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Aisuno Kori Miyuki aimlessly wandered the halls of the Room Behind the Waterfall. The dark-haired Aquarian whistled softly as she reflected on what had happened in the past few weeks. She had found her past-life fiancé and present-life boyfriend, Kouno Tenchi. Benjamin Vegeta Skywalker and Magena Ryo had broken up, though very smoothly and with no harsh feelings, as it was a mutual breakup. And Miyuki's "twin cousin" and best friend, Kirin Yukiko, had fallen hard for Ben, although she continually avoided him and all discussion of the subject. Miyuki sighed. Yuki liked Ben. Ben seemed to like Yuki just as much, if not more. Her growing Force-sense and intuition told her that they were meant for each other. So why the hell was Yuki being so stubborn and avoiding the purple-haired knight?
Miyuki shook her head. She knew that she had no control over what Yuki did. But the Force around the two was getting tense... Miyuki had to do something about it soon. In the meantime, she decided to turn her attention to another subject – Tenchi.
Miyuki was so confused about her past life – which she knew next-to-nothing about – and the emotions that she had for Tenchi now. She had gotten to know him and admired his skill in dealing with Aquarian politics – although he could not do that anymore, seeing as he recently discovered he was the Aquarian Knight, his intelligence, kindness... she loved him, but not because of their pasts. The fact that HE may only love her because of "destiny" haunted the girl, which led to an immense hate of destiny on her part.
There was another subject that Miyuki had been avoiding, but now she let her thoughts surface. She held her father's blue lightsaber, but she had no idea how to use it. Miyuki had always loved karate and other martial arts, but her dream of succeeding in them had died along with her parents. "I have to rely on my crystal," Miyuki muttered sourly. "And I still haven't even got the hang of that. I'm actually pretty helpless." Her parents... even now, thirteen years after her father's death and four years after her mother's, she still missed them – the warm, caring cheerfulness that was Coren Shi-Gatsu and the wise, just calm presence that was Kari... Miyuki sighed. Her mother had always been there to comfort her in her troubled times... now Miyuki was troubled. Her father had always stood by her when she didn't know what to do... now Miyuki didn't know what to do. "Where are they now... when I need them most..." Tears, marked by a lifetime of sorrow and loss, trickled down Miyuki's cheeks. "I should have been there... to help them... they shouldn't have left... what do I have now? A crystal foreign to me, a guardian who doesn't guard me" – in reference to Guardian Hiroko, the eternal guardian of Aquaris – "and THIS." She held up the lightsaber like it was three-month-old garbage. "Dad's lightsaber... no use to me at all..." With a cry of pain and frustration, choked by her sobs, Miyuki hurled the silver cylinder down the black, empty hall.
Well, not quite empty.
Benjamin Vegeta Skywalker was walking down the opposite hallway in a similar state of thought. However, he was thinking about people, four in particular.
One of his best friends, Magena Ryo. He had recently broken up with the silver-haired dancer on a mutual decision. Neither had had any hard feelings about the breakup, but Magena had seemed really upset in the following week. Ben found out that she was upset at not having anyone to love. He hoped that she found her special someone soon.
The girl he believed was his own special someone, Kirin Yukiko. Ben felt a strong rush of emotion whenever he went near the icy-eyed girl, but for some reason, she was avoiding him. It confused the turquoise-eyed knight. He wished he could tell Yukiko how he felt, but how could he when she kept running away from him?
His other best friend, from the future - Kouno Tenchi. Ben grinned as he remembered Tenchi's little sister Chouko's reaction to seeing the brother she thought was dead standing in the doorway, looking very much alive. The dark-haired boy had recently found his destined love and Ben wished for the best between the two. Which lead to the fourth person on Ben's mind...
Tenchi's destined love and Yukiko's "twin" cousin and best friend, Aisuno Kori Miyuki. Ben had felt a strange energy coming from the girl ever since she came to the Room Behind the Waterfall. It was an aura of sadness and fear, which Ben assumed was caused by the death of her parents. Miyuki had pushed everyone, except Yukiko and Tenchi, away, receiving them in a friendly manner but not telling them much about herself. Ben was determined to break her charade and find the sweet, kind person that he knew was inside her. The knight was always looking for more friends, and Miyuki seemed like a good target for an attempt at friendship. From what Tenchi had told him, Miyuki was a very kind, generous person who was loyally devoted to the ones she loved. Ben was curious to know more about her and her sad past.
Ben's thoughts were interrupted when his Force-sense told him an object was whizzing towards him. He barely had enough time to see what the object was (A lightsaber? Ben thought in shock) before it hit him on the head. Ben let out a cry of surprise and pain. He fell to the ground. His last thought before everything went black was, Who'd throw a lightsaber at me?
Miyuki did not expect anyone to be in the hallway, which was why she cried out herself when she heard a dull clunk and a male voice yelling out in pain. "Oh my God! It hit someone!" Miyuki's sneakers barely made a sound as she ran over to where Ben was standing. "He's out cold!" She knelt down and turned Ben over on his back, immediately recognizing him. This was Benjamin Vegeta Skywalker, the Coruscant Knight, Yuki's love interest, Magena's ex, Tenchi's best friend, and, most prominently...
By Voigami-sama, thought Miyuki, naming an Aquarian god. Tell me I did NOT just knock the future son of Luke Skywalker out cold with a lightsaber!!!!
Miyuki breathed in and out slowly. Ooookay, girl, get a hold of yourself! What now... what now... aha! Miyuki reached out for the Force and found it, tapping into her Force-sense. Ben started to glow a light cerulean and slowly lifted off the ground. "All right... let's see how well I do this," Miyuki spoke. She slowly started walking to her room, Ben floating in front of her.
Ben groaned. Oh God, what happened? I feel like I got hit in the head with a lightsaber... oh yeah. I did. Ben slowly opened his eyes and sat up. He was in a room with walls somehow painted to resemble water exactly. He thought he saw one move, but when he turned, it was still. There was a window that looked out on the waterfall, a desk with a few notebooks, a holovid player, a small laptop computer, several lamps, and a window seat. There was also a closet door, painted blue – the only visible break, aside from the entrance door, in the deceptive water pattern. Ben then turned to see Miyuki, sitting on a large office chair with an anxious look in her sky-blue eyes.
"Are you okay?" she asked in concern. "You've been out cold for almost three hours – I was getting really worried!"
"Yeah, I'm fine." Ben's hand went to his head. "My head still hurts a little, though. What exactly happened? All I remember was a lightsaber hit me, and then... Miyuki?"
Miyuki blushed dark crimson. "Weeell... I was kinda frustrated and... uhm... I sorta kinda just... I wasn't thinking, I – "
"YOU threw that?" Ben's tone was incredulous.
Miyuki's face was downright purple. "Not on purpose!" she protested.
Ben laughed. "Okay, okay, I believe you. I've been wanting to talk to you anyways... how did you do that?"
"Do what?" Miyuki looked around her room. "Oh, the walls. Control over water. It's a power all Aquarians have. I just reflected the surface of the water on the wall."
"Cool." Ben's tone was impressed. "You say you were frustrated... why?" Miyuki blushed again and looked down. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to..."
"No, no, it's okay. See... this was my dad's lightsaber. I really admired him and I want to be a Jedi, just like him... but I have absolutely NO idea how to work the lightsaber!" Miyuki gripped the silver cylinder clipped to her belt. "I don't even know how to ignite it!"
Ben suppressed a smile. "Well, I can teach you the basics of lightsaber fighting if you want."
Miyuki's eyes shone. "Really? You would?" Ben's nod confirmed her statement. "Oh, thank you so much!" Tenchi was right. Ben really seems nice. Hope we can be friends.
Tenchi was right, Ben thought. Miyuki really seems sweet. Hope I can get her to tell me more about herself – maybe we can be friends.
For the next five days, Ben and Miyuki met in the practice hall for two-hour lightsaber sessions. It turned out that Miyuki had been pretty good with a lightsaber in her past life, and the memories were now returning to her. In the practice match the two had at the end of the sessions, she almost beat Ben, but her mind wandered for just a second, and Ben managed to disarm her.
The two, sweating, exited the practice hall. Ben glanced at Miyuki. The two had become pretty good friends over the five-day training period. After their practices, they usually went out for something to eat, as it was usually lunchtime when they finished. They would discuss their interests – it turns out that their interests were very similar. However, Miyuki had not told Ben about her life before she became a Senshi, and he was curious to know. "You're progressing very quickly, Miyuki," Ben complimented. "You were awesome in that match. I don't think we'll need any more lessons."
Miyuki grinned. "Thanks, Ben. So, we gonna continue our ritual?" She was, of course, referring to the lunchtime outings.
"Definitely! Just let me change..."
"Good idea."
About ten minutes later, Ben and Miyuki were ready to leave. At the door, they ran into Annika.
"Miyuki-chan! I was looking for you!" The Senshi of Love's eyes flickered from Miyuki to Ben. "Uh... could you excuse us for a second, Ben?"
"Sure." Ben stepped over, out of earshot.
Annika gripped Miyuki's shoulders. "What are you DOING???" she practically hissed. "You want to ruin Yuki-chan's chances with Ben??? Where are you going?"
"Lunch," Miyuki explained. "Ben's been giving me lightsaber lessons... we always go out for lunch afterwards..."
Annika looked ready to explode. "MiyuKIIIIIII..."
"It's not a date!" the Ice senshi protested. "Ben and I are friends!" Annika did not look convinced. "Okay, look, Nika-san. I am going to give you two good reasons why you shouldn't be suspicious of me – calm down, 'kay?" Annika nodded, still fuming slightly. "Number one – Yuki-chan's my best friend. I would NEVER do ANYTHING to endanger her chances with the one guy she truly loves. And number two" – Miyuki made no attempts to suppress a smile – "Tenchi."
Annika turned beet red and sweatdropped. "Oops. I forgot about Tenchi. I feel like such an idiot. Sorry, Miyu-chan... I believe you."
Miyuki grinned. "No need for apologies. So you said you were looking for me?"
"Yeah!" Annika remembered. "A lot of us are going to the common room this afternoon to have a talk with Yuki about Ben."
" 'Bout time, too!" Miyuki growled, flipping her braid behind her shoulder. "I'll be there, definitely! And I'll try to talk to Ben, too."
"Thanks, Miyu-chan! See ya!" Annika waved and walked away.
"Nika-san, watch –" Miyuki cringed and broke off as Annika ran right into a table. The dark-haired Aquarian shook her head and ran off to join a thoroughly confused Ben.
"Miyuki?" Ben asked gently. The two had another one of their long discussions over lunch – at a nearby restaurant with foods from all over the galaxy – and were now walking "home". "Could you... tell me about your parents?" He felt the girl stiffen at his side. "I'd really like to know," he added softly.
Miyuki nodded and told Ben the entire story, including her feelings on it. By the end she was crying, and Ben put a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay," he reassured. "You don't have to feel guilty about anything."
Miyuki looked up gratefully. "Thanks, Ben. I know I've only really known you for five days, but you're like a brother to me already. Call it friendship at first sight." Miyuki laughed. "You're a friend, even in the short time we've known each other. Like, well, Yuki, only male."
Ben blushed at the mention of Yuki. "Yeah... I know. Same here. Like a long-lost sister or something."
The blush did not go unnoticed. "Speaking of Yuki..."
Ben groaned. "Oh, no."
Miyuki, however, was not letting the knight off so easily. "Come on, come on! Talk. You like her, doncha?"
Blushing even harder, Ben said, "Well, yeah... a little..."
Miyuki burst out laughing. "Ben, your face and hair are the same color. Tell me that's 'a little'!"
Ben's face turned an even darker shade of purple as he let out a sigh of defeat. "All right, you win. I like Yuki. A lot. I really do. She is the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. She's got absolutely wonderful eyes. I admire her intelligence, calmness, and strength. She is one really talented lightsaber duelist, swordswoman, and martial artist. I really like and admire her and I want to be with her more than anything." Ben paused for breath and glared at Miyuki. "There. All of that was true. You happy?"
Miyuki giggled. "Yup! I'll be happy to have you as my cousin-in-law!" Completely unfazed by Ben's resurfacing blush, she continued. "Let's make a bet. I bet that Tenchi and I will go out on a date before you and Yuki. Whoever wins owes the other a night out. Deal?"
Ben grinned. "Deal."
"Okay, see ya!" Miyuki ran off.
On her way to the common room, Miyuki almost literally ran into Magena Ryo. "Oh, hi, Gena-chan!"
Magena smiled. "Hey, Miyuki."
"Listen, Magena, I know you're looking for your special someone, your destined love... I really hope you find him soon. You deserve someone like that in your life."
Magena blinked, then slowly grinned. "Thanks, Miyuki. That's nice of you to say."
The girl grinned cheerfully. "You're welcome. You looking for Ben?"
Magena nodded. "You know where he is?"
"Mh-hm. Over there." Miyuki pointed. "Hold on. Before you go, tell him something for me, will ya?"
"Sure. What?"
"Just don't say it's from me." Miyuki leaned in and whispered, "In a while, a lot of Yuki-chan's friends – Annika, Ippin, me, et cetera – are going to meet in the common room and have a nice long TALK with her." Miyuki grinned. "Yuki's been avoiding Ben – it's the perfect chance."
Magena nodded. "You're right. Sure, I'll tell him."
"Thanks, Gena-chan! See ya!" Miyuki ran off.
Magena grinned again. "Ben, you stubborn fool. You WILL end up with Yuki or my name isn't Magena Ryo. Which it is – I hope." She laughed and went off to find Ben.
