"Tenchi Muyo!" and all characters herein are the property of Pioneer and AIC, save those created by the author. This is a fanfic and is not for profit.
Tenchi Muyo!
Odyssey
Chapter Nine: Crazy, Crazy Nights by William Nichols
Dedication: Once again to all of those serving at home and abroad to protect the freedoms we cherish: thank you. And to our leaders: may God watch over and guide you. And to the readers: Thank you for all of the support. It has been beyond my highest expectations.
"Where are they headed miss Washu?" asked Sasami as she tried to make sense of the data whizzing across Washu's computer screen. The diminutive genius was doing her best to keep up with the signature of the master key. Numbers and data files would appear on the screen as undistinguishable blurs, there true meaning to known only to Washu. Finally the screen blinked and went black.
"Dammit," cursed Washu. "How can they move that fast!"
"Lost 'em again?"
"Yep." Washu reached down and clicked the reset switch on her computer. After a second the massive monitor hummed back to life. "Maybe I can locate them after this thing reboots." Sasami watched anxiously as the computer came back to life. She had never seen anything crash Washu's systems before- not even Mihoshi. So seeing it happen twice in the past several days was a little odd. Deep down Tsunami had told her the reasoning behind it, but it all still seemed a little strange.
"There they are!" exclaimed Washu. The signature of the master key appeared to be in what was the eastern most reaches of the galaxy.
"Lets see," began Washu as she pinpointed the exact location. A small square of the galaxy blinked then enlarges to fill the entire screen. From there Washu narrowed the parameters even more. "They're at coordinates one- niner- eight- zero mk. 7! Smack dab in the middle of the Tyran Cluster."
"The Tyran Cluster?" asked Sasami. The tone of the young princess' voice rang with fear.
"That's right," said Washu as she pulled up the data file on the Tyran Cluster.
"They don't like Juraian's very much," informed Sasami.
"It says here that Jurai and Tyran Prime have had seven wars in the past thousand years."
"Uh-huh," gulped Sasami.
"But currently they is a state of detente between the empires and they have opened diplomatic channels." Washu sat back and placed a hand on her chin. This could be bad. Real bad. She knew it would disqualify Tenchi if she sent him this information. All she could do was hope his guardian spirit knew what he was doing. She glanced back at the chronometer on the corner of the screen.
09: 23: 50: 42
****
"Not agaaaaain!!" was the scream from Ayeka as she landed in on her backside. Tenchi and Marnot piled on top of her as the dimensional gate closed above them.
"So I'm still a little rusty," groaned Marnot as he tried to pick himself up.
"A little?"
"Okay. A lot." Tenchi and Ayeka looked at each other with blank expressions. They were both thinking the same thing: We still have to do this two more times. Marnot just shrugged and smiled.
"If I didn't know better I'd say you did tat on purpose," accused Ayeka.
"Who? Me?" said Marnot as he held a hand to his chest feigning hurt. "I would never do such a thing princess."
"Right."
"Is time paused?" asked Tenchi as he surveyed the starlit sky.
"Remember, time is stopped only for periods of rest," began Marnot as he finally got the last kink out of his back. "Unlike the last, this world is inhabited, and stopping time for too long would be noticed by others."
"So what shall we do?" asked Ayeka.
"I thought it would be appropriate to rest in the city over the next hill. Considering that is where the next Spirit stone is." Tenchi looked out over the horizon and saw the faint glow of city lights. To double check Marnot's directions Tenchi turned to the medallion.
Starlight glinted off it and the image of the city came into view. Soon it was replaced by the swirl of lights and busy streets leading to an ornate temple. Inside a large alabaster statue stood with a diamond imbedded in its headpiece.
"Within lies the Stone of Wind," read Tenchi as the image was pulled back into the medallion.
"Where are we anyway?" asked Ayeka out of curiosity.
"In my tongue this planet is known as Kamui, or literally the Sea of Darkness," replied Marnot as they walked towards the city. "But I do not know what it has come to be called in the vernacular."
"Why the Sea of Darkness?" asked Tenchi. A name like that did not sound incredibly hospitable.
"This planet is constantly in the shadow of its sister planet Hiratta," explained Marnot. "Therefore it is constantly bathed in shadow. Only for a brief season each year does it see any real periods of daylight."
"That sounds familiar," commented Ayeka. "But I can't quite place the reason why."
"Perhaps it shall come to you princess," yawned Marnot. The trio continued towards the city talking idly at times and walking in silence the others. For the most part the talking was done between Marnot and Ayeka. Tenchi used the time in the crisp night air to think seriously for the first time about the past several days.
'How do I keep getting myself into these messes,' he began. 'First Kagato, then Kain, then I get drawn into a parallel dimension by the spirit of Haruna. Ever since I opened the shrine my life has been in constant turmoil. Space pirates, princesses, space cops, and mad scientists. And too top it all off I had to fall in love with one of them. Then I hesitate, and then the Elder decided I'm their champion… Arrrgh!
'And what about what happened back in that last temple? Would I really betray Ryoko like that? Would it be betraying her? I love her, but why? Why did she steal my heart and not Ayeka? Both of them are equally attractive, strong, and intelligent. Personality wise Ryoko is the polar opposite of Ayeka. It just doesn't make sense. So why? I just cannot answer that question. Or is it I will not answer that question. Am I afraid of what I might find if I did? What will Ryoko say when she is restored? Will she be mad? What will Ayeka do?
'I have all of these questions and so few answers,' he thought as Marnot and Ayeka continued their conversation, oblivious to the mental anguish he was going through. 'If I had just said my feelings I could at least of had a little happiness before this all started. I would have been happy, Ryoko would have been happy, but Ayeka would have been miserable. There is the under lying problem. Do I want everyone to be happy, even if we're all really miserable? What a mess I've made.'
"We shall rest here," said Marnot bringing Tenchi back to this plain of reality. He hadn't noticed that they had entered the bustling city and stopped in front of a massive building, comparable to any one in Okayama or Tokyo. Large gold letters hung across the portico in a language Tenchi was not familiar with, so he quietly turned the orb in its direction. The writing loosely translated to 'grand hotel' or something of the like. Needless to say the building was impressive.
The inside was just as lavish as the exterior, with gilded mirrors and fancy rugs lining the halls. Behind the main desk stood a large statue of the same deity Tenchi had seen in the temple the medallion had projected. Another inscription was at its base, but Tenchi decided that using the orb in the lobby might arouse suspicion. All in all Tenchi could tell that Ayeka was the most impressed. This was clearly the type of establishments she was used to frequenting.
"Uh, Marnot?" he began quizzically.
"Yes young champion?"
"How exactly are we going to pay for this?"
"That is a good question," parroted Ayeka. "I do not have any money on me either, at least none that I believe they would accept." Marnot just laughed at their petty concerns.
"That is quite comedic," he bellowed. "I will see to it that all is taken care of young ones." Tenchi and Ayeka just looked at each other and shrugged. "Wait here and I will get us some rooms." Tenchi watched anxiously as Marnot talked to the desk clerk for a few minutes in the native tongue before he pulled out what appeared to be a billfold and took out what looked like a credit card.
"What is he doing?" whispered Ayeka.
"Not a clue," replied Tenchi. 'A guardian spirit with a charge card,' he joked to himself. 'Now I've seen it all, well maybe not everything but a lot!' The clerk took the card and inserted it into his computer terminal. A second later he removed it and handed Marnot two sets of door keys.
"All taken care of," said Marnot as he handed Tenchi and Ayeka the room keys.
"How did you do that?" asked Ayeka.
"You mortals have simple minds," began Marnot as they waited for the elevator. Once inside he finished explaining. "I simply told him that we would like accommodations for the night and I paid him."
"Paid with what?" inquired an ever more suspicious Ayeka. Marnot pulled out the card and handed it to the disbelieving princess.
"But this is blank!" she exclaimed.
"To you yes," he laughed. "But to the clerk it appeared to be the local currency and he gladly accepted it. I just would not want to be him when they balance the books this month." After a moment of laughter from everybody the elevator stopped at the top floor and opened into a hallway just as grand as the lobby.
The adjoining rooms Marnot had acquired were as palatial as any Tenchi and Ayeka had seen on Jurai. In fact they rivaled some rooms in the royal palace, a note Ayeka made sure to have remedied. As Ayeka explored the rooms Tenchi found himself on the balcony over looking the city. A crisp breeze swept across his face that reminded of the autumn breezes in Okayama. Autumn was always Ryoko's favorite season…
"What are you thinking about young champion?" inquired Marnot as he joined Tenchi on the balcony. "This view is tremendous, is it not?" The lights of the city extended for miles in every direction. Skyscrapers dotted the skyline here and there, but for the most part the skyline was rather subdued, following the natural lay of the land.
"About home," said Tenchi honestly.
"That is understandable," replied Marnot. "That princess never ceases to amuse me," he laughed changing the subject.
"What's she done now," asked Tenchi sarcastically.
"She just went into hysterics babbling something about, and I quote 'an honest to Tsunami bathtub.'" Tenchi laughed. Marnot smiled back and shared in the rare moment of levity.
"That sounds like a good idea," said Tenchi as he took a quick sniff of himself.
"Suit yourself," chuckled Marnot as he morphed into a large raptor. "By the way," he began, "I took the liberty of ordering 'room service' for you and the princess. It has to be better than those accursed energy bars."
"You've got a point," said Tenchi as he tossed the backpack on to the floor next to the bed.
"And one more thing," added Marnot as he gave his wings a few tentative flaps. "The Odyssey shall be suspended after the servant leaves. I have cost you too much time as it is. A gratuity is on the bed. Rest well young champion." With that he took flight and soared off over the city. A moment later a knock came at the door announcing the arrival of the room service. Tenchi let them in and nodded politely as they spoke the local alien tongue. He tipped them with the coinage Marnot had left.
"This will wait," he said pushing the cart to the side. Out of curiosity he poked his head outside the door. Sure enough everyone outside in the hall were frozen in his or her places. Without any further thought Tenchi headed straight for the bathroom and hit the shower. He felt like he had four or five day's worth of several planets built up on him. But most of all the warmth of the shower felt so good on his aching shoulder. Truth of the matter is it was hurting more than he let on about. He had put enough worry on Ayeka lately and this was not needed.
Feeling much better Tenchi pulled on a pair of sweat pants from Washu's backpack and decided to check in on Ayeka. He had not heard from her since Marnot mentioned the bath. As expected he found her still soaking.
"May I come in?" he said wrapping on the door.
"Of course Lord Tenchi." This surprised Tenchi. Usually Ayeka was the most modest of the little band that called his house home. Tenchi peeked inside the steam filled bathroom to find Ayeka soaking up to her neck in a bubble bath.
'Whew!' he thought shutting the door behind him. The last thing he needed was to see her naked, not after the near mishap in the last sanctuary. Damn his teenaged hormones.
"Don't blush Lord Tenchi," scolded Ayeka playfully as he pulled the vanity stool up to the tub. "It's nothing you have not seen before," she said playfully blowing some of the bubbles towards him.
"True," he laughed. "There's room service in my room when you're ready."
"That's sounds so good," said Ayeka sliding down into the warm water. "One more energy bar and I think I would become one."
"Ayeka," began Tenchi as he scratched the back of his head. "I'm sorry about the other day. I don't know what came over me."
"Don't think anything else about it," she said holding a towel to her self as she got out of the tub. "I am as much to blame as you are. Besides, when this is over with I'm going to give Ryoko a run for her money." Tenchi blushed deeply as he watched Ayeka towel off in front of him. He tried to lower his eyes but she placed a finger on his chin bringing his gaze back up.
"If I didn't want you to see this I would have asked you to leave," she said reaching for the complimentary robe by the bathtub. Tenchi nodded and watched her finish dry off. "There is nothing we should be ashamed of," she said slipping on the robe. "If Ryoko has taught me anything it is that."
"There's something she has taught me as well," said Tenchi as he opened the door back to his room.
"And that is?"
"Live life to its fullest."
"Is that so?"
"Yes." The last thing Tenchi remembered was Ayeka's robe falling to the floor and the two of them leaning back on the bed in a passionate embrace.
***
"The champion has betrayed himself," boomed one of the Elder. His brethren approached the window to the physical realm discussed the matter amongst themselves.
"The sacrifice was in vain," said another.
"All has been for naught," replied the third. Finally one wearing a crimson robe spoke up.
"All has not been lost. The Odyssey is as much about the champion finding himself as it is about him proving himself. This has changed nothing and means nothing. In fact it may have been ordained from the beginning."
"But the sacrifice?" questioned the one in the emerald robe.
"She has been betrayed," added the one in the violet robe.
"But watch," interjected the one in the cerulean robe. The Elder watched intently as events played out on the realm below them.
"See," boomed the one in crimson. "All has not been lost."
The Odyssey shall continue…
Sorry for the short chapter.