No Need For Vengence, Part One Tenchi Muyo! Fan Fiction by Elwin "Blaine" Coldiron DISCLAIMER -- "Tenchi Muyo!" and characters were created by Hiroki Hayashi and Masaki Kajishima and are the property of AIC/Pioneer. I do not own the characters, nor the series. I just write the fiction. Baron Kazamone is my creation. This takes place in the OVA continuity, and proceeds the events of "Rowdy Reunion", writen by this author. Any event or situation resembling the events and situations of the upcoming third OVA is purely coincendental. ******************************************************************************** A warm breeze kissed the green hillside where the little girl gathered wildflowers. A cute smile graced her face, which was framed with the blue-gray mop of a hairdoo. The girls eyes, deep red in color, sparkled light of the twin suns as she put together her bouquet. She paused to breathe in the fragrance of the flowers. Soon, a female voice called out to her, "Nagi? It's time to come home." The girl turned to the voice, "Coming, Mommy." The girl ran down the hill towards the hovercar that waited at the bottom. There, a tall and beautiful woman stood waiting for the girl, who presented the flowers to her. "Why Nagi," the woman said, "these are beautiful." The girl smiled brightly. "Do you think Daddy will like these?" "Yes, I think he'll love them. Now come. We've got the k'anna roots we need. Let's go and fix them for dinner." "Okay!" the girl shouted as she jumped in the back seat of the hovercar. Soon, the car spead down the road to the township where they lived. The girl held on the the bouquet of wildflowers as the hovercar slowed down as they entered. As the hovercar manuvered down the streets, something odd had occurred. The clear blue skies had suddenly turned a dark, ruddy color. The warm breeze has cooled down considerably. And the general feeling of the day had turned into dread. All this was frightning the little girl. And she turned to her mother in the front seat and said, "Mommy, what's going on. I'm scared." "I'm not certain, Nagi." the mother said, a sound of uneasiness in her voice. "Just hold on, dear. We're almost home." As she said this, a series of explosions suddenly rocked the township. The little girl squealed in fright as several of the blasts came perilously close to the car. As they came to their dwelling, a tall man, obviously the woman's husband and the girl's father, was urging them to proceed to the rear of the building. "HURRY," the man yelled, "KAGATO HAS SEND HIS DEVIL DOWN TO DESTROY US!! WE'VE GOT TO GET TO THE SHELTER!!!" He pointed to a small door set into the ground The mother and her child quickly got out of the hovercar and ran towards the shelter. Then unexpectedly, the little girl changed directions and ran back the car. "I forgot my flowers." the girl yelled. "THERE IS NO TIME, NAGI. GET TO THE SHELTER." the mother called out. Surprisingly, the girl got the bouquet and ran towards her parents, who were at the entrance. It was at that point that one of the random bolts of energy that were raining down on the township had struck and exploded at the shelter entrance -- and the people standing there. "MOMMY!!! DADDY!!!" the little girl screamed as she ran to where the explosion occurred, still clutching her bouquet. There, lying on the ground were the corpses of her parents, their bodies covered with their blood. "Mommy," the little girl sobbed as she knealed down to her mother and shook her, "get up, please?" She then moved to her father's body, shaking and pleading with it the same, all the while, the flowers that she had gathered just minutes before scattered around her and her dead parents. Finally, the girl laid her head on the body of her mother and cried. It was while she was mourning the loss of her parents that the little girl heard the sound of a woman laughing over the sounds of explosions, screaming and general chaos. The little girl then lifted her head and turned and looked towards the sound. There, thru the smoke and flames, she saw the figure of what appeared to be a young woman floating over the carnage. She had long, spiky cyan-colored hair and was throwing bolt of energy at the people below. Althought she was far away, the girl could make out a bright green glow coming from her eyes and her wrists. She was laughing almost maniacly, as if she was taking pleasure in killing and destroying the township and the people therein. Seeing this, the little girl threw back her head and uttered a long, loud scream of rage that seem to her to drown out the sound of devestation around her. *** "AAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!" Nagi shot up from her bed as she woke up. The boundy hunter was breathing hard and rapidly as she realized that it was the same nightmare that had plagued her for over fifteen hundred years. "Damn. Not again?" she groaned, sitting up on the edge of her bed, leaning down and placing her hand on her head. A crystal floated up to Nagi and paused in front to her. A face resembling a small animal with red eyes and a worried look appeared on the the crystal's face and implored, "Ciou?" "What?" Nagi asked, looking at the crystal. "Ciou?" "Oh, it's nothing, Ken-Ohki. Just another nightmare." "Ciou-wou?" "Yeah. The same one. I guess as close to Ryoko as we are, it decided to make a comeback." For the last seven hundred years, that same nightmare made rare apearences. It was only in the last year, when rumor of Ryoko's return surfaced, that it came back in full force. There were always slight changes in the scenes, such as the nature of dreams, but the outcome was all the same: the deaths of her parents, the destruction of her homeworld, and Ryoko's mocking laugh. It was Nagi's hope that once she was dead, then the nightmares would cease, then she would find closure with her past. Getting out of the bed, Nagi looked out through the the huge dome that made the living quarters/control room of the great cabbit ship. There, the sight of a blue-green world greeted her. Three weeks of travel were almost at an end. Soon, she would have to start making plans on how to draw out, confront, and finally end the life of Ryoko, not to mention figure out the mystery of why Baron Kazamone wanted the boy that was her alleged paramore killed as well. One thing at a time, she thought. Concentrate on your prime target. "Ciou?" the Ken-Ohki crystal implored, floating towards his mistress. "No, you may not." she answered. "Ciou-wou!?" he pleaded. "I said no, you MAY NOT see Ryo-Ohki!" Nagi snapped. "We don't want Ryoko catching on to our presence her yet. After I kill her, then maybe, but not now." The crystal floated off with a dissapointed look in it. Nagi watched the crystal float off and mumbled, "Looks like I may have to make more that one plan." She liked Ken-Ohki, but thought the cabbit was a little lovesick, and that may create complications. *** There wasn't that much on the subspace television that day. Their usual soap- opera was pre-empted in favor of a news special on an alliance treaty signing between Jurai and one of the outerling systems. As much as Ayeka liked seeing her father, especially in ceramonies like these, she was particuarly annoyed that Asuza chose this day and time for the treaty signing, which also featured the usual analyzis of the implications and the pro and con factors involving the treaty. The plot was just about to get to the juicy part, and this crap came on. She was beginning to think that this was his way of punishing her for choosing to stay on Earth, rather than returning to Jurai and marrying that idiot fop Seryiou. Luckily, the Masaki home had access to all Earth television broadcasts, thanks to Washu, and right now she and Ryoko were intently watching a rather intense soap opera from the United States. The television, which was the same type used for the intersteller broadcasts, automaticly translated the English the actors were speaking into Japanese/Juraian, which negated the use of annoying subtitles at the bottom of the screen. Both the princess and the pirate sat at the table, across from each other, drinking tea, eating snacks, and watching the unfolding drama on the screen. The sound of falling pans came from the kitchen, followed by, "MIHOSHI! YOU NEARLY DROPPED THAT ON MY FOOT!!!!", which was followed by, "Sorry, Kiyone. It kinda slipped out of my hand." That in turn was followed by, "Nevermind, let's just pick this up." Neither Ayeka or Ryoko flinched as this was going on. The closet door opened after the commotion had subsided and Washu came out. She looked upon the screen and frowned. "Why is is this on?" she asked. Not taking her eyes off the screen, Ayeka answered, "Oh, Father decided to choose this day for his treaty signing. I swear he does this just to annoy me." "Yeah." Ryoko added. "This isn't bad, though. Care to join us, Washu?" "A-hem." Washu cleared her throat. Ryoko glanced at her, frowned and grumbled, "Okay, care to join us, 'Mom'?" "Don't mind if I do, Little Ryoko." the diminuitive scientist said as she sat down at the head of the table between her 'daughter' and Ayeka, while the pirate rolled her eyes and returned to the screen. A few seconds after that -- "OW!! MIHOSHI, MY THUMB!!", followed by, "Oops. Sorry about that, Kiyone." Only Washu turned at the sounds coming the kitchen, Ayeka and Ryoko's eyes still glued to the screen, oblivious to the exchange. "What's going on in there?" she asked the two. "Mihoshi and Kiyone are fixing lunch." Ayeka said. "They wanted to make something special every since they got back from Galaxy Police Headquarters yesterday." "Oh?" Washu querried. "So why isn't Sasami cooking lunch?" This time Ryoko answered, still looking at the TV. "She wasn't feeling too good this morning. So Ayeka let her go back to bed." Soon, the sound of breaking glass was heard, followed by, "MI-HO-SHI!!!!!", which in turn came, "Sorry, Kiyone." Washu sweatdroped, looked the kitchen door, then got up and said, "I guess I'd better get in there while we still have a kitchen." She then slid the kitchen door open, walked in and said, "Okay, you two, why don't we. AUGH!! WHAT A MESS!! You two clean this up while I do the cooking!!" Ayeka and Ryoko just looked at each other, shrugged, and returned to their soap opera. For a few minutes afterwords, peace prevailed in the kitchen. Soon the sounds of dropping pans and crockery was replaced with the sounds of chopping and cooking. And the two in the dining room continued watch television and sip tea. Then all of a sudden, a noise was heard from upstairs. "AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! NO, TENCHI!!!!!!!!!" Ryoko was caught in mid-sip when the scream occurred. She nearly choked on her tea and spat it out right in Ayeka's face, causing the princess to scream herself, this time with rage. At the same time, the sound of a huge pot dropping was heard, followed by, "YOOWWWWWW, OUCHY-OUCHY-OUCHY-OUCHY!!!!" "Sorry, Mihoshi." Kiyone said. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!?" Washu yelled from the kitchen. "SASAMI? WHAT'S WRONG?" All that was heard was crying. Forgeting about getting spat on by Ryoko, Ayeka got up to find out what was wrong with her little sister. As the purple-haired princess was about to climb the stairs, she felt the pirate grasp her arm. "Miss Ryoko, what are you." "Hang on, Ayeka. We're taking the express elevator." Ryoko replied, after which both of them teleported upstairs. The two then appeared the bedroom that the two Juraian princesses shared. There, they saw Sasami sitting up on her futon, crying. "What's wrong, Sasami?" Ayeka said, kneeling towards her sister. "Was it another nightmare?" "Yes." the blue-haired girl sobbed, hugging Ayeka. "It was horrible. I saw a lady hurting Tenchi. She looked like Ryoko, only she had red eyes and shorter hair." Sasami looked at her sister, her pink eyes overflowing with tears. "Tenchi was screaming, as if she was hitting him, but she wasn't." She once again buried her head in Ayeka's lap, sobbing. By this time, Washu, Kiyone and Mihoshi had made their way to the bedroom and stood in the doorway. The blonde detective and the scientist looked upon the scene almost sympatheticly, while the teal-haired detective was rather confused of all of this. Kiyone leaned over to her partner and asked, "Why is everyone concerned about all of this? Everybody has nightmares." Mihoshi whispered back, "Well yes, but Sasami seems to have more than most people." "That's true, poor kid." Washu silently added, then thought to herself, 'But unlike everyone elses, Sasami's nightmares have a bad habit of coming true.' Privatly, she wondered if the young princess' precognitive abilities have anything to do with her link with Tsunami, the higher level being which is also the spirit of the tree of Jurai, not to mention the mind of that planet's most powerful battleship. Ayeka talked soothingly to Sasami, assuring her, "That's alright, sister. I'm sure it's nothing to worry about." "I'm not so sure, Ayeka. It looked so real, and Tenchi looked like he was." Sasami then looked at her sister and asked, "Ayeka, why are you all wet? Did you and Ryoko get into another fight?" Ayeka then remembered the little mishap with Ryoko's tea and shot her rival a dirty look. Ryoko sheepishly grinned and said, "Uh.no, Sasami. I.uh.got a little started when you woke and.Ayeka was just in the way. That's all." "Well next time you spit your tea out, please watch where you're spraying." Ayeka grumbled, her ruby eyes narrowed into slits. "Seriously, Sasami, try not to let this dream worry you too much. I won't let anything happen to Lord Tenchi." "What do you mean YOU?" Ryoko questioned jelously. "Nevermind." Ayeke muttered. And with that, she patted her on the head reassuradly, and Sasami laid back down to rest. She then quietly motioned the others to leave the room, with herself the last to leave. As the others went back to their individual pursuits, Ryoko began thinking about what Sasami had described in her dream. "Red eyes?" she said to herself quietly, "nah, it couldn't be her.could it?" Her musing was interuped by a voice calling out from the bedroom, "Ryoko?" The pirate phased her head thru the door and asked, "Yeah, kiddo?" Sasami, still lying down, said, "Where's Ryo-Ohki? I didn't see her with you guys?" Ryoko just shruged and said, "I guess she's harvesting the rest of her carrots from her garden and putting them up for the winter, I guess." She smiled and said, "Don't worry. Just try to get some rest, kiddo." *** It has been three days since Nagi had arived at the Masaki home. Taking a position across the lake from the house, she had set up a blind where she could oberve the place without being seen. Using a pair of scanning binoculars, she watched the house carefully, making mental notes about the comings and goings of the palace. She had already established the fact that Ryoko was in residence, and was now formualating a plan on how to confront the pirate and ultimatly killing her. What she didn't expect was that there were other women besides Ryoko at the house; three adults and two children. Two of the women, a blonde and one with teal hair, she found out were Galaxy Police officers, possibly detectives. This was unusual, since this planet was within the jurastiction of Jurai, and Galaxy Police officers were not exactly welcome here. It was somewhat of a relief that the shuttle that carried them to the house had apparently crashed in the lake. That eliminated the possiblity of being pursued by them if things went wrong. Two of the others, the remaining adult with purple hair, and one of the children, which had electric blue hair, wore clothing that was distincly of Juraian design, particularly the design worn by royalty. Of greater concern was that the gates of the property were flanked by pilars that appeared to be that of Juraian royal guardians. This confused the bounty hunter, wondering why members of the royal family would be consorting with a pirate like Ryoko. One thing was certain: an attack thru the front gate was not practical. There were three males that lived at the house. accually, one of the males lived at the dwelling on the hill. The two remaining male made their home in the house. one adult, and the boy whose picture was given to her by Kazamone. This boy, strangly, was a point of great intrest between Ryoko and the purple haired girl. In fact, the two would frequently fight with each other him. Nagi couldn't figure out why, because he didn't look all that special. He was somewhat muscluar, but otherwise short in stature, not to mention an extreamly shy person, if her observations were any indication. Still, he would make excellent bait for Ryoko, since she was the one who agressivly pursue this kid. Nagi thought about this plan and would reserve it as a backup in case what she was planning wouldn't work. "What do you think, Ken-Ohki?" the bounty hunter asked. "Should we go around the lake and avoid the gate altogether? We'll have to wait until those GP's are not around, then sneak in at night." No answer. "Ken-Ohki?" Nagi looked around. The cabbit was no to be seen. "Damn!" she cursed. No doubt he went to the house looking for Ryo-Ohki. And if Ryoko sees him -- "Looks like I'm going to have to grab the boy. And tonight. But first, I'd better get Ken-Ohki." *** Ryo-Ohki carefully made sure that the basket that held the carrots that she had grown over the summer was positioned right. Those carrots and her had been through a lot this past summer. rain, summer heat, and a burglar raid, so she felt that these should have special care for them to last the winter. She was in her 'little girl' form for this, because it's very hard to manuver a heavy basket with paws. Satisfied that her carrots were safe, the cabbit girl stepped outside the storage shed that was in back of the house. As she walked out the door, her rather oversized ears picked up the sound of leaves rustling. Turning towards the sound, her eyes caught sight of a small, white animal that was hiding in a bush. Curious, Ryo-Ohki walked over to the bush and parted the leaves. What she saw made her heart leap up with joy. somewhat. The animal that was there was Ken-Ohki. The cabbit stood in a defensive crouch in the bush, hissing at her. She was confused about this. Then she realized that maybe he doesn't recognize her. "Meow?" she asked. Ken-Ohki stopped hissing and stared at her. He studied the form in front him, stepped up slowly and sniffed at her. When he did this, his red eyes popped open in recognition. "Ciou?" Ken-Ohki asked. "Meow, meow MEOW!" came Ryo-Ohki's answer, then afterwards changed into her animal form. Ken-Ohki figuativly and literally jumped for joy as he hopped towards his beloved and gently nuzzled her. But as he did, a sad look came over Ryo-Ohki's face, as if she thought of something. "Meow, meow-yow?" she asked. "Ciou-yiou-yiou." Ken-Ohki answered back, looking just as sad. Both cabbits then huddled close, as if comforting each other. "Ciou?" he asked. Ryo-Ohki smiled back and (well, you know)answered him back. Ken-Ohki smiled back and nodded, again snuggling close to his lady love. But soon, both were startled by the back door opening up and steps being heard coming towards the shed. Ken-Ohki looked around franticly and hid in the shadows inside the structure. Soon, the figure of a young woman with blonde hair had showed up at the entrance. "Hello?" Mihoshi asked. "Is anybody in here?" She then peered into the dark shed and saw a familiar form. "Oh, it's you, Ryo-Ohki. Looks like you're checking up on your carrots. Well, never mind me, I've got to get some vegetables for dinner tonight." She then reached over and turned on the light in the shed. As the light flooded the shed interior, it became apparent to the blonde detective that there was someone else besides herself and Ryo-Ohki inside. She heard a hissing sound and looked towards some boxes. It was then that Mihoshi saw Ken-Ohki crouched near the cabbages and daikon. There was fire in the cabbit's eyes as he looked as if to attack her. "What's that?" Mihoshi asked as she looked at both cabbits. Then a smile broke across her face. "Oh," she piped up, "you got a boyfriend, don't you, Ryo- Ohki?" Ryo-Ohki facefaulted. Ken-Ohki stopped hissing, but continued to crouch defensively, not letting Mihoshi out of his sight. Then he was startled by the loud rumbling of his tiny stomach, loud enough for the blonde detective to hear. "Gosh, you must be awfully hungry." Mihoshi said, after which she turned to Ryo- Ohki and asked, "Would you mind it so much if I give this little cutie one of your carrots, Ryo-Ohki?" The brown cabbit looked at her basket, then turned and nodded eagerly to Mihoshi. The flaxen girl walked over to the basket, picked up two carrots, gave one to Ryo-Ohki, and gave the other one to Ken-Ohki. The white cabbit looked curiously at this new object, sniffed it a few times, then turned to Ryo-Ohki and asked, "Ciou?" She meowed happily and nodded. "Go ahead and try it." Mihoshi added. "Ryo-Ohki grew it herself. Well, I did help her. a little bit, but she did most of the work." Trusting mostly the work of the cabbit of his life, Ken-Ohki took a small nibble and chewed it. His red eyes then brighted up and he smiled a big smile as he proceeded to devour the carrot. Ryo-Ohki meowed happily and joined him as she ate her carrot. "See?" Mihoshi chirpped. "I knew you'd like it." She then noticed the blue collar that Ken-Ohki wore around his neck. She knelt down to stroke the white cabbit's fur. "You must belong to somebody," she giggled, "I just hope that whoever that person is doesn't miss you too much." She would've spent the next half-hour in the company of the two if what happeded next didn't occur. "MIHOSHI! WHERE THE HELL ARE THOSE VEGETABLES? WASHU CAN'T WAIT ALL DAY!!!" Kiyone screamed from the kitchen. "EEP! Coming Kiyone!!" Mihoshi quickly stood up and dashed towards the basket that held the cabbages, only to trip and stumble into it. She quickly got up, grabbed a cabbage, an onion and a good-sized daikon before rushing out the door. Almost as an afterthought, she looked into the door and said, "Don't worry, Ryo- Ohki. I won't tell anybody about your boyfriend." Ryo-Ohki then had a look on her face that said, 'Where have I heard THAT before?' She knew that eventually Mihoshi will accidently spill the beans about her meeting Ken-Ohki. And if that happened, then Ryoko will then put two and two together and -- the thought was too terrible to imagine. Ken-Ohki sensed her uneasiness and trotted over to comfort her. As with Ryo- Ohki, he knew of the deadly history between Nagi and Ryoko. He had met and bonded with the bounty hunter over one thousand years before. Before then, he had spent four millenia wandering the universe. All alone, knowing nothing of his past. All he had was his name. Then he met Nagi. At the time the two met, the bounty hunter had spent the last five hundred years pursuing Ryoko, hoping to avenge the destruction of her homeworld and the deaths of her parents. It was somehow by fate that the two, the hunter and the cabbit, had bonded minds and became partners in the hunt. But it was during this hunt that Ken-Ohki had discovered another of his own kind, only to find out that she was bonded to the space pirate. Somehow, both had wished that they could pause in this lethal game and find true happiness with each other. But of course, that was not possible, and once again they would find other at opposite sides, protecting their masters as they fought to destroy each other. Then came Ryoko's attack on the planet Jurai, after which both her and Ryo-Ohki had apparently dropped off the face of the universe. Then three weeks ago, the Juraian noble Baron Kazamone had came from out of the blue with not only news that Ryoko had reappeared, but also the exact location of the pirate. The information was in the form of a crystal storage matrix that was copied from the secret files of Juria's Holy Council, which Kazamone had a seat in. He of course claimed that there was no risk to her and that he would take all the blame if it was discovered that the information was classified. Nagi was at first leery about this stroke of luck, but it was all accurate. So despite her wishes, he set out to see Ryo-Ohki, who he was now comforting her. <> The force of Nagi's mental message made the cabbit wince. Ryo-Ohki saw his discomfort and meowed her concern. Ken-Ohki looked sorrowfully at her and backed away. <> The white cabbit winced again and quickly scampered off. Ryo-Ohki's eyes were bright with tears. Although she didn't receive the summons that Ken-Ohki had got, she knew who it was. Why must this happen again. *** Ken-Ohki bounded into a wooden thicket on the other side to the lake. He was in trouble and he knew it, so he hoped that Nagi would be in a somewhat forgiving mood. Her telepathic message, however, didn't sound good, and he was afraid that she might do something drastic to insure that her mission of revenge succeded. All of a sudden, the white cabbit felt a powerful grip on his ears and a sudden upward momentum. Very quickly, he found himself staring at two blood-red eyes that looked very angry. "I thought I told you not to see her! You nearly ruined everything!" Nagi yelled. She quickly settled down and calmly asked, "Well, what have you got to say for yourself?" Ken-Ohki then uttered a set of mews and yowls as if making a statement. Nagi, for her part, looked very surprised. "No, I wouldn't skin you alive. Whatever gave you such a crazy notion like that?" Nagi asked. He then answered her back with more mewing, all the while with a dreamy look in his eyes. A small smile graced Nagi's features and a small chuckle came out of her. "You are such a romantic, you know that. I wish that you chose a better time to do what you did. But now we're going to have to go to the plan I've kept in reserve." The bounty hunter looked down the road that led to the house. "I so dislike having to resort to taking a hostage." *** Tenchi never thought that the bus would drop him off this late in the day. He would have been home sooner if that accident hadn't occurred and the bus having to wait as long as it did for the road to be cleared. Luckily, he was able to call the house and let them know that he was going to be late getting home from school. The last thing that he needed was Ryoko trying to find him and bring him back. I would just knew that she would try to find some out-of-the-way hideaway to try to seduce him. It was one week ago that his school had finally reopened after a year of repairs. The official report said that a gas main had ruptured and a faulty electrical connection had caused an explosion and a fire. Of course, the real reason was that the school was wrecked by Ryoko when she tried to cause injury to Tenchi, which was also the same night that Ayeka arrived. Since that time, Tenchi had done his studying at home and sent his schoolwork to the district office. The reopening ceremony had much fanfare and all that. His grandfather offered prayers of good luck and there were many speeches, which nearly put Tenchi to sleep. After which, he was able to return to his classes and to be reunited with friends and classmates. He has missed all of them, particularly his friend Amagasaki, to which he appologized for punching him the year before after he implyed that slept with a mummy. He had only wished that they got the collar of his school uniform right. It was a half-centimeter too tight, and it rubbed badly where the insignia was clasped. It was only after he got out of school that he could loosen the collar. Maybe Washu could find some way to strech the collar out without it looking damaged. He was about three kilometers from the house (the bus stop was on the main road and he had a four kilometer walk ahead of him afterwards) when Tenchi saw a familiar figure in the dim light. He couldn't see the face too clearly, but from the curves of the form, he had to guess that it was Ryoko. This made him a bit mad, for he told her over a thousand times not to wait for him on the road. Still, he hoped that he could talk some sense in her before Ayeka found out and a fight broke out. "Ryoko," he began, "how many time do I have to tell you not to meet me at the road like this. What if Ayeka finds out?" "Accually, you never told me anything." Tenchi froze. The voice was not Ryoko's. The figure then leaped from the rock that she was perched on and flew towards him. Tenchi had to jump and roll very quickly in order not to get hit by this stranger. His hands then darted into his bookbag, where he had the Tenchi-ken stored. But before he could grab it, a long filament of energy snaked towards him with lightning speed and wrapped itself around him. Just as he was about to struggle out of it, a jolt shot thru his body and he quickly lost consciouness. Nagi felt pleased with this capture, however distastful as it was. She disliked taking hostages, and would rather go after her quarry without such incentives to them. Still, she thought that the stun feature that was in the whip which was a part of her sword worked well; the boy was caught and wasn't harmed at all. As he was binding him with energy manacles that she had handy, she wondered what the boy was reaching for in the bookbag. The latch was undone, so she carefully upended the bag and emptied its contents onto the ground. There were textbooks, writing paper, several pens and pencils, a calculator and eraser -- and one other thing that surprised Nagi. It appeared to be a carved wooden handle with two red stones on one end, and an opening on the other. "That looks like a Jurai sword." the bounty hunter mused. This was another unpleasent surprise that Kazamone had neglected to mention. Why would an Earth native possess a Juraian weapon. She thought that she would have an extended conversation with him as she knelt to pick up the the sword. As she did, however, a massive surge of energy coursed thru the sword and knocked Nagi two feet away from it. Nagi looked at the sword as it clattered back to the ground. "Damn! That thing packs quite a jolt!" she cursed as she shook her hand, which was stinging painfully from the surge. As she looked at the sword, an idea entered into her head. "This might just the thing to soften up Ryoko a bit,"she said, "better not waste it." Gathering up her cloak, she used it to cover her hand as she picked up the sword. It crackled with energy as she did, but the pain was managable. As she carefully handled the weapon, Nagi remembered a piece of information that Kazamone provided. It mentioned that Ryoko had use of only one of the jewels that provided much of her power. She looked at the two stones on the sword's pommel and smiled. "This might be easier than I thought." She then turned towards the bushes. "Ken-Ohki!" The white cabbit walked meekly out of his concelment. "Are you still scared about this afternoon?" Nagi laughed. "Relax. I've stopped being mad at you. Anyway, it's time we've pay a visit to Ryoko." *** "I wonder what's taking Tenchi so long?" Nobuyuki asked as everyone gathered for dinner. Ever since Tenchi called the house informing everyone that he was going to be late and to start dinner without him, the Masaki clan became anxious for his arrival. Ryoko knelt at the table across from Ayeka, with Mihoshi and Kiyone kneeling next to each other to the pirate's right, and Washu, Katsuhito and Nobuyuki to her left. Sasami was well enough to join the family and knelt to the left of her sister, and Ryo-Ohki, in her 'little girl' form, at her right. Because Sasami was ill, Washu had cooked dinner, and althought she was not as good a cook as the little girl, the meal was delicous. Sasami however, had picked at her food, and Ryo-Ohki had hardly touched her bowl of carrots. Ayeka grew concerned about she sister and asked, "What's the matter, Sasami? Is your stomach still hurting?" The electric blue-haired girl looked down at her food and said, "No Ayeka. It's just that I can't get that dream out of my head. It looked so real. Oh when will Tenchi get home." "Hey, I wouldn't worry," Ryoko added, talking with a mouthfull of food, then swallowing and continued, "he should be home soon. Althought it is a bit late." The pirate then looked towards her cabbit friend and asked, "Hey Ryo-Ohki, what wrong? I've never known you to turn your nose up on a bowl of carrots." The cabbit girl just looked at her meal and mewed a sigh. Mihoshi looked at this exchange while eating and piped up, "Maybe she's thinking of her boyfriend. OOPS!!!" The blonde clapped her hand to her mouth, her blue eyes wide with shock. "Sorry, Ryo-Ohki. I shouldn't had said anything." Ryo-Ohki started pounding her head on the table, all the while showing a look that said, 'I knew it!' The rest of the family looked at this turn of event with a mixture of amusment and puzzlment. Washu was particularly intrigued. "A boyfriend?" she said. "Don't tell me you're dating some rabbit in the woods, Ryo-Ohki." "No," Mihoshi said, "it was another cabbit like her." "Another cabbit!?" Washu yelped. "Are you sure?" "Maybe it was one of those cabbits that live in the lake," Kiyone added, "you know, the ones Tenchi mentioned." Mihoshi shook her head. "No, those look exactly like Ryo-Ohki. This one was different." "Different?" Washu asked. She was definetly curious about this. "Exactly how different?" Mihoshi continued. "Well, for one thing, this one was.white." Ryoko was taking a sip a tea as the detective said this. Upon hearing this, the pirate again nearly choked on the tea and (again) she discharged it in Ayeka's face. "AAAAUUUUGGGGHHHH!!! RYOKO!!!!!!" the princess yelled, but the pirate ignored her as she reached over to grab Mihoshi's blouse and pull her to her face. "WHITE?" Ryoko yelled. "WITH RED EYES AND A YELLOW GEM?" "Y-yes." Mihoshi squeaked. "AND WEARING A BLUE COLLAR?" "Y-y-yes. But how do you know all this?" the blonde asked. Ryoko stood up, a mixture of fear and shock writen on her face. She then looked over at Ryo-Ohki and yelled, "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME KEN-OHKI WAS HERE?" The cabbit girl mewed sadly at her mistress. "Ken-Ohki?" Washu whispered, a look of recognition in her eyes. Katsuhito overheard the childlike scientist and whispered to her, "Do you know anything about this, Washu?" "It was something your mother mentioned on her last visit." she answered. "I'll explain later." "Excuse me," Nobuyuki asked, scratching his head, "but what exactly is going on here?" Before anyone could answer, a bright light shone from outside the house, followed by a loud, roaring sound. "No." Ryoko breathed, after which she teleported outside. The rest of the clan ran to the front door to see what was going on. When the got to the front porch, almost everybody's jaw dropped. Ryoko's jaw was clenched in anger, her teeth barred. Hovering over the lake was a huge ship similar to Ryo-Ohki in her spaceship configuration. The only differences were the spires were horizontal rather than upwardly angled, with inwardly bent hooks near the dome. The dome was yellow rather than red, and the hull was white. As the ship was hovering, a howl was heard over the roar of the ship: "CIOUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!" Mihoshi visably gulped as she saw the amazing sight. With a trembling finger, she pointed to the ship and asked Ryoko, "I-is that . that . " "Yeah," the pirate answered, "that's Ryo-Ohki's boyfriend." Ryoko then floated over to Ken-Ohki and shouted, "GET DOWN HERE, NAGI!!! GET DOWN HERE SO I CAN RIP YOU TO PIECES!!!" "Nagi?" Kiyone said, still looking at the cabbit ship. "If Ryoko's right, then I think we've got a major problem." "What are you talking about?" Nobuyuki said. "Who's Nagi? And what do you mean a major problem?" Before the teal-haired detective could answer, a dimentional portal opened up at the end of the dock in front of the house. A female form, with a figure that would rival Ryoko's, strode out of the gate, which closed behind her. Sasami's pink eyes went wide as she witnessed the sight. "Ayeka . it's her!" "What do you mean, Sasami?" "The woman from my dream! It's her!" The young princess' fear was betrayed by her voice. "The one who was hurting Tenchi!" Confidently, Nagi looked up at the floating Ryoko. Her face had a preditory smile on it. "Hello Ryoko," she called out, "it's been a long time since we met last. You really should write more often." Ryoko only answered with a barage of energy blasts aimed towards the bounty hunter. Her efforts were met with each blast deflected off a personal shield that Nagi had activated prior to her emergence. "Really, Ryoko," she smirked, "is that any way to greet an old friend." "What do you want, Nagi?" Ryoko shot back. "It certainly can't be money. All the boundies on my head are gone." "You know good and well that I don't care about the money." the bounty hunter countered. "I'm here to see that you pay for all the pain you caused me fifteen hundred years ago. Do you remember? That was when you devestated my home planet and killed my parents. I certainly remember that day. You were floating in the air, laughing and blasting everything in sight. And one of those blasts struck down both my parents while I watched." Nagi was almost screaming as she vented her rage at the pirate. "I became an orphan that day, and I swore upon their bodies that I would have your head." Ryoko was surprised by the force of Nagi's rant. She studied her enemy's face and found that her red eyes were moistening. She also heard Nagi's voice and noted that it was breaking slightly. Ryoko was wondering if the bounty hunter was going to break down and cry. Nagi realized this also and quickly stopped to compose herself. She hadn't cried since that awful day and she wasn't about to start. After a few seconds, she continued, "It's time that we ended this. One more battle, you and me. And I intend to see you dead." "Fine with me, Nagi." Ryoko said slowly. "Let's get this over with right now." "NO!" the bounty hunter shot back. "Not here. I've found an ideal place where we could fight. Meet me there we'll settle this, once and for all." "Oh?" the pirate asked. She did not like this. If Nagi had chose the place for this battle, it was certain that she had set many traps already in place to make her job easier. "And what makes you think that I'll go to this place?" Nagi said nothing. Instead, from underneath her cloak, she threw an object in the general direction of the others on the dock. It landed with a thud. The clan members gathered on the dock stepped back as she threw the object, thinking that this might be a bomb. After a little while, though, they approached it and studied it. Sasami's eyes went wide as she recognized it. "T-that's Tenchi's bookbag!" Ryoko's eyes shot to the bag and and then back to Nagi. She then charged towards the bounty hunter, only to stop short of her, remembering her shield. "YOU BITCH!" she screamed. "WHAT YOU DID WAS LOW, EVEN FOR YOU!!!" "Believe me Ryoko, I didn't want to resort to this," Nagi answered, "but Ken- Ohki's little visit here forced otherwise." "I doubt it." the pirate growled. "Everything you need to know is inside that bag. Just be there." "Nagi!" Ayeka called out, "I'm warning you, if you harm Lord Tenchi, all of Jurai will hunt you down!" "What are you talking about?" Nagi answered back. "Lord Tenchi is a crown prince of Jurai." 'What?' Nagi thought to herself. Kazamone didn't mention THIS. "He will not be harmed. I swear it. I'll be waiting for you, Ryoko." And with, the dimentional portal opened up and the bounty hunter stepped thru it. After the portal closed, Ken-Ohki rose over the lake and quickly sped off, dissapearing as a little speck in the sky. *** Author's notes: Okay, so Nagi's grabbed Tenchi and has now forced Ryoko into one last battle. If you haven't guess, I've decided to make this a two-parter. I need right now to make some research on the battle site that I will place the gang, but I assure you it won't be too long. I've got a few places on Earth in mind, but I wouldn't mind if I got a few suggestions from you readers. If you got any, please drop me a line at: bigkwell@juno.com. You can also use this address to let me know how you like the story so far, but please no flames. If you find anything wrong with this story, I would rather see it in the form of a MST. As for part two, all I can give you is that Washu will explain to the gang about the origin of Ken-Ohki, the battle royal between Nagi and Ryoko, and Tsunami also make an appearance. It might take me a while. But it will happen. So until then..LATER. -------------------------------------------------------------- 9/11/01 FDNY-NYPD- THE REAL HEROES