"Do not try my patience any further!" Princess Ayeka of the Juraian Empire growled, standing and slamming a hand against the tabletop, stabbing a finger across the table at her current object of vexation. "It will be as I say or it will not be at all!" Princess Ryoko of the Hyurodan stood up as well, golden eyes flashing as she shot back, "That'd be fine enough with me, y'know! I'd just as soon go back to my own life without having to put up with YOUR crap!" "How dare you speak to me that way?!" Ayeka cried, clenching her fist. "Ladies, ladies!" Queen Washu spoke up, waving her hands. "Calm down!" "We can have both kinds of flowers at your wedding," Empress Funaho agreed with solemnity. "They won't go together at ALL!" Ayeka wailed in dismay. "For once Princess Prude is right, they'd look terrible!" "How dare you degenerate to childish name-calling! I won't stand for it!" Washu, looking somewhat frustrated, flopped back in her chair and pinched the bridge of her nose between two fingers. Noticing that even Funaho seemed to be becoming annoyed with the princess' bickering, she leaned over and murmured, "Why don't we just go in the next room and work this out ourselves, and leave these two to fight?" Funaho seemed to consider it, glancing at the heating argument, before nodding. "I don't think they'll hurt each other. Much. And since it's an arranged marriage, they might as well accept an arranged wedding." Gathering up the various papers and arrangments, the older women quietly departed to the next room, though Ryoko and Ayeka would most likely not have noticed them had they been accompanied by a full marching band. "-good taste if it dropped on your shameless head!" "Better to be shameless than to be so repressed you're a bitch!" "BITCH?!" Apparently, Ryoko had once again crossed the line, and Ayeka launched herself across the table, getting a firm grip on the other woman's long ears and pulling. Ryoko yowled in pain, then grabbed both of Ayeka's ponytails in one hands and yanking repeatedly, Ayeka yelping every time. After a few moments of this, both tried shifting their positions and wound up rolling around atop the table, attempting to punch and kick, their flailing and close quarters making it nearly impossible to get in any seriously damaging blows. Most of the casualties seemed to be the table settings and an occassional ripping cloth sound. Preceded by the sound of giggling and a small, fuzzy brown animal running in, Sasami entered the room and paused, brought up short by the sounds of violence. She and Ryo-Ohki stared at the fighting girls for a minute, before Sasami simply shook her head and looked down at the cabbit. "I think they like it." "Mya mya," the cabbit agreed, before scurrying off again, leading the young princess behind her. After almost half an hour, Ayeka and Ryoko broke off their fight, more from exhaustion than anything else. Both lay out on their backs on the table, heads side-by-side, cheeks flushed with exertion and chests heaving. "You... really are... most difficult," Ayeka panted. "Just wait... 'til you... marry me," Ryoko replied in kind, grinning maliciously. "Then... we'll be... living together." "Not if... I have anything... to say about it." Ayeka huffed, leveraging herself into a sitting position and checking her kimono, scowling at a rip in the shoulder. "What? The marriage, or living together?" Ryoko sat up as well. Her own garmen had fared worse, being of less layers and much shorter, but she seemed unconcerned at the generous amount of skin she was showing. Indeed, she leaned back on her hands, letting her back arch a bit, threatening to make her breasts pop right out of the lowered neckline of her minikimono top. "... Living together," Ayeka allowed after a moment, carefully avoiding looking at Ryoko and slipping off of the table to stand up. "It seems futile at this point to oppose the marriage, but as it is for political reasons, there is no need for us to actually share living quarters." "Be kinda hard on the kids though, wouldn't it?" Ryoko replied with a smirk. "... What children?" Ayeka asked, starting to get very nervous, and turning suspicious pink eyes towards her fiance. "Why, ours, of course!" Ryoko exclaimed cheerfully. "Whole buncha cute little rugrats, runnin' around, gettin' underfoot, making sleep impossible! Oh, and let's not forget what they'll do to your figure, but hey, them's the breaks, and you might even look cute with a few stretch marks..." Ayeka began to feel very faint again, and barely murmured a habitual 'excuse me' before rushing from the room to the sound of Ryoko's howling laughter. ------------------------------------------------------------ "That WOMAN!" Ayeka raged as she stalked back and forth, having calmed enough to be suitably outraged. Kiyone sat on the bed, quietly using needle and thread to repair the rents in Ayeka's kimono, keeping her eyes downcast and only adding the occassional "Yes, my lady" when it seemed warranted. "Though to call her a woman is to insult women everywhere! That mongrel thing! She should be tied up and exiled to someplace where she can't bother civilized people!" "Yes, my lady." "Saying we would have CHILDREN! The very idea is absurd and preposterous! Me, having children with her! Even if we weren't both women, I would never, ever consent to procreate with that vicious harridan!" "Yes, my lady." "... Kiyone, are you paying attention?!" "Yes, my lady." "Good, because there's a lot of other things that I have to say about Ryoko!" 'As if you've talked about anything else since you met her,' Kiyone thought, trying to keep herself focused on her work. 'The past two days it's been "Ryoko's doing this" and "Ryoko said that". Even if you really did despise her, it's a little much time to spend thinking solely about her, Ayeka.' The lady-in-waiting heaved a small sigh, knowing that her mistress was too involved in her ranting to notice. 'And once you're married, Ryoko will probably discharge me,' she thought glumly. "-and another thing!" Ayeka huffed, apparently quite ready to continue her tirade, only to be interrupted by a knock at the door. Seeming somewhat at a loss for a moment, Ayeka tried to switch from rant mode to propriety, just in case it was anyone BUT Ryoko at the door. "Enter." The door opened, and Misaki poked her head in tentatively. "Um... Ayeka, may we talk?" Ayeka could see that her mother was wary of being screamed at again, and felt a heavy twinge of guilt for her behavior that night... even if it had perhaps been warranted. She nodded, allowing contrition to show on her face. "Please, Mother, come in." Misaki slipped into the room, looking at Kiyone. The green-haired girl nodded, silently gathering up her work and leaving the room. Once the Empress was alone with her daughter, she smiled tentatively. "How are you, Ayeka...?" "... Rather furious with Ryoko as usual, Mother." "... But not with me?" Ayeka let out a long breath. "It was... inappropriate, what you did, Mother. I was NOT," that most emphatically. "Having sex with Ryoko. Even if I were, I do not think... I would be comfortable having you watching." "Certainly, and I'm very sorry," Misaki replied quickly, before hurrying to give Ayeka one of the rib-compressing hugs she was infamous for. Once she had set her daughter down and the princess had caught her breath back, Misaki continued. "Darling, I really think you should try to get along with Princess Ryoko! You've already gotten off to a poor start, but it's not too late!" "A... poor start?" Ayeka grated, that tick in her eye returning. "Yes, but things can still improve!" Misaki continued brightly, taking no notice of her daughter's spasming muscles. "Your father and I were arranged to be married and had no choice in the matter, but we still love one another dearly! But we had to work at it, and if we'd worked at it sooner in our relationship, things might have been better earlier on." "Yes, but neither you nor father were... like that!" Ayeka cried, waving in a random direction, as if Ryoko were right there to be gestured at as an example of all that was vile. "Oh, I was a little rough around the edges, myself," Misaki said with a smile, eyes taking on a far-off look. "I was just barely of noble birth, out on a little colony world, but it was determined I should marry the prince. It really was romantic!" Sighing, Ayeka simply fell back into a convenient chair, considering fully giving in to despair. 'My mother doesn't understand me and I'm in a terrible relationship. No other young woman in the universe could have such problems...' ------------------------------------------------------------ "She really is a bitchy little prude," Ryoko growled, floating back and forth in agitation. Washu nodded along as she went over some seating arrangements, occassionally giving Ryoko the verbal cues she wanted. "It's great to tease her until she blows up, but she honestly is annoying as all hell! It's funny at first, then I start thinking about it, and it's like a bug that burrows in under my skin and starts itching like hell!" "You're saying she gives you an itch you can't scratch, then?" Ryoko paused in midair, legs curled up a bit to avoid dragging her feet, and turned to glare at her mother. "Oh, ha ha, very funny. You're just a big old barrel of laughs." The cyan-haired princess resumed her odd form of pacing, a hand on her chin. "If I was just horny, I'd go down to the barracks and pick out a guard. Not that Ayeka ain't cute, even if she is kinda small-chested." The Hyurodan princess paused in her rant, grinning a bit in the memory of those smallish but very nicely-formed breasts heaving with the exertion of their fight. Oh, yes, Ayeka definitely had a delightful body, if underendowed by typical Hyurodan standards. Ryoko kept finding delight in spurring Ayeka on until physical violence broke out, their little tussles pleasurable on a number of levels. "You've been floating there with a silly grin on your face for a couple of minutes now," Washu spoke up, smiling. "Why don't you just admit you're crazy about her?" Ryoko snorted, lowering her legs and settling on the balls of her feet. "Yeah, so maybe I like her a little. She's got a great little bod, and she fights almost as dirty as I do. And when you get her mad... her eyes flash with this impending doom that's enough ta make you shiver." She got that silly grin again for a moment before shaking it off and waving a hand. "Eh, but she's a prude, I don't do anything but piss 'er off." "You like pissing her off, but I think that's beside the point, isn't it?" Washu replied, bemused. "You really would like to be on better terms with her, wouldn't you?" Ryoko heaved a sigh, then nodded. "Yeah, I would," she admitted. "Then you're going to have to tone it down." The younger woman scowled, hands thumping on her hips. "You know that's not my style. It ain't me!" "You can still be yourself and not come onto her all the time or insult her." "Yeah, I guess," Ryoko muttered, rubbing the back of her head. "So, fine, what would you suggest?" ------------------------------------------------------------ Ayeka looked up from the discussion of possible fabrics for her wedding kimono at a knock on the door. Standing and moving to the door, Kiyone and Misaki watching curiously, Ayeka opened the door, scowling at who was standing on the other side. "What do YOU want?" she demanded of Ryoko. The other princess seemed to bristle, almost literally, her spikey hair seeming to raise a little. Then she cleared her throat, locking gazes with Ayeka. "I'd like to formally invite you and your family to join... my mother and I for dinner tonight." Ayeka tried valiantly to keep her jaw from hitting the ground. Not only had Ryoko failed to rise to the verbal barb, she had been very close to proper in her wording and demeanor. Unsure, the Juraian princess merely stammered out an affirmative and exchanged a few parting pleasantries before sagging back into the room. "... That was unexpected." Ayeka found she had to resist the urge to shake, wondering why she'd been unnerved so badly. "You see? She's making an effort!" Misaki chirped, standing and moving to the closet. "The least you can do is the same! Now, let's pick you out something nice!" "... Yes, of course." Kiyone stared down at the fabric samples she was holding, seeming distracted. "Kiyone? Kiyone! Come here and help me decide!" Realizing she was being derelict in her duty, Kiyone hurriedly set aside the samples and stood, plastering a smile on her face. "Yes, my lady! I'm sorry, my mind wandered!" ------------------------------------------------------------ Ryoko floated above the castle's garden, frowning thoughtfully. She remained there for almost an hour before she was interrupted by the captain of the guard flying up beside her, her loincloth flapping willfully in the breeze, constantly threatening to show whether or not she wore anything under it. "Ryo-chan. What's up?" Thinking nothing of the familiarity, Ryoko made a slight hand gesture showing she wasn't in the mood to talk. "C'mon... you've been all distant ever since the Juraian chicks got here." The guard floated closer, arms sliding around the other woman's middle from behind. "You're all horny, that's what it is," she purred. "C'mon down to my room, or even just the roof... I'll give you a good massage, and we can fool around some, and you'll feel a lot better..." "Dammit, Kallista, I'm not in the mood," Ryoko grumbled, pushing the other woman's arms open and floating away. The high guard scowled slightly. "It IS that Ayeka, isn't it? What, you're hung up on her now? You've got a princess, so guards aren't good enough for you anymore?" "What the hell are we, a couple? I've suddenly gotta explain why I do or don't wanna screw ta you?" Ryoko turned in place to glare at her sometime lover. "You knew as well as any we were just fooling around and nothing more. I've never done anything more than just fool around with anyone." "... Yeah, sorry." Kallista gave her head a toss, her spiky orange hair swaying behind her like a serrated shark fin. "Been a little edgy lately. Lot of rumors going around. Wish you'd let me increase your guard." "I can take care of myself just fine, Kal-chan," Ryoko replied, softening somewhat, floating back over and giving the guardswoman a nudge on the jaw. "Did for a long time before I ever had a royal guard. Doesn't mean it hasn't been fun." "Yeah. Guess so." The other woman's light green eyes gazed searchingly at Ryoko for long moments, before she nodded slowly. "Still. Take me with you when you go to Jurai, okay? Even if ya can take care of yourself, I'd sleep better knowing I was around to make sure of it." "I'll talk to mom about it, but yeah, I think that's doable." Ryoko folded her arms over her chest and gravitated back. "Gotta go now. Gonna do some kind of fancy dinner party tonight, means I've gotta go get all prettied up." With a little grin, she angled down and swooped down to use one of the castle's many balconies. Kallista remained above the garden for a while yet, though, gazing off across the city as Ryoko had been. After awhile, she simply let out an almost angry rush of breath, before murmuring a vague curse and turning to fly towards the barracks. ------------------------------------------------------------ Ryoko drew up short as she walked in from the balcony, actually lifting off the floor a bit and levitating back to avoid knocking Sasami down as the girl ran through the hall. The young princess drew back a bit, starting to apologize, then blinked and stared, as if in awe. Ryoko started to ask why, then recalled that she had yet to fly in front of any of the Juraians. Shrugging it off, she merely smirked and settled back onto the floor. "Hey, better watch out, kiddo, you'll knock someone over," she chided lightly. "I'm sorry, Princess Ryoko," Sasami replied, contrite. "Just Ryoko's fine. We're all royalty here, fiddling with the titles doesn't make any sense." "Oh." Sasami blinked a few times, seeming to assimilate that, then smiled brightly. "Okay, Ryoko!" "Mya!" the cabbit chimed in from Sasami's shoulder. "Ryo-Ohki?" Ryoko murmured, surprised. "I'd wondered where you were." "Um... your mom said I could have her," Sasami replied, as if afraid she'd been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. "I tried to say that should be your decision, but she said-" "I can guess what she said," Ryoko interrupted, though without any malice. She smiled a bit. "Well, I guess that's okay. Though I think you had some decisive part in this, you sneaky little furball." "Mya! Mya mya mya!" "Yeah, sure you didn't." Sasami looked back and forth between the cabbit and the Hyurodan. "You can understand what she's saying?" "Oh, sure. Give it time, you spend long enough around her, you'll start to understand too. Cabbits are all a little psychic, and once they're around someone long enough, they form enough of a bond to make themselves understood pretty clear." Ryoko stepped to one side, and walked past Sasami, giving one of her trademark lazy waves. "Seeya at dinner tonight, Sasami." "Um, Ryoko, wait," Sasami called, turning around and hurrying after the older girl a few steps. "Hm?" The cyan-haired woman paused, looking down at the little girl. "... Are you in love with my sister?" Sasami asked, face earnest and almost solemn. Ryoko fought the urge to laugh at both the question and the adorable picture, the little princess hugging one of the galaxy's cuter creatures to her chest. She did give in to the urge to smile, one of the few real, honest smiles she'd felt in a long time. Squatting down, she rested a hand atop Sasami's head. "You know, squirt, just between you and me... and I mean that... I just might be." Then she held up a finger in a shushing motion. "Don't tell anyone, though, okay?" Sasami giggled, pink eyes shining with an immeasurable amount of delight. "Okay. It'll be our secret!" "Thanks, kid. If I really am, well, I'd wanna tell her myself, when I'm ready." The smile turned into a somewhat evil smirk. "And just when it'd make her flip out the most." Sasami started laughing aloud at that, and after a moment, Ryoko joined her. And somewhere else in the castle, Ayeka sneezed, and wondered why she suddenly had such a feeling of foreboding gathering in the corners of her mind.
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