The Knife Inside of Me: Chapter 1: Moral Fibers
By The Unknown DJ

        "The end of a series is near. A series we love. How will it end? I
don't want to know. Do you really to know? Then, I guess I shall tell
you."

         The Unknown DJ, turntable fortune teller


        He sat on the rocks outside of the home he had spent his whole life
in. His father had built it up from the ground and his mother had spent
her last days there. It is a nice place, he thought, but I will leave
soon for new changes and adventures. College. Work. Marriage…
        This brought a deep sigh to his mouth as it always had since the day
Ryoko had appeared. Then, the rest had followed and it made his life a
nightmare of a beautiful dream. It had been fun, but disastrously
psychotic. He knew many people who would have enjoyed living with
beautiful girls, including him, but it still could be extremely hard to
deal with.
        Especially, Ryoko and Aeka. Both had nearly killed him and
themselves
many of times, but they had also saved his life a countable amount of
times. He humored himself by thinking back on their conflicts,
generally started by the wild, unpredictable Ryoko. She really enjoyed
watching the princess squirm and get angry when she flirted with
Tenchi.
        Then Aeka, proper and gentle, would turn beastly and crazed with a
hidden madness. They would fight and curse for about two minutes,
always trying to upstage each other's attack. The conflict would
usually end with a smashed vase, broken window, and the girls lying in
a heap on the floor, confused and exhausted.
        Lately though, one of them had been extra special to him. She had
truly fallen for him long ago, but now he had fallen for her. He wanted
to marry her more then ever, but being the reluctant learner of the
fights between the two, he had no courage of bringing this love out
into the open. He knew that if his secret were out, the other would
kill him, with no delay.
        Still, he was no entirely in love with Ryoko. God had sent him a
princess, but he had chosen a pirate. She always seemed to make his
heart feel warm and they had shared so many adventures together. She
was loud sometimes and she drank sake like she had an endless belly,
but he had starred eyes when he looked upon her.
        "Hey, Tenchi! It's dinnertime!" yelled Sasami, the other princess.
        "Okay, Sasami! I'm coming."

        Later, after a dinner of fine delicacies created by Sasami, Tenchi
returned to the rocks. This time, a visitor awaited him in the almost
pitch-black night, sitting on the rock. Tenchi could not see who it
was, but he had a pretty good guess. "Hello, my son," replied Nobuyuki
Masaki.
        "Why, hello Father," answered Tenchi. He sat down on the rock next
to
his father and prepared for what would probably be some attempt at a
man to man talk.
        It had always been hard for Tenchi to communicate with his dad since
the passing of his mother. He was a lot wilder and most of the time,
Tenchi seemed like the reasonable adult and Nobuyuki the immature kid.
However, he seemed a lot more serious at the minute. Like he had
regained his title as the adult and Tenchi was back in his original
spot. "My, son," began Nobuyuki, "You understand that you are almost a
full man and soon you will have too get a job a live on your own. Am I
right?"
        "Yes, I have thought of that many of times."
        "Well, you do understand that you will need… … a wife. Right?"
This caused Tenchi to pause and think. He knew exactly what his dad was
aiming at. He really wanted to get it out in the open that he loved
Ryoko and that he wanted to marry her, but he couldn't. It wasn't just
that Aeka and Ryoko would fight, but it was more.
        Tenchi knew that as soon as his mouth was open, He would hurt
the other girls, Aeka especially. She was the kind of girl that could
not hide her sadness and she would never forgive him for marrying her
foe. "Well, Tenchi? Is it really that hard for you? To choose from so
many beautiful girls."
        "Uh, yes and no. It was very hard for me, but I have also fallen for
one of the girls, Father."
        "It's Ryoko, isn't it?" Tenchi stopped moving in a small shock. How
could his dad know this? He hadn't told anyone. Suddenly, Tenchi began
to worry. What if everyone else knew? Tenchi felt a stream of sweat
drip from his brow. "I could tell it was her, Tenchi, because you look
at her like I looked at your mother. Yes, two very beautiful women for
two very shy men. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."
        "Thank you, Father." Tenchi sighed off some relief and felt the
danger
of his secret safe again. "Anyway, my son. When are you going to tell
here?"
        "Uh, well, I was going to, uh, yeah, tell her, uh," stuttered
Tenchi.
As Tenchi tried to find an answer, Nobuyuki stood up and headed back to
the house. Well Tenchi, I hope that you find her as your love, thought
Nobuyuki to himself. He and Achika had found it a long time ago. It had
been one of the greatest things that had ever happened to him. If only
she was still with him…

        "Nobuyuki? Where should we put Tenchi's crib?" asked Achika.
The two of them stood in the newly finished room where Tenchi would
spend his childhood. It had the nice smell of new paint and the
beautiful look of an unused room.
        Nobuyuki peered around the room, more so admiring his handiwork
than searching for a crib spot. He really had put a lot of work into
this room, just like the rest of the house. "Huh? What did you say?"
"I asked you where we should place the crib for our little Tenchi to
sleep in? You heard me right?"
"Uh, yeah." replied a blushing Nobuyuki. He walked over to the window
and stared outside. He then pulled out his tape measure and began
measuring the area around the window. Then, he stood up and looked over
at Achika.
        He began to say something, but he just stood staring at Achika.
Man, she was so beautiful. She had not gained any noticeable weight
from the birth of Tenchi and she still looked a lot like she did when
he first fell for her. Oh, that day must have been his best, next to
their marriage and the birth of Tenchi. "Nobuyuki? Are you okay?"
        "Uh, yeah. How about we put the, uh, crib right here." She
walked over to observe the area. She then shook her head and replied,
"Well, actually. I think we should move it away from the window. That
way Tenchi won't wake up at the crack of dawn and we shall get more
sleep ourselves." She then turned to Nobuyuki's ear and whispered
softly, "I know you were staring at me." Nobuyuki turned to his
beautiful wife and then their lips met. He kissed for awhile, until she
suddenly pulled away from her. She backed up against the wall of the
room and held her stomach.
"Are you okay?" asked Nobuyuki. He had almost grown use to this
function. Achika seemed to get a stomach 2-3 times a day and really
worried him. She never could get to the point where he was sure that
she was perfectly fine.
        It seemed to have happened ever since the high school trip to
the Tokyo Tower. Something weird had happened, but he could never
remember what. Ever since, she tended to get sick a lot and he knew
that this was not normal, though he never mentioned it to her. After
all, no doctors could ever find anything wrong with her.
        "I'll be fine, dear. I just need to go to the bathroom for a
minute." As she scurried off, Nobuyuki stared straight at floor and
felt more depressed then ever. He felt a slow flow of tears leave him,
because he had figured out the truth. At that moment, he knew she would
never get better and since then, he had prayed that the same thing
would never happen to his son…

        As Nobuyuki reached the house, he felt a feeling that he hadn't
felt in a long time. A dark chill that he had felt sometime in the
past, but he couldn't remember when. All he knew was that he didn't
like it. It reminded him of the feeling he had when Achika had
passed…ENDZ

        "Thus, the first chapter of the end is complete. Will Tenchi
find Ryoko? Will Ryoko find Tenchi? Will I find a beautiful woman? Find
out in the next chapter, which of course will not contain the answer to
the last question. All comments, questions, or chatty remarks send to
theunknowndjendz@yahoo.com. And don't be shy because I don't receive a
lot of mail so, PLEASE MAIL ME!"

        The Unknown DJ, turntable psychic