THREE PRINCESSES...
Author: Daferge
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.
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Chapter 14... The Intruder...
( Juraian Outpost 0315 - Pluto... )
The Outpost's sporting arena had been built within a huge cavern under Pluto's surface to allow those stationed above plenty of room to exercise and such...
Being three times larger that simular areas at other Juraian outpost, today it seem smaller for some reason...
Perhaps, that was because almost every square foot of space, where any one could sit or stand, was now occupied...
Three of the four walls had special bleachers which went halfway up to the ceiling...
The finals of the outpost's fencing and swordsmanship tournament were in their final rounds and every member of the Juraian military who could get off-duty was in the underground sports arena...
An area of the floor had been raised up to create an area for the matches, this also allowed those sitting on the floor around it a view of the matches...
However it wasn't the final matches that every one was here to see...
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At the far end of the arena, up on a raised platform that overlooked the match area, sat the outpost Commander, his top officers and a number of unexpected guests...
The arena had a good number of cameras that were focused on the match, this was so others around the outpost could watch also...
However, at least a couple of the cameras were focused upon the Commander and his guest...
For in reality it was these guests that every one really wanted to see...
For sitting in the chair next to the commander was a young man, some might even say a boy, dressed in very formal upper class Juraian wear...
And if one were in the crowd, they would be more likely to hear people talking about the dark haired young BOY on the platform, than the matches...
For many, this would be their first view of the new Crown Prince of the Juraian Empire, Tenchi Masaki...
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( Near the Masaki shrine... )
One of the few people around the Masaki house at the moment was Tenchi's guest and his grandfather's new student, Rogun, whom every one referred to as a 'foreign exchange student'...
Both Sasami and Nagi had gone into town, to do some shopping for what was to be a very special dinner later, when the others returned...
The greatest Scientist in the Universe, professor Washu Hakubi, was in her lab and Katsuhito, Tenchi's grandfather, was in his office, as usual...
The young Rogun sat beneath a tree on the edge of the practise area, his eyes closed, his legs crossed, his breathing slow and steady...
With no practise today, he was able to concentrate on his meditating...
For the most part, it had been a very quiet day, as had most of the past week and he'd found his ability to sense things, improving...
But suddenly, his eye's opened wide...
That new awareness, deep within him, was telling him that there was a presence in the woods across the lake from the house...
And that, whatever it was, it weren't suppose to be there...
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( On Pluto... )
Tenchi had been studying the two combatants, both females, who had made it to the final round...
As far as he could tell, both had been well instructed in the use of a sword and it would likely come down to who made a mistake first...
As a member of the Royal Family, the Commander had asked Tenchi if he would be the one to present the medal to the winner...
Ayeka had thought it an excellent idea, since they were already there, doing sort of a surprise inspection for Lady Seto and the Emperor...
Ayeka had taken it upon herself to handle the political portion of tenchi's life, since she had more experience with it...
It would allow Tenchi to experience being before large crowds and also help dispell some of the many rumors circulating about him...
Especially the ones of his being over six feet tall, of him being deformed or that he really didn't exist at all...
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Like Ayeka, Tenchi's other wives had their roles also...
Almost from the moment they'd said I DO, Ryoko had taken the role of bodyguard, although the others kidded her about her use of the term BODY Guard...
But where ever Tenchi went, Ryoko would be at his side or atleast very close by...
To every ones surprise, except Tenchi's, when it came to the Law and the Galaxy Police, no one could come close to Mihoshi...
She had more that once, stepped foreword and solved a legal problem, leaving both Ayeka and Ryoko shaking their heads...
So, as Tenchi watched the two combatents below, he could also over hear Ryoko and Mihoshi discuss each swing of the sword...
It seem they favored different combatants and had a small friendly wager on the final out come...
There were some advantages to Washu's special implanted comm unit beneath his skin, but there were also times when he had rather not hear things...
However, knowing those two and the way the were looking his way, he wasn't sure that he wanted to know what the wager had been...
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When a hand came to rest on his arm, Tenchi didn't need to turn to see who it was, since Ayeka, as first Princess of Jurai, had the chair right next to him, then Ryoko and Mihoshi...
Do you have a favorite move?... Beloved?...
Tenchi continued to watch the match, but couldn't help noticing that Ryoko and Mihoshi had stopped talking to each other, to catch his reply...
Yes... Dear!... Any favorite?...
Ryoko and Mihoshi had spoken as one...
Experience had taught him some things were best kept to ones self, however every now and then a bit of his grandfather showed...
Tenchi smiled and sighed before replying...
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( Across the room... )
Galaxy Police officer, Detective 1st class Kiyone Makibi was standing in the crowd, off to one side, in her GP uniform along with fellow officer, Detective 1st class Kiyone Tanaka...
Washu had requested that they both escort Tenchi and the others on their visit to the Juraian Outpost on Pluto, but she hadn't give a reason...
Officer Makibi had been watching the match, the crowd and of course, Tenchi and the girls...
Er, that is, his WIVES!...
To think that she'd been the partner of one future Empress of Jurai and had tried her best to arrest another, she shook her head...
So, it was only chance that she saw Tenchi smile, Ayeka blush, Ryoko's eyes widen and Mihoshi start to giggle, aware of the implants, Kiyone knew something was up...
Her friend and fellow officer leaned closer and whisper softly, she too had noticed the reactions, but didn't know of the implants...
" Did I miss something?... "
Kiyone smiled before attempting to answer...
" I get the feeling we're ALL missing something... But don't worry, you'll get use to it after you've been around a while... "
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( Masaki Shrine... )
For the most part, it had been rather QUIET for the past several days...
Tenchi's grandfather sat at his desk studying a small piece of crystal that had been delivered earlier in the day, by regular mail...
It had been a while since he'd managed to acquire a similar fragment...
To any one else on this planet, this was just an ordinary rock, a piece of Quartz...
But Katsuhito Masaki knew different...
It was in fact a piece of what was called a data crystal, used elsewhere in the galaxy to store massive amounts of information...
For the past 700 years he had kept an eye out for such unusual crystals when ever he was traveling around...
In the past couple hundred years, he'd recovers and stored quite a few old Juraian storage crystals that had been discovered during Archeolgicals digs, some of them at sites 10s of thousands of years old...
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This latest crystal had been recovered from the latest dig at Gobekli Tepe, an ancient temple in southern Turkey, that was thought to be atleast 10,000 years old...
Recently he'd let Washu study several of them and she'd even been able to recover some very interesting data...
It had come as no surprise that she was even able to recover data off the smaller fragments, as well as off the complete crystals, even after all those years...
She'd come up with some very startling conclusions, including proof that not only had the fabled kingdom of Atlantis existed, but that it had been destroyed by Space Pirates when the Galaxy Police closed in on them...
He smiled as he wondered what else she might find on the rest of the assorted fragments and whole crystals he'd managed to collect over the years...
Some thing told him there was going to be a lot of history books having to be changed...
He chuckled as he recalled all of Tenchi's complaining about having barely make it through his History class last year...
Suddenly some thing caught his attention and he turned his head towards the house and smiled...
So!... It begins!...
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( Washu's Lab... )
Recently Mihoshi had made a comment, the last time she'd visited the lab and it had gotten Washu to thinking...
For some reason, Mihoshi had asked if the lab happen to have a back door?...
For thousands of years, there had only been one entrance to her Lab, Washu's very private world...
Washu had never needed nor had she ever wanted another one...
But there wasn't any reason she couldn't have another exit, if she wanted...
Perhaps one located some where within the Royal Palace, which would save them all that time on those long trips back and forth...
However, she had instantly noted a downside to that idea...
The fact that it would put the Royal Family or to be more exact, the FEMALES of the Royal Family, almost right next door to Tenchi and the girls...
However, her thoughts were interrupted by a blinking light on her comm unit...
Hummm!...
It seem there was an uninvited guest on the property...
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( On Pluto... )
It had been a close match and to Tenchi, a very good one...
He smiled as the winner, an attractive female officer, who was attached to the outpost's Juraian Special Operations unit, approached...
He didn't have to turn to know there were three very upset females behind him, although outwardly they didn't show it...
On second thought, Dear... Perhaps you shouldn't duel the winner...
As the winner approached, Tenchi could see awe in her eyes, so he wasn't surprised when she dropped to one knee before him...
It seem to be the normal reaction, throughout the Empire, when being presented to a member of Juraian Royal Family...
Tenchi sighed as he reached down, took her hand and asked her to rise...
" This isn't the Royal Palace... You don't need to do that... "
He shook his head as he sensed that Ayeka was about to make a comment...
He smiled, there was a time for such things, but now wasn't it...
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Ayeka was the upholder of Tenchi's royal duties, but she saw him shake his head and smiled...
She had long ago realized that being in Tenchi's family was different than being back at court and she had come to enjoy it...
She had found a life and a freedom she could never even dreamed of before and all because of the young man before her, her most beloved husband, Tenchi...
Behind her Ryoko grunted, but smiled as the young attractive female bowed her head, so that Tenchi could put the ribbon hold the first place medal around her neck...
She still didn't like it when Tenchi was with other females, especially not such young and attractive ones, but, at least she no longer tended to chase them off waving a blazing sword...
As for Mihoshi, she was smiling and almost Getty, she had grown up watching her grandfather, the Galaxy Police Grand Marshal, give out awards...
She was so proud of Tenchi, she could almost cry, but she bit back the tears...
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( The far side of the Lake... )
Rogun had used ever ounce of training to make it down from the practise area to a spot near the intruder..
Whoever it was they were good, for even though it was high noon, Rogun was unable to detect them with his eyes alone...
Only his inner self seem to know where the intruder was...
So it was only when he was only a few yards away was he able to detect them...
It was the slightest of motion that gave them away...
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The first thing Rogun noted was that whoever they were, they were wearing a full jumpsuit that not only let them blend into the background, but which hid their body heat from any sensors...
However, the goggles that Rogun wore weren't created on this world, and allowed him to see in every thing from pitch dark to the blazing bright...
As he studied the kneeling figure, he sensed that this was a pro...
Even as he came to this conclusion, the object of his investigation reacted...
It seem to sense that they weren't alone any more...
Their reaction was very quick and almost instant...
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( Washu's Lab... )
Washu smiled as she watched Rogun and the intruder go at it...
Attack, counter-move, counter-attack, counter-counter-move...
She had no doubt that who ever this was, they were professionals...
But she was also sure that who ever they were, they were no match for a galaxy trained assassin, who was studying under Tenchi's grandfather...
On a hunch, she scanned the intruder and quickly discovered what she was looking for...
This intruder had a suicide pill within one of their teeth...
With a wicked smile, Washu quickly ran her fingers across her keyboard, removing the pill and that option...
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( On Pluto... )
Having presented the award Tenchi was about to return to his seat when a smiling Ryoko appeared at his side...
Many at the match had hear rumors about the Crown Prince's second wife, but very few had ever seen her...
Why don't we show them what YOU can do, sweety!...
Glancing over at Ayeka, he saw her smile and nod her head...
Sighing, he took Ryoko's hand and to the amazement of the silent crowd, they disappeared, to reappear again within the match area...
With every one watching, the two then prepared for a match, just as they had at the Masaki shrine practise field...
However, ever one was startled by as a very loud voice calling out...
" OH, NO YOU DON'T... "
Looking back at the platform, Tenchi watched as a smiling Mihoshi quickly moved forward, jumped upward, did a double flip and landed in the match area...
You're not getting ALL the fun, Ryoko...
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( The far side of the Lake... )
Rogun's opponent, who was wearing a suit that was cover their entire body and even had some form of goggles that allowed them to see...
But thou he found himself being pushed, Rogun had no doubt about who was going to win...
As it was, he wasn't surprised when he managed to over power the intruder...
However, suddenly the intruder seem to go wild after making a motion with their head...
BUZZ!
Looking up, Rogun discovered Washu standing nearby, holding a small device and noticed that the intruder had gone completely limp...
" It's OK... They just discovered that I had removed their suicide pill... "
Rogun stared at the intruder's body...
So... They must be ether ninga or assassins if they had suicide pills...
Standing over the intruder and touching Rogun, Washu transported them ALL back to her...
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( Washu's Lab... )
As he had spent very little time in the lab and it never failed to awe Rogun...
Looking around, he discovered the intruder on a table, under lights and Washu, wearing whites, about to examine them...
After a few minutes Washu smiled...
" Well!... Well!... Well!... "
This tended to catch Rogun's attention...
Stepping away from the table Washu smiled at the young boy...
" It seems that our intruder is female... "
Looking past Washu, Rogun's eyes saw the face of person he'd been fighting just a short while before...
It was the most beautiful face he'd ever seen...
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( On Pluto... )
Galaxy Police officer, Kiyone Tanaka stared at the activity before her, while her fellow officer, Kiyone Makibi, covered her eyes with her hand...
Officer Makibi hadn't seen a princess of Jurai, it had been her old partner who had jumped into match area...
Leave it to Mihoshi to make such a grand entrance...
Even Ayeka and Ryoko were surprised...
As it was, the only one to react was Tenchi, who couldn't help smiling...
That's our Mihoshi!...
Even Ayeka and Ryoko had to smile, Mihoshi blushed...
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( Washu's Lab... )
Washu looked at the intruder and then at Rogun, then back at the table...
She sighed and shook her head, Rogun had the same look that Tenchi had when he was with any of his wives or with his little daughter...
So much for using the brain scanner or the locks and chains she used of Ryoko...
She was going to have to get the information some other way...
But what was life if not for the challenges...
She smiled as an idea came to mind...
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( On Pluto... )
Tenchi had stood in the middle of the match area as Ryoko and Mihoshi got ready to attack...
Ryoko had produced her energy sword, while Mihoshi had drawn her service pistol and checked the charge...
Tenchi sighed, pulled out the sword Tenchi and waited...
Ayeka... Protection, please...
Smiling, every one watched as the first Princess of Jurai stood up and stepped foreword...
Closing her eyes, she smiled as she summoned her small defence logs and formed a shield around the match area...
Ready, Beloved...
Tenchi, Ryoko and Mihoshi all faced the platform with both the commander and Ayeka on it and bowed...
Begin...
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( Downtown Tokyo... )
The young girl was startled when she woke to find herself sitting in a booth at a local fast food eatery...
Looking around she had no idea how she'd gotten there...
Looking down she found herself wearing the outfit that had been beneath her ninja outfit so that she could blend in...
But how had she gotten here and what happen after her battle with that other ninja at the Masaki estate?...
From his skills, as with the way he'd manage to defeat her, she could only assume that he had to be a high ranked master ninja...
And some how she sensed that he hadn't been putting EVERY thing into it, even then...
Did the Masakis have the protection of another ninja clan?
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She was going to have to hurry and inform the master of this new information...
This was something that could greatly change how this was handled...
Fighting between clans was strictly forbidden, too much blood shed had been spilt in the past that way...
Differences were now worked out before the high councilor and no where else...
This put a whole new light on the contract...
And how had she gotten all the way into Tokyo?
There were far too many unanswered questions...
She got up, made sure no one was watching before she left the eatery...
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( On Pluto... )
Ryoko had charged in, her energy sword glowing, while Mihoshi fired a blast at Tenchi's left arm...
In the blink of an eye, Tenchi reflected the blast upward, to be absorbed by Ayeka's force field, before turning and deflecting the swing of Ryoko's sword...
In a blink, Ryoko was off to the side and firing off a blast of energy at Tenchi, only to have it reflected and absorbed by Ayeka's shield...
Doing a roll, Mihoshi popped up and got off another shot, which was also deflected into the shield...
Ryoko disappeared, reappearing next to Mihoshi and they both launched blasts at Tenchi, which he easily deflected...
On the platform, the outpost commander sat, a look of amazement on his face...
He'd heard all the rumors that were floating around about the Crown Prince, but not until now had he truly believed them...
Over the past thousand years, he'd seen many amazing swordsmen in his life, but none who could match this young male...
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And his wives...
Princess Ayeka, the first Princess of the Empire, standing there, perfectly calm, a smile on her face, protecting others with her personal shield...
Princess Mihoshi, still a Galaxy Police officer, displaying remarkable feats of marksmanship shooting and giggling like a school girl...
Princess Ryoko, the former space pirate, once one of the most wanted and feared people ( next to Kagato ) the Galaxy had ever known, now popping around at random firing off blast after blast...
And the Crown Prince himself, standing there brushing off blasts that could damage an average star-ship with ease...
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From the beginning the room had been silent, except for the sound of the battle...
But slowly a few people began to clap...
A few others began to cheer...
More and more began join in...
It wasn't long until there was a loud roar...
The match came to an end when Tenchi managed to catch both Mihoshi and Ryoko by the arm and pull them to him...
Kissing each on the lips he let them go, only to have the two females jump him and pin him to the floor, kissing and squeezing him...
A pair of laughing female Galaxy Police officers joined in and took their time trying to pull the two off of him, with a smiling Ayeka offering suggestions to the officers...
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( Masaki Shrine... )
Tenchi's grandfather sat behind his desk watching a small screen...
Washu had installed it so he could be contacted in an emergency...
However, he wasn't watching because of an emergency, he had a smile on his face...
It hadn't been hard to get Washu to tap into the feed from Pluto's outpost...
Watching the match had been interesting and he'd been proud when Tenchi had presented the winner the award...
But it had been the match between Tenchi, Mihoshi and Ryoko...
It had all started off surrounded by silence...
But by the time Mihoshi and Ryoko were finally defeated, there was loud cheering...
When they lost it and the two laughing Kiyones had tried to pull them off Tenchi, there was a roar of cheering that could have been heard clear back on Jurai...
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( Washu's Lab... )
On a screen, a young female made her way through the crowds of Toyko, checking in windows and such for any sign of some one following her...
She entered shops and exited through side doors...
She made her way down long, narrow back streets...
She entered several temples where she was let out through special back doors...
After several hours, when she was reasonably sure she wasn't being followed, she entered an estate on the edge of Toyko...
However what she didn't and couldn't see was a small device that hovered above her, watching her every move...
As it was slightly out of phase with the surrounding area, she couldn't have seen or touched it, even if it were hovering right before her face...
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Washu had been standing before her screen, watching, ever since she deposited the young girl in the eatery...
She had to smile as realized that this must be the girl's destination and they would soon be discovering who'd sent her to the shrine...
Off to one side, Rogun was asleep on the couch over to one side, it had been a long day...
Sasami and Nagi had let her know they were back and now were up stairs fixing dinner...
And Lord Yosho, Tenchi's grandfather Katsuhito had made an odd remark about Tenchi and the girls when he thanked her for fixing it so he could watch the sword match at the Pluto outpost...
She would have to remember to review the match later, she was glad that she recorded all feeds coming onto the Masaki property for security reasons and for her own curiosity...
Some thing told her the girls had been up to some thing, again...
She watched the screen as the girl entered the main building...
She smiled as her hovering camera followed the girl inside...
To be continued...
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Please feel free to comment and review for any errors...
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