Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Tenchi Muyo! They are owned by AIC and Pioneer North America. I did not create them, and their use here is strictly for the enjoyment of myself and anyone who gets bored enough to read this. In other words: Please don't sue my poor ass. Tenchi Muyo! From the Blood of the Gods-- Part 3: First Move (or "No Need for Last Chances") by the Loneshark Lord Hikage Unihasa idlely scratched at the back of his left hand. It had become an annoying habit, he realized. There was nothing he could do to change his situation. Divinity and blood. He had become trapped by both. In a fit of anger, he tossed a statue that sat on his desk across the room. "What is taking that man so long?" He breathed heavily through his nostrils, and began another annoying habit. He drummed his fingers on the desk. Being a Jurain nobleman had only made his life harder. He had duties to preside over, an estate to govern, and an Emporer to look out for. Or, if he was having a really bad day, Empress Funaho. That nosey bitch was always looking over his shoulder, attempting to find out what he was up to. He sighed at the thought; no one ever truly appreciates another's divine purpose. Finally, his servant, Asagi, appeared in the center of the room. He bowed to his master. "Well?" Lord Hikage snapped at him. "My Lord, the first team has been sent out, and everything is going as per your orders." Hikage nodded in satisfaction. "May I inquire, Lord Hikage, why you are sending this team? You do realize that the Emporer has already procurred their services in the kidnapping of the boy, so that his daughters will have no choice but to return to him." Asagi noticed the muscles in his Lord's jaw tense. A single message in Asagi's brain began to flash: Big Mistake! Lord Hikage smiled, uncharacteristically, "Asagi, you are a fool. I have heard of this boy's potential. I need to see if it is true. The hunters needed to be secured under my control." Hikage squeezed his left hand into a fist, and the sigil on the back began to glow a bright red. Asgai fell to his knees as sparks of energy covered his body, his muscles feeling only pain, his eyes wanting to burst, his blood alternatly freezing and boiling. Taking pain was the one thing Asagi excelled at. Hikage's lip curled into a sneer, and after what felt to Asagi like hours, but only being a few seconds, the Jurian lord unclenched his fist. Asagi collapsed, and sputtered, "Y... yes... Yes, my Lord Hikage." Hikage turned around in his chair, facing the balcony. "You are dismissed." Asagi disappeared in a flash, leaving his master to think. Hikage stood, and walked out onto the balcony. He had an excellent view of Jurai's capital city from his office in the palace. Being on the Jurai Supreme Council had some benefits. As he whatched the sun set, he muttered to himself, "I have to see for myself if what her majesty said is true. If this boy can produce the Light Hawk Wings, then I will be sorely pressed to destroy him." He shuddered. D3 had displayed to him the cost of failure. There were fates worse than death. Things even the dead could fear. *** He remembered the cave. That was where it had all began, after all. Beyond those gates, deep underground, was where the demon had slept for so long. For so long in the dark, alone. He remembered that day she first appeared on the roof of the school. At first, she seemed fierce, frightening. That was after he had overcome that jump his hormones did after everytime he saw a beautiful woman. He remembered whatching her as she slept, the gentle sound of her breathing. Sitting on the roof with her, looking at the sky. She had tried to get him to try some saki once, and he had finally given in. He had a little more than he could handle, and ended up with a hang-over the next morning. Ryoko had stayed with him the whole day, nursing him. Ayeka had yelled at her alot for that. But, Ayeka was just being protective of him. Maybe that was the reason he hadn't really admitted it to himself for so long. He loved Ryoko. He hadn't known when it started, or if it had just happened. It wasn't important. He loved her. She loved him, but, so did Ayeka. That was the real problem. He cared for Ayeka, and would do as much for her as anyone else in his house, but he didn't love her. Not like she loved him, at least. He tried so hard not to hurt anyone's feelings, but he knew he couldn't hide it forever. "You can't lie to yourself. That would only cause more pain. Pain for you and those around you, can't you see that. No matter how much you're afraid, living a lie is the worst possible thing you could do to them." That voice? It was his own. Tenchi woke up, holding his head in his hands. He had to tell Ryoko. He had to tell her how he felt, he knew that. "What are you doing?" He had asked himself the question before, when he was whatching her sleep. At the time, he thought that he was asking himself why he whatched her. Now he knew that he was asking himself why he hadn't said anything. As he got dressed and headed downstairs for breakfast, he wondered what he was going to do. "Tonight," he thought. "It has to be tonight." *** Shadow Dog laid back, letting the warm water relax his muscles. No one had ever really explained how a floating osen had appeared over the lake of the Masaki home, and he thought that it would probably be best not to ask. Better to just sit back and have some saki. "Miya!" Shadow turned around, seeing Ryo-ohki sitting at the edge of the water, looking up at him. "Miya," the cabbit said again. "Ryo-ohki? What are you doing here?" He pet the cabbit on her head, and then asked, "Why aren't you with Mistress Sasami?" The red jem in his forehead began to glow, as did Ryo-ohki's. "She sent me to find you," Ryo-ohki's voice echoed in his head. "She needs you to get Tenchi for dinner, after your bath." The cabbit's voice sounded so much like a little girl's inside his head. He smiled, and patted her on the head again. "Of course I will. Thank you, Ryo-ohki." "Miya!" The cabbit changed into her child form, jumped up into the air, and ran off. Shadow was left confused for a moment. The cabbit had never changed her form in such a seemingly illogical manner before. He sighed, and sank back into the water. Then again, few things in this place made sense. His ears perked up as he heard the door of the osen open. There were two sets of footsteps: Ryo-ohki's, and Princess Ayeka's. He heard Ayeka cry out as Ryo-ohki ran passed her. "I wonder what that was all about?" Ayeka asked herself as Ryo-ohki ran by. In Shadow Dog's mind, wheels began to turn. Maybe it was the saki, but he just couldn't resist the urge. He hadn't scared anyone sense that morning two weeks ago, when he made Tenchi fall over the second floor bannister. That was a shining moment. And now he had another one, with the Princess Ayeka. "Sorry, Sasami," he whispered. "I just can't help myself." Princess Ayeka sat down in the water, breathing in a long sigh. Tenchi had been acting so strangely at breakfast, as if there was something important on his mind, but he didn't want anyone to know. So strange. She then noticed a couple bottles of saki still lying out on the ground. She picked one up, noting it was half full. "Ryoko," she muttered. "When will she ever learn to clean up after herself?" The princess sighed, and took a sip from the bottle in her hand. Still, it saved her the trouble of having to get up to get any for herself. Ryoko wasn't that bad, after all. Ayeka couldn't understand why that woman insisted on teasing Lord Tenchi like she did. It obviously made him uncomfortable. But then, Ryoko did a lot of things that Ayeka found hard to understand. She knew she just wanted to be free, but surely there are more civilized ways. Ryoko was just so undiciplined. What gave her the right to go out and act as she pleased? "Jealous?" Ayeka sat up and looked around. Who had said that? Then she sat back down, realizing she had asked the question. "Do you envy Ryoko?" She had repeated the question to herself. She would never had been allowed to act in such a manner on Jurai. Ever since she was a little girl, for as long as she could remember, she had been told how to behave, how to dress, how to speak. Everyone had treated her like a princess, with respect and kindness, but she knew it was false. Only her parents had ever really shown any kind of genuine love, but even her mother, Misaki, had always expected Ayeka to act like the "little girl" she had outgrown years ago. Only Tenchi and Ryoko had ever been honest to her. Ryoko had never shown an ounce of respect to Ayeka, but then the princess wondered if she really deserved it. Just because she had been born to high status, and had lived her life like it? Did she deserve it? Tenchi did it because he felt she did deserve it. He treated her like a real person, not some stuck up noble. She did envy Ryoko. She was strong, honest, and could even been kind at times. Even more, though, she envied Tenchi. He was the crowned prince of Jurai, and felt no obligation to change his ways. He still acted kind, and humble. Not cold, mockingly polite, and discretely cruel. Just like every Jurain noble she had ever know. Shadow slowly padded up behind the princess, not making a sound. This was perfect! She just sat there, oblivious to him. He came closer, so close he could smell her perfume over the humid air of the bath. He took a deep breath, and prepared to give the princess Ayeka a little wake up. "Oh, Shadow! What are you doing here? I thought you were with Sasami?" The bubbly voice of Mihoshi filled the osen. Shadow nearly choked on his breath, and turned around to see the blond terror in a bath towel, smiling. "You! What are you doing in here?" Then he heard Princess Ayeka's voice. She didn't sound happy. Shadow turned to her. Her face was an interesting shade of deep scarlet, and he could see a vein in her forehead. "You... you... pervert!" She reached back, and threw the bottle of saki at him. Shadow Dog scrambled on all four legs, and raced for the open door of the bath. He jumped out, hitting the ground hard, and rolled with the fall. He got to his feet, and looked back to see Ayeka closing in on him, the field of her Jurai powers beginning to manifest around her. "I'm going to teach you a lesson on sneaking up on people!" *** Tenchi sat down for a moment, taking a break from his work. It was so hot out here! He began to wonder when the summer would end. Fall was a lot more enjoyable, since it was so much cooler. For the hundredth time that day, he hung his head, and wondered. "What's gonna happen?" There was no way he could deny it now. He had been hiding his feelings from himself for too long. He had to tell Ryoko he loved her. He might never get another chance. Just like with his mother. She had become so sick the last time he saw her. Her sickness had made her hair change to gray early in life. Her eyes were tired, he remembered. So tired. It was in the hospital. He had never really figured out why she was so sick, but knew that if she was in the hospital, she was going to get better. You always got better if you went to see a docter, right? He told her that he was starting to train with his grandfather. She smiled at that, and told him that she knew he would do well. She promised him that she would come and whatch him practice, when she got better. He hugged her around the neck, and said that he loved her. Then, he waited in the hallway while his father and mother talked privately. She died three days later. He never understood why it had happened, and was angry. He was young, and wasn't able to understand, he hadn't been able to see the signs, that she wasn't coming back. He was angry at her, for breaking her promise. For a long time, he wouldn't talk about it with his father and grandfather. He couldn't talk about it. It wasn't until later that he had stopped being angry with his mother, and angry with himself. Of course, she couldn't keep her promise. It had been impossible for her. If he had known, if he had been able to see it, he could have told her he loved her, one last time. That was all he wanted, was to be able to tell his mother that he loved her, one last time, before she died. He had never gotten another chance. If he didn't tell her, he would never get a last chance. He knew that. He had never been able to realize that his mother was dieing; he realized that he was in love, and if he didn't say something now, he would never get to. There was yelling, in the distance. Tenchi looked up, and saw a great, black hound running straight for him. He yelled as the beast ran past him, so fast that he spinned around. Then Ayeka ran past him, yelling something about spying and hentai at the hound form of Shadow Dog. Tenchi stared wide-eyed as they passed him. Why was Ayeka in a bath towel? "Ayeka? What's going on?" He decided to run after them. He managed to catch up to Ayeka, and grabbed her shoulder, stopping her. Ayeka turned on him, her eyes full of anger. "Tenchi! That mutt was spying on me in the bath! Can you believe it? He needs to be taught a lesson!" Tenchi shook his head for a second, trying to understand what she was talking about. "Um... Ayeka, why are you only wearing a bath towel?" Ayeka paused, and looked down. She blushed, and tryed to cover herself with her arms. From behind a nearby bush, they could hear hysterical laughter. Shadow Dog poked his pale head out from behind it, his eyes almost completly shut, he was laughing so hard. Tenchi rolled his eyes, and frowned. This guy was almost as bad as his father! "Shadow, would you grow up?" "You! I'm going to show you what's it's really like to scare someone!" Ayeka started to move towards the bounty hunter, but Tenchi held her back. "Ayeka, maybe you should... go put some clothes on, first?" Ayeka stood a moment, fuming,and then began to walk back to the house. Tenchi breathed a sigh of relief, wiping the sweat from his forehead. He turned his attention back to Shadow, who was still laughing from behind the bush. "Shadow, what are you still doing back there? She's gone... oh!" Tenchi realized that Ayeka had chased Shadow Dog >from< the bath. He hadn't bothered to put some clothes on before trying to scare her. "Well, it would've worked," Shadow pleaded his case, "if Mihoshi hadn't interfered." How could that man keep any semblance of dignity when sitting naked behind a bush? His red eyes flashed back and forth for a second, and then he said, "Oh, Tenchi! I almost forgot, Sasami wanted me to get you. It's almost time for dinner." Tenchi looked up a the sky. "Is it that late already?" The sun was beginning to set already. He had lost all track of time, with his mind on so many things. "All right, then. Let's get going." Shadow's body was briefly surrounded by black fire as he changed back to his hound form, and padded up to Tenchi. He sat down in front of the boy, and wagged his tail, jokingly. Tenchi shook his head and groaned. *** Ryoko teleported in front of Tenchi, causing him to jump back in suprise. "Ry... Ryoko! What are you doing out here?" She floated over to him, put her arms around him, and gave him a sly grin. "I just came out to see what was taking you so long. Sasami was getting worried because you and Shadow haven't gotten back yet. I figured you may be off talking guy stuff." She laughed, then looked down at the flaming hound sitting next to Tenchi. "Ayeka told everyone what you did, you know." Shadow Dog grinned. "I knew you couldn't be trusted, you dirty little hentai." He yapped at her, the equivilant of "shove it." Ryoko ignored him, and looked at Tenchi. "Um, what?" Tenchi realized that he was staring. "Oh, uh... nothing. Let's just get home, huh?" They started to walk back to the house. He had to tell her, but not with Shadow right here. They had to be alone. Tonight, after dinner. Ryoko suddenly turned, looking at the sky. "What the?" Shadow did too, both of them sensing something. "Ryoko? What is it?" Tenchi noticed their reaction. Something was wrong. "Ryoko?" "Tenchi, duck!" Ryoko pushed him to the ground, falling on top of him. A blast of energy flew overhead. Shadow Dog growled, the flames surrounding his body, his soul fire, growing in intensity. Ryoko immediatly got up, her sword appearing in her hand. She looked around. The blast had come from nowhere. Shadow stared at the forest with his burning red eyes, trying to smell anything. Tenchi picked himself up, trying to figure out what was going on. "Tenchi Masaki!" He heard a strange voice call his name, and turned to see a strange figure dressed in blue robes walk out of the forest, next to the spot where the energy blast had hit. "You are caught." *** Sasami turned off the stove, and set the pan holding the soup for dinner aside. She reached for some seasonings, and asked Mihoshi for a stick of butter. "What's taking them so long?" She wondered. First, she told Shadow Dog to get Tenchi for dinner, since he was alreadly late getting back. After Ryo-ohki had come back, Sasami's sister Ayeka walked in, yelling something about Shadow Dog spying on her in the osen. Sasami had just shaken her head. She knew that while Shadow normally acted polite and composed, deep down he loved mishief. His favorite thing to do was scare people. Never frighten them badly, just give them a little jump. After that, Ryoko said she'd go look for them, for which Sasami was grateful. Here it was, almost time for dinner, and none of them had gotten back yet. "Sasami, what's wrong?" Mihoshi asked her. Sasami looked up, realizing that she was just standing there with dinner on the stove. "Oh, nothing, Mihoshi. I'm sorry." "Miya!" Sasami looked down at Ryo-ohki, who was in her cabbit form on the kitchen floor. "Ryo-ohki, are you sure that Shadow said he would go get Tenchi after his bath?" The cabbit miyaed a positive response. Sasami sighed. "Oh, don't worry, Sasami. I'm sure that they'll get here in time." Mihoshi was almost always optomistic. Sasami was also, normally. But, she knew that Shadow Dog's being here meant that something important would happen soon, or, >somethings.< His presence made her happy, but she knew that the happiness would be short-lived, as events started to unfold. Then Sasami felt something. At first, it was just a gentle, brief urging in the back of her mind. Then, it turned violent, becoming a stabbing pain in her head. Sasami cried out, grabbing her head, and fell to the floor. "Sasami!" Mihoshi rushed over to her. The pain had lasted only a brief moment, meant to give a single, desperate message. Sasami quickly got to her feet, the pain gone as soon as it had come. "Sasami, what's wrong with you, what happened?" Mihoshi fired a flurry of worried questions at her. She pushed Mihoshi away. "It's Shadow! Something's wrong!" She ran past Mihoshi, through the lounge, and into the front room. There, laying on the floor in front of the door, was the humanoid form of Shadow Dog, naked, his body covered with the red streaks of blood and bruises. "Shadow!" Kiyone and Washu ran in, and gasped. "Sasami, don't look." Mihoshi tried to cover the girl's eyes, but Sasami pushed her aside again, and ran over to her fallen friend. She tried to use their mental link, trying to get a response from him. "Shadow? Shadow Dog? Wake up, please, wake up!" *** There was darkness, and shadow, and then there was this. He hated this kind of darkness, where you were alone, and all you felt was pain. He had felt this kind of darkness before, at the hands of a Jurain, one of the young nobles. What was his name? Slowly, the darkness began to disappear, being replaced by the light. Shadow realized he was opening his eyes. As he did, he saw a face. It was a beautiful angel, with clear skin, framed by long, blue hair. Two dark green circles were on her forehead, and there was a smile on her face. "Welcome back, Shadow Dog." "Tsu... Tsunami?" He closed his eyes for a second, and opened them back up. Tsunami was replaced with her mortal counterpart, Sasami. The young girl smiled. "Shadow, you're awake!" Shadow Dog nodded, and tried to sit up. He gritted his teeth, as pain shot through his entire body. "Careful!" He felt Kiyone's hands help him sit up. His head hung for a moment, and all he could see was his lap. Someone had dressed him in his shorts and t-shirt. He slowly looked up to see every member of the Masaki family gathered around him in the lounge. Lord Katsuhito stood in front of the windows, his face calm as always. Nobuyuki stood next to him, as distressed as always. Ayeka and Mihoshi sat on the couch next to him, Mayuka in Mihoshi's arms. Sasami sat on his left, with Kiyone on his right. Washu was standing right in front of him, eyeing him closely. "What... what is that demented scientist doing?" Shadow Dog spoke to Sasami through their link. His jaw hurt too much move. "She's making sure you're not too badly hurt. You were beaten up, and there were cuts and scars all over your body. You had just collapsed in the front doorway. I was scared." He looked at the young girl. Her eyes were still filled with fear, because he knew what she was wondering. "Forgive me, Mistress Sasami. I was unable to protect Tenchi and Ryoko." Kiyone was the first to speak. "Shadow, what happened out there?" She knew she wasn't going to like it. She had seen the bounty hunter in action, and his wounds were already healing. He was tough, to put it mildly. Whatever had done this to him had to be very, very dangerous. "He, Tenchi, and Ryoko were attacked," Sasami answered. Everyone looked at her. "His jaw hurts too much to speak, so he want's me to tell you." Washu nodded, typing on her holocomputer. "Yes, you're right. He was beaten very badly, especially his jaw." She didn't want to frighten Sasami. From her scans, it looked to Washu like someone had tried to tear Shadow's jawbone off. Sasami continued Shadow's explanation. "They were attacked by bounty hunters. They came out of the forest. Shadow couldn't stop them. There were too many off them. One of them hit him in the back of the head, and the others ran off with Tenchi and Ryoko. He tried, but he couldn't catch up with them. He just found himself here." She stopped, and she and Shadow sat there for a few minutes, staring at each other. Finally, Sasami nodded, and turned to Katsuhito and Nobuyuki. "He wants you to forgive him for not being able to help Tenchi." Katsuhito nodded. "It's all right, Shadow. I'm sure there's nothing you could have done, whether you were with Tenchi and Ryoko, or not. If they wanted him badly enough, they would stop at nothing to get him." Shadow nodded, and Sasami spoke, "Thank you." "Miss Washu, can you--" Kiyone began to ask. "Already ahead of you, Kiyone." Washu was typing furiously on her computer. "I'll have the location of their ship in just a few moments. Then, I'll send you, Ayeka, Mihoshi and Ryo-ohki to go rescue Tenchi and Ryoko." Washu grinned as her computer finally came up with the ship's location, and almost immidiatly afterward cursed. "What is it, Washu?" Ayeka asked. "I've found their ship, but I can't get any information on it. They're using something that's jamming my sensors." She sneered, "You'll be going in blind, I'm afraid." "Mistress Sasami," Shadow said to the girl through their link, "would you please get me my uniform?" "No, Shadow! You can't go. You're still hurt!" "I already promised you, Mistress. I'm going to bring Tenchi and Ryoko home." *** Ito Gasam was proud of himself this day. One of the easiest bounties in his long experience would prove to be the most profitable. He touched a key on his control panel. "Asanon, report. How is the primary target holding up?" His underling's voice crackled over the other end of the comm system. "He's doing nicely, sir. He was taken with almost no damage. Only minor bruises." "And the secondary target?" "The same. She's just as tough as they say." "Good. We'll be ready for the trip to Jurai in an hour. Make sure that they are secure." "Understood." Ito turned off the comm, and looked to his ship's pilot, Karasawa. In his younger days, it made Ito's skin crawl to see a man wired into a machine, to live as a part of it. Now, he had grown accustomed to seeing the pilot's scarred, metal and flesh visage. "Karasawa, open a link to our client." A large screen appeared in front of Ito. On the screen was the somber face of the Emperor of Jurai. Ito moved his cloak out of his way, and bowed. "My dear Emperor Azusa, I am pleased to report that we have acquired the primary target." The Emperor nodded in satisfaction. "In addition, we captured a secondary target. The space pirate Ryoko. We will be within Jurai space in a few hours." "Good. Your fee will be delivered after I have the targets. As always, Ito Gasam, be discreet." Ito nodded. "Of course, your majesty." The screen went black, showing a view of space. Ito tapped his control panel, and a small data crystal popped out. The crystal contained the instructions given to Ito Gasam by his other client, the Lord Hikage. He wondered why the Lord had hired him privately, even though the Emperor had already procured his services. He shrugged, and put the data crystal back in, and turned on the monitoring sensors inside the holding cell. Whatever information he was able to collect on the boy, he was to give to Hikage. "Very well. As long as I get paid." *** Tenchi slowly opened his eyes. His head hurt to much for light, but he knew he had to see where he was. Somehow, he couldn't feel anything from the neck down. Normally, it would be scaring him. But, again, his head hurt too much for him to worry about that. He saw a different kind of light from what he expected when he opened his eyes. Ryoko was looking down at him. His head was laying in her lap. She was dressed in her red and black battle suit, her hair and face covered with dirt. He wanted to reach up and wipe the dirt off of her face, but his arms wouldn't move. "You're awake?" Tenchi nodded. As least he could move that much. Ryoko looked up at something, and Tenchi turned his head to see. They were staring at a doorway blocked by horizontal bars of energy. The energy wavered slightly, every few seconds. Tenchi turned his head back to looking up at Ryoko. "What happened?" "You remember walking home with Shadow and me, right?" He nodded again. "We were attacked by someone, a man in a blue cloak. He moved too fast for me and Shadow, and his partners jumped us from behind. They drugged you, and hit me from behind. Before I blacked out, I whatched them trying to take out Shadow. The bastard wouldn't go down," she smiled, a hint of admiration for the bounty hunter showing in her face. "He jumped on one of them. I could smell his fire burning their flesh. The other guy was just as tough, though, and grabbed Shadow by the jaw. I don't remember anything after that. I woke up in here, with you. You were still drugged." Tenchi tried to move his head around to see where "here" was. It was a small room, with padded walls and floor. For a second it reminded him of a nuthouse, it was so dimly lit. Then he realized that the walls just looked padded. The walls were actually moving slightly. Like they were... breathing? Almost as if she sensed his thoughts, Ryoko said, "It's a semi-living ship. Kind of like Ryo-ohki, but it can't change form. It was once one giant organism, until the hard parts were added. Maybe after it had suffered from an accident, or someone may have kidnapped it just to butcher it like this." Tenchi cocked an eyebrow. "Have you been digging through Washu's books, or something?" Ryoko smiled, despite the bad joke. "No, I've seen how they're made. It's not pretty." She paused for a moment. "Would you like to sit up?" Tenchi nodded, and Ryoko pulled his limp body up right, setting him against the wall. Tenchi couldn't help but feeling like a rag doll. He hated it. Then he started to get the feeling back in his limbs. It was going slowly, but at least it was a good sign. Ryoko looked out the window in the corner of the room. "I hate this. I hate being locked up, being a prisoner. I tried for a long time to get out after we were put in here. I couldn't shoot the walls out, that would've just been stupid. I tried to shoot those bars, but they only absorbed the energy. I can't contact Ryo-ohki or Washu, either. This place is shielded. We're alone here." Her last words almost made Tenchi shiver, if he could have. He knew that Ryoko would normally give anything for them to be alone together, but the way she said it... it was so cold. "This is what she felt," Tenchi realized. He could feel his arms and chest now, and the feeling was speeding up as it traveled down to his waist and legs. He put a hand on her shoulder. She jumped, slightly. It hurt him to see her like this. "We are going to get out of here, Ryoko, I promise. No matter what." Ryoko turned around, and put her arms around him. "I'm sorry, Tenchi. I never wanted you to be here, in a place like this. I... I couldn't protect you. I so sorry." She sounded like she was about to cry. "I love you, Tenchi. I don't care if you don't love me. I love you. I'm so sorry." He but a hand of her head. He hair was soft, for being so spikey. "Ryoko. Ryoko, look at me." She looked up at him, her golden eyes showing pain, hatred, and fear all at the same time. Last chance, Tenchi. "Ryoko, I love you." Instantly, everything in Ryoko's eyes changed. "I love you, too, Ryoko." She reached up and kissed him. For the first time since he had known her, Tenchi didn't back away. He kissed her back. "Tenchi, you meant it, don't you?" Ryoko asked after she kissed him, just trying to make sure she wasn't asleep and in some dream. He nodded. "Yes, Ryoko. I do." He kissed her again. Ryoko felt so many things she had felt, fear, insecurity, pain, all go away in a moment. She closed her eyes, and prayed silently that this moment could stop, and never end. "Aww, doesn't it just melt your heart?" Tenchi and Ryoko broke their embrace, and looked to the doorway of their cell. Standing there was one of the men who Ryoko had seen attack them. He was the one who drugged Tenchi. His hair was greasy and uncombed, left to grow in all directions, including in his face. "Well, you two kids get comfortable, huh? It's gonna be a long trip. You'll have plenty of time to be alone." The mocking tone in his voice was enough to drive a monk to violence. Ryoko growled at him, and raised a hand. Energies gathered in her palm, and she shot a blast at the man. The blast didn't make it past the cell bars. The man laughed. There was a crackle from some unseen speaker. "Asanon, are the targets ready for transport?" Asanon nodded to the unseen voice. "Yea, they're ready." *** Ito smiled to himself, again. He just couldn't stop smiling. He would be a rich man, soon enough. Things were really starting to look good for him. There was a flashing warning. Karasawa said, "Sir, an unidentified ship is approaching us from Earth." Ito cursed. His day was starting to go bad. "Give me a visual, now!" The black screen changed to a view of the Earth. There was a small, black and grey object in front of the planet, and it was quickly growing larger. Ito squinted for a moment, and then jumped back in horror when he realized it was the infamous Ryo-ohki. His day had just gotten bad. He turned to his pilot. "Karasawa, how long until we are recharged to make the trip back?" The pilot looked to the side for a moment, and then said, "We're only at 86%. That, and we were focusing all of our recharges to the drive enginges. We don't have enough energy in the main engines to evade them." He looked away again, and then said. "There is some good news, though." "And that would be?" Ito growled. "Ryo-ohki isn't charging her weapons. She won't be able to attack when she's in range." Ito's eyes grew wide. He had heard many stories about the Ryo-ohki. He knew what she was going to do. "You idiot!" Karasawa blinked. "That's Ryo-ohki! She's not going to fire at us because she's going to ram us!" Karasawa let the factors involved sink in, and then began to scream. The feeling was almost completely back in Tenchi's legs. He tried to stand, but it was still wobbly. Ryoko put his arm over her, giving him support. Asanon whatched as the two prisoners tried to get to their feet. It was so comedic, whatching them struggle. The voice of Ito crackled over the comm. "Asanon! Come in, now!" Asanon sighed. He hated it when Ito was pushy. "Yea, what is it?" "It's the Ryo-ohki. She's gonna ram us! Brace yourself!" Asanon had enough time to look up and begin to say "What?" when the ship rocked violently. Ryoko and Tenchi fell back to the ground, but that wasn't able to upset them. Ryoko yelled out. "Yea! Go, Ryo-ohki!" There was another shake as the ship rocked. Tenchi smiled. The rest of his friends had come. *** In a corner of the ship, one of Ryo-ohki's spikes was jutting through the wall. A moment later, several figures matrialized next to it, set to meet any resistance. Ayeka stood in her Jurain battle uniform, her forcefield shimmering with her anger. Kiyone and Mihoshi had their guns drawn, and next to them was Shadow Dog in his hound form, his soul fire rolling off of his form in large, arching tongues of black flame. Kiyone scanned the room. It was dark, filled with monitors and computers. It looked like an archive, but what would that be doing on a ship like this? "I'll take point. Come on." They ran through one of the open doors in the room down a corridor, not really knowing where they were going. Several robotic arms popped out of the ceiling of the ship, and began to fire at the group. Kiyone yelled as she fell back, taken by suprise by the lasers. "Stand back!" Ayeka moved to the front, her forcefield glowing as the lasers bounced off. She flew forward, crushing the arms with her forcefield, and much of the corridor, as well. Mihoshi, Kiyone, and Shadow blinked, several times, and then shrugged and followed. The guard, Asanon, had just passed out. Ryoko bent down, checking his pulse. She looked up at Tenchi. "He's still alive." Tenchi looked at the cell they were in. Somehow, the cell bars just... shut off. Then the guard fell down unconcious. Ryoko stood, and grabbed Tenchi by the hand. "Oh, well. Let's get the hell out of here!" Tenchi nodded, and they ran out the door. "Asanon! Asanon, report!" Ito slammed his fist into the control panel on the bridge of his ship. All hell was breaking loose. First, the Ryo-ohki smashed into his ship. Then, the holding cell bars deactivated. There were four intruders tearing their way through his ship's internal defenses, the targets were loose and making their way to the bridge, and he couldn't communicate with anyone. "Sir," Karasawa said, "Moniters show that Asanon collapsed, but is alive. He may have suffered mental feedback when Ryo-ohki rammed our ship. His metal link with the ship is crucial to keeping the holding systems operational." "I know that!" He screamed at the pilot. Ito found himself wishing Karasawa could move, so he could be chased. It was no fun to yell at them when they couldn't cringe. The bridge doors opened. Ito turned to see Tenchi and Ryoko standing in the doorway, neither of which looked very happy. "It's you!" Ryoko screamed, and flew at him, an energy blast already forming in her hand. Tenchi tried to move to hold her back, but she was too fast. Ryoko shot the energy blast, and Ito vanished, the energy hitting the control panel. Tenchi ran up beside her. He reached for his sword, Tenchiken, but realized that he wasn't carrying it. "Stand back, Tenchi." Ito stood on the other side of the room. His blue robes fluttered slightly behind him as he rematerialized. He brushed back a lock of blue hair, and smiled, trying to seem confident. He hoped he was pulling it off. "Ryoko. It is a pleasure to finally meet you, indeed. I do hope you won't mind me killing you, although I still have to take your precious Tenchi alive. No hard feelings?" Ryoko's sword appeared in her hand, and she sneered at the bounty hunter. "Try shutting up and fighting." Ryoko charched him, again. Ito concentrated, changing each particle of his body into energy. He yelled as his body became a living blast of energy, and threw himself at Ryoko. Ryoko felt pain as he hit her. She fell back against the floor of the bridge. "Ryoko!" Tenchi ran to her. Ito laughed as he rematerialized again, an aura of power surrounding him. Tenchi bent down, holding Ryoko's head in his hands. "Tenchi," she opened her eyes. "Tenchi, I'm sorry." Tenchi gritted his teeth as he heard Ito's laugh. "Dammit, Ryoko. I told you not to apologize." He stood, and looked at Ito. Ito gave his most confident grin. This was it? This was what the Emperor of Jurai wanted? A mere boy and a weakened space pirate. "You can't be the one who destroyed Kagato. You can't even defend yourself. How can you expect your loved ones to stand up for you?" Tenchi felt anger rising inside himself. "You won't harm anyone. I won't let you." Ito smirked. "Well, then. Are you ready?" Tenchi stood firm, holding his ground. Ito's body changed again, and the blinding flash of energy shot at Tenchi. It stopped. Ito felt something, a force, holding him back. Such an incredible power! He retreated, and materialized. When he could see again, the boy was still standing. Three triangles were now on his forehead, and three wings floated in front of him. Ito shook his head in disbelief. "What? No. It... you can't possibly do that. It's impossible." Tenchi grabbed one of the Light Hawk Wings. It changed into a ribbon of blue energy, and he threw it at Ito. The man felt the power hit him, stronger than anything he had felt before, and slammed into the wall. Karasawa, unable to move, whatched the entire scene as it played out. The ships moniters were going off of the scale. The power of the boy was scrambling the sensors, giving Karasawa an incredible headache. The door to the bridge opened, and the rescue party walked in. The Light Hawk Wings disappeared, and Tenchi bent down to help Ryoko up. She looked at him, slowly regaining conciousness. "Tenchi?" He smiled at her, and then looked up at his friends. "I told you no one would take me, or anyone of us, away." Ayeka ran up to them. "Tenchi! Ryoko! What's happened! Are you all right?" Tenchi helped Ryoko shift her weight from him to Ayeka as the princess placed Ryoko's arm over her shoulder. Ito shook his head, trying to clear the noise of the pain, and found himself looking into the face of a black, flaming dog. "Oh, no. Not you again." The dog growled, and Mihoshi and Kiyone walked up behind him, their guns pointed at Ito. Shadow changed back into his human form, and stood up, but didn't take his eyes from Ito. "Kiyone, get them out of here." "What? Now wait just a minute, he's my prisoner. I can take him in, easily. There are more than enough charges, and... eh?" She stopped when Shadow looked back at her, his red eyes ice cold. "Tenchi, Ayeka, get out of here. I'll catch up to you." He looked down at Ito, again. "Trust me, Kiyone. This will be much more effective." Kiyone was about to renew her protests, when Tenchi placed a hand on her should. "Kiyone, let him handle it. Let's just go home." Kiyone sighed, frowning. "Fine. But, I'm putting this in my report." She and Mihoshi followed Tenchi and Ayeka as they carried Ryoko back to Ryo-ohki. When they had left the room, Shadow's gem glowed. "You're the one who tried to tear my jaw off." He kicked Ito across the face. It hurt, a lot. Ito would have cried out if he wasn't already in so much pain. Shadow Dog knelt down in front of him, looking into his eyes. "Listen, bounty hunter. I know who sent you. I want you to give a message to your employer, the Emperor of Jurai. Tell him that Tenchi Masaki and his friends are now under Twilight Ward. If he ever sends another bounty hunter, he will face the consequences." Shadow got up, turned around, and hurried to catch up with the others. Ito looked over at Karasawa. "You... you got the data, right? On the boy?" The pilot nodded. "Good. At least we get paid." After a few moments of laying on the floor in pain, Karasawa spoke. "Ryo-ohki has gone back down to the planet, and the hole has been sealed. No further internal damage to report. Do you wish to leave for Jurai, now?" Ito nodded, and struggled to his feet. "Karasawa, if you need me, I'll be taking a long bath." "Yes, sir." *** Ryoko's mind played the scene over and over again. She leaned on his shoulder, trying so hard to keep together, to be as tough as she had always been. But she couldn't. She would never see him again. They were both prisoners, and there was nothing she could do. She had never wanted him to know this, the isolation of imprisonment. She told him, "I'm sorry. I love you." Then, he told her to look up. His eyes were so soft, and gentle. So much compassion in them. "I love you, Ryoko." At that moment, nothing else mattered. Every fear, hatred, tear shed, blood spilled, every cry of pain and crack of bone was nothing. It was as if none of it had ever happened, and didn't matter. Every dream she had, every hope she carried, and every shout of courage and triumph echoed in her soul. Then, he reached down and kissed her. She opened her eyes, not sure if she wanted to leave the dream. She was afraid that all of it was nothing but dream. She didn't want to let go of the ethereal moment, but knew she had to. She was staring up at the cieling. Why wasn't it as close as usual? The surface beneath her was soft, not the hardness of the rafters. Where was she? Her vision was still blurred. She turned her head, and saw light pouring in through a large, circular window. She reached up, and wiped the crust from her eyes. She knew that window. She turned her head to her right, and found herself looking at the same handsome face she had been dreaming about. "Tenchi?" Her eyes moved back and forth. She was in his room. On his bed. "You okay, Ryoko?" He placed a hand on her forehead. "You're fever's gone down. After that bounty hunter hit you, you had passed out." Ryoko shut her eyes for a moment, letting them adjust to the light a little more, and opened them again. "You mean, that wasn't a dream? All of it... really happened?" That was a little hard to believe. Tenchi smiled. "Yes, all of it. Including what I said." Ryoko's eyes opened wide, and she looked at Tenchi. She couldn't help but let tears form at the edges of her eyes. "You..." Tenchi held her hand. "Yes. I... thought I'd never get another chance. I was going to say it, but I just couldn't find the right way to. I guess a moment like that really brings out the emotion in someone." Ryoko smiled. "I finally showed you, Kagato. I am human. Eat that, you bastard." Her thoughts had never been so pleasing. If she could get up, she would've jumped on Tenchi right at that moment. That was a little dissapointing, but it didn't matter. "How long have you been whatching me?" "Ever since we got back. Washu said that you would be all right, but I stayed anyway." Ayeka carried the tray up the stairs, careful not to drop it. Tenchi had been awake all night, and well into the day. Surely, he had to be hungry. She had been so worried when Sasami said that Tenchi and Ryoko had been kidnapped. Shadow had tried everything he could to help them, but even he couldn't stop it. Ayeka couldn't remember the last time she felt like she had when she heard that. That was a lie. She could remember. It was twice, since she had come to live here. The first time was when Kagato had almost killed Tenchi. The second was when Yazuha had kidnapped Sasami, to lure Tenchi into her realm. It was more than simple worry. It was fear. She feared for them. She was afraid that they would never come back, that the only people in her entire life she could call friends would die, with her having no way to stop it. "Stop it," she thought. "I need to let myself calm down. I've been so on edge latley, and with everything that's happened, I really should just relax." She almost smiled. "I'm starting to sound a little like Ryoko." Then she wondered why that thought wasn't making her shiver. She made it to the top floor of the house, where Tenchi's room was. She could see light coming out from Tenchi's room. The door was open slighlty. Ayeka tried to raise her hand to knock, but the tray was too heavy to balance with one hand. She moved her foot into the crack, hoping to slide the door open enough to get Tenchi's notice. "I love you, Ryoko." Ayeka stopped. That was Tenchi's voice. His words. Ayeka felt a cold come over her, an oppressive wall of ice. She dropped the tray, her hands falling to her sides. Tenchi looked up, over his shoulder. Ayeka was standing outside his door. He could see her large, pink eyes water. In a second, she was gone. "Tenchi?" Ryoko said, sleep starting to take over again. "Tenchi? What was it?" "Ayeka." Tenchi looked at Ryoko. Her eyes slowly closed shut. He wondered if she had even heard him. He didn't want to leave her alone, but... Ayeka. She had heard him. He was afraid of this. He knew it would happen, but he still had to face it. No matter how bad it got, he would have to face it. Tenchi walked to the door, and then it opened. Katsuhito standing in the place where Ayeka had been. Tenchi jumped back, taken slightly by suprise. "Grandpa? Uh... I have to go--" Lord Katsuhito shook his head. "No, Tenchi. Let her be by herself, for a while." Tenchi tried to protest, but his grandfather cut him off, again. "Trust me. This is best. She'll come and talk to you, when she is ready." Tenchi nodded, reluctantly accepting his grandfather's words, and sat back down in his chair beside Ryoko. Katsuhito looked at the mess at his feet. "I'll clean this up. You should try and get some sleep, before dinner, tonight." Tenchi heard the door close. How did his grandfather always know this stuff before it happened? Ryoko had fallen back into sleep. He whatched her, gently breathing. She had a smile on her face. Tenchi wanted to smile, but his thoughts kept going back to Ayeka. He had said what was in his heart, and she had been hurt. Tenchi hung his head. It seemed to him that he just didn't understand some things in life. Author's Notes: Sorry if this one isn't quite up to specs. I feel I kinda forced some parts (especially the more emotional ones, unfortunatly). I promise that the next part will be better, though. I'll have some more on Lord Hikage, and some new antagonists will enter the game. All comments, flames, any feedback, for God's sake!, can be sent to killersquid@ticnet.com. I' like to thank the acadamy... *** Azaka: Um, sir... Loneshark: (heavy tone of annoyance) Yes? What is it? Kamidake: We were just wondering... Azaka: When are we going to be included in this story? Kamidake: We would very much appreciate an inclusion at some point. Loneshark: (frustrated sigh) Fine, fine, you overgrown toothpicks. I'll put you in the next one. Bug me about it again, and I'll turn you into firewood, got it? Guardians: Yes sir! Thank you, sir! Loneshark: (grumble) annoying... nosey... wooden... termite infested...