Sasami and Misao turned their attention to Haraguchi sensee as she finished
writing.

  "All right class, today I want you to tell me about your future dreams."  Haraguchi
looked expectantly towards the class.  "Who wants to go first?"

  Eimi the class leader raised her hand immediately."Me, sensee!"

  Haraguchi sensee turned and nodded.  "Go ahead, Eimi."

  Eimi stood up, fists clenched in determination.  "I'm going to be... an actress!"

  Sasami wondered why everyone in the class had such blank stares on their faces. 
Haraguchi just blinked.  "Well, that's very difficult.  Who want's to go next?"

  Konoha stood up immediately.  "My cousin and I are going to take over the
world!"  The background faded away to a war-torn field and out of the flames a
figure rose laughing maniacally.

  Sasami could almost see the sweatdrop form on Haraguchi's forehead.  "Well, do
your best then."  She turned towards a saner member of the class.  How about you,
Hiroto?"

  Hiroto stood. "I'm going to be a soccer player." *No surprise there,* thought
Sasami. *He plays every day, including weekends.*

  Haraguchi smiled.  "That's great.  How about you, Kimiko?"

  Kimiko thought for a moment. "I want to grow up to be a cute wife, with a cute
kid.  And we could cosplay together!"

  Sasami looked over at Misao.  She seemed to have a faraway look in her eyes. 
Sasami leaned over.  "So what did you decide you wanted to be?"

  Misao looked over at her.  "I've thought about it a lot and..."

  At that moment Haraguchi looked down at their table.  "How about you, Misao-
chan?"

  Misao stood up.  She looked down at the table and softly whispered, "A.. a
pianist."

  Sasami winced as Konoha's voice came from the back of the room.  "I can't hear
you!"  Sasami knew this was going to be a problem.  Misao was very talented in
every field, she just was so shy she could barely move when anyone's attention was
focused on her.  As far as Sasami could tell, Misao only was relaxed around her. 
And even then....

  Misao whispered again.  "A pianist"

  Konoha called out again.  "I still can't hear!"

  Sasami raised her hand.  "Can I go, sensee?"

  Haraguchi looked at her.  "Go ahead, Sasami."

  Sasami stood and winked at Misao. *Good, I've dealt with that.  Uh, now
what...?*  Suddenly inspiration struck. " I want to grow up to be a cool woman like
my mother, marry a great guy like my dad, and live happily ever after."

  Haraguchi nodded.  "I see.  Just like a fairy tale princess, ne?"

 *Oops* Sasami tried to laugh off her mistake.  "Yeah... That's right..."

****************************************
  During the lunch break Sasami and Misao sat together, just as they had ever since
they met.

  Misao looked over at the girl who had rapidly become her closest friend.  "Thank
you for helping me in class today."

  Sasami simply smiled in return. "It wasn't anything.  That's right.  You said you
were going to be pianist, right?"

  Misao nodded slightly. *Why do I always feel embarrassed about these things? 
She's my friend, why do I have to try so hard to talk about myself?  * "Unn."

  "That's wonderful.  Maybe sometime I could hear you play."  The blue haired girl
met her gaze to see what she thought of the idea.

  "Actually..." Misao started. *Come on, say it!  It's normal for friends!* "You
could come over today.  I don't have prep school."

  "That would be great!  I'll just tell Tenchi and we'll go straight there."  Sasami
rushed ahead to inform her cousin.

  Misao smiled. *Thank you again, Sasami.*

***********************************************

  Tenchi opened the front door.  "I'm back!"

  Four perfectly synchronized voices rang out in return, "Hello Tenchi!"  With
varying levels of joy. *I guess Kiyone's with them too.*

  Ryoko, Aeka and Mihoshi ran over while Kiyone simply looked over to watch the
chaos.  Then Aeka suddenly caught on to something.  "Tenchi, where's Sasami?"

  Tenchi put down his book bag.  "She went over to a friend's house.   She said she
would be back tonight."

  Aeka glanced down.  "I see..."

  *That's odd, Aeka doesn't usually look like that.* Tenchi racked his brain for
what she might be thinking about.  "Don't worry about dinner.  We got plenty of
instant Ramen after last time."

  Ryoko sighed.  "Ah well.  At least it's so simple even Mihoshi can't mess up."

  Kiyone looked somberly at Ryoko.  "Don't underestimate Mihoshi's ability to
create chaos."

  Mihoshi stood beside her partner.  "That's right!  Don't underestimate me!  The
chief says I'm the biggest force of chaos in the galaxy!"

  The rest of the room's occupants sweatdropped.  "Why am I not surprised?"
muttered Aeka.

*********************************************

  Misao walked over to the door to her apartment with Sasami following along. 
Misao tried the door hesitantly, and looked surprised that it actually was unlocked. 
Sasami was surprised at how excited Misao was when she opened the door and
rushed in.  "Mom!  I'm back!"

  The woman inside was thirty-ish and had short hair, but it was obvious she was
Misao's mom.  "Hello, Misao.  Eh?  Who's your friend?"

  Misao turned back to motion Sasami forward.  "This is my friend Masaki
Sasami."

  Sasami thought quickly.  "Pleased to meet you." She was glad that, unlike Aeka,
she was able to relearn speech patterns quickly.

  Misao's mom smiled at her.  "It's nice to meet one of Misao's friends.  Please
make yourself at home."

  Misao looked up at her mother.  "How long are you going to be home?"

  Misao's mother looked over at the clock.  "Actually, I have to go pretty soon." 
Misao face dropped.  "I'll be late for dinner, so just heat up what's in the fridge. 
There should be enough for both of you."

  Misao's mother kissed Misao on the forehead.  She waved to Sasami on the way
out.  "It was nice to meet you."  Then she was out the door.

  Sasami walked over to Misao, her concern visible.  "Does your mom always work
this much?"

  Misao forced her face back into a smile.  "Yes.  But it's okay.  I've gotten used to
it.  My mom has had to work long hours since I was little."

  Sasami studied Misao's face a little longer, then she smiled brilliantly.  "Well,
I'm here today."  She paused to think a bit.  "You were going to play the piano for
me, weren't you?"

  Misao nodded.  Sasami always did her best to keep everyone happy.  "Our piano's
over here."  She walked over and pulled down her favorite piece of music.  She
glanced over it, but she really didn't need to.  She had memorized this song a long
time ago.  She began to play.  For a few minutes the world seemed to fade out,
being replaced by the melody of her piano.

  Misao played the last note on the sheet and paused.  She was slightly startled
when Sasami started clapping.  "That was wonderful, Misao!"

  Misao blushed slightly.  She was never good at accepting praise.  "It's not a very
difficult piece.  I just like it a lot."

  Sasami shrugged off her excuse.  "If you can play that well, I'm sure you'll be a
great pianist."

  Misao just smiled faintly.  Sasami looked as if she was about to speak, then a thud
sounded out on the door.  Misao looked over and saw that odd cat, Ryo-oh-oki,
hopping towards Sasami.  She shook her head.  It must have been hidden in
Sasami's bag.  It couldn't climb up all those stairs, much less go through walls.

  Sasami looked over at Ryo-oh-oki with a mixture of happiness and frustration. 
"Ryo-chan.  What are you doing here?  Did Aeka tell you to follow me?"

  Ryo-chan looked straight up at Sasami "Myaa, Myaaaaaa."

  Sasami giggled.  "Oh.  I see.  Well, since you're here you can join me and Misao-
chan."  She looked back over at Misao.  "Ne?"

  Misao giggled as well.  It was almost as if the two of them could actually talk to
each other.  "Sure.  By the way, Aeka was your sister, right?"

  Sasami nodded.  "Yep.  She's my sister.  Then there's Ryoko, Washu, Mihoshi
and Tenchi."

  Misao looked at Sasami in amazement.  "It sounds very... interesting."

  Sasami laughed.  "It sure is!  You should come over sometime.  I'm sure nobody
will mind."

  Misao thought about it for a bit.  "I don't have anything Friday.  If that's okay..."

  Sasami jumped over.  "Really!?"

  Misao nodded.  "Un."

  Sasami "Alright!!  Friday it is!  Now, what else do you want to do today?"

  –filler–

*********************************************
  Aeka paced the floor of the living room.  She was worried about Sasami.  Sasami
had been one of the few people she could depend on.  Sasami was always
somewhere around the house.  Finally, after a good ten minutes of pacing, she
couldn't hold in her frustration any longer.  "Why is Sasami so late??"

  Mihoshi looked over at the wall clock.  "But it's only seven thirty.  She's not
really late."

 *An idiot as usual.* Aeka whirled on her.  "That's late enough!  What if..."

  That woman floated down from her usual ceiling roost and draped herself over
one of the couches.  "Stop whining.  Ryo-oh-oki is with her."

  "Oh and how do you know this, monster?"

  "Ryo-oh-oki and I are connected, ‘princess'." Ryoko sighed.  "It's amazing how
little you remember.  I guess this is why your mom is so overprotective."

 *How dare that monster bring up my mother.*  "That's it, I'm tired of you
insulting me!!" *This time I'll teach her who her betters are!*  She began to focus
on her inner power...

*********************************************


  Tenchi walked down the path from the shrine to his house, every muscle in his
body aching.  Grandpa had insisted on extra training for some unknown reason,
and of course, Tenchi had got the worst of it.  As he passed the last row of trees he
saw a lone figure looking up at the stars further down the trail.

  "Oh, hello Kiyone."

  The tall policewoman turned towards him.  "Hello."

  Tenchi stopped next to her and looked out over the lake.  "It's a nice night to be
outside, isn't it."

  Kiyone looked down at her watch.  "Yes, especially in about five seconds."

  Tenchi looked over.  "Wha...."

  Muted explosions sounded from the house.  Tenchi jumped back startled.  Then
he made the logical assumption.  "Ryoko and Aeka?"

  Kiyone didn't bother answering that particular question.  "Washu is busy with
some experiment.  Without her or Sasami to run them in circles...."

  Tenchi sweatdropped.  "Yeah, that sounds about right."

  Suddenly he remembered.  "That's right, has Sasami called to be picked up yet?"

  Kiyone shook her head.  "Not yet."  Another explosion rocked the land.  "And if
she's as smart as I think she is, she won't for a little longer."

  Tenchi just nodded and went back to looking at the lake.

************************************************

  Misao waved goodbye as Sasami and her cousin walked away.  Ryo-oh-oki had
taken her usual seat on top of Sasami's head.  "Take care."

  Sasami waved back.  "You too Misao.  See you tomorrow."

  Misao nodded.  "Uun."

   Sasami waved until Misao was out of view then she turned forward again.

  Tenchi looked over.  "So, did you have fun?"

  Sasami smiled.  "Hai.  I even got to meet Misao's mom."  Then Sasami's face
fell.  "But she didn't stay for long.  She seems very busy."  

  Tenchi looked at Sasami with concern.  Then his face returned to his normal
clueless state.  "Well, I'm sure with friends like you she'll be okay."

  Sasami nodded slowly.  "Uun." *Oh yeah, the invitation.*  "That's right!  Tenchi, 
I told Misao she could drop by our house on Friday."

  Tenchi smiled.  "That's oka..."  Then the reality of the situation came crashing in
on Tenchi.  "WHAT!?!?  But...!"

  Sasami put her hands on her hips and glared at Tenchi. *I'm not going back on
my word!*  "If everyone just acts normal, there won't be any problem."

  Sasami could see the defeat on Tenchi's face.  He just sighed and kept walking
towards home.  "And the chances of that happening are..."

  Sasami couldn't hide her own discomfort at the idea.  "Yeah..."

************************************************

  Rumiya sat in the small living space he could call his own, conducting research
on earth.  At least, that was his term.  More literal people would call it reading
manga.

  After finishing the last chapter Rumiya put down the book with a sigh. *I wonder
how often things really end that well.*

  It was at this point the floor fell out from beneath his feet. *Whaaa??*  Rumiya
crashed headfirst into the center of the ship, where his sister stood impatiently.  *I
hate that door.* She looked down on him with her standard imperialist gaze.  "Get
ready, were going to start operations now."

  Rumiya rubbed his head where it had hit the deck.  "What operations?  We don't
even have a plan."

  Ramiya smirked.  "I thought it up quickly, of course."

  Rumiya sighed.  "Give it up, sis."

  Once again there was quick movement followed by painful impact.  This time it
was a wall. *I should learn to keep my mouth shut.*

  Ramiya continued on as if nothing had happened.  "We'll give some native
powers so she can search out Tsunami!  That way no one will be able to connect
me to the search."

  Rumiya sat up.  "What?  Are we going to send in a mahou shojo?"

  Ramiya smiled.  "Precisely."

********************************************