Disclaimer: Tenchi Masaki, Kiyone Makibi, and all things Tenchi are property of Pioneer. Ronin is mine, however. He belongs to me! Shut up, whore! You can't have him! I love him! We'll be together forev-(stagehand slaps writer)..sorry about that, folks. Enjoy the story. Tenchi Muyo! Blade of the Jimmu Chapter 3: Hammer of Evil The room was dead silent. The party assembled at the dining room table ate slowly, all preoccupied with watching their new visitor. The young swordsman, Nathan Grant, had shocked them all with his amazing power. Everyone wanted to know more about him, but he refused to say much as of yet. He ate politely, stopping occasionally to compliment Sasami on the meal she had cooked. Ryoko finally broke the silence. Slamming her bowl of miso on the table, (splattering Ayeka, of course) she locked eyes with Nathan and yelled, "Damn it, kid, how the hell did you get your power and why the hell are you here?" Nathan placed his dish on the table, wiped his mouth, and stared directly into Ryoko's eyes. Quite calmly, he replied, "As I said before, I will explain in good time. Now please sit down. Your food's getting cold. Oh, Sasami, this is excellent. You've really outdone yourself." Ryoko growled and reluctantly sat down. Damn it.what is with this kid? One minute he's ready to cut me in half, the next he's all please and thank you. Kiyone watched in amazement. I've never seen anyone get to Ryoko like that. Nathan's behavior is so weird. He's cold and dead serious when he's fighting, but he has the most incredible manners. It's almost like he's a knight or something. She then realized. That must be how he got his name. Ronin.a Japanese warrior without a master. Kind of a man who lives by his heart.Whoa.Wait a sec. Where did that come from? I hardly know him, and here I am. Her train of thought was broken when a loud explosion sounded outside. The house shook with the impact. Ronin looked up and narrowed his eyes. "Damn." He ran to the living room and grabbed his mask and sword. "Tenchi, come with me. Bring your weapon." "What? What's going on?" "Don't question me. Just do it." Tenchi nodded and ran upstairs. He came back down with the Tenchi-ken in hand. He followed Ronin out the door. Ryoko stood up. "Well, I'm not gonna just sit here and wait. I'm going to see what they're doing." She teleported away. "It seems Ryoko and I are finally in agreement." Said Ayeka. She excused herself and headed out the door. Kiyone frowned. "What's going on? Nathan just shifted back into battle mode." She turned to her partner. "Mihoshi, come on." "But Kiyone, dinner's gonna get cold." "Oh, shut up." Kiyone grabbed Mihoshi and ran outside. The group stood in shock at what lay before them. A large crater now occupied the backyard of the Masaki residence. At the center of the crater, about 20 yards down, was a metallic, smoking object. This sort of thing happened often enough for Tenchi to guess what it was. It was a ship. "A spaceship? Who do you think it belongs to?" Tenchi asked Ronin. "I'm not sure. However, I can feel their evil intentions." Ronin drew his sword. "Stay on guard." Tenchi activated the blade of his own sword. He stood in a fighting stance, preparing for the worst. Ryoko summoned her own blade as well. Ayeka stood between her guardians, shield at the ready. Kiyone and Mihoshi drew their blasters. A long time passed. The ship in front of them cooled down. At last the cockpit opened. A single cloaked figure rose from it. It touched down less than ten feet from the Tenchi crew. The man looked human. The light from inside reflected off his bald head. With a bit of dramatic flare, he threw aside the cloak. This new visitor held in his hands a huge war hammer. "Ronin." he sneered. "You didn't honestly think you could hide forever, did you?" Ronin raised his blade. "Forscythe.still a pawn for him, I see." Tenchi raised his hand. "Uh.'scuse me, but, what's going on?" Forscythe shifted his gaze to Tenchi. "This is the boy Tsunami favors? He looks like a common punk to me." "Hey, you!" Ayeka cried. "Lord Tenchi is not a punk! He will defeat you with no trouble at all!" Tenchi sweat dropped. "Ayeka.don't encourage him, please." Ryoko's sight turned red. "Punk? You think my Tenchi is a punk?!? That's it! Eat this, cue ball!" With that she fired a great blast of energy at the bald baddie. Forscythe looked at the oncoming blast and smiled. With blinding speed, he raised his hammer and hit the blast like a baseball. It ricocheted back and caught Ryoko broadsided. She flew backwards and hit the side of the house. "Fool." "Ryoko!" Tenchi cried. He turned to Forscythe. "Leave her out of this, you!" The hammer-bearing villain gave Tenchi a questioning look. "You are." His eyes lit up. "You must be Tenchi, the one who uses the Light Hawk Wings. Trust me, boy. You are no match for me. Frankly, I don't know what my master sees in you." Ronin's eyes narrowed. "You're here for Tenchi?" "That I am. You are a secondary objective, I'm afraid. Does that hurt your feelings? Hahahaha.." "Enough. If you want to obtain us, you must first best us in battle. Tenchi, summon the Light Hawk Wings now!" Tenchi blinked. He whispered, "Uh.I can't. They sort of come on their own right now." "I'm sorry, come again?" "I can't summon them at will." Ronin kept his composure steady. "I see.all right then. Forscythe is a dangerous adversary. Do not attack him head on. Ready, on the count of three, charge and angle to the left. I'll take the right. Ok? Ready.one.two.THREE!" The two fighters gave battle yells and charged at Forscythe. Each of them took an angle within three feet of their target. As Ronin moved to strike, he caught a glimpse of Forscythe's face. He was smiling. Both swordsmen took mighty swings at their opponent. Forscythe quickly spun a full 360 degrees, whacking both attackers with his hammer. Tenchi and Ronin went flying in opposite directions. Tenchi rolled a couple of times before stopping. Rubbing his hip, he slowly rose. "Ow." he moaned. "Well that worked well." "Lord Tenchi! Are you alright?" "I'm fine, Ayeka. Just stand back." Kiyone turned to Mihoshi. "We've got to do something, Mihoshi!" She leveled her blaster at Forscythe. Mihoshi followed suit. Both officers started firing simultaneously. Their target smiled again. Twirling his hammer like a baton, he deflected the blasts easily. Forscythe laughed. "Honestly, this is too easy. I think I'll just take one of you out for fun. I choose..you." He glared menacingly at Kiyone. The young officer gulped. I've got to think. Forscythe hunched over. Electrical currents began running over his body. A low growl from him slowly rose to a yell of rage. He leaped high into the air, war hammer raised over his head. "RAAAAAGH!!!!" Kiyone quickly glanced around. She saw a window of escape. Whipping out her yo-yo, she cast it out and snagged a nearby tree. She narrowly evaded the advancing gigath by pulling herself onto a branch. Forscythe hit the ground with full force, screaming with rage. The sheer might of his blow caused the very ground to erupt. Ayeka, Tenchi, and Mihoshi were sent soaring. Kiyone looked on in horror. It was then that something caught her eye. Ronin was sitting behind her on the branch. "This doesn't look good, Kiyone." "No kidding. What do we do?" "He used much of his power in that strike. If we attack now, we can beat him." "Okay. Tell me what to do." Ronin leaned over and whispered his plan. Kiyone listened, amazed at the unusual tactic involved. She felt something else, too, something.different. Damn, she thought. Now's not the time. "Ok. I'm ready." "Very well." Ronin jumped off the branch and landed a few yards in front of Forscythe. "Over here!" He gestured to Forscythe in a manner that cannot be mentioned in this fanfic. The hammer-wielding fiend screamed in anger. He charged at Ronin with ramming speed. "Now, Kiyone!" Ronin turned his sword blade-down and thrust it into the ground, then leaped out of the way. Kiyone jumped down to the ground and cast the yo-yo out at knee level. The cable spun around Forscythe's legs, pulling them tightly together. He tumbled down in front of the sword. He dropped his hammer and grabbed the rooted blade to steady himself. Kiyone wondered what Ronin had planned. She soon found out. The dark fighter raised his arms over his head and murmured to himself. Kiyone saw a look of sheer terror on Forscythe's face as he struggled to escape. However, his hands appeared fastened to the sword. "Spirit of eternal flame that resides within the blade, awaken.rise from the ash once more and purify this unworthy opponent with holy flame!" Ronin rose into the air. A red aura surrounded him. His eyes, once icy blue, now turned a bright red. He tilted his head up and raised his voice to an ear-shattering level. "PHOENIX FLAAAAARE!!!!" A deafening roar filled the area as a pillar of flame burst from the sword. It reached higher in the sky than the eye could see. Forscythe was engulfed in the towering inferno. He roared in agony. Watching from a safe distance, Kiyone could see his silhouette crumble in the fire. She squeezed her eyes shut and turned away. The fire finally cleared. A thick cloud of smoke hung in the air. Stumbling through the dense cloud, Kiyone tripped over someone. She was able to make out Ronin's features. His mask had been burned away by the intense heat. He appeared to be unconscious. "Nathan!" She raised his face to hers. Oh no, he's not breathing! She realized. She laid him back down and, thinking quickly, administered mouth-to-mouth. Come on, Nathan, wake up. You were amazing back there. You can't die now. It took a few minutes, but Nathan finally opened his eyes. "Did we win?" he asked. Kiyone gave him a half-smile. "Yeah, we beat him. Listen, Nathan, I-" He interrupted. "Kiyone. Get the others together. I'll tell you.everything." TO BE CONTINUED.