Mr. Santos (latinvenom2k1@aol.com)
Regular
Shogun Muyo: Chapter 2-"Royal Tears and a Strange One Appears"
The gets introduced to the new guest and Ayeka wakes up to a nightmare.


Disclaimer: I do not own Tenchi Muyo or it's characters. 

Author's notes: Do not hesitate to give feedback, whether positive or negative. 
Though this is largely based on the OAV's, I have incorporated elements from the 
T.V series as well, so hopefully this will clear up any confusion for later 
chapters. 

Shogun Muyo chapter 2- Royal Tears and A Strange One Appears

The many hours had passed since Tenchi's departure prompted the other residents 
of the Masaki home to walk through a thick environment of worry. It was unlike 
Tenchi to simply go off at his leisure and not return without at least informing 
everyone else as to where he was going. To make matters worse, he was most 
likely with the crown princess of Jurai, making at least one member of the house 
extremely agitated.

Sasami, already recovering from her earlier lapse in consciousness, sat and 
tried to read her favorite romance novel in an attempt to give her mind a small 
escape from reality. Ryoko's pacing back and forth in the living room took away 
her concentration as she thought about the incident earlier in the day. 

Katsuhito didn't seem to mind the demoness' pacing as he peacefully drank his 
tea. Ryoko, obviously distraught, almost sent her own mind into overload 
thinking of the many ways that the princess could be attempting to take her 
Tenchi away. She had thought of following them, but decided against it, 
remembering Tenchi's words. He rarely spoke to them in that tone, a tone of 
dominance. At the time it had made her feel ashamed, but in thinking back to it, 
she thought that it had also made him seem just a little bit sexier.

"I'm going to look for them." She said heading towards the door. She didn't know 
what she would do if she found them in an uncompromising position, but promised 
herself there would be hell to pay if that were the case. It was when she flew 
past Sasami that she remembered the consequences of acting on impulse. She 
immediately felt guilty now, as her actions almost caused the lost of a house 
member. Maybe she should give Ayeka more credit for helping to raise such a nice 
kid like Sasami.  

She would have never guessed that after opening the door, she would look at 
Tenchi struggling to carry what looked like a heavy figured man. Well, it seemed 
more like he was dragging him.                        

"Tenchi?.....Are you all right?", she asked, raising an eyebrow. 

"Yeah, just a little help here please." His reply seemed a bit silly to her.
                     
"Just who is that anyway?" 

"I'll explain later just help me out, he's kinda heavy." The fatigue in his body 
was starting to show as his legs slightly shook and his voice strained. The 
distance between the fields and his home were just right for a brisk jog, but 
even after the hardest days his grandfather gave him, it still posed no problem 
getting home with only a slight hint of sweat on his brow. Still, he never tried 
it dragging a person who, he estimated, outweighed him by about 80 pounds.  

"You do realize that's a complete stranger you letting into the house right?"

 He found that the irony in her words almost force a laugh out of his throat, 
momentarily forgetting about the lactic acid in his muscles. The girls that 
occupied his home were once strangers too, and they weren't even of this planet. 
"You mean how you all were the first time we met?"

She gasped for a second and used her above average strength to take the 
guest and place him onto the couch. Everyone except for Katsuhito, gathered 
around. He preferred to finish his tea first. Sasami looked on, but noticed that 
Ayeka didn't follow behind Tenchi.

"Ok, now explain why am I doing this again, Tenchi?"

"Because he's the only clue we have to solving our problem."

"And what problem would that be?", said Ryoko.

"Hey Tenchi, where's my sister?" added Sasami, looking straight at Tenchi with 
those big, pink eyes. He tried to find a way to sidestep her question, much like 
the way parents explain about the stork whenever their child asks where do 
babies come from, but he couldn't be anything but honest, looking at those eyes.

"Sasami....I'm not really.... sure..."

"What? But Washu told me she was with you.."

"Your right, she was with me. We were talking, but then this.this energy 
wrapped itself around us. She pushed me out of it, but before I could do 
anything, she was gone and,well, this guy was there instead."

"Sasami stood quietly, as if time itself stopped. She tried to shake this  
dreadful feeling off, but couldn't, and ran toward her room. 

 "So, blue energy huh? And you say she just vanished?" chimed in Washu who was 
listening intently.

"Yeah Washu, so I figured we wake him up and see if he knows anything."

"Uh-uh Tenchi", Washu said, "if we force him out of this state, it may injure 
his psyche to the point where he may not even distinguish reality. It's not as 
easy as slapping him around and expecting him to just pop up."

She leaned in on his laying figure and checked him for any injuries. Upon her 
investigation, she noticed a striking blue jewel embedded on the center of his 
forehead, it reminded her of one of Ryoko's own gems. 

*Hm, maybe it could give off similar effects. But if it does, and this guy does 
wake up, we could be in a whole lotta negatively charge ions.* She noted how 
its color was emphasized by his short jet black hair.


Suddenly, his eyes sprung open as he leaped off of the couch, screaming.

Guest:AHHHHH!! 
Washu:AHHHHH!!
Together:AHHHH!!

He jumped behind the couch and assumed a defensive stance and spoke with a voice 
full of bass.

"Where am I? Who are you?"

Washu was too busy catching her breath to answer.

"Woah, woah wait a sec were not going to hurt you!" said Tenchi. 

Katsuhito still sipped at his tea.     

"You work for the emperor don't you!" replied the stranger. Ryoko, fully annoyed 
at the situation, decided to try her own charm at diffusing it.

"All right pal, listen up....Tenchi over here felt sorry about leaving your ass 
in the woods and brought you all the way over here to his home. Now I suggest 
you find a better form of gratitude before I beat it out of you."

 "This is your home?...." he said, looking around and absorbing his 
surroundings. "But this doesn't seem like....all right, where exactly am 
I", the last statement seemed more of a command than a question.

Washu regained her composure and answered. "Japan, located on the planet Earth."

"Planet, Earth?.....", a moment passed before he came to the conclusion that 
these people were obviously mocking him. 

"So, you take me for a fool do you....now you'll all die for your insult!"

He ran up to the closest person to him at the time. Who was, unfortunately, 
Tenchi. The guest swung his fists mightily, but luckily for Tenchi, with all of 
his training, he was able to dodge every one of them, albeit clumsily. 

"W-wait!" he said, dodging a right hook.

"S-stop!" He almost tripped ducking a roundhouse kick. "Why me!!", he found 
himself against the wall. Miraculously, he managed to roll out of the way of an 
incoming straight kick. The attack intended for him crumbled the wall to pieces 
upon impact. The debris fell on the floor, gathering into one thick white mess.

 "You dare to try to hurt my Tenchi!?" Ryoko blurted, her face a jumble of 
hatred and anger. "I'll have your head!!" She charged with her energy blade. 

Katsusito managed to finish the last of his tea.

 Expecting to decapitate the newcomer, Ryoko swung her sword unmercifully. 
Having finished off so many enemies with this attack in the past, her face 
turned to shock as it was blocked barehanded. Seizing the opportunity, he gave 
her a short, explosive uppercut to her exposed ribs. She fell to her knees.

"That's enough.", said Lord Katsuhito.

Looking through the freshly made hole in the house, the situation slowly became 
clearer to him. The barren wastelands he was so used to seeing were gone. The 
shrieking of armies against armies didn't exist. The blood covered streets 
simply weren't there. In their place stood actual greenery, and even with the 
dimmed sky, he could make out what his teachers had called "trees." Slowly, he 
realized these people were speaking the truth.

"You damage our home and hurt one of our tenants. It would be rude of you not to 
apologize." He said, with an expressionless face.

"Are you the head of this home?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes."

The guest bowed his head slightly before continuing. "I humbly apologize for my 
outburst. You must understand this is unnerving for me, waking up to an unknown 
planet. If there is anyway you would accept my apologies, please let me know."

 Katsuhito's glasses glimmered in the light while he considered the man's offer. 

"Well actually, there is a way....follow me."

The two walked out through the huge gap that ince was a wall. Leaving the rest 
behind to gather themselves. Tenchi seemed all right, despite just having his 
life flash before his eyes. 

Sasami looked on from the top of the stairs, paying particular attention at the 
newcomer's voice and facial expressions, and found herself blushing. 

Another pair of eyes, golden eyes, stared at him in a much different point of 
view. The owner gritted her teeth through the pain she felt on her ribs, and 
fury burned in her eyes.

*****************************************************************************  


Katsuhito walked in quiet with the new arrival for several minutes, enjoying the 
serene of night while giving the man next to him an opportunity to take in his 
surroundings. The slight smell of persimmons was in the air, and the night 
breeze briskly wisked across the newcomer's skin. He felt soft blades of grass 
under his feet, as he was barefoot. The guest inhaled deeply and drank from the 
atmosphere. It had been surprisingly refreshing. Must nicer than what he was 
used to.   

"You showed impressive skill back there. It was almost flawless execution, but 
you lacked the focus to fully consider your strategy."

"And you managed to break down my technique in...what.. 5 minutes? I wasn't even 
trying."

Katsuhito found it appropriate to change subjects. "So, what are you doing on a 
peaceful planet like this Mr.....uh....."

"Daimyo. My name is Daimyo. As far as your question, I have no idea why I'm 
here. I was in the middle of a field, sneaking up on an enemy troop, when I was 
enveloped in a blue sphere. When I regained consciousness, I was in your home."

"Well.......let me be the first to welcome you to Earth Mr. Daimyo. I am called 
Katsuhito. But I'm afraid you'll have to pay for that wall."

"Hm. I understand. It would be dishonorable for me to disrespect your home 
without provocation. Though I don't see how I can pay with currency...."

Katsuhito slightly laughed at this man's naive.

"I was only joking. We'll just have our resident genius fix it or something." He 
found a small stump of tree bark and decided to sit. But seriously, there is 
something I would appreciate for you to do for me." The moonlight in the sky 
allowed for another glimmer of light to appear on his glasses.                                                                  
                        
"Yes?"

"I want you to stay, and periodically train Tenchi for me. I have already 
informed him that I was going to America tomorrow and I do not know when I will 
return." 

Daimyo's face turned to an expression of confusion. For one, he had no idea what 
an "America" was and two, he couldn't find the connection between himself and 
this person's departure. 

"So, how does that involve me?"

"You see Mr. Daimyo, while I do trust Tenchi's judgment, I can't bring myself to 
leave him unattended with all those beautiful girls running around the house. 
Besides, he gets lazy with his training at times. Maybe you can even bring him 
up a few notches."                              

  Daimyo caught on to Katsuhito's intentions. "Mr. Katsuhito, I am not a 
babysitter. My skills are for the battlefield, not to be shared with an 
inexperienced boy."

 "Oh, inexperienced you say? Is that why he was able to dodge all your attacks?" 

Daimyo took exception to the statement, and clenched his fists in anger. 
Katsuhito spoke again, "You underestimate his potential. From what I've seen in 
the past, he has an incredible strength laying dormant within him. He just needs 
assistance in bringing it out." 

"Daimyo considered his options. * Well maybe this would turn out to be 
interesting after all. He was able to dodge my attacks, but that could have been 
blind luck.* 

"Would you allow a complete stranger to come into your home, and trust him 
enough to sensei your, grandson, I take it?"

"I can tell that your a man of honor. I usually follow my instincts and right 
now they are telling me that I can trust you. Besides, I think you'll find that 
it won't be as easy as you think to cause injury to our Tenchi. And perhaps 
having another man in the house will take some of the stress off of my boys 
shoulders."          

"Hm....checkmate Mr. Katsuhito, I accept. However, I must confess that my main 
goal is to return home."

 "Of course. We will do our best to see you returned to your world. Let's return 
home, I'll inform the others of your stay."
           
 "There is another thing that puzzles me though. At those last few moments that 
I was passing through the "gate", as I call it, I noticed a rather beautiful 
woman passing me. I didn't have enough time to analyze her, but I saw that she 
had long, regal hair. Would you happen to know anything about that?"

"I'm sure that you and the other's have much to speak off. Oh, by the way, how 
does your planet know of the game of chess?"

**********************************************************************

*Me......Ryoko......down in one punch.*

Dwelling on the occurrences of the last few moments, she cursed at herself for 
making that one mistake. She knew full well that in life or death battles, not 
one mistake could be made, unless you actually wish to die. 

*If he would have kept going.....would I have been able to stop him?*

>From the fight with Ayeka, to the helplessness she felt now, the day seemed like 
a crumpled mistake. Maybe she should have stayed in bed.

Several hours earlier.

"I don't think Ayeka would mind if I had a bite or two." 

She tried her best to savor every bite. She could imagine how sweet the morsels 
would feel down her throat. True, she didn't have the ability to actually taste 
what was in her mouth, but more than one conversation with Sasami drew up 
imagery that made up for her lack of taste buds. She knew that she didn't 
actually have to eat either, as her gems supplied her body with enough energy to 
survive without food, but one of her few faults was that she could never resist 
the chance to boil a certain princess' blood.

"Oh my, what a disgusting thing to wake up to.", said the Ayeka, walking down 
the stairs.

"O, hey, Aiijecha", mumbled Ryoko, her mouth filled with food. 

She had smelled her favorite dish, but as she looked at the fork in Ruoko's 
hand, dripping with syrup and then at the temptress' plate, her mind clicked in 
realization of the situation.

 "Is......is that my breakfast?!"

 "Yup. Filling too." She said, licking her fingers, as if enjoying the taste. 
           
 "How dare you blatantly disrespect me like that! Don't you have even a shred of 
consideration?"

"Oh, relax........... if you want it that badly all you have to do is wait until 
I use the bathroom."

Losing her appetite, Ayeka hurriedly countered. "I should expect such thrash to 
come out of your mouth."    

"Yeah, yeah. Tenchi likes my mouth just fine.", she saw       
that her words her having the desired effect, and decided to continue. "Oh you 
should have heard him, 'Oh Ryoko dont stop it feels so good!', I tell ya I had 
him in the palm of my hand. So to speak."

"You take that back this instant!!"

When a snowball rolls down a snowy cliff, it is a small wonder that it 
eventually grows into an avalanche.

*Maybe I should have stopped there...........then none of this would have 
happened, Sasami wouldn't have gotten hurt, Tenchi wouldn't be mad at me and 
right now we wouldn't have to deal with this baka. Damn you Zero, I hate 
regretting every little thing.*

She did feel bad at what happened, but tried to convince herself that she wasn't 
the only one to blame. One nagging thought clung to her mind though, like an 
itch you just can't reach behind your back. 

*Where the hell did she get all that strength from? It usually doesn't take that 
much effort to put her in her place, but I gotta admit it was hard to even keep 
up with her. Was she only playing with me all those other times?....That 
couldn't be it...right?"

Her concentration broke as Katsuhito and Daimyo returned, walking again through 
what used to be a side of the house. 

"Good news everyone", Katsuhito said proudly, "Our friend has agreed to stay for 
a little while." A collective "What!?" escaped through everyone's mouths except 
for Sasami, whose heart fluttered in her chest. 

 "You can't be serious." Said Ryoko. 

  "Are you sure this is wise?" chimed in Washu.             

  "Listen everyone, the only clues we have concerning Ayeka's disappearance are 
Tenchi's eyewitness account and this man's presence. Bickering amongst ourselves 
will not bring our  princess back any sooner." He quieted before he realized one 
of the worst mistakes a host can make. 

"Oh my excuse my poor manner, allow me to introduce everyone. Everyone, this is 
Daimyo. Daimyo I think you've already had the chance to meet Tenchi, my 
grandson."

"Uh-huh" said Tenchi. 

"This is Sasami, the best cook in the galaxy." 

"H-hello." she said, uncharacteristically nervous.

 "The universes greatest scientist, Washu-chan, is to your right."  

She simply nodded. 

"And last but certainly not the least......"

"My name is Ryoko. Don't forget it. And I hardly care who you are." She said, 
back turned and arms crossed. For a second Tenchi gulped, expecting another 
round of unwanted action because of Ryoko's unchecked tongue.

Casually, Daimyo stepped up to address the members of the house. His posture 
bore a mixture of pride, honor, and cockiness. "Listen, I don't want to stay any 
longer than necessary, but if I just leave without repaying Mr. Katsuhito's for 
the damage I've caused, I'll be no more than a common hoodlum."

His words rang through Sasami's ears. She hadn't particularly been paying 
attention to what he was saying, but rather, how 
he was saying it.

"Well then, Daimyo, if your gonna stay then you have to get out of those awful 
clothes." Said Washu. Looking down and comparing his attire, he did find that 
his garbs clashed with their culture. He reached at a spot that was still wet 
with blood, though not his own, and thought that maybe it was indeed time for a 
make over. He could tell that these Earth people thought differently than the 
way his people viewed a blood soaked warrior returning from battle. 

"Come with me." she said. Daimyo, passing by a now recovered Royko, hardly 
noticed the expression of anger on her face. Quite a feet, seeing as not even 
the princess had the chance to get a glare quite this penetrating. 

"Well now Tenchi, my plane leaves soon so I must get some rest. I have already 
explained some of the directions to Daimyo, and when I return I expect you to be 
in tip top condition."

"What? What directions?"

"Oh you'll see...goodnight."

******************************************************************************

Daimyo stood, taking in the spectacle that was Washu's lab. Everywhere he 
turned, lights flashed, experiments stared, and the hums of electronic equipment 
taunted him. Washu, typed away at her holotop, finding the information she was 
looking for, quite used to people's first impression of her working space.

"Ok, your about as tall as Tenchi, but a little more....uh...massive I 
guess...I got it!" She said snapping her fingers. She typed in a few commands 
and down fell a pile of clothes taken directly from Noboyuki's closet. "Here try 
this one."

He removed his clothing and stood for a few moments before 
finally deciding on an outfit.

It had been a competition between a business suit and a few pieces of what he 
thought would be seen as casual attire on this planet, and decided on the 
latter. He tried on a pair of Khaki pants that fit him just comfortable enough 
wear without restricting his movements. He also chose a long sleeve black shirt. 
He gave the air several quick kicks and punches, testing too see if his clothes 
stopped the flow of movements. Satisfied at the results, he nodded at the genius 
before turning away to leave.

"Wait" said Washu. 

"In order for me to pinpoint the location where we think Ayeka may have gone, 
I'll need to run many many tests on you. I hope you find that comfortable."

"So, her name is Ayeka...if it means you'll be able to bring your friend 
back, then I will support your cause." He headed his way to the doorway, and 
when he was just about place a foot through the door, her voice stopped him 
again. 

"I'm not through. Just so we understand each other." she stared directly into 
his eyes. He looked at a stern face full of determination and sincerity. 

"....the next time you injure my Ryoko, I'll kill you myself. Got that?"  

He quickly subdued his anger from getting the best of him. Pride came before 
anything, he thought, but in this case he found it pointless to argue with what 
he thought to be a little girl. He exited the lab and heading for the fields.  

***********************************************************

The first crown princess of Jurai woke to find herself lying cold and almost 
naked on what looked like a deserted city street. It was too dark to say for 
certain. She mentally thanked all of her instructors on Jurai that had taught 
her how to keep a cool head in stressful situations. Once the initial shock was 
overcome, she stood to try to find a hint of civilization. A light? A passing 
transport vehicle? People? None to be seen.

With no moon or stars in the sky, she was enveloped in darkness. Everything was 
black as coal. Only by straining her vision did she make out structures that she 
assumed were once buildings but were now not fit to host rats. 
An unrelenting cold blew over her body. It was as uncaring as an angry Ryoko. 

"Azaka! Kamidake!..." No response came to her..

"Azaka?...Kami...dake?" Again no response.

 "Tenchi?......WHERE AM I!!!!"

 Her scream filled the night. She struggled to maintain her composure. A 
princess shouldn't panic, she repeated over and over...  

"You stop there!" yelled an armored figure. He was soon followed by five others 
wearing similar armor. They all came from a concealed hilltop, carrying what 
looked like odd shaped spears.

"Oh thank Tsunami your here, I was lost and wondering where I was when....."

"Silence!! In the name of Trowa Khan, you are now property of the Khan empire!" 
said one of the troop members, wearing a black and purple armor set, apparantly 
for night patrols. 

"W-what?! Now listen here, I don't know what your talking about but I can assure 
you that....."

"Seize her!" said a voice through a heavy helmet.

Three of the six men closed in on Ayeka with swiftness and attacked her with the 
electrical tips of there electronic spears. One struck her in he stomach, the 
other by her side and one more aimed at her chest. Each jolt made her scream in 
pain, though each didn't seem fatal, probably because the troops had been 
instructed to set their weapons at stun. Combined they were enough to send her 
to her knees.                                  
                                                        
Satisfied that they have accomplished their mission, they signaled for one of 
the other men, who was carrying what looked like to be a very high tech collar.

 Ayeka caught a glimpse of the brightly colored collar, and realized what was 
trying to be done to her. With a surge of confusion, agony and anger, she 
managed to find the strength to fight back. With a jolt of her own, she was able 
to send three of the six members through the air. She looked like life size 
nightlight, brightly illuminating the night. Her pupils disappeared and energy 
seemed to spill out of her pours, the energy wrapping itself around her like a 
snake.	 

One of the men was impaled through the chest by their partners own spear tip. 
Still seething in anger, Ayeka formed two small blue sphere of energy in her 
hands and hurled it at three of the remaining troops, who were too shocked to 
move. She wasn't able to smell their flesh burning off of their bodies because 
she couldn't distinguish it from the rest of the war scents that oddly seemed to 
fit in her surroundings.

She gave an icy glare at the two remaining men. They thought better of the 
situation and ran towards an unseen direction.

"My, how quickly they run." she managed to assert.

She soon regained her composure, letting the adrenaline in her blood thin. She 
looked around at the once again barren streets, and saw the bodies of the four 
men she just killed. Three were burned beyond recognition, and one laid in a 
pool of his own blood. It took all of her effort to keep her sanity in check. 

Though it wasn't unheard of, it was still very rare indeed for a member of the 
royal family to be forced to take a life in hand to hand combat. After al, they 
had armies, powerful ships, and guardians to defend them. Ayeka always spoke of 
making history, but not quite like this. 

 "By Tsunami....what have I done." Tears ran freely from her cheeks and into 
what remained of her clothes. Before she was able to say anything else, she 
noticed that the staff's of her would be captors were still active and came 
together to give her enough light to see her surroundings better. With a new 
sense of vision, Ayeka took in her surroundings to try to find out where she 
was, but wished she just kept her eyes shut.

Bodies laid next to each other. The effect of the blue light from the staffs 
almost made her think she was hallucinating. Most of the bodies were mangled and 
some had missing limbs. There was surprisingly little blood, meaning that they 
must have been here long enough for the blood to soak into the ground, a fact 
that did nothing to comfort her. It was obvious that wherever she was, it was 
the middle of a battlefield. 

 "Tenchi...please h-help me..."

She cried for hours. After her tears had dried, she stood and walked. She didn't 
know which direction she was headed, but she knew she had to leave this place, 
and soon. 

Next: Chapter three- Blueprint of a Burning Soul, part 1