Darkness Falls
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Disclaimer: I do not own anything Tenchi in Tokyo/Shin Tenchi Muyo! related.
Claimer: All original characters, however, are my own, and I ask that you ask before using them.
A/N: This is a completely AU version of TinT/STM! The only details kept from the series is that Tenchi goes to Tokyo and the existence of Sakuya. All characters are supposed to be IC for the TinT storyline; if they are not, please tell me.
This story will be pro-Sakuya, and will contain parts that might be considered "anti-Ryoko" - while Ryoko is not my least favorite character, she's far from my favorite.
Summary: Tenchi moves to Tokyo, where he meets someone who will change his life. And who's the villain? Could it be…? You'll have to read to find out! (AU TinT storyline)
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Legends tell of a shadow realm, in which the very fabric of time is altered to suit the needs of whoever controls it. This sometimes creates realms parallel to our own. But what if the shadow realm converges with this one?
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Episode 1 - Fading Past!
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"Everyone, breakfast!" came the voice of an energetic girl with blue hair tied into pigtails. Her name was Sasami, the youngest princess of the planet Jurai. "Good morning, Ryoko-oneechan, oneechan!"
"Good morning, Sasami." Replied the second of the addressed women, one with purple hair pulled back. This was the elder princess, Ayeka.
The third, a space pirate with long, gray-blue hair named Ryoko, simply nodded to acknowledge Sasami's greeting. She had gotten used to waking up early, but that did not mean she liked to.
"Now where is Tenchi-niichan? Is he sleeping in late?" Sasami asked.
"Tenchi-sama said something about some things he has to take care of before… Did he say 'before jumping off a cliff!'" Ayeka exclaimed.
"I don't remember Tenchi saying anything of the sort, Miss Air-for-Brains." Ryoko stated tantalizingly, as though chastising the princess for coming up with such a strange guess as to what Tenchi was planning to do. Of course, she had a point; Tenchi had no reason to jump off a cliff.
"What did you say? And how dare you use that… that condensing tone on me, the First Princess of Jurai? Take that back, you… you witch!"
"Please, stop! Not first thing in the morning!" yelled Sasami, but, as usual, her request went unheeded.
"I'll talk however I want to whoever I want, demon spawn!" Ryoko responded.
"Take that back!" Ayeka yelled, her hand drawn into a punch. Unfortunately for a certain black-haired boy who lived there, he walked right in the middle of the punch while half-awake.
"Yah!" Tenchi exclaimed, as the force of Ayeka's punch sent him flying into Ryoko, landing in the space pirate's lap. Needless to say, Ayeka was furious as this development.
"What… What are you doing, you low-class space pirate bimbo?"
"It's simple. There are three facts that are important in this situation. First, you punched Tenchi. Second, he landed on my lap. Third, you just blew your chance!" Ryoko yelled.
"She has a point, Ayeka." Came a new voice. It was Washu, the self-proclaimed "Greatest Scientist in the Universe", a woman with long red hair.
"Anyway, everyone, what do you say to a photo once Kiyone, Mihoshi, Grandfather, and Father wake up?" Tenchi asked.
"Why a photo?" Sasami asked.
"I can't explain yet; I don't know the details. Grandfather understands better." Tenchi replied. "But, from what I understand, I won't be here for long."
"What?" all the girls, including Kiyone and Mihoshi, the Galaxy Police detectives. Kiyone had long, straight blue hair and a pale skin tone, while Mihoshi had her blond hair in a ponytail and a tanned skin tone.
"Te-e-enchi! Is this true? Are you leaving us?" Ryoko asked.
"I'm afraid so." Tenchi replied, a look of resignation on his face. He knew that this would be difficult to explain. Everyone would have trouble accepting this, the first of many hardships the coming year would produce.
"But - but why? Don't - Don't you like us?" Sasami asked; she was on the verge of crying.
"Sasami-chan, of course I like everyone here. But I have obligations to fulfill. Grandfather, you know this situation better than me, can you explain?" For Tenchi's grandfather had arrived, his long gray hair pulled into a ponytail as usual.
"Certainly, Tenchi. As I'm sure you are aware, Tenchi will inherit the shrine when he comes of age. However, there are certain… requirements, which he has not met. I cannot say a lot, because he could figure out what his job is, and that would not work. However, he must learn how to use his sword, that is one fact I must reveal." Tenchi's grandfather replied. "Tenchi will be leaving tomorrow for Tokyo."
"Well, let's get the picture done." At this, everyone walked outside, by a lake near the Masaki Shrine. Tenchi quickly placed the camera, an old-fashioned one on a stand, by the shore. Then, he set up the shot, pressed the button to take the shot, and sprinted to his position.
The positioning on the photo was: in the back, Ayeka, Ryoko, Washu. In the second row was Kiyone and Mihoshi. In the first was Sasami, Tenchi, and his grandfather.
"Tenchi-sama, when are you leaving exactly?" Ayeka asked.
"My train leaves at thirteen-hundred." Tenchi replied.
"Do you have to go, Tenchi-oniisan?" Sasami asked quietly.
"Yes. Otherwise I can't… I need to go out for some fresh air." He said, before running off into the forest.
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Meanwhile, another villain was emerging. This was born from a combination of everyone's darker side. At the moment, it was just mere shadow floating behind a black waterfall.
"Kage, arrive." Boomed a terrible voice from the shadow. Instantly, a figure arrived in front of the shadow - Kage. He was a human-shaped shadow. Other than his shape, the only visible human feature was a face - two glowing eyes, and a red-colored mouth. This mouth was perpetually open, threatening to swallow anyone who threatened its owner.
"You called, Master?" the monstrosity named Kage asked, his voice strangely high-pitched.
"It seems a member of the foul Masaki clan is going to learn his family's style. This must be prevented. Send one of the Elite to destroy the Technique Bearer. He is in… Tokyo."
"Yes, Master." And Kage vanished, just as quickly as he came.
"There is another in Tokyo… I must ensure that the boy does not meet her. That would make Seven." The shadow said.
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"I'll call everyone when I arrive at my apartment!" Tenchi hollered, before stepping onto the train, an express train from Okayama to Tokyo. Immediately after he got on, the train started moving. "So, this is where it ends, hmm?" he thought.
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"No, please!" came screams from the Takuya Dojo. The first of the shadow's Elite, Te, was performing his assault. This being looked strange - one finger for the body, thin, spindly legs, and huge, muscular arms with red boxing gloves.
One of the students, a black-haired one dressed in a white martial arts uniform, charged Te, his hand drawn back to punch the monster, who quickly threw a punch that sent the boy flying into a wall.
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"Something's wrong, I can feel it…" Tenchi muttered. "I'll stop by Takuya-sensei's dojo before going to my apartment…"
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"Take this!" the owner of the Takuya Dojo, Takuya Hitsu, shouted. His shortly-cut black hair flew behind him slightly as he charged Te, the Elite. Hitsu's hand was pulled back…
But Te quickly backhanded Hitsu into the wall. "Don't make me laugh. That will do nothing to me."
"Ten… chi…" Hitsu gasped out, before losing consciousness.
"Master, Te reporting. Taken care of. Retreating." And with this phrase, Te vanished.
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"Ah, man… I hate being lost…" Tenchi muttered. He had arrived in Tokyo three hours, but could find neither Takuya Dojo or his apartment. There were few people outside; most were at school, at work, or at home. But that was when he noticed someone he had overlooked - a girl with short black hair and sideburns, wearing a white tee-shirt and red shorts.
Tenchi moved to ask her directions, but she walked off, and he did not feel confident to walk up to her and ask for directions, even though she did seem to, just barely, spot him.
"Just my luck… The only person around here has to be afraid to talk to me…" he muttered.
"Something's attacked the Takuya Dojo!" someone yelled, a boy dressed in a red martial arts uniform. He ran right in front of Tenchi…
Who grabbed the boy by the shirt. "And Takuya-sensei?" he asked.
"He's in trouble. The attacker's gone, but Takuya-sensei's in bad shape." The boy replied.
"Right. Can you take the there?"
"Sure." The boy ran off, and Tenchi followed him.
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"What happened here?" Tenchi asked. They had arrived at the dojo, which was in shambles. Hitsu had been having a belt test prior to Te's attack, and the damage was horrible. The chairs that the dan-ranked students sat while watching the color belts test were overturned from people getting knocked into them. There was a cracked mirror in the far end of the dojo, further evidence of the struggle. Several students were unconscious, the rest were weakly crawling about, trying to get some semblance of order into their beloved dojo.
"It… it…" one of the crawling students stammered out, before losing consciousness.
"Something… strange… attacked the dojo." The boy who had led Tenchi said.
"Strange? What do you mean?" Tenchi asked.
"I don't know; Takuya-sensei said something was coming and asked for me to get help, and to tell someone named Masaki Tenchi about this situation."
"That's me."
"Ah, hello, Masaki-san. I am Fuu Himatsu. I'll get the ambulance here to get Takuya-sensei back to health. You'd better go to your apartment; I expect your friends back home are worried sick about you."
"Wait, Fuu-san… How do you know about that? Grandfather didn't tell Takuya-sensei about them…"
"There is little I don't know about you, Masaki-san. Anyway, do you know where your apartment is?"
"No, sorry."
"It's just down the street from here, then take a left at the second corner. It's the second building on the right. Oh, and one more thing. There'll be someone new arriving in your life tomorrow. Get to know her; it will be the only way to stop the evil."
"What…" Tenchi began, but Himatsu was gone, as though he never existed.
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"Hello, everyone? It's Tenchi." Tenchi said into the telephone. He had arrived at his apartment, a second-floor one. Straight ahead from the entrance was his bedroom, while a left turn would take one to the bathroom and kitchen.
"Tenchi-oniisan! It's Sasami. Hang on, I'll put you on speaker so the others can talk."
There was a brief pause and then came two voices saying "Tenchi/Tenchi-sama!"
"How's Tokyo, Tenchi-sama?" Ayeka asked.
"Something's strange is going on here. Takuya-sensei's in the hospital with injuries from what looks like a boxer, and one of his students knows about you guys." Tenchi replied.
"I'll be right over, Tenchi!" Ryoko.
"No, stay there, all of you. I'll call if anything happens. Anyway, I think that whatever's going on here is too small at the moment. I can handle it on my own."
"But, Tenchi-dono, something bad could be happening." Washu replied.
"Washu-san, I know, but there's no danger to me yet."
"Okay. Tenchi-kun, if you need anything, give us a call." Kiyone replied. "In the meantime, I'll monitor Tokyo closely."
"Okay. Anyway, I start class tomorrow, so I won't be home for most of the day." Tenchi said.
"Tenchi, I do not want to here that you're flirting with the girls there! You're mine!" Ryoko shouted.
"What do you mean, yours? Can't you see that Tenchi-sama and I are perfect for each other?" Ayeka shouted.
"Why, you…" Came Ayeka's voice, followed by the sound of crashes and explosions, which Tenchi deducted to be the two women fighting.
"Please, you two, don't fight!" Sasami exclaimed, but her request went unheeded by the pair.
"Well, bye!" Tenchi exclaimed, hanging up the telephone. "Now I'd better get my notebook ready for tomorrow…"
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Meanwhile, at the Masaki Shrine, Ryoko and Ayeka had taken a few moments out of their bout to argue about who Tenchi loves. Washu, realizing that Tenchi was no longer on the other end of the line, was trying frantically to calm the pair down enough to tell them that Tenchi had hung up without having them explode with fury at being "abandoned" by Tenchi.
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It was the next day, and Tenchi was finally at his school. He was at the front of the class, being introduced.
"Class, this is Masaki Tenchi, from the Masaki Shrine in Okayama. Please be nice to him." Tenchi's teacher monotonously said. He often had to do this, so it wasn't anything new.
"Hello. I am Masaki Tenchi. I hope that this will be a great year." Tenchi stated, somewhat less flatly but with as much boredom as his teacher had displayed.
"Take a seat anywhere, Masaki."
"Yes, sir." With this, Tenchi began walking down the aisles. Some students were clearly not wanting to deal with the new boy from the Shinto shrine, others were uncaring… But then he spotted someone he had wanted to talk to - the black-haired girl he saw while looking for Takuya Dojo. "Hello, is it okay if I sit here?"
"Sure, Masaki-kun." She replied. "I'm Kumashiro Sakuya, by the way."
"Was that you I saw by the café yesterday?"
"Yes. Sorry for running, but I had to rush home to get something."
"Masaki, Kumashiro, it's nice that you're getting acquainted, but this is class! Talk on your free time!" the teacher yelled.
"Y-yes, sensei!" the two exclaimed in fear.
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Next time on Darkness Falls, Tenchi gets into even more dangerous situations as the shadow's army continues their plan… And what exactly is their plan, anyway? Join us for the next chapter of Darkness Falls - Episode 2: Emerging Future!
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A/N: I hope I haven't bored anyone with my random ramblings. Anyway, before I get the usual flames that I noticed happen to those who write pro-Sakuya fanfiction, those flames will be ignored except to UserBlock the flamer.
Anyway, don't be certain that I am using the verb "falls", there are other possible definitions.