A PIRATES LIFE FOR ME?...
Author: Daferge
Disclaimer: Tenchi Muyo! is copyright AIC/Pioneer Ltd.
All respective characters are property of their original owners. All original characters and ideas are property of the author.
Chapter 01...
YO HO (A PIRATE'S LIFE FOR ME)
Lyrics by Xavier Atencio and music by George Bruns From Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies and theme ride...( the title and story came 1st. the lyrics just seem to follow )...
"Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me.
We pillage, we plunder, we rifle, and loot,
Drink up, me 'earties, yo ho.
We kidnap and ravage and don't give a hoot,
Drink up me 'earties, yo ho. "
"Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me.
We kindle and char, inflame and ignite,
Drink up, me 'earties, yo ho.
We burn up the city, we're really a fright,
Drink up, me 'earties, yo ho."
"We're rascals, scoundrels, villains, and knaves,
Drink up, me 'earties, yo ho.
We're devils and black sheep, really bad eggs,
Drink up, me 'earties, yo ho."
"Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me.
We're beggars and blighters, ne'er-do-well cads,
Drink up, me 'earties, yo ho.
Aye, but we're loved by our mommies and dads,
Drink up, me 'earties, yo ho."
- - - - - - - -
In the vast emptiness of space, a small greenish-blue planet orbits a small yellow sun... The highest order of life on the planet calls itself 'humans' and consider themselves the 'center of the universe'... They would be startled to find just how far down the universe's 'food chain' they REALLY were...
To the inhabitants it's 'Terra' or 'earth' ( of the star 'Sol' ), to every other living thing in the universe (who's interested, that is), it's 'colony 0315'... A long lost colony of the vast mighty Jurain Empire... Protected by 'Galactic Law' ( as a low-tech, pre-spaceflight world or backwater 'dust-ball' of little interest ) and far out on the edge of the "Civilized Galaxy", it's been left to it's self ( a 'wild-life' preserve )...
HOWEVER...
Recent events ( the discovery of the whereabouts of a Long lost member of the Jurain Royal family and a long sought after Space Pirate ) had focused very important eye on this world... Namely the Jurain Royal Family and the Galaxy Police ( who's job it is to 'patrol' interstellar space and keep the peace between Civilized worlds or those that claim to be Civilized... )...
After a short disruptive period, things had finally quieted down and return to normal... Or as 'normal' as could be...
However the Cosmos rarely keep it's 'troubles' to it's self...
And so...
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On a hillside overlooking the Prefecture of Okayama (Japan) landscape...
Katsuhito, priest of the local Shinto temple, ( also known as Lord Yosho, Crown prince of Jurai ) stood at the family plot... Before him were the headstones for his beloved wife and their only daughter...
Beside them was a new stone that read...
"Masaki Tenchi, Beloved Son and Grandson"
His son-in-law, Nobuyuki, Tenchi's father, was doing some special contract work for the government and wouldn't be back for another 3-4 weeks... Being out of 'contact' was probably for the best, thou Katsuhito dreaded explaining to him why the house was empty...
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It STARTED a week before when Mihoshi had let drop that Pirate activity had reached an all new high... The GP and Juraian forces were hard pressed and she might be reassigned, as might the small Juraian task force which had quietly patrolled this near empty sector of space... In fact, the only things of value in this sector ( officially ) were the two princesses staying on terra...
Ayeka knew that her father ( Azusa, Emperor of Jurai ) would insist that she and her sister Sasami return home, AT ONCE... Using their safety as an excuse to force them 'home'... Ayeka had been trying, but couldn't come up with a good enough excuse that could counter her father's command...
To say she was upset would be an understatement... However the last 'straw' had been when Ryoko popped in to Lunch and started her usual teasing of Tenchi...
Ayeka exploded, in a totally un-princess-like manner, grabbing Ryoko by the hair and tossing her across the room... ...
Caught off guard, Ryoko was stunned and just sat there as months of penned up emotion just erupted... Ayeka proceeded to accused Ryoko of everything from snoring in her sleep to mass-murder as a PIRATE...
When she finished, both were shaking violently... Ayeka out of breath and Ryoko in tears... Everyone else was frozen in shock, staring at Ayeka...
Her eyes clouded by tears, Ryoko had phased backwards through the wall...
The rage gone, Ayeka's hands covered her mouth as she'd turned to the rest of the family, staring at her... She saw the hurt and sadness in Tenchi's eyes...
Tears flowing from her eyes, she turned and ran upstairs...
There'd been a long period of silence as everyone looked at each other...
"Miiyyyyaaaa!"
Everyone rushed to the window, in time to see Ryo-Ohki hovering over the lake, reluctantly start to rise and slowly vanish into the night sky...
Tenchi went to his room without a word...
Sasami found Ayeka already in her futon... Sasami could hear her sobbing... Moving her futon close to her sister, she'd lay down in the dark and put her arm over Ayeka and hugged her... Sometime later, Ayeka had stopped sobbing and fell asleep, Sasami soon followed...
Early the next morning, Ayeka's worst fears came true... A small Jurai craft hovered over the lake with instructions to 'retrieve' both princesses and escort them back to Jurai ( a small task force awaited in orbit )... It was a 'Royal Command' and not to be questioned...
Ayeka said goodbye to Mihoshi, Washu and Katsuhito, Tenchi had already left for school... Hugging her brother, Ayeka asked that they someday forgive her... Katsuhito smiled "Family always forgives family"...
Ayeka looked over at Washu, who smiled and nodded her head...
Standing together, hand in hand, Ayeka and Sasami were beamed away...
Later that night Tenchi was upset when he got home to find the girls gone, their escort wouldn't let them wait for his return... Mihoshi got orders to report to headquarters the next day... She got a hug from Tenchi before beaming up and leaving with tears in her eyes, promising to keep in touch...
After several days of Tenchi 'moping' around the house, Washu announced she'd built a small craft that could get her and Tenchi to Juria to see the girls and 'clear the air'... Grabbing a few things, she and Tenchi had taken off...
--------------------
The craft returned several days later, badly damaged... "A pirate attack"... When Katsuhito approached, he found only Washu... Shaking, she handed him a small box of ashes with the sword Tenchi on it... Bowing, Katsuhito caught Washu as she passed out...
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The next day, as he went to check up on her, Katsuhito discovered that the utility closet downstairs was once again a utility closet... Washu too was gone...
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Looking down at the headstones Katsuhito clapped his hands together and said a short prayer... For the living as well as the dead...
As he walked back to the shrine, he smiled and shook his head...
"Washu!"...
to be continued...