Welcome back! This is the ninth episode of Bushido Muyo! I hope that you have enjoyed the series up to now and that this episode lives up to your expectations. Now, I'll just take care of the legal mumbo jumbo, and get started. This isn't all my idea. Tenchi Muyo! and the related characters (Tenchi, Ryoko, Aeka, Sasami, Washu, Mihoshi, Kiyone, Kagato, etc.) are the property of Pioneer LDC and AIC. I'm not going to lay any claim to any of the characters, only to the uniqueness of the storyline. So, I am writing this in the hope that it will persuade either of these two corporations not to sic their legal teams on me should my work fall into their hands. And if they don't, then thank you, ahead of time. ******************************************************************************** Bushido Muyo! By Jeremy "Kraken" Acord azhrei701@hotmail.com Episode 9: "Changing of the Guard" Deep in the backwater of the universe, a remarkable but not uncommon event was taking place. On a planet nearby to a respectably sized nuclear fusion furnace, a mass of land was reaching the day/night line. To an observer standing on such a spot, the circle that was the star would seem to dim, turn a duller color, and sink into the terrain. Such a marvellous illusion usually goes largely unappreciated, the commonness of the occurence having jaded potential viewers into philistinic apathy. But the unique beauty of this display was not lost on two people in particular. Ryoko slung an arm about Tenchi's shoulder, and rested her head on his. Her toes danced lightly down the dirt path. Tenchi seemed preoccupied as to where he placed his feet, stirring loose rocks to tumble down the steep slope. He wiped the sweat from his brow with the sleeve of his shirt. Today, Ryoko and Tenchi's jaunt had taken them far into the forest, and they were just now nearing the shrine. Tenchi stopped when they reached the shrine grounds, and, now that his footing was better assured, took in the shrine's just-nigh-of- legendary sunset view. "Wow," He whispered. A soft smile spread across his face. "It's been quite a day." Ryoko let go of Tenchi. She stretched and yawned. Then she sprung up into the air, spiraling through the cool breeze. She drifted lightly down to earth, executing a ballet-caliber one point landing. Revolving on the ball of her foot, she came to rest facing Tenchi. "That was great, Tenchi. Your reflexes are quicker than mine now." "They have to be," Tenchi spoke gently. "You're faster than I could ever hope to be." He began to walk past her toward the stone steps from the shrine. Ryoko sighed in frustration and put a hand on his chest, stopping him. "Nonsense," she said sternly, "You just can't relax enough." She shot him a playful smile. "If you didn't have such a cute li'l schoolboy crush on me..." Tenchi rolled his eyes, and they started down the steps. The were so engaged in conversation that they didn't notice Aeka standing on the steps until they nearly bumped into her. "Oh, Aeka," Ryoko commented in mock-pleasant surprise, "What are you doing here?" She tightened her grip on Tenchi. Tenchi hoped this wouldn't take long; he couldn't hold his breath forever. "Ugh," grunted an exasperated Princess Aeka, "Where have you been? Dinner's getting cold!" "Well, Uh, when we finished sparring, we were three hills over... and it took us a while to get back. That's all," Tenchi croaked. Aeka regarded both of them with suspicion. "I'm sure," She remarked. Turning on her heel, she began to walk down toward the house. "Come, Lord Tenchi. It's dinner time." Tenchi shrugged at Ryoko, and jogged to catch up. *** After dinner, the whole Masaki residence seemed to wind down. Aeka and Katsuhito were playing chess, as they were oft doing, on the kitchen table. Tenchi, for once, was spending the evening with the ladies. Nobiyuki sat in an easy chair, while Tenchi framed by Ryoko and Sasami, were watching stand-up comedy. Tenchi became aware that Ryoko was not displaying her usual enthusiasm. She laughed half-heartedly, and mostly seemed lost in thought. She glanced at him repeatedly, and Tenchi found himself wondering what gears could be turning in the space pirate's devious mind. Tenchi glanced over at Mihoshi. She wore a puzzled expression, as usual, wondering what was so funny. Her watch, now that Washu had gotten a look at it, had been fixed completely, and could now display the correct time. Tenchi read the numbers easily. He stood. "I have school tomorrow. I'll have to get to bed soon." "Good night, Lord Tenchi," Aeka muttered. Her sharpness of perception had returned. Nods of affirmation came, and Tenchi walked slowly upstairs. Yawning, he walked into his room. He turned in response to a floorboard creak to find Ryoko standing in the doorway. Her hands were folded in front of her, and she looked sheepishly at the floor. "Ryoko, what are you plotting?" Tenchi asked. "I know you're up to something." "Well," she began, "scince we started training together you've gotten much stronger. And, well, I think you're stronger than me now." "Don't kid yourself, Ryoko. Do you see me walking through walls and teleporting around the house? I doubt I'll ever be close to you." Ryoko looked at him in sympathy. "Where's Tenchi-ken?" "Well," Tenchi said, looking upward, "I think it's in-" he gestured toward the drawer of his desk. Suddenly the drawer flew open. Tenchi-ken leapt out, clattering to the floor at Tenchi's feet. "What the..." Tenchi stammered. "See? You haven't noticed how powerful you've become." She remarked matter-of- factly. As Tenchi bent to pick up the sword, Ryoko walked over. She held up her wrist. "Tenchi, I want to give the third gem back to you." "Huh? Why do you want to give it back?" Ryoko looked away. "I don't think I need it anymore." Tenchi leaned back into view. "Ryoko, you're powerless without those gems. Why would you give up the ability to defend yourself?" "I won't be," She said. She turned back and smiled at him. "I've still got you." Tenchi's eyebrows rose. "Ryoko, are you sure?" Ryoko didn't answer. Grabbing Tenchi's hand, she pressed the pommel of the sword to the gem on her wrist. Her face was lit by a cold blue glow. She let go of Tenchi, and her hand fell to her side. Then she embraced him, throwing herself against him. "Don't worry, Tenchi," She cooed in his ear, "I've still got my backup gems." As if cued, her gem-earrings twinkled. "But-" "Bye now, Tenchi." Letting him go, Ryoko sank through the floor. Tenchi held up the sword. The three gems flashed in unison, suggesting that they, like Tenchi-ken, had a mind of their own. "I wonder what that was all about," He asked, to no one in particular. He looked up to find Washu standing in the hallway, leaning against the wall, arms crossed. She appraised him for a few moments before speaking. "You know, she's crippled now. And her motivations are getting so complicated that even I can barely even tell what they are. I'll give you one guess." Tenchi scratched his head thoughtfully for a few moments. "Well, I'd say that the run-in she had with your clone is still bothering her, and she thinks that as long as she deprives herself of her source of power, she'll be able to avoid hurting me." Washu flicked her eyebrows, glancing askance. "A good guess, but wrong. She knows there's another big battle coming, and she wants you to be as powerful as possible to prepare for it. Therefore, she spars with you, and because Tenchi- ken can take power from the gems, she gives them to you. She's betting all her chips on you, Tenchi." Tenchi considered this for a moment, staring down at Tenchi-ken. He wasn't sure he was prepared for the battle Washu spoke of. "Well, I'll try not to let her down-" when Tenchi looked up, Washu was gone. "I wonder what SHE'S plotting..." Tenchi tried not to think about what had transpired as he lay awake in bed, for fear that Tenchi-ken would leap back out of his desk drawer and give him a lump that he wouldn't easily forget. He tried to busy his mind by thinking about school. He had a quiz tomorrow in Chemistry, and he reviewed in his mind the material that was to comprize it. "The d orbital first becomes available on an atom's third quantized energy level. It has five orientations: xy, xz, yz..." The boy drifted off to sleep. *** Tenchi had passed his Chemistry quiz easily. Exiting the classroom, Tenchi and Amagasaki walked down the third floor hallway. To his right, Tenchi saw the slight color difference in the wall, and uneven scar where the holes Ryoko had put in the walls had been patched. These patches scattered the school on all floors. "Ugh," Amagasaki grunted. Frowning, he took on a startling likeness to a depressed circus clown. "I totally bombed that quiz. I'm tellin' ya, my grade in Chemistry is so far down the toilet I'll need a miracle to salvage it." "You know, Amagasaki, you could try this new thing. Most of the students swear by this method," Tenchi began as they walked down the stairs. "Really?" His face brightened. "What is it?" "It's called studying," Tenchi stated flatly. Amagasaki hung his head. "Tenchi, don't play around with me like that. You really had my hopes up," he complained. "I'm sorry, Amagasaki," Tenchi apologized. He then changed the subject, a techniqe he had discovered worked wonderfully in preventing household- shattering explosions. "Where should we go for lunch?" They exited the school, heading for the front gate. "Well," Amagasaki began, "there's this great place not far from here... hey Tenchi, you listening?" He was not. He was staring straight ahead, with a somewhat worried look. A nervous grin spread across his face. Amagasaki followed the direction of his gaze. Ryoko stood at the gate, admiring the repaired school. Her eyes traversed the sections that she had vaporized the night Tenchi and she had formally met. Looking back down at her immediate surroundings, she saw Tenchi and Amakasaki. She waved and started toward them, though thankfully, walking. Ryoko stopped a few paces from them. "Hi Tenchi," She said. She folded her hands behind her back and leaned forward, showing some cleavage. Amagasaki's eyes widened, and Tenchi gave an exasperated sigh. "Ryoko, what are you doing here?" Ryoko strode over and put her arm around Tenchi. "Washu sent me to bring you home," she explained. "There's an emergency, and you have to come home and deal with it." "Did you try to mail-bomb Aeka or something?" Tenchi asked, eyeing Ryoko suspiciously. Ryoko shot Tenchi a look of betrayal. "Me? No! But it does have to do with Aeka... sort of. C'mon, we gotta go!" Grabbing the gangly boy by the arm, she began to pull him towards the gate. As he was dragged around the corner, he waved with his free hand to his friend. "S-see you later, Amagasaki!" Amagasaki stood there for a few moments, dumbfounded. "T-Tenchi... has a girl- friend?" He mentally explored the implications of his inference. "I gotta tell the guys about this!" he turned and wandered off, wondering to himself, "Hmm, now where did they say they were gonna be? Oh yeah, they all wanted to eat lunch with that cute redhead that just transfered here! She acts just like a cat sometimes, but she IS cute..." *** Ryoko took a bearing on the shrine and accelerated. She felt Tenchi's grip on her tighten. The space pirate smiled to herself and tried to enjoy the moment. One arm lightly about Tenchi's waist, the other trailing in the wind, she sped toward home. They flew low over the lake, raising a plume of foam behind her. Ryoko righted herself and skidded to a halt, then let Tenchi down. "You're so adorable, Tenchi," she remarked, "You were just waiting for an excuse to hold me like that, weren't you?" "Oh, quit playing around, Ryoko." Tenchi ran up to the door, which opened before he could reach it. "Come on, Tenchi, we've been expecting you," Washu said, grabbing Tenchi's hand. She pulled him into the hallway, Ryoko following close behind. "Tenchi- ken's been screaming for you all morning. Aeka's about to have a nervous breakdown!" The mad scientist led him into the living room. Aeka lay on the couch with an icepack on her forehead. Tenchi-ken lay on the kitchen table. Aeka's eyes opened, and confusedly she said, "Huh? Why did it stop?" then she fixed upon Tenchi. "Oh." "So, what can I do?" Tenchi asked. Aeka sat up. Pressing the icepack to her forehead, she closed her eyes for a moment. "Get Tenchi-ken." Tenchi gestured, and Tenchi-ken jumped from the table to land in his palm. Washu looked surprisedly at him, but Tenchi didn't seem to be in the mood to answer any questions. "Lord Tenchi, Tenchi-ken wants you to activate it, like you did when you opened the Light Hawk Wings on Ryu-O." Tenchi held the sword hilt at arm's length, pommel down. This done, he let go of it, framing the floating hilt with both hands. The metal endpiece began to glow a familiar blue. "It wants you to hold still..." Aeka said. She paused, and suddenly her eyes snapped wide open. "No! Tenchi, watch out!" she cried. "Huh? Wha-?" Before he could finish, three wooden tendrils seemed to grow from Tenchi-ken's pommel. Two fastened on Tenchi's wrists, and one clamped about his neck. Tenchi gurgled, strangling. "TENCHI!!" Aeka screamed. She stumbled over the back of the couch, reached out and grabbed Tenchi's hand. Tenchi looked at her pleadingly, then pitched over backward. Ryoko caught the falling boy and cradled his head in the crook of her arm. Tenchi-ken, supported by the three struts of wood, was held aloft, shaking from Tenchi's panicked struggling. Tenchi tried to gasp a breath of air. His lungs were screamed with pain, his head ached, and the pressure built. He began to see spots. A distraught space pirate Ryoko looked down at him, her face tilted sideways. Not a bad view, Tenchi reflected, for a final one. Tenchi's mind teemed with confusion. Chaos abounded. Aeka worked frantically to pry the tendril away from Tenchi's throat. Tenchi obeyed. The voice said comfortingly, Ryoko was beginning to cry, and dimly he could hear Aeka screaming. He became deathly still, staring at Ryoko's yellow eyes. He could hear her calling him, among other people. The pressure at his throat was unbearable. As blackness began to creep in at the edges of his vision, he saw a soft blue glow. It radiated peacefully from the tendrils attatched to him. He saw them reflected in Ryoko's eyes. He felt a sharp pain, hearing a faint crunching sound. He also felt a cold wetness on his face, Ryoko's tears falling on him. Then, all the pressure disappeared. The wooden tentacles retreated, and Tenchi-ken fell on his chest. Tenchi sat bolt upright. Reality came screaming back at full volume. He fell on hands and knees, panting, gasping. Sitting back on his heels, he looked down at his hands. Tenchi's skin puckered at the inside center of each wrist, around a blood- rimmed red gem. The light of the room danced in them as if choreographed. Tenchi drew a deep, shuddering breath. Aeka grabbed Tenchi's shoulders. Pulling him to herself, she sobbed into his shoulder. Ryoko's usual complaint was absent. "I'm sorry, Tenchi. I should have known," the princess cried. Tenchi hugged her back, not caring that some of the blood on his hands was staining her kimono. He ran his fingers through her hair. Aeka drew back, eyes red. Tenchi gave her a weak smile. He swallowed hard, despite the pain in his adam's apple, and tried to console her. "I'm okay, Aeka, I'll be fine." Suddenly Tenchi was surrounded. Ryoko entrapped him with a crushing hug, and he could see Sasami worriedly holding his right hand. Washu smiled approvingly at him, and Mihoshi and Kiyone knelt at his left. Tenchi closed his eyes and tried to relax. It seemed, though, that this was not to be. Suddenly his arms and throat were seized with pain again. Tenchi convulsed so hard he nearly threw Ryoko over his shoulder. She let go of him, and Tenchi somehow came to his feet. The blue glow returned, feircer. An angry, throbbing hum permeated the room. "What's happening? Tenchi!" Ryoko called to him. Tenchi stumbled sideways, tripped and fell, phasing through the glass of the window. Ryoko followed him through the wall. Crawling back to his feet, he stumbled toward the lake. The crowd of women poured through the door to join Ryoko behind Tenchi. Nobiyuki stumbled out of the house in his bathtowel. Tenchi doubled over. Then he threw his head back and let out an earsplitting scream. His hands flew involuntarily outward, right supporting the left at the elbow, and a massive volley of energy blasts flew forth into the hillside and lake. They caused an equally massive chain of explosions, covering the ground with water droplets and clumps of dirt. Tenchi, exhausted, began to slacken. His body convulsed under one more surge of energy, which caused his hair and clothing to temporarily defy gravity. Then, burnt out, he collapsed. *** Tenchi's eyes opened slowly. He found his head pillowed in the lap of a sleeping Sasami. One of her hands held an icepack to his forehead, and one of Tenchi's hands was firmly clasped in the other. Tenchi got up slowly and carefully so not to disturb her. Dizzy, he sat back down beside Sasami. Ryo- Oki slumbered blissfully next to her, one leg kicking. He saw Ryoko by the window with Aeka and Washu, surveying the destruction outside. "The gems were feeling him out," said Washu soflty. "They were testing him, to see if he could handle the power they produced." "Those gems should know," Ryoko stated flatly, "my Tenchi can handle anything." "Yes," Aeka assented, "yes, Lord Tenchi can indeed handle anything." "Good," Said Tsunami, as she coalesced in the middle of the room. "Because it may fall to Tenchi to deal with this." She turned to him. "Tenchi, I must speak with you immediately." "No!" Aeka said, coming to stand between Tsunami and the couch. "Tenchi has been through enough today! It will have to wait." "No, Aeka," Tenchi said, climbing awkwardly to his feet. The gems activated, and he winced, but he forced them back to dormancy. "I'll deal with it now." He gently guided Aeka aside, and looked at Tsunami. "What is it, Tsunami?" "Tenchi," she adressed him calmly, "I'm dying." ******************************************************************************** I think I'm back! For a while there I was worried about the quality of my work, which seemed to be lacking in my last few episodes. But in reading this latest installment, I am getting the feeling in the pit of my stomach that the first few inflicted upon me. Anyway, Bushido Muyo! speeds onward to it's conclusion! Never fear, there almost certainly will be a sequel series! Hope you liked this episode, and if you didn't, feel free to tell me why at azhrei701@hotmail.com. Have fun reading! -Jeremy "Kraken" Acord 2/28/2001 I finally finished my third edit. ARGHHH! There's always something wrong with it! Hopefully, I don't have any more word wrapping or spelling problems that I missed.