Disclaimer: Tenchi Muyo! and its characters, technologies, 
etc. are property of Pioneer and AIC. All other characters 
and ideas are property of the author and their use is 
prohibited except by consent of the author. Any similiarities 
to actual persons, events, etc. are purely coincidental and 
in no way makes the author liable. To sum up all this legal 
stuff don't steal my original characters and don't sue me for 
use of ones that aren't.

Tenchi Muyo!: Airs of the Past

Chapter 2: Long Nights

	Tenchi was daydreaming through the last few hours of school for 
this year. By this time most of the teachers were just saying goodbye 
to students who wouldn't be back next year or just wishing a happy summer 
to those they would torture, errr..... tutor, next fall. Tenchi hurriedly 
packed his stuff from his locker so he could get home. He wanted to finish 
his training early tonight so he could enjoy his first night of vacation. 
"Of course this year won't be any different than all the other summer 
vacations I've had," he said sarcastically.

"Whaddidya say, Tenchi?" a friend said behind him.

"Oh nothing really just thinking of the same old summer of chores and training 
I'm gonna have to go through again this summer," Tenchi replied somewhat annoyed 
by the constant reminder that his summers of toil and drudgery were unique among 
his classmates.

"Wow, sounds like a real bummer, well see you next year, im going on a vacation 
so I won't see you until fall again," he shouted as he made his way to the closest 
exit.

"Well at least someone will have a good summer," Tenchi muttered again under his 
breath. Tenchi explored any way he had to possibly get out of his impending 
summmer of chores. "It's hopeless," he muttered I will never get a vacation. 
"Oh well so comes the responsibility of being a shinto priest," he said to himself 
knowing that the lack of vacation time was because of the duties he would one 
day have of guarding the Masaki Shrine.

Unknown to Tenchi, everyone at home was busy preparing to hold a party to start 
Tenchi's vacation. Aeka and Ryoko were hanging decorations, inbetween arguing of 
course, Sasami was putting the final touches on dinner, Mihoshi was not back from 
her patrol for the day but was expected soon, Katsuhito was waiting for Tenchi so 
he could make sure he didn't get home too early, Nobuyuki was out buying sake 
(even if Tenchi doesn't drink everyone but Tenchi and Sasami would) and poor Washu 
had her hands full trying to supervise everything. Between making sure Ryoko and 
Aeka didn't demolish the house and making sure Nobuyuki didn't run into Tenchi, 
she was pretty busy. On top of all that she was also making sure Tenchi got stopped 
by his grandfather, but she had faith in Katsihito not to mess that up.
	
	By this time Tenchi was close to home and his grandfather could see him. 
"Ah, Tenchi, come with me," he said in a firm tone as Tenchi walked up. 

	"Shouldn't I at least change, Grandfather," he asked. School clothes weren't 
very comfortable to be training in.
	
	"No, come with me immediately," he was trying not to give away the secret, 
and the more Tenchi questioned his orders the harder it would get. Tenchi reluctantly 
agreed and followed his grandfather to the training ground.

	When they got there Tenchi was thrown a bokken by his grandfather who almost 
immediatelyattacked him. He slashed from the right and Tenchi easily blocked it. Then 
he tried to sweep his legs out from under him.
 
Meanwhile Washu was watching from a screen in her lab and remembered last time Katsuhito 
did this to Tenchi he ended up with a concussion. She silenty hoped Tenchi would catch on. 
If Tenchi didn't know who he was it wouldn't be much of a party.

	Luckily, Tenchi remembered the last time his Grandfather used this combination 
of moves and quickly stepped to the side, leveling his bokken with Katsuhito's neck.

	"I see you remember that, not bad Tenchi," he said with a grim air of satisfaction 
as he stepped back and prepared to fight him again.

	This time it was Tenchi who attacked first. He swung straight for his grandfather's 
head. Katsuhito took a quick step back dodging the blade and then stabbing toward Tenchi's 
chest.Tenchi brought his bokken up just in time to sweep the other bokken away then shot 
his bokken forward aiming for his grandfather's neck.

	Katsuhito brought his bokken up and both swords snapped at the force of the blow. 
They gave each other a weird look for a minute before breaking out laughing.
 
	They were both laughing when Sasami came up to tell them dinner was ready. 
Katsuhito went on ahead as Tenchi picked up the remains of the bokkens.
 
Katsuhito got to the house just in time to get ready for Tenchi to come in.
 
As Tenchi approached the house he thought something was a little funny. All the lights 
except the kitchen light were off. He could see through the window that there was no 
one except Sasami in the kitchen. "Hmm, something funny is going on here," Tenchi 
mumbled as he entered the house, "but I'm not sure what it is."

	Sasami flashed him a cheerful smile as everyone popped out from their hiding 
places (Ryoko just teleported in and squeezed him to the point he couldn't breath) 
and they all yelled, "Surprise!!" (cliche isn't it?)

	Tenchi was genuinely surprised even though he did expect something. The Party 
went on like any normal party would, basically......until they opened up the sake. 
Ryoko and Aeka both were getting pretty drunk and at that point stopping them from 
fighting was next to impossible.
 
Tenchi's father and Grandfather were on the porch gazing at the stars. They weren't 
drunk but that didn't matter too much they had all but left the party. Mihoshi, 
Sasami and Tenchi were just trying not to get in the way of Ryoko or Aeka as they 
started to insult and threaten each other. Washu was already back in her lab.

	Eventually they all fell asleep or went off to bed. Of course as Tenchi had 
predicted his grandfather didn't forget to remind him of his chores and training 
before he went back to the shrine.

	Tenchi surveyed the scene around him and sighed. Why was it that after any 
of these parties he was the only one not passed out or dead tired? Aeka was laying 
on the halfway on the table and halfway on the floor, Mihoshi was sleeping soundly 
on one of the couches, Ryoko was laying in the middle of the floor still holding a 
bottle of sake, Sasami, Katsuhito and Nobuyuki all went to bed before they fell asleep. 
Washu had not come out of her lab since she left after things had started to wind down 
and Tenchi doubted that she would come out again that night.

	Tenchi slowly picked up Aeka and carried her to her room. He laid Ryoko on 
the couch since he didn't have a way to get her on her rafter. He didn't think that 
was a very good idea when she was drunk anyway.

	 After making sure everyone was comfortable and sleeping soundly he walked 
up to his bed. After laying there for an hour Tenchi started to talk to himself in 
hoping to drift off to sleep. "Well there is the moon, It is at the exact same spot 
that it usually is when I was have my all to frequent bouts with insomnia lately," 
he mumbled not exactly sure what to say just trying to say anything to help him sleep.

	Tenchi awoke to find himself standing in the dark. He couldn't see anything 
just darkness all around him. "I wonder if im really awake," Tenchi thought. His thought 
echoed throughout the darkness almost as if he had yelled it.

	"Ah, I see you are here, boy."

	Tenchi knew that voice......it sounded so familiar......yet strange like 
he hadn't heard it long time. "You know who i am, boy, think about it for a moment."
 
	Tenchi just couldn't place that voice it was on the tip of his tongue, it had 
to be an old friend.....or could it be an enemy? He uttered the name as soon as he 
saw the form of the person come into view.

	"Kagato," he gasped,"but you...it can't be I killed you. How can you...what are 
you....why?"

	"Such a strange reaction....almost makes me think you missed me, HAHAHA," he 
said in his high nasal voice. His beady, yellow eyes glowed slighty as he formed his 
bright green energy sword. "Now i shall finish what I started!" he screamed as he 
moved in for the kill.
 
	Tenchi found himself unable to move as Kagato closed in and made one clean 
slash across his chest slicing him in two.

	Tenchi then found himself in the yard in front of his school. He glanced 
around and noticed the school was burning. He turned back around to see Ryoko 
standing there. A look of pure unadulterated hate on her face. This looked like the 
night he first met Ryoko but something was different. Ryoko looked genuinely pissed.
 
	"Now you die, bastard!" she screamed as she lunged forward. Tenchi moved to 
hold his bag in front of him like the night it happened but found her sword went right 
through it and stabbed him right through his chest.

	"What now," Tenchi sighed as he found himself in his room. He was standing next 
to Ryoko. She was begging him to return her gems. At that moment he saw Aeka's Battleship 
appear overhead. Everthing went like he remembered it except when the guardians came over 
to capture them. They captured Ryoko like normal and then they turned and shot him right 
in the head.

	He had gotten the general idea of what was going on so he looked around. 
He was inside jail inside Ryuoh. He saw Sasami walking towards him. She looked at him 
straight into his eyes She then spoke, "You are a worthless traitor, not worthy to be a 
descendant of the Jurai Royal Family." She then pulled out a device and pressed a button 
on it. Elecrtrical energy shot through the cell killing him quite painfully.

	He looked at his new surroundings. It was his aunt's house. Just after they 
had rescued Mihoshi. She stood up and started firing her gun. He didn't know what 
happened to the others. He was the first one hit.

	When he came to again he was tied to a cold metal table with wires and cables 
running into him. He glanced around only to be able to see a blackness above him. He 
suddenly heard a voice. He instanly recognized it as Washu's. He couldn't tell what 
she was saying he felt to groggy. "I must be drugged," he slurred his speach so much
he could barely tell he had said anything at all. At this Washu looked down at him and 
said something he couldn't make out. Then she smiled a devilish, horrid, evil grin. It 
made Tenchi's blood run cold. suddenly he felt an immense pain wrought on his entire 
being. The pain continued more and more fiercely. He expected to pass out but he felt 
his own heart stop in his chest, then he blacked out.
 
	He looked around again, he was at the training grounds. His grandfather was 
there holding a bokken. He swung his own bokken in front of him. "At least a bokken 
can't kill me," he muttered.

	His grandfather charged him. He parried his first swing easily they batted 
at each other with their bokkens for a few minutes before his grandfather missed a 
block. He saw an energy shield like his grandfather used against Kagato materialize 
where his bokken was. "Hmmm.....you've never used that against me before," Tenchi 
complained as what would have been his victory was thwarted by his grandfather's 
unusual tactic.

	"You have no idea," his grandfather started midswing, "the power I can use 
against you." He finished his sentence as Tenchi felt an enormous pain in his side. 
He looked down in time to see that his grandfather's bokken had changed into Tenchi-ken 
as he was gutted, and then he passed out.

	Tenchi woke up this time in his bed. He looked around....he was alone. "Oh 
great what is gonna happen this time? Am i gonna kill myself?" he muttered visibly 
pained by all of his earliersituations.

	"Are you alright, Tenchi? I hope you aren't serious about killing yourself."
He looked to up to see Ryoko looking down at him from the ceiling, a very concerned 
look on her face. He quicly sat up and pinched himself. He bit his tongue. He slapped 
himself in the head. No, he was pretty sure he was not dreaming this time.
 
	Ryoko was just giving him a very interested and strange look. She floated 
down from the ceiling and he met her gaze. She wrapped her arms around him and under 
normal circumstances he would have pushed her away. The main reason he didn't was 
she was the first person he had seen in awhile who wasn't trying to dismember him.

	"Are you OK, Tenchi?"
	"I...I think so. Just a peculiar dream."

	"I could make you forget it, Tenchi," she teased as she twirled her finger 
on his chest. She suddenly stopped short and gasped slighty running her finger along 
a deep scar on his torso.

	Tenchi looked down in a mixture of fear and awe. Everywhere he had been hurt 
during his dreams had turned into a scar. He needed to tell someone and since Ryoko 
was already there, he told her about the whole thing. Every last painful detail and 
the scar that accompanied it, if there was one for that particular death.

	Now that they were both in fear for Tenchi's safety, (and after Ryoko assured 
Tenchi she would never hurt him like that) they walked out to see what was going on in 
the rest of the house.

To be Continued.......

Author's Note: sorry this chapter took a little longer than i thought it would but 
certain things came up over the weekend. (duty calls, hehe) About the party scene 
yeah i know i could have detailed it more but that was pretty much there just to 
move the story along. Is there anyone Out there who actually is reading this story? 
If so could you, like, i dunno, give me a review? As always send Comments, Questions, 
Death Threats, and requests for my shipping address (so you know where to send all 
the mailbombs) to: kemanorel_7@yahoo.com