12. Time and Space Adventures 2

Tenchi and the girls are still trapped in alternate realities thanks to the dimensional tuner, and with the Heian era cancelled, everyone finds themselves in a new world.

When her life in the police force became little more than a waking nightmare, Kiyone decided she had little choice but to leave it all behind and journey far away. Now, her travels have brought her to a little village at the end of the world, a place where she hopes she can finally find peace.

Arriving at the village, Kiyone stops off at Tenchi’s diner to eat a bowl of noodles and introduce herself to the locals. The village seems so pleasant that Kiyone decides to see if she can stay awhile and get a job there- and fortunately, her luck is in. Ayeka and her younger sister Sasami could use someone to work at their tavern, and Kiyone is happy to accept their offer.

As the days pass, Kiyone settles down and begins to enjoy life for the first time in a long while. In the evenings, Tenchi and the local fishermen Nobuyuki, Ryoko and Katsuhito all come to drink at the tavern, and Kiyone is happy to be part of the companionable atmosphere. Even the Ryoko and Ayeka’s arguments over Tenchi are just part of the life here.

It looks like Kiyone has finally found happiness, but even as she dares to hope this peace could last forever, it is shattered by the arrival of a most unwanted visitor- Mihoshi. Desperate with worry for her ex-partner, Mihoshi has been searching all over the world, and has finally located the missing Kiyone. Worse yet, since Kiyone left, Mihoshi has been promoted to chief of the Okayama police.

Mihoshi is eager to take Kiyone back with her, but Kiyone is adamant- this place has become her home now, and she doesn’t want to leave. This does not faze Mihoshi at all, however- if Kiyone is staying, then she will stay too!

Unable to bear the thought of spending any time with Mihoshi, Kiyone is forced to flee again. Meanwhile, in her encapsulated dimension, Washu is ready to delete the next reality. As she deletes Kiyone’s world, another time and space adventure comes to an end…

…But a new reality awaits Tenchi and the gang. Here, Ayeka and Ryoko are classmates at high school, but whilst Ayeka is student committee representative, Ryoko is more of a juvenile delinquent. As in every reality, however, they both have one thing in common- their feelings for Tenchi.

Kiyone and Mihoshi are teachers at their school, and unfortunately, even in this reality Mihoshi seems as inept as ever. Not only is she late for school, but her class is so boring that even Mihoshi herself starts falling asleep. Determined to set a good example, Ayeka struggles to stay awake, and notices to her amazement that Ryoko seems to be actually enjoying the class- although Ryoko’s merriment seems to have a lot more to do with the food and sake she is secretly consuming than any of the actual class material. Ayeka is quick to try to get Ryoko into trouble with the teacher, but much to her annoyance, the easygoing Mihoshi fails to punish her- instead she graciously accepts Ryoko’s offer of her own cup of sake.

Meanwhile, Tenchi is playing baseball outside, and when the batter hits the ball into the woods, it falls to him to go and retrieve it. Much to Tenchi’s surprise, there appear to be two balls- although the second one isn’t a ball at all, just a lump on the head of a strange cat/rabbit creature better known as Ryo-Ohki.

As Tenchi ties a handkerchief around the lump, Ryo-Ohki’s owner comes to retrieve him. She introduces herself as Sasami, and the two share a quick hello before Tenchi realises he has to return to class. After Tenchi leaves, Ryo-Ohki apologises for getting lost, but Sasami warns her not to speak- talking animals may be common at home in the magic kingdom, but not here on Earth!

Ryo-Ohki is eager to return home with Sasami, but she is somewhat taken with Tenchi, and decides to stay a while so that she can see him again. Hiding on the school roof, Sasami waits until school finishes, and is soon rewarded with another look at Tenchi as he walks home.

Even as Sasami watches, however, both Ryoko and Ayeka approach Tenchi, each of them wanting to walk home with him. Soon, they are pulling poor Tenchi in opposite directions as they argue over him, and even Kiyone and Mihoshi cannot stop them!

Seeing Tenchi in trouble, Sasami realises that she will have to sort out this mess- by transforming into her magical alter-ego, Pretty Sammy. With her magical baton and special words, Sasami changes into Pretty Sammy. She launches a cupid-style bow and arrow attack at Ryoko and Ayeka, hoping to replace their rivalry with friendship.

The arrow is right on target, and soon poor Tenchi is forgotten as Ryoko and Ayeka discover newer and stronger feelings- for each other! Unaware of poor Tenchi squashed underneath them, Ryoko and Ayeka acknowledge their new feelings, and are even about to share a kiss when the curtain drops on this most strange situation. Unfortunately, there is no time for further time and space adventures today- but what kind of strange reality will Tenchi and the girls find themselves in next?