"No Need for a Retreat"
Washu knew that they were going to have to make a hasty retreat when
Sword Tenchi was knocked from Tenchi's hands. As soon as that happened she
pretended to be unconscious, so Kagato would hopefully look over her while she
fiddled around in her pocket for the item she was looking for. She grinned as she
wrapped her fingers around a small sphere. Her eyes snapped open and she gasped
in shock. "Oh my God..." The image before her horrified her. Kagato's sword was
thrust through Tenchi's abdomen and jutting out that back.
Kagato grinned at Tenchi's face. It relayed total shock. Tenchi looked down
and cringed at the sight of a black energy beam through his stomach. "What's the
matter, boy? Does it hurt?" Kagato mocked. "Trust me, you haven't felt a thing
yet." Kagato thrust the sword deeper, causing the small blades to form two more
wounds. Kagato then twisted his sword upward, lifting Tenchi off the ground.
Tenchi resisted giving Kagato the pleasure of screaming, but it was hard. Kagato
continued to lift Tenchi until he was perpendicular to Kagato and directly above
his head.
Tenchi felt like he was going to burst. He was in so much pain! Finally
Tenchi could not hold it in anymore. He screamed as loud as he could. He
clenched his eyes shut to force back tears. After about two minutes of this grueling
torture, Tenchi's head hung limp as he slowly began to slip into unconsciousness.
He looked up and saw Ryoko, Ayeka, and Washu for one last time. He managed to
utter two words, "I'm sorry." His eyes rolled into the back of his eyes, and he felt
pain no more.
Kagato shook his head and scoffed, " 'I'm sorry?' Those are your last
words? Pitiful." He threw Tenchi's lifeless body to the ground and kicked it aside.
"KAGATO!" Ryoko screamed. Tears stained her cheeks, forming flowing
rivers from two yellow seas. "You've taken everything from me! You took my
childhood, hell, you took my life! But that wasn't enough was it? You forced me
to do heinous crimes. I watched you slaughter innocents, knowing that one day I
would have to do the same thing. Then came my first assassination job. It sickened
me to kill, but I eventually I got used to it knowing that I would die if I didn't.
Then I met him. He was the perfect guy. He was nice, funny, handsome, and didn't
give a damn where I came from even after I told him. I loved him, and now you've
committed the most horrible act conceivable. You killed him! And I won't let you
get away with it this time!" She formed her energy sword and flourished her
crimson energy blade. "Or die trying."
Ayeka stood up next to her and nodded. "And if she doesn't do it, then I'll
finish the job."
Kagato laughed, "Oh, is that so? Why do you think that you can defeat me if
not even the power of the 'Holy Sword' succeeded?"
"I don't believe in legends. No one's indestructible. Not even you, Kagato,"
Ayeka retorted.
Kagato snickered, "Big talk from the one who holds the spirit of a long dead
princess."
Washu knew that all hell was going to break loose if she allowed Ryoko and
Ayeka to duel with Kagato, and most likely the two girls would be killed. She had
to act fast. She quickly stood up and whistled shrilly to get Kagato's attention.
"You know what they say about people who run right, Kagato?"
Kagato frowned, "No, I'm not familiar with that phrase."
"They who fight and run away..." she started. She suddenly threw down the
orb she had in her pocket creating a flash of light. When the light receded every
trace of Washu, Ryoko, Ayeka, Tenchi, and Sasami where gone except for
Washu's voice echoing, "...live to fight another day."
"WASHU!!!!!"
-Elsewhere...-
Washu shook her head as she assessed Tenchi's condition. It was real bad.
Luckily, the sword bypassed Tenchi's spinal cord. A couple of centimeters to the
left and Tenchi would have been paralyzed immediately, assuming he had not
died. Assuming he still did not die. She was suddenly very glad that she had been
cautious enough to grab her sphere that would lead her to a back-up lab. It was a
lot smaller than her normal lab, but it would make do. Plus it had medical
facilities.
"Tenchi!" Washu heard a small voice exclaim. Sasami dashed up to her
fallen friend. "Oh, no! Tenchi, wake up!" She looked up at Washu teary-eyed.
"You can save him, can't you, Washu?"
Washu nodded her head and replied, "I'll try my best, Sasami." She turned
to her daughter and instructed, "Ryoko, help me get this sword out of here now!"
Ryoko nodded gravely and strode to Tenchi's aide and observed the sword.
"This isn't going to be easy," she informed. "Those small blades are barbed.
They're going to do more damage coming out than going in."
"Well we can't exactly shove the sword through to the other side, can we?"
Washu snapped impatiently. She shook her head and said in a much calmer voice.
"We'll just have to be careful. And we've got to hurry. Kagato won't wonder
where we are for long."
Ayeka tugged Sasami away from Tenchi's body and forced her to turn
around while she closed her own eyes. This was not going to be pretty. No, she
thought, opening her eyes. I have to remain strong for Tenchi's sake.
Ryoko wrapped her fingers around the hilt of the sword and began to pull,
trying not to rip Tenchi's innards with it.
Tenchi cringed, showing that he was still alive. He clenched his teeth and
opened his eyes slowly. His face was dripping with sweat and it blurred his vision,
but he was sure he did not like the fact that there was something using him as a
pincushion. The pain was inconceivable, he could feel the barbs cutting through
new flesh. He wanted to writhe in agony, but once again had to hold it in. This
time to avoid taking more damage than he already had. He licked his lips and
tasted something metallic and realized it was his own blood. Miraculously, Tenchi
was able to lift his arms and clasp Ryoko's hands in his own, tightening her grip
on the sword.
Ryoko blushed slightly as Tenchi's fingers interlaced with her own. This
might be the closest we get to holding hands. She suddenly shook her head trying
to rid herself of such talk. There would be plenty of time to hold hands with
Tenchi later. He would get through this.
"Ryoko," she heard him say. His voice was small and raspy, so she had to
lean closer and strain to hear. "It's like a bandage. You just got to rip it out as fast
as you can." With that Tenchi pushed up abruptly, ripping the sword from his
paunch in one swift motion. The pain was unbearable! He let out a long scream of
pure suffering, and slowly began to lose consciousness. He managed a weak smile
as he passed out, all his muscles relaxing once more.
Sasami tore away from her sister, tears staining her cheeks, and ran to
Tenchi, hugging his inanimate body. "Please, don't leave us, Tenchi," she
whispered. "All of us would be lost without you. Even though they may be too
proud to show it, every one of them have fallen for your pure heart. Each one of us
cares about you more than you might know. So you've got to hold on. We all love
you, Tenchi. And that's all that matters, right?"
The others could do nothing but watch in reverence. Tears ran freely to the
ground. They all knew the truth in those words. The small nine-year old had seen
past their ruses and saw what really lied in their thoughts.
Ayeka approached her sister and kneeled down to her height. "Don't worry,
Sasami." She managed her best smile and said, "Tenchi would never leave us. This
is Tenchi we're talking about. He would rather stay here and tell us his bad jokes
and tease us than leave right?"
Sasami turned to face Ayeka and nodded, "Remember that one time he
carried you all the way home over his shoulder, with you kicking and screaming
all the way." Sasami giggled as Ayeka blushed profoundly.
Ryoko smiled as she picked up Tenchi. Don't worry, Tenchi. We'll have a
chance to make those kind of memories after we take care of Kagato.
Washu stood up and motioned for everyone to follow her. Ayeka picked up
Sasami and followed. Ryoko also complied. She lead them to a room with one
long bed. "Put Tenchi on there," Washu instructed. When Ryoko conformed an
electrical field encased Tenchi, making the table a base of a semi-cylinder. Washu
typed a few things on the computer and shook her head. She turned to the others
and said, "You guys better get some rest. This is going to take all night."
Ryoko looked over to Tenchi's body and debated to take Washu's advice or
not.
"Don't worry. I'll wake everybody up if something new develops," Washu
informed when she saw Ryoko's glance.
"But you said it wouldn't take long for Kagato to figure out where we
were," Ayeka argued.
"I said it wouldn't take him long to know that we were in my back-up lab. I
didn't say he knew where the back-up lab was. Besides look at you two. How do
expect to fight in this condition?"
Ayeka's shoulders sagged as she realized that Washu was right. "All right,
Little Washu. Could you show us to a place we might be able to get some rest?"
Washu nodded, "Of course." She opened her mouth to tell her daughter to
follow her, but thought better of it. She walked down a corridor as Ayeka and
Sasami followed.
Ryoko stared at the unmoving body and strode forward to it. She collapsed
to her knees in front of the medical bed and sobbed. "This is all my fault, Tenchi.
Everything bad that's happened to you has been _my_ fault! Why didn't I just stay
detached from you and kill you quickly instead of putting you through all of this
pain?" She swallowed hard. She already knew the answer to that question. "But I
can't help but think that this might be our last moments that we could have
together, so I think there's something I should tell you, even if you are
unconscious. Tenchi Masaki, I love you. I love you with every inch of my being.
When I first set my eyes on you I thought you were just another pretty boy. When I
got to know how caring you really were though..." Her voice broke. She realized
she was crying again. "I couldn't help all these feelings that overwhelmed me. I
know I tease you a lot and flirt with you and tell you that it's just to make Ayeka
mad, but I do those kind of things because I never want to lose you. Though it is
funny to see Ayeka get mad. What Sasami said... it scared me. The truth hurts and
it scared me to realize that I wouldn't know what to do without you." She opened
her mouth to speak but was interrupted by Tenchi's voice.
"Ryoko..." he muttered.
Ryoko blushed profoundly. Did he just hear everything I just said?!
Tenchi's body began to shiver violently and he kept muttering incoherently.
"Tenchi, what's the matter?" Ryoko asked desperately. Tenchi's eyes slowly
opened. They were glazed over, and he seemed to be staring beyond Ryoko as if
he could see straight through her. He blinked is eyes slowly and focused on
Ryoko.
"Ryoko, it's just you," he gasped for air. "I thought I saw Kagato. I heard
somebody talking too."
Ryoko shook her head. "Just me babbling to someone who doesn't have a
choice but to hear."
Tenchi smiled, "I see. You know if you ever want to talk, you don't have to
wait for me to be unconscious."
Ryoko blushed slightly, "That's awfully sweet of you."
Tenchi shook his head. "Think nothing of it. We're friends, and that's what
friends do right?"
Ryoko sighed, "I wouldn't know, Tenchi. I've never had any friends before.
Never stayed long enough one a single planet to make one. You've been my first
true friend."
Tenchi chuckled weakly.
"What?! What's so funny?!" Ryoko demanded.
"It's awfully ironic, don't you think? Bet you'd never think you'd make a
friend out of a target, huh?"
Ryoko grimaced, "It's not like I wanted to kill you, Tenchi. It's just
something I had to do, you know." She flinched as Tenchi reached through the
field and put his hand on hers.
"Ryoko, I forgive you. It's not your fault. I will destroy Kagato for what
he's made you do."
"Tenchi, no offense or anything, but you don't look like you're in any shape
to fight anytime soon."
Tenchi smiled, "What are you talking about? I feel fine." He began to sat
up, screamed, and sat back down.
"You feel fine, huh?"
"Shut up, Ryoko."
******************************************************************
Ryoko stared up at the ceiling while laying down on a sofa. She had talked
for Tenchi about five minutes more before he had exhausted all of his energy and
went back to sleep. Washu had returned and tried to send Ryoko off to one of the
various spare rooms, but Ryoko had absolutely refused to leave the same room as
Tenchi. So Washu had produced a sofa for Ryoko to sleep on, but Ryoko did not
intend on sleeping. Instead she just watched as Washu hovered over her astral PC.
keeping Tenchi's vitals underneath constant vigil.
"You really should get some sleep you know," Washu said without even
turning to face her daughter.
"Hmph... you put yourself in my shoes then tell me to sleep."
"You're not the only one who cares for Tenchi you know."
"Then you know what it's like then."
"And I'm doing what I can to help. You getting sleep would be best for
Tenchi."
"But I can't. What if I go to sleep, and he needs me?"
"Don't worry nothing's going to happen, I've taken all necessary pre-" she
was interrupted by a loud beeping noise. Washu turned to her PC and typed in a
sequence. "Oh, no..."
"Mom, what's the matter?! What's wrong with him?!" Ryoko exclaimed
rising to her feet immediately.
Washu gulped, "It's worse than I thought. The two smaller blades were
dipped in a culture..."
"A culture of what? Tell me!"
"The Black Despair."
Washu knew that they were going to have to make a hasty retreat when
Sword Tenchi was knocked from Tenchi's hands. As soon as that happened she
pretended to be unconscious, so Kagato would hopefully look over her while she
fiddled around in her pocket for the item she was looking for. She grinned as she
wrapped her fingers around a small sphere. Her eyes snapped open and she gasped
in shock. "Oh my God..." The image before her horrified her. Kagato's sword was
thrust through Tenchi's abdomen and jutting out that back.
Kagato grinned at Tenchi's face. It relayed total shock. Tenchi looked down
and cringed at the sight of a black energy beam through his stomach. "What's the
matter, boy? Does it hurt?" Kagato mocked. "Trust me, you haven't felt a thing
yet." Kagato thrust the sword deeper, causing the small blades to form two more
wounds. Kagato then twisted his sword upward, lifting Tenchi off the ground.
Tenchi resisted giving Kagato the pleasure of screaming, but it was hard. Kagato
continued to lift Tenchi until he was perpendicular to Kagato and directly above
his head.
Tenchi felt like he was going to burst. He was in so much pain! Finally
Tenchi could not hold it in anymore. He screamed as loud as he could. He
clenched his eyes shut to force back tears. After about two minutes of this grueling
torture, Tenchi's head hung limp as he slowly began to slip into unconsciousness.
He looked up and saw Ryoko, Ayeka, and Washu for one last time. He managed to
utter two words, "I'm sorry." His eyes rolled into the back of his eyes, and he felt
pain no more.
Kagato shook his head and scoffed, " 'I'm sorry?' Those are your last
words? Pitiful." He threw Tenchi's lifeless body to the ground and kicked it aside.
"KAGATO!" Ryoko screamed. Tears stained her cheeks, forming flowing
rivers from two yellow seas. "You've taken everything from me! You took my
childhood, hell, you took my life! But that wasn't enough was it? You forced me
to do heinous crimes. I watched you slaughter innocents, knowing that one day I
would have to do the same thing. Then came my first assassination job. It sickened
me to kill, but I eventually I got used to it knowing that I would die if I didn't.
Then I met him. He was the perfect guy. He was nice, funny, handsome, and didn't
give a damn where I came from even after I told him. I loved him, and now you've
committed the most horrible act conceivable. You killed him! And I won't let you
get away with it this time!" She formed her energy sword and flourished her
crimson energy blade. "Or die trying."
Ayeka stood up next to her and nodded. "And if she doesn't do it, then I'll
finish the job."
Kagato laughed, "Oh, is that so? Why do you think that you can defeat me if
not even the power of the 'Holy Sword' succeeded?"
"I don't believe in legends. No one's indestructible. Not even you, Kagato,"
Ayeka retorted.
Kagato snickered, "Big talk from the one who holds the spirit of a long dead
princess."
Washu knew that all hell was going to break loose if she allowed Ryoko and
Ayeka to duel with Kagato, and most likely the two girls would be killed. She had
to act fast. She quickly stood up and whistled shrilly to get Kagato's attention.
"You know what they say about people who run right, Kagato?"
Kagato frowned, "No, I'm not familiar with that phrase."
"They who fight and run away..." she started. She suddenly threw down the
orb she had in her pocket creating a flash of light. When the light receded every
trace of Washu, Ryoko, Ayeka, Tenchi, and Sasami where gone except for
Washu's voice echoing, "...live to fight another day."
"WASHU!!!!!"
-Elsewhere...-
Washu shook her head as she assessed Tenchi's condition. It was real bad.
Luckily, the sword bypassed Tenchi's spinal cord. A couple of centimeters to the
left and Tenchi would have been paralyzed immediately, assuming he had not
died. Assuming he still did not die. She was suddenly very glad that she had been
cautious enough to grab her sphere that would lead her to a back-up lab. It was a
lot smaller than her normal lab, but it would make do. Plus it had medical
facilities.
"Tenchi!" Washu heard a small voice exclaim. Sasami dashed up to her
fallen friend. "Oh, no! Tenchi, wake up!" She looked up at Washu teary-eyed.
"You can save him, can't you, Washu?"
Washu nodded her head and replied, "I'll try my best, Sasami." She turned
to her daughter and instructed, "Ryoko, help me get this sword out of here now!"
Ryoko nodded gravely and strode to Tenchi's aide and observed the sword.
"This isn't going to be easy," she informed. "Those small blades are barbed.
They're going to do more damage coming out than going in."
"Well we can't exactly shove the sword through to the other side, can we?"
Washu snapped impatiently. She shook her head and said in a much calmer voice.
"We'll just have to be careful. And we've got to hurry. Kagato won't wonder
where we are for long."
Ayeka tugged Sasami away from Tenchi's body and forced her to turn
around while she closed her own eyes. This was not going to be pretty. No, she
thought, opening her eyes. I have to remain strong for Tenchi's sake.
Ryoko wrapped her fingers around the hilt of the sword and began to pull,
trying not to rip Tenchi's innards with it.
Tenchi cringed, showing that he was still alive. He clenched his teeth and
opened his eyes slowly. His face was dripping with sweat and it blurred his vision,
but he was sure he did not like the fact that there was something using him as a
pincushion. The pain was inconceivable, he could feel the barbs cutting through
new flesh. He wanted to writhe in agony, but once again had to hold it in. This
time to avoid taking more damage than he already had. He licked his lips and
tasted something metallic and realized it was his own blood. Miraculously, Tenchi
was able to lift his arms and clasp Ryoko's hands in his own, tightening her grip
on the sword.
Ryoko blushed slightly as Tenchi's fingers interlaced with her own. This
might be the closest we get to holding hands. She suddenly shook her head trying
to rid herself of such talk. There would be plenty of time to hold hands with
Tenchi later. He would get through this.
"Ryoko," she heard him say. His voice was small and raspy, so she had to
lean closer and strain to hear. "It's like a bandage. You just got to rip it out as fast
as you can." With that Tenchi pushed up abruptly, ripping the sword from his
paunch in one swift motion. The pain was unbearable! He let out a long scream of
pure suffering, and slowly began to lose consciousness. He managed a weak smile
as he passed out, all his muscles relaxing once more.
Sasami tore away from her sister, tears staining her cheeks, and ran to
Tenchi, hugging his inanimate body. "Please, don't leave us, Tenchi," she
whispered. "All of us would be lost without you. Even though they may be too
proud to show it, every one of them have fallen for your pure heart. Each one of us
cares about you more than you might know. So you've got to hold on. We all love
you, Tenchi. And that's all that matters, right?"
The others could do nothing but watch in reverence. Tears ran freely to the
ground. They all knew the truth in those words. The small nine-year old had seen
past their ruses and saw what really lied in their thoughts.
Ayeka approached her sister and kneeled down to her height. "Don't worry,
Sasami." She managed her best smile and said, "Tenchi would never leave us. This
is Tenchi we're talking about. He would rather stay here and tell us his bad jokes
and tease us than leave right?"
Sasami turned to face Ayeka and nodded, "Remember that one time he
carried you all the way home over his shoulder, with you kicking and screaming
all the way." Sasami giggled as Ayeka blushed profoundly.
Ryoko smiled as she picked up Tenchi. Don't worry, Tenchi. We'll have a
chance to make those kind of memories after we take care of Kagato.
Washu stood up and motioned for everyone to follow her. Ayeka picked up
Sasami and followed. Ryoko also complied. She lead them to a room with one
long bed. "Put Tenchi on there," Washu instructed. When Ryoko conformed an
electrical field encased Tenchi, making the table a base of a semi-cylinder. Washu
typed a few things on the computer and shook her head. She turned to the others
and said, "You guys better get some rest. This is going to take all night."
Ryoko looked over to Tenchi's body and debated to take Washu's advice or
not.
"Don't worry. I'll wake everybody up if something new develops," Washu
informed when she saw Ryoko's glance.
"But you said it wouldn't take long for Kagato to figure out where we
were," Ayeka argued.
"I said it wouldn't take him long to know that we were in my back-up lab. I
didn't say he knew where the back-up lab was. Besides look at you two. How do
expect to fight in this condition?"
Ayeka's shoulders sagged as she realized that Washu was right. "All right,
Little Washu. Could you show us to a place we might be able to get some rest?"
Washu nodded, "Of course." She opened her mouth to tell her daughter to
follow her, but thought better of it. She walked down a corridor as Ayeka and
Sasami followed.
Ryoko stared at the unmoving body and strode forward to it. She collapsed
to her knees in front of the medical bed and sobbed. "This is all my fault, Tenchi.
Everything bad that's happened to you has been _my_ fault! Why didn't I just stay
detached from you and kill you quickly instead of putting you through all of this
pain?" She swallowed hard. She already knew the answer to that question. "But I
can't help but think that this might be our last moments that we could have
together, so I think there's something I should tell you, even if you are
unconscious. Tenchi Masaki, I love you. I love you with every inch of my being.
When I first set my eyes on you I thought you were just another pretty boy. When I
got to know how caring you really were though..." Her voice broke. She realized
she was crying again. "I couldn't help all these feelings that overwhelmed me. I
know I tease you a lot and flirt with you and tell you that it's just to make Ayeka
mad, but I do those kind of things because I never want to lose you. Though it is
funny to see Ayeka get mad. What Sasami said... it scared me. The truth hurts and
it scared me to realize that I wouldn't know what to do without you." She opened
her mouth to speak but was interrupted by Tenchi's voice.
"Ryoko..." he muttered.
Ryoko blushed profoundly. Did he just hear everything I just said?!
Tenchi's body began to shiver violently and he kept muttering incoherently.
"Tenchi, what's the matter?" Ryoko asked desperately. Tenchi's eyes slowly
opened. They were glazed over, and he seemed to be staring beyond Ryoko as if
he could see straight through her. He blinked is eyes slowly and focused on
Ryoko.
"Ryoko, it's just you," he gasped for air. "I thought I saw Kagato. I heard
somebody talking too."
Ryoko shook her head. "Just me babbling to someone who doesn't have a
choice but to hear."
Tenchi smiled, "I see. You know if you ever want to talk, you don't have to
wait for me to be unconscious."
Ryoko blushed slightly, "That's awfully sweet of you."
Tenchi shook his head. "Think nothing of it. We're friends, and that's what
friends do right?"
Ryoko sighed, "I wouldn't know, Tenchi. I've never had any friends before.
Never stayed long enough one a single planet to make one. You've been my first
true friend."
Tenchi chuckled weakly.
"What?! What's so funny?!" Ryoko demanded.
"It's awfully ironic, don't you think? Bet you'd never think you'd make a
friend out of a target, huh?"
Ryoko grimaced, "It's not like I wanted to kill you, Tenchi. It's just
something I had to do, you know." She flinched as Tenchi reached through the
field and put his hand on hers.
"Ryoko, I forgive you. It's not your fault. I will destroy Kagato for what
he's made you do."
"Tenchi, no offense or anything, but you don't look like you're in any shape
to fight anytime soon."
Tenchi smiled, "What are you talking about? I feel fine." He began to sat
up, screamed, and sat back down.
"You feel fine, huh?"
"Shut up, Ryoko."
******************************************************************
Ryoko stared up at the ceiling while laying down on a sofa. She had talked
for Tenchi about five minutes more before he had exhausted all of his energy and
went back to sleep. Washu had returned and tried to send Ryoko off to one of the
various spare rooms, but Ryoko had absolutely refused to leave the same room as
Tenchi. So Washu had produced a sofa for Ryoko to sleep on, but Ryoko did not
intend on sleeping. Instead she just watched as Washu hovered over her astral PC.
keeping Tenchi's vitals underneath constant vigil.
"You really should get some sleep you know," Washu said without even
turning to face her daughter.
"Hmph... you put yourself in my shoes then tell me to sleep."
"You're not the only one who cares for Tenchi you know."
"Then you know what it's like then."
"And I'm doing what I can to help. You getting sleep would be best for
Tenchi."
"But I can't. What if I go to sleep, and he needs me?"
"Don't worry nothing's going to happen, I've taken all necessary pre-" she
was interrupted by a loud beeping noise. Washu turned to her PC and typed in a
sequence. "Oh, no..."
"Mom, what's the matter?! What's wrong with him?!" Ryoko exclaimed
rising to her feet immediately.
Washu gulped, "It's worse than I thought. The two smaller blades were
dipped in a culture..."
"A culture of what? Tell me!"
"The Black Despair."