Hello again! I guess ye liked my story since you are on chapter two. I will post any and all updates that I have for previous chapters when I upload a new chapter, so things will always be changing, just usually in minor ways. And yes, I am still getting help from my proofreader Mayhem.
As a slight note, this story takes place after the Mihoshi special and Manenatsu No Eve (or Daughter of Darkness in the US.). If you haven't seen these two additions to the OAV series, then watch them!!! They are quite good.
Illusions of Life: Sins of the Past Chapter the SecondA mid-sized cruiser, crystalline in structure, shot towards the hills of Okayama at too rapid a pace for any conventional radar to detect, even if the radar could detect it in the first place. With very little flourish, the starship that was Ryo-Ohki came to a halt above the Masaki Household. Depositing its four occupants in the clearing near the lake, the ship seemed to disappear, only to reappear next to its master in its oh-so cuddly cabbit form.
The lithe, cyan haired beauty that was Ryo-Ohki's master glanced around the clearing and sighed. Well, that's the end of that little bit of excitement for the day, Ryoko thought to herself as she looked into the sky. I wonder when those two blundering GP are gonna get here?
Meanwhile, after having been dropped rather unceremoniously onto her rear-end, the normally very regal, but at this moment very irate, crown-princess of the planet Jurai sat grumbling about the state of the universe. Standing quickly, straightening her pink and purple kimono with unconscious gestures, the princess scanned her dark pink eyes around the clearing searching for the source of her current discomfort. It didn't take long. Having spotted her quarry, Ayeka stalked towards the former space pirate, ready to extract her revenge for the undignified landing.
"Ryoko!! Couldn't you at least try to make sure we all land on our feet next time?" Ayeka snarled angrily at the slightly taller cyan haired woman
"What's the matter little Princess? I always land on my feet. It's not my fault you're a clutz!!" Ryoko answered glibly. "Besides Ayeka," the former space pirate added, a wide grin on her face, "Personally I think you look absolutely charming in the dirt!" Ryoko laughed, crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned against a conveniently placed tree, seemingly at ease.
The normally lovely lavender eyes of the princess quickly darkened, taking on a murderously red hue. "Please, Ryoko," Ayeka sneered, "the only reason you land on your feet is because you are more of a feline than an actual human being. Honestly, I cannot believe Lord Tenchi tolerates an inhuman beast such as yourself under his roof."
Ryoko glided from her position against the tree to stand nose to nose with the princess. Her golden eyes promised death to her purple haired nemesis. Ayeka returned the look, not flinching in the slightest under the gaze directed at her by the cyan haired girl. Instead, she was returning Ryoko's glare with one of her own, and sparks began to fly from between both women... literally. On the other side of the clearing, Tenchi and Washu stood staring at the slowly darkening sky.
"Whaddya mean by that, Princess?!?! I oughta...."
"You ought to what!? I have half a mind..."
"Half a mind? That's more than I woulda thought..."
Tenchi sighed as he heard the bickering behind him quickly escalate into a proper brawl. He turned slightly to the diminutive red head next to him and opened his mouth to speak.
"So Little Washu, do you think that Mihoshi, Kiyone, and that bounty hunter can catch whoever was in that ship? I'm kinda worried about them, after what just happened," Tenchi said as he shifted his gaze from the sky to the lady that was typing on a spectral computer next to him.
"Well Tenchi, I am sure they can catch those criminals. In fact, I am pretty sure that Victor could catch those pirates on his own." She paused from watching the sky for a moment and pulled a large umbrella from a sub-space pocket. "At the moment, I am actually more worried about how much damage Mihoshi is about to do to your house when she hits the lake... again."
When Tenchi gave her a shocked look, Washu pointed out a ball of fire in the sky. A ball of fire that was growing larger and larger by the second as it screamed towards the Earth.
"We might wanna get inside Tenchi," the short scientist remarked. Seeing Tenchi's hesitation as he glanced at the expanding cloud of smoke that marked Ayeka and Ryoko's position, Washu sighed and grabbed his arm. "They'll be fine Tenchi, but I don't want to take a bath with you in these conditions!!" She said to him as she dragged him toward the house.
Tenchi gulped and began to sweat nervously as both Washu and he ran headlong for the house. He spared one glance over his shoulder at the duo of brawling girls, and another at the ball of fire hurtling toward them. He just sighed and picked up his pace, running as fast as his legs would take him.
"I hope the house is alright this time..." Tenchi muttered to himself as he ran.
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Kiyone froze with dread when she heard Mihoshi say she wanted to help land the ship. Her fears were confirmed shortly by what her partner said next.
"Oops.... I don't think I was supposed to press that one..."
Sadly Kiyone didn't have a chance to say anything in retort before everything went black.
That was the last thing that the teal-haired, Detective First Class Kiyone Makibi remembered before the spaceship Yagami began hurtling towards the planet Earth. As she finally woke Kiyone could hear the sounds of animals in the forest, and the breeze amongst the trees. She also felt like she had been through another week of Basic. She hurt everywhere. But if she could be in this much pain, then she figured she couldn't be dead yet. But why wasn't she at the bottom of the lake drowning?
Kiyone's eyes shot open as she sat up abruptly. She regretted that even before she completed the action as her brain attempted to pound its way out of her skull. Not even sparing a glance at her surroundings, she immediately lay back down, squeezing her eyes shut against the pain. A sigh escaped her lips as the pain slowly receded.
The Galaxy Police detective sensed movement near her, and was about to turn her head to look when she felt a small piece of metal press against her neck, followed by a slight sting as she was injected with something. Almost immediately, Kiyone felt the pain began to lessen throughout her body. She looked to see who was helping her, expecting to see Washu. Kiyone was extremely surprised to see the cloaked form of the bounty hunter.
"Easy girl, easy. You took a couple of bad knocks before I got to ye, so just lay there for a minute," the Bounty Hunter, Victor, said as Kiyone instinctively went for her blaster. "Let the meds do their work, and it'll stop hurting long enough for yer friends to arrive."
He then proceeded to turn from her and walk just out of Kiyone's view. Victor pulled out another hypo spray as he leaned down. She heard the hissing sound of it being injected. A small moan followed the injection, and then some mumbling. Kiyone sighed in resignation when she recognized the voice of her partner, Mihoshi.
I should have known we'd both survive, Kiyone thought, her emotions an odd mix of amusement, irritation, and relief. I'll never be free from that ditz. Oh well. I hope she isn't hurt too bad.
Deciding now would be a good time to size up the bounty hunter Kiyone scanned what she could see of her surroundings. She saw that he was sitting against a rock a few feet from her. Kiyone noted that Victor had taken his brown trench coat off and set it folded behind his head, his hat resting on his knee. The bounty hunter sat with his face turned toward the sky, his eyes closed and his face calm. A trio of thin scars ran from over the top of his left eye, running underneath the patch covering his right eye, and ending on the right side of his lower jaw. They were old and faded, but clean enough that Kiyone doubted that an animal caused them.
From a distance he appeared to have a tan complexion, but looking carefully, Kiyone could see that this was due to the short, tawny fur covering his body. Aside from that, he had a curly mass of dark red and black hair pulled back in a ponytail. The bounty hunter's features were angular and leonine, though he could pass for human as long as no one looked too closely.
Kiyone absently noticed that he was well built, since she could see his muscles underneath the black material of his shirt. Hey, this guys not too bad looking, she thought idly to herself. Wait a minute, why the hell am I thinking about this now?!?!
To distract herself from her current train of thought, Kiyone decided to study Victor's weaponry. Strapped under his left arm was a blaster; it was a good model but nothing special.
Kiyone's eyebrow rose when she saw the handgun holstered on his right side.
After the advent of laser and plasma weaponry, it became very rare for anyone to carry a ballistic weapon of any sort. The gun on his right hip was a little larger than a standard blaster, and she was amused to note that it appeared to be a revolver. She shouldn't have been too surprised though. Kiyone knew from experience that Priderian's were fans of ancient weapons; in fact, Mihoshi had a small collection of knives that she had acquired from across the galaxy. Judging from what she could see, that handgun would probably nearly as powerful as a blaster anyway.
Next Kiyone's eyes traveled across Victor's body to his other hip. She blushed slightly as she did so, her mind registering a contour of his stomach and thighs. Her eyes widened when the teal haired detective reached his other weaponry. The bounty hunter appeared to have some sort of large gun in a holster on his left thigh. Kiyone let out a small gasp when she recognized its design.
The gun that Kiyone recognized was memorable for one reason: its rarity. She had only remembered hearing about the gun on his hip, and had only seen a picture of one during her academy days. If Kiyone was right, then this bounty hunter actually had an Alterra blaster! She was completely amazed. While some cultures aggressively pursued energy weaponry, the system of Alterra chose a different route. By working with the natural EM fields generated by people and planets, the Alterrans developed a way to harness those gravity fields to devastating effect.
Kiyone believed that humans had done something similar, calling it a rail gun. Whatever it was called, the Alterran weapons were some of the most dangerous weapons in the universe. These weapons were so powerful that the only force that was consistently capable of defeating the Alterran space force were the tree ships of the Jurain Empire.
For all its power, Alterran weapons are notoriously difficult to use. In fact, only the most highly trained soldiers ever used them. Kiyone knew that the training required to use such a weapon was comparable only to the training required to use the power of Jurai; and it was equally as rare.
"Ye see something that interests that pretty little head of yours, eh detective?" The bounty hunter asked as a smile formed on his face. His eyes were still closed and his face continued to look towards the fading light in the sky. His voice was deep, throaty, and almost animalistic, yet still remained warm. After a few moments without an answer he turned his face to look at her and opened his one good eye. It was a steely gray, and it held curiosity, humor, and a hint of something that Kiyone could not immediately identify.
Kiyone couldn't believe that he had heard her. The gasp she had let out was barely audible to her, and she couldn't believe he had heard it from a good fifteen feet away. Kiyone blushed, turning very red when she realized that the bounty hunter had known she was looking him over. To cover her embarrassment at having been caught, she mustered up the courage to ask about the oddity of his weaponry.
"Actually I did Victor," Kiyone finally said. "Why do you still have that ancient slug-thrower?" Seeing Victor shrug, she got even more curious. "Why not trade it in for another blaster, or maybe an anti-matter shotgun? I mean, isn't it totally useless?"
The bounty hunter's grin got wider. "Ye'd be surprised. Thanks to your typical blaster, few people bother to wear any form of armor other than their clothes nowadays. And since almost all energy barriers are designed to deflect only energy, this little baby does some amazing things." He chuckled a little bit to himself. "Ye wouldn't believe the look on a crook's face when his shield goes down after a well placed shot with this thing," Victor said as he drew the handgun and twirled it idly with a finger for a moment, before replacing it in its holster.
Kiyone had to smile a bit herself at that. Picturing a high and mighty crime lord wetting himself after his "perfect" defense was lost was, at least to her, a thoroughly amusing idea.
Kiyone spoke up, "So how did you get that Alterran weapon Victor? I didn't think anyone but their warrior caste could even learn how to use one?"
Victor frowned before he replied. "I had…some odd things happen to me many years ago. Afterward, I was found and trained in an Alterran Monastery. It's where I got the gun as well. In fact I…"
There was a sound of footsteps entering the clearing. Kiyone saw Victor stand and head toward the sounds. It was a little too far for her to see from her position, and she wasn't about to chance lifting her head again just yet.
Looks like the cavalry has arrived, Kiyone thought to herself. I really do hope that Mihoshi is all right. Kiyone sighed. Now I wonder about this bounty hunter. He looks kinda familiar. And he carries a Priderian D-13 Peacemaker. Her eyes widened when as she remembered the other Priderian she knew that used such a weapon. But that's not possible. He's been dead for almost fifteen years now.
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"Took ye long enough," the bounty hunter said in a tone that was almost a growl. "Some friends ye are." Victor looked at the approaching Tenchi, staring him right in the eye as he continued. Up close and personal, he was shocked at how young the kid was; Victor figured he couldn't have been more than fourteen or fifteen standard years old. But the way he carried himself, it was obvious the boy was no child.
He decided to save the questions for later. "Anyway, the dark haired detective, I think Kiyone's the name, was not hurt bad as far as I can tell, just some massive bruising and a concussion." Both glanced towards Kiyone. Her breathing was steady, and though there were many small cuts on her, only the large cut on her thigh seemed even remotely serious.
Victor then leaned over the unconscious form of Mihoshi. The blonde's face was caked in drying blood, and her arms were curled over a nasty wound in her stomach as she lay on her side. There were cuts and scrapes over most of her visible body, as well as a large gouge in the side of her head.
The bounty hunter jumped back when he felt the hum of energy begin to coalesce around Mihoshi. He watched the detective carefully as she was encased in an energy bubble and floated over to where Ayeka and Washu were waiting. Victor looked up at Tenchi, his eyes more intense than during the fight in space.
"Be careful with her." Victor's voice held a dark, almost dangerous tone as he spoke. "Her skull is cracked really badly, and the wound in her stomach looks really deep. She was breathing fine when I got here, so I think all her vitals are ok."
Tenchi gulped. There was an undercurrent of pain and worry in Victor's tone that seemed out of place. But Tenchi decided to ignore it and save the questions for later. Instead he looked between both, wondering if he should help Kiyone or if he should go with Washu and Mihoshi.
Seeing Tenchi looked worriedly first at Mihoshi, then at Kiyone, Victor said, "Don't worry about the other girl, just worry 'bout Miss Kuramitsu. I'll get her partner."
The bounty hunter looked up as Washu approached. "I gave them both a shot of Denistropine, Ma'am. I hope it's enough." He got up and headed back over to Kiyone.
Victor filled Washu in on what he had observed since he had come to. Washu did a quick scan of the bounty hunter, but it appeared that he was fine, other than a few bruises. They both stopped by Kiyone.
Washu looked Kiyone over and smiled. "You two always get into the most interesting kinds of trouble, don't you detective." Kiyone smiled up at her as Washu started her examination. "Well Kiyone, you're lucky. Other than a bad concussion, the cut on your thigh, and a broken arm, you're not hurt too bad. Feel up to walking, or do you want me to put you in a bubble?"
Kiyone immediately answered, "No thanks Washu. If it's all the same to you, I'll get back to the house on my own. I hate getting stuck in those force fields, you know that."
Washu smiled and nodded. "If you need any help, just ask Mr. Duras over here for help."
Tenchi, Washu, Ayeka, and Mihoshi all disappeared with a slightly audible pop, presumably headed to the red headed scientist lab. After a moment, Kiyone attempted to stand, only to find that her legs refused to listen to her.
By this point Kiyone had begun to lose consciousness as the injection the bounty hunter had given her took full effect. Kiyone was startled when she felt the strong arms of the bounty hunter wrap around her and cradle her into his chest. She looked up with the last remnants of awareness and stared blearily at Victor's face. For just a moment, he looked just like a face from the past, someone she had lost long ago.
The bounty hunter looked down at her as Kiyone struggled to stay conscious. He smiled softly as her eyes closed. He bowed his head down nearer to hers and whispered, "Just rest Kiyone. I'm gonna take care of you, like old times..." And with that Victor headed toward Tenchi and the rest of the group as they took the injured back to the Masaki house and Washu's lab.
"DaiMon........." Kiyone mumbled as the she faded from the world around her.
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The youngest male in the Masaki household was leaning against the sill of his window, a faraway look in his eyes. The peaceful expanse of the valley, with the lake as its centerpiece, spread out before the young man. If anyone had bothered to knock on his door, or had even just walked into his room, Tenchi would not have noticed. The brown-eyed young man was lost in the world of his own thoughts, staring out the window at the beautiful countryside, but not seeing the panorama laid out before him.
What am I going to do? The young prince thought to himself. They both deserve an answer. Ayeka and Ryoko need to know where their lives are going. But how in the hell am I supposed to do this? How can I not hurt one of them? Tenchi grunted in discomfort. Why am I thinking about this now? He chastised himself as he remembered that Washu was still tending the injured Detectives.
Tenchi sighed and reluctantly turned away from the window in his room. Still mulling over his current train of thought and running on auto - pilot he went to the closet and put on his work clothes. After donning his familiar brown coat, Tenchi headed downstairs, still deep in thought. So deep in fact, he did not notice Ayeka, her hands on her hips and her foot tapping agitatedly, standing at the bottom of the steps yelling at Ryoko.
"You silly twit!! Can't you do anything right? All Sasami asked you to do was boil the rice, and you can't even get that right!"
Ryoko's voice echoed from the area of the kitchen. The sheer volume of her voice was enough to shake the walls of the Masaki household.
"Well, Princess, at least she lets me attempt to help with the cooking!" Ryoko's voice took on a slightly cockier tone as she continued. "I wasn't the one that nearly poisoned Tenchi last month with my cooking skills now was I, hmmmmmm!?!?!?"
Why, I nev…oof!!" Ayeka started. As she opened her mouth to speak, a highly distracted Tenchi accidentally knocked her to the ground. She hit the ground with a gasp and a thud.
After colliding with something at the base of the steps, the dark haired young man looked up to see whom he had run into. Tenchi quickly scanned the room and saw the first princess of Jurai lying on the ground. His eyes widened when Tenchi realized just whom it was that he knocked down. Reacting quickly, Tenchi made his way over to Ayeka and made to help her up.
Ayeka, meanwhile, was just starting to look up in the direction of whoever had knocked her so unceremoniously to the ground. That had better have not have been Ryoko… She thought to her self as a lightly tanned hand came into view. Following the direction of the arm, her gaze moved up the arm, to the shoulder, and finally to the face of an embarrassed Tenchi. Seeing who it was, Ayeka's anger disappeared immediately. Smiling, she took his hand and allowed him to help her up.
"I'm sorry about that Ayeka," Tenchi said sheepishly after he had helped her to her feet. "I guess I wasn't watching where I was going. Sorry about that."
"Oh, that's all right Lord Tenchi. I was just scolding that abominable space pirate for ruining the dinner that Sasami had worked so hard at. Think nothing of it," The purple haired princess said with the slightest of smiles as she craned her neck upward to look Tenchi in the eye.
A sultry voice echoed from the kitchen. "Ohhhhh Teeeenchi!!!" The owner of that name gulped and looked around as sweat began to bead on his brow. Seeing his shoes next to the door, Tenchi bolted for them.
The panicking young man ran by princess Ayeka so quickly that she spun around. She watched him put his shoes on and make a mad dash for the door, mumbling something about the fields and dinner. Sighing, the first heir of Jurai made her way to the family room and made herself comfortable. Turning on the TV, she idly surfed the intergalactic channels in an attempt to resist the urge to taunt Ryoko some more. She stopped suddenly and let out a loud gasp when she happened upon the local news broadcast for Japan.
Ayeka abandoned her usual propriety and shouted at the top of her lungs, "Everyone, come quick!!!!"
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Normally Ryoko didn't like to be bothered when she was attempting something that she wasn't good at. Especially when that something was cooking. Not being able to taste anything was an inconvenience when you were trying to make a meal, at least in her opinion. So when Ayeka yelled for everyone, Ryoko was only too happy to vacate the kitchen and see what was going on.
The unusual stress levels of Ayeka's voice sent a myriad alarms off in the great scientist Washu's lab. Washu, after glancing at her patients, hurried to the door to the house to find out what the ruckus was about.
Sasami, with Mayuka and Ryo-Ohki, hurried from outside to see what her sister was yelling about.
Looking at the screen, Ryoko grimaced. The primary news story was of the "fiery metallic meteor" that had crashed into an area just outside of Tokyo. Thankfully it appeared that no one had actually gone into the crash site yet. However, the news couldn't let the Masaki household know if anyone had left the site either.
Ryoko looked at everyone. "Ok, what are we going to do? We can't let them explore the wreckage, can we? I thought Mihoshi said something about non-space faring civilizations."
"Well what do you propose we do Little Ryoko," Washu commented. The little red head ignored the glare her daughter leveled at her and continued. "We can't just waltz in there and bust them up, since that would let every one there know that most of us are not from this planet." Washu looked solemn when she continued. "Our best bet will be to let me work something out in the lab. I'll try and get the remains of the ship here, and then we'll have to wait."
Washu looked everyone over. "After that, we have to go into the city and look for any of the survivors that got away. Our best bets are Kiyone and Mihoshi, but Mihoshi will be out of it for at least a week; Kiyone will be out for a few days while I repair her arm."
"Just leave them to me," said a growling voice from the corner of the room. Everyone looked over in shock as Victor walked out from the shadow he was apparently hiding in.
"And why should we leave this to you, Mr. bounty hunter?" Ryoko said snidely as she began to grin lopsidedly.
"Because I can get this done quicker than ye buncho' bickerin' fools, that's why," Victor retorted bluntly, no sense of malice in the words. "None of ye know what yer dealin' with, so tis' my job to handle this." Victor began making his way to the door of the Masaki house, checking the action on his weapons as he did so.
Washu was grinning maliciously as she looked in the direction of the bounty hunter. "And just how do you propose to get to Tokyo anyway? Have you even been to Earth before Mr. Duras?" The red haired scientist's grin got even wider as Victor stopped walking and turned to her. "Looks like you are gonna need our help after all, young pup," she said in satisfaction.
Victor gave Washu a hard stare at the insult she threw at him. Thinking on it though, he realized that she was right; Not only did he not know the area he did not know the customs or have any local currency. Sizing up the whole group, he turned to Tenchi and Washu.
"Well then young man, and you lady Washu, would you please accompany me to this "Tokyo" to stop these pirates?" Before Victor even finished the question, The self proclaimed greatest genius in the universe was wagging a finger at him.
"You should know better than to take a doctor from her patients Victor," Washu admonished. "That leaves Tenchi and the girls." Washu turned to her cyan haired daughter and the regal form of princess Ayeka. "If the two of you go, don't you dare use any of you powers. We can't afford to make our presence any more known than it already is."
Washu stared hard at the two women as she went on. "That means no flying, teleporting, or blowing things up Ryoko dear." She quickly pointed a finger at Ayeka, who was beginning to laugh at Ryoko. "That means no force fields from you, and your guardians stay here, understand?" Seeing the look she was getting from both of the girls she just turned away and began heading for her Lab. She stopped suddenly and turned back to the group.
"Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Here Tenchi," Washu said as she threw a small gray device at Tenchi. "This will allow you to track the guys who are busting up Tokyo. It only works in short range though." Washu crossed her arms and stood there, waiting patiently for someone to congratulate her.
Tenchi began to sweat. Figuring that he should compliment Washu before someone turned into a water sprite, he bowed hurriedly and said, "Thank you Little Washu. You really are the greatest scientific genius in the universe." Washu began cackling as she turned to leave.
As the red-headed scientist opened the door to her lab and entered, her voice could be hear saying, "I really am a genius." More high pitched, nasal cackling erupted from the entry to the sub space lab as the door closed. Everyone looked and each other and began to sweat. After a moment, everyone recovered and the arguing between Ayeka and Ryoko resumed.
Ayeka turned to Ryoko, a grin on her face. "How does it feel to have to act normal for once, eh Ryoko? Since I know you couldn't go without your powers, it looks like Tenchi and I will be going without you," Ayeka said with relish. Ryoko absorbed the information and looked as if she were preparing a suitable retort.
Meanwhile, Tenchi was taking all of this in and trying to figure out what to do. He knew that if he told Ryoko to stay then it would hurt her immensely, and Ayeka would be nearly impossible to deal with for the next few days. But if he told Ayeka to stay, he would hurt the violet haired princess' feelings while giving Ryoko something else to tease her about. He couldn't very well ask them both to stay, even if that was the safest course of action. Sometimes, Tenchi reflected with a slight frown, there just weren't any GOOD answers.
Both of the girls turned to Tenchi, seeking to use him to settle the argument when the bounty hunter spoke up.
"Alright, that's enough," Victor said in a snarl. "Tenchi and Meself will go into Tokyo, nobody else." When Ayeka and Ryoko both looked at him in disbelief, he growled at them, "The two of ye will cause way to much commotion. I can handle this on me own, but I need a guide. Besides, Tenchi shouldn't need any bodyguards. He oughta be able to take care of himself."
Both of the girls looked worriedly at Tenchi. Working up a little bit of courage, Tenchi said to both of the women, "I think Victor is right. The more of us we take in to Tokyo, the better chance they have of noticing us. Don't worry," he said hurriedly as both Ayeka and Ryoko looked ready to pout, "I won't get in on the actual fighting, I'll just get him there. O.K.?" And both girls nodded glumly.
Tenchi ran to his room and grabbed the Tenchi-ken as Victor told Washu of the plan. When they both met up at the bottom of the stairs, Tenchi and Victor nodded at each other and headed out the door.
Ayeka headed up to her room to be alone while she prayed for Tenchi's safety. When Sasami went into the kitchen to start dinner, Ryoko took Mayuka and headed for the lake. Hopefully taking care of Tenchi's daughter would help her stop worrying. She just had the nagging doubt that something awful was going to happen. Ryoko looked out over the lake and sighed as the setting sun set the sky ablaze.
"Tenchi, be careful....."
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After taking a bus into downtown Tokyo, Tenchi and Victor stood on a corner and surveyed the nightlife of the city. Both stood collecting their thoughts.
Tenchi looked toward the night sky and reflected on his multitude of problems. Hopefully this would be a good way to prove to his self that, though he cared for all his houseguests, he didn't need to depend on any of them.
The scarred bounty hunter, on the other hand, was cursing his own luck. Why now? he thought to himself. Why did I have to find her now? Now that I've found her, there's no way I can leave. But what excuse do I use to justify staying? Victor's shoulders sagged with the burden of his thoughts.
After a few moments of contemplation, Tenchi turned to the taller Victor. After looking at the scanner that Washu had given him, Tenchi pointed towards the one of the seediest sections of town. Unfortunately, the area the locater was pointing to was considered the "fighting" district, where many illegal gladiatorial fights were waged.
"It looks like one or more of them is over here, Victor," the black haired boy said, gesturing down a side street and nudging the preoccupied bounty hunter to get his attention.
The taller bounty hunter looked in the direction the boy was pointing. Growling a bit, he stalked in the direction of a run down warehouse that stood at the end of a darkened alley. As he walked forward, Victor slipped on a pair of black metallic wristbands and placed an earphone and connected mike over his right ear. About fifty meters from the warehouse, he stopped and looked at Tenchi, who was following him hesitantly. Sighing, Victor threw the young man a similar set of bracers.
As Tenchi caught the bracers, Victor said, "Put these on young' in. This'll help keep ye safe from the higher tech weaponry, iffin ye choose to follow me in." He nodded when he caught the determination in Tenchi's eyes. "Good. Glad to know I have someone watchin' me back."
As the two of them began walking, side -by- side, towards the warehouse, Victor looked over at Tenchi. The young prince was trying to ignore his nervousness that much was apparent to the bounty hunter. But Victor could see the eagerness to prove himself buried within the brown-eyed boy, and had to smile a bit.
To be that young and idealistic again, Victor thought to himself with a sigh. Ah well, it can't be helped. Looks like I'll just have to keep an eye on him and make sure the lad doesn't get carried away.
Just then the band on Victor's right arm beeped once. Victor looked at it in surprise, and then replied into the mouthpiece. "Guardian, what's the problem," he said in a whisper.
A feminine voice came through in his earpiece. "I have detected an astral energy pattern following the two of you Sir. It appears to be keyed into the young boy and not yourself though." Victor nodded his head once as he scanned the area. After searching for a moment, Victor finally saw the disturbance his computer had alerted him to.
"All right Guardian. Classify the energy signature as friendly. Maintain radio silence from this point forward. Victor out."
The trench coat wearing bounty hunter turned to his ally. "Well Tenchi, are ye ready?" When Tenchi nodded an affirmative Victor grinned. "Let's do this then."
Victor drew the large blaster that he kept on his side. He cracked open the loading mechanism and loaded one shell in the chamber. He looked at Tenchi with a strange look in his eyes. Tenchi gulped, since he knew that look. It was the look Ryoko had before she went and did something reckless.
"Oh yeah, Tenchi. One last thing," Victor said with a grin as he aimed the gun at the doors to the warehouse. "Don't get in front of this gun when I am about to fire. This thing has a lot of Kick........" and with a laugh Victor pulled the trigger.
Nothing happened initially, and then the gun began to hum. A loud bang, louder than the fireworks Tenchi had heard during any carnival, issued from the gun as a shell propelled itself toward the door.
With a roar straight from the bowels of hell itself, the doors to the warehouse exploded in a ball of fire. There were screams issuing from within the building, but Victor ignored them. Putting the cannon away, he drew his smaller pistol and headed within the warehouse. Tenchi was only behind him by about ten yards, igniting the Tenchi-ken as he charged into the wreckage.
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Ryoko floated outside the warehouse, intangibly watching the unfolding battle. She wanted so much to go and help her beloved Tenchi, but her fear held her back. Tenchi had asked everyone to stay behind, so she couldn't let him know she had followed him. The Cyan haired girl had been worried for a moment when the bounty hunter had looked in her direction, but apparently he had not seen her astral form.
Ryoko got even more worried when Victor said something about his gun and blew the doors of a warehouse away. She was shocked to see Tenchi hesitate only briefly before following Victor into danger. All of her instincts told her to help him, but Ryoko stayed where she was. Tenchi had asked, so all she could do was watch. Instead of torturing herself by waiting outside the building to see what happened, Ryoko let her Astral from fade away as the senses of her real body took over again.
Ryoko looked around the dock she was sitting at. The setting sun reflected itself off of the lake in front of her, creating a beautiful and tranquil scene. Glancing down, she saw the baby Mayuka still soundly asleep in her lap. Sighing, she rocked the baby and watched the sun set.
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Meanwhile, Tenchi was trying his best to not get swamped by the chaos inside the burning warehouse. After running inside, both Tenchi and Victor had seen the fire dancing eerily off of the hull of smaller ship. Tenchi had noted with dread that the turrets on the ship were still operational. The two men jumped for cover when the turrets opened fire. Tenchi saw Victor pull out his larger sidearm and begin returning fire with the turrets.
The air was filled with the sound of massive explosions. The automated turrets continued to rain fiery death on the floor and the cargo as Tenchi and Victor ran madly about, trying to avoid getting hit. Victor jumped behind a column to dodge a shot from a turret. Gritting his teeth against the heat and sound, he turned from behind the pillar and fired. After a the explosion faded, the front of the ship was little more than slag.
Tenchi ran out from behind the boxes he was hiding only to be met with a barrage of laser fire. It was a good thing that Victor had given him the shield bracers, or he would be hard pressed to continue. The shields deflected the blasts from the lasers quite easily, giving the young warrior the time needed to get close enough to use the Tenchi-ken.
The laser fire was coming from metallic creatures exiting from the bay of the ship. These creatures looked to be vaguely humanoid. They had glowing red eyes as they ran hunched over. The arms and legs were thin and smooth, built more for movement than brute strength. Instead of a left hand, their arms ended in a nasty looking gun. As the creatures spread out, small groups of them headed towards both Tenchi and Victor.
As Tenchi ran forward, Victor was busy firing away at the robots. Tenchi noted he was a good shot as Victor managed to wipe out about five of the robots by the time Tenchi had gotten within striking distance. Out of the corner of his eye, Tenchi saw Victor blasting away as he headed toward the bay of the ship.
Running as fast as his legs would take him, Tenchi Masaki ran headlong into the middle of a group of robots. With laser blasts bouncing harmlessly of his shield, Tenchi began hacking into his robotic assailants. Tenchi ducked as one of the robots swung an energy blade at his head. Seeing an opening, the young Masaki sliced his sword upward through the robots arms and kicked his assailant to the ground. Acting quickly, Tenchi sliced through the chest of the robot and watched its eyes go dim. Turning at the exactly right moment, Tenchi brought his sword up and sliced a robot in half as it attempted to claw at him. Getting his bearing, Tenchi saw that Victor had blasted his way to the ship, and that only the three robots near him were still standing. Tenchi took a deep breath and concentrated on the foes before him.
The young prince dashed towards the remaining robotic assailants, determined to finish them quickly. After dispatching the last robot, Tenchi scanned the battlefield. He saw Victor fighting some pirates at the entrance of the ship and headed in that direction
Victor had abandoned the use of his pistol in favor of his fists. Both of his hands were covered in a shimmering field of force that Tenchi presumed was some sort of energy field. The young Jurain prince had never seen anything like it. The embattled bounty hunter was not faring well in close combat. He was grim of countenance as he danced with three pirates in a swift and deadly waltz.
Tenchi extinguished the Tenchi-Ken and picked up a thin pipe. Why kill these people if I don't have to? Tenchi thought to himself. He ran up behind a pirate as the criminal was about to stab into Victor with a large dagger. Swinging swiftly, and surely, Tenchi slammed his pipe into the back of the pirate, knocking him out cold.
One of the other pirates saw Tenchi's actions and turned on the young man. "Oh, so you wanna play too? I'm gonna carve you up little man." The pirate advanced on Tenchi with an energy blade in his hand.
Tenchi kept the pipe in his hands even as the pirate advanced. When he saw his target raise the energy sword overhead, Tenchi struck. With quickness and precision Tenchi slammed the pipe into the pirates face, knocking the man to the ground, senseless.
Victor saw this and began grinning. Hrmph. he thought to himself. The kid is good. I don't want him showing me up, so it's time to end this. Victor blocked his attacker's blade with his right hand. With his left hand he decked the pirate, sending his hapless victim sailing into a nearby wall. The thug slammed into a wall with a sickening thud. He grabbed the shirt of the pirate and lifted him easily off of the ground.
"Alright, punk. Where's the rest of your gang?" Victor asked the man. When the man began to stammer, he shook him violently. "Just tell me what I want to know and you'll only get time. Don't, and you won't ever walk again, got it?" Seeing the frightened look on the man's face, Tenchi felt sorry for the criminal. "Now where is the rest of your gang?"
The man finally gave all the information to Victor, and the bounty hunter dropped him. After victor dropped the man, he turned to Tenchi.
"Thanks fer the save, lad. Iffin ye hadn't helped, I prolly would hove bought the farm," Victor said as he winced a bit as he grabbed his side. Tenchi could see that Victor was bleeding from at least three different cuts, and the one on his side was very deep. "I prolly coulda taken them without yer help, but I am glad I had it."
Tenchi only nodded as he tore a large portion of his shirt into bandages. He proceeded to bind the wound on Victor's side as best he could. After stemming the flow of blood, at least in part, Tenchi stepped away.
"It's the best I can do Victor" Tenchi said with regret in his voice. "I can't do more without an first aid kit."
"It'll have to do kid," Victor said with a sigh. He grimaced a bit a bit as he hit a button on his wrist brace and spoke into his headpiece. "Guardian, here are the coordinates for the pirates and their gear. Wait for my signal, and transport the items to where I say, got it?"
Victor punched another set of buttons on his arm and spoke again. "Washu. Come in Washu. I have the coordinates that I needed, but I need a place to send the crew and the ship. Over." After listening for a moment, Victor grinned. "That'll be fine Wash...err, Little Washu. Thank ye again." Victor set down his arm and sighed.
Tenchi just sat on the floor, looking at the damage done. He looked up at Victor and said, "Can we go now? I bet everyone is getting worried. Besides, I don't know how we are gonna answer for this." He shook his head as he stood next to Victor.
"Don't worry, lad. We are leaving right now. Guardian, body slip by two to the Masaki Residence," he said into his mouthpiece. He looked at Tenchi and grinned.
Tenchi only had a moment to think before he saw nothing but blue light and vanished into thin air.