"Tenchi Muyo" and some or all characters are owned by Pioneer. This story is a product of my
own warped imagination. (Note: In
Chapter 1 of this story, I used the name Ryo from Tsunami's Knight's fanfic, Cinderella Muyo.) 
                                
                          Tenchi Muyo!
                     No Need for Censorship
                                                  by Tom Vogler
              Chapter 2: The Secret of the Shrine

     Tenchi stood there, shocked.  "You....you're Ryoko?!  You're the demon from the
cave!  No monster tried to eat you!  You're the monster!  You attacked me when I went in
there!"

     "Hey!  That's no way to talk to a lady!  And besides, I didn't attack you!  I was only
playing, Tenchi!"  At that, Ryoko floated over to Tenchi and grabbed him in a bear hug.

     "Oof!  Get off, you psycho!" Tenchi tried to wriggle free of her grasp.

     After a moment's struggle, she sighed, "Alright, alright!"  At that, she disappeared
momentarily.  She reappeared standing five feet in front of a befuddled Tenchi.

     "H-how did you do that?!

     "What?  Teleporting?  I don't know.  I've always been able to do it."

     "But why did you trick me?"

     Ryoko sulked a bit.  "Well, I thought that if you knew who I was, you might try to
destroy me."

     "Me?  Destroy you?  How could I destroy you?"

     "Well, you had Yosho's sword, didn't you?"

     "I guess I did."  Tenchi looked down at his belt, where the sword was.  Or at least
where it used to be.

     "Hey, Ryoko!  Where IS my sword?!"

     "Well, Tenchi, you did place the sword into the key-sconce on my sarcophagus."

     "So it's back there, huh?"  Tenchi looked out the front window for a moment in
thought.  He then said, "Well, I'm going back to get it.  My grandfather would kill me if I lost
it."  He headed out the door, while Ryoko stood there watching after him.

     After a few seconds, Tenchi marched back in, grabbed her by the arm and pulled her
out with him.  "Come on, you're coming with me!  I don't trust you in here by yourself!"


     They marched out the door, leaving the room behind them.  From outside, one could
hear Ryoko say, "Ow, easy on the arm!"  After which one could hear a sound like a small
explosion and a yelp from Tenchi, followed by a loud guffaw from the demon-girl.

     Noboyuki came down the stairs, puzzled.  "What was that noise, Tenchi?   Tenchi? 
Now where could he have gone?"

     A low voice came from behind him, causing him to jump.  "So, it has begun again. 
I only hope Tenchi is ready for it."

     "Oh, it's you, Father!" Noboyuki said, relieved.  "How long have you been standing
there?"

     Katsuhito replied, "Long enough...  Long enough."

     "Does this have anything to do with that hot-looking girl Tenchi brought home?"

     "Correct."

     Noboyuki looked at the old man.  "Father, I believe I understand what you sense about
Tenchi, and how this situation affects it."

     Katsuhito, intrigued, asked, "Oh, do you?"

     "Yeah!  I thought he was gay until now, too!"

     The shrine-keeper slapped his forehead.  "Being at one with the universe solves many
problems, but I shall never comprehend how the fuck I ever let my daughter marry a
lecherous jughead like you!"

     "I take it you didn't sense that."
                      *******************

     Tenchi and Ryoko crept through the same passages where Tenchi had ventured earlier
that day.  He was much less afraid now, since he had actually met the demon, who as it
turned out wasn't all that bad, except for the fact that she had zapped him a few minutes ago. 

     As they walked, something occurred to Tenchi.  "Ryoko, how is it that you know my
name?"

     The girl started to answer.  "Well, I....I mean I...  It's not important.  Look.  We're
there."

     They had come to the same room with the odd carvings and hieroglyphics.  The large
metal case still stood in the center, only it was now open.  Tenchi walked towards it. 

     "The sword was right here in this groove," he said as he reached for the sword. 
"Wait!  It's not there!  Okay, what did you do with it?!"

     "I didn't do anything!" the girl said, innocently.

     "Come on, Ryoko!  That thing is an antique!  My family will never forgive me if it's
gone!  Where is the sword?!"

     "Tenchi, I can't touch the sword!  It has a force field that keeps anyone the sword does
not approve of from using it."

     "Well, if you didn't, who did?"

     As if responding to his question, a light came out of a corner that neither Tenchi nor
Ryoko had noticed before.  It was a doorway, leading deeper underground.

     "Maybe its down there, Tenchi."

     "I guess we'll have to go look."

     At that, Ryoko leapt up into Tenchi's arms.  "Oh, Tenchi!  You'll protect me from
whatever's down there, right?"

     "Me?!  Protect you?!  You can teleport, fly, and fire energy out of your hands!"

     She put an innocent look on her face and sucked her thumb.  "What?  Widdle old
me?!"

     Tenchi groaned.  "Oh, jeez."  He moved his arms up to hold his head in his hands,
letting Ryoko fall to the ground.

     The two carefully made their way down the long, winding passage.  It was very dark. 
Tenchi could only make out Ryoko's silhouette, as the only light came from the sarcophagus
chamber, which was far behind them.

     As they walked, Tenchi began to notice strange things. Although this passage was
centuries old, there didn't seem to be any dust.  There were no insects or cobwebs.  Someone,
probably Katsuhito, was keeping the whole tomb clean.  Another thing that Tenchi noticed
he said outloud.  "Ryoko, do you feel that?"

     "What is it?"

     "The wind!"

     "Oh.  Sorry."

     "Huh?  Eww!  No, I meant a breeze coming from further down the tunnel."

     "Oh, THAT wind."  Ryoko let out a laugh that echoed all through the narrow
passageway.

     Finally, they made it to an enormous room.  It was well lit from some glowing orbs in
the ceiling.  And when Tenchi saw what was in the room, his jaw hit the floor.

     "W-w-what is that?!"

     Ryoko grinned at him and said, "Why, it's a spaceship, of course!"

     The spaceship was massive.  It was probably even bigger than the space shuttle,
though it looked quite different.  Instead of a streamlined, airplane-like shape, this ship was
irregularly shaped.  The cockpit jutted forward from the large central hull.  Other parts of the
ship branched out of the hull.  The ship was a deep blue, but the light from the orbs gave it
a strange, other-worldly appearance.  Needless to say, Tenchi was in awe.

     "Where did it come from, Ryoko?"

     "I'm not sure.  When I was fighting Yosho, I saw it land near here.  I didn't know who
it was or why they were there."

     "I wonder why it's down here," Tenchi said.  Something seemed odd about the
situation....besides the fact that it involved a spaceship and a demon girl.

     "Beats me," Ryoko replied.  "But I'll bet that's where your sword is."

     The pair walked down a metal catwalk that lead to the platform the ship rested on. 
Sure enough, the hatch, a rectangular opening, was wide open.  Tenchi and Ryoko stepped
inside.

     They were in a dimly-lit hallway.  The floor and walls were solid metal, and large
pipes ran the length of it.  They walked carefully, always keeping a watchful eye for the
unexpected.  Tenchi paused, while Ryoko moved a few steps ahead.  Tenchi said, "Well, I
guess the ship is deserted."  And then the unexpected struck..

     Out of the corner of her eye, Ryoko saw something fall onto Tenchi's head.  The boy
yelped in shock.  "Oww!!  Get it off me!! Get it off me!!!"  Whatever it was had latched onto
Tenchi's hair, and was holding on for dear life.  No amount of shaking loosened its grip.  He
ran around in circles trying to get the thing to give up its stronghold on his follicles.  At last, 
he snapped at his companion, "Do something!"

     Ryoko calmly stepped up, snapped her fingers, and said, "Let go!"

     Tenchi felt the pulling on his scalp cease, and something small and furry fell into his
arms.  He looked down at it.

     In the dim light, he could see it was an animal.  At first, due to its long ears, he thought
it was a rabbit, but then it let out a joyful, "Meow!" and leapt into Ryoko's waiting arms.

     "Ryo-Ohki!  Did you miss me?" the demon-girl asked, earning a happy meow in
return.  
     "What is that thing, Ryoko?" Tenchi queried.

     "It's a cabbit.  Here.  Let me give you a better look."  At that, she formed a small ball
of light and let it float up and stick to the ceiling, lighting up the area quite well.  Tenchi
decided to examine the animal more closely.

     It was the size of a rabbit, and even had two long ears.  However, it also sported long
whiskers and claws (which his head was now well acquainted with), like those of a cat, as
well as a collar.  It looked back at Tenchi and let out a loud, "Meow!"

     "Hear that, Tenchi!  She likes you, don't you Ryo-Ohki?"

     "Well, I like you too, Ryo-Ohki.  I think you're the cutest little..."  Tenchi frowned all
of a sudden, looking at Ryoko quite menacingly. "We've been stumbling around in the dark
for the last hour, and you could have made that light ball the entire time?!"

     Ryoko slapped her forehead.  "Oh shit!  I knew I'd forgotten something!"

     Tenchi sighed and rolled his eyes.  "Never mind.  Let's just find my sword and get out
of here!"

     Ryo-Ohki looked up at Tenchi, questioningly.  "Meow?"

     Ryoko looked at the cabbit as if she understood it.  "What did you say?"

     "I didn't say anything," Tenchi said.

     "No, not you.  I was talking to Ryo-Ohki."

     "Huh?"

     "She and I communicate telepathically.  She just asked what sword you were talking
about."

     "Uh..the one that's only a handle."

     Ryo-Ohki meowed happily.

     "She says she knows where it is.  She brought it down here."

     At that, the cabbit jumped out of Ryoko's arms and bounded further down the
corridor, stopping only a moment to look back and meow beckoningly

     "C'mon, Tenchi.  Let's go!"  Ryoko said.  The two ran off, following the strange little
creature.

     Soon they came to a room that was apparently the ship's cockpit.  There was a large
window at the far end, spanning the entire width of the room.  There were three seats.  One
was in the middle, and was slightly raised, obviously the ship's helm.  The other two were
at either end of the room, and faced slightly toward the middle.  The consoles in front of the
chairs had blank displays, and small and large orbs that were most likely used for buttons. 
A large monitor hung from the ceiling over the pilot's seat.  There were some wires and tubes
strewn about the floor, but in spite of that, it was relatively clean.

     "Wow," Tenchi said.  The awed Earthling had never seen anything like it before.

     Ryo-Ohki hopped up to the seat on the right.  She seemed to be struggling with some
unseen force, but finally, she meowed, looking under the seat.  Tenchi walked over, reached
under, and pulled out the sword.

     "Hey!  It's here!"

     Ryoko plunked down in the middle chair.  "Hey, Tenchi, can we sit down for a while
before we go back?  I'm exhausted!"

     "I guess so."

     Once the two were seated, Ryo-Ohki began meowing loudly at them.  Ryoko tried to
listen to what she was saying.

     "What?  Slow down! ....Danger?  What danger?  Get up?  What do you
mean...OOF!!!"

     Four large metal rods had reached around from the back of the chair, pinning Ryoko
to her seat.  A clamp came down, holding her head in place.

     "Ryoko!" Tenchi yelled, but before he could get up to help her, similar devices came
out of his own chair, restricting him.  No amount of struggling could free the hapless pair.

     From the floor in front of Tenchi's chair arose a strange device.  It was a metal rod,
but on top of it was something that looked like a camera.  It moved very swiftly to within a
centimeter of Tenchi's face.  A computerized voice filled the cockpit, saying, "NOW
SCANNING RETINAS!"

     After a split second of burning pain in his left eye, Tenchi closed his eyes tight.  A pair
of smaller clamps came from the larger one holding his head to hold his eyelids open.  A few
seconds and several screams from Tenchi later, and the computerized voice said,
"IDENTIFICATION: UNKNOWN!"  With that, the device lowered back into the floor.

     One just like it sprang up in front of Ryoko's chair.  It scanned her eyes just as it had
Tenchi's.  But this time, the computer voice said, "TARGET IDENTIFICATION
OBTAINED!"  After that, the machines holding Ryoko and Tenchi in their seats retracted,
freeing them.

     Tenchi looked at her.  "W-what was that?"

     As if the ship had heard him, the speaker next to Ryoko's chair crackled to life.  After
a few moments of static, a man's voice could be heard.

     He said, "Well, Ryoko!  From the looks of things, you've been resurrected!  Several
centuries of sleep must have dulled your senses!  I lured you here with your own cabbit!"

     Ryoko looked over at Ryo-Ohki, noticing that her collar had a blinking green light on
it.  "You bastard!!"  She screamed at the speaker.  "Where are you?!!"

     "But don't fret, my dear!  We'll be reunited very soon, and then we can finish the job
we started so very long ago!" the voice said, as if he hadn't even heard Ryoko's angry
question.

     "I think it's a recording," Tenchi said.

     A rumbling noise began.  It started out low, but got increasingly louder.  The ship
shook, forcing Tenchi and Ryoko to hold on tightly to their seats.  Through the window, they
could see an extremely large opening beginning to form.

     "We're blasting off!" Ryoko shouted.

     "WHAT?!!"

     The opening was actually two huge doors sliding open, revealing a long tunnel behind
them.  The ship's shaking grew even stronger, as it lifted off, slowly exiting the chamber
through the tunnel.

     Ryoko shouted to Tenchi over the rumbling, "Don't worry!  Once we get out of
Earth's gravity, it'll be a much smoother ride!"

     Tenchi yelled back, "Ride?!  Where are we going?"

     "I don't know!  We'll just have to find out!"

     By then, the ship had left the tunnel long behind, and was soaring up through the
atmosphere.  Sure enough, the ship finally ceased its violent shaking.

     When she was sure it was safe, Ryoko got up and walked over to her companion, who
was still clinging to his chair.

     "Hey Tenchi!  You can relax now!"

     "Relax?!  Are you crazy?!  Look out there!"  He pointed out the front window, where
the view consisted of nothing but stars.  "We're in outer space!!"

     "Yeah...I know..."

     "But, why?  I know it has something to do with you!"

     The stars outside the window seemed to move quite a bit faster all of a sudden.  What
looked like a large circle of light came into view.  Ryoko ran to the control console.  "Oh, no! 
We're about to go through a wormhole!"

     "A wormhole?"

     "It's used as a tunnel to link distant parts of space.  There's no telling where the other
end of it is."

     Within seconds, the ship blasted forward through the wormhole.  Strange patterns of
light zoomed past the window.  It reminded Tenchi of the movie, "Contact".  But then, he
thought of something.

     "Ryoko, why is this happening?"

     Ryoko just stood there, thinking.  She appeared to get angrier and angrier.  Finally,
she walked over to Ryo-Ohki, who was cowering in shame under the pilot's seat.  She picked
the cabbit up and glared at her.  Ryo-Ohki countered the icy glance with her best sad puppy
face, but to no avail.  Ryoko was so angry, she was a stone's throw away from
hyperventilating.  She was still attempting to hide her rage, despite the futility of it.

     "You helped him, didn't you!"

     "M-meow...."

     The demon-girl, apparently losing her cool, then violently tore the collar, complete
with blinking green light, off, threw it to the ground, and stamped on it.

     "Damn you!!!" was her bloodcurdling scream.

     Tenchi, who had been standing there nervously through the entire episode, cautiously
crept up to Ryoko and put a hand on her shoulder.

     "You're really mad at her, aren't you?"

     She stopped, and looked at him.  "No, it's not her... It's him."

     "Who?"

     "The man on the recording.  He was controlling Ryo-Ohki with that collar.  I hate
him... I hate him."

     "Who is he?"

     "He made me...  He made me... do ...bad things."

     Tenchi could see it was hard for her to talk about this.  He decided to change the
subject.  "Well, it could be some time before we get wherever it is we're going.  Why don't
we get some rest."

     The girl slowly looked up at him, the expression on her face no longer upset, but
rather devilish, in a playful sort of way.  "Why, Tenchi!  You naughty boy!"

     The Earthling turned beet-red and immediately switched gears.  "I didn't mean we
should...uh....  I meant sleeping!"

     The words might as well have been directed at the wall, as Ryoko kept advancing, and
Tenchi kept retreating.  "Oh, Tenchi!  You don't have to play hard-to-get with me!"

     "Oh, man!  Will you stop it?!"

     She stopped for a moment.  "Stop it?  Stop what?"  At that, she leapt into the air,
tackling the defenseless Tenchi.

     "Ow!  Knock it off, Ryoko!!" he yelled, struggling to get free.

     "Oh, come on!  You know you love me!"

     "What?!  I just met you, and I.."  He didn't get to finish his sentence.

     There was a loud thud, as the ship slammed to a stop.

     Ryoko, who had been kneeling on Tenchi's stomach trying to pin his arms to the floor,
was thrown to the other side of the room, while Tenchi slid violently into the wall.  Ryo-Ohki
had been clinging to the chair on the left side of the room, so she was merely jostled.

     The girl sat up and rubbed her head.  She looked around the room, trying to get her
bearings.  And then she saw Tenchi.  The boy was lying near the opposite wall, face down
and not moving.  He had hit his head.

     "TENCHI!!!" she cried.  She flew quickly to his side, rolled him over and frantically
tried to see what was wrong with him.  "Oh, please be okay!!"  He had a pulse and was
breathing.  Apparently, he had just been knocked unconscious.

     Ryoko sat Indian-style, holding Tenchi, waiting for him to wake up.  Ryo-Ohki slowly
padded her way over to the pair.  She rested her head on Ryoko's knee, looking up at her
master and letting out a soft meow.  She climbed up on Tenchi's chest, leaned down, and
licked his face.

     Surprisingly enough, it seemed to do the trick.  Tenchi opened his eyes, groggily. 
"Ugh.. What happened?  Where am I?"  He pulled himself up, slowly getting to his feet.

     Before he turned around to face Ryoko, she quickly got up, trying to look indifferent. 
"What happened Ryoko?  What was that jolt?"

     "I think we're here, wherever here is," she replied.

     Tenchi looked around.  A hatch had opened in the right hand wall.  A long tunnel
could be seen through it.  He looked at Ryoko and said, "Let's go."  At that, they started off
through the hatch, with Ryo-Ohki bounding after them.

     At the end of the tunnel, the two were awestruck, and with good reason.

     The room they were in now was incredibly huge.  It was obviously the docking bay
of an even larger spaceship than the one they'd arrived in, as there were other hatches on
either side.  The ceiling was probably a good five hundred feet above them, with huge, thin
arches along the whole far side.  Long steps were in the middle of the far side, leading to a
large door.

     Ryoko looked up at the door.  It was open, and there stood a tall figure, silhouetted
against the light flowing in.  The person had long hair, and a long cape falling to his ankles. 
He also had burning yellow eyes that glowed a terrible glow.  He began to laugh.

     Upon seeing him, Ryoko's eyes grew wide in horror.

     Tenchi whispered to her, "Ryoko, who is it?"

     "It's....him!"

     Tenchi looked at the sinister figure.  "Who is he?"

     "His name...is Kagato."

     The man walked down a few of the steps, then placed his hands on his hips and glared
menacingly at Tenchi and Ryoko.  All of a sudden, a light shot down from the ceiling,
illuminating him.  Tenchi looked up, seeing that the light, oddly enough, was seemingly
coming from out of nowhere.

     Kagato looked at the two and grinned.  "Well, Ryoko.  Finally, we meet again after
all these centuries!  We have so much catching up to do!  Well done, Ryo-Ohki!"  The cabbit
hid behind Tenchi's left leg, peering out at the yellow-eyed man.

     Kagato then shifted his glance over to Tenchi.  "Well, now!  Who's this you've
brought along, Ryoko?  I never thought a monster like yourself could coerce a young man
into following you around!"

     The sinister fellow then addressed the young Earthling.  "You're in over your head,
boy!  You don't know what you've gotten yourself into!"

     The light coming from somewhere above Kagato vanished, leaving once again only
his silhouette and glowing yellow eyes.  He glared menacingly at his guests.  "Well, I hope
you will stay a while.  Let me help you get comfortable!"

     Immediately after his words, energy began to resonate out of his hands.  After a few
milliseconds, the small energy had become a giant blue ball of light.  Kagato stretched his
arms out straight, letting out a yell.

     Ryoko looked up at the man, seeing, as if in slow motion, the terrible blue light
coming towards herself and Tenchi.  She jumped in front of him to shield him from it, as he
was too terrified to move.  Ryo-Ohki was clinging to Tenchi's leg for dear life.  As she
watched the light move toward her, Ryoko began to think back on her past with the man from
whom the impending wave of light was now coming.  She remembered how he had used her,
and the awful, awful things he had made her do.  All those people, all those lives....  Oh, how
she hated him.

     The blue energy wave passed right through the trio standing near the docking bay. 
When it finally subsided, they had disappeared, leaving not a trace of themselves behind.

     Kagato threw his head back, laughing loudly.  He said out loud to no one in particular,
"So, you've come back to me, my little puppet.  It will be like old times again!  We'll have
to see about your little Earth friend, though!"  He then resumed his maniacal laugh, yellow
eyes glaring out the massive docking bay window, out at the stars.  There were so many, and
they shined brighter than the ship's main beacon.  And soon, very soon indeed, they would
all be his.


                                           To be continued.......