REPRISE OF CHAPTER 5: The Juraian noble SEIRYUU has come to Earth to gain revenge for his previous defeat a the hands of TENCHI. When he arrived, he mistakenly assumed that the high-energy sources his ship scanned on the surface were RYOKO and AYEKA, while they were actually RYOKO and KENJI. SEIRYUU sent down to renegade Juraian knights, TETTA and TESSEI, to bring AYEKA to his ship. They got into a fight with RYOKO and KENJI instead: KENJI defeated TETTA, then came to RYOKO's aid against TESSEI. He was nearly killed, but manifested the Light Hawk Wings and defeated TESSEI as well. Then he and RYOKO realized that the house could have been attacked as well, and they rush across the mountainside to return there. And now... TENCHI'S COUSIN: CHAPTER 6 The scene fades in to the front yard of the Masaki residence. SHIKINO and KUDANO are generating a forcefield that surrounds a large area, including some of the lakeside, passing over the dock where SEIRYUU fought TENCHI before. In this area SEIRYUU and TENCHI are fighting, SEIRYUU with a green energy sword and TENCHI with the Tenchiken. TENCHI is the better swordsman - he has trained with the greatest warrior of Jurai, after all - but every time he gets the upper hand, SEIRYUU's Guardians fire volleys of laser beams, forcing him back. It's becoming evident that the fight can only end one of two ways: either TENCHI scores a victory that is so quick and decisive that SHIKINO and KUDANO have no time to intervene, or SEIRYUU wins. The assembled Masaki household crew are bunched up outside one end of the forcefield, calling warnings or encouragement to TENCHI. SEIRYUU I will avenge my honour for your idiotic friend dropping a spaceship on me!! TENCHI Will you *please* get it through your head that I tried to warn you?! SEIRYUU Silence! ATTACKS TENCHI Another exchange of swords ensues as RYOKO and KENJI arrive on the scene. As usual, TENCHI gains an advantage, then SHIKINO and KUDANO open fire, driving him back. KENJI FURIOUS You *coward!* Can't you fight fairly!? RYOKO Yeah! C'mon, Kenji!! CHARGES AT FORCEFIELD KENJI Right! ALSO CHARGES EVERYONE ELSE *DON'T!!* KENJI and RYOKO, predictably enough, ignore the chorus from the observing crowd and arrive at the forcefield barrier with the idea of battering it down. KENJI charges a Shin Kikosho while RYOKO winds up a big energy blast, and the two open fire at point-blank range. Unfortunately, the field is reflective - as the others found out when *they* tried to intervene - and the resulting backlash sends both KENJI and RYOKO flying. RYOKO lands near the house as WASHU-CHAN and AYEKA head for her, while MIHOSHI and SASAMI run to KENJI, who landed near the beach. TENCHI sees what just happened to his cousin and his - friend? and gets angry, launching a blistering offensive series that nearly finishes SEIRYUU before his Guardians can drive TENCHI back. WASHU-CHAN and AYEKA arrive at RYOKO's side, then MIHOSHI and SASAMI reach KENJI. MIHOSHI Oh my! Kenji-san, are you OK? SASAMI (PANTS) Kenji.. please be okay! Please be.. KENJI Owww... this is just not my day. (SHAKES HEAD HARD) Unnhhh! Listen, we've gotta help Tenchi! (LOOKS AT FORCEFIELD) Is there any way to get through that? MIHOSHI Ummm... Washu-chan said that she could resonate it down, but she'd need half an hour, and the fight would probably be over by then... KENJI Kuso! (Damn!) Well, is there any way around it? MIHOSHI Umm... I don't know! That kind of forcefield always stretches down until it reaches a sloid surface, then establishes an energy field inside to keep out teleporters. In the background, RYOKO picks herself up, shakes out the cobwebs, and attempts to teleport inside the field. She reappears on the *outside* edge of the field, getting zapped by Juraian lightning, and goes down again. WASHU-CHAN and AYEKA rush over and help her up. KENJI Yeah, so I see. And this close to the lake, our soil's too soft to dig a tunnel in- (LOOKS AT LAKE) waitasec! KENJI runs to the lake edge and dives in as soon as he gets deep enough. MIHOSHI looks on in confusion. MIHOSHI But that won't work! I said it goes down 'till it hits a *solid,* right, Sasami? SASAMI I *think* so... (LOOKS AT DOCK) Oh, *I* get it! Meanwhile, SEIRYUU has chased TENCHI over to the end of the forcefield near AYEKA. SHIKINO is right behind them, while KUDANO is over at the far end of the field. SEIRYUU (SLASHING) Now I have you!! I shall take your barbarian head back to avenge my defeat!! TENCHI (PARRIES) Look, can't we just talk about this? KUDANO Master! Hel- (FORCEFIELD DISAPPEARS) SEIRYUU W-what!? (TURNS SLOWLY) KENJI, dripping wet, has swum under the dock (which is a solid surface, after all,) passed beneath the forcefield, and used his energy blade to slice KUDANO in half. With one pole gone, the forcefield has faded out. SEIRYUU looks at KENJI, who gives him a savage grin, then at MIHOSHI, who's gotten her bazooka out from her Cube, then at RYOKO, who has an energy ball in one hand, a sword in the other, and a grin even more savage than KENJI's on her face. SEIRYUU Shikino! Kill the bar- There is a sizzling crash. SEIRYUU turns to look back at TENCHI and SHIKINO. TENCHI has just deflected a laser beam with the Tenchiken and SHIKINO has been blasted by its own shot. TENCHI is now glaring at SEIRYUU. TENCHI Shouldn't you be going? KENJI (WALKING UP TO THEM) Sounds sensible to me... SEIRYUU (SEETHING) All right, barbarians. I can't fight you here. (CALLS UPWARD) Ryu-Kii! Descend to transport range! SEIRYUU's ship comes down out of the sky to hover over the Masaki residence. Suddenly, SEIRYUU gets a savage grin of his own. SEIRYUU But *I* know how to get you into a fight on *my* ground! Ryu-Kii! Beam aboard all our personnel - AND Ryoko and Ayeka! EVERYONE ELSE **WHAT!?!?** Beams of light strike down from the ship. One hits SEIRYUU, another two spear off into the forest where KENJI and RYOKO fought TETTA and TESSEI - and two lance down to cover AYEKA and RYOKO! KENJI **RYOKO!!!!** Lunging madly forward, KENJI leaps in a flat-out dive, shoving RYOKO out of her beam but getting caught in it himself. The world flashes white. The white-out fades to black, then fades in to a view familiar to those who have watched OAV 2: A fuzzy view of a tree trunk stretching up to arc its branches down to ground level. The scene moves back and forth a few times before snapping into focus, and moving from an on-the-ground view to normal standing height. The POV shifts, and it is revealed (as the camera pulls away from him) that we've been seeing things from KENJI's point of view as he wakes up inside a Juraian prison cell. KENJI Owwww... This is really, really not my day. (SHAKES HEAD) Jeez... blasted, shocked, battered, half-shredded, now teleported - can I get abused in any other ways in one day? (~NOISE FROM OFFSCREEN~) Huh? AYEKA (O.S.) Seiryuu! Do you think that you can get away with this deplorable behaviour? I command you to return me to Earth this instant! SEIRYUU (O.S.) No, Princess, you and your barbaric rival Ryoko are going to be the bait for that barbarian boy. My family maintains a retreat near Jurai's southern pole, and we shall retire there and await the inevitable arrival of the pirate ship Ryo-Ohki, or perhaps the Galaxy Police vessel Yagami. In either case, the boy will come to your rescue - only to find you and I in a chamber like your current accomodations. This special holding tree, by the way, serves to neutralize the Jurai Power of those within, while Ryoko will find that her gems are likewise useless to her in her cell. I, of course, am protected from this affect... AYEKA (O.S.) My father will never allow you to treat me this way and go unpunished! SEIRYUU (O.S.) And that is why he will never find out. I have been planning this since I recovered from my injuries, princess - you spurned me before, but now you shall be mine. My Knight Tessei can use Jurai Power to... adjust... someone's thinking, and in a month or so you shall be quite willing to be my bride, since your barbarian beloved will have abandoned you and... mysteriously vanished. Your father will no doubt be delighted, and I shall secure my place as heir to the throne. AYEKA (O.S.) (SHOCKED) You're planning a coup! SEIRYUU (O.S.) Oh, no, princess. I'm quite content to wait my turn for the throne - it will come my way in due time. I only wish to assume my rightful place as heir, since the thought of that barbarian inheriting the throne is repugnant to any *pure* Juraian. Offscreen, AYEKA shrieks in rage, and there is the sound of a door 'swishing' open and shut. KENJI, meanwhile, is seething. KENJI Why that black-hearted, bigoted little toad! I'll kill him! He wasn't even there to avenge his honour, he was playing us for patsies and setting up his little power play at the same time! (STOPS, GRINS WICKEDLY) Hey... he said *Ayeka* was in a cell to dampen Jurai Power and Ryoko was in one to block her gems... but I don't see or hear Ryoko around, and I shoved her out of that beam. Am *I* in Ryoko's cell? And if I am.... KENJI manifests a sword of Jurai Power in his hand. Alarmed, the prison-tree tries to entangle KENJI in its vines, but he slashes them to pieces and slices open a gap in the branch-bars, stepping outside. He quickly walks toward the place AYEKA's voice seemed to be coming from. In a moment, he sees her in her cell. She seems to be passing through the 'berserk anger' phase of reaction and getting into the 'depression' part when KENJI arrives. KENJI (WHISPERS) Psst! Princess! AYEKA Eh? (LOOKS UP) Oh! Kenji-san! How... KENJI I ended up in Ryoko's cell instead of her. Hang on, (ADVANCES, BLADE IN HAND) I'll get you - huh? As KENJI gets within five feet of AYEKA's cell-tree, his Jurai Power blade sputters and vanishes. KENJI is shocked. KENJI Wha? What happened? AYEKA (DESPAIRING) It's this tree, Kenji-san. Seiryuu said it neutralizes Jurai Power. Since that is the power we both use... KENJI ...I can't break you out of there - not with brute force. OK, is there any *other* way I could get you out? AYEKA Yes... but it will not be easy. KENJI I was fighting street matches at age twelve - 'difficult' just means 'it takes a bit longer' to me. AYEKA (SMILES) Yes, I'm beginning to see that, Kenji-san. You have the same determination as Tenchi-sama. (SHAKES HEAD) But that is not the subject of discussion. Seiryuu carries a sword hilt with him - he was using it during the fight with Tenchi. That is the Master Key of this ship, and anyone with Jurai Power who holds it can command all the ship's functions. If you can get it away from him and command the Ryu-Kii to release me... KENJI (NODS) I get it. (GRINS) Kind of like the time Tenchi tried to steal your crown, ne? AYEKA blushes, then blinks and raises her hand, taking off a ring and giving it to KENJI. AYEKA Oh! This is my Jurai Battle Armour, Kenji-san. I cannot use it here, but you can. It protects you automatically, without you needing to concentrate and summon the power to do so - and it can also allow you to fly and somewhat enhance your strength. You will need every advantage you can get. Twist it where the stems join to activate the armour. KENJI Thank you. Oh, and by the way - I don't think you'll have to worry about that 'Tessei' person warping your mind. He fought with Ryoko and me, and he... kinda came out of it a little worse for wear, if you get my meaning. I doubt he'll be *walking* any time soon, much less- The door swishes open, revealing TETTA. He is talking as he arrives, only noticing the true situation midspeech. TETTA Alright, princess, change o' plans. Tessei got messed up down Earthside, so I'm gonna haveta make ya sleep a month or two 'till he's- (NOTICES) OH SHEE-IT! KENJI charges him. At the same time, TETTA slaps at a bracelet on his wrist and yells into it. TETTA SEIRYUU! You gotta breakout on- KENJI (TACKLES HIM) Shaddup! KENJI and TETTA roll about on the floor, grappling at each other. TETTA 'oofs' as KENJI knees him in the gut but gets his hands on KENJI's throat and begins to squeeze. TETTA This is f'r what y' did to Tessei! KENJI (CHOKED) I... warned.. him... KENJI knees TETTA again, this time with a blue-glowing limb and landing the blow squarely in the groin. TETTA recoils, letting go of KENJI's neck. TETTA (HIGH-PITCHED) Kid... you fight *dirty..* KENJI I fight to win. You got a problem with that, learn better defense! TETTA powers up a blast between his hands just as KENJI activates the Jurai Battle Armour. TETTA's blast skims harmlessly off the Armour's forcefield (he *is* having trouble concentrating, after all) and KENJI hurtles forward, punching TETTA hard enough to send him careening across the brig. KENJI (IMPRESSED) Whoah... AYEKA Kenji-san! There's no time to waste! KENJI (SHAKES HEAD) Right! KENJI rushes over to TETTA and throws him into the tree holding AYEKA captive. Percieving this as an attack, the tree grabs the unconscious renegade in its vines... incidentally pinning him in the Jurai-deadened zone. With a grin to AYEKA, KENJI rushes out the door. The scene switches to the bridge of the Ryu-Kii. In the command chair, SEIRYUU is looking at a vid-window projection showing Ryo-Oh-Ki in pursuit of SEIRYUU's ship. SEIRYUU I don't understand it! How can they have gotten the animal to help them so quickly? With Ryoko gone, they should have needed an hour or more to make the little vermin take them anywhere! How can they be in pursuit already!? A crackle of static signals a communication. TETTA (V.O.) SEIRYUU!! You gotta breakout on- (STATIC) SEIRYUU A breakout? Tetta, what do you mean?! Hello? Hello! Tetta!! (PAUSES, FUMING) Well! Obviously, if you want someting done right, you do it yourself. (CALLS UPWARD) Ryu-Kii! Locate Princess Ayeka and the pirate! RYU-KII (V.O.) Princess Ayeka is in her cell. Ryoko Hakubi is not on this ship. SEIRYUU (SCOWLS) Ah, I see. Somehow the pirate got free and has brought the others with her. (PAUSES) Strange, though... why did she not free the princess? By all accounts, their rivalry isn't so bad that they would abandon each other to danger... An explosion from the bridge hatchway interrupts his thoughts, as KENJI punches through it. SEIRYUU whirls up out of his chair to face the intruder. KENJI Knock knock! SEIRYUU YOU!!! How did you get here!? KENJI You brought me on board, idiot. Next time check to be sure your prisoners are who you think they are. Now if you'd be so kind as turn your ship-key over to me, we can conclude your little game of 'Murder, Thrones, and Brainwashing.' (GLARES, HOLDS OUT HAND) We can do this the easy way... or we can do it *my* way. Your choice. SEIRYUU answers by charging up an energy blast. Meanwhile, on the screen, with SEIRYUU's attention diverted, the Ryu-Kii's speed has lessened and Ryo-Oh-Ki is moving alongside them. SEIRYUU No barbarian from some backwater planet can hope to defeat the noblilty of Jurai!! He fires. KENJI leaps into the air - and stays there, hovering thanks to the Jurai Armour. KENJI Excuse me? (GESTURES AT ARMOUR) I happen to be part-Juraian myself, or were you so clueless as to fail to notice how I'm dressed? SEIRYUU (DISGUSTED) Damn that half-breed Yousho! Siring brats by the dozen - has he sold any of you yet? That's the *proper* way to dispose of by-blows! KENJI (FURIOUS) That's it. You're dead! (CHARGES) For a full two minutes the two battle on the bridge, as Jurai grows larger and larger in the front viewport - apparently they were almost there when KENJI woke up. As far as the battle goes, KENJI has the upper hand until SEIRYUU grabs his sword. KENJI tries to create his staff - and fails, the only result being a flicker around his hands. KENJI What the- He ducks the sweep of SEIRYUU's sword, and flies up out of reach while cocking his hand for a Kikoken. Once again, it fails to happen, and KENJI is forced to fly an evasive pattern as SEIRYUU channels energy blasts through his sword hilt. KENJI is thinking furiously. KENJI (V.O.) What the hell's the matter? It's like I can't use my *chi* at all, except - (REMEMBERS) (WASHU) (Ah ha, but that's because Ayeka uses artificial aids to draw her powers out, like her crown or her battle armour. It makes it easier to use the power, but it limits it at the same time - hence the flattened pattern. Here's what her pattern would be like unhindered. [AYEKA's pattern balloons out in the flat spots. It remains less intense than KENJI's, but the similarity is obvious.] ...There! Proof positive!) KENJI (V.O.) Oh, *Now* I get it. The armour lets me use my power in different ways, and makes those easy - but it blocks the other stuff to do it. Okay, then... KENJI dives under a volley of blasts, twisting the ring and deactivating the Armour, then does a forward flip with a half-twist as he lands, manifesting his staff as he touches down. KENJI Okay, you bigot elitist son of a bitch, shall we settle this the old-fashioned way? SEIRYUU only growls as he charges in - but shortly regrets it. KENJI uses Jurai weapon arts and Wu Shu kicks in a mix perfected during dozens of fights with RYOKO, and SEIRYUU finds himself overmatched. Leaping back, he snarls as he unleashes a blast of energy seen in the Tenchi TV series a few times - Yousho and Ayeka's sphere-with-comet-aura blast. KENJI blocks with his staff, and the following explosion disrupts the staff and throws KENJI across the bridge. Landing hard, he rolls away - and SEIRYUU does the same blast again. KENJI tries a forcefield this time, but fares little better. KENJI (V.O.) (GETTING UP) Oww... that hits like a freight train! Where's the Wings when I need them? SEIRYUU rears back with his hilt to throw the comet-globe again - and KENJI's eyes widen as he *sees* the energy flowing to a single point. KENJI leaps to his feet and cups both hands over his head, building up power himself. SEIRYUU NOW YOU DIE- KENJI (INTERRUPTS HIM) I see how you do that NOWWWWWW!! *Both* combatants launch comet-globes of Jurai power - SEIRYUU's light green streaking towards KENJI's solid blue. The two collide, and there is a freeze-frame showing SEIRYUU's globe being compressed by KENJI's... and then time 'starts' again, and KENJI's globe blows SEIRYUU's apart and keeps on going. SEIRYUU shrieks and dives away as KENJI cries out in triumph. Then KENJI's globe careens into the space-tree heart of Ryu-Kii. There is an explosion, and for a few moments silence reigns on the bridge. The smoke clears, revealing a scorched stump where the tree once was. SEIRYUU, understandably, freaks right out. It takes KENJI a minute to understand what's going on (during which he knocks SEIRYUU out to shut him up) but then he, too, starts to panic. KENJI Shimatta! Now I've done it! (LOOKS AROUND WILDLY) Escape pods... there've gotta be escape pods here somewhere! I can just- (STOPS IN SHOCK) Kuso! No I can't! Ayeka!! KENJI turns to run off the bridge, but is knocked off his feet as the whole ship shakes violently... and in another OVA 2 moment, Ryo-Oh-Ki's main spire pierces through the deck. RYOKO phases out of it, looking for him. RYOKO Kenji? Kenji!! KENJI Ryoko! Over here! RYOKO Kenji! There you are! (FLIES OVER) Come on, I've got to get you out of here, the Ryu-Kii's going to crash on Jurai any minute now! We already grabbed Ayeka - and the renegades are under lock and key, thanks to Washu. KENJI Heh. I'll have to thank her for that - They're good fighters, I'd hate to see 'em dead just from some accident. RYOKO (LOOKS AT SEIRYUU) Should we bring him? KENJI (SCOWLS) I am *so* tempted to dump him here - but I bet after Ayeka tells her father what he had planned, he'd wish we had, so he comes too. RYOKO nods, then grabs KENJI's wrist in one hand and SEIRYUU's in the other and flies toward Ryo-Oh-Ki's spire, which is already starting to pull out of the Ryu-Kii's hull. Just as the trio reaches the spire, SEIRYUU's eyes snap open in a hateful glare. SEIRYUU *DIE,* Barbarian!! With that, SEIRYUU blasts KENJI, knocking him out of RYOKO's grip. Caught by surprise, she finishes phasing before she can stop - and then the spire is gone, leaving a hole through which can be heard the whistle of wind. The Ryu-Kii is already in atmosphere. KENJI picks himself up off the floor and groans. KENJI (WORRIED) I shouldn't have made that wisecrack about another kind of abuse in one day - riding a crashing starship down to a planet's surface sure qualifies for that! (DEEP BREATH) Okay. I hear the wind and I'm still breathing with a hole in the hull, so the ship's in the atmosphere. I can just trigger the armour and fly down. KENJI twists at the ring... and nothing happens. Suddenly frightened, he tries again, then whips his hand up in front of his face to look at the ring. His hands, on the inside where they threw the comet-globe, are a deep sunburn-red... and the ring looks decidedly charred thanks to the amount of power that passed near it. KENJI twists it one more time... and again, nothing happens. KENJI (LOOKING OUT HOLE, PALE, WHISPERING) *Chikusho!!* END CHAPTER 6