hums. "Dakejinzou-chan said she wouldn't leave
until Nassur-chan was finished with his *nicha*!"

"She's calling us," the Kyushu native reports.

Ataru and Dakejinzou appear on the forward viewscreen.
"Darling!!" Lum gasps. "Where are you and Dakejinzou going?!!"

"Where am I going?!!" he snaps. "My daughter just got
kidnapped, you idiot!! Where're you going?!!"

"What?!!" Lum and Mie cry in shock.

Dakejinzou explains the situation to the Oni. Her surprise is
understandable. "I don't understand!" Lum shakes her head. "Gegranko
isn't the type to kidnap children, even if he is after Darling! Do
you think he's trying to muscle in on Earth before any government
could make a first contact claim?!"

"I don't know," the huntress sighs. "None the less, I don't
think Jariten and Reiko-chan would appreciate our dallying, Lum."

"*Datcha*!" the Oni nods. "Beam me over! Koosei can handle
rescuing Oyuki-chan!!"

Ataru and Dakejinzou look shocked. "Boy, this is the day for
kidnappings, eh?!!" the former shakes his head.

"Yeah!" Mie nods. "Good luck, Ataru-chan!"

"Thanks, Mie-chan!" he waves as communications are cut.

Lum disappears in a teleport beam. A moment later, the
"Goddess of Luck" warps out of the Terran system. Right afterward,
Koosei walks up. "Eh?!" he looks around. "Where's Lum, Mie?!"

"Lum-chan had to leave to go with Ataru-chan and Dake-chan,"
the Kyushu native reports. "Reiko-chan and Ten-chan were kidnapped."

The teacher blinks once as that sinks in. "What?!!" Megane
bursts out from below, knocking Koosei into the deck. "Lum-san left
with that robot and Ataru to rescue those two brats?!! Why didn't she
asks us to go with her?!!"

Koosei crushes him with a five-hundred tonne hammer! "Idiot,
get off me!!!" he snaps, then turns to Mie. "Mie-chan, set course for
Barsoom and engage at this tub's maximum warp!"

"Hey, we don't want to go!!!" Kakugari yells from below.

Koosei shudders, then faces his students, glasses glowing like
hot suns. "What did you say?!" he growls menacingly.

"Lum-chan's not here!!" Chibi snaps. "We want to go home!!
We don't do work for anyone but her!!!"

"Quiet!!!" Sakura smashes the guards down with her
spirit-sensor! "You volunteered for the mission, so you stay here!!"

The guards moan. Koosei looks at Mie. "Is the course set?!"

"We're ready!" the Kyushu native replies.

Mendou suddenly appears at her side. "Mie-san, I'll pay you a
million yen to turn the ship around and...!"

He then gets smashed down by the block of ice containing Lan!
"I did not recall giving you permission to turn your back on my
cousin, Mendou-san," Toji muses, now standing beside Koosei.

"Engage, Mie!!" the teacher barks.

"Engaging!" Mie slams the throttle full-forward.

The scout disappears in a rainbow of warp energies...

* * *

Oyuki's eyes open.

She moans as the aftereffects of the anesthetic wears off.
Sitting up, she looks around. "Where...where am I?" she gasps.

The Tritonian finds herself in a luxurious bedroom far larger
than anything she had ever been in before. Velvet, silk and romantic
colours dominate the room. The bed she lays on is large enough to
hold several people comfortably. Looking down at herself, Oyuki finds
herself dressed in a exquisite dress reminiscent of Europe's
Enlightenment age. Wrapped around her wrists are power-dampeners
designed to prevent her using her powers. Standing, Oyuki walks to
the window. One glance outside tells her where she is. "I'm on
Ipraedos!" she gasps, stumbling back.

The Tritonian finds herself in one of the towers of the
Imperial Palace, quite a distance from any possible avenues of escape.
Guards patrol every possible point, weapons at the ready. Beyond the
outer wall, the vast expanse of Ipraedos City stretches out like a
many-legged beast, shaded by the setting red dwarf star the Ipraedies
homeworld orbits. Shaking her head, she returns to her bedside. "I
don't believe this," she shivers. "They're actually going to go
through with this! Are they mad?!"

The door opens, allowing Emperor Schwartz to enter. "Ah,
you're awake!" the aged Ipraedies smiles. "Excellent! I trust you
slept well, Princess!"

Incensed, Oyuki bolts to her feet. "I demand to be released
at once!!" she snaps. "This is an act of war, sir!"

"An act of war?!" Schwartz seems unconcerned. "Now, how could
you say that, Princess? My dear, this is an act of union, not war!"

"Does Father know of this?!"

"Not...yet," Schwartz smiles. "I'm sure he'll be happy to
know that his daughter is soon to marry one of the blood royal. My
son, you must admit, is a far better choice than that lunatic Ryooki."

Seeing red, Oyuki lashes out, slapping the Ipraedies emperor
across the cheek. "How dare you insult Koosei-kun, especially after
what you did to him?!! If you think you'll get away with this, you
are mistaken, sir!!"

Schwartz flinches, respecting the strength of the Tritonian
possesses. "Oh, really?!" he cackles. "Nassur's off on Sabaku,
Shogai's somewhere moping after finding out she's an android and my
fleet is patrolling the Empire's borders with orders to destroy any
ship that dares infiltrate our space in a rescue attempt! Further, I
have cloaked probes orbiting Triton to ensure that you can't use your
warp chamber in an attempt to dump a blizzard on us!! You, my dear,
have no choice but to accept the inevitable!"

"I'll die, first!!" Oyuki snaps. "Besides, I know that your
son has a lover, a native Ipraedies girl! I believe the *Asan'on*
would find such a marriage more acceptable than his marrying me!"

Schwartz bursts out laughing. "Oh, you are so foolish, girl!"

"What is so amusing?" Oyuki icily glares.

The Ipraedies looks like a magician about to pull a rabbit out
of his hat. "The Home Council has **approved** of the marriage!!!"

Oyuki pales. "They...they approved...?!"

"Yes!" Schwartz nods. "Further, the *Dowe'on* Tribunal has
not raised an iota of objection! In fact, they've wished my son well
on a wonderful matchmaking! Do you wish to know something else?!"

"Wh-what...?" she stammers.

The Ipraedies leans up, fixing her with a devilish gaze. "My
son **requested** that he be allowed the chance to marry you!!!"

Oyuki looks ready to faint. "He...he did...?"

"Yes!" Schwartz nods. "Schwartzkoff knows how important this
bonding is to the Ipraedies Empire and its people! What he does when
he is Emperor, of course, is no concern of mine, but he believes that
the destiny of the Ipraedies people lies with Triton!!"

The Tritonian princess looks overwhelmed by what is arrayed
against her. Schwartz turns to leave. "My son will be here soon,
Princess. I suggest you behave yourself better around him seeing as
he **will** be your husband very soon!"

With a mirthless cackle, the Ipraedies emperor marches out.
Oyuki stumbles back, then drops to the bed. "I...I don't believe this
is happening to me...!" she gasps, then leans into her hands, crying.

The door then opens. Oyuki bolts up in surprise, then watches
as a very handsome young Ipraedies man steps in. Dressed in a costume
which would not be out of place in a production of "Hamlet," he has
slicked back black hair, a thin French-like moustache and a pointed
goatee. Strangely enough, there is an apologetic look on his face.
"Crown Prince Schwartzkoff," Oyuki sighs.

"Crown Princess Oyuki," Schwartzkoff bows.

"You, sir, owe me an explanation."

He sighs. "If I give you one, would it change your mood?"

"Doubtful."

"Believe me, Oyuki, if there was **any** other way to do this,
I would!" He faces her. "There is someone out there who loves me as
much, as deeply, as Koosei loves you. Yet, for the sake of my people,
for the sake of peace, I would give that love up in an instant!"

"I...don't understand," Oyuki looks confused.

Schwartzkoff walks to the window, staring at the city beyond
the palace gates. "Look out there, Oyuki," he points.

Oyuki joins him. "Out there live thirty million people," the
Ipraedies crown prince sighs. "Split three ways...*Asan'on*,
*Dowe'on* and unaligned. Each person with their own desires, their
own dreams, their own social and cultural situation. Yet, there is
one thing they all have in common."

"That is?"

"They fear the future," Schwartzkoff smiles.

"The future?"

He nods. "These are rough times for my people. We present a
united front to the rest of the galaxy, but in truth, the Ipraedies
Empire is splitting apart. The ensuing results would make the Vosian
Civil War look like a garden tea party in comparison. The chances of
my people surviving as a race beyond that point is questionable at
best." Schwartzkoff looks to the city. "No one knows what the future
may bring. Do we remain isolated, as the Home Council proposes...or
do we embrace the outside galaxy, in the manner the Tribunal desires?"

"And you support...?" Oyuki hums.

"Expansion, openness, of course," he smiles at her. "For so
long, my people have never had to deal with people...never **wanted**
to deal with people on an equal level. We conquered the Aimaiyites
and other races, we tried to foster social revolution on Vos, we
maintain a state of undeclared war with the Yehisrites and a cold war
with the Federation. The gods only know what we might be doing if we
bordered Zephyrite or Seifukusu space! And now," he places a hand on
her shoulder, "...now I have the chance to show that the Ipraedies can
live as equals with another race!"

"My people!" Oyuki nods.

"Yes," Schwartzkoff sighs, removing his hand. "Think, Oyuki.
Your people are peaceful, respected, trusted! Further, you've been
looking all over the galaxy for some sort of way to clean Neptune up
after the Dominion got finished with it! That's not to mention the
feelings of revenge your people must feel after the rape of your
world! The Dominion may have ways of stopping your people from trying
to extract some retribution for what they did, but they can't stop
us!! If our people become allies, Neptune will be a beautiful world
again and the Dominion will be brought to account for their crimes!"

"You, of course, realize that once Ipraedos and Triton are
unified, we will no longer be part of the Federation," Oyuki sighs.
"My people will not tolerate that."

"Of course they won't...because it won't happen!" Schwartzkoff
shakes his head. "I won't let it happen! Father sees this marriage
as a way to shatter the Federation! I don't want that! Oyuki, I want
Ipraedos to **join** the Federation!!"

"What?!!" Oyuki gasps. This was a surprise. "Schwartzkoff,
you realize if that happens, all support from Yehisril will dry up in
an instant!! The *laqu'rs* will not tolerate such an action! They
want revenge for Cademus and Heaven only knows what else!!"

"I agree it won't be easy!" the Ipraedies shakes his head.
"However, if we become a part of the Federation, we can turn over all
the war criminals who have to answer for things such as Project:
Superwarrior, the Cademus massacre and everything else to those
demanding justice! Think, Oyuki!! If we marry, we will show my
people that peaceful co-existence **is** possible! Is the possibility
of a lasting peace so valueless to you that you'd throw it away just
so you can marry Koosei Ryooki?! I may be a man, Oyuki, but I'm also
the heir apparent to the throne of my people! If a chance for my
people to have a peaceful, prosperous future without fear or
apprehension means that I have to give up Gella, then I'll do it
without a second's hesitation!"

The Tritonian looks ready to protest, then falls silent.
Since Triton had become a member of the Galactic Federation, little in
the way of aid had come to her people for Neptune's environmental
recovery. Many of the worlds once conquered by the Seifukusu Dominion
saw Triton's mother planet as a memorial to the outrages once
committed on all their peoples. Many of the Federation's
leaders...Princess Kurama, Commandant Shogai, General Lana, Princess
Lupica, Prime Minister Hosha...believed that Neptune should remain as
is, a visible sign to the galaxy's other races about dealing with the
Dominion. They had even persuaded her own father to see their way.

Oyuki personally thought that attitude outrageous. Neptune
was her people's true home despite almost all the present population
having been born on Triton. What Schwartzkoff was offering was a
chance for her people to reclaim what they had lost centuries ago.
And if the Ipraedies could benefit from it, finally throw off its
inbred fear of the outside galaxy, finally welcome cooperation with
other worlds...then everyone would benefit. Oyuki knew Schwartzkoff
was a man of his word, a man who could be trusted, negotiated with.
Even Lord Protector Alko believed that to be true...and the Yehisrites
had no reason to love the Ipraedies.

Turning away from Schwartzkoff, Oyuki hoped to hide her
interest from him. No such luck. "You know I wouldn't lie to you,
Oyuki," Schwartzkoff places a hand on her shoulder. "I like you...I
love you...and respect you too much to dishonour it by trying to
deceive you or trick you."

"I know," she sighs, looking at him. "But still...it will not
be a relationship composed of true love, Schwartzkoff." She places a
hand on his shoulder. "You will be haunted with thoughts of
Gella...as I will of Koosei-kun."

The Ipraedies crown prince looks sad at the Tritonian's
mentioning of the one waiting for him. "Besides, even if we do marry,
the Home Council will soon learn your plan," Oyuki adds, "...and they
will move to stop you! The civil war you seek to avert will
happen...and it could spread into an intergalactic war! Millions will
suffer as a result...and I think no one will believe or accept your
intentions then." Silence falls over them. "If you marry Gella,"
Oyuki places a fingertip on his nose, "...the Home Council will be
happy that you are marrying a native-born Ipraedies. When you become
Emperor, you can still make the necessary reforms. By that time, the
Tribunal will be powerful enough to enforce that which they have long
desired...and with you appearing to support both the Home Council and
the Tribunal, there will be no civil war."

"Can you be sure...?" he looks anxious.

She nods. "Besides, when you do become Emperor, you will be
welcomed with open arms into the Federation...for I will be one of
those people welcoming you. Peace with the Yehisrites will still be
possible, perhaps even more so in that scenario than this one; after
all, the Yehisrites consider bride-kidnapping quite...vulgar." That
was an understatement as both knew well; the gods could not help the
fool who was caught kidnapping a Yehisrite lord's child for the
purposes of forging a political marriage. "You could achieve that
which you seek, Schwartzkoff, if only you believed in yourself and
your people more! I know the Ipraedies are not the vicious or evil
people as propaganda makes them. Given the chance, they would make an
excellent addition to the Galactic Federation."

The two look at each other. "I...was so sure before I walked
into this room," he sighs. "Now, I'm confused."

"Don't be!" a man's voice barks.

The two spin around to see Schwartz standing at the doorway.
"Your Majesty!!!" Oyuki gasps.

"Father!!" Schwartzkoff shudders. "What are you doing here?!"

"Protecting the better interest of the Empire!" Schwartz walks
in. "I've always known of your liberal interests, my son. I've never
questioned them, believing that experience would teach you better.
But what you propose will not help the Ipraedies but **destroy** us!"

"Will it really, Father?!" Schwartzkoff snaps. "You and your
ministers are so set in your ways! You dream of a time when all races
would bow to us! Reiner's Five taught us different!! Why can't you
accept that our people can't be the overlords of the galaxy?!"

"Because we can and we will be!!" his father growls, then
looks at Oyuki. "The destruction of your pitiful Federation is only
the beginning! Once your races are subdued, then the Vosians and the
Yehisrites will be brought to heel!! There will be a union between
our races, Princess...but **we** will dictate the union!!"

"Your dreams will be dust when you become dust!" Oyuki growls.

"Oh, no?!" Schwartz laughs. "My son is too optimistic,
Princess! The key to this whole matter is Earth itself!! You and the
Urusians have long kept the true potential of that little world hidden
from almost all of us! I've always wondered what they saw in that
mudball! Once you're under our power, we'll finally discover Earth's
secrets and make them ours!!"

"I do not believe so," Oyuki smiles. She knew something the
Emperor did not, having learned it thanks to the traumatic events of
the Spirit War. "Zephyrus will not allow Earth to be conquered! Move
even one ship toward Earth and you'll be facing a Holy Crusade!!"

"And what makes you think that?!" the emperor demands.

"Because there is a Terran Righteous Gentile," she sighs.

Schwartz pales. "You didn't know that, Your Majesty?!" Oyuki
hums. "So, your intelligence is not as vaunted as you believe! And
as we both know, any attempts at your injuring or assassinating such a
person will earn the Ipraedies Empire the destruction your son desires
so much to avoid at all cost! As you all must know well, the Holy
Inquisition are not idiots! Any disguise or skullduggery in the
execution of your attack will be a simple waste of time!"

The emperor growls, then smiles. "It matters not! There is
no chance either Gella or Koosei Ryooki will not interfere! My fleet
will find your hammer-swinging lover, Princess...and as for
Schwartzkoff's ex-maid, she'll not be nearby to entice him away!"

Schwartzkoff pales. "Wh-what?! What have you done, Father?!"

"I've had her arrested on charges of inciting rebellion!"
Schwartz growls. "As of now, she's on her way to the Circus!"

Schwartzkoff seems either ready to faint or to leap at his
father and choke him. "Why?!! She has nothing against you or me!!"

"It doesn't matter!" Schwartz turns to leave. "The Tribunal's
becoming too arrogant for their own good!! I've always known Gella
was a plant by the Tribunal to win you to their side, Schwartzkoff!
Consider this an early wedding present from your father!!"

Waving, the emperor walks out of the room. Schwartzkoff sinks
to his knees. "No...how could he?! Gella's harmless!!"

"It appears he does not believe that," Oyuki kneels beside
him. "Schwartzkoff, for her sake, we must act to stop your father."

"How?!!" he demands.

"Simple," she smiles. "I know Koosei-kun has several contacts
on Ipraedos, contacts which would help him at a moment's notice. One
of them is..." she then whispers in his ear.

He looks surprised. "Her?!!"

"Yes," she nods. "Her fame and success are so widespread that
your father would not dare challenge her...if he does not wish to risk
being overthrown as a result thanks to the public outcry. She will
know what to do."

Schwartzkoff thinks for a moment, then nods...

* * *

"Where are we?!!" Ten-chan looks around.

The Oni and the Noukiite find themselves in a basement dungeon
somewhere on a world in the Dead Zone, a low burning torch providing
the only light. Both have power-dampening collars on their wrists.
Neither seems physically harmed. "I don't think we're in Kansas,
Toto..." Reiko walks to a barred window, revealing that they are in a
castle somewhere in a valley. "I don't recognize the star pattern
exactly but I think we're close to Tengu space."

Ten-chan joins her. "Why did Gegranko want to kidnap us?!" he
scratches his head. "Nassur-chan always said he'd never hurt kids!"

"Who knows!" Reiko sighs, then angrily spins on the Oni.
"Besides, it's your fault, Ten-chan!!"

"My fault?!" he cries. "Why?!!"

"Because every time you, your stupid cousin or anyone from
Tomobiki comes around, something *always* happens!" she snaps. "When
Daddy rescues us, I hope he gets Lum to give you a good spanking!!"

"Enough, both of you!" a voice snaps.

The two children see the suave-looking man peering through a
barred window from the hallway. "Why'd you kidnap us!!" Ten-chan
growls, barring his fangs. "What's the deal here?!!"

"Oh, Jariten-sama," the man looks repentant. "I must deeply
apologize for the trouble we put you through. However, this action is
for your most holy cousin's benefit!"

"Lum-chan?!" Ten-chan looks surprised, then sees the tapered
ears. "Hey, you're a Niphentaxian!!" he points.

"Aye," he bows. "None the less, the power we believe will be
delivered into the Great Evil's hands will be used to destroy Lum-sama
and Her Holy Company! We will ensure that **never** happens!! I
promise you that even if I must sacrifice my life for it!!"

The man then bows and departs. Reiko walks up to his side.
"Ten-chan, what's his problem?! Who's this...Great Evil he's so
afraid of; the one who'll kill Lum and everyone in Tomobiki?!"

He looks guilty. "Ataru Moroboshi," he sighs. "Your dad."

* * *

Lan's scout ship comes to a halt near an asteroid drifting
close to the neutral zone separating the Ipraedies Empire from the
Federation. On the bridge, Mie looks back. "Koosei, we're here!"

"Thanks," Koosei walks up beside her.

"Why are we stopping?" Sakura looks confused.

"Because if I know Schwartz, the borders will be crawling with
Imperial Navy ships searching for any rescue attempts," the teacher
sighs. "We'll just have to wait here and be patient."

"How long will that be?!!" a defrosted Lan growls, now hogtied
to a chair thanks to the bodyguards. "Hey, who's going to pay for
fuel and all that?!! I'm not!!!"

"YOU'LL SHUT UP!!!!!!" Koosei roars, nearly flattening Lan
against a bulkhead with the sonic boom.

The Seishin girl falls silent. "Should we call Captain
Invader or someone else?!" Mendou hums.

"No," the teacher shakes his head. "Going to a border planet
like Icarus to raid a secret camp like the Project: Superwarrior
operation is one thing. Schwartz either had to keep the incident
silent or risk facing his own downfall at the hands of both the
*Asan'on* Home Council and the *Dowe'on* Tribunal. However, raiding
the Ipraedies homeworld to rescue the so-called bride-to-be of the
Imperial crown prince is a pretext for intergalactic war, a war no one
can presently afford to participate in."

"So, who are we waiting for?" Sakura hums.

Suddenly, a sensory alarm is heard. Mie looks horrified. "A
ship's decloaking at two o'clock high!! I.D. makes her a Warhawk!"

"Stand down," Koosei orders. "Open hailing frequencies."

"Roger," Mie presses controls.

An Ipraedies Warhawk slides beside the drifting scout as the
forward viewscreen comes on, revealing the stunning features of a
well-endowed Ipraedies woman in her mid-twenties. A brunette with
very expressive, sensual emerald eyes, she bears the markings of a
lieutenant-commander in the Ipraedies Information Service's Naval
Division. "It's been a long time, Koosei-kun," she smiles.

"Who's the chick?!!" Kakugari gapes.

"I've missed you," the teacher smiles. "You know what's up?"

"Afraid so," the Ipraedies officer sighs. "There's been
developments. According to my contacts in the Imperial Household,
Schwartzkoff's in full agreement to the idea of marrying Oyuki, but
for a different reason than what his father has in mind."

"A different reason?!" Koosei looks surprised.

"His Highness sees it as a chance for Ipraedos to become a
member of the Federation when he's crowned Emperor," she explains.
"However, I've just been told that Oyuki was able to make him explore
another possibility: marry Gella and when he's crowned Emperor,
Ipraedos could still join the Federation."

"Well, that's good," he breathes out in relief. "This should
be a simple job, then."

"Not so fast," her eyes' narrow. "Schwartz learned fast about
that idea. Gella's been arrested and turned over to the Circus!"

Everyone gasps, having heard of the Ipraedies Circus from
those once taken prisoner because of Hazel. "Uh-oh," Koosei sighs.

"Agreed," she nods. "Fortunately, there's a chance to save
her. I'll need help, however."

"You got it!" Koosei smiles. "I take it, then, that you're
here to arrest us, hmm?" he muses.

Everyone stares at the teacher in shock...

* * *

Moments later, Lan's scout is secured below the Warhawk by
tractor arrays. Inside the cramped ship's main dining room, the
lieutenant-commander meets with Koosei, Sakura, Mie and Toji. "Well,
now that the official formalities are done, welcome aboard," she holds
out her hand. "I'm Lieutenant-Commander Bushi Roosei, commander of
the Ipraedies Information Service's Naval Division."

"I take it you and she know each other," Sakura muses, giving
Koosei a knowing glance.

"We've dated on occasion, both when I was here and after I
escaped from Vos," Koosei sighs. "Anyhow, we can't delay. Old man
Schwartz won't waste any time trying to drag Oyuki-chan to the altar.
Once we have Gella, we'll have to double-quick back to Ipraedos to
swap her for Oyuki-chan, then break for the border. You realize, of
course, that you'll probably be declared a traitor to the Empire if
your involvement in this is make public knowledge."

"Not necessarily," Bushi smiles. "I didn't come out here
without getting some help back on Ipraedos. Tell me, Koosei-kun...how
much do you know of Gella?"

The teacher looks confused. "I don't understand..."

"I do," she sits. "Gella's no ordinary maidservant. Back
when the First Empire fell at the start of the Socialist Interregnum,
the old imperial family was slaughtered nearly to the last member.
However, several elements of that family were said to have fled
Ipraedos and relocated on Toukonokouen for the duration of the
Interregnum. The government lost track of what happened to them in
the wake of our war with the Vosians and the Restoration. However,
there is one organization in the Empire which did automatically keep
track of them...the Central Registry."

"Central Registry?!" Mie looks confused. "You mean some sort
of central statistics office?"

"It runs in the same manner," the intelligence officer nods.
"The Imperial Central Registry is maintained by a small band of
clerics descended from the old pre-Interregnum temples. They bear no
political affiliation whatsoever, either to the monarchy, the Home
Council or the Tribunal. It's said to be the repository of every
dirty secret in Ipraedies history. The power the clerics have is
potentially enormous. Could you guess the ability they have to bribe
ministers, officials, even the Emperor himself?!"

"Surprising," Sakura muses. "Do you believe Gella's ancestry
could be traced through this Registry?"

"I'm having a friend doing that right now," Bushi smiles.
"While we're waiting, why don't we go intercept the Circus?!"

"Sounds fair," Koosei crosses his arms. "I haven't beaten up
on a ringmaster in quite some time. This should be fun!"

Everyone laughs...

* * *

On Ipraedos at that time, Oyuki lays on her bed, clearly
depressed by the sudden turn of events. Schwartzkoff is busy trying
to trace down Gella's possible location. Right now, the guard around
the Tritonian princess has been doubled in an attempt to intimidate
her into submitting to Schwartz's plan. However, Oyuki has not lost
all hope. "Somehow," she sighs, "...someway, Koosei-kun will come for
me...I know he will..."

Her eyes drift close as her memory drifts back two years...

* * *

A fifteen year-old Oyuki walks across the destroyed cathedral
towards the gate she passed through with Koosei two years earlier.
The clouds of Neptune seem to part, allowing the distant Sun to shine
like a dim streetlight on the scene. Anticipation is in her eyes for
this is the first time she has seen her lover in almost a year, since
he departed Triton to work with Koruneko on Sakusei Station. Beside
her is Lum, who seems equally anxious. "Oyuki-chan, are you sure
he'll come?!" the Oni floats backward in front of the Tritonian.

"I'm sure, Lum-chan," the Tritonian sighs. "By the way, did
you hear what he did on Sakusei sometime ago?"

"With Rei?!" Lum snorts, taking pleasure in learning about
anything awful happening to her former boyfriend. "Oooh, Lan-chan was
so steamed!! I hear he's still in the hospital!"

Both girls laugh, then they step up to the door of the small
hut now standing near the cathedral gates. "Wow!" the Oni looks awed.
"Nice love nest! Can I see?!"

"Hey!" Oyuki snaps, stopping Lum from peeking through the
doorway. "You know you're not supposed to look in there!!"

The Tritonian is surprised when Lum spins around and sticks
her tongue out, pulling down the skin from her right eye. "Nyaa!"

"You've been staying on Earth too long," Oyuki muses. "How
are things with you and your husband?"

Lum pauses. "Oh, I don't know," she looks away. "Darling
still chases girls and acts as if I'm still a stranger, an interloper.
I try to stop him, but he keeps it up. I even got Ten-chan and the
people from school to watch over him, but that still doesn't stop him.
My parents and his even agreed for us to get married, but he ignores
that, too." Lum looks down, then over her shoulder. "Oyuki-chan, do
you think that Darling doesn't love me?"

The Tritonian thinks for a moment. "Perhaps not," she sighs.
"I must grant that you were recovering from finally dismissing Rei.
The chances are good that you might have rebounded too swiftly, coming
at Ataru without taking into consideration what he might feel."

"So...what do you suggest I do?" Lum faces her friend.

Oyuki pauses. Personally, she did not approve of Lum's
interest in her Terran "lover"...however, if she said something too
harsh, the princess ran the risk of loosing the Oni's friendship.
However, if she said nothing, then nothing would change between Ataru
and Lum. The chance was there that Ataru might decide enough was
enough, then turn around and expel Lum from his life forever.

There was still so much unknown about Lum's Darling. He
seemed like a normal middle-class salaryman's son, but the Moroboshi
family demonstrated an alarming swiftness in recovering from disaster
after disaster, a recovery strength indicating a massive amount of
hidden wealth, perhaps on the level of the Mendous. The state of
affairs between Lum and Ataru had the Tritonian worried. "I
recommend...that you remain with him, Lum-chan," Oyuki sighs.
"However, I suggest you cease referring to him as your husband. I
believe that 'fiance' would be better. Finally, perhaps you should
ease up on him. Permit him to explore dating other women. I don't
mean totally cease disciplining him, but your current approach may be
too harsh...and could potentially rebound against you. You risk
losing Ataru like you did Rei."

"You think so?" Lum looks anxious.

"I believe so," Oyuki nods.

"Okay!" the Oni nods...then her eyes widen. "What's that?!"

She points. Oyuki looks...then gasps on seeing a platoon of
marching soldiers. All are dressed in the lavish uniforms of the
Imperial Ipraedies Army, supplemented by warm parkas and heavy stun
rifles. Their leader is a young, roguish man dressed in an officer's
uniform. Seeing the Tritonian princess, the officer approaches, his
pistol aimed at her heart. "Your Highness," he curtly bows.

"Who are you?" Oyuki's eyes narrow.

"I am a representative of Emperor Schwartz," the officer
states. "He desires that you marry his son, the Crown Prince
Schwartzkoff. You should be well aware of His Imperial Majesty's
intentions, Your Highness."

"No friend of mine's marrying an Ipraedies!!" Lum leaps
between Oyuki and the officer.

"Mind your place, Oni!!!" the officer fires.

Lum is hit in the stomach! The Oni drops to the ground,
gripping the wound. "Lum-chan!!!" the Tritonian princess gasps.

Several soldiers level their rifles on Oyuki. "You're coming
with us, Princess," the officer smiles. "As for your Oni friend, I
think she'll make an interesting act in our Circus!"

"Forgive me for interrupting this..." a voice calls from
behind them, "...but Oyuki-chan's already engaged...to **me**!!!"

The soldiers spin around but it is too late; a *qu'f-piaqu'r*
barks. A scatter-shot round rips through them, mowing them down like
a scythe cutting wheat!! Oyuki gasps as another man approaches,
shouldering the Yehisrite musket that cut down the platoon with one
blow. The officer, trying desperately to recover, moves to grab his
pistol...but a foot stomps on his wrist! "Uh-uh!" that voice cackles.
"That's a no-no!"

The Ipraedies gasps on seeing Koosei standing over him.
Behind him came two platoons of Oni troops, lead by Captain Invader.
"Looks like we came just in time," the large Oni captain
cackles...then freezes on seeing Lum. "Lum-chan!!!" he cries, running
over several Ipraedies soldiers to gently cradle his wounded daughter.
"Lum-chan, you're hurt!!!"

"How did you...?!" the Ipraedies officer gasps.

"A friend of mine on Ipraedos informed me of this little
plot!" Koosei smiles. "I'm going to give you a message to pass to
Schwartz! You tell him that Oyuki is engaged...to me!! Comprende?!!"

"The Emperor will never...!" the officer growls...

...then is silenced by the butt of Koosei's musket! As the
Ipraedies are carted away by Invader's troops, the Terran walks up to
the princess. "Are you okay, Oyuki-chan?" he gently grasps her hand.

"I'm fine, Koosei-kun," she hugs him. "Thank you!"

"You don't have to thank me, love," he kisses her forehead.

Oyuki faces the Ipraedies officer as he is dragged to his
feet. "Inform Emperor Schwartz that I am engaged...to this man here,"
she gently squeezes Koosei's arms. "I warn you that any attempts at
stopping our marriage will result in a state of war between the
Federation and your Empire!" She faces the Oni officer who is in
charge of Invader's troops. "Lieutenant, remove them, please!"

"Yes, ma'am!" he salutes, then faces his troops. "Move these
bastards out!! Now!"

The Ipraedies are dragged away. Invader lifts a recovering
Lum in his arms, then smiles. "We'll leave you two be for a while."

"Thanks, Captain," Koosei nods.

Invader flies away. Koosei and Oyuki breathe out in relief,
then face each other. "So...what's the occasion?" he hums.

"Would you come inside?" she waves him to the hut.

Koosei and Oyuki step inside. The hut is lavishly furnished,
a beautiful room befitting Triton's future head-of-state. A
heart-shaped bed sits in the middle of the room. "Wow!" the Terran
whistles. "Beautiful! Did you do this, Oyuki-chan?!"

"I had it done," the Tritonian sits on the bed, then notions
Koosei to sit with her. "Do you like it?"

"It's wonderful," he sits, looking around. "So, what do you
want to do?"

"Make love to you," she responds without hesitation.

Koosei gasps, then faces Oyuki. "Wh-what...?!"

"Of course," she sweetly smiles, reaching behind her to untie
the obi. "We are engaged, Koosei-kun. As long as I avoid becoming
pregnant, there is no scandal. Lay back and relax."

Koosei gulps, doing as he is told as Oyuki stands, the obi
falling away. She slides the coronet off her head, allowing her hair
to fall free. Oyuki then slides the kimono off, revealing glowing
skin unsheathed by her usual one-piece swinsuit. Finally, she kicks
away her sandals. Bashfully covering herself, she looks at him.
"Well...?" she huskily whispers. "Tell me, Koosei-kun...are any of
the Maidens of the Eternal Voyager as beautiful as I?"

The Terran stammers, unable to form a single word. Finally,
his control lost, Koosei passes out. "Koosei-kun!!" Oyuki gasps.

No answer. Oyuki walks over to sit beside him, touching his
forehead. "Oh, my!" she giggles. "I suspect I must be."

Oyuki leans down and kisses him...

* * *

Oyuki's eyes open...revealing Schwartzkoff staring at her.
"Hi," he smiles.

"Oh!" the Tritonian sits up, rubbing her eyes. "I'm still on
Ipraedos."

"'Fraid so," the Ipraedies crown prince sighs.

"Any success in locating Gella?"

Schwartzkoff shakes his head. "No. The Circus never
announces its location between shows. I've got friends working on it,
but I have to keep this low-key to ensure Father doesn't learn of
this." Looking down, he rubs his forehead. "Blast, why is he so
blind...?!"

Oyuki places a sympathetic hand on Schwartzkoff's shoulder...

* * *

"I hope Lum-chan comes soon," Ten-chan sighs.

Morning has come to Ryokurin. Reiko sits beside the door.
Ten-chan looks outside the window. "What makes you think she'll
come?!" the Noukiite sighs. "She probably doesn't know where we are!"

"Yeah," Ten-chan sighs, realizing that Reiko is angry at him
because he did not mention her father. "Do you think Ataru'd come?"

It works...to a point. "I hope so," Reiko sighs. "At least
I'll get the chance to tell him about the Niphentaxians!"

Ten-chan looks shocked. "What?! Don't do that, Reiko-chan!!"

"Why not?!" she icily glares at him. "Worried that Daddy'd
dump her because of it?! I'm sure he won't like the idea of her
keeping secrets like that from him!!"

"But, Reiko-chan...!" he pleads.

"Forget it!!" she crosses her arms. "Lum ain't gonna deceive
Daddy anymore if I can help it! I hope he gets Great-grandma to send
you both packing!!"

Ten-chan shudders, feeling the ominous threat of Ataru's
mysterious grandmother, someone Lum could not touch due to a myriad of
reasons. They hear a girl's voice. "Hey, stop yelling in there!"

Both turn to see a dark-skinned tapered-eared woman, barely
fourteen, looking in from the hallway. Her face is in shadow, but it
is framed with short-cut platinum hair. She appears dressed in a
sleeved magenta jumpsuit over a chainmail bodysuit. "Who are you?!"
Reiko looks confused.

"I am Souna of Kyotos," the girl smiles, then looks to the
guard standing outside. "Let me in."

"But, ma'am, Nameragi stated that no one was to see them!" the
guard moves to stop her.

The girl snarls. "Since when does a fanatic Niphentaxian
*yifgiz* have authority over a child of the *lyzibf'm*?!!" her voice
becomes icily brittle.

The guard stops, then bows. "Forgive me, Lady Souna. I
forgot myself." He opens the door. "Please, go ahead."

The girl steps into the cell. Reiko and Ten-chan are shocked
to see a jagged scar marring her cherubic face, extending from above
her left eye across the bridge of her nose to her right cheek.
Further, her hair falls past her eyebrows, barely hiding a "X" tattoo
on her forehead. The girl tentatively reaches over to the wall, then
feeling her way, sits down beside the Noukiite. Her eyes are a dull
albino. "Here," she reaches out.

Reiko touches the hand. The woman's hand traces the child's
arm until she could touch her forehead ridges. "A Noukiite?!" the
visitor smiles. Her fingers then trace Reiko's cheeks until they
somehow stop over her cheek tattoo. "A Lost Star!" the woman smiles.
"Well, I hoped Father would rescue some of you from those slavers!"

"Who are you?!" Ten-chan sits beside their visitor.

"Why, I'm Gegranko's daughter!" she smiles.

Both children look surprised. "You're **his** daughter?!!"
Ten-chan exclaims, wondering what could possibly happen to them now.

"Well, I'm actually his adopted daughter," the visitor smiles.
"He adopted me when I was a baby."

"Yeah, Nassur-chan always said that Gegranko's wives are
dead," Ten-chan scratches the back of his head, visibly trying to
equate a dark-skinned child to the Yehisrite godfather.

"You know, Ten-chan, she looks like Yukio-chan!" Reiko hums.

"Yeah!!" the Oni leans closer for a better inspection.

Sensing his presence, the visitor reaches over to touch his
face, then after finding nothing of interest there, her hand feels
around his head until she makes contact with his horn. "An Oni?!!"
her eyebrow rises. "Are you an orphan, too?!"

"Um, no," Ten-chan shakes his head. "Neither's she," he
points to Reiko, a useless gesture given the visitor's obvious lack of
vision. "We were kidnapped and brought here!"

Surprise crosses her face. "What?!! Why?!!"

"Because that creep Nameragi wants my daddy!!" Reiko sniffs.

The woman looks offended. "You mean that dishonourable swine
kidnapped you just to bring your father here?!!" she growls. "How
dare that Niphentaxian take such liberties with Father's honour!!"

"What can we do?!" Ten-chan looks hopeful.

The woman pauses. "Well, first of all, let's move you to a
nicer place, then I'll have a talk with Father about this! C'mon!"

Standing, she moves to the door. The guard obediently opens
the door for the woman and her two new friends, then falls in behind
them...

* * *

Reiko, Ten-chan and their new friend arrive in a quaint
bedroom in the main part of the castle. The dark-skinned woman turns
to the guard. "Ensure that swine Nameragi does not learn of this!"
she snaps. "If someone learns, it's your head!"

"Yes, ma'am!" he bows, then departs.

Reiko and Ten-chan sit on the bed. Their liberator sits
beside them, moving with greater ease now in familiar grounds. "Who
are you?!" the Noukiite crosses her arms. "Are you a hybrid?!"

"Why...yes, I am," she nods. A moment later, she has
partially undressed herself so she could show a tattoo under her left
armpit. It is the number "12," placed on her in the same manner as
what Hazel and the other Project hybrids possess. "My friends call me
Juuni, by the way," she dresses herself. "If you want to know, I was
rejected by the Project. How did you learn of it, anyway?"

"Nassur-chan found the other hybrids," Ten-chan explains. "I
know one who's a really nice girl. Her name's Hazel."

"And Daddy knows another one," Reiko adds. "She's nicer than
Hazel. Her name's Yukio...or Yukira as she's known now that she's
done the Test of Life. She's going to be an executioner!"

"Really?!" Juuni hums. "I did the Test last year. It must've
been fun for Yukira, doing the Test with the Executioners!"

"It was...exciting, or so she says," Reiko giggles.

"How d'you get adopted by Gegranko?!" Ten-chan interrupts.

"Oh, well, that's easy to explain," Juuni looks at him. "You
see, in something like the Project, there's bound to be children born
with...faults, to put it nicely. Nijuukyuu, for example, was born
with a heart defect. Gojuuni's immunity system was not as good as the
Ipraedies wanted. Granted, things like that are correctable, but the
Project supervisors didn't want even the *hint* of imperfection.
Hence, when they were born and detected, they were...disposed of."

"D-disposed of...?!" Ten-chan gulps.

"Sent to die," Reiko explains.

"And they would have, too," Juuni nods, "...had not Father
stepped in and saved their lives. The Project rejected almost a dozen
children. All of them now call Gegranko of Kyotos their father."

"Was that the way you came here?" the Oni hums.

"No," Juuni sighs. "This..." she points to her eyes, "...was
done to me by my mother." Both children pale. "When I was six, it
was decided to move the camp from Barsoom to Icarus," the hybrid
continues. "The mothers, of course, were considered...expendable. My
mother decided that there was no way a child of hers would ever serve
that butchering swine Schwartz, so she...deprived me of my sight. The
doctors could not help me so I was...abandoned."

"You're not mad!" Ten-chan gasps.

"Of course not!" Juuni growls, pride in her voice. "My mother
did not want me to live the life of a *wilvirhis'r*!! I thank the
gods every day for her love, as much as I thank the gods for Father
rescuing myself and the others! I am not ashamed, nor am I helpless!"

Silence falls over them. "Enough of that," the hybrid smiles.
"Father always comes by once a day to see us. No matter what, he
always sets aside time for those he loves and cares for. When he
does, he'll learn the truth of what that Nameragi plans, then you'll
be on your way back to your loved ones. In the meantime, while we're
waiting, do you want to play?!"

"Yeah!!!" both children cheer.

* * *

Somewhere near the Ipraedies-Yehisrite frontier, Bushi's
Warhawk slips out of hyperspace. On the bridge, the all-female
*Dowe'on* crew are at battle stations as the image of a lonely planet
looms ahead of their ship. "We are in the Kaori system, Commander,"
the executive officer reports. "Planet Ryou dead ahead."

Bushi sighs. "Any sign of the Circus' flagship?!"

"It's in low orbit over the planet," the sensory officer looks
up from her screen. "They appear to be unaware of our presence."

"Good," Bushi nods. "Hail them, Mesuri," she looks to the
signaller's station.

A second later, the garish face of Ringmaster Nimrod appears
on the forward viewscreen. He peers into the darkened space of the
bridge. "What ship is that?!!" he demands. "Identify yourself!!"

"I've no need to identify myself to the likes of you, Nimrod!"
Bushi growls. "Speak with that tone to me again and I'll have your
circus shut down and you executed!!"

Nimrod pales on hearing the commander's voice. He then
lightly bows. "Forgive me, Commander Bushi. I did not see you there.
You do the Ipraedies Circus enormous honour by gracing us with your
honoured presence, ma'am."

"Dipping for compliments again?" Bushi sighs. "Nimrod, stop
giving me an earache! I've business with you that cannot wait!!"

"Wh-what sort of business?" calculation appears on his face.

"As you know, our esteemed Crown Prince Schwartzkoff intends
to marry the Crown Princess Oyuki of Triton," the commander stands,
walking to the viewscreen. She had unbuttoned her shirt past her
breasts to give him a clear view of her bountiful bosom. "Believe it
or not, the princess' minuscule friends from Earth and Uru came out to
attempt to rescue her and break our crown prince's heart. I
was...fortunate to capture them."

Nimrod's eyes dance between Bushi's eyes and her breasts.
"You...you did...?!" he stammers, trying to keep under control.
"How...how wonderful of you, C-commander!" he bows, steam billowing
from the back of his neck. "If you're out to be rid of them, ma'am,
leave those two lovely, beautiful, round...er, your prisoners to me!!"

Bushi utters a tee-hee giggle, her hand undoing another
button. "Well, Ringmaster...you are indeed a man who *rises* to the
occasion," she bats her eyelashes at him.

Nimrod nearly falls on his backside. Bushi could guess that
the ringmaster's heart was on overdrive, not to mention other things.
"Now, Ringmaster, would you mind meeting me at the camp on Ryou so we
can exchange prisoners?" the intelligence officer purrs. "We could
exchange many other...pleasantries as well," she winks.

If Nimrod could rip Bushi's clothes off, he would. "Y-yes!!!"
he nods. "Yes!! I'll see you down there!!! N-nimrod out!!"

The screen goes blank. Bushi recovers, then spits out in
disgust. "That pig!!" she growls.

She then sees her crew crying! "Bushi, how could you?!!" one
wails. "Actually allowing yourself to be touched by that slime?!!"

The commander chuckles, realizing that her crew lusted for her
as much as any Ipraedies worth their salt would. "Now, now, my
precious daughters!" she sighs, allowing her navigator and combat
officer to take her hands. "Enough! The future of our people rides
on our actions over the next while. Be brave and control yourselves
and I'll let you have your way with me when this is done!"

The crew smiles; Bushi allowed herself to have several brief
sexual liaisons with her crew as long as discipline was maintained.
"Now, Haji, go fetch our 'prisoners,'" the commander looks to her
first officer. "It is time for us to give our grand performance to
the Ipraedies Circus!"

"Yes, ma'am!" she salutes, then skips off the bridge like a
giddy teenager having landed the queen of the prom...

* * *

The planet Ryou is a grassy prairie world with temperatures
compatible to the great plains of North America. Due to its close
range to the Yehisrite frontier, it is a world with a sparce civilian
population. Garrisoned by frontier troops with little pay and little
chance to go home, Ryou is a habitual port call for the Ipraedies
Circus. Currently, in the main base's dockyard, Nimrod's cruiser sits
beside Bushi's Warhawk and Lan's "captured" scout. Koosei and his
rescue party stand guarded by a platoon of the base's security force
as Nimrod disembarks, reaching out to shake Bushi's hand. "An honour
to meet you at last, Commander," the ringmaster sighs, lustfully
staring down her nearly exposed bosom.

"Eyes in, Ringmaster," Bushi giggles, playfully batting his
red nose. "Business first, pleasure later."

"Oh, of course, of course," he sighs as she escorts him to the
Terrans, Lan and Toji. "Let's see...what have we here...eh?!"

"They made **you** ringmaster?!!" Koosei incredulously stares.
"Boy, Schwartz must be scraping the bottom of the barrel if they
depend on a slack-ass like *you* to run the circus, Nimrod!"

"Koosei Ryooki," the ringmaster growls. "Well, well, well!
So, you came to try to rescue your pretty girlfriend, eh?! I will
gladly see the day you're broken once and for all!!"

"Dream on, jerk!" the teacher retaliates.

Nimrod's eyes then fall on Toji. "Well, well...the lovely
cousin of our next Empress," he touches her nose. "My, you'll make
one of our grand dukes a very happy man, I wager." He turns to his
aide. "We'll spare this one."

"Yes, sir," the aide nods.

The ringmaster passes Mie, then sees everyone from Tomobiki.
"A Seishin and eight Terrans, eh?!" he muses, then stares at Mendou
and Shinobu. "I recognize you two!" he points at them. "You were on
Icarus with Lum the Notorious and Ataru Moroboshi, weren't you?!"

"How nice of you to remember," Shinobu snorts.

Nimrod snaps a finger. An aide hands him a datapadd. Calling
up an image, he then stares at Lan. "And you, I know of! You're the
child of Count Mamoko, aren't you...Lan?!"

"L-lan...?!" the Seishin girl stammers. "Oh, you mean Lan!
I'm sorry, she's not here!!" she giggles. "I'll go get her...!!"

"She's Lan," Mie speaks up.

Lan turns white. "Thank you," Nimrod smiles. "You once
promised us three girls for the Circus, my dear! Where are they?!"

"W-well, s-someone stopped me...!" Lan gulps. "I...I couldn't
get th-them f-for you...!!"

"Too bad," Nimrod dryly chuckles. "Since you did not fulfill
your end of the agreement between us, **you'll** take their place!!
We'll put you in the first act!"

Lan looks faint. The ringmaster turns to his aid. "Remove
them to the pen!! Have the Tritonian and these ladies..." he points
at Shinobu, Ryuunosuke, Mie and Sakura, "...sent to the Matron."

"Yes, sir," the aide calls up several of his friends to escort
the prisoners away.

As they are taken away, Mendou looks at Koosei. "Is your plan
working now, Ryooki-sensei?!" he hisses.

"Like a charm!" the teacher muses.

As they are taken away, Nimrod turns to Bushi. "Commander, I
would consider it the greatest of honours if you attended our first
performance," he gracefully bows.

"I'll be there," the intelligence officer smiles.

The clowns immediately proceed to work. Bushi nods at Haji,
then returns to her ship...

* * *

"Hey, look at me!!" Ryuunosuke laughs. "I'm a girl!"

Waiting in a large, sparsely furnished room, Toji, Sakura and
Shinobu are dressed in skimpy slave clothing reminiscent of a
sword-and-sorcery movie, leaving little to the imagination.
Ryuunosuke has just changed, for the first time in clothes which do
not deceive anyone as to her proper gender. "My old man would be so
pissed if he saw me like this!" the tomboy looks at herself in a
mirror. "I'll keep it!!"

"Keep your mind on the business at hand, Ryuunosuke," the
Tritonian warns. "We're not here to have fun, remember."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Ryuunosuke nods.

Mie emerges, dressed like her friends. "Well, I can guess
what we're going to be!" she sighs, combing her hair.

The others are quick to notice a curious tattoo on the back of
the Kyushu native's thighs; a series of dots and slashes which seem to
form a number. From top to bottom are two symbols composed of three
dots in a reverse L-shape flipped upside down, topping a symbol with
two dots beside a vertical slash. "What is that?!" Ryuunosuke points.

Mie looks where the tomboy is pointing, then shrugs. "Your
guess is as good as mine, Ryuunosuke."

Sakura and Shinobu look at each other. Toji remains neutral.
A middle-aged Ipraedies woman enters the room. She is dressed quite
conservatively. "Come along, girls!" she looks outside. "These are
our new recruits!"

A mass of mostly Ipraedies women stream in. Mixed with them
are several crimson-skinned tapered eared women resembling native
Americans. All are dressed as the four Terrans. Guarding them as the
newcomers are quick to notice are large, muscular Ipraedies women
armed with stun batons. The Terrans also note that several of the
prisoners have been beaten and shocked by the guards. The prisoners
have hollow, defeated looks on their faces. "This is Sakura," the
matron waves to each of the newcomers. "This is Shinobu, this is
Ryuunosuke, this is Toji and this is Mie. Inform them of the demands
made of them, girls."

She departs, followed by the guards. The prisoners warily eye
the Terrans, unsure as to what to say. "Um...hello, there," Shinobu
tries to break the ice with a friendly wave.

No answer. "They don't seem friendly," Ryuunosuke whispers.

"They've been beaten and raped by the looks of it," Sakura
muses. "Let them get comfortable with us, then we'll get to work."

"Right," the tomboy nods.

The prisoners turn to one of the crimson-skinned women. "What
do you think, Bijin?" an Ipraedies with a scar dissecting the right
side of her face and a pearl-shaded glass eye crosses her arms.
"Should we allow them to go to the jackals or welcome them in?"

"The *ehn* has brought them here for other reasons," the
crimson-skinned woman muses. She has the demeanor of a priestess.
"They desire to return us to freedom because one of us bears the
freedom of one of their friends."

Laughter bursts from the other prisoners. "Freedom?!!"
another crimson-skinned woman snaps. "There is no freedom from the
Circus save death!!"

"What makes you think that?" Sakura crosses her arms.

The laughter stops. "We are here to take one of you away, all
of you if we can!" the nurse muses. "Which one of you is Gella?"

"I am," a very beautiful teenage Ipraedies girl steps out of
the crowd. She has waist-length charcoal hair and brown eyes with the
requisite *Dowe'on* tattoos and the wrist-bracelets. "Who are you?"

"We're friends of Oyuki," Shinobu explains.

Wrong thing to say; with a screech, Gella leaps over and
smashes the Terran into the wall, trying to scratch her eyes out.
"Oyuki?!!" Gella howls. "Oyuki?!! OYUKI?!?!?! How dare you mention
that slut's name in my presence, you white-skinned bitch?!! I'll have
your tongue for that...!!"

A hand clamps hard on her shoulder, knocking Gella out.
Shinobu is surprised that Mie rescued her. "Th-thanks..." Ataru's
ex-girlfriend pants.

"Maybe I should've let her kill you," the Kyushu native muses.

Shinobu looks incensed. "Why do you desire this one?!" Bijin
walks up.

"She is the true love of Crown Prince Schwartzkoff," Sakura
explains.

Gasps utter from the other prisoners. "We never knew that!!"
the scarred Ipraedies woman stares at the unconscious Gella. "She's
always been quiet since the day she joined us!! We never could get
her to talk, gods only know why!" She faces the other prisoners.
"Can you believe this?!"

Chatter starts up. "Ladies, ladies, please!!!" Mie claps her
hands. "If I can interrupt this for a moment!!"

The girls fall silent. "Why do you hope to rescue her, girl
of the firebird?" Bijin muses.

"We've got friends here helping us," Mie muses. "If you want
to be free women again, well...we need your help," she shrugs. "Any
takers?!"

"Yes!" Gella moans as she stands. "I want to live long enough
so I can choke that ice-bitch's throat for taking **my** lover away
from me!"

"Okay, then," Mie waves the other prisoners to her. "Here's
what we'll do..."

* * *

An hour later, the base's main recreation hall had been
converted into a three-ring circus. Crowding around the centre ring
stand a mass of Ipraedies soldiers, liberally mixed with members of
Bushi's crew. Bushi herself sits with the base commander, none other
than the very same commandant who once controlled Project:
Superwarrior! "You don't realize how much this means to me,
Commander," the commandant muses, feeling quite happy at the
entertainment. "To see the denizens of Tomobiki brought to ruin is
suitable revenge for their taking our hybrids away!! Did you hear
what Fifty-one did to the Emperor after she succeeded in killing
Faja?!!"

"Yes, I did," Bushi nods. Yukio had, after being gazetted as
an executioner, taken the decapitated head of the assassin Faja to
Ipraedos with Nassur's and Varanko's help, then personally threatened
Emperor Schwartz with his own execution in vengeance for Cademus. "If
you desire to know, my dear commandant, many of us in the Tribunal
believe that the whole project was a waste of time. There are other
ways to skin the Vosian cat."

"Well, I pray for the day those disrespectful brats are
brought back to heel!" the commandant growls. "Especially Fifty-one!!
Her and Twenty-eight both I would gladly see dead, not to mention that
traitor Hakaba!!"

Bushi levels an even stare at him, but says nothing.
Suddenly, the lights dim as a spotlight falls on centre stage.
"Ladies and gentleman!!!" Nimrod declares. "Welcome to the first
performance on this tour of the Great Ipraedies Circus on the planet
Ryou!!!"

The crowd cheers. "Thank you!!!" the ringmaster waves.
"Today, we have with us the accursed monster from Earth who dared defy
the Ipraedies Empire and made a mockery of our superb armed forces!!!
May I turn your attention to stage left!!!"

A spotlight reveals Koosei, hanging upside down from a trapeze
ten metres in the air. "There he is!!!" Nimrod snarls. "Koosei
Ryooki, who's crimes against the Empire are too numerous to count!!!"

Boos and hisses echo from the crowd. Several soldiers begin
to toss jagged broken bottles at Koosei. The Terran smiles, giving
them a very vulgar hand salute in return. "Now, may I turn your
attention to stage right!!!" Nimrod points to the other end of the
ring. "Behold up there, the five so-called 'Holy Apostles' of the Oni
bitch Lum!!!"

A spotlight reveals Mendou and the guards on another trapeze.
"Look at them!!!" the ringmaster snorts. "Look at their arrogance!!!
Thanks to them, the slime Onis continue to control a planet which
rightfully should belong to the Ipraedies Empire!!! What say you, my
friends?!!"

Roars of anger and venomous hate echo from the crowd.
Strangely enough, Koosei boos with the Ipraedies! "You hear those
people, jerks!!!" the homeroom teacher yells through a megaphone. "No
one in the galaxy cares for your pathetic lust for Lum, idiots!!!
Listen to them!!!" he points to the crowd. "They're the smartest lot
in the galaxy!!! At least I'll die knowing that you bastards will be
put to death and **nothing** will stand in Ataru's way of **marrying**
Lum!!!"

That is too much for the five men. "WHAT WAS THAT?!?!?!"
Megane howls, then with superhuman strength, shatters his bonds!

Unfortunately, gravity takes over as the guards' leader drops
to the ground...landing right on top of Nimrod! "OUTTA MY WAY!!!!!!"
Megane screams as he scoops the ringmaster's discarded pistol, then
aims and fires repeatedly at Koosei!!

The shots go wide save one, which parts a cable holding the
trapeze, not to mention the big top tent (set up inside to give a real
circus mood) in place! Koosei kicks himself into swinging like a
pendulum, putting extra weight into the pole. It proves too much,
pulling the pole down, which in turn pulls the other pole down! In
seconds, the whole tent collapses atop the surprised Ipraedies.

In the crowd, Sakura, who was tending to a fat sergeant-major,
screams on seeing the tent collapse. "NOW!!!!"

Every slave girl tending to an Ipraedies rises to kick,
punche, nerve-pinch or crush their companion with fists, feet or any
large object available. No Ipraedies soldier can react to their
rebellion thanks to the hindrance of the collapsing tent. As a
free-for-all ensues, the matron moves in on Gella, a pistol in hand.
"The Emperor will never suffer your continued survival, you traitor!!"
she aims.

Mie appears out of nowhere and harshly back-hands the matron
across the cheek! She drops to the ground as the Kyushu native grabs
Gella by the hand. "Let's go!!!" she screams.

The other prisoners scramble for the exit as the commandant
tries to free himself from the tent canvas. "Kill them!!!" he
screams, pointing at the fleeing prisoners. "Kill them!!! Don't let
them get away!!!"

"Of course not!!" Koosei suddenly appears beside the
commandant, his fist cocked. "You're coming **with** us!!!"

The Ipraedies officer is decked by the teacher's fist,
dropping to the ground. Mendou and Megane race up and roughly grab
him. "Let's move!!!" Koosei yells.

"Right!!!" the students chant as they drag the commandant
away.

In moments, the prisoners are clear as Bushi and Nimrod
finally free themselves. "Damn them!!!" the ringmaster snaps.
"They're free!!"

His words are soon echoed as Lan's scout suddenly blasts off
from the dockyards. "Don't worry, Nimrod!" Bushi turns and kisses the
clown's cheek. "My crew'll bring them back!!"

Nimrod looks ready to faint. "G-go ahead, C-commander...!" he
gags.

Bushi faces her crew, who have now freed themselves. "Come,
my daughters!!" the intelligence officer screams. "Come! For
Ipraedos!!"

Like banshees they scream as they follow their commander out
of the hall. Watching them go, the soldiers and circus clowns cheer
them on. "I'm so glad she's ours!!" Nimrod romantically sighs as he
watches Bushi depart.

Then, everyone hears an inhuman scream. "YOU BASTARDS!!!!"
Lan races after them. "DON'T LEAVE ME!!!! COME BACK HERE!!!! BRING
MY SHIP BACK!!!!!!"

* * *

"Well, we're here!" Ataru looks around as he, Lum and
Dakejinzou disembark from the "Goddess of Luck" in Ryokurin's main
spaceport. "What a dump!! Are you sure this is the place,
Dake-chan?!"

"Yes, this is the place!" the huntress nods. "Well, shall we
go find Reiko and Jariten?!"

"Yes!" Lum nods.

"There's no need!" a voice barks.

The three spin around as a Yehisrite in early middle age walks
up. He is dressed in a magenta loose-fitting shirt and baggy black
trousers over a chainmail bodysuit. He looks like a brown-haired
Varanko. Beside him are two beautiful, scantily-clad women, their
arms slipped through his. "Gegranko!!" Dakejinzou gasps, stunned at
the man's presence.

"Hello, Dakejinzou," the Yehisrite nods. "It is good to see
you again."

Ataru looks between Dakejinzou and Gegranko, surprised at the
cordiality between the huntress and the gangster given that he had
been told by Lum and Yukio that the two had been enemies for decades.
"Where are they?!" she demands, crossing her arms.

Gegranko snaps his fingers. "Lum-chan!!!" Ten-chan flies out
of nowhere to land in his cousin's arms.

"Daddy!!!" Reiko leaps into her father's arms.

"Ooof!!!" Ataru exhales, then stares at his daughter. "Oh,
Reiko-chan, are you okay?! They didn't hurt you, did they?!!"

"Oh, no!!" Reiko shakes her head. "When Gegranko found out
what had happened to us, he came down and let us go!"

"And the one responsible for this?" Dakejinzou stares at
Gegranko.

"He is eliminated," the Yehisrite responds, then faces Ataru.
"Are you Ataru Moroboshi?"

Ataru looks surprised, then hesitantly nods. Gegranko smiles.
"Well, then. May I...?"

Dakejinzou and Lum prepare themselves for a fight...then faint
on seeing the Yehisrite holds out a weaponless hand. "May I shake
your hand, sir?"

Ataru is speechless, then hesitantly allows Gegranko his
request. Dakejinzou and Lum stare at each other. Reiko and Ten-chan
giggle...

* * *

Meanwhile, Bushi's Warhawk is set at maximum speed to
Ipraedos. On the bridge, Koosei and Gella are the only passengers.
Mie, Sakura and Toji are taking the others in the rescue party and the
freed prisoners of the Ipraedies Circus back to Triton, after meeting
with a Yehisrite ship to take the former commandant of Icarus to
Cademus for trial and execution. "I'm sure I forgot something when we
left Ryou," the teacher scratches his head. "Damned if I don't
remember what it was!"

"Never mind, Koosei-kun," Bushi smiles, then looks to Mesuri.
"Any response from the Central Registry?"

"None, ma'am...wait!!" the signaller jolts on hearing a
message. "It's the chief cleric of the Registry, Commander!"

Bushi stands as the forward viewscreen displays the image of
an elderly Ipraedies man in a sweeping robe reminiscent of a monk.
"Yes, yes, what is it, child?!" he squints at her.

"Forgive me, honoured sir," Bushi bows, "...but have you the
information I requested?"

"Who are you?!" the cleric demands.

"Bushi Roosei," the commander replies.

He stares at her. "Are you sure?! I would swear on my wife's
grave that you were the Lady Tankenka who led our first contact with
the Vosians over a century ago! Do you know that?!"

The bridge crew burst into a coughing spasm. "Um...I'm
descent from her," Bushi blushes, then stares her crew into silence.

"Oh, I see," the cleric nods, then pulls up a sheet. "Here
she is. Gella, daughter of Shorana."

"And?!" Gella looks anxious.

He looks at the sheet. "Yes. Your great-great-grandfather on
your mother's side is the Emperor Karuka the Eighth. Is that what you
wished to know, Commander Tankenka?"

"Um...Commander Bushi, sir," the intelligence officer amends,
then nods. "Yes, sir. That's exactly what we wished to know! Thank
you!" she bows.

Koosei looks at Gella. "Guess what! You're going to a
wedding!!"

The Ipraedies maidservant blushes...

* * *

For Oyuki two hours later, she possesses no reason to smile.

Currently, she stands at the altar of the Imperial Chapel, a
large wedding hall located in Schwartz's palace. She is dressed in a
flowing green and silver wedding gown with a long train. Standing
beside her is Schwartzkoff, currently in the flowery uniform of a
colonel of the Imperial Guards. Schwartz stands beside his son,
beaming at his "luck." Officiating the ceremony is a very elderly
Ipraedies priest, who has now reached this point: "...if there is
anyone who objects to these two people coming together within the holy
bonds of Matrimony, let them speak now...or forever hold their peace!"

"I wish they don't ask that!" Schwartz hisses.

Suddenly, a smoke canister lands between the "bride" and
"groom!" Before they could react, it explodes, spewing massive
amounts of thick grey smoke which blinds everyone. "Excuse us, Your
Eminence!!!" a voice yells.

Schwartz is shocked to see Koosei appear out of nowhere. The
elderly Ipraedies emperor pales on seeing the Terran. "K-k-k-k-koosei
Ryo-o-ooki?!!" he stammers.

"Hiya there, Schwartz!!!" the teacher maniacally grins, the
Saturn Five appearing in his hand. "Pleasant day, isn't it?!!"

Oyuki is stunned to hear that voice. "Koosei-kun!!!" she
looks around. "You came!!! Where are you?!!"

"You're not leaving!!!" Schwartz snaps.

He gets crushed by the Saturn Five!!!! "I don't think so!!!"
Koosei starts to chase the Emperor around the chapel.

"Get this madman away from me!!!" Schwartz wails, ducking the
giant hammer's continuous sweeps.

"Hey!!!" Schwartzkoff's voice is heard.

Bushi steps in, then faints on seeing one of her crew carrying
Schwartzkoff out of the smoke **away** from the altar! "I got
Princess Oyuki, Commander!!!" the young servicewoman yips.

"I'm Schwartzkoff, you idiot!!!" the crown prince yells.

The girl screams, then looks around. "Um...where's Princess
Oyuki?!!"

At the altar, the priest is surprised to see two people
standing there. "Well, I'll have to find the rituals for a
handfasting," he hums as he flips through his holy book.

Oyuki looks right to see Gella standing there. "You!!!" the
Ipraedies screeches as she leaps at the Tritonian, murder in her eyes.

Before she could get her hands on Oyuki's throat, the
Tritonian princess is struck down...by Koosei himself!!! "How dare
you touch my Oyuki-chan?!!" he yells...then freezes on seeing whom he
**did** hit! "OYUKI-CHAN?!?!?!"

"This...is clearly not...my day...!" Oyuki moans.

Schwartzkoff comes out of the smoke. "Here I am, Gella!!!"

"Schwartzy!!!" she leaps into his arms with a joyful cry.

"'Schwartzy?!!'" the crowd gasps.

Schwartz grabs Gella by her hair and tries to yank her away
from his son. "Seductress, unhand my son!!!" the elderly emperor
howls.

Koosei's Saturn Five swings around, smashing **Schwartzkoff**
in lieu of his father!!!! "Hands off that woman, you decrepid old
skeleton...oops!!!" the teacher claps his mouth on seeing the crown
prince passed out. "Sorry!!!"

"Koosei-kun, let's get out of here!!!" Oyuki leaps on his
back.

The homeroom teacher's glasses glow on hearing that. "Hang
on!!!" he yells as he charges down the altar for the door, trampling
anyone who gets in his way!

"Come back here!!!" Schwartz screams as he turns to pursue
them.

Seeing her chance, Gella leaps over and grabs the dazed
Schwartzkoff, dragging him to the altar. "Hey, preacher!!!" she
waves. "Come on!! Get us married!!!"

The elderly cleric shakes himself awake, having dozed off as
the free-for-all got into full gear. "Oh, I'm sorry about that!" he
sighs, then looks at Gella. "Do you take this man as your lawfully
wedded husband?"

"I do!!" Gella nods.

The priest faces Schwartzkoff. "Do you take this woman as
your lawfully wedded wife?"

The crown prince is still somewhat incoherent.
"Um...er...yeah," he moans, still being supported by his girlfriend.
"I do..."

That was enough. "Then, by the powers vested in me, I
pronounce you husband and wife," he concludes. "You may kiss your
mate!"

"Thank you!!!" Gella yelps, then swamps Schwartzkoff with a
kiss.

Seeing this, the crowd cheers...save for one. "WHAT WAS
THAT?!?!?!" Schwartz screams, a volcano exploding behind him!

"You better read this first, sir," Bushi hands him a note.

The emperor takes the note in hand, then scans it. Surprise
crosses his face as he faces the intelligence officer. "Are you sure
about this?!!" he gasps.

"Came straight from the Registry, sir," Bushi sighs.

Schwartz shudders in rage. "I wonder what the Home Council
would say if they found out that the last living descendant of dear
old Emperor Karuka was actually arrested by the present Emperor and
sent to the Circus..."

The emperor pales...then finds himself facing the incensed
stares of dozens of other Ipraedies officials, all bearing the red
*Asan'on* headband. "WHAT...WAS...THAT?!?!?!" they scream, eyes
ablaze and fires burning around them!

Bushi whistles as Schwartz tries to shoo his critics away. At
the altar, Schwartzkoff and Gella laugh, then lovingly kiss. "Good
night," the elderly cleric lays down in the front row of pews, then
falls asleep...

* * *

Two days later, Koosei and Oyuki return to Triton and from
there, to Earth. By that time, everyone else had returned to Earth,
including Dakejinzou, Ataru and Lum with Reiko and Ten-chan.
Presently, in Tomobiki High School, everyone from both rescue forces
save Dakejinzou, Ataru and Reiko relax in room 337...save one. "We
went to all that trouble," Mie laughs, shaking his head, "...and we
left that idiot Lan behind on Ryou?!!"

Everyone howls with delight. "We're rid of her for good!!!"
Megane screams, stabbing his fist into the heavens.

The guards begin to chant "Happy Days Are Here Again"...when
there is an explosion!! Everyone spins around to see a violently
incensed Lan standing at the doorway, a bazooka in hand and murder in
her eyes! "So!!!" the Seishin girl growls. "Thought you'd leave me
behind when you got away, eh?!!" she aims her bazooka at Koosei.
"Now, I'm going to get my revenge for what you did to poor Rei-san,
you bastard...!!!"

A shot is heard...then Lan drops unconscious to the floor as
Hazel walks over her, securing her pistol along the way! "No one
cares about what you think, airhead!!!" the hybrid growls.

"Hazel-chan!!" Lum leaps over. "What are you doing here?!"

Hazel looks sad. "Oh, Lum-sensei, it's the worst news!!" she
wails.

Everyone looks anxious...

* * *

Dakejinzou, Ataru and Reiko step into the house in Oshika, all
flush with victory. "You mean he admires me for my killing of the
Masters of Noukiios?!" the Terran stare at the alien, still
incredulous over the events on Ryokurin.

"Why wouldn't he?!" the huntress shrugs. "After all, he may
be a smuggler, drug-trader and all-around scum, but he **never** would
harm a child! It's the one thing he's always been known for! Believe
me, Ataru-chan, Gegranko fought the Masters for a long time. What you
did when you rescued Reiko-chan was in his eyes quite an admirable
act!"

"Strange fellow," Ataru sighs...then stops on hearing a
beeping noise. "What's that?!"

He sees one of Dakejinzou's earrings flash. "A message is
being transmitted to me," the huntress turns to leave. "I'll be right
back."

She steps out. Ataru and Reiko relax in the living room. A
moment later, Dakejinzou returns. Her hosts are surprised to see a
forlorn look on her face. "Dake-chan, what's wrong?!!" Ataru leaps
up, placing a hand on her arm.

Tears appear in the huntress' eyes. "Ataru-chan...Nassur..."

"What is it?" concern appears on his face.

She faces him. "He failed the *nicha*," Dakejinzou replies.

Silence falls over the room...

*** To Be Continued ***