The Black Box

Story Description

Washu's long lost lover, Vincent Hawke, was pursued by the Science Academy for a certain creation of his. Now that the danger is past and being the greatest scientist there ever was, Washu probes him for the answers and finds that to uncover one mystery is going to take a lot of heart.

Disclaimer: I do not own Tenchi Muyo or any of its characters whatsoever, except for my own characters of the Hawke family

Author's Note: I never fully went into what Dr. Hawke's creation was except that little scene where Aeon claims it has ultimate destructive power because I was hoping to produce this short fanfic. It's most likely a one-shot, but it has potential to be a bit longer than that. Enjoy!

Washu dabbed the cotton ball with alcohol and placed it near the wound, smiling warmly as Vincent squirmed in discomfort. Of course there were more advanced ways she could deal with his injuries, but she felt like reminiscing and fixing him up as she had done way back when at the Science Academy—his labs were usually borderline catastrophic.

"Oh come on Vincent, you've dealt with more pain than this before." Her voice was soothing as she continued to patch him up.

"Pain is still pain, no matter how small, but you're right this is nothing compared to what it felt like when you were gone." He grabbed her hand, and forced her to look straight at him.

He searched her face for a sign to go further but found none. She had been avoiding him as of late; tending to him, but never letting him in. He had missed her, ached for her in his heart, and here she was as detached as ever.

"Vincent…" she began to feel the acute pain that always came when she thought of him and how she had been forcefully taken away. She brushed him off and rose to stand. "What is the Black Box?" She rushed to change the subject.

"Huh?" It took him a moment to register what she was talking about.

Washu sighed and pulled out the invention that had caused him to be imprisoned by the Science Academy.

"Oh that!" Vincent laughed nervously and scratched his head. "Well you see…" His eyes shifted away from her curious stare.

"Aeon mentioned it could split the fabric of time and change everything as we know it." Washu glared as he intentionally avoided her.

"Aeon just didn't know any better, though he's probably right."

"What's that supposed to mean?" She rose her voice as she shook the black box at his face. "How could you be so irresponsible as to create something like this?"

"It's not like I went for galactic domination…not like somebody I know." He smiled as a blushing Washu retreated.

She never could get him angry and that infuriated her to some degree. She had been trying for weeks to solve the mysteries of the black box, but nothing had been achieved. She growled in frustration as she paced her lab floors, holding the small black box within her hand. Knowing Vincent, this black box probably did nothing, but then why would the Science Academy lock him up and almost kill his son?

"What is this thing?" She poked at it and nothing happened. She sighed and collapsed on her chair.

"Hey now, it's nothing to be sad about." Two hands began to give her a back massage.

"Vincent what are you doing?" Washu hurriedly got up and supported the man before he collapsed. "You're not fully recovered!"

"Who cares, let's go for a walk." He grinned as Washu supported him with her arm wrapped around his back. "It'll do me a world of good to see the natural vegetation of this planet."

She smiled and nodded—Vincent had always loved plants.

"Fine, but if you die it will be completely your fault." She chided as she drew up a door that would lead to the outside.

"I trust you." He pulled her closer as they began to walk.

She opened the door and they walked out to be greeted by a wave of fresh autumn air; by this time the leaves were turning various hues of red, orange and yellow.

"This planet is beautiful." Vincent spoke calmly as he took in the scenery. "I can see why you stayed here."

"That and Ryoko wouldn't leave Tenchi; neither would I for that matter."

"Oh really? You're into young men now, is that it?" He grinned once more as they continued their walk.

"And what if I am?" She shot back at him.

"You know I just might die out here if you keep wounding me so." They both chuckled as they ventured further into the foliage.

They stopped at a small clearing surrounded by many trees and a small trickle of a stream crossed through. Vincent took a deep breath of air and cherished the natural musk of nature; for being a scientist it was very strange that he did not enjoy the smell of nice, clean labs.

"So I hear my son has succeeded in capturing Ryoko's heart."

"It's true, he achieved the impossible." Washu smiled as she remembered how at peace her daughter had been once she received her memories. "She visits him daily, but it'll be some time before he wakes up."

"He'll be ok, right?" Vincent, for the first time, sounded serious as he peered at Washu. It was his fault that his son had been injured.

"Well, his body went through extensive damage. The shock of such an injury, of such pain may cause him to suppress his memories."

"Of course you could fix that."

"I could try, naturally suppressed memories are a bit tricky, but let's just hope that isn't the case."

They sat there in silence as another autumn wind passed by. Washu shivered slightly and soon after felt Vincent pull her closer to him. He was by all means a human furnace, so Washu had no problems with cuddling.

"Hey Washu, do you still feel the same?" He looked up at the orange sky, the sun was going down.

"About?" She was afraid to answer the obvious.

"I'm pretty sure the greatest genius of this universe could hypothesize what I'm talking about," he turned to look at her.

"I suppose you're right…it's just been so long." She rested her head on his shoulder. "Of course I do; I've always felt strongly for you." She emitted a deep sigh, finally relinquishing her regret and fear.

"That's all I needed to know." He slowly broke their embrace and winced as he repositioned himself.

For a moment Washu thought the worst and expected him to walk away from her, but he grinned at her and said, "May I have that black box you've been carrying around?"

"Is that all you want?" Washu's brows furrowed in anger as she felt played and her emotions tinkered with.

"In a sense, yes it is." He placed his hand out towards her, awaiting the return of his black box.

"Here take it!" She summoned it from sub space and threw it straight at his face.

"Ouch!" He grabbed his face as the cube bounced off. "Wait, Washu!" He reached out for her as she began to run away.

Washu ran in no particular direction as she fought back the tears. Inside she felt betrayed and fooled; she should have known that Vincent wouldn't be the same after centuries of time apart. He had never had something that the Science Academy was particularly ecstatic about, so this black box probably meant a lot to him—more than Washu meant to him anyways. She had been wary of returning the device, since the Academy had shown such a violent interest in it. She felt her chest tighten as her lungs ran out of air to supply her vigorous escape and her legs wobbled from the unexpected exercise.

"I hope he leaves." She muttered as she caught her breath by leaning on a tree. "I don't need him anymore…" she slid to the floor, wrapped her arms around her legs and burrowed her head.

Vincent picked up the black box and looked around for Washu. Why had she run from him? He sighed; women were still the greatest mystery in the world. He was about to do what he had never dared to do before, but centuries of feeling loss had taught him to be brave. He ran in the same direction she had and looked every which way but she could not be found. He worried as the sun set, but he knew that Washu could very well defend herself if need be. He kept up his search and only stopped once as he witnessed several lightning bugs floating about.

"How hard can it be to find a pink-haired woman!" He shouted in exhaustion as a slumped beside a tree for rest.

He got up and was about to run in the opposite direction when he caught the sight of pink in the darkness. He walked behind the tree he had been resting against and low and behold he found a sleeping Washu. Vincent smiled lovingly as he knelt in front of her.

"Hey, Washu…" He whispered in her ear. "Wake up, I want to ask you something."

Washu groaned as she woke up from her unwanted nap. Her eyes opened slowly as she took in the blurred image of Vincent. Immediately she rose her hand to smack the man who had crushed her hopes, but couldn't bring herself to do it as he radiantly smiled at her.

"What do you want? You already have your black box." Washu wouldn't look at him but watched him out of the corner of her eye, squirming at the proximity of Vincent.

"You're right I do have the black box but it's worthless without you." He pulled it out of his pocket.

"I'm not going to help you optimize it." She muttered as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"It can't be optimized without you." He whispered in her ear again, "because it's for you."

"For me?" Washu blinked as her mind tried to make sense of what he was trying to say.

"Washu, will you marry me?" He presented her the black box and gave a carefree grin.

She looked stupidly at the box and almost forgot to breath, until at last unexpected happiness overwhelmed her and she tackled Vincent with a hug.

"Yes!" She let her tears of joy lightly spill as she squeezed the life out of her husband-to-be.

As soon as the words left her lips, the box split in half and a light from within spilled out. Washu watched in awe as it revealed a ring within. She took the ring out and marveled at the shiny green color, though it was a bit not to her taste, she loved how it sparkled.

"It's made out of a crystalline plant, one of the few that exist. In the middle is an emerald stone, the same color as your eyes." He stroked her cheek gently as he yearned to kiss her.

"Wait a second…" Washu's brain caught up with her emotional fantasies. "THIS is what the Science Academy was after?" She held up the ring that was placed on her ring finger.

"I didn't get it either." Vincent shrugged and pulled out a piece of paper, "but I'm guessing this has something to do with it." He handed the paper over. "It's a page from my diary."

"You would have one of those, let me see that." She took the paper from him and read it over.

"This one object has the power to either fulfill my life's dream or destroy it. The very fabric of time could be ripped by the sheer intensity of its fulfillment. Its potential lies within and with this Washu Hakubi will be mine." She finished and looked over at the smiling man. "Why didn't you explain?"

"I tried to!" He said in his defense, "but they swore it was a way to mind control you and some other nonsense; they even made an equalizer for it." He grinned at the silliness. "That and it wouldn't open until I asked 'will you marry me' and you said 'yes'—those were the two keys so that it would unlock."

"Vincent! You endangered both of our children with this!" She smacked him across the head.

"I didn't expect it to happen, and I'm extremely sorry. Everyone seems to misunderstand that I'm a simple man."

Washu should have been boiling with anger, but she began to laugh instead which caused Vincent to laugh as well.

"I suppose I'll have to live with that from now on." Washu drew closer to his lips.

"It can't be too bad." He enclosed his with hers and savored her succulent lips.

The couple spent the rest of their time on that fresh, autumn night, remembering what they had lost, and renewing what they always had.