Okay, this is a Tenchi Universe fan-fic. I do not own most of the characters, places, backstories, T-shirts, "art photos", etc. of the Tenchi Universe anime/manga/god-knows-what series. So don't sue me. Please? I'll be your best friend. Whaddya say? Pretty please? No Need For a Protector Part 1: The Arrival by Crash the Boy Blunder ******************************************************************************** ** Okibi rested his head against the seed bag, and let out a deep sigh. The day had been rough on the young man, between outdoor chores, training with Katsuhito and Tenchi, and trying to break up the "discussion" between Ryoko and Ayeka. ESPECIALLY the argument. I'll never be doing THAT again, he thought to himself as he pulled the dusty tarp over him as a makeshift blanket. A half an hour later, Okibi got up exasperated. Despite his strenuous day, he was completely wired. He picked up his bokken and stretched, reminding him of all the bumps and bruises he accumulated over the course of the day. He started practicing some of his techniques, emitting harsh sighs as he swings flurries of kicks, slashes, stabs and blocks. Meanwhile, a small figure sat on the front doorstep to watch. She watched as he continued his routines, her soft pink eyes not missing a movement. She propped her head on her hands as she watched even closer, letting her light-blue hair drape around them. She sighed as he continued, oblivious to her presence, and thought back to the first time he met her. ********* Sasami gazed out the window as the sun set lazily over the pond, casting flecks of gold onto the water's surface. She smiled, and thought of the one person who made her smile the most: Tenchi. No matter how things were going, she could take one look at him, and a warm calm would spread over her. Besides, oftentimes, he would get really nervous and fall over, and despite how it often looked as if it hurt, it was a bit funny to watch. Her gaze wandered from the pond to the skyline and back as twilight set in. Suddenly, her sharp gaze spotted a small streak barrelling toward the house. Her eyes lit up in shock, and she scurried back inside to get Tenchi, who she found in between Ayeka and Ryoko, who were having yet another argument. "Leave Tenchi alone, you wicked, immoral temptress!!" Ayeka cried as she pushed Ryoko away from Tenchi. Ryoko pushed back, and spat back, "Why don't you leave my Tenchi alone, you cold, self-righteous, egomaniacal bitch!!" The two of them locked each other in a fervent gaze, staring daggers at each other, with Tenchi looking on at this catfight-in-the-making. "Uh girls," Tenchi said quite nervously, "I wish you two wouldn't- -" He was quickly interrupted by both of them yelling, "Stay out of this!!" The two of them continued their staring contest as Sasami rushed Tenchi with the news of the arrival. Tenchi's eyes widened, and rushed outside to check for himself to find a baseball-sized fireball headed for the house and approaching fast. He covered Sasami with his body, and braced himself for the eventual impact. ******* As the treeship hurtled toward Earth at its suicidal pace, a small figure worked at the controls of the slightly-larger ship desperately, sweat pouring off his forehead. "Come on, work, you two-bit piece of crap!" the figure cried, his fingers dancing over the console to no avail. Flames started licking the cockpit of the craft, scorching the boy with his every touch. This is it, he thought. I'm going to burn to a cinder in the middle of nowhere, all because of this STUPID SHIP!!! "AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!" the boy cried as he punched the console, bringing the derelict ship back to life, if only for a moment. "Never underestimate brute force," the boy mused to himself in relief as he jumped to the still-hot console, pushing buttons frantically to put the fires out and prepare for landing. ******** Tenchi squeezed his eyes especially tight just when the ship crashed, his clothes billowing around him as he held onto Sasami for dear life. It's over, Tenchi thought to himself. I'm sorry, Sasami, Ayeka, Ryoko, and even you, Washu. I guess I let everyone down... "Lord Tenchi, just what do you think you are doing!!!" Tenchi opened his eyes to find Ayeka and Ryoko standing right in front of him, completely furious. "Hey, just what do you think you're doing with her?!" Ryoko snarled, pointing to Sasami, who was still being held securely in his arms. He instantly released her, and stuttered, "Um, well, uh.......it's like this......um.....this.... uh......." Sasami cut in, saying, "Oh, you should have seen it. There was this big fireball that was about to hit the house, and Tenchi saved me!" She turned around, and hugged Tenchi, much to his dismay. "Thank you, Tenchi," she said. "You're my hero." "Did someone mention something about a fireball?" They all turned to see the universe's self-proclaimed greatest genius standing nearby, her spiky pink hair fluttering slightly from the breeze. "Does this have anything to do with that crash a few hundred yards from here?" "Crash? What crash?" both Ryoko and Ayeka asked. "Apparently," Washu said, "you two were too busy bickering to notice. A ship crashed nearby. From what I could tell, it was an older-model Jurian scout ship, but it was a bit small. It landed over there." With that, she pointed to the northwest, where sure enough, a billow of smoke erupted through the treeline. ********* The young man heaved the hatch door of the cockpit off and jumped out of the burning treeship, his blood-red hair now covered in soot, and his clothes scorched, and in a few places burned. "Mizzuto," he called to his ship, "damage report." A badly-garbled voice rang out: ***DAMAGE REPORT: OVER 80% OF THE INNER HULL --ffzzzzz-- DAMAGED. 14% -- ffzzzzzzz-- IRREPARABLE. MAJOR GUIDANCE AND PROPUL--ffzzzzzzz-- MALFUNCTIONS DETECTED... The ship computer droned on as he examined his ship. "Just great. Looks like I'm stuck here a while." He crawled under the belly of the ship for a further examination, when one of the panels fell off, smacking him hard on the head. He held his head as he muttered a few choice obscenities under his breath, then punched the ship. ***DANGER: UNIDENTIFIED ENEMY ATTACK. INITIATING COUNTERASSAULT*** The ship's nose lit up as the worn-out batteries charge up for a single blast. The young man continued to examine the ship's hull, oblivious to the charge-up. Suddenly, as he was examining the aft thrusters, he saw a crimson beam just before it slammed into his chest. His turquoise eyes widened in horror, and a yell perched itself on his lips. The yell never issued, as all the wind had been knocked out of his chest when the blast sent him sprawling. He tried to sit up weakly, but failed, and fell back over. He probed the dull ache in his chest, wincing, and found a growing pool of blood. He coughed, and went limp, effectively blacking out. ********** End of Part 1 Okay, this was my first fan-fic. I'll take any comments, insults, statements of undying devotion and money orders at wile_e_coyote18@hotmail.com. What the hell, throw me a line. I can only get better.