Sigma House: Year One

by Sam-Cooke

Tenchi Masaki is off to college! But things turn out to be more than they seem when he and his slacker friend are challenged with the task of protecting Earth from invaders who seek to possess a mystical object which once enslaved the universe.

4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four: A Red Letter Day

In the far corners of Earth's solar system; a large, solemn space craft floated ominously, seemingly biding its time. The ship, though enormous in size, appeared almost invisible in the vast darkness of space, as its translucent black coating and windows cloaked it from unsuspecting eyes. The ship's crew gathered in the mess hall:

Gorou Rin; an older man, appearing to be in his forties. He held a gruff exterior; bald, with a thick, black goatee. His face was scarred and worn from years of combat. The most noticeable one stretched down the left side of his face, from his glass eye to his jaw. His daily routine mostly consisted of cleaning his assortment of heavy and light firearms.

Ren Tagi; a man appearing to be in his early thirties or so. Unlike Gorou, this man was more effeminate, to put it loosely. He had blonde, thinning hair and wore a generous amount of make-up. At the moment, he was busy giving himself a manicure.

Another man, simply known to the crew as 'The Old Man' because as far as they know, he only speaks gibberish that is decipherable only as far as the ramblings of an alzheimer's victim. In appearance, he was short and slouched, partly due to his long Santa beard. He sat alone in the far corner watching his own personal, mini-holographic television while quietly mumbling nonsense to himself.

Kahvei Fujimoto; dressed similar to a high end drug dealer, wife beater and all. The same sharp yet casual look Junichi has been going for, but doesn't look like a tool. He had long, slick black hair and dark eyes. Sat hunched over a table smoking a cigarette.

Lastly, there was Haromatsu Kasahara. The youngest of the group, his late teens or so. He didn't so much fit in with the others in appearance; he in no way resembled a hardened criminal, but rather just another socially awkward teen. He had shoulder length light brown hair, that he draped over his face which seemed to assume perpetual gloom. He sat by himself in the far corner, listening to a conversation between the other crew members...

"So anyone know what's up with the Boss? I'm starting to get sick of waiting around in the middle of buttfuck nowhere." Gorou said.

"Maybe he's gone chicken on us." Kahvei quipped.

"I'd watch my mouth if I were you, honey, the Boss doesn't like that kind of talk." Ren said.

"Yeah, and he's been locked away in his quarters this whole time, what the hell is he doing in there, I wanna see some action!" Gorou exclaimed.

"Well, just don't forget who we're dealing with here; Akura and the Prince Of Jurai... not exactly a bunch nobodies." Ren added.

"Bullshit. Akura's been on the couch for twenty years, and I don't see what's supposed to be so scary about the Juraian kid... Kagato was just some lab geek." Kahvei replied.

"Then why don't you go bring up your concerns to the boss, personally." Ren suggested.

Gorou scoffed, "To hell with that..." Then went back to cleaning his weapons.

The Old Man sitting in the corner of the room suddenly turned around and looked at the rest of the crew, "I tell ya... that FDR's gonna fix this economy any day now..." He said to an unresponsive audience.

"Hey Haro, go change it to 60 Minutes for The Old Man so he shuts up." Gorou asked.

Harohatsu shot up from his seat and left the room, apparently ignoring Gorou's request. The crew watched with eyebrows raised.

"Wonder what's up his ass..." Ren inquired.

Haromatsu made his way across the ship to the Boss's chamber doors. He stood in front for a few seconds before the automatic doors opened, letting him in. The Boss's chamber was a huge, darkened room, the only light retaining from fleeting glimpses of the stars through a couple windows. The Boss sat in the middle of the room, on a throne-like chair, wrapped in a robe which cloaked most of his appearance.

"Harohatsu... and to what do I owe this visit?" The Boss called out as Haro made his way closer to him.

Harohatsu stood in front of The Boss and stared him directly in the eye, confidence apparently illuminating off him. "Sir... I've..." He struggled to begin his first sentence. "Sir... the crew is ready."

"Ready for what?" The Boss asked, almost rhetorical sounding.

"We're ready to fight, we're ready to take the Rock of Beryllos. Sir, don't you think we should make our move as soon as possible before others find out?" Harohatsu's confidence picked up.

"We made our move, remember, Akura and the Prince Of Jurai tore those mecha apart... they were so expensive too." The Boss spoke down to Harohatsu.

"Don't you think we're more capable than those machines?" Harohatsu asked.

"So have you started your mutiny, yet?" The Boss lifted his head.

Harohatsu's eyes shifted, a faint hint of concern laced his voice, "I- what?" He replied, reverting back to his old speech pattern.

"Well, surely you feel my leadership skills are no longer adequate and now the crew are taking the ship with you as their leader." The Boss continued.

"Sir... there's no mutiny." Harohatsu pleaded.

The Boss sat forward in his seat, his elbows rested on his knees, holding his head up. "So then... you just came here to tell me I'm an idiot, then?"

Harohatsu hesitated to answer, "No, sir... I- just wanted to talk about-"

"Talk? That's it?" The Boss shouted before shooting up from his chair and walking towards Haromatsu, who at this time had begun perspire, yet remained frozen still.

As the boss heaved himself from the chair, his robe fell off, revealing himself to be an extremely large and hulking man. His specific physical features could only be glimpsed through the darkness. He was about nine feet tall, had huge bulging muscles, and was completely bald. His face was disfigured, as if it were the results of a massive bludgeoning.

"I don't ask for much... do you understand?" The Boss explained as he stomped forward towards Harohatsu. "But I do have one rule... one measly rule... and that is not to talk to me, unless it's entirely necessary."

The Boss stood towering over Harohatsu, who was still frozen stiff, not looking the Boss directly in the eye.

"And do you know why I have this rule?" The Boss asked, as he paced circles around Harohatsu.

Harohatsu remained struggled to compose himself, he gulped, "Because you hate talking to people."

"Because I hate talking to people... that's correct..." The Boss put his hand on top of Harohatsu's head and sort of jolted it from side to side. His grip was tight at first, but he soon loosened it as he tried to compose himself. "But I'm not mad..." The Boss snickered, then began to pace circles around Harohatsu again. "You've been flirting with my girl haven't you?"

Harohatsu was more confused than everything else, "What do you mean, sir?" He asked.

"Oh, don't play coy with me. She's a fine lady... I don't blame you for wanting her... But she can be bad for you... She tries to play tricks on your mind... She needs someone like me, someone who understands her, who can share in her pain..." The Boss stopped pacing for a moment, "Don't you understand, Harohatsu, you just see her as... a Rock... and that's all she is to you. She'll never love you, you need to let her go, she's bad for you..."

Harohatsu remained frozen perfectly still. Not wanting to say one more word.

"I just don't want to see you hurt..." The Boss sighed.

"Sir, the Rock, it doesn't control me, I just think we have our best chance-" Harohatsu was silenced when the Boss grabbed him by his hair and gently tugged at it.

"Harohatsu, when I first brought you aboard this crew, you were but a young boy... something that appealed to me as a sort of novelty. But the problem with novelty items is that their value wears out over time..." The Boss let go of his hair and began to pace around him again, repeatedly reaching out to grab and jerk Harohatsu around by his neck, and give him nice little love taps to the head, sort of like what a big brother would do to his younger sibling. "You're becoming a man now, Harohatsu, and frankly I've noticed signs of you deteriorating into a very boring person..." He continued. "You're a great space pirate and all, a very proficient killer... but what else do you have that should interest me?" The once again stopped pacing and wrapped his two enormous hands around Harohatsu's neck.

Harohatsu began to quiver in fear.

"So, what's actually keeping you here?" The Boss asked as his grip tightened around Harohatsu's neck.

As Harohatsu felt his Boss's tightening grip around his throat and less air entering his lungs. Tears began to shoot out of his eyes, his face petrified with fear.

The Boss watched with his hands still throttling the boy's neck as Harohatsu's tears became more prominent. After a few moments of this, he smiled, then loosened his grip. Harohatsu dropped to the floor, on his knees. He coughed a few times, then stumbled back to his feet.

"Aww, how could I even think to hurt a face like that." The Boss spoke in a very loving manner. He then grabbed Harohatsu by his chin and made him look up, "Look at all those tears... just like the little boy I remember." The Boss sneered, then walked back to his chair. "And remember, don't come and bother me unless you have something good to say. You may go." The Boss said as he sat down.

Harohatsu began making his way to the door.

"See you later, Harohatsu, or should I say, Little Haro?" The Boss bid farewell as Harohatsu left the room.

As soon as he was out the door, Harohatsu marched his way back through the ship, furious, still trying to hold back tears.

Unfortunately, he still had to walk through the mess hall. The crew all looked as he came marching through the mess hall, trying to get out as quickly as possible.

"Uh oh, looks like someone got yelled at by the Boss." Gorou teased.

The crew began to laugh at Harohatsu as he continued to pass through without making eye contact.

"Hey Haro, he make you his bitch?" Kahvei asked as he lit a cigarette.

"If you needed some K-Y, you could've just asked." Ren added.

Harohatsu finally made his way through the exit without looking back. The crew continued their laughter riot.

The Old Man was the last to quit, "I tell you, that Rita Hayworth sure is top heavy." He said.

Harohatsu's destination was the ship's pod room. He climbed into one of the pods and without hesitation, and took off into space.

The Boss watched out his window as Harohatsu made his way towards Earth. "No harm in killing two birds with one stone, let's just hope my little present makes it there safely." The Boss said to himself.

Harohatsu's pod drew closer and closer to Earth, "No Rock controls me... when I bring back the head of the Prince of Genissant, that'll show those assholes." The pod entered in Earth's orbit and Harohatsu set the landing coordinates for just outside of Hanayama University. "Now, Prince of Genissant, let's see what you're made of..."

It was mid-morning, Earth time in Japan. Keisuke was busy in the backyard with his electric hedge trimmer in one hand and a cigarette in the other, cutting the fat off of the bushes. Though, he seemed to be making things worse for wear. Keeping him company was a fifth of whiskey, which was about halfway down the line and his MP3 player. He sang along with the lyrics:

"Here's a little somethin' bout a nigga like me

Never shoulda been let out the penititary

Keisuke would like ta say

That I'm a crazy mutha fucka from around the way!

Since I was a youth, I smoked weed out

Now I'm the mutha fucka that ya read about

Takin' a life or two

That's what the hell I do, you don't like how I'm livin

Well fuck you!"

Harohatsu was waiting in the trees, studying his victim in his natural habitat.

He smiled and snickered at the prospect of victory.

Keisuke shut off his trimmer in order to take a whiskey break, though he still had his MP3 player going.

Harohatsu jumped from the trees and landed in the backyard, Keisuke apparently hadn't noticed.

"Cause I'm tha type o' nigga that's built ta last

If ya fuck wit me I'll put a foot in ya ass

See I don't give a fuck 'cause I keep bailin

Yo, what the fuck are they yellin"

Keisuke continued singing.

Harohatsu stood and drew his sword, pointing it at Keisuke, who still appeared to be none the wiser.

"Prince Of Genissant!" Harohatsu exclaimed, apparently not seeing Keisuke's earphones. "My name is Harohatsu Kasahara of the Shisou Space Pirates, and I have come to challenge you to a duel to the death, warranted by the Rock of Beryllos.

Keisuke took one last gulp from his bottle then grabbed his hedge trimmer and continued to trim the bushes, still oblivious to Harohatsu's presence.

"Hey!" Harohatsu shouted.

Keisuke glaced over his shoulder, seeing Harohatsu standing there. He shut off the trimmer, then removed his earphones. He stared at Harohatsu for a few moments with a look of confusion upon his brow.

Harohatsu stood waiting for a reply, "Well?" He asked, annoyed.

Keisuke continued with his blank stare for a few moments. His eyes moved up and down Harohatsu, examining his sword and funny looking clothes. "Um... the D'n'D club meets at Gamma house, dude." He said.

Harohatsu's eyes twitched, "What? I said I'm here to kill you!" He screamed.

"Hey, wait a minute... This doesn't have anything to do with the gas bill does it? Cause I called those guys and they said it'd be okay if I paid next week-"

"You idiot, I'm here for the Rock of Beryllos!" Harohatsu screamed again.

Keisuke hiccupped, "Oh..." His drunken mind has just caught up. "Oh, my. I'm not really sure what to say..." He replied.

Harohatsu pointed his sword back at Keisuke, "Your prayers oughta be a nice start." He suggested.

Keisuke's eyes widened, "Hey, that's a good one, now let me think of one to fire back at you..." Keisuke said, then began scratching his chin, in thought of a response.

Haromatsu dropped his sword again, growing more and more irritated by the second, "What the hell do you think you're doing?" He flamed.

Keisuke looked at Harohatsu, "Huh? Well, I was-"

"Do you think this is a joke or something?" Harohatsu interrupted him.

"Well, no, I was just trying to think of a comeback so I didn't look-"

"I don't have to take any insults from some fat idiot like you! I'm Harohatsu Kasahara, one of the fiercest killers in the entire universe and I'm here to take your head! So start taking this seriously, god damn it!" Harohatsu screamed, practically at the top of his lungs.

"Okay, geez! You don't need to be a jerk!" Keisuke exclaimed.

"I've had enough of this talk, draw your weapon!" Harohatsu proclaimed, as he for the third time pointed his sword in Keisuke's direction.

Keisuke looked down at his hedge trimmer, ran it a couple of times, then shrugged his shoulders.

Harohatsu moved into battle stance, then lunged towards Keisuke.

Keisuke, hedge trimmer still in hand, stumbled back, holding onto the trigger.

They charged at each other for what seemed like ten seconds, before the chord on Keisuke's 'weapon' began stretching too far and was yanked out of the electric outlet it was plugged in to. Keisuke noticed the trimmer had stopped, so in a fit of confusion, he stopped in his tracks to look back, revealing the disconnected plug. "Aw, shit..." He groaned.

Though Keisuke's attention had been drawn away, Harohatsu kept the charge going and dealt Keisuke an upward strike with his blade.

slice

Keisuke looked back, he and Harohatsu watched in sequence, in what seemed like slow motion at the time, as Keisuke's right arm was severed clean off. The two watched as the bloody limb flew through the air, hedge trimmer still attached, until it finally hit the ground.

The two stood in silence for a few moments, Keisuke, in his drunken stupor, still not quite processing what had just happened. It wasn't until he looked at the bloody nub where his arm use to be that he finally popped back into reality. "Gah!" He screamed, then began to quiver from shock. "You- you fucker... You chopped my arm off... I can't-" He panted, using his other hand to feel the empty space his arm once occupied.

Harohatsu snickered, relishing in apparent victory, "Well, I was hoping for a bit more than that, but I guess it'll have to do." He said as he wiped the blood off his blade.

Keisuke was still fixated on the loss of his arm, no longer processing Harohatsu's presence. "Look at it, it's not there anymore..." He spoke in a dreaded, hushed tone as he wiggled his bloody nub. His skin began to turn pale, the severed portion of his arm still gushing with blood.

Harohatsu prepared to deliver a death blow now, "Yeah, sorry about that pal... Here let me take your mind off the pain..." He said as he prepared to slice at Keisuke's neck.

"Why I can hardly believe my eyes, is that Little Haro I see down there?" A voice rang out from above.

Harohatsu paused to look up at the roof of the mansion where he saw none other than Ryoko standing, looking down at him. His rough, confident exterior suddenly reverted to illuminating caution. He stood back to get a good look. "Ry—Ryoko? I didn't know you were here!" He said.

Keisuke was still standing by in shock, unaware of his surroundings.

"It's been a long time... the last time I remember seeing you, you were just this tiny little thing." Ryoko mockingly reminisced.

Harohatsu began to back away, inch by inch. He finally composed himself and attempted to stand his ground, but still didn't utter a word.

"So what brings you around these parts, huh?" She asked, rhetorically. "You weren't giving my landlord any trouble now, were you?" Her tone grew more threatening by the syllable.

Harohatsu's continued to stand his ground, "You don't scare me, Ryoko!" He assuringly retorted.

Ryoko frowned, "I don't? Then perhaps we can find something that does." She said before disappearing and reappearing behind Harohatsu with a ball of energy. "Does this scare you?" She asked as she inched closer to Harohatsu, who, in turn, moved back, in step.

"My, my, my... look at you, all grown up, huh, Little Haro?" She commented, with a mix of threat and mockery. "What a cutie you turned out to be. Too bad I had to see this before I met Tenchi, otherwise I might be able to teach you a thing or two." She lovingly quipped.

Harohatsu once again attempted to stand his ground, "I'm not Little Haro anymore, Ryoko. I'm a space pirate and I'm here with the rest of them and we're gonna take the Rock of Beryllos!" He assured her.

Ryoko laughed, "That sounds like a threat." She said before cornering him against the mansion's outer wall and materializing a sword from her ball of energy. "Maybe you ought to think twice before coming around and bullying my friends... I really hate to have to mess up that cute little mug of yours." Ryoko continued to threaten as she inched closer and Harohatsu's panic grew.

Ryoko extended her arm, in preparation to strike Harohatsu down with her blade...

"Hold on, Ryoko!" Keisuke shouted from the background.

Ryoko slowly turned her head, squinching her eyes, "What is it?" She asked, annoyed.

Harohatsu stood frozen with his back pressed against the wall. Pausing to reflect on his death being postponed.

Keisuke stood before them in gleaming confidence. His signature sloping posture and blank face had been overcome as he stood firm and straight, his eyes showed a conviction not often seen in his expression. Even Ryoko and Harohatsu were forced to pause their previous engagement in order to glimpse upon this moment.

"Don't kill him!" Keisuke ordered in a stern tone.

Ryoko raised her eyebrow, "Come again?" She asked.

"I'm going to do it!" Keisuke proclaimed.

Ryoko blinked a few times, "Oh... okay, I guess I can hold him while you cut his throat or something-"

"No! I want to fight him myself!" Keisuke interrupted.

"Are you out of your mind? You're missing an arm!" Ryoko shouted, "And he's, like, right here. I can kill him right now!"

"That son of a bitch took my arm... I'd say I'm entitled to some payback!" Keisuke gripped his right arm, causing the nub to squirt a few spouts of blood.

"Yeah, I took his arm, he's entitled to some payback!" Harohatsu concurred.

Ryoko looked back at Harohatsu, "You be quiet!" She yelled, to which Harohatsu was obliged to listen. "Damn it, how do you expect to fight him with one arm? You're not thinking straight!" She continued.

"One week, give me one week to prepare myself for battle. Then I just want it to be me and him, a fight to the death!" Keisuke spoke with great conviction.

Ryoko, trying to reason with Keisuke began to gesture her arms in a fit of annoyance, "But, seriously, he's right here, I can just kill him now!" She exclaimed.

Noticing Ryoko had dropped her guard, Harohatsu made a fast one, jumping into the air and landing on top of one of the trees in the back yard. "That sounds like a fair request to me. And, after all, we're obliged to listen to the Prince of Genissant."

Ryoko buried her face in her hands, "Oh geez." She said as she used her fingers to massage her forehead, "I give up..." She grumbled.

Keisuke looked up to Harohatsu, "So you're not gonna chicken out, are you?"

He asked.

Harohatsu's eye twitched, "I never chicken out." He assured Keisuke.

"Good, be here in one week, I'll make sure if you win, nobody will touch you. Just be here in one week." Keisuke finished.

Harohatsu stared Keisuke in the eye, then laughed, "What do you mean 'if' I win?" He got the last word in before making his hasty getaway.

Ryoko still had her face buried in her hands, "Oh, God... what have I just done." She moaned to herself before looking back at Keisuke, who still appeared to be focused and steady. She then suddenly noticed his severed arm again, "Um... Keisuke, don't you think we ought to take care of that?" She asked.

"Hmm?" Keisuke said as if he had been caught off guard. Before soon enough remembering the problem himself. He looked back down at his arm, "Oh, right... I almost forgot about that." He commented, before promptly falling down unconscious.

Ryoko immediately brought Keisuke to Washu's laboratory, to receive medical treatment. Keisuke laid down on an operating table unconscious, with his arm wrapped in some sort of cloth as Ryoko stood close by.

Washu sat by the surgical table, prepping her medical devices; a small, ray-beam like instrument and a syringe. She had dressed herself in her surgeon's uniform just for the occasion. "So, our boy's gone and gotten himself his first severed limb, they grow up so fast, don't they?" She joked as she prepped her gadgets. "So, this guy, you knew who he was?" She asked Ryoko.

"Yeah, from a long time ago, but he was just a kid then, now he's a really big kid." Ryoko replied. "But he's not who I'm worried about. He said the others were with him, and if that's true then this whole thing's gonna turn out to be more trouble than we thought."

"So... sounds like you're gonna have some explaining to do for the others." Washu said.

Ryoko sighed, "Yeah..."

Washu finished prepping. "All set!" She exclaimed, then held her hand out, "Okay, let's see the appendage."

Ryoko handed Washu the arm, still wrapped in cloth. Washu unraveled the arm and attached it to the bloody nub. She then grabbed her 'ray-gun' device, which dispensed a ray of light that illuminated around the wounded area and systematically reattached the bone, veins, and tissue. "Now... time to wake the patient." She announced, as she grabbed the syringe, poked it into his neck, then pressed down on the plunger.

Keisuke's eyes shot wide open and sat up, immediately after the syringe was removed. He began frantically gasping in a panic, "No, please, not the right one, that's the good one!" He screamed hysterically, as if he had just awoken from a dream.

Washu smacked Keisuke across the face, "Calm down, everything's fine!" She exclaimed before smacking him again.

Keisuke's rate of breath began to decrease as he looked down to see his arm still attached, "Oh... it was just a dream, thank you merciful genius..." He panted.

"It's no dream kiddo, you almost got yourself killed there for a second." Washu told Keisuke.

"What... you mean?" Keisuke looked shocked, still using the energy to practically grope his beloved right arm.

"Yup, I'm afraid so..." Washu concurred.

Keisuke hugged Washu, practically squeezing the life out of her, "Oh, thank you, Washu! You're the best!" He cried before throwing her aside and making a run for the door. "I need to go test something, don't come in my room!" He shouted as he made his hasty exit.

Ryoko and Washu watched as this happened, Washu trying to regain her breath from Keisuke's bear hug. "Think he's worried about the fight?" Washu asked, rhetorically.

Later that night, Ryoko and Washu assembled a meeting with everyone in the household. They all sat and stood around the living room area, discussing the day's prior events.

"The Shisou Space Pirates!" They all gasped simultaneously.

Daisuke cocked his head, "Wait, who in the hell are The Shisou Space Pirates?" He asked.

"Don't you Earthlings know anything?" Keisuke asked, in a condescending voice.

"Check it out, Alf thinks he's smarter than us now!" Junichi replied.

Keisuke shot up from his seat and shot Junichi a look, "You wanna say that again, bitch?" He spoke in a threatening tone.

Junichi remained seated and crossed his legs, "I called you Alf, can't you hear nothin' right?" He replied.

Keisuke scoffed, "What, is that supposed to be an insult or something?" He asked sarcastically.

"Makes sense to me, you're a fat, hairy alien who has fists shoved up his ass." Maiya chimed in.

"Oh man, we're totally calling you Alf from now on." Daisuke laughed.

"The only thing is, he kills dogs instead of cats." Denise quipped.

Keisuke shot a look back over to Denise, "Oh geez, when are you gonna stop going on about your stupid dog? I'm just as guilty as anyone else here for killing that thing."

"Okay, okay!" Akura raised his voice over the crowd. "Everybody settle down." He tried to calm the fray, "...especially you Alf." He pointed to Keisuke.

Everyone laughed. Keisuke rolled his eyes, then plopped back down in his chair, crossing his arms.

Akura took a drag from his cigarette, "What have you got for us, Agent Makabi?" He asked.

Everyone looked to Kiyone, who, in turn stood up and took a deep breath.

"The Shisou Space Pirates are among the most notorious criminals in the history of the Galaxy Police. Since their inception, they've consistently been ranked among the Top Five Most Wanted in the Universe... but recently, since Kagato's case was closed and Ryoko's statute of limitations had been reached, their names were bumped up to number one...

They originally caught the eye of the Galaxy Police over twenty years ago, when a small band of them infiltrated an independent weapon's manufacturer and stole an experimental battleship. The ship they took turned out to have sophisticated cloaking technology, which they used to perpetrate their next criminal act...

Using the ship's technology, they staged a bold and much larger operation deep into the heart of Juraian territory. They snuck past Jurai's defenses without detection... Their target was a planet which mined and harvested resources the Juraian home planet and many of her colonies used. Those who were there, estimate their numbers at the time to have been several-thousand. In mere hours, the Shisou Space Pirates managed to leave the once thriving planet and its inhabitants utterly decimated. Both Jurai's military and the Galaxy Police Force attempted to respond, but by the time they got their it was too late. The Shisou Pirates stole what they could and fled Juraian territory, leaving a path of destruction behind them.

The assault costed Jurai billions of lives and astronomical amounts in resources. It had been the most devastating attack on Jurai and her people since Ryoko's attack on the home planet. Overnight their names were among the top Galaxy Police's Most Wanted Criminals. We were given support from Jurai who now considered them enemies of the state, but the Shisou Space Pirates numbers only grew and their raids only became more brutal, using the same sneak tactic they became infamous for.

They were labeled as a Terrorist Enterprise since their raids were primarily on Jurai and Galaxy Police Institutions. As a result, these labels gained them favor with many anti-establishment groups, especially those opposed to Juraian Imperialism.

Fortunately, their early successes didn't stick. With time, their numbers steadily decreased and their behavior began to resemble mere space piracy, though their affinity for targeting government run operations never ceased.

Though their activity has slowed, in recent years, they're still considered a major threat. And because of their erratic membership, only a handful have been charged for the many crimes committed. Even to this day, little is known about the origins or the inner workings of the Shisou Space Pirates... and even less is known about their mysterious figurehead, only known to records as 'The Boss'. His face is covered in scars and bruises, which makes it impossible to get a physical identification from photos, and the majority of prisoners we've taken in affiliation with the group have never seen him in the flesh.

Only one thing's for certain; he's a complete nut ball, to both his enemies and his crew. There's accounts of him slaughtering both those closest to him or even ones unlucky enough to catch him on a bad day. This brutality caused many to desert, which is the primary reason their original campaigns never lasted."

Kiyone sighed heavily, finally finished.

"So the guy who came here this morning, he was one of these Shisou Space Pirates?" Akura asked Ryoko.

"Yeah, his name's Harohatsu." Ryoko replied.

"Wow, and you were really friends with these people Ryoko?" Mihoshi asked.

Ayeka looked at Kiyone, "So, now that Ryoko's an admitted collaborator with these space pirates, shouldn't that be enough to have her file reinstated?"

Ryoko growled and grabbed Ayeka by her shirt collar, "You got something to say to me, Princess?" She asked in a threatening tone.

"I'm just wondering if we should trust you, given your history with our enemies." Ayeka snarked.

Ryoko let Ayeka go, not wanting to damage her image, "Look, I was never a part of their crew. It's just every now and then I'd roll with them, you know, when I needed a hiding place and such... The Boss used to like me and he was very helpful-"

"You're saying you knew The Boss, personally?" Kiyone seemed a bit shocked.

"And what do you mean by liked?" Ayeka chimed in, trying to rile up the crowd. Ayeka then smiled, trying to piss Ryoko off some more, "Oh, when you say 'like', do you mean-"

Ryoko rushed to silence Ayeka, "No, no, it was never like that, damn it! You didn't know the guy, he liked to talk to me about Kagato's work, that's all."

"A science buff, huh? Doesn't sound like such a bad guy to me." Washu commented. "Hey, if he was so interested in science, why didn't you ever talk about my work?" She whined.

"Because I didn't know who the hell you were! Remember, mom?" Ryoko scoldingly replied.

"Oh yeah..." Washu said as she took a sip of tea, "Speaking of which, why don't you hurry up and tell us about your first name basis?" Washu asked.

"Hey, I thought I told you stay out of my mind, woman!" Ryoko growled, grabbing Washu by her shirt collar.

"What first name basis?" Kiyone barked.

Ryoko, still holding onto Washu, looked at the room who stared back at her intently with disapproving scowls. Washu snickered, "Oh, it's some juicy stuff..."

"Shut up!" Ryoko shook Washu.

Kiyone got into Ryoko's face, "Ryoko! Do you mean to tell us that you've been holding onto valuable information about known criminals this whole time?"

Ryoko stared back at Kiyone sporting a 'deer caught in the headlights' look, yet still grasping onto Washu's collar. "Uh, well, it never came up before..." Ryoko stammered before releasing Washu and then focusing her offensive behavior on Kiyone, who recoiled at her intimidating gestures. "Besides! I don't have to talk to anyone, ya hear? I'm no snitch!" Ryoko barked only to notice everyone's disapproving scowls again. She snickered out of embarrassment, "But since it's become a more personal matter, I guess I'll let some things slip." Ryoko cleared her throat, "Okay so, it's really no big deal, but me and some of his friends use to call him Satoshi... Satoshi Yorei."

Akura's eyes widened and shot a look over to Ryoko, "Satoshi Yorei?"

"What's the matter, Akura?" Tenchi asked, concerned.

Akura stood silent for a moment, his eyes went harder than normal, seemingly fixated to the floor, "I know that name..." He spoke ominously.

As if the needle had been knocked off a record, Daisuke stood to address the crowd, "Okay, just one second... before we go taking another trip down Memory Lane; might I remind everyone that the Buffaloes game starts in five minutes... And it's just that I got money on it and all-"

"Yeah, and I've got like... a term paper, or a midterm paper or something due tomorrow." Denise added, who had been busy applying mascara to her eyes.

Maiya went ahead and stood up from her seat, "Besides, this whole thing really doesn't concern us humans, anyway, does it?"

"Sit down!" Akura shouted, prompting Daisuke, Maiya, Junichi, Denise, and Fumiko to jump back in their seats.

"So who's this Satoshi Yorei person?" Ayeka asked Akura.

Akura lifted his gaze from the floor, "It began many years ago, back in my days on Gennisant. Satoshi Yorei was a General in the Gennisant Army during the final stages of planning for the mission on Earth. My elite outfit was called back to Gennisant in order to quell a rebellion that had been going on in one of our sectors. We were able to force a surrender within days, but little did we know what was to come next...

After the fighting had ceased, Satoshi Yorei's personal regiment was reported missing. Several patrol groups were sent out to find them, but none returned. I soon decided to take matters into my own hands..."

Akura was brought back to his dream from the night before. He stared into the figures eyes as it crept from the shadows, revealing a younger Satoshi aka 'The Boss'. Though his enormous size was still a key attribute, his face did not show the hideous scars and bruises of his later years. Despite his size, he held a very boyish looking face with a sort of 'mop-head' groom.

Akura inconspicuously put his hand on his blade, "General Yorei, as your superior officer, I'm hereby ordering you to stand down." Akura looked him in the eye.

Satoshi stopped in his tracks and shot Akura an unsettling grin. "And if I refuse?"

"Failure to comply will result in the use of deadly force." Akura replied, prompting his remaining troops jumped into formation around him, drawing their swords. Akura remained unbudging in his authoritative posture.

Satoshi began to laugh, "Oh, Akura... It really does make you happy, doesn't it? To put on your uniform every morning and flash your signs of authority to those you suckered into obedience. I guess I can be found guilty of the same thing, though." He looked around at the corpses of his once fellow soldiers, "These zombies you and your Juraian overlords created. They will be forgiven..." Satoshi looked back to Akura, "You, however, will find no place in the grace of her light! You and all of your kind will not live to see the new world which we will create!"

Akura finally drew his sword, but did not approach Satoshi, "You weak fool, you let it take ahold of you!" He exclaimed.

In the heat of the moment, the startled soldiers took the defensive gestures on both sides, as cues to attack. Satoshi, ever on the defensive, quickly drew his sword and slashed the first two soldiers on the frontline, killing them both, then jumping to the rooftops; avoiding Akura and the remaining soldiers who had just leapt in for the kill.

Akura looked up to Satoshi, "There's no escape Satoshi! The planet's surrounded by our troops!"

Satoshi looked down on Akura, his creepy gaze showing little worry of his own fate, "That's where you're wrong..." He assured him. Just at that moment, a smaller Gennisant ground ship appeared hovering above Satoshi. "Now who's the fool? You fell right into my trap."

The ship began to fire upon Akura and his soldiers, as they rushed to find cover. "What the hell is going on?" One of the soldiers cried.

Satoshi remained standing on the rooftops, looking down at Akura, who was peaking around the corner of a ruined building.

"These rebels may not be the most well trained, but their will to fight is astonishing. And it was all a matter of getting you here, Akura." Satoshi explained, then turned to the ship which the rebels had taken from Akura's outpost. "Just remember what I said about cherishing your authority!" Satoshi gave his parting words, then jumped onto the ship.

"In the end, The Rock had drove him to insanity. For the next couple of years, we put all of our efforts into tracking him down, but to no avail. I knew he would return one day, which is why I opted to abandon my own military career to oversee this mission." Akura finished, the memories fading away.

"So he's been hiding in plain sight this whole time as the leader of the Shisou Space Pirates... wow, there's some nutty people in this world." Washu commented.

"The monster he became was a result of his contact with the Rock, we didn't think a man of his stature was in danger of falling under its spell. We had both entered into the Gennisant military as officers and together excelled through the ranks. We parted ways when I was admitted into the Emperor's Royal Guard and he chose to continue his pursuit in the military. Years went by as he eventually became a General and I was named Head of the Royal Guard. I tried numerous times to land him a position with the Royal Guard, even going so far as to gaining the blessing of the Juraian Council's Overseer, but he declined all offers.

I tried one last time to recruit him for the mission on Earth. Being that he was considered the finest General in current rank and a favorite of the Emperor, I brought him into the inner circle, which turned out to be my fatal mistake..." Akura finished. "I suspected something when these Shisou Space Pirates showed up, he's the only loose end who knew about the Rock's location."

Kiyone's head fell and she began massaging in between her eyes, "Oh, my God, there's going to be a lot of paperwork." She whined.

"But there's still one thing that doesn't make sense to me." Junichi chimed in.

"One thing?" Denise asked sarcastically, still mostly focused on doing her makeup.

"So if this Rock's supposed to have these godlike, mind-controlling powers, how come none of us have been affected and we've been living here for a month?" Junichi continued.

"Yeah, like the old Dean or that other group of freshmen who killed each other?" Maiya added.

"Hurray! I was just waiting for someone to notice!" Washu became all giddy.

Everyone in the room looked to Washu, "Notice what?" Ryoko asked, suspiciously.

"That I've managed to outsmart the all-powerful Rock that would otherwise be turning your minds into tapioca pudding." Washu responded.

"Miss Washu, it's late, would it be too much to ask if we could skip the gloating for one night?" Ayeka asked.

"Okay, okay..." Washu replied, poutingly. "So as I was delving into my research on our little friend, I was able to get some readings on the behavior of its subatomic emissions. With the findings, I was able to create a shield around the house."

"You mean you found a way to contain the Rock's powers?" Akura asked, interested.

"Well... not exactly, these things take time." Washu replied, almost apologizing. "You see, the emissions that the Rock emits don't behave like normal subatomic particles like air. The individual particles possess many of the same abilities as Ryoko's jewels and the Trees of Jurai. Somehow, the Ancient Gennisantians were able to harness the Rock's abilities into creating their advanced technology, thousands of years before we as species had discovered them.

Everyone gasped.

"But not only that, the behavior of its particles are sentient and know how to use their abilities. In order to combat them, I first tried creating a shield around the planet using the Juraian energy emitted from Katsuhito's tree to power it. But the particles simply traveled through." Washu continued to explain.

"Like how Ryoko was able to break through Jurai's defenses?" Mihoshi asked.

"Precisely. So after some more research, I found that electrical impulses were effective in slowing down the particles and in large jolts can actually kill them. So using the electricity generated from house, I've essentially turned it into a giant fly trapper that's killing the flow of small particles and diverting the remainders into space; at least keeping Earths inhabitants and us in the house safe." Washu finished.

"Huh... I was wondering what those big things plugged into all the outlets were for." Junichi said.

"So that's why the energy bill is so high! Washu, you need to fix this!" Keisuke exclaimed.

"Well, I have a plan to enhance the effect so none of the particles will escape, but I would need astronomical amounts of electrical currents." Washu replied.

Ayeka stood up, "Miss Washu. I think it might interest you to know that Jurai is in possession of a large electrical field in space. It's quite far away, but if I can gain permission from my father, perhaps you can figure out a way to use it for the project."

"I've heard about that thing, brilliant, Ayeka! I'd have to travel there to set up a portal, but if there's any hope of keeping this planet safe, we should spare no expense." Washu joyed.

Akura scratched his chin, "Well, it's a start, but we need to figure out what to do in the meantime. What about this Harohatsu character? Has he given you anything, yet?" He asked.

Ryoko blinked a couple of times, in apparent confusion, "Uh... I don't see why he would." She replied.

Akura continued to pace around the room, "Well, then, let me see him, maybe I can get some information out of him." Akura asked.

"You want to talk to him?" Ryoko inquired in a slightly guilty tone.

Akura shot a look back over to Ryoko, "Yes? Is that a problem?"

Ryoko's eyes rolled, "Uh... well, not really. You just might have to wait until Sunday if you wanna talk to him."

"He escaped? How? I thought you said he wasn't a problem!" Akura exclaimed.

"Well, he himself isn't really a problem, but I never said the situation itself wasn't a problem?" Ryoko replied.

Akura sighed, "Oh, Lord, what next? Start by explaining how you would let some little pissant get away from you!"

"You know what, maybe you should ask Keisuke." Ryoko replied.

Keisuke stood up and looked at Akura, "I'm gonna kick his ass on Sunday!" He cheered, fists clenched.

Akura looked at Keisuke briefly with his eyebrow twitched, then turned back to Ryoko, "What's he talking about?"

Ryoko hesitated to answer, not wanting to be yelled at again.

"Keisuke challenged Harohatsu to a fight and Ryoko let him go." Washu answered for Ryoko.

Ryoko remained silent.

"What, that doesn't make any goddamn sense, Ryoko! Don't you realize we're at war here? You couldn't have just... you know, killed him? You're not supposed to let him go!" Akura became exasperated with shaking confusion.

"Well, Keisuke told me he wanted to fight him, and he seemed so... in the moment... sure he stunk of booze and all, but-" Ryoko stumbled.

"But why would you listen to him, why would you ever listen to Keisuke?" Akura screamed at Ryoko.

"Um... I'm sorry?" Ryoko replied, half-heartedly.

"You just can't catch a break today, can you, Ryoko?" Sasami chimed in.

"I mean, what in the world would possess you to do such a stupid thing? You let an enemy escape, one that could potentially provide us with vital information, and we don't know if he's gonna come back!" Akura continued vilifying Ryoko.

"He's gonna come back, I made sure of that!" Keisuke stood up.

Akura turned his attention to Keisuke, "And you! Don't even let me get started on you!"

"Look, Akura!" Keisuke spoke over, "Aren't you always going on about how I don't care about anything? How I'm lazy? How I'm unmotivated?... So now I finally take charge of things and you're still yelling at me. How do I win with you?"

"You forgot 'stupid'. Look, you gotta understand that you're skipping steps, here. When I say you need to get motivated, I don't mean going out and picking fights with space pirates! Do you realize your parents would have me executed if they knew this was happening?" Akura retorted.

"Why not, I'm expected to be this great warrior, how do you expect me to get experience in?" Keisuke asked.

"Okay, let me try and explain this in terms you'll understand: The guy you want to fight is a 'space pirate'... you know those mean, nasty killers you read about in history books? Well, a space pirate is the same thing, except with laser beams." Akura explained. "For God's sake, the guy already took your arm, what makes you think you have a snowball's chance in hell of winning?"

"I was drunk and unprepared this morning. Besides, what about my training, don't I need to test my skills?" Keisuke spoke with great conviction.

"You took one lesson, you retard! I could find someone from the grade school kendo club that can kick your ass!" Akura retorted.

"That's why I gave it a week. You can teach me a few things by then, can't you?" Keisuke asked.

"A week isn't nearly enough time to prepare for a fight this far out of your league." Akura said.

"Tell that to Ichigo Kurosaki, he got himself up to a captain's rank in three days!" Keisuke argued.

"Who in the hell is Ichigo Kurosaki?" Akura asked.

"The main character from Bleach." Keisuke replied.

Akura buried his face in his hand, "Damn it, Keisuke, this isn't one of your stupid Japanese cartoons, this is REAL. LIFE." Akura tried desperately to reason.

Keisuke clenched his teeth, "Well, gee, ya could've fooled me. With the all the space pirates and giant robots falling out of the sky... not to mention the fact we've been talking in exposition for the past half-hour." He continued to argue.

Akura's eyes shift, "...That's beside the point. I'm not letting you fight him."

"Excuse me, but I don't think you really have a say in the matter!" Keisuke barked, his conviction catching Akura off guard. "Like me or not, I'm still the Prince of Gennisant and you will listen to what I have to say, damn it!" He practically took his own breath away.

"Fine, Keisuke, you wanna go and get yourself killed, then I guess I really can't stop you." Akura finally buckled.

"Then will you help me?" Keisuke asked.

Akura took a deep breath, "Of course, I will. If I'm gonna let you do something stupid, I may as well prepare you. Meet me tomorrow morning at the Kobayashi Dojo in downtown Sendai. Five a.m. sharp, be there."

"I will! Thanks, Akura." Keisuke replied.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I'm going back to my ship." Akura said as he left the house with his head held low.

Kiyone and Mihoshi stood up, "We'd better get headed out too, GP Headquarters is gonna wanna know about the developments on the Shisou Space Pirate case." She said. "Man, and I still have that test to study for..." She grumbled as her and Mihoshi left the house.

The rest of the congregation followed in suit and began heading their separate ways. Bidding goodnights to one and all.

Keisuke arrived at the dojo he was told at about a quarter till five. He met Akura at the door, who let him in and showed him around.

Keisuke was amazed by how classy a place it was. It was a very spacious dojo that looked to cater to all levels of kendo and other martial arts training; stocked with a plethora of top of the line equipment. "Wow, how'd you get the keys to this place?" Keisuke asked.

"An old friend of mine teaches kendo here. Luckily for us, he needed to take a few days off cause his wife's been sick, so I volunteered to substitute for him." Akura replied.

"Neat. When do we get started?" Keisuke asked, anxiously.

Akura pointed towards a walkway within the dojo, "Head into the locker room, I found a uniform in there that just might fit you."

Keisuke went into the locker room and changed into his uniform which Akura had placed alongside a kendo stick. Keisuke emerged from the locker room to find an unusual site. There Akura stood, surrounded by twenty-five to thirty entry-level kendo students. They were all between the ages of eight and ten, and were all ready and dressed with their kendo sticks in hand. Keisuke looked back up at Akura, "What's going on?" He asked.

"Remember that thing I said about the grade school kendo class?" Akura asked back in response.

"Yeah, I thought you were just being an asshole." Keisuke replied.

Akura laughed, "There's a method to my madness Keisuke." He paused for a moment to take on a more serious tone, "Now, prepare yourself. For in order to conquer your enemy, you must first rise above all expectations!"

Keisuke's mouth gaped, unsure of what to make of the situation, "Uh... Akura, I don't know about thi-" He paused himself as Akura lifted his finger and pointed at him.

"Kids, that guy over there is your enemy. Exterminate him!" Akura ordered, prompting the class of children to charge at Keisuke with glowing ferocity.

Keisuke stood still, unguarded and with genuine confusion as he watched the stampede gain towards him. He finally snapped back into reality as the first child whacked him in the chins with his kendo sword. "Ow!" Keisuke cried as he hiked his leg from the floor, leaving him even less guarded than before. The rest of the children took advantage of this as they stormed on Keisuke with a barrage of attacks from their wooden sticks.

For the first few moments, Keisuke took the pint-sized beatings, unsure of how to handle them. "Akura! What am I supposed to do? These damn things hurt!"

"Fight em', Keisuke!" Akura shouted back from the sidelines.

"I can't, they're kids!" Keisuke replied, as he tried to cover himself from the overwhelming swarm of beatings.

"Well too bad! We need to get you trained in a hurry and this is the only thing I can think of!" Akura barked. "Now if you know what's good for you, you'll fight!"

Keisuke hesitated for a few moments until he finally took a blind swing.

whack

As that particular noise rang throughout the dojo, the attack suddenly halted. Keisuke opened his eyes as they wandered to the end of his kendo sword. Before him stood a young girl, no older than eight. Standing no taller than four feet, with large brown eyes that poked out of a small, but symmetrical face. Protruding across her face was a small, thin, red mark across her right cheek. Everyone in the room stood in a frozen silence as the little girl began to breathe heavily and tears began to drip down from both sides of her face. It all culminated when the tears began to shoot from her eyes, the sounds of her crying taking over the crowd.

Keisuke eyes shot open as he ran to the aid of the little girl, "Gah! I'm sorry little girl, please don't cry!" He panicked as he touched her shoulders, trying the comfort her. Keisuke pleas seemed to work as the little girl's tears began to recede and she began to calm, using a balled up fist to dry her eyes. The girl continued to dry her eyes for a few moments, before letting out a small grunt then using the same balled up fist to punch him in the groin.

"Ow!" Keisuke grunted as he was blindsided by the girls change in tone. His kendo stick dropped and he fell to the floor, once again prompting the rest of the kids to resume their attack.

"The enemy will go to any lengths to try and achieve victory, you must be prepared for anything, Keisuke!" Akura called out as Keisuke lay on the floor, mercilessly beaten.

Over the course of the next week, Keisuke remained devoted to his training, only pausing to eat and sleep. He continued to meet with Akura every morning and was restricted to a high protein diet despite everyone else thinking it unnecessary. He also made it a habit to work on his cardio by running alongside Daisuke every day, though he never really was able to make it past a mile and a half. At nights, Tenchi would teach him some of his grandfather's sword techniques. When everyone else was away, he'd keep himself busy by sweating to the oldies with Richard Simmons and hone his other swordsmanship skills using his Nintendo Wii and some samurai-based video game. Even Akura was impressed by Keisuke's gusto as Saturday morning came along and the training headed to a close.

Keisuke's form and technique had surprisingly improved greatly in the short amount of time he had. On that final morning before the duel, he faced off against his grade-school enemies with a newfound ferocity. He took out the first wave of his attackers with one single swipe of his sword, then immediately created an unbreakable defense against them as the second wave attempted to swarm around him. Those who stayed to fight were met with quick and powerful maneuvers that sent them flying in all directions. Those who ran met with similar fates as Keisuke chased them down, knocking them all into a neat pile one by one.

Keisuke laid down arms as he looked around the room at his fallen enemies. Most of wish were either unconscious or crying. Keisuke then noticed one of the boys who was attempting to crawl out from underneath the pile. Keisuke walked over to him as he was still trying to crawl away and stopped him by stepping on one of his hands, prompting a shrill, "Ah!" to come from the boy.

Standing before his fallen foes, Keisuke raised his weapon once again, pointing it to the ceiling, "I am the greatest warrior whoever lived!" He proclaimed at the top of his voice.

"Well, Keisuke, you really do have determination, don't you? I hate to say it, but I'm proud of you." Akura said as he walked over to Keisuke, trying not to step on any children.

"So do you think I might win this thing?" Keisuke asked, enthused.

Akura laughed, "Actually, I was kinda hoping you'd see my point by now... but hey, you just have to admire all that gusto." He replied in an almost nervous chuckle, then sighed. "Anyway... I gotta go get these kids patched up... you go ahead and take the rest of the day for... personal reflection." Akura said as he left into the locker rooms.

Keisuke spent the rest of the day alone in his room. Later that evening, he thought it'd be a good idea to try and meditate. Even though he wasn't really sure what he was doing, he remained seated on the floor in complete silence for at least two hours. As the clock struck midnight, Keisuke's eyes suddenly shot open as he gasped, "Good lord! I'm gonna die, aren't I?" He exclaimed to himself. He sat up all night on his computer chair, looking out the window in a worried gaze.

It was ten in the morning when Keisuke heard a knock on his door. "Come in." He said. Akura came into the room, leaving the door open as he ascended into the room. Keisuke's expression lightened up, not wanting to show the worry that had been haunting him all night long.

"Hey, Akura." Keisuke replied, solemnly.

"Big day, huh?" Akura asked.

Keisuke took a deep breath and shot up from his chair, despite not sleeping a wink, he appeared to be full of energy, "Sure is, that guy's gonna be here soon, what do you say we get going?" Keisuke said cheerfully.

Akura shot Keisuke a subtle eye of respect, "Glad to see you're in the zone. So, go ahead and get ready, everyone's waiting out back." He said. "Is your sword ready, does it need sharpening?"

Keisuke's expression suddenly turned worried and failed to reply.

Akura raised his eyebrow, "What's the matter?" He asked.

Keisuke hesitated to answer, he began to nervously twiddle his thumb, "Yeah... well, about that... See, I didn't want to tell you cause I knew you'd be mad..." He avoided eye-contact.

"Oh no... what now?" Akura panicked.

Keisuke's eyes shifted back and forth, "It's just, the thing is... I don't really have my sword right now." Keisuke eased it in.

"What do you mean? If you don't have it, then who the hell does?" Akura asked.

Keisuke's eyes continued to shift, "Um... Yoshi's 24-Hour Pawn Stop on Fifth avenue..." He blurted out.

"You sold it!" The veins in Akura's head could now be seen quite clearly.

"No, no, no... I pawned it. You see, they're gonna hold it for thirty days, by then the rent will be due and I can just buy it back!" Keisuke used a series of nervous hand gestures.

"Keisuke! You're supposed to duel this guy in five minutes and you don't have a weapon!" Akura exclaimed.

"Okay I know this sounds bad, but I've taken care of it." Keisuke tried to reason, "Just wait right there." He said as he went into his closet and pulled out a banjo, "Check it out, I got this sweet banjo for the trade, but that's not what I wanted to show you..." He set the banjo down on his bed, then went back into the closet and pulled out a long, thick, green box with the words 'Weed Eater' on it. He then quickly opened the box and pulled out a twenty-six inch, cordless hedge trimmer. "Look, I can fight him with this!" He proclaimed, as if he were expecting a sigh of relief..

Akura looked at Keisuke with his mouth gaped and his eyes fixed in a blank stare.

"You see, I got to thinking; swords are great and all, but they're kind of played out. I mean, everybody uses them. Now the guy who shows up to a duel sporting a hedge trimmer, he's gonna turn some heads. Not to mention the intimidation factor it's bound to have!" Keisuke tried his hardest to sell it.

Akura's veins were now pulsating, "That's not a weapon, Keisuke! Remember what happened the last time you tried to fight with one of those things?" Akura barked.

"Yeah, but that's when I was using my cheapy old electric one... This baby's a Weed Eater, fully gas powered, brand new in the box with the warranty still inside and everything! I mean, I didn't actually get the warranty cause I bought it at a pawn shop, but I figure a guarantee like that means this thing's gotta be heavy duty..." Keisuke rambled. "Plus this is the best we can do since you don't have your sword and I can't use Tenchi's..." He finished.

Akura rubbed his head, "I just don't understand why you would take your sword to a pawn shop when you knew this duel was coming." He whined.

"Well, actually, I sold it before I knew about the duel..." Keisuke replied.

"Wait a minute... so you're telling me you pawned your sword... a priceless family heirloom... and you didn't even have it for a day? Why would you do something so utterly... thoughtless?" Akura asked in disgust.

Keisuke hesitated to answer, "...Cause I really wanted the banjo..." He replied in a worried tone. The two stood in an awkward silence for a few moments, "See, this is why I didn't wanna tell you." Keisuke said as he noticed a twitchy brow. Akura didn't respond.

"C'mon... things aren't so bad." Keisuke spoke in a more concerning tone.

Akura picked his head back up and glared atKeisuke, "Aren't so bad? How could they get any worse?" He replied.

"Hey, I don't see why you're so upset about this! I'm the one who has to fight this guy and you know you could have stopped me, so why didn't you?" Keisuke spoke in a more defensive tone.

Akura sighed, "Because I won't always be there to fix your mistakes, Keisuke! I was hoping this time you would have finally come to your senses. Sure, I was proud that you stuck to your guns, but pride is nothing without some incentive!" Keisuke was taken aback. "Ever since I've met you, it's been nothing but stupidity and excuses from you and when you finally start to earn my respect, you go and screw that up too." Akura continued "It sickens me... the thought of you one day being the successor of my Emperor!" He finished for the final time.

They stood there once again in an awkward silence, Akura with his head held in his hand and Keisuke looking over at him with a blank expression. After a few moments, he lit up again with a smile, "You know what you need?" He said in a spritely tone, still thinking he had a shot on cheering things up, then set down the hedge trimmer and picked up his banjo, "I tell you, this thing's the sound of sunshine. Here, let me play you this song I wrote..." He holstered the instrument then pulled a few strings.

Akura snatched the banjo from Keisuke's hand and threw it out the window.

Keisuke shot Akura a dirty look, "Oh yeah, that solved everything, now we don't have a sword or a banjo!" He barked.

Akura ignored Keisuke's words then began to make his way out of the room. "Just hurry up so we can get this over with... maybe Gennisant will be better off..." He grumbled as he made his exit.

Harohatsu arrived a little past ten to a crowd of the entire household. He leaned against the tree in the backyard, taking refuge in the shade.

Akura arrived through the back sliding glass door, staring at the ground in a solemn gaze.

"So where's Keisuke? We wanna see a fight over here!" Junichi asked.

"Yeah, and I got a makeup test at eleven, so he needs to hurry his ass up!" Ryoko concurred.

Without replying, Akura walked past the crowd and stood near the back fence. The crowd looked on, wondering what he might be upset about.

Keisuke finally came outside through the sliding glass door, hedge trimmer in hand. Everyone watched as he made his way to the end of the patio.

Harohatsu stood from leaning and looked Keisuke in the eyes. "Look who finally decided to show up, you ready to do this thing?" Harohatsu asked, confident as ever.

Keisuke took a deep breath, "I think I need to sit down for a moment..." He said as he fell backwards.

Daisuke and Akura rushed to his aid, Daisuke pushing a lawn chair underneath him to catch his fall. Immediately, Daiske began massaging Keisuke's shoulders, like a trainer would do for his boxer in the ring. "C'mon, Keisuke, don't back down, everyone's gonna say you're a wuss." Daisuke urged.

Akura stared at Keisuke, "Well, Keisuke? What's it gonna be? It's not too late." He asked.

Keisuke took a couple of deep breaths, then shot Akura a look, "Not a chance..." He said and fixed himself to a more confident posture.

Akura sighed, turned away and went back to his spot against the fence.

Daisuke continued to rub Keisuke's shoulders, "Alright, Keisuke, this is your moment, we're all rooting for you. Don't listen to Akura, you can win, you just gotta believe." He prepped the fighter.

Keisuke took one last breath, then stood up. "Thanks Daisuke, I really appreciate all the help you've given me."

"No sweat, pal." Daisuke patted Keisuke on the back, "Go get him!" He parted with those words then walked over to the rest of the crowd, who were all in a huddle. "Okay, so I got a hundred-thousand yen that says Keisuke's done for in a minute." He whispered.

"A whole minute?" Ryoko scoffed, "Thirty seconds, tops."

"Well, put me down for forty-five seconds, that's a lot of fat to cut through." Maiya joined in.

"Now, wait, are we counting for when the fight's over, or when he's actually dead?" Ayeka asked.

"Hello? Anyone here?" A voice came from around the corner of the house as Katsuhito came into the yard through the back fence. Everyone looked over.

"Hey Grandpa, what a surprise!" Tenchi said.

Katsuhito approached the group, "Well, I was just heading back from Kyoto when I thought I'd stop by and see how things were going. I understand Keisuke's gotten himself into a bit of trouble while I was gone." He said.

"Yup. We gotta pool going, by the way, you want in?" Washu asked.

Katsuhito scratched his chin, "Well, I've never really been the gambling type, what are the stakes, might I ask?"

"Let's see, so far the odds are zero for Keisuke to Harohatsu's one. Simplified, of course." Washu replied.

Katsuhito scratched his chin some more, "Then... what's the point if you all supposedly know the outcome?"

"We're putting money down to see how long it takes. Unfortunately, most of the good time slots are already taken." Washu said then showed Katsuhito the clipboard and paper which she was using to keep track of the bets.

Katsuhito examined the board, "Well, looks like you've got a full house... Seems to me I might as well put my money on Keisuke." He said.

Washu laughed, "Good one, Katsuhito... now we've got open slots in the in the high forties and low fifties, but you'd have to split the winnings with Maiya..." She said said as she raised her pen to the clipboard.

"Actually, I think I'll do that..." Katsuhito replied.

"Okay-" Washu prepared to strike with her pen before she was interrupted.

"I think I'll put my money on Keisuke winning the duel." Katsuhito finished with a smile.

The group looked at Katsuhito like he was crazy. "You're taking the joke a little far, don't you think?" Ryoko asked.

Katsuhito reached into his pocket and threw some cash at Washu, "I might stand to lose a little in order to gain a lot. Plus, I figure in an infinite universe, anything's possible."

The group continued to stare blankly at Katsuhito as he smiled back, "Well, it can't be that infinite..." Maiya replied.

"Quiet, he's coming this way." Kiyone urged.

Keisuke came walking past the group in an unusually gloomy slouch, even for him. He didn't speak.

"Good morning, Keisuke, looks to be a fine day, huh?" Katsuhito said in a cheerful tone.

"Yeah..." Keisuke hastily responded.

"Good luck, out there." Katsuhito then said.

"Thanks..." Keisuke replied in the same monotone voice.

"What's he so down in the dumps about? He was super excited all week." Ryoko asked.

"Maybe the alcohol finally wore off." Washu replied.

"So none of you tried to talk him out this?" Katsuhito asked the group.

"It's not that we didn't try... we just didn't put forth the appropriate effort, is all." Washu replied.

Katsuhito sighed though his nose and shook his head, then walked over to Akura who remained standing slouched, looking at the ground. "I can't believe you're actually letting him do this." Katsuhito said.

"If you think your luck might be any better, then be my guest." Akura replied.

"I barely know the boy, if he didn't listen to you, certainly there's nothing I can do." Katsuhito said.

"That's not true, you always knew how to talk to me." Akura said in a regretful tone.

Katsuhito thought it best not to press on with the conversation as he focused his attention on the main attraction. But couldn't help but notice one thing, his eyes shifted back between Keisuke and Akura, "So, what's with the hedge trimmer?" He asked.

"Don't ask." Akura abruptly responded.

"So are you finally ready to do this?" Harohatsu asked in his ever confident tone.

Keisuke took one last look at his enemy. Taken by the moment and an oath to himself, Keisuke took on a more confident posture. He scowled at Harohatsu, "Yeah, let's go..." He said quietly.

Harohatsu seemed to be in no rush as he noticed Keisuke's hedge trimmer, "I see you brought your 'weapon' again." He scoffed, "Are you really that stupid?"

Keisuke tried to remain cool to the situation, "That was my electric one, asshole. This baby's gonna tear your sorry ass to pieces. I would've used it the other day... but I forgot to pick up gas." And failed. "I'm sorry, I really suck at this." He sighed.

Harohatsu scoffed, then pointed his sword at Keisuke, "Get ready." He said.

Keisuke charged up his weapon's motor.

"Starting the clock..." Washu announced as she started the official stopwatch.

Harohatsu gripped his sword and got into fighting stance, as did Keisuke. "I'm gonna cut you up like the little piggy you are." Harohatsu said as he lunged towards Keisuke and swung his blade.

Keisuke's expression turned to startled amazement, "Jesus... Where do you get those neat one-liners?" A fatal mistake as his mind wandering cause him to completely miss Harohatsu's move. Not noticing until the last second, Keisuke attempted to block but was far too late as he found himself at the mercy of Harohatsu's blade; the tip pausing mere inches from his throat. Keisuke's weapon had barely budged.

Everyone gasped, expecting this to be the end of Keisuke. Akura looked up with fearful anticipation.

"Woo! Fifteen seconds, baby!" Denise cheered and jumped in the background.

Keisuke remained frozen at Harohatsu's mercy for a few more seconds. He perspired as Harohatsu stared into his eyes with his evil grin that had become signature.

"What the hell's he doing?" Denise exclaimed. "Hurry up and finish him!" She shouted to Harohatsu.

The two remained staring into each other's faces, until Harohatsu let out a sudden snicker, before slicing his blade upward, sending splashes of blood into the air. Keisuke grabbed onto his face, still holding onto the hedge trimmer in his other hand as he stumbled backwards "Gah! Mother fucker!" He screamed. Harohatsu stood back, crossing his arms in an unassuming pose as he watched Keisuke flail around in pain. Keisuke finally removed his hand from his face revealing a large gash across his left cheek.

"Don't think I'm done with you yet, piggy. I wanna have a little fun first." Harohatsu said.

The crowd gasped in horror, yet again. "Oh no!" Junichi exclaimed.

"He's gonna torture Keisuke!" Kiyone concurred in horror.

"Washu! Quick! I wanna change my bet!" Ryoko urged, prompting everyone else to rabble.

"Now, now, calm down people." Washu tried to calm the fray, "In light of recent developments, everyone will be allowed to extend their times... but me first!"

Keisuke wiped the blood and sweat from his eyes, "Okay, not such a good start..." He said to himself.

"Oh, get up, I've barely even touched you yet!" Harohatsu demanded.

Keisuke struggled a bit to regain his posture. The blood from his cut seeped over to the corner of his eye. Finally he retook hold of his weapon and assumed his battle stance.

Harohatsu studied his stance, "I see you're attempting use Juraian maneuvers, how cute. Just remember, no amount of training is going to help a fat, worthless idiot like you." He sniped.

Keisuke scowled at Harohatsu, "Okay, man, that's been bothering me this whole time... now I'll take the fat insults, but why do you continue to insult my intelligence when you don't know me?" He asked, angrily.

"Maybe it's because you brought a hedge trimmer to a sword fight!" Harohatsu replied.

"Well, actually there's quite a story to that... you see, I had my sword the night before you cut my arm off-"

Harohatsu rolled his eyes as Keisuke rambled. When he had finally had enough, he leaped back into combat, lightly piercing Keisuke's thigh, just above the knee. Keisuke grabbed onto his leg in a shout of pain, "Okay, so maybe we should set some boundaries, cause... you gotta look at it from my perspective... I'm trying to make a memorable exit here, and you can't just-" Keisuke rambled as he hopped around comically one his other leg.

Akura and Katsuhito still remained standing in the background. Akura couldn't bring himself to watch the spectacle, whilst Katsuhito seemed to be the opposite, studying every move of the fight, "Who knows, maybe Keisuke will annoy him to death..." Katsuhito tried to stay optimistic.

The clock on Washu's timer was at 3:15 and moving forward.

By this time, Keisuke was on the floor groaning in pain, "Ow! Ow! It hurts, it hurts." He dramatically whined, "So, uh... what do you say we call it quits? You've humiliated me in front of all my friends, you proved you're way tougher than me... job well done, right? You know, I really only wanted to do this so I could prove I wasn't a wuss." Keisuke nervously explained.

Harohatsu brushed his hair back and scoffed, "You moron, humiliating you was just perk... I told you, I'm here to kill you. Now get up and fight or I'm gonna stab your balls."

Keisuke leaped to his feet and got back into fighting position, despite the injuries. "Okay, let's get back to it." He said hastily.

Harohatsu picked back up his guard, "Your move, piggy." He said.

Keisuke took a deep breath, then charged at Harohatsu, swinging for his pelvis in a most brutish manner. Harohatsu limboed under the blade of Keisuke's hedge trimmer and simultaneously sent back a counter-attack by slicing his blade across Keisuke's calf, causing him to stumble into the tree.

"I'm surprised he hasn't nipped himself at all, yet." Ryoko postulated.

"It's only a matter of time, Ryoko." Washu replied.

Maiya, who had temporarily been absent from the group, came out of the house through the back door carrying a bowl of popcorn, "Is it still going on?" Maiya asked as she closed the door behind her.

"Yeah, this Harohatsu guy's a real nutcase." Kiyone replied.

"He must really have a terrible home life or something." Sasami concurred, followed with a monotonous "Meow." from Ryo-Ohki.

The fight went on mostly the same for the next few minutes; Keisuke would try to attack, to no avail, as Harohatsu would dodge and counter. The blood loss caused Keisuke to become weaker by the second, as his swings became weaker and sloppier, he began to breath heavy and lose control of his facial muscles. Harohatsu stood back in order to taunt Keisuke some more, "Don't tell me you're through yet, I thought we were just getting started."

Despite his condition, Keisuke was able to force on one more war-face as he charged at Harohatsu, swinging back and forth with all the techniques he had learned, but to no avail as Harohatsu continued to out-maneuver him in every aspect. After about ten seconds of this, Harohatsu finally decided he wanted to get another lick in. This time going for Keisuke's ear, slicing the top in half.

Akura winced at the site, even Katsuhito's normal humbleness was now nowhere to be seen.

Keisuke fell to the ground on his stomach, the motor of his hedge trimmer came to a sudden halt...

"Hurray! I win the pool!" Ayeka shouted. Everyone looked back at her with disapproving stares, prompting her to simmer down in mourning, "Poor, Keisuke, though..." She said, then began to silently pray for him along with the others.

The light faded for Keisuke, though his eyes remained open. Visions of his experience passed through his mind at speeds of light. In between these familiar visions were that of a shining light. One image after another passed him by until they faded into the singular light. Suddenly he felt himself floating towards the light, though he did not see himself in the physical sense, but rather like watching himself in a dream. The light shined brightly almost to the point of blindness, though all that surrounded him was a vast empty blackness. A faint voice came in through the background, though the voice was not heard rather than felt by Keisuke throughout his entire being. The voice it spoke in was female, though it had no gender. It's language was alien to Keisuke, though he understood it perfectly... it said "I have not used you yet."

Keisuke stared back into the light, blankly. The pain, the suffering he had felt was suddenly replaced with a feeling of a non-physical existence, though he was aware of his body. And though he could not speak, he communicated with the light, "No. I will use you."

Keisuke's pupils shrunk as he opened his eyes to the sunlight. In one single motion, he shot back to his feet and pulled the cord to his trusty hedge trimmer.

The crowd gasped. Even Akura now looked over to the fight in disbelief.

Keisuke stood before his opponent with a fixed stare.

Harohatsu remained unworried, "We thought we'd lost you for a second, there. Good to see you're back up and ready for another ass whoopin'."

Without responding, Keisuke resumed his battle stance.

Harohatsu raised his eyebrows cheerfully, "Well, look at that, in a hurry are we?" Harohatsu asked as he walked nonchalantly over to Keisuke. He finally quit his approach when he found himself no more than four steps from Keisuke, who was still standing his ground. Harohatsu laughed one last and raised his blade to strike. "Let me help you out, then. There's no need to strain yourself!" He exclaimed as he swung his blade at Keisuke.

A crash rang throughout the yard as everyone was amazed to see Keisuke blocking a head-on strike from Harohatso's blade. Harohatsu jumped back, his confident fixture now erased for the first time in this fight.

"He... blocked it!" Tenchi said with amazement.

"I don't believe it!" Akura exclaimed from his end of the yard.

Harohatsu's face began to twitch, though he held back showing his true concern, "Well, looks the pig's got some bite, after all. You weren't holding out on me this whole time, were you?" He asked, rhetorically, then scoffed. "No matter, you may have gotten lucky, but let's see how you fair when I stop playing AROUND!" He lunged again at Keisuke, who, in turn, blocked it again, seemingly flawless.

"Twice?" The group simultaneously exclaimed.

Harohatsu stood back for a few minutes, realizing he was now in a new game. He stood studying his opponent for a few moments, noticably dismayed. Keisuke noticed Harohatsu's weakness, prompting him to finally break his serious exterior and cracked a smile at him. "What's the matter, boy? You were so much stronger than me earlier, what happened?" Keisuke taunted.

"What did you... call me?" Harohatsu grew very furious, "I'm not gonna take that from some fat loser like you!" He exclaimed before lunging at Keisuke again with all his ferocity.

The crowd stared as Harohatsu's assault was met with an impressive defense from Keisuke. "Wow, Keisuke might actually win this thing!" Daisuke said excitedly.

"Come on, Keisuke, you can do it!" Sasami cheered from the sidelines.

"Yeah! Go Keisuke!" Maiya even joined in.

Soon Keisuke could hear a flurry of cheers and support coming his way as he continued to block Harohatsu's every single strike. As he grew angrier, Harohatsu would strike at Keisuke harder and more loosely.

Akura gripped his fists in anticipation, "C'mon, Keisuke... c'mon..." He whispered to himself.

Harohatsu continued his assault on Keisuke without rest, when suddenly he attempted to place an upward strike. Keisuke went to block, throwing his hedge trimmer blade down against the attack. As the two blades, a loud, thunderous crack was heard as the blades on Keisuke's hedge trimmer finally broke off, separating into two pieces and flying high into the sky.

Akura brought his palm to his face with an audible smacking sound.

Keisuke immediately dropped the remains of his 'weapon' and fell onto his knees, then back onto the floor. As he looked up to the sky, he saw nothing but clouds and Harohatsu's signature grin, once again. He chuckled nervously for a second,"You kinda had me worried there for a second..." He said wiping his nose, then raising his blade for the last time. "Guess it's time we end this... Good night, sweet prince." Harohatsu said as he prepared to stab his blade down on Keisuke.

Keisuke continued to look up in the sky, time slowed down and his body felt peaceful, yet again. As his eyes frantically wandered, they were caught by some flickering objects coming down from the sky. He tried to study them, but the suns blinding light made it nearly impossible to make it out.

Harhatsu moved in closer for the kill. He now stood over Keisuke with his sword raised and the tip aimed for Keisuke's heart. As he studied the fear in his victims eyes, he suddenly noticed a sharp, terrible pain enter the back of his neck, followed immediately by another sharp pain in his back which in turn assumed to shut off all feeling throughout his body.

The crowd looked on in disbelief and speechless, as the witnessed the site of Harohatsu with two hedge trimmer blades sticking out of his spine and neck.

Harohatsu looked down at Keisuke, with own disbelief, "...You fat son of-" He lost his sense of speech.

The thrill of his realization sent Keisuke into a fit of laughter, despite his numerous injuries. The sound of his laughter sent the crowd into a fit of confusion.

One by one, Harohatsu's senses began to shut down until he finally fell with his blade still pointed downward.

"Gasp!" Keisuke's laughter halted as the tip of the blade fell forwards, seemingly headed for his torso. His eyes slammed shut in a wince and remained so for several seconds until he realized he was still alive. He inched his eyes back open to see Harohatsu's lifeless body laying on top of him, with the sword pierced through his shoulder. Keisuke let out a sigh of relief, "That's not so bad..."

"You did it Keisuke!" Sasami cheered then rushed over to him with the rest of the crowd.

They all worked to throw Harohatsu's body off and help Keisuke to his feet. Tenchi held onto the blade still piercing his shoulder to keep it in place. What followed was a showering of praise from all around.

"Great job, Keisuke!" Tenchi saluted.

"Well, you cost us all money, but we couldn't be prouder of you!" Washu patted him on the back.

"I knew you could do it, buddy! Didn't I tell you you could do it?" Daisuke said.

Akura and Katsuhito approached the crowd. Keisuke looked at Akura. "Well, kid, you got lucky, but hey, maybe that's your real power." Akura smiled the first genuine smile Keisuke had seen up to that point.

"I don't know, I talk about an infinite universe, but even I have a hard time believing this was only luck." Katsuhito scratched his beard. "Speaking of which, I hope I'll be receiving my earnings in cash." Katsuhito said to Washu.

"Well, I don't know how he did it, but the important thing is that he did it. Maybe you will have what it takes to be Emperor someday." Akura replied.

"Let's hear it for Keisuke! Hip, hip, hurray!" Junichi started a cheer.

The crowd cheered Keisuke's praises before Tenchi noticed him trying to speak. "Hey, quiet everyone. He wants to say something!" Tenchi urged. "Go ahead, Keisuke."

The crowd went silent, "I need to go to the-" Keisuke paused as he had to swallow some blood that was seeping out through his mouth, "Hospital... you guys." It took every inch of his strength to get it out.

"Oh yeah, right..." Ryoko said with sudden realization.

"C'mon, let's get him inside." Akura said as he went to open the back door.

And so, Keisuke took his first step into becoming a great warrior. This small victory would mean he'd finally succeeded in gaining the respect of those he was forced to share a roof with... at least for the time being and that was good enough for him.

The residents of Sigma House buried Harohatsu's body later that day. They marked it with a simple wooden headstone next to Speckles the Dog. After everyone had gone to bed, something peculiar came digging its way out from underneath the headstone. They looked to be four tiny mechanical spiders that, once unearthed, made their way into the house and spread apart. The first spider attempted to enter Washu's lab, but was blocked by some sort of shield that deemed the tiny mechanisms as unauthorized personal. "Damn. That Washu's a tricky girl." Satoshi said as he watched multiple monitors displaying the sights of his machines. "No matter, my little friend should be able to obtain the information I need..." He said as he took a drink of sake, "This one's for you, Harohatsu, you've served your purpose..."