No Guts; No Glory
By: Sophie5
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any of these characters except Aine, Akito, and Ranmaru. All others are the property of Pioneer, AIC, and FUNimation Entertainment. Original story/concept for the OVA's are credited to Masaki Kajishima and Hiroki Hayashi. Thank you.
Chapter One
We've Come So Far
December 2, 2019
Akito got off the bus with his sister and handed her his handkerchief. The bus pulled away and they began walking passed the stone steps leading up to the shrine through the red, wooden archways. Akito stopped just at the foot of the steps and Aine stopped a few feet ahead of him.
"Akito?"
Akito gazed up the steps and then smiled at her. "I need to talk to Dad. Why don't you head on home without me Aine?"
A quizzical expression formed on her features and she then smiled, nodding gently. "Sure. I'll start dinner."
"I think Grandpa is taking care of that. Just go and relax."
With that, Akito gripped the handle to his school bag and made his way up the steps to where his father was (without a doubt) sweeping the courtyard of the shrine. As he reached the top of the steps, he scanned the area to see if his father was, indeed, cleaning the shrine. However, when Akito called and called for him, it seemed like he was nowhere to be found.
"Dad?"
Suddenly, Akito heard a sharp wisp in the air and he immediately could sense that something was being hurled at him. Akito's black brows furrowed as he reached his hand out in front of his face, palm stretched open. A sharp pain hit the center of his hand as his fingers closed around the object.
A stone? thought Akito as his shoulders stiffened.
"Nicely done, Akito," said a familiar voice behind the trees nearby.
Akito turned his head and saw his father, Tenchi Masaki, appear from the shadows clad in his standard training clothes; a light green do-gi, blue jeans and black hiking boots. He smiled his gentle smile, his warm brown eyes causing Akito to relax a bit. Tenchi walked toward Akito, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Though I was hoping you'd dodge it rather than catching it."
Akito dropped the object in his hand and watched the small stone clatter to the pavement. He frowned, shaking his hand from side to side, hoping to alleviate the stinging sensation in the center. His frown deepened at Tenchi, slinging his schoolbag back over his shoulder. "Dad! No holds barred much?" he hissed.
Tenchi chuckled. "This is why I figured you'd dodge. You know what I always say. Expect-"
"The unexpected. I know, Dad," mused Akito boredly.
"You ready, Akito?" asked Tenchi as he led his son over to the temple steps. "For the Wake, I mean?"
"Yeah. Though I'm a little sad we're finally having it after all this time."
Tenchi's brows furrowed in concern. "You know, Akito, we don't have to have the Wake this year. We can always postpone it again for next winter."
Akito shook his head. "I think it's time. Though Aine still believes that Mom's alive out there."
His father sighed, a bit of sorrow touching his features. "As much as I can understand Aine's thoughts, I know that it's time we accepted it. I, more than almost anyone, knew just how strong your mother was. But if she were to come back to us, she would have done so by now," he said, running a hand through his black, spiky hair.
Akito looked at his dad, admiring how he hadn't changed much physically over the years. Due to his strong, Juraian blood heritage, Tenchi Masaki still looked in his twenties even though he was reaching mid-thirties. His father was one of the greatest swordsmen in the world in Akito's eyes. He truly admired how much his father's devotion was to his family and his dearly departed wife. Even though Akito and Aine weren't infants when they lost their mother, Tenchi's constant attention and care in raising them helped to ease the pain. With the help of their father's closest friends and relatives, Akito and Aine had a loving childhood all through their adolescence.
"Mihoshi's coming to the Wake this evening," said Tenchi, cutting through Akito's thoughts.
"Aunt Mihoshi? Is she able to leave Central Command at the Galaxy Police? She is Head Commissioner."
Tenchi chuckled. "If it involves skating passed her responsibilities, Mihoshi will do it. Besides, it's been almost three years since we last saw her. Her top priority has been trying to get any leads on locating your mother."
Akito nodded. "What about Aunt Sasami and Aunt Ayeka?"
"They'll be here tomorrow. Some business came up on Jurai." He then smiled at his son, ruffling his hair a bit. "How are you adjusting to your looks, Akito?"
Akito rolled his eyes while groaning. "I hate doing this everyday!"
Tenchi laughed whole-heartedly, something he hadn't seen and heard in a while. Perhaps it was a sign for them to finally move on. "Well, you only have to deal with it for one more year."
"I hate doing this everyday!" snapped Aine as she sat directly in front of her grandmother, Washu.
Washu frowned, her green eyes reprimanding as she tossed her fire red hair behind her and gripped onto her electric tweezers. "Regardless. It's to be done to give your family less grief. Do I need to remind you of last year's incident?"
Aine pouted, folding her arms roughly against her chest. "No," she said shortly. "But that wasn't entirely my fault!"
A sweat drop formed over Washu's head. "No. But because of what happened, not only were you exposed but so was Akito. I may be the Greatest Genius Scientist in the Universe, but that memory sweep was a hassle. Sometimes it's best to keep a low profile."
"Okay! I get it already! I'm just annoyed because I feel like I'm wearing a disguise everyday."
Washu nodded in understanding, gesturing for Aine to open her mouth. "I know Dear, but it must be done. I can only handle you and Akito's reeling hormones so much. You only have to do this again for one more year," she said, reaching inside Aine's mouth and removing the Gene Altering Membrane chip from the roof of her granddaughter's mouth.
As soon as the device was taken out, Aine's jet black hair instantly faded back to its natural cyan color. Her brown eyes remained the same color, but took on a slightly more feline look in the pupils and corners of her eyes. Her canines grew a bit more pointed than before. Aine's hair was still spiky, but pulled back in a ponytail how she liked it.
Washu smiled, admiring how beautiful her granddaughter was. "There's my little Aine! Once you graduate, you don't have to worry about this silly little thing anymore," she explained as she placed the Membrane chip into a small, white container. "I'm assuming Akito's with Tenchi?"
Aine nodded, licking her tongue over her "fangs" gingerly. "I guess he needed to talk to Dad about tonight." A slight shadow went over Aine's eyes and Washu instinctively reached out to touch the back of her granddaughter's hand.
"I know it must be hard for you, but you must understand that your mother needs to be put to rest. We've waited for her return for quite some time now." Washu spoke gently and with great wisdom, even though she still appeared to look the age of a fourteen-year-old.
"I know Grandma. But I just can't help but feel that she may still be out there…alive and trying to come back to us."
Washu patted Aine on the head. "She'll always remain alive in our hearts," she said, and then winked. "And how many times have I told you to call me 'Little Washu?' Calling me 'Grandma' makes me feel so old!"
Aine laughed. "Fine, fine. Are you going to train Akito and me on our energy discharge abilities today?"
The scientist closed her eyes, folding her arms against her chest. Akito and Aine had gained many of their mother's abilities: super speed, agility, flight, teleportation, and about a month ago discovered they could shoot out energy discharges as well as form their own energy swords. Akito's was green and could wield two at once while Aine's sword was a pale blue. She preferred to use just one sword, but when sparring with Akito, she would use one long sword and one short sword for defense. The only ability they lacked was being able to walk through walls and neither had shown any signs that they could produce Light Hawk Wings…yet.
Those two are really getting strong. It will only be a matter of time before they can produce Light Hawk Wings like Tenchi and Ryoko, thought Washu.
"Uh, Grandma?"
"Little Washu," corrected Washu, revealing one emerald eye. "And I want to get the Membrane chip out of your brother first before we do. Besides, we haven't even had dinner yet and your Aunt Mihoshi should be arriving soon."
Aine's eyes brightened. "Aunt Mihoshi's coming to the Wake? But isn't she busy with Galaxy Police stuff?"
Washu shook her head. "No. She'd take time off to at least come down for this. Your Aunt Ayeka and Aunt Tsunami are coming down tomorrow for the actual funeral."
"Really? Wow, I haven't seen them since Thanksgiving. Are they going to stay for Christmas?"
"They may. Tsunami might, but Ayeka's Empress of Jurai now. She may only be able to stay for a week or so," said Washu. "Your cousin Ranmaru may be coming with them."
Aine blushed slightly. "R-Ranmaru's coming?" she stammered nervously.
Washu giggled. "I said he might."
There was a knock on the door in Washu's lab and both she and Aine watched as the closet door appeared and opened. It was Akito. He peered behind the bright orange door, making sure none of Washu's devices were about to snatch him up and begin probing him. He had his father's sense of cautiousness. Ryo-Ohki sat atop Akito's head, meowing playfully.
"Uh, Little Washu, Aine? It's almost dinner time."
Washu clapped her hands. "Ah! Little Akito! Come here so I can get that chip out of your mouth!"
A sweat drop formed over Akito's head. "No, that's okay. I don't mind it so much as I used to."
"Nonsense! Leave that in there for more than forty-eight hours and your temporary genetic alteration will become permanent! Now come here."
And with that, Washu snapped her fingers and a metal sphere appeared, wrapping its arms around Akito's body as he yelled out in discomfort. He really hated it when she probed him like this, but she only did so because Washu liked how cute he looked trying to squirm away. To this day, Akito still didn't know that removing the Gene Altering Membrane chip was a simple and quick process.
And Aine never told him either.
To be continued…
Author's Note: One thing that should be duly noted is that the original Prologue for No Guts; No Glory was actually split in half and this is the second part of the original prologue. However, after going back and re-reading it through again, I realized that the original seven pages seemed far too long for a standard profile to introduce new characters into the series. My OC's, Aine and Akito Masaki, are just revealed to show not only how their relationship is with each other, but that the death of their mother is something that they are just now starting to cope with after nearly ten years of denial. In this chapter, the second half of the prologue – now transformed into chapter one for NG;NG – gives a chance to see two of the original canon cast from Tenchi Muyo! and I like that. Anyway, let me know if you loved or hated this chapter and I'll see about updating this when I can. I feel like I can push myself harder if I have a pretty active fan base cheering me on. Until the next chapter!
