Tenchi Mugen!
Episode One - New Beginnings
By Ashikawa Yuki
Rated PG
Spoilers: None
Warnings: Language, violence
Disclaimer: Tenchi Muyo and all the characters therein belong to AIC and
Pioneer. I'm writing this for my entertainment and yours. No cabbits were
harmed in the writing of this story.
Hi! I'm Masaki Tenchi. I'm just your average seventeen year-old High school freshman. At least I was, until girls started falling from the sky. Interested? Well, this is how it all happened:
It was a warm night at the residence of Masaki Tenchi. He had just finished helping his grandfather with the chores at the shrine on the top of the mountain, and now he was seated at the dinner table with his father and grandfather. Tenchi's father, Nobuyuki, had ruined dinner again, and so for the fourth time that week, they ended up ordering out. Tenchi cursed the fate that made all the Masaki men such terrible cooks. He was lucky he could make toast and scrambled eggs.
"Have you done your homework, Tenchi?" his grandfather asked. It was only the first day of school, but naturally, all the teachers had dumped homework on them right away.
"Yes, Grandpa. I did it as soon as I got home from school," he said. He had only gotten home a few hours ago, but he gave the teachers some credit in the fact that the homework load was actually relatively light. After all, he was just a freshman in high school now, and the teachers didn't want to give them too much to do right away. Tenchi yawned and stretched. "I think I'm gonna turn in," he said.
His father and grandfather nodded as he headed upstairs to his room.
***
Elsewhere, things weren't so peaceful. A large, crystalline spaceship was being pursued by a much larger red spaceship. Ryoko tried to tune out the annoying Galaxy Police Detective's demands that she stop. "Won't this twit ever give up?" she muttered. She was actually surprised when a laser blast shook her ship. 'Oh, I see,' the space pirate Ryoko thought. 'So, she's serious this time.' Out loud, she instructed her ship, Ryo-ohki to engage in evasive maneuvers. She knew they couldn't avoid all the blasts from the large Galaxy Police cruiser, but they could try to avoid as much as they could.
"This is your final warning," Detective First-Class Kiyone's voice told Ryoko. "Surrender, or I will destroy you."
Ryoko was almost certain she wasn't being serious, until a missile detonated on Ryo-ohki's outer hull. "Shit," the pirate cursed. "Open fire, Ryo-ohki!" she exclaimed. The spaceship miya-ed in affirmation before letting out everything it had. "C'mon, we're almost there," Ryoko said, spotting her target up ahead. Earth.
***
"What the hell is she doing?" Kiyone questioned as Ryo-ohki started toward Earth.
"I do not know, Kiyone-san," Yukinojo said. Kiyone frowned.
'Why is she going there?' she thought. "No time to ask for explanations," the GP Detective First-class declared. She continued firing blast after blast from Yagami trying to destroy Ryoko before she could enter the Earth's atmosphere.
"Doesn't that idiot know that Earth is in a Special Protection Zone?" she mused partially to herself and partially to Yukinojo.
The robot assumed she was speaking to him. "I am unsure," he replied. Kiyone didn't say anything further. She continued to bombard Ryo-ohki with laser blast after laser blast, but it didn't seem to be working. Suddenly, Ryo-ohki stopped, and Kiyone assumed that her target had taken to the ground.
"Prepare the mecha, Yukinojo," Kiyone ordered.
"Yes, ma'am," Yukinojo replied.
***
"It should be nearby," Ryoko mused as she flew, looking at the data she was given. Suddenly, she saw a decent-sized house, but before she had a chance to celebrate, she realized that she was once again under attack. "Damn!" she exclaimed, wheeling around to see the large red mecha floating nearby, hand extended to release another blast. She knew these mecha were specially built to fight her. If she could only destroy it, she would thoroughly trounce that damn detective!
Ryoko extended her hand, and immediately, energy started to gather in her palm until she focused it into a sword. Kiyone seemed to realize what Ryoko was doing, and backed off, firing a few shots as she retreated. One hit Ryoko in the arm, but she teleported before the others could harm her.
Kiyone just barely had any time to turn the mecha around before Ryoko was upon her, slashing downward with her energy sword. With a mighty blast from the rear thrusters, the mecha was safely away before Ryoko could reduce it to scrap metal.
"Damn!" Ryoko cursed, trying to blast it. There was one thing Ryoko had to give the GP. They weren't stupid. The mecha's shields were able to take the brunt of the blast, and the force didn't move it at all. Ryoko had to admit that Kiyone was probably one of the smartest GP there was. She had been pursuing Ryoko for quite some time, and every time Ryoko managed to find someplace to hide, Kiyone had been on top of her. The space pirate gritted her teeth as the mecha fired four more blasts. It occurred to her that the GP might be tired of Ryoko running. After all, Kiyone was using lethal force. She swore to herself again as she teleported before any of the blasts could hit her.
The mecha looked around, trying to locate Ryoko. The only weakness was that the mecha couldn't detect her when she teleported or phased. She teleported a few meters away, and phased into the ground, planning to strike from below. 'I might kill Kiyone in the process, but hey, better her than me,' she thought. The only hitch in her plan was, as soon as she popped up from the ground, she realized that Kiyone had used the mecha's thrusters to jump and see if she could get a better vantage point. "Sheer luck!" she exclaimed. It took her a minute to realize that Kiyone had heard her, and was firing another volley.
"Holy crap!" Ryoko exclaimed, dodging the blasts. Since the mecha was in the air, it would be very difficult for Kiyone to change its position. Ryoko smiled. "Gotchya," she murmured.
***
Kiyone's eyes widened as she realized her fatal mistake. Ryoko was at full charge, her sword beside her, ready to strike. With quick reflexes, Kiyone reached for the emergency release that would eject her from the mecha. "Damn," she swore as she pulled it. With the force of four small thrusters, the ejection chair left the mecha as Ryoko halved it. Kiyone was busily working her restraints, trying to free herself from the ejection seat before Ryoko realized she hadn't managed to kill her. She tried to disengage the restraints, but she realized they were stuck. She prayed as she tried to tug the restraints loose. Ryoko was headed toward her now. Before Ryoko had a chance to disembowel Kiyone, the teal-haired detective managed to disengage the safety restraints and jump from the ejection seat. Ryoko's sword slashed through the air Kiyone had occupied only seconds ago.
The detective gracefully rolled when she hit the ground, drawing her heavy- stock GP pistol in the process. When she had come to a stop, she was in the perfect position to fire off a few well-aimed shots at Ryoko. The space pirate cursed as the laser blasts hit her torso. Kiyone didn't know what she was complaining about. The blaster only had enough power to give her a few minor burns unless Kiyone could manage to bombard her in the same place multiple times.
"Hey, no fair!" Ryoko exclaimed, firing off a few energy blasts of her own in Kiyone's direction.
"Give me some credit here!" she exclaimed as she rolled to avoid them. Unfortunately, Ryoko seemed to have taken into account Kiyone trying to dodge the energy blasts, and one hit her squarely in the shoulder. Kiyone winced at the sharp stab of pain that concentrated in her shoulder and shot up the rest of her arm. Instinctively, she dropped the pistol. Ryoko gave her a wicked grin before pulverizing the pistol before Kiyone could even think of grabbing for it.
"Not so hot, are we now!" the space pirate exclaimed, letting loose a barrage of energy blasts. Kiyone did her best to dodge them, but one hit her squarely in the leg, causing her to collapse on the injured limb. She let out a pained whimper as she hit the ground. She tried to stand on the injured limb as Ryoko floated closer to her.
***
Tenchi stared out his window. "What the hell is going on?" he wondered. Flashes of light have been dancing outside for the last five minutes at least! He decided to go outside and check it out.
Putting on his black leather jacket, and slipping on his sandals, Tenchi ran outside toward the lake, where it appeared combat was occurring. As he got closer, he saw a woman with spiky silver hair floating over a woman with teal hair, who was clutching her thigh, teeth gritted in pain. The silver-haired woman was laughing, holding her palm out. A blast issued from it. Tenchi thought the other woman was dead before he noticed she had jumped away from the explosion caused by the energy blast, landing squarely on her injured leg, and promptly collapsing, crying out in pain.
"I've gotta stop this!" he exclaimed, running now to where the teal-haired woman sat, practically passing out from the pain coursing through her leg. He stopped in his tracks. "But how? This woman . . . isn't normal."
Ryoko fired another energy blast, and Kiyone tried to dodge, but it hit her shoulder. She knelt for a moment before falling face-first to the ground. Ryoko snickered, activating her energy sword. She floated toward Kiyone. "It's been fun, Detective," she said, raising her sword. As she brought it down, she was surprised that she hadn't hit her target. Looking up in surprise, she saw that her sword had been blocked by a rather large blue blade. "What the Hell . . ." she said, looking up and seeing the person who bore the sword. "It's just some kid," she muttered.
Tenchi gritted his teeth, expecting to get sliced in half. 'At least I'll save her,' he thought. His eyes snapped open when he didn't feel himself get cut. His eyes widened in surprise as he saw that he had blocked the silver-haired woman's attack.
"How the Hell did you do that?" Ryoko exclaimed. Suddenly, her blade flickered and disappeared. She looked at her hand in utter disbelief. How could some Earth boy dissipate her blade? It just wasn't possible!
Tenchi straightened, holding his sword in front of him. His face was a study in determination.
Ryoko gritted her teeth and fired a few energy blasts at the boy. Shields came in place to protect him. "I don't get it," she sobbed.
Tenchi held his sword to his side and it disappeared. Ryoko collapsed on the ground in front of him. He turned to the woman behind him. At first, he thought she was dead, but then he saw that her chest was steadily rising and falling. "She's passed out," he observed, sighing in relief. The last thing he needed was a corpse in his front yard! He looked back at the woman who was now kneeling before him.
"What's your name?" he demanded. Ryoko looked at him.
"My name's Ryoko," she replied. Tenchi gestured to the teal-haired woman behind him.
"Who's she?" he asked.
Ryoko almost told him a lie, but she decided he might take pity on her if she told the truth. "That's Kiyone. She's a Detective First-class with the Galaxy Police," she said.
"Galaxy Police?" Tenchi repeated. Ryoko looked at him as if he were stupid.
"Yeah, they police the galaxy . . ." she explained.
Tenchi sweatdropped. "I knew that," he attempted. His face hardened again. "Why was she after you?" he asked. He could tell she was dangerous, but he doubted that was the reason.
"Look, if you want to take care of her, you better do it quick," Ryoko grated out. Tenchi sweatdropped again as he picked her up.
"Follow me to the house," he instructed. Ryoko did as she was told, following behind Tenchi as they headed for the house.
Tenchi slipped his sandals off as he went inside. "Dad?" he called. "Grandpa?"
Katsuhito came into the living room from the kitchen. "Yes, what is it, Tenchi?" he asked. Tenchi held up Kiyone in response. Katsuhito scratched his chin. "I see. Why don't you lie her down in one of the spare bedrooms, and I will see what I can do for her."
Tenchi had explained to the older man what had happened as he tended to Kiyone's burns. In several areas, it had seemed as though the flesh had melded with the fabric of her uniform, and Tenchi winced as Katsuhito gently removed it. He knew she probably couldn't feel it, but he could, and he wasn't even the one getting the treatment!
"Go, show Ryoko a place where she can stay," Katsuhito instructed. "I will continue tending to Kiyone." Tenchi nodded and showed Ryoko to the other spare room.
"You can stay here for now," he told her. He left her to make herself comfortable, and returned to the room where his grandfather was tending to Kiyone.
"These burns are quite serious," he said. He didn't say anything else as he applied burn cream and bandages to the wounds. "Go get some sleep, Tenchi," he said. Tenchi did as he was told as Katsuhito cut away half of Kiyone's pant leg to he could tend to the wound there, which was bleeding.
As Tenchi headed back to his room, he wondered what exactly it was that had just happened. He knew the details, but this was very weird. He had no idea why Kiyone had been chasing Ryoko, only that Ryoko had managed to seriously injure her. He wondered about the energy blasts Ryoko had fired, and the sword that appeared when he stepped in to help Kiyone. He shook his head. This was all too weird.
He settled down in bed and stared up at the ceiling for a few minutes before rolling to his side and closing his eyes. His breathing slowed, and he was soon asleep.
***
When Tenchi first woke up in the morning, he sighed in relief. 'It was all a dream,' he thought. He got dressed to go help his grandfather with the chores. It was a Sunday, so he didn't have any school. He went out into the hall, and passed the room Kiyone was still unconscious in. Then it dawned on him that it really had happened. Everything last night. It wasn't a dream. He sighed as he headed downstairs. He ate a quick breakfast of cereal and milk before heading outside. When he walked past the place where the fighting had occurred, he saw patches of charred grass, and patches of blood, obviously Kiyone's. He closed his eyes. He felt bad for the unfortunate detective, and wished he could have gotten there sooner. 'If I had, maybe she wouldn't have gotten hurt,' he thought.
He went up to his grandfather's shrine, and saw the older man waiting for him at the top of the steps.
"I will let you take a break from your chores, Tenchi. Much has happened last night," his grandfather said. Tenchi nodded and thanked his grandfather before heading back down to the house. He figured he would go sit with Kiyone for a little while, just to see if her condition had improved since last night.
When he got back to the house, he headed up to Kiyone's room, only to see Ryoko standing over her with a small dagger-like energy blade poised over Kiyone's throat.
"Come to finish the job?" he asked coldly. Ryoko's head snapped around and the energy blade flickered and disappeared.
Sweatdropping, the pirate said, "I was just concerned about her well- being." She laughed nervously, not counting on him believing her. She wasn't disappointed. His arm extended and pointed out into the hallway. Ryoko's ears drooped and she floated out of the room.
Tenchi shook his head as he knelt next to the futon Kiyone was resting on. "Can you believe her?" he asked the detective, wondering if she could hear him. 'They usually say that people can hear you when they're in a coma, right?' he wondered. 'That's what they always say on T.V.' He shrugged. Her face looked so peaceful. "She's pretty," he commented off-handedly to himself. "I wonder what Ryoko's going to do. I mean, she can leave whenever she wants, can't she?" he wondered.
He pulled back with a start when he realized that Kiyone's eyelids were fluttering. "She's coming to!" he exclaimed. Kiyone's eyes shot open, and she looked around the room. Her gaze finally fell on Tenchi.
"Ungh, who are you?" she questioned, raising her arm to shield her eyes from the sunlight filtering into the room from the window.
"My name's Tenchi," he replied.
"I'm alive!" she exclaimed in sudden realization. Tenchi chuckled. Kiyone looked slightly offended.
"Sorry," he said, raising his hands in front of him. She attempted to sit up, but a stab of pain through her arm forced her back down.
"Where am I?" she asked.
"You're in my house," he replied. "Ryoko did a number on you. I'm sorry I didn't get there sooner," he apologized.
"It's okay," she said, bewildered. He looked like nothing more than an Earth boy. "Did you save me?" she asked. Tenchi nodded. "How?"
"I'm not even really sure," he replied, scratching the back of his head. "Would you like something to eat?" he asked, realizing she must be hungry. She looked like a normal human, so he assumed that she would need to eat.
Kiyone's stomach growled before she could answer. She blushed and Tenchi chuckled as he left to get her some food. He saw Ryoko lounging on one of the rafters. "Did you want something to eat, Ryoko?" he asked.
"I don't need food," she replied. Tenchi shrugged and went to the kitchen. Ryoko was a mystery to him. How the hell did she have such power?
***
It had been nearly three days since Kiyone and Ryoko came. The space pirate seemed to have developed a crush on him, and the detective was up and about, after she showed him this amazing device called a 'dermal regenerator' that had the ability to heal small wounds. She had demonstrated on the burns Ryoko had given her.
With Ryoko staying, Kiyone said she would stay and keep an eye on her. Apparently, the detective didn't think Ryoko too trustworthy, although he was starting to like her.
He was surprised when he went up to do his chores, and Kiyone offered to help him.
"I feel like I should do something to re-pay you," the detective explained.
"You really don't have to," he told her, as he showed her how to purify the shrine. Ryoko came up soon after and lounged about as he and Kiyone did the chores. He didn't really mind so much, the chores at the shrine weren't too difficult, and having Kiyone there cut his chores in half, at least!
***
That evening, he and the girls were gathered out in front of the house. He and Kiyone had been raking the leaves, and now they were burning them. Over the fire, the three of them were roasting sweet potatoes.
"Here," he said, offering one to Kiyone. "Be careful, it's hot," he warned as Kiyone took the offered potato. He was enjoying the company of the girls, especially because Kiyone had taken to cooking meals after the first home-cooked meal she had courtesy of Nobuyuki. She was a pretty good cook. Ryoko didn't do much around the house, but she was fun to have around, nonetheless.
Ryoko turned her gaze to Kiyone as she ate her sweet potato. "Don't you have to be getting back to the Galaxy Police?" she asked. A faint blush spread across the detective's cheeks. Tenchi thought it was kind of cute.
"Well, they don't know I'm here . . ." she said, rubbing the back of her head. Tenchi laughed. "But I ought to make my report soon," she said, dropping her hand into her lap. "I have to admit, this has been a nice break."
"You must work very hard," Tenchi said as he took a bite of his sweet potato.
"I try," she replied. "But chasing Ryoko has been my job for quite some time now," she explained. "And it's not easy." She glared at the space pirate. "No matter how hard I try, I just can't seem to arrest her."
Ryoko pulled down the skin below her eye and stuck her tongue out at Kiyone, but the detective didn't seem to notice. She was now staring at her potato, lost in thought. Tenchi decided not to bother her. They ate in silence, until Tenchi spoke again.
"Well, you're welcome to stay as long as you like. Both of you," he said, looking from Ryoko to Kiyone.
---
As you can probably guess, this wasn't the end of my adventure, but you'll just have to stick around and see what's coming next! Thank you for reading this!
Next Episode - Tenchi: Kiyone and Ryoko have been with us for about a week now. It's been pretty peaceful, but things are about to change! Ryoko's been acting strangely lately, and suddenly, the greatest scientific genius in the universe appears! Find out what happens in episode two of Tenchi Mugen! Genius Washu Appears!
Author's Notes- Hi, Minna-sama! Thanks for reading the first episode of Tenchi Mugen! I know it's kind of short, but don't worry, I'll try to make the next episode longer! If you liked my story, please review! Lemme know what you liked or disliked about it. If you feel the urge, you can e-mail me at ashikawayuki@yahoo.com all flames will be used to decorate my inbox.
Hi! I'm Masaki Tenchi. I'm just your average seventeen year-old High school freshman. At least I was, until girls started falling from the sky. Interested? Well, this is how it all happened:
It was a warm night at the residence of Masaki Tenchi. He had just finished helping his grandfather with the chores at the shrine on the top of the mountain, and now he was seated at the dinner table with his father and grandfather. Tenchi's father, Nobuyuki, had ruined dinner again, and so for the fourth time that week, they ended up ordering out. Tenchi cursed the fate that made all the Masaki men such terrible cooks. He was lucky he could make toast and scrambled eggs.
"Have you done your homework, Tenchi?" his grandfather asked. It was only the first day of school, but naturally, all the teachers had dumped homework on them right away.
"Yes, Grandpa. I did it as soon as I got home from school," he said. He had only gotten home a few hours ago, but he gave the teachers some credit in the fact that the homework load was actually relatively light. After all, he was just a freshman in high school now, and the teachers didn't want to give them too much to do right away. Tenchi yawned and stretched. "I think I'm gonna turn in," he said.
His father and grandfather nodded as he headed upstairs to his room.
***
Elsewhere, things weren't so peaceful. A large, crystalline spaceship was being pursued by a much larger red spaceship. Ryoko tried to tune out the annoying Galaxy Police Detective's demands that she stop. "Won't this twit ever give up?" she muttered. She was actually surprised when a laser blast shook her ship. 'Oh, I see,' the space pirate Ryoko thought. 'So, she's serious this time.' Out loud, she instructed her ship, Ryo-ohki to engage in evasive maneuvers. She knew they couldn't avoid all the blasts from the large Galaxy Police cruiser, but they could try to avoid as much as they could.
"This is your final warning," Detective First-Class Kiyone's voice told Ryoko. "Surrender, or I will destroy you."
Ryoko was almost certain she wasn't being serious, until a missile detonated on Ryo-ohki's outer hull. "Shit," the pirate cursed. "Open fire, Ryo-ohki!" she exclaimed. The spaceship miya-ed in affirmation before letting out everything it had. "C'mon, we're almost there," Ryoko said, spotting her target up ahead. Earth.
***
"What the hell is she doing?" Kiyone questioned as Ryo-ohki started toward Earth.
"I do not know, Kiyone-san," Yukinojo said. Kiyone frowned.
'Why is she going there?' she thought. "No time to ask for explanations," the GP Detective First-class declared. She continued firing blast after blast from Yagami trying to destroy Ryoko before she could enter the Earth's atmosphere.
"Doesn't that idiot know that Earth is in a Special Protection Zone?" she mused partially to herself and partially to Yukinojo.
The robot assumed she was speaking to him. "I am unsure," he replied. Kiyone didn't say anything further. She continued to bombard Ryo-ohki with laser blast after laser blast, but it didn't seem to be working. Suddenly, Ryo-ohki stopped, and Kiyone assumed that her target had taken to the ground.
"Prepare the mecha, Yukinojo," Kiyone ordered.
"Yes, ma'am," Yukinojo replied.
***
"It should be nearby," Ryoko mused as she flew, looking at the data she was given. Suddenly, she saw a decent-sized house, but before she had a chance to celebrate, she realized that she was once again under attack. "Damn!" she exclaimed, wheeling around to see the large red mecha floating nearby, hand extended to release another blast. She knew these mecha were specially built to fight her. If she could only destroy it, she would thoroughly trounce that damn detective!
Ryoko extended her hand, and immediately, energy started to gather in her palm until she focused it into a sword. Kiyone seemed to realize what Ryoko was doing, and backed off, firing a few shots as she retreated. One hit Ryoko in the arm, but she teleported before the others could harm her.
Kiyone just barely had any time to turn the mecha around before Ryoko was upon her, slashing downward with her energy sword. With a mighty blast from the rear thrusters, the mecha was safely away before Ryoko could reduce it to scrap metal.
"Damn!" Ryoko cursed, trying to blast it. There was one thing Ryoko had to give the GP. They weren't stupid. The mecha's shields were able to take the brunt of the blast, and the force didn't move it at all. Ryoko had to admit that Kiyone was probably one of the smartest GP there was. She had been pursuing Ryoko for quite some time, and every time Ryoko managed to find someplace to hide, Kiyone had been on top of her. The space pirate gritted her teeth as the mecha fired four more blasts. It occurred to her that the GP might be tired of Ryoko running. After all, Kiyone was using lethal force. She swore to herself again as she teleported before any of the blasts could hit her.
The mecha looked around, trying to locate Ryoko. The only weakness was that the mecha couldn't detect her when she teleported or phased. She teleported a few meters away, and phased into the ground, planning to strike from below. 'I might kill Kiyone in the process, but hey, better her than me,' she thought. The only hitch in her plan was, as soon as she popped up from the ground, she realized that Kiyone had used the mecha's thrusters to jump and see if she could get a better vantage point. "Sheer luck!" she exclaimed. It took her a minute to realize that Kiyone had heard her, and was firing another volley.
"Holy crap!" Ryoko exclaimed, dodging the blasts. Since the mecha was in the air, it would be very difficult for Kiyone to change its position. Ryoko smiled. "Gotchya," she murmured.
***
Kiyone's eyes widened as she realized her fatal mistake. Ryoko was at full charge, her sword beside her, ready to strike. With quick reflexes, Kiyone reached for the emergency release that would eject her from the mecha. "Damn," she swore as she pulled it. With the force of four small thrusters, the ejection chair left the mecha as Ryoko halved it. Kiyone was busily working her restraints, trying to free herself from the ejection seat before Ryoko realized she hadn't managed to kill her. She tried to disengage the restraints, but she realized they were stuck. She prayed as she tried to tug the restraints loose. Ryoko was headed toward her now. Before Ryoko had a chance to disembowel Kiyone, the teal-haired detective managed to disengage the safety restraints and jump from the ejection seat. Ryoko's sword slashed through the air Kiyone had occupied only seconds ago.
The detective gracefully rolled when she hit the ground, drawing her heavy- stock GP pistol in the process. When she had come to a stop, she was in the perfect position to fire off a few well-aimed shots at Ryoko. The space pirate cursed as the laser blasts hit her torso. Kiyone didn't know what she was complaining about. The blaster only had enough power to give her a few minor burns unless Kiyone could manage to bombard her in the same place multiple times.
"Hey, no fair!" Ryoko exclaimed, firing off a few energy blasts of her own in Kiyone's direction.
"Give me some credit here!" she exclaimed as she rolled to avoid them. Unfortunately, Ryoko seemed to have taken into account Kiyone trying to dodge the energy blasts, and one hit her squarely in the shoulder. Kiyone winced at the sharp stab of pain that concentrated in her shoulder and shot up the rest of her arm. Instinctively, she dropped the pistol. Ryoko gave her a wicked grin before pulverizing the pistol before Kiyone could even think of grabbing for it.
"Not so hot, are we now!" the space pirate exclaimed, letting loose a barrage of energy blasts. Kiyone did her best to dodge them, but one hit her squarely in the leg, causing her to collapse on the injured limb. She let out a pained whimper as she hit the ground. She tried to stand on the injured limb as Ryoko floated closer to her.
***
Tenchi stared out his window. "What the hell is going on?" he wondered. Flashes of light have been dancing outside for the last five minutes at least! He decided to go outside and check it out.
Putting on his black leather jacket, and slipping on his sandals, Tenchi ran outside toward the lake, where it appeared combat was occurring. As he got closer, he saw a woman with spiky silver hair floating over a woman with teal hair, who was clutching her thigh, teeth gritted in pain. The silver-haired woman was laughing, holding her palm out. A blast issued from it. Tenchi thought the other woman was dead before he noticed she had jumped away from the explosion caused by the energy blast, landing squarely on her injured leg, and promptly collapsing, crying out in pain.
"I've gotta stop this!" he exclaimed, running now to where the teal-haired woman sat, practically passing out from the pain coursing through her leg. He stopped in his tracks. "But how? This woman . . . isn't normal."
Ryoko fired another energy blast, and Kiyone tried to dodge, but it hit her shoulder. She knelt for a moment before falling face-first to the ground. Ryoko snickered, activating her energy sword. She floated toward Kiyone. "It's been fun, Detective," she said, raising her sword. As she brought it down, she was surprised that she hadn't hit her target. Looking up in surprise, she saw that her sword had been blocked by a rather large blue blade. "What the Hell . . ." she said, looking up and seeing the person who bore the sword. "It's just some kid," she muttered.
Tenchi gritted his teeth, expecting to get sliced in half. 'At least I'll save her,' he thought. His eyes snapped open when he didn't feel himself get cut. His eyes widened in surprise as he saw that he had blocked the silver-haired woman's attack.
"How the Hell did you do that?" Ryoko exclaimed. Suddenly, her blade flickered and disappeared. She looked at her hand in utter disbelief. How could some Earth boy dissipate her blade? It just wasn't possible!
Tenchi straightened, holding his sword in front of him. His face was a study in determination.
Ryoko gritted her teeth and fired a few energy blasts at the boy. Shields came in place to protect him. "I don't get it," she sobbed.
Tenchi held his sword to his side and it disappeared. Ryoko collapsed on the ground in front of him. He turned to the woman behind him. At first, he thought she was dead, but then he saw that her chest was steadily rising and falling. "She's passed out," he observed, sighing in relief. The last thing he needed was a corpse in his front yard! He looked back at the woman who was now kneeling before him.
"What's your name?" he demanded. Ryoko looked at him.
"My name's Ryoko," she replied. Tenchi gestured to the teal-haired woman behind him.
"Who's she?" he asked.
Ryoko almost told him a lie, but she decided he might take pity on her if she told the truth. "That's Kiyone. She's a Detective First-class with the Galaxy Police," she said.
"Galaxy Police?" Tenchi repeated. Ryoko looked at him as if he were stupid.
"Yeah, they police the galaxy . . ." she explained.
Tenchi sweatdropped. "I knew that," he attempted. His face hardened again. "Why was she after you?" he asked. He could tell she was dangerous, but he doubted that was the reason.
"Look, if you want to take care of her, you better do it quick," Ryoko grated out. Tenchi sweatdropped again as he picked her up.
"Follow me to the house," he instructed. Ryoko did as she was told, following behind Tenchi as they headed for the house.
Tenchi slipped his sandals off as he went inside. "Dad?" he called. "Grandpa?"
Katsuhito came into the living room from the kitchen. "Yes, what is it, Tenchi?" he asked. Tenchi held up Kiyone in response. Katsuhito scratched his chin. "I see. Why don't you lie her down in one of the spare bedrooms, and I will see what I can do for her."
Tenchi had explained to the older man what had happened as he tended to Kiyone's burns. In several areas, it had seemed as though the flesh had melded with the fabric of her uniform, and Tenchi winced as Katsuhito gently removed it. He knew she probably couldn't feel it, but he could, and he wasn't even the one getting the treatment!
"Go, show Ryoko a place where she can stay," Katsuhito instructed. "I will continue tending to Kiyone." Tenchi nodded and showed Ryoko to the other spare room.
"You can stay here for now," he told her. He left her to make herself comfortable, and returned to the room where his grandfather was tending to Kiyone.
"These burns are quite serious," he said. He didn't say anything else as he applied burn cream and bandages to the wounds. "Go get some sleep, Tenchi," he said. Tenchi did as he was told as Katsuhito cut away half of Kiyone's pant leg to he could tend to the wound there, which was bleeding.
As Tenchi headed back to his room, he wondered what exactly it was that had just happened. He knew the details, but this was very weird. He had no idea why Kiyone had been chasing Ryoko, only that Ryoko had managed to seriously injure her. He wondered about the energy blasts Ryoko had fired, and the sword that appeared when he stepped in to help Kiyone. He shook his head. This was all too weird.
He settled down in bed and stared up at the ceiling for a few minutes before rolling to his side and closing his eyes. His breathing slowed, and he was soon asleep.
***
When Tenchi first woke up in the morning, he sighed in relief. 'It was all a dream,' he thought. He got dressed to go help his grandfather with the chores. It was a Sunday, so he didn't have any school. He went out into the hall, and passed the room Kiyone was still unconscious in. Then it dawned on him that it really had happened. Everything last night. It wasn't a dream. He sighed as he headed downstairs. He ate a quick breakfast of cereal and milk before heading outside. When he walked past the place where the fighting had occurred, he saw patches of charred grass, and patches of blood, obviously Kiyone's. He closed his eyes. He felt bad for the unfortunate detective, and wished he could have gotten there sooner. 'If I had, maybe she wouldn't have gotten hurt,' he thought.
He went up to his grandfather's shrine, and saw the older man waiting for him at the top of the steps.
"I will let you take a break from your chores, Tenchi. Much has happened last night," his grandfather said. Tenchi nodded and thanked his grandfather before heading back down to the house. He figured he would go sit with Kiyone for a little while, just to see if her condition had improved since last night.
When he got back to the house, he headed up to Kiyone's room, only to see Ryoko standing over her with a small dagger-like energy blade poised over Kiyone's throat.
"Come to finish the job?" he asked coldly. Ryoko's head snapped around and the energy blade flickered and disappeared.
Sweatdropping, the pirate said, "I was just concerned about her well- being." She laughed nervously, not counting on him believing her. She wasn't disappointed. His arm extended and pointed out into the hallway. Ryoko's ears drooped and she floated out of the room.
Tenchi shook his head as he knelt next to the futon Kiyone was resting on. "Can you believe her?" he asked the detective, wondering if she could hear him. 'They usually say that people can hear you when they're in a coma, right?' he wondered. 'That's what they always say on T.V.' He shrugged. Her face looked so peaceful. "She's pretty," he commented off-handedly to himself. "I wonder what Ryoko's going to do. I mean, she can leave whenever she wants, can't she?" he wondered.
He pulled back with a start when he realized that Kiyone's eyelids were fluttering. "She's coming to!" he exclaimed. Kiyone's eyes shot open, and she looked around the room. Her gaze finally fell on Tenchi.
"Ungh, who are you?" she questioned, raising her arm to shield her eyes from the sunlight filtering into the room from the window.
"My name's Tenchi," he replied.
"I'm alive!" she exclaimed in sudden realization. Tenchi chuckled. Kiyone looked slightly offended.
"Sorry," he said, raising his hands in front of him. She attempted to sit up, but a stab of pain through her arm forced her back down.
"Where am I?" she asked.
"You're in my house," he replied. "Ryoko did a number on you. I'm sorry I didn't get there sooner," he apologized.
"It's okay," she said, bewildered. He looked like nothing more than an Earth boy. "Did you save me?" she asked. Tenchi nodded. "How?"
"I'm not even really sure," he replied, scratching the back of his head. "Would you like something to eat?" he asked, realizing she must be hungry. She looked like a normal human, so he assumed that she would need to eat.
Kiyone's stomach growled before she could answer. She blushed and Tenchi chuckled as he left to get her some food. He saw Ryoko lounging on one of the rafters. "Did you want something to eat, Ryoko?" he asked.
"I don't need food," she replied. Tenchi shrugged and went to the kitchen. Ryoko was a mystery to him. How the hell did she have such power?
***
It had been nearly three days since Kiyone and Ryoko came. The space pirate seemed to have developed a crush on him, and the detective was up and about, after she showed him this amazing device called a 'dermal regenerator' that had the ability to heal small wounds. She had demonstrated on the burns Ryoko had given her.
With Ryoko staying, Kiyone said she would stay and keep an eye on her. Apparently, the detective didn't think Ryoko too trustworthy, although he was starting to like her.
He was surprised when he went up to do his chores, and Kiyone offered to help him.
"I feel like I should do something to re-pay you," the detective explained.
"You really don't have to," he told her, as he showed her how to purify the shrine. Ryoko came up soon after and lounged about as he and Kiyone did the chores. He didn't really mind so much, the chores at the shrine weren't too difficult, and having Kiyone there cut his chores in half, at least!
***
That evening, he and the girls were gathered out in front of the house. He and Kiyone had been raking the leaves, and now they were burning them. Over the fire, the three of them were roasting sweet potatoes.
"Here," he said, offering one to Kiyone. "Be careful, it's hot," he warned as Kiyone took the offered potato. He was enjoying the company of the girls, especially because Kiyone had taken to cooking meals after the first home-cooked meal she had courtesy of Nobuyuki. She was a pretty good cook. Ryoko didn't do much around the house, but she was fun to have around, nonetheless.
Ryoko turned her gaze to Kiyone as she ate her sweet potato. "Don't you have to be getting back to the Galaxy Police?" she asked. A faint blush spread across the detective's cheeks. Tenchi thought it was kind of cute.
"Well, they don't know I'm here . . ." she said, rubbing the back of her head. Tenchi laughed. "But I ought to make my report soon," she said, dropping her hand into her lap. "I have to admit, this has been a nice break."
"You must work very hard," Tenchi said as he took a bite of his sweet potato.
"I try," she replied. "But chasing Ryoko has been my job for quite some time now," she explained. "And it's not easy." She glared at the space pirate. "No matter how hard I try, I just can't seem to arrest her."
Ryoko pulled down the skin below her eye and stuck her tongue out at Kiyone, but the detective didn't seem to notice. She was now staring at her potato, lost in thought. Tenchi decided not to bother her. They ate in silence, until Tenchi spoke again.
"Well, you're welcome to stay as long as you like. Both of you," he said, looking from Ryoko to Kiyone.
---
As you can probably guess, this wasn't the end of my adventure, but you'll just have to stick around and see what's coming next! Thank you for reading this!
Next Episode - Tenchi: Kiyone and Ryoko have been with us for about a week now. It's been pretty peaceful, but things are about to change! Ryoko's been acting strangely lately, and suddenly, the greatest scientific genius in the universe appears! Find out what happens in episode two of Tenchi Mugen! Genius Washu Appears!
Author's Notes- Hi, Minna-sama! Thanks for reading the first episode of Tenchi Mugen! I know it's kind of short, but don't worry, I'll try to make the next episode longer! If you liked my story, please review! Lemme know what you liked or disliked about it. If you feel the urge, you can e-mail me at ashikawayuki@yahoo.com all flames will be used to decorate my inbox.