THREE PRINCESSES...
Author: Daferge
Disclaimer: Tenchi Muyo! is a 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 36... In-laws and other things...
( Emperor Azusa's Office, Jurai… )
The Emperor of Jurai stood tall, leaning on his desk, his fist balled up on top of it, crumpling up a number of reports that happen to be under them at the time…
" HIS WIFE IS ALIVE AND SHE'S WHO?... "
His wives stood on the other side of the desk, trying to hide smiles, Funaho was hiding the small air-gun with tranquilizer darts in it, just in case…
Misaki sighed as she stood there, watching her husband's face turn a very bright red behind his beard…
" Mother said you'd react this way…"
Azusa's eyes began to move back and forth between his two lovely wives…
At Misaki's comment, he noted that Funaho only had one hand showing, which meant that they had come prepared for his reaction…
Managing to take a deep breath, he sighed and unballed his fist, releasing the reports caught there…
As he closed his eyes, he noticed that Funaho was putting something in her pocket…
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Sitting back down in his chair, he began to stroke his beard, a very old habit…
Some one had once told him that it made him look wiser…
" Any thing else Lady Seto thought I should know?... "
His two wives looked at each other, before Funaho spoke up…
" It seems that both Washu and Yosho have put in an appearance… "
Azusa's eyebrow went up at that and he started to ask how?...
His last reports had put Washu, as well as his son, back on 0315, which was at least several days away, even with the fastest star ship…
The smiles on his wives faces reminded him that he was dealing with Washu, not only one of the greatest scientific minds in the Universe, but part-time goddess herself…
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As minister of Intelligence, it had been Funaho's duty to keep Azusa up-dated on any thing that might be or become a threat to the Empire…
The data about princess Airi had been brought up in order to deflect his first reaction to the news of Kain's possible return, destroying colony planet 0315…
" So, Kain has returned!… "
At the calm reaction of his wives, Azusa raised an eyebrow…
" There's more?.. "
Funaho smiled and replied…
" Just that Washu said she would be taking care of it… "
As Azusa started to say something, she held up a hand and smiled…
" WITHOUT destroying colony 0315!... "
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( The Royal Chambers, Zanata six… )
The chamber was quiet and the smoke from the earlier firefight had cleared away…
For the most part, all but a few of the people were gone and those that were present had divided off into small groups…
Airi and Yosho had taken young Airi and Yosho, off to one side of the throne, to get acquainted with their new found family members…
Their daughter, Minaho and their grand-daughter Tennyo were standing nearby, watching and smiling, now that the tension was gone…
Washu and Lady Seto were also nearby, observing the reunion while enjoying some tea that one of Seto's assistants had brought down from the Mikagami…
Lady Seto had wondered about Washu and Yosho's sudden appearance, but decided not to press the matter, for the moment…
Captain Fragga and the Airiain officer in charge of the assault team had found themselves left on their own and had gotten into a general discussion…
Fragga had been watching the goings on across the room for some time and knew from experience, that some thing was going on and he wasn't sure he wanted know…
" Is it true that you knew Princess Ryoko before she became a princess?... "
His attention returned to the Airaian officer who had been in charge of the assault team, the question catching him by surprise…
But he shouldn't have been, after all, both Juraian and Airaian Intelligence must have very thick files on Tenchi, his family and their acquaintances…
Like others, this officer probably had orders to acquire more, if he got the chance, just doing his duty…
" I'm sorry!... A real gentleman doesn't kiss and tell… "
Fragga had to smile at the confused look on the officer's face, let Intelligence make of that what they will…
He remembered well, his first meeting with the Infamous Space Pirate Ryoko…
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( Flashback- The wedding reception… )
Ryoko had gone from person to person, smiling and introducing herself as Mrs Ryoko Masaki, wife of Mr. Tenchi Masaki…
The second time she did it to Lady Seto, Washu and Ayeka stepped in to take her off to the side to calm down…
Lady Seto's eyes were aglow at Ryoko's reaction to being married, she was enjoying every minute of it…
Catching Captain Fragga's attention, Lady Seto had a question of the space pirate…
" How did you happen to meet Ryoko?... "
Hearing the question, Ryoko was waving her hands and shaking her head…
Smiling, Fragga recalled a quote he'd heard of a local TV show the other day…
It was on some movie that he and Tenchi were watch, as they kept themselves out of every one's way…
" A real gentleman doesn't kiss and tell… "
Rather than clearing the air, he now found himself the center of a number of female's attention, with Washu and Lady Seto the closest…
Under their penetrating eyes, he return to the day he'd had a run in with some other pirates and lost…
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( An empty section of space - 700 years before…. )
Alone, on the bridge of his crippled ship, surrounded by his dead crew, Fragga lay there waiting to die…
After what seem like an eternity, a beautiful female had appeared and kept him company…
He'd thought she was an illusion or one of those Angels that some religions were always talking about, but she was neither…
After a while she had smiled, gently stroked his face and spoke to him, for the first time…
" She's here… "
As she faded away, another female had appeared on the bridge, a blazing sword in her hand and a fierce look on her face…
But once she realized that she was standing among the dead, the sword and look, both disappeared…
He didn't know why or how she knew he was alive, but he open his eyes to find her face only inches above his…
To him, she was an angel and he tried to say something, but only an odd gasp escaped…
Trying to hear what he was trying to say, she moved closer…
That is when he did some thing completely unexpected, he lifted his head and kissed her on the cheek…
A startled Ryoko looked down at him, to find him unconscious again…
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When he regained consciousness again, several months later, he was in a private hospital that would take care of any one, for a price…
It was than that he learned his rescuer's name, Ryoko, the most wanted criminal in the galaxy, next to Kagato…
It seem that his expensive treatment, a special stasis sleep, had been paid for by her, in full and he would be spending the next 600+ years asleep while his body slowly repaired its self…
It was the only way to recover the full use of his body and had been invented by that famed scientist, Washu Hakubi, just before she disappeared…
As for Ryoko, she had also disappeared, after attacking the Juraian home world and hadn't been seen since…
With no one waiting for him, Fragga had gone to sleep, to awaken 645 years later, with a completely new body…
Some 50 years later, with a new life and career behind him, Captain Fragga and his crew began to hear tale of Ryoko's return and Kagato's death…
It had been more by chance than any thing, their reunion…
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( A seedy bar... )
Fragga and his crew had just completed a successful cruise and they were celebrating, when the bar door flew open and in walked a female with light spikey hair, a ball of fire in one hand, a blazing sword in the other…
One look at her face and every one moved out of her way as she entered the bar…
By the time she reached an empty table, the ball and sword were gone, but the anger on her face remained…
It had taken a while, but Fragga was able to place her face, the face of an angel from 600 years ago, Ryoko…
As he was about to get up and approach her, another female entered the bar and it quicky became so quiet that you could hear a feather hit the floor…
For this was the famed bounty-hunter Nagi Katsumoro…
A large number of the people in the bar made for the back exits…
But Nagi started across the room towards one table, the one Ryoko was at…
Reaching for his gun, Fragga was about to try to protect Ryoko when Nagi reached the table and sat down, saying nothing…
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Seeing that nothing was happening, Fragga got up and approached the table where two of the most dangerous females in the universe were sitting…
Nagi showed no emotion, while Ryoko growled out a soft warning…
" Scram, if you don't want to die… "
Sighing, Fragga smiled and shrugged his shoulders…
" You saved it, I guess you have the right to take it… "
Ryoko's eyes widened and she turned to stare at the new comer…
A sad little smile appeared on her face as she looked him over…
" You're looking better than the last time I saw you… "
He couldn't help smiling and he noticed that Nagi's eyebrow went up…
" Being a hair's breath away from dying does tend to cause strange impulses… "
A mischievous smile appeared on Ryoko's face and a gleam in her eyes…
" Such as kissing your rescuer?... "
Ryoko had said it softly, but Nagi heard it and her jaw dropped…
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Fragga smiled and nodded his head…
" Not every day you get a chance to kiss an angel… "
" Hardly an angel… More like a demon… "
Still smiling, Fragga shook his head…
" To me, you were and still are, an angel… "
Ryoko looked at Nagi, who was smiling and shaking her head…
" Let say a friend and see where that goes… "
Fragga's smile brightened as he nodded his head…
" OK… If you need to contact me, just leave a message with the barkeep, he can usually get in touch with me… "
With that he and his crew returned to his ship, leaving the two female to themselves…
It wouldn't be too long before they saw each other again, in this same bar…
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( The wedding reception… )
All eyes had turn to Ryoko, who's face was now as red as Washu's hair…
Turning to explain to Tenchi, Ryoko found him smiling and her eyes widened…
" YOU KNEW?... "
Scratching the back of his head, Tenchi tried to give her his innocent smile, but failed…
" Well… The other night, Fragga and I were alone while you girls were out and we got to talking… And how you met did come up… "
Stepping closer to his new wife, Tenchi raise his hand and gently stroked her face…
" I found it very interesting that even back then the Ryoko I would fall in love with existed… "
A tearful Ryoko was in his arms in an instant, holding him tight, her face buried in his shoulder…
Ayeka and Mihosho soon joined her, their arms around them both…
The rest of the room lifted their glasses in a silent toast to the newlyweds…
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( The Royal Chambers, Zanata six… )
On the other side of the throne, Tenchi, Ayeka, Ryoko and Mihoshi were also standing together, but they weren't saying anything…
At-least not out loud…
Are you OK, Tenchi?...
Tenchi smiled as he looked into Ayekas worried eyes, when at Ryoko…
I'm fine, but are you alright, Ryoko?...
Ryoko had been looking over at Tenchi's sister, Tennyo, who looked so much like their mom…
I'm OK, it was just the shock of seeing that face, after so long…
Tenchi noticed Ryoko shake ever so slightly, even as she said she was alright…
Stepping closer to her, he put his arms around her and held her tight, just as she had done earlier for him…
Without a word, Ayeka and Mihoshi were soon there too, holding both of them in their arms…
There, there, we'll protect the big bad space pirate…
Ryoko wanted to react, but being held by Tenchi and the others felt too good…
Resting her head on Tenchi's shoulder, she looked up, into Ayeka's face and smiled, Ayeka smiled back…
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Across the room, Washu was watching the various groups interact and had even been listening to Tenchi and the girls…
Looking at Airi and her group, she smiled at her reaction to meeting Tokimi and wondered how Airi would react if she learned that Tsunami wasn't being held captive on Jurai, but was living quietly on a small back water planet far out on the edge of explored space?...
Getting a wicked smile, she realized that Tenchi and the girls were now looking at her…
She'd forgotten that her connection was both ways…
It was just a thought!...
She turned to look again at the others…
But it would be interesting to be there when King Akio found out…
She couldn't help chuckling…
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( Across the room… )
Airi had been quiet as she learned about the lives of the two young ones over the past decade, when a chill suddenly ran up her spine…
Looking around, she discovered that not only was Washu smiling at her, but Tenchi and his wives were also looking her way…
Something in the way Washu chuckled caused her eyebrow to go up…
Something in the back of her mind was telling her that there was much more to things than what even she'd been told…
Ever since she left the Order and joining the Galaxy Police, she'd found her self coming across hints and rumors about the Chousin, the three goddesses that her people worshiped…
She hadn't gone searching for it, they was just things that she happen upon…
She'd been taught from childhood that the Chousin consisted of the goddess Tsunami and her two sisters, whose names had been lost or forgotten with all the conflict between the two mighty powers…
As for the conflict, she wasn't sure ether side remembered why they had been rivals for so long, other than the idea that Jurai was some how holding the goddess Tsunami hostage, which the Juraians denied…
It was their claim that the Juraians were able to capture and force an all-powerful being into doing their will that most of the galaxy couldn't accept…
Such a people would have to be near Gods themselves and the Juraians had proven themselves to be any thing but that…
That recent attempted coup by a minor Juraian Lord for the throne, on the Juraian home world, was clear evidence of that…
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But recently, while reading a number of reports regarding her grandson and his family, seeing what they were up to, Tsunami's name had been mentioned…
The few Juriaian Intelligence reports she had managed to review also mentioned the goddess, but there were only hints, which meant that any details were probably in the more secure reports…
Going through Mihoshi's reports had taken a great deal of time and even those had been edited, with the names of certain people, places and times being removed…
She had managed to make it back to the shrine and see all the changes Washu had made…
The moving of the house from the city to the lakeside was a great improvement and it was sited as not to be seen by visitors to the shrine, until they start to leave…
Only from the top of the shrine stairs could you just see the house roof beyond the trees, other wise you wouldn't even know it was there…
And only Washu Hakubi would come up with creating a doorway in space, to a sub-space parking area for visiting space craft, which was then connected to the house…
Not only did it save time, but it greatly decreased the possibility of detection by the locals, as well as greatly reducing the repair bill the GP got from Washu for Mihoshi's shuttle…
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With recent events, she, Yosho and Nobuyuki had decided it was time that Tenchi learned the truth about his mother and grandmother…
Her recent trip to the house had been a start, timed for when Tenchi and the others were away, so that she could meet her new great-granddaughter…
That in its self had been a test, to see if Mayuka and her necklace accepted her…
Mayuka's demon mother had a very deep hatred for both Jurai AND Airai, they needed to see if any of those emotion had been absorbed by her…
To every ones relief, not only had the necklace accepted her DNA and allowed her to touch Mayuka, but the little one had accepted her too…
That just left arranging a meeting with a sensitive Tenchi and his very over protective wives…
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She'd been on her way home to 'break the news' to her parents…
For the first time, since leaving the order, she was nervous about seeing her parents…
She believed her mom would be delighted to have a great-grandson like Tenchi, it was her father's reacting she was worried about…
As she was next in line for the throne, that put her daughter Minaho, then Tenchi and his sister Tennyo next in line…
But, as the Airaian's preferred male rulers, it was very likely that, unless Minaho gave birth to a male child, most unlikely, Tenchi would be the one to follow her father…
And a Juraian taking the Airaian throne, now there was an excellent excuse for a civil war if she ever saw one, just as Yosho had seen taking his father's place might cause a similar conflict back on Jurai…
Of course, her father might see it as a way to get Tsunami away from the Juraians, even at the cost of some rebellions…
At any rate, this was going to cause a lot of trees to get shaken…
But it just might be interesting to see what 'fell out'…
But as things would have it, she was on Zanata six when the liner incident accrued and when she had tried to investigate, she had also ended up being held hostage, along with all the liner's passengers and crew…
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Her thoughts were interrupted by the entrance of a male Wauian in the uniform of an officer off the passenger liner…
His patches of white fur indicated he was quite mature or as others would say, OLD…
A member of the Airaian assault team was with him and escorted him across the room to Airi…
" My Lady… The captain of the star liner… "
The captain's eyebrow went up, his only show of emotion, as Airi dismissed the Airaian soldier with a nod of her head…
She sighed as she noticed that no one else seem to be willing to step up and take charge…
" I'm officer Airi Magma of the GP… "
Seeing Lady Seto's eyes dancing above the fan she had in front of her face, Airi could only assume that she had been put in charge, whether she liked it or not…
" Due to a change in planetary government, all charges against the liner, it's crew and passengers have been dropped… You and your crew will be escorted back to the liner to secure it and make sure it is safe to continue it voyage… If need be, assistance will be provided… "
She'd glanced over at Lady Seto, who nodded her head…
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Looking around, the Captain took in his surroundings…
" Might I inquire as to whom our new host is?... "
Turning slightly, Airi indicated the young boy and girl standing nearby, in front of the throne…
" May I present, his lordship Yosho Magma/Masaki and his sister Lady Airi Magma/Masaki… Surviving members of the late ruling family and now the restored planetary leaders, recognized by the GP, as well as Airai and Jurai… As well as being under their joint protection… "
As the Captain watched, the two young ones exchanged nods and the female stepped closer…
" Captain… On behalf of myself, my brother and our people, I wish to apologize for all the trouble you've been put through… We hope you will decide to return after we have gotten our house in order… "
The Captain turned to the two young ones and did a slight bow…
" I believe you will do well… Very well, indeed… "
Turning, he joined his escort and left the room…
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( the Masaki living room… )
Her majesty had never seen such a large, flat screen TV before, not to mention the color and detail…
She'd been getting acquainted with the new 'distant' member of her family, learning about her mother's rescue from the pacific, her adventures in outer space and about the family that she'd left behind…
Kiyone's recent adventures, along with the discovery of her lost brother, entertained every one…
It would appear that the young prince, Tenchi, was really making a name for himself, through out the galaxy…
As they changed the channels, they came upon a Wauian news reporter with a news flash…
" This just in… It has just been confirmed by sources at Galaxy Police Headquarters, that the planetary ruler of Zanata six has been removed and will be return to Headquarters to face justice… It appears that he was a fugitive wanted on numerous planets… More details as we get them… "
A wanted poster appears…
" It appears that the change in government is the results of the seizure of a star liner that happen to develop engine problems while passing through the Zanata six system… Rumors are now circulating that the problems might not have been so accidental after all… "
A still image of a star liner of the popular cruise Line appears on the screen…
" The change in government was the results of the combined efforts of task forces from the GP, Airai and Jurai… An official statement confirms that the task forces had to step in when the GP craft sent to negotiate for the release of the liner was fire upon by planetary defenses, thus negating the well known non-interference clause of Galaxy Law… "
" This is the first time since it's creation 200 years ago, that the non-interference clause has been negated… The inter-galactic Court will, of course, be reviewing the claims about the planetary defenses firing first… "
The image of a huge, oddly shaped building appeared…
" There is an unconfirmed rumors that indicates that members of the late ruling family have been found alive… As to their future involvement in the government, nothing has been said… Further updates as we get them… Now back to our regular programming… "
The screen returned to a number of people, male and female, running around a very large room, throwing food at each other…
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Kiyone, who was standing behind the couch, sighed and used the remote to turn the TV off…
" You didn't find that interesting?... "
She looked down at their guest and smiled…
" When Mihoshi is here she won't watch any thing else… In fact, that's one of her favorite shows… "
She saw the questioned look in the other Kiyone's eyes…
" Besides… They're into reruns… For some thing like the 58th time?... "
Both the queen and Kiyone smiled at that…
" I assume you noticed no mention of Tenchi, the girls or Washu!... "
They both nodded…
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Kiyone wasn't surprised about there being no mention, because the activities of members of ALL royal families was always 'NO COMMENT!'…
However, she'd seen the need for the tighter security first hand recently, when heavy armed men had broken into this very house and tried to capture the second princess of Jurai, Sasami, who was staying here…
They had failed…
But there were always wild rumors floating around and she did mean WILD…
But none came close to what she had seen with her own eyes…
After it was over, Washu informed them that the men had in fact been Raiders who didn't leave survivors and had they not been able to escape with Sasami, they would have killed her and every one else…
The house was now the safest place in the galaxy, outside the Juraian Palace…
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( A cave high in the swiss Alps… )
An old man with a thick dark beard and dirty clothes was paced back and forth…
He had planned it all out, catching his target alone in the middle of their security, where they should have been their safest, where their violent death would create the most fear…
Not only would the fear have been sweet, but the panic would have added to the general chaos and confusion…
Fear was one of the strongest emotions given off by living things and the more intelligent the life form, the sweeter the taste…
To remove any obstacles to his goals, a number of fragments had been created and spread across this world…
The time had come to gather those fragments together to over come this new obstacle…
With that final obstruction gone, he would make this entire world tremble in fear…
Closing his eyes, he sent out the call for the others to return…
For return they must, for he was the original fragment, sent back in time by Kain to prepare his way…
NOW, he would do what he had been created for and in doing so, become the NEW Kain…
Only then could he once again set off across the stars, to regain his former greatness and to feed his bottomless hunger…
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To be continued...
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Please feel free to comment and review for any errors...
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