Disclaimer: Tenchi Muyo! is copyright AIC/Pioneer Ltd. All respective characters are property of their original owners. All original characters and ideas are property of the author.


Fudan Tenchi Muyo!

An Interlude: Part III

Jurai, the bristling traditional Empire that influenced almost everything that happened across the universe had its ornate, tree-based culture and its goddess worship. Megami, Jurai's rival, had its technological excellence and law and order that came from the Galaxy Police. The developed peoples living in the Null Zone, they had each other. The loose assortment of Jurain descendents, Megami descendents, and peoples who had managed to stay out of the way of the political rivalries between the two major empires all lived in the area of the universe that neither major empire wanted anything to do with.

Where the Jurains had their tradition and royal family and the Megami had their law and order, there was no set rule of law or revered religious traditions among the peoples who lived in the mostly impoverished developed worlds of the Null Zone. Outside of the Jurain and Megami laws, piracy was the single largest economic factor in the Null Zone. Drug trade, weapons, smuggling of all types ran rampant throughout the unaligned areas. Where there were no laws, there were only the pirates. And where there were pirates, there was the Oda Pirate Guild. Piracy in the Null Zone was once a free-for-all between small rival factions, a great, behind the scenes war between pirate factions ended as one man, Ashram Oda, rose up to unite the warring pirate factions under the banner of his Guild. The two empires had turned a blind eye almost completely to most piracy activities, effectively allowing the Guild to establish its own brand of piracy code and trade.

Oda, for what he had done in unifying the warring pirate factions had become a sort of celebrity, though he was rarely seen by the peoples who knew him. Oda and his Guild had basic free-reign over the Null Zone while the GP and the Jurain Navy remained mainly interested in patrolling their borders. Oda cultivated a vast network of pirates and sources that kept the empires out of the Null Zone.

Though none of the planets in the Null Zone had the resources or economics of the two major empires, the peoples who lived on the developed worlds got by with their lives as best they could. Some people who did not turn to a life or piracy with the Guild took entrepreneurial ventures to try and make ends meet.

The owner of the bar was a humble man who had taken over the family business from his father. He knew pirates came in and out of his bar due to his family keeping a low key on pirating activities. While the Guild ruled supreme, only bounty hunters and the bravest of Jurain and GP officers would venture into the bars and back alleys of planets where the pirates hid. Usually, he never paid the patrons in his bar much attention. The less he knew about those who drank from his well, the better off he was. However, the beautiful young woman who walked into the bar drew his attention. Most pirates were of the vicious sort, but the woman who sat down at the end of the bar and quietly waved him over for a drink didn't seem the type to be a pirate or a bounty hunter. The one thing that did strike him odd was that none of the other patrons seemed to pay her much mind as he approached her.

"What can I get for the pretty young lady," he asked.

"Earth sake," she replied coldly.

"Earth sake," the man nodded to himself. The planet Earth, the only inhabited planet in the underdeveloped Sol system, was a frequent visit for pirates looking for 'exotic' flavors. While the peoples from the empires looked down on visiting underdeveloped worlds, pirates didn't find the rules worth following. The man poured the woman a glass and left the bottle with her, "We don't get too many pretty ladies in this bar. You stand out."

"Relax," the woman turned around to look at the others sitting in the bar. Some of the people looked up at her, but no one seemed to be bothered, "Most of them know me. Those who don't would be best not to find out."

"Oh," the man nodded, "Well let me know if you need anything else, miss."

The old man went back to tidying up his bar as a second man entered the bar. Looking more the sort of the pirate, the bartender paid him little attention as he sat down next to the woman.

"Well, well, well," the woman turned to the new arrival, "Keeping tabs on me again?"

"I just thought I would join you for a drink, Ryoko," the man replied, pouring himself a glass of sake from the jar Ryoko had ordered.

"You're not one for social calls," she reminded him. She turned around to see most of the other pirates in the bar turning to leave. While none of them paid their tabs, the man sitting next to her pulled out a large sum of money and tossed it to the confused bartender.

"For my friends," he smiled to the old man.

"So what are you really here for, Ashram?" Ryoko asked, finishing her bottle and motioning for another.

"Just a little after-work drink with my lady," he grinned at her.

"After another big score?" Ryoko asked.

"You could say that," he shrugged his shoulder as he downed his sake, "How are your injuries healing?"

"Better," she touched the place where she had been injured months ago in her battle with Kagato. His blast had torn right through her body, and it was taking a while to heal. Ryoko didn't like thinking about the injury. The memories they brought back were worse than the one in her side.

Ashram finished his drink and pulled another wad of money from his cloak before sitting it on the counter. He stood, pecked Ryoko on the cheek and left the bar. Ryoko watched him go before finishing her drink and touching the place where he had kissed her. She wiped the spot away angrily before slamming her fist onto the bar, splintering the finish. Ryoko stood up and walked out of the bar leaving only the old man staring at the wad of cash Oda had left on the counter.


Ryoko sat silently on her bed at Oda's headquarters. While the GP and the Jurain Navy were not actively tried to stomp out Oda's Guild, Oda had taken several steps to hide his operations for fear of an attack. It was in Oda's character to disappear for a long time and not tell people, especially her, where he was off to, but he had been acting way too secretly lately.

It had been a few months since she had woken up in Ashram's headquarters. The last thing Ryoko could remember was the pain from her wound at the hands of Kagato. She had left Tenchi at the Royal Palace before leaving Jurai. She couldn't blame Ryo-ohki really. After she had passed out from the blood loss, her cabbit/ship had done the only thing it knew how to do. Ryoko couldn't believe that Oda had taken her back. It had been so long since they had last seen each other.

Pirating was all Ryoko knew. Since she was a young girl living on the streets on some small planet inside Jurain territory, there had been nothing for her. She never knew her parents but one day she ran into the man who she would eventually grow to look at like a father, the man who would raise her to be the woman she was. He had discovered her special powers and helped her train and develop herself into one of the most feared, and wanted, pirates in the galaxy. As the young orphan girl matured into a woman, she had found a new kind of comfort in the man who ruled over all the pirates. Ryoko enjoyed her life of pillaging and treasure for years. She embarrassed the GP and the Jurai Navy repeatedly and she loved every minute of it. It was all she knew until she had gotten careless and let a third-rate GP detective who had gotten lost from her partner shoot her down onto the underdeveloped world called Earth.

Things had changed then. She had met the boy who showed her there was something else out there besides being a pirate. Before Earth, everywhere Ryoko went she was feared. Some of the toughest, most violent criminals in the galaxy wouldn't dare cross her, but the boy who hardly knew her accepted her and befriended her. He had given her a home and a different kind of family, one where she wasn't constantly forced to fight or steal or prove herself to others, but one where they accepted her and treated her like family; one where she felt like she was loved.

But, had it all been real? The last time she had seen Tenchi Masaki, he was rushing into the Jurain Royal Palace to save Ayeka, the crown princess of Jurai and second eldest surviving member of her family. It had all made sense to Ryoko then. Though it was a nice, peaceful existence on Earth with her 'family' it wasn't who she was. She had heard Tenchi remained on Jurai after defeating Kagato, and she kept telling herself she was glad for him to get the kind of life he deserved.

Ryoko didn't want to think about it anymore. Walking out of the room she inhabited in Ashram's headquarters, Ryo-ohki, curled up on the bed, paid her no mind from the perch on the pillow. Some of Ashram's men paid her no mind as she headed down the long corridors of the literal fortress he had constructed inside the asteroid that he called home. The ship dock was on full alert as Ryoko stood watching Ashram and some of his men unloading something. It looked like a brown chest that a woman with purple hair carried down the ramp of Oda's ship. Ryoko didn't recognize her, perhaps she was relatively new.

Phasing through the glass, Ryoko floated down to the floor where Ashram looked up from his business and greeted her with a sly smile.

"Ryoko, I see you're up," he called to her while pointing out directions to the woman with the purple hair. As she walked past Ryoko carrying the chest, they exchanged a slight glance. There was something odd about her.

"So, is this your big score," Ryoko said, "Doesn't look like that much booty could fit in that chest."

"You still have a lot to learn, Ryoko," he laughed, "Not all treasure is made of silver and gold. The most valuable thing a person can have is knowledge."

"So, there's knowledge in the box?"

"That is knowledge I have and you don't need to worry about," he informer her with a stern glance, "Now, I'm tired. Shall we return to my quarters?"

"If you say so," she agreed tentatively.


The old bartender had found it odd that two beautiful woman could have visited his bar in such a short amount of time. This woman seemed much more tense and serious than the pretty pirate lady who had been frequenting his bar over the last few weeks.

"What can I get for you, miss?" he greeted her. It was the end of the work day and there were very few people in his bar, mostly regulars.

"I hear you're one of the few bars in this system to stock Earth sake," the woman stared intently at him from underneath her cloak, "Isn't that illegal?"

"Well the Galaxy Police haven't been here much in the past few years," the man shrugged. This woman was no pirate.

"It's of no matter to me," the stranger reached into her cloak and pulled out a tattered photo and slid it across the bar to the bartender, "Has this woman ever been here?"

"Why yes," the old man recognized his most beautiful patron instantly, "Girl never gives me her name but she comes in every now and then. Sometimes she has a male friend with her. Doesn't much seem like the type to be visiting an establishment like this."

"Looks can be deceiving old man," the two turned to see, oddly enough, the woman enter the bar. She took one look at the woman at the bar and became instantly aggressive.

"Nagi!" Ryoko gritted her teeth, forming her energy sword.

"Ryoko, I've finally tracked you down," Nagi pulled the hood of her cape back to reveal her face.

"You never give up," Ryoko hissed, "Ready for another beating?"

"I seem to recall beating you soundly on Mars before your little friends got involved," Nagi laughed, "But relax, I'm not here to fight with you."

"What?" Ryoko was taken back by the statement.

"Haven't you heard?" Nagi laughed, "You're dead."

"Dead?"

"Yep," Nagi tossed the report to Ryoko and the space pirate read over it. Sure enough, Jurai and Megami had cancelled the arrest warrants out for Ryoko as she was to have believed to have died during Tenchi's attack on Jurai, "I'm not interested in a fight if there's no money involved. Now, won't you come join me for a drink?"

"I…" Ryoko stuttered. She couldn't believe she was dead, "I guess."

Nagi shifted barstools as Ryoko sat down. The bounty hunter ordered them Earth sake and the two toasted.

"To life after death," Nagi chided her.

"Life after death," Ryoko laughed to herself. It was oddly amusing.

"I hear you're back with Oda," Nagi spoke between drinks, "Didn't take you long to fall back in with your old crowd."

"It's the only crowd I got, Nagi," Ryoko replied, downing her sake.

"A pity," Nagi shook her head.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"What about that Earth boy? He's quite the celebrity on Jurai now. I thought there was something between the two of you."

"He's a prince of Jurai," Ryoko explained sarcastically, flagging the old man for another bottle. It was turning out to be another one of the 'those' bar trips, "Me. I'm just a pirate."

"So I guess you haven't heard," Nagi grinned.

"Heard what?"

"Your Earth boy rescinded the throne offer from Jurai," she was pleased with herself, dropping the information bombshell on her old rival.

"He…he did?" Ryoko was stunned. Tenchi hadn't taken the throne. She knew Ayeka would offer it to him.

"Nope," Nagi shook her head, "Last I heard he was back on Earth."

Ryoko sat silently staring at her drink. Why wouldn't he have taken the throne? It was his destiny to marry Ayeka and be the Emperor of Jurai. Nagi sat next to her old rival staring at her. Ryoko had changed, she was sure of it. The rumors of Oda and his power hungry attitude was something everyone who knew anything about the Guild was familiar with. It was then that Nagi noticed the bruise on Ryoko's neck. Ryoko was as strong as they could come; the idea of someone harming her physically like that was something serious.

"Ryoko, what are you wasting your time here for?" Nagi suddenly announced, breaking the silence between them.

"Wha…what?" Ryoko stammered.

"Get the hell out of here," Nagi motioned to the door as Ken-ohki and Ryo-ohki entered into the bar inconspicuously.

"Nagi, I can't just leave," Ryoko protested.

"You're so dense, Ryoko," Nagi gave her a disgusted look, "I've only met that boy twice in my life and I've seen how he looks at you. To waist your time with that fool Oda; you're a bigger idiot than I thought."

"It's not that simple, Nagi," Ryoko shook her head. She knew Nagi had seen the spot on her neck.

"Get out of here," Nagi picked Ryo-ohki up off the ground and sat the cabbit down in front of Ryoko, "You don't belong here anymore. This isn't your world."

Nagi shook her head and stood up. She paid her tab for both her and Ryoko and left silently, Ken--ohki in tow with her. Ryoko watched her leave silently as Ryo-ohki purred quietly. She stroked the cabbit's soft brown fur as she became lost in the information Nagi had given her.

"Tenchi, is it true?" she asked herself. Ryo-ohki purred her opinion, which made Ryoko laugh a little, "If you say so, Ryo-ohki."


"What!" Ashram screamed, smashing his fist into the wall, leaving a small dent in the metal bulkhead.

"I'm sorry boss," one of his lieutenants repeated his bad news, "We haven't seen Ryoko or Ryo-ohki in days."

"Damnit," Ashram cursed. He pulled a dagger from under his cloak and rammed it through the lieutenant's stomach. As the pirate collapsed to the ground and bled on the floor, Oda began to contemplate his next move.

"What do you want us to do?" Akane, half of his most trustworthy duo, asked from the corner of the room.

"Find her," Oda ordered, "I want you and Tono both to find her and bring her back."

"Can do, love," Akane nodded before leaving the room. She walked down the corridor to where her partner was leaning against a wall. He gave her a knowing nod, letting her know he had sent off the information on their heist back to the GP.

"I hate it when you have that look," Tono smiled to his partner. She was always getting them in trouble, though her constant work and style had gained them the trust of Oda and most of his ilk.

"It seems the boss's girlfriend has run off," Akane explained, "We've been tasked to go find her."

"Splendid," Tono laughed, "We'll talk more when we're on the Yojimbo."