Here is my contribution to the FFIRC one hour challenge this time
around...
The Intruder
A Tenchi Muyo fanfic by June "KaraOhki" Geraci
Tenchi Muyo doesn't belong to me. Just sort of borrowing some of the
characters.
The intruder wouldn't normally go near this particular house but he
was very hungry, and something smelled good.
He got lucky. By following the lovely scent he found a sliding door
had been left open a crack. He squeezed his small body through the
space and into the warmth and light of the house.
The kitchen turned out to be the source of the tempting aroma. The
little creature jumped up onto the counter and walked over to the
stove. He immediately recognized the danger. Extreme heat was coming
from the area, and he couldn't get close enough to even glimpse what
was making it salivate.
There was one thing the intruder knew. Wherever humans lived, there
was food. If he couldn't get to the food in this room, there must be
some elsewhere. He jumped off the counter and followed the sound of
arguing voices.
----------
"What do you think you're doing? How DARE you change the channel!"
"Oh come on! How many times have you watched that stupid ballet?
Give me a break!"
Ayeka grabbed the remote out of Ryoko's hand and switched the ballet
back on.
"At least it's better than that ridiculous space movie! With all the
places you've traveled to, have you ever seen anything like that?"
"No, of course not. But I still like it, and I'm going to watch it!"
A pair of small eyes watched as the two women fought over the remote.
During one tussle over it, a button was pushed and a different channel
was set. Peace instantly prevailed. Both women were mesmerized by
what was on the screen.
"I didn't know Casablanca was on!"
Ayeka settled back on the couch, and took another cracker out of the
bowl.
Ryoko took a couple for herself, and poured some sake.
"Now THIS I could watch any time."
Both girls were so intent on watching the film that they didn't notice
at first that they had company. Then they heard a soft crunching
noise, and looked down at the table. A small mouse sat there, a
cracker between its front paws.
"EEK!!!!!"
"A MOUSE!!!"
"Chu?"
The mouse found itself with an entire bowl of crackers all his own.
He climbed into it and began munching.
----------
[What on earth was all that noise?] wondered Washu. She wandered up
from her lab and into the living room, where she discovered the mouse
in the cracker bowl. She picked up a cracker, sniffed it, and
wrinkled her nose in disdain.
"No nutritional value at all. No wonder Ayeka and Ryoko are always so
crabby. I'll get you something better."
The mouse watched curiously as Washu's keyboard appeared out of
nowhere, and she began tapping the keys. Within seconds she was
smiling in satisfaction.
"Now THIS is more like it." She reached into nothingness, and pulled
out a few cubes of cheese.
"Eat these, dear. Full of nutrition, and quite delicious. You'll get
a lot of energy out of this cheese."
She turned around and headed back for the stairs, then turned around.
"Oh, and keep it down, would you? I have a lot of work to do."
She hadn't been gone long when Mihoshi came down the stairs, still
yawning from her nap.
"Hello? Is anyone here?"
The mouse looked up from his cheese, and responded.
"Chu?"
Seconds later there was a Mihoshi-shaped hole in the wall. The mouse
kept eating.
----------
Two others in the house had also been napping. The sounds of fighting
were too common to wake them. The sound of someone crashing through a
wall didn't even faze them. However, the scent of something that
didn't belong was enough to wake the smaller of the pair. She sat up,
sniffed the air, and started downstairs.
There was definitely an intruder in the house.
Ryo-Oh-Ki came upon the mouse as he finished his last piece of cheese.
She hopped up onto the table and put her nose to the mouse's nose.
"Miyah?"
"CHU!!!"
The terrified mouse leaped off the table and ran for cover, Ryo-Oh-Ki
following closely. Every time Ryo-Oh-Ki leaped for the mouse, it
dodged. The cabbit was fast, but the cheese Washu had created for the
mouse made it faster.
"Miyah!"
"CHU!"
The sounds filtered upstairs, and woke Sasami. She rubbed her eyes
and ran downstairs to see what the problem was.
"Ryo-Oh-Ki, where are you?"
Ryo-Oh-Ki had finally succeeded in cornering the mouse, but Sasami's
voice distracted her and it got away. For reasons it didn't
understand, it ran straight to Sasami and jumped onto her shoulder.
"Chu! Chu!"
"Oh, you're so CUTE!"
Ryo-Oh-Ki growled deep in her throat.
"Don't be jealous! It's just a little mouse."
Sasami took the mouse into her hands, and knelt down in front of
Ryo-Oh-Ki. "Now be friends!"
The quivering mouse allowed Ryo-Oh-Ki to sniff him, fully expecting to
be devoured. Instead, the cabbit sat back and tilted her head at him.
"Miyah!"
"Your turn, Mousie. Be nice."
The mouse crept out of Sasami's hands and approached the cabbit. He
sniffed her cautiously and sat back on his haunches.
"Chu?"
"That's better! Are you hungry?"
Both mouse and cabbit followed Sasami into the kitchen, and returned
with a pile of carrots. Sasami curled up on the couch and picked up
the remote. Ryo-Oh-Ki and the mouse settled themselves in her lap,
all three munching carrots.
"Casablanca again? There must be something better on."
She began to change channels, and her face lit up.
"Figure skating!"
----------
Tenchi returned from a visit to his aunt, and found Sasami in front of
the television with Ryo-Oh-Ki and a mouse in her lap. He started to
talk to her, but she shushed him. A glance at the screen told him
why. Never, ever talk to Sasami when Brian Boitano is skating.
He waited patiently until the routine was over and a commercial break
came on.
"Where is everyone?"
Sasami just smiled. "I think everyone is afraid of my new friend.
It's been nice and quiet here."
[Quiet? QUIET? I can't remember the last time this house was quiet.]
A soft knock on the door interrupted Tenchi's thoughts. He opened it
to find Ayeka, Ryoko and Mihoshi standing there.
"Is it gone?" whispered Ayeka.
"Err. No," replied Tenchi.
"Oh no! What shall we do?" asked Mihoshi.
Tenchi thought fast. Really fast.
"It's going to take me some time to catch it, girls. Why don't you
spend the night with Grandpa? I'm sure he won't mind."
"But, but!" protested Ryoko.
"Look, that thing is fast! You don't want to find it in your bed, do
you?"
That was enough to send all three girls up to the shrine at a run.
Tenchi felt slightly guilty, but then he grinned. It was about time
he had a quiet evening. He grabbed a soda from the kitchen, and
joined Sasami and her friends on the couch.
comments welcome, as usual
public or private or both!
karaohki@snet.net