Tenchi-Muyo! (No Need For Tenchi!, This End Up) is (c) AIC * Pioneer LDC, Inc.
Aa! Megami-sama! (Oh My Goddess!) is (c) by Kousuke Fujishima, Kodansha, TBS and 
KSS Films.


Aa! Megami-sama Muyo! (Ah! No Need For My Goddess!)
A Tenchi-Muyo! and Aa! Megami-sama! crossover fan fiction
By Luna Hinomura
http://fly.to/Luna's

Chapter 5: Demon Carrier

	Life is good.

	I hope that's not an overstatement.  What I mean is, I like life and all, 
but sometimes things just happen and suddenly, you're in over your head.  Well, 
I don't expect you to understand, but when you pick up the phone one day and get 
a Goddess to come through a mirror into your house...  Maybe then you'll know 
what I'm going through right now.

	Two Goddesses, a girl with the powers of a Goddess who liked being called 
"Princess" (don't get any funny ideas, there!), and a Demon whose mother was one 
of the two Goddesses I mentioned before.  Plus, the Demon's sister would be 
likely to join us soon.

	Life was nice with just the first Goddess, Tsunami.  I liked her.  She was 
cute, too.  In fact, she was very, very, beautiful.  As for Washu, I'd barely 
even met her for a day and she was waking up the Demon in the Masaki Shrine.  
Then, Ayeka came to avenge her beloved Yosho.  Things just get so complicated.  
All I wanted was Tsunami to be my girlfriend, not for everything else.  
Technically, though, I only wished for Tsunami to be with me forever.  I suppose 
I was just too shy to wish for it outright.
 
	"Tsunami, do things like this usually happen to people who make wishes?" I 
asked, finally deciding to bring my musings aloud.

	"Actually...  That's a good question," she replied with a smile.

	"Huh?"

	"No one's ever made a wish like yours, so I'm afraid I can't answer it.  
You're different, Tenchi.  And I don't mean that in a bad way."

	I smiled, too.  Actually, I think I was grinning like an idiot.  Well, 
maybe not.  In any case, I had a lot on my mind, so I wasn't exactly paying 
great attention to my countenance.

	"Your father seems taken with Ryoko," Tsunami said after a pause.  She 
giggled.  "In fact, your father seemed taken with all of us when we first came 
to live here."

	"Isn't there anywhere for Ryoko to go?  Or Ayeka?"

	"I'm afraid not.  After you left, I talked to Washu, and she said when she 
created Ryoko, Ryoko broke free and she never heard of what happened to her.  
However, when she heard the legend of Yosho and the Demon in the Masaki Shrine, 
she recognized her son's name.  Washu was completely certain that her powers 
could restrain Ryoko, and so she went in search of her.  Unfortunately, Ryoko 
was more powerful than Washu supposed, and had built up a lot of anger over 700 
years.  They fought, but Washu succeeded in confining her to the cave.  But once 
a seal like that is opened, it loses the power it once had, and Ryoko was able 
to escape.  It wasn't until much later that she came to her senses, when she 
attacked you at your school."

	"*That's* when she came to her senses?  But you said so yourself, she 
attacked me!"

	"Ryoko was conscious, though.  She'd never been conscious before, as far 
as I know.  When she attacked you, she had a personality.  From the time she was 
first created up until she attacked Jurai, she'd only been violent and 
destructive.  It was the first time I'd even ever heard her speak."

	"Oh.  And Miss Ayeka?" 

	"I believe Ayeka wishes to stay and search with Washu for whatever became 
of Yosho.  He was dear to both of them, you know."

	"I see."  By this time, we'd finally reached the house.  "Boy, when I 
thought things would get dull when school started, I was *very* wrong."  Tsunami 
and I both took off our shoes in the foyer.

	"Don't worry, Tenchi.  I'm sure things will get back to normal soon."

	Ha!  Normal?  Nothing would ever be *normal* again in my life with Tsunami 
around, not to mention the others.

	"You have a good heart, Tenchi; it is filled with love.  Only a few are 
worthy of having their wishes granted, and I'm happy that I was yours.  Like I 
said, don't worry.  I am certain that nothing bad will happen to you.  Or to 
us."

	Typically, I would have nodded and agreed with Tsunami, but for some 
reason, her words didn't comfort me.  I don't know what it was -- paranoia, 
maybe?  I just couldn't seem to convince myself that something horrible in the 
future was waiting for me.  Coming for me.

	I shuddered involuntarily, trying to rid myself of the strange feeling of 
dread that pervaded my body and mind.

*	*	*	*	*

	So, maybe "life is strange" would be a better statement.  At least, if I 
said "*my* life is strange," *that* would make sense.  After all, life is a 
different experience for everyone, and everybody's life is different.

	It's not that I don't like Ryoko or Ayeka, but everything's just happening 
too fast.

	The worst part of everything was this: Washu had said she was 20,000 Earth 
years old.  Ryoko was 5,000, and Ayeka was 2,100.  So...

	How old was Tsunami?

	I mean, if Goddesses lived that long, what did that leave me with?  I 
could just see it:

			Me, 70 years from now (that would make me a wrinkly old age of 
		87), on my deathbed, looking up at Tsunami's perfect face as she was 
		still her physical age of 20...

	Well, I hope to live longer than 87, anyway.  But, still!  It's a terrible 
prospect, and it's all I could think about.  I'd tried asking Tsunami about it 
yesterday before I went to bed, but she'd only touched me lightly on my forehead 
and said, "Tenchi...  Do not worry yourself.  Everything will be fine in the 
end, and all will reveal itself when it's time."

	Sheesh.  That's all I remember.  She must have put a sleep spell on me, or 
something.  *That* was another thing that worried me.  Tsunami wouldn't have 
done anything like that...unless she knew the answer, and was scared of it.  Or 
scared of having to tell me the answer.

	I was sitting on the floor next to my bed in my pajamas, leaning my back 
against the mattress.  Part of me wanted to run out and grab Tsunami by the 
shoulders and beg her to tell me what she knew.  Another part of me wanted to 
stay there and cry.

	You probably think this coming somewhere out of the blue and have no idea 
what's going on, but sometimes there are just some things I don't want to share 
with you.  For one thing, my Dad is *right*.  That is, I *am* shy around women.  
Er, girls.  That's one reason why I wished for Tsunami.  Plus, I'm not about to 
go tell you my life story, so I might leave certain things out of this 
narration...  Especially emotional stuff, or private stuff I don't think 
concerns you.

	Great, now I'm getting even more depressed.

	Well, anyway, I'll just put it this way: I don't want a life without 
Tsunami anymore.  That's why I think my life is good.  Because she's in it.  
Because I can't imagine what life would be like without her.  Because I don't 
know how I lived without her.

	Wow.  That got a load off my chest.

	True, I know my narration hasn't given you any indication of whatever I 
felt, but you must remember that I left off with a gap of three months at one 
point.  Just don't get the wrong idea about what I did during those three 
months.  Anyway, whatever impulses I had canceled each other out, so I just sat 
there doing nothing.

	The Megumi Hayashibara CD I'd been listening to finished the second track, 
and began the third, a song called Successful Mission.  I just wasn't in the 
mood for something fast like that.  That's why I'd only listened to the first 
and second tracks: Good Luck! and I'll Be There (ballad version) were both slow 
songs, so they seemed to fit my mood, though I'll Be There (ballad version) was 
a little more depressing than Good Luck!.  I liked listening to Megumi's music, 
because her voice reminded me of my mother for some reason.

	I stood up, sighing, and hit the stop button on my CD player.  If Tsunami 
didn't want me to know, I didn't want to force her to tell me.  Instead, I 
dressed quickly, wearing my work clothes.  If I went out to the field, I figured 
I'd have more time alone to think, plus do something constructive at the same 
time.

	By the time I got downstairs, Ayeka was already there, and so were Ryoko 
and Sasami.  I assumed Washu was in her subspace laboratory.  Heh.  The final 
irony.  After my long speech about Tsunami, it turns out that she wasn't even 
taking her adult form this morning.  Sasami was sitting on the couch with Ryoko, 
who looked rather happy, but Ayeka looked downright pissed.

	"Miss Ayeka?  Is something wrong?" I asked tentatively.

	"Nothing is wrong, Lord Tenchi, so why don't you go over there and hug 
your monster woman?!" she snapped.

	Well, that was no surprise.  Ayeka and Ryoko, fighting again.  I looked at 
Sasami for help, but she was holding a large opaque sphere of some sort, holding 
it to the light and looking at it, then patting it softly with her hand.

	"My baby was born just this morning," Ryoko said.

	Come again?

	"Ugh, Sasami, don't touch it!  You'll get germs from it," Ayeka said.

	Hm...  When I thought about it, the sphere Sasami was holding looked 
rather oblong, like an egg.  If it *was* an egg...  Was Ryoko the mother?

	"But I want to see Ryoko's baby," Sasami protested.

	Ryoko reached over and took it from her.  "It's ok, Sammy, you can see it 
later.  Right now, I want Tenchi to see the child he and I made together!!"

	"WHAT?!" Ayeka, Sasami, and I yelled at the same time.

	Flying over to me, she dropped the large egg, which was about 3/4 of a 
foot long into my hands.  "Touch it, Tenchi.  It's yours."

	I was in shock.  No, wait, make it 'I was beyond shock, going into a 
coma.'  A baby?  Yeah, right!  Why the heck would Ryoko spread such lies?  I 
*knew* I hadn't done any of...  You know...  So there was no *way* the baby was 
mine.  Plus, an egg?!  That was just plain disgusting.

	The egg began to shake and crack, and I felt my hands go limp as I yelped 
and dropped it.  The egg hit the ground and the bottom shattered.  Everyone 
looked stunned.

	"Miya," I heard from the egg.

	"'Miya'?" Ayeka, Sasami, and I echoed in disbelief.

	A furry rabbit-like leg popped out on the right side of the egg, then a 
symmetrical one popped out on the left.  Like I said, the leg was furry, and the 
paw was a beige color while the leg was a darker brown.  Then the top cracked 
off, and a matching rabbit-like face peered out from underneath the 'helmet' of 
eggshell.

	Ryoko kneeled down and began peeling the eggshell apart, revealing a (what 
else?) rabbit-like creature.  Unlike a rabbit, though, its forelegs were longer 
and more developed, with long, cat-like whiskers around its face (which, for 
some reason, looked more like a cat's than a rabbit's).

	"Wow..." Sasami said.  "But that looks nothing like Tenchi."

	"You mean she lied?!" Ayeka exclaimed, glaring at Ryoko.

	"This is Ryo-ohki," Ryoko explained, picking up the dazed cat/rabbit 
creature and rubbing her cheek on its fur.  "My sister.  You must be crazy if 
you thought the creature was Tenchi's baby!"  She laughed.

	"Miya," Ryo-ohki agreed softly, still dazed after her abrupt birth.

	"That is enough!" Ayeka declared.  "I will *not* allow this farce to 
continue.  Can't you see that you are annoying Lord Tenchi?"

	"Really, Ayeka, lighten up," Ryoko replied.  "Can't you see that Tenchi 
and I are in love?"  She came right up to me and caught me in a bear hug.

	"No!  It's all a lie!" I protested, looking at Sasami bewildered 
expression.

	"In...love?  No!  I cannot believe it!  I *will not* believe it!" 

	"Love?" Sasami asked.  "Whatever happened to me?"

	"She's lying, Sasami!" I said.

	"Ha!  See how Lord Tenchi objects?!" Ayeka cried triumphantly.  "Leave him 
alone, you hussy!"

	Narrowing her eyes, Ryoko fairly threw me down on the couch.  "What did 
you call me?!  You stuck-up, stubborn old hag!!"

	"How *dare* you address me in that manner!  You can't call me a hag, for I 
know for a fact that you are more than *twice* as old as I am!"  Ayeka laughed, 
bringing her sleeve up to face.   "Oh, maybe that's why Tenchi doesn't like you.  
You're over 5,000 years old, and it's annoying to be hit on by an older woman!"  
She continued laughing, throwing her head back for effect.

	Grimacing, Ryoko winched like Ayeka had physically harmed her.  "Why 
should I care if Tenchi's younger than I am?!  He's younger than *you*, too!" 
she retorted.

	A high-pitched sort of growl started deep in Ayeka's throat, and she bared 
her teeth at Ryoko.  Ryoko, in turn, did the exact same thing, and they glared 
at each other like some perverse staring contest.

	"Um, excuse me," I called.

	"WHAT DO YOU WANT?!" they simultaneously barked at me.

	"Never mind..."  I looked at Sasami for help, but she only shrugged.

	Now do you see what I mean when I say life gets too complicated?  Deciding 
it was high time to head on over to the garden, I stood up, ignoring the 
annoying bickering between Ayeka and Ryoko.  It seemed to me that I'd been doing 
a lot of that lately.  Sasami ran over to the kitchen at the same time I walked 
over to the foyer.

	"Tenchi!" she called.

	"Yes, Sasami?" I asked, turning around.  She handed me a packet wrapped up 
in a handkerchief.

	"It's your lunch," she explained.  "Have fun!"

	"Thank you, Sasami," I replied happily, picking up my gardening hoe and 
heading on out the door.

*	*	*	*	*

	*Crunch* *Crunch* *Crunch*

	Huh?

	*Crunch* *Crunch* *Crunch* *Crunch*

	I looked up and discontinued what I had been doing, trying to figure out 
where the strange sounds had originated.

	*Crunch* *Crunch* *Crunch*		*Spit*

	Something hit me in the back of the head, and I instinctively reached up a 
hand to touch where the object had struck me, dropping my hoe.  "Hey...!" I 
protested.

	"Miya!"

	"'Miya'?  Is that you, Ryo-ohki?"  Turning in the direction the object 
had been flung from, I stepped on something soft.

	"Huh?  A carrot?"  Well, it was *part* of a carrot, actually.  Only the 
very end and the greens stalks of the carrot remained, the rest eaten away.

	"Hey!" I yelled, pulling Ryo-ohki out of the basket of vegetables I'd 
picked.  "Don't be so greedy!  Stop eating the carrots!"  Ryo-ohki only meowed 
guiltily, and her ears sagged in defeat as she dropped the last carrot back into 
the basket.

	"That's better."  Suddenly, Ryo-ohki meowed frantically, and struggled to 
release herself from my grip.  "Hey, what's your problem?!"  She didn't reply by 
meowing this time, but only hissed and ran off.

	"Well, that's strange," I mused.  Then, something in the corner of my eye 
caught my attention...  A weird bright light was flying down from the sky, like 
a falling star...  Only it was heading straight into the lake right by my house.  
Uncertain of what it was or its source, I only watched in awe as it hit the 
middle of the lake, sending a huge wave of water splashing everywhere.

	"Excuse me," someone said behind me.

	Startled, I jumped and tripped over the hoe I'd set down, falling on my 
back.  A young, green-haired woman in a trenchcoat had been standing there 
behind me.  "Wh-who are you?!"  She had blue eyes, and wore a red headband, 
which was partially covered by her long, teal-colored hair.

	"Ah...  That's not important.  Have you seen a blond woman around?" she 
asked.  "She's my friend -- I'm looking for her."

	I shook my head.

	"That idiot," she muttered.  "Well, thank you."  The woman walked off, and 
disappeared along the trail.

	Life is very, very strange.

End of Chapter 5