Tenchi-Muyo! (No Need For Tenchi!; This End Up) is (c) AIC * Pioneer LDC, Inc.
Aa! Megami-sama! (Oh My Goddess!) is (c) by Kousuke Fujishima, Kodansha, TBS and
KSS Films.


Aa! Megami-sama Muyo! (Ah! No Need For My Goddess!)
A Tenchi-Muyo! and Aa! Megami-sama! crossover fan fiction
By Luna Hinomura
http://fly.to/Luna's

Chapter 15: Daughter of a Demon

Smoke escaped his lips as he exhaled, and he watched the grayish-white
vapors floating off slowly into the atmosphere. A few moments later, he took
another puff from the cigarette held gracefully between his index and middle
fingers. A cough came from his protesting lungs, and he spat out a glob of
phlegm towards the side of the stairs, into the foliage where no one ever
walked. He felt somewhat guilty for lying about cleaning, but he mentally
justified his actions since, after all, he *had* cleaned the stairs and
tombstones before stopping for the forbidden smoke.

"Why do you insist on smoking, Tenchi? It's bad for you!" Funaho had
scolded him just this morning when he'd pardoned himself after breakfast and
asked to step outside.

"I feel like it. You don't understand what my life is like," he'd
answered flatly.

"I lost Isamu, Tenchi! I know how it feels!"

"My God, do have to throw that in my face? The fact that I was forced to
kill my Great-Grandfather? You don't understand! You'll never understand!"
Then, everyone began talking in unison.

"Father..." "Lord Tenchi, please..." "Hey, Tenchi, can't you forget
about her for just a little while...?"

Forget Her?

Never. Perhaps Ryoko meant well, and he felt guilty for bringing everyone
else down with him, but certain kinds of grief were simply not meant for
sharing.

He had run out of his own house, snatched the cleaning pail awaiting him,
and headed off to clean his mother's tomb. It was one of the places on their
entire estate that was always quiet. Not even bird chirped near her grave,
perhaps in respect for the kind and loving woman.

"Hello, Mother," he'd said after lighting incense and bowing. "I'm still
very lonely, and I think our house is very noisy nowadays, but... But I think
I'd be even lonelier without them, even though Tsunami's not here. I miss her,
Mother..."

He took another puff on the cigarette, mused about how much he'd changed
since Tsunami had left. Sure, things had been fun when Sayuri had come to him,
but she couldn't replace Tsunami. In appearances, she resembled Tsunami, but
the fact remained that she *was not* Tsunami. Why *had* he taken up smoking,
anyway? A hobby? No, that couldn't be it -- sword fighting would forever be
his only and greatest hobby. In rebellion? That sounded more logical. Inside,
he was still the warm-hearted boy he always was, just depressed. And he was
getting more depressed with every passing moment.

Sayuri had drawn him out of his shell for a while, perhaps a month or so,
but she could never replace Tsunami in his heart. Sure, he might have been
attracted to her once, but he never really pursued a relationship. After all,
nobody would want to pursue a relationship while living with countless other
prospects ready and waiting, each of them capable of becoming jealous and
vindictive at the drop of a hat.

Was Sayuri truly his daughter? He'd never done anything more than smoking
an occasional cigarette, not even drinking the sake that Ayeka and Ryoko
constantly offered him. Plus, she was only five or six years younger than he;
it was a ludicrous idea. He liked Sayuri, and the fact that Sayuri looked like
Tsunami. Funaho had spoken of a shift in the Space-Time Continuum at
approximately the same moment Sayuri had come to him. There was a chance that
Sayuri had come from the future. If that much was true, then Tsunami may very
well have been her future mother. It was a nice thought for a 18-year-old boy
who, as of recently, was always down and out. She'd appeared behind him like a
ghost, with an eerily warm breeze and a smile upon her face, unlike the chilly
breeze he felt now. He shivered, and stood up. It was time to head on home.
He ground out the cigarette on the stone stairs, and smiled, knowing he would
never forget the shock he'd felt when Sayuri had uttered those first few words
to him.

"Papa..."

Well. That was odd. The memory stood out so vibrantly in his mind that
he could almost hear her voice... Tenchi chided himself for being so deep
within his own thoughts to be caught off-guard, and whirled around.

A girl who appeared to be the same age as Sayuri stood there, her face
hidden demurely beneath the attractive pink hat she wore. Tenchi could tell by
the way she looked and the way she held herself that it was a girl. Plus, she
was wearing a pale pink dress that matched her hat. She reached up and drew her
hat off shyly, turning her bright orange eyes up toward his face.

"Papa!" the girl cried happily, latching onto his neck.

"Wh-what the hell is this?!" That was another vice he'd picked up during
Tsunami's absence. He didn't like using foul language, but whenever he became
agitated... Well, the temptation was much too great. However, he managed to
avoid using certain words while he was inside the house or shrine. [If she ever
saw you like this, with your new behavior, what would Tsunami think...?] He
didn't want to know. Likely, Tsunami would state that he was no longer the
Tenchi that he used to be. The only thought worse than that was knowing it was
true.

"Papa, don't you remember me?" the girl spoke, her smile never leaving her
face. She backed off when Tenchi shook his head in bewilderment, and her lips
twisted into a pout. An instant later, she threw her arms around him again, the
childlike smile reappearing. "Mayuka remembers you!!" She hugged him tighter
and tighter, giggling all the while. He assumed that from his stiff and awkward
stance, he wasn't much fun to hug, but Mayuka -- was that her name? -- didn't
seem to care.

[Erg. I think I finally know how a beanbag feels...]

"TENCHIIIIIII!!!" two voices shrieked simultaneously.

[Oh, no...]

"Ah. Um. Hi, Ayeka and Ryoko," Tenchi coughed nervously. "Really, this
is, um, *not* what it seems like..." [Yeah, sure. Like they'd ever believe
*you* in a situation like *this*.]

"Papa, who are your friends? Who is this beautiful young girl? And who
is this older lady?" Mayuka asked innocently, blinking her large eyes at both
the newcomers.

"'OLDER LADY'?!" Ayeka and Ryoko shrieked again. They glared at each
other for a moment, then scoffed.

"Well, it's obvious that she means me when she says 'beautiful young
girl'," Ayeka said, hiding her blushing face behind a long sleeve. "I *am*
young and beautiful, after all."

"No, way! I may not be as young as you are, but I look it! And I'm far
more beautiful and attractive than you, to boot!" Ryoko retorted. "She was
looking at you when she said 'older lady'!"

"How dare you assume that simply because you have larger... Ah..." Ayeka
threw a quick glance at Mayuka and cleared her throat warily. "That is to say,
simply because you believe yourself to be more well-proportioned than I that you
are therefore more beautiful?! Beauty comes from within."

"That's exactly why Mayuka can tell that you're an old hag!"

"Well, why don't we just ask Mayuka exactly what she meant? It's obvious
that she meant you. Why, even Washu said your breasts were sagging! You're
past your peak. You're an old and unattractive woman."

"Takes one to know one," Ryoko retorted lightly.

Ayeka began to growl. "Mayuka!" she called sweetly, though her tone was
filled with restrained anger. She turned in Mayuka's direction.

"Tenchiiiii!" Ryoko whined, turning in Tenchi's direction.

A swift breeze picked up, and leaves began to swirl all around. Dazed,
Ayeka and Ryoko stared at each other in silence as they slowly realized that
they were completely alone at the top of the stairs. "Oops," they said to each
other simultaneously. Each one eyed the other warily, their gazes occasionally
drifting to the path back to the house. Ryoko was the first to dash off.

"I'll get there first!" Ryoko cried, sticking her tongue out behind her.
She was too busy taunting Ayeka, and tripped.

"Ha! Serves you right!" Ayeka said, stepping on Ryoko's body as she ran
by. Soon, Ayeka was out of sight.

"Oh, yeah?" Ryoko scoffed. She drew on the power from her gems and flew
high into the air. Once she could see the house, she teleported herself back
there.

Though she couldn't see Ryoko, Ayeka felt the telltale disturbance in
Life-Force Energy, and strayed off the path. She walked directly into a tree,
but came out of one closer to Tenchi's house -- her own type of teleportation.

Much to their chagrin, both of them ended up reaching the house at almost
the exact same time.

* * * * *

"R-really, Dad! She just followed me home!" Tenchi explained. "She was
on the steps leading up to the shrine!" Mayuka was outside, being interrogated
by the others while Tenchi was indoors, being yelled at by his father. Soon
after Tenchi and Mayuka had returned to the Masaki home, one or two of the girls
had notified Kiyone and Mihoshi of the event, for they no longer lived with the
Masaki's. Instead, after their temporary exile was over and done with, both
Kiyone and Mihoshi had been assigned by the Earth Angels Agency to patrol Earth
in case other Demons decided to attack. After all, Kiyone and Mihoshi, allied
with the Goddess Technical Helpline, had taken out Kagato, one of the most
notorious Demons ever sought after by the Earth Angels. Kagato had destroyed
countless innocent civilizations during his pursuit of a power that he could
never possess.

"Son, I never knew you to be one to pick up girlfriends," Nobuyuki
replied. "Are you turning into a juvenile delinquent on me?"

"No, Dad! I'm telling you the truth!" He didn't like raising his voice,
but his father was so stubborn that Tenchi could see no other way to get his
point across.

"How am I supposed to believe that?" Nobuyuki argued, waving an empty
cigarette package accusingly in front of Tenchi's face. "You've changed a lot
since Tsunami died, you know that?"

Tenchi turned his face aside. "Go ahead. Accuse me. Slap me. I don't
care."

"That's what's wrong with you," Nobuyuki said in disgust, throwing the
package down violently. "You used to be so caring... What's come over you?"

"Nothing's wrong with me!"

"Don't give me that. You and I both know that you've become an entirely
different person now!" Nobuyuki sagged down onto the couch. "Son, I don't want
to lose you, too."

"What do you mean?" Tenchi's voice lowered suddenly, into a tone much
less defensive.

Nobuyuki sighed. "You know how hard it was to lose your mother. I don't
think I could bear it if I lost you. And now you're so different... It's like
you're already gone. Please, son..."

Understanding. That was the key word. Tenchi could see it now. His
father wanted to understand him, and vice versa. And, logically, they *should*
be able to understand each other. His father had lost his mother, and he had
lost Tsunami. He had been running away from the one person who could help him
the most. "I'm sorry, Dad," Tenchi said abruptly. "I never meant to hurt you,
or anybody else, this badly." He sat down next to his father on the couch.
"It's just that... Everything's so complicated nowadays. Tsunami was the
support beam that held this whole household together."

"And before that, your mother was the one who did it. Things were much
better when they were around. I believe that your mother, had she lived, would
have liked Tsunami very much." Nobuyuki closed his eyes tiredly. "Just please
don't smoke anymore."

"Yes, Dad. I'll... I want to try and get things back the way they
were..." Tenchi stood up. "I honestly don't know where Sayuri and Mayuka came
from. And I promise to quit smoking."

"Thank you, son."

Tenchi was about to leave the room, but paused. "Dad? How did you...
You know... Get over Mom?" He worded his question tactfully, but Nobuyuki only
reached over and rustled his hair.

"Having you with me helped," Nobuyuki said simply. "Plus, I don't mind
anymore since we've got all these pretty girls living here nowadays!"

Tenchi's shoulders sagged and he heaved a giant sigh. He shouldn't have
expected anything less from his father. "I'm going to take a bath and get rid
of the smell of smoke before dinner," he said, then left the room.

* * * * *

"Mayuka, please tell us! Who is your mother?"

"I don't know."

Ayeka pursed her lips in annoyance and pulled Kiyone aside. "Are you
positively sure she really doesn't know who her mother is? How can she not
remember?"

A quick glance at Mayuka and Sayuri was all Kiyone needed before answering
Ayeka. "Sayuri can't remember her mother either. Obviously, these events must
be related to each other in some way. Funaho and I will do some scans of their
brain patterns to see if she's had her memory blocked off. And then the DNA
testing, too..." She sighed. "Funaho was already busy enough with Sayuri, and
now Mayuka? This is too much." She stood up and directed her next statement to
the entire group. "Thanks for calling us about this predicament. We might be
the only ones qualified to handle it."

"Wow, Sayuri! Isn't it nice to have a sister?!" Mihoshi asked excitedly.
"You'll have so much fun! Ok, Mayuka, we just need to know who your mother
is... And I'll give you a piece of candy if you tell me!"

"Yay...!" Mayuka clapped in glee, but her expression turned sad almost as
abruptly. "I really can't remember..."

"Scratch that," Kiyone said, a sweat drop on her brow. "*I'm* the only
one qualified to handle this." She walked back over to Mayuka. "I don't trust
the Jurai system to be able to do this while it's down. This is a job for an
Earth Angel." She put her hands on Mayuka's head pulled her forehead forward
until it was touching her own. "Relax, Mayuka. Mihoshi, concentrate and be my
Anchor." Mihoshi nodded, closed her eyes, and let her Life-Force Energy
intertwine with her partner's until she had a solid grip on Kiyone's Energy, and
there was no chance of losing her to the powerful spell she was about to cast.
Finally, when all preparations were complete, Kiyone began the brain scan.

She found herself in the path to Mayuka's past. Once she was there,
Kiyone began to peel back the onion-like layers of memories, traveling farther
and farther, going deeper and deeper inside. In Mayuka's mind, she remembered
what it felt like to meet Ayeka and Ryoko, and the confusion of being yelled at
for doing hardly anything. She took the path backwards, meeting Tenchi for the
first time, and back further, walking down the steps to find him. Then,
watching him from another--

Suddenly, a spherical blast of energy radiated outwards from Mayuka, and
shook even the house from the impact. "EAAAAAAUGH!" Kiyone wrenched herself
away from the girl, and dropped to her knees, blood pounding vigorously through
her head. She touched a quivering hand to her temple, willing the pain to stop,
and all the while, her entire body was trembling violently.

"Are you all right, Kiyone?!" Mihoshi exclaimed in alarm, her eyes
snapping open.

"What was that? What did you see?" Ayeka demanded.

"There... There was very powerful mental shield..." Kiyone explained
breathlessly, nearly hyperventilating. "I didn't expect it... Caught me off
guard..." She collapsed tiredly into an unconscious heap at Mayuka's feet, her
long teal-colored hair sprayed across her shoulders and the ground. The others
stared in awe. Never had they seen anything powerful enough to knock out such
an accomplished Angel so easily.

"Holy shit," Ryoko said as both Ayeka and Mihoshi knelt down to check on
Kiyone. "Someone or something was able to block Kiyone's astral projection...
But..." All eyes turned to Mayuka. "But who?"

Mayuka stared back blankly. "I don't know," she replied in her naturally
naïve tone.

End of Chapter 15