Tenchi Muyo! is the property of Pioneer and
AIC. I've no intention of using this to garner
profits of any kind or type, so unless you like to
take a poor man's computer away from him, please
don't sue me!? Please?
All other characters, depictions, places, and
theories that have been put into place are my own
creation and have no relevance to Tenchi Muyo in any
way except in the ways I've explained. These are my
own thoughts and imagination, and any relation to
other stories that are not my own are accidental.
Honest.
My e-mail is kerrigan2001@attbi.com for any and
all feedback. Please, PLEASE SEND FEEDBACK OF ANY
KIND!!! Thank you! ^-^
All right, enough talk more action....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~Tenchi Muyo: The Web of Life~~~
~~~Chapter 1: Omens and Falling Stars (Rev. 6.0)~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The forest seemed alive tonight.
The breeze moved gently up along the trodden
path, barely moving the blades of grass and leaves of
the trees, giving the impression to a certain black
haired young man that the forest was breathing and
watching his every move. His face and eyes gave the
look of serenity, something that he wasn't able to
find anywhere else, if one knew about his home life.
Walking slowly through the paths for several minutes,
the young man found exactly what he was looking for;
a cliff that jutted out over the forest that
surrounded the lake near his home. He stood there
for several minutes, and straightened out his brown
shirt. Brushing off his blue denim jeans he let out
a small sigh, and stared contentedly at the view in
front of him. The temple sat on the mountain nearby,
lit up barely by lights within. The place he called
home was lit up also, which shed ample light onto the
whole scene. The moon was full and bright and the
lake below was rippling, giving a distorted yet
comforting reflection of the entire scene. His small
pony tail moved in the breeze that came from up
behind, and he sighed a second time.
"Tenchi Masaki, for the first time you're
actually breathing easy." He smiled to himself. He
knew that times like this didn't come easily, or
without a price. He would have to make it up to the
girls waiting for him to come home, as per their
agreement. After the Jurai royal family had left and
let the two princesses, Ayeka and Sasami, to remain
on Earth with Tenchi and the others, his life seemed
to actually mellow out. Several months later, and
graduating from his junior year in high school, he
was enjoying the first night of freedom away from
schoolbooks. He tilted his head to one side, and
began to think more heavily.
I'm actually alive, happy and with my family,
Tenchi thought, watching the rippling of the lake
below. I just wish Mom was here to see me, I wonder
what she would say? A single tear slipped through
his brown eyes, and found its way toward the ground
he stood upon. I miss you, Mom, I really do.
Several more tears found their mark on the stone
before long and Tenchi's body soon became tense with
emotions he tried to hold back. The sheer power of
the thoughts rampaging through his body drove Tenchi
to his knees, who let the full effect take him.
The roar of what sounded like a screaming train
broke Tenchi away from his thoughts. He looked
toward the sky to see a shooting star, green light
flowing and splaying out into the air. From his
viewpoint, it seemed to be heading for the forest
below his current location. Time seemed to slow as
Tenchi kept gazing at the comet. What first had
piqued his interest, had rapidly gained his undivided
and awestruck attention.
Tenchi had heard about many comets and falling
stars before; his grandfather had told him many a
story of omens that followed a falling star, but
never before had he see one actually fall to Earth
before. As he peered at the comet coming down from
the heavens, Tenchi had instinctively began glowing
a faint azure, a sign that his innate powers as a
royal family member of Jurai were becoming active.
Tenchi watched as the comet seemed to fall into
focus; first as a ball of green, and then it
seemingly zoomed in to about the size of a baseball,
then a basketball. As it began to take a solid shape
in his eyes, Tenchi's expression went from curiosity,
then to amazement, to finally outright panic. Within
the ball of green was a humanoid form, barreling
toward the ground at an extremely alarming speed.
After one or two more seconds, the green ball had
blown through the forest canopy and impacted.
THOOOOOOOM!!
The ground vibrated with the force of the
impact for a few seconds, which was long enough for
Tenchi to wake himself out of his daze and reach
inside one of his jean pockets. Pulling out a long
band of metal covered with several small buttons, he
wrapped it around his wrist and pushed one of the
buttons. Almost instantly, a small rectangular view-
screen appeared above the wristband, showing a
redheaded young girl, dressed in a scientist's smock.
After several seconds, she looked at the view-screen
and smiled happily, her green eyes shimmering.
"Washu here. What's up, Tenchi?"
"Uh, Little Washu, you probably know that a
comet or meteor crashed nearby just a few seconds
ago, I'm guessing?" The girl's eyes darted off-
screen for a second, then back toward Tenchi.
"Yeah, but it's a normal occurrence on Earth."
He nodded, and gave a worried look.
"I don't remember too many humanoids that fall
to Earth, though." She gave Tenchi a bemused look,
and her eyes darted off-screen a second time.
"Hmm. I'll be right out to double check your
findings. But are you sure that there was someone,
not just something, in that meteor?" He gave a
muffled response, and she looked back at the view-
screen toward Tenchi.
"Okay, but I'm bringing Ryoko along as a
security measure. We don't want or need any
unnecessary bloodshed going on, so be careful. Don't
get closer than the edge of the crash site, and we'll
meet you there. Washu out." The view-screen winked
out just as quickly as it had appeared, and Tenchi
peered over the ledge he stood upon. The ground
below was about 60 feet down, and there didn't seem
to be any way to get there quickly, with the only
path toward the forest below was back behind him.
That would take too long, Tenchi surmised, and the
young man positioned himself at the edge.
"I can't believe I'm doing this." He muttered,
and hopped off of the ledge.
Initially, gravity had a strong hold, which
kept Tenchi from focusing the way he should. After
several feet, his training had kicked in, and the
freefalling young man began to glow a faint blue yet
again. He slowed his decent into a float, and landed
on the ground without incident. Tenchi smiled
faintly, gave himself a mental pat on the back and
began running toward the crash site, hoping that
whomever landed there was still alive.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Inside the Masaki house, it was peaceful. Two
beautiful, teenage women sat across from each other
in an engaging game of checkers, while a young girl,
another young woman and what looked to be a brown cat
sat on the couch watching television. For the most
part, it was quiet and pristine.
One of the two women playing checkers, a quiet
looking girl with long purple hair, sighed in
frustration. She had worn a simple evening kimono, a
deep blue with crimson red needlework of dragons and
kanji. Her red eyes were focused on the board before
her, and she furrowed her brow in thought.
Meanwhile, the other woman simply observed the first
with catlike golden eyes, feinting interest. She
watched the other while playing with a lock of her
spiky cyan hair in one hand, and holding her chin
with the other. Her eveningwear was a simple red
summer dress that hung to her knees, with a black
windbreaker jacket that covered her shoulders. She
yawned and rolled her eyes before speaking.
"C'mon, Ayeka! Are you intending to drag this
game into eternity, or just extend the inevitable?"
The purple haired girl looked up from the board with
a glower for a moment, and back down toward the
checkerboard. She had hovered one hand above her
black checkerboard piece, considering her next move.
After several more seconds, she grabbed a nearby
piece and jumped two of the red pieces nearest to it.
She looked up at the cyan-haired woman, who had a
raised eyebrow at the recent turn of events in the
game. Shrugging her shoulders, Ayeka smiled
confidently at her opponent and sat back in her seat.
"Your turn, Ryoko." The cyan haired woman
raised an eyebrow at the statement, gazed at her
opponent with a bored look, and quickly smiled.
"Ah, well, better now than the turn of the
century."
"Considering your age, I figured you wouldn't
mind the wait." Ryoko's confidence faded quickly
into a glower.
"Keep it up, and we'll see who lives past the
end of the night." Ayeka began her turn at a
confident smile.
"Perhaps, but first you have a turn to play,
and a game to lose."
"Right. And who was it who lost the first game
tonight?"
"Don't get cocky, pirate. I was getting a feel
for your playing skill and, now that I have you
weighed and measured, I will beat you." Ryoko
chuckled warmly, and studied the checkerboard for a
few moments. Both girls had taken an equal number of
pieces from their opponent's, and considering that
both girls won a game each, they were at a stalemate
of sorts. Scooping up several of Ayeka's checker
pieces she had taken earlier in their game, Ryoko
toyed with them while deep in her own thoughts. She
grumbled, wondering why exactly she had agreed not to
completely pummel Ayeka's retorts and replies right
out of her head. She sighed, and a very faint blush
snuck over Ryoko's face; Tenchi was so cute when he
was serious, especially when he talked about not
blowing up the living room one more time. Ah well,
she thought, better to beat Ayeka at her favorite
games than to sleep in that damned cave.
An earthshaking rumble shook the house, and the
checkerboard shook its pieces off as if they were a
nuisance. Ayeka sat up straight, and stared at the
closet door behind Ryoko, then at Ryoko. The cyan
haired pirate didn't move or budge from her spot for
several minutes.
"Should we check up on her?" Ayeka asked,
concerned.
"Nope, she'll be out in just a couple of
seconds...."
Behind Ryoko, the closet door swung open wildly
and crashed against the wall with a heavy thud. All
of the girls in the room, surprised by the suddenness
of the explosion and the closet door, turned toward
the door to see a young redheaded girl step out. She
wore a red paramedic's outfit, complete with
stethoscope and adhesive bandages bulging out of her
breast pockets. She gave a quick glance around the
room, and stopped on Ryoko, who had turned around to
look at the scientist.
"You rang?"
"Just the girl I wanted to see. Tenchi needs
us outside, right away." Washu explained. Ryoko's
ears perked up at Tenchi's mention. Ayeka leaned
forward, eager to hear what the childlike scientist
had to say that involved the young man as well. One
of the girls, with her blue hair trailing behind her
in long pigtails, eyed Washu. She had been wearing a
very long sleepwear shirt with a carrot embroidered
onto the front, and gave a wide-eyed stare at the
scientist.
"What's wrong? Is Tenchi hurt? What's going
on?" The little girl became teary, thinking nothing
but bad things were happening to one of her best
friends. Ryoko shot out of her chair, and gave a
confused look at Washu. The scientist held her hand
up to calm Ryoko down, and gave both girls a
comforting smile.
"No, Sasami, nothing's wrong with Tenchi. But
he needs Ryoko and me to come out and help him with
someone who's been hurt." Washu walked over to the
young girl and patted her head. Sasami sighed
relief, her worried face relaxing a great deal. She
gave a frown again, and looked up at Washu a second
time.
"Someone was hurt?" Washu nodded, and Ayeka
stood up quickly. She walked over next to Ryoko's
left, and bit her lower lip.
"Does Tenchi wish my assistance as well?"
Washu eyed the Juraian princess for a moment, and her
eyes brightened up with recognition.
"Yes, actually. He needed you to prepare a
room for whoever might be hurt, so that if we need to
keep them here for the night, they'll have a place to
sleep." Ayeka nodded, and turned toward Ryoko.
"We don't have any additional rooms available.
Ryoko, would you be willing to sleep in our room for
the evening while the guest sleeps in your room?"
Ayeka asked. The pirate gave a level eyed glare
toward Ayeka.
"Why do I have to give up my room?" She quit
arguing when she saw all three girls giving her
daggers for eyes. She slumped her shoulders, and
nodded her approval.
"Thank you, Ryoko. I will move all of your
personal belongings into our room," Ayeka spoke,
gesturing toward Sasami and herself, "and prepare the
room for the guest. You both better make haste, if
we are to make sure that our injured guest's life can
be saved."
The young woman beside Sasami kept watching
television, her blond hair wrapped tightly on her
head and wearing a green sweater and baggy tan cargo
pants. Completely oblivious to the entire situation
that had just happened, she seemed focused instead on
the show displayed on the television.
Ryoko stood up and walked to Washu, who was
already at the front door waiting patiently. Her
evening dress and windbreaker seemed to liquefy and
flow around her as she walked, transforming into a
skintight battle suit, with black arms and red legs.
Her right cheek and forehead blackened, giving her a
very formidable look. The pirate beauty gave herself
a once-over before clutching her hands tightly. She
tossed an object at Ayeka, who caught it in midair.
Looking down, the princess viewed the fused remains
of several checker pieces. She looked up at Ryoko,
who had a cocky smile on her face.
"Next time, I choose the game we play. Fair?"
Ayeka gave her a smirk, and nodded her agreement.
She made her way up the stairs toward Ryoko's room,
quickly placing the fused plastic on the arm of the
couch as she walked past. Sasami hopped down, and
grabbed the brown cat-like creature off of the couch.
It opened its eyes and meowed in a half sleepy tone.
"C'mon, Ryo-Ohki! We're gonna have guests, so
let's go help Ayeka set up their room!" Sasami
beamed. The cabbit jumped out of her hands and, in a
puff of smoke, transformed into a small child.
Wearing a simple pink sundress and bow, the cabbit
girl quickly hurried up the stairs right along with
Sasami and Ayeka. Ryoko scooped up Washu in her
arms, and flew up toward the high end of the house.
They faded out of sight, with the only person
remaining being the blonde haired girl sitting
on the couch alone. She sighed, and stood up to look
around the room. She closed her blue eyes, and bent
over the couch to pick up the fused checkers pieces.
"Sometimes, Mihoshi, it's best when you don't
do anything at all." she muttered, and smiled at the
fused pieces. Turning them over in her hand, she
giggled slightly.
"Glad to see that some things don't change
around here. I may as well go see if Ayeka needs me
to help with the room." Mihoshi said quietly and,
putting the fused pieces in one of her pockets,
walked up the stairs to Ryoko's room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, Tenchi was moving and jumping
through the forest with a grace and skill that few
people got to witness and fewer to survive from.
Deftly moving under branches, over rocks and
crevices, and moving with a practiced speed, the
young Masaki moved so quietly that even the rabbits
that he ran past were in awe of him. Following the
scent of burnt wood and earth, Tenchi quickly found
the crash site of the falling star. The crater was
around twenty feet wide and one hundred feet long.
Smoke and several very small fires could be seen from
within the crater, which hindered the young man's
vision from where he stood. The smell of scorched
earth was nearly burned into Tenchi's nostrils as he
walked the edge of the crater. He skimmed the edge
for a couple of minutes until he made up his mind
finally.
"I'm sorry, Washu, but I can't wait any
longer." He muttered nervously, and stepped into the
crater. A voice from above drew his attention
skyward.
"You won't have to, Tenchi." He looked up to
see Ryoko gliding down from above with Washu clutched
in her arms. Ryoko set Washu down gently, and kept
herself floating above the ground by several inches.
She cocked her head at Tenchi, who was still red-eyed
from crying and smoke.
"You okay, Tenchi? You look like you've been
crying." She hovered in closer, inspecting Tenchi's
face more closely. Tenchi gently pushed her away,
smiling faintly and trying to hide the near truth
behind her words.
"It's alright, Ryoko, it's just the smoke in my
eyes. Let's check up on if there's somebody we need
to help." Ryoko nodded in agreement, and they began
to enter the more densely smoked area of the crater.
Washu brought up a small silver sphere, and pushed a
small round button on its side. A small view screen
appeared above the sphere, with a readout of what
seemed to display the crater and surrounding forest.
Three small yellow blips blinked brightly, with
a very faint green blip in a direction straight ahead
of the first three. The view screen suddenly
vanished and the sphere jumped out of Washu's hand,
speeding off toward the direction of the green blip.
Washu ran behind the sphere, motioning Tenchi and
Ryoko to follow.
"It's found something! Come on, you two!"
Ryoko swung around behind Tenchi, and scooped him up
into her arms. She began to hover quickly behind the
running Washu, who was cackling gleefully and
grinning the entire time. Tenchi shuffled his weight
to keep blood running in his arms, and Ryoko
accommodated the young man as best she could. Tenchi
looked up at his current mode of transportation, and
smiled.
"Thanks, Ryoko." She looked down and smiled
warmly back.
"No problem, cutie." Tenchi's face went red
quickly, and Ryoko giggled to herself as they finally
made it to their destination. At the opposite end of
the crater that they had started in, Washu was
looking over a prone form on the ground. Kneeling
down, she used the silver sphere to analyze the
form's current health and status. Waving it over the
form, the other two began to get curious and moved
closer to see what Washu was checking out. Washu put
a hand up and looked back at Tenchi and Ryoko as they
attempted to get closer.
"Unless you really want to know what burnt
flesh smells like, I'd suggest staying over there.
This one's suffered burns over 85... 80... what in
the hell?" Washu stared at the readouts that her
spherical analyzer was giving her, confused and in
wonder of what she was seeing. Tenchi's curiosity
got the better of him, and he walked over to the
opposite side of the form, and looked down at the
figure on the ground. Complete shock froze his gaze
on what he saw.
The figure had almost no clothes on save
boxers, having most of them burned off while coming
into the atmosphere. His chest and face was covered
with burns, giving Tenchi the impression he was
looking at someone who was wearing a suit of half-
cooked, blackened and still bloody steaks. Ryoko had
taken a quick glance at the body lying on the ground
and turned away, grimacing at the sight. Washu had
been right; the scent of burnt skin and hair was
pretty evident in the air, and it didn't seem to fade
in the slightest. As he watched, however, the
scarring and burnt skin seemed to dry and slough off
revealing normal skin beneath. Inch by inch, minute
by minute, the burnt form seemed to transform into
something that looked humanoid. Tufts of white hair
sprouted from the form's cranium slowly at first, and
grew more quickly as time passed. Portions of scab
tissue fell away from the form's body while the three
watched. Ryoko looked back at the form again, and
blinked twice. Instead of a burnt form a slim,
athletic young man lay prone on the ground in front
of the three rescuers. Bright white hair spread out
underneath his head, in shoulder-length sprawls. His
eyes were closed tightly, as the man's body seemingly
kept regenerating from the immense damage done to it.
Washu stopped gazing at her analyzer for a moment and
kneeled down beside the prostrate man.
"Zero percent burn damage. Not a trace of
chemical or physiological scarring on him. Simply
amazing." She pocketed the analyzer, and reached
into a portal that had opened near her knees.
Pulling out a gun like syringe, she quickly stabbed
the young man in the buttock. Thick and dark red
fluid quickly filled the syringe, and the body
twitched for a moment from the pain. Pulling the
gun-syringe out of the young man after several
seconds, Washu eyed it for a moment and put it back
into the portal, which closed quickly afterward.
Tenchi gave her a quizzical look, and she replied
with a smile.
"Research, Tenchi. I want to know exactly what
race of being he is, and a blood sample will give me
that information the fastest. I know how you are
about tests, but we can't afford not knowing what we
have here; friend, or otherwise." Tenchi nodded and
shrugged.
"Fair enough, Washu. But still, I think you
should have waited for him to agree to that." Washu
took her turn to shrug and went back to studying the
young man more carefully. Ryoko stood behind Tenchi,
eyeing the unconscious young man with a reserved and
stoic look on her face, a face that Washu couldn't
help but notice.
"I don't think we should bring him to the
house. I could understand the temple, but not the
house." Ryoko stated flatly, eyeing the young man
with a cautious eye. Washu gave her daughter a
confused look.
"Well, let me look at who you're going to plop
on Katsuhito's doorstep, alright?" Grasping the young
man's face gently in both hands, Washu turned his
head toward her. His face was youthful looking but,
from what Washu saw as she studied his face, well
worn with experience. Her eyes went wide with shock
as she kept staring into the young man's face.
Memories.
Washu witnessed a young white-haired boy,
stepping out of a tube and taking his first steps
toward another much older man. Is that his father?
She again saw a young white-haired boy playing
on a small hill near his beloved home. Why is that
hill so familiar?
Memories flooded into Washu's mind as her eyes
became saucers. Memories that she knew were hers,
but from where? When?
Ryoko grabbed her mother and shook her several
times until the scientist finally snapped out of her
trancelike state. Washu pulled her hands away
slowly, furrowing her eyebrows in vague recollection
and frustration.
"Washu! Washu! Are you okay?! Washu!"
Concern was thick in Ryoko's voice as Washu turned to
look up at her.
"He's not a threat, Ryoko." Ryoko dropped her
gaze first on the body next to Washu, and then at
Washu herself. She puckered up her lips in
stubbornness.
"You weren't responding to me; now you're going
to tell me that he isn't a threat? You can't be
serious." Ryoko growled, stooping to point first at
Washu and then at the body next to her. Washu's eyes
narrowed on her daughter, but the pirate continued
with her explanation heedless of that fact.
"The man's just survived atmospheric burn-in.
I can't believe that someone who just falls from the
sky, and regenerates MASSIVE damage in minutes can
just be dismissed as simply non-threatening. I may
be a bit stubborn with certain things," Washu's eyes
shot open at the honesty that Ryoko had just shown to
the two other people in the crater, and watched Ryoko
point again at the unconscious young man, "But I'm
not going to just let someone like that into the
house without a second thought." Washu gave her a
quiet look, and sighed deeply. Ryoko took her turn
to give a confused look, wondering exactly what her
mother was planning this time. The young scientist
looked over her shoulder at the young man, and then
toward Tenchi.
"Tenchi." Tenchi was staring absently at the
young man, amazed with what he had just witnessed
earlier. Shaking his head rapidly, he focused on the
two girls kneeling across from the prone form between
them. He scratched his head, and bunched his lips in
thought for a moment.
"While I can understand Ryoko's desire to keep
the family safe, I'm the one who found him. I can't
leave him out here in the cold. Besides, there's no
real place that he can get the care he needs in the
temple or to keep an accurate eye on him, either.
I'll keep watch over him while he sleeps in the
house." Tenchi said finally. Ryoko gave Tenchi a
pleading look, not surprised that he would do
something like this.
"Tenchi, are you sure? We don't know this guy,
and he could be more dangerous than anyone we've ever
found or fought." Tenchi nodded his insistence
at the decision, and Ryoko sighed.
"I will care for him while he sleeps, Tenchi.
I'll also set up several force fields around the room
that Ayeka and Sasami have prepared, to retain him,
if he proves to be a threat. Will that suffice,
Ryoko?" Washu offered, standing up slowly and
brushing off her uniform, never taking her eyes off
of Ryoko. The pirate rolled her eyes and stood up
slowly. Ryoko motioned to Washu to move further away
from the body, which the young scientist did with a
faint smile on her face.
"Thank you, Ryoko." Washu beamed, and Ryoko
gave her a slightly resolute look out of the corner
of her eye as she gently picked up and cradled the
young man in her arms. She gave the form in her arms
one last look, and gave one more look at Tenchi. He
nodded his approval, and smiled broadly at Ryoko.
She gave him a faint smile in return.
"Fine. I don't like this one bit, but if this
is what you want, Tenchi.... so be it. I'll take us
to the house, and we'll think of what to do with him
after we've got him settled in. But, there is NO way
I'm gonna let him have my room after tonight if you
decide that he stays, fair enough?" Tenchi nodded
happily, and Washu clapped her hands together in
finality of the agreement. Tenchi wrapped his arms
around Ryoko's waist from behind, and Washu did the
same to Tenchi's. Almost as quickly as the three
entered the crater, they faded out and away from the
crash site without a sound.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"We're all finished. Now all we have to do is
wait for Tenchi and the others to arrive with our new
guest, if there is one." Ayeka spoke quietly.
Smoothing out the red and blue quilt that was
laid out on the futon, she gave the room one last
look around. The futon was set up underneath the
window at the far wall, and most of the original
decorations were removed. Ryoko's most favored
belongings were taken into Ayeka and Sasami's
bedroom, leaving simply the futon, some chairs, and a
small table in the room. A half-filled water bowl
and several small bandages were set next to the
futon, and a pitcher of water sat on the table just
nearby. Satisfied that the room was properly set for
their guest, Ayeka sat in one of the chairs of the
room and waited for everyone's arrival. Sasami
walked in, with Ryo-Ohki trailing in close behind.
"Are we ready, Ayeka?" Sasami asked her elder
sister, curious and worried bleeding through in her
voice. Ayeka smiled and nodded. The younger
princess put a finger on her chin in thought.
"Where's Mihoshi? I thought that she had
brought you the quilt." Ayeka nodded and pointed
upstairs.
"She had said that all of this excitement had
wore her out, and that she would go to bed for the
evening." Sasami nodded her head in response.
"Ah. About what happened earlier; do you know
what kind of guest they will be, Ayeka?"
"I do not know, Sasami. We shall have to wait
until he or she arrives," Ayeka dropped her head a
little for a moment, and sighed heavily. "But I do
hope that if it IS a she, that she hasn't already
made any lewd or outrageous attempts on Lord Tenchi."
Sasami and Ryo-Ohki giggled to each other and sat
down in front of the elder princess, who gave them a
wondering look.
"And why are you giggling, Sasami?" she
questioned, wondering exactly what was on her
sister's mind. Sasami beamed a giant smile and
looked up at her big sister.
"Oh, nothing. You look like you're happy to be
getting some new friends is all!" She blurted out
loud, and started to laugh again. Ryo-Ohki meowed in
agreement, and transformed back into her cabbit form.
Bouncing around and tumbling with glee, she hopped
into Sasami's lap where she was greeted with pets and
treated to a full body rub. Ayeka simply raised an
eyebrow to her little sister and let out an audible
smirk. She did finally find a medium point with
Ryoko in terms of the man they both loved, and
admitting to each other that Tenchi needed space to
decide for himself was one of the few things that
both girls could agree upon. That and destroying the
living room over the television remote brought the
decision that she and Ryoko would take their disputes
to the training area, again their decision however
much aided by Tenchi persuading Ryoko to follow along
with the idea. She smiled at the memory, and kept
smiling even after Ryoko slowly faded into view in
the center of the room. The pirate carried a young
man in burnt boxers, with Tenchi hugging Ryoko from
behind at the waist, with Washu doing the same to
Tenchi. Sasami turned around to see the last portion
of the fading-in of the whole group. Ryoko and Washu
gave the room a quick look around, and gave a visual
look of approval.
"You move quickly, Ayeka. Nice job." Washu
commented; Ayeka smiled again, and nodded her
appreciation of the compliment. The child scientist
let go of Tenchi and walked toward the futon, pulling
out a small black orb with a single red button on its
side out of a portal underneath her arm as she walked
toward the futon, and waited for the new guest.
Ryoko stood there for a moment, and turned her head
to Tenchi.
"Don't let go of me for a couple of moments."
Ryoko asked. She stood there, an expressionless look
on her face. Tenchi stood there with a look of
confusion on his face.
"Can I ask why?" Ryoko closed her eyes in
response.
"Two things; One, I'm feeling a little faint
from teleporting four people at once. I haven't done
something that draining in a long time, so I'm using
what strength and balance I have to keep from
dropping your new guest," She smiled at Tenchi for a
moment, "And two, well, it's not everyday you get a
good hug from a stud." She felt a momentary
tightening around her waist, and she gave a bigger
smile. Opening her eyes, Ryoko spotted Ayeka's scowl
and rolled her eyes.
"Oh, give me a break, Ayeka. You can get a hug
in due time, if you'd just ask him, you know." The
pirate pulled away from Tenchi and walked toward the
futon. Washu pulled the quilt away from the futon,
and Ryoko gently placed the young man onto the futon.
Backing away, the scientist covered the young man
with the blanket, and motioned everyone to step away
from the futon.
"Alright, everyone. Step back and watch a
genius at work!" Laying the metal orb in her hand on
the ground next to the futon, she pushed the red
button, then moved away quickly. A red hue was
faintly seen from the orb, and a red beam struck the
ceiling. Expanding away from the band, the futon was
soon surrounded by a faint red sphere of energy that
seemed to twinkle and shimmer. After several
seconds, it faded out of visible sight, and the group
sighed in relief. Washu walked over to the futon,
and flicked the open air. Red light shimmered and
twinkled at the contact point, and she smiled
gleefully.
"One impenetrable force field brought to you by
Washu Hakubi, extraordinaire! Oh, to be the
greatest!" she exclaimed, grinning ear to ear. Ryoko
simply rolled her eyes, and Ayeka sighed in
resignation. Sasami simply stood up and walked
toward the door, and turned around before walking
through.
"I'm going to bed, Ayeka. This has been really
exciting, though! I wonder what he's going to be
like?" She smiled and, petting the little cabbit as
she went, walked out of the room leaving Ayeka with a
wondering look on her face. Tenchi shrugged and
yawned loudly.
"I'm going to get myself something to drink
from the refrigerator. What shift did you want,
Washu?" The scientist tapped a finger on her chin,
thinking the question over for a moment.
"I'll take the last shift, Tenchi. I've got to
make sure that the lab experiment I'm working on is
finished, and then I'll be up to take your place...
will that be fine?" Tenchi smiled and nodded.
"That'll be perfect, Washu. You were a better
night owl than I, anyway." With that Tenchi walked
out of the room to get his drink, leaving the three
girls alone in the room with their sleeping guest.
Ayeka eyed the young man from her place in the chair,
and turned to the other girls.
"So, my guess would be that this is our injured
guest." She looked him over more thoroughly, leaning
nearly out of her chair to get a better look at his
face. "That's rather strange; he doesn't seem
injured at all."
"Heh, he was burnt worse than your attempt at
steak last month at the family barbeque, Ayeka. He
regenerated the damage as if it were a paper cut."
Ryoko stated, laughing slightly at her first comment.
Ayeka scowled at the pirate, not quite so enthused
with the memory.
"Hey, it was not my fault. It was my first
time at attempting to cook over an open flame, and
with no nearby water I used the only available liquid
to attempt to douse the rising flames!" Ryoko took
her turn to scowl, and shook a finger at the
princess.
"You used my last bottle of my favorite SAKE,
Ayeka!" The princess took a slight smile at that
memory.
"It's not like it went to waste, Ryoko."
"Whatever," the space pirate huffed and turned
away from the princess to face her mother again. "I
still can't believe that you're actually letting this
guy into the house even after we watched Mr. Pork
Chop shrug off burn damage as if he were taking off
an extra set of clothes!"
Washu still hadn't gotten over the fact of
Ryoko's insistence of leaving the young man at the
temple or even simply where he lay. She narrowed her
eyes a second time glaring directly in Ryoko's own.
Again, Ryoko was heedless of the danger she put
herself into and kept talking about dangers unknown;
Ayeka, however, was visibly confused.
"I am sorry little Washu, Ryoko. What do you
mean, he shrugged off the damage?" Ayeka questioned.
Washu sighed a second time, and motioned the girls
out into the hallway. Silently, both girls had
followed out the young scientist, and Washu resumed
speaking after Ayeka had closed the door to the room.
"As in, he regenerated burn damage that had
covered over 90 percent of his body. All of it
third-degree burns, and I can guarantee that no
simple mortal would be able to survive that. So, we
know he's from off-world. Now, even off-world beings
such as us wouldn't be able to survive the severity
of the damage that he had taken. Beings that would
be capable of that kind of regeneration would be
beings that can regenerate at a sub-cellular level,
such as Ryoko and Ryo-Ohki." Ayeka nodded in
understanding, and Ryoko simply leaned against the
wall with a frustrated look on her face while Washu
continued.
"There are species of creature that can
regenerate that kind of damage just as fast, but
they're not humanoid in form. So whatever that young
man is, he's a great deal more than what he looks to
be." Ryoko turned to face the two other girls.
"All the more reason to keep him from inside
the house, I'd say. I not going to let this family
get slaughtered because of some hallucinations of
yours!" Ayeka gave a questioning look at Washu, who
rolled her eyes at Ryoko's words.
"Hallucinations? What is she talking about,
Washu?" Washu shot her daughter an angry glare,
which Ryoko finally understood and fell silent. The
scientist turned back to Ayeka and resumed her
explanation.
"Memories are more an accurate term I would
have used, Ayeka." Ryoko huffed and looked toward
the stairs, allowing the two girls to continue
talking.
"While I had tended to our young John Doe,
several memories of him passed through my mind giving
me the distinct impression that I knew him, or still
know him. Though for some strange reason I can't
pin, however, I can't seem to recall anything
additional than basic things. One of those memories
being that he's a very kind, gentle person. That's
why Tenchi and I had insisted that he be brought back
to the house. Another would be that if we had taken
him to the temple as Ryoko had suggested, we might
not have all of the necessary equipment to treat any
additional wounds he may have had, or provide
containment had our guest actually prove himself to
be a threat." Washu explained.
"Well, the temple would be a much better suited
place to keep him. Why not simply move the necessary
equipment into one of the temple rooms and keep him
under close surveillance there?" Ayeka replied,
putting her hands inside the sleeves of her kimono.
Ryoko gave a smug look toward her mother, pleased
that someone else was thinking along her lines.
Washu stopped for a single moment, and then
responded.
"One word; Katsuhito. He's the current priest
of the Masaki shrine, and the protection of the
shrine is high on his list of priorities. Think
about it. If someone who you didn't know was sleeping
on or near the temple grounds and have the prospects
of his or her being a threat looming over your head,
what would you choose; safe, or sorry?" Ayeka nodded
in agreement, and Ryoko fell silent after listening
to the reasoning behind the scientist's words while
Washu finished explaining. "And besides, he's not at
the temple right now. He had taken a nature trip to
a nearby shrine, and wouldn't be back until tomorrow
morning; I simply wanted to keep his temple standing
and in one piece until he gets back."
Ayeka pondered Washu's words for several
moments, while Tenchi appeared from the stairs with
four sodas and a hard-cover book cradled in his arms.
He passed one soda to each of the girls, who gave him
a smile of approval. Tenchi walked toward the door,
and smiled toward the girls.
"Well, I'll be in here if any of you need me.
Washu, I'll come and get you at about 2:00 a.m. It's
about 9:00 p.m. right now, so will five hours give
you enough time?" Washu cackled and smiled at
Tenchi, who pasted a worried look on his face due to
not-so-fond memories of the last time heard that
sound.
"More than enough, Tenchi, thank you. I'll be
in my lab when it's time." Ayeka yawned faintly, and
bowed slightly to everyone in the hall.
"I think that I will retire for the evening.
Thank you all for the experience, this has been most
rewarding." Ayeka said, and made her way to her room.
Ryoko still leaned against the wall next to the door
as Ayeka gave her a final look. She stuck out her
chin in exasperation.
"Ayeka, I'm not going to do anything with
Tenchi. I'm simply going to be outside the door in
case of problems. When Washu takes over, I'll be in
to sleep as well." Ayeka closed her eyes, sighing
heavily.
"Considering the circumstances, I can believe
you, Ryoko. I'll make sure that your bed is ready
for you when you come in for the night. Good night
Ryoko, Washu." Ayeka quietly spoke, as she opened
the door to her room and swiftly entered. Washu
waved a hand to Ayeka as she closed the door, and
smiled. After the princess closed the door, Washu
sighed heavily and shrugged as if she were getting
something off of her shoulders. Ryoko closed her
eyes, and kept silent while keeping her vigil over
the two men inside her former room.
"Alright, then. I guess I'll go analyze the
blood sample of our John Doe character while Tenchi
takes first watch over him. It'll most likely take
several hours to get any results out of it, so in the
meantime I guess I'll finish up some research while
I'm on watch." Washu noted to herself. Ryoko simply
raised her eyebrows in response, and opened a single
eye to look at Washu. The scientist simply shook her
head in defeat, and walked down the stairs to her
lab. She stopped at the head of the stairs to glance
at Ryoko and spoke.
"You might be right about some things, Ryoko,
but just stop to remember one thing. What Tenchi is
doing for this "unknown threat" he also did for a
well known threat whose name I won't mention." The
pirate peered at her mother with an angry look, and
quickly turned to gaze at the far wall.
"That was cold." Ryoko whispered.
"You're right. Still, nonetheless, not
everything that falls from the sky is going to
destroy your new family. If I considered it even
remotely dangerous, do you honestly think it would be
sleeping in our new home right now?" Ryoko remained
silent as Washu spoke, the pirate never taking her
eyes off of the far wall. Washu sighed, and
traversed the stairs down to her lab. A faint creak
and a door closing left the pirate alone in the
hallway. She sighed and slid down the wall, closing
her eyes and thinking of her family.
"I swear to whatever's listening, that if you
threaten my family EVER, that not even heaven or hell
will save you from me. That much I promise." Ryoko
whispered to her unknown threat. With that the
pirate wrapped her arms around her legs, leaned her
forehead against her knees, and sat.
End of Part 1
AIC. I've no intention of using this to garner
profits of any kind or type, so unless you like to
take a poor man's computer away from him, please
don't sue me!? Please?
All other characters, depictions, places, and
theories that have been put into place are my own
creation and have no relevance to Tenchi Muyo in any
way except in the ways I've explained. These are my
own thoughts and imagination, and any relation to
other stories that are not my own are accidental.
Honest.
My e-mail is kerrigan2001@attbi.com for any and
all feedback. Please, PLEASE SEND FEEDBACK OF ANY
KIND!!! Thank you! ^-^
All right, enough talk more action....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~Tenchi Muyo: The Web of Life~~~
~~~Chapter 1: Omens and Falling Stars (Rev. 6.0)~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The forest seemed alive tonight.
The breeze moved gently up along the trodden
path, barely moving the blades of grass and leaves of
the trees, giving the impression to a certain black
haired young man that the forest was breathing and
watching his every move. His face and eyes gave the
look of serenity, something that he wasn't able to
find anywhere else, if one knew about his home life.
Walking slowly through the paths for several minutes,
the young man found exactly what he was looking for;
a cliff that jutted out over the forest that
surrounded the lake near his home. He stood there
for several minutes, and straightened out his brown
shirt. Brushing off his blue denim jeans he let out
a small sigh, and stared contentedly at the view in
front of him. The temple sat on the mountain nearby,
lit up barely by lights within. The place he called
home was lit up also, which shed ample light onto the
whole scene. The moon was full and bright and the
lake below was rippling, giving a distorted yet
comforting reflection of the entire scene. His small
pony tail moved in the breeze that came from up
behind, and he sighed a second time.
"Tenchi Masaki, for the first time you're
actually breathing easy." He smiled to himself. He
knew that times like this didn't come easily, or
without a price. He would have to make it up to the
girls waiting for him to come home, as per their
agreement. After the Jurai royal family had left and
let the two princesses, Ayeka and Sasami, to remain
on Earth with Tenchi and the others, his life seemed
to actually mellow out. Several months later, and
graduating from his junior year in high school, he
was enjoying the first night of freedom away from
schoolbooks. He tilted his head to one side, and
began to think more heavily.
I'm actually alive, happy and with my family,
Tenchi thought, watching the rippling of the lake
below. I just wish Mom was here to see me, I wonder
what she would say? A single tear slipped through
his brown eyes, and found its way toward the ground
he stood upon. I miss you, Mom, I really do.
Several more tears found their mark on the stone
before long and Tenchi's body soon became tense with
emotions he tried to hold back. The sheer power of
the thoughts rampaging through his body drove Tenchi
to his knees, who let the full effect take him.
The roar of what sounded like a screaming train
broke Tenchi away from his thoughts. He looked
toward the sky to see a shooting star, green light
flowing and splaying out into the air. From his
viewpoint, it seemed to be heading for the forest
below his current location. Time seemed to slow as
Tenchi kept gazing at the comet. What first had
piqued his interest, had rapidly gained his undivided
and awestruck attention.
Tenchi had heard about many comets and falling
stars before; his grandfather had told him many a
story of omens that followed a falling star, but
never before had he see one actually fall to Earth
before. As he peered at the comet coming down from
the heavens, Tenchi had instinctively began glowing
a faint azure, a sign that his innate powers as a
royal family member of Jurai were becoming active.
Tenchi watched as the comet seemed to fall into
focus; first as a ball of green, and then it
seemingly zoomed in to about the size of a baseball,
then a basketball. As it began to take a solid shape
in his eyes, Tenchi's expression went from curiosity,
then to amazement, to finally outright panic. Within
the ball of green was a humanoid form, barreling
toward the ground at an extremely alarming speed.
After one or two more seconds, the green ball had
blown through the forest canopy and impacted.
THOOOOOOOM!!
The ground vibrated with the force of the
impact for a few seconds, which was long enough for
Tenchi to wake himself out of his daze and reach
inside one of his jean pockets. Pulling out a long
band of metal covered with several small buttons, he
wrapped it around his wrist and pushed one of the
buttons. Almost instantly, a small rectangular view-
screen appeared above the wristband, showing a
redheaded young girl, dressed in a scientist's smock.
After several seconds, she looked at the view-screen
and smiled happily, her green eyes shimmering.
"Washu here. What's up, Tenchi?"
"Uh, Little Washu, you probably know that a
comet or meteor crashed nearby just a few seconds
ago, I'm guessing?" The girl's eyes darted off-
screen for a second, then back toward Tenchi.
"Yeah, but it's a normal occurrence on Earth."
He nodded, and gave a worried look.
"I don't remember too many humanoids that fall
to Earth, though." She gave Tenchi a bemused look,
and her eyes darted off-screen a second time.
"Hmm. I'll be right out to double check your
findings. But are you sure that there was someone,
not just something, in that meteor?" He gave a
muffled response, and she looked back at the view-
screen toward Tenchi.
"Okay, but I'm bringing Ryoko along as a
security measure. We don't want or need any
unnecessary bloodshed going on, so be careful. Don't
get closer than the edge of the crash site, and we'll
meet you there. Washu out." The view-screen winked
out just as quickly as it had appeared, and Tenchi
peered over the ledge he stood upon. The ground
below was about 60 feet down, and there didn't seem
to be any way to get there quickly, with the only
path toward the forest below was back behind him.
That would take too long, Tenchi surmised, and the
young man positioned himself at the edge.
"I can't believe I'm doing this." He muttered,
and hopped off of the ledge.
Initially, gravity had a strong hold, which
kept Tenchi from focusing the way he should. After
several feet, his training had kicked in, and the
freefalling young man began to glow a faint blue yet
again. He slowed his decent into a float, and landed
on the ground without incident. Tenchi smiled
faintly, gave himself a mental pat on the back and
began running toward the crash site, hoping that
whomever landed there was still alive.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Inside the Masaki house, it was peaceful. Two
beautiful, teenage women sat across from each other
in an engaging game of checkers, while a young girl,
another young woman and what looked to be a brown cat
sat on the couch watching television. For the most
part, it was quiet and pristine.
One of the two women playing checkers, a quiet
looking girl with long purple hair, sighed in
frustration. She had worn a simple evening kimono, a
deep blue with crimson red needlework of dragons and
kanji. Her red eyes were focused on the board before
her, and she furrowed her brow in thought.
Meanwhile, the other woman simply observed the first
with catlike golden eyes, feinting interest. She
watched the other while playing with a lock of her
spiky cyan hair in one hand, and holding her chin
with the other. Her eveningwear was a simple red
summer dress that hung to her knees, with a black
windbreaker jacket that covered her shoulders. She
yawned and rolled her eyes before speaking.
"C'mon, Ayeka! Are you intending to drag this
game into eternity, or just extend the inevitable?"
The purple haired girl looked up from the board with
a glower for a moment, and back down toward the
checkerboard. She had hovered one hand above her
black checkerboard piece, considering her next move.
After several more seconds, she grabbed a nearby
piece and jumped two of the red pieces nearest to it.
She looked up at the cyan-haired woman, who had a
raised eyebrow at the recent turn of events in the
game. Shrugging her shoulders, Ayeka smiled
confidently at her opponent and sat back in her seat.
"Your turn, Ryoko." The cyan haired woman
raised an eyebrow at the statement, gazed at her
opponent with a bored look, and quickly smiled.
"Ah, well, better now than the turn of the
century."
"Considering your age, I figured you wouldn't
mind the wait." Ryoko's confidence faded quickly
into a glower.
"Keep it up, and we'll see who lives past the
end of the night." Ayeka began her turn at a
confident smile.
"Perhaps, but first you have a turn to play,
and a game to lose."
"Right. And who was it who lost the first game
tonight?"
"Don't get cocky, pirate. I was getting a feel
for your playing skill and, now that I have you
weighed and measured, I will beat you." Ryoko
chuckled warmly, and studied the checkerboard for a
few moments. Both girls had taken an equal number of
pieces from their opponent's, and considering that
both girls won a game each, they were at a stalemate
of sorts. Scooping up several of Ayeka's checker
pieces she had taken earlier in their game, Ryoko
toyed with them while deep in her own thoughts. She
grumbled, wondering why exactly she had agreed not to
completely pummel Ayeka's retorts and replies right
out of her head. She sighed, and a very faint blush
snuck over Ryoko's face; Tenchi was so cute when he
was serious, especially when he talked about not
blowing up the living room one more time. Ah well,
she thought, better to beat Ayeka at her favorite
games than to sleep in that damned cave.
An earthshaking rumble shook the house, and the
checkerboard shook its pieces off as if they were a
nuisance. Ayeka sat up straight, and stared at the
closet door behind Ryoko, then at Ryoko. The cyan
haired pirate didn't move or budge from her spot for
several minutes.
"Should we check up on her?" Ayeka asked,
concerned.
"Nope, she'll be out in just a couple of
seconds...."
Behind Ryoko, the closet door swung open wildly
and crashed against the wall with a heavy thud. All
of the girls in the room, surprised by the suddenness
of the explosion and the closet door, turned toward
the door to see a young redheaded girl step out. She
wore a red paramedic's outfit, complete with
stethoscope and adhesive bandages bulging out of her
breast pockets. She gave a quick glance around the
room, and stopped on Ryoko, who had turned around to
look at the scientist.
"You rang?"
"Just the girl I wanted to see. Tenchi needs
us outside, right away." Washu explained. Ryoko's
ears perked up at Tenchi's mention. Ayeka leaned
forward, eager to hear what the childlike scientist
had to say that involved the young man as well. One
of the girls, with her blue hair trailing behind her
in long pigtails, eyed Washu. She had been wearing a
very long sleepwear shirt with a carrot embroidered
onto the front, and gave a wide-eyed stare at the
scientist.
"What's wrong? Is Tenchi hurt? What's going
on?" The little girl became teary, thinking nothing
but bad things were happening to one of her best
friends. Ryoko shot out of her chair, and gave a
confused look at Washu. The scientist held her hand
up to calm Ryoko down, and gave both girls a
comforting smile.
"No, Sasami, nothing's wrong with Tenchi. But
he needs Ryoko and me to come out and help him with
someone who's been hurt." Washu walked over to the
young girl and patted her head. Sasami sighed
relief, her worried face relaxing a great deal. She
gave a frown again, and looked up at Washu a second
time.
"Someone was hurt?" Washu nodded, and Ayeka
stood up quickly. She walked over next to Ryoko's
left, and bit her lower lip.
"Does Tenchi wish my assistance as well?"
Washu eyed the Juraian princess for a moment, and her
eyes brightened up with recognition.
"Yes, actually. He needed you to prepare a
room for whoever might be hurt, so that if we need to
keep them here for the night, they'll have a place to
sleep." Ayeka nodded, and turned toward Ryoko.
"We don't have any additional rooms available.
Ryoko, would you be willing to sleep in our room for
the evening while the guest sleeps in your room?"
Ayeka asked. The pirate gave a level eyed glare
toward Ayeka.
"Why do I have to give up my room?" She quit
arguing when she saw all three girls giving her
daggers for eyes. She slumped her shoulders, and
nodded her approval.
"Thank you, Ryoko. I will move all of your
personal belongings into our room," Ayeka spoke,
gesturing toward Sasami and herself, "and prepare the
room for the guest. You both better make haste, if
we are to make sure that our injured guest's life can
be saved."
The young woman beside Sasami kept watching
television, her blond hair wrapped tightly on her
head and wearing a green sweater and baggy tan cargo
pants. Completely oblivious to the entire situation
that had just happened, she seemed focused instead on
the show displayed on the television.
Ryoko stood up and walked to Washu, who was
already at the front door waiting patiently. Her
evening dress and windbreaker seemed to liquefy and
flow around her as she walked, transforming into a
skintight battle suit, with black arms and red legs.
Her right cheek and forehead blackened, giving her a
very formidable look. The pirate beauty gave herself
a once-over before clutching her hands tightly. She
tossed an object at Ayeka, who caught it in midair.
Looking down, the princess viewed the fused remains
of several checker pieces. She looked up at Ryoko,
who had a cocky smile on her face.
"Next time, I choose the game we play. Fair?"
Ayeka gave her a smirk, and nodded her agreement.
She made her way up the stairs toward Ryoko's room,
quickly placing the fused plastic on the arm of the
couch as she walked past. Sasami hopped down, and
grabbed the brown cat-like creature off of the couch.
It opened its eyes and meowed in a half sleepy tone.
"C'mon, Ryo-Ohki! We're gonna have guests, so
let's go help Ayeka set up their room!" Sasami
beamed. The cabbit jumped out of her hands and, in a
puff of smoke, transformed into a small child.
Wearing a simple pink sundress and bow, the cabbit
girl quickly hurried up the stairs right along with
Sasami and Ayeka. Ryoko scooped up Washu in her
arms, and flew up toward the high end of the house.
They faded out of sight, with the only person
remaining being the blonde haired girl sitting
on the couch alone. She sighed, and stood up to look
around the room. She closed her blue eyes, and bent
over the couch to pick up the fused checkers pieces.
"Sometimes, Mihoshi, it's best when you don't
do anything at all." she muttered, and smiled at the
fused pieces. Turning them over in her hand, she
giggled slightly.
"Glad to see that some things don't change
around here. I may as well go see if Ayeka needs me
to help with the room." Mihoshi said quietly and,
putting the fused pieces in one of her pockets,
walked up the stairs to Ryoko's room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, Tenchi was moving and jumping
through the forest with a grace and skill that few
people got to witness and fewer to survive from.
Deftly moving under branches, over rocks and
crevices, and moving with a practiced speed, the
young Masaki moved so quietly that even the rabbits
that he ran past were in awe of him. Following the
scent of burnt wood and earth, Tenchi quickly found
the crash site of the falling star. The crater was
around twenty feet wide and one hundred feet long.
Smoke and several very small fires could be seen from
within the crater, which hindered the young man's
vision from where he stood. The smell of scorched
earth was nearly burned into Tenchi's nostrils as he
walked the edge of the crater. He skimmed the edge
for a couple of minutes until he made up his mind
finally.
"I'm sorry, Washu, but I can't wait any
longer." He muttered nervously, and stepped into the
crater. A voice from above drew his attention
skyward.
"You won't have to, Tenchi." He looked up to
see Ryoko gliding down from above with Washu clutched
in her arms. Ryoko set Washu down gently, and kept
herself floating above the ground by several inches.
She cocked her head at Tenchi, who was still red-eyed
from crying and smoke.
"You okay, Tenchi? You look like you've been
crying." She hovered in closer, inspecting Tenchi's
face more closely. Tenchi gently pushed her away,
smiling faintly and trying to hide the near truth
behind her words.
"It's alright, Ryoko, it's just the smoke in my
eyes. Let's check up on if there's somebody we need
to help." Ryoko nodded in agreement, and they began
to enter the more densely smoked area of the crater.
Washu brought up a small silver sphere, and pushed a
small round button on its side. A small view screen
appeared above the sphere, with a readout of what
seemed to display the crater and surrounding forest.
Three small yellow blips blinked brightly, with
a very faint green blip in a direction straight ahead
of the first three. The view screen suddenly
vanished and the sphere jumped out of Washu's hand,
speeding off toward the direction of the green blip.
Washu ran behind the sphere, motioning Tenchi and
Ryoko to follow.
"It's found something! Come on, you two!"
Ryoko swung around behind Tenchi, and scooped him up
into her arms. She began to hover quickly behind the
running Washu, who was cackling gleefully and
grinning the entire time. Tenchi shuffled his weight
to keep blood running in his arms, and Ryoko
accommodated the young man as best she could. Tenchi
looked up at his current mode of transportation, and
smiled.
"Thanks, Ryoko." She looked down and smiled
warmly back.
"No problem, cutie." Tenchi's face went red
quickly, and Ryoko giggled to herself as they finally
made it to their destination. At the opposite end of
the crater that they had started in, Washu was
looking over a prone form on the ground. Kneeling
down, she used the silver sphere to analyze the
form's current health and status. Waving it over the
form, the other two began to get curious and moved
closer to see what Washu was checking out. Washu put
a hand up and looked back at Tenchi and Ryoko as they
attempted to get closer.
"Unless you really want to know what burnt
flesh smells like, I'd suggest staying over there.
This one's suffered burns over 85... 80... what in
the hell?" Washu stared at the readouts that her
spherical analyzer was giving her, confused and in
wonder of what she was seeing. Tenchi's curiosity
got the better of him, and he walked over to the
opposite side of the form, and looked down at the
figure on the ground. Complete shock froze his gaze
on what he saw.
The figure had almost no clothes on save
boxers, having most of them burned off while coming
into the atmosphere. His chest and face was covered
with burns, giving Tenchi the impression he was
looking at someone who was wearing a suit of half-
cooked, blackened and still bloody steaks. Ryoko had
taken a quick glance at the body lying on the ground
and turned away, grimacing at the sight. Washu had
been right; the scent of burnt skin and hair was
pretty evident in the air, and it didn't seem to fade
in the slightest. As he watched, however, the
scarring and burnt skin seemed to dry and slough off
revealing normal skin beneath. Inch by inch, minute
by minute, the burnt form seemed to transform into
something that looked humanoid. Tufts of white hair
sprouted from the form's cranium slowly at first, and
grew more quickly as time passed. Portions of scab
tissue fell away from the form's body while the three
watched. Ryoko looked back at the form again, and
blinked twice. Instead of a burnt form a slim,
athletic young man lay prone on the ground in front
of the three rescuers. Bright white hair spread out
underneath his head, in shoulder-length sprawls. His
eyes were closed tightly, as the man's body seemingly
kept regenerating from the immense damage done to it.
Washu stopped gazing at her analyzer for a moment and
kneeled down beside the prostrate man.
"Zero percent burn damage. Not a trace of
chemical or physiological scarring on him. Simply
amazing." She pocketed the analyzer, and reached
into a portal that had opened near her knees.
Pulling out a gun like syringe, she quickly stabbed
the young man in the buttock. Thick and dark red
fluid quickly filled the syringe, and the body
twitched for a moment from the pain. Pulling the
gun-syringe out of the young man after several
seconds, Washu eyed it for a moment and put it back
into the portal, which closed quickly afterward.
Tenchi gave her a quizzical look, and she replied
with a smile.
"Research, Tenchi. I want to know exactly what
race of being he is, and a blood sample will give me
that information the fastest. I know how you are
about tests, but we can't afford not knowing what we
have here; friend, or otherwise." Tenchi nodded and
shrugged.
"Fair enough, Washu. But still, I think you
should have waited for him to agree to that." Washu
took her turn to shrug and went back to studying the
young man more carefully. Ryoko stood behind Tenchi,
eyeing the unconscious young man with a reserved and
stoic look on her face, a face that Washu couldn't
help but notice.
"I don't think we should bring him to the
house. I could understand the temple, but not the
house." Ryoko stated flatly, eyeing the young man
with a cautious eye. Washu gave her daughter a
confused look.
"Well, let me look at who you're going to plop
on Katsuhito's doorstep, alright?" Grasping the young
man's face gently in both hands, Washu turned his
head toward her. His face was youthful looking but,
from what Washu saw as she studied his face, well
worn with experience. Her eyes went wide with shock
as she kept staring into the young man's face.
Memories.
Washu witnessed a young white-haired boy,
stepping out of a tube and taking his first steps
toward another much older man. Is that his father?
She again saw a young white-haired boy playing
on a small hill near his beloved home. Why is that
hill so familiar?
Memories flooded into Washu's mind as her eyes
became saucers. Memories that she knew were hers,
but from where? When?
Ryoko grabbed her mother and shook her several
times until the scientist finally snapped out of her
trancelike state. Washu pulled her hands away
slowly, furrowing her eyebrows in vague recollection
and frustration.
"Washu! Washu! Are you okay?! Washu!"
Concern was thick in Ryoko's voice as Washu turned to
look up at her.
"He's not a threat, Ryoko." Ryoko dropped her
gaze first on the body next to Washu, and then at
Washu herself. She puckered up her lips in
stubbornness.
"You weren't responding to me; now you're going
to tell me that he isn't a threat? You can't be
serious." Ryoko growled, stooping to point first at
Washu and then at the body next to her. Washu's eyes
narrowed on her daughter, but the pirate continued
with her explanation heedless of that fact.
"The man's just survived atmospheric burn-in.
I can't believe that someone who just falls from the
sky, and regenerates MASSIVE damage in minutes can
just be dismissed as simply non-threatening. I may
be a bit stubborn with certain things," Washu's eyes
shot open at the honesty that Ryoko had just shown to
the two other people in the crater, and watched Ryoko
point again at the unconscious young man, "But I'm
not going to just let someone like that into the
house without a second thought." Washu gave her a
quiet look, and sighed deeply. Ryoko took her turn
to give a confused look, wondering exactly what her
mother was planning this time. The young scientist
looked over her shoulder at the young man, and then
toward Tenchi.
"Tenchi." Tenchi was staring absently at the
young man, amazed with what he had just witnessed
earlier. Shaking his head rapidly, he focused on the
two girls kneeling across from the prone form between
them. He scratched his head, and bunched his lips in
thought for a moment.
"While I can understand Ryoko's desire to keep
the family safe, I'm the one who found him. I can't
leave him out here in the cold. Besides, there's no
real place that he can get the care he needs in the
temple or to keep an accurate eye on him, either.
I'll keep watch over him while he sleeps in the
house." Tenchi said finally. Ryoko gave Tenchi a
pleading look, not surprised that he would do
something like this.
"Tenchi, are you sure? We don't know this guy,
and he could be more dangerous than anyone we've ever
found or fought." Tenchi nodded his insistence
at the decision, and Ryoko sighed.
"I will care for him while he sleeps, Tenchi.
I'll also set up several force fields around the room
that Ayeka and Sasami have prepared, to retain him,
if he proves to be a threat. Will that suffice,
Ryoko?" Washu offered, standing up slowly and
brushing off her uniform, never taking her eyes off
of Ryoko. The pirate rolled her eyes and stood up
slowly. Ryoko motioned to Washu to move further away
from the body, which the young scientist did with a
faint smile on her face.
"Thank you, Ryoko." Washu beamed, and Ryoko
gave her a slightly resolute look out of the corner
of her eye as she gently picked up and cradled the
young man in her arms. She gave the form in her arms
one last look, and gave one more look at Tenchi. He
nodded his approval, and smiled broadly at Ryoko.
She gave him a faint smile in return.
"Fine. I don't like this one bit, but if this
is what you want, Tenchi.... so be it. I'll take us
to the house, and we'll think of what to do with him
after we've got him settled in. But, there is NO way
I'm gonna let him have my room after tonight if you
decide that he stays, fair enough?" Tenchi nodded
happily, and Washu clapped her hands together in
finality of the agreement. Tenchi wrapped his arms
around Ryoko's waist from behind, and Washu did the
same to Tenchi's. Almost as quickly as the three
entered the crater, they faded out and away from the
crash site without a sound.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"We're all finished. Now all we have to do is
wait for Tenchi and the others to arrive with our new
guest, if there is one." Ayeka spoke quietly.
Smoothing out the red and blue quilt that was
laid out on the futon, she gave the room one last
look around. The futon was set up underneath the
window at the far wall, and most of the original
decorations were removed. Ryoko's most favored
belongings were taken into Ayeka and Sasami's
bedroom, leaving simply the futon, some chairs, and a
small table in the room. A half-filled water bowl
and several small bandages were set next to the
futon, and a pitcher of water sat on the table just
nearby. Satisfied that the room was properly set for
their guest, Ayeka sat in one of the chairs of the
room and waited for everyone's arrival. Sasami
walked in, with Ryo-Ohki trailing in close behind.
"Are we ready, Ayeka?" Sasami asked her elder
sister, curious and worried bleeding through in her
voice. Ayeka smiled and nodded. The younger
princess put a finger on her chin in thought.
"Where's Mihoshi? I thought that she had
brought you the quilt." Ayeka nodded and pointed
upstairs.
"She had said that all of this excitement had
wore her out, and that she would go to bed for the
evening." Sasami nodded her head in response.
"Ah. About what happened earlier; do you know
what kind of guest they will be, Ayeka?"
"I do not know, Sasami. We shall have to wait
until he or she arrives," Ayeka dropped her head a
little for a moment, and sighed heavily. "But I do
hope that if it IS a she, that she hasn't already
made any lewd or outrageous attempts on Lord Tenchi."
Sasami and Ryo-Ohki giggled to each other and sat
down in front of the elder princess, who gave them a
wondering look.
"And why are you giggling, Sasami?" she
questioned, wondering exactly what was on her
sister's mind. Sasami beamed a giant smile and
looked up at her big sister.
"Oh, nothing. You look like you're happy to be
getting some new friends is all!" She blurted out
loud, and started to laugh again. Ryo-Ohki meowed in
agreement, and transformed back into her cabbit form.
Bouncing around and tumbling with glee, she hopped
into Sasami's lap where she was greeted with pets and
treated to a full body rub. Ayeka simply raised an
eyebrow to her little sister and let out an audible
smirk. She did finally find a medium point with
Ryoko in terms of the man they both loved, and
admitting to each other that Tenchi needed space to
decide for himself was one of the few things that
both girls could agree upon. That and destroying the
living room over the television remote brought the
decision that she and Ryoko would take their disputes
to the training area, again their decision however
much aided by Tenchi persuading Ryoko to follow along
with the idea. She smiled at the memory, and kept
smiling even after Ryoko slowly faded into view in
the center of the room. The pirate carried a young
man in burnt boxers, with Tenchi hugging Ryoko from
behind at the waist, with Washu doing the same to
Tenchi. Sasami turned around to see the last portion
of the fading-in of the whole group. Ryoko and Washu
gave the room a quick look around, and gave a visual
look of approval.
"You move quickly, Ayeka. Nice job." Washu
commented; Ayeka smiled again, and nodded her
appreciation of the compliment. The child scientist
let go of Tenchi and walked toward the futon, pulling
out a small black orb with a single red button on its
side out of a portal underneath her arm as she walked
toward the futon, and waited for the new guest.
Ryoko stood there for a moment, and turned her head
to Tenchi.
"Don't let go of me for a couple of moments."
Ryoko asked. She stood there, an expressionless look
on her face. Tenchi stood there with a look of
confusion on his face.
"Can I ask why?" Ryoko closed her eyes in
response.
"Two things; One, I'm feeling a little faint
from teleporting four people at once. I haven't done
something that draining in a long time, so I'm using
what strength and balance I have to keep from
dropping your new guest," She smiled at Tenchi for a
moment, "And two, well, it's not everyday you get a
good hug from a stud." She felt a momentary
tightening around her waist, and she gave a bigger
smile. Opening her eyes, Ryoko spotted Ayeka's scowl
and rolled her eyes.
"Oh, give me a break, Ayeka. You can get a hug
in due time, if you'd just ask him, you know." The
pirate pulled away from Tenchi and walked toward the
futon. Washu pulled the quilt away from the futon,
and Ryoko gently placed the young man onto the futon.
Backing away, the scientist covered the young man
with the blanket, and motioned everyone to step away
from the futon.
"Alright, everyone. Step back and watch a
genius at work!" Laying the metal orb in her hand on
the ground next to the futon, she pushed the red
button, then moved away quickly. A red hue was
faintly seen from the orb, and a red beam struck the
ceiling. Expanding away from the band, the futon was
soon surrounded by a faint red sphere of energy that
seemed to twinkle and shimmer. After several
seconds, it faded out of visible sight, and the group
sighed in relief. Washu walked over to the futon,
and flicked the open air. Red light shimmered and
twinkled at the contact point, and she smiled
gleefully.
"One impenetrable force field brought to you by
Washu Hakubi, extraordinaire! Oh, to be the
greatest!" she exclaimed, grinning ear to ear. Ryoko
simply rolled her eyes, and Ayeka sighed in
resignation. Sasami simply stood up and walked
toward the door, and turned around before walking
through.
"I'm going to bed, Ayeka. This has been really
exciting, though! I wonder what he's going to be
like?" She smiled and, petting the little cabbit as
she went, walked out of the room leaving Ayeka with a
wondering look on her face. Tenchi shrugged and
yawned loudly.
"I'm going to get myself something to drink
from the refrigerator. What shift did you want,
Washu?" The scientist tapped a finger on her chin,
thinking the question over for a moment.
"I'll take the last shift, Tenchi. I've got to
make sure that the lab experiment I'm working on is
finished, and then I'll be up to take your place...
will that be fine?" Tenchi smiled and nodded.
"That'll be perfect, Washu. You were a better
night owl than I, anyway." With that Tenchi walked
out of the room to get his drink, leaving the three
girls alone in the room with their sleeping guest.
Ayeka eyed the young man from her place in the chair,
and turned to the other girls.
"So, my guess would be that this is our injured
guest." She looked him over more thoroughly, leaning
nearly out of her chair to get a better look at his
face. "That's rather strange; he doesn't seem
injured at all."
"Heh, he was burnt worse than your attempt at
steak last month at the family barbeque, Ayeka. He
regenerated the damage as if it were a paper cut."
Ryoko stated, laughing slightly at her first comment.
Ayeka scowled at the pirate, not quite so enthused
with the memory.
"Hey, it was not my fault. It was my first
time at attempting to cook over an open flame, and
with no nearby water I used the only available liquid
to attempt to douse the rising flames!" Ryoko took
her turn to scowl, and shook a finger at the
princess.
"You used my last bottle of my favorite SAKE,
Ayeka!" The princess took a slight smile at that
memory.
"It's not like it went to waste, Ryoko."
"Whatever," the space pirate huffed and turned
away from the princess to face her mother again. "I
still can't believe that you're actually letting this
guy into the house even after we watched Mr. Pork
Chop shrug off burn damage as if he were taking off
an extra set of clothes!"
Washu still hadn't gotten over the fact of
Ryoko's insistence of leaving the young man at the
temple or even simply where he lay. She narrowed her
eyes a second time glaring directly in Ryoko's own.
Again, Ryoko was heedless of the danger she put
herself into and kept talking about dangers unknown;
Ayeka, however, was visibly confused.
"I am sorry little Washu, Ryoko. What do you
mean, he shrugged off the damage?" Ayeka questioned.
Washu sighed a second time, and motioned the girls
out into the hallway. Silently, both girls had
followed out the young scientist, and Washu resumed
speaking after Ayeka had closed the door to the room.
"As in, he regenerated burn damage that had
covered over 90 percent of his body. All of it
third-degree burns, and I can guarantee that no
simple mortal would be able to survive that. So, we
know he's from off-world. Now, even off-world beings
such as us wouldn't be able to survive the severity
of the damage that he had taken. Beings that would
be capable of that kind of regeneration would be
beings that can regenerate at a sub-cellular level,
such as Ryoko and Ryo-Ohki." Ayeka nodded in
understanding, and Ryoko simply leaned against the
wall with a frustrated look on her face while Washu
continued.
"There are species of creature that can
regenerate that kind of damage just as fast, but
they're not humanoid in form. So whatever that young
man is, he's a great deal more than what he looks to
be." Ryoko turned to face the two other girls.
"All the more reason to keep him from inside
the house, I'd say. I not going to let this family
get slaughtered because of some hallucinations of
yours!" Ayeka gave a questioning look at Washu, who
rolled her eyes at Ryoko's words.
"Hallucinations? What is she talking about,
Washu?" Washu shot her daughter an angry glare,
which Ryoko finally understood and fell silent. The
scientist turned back to Ayeka and resumed her
explanation.
"Memories are more an accurate term I would
have used, Ayeka." Ryoko huffed and looked toward
the stairs, allowing the two girls to continue
talking.
"While I had tended to our young John Doe,
several memories of him passed through my mind giving
me the distinct impression that I knew him, or still
know him. Though for some strange reason I can't
pin, however, I can't seem to recall anything
additional than basic things. One of those memories
being that he's a very kind, gentle person. That's
why Tenchi and I had insisted that he be brought back
to the house. Another would be that if we had taken
him to the temple as Ryoko had suggested, we might
not have all of the necessary equipment to treat any
additional wounds he may have had, or provide
containment had our guest actually prove himself to
be a threat." Washu explained.
"Well, the temple would be a much better suited
place to keep him. Why not simply move the necessary
equipment into one of the temple rooms and keep him
under close surveillance there?" Ayeka replied,
putting her hands inside the sleeves of her kimono.
Ryoko gave a smug look toward her mother, pleased
that someone else was thinking along her lines.
Washu stopped for a single moment, and then
responded.
"One word; Katsuhito. He's the current priest
of the Masaki shrine, and the protection of the
shrine is high on his list of priorities. Think
about it. If someone who you didn't know was sleeping
on or near the temple grounds and have the prospects
of his or her being a threat looming over your head,
what would you choose; safe, or sorry?" Ayeka nodded
in agreement, and Ryoko fell silent after listening
to the reasoning behind the scientist's words while
Washu finished explaining. "And besides, he's not at
the temple right now. He had taken a nature trip to
a nearby shrine, and wouldn't be back until tomorrow
morning; I simply wanted to keep his temple standing
and in one piece until he gets back."
Ayeka pondered Washu's words for several
moments, while Tenchi appeared from the stairs with
four sodas and a hard-cover book cradled in his arms.
He passed one soda to each of the girls, who gave him
a smile of approval. Tenchi walked toward the door,
and smiled toward the girls.
"Well, I'll be in here if any of you need me.
Washu, I'll come and get you at about 2:00 a.m. It's
about 9:00 p.m. right now, so will five hours give
you enough time?" Washu cackled and smiled at
Tenchi, who pasted a worried look on his face due to
not-so-fond memories of the last time heard that
sound.
"More than enough, Tenchi, thank you. I'll be
in my lab when it's time." Ayeka yawned faintly, and
bowed slightly to everyone in the hall.
"I think that I will retire for the evening.
Thank you all for the experience, this has been most
rewarding." Ayeka said, and made her way to her room.
Ryoko still leaned against the wall next to the door
as Ayeka gave her a final look. She stuck out her
chin in exasperation.
"Ayeka, I'm not going to do anything with
Tenchi. I'm simply going to be outside the door in
case of problems. When Washu takes over, I'll be in
to sleep as well." Ayeka closed her eyes, sighing
heavily.
"Considering the circumstances, I can believe
you, Ryoko. I'll make sure that your bed is ready
for you when you come in for the night. Good night
Ryoko, Washu." Ayeka quietly spoke, as she opened
the door to her room and swiftly entered. Washu
waved a hand to Ayeka as she closed the door, and
smiled. After the princess closed the door, Washu
sighed heavily and shrugged as if she were getting
something off of her shoulders. Ryoko closed her
eyes, and kept silent while keeping her vigil over
the two men inside her former room.
"Alright, then. I guess I'll go analyze the
blood sample of our John Doe character while Tenchi
takes first watch over him. It'll most likely take
several hours to get any results out of it, so in the
meantime I guess I'll finish up some research while
I'm on watch." Washu noted to herself. Ryoko simply
raised her eyebrows in response, and opened a single
eye to look at Washu. The scientist simply shook her
head in defeat, and walked down the stairs to her
lab. She stopped at the head of the stairs to glance
at Ryoko and spoke.
"You might be right about some things, Ryoko,
but just stop to remember one thing. What Tenchi is
doing for this "unknown threat" he also did for a
well known threat whose name I won't mention." The
pirate peered at her mother with an angry look, and
quickly turned to gaze at the far wall.
"That was cold." Ryoko whispered.
"You're right. Still, nonetheless, not
everything that falls from the sky is going to
destroy your new family. If I considered it even
remotely dangerous, do you honestly think it would be
sleeping in our new home right now?" Ryoko remained
silent as Washu spoke, the pirate never taking her
eyes off of the far wall. Washu sighed, and
traversed the stairs down to her lab. A faint creak
and a door closing left the pirate alone in the
hallway. She sighed and slid down the wall, closing
her eyes and thinking of her family.
"I swear to whatever's listening, that if you
threaten my family EVER, that not even heaven or hell
will save you from me. That much I promise." Ryoko
whispered to her unknown threat. With that the
pirate wrapped her arms around her legs, leaned her
forehead against her knees, and sat.
End of Part 1