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 16: Dejected Princess

"Ha! Now that's more like it! Already Mayuka is causing more trouble,
unlike her worthless sister Sayuri," Yuzuha laughed in glee. "It just goes to
prove how much more powerful Demon's blood is over a Goddess's." She turned her
piercing yellow eyes to glare at the sleeping figure of Tsunami. "Wouldn't you
agree?" she asked, then floated up on her circular pedestal until they were eye
to eye. She paused for a moment, but then extended her furry hand and slapped
her sharply, reveling in the fact that her sharp claws left bloody scratches
across the Goddess's cheek. Tsunami let out a short cry of protest, but fell
silent and only slipped back into her slump of depression.

"Pitiful," Yuzuha muttered to herself, and turned back to watch the
monitors. By now, she had dispatched several SpyDemons to the Masaki household,
and she took great care to look over all of them daily, if such a word could be
used. For where she resided, neither night nor day existed; there was simply
Kuroi--the Ancient word for 'Darkness'. She was the Demon of Darkness, and she
resided over Kuroi and all the Demons linked to it, just as Lady Tokimi watched
over Jurai. [Jurai--the place where only Light exists, and Darkness is
quelled...] Yuzuha scratched her chin with her sharp nails, and watched as
Ayeka knelt down by Tenchi's bed, where Kiyone was sleeping...

* * * * *

"Are you all right?" Ayeka asked both softly and tentatively, trying her
best not to aggravate Kiyone's headache. Her rosy eyes, normally sparkling with
life and light were now littered with concern. Kiyone's blue eyes were glazed,
and she had trouble focusing her gaze on the purple-haired princess standing
above her.

"I'll be all right... You're lucky none of you tried a brain scan on
Sayuri," Kiyone replied weakly, her hoarse voice barely above a whisper. "I'm
sorry to have caused so much trouble."

"It's not trouble at all, Kiyone," Tenchi said from the doorway, for he'd
been eavesdropping. "I'm just sorry it's caused you so much pain."

"It's my own fault for taking the risk." A cough.

"Either way, you need more sleep," Ayeka suggested. "I only came up here
to drop off some soup that Tenchi's father cooked for you." She set a tray down
on the nightstand, but Kiyone was already fast asleep again.

With the same disquiet uneasiness echoing deep in his own eyes, Tenchi
sighed. "Let her sleep it off," he said, to which Ayeka agreed. The two left
the room as quietly as possible and slid the door closed slowly.

"I can't understand how Mayuka could have created her own mental shield
against someone as well-trained and powerful as Kiyone," Ayeka mused as they
walked down the stairs back to the living room where Sayuri and Mayuka were
playing with origami paper. "I-I think I need to take a walk..." Without
waiting for a reply from Tenchi, she made her way to the foyer, pulled on her
soft walking shoes, and began her stroll.

She couldn't stand being around Tenchi when his aura was screaming with so
much negativity--depression and sadness were some of the emotions she could not
put up a block against. Being around another person like that usually brought
her down. As her feet plodded through the soft grass and foliage of the forest
surrounding the house, she lost track of where she was going, too engrossed in
the scenery and her own thoughts.

"Ah, Ayeka, what are you doing here?" she heard Katsuhito say from her
right. She jumped, startled, believing he had followed her. When she turned to
face him, Kagato's words echoed in her mind. Half Demon, half God... If that
were true, then Yosho would still live forever... Perhaps... She felt a
growing warmth in her face, and her cheeks blushed bright red.

"Yosho," Ayeka said, watching the way Katsuhito jumped, as if he were
unaccustomed to the name. "I was taking a walk," she answered.

"As was I," Katsuhito replied. "Enjoying the summer view?" he asked, but
didn't wait for an answer; instead, he turned and walked away.

"Yosho, wait!" Ayeka cried, frantically reaching her right hand out and
latching onto one of his wide sleeves. "I want to talk to you," she explained
when he peered at her confusedly with his violet eyes.

"All right, Ayeka. What did you want to talk to me about?"

"Yosho, are you--"

"That is not my name now!" he replied harshly, and Ayeka flinched, though
there was no real hard feelings or bitterness behind his tone. He took a moment
and a deep breath to gather up his composure, and mentally scolded himself for
losing his temper. "I am sorry, Ayeka."

"It's all right... I think the people in this household have been
apologizing to each other too often..." She turned back to gaze at the house.

"With Tsunami gone, there has been less Kindness in our hearts," Katsuhito
said wisely.

She felt odd walking with Yosho, because it reminded her of how their
lives used to be on Jurai. But now, she loved Tenchi, not Yosho--and yet, she
was unable to prevent herself from thinking fondly of Yosho after all this time.
Because of Mayuka's appearance, her feelings for Tenchi had remained unspoken to
Ryoko, for which she was grateful. She disliked being jealous of Tsunami,
because Tsunami had been more than simply a mother or sister ever since she'd
been created by Washu. Ayeka knew Washu had created her as a bride for Yosho,
and she had accepted her fate with the dignity befitting her. She had reveled
in it, in fact. But Yosho did not want her. Walking beside him now in the
glorious height of summer, she could almost believe they were on Jurai again.

* * * * *

Tsunami had brushed her hair that very morning, and had pulled it gently
into the two ponytails she had requested. "To look more like you," the young
Ayeka had explained, and laughed when Tsunami had laughed, for if she could make
Tsunami happy, then she believed everybody should be happy. When she'd
complained that Tsunami had tied the ponytails too high, Tsunami hadn't become
angry; instead, she only smiled and tilted her head, gazing at Ayeka with
affection. Then, she reached down and touched Ayeka's cheek gently and said
simply said, "You're not old enough to wear that style yet, Ayeka-chan."

She liked the attention and the way Tsunami touched her; sometimes wiping
her face or petting her soft, long purple hair. It was different than the way
Auntie Misaki touched her, grabbing and pinching her pudgy baby cheeks with her
soft skin but strong hands and sharp nails. Or the way Auntie Misaki wrapped
her tightly in a suffocating and smothering embrace.

After hearing that, she'd wanted to grow up quickly so she could be just
as beautiful and elegant as her Big Sister Tsunami. The Goddess had been her
influence, inspiration and idol all her life; now, she was no longer 'Ayeka-
chan,' or 'Little Ayeka,' in the Ancient Tongue. Now, it was time to escape, to
become something other than Tsunami's Princess. She had to search for her own
personality, her own life outside of the Goddess's. It seemed odd that she
would have fallen in love with Tenchi just as Tsunami had...perhaps Tsunami's
impact on her life went far beyond the simple physical, mental, and even
personal characteristics. [Did I fall in love with Tenchi because I could sense
Tsunami's feelings? Could it be? Am I no more than a mere clone...?]

She could remember plaiting flowers in a field, making a crown for her to
wear so she could show Big Sister Tsunami how lovely they looked with the
hairstyle Tsunami had given her. But another flower caught her eye, one
indigenous to Jurai; it grew no where else. The Royal Teardrop; she loved both
the name and color, and she picked it for Yosho...because the color matched his
violet eyes. But back then, she'd been far too young to know the name--all she
recognized was the color.

It was true--even looking at him now, with his graying hair and wrinkled
face, his eyes held such youth and light that Ayeka could not believe it. She
had no doubt he was half Demon and half God--there was no other explanation.

When she'd found the flower, the beautiful dark violet flower so delicate
and graceful, just as she wished to be, it seemed magickal in itself, though she
knew it grew in a magickal realm. She'd plucked the flower without a second
thought, threw the crown atop her head, and dashed off to find Yosho, in the
area she knew he always liked to play near. He was approximately the human age
of seven, whereas she was only five. She knew he liked to play only with the
big kids, but she believed that when he saw the flower, he wouldn't be able to
resist. He'd want to spend his time with her, because she had no friends. The
other daughters were jealous of Ayeka because Tsunami devoted so much of her
time to only Ayeka.

But he too, had left her behind. "I can't play with you now, Ayeka," he'd
said with a sigh, wary of the jeers from his friends. "I'll play with you
later, ok?" Later, later, always later... To the young Ayeka, there was never
any Later, Later simply did not exist. If there *were* such thing as a Later,
then she would have gotten to play with Yosho at least once... But he was
always hanging around the other boys, the Mean Boys who taunted her, who kicked
sand in her youthful eyes and pulled on her luxurious long hair. The boys that
Big Sister Tsunami or Big Sister Washu always had to chase off.

"Yosho-- No, Katsuhito," Ayeka said as they neared the house, for if she
did not speak now, she knew she never would. These thoughts had been tormenting
her for the past six months, and now she was finally alone with Yosho for the
first time since she could remember. "Katsuhito, Kagato said... Said you are
his son, which makes you half Demon, half God. And if that's true--"

"If that's true, then mortal blood does not course through my veins,"
Katsuhito finished. He turned to Ayeka and gazed at her pointedly, careful that
she should receive his full attention with her own. "But you must realize that
my mother and father are not Washu and Kagato; they are Funaho and Isamu.
Therefore, I am not quite completely immortal. However, I have both lived in
this mortal realm for far too long and lost my link to Jurai: the Tenchi-ken.
Though I obviously age slowly, I *will* die someday, Ayeka." He heard Ayeka's
sharp intake of breath, saw how she clenched her teeth on her bottom lip, and
sighed remorsefully. "Had I but known how deeply your heart was set on mine, I
could never have left, never have treated you badly...but now it's too late.
Truly, I am very sorry."

"It's all right," Ayeka replied, wiping a single tear from her eye. "No
more apologies, please... I understand, Katsuhito." That was only partially
true--she *almost* understood. Not quite, but she knew enough about feelings
and emotions now that she'd fallen in love with Tenchi. And she knew what it
meant to give up Tenchi because Tsunami deserved him far more. Just as the
Tenchi-ken belonged to Tenchi, Tsunami and Tenchi belonged to each other. The
sword had incessantly called and waited for its true owner for over seven
centuries... And Tenchi would wait for Tsunami until the end of time.

* * * * *

"Yosho," Yuzuha cursed softly but vehemently. Tsunami watched her small
figure carefully, praying for sleep to take her mind away, but the Sleep Demon
must have been busy taunting some other poor Goddess or Demon. She did not know
how long she'd lived in this dimension, and Yuzuha often put her in cold sleep
simply because the Demon wanted to keep her alive as long as possible. The
black aura surrounding this place stabbed at her heart, and made her lonely for
Tenchi's kindness. The light from a SpyDemon monitor was piercing, but Yuzuha's
body blocked her from the view. At least this time she could see anything at
all--at times, Yuzuha had left her stranded in the dark for seemingly days on
end.

Tsunami hated the way her arms were bound to the wall, embedded in the
wall itself. She had so little Energy left that there was no way she could
escape the confines of this Goddess-forsaken place. No kindness lived here, and
therefore she knew only Jurai was keeping her alive. But the three Goddesses
formed a trio, just like the Light Hawk Wings. With one Goddess missing, the
triangle was torn heavily out of proportion. Her feet had gone numb almost as
soon as she'd been captured--it would be no small wonder if her legs still
worked even after all this time. In this place, there was nothing for her to
do, nothing more than to hang from the wall and die slowly. Oftentimes,
contemplation had kept her busy, or even hope. Unfortunately, her hope was now
dying as slowly and painfully as she was. She wished badly to be able to reach
Tenchi from this place, this Kuroi, but Yuzuha had placed a seal on her,
preventing any psionic contact, scans, or searches.

The Demon enjoyed torturing Tsunami, and she loved the Goddess's anguish,
for both she and Kuroi thrived off of it. There was only one place her
SpyDemons could not reach, and that was Washu's subspace lab. Because of that,
she had no idea what the Goddess of Chaos was up to.

* * * * *

"It's true, Tenchi," Funaho said over her shoulder, turning around from a
console to face her great-grandson, "you are definitely *both* Sayuri's father
and Mayuka's father: the DNA matches." Then, her forehead furrowed, and she
leaned in to get a better look at the information she'd retrieved. "However,
there's a small difference between Sayuri and Mayuka, so... Well!"

"What is it, Funaho?" Tenchi asked anxiously.

"What this means," she replied, returning to the screen and pointing at it
with an index finger, dictating each of her words slowly and carefully, "is that
they may have different mothers."

"WHAT?!" Tenchi's heart jumped to his throat from the shock, and he
nearly fainted. A myriad of questions sprung up in his mind, as well as his
dreams of rescuing Tsunami. "But what does... How... I..."

"One at a time, Tenchi, one question at a time," she said, trying to calm
him down. Her gentle brown eyes peered at him pleadingly, and he pulled himself
together to listen. "I said they *might* have different mothers. I've told you
before that the DNA is highly encrypted, and without the right password, I can't
get into it. Whoever their mother(s) is or are, she or they want stay well
hidden. In this situation, the best thing we can do is to do nothing, and only
wait. I know how much you want Tsunami back, and so do I, and so does Jurai,
for that matter. The Jurai System will never be able to function without her,
unless of course..." Her words drifted off, and she stopped herself, for fear
that she had already spoken too much.

"Unless what?"

Funaho was loath to reply. "Let's just say it's an option I don't want to
have to take unless absolutely necessary," she answered cryptically. "Although
I'm afraid there may be a chance that we will have to."

"*Anything* for Tsunami," Tenchi countered quickly and forcefully.

"I know that's how you feel, but...but if we follow through with that
option, it could be even more dangerous for her. Trust me on this one, Tenchi,
please?"

"All right," Tenchi agreed reluctantly, standing up, "but only because
*you* said so." His own brown eyes glinted playfully.

"There *is* one thing you can do, Tenchi," Funaho said, smiling happily,
since Tenchi was finally showing some improvement over the way he used to mope
around the house.

"Yes?"

"If it's not too much trouble..."

Tenchi smiled. "Oh, it's no trouble at all, Funaho. What is it?"

"Could you call me 'Little Funaho'? I'd like that!"

* * * * *

With her mouth turned into a little pout, Mayuka didn't look like she
was having any fun. If it wasn't for the happy look in her eyes and her
occasional laughter, anybody would have assumed she was downright angry. "But
why won't Papa play with us, Sayuri?"

"Father is busy," Sayuri replied to her sister. "Come on, let's keep
playing with the origami! I want to make a penguin this time."

"I did it! I finally got it!!" Mihoshi cried, holding up a sheet of green
origami folded into the shape of a frog.

"Um, that's a frog," Sayuri said slowly, with a smile. "How come after
all I taught you, it's still a frog and not a crane?"

"But it's a very cute frog!" Mayuka added.

Mihoshi smiled. "Oh well!" Then the three broke out into peal after peal
of joyous laughter, and the cycle would begin again. Mayuka would reach for a
new sheet to fold another crane for her Papa, and Sayuri would always try for
something new. Mihoshi would try to fold a crane again, and end up with a
table, balloon, frog, or even a shirt and pants.

Then, when Mayuka was done with her crane, she'd place it on the growing
pile of presents for Papa, and wonder why he wouldn't play with them. She would
pout at first, but then give in when Sayuri and Mihoshi began to banter. It
bothered her that Papa wasn't there to be with them, but he was too busy with
Funaho.

"Wow, Father's going to have a lot of presents!" Sayuri exclaimed, placing
all the unused origami paper back into its container. "Look at all the cute
things we folded!"

"Where is Papa, anyway?" Mayuka asked. "I haven't seen him all
afternoon!"

"He could be either be working in the fields, talking to Auntie Funaho,
or...checking up on Kiyone," Sayuri suggested, looking at Mihoshi. "Don't
worry, Mihoshi I'm sure Kiyone will be better soon..."

The galaxy police officer, normally bubbly and cheerful, looked more than
a tad bit troubled. "I hope so. I don't know what to do without Kiyone," she
said sadly, picking up her pile of folded origami. "I'm going to give these to
her as a get-well present." She stood up and walked towards the stairs, but
didn't notice when Mayuka snatched a crane from her own pile and chased after
her.

"Ah... Mihoshi?"

"Hmm? What is it, Mayuka?" Mihoshi replied, her hand on Tenchi's door.

"Here." A pink crane, expertly folded, dropped from Mayuka's hand onto
the bulky pile of random origami animals and origami shapes in Mihoshi's arms.
"For Kiyone."

"Oh, thank you, Mayuka. I'm sure Kiyone will appreciate it," Mihoshi
replied sadly, grateful tears in her eyes.

Mayuka smiled, then ran back down the stairs to help Sayuri clean up, but
Sayuri was already in the kitchen, cooking for that night's meal. Deciding it
would be a good time to go find Papa, she pulled on her shoes and went out to
look for him.

"Hello, Mayuka!" Ayeka called from the house when she was not too far from
the house. "What are you doing?" In Ayeka's arms were bundles of the sweet-
smelling flowers that grew around the Masaki house in midsummer. Mayuka stopped
and waved.

"I'm looking for Papa!" she called back. "Have you seen him, Auntie
Ayeka?"

[I know Tenchi doesn't mind the fact that she calls him 'Papa,' but does
she have to call me 'Auntie'?! I'm not *that* old...] "Sorry, Mayuka, but I
haven't. You should try looking in the fields." [Come to think of it, no one
has seen Ryoko around here lately, either... I wonder...]

"Ok, thanks, Ayeka!" Mayuka called one last time, and with another wave
she was bounding over to the tool shed, because if Papa were working in the
fields, then he had to go there first to get his farming supplies. And, if she
found him earlier, then she had a better chance at coaxing him into playing with
she and her sister.

She found Tenchi in the tool shed, just where she assumed he would be.
His back was facing her, and he was in the process of pulling on a basket for
harvesting vegetables. Suddenly, the childlike innocence in her eyes
disappeared as a new idea entered her mind.

"Papa," she whispered enticingly, with a sly smile. "Come with me."

End of Chapter 16