Tenchi Muyo: Ryoko's Love Alpha! Chapter 1A: A Friendly Wager By Long T. Tran 3/21/98 Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, AIC/Pioneer owns them. I don't intend to make money off this because I don't want to get a lawsuit. I'm too poor for that. But this is my story, so don't plagiarize! Author's Notes: We are going retro a few years! This chapter will start a year or two before Yui's birth. From this chapter on, we will see as events unfold and gradually shape the time line that'll head the Tenchi cast into Ryoko's Return Pt.2 . IN other words, let's not worry about the year 2018, and just enjoy brand new series of stories. (A prequel series to Ryoko's Love Prologue.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It's another beautiful day at the Okayama countryside, after a hard day's work in the fields, Tenchi was on his way going up to his grandfather's shrine. Tired, miffed, and exhausted, he walked up to the shrine's office door and knocked. "Yes, who is it?" Yosho asked through the door. "Grandpa, I've finished working on the fields." Tenchi said through the closed door. "Very good, Tenchi." "Is there anything else you want me to do?" "No, that will be all for now. Why don't you go and wash up." "Alright." Tenchi replied. Tenchi walks the way back to the Masaki House. As Tenchi walked away from the shrine, Yosho was making sure that the coast was clear. Ryoko was sitting across the table sipping her saucer of sake as quietly as possible. Yosho turned to her and grinned. "I think it's safe for us to talk now, Ryoko." Yosho said, sipping his cup of tea. "Thanks, Yosho, for taking the time to chat." "My pleasure, Miss Ryoko. Please continue what you're saying." "Well, you know how much I'm attracted to your grandson." "Yes, I'm aware. Are you going to ask for another blessing to marry Tenchi?" "Oh no! Uhh,...I was wondering, could you play a game of chess with me?" Ryoko asked. "Chess?" Yosho said, astonished. "Yep!" Ryoko said happily. She reached into her blue gossamer dress and pulled out a wooden chess board. Having placed the board on the table in front of Yosho, she waited for his response. "Why do you want to play a game of chess with me?" he asked curiously. "Well, I've only played this game once in my entire lifetime." Ryoko said. "I just wanted to see how well I play up against you, you know, a challenge." Yosho thought to himself. Yosho looked at the board and then faced Ryoko and smiled. "Very well, let us begin." "Oh yes! Great! Thank you Yosho!" Ryoko exclaimed. A half hour later... Ryoko looked up at Yosho with growing frustration. Things didn't turn out the way she expected it to be. Yosho was in his usual calm obviously focused on his next move. Ryoko thought to herself frowning. Yosho made his move and slid his chess piece. "Your move, Ryoko." He said. Ryoko slammed her piece and looked up at him. "Checkmate!" Ryoko yelled. "I don't understand this!" Yosho said with disbelief. "Yosho," Ryoko gasped with a veiled hint of concern. "That's the three straight games you've lost in just a half hour. Are you sure you've played this game before?" "Yes. I've been playing this game all my life." Yosho replied. "But,...I'm not clear on one thing. You said, you only played once?" "Yes, I swear! I've only played this game one time." "Then I have to admit, Ryoko. You're a most superior player." "Ok, thanks, I guess that's proof enough." Ryoko smiled. *** A few minutes later, at the Masaki house. Aeka and Sasami were in the living room watching a TV show when Ryoko suddenly materialized in front of Aeka's view. "Ryoko!" Aeka yelled angrily. "Would you please get out of the way! I'm trying to watch a soap opera!" "Sorry to rain on your parade there, Princess." Ryoko grinned. "But I have something that might interest you." "What can you possibly have that would interest me?" "Well, this!" Ryoko smiled and brought out the chess board from her blue dress. "A chess board?" The princess paused momentarily and then frowned at Ryoko with suspicion. "What are you up to, this time?" "Ohh...nothing really." She smirked. "Actually, I just wanted to find out if you knew how to play chess." "I didn't know you play chess, Ryoko." Sasami interrupted. "I sure do, Sasami. Do you know how to play?" "No not really, but I'm willing to learn." Said the little princess. Then Sasami looked at her watch. "Well, it's time for me to go cook. I'll talk to you later." Ryoko watched as Sasami left the living room and disappeared into the kitchen then she turned to Aeka. "Well, princess. Do you know how to play or don't you?" "I know how to play chess. But I wouldn't play it against a monster woman like you." "Oh, is that right?!" Ryoko growled. "Yes, that's right!" Ryoko quickly buried her anger towards Aeka and focused back to her original objective and smiled. "Ok, fine. What if I were to offer you a small friendly wager?" "What could you possibly offer? I doubt that you have anything to wager on except for your stupid dress tails." "Even if it didn't involve Tenchi?" Ryoko grinned deviously. "What did you say?" Aeka stunned and turned to Ryoko and gave her a threatening gaze. "I'm warning you Ryoko, you better not be planning anything." "What's the matter, little girl? Scared? Frightened that I will get to Tenchi before you can?" "I'm not intimidated by you, demon." Aeka spoke undaunted. "You are too much, Aeka!" Ryoko laughed mockingly. "What are you laughing about? What's so funny?" "You thought that I was going to get Tenchi by stealing him away from you?" "Isn't that why you're here? Isn't that what you have always been doing?" "Of course, that's why I'm here. But to make things a little different and interesting. I'm going to try to get to him fair and square." "You're joking right? You? Playing fair? I find that very hard to believe." "Well believe it, sister. I won't be using any parlor tricks." "I still doubt it. Why the sudden change?" "That's a good question in which I'll be more than happy to answer." *** An hour later, Tenchi contentedly arrived at the house after a needed bathing in the floating onsen. He smiled and thought contently about washing away all his soreness from work; now, the only thing that bothered him was his hunger. As Tenchi walked through the back door he immediately spotted Ryoko and Aeka sitting around the living room table, their attention locked onto the chess board. Miraculously, the girls didn't notice his arrival. Usually they would greet him at the door and latch on to him, and when they grabbed him, a fight between them would usually occur. Whenever Ryoko and Aeka fought, Tenchi would usually be the one stuck with the bill to repair the damages. Not wanting to ruin a perfect day, he decided not to disturb the girls. Heading straight towards the kitchen to see what little Sasami was cooking up, he discreetly walked through the kitchen door and savored the mouth watering aroma of Sasami's fried noodles. "Oh! Hello Tenchi!" Sasami said, smiling happily while she fried a pan of noodles. The little toddler Ryo-ohki was at the kitchen counter helping sort the vegetables on to a platter. Ryo-ohki turned around and greeted Tenchi. "Hello, Ryo-ohki." Tenchi waved and then noticed that Mihoshi wasn't around to help Sasami prepare the food. "Where's Mihoshi? I thought today was her day off." Tenchi asked Sasami. "The Galaxy Police Headquarters called her in for an emergency meeting, she'll be back in a few days." Sasami answered. "Oh, I see." Tenchi replied and thought about Ryoko and Aeka. "Hey, Sasami?" "Yes, Tenchi?" "How long has it been since Ryoko and Aeka started playing chess?" Tenchi inquired. "I think about an hour. They've played about two games now. Ryoko has beaten Aeka in both matches." "Who challenged whom?" "Ryoko challenged Aeka." "Really?" "Yep." "Why would Ryoko do that?" Tenchi asked with even more curiosity. "I think because she's bored. At first Aeka refused to play when Ryoko offered. "What changed her mind?" "Ryoko made an offer Aeka couldn't refuse. Actually, not an offer, something more like a bet." "Which is what?" "If Aeka wins three out of five games of chess, Ryoko will take on all the chores for a month." "Ryoko wagered to do ALL the chores?!" Tenchi exclaimed with shock and disbelief. "That's right." Sasami replied as she poured the pan of noodles on to Ryo- ohki's vegetable platter. "For a whole entire month?! What happens if Ryoko wins?" "If Ryoko wins, she'll get one chance to play a game of chess with you." "Oh Tenchi!" Ryoko yelled out from the living room. "Come on into the living room, Tenchi! "Uh oh. Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Tenchi sighed. "I'm going to go check and see what's up. I'll see you later at dinner time." "Alright, Tenchi. Good luck. I'm almost done with cooking, I'll be out shortly." Tenchi walked out of kitchen and found Aeka walking up to her room looking very defeated. While Ryoko was resetting the chess pieces, Tenchi turned to Aeka with concern. "Are you feeling alright, Aeka?" "I'm fine, Tenchi. Go and talk to Ryoko," Aeka said, gloomily and continued on her way. "Call me whenever dinner's ready. In the meantime, I'll be in my room." "But Aeka-" "Oh don't worry about her, Tenchi." Ryoko interrupted. "She'll get over her defeat." "Ryoko, you should be more considerate about Aeka's feelings." "I WAS being considerate, Tenchi!" She whined playfully. "In what way?" "I allowed Aeka to go up to her room instead of forcing her to listen to me gloat about my victory." "Oh jeez, Ryoko." He exasperated. "Ok, Tenchi! Come on over to the table!" Ryoko said excitedly, setting the chess board towards Tenchi. Tenchi sits down across from Ryoko and looks down at the chess board. "I didn't know you play chess." "To tell you the truth. I don't really play chess all that much." She admitted. "Ok let's begin." "Uhh,...I hope you don't mind me asking but, why are we playing?" "You really want to know, Tenchi?" Ryoko asked, smiling childishly. Tenchi nodded. "I'm just trying to get one honest date out of you." "W-What do you mean?" He asked nervously. "Don't worry about it. Let's just play chess. Trust me. Ok?" "Uh, sure. Okay." "But before we do, care to make a friendly wager?" Tenchi suddenly straightened up with alarm. "Friendly wager!?" *** Meanwhile, Aeka was in her room worried about the sudden change in events. She replayed her conversation with Ryoko. "Well? What do you say princess?" Ryoko asked grinning. "Very well, Ryoko. I'll play chess but under one condition." "Okay, name it." "If you somehow manage to win, and if you do win that date with Tenchi. You must not in any circumstances try to seduce him." "Whoa. Wait a minute there, princess. Now that's asking too much." "You said you were going to try to get to him fair and square, didn't you? Well it's now or never." Aeka retorted, tried to lay a desperate trap to find any of Ryoko's hidden agendas. "Which one will it be?" There was a long silence between the two girls. Aeka waited patiently as Ryoko considered her condition. Ryoko thought. She faced Aeka and smiled. "Alright princess, I'll play at your level. I won't like it but I'll do it." "Good, then it's decided." Back to the present time. She thought to herself and sighed. *** At the same time, downstairs in the living room. Tenchi and Ryoko have yet to start their game of chess. "Well, Tenchi? Are you up to it? Are you willing to bet?" "Hmm. Sounds fair enough. Let me review the agreement, one more time." "Fine." Ryoko sighed impatiently. "If I win, you will do ALL the chores of the house. Right?" "Yep." "For a whole month?" "Yes." "And if you win, I have to take you out on a date to any location in Japan of your choosing?" "That about sums it. And remember, just you and I." Tenchi thought about the agreement for the fifth time. "Oh come on Tenchi! Let's just play! You're stalling!" Ryoko demanded. "Ok! Alright! Let's begin." "Sheesh, finally." She frowned and regained her smile. Tenchi and Ryoko turned their attentions towards the chess board. "So who gets the first move?" Tenchi asked. "You will." "You sure?" "Yes." "Sure you don't want to start first?" "I insist." "I don't know..." "TENCHIII!" Ryoko cried out in frustration. "Will you please start!?" "Okay. Okay. I was just kidding." Tenchi turned his attention onto the first chess piece. He concentrated and slid his pawn to the middle of the board. Ryoko copied his move. Tenchi moved his knight next to Ryoko's pawn. Ryoko places her bishop next to Tenchi's knight. "Check." "What?! Already?" Tenchi started. His mind being thrown out of concentration. "Yep." Tenchi moved his queen to protect his king. Ryoko took the queen away with her knight. Tenchi's eyes bulged out of their sockets. he thought. "Check again." She stated. Tenchi slide his rook to protect his king and neutralized Ryoko's check. "How's that?" He boasted confidently. "Try that on for size." Ryoko used her queen and got rid of Tenchi's knight. "Check." "Huh? How can this be?!" Tenchi baffled out. He desperately tried to regain his concentration. He advanced his bishop and took Ryoko's queen. In response, Ryoko slid her rook and cleared Tenchi's bishop. "Check and check mate." "This is unheard of!" Tenchi was perplexed. He looked at the chess board and found that Ryoko had strategically placed all her chess pieces. No matter what move he made, Ryoko would always come out the victor. "Ryoko, how in the universe did you learn how to play like this?" "You want to know a secret, Tenchi?" "Sure, tell me." "All I did was set up my chess pieces. After I've finished setting up, I go in for the kill." "I see. That was very interesting. You've gotta tell me some more secrets. I'm sure you have lots in stored." "Tenchi?" "Yes?" "Are you trying to weasel out on our deal?" Ryoko asked suspiciously. "Me? Uhh,...No." He said nervously. "Good." Ryoko smiled. "Because you're taking me out to the perfect dating spot." "Where am I taking you? I hope it's no where expensive." "Oh no. Not at all. In fact, it's going to be totally free. So you don't have to worry about the finances. Except for, of course, the bus fare." "Okay, sounds good. Where exactly, are we going?" "We're going to Naroda beach!" Ryoko exclaimed happily. "Naroda beach?! But it's going to take us at least an hour and a half to get there." "Yes. And?" "I don't like long trips." "Why? Because it's just you and I?" Ryoko said as her smile disappeared, it was obvious her feelings had been hurt. Tenchi realized that he had his foot in his mouth. He thought angrily to himself. "Ryoko,...that's not what I meant." "Oh? What did you really mean, Tenchi? It sounded like you didn't want to go on a date with me at all." "It's not like that at all. I would love to take you out to Naroda." "You would?" Ryoko's face lit up. "Then why are you having second thoughts?" "It's just the fact that we're going to be cooped up inside a bus for at least an hour and a half. I just hate those kind of long trips." "Oh, I see. Don't worry, Tenchi. I'll think of something that'll help occupy our time." "Okay. When are we leaving?" "First thing tomorrow morning. I also have a little surprise installed for you." "Umm,...yeah." Tenchi said nervously. "Dinner's ready!" Sasami called to everybody in the house. "Oh boy! I'm starving!" Tenchi exclaimed. Then he paused and remembered Aeka. "What is it, Tenchi?" The little princess asked. "I gotta go get your sister. Don't wait up on me." He said and ran up the stairs. "Ok, Tenchi." Sasami spoke. When she turned around she saw Ryoko float towards Washu's lab. "Where are you going Ryoko?" "I'm going to fetch Washu for dinner. I'll be back shortly." Ryoko answered. "Please hurry. You know how much I hate it when the food to gets cold." "Boy, do I." Ryoko joked and happily patted Sasami's head as she floated towards Washu's lab. *** Washu was busy typing away on her keyboard, trying to figure out why hot dogs are always packaged at ten a piece and hot dog buns are packaged in only eight. Behind the busy scientist, Ryoko walked into the lab. "Who is it? Go away. I'm busy right now." Washu said. Ryoko cleared her throat loudly to catch Washu's attention. Washu turned around and her face lit up. "Ah! What can I do for you Little Ryoko?" "Mom, can you stop calling me that?" Ryoko muttered, obviously annoyed by Washu's babying tone. "Sure, little Ryoko. What can mommy do for you?" Ryoko grumbled a bit but quickly calmed down. "Well,...uh, mom. I managed to finally get a date with Tenchi." "Oh you did?!" Washu exclaimed. "I'm so proud of you! My little girl finally did it!" "Mom, please! You're making me sick!" "How did you do it? Did you control his mind?" "No." "Did you slip a photon neuralizer in his drink?" "No." "Did you tap in to his cerebral cortex and plant subliminal commands?" "No!" Ryoko screamed in annoyance. "Mom! Will you listen! I played chess against him and won." "Not bad, Ryoko. Not as complex as planting subliminal messages but still, not bad at all. It's crude yet effective. So where's your date going to be?" "We're going to Naroda Beach." "That's a very nice resort beach. Good choice, Ryoko." "I know." Ryoko agreed and smiled wildly. "There's going to be a lot of people there and well,..." "What Ryoko?" "Can you do me a favor?" "Sure, what is it?" Ryoko reached in to her back pocket and pulled out one of Washu's computer discs. She hands it to Washu and Washu looks at it curiously. "What is this, Ryoko?" "Take a look at it on your computer." Ryoko instructed. "I'll see you tomorrow morning." Ryoko runs out of the lab. "Alright." Washu replied. She placed the disc in to her computer and logs into it's files. The screen displayed Ryoko's request. Washu smiled with overwhelming joy and excitement. "This could turn out to be very interesting." *** Tenchi walked up to Aeka's door and knocked. "Yes? Who is it?" Aeka asked through the door. "It's me, Aeka." Tenchi answered. "I've come to tell you that it's time for dinner." A few moments later Aeka appeared at the doorway. "Let's go eat." She said. They both walked down the hallway, not saying a word to each other. Aeka decided to break the silence. "How did you do on the chess game against Ryoko?" "I did poorly. I thought I was a pretty good chess player but Ryoko really proved me wrong." The one answer that Aeka had been dreading since she was in her room. "And?" she asked apprehensively. "What can I say. I'm going to go on a date with her tomorrow morning." "Where are you going?" "We're going to Naroda beach, it's a resort area." Aeka didn't step any further, she tugged on Tenchi's elbow and stopped him from walking any further. "Tenchi, there's something I wish to tell you." "What. What is it, Aeka?" Aeka struggled, she wanted to tell Tenchi how she felt about him. "Please be careful out there. Anything can happen, don't hurt yourself." She spoke instead of 'Tenchi, I love you'. "Don't worry, Aeka. I'll be safe just as long as Ryoko is around. You know how powerful she is." "Yes." Aeka said, disheartened. "Let's go eat. I'm starving.!" Aeka nodded in response and followed Tenchi down to the dining table. Ryo- ohki was in her humanoid form, eating her carrots and Sasami sat right beside her. Ryoko was already at the dining table happily eating her food until she looked up and waved at Tenchi. Tenchi looked around and noticed that Washu wasn't around. "Where's Washu?" Tenchi asked. "She's in her lab, working on some experiment." Ryoko answered. "Oh? What is she working on?" "You'll find out soon enough." Ryoko hinted. "Let's forget about her and just eat!" "Uhh,...right." He tensed. "It better not be anything sexual, Ryoko." Aeka threatened suddenly. "Hey, don't worry princess. I haven't forgotten about our agreement." "You better not forget, Ryoko. Or else. If you hurt Tenchi in any-" "If I hurt Tenchi!?" Ryoko barked. "Why you silly little girl! Where you do get off saying that I will hurt Tenchi!?" "I can say anything I like! I don't think you're very trustworthy." "Oh. We'll see about that." "I doubt that we will." "You'll see. First thing tomorrow morning, your doubts will be no more." Ryoko assured. Aeka didn't respond to Ryoko's assurance, she still doubted Ryoko. Ryoko was silent, she continued on eating. She finally finished up her meal and stood up to go to Washu's lab. She turned and faced Tenchi. "Tenchi, I'll see you tomorrow morning." "Alright." "Is there anything you want me to bring for tomorrow?" Ryoko asked. "Umm, I think we'll need some food to bring along, suntan oil, towels, bathing suits, and an extra pair of clothes to change into." "Ok. Done. I'll see you later." Ryoko said and opened the door to Washu's lab. After Ryoko disappeared in to Washu's lab, Aeka turned to Tenchi. "Are you still willing to go with her?" "Yes, Aeka. I have to." "But are you willing to go?" "What do you mean, Aeka?" "You don't have to go unless you want to. Right?" "You know I can't do that." "Why not, Tenchi?" "Because it's not right. I've already set up an agreement with Ryoko. I'm not going to be the one to back out." "But she's a space pirate! You certainly don't have to carry out an agreement with her!" Aeka yelled out desperately. Tenchi was surprised to see Aeka using that tone of voice. "I don't like hurting either of you. I'm sorry Aeka, a promise is a promise. I always keep my word." Tenchi retorted. "I, I understand." She said feeling defeated. *** During the late twilight hours, barely wearing anything to keep herself warm, Ryoko had been strapped against the wall by Washu's restraining device. "How long is this going to take?" Ryoko asked impatiently. "Just a few more minutes." Washu responded while typing away on her keyboard. "Well, hurry up! I hate being cooped up in this contraption of yours! I haven't quite forgiven you for that last time, you know." "Oh calm down, Ryoko. I won't do anything like that again. At least, not for a while." "You left me hanging up here alone in the cold dark! Just how do you expect me to calm down?" Washu ignored her and decided to change the subject. "So why didn't you ask me yourself?" "What do you mean?" "You know what I mean, Ryoko. Why didn't you ask me in person? It's sounds a lot better than just asking via computer disc." "Oh. Uh,...I don't know. It's a pride thing I guess." "Pride, huh? Oh it's so sad that a daughter can't talk to her mother." Washu wailed playfully. "Oh poor little me! My daughter's afraid to speak to me!" "OK! Alright! I get the point." Ryoko cried out and decided to change the subject. "So, Washu. How long will this last?" "So, Ryoko. How long do you want your little request to last?" "Just give me a day." "Be more specific." "From sun up to midnight, I guess." "Ah,...so you're doing the Cinderella bit aren't you?" "Well, if that's what they call it on this planet. Yes." "Very interesting, Ryoko." Washu complimented. Ryoko looked away from Washu, she struggled to gather her thoughts to find the right words. "Thank you." Ryoko said barely. "What did you say, Ryoko?" Washu inquired honestly. "Thank you for helping me. Mother." Ryoko smiled softly. "My pleasure. Anything to help my little daughter on her first date." Washu returned. Feeling great happiness, Washu typed in the last few commands on to her keyboard and released Ryoko. Ryoko stepped down onto the floor. "You better get some sleep, Ryoko. Otherwise, you'll disappoint Tenchi." "Don't worry, I will. Good night." Ryoko expressed. Ryoko left the lab and heads towards her room, happily anticipating the next morning. *** Meanwhile, a few billion miles away, on the planet Jurai, Shoji was on his way towards the throne room. Shoji isn't your traditional type of Jurian, instead of having long graceful hair that went down his back, he had a mid length tail that only reached the base of his neck. He is a Jurian noble and even more unusual, a knight of the royal guard. One of the most powerful and capable, he's considered highly among his peers and colleagues maybe because of his honesty, his humor and his non-royal attitude. He finally arrived at the emperor's throne room. "You summoned me, my liege?" Shoji asked while kneeling. "Yes, Shoji. I have." "What can I do for you, sire?" "I've looked at your record and because of your valuable service to this royal family, I've decided to reassign you." "And what's my reassignment, sir?" "From this point on, you're going to be Princess Aeka's bodyguard." "Her bodyguard?!" Shoji looked up in surprise. He thought curiously. "Is there something wrong, Shoji?" Azusa questioned. "Uh, no sire. But I was wondering..." "Yes?" "Pardon me for asking, my liege. Aren't the Guardians of Jurai, proven to be adequate bodyguards for her?" Azusa flinched a little. "Why yes. But I've decided that you're the best of the best and I want the first crown princess of Jurai to be well protected. You can't blame a father for being protective, right?" Shoji noticed that the king of Jurai had a bead of sweat on his head. And decided not to think about the reassignment any further. "Of course. I'm sorry to have questioned you." "That's quite alright." "When do I depart?" "As soon as possible. I'll contact Prince Yosho as soon you're on the way." "Yes, my lord. I'll start packing." Shoji bows and leaves the room. Azusa watched as the knight left. He restrained hard to keep in his laugh. Aeka thought. "Uh, Tenchi?" Ryoko asked. "What Ryoko?" "What are you waiting for?" "I'm waiting on you to teleport us to the bus stop." "Right. About that..." "Ryoko, what's wrong?" "Nothing's wrong, it's just that I can't do that right now." "What do you mean, you can't do that right now?" Tenchi asked. "Are you sick?" "No." "Is there something bothering you?" "No, not really." "You don't want to go?" "Oh no!" Ryoko answered loudly. "Nothing like that, I assure you." "Then what?" "Well, didn't you notice the way I came out here?" "Yes. You used the door." "That's right. I USED the door." "So? What's so different about that?" "Tenchi, you're not getting what I'm trying to say. Can you remember the last time I used the door to go in and out of the house?" Tenchi thinks and tries to remember the last time he saw Ryoko using the front door. "Come to think of it, Ryoko. I don't think you ever used the front door." "That's right. I never USED the door." Ryoko stressed. Tenchi thought about Ryoko's last remark carefully and realized what she really meant. His eyes bulged out in pure shock. He was speechless. "Are you telling us that you can't use any of your powers?" Aeka spoke loudly. Ryoko nodded happily. "See Aeka! Now you don't have to worry about me seducing Tenchi in any way. Now, I'm as human as he is." "How should that matter? Why did you lose your powers?" Aeka asked wildly. "And how did-" "I'm sure it's interesting to find out why, but who cares! We're going to be late!!" Tenchi interrupted Aeka, he straightened up his shades and grabbed Ryoko's arm. "Come on, Ryoko! Let's go! If we don't catch this bus, the next one won't arrive until noon!" "Uh, right. See ya Aeka! And don't worry! I won't do any thing to Tenchi!" Ryoko shouted. "You better not Ryoko! Or else I'll send Azaka and Kamadake to check on you!" Aeka shouted back. Ryoko stuck her tongue and pulled her bottom right eyelid at Aeka as she hustled off with Tenchi to catch the bus. "We'll be home tomorrow morning. See you later." Tenchi said as he waved back to Aeka. Aeka watched as Tenchi and Ryoko ran off towards the bus stop. She sighed in frustration. "Aeka." Said a voice from behind. Aeka turned around and found Yosho. "Yes, brother?" "I have a message for you from father." Yosho said as he handed Aeka a subspace telegram. "Thank you, Yosho." Aeka read her father's message and a few moments later, she was in absolute anger. "What?! I don't believe this! Father's assigning me a new bodyguard?!" "That's what it looks like." "And what is going to happen to Azaka and Kamadake?" "They are currently being reassigned to another person." "What? To who?" "Good morning, Aeka!!" Aeka turned around and found Little Sasami riding on top of Azaka. "Sasami?" Aeka questioned. "Guess what father did today!" Sasami exclaimed happily. To be continued... The Lonely Moon (tragedy) I am lonely like the moon You are faraway as the earth Now you say I light your thoughts Night After night Soon you forget We are drifting in this dance I can feel you circle my thoughts Keeping such a graceful distance So close but somehow apart Sometimes I cry for you Knowing you don't want me to Sometimes I whisper to the stars up in the sky That I want to find the way to your soul Kiss in the sun when morning comes you don't seem to count the hours When we are not together I've seen a tender fire in your eyes Yet when I'm gone you carry on I float in this emptiness Till at last love returns With the night and the lonely moon Author's Notes: Phew! I'm finally finished! Tell me what you think! BTW! Did you see any improvement in my grammar! Please tell me I've improved! Please! Please! Please! Special thanks go to Minset, Random, Ryoko MR, Lord Talon, Cman1701 and my Sister. For taking the time to pre-read and giving me good pre feedback, I couldn't have done it without you all! Visit my FanFic's website: http://members.aol.com/evildrtran/index.html Tenchi Muyo: Ryoko's Love...Alpha! Chapter 2A: Naroda Beach Pt. 1 By Long T. Tran Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, AIC/Pioneer owns them. I don't intend to make money off this because I don't want to get a lawsuit. I'm too poor for that. But this is my original story concept, so don't plagiarize! Author's notes: Naroda beach is a fictitious place, just wanted to let ya know before you start reading. As you read, you may notice that I've added a new literary feature to my FF, subchapter titles. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Washu's Wonderful Toys After having caught up with the bus in time, Tenchi and Ryoko were nearly out of breath. They walked down the middle aisle of the bus and Ryoko took her seat right next to a window, Tenchi sat down next to her. Tenchi looked around the bus through his shades, he only saw two other people inside the bus, the driver and an old gray bearded man. Tenchi was no longer gasping for air and decided to break the silence. "So you've volunteered to lose your powers?" Tenchi questioned. "Yes. For only a day." Ryoko confirmed. "How does it feel right now? You know, to not be able to use your powers." "It's kinda hard to describe. Actually, it feels weird. In a way, I feel small." "Hmm. I think I understand what you're getting at. Maybe because, you don't have your powers." "Maybe." "Which brings another question to mind." "What's up? Ask away." "Why did you decide to turn off your powers for just today?" "You know that's a funny question." "Oh? Why?" "I don't know..." "You don't?" Tenchi said, perplexed. "You're very weird, Ryoko." "I know." She sighed happily. "I'll tell you later on, ok?" "Uh, sure. Okay." "What time do you think we'll arrive at Naroda Beach?" Ryoko asked. Tenchi looked at his watch and estimated the time. "Hmm, right now my watch reads 7:50, I think we'll arrive at around 9:30 or 10. It's going to be a long ride." Tenchi sighed unhappily and sank in his seat. "I think I can fix that by cutting this trip by ninety-nine percent." "Oh really, Ryoko. And how are you going to do that?" Tenchi asked skeptically. Ryoko reached over her shoulder and dug into her black backpack. Tenchi looked at Ryoko curiously as she pulled out a palm-sized, rectangular-shaped, silver box. She handed the device to Tenchi. "Uh, what is this Ryoko?" he asked apprehensively. "Something that'll help speed our trip a little. Why don't you put that nice little toy right there next to your left foot." Tenchi did as Ryoko directed without giving much thought. "Ok, now what?" "All we have to do now is wait 5 seconds." Ryoko replied. "Sounds simple enough." Tenchi said. Then a horrifying thought finally dawned on him. "Wait a minute! You didn't get this from Washu did you?" "Yes, I did as a matter of fact. And that means you should hold on tight!" Tenchi did not hesitate to follow Ryoko's advice. He quickly grabbed and tightly held onto a seat that was in front of him. Instead of a seat, Ryoko clutched onto Tenchi's waist. Suddenly, Tenchi could hear a low whistling sound that emanated from Washu's device. "Uh oh. I don't like the sound of that...!" "Oh don't worry about it, Tenchi! Here comes the really fun part!" The fat bus driver was happily minding his own business when suddenly he heard a low pitch whistling that sounded like it was coming from behind. Then the steering wheel started to go crazy in his hands, as if the wheel was driving the bus for him. "What's going on here!? I can't control the bus! " the driver screamed. "OH MY GOD! WE'RE DEAD AND WE'RE ON THE EXPRESS BUS THAT'S HEADED STRAIGHT TOWARDS HELL!" Ranted the old man. Then the surroundings of the bus were suddenly immersed in a blanket of brilliant color and light. The bus's rumbling quickly subsided into a floating ride. "What's going on, Ryoko?!?" Tenchi asked fearfully. "We're just travelling at the speed of light. Well, the same concept at the least." At that very instant, the bus dropped out of warp and Ryoko released herself from Tenchi's waist and looked through the bus's glass window. This was the first time she ever saw the crystal blue waters of Naroda beach. Tenchi was tense and quickly looked up, grabbed Washu's warp device and wiped a sweat from his forehead. "Ok, we're here! Let's go before the driver decides to ask any questions." Tenchi said and quickly stood up, grabbed Ryoko's arm and rushed out of the closest exit. As they hurriedly departed from the bus, Ryoko had time to stop for a second to turn to the bewildered bus driver and smiled. "Thank you for the ride, kind sir!" Ryoko said happily, waving at the driver. The driver didn't at all respond to Ryoko's gratitude, he gawked and simply closed the door and sped off on the road at a wild acceleration. Tenchi couldn't help but sigh in exasperation. Tenchi and Ryoko were both on the sidewalk pavement that bordered the highway and Naroda beach. "Well, at least we're here. Although, a bit earlier than expected..." Tenchi said and smiled as he viewed the beautiful sandy white beach that laid before him. He reached into his backpack and pulled out his father's photo camera. Tenchi turned to Ryoko and aimed his camera at her. He stepped in front of Her and made sure that she was in the foreground while the resort beach was in the background. "Taking the first photograph of the day, Tenchi?" "Yes I am, Ryoko. Smile." Ryoko smiled brightly showing her perfect row of teeth and held up her right hand to show a peace sign. The camera gave out two snapping sounds indicating that Tenchi took two pictures. "I didn't know you like to take pictures, Tenchi." "I've always wanted to, but never came around to actually trying it. Besides, I figure today would be a good day to start. It's not everyday I get to go to a nice resort beach. I just know those pictures are going to turn out perfect." Tenchi said and placed the camera back into his backpack. He looked at his watch. "Hmm. Eight o'clock. Not even the shops are open." Ryoko didn't hear a word of what Tenchi had just said. She looked around and saw that the beach was surrounded by little shops and stands. There was an elevated pier, one hundred fifty to three hundred yards away from the beach's waterline that served as a foundation to the seaside hotel. There was also a nearby travelling carnival that's yet to open for the day. Ryoko noticed a huge Ferris wheel that towered the fair, it stood approximately 200 ft. off the ground, one of the biggest she's ever seen. The water is clear and crystal blue, Ryoko could actually see the fish swimming beneath the water's surface. The eight o' clock sun shined very brightly into her golden-yellow eyes. Ryoko closed her lids and welcomed the gusts of the ocean's cool winds blown against her face. She sniffed the aroma of the ocean breeze and relaxed. She thought contently. She opened her eyes and found that the beach was deserted. "Uh, Tenchi?" "Yes, Ryoko?" "Where's everybody? Isn't there supposed to be a lot of people at this beach?" "Well, that's the thing, Ryoko. They haven't started their arrival yet. Not even the shops are open. What do you suggest we do now?" "Not to worry, we can start looking for a spot to set up our little base camp." Ryoko assured. "Base camp? But we didn't even bring any tents or camping utilities." "Not to worry. I have it all covered." Ryoko assured as she scanned the beach for an ideal spot to set up camp. Tenchi stood there next to her and waited patiently. Then after a few moments of surveying, Ryoko spotted the perfect area. "Eureka! I've found it!" Ryoko exclaimed. She grabbed Tenchi's arm and stepped off from the sidewalk and onto the beach's white sands. They walked along near the waterline for about three minutes, turned right and arrived in front of a bare concrete foundation that used to support an elevated beach house. Ryoko examined the barren concrete slab and estimated it's length and width. "What are we doing here, Ryoko?" Tenchi inquired curiously. "I'm just setting up our little camp." Ryoko replied as she reached into her travel bag. "But don't we need tents?" "I said don't worry, Tenchi." Ryoko pointed out as she revealed to Tenchi another silver box. This time the box looked more square than rectangle and it had a red button. "Oh I get it! That little box is containing our tents right?" "Well, not exactly our tents..." Tenchi tensed at the remark. Ryoko joyfully placed the silver box onto the concrete foundation and pressed the red button. The box suddenly opened up, unfolded rapidly, and quickly transformed into a beach house. The house was elevated by wooden supports and resembled the Masaki residence, except it was a smaller version, just enough to fit the concrete foundation. It was only a single story house, the front end faced the mainland while the back faced the ocean, the back had a nice balcony patio that overlooked the sea. "It's more like a temporary residence, courtesy of Washu." Ryoko finished off. "Thank you, Washu!" Tenchi said in awe. Tenchi and Ryoko walked up the stairway and opened the front door. Both stepped through the door and were amazed that the furniture had been provided as well, not only that, the interior is identical to the home back in Okayama. "I'm going into the kitchen to put up all of Sasami's food." Ryoko noted to Tenchi. She opened the door to the kitchen and walked through. "Go ahead and take a look around." As Ryoko walked into the kitchen, Tenchi was clearly happy about the beach house. He placed his backpack onto the sofa and noticed the television set. He stepped over to the living room area and turned on the TV. The TV flickered on and the channels were less then Okayama's but they were working nominally. He decided to turn off the TV set and headed out towards the patio. Tenchi found that the patio had two body length patio chairs to lay on and an outdoor umbrella dining set for four. Tenchi laid down on one of the patio chairs. He inclined the chair to sit upright to view the morning beach. The beach waves rhythmically beat against the water's edge, the sun was warm, the clouds balanced out the heat and the wind was soothingly cool. He looked at his watch again, it read, 8:10 am. he thought. "Ah, paradise!" Tenchi said happily. "You can say that again, Tenchi." Ryoko agreed as she walked out and she sat down onto the patio chair next to Tenchi's. She laid down but didn't incline her chair to sit up. "How do you like our date so far?" "I'm really enjoying this trip, Ryoko. This is a great place to relax and have fun!" "I knew you would like it, Tenchi." Ryoko said, her voice sounding very soft and quiet. "Tell me about it! I'm going to love this day to the very end. You have to be crazy not to. I mean, this day had been so full of surprises. Like that quick bus ride, your backpack of surprises, and not to forget, your..." Tenchi cut himself off and noticed that Ryoko was unusually quiet. He looked down beside at her and realized that Ryoko was quietly fast asleep. "Uh, Ryoko? Hello?" Ryoko didn't respond, she was already deep in her sleep. He thought while admiring Ryoko's tranquil and serene face. An idea popped into Tenchi's mind and he quickly walked back into the house and dug into his backpack and grabbed the camera. He stepped out to the patio and quietly took Ryoko's pictures. After taking three snapshots, Tenchi paced back into the house and placed the camera back into his backpack and was out in the patio again. He found himself staring at Ryoko's face as she slept quietly. Tenchi noticed that Ryoko had started to sweat due to the sun's rays, he carefully grabbed the dining table's umbrella and placed it carefully over Ryoko, giving her plenty of shade. Tenchi smiled at Ryoko again and sat down in his chair and peacefully watched Naroda beach's ever changing waterline. *** Mihoshi! Meanwhile, halfway across the known universe, at the Galaxy Police Headquarters Mihoshi's shuttle prepares to depart for it's next assignment. Mihoshi pulled off her formal gloves and jacket while making her way towards the cockpit. Mihoshi thought. She arrived at the cockpit and sat down in front of the shuttle control module. "Oh, Yukinojo!" Mihoshi happily summoned. "Yes? Miss Mihoshi?" The robot said as it appeared from the cockpit ceiling. "Set a course for the Orion system." "Yes ma'am." The robot complied. The shuttle activated the maneuvering thrusters and started to slowly back away from its assigned port. "What's our next mission, detective Mihoshi?" "It's a really simple assignment. All we have to do is rendezvous with the Fourth Patrol Fleet and set course for a planet called Orion" "Why are we heading out to such a remote planet?" "To investigate why we've suddenly lost communication traffic from our outpost on Orion. We're ordered to find the problem and fix it. It's probably some glitch in their computer systems or something." "Pardon me for asking, but..." "Yes? What is it Yukinojo?" "Don't you find it peculiar that HQ is sending out an ENTIRE patrol fleet just to investigate a minor case?" Mihoshi's jovial face suddenly turned serious and thought about the robot's point. "It is kind of odd, isn't it?" "Do you think its more than just a glitch?" "Hmm. You might be onto something, Yukinojo. Oh well! Can't start worrying about it now!" Mihoshi, said and reverted back to her cheerful carefree attitude. "I guess we're just going to have to go with the flow! Oh, Yukinojo!" "Yes, ma'am?" "Set a course for the Orion System! And when after that mission's done and out of the way... Home!" "Yes, ma'am!" The shuttle pulled clear from its dock and sped off into the vast voidness of space. *** Aeka's Request A few hours had passed since after Tenchi and Ryoko's departure for Naroda beach. Trying to distract herself from thinking about Tenchi and Ryoko's 'incidental' date. The garden, which was placed inside the Masaki greenhouse, is elegantly decorated with a different assortment of soft and bold colored flowers collected from planets Earth and Jurai. Aeka was wearing her gardener's apron and gloves. She planted the latest flower to her botanical collection, a red rose. With precise and gentle care, Aeka nourished the blossoming earth flower with water. After she watered the floral plant, Aeka sniffed the fragrance of the rose and smiled softly. she thought to the rose. Aeka untied her apron and pulled her gloves off of her hands. She turned away from her garden and headed back to the house. She walked out of the greenhouse and looked up and found that Sasami was happily riding on top of Kamadake, flying around in the open skies above. Aeka smiled as Sasami laughed out with all her energy, Sasami was having the time of her life. Aeka thought. Aeka looked up at Sasami, who's still flying around and an idea came to her mind. "Oh, Sasami!" Aeka called out. "Hello Aeka!" Sasami greeted happily. She orders Kamadake to land right next to Aeka. "I see that you're having fun with your new guardians." "I sure am! So why did you call for me?" "Well, I was wondering, could you do me a small favor?" "Sure, Aeka! What is it?" "Could you by chance, come with me on a little outing?" "Outing?" Sasami said, puzzled. She paused for a moment and frowned at Aeka. "Aeka, are you asking me to go with you to crash in on Tenchi and Ryoko?" "To be straightforward with you, yes I am." "Forget it, Aeka! I'm not going!" "Please, Sasami! It means a lot to me!" Aeka begged. "It's not right! Let Tenchi and Ryoko enjoy their first date..." "I won't allow that, Sasami! I just won't!" Aeka interrupted. "I can't believe you said that, Aeka! You were taught better than that! Of all the people to break promises! Didn't you expect this to happen when you first shook hands with Ryoko?" Sasami frowned. "Ryoko would never do a thing like that to you! Never!" Aeka stood silent, shocked by Sasami's sudden outburst. "Well? What do you have to say? Your newly assigned bodyguard is already on his way, he should arrive any minute now. You must either stay here and welcome him. Or you can just go to Naroda and start up another fight with Ryoko and hurt Tenchi's feelings at the same time." "You're right." Aeka said reluctantly. "How foolish of me to even think about breaking my word of honor. I am the crown princess of Jurai and I must keep my promises, no matter how hard it may be." Sasami sighed in relief. "I guess we should start preparations on a welcoming party for my new guardian. By the way, Sasami. Would you have any clue on who's to be my new bodyguard?" "No. Not really, Aeka, but brother Yosho might know. Why don't you go ask him?" "I just might do that, Sasami. Thank you for the suggestion. And thank you for setting me back in place." "Don't mention it, sis." *** The Sunblock At around one o'clock, Ryoko finally came about. She opened her eyes and looked over to Tenchi and smiled. Tenchi was reading a book from grandfather's office, he looked up from the book and smirked at her. "So, you're finally awake." "Oh my! How long was I asleep?" "Not very long. Only about three to four hours." "I'm sorry to have you wait on me like that, Tenchi..." "Oh, it's ok. I'm not mad. I actually spent the whole time sitting here enjoying the view, reading this book and watch the arrival of all those people." He interrupted and pointed out towards the sands. Ryoko raised her patio chair and found that the beach was alive and full of activity. Her face lit up with excitement. "Oh wow! Will you look at the beach! It's so full of life!" Ryoko exclaimed. There were two separate volleyball courts, being played at the same time. People playing and swimming in the crystal waters. A few sunbathers, people sitting beneath huge umbrellas, small picnics were held, lovers cuddling and walking, sand castles being built, kids flying kites, and three individuals fishing. And lastly, there were people at the carnival. "Come on, Tenchi! Let's go!" "Wait. Not yet, Ryoko." "What? Why not?" "Since we're going to be out in the sun all day, we might as well where some skin protection." "Skin protection?" Ryoko said perplexed. "Yep. These days, it's not safe to be out in the sun without wearing any sun block. Long exposures to the sun's rays can cause skin cancer." "Oh, I see. Okay then, you wait here while I go get the sunblock." With enthusiasm, Ryoko jumped up from her chair and ran back into the house. She found her back pack, grabbed the bottle of sunblock, and made way her back towards the balcony. "Do you have it Ryoko?" "Yep! Sure do." Ryoko confirmed, as she handed the bottle to Tenchi. She sat down on her chair. "You first." "Um, alright." Ryoko watched as Tenchi pulled off his white tank top and opened the sunblock bottle. He applied the solution on to his chest, arms, stomach and lower back, not realizing that the sunblock made his slim-but-built-body look even more sweaty and muscular. Ryoko pondered with surprise and awe. As Tenchi applied the lotion, he looked up and noticed that Ryoko was staring at him intensely. He started to tense nervously. "Uh, Ryoko, why are you staring at me like that?" "I wasn't staring..." Ryoko denied but her face was clearly red. She quickly paused a few moments and gathered her thoughts for a quick recovery. "I was just enjoying the handsome scenery." She muttered in a confident way. "Can you do me a favor?" "I know, I know. Turn around so I can stop staring at you." Ryoko assumed. "No, no. Can you help me rub this sun block onto my back? I'm having a hard time applying this." "Sure!" Ryoko exclaimed. She stood up, walked over to Tenchi and placed herself next to him. Tenchi handed the container over to Ryoko and turned his back towards her. Ryoko smiled and opened the bottle. She poured a small amount into her hands and applied the solution onto Tenchi's back. Ryoko frowned a little and cleared her throat. Tenchi's back felt unusually stiff. "Tenchi, why are you so tense?" Ryoko inquired. "What do you mean? I'm not nervous." "I know that. What I meant was, why are your muscles so stiff?" "I guess it's because, I've been working out in the fields a lot for the past few days." "Oh, I see." Ryoko finally finished the application of the sun block onto Tenchi's back, instead of pulling her hands away, she decided to give Tenchi a massage. She rubbed her fingers down his back in a circular motion, allowing more blood circulation into his back muscles. Then she moved her hands to his shoulders and pressed rhythmically. "That feels very nice, Ryoko. Where did you learn how to do this?" "I picked it up a few day ago, while watching a TV show. Do you really like the way I'm massaging you?" "Yes...I like it!" Ryoko beamed wildly because of Tenchi's compliment, as a result, she unwittingly massaged his shoulders even harder. Her rough massaging caused a sharp sensation. Tenchi hissed out in pain. "Whoops! Sorry about that Tenchi." "It's alright, Ryoko. I really needed that massage. Thanks." He smiled, gratuitously. "Please don't stop." "My pleasure!" Ryoko said, then giggled. Ryoko massaged Tenchi for another five minutes and stopped. Tenchi turned around and faced her. "I guess it's your turn to put on the sun block." "It sure is!" Ryoko said excitedly as she pulled off her red tank top to reveal her blue bikini top. Ryoko poured the lotion onto her palms, Tenchi watched as Ryoko applied the sun block to her skin. Then she struggled to put the solution onto her back. "You need help with that Ryoko?" Ryoko was momentarily tempted by Tenchi but thought back to her agreement with Aeka. "No, that's alright. I can handle it." She replied. "Are you sure? Looks like you're having trouble putting that on." "Yeah, I'm sure. Thanks for the offer." "Uhh. Okay." Tenchi thought. Tenchi watched as Ryoko settled the rest of the sunblock, he couldn't help but admired how her blue bikini enhanced her attractiveness. Tenchi thought. Her body was covered in perspiration which made her feminine figure stand out even more. Before Ryoko noticed that Tenchi was staring at her, he quickly looked away and buried his thoughts. Ryoko wiped a sweat from her forehead and looked up at the sun. The sun was really getting hot and the wind wasn't helping at all. "Phew! Is it getting hot or what?" She commented. Her hair was matted from the moisture caused by her perspiration. She grabbed a nearby towel to dry off her sweat. "So what's the first thing you want to do today, Ryoko?" "Well, the first thing that comes to my mind is go shopping for a good shady hat." "Alright, sounds good to me. Then what?" "Then we'll decide and just go with the flow for a while." "Ok. Let's go, shall we?" Ryoko grabbed her red tank top and wore it over her bikini. She followed Tenchi into the house. Tenchi had his shades on and camera over his shoulders, he was already at the front door. Tenchi decided to be a gentleman, he opened the door for Ryoko. Ryoko walked through the doorway and smiled at Tenchi thankfully. They both walked down the steps of the beach house and headed straight for the Naroda Beach Market Strip. The Fortune Teller, The Sun Hat Tenchi and Ryoko had reached the beach accessories shop in the middle of the Marketplace. The strip was located along side the beach resort's beach walk, it had ten separate stores in all. As they walked towards the accessories shop, Tenchi noticed an Arcade next door to the shop. Ryoko walked into the accessories shop first, Tenchi was about to follow her but something caught his attention. Passing by the arcade, Tenchi noticed a curious looking machine that stood next to the arcade's entranceway. The heart-shaped machine was completely crimson and stood on a black pedestal. A sign attached to the top of the machine read: "The Fortune Teller of Potential Love: For one yen piece, see if the one you have your sights on is your true love!". "Oh yeah, right!! That has got to be the hokiest claim I've ever read!" Tenchi said, skeptically. "Why are you putting down my machine like that!!" A craggy old voice yelled out from behind Tenchi. "You kids these days, have no faith in anything!" "Oh! Sorry about that rude comment." Tenchi apologized. He turned around and looked down to see an old bald man looking up at him with angry eyes. The old dwarf quickly extinguished his anger towards Tenchi and ruffled his bushy white moustache with his finger. "That's alright kid, you're not the first person to be skeptical of my machine." "Really? You mean other's have actually said the same thing?" "Of course!! They would voice their disbelief and just out of pure curiosity, they also tried it." "And what would happen?" "Only two things..." said the old man, holding up his two fingers. "One, they would remain as lovers. Two, they would discontinue their relationship." "Oh come on! Couples wouldn't break off their relationships because of a machine's opinion?" "Yes, they would. You'll be surprised." "Why?" "Call it a twist of fate. One minute a potential couple are looking at each other for possibilities of love, the next, they turn away from each other and march on home never setting sights on each other again. I've seen this happen thousands of times before. But on the good side, I've also seen relationships grow even stronger." "Now, that's really pushing it. I find that even harder to believe. People just don't make decisions solely based on a gimmick's answer." "Oh they don't, eh? Then why don't you try it out yourself." The old man smirked. "What do you have to lose besides one yen piece?" Tenchi thought. "Well, kid? You think you're up to it?" The old man asked. "Okay, then. I'll try it." Tenchi reached into the pocket of his shorts and took out five separate yen pieces. Each for Sasami, Aeka, Mihoshi, Washu, and Ryoko. "Five Yen pieces? Very interesting! Planning to find out whether you can nab five girls, eh? I didn't know there's a sexual revolution going on right now. You kids are too much." "Hey now! That's not what it looks like!" Tenchi said defensively. "I'm not like that at all!" "Yeah, right." The old man doubted bluntly. "All I can say about you kids is that you're all pumped full of hormones." Tenchi thought. "Well, anyways." Tenchi grumbled, changing the subject. "How do I work your little gimmick here?" "It's quite simple, really. All you have to do is pop a coin into it's slot and type in the name of the girl. After that, the fortune teller will print out your answer." "Ok, sounds simple enough." "Well, kid. I would like to see what answer's in stored for you but I have to go run my arcade. See you around." "Uh, yeah. Thanks." Tenchi watched as the old man walked away and disappeared into the arcade. Then he cautiously looked around to see if Ryoko was anywhere nearby. Tenchi turned and focused his attention onto the machine. He popped in all five of his yen pieces into the machine's coin slot. A short and simple direction appeared on the machine's black screen. The fonts were colored red and the background was black. PLEASE TYPE IN YOUR NAME. Tenchi did as directed. PLEASE ENTER THE NAME/NAMES OF YOUR HEART'S POTENTIAL. Tenchi typed in five names. Then he checked if his spelling was correct. Washu Hakubi Sasami Jurai Aeka Jurai Mihoshi Kuramitsu Ryoko Hakubi PLEASE WAIT WHILE THE FORTUNE TELLER OF POTENTIAL LOVE, PROCESSES YOUR ANSWER. Tenchi waited a few moments for the machines response. He nervously looked at his watch and realized that five minutes had already passed since he left Ryoko alone. The heart shaped Love tester started to print it's results onto a long receipt paper for Tenchi. The printing was taking very long for him, trying his patience. Finally it stopped printing and Tenchi pulled out the sheet from the love tester. He finally found the familiar names. He noticed that right next to each of the girls' names, appeared notes. He looked at the first name on the list: Washu Hakubi: This one is rather unique, but don't go for her. Too smart and too old. "Wow! The old man wasn't kidding! This thing actually works!" Tenchi said, excitedly. "Though I think the answers are kind of on the blunt side." Tenchi reads the next name on the list. Sasami Jurai: A very sweet person at heart, only one problem... She's too young. He moved down to the third name on the list. Mihoshi Kuramitsu: Another sweet person, this time the right age. Not a good choice for you, she'll really test your patience if you choose to go steady with her. Meanwhile inside the beach accessories shop, Ryoko was browsing around for about five or ten minutes, looking for the perfect hat to wear out in the hot sun. She noticed a round sun hat with a blue bow-tie ribbon sitting on top of a rack. She decided to try the hat on. Ryoko looked into the mirror and found that the hat fitted perfectly on her head. "I think this hat looks very nice on me. What do you think, Tenchi?" Ryoko turned around and realized that Tenchi was no where close to be seen. She thought and looked around the shop and couldn't find Tenchi. She looked through the shop windows and was relieved to find him. She placed the hat back onto the hat rack and headed back outside. Outside, Tenchi was nearly done with the list, now it was coming down to the two major active contenders; Aeka and Ryoko. He looked at Aeka's results. Aeka Jurai: She's nice, polite, and worthy of great love. She's not for you. Tenchi frowned. He turned his attention to the final name on the list, Ryoko. Ryoko Hakubi: Cherish every precious moment you have with her... Was the only word that came to Tenchi's mind. "Tenchiii! So that's where you been all this time!" Ryoko said as she walked towards him. "What are you doing out here?" Tenchi was momentarily startled by Ryoko and quickly hid the paper in his pocket. "R-Ryoko! I was just, uh, enjoying the weather!" "Well follow me, Tenchi! Tell me what you think of this hat I found." Ryoko said as she went over to grab Tenchi's hand. Ryoko's hand held Tenchi's and politely pulled him into the beach shop. Tenchi looked at her joyful gesture and smiled. "Alright." They both walked into the shop and Ryoko led Tenchi straight towards the hat rack. "I've found the perfect hat, Tenchi!" Ryoko said, happily. "You have?" "Yep it's over here on the hat rack..." They reached the hat rack and to Ryoko's dismay, the hat was gone. "Where's the hat, Ryoko?" Tenchi asked. "I could've sworn it was here just a minute ago!! I placed it here myself! Help me look for it!" Ryoko said frantically. "What does it look like?" "It's a round sun hat with a blue bow-tie ribbon." They split up in separate ways and looked around the shop. Tenchi searched the front end of the store and to his surprise, the old man from the arcade was at the register, in the process of buying Ryoko's hat. He quickly walked over to the old man and the cashier in time to interrupt their business transaction. "Uh, hello, sir! Remember me!" "Why hello there, young man! Did your fortune come out the way you wanted?" "No, not exactly. But that's not why I'm here." "Oh? Then why are you bugging me?" "I wanted to speak to you about that hat you're about to buy." "Yeah? Well, forget it. I'm buying it for my granddaughter." "Could you by chance, hear me out first?" "No! Absolutely not! I'm getting this for my granddaughter and that's final!" "But..." "No buts!" the old man shouted. "Mmm, this rice cracker is so good." "What? Rice cracker?" Tenchi said, confused. "What are you talking about? You don't even have a thing in your mouth!" *** The Puppeteer Meanwhile, back at the Masaki residence, Washu was eating a rice cracker while interacting with Tenchi on her dimensional computer. "Whoops! Kinda slipped there, Heh Heh. It looks like my new toy is working well, maybe too well. Ryoko and Tenchi don't even suspect a thing." Washu said and smiled. Then she typed in more commands to input more dialogue into the android's interaction with Tenchi. Aeka's Drenched Somewhere out in the nearby woods, Shoji was looking for the Masaki residence. He had been wandering around the forest for about thirty minutes, he was about lose to patience. "Oh man!" Shoji fumed. "Now, where am I? This is so embarrassing! I can't believe I'm lost on my first day of guard duty! Those directions Yosho gave me were really bad!" He trips over a fallen branch and falls flat on his face. "OOOUUCH! That smarts!" he complained out loudly. He stood up clumsily and kicked the fallen branch off to the side. Nearby at Funaho's tree, Aeka was alone, contemplating about Tenchi and Ryoko's date. Aeka thought sadly. Suddenly, Aeka's personal introspection is coldly interrupted by a pillar of water. "Aaah! I'm all wet!" Aeka screamed out. "Who's responsible for this!?" In front of Aeka, a human male in Jurian clothing was knee deep in the water of the moat that surrounded the Holy Tree. "I'm so sorry about that my lady! I slipped on a rock and fell into this blasted moat and..." Shoji apologized in mid-sentence and gasped in an air of shock. "I'm so sorry, Princess Aeka!" Shoji bowed down to Aeka in the most earnest manner he can muster up. Aeka ringed her kimono sleeves of moisture, while at the same time, regaining her composure. "It's alright, it happens. I can assume that you're my new body guard sent here by my father." "Yes, your highness. My name is Shoji Takazawa I am a Knight of the Royal Guard." "I'm pleased to meet you but before we can continue with the introductions, I would like to go back to the house and change into much dryer and suitable clothing." "Yes, indeed. I'm sorry." They both headed back to the Masaki home not saying a word to each other. Shoji couldn't help but noticed the sad expression on the princess's face. Shoji thought. *** The Crazy Old Man Back at Naroda beach, Tenchi is still struggling to cut a deal with the old man before Ryoko finds out. "Come on!" Tenchi Begged. "No." "There's gotta be a way to cut a deal!" "Absolutely no deal. By the way, who's it for?" "It's for her." Tenchi said as he pointed at Ryoko, who's still searching for the hat. "Hmm. She looks beautiful. Not bad. You have taste, kid." The old man complemented. "Then maybe, there's still a chance?" Tenchi hoped. "No!" "What!? Oh come on! Why not?" "Because I'm having fun!" "What?! You can't be that cruel!" "Oh yes I can." "You're sick, you know that." "Of course, I know that! That's why I'm having fun." *** Ryo-ohki to the Rescue! Back to the lab, Washu was typing up a storm, laughing out through out the whole conversation. "Oh man! I'm having too much fun!" Washu said joyfully. Unbeknownst to Washu, toddler Ryo-ohki happens to be standing behind. The little toddler watched curiously as Washu typed joyfully onto the dimensional keyboard. "Meow?" Ryo-ohki said inquisitively. She frowned at Washu's meddling with Ryoko's date, then an idea popped into the little cabbit-humanoid's head. *** Back to Naroda Beach. Tenchi is still persisting with the old man. "Listen kid, I like you. I really like you but this is for my granddaughter." "I know but Ryoko is just as important." "Oh? How's she more important than my granddaughter?" "I didn't say that! I said 'Ryoko is just AS important'." Tenchi retorted. "Oh I see now! You're trying to be smart with me, eh? Well let me tell you something, mister. MEOW! MEOW! MEOW!" "Meow?!!" Tenchi said, confused. *** Back to the Lab. "Ryo-Ohki!!! Get away from here! Can't you see I'm busy!?!" Washu yelled at the cabbit. But the toddler, intentionally ignored Washu and kept on typing onto the keyboard. Ryo-ohki loves to help Tenchi in anyway possible. "Oh great! Now look what you've done! The android won't stop acting like a cat! The commands are locked!! AARRGH!" Washu screamed. *** Back to Naroda Beach. The longer Tenchi stood there and watched the old man babble on, things just keep getting stranger and stranger. The old man was on the floor licking his hand and scratching the back of his head with his leg. "What are you doing?!" Tenchi asked. "Can't you see that-MEOW, I'm uhh-MEOW, Cleaning myself?" "But you're acting like a cat!" "Of course, I'm acting like a cat! Meow! Meow! It's much more efficient this way! Don't you think?" "Uhh. Right." Ryoko finally noticed the commotion, she looked to the front of the store and found Tenchi staring down at an old man. "What's all that cat noise coming from?" Ryoko inquired. *** Back to the lab, Washu and Ryo-ohki are pushing and shoving each other, fighting over the keyboard, trying to regain control of the android. "Ryo-ohki! Stop it! You're going to get Tenchi suspicious!" "Meow! Meow!" The toddler-cabbit said angrily. "Alright fine! Sheesh! You win! I'm going to stop toying with him!" "MEOW! MEOW! MEOW!" the cabbit said victoriously. Washu grumbled as she typed in her last commands for the android. *** Back to Naroda. Ryoko walked up to Tenchi from behind and looked down at the old man who was now crawling around the floor on all four. "What's wrong with him?" Ryoko asked. "I don't know, this guy is really crazy. One minute he's acting normal the next, he's acting like a cat." The old man quickly jumped up and hands the sun hat Tenchi. "Uhh. You win! MEOW! Here you go! Here's the Hat! MEOW!" "Thank you!" Tenchi gratified. "Well gotta go! MEOW! Bye-bye!" The old man quickly exits the store on his hands and knees. "Uhh. Bye." Tenchi said, wearily. Then he turned his attentions toward the store clerk and buys the hat. He faced Ryoko and handed her the sun hat. "Here you go, Ryoko. I think this is the hat you mentioned to me about." Ryoko gasped in excitement when she received the hat from Tenchi. "Thank you, Tenchi! Here let me try it on. Tell me what you think." Ryoko placed the sun hat on her head. Tenchi looked at her carefully and smiled. He noticed that the hat enhanced her yellow eyes. "The hat fits you perfectly, Ryoko. Actually makes you look lovely and beautiful." Tenchi thought. "Really?! You mean it?" Ryoko asked excitedly. Tenchi nodded yes. "Thank you, Tenchi!" Ryoko laughed happily and hugged Tenchi in a non-aggressive manner. "Don't mention it, Ryoko. Come on let's go outside so I can take a picture of you in your new hat." "Alright." Ryoko complied happily. They both exited the store and looked around for a place to shoot Ryoko's photo. As they looked around for spot, Tenchi could not help thinking about his results from the fortune teller. Tenchi thought. [Cherish every precious moment you have with her...] The words kept beckoning to Tenchi every time he thought about it. You're Going to hate me for this, To Be Continued... The Lonely Moon (tragedy) I am lonely like the moon You are faraway as the earth Now you say I light your thoughts Night After night Soon you forget We are drifting in this dance I can feel you circle my thoughts Keeping such a graceful distance So close but somehow apart Sometimes I cry for you Knowing you don't want me to Sometimes I whisper to the stars up in the sky That I want to find the way to your soul Kiss in the sun when morning comes you don't seem to count the hours When we are not together I've seen a tender fire in your eyes Yet when I'm gone you carry on I float in this emptiness Till at last love returns With the night and the lonely moon Author's Notes 2nd: I know I know, this is a somewhat abrupt and cheesy way to get more readers. I'm doing this to keep my mind on track, so that way I won't screw up on the next chapter. Besides, the public demands more, so I gave them more. But not to worry, Naroda Beach Pt.2 is nearly halfway through. It'll focus even more on the date, Pt.1 was just to serve as a good set up. And I won't end my Fanfics like this ever again... I hope. Tenchi Muyo: Ryoko's Love...Alpha! Chapter 3A: Naroda Beach Pt.2 By Long T. Tran Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, AIC/Pioneer owns them. I don't intend to make money off this because I don't want to get a lawsuit. I'm too poor for that. But this is my original story concept, so don't plagiarize! Author's note: I apologize for the long wait, as you can see, this is by far my biggest chapter. I hope it was worth the wait for you folks. Sorry for the suspense and metal torture I might've caused. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Safe Haven Naroda Beach; blanketed under the cover of the night sky, the beach house stood silent near the water's edge. Tenchi carried Ryoko in his arms from Washu's portable boat. Ryoko was barely conscious and Tenchi was still frantic from the traumatic experience that occurred. The day went by too well to end up like this! He thought with agitation. Conveying Ryoko up the flight of stairs of the elevated beach house, the events which led up to the incident returned to Tenchi... Ice Cream! "Good! Good! Do some more of those poses!" Tenchi directed excitedly. The cool waters of Naroda beach flowed around Tenchi's feet as he took pictures of Ryoko in her newly owned sun hat. Ryoko joyfully struck her different poses at every click of the camera, having a lot of fun. She mimicked the moves of professional supermodels, sometimes, she would let loose and look silly intentionally, which made Tenchi lose control and laugh. Meanwhile, a few hundred feet away, a small crowd of the beach's young women were gathered around an object of their fascination. "Would you look at that hunk!!" said a blonde. "Yah! Look at those muscles! And that washboard muscles! Sigh!" A girl replied. "What a body! What hunk! He's sooo cute!" Said a brunette. The crowd of women parted allowing Naroda's beach hunk to get up from his posing positions. He stood up and grabbed a towel from a nearby bench press and wiped away all the sweat from his rippling chest. The women swooned and sighed in response. The Iron man obviously loved his status. As the ladies fainted, the hunk looked over to the water's edge and noticed a girl with cyan hair running along the beach doing some poses in front of a spiky-haired guy with a camera. The Herculean strongman thought excitedly. After the half hour photo session, Ryoko and Tenchi sat down at the water's edge trying to figure what to do next. Tenchi placed the camera into his pocket. "You really like taking pictures of me, don't you?" Ryoko asked. "Uhh...,I guess you can say that. I'm really getting into this, it helps me relax." "Well, that's nice to hear. So, what do you want to do next?" "Hmm. I really don't know." Tenchi said. He looked across the sandy beach and noticed an ice cream stand. "The only thing that comes to mind is getting some ice cream to cool down a bit." "I'm feeling a little warm, myself. Sounds good to me." Ryoko agreed. "Besides, maybe some ice cream will help us decide on our next move. Food for thought." "I couldn't agree more." "Okay, then. You stay here while I go fetch some. What would you like?" Tenchi, asked. "I just want a plain vanilla ice cream cone." "Alright, I'll be back." Tenchi stood up and walked off to go buy the ice cream. Ryoko watched as he walked away, as soon as Tenchi was gone, Ryoko smiled happily to herself. Ryoko thought as she tipped her sun hat to make it more comfortable. As Ryoko waited for Tenchi's return, she watched little children swam and played in the water. Suddenly, she was covered by another person's shadow. "Excuse me." Said a strong voice. "Yes?" Ryoko responded. Ryoko looked up to find, possibly, Naroda beach's most muscular man. To Ryoko's awe, he had huge arms, a thick barrel neck, pecks that resembled concrete slabs, and legs that could support steel beams. The iron man had a full mane of black hair, his skin was fair bronze and his eyes were golden brown. "I couldn't help but notice how natural you looked, acting like a supermodel a few minutes ago. You looked absolutely stunning." "Thank you." Ryoko said in her most gracious manner, trying not let the stranger annoy her. "And what is your name?" "My name's Ryoko. Yours?" "My name is Goro." "Well, nice to meet you, Goro. I'd love to chat with you but I'm currently enjoying my date with somebody else." Ryoko said bluntly. "Oh. You mean THAT little guy who's pointing his camera at you?" Goro asked while pointing at Tenchi. "Yes. Him." Ryoko confirmed, frowning at Goro's insult of Tenchi. Meanwhile, it was really hot and Tenchi anticipated the taste of the ice-cold-sweet-taste of vanilla ice cream. [Cherish every precious moment you have with her...] those strange words just kept lingering in his mind every time he thought about the Fortune telling Machine. It was finally Tenchi's turn to order. He walked up to the window and found that the clerk was one of his old school mates (from the currently undergoing reconstruction of Okayama High School). A schoolmate that he can never forget, the guy was fat, very thick lips, thick octangular glasses, and short dandruffy hair. "Tenchi? Tenchi Masaki?!" "Amagasaki? Is that you?" "It sure is! How are you?" "I'm doing fine and you?" "Just working and saving up some money. Say, I noticed that girl you're with. She looks pretty hot! Is she your girlfriend?" "Well, no. Not exactly." "Then what? Your sister?" "No, no! She's uh,...just a friend." "Oh, just a friend. Well then, in that case, could you introduce me to her?" "What?" Tenchi started. "You said she's just a friend, right? I find her very attractive." Amagasaki said, very interested. Unaware of his facial expression, Tenchi frowned slightly at Amagasaki's request. "I would really like to but I can't." Tenchi replied. "You see, she's not my girlfriend, family, or just a friend." "Oh? What do you mean?" "Well, um, she's my date. And I'm trying to get to know her a little better. You understand that, right?" "Oh sure! I'm so sorry about that!" "It's okay, it happens." "What would you like to order?" Amagasaki said, changing the issue. "Just two cones of vanilla ice cream." "Coming right up!" Amagasaki carried out Tenchi's order quickly and handed the ice cream cones to Tenchi. "Wow! Thanks! How much?" Tenchi asked as he licked his ice cream. "That'll be 200 yen." Tenchi paid the clerk. Suddenly, something in the back of his mind brought back the words of the Fortune telling machine... "Cherish every precious moment you have with her". Tenchi looked over qt Ryoko's direction and noticed a huge, muscular man talking to her. "Uh oh." Amagasaki said uneasily. "Uh oh, what?" Tenchi asked. "You better watch out, Tenchi. That guy's hitting on your date." "You know him?" "No but I've seen him work his charm. He would hit on some girl regardless, single or not, and then later on, he would break the poor girl's heart." "Is that so..." Tenchi said, not having realized that he was frowning even more. Goro "So...,Ryoko." Goro addressed, showing off his muscles in different Iron-man poses. "What." Ryoko replied, growing more annoyed of the strongman's presence. "What do you see in that little runt?" "Excuse me?" "You know, that little runt you're with. What's his name?" "Tenchi." Ryoko said, growling. "Oh right, Tenchi." Goro said smugly, rippling his pecks at Ryoko. Ryoko rolled her eyes and finally lost her patience. "Look, Goro. I am really getting annoyed here. Why don't you Amscre', ok?" "You're telling me? The 'Great Goro' to scram?" "That's right." "How can you say something like that? No girl can't resist this!" Goro said, pointing at his abs and muscular features. "I can." Ryoko replied coldly. Ryoko looked over and noticed Tenchi returning. Ryoko was relieved to see Tenchi, she smiled. She turned and looked up at Goro. "Here comes my Tenchi." Ryoko warned. "Oh he is, is he?" Goro said confidently and turned around. Tenchi arrived holding to two ice cream cones in his hands, he walked passed Goro and stood in front of Ryoko. "Here you go, Ryoko." Tenchi said, handing Ryoko her ice cream cone. Ryoko happily received the cool treat and proceeded to lick off the vanilla. Goro cleared his throat and tapped Tenchi's shoulders. "Excuse me." Tenchi turned around and faced Goro. "Yes? Can I help you?" "Yes, you can. By handing me over your pretty little date." Ryoko sighed in an exasperated manner, she continued on with her ice cream. "E-excuse me?" Tenchi said, nervously. "Yeah, you heard me. I'm taking your date." Tenchi glanced over to Ryoko with a confused looked, trying to figure out the muscle man's aggressive intentions. In response to Tenchi's silent question, Ryoko shrugged. "Pardon me but, uh...I didn't catch your name." "My name's Goro and I am THE hunk of this beach." Goro said with full bravado. "Uh, right." Tenchi replied uneasily Meanwhile, behind the ice cream stand, the funny old man from the Beach Accessories shop watched as events unfolded between Goro and Tenchi. *** Washu Washu watched through the eyes of her invention with full attentiveness. Ryo- ohki stood behind her and watched. For nearly half an hour after the "Cat-Man" incident, both had been quiet to each other, having agreed not to intervene on Ryoko's date. The "Cat-Man" incident nearly exposed Washu's invention and things could've escalated. Fortunately for Washu, things didn't. But as Washu and Ryo-ohki were about to leave Tenchi and Ryoko alone, a huge man walked up to Ryoko. After another few minutes, the bigger man started to harass Tenchi. Washu and Ryo-ohki both frowned at the computer screen. "Ryo-ohki, we've got to do something about that big lug. I don't know about you but I'm willing to bend the rules of our agreement." "Miya." Ryo-ohki agreed. "How should we take care of this big lug, hmm?" The humanoid cabbit held her little chin and thought for a moment. After a long silent minute, an idea finally came to mind. Immediately, Ryo-ohki transferred her idea to Washu through their mental link. "That's a cool idea! Why didn't I think of that?" Washu exclaimed. Washu typed onto her holocomputer at lightning speed. Changing the form, size and shape of the android. Ryo-ohki shrugged and sent an insulting thought to Washu. "Oh hush!" Washu barked. "Don't let it go to your head that you thought of it first!" Ryo-ohki beamed happily as Washu continued on typing. Aeka's New Bodyguard Meanwhile, back to the blue-roofed Masaki home, Aeka and Shoji had just finished changing into much drier clothing. Both sat across from each other from the living room area, waiting on Sasami to bring out some tea. All day long, the thought of Tenchi and Ryoko being together for one day worried Aeka deeply. As if things weren't enough, her father had to send in a new body guard to protect her. Aeka studied Shoji for a couple of long, silent minutes trying to figure out her father's motives on why he replaced her guardians with Shoji. Not wanting to make Shoji feel like a spy under an interrogating light, she decided to start a simple, friendly question and answer conversation. "Pardon me for being cold to you a little bit earlier." "No not at all, your highness. I deserved that treatment, after all, I did get you drenched and I apologize for that clumsy display." "It is alright. It is in the past, no need for any further apologies." Aeka assured. "As you wish." Shoji said with relief. Aeka smiled softly. "I did not quite catch your full name, what was it again?" "My name is Shoji Takazawa of the Juraian Royal Guard." "Takazawa?" Aeka said inquisitively. The name seemed familiar to her somehow. "Yes." Shoji replied. "Hmm..." Aeka sounded as she thought through her memory. As Aeka dug through her memories, Sasami walked out of the kitchen carrying a tray with tea and crackers, ready to serve. "Here you go!" Said the cheerful blue-haired princess. Shoji had an awe-struck look on his face. "Princess Sasami, you're serving tea and crackers?" "Yes? Is there a problem?" Asked the young one. "No, none at all. I just find it very interesting that a Juraian noble is serving and cooking." "Oh! Well, I don't mind doing it. I find it a very fulfilling experience." "Fulfilling? How so?" Shoji inquired curiously. "I enjoy cooking mainly because it feels good. I don't know. It's just the fact that I'm just so darn good at it!" "Very fascinating." "You think so?" Asked Sasami. "Yes, of course it is! It's not everyday a Juraian noble decided to serve food just for the sheer joy of it. This shows very good character." "Thanks Shoji!" Sasami blushed. "My pleasure, your highness." At that very moment, Yosho walked into the house. He stepped over to the living room area. Shoji stood up from the sofa and bowed his head to greet the old man. "Greetings, Prince Yosho." "No need for formalities, Shoji. You're on earth now and I don't want the locals seeing a young man, like yourself, bowing to a Shinto priest in such a formal manner." "Indeed. As you wish." "So how do you like your new assignment, Shoji?" "As far as I know, I think it's very unusual." Yosho lifted an eyebrow and smiled. "Oh? How so?" "It's just so laid-back back on this planet." "Do you find this unsettling?" Asked Yosho. "Oh no!" Shoji replied immediately. "I find that the countryside here is very beautiful and it rivals that of Jurai's. And for the sheer fact of knowing that the presiding Juraian nobles are happy to be here." "You are a very perceptive one, Shoji." Yosho complimented. "Yeah, well, anyhow. That's basically my thoughts." As the two Juraian males conversed, Aeka watched silently. She found herself distracted from thinking about Tenchi and started to focus her full attention onto Shoji. Aeka thought. Aeka smiled at the thought. She shivered at the thought of Seriyou. Sasami tugged at Aeka's sleeve. "Psst! Hey Aeka." Sasami whispered. "What is it, Sasami?" "Don't you think he's cute?" "Sasami!" Aeka whispered back, loudly. "What?" Sasami asked innocently. "Do not ask me that sort of question! This is neither the time nor place!" "Alright. Then I'll just ask you later." Aeka sighed exasperatedly. Both girls focused their attentions on Yosho and Shoji. "You are an interesting character, Shoji." "Thank you. Your words are too kind." "You're welcome." Yosho responded. Then he had an idea. "By the way, since I'm responsible for Aeka's safety, I have to make sure if you're qualified enough to protect her." "I understand your concern for the crown princess's well-being. How do you propose to test my capabilities?" "I want to see how well you hold out against me." The trio were stunned by Yosho's proposal. Shoji regained his composure. "You mean to tell me that you want to challenge me in a mock duel?" "That is correct." Replied Yosho. "Meet me at the shrine in half an hour. I look forward in seeing what you're capable of." "My sentiment's exact." Shoji said confidently. *** Goro the Big Lug "Listen, buddy, get it through your thick skull!" Ryoko yelled. "I don't want to go anywhere with you! So quit bugging us!" "Don't sweat it babe. I'll liberate you from this little runt in no time." Said Goro. "Who're you calling a RUNT?!" Tenchi asked, finally losing patience, his fists clenched tightly. "I don't see any other runt around here, do you?" Goro replied, poking his finger on Tenchi. "Or do you want to settle this in a man's way?" Goro grinned, cracking his knuckles. "You leave Tenchi alone!!" Ryoko barked, jumped and stood between Tenchi and Goro. "You're not laying a finger on him!" "Stand aside, I'll release you of this burden!" Goro demanded. "Burden?!?" Tenchi yelled, quizzically. "Why you, stuck up, arrogant, chauvenistic..." Tenchi's noticed his explosive remarks and realized his verbal mistake, too late. "Oh good! Those sounded like fightin' words!" Goro said excitedly, flexing himself, warming up for a brawl. He steps closer to Tenchi but Ryoko pushes Goro back away. "If you're going to hurt him! You're going to have to get through me first!" Ryoko proclaimed. "Ryoko, let's not get into this any deeper than it should be. Let's just leave him." Tenchi said, calmly. He grabbed Ryoko's right arm and gently pulled her away from Goro. "Oh no you don't!" Goro yelled out. He grabbed Ryoko's left arm and started pulling. "You're not getting her that easily!" "Hey! Let go of me, you idiot!" Ryoko screamed. "Tenchi!" "Let go of her! Can't you see that she doesn't want to go with you?" Tenchi said, pulling on Ryoko. "She's mine, I tell you!" Goro replied as he tugged. "Tenchiii!" "I'm doing the best I can!" "You two stop pulling on me!! This is really getting painful!" Ryoko cringed. "No way! I'm not giving up until I have her!!" Goro affirmed. "Let her go! You're hurting her!!" Tenchi yelled, pulling on Ryoko. "Ouch ouch ouch! Stop it, the both of you! You're tearing me apart!" Throughout this ordeal, Ryoko realized something about Tenchi. Ryoko thought and frowned. The two continued pulling. Suddenly, a hypnotic, sexy female voice is heard. "Boys, boys, no need to fight over one girl. I'm here." Tenchi, Ryoko, and Goro suddenly stopped and turned their heads towards the mysterious voice. A tall, silky brunette, perfect tan skin, full red lips, perfect curvy-athletic figure, and last but not least the young lady was a white foreigner. Tenchi, Goro, and Ryoko stopped their bickering and were stunned by the beauty of the new girl. Ryoko was dropped to the sandy ground. The brunette swept her hair back and walked towards the Trio. Tenchi quickly swayed his attention from the girl and helped Ryoko to her feet. "My name is Venus, Venus de Milo. Miya." Goro straightened up and regained his composure. He brushed back his black mane of hair and cleared his throat. "My name is Goro, uh, Goro de Marco." Goro said and showed off his sparkly row of teeth. "Goro, eh?" Venus said with curious interest. She walked towards Goro. Seizing the opportunity, Ryoko turned, faced Tenchi and pointed towards the ocean waters. Tenchi nodded back understanding Ryoko's gesture. Suddenly, both jumped to their feet and sprinted towards the waves. Goro saw Tenchi and Ryoko ran off through the corner of his eye, he ignored the two and focused his full attention onto the more beautiful girl named Venus. "So, Venus." Goro smirked. "Now that we're both alone. How should we better acquaint ourselves?" "You want to know? Miya." Venus asked, seductively. She stepped closer to Goro and ran her fingers down his chest. "Oh yeah." "Then I'll show you..." She said. Venus stepped away from Goro and walked towards a secluded back area of the seaside hotel. "Follow me." She blew a kiss at Goro. Goro happily obliged Venus's enticing invitation. After a few minutes of following Venus, they finally reached the seclusion. The seclusion was perfect, it's away from any outside contact and they could do anything they wanted. Venus turned and faced Goro with yearning eyes. "So, what now?" Goro asked sheepishly. "What do you think, you fool?! Kiss me!! Miya!" Venus exclaimed and ran towards Goro's open arms. They embraced each other and kissed each other full force. Goro closed his eyes letting all his senses focus on Venus's working lips. He held her tighter and kissed like he never kissed before. After a long sensual moment, he opened his eyes, his eyes bulged out of their sockets. The site he saw was absolutely shocking! Instead of finding himself kissing a beautiful foreign girl in his embrace, he was lip-locking with an old man! An old, decrepit, short, and wrinkled up man was kissing him. "AAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Goro screamed, dropping the old man to the ground. Goro started to spit and gag all over the sands. "What the-?! Where's Venus? What have you done to her?" "Oh, Venus? Miya! She's gone. She wanted me to take care of you. Miya!" "What? Where's Venus?" Goro asked again while gagging. "Miya! Geez, you are thick-headed, aren't you? Miya! Oh well, makes it easier for me." Said, the old man. "Miya!" "W-What do you mean?" Goro said nervously. "Miya? Why are you meowing like a cat?" The old man did not answer, he suddenly turned into a mass of green gelatin and enveloped Goro. Goro struggled vainly for several minutes but finally gave out. The green gelatin flashed bright red and released Goro. The green gelatin reverted back to the form of an old man. The old man clapped and rubbed his hands together, content with the results. "There! All finished! No more kitty-cat bugs in the system! I'm cured!" Said the old man. Looking down at Goro, who was now crawling around the sands on all fours like a cat. "Miya! Miya! Miya!" Goro meowed. "I am a genius!" "Miya!" Goro replied. Then he stopped crawling, he sat on one spot, lifted his leg and started licking his underside. "Well, looks like my work here is done. Switching off..." *** Washu and Ryo-ohki "Yes! Alright! We've succeeded, Ryo-ohki!" Washu said, giving the toddler a high five. "Miya!! Miya!" The cabbit toddler exclaimed. "Okay, we've had enough fun for one day." "Miya..." Ryo-ohki said disappointedly. "I know I know. Let's just leave the two of them alone, alright? We've helped them enough, they're on their own from this point on." "Miya! Miya?" Ryo-ohki asked with a hint of concern for Goro. "Don't be silly! I'm not that cruel! Don't worry, the big lug will come out of that cat trance in a day or two." "Miya!" Washu switched her holocomputer off and the screen disappeared. Washu stood up from her chair and stretched. "Let's go see what the others are up to." "Miya! Miya!" Ryo-ohki said happily. The toddler jumped up with a loud pop, and in mid-air, suddenly turned into a cabbit. The cabbit landed on top of Washu's head. "Heh heh, Cute little furrball." Washu smiled, patted the cabbit, and made her way towards the exit door. Shoji Vs. Yosho Shoji, Sasami, and Aeka finally arrived at the front of the shrine. Yosho stood patiently, ready and waiting. Shoji stepped away from Aeka and Sasami and stood three yards in front of Yosho. Aeka and Sasami sat at the steps of the entrance of the Shrine. "Are you ready, Shoji?" Asked, Yosho. "I'm ready." "Good, we'll duel with these." Yosho said, he threw a bokken over to Shoji. Shoji caught the bokken with his left hand and immediately postured into a Juraian ready stance. "What are the rules?" "The rule is: First one to successfully strike one blow to the other's chest, wins. No rematches, 'three out of fives', or anything likewise." "Understood." "Let's begin." Yosho said and stood ready for the duel. Silence passed over, during this, Shoji knew exactly what Yosho was capable of as a Swordsman. Before Yosho left Jurai, seven hundred years ago, he was considered the best and greatest swordsman on Jurai. Shoji would hear stories about Yosho's powerful skills and how he would devoutly practice his techniques daily. Shoji respected Yosho as a swordsman and what he stood for, at the time of Ryoko's Attack on Jurai, Shoji was merely a young Royal Squire in his fourth year of training. In a way, Yosho was his role model and the pinnacle of all the values Shoji believed in. And now, he had the chance to see how well his skills will hold out against Yosho's, a chance to see how years of training and experience has shaped him as a swordsman. As Yosho waited for Shoji's first strike, Yosho thought about the news that surrounded Aeka's new bodyguard. A few days ago, after having received the message from the king of Jurai that Shoji was to be Aeka's new Guardian, Yosho decided to do a little research on Shoji's past. Courtesy of Washu's hyper channel communicator that was installed into his room. Yosho was able to talk to one of his closest friends from childhood, Shoji's superior commander. The talk with his long-time friend, Naoju, proved to be most interesting. Shoji had served in the Royal Guard for the past several hundred years and had shown great potential as a swordsman. From what Naoju had told Yosho, Shoji had been through quite a lot in his service and has attained a great amount of experience. Yosho considered these points and decided to be extra cautious. After a silent minute, Yosho and Shoji charged each other at a blinding speed. Running and swinging his bokken, Shoji passed Yosho and missed. He immediately turned around and deflected Yosho's strike. Shoji back-flipped over Yosho's head and landed behind him and swung. Not fast enough, Shoji missed Yosho again, Yosho had leapt forward to avoid Shoji's strike. As the two Juraian males fought on, Aeka and Sasami watched with great interest. Aeka watched as her older brother charged Shoji, she was grateful that the duel helped her distract her thoughts away from Tenchi. But then again, she thought about Tenchi anyways, for some odd reason she knew that things were going to change between Tenchi, Ryoko, and herself. Aeka felt extreme anxiety, not wanting to know on how things will turn out after their date. Aeka buried the frightening thought and continued on watching the duel to distract herself away from thinking about Tenchi and Ryoko. She refocused her attention back to the duel. "So this is where you girls are." Washu said, sitting down next Aeka. "Oh, hello Washu." Aeka greeted. "Hi, Washu!" Sasami greeted happily. Ryo-ohki hopped from Washu's head and onto Sasami's. The little princess welcomed the cabbit with a giggle. "Well! I'm going to go make some lunch!" Sasami jumped up from the steps and ran towards the house. "I'll be back with the food!" And ran off with Ryo-ohki enjoying her ride, atop the princess's head. "See you later, Sasami!" Washu yelled out and looked over and noticed the duel between Yosho and a person she had never seen before. "Hey, who's the new guy?" Washu, asked. "He is my new guardian." Aeka answered. "New guardian?" Washu inquired further. "Since when?" "Since this morning, my father has reassigned Azaka and Kamadake to protect Sasami and they were replaced by Shoji." "Hmm. Really..." Washu said curiously. "Yes. Really." "I wonder why my father would do that in the first place. The two guardians did a sufficient job with my protection. Why would he suddenly replace them?" "Gee, I wonder why, Aeka..." Washu said sarcastically. Washu thought for a second, she checked over to Aeka. Washu looked over to Shoji and peered back to Aeka, the genius noticed that the princess was paying extra close attention to the fight. Washu thought and smiled deviously. With a simple whim of her hand, she brought out her holocomputer and started to type away. Aeka noticed and faced Washu with a curious look. "Washu, what are you doing?" "Oh I'm just doing some miscellaneous study. I just wanted to collect some data on Juraian biological fighting mechanics, you know, the study of movement." "Oh, I see." Aeka said with fascination. "You never seem to stop studying, do you?" "Nope." "I figure you would say that. You never-ending bookworm." Aeka teased and smiled. Washu ignored Aeka and continued on studying the two fighters. The holocomputer lit up with a flurry of information. Washu beamed at the newly acquired data. "Very interesting..." Washu said contently. Aeka sighed. "You are hopeless." *** Oh! Hello, Dolphin! After ditching Goro at the shore, Tenchi and Ryoko swam around in clear blue waters for a few minutes. Already putting Goro way back in the back of their thoughts, both laughed and enjoyed the cool refreshing ocean waters. They were about twenty five yards away from the shore, both stopped swimming and stood up. Ryoko stood next to Tenchi, to their surprise, the water was only chest-level. Ryoko still wore her red tank top and jean shorts over her bikini. Tenchi was just wearing his swimming trunks. Annoyed by the weight of her wet clothing, Ryoko took off her shorts and red tank top to expose her swim attire. "Ah! Now that feels better!" Ryoko said with relief and threw her clothes aside into the water. Tenchi noticed Ryoko's disregard for her clothing. "Uhh..., Ryoko. Won't you need to change into those after we finish swimming?" "Nah, no need. I have another pair back at the beach house." Ryoko looked over to the shore of the beach and found that Goro wasn't there. "Phew! Thank god he's gone!" She exclaimed. "Tell me about it. That was the first time anybody knew how to push my buttons. That guy was so full of himself." Tenchi said. Ryoko nodded in agreement. Then, she heard a peculiar squeaking sound coming from behind, Ryoko turned around and was suddenly overtaken by excitement. She walked towards the source of the sound. Leaving Tenchi behind. "Well, that's the end of him. I sure hope he doesn't bother us anymore. So what do you want to do now, Ryoko?" Tenchi asked. He turned to his left side to face Ryoko but she wasn't near. "Uh..., Ryoko?" Tenchi scanned around for her in the surrounding waters. Ryoko was no where to be seen. "Ryokooo! Where are youuu?" Tenchi inquired. Through the corner of his eye he briefly saw a blur pass beside him. "What the...?" Suddenly, Tenchi was enveloped by a pillar of water. He found himself briefly underwater, Tenchi quickly jumped up and broke the water surface. He spat out the briny contents of the seawater and heard Ryoko's laughter. "YIPPEEEE!" Ryoko cheered happily, as she held on to the dolphin's flipper, riding through the water. "R-Ryoko?" "Look at me, Tenchi! I'm riding a shark!" "That's not a shark!" Tenchi laughed as he watched the blue dolphin pulled Ryoko above the water's surface. Ryoko freed herself from the dolphin and swam towards Tenchi. "Then what was that, I was riding on?" "That's a dolphin. Blue-nosed, I think." "Oh yeah, that's right. A shark's a little bit more dangerous, isn't it?" "Uh-huh." "Are there any around these waters?" "Nope not that I know of. I don't remember hearing about any news of shark attacks around the Naroda area." "Oh ok, then I won't worry about it." The little dolphin swam up to Tenchi. "Uh..., hello!" Tenchi greeted to the porpoise. The dolphin whistles and click in return. "Looks like it likes you, Tenchi." "You think so?" Tenchi asked and looked over to Ryoko. Ryoko grinned and nodded to Tenchi. "Ah! I guess I have my ways with animals." Tenchi said happily turned over to face the dolphin. "Cute little..." Suddenly, Tenchi was cut off mid-sentence by a huge spurt of water from the dolphin's mouth. Ryoko hugged herself and laughed out loud at Tenchi's wet reception. As Ryoko chuckled jovially, Tenchi coughed hard spitting out the salty water from his mouth. The dolphin swam vertically atop the ocean's surface and moved backwards. Then it disappeared below the surface of the water. "Hahaha!" Ryoko laughed. "Quit laughing! That's not funny!" "For you it wasn't, but for me on the other hand..." Ryoko cut herself off and continued on laughing. "Oh yeah?" Tenchi said deviously. He immediately splashed the laughing Ryoko with a small wave of water. Ryoko coughed and gave Tenchi a furious look. "Now that's funny! HAHAHAHA!" Tenchi chuckled. "Oh, is that right?" Ryoko challenged. "I am the water queen!" She immediately splashed water at Tenchi's direction but he ducked into the crystal clear water to avoid Ryoko's attack. Tenchi suddenly popped back up and splashed Ryoko even more. "I've got you! Water queen!" Tenchi proclaimed gallantly, splashing Ryoko even further. "AAH!" Ryoko yelled happily, shielding the incoming water with her arms. Ryoko gasped with a shocked look in her eyes. She pointed her finger at an object behind Tenchi. "Look! I can't believe it! There's Washu!" Tenchi's laugh disappeared. "Huh? Where?" "Sucker! Gotcha!" Ryoko exclaimed and splashed Tenchi. "Oh! Being sneaky, eh?" Both continued splashing water at each other, giggling. When suddenly, they here a strange rumbling-wavy sound coming from the open sea. "uhh..., Ryoko? Do you hear that?" Ryoko nodded. Tenchi and Ryoko turned around to see where the sound was emanating from. "AAAAHHH!" Both screamed simultaneously as a whole pod of dolphins swam past by, causing a huge onslaught of water. After being drenched by the wave of sea water, Tenchi and Ryoko stood up and stared at the laughing porpoises. *** Lunch! Sasami returned to the shrine, carrying with her a tray full of lunch. The edibles were mostly comprised of finger foods and enough rice bowls to feed the group. Sasami sat down next to Aeka and Washu. Sasami reached into her pocket and grabbed an orange carrot. She held the carrot in hand and reached over her head and offered it to Ryo-ohki. The cabbit happily accepted. Washu smiled slightly and switched off her holocomputer. She reached over to the food trey and grabbed a deep-fried vegetable. Aeka did likewise. "Lunch is ready!" Sasami shouted to the dueling Juraians. "Oh great! I'm starving!" Shoji exclaimed as he deflected one of Yosho's strike. "Mmm..., likewise." Yosho added, as he dodged under Shoji's swing. Both ran towards the steps of the shrine, swinging and striking at each other. Seeing this, Aeka, Sasami, and Washu screamed and quickly moved out of harm's way. "Yosho!" Aeka said angrily. "You are carrying this way out of hand!" "Relax, Aeka. We're trained professionals, Shoji and I know what we're doing." Yosho retorted as he dodged another Shoji's swings and quickly grabbed a rice bowl. "You could have warned us that you were going to..." "Let them have their fun, Aeka." Washu jumped in. "After all boys will be boys." "Oh fine." Aeka said harshly. Shoji immediately grabbed his rice bowl and jumped back to avoid Yosho's bokken. Holding the rice bowl in his left hand, Yosho poured the contents of the bowl down his mouth and rapidly chewed. Shoji charged Yosho while putting the bowl back in it's place on Sasami's tray. "Thanks, princess Sasami." He said as he passed the princess. "My pleasure!" Sasami returned. Shoji immediately jumped up again to avoid Yosho's bokken swipe. Yosho passed by Sasami and placed his bowl onto the tray. "Thank you, Sasami." Yosho gratified the princess as he charged towards Shoji. "Sure thing, Yosho!" Sasami said happily. And so, Yosho and Shoji continued on with their battle... Washu started her way back towards the house. "Well, girls I'm heading' back home. I've gathered more than enough data for my research and from what I can conclude. I can tell where this fight's going to head and it'll be a VERY long while until they reach the end. See you two later." "Alright." Remarked, Aeka. "See you later Washu!" Said, Sasami. "Miya! Miya!" Followed the cabbit. *** S. O. S. Further away from the beach's shore, Tenchi and Ryoko laughed, played, and enjoyed the time of their lives with their new-found mammal friends. The water was already eight feet in depth and Tenchi stayed with the main pod. While Ryoko wanders off with her favorite dolphin, separating from the group. She happily named the dolphin 'Echo', mainly because of the deep sounds it made. With the memories of Goro far buried in her mind, Ryoko swam underwater along side with the young mid-sized dolphin. Due to her yellow-feral eyes, Ryoko's eyesight underwater was ten times keener compared to all humans. Ryoko swam close and grabbed onto the left flipper of the porpoise. The dolphin happily pulled Ryoko along the water. As the ceiling of water passed over her head, Ryoko noticed a little boy a few yards ahead. Ryoko thought curiously. She signaled the dolphin to swim closer to investigate. As they drew closer, Ryoko quickly realized that the little kid was clearly face down, bobbing up and down in the water. They broke the surface and finally reached the boy and Ryoko quickly examined him. His eyes were closed and he wasn't breathing. Ryoko thought to herself. She did her best over the moving water to check his pulse, she examined the little one's neck. She concentrated for a moment. She found a very faint but fading pulse. Ryoko quickly signaled Echo to swim over. She held on to the boy tight and grabbed onto Echo's flipper. The dolphin sped towards the beach's shore. Meanwhile, Tenchi popped up through the surface of the water, marveled at being around dolphins for the very first time in his life. "I will never forget this day, Ryoko. How are you enjoying it so far?" Tenchi asked and waited a moment for Ryoko's reply. "Ryoko?" No answer. Tenchi looked around for Ryoko, she wasn't nearby. "Grrr! I hate it when she does that!" Tenchi growled. "Now where did she go?" "Teenchiii!!" Ryoko screamed. Tenchi quickly looked around and spotted Ryoko. "I've found a kid! He's not well, I'm going to help him!" Tenchi found her riding towards the shore of the beach at a very rapid pace. He quickly signaled a dolphin over and he held onto it's dorsal fin. The dolphin clicked and squeaked, Tenchi patted it's head and the dolphin sped off towards the shore like a torpedo. Ryoko had already carried the kid in her arms to the shore, the youngster had lost his pulse. She carefully placed him on a blanket that was laying nearby on the sand. A curious crowd started to gather around Ryoko. "Okay, folks! I need some room!" Ryoko demanded. The crowd curiously watched and whispered to each other as Ryoko positioned the boy on his back. She placed his back and neck in an upward position to open up a clear airway. Ryoko opened his mouth and started to blew in air into his lungs. Tenchi had reached the gathered crowd. He pushed his way through, he reached the center of the commotion and found Ryoko performing CPR to a young child. He watched as Ryoko tried to start up the boy's circulation by pumping his chest with her clasped hands. He quickly realized that his camera was still in his pocket from earlier. He quickly pulled out the camera and started to take pictures. "Come on! Breathe!" Ryoko yelled out. She breathed into his lungs. After three breaths, she went back to pumping his heart. Finally, after a minute of CPR, the boy quickly turned to his side. He started to convulse violently, he coughed and spat out water from his lungs. The surrounding crowd cheered and celebrated at Ryoko's quick life-saving actions. A girl stepped out from the crowd and wraps a blanket around the young boy. Several others gathered around Ryoko, they hugged, patted her on the shoulders and also shook hands with her. Tenchi watched as the crowd congratulated Ryoko on a job well done. Tenchi smiled at Ryoko, very proud of her. Ryoko looked over to Tenchi and smiled at him. The same words ran through his mind. He took the last two remaining pictures of Ryoko giving out a victory sign at the camera. After taking the pictures, he placed the camera back into his pocket. He walked through the talking crowd that surrounded Ryoko. Tenchi finally reached her and hugged her. "Well done, Ryoko." "Thank you, Tenchi." Ryoko said, hugging back. "Excuse me, miss?" Said a young voice. "Yes?" as she turned away from Tenchi and looked down to find that the little kid she saved was standing, wrapped in a blanket. A lifeguard stood next to him, holding him by the arm. "Thank you for saving my life." "No need to thank me. Sorry I couldn't have been there any sooner." "Better late than never." The boy retorted. He bowed his head to Ryoko. "I thank you again. By the way, my name's Haruo." "My name's Ryoko and this is Tenchi." Haruo turned to Tenchi and greeted him with a bow. "Hello, Tenchi." "Hello, Haruo." Tenchi returned the boy's greeting. "Is Ryoko you're girlfriend? You're a very lucky." Haruo winked. "Well..." Tenchi said nervously. "She's more like a date." Ryoko sighed under her breath. The crowd had begun to disperse. "Oh, sorry if I said something wrong." Haruo apologized. "No, not at all!" Tenchi said quickly. "My father owns that seaside hotel, over there." Haruo pointed towards the hotel. "I would very much like to repay you back by inviting you to the Annual Naroda Beach dance." "We'll be there, tonight." Said Ryoko and Tenchi. "What time will it start?" Asked Tenchi. "It'll start in an hour at eight o'clock." "Eight o'clock?" Tenchi said a little startled. He looked at his sports watch and realized how much time has quickly passed. The time was seven o'clock. "Wow." Tenchi commented. "Okay?" Asked, Haruo. "Okay we'll see you then." Said, Ryoko. "Alright!" Haruo exclaimed. He hugs Ryoko. "I'll see you later then! Bye!" Haruo runs off towards the seaside hotel. "Sweet kid." Ryoko commented. "Yeah." Tenchi agreed. He turned to Ryoko. "So..." "So what?" Ryoko asked. "What shall we do now until eight o'clock?" "Let's just watch the sunset together, ok?" Ryoko suggested. "Umm..., Alright." Tenchi and Ryoko sat down next to each other on the sand and peered out to the ocean horizon. The Sun is only a quarter of an hour away until it actually starts setting. Still proud of Ryoko's life saving actions, Tenchi decided to reach over and hold Ryoko's right hand. Both decided not to ruin the beauty of the setting horizon, so they kept silent for the duration of what's left of daylight. Ryoko felt Tenchi's hand held her right hand. Not knowing what to think or say, Ryoko blushed instead and gazed onto the sea as the sun begun it's process to kiss it's horizon. *** The Duel's Conclusion The crimson sky had begun to sink over the Okayama countryside approaching the dark night. Yosho and Shoji had managed to move the fight over from the shrine, through the woods, and finally ending up at the lake. For four hours the duel carried on, neither one had any intention of losing but they were both getting really tired. Aeka watched the duel from the house, she leaned against the frame of her bedroom window and found that the two Juraian males were on opposite sides of the lake. She watched as Yosho jumped up from his side of the lake, leaping several meters into the air. Aeka looked over and found Shoji doing likewise. Both clashed and swung at each other in mid-air over the lake. Their bokkens collided with each other as they fell straight towards the water. Instead of falling straight through, they landed on the surface of the lake! Both ran across the top of the lake, as if on solid ground breaking the rules of physics. Shoji and Yosho swung and struck at each other, as they neared the shore of the lake, suddenly, at the very last minute before reaching solid ground, Shoji slipped on a patch of mud. He fell face forward into the muddy shore of the lake. Yosho seized the opportunity and tagged Shoji's chest with his bokken. Shoji stood up and noticed that his clothes were completely covered in muck. "Great." Shoji commented as he looked at the dark-brown muck on his clothing. Then Shoji hears an elegant giggle emanating from the house. He immediately spotted Princess Aeka chuckling from a second-story window. Shoji blushed slightly. Yosho walked over and placed his right hand on Shoji's shoulder. "There there, no need to feel defeated. You held up very well against me. One of the longest duels I've ever had." "Thank you, Prince Yosho." "Please, just call me Yosho but I rather much prefer Katsuhito. I want to treat you as an equal, rather than a servant. Princess Aeka will treat you likewise and I expect you to treat us in the same manner." "Understood. It'll take some getting use to but I'll try, nevertheless. Thank you, again." "Your skills as a knight are exceptional. If you hadn't slipped, the duel would've lasted longer. But considering how well you held up against me, I consider you the same equivalent to my capabilities. I feel safe that you're Aeka's new guardian." "You're too kind." Shoji said modestly. "I shall do my keenest to protect her with my life." "I don't doubt it. Why don't you go and wash up." Yosho suggested. Shoji nodded in agreement. He turned and bowed to Yosho, Yosho returned the gesture. Then, Shoji walked off to go change. Yosho watched as Shoji left. "Eww..." Yosho commented as he looked at his right hand and watched as the slimy-smelly mud slipped through his fingers. *** Dance Party at the Seaside Hotel The seaside hotel's outdoor ballroom was filled with music and dancing couples. As expected the dress code was casual beach attire and the music was nice, soothing and romantic. Tenchi and Ryoko walked along the side of the wooden dance floor. Ryoko was still wearing her beach bikini and Tenchi was wearing a white T-shirt and his swimming trunks, both sat down at a nearby table. Haruo looked all over and finally spotted his special guests, he walked over to Tenchi and Ryoko. "Hello Ryoko! Hello Tenchi! Welcome!" "Hello Haruo!" Ryoko greeted back. "Hi Haruo." Tenchi returned. The ten year old blushed and struggled with his words. "Uhh..., Miss Ryoko? Um, uh, can you, uh..." "What can I do for you, Haruo?" "Well..., um since you saved my life and all...can you..." Haruo said fiddling with his fingers. "I know I'm just a kid and all but..." "Haruo, spit it out." Ryoko demanded in a friendly way. "Can you have this one dance with me?" "Sure!" "R-really?!" "C'mon, let's go tear up the rug." Ryoko stood up from her chair and held the little kid's hand. "Yaay!" The boy exclaimed, following Ryoko to the wooden dance floor. Tenchi watched as Ryoko walked off to the dance floor, he beamed at Ryoko's generosity. "Have fun dancing!" Tenchi said to Ryoko. "I'll just sit here and watch." Ryoko turned around and gave Tenchi an evil grin. "You're not off the hook, that easily. You're next right after this." "Uhh, ok." Tenchi returned nervously. Ryoko winked back in response. Then an easing song started up in the speakers. She turned to Little Haruo and smiled softly. "Okay kid, let's begin." Haruo nodded and took Ryoko's right hand and placed his left hand on her lips. The uneven-looking couple began to dance waltz around the dance floor with Ryoko doing the lead. Under soft roaming lights of the ballroom, Tenchi watched and admired Ryoko's fluent yet gentle movements, as she graced the dance floor. He thought. Tenchi looked at Haruo's face and noticed his innocent-boyish smile. Ryoko danced along the floor with Haruo through out the song. "I'm curious. How did you end up so faraway from shore?" "I was on my inflatable row boat when I ventured out. I kinda got carried away and ended up rowing out too far. So I decided to row back to shore but when I did, the float was leaking air! As you can see, the rest is history." Haruo beamed. She gazed at the Haruo's young face and enjoyed the boy's warm handsome smile. Ryoko smiled back at him, proud of the fact that she saved his life. Knowing that she was the one that was responsible for giving him a chance at life, love, and happiness. The song finally ended, and the dancing lights stopped moving. The dancers started to walk off the dance floor. "Well, I have to go now. Thank you for dancing with me!" Haruo thanked as he gave Ryoko a big hug. "You're welcome, kiddo. Anytime." Ryoko hugged back and patted Haruo's head. Haruo laughed happily and walked off the dance floor, waving back at Ryoko as he left the Outdoor ballroom, she waved back. As soon as Haruo left, Ryoko looked over to Tenchi's direction, she found him sitting at the table looking at her. Ryoko held up her finger and pointed at him. Tenchi saw that Ryoko was the only one left standing on the dance floor. He noticed that Ryoko pointed her finger at him. He looked around and pointed at himself and looked at her questioningly. "Me?" He asked silently. Ryoko nodded affirmative. Tenchi nervously stood up and walked over to Ryoko. As soon as he reached Ryoko, the music immediately started and the lights begun to dance slowly across the ballroom. "Hello, Tenchi." Ryoko greeted. "Hello, Ryoko." "Ready to dance?" "Uhh..., sure." Tenchi answered nervously. Tenchi placed his right hand on Ryoko's hip and held Ryoko's right hand. Ryoko noticed Tenchi's apprehensiveness. "What's wrong? Don't want to dance?" "No, it's not that, it's just been awhile since I've danced." "Oh. Well that's no problem just follow my lead and it'll all come back to you." "Um..., okay." Tenchi complied. Ryoko began to move Tenchi along with the romantic rhythm of the song. As the crowd gathered onto the dance floor, Tenchi quickly recognized the song that was being played over the speakers. He knew the song was from an animated movie called X:1999, Forever My Love. He never liked the voice of the lead singer but he always loved the music went along with it. The elegant piano, the rhythmic hypnotic sound of the guitars and his absolute favorite: the sweeping violins. Overall, Tenchi adored the song. He gazed at Ryoko and did his best to keep up with her natural rhythm. Ryoko smiled, she freed her hand from Tenchi's right, placed her arms around Tenchi's neck, and rested her head on his chest. Tenchi placed his right hand on her hips, he felt Ryoko's body press up against him, Tenchi blushed a little. (Oh tell me why! Forever dream...} As part of the song sung out. "Tenchi..." Ryoko whispered into his ear in dreamy way. "This is so romantic..." "Mmmm..." Tenchi sounded contently. Tenchi found that his arms embraced Ryoko from around her waist. {Will you stay with me...} Tenchi closed his eyes and found himself neck-to-neck with Ryoko. For once, he wasn't nervous around Ryoko and he loved the feeling of the close and secret intimacy being shared. This was a side of Ryoko he rarely ever saw, he had the general thought of her having the care-free-bad-girl persona, except for the time with the Zero incident. Tenchi thought curiously. He told himself. Ryoko was already floating with joy as she danced with the man she loved. The date had went by so well, with a few exceptions, overall, this is the best day of her life. She basked in the warm soothing energies that was emitted by Tenchi's soul. Letting every part of her being immerse itself into the surrounding music and to the person she is dancing with. She didn't realize until that very moment how good it felt to be assimilated with Zero. If it weren't for zero's tapped insight into her true feelings for Tenchi. Ryoko would've never been able to come up with the idea of taking Tenchi out to Naroda Beach. Because of Zero, Ryoko finally learned how to stay focused whenever she's around Tenchi. As Tenchi and Ryoko danced on, they lost track of the dancers, the number of songs they danced to, and the time. The last song of the dance, "Fly Me to the Moon", finally ended. "Tenchi?" Ryoko sounded. "Yes, Ryoko?" "What time is it?" Tenchi held up his wrist behind Ryoko's back and looked at his watch. "It's eleven o'clock." "Really?" Ryoko said, facing Tenchi. "Already?" "Yep." "Hmm..., looks like the date's almost over. At midnight, my powers will return." "Oh Really?" Ryoko nodded. "I have one last thing to show you, before we call it a night." "What is it?" Tenchi asked. "I'll tell you later, as soon as we get Washu's last invention." "Uhh..., last invention?" Tenchi said nervously. "You'll see. Trust me." Ryoko took Tenchi's hand and led him out of the ballroom. They walked towards the beach house to retrieve Washu's last invention. *** Night Time in Okayama Aeka and Sasami were in their room preparing their futons for the night's rest. Sasami tucked herself into her futon, she peered over and watched as Aeka prepared her futon. As Aeka gracefully pulled the blanket aside, she looked through the window next to her and noticed that the fireflies were abundant. The summer night sky was filled with stars and full moon was out. Aeka observed the fireflies flying around in the fields at night, they resembled little orbs of dancing light. Then, Aeka spotted Shoji, he was walking along the shores of the lake, as if searching for something. "Aeka, what are you looking at?" Asked the little princess. "Shoji is outdoors, wandering about. It appears like he is searching for something." "So Aeka, do you think he's cute?" "Sasami!" Aeka snapped. "I told you not ask me that!" "Come on, Aeka! He isn't exactly ugly." "No, I have to admit. He is not publicly impaired." Sasami gasped. "See! I knew you liked him in someway!" She exclaimed loudly, as she jumped up and down on her futon. "Now that is not true! I am only simply stating that he is attractive. Any girl would say the same thing!" Aeka retorted. "Yeah, I guess you're right. He's pretty handsome over all." Sasami looked over to her older sister and noticed a frowned look on Aeka. "Sorry about that Aeka, I guess I got carried away. I won't say another word about Shoji." Sasami apologized while laying down in her futon. "Thank you for understanding, Sasami. My heart is still devoted to Tenchi. No one else." Aeka affirmed. She started to think about Tenchi and Ryoko all over again. Trying to bury her worries, she peered over through the window and stared at Shoji. After a moment of silent thinking, Aeka stood up and made her way towards the door. "Where are you going, Aeka?" Sasami asked while sitting up in her futon. "I am stepping outside to see what Shoji is looking for. I will return shortly." Sasami giggled. "Oh really? I am so sure, Aeka." Sasami teased. "Sasami..." Aeka said sternly. "Okay, okay! I'll stop! Good night, Aeka!" "Good night, Sasami. You little joker." Sasami stuck her tongue out at Aeka. Aeka laughed softly and quietly stepped out of the room. As soon as Aeka left, Sasami hid herself under her covers continued on laughing. Meanwhile, out at the lake, Shoji finally found the perfect spot to sit and bask in the moonlight. Even though his surroundings were quite alien, most planets he landed on had beautiful nights. He laid down on the ground and gazed up at the constellations. Fireflies flew across Shoji's view, he smiled serenely. He thought. "Good evening, Shoji." Greeted Aeka. Shoji sat up to greet the Amethyst-haired princess. "Good evening, Princess Aeka." "Would you like to join me?" Shoji said, offering Aeka a spot next to him. "Sure, why not." Aeka accepted and sat down next to Shoji. "What brings you here under the stars?" Asked Shoji. "Actually, I was wondering about the same thing." "I just wanted to enjoy my first night on Earth by sleeping out here." "I see. Well, the nights here are very tranquil. By the way, your fight against Yosho was very impressive." "Thank you for your kind words, Princess Aeka." "My pleasure. If you had not slipped on that patch of mud..." "On the contrary, I intentionally slipped." "Oh?" Aeka asked with a startled look. "Why would you do a thing like that?" "Because if I hadn't, the duel would've la Tenchi Muyo: Ryoko's Love Alpha! Chapter 4A: Aeka Canon By Long T. Tran This chapter is written for and dedicated to the Stingmaster. Disclaimer: The Characters you're about to read are created and owned by AIC/ Pioneer. This fic written just for entertainment purposes and not for moneymaking. Author's notes: The Aeka contents of this chapter were inspired by a baroque classical Piece called Pachebel's Canon. Listen to this classical piece to get the Feeling of this chapter. The music can be found on the Evangelion Death Soundtrack. Btw, sorry for the long wait! --------------------------------------------------------------------- Noon at the Bus Stop Aeka was at the bus stop nervously waiting for Tenchi's return. Shoji stood next to Aeka like any guardian should. He looked forward into meeting the young Juraian prince. Sasami was back at the house cooking up some lunch to welcome back Tenchi and Ryoko. Washu was at her usual place in the lab doing her usual research on the collected data from the duel yesterday. After a few minutes of agonizing anticipation, the bus finally arrived and stopped. As the door opened, Aeka took in a breath and watched as Tenchi stepped out of the bus. "Welcome home, Lord Tenchi." Greeted Aeka. "Thank you, Aeka." Tenchi said as he returned Aeka's greeting, Tenchi looked over and noticed a Juraian male standing beside the princess. "Tenchi, while you were gone, the King of Jurai has made a major change concerning my safety." Aeka announced. "Really? What change?" Tenchi inquired. "This is my new guardian, Shoji Takazawa. He is a member of the Juraian Royal Guard." Shoji steps forward and bows his head to Tenchi. "I've been looking forward in meeting you, Lord Tenchi." "Uhh...Really? Thanks, nice meeting you too." Tenchi replied dumbly. Aeka looked around and searched for Ryoko. "Where is Ryoko? Did she come home with you?" "Yeah, she did. Ryoko was with me throughout the trip but as soon as the bus stopped, she just disappeared." "I...see." Aeka replied. "Well, I gotta go and unpack." "Alright. I will talk to you later, there is something I wish to discuss with you...in private." "Okay, that's fine. When?" "Will it be alright if I see you in ten minutes?" "Sure, I don't mind. I need to talk to you as well." Tenchi said, a little nervous. Tenchi turned away from Aeka and faced Shoji. "I hope to talk to you in order to better acquaint myself ." "Likewise." The Knight responded kindly and smiled. Tenchi smirked in return and bowed his head to Shoji and walked off towards the house. "I can see why you are fond of him." Shoji commented. "What are you going to speak to him about?" "I hope to accomplish one important thing." "What is it that you hope to accomplish?" "First and foremost, I hope to achieve resolution." "Resolution?" Shoji inquired. "I am taking your advice, I must consider all possibilities. Today will be the day where all the fighting, all the quarrels will end, and all the pain will be taken away." "Even if it opens the door to an even greater pain? Are you willing to go through it?" Aeka looked away from Shoji hiding the pained facade. She regained her composure and looked at Shoji. "Yes." "As simple as that? Just a yes?" Aeka stood silent to Shoji's remark. "I will see you later." Aeka said as she started her way towards the Masaki home. "Princess Aeka?" Aeka stopped and turned around somberly. "Yes?" "Please don't hesitate to talk to me. I will be around if you need me." Aeka peered at the knight and smiled. "Thank you." Tenchi and Aeka Tenchi unpacked his belongings from his back pack. Tenchi thought angrily. "Lord Tenchi? May I come in?" Said, Aeka's voice on the side of the door. Tenchi quickly straightened up. "Uh sure, Aeka. Please, come on in." Aeka stepped through the doorway, walked over to Tenchi's bed and sat down. She watched silently and patiently as Tenchi placed the last of his belongings into the cabin drawer. Tenchi turned around and sat on his desk chair backwards directly across from Aeka. Aeka read his face carefully and noticed the nervous look. "Tenchi, what seems to be bothering you?" "Aeka..., I..." Tenchi trailed nervously. "What is it, Tenchi?" Aeka thought, hopefully. "I guess the reason why you're here is to find out what happened between Ryoko and myself at Naroda Beach, right?" Aeka was starting to get nervous but quickly shrugged it off. "Well, not really one of the reasons but I have to admit, yes I am curious about your trip to Naroda. But I am mainly here to talk about our relationship." "Yes, our relationship. Well..." Aeka noticed Tenchi's apprehensiveness and decided to move the conversation along. "Before you say anything about your outing with Ryoko let me state that you are very dear to me." Tenchi silently listened as Aeka spoke. "Tenchi, I am in love with you." Tenchi froze at Aeka's confession. Tenchi thought heavily with guilt. "Aeka, I..." Tenchi started to responded. Aeka quickly but gracefully stood from Tenchi's bed and stepped over to Tenchi. She crouched down in front of Tenchi and immediately placed her right hand over Tenchi's mouth to prevent him from saying anything else. "Tenchi, please do not say a word. I must tell you what I have contemplated over the last recent days. Can you hear me out before you say anything?" After a moment of silent thought, Tenchi nodded his head under Aeka's hand. Aeka gave a slight bitter-sweet smile and removed her hand from Tenchi's mouth. "What I am about to tell you will, hopefully, put your mind at ease. I will ask a simple question and in return, all I want is a simple answer." Aeka stepped back and sat down at her place on Tenchi's bed. She gazed into Tenchi's nervous-but-caring eyes and carefully considered which words to speak. "Tenchi, I have lived with you for nearly two years and we both have been through a lot. Do you remember the first time I arrived here on earth?" "Yes, I remember very clearly. That'll be a day I'll never forget." Aeka smiled nostalgically and nodded. "Indeed, at first, I was searching for Yosho because I was still in love with him. Even though Our marriage was arranged and despite my feelings towards him, he did not share the same sentiments. Instead, he diverted my attention away from him and now, to you. At first, I was not sure about my feelings towards but as the days and weeks passed by I gradually fell in love with you. Unfortunately, I was never able to tell you, until now." Once again, Aeka stood up from where she sat and crouched in front of Tenchi, she gently held on to both of his hands and gazed into his eyes. Tenchi did not flinch at Aeka's sudden boldness he carefully listened on. "Tenchi, ever since I met you my heart has grown to love you. I know that you were unable to tell me anything at all about your feelings towards me it was mainly due to the fact that Ryoko and myself are constantly fighting over you. It has been that way for the past two years and now..." Aeka was suddenly quiet, struggling to hold back any involuntary tears. "And now, what? Aeka?" Tenchi asked. Aeka thought adamantly. Aeka regained her composure. "And now, things will be different from this conversation and on. Ever since you were gone with Ryoko at Naroda beach, I knew that things will never be the same. I must ask you this question and my request." "Request?" "You will know soon enough." Tenchi readied himself as Aeka contemplated. Aeka introspected. "Tenchi, do you love Ryoko?" Tenchi was caught off guard by Aeka's question. "Aeka, I, I..." He studdered. "Please, Tenchi, this is a yes or no question. Do you love her?" Tenchi looked away from Aeka's gaze, for a long silent minute Tenchi did not say one word as he thought. As time rolled by, Aeka held her heart with a tight grip waiting for Tenchi's reply. "Yes." "T-Tenchi..." Aeka faltered a bit, without shedding a tear. She looked away from Tenchi. "I'm, I'm sorry Aeka." Aeka immediately gazed at Tenchi with bold amethyst eyes. "No! Do not ever say you are sorry! You did very well. I thank you for being honorable by staying honest and truthful." "Being 'honorable' doesn't really excuse me for having to make you wait on me for nearly two years." "Tenchi, a few minutes ago, I mentioned to you about a request." "Yes?" Aeka was hesitant but regained her mindset. "Tenchi, you must keep this between us. Nobody must not know about it." "Alright." "Tenchi..., will you..." Aeka looked away, struggling to keep her tears from welling up. "Will I, what? Aeka?" "Will you kiss me?" Tenchi did not respond. For a silent moment, he gazed at her. Aeka held Tenchi's hands grasping them tighter. "I know, it is a very bold request but please, all I want is piece of you before I move on. Just to feel what it feels like to have your lips against mine. Your touch... Please, I need a little piece of heaven before I realize my reality." Tenchi didn't say a word. Instead, he stood up from his chair and wrapped his arms around Aeka. They held each other tight. Instead of tears of sorrow, Aeka cherished the moment she had longed for. She knew she didn't have time to be sad, finally, after a day and a half of lingering on a thread of anxiety. The loose thread has been tied. Tenchi looked at Aeka and ran his hands down her face. Aeka closed her eyes as she sensed his hands caressing her cheeks. Tenchi slowly placed his lips on Aeka's. Aeka felt warmth and wholesomeness through the shared contact. Aeka hugged Tenchi even tighter and felt his soft lips. After five cherished-eternal minutes Aeka broke away from Tenchi's lips. She stepped away from him and walked towards the door. She placed her fingers along her lips and smiled in a bitter-sweet manner. "Aeka..., what is to going to happen now? Are you going to leave earth?" "No, not yet. I must make peace before doing so." Tenchi understood and nodded. Ryoko and Washu Inside the warm environment of the floating Onsen, Ryoko walked around the different sets of bathing pools, she planned on adding a new feature. In her hands she held the blueprints to the onsen, ready to make some new modifications for the construction of the onsen's new feature, a Jacuzzi. Ryoko paused for a few moments and thought about all the events that occurred during her date with Tenchi. From rescuing a kid's life to nearly losing her own. Ryoko thought about the weird irony of being the Rescuer turned rescuee. And then, she thought about the one thing that really made the date worthwhile... Ryoko initially thought. Ryoko tiredly sighed. "Well, well, hello Little Ryoko." Said Washu, sitting in one of the warm pools. Startled by a second presence, Ryoko quickly calmed down. "Oh, it's just you, Washu." "Just me? What ever happened to hello?" "Okay, fine. Hello." Washu sighed. "Sarcasm, sarcasm. So..." "So, what?" "How was your date with Tenchi? Or do I have to wring it out of you with a neural vice?" Ryoko looked away painfully at Washu's question. "What's wrong?" "I don't know...I just don't know." "What do you mean by that? What happened out there?" Ryoko quietly answered Washu's question through the mind-link. Through the long minutes of silence, Washu rode the memories of events which occurred during Naroda beach. Washu saw the images of the Beach hunk, the dolphins, the rescuing of a young boy, the dance with Tenchi, sensations of drowning, Tenchi rescuing and kissing Ryoko... Washu pulled away from the mind-link and studied Ryoko for few moments. While waiting for Washu's reaction, Ryoko decided to soak her feet into one of the nearby pools. As she sat down and dunked her feet into the warm waters. "It looks like you had a really full day." Washu said, breaking the silence. "Yeah, you can say that." "So what happened after the kiss?" "Nothing. Absolutely, nothing." Ryoko replied looking down. "You mean, Tenchi didn't say a word of it?" Ryoko nodded solemnly. "Nothing at all? Did you say anything to him?" Ryoko shook her head negatively. "Why didn't you?" "I don't know..., I figured I've been too aggressive with him lately and..." "And what?" "I don't know, I finally reached this far, and yet...I don't know what's next between Tenchi and myself. What do I do now?" "Hmmm. That's a good question, Ryoko. What do you do now?" "I don't know! I'm asking you, am I? Aren't you the number one genius scientist of the universe?" Ryoko yelled out. "Let me ask you this, why are you so nervous? I've never seen you like this before." "I'm not sure why I'm so nervous. Huh. Look at me, I'm actually trembling." "What's the core of all your anxiety?" Ryoko thought about Washu's question for a moment and looked down into the water. "Fear." "Fear? Fear of what?" "I'm afraid that, this is all too good to be true and somehow, everything will not turn out the way I originally I hoped for." "Ooh, I see. I guess I can understand your anxiety abit." "Oh really? Then tell me, genius. What do you know of my anxiety?" Washu pulled her feet out from the water and stood up. "Well, since you asked, I might as well tell you. You were imprisoned in that cave for Seven hundred years." Ryoko shuddered at the word 'cave'. "Please don't remind me." "For all those years you had no way of contacting the outside world but the most you were able to achieve is being able to observe what's going on outside the cave. Correct?" Ryoko shook her head affirmatively. "Then, one day, you see a baby boy named Tenchi Masaki. Now, I wonder, what is it about him that had you interested in him in the first place?" Ryoko smiled a bit , she closed her eyes and thought about Tenchi when she first laid eyes on him. "Even though people did pass by the cave, Tenchi was different, he was able to feel my presence. He was the only one who saw me. Ever since seeing that beautiful baby boy, I vowed to meet him and to love him." "You watched Tenchi Masaki grow from a baby to a handsome young man and then you tried to find a way to escape from the cave. Through the years, as you searched for a way out, your body started to decay as a result of using all your energy. And then disaster struck, Tenchi was inside the cave, exploring." "Please don't remind me! He wasn't even supposed to see me as a mummy!" Ryoko shouted covering her ears. "okay, okay. I'll skip that part." Ryoko lightened up. "Thank you." "So finally, you meet Tenchi." Washu continued on. "Of course, I won't comment on your first approach. He thought you were going to kill him, which basically, made your chances even slimmer. To make things worse, you had rivals for Tenchi's love. Aeka comes along, Mihoshi, and maybe even Sasami. Your chances with Tenchi gets slimmer and slimmer. That's how it is, until yesterday, when he first kissed you." "You make it sound so simple." "Why should it be so difficult?" "I see your point." "So what now? What are you going to do about your relationship with Tenchi?" Ryoko contemplated for few silent minutes. Finally she pulled her feet out of the water and faced Washu. "I think I better go talk to him, instead of me waiting on him." "Sounds good to me. Try not to be too aggressive with him, ok?" "Hey! You don't have to remind me! I think I'm a little mature since then." Ryoko snarled. Washu was silent then the red-head smiled at her daughter. "Thanks." "Anytime, Little Ryoko." Ryoko ignored the title 'Little' and made her way towards the door of the onsen. "Oh! By the way, Ryoko!" Ryoko impatiently turned around. "Yes? What is it now?" "I almost forgot to remind to you, can you drop by the lab later on today?" "Sure, I guess. What time?" "Sometime this evening, right after dinner." "Alright, I'll be there. But don't try anything funny!" Washu made an innocent face. "What? Little ol' me? I'm harmless!" "Yeah, right." Ryoko stepped out of the onsen and she made her way towards the Masaki home. Ryoko finally reached the front door and proceeded to open the doorway but as she reached, Aeka stepped out. Both girls bumped into each other painfully. Aeka fell to the floor and Ryoko stumbled backwards. A bit of anger surged through Ryoko but she quickly extinguished the emotion, she walked over to Aeka and helped the princess to her feet. As Aeka stood up, Ryoko noticed the pained look on Aeka's face and was also startled by the fact that Aeka didn't yell at her. Ryoko gazed into Aeka's amethyst eyes and noticed hidden anger, sorrow, and pain buried within. Aeka looked away from Ryoko and regained her composure. "Th-thank you." Aeka gratified softly and slowly walked off towards the Holy Tree. Ryoko gazed with concern as Aeka gradually disappeared into the woods. Instead of going up into Tenchi's room, Ryoko carefully tailed after Aeka. Aeka Under the bright sun, the Juraian tree; Funaho, provided shadow. Aeka hopped over a few stepping stones and reached the shady area of under the tree. She quietly sat down, closed her eyes, and tears welled up. She asked herself sadly. The thought of Tenchi and Yosho, the only men she loved in her life, did not love her. This realization struck her the hardest, the reality of knowing that the two, especially Tenchi, were not interested in her heart's investment. First of all, she came to earth searching for her beloved fiance, only to find that Yosho had chosen to avoid the throne as well as marrying her. Secondly, Yosho attempted to start a relationship between her and Tenchi. Instead of a flowering relationship, she waited and fought for nearly two years only to have found that Ryoko earned her special place in Tenchi's heart. Twice she had paid the painful price through hope, creating, and fighting. Investing her emotional commitment, her soul, and her chance to experience any real love. All of which hangs in the balance of the men who had made their decision. The only price that Yosho and Tenchi paid for their own happiness was Aeka's sacrifice of her dreams of being ever close to them. Aeka began to cry, cursing fate under her anguished breath. Will it ever stop playing cruel games of her emotions? Is she forever condemned in such a cold cycle of hope and sorrow? Her tears streamed from her eyes even harder, turned pink from pain and frustration. After a while of silent tears and sorrow, Aeka laid down on her back and watched as the white clouds rolled across the serene the deep blue. As the calm summer wind blew across her face, Aeka took In a breath of fresh countryside air and closed her eyes. As Aeka's mind slowly cleared and relaxed, she focused her thoughts on her first and last kiss from Tenchi. The only good that came from her sacrifice was the fact that Tenchi kissed her out of pure commitment instead of motivated through the sense of obligation. After two years of waiting, she finally received her kiss. Now, thanks to his kiss Aeka's heart is finally free. No more worries of what Tenchi thinks of her because he had already chosen. No longer will she worry about starting a committed relationship because Tenchi has already started one. No longer will she worry about winning or losing a place in Tenchi's heart because Ryoko was already there. She is free. "Aeka?" Asked a familiar female voice. Aeka quickly wiped away her sad facade. "Hello, Ryoko." "Were you crying?" "That is not important, right now. I have been wanting to talk you today, Ryoko." Ryoko stood on one of the branches of Funaho, she descended next to Aeka on the ground. As she touched ground, Ryoko noticed the veiled look on Aeka's face and noticed her pinkish face. Ryoko thought to herself. "Oh? What do you want to talk about?" Aeka internally fought out the words. "Tenchi." "Okay, what about him? Has something happened?" "I will just put this simply to make it easier on me." "Easier on you?" Ryoko asked curiously with concern. "He has chosen to be with you." Ryoko stood silent not knowing how to react to Aeka's statements. "I asked him myself, he truly does love you." Aeka continued on. " I am proud to say that the fights and quarrels will no longer preside; it is truly over." Ryoko couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Proud? Are you? After two years of struggling to be with Tenchi, you'll just simply take this lightly and just give up?!?" "I am trying not to take it so hardly nor am I trying to take this lightly. I am just finally accepting my true destiny. I have been so foolish to let my emotions totally guide me, now, I must place myself back to my true reality." "I, I, don't know what to say Aeka." "No need to say anything, Ryoko. I just need you to promise me one thing." "What?" "Promise me that you will take good care of Tenchi." "Are you trying to tell me that you're leaving?" Aeka suddenly shot an angry look at Ryoko. "Ryoko, that is not important! The matter that we are discussing; is. You must promise me that you will take good care of Tenchi!" "At least tell me why you're giving up so easily! This is not like you , you always give a good fight whenever Tenchi's concerned!" Ryoko yelled back. "Ryoko, please." Aeka begged weakly as she sat on the ground, her shoulders slumped. Tears began to roll down her cheeks. Ryoko felt sympathy for Aeka, never had she ever seen Aeka in such a vulnerable state. Ryoko stood next to the sobbing princess and placed her hand on Aeka's shoulders. Aeka summoned up all her strength and held back the remaining tears. Aeka struggled to speak under her pain. "If it makes you promise, I will tell you why I am giving up." The princess spoke, not looking up at Ryoko. "As I said before, I asked Tenchi who he loved. He told me he loved you. I love Tenchi." Ryoko gently rubbed Aeka shoulder, doing her best to comfort Aeka in some way. "I love Tenchi so much I do not want to burden him any further by fighting you. Don't you see, Ryoko? I am thinking for his well- being. He chose you. With my all my heart, I wish happiness for the both of you." "Aeka, I..." Ryoko struggled abit. "What about your happiness?" Aeka interrupted. "Right now, I am not thinking of myself, I just want You to promise me that you will take good care of him." Ryoko stood silent still rubbing Aeka's shoulder. "Aeka, I promise." "Thank you, Ryoko." Then the silence passed over again between the two girls. "Ryoko?" "Yes, Aeka?" "I need to be alone for awhile, I believe you were on your way to Tenchi's room when we bumped into each other a short while ago. You can go now, our talk here is finished." "Are you sure about that Aeka? Do you still need somebody to talk to?" "I am sure. Please go and talk to Tenchi." "Aeka, please know that I'll always be your friend and that I don't want to fight with you anymore, not over anything. "Ryoko, I trust that a new chapter has opened between you and I." "You got that right, princess." Aeka did her best to smile but only managed slightly. "I'll see you around." "Alright." Ryoko turned from Aeka and disappeared into thin air. As soon as Ryoko left, Aeka laid back down to the grass and closed her eyes. Aeka thought. For long while she looked for an answer within. "I am so tired..." Tenchi and Ryoko Ryoko teleported into Tenchi's room and found Tenchi sitting on the side of his bed, his shoulders slumped, he wore a nervous expression. "Hello, Tenchi." Tenchi immediately looked up at the sound of Ryoko's voice. "Ryoko! I'm sorry for not saying anything to you on the bus." "It's ok, Tenchi. I understand." Ryoko assured. "Tenchi?" "Yes, Ryoko?" "I just spoke with Aeka a few minutes ago." "You did? What did you two talk about?" "Aeka and myself have settled our differences, we won't be fighting over you anymore." "I, I was hoping for that kind of change. Ryoko, about last night..." Ryoko thought about the events that took place last night at the beach house and tried hard not to think about them. "Tenchi, please don't mention last night." "No, Ryoko. I have to tell you this. It's very important to me and to you." "Ever since last night, I have never been so worried, I thought I that I would lose you. Ryoko...I..." "You what? Tenchi?" Tenchi fought for the words that harbored his true feelings for Ryoko. "...I...um...I..." Tenchi said and faltered nervously. After a minute or so, Tenchi regained his composure and cleared his throat. "Ryoko, I..." "You what?" "I love you. Ever since last night, I couldn't stop thinking about you. I also realized that I couldn't imagine my life without you and the Fact that I almost lost a chance of getting to really love you on a Much more Intimate level. I also want to apologize." "Apologize? For what?" Ryoko asked. "I had you and Aeka waiting on me for all these years. If I was honest from the beginning things could've been different." "No, Tenchi. Don't apologize. If I weren't so aggressive and over protective, you wouldn't of felt so much pressure. It should be me who should be apologizing, not you." "Ryoko, don't say such a thing it should be me who should apologize." "No, no Tenchi. I should be apologizing." "Ryoko, I should apologize." "Tenchi, you're wrong, I should apologize." "Don't be foolish Ryoko, I was the core of all the fights and all disappointments, so it should be me." "What?!? Foolish?! Is that what I'm being right now for being considerate?" "No no! That's not what I meant! I was just saying that I should apologize! Not you!" "This is going no where... we're both being way to considerate, so I'll settle this the usual way." "What do you mean? The usual way? ERK!" Ryoko drew her red energy sword and held it at Tenchi's throat. "Now Tenchi darling, I apologize for apologizing to you in this threatening manner and I'm sorry for being to aggressive to you. Well? Do you accept my apology?" Tenchi nodded quickly. "Uh...Yes, Ryoko. I accept your apology." Ryoko's sword disappeared with a pop. "Good! Then that's settled." Tenchi sighed in relief and smiled. "You weren't really going to do such a thing, were you? Ow!" Ryoko softly bopped Tenchi's head with her knuckle. "Of course not, silly! I wouldn't dare do a thing! Why would I hurt the love of my life? My most valued treasure." "Oh, uh thanks. You still didn't have to hit me." "I'm sorry..." Ryoko apologized and softly kissed Tenchi's head. "There! Feel better?" Tenchi smiled sheepishly. "Um, much better. Thanks." "Don't mention it." Canon Meanwhile at Funaho's tree, Aeka began to think about what could have been possible if Tenchi chosen her instead of Ryoko, suddenly Aeka's thoughts were distracted by the sounds of something emerging from the forest. Aeka quickly sat up and spotted Shoji. "Princess Aeka, did I come here at a wrong time?" "No, not really." Aeka replied, then she noticed a peculiar headgear currently held Shoji's hand. "I hope you do not mind me asking but..." "Yes, princess Aeka?" "What is that device you are holding in your left hand?" "What? This? Here, let me hand this to you for your closer examination." Shoji held up his gear and walked towards Aeka. As soon as he reached Aeka, he sat down next to her and handed the device to her. Aeka studied at the curious device. The gear resembled a baseball Cap except it had no bill, the material of the cap is combination Of different polymers and metals. The sides of the cap had small Ear flaps and on the front of the cap were attached goggles. "What is this thing, Shoji?" Aeka asked. "That device you're holding is a kind of virtual reality machine." "Really? Where did you get it from?" "It's a gift I received from a long time friend who used to be in the Galaxy Police." "What does it do?" "It's just like any other virtual reality machine but with one exception. Instead of participating in a game, you participate in musical recital. It's mainly a device that gives the wearer a since of participation of any musical engagement. Which also includes any music from any culture within the known universe." "This is very interesting." Aeka said, despite her sadness as she quietly looked for any kind of peace. "Of course, me being me. I only have one music program installed into this little device. Would you like to give this device a try?" "I would love to." "Here, let me help you get started." Shoji scooted closer next to Aeka. Aeka hands the VR music gear to Shoji. The knight places the The device onto Aeka's head, flipped the ear flaps over Aeka's ears And adjusts the viewing goggles to better comfort Aeka's eyes. Next, Shoji reached into his pockets and brings out and extra pair of Goggles and ear plugs. He puts on the devices and plugs himself into the VR music gear. "Shoji, I am ready." "Me too. Ok, I am switching on the device." Shoji presses the power button. Aeka found herself in a cool air-conditioned concert chamber. She Immediately recognized that the architecture of the concert chamber Was Earth origin. As she looked around, Aeka noticed that she was Wearing a black concert dress, Sitting on a concert chair. Aeka also found herself sitting in the center of a huge circle composed of the Earth String Orchestra. She saw many individuals holding the same instrument of various sizes, mainly, the viola. The orchestra had nothing but string instruments, cellos and various violas. To her surprise, she saw Shoji sitting from across her, sitting at the harpsichord and wearing a black Tuxedo. "What shall I do next, Shoji?" "Just sit back, listen, and just let the music soothe you." Shoji said and turned towards the violinists. "Pachebel's Canon in D minor, String Orchestra." In response to Shoji's commands, the entire string orchestra readied their instruments. Shoji begun the first notes of the score with slow welcoming notes then the strings started to play along with him. [Listen to Canon! And for those who are not into classical music just think of that one special music that makes you feel at ease whether it being rock, rap, country, or whatever. When reading this section think of that one special song that makes you relax despite whatever hell you went through.] Aeka closed her eyes. As the music piece continued its play, the calming and soothing quality alleviated Aeka of the stresses that plagued her. Dinner "Come and get it! Dinner's ready!" Sasami yelled out throughout the house. In a brief moment, Tenchi ran down the stairs and sat down at his place at the table. "Am I hungry!" Tenchi said drooling. "Here's one thing I missed while being at Naroda beach and that's your cooking Sasami!" Sasami blushed and giggled. "Thank you, Tenchi!" A minute later Ryoko materialized next to Tenchi, to her surprise Tenchi for once, didn't flinch. < He would usually become nervous but this time, he didn't. Looks like things are changing after all.> Ryoko mentally noted. A moment later Aeka walked into the dining area with Shoji following Close behind. Ryoko observed Aeka's mood and noticed that she looked More calm and content then looking downward. Tenchi noticed as well. Aeka sat down next across the table from Tenchi instead of next to him And proceeded to eat her dinner. As dinner progressed, Sasami broke the silence. "Guess what!" "What's up Sasami?" Asked Ryoko. "I have a great idea on what we can do next week! It's going to be fun!" "What is it kiddo?" Ryoko asked again. "Let's all go back to Planet Jurai! The Startica festival is going to start and I would sure hate to miss it this year!" "You are right Sasami, let us all go back home to Jurai and celebrate the festivities." Aeka stated with a slight smile. "After all, it is the 10,000th Annual celebration of Startica." "Why not? Let's try something different!" Tenchi Exclaimed. Then he caught Ryoko's nervous expression. "What's wrong, Ryoko?" "Well, I would love to go to Jurai but there's just this one little detail. Wouldn't there be anybody who is still bound to carry some bad grudge against me? It's only been 700 years since I raided Jurai. I'm not sure if they would just simply forget about that little incident." "Yeah but it wasn't your fault that you raided Jurai. You were under Kagato's control." Tenchi retorted. "I know, still, those were done by my actions. I don't know." "Ryoko, do not worry of such things." "Why not Aeka?" "Because, the Jurai royal family gave you a full pardon with the approval of the Juraian Council. The council is a Diplomatic government body. All decisions and laws are approved by not the will of the representatives but by the people of Jurai. So I would not worry about it." "Okay, if you say so. Then I'll go along." Ryoko agreed apprehensively. "YIPEE!! We're all going to Jurai!" Sasami said happily. "When do we depart for Jurai?" asked Tenchi. "Within two days the Festival will start in five days and will last for a week." And so, dinner passed by without incident with something to look forward to in two days. Washu's Favor Ryoko floated into the pseudo-lab and thought about Tenchi. She found Washu busy at the holocomputer-console. Washu ceased her typing and turned around to find Ryoko. "Ah! You're here!" "Of course, I'm here!" Ryoko said with a hint of annoyance. "You asked me to be here didn't you? so, what's up?" "Oh nothing much, I need you to help me for on my little research." "What are you working on?" "I'm just testing out this new data-entry program for the holocomputer database." Ryoko walked up behind Washu and curiously peered over her shoulder to take a peek at the new program. Washu sneaked a glance through the corner of her eye and beamed slightly. Unaware, Ryoko leaned forward To take a closer study. "Hmm..." Ryoko commented softly as possible. "Interested?" Ryoko was caught off guard a bit and straightened up. "No, of course not. Why should I be?" Washu sighed. "Why do you need me here?" "I just need you to transfer a couple of files from the original database into the new one." "And what are you doing while I'm conducting all this data-entry?" "I need to go feed the lab specimens. Do as much as you can, I'll be back in a few minutes." Washu stated as she stood up from her floating chair. "Um, alright." Ryoko said unexcited and frowned, she sat down on Washu's chair and started her data-entry. Washu left Ryoko and walked around a corner, she grabbed her mini- camcorder. Though the camcorder's viewer, Washu watched as Ryoko transferred data into the installed mock database which was actually a test program. Ryoko looked bored as ever as she tapped at the keyboard slowly with her right fore-finger. After a few minutes of recording Ryoko, Washu stepped out from behind the corner. Pretending to be exhausted, Washu let out a tired-like breath. "Phew! Man, that was tiring! Those lab specimens can get really hungry these days." "I'm sure they would, since you only feed them once a month. Can I go now?" "Oh sure, Ryoko! Thanks for your help." Ryoko thought curiously. Ryoko stood up from her chair and headed toward the lab exit. "Yeah, ok. I'll see you around. OH!" Ryoko turned around nearly forgetting Sasami's favor. "Yes, Ryoko?" "Just wanted to let you know, Planet Jurai is holding their annual Startica Festival. You should come along since the whole crew will be heading there. Well? Would you like to tag along?" "Sure! Why not! It's been awhile since I ever had any space travel. Thanks for asking me!" "No problem. Ok, I gotta go. See you around." Washu watched as Ryoko exited the lab. After a moment of waiting, the coast is cleared, Washu beamed wildly and turned her attention towards the holo-computer display. She typed in a few commands and the screen flickered with the results of Ryoko's I.Q. Test. "Very interesting..." Washu said contently. "looks like she's very well compatible." Washu sits down in front of the computer and starts to tally up Ryoko's test results. Night Fall In the dark bedroom, Tenchi laid in bed for the past two hours, he tossed and turned fighting for a way to go to sleep. Next to him, Ryoko slept peacefully, she still had the lingering effects of The drowning incident, mainly fatigue. "Ugh., I can't sleep..." Tenchi carefully removed himself out from bed, trying extra hard not to wake up Ryoko. As Tenchi stood up, Ryoko rolled to her side. "Tenchi..." She whispered in her sleep. Tenchi smiled and bent over to move her bangs aside, he kissed her forehead. He headed towards the stairs for the kitchen. As he walked down the flight of stairs he noticed that the lights were On In the kitchen. As he stepped closer, he started to hear a person Humming a light tune. Tenchi stepped through the kitchen doorway. "Aeka?" "Lord Tenchi? What are you doing up so late?" "I was about to ask you the same thing, I was down here hoping to grab maybe a midnight snack to help myself to sleep. And you?" "I was also not able to sleep." "Oh? What's been keeping you up?" "Today was a very emotional day for me. I went through worry, sorrow, and anger." Tenchi suddenly looked hurt and guilt-ridden. "I'm, I'm sorry to Put you through that Aeka." "Let me finish, Tenchi. As of now, by miraculous circumstances, I feel as though that I have a new sense of optimism towards my own well being." "You do seem happier than you were this afternoon." "You think so?" Aeka asked. Tenchi nodded. "What changed your mood?" Aeka smiled and looked at Tenchi straight in the eye. "The thought Of returning home to Jurai for Startica and..." "And what?" "...and Canon." "Canon? What do you mean by that?" "Well, this afternoon, Shoji introduced me to one piece of Earth Classical music and I must say. It had quite an effect on me." "How so?" "Let me just say that you do not have to worry about me. I suggest you go back to bed and try to get some sleep." Aeka said with a warm smile. "Well, Goodnight Aeka. I hope you get some night's sleep as well." Tenchi Stepped over to Aeka and gives her the goodnight's hug. Aeka separated from Tenchi. "Don't worry I will. Goodnight, Tenchi." "Goodnight, Aeka." As Tenchi left the kitchen, Aeka's smile disappeared as quickly as it appeared. To be continued... Forevermore Original Japanese Lyrics: Natsuko Karedo Composed & Arranged by Seikou Nagaoka Vocal: Ai Orikasa Feel the wind... feel the sun And our new day has only begun On the sand... by the sea It's a peaceful oasis made for you and for me Take my hand... This place was always waiting This beauty all around us The air intoxicating Just like the love that found us * Let's forget who we've been And give into the dream Maybe life is a song That's how it seems... And forevermore we'll hear the music play Yes forevermore I'll take you in my arms this way And forevermore we'll know the melody We will sing forevermore, just like the peaceful sea Past the clouds... past the sky We can only imagine what great mysteries lie Other moons... other stars Close your eyes and together we'll go wandering far Take my hand... This miracle's undying It never will forsake us We'll always keep on flying Wherever love may take us (* Repeat) Author's Notes: I would like to give special Thanks to Akodo X for providing the lyrics of Forevermore. VERY Special thanks goes out to my editor, Minset and to my online editor Random. And to my Pre-readers, RyokoMR, Cman, and BGlanders. Tenchi Muyo:Ryoko's Love Alpha Prelude to the Requiem By Evil Dr. Tran Disclaimer: The Characters you're about to read are created and owned by AIC/ Pioneer. This fic written just for entertainment purposes and not for moneymaking. Tokimi's Realm A young man materialized onto the platform of the dimensional Throne room. He's in his early twenties, short black hair, and wearing a common Juraian outfit. "I have returned, Lady Tokimi." The man formally stated as he kneeled down. The throne room became dark and suddenly, several shadow figures appeared in a parallel line, and in the center a familiar orange-haired deity appeared before him. "Welcome back, D3. I take it your mission was successful, was it not?" "It was successful, my lady. This Universe does show evidence of Tsunami's influence." "And have you located the current whereabouts of Tsunami and Washu?" "I have sent out the necessary measures to gather that information. We will have the specific results in due time." "Very good. What is your analysis of this Universe?" Tokimi inquired with interest. "The civilizations that live within this Universe are advanced but conquerable. The two main forces that stand in our way are the Galaxy Police and of course-" Tokimi interrupted. "The Juraians. And don't forget to mention Tsunami and Washu's Avatars." "Yes, my lady." "How does it feel re-adapting to your old body?" D3 looked at his hands and body. "It feels very nice to be roaming around in a physical body instead of an astral one. Very strange after not having used this form for 50,000 years. Were you thinking about venturing in a physical body as well?" Tokimi was silent for a brief moment then chose not to answer his question. "Did you make contact with the Galaxy Police Force in Orion?" "Not as of yet. The inspection force that was sent to investigate their missing comrades will soon be 'tested'. I have, however, gathered the data from during Dr. Clay's possession of the Galaxy Police Battleship Shunga." "And the results?" "Judging from the analysis of the warship and it's abilities. The Galaxy Police are primitive by our standards but should not be underestimated. They may be weak but they make up for that in will. Nevertheless, our two assault fleets are still more than a match for them." "And what if the Juraians intervene with our campaign?" "The Juraians are very formidable and when they step in, they have the potential to tip the balance of power. Due to Tsunami's influence with the space trees, our Assault fleet has finally met it's match. We will deal with the Juraians first, before we handle the Galaxy Police." "Take out the strong before we take out the weak. A very good strategy, yet risky." "I have already devised a plan to handle the Juraians. It will be initiated as soon as our new lead scientist calls in. Here are the plans." The young male held up a data disc in his right hand to show the goddess. Tokimi gazed at the disc with her deep purple eyes, almost as if looking at an open book. After a moment of silent reading Tokimi gave out an enigmatic smile. "Very interesting plan, D3. I've looked at it through the realm of probability (in other words the future) and I see a 100 percent success rate." "That is very encouraging. I thank you Lady Tokimi." "The pleasure is all yours, D3." Suddenly, D3's wrist Comm started to beep. "This is D3, have you had any results on the search for Tsunami and Washu?" "Yes, sir." A female voice answered back. "They have departed earth and are currently arriving at Jurai, do you wish to depart now?" "I will be there in a few moments. When I arrive, phase 2 will begin as planned." "Understood, sir." She complied and signed off. Tokimi had listened in on the brief exchange and grinned. "What do you think of our new replacement for Dr. Clay?" "She's quite adequate and mentally stable, comparatively speaking. She's the type of person who doesn't hold grudges or allow things that would cloud her judgement, unlike Dr. Clay." "He was flawed and predictable." Tokimi added. "Pity we had to let him go. As I recall, Washu nearly hacked into his memories, fortunately, she didn't. Thanks to your quick actions. "What makes things even more interesting is the fact that our new top scientist bears a striking resemblance to Washu...you've chosen an element that will make events occur in a very interesting manner." Tokimi smiled only slightly. "The time is coming near and the reunification will be imminent, initiate phase two." "Yes, your majesty." D3 bowed and disappeared. As D3 disappeared, Tokimi's smile disappeared. To be Continued... Note to readers: I know what you guys and gals are thinking... "After eight or nine months of waiting for Ryoko's Love, This is all we get!?!" I have good reasons for this and well...RL's one year anniversary is nearly up and I feel that instead of writing a normal chapter. I'm just going to go ahead and write the 2 part concluding story to Ryoko's Love Alpha and head off to start on Beta. Based on the info revealed in the future requiem chapters, seasoned guest writers are invited to write the "filler" episodes from Ch.5a up to the requiem chapters. Either that or I'll just set an FAQ sheet concerning the events that lead up to the Requiem. Here's a portion from Chapter: Requiem One Kyrie: The Battle's Climax On the outer rim of the galaxy, the final battle between Jurai and Tokimi's fleet is about to take place. The Galaxy Police forces have commenced attacks on Tokimi's fleet while the Juraian and Galaxy Police battleships maintained their distance from the fight. For several long minutes the Juraian fleet watched as the galaxy police unleashed wave after wave of attacks on the invaders, not avoiding the battle but waiting for their signal to attack. The small fighters of the Galaxy Police attacked along side the Juraian fighters, annoying the enemy dreadnoughts and keeping the enemy fighters away from the Juraian and Galaxy Police battleships. Finally, the signal to attack finally arrived, the once mighty flagship of Tokimi's Dominion fleet started to engulf itself in flames. The Juraians and the Galaxy Police battleships opened fired and engaged the enemy. Inside the burning inferno, Shoji carried a barely conscience Aeka to the escape pods while Mihoshi followed suit firing as they ran to keep their mechanical pursuers at bay. Then the firing from their pursuers ceased but the two kept on running. Aeka opened her eyes and found that she was no longer a child, she was finally transformed back to her normal age. Aeka gazed up and found that Shoji was still alright but she noticed something very wrong... "Shoji! You're wounded, put me down!" Aeka shouted. Without a word of contempt, he did as she requested. As soon as she was placed on the floor all three continued on their escape. Through the corner of her eye, Aeka briefly saw the pained expression on Shoji's face but he quickly changed it. She passed a quick glance at one of his sides and saw that blood is exposed through the cloth of Shoji's battle Suit. As they finally reached the Escape pods, Aeka looked out through one of the ship's portholes and saw that the Juraian battleships have initiated their attacks. A look of disbelief formed on her face, Shoji and Mihoshi ran up to Aeka and saw the expression on the princess. "What's the matter, Aeka?" Asked, Mihoshi. "Our battleships, their Light-hawk wings has not formed yet!" "WHAT?!?" Shoji yelled. "That's not possible! I've already deprogrammed Onimaru's jamming between Tsunami and the space trees!" For a moment, Shoji thought of the reason for the set back, then the thought came to him. "It might've been due to Onimaru's Zero units." Shoji stated grimly. "They probably reactivated the jamming device." Mihoshi walked over to one of the pods and started the launch code sequence. The ship began to jolt violently due to the various explosions. Aeka walked towards the pod and noticed that Shoji was not walking behind her. The princess quickly turned around and saw what she was dreading the most; Shoji was turning back towards the Ship's bridge. Aeka quickly grabbed Shoji's arm and held on tight. "W-where are you going?!?" Aeka yelled, doing her best to hold her tears back. "I have to go back and make sure the jamming device is put out, permanently! All of the Universe is depending on this!" "Let me go with you!! You're wounded, you can't do it all by yourself!" "NO! You have to go, it's too risky! It's not safe here, you'll be killed and you are Jurai's first crown!" "No! I will not go!" Shoji grabbed Aeka's shoulders. "YOU CAN'T STAY WITH ME! Your safety must be is most import-!!!" Shoji was interrupted by a sharp pain that coursed through his body and held his side. He held out his hand and saw that it was covered with blood. Aeka quickly calmed and tried to look firm. "Shoji, you are just too wounded! I must help you! I order it." Shoji was silent by Aeka's order. A long silent moment passed, he straightened up and gazed at Aeka. "I'm sorry Princess Aeka but the answer is no. This is one issue I can disobey your direct order." Stunned by Shoji's first ever insubordination, Aeka lost all hope and tears begun to burst out. "Y-you can't!" "Enough!" Shoji yelled out and quickly gave a kiss to Aeka. Aeka did not hesitate to kiss Shoji in return. She held onto him fast and tight. Immediately, Shoji pushed Aeka into the escape pod and quickly gave a glance at Mihoshi. "W-what?! NO! PLEASE DON'T, SHOJI!!!!" Aeka begged. Mihoshi understood and grabbed onto Aeka and held her tight. Without a response, Shoji closed the pod door on Aeka, and ran off towards the bridge. Aeka managed to escape Mihoshi's grasp and crawled towards the pod doors. Mihoshi immediately launched the probe. Aeka banged wildly at the pod doors, screaming Shoji's name repeatedly. "I'm so sorry, Aeka." Mihoshi said quietly as she watched Aeka in her most vulnerable state. The escape pod reached space and headed back towards the Battleship Tsunami. Aeka's cries gradually quieted down and she watched as the ship that contained Shoji continued to shrink in view. Shoji ran towards the bridge, enduring the pain in his side. As he sprinted down the walkway, he heard several sounds coming from the rubble. He stopped in his tracks to see what was making the sounds. Under the rubble that surrounded Shoji, Twenty of Onimaru's Zero units appeared from the debris each with the objective to prevent or kill Shoji from returning to the bridge. The mech drones gathered and organized themselves into a column to block the entryway that led to the bridge. Shoji activated his energy blade and charged the Zero Units. As soon as the Zero units identified Shoji's attack maneuvers, they opened fire on him. Fortunately, he had already anticipated their attack and he skidded to the side to avoid the barrage of searing lasers. Shoji reached the column's side of the droids and gave out a battle cry. He sliced two of the mechs in half, jumped on top of their burning bodies, and barrel flipped in mid-flight to avoid oncoming fire. Shoji dropped a smoke bomb as he reached the floor. The smoke was released as he landed in front of the column, within a split second, he turned around and charged his inner energy. As he charged, he felt a solid pain swelled up from his side due to his inner channeling. The zero units tried regain order within the confusion, they finally found Shoji but another three quarters of the column was destroyed by Shoji's energy blast. Shoji tried to charge forward but a surge of excruciating pain coursed throughout the side of his body. Shoji hugged himself with one arm trying to regain his focus and dull the pain a little. As he concentrated, he can taste the faint bitterness of blood. Suddenly, three zero Units rammed into his side and slammed him against the bulkheads. Shoji screamed in agony as an overwhelming flood of pain bombarded his senses. A few clicks away, Aeka immediately felt more uneasy when she felt a presence calling out to her. The escape pod was near approaching the landing docks of Tsunami. Mihoshi looked over to Aeka and noticed that the princess was in her battle suit. "A-Aeka!?!" Mihoshi asked nervously. "W-what do you think you're doing?" "I'm going to back to Shoji." Aeka said quickly without a hint of hesitation. Mihoshi moved forward to Aeka and held the princess's arm. "You can't!! It's too dangerous!" "I don't care." Aeka said stoically. The she repelled Mihoshi's arm away with her force field and surrounded herself within the barrier. Aeka opened the pod doors, flew out into the vacuums of space. Mihoshi watched helplessly as Aeka exited the pod, immediately, Mihoshi closed the pod doors to return back to the Tsunami. Using, her natural Juraian power and training, Aeka channeled all her rage and passions into flying back to Shoji's side as soon as possible. Like a red- purple shooting star, Aeka shot through the battle field of space. Meanwhile, the four remaining zero units were on top of Shoji, pain and anger continued to boil within the struggling knight. Under the attacks of blows and punches, Shoji closed his eyes and focused his mind. After several moments, the Knight repelled the zero Units off of him with the remainder of his force field. The wounded knight struggled to his feet, picked up his energy blade and charged. He neared towards the closest Zero Unit and chopped off it's stubby mechanical arm. Shoji terminated the unit with another slice of the blade. Then, two of the remaining units confronted Shoji with a new attack. One of the Units tethered an energy whip around Shoji's neck, strangling him while the other shot lasers at him. Sensation after new sensation of pain wreaked havoc through out the knight's body. Shoji fought the temptation to throw up, he gritted his teeth and tried for one risky maneuver. He shot his energy blade at the whip wielding Zero unit, destroying the monstrosity. The whip that strangled him dissipated and he painfully ran towards his blade while the other Zero Unit shot at him. Shoji finally reached his blade as he began to pull the blade from the body of the destroyed zero, the last zero appeared and shot a charged bolt of laser at the knight. The laser exploded in front of Shoji and kept him away from his weapon. He was on his back, his vision blurry, the only thing he felt was pain which told him that he was still alive. Shoji coughed up blood and as he gradually regained his vision. The last two Zero Units were jetting straight towards him. Shoji turned over to his side and quickly leaned upwards. The zero units were closing on Shoji as he regained his footing and got into a ready stance. He breathed hard and deep, suddenly, a wave pain surged through him and he fell forward and landing on his knees. At the very last moment, the Zero units were swept off by an unseen projectile and destroyed. Not caring whatever happened to the droids, the knight lost all his remaining strength due to overwhelming pain and fell back flat on his back. Aeka made it in time to destroy the last Zero Units before they reached Shoji. As the machines exploded, Aeka turned around and saw Shoji laying in a pool of his own blood. The site of Shoji's battered body shook Aeka. "Shoji!!" Aeka screamed as she ran towards him. The princess reached his side and kneeled close to him. "No…" Shoji whispered. "What, Shoji, what?" Aeka asked her eyes welling up, her nose almost running. "You…deactivate…the…the…" Aeka quickly understood. She stood up and looked down at him. "I'll.." Aeka struggled. "I'll be back, Shoji." As she turned towards the bridge's entryway, she saw that under the battle ravaged face of the knight, laid a very slight smile. Aeka used her limited abilities of flight and shot towards the bridge. She reached the bridge and headed straight towards the terminal that activated the jamming device. In the middle of the room, the huge view screen showed the progress of battle, at the moment, the good guys were about to fallback. Aeka switched the jamming off and immediately, the Flagship Tsunami began to glow brightly. On the view screen, Tsunami glowed, several bright rays of astral light shot from the battleship and into the other Juraian Ships activating each ships' space trees. All the Juraian ships began to form their individual light-hawk wings. "Tsunami's power is finally released." Aeka stated as she watched Onimaru's legacy began to crumble. Aeka sprinted back to Shoji's side. She reached the knight and held him close. Aeka placed her left cheek against his forehead. A tear rolled down her cheek and landed on Shoji's closed eyelids. "Shoji?" Aeka called out. No response. Aeka checked his wrist and chest, there's no pulse and he isn't even breathing. The knight was silent. "I'm…" Aeka said and wept. "I'm so sorry I couldn't be here any sooner…" Aeka wept hard and silent as she held the noble knight in her arms. "I never had the chance to say thank you…" Aeka said regretfully. "And…and…" Aeka was interrupted by a peculiar sound coming from under Shoji's battle garment. She listened focused in on the melodious sound and listened hard. She reached into the garment's pocket and took out a small music box. The music it played was sweet and simplistic Aeka always loved it. The music box use to be Aeka's until she gave it to Shoji as token of their friendship and love. To be realeased... Tenchi Muyo: Ryoko's Love Alpha Requiem I By Evil Dr. Tran and Otaku Jay for writing the final battle sequence between Onimaru and Ryoko. Disclaimer: The Characters you're about to read are created and owned by AIC/ Pioneer. This fic written just for entertainment purposes and not for Moneymaking. Author's Notes: When you read this three part story line there will be events where most things are different. Due to very limited information that's been so far released, this chapter will not in any way try to resolve the mystery between Tsunami, Washu and Tokimi. Everything will fall into place as you read along. Don't ask questions just yet, for now, enjoy. Once in awhile, we all need a little controversy to keep things fresh. This time, negative reviews of this fic will be thoroughly ignored. Love it or hate it, Ryoko's Love is still alive. George Lucas pulled out the same technique 20 years ago by placing people in the middle of the action instead of the beginning. He used virtually unknown characters and it made him lots of money. ------------------------------------------------------------------ The Hunted On a faraway world named Jun, the jagged rock planet served its sole inhabitant's as a droid testing grounds. Along the crag landscape, Ryoko carried an exhausted Tenchi cradled in her arms in flight. "Damn." Ryoko muttered discontent to herself, she did not at all enjoy the sensation of being hunted like a pair of animals. Tenchi begun to stir slightly. "Feel...so...tired..." Tenchi said under a struggled breath. Ryoko heard Tenchi's worn out voice which filled her with intense frustration, sadness and anger. The pirate did her best to hold back the reservoir of tears. "Don't worry Tenchi, we're almost close to finding a place to hide." Up ahead, Ryoko noticed a wreckage of an old spacecraft. The pirate immediately decided to use the old wreck as a makeshift shelter. She carried Tenchi into the broken hull of the spacecraft, she examined the craft and figured it to been on the planet for at least fifty years, judging by its rusted old appearance. Ryoko leaned Tenchi against one of the ship's bulkheads, she gazed at Tenchi's battle-ridden face. She looked around for a cloth or anything she can use to clean her beloved's face. The ex-pirate ripped off the left sleeve from Tenchi's battle suit and wiped the battle debris off his face. After Ryoko swept the dirt off Tenchi's face, she sat down close to him, enveloped him between her arms and felt Tenchi's entire body shivering. Ryoko then proceeded to wipe the sweat and dirt off her forehead. After the moments of self cleaning, Ryoko felt an emotional shadow fell over her and tears welled up and distorted her vision. Immediately, she embraced Tenchi tighter in her arms and held him close to her heart. The pirate cried silently as waves of sorrow, anger, and worries clutched her soul. It all happened all so quickly... "That bitch!!" Ryoko screamed out angrily as she embraced Tenchi even more firm. Ryoko thought inquisitive. With a small flash from her energy blast, Ryoko started a small fire to keep herself and her loved one warm. She leaned back against the cold rusted bulkhead and rested Tenchi's head across her lap. The former space pirate closed her eyes and let her mind drift gradually, too tired too even mind the stinging pain sensed across her forehead. For the first time since Tenchi and Ryoko agreed to rescue Washu from Onimaru's clutches, the ex-pirate can finally rest and regain her strength. Instead of having Ryo-ohki bringing them straight to Washu, Onimaru saved the cabbit trouble and teleported Tenchi and Ryoko straight to Washu's captivity. To Ryoko's relief, Washu was still ok but contained in a stasis crystal; that was the good news. The bad news was that they were forced to flee from Onimaru's complex due to the fact that they were in the lion's den, from what little exchange from the brief meeting with Onimaru before she sent out the droids and activated the security lasers. Onimaru's motives of kidnapping Washu is still a mystery, all she did was brag about on how she was successful to attain Washu and not Dr. Clay. After being chased away from the complex, Tenchi and Ryoko had been both on the move for the past thirty eight hours evading and fighting numerous battle droids. "GOOOOOD MOOOORNING, in there!!!!" Screamed a loud voice that shook Ryoko awake. Startled, Ryoko looked around rapidly, she looked down and saw that Tenchi was still unconscious. "Tenchi, wake up!" Ryoko said loudly as she tried to nudge Tenchi from slumber. No response from him. "I said, Goood Morning !!" the voice yelled again. Ryoko's mind quickly cleared from it's mental stupor and immediately recognized the loud assailant's voice. Onimaru. The pirate gently placed Tenchi aside and stood up from the bulkhead. As she walked out of the makeshift shelter, Ryoko immediately spotted Onimaru, sitting alone atop a floating chair in front of her. "Well, I see that you're awake." The huntress chided. "I hope you had a good night's rest. Especially all alone with your dearly beloved, Terran-Juraian mutt." "Shove it, you lunatic." Ryoko replied as coldly as she could. Gleaming daggers into Onimaru's eyes. The red headed opponent narrowed her eyes and smirked. "Early morning crankiness, I see." "It was a bright and beautiful morning until you showed up." The floating chair moved in closer until the point where Onimaru and Ryoko were face to face. "Is that so?" Ryoko narrowed her gold feral eyes and frowned. No reply. Onimaru chuckled as she pulled away. "I see. You try to be resilient, Ryoko. Let me just put it plainly, that you and your Tenchi have demonstrated well in handling my drones..." "They were just stupid toys to play with. Easy to break." Ryoko said as she crossed her arms and turned the other cheek. Ryoko waited for a response. Suddenly, strong metal tendrils from Onimaru's chair, coiled around Ryoko's neck, arms and torso and pressed her against the ground. The chair sped off dragging Ryoko through the desert grounds. The gravel and sand was kicked into the air in Ryoko's wake. Ryoko felt immense pain through all the scrapes and bumps from the harsh drudgery. Ryoko struggled to free herself from the tendrils but then, she was immediately released; the ex-pirate painfully stood up and found that she was at least a half mile away from Tenchi. Ryoko shot a killer's look at Onimaru. "You bitch!! I'm gonna get you for doing that!" Onimaru floated away from Ryoko. "Well then, if you're so confident about facing my 'toys', then you'll have no problem facing these." The chair moved out of Ryoko's view, to her dismay a very large swarm of aerial droids were flying towards her and a small column of battle droids were sprinting towards her all with the obvious intention to kill. The pirate gave out a quick estimate in numbers, at least two dozen. Each of the individual machines were identical to each other, all with the basic hour-glass shape. In the air, the number of automatons that threatened her was only half a dozen. Ryoko gazed up at Onimaru as she readied herself for battle. "You coward!!! Why don't you fight me yourself instead sending out your damned pawns!!!" "Don't worry, I will. Its just that now isn't the time for that." Onimaru answered. "I'll be watching, good luck." She winked and floated off. Ryoko adjusted herself mentally for the upcoming battle, drew out her energy blade, and faced her surrounding opponents. The cyan warrior breathed in deep and hard to calm her nerves down, she closed her eyes briefly to give one quick prayer to the Kami. With only one of her gems, this was going to take a miracle. Ryoko opened her eyes and stood in battle-ready stance. Moments before the first of her attackers arrived, Ryoko quickly thought of a strategy to even out the odds a little. Ryoko crouched to the rock ground on her knees and hands, almost resembling a cat stalking its prey. As Ryoko concentrated, she felt her only real gem glowing with increasing power, Ryoko was channeling energy from the ground. Around the pirate, various eerie forms of spirits swirled in the air, convoluting into one massive form. Ryoko knew that there two sides of creating the demon-ghost, it will most likely turn against her that was the only downside. The major upside, was that the Demon-ghost will try to obliterate anything that appeared to be moving, which is what the pirate needs in order to overcome this ordeal. The only disadvantage is...well...refer to Episode 4 of the OVA series. Meanwhile in mid-air, a short distance away, Onimaru sat in her chair, surprised and amused by Ryoko's ability to form a demon-ghost. This was indeed going to be very interesting. The female spectator watched as flares of red energy bolts destroyed a number of her battle drones. Another malevolent smile appeared on the hunter scientist's face as she admired Ryoko's cunning use of the demon-ghost. Suddenly, she felt the air stir around close to her and sensed a new but familiar presence. "What can I do for you, D3?" Onimaru bemused. "About to show me my papers?" "If that is how you beings usually put it in this dimension, yes. I have left the invasion fleet behind to keep the Juraian fleet and the Galaxy Police busy. They are still not aware of my presence. Both organizations now hold you responsible for the attack in Orion and Planet Jurai." "Yes, I know. Just as planned, you wanted total freedom of movement while I kept both governments busy." "Now our task fleet is crippled. Hardly important enough to continue the diversionary invasion any longer. We have achieved our objectives." "Yep. As planned, you and Tokimi are off the hook. The Juraians and the Galaxy Police want me dead." Onimaru chuckled. "And the best thing of all, throughout this whole ordeal, they're still not aware that the both of you exist. Okay, Washu's ready for you in my lab. Just push the shiny red button to get her out of that stasis crystal." "I gratify you for your loyal services to Lady Tokimi." "No problem. Don't forget, to relay the growth generator to my ship. I'm going to need that device of yours just in case." "Don't worry, I will never forget. Keep in mind that it will only work once." The old man said sternly. "By the way, your job here in this part of the dimension is finished. Why do you continue to interact with Ryoko as if she was your play thing?" The crimson haired villainous grinned. "I don't really know, I find pleasure in harming those that are less fortunate than I am. My way of seeing what they're capable of, to see if I can out smart them and out fight them." The disguised Demi-god narrowed his eyes. "I see...you are a hunter." "If you put it that way, yes I am." Onimaru confirmed, as she beamed happily. "Are you even aware that you are putting yourself in danger if you stay on this planet any longer?" "Yes, I'm very aware and that's why it's so fun. The more odds that are piled against me, the better." After hearing out the Hunter/scientist, the human D3 looked nearly bewildered despite his stoic appearance. "As a hunter, you know that there is a cardinal rule about underestimating your prey." After a few moments of waiting, no reply was heard from his attendee. Much to the demigod's surprise, Onimaru didn't hear him out. It was a case of in one ear and out the other. He narrowed his eyes in annoyance of her unjustified arrogance. D3 admitted that he himself was arrogant but only on the scale of physical and mental existence. Her high nosed attitude deserved no respect and thus, it will all add up to nothing more than bad karma. "I must depart now, I thank you again." "You're welcome." Onimaru returned without turning around at all to acknowledge D3's presence. In a flash, D3 departed Onimaru's side. Battle's Climax On the outer rim of the galaxy, the final battle between Jurai and Tokimi's fleet is about to take place. The Galaxy Police forces have commenced attacks on Tokimi's fleet while the Juraian and Galaxy Police battleships maintained their distance from the fight. For several long minutes the Juraian fleet watched as the galaxy police unleashed wave after wave of attacks on the invaders, not avoiding the battle but waiting for their signal to attack. The small fighters of the Galaxy Police attacked along side the Juraian fighters, annoying the enemy dreadnoughts and keeping the enemy fighters away from the Juraian and Galaxy Police battleships. Finally, the signal to attack finally arrived, the once mighty flagship of Tokimi's Dominion fleet started to engulf itself in flames. The Juraians and the Galaxy Police battleships opened fired and engaged the enemy. Inside the burning inferno, Shoji carried a barely conscience Aeka to the escape pods while Mihoshi followed suit firing as they ran to keep their mechanical pursuers at bay. Then the firing from their pursuers ceased but the two kept on running. Aeka opened her eyes and found that she was no longer a child, she was finally transformed back to her normal age. Aeka gazed up and found that Shoji was still alright but she noticed something very wrong... "Shoji! You're wounded, put me down!" Aeka shouted. Shoji obliged to what the princess insisted. As soon as she was placed on the floor all three continued on their escape. Through the corner of her eye, Aeka briefly saw the pained expression on Shoji's face but he quickly changed it. She passed a quick glance at one of his sides and saw that blood is exposed through the cloth of Shoji's battle Suit. As they finally reached the Escape pods, Aeka looked out through one of the ship's portholes and saw that the Juraian battleships have initiated their attacks. A look of disbelief formed on her face, Shoji and Mihoshi ran up to Aeka and saw the expression on the princess. "What's the matter, Aeka?" Asked, Mihoshi. "Our battleships, their Light-hawk wings has not formed yet!" "WHAT?!?" Shoji yelled. "That's not possible! I've already deprogrammed Onimaru's jamming between Tsunami and the space trees!" For a moment, Shoji thought of the reason for the set back, then the thought came to him. "It might've been due to Onimaru's Zero units." Shoji stated grimly. "They probably reactivated the jamming device." Mihoshi walked over to one of the pods and started the launch code sequence. The ship began to jolt violently due to the various explosions. Aeka walked towards the pod and noticed that Shoji was not walking behind her. The princess quickly turned around and saw what she was dreading the most; Shoji was turning back towards the Ship's bridge. Aeka quickly grabbed Shoji's arm and held on tight. "W- where are you going?!?" Aeka yelled, doing her best to hold her tears back. "I have to go back and make sure the jamming device is put out, permanently! All of the Universe is depending on this!" "Let me go with you!! You're wounded, you can't do it all by yourself!" "NO! You have to go, it's too risky! It's not safe here, you'll be killed and you are Jurai's first crown!" "No! I will not go!" Shoji grabbed Aeka's shoulders. "YOU CAN'T STAY WITH ME! Your safety must be is most import-!!!" Shoji was interrupted by a sharp pain that coursed through his body and held his side. He held out his hand and saw that it was covered with blood. Aeka quickly calmed and tried to look firm. "Shoji, you are just too wounded! I must help you! I order it." Shoji was silent by Aeka's order. A long silent moment passed, he straightened up and gazed at Aeka. "I'm sorry Princess Aeka but the answer is no. This is one issue I can disobey your direct order." Stunned by Shoji's first ever insubordination, Aeka lost all hope and tears begun to burst out. "Y-you can't!" "I'm sorry for what I'm about to do." Shoji apologized. Immediately, Shoji pushed Aeka into the escape pod and quickly gave a glance at Mihoshi. "W-what?! NO! PLEASE DON'T, SHOJI!!!!" Aeka begged. Mihoshi understood and grabbed onto Aeka and held her tight. Without a response, Shoji closed the pod door on Aeka, and ran off towards the bridge. Aeka managed to escape Mihoshi's grasp and crawled towards the pod doors. Mihoshi immediately launched the probe. Aeka banged wildly at the pod doors, screaming Shoji's name repeatedly. "I'm so sorry, Aeka." Mihoshi said quietly as she watched Aeka in her most vulnerable state. The escape pod reached space and headed back towards the Battleship Tsunami. Aeka's cries gradually quieted down and she watched as the ship that contained Shoji continued to shrink in view. Shoji ran towards the bridge, enduring the pain in his side. As he sprinted down the walkway, he heard several sounds coming from the rubble. He stopped in his tracks to see what or who made the sounds. Under the rubble that in front of Shoji, Onimaru's last battle droid appeared with the objective to prevent or kill Shoji from returning to the bridge. The mech drone had an hour glass-like figure, the bottom half was the repulse lift to keep it off ground and the upper portion had many mechanical arms, each with different types of weapons. the drone's head was diamond- shaped and it had a piercing red Cyclops eye. The machine moved back away from Shoji to block the entryway that led to the bridge. Shoji activated his energy blade and charged the fierce looking drone. As soon as the Battle drone identified Shoji's attack maneuvers, it opened fire on him. Fortunately, he had already anticipated the attack and he skidded to the side to avoid the barrage of searing lasers. Shoji reached the side of the drone and gave out a battle cry. He sliced two of the mechanical arms in half, jumped on top of the battle drone, and barrel flipped in mid-flight to avoid oncoming fire. Shoji dropped a smoke bomb as he reached the floor. The smoke was released as he landed in front of the behemoth, within a split second, he turned around and charged up his inner energy. As he charged, he felt a solid pain swell up from his side due to his inner channeling. The drone tried regain order within the confusion, it finally found Shoji but another three its arms was destroyed by Shoji's energy blast. Shoji tried to charge forward but a surge of excruciating pain coursed throughout the side of his body. The knight hugged himself with one arm trying to regain his focus and dull the pain a little. As he concentrated, he can taste the faint salty taste of blood. Suddenly, three probes launched from the battle drone rammed into his side and slammed the noble against the bulkheads. Shoji held back the urge to scream despite the overwhelming flood of pain that bombarded his senses. Back to Planet Jun Ryoko tried to keep away as much distance between her and the chaotic apparition while at the same time dodging fire from the machines. Ryoko teleported from one point to the other, slicing and dicing at the battle drones. A short distance away from the pirate, her demon-ghost gave out a fierce roar as it swung it's powerful arms at the ground based mechs. As Ryoko and the ghost destroyed bot after bot, various pieces of debris and shrapnel rained to ground. Meanwhile, Tenchi slowly regained his senses and felt his mind gradually crawling out of the cloud of sleep. Tenchi was suddenly startled by a figure who stood in front of him. As the prince's vision cleared, he immediately recognized the man. "W-what do you want?" Tenchi asked groggily. "I am here to help. This will assist you in your rescue." The tall man walked over to Tenchi and handed the prince his Tenchi-ken which contained the rest of Ryoko's gems. "What do you mean rescue?" Tenchi asked. The prince suddenly realized that Ryoko was missing. "Where's Ryoko!?" "She is currently in a predicament devised by an 'ex- employee'. "Why are you doing this? After causing all that conflict with Jurai and the Galaxy Police? What is it all for?" "Apprehending Washu was our main objective this is a matter that is far beyond your comprehension." "Even if it costs innocent lives?!?" Tenchi yelled out, obviously disgusted. The Demi-god did not even give any regard to Tenchi's remark. D3 simply started to make his exit by slowly vanishing into thin air causing a slight gust in the air. " As far as I am concerned. Onimaru's the real cause of all the trouble, I and Lady Tokimi are just establishing the means to complete our objective. By handing you what you need, I hope that you don't think of us as totally heartless. I wish you luck." Tenchi was silent after a few moments as he contemplated this enigmatic revelation. Disturbed by the fact that EVERYBODY was just a pawn to Tokimi's real intentions. The prince shook off the notion, he quickly hopped on to his feet and ran towards the sounds of a far off skirmish. Ryoko's demon-ghost fought the ground based drones with ease. Each of the machines' fired their lasers at the apparition but the ghost was unscathed. Most of the robots that had the misfortune of confronting the specter, ended up becoming a huge pile of scrap heap. Ryoko held herself well in battle as she looped around her last pair of aerial attackers and then rolled around and destroyed them with her energy shot. Suddenly, a barrage of fire came from below her, Ryoko re-energized her red blade and sped towards the source of the volley. The remaining ground-type battle mechs fired wildly at the speeding demon caller, every shot missed her as she phased in out of physical planes. Ryoko zipped through the last of the drones with her sword; she whipped her blade from side to side after each drone she passed. After flying through the mechanized squad, Ryoko flew straight up to the air, turned around and saw that the squad she attacked were all in pieces. The pirate suddenly felt very uneasy despite her victory. Ryoko did a quick scan of the ravaged area, searching side to side for Onimaru. Without warning, a searing-hot sensation flashed across her back, the cyan-haired fighter yelped in pain. Her blade disappeared from her hand as she fell towards the earth. Ryoko impacted the ground hard front-first to prevent from landing on her lacerated back. The pirate propped her torso on her hands, turned around to see that Onimaru was floating in mid-air armed with a shadow blade. Suddenly, Ryoko heard a close, loud roar emanating from across the field in front of her. She faced forward to find that the Demon-ghost she created was running towards her, coming in for the kill. Ryoko quickly ignored the pained sensations coming from her back and hopped into flight barely escaping the claws of the angry spirit. As the pirate pulled out of harm's way, Ryoko gasped as she realized a horrible discovery. Her healing ability was not kicking in to get reduce the pain and rid the laceration on her back. Ryoko shot a bewildered look at Onimaru. "YOU! What did you to me?!?" The hunter took notice of her prey's mixture of anger and fear. Onimaru smiled triumphantly. "My shadow blade has rendered your healing abilities to nil. Let us see how well you can fare against me. But first, I don't want any distractions." Onimaru switched her attentions toward Ryoko's chaotic demon-ghost. She held her hand up, aimed, and shot out a huge blast of shadow energy at the apparition. The dark energy projection blanketed the evil spirit, nullifying it from existence. The huntress turned her attentions back to Ryoko. "Okay, demon caller." Onimaru grimaced with a hunger for blood in her eyes. "Ready or not, here I come!!!" Ryoko did not at all respond to her opponent's overconfident jive. She breathed in a lung full of air to hold back the pain registering from down along her backside. The pirate closed her eyes, to regain her concentration. In a fraction of a second, Ryoko formed another energy blade in her hands and took in the best defensive position for aerial combat. Onimaru sped and collided in to Ryoko at a near-blinding speed, fronting each other face-to-face. Their blades made a cross while Ryoko was pushed across the air by her opponent's charge. Ryoko could feel her antagonist's frightful glare. The huntress suddenly whipped around the pirate and managed to place a metallic lasso around her. Ryoko found herself restrained by a strong rope as Onimaru pulled away. Onimaru laughed as she pulled Ryoko further up the air and then suddenly whipping the pirate downwards. The pirate side-landed hard against the ground. The forceful impact pushed Ryoko into a slight daze as pain emanated throughout the left side of her body. Ryoko coughed under the dust. "Did that feel good? How about another one? Good, ok!" Onimaru, exclaimed happily as she pulled Ryoko up into air and then suddenly pulled her back to the ground with the metallic whip. "I intend to pound you into the ground until you turn in to a bag of crushed bones!" After hearing her opponent's latest intentions, Ryoko allowed herself to be pulled back into the air. At the very last moment, before Onimaru was able to slam the pirate back into the ground, Ryoko straightened the front half of her cyan mane and shot a barrage of hair needles into Onimaru's arms and face. The result caused the huntress to scream in pain. Ryoko broke free of Onimaru's restraint and charged up her energy. Before Onimaru was able to shake off Ryoko's hair needles off her arms and face, an energy discharge impacted her body. The villain fell to the ground. To prevent the Huntress from reacting any further, Ryoko immediately took the opportunity and charged her opponent. The pirate reached the grounded mad lady and swung her sword. Unfortunately, Onimaru was able to raise her forcefield in time to deflect Ryoko's attack. The pirate pulled away as she gazed at the huntress's face and saw that her opponent's face has transformed. Onimaru's skin has turned darker and her eyes were glowing demonically green. "What the hell are you?" Ryoko asked, trying not show any hint of intimidation even though she was. "In all my years, I have never let anyone go as far as touching my face during battle. Let alone cheap needles." Onimaru growled. "With a face like yours who wouldn't?" Ryoko added with clear satisfaction. "I'm through playing with you. I'll show you for defacing me." "What the?!?" Ryoko, questioned. Bewildered by a sudden formation of a dark tornado formulating around her. Ryoko found herself encapsulated within the shadowy vortex. Onimaru stood outside the whirlwind, she held out her hand and balled her hand into a fist. The man-sized twister began to shrink and close in on Ryoko. Throughout the ordeal, Ryoko felt the violent air, a sensation of a thousand razors cutting her face and through out her body. The dark vortex dissipated and Ryoko felt Onimaru's punch into her lower torso. Ryoko found herself held up in the air by her opponent, her mind struggling to crawl out of its haze. Tenchi finally arrived the battle field, to his horror, he saw Ryoko in Onimaru's grasp. His beloved pirate was not looking well, Ryoko's battle suit contained numerous cuts and her face was dripping with blood. To even further Tenchi's anxiety for Ryoko's life, he saw the laceration on his loved one that went across her back. Tenchi asked wildly to himself. Suddenly, Tenchi started to hear audible screeching noises coming from above. The prince gazed up into the sky and found that the source of the screeching sounds were coming from projectiles heading towards the surface. The projectiles looked like missiles of various shapes and sizes, each with a smoky tail caused by the friction of zipping through the atmosphere. In other words, Tenchi quickly identified them as being meteorites. Ryoko coughed as Onimaru held her in the air, the pirate could taste the salty blood in her mouth. "What are you waiting for? Aren't you going to kill me?" "Not yet. Look over there, my dear Ryoko, isn't that your beloved prince?" The pirate looked over across the field to find that Tenchi was running towards them to rescue her. She clearly saw that Tenchi was now in his Juraian battle suit and armed with Tenchi- ken. Then Ryoko shot a threatening glance at Onimaru. "If you hurt him in any way, I swear, I'm going to kill you!" Onimaru chuckled. "Don't worry, I won't..., but they will." The huntress pointed towards the cloudy skies above them. "The hell do you mean? What the!!!" Ryoko yelled out as she saw a small meteorite impacted the ground next to Tenchi. The explosion of the rock's impact caused the prince to fly into the air. The prince landed on the earth hard. To the pirate's horror, Tenchi did not squirm or move after his hard impact to the floor. The cyan warrior's feral eyes turned even more fierce. Ryoko charged up her remaining gem's energy, aimed her palms at her enemy and fired a bolt of energy into Onimaru's chest. The captor released Ryoko. The pirate immediately flew towards Tenchi's side. "TEEENCHIII!!!!!" Ryoko screamed as she jetted towards her loved one. Onimaru fell back as Ryoko escaped her grasp. The energy bolt she received to the chest by the pirate did not at all do any harm. The Huntress smiled hellishly and watched as her prey flew off. "Go ahead, Ryoko!" Onimaru yelled out. "Fly to him! Can you avoid being hit by the incoming meteor shower?!" As Ryoko flew she ignored her opponent's remarks, her mind was too focused on praying whether Tenchi was alright or not. Tears welled up in her eyes when she reached him. The prince was laying on his side, Ryoko could not see his face from her position. The pirate finally reached her beloved, Ryoko gently held Tenchi in her arms and looked at him. She thanked the Kami that he was not armed. Then Ryoko noticed three familiar marks on Tenchi's forehead, they were the signs of the light-hawk. Suddenly, her surroundings became even more chaotic as numerous explosions occurred caused by the meteor showers. Then Ryoko spotted a flying rock falling towards her and the prince. Immediately, Ryoko turned around in front of Tenchi to shield him from the imminent explosion. The meteor impacted the ground in front of the protective pirate. The energy of the explosion pushed the two across the field. The heat, debris, and sheer force of the explosion slammed against Ryoko's lacerated back. The two landed hard on the ground. Ryoko still had Tenchi in her arms, a surge of intense pain welled up through out her body. Ryoko screamed in agony, she nearly lost consciousness. The emblem on Tenchi's forehead started to glow. At the sound of Ryoko's painful screams, the prince regained his senses, he can sense the power of the light hawk wings struggling to be activated. All he needed was more focus. Tenchi looked to his side and saw Ryoko on her arms, her face was showed signs of internal struggle, and her body trembled under intense pain. "R-Ryoko?" Tenchi muttered. The pirate did not respond at all due to the pain. Suddenly, the prince heard a woman laughing from the chaos of the meteor shower. Through the smoke and blazing fires he could see Onimaru's silhouette walking towards him and Ryoko. Tenchi still had the Tenchi-ken in hand, he regained his train of thought and pointed the hilt of the blade towards Ryoko. "Ryoko, focus your thoughts on these gems!" The pirate started to focus and concentrate on her two remaining gems. Turning Point A few clicks away, Aeka immediately felt more uneasy when she felt a presence calling out to her. The escape pod was near approaching the landing docks of Tsunami. Mihoshi looked over to Aeka and noticed that the princess was in her battle suit. "A-Aeka!?!" Mihoshi asked nervously. "W-what do you think you're doing?" "I'm going to back to Shoji." Aeka said quickly without a hint of hesitation. Mihoshi moved forward to Aeka and held the princess's arm. "You can't!! It's too dangerous!" "I don't care." Aeka said stoically. The she repelled Mihoshi's arm away with her force field and surrounded herself within the barrier. Aeka opened the pod doors, flew out into the vacuums of space. Mihoshi watched helplessly as Aeka exited the pod, immediately, Mihoshi closed the pod doors to return back to the Tsunami. Using, her natural Juraian power and training, Aeka channeled all her rage and passions into flying back to Shoji's side as soon as possible. Like a red-purple shooting star, Aeka shot through the battle field of space. Meanwhile, four more launched probes were on top of Shoji, pain and anger continued to boil within the struggling knight. Under the attacks of blows and punches, Shoji closed his eyes and focused his mind. After several moments, the Knight repelled the probes off of him with the remainder of his force field. The wounded knight struggled to his feet, picked up his energy blade and charged. He neared towards the closest probe and chopped off it's stubby mechanical arm. Shoji terminated the unit with another slice of the blade. Then, two of the remaining probes confronted Shoji with a new attack. One of the Units tethered an energy whip around Shoji's neck, strangling him while the other shot lasers at him. Sensation after new sensation of pain wreaked havoc through out the knight's body. Shoji fought the temptation to throw up, he gritted his teeth and tried for one risky maneuver. He shot his energy blade at the whip wielding drone's probe unit and destroyed the monstrosity. The whip that strangled him dissipated and he painfully ran towards his dormant blade while the other probe shot at him. Shoji reached his blade as he began to pull the blade from the body of the destroyed probe, the Cyclops drone appeared and shot a charged bolt of laser at the knight. The laser exploded in front of Shoji and kept him away from his weapon. He was on his back, his vision blurry, the only thing he felt was pain which told him that he was still alive. Shoji coughed up blood and as he gradually regained his vision. The last two probes were jetting straight towards him. Shoji turned over to his side and quickly leaned upwards. The probe units were closing on Shoji as he regained his footing and got into a ready stance. He breathed hard and deep, suddenly, a wave pain surged through him and he fell forward and landing on his knees. At the very last moment, the probes were swept off by an unseen projectile and destroyed. Not caring whatever happened to the droids, the knight lost all his remaining strength due to overwhelming pain and fell back flat on his back. Aeka made it in time to destroy the last probes before they reached Shoji. As the machines exploded, Aeka turned around and saw the battle drone looming towards her. Aeka narrowed her amethyst eyes and tapped into the Juraian energy pool. The princess held her hands up and released a brilliant beam of light. The Jurai beam sliced the battle drone and obliterated it. Aeka looked around for the Guardian Knight. What she saw next, hit her straight to the heart. The site of Shoji's battered body shook Aeka. "Shoji!!" Aeka screamed as she ran towards him. The princess reached his side and kneeled close to him. "No..." Shoji whispered. "What, Shoji, what?" Aeka asked her eyes welling up, her nose almost running. "You...deactivate...the...the..." Aeka quickly understood. She stood up and looked down at him. "I'll.." Aeka struggled. "I'll be back, Shoji." As she turned towards the bridge's entryway, she saw that under the battle ravaged face of the knight, laid a very slight smile. Aeka used her limited abilities of flight and shot towards the bridge. She reached the bridge and headed straight towards the terminal that activated the jamming device. In the middle of the room, the huge view screen showed the progress of battle, at the moment, the good guys were about to fallback. Aeka switched the jamming off and immediately, the Flagship Tsunami began to glow brightly. On the view screen, Tsunami glowed, several bright rays of astral light shot from the battleship and into the other Juraian Ships activating each ships' space trees. All the Juraian ships began to form their individual light-hawk wings. Onimaru "What's this?!?" Onimaru ceased her demented laughter as soon as the alarm on her wrist signaled that her Light Hawk inhibitor was offline. "This can't be happening!" A buried conscious deep within her mind spoke with great approval. "Shut up!" Onimaru ordered shutting out the second mind. The scales of glory has tipped away from her favor and rapidly approaching Ryoko's side. She looked over to Ryoko and saw that the pirate's body had become luminous. Kicking herself for being overconfident, the Huntress did her most to let assess the reality of the situation. "Looks like I'll be going down hill from here." The huntress flipped open her wrist to reveal a small computer panel and activated D3's growth generation device. She proceeded to key in all the essential algorithms to insure that there WILL be a Plan B. A few hundred feet away, Tenchi felt a familiar yet powerful feeling returned from inside his body. He knew and recognized immediately that his ability to form the Light Hawk Wings had finally returned. To Love One's Loss "Tsunami's power is finally released." Aeka stated as she watched Tokimi's false legacy began to crumble. Aeka sprinted back to Shoji's side. She reached the knight and held him close. Aeka placed her left cheek against his forehead. A tear rolled down her cheek and landed Shoji's on closed eyelids. "Shoji?" Aeka called out. No response. Aeka checked his wrist and chest, there's no pulse and he isn't even breathing. The knight was silent. "I'm..." Aeka said and wept. "I'm so sorry I couldn't be here any sooner..." Aeka wept hard and silent as she held the noble knight in her arms. "I never had the chance to say thank you..." Aeka said regretfully. "And...and..." Aeka was interrupted by a peculiar sound coming from under Shoji's battle garment. She focused in on the melodious sound and listened hard. She reached into the garment's pocket and took out a small music box. The music it played was sweet and simplistic. Aeka always loved it. The music box use to be Aeka's until she gave it to Shoji as token of their friendship and love. Ryoko's Duel Upon receiving the gems on her wrists and neck, the severe wounds that covered Ryoko's body were instantly healed. The pirate's golden eyes were suddenly replaced by glowing crimson orbs. The gem on the base of Ryoko's neck started to illuminate. Several brilliant beams of light formed around Ryoko into an incoherent mass, slowly becoming light hawk wings. Tenchi noticed the bewildered look on Onimaru's face and couldn't help but smile. The prince then looked over to Ryoko, her eyes were glowing red but not in a menacing way, Tenchi spotted that her wounds had healed completely, and he marveled at her brilliant light hawk wings. The pirate resembled an angel. She had four feather-like wings outstretched along her back and a pair from her neck. Tenchi figured the wings on her neck were probably for defensive purposes. The once cloudy gray skies parted away above their heads and gave sight to the emerald bright sky above. The meteor shower had long stopped since Ryoko's wings appeared, either that or merely diverted. After the transformation, Ryoko felt the rush of renewing energy coursing throughout her body. A feeling she barely remembered from her days as Kagato's pawn. Only this time, the ex-pirate isn't a pawn to any bloodthirsty maniac, she is in control of her own destiny and she will let nothing interfere with that right. Especially some demented harpy who is hell bent on starting up a feud. Tenchi sensed a rejuvenation throughout his body as Light Hawk Wings formed. The Prince held out his hands to touch the pair of LH Wings, ready to do their function. The rush of transformation turned his Juraian battle suit into a gleaming white uniform. Feeling the power course through her body Ryoko channeled all her strength and all of her anger and hatred into an immense ball of extreme crimson energy. Ryoko aimed at her opponent and hurled the focused projection at Onimaru. Onimaru was thrown backwards and into the air by the blast. In mid air, her vision was returned and Onimaru saw Ryoko pilling towards her. The huntress barely had enough time to raise any semblance of a shield from Ryoko's onslaught. The enhanced pirate saw her opponent's weakness from her attack. Ryoko re-directed one of her light hawk wings into the form of a glowing white scimitar-like sword. A blood curling battle cry sounded off as she wildly swung the sword in an arc. Ryoko attempted to slash through Onimaru's shoulder but it was blocked by her target's shadow blade. "I see your friends succeeded in disabling my device. No matter, perhaps we can have a proper duel now... still the outcome will be the same..." Onimaru said apathetically "Your slow demise!" The huntress fired an energy bolt into Ryoko's midriff. The blast was easily absorbed through the light hawk wings. Onimaru frowned with growing frustration. "You have a lot of power than originally I gave you credit for, PIRATE!" Onimaru spat. "Perhaps your weakness is your fondness of that feeble Juraian prince you adore so much! Isn't young love sweet, unfortunately, it will be short lived!" she cackled as a black energy blast amassed in Onimaru's hands pointed towards Tenchi below. "Leave Tenchi out of this you bitch!" Ryoko screamed as she threw herself in front of Onimaru's hands, barely catching all the blast in the four of her light hawk wings. Suddenly, the upper two wings to the side of Ryoko's neck unfurled and gripped Onimaru by the shoulders. Ryoko Dazed from the impact erratically shot upwards and into Jun's upper atmosphere, Thought, Ryoko. After regained her senses by the sudden change of atmosphere (Or lack of), Onimaru noticed the week link in Ryoko's defenses. She charged up an energy blast and aimed it directly at the bright red gem in Ryoko's neck. Upon impact the gem released a blinding white flash. Ryoko screamed and let her embrace of Onimaru go. Feeling the intense pain of the energy back flash through her system Ryoko realized the dark energy of Onimaru's attack flow through her body. Onimaru clutched her head in agony, the psychic feedback from the attack was her only chance of winning. In excruciating pain, Ryoko focused the last of her energy reserves into a triple light hawk-edged lance. The pirate quickly and swiftly thrusted the weapon through Onimaru's heart. Onimaru's scream would have made a banshee proud; it was like a million blackboards being scratched in unison. A thick black vapor escaped from Onimaru's eye sockets and mouth, leaving a gray husk that was Onimaru's body hanging lifeless on the tip of Ryoko's lance. The pirate jerked the lance free of Onimaru's body. The blade exited Onimaru's body. In the cold void of space, the shell started to dissolve into a fine gray dust. Ryoko felt a blanket of exhaustion slowly crept through out her body. Ryoko decided to head back to the surface of Jun and search for Tenchi. Meanwhile, back on the surface of Jun, Tenchi destroyed a few more drones which insisted on not staying dead from the previous battle. "Who's next?" Tenchi challenged at the immense pile of scrap strewn across the desert in front of him. The prince wiped the sweat from his forehead. Tenchi thought, , Almost as if to answer, a blinding white flash appeared in the sky above. "Tenchi!!" Ryoko shouted as she descended towards the planet surface. The pirate spotted a pile of metal objects with smoke pouring from them. Ryoko then headed towards the decimated battle drones in hope of finding Tenchi. Tenchi felt a prickle on the back of his neck. The prince spun around, ready to confront more drones, only to find Ryoko encased in her light hawk wings speeding towards him. Stopping not much further than a foot away from Tenchi. Ryoko threw her arms around Tenchi and embraced him in a killer hug, one that Masaki would be proud of. For a well deserved untracked time, The couple savored each others' warmth and security. Ryoko finally released Tenchi when she heard the familiar mewing of her partner Ryo-ohki through the re-established mental link. Meanwhile, in the vacuum of space, a familiar cloud of gray dust floated serving as a cold memorial to Onimaru's death. Suddenly, out of subspace, a ship appeared alongside the dust cloud. A hatch opened and a little drone appeared, it collected a sample of the dust with a metal cap at both ends, and flew back into the craft. The device promptly turned around, and re-entered subspace. The Spaceship Ryo-ohki now hovered above Tenchi and Ryoko ready to pick the both of them up. Tenchi looked over to Ryoko and noticed that her Light Hawk wings were dissipating. The pirate's legs started to wobble as the wings disappeared. Tenchi quickly took notice of Ryoko's escalating fatigue. "Ryoko? Are you alright?" Tenchi asked with concern. Ryoko shook her head negatively and started to falter on her stand. "I'm so tired..." Ryoko started to close her eyes. Which signaled Tenchi to immediately scoop the pirate into his arms. And so he did, the pirate was cradled in the Prince's arms. Ryo- ohki's transport beam, teleported the two on to the cabbit ship's bridge. "Miya? miya?" The ship asked with great concern. "Its alright, Ryo-ohki." Tenchi assured the pet spaceship. "We're both ok. Please, take us home." Tenchi sat down at the command console chair with Ryoko in his arms. He looked down at his sleeping beauty and smiled. The prince felt hot tears gathering in his eyes. He welcomed the long deserved sensation of relief, the weight of the universe was lifted off from his shoulders. The Masaki have survived the long crisis along with his love. Tenchi gazed at Ryoko and took notice of her new battle scars. The sight of them made the prince uneasy and sad. The scars were poignant testimonies for the space pirates struggle. Ryoko went through hell and back trying to stay alive as long as possible. If it weren't for the success of Aeka's part, the both of them wouldn't have survived. Tenchi held Ryoko closer to his thumping heart. He prayed to the Kami and thanked them for her survival and resilience. "Tenchi..." Ryoko whispered in her sleep. Ryoko's voice was barely audible to the young Masaki but he was able to figure out what the pirate said. Tenchi gently brushed Ryoko's bangs aside and softly planted a kiss on her forehead. He leaned against the command chair and relaxed. He closed his eyes and heard Ryoko's soft rhythmic breathing. His mind drifted off to sleep intent on finding Ryoko's astral in his relaxing dreamscape, not intending to wake up until they reached earth. Home sweet home. Departure The once mighty flagship of Tokimi's fleet is now a ghost ship. Two lone individuals were still onboard, a lifeless Shoji laid cradled in Aeka's arms, his face was finally dry from the moisture of the Princess's tears. An hour had passed since the battle had drawn to a close. The remnants of what was a mighty invasion fleet had fled. Through the view screen, Aeka solemnly watched as all the allied ships moved around the battlefield each craft had their search lights on, seeking out the princess. Suddenly, the amethyst-haired princess heard footsteps coming towards her from the hallway. "Aeka! I have finally found you!" "M-mother?" The lady queen embraced Aeka in a mother's embrace. "I thought I would never be able find you!! And you're back to normal!!! You're not a child anymore!! I am so relieved!!! Let's go back to the-" Misaki suddenly cut herself off as she noticed her daughter's guardian peacefully cradled in Aeka's arms. "Is..." Misaki struggled to speak. "Is he dead?" Aeka looked down sadly at Shoji and quietly nodded. "I am so sorry Aeka. I did not realize..." The queen trailed off. "Its alright, mother." Aeka assured sadly. For several silent moments Misaki watched as her daughter held on to Shoji as if not wanting to leave his side. The long haired royal placed her hand on Aeka's shoulders. "Come Aeka, we must leave. The shuttle is waiting for us, we have to go back to Jurai." "I..., I do not want to." "Do you love him?" Suddenly, Aeka held Shoji closer and tighter. The elder princess began to tremble and cry. Misaki moved in closer to her daughter and held the princess in her arms. "I was so close! It is unfair!" Aeka cried sadly. "I know, I understand how you feel about him-" "No mother! You don't understand!" The princess interrupted. "Understand what?" "I didn't get a chance to say the words to him." Misaki thought for a moment on what Aeka meant. She contemplated and realized what Aeka really meant. "I'm so sorry things did not turn out the way they should be." Aeka was still silent, quietly finding out a way to crawl out of her dark mood. "Come, Aeka. Let's go home. You will feel much better once you are back on Jurai." "Yes,...I need Jurai, but I just can't leave him here. I'm reluctant to leave." Aeka said sadly as she caressed Shoji's tranquil face. "Will father try to arrange my marriage, once I return?" "I am not sure." Misaki replied honestly. "If he does, I refuse to go back." "Now, I don't think you should worry about that. Your father is not TOTALLY careless of your feelings. Don't worry, my dear Aeka. I'll tell him not to do such a thing. The royal family can do fine without requiring your marriage." Aeka's face finally lit up and hugged her mother with a strongly. "Thank you mother." "My pleasure, Aeka. I will always support you no matter what. Now lets go, our shuttle is waiting for us at the landing docks." Aeka gently placed Shoji onto the deck where she stood. The princess looked down at her former guardian, a sad look on her face. "Once I leave, he will be all alone here." "I will leave for the shuttle and give you a minute alone with him." "Thank you mother." Misaki left for the landing docks where the shuttle stood on stand-by. Aeka kneeled down next to Shoji and clasped her hands together. The princess did a silent prayer for Shoji's safe journey. After her prayer, Aeka reached into Shoji's uniform pocket and took out the tiny music box. She wound up the spring fully and the melody started to play. The purple haired princess, took off her royal headband, placed it over Shoji's heart, and crossed his arms over her royal head band. Aeka wiped a sad tear from her eye and she slowly walked back to the shuttle. Then, after having paced down a few steps, Aeka heard a harmonious sound coming from where Shoji laid. Not knowing what to do, the princess quickly decided to run back and check on Shoji's body. She thought about the past time Shoji had spent watching over Aeka when she was turned into a mere child by Onimaru. Throughout the terrible quest for the ailment's cure, Aeka had to ride on Shoji's back in order to prevent her from falling back far behind. The course of the journey, gave Shoji and Aeka more time bond. So close, and yet, not able to fully explore the possibility. Aeka finally reached Shoji's location and was shocked to find that in her former guardian's place laid nothing. Sasami and Tsunami can now relax On the bridge of the Tsunami, Sasami is awaken from her dream-like state and sighs in relief. From what she had witnessed, Tsunami and Washu was able to negotiate a treaty of sorts with Tokimi. During the negotiations, there was a lot of talk about Tenchi and Ryoko's potential ability to tip the scales of balance within the universe. The level of conversation was beyond Sasami's comprehension but there are hints of new factors that has yet to reveal themselves. The unknown factors will ,undoubtedly, forever change the standing government powers of the Universe forever. The thought of which is most disturbing to Sasami. Whether it being for the best or the worse remains to be seen. For now, peace is at hand and there is plenty of time to prepare. "I understand my role now, Tsunami." Sasami said and smiled as she felt hints of Tsunami's power flowing through out her body and soul. Nearby, in the bridge pool, Shoji's body slowly regenerates with the glowing power of Tsunami's essence. To be continued in Requiem II: Air... Ending Song: THE DAY AFTER THE REVOLUTION Song written and performed by PULP You can find this song on their 'This is Hardcore' album. The dust has settled, replaced all the bulbs in all the lights. I guess I'll get no sleep, tonight. A Revolution happened. Oh sorry, you haven't heard? We are the children of the new world. If you're quiet you can watch if you like. They say the future's beginning tonight! Whole empires will crumble! Civilizations will fall! Lie on the bed, hear the sound of it all. No anger, no guilt and no sorrow: It sounds unlikely, I know, but tomorrow You will wake up to find that your whole life has changed! Although nothing looks different, A revolution took place! I love the way you do it, I love the way you put them on. You know the answers but you get it wrong. (just to confuse things) Why did it seem so difficult to realize a simple truth? The revolution begins and ends with you. Now all the breakdowns and nightmares look small. Now we decided not to die after all! Because the meek shall inherit absolutely nothing at all! If you could stop being so feeble you could have so much more. The answer was here all the time you see. Just how I missed it is a mystery to me! I have waited and waited for this day to arrive! The revolution was televised. Now it's over bye-bye, it's over bye-bye... Author's notes: Is this chapter a wild ride or what? Sorry if it's been such a while since anything worth reading was released by me. But that'll change ^^, you see the next two chapters are underway and both will be HUGE. I'll get them out ASAP but with care. I would like to give very special thanks to Charis Lesell, Shorin, K'thardin, Gensao, Lina Cutie, and Mag-chan for giving me input on this chapter. I would also like to thank my editors, BCcrisis and Random. Thank you all for taking the time.