Wow. I know that's not the most eloquent thing to say, but that's honestly how I feel at this moment. It was the first word to pop into my head when I suddenly came to the realization that this is the last chapter of Lost and Found, the first story I have ever finished. Don't worry; I won't get all teary on you, but still…wow.

I'd like to take a moment to thank all of my absolutely wonderful reviewers. I'm seriously not kidding when I say that you all have made my day!

Thank you Aoshi.fan90, Spaced Out Kitsune, cyberimp6, Psychodahlia, No Free Refills, Happy Mask Salesgirl, Nightcrawler2000, Xavier, Niyu Mizuke, and dave-in-exile. I really appreciate your support!

My unofficial disclaimer (though you probably know the drill by now…): Sorry in advance for any OOC-ness, liberties taken with the original plot, and/or contrivances/clichés. Also, I apologize if the particular pairing in here isn't your cup of tea. Oh, and sorry if I've completely butchered the original plot by now…-sweat drops-

I hope you all enjoy this last chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Without further ado, I present to you: The conclusion of Lost and Found.

-5-

"What?" Everybody cried out in unison, flabbergasted at Washu's sudden declaration.

"What are you talking about, Washu?" Tenchi asked, astounded. Kiyone's a princess? He thought dimly at the professor's announcement.

Ayeka broke in too, "Miss Washu, what are you talking about?" They all stared at the scientist, impatiently waiting for a reply.

"Well," Washu began moodily, "if you'd just let me get a word in edge-wise, darn it!" Her irritation didn't last long, however, because she was too excited to hold out on reporting her findings. "After a bit of snooping around about the circumstances of Megumi and Kensuke's deaths, I found some pretty startling information."

She coughed in a slightly embarrassed way before continuing, "Anyway, to put it…um, gently, before Ayeka's grandfather was king of Jurai, he had a bit of a liaison with a commoner."

"What? What can you possibly mean?" Ayeka cut in quickly.

Ryoko doubled over as she laughed uproariously and answered, "It means he knocked up some chick, stupid." The princess began growling ferociously as she clenched her fists, planning to obliterate the space pirate on the spot. Ryoko wasted no time in rolling up her sleeves and spitting in her hands.

"Can I continue before you destroy any more of my lab?" Washu butted in with growing impatience. The two would-be combatants crossed their arms and turned away from each other while muttering darkly. "Now as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, Kiyone's father was born, and his mother took him away to keep him safe. However, that wasn't the end of it due to the strange nature of the Juraian throne."

Washu paused once more and looked away sadly before continuing, "You see the thing is, another safeguard the Jurai use for ascensions to the throne is the throne itself. It refuses to accept the next in line until the rightful ruler has either abdicated or…died."

"Simply, Kiyone's bastard father was next in line for the throne, so his pureblooded half-brother—your father, Ayeka—killed him in order to be certain of gaining the throne."

Ayeka and Sasami covered their mouths with their hands, and the purple-haired princess whispered in disbelief, "No…it can't be." However, no one else in the room paid attention to them because they had all turned to look at Kiyone, who had silently stood off to the side with her back facing everyone the whole time.

All of the girls gasped in shock at the sight before them. Her shoulders and fists shook violently, yet she uttered no sound. However, the astonishing sight was of the powerful wind that fiercely blew her hair and clothes—a gale that only raged around her.

Kiyone's fists tightened and a green glow that sparked like fire suddenly emanated from her hands. "No," she muttered listlessly. She abruptly turned to the wall beside her and punched the wall screaming, "No!"

Immediately, Kiyone took off, pushed her way through the stunned girls, and ran out through the door. Everyone else remained frozen in place, staring with astonishment at the fist-sized hole in the wall.

Tenchi rapidly came to his senses and raced after the teal-haired woman, crying with alarm, "Kiyone!"

The others stood in a shocked silence before Washu eventually commented softly with wonder, "I suppose since she's now aware of the power she possesses, she'll be able to access it."

In a feeble attempt to lighten the mood, Ryoko remarked uncomfortably, "Well, I guess she stands one hell of a chance in a fight with us after all, eh Ayeka?"

——————

Tenchi broke through the trees, gasping for breath. He felt his heart jerk as he caught sight of Kiyone, who was hugging the Juraian tree for support as she sobbed. He hastily made his way over the stepping-stones and took her in his arms at once. The young man began rubbing circles on her back with his fingers as she grasped his shirt and cried into it.

Over and over again, she repeated in a voice muffled by his shirt, "It's not fair, it's not fair." The silence and stillness that slowly descended upon them was instantly broken as she suddenly screamed and pounded his chest with her fists, "He wouldn't have even wanted the throne!"

Without a word, Tenchi hugged her in his arms once more and resumed massaging her back. Kiyone growled in frustration and gripped his shirt while she asked, "Damn it, Tenchi, why are you so nice to me?"

The young man stepped back for a moment and rested his hands on her shoulders. He looked into her eyes with complete sincerity showing from his own as he answered simply, "Because, Kiyone Makibi, though it's only been a few months since I've had these feelings, I believe I've fallen in love with you."

"No, you can't!" The woman before him cried as she took a step back from him with a terrified expression on her face. She shook her head and looked down at the ground as she said listlessly, "You can't…I, I…my parents—"

"Your parents would want you to be happy, Kiyone," Tenchi interrupted her. "They'd want you to stop avoiding life…avoiding love." He came to her once more and rubbed the tears off her cheeks gently before placing an even gentler kiss on her lips.

As Tenchi took her by the hand and she reluctantly agreed to be led back to the house, Kiyone murmured in a barely audible voice, "Tenchi, thank you…" She wiped a stray tear off the corner of her eyelid, and a small smile came to her face.

——————

The next morning, breakfast was an intense affair. Kiyone and Mihoshi had stayed the night, and now everybody sat around the table for breakfast in an oppressive silence. Nobody had said anything throughout the whole meal as they determinedly kept their eyes on their plates.

Katsuhito, never one to be afraid to speak, broke the silence with a simple declaration. "Kiyone, we can't have you putting any more holes in the walls, so I'd like to teach you how to control your power."

Before he could continue, Ayeka broke in meekly, "Actually, Grandfather, if it's fine with you, I was hoping I could teach Kiyone how to control the Jurai power." She nervously looked from Katsuhito to Kiyone before asking, "Is it?"

Katsuhito closed his eyes and nodded sagely, and the teal-haired woman eventually answered in a slightly apprehensive tone, "Sure."

After breakfast finally ended, everybody went their separate ways: Tenchi attempted to work in the garden, Ryoko went to harass Tenchi who attempted to work in the garden, Mihoshi plopped herself down on the couch to rot her remaining brain cells, and Sasami was inevitably left to clean up the dishes. Meanwhile, Ayeka led Kiyone upstairs to the bedroom she shared with her younger sister.

After the policewoman had entered and the princess closed the door, Kiyone rounded on her and coldly commented, "Look, if this is about your stupid throne, I don't want it." However, her anger instantly dissipated as Ayeka turned from the door with tears streaming down her face.

"I, I, I'm so sorry," the purple-haired woman timidly said. She tugged at the fabric of her dress and looked down at the floor as tears dripped from her nose toward the ground. She suddenly rushed over to an astounded Kiyone and grabbed her in a fierce embrace.

Not sure of what to do, the police officer hesitantly patted her on the shoulder while responding, "Please don't apologize, Ayeka; it's not your fault." In an attempt to lighten the mood, she said with an ironic smile, "'Sides, you said you never particularly cared for that 'jackass with the fat ass,' didn't you?"

Ayeka laughed through her tears, "Yes, I suppose you're right." She stood up, coughed embarrassingly, and wiped the tears from her eyes with her sleeve. The princess took a deep breath and then stated resolutely, "Right, now let's quit dallying around and get to work." She sat down with her legs tucked beneath her and crossed her hands demurely on her knees, and Kiyone tentatively followed suit.

"Alright, now close your eyes," the princess instructed.

The police officer blinked in confusion and asked, "Um, why?"

A bit of her old character returned, and Ayeka commanded with growing impatience, "Just listen to me, will you? I'm attempting to teach you how to reach the Jurai power—correctly."

They both sighed in unison, and Kiyone reluctantly complied. "Good," the princess remarked, "now let go of all of your extraneous thoughts and just focus on picturing a ball of light."

The teal-haired woman had a sneaking suspicion that Ayeka may have lost her mind somewhere along the line, yet she grudgingly followed her directions anyway. It took quite a while to stop her mind from wandering, but she eventually made herself think only about a globe of light.

"You see it?" Ayeka asked before Kiyone nodded with her eyes still closed in concentration. "Excellent, now for the difficult part. I want you to imagine it in your hands. Don't get discouraged if it takes you a while; it took me goodness knows how lo—"

The princess was interrupted from her rambling as a ball of green light suddenly appeared in the policewoman's cupped hands. Sweat was dripping from Kiyone's forehead due to the exertion, but the sphere only shimmered slightly and didn't disappear.

"Oh my goodness, you got it!" Ayeka exclaimed in shock and disbelief as she covered her mouth with her hands. Kiyone opened her eyes and gaped at the glowing light that floated slightly above her spread fingers.

The purple-haired woman quickly regained her composure and continued calmly, "Very good, Kiyone. Do you have control of it?"

"Um, I guess so," the police officer answered nervously without averting her gaze from the Jurai power currently resting in her hands.

Ayeka nodded approvingly and instructed, "Good, now I want you to relinquish control of it. Trust me; this is necessary in order to find out whether your power is offense or defense-oriented. If it's primarily defensive, it will immediately extend into a shield, and if it's offensive—"

The princess was cut off once more as a blast of energy grazed a few of her hairs and barely missed her head. With eyes wide with horror, she slowly turned her head to look back over her shoulder at the gaping hole in the wall. Ayeka turned back around even more slowly, gave a slight cough, and stated with an amazing degree of calmness, "Offensive it is. Well, I imagine you're getting tired, so how about we continue this later?"

Kiyone stood up and scratched her cheek embarrassingly. As she made her way to the door, she turned and said with a growing sweat drop, "Uh, sorry about that Ayeka." The teal-haired woman had just passed under the doorframe when the princess stopped her.

"Oh, and Kiyone," Ayeka began softly, "I…I just wanted to let you know that…I'm fine with you and Tenchi…" The words hung in the air for a moment, and the princess turned to the window and placed her hands on the windowsill as she added, "Now don't get me wrong, I still love Lord Tenchi dearly…but if you're the one who makes him happy…"

Kiyone stood and stared at the princess disbelievingly. After a moment, she muttered, "Thank you, Ayeka." Without another glance back, the police officer left the room and descended the stairs.

The teal-haired woman exited the house, intending to clear her thoughts and grab a bit of fresh air after the exertion it cost trying to summon the Jurai power. However, peace and quiet was not to be hers. She gasped in shock and flung herself out of the way of a large energy blast. Kiyone rolled on the ground and stared at Ryoko, who had suddenly appeared floating in the air above her.

The space pirate smirked and spat out, "C'mon princess, why don't you show me what you've got?" With a gulp, Kiyone drew out her gun and pointed it at Ryoko with unsteady hands. However, the police officer yelped in shock and pain as the space pirate shot it out of her hands with ease.

"Not like that," Ryoko admonished, "I wanna see that Jurai power of yours!" She suddenly lunged at Kiyone, who rolled out of the way of her fist just in time. This continued for a while; Ryoko charged after the police officer while flinging blasts as Kiyone desperately rolled, jumped, and dodged out of the way.

The police officer growled in frustration after she had flung herself out of the way in the nick of time once more and stood up determinedly. With one hand clenched at her side, Kiyone raised the other and leveled it at the quickly approaching Ryoko. She spread her fingers apart as she closed her eyes in concentration. Suddenly, a ball of bright green energy appeared at her fingertips, and she immediately fired it with a grin.

Her celebration was short-lived, however, because Ryoko batted it away with one arm while pretending to stifle a yawn with her other. "Come on, Kiyone! That can't be the best you've got!" The space pirate reproached as she landed on the ground and rested her arms on her hips a couple of feet away from the panting woman.

Ryoko remarked with a sigh, "'K, I'm getting bored, so I guess it's time to finish this, eh?" Without warning, she shot off an enormous blast of energy. It barely missed Kiyone as it sailed inches above her while she fell backwards. With a piercing cry, the space pirate summoned her energy sword and lunged at the fallen woman.

"You better focus your mind and shape your power into a sword if you want to live!" Ryoko commanded while she leapt in the air to finish Kiyone off.

The terrified woman brought her hands up in a futile attempt to defend herself while the flying pirate was mere feet above her. The policewoman desperately struggled to fight the tears that were threatening to fall from her face. I will not die a coward, she thought savagely. Kiyone squeezed her eyes shut and gritted her teeth in concentration in one last effort to protect herself.

Suddenly, the sound of electricity filled her ears. Kiyone opened her eyes and gaped in shock. Ryoko was pressing down with her sword against the one that the astonished woman had miraculously summoned at the last instant. The energy crackled between them as Ryoko's yellow blade met with Kiyone's green one. Suddenly, the space pirate jumped back and landed a few feet from Kiyone while gasping for breath.

Ryoko wiped the sweat from her brow and chortled as she let her sword disappear. "That was great, Kiyone!" The policewoman blinked in utter confusion as the laughing woman continued, "God, who would have thought it, huh? We'll have you flying and teleporting with the best of 'em in no time flat!"

The space pirate abruptly stopped laughing and walked over to Kiyone. She reached out a hand to help the fallen woman up, and the teal-haired woman hesitantly accepted it. Ryoko pulled her up with gusto and proceeded to pat her forcefully on the shoulder.

With an impish grin on her face, the cyan-haired woman commented, "No hard feelings, 'k?" After Kiyone nodded uncertainly in agreement, Ryoko continued, "Right, well my soap's about to be on, so I'm gonna get goin'."

Just like that, the space pirate turned on her heel and started walking back to the house, oblivious to the gaping holes littering the lawn as a result of her energy blasts. Before she entered the house, Ryoko turned her head over her shoulder and remarked casually, "And by the way, while I still haven't completely forgiven you for stealing my Tenchi, I'll get over it…eventually."

A relieved smile broke out on Kiyone's face, but it immediately slid off her face when Ryoko turned to face her and added with a roguish grin, "Oh, and make sure to watch out 'cause I might "accidentally" steal him from right under your nose, 'k?" Beads of sweat appeared on Kiyone's forehead as she watched Ryoko turn on her heel once more and skip into the house while humming happily.

——————

It had been a week since the circumstances around the deaths of Kiyone's parents had been revealed, and peace and quiet had finally seemed to return to the Masaki household. At least, that's what Tenchi thought. On his way back from school, the young man paused for a moment on the long flight of steps leading up to his house and looked up with a small smile at the cloudless blue sky. Finally, he thought with a relaxed sigh, things are returning to normal.

The hapless boy's languid musing was interrupted, however, when a series of loud explosions coming from the top of the stairs jarred him out of his reverie. "What the—" Tenchi was cut off once more as more explosions resounded throughout the forest and briefly lit up the sky.

Fearing the worst, Tenchi threw down his books and began bounding up the steps. Hold on, Kiyone, he thought apprehensively as even more blasts went off.

He was halfway up the steps when a manic-sounding Ayeka cackled above him, "I've got you now, Kiyone!"

Another blast rang out, and Ryoko shouted heatedly, "There's no escape!"

"Don't you dare hurt her!" Tenchi cried passionately as he finally made it to the top of the stairs. However, the determined boy stopped short and nearly fell over in surprise. "What the heck is going on here?" His exclamation fell on deaf ears as Ryoko, Ayeka, and Kiyone continued to merrily fired off energy blasts at each other and destroyed the landscape in the process.

Finally noticing his presence, the blasts immediately ceased as the three turned to him with huge grins and chorused excitedly, "Tenchi, you're home!" He was even more surprised as the three women abruptly flung themselves on him at once.

It took the girls a while to understand why the scene he had just witnessed had left him speechless. Ayeka caught on the quickest and tried to reassure him, "Oh, please don't worry about all of this, Lord Tenchi! We were just preparing Kiyone for when we come after her."

"Come…after…her?" The poor boy repeated slowly in bewilderment as he untangled himself and stood up. "What on earth are you talking about?"

Ryoko waved him off and answered lightly, "Y'know, for stealing you away from us, and all."

"What?" Tenchi sputtered in disbelief. His mouth opened and closed a few times like a dim carp, but no sound issued from them. Instead, he tilted his head to the side and looked at the three women as if they suddenly sprouted second heads, third eyes, or some extra appendages.

"But you know what the really crazy part is, Tenchi?" Ryoko added after the boy had at least partially swallowed the information. "Ayeka and I…we both are—well, we're gonna be—fine." She inflected the last word as if she was surprised about it as well.

Tenchi looked from the princess to the space pirate in shock, and it took him a while before he began, "Ryoko…Ayeka…I—"

"Oh, which reminds me!" Ryoko cut him off as she punched her hand with a fist, "Ayeka and I are gonna be goin' on a vacation!" Beads of sweat formed at her head at this, and she continued while scratching the back of her head, "Well, I guess it's more like a vacation from a vacation, but whatever."

Ayeka nodded wisely and added, "You see, we thought it would be best to give you two a bit of room for a while."

The space pirate smirked mischievously and addressed the silent Kiyone, "Think of it as more of a head start, got that?" She stuck her tongue out at the surprised policewoman and taunted, "'Cause you know you're gonna need it when we come back!"

Without warning, Ayeka and Ryoko turned on their heels and began to walk back to the house. The princess turned her head and called back, "We'll be leaving in a couple of days." The space pirate waved without turning, and the two unlikely companions entered the house.

Kiyone and Tenchi stared after them in an astounded silence. Eventually, the teal-haired woman turned to face him and remarked coyly, "Well, it looks like I'm going to have you all to myself now, Tenchi Masaki."

"Uh-oh, should I start running?" Tenchi pretended to look frightened while struggling to hide a smile.

The smirking woman shook her head and replied, "It won't matter; I'll just run after you."

"What if I run so fast that I lose you, huh?" He teased while sticking out his tongue. "'Cause I do run pretty fast, y'know."

Kiyone playfully punched him in the shoulder and laughed, "I'm telling you, I'll still find you!" She paused for a moment and her expression softened when she added, "I'll always find you."

The teal-haired woman gasped in surprise as Tenchi suddenly gathered her in his arms. Their faces were inches apart when he muttered, "Good." Their lips met, and he murmured once more, "Good."

FIN.