This is the twelfth episode of Bushido Muyo!
	Oh, and by the way, Tenchi Muyo! and the related characters are the
property of Pioneer LDC and AIC.  I don't own the characters I write about.
So don't sue me, okay?
*******************************************************************************
				   Bushido Muyo!
			     by Jeremy "Kraken" Acord
			       azhrei701@hotmail.com
		Episode 12: "Haven"

	Ijima walked purposefully down the corridor toward the bow of the
ship. He hoped his employer had not detected his plans, but now that they 
were
in motion there was little that could be done to stop them.  All he had to 
do
now was do his job and wait for his opponent to arrive.  He could sense
Tenchi's prescence.  The boy blocked their path; with all sensors directed
astern he would not be detected in timely enough a manner to halt his
progress.
	"I await your challenge, Tenchi," he muttered, as he entered the mag-
lev.
					***
	Tenchi entered the bridge of the ship by punching through the outer
hull itself.  Enshrouded by the protective aura of the Light Hawk Wings, he
stood absolutely still amidst the chaos of air escaping through the gaping
hole he had rent.  A blast sheild soon closed over the dome; a 
countermeasure
against such an occurence.  The twin half-domes closed over the bulge that
housed the command deck like great metal eyelids, sliding shut with a
resounding bang.
	Tenchi snared an important looking man with one of the Wings and
pulled the man bodily to him.  He grabbed the man by his shirt and pulled 
them
face to face.  "Where are they?" he demanded.
					***
	Ryoko sulked in the upper corner of the cell.  The wall across the
room to her left was sheilded, as was the rest of the room, and laced with
high energy lasers.  Not only could the space pirate not escape from her
prison, but at least one escape route would most likely kill her on the 
first
attempt.  She floated, arms and legs crossed, bobbing slightly.
	Across a gunmetal grey corridor, adorned with a rubbery looking
stripe in the center, another cell was situated.  Within, Mihoshi and Kiyone
were imprisoned.  Kiyone seemed to be trying to sleep, but Mihoshi was 
having
none of that.
	"Hey!" She yelled down the corridor to the gaurds at the door, "Let us
out of here!  If you don't comply you will face serious charges!"
	The footsteps of one gaurd sounded down the hallway long before he was
seen.  He was a young man, with close cropped brown hair.  He carried in his
hand a long black rod, tipped with two shining metal prongs.  At his side, 
he
wore a thin, long-barreled pistol.  Standing on the spongy stripe, he bent 
and
tapped the metal floor of the cell.
	Mihoshi yelped and Kiyone jerked upright from the electric shock.
"Shut up." the gaurd sneered.
	"Hey, I am a Galaxy Police officer!" Mihoshi exclaimed.  "You will be
brought up on serious charges!  I hereby place you under arrest under galaxy
police code-"
	The gaurd grunted and bent to tap the floor again with his shock prod.
There was a sudden shout from down the hall, drawing the man's attention.  
He
gave a surprised shout and began to draw his pistol.  The gaurd recoiled 
from
a withering blow to the chest from a shadowy object that flew into him, then
dissapeared.  His gun flew into the laser screen, fizzling into molten 
metal.
He was struck once more, too fast to see, pressing the flat of itself into 
the
man and pinning the stunned gaurd to the wall.  The fence of beams 
dissolved,
and a low, ever present humming ceased.  The three women left their 
respective
enclosures tentatively, to be greeted by a severe-looking Tenchi, walking
purposefully toward them.
	"Tenchi!" they cried.
	Tenchi took a step back in order to lessen the impact from Ryoko's
flying embrace.  She swung about his neck like a horseshoe, then stopped and
hugged him.  Tenchi could feel himself pulled upward by the hovering woman.
She let go eventually and Tenchi found himself surrounded.  "I'm so glad,
Tenchi," she told him.
	"Tenchi, I can't beleive you're here!" Kiyone stammered, astounded.
"There's no way you could get to this ship!"
	Tenchi looked over their shoulders.  After searching for a few
moments, he looked back to the three women before him.  "Aeka, Washu and
Sasami aren't here.  What happened to them?"
	"We don't know," Kiyone explained, "We were separated when we came on
board."
	The floor shook, and a deep rumble reverberated from the walls.
"What's that?" Mihoshi asked.  Alarms began to sound.  They ran out into the
hallway, and Tenchi spotted a monitor on the wall.  It read, "Warning:
Secondary Mobilization Underway.  All crew, prepare for separtation."  A
schematic of the ship followed, and Tenchi studied it intensely.  Without a
word he took off running.  He sprinted down the hallway, coming to a thick
door that spanned the hallway.  Another such door on the other side 
completed
a kind of emergency airlock.  Through the small window, Tenchi could see a
huge boomerang-shaped ship floating away.  It trailed a series of long pipes
and dangling severed wires.  The entire foresection of the ship moved
steadily apart from its main body.  Mihoshi, Kiyone and Ryoko soon caught up
to him.
	"Oh no," Kiyone muttered, "They've separated the ship."
	"What?" asked a bemused Tenchi, "What do you mean, separated the
ship?"
	Kiyone looked at the boy.  "Under Galaxy Police Transportation Code
4502, all large ships are required to have a secondary bridge and engines in
the event of an emergency," she sighed.  "In all likelihood they have
Princesses Aeka and Sasami there, perhaps Washu as well."
	Ryoko, hovering over Tenchi's shoulder, looked out the window for a
moment at the retreating ship.  "Well, so much for Aeka," she commented,
starting to float down the hallway, "We'll just give up and go ho-gh!" She
choked as Tenchi yanked her backwards by her collar.  She looked expectantly
at the boy.
	Tenchi did not look at the space pirate.  Staring intensely out the
window, he spoke to her, slowly and clearly.  "Ryoko, listen carefully," he
instructed, "You will go with Kiyone and Mihoshi.  Find a lifepod or space
dinghy and head toward that ship," he nodded to the immense craft, "I'll 
meet
you there."
	Kiyone cocked an eyebrow at the didactic boy.  "Tenchi," Mihoshi
interjected, "Where are you going?"
	Tenchi let go of Ryoko, and pressed the button to open the first
airlock door.  As the door slid upward, he turned to the Galaxy Policewoman.
"I'm going over from here."  The Light Hawk Wings opened from behind him,
humming softly.  He stepped backward into the airlock.
	Ryoko grabbed his shoulder.  "Wait, Tenchi," she said, setting down on
the floor with a soft tap, "I'm going with you."
	"Me too," Kiyone insisted.
	"No," Tenchi said emphaticly, "I may not have the energy to get us all
out of here.  So you have to get a ship and pick us up.  I'm counting on 
you."
He brushed Ryoko's hand off his shoulder and pushed her gently back out of 
the
airlock.  "I'll see you soon."  He punched the button to close the door.
	The hallway became silent but for the insistent buzzing of the alarm.
There was a flash from within the airlock, and two bright white lines 
appeared
across the outer airlock door.  Ryoko peered through the window to find 
Tenchi
staring back.  He mouthed the word 'go' and then slid backward out of the
airlock.  He turned and shot away toward the fleeing craft.
	"Well," Ryoko said, turning to face her companions, "Let's go."
					***
	Tenchi entered a broad, high ceilinged hallway, lit by bright
flourescent light.  Exiting a relatively dim corridor, Tenchi shaded his 
eyes,
but did not stop walking to let them adjust.  He strode confidently down the
corridor, tailed by a staggered procession of Light Hawk Wings.  The three
coffin shaped sheets of energy bobbed up and down, forming a sinuous weave
behind the boy.  Tenchi's footfalls echoed back to him from all directions,
unchallenged but by the low growl of the Light Hawk Wings.  He stopped when 
he
reached a broadening of the hallway, but his footsteps echoed back from 
behind
him for a few moments more.  He stared in quiet fury at the man who stood
before him.
	As suddenly as the hallway had expanded, it curved sharply back inward
toward an immense pair of blast doors.  The cul-de-sac was lit by a long
flourescent light bulb, sheilded from his direct view by a ledge, it's image
reflecting dimly from the domed ceiling.  A young man stood a few feet 
before
the double doors.  He wore a dark green jacket over a red shirt that 
appeared
to be silk.  A navy blue sash, like an obi, adorned his waist, through which
was thrust a long metal cylinder.  Arms crossed, he tapped his laceless 
black
right shoe against the hard metal floor, sending rolling waves up the cloth 
of
his loose fitting red pants.  His eyes were closed, and though Tenchi was 
sure
his prescence was known, the man gave no sign.  He stopped tapping his foot,
and did not move untill the echoes had faded.  He opened his eyes and 
shifted
his weight evenly onto both legs.  "Well, Tenchi.  I see you took your time
getting here."
	"Are you going to fight, talk, or get out of my way?" Tenchi asked
impatiently.  He smoldered with anger.
	"You are direct," the man commented, doffing his jacket and letting
it fall to the floor.  "My name is Ijima.  I thought you should know."  He
withdrew the metal cylinder from the sash.  It was about twice as long as 
his
hand from heel to fingertip, and around an inch wide.  He held it loosely in
one hand, his thumb pressed against a small switch.  Facing away from him, a
small hole marked the center of the tube's circular termination.
	Tenchi spread his legs wide apart.  The light hawk wings fanned out
from behind him, traveling over his head and to his sides to stand before 
him.
He converted the vertical sheild to a sword and gripped it in both hands.
The other two brought themselves close to his shoulders.  "Now, we BEGIN!" 
he
yelled, lunging across the vast expanse of floor between them.
	Ijima pushed the switch down the length of the tube.  There was an
electric crackle, and a thin metal wire slid from the hole, held straight by
the electromagnets in the hilt.  He stepped to the side and parried Tenchi's
withering slash with the stiffened wire, then thrust it toward the boy's 
face.
Tenchi dodged, and the tip of the wire ripped his sleeve open.  He felt a
twinge of pain, and he jumped out of range.  Looking down, he spied a paper-
thin scratch across his shoulder.  He turned back to Ijima, who had assumed 
a
left foot leading stance, with his weight spread evenly.  He pointed the tip 
of
the wire toward Tenchi.  "So this is the archaic sword style of Jurai," he
mused, "Be proud.  You and your grandfather were the only two exponents 
left."
	"My grandfather is still alive," Tenchi shot back.
	"Indeed?  I had hoped he would.  It would be a waste..." he broke off
as Tenchi advanced again.  Tenchi took two shuffling steps, then lunged
diagonally to his left, sweeping his sword across at waist level.  Ijima 
hopped
just barely out of range and countered with a short slice, biting into 
Tenchi's
back.  Instead of moving off again, Tenchi's body rotated back around, as 
the
boy quickly chambered the hilt of the sword by his side and thrust forward.
Ijima parried easily and lunged to the attack.  Tenchi stepped quickly
backwards, moving in short steps.  He was hard pressed to defend against
Ijima's lightning onslaught.  The shields of the Light Hawk Wings were not
nimble enough to effectively defend.  The wire blade sliced into his left 
arm
twice more, and Tenchi counterattacked, bringing all the power of the Light
Hawk Wings and Ryoko's Gems to bear in a massive wave of energy.  His vision
was coated in white light, and there was a thundering boom.  He blinked,
clearing his sight, and found Ijima staggering backward, though off to the
right, out of the wave's path.  "Ugh," he grunted, "You are quite powerful."
He regained his stance.  "I'll finish you now."
	Tenchi was pushed back to the wall by the blinding offensive Ijima
launched now.  The blade's whistling grew to a terrifying wail as the wire 
tip
accelerated.  Tenchi, finding it hard to see his opponent's weapon, could 
only
defend.  He felt the sting of the wire-blade at his sides, on his arms, 
across
his legs, on his chest.  His ears popped suddenly, and Tenchi brought his
shields to the fore just in time to intercept a titanic surge of power.  He
felt his back slam into the wall.  Ijima stood a few meters away, sword tip 
on
the ground.  "My weapon can deliver a similar effect," he said, matter-of-
factly.
	Tenchi slid a hand to his lower back.  His body screamed it's painful
protest of his movement.  His vision began to blur, and he felt dizzy and 
weak.
"You know," he huffed, "I have the advantage here."
	"Really?  How is that?" Ijima indulged him.
	"You see, I didn't come here to fight," Tenchi grinned, "Even if I die
here, I can still win.  If you die, you lose."
	"But the real matter," added Ijima, "is can you kill me?"
	"I have a plan."
	"Truly?  May I see it?"
	Tenchi's fingers gripped their target, and he squinted to see Ijima
clearly.  "Gladly," he replied.
					***
	Trotting down the metal corridors of the giant ship, Kiyone patted her
left side.  "Where's my blaster?" she asked.
					***
	Tenchi took a quick step forward, withdrawing Kiyone's blaster from the
small of his back.  He pointed it at Ijima, who reflexively dodged to the 
boy's
left.  Tenchi leapt to the right, firing two shots toward the ceiling.  One
found it's mark, and the lights were extinguished.  Tenchi rolled silently 
to
his feet, a crude but effective imitation of Ryoko's artful stealth.
Suppressing a grunt, he sat patiently, biding his time, barely daring to
breathe.  He paid close attention to all he could hear, waiting for the one
sign...
	A shuffle from the darkness alerted Tenchi to his adversary's location.
He let his sword dissolve, bringing the Wings back into their triad 
formation,
standing at the end of his outstretched hand.  They wavered.  Tenchi tried 
to
concentrate, but was in too much pain to clearly think.  The shuffle came
again, followed by a staccato footstep.  Tenchi began to panic.  If he could
not focus, he knew he would die.  He tried harder, but his wounds stung as 
if
there were molten metal being poured into them.  The pain rose up before his
efforts like an insurmountable wall.  He became dizzier, he rocked 
unsteadily
on his feet.  Tenchi hoped momentarily that he would receive some advice 
from
the prescence which had been so quick to his aid before, but the urgency of
his plight denied him the luxury of waiting.  He felt as if he would fall
over.  The stinging of his body grew worse, and Tenchi's vision blurred more
with tears he found impossible to hold back.  The pain built until he could 
no
longer stand it, and he fell on hands and knees.  The footsteps paused, then
quickened.  Ijima was coming for him.
	Tenchi could feel his mind slowing down, his energy grinding to a
halt.  Death was coming, unless he could save himself.  He closed his eyes,
squeezing another tear from each.
	In his mind's eye, he saw the living room of his house.  Ryoko lounged
in the rafters, Sasami sashayed happily about the kitchen, doggedly pursued 
by
Ryo-oki.  Aeka sat patiently on the couch, staring at the sun rising outside
the great picture window.  Washu emerged from her laboratory below the place
where Tenchi stood, on the balcony.  He could hear them talking, smell the
perfume they wore, the aroma of his home.  His home as it was.
	Again, time proceeded slowly.  The pain in his legs began to
disappear, followed by the pain in his upper body.  But Tenchi barely
noticed.  He could hear Aeka greeting him, wishing him a good day as he left
for school.  He saw Ryoko, waiting on the doorstep as he returned home.  The
sun set, and rose again, on a morning much like the last.  Serenely, he sat
back on his knees, in seizen position.  His palms came up, facing into the
darkness.  The Light Hawk Wings snapped into position around them.  They
hummed vibrantly, and glowed with a peaceful blue light.  The footsteps,
though slowed by this strange dialation of time, became faster than before.
For the first time, Tenchi sensed in himself the clandestine entity that had
advised and antagonized the boy for so long.  Tenchi waited until he could
see Ijima's shadowy form swiftly advancing.
	"I," he declared.
	There was a shattering explosion as Tenchi discharged a mighty blast
from the Light Hawk Wings, just as he had against Soja.  The force of the 
blast
knocked Ijima backward, and the flash lit the area.  As the Light Hawk Wings
became dormant, for the moment expended, Tenchi drew and ignited Tenchi-ken.
He flew forward, barely above the ground, until he was close enough to 
clearly
see the shocked look on Ijima's face.  Tenchi brought his sword down from 
his
right, then diagonally up across his body.  There was a short alarm sound, 
and
the red emergency lights, triggered by the feirce detonation, flooded the 
area
with crimson illumination.  Ijima looked down at the wound on his shoulder,
then down to the broken weapon in his hand, sliced neatly in two.  He fell 
onto
his knees.  "Well, well.  You win.  I guess my wish has been granted.  I 
will
be killed by a great warrior."
	"Yes, you will," Tenchi affirmed, as he brought his sword down.
					***
	A tall blond man in an elaborate suit common among men of his
profession lounged with his feet on a broad desk, framed by an immense 
window
of the void beyond, filing his nails.  He looked impatently at the double
thickness soundproof blast doors that gaurded the drug baron's office.  What
could be taking that mercenary so long?
	Aeka, Sasami, and Washu lounged in a metal floored, force feild gaurded
cell to his right.  Washu lay on her back on the floor, hands folded behind 
her
head, left leg over right, twirling her toes in the air.  Sasami sat on the
floor dejectedly, and Aeka stood at the doorway, pounding it with her small
fists.  "I demand that you explain the meaning of this!  Let us go!"
	"Aeka," Washu pleaded, "he can't hear you.  This cell is soundproof,
just like everything else."
	"Really, sister," Sasami added, "you're wasting your time."
	The man behind the desk got up suddenly.  He stared aghast at the doors
opposite him.  Aeka followed his gaze, and gasped.  The blast doors began to
bend outward, straining against their joints.  The great locks finally gave,
and the forty foot doors sprang wide, revealing the boy who had broken them
open.
	"Tenchi!" Aeka squealed.  The others rushed to the doorway to see the
the boy's arrival.  He started across the fifty some feet expanse of floor 
to
the cell.  His torn clothes dripped with blood, and his jeans were streaked
with ragged purple tracks that flowed down and over his shoes, puddling in 
his
wake.  "Oh no," Aeka continued, "What's happened to Lord Tenchi?"
	The blond man stared, aghast, at the boy who strode toward his
prisoners without so much as a glance at him.  "Who are you?" he demanded.
	Tenchi halted in his bloody footsteps.  "I am Tenchi Masaki." He said
slowly, then proceeded, still refusing to look at the bemused crime lord.
	"You obviously don't know who I am," he assumed, "My name is Menari
Lurochi and I am-"
	"I don't care," Tenchi interrupted.  He walked to the threshold of the
holding cell, and stood for a few seconds, examining it's workings.  Then he
took a few steps more and pressed a plate on a recessed panel beside the 
door.
The force feild dissapeared with a mechanichal whimper.  Tenchi turned and 
for
the first time faced the mastermind of the kidnapping.  "I am taking these
women back to our home," he declared.  "You will not follow us.  You will 
not
bother any of us ever again, or I will not hesitate to kill you."  He turned
his attention back to the women around him.  "I'll be okay," he assured 
them,
"It doesn't even hurt..."
	Tenchi didnt hear the drawer of Menari's desk slide open.  The
grizzled criminal withdrew his hypersonic pistol from the drawer with
practiced silence, and cocked the heavy, wide hammer.  He carefully aimed at
the back of Tenchi's head, gradually tightening his finger upon the trigger.
	There was a resounding boom as the weapon fired.  A smoking contrail
marked the thin bullet's heated passage across the short distance.  There 
was
a krack as the bullet richocheted off of the blade of Tenchi's Light Hawk
Sword.  The boy turned and grasped the floating sword in his right hand.
Menari fired again as Tenchi advanced but this was also deflected into the
ceiling.  Menari was pushed back into his chair and his right shoulder 
yanked
downward as Tenchi cut of his gun hand.  He soon found the Light Hawk Sword 
at
his throat.  "Maybe I didn't make myself clear," Tenchi guessed.  "There are
limits to all clemency, including my own.  Goodbye," Tenchi turned and 
walked
back toward his companions.  "You have your last warning," he called over 
his
shoulder.
	Aeka and Sasami met him halfway.  Tenchi listed suddenly, and
Sasami threw and arm out to steady him.  His head swam, and the pain 
returned.
"Ugh," he grunted, "It hurts now."  Washu came forward to examine his 
wounds.
	"You need immediate attention," she declared, "Let's get him out of
here."  Aeka moved to Tenchi's right shoulder, opposite Sasami, and they 
began
to help him toward the door.
	"You should make a note, Washu..." Tenchi said as his eyes glazed
over.  "All my power... didn't help until... knew... what... was fighting
for..." His legs gave, and he toppled over on his face, despite the efforts 
of
the two princesses.  Tenchi was dimly aware of being turned over.  Washu was
talking, and he heard footsteps.  Kiyone's voice mingled with Aeka's, 
Sasami's
and Washu's, and soon Ryoko joined the cacophany.  The sound faded, and 
Tenchi
lapsed into total unconsciousness.
					***
	Tenchi Masaki sat in peaceful repose.  His eyes scanned the wooden
peices of his grandfather's chess board.  Many strategies presented 
themselves
to him, but Tenchi dismissed them all.  He unhurriedly reached down and 
moved
his Rook one space to the right, directly next to his castled King.  A few
spaces away, diagonally, the Queen of the opposite color sat.  Had the Queen
moved to take the Rook, the King would be helpless, trapped in checkmate by
his own Pawns.
	Across the living room, The rest of the family sat in front of the TV.
A news report had captured their attention.
	"Most Wanted drug baron Menari Lurochi was captured by the Galaxy
Police yesterday, after five years of intensive searching.  The criminal
mastermind was running low on funds for his private army and had devised a
scheme to kidnap for ransom the First and Second Princesses of Jurai, Aeka
and Sasami.  The renegade scientist Washu, former wanted criminal Ryoko, and
two Galaxy Police detectives were also captured."
	"They don't bother do mention OUR names," Kiyone griped.
	"Shh," the rest commanded.
	A thumbnail of Tenci appeared.  "-Menari and his forces were single-
handedly defeated by this boy, Tenchi Masaki, a heretofore unknown 
descendant
of Jurai's Royal Family.  The boy was seriously injured in the fighting, and
the former Space pirate Ryoko offered staunch resistance to releasing the 
boy
into medical custody, but despite all, he seems to be pulling through.  On a
side note, all women involved seem to have taken quite a shine to the young
man, and have opted to stay with him as he recovers at his home on the 
planet
Earth."
	Tenchi continued to assess the situation, waiting patiently for his
opponent's decision.  Aeka's hand intruded gracefully upon his feild of
vision, lifting a Knight from it's square, she moved it three spaces toward
Tenchi and one to his left.  She set it down with a sharp clack.  
"Checkmate,"
she anounced triumphantly.
	Tenchi examined the board for a few seconds.  His King, unable to
move, was in check from Aeka's knight.  A 'smothered mate.'  "Yes.  You 
win,"
he conceded.
	Aeka smiled sweetly at him.  "That was easy," she admitted.  "However,
I do not beleive you are playing to the fullest of your ability."
	Washu tapped away at her spectral terminal.  On the screen, a great
warship was shown entering the Solar System.  It fired it's weapons again 
and
again, attempting to press forward, but its efforts were neutralized by a
single Light Hawk Wing.  The Wing manouvered little in its defensive
postition: its sheer size was enough.  Finally, the ship moved off, and the
Wing faded away into the ether.
	"You're right," Tenchi told Aeka, "My mind was... elsewhere."
	He and Washu exchanged a knowing look.
	Aeka cocked an eybrow at Tenchi.  "Uh, Lord Tenchi..."
	"Oh," Tenchi grinned sheepishly, "You want to play another game?"
	Aeka decided to drop the subject; it was not worth destroying a perfect
evening for.  "Yes, I would," she replied.
*******************************************************************************
	Kinda a tepid ending, huh?  I normally would have avoided ending the
episode (and the chapter) in such a tooth-grinding way, but I did so for
literary purposes, as a plot device to help me set the stage for chapter 
two.
Speaking of which, I must get working on it, mustn't I?  Oh well, no rest 
for
the wick-uh, I mean, the author.

May you read Without Need,
-Jeremy "Kraken" Acord