Tenchi Muyo: The Worth of Souls

Tenchi Muyo: The Worth of Souls

Chapter I: No Need for Houseguests

Lord Carshena of House Kumo of the Jurai Empire looked out at the multitude of stars from the balcony of his palace.

So many planets. So many lives. And all could be his if his plan succeeded.

Footsteps in the balcony foyer brought Carshena out of his reverie. He turned and saw two people approaching. One was his personal assistant, Sakura, a very beautiful young woman with an elfin face and waist-length blonde hair. Following behind her was a tall thin figure in a long black cloak.

"My lord." Sakura said with a bow. "The pirate, Traigen."

The other man did not bow or show any signs of movement.

Carshena nodded. "Thank you, Sakura. You may go."

Sakura withdrew leaving the two men alone. Carshena returned to the balcony's edge and looked out at the stars again. Traigen joined him at the balcony waiting for the other to speak with an almost mechanical patience.

After a long moment Carshena said, "What do you see out in the stars, pirate?"

"Power and treasure." Traigen answered.

Carshena looked at the pirate. "What if I shared with you the secret to gaining all of that and more?"

Traigen turned and considered the Juraian lord. "The Jigoku Pirates are at your disposal, for a price."

"Then I believe that we can have a very profitable relationship." Carshena walked away from the balcony and back into the palace. Traigen followed behind silently.

Carshena led the pirate through the palace until they came to a dark room. A large stone covered with strange hieroglyphs dominated one wall of the room. A computer whirred on a raised platform in front of the stone. Carshena went to the computer and typed a command. Traigen came up beside Carshena and watched as blue light came up out of the floor and covered the stone.

"My archaeologists uncovered this stone on a remote planet." Carshena said. "It was once part of an ancient temple to the goddess Tsunami." The blue light covering the stone resolved into a hologram. The hieroglyphs were replaced with words in the Juraian language. "The translation took a good couple of years but the gist of it is this." Carshena began reading the words off of the stone. "Many generations ago the demon Tatakai was born. It was a soul killer, feeding off the life essences of its victims. As Tatakai ate, it grew in power. It ravaged the universe for food and became so powerful that no empire or war fleet could destroy it. The people of the galaxy suffered greatly and they prayed to the gods for deliverance from the demon's wrath. The goddesses Tokimi and Tsunami intervened to save their children. The goddesses lured the demon to a double star on the edge of the universe. There they trapped Tatakai in one of the stars and caused the star to die. The star's brother poured fire into its twin and the demon's body was consumed. Tsunami sealed the demon's power into three gems and cast them into the far reaches of space. Tokimi locked the demon's spirit into a tomb and placed a magical spell on the tomb so that no one could unleash the demon's spirit unknowingly. Thus ends the legend of the feared demon, Tatakai."

Traigen blinked amazed at the story he had just heard.

Carshena deactivated the hologram and turned to face the pirate. "What do you think?" he asked.

Traigen looked at Carshena skeptically. "You honestly believe that fairy tale?"

"It is more than a fairy tale, my friend." Carshena replied. "You will find that each legend contains a grain of truth." He pulled out a disk from the computer and handed it to Traigen. "But none of that is your concern, pirate. Follow my instructions and you will have your fill of power and treasure."

Tenchi shivered in the early morning chill of spring. He, Ayeka, and Ryoko were waiting on the platform of the Kurashiki Train Station and it was cold. Months before his infamous encounter with Ryoko in the Demon Cave near his grandfather's shrine, Tenchi had agreed to host a transfer student in his home. When the call came to tell him that the student would arrive in a week, Tenchi had agreed to it without really thinking. Now, Tenchi felt a slight dread, not of the transfer student, but of what the six alien girls that shared his house might do.

When Tenchi had told them that they would have a houseguest for a couple of months, he had received mixed reactions. "What if it's another girl?" Ryoko had said jealously. Ayeka, on the other hand, had said that she and Sasami would be on their best behavior. Washu had seemed excited because, according to her, she would have the chance to study a "terran" up close. Tenchi hadn't liked the wicked gleam in Washu's eyes as she went back to her lab sniggering. Kiyone and Mihoshi had promised to keep their starship, Yagami, out of view. Tenchi hoped that that would be enough considering Mihoshi's penchant for disasters. In the end, Tenchi had convinced them to act like his sisters, a role which neither Ayeka nor Ryoko liked but had promised to play anyway.

The 7:15 train from Okayama had just arrived and the departing passengers were bustling around the station platform looking for their luggage. Tenchi had no idea what the student would look like so he carried a sign that had the student's name on it: Hikaru Kobayashi.

After a couple minutes waiting, a young man in a long coat and carrying a duffel bag over his shoulder walked up to them. He had a kindly face with dark green eyes and looked to be in his late teens. His black hair was tied in a loose ponytail that hung past his shoulders. "Hello," the young man said bowing to Tenchi and the two girls. "I'm Hikaru Kobayashi."

"Hi." Tenchi replied scratching the back of his head. "I'm Tenchi Masaki. These are my sisters Ayeka and Ryoko." Ayeka bowed in greeting and Ryoko nodded impatiently at him. Ryoko was busy rubbing her hands on her bare arms to keep them warm, her t-shirt didn't keep the chill out very well.

Hikaru smiled and bowed to the two girls.

"Do you have anymore luggage?" Tenchi asked pointing at Hikaru's duffel.

"No, I like to travel light." Hikaru replied.

"Well let's get out of here before it starts to get really busy." Tenchi said leading the way out of the already crowded train station platforms.

They passed through the doors into the station proper and Ryoko gave a sigh of relief. "Finally, we're getting out of that damn cold." Ryoko growled through clenched teeth. She had teleported them all to the train station but hadn't dressed for the cold weather.

"Well it's your own fault, Ryoko." Ayeka said matter-of-factly. "If you had sense enough to bring a coat, like me, you wouldn't be cold right now.

"Don't start with me, princess." Ryoko muttered darkly.

Tenchi looked back and was about to say something to calm the brewing tension, but Hikaru interrupted. "Let me guess," he said, low enough so that only Tenchi could hear. "Ryoko's the punk loner girl of the family and Ayeka is the perfect example for her siblings."

"True enough." Tenchi replied just as quietly.

"So why did you decide to come to Kurashiki?" Tenchi asked as they walked out onto the city streets. Ayeka and Ryoko decided to postpone their argument and hurried to walk with Tenchi and Hikaru.

"Ever since my uncle and cousins came back from a vacation here I've wanted to come." Hikaru said. "Besides, out here in the country you have peace and quiet, that's something you don't get in Kyoto."

"So you're from Kyoto?" Ayeka asked interestedly.

"Yep." Hikaru said. " Though I've never liked being in the big cities. Too many space aliens attack them," he said winking. Everyone laughed at this.

The walk back to the Masaki house started out peaceful enough, at least Ayeka and Ryoko weren't at each other's throats. The cherry trees were in bloom and the pink flowers were very pretty. The sky was a cloudless blue and the air was starting to warm up as the sun rose higher, though not enough to keep Ryoko from complaining under her breath. As Tenchi, Ayeka, Ryoko, and Hikaru walked up the trail to the house Hikaru talked about his life in the city of Kyoto. He told them all about the Imperial Palace, the museums of art he had visited, and even the Kyoto Tower.

"I live with my uncle's family and we have a huge house just outside the city." Hikaru said.

"Where do your parents live?" Ayeka asked.

Hikaru looked down at the ground and answered softly, "They died." he said. "A long time ago."

"I'm sorry." Ayeka said awkwardly. Her face paled with embarrassment.

Hikaru smiled weakly at her. "It's all right, you didn't know."

"How did they die?" Ryoko asked trying to break the silence that had fallen.

Hikaru looked at her. "In an accident." he said shortly.

Ryoko felt Hikaru's eyes bore into her revealing both pain and sadness. Ryoko was surprised at the effect Hikaru's eyes had on her. She couldn't explain why, but she thought she recognized those eyes from somewhere else. Ryoko dismissed the feeling almost instantly.

Tenchi looked over at Hikaru. He understood how Hikaru felt. He had lost both his mother and grandmother when he was very young and, truth be told, had not completely gotten over their deaths.

Further down the trail, Hikaru heard a low whooshing sound coming from the surrounding forest. He stopped and listened closely. The sound came again, closer than before, and the bushes at the side of the trail rustled softly.

"Did any of you hear that sound?" Hikaru asked. Tenchi and the girls stopped and looked back at him.

"Uh, n...no." Tenchi stammered but he knew what it had to be. He looked over at Ryoko. She had a grin on her face and seemed to be concentrating very hard on something. "Ryoko." Tenchi said warningly.

But it was too late. A brown blur leapt from the bushes and Ryo-ohki landed on the ground in front of them hissing and spitting as hard as she could. Hikaru stopped dead in his tracks and kept his eyes on the unusual creature as though he were staring down a bear. The little cabbit stopped her display and leapt into Ryoko's arms mewling contentedly. Tenchi and Ayeka looked at Hikaru who stared curiously at the little animal and then at Ryoko who seemed totally indifferent. Ryoko looked back at them and saw the reproach in their eyes, but just smiled and nuzzled Ryo-ohki in her arms.

Hikaru came up to Ryoko. "I've never seen an animal like that. What is it?"

"Family pet." Ryoko said. She handed Ryo-ohki to Hikaru. "Her name is Ryo-ohki."

The cabbit jumped onto the young man's shoulder. "Ryo-ohki." Hikaru repeated scratching the cabbit under the chin. "A cute name for a cute animal." Ryo-ohki meowed and jumped to the trail, running into the bushes again.

Tenchi sighed softly in frustration. I hope things go more smoothly when we get back home, he thought.

Tenchi opened the door to the spare bedroom and led Hikaru inside. "Well, this is your room." Tenchi said. "Hope you like it."

"This is perfect." Hikaru said dropping his duffel near the closet, "thanks."

"Lunch will be in a couple of hours." Tenchi said. "If you need anything just give me a holler."

"I will. Thanks again." Hikaru said.

When Tenchi left Hikaru closed the door and began to unpack. He put his clothes in the chest of drawers near the closet. Then he pulled out a tightly wrapped package. Hikaru unwrapped the package and uncovered the hilt of a sword. It had no blade attached and looked as though it was covered in green scales. Hikaru put the hilt underneath his clothes in the drawer. I hope I won't need you too soon. Hikaru thought. He then pulled out a small disk shaped device and pushed a button on its side. Instantly a wire-frame holographic display of the entire valley came into view. Hikaru pushed some more buttons on the holopad and read the new display: nine sentient life forms, two automatons, and one biological unknown. Good, everything seemed normal. Hikaru extinguished the holomap and lay down on the bed. This could be my easiest mission yet.