Tenchi Muyo: Ryoko's Love (Alpha)
Chapter 1:Introducing, Yui!
By Long T. Tran
Completed 2/16/98
Revised by Navaash (date unknown)
Revised by Anthiena 3/12/08-3/24/08 (Updated 1-31-10)
Disclaimer:
The characters you are about read are characters created by AIC/Pioneer and Long T. Tran. The proceeding fanfiction was written long before the release of GXP and OVA 3, thus those events are not and could not have been taken into account. The editing in 2008 mostly consists of spell and grammar checks and some style changes. IF YOU ARE THE WRITER AND WANT ME TO STOP AND TAKE OFF THIS STORY PLEASE E-MAIL ME at: callaanthiena at yahoo dot com. Some notes have been removed, edited or changed.
Editor's Note:
Ten years ago, a man started a fan fiction that may well be legend among us long time fans who know of TMFFA, which is still getting back on it's feet after a year and a half of unsteady service. The story was never finished, but it is still considered a classic. Although I have strived to make this as close to Mr. Tran's original story as I can, there is some considerable editing in the first chapter, including a whole paragraph, though I do think most of the original readers will laugh and appreciate the addition. I have added the section titles to match later chapters and took out the section markers, as FF dot net does not support the characters used for them. The most notable changes here are in the first section, where many things have been changed or rephrased or things have been added in. Make no mistake: This is not the same fan fiction as it was ten years ago.
Author's notes:
What you are about to read is a Tenchi FF set in the OVA universe, but it will start 20 years in to the future. As this series progresses the story will be taken on the present day and it will also take place in other different various time periods. I won't be including Kiyone or Mayuka in this FF, sorry fans. I'm going to introduce new characters in this series, Yui, Onimaru and many others. So, without further a do, let the series begin...
Campus Idol Yui
April 24, 2018
It was another typical day for the students at Okayama High School. Everybody sat in their desks, bored and struggling to stay awake while trying to take in Sensei's stale lecture about the Tokugawa Shogunate. One such student, Yui, sat in the second of four rows, a 17-year old girl full of life. Standing at 5'7 with yellow yet human eyes, she was possessed of athletic prowess hidden within the frame of a perfect lady. Her long, soft, cyan hair was tied up in a beautiful ponytail. She stared blankly out the window, watching a beautiful day pass by, envying the birds flying around of their own free will. Lost in her thoughts and daydreams, she hated to waste beautiful days like this at school. I wish I was out there. I bet it feels nice, she thought.
"Masaki-san! Will you please face the board and pay attention!" shouted Sensei.
"Oh! Uh...Y-Yes, Sensei," she said, her face turning red. "Sorry."
Sensei sighed. "Just like your father, it clearly runs in the family."
Yui's classmates started laughing. "Class! Quiet down!" Sensei shouted again. The students immediately quieted down. The old educator calmed down a little. "Ok, now where were we? Ah yes...the Tokugawa government later took control after the war..."
I can't wait until school's over... Yui thought to herself.
Two hours later, school finally ended and Yui was at her locker trying to open it. The door was jammed. She had always had trouble opening her locker and she knew exactly why.
"Stupid locker! I hate it when this happens!" she said, struggling with the locker door. She finally forced the locker to open, and a tidal wave of love/secret admirer letters, small gifts, and even a few crushed flowers came pouring out two of the gifts hitting her squarely upon the head, earning a dirty look. Burying her knee-deep in to the pile. Yui's best friend, Misato
Matsumiya, walked by and stopped in front of Yui. "Looks like the love magnet has her hands full again," Misato joked good-naturedly.
"Oh shut up." Yui's eyes were slitted with agitation and she blew an errant strand of hair out her face.
"What are you going to do with all that? Read them- or the usual?" said the silky black-haired girl, with cheerful eyes and a warm smile.
"The usual." Yui growled at her predicament, picking up the letters, gifts, and flowers and throwing them in to a nearby trash can. As the letters fell into the trashcan Yui could hear hearts being shattered; athletes, nerds, and even a few teachers could be heard crying in the background. She blew air out and hmphed.
"Don't you have any time for love, Yui?" Misato asked.
"Nope, not interested right now." Yui began to make her way towards the main doors, dreading what else was waiting for her.
Misato watched Yui walking off, then looked down and noticed a letter on the floor that Yui dropped while putting the rest in the trash. Picking it up, she realized the letter belonged to the biggest jerk in the whole school: the Student Council president, Katsuhiko Jinnai. Misato smiled deviously, putting the letter into her book bag.
"I am going to have some real fun with this letter." Misato laughed.
After passing through the doors, the next five to ten minutes was the part of the school day that Yui hated the most. She had to try to make her way to the gate without making contact with any of the guys. Nonetheless, her hopes were usually in vain; a freckled boy with lazy eyes, and bad green teeth, walked up to her.
"Uh... hello, Yui. Can I walk you home?" he said nervously, blushing scarlet.
"No." she stated bluntly.
The boy became shattered and turned pale; he stood as still as a statue as Yui kept on walking. She was halfway towards the gate when a handsome stud of a jock walked up to her. He had perfect gleaming teeth, nicely combed hair, and a strong athletic build.
"Say pretty, you look tired," he said confidently.
"Tired how?" she asked, not looking at him.
"Tired from running around in my mind all day." He smiled, and a sparkle shined across his perfect set of teeth.
"Well, that's the lamest pick up line I've heard in a week." she said cruelly. "Why don't you go away and bench-press yourself to death?"
"B-but...b-but..." The jock all of sudden looked very small. He started to grind his teeth.
"Frogs make better sounding mating calls than that!"
"..but...but..." The jock struggled with his words. "I LOVE YOU!!" he shouted with tears streaming down his cheeks. The jock ran off wailing like a little boy.
Yui groaned in exasperation. Must I go through with this EVERY single day?
Yui finally reached her bus stop. She waited a few minutes and a bus stopped in front of her. As the doors to the bus opened, she heard a low rumbling, turned around with a blank expression of horror and saw a mob of if not all, than most of the boys in her school running, trying to catch her before she got on the bus. All were shouting for her. "YUI! WE LOVE YOU! WE WANT TO DATE YOU!"
"Uuuuugh; don't you men ever give up?!" she shouted.
Yui hurriedly stepped onto the bus, the driver perturbed to see the mob running towards it.
"Aa Kami-sama... Hurry up, get in! Why must you put me through this every day?" the driver said angrily. Yui quickly took cover on the bus.
"Floor it!!" she shouted. The driver quickly put the bus in gear and burned rubber, speeding away from the school grounds. The boys all simultaneously waved good bye, their until tomorrow, Yui-sama! still highly audible.
The bus rumbled along through the now dirt roads, going towards the country-side, things finally calming down in the coming evening. Yui looked out the window, gazing at the countryside. Yui always wondered why her father didn't want to move out to the city; it could've been more convenient for her, not having to spend so much money on bus passes. On the other hand, she started to think about the countryside's natural beauty throughout the seasons; Serene orange-red autumn days, snowy winter wonderlands, hot verdant green summer days, and of course, her favorite: springtime cherry blossoms.
Oh well, the countryside was always beautiful year round. It would be crazy to try to move somewhere else, Yui sighed.
Yui began to think about today's special occasion. Aunt Sasami, Aeka and Mihoshi are all coming back home to visit.
It was always fun having them coming by and visit, especially Aunt Sasami. Yui loved her aunt's cooking and even though Sasami was grown up, Yui always had fun being around her. Aunt Sasami always came by to visit at least 3 times a month, staying at her house for days at a time. Her aunt always had a cheerful attitude to keep things going; that was one of the reasons why Yui loved being around her. Sasami had another name she also went by...Tsunami, but she preferred to be called Sasami by her friends and family. Yui has always admired her aunt's tremendous beauty; after all, she was a goddess just like Yui's grandmother Washu. She looked so elegant with her long blue hair, pink colored eyes that always emitted a delightful aura of joy, strong cheerful laugh with healing power, and not to mention she also possessed the universe's most powerful energy!
"...and the most disturbing veiw on 'fun'..." she remembered the chaos of the Jurai Holy Council and the Galaxy Police showing up within minutes of each other, causing an embarrassing incident which took weeks to finally sort out that turned out to be nothing than an elaborate prank of one Holy Princess Sasami nee Tsunami-kami-sama.
Aeka, however, was a different story. Aeka didn't visit as much as Sasami, mainly because of her duties as the Empress of Jurai. Before her ascension to the throne 17 years ago, her great-great grandparents Azusa, Funaho, and Lady Misaki decided to retire from the throne, leaving it empty to Yosho, Aeka, and her father. Yosho obviously didn't want the throne because he still felt strongly attached to the Earth; he was very adamant about dying on Earth.
Although it would take thousands of years before he actually died...
I guess he just doesn't want to get involved with the politics, Yui thought to herself.
Her father was also considered to take the throne, but Azusa was very adamant about keeping her father away from there. The king of Jurai had a tremendous prejudice against her father, the reasoning? Who knew. What pissed her off the most was the way Azusa always looked down at him, as if he were some lowlife commoner. Yui always hated being around Azusa; to her, he was always pouting about something.
As if my father actually cared about taking the stupid throne in the first place! she thought angrily. At that time, my mother was pregnant with me!
Naturally, Aunt Aeka became the new ruler of the Jurai Empire. When Aeka's husband temporarily stepped in to rule the empire, Aeka would come by to visit about once every 3 months, staying at the house for 2 or 3 days before she had to return home to perform her duties. During those 3 days, Aeka would always teach Yui about the importance of being her own individual, maintaining respect, and teaching responsibility. To Yui, Aeka was the perfect example of being a lady. Aeka was always elegant in every aspect; although Aeka was the Empress of Jurai, she also knew how to have fun. Every time Aeka came by to visit, she would always challenge her to a singing contest on the karaoke machine. She was good at singing and always told Yui that she was a lot like her mother.
"You have a good singing voice, Yui!" her aunt always said. "Always remember that this is one of your talents and you have to keep refining your talents in order to insure a full and joyous life."
Mihoshi was also expected to visit, but Yui doubted that Mihoshi would be able to, considering the fact that she was always busy at the Galaxy Police Headquarters with her new job as Deputy Commander. Mihoshi was like a big sister to Yui, even though she was often times a little airheaded. Mihoshi was always there for Yui, especially during her times going through that certain phase called puberty. Her father was at a loss when it came to 'female' growth and development; when Sasami or Aeka weren't around, Mihoshi would be the one to take care of her, making sure that Yui would come out a strong young lady.
When neither Aeka, Mihoshi, or Sasami were around, her grandmother Washu took care of her. In all of Yui's life, Washu had been protecting her since she turned the tender age of 4. Since Yui's mother died, her mother's mother had mothered her well. It was somewhat strange that her grandmother insisted that she be called little Washu, but Yui didn't mind having a grandmother who looked a lot younger than her.
She loved Washu-chan dearly and that was that. Whenever Yui asked a question, Washu was always straightforward with an answer. She never avoided a question. Washu always said that Yui was very much like Ryoko, full of spirit and always strong-willed. The only questions that Washu didn't answer concerned how her mother died... and that bothered her. Every time Yui asked, Washu simply replied by telling her that her father would answer that question in due time; what was even more disturbing was the fact that she couldn't recall hardly any memories from her childhood, missing memories from ages 4 to 5; she could only remember bits and pieces.
Yui looked at her watch and sank into the bus seat. It won't be another 10 minutes until I reach home. She closed her eyes, relaxing her mind and trying to regain one of her early childhood memories.
In her mind, it was pitch black, but the only thing that kept it from being lonely were voices and sounds from her early past. Gradually, the pitch darkness lifted away and she found herself in the fields of the countryside near her house. Little Yui had mid-length hair; there was a lot of tall grass around her and she was looking at a pink flower with a little yellow butterfly on it. Behind her a woman stood, wearing a pink dress that only a mother could wear, her spiky hair tied back and yellow gentle eyes watching over her like a guardian angel.
"What do you think it is, Yui?" asked the soothing voice of her mother, Ryoko.
"Mm...Bu-fly?"
"That's right Yui! But it's called, But-ter-fly." She kneeled down next to Yui, holding her child close to herself and pointing things out.
"But-ter-fly?"
"Yes, butterfly," Ryoko said warmly. "Just like you, a butterfly. Always beautiful and always flying."
"Oh, Mommy!" Yui blushed and giggled, hugging her kneeling mother.
"Mommy will always be with you." She hugged Yui and laughed a healthy laugh.
Then the memory faded away and Yui found herself back on the bus. Wish you were here, Mom. Yui looked down and gave out a small sad sigh.
The bus finally reached Yui's stop. She left with a wry if thoughtful expression on her face, hating the commute between home and school. The commute always takes too damn long! she thought to herself, making her way up through the hill.
After a minute or so of walking, a thought struck her; she realized that tomorrow would mark the thirteenth year since her mother's death. She decided to pick up several yellow flowers along her path; after picking up enough yellow flowers, she made her way towards the gravestone. The gravestone was located near the shore of the lake, behind her house.
Ryoko Hakubai Masaki
Died 25 April, 2005
Yui put the bundle of flowers in front of the gravestone and kneeled. She clapped her hands together twice in quick succession and then put her hands together, praying for her mother's spiritual well-being. After a minute of silent prayer, she stopped and tried not to shed a tear.
It has been 13 years since you left, Mother. I hope you like the flowers I picked for you. These flowers were our favorite; she thought to herself. She wiped a tear from her eye and headed back home.
Her Mother's Daughter
She went through the doorway and pulled off her shoes, a hand on the wall. "I'm home!" she called out, standing straight. The house was quiet.
"Miiiiiyaaa!" Ryo-ohki cried out running down the stairs.
"Hello, Ryo-ohki!" Yui said joyfully, letting Ryo-ohki jump on to her shoulder to nestle her cheek. Yui smiled. "And how are you doing today?"
"Miya! Miya!" the cabbit answered back.
Ryo-ohki was usually a cabbit half the time; the other half she would spend in humanoid form. As a humanoid Ryo-ohki would help Yui with chores around the house; being helpful was in Ryo-ohki's nature, not to mention her overactive playfulness. Ryo-ohki and Yui were the perfect pair when it came to playing games. Usually they played 'chase the cabbit', where Yui and Ryo-ohki would play a game of tag with Ryo-ohki in cabbit form. Whenever the cabbit was in humanoid form, they would dance, play video games, or dress up. Every so often, though, Yui would get the opportunity to pilot Ryo-ohki the spaceship. The fact that Washu insisted on watching her every time she did this was a pain, but a minor one at that. Yui could remember the first time she took Ryo-ohki out for a spin like it was just yesterday, and Washu's compliments about how well she could handle the starship.
"I wonder what time it is?" Yui looked over to the wall clock. It read 4:30pm. That's odd. Where is everybody? Shouldn't they be here by now?
"Oh Yui!" a voice shouted out from the kitchen. It was her grandfather Nobuyuki.
"Yes, grandfather?" She walked into the kitchen to find him cooking up some food. Nobuyuki had already developed a set of gray hair, but still had that thin mustache. She loved being around her adorable grandfather - even though he was a little nosy at times. Her father, Tenchi, told her that he was much worse when he was young, always getting a camera at a moment's notice hoping to catch her father in some sexual situation. Fortunately for Yui, Nobuyuki had toned down a lot... or at least had gotten better at not getting caught.
"Ah Yui! How's my favorite granddaughter doing today?" he said cheerfully.
"I'm doing fine grandpa." Yui stepped towards the fridge and opened the door, retrieving a bowl of carrots for Ryo-ohki.
"And how's school?" he asked. Yui sat down on a stool at the counter, watching Nobuyuki cook.
"Oh the usual, still head of class and all. Where's Washu?" Yui asked, looking around.
"Oh she's in the lab, doing her usual research," Nobuyuki replied.
"Oh. I see..." Yui said. Throughout most of Yui's life, whenever Washu wasn't taking care of her, she would spend most of the daytime in her laboratory. Yui had never stepped foot in to that dimensional lab, mainly because Washu forbid it. Once in a while, Yui would try to break in to the lab herself but instead of finding the dimensional lab, she would open the door under the stairs and find a closet instead. Just what was it that Washu was hiding from her?
"Miya! Miya!" Ryo-ohki jumped off her shoulders and onto the counter to eat the carrots.
"So... have you been talking to any boys lately?" Nobuyuki asked deviously. "Your father tells me that you get thousands and thousands of secret admirer letters every day."
"Oh grandpa!" She said embarrassingly.
"Oh what's there to be shy about? All I want to know is how well my granddaughter is doing in her sexu -- ah, life development."
Yui pretended to not hear Nobuyuki's last remark. "Well, you know how they are these days."
"No, how are they?"
"You know...immature and always wanting some weird commitment. The main reason why they want to know me is that they want to get laid."
"Oh, I see. That's understandable," he said, cutting up some vegetables then putting them in a frying pan.
"So, grandpa..." began Yui, deciding to change the subject.
"Yes, Yui?" he asked.
"How was your day at the office?"
"Oh, you know. Those young architects I just hired were really talented; I'm having a hard time trying to decide which one of their blueprints to approve for the contractors."
"Oh really?"
"Yeah... and I had to fire an employee today, as well."
"Oh really? Did you finally fire that lazy bum you were talking about for the past 2 weeks?"
"Yeah, I finally fired that idiot, Kaji. He was really wasting my company's time," he said with satisfaction. "That'll teach him a lesson about eating up the Masaki Firm's finances!"
"Isn't it great to be your own boss?" she said with a smile.
"Yes indeed!" he exclaimed, while stir-frying some noodles in the frying pan.
Yui looked around and frowns a little. "Have my aunts arrived yet?" she asked.
"Oh! Forgive me!" he said loudly, "I've been meaning to tell you."
"Tell me what?"
"They won't be coming until tomorrow, Saturday."
"What? Why?" She was clearly disappointed.
"A formal meeting came up on the planet Jurai and it required presence of both Aeka and Sasami."
"Gee, I hope it's nothing serious..."
"Nah, it's just one of those budget meetings." He said, adding some soy sauce to the noodles.
"Oh... well that's good." Yui was relieved.
Then her great grandfather Yosho walked in to the kitchen. Throughout Yui's life Yosho always looked old - but oddly enough hadn't aged a bit either, having the same appearance for most of her (relatively short) life.
"I see that you've arrived home, Yui." He sat down at the table across from her. "How's your day?"
"Just another fine and beautiful day wasted at school," Yui replied, getting up to fetch the teapot for Yosho.
"I see; very interesting." Yosho smiled. "Don't worry, Yui. You'll be spending the rest of what's left of daylight outside."
"What do you mean by that, grandpa Yosho?" She asked, getting a teacup from a cabinet.
"Your father has graciously asked me to call for you." He watched Yui set the teapot and teacup in front of him.
"Call for me?" she said quizzically. "Call for me for what?" She poured a cup of tea for Yosho.
"For practice. He decided that he wanted to practice with you." Yosho sipped his tea.
"What?! Now?!" Yui asked and Yosho nodded. "But I'm so beat!"
"He's waiting for you at the training ground. He's expecting you over there by 5 o'clock."
"What?! That only gives me 10 minutes to get ready and run up there!"
"Then I guess you'd better hurry then." he said, sipping his tea.
"Great! I hate it when he does things like this!" Yui stormed out of the kitchen at lightning speed to her room upstairs.
Nobuyuki watched in amazement at how swiftly Yui flew out of the kitchen. He walked over to the table where Yosho was sitting and served him a plate of noodles.
"Goodness! She's fast! I can barely see her run!" Nobuyuki said in awe.
"Indeed." Yosho picked up his chopsticks and set the plate of noodles in front of him. "Very much like her mother."
Meanwhile, out in the training ground, Tenchi sat on a large, smooth boulder patiently waiting for Yui to come out for practice. With the bokken resting on his right shoulder, he watched the cherry blossoms bloom, noting its resemblance to pink snow falling to the ground. He grinned, never tired of the countryside's natural beauty. Tenchi was in his mid-thirties; though he looked 21, he still had the same short spiky hairdo. Basically he hadn't changed much in years due to the root of his ability to form Light Hawk Wings at will and his connection to the Royal Trees through the Tenchi-ken.
Nowadays, he'd taken over his grandfather's duties as a Shinto shrine priest, going by a modest salary. He wasn't worried about paying off the bills because of his father's architectural firm; it was bringing in more than enough money to last another 80 years and then some. Life was good.
"I wonder what's taking her so long?" Tenchi said, looking at his watch. It read 4:59 p.m.; if she didn't make it in time, he was going to have to double her chores, just as he had promised. He stood up from the boulder and stretched.
"DAMMIT DAD! I HATE IT WHEN YOU DO THIS TO ME!" Yui yelled out. She appeared in front of Tenchi in a blurry flash, wearing her practice outfit and holding her bokken in her right hand with a rather nasty looking scowl.
"Jeez! Don't do that! You almost gave me a heart attack!" Tenchi said, trying to regain his composure. Uh oh, she's pissed at me. Better give her THE SMILE, he thought and he smiled. "Yui! I knew you would make it in time!"
"I know it's important to practice and all, but you just gotta give me more notice!" Yui noticed her dad's smile and began to calm down. There was just that thing about him every time he smiled.
How does he do that? Yui found herself completely depleted of anger.
"As much as I want to, Yui. I couldn't," he said. "But this is the only way I can train you to expect the unexpected." Admiring his daughter's honesty, it reminded him of all his time spent with Ryoko nearly 14 years ago. Yui acted so much like her mother that it was one of the driving forces that kept him alive and happy.
"Yes, I know," she said, beginning to smile.
"Besides, the bright side to this is the fact that you don't have to do any chores today!" Tenchi put his hand on her shoulder.
"I... guess." Even though I'll do them later on, anyways, she thought to herself.
"Shall we begin our practice?"
"Hai!" she said.
"Ok, then. We'll start with a normal exercise and after that we'll spar. We're just having a short practice today."
"Ok. Which exercise are we going to do?"
"I'm going to test your speed and reflexes. I'll test them by throwing this pebble at you." He held up a small pebble. "This is how your grandfather Yosho taught me how to keen my senses and reflexes."
"Ok. How are we going to begin?" she asked.
"We'll try it stationary, then we'll go on from there. I want to see how much you've learned so far."
As far as Yui could remember, she had been practicing sword fighting for most of her life since she was 6. As she practiced with her father throughout her life, she gradually discovered her hidden abilities, abilities that most normal humans would never be able to do: being able to levitate herself from one foot to 20 feet off the ground; moving at speeds faster than a sprinting cheetah; literally flying; being three times stronger than the world's strongest weightlifter; and quick reflexes that rivaled that of a cat. Most of her abilities were inherited from her mother.
Yui placed herself in her Jurian battle-ready stance.
"Ok...ready?" Tenchi asked. Holding up the pebble, he prepared to throw it at her.
She nodded yes.
"Here it comes!" he yelled, immediately throwing the pebble. The rock sped its way towards Yui, who deflected it easily.
"How's that?" she said confidently.
"Very good," he said. "Not bad for your first time, but can you handle three?"
He suddenly threw 3 more rocks at her, each successfully deflected off Yui's bokken.
"Excellent, Yui! Now let's move it up a level."
"Alright." She began to float 5 feet off the ground, grasping her bokken in both hands.
"Ok, now start flying around me, and at the same time try to deflect these rocks as they come to you."
She began to fly around him in a wide circle, exceeding speeds of 25 MPH.
"Ok, I'm ready!" she said in mid-flight.
"Here they come!" He threw 2 rocks at her, each successfully deflected. Yui smiled, obviously pleased with her progress.
"Don't think I'm done yet, Yui." Tenchi grinned and instantly threw a volley of rocks at her.
Yui saw the barrage of rocks flying at her, noting that it resembled a swarm of bees. WHOA! DAMN! She quickly dodged a good number of rocks and proceeded to deflect the rest. As soon as she'd batted away the last rock, a second barrage came flying at her. Focusing her attention on each rock, she started to swing her bokken, knocking the rocks away. She was becoming pleased with her abilities. She felt a surge of adrenaline coursing through her body. These were the feelings she lived for, the rush and the exhilaration!
Tenchi was amazed to see his daughter doing very well. He got many feelings of satisfaction, watching the way she skillfully deflected his barrage of rocks. Watching her bokken cut through the air, swiftly and surely, he realized that he was running out of pebbles to throw at her, so he decided to do the next best thing. Without warning, he charged at her with his bokken, ready to do battle.
As soon as she'd stopped the last rock from the last wave, Yui realized that the barrage had stopped and quickly spotted her father running straight towards her. She immediately blocked his bokken before it could even touch her. They were bokken-to-bokken to each other, struggling at each other's strength and trying to maintain their balance.
"So dad, I see that you have ran out of rocks to throw at me," Yui said with a grin. She jumped back away from him and went on the defensive.
"Not really... I was tired of watching you play with rocks, so I decided to go straight to the spar," Tenchi said. He lunged at her and she blocked him with her bokken.
She's very quick. If she keeps this up, she'll be able to beat me and possibly even grandpa, Tenchi thought to himself. Tenchi was finding it harder to break through her defenses; she was quick enough that he had to try to find a way to outsmart her.
Yui was pleased by her ability to block her father's attacks, but he was still quite strong and just as fast as she was. She tried not to think ahead of herself.
"You're becoming more and more like your mother, Yui. Strong and quick,"said Tenchi as he threw blows and swings at Yui. Although Tenchi had never really practiced sword fighting with Ryoko, there was that one time...
"Thanks, it runs in the family," she replied, blocking and deflecting her father's attacks.
She found herself bokken-to-bokken again with her father. Trying to maintain her stand against her father's strength, she was surprised at how strong her father was. He's pretty strong for a man of his frame, she thought.
Tenchi was feeling the same way about his daughter. She was definitely strong, he thought, barely able to hold up against her. If she were as strong as her mother, his bokken would have splintered by now.
Through the rush of the sparring, Yui was struggling against her father's bokken, then she suddenly felt a surge of energy coursing through her body, pulsating up into her left arm. This was something new, a sensation that she had no memory of. She felt the energy coursing through the veins of her left arm, gradually focusing on to one point, her palm, despite the fact she still held a tight grip on her bokken.
"Uhh...Dad! Something's happening to my left arm!" she said nervously to her father, pulling away from him to end the spar.
"What?" Tenchi noticed his daughter's sudden withdrawal and stepped back.
"What's wrong, Yui?"
"I don't know," Yui replied. She dropped her bokken and looked at her left palm to the point where the energy was concentrating. With no warning, an energy ball materialized on her left palm. Yui was awestruck. "Dad, what's going on? What is this thing doing on my palm!?"
"I'm not sure." He came in for a closer look. "Yui, don't do a thing. Let me see what it is..."
He held up her left arm and gazed at the wad of energy. He carefully examined the ball; then with a pop, it disappeared.
"What do you think it was, dad?" asked Yui.
"I'm not sure but I do have an idea," he said, thinking hard. That energy ball resembled an energy discharge, he thought. Is Yui finally regaining her powers?
"Dad? What are you thinking about?" Yui asked again.
"Yui, could you by any chance try to recreate that energy ball?" Tenchi asked.
"I'm not sure, but I'll try," Yui said. Then with so much as a tiny thought, the energy ball rematerialized. That time it came as a nervous impulse.
Tenchi looked at the energy ball again and smiled. "Ah! Looks like Yui finally developed her very own energy discharge!" rang the voice of Washu, who was walking towards Tenchi and Yui. Ryo-ohki followed Washu as well in her humanoid form. Ryo-ohki was carrying a tray holding 2 cups and a pitcher of water. Ryo-ohki sat down on the boulder and set the tray down next to Washu.
"Good afternoon, Washu!" Tenchi greeted.
"Hello, Tenchi." Washu looked at the energy ball, studying it intensely. "OK, Yui, I'm going to teach you your first lesson about using an energy discharge."
"Um...ok," she said.
"Tenchi, why don't you go over there and sit with Ryo-ohki? You're done with your lessons with her for today," said Washu.
"Sure, ok. Since you're the only person qualified enough to teach her," he said with a smile. Washu's out of her lab, she finally decided to step out, Tenchi thought. He hadn't stepped into the lab for the past 13 years. Ever since the death of Ryoko, Washu had been in that lab almost every time she had free time. She's hiding something... but he figured that he'd find out eventually.
Tenchi sat down next to Ryo-ohki, who proceeded to pour him a cup of water. "Thank you Ryo-ohki!"
"Miya!" said the smiling humanoid. She turned her attention to Washu and Yui.
Tenchi watched Yui and Washu intensely; this was bringing back happy memories and buried memories. It's almost time to reveal to Yui her concealed memories, he thought with some worry.
"Okay, Yui! Now that you have the energy discharge on your palm, try throwing it like a baseball." Washu looked for and found a suitable target, pointing at a nearby rock. "Throw it in that direction."
"Ok...like this?" Yui hurled the blue discharge at the rock. BOOM!
"Just like your mother, Yui," Washu said proudly.
"Wow! That is cool!" Yui's eyes were bulging out of their sockets. "I'm doing that again!" She threw out another energy discharge, this time aiming it at the lake. A huge pillar of water exploded into the sky.
Washu clearly saw that Yui was already aware that she had inherited her mother's abilities, but how far was her potential? Now that she had finally regained most of her powers - and some new ones - Washu felt the inevitability of having to break the news of Yui's past to her.
"Alright Yui! Next and finally, I'm going to teach you how to materialize your own energy sword."
"You mean... like my mother's?"
"Yes, like your mother's."
Yui brought out another energy discharge out of her hand before Washu could say a word.
"I'm ready, Washu!"
"All you have to do to bring out your sword is close your hand on the discharge," instructed Washu.
"You mean like this?" Yui closed her hand on the energy discharge and a blue energy sword forming from the compression. "Wow! Just like a light saber straight out of Star Wars!"
"Star -- what?" Washu asked.
"Never mind," Yui said, remembering that Washu didn't really watch American movies that much - if at all.
"Now that you have your very own sword, why don't you test it? See how it works!"
"Ok!" Yui said excitedly. She ran over to a nearby tree and swung at it. Before she could take another swing, the trunk sliced into two, sliding off and falling on the ground.
Tenchi and Ryo-ohki both clapped their hands, impressed. Tenchi used it as a distraction to give a quick glance to Washu. Washu picked up on the eye contact.
"Ok, Yui. Time to call it quits," Washu said, smiling.
"What? You mean I'm done already?" Yui asked. Washu nodded. "That's all? Isn't there more to learn??" Yui asked, hoping for more surprises.
"Nope, you have graduated. You've learned all that you needed to learn. The only thing that's left is..."
"Is what?" Yui asked excitedly.
"...is to practice and master those abilities."
Yui was disappointed. "...Alright." She walked over to Ryo-ohki and her father, Ryo-ohki pouring a drink for Yui. "Thank you, Ryo-ohki."
"You'd better head back to the house with Ryo-ohki, Yui," Tenchi directed.
"I need to speak with Washu alone."
"Yes, I understand." She picked up her bokken and left with the cabbit. Tenchi waited until Yui and Ryo-ohki were out of earshot, then turned to Washu.
Washu was standing there, thinking to herself. "Well, she finally regained all her powers -- and some new ones," he said. "What do you think will happen next?"
"Tomorrow I will be permitting you and the others in to the lab," said Washu.
"Your lab?" he said curiously, not expecting this turn of events. "You're finally giving us access to your lab?"
"Yes." She then silently walked off.
Man, what's with her anyways? Tenchi thought, trying to figure out why Washu had been acting so reclusive for the past 2 weeks. Oh well, I'm going to go find out tomorrow, if not sooner or later...
It was late in the evening, almost everybody curled up in bed. The exception was Washu, typing intently on her keyboard in her dimensional laboratory, monitoring the progress of the operation in front of her. There was a gigantic cylinder casing standing in the center, with all manner of monitors and computers connected to it. Though the cylinder itself was made of glass, a large black shroud hung over it, concealing what was inside.
For the past 13 years, Washu had struggled and despaired in trying to stop the deterioration of the specimen within. Up until 2 weeks ago, she had found no concrete way to stop the rapid degeneration -- but now, there was one. Only time stood in the way of the complete regeneration of the contents within, a process which she monitored closely. And after the process was complete, there was still one thing left to do. Ryo-ohki was the only one aware of the process; on Washu's mind was how everyone else was going to react to the revelation.
She shot a glance at the regeneration monitor. Tears began to well up in her eyes. Finally, after all these years...
The monitor read:
Regeneration at 85. Estimated time of full regeneration: 48 hours.
Yui laid back on her bed in her father's former room, looking up through the skylight, watching the stars glimmer and twinkle. The clock right next to her read 1:30am. She couldn't sleep; not after all that excitement she'd been through today, she couldn't! Now that she'd learned most of her father's sword techniques and gained most of her mother's abilities, she thought about the only abilities she hadn't gained from her mother yet: teleportation and passing through walls; but she knew she would gain them eventually, and when she did...
I'm going to be the world's greatest fighter! Yui smiled. She closed her eyes and her mind wandered off into dreams...
In the second master bedroom, Tenchi slept soundly in his king-size bed. The second bedroom had been added to the house after his wedding with Ryoko; it was built as a wedding present from his father. The bed was also from his father too, meant for two. Unfortunately, the bed hadn't been shared by anyone else in 13 years. Tenchi missed being close to his late wife. He missed her warmth, her touch, and the feeling of being whole. Now for 14 years, he slept... alone.
In his dresser, the Tenchi-ken's hilt containing the 3 gems that once belonged to Ryoko was reacting to a familiar energy source. The gems were giving out a faint glow...
Ending Song:
The Lonely Moon
(English Vers.)
I am lonely like the moon
You are faraway as the earth
Now you say I light your thoughts
Night After night
Soon you forget
We are drifting in this dance
I can feel you circle my thoughts
Keeping such a graceful distance
So close but somehow apart
Sometimes I cry for you
Knowing you don't want me to
Sometimes I whisper to the stars up in the sky
That I want to find the way to your soul
Kiss in the sun when morning comes you don't seem to count the hours
When we are not together
I've seen a tender fire in your eyes
Yet when I'm gone you carry on
I float in this emptiness
Till at last love returns
With the night and the lonely moon
Author's second note:
I would like to give special thanks to Navaash, Random and Lord Talon. Who were gracious enough to give some of their time and energy to help me edit this FF.
Editor's Note:
I would like to thank firstly the AFC, for giving many Tenchi fans a sort of home on the net that has kept active in the face of many challenges including myself. I would also like to thank Long T. Tran where ever he may be and Gensao for hosting the original of this fanfiction for many years. I would lastly like to thank the good folks who bring the net the Wayback Machine, without which, this presentation would not have been possible.
Next: Nightmare, Memory and Revelation
What kind of secret has been hidden from Yui-and Tenchi-for all these years?