Disclaimer- All original characters and previous events in the world of Tenchi Muyo are not mine. They are the property of AIC and Pioneer. The following story and any new characters are mine and mine alone. This story has been written because I love this series and felt that if Pioneer is not going to be prompt with a 3rd OAV then I might as well throw my hat in the ring. This story is just for fun, and I hope that anyone who reads this enjoys it. The following events will take place in the OAV timeline and one year after MNE. Well that's all for my opening rant. I hope you enjoy the show. Tenchi Muyo!- Will of the Goddesses "No Need For Some Money" Tenchi pulled his black shirt on and stepped out of the bathroom. His field jacket was lying on the other side of the room on top of a white lounge chair in this simple, yet nicely furnished hotel room. The floor had wall to wall dark green carpet that felt something like silk under his bare feet. One half of the room held the lounge chair with his jacket and a small, white couch adorned with two burgundy pillows. Between the two was a gray and copper colored table with several buttons arrayed across its sides. Tenchi thought it was the room's TV, but he had not tried it yet. On the side of the room he was standing in, there was the door to the small bathroom and a fairly large bed. Lying in the center of the bed, under the covers, was Ryoko. Ryo-ohki was curled up on a pillow next to her mistress's head. Tenchi took a polished wooden chair from the corner of the room and sat down at the bed side. He leaned back in the seat and watched the still unconscious woman. Five hours ago Tenchi had awoken in an alley with Ryoko and Ryo-ohki next to him. The cabbit had regained consciousness when Tenchi had nudged her, but Ryoko had remained still. Knowing that he needed to get her someplace to rest, Tenchi had left the alley to see where they were. The Juraian prince had been disappointed to find them on a strange, alien world. None of his other friends were anywhere in sight. It had been at that point that Tenchi was glad to know Washu. Just over two years ago, shortly after Ayeka and Sasami's parents had visited, the little red head had snuck up behind him and stuck him in the rear with a hypo-spray needle. Washu had defended herself by saying that she had stuck him for a good reason. She later revealed that she had in fact injected him with an experimental agent that affected his brain directly. Apparently, thanks to Washu's little agent, Tenchi was now able to understand every known language in the universe and speak it as well. While he walked around the alien city, Tenchi had been glad for Washu's genius. Unfortunately, the agent did not allow him to read languages. Tenchi had decided immediately that the three of them were going to need a place to hold up until Ryoko was well again. That meant money would be needed, and last time Tenchi had checked he didn't even know what the local currency was. Before venturing into the alien streets, Tenchi had hidden Ryoko in the alley and taken the gem she used for an earring. With Ryo-ohki guarding her mistress, Tenchi headed into the city. Luckily for Tenchi, the city was a space port, therefore, he did not stick out too much in the crowded streets. Aliens of all shapes and sizes went about their businesses without glancing at him. After a few inquiries, Tenchi had found his way to a jewelry shop and sold Ryoko's gem for fifty thousand of the local credits. The tentacle headed owner of the shop had been more than happy to take this never before seen gem. Tenchi had hurried back to Ryoko, taken her and Ryo-ohki, and rented a room at a nearby hotel. He rubbed his eyes and yawned. He was exhausted. The fight with Ziasha had taken almost everything out of Tenchi. The power of the Light Hawk Wings had healed any injuries he had suffered, but his body still needed some rest. He opened his eyes and looked at the sleeping form of Ryoko. For the second time in a week and a half, he found himself watching her with concern. Her healing abilities had taken care of her wounds, but the former space pirate still had not woken up. As he watched her, Tenchi found himself wondering what exactly had happened. His last thoughts during the fight had been to save Ryoko from Ziasha. Tenchi remembered how the dark warrior had started to electrocute her. Tenchi had been able to sense the kind of power Ziasha had been using and knew that Ziasha was killing her. In a desperation attack to save her, Tenchi had released as much Light Hawk Power as he could. When Ziasha's and his power had clashed, Tenchi's final thoughts had been to get Ryoko and the others as far away from the danger as possible. Ryoko stirred under the covers, and Tenchi was brought back out of his thoughts. Her brow was furrowed, and she was mumbling. "Tenchi," she cried softly. "Get away. He'll kill you." Her head started turning from side to side. "I can't lose you. Don't go." She suddenly went still again. "Don't leave me, Tenchi," she moaned. "I......," the rest of what she said was lost in her breathing. Tenchi pushed aside his warring emotions and lifted her black and red clad hand out from under the covers. He held it between his own and spoke softly to her. "I'm right here, Ryoko," he assured her. "Right now, I'm not going anywhere." _____ Ryoko found herself in the court yard before the Imperial Palace again. Everyone was dead. Ziasha faced off against Tenchi not far from her position. Tenchi attacked, but the dark warrior was not affected at all. Tenchi attacked again, but only to be met by the same results. "Tenchi!" she cried. "Get away! He'll kill you!" Tenchi seemed not to hear her cries. His Light Hawk Sword appeared in his hands, and he charged again. Ziasha caught the white blade with one hand and ripped it from Tenchi's grasp. Before she could even blink, Ziasha's black Light Hawk Sword was imbedded to the hilt in Tenchi's chest. Unparalleled rage filled Ryoko, she blasted Ziasha with all her might. The dark man was blown away, but as far as Ryoko was concerned that did not matter. She vanished and reappeared at Tenchi's side. The former space pirate took him in her arms and started to caress his face. His breathing started lessen, and his body was going cold. Ryoko hugged him tighter. "I can't lose you. Don't go." Tears were falling down her cheeks. "Don't leave me, Tenchi," she moaned in sorrow. "I love you." A shadow played across them. Ryoko looked up expecting to see Ziasha, but was even more afraid at who was actually standing there. Kagato sneered down at her with all his arrogance. "What a shame, Ryoko," he taunted. "You have caused the death of yet another loved one." He started laughing, and Ryoko covered her ears to try and block it out. She screamed and screamed for him to stop, but like the real thing, this Kagato only seemed to delight in her suffering. Tenchi completely stopped breathing, and Ryoko collapsed on him sobbing. _____ Ryoko suddenly felt real air on her face. She was under something. To her left could here and feel Ryo-ohki. The cabbit was asleep and dreaming of carrots. Then she turned her attention to the rest of her body. It was sore and tired, but she did not feel any wounds. Her system had healed all her injuries from the battle. The battle! Her mind started racing as she tried to remember what happened. The last thing she remembered was flying to help Tenchi. Ziasha had grabbed her by the throat. He was loosing dark energy all over her body, and it was killing her one cell at a time. Then he dropped her and all went black. Her senses were starting to function again. There was something holding her left hand. Ryoko put all her energy into opening her eyes. After a few seconds of trying, her golden, feline eyes opened slowly. The light hurt her eyes at first, but it only took her a moment to adjust. She turned her head and saw Tenchi sitting in a chair holding her hand. They were in a room, and she was lying in a bed. A small smile started to form on her face. She was alive, and so was Tenchi. "You look like hell," she said in a hoarse whisper. Tenchi gave her a relieved smile. "I wouldn't talk," he said in good humor. He released her hand, much to her dismay, and walked out of her sight for a minute. When he returned, Tenchi was holding a glass of water. He eased Ryoko up a little and helped her drink a bit of it. Tenchi placed the glass down on a bedside table. "So, all kidding aside, how do you feel?" he asked. "Like Ayeka dropped the house on me," she replied. That got another smile out of him. 'What happened on Jurai?" Tenchi took the next few minutes to tell her about the final moments of the fight and their past few hours in the city. While he was speaking, Ryoko carefully tried to find Washu with their link. When her subtle probe turned up nothing, Ryoko just plain called out to her mother. There was no answer or feeling of Washu nearby. "What's the matter, Ryoko?" She realized that she had not said anything for a short time. "I'm fine, Tenchi," she assured him. "I was just seeing if Washu was anywhere nearby." His faced calmed a bit. "So you don't have any idea where we are?" He cocked an eyebrow and gave her a look. "I've been off of Earth once, and that was just five days ago. I don't think I'd know Mars if we where there right now." "Oh you would," replied Ryoko. "All the stores are under ground, so you would've seen the cavern ceiling." She ignored his befuddled look and shifted in the bed. She was still wearing her fighting suit. She thought about phasing into something more comfortable, but decided not to. "Well, I think I'll go and take a look around myself," she continued. "I've been around the block a couple of times, and I might be able to ID this place." She started to get out of the bed, but Tenchi gently placed both hands on her shoulders and pushed her back down. "Oh no you don't," he said. "This room's paid up for at least one night. You need some sleep, and so do I." She smiled inwardly at his uncharacteristic decisive behavior. It seemed that a little hardship was all that he needed to toughen up. Ryoko relented and laid back down on the bed. Suddenly a new thought raced through her mind. She shot up in bed again and started to look around the room frantically. "Where's Mayuka!?" She grabbed Tenchi's wrists tightly. "Tenchi? Where is she?" Tenchi eased her back down again. There was obvious worry in his eyes. "I don't know, Ryoko. She didn't appear with us here." Ryoko started to try and get out of bed again. "I have to find her." For a third time Tenchi forced Ryoko back down on the bed. The former pirate finally gave up. She was too weak to fight him anymore. "Clam down, Ryoko," said Tenchi quietly but with a hint of forcefulness. "Mayuka probably teleported with one of the others." He gave her an encouraging smile. "I'm sure she's fine." He released her shoulders and stood up. "Now, we have this room for a while, so let's just get some rest. We can worry about everything else later." Ryoko started to feel better at hearing Tenchi's words. She had to admit that this recent turn of events had created a new sense of confidense in Tenchi. Ryoko was strangley relieved by this. With Tenchi being so strong, she could allow herself to rest. This thought made her smile. Her mood began to lighten. She watched Tenchi as he walked over towards the couch. "Speaking of paying for this room," she started to remind him. "Since that was my earring, that means that the money is mine." "I'm really sorry about that, Ryoko," came Tenchi's voice from the couch. "It was the only way to get money short of robbing someone." Ryoko's mind started to play around with that idea. "I hope it wasn't the important one." "No," she answered. "That one's still on my left wrist. The earring was just one of my backups that I can make myself." "That's good," he said with a yawn. "Good night, Ryoko." "G'night, Tenchi." *My love*, she added in her thoughts. Ryoko sighed and closed her eyes. Sleep did not take very long to claim her again. _____ "You know, I'm really glad that this planet had a space port," chimed Mihoshi happily. "I wasn't looking forward to being stranded here." The blond twit got a wondering look on her face. "Although, it might have been a nice vacation." She shrugged and took a large gulp from her drink. Ayeka glowered at the GP over her own drink. "I swear, she could be happy in a hurricane," she muttered to herself. The two of them were sitting in a bar waiting for Yosho to return. Mihoshi had gotten rid of her GP jacket in order to attract less attention. She now wore a simple black shirt and her gray and blue pants. Ayeka had deactivated her battle garb and was wearing a simple blue kimono with a violet sash. She shook her head as Mihoshi continued to prattle on about this and that. When was Yosho going to get back? He had said something about securing a plan. Ayeka groaned and sipped some more of her drink. She really hated sitting around and waiting. She looked down into the green liquid in her cup and started to think about Tenchi. She could not help but wonder where he was and if he was all right. Then there was the problem of Ryoko's location. Was she with Tenchi? Ayeka shuddered slightly. If the demon was with Tenchi, then there would be no one around to keep her from seducing him. Ayeka suddenly realized that she was gripping her glass very hard. The princess quickly released it to avoid breaking it and hurting her hand. She looked back up, and Mihoshi was still jabbering on. Just then Yosho walked into the bar and made his way over to their table. He had traded in his shrine robes for something a bit more casual. The now young man had purchased a simple pair of tan pants, a white shirt, and a long brown coat. His long black hair was drawn back into a pony tail. He pulled out a chair and sat across from Ayeka. Mihoshi had finally stopped talking with his arrival. "What have you been doing all this time?" asked Ayeka immediately. "And where did you get the money to buy those clothes?" He raised a hand to calm her down. "I bought these clothes with my money." Ayeka shot him a cold glare. "Long ago I created several emergency accounts outside the Empire. By this time there is quite a lot of money in them." "At least we won't starve now," said Mihoshi. Ayeka ignored her. "Well, that's some good news at least, but where were you the past couple of hours?" He gave her one of his "I know more than you do" smiles and rose from the table. "We will talk about it in the morning," said Yosho. "Right now, we all need to get some rest. I've booked us some rooms at a little, out of the way hotel." The Juraian noble assisted both ladies out of their chairs. "After a good night's rest, we will buy a ship and head out tomorrow." Ayeka tried to get a word in, but Yosho had already left the table and was almost out the door. Mihoshi followed along talking about how good it was going to be to eat a hot meal. Ayeka huffed and followed the pair. She really hated all this. She was a princess, not an adventurer! Satisfied that Yosho was going to get an earful later, Ayeka caught up to them and walked along silently. _____ Ryoko was smiling as she stepped out of the shower. She loved taking baths, but the speed of a shower was nice once and a while. She dried herself quickly and phased into a dress. She had chosen her white dress with the dark green left sleeve, the orange right sleeve, and the very high shoulders. The former pirate checked to see if her red leggings and boots were fine before stepping out of the bathroom. Satisfied she looked herself once more over in the mirror and smiled. With a thought, Ryoko phased through the door and back into the main room. Tenchi was sleeping peacefully on the couch with a content look on his face. Ryoko watched him for a moment with a loving gaze. She wondered briefly if he was dreaming about her? Ryoko shook her head, deciding not to go down that road. She proceeded to carefully pick Tenchi up and place him on the bed. He mumbled something unintelligible and rolled over. Ryoko continued to smile as she wordlessly called Ryo-ohki. The cabbit poked her head out from under the couch and looked around. The little thing had the end of a carrot in her mouth. She swallowed it in one gulp and scampered up to Ryoko's shoulder. The cyan haired woman scratched the cabbit under the chin. Ryoko figured that Ryo-ohki had teleported with her because of their mental connection. The two of them were always in contact whether they were asleep or awake. Ryoko guessed that she had not been transported with Washu because her mother had never fully opened her mind up to her. Ryoko scanned the room and saw Tenchi's work jacket draped over the chair. She calmly walked over to it and went through all the pockets until she came upon her goal. A devious smile played across her face as Ryoko stuffed the credit chip down the front of her dress. She had been hoping that Tenchi had gotten actual currency. Some paper money would have been a good hint as to where they were. With money in hand, she was ready to go. Just for effect, Ryoko clicked her heels three times and phased through the floor. Eventually, the demoness phased into the lobby of the hotel. One glance told her that this was a pretty fancy place. Ryoko made a mental note to teach Tenchi about traveling when most likely being hunted. Rule One, you don't stay in nice hotels where people can remember you. But at least his heart had been in the right place. Ryo-ohki meowed a question about what they were going to do. "We are going to go and make some money," replied Ryoko with pat on the cabbit's head. Ryoko loosed one of her hearty laughs and walked out of the hotel. The street was busy. Aliens were rushing up and down the walk ways, heading to and from the space port. Ryoko took a deep breath of air and smiled. It was kind of nice to be off of Earth, even if they were most likely being hunted by god knows what. Deciding to try the pedestrian routine, Ryoko stepped out of the hotel entrance and melted into the crowd. She spent the better part of the morning wandering the streets and getting the lay of the land. At last, Ryoko decided how to make the money from her gem grow. After a few inquiries, the former space pirate was able to locate the kind of bar she was looking for. Ryoko was a good distance away from the hotel she and Tenchi were staying at. She looked at the neon sign in front of her. It translated to The Smoking Muzzle. Ryoko walked into the Muzzle and quickly cased the joint. It was all one large room. Mellow music played in the background. The lighting was just enough so that one could see his or her drink on the table. There was a bar on the far wall, and various tables of different sizes were scattered around the floor area. It only took her a minute to see where the really high rollers were gambling. "Okay, Ryo-ohki. You know what to do." The cabbit meowed softly in her ear and asked over their link if this was really necessary. Ryoko scowled at her little friend. "Fine, don't do it. But don't come cryin' to me when we have no more money to buy carrots." That was all the prompting the little creature needed. With another meow, Ryo-ohki hopped off her shoulder and disappeared into the bar. "This is going to be fun," said Ryoko with a small chuckle. She started to circle all the tables looking for the game with the highest stakes. She noted various games of dice, a couple testing strength, and two or three card games. Ryoko passed on the dice because cheating was impossible without a set of your own fixed dice to replace the real ones. Winning a game of strength would be no problem, but the money wouldn't be anywhere near enough what she and Tenchi needed. That left cards. The cyan haired woman smiled when she saw that she knew how to play the games at the card tables. Ryoko's senses flared as a strange hand made its way towards her rear. Her own right hand shot out and grabbed the offending wrist. She turned to stare down at some scraggly looking human. "Hands off, pal," she growled. "Only one man can put his hands on me, and it ain't you." Ryoko squeezed the man's wrist to emphasize her point. He cried out and nodded frantically. Ryoko released him and continued to look for the biggest game. The former pirate walked over to the bar and leaned on it with her elbows. The bald human bar tender wiped his hands on his apron and smiled at her. "What can I get you, pretty lady?" Ryoko decided to forgo the sweet routine that Ayeka would most likely use and stay with her usual people skills. She pulled the credit chip out from her cleavage and dropped it on the counter. "I'll take a mug of whatever brew ya got, and some information." The barkeep nodded and poured her a mug of some reddish, bubbling liquid. Ryoko took it and downed half the mug instantly. "Aaahhh," she said along with a wipe across her mouth. "That's some good stuff." The barkeep swiped her credit chip through a machine and handed it back to her. "So what else can I get you?" he asked with hopeful wink. "First off, in your dreams." He frowned but remained interested in whatever she wanted to say. Ryoko took another swig of the brew. "Which one of these card games can pay out the most?" The bar tender nodded towards a game going on not far from the counter. "That one right there runs the highest. The highest pots sometimes run up in the hundred thousands." "Oh, really?" said Ryoko with a bit of awe in her voice. Inside, however, she was rubbing her hands together. "Who is the one to beat at that table?" "You see that pink skinned one," he answered with a small gesture to the table. Ryoko turned her head slightly to see a pink skinned humanoid laughing loudly. He was of average build with a pair of yellow eyes and a ridge of small horns running along the top of his hairless head. He was wearing a black leather vest and pants. Ryoko also noted the blaster at his right side. "That there is Ukarit. He's the one with all the money and the gambling skills to keep it growing." Ryoko drained the last of her brew and moved away from the counter. "Thanks, bub," she said over her shoulder. Then she told Ryo-ohki which table she was going to be playing at. The cyan haired beauty strolled up to the game and waited till the current hand was over before speaking. "Excuse me, boys, but is there room for one more?" The four players at the table all looked up at her. Ukarit kept his otherwise humanoid face neutral. Two other humans with brown hair and beards, twins Ryoko assumed, shrugged with indifference. A completely white skinned and haired humanoid with big blue eyes smiled and motioned her to sit. A green scaled reptilian creature in a red jump suit hissed, but made no other comment. After about a half a minute of silence Ukarit spoke with surprising clarity. "There is always room at my table for a beautiful woman," he said smoothly. "My name is Ukarit. My pale friend is Somar. These are the Twins. Don't bother trying to tell them apart, I don't think they even know which one is which." He loosed a raucous laugh at his own joke. "And the lizard is Krix." He flashed Ryoko a green toothed smile. "And what shall I call you?" "Oko," she answered calmly. With her past, she felt it better not to use her real name. She pulled out a chair and sat down. "So, what's the minimum entry fee?" Ukarit gave her another green toothed smile. "Ten thousand." He raised a red eyebrow. "You in?" Ryoko opened her right hand and dropped her credit chip on the table. Ukarit picked the chip up and scanned it through a small computer pad near him. "Forty five thousand," he said impressed. "More than enough to play." He pushed a button on his pad and a small robot in the shape of a water cooler rolled over. He waved the chip in front of the robot's scanner. The machine bleeped once, and a metallic claw extended across the table to Ryoko. It deposited a pile of money chips in front of her and then retracted. The pink humanoid started to shuffle the cards. "Do you know Asteroid Run rules?" "No self respecting gambler wouldn't," replied Ryoko with a half smile. "Deal." Ukarit dealt the first hand. Without even closing her eyes, Ryoko looked through the eyes of Ryo-ohki. The little cabbit was almost completely phased out of sight while floating around the table. Ryoko could clearly see the hands of each of her opponents. Keeping her face emotionless, she played out the hand. The pot was up to fifty thousand, and Ryoko and Ukarit were the only two left. The pink man had pair of GP battle ships and a pair of space trees. Ryoko only had two GP insignias. She dropped twenty thousand on the pile. Ukarit looked once at his hand and placed them face down. It took all of Ryoko's self control not to whoop for joy. With a carefully controlled face, she added the prize to her own chips. The deck of cards was passed to her, and the former pirate dealt the next hand. For the next three hours, Ryoko's winnings steadily grew. She lost an inexpensive hand here and there, just to keep up appearances. As the third hour came to a close, Ryoko had roughly three hundred thousand in chips in front of her. Ukarit was the only other one with as much money at the table. "You are very good, Miss Oko," he complimented her. "Why thank you," answered Ryoko with a sparkling smile. "Ready for the next hand?" He folded his hands and leaned back in the chair. "I think that we have progressed past the limit of the game." Ryoko noticed a gleam in his yellow eyes. "I am, however, a gambling man after all. Why don't we raise the stakes and place a small wager on something else?" Ryoko was suddenly nervous. With what he had in his chip pile added to her own, there would be almost a million creds to the winner. This was just too tempting to pass up. "What did you have in mind?" she asked. An alluring smile appeared on her face. _____ Tenchi rolled over and pushed his face deeper into the pillow. He stretched out his arms and legs on the bed. Bed? Wasn't he supposed to be on the couch? He opened one eye at a time, half expecting to see a naked Ryoko lying next to him. After all, she had tried that before back at home. However, this time there was no sign of the demoness. Tenchi returned to his last position and stared at the ceiling. "She must have moved me here after she woke up," he said to the air. Then it hit him. "Where is she?" The Juraian prince got off of the bed and ran to the bathroom. After a quick shower, he threw on his clothes and checked the pockets of his jacket. The credit chip was gone. He pulled his jacket on quickly and started for the door. Something hit his left foot. He looked down to find Tenchi-ken lying on the floor. "I thought I left you on Jurai," he said as he picked up the sword. "I guess you really are a part of me." He tucked it into his belt and left the room. Tenchi stepped out into the crowded streets and looked both ways. Nothing but ships in the sky, and there was no sign of spiky, cyan hair in among the pedestrians. "Okay, Tenchi," he told himself. "Think. Where could she be? She has almost fifty thousand credits to spend." She might have spent it all. No. She wasn't Mihoshi. Ryoko knew that they needed money to survive. A new thought came to Tenchi. Perhaps she was trying to increase their money? Tenchi shuddered at the stream of images that ran through his head. Ryoko breaking into a bank, robbing random people on the street, or holding someone for ransom. "No, she wouldn't do that," he assured himself. "After her attack on Jurai, I don't think she'd commit a major crime." "Then what is she doing with that money?" His eyes went wide. "Gambling!" That had to be it. Now the question was where was she gambling. It was doubtful that she went to a casino. The money was big, but Tenchi knew that Ryoko cheated whenever they played cards at home. That meant someplace low-key. "Bars," he said with a nod. After all, if he knew Ryoko, why just gamble when you could get drunk as well? Tenchi sighed when he realized what he was about to start doing. One by one, Tenchi started checking the bars of the city as he saw them. Each time he would ask if anyone had seen a woman with golden, cat like eyes and spiky, cyan hair. Two hours and about thirty bars later, Tenchi walked up to The Smoking Muzzle. To be continued.... Notes- I don't think that I have anything to really explain in this chapter. I was smiling for most of this chapter. I think I reminded all of us just how easily Ryoko can find trouble. I think that the Tenchiesk antics about to occur will be great. I hope that I'm capturing the humor of all these characters that we love so much. I hope readers are having as much fun reading this as I am writing it. Again, any comments please send them to Roas1@hotmail.com.