No Need For Achika
By Galaxy1001D
Tenchi Muyo and all related characters are © AIC/Pioneer/Funamation. This story has been written solely for entertainment. The views expressed herein do not necessarily express the opinions of AIC/Pioneer/Funamation, the author, or this website.
Chapter Two: Cherry Blossoms Fall
After lunch, the group decided to have their picture taken to commemorate the event that Washu claimed technically never happened. Mihoshi pointed out that it was extra important to create reminders to an event that never took place or it would soon be impossible to remember.
Despite the blonde's convoluted logic everyone agreed to pose for pictures. Seeing Tenchi's mother in the past had subconsciously impressed upon the group the importance of spending the time available with friends. Although elated with their victory over Kain, all of the time travelers were subconsciously aware of the mortality of their loved ones.
"Cheers!" Tenchi, Katsuhito, and the girls smiled and posed as Nobuyuki captured them on videotape.
"Everything okay, Dad?" Tenchi asked his father.
"I was just reminded of another picture I took so long ago," Nobuyuki replied. "Come one everybody, if you want to see a grown man cry let's go look at some albums together!"
Soon the Masaki family was looking at photographs of Achika.
"Okay," Nobuyuki said as he shuffled through the photo album's bulky pages. "Here's the album from the year you said you went back in time. Let's see if we can find any photos from our Tokyo trip."
"Oh look!" Sasami pointed at a black and white photo on an upper left hand corner. "Look there!"
"Oh my goodness!" Ayeka exclaimed. "I don't believe it!"
There in all of their monochromatic glory, were the images of Ayeka, Achika, and Ryoko, all sitting together as if they were the best of friends.
"Hey that's us!" Ryoko pointed from over Nobuyuki's shoulder.
"Well what do you know!" Nobuyuki smiled. "It really did happen after all!"
"How come he doesn't have any pictures of the rest of us?" Mihoshi asked.
"He was taking pictures of Achika," Kiyone grinned knowingly. "Ayeka and Ryoko were simply in the line of fire."
Good natured laughter was shared by all.
"This is amazing!" Ryoko exclaimed.
"I can't wait to go to school and show Achika!" Ayeka gushed.
Silence fell upon the group as the laughter died.
"Oh," Ayeka contritely put her hand over her mouth.
"What's the matter?" asked a worried Mihoshi. "What's wrong?"
As Nobuyuki smiled bravely and closed the photo album, Kiyone softy answered Mihoshi's question. "Nobuyuki is a widower. Achika died over ten years ago."
"She died?" Mihoshi started in horror. "But we went back in time to save her! How could that be?"
"It had nothing to do with Kain," Kiyone patiently explained. "It was just… Achika's time that's all."
"But that's not fair!" Mihoshi childishly voiced the thought that all of the time travelers were thinking.
"I'm sorry," Kiyone replied with maternal patience and caring, "but life is not always fair. There's nothing we can do…"
"Sure we can!" Mihoshi insisted as a determined frown marred her girlish face. "Washu, send us back in time and we can save Achika all over again!"
"I'm sorry," Washu shook her head. "We've taken too many chances altering history as it is. I already had to modify Tenchi's chronological pattern to heal his injuries that he sustained while battling Kain."
"You had to what-what his what-what?" Ryoko stammered.
"I made Tenchi's body twenty minutes younger," Washu replied. "While he was in the time stream I took his body back twenty minutes so that physically he would never have suffered the damage the Kain caused him."
"Oh yes," Ayeka's eyes widened in recollection of Tenchi's injuries when they left the past, "of course."
"That, of course, was a stupid and risky move when you consider how unstable Tenchi had been temporally all week," the ingenious redhead added.
"That's right!" Sasami cried. "Tenchi almost disappeared several times that week!"
"Meow!" Ryo-ohki added from on top of the girl's head.
"Yes, Sasami," Washu nodded, "but Tenchi's injuries were so grave that I didn't know if he would ever fully recover. I took a chance to make sure that he would return healthy and whole, with no health issues now or further on down the line. At least, none caused by his battle with Kain, anyway."
"Well, uh, everything turned out just fine!" Ryoko declared with false bravado.
"Could you do that for my mother?" Tenchi asked in a meek voice.
"I'm sorry Tenchi," Washu shook her head. "We can't risk it. If I was successful, that would change your personal history. That would change all of our personal histories. It could change who you are and what happened when Ryoko and Mihoshi first landed on this planet. Your past is connected to all of us, and the entire Juraian empire, maybe the entire universe."
"Oh come on!" Ryoko growled. "Surely it wouldn't be that bad! We could have used a buttkicker like Achika battling Kagato! If she could whup Kain, Kagato should have been a snap!"
"What if she picked Tenchi up from school that day you crash landed Ryoko?" Washu asked pointblank. "What if you didn't meet Tenchi the way you did? Would it have been love at first sight if you would have met him at home watching TV or something?"
"Er…" Ryoko clenched her teeth as a bead of sweat appeared at her temple.
"You would have left Earth, and Ayeka would never have come here," Washu continued. "I would still be trapped in my prison, Sasami would never have come to Earth, and Kiyone and Mihoshi would be stuck here as resident officers."
"Sasami and I would have been eliminated with the rest of Jurai's royal family!" Ayeka covered her mouth in horror as tears welled up in her eyes.
"Oh Ayeka!" Sasami hugged her sister and tried not to cry.
"Then when Kain escaped, Lady Achika, Nobuyuki and Lord Katsuhito would have died," Washu explained. "Kain would spread death and destruction throughout the universe, the Galaxy Police would be wiped out, and Kagato would be in charge of Jurai. The whole universe would go belly up!"
"How horrible!" Mihoshi exclaimed.
"It's a good thing that Tenchi is sexy," Kiyone teased, attempting to lighten the mood.
"That is so romantic!" Ryoko struck a coquettish pose and batted her eyes. "The fate of the entire universe depended on my love for Tenchi!"
"Ah, but if his mother had lived would you have loved him?" Washu challenged.
"Of course!" Ryoko shook her fist in response. "Tenchi and I were meant to be!"
"Oh Really? What if Achika mothered Tenchi so much that he became soft?" Washu proposed mercilessly. "Would he have had the strength hidden within him that made him so irresistible if Tenchi was a spoiled little mamma's boy?"
"Hey!" Tenchi protested before he could stop himself. "I'm not a spoiled little mamma's boy!"
"No you're not, Tenchi," Washu agreed, "and I think that the universe should give thanks that you're not. Losing your mother left a void in your heart that Ryoko and the two princesses filled."
Ayeka, Ryoko, and Sasami smiled and blushed.
Washu continued with her explanation. "When Jurai's military took them away you didn't hesitate to go after them. What if your mother pleaded with you not to go? What would you have done then?"
"I…" Tenchi had no answer.
"Would your bond with us be as strong if your mother had survived?" Washu asked. "Would your love have been strong enough for you to rescue them? When your mother died, Katsuhito stepped in as your second parent. You practiced with the sword and became a disciplined soldier without even realizing it!"
"Er…" Tenchi stammered.
"Come on girls," Washu crossed her arms. "Surely you've all noticed how mature Tenchi acts for a boy his age."
"Boy you said it!" Mihoshi agreed. "Tenchi acts so mature he's almost fuddy-duddy!"
Some nervous laughter escaped the group's lips. Even a blushing Tenchi had to smile.
"Come on, Tenchi, face it," Washu commanded. "The reason Ryoko fell in love with you is because you're not a boy, you are a man. You were a man even before you fought Kagato. Thanks to your youth you're just real good at hiding it!"
Tenchi scratched the back of his neck and laughed nervously.
"That's right," Katsuhito agreed with a wicked gleam in his eye. "That's what gives him the advantage. No matter how good of a swordsman you are, a victorious warrior has to have an edge over his opponents!"
"Oh yeah!" Ryoko winked and wagged her finger at Tenchi. "He may look like a schoolboy, but Tenchi's my man! Not even his whining or girly screams could fool me!"
"Ryoko!" Tenchi blushed furiously.
"What do you mean he's your man?" Ayeka demanded in an unspoken challenge. "It is quite obvious that out of the two of us that I resemble Lady Achika more than you do and that it is I who fills the subconscious hole in his heart…" she continued in mock sweetness.
"No way!" Ryoko gritted her teeth and shook her fist. "I'm the one who reminds Tenchi of his mother if anyone does! Achika was tough in her own quiet way! She wasn't a bossy little whiner like you!"
"'Bossy little whiner'?" the purple haired princess snarled as she shook a fist of her own. "I'm not going to let that one pass!"
"Please, stop fighting!" Mihoshi begged as Tenchi led Sasami outside and out of the line of fire.
Outside, Tenchi held the little girl's hand as the two of them looked at the mountainous forest.
"Look!" Sasami pointed at the pink trees. "The cherry blossoms are in bloom!"
"Ah…" Tenchi shared the girl's surprise as Ryo-ohki loped outside to see what they were looking at. "Sasami?" the boy asked the child, "Do you think I would have turned out the same if my mother had lived?"
"You would have turned out great no matter what!" the blue-haired girl assured him.
"But would I have been strong enough to battle first Kagato and then Kain?" Tenchi asked. "Would I have cared enough for you and the others to defy Jurai's military?"
"I don't know," Sasami admitted.
"Neither do I," he sighed. "I'm aware that the past cannot be changed, but sometimes it is hard to accept. I wish that I could reach back and undo what has been done but I must accept what I cannot change."
"I know," Sasami nuzzled her cheek against his hand. "My parents are gone too, but we still have each other…"
"You're right, Sasami," Tenchi picked the girl up to hug her. "We still have each other. Ryoko, Ayeka, Washu… all of us! We've been lucky and here we are feeling sorry for ourselves!"
"Oh Tenchi," Sasami hugged the boy and buried her face in his shoulder.
While rocking the girl back and forth, Tenchi stared out at the cherry blossoms floating through the air and thought back to the last words he heard his mother say. He was really out of it because of his injuries but he could still remember her words as if she was standing right next to him speaking into his ear:
"Time is short," his mother said, "but Nobuyuki and I will live our lives to the fullest, I swear. That's all that really matters."
"You're right, Mom," Tenchi said softly as a tear trickled out his eye. "Time is short. But the girls and I are going to live our lives to the fullest. This I swear."
Next: Confessions of a Princess
