((Remember to R&R. I shouldn't have to remind you to by now, but I will anyway: IF YOU DON'T R&R, I WILL PULL ALL YOUR FINGERS AND TOENAILS OFF ONE BY ONE, AS SLOWLY AS POSSIBLE, THEN SHOVE THEM UP YOUR NOSE!!!! lol. I HIGHLY reccommend that you read all 5 chapters that came before this chapter before you read chapter 6.))
Tenchi grasped the sword in his hand, tightened his anger-powered fingers until his knuckles turned white.
"I can feel your anger, boy...."
Tenchi stopped himself to think. "I can't get him unless I use knowledge, not anger. I have to use the skills I know."
"You may not enjoy seeing this," Kagato exclaimed as he pressed a small, yellow button on the wall to the right of his chair. A blast of electricity surged through Ryoko's small, aquatic cell. Even in a state of non-consciousness, he could see her cringe in her watery sleep.
"AUGH! YOU!!!!!"
Tenchi ran with all the force he could sum up, galloping with raging anger towards the demon-man. He jumped and lunged at Kagato, thrusting his sword full-force at his head.
But, as soon as he had made the attack, Kagato disappeared in a teleportation flash, not different from Ryoko's.
"Foolish boy!"
With that, the demon fired a blast of energy towars Tenchi, almost killing him.
"No... why did I do that...? I was supposed to use my skills..."
Dark.
Tenchi opened his eyes.
He was in space, in the very same orb in which he met Tsunami in.
"...Why am I here?"
There was a long silence as Tenchi, unlike before, freely walked around the orb.
"Hello, Tenchi."
"Wha-"
He turned around in a flash, to see who it was.
"Ioki..."
"Tenchi..."
They stopped in a long-lost stare, a loving silence that Tenchi would never forget.
"W... what are you doing here?"
Ioki grasped his hand.
"I am here to talk to you about something that I have been trying to say to you for a long, long time..."
"..................What do you need to tell me?"
She came close to him, rested her head on his shoulder and spoke softly. Spoke tenderly, comfortingly into his beaten hears, warmed his frozen cheeks and embraced his battered form.
"Tenchi... your visions..."
Tenchi leaned his head in on hers and smelled her soft, silky hair.
"They tell you about the past, about what happened to me."
"...No, they don't tell me of what happened to you. They tell me of how we were, so long ago-"
Before Tenchi could speak any further, he came to a realization. A horrific realization.
He remembered a gray, rainy dawn.
He felt the rain patter on his windows and roof, saw the clock.
"6 a.m."
A younger Tenchi waked outside to see Ioki.
"Ioki... what are you doing here?"
"Tenchi..."
"Yes?"
"...I must leave you."
"But why?"
He saw the young woman bow her head and cover her face with the black rain hat, tighten herself in the long, draping gray coat.
"I feel a demon. It is bad luck here. I cannot stay."
A taxi came and the doors opened.
"Don't... go..."
The young Tenchi was heartbroken.
"Goodbye."
Before Tenchi could react, Ioki stepped into the taxi, and the doors closed. The engine started, and the car started to go.
"WAIT!"
Tenchi ran and ran, but the cab only gained speed. He was not fast enough, as he saw the automobile slowly disappear into the distance.
"No..."
Tears welled in his eyes.
"I wish to forget this ever happened."
Awake.
Tenchi opened his eyes and focused back to Ioki.
"Yes, they did tell me how I lost you. But how did I forget you?" Tenchi gave her hand a squeeze. "How could I forget you?"
"Well, Tenchi, Tsunami granted your wish."
"What?"
"You wished to forget that it ever happened. Tsunami sensed that your life may be in danger if you remembered; you might have committed suicide. So, for your own sake, she erased your entire memory of me."
Tenchi paused.
"So... what about the sapphire? And how come I remember you now?"
"When I left, I went to fight Kagato, because he had intentions to destroy Earth. Eventually, we got into a battle. He was about to kill me, when he decided to capture me instead. He saw that we were in love, and he saw your power. To lure you over, he kept me in a tiny glass cell that he kept beside his master chair."
"So how did I get to remembering you?"
"Hold on! I'm getting to it. So, I was kept in the cell for a few years, until Tsunami realized that I was in grave danger. Kagato would abuse me; he would beat me and rape me, but most of the time he would keep me in the cell nude, and ruin my dignity. But, I could not do anything about it, for if I moved, he would electrocute me with an annoying little button he kept on the wall beside his chair-"
"Wait! Did you say he raped you???"
Realizing what she had told him, she leaned forward and kissed him.
"It's alright, Tenchi; I did not enjoy being raped by a demon the least bit."
Tenchi settled, and sat back down so she could finish her story.
"Well, eventually, Tsunami created a nonexistent history of a woman named Ryoko. She took the body of a dead demon-woman that had fought in the Jurian - Demon War, determined the name Ryoko, and saved my soul from Kagato. She placed my soul in the body of Ryoko, and sent me to Earth. Naturally, not wanting to reveal the truth to you yet, she made sure that as long I was in Ryoko's body, my personality would be completely different from how I normally am. After making sure everything was in order, she sent me crashing down to Earth as Ryoko, the space pirate. When the time came, she decided it was time for you to rescue me, Ioki, but she could not verbally or visually communicate with you. Therefore, the memories of me that she had taken from you were put into the sapphire that I gave you as a gift so long ago. She sent it straight to you."
"So what happened when Ryoko was kidnapped?"
"Well, Kagato had been searching for me those years that I stayed at your house as Ryoko. Eventually, he snuck into your house and kidnapped me. He did it in a split second, without making a sound, so even if someone was in the room, they wouldn't notice. I tried to tell you, but I could not get through to you. Kagato wanted you there so he could kill you. So, all in all, you weren't out to save Ryoko......... You were out to save me."
Tenchi was shocked. He could not handle the fact that all this time, whenever he insulted Ryoko, hit her, yelled at her, did anything to make her feel bad... he was doing that to Ioki. He did the only thing he could do.
Tenchi sprug forward and wrapped his arms around her.
"I'm so sorry..."
Ioki took the embrace warmly, and the two slowly rocked back and forth.
"It's alright, Tenchi. You never knew."
They broke the hug, and stared into each others eyes. Ioki studied the patterns of his beautiful brown eyes, and Tenchi gazed into her captivating, blue eyes. They leaned in for a kiss, a kiss they had not shared in so long.
Tenchi had not experienced this feeling since the last time they kissed; not disguised by the appearance of Ryoko, but since Tenchi was a young teenager. He could not take it any longer, he slipped his hands around to her back and started to lift off her shirt. Ioki bit his lip to stop the kiss.
"Stop, Tenchi."
"Why?"
"I'm afraid we have not much time left. You have to fight Kagato."
"............Of course."
Tenchi got off of her and stood.
"Bye bye, Tenchi."
The orb faded, Tenchi still watching Ioki wave to him.
Awake.
Tenchi rubbed his head as he saw Kagato back at his chair. He did not get up, for fear that Kagato might notice him and kill himon the spot.
"But no," He thought to himself, "I cannot just hide like that. I must save Ioki."
Tenchi stood.
Kagato shot his eyes in Tenchi's direction, and stood up in an instant.
"Stupid boy! You are supposed to be dead by now!!!"
Tenchi unsheathed his sword.
"No, Kagato. I do not die that easily."
Enraged at Tenchi's defiance, Kagato did what he could.
"Then I guess you can die now!"
In the blink of an eye, Kagato drew his beam sword and teleported to Tenchi, slashing at his ankles.
Tenchi jumped over the beam and flipped behind Kagato. He jabbed his sword at Kagato's back. Kagato immediately jumped to the side.
"You're one tough cookie, child!"
Tenchi slashed his sword at Kagato's head, Kagato slashing at Tenchi's at the same time. Their swords clashed, with extreme tension pressing the blades against each other.
"Don't... call... me... a... child!"
SLASH!
Before Kagato could react to his further defiance, Tenchi used his sword to push Kagato's aside. He leapt at Kagato and toppled him to the floor, having one foot on his chest. He pointed the sword at Kagato's neck.
"Any last words?"
Kagato smirked.
"Why, yes, boy..."
Not recieving the message, Tenchi smirked a victory smirk.
"Yes???"
"Die in hell!"
"Wha-?"
Kagato disappeared, and reappeared just behind Tenchi's back. He made a furious jab at Tenchi's bottom vertibrae.
Tenchi jumped and back-flipped onto Kagato's shoulders, trying to choke him with his legs.
"You cannot choke a demon, stupid boy!"
He disappeared. Tenchi could not see him.
"Stupid self," Tenchi thought, "You have to work quickly, or he'll disappear-"
He saw a shadow growing at his feet.
"Kagato!"
Tenchi jumped and rolled out of the way just as Kagato smashed onto the ground, practically breaking the floor.
Tenchi thought fast. What was he going to do?
He looked around the room in a frantic search for something to beat Kagato with.
Then, he saw.
In the cell. There, floating in the place of Ryoko, was Ioki. He hadn't seen Ioki naked in years.
"Ioki..."
Kagato saw what he was watching.
"Yes, Ioki," Said Kagato, and teleported to the button.
He pressed the button, spreading jolts of electricity throughout Ioki's cell. Tenchi saw the pain in her brow.
"YOU!!!!! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"
Tenchi ran full-force at him, tears streaming from his eyes, slipping down his cheeks and flying off behind him in watery strands. He pointed his sword in front of himself.
Kagato had no time to react; He was halfway through teleporting when Tenchi stabbed him, full-throttle, in the neck.
Kagato had a surprised look on his face. He cringed with extreme anger and pain.
"Boy..."
Tenchi removed his sword. Kagato spoke with what strength he had left.
"Say goodbye to me, my castle, and your little friend..."
"What?"
"You interfered with my teleportation, causing my system to overload..."
"What does that mean???"
"Prepare to be blown to bits; I'm going to explode!"
Tenchi ran over to the capsule and broke the glass with his sword.
"W...What are you doing??? Foolish... boy!"
He pulled out Ioki, capsule liquids flowing out of the glass container.
Kagato could only do so much as to raise his arm, before he felt a swelling pain in his lungs, stomach and pancreas.
Tenchi looked around. The only ways out were the doors... and the windows.
He ran to a window, stepped up on it, and gulped.
"Well, here goes nothing."
He jumped. He felt the air streaming up his legs and in his shirt.
The building was exploding behind him, enormous chunks of rock and flaming debris flying every which way. Tenchi looked down and saw the ground nearing. He closed his eyes.
"Well, this is it. I guess we're done for..."
He felt the mass that was he and Ioki nearing the ground, when the falling stopped.
"Wha-?"
Tenchi opened his eyes.
"Ryo-ohki!"
"Meow!"
Tenchi landed oh a metal plank protruding from Ryo-ohki's ship doorway. He made his way in, carrying the unconscious Ioki with him.
He came inside to the warm, comfortable Ryo-ohki.
"Ryo-ohki, I need to take care of this unconscious young woman."
In response, a panel opened in the floor, and a bed with a protective, glass incasing with an air supply tube arose out of the floor. Tenchi walked over to it, and the encasing opened by its hinges. He laid Ioki down on the bed, and the glass slowly lowered, shutting Ioki in. The bed lowered into the ground, and the panel closed.
"Ok, Ryo-ohki. Let's go home."
Energy built up in the jets of Ryo-ohki, and they zipped towards home.
Tenchi grasped the sword in his hand, tightened his anger-powered fingers until his knuckles turned white.
"I can feel your anger, boy...."
Tenchi stopped himself to think. "I can't get him unless I use knowledge, not anger. I have to use the skills I know."
"You may not enjoy seeing this," Kagato exclaimed as he pressed a small, yellow button on the wall to the right of his chair. A blast of electricity surged through Ryoko's small, aquatic cell. Even in a state of non-consciousness, he could see her cringe in her watery sleep.
"AUGH! YOU!!!!!"
Tenchi ran with all the force he could sum up, galloping with raging anger towards the demon-man. He jumped and lunged at Kagato, thrusting his sword full-force at his head.
But, as soon as he had made the attack, Kagato disappeared in a teleportation flash, not different from Ryoko's.
"Foolish boy!"
With that, the demon fired a blast of energy towars Tenchi, almost killing him.
"No... why did I do that...? I was supposed to use my skills..."
Dark.
Tenchi opened his eyes.
He was in space, in the very same orb in which he met Tsunami in.
"...Why am I here?"
There was a long silence as Tenchi, unlike before, freely walked around the orb.
"Hello, Tenchi."
"Wha-"
He turned around in a flash, to see who it was.
"Ioki..."
"Tenchi..."
They stopped in a long-lost stare, a loving silence that Tenchi would never forget.
"W... what are you doing here?"
Ioki grasped his hand.
"I am here to talk to you about something that I have been trying to say to you for a long, long time..."
"..................What do you need to tell me?"
She came close to him, rested her head on his shoulder and spoke softly. Spoke tenderly, comfortingly into his beaten hears, warmed his frozen cheeks and embraced his battered form.
"Tenchi... your visions..."
Tenchi leaned his head in on hers and smelled her soft, silky hair.
"They tell you about the past, about what happened to me."
"...No, they don't tell me of what happened to you. They tell me of how we were, so long ago-"
Before Tenchi could speak any further, he came to a realization. A horrific realization.
He remembered a gray, rainy dawn.
He felt the rain patter on his windows and roof, saw the clock.
"6 a.m."
A younger Tenchi waked outside to see Ioki.
"Ioki... what are you doing here?"
"Tenchi..."
"Yes?"
"...I must leave you."
"But why?"
He saw the young woman bow her head and cover her face with the black rain hat, tighten herself in the long, draping gray coat.
"I feel a demon. It is bad luck here. I cannot stay."
A taxi came and the doors opened.
"Don't... go..."
The young Tenchi was heartbroken.
"Goodbye."
Before Tenchi could react, Ioki stepped into the taxi, and the doors closed. The engine started, and the car started to go.
"WAIT!"
Tenchi ran and ran, but the cab only gained speed. He was not fast enough, as he saw the automobile slowly disappear into the distance.
"No..."
Tears welled in his eyes.
"I wish to forget this ever happened."
Awake.
Tenchi opened his eyes and focused back to Ioki.
"Yes, they did tell me how I lost you. But how did I forget you?" Tenchi gave her hand a squeeze. "How could I forget you?"
"Well, Tenchi, Tsunami granted your wish."
"What?"
"You wished to forget that it ever happened. Tsunami sensed that your life may be in danger if you remembered; you might have committed suicide. So, for your own sake, she erased your entire memory of me."
Tenchi paused.
"So... what about the sapphire? And how come I remember you now?"
"When I left, I went to fight Kagato, because he had intentions to destroy Earth. Eventually, we got into a battle. He was about to kill me, when he decided to capture me instead. He saw that we were in love, and he saw your power. To lure you over, he kept me in a tiny glass cell that he kept beside his master chair."
"So how did I get to remembering you?"
"Hold on! I'm getting to it. So, I was kept in the cell for a few years, until Tsunami realized that I was in grave danger. Kagato would abuse me; he would beat me and rape me, but most of the time he would keep me in the cell nude, and ruin my dignity. But, I could not do anything about it, for if I moved, he would electrocute me with an annoying little button he kept on the wall beside his chair-"
"Wait! Did you say he raped you???"
Realizing what she had told him, she leaned forward and kissed him.
"It's alright, Tenchi; I did not enjoy being raped by a demon the least bit."
Tenchi settled, and sat back down so she could finish her story.
"Well, eventually, Tsunami created a nonexistent history of a woman named Ryoko. She took the body of a dead demon-woman that had fought in the Jurian - Demon War, determined the name Ryoko, and saved my soul from Kagato. She placed my soul in the body of Ryoko, and sent me to Earth. Naturally, not wanting to reveal the truth to you yet, she made sure that as long I was in Ryoko's body, my personality would be completely different from how I normally am. After making sure everything was in order, she sent me crashing down to Earth as Ryoko, the space pirate. When the time came, she decided it was time for you to rescue me, Ioki, but she could not verbally or visually communicate with you. Therefore, the memories of me that she had taken from you were put into the sapphire that I gave you as a gift so long ago. She sent it straight to you."
"So what happened when Ryoko was kidnapped?"
"Well, Kagato had been searching for me those years that I stayed at your house as Ryoko. Eventually, he snuck into your house and kidnapped me. He did it in a split second, without making a sound, so even if someone was in the room, they wouldn't notice. I tried to tell you, but I could not get through to you. Kagato wanted you there so he could kill you. So, all in all, you weren't out to save Ryoko......... You were out to save me."
Tenchi was shocked. He could not handle the fact that all this time, whenever he insulted Ryoko, hit her, yelled at her, did anything to make her feel bad... he was doing that to Ioki. He did the only thing he could do.
Tenchi sprug forward and wrapped his arms around her.
"I'm so sorry..."
Ioki took the embrace warmly, and the two slowly rocked back and forth.
"It's alright, Tenchi. You never knew."
They broke the hug, and stared into each others eyes. Ioki studied the patterns of his beautiful brown eyes, and Tenchi gazed into her captivating, blue eyes. They leaned in for a kiss, a kiss they had not shared in so long.
Tenchi had not experienced this feeling since the last time they kissed; not disguised by the appearance of Ryoko, but since Tenchi was a young teenager. He could not take it any longer, he slipped his hands around to her back and started to lift off her shirt. Ioki bit his lip to stop the kiss.
"Stop, Tenchi."
"Why?"
"I'm afraid we have not much time left. You have to fight Kagato."
"............Of course."
Tenchi got off of her and stood.
"Bye bye, Tenchi."
The orb faded, Tenchi still watching Ioki wave to him.
Awake.
Tenchi rubbed his head as he saw Kagato back at his chair. He did not get up, for fear that Kagato might notice him and kill himon the spot.
"But no," He thought to himself, "I cannot just hide like that. I must save Ioki."
Tenchi stood.
Kagato shot his eyes in Tenchi's direction, and stood up in an instant.
"Stupid boy! You are supposed to be dead by now!!!"
Tenchi unsheathed his sword.
"No, Kagato. I do not die that easily."
Enraged at Tenchi's defiance, Kagato did what he could.
"Then I guess you can die now!"
In the blink of an eye, Kagato drew his beam sword and teleported to Tenchi, slashing at his ankles.
Tenchi jumped over the beam and flipped behind Kagato. He jabbed his sword at Kagato's back. Kagato immediately jumped to the side.
"You're one tough cookie, child!"
Tenchi slashed his sword at Kagato's head, Kagato slashing at Tenchi's at the same time. Their swords clashed, with extreme tension pressing the blades against each other.
"Don't... call... me... a... child!"
SLASH!
Before Kagato could react to his further defiance, Tenchi used his sword to push Kagato's aside. He leapt at Kagato and toppled him to the floor, having one foot on his chest. He pointed the sword at Kagato's neck.
"Any last words?"
Kagato smirked.
"Why, yes, boy..."
Not recieving the message, Tenchi smirked a victory smirk.
"Yes???"
"Die in hell!"
"Wha-?"
Kagato disappeared, and reappeared just behind Tenchi's back. He made a furious jab at Tenchi's bottom vertibrae.
Tenchi jumped and back-flipped onto Kagato's shoulders, trying to choke him with his legs.
"You cannot choke a demon, stupid boy!"
He disappeared. Tenchi could not see him.
"Stupid self," Tenchi thought, "You have to work quickly, or he'll disappear-"
He saw a shadow growing at his feet.
"Kagato!"
Tenchi jumped and rolled out of the way just as Kagato smashed onto the ground, practically breaking the floor.
Tenchi thought fast. What was he going to do?
He looked around the room in a frantic search for something to beat Kagato with.
Then, he saw.
In the cell. There, floating in the place of Ryoko, was Ioki. He hadn't seen Ioki naked in years.
"Ioki..."
Kagato saw what he was watching.
"Yes, Ioki," Said Kagato, and teleported to the button.
He pressed the button, spreading jolts of electricity throughout Ioki's cell. Tenchi saw the pain in her brow.
"YOU!!!!! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"
Tenchi ran full-force at him, tears streaming from his eyes, slipping down his cheeks and flying off behind him in watery strands. He pointed his sword in front of himself.
Kagato had no time to react; He was halfway through teleporting when Tenchi stabbed him, full-throttle, in the neck.
Kagato had a surprised look on his face. He cringed with extreme anger and pain.
"Boy..."
Tenchi removed his sword. Kagato spoke with what strength he had left.
"Say goodbye to me, my castle, and your little friend..."
"What?"
"You interfered with my teleportation, causing my system to overload..."
"What does that mean???"
"Prepare to be blown to bits; I'm going to explode!"
Tenchi ran over to the capsule and broke the glass with his sword.
"W...What are you doing??? Foolish... boy!"
He pulled out Ioki, capsule liquids flowing out of the glass container.
Kagato could only do so much as to raise his arm, before he felt a swelling pain in his lungs, stomach and pancreas.
Tenchi looked around. The only ways out were the doors... and the windows.
He ran to a window, stepped up on it, and gulped.
"Well, here goes nothing."
He jumped. He felt the air streaming up his legs and in his shirt.
The building was exploding behind him, enormous chunks of rock and flaming debris flying every which way. Tenchi looked down and saw the ground nearing. He closed his eyes.
"Well, this is it. I guess we're done for..."
He felt the mass that was he and Ioki nearing the ground, when the falling stopped.
"Wha-?"
Tenchi opened his eyes.
"Ryo-ohki!"
"Meow!"
Tenchi landed oh a metal plank protruding from Ryo-ohki's ship doorway. He made his way in, carrying the unconscious Ioki with him.
He came inside to the warm, comfortable Ryo-ohki.
"Ryo-ohki, I need to take care of this unconscious young woman."
In response, a panel opened in the floor, and a bed with a protective, glass incasing with an air supply tube arose out of the floor. Tenchi walked over to it, and the encasing opened by its hinges. He laid Ioki down on the bed, and the glass slowly lowered, shutting Ioki in. The bed lowered into the ground, and the panel closed.
"Ok, Ryo-ohki. Let's go home."
Energy built up in the jets of Ryo-ohki, and they zipped towards home.