::he stretches out a little then sets down a pair of pencils::
The Knight: My personal name for that time of the year is "High School Hell, Part 1." But it's over now. And with the year's end, chapter 6 begins....
***
Jikoken'o Muyo!
Chapter 6
***
The rain continued falling. This was a fact that was much appreciated by Kyrin, who stood with the rain falling on him, cooling his body and some of his temper. There's no way to make this work, he thought to himself. She's a pirate in love with a prince. We come from the same basic stuff , but she's set her sights higher then I could ever reach. She's right. I don't have a chance.
He growled low in his throat and picked up the pace of his kata, the bokken in his hand moving quickly through the air in a fierce martial dance. He then faked being disarmed and continued his kata barehanded. Ryoko was watching him, watching his movements and the controlled strength behind them. She was in her "stealth mode," the state of being in which she was between fazing in and out of existence. Nobody could sense her like this, except for Washyuu, and it had been a key part of her successes with heists. She was facing a very vexing dilemma: how do you apologize when you don't feel sorry? I guess the first part, she thought to herself, is actually going down to talk to him.
Kyrin heard the sound of something hitting the ground behind him. He turned around to look and there stood Ryoko, a slightly sullen look on her face. A small part of his mind appreciated the fact that Ryoko didn't seem to mind wet clothing, but he decided that he was better off not listening to this part of his mind. Instead, he looked at her quietly and said in a somewhat curt tone of voice, "What can I do for you?"
"Well, uh, I was thinking... I seemed a little rude back at the house and... well...." Ryoko, you've pulled off much more difficult deeds than this. Just come out and say it already, damn it! "I'm sorry."
He looked at her for what felt like a moment, then replied, "Are you?"
"I said I was, didn't I?"
"You said you were? You mean to imply that you aren't sorry anymore?"
"Hey, at least I try to apologize! It's not like you care about the trouble you've caused us all here!"
"Did you apologize for any of the chaos you caused here?"
"No, but I didn't cause any to apologize for!" It might be best not to tell him about the whole incident resulting in the destruction of Okayama Kookoo, she thought to herself, unintentionally broadcasting it through the link.
My, my. It looks like my daughter is beginning to master the art of subtlety. I never thought I'd see the day... Washyuu's 'voice' held a tone of bemusement.
Get out of my head! Ryoko exclaimed, closing the link almost brutally.
Fortunately, she hadn't missed any comments. Kyrin had been giving her response some thought. Finally, he replied: "If you're telling the truth, then you're right. If you're lying, I'll know soon enough. But I'll tell you what. I'll accept your apology if you accept mine."
"What're you apologizing for?"
"For all this trouble I've caused you all."
"Deal."
"Done." He gave a brief smile, then went back to practicing. Ryoko continued to watch him, noticing the grace and smoothness of movement that one gained only through years upon years of practice... or fighting. She reached towards him with what many deemed to be the sixth sense, trying to read how much power he was using. What she found surprised her - he was using so little power that her sense almost couldn't recognize him as an animate organism, or even an organism at all. She knew that he was very powerful because she knew she was very powerful; she had been made to kill him after all. But she almost couldn't believe it.
Kyrin, though practicing his kata, was utilizing his sense as well. Ryoko saw no reason to hide her power. She wore it on her sleeve, both figuratively and literally, seeing as the source of her powers were the gems. However, even though she wore 3 gems, he recognized that two of them were artificial. They were, simply put, boosters for the one true gem she wore. But, even with these boosts, he sensed that she wasn't anywhere near the full power she was capable of using. Right now, if he was judging correctly, they were roughly equal in power, discounting other qualities such as skill and cunning.
Finally, he couldn't resist any longer. "Ryoko?" he asked.
"Hm? What do you want?" she asked, a somewhat wary tone to her voice.
"I was wondering if perhaps you would honor me with a duel."
"A duel?"
"Yes. I want to see how you and I measure up to each other."
"But it's already obvious, isn't it? You beat me the last time we fought."
"That was Tal... no, Kain fighting, not me. You shouldn't consider Kain and I to be the one and the same."
She stared at him for a long moment, then materialized an orange chi blade in her hand. "I'm not going easy on you, just because of your status in this house."
Kyrin walked over to his bokken, picking it up. "To be quite honest on the matter," he replied, "I wouldn't have it any other way."
They were silent for a time, the rain pouring still. Suddenly, they leapt at each other, meeting in mid air. Blades locked. Battle was joined.
***
In an uncharted portion of the galaxy, there was a red star. It was a pulsing, flaming, almost evil looking monster of a gas sphere. In its death throes it had begun to burn itself for fuel, having run out of hydrogen only a couple million years ago. Because of its lack of power, the only planet capable of life had a narrow temperate band at the equator and cold ice in the north and extreme south areas of the planet. The people of this planet were unknown to the rest of the universe, but they didn't care. They were a primitive race, unheeding and uncaring of the tribulations in the space around them. They were almost human in appearance, yet it was impossible to call them so. Humans don't have green skin, or red eyes, or purple hair, as this race did. The human race knew hatred and war, but this race didn't have any words for such concepts. They were sun worshippers, believing that the sun was the eye of some god who was responsible for all the blessings given to them. They always looked directly at the sun, believing whole-heartedly that some god was listening. And yet, though there was a God who heard their praises, He didn't live in that star, nor used it for His eye. If it were His, it would have been weeping, knowing that the time of all this beauty and peace was preparing to end.
The people had raised their eyes and their souls to their God, giving silent praise and adoration, but sharp though their sight was they didn't see the threat that loomed in front of the star. They didn't see the crystalline shapes of the ships in front of the star, each crystal looking like two smooth, mechanical pyramids sharing a base, all of them surrounded by orbiting graviton spheres which provided both motion and stability. On the relative top of the flagship, towards the rear, a huge rectangular hole had opened, through which drifted men and materials going in, going out. To the upper-left, two long cylindrical corridors had been cut into the side from which, periodically, two more of the black spheres would shoot out and two would come back from the current ring and enter the bay next to the launchers. On the top forward side, relatively speaking, a single 3-foot transparent barrier of lucenite allowed a superb view of all things in front of the ship. Each side carried undeployed turrets and shield generators. Each side also carried a sensor array, all feeding data into a single core computer, allowing coordination of all the ship parts in a time of crisis. At the 'base' corners were graviton nodes - focal points for energy derived from the graviton spheres. At the fore and aft tips were multi-purpose ports, the aft used for docking, the fore used for mounting a super powerful energy ram.
On the bridge of this ship, which was Juraian style by default, Indoran sat in a throne built into a metal column. Around him, in a lowered pit surrounding the throne, technicians sat working, visors over their eyes, their fingers moving erratically, typing symbols and digits that only they could see. The hood of his black robe was thrown back, revealing his gaunt, pale features. His stringy black hair hung in front of his golden eyes, from which no one could discern anything. They stared out into the cold void of space, without focus, until the sensor officer interrupted his thoughts.
"Milord," said the officer, his tone cold and formal, "we've picked up a large fleet of ships dropping out of warp space, approximately 273 degrees relative to our position. They are currently on an approach vector."
Indoran's eyes snapped into focus as his communications officer reported, "We're being hailed by the fleet. Shall we respond?"
"Yes," replied Indoran in that calm, emotionless voice of his. A holographic screen projected in front of the main view port. Indoran looked up to see Cenus, a fellow warrior under the command of Tokimi, dressed in the same red robes as before, with his hood down. He was a tall, forbidding mountain of a man. His muscles bulged under his robes, his head shaved so as to defeat any who would try to grab his hair. His eyes, two orbs of fiery orange, seemed to have a difficult time focusing, constantly roaming everywhere.
"Indoran!" His voice boomed through the link and his voice betrayed a barely contained hatred. The only thing that could hold such hatred could only be a stronger fear of whatever it was that he hated.
"Cenus," Indoran acknowledged quietly. "I am glad to see you are well. What has kept you so long?"
"What's kept me? Assembling all my fleets takes a damn long amount of time, y'know! Gotta make sure the goddess is pleased." He smiled, and Indoran just barely frowned. The only time Cenus ever smiled was when he was in the mood to destroy something.
Cenus's fleet was a very simple seeming affair. Thanks to his negligence in repairs, no two ships looked the same, but the basic theme was a simple blade design. The flagship was themed after a sword blade, straight and wide. All of them were smooth, all of them shining with the reflected light of the stars. Indoran knew that in a fight, the laser cannons would extend out of concealed ports, while missiles and fighters would stream out of other ports. He also knew that the ships had their own super weapons - a focused beam shot from the bow of the ship, from the very tip of the blade. Uncreative, but effective and able to defeat many foes, and it was this latter quality that mattered the most to Cenus.
"What of Zisho?" asked Cenus.
"She has yet to arrive, and I find that it is unwise to press her on such matters."
The link was severed and for the next hour they both waited. The star beneath them burned and glowed, dying as it would be for the next million years of its life. The two fleets were simply floating there, not suspecting an attack of any kind. That was when it happened.
Cenus re-established the communications link and gnashed his teeth. "I don't get it!" he snarled. "Where's that bitch, Zisho?"
Before Indoran could answer, the screen went blank. "Milord!" came the sensor officer's voice. "We're reading a complete electronic failure in Cenus's fleet!"
Indoran watched, cold and impassive, as the lights on the ships went out. Without their drive systems to propel them, they began to drift towards each other and the sun, all attracted by each other's gravity. Suddenly, the lights on the ships came back on. As each ship scrambled to avoid the other, a swarm of smaller ships appeared among them.
Suddenly, a communications link was formed and Zisho's face filled the screen. She had short, chestnut brown hair cut close-cropped, and cold blue eyes. Along with her perfect complexion, she could have been considered beautiful, except for a long jagged scar running from underneath her left eye to her chin. She smiled mirthlessly at Indoran through the link and said, in her cold clipped voice, "That should teach him to complain about me. I didn't hear you say anything, so I'll spare you."
Indoran couldn't remember what he said. Something along the lines of, "Well met, glad to see you, Cenus is an idiot, etc." His mind was racing again, trying to call up the schematics on Zisho's fleet. If he recalled correctly, Zisho's fleet was comprised of tiny star ships, roughly comparable in dimension to the GP patrol ships. They were shaped simply like darts, with a cluster of engines in the back and coming to a point in the front. Zisho's war style, as he recalled, was a very cloak and dagger approach. All her ships were equipped with a light refraction system – a series of computer-controlled mirrors used to deflect away light in such a way as to suggest that nothing was present. Various other stealth devices aboard assured that the fleet was empty space to their opponents. The ships would go into a large cluster of opposing vessels and then release an electromagnetic pulse wave, specifically targeted at life support systems. Their super weapon: the tip of the ship was packed densely with explosives. So it was a suicide attack – ram into the opponent and hope to take him down with you. It was subtle and deadly, and left no evidence. It fit Zisho perfectly.
Indoran came out of his thoughts to the sight and the sound of a fierce argument between Cenus and Zisho. Before he could get himself involved though, a voice full of power spoke in his mind. Silence. He stiffened, and he could see on the holographic screens that the others had heard it as well. Even the technicians had heard and sat at perfect attention. He stood and clasped his hands inside the folds of his robe as Tokimi appeared out of the darkness.
She was impossibly huge, to their perception, making the star look like a basketball in comparison. You have all done well, she said. Indoran noticed that Cenus visibly relaxed at that. Now the time is come to wage war against the goddesses.
I implore you, Indoran 'said,' show us the way to your foes, that we may smite them in your name.
They lie dormant upon the planet known as Earth.
Then to Earth, and to glory! Cenus shouted.
Hold! Cenus flinched and stared almost fearfully at Tokimi. Do not go to Earth. Instead, set course for Jurai. Attack them, and show no mercy to any of them, be they man, woman, or child. Tsunami will have to return there as it is her chief stronghold on this Plane, and Washyuu shall be with her, asleep as she is. We will crush the goddesses and you will all take over the remains to rule in my name.
To hear is to obey. Indoran bowed low.
Woe to those who would oppose us! Cenus pumped his fist into the air; his soldiers followed suit, cheering.
We shall show them eternal night in your name. Zisho knelt in reverence.
When Tokimi disappeared, Indoran took charge. "My fleet will move at the head of our force. With our rams we can go through anything, even planets if necessary. Cenus, take point guard positions with your fleet. Zisho, you are our eyes and our ears out there, so your fleet is on scouting duty. You will operate separately of our forces until battle is joined."
They both nodded in acknowledgement and the screens disappeared. Zisho's fleet disappeared, while Cenus's fleet began to take up guard positions. "Milord," said the navigation officer, "there's an under-developed planet in this system. It's directly in our path to Jurai. Population is approximately ten million."
"I don't care if they number in the tens of millions or tens of billions," replied Indoran. "They're in our way. Blow straight through them."
A few minutes later, on the planet, some of the people looked up to the sun. Something was coming from it, something dark and growing. The priests were excited, telling them that God was finally coming and that all should look to it to behold His face. They all looked. It was the last thing they ever saw.
***
Kyrin had to admit it: those Academy scientists had done a fine job of making her. She was not perfect, but she was holding her own against him. He sidestepped an overhead strike and stabbed back at her. She teleported, leaving Kyrin clueless until a rain of bolts came from directly above him. He leaped out, just as Ryoko smashed into the ground he had previously occupied.
Yep, he thought to himself, she isn't perfect. Ryoko was relying too much on the powers given to her by the gems. Kyrin hadn't even had to use any of his own powers against her yet, and already she was flying and teleporting and shooting and being very wasteful of her power thus far. Although fast, she didn't really have much actual skill. Kyrin supposed it was due to a lack of training, but then why hadn't Washyuu resumed the training? He absently noted another barrage of chi bolts and parried away those that had a chance of hitting him. Ryoko charged at him and he blocked, locking blades and being carried by Ryoko's momentum. They zoomed in front of the Masaki shrine before stopping, Kyrin's feet set stubbornly into the stone and Ryoko pushing at him with all her might.
"Do you mind if I fight back now?" Kyrin asked softly. Ryoko only growled in response. Suddenly, he wasn't there anymore. Ryoko, caught off balance, tried to slow herself, but in vain, for suddenly she had been kicked straight up quite a distance. She stopped herself and stared down at Kyrin, her rising anger readily apparent on her face. Giving a wordless scream of rage, she charged back at him. Again, he sidestepped, but Ryoko slowed at the last instant and bounced off the ground towards him. Kyrin just stood there, his eyes level and emotionless. His left arm was outstretched towards her, as if that alone would be enough to stop her. She was almost there when suddenly, with no apparent reason, she came to an abrupt stop. It was as if her body had hit a brick wall and had stayed there.
"That," said Kyrin, "isn't even a twentieth of my power." Then he grinned slightly. "Care to experience a twentieth?" Before she knew it, Ryoko found herself being propelled at high speed opposite the direction she'd been charging from. For all her strength, and for all her effort, she couldn't muster any momentum to fly back. This burst of kinetic energy continued against her, eventually hurling her into a tree, making her chi blade dissipate.
Now Kyrin started the attack. Before Ryoko could recover her senses, he was charging towards her in a very erratic pattern. He was practically a shadow, never sticking to one attack path, but moving too fast for her to track which one he'd choose. She reformed her sword and just barely blocked Kyrin, who had chosen to attack her on the direct front.
He smiled slightly and said, "Not bad, Ryoko. You never just sit in any one place, just a constant stream of reactions." He began to strike at her, wooden blade meeting chi. "However, you don't guide them at all. You simply strike and hope to hit, and that won't do at all."
"But guiding requires thought, and since when does a fighter have time for that in a conflict?" inquired Ryoko.
"Since when do we have time to talk while fighting?" replied Kyrin. They continued fighting, Kyrin calm and Ryoko mildly berserk. Ryoko was hard pressed just to try to keep Kyrin's sword away; Kyrin had no difficulty fighting her at all. Eventually, Ryoko tired out and Kyrin caught her sword arm in his left hand, his sword at her throat.
"Give?" he asked quietly. Ryoko responded by reforming her chi blade into a sphere, then tossing it at him with her mind. He sank into a low stance, on his right leg, then rose and punched her hard. So hard in fact that Ryoko was pushed through the tree and went flying for a couple hundred yards before skimming to the ground, bouncing off, then hitting again and again until she smacked into another, thicker tree. Slowly, painfully, she stood back up, biting back a scream for the pain she felt.
Kyrin, meanwhile, appeared in front of her soon enough. He took one look at her and stuck the bokken through his belt. "C'mon," he said, "we better get you to Washyuu's lab, have her fix you up." This was the last thing Ryoko wanted, but Kyrin's grip on her hand brooked no argument. So, grimacing at every step, Ryoko and Kyrin walked to the Masaki house.
***
Once inside the lab, Washyuu had needed no explanations. "I watched the whole thing," she explained. A few minutes later, Kyrin started to breathe easier, knowing that Ryoko was regenerating in one of the healing pods.
"Kyrin," said Washyuu, "I need to know why you saw fit to fight my daughter."
He shrugged. "I wanted to see if it was through ability that she earned her reputation."
"No, that's not it," replied Washyuu flatly. "You already know that, as things stand right now, you're the superior fighter."
"All right, the real reason is this." Kyrin tried to figure out how to explain it, and then decided to make up the wording of his explanation as he went along. "I need to know if she's ready to kill me." Washyuu looked at him, not saying a word. He continued, "Look, Kain has been part of me for about the past 2000 years. He is all soul, and his continued presence in me has entwined his soul with mine. I used to have to strain to even catch a glimpse of his thoughts; now they are my own."
"What does this have to do with Ryoko?"
"Why do you ask questions you already know the answer to? Ryoko was made to kill me, remember? You know as well as I do that those gems contain unimaginable power. There's enough in them things to destroy a person right down to his soul. But to get to the soul, she's gotta get through my physical self, and when the time comes Kain will take control of it and use my ability to try to stop her. She has to be able to defeat me, for the greater good of civilization as a whole."
"You're willing to lose your soul for the sake of the galaxy." Washyuu watched Kyrin nod. "And I suppose that means your feelings for her take second seat."
"Feh. It doesn't matter. She doesn't care about me except as a battle partner. I am forsaken by my family, my people, all people, even by my God." He sighed, and suddenly seemed to be older. "There isn't a single person left in this life who would stop me if I slashed my throat. You think that makes me feel good about things? And yet, though I am hated, I am willing to give everything to rid them of demon that was my brother." It was strange. He was talking to Washyuu, but it felt like he was pouring things out to Ryoko instead. Normally he wouldn't do this, but since she couldn't hear him anyway, he decided to Hell with it. "Nobody will be hurt if I die, because there is no one left who will mourn my passing. But someone has to be able to kill me, and I much rather it be Ryoko then any of the others."
OK Ryoko, listen carefully, thought Washyuu, as she said, "Why Ryoko?"
"Because I care about her a lot. I wish with all my heart that she would feel the same for me, but Tenchi's got the claim. I want her to be happy, Washyuu. I really do. But she'd never be happy with one like me. So I'm willing to give her up." He shrugged, and continued, "That doesn't really leave anyone for me to live for. I can't kill myself because Kain has enough love for himself that he'll override the drugs you've got me on and stop me. That means someone has to kill me, and I'd rather have it be Ryoko than anyone else." He sighed again, his shoulders slumped, and then he turned around and walked away.
When he was gone, Ryoko opened her eyes. So that's how he feels she thought.
You never know anguish until you talk to someone who would cast his life away. Washyuu replied.
Washyuu I don't want to kill him.
And I don't want to see him die either. Now that we've confronted the factor that changed him, we know that he's not the one who deserves death. The problem here is that Kain and Kyrin are bound to each other.
Isn't there a way to separate them?
It's possible, but it depends on how closely they're linked to each other. If they're as close as I think they are, the only way out is for Kain to voluntarily leave and since he's been shattered the chances of that happening aren't good.
Can't you make him leave? Ryoko asked, the message carrying a slight sense of worry. You're the genius with all this stuff here, aren't you? Do something!
Oh, I will, but I need to figure it out. You just go ahead and go to sleep. I'll figure something out. Washyuu smiled and pressed a button on the pod controls, releasing a very powerful sedative into the fluids. Ryoko was asleep in moments. Walking over to the prison section, she checked the data. Having collected all the data she could while they were in cells, she had decided to let them out into a force dome, allowing an opportunity for social interaction. It was not typical vagabond behavior; in fact any one of them could have fit into decent society. Most of them didn't smoke or drink, and swearing was at a minimum. They were all doing something – either playing cards, sparring, talking, or meditating. Even the leader seemed to be involved with his group, currently giving a sparring group a lesson on knife tactics. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but that was all right, because the computer recorded everything ever said. She'd just look over it later.
" So, when you fight with a knife, the chief advantage you can have is surprise. The assassin's craft calls for a swift surprising strike to a vital blood point on the body, one that will kill with utter immediacy. There are several points which you can use." Washyuu watched as Genjo pointed out several major kill spots where blood flowed fast and wounds healed slowly. She had to give him credit – this boy knew his stuff. She looked to one of her computers to see how the data collection process was handling when a sudden shout grabbed her attention. Genjo had a knife to his right wrist, and blood was flowing freely from a slash wound. Genjo himself looked mildly surprised, the knife frozen in its position.
The baka must've cut his wrist trying to illustrate a point. Washyuu sighed and stepped through the force shield. Stepping through the gathering crowd of assassins she reached Genjo and asked, "What specifically happened here?"
"My hand slipped while we were practicing," replied Genjo, figuring that the knife in his hand explained the rest of the situation pretty well.
It did. "This way, and don't try anything." Leading him by the arm they stepped out, Washyuu charging a chi bolt just in case. They walked back to the medical wing where Ryoko was still sleeping through the healing process. Washyuu had Genjo sit down in a chair that extended straps over his body to keep him still. She then tapped a few buttons on her holo-top and a cylinder materialized, stretching from the tip of his hand to the elbow. She attached a piece of tubing which materialized from a subspace hole, connecting the cylinder with a storage unit containing the fluid nutrients used in healing pods. The fluid slowly filled the cylinder, numbing his arm.
Washyuu sat down on a blue cushion that appeared out of nowhere and monitored data as the nanoprobes in the fluid transmitted back Genjo's vital signs. Then she checked his DNA.
"Why do you need to do that?" he asked.
"An assassin's blade is often coated with poison that affects the target on this level. It's not readily apparent, and there's no telling with these kinds of blades."
Genjo closed his eyes and rested his head against the back of the chair, smiling. "Your reputation for wisdom is well deserved." They were quiet for some time yet, Genjo resting, Washyuu watching the DNA.
Something about his genetic composition struck her as odd almost familiar. Washyuu decided to cross-reference his genetic data with others on file. In a few seconds, she had matches. He had a 38% match with herself, and a 52% match with – Washyuu gasped. It can't be it just can't be! "Genjo," she said, her voice possessing an oddly hopeful tone, "I need to know something. What's the name of your father?"
"Is this another thing for data?" he asked.
"No, it's just for the sheer Hell of it. Now tell me! Please!"
She seems awfully desperate, he thought. He couldn't turn to see her, but her voice betrayed it easily enough. "His name is Tashian Shino, formerly of House Tashian on Kizak."
Washyuu's heart stopped. "Shino."
"What about him?"
"Shino was the name of my son. His full name was Tashian Shino. He was the son of Tashian Kuro and" she swallowed, "myself."
That got Genjo's attention. "Hold on, now. You mean to tell me that you're my grandmother?"
"It looks that way. These tests don't lie."
"But that's impossible!"
"Nothing's impossible."
Genjo frowned. "I don't buy it."
Washyuu started. After all this time of searching for her scattered family, she'd finally found a piece, only to be met with a skeptic? Oh, you'll buy it, kid. "Why is that?"
"You're known for genius and some level of compassion, but you're also known for being incredibly ruthless. Besides, how do I know that you didn't just fake those test results?"
"You think I'm a liar?" Washyuu tapped a few keys, disabling all the safeguards, then stood aside. "Go right ahead. Your arm's healed. Check my computer yourself."
Walking over to the computer, Genjo applied his own considerable skill with computers. He fought the urge to swear. He couldn't find a single scrap of evidence to say that Washyuu had tampered with the test results. He finally stood aside, breathing deeply.
"You see the truth now," said Washyuu.
"Yes, maybe. But," he turned to face her, "I'm still under orders. They say kill you, and I intend to follow through."
"Would Shino still order it if he knew it was me?"
That stopped Genjo for a second. "Actually, one of his conditions before signing on was to never be ordered to kill family. Probably because he feared some kind of insurrection from me."
"So then would he want you to kill me?"
"No, if you're telling the truth. But I don't trust you all the way, yet."
"Then why not take us to the base you've established?"
"What--? But, how'd you know about our base on the moon? It was totally hidden!"
"I didn't know until you told me," she replied. Genjo stared at her as she continued, "Besides, you aren't equipped to stay away from at least an outpost for very long."
Genjo shook his head, and a quiet smile worked across his face. "Heh. I can see why they call you the greatest genius ever."
"Of course, Genjo!" she crowed, a smile on her face. Then she materialized a simple red cushion and sat down. "Now, what's Shino like?"
***
A few hours passed. Ryoko had healed completely, and decided to seek out Kyrin. It was a mutual agreement between herself and Washyuu – keep Kyrin kicking. She checked his room, the living room, the kitchen, but he wasn't in any of them. She did find him, though: out on the porch.
"Glad to see you're back to full health," he said, not unkindly. He was actually in a different set of clothes; a tan short-sleeve shirt with black jeans, his feet bare. He was just sitting there, legs out, leaning against the house, simply staring out at the rain.
Ryoko sat down cross-legged next to him. "Thanks. Listen, uh, I've been meaning to ask you something" Kyrin turned to look at her, his calm blue-green eyes staring into her golden ones. "I've got a lot of gaps in my memory," she continued. "I was wondering if you could tell me about my past."
"Why not Washyuu?"
"She's busy talking to Genjo, and I don't trust her."
"Huh, I - ack! What's Genjo doing with her?"
"Washyuu thinks he's her long lost grandson back from the dead, or some deal like that. Anyway, I don't want to bother her."
"I guess I'll have to trust that she knows what she's doing, but it doesn't feel right to have an assassin running around free."
"Now you know how we feel about having you around."
"Heh. You got a point there."
"Anyway, c'mon, tell me what you know!"
"OK. Let's see, my memories of you only go back to when I first met you." And as he spoke, she remembered.
Ryoko and Washyuu sat in one of the many plazas of the Galactic Academy, a white-tiled free-floating circle. A huge fountain, a source of water and strangely beautiful music, dominated the center of the plaza. Trees ringed the plaza and small plots of vegetation showed the plants unique to any one world. Pathways led off the plaza to others, allowing a fair amount of student/professor/mad genius traffic.
Ryoko, wearing a lavender blouse and turquoise pants, with a black belt cinched around her waist and the galactic equivalent of dark blue sneakers, was sitting at a bench, talking with Washyuu, in the Academy teacher's uniform. As they spoke, a group of conceited sword-students passed by.
"Oi, Ryoko!" called one, named Gerard. "Still afraid to fight?"
"The only thing I fear in such a fight," she replied, "is killing you!" Gerard laughed and let it go. He knew what her purpose was, and was gladdened that she was improving so well under Washyuu's tutelage. However, his joyful spirits faded when he saw someone approaching on the path he had planned to take.
He was dressed in tan, worn, loosely fitting clothing, His garments blew around his lean frame, but in spite of the appearance, this man-child emitted this strange feeling of power. He didn't look dangerous or threatening. His dark skin spoke of life in the desert, and his blue hair, unbound, blew in the wind. His eyes were what really bothered most people; the eyes of a predator, the pupil a slit instead of a circle. He looked at the students who blocked his path, showing neither wariness nor amusement. "Can I help you gentlemen?" he asked, his voice surprising neutral.
"Yeah, you can help," said Gerard. "You can turn your thieving, murdering ass around and leave."
"That's quite impossible, unfortunately," replied the visitor. "I have an appointment, and I cannot afford to miss it."
"Well, you're going to have to, because I'm not letting you across."
"Let me ask you something, sir: do you consider yourself skilled?"
"Yeah, I do," said Gerard.
"Then let us have a contest of skill, sir. We duel, one move only. Whomever accomplishes the most against the opponent in that one move shall have his way here."
"You're on! Where's your weapon?" The visitor bent down and picked up a long reed from the ground that hadn't been cleaned by the janitors yet. Gerard stared, waiting for him to unsheathe a weapon, but when he realized that the reed was the weapon, he burst out laughing. "Ho ho ho! Beating you shall be easy!"
One of Gerard's cohorts acted as referee. Gerard himself stood with his wooden practice sword drawn, standing in an aggressive forward stance, while the visitor simply stood with the reed in his hand.
"GO!" With that shout, Gerard launched himself at the visitor, stabbing straight at him. In an almost bored fashion, the visitor sidestepped the strike and brought his reed in a counterstroke. SNAP! The reed was whole, but the sword had been split.
As Gerard stared, the visitor said, "I did that with a reed. A sword is worthless if the wielder does not understand the weapon." With that, he stepped past the stunned group and met a standing Washyuu.
"Greetings, Washyuu" he said in his clan's tongue, a language that sounded similar to some variance of Egyptian.
"No need for the formalities, Kyrin!" Washyuu had replied, giving him a friendly hug.
He smiled slightly. "I'm glad to see you haven't changed. How have you been?"
"Busy, as always. I'd like you to meet someone."
Ryoko stood up and said, in the visitor's own language, "How do you do? I'm Hakubi Ryoko. Glad to make your acquaintance."
"You worry about me being formal?" the visitor asked, his tone amused.
"Listen," said Washyuu, "I haven't had time to teach Ryoko how to fight. She's good at what she already knows, but there's still a lot she needs to learn, and I have too many commitments of my own to continue teaching her at this time. SO, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind teaching her?"
"I've never had a student of my own before," replied Kyrin. He looked at Ryoko appraisingly. "I will teach you."
"Teacher, if I may ask," said Ryoko, "what is your name?"
"Teacher is WAY to formal for me," said the visitor, his eyes showing amusement. "Just call me Kyrin."
"That was the first time we met," he concluded.
"Wow, you were good even then?"
"I guess so. But you're still the superior."
"No I'm not.
"Yes you are. It just hasn't been unleashed yet, the potential energy."
Sasami stuck her head out the door. "Hey you two! Washyuu's called a meeting!" She had an umbrella in her hands and ran off with it towards the onsen.
Shrugging and standing up, Kyrin walked in while Ryoko phased onto her favorite rafter.
Washyuu stood next to Genjo, who was dressed in a pure black bodysuit, face unhidden. "Listen up, everyone," she said after the aforementioned people had settled down. "I have just learned that Genjo is my grandson." Well. At least she was frank about it. There were brief exclamations of disbelief and shock, but they subsided quickly when Washyuu continued, "I know it seems weird, but I think we may have a solution for our problem."
"What's the problem?" asked Kiyone.
"Isn't it obvious?" Washyuu replied. "As long as Kyrin's here, we'll be in danger of future attacks. We can hold them off, but what if they advance the conflict to the rest of the world? We can't win in such a situation. So instead, we'll take the fight to them."
"Do you have any idea who sent these guys?" asked Kyrin somewhat incredulously.
"Of course I do, the Jenshin," replied Washyuu.
"Precisely! You're taking on a galactic crime syndicate powerful enough to give Jurai pause!" Everyone stared at Mihoshi, having made an intelligent statement. Washyuu smiled knowingly.
"But we simply have to fight like they do, then," she replied. "All together, we've got the strength of a Juraian Legion. All we have to do is leap out of darkness, inflict a lot of damage, and disappear again."
"You discussed tactics with Genjo, I assume?" asked Katsuhito.
Genjo turned to look at him. "You might have the strength of many, and you have the backing of my force as well, but you can only do so much. The only way we can really win is if we get to the heart of the matter, Arkhan. He's the only one who knows everything to know about the Jenshin, so if we control him, we essentially control the Jenshin."
"But what can only a small force of 59 do against an army 100 times greater?" asked Aeka, her voice slightly dismal.
"My father is a general in the Jenshin," replied Genjo. "He and I trust each other. If I can convince him that our cause is superior, we will gain him and the entire Sol division."
Tenchi looked at Genjo long and hard. "Why should we trust you?"
"Because," Genjo looked at Washyuu, "in the end, family's all you can trust."
Except in my case, thought Kyrin, but the sound of a slamming door and a cry of, "I'm Home!" cut off train of thought.
"Oh no!" Tenchi moaned. Nobuyuki had been gone on a business trip and just returned – he had no clue at all about what had happened!
"You want me to handle this, Tenchi?" asked his grandfather. Tenchi nodded gratefully, and Nobuyuki came in to see the 'family' sitting around with 2 new people and his father-in-law approaching him.
"Should I even ask?" Nobuyuki sounded almost resigned.
"Look," said Katsuhito. "An urgent matter has come up. We have learned of a way to save our planet from the threat of a huge crime group. We're going to leave for a while. You can stay, or come with us."
"You mean there are going to be more visitors around here?"
"That's right."
"Is there a chance they'll be cute girls?"
"Yes, but they'll kill you on sight."
"Damn. I guess that means I'm coming with you."
"Any more objections?" Seeing none, Washyuu grinned. "All right then, Aeka. I'll show you what a force of 60 can do! Let's go!"
Had NASA been paying closer attention, they would have seen three UFOs racing across the sky.
***
Knight: I don't believe it. I got this chapter out before the end of January. Huh. Imagine that.
::the author appears a bit worn and tired::
Knight: The return to school has not been kind. In welcome, they gave us more homework in one day than I normally get in a week. The workload's picking up at the most alarming rate I've ever seen.
::he sighs::
Knight: Quite frankly, I have begun to find myself having to choose between school and sanity. Unfortunately, in my own limited view, I feel that school is beginning to win out. But don't worry, my few fans. I intend to continue my work, with a new chapter at least once a month. Unfortunately, that's the best I can offer. Sorry!
Tenchi Muyo! and all related paraphernalia are copyrighted to AIC and Pioneer.
The only things that I claim are those that I perceive as original, and are thus made mine.
Knight: Special thanks to Mercury Gryphon for scientific insights. Chances are, I'll keep coming back to you, so beware.