Kujou Muyo!

Chapter XVIII

"No Need for Different Preparations"

Tenchi awoke to a ruckus outside. He sat up and hit his head on the metal support beams of Ryoko's top bunk and cursed.

"Morning, Tenchi," he heard Ryoko greet.

Tenchi rose out of bed and rubbed the sore spot on his head gently. "Morning, Ryoko." He staggered over to the sink in the cell and began scrubbing his face.

Ryoko nimbly leapt down from her bunk, not bothering to use the ladder.

"Heard you had quite an episode last night," she said nonchalantly.

Tenchi stopped scrubbing his face and flushed a deep red color. "Uh… you heard about that, huh?"

"Yeah, that Mihoshi is quite a blabbermouth," she remarked.

Tenchi coughed. "Uh, yeah, I guess she is…"

"So, did you enjoy it?" Ryoko asked.

"What? No, of course not." He turned to face her. "How perver-" He froze. Ryoko was close… real close. Tenchi sidestepped and backed to the wall, Ryoko following. "You know, it's not fair," she stated playfully.

Tenchi gulped when he felt her body press up against his. "W-What isn't fair?" he stuttered.

"She doesn't even like you, and I do," she continued, ignoring Tenchi's question.

Tenchi cheeks darkened. "Yeah, well, that's the way the ball bounces, I guess," he piped.

Ryoko grinned mischievously and ran her index finger in a small circle on his chest. "What would you say if I asked if we could rectify that error?" she offered.

Tenchi's reply was his face turning the shade of a beet.

Ryoko smirked, "That's what I thought." She wrapped an arm around the back of his neck, her other hand placed behind his head, pulling him in for a kiss.

Suddenly, the door to the cell burst open and in stormed Kaijuu. Ryoko sighed with frustration and buried her head in his chest, her hand clamping down on the back of his neck.

"Uh, Ryoko," Tenchi winced.

Ryoko leveled a deadly glare at the intruder. "What do you want?"

"Ryoko…"

"Can't you see we're busy here?" Ryoko asked through clench teeth.

"Ryoko, you're…"

Kaijuu clenched her fists. "Look! You've got a visitor coming so we've got some preparations to make, got it! Now come on!" Kaijuu grabbed Ryoko by the arm and tugged at it. Ryoko tightened her grip on Tenchi, much to his dismay.

"RYOKO!"

Ryoko's head jerked in his direction. "Hmm?"

"Let go of my neck!" he begged.

"Oh, sorry!" she apologized, releasing him from her grip. She released her grasp and Tenchi rubbed the sore spot.

They were suddenly grabbed by two other inmates who had entered the room, clasping their arms behind their backs and pushing them out into the hallway. Ryoko attempted to phase from her subjugator's grip but found she couldn't. The inmates shoved them none to gently forward, and the quintet began walking. Ryoko glared daggers at the mountain of the woman standing between her and Tenchi.

"Where are you taking us?" she demanded. Kaijuu remained silent.

With a burst of unnatural strength and agility, Ryoko threw the inmate holding her backwards and executed a sweeping kick that sent the inmate sprawling. Finishing her circle, she delivered a powerful right hook that dropped Kaijuu. She stood menacingly before her.

"Where are you taking us?" she repeated.

Suddenly, Tenchi screamed in pain. Ryoko's eyes darted in his direction. All too familiar blue arcs of energy lanced out around him. Ryoko rushed towards him. The torture ceased and he dropped into Ryoko's awaiting arms, the scent of burnt clothing and flesh lingering in the air. His face was contorted into a wince of pain, which eventually faded away.

One of the inmates grabbed her from behind a wrenched her from her beloved. Tenchi dropped to the ground with a thud and struggled to get back up on his feet. Only then did Ryoko notice the silver disc attached to his wrist.

Kaijuu removed a small cube from her pocket and glared at Ryoko. "Another outburst like that, and I'll do it again," she stated.

Ryoko growled but resisted her urge to attack Kaijuu, telling herself to save it for another time. The group continued onward.

"Apparently, someone who gives a damn about you two has come to visit. This was an unpredicted scenario. You will allow this person to believe that this place is still under Galaxy Police control. Because if you don't…" Kaijuu said ominously. She pointed the cube at Tenchi. "I'll give him another shock. You wouldn't want to see your beloved man in pain now, would you?"

Ryoko growled under her breath but didn't respond.

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Washu rapped her fingers impatiently on the table before her. She glanced at the guard standing nearby but couldn't tell by her expression whether or not she would get to see Tenchi and Ryoko soon. She had been waiting for nearly an hour already.

The door on the other side of the room swung open, revealing the two people she had been waiting for. She didn't like the looks of them though. Ryoko seemed uncharacteristically subdued, and Tenchi looked as if he had not had a good sleep in a while. Washu could have sworn she smelt the faint scent of something burning.

Ryoko's eyes widened upon seeing her mother. "Mom? How did you get here?" she asked, taking a seat across from her. Tenchi tentatively followed and Washu saw him cringe with pain as he sat down.

Washu forced a broad grin. "I came in Ryo-ohki, of course!" she declared, as if it were common sense.

Ryoko's mood brightened somewhat. "You fixed her?" she asked excitedly.

Washu nodded. "Not without a few… changes, though," she added.

Ryoko skeptically raised an eyebrow, but did not press the matter further. Her yellow eyes spotted a small box resting on the table. "What's that?" she asked.

Washu's lips curved into a mischievous grin. "A gift," she stated simply. Out of the corner of her eyes, Washu noticed the guard stiffen and begin to walk over. She slid the box into the middle of the table. She removed the lid and revealed a small wooden object, similar in appearance to a sword hilt. Embedded in it were three red gems.

Tenchi stifled a gasp. Sword Tenchi! As he reached out to remove his weapon from the box, the guard grabbed his hand. "So what do we have here?" she asked gruffly.

Tenchi gulped, but Ryoko quickly answered for him. "It's a trophy," she replied quickly.

"A trophy? For what?" the guard asked skeptically.

"Uh…" Tenchi stammered. He blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "Midget juggling!"

Ryoko and Washu immediately face-faulted. The guard's right eye twitched slightly and a large sweat drop appeared on the side of her face. "M-Midget juggling?"

Tenchi chuckled nervously, perspiration dotting his brow. "Y-Yeah, it's… uh… a highly respected sport on Earth."

Ryoko and Washu climbed back into their seats, each leveling a glare at Tenchi. He gulped.

The guard reached over to pick up Sword Tenchi. Tenchi wanted to yell at her to stop, but before he could utter a syllable, he received a swift kick in the shin by Washu. He grunted and glowered at Washu. She of all people knew what would happen if someone besides Tenchi touched Sword Tenchi. Tenchi squeezed his eyes closed as the guards fingers wrapped around the hilt, preparing himself for… nothing? Nothing. No screams of pain, no crackle of energy. Tenchi opened one eye, then another, watching the guard examine Sword Tenchi in her hand. Tenchi felt his jaw drop.

The guard shrugged. "Nothing wrong here," she tossed the "trophy" into Tenchi's lap. Tenchi stared down at it, still in shock.

"Your time's up, lady. Get going," the guard commanded.

Washu rose and winked at Tenchi, who was still trying to figure out what was going on. "See you guys soon," she said as she waved.

"Hey, you can't come back for another week, facility rules," the guard informed.

Washu froze at the exit doorway and simply said, "I know." Then, she was gone.

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Tenchi flopped down on the bed back in their cell/room. "That was close," he sighed.

Ryoko looked down at him and raised a cyan eyebrow. "Midget juggling?"

Tenchi's cheeks reddened. "It was the only thing I could think of," he explained.

Ryoko smirked and sat down on Tenchi's stomach, letting her feet dangle off the edge of the bed. "What I can't understand," Ryoko started, grabbing Sword Tenchi from Tenchi hands. She began scrutinizing it. "Is why this didn't give that guard one hell of a shock."

Tenchi snatched the sword back. "Or you for that matter," Tenchi added. He ran his thumb over one of the small jewels embedded in the hilt. "I can't even talk to her." He rubbed the smooth surface of another jewel. "It's like I'm cut off from her somehow," Tenchi sighed. He set down Sword Tenchi on the bed, his finger brushing up against the final gem.

Sword Tenchi suddenly glowed fiercely, causing Ryoko to start and jump off of Tenchi. Tenchi pushed himself against the wall, having to shield his eyes from the intense light. Small fissures began to form around Sword Tenchi.

"What's going on?!" Ryoko shouted.

"I have no idea!" Tenchi called back.

With a sound like shattering glass, Sword Tenchi scattered large shards of energy in all directions, causing Tenchi to recoil further into the wall, while Ryoko brought her arms up around her face. The glowing subsided and Sword Tenchi rested idle on the bed next to Tenchi.

Tenchi blinked the magenta spots the bright aura had left imprinted on his vision away and stared at awe at the weapon before him. Ryoko moved her hands away from her face and asked, "What just happened?"

Tenchi gulped and reached forward to touch Sword Tenchi. When nothing exploded, he took it in his hand. With a crackle of energy, a blue blade sprang to life. A sound that seemed to Tenchi like a yawn emanated from the now active sword.

"Good morning, Master Tenchi, Mistress Ryoko," Sword Tenchi greeted, the red gems pulsing in rhythm to her words. The blue blade extinguished itself.

"What just happened, Sword Tenchi?" Tenchi asked.

"Ah, yes. I do believe an explanation would be in order," Sword Tenchi concluded. "Mistress Washu sealed me in a sort of energy coating, undetectable by any modern methods. It was preventive step in case an official attempted to touch me before you got a hold of me."

"Oh, that explains a lot," Tenchi nodded.

"So, does Mom have a plan, or something?" Ryoko asked hopefully.

"Ah, erhm…not exactly. She was hoping you could figure out something," the sentient sword replied. "She is currently hovering just out of sensor range aboard Ryo-ohki, waiting for some sort of signal to come and pick you up

Ryoko sighed but had a mischievous glint in her eye. "What are we waiting for? Let's give her one hell of a signal!" she said, summoning up her energy sword. Ryoko glanced down at her hands. Why aren't my powers working?

"Ryoko? What's wrong?" Tenchi wondered.

"Ever since we got dragged to see Mom, I haven't been able to use my powers," Ryoko answered.

"But they were working just fine when you fought with Konoma," Tenchi stated.

Ryoko cringed. That battle had nearly cost Tenchi his life.

"Perhaps I have an answer?" Sword Tenchi piped up. Ryoko and Tenchi focused their attention on the small hilt. "When I first activated, I detected an energy field originating from within the compound. It could be possible that the energy field is designed t o vibrate at an inverse frequency than most energy weapons, thereby disabling them. If we could destroy the source of this field then Mistress Ryoko may be able to use her powers again."

Tenchi and Ryoko both shrugged. "Her guess is as good as mine," Ryoko said.

Tenchi nodded, "All right. Sword Tenchi and I will take out the energy field, so we can get the hell out of here."

"Sounds like a plan," Ryoko agreed. She didn't tell him, however, that she had some preparations to make as well… with Konoma!

A/N - Yeah, I know you hate these things, I do too, so I'll make this quick. I need to give credit to the midget juggling joke to my good friend Marc.