Judge Not Lest Ye Be Judged, a tenchi muyo fanfic

latlh yIqIchQo', chaq SoH DaqIchlu'mo'
(Judge not, lest ye be judged)

The following tale takes place in the OVA Continuity, immediately after Episode Six, "Episode 6 -- We Need Tenchi."

*************

Title: "White Flag"
Artist: Dido

I know you think that I shouldn't still love you,
Or tell you that.
But if I didn't say it, well I'd still have felt it
where's the sense in that?

I promise I'm not trying to make your life harder
Or return to where we were

Well I will go down with this ship
And I won't put my hands up and surrender
There will be no white flag above my door
I'm in love and always will be

I know I left too much mess and Destruction to come back again
And I caused nothing but trouble I understand if you can't talk to me again
And if you live by the rules of "it's over"
Then I'm sure that that makes sense

Well I will go down with this ship
And I won't put my hands up and surrender
There will be no white flag above my door
I'm in love and always will be

And when we meet
Which I'm sure we will
All that was there
Will be there still I'll let it pass
And hold my tongue
And you will think
That I've moved on....

Well I will go down with this ship
And I won't put my hands up and surrender
There will be no white flag above my door
I'm in love and always will be

*************

The sky was a color so blue that it hurt the eyes just to look at it, and each cloud was a pristine white buffered in shades of gray. The sun was far enough above the treeline that the tiles on the Masaki roof had been thoroughly warmed, yet not uncomfortably hot. The same winds that drove the clouds also caressed Ryoko where she lay supine on the angled top of the house. This spot was her aerie, her daytime perch, as opposed to the rafter where she slept at night. Her preference for brooding in elevated seclusion was yet another quirk that the other occupants of the house simply accepted, as she had not deigned to enlighten them further.

Ryoko's hearing was super-sensitive: she could have heard the scratching of a bird's claws as it hopped across the roof tiles, let alone the sound of human footfalls. She heard nothing, however, until Washu's voice sounded directly beside her ear: "Nice day." Ryoko managed to suppress her startle reflex, keeping it to a mild twitch. "Yes, isn't it."
Washu sat down on the roof, wriggling into a comfortable position. "Do you come up here often?"
"Yes."
"Why? I can understand the solitude, but the dock is much more accessible...."
Ryoko's amber eyes locked onto Washu's emerald ones. "I spent 700 years in a Stassis Unit, buried inside of a mountain. I was all alone in a cold, dark cave, with no sun, no wind, and no stars. This is as close to the sky as I can get without expending energy, and still keep an eye on the house."
"Ah, of course."
"Did you teleport up here? I didn't hear you climb up the ladder."
"I have several ways to get around."
"No doubt you keep an eye on the house, too?"
"Yep, and its occupants."
Ryoko nodded. She had expected nothing less.
There was a small commotion below their feet, and both females leaned forward to observe the source. Muffled voices and footsteps could be heard, and then the tops of individual heads could be seen emerging from beneath the front porch overhang. Tenchi and Nobuyuki were leaving, each carrying the tools of his trade (a hoe for the former, a briefcase for the latter), and behind them Ayeka, Sasami, and Mihoshi stood on the porch waving goodbye and bidding them a Good Day.
Ryoko groaned softly. Today, as on most mornings, she had slipped up to the roof right after breakfast. She didn't do it to avoid Ayeka's imperious distribution of the day's chore assignments, but because of Tenchi's routine. He would usually turn on the path and wave farewell to those on the porch -- and then would look up and wave to Ryoko. For that one split second all of his focus was on her, and she savored it. But today, he was deep in conversation with his father...and Ryoko was not alone.
Washu was watching her daughter, a surprisingly gentle smile on her elven face. "You love Tenchi, don't you?"
"What business is it of yours?" Ryoko growled.
"Everything that happens in this house is my business."
"I would reconsider that attitude, if I were you."
"I appreciate your concern, Little Ryoko, but before you threaten me you should remember what happened on the Souja."
"Oh?"
"Even though Kagato had the power to congeal the Masu in your body and turn you to stone, it was *I* who nullified that process. So maybe *you* are the one who should reconsider her attitude."
Inwardly, Ryoko shuddered. That was the closest to death she had ever come, even more than the subsequent events. Outwardly, however, all she did was frown and look away.
Washu nodded, satisfied. "You know, I didn't come up here to pick a fight with you."
"Then why did you come up here?"
"I came to ask you what happened to Ryo-Ohki."
"What do you mean?"
"I don't recall her latent form ever being so...insufferably charming."
"The cabbit shape?" Ryoko actually grinned. "I think it's rather cute."
"I agree. But how did it happen?"
"She assimilated with Chibi just before her latest metamorphosis."
"Who was Chibi?"
"Tenchi's pet cat." Ryoko watched Washu raise one eyebrow slowly, reflecting her curiosity. "Before he freed me my from my cave, he used to spend his summers here at the shrine with his grandfather. Last summer he found a stray cat, sick and nearly dead, and tried to nurse it back to health. He wasn't having much luck, so I slipped it a little energy whenever it wandered up to my cave."
"That was a very compassion act, Ryoko. But it seems out-of-character for you."
"The cat was important to Tenchi, which made it important to me."
"Well, that explains Ryo-Ohki's definite feline characteristics. It might even explain her intense fondness for Tenchi. Of course, none of the rest of us have been assimilated, and we're *all* just as fond of him!" Washu cackled at her own jibe.
Ryoko cringed, unveiling a bottle that she had brought along. She deftly popped the cork in one well-practiced gesture.
"Isn't it a little early for sake?"

"It's for medicinal purposes."

"You don't look sick."
"Physically, no. My ailments run deeper."
"Oh? What exactly is the problem?"
She tipped the bottle and filled her mouth with rice wine, considering whether to respond or retreat. She finally decided running away was pointless -- doubtless the curious redhead would track her down eventually. She offered the sake to Washu. "Why is everyone so surprised when I try to be nice?"

Washu accepted the bottle, carefully sniffing the lip. "Probably because you don't do it very often, and then not very well." She took a cautious sip, grinned, and followed it with a big swig.
"Don't intentions count?"
"Sure they do," Washu replied, smacking her lips. "But if the action is faulty, it ruins the effect." She passed the bottle back to her daughter.
"Well, I haven't had a lot of practice," Ryoko admitted. "I haven't had much reason to."
"Times change. So do people. You have an abrasive personality, My Dear, which tends to put people off. You'll need to modify that somewhat if you intend to stay here."
"Oh? And your charming personality is so agreeable?"
"I'm a genius -- I'm allowed to be eccentric." She leaned backwards, hands braced against the tiles. "Is that the problem? Nobody likes you?"
"Yeah. Nobody likes me. I don't 'fit in' here....or anywhere else." Ryoko took a pull on the sake bottle. "How am I so different? Am I a machine, full of circuits and motors and sensors? You 'built' me, after all -- you would know best."
Washu paused, studying her daughter. "If you mean, did I assemble you piece-by-piece on some laboratory workbench, the answer is 'no'. However, you were not conceived in a womb, and you were not a result of randomly-mixed DNA. You were explicitly designed. Why do you ask?"
"Because I've been a machine for most of my existence. Kagato's golem, sent to loot and pillage as efficiently and expeditiously as possible. He trained me that way."
"Want to talk about it?"

"Why don't you just read my mind? It's more 'efficient.'"
Washu shrugged. "Efficient, yes; but it doesn't give the whole picture. Feelings are as important as facts."
"Feelings," Ryoko snorted. "For the longest time I felt nothing at all. No joy, no remorse, just the satisfaction of a job well done. That changed, you know; the more errands I went on, the more exposure I had to life in a vast universe. I woke up. I started asking questions, trying new experiences, new...diversions...in all their many varieties." She shrugged, a slow and despondent gesture. "My body rejected the drugs, and my soul rejected the sex."

"So, you admit you have a soul. Then you are not a machine."
"Yes, I have a soul -- although it's accursed."
"Moral turpitude is not sufficient grounds for eternal condemnation," Washu sniggered. "In some cultures it's the norm!"
"It wasn't the slumming that damned me....it's what came later."
"Okay, what 'came later'?"

"I acquired a taste for Destruction," Ryoko replied, tipping the bottle skywards and gulping noisily. She captured a mouth-full, swishing it back and forth between her cheeks, saturating her gums and palate before swallowing. The subsequent belch was loud and impressive. "I was such a good little thief that I had gotten larceny down to a science. Too good, really; Kagato's chores got boring, so I looked for ways to spice them up. That was when I discovered that a little havoc made his tedious tasks easier to bear. Science became art...simple theft became vandalism with panache...and I learned that demolition was so much easier than a complicated extraction. And somewhere in there I began to notice the faces of the victims. Hate. Anguish. Fear. Mostly fear. Fear is so...intense, so...pathetic, so...entertaining to watch. I started to elicit fear, for the panic and the crying and the screams. I learned how to wring the most fear from any situation. Fear will send the strongest person to their knees, toppled like a mighty tower. There is a beauty in wreckage and ruin, whether smashed stone or shattered spirit."
"Kagato approved?"
"He neither approved nor disapproved. He tolerated my...predilections...just so long as they didn't interfere with my missions. And he made very sure I didn't tarry long away; he couldn't afford to let me be further corrupted by such 'unacceptable' ideas as Compassion or Freedom. He was just as good at accessing my memories as you are; he scanned me after each mission, and he knew all about any budding friendships -- and squashed them immediately." Her tone turned bitter, "Remember: a tool's sole purpose is to serve its master."
Washu said nothing, watching Ryoko's haunted expression.
"Amoral bastard. He was quite a smooth operator, really. He used me -- a convenient stooge to be scapegoated when necessary -- to do his risky, sneaky dirty work, just to feed his obsession for antiquities. Amazing how he was never around when the shooting started."
"Yet you stayed with him."
"I had little choice. Any argument, any resistance, and he turned me into a marionette. And I did *not* enjoy that experience." Ryoko raised the sake between them and shook it for emphasis, sloshing it loudly. "He kept me bottled-up between assignments, in a Stassis Unit where he would feed me information subliminally about the next target...usually reconnaissance data, or skills that I would need to know."
"Skills?"
"Not every safe could be blown apart. Sometimes they had to be opened quietly, and sometimes they were so well hidden that I had to hunt for them. I learned all kinds of useful talents." She took a long pull on the bottle again, wiping her lips afterwards with the back of her hand. Then sighed deeply, resignedly. "Answer my question, Washu. What makes me so fundamentally different from every other human being?"
"Actually, the differences are few but significant." Washu looked over at her daughter, who was staring back expectantly. "Rather than using carbon compounds, the cells in your body are made of Masu derivatives. Since they are organized and controlled by DNA, just like any other human, you have all of the standard organs -- although those have been tweaked a bit."
"'Tweaked'? How so'?"
"Your muscles were enhanced, your senses were extended, your neural network is more efficient and redundant, and a few other things. Because of the Masu, you have greater stamina -- and its energy will allow you to survive in hostile environments for extended periods of time. You were bioengineered to be physically and mentally superior, with commensurate powers and abilities."
"For what purpose? Why create a superwoman in the first place?"
"I had my reasons," Washu said quietly, without looking at Ryoko.
It was Ryoko's turn to pause, digesting the data, before finally asking, "Who's DNA did you use?"
"Mine."
"I know that, but who else's? I'm not your clone."
"Kagato's. Oh, don't look so shocked. He was my graduate assistant, after all; I provided the guidance, and he did all the grunt work. There was nothing sinister about it -- it was a common practice and a logical arrangement."
"So...he wasn't lying when he said *he* said he built me."
"He wasn't telling the whole truth, either. And you weren't 'built', Little Ryoko; you were grown from a fetus like every other human being that has ever lived. I have asked you to call me 'Mom' because I *am* your mother. I raised you for the first few years of your life."
Ryoko studied the crimson-haired female beside her, before finally answering. "I don't remember you. I don't remember my childhood at all."
"Kagato suppressed your memories, but I don't think he erased them. They are probably still intact, just waiting for you retrieve them."
Ryoko's response was a noncommittal shrug. She swilled deeply from the sake bottle, taking note of the declining volume.
"Why do you drink so much?"
"It stimulates my taste buds." One glance at Washu's face showed Ryoko that the sarcasm was wasted. "It gives me a buzz, though I can't say much for the taste. Besides, I can flush it out of my system in a few seconds. Why is that, anyway?"
"Survival mechanism, to deal with toxic substances. It was a valid concern at the time."
"So why even give me a mouth and digestive track? Food is just a supplement for my system, since I draw my energy from the gems."
"Because you are human, and live with humans, and humans eat every day." Washu shrugged, and waved a hand in dismissal. "If it's such a nuisance, then just don't eat."
"I didn't say it was a nuisance," Ryoko snapped. "I eat because Tenchi eats. I eat because Sasami takes great care and delight in her cooking, and I don't want to hurt her feelings. And I enjoy the tastes and textures; I've probably eaten more food in the last year than I have since my....birth." She indicated the sake bottle. "I can't say that about the drinking, however. I've probably drunk an entire ocean of alcohol...and it's gone down the same sewer my life has."
"If you've drunk that much, and it hasn't helped, maybe you should stop. Or, at least cut back."
"I'll consider it," Ryoko replied. She raised the bottle to her lips, paused to stare at it, sighed, and passed it over to Washu.
"I'm surprised Kagato never went in for such lurid temptations as this. But from what I recall, his extreme sense of beauty and harmony would not have permitted such mundane distractions."
"Yeah, all he ever talked about was his research. He didn't let anything interfere with his goals, and he never gave a second thought to any collateral damage -- living or otherwise. The only time he ever complained was when his timetables were messed-up, and then he'd tongue-lash me for being sloppy. Of course, he wasn't above a little cruelty now and then..."
"I can't believe you stayed with him so long," Washu said after handing the bottle back to Ryoko.
"One of his levers on me was my criminal record. He'd waive that under my face and remind me that I had no where else to go, so I'd better do my job or be thrown to the wolves."
"Well, at least the truth surfaced eventually. You may have been his puppet, but he pulled the strings -- and that's why he was an 'Eternally Wanted Criminal' and you were just a pirate."
"Hooray for distinctions," Ryoko sneered.
"That distinction made it possible for you to have a future, one of your own choosing." She leaned forward and canted her head, so she could look into her daughter's face. "A future with Tenchi."
"If he wants me."
"Are you worried about Ayeka?"
"No," Ryoko replied, and then amended, "yes."
"Is she still bitter over what happened at Jurai?"
"No, that's ancient history," Ryoko shrugged. "She's ok, once you get past that prissy exterior. We might even be friends someday..."
"...Depending upon Tenchi's choice."
"Yeah."
"You're going to have to tell Tenchi about your past, you know."
"Why?" Ryoko gasped, recoiling at the suggestion.
"He risked his life for you, and went to your rescue when no one else cared. You owe it to him."
"I can't!"

"It's not fair to him, keeping your crimes secret. He'll find out eventually -- and wouldn't he be more sympathetic if heard the truth from you?"
"He'll be horrified! I have blood on my hands; I've leveled whole city blocks, destroyed dozens of starships, looted and stolen and....and...."
"Are you still doing those things?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"I don't want to anymore."
"Just because Kagato is dead?"
"No," Ryoko shook her head. "I haven't wanted to in quite a while."
"Since when?"
"Since I saw a pair infant eyes looking at me," Ryoko whispered. "He could see me, even in my astral form. And he wasn't afraid of me. He kept coming back to my cave, seeking me. And even when he grew too old to see me, he still felt my presence. I watched him play, Washu, and grow, and dream of becoming a man. I actually cried at the end of each summer, when he returned to Okayama."
Washu said nothing, waiting patiently.
"I was so happy when he finally broke the seal of my cave....even if that damn Master key did get in the way." Her wry smile appeared. "I guess I got a little rough with him at his school, but I would *never* have hurt him in any way."
Washu simply smiled and shrugged.
"Like you said, he rescued me when no one else gave a damn -- and he sent that hellspawn Kagato to his just desserts." She sighed and floated gracefully off the roof, an angelic vision in the early morning sunlight. "You're right, I owe it to him."
"Before you go, you might want to get rid of the bottle."
Ryoko looked at the near-empty container still clutched in her fist. With a shrug, she tossed it to Washu, who deftly caught it.
"You might also want to flush the alcohol from your system. You don't want him to smell the liquid courage on your breath."
Ryoko nodded morosely, a gentle agreement.
"And, Ryoko?"
"Yes?"
"Can you call me 'Mom'?" Washu expected her daughter to snarl, or at least glare at her. Instead, Ryoko just sighed.
"One step at a time, please Washu?"
Washu nodded, and Ryoko vanished.
Washu grinned and looked down at the bottle in her hands. She drained it in a victory toast.

*************

Ryoko found Tenchi in the middle of a carrot field, on his knees, inspecting the plants. She couldn't tell a carrot from a weed, but made a mental note to address that deficiency...assuming she stayed around. "Tenchi?"

He looked over his shoulder, to find her standing in the next row. The fact that she had not snuck up on him and *glomped* him in ambush told him immediately that something was up. Her troubled expression, her tight posture, and the neutral tone of her voice simply reinforced the impression. He stood up and brushed off his knees. "Hi, Ryoko, what's up?"
"Can I talk to you?"
"Sure. But let's go find some shade first." He turned and headed for the nearest copse of trees; she simply floated a few handspans into the air and drifted after him. The heat didn't faze her, nor the glare, and they didn't appear to bother him particularly, either. It was just a polite gesture.
He settled onto the grass beneath a large tree, and gestured to the spot beside him. That's where she sat, in the cross-legged pose that she favored. He produced a water bottle and offered her a drink. She shook her head, and watched him sip from the bottle.
"So, what's on your mind?"
"I...wanted to apologize," she said, her fingers knotting on her lap.

Tenchi watched her fidget, now convinced that something was wrong. "Apologize for what?"
"For blowing up your school." Kurashiki Nishi Kogyo Koko (Kurashiki West High for Technology) was a smoldering pile of rubble by the time the fire department had doused the flames.

"I hear they're rebuilding it. Making some improvements, too, so it will be nicer than before. Much more modern."
"Will you be going back?"

Tenchi shrugged, dismissing the matter. Most of his fellow students had either transferred elsewhere, or continued their classes in temporary facilities. Tenchi, however, had simply dropped-out. He had never explained to anyone whether it was an act of conscience, or to prevent further incidents from his alien 'houseguests'. He sipped from the water bottle again, watching her squirm. "There's something else on your mind, isn't there?"
"...Yes."
"Anything I can help you with?"
She wrestled with her inner voices before blurting out, "I need to tell you about my past."
"No you don't," Tenchi replied.
"Yes, I do. I think you should know just who is sleeping beneath your roof."
"And on it, from time-to-time," he grinned. Her return smile was wan and forced, and it faded almost immediately. "Seriously, Ryoko, you don't have to tell me anything."
"I have a long criminal record, Tenchi, and you'll learn the details sooner or later. I can guarantee you'll be shocked...and upset. I think it's only right that you hear it all now, from me."
"I thought the Statue of Limitations had expired."
"They did, but there are plenty of people around with long memories. Someday, one of them may come looking for me. It could get ugly."
Tenchi merely shrugged.
"What do you know about my background?"
"Other than Grandpa's story about the Devil of Destruction? Nothing. I did ask Ayeka why she keeps calling you a 'monster'. She told me you were a pirate, and attacked her homeworld. It failed, and Grandpa chased you here."
"Ayeka...was generous," Ryoko admitted softly. "What do you think of when you hear the word 'pirate'?"
"Someone who robs ships at sea or plunders the coasts, living outside the law. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that there are space pirates, too."
"That's a pretty generic description. But it doesn't really begin to cover it."
"What do you mean?"
"I was more than a thief, Tenchi. I was a predator, and a cruel one at that."
"Tell me as much, or as little, as you want," Tenchi shrugged.
"It would take weeks to tell you everything...and I don't know which would be worse, my reciting them, or you having to listening to them."
"Well, just pick one example then."
Ryoko eyed him, her face an amalgam of misery and trepidation. "Ok," she sighed. "I'll tell you about the worst offense -- my attack on Jurai. "It was a sneak attack, of course. Kagato calculated that the odds for success would be most in our favor if the Royals and their Tree ships were out-system. Since they were stupid enough to publicly post their schedules in advance, and were too over-confidant of their strength -- after all, a Third Generation Tree was every bit as powerful as an entire battle group -- Ryo-Ohki and I waited out in the Oort Cloud until the all of the First and Second Generation Trees were gone, taking most of the Imperial Family with them. And then we charged in, full bore, shooting at everything that moved. Kagato figured that Tsunami was sitting in the Tenjyu, The Royal Palace, and it was my job to retrieve her.
"We didn't bother with normal break-out maneuvers -- we popped out of psuedospace directly over the palace, air-braking from orbit all the way into the troposphere. The concussion wave shook the whole region like a nuclear bomb, flattening weak buildings and knocking traffic out of the sky for leagues around. There were people in those buildings, Tenchi, and in the aircraft..." She paused, wiping off her sweaty hands. "They recognized us right away -- we had justly-deserved reputations, after all -- and threw the outer screen of defenders at us, at least three cruisers and a Fourth Generation Tree. We burned them all out of the sky; they exploded like orange blossoms that left trails of smoke and flames all the way to the surface, where they dug massive craters into the neighborhoods that they landed in. I can't imagine how many homes, schools, parks --"
"Ryoko."
She looked up and nodded, composing herself. "That was only the beginning. They sent out a distress call, of course. I considered jamming it and decided that there was no point: I trusted Kagato to have included such contingencies in his planning. I was an idiot. Your grandfather and his Second Generation Tree were only five hours away, and the defenders could keep me busy at least that long. Their inner defense screen consisted of five Third Generation and ten Fourth Generation Trees to keep me distracted, as well as the usual Navy vessels and ground forces. In my own arrogance, I underestimated their resolve; I was having too much fun using them all as target practice. I can still see them, twisting and weaving through the clouds, trying to lure me away from the Tenjyu, watching their energy blasts shatter harmlessly on Ryo-Ohki's shields. And I was laughing; amused at their attempts, and more than a little satisfied each time Ryo-Ohki incinerated one of them. I never did find out what the crew size of a Tree ship was.
"I had Ryo-Ohki shoot at ground targets, too. There was not enough dirt-side artillery to do us any harm, but by shooting at anything that looked vulnerable, added to the flaming wreckage already tumbling out of the sky, we could keep the capitol's emergency services preoccupied. (That, and I just liked to see things blowing up.) Of course, that gave them ample time to englobe us; if they couldn't destroy us with their Light Hawk Wings, maybe they could blind us. It didn't work: not only did Ryo-Ohki shrug-off the attacks, but the Trees all hesitated because they perceived us as a First Generation equivalent...like dolphins attacking a whale. One of them even tried ramming us, for all the good that it did: its outer superstructure collapsed and the core fell onto the Tenjyu. Once we'd eliminated all of the Tree ships, we started pumping fire into the Palace itself.
"Things started getting interesting when Ryu-oh appeared. A Second Generation ship, commanded by our own Ayeka -- both still fresh from their Bonding Ceremony. She had no experience, and the Tree was still being outfitted with its external armor. We exchanged a few taunts during the battle, but she went totally berserk when her private garden got scorched." Ryoko grinned, albeit half-heartedly. "She made the mistake of telling me that it was her favorite retreat, so I naturally took great delight in targeting it. Its destruction breached the wall of the Palace. Ryu-oh crashed there, too, which didn't help matters any. I left Ryo-Ohki to finish-off Ryu-oh at that point, and entered the Tenjyu.
"Ayeka seems to have all kinds of bad luck with Ryu-oh," Tenchi observed.
"At least when I'm involved, she does," Ryoko nodded.
"I begin to understand some of the history between you two."
"It gets worse," she replied morosely. "I summoned elementals to deal with the Palace Guards, and proceeded to hunt for the Royal Arboretum. Meanwhile, Yosho had finally arrived -- and he dispensed with the standard deceleration protocols, too. Funaho's wake shook the Palace Grounds, and Ryo-Ohki got bounced pretty severely. Funaho followed-up with several shots from her Light Hawk Wings, trying to force Ryo-Ohki away from the Tenjyu. Ayeka called Yosho and let him know about the intruder -- me -- and Yosho realized that Ryo-Ohki was actually decoying them away from the real threat. Yosho then came hunting for me while the two spaceships ionized the air above the Palace with energy blasts. I found the Arboretum just before Yosho found me. I was having troubles blowing down the door, compounded a bit when Tsunami sent some kind of energy charge through my gems."
"She can do that?"
Ryoko nodded. "I actually passed-out from the pain. There was an explosion, and I woke up outside. I saw Yosho staggering around, waving his sword, and decided retreat was the better part of valor. I teleported back to Ryo-Ohki, and we went screaming off-world and jumped into psuedospace."
"And Yosho?"
"I guess his last words to Ayeka were a promise to capture me. Then he went aboard Funaho and gave chase. The rest, as they say, is history."
"It's hard to picture all of that."
"It was a horrendous screw-up. No marriage between Yosho and Ayeka, no Progenitor Tree to deliver to Kagato, billions of credits of damaged property, many thousands of lives lost, years of finger-pointing and recriminations among the Royals and their retainers, dozens of dead Trees, dozens of destroyed auxiliary vessels, major structural damage to the millennia-old Tenjyu...the story finally ended in this valley, with two more ruined spaceships and at least one scorched village."
Tenchi was silent, digesting the facts, never taking his eyes off the cyan-haired woman beside him. The latter struggled to remain calm. "I must say, you've lived an exciting life. A long one, too; Ayeka told me that you're 2,000 years old."
"That's on the Juraian Calendar. By Earth standards I'm over 5,000 years old -- I was sailing between the stars before your Egyptian pyramids were built."
"Wow," Tenchi whispered, impressed. "You galactics live so *long*..."
"My body is old, Tenchi, but my heart is the same age as your's." She tried to smile, the corners of her mouth curling upwards. It looked more like a tortured rictus.
"I agree."
"You do?" She couldn't believe her ears.
"I've seen what Kagato could do; I saw the mental lock he put on you. For a few moments you were the Old Ryoko, an echo of the person you described. But, that's not the person I know. The person I know has a kind heart (even if she is a little embarrassed about it), and is very loyal to her friends and family."
"Family?" The weight on her chest started to evaporate, her spirits soaring.
"Family."
"I'm kinda new at this 'family' thing...it's not going to be easy."
"Nothing worthwhile ever is."
"Then, you'll let me stay here?"
Tenchi grinned. "For as long as you like."
This time he didn't object as he was *glomped* by the laughing demon.

*************

AUTHOR'S NOTES...

The title of this fanfic is not gibberish -- it's Klingon.

The way I see it, the private conversation between the Hakubi women was probably conducted in Juraian, rather than in Japanese/English. To my way of thinking, the closest parallel to the Jurai Empire of TM! is the Abh Empire of "Crest of the Stars" ("Seikai no Monshou"). That anime was taken from a series of novels by Morioka Hiroyuki, who "pulled a J.R." and invented a language (.) for his series.

Now, there may be enthusiasts in Japan who have followed and extended the language, but I know of none. The most widely followed non-human language is Klingon (/), and there are many websites devoted to translating Terrestrial languages into and out of it. So, I sent an e-mail to Scott Willis, Beginners' Grammarian, Klingon Language Institute (.) asking if he could translate "Judge not, lest ye be judged" (Matthew 7:1) for me. This is his reply:

"I would go with (latlh yIqIchQo', chaq SoH DaqIchlu'mo') "Do not condemn another, because YOU might be judged." I've never seen (qIch) used in canon, so it might be that we cannot use this verb this way, but for right now, this should be safe."

Besides, I see a certain parallel between the Hakubi mentality and noted Klingon preferences. Thus was derived the title for this story. My sincere thanks to Scott for his help.

*************

I daresay that some readers are going to be bored by this tale: it has no real action, and seems inordinately like a history lesson. Truth be told, that's exactly what it is. It stems from a series of e-mails on the "Tenchi ML-Archive" (.org/ML/), where a few list members were kind enough to correct some of the misconceptions I have had (for quite a while, as it turns out).

I have to admit, I was so frustrated after reading these pages that I felt like gutting some of my earlier fanfics -- most notably "The Harem Saga" -- in an attempt to bring them more into line with the canon sources. At some point, however, rational thought (and just plain lethargy) gained control, and I decided to make myself a crib sheet for future reference. It kinda got out of hand, and the above story surfaced...occupational hazard, I guess. Anyway, my thanks to Gregory Himes, Junior, and Rolf for their patience and instruction.

The other contributing influence to this tale was the surprising fact that there are no canon references to the moment when Tenchi learns the full extent of Ryoko's history -- and forgives her for it. I couldn't let *that* opportunity pass unchallenged....

*************

The characters of "Tenchi Muyo!" were created by Masaki Kajashima an Hiroki Hayashi, and brought to North America by Pioneer LDC. This story, while incorporating names and situations held under copyright by others, is copyright 2004 by Jeffery L. Harris.

This story comes entirely from my imagination, and is not, nor intended to be, canon. Please do not send the legions of lawyers after me...it's not worth their time, or mine.

Any questions or comments should be directed to:

Jeffery L Harris Subject: latlh yIqIchQo', chaq SoH DaqIchlu'mo' ("Judge not, lest ye be judged")