Kiyone Gets Sick
"Mihoshi I can not believe you!" Kiyone yelled. "How could you get us
fired from three different jobs in a week?"
Mihoshi bit her lip. "Well you kept yelling at me and I got
distracted." Kiyone shook her head. "I was yelling because you kept
trying to tell me how to do my job instead of doing your own."
Mihoshi shook her head, "I just thought you should put on a rain coat
so you didn't get sick."
Kiyone yelled. "And what makes you think I'll get..." Suddenly her eyes
rolled up into her head and she fell forward.
Mihoshi ran to her and shook her shoulder. "Kiyone... Kiyone wake up."
Kiyone let out a moan. Mihoshi put her arm under her partner and picked
her up. "I have to get you to Washu right now." Carrying Kiyone on her
back she hailed a cab and gave him the last of their money to get them
to Tenchi's house.
Mihoshi came running into the lab, "Washu?"
Washu turned around and started to yell, "How did you get in... what's
wrong with her?"
Mihoshi shook her head. "I don't know. She was working in the rain all
day and I told her to put on a coat. She was yelling at me and then she
fell over." Washu got up and helped Mihoshi carry Kiyone to one of her
tables. "Will she be alright Washu? I don't know what I'd do if
anything happened to her."
Washu nodded, "I know Mihoshi." Washu's machines worked their way over
Kiyone's body, trying to isolate what the problem was. Washu told
Mihoshi to wait out in the living room.
Two hours later Washu came back. The others were all there with Mihoshi
who was crying. She looked up as Washu came out. "What's wrong Washu?
Is she going to be alright?"
Washu nodded. "You got her here just in time. She had a disease called
pneumonia. It's hitting her hard because she's not from this planet. I
suggest you keep her someplace warm and dry until she wakes up and them
make sure she eats plenty of soup."
Mihoshi shook her head, "But they said they were going to kick us out
of our apartment this week if we couldn't pay and I spent all of our
money getting us here." Tenchi put his hand on Mihoshi's shoulder.
"It's alright Mihoshi. You can live here with us. There's a room up in
the attic that's very warm."
Mihoshi smiled and hugged him. "Oh thank you Tenchi! You have no idea
what this means to me."
Ryoko growled. "Hey watch that. He's mine." Tenchi smiled and took
Ryoko's hand. They had been officially engaged since she and the others
had come back. Aeka had accepted it as had the others.
Sasami looked at Washu, "How long will it be before Kiyone wakes up?"
Washu checked her computer." About three days with that bump on her
head. Mihoshi if you don't mind I'll teleport your belongings into the
attic while you take Kiyone to bed alright? I've already vaccinated you
from the disease and I have to do the others now alright?" Mihoshi
nodded and followed Washu into her lab.
Once there she saw Kiyone laying on the table where Mihoshi had left
her. Mihoshi looked at her and ran a hand down her cheek. "I wish you
had just listened to me Kiyone..." Gently she reached under and picked
the green haired officer up. Washu watched this all with interest. So,
she thought to herself, Mihoshi's feelings for Kiyone are that strong.
I wonder how Kiyone really feels.
Mihoshi carried Kiyone up the stairs making sure to keep her partner's
head up. Azaka and Kamidaki offered to help but she waved the guardians
off. Once they were in the room she set Kiyone gently onto her bed and
sat down next to her. "Please get well Kiyone." She put a hand on
Kiyone's forehead. "Oh you are warm." She went downstairs and got a
bowl of cold water and a washcloth. When she got back she dunked the
cloth in the water and put it on Kiyone's head. Kiyone let out a slight
moan then settled down.
Later that night Sasami brought Mihoshi some food but she was so
worried that she barely ate any of it. Her eyes never wavered from
Kiyone's face. Eventually she fell asleep, but she kept waking up every
few hours and changing her partners wet cloth.
Three days later Kiyone's eyes fluttered open. Her throat was dry and
her head was throbbing. She started to sit up but her stomach lurched
and she had to lie back down before she threw up. She let out a small
moan and suddenly Mihoshi was there. "Kiyone, please lay still. You've
been very sick." Kiyone weakly looked up at Mihoshi. She saw that her
partner's eyes were bloodshot and had bags around them. She tried to
say, "Don't tell me what to do." But all that came out was a ragged
cough and some flim. Mihoshi pushed her down. "Don't worry Kiyone.
You've been out for three days. Wait here and I'll get you some water."
Kiyone shook her head. Three days? What about her work? She had to be
fired from every job she had now. She tried to sit up again but didn't
get very far before throwing up onto her blanket. Mihoshi came running
back with a glass of water. "Here, drink this." Kiyone opened her dry
lips and swallowed the water. It burned her throat. She coughed again
and lay down. Mihoshi sat there holding her hand. Finally Kiyone turned
to her. "What about... what about our work?" Mihoshi smiled and shook
her head. "Washu already told the GP that you were sick, don't worry.
And Tenchi's letting us stay here." Kiyone wanted to tell her that they
shouldn't ask him that, but she felt dizzy and closed her eyes. "Don't
try to talk Kiyone. Just sleep now." Kiyone nodded slightly and passed
out again.
Sometime later she woke up and found Mihoshi sitting next to her again
with a bowl of soup and some more water. She helped Kiyone sit up
slowly, but told her not to try to talk yet. Kiyone nodded and leaned
against the wall. Mihoshi gave her a drink of water Kiyone tried to do
it herself, but she could barely move her arms. After that Mihoshi
began slowly giving her sips of soup. Kiyone recognized it as the type
Sasami made. Once they were done Mihoshi insisted that Kiyone lay back
down. Kiyone nodded and slid back into her covers giving Mihoshi a
quick smile. She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep again.
Mihoshi smiled and sat back on her own bed to watch Kiyone, but after a
while she too fell asleep.
The next day Kiyone woke up feeling a lot better. She flexed her arms
and stretched a bit. Looking over at Mihoshi's bed she saw the blond
asleep against the wall. Was she with me the entire time? Kiyone asked
herself. She didn't want to wake Mihoshi up. So instead she lay there
thinking. Why does she care so much about me? All I ever do is yell at
her. Oh I feel like shit. I really should be nicer to her.
After another hour Mihoshi's eyes opened. "Oh Kiyone you're awake
again. Are you hungry?" Kiyone nodded weakly, her throat still hurt too
much to talk. Mihoshi got up and ran downstairs. She came back a little
later with more soup. Kiyone wrinkled her nose. Soup was alright, but
she wanted something solid. Mihoshi picked up on it immediately. "Sorry
Kiyone but at least until your throat is better Washu says you have to
have lots of soup and water. Nothing else." Kiyone frowned and shook
her head. Mihoshi grinned and held out the spoon. "Come on Kiyone. If
you don't eat you might get sick again." Kiyone sighed, then flinched
at the pain in her throat. Opening her mouth she took the spoon in it
and sipped the soup. She looked up at Mihoshi who smiled back
pleasantly. Clenching her teeth she managed to get out a single ragged
word. "Why?" Mihoshi's smile softened and she reached out to Kiyone's
cheek, rubbing it softly. Then with no warning she picked up the bowl
and spoon and turned to leave the room.
Kiyone stared after her in shock. Mihoshi's actions were... they went
beyond friendship. She shook her head. No... no she was imagining
things. Seeing things that weren't there. She was sick so of course she
was hallucinating. She felt weird... not dizzy this time. She took a
deep breath and covered up again, laying down in her bed. She closed
her eyes, but didn't fall asleep for a long time.
Washu had seen it all of course. She saw Mihoshi reach out and rub
Kiyone's face. She had seen Kiyone's confused look. And her sensors had
picked up the slightest change in both girls hormones. Not much... but
it was definitely there. Washu decided to watch and see how this played
out. It was an interesting way to observe rare social interactions.
Maybe she could find out how love really worked. After all if there was
no possibility for breeding and two people felt attracted to each other
then there must be more to it than that. But the big question was, did
Kiyone feel the same way as Mihoshi?
Does she feel the same way? Mihoshi asked herself. Even if Kiyone
didn't Mihoshi would stay by her side. But she couldn't figure out why
she had done what she did. Why had she tried to show Kiyone how she
felt so openly? She stood up and picked up another bowl of soup. Either
way she still had to make sure Kiyone got well. That was what mattered
now. The rest could wait.
Walking up the stairs she passed Sasami and Ryo-oki. "How is she doing
Mihoshi?"
Mihoshi smiled at the little princess. "Oh you know Kiyone. Nothing
keeps her down."
Sasami smiled and nodded. Ryo-oki rubbed against Mihoshi's leg. "Well
if you need to take a break I'd be happy to take her soup up to her."
Mihoshi almost refused, wanting to see Kiyone again. But then thought
better of it and handed Sasami the bowl. "Thanks Sasami. I need to
sleep anyway." Sasami smiled and took the bowl up the stairs. Mihoshi
sighed and fell back on the couch, almost immediately falling asleep.
Upstairs Kiyone heard someone coming and thought it was Mihoshi. She
sat up ready to eat. Sasami came in and smiled at her. "Hi Kiyone."
Kiyone raised an eyebrow and gestured with her hands. "Mihoshi? I
thought she could use a break. She's been watching over you nonstop."
Kiyone looked surprised. "Yeah, would you believe it? She spent the
first three days you were asleep just sitting by your bed holding your
hand. We all tried to get her to sleep and let one of us do it for a
while but she flat out refused. Open up." Sasami gave her a spoon full
of soup, which Kiyone absently swallowed. "Anyway Mihoshi just sat
right here. She wouldn't even really eat that much she was so worried
about you." Kiyone looked down guiltily and Sasami shook her head. "Now
don't be like that. Nobody blames you, least of all Mihoshi. How did
you get so sick anyway? She wouldn't tell us." Kiyone looked a bit
guiltier.
After Sasami left Kiyone stayed where she was and thought. If she had
just listened to Mihoshi she wouldn't be in this mess. She wondered
what it was about Mihoshi that was so annoying. It wasn't like she did
most of the stuff she did on purpose. And all things considered most of
her mistakes turned out to be better than they were worse. Nobody had
really wanted two Washu's running around the place. Maybe it was
because Mihoshi didn't seem to have a care in the world. It was
frustrating that she seemed able to do whatever she wanted without
suffering the repercussions that the rest of the world did. But just
because of that did she have the right to blame her partner for
everything? No... no she had to stop putting everything on Mihoshi's
shoulders.
As she sat there she thought about what Sasami had said. Mihoshi had
stayed with her holding her hand for days. Had refused to tell them
that it was Kiyone's own fault she was sick. All actions that supported
her earlier suspicions. Mihoshi cared for her deeply. That much was
obvious. But how deep was it and did she feel the same way? Kiyone
didn't know... she had had the chance to get rid of Mihoshi. Could have
stayed as a high-ranking official at headquarters. Why had she given it
all up to come back to this small out of the way planet with the person
she had always claimed to despise and want dead? I need to talk to her,
she thought. Need to find out why Mihoshi did the things she did.
Mihoshi woke up on the couch twelve hours after she had fallen asleep.
She tried to go up to Kiyone again, but Sasami stopped her and made her
eat first. After that Mihoshi hurried upstairs. Kiyone was asleep on
her bed. Ryoko had fed Kiyone her dinner and had left a while ago.
Mihoshi sat down next to Kiyone's bed and looked down at her. Tears
feel from her eyes. "Please just get better." She held Kiyone's hand
and sat there looking at her.
The sun rose many hours later, but Mihoshi hadn't moved. The light
started coming in through the window and slowly crossed the room to
Kiyone's bed and fell across Kiyone's face. Her eyes fluttered open and
she saw Mihoshi sitting over her. She looked down and saw the blonde's
fingers wrapped in hers. Mihoshi smiled and absently ran her fingers
through Kiyone's hair. "You know, in this light... you look like an
angel." Kiyone blushed trying to think of something to say. Finally she
looked up and managed to whisper out, "Thank you..." Mihoshi smiled
with tears in her eyes. "Are you feeling any better Kiyone?" Kiyone
stretched and took a deep breath. Her throat seemed to hurt less and
her hands felt stronger so she looked up and nodded. Mihoshi smiled and
squeezed her hand. "I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to
you Kiyone. You are the only thing that matters to me."
Kiyone looked up at her startled. "You... you mean that?" She said.
Mihoshi nodded and a tear fell down her cheek. "Always. Now don't say
anything else. I'll go get your breakfast alright?" Kiyone bit her lip
and nodded. Once Mihoshi was gone she lay her head back onto the
pillow. "She really does love me..." Kiyone smiled thinking it over.
She decided that yes... she loved Mihoshi too. She had never had a
boyfriend or girlfriend in her life. She had been too busy. And in her
wildest dreams she had never imagined that it would be Mihoshi.
Mihoshi came back with the soup and fed Kiyone. Kiyone meanwhile
willingly took the food and ate quickly. Mihoshi smiled and turned to
take the food away when she felt Kiyone's hand on her arm. Mihoshi set
the food down and turned back. "Yes Kiyone?" Kiyone blushed and reached
up tracing a finger down Mihoshi's cheek. Mihoshi held Kiyone's hand to
her cheek and smiled. "I know Kiyone... I know." She turned to leave
and Kiyone smiled after her.
When Mihoshi came back Kiyone was standing by the window watching Ryoko
and Aeka fighting. They no longer fought over Tenchi of course, but
they still managed to find other things. Kiyone had noticed that over
time their fights looked more like a dance. The same moves over and
over again until it was perfect. Of course Kiyone knew that if she had
ever wanted to Ryoko could have vaporized the princess in a second.
Mihoshi came up behind her and put a hand on Kiyone's arm. "You should
still be in bed Kiyone. It's not healthy for you to be up yet." Kiyone
nodded and walked shakily back to her bed and let Mihoshi cover her up.
"Mihoshi..." Mihoshi pushed her finger against her lips. "No. Not until
you get better Kiyone. I want you to think about this first alright?"
Kiyone nodded and lay back. Mihoshi was right. If she wasn't absolutely
sure about her feelings for Mihoshi it could really hurt them both.
"When... did you get so... smart?" Mihoshi smiled and shook her head.
"Sorry that's classified... and I mean that literally." Kiyone looked
at her closely. Apparently Mihoshi had some secrets of her own. "Um...
Mihoshi. I need to use the bathroom. This bedpan is killing me."
Mihoshi laughed and helped her up.
A week later and Kiyone was almost back to normal. She was doing
morning exercises to keep herself fit and her throat had stopped
hurting. Washu estimated four days before the virus was purged from her
system entirely. Mihoshi had been there every day taking care of her
until Kiyone had finally gotten sick of it and taken the spoon herself.
From then on Mihoshi had let her feed herself and she had been getting
stronger every day.
What Mihoshi had refused to discuss their feelings for each other until
Kiyone was completely better and not a second sooner. However something
that Kiyone was keeping a tight control on was her temper. She had only
yelled at Mihoshi once when she spilled some hot tea on Kiyone's lap.
Aside from that when Mihoshi made a mistake Kiyone had been trying to
explain what she had done wrong in a calm voice so that she understood.
After that Kiyone noticed that Mihoshi never seemed to make the same
mistake twice.
While she was exercising Kiyone looked around the room and realized how
messy it was. If they were going to live at Tenchi's place the least
she could do was keep it clean until she could pay him some rent.
Mihoshi had told Tenchi about Kiyone's desire to pay and Tenchi had
stead fastly refused, but after a while he said yes, but would only
take a few hundred yen a month and not until she was better and had a
chance to work. So anyway, Kiyone started picking things up. For a
second she was thinking that Mihoshi was a slob, then realized that
most of these clothes were her own. "Nagi was right... I spend too much
time blaming others for my mistakes." She picked another shirt off of
the stereo and a tape fell off.
Kiyone reached down and picked the tape up. It was a recording she and
Mihoshi had made of their karaoke night about three months ago. Smiling
she plugged it into the tape player and listened to it while she
worked. She remembered how Mihoshi and she always felt when they sang
together. Staring into each other's eyes... she wondered just how long
Mihoshi had been in love with her. How long had she just ignored
Mihoshi's feelings like that? Kiyone sat down on her bed suddenly
tired. She lay there listening to the music and thinking about Mihoshi.
"Oh this is confusing. No wonder she's so absentminded." Sighing she
grabbed her pillow and hugged it to herself.
She lay there until the tape ended, trying to think of some way to make
it all up to Mihoshi. Just then Mihoshi came in with her food. She was
finally allowed to eat something solid for lunches. This time Sasami
had made grilled cheese sandwiches and sent up a glass of grape juice
with it. "Hey Kiyone. How are you feeling?"
Kiyone smiled up at her, "A lot better. Thanks for taking care of me
all this time Mihoshi, I really appreciate it."
Mihoshi blushed and sat down next to her. "It's nothing Kiyone. I'd do
it again in a heart beat." Kiyone smiled at her and took her food.
She took a bite out of her sandwich and her eyes got big. "Ow! That's
hot." Mihoshi looked at her worriedly and quickly handed her the glass.
"Quick, drink this."
Kiyone took the glass and gulped it down. When she was done she smiled
at Mihoshi. "Thanks." Mihoshi reached out to take the glass away and
her fingers brushed across Kiyone's sending a tiny shock through them
both. They sat there for a minute neither letting go of the glass.
Finally Kiyone bit her lip and let Mihoshi take the glass. Mihoshi sat
there for another minute then sat the cup down and looked at her. "You
know Kiyone... I know I make you mad sometimes. I'm sorry I do. I never
meant to make you hate me..." Kiyone gasped. That's what she meant this
entire time. That she thought I wanted to tell her I hated her? Kiyone
thought. Shaking her head she tried reaching out to Mihoshi, "Mihoshi I
don't..." She was cut off when Mihoshi slapped her hand away and backed
off. "Don't try saying that you don't hate me Kiyone. You've said that
you do too many times. You tried to eliminate me from your life when
you had the shot. When you were promoted you were going to leave me
behind you yell at me and tell me how I mess up all the time. If you
hadn't been sick you probably would have been yelling every minute I
was trying to help you, so don't you dare try saying that you don't
hate me!" She turned and ran out of the room crying leaving Kiyone
staring after her in shock. "What have I done..?"
She heard the front door slam and ran to the window. She saw Mihoshi
run away from the house and into the woods. Kiyone watched her go,
pressing her hand against the window. From behind her she heard the
door open. She whirled around and saw Sasami standing there. "Kiyone,
why did Mihoshi run out of here?"
Kiyone shook her head sadly and lay down on the bed. "I made some
mistakes Sasami... so many mistakes."
Sasami sat down on the bed next to her. "Do you want to talk about it?"
Kiyone looked at her, and cried for a minute. Then slowly she nodded.
Sitting up and took and deep breath and told Sasami what had happened.
"Wow! You and Mihoshi... well I guess it's not that hard to picture.
But why does she think you don't like her?"
Kiyone shook her head. "That's my fault. I told her I didn't so many
times without thinking. I was just mad at her all the time and I blamed
her for everything."
Sasami put her hand on Kiyone's. "Don't worry Kiyone. I'm sure if you
talk to her she'll understand."
Kiyone shook her head and turned to bury her face in her pillow. "I
don't even understand. I tried talking to her... but she wouldn't
listen." She pushed her face into the pillow and cried. Merea appeared
next to Sasami and put her hand on the princess's shoulder. Sasami
looked at her and nodded. Together they walked out of the room and left
Kiyone alone.
Mihoshi ran through the woods crying. She couldn't believe she had done
that. Kiyone hadn't done anything. Why had she been so mean to her? She
stopped running and sat down on a rock underneath a cherry tree. She
was there for a long time, crying to herself when she heard something
moving in the bushes next to her. Mihoshi jumped back and saw something
furry run past her. "Ryo-oki is that you?" She called. The furry thing
jumped out onto her lap and said, "Ciao?" Mihoshi smiled and scratched
behind the cabbit's ears. "Oh it's you Ken-oki. Does that mean Nagi is
around somewhere?" Ken-oki nodded and turned towards the path ahead of
her. Mihoshi looked up and saw Nagi walking along it towards her and
quickly wiped the tears from her eyes.
Nagi arrived a few minutes later, "Hello officer Mihoshi."
Mihoshi smiled. "Hi Nagi, how's it going?" Nagi smiled and looked
around. She had been coming by for visits ever since she had given up
chasing Ryoko. Anytime she finished collecting a bounty or something
she stopped by, then she and Ryoko would go out for the evening and get
tossed out of every bar in town.
Mihoshi really didn't have an answer to Nagi's question though so she
simply kept quiet. The bounty hunter stopped and looked down at her.
"What's wrong Mihoshi?" Mihoshi looked up at her and tried her best to
smiled like she always did, but a tear feel from her eye and landed on
the end of Ken-oki's nose causing him to sneeze. Nagi sat down on a
rock on the other side of the path and looked at her. "Do you not want
to talk about it?"
She shook her head. "No... yes... I don't know. It just hurts so
much..."
Nagi nodded. "It's a love thing then? I take it you don't like it that
Ryoko got Tenchi any better than Aeka does?" Mihoshi let out a laugh.
It was so rueful that it almost seemed to Nagi that it couldn't
possibly have come from Mihoshi. "Tenchi? Ha! He's like a brother to
me. No... no. If it were about Tenchi there would be no problem."
Nagi's eyes widened. "You aren't in love with Yosho or Noboyuki are
you?" This time Mihoshi laughed louder and almost fell off the rock.
Ken-oki jumped out of her lap and landed on Nagi's. When Mihoshi was
done laughing she looked up, "Thanks for the laugh. I needed that."
Nagi was confused. "If it's not a guy then what is it?"
Mihoshi took a deep breath and shook her head. "It's Kiyone... she
hates me." Mihoshi whispered the last and Nagi blushed a bit. She'd
heard about these kind of relationships of course, had even heard
rumors that she had a similar thing for Ryoko. But in her entire life
Nagi had never met anyone who felt that way about another girl. "I
don't know what to say Mihoshi. I'm not exactly an expert on love...
but are you sure she hates you? Has she ever actually said she hated
you?" Mihoshi thought about it for a minute. Kiyone had said she wanted
her dead, wished she was never born, had yelled and screamed at Mihoshi
at the top of her lungs, but... no she'd never said she'd hated her.
"No I guess not... not really."
Nagi nodded and tried to keep the fact that she was blushing hidden by
her hood. "Well has she ever said she loves you?"
Mihoshi shook her head, "Well there was that one time... but we were
singing a song at a karaoke bar. It doesn't count."
Nagi pulled her hood closer to herself. "Then I don't think I'm the one
you need to talk to." With that she got up and began walking towards
the house, leaving Mihoshi to (believe it or not) think.
'Are you going to be alright Nagi?' Ken-oki asked. Nagi nodded and
looked down, 'Yeah, I just need a drink.'
Mihoshi thought for a long time. She knew she wasn't exactly the
brightest star in the sky. Kiyone was so much smarter than she was. And
so pretty... Oh why couldn't she stop thinking about her? Mihoshi
sighed and leaned back. After she picked herself up from falling off
the rock she sat back down. Maybe Kiyone didn't hate her. But it was
clear to Mihoshi that she would never love her. She had known that for
a long time. Had decided that just being around Kiyone was enough. But
could she keep doing that now that she had shown Kiyone how she felt?
She didn't know or care. All she knew was that she had to be with
Kiyone. And if Kiyone wanted her gone... well then she would cross that
road when she came to it. Suddenly her watch beeped. "Oh my gosh it's
time for my show!" She took off running for the house all else
forgotten. She didn't even notice that she knocked Nagi off the path or
hear he bounty hunter's curses as she disappeared inside.
Kiyone looked at her watch. Mihoshi would be watching her cartoon shows
right now. Kiyone could picture the look on Mihoshi's face as she
cheered the hero's on and hear the sounds of Mihoshi's voice as she
laughed. The last part was actually true since Mihoshi's voice was
drifting up from downstairs. Sasami had promised not to tell anyone
what they had talked about, so Kiyone wasn't worried about that. But it
took every ounce of will power not to run down there and try to talk to
Mihoshi again. The only thing stopping her was the idea that she might
ruin something that Mihoshi enjoyed. One of the few things she hadn't
taken from her partner was he love of those shows. So instead she lay
there quietly.
Kiyone's eyes were closed when Mihoshi came up carrying her dinner.
"Kiyone... are you awake?" Mihoshi whispered. Instead of answering or
opening her eyes Kiyone just nodded. Mihoshi put her tray down next to
her bed and turned to leave the room again. She had just reached the
door when she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Kiyone... please. You
should be in bed." She tried to walk away again but the hand tightened
and wouldn't let go. She turned around to look at Kiyone. She met her
partner's eyes and saw something there.
Meanwhile Kiyone thought about everything she wanted to say. I don't
hate you Mihoshi. I never hated you. I love you. Please don't leave me.
Mihoshi looked at her confused, "Kiyone I..." Without warning Kiyone
leaned forward and kisses Mihoshi on the lips and wrapped her arms
around her. Mihoshi's eyes got wide and she stiffened up. Oh, I hope
I'm right about this. If I am wrong this will seriously... She stopped
thinking when she felt Mihoshi suddenly hug her back and begin to
return the kiss. Kiyone opened her eyes and saw Mihoshi crying. The
blonde's tears fell onto Kiyone's cheeks, surprisingly warm. Mihoshi's
eyes fluttered open to and she seemed to realize what she was doing for
the first time. Breaking away from Kiyone she pressed herself against
the wall. "Why... why did you do that?"
Kiyone reached out and ran her hand along Mihoshi's cheek, just like
Mihoshi had done to her. "I wanted you to know Mihoshi... I don't hate
you. I think... I think I love you Mihoshi."
Mihoshi bit her lip and closed her eyes. More tears went down her
cheeks. "No you don't. You can't. You hate me. Don't try to pretend you
don't. I can live with that. But you pretending that you love me...
that's not something I can live with."
Kiyone stepped forward and looked into Mihoshi's face. "I'm not
pretending Mihoshi. I love you. I'm sorry for all the things I've said,
I didn't really mean them. But this... I mean it Mihoshi."
Mihoshi sniffled slightly and shook her head. "Kiyone... you don't know
what it's like. I... I had given up. I knew you couldn't love me and
had accepted it..." She closed her eyes and her knees buckled under her
falling forward. Kiyone caught her and held her close. "I'm sorry
Mihoshi... I'm so sorry." Slowly Kiyone lowered to her knees.
They sat like that for a very long time. Neither one of them moved so
much as an inch. Both of them cried and held each other closely. Then,
just as the sun went down, Mihoshi looked up into Kiyone's eyes and
reached her hand up to caress her partner's cheek. "I love you
Kiyone... I have for so long." Kiyone put her hand over Mihoshi's
holding it to her cheek. "I know Mihoshi... I love you too." Mihoshi's
hands slid behind Kiyone's neck while Kiyone's wrapped around her
waist. Slowly they both leaned in and kissed.
-------------------------------
Author's note
Ok, you may praise me now. Admit it that was a terrific story. I'll
admit there was no sigh of Aeka , while Ryoko and Tenchi himself only
made a quick cameo. What can I say? I was in the mood for something
different. I find that when I run out of Tenchi/Ryoko stories Mihoshi
and Kiyone are always there to bail me out. If you wish to tell me what
you thought of this story or any others I have written feel free to
email me.
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