Tenchi Muyo is the property of AIC and Pioneer.
A lost fic by Davner
Till Death Do Us Part
"Tenchi."
He wasn't quite sure what to make of the voice. It was familiar, yes, but he still couldn't place it. He was so tired. So exhausted.
"Tenchi, it's time to wake up."
He rolled over in his bed and groaned. "Please, Mom, just a few more minutes..."
His eyes shot open as several new facts rushed to his brain.
One, he was in bed, and the last thing he remembered was being in Washu's lab, pushing Sasami to safety.
Two, considering the size of the explosion, he should feel a *whole* lot worse.
And three, his mother was standing over his bed, waiting for him to wake up...
He shot up to a sitting position and stared open mouthed in shock at the raven haired woman standing at the foot of his bed. She was wearing a simple, yellow sundress and a white apron. Her jet black hair was worn in the pony tail Tenchi remembered tugging on when he was a baby. She smiled, something else he remembered about her.
He continued to stare, but got control of himself as realization set in. "I'm dreaming," he said.
She shook her head. "No, Tenchi. This isn't a dream. It's really me." Her voice was kind and musical.
Tenchi blinked. "So you're a ghost?"
Achika laughed. "I suppose so."
Tenchi looked at his hand. It was okay. The explosion. The fire... Shouldn't it have...
"It's all right, Tenchi. You're safe now."
He looked up at her. She sat down on the bed next to him and took his hand.
"Tenchi, I know this is going to come as something of a shock..."
"The others!" he cried suddenly. "Sasami! Is she okay?!"
Achika nodded. "You saved Sasami, Tenchi. You saved them all. They're all okay."
He breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "Where are they? I want to see them."
Achika's smile faltered. "Tenchi, you can't yet. I have to tell you something, and I want you to listen very carefully."
Tenchi waited for her to continue.
"You're not on Earth anymore," she told him.
He blinked in puzzlement. "What do you mean?" he asked. He looked around. "This is my room. My bed..."
"You're in my home, Tenchi."
"I don't..."
She reached out and embraced him warmly. "Tenchi...you're dead."
Tenchi went cold. "Huh?" was the best he could do.
"You...died...Tenchi. You saved Sasami and the others....but the explosion...You're dead, Tenchi."
He said nothing. Achika continued to stroke his hair.
"I'm sorry," she told him.
He shook his head and pulled away from her. "No," he said. "This is a mistake," he told her. "Some kind of hallucination...A dream!" He stood up and took a couple of steps toward the door.
Achika shook her head sadly. "It's not, Tenchi. This is the afterlife."
He stared at her for another second than looked up at the ceiling. "Washu!" he shouted. "This isn't funny! I don't know what you're up to but knock it off right now!"
Achika stood up and hugged him. "It's okay, Tenchi. Shhhh. It'll be okay."
He pulled away from her. "Who are you?!"
Pain crossed Achika's face for a moment. She sighed. "Tenchi, I understand that this is very hard to take, but I *am* your mother. In time, you'll understand."
He shook his head. "No. I won't understand, because *I'm not dead!*"
She sighed again. "Okay, Tenchi. But as long as you're here..." She reached out and tousled his hair. "How about I make you some breakfast?"
He stared at her suspisciously.
Pain appeared on his mother's face again. "Please, Tenchi? If you're right, and this is just a dream, what could having breakfast with your mom hurt?"
He sighed. His suspiscion left his face and he nodded. "Okay," he said, smiling slightly. "But I'm not dead," he reasserted.
Achika smiled. "How does miso soup sound?"
This time, Tenchi's smile was brighter. "It sounds great."
Tenchi descended the stairs a few minutes later. His mother had left his room so he could dress, and he could smell the aroma of his favorite soup wafting up the stairs.
She's right, he thought. As long as I'm stuck in this dream I might as well enjoy it. When will I ever get to spend time with her again?
He stopped suddenly as the obvious answer hit him.
When I die, he answered.
He entered the kitchen. Everything looked exactly like it did back in his own house, with a few minor exceptions, mostly decorative. His mother was at the stove, humming quietly while she stirred the soup. Tenchi went to the sink and looked out the window. It was beautiful out. The sun was shining, birds were singing, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. He turned to Achika.
"So what part of the afterlife are we in?" he asked. "Heaven? Hell? Valhalla?" he joked.
Achika turned and smiled at him. "Those places are myths, Tenchi. The afterlife is whatever you make of it. It's kind of hard to get used to, but once you do it can be wonderful. I'm your closest relative here, so when you died, you woke up here."
"I'm not dead," he told her.
She sighed. "The soup's ready."
She set out two bowls at the table and sat down. Tenchi joined her and tasted the soup. It was delicious.
Before his mother could taste, there was a knock at the door. She sighed. "It never fails," she muttered. "It's open," she called out.
Tenchi ate another spoonful of soup and looked up as someone entered the room.
"Mrs. Masaki? Are you in?"
He saw the man's face and jumped to his feet. "Mom! Get behind me!" Tenchi placed himself between his mother and the intruder. He was unarmed, and wasn't sure what he could do against this enemy, but he had to protect his mother. "I should've known this was a nightmare," he muttered.
The man paused in the doorway and blinked in shock. Suddenly, he grinned. "Well!" he announced, "If it isn't my archnemesis, the young boy who gave me so much trouble!"
Before Tenchi could reply, Achika walked up to the man and put her hands on her hips. "Kagato, stop teasing him! He just woke up!"
"I'm not teasing," Kagato told her. "It's true. He *did* give me trouble. I'm here, after all..."
"That doesn't mean you have to be a jerk about it," Achika told him. "He's scared enough as it is!"
Tenchi watched in shock as remorse filled Kagato's face. "You're right, of course. I'm sorry."
Tenchi was too astonished to speak. He was even more shocked when Kagato approached him and bowed his head.
"I would just like to take this opportunity to apologize to you, young man."
Tenchi's chin nearly hit the floor.
"I know there's no reason for you to forgive me for what I've done, but I just wanted you to know that I am sorry for it."
Tenchi said nothing. He stared at Kagato in hatred. After all he had done to him, to Ryoko, to Aeka...How could he forgive him?
Why even think about it? This was just a dream.
Achika decided to break the silence. "So what brings you by, Kagato? Aren't you going to be late?"
"Yes," he said. "But it's not as if they can start without me. I just wanted to know if we were all still meeting for lunch."
Achika smiled. "Of course. I'll be there."
Kagato nodded and turned back to Tenchi. "Once again...I apologize."
Tenchi didn't reply.
"Welcome to eternity," Kagato told him, and silently walked out.
Once he was gone, Tenchi bit out, "I wonder who met him when *he* died...Satan?"
"Believe it or not, Kagato is a different person now."
"I find that hard to believe."
She smiled again. "You'll see. This place changes people, Tenchi. It'll change you, if you want it to."
"No thanks," he said. He sighed.
Achika took his hand and lead him to the living room where she sat him down on the sofa. "Tenchi, you're going to be here for awhile. The sooner you get used to it, the better."
"I don't want to get used to it, Mom," he told her.
"I know," she said sympathetically. "Even so, why don't you take some time and look around? Do some exploring. You could go see your grandmother, if you like."
Tenchi thought about it. He would rather spend time with his mother. He could wake up any second.
She smiled. "Don't worry. We have an eternity to catch up. Go out. Have a good time."
"I don't know my way around," he told her, looking for an excuse.
"Tenchi," she said with a smile. "It wouldn't be much of a Heaven if everyone got lost. When you want to come back here, just think of me."
He nodded nervously. "Okay." He stood up and started towards the door.
"Tenchi," Achika called after him.
He turned.
"I love you." She smiled.
Tenchi smiled back at her. It had been a long time since he had heard his mother say that to him. "I love you too, Mom."
Her smile intensified. "Have fun."
Tenchi walked out the door.
It *felt* like a dream.
That was the thought that ran through his mind over and over again. The whole world seemed ethereal. Colors seemed brighter, more intense. Almost unreal. Tenchi walked down the dirt road. He could see a town in the distance. He walked, trying not to think. This was by far the weirdest dream he had ever had.
Even so, he couldn't shake the cold feeling in his stomach.
She's not right, he told himself.
She's not.
"Sasami! Run!"
He stopped.
He couldn't remember anything after that.
Okay, so I was knocked out. So what? I'm here now, and I'm dreaming. That's all it is...
Isn't it?
He looked up at the sky.
Isn't it?
He continued walking.
"So how is my young nemesis?"
Achika smiled at Kagato's remark and took a sip of tea. "He's having problems simply believing it," she told him.
"Don't we all?" Kagato told her. He looked sheepish. "Once again, I'm sorry about...well...trying to kill him. No hard feelings?"
Achika smiled. "None at all. After all...he won."
"He did at that," Kagato said with a slight smile.
"He's right," their younger lunch companion told her. "It takes awhile for some people. Remember how *I* took it when I first arrived?"
"I do remember," Achika told her, taking a bite of her salad. "That's what frightens me. He can't move on until he accepts it."
Kagato munched on a bread stick and hmm'd in thought. "I guess my dropping by this morning didn't help any."
"There was no way for you to know," Achika assured him. She looked up at the sky over her back porch where the three of them met daily for lunch. Her son worried her.
"He's clinging to life," Kagato told her. "And while that trait is certainly admirable among the living, it doesn't do him much good here."
Achika sighed.
"Give him some time," her young companion assured her. "He'll come around."
"I don't know," Achika said. "You didn't see him this morning. I've seen several people on their first day here. Some of them look around in wonder, eager to explore the afterlife. Some mourn for their lost families. But almost all of them accept the fact that they are, in fact, dead. It's one of the charms of this place. You're not supposed to have to question it."
"I did," her companion told her.
"And look what it did to you," Achika replied. "I don't want to see that kind of thing happen to Tenchi."
"Maybe after he's spent some time here," Kagato said. "It usually doesn't take long."
Achika sighed. "I can see it in him already. Even if he does accept it, he'll have to deal with the pain, the loss...It'll be harder for him." She looked up as a thought struck her. She turned to her younger companion. "Would you..."
Her companion blinked. "Would I what?"
Achika cleared her throat and put on a pleading expression. "Would you talk to him? Please? Maybe if he heard it from someone who knows what he's going through, it'll help."
Her companion sighed. "I don't know, Achika..."
"Please!?"
Her companion sighed again. "I suppose I *do* owe you one."
"Thank you! Thank you so much! I know this will help him!"
Kiyone Makibi, formerly of the Galaxy Police, sighed again. "I have a bad feeling about this..."
Tenchi nearly fell over when a group of young children, the oldest no older than ten, ran into him, intent on chasing a ball.
"Excuse us, sir!" one of them called out before continuing down the road.
Tenchi blinked after them. He felt an urge to call after them, to follow them, but controlled it. After walking for almost two hours he had found the town.
It was almost exactly like his own home town, only it seemed...older...more quaint. The change had been subtle. A few miles ago he would have sworn he was on the road near his grandfather's shrine, but gradually, the scenery had changed to become a small town, almost an old Japanese village. There were no cars or any other signs of modern technology. The architecture switched between traditional Japanese houses and more modern structures.
"Tenchi! Kami sama, is that you!?"
Tenchi turned and found an older woman holding a broom on the front porch of an old house. He knew this woman.
"Grandma?"
His grandmother smiled and rushed up to him. "Look at you! I can't believe it! You're so big!"
He hugged his grandmother tightly. He could remember when she died. He had only been five. "Grandma," he whispered.
"Have you seen your mother yet, child?" she asked.
He nodded anxiously. "Yes, yes of course! Is it really you?"
She nodded. "Oh, I know. I don't look as old as I used to, but this place makes you as young or as old as you want to be."
Tenchi looked his grandmother up and down. She *was* younger looking.
"How's your grandfather? Still tending that dusty old shrine?"
He smiled and nodded. His grandmother led him to the stairs next to her home and sat down next to him.
"Where...How...I mean...What..."
She smiled. "First day?" He just nodded. "Don't worry, Tenchi. You're safe here. All your questions will be answered with time."
Kiyone appeared in the middle of town and looked around. The afterlife was a very big place, encompassing many different diverse cultures, but she always liked this portion of it, Achika's portion. It always seemed homier here.
She started walking down the street, passing people in the street. Kagato had agreed to take her classes for today, so she was free to search for the newcomer, Achika's son. From what Achika had told her, she had a good idea where he would be.
Sure enough, she found him walking down the street next to an older woman, Achika's mother. She started for them.
"And then, Haruko arrived, so we could compare notes on you," she went on, referring to Tenchi grandmother on his father's side. "We still get together for cards with your mother and grandfather every once in awhile, but her sculpting sometimes takes her away."
"I didn't know Grandma Haruko sculpted," Tenchi told her.
"Well, she didn't in life. It's somethi...Ah, Kiyone!"
Tenchi looked up and found a young, teal-haired woman standing before him.
"Good afternoon, Ms. Itsuki. How are you?"
"Fine, child, fine. Oh, this is my grandson, Tenchi. He just arrived this morning."
Kiyone bowed. "I know. Achika told me at lunch today."
Tenchi bowed back. "So you know my mother?"
Kiyone smiled. "Very well. I met her when I first arrived."
"So...you're dead too..."
Kiyone smiled ruefully. "Yeah." There was silence for a moment, then Kiyone began again. "Your mother asked if I would show you around. This place can be a little confusing on the first day."
"Oh, well..."
Itsuki gave him a kiss on the cheek. "You go have fun now, dear. But I expect to see you and your mother for dinner, understand?"
Tenchi smiled. "Sure, Grandma...If I'm still here," he added hastily.
"Of course, Tenchi."
"Well," Tenchi said, standing before Kiyone, "Shall we?"
Kiyone smiled and turned, starting down the street. Itsuki began walking back to her home. As they walked, Kiyone gave Tenchi an appraising look.
He was attractive, but looked scared. She could see it in his eyes. He was beginning to realize this might not be a dream after all. He was thin, but fairly muscular. There was a strength in him. She could see it on the edge of his existence, like noticing something with peripheral vision. It was there, but she couldn't focus on it.
Tenchi, meanwhile, was also sizing up his tour guide. She wore a simple white sweater and blue slacks. Her teal hair was worn down behind her back. She walked with an air of authority. Something about her struck her as familiar.
Kiyone...
"By any chance," he began, "Do you know Mihoshi Kuramitsu?"
She stopped dead in her tracks and turned to him, a scowl on her face. "How do you know Mihoshi?" she asked.
"Um...She's a friend of mine. She was staying at my house..."
Kiyone stared at him for a hard minute, then, "How is she?"
"She's...she's okay," Tenchi said uncertainly.
"That figures," she whispered and started down the street again.
"Are you okay?" he asked her.
"I'm fine. So what would you like to see first?"
Tenchi paused for a minute, unsure of how to act around his obviously disturbed guide. He wondered how she really knew his mother.
"You're the guide," he told her.
The sides of her mouth quirked up in a half smile. "Why don't I show you where I work, then? It's nearby."
"Okay. Sounds like a good place to start."
"So you see, by increasing the amount of radical electrons, you can create a semi-stable wormhole, capable of swallowing the target planet." Kagato made a few last marks on the chalkboard, finishing his equations. He turned back to the class and put on a superior smile.
Thirty very confused second graders stared back at him.
"Hmmmm..." Kagato mused. "Perhaps this *is* a little advanced for you. We'll start over with something simpler," He pulled the tarp off something on the front desk. A large metal box with a biohazard symbol on it sat there. "Who wants to know how a neutron bomb works?"
"What happened to the multipication tables and learning about how the weather works?" Kiyone asked from the door, her arms folded over her chest.
Kagato cleared his throat. "Yes, well....um..." He turned to one of the kids in the class. "What's your name?"
"Masaru, Sensei."
"Young Masaru asked about weapons of galactic destruction," Kagato told Kiyone. "I felt I shouldn't squash his curiousity."
"Uh huh," Kiyone said. She entered the room, Tenchi right behind her, glaring suspisciously at Kagato.
"Good afternoon, Kiyone Sensei," the class said in unison.
"Good afternoon, class," she said with a smile. "I hope everyone's paying attention to Kagato Sensei. He was very nice to substitute for me this afternoon." She saw the neutron bomb on the desk and recovered it with the tarp. "Well...not *too* much attention..."
The second graders all giggled.
"Class," Kiyone said, gesturing to Tenchi, "This is Tenchi Masaki. He just arrived here this morning, and I'm showing him around."
"Hi, Tenchi!" they all cried, waving.
Tenchi couldn't help but smile and wave back. "Hi there."
The bell rang, signalling recess. The children filed out of the room in a disorderly and rushed manner. Inside two seconds, the room was empty.
Kagato gave Tenchi an uneasy look and followed them. Tenchi watched him go. "I can't believe they trust *him* around children."
Kiyone shrugged. "It's a long story. He really is a different man now."
"Hmmm," was all Tenchi would say. He gave Kiyone another look. "Somehow, I didn't picture Heaven as a place with schools." He smiled.
Kiyone's smile was tired. "In a perfect universe, children wouldn't die. But they do. And as Quintin said, 'You can't have an afterlife overrun with stupid children.'"
"Quintin?" Tenchi asked.
"The guy who runs things," Kiyone told him.
"You mean..."
"Kami sama," Kiyone said with a nod. "God, Yahwe, Amaterasu...whatever you want to call him. Essentially, he's the guy who created...well...everything."
Tenchi blinked in shock. "And he's called 'Quintin?!'"
Kiyone laughed. "Yeah, well, he says he changes it every few millenia."
"So you've spoken with him?" Tenchi asked in amazement, sitting down on the edge of Kiyone's desk.
Kiyone nodded. "We play cards occasionally."
Tenchi just shook his head in disbelief.
"What?" she asked with a smile.
"It's just that this is by far the weirdest dream I've ever had."
"Tenchi," she said, "You're dead," she told him seriously, leaving no room for argument. "You had better accept it, and you had better accept it soon."
He glared at her. "Maybe I don't want to accept it," he hissed. "Maybe that's the first step to waking up."
"Only waking up in Hell," she told him.
"I thought there was no Hell," he replied flatly.
"Hell is what you bring with you, Tenchi," she whispered eerily. She took a breath and faced him again. "It's almost dinner time. Your mother will be worried about you."
She started for the door.
"What did you mean by that?" he asked quickly.
"I meant that your mother probably wants..."
"No, I meant about Hell."
She stared at him, pain wracking her features. "You don't want to know, Tenchi. Trust me, you don't *ever* want to know."
She left the room, leaving Tenchi confused.
"So how was your tour today, Tenchi?" Achika asked as she served him some more rice and fish. "Did Kiyone show you around all right?" "Yeah," Tenchi said a little hesitantly.
"You seemed to be getting along earlier," Itsuki commented from beside him. "Did something happen?"
"No," Tenchi replied. "It's just that...well...She seemed a little...stand-offish."
Achika blinked. "How so? I always found Kiyone to be a very nice girl."
"Oh, she was nice...Just...well...It's hard to explain." He told them about their conversation at the school and how she had walked out. Achika sighed. "Tenchi, it's a very touchy subject for her, so she gets a little angry when a newbie starts to belittle it."
"Belittle what?"
"Death," Itsuki told him.
"I'm not belittling death! I'm just saying I'm not dead!" Tenchi cried.
"We know that, Tenchi," Achika said, placing her hand on his shoulder. "But for Kiyone...Let's just say that she has a low tolerance for people who are...well...slow..."
"Slow!?"
"Not because you're slow!" Achika said quickly. "But because you have no excuse to be..."
"How am I slow!?" he asked.
"You still think you're alive," Itsuki said, taking another bite of fish. She turned to Achika. "Did you use that new pepper, Child?"
Achika smiled and nodded. "Yes, it's wonderful! Thank you!"
"You should thank Haruko. She's the one who met that Jurain merchant and..."
"HOW DOES THAT MAKE ME SLOW!?"
"Tenchi!" Achika chastised. "You're at the dinner table!"
"Sorry, Mom," Tenchi sighed.
Achika gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I'm sorry, Hon. It's just that Kiyone's been in your exact position before, only she didn't have anyone to guide her through it like you do."
"So...it was bad for her, then..."
"Yes," Achika told him. "When one clings to their old life, their mind can play tricks on them...make them believe that they're still living, breathing people....even when the situation is so...so...geared against the possibility of being alive, the mind continues to fight....until it accepts death."
"And that's what she did?" Tenchi asked.
Achika nodded. "She suffered for a long time, when all she had to do was accept that she was no longer alive."
"So," Itsuki broke in, "Whenever she sees some dunderhead making the same stupid mistake she did, she takes it personally."
Tenchi nodded in understanding, then blinked. "Wait a second! This entire conversation is meaningless because..."
"You're not dead," Achika and Itsuki finished for him.
"Hmmph," Itsuki noted, "You should go apologize to that young lady.
"What?!"
Achika nodded. "I suggest you do, Tenchi."
A lost fic by Davner
Till Death Do Us Part
"Tenchi."
He wasn't quite sure what to make of the voice. It was familiar, yes, but he still couldn't place it. He was so tired. So exhausted.
"Tenchi, it's time to wake up."
He rolled over in his bed and groaned. "Please, Mom, just a few more minutes..."
His eyes shot open as several new facts rushed to his brain.
One, he was in bed, and the last thing he remembered was being in Washu's lab, pushing Sasami to safety.
Two, considering the size of the explosion, he should feel a *whole* lot worse.
And three, his mother was standing over his bed, waiting for him to wake up...
He shot up to a sitting position and stared open mouthed in shock at the raven haired woman standing at the foot of his bed. She was wearing a simple, yellow sundress and a white apron. Her jet black hair was worn in the pony tail Tenchi remembered tugging on when he was a baby. She smiled, something else he remembered about her.
He continued to stare, but got control of himself as realization set in. "I'm dreaming," he said.
She shook her head. "No, Tenchi. This isn't a dream. It's really me." Her voice was kind and musical.
Tenchi blinked. "So you're a ghost?"
Achika laughed. "I suppose so."
Tenchi looked at his hand. It was okay. The explosion. The fire... Shouldn't it have...
"It's all right, Tenchi. You're safe now."
He looked up at her. She sat down on the bed next to him and took his hand.
"Tenchi, I know this is going to come as something of a shock..."
"The others!" he cried suddenly. "Sasami! Is she okay?!"
Achika nodded. "You saved Sasami, Tenchi. You saved them all. They're all okay."
He breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "Where are they? I want to see them."
Achika's smile faltered. "Tenchi, you can't yet. I have to tell you something, and I want you to listen very carefully."
Tenchi waited for her to continue.
"You're not on Earth anymore," she told him.
He blinked in puzzlement. "What do you mean?" he asked. He looked around. "This is my room. My bed..."
"You're in my home, Tenchi."
"I don't..."
She reached out and embraced him warmly. "Tenchi...you're dead."
Tenchi went cold. "Huh?" was the best he could do.
"You...died...Tenchi. You saved Sasami and the others....but the explosion...You're dead, Tenchi."
He said nothing. Achika continued to stroke his hair.
"I'm sorry," she told him.
He shook his head and pulled away from her. "No," he said. "This is a mistake," he told her. "Some kind of hallucination...A dream!" He stood up and took a couple of steps toward the door.
Achika shook her head sadly. "It's not, Tenchi. This is the afterlife."
He stared at her for another second than looked up at the ceiling. "Washu!" he shouted. "This isn't funny! I don't know what you're up to but knock it off right now!"
Achika stood up and hugged him. "It's okay, Tenchi. Shhhh. It'll be okay."
He pulled away from her. "Who are you?!"
Pain crossed Achika's face for a moment. She sighed. "Tenchi, I understand that this is very hard to take, but I *am* your mother. In time, you'll understand."
He shook his head. "No. I won't understand, because *I'm not dead!*"
She sighed again. "Okay, Tenchi. But as long as you're here..." She reached out and tousled his hair. "How about I make you some breakfast?"
He stared at her suspisciously.
Pain appeared on his mother's face again. "Please, Tenchi? If you're right, and this is just a dream, what could having breakfast with your mom hurt?"
He sighed. His suspiscion left his face and he nodded. "Okay," he said, smiling slightly. "But I'm not dead," he reasserted.
Achika smiled. "How does miso soup sound?"
This time, Tenchi's smile was brighter. "It sounds great."
Tenchi descended the stairs a few minutes later. His mother had left his room so he could dress, and he could smell the aroma of his favorite soup wafting up the stairs.
She's right, he thought. As long as I'm stuck in this dream I might as well enjoy it. When will I ever get to spend time with her again?
He stopped suddenly as the obvious answer hit him.
When I die, he answered.
He entered the kitchen. Everything looked exactly like it did back in his own house, with a few minor exceptions, mostly decorative. His mother was at the stove, humming quietly while she stirred the soup. Tenchi went to the sink and looked out the window. It was beautiful out. The sun was shining, birds were singing, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. He turned to Achika.
"So what part of the afterlife are we in?" he asked. "Heaven? Hell? Valhalla?" he joked.
Achika turned and smiled at him. "Those places are myths, Tenchi. The afterlife is whatever you make of it. It's kind of hard to get used to, but once you do it can be wonderful. I'm your closest relative here, so when you died, you woke up here."
"I'm not dead," he told her.
She sighed. "The soup's ready."
She set out two bowls at the table and sat down. Tenchi joined her and tasted the soup. It was delicious.
Before his mother could taste, there was a knock at the door. She sighed. "It never fails," she muttered. "It's open," she called out.
Tenchi ate another spoonful of soup and looked up as someone entered the room.
"Mrs. Masaki? Are you in?"
He saw the man's face and jumped to his feet. "Mom! Get behind me!" Tenchi placed himself between his mother and the intruder. He was unarmed, and wasn't sure what he could do against this enemy, but he had to protect his mother. "I should've known this was a nightmare," he muttered.
The man paused in the doorway and blinked in shock. Suddenly, he grinned. "Well!" he announced, "If it isn't my archnemesis, the young boy who gave me so much trouble!"
Before Tenchi could reply, Achika walked up to the man and put her hands on her hips. "Kagato, stop teasing him! He just woke up!"
"I'm not teasing," Kagato told her. "It's true. He *did* give me trouble. I'm here, after all..."
"That doesn't mean you have to be a jerk about it," Achika told him. "He's scared enough as it is!"
Tenchi watched in shock as remorse filled Kagato's face. "You're right, of course. I'm sorry."
Tenchi was too astonished to speak. He was even more shocked when Kagato approached him and bowed his head.
"I would just like to take this opportunity to apologize to you, young man."
Tenchi's chin nearly hit the floor.
"I know there's no reason for you to forgive me for what I've done, but I just wanted you to know that I am sorry for it."
Tenchi said nothing. He stared at Kagato in hatred. After all he had done to him, to Ryoko, to Aeka...How could he forgive him?
Why even think about it? This was just a dream.
Achika decided to break the silence. "So what brings you by, Kagato? Aren't you going to be late?"
"Yes," he said. "But it's not as if they can start without me. I just wanted to know if we were all still meeting for lunch."
Achika smiled. "Of course. I'll be there."
Kagato nodded and turned back to Tenchi. "Once again...I apologize."
Tenchi didn't reply.
"Welcome to eternity," Kagato told him, and silently walked out.
Once he was gone, Tenchi bit out, "I wonder who met him when *he* died...Satan?"
"Believe it or not, Kagato is a different person now."
"I find that hard to believe."
She smiled again. "You'll see. This place changes people, Tenchi. It'll change you, if you want it to."
"No thanks," he said. He sighed.
Achika took his hand and lead him to the living room where she sat him down on the sofa. "Tenchi, you're going to be here for awhile. The sooner you get used to it, the better."
"I don't want to get used to it, Mom," he told her.
"I know," she said sympathetically. "Even so, why don't you take some time and look around? Do some exploring. You could go see your grandmother, if you like."
Tenchi thought about it. He would rather spend time with his mother. He could wake up any second.
She smiled. "Don't worry. We have an eternity to catch up. Go out. Have a good time."
"I don't know my way around," he told her, looking for an excuse.
"Tenchi," she said with a smile. "It wouldn't be much of a Heaven if everyone got lost. When you want to come back here, just think of me."
He nodded nervously. "Okay." He stood up and started towards the door.
"Tenchi," Achika called after him.
He turned.
"I love you." She smiled.
Tenchi smiled back at her. It had been a long time since he had heard his mother say that to him. "I love you too, Mom."
Her smile intensified. "Have fun."
Tenchi walked out the door.
It *felt* like a dream.
That was the thought that ran through his mind over and over again. The whole world seemed ethereal. Colors seemed brighter, more intense. Almost unreal. Tenchi walked down the dirt road. He could see a town in the distance. He walked, trying not to think. This was by far the weirdest dream he had ever had.
Even so, he couldn't shake the cold feeling in his stomach.
She's not right, he told himself.
She's not.
"Sasami! Run!"
He stopped.
He couldn't remember anything after that.
Okay, so I was knocked out. So what? I'm here now, and I'm dreaming. That's all it is...
Isn't it?
He looked up at the sky.
Isn't it?
He continued walking.
"So how is my young nemesis?"
Achika smiled at Kagato's remark and took a sip of tea. "He's having problems simply believing it," she told him.
"Don't we all?" Kagato told her. He looked sheepish. "Once again, I'm sorry about...well...trying to kill him. No hard feelings?"
Achika smiled. "None at all. After all...he won."
"He did at that," Kagato said with a slight smile.
"He's right," their younger lunch companion told her. "It takes awhile for some people. Remember how *I* took it when I first arrived?"
"I do remember," Achika told her, taking a bite of her salad. "That's what frightens me. He can't move on until he accepts it."
Kagato munched on a bread stick and hmm'd in thought. "I guess my dropping by this morning didn't help any."
"There was no way for you to know," Achika assured him. She looked up at the sky over her back porch where the three of them met daily for lunch. Her son worried her.
"He's clinging to life," Kagato told her. "And while that trait is certainly admirable among the living, it doesn't do him much good here."
Achika sighed.
"Give him some time," her young companion assured her. "He'll come around."
"I don't know," Achika said. "You didn't see him this morning. I've seen several people on their first day here. Some of them look around in wonder, eager to explore the afterlife. Some mourn for their lost families. But almost all of them accept the fact that they are, in fact, dead. It's one of the charms of this place. You're not supposed to have to question it."
"I did," her companion told her.
"And look what it did to you," Achika replied. "I don't want to see that kind of thing happen to Tenchi."
"Maybe after he's spent some time here," Kagato said. "It usually doesn't take long."
Achika sighed. "I can see it in him already. Even if he does accept it, he'll have to deal with the pain, the loss...It'll be harder for him." She looked up as a thought struck her. She turned to her younger companion. "Would you..."
Her companion blinked. "Would I what?"
Achika cleared her throat and put on a pleading expression. "Would you talk to him? Please? Maybe if he heard it from someone who knows what he's going through, it'll help."
Her companion sighed. "I don't know, Achika..."
"Please!?"
Her companion sighed again. "I suppose I *do* owe you one."
"Thank you! Thank you so much! I know this will help him!"
Kiyone Makibi, formerly of the Galaxy Police, sighed again. "I have a bad feeling about this..."
Tenchi nearly fell over when a group of young children, the oldest no older than ten, ran into him, intent on chasing a ball.
"Excuse us, sir!" one of them called out before continuing down the road.
Tenchi blinked after them. He felt an urge to call after them, to follow them, but controlled it. After walking for almost two hours he had found the town.
It was almost exactly like his own home town, only it seemed...older...more quaint. The change had been subtle. A few miles ago he would have sworn he was on the road near his grandfather's shrine, but gradually, the scenery had changed to become a small town, almost an old Japanese village. There were no cars or any other signs of modern technology. The architecture switched between traditional Japanese houses and more modern structures.
"Tenchi! Kami sama, is that you!?"
Tenchi turned and found an older woman holding a broom on the front porch of an old house. He knew this woman.
"Grandma?"
His grandmother smiled and rushed up to him. "Look at you! I can't believe it! You're so big!"
He hugged his grandmother tightly. He could remember when she died. He had only been five. "Grandma," he whispered.
"Have you seen your mother yet, child?" she asked.
He nodded anxiously. "Yes, yes of course! Is it really you?"
She nodded. "Oh, I know. I don't look as old as I used to, but this place makes you as young or as old as you want to be."
Tenchi looked his grandmother up and down. She *was* younger looking.
"How's your grandfather? Still tending that dusty old shrine?"
He smiled and nodded. His grandmother led him to the stairs next to her home and sat down next to him.
"Where...How...I mean...What..."
She smiled. "First day?" He just nodded. "Don't worry, Tenchi. You're safe here. All your questions will be answered with time."
Kiyone appeared in the middle of town and looked around. The afterlife was a very big place, encompassing many different diverse cultures, but she always liked this portion of it, Achika's portion. It always seemed homier here.
She started walking down the street, passing people in the street. Kagato had agreed to take her classes for today, so she was free to search for the newcomer, Achika's son. From what Achika had told her, she had a good idea where he would be.
Sure enough, she found him walking down the street next to an older woman, Achika's mother. She started for them.
"And then, Haruko arrived, so we could compare notes on you," she went on, referring to Tenchi grandmother on his father's side. "We still get together for cards with your mother and grandfather every once in awhile, but her sculpting sometimes takes her away."
"I didn't know Grandma Haruko sculpted," Tenchi told her.
"Well, she didn't in life. It's somethi...Ah, Kiyone!"
Tenchi looked up and found a young, teal-haired woman standing before him.
"Good afternoon, Ms. Itsuki. How are you?"
"Fine, child, fine. Oh, this is my grandson, Tenchi. He just arrived this morning."
Kiyone bowed. "I know. Achika told me at lunch today."
Tenchi bowed back. "So you know my mother?"
Kiyone smiled. "Very well. I met her when I first arrived."
"So...you're dead too..."
Kiyone smiled ruefully. "Yeah." There was silence for a moment, then Kiyone began again. "Your mother asked if I would show you around. This place can be a little confusing on the first day."
"Oh, well..."
Itsuki gave him a kiss on the cheek. "You go have fun now, dear. But I expect to see you and your mother for dinner, understand?"
Tenchi smiled. "Sure, Grandma...If I'm still here," he added hastily.
"Of course, Tenchi."
"Well," Tenchi said, standing before Kiyone, "Shall we?"
Kiyone smiled and turned, starting down the street. Itsuki began walking back to her home. As they walked, Kiyone gave Tenchi an appraising look.
He was attractive, but looked scared. She could see it in his eyes. He was beginning to realize this might not be a dream after all. He was thin, but fairly muscular. There was a strength in him. She could see it on the edge of his existence, like noticing something with peripheral vision. It was there, but she couldn't focus on it.
Tenchi, meanwhile, was also sizing up his tour guide. She wore a simple white sweater and blue slacks. Her teal hair was worn down behind her back. She walked with an air of authority. Something about her struck her as familiar.
Kiyone...
"By any chance," he began, "Do you know Mihoshi Kuramitsu?"
She stopped dead in her tracks and turned to him, a scowl on her face. "How do you know Mihoshi?" she asked.
"Um...She's a friend of mine. She was staying at my house..."
Kiyone stared at him for a hard minute, then, "How is she?"
"She's...she's okay," Tenchi said uncertainly.
"That figures," she whispered and started down the street again.
"Are you okay?" he asked her.
"I'm fine. So what would you like to see first?"
Tenchi paused for a minute, unsure of how to act around his obviously disturbed guide. He wondered how she really knew his mother.
"You're the guide," he told her.
The sides of her mouth quirked up in a half smile. "Why don't I show you where I work, then? It's nearby."
"Okay. Sounds like a good place to start."
"So you see, by increasing the amount of radical electrons, you can create a semi-stable wormhole, capable of swallowing the target planet." Kagato made a few last marks on the chalkboard, finishing his equations. He turned back to the class and put on a superior smile.
Thirty very confused second graders stared back at him.
"Hmmmm..." Kagato mused. "Perhaps this *is* a little advanced for you. We'll start over with something simpler," He pulled the tarp off something on the front desk. A large metal box with a biohazard symbol on it sat there. "Who wants to know how a neutron bomb works?"
"What happened to the multipication tables and learning about how the weather works?" Kiyone asked from the door, her arms folded over her chest.
Kagato cleared his throat. "Yes, well....um..." He turned to one of the kids in the class. "What's your name?"
"Masaru, Sensei."
"Young Masaru asked about weapons of galactic destruction," Kagato told Kiyone. "I felt I shouldn't squash his curiousity."
"Uh huh," Kiyone said. She entered the room, Tenchi right behind her, glaring suspisciously at Kagato.
"Good afternoon, Kiyone Sensei," the class said in unison.
"Good afternoon, class," she said with a smile. "I hope everyone's paying attention to Kagato Sensei. He was very nice to substitute for me this afternoon." She saw the neutron bomb on the desk and recovered it with the tarp. "Well...not *too* much attention..."
The second graders all giggled.
"Class," Kiyone said, gesturing to Tenchi, "This is Tenchi Masaki. He just arrived here this morning, and I'm showing him around."
"Hi, Tenchi!" they all cried, waving.
Tenchi couldn't help but smile and wave back. "Hi there."
The bell rang, signalling recess. The children filed out of the room in a disorderly and rushed manner. Inside two seconds, the room was empty.
Kagato gave Tenchi an uneasy look and followed them. Tenchi watched him go. "I can't believe they trust *him* around children."
Kiyone shrugged. "It's a long story. He really is a different man now."
"Hmmm," was all Tenchi would say. He gave Kiyone another look. "Somehow, I didn't picture Heaven as a place with schools." He smiled.
Kiyone's smile was tired. "In a perfect universe, children wouldn't die. But they do. And as Quintin said, 'You can't have an afterlife overrun with stupid children.'"
"Quintin?" Tenchi asked.
"The guy who runs things," Kiyone told him.
"You mean..."
"Kami sama," Kiyone said with a nod. "God, Yahwe, Amaterasu...whatever you want to call him. Essentially, he's the guy who created...well...everything."
Tenchi blinked in shock. "And he's called 'Quintin?!'"
Kiyone laughed. "Yeah, well, he says he changes it every few millenia."
"So you've spoken with him?" Tenchi asked in amazement, sitting down on the edge of Kiyone's desk.
Kiyone nodded. "We play cards occasionally."
Tenchi just shook his head in disbelief.
"What?" she asked with a smile.
"It's just that this is by far the weirdest dream I've ever had."
"Tenchi," she said, "You're dead," she told him seriously, leaving no room for argument. "You had better accept it, and you had better accept it soon."
He glared at her. "Maybe I don't want to accept it," he hissed. "Maybe that's the first step to waking up."
"Only waking up in Hell," she told him.
"I thought there was no Hell," he replied flatly.
"Hell is what you bring with you, Tenchi," she whispered eerily. She took a breath and faced him again. "It's almost dinner time. Your mother will be worried about you."
She started for the door.
"What did you mean by that?" he asked quickly.
"I meant that your mother probably wants..."
"No, I meant about Hell."
She stared at him, pain wracking her features. "You don't want to know, Tenchi. Trust me, you don't *ever* want to know."
She left the room, leaving Tenchi confused.
"So how was your tour today, Tenchi?" Achika asked as she served him some more rice and fish. "Did Kiyone show you around all right?" "Yeah," Tenchi said a little hesitantly.
"You seemed to be getting along earlier," Itsuki commented from beside him. "Did something happen?"
"No," Tenchi replied. "It's just that...well...She seemed a little...stand-offish."
Achika blinked. "How so? I always found Kiyone to be a very nice girl."
"Oh, she was nice...Just...well...It's hard to explain." He told them about their conversation at the school and how she had walked out. Achika sighed. "Tenchi, it's a very touchy subject for her, so she gets a little angry when a newbie starts to belittle it."
"Belittle what?"
"Death," Itsuki told him.
"I'm not belittling death! I'm just saying I'm not dead!" Tenchi cried.
"We know that, Tenchi," Achika said, placing her hand on his shoulder. "But for Kiyone...Let's just say that she has a low tolerance for people who are...well...slow..."
"Slow!?"
"Not because you're slow!" Achika said quickly. "But because you have no excuse to be..."
"How am I slow!?" he asked.
"You still think you're alive," Itsuki said, taking another bite of fish. She turned to Achika. "Did you use that new pepper, Child?"
Achika smiled and nodded. "Yes, it's wonderful! Thank you!"
"You should thank Haruko. She's the one who met that Jurain merchant and..."
"HOW DOES THAT MAKE ME SLOW!?"
"Tenchi!" Achika chastised. "You're at the dinner table!"
"Sorry, Mom," Tenchi sighed.
Achika gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I'm sorry, Hon. It's just that Kiyone's been in your exact position before, only she didn't have anyone to guide her through it like you do."
"So...it was bad for her, then..."
"Yes," Achika told him. "When one clings to their old life, their mind can play tricks on them...make them believe that they're still living, breathing people....even when the situation is so...so...geared against the possibility of being alive, the mind continues to fight....until it accepts death."
"And that's what she did?" Tenchi asked.
Achika nodded. "She suffered for a long time, when all she had to do was accept that she was no longer alive."
"So," Itsuki broke in, "Whenever she sees some dunderhead making the same stupid mistake she did, she takes it personally."
Tenchi nodded in understanding, then blinked. "Wait a second! This entire conversation is meaningless because..."
"You're not dead," Achika and Itsuki finished for him.
"Hmmph," Itsuki noted, "You should go apologize to that young lady.
"What?!"
Achika nodded. "I suggest you do, Tenchi."