Disclaimer: I don’t own Tenchi, nor do I own any of its affiliates. Pioneer
does. I wish I owned Tenchi. Then my stories would be on the air instead of
posted on this site…but anyways, I do own my characters and my story ideas,
so don’t take them without permission (if you ask me I just might let you).
So don’t sue me because I have no money, blah blah blah.

Author’s note: You may think that some of the characters are being portrayed
incorrectly in my story, so send me flames about it if it will make you feel
better. But I don’t really care either way, because it’s my story and I’ll
do whatever I dang well please! Oh, and there may be some adult humor in
this, depending on my mood. :P Keepin’ it short, thanks, and enjoy!



Tenchi Mystique, Chapter One

It was a quiet, lovely day in the Masaki household. Tenchi’s grandfather,
Katsuhito, was meditating silently at the shrine atop the hill. Nobuyouki,
Tenchi’s father, sat quietly reading a newspaper on the couch in the living
room. But where was Tenchi?

From upstairs, a small moan escaped the third bedroom on the right. Inside,
Tenchi lay in his bed, tangled in his covers, sound asleep. However, behind
his eyes, a silent battle was raging. He tossed and turned in his fitful
slumber, trying desperately to escape the terror that had haunted him since
his head hit the pillow.

"No, please," he pleaded quietly. Inside his mind, a shadowed figure groped
at him again, but he just nearly dodged it.

Sweat was building on his brow. A mirthless smile smeared itself across the
shadowed figure’s face. Tenchi turned and fled, his legs aching with each
desperate step he took. He faltered, catching himself mid-step, but he
didn’t come away unharmed. He cried out in agony as a fierce, burning pain
sliced through his leg. Blood was leaking from a deep, jagged cut running
down his leg, staining his pants.

He strained every muscle in his body, but couldn’t bring himself to stand,
and taking another step was far out of the question. He strained his eyes up
to gaze in horror behind him. The shadowed figure loomed over him now, and
he could clearly see that it was that of a woman.

As he stared in utter horror, the figure began coming into view. His breath
caught in his throat as she stepped from the shadows. She had long, straight
light brown hair, with two stubborn strands falling around her forehead. Her
sharp green eyes sparkled dangerously.

"Tokimi, please," Tenchi pleaded. His heart was racing, his blood turned
cold in his veins.

The woman laughed, a cold, mirthless laugh. When her gaze returned to him,
it was anything but warm. "What do you hope to do to escape me, mortal?" Her
voice was like ice.

Tokimi began to bear down upon him, cold fire burning in her hands. Then it
came, the cold, burning flames consuming him. He cried out in terror, but he
could not escape them.

Tenchi sat up straight in bed. Cold sweat was streaming down his face,
covering him in a thin, uncomfortable sheet. His entire body quaked with
each breath he took, but he was alive. His head whipped to either side of
him. He was still in his room. It was only a dream, he thought, relief
flooding through him. He glanced at his clock: eight thirty am.

Suddenly Tenchi’s exclamation returned. "Aah, I’m late!" he exclaimed,
jerking up out of bed and falling rather ungracefully into a tangled heap on
the floor.

Hurriedly, he gathered himself up and ran to the closet. Clothes flew out,
over his shoulder, landing in odd places all over his room. "Aha!" he
declared, pulling his meditating suit from the closet triumphantly.

Tenchi tore down the hallway, slipping slightly as he raced around a corner,
his socks groping helplessly on the floor until they found hold. He slid
into the bathroom, the door slamming shut behind him. Various bangs and
crashes could be heard coming from inside the closed door, but in a few
seconds he was out, hopping on one foot as he attempted to pull on his
remaining shoe.

"I’m late, I’m late, I’m late," he mumbled to himself as he ran down the
stairs, slipping a little on the rug.

He threw open the door and continued his wild run along the seemingly
endless rows of stone steps leading up to his family’s shrine. Panting, he
threw himself through the open doorway of the shrine, placing himself firmly
beside his grandfather, who was already situated quietly, hands folded in
front of him.

There were a few moments of silence after Tenchi situated himself in a
meditating stance on the floor before Katsuhito spoke. "You’re late,
Tenchi," he told him pointedly in his knowing, husky voice.

Tenchi struggled with his hat, desperately attempting to fix the folds of
his ensemble and meditate at the same time. At his grandfather’s remark, he
fell hopelessly into a tangled pile on the stone floor of the shrine,
groaning slightly.

A few hours later, the sun was high in the sky, bathing the Masaki household
in golden warmth. Tenchi wiped the sweat from his forehead as he swept up
around the Masaki family shrine. He gazed up at the blazing hot sun,
reminding him how hot summer could be. He had changed into his regular
clothes: a white top, secured at the waist, and a pair of light blue pants.

And boy, was he hot! Why his grandfather had forced him to sweep outside on
a day like this was beyond him.

Tenchi paused a moment, propping himself up on the broom handle, and closed
his eyes. As he stood there, a breeze began to blow over him, cooling his
sweat-drenched body. But as he stood there, the breeze increased to a strong
wind, gathering force. He lifted his hand above his head, bracing himself as
he stared into the wind, and his jaw practically dropped to the ground. A
large black craft zoomed at top speeds over his head, tugging at the trees
as it passed.

Tenchi stood, frozen in a stupor, his eyes wide. In the hills behind him,
the ship fell to its death with a loud crash, and an inkling of smoke rose
up into the sky. Tenchi turned around to look at it and sighed, his head
sinking to his chest in exasperation. This was not turning out to be a very
good day.

Despite his fear of the large black craft, he dropped his broom and took off
for the crash site. Who knew, maybe there were survivors. His legs pumped
tirelessly as he crashed through the trees. The smell of smoke became
prominent as he neared the crash site, making his nose scrunch unpleasantly.
He screeched to halt, finding his nose inches away from the barrel of a
pistol.

"I, uh, um," Tenchi stuttered, not daring to look past the barrel at its
holder. He just stood there stupidly.

"So, you’re an earthling." Tenchi blinked several times at the feminine
voice coming from the other end of the pistol. The holder withdrew the
pistol, spinning it expertly on a gloved finger before slipping it back into
its holster on the outside of her leg.

Tenchi examined her carefully. She wore a high necked, sleeveless lavender
dress with a gold line down the middle. It also had two slits down both legs
and extended down to her mid-thigh. On one hand was a finger glove the same
color as her dress extending all the way up to her bicep, and on the other
hand was a similar finger glove, extending only to her mid-forearm. On one
leg was a boot all the way up to her mid-thigh, and on the other was a
similar boot going up to just above her ankle.

It seemed like it had been several minutes, but it had only been a few
seconds while Tenchi looked her up and down. She stared at him with piercing
liquid lilac eyes, examining him as well. "You earthlings sure have a
strange fashion sense," she commented.

Before Tenchi could say anything, there was yet another gun pointed at his
head, this one different from the last. The girl yawned widely, patting her
mouth with her hand. "And it sure is hot on your planet," she added, turning
back to him. "Well, you’ve seen me now, so I guess you must be destroyed.
You know what they say, evidence is a liability."

"Wait, no, I don’t even know who you are!" Tenchi protested, throwing his
arms out in front of him.

The girl lowered her gun, cocking and eyebrow as she stared at him. After a
moment she burst out laughing, doubled over in hysterics. "You, you don’t
know who I am?" she managed between hysterical laughter. Tenchi placed his
hands on his hips defiantly.

"No, I don’t," he replied irritably. "I don’t see what’s so funny here."

The girl stood back up, letting out a little giggle every so often. "You
mean, you actually don’t know who I am?" she asked. Tenchi shook his head,
causing her to clasp her hands together in happiness and give a little
excited jump. "This is great! I finally get a vacation!"

"Huh?" Tenchi asked stupidly, rubbing the back of his head nervously. She
stopped her happy dance for a moment to grab his hand and shake it
violently.

"This is great!" she exclaimed again, smiling so broadly her eyes were shut.
When Tenchi was beginning to think the torture would never end, she released
his hand. "My name is Areah."

"Uh, nice to meet you, I guess," Tenchi replied sheepishly, continuing his
ritualistic head rubbing. "My name is Tenchi Masaki."

"Really, how interesting," she said with only partial interest. "Now, how do
you get out of this place?" she wondered allowed, walking in circles and
examining her surroundings.

"Well, my house is that way," Tenchi explained, but barely got finished his
sentence.

"Great!" she exclaimed excitedly, grabbing him by the hand and pulling him
along behind her in the general direction of the Masaki household.

A few minutes later, she burst through the brush right out front of the
Masaki home. She let go of Tenchi’s hand and spun in little circles around
the yard, breathing in the sweet summer air. "Oh, it’s simply beautiful,
Tenchi! I love it here! This will make the most perfect vacation spot!"

Tenchi practically dropped dead on the spot. "What?!" he exploded, eyes
wide.

"Why, I’m going to stay with you, of course," she replied sweetly.

Tenchi sighed, his head dropping to his chest. "Do I have a choice?"

"Why Tenchi, of course you do," she replied, stepping closer to him and
leaning into his shoulder. "But you couldn’t possibly want me to leave,
could you?"

"I don’t even know you!" Tenchi exclaimed. Areah’s eyes became shaky.

"You don’t want me to stay, Tenchi?" she pleaded. Tenchi dropped his head
again.

"Fine. You can stay a little while, until you get your ship fixed."

"Yeay!" she exclaimed, jumping up with joy. Before Tenchi could stop her,
she was running through the door of his house.

"Hey, wait!" he cried after her, inevitably winding up chasing after her.

Tenchi skidded down the hall, running past the dining area only to slide
back for a second look. He peered into the room curiously to see Areah
seated quietly at the table with his grandfather, drinking tea.

"Tenchi, you look terrible," his grandfather said softly. "Why don’t you
come and have some tea with us?"

"Oh." Tenchi trudged over to the table, realizing that he would be fighting
a losing battle if he took on his grandfather, and pulled up a chair next to
Areah.

Areah giggled as he sat down, fondling her tea with her spoon. "So, Tenchi,"
Katsuhito began again, "Areah says you saved her when her ship crashed
outside the Masaki shrine."

Tenchi glared at Areah, who simply cocked her head to one side and smiled.
"You really believe all that, grandpa?"

"Why of course I do, Tenchi," his grandfather replied. "Now, this little
lady has been through quite enough for one day, I do think. Tenchi, why
don’t you go upstairs and arrange a spot for the cot in your room."

Tenchi sweatdropped in embarrassment, rubbing the back of his head again.
"In my room? Grandpa, are you sure this is a good idea to have her stay with
us?"

"Now Tenchi, don’t be rude," Katsuhito replied. "Areah is our guest. Now go
fix the cot."

Tenchi’s head dropped and he sauntered off to get the cot. "Why do I not
think this is such a good idea?" Tenchi wondered allowed as he trudged down
the hallway. Little did he know that Areah’s arrival was just the beginning.





How did you like it? I hope it was enjoyable! The next chapter should be
coming soon, if I can ever get this thing posted. E-mail me with any
comments or whatever at the e-mail posted on the main screen. Until next
time, Ja ne~

Angel