Authors note:
This is my fanfic, however this is not MY fanfic. I created one
character and put him into someone else's series. My character is
Kannuki, that someone is AIC and Pioneer, and that series is Tenchi
Muyo.
Thanks again to Lord Ilpalazzo/Psycomancer/Sontaku's Brother for
proofreading this.
If you have any questions or comments, contact me at
Twigz221@yahoo.com
_________________________________________________________
It has now been one week since Kannuki crash-landed on Earth. It is
now morning in the Masaki household. We join the cast at the
breakfast table.
Ryoko grabs her bowl and puts it up to her face. With one loud slurp
she engulfs the entire thing. She lowers the bowl from her face to see
every other face at the table staring blankly at her.
"What?" She asks innocently.
They all remain bug eyed, except for Ayeka who must speak up.
"Really Ryoko, that's your seventh bowl this morning. Such rude
manners. I can barely stand it."
"Hey I can't help it. This new miso soup recipe is great. Besides
Ayeka you've barely touched yours. That's not very nice to Sasami."
"Well it's better than making a huge scene at the table!"
"Hey at least I can appreciate your sisters cooking!"
"You don't appreciate anything she does. Maybe if you did than you
would help out with the chores once in a while!"
Ryoko, in retaliation, flings her bowl at Ayeka. Tenchi reaches out
and grabs the bowl in midair. "Alright that's enough. Stop the
arguing now!" he yells.
Everyone in the room jumps back and goes silent, startled by Tenchi.
All except Washu, who is sitting peacefully eating her soup. She sets
down her now empty bowl.
"Delicious!" she exclaims. "Sasami, you really must make this more
often!"
Before long breakfast is finished. Tenchi heads out to the shrine to
begin the days training. The rest of the group gets ready to do their
own chores. Kannuki has yard-work duty today so he heads out to the
shed and gathers the tools he needs. When he gets out of the shed,
Ryoko is waiting for him.
"Can I help you?" he asks.
"Tenchi told me to give you this list. More chores I guess."
Kannuki grabs the list and reads it off. "Sweep entry-way, do laundry,
clean bathrooms, dust the main floor. Ryoko, these are your chores."
"No they're not, Tenchi said they were for you to do."
"I already talked to Tenchi. These are yours"
"I'm not lying."
"Ryoko this list is in your handwriting."
"Well, I uh, I had to write it down after he told me."
"I thought he gave you the list."
"No."
"Just do your work. I want to get my chores done as soon as possible
today."
"Why's that?"
"I'm going into town today." He says with a grin.
"What for?"
"It gets kind of boring around here, so I'm going to hang out in town.
You know, hit some bars, meet some women, and maybe catch a
movie."
"Whatever." She says as she fades back into the house. Ryoko had
been unsuccessful in giving her chores to other people (even Mihoshi),
so she decided to just skip them as usual. She flies up to her usual
rafter and lies back for a quick nap. Before any more than ten seconds,
she is interrupted.
"All right Ryoko, that's enough."
Ryoko open one eye and looks down while still lying. "What do you
want Washu."
"I read your mind, and I want you to go with Kannuki in to town."
"What for."
"To get information out of him."
"You really think that he's just going to tell me because I went to town
with him."
"He will if you get him drunk enough."
"Huh." She sits up.
"It'll be easy. He said he was going to go to a bar. Just make sure that
while he's there, he gets really drunk. Then asking him won't be a
problem at all."
"Of all your ideas Washu, this has to be the worst."
"Do it for your Mommy," replies Washu in a childlike voice, "Besides,
you may have a good time."
"I just don't like the idea."
"You mean the idea of spending time alone with a man other than
Tenchi?"
Ryoko looks away from her and sighs. "If it's so important than why
don't you go with him?"
"Because I don't like him and he doesn't like me."
"Fine I'll go, but you owe me big time."
"That's my girl. Now get to your chores."
Washu heads back to her lab and Ryoko goes back to relaxing. The
hours pass and dinner has just been completed. Kannuki tells Tenchi
of his plan and says goodbye for the night. Tenchi sits down in the
living room and awaits a night of comfort. Sasami is on the couch
next to him.
"Hey Tenchi, where is Kannuki going?" she asks.
"He's going to downtown Okayama tonight. Just to hang out I
suppose."
"Well how is he getting there?"
Tenchi sits there silently for a second. "I don't know." He finally
says. Then they hear a loud roar as they look outside to see Kannuki
speeding away in Nobuyuki's van.
"But Tenchi" asks Sasami, "he doesn't have a drivers license."
Tenchi is to frozen and pale to respond.
Kannuki is tearing down the road at about fifteen miles per hour over
the limit. He has loud music blaring, and the windows down.
Okayama would be his tonight. He gets about two miles down the
road when he hears a noise directly to his right. He looks over to see a
smiling Ryoko, wearing a very revealing outfit. This catches him by
surprise a bit. The van swerves as he slams on the brakes.
"What the hell Ryoko? You almost made me crash."
"You sound pretty worried for a guy who was going 20 miles over the
speed limit."
"Why are you here?"
"I wanna come to town with you tonight. I hope this isn't a problem."
She says. Her tone then gets deeper and harsher, "Is it?"
"Not really. I was just kind of planning on going alone."
"Aw come on. It'll be more fun with a friend, trust me. Besides, I
realize that you're going out to pick up women, and I won't interfere
with that."
"I never said I had a problem with it. It just kind of surprises me that
you want to come. I figured that nobody wanted to come with me, so I
didn't bother asking."
"Well then, where are we going first?"
"A movie. There's a new action movie out that they have been
advertising for. It looks okay so I thought I would check it out."
"How do you plan on paying for it?"
"Katsuhito lent me some money. I have to pay him back, but at least I
can have fun now."
"What? He never lends me anything."
"Well maybe he trusts me more than you."
"What did you ever do to earn trust?"
"Well for one I actually do my chores."
"So"
"I'm more polite."
"Big deal."
"I don't destroy pieces of the house on a daily basis."
"Not my fault."
"I never tried to kill him."
"Once again, not my fault."
"I was never a space pirate."
"You were an outlaw, close enough. Either way it's not fair. That old
man treats you like you're so special. I don't why that he likes you so
much."
"Well neither do I, but I might as well take advantage of a good
situation."
"Forget it, let's go."
Kannuki restarts the van and floors it. They drive around for a while,
and finally hit the movie theater. Kannuki buys them their tickets and
they head in. It was just some crappy movie about a second rate cop
who ends up defeating about a hundred terrorists and winds up
becoming the hero of the day.
"Man that movie sucked." Rants Ryoko.
"You're telling me. Seems like here anyone is impressed by a violent
scene followed by a lame catch phrase." Replies Kannuki.
"It wasn't even exiting. I have had better experiences than that."
"Such as?"
"Well this one time I was attacking a Juraian cargo ship, but it turned
out that they were transporting a small battalion of the Juraian army as
well. I stormed in there and beat up every one of them. Got a lot of
loot out of it too."
"I have that beat. Back on Keltek I was hired to take out the richest
man on that planet. He was in a building that went underground rather
than above. I battled my way through over fifty floors to get to him.
Most had either soldiers or robotic attack mechanisms. And since it
was underground, I had to fight my way back UP."
"That's nothing. I took on the entire Juraian army by myself. I was
able to stage the only successful attack on Jurai's capitol."
"Yeah but didn't Yosho track you down and defeat you?"
"Well no one's perfect."
"Let's go. There's a good bar nearby, we can hit that."
"You're on."
They jump into the van and head over to this bar in the area. They see
one with a long line outside. At the front of the line is a large and
well-built bouncer. Kannuki parks the van and they get out. He
begins to head to the end of line.
"Where the hell are you going?" asks Ryoko.
"There's a line."
"You pussy! Come on." She grabs him and heads to the front of the
line. She heads right through the door, but is grabbed by the bouncer.
"You must wait like the others."
"Screw that. I don't wait for anyone." she says smugly.
"You won't get in at all now."
"Oh really." A smile spreads across her face. "Well I guess that's just
too bad then." She then jabs her fist right into the bouncers' gut. He
falls over and begins whimpering like a baby. Ryoko and Kannuki
then walk happily into the bar. There are a lot of colored lights
everywhere. There are also many small tables surrounding a dance-
floor with many people dancing on it. There is some weird techno
song playing.
"You know Ryoko that was really unnecessary." Says Kannuki.
"Hey can I help it if I like to have fun?" She looks around for a
second. "What the hell IS this place?"
"You know I'm not really sure. I have seen a lot of advertisements for
it, and it is supposed to be the best spot in town. Lets at least see what
they have."
"There's a bar over there, lets hit that."
They walk over to the bar. A man in a puffy pink shirt is behind the
counter.
"Can I get you guysth anything? Hmm." Says the bartender in a lispy
voice that seems way to exited.
"Shot of unflavored Vodka." Says Kannuki.
"Yesth and any thing for the lady?"
"Bottle of sake." Replies Ryoko.
"Oh a whole bottle of Sthake. You mustht be planning a fun night!"
He grabs the drinks and gives them to them. "Anything elsthe for you
guysth."
"Yeah." Says Kannuki. "Go away."
Kannuki slams his shot while Ryoko chugs the sake.
"Well I've had enough. Let's go." Says Ryoko.
"Yup"
_____________________________________________________
Meanwhile back at the house.
Tenchi is running over to his father, who is reading a racy manga in
his library. "Dad! Kannuki just took your van!" Tenchi yells.
"I know. He asked if he could use it." Replies Nobuyuki.
"Dad he doesn't have a license! What if he gets pulled over?"
"Don't worry about. He can't get in too much trouble out there."
"But I think Ryoko may be with him."
"In that case we do have a problem. But anyway, I think we should
just let this one slide."
"But what if..."
"Tenchi let it go. Besides, what could we do anyway?"
"Fine." Mutters a disappointed Tenchi. He sulks back down to the
living room. Ayeka, Sasami and Mihoshi are on the couch watching
Television. Ryo-Ohki is perched on top of Sasami's head as usual.
He finds a spot and sits down.
"Well how did it go?" asks Sasami.
"He got Dad's permission, but still doesn't have a license. Dad said
not to worry about it, but I still have a really bad feeling."
"I know what you mean." Says Ayeka. "Allowing Ryoko to go out it
public is never a good thing."
"I hate to admit it but you are right." Replies Tenchi.
"Oh you guys worry too much. I'm sure they will have a fine time,
and not get in any trouble at all. Really you are making a big deal out
of nothing." Adds Mihoshi.
"I suppose your right." Says Tenchi with a sigh. "By the way, where
is Washu?"
"I believe she is in the middle of a very important experiment." replies
Ayeka "she said not to be disturbed until tomorrow."
Tenchi finally feels he can relax a bit. His sits back and tries to enjoy
the show. He doesn't enjoy it much, being that it is a chick show
about teenage romance.
______________________________________________________
About an hour has passed. Ryoko and Kannuki are still trying to find
a good bar. After seeing nothing but dance clubs, and no real bars,
they are about ready to give up.
"Come on Ryoko, don't you know of any place around here that's a
good hang-out? I mean, you drink all the time."
"Yeah, I drink a lot, at home. I just get the soki from a liquor store. I
never hang out in a bar."
"Why not."
"Tenchi doesn't approve of me going into town on my own."
"Ha, really? Why's that?"
"He's afraid I'm going to use my powers and freak people out.
However that isn't a problem tonight."
"Really?"
"Yeah Washu made me put this damn thing on." She points to a small
black necklace that Kannuki hadn't noticed before. "It limits my
powers. I can't do anything with it on."
"But you took out that bouncer."
"It limits my power, not my strength. I can still kick ass."
"But wait, how did you teleport into the van?"
"Washu did that for me."
"This doesn't make sense. You wanted to come to town with me, but
you went and made sure that your powers were limited. That isn't like
you at all."
"Washu made me."
"Made you? How did Washu MAKE you?"
"She read my thoughts. When she found out I was going to town she
decided it would be best if I wore it."
"And you just let her put it on you."
"Well, she kind of has a lot of dirt on me." Says Ryoko while
blushing a bit.
"Dirt, like what?"
"Like I would tell you. Come on let's just get to a bar."
"Well were heading out of the trendy downtown area, I'm pretty sure
there is a bar around here somewhere." They drive out of the
downtown area and head to a more commercial part of the town.
"How about that place?" says Ryoko, pointing to a seedy looking
place with nothing but motorcycles parked out front.
"A biker bar? No thanks."
"Well how about that?" She points to a sports bar.
"Fine." He pulls up the van and they get out. They head inside and
head up to the bar past several tables, many of which have some tough
looking men sitting at them. There is a karaoke stand, but nobody is
using it. One wall is lined with dartboards, half of which are being
used. There are several televisions with a baseball game on. There are
two waitresses running back and forth from table to table, trying to get
people their drinks. They find two empty stools at the bar and sit
down. The guy behind the counter is an overweight bald guy (shaved
bald) with a goatee. They order some drinks and finally begin to relax.
They begin a meaningless conversation, and have about five more
drinks apiece.
Ryoko lets out a sigh and stretches her arms. "I'm going to go sing
some karaoke."
"Go ahead." Mutters Kannuki, as he orders another drink. Ryoko
heads of towards the karaoke stage and starts singing. The bartender
quickly fixes a drink and gives it to Kannuki.
"So is that your girlfriend?" asks the bartender.
"Who her?" replies Kannuki. "No were just friends."
"That's to bad, you don't see women that good looking come in here
very often. Come to think of it I don't think I've ever seen you around
here before. What's your name?"
"Kannuki." He answers dryly, not really caring.
"The names Dan. Dan Stressman. Moved here from America. I own
this place, nice little bar aint it?."
"Yeah sure."
"So where you from Kannuki?"
Kannuki had to stop and think about this one. He couldn't tell him
where he really was from. He stopped and though about a good place
that he could be from.
"Well did you forget or something?"
"Not that, I just don't really have a hometown. I move around a lot,
and never really settle in one place for too long. I go around and do
jobs, whatever's needed. But I think I may stick with Okayama for a
while. I have a nice place to stay for a while."
"Is it with her?" Dan points to Ryoko.
"Technically, she lives in the same house, but she's a guest too. It's a
long story. I'll have another drink please."
"What is that? Your seventh."
"Here, yes."
"How can you stand that much alcohol?"
"I dunno. I just can." Kannuki grabs his new drink and slams it down.
"Another please, and get some for my friend over there." He points to
Ryoko who is dancing around like a loony on stage singing completely
off beat from the song. Dan gets the drinks, and has a waitress bring
Ryoko's over to her.
"Hey man, you may want to get up." Says Dan suddenly.
"Yeah why's that?"
"No time to explain man, just move." It was too late. Kannuki feels a
hand grab his shoulder and spins him around. There is a very large
muscular man with some evil looking tattoos on his arms.
"You're in my seat. Get out."
"What was that?" says Kannuki almost laughing.
"YOU are in MY seat. If you know what's good for you, than you
should move."
"I'm happy where I am thank you."
"You little punk!" The man thrusts at Kannuki with his fist. Before it
can hit a target, Kannuki grabs his fist and twists it, causing the man to
flip and land on his back. Kannuki turns around and resumes drinking.
The man gets up angrily and spins Kannuki around. "You're gonna
pay for that you little bastard!"
"Oh really?" muses Kannuki. He finishes his drink and stands up.
"Fine I won't block this next one. Go on, take a shot."
Without hesitation the man throw a punch directly at Kannuki's nose.
Being true to his word, Kannuki takes the hit, and fly's back bringing
his hands up to his nose, which is starting to bleed.
"Shit! God Dammit, Shit! You hit my nose you Ass-Clown! OW!
God Damn Shit!"
Then without warning Kannuki throws his own punch at the guy,
hitting HIM in the nose. The man falls back, unconscious, and with a
nose that is bruised and bleeding.
"Bitch" says Kannuki triumphantly. He turns around sits back down.
He picks up his drink and resumes. Ryoko, who witnessed the event
comes over and sits down next to Kannuki.
"Now was that really necessary?" comments Ryoko.
"Uh... Yes. Yes it was."
"Yeah I hate his type too. What's this guys deal?" She points to Dan,
who is in a state of shock.
"Beats me. YO Dan!"
Dan snaps out of his trance, "How did you do that? That was Dave
Curry, (or slop-hole as we like to call him). He has been terrorizing
my customers since I opened. He's almost killed several people in
here, and you took him out effortlessly!"
"That guy was weak."
"No way man. Dave is dangerous. Hey if you're looking for work,
how about being a bouncer here. I need a guy like you."
"Forget it."
"Really man, I'll give ya a great salary, plus all the beer you want."
"Go for it!" adds Ryoko enthusiastically.
"I don't need a job"
"That's too bad." murmurs Dan.
"Well how about a couple more drinks on the house for him then."
advised Ryoko "Who knows, maybe that's the last you'll see of that
guy."
Just as she finishes saying this Dave, who has now regained
consciousness, grabs Ryoko and holds a knife to her throat.
"Oh this is really what I need right now." Says Ryoko sarcastically.
Obviously not scared.
"Shut up Bitch!" threatens Dave.
"There's no need for that. Put the knife down." Pleads Dan
"Fuck you." he points at Kannuki. "YOU! Get the hell out of my bar.
Pack up and leave now and I'll let her live. The bitch can find her own
way home."
"I have a better deal." Says Kannuki, "We should have a little contest.
The loser has to pay the winners bar tab for the night, and never return
here as long as they live."
Dave loosens his grip on Ryoko. "What's the contest?"
"All you have to do is win an arm wrestling match... against my friend
whom you are holding right now."
"Are you fucking crazy!" yells Dan. Dave just looks at Kannuki in
disbelief.
"You gotta be fuckin kidding me," says Dave, "what's the catch?"
"No catch. Just strait out arm wrestling."
"Against her? You have gotta be the dumbest retard ever to live. I'll
do it, and I will not hold back just because you're a woman."
"You willing to do it Ryoko?'
"Who do you think you're talking to? A chance for free beer, hell
yeah I'll do it." She responds.
With that the contest got started. Nearly everyone in the bar gathered
around the table to watch. Every person in the bar was in disbelief,
except for Kannuki and Ryoko of course. Dan volunteered to
"referee" the bout.
"Alright, this is best one out of one. No going back now! First person
to slam the others hand on to the table will be declared the winner."
"God dammit we know how to arm wrestle." Yells Dave.
"Right then. Put you elbows on the table and grip hands," they do. He
places his hand over theirs. "Alright, on the count of three." The bar
goes silent. "1. 2. 3. GO" He pulls his hand up and they begin.
Dave starts pushing on Ryoko's hand as hard as he can. Ryoko almost
bursts. "Ha, is that all you have. Oh that is too funny" she laughs.
Dave begins to look pissed. His muscles all flex and his face turns
bright red. "Oh this is just pathetic." Laughs Ryoko. With that she
slams his hand onto the table.
A second of silenced disbelief hushes over the bar. The silence is
broken by a beer bottle falling off of a table and hitting the ground
with a crash of broken glass. With that, the entire bar erupts in joyous
cheering.
Dave stares forward in disbelief. That disbelief soon turns to anger.
The laughter and mockery form the people in the bar stab at him. His
entire dominance over that bar has shattered. For the first time in a
long time, Dave knew what it was like to lose. He didn't like it much.
Thinking only with revenge he slowly goes for his knife. Concealed
within his jacket, he grasps the handle of the knife. He sits still,
waiting for the right moment. Then without warning, he lunges the
blade at Kannuki, who has his back turned.
Fortunately Ryoko sees him lunge and springs into action. As fast as
she can, she jumps out of her chair and delivers a swift kick to his
hand, knocking the blade up into the air. She then delivers a harsh
uppercut to Dave's chin, knocking him back and to the ground. The
knife comes down spinning and sticks into the table with a thud.
Bleeding and bruised, Dave gets up. He gets out his credit card and
throws it at Dan. Without saying a word, he stumbles out of the door,
never to return.
Celebrations began, everyone in the bar had a better time than they had
ever had there. Drinks flowed and the music was loud. Kannuki and
Ryoko soon became the most popular people at the bar. It was really
looking to be a great night.
______________________________________________________
Back at the Masaki house things had been pretty calm. Sasami had
gone to bed. Not too long after that Mihoshi decided to check in for
the night as well, leaving Ayeka and Tenchi alone.
Ayeka felt quite nervous, rarely did she get a chance to be with Tenchi
alone. She knew this would be one of the best opportunities she would
get, and that she had to take advantage of it. She however, did not
know what to say to him. She knew she had to act soon, for it was
getting late. But she was so afraid that he may reject her. She wished
that she were like Ryoko and could just say whatever she wanted.
"Like Ryoko?" she thought, "how desperate am I that I wish I were
like Ryoko? I must speak."
She gathered up her courage and was about to speak, but Tenchi
looked over at her and spoke first. "Hey Ayeka." She says.
Startled, Ayeka responds, "Yes Lord Tenchi, what is it?"
"It's a lovely night out, and I was going to go for a walk before I go to
bed, would you like to join me?"
"Oh Lord Tenchi I would be delighted." Exclaimed Ayeka
It was an unusually chilly night, so Tenchi grabbed his coat, as well as
one for Ayeka. They stepped outside and began walking silently along
the moonlit path. It was very clear out, not a cloud in the sky. The
moon was shining bright enough that everything was clear enough to
see, but still retained the eerie darkness of the night. A slight breeze
flew through the air with the smell of summer lingering in its wake.
The wonderful atmosphere, and the fact that she was with Tenchi, this
to Ayeka, was paradise. They walked along admiring the scenery, no
words were spoken, none needed to be.
They walked along silently for almost forty-five minutes. They had
headed up along a favorite path of Tenchi's. The path leads through a
beautiful part of the woods, to the top of a cliff that overlooked the
entire area.
There Tenchi sat down to relax. Ayeka sat down right next him, and
let out a sigh of pure joy.
"Tenchi." She sighs.
"Yes Ayeka, what is it?"
She hesitates for a few seconds. "I love you Tenchi."
Tenchi also hesitates, unsure of how to answer. "I know Ayeka."
"Then please, tell me that you love me as well." She says with a tone
of desperation in her voice.
Tenchi responds with silence.
"Tell me that I am not on Earth for no reason, tell me that my efforts
are not in vain." She pleads.
Tenchi stares her in eyes, looking at one of the women who has
devoted her life to him. He could see the love and devotion coming
from them. He responds, "Ayeka, it's not that I don't love you, I
really do. However, I love Ryoko as well. Please try to understand
the situation I'm in. I love you and Ryoko equally, and I cannot
forsake one of you for the other."
Tears began to form around Ayeka's eyes. "But why Tenchi? I love
you more than anything. Can't you see that?"
"I know Ayeka, and it pains me to not be able to love you as much as
you love me"
"But you can love me Tenchi. Why must you concern yourself with
an evil person like Ryoko?"
"Well why do you hate Ryoko?"
"Because she has shown absolutely no respect for me. How can a I
possibly not hate someone who has taken so much from me?"
"Ryoko doesn't hate you Ayeka."
"What are talking about? She has done such horrible things to me!
How can you think that she does not hate me?"
"Ayeka look back. When Kagato attacked she limited her attacks to
prevent you from getting injured. When Yumi attacked Jurai and
Ryuten, she fought for you and your family. When Garyu kidnapped
you, she risked her own life to rescue you. She only argues with you
because she is too embarrassed to come to the reality that she really
cares for you. I realize she used to be a violent pirate, but she has
changed. Please give her a chance."
Ayeka had to pause after that. She knew that it was all true. She just
didn't want to come to terms with it. It was however a request from
Tenchi. She looked up at him, a serious look of concern was on his
face. "I am sorry" she uttered. "I will try."
At this point she brakes down crying. She buries her face in her arms
and wept. Tenchi wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close.
After about ten minutes, Tenchi notices she was no longer crying. He
looked down at her and saw that she was asleep. Gently he picks her
up and begins to carry her back to the house. Ayeka is awakened by
this, but she stays silent and doesn't move. She enjoys feeling close to
Tenchi like this and didn't want him to stop holding her.
Tenchi reaches the house and heads up the stairs to Ayeka and
Sasami's room. He lays Ayeka down and pulls the covers over her.
He lets out an exhausted sigh, and goes to bed himself.
Laying there silently, an idea comes to Ayeka. "Sasami." She says
quietly.
"Yes Ayeka?" replies Sasami.
"Ah good you are awake."
"Yeah Tenchi woke me up. What do you want?"
"Could you please let me make breakfast tomorrow morning?"
"Why Ayeka?"
"I want to do it for Tenchi. Please, I think I can do it. You have
taught me a lot."
"Okay."
"Thank you Sasami."
Both sisters soon fall asleep.
______________________________________________________
Back at the bar, the night started to grow old, and many people started
to leave. Kannuki and Ryoko sat back down at the bar and each
ordered another drink (this is about 50-60 each for the night.) Ryoko
was getting pretty drunk, but she could tell that Kannuki was far more
wasted than she was.
Seeing him drunk made her remember the whole reason she came
along. "Alright Washu." She thought, "I'll ask him."
"Hey Kannuki?" she asks.
"Yeah what." He responds in a drunk tone of voice.
"Why are you here."
"To have shum drinksh and have a good time. The hell queschin ish
dat?"
"That's not what I meant."
"Sure it ishint"
"No I mean why are you on Earth, what's your mission."
"My mission, shit how you know bout dat."
"What is your mission."
"Doesn't matter I failed."
"What!?"
"The damn thing was a total failure."
"Holy crap!" thinks Ryoko "This changes things."
"On toppa that, I like it here on Earth. I think I'll stay."
Ryoko decides not to push the subject any further. There they sit
silently for about ten minutes. Neither orders another drink. Ryoko
finally turns to Kannuki. "I think I've had enough, lets go back
home."
"Yeah your right Ryoko, lets go."
The get up and walk over to the exit. Dan gives them goodbye wave.
They get into the van, and they are off. Ryoko sits back and looks out
her window at the scenery as it passes by, but she soon falls asleep.
Kannuki looks over at her and notices that she is asleep. He smiles,
admiring her beauty. He becomes very relaxed, as he too succumbs to
his exhaustion and falls asleep.
_____________________________________________________
Tenchi awakes early in the morning. He looks out of his window and
sees a beautiful sunrise out of his window. Feeling refreshed enough,
he gets out of bed and heads for the bathroom. After preparing himself
for the day, and getting dressed, he heads down to the kitchen.
Before he gets there, he hears sounds coming from the kitchen. He
looks inside and sees Ayeka by herself preparing breakfast.
Surprisingly, she seems to have a lot prepared, as if she had been up
for quite some time. More surprisingly, the food seems to have been
well prepared. Even more surprisingly is that Sasami is nowhere to be
seen.
She seems to be trying very hard, and working as hard as she can, so
Tenchi decides to let her be for now. He heads out of the house and
heads up to the temple. He reaches the temple and heads in the main
entrance. There Katsuhito is speaking with Nobuyuki.
"I can't get to work. What do you propose I do?" Tenchi hears his
father say.
Before he can come up with a suitable response, Katsuhito notices
Tenchi standing in the doorway. "Tenchi, you're up early," he states.
"Uh, morning Grandpa."
"Don't ignore me. I have a real problem here!" pleads Nobuyuki.
"What's the matter Dad?" asks Tenchi.
"Well as you know I let Kannuki and Ryoko borrow my van last night,
but they never came back."
"What!" screams Tenchi.
"I know it's a real dilemma. I have no way to get to work, the nearest
bus stop is five miles from here."
"Well I think I may know of a way." Says Katsuhito.
"Really what?" Say Tenchi and Nobuyuki at the same time.
"Take the day off. You've been working too hard lately. We never see
you anymore."
"But I have too much to do. I can't just take a day off." Whines
Nobuyuki. "Besides, I am the only means of income for this family.
You guys need me to make money."
"This is true, however you get two weeks of paid vacation. You have
only used three days so far. Stay home."
"Fine." Sighs Nobuyuki.
"Well then everything is settled." Says Katsuhito happily. He and
Nobuyuki begin to head out of the shrine.
"Wait! What about Kannuki and Ryoko?" wails Tenchi.
Katsuhito turns around "Don't worry about it for now. We'll deal with
it later."
Katsuhito and Nobuyuki head out of the shrine and to the stairs.
Tenchi just walks behind them slowly shaking his head.
They finally reach the house. By this time Sasami and Mihoshi have
awoken, and are sitting quietly in the living room.
"Good morning Tenchi." Says Sasami happily.
"Good morning Sasami."
"Don't go into the dining room yet Tenchi. There's a surprise in
there." Advised Sasami.
Tenchi gives a smile and a nod of acknowledgment. After about five
minutes of quiet conversation Sasami realizes that not everybody is
there.
"Tenchi we had better get Ryoko, Washu and Kannuki."
"Uh Sasami, I have some bad news." Says Tenchi, "Ryoko and
Kannuki never came home last night."
A look of Panic spread over Sasami's face. She stands up quickly and
starts running in a random direction, as people often do when
panicked. "Oh no! What if they're hurt? We have to go find them!"
"I wouldn't worry about it Sasami." Comforts Tenchi, "They can take
care of themselves."
Sasami stops and hangs her head. "I suppose your right."
"Hey Mihoshi will you go get Washu for us."
Mihoshi lifts her head slightly. She is obviously still very tired.
"Washu said I can't go into her lab alone anymore."
"Gee I wonder why?" mumbles Tenchi.
"What?" asks Mihoshi.
"Nothing." He sighs. "Well I guess I had better get her." He walks
over to the door leading to her lab. He takes a deep breath and moves
his hand towards the door. Slowly he begins to place his hand on the
knob. Just as he gets the guts to turn the knob, the door flies open
sending Tenchi flying back and into the wall.
Washu walks out of her lab casually and looks down at Tenchi. "You
know," she scolds "you really shouldn't stand in front of a door that
swings outward."
"Thanks for the advice." Mumbles Tenchi.
Washu walks over to Sasami and sees the look of worry on her face.
"Don't worry Sasami, they're fine." Says Washu encouragingly.
A big smile spreads across Sasami's face. "Thank you Washu."
"Anytime." She says with a wink.
Nearly ten minutes pass of meaningless conversation, then Ayeka's
voice comes from the dining room. "Okay you can come in now."
Sasami jumps up excitedly. She pulls Tenchi up onto his feet. They
walk into the dining room, and as they do, their mouths hit the floor.
Spread out in front of them is a whole table full of delicious looking
food. All sorts of food are laid out. Fruit, vegetables, fish, egg dishes,
breakfast soups, everything. It was not much greater than they usually
had, but the fact that Ayeka had done it was simply shocking.
Ayeka stood there blushing. "Please sit down." She says shyly. They
all take their spots at the table and begin serving themselves. Ayeka
stands at the foot of the table looking proudly at what she had done.
She had tried many times to learn how to cook from Sasami, but until
now she had never been able to get things right.
She looked happily at all of the happy faces enjoying the meal when it
hit her. "Excuse me for asking," she says, "But where are Kannuki
and Ryoko?"
"Well that's the odd thing." Responds Tenchi, "They kind of didn't
come home from partying last night."
Ayeka's face turns sour, but she catches herself and smiles. "Well I'm
sure they'll be just fine."
They resume eating, and Ayeka rather than join in, just watches.
Sasami turns to Ayeka, "Ayeka this is delicious, you should eat with
us."
Everyone else at the table agrees with Sasami in their own way.
"Thank you, but I made this meal for you to enjoy." Ayeka responds.
"But Ayeka I would enjoy it more if you ate with us." Pleads Sasami.
"Besides there is plenty of food, and we don't want to waste any."
Ayeka humbly sits down next to her sister. She takes very little food
and joins in. The rest of breakfast is a happy one. Everyone was sure
to thank Ayeka. Sasami was especially grateful. Tenchi offers to help
Ayeka clean up the mess, and they were sure to set aside the leftovers
for Kannuki and Ryoko.
After clean up Tenchi and Ayeka join Mihoshi, Sasami, and Washu in
the living room.
"Well, now what should we do about Ryoko and Kannuki?" asks
Tenchi.
"Don't worry about them." Says Washu. "They aren't hurt, and can
find their own way home."
"Are you sure about that?" asks Tenchi.
"Positive. Now I'm sure your grandfather has some work for you to
do. Better get to it."
"Yeah whatever." Mumbles Tenchi as he steps outside to begin the
days work.
"As for you," says Washu to Mihoshi, "I need you in my lab."
______________________________________________________
Kannuki awakes with the worst headache he had ever experienced.
His eyes slowly open, but instantly begin to sting. He takes a breath
and begins coughing heavily. Whatever he inhaled wasn't air. He
opens his eyes and becomes fully awake. He then notices that he is
surrounded in smoke. He sniffs. Yes definitely smoke. It seems
unbearably hot in the van. He feels around for the door. He finds it
and grabs the handle. He gives it a push, nothing happens. He gives it
a hard push, and it falls off. He stumbles and collapses to the ground.
His headache becomes more severe. Painfully he looks around. He is
at the bottom of a hill inside of a forest. The sun has just barely come
up. The ground has a slight dew on it. He sees a path of ripped up
ground and destroyed brush leading up to him. He looks back at the
van. The entire front end is wrapped around a tree, and has mostly
burned away.
He tries to think about what he had done. "Something about a movie.
Crappy dance clubs? At a bar. Ryoko beats up a guy. Wait Ryoko!
Shit Ryoko." He gets up and rushes to the passenger side of the van.
He rips the door off and looks in. Ryoko isn't there. He looks around
dumbfounded. He notices that there is a large hole in the windshield.
He looks in the direction that the van is facing, and there is Ryoko
lying unconscious on the ground.
He rushes over to her and rolls her onto her back. She is bleeding
from her forehead, but nothing else seems to be wrong.
"Ryoko. Ryoko wake up."
She stirs.
"Wake up Ryoko!" he yells.
She moans and slowly opens her eyes. She too has a blaring headache.
She sits up grabbing her head. "God damn, what did we do last
night?"
"That's the least of our worries. Look over there." He points to the
van.
She has to look for a second before her eyes can focus. Then the van
comes into clear view. "Oh shit. That's not good."
"What do you think we should do?"
"Don't ask me. I can barely think with this god damned headache."
"Yeah I'm pretty hung-over too."
"Yeah well at least you didn't hit your head on a tree."
"We should probably rest a bit."
"Forget it, I'll just teleport us back home."
"You can do that?"
"Sure, hold on." She grabs his hand. They sit there still for a second.
Nothing happens. "Oh right the necklace." She grabs the necklace and
yanks on it. As she does this, it beeps and emits a high voltage shock
sending Ryoko to the ground. She springs back to her feet. "God
damn you Washu!" she screams.
"Let me guess, Washu fool-proofed it so you can't take it off
yourself."
"Bingo. I guess we had better walk."
"You up for it?"
"No, but we're going anyway. Lets go."
"Give me a minute dammit." Walking a long distance was the last
thing Kannuki wanted to do right now. Being injured and hung-over is
not a good state to be in while walking a long distance.
They sit there for about five minutes before Ryoko gets impatient.
"C'mon were leaving." She wasn't up for the walk either, but she
knew that they couldn't just sit there all day.
Kannuki gets up and Mumbles. "Fucking hung-over and I gotta walk
god dammit." Slowly they walk up the path that the van had created.
Soon they get to the road. There was a turn in the road that they
obviously did not make. They head down the road in the direction
they think is the right way.
Not much is said on the way home. Both are too hung-over to care.
About three miles down, they get to a part of the road that is not
surrounded in trees. They are on a hill and can see a good outlook of
the area. Scanning around Ryoko gets a glimpse of the house off in
the distance. It's about a five mile walk from where they are. Both are
tired and hung-over, meaning another five miles is the last thing they
want.
Hardly determined they press on. Nearly an hour later, they stumble
into view of the house. Gradually they stumble to the gate that Azaka
and Kamidake and standing guard at.
"Good morning." Says Azaka.
"I hope your evening was enjoyable." Adds Kamidake.
Ryoko and Kannuki stumble by without even acknowledging them.
"I wonder." Says Azaka. "Do we even have a purpose?"
"No I don't believe so."
Ryoko gets to the door first. She slides it open and steps inside.
Inside Sasami and Ayeka are reading quietly. They look up to see who
has entered.
Sasami gets very exited to see them. She gets up and runs over to
them. "You're home! I was so worried."
Ryoko smiles and pats her on the head. "Thanks" she mutters.
Ryoko and Kannuki then trudge up the stairs to their individual rooms.
There, they collapse into a deep sleep.
A couple hours pass and Tenchi gets finished with the first set of his
duties. He proceeds to the house to grab some lunch. Sasami has set
out a small buffet of lunch. He grabs some food and sits down at the
table with Ayeka, Sasami, and his father, who are the only people
there.
"Good afternoon Tenchi." Says Ayeka. "Did your morning go well?"
"It was fine thank you." Replies Tenchi. "By the way. Did Ryoko and
Kannuki ever come home."
"Yes they did." Responds Sasami. "They came home a couple of hours
ago and went to bed. They were hurt, and looked like they had had a
lot to drink."
Tenchi gets a slight look of anger and frustration on his face.
"and on top of that, they didn't come home with the van." Sasami
adds.
"What!" says Nobuyuki while turning white in the face. "My... car...
where is it?"
"That's it" says Tenchi angrily as he gets up. "I'm getting them up
right now." He storms up the stairs to wake them up.
"My, I haven't seen Tenchi this angry before." States Ayeka.
He goes to Ryoko's bedroom first. He walks to her bed and throws off
her cover. He then grabs her shirt and pulls her up. "Get up Ryoko he
yells."
Her eyes open rather quickly. "What is it Tenchi?" she asks
innocently.
"Just get up and come downstairs. We need to talk." He leaves her
standing there bewildered.
He then goes down the hall to Kannuki's room. He slides open the
door and it hits the end of the track with a loud bang. This wakes up
Kannuki who lets out a loud groan.
"Kannuki get up, we need to talk."
"G'mornin Tinchee."
"I mean it this is important."
"Is breakfast getting cold."
"It's the afternoon."
"..."
"Kannuki?"
"..."
"Kannuki?"
"..."
He walks over to him and kicks him in the ribs. "Get up!"
Kannuki sits up grabbing his chest. "All right, all right I'm up."
"We need to talk about what you and Ryoko did last night c'mon."
Tenchi leaves the room and heads back downstairs.
"God dammit." Mutters Kannuki.
Ryoko and Kannuki quickly get dressed and head downstairs at about
the same time. They get to the bottom of the stairs where Tenchi is
waiting for them. Ayeka stands at the end of the room eager to see
Tenchi mad at Ryoko. Sasami left the room. She hated the idea of
Tenchi being mad, and him scolding anyone was something she did
not want to see.
"Sit down" he commands.
They sit down next to each other and hang their heads.
"All right, first things first. Where is my fathers van?"
A large bead of sweat forms on both Kannuki and Ryoko's foreheads.
"Well Tenchi," responds Ryoko, "It's kind of, well..."
"It's in the forest in a burning heap wrapped around a tree." Finishes
Kannuki.
"WHAT!? Which one of you was driving?"
Kannuki slightly raises his hand.
"How much did you have to drink last night?"
"A lot."
"I can't believe this. How is my father supposed to get to work now."
"I'll fly him." Jokes Ryoko.
"This isn't a joke."
"Sorry" she quickly says.
"Ryoko I have had to put up with you for a long time. You have to
admit I have been very patient with you."
"Well yes" she says while looking down at the floor.
"And you Kannuki, you have only been here a week and you have
already began to cause trouble."
Kannuki didn't know what to say. Nobody had scolded him in a long
time, or at least survived to. This was different though, he had been
invited to live in someone's house out of the goodness of their heart,
and he had destroyed their trust. He wanted to feel angry, it was what
he was used to, but somehow he couldn't get mad at Tenchi. Then
something completely unexpected happened.
"Tenchi," says Ryoko, "Don't blame him, it was my fault. I came
along with him uninvited and made him drink more than he should
have. If I hadn't gone along, none of this what have happened. I'm
sorry."
Everyone in the room went into a state of shock. Ryoko rarely took
the blame for anything, and she made a sincere apology. The room
went silent for about a minute as they let it set in.
Finally Tenchi had to speak up. "I'm glad you are finally taking
responsibility Ryoko. However you have to start doing your share of
work around here. I am tired of you ignoring all of your duties around
here. Promise me that you will at least attempt to help out."
"I will Tenchi." she solemnly says.
"As for you Kannuki, I am glad you're here, really I am. You are
really a great help, but if things like this continue, there will be
consequences."
"I believe I have an idea." It was Katsuhito, he had come in a minute
ago, and waited until now to speak. "Kannuki, you have borrowed
money from me, I think it is time to pay me back."
Kannuki's face turned white. "Oh crap." He mutters.
"What, how much money did you borrow?" asks Tenchi.
"Oh a little," responds Kannuki, "only like 90 to 100 thousand yen."
"90 to 100 thousand!" shrieks Tenchi. "What would you possible need
with that much money!?"
"Well I did lose everything in the crash. I needed new clothes, a new
sound system, CDs, video games, a mini fridge, food for that mini
fridge, and you know, stuff."
"Grandpa you let him have that much? I didn't even know you had
that much money. Why?" asks Tenchi.
"Please Tenchi, I was only being sympathetic to the poor boy.
Besides, now he must repay his debt." Katsuhito responds.
"Well good luck with that." Tenchi says to Kannuki who now has his
head hung low. "But what are we going to do with my fathers van?"
They all sat there silently and thought for a second. Then at the same
time, everyone in the room said the same thing, "Washu."
Tenchi, Ryoko, and Kannuki went into Washu's lab. They look
around in the main room, but there is nobody there.
"Hmm that's odd. I think Mihoshi may be in here too, but where
could they be?" states Tenchi. Then as he finishes saying this, a door
appears out of nowhere and out steps Washu and Mihoshi.
"Thanks again for you help Mihoshi." Says Washu.
"Oh it's no problem at all." Says Mihoshi, who seems to not be in her
usual cheery mood. Her mood seems to worsen when she sees
Kannuki.
Tenchi steps forward and speaks, "Washu I have to ask a favor of
you."
"I know. These two are totally out of control wouldn't you agree.
Well anyway don't worry about your fathers car. I have already made
a replacement and even put it in the driveway. It was easy really,
Earth technology is so primitive. I did however make some
adjustments.
Tenchi got a little angry, "What did you do to it?"
"Hey don't worry! Nothing really. I just made the engine out of some
new parts so that it will never need to be tuned and now gets 300 miles
per gallon."
"Oh. Thanks I think."
"No problem." They begin to leave the lab, Tenchi first, then Ryoko
and lastly Kannuki. Just before Kannuki can step out Washu speaks,
"Kannuki do you think I could have a word with you."
He turns around "Why?"
"Oh nothing."
"No."
"Gee too bad. I guess Tenchi's going to be disappointed when he
finds out that you are #67 on the galaxies most wanted criminal list."
"So you know about that too." He steps further into the lab.
"Yes, Mihoshi of course was too slow to figure out that you were a
criminal, but with her help I was able to access Yukinojo's data files
and get all sorts of dirt on you."
"I'm not a criminal anymore."
"Well that's the thing. You may not have committed a serious crime
in over 150 years, but the stuff you did before that certainly got you
high on the wanted list."
"That doesn't mean I don't regret what I did. I want nothing more
than to live the rest of my life in peace."
"So you truly have given up your mission."
"You read Ryoko's thoughts last night didn't you?"
"I did more than that. You were followed the entire night by a spy
drone."
"So you saw everything?"
"Yup. It was quite a show." An awkward pause happens.
"Well yes it's true. For the first time ever I have failed a mission."
"So are you going to indulge Little Washu on what that mission was?"
she says in a baby voice.
"Not now, but you will find out in due time. There will be
consequences for failing. This was no run of the mill mission."
"You mean it wasn't murder."
"I guess you could say that. Murder was the last thing the guy hiring
me wanted to do... You know I've said to much already, I'm out of
here."
"Heh heh, good luck." Encourages Washu.
Kannuki leaves the lab. "Good luck?" he thinks. "What is that
supposed to mean?"
He walks into the living room, past Sasami and Mihoshi who are
chatting quietly, and out the door to the pond. He looks around, but
there is nobody around. He heads to the stairs and makes his way to
the shrine. He gets to the top, and as he gets in view of the shrine, he
catches a glimpse of Ayeka and Tenchi talking by the entrance.
Without being noticed, he heads back down the steps. He cuts off onto
a path about halfway down. He heads through the woods, simply
exploring and admiring the scenery. He breaks out of the woods into a
grassy field. There in front of him is a large rock fixture with a cave at
the bottom. On top of the rock is Ryoko, staring out at the scenery.
She looks saddened and lonely, almost distant.
He climbs up the rock to where Ryoko is standing. He stands next to
her and looks out at whatever it is she is looking at.
He stands there silently for about a minute. Finally he speaks, "Thank
you Ryoko."
A smile spreads across her face.
"You really didn't need to take the blame for me." He adds. "It was
my fault."
Ryoko lets out a heavy sigh. "Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't." she
looks over at him. "But I think Tenchi can forgive me easier than
you."
"Maybe. Still I appreciate it." Neither speaks for while. A soft breeze
blows across the area, sending waves over the long grass.
Ryoko finally speaks, "So what are you going to do now?"
"I don't know. I guess I have to get a job."
"Good luck finding one."
"Thanks."
"Kannuki."
"Yeah."
"I know you're not who you say you are. Washu has told me
everything, Ayeka and Mihoshi too."
"I was afraid of that."
"Ayeka doesn't seem to care. She trusts you for some reason.
Probably because Katsuhito likes you so much. Why he looks at you
so favorably I'll never know."
"Yeah I can't even figure that one out, but I'm not complaining."
"Mihoshi just found out today. I think she's taking it hard. She feels
conflicted over her friendship towards you, and her duty as a cop."
"What do you think you know about me?" he asks sternly.
"Well I know for sure that you were in fact a mercenary on Keltek.
Washu found out that was true. However she seems almost confident
that the story of your recent life is completely made up and that you
are on a mission. No offense to you but Washu is rarely wrong about
these things."
"Are you sure it was only Washu that found these things out."
"Uh, yeah."
"She didn't get her daughter to get me drunk and slip out that I was on
a failed mission."
"You remember that."
"I may have been smashed, but I don't forget things that easily."
She hangs her head and looks at the ground. "Sorry. That's part of
why I took the blame for the van being wrecked. I felt guilty about
betraying you like that."
"This is messed up."
"What's messed up?"
"This whole situation. I haven't mentioned this to anyone before, but I
have spent my entire life trying to find you, and kill you. After Master
Arashi was killed I headed to Jurai's capitol to find his killer. There I
found out it was the space pirate Ryoko. I figured Keltek was a good
place to get information. I learned a lot about you there. I discovered
about your past and your ties to Kagato. I also heard that you had
disappeared and were possibly killed. Also Kagato, the only person
who may know of your whereabouts, had also gone missing. I gave up
looking for you and became a mercenary. You know about how that
turned out. Then I left Keltek to explore the universe. When I met
Kagato I thought I could use him to find you. Instead it almost got me
killed. I went to Jurai to find out about my own past. I found out
nothing about myself, but I did find out about you. A man said he
could lead me to you, but that I had to do a certain job for him.
Naturally I accepted. However, things changed when I got here. I
expected you to be a cruel, ugly, hate-filled demon. Then when I met
you, I was completely taken by surprise. For the entire week I thought
of ways that I could get revenge. I realized you are far more powerful
than I am, and had to strategize and wait for the right time. But last
night when you came along with me, things changed. Believe it or
not, last night was the most fun I have ever had in my life. Then when
you took the blame for no reason, I couldn't bring myself to hate you
anymore."
He looks over at Ryoko. She is a little red in the face, and looks sad,
happy, confused, and bewildered all at the same time.
"I'm sorry was that too much to say all at once?" asks Kannuki.
Ryoko seems to snap out of a trance. "Oh no. I just had no idea about
any of that. I'm not sure if I should be mad that you were trying to kill
me, or glad that you don't want to anymore."
"Sorry, I should go now."
"Well where are you going?"
"Back to the bar."
"You're going to drink again?"
"No. I told you I need a job, and the bartender offered me one last
night. I think I may take him up on that."
"Ha. See you later Kannuki."
"See you later."
______________________________________________________
That ends chapter two. I hope you liked it. If you feel it necessary to
compliment, or criticize me, give me a write at Twigz221@yahoo.com
I promise to write back.
See you soon for chapter 3. Questions will be answered and conflicts
will arise. I wouldn't miss it (of course I can't because I'm the one
writing it.)
This is my fanfic, however this is not MY fanfic. I created one
character and put him into someone else's series. My character is
Kannuki, that someone is AIC and Pioneer, and that series is Tenchi
Muyo.
Thanks again to Lord Ilpalazzo/Psycomancer/Sontaku's Brother for
proofreading this.
If you have any questions or comments, contact me at
Twigz221@yahoo.com
_________________________________________________________
It has now been one week since Kannuki crash-landed on Earth. It is
now morning in the Masaki household. We join the cast at the
breakfast table.
Ryoko grabs her bowl and puts it up to her face. With one loud slurp
she engulfs the entire thing. She lowers the bowl from her face to see
every other face at the table staring blankly at her.
"What?" She asks innocently.
They all remain bug eyed, except for Ayeka who must speak up.
"Really Ryoko, that's your seventh bowl this morning. Such rude
manners. I can barely stand it."
"Hey I can't help it. This new miso soup recipe is great. Besides
Ayeka you've barely touched yours. That's not very nice to Sasami."
"Well it's better than making a huge scene at the table!"
"Hey at least I can appreciate your sisters cooking!"
"You don't appreciate anything she does. Maybe if you did than you
would help out with the chores once in a while!"
Ryoko, in retaliation, flings her bowl at Ayeka. Tenchi reaches out
and grabs the bowl in midair. "Alright that's enough. Stop the
arguing now!" he yells.
Everyone in the room jumps back and goes silent, startled by Tenchi.
All except Washu, who is sitting peacefully eating her soup. She sets
down her now empty bowl.
"Delicious!" she exclaims. "Sasami, you really must make this more
often!"
Before long breakfast is finished. Tenchi heads out to the shrine to
begin the days training. The rest of the group gets ready to do their
own chores. Kannuki has yard-work duty today so he heads out to the
shed and gathers the tools he needs. When he gets out of the shed,
Ryoko is waiting for him.
"Can I help you?" he asks.
"Tenchi told me to give you this list. More chores I guess."
Kannuki grabs the list and reads it off. "Sweep entry-way, do laundry,
clean bathrooms, dust the main floor. Ryoko, these are your chores."
"No they're not, Tenchi said they were for you to do."
"I already talked to Tenchi. These are yours"
"I'm not lying."
"Ryoko this list is in your handwriting."
"Well, I uh, I had to write it down after he told me."
"I thought he gave you the list."
"No."
"Just do your work. I want to get my chores done as soon as possible
today."
"Why's that?"
"I'm going into town today." He says with a grin.
"What for?"
"It gets kind of boring around here, so I'm going to hang out in town.
You know, hit some bars, meet some women, and maybe catch a
movie."
"Whatever." She says as she fades back into the house. Ryoko had
been unsuccessful in giving her chores to other people (even Mihoshi),
so she decided to just skip them as usual. She flies up to her usual
rafter and lies back for a quick nap. Before any more than ten seconds,
she is interrupted.
"All right Ryoko, that's enough."
Ryoko open one eye and looks down while still lying. "What do you
want Washu."
"I read your mind, and I want you to go with Kannuki in to town."
"What for."
"To get information out of him."
"You really think that he's just going to tell me because I went to town
with him."
"He will if you get him drunk enough."
"Huh." She sits up.
"It'll be easy. He said he was going to go to a bar. Just make sure that
while he's there, he gets really drunk. Then asking him won't be a
problem at all."
"Of all your ideas Washu, this has to be the worst."
"Do it for your Mommy," replies Washu in a childlike voice, "Besides,
you may have a good time."
"I just don't like the idea."
"You mean the idea of spending time alone with a man other than
Tenchi?"
Ryoko looks away from her and sighs. "If it's so important than why
don't you go with him?"
"Because I don't like him and he doesn't like me."
"Fine I'll go, but you owe me big time."
"That's my girl. Now get to your chores."
Washu heads back to her lab and Ryoko goes back to relaxing. The
hours pass and dinner has just been completed. Kannuki tells Tenchi
of his plan and says goodbye for the night. Tenchi sits down in the
living room and awaits a night of comfort. Sasami is on the couch
next to him.
"Hey Tenchi, where is Kannuki going?" she asks.
"He's going to downtown Okayama tonight. Just to hang out I
suppose."
"Well how is he getting there?"
Tenchi sits there silently for a second. "I don't know." He finally
says. Then they hear a loud roar as they look outside to see Kannuki
speeding away in Nobuyuki's van.
"But Tenchi" asks Sasami, "he doesn't have a drivers license."
Tenchi is to frozen and pale to respond.
Kannuki is tearing down the road at about fifteen miles per hour over
the limit. He has loud music blaring, and the windows down.
Okayama would be his tonight. He gets about two miles down the
road when he hears a noise directly to his right. He looks over to see a
smiling Ryoko, wearing a very revealing outfit. This catches him by
surprise a bit. The van swerves as he slams on the brakes.
"What the hell Ryoko? You almost made me crash."
"You sound pretty worried for a guy who was going 20 miles over the
speed limit."
"Why are you here?"
"I wanna come to town with you tonight. I hope this isn't a problem."
She says. Her tone then gets deeper and harsher, "Is it?"
"Not really. I was just kind of planning on going alone."
"Aw come on. It'll be more fun with a friend, trust me. Besides, I
realize that you're going out to pick up women, and I won't interfere
with that."
"I never said I had a problem with it. It just kind of surprises me that
you want to come. I figured that nobody wanted to come with me, so I
didn't bother asking."
"Well then, where are we going first?"
"A movie. There's a new action movie out that they have been
advertising for. It looks okay so I thought I would check it out."
"How do you plan on paying for it?"
"Katsuhito lent me some money. I have to pay him back, but at least I
can have fun now."
"What? He never lends me anything."
"Well maybe he trusts me more than you."
"What did you ever do to earn trust?"
"Well for one I actually do my chores."
"So"
"I'm more polite."
"Big deal."
"I don't destroy pieces of the house on a daily basis."
"Not my fault."
"I never tried to kill him."
"Once again, not my fault."
"I was never a space pirate."
"You were an outlaw, close enough. Either way it's not fair. That old
man treats you like you're so special. I don't why that he likes you so
much."
"Well neither do I, but I might as well take advantage of a good
situation."
"Forget it, let's go."
Kannuki restarts the van and floors it. They drive around for a while,
and finally hit the movie theater. Kannuki buys them their tickets and
they head in. It was just some crappy movie about a second rate cop
who ends up defeating about a hundred terrorists and winds up
becoming the hero of the day.
"Man that movie sucked." Rants Ryoko.
"You're telling me. Seems like here anyone is impressed by a violent
scene followed by a lame catch phrase." Replies Kannuki.
"It wasn't even exiting. I have had better experiences than that."
"Such as?"
"Well this one time I was attacking a Juraian cargo ship, but it turned
out that they were transporting a small battalion of the Juraian army as
well. I stormed in there and beat up every one of them. Got a lot of
loot out of it too."
"I have that beat. Back on Keltek I was hired to take out the richest
man on that planet. He was in a building that went underground rather
than above. I battled my way through over fifty floors to get to him.
Most had either soldiers or robotic attack mechanisms. And since it
was underground, I had to fight my way back UP."
"That's nothing. I took on the entire Juraian army by myself. I was
able to stage the only successful attack on Jurai's capitol."
"Yeah but didn't Yosho track you down and defeat you?"
"Well no one's perfect."
"Let's go. There's a good bar nearby, we can hit that."
"You're on."
They jump into the van and head over to this bar in the area. They see
one with a long line outside. At the front of the line is a large and
well-built bouncer. Kannuki parks the van and they get out. He
begins to head to the end of line.
"Where the hell are you going?" asks Ryoko.
"There's a line."
"You pussy! Come on." She grabs him and heads to the front of the
line. She heads right through the door, but is grabbed by the bouncer.
"You must wait like the others."
"Screw that. I don't wait for anyone." she says smugly.
"You won't get in at all now."
"Oh really." A smile spreads across her face. "Well I guess that's just
too bad then." She then jabs her fist right into the bouncers' gut. He
falls over and begins whimpering like a baby. Ryoko and Kannuki
then walk happily into the bar. There are a lot of colored lights
everywhere. There are also many small tables surrounding a dance-
floor with many people dancing on it. There is some weird techno
song playing.
"You know Ryoko that was really unnecessary." Says Kannuki.
"Hey can I help it if I like to have fun?" She looks around for a
second. "What the hell IS this place?"
"You know I'm not really sure. I have seen a lot of advertisements for
it, and it is supposed to be the best spot in town. Lets at least see what
they have."
"There's a bar over there, lets hit that."
They walk over to the bar. A man in a puffy pink shirt is behind the
counter.
"Can I get you guysth anything? Hmm." Says the bartender in a lispy
voice that seems way to exited.
"Shot of unflavored Vodka." Says Kannuki.
"Yesth and any thing for the lady?"
"Bottle of sake." Replies Ryoko.
"Oh a whole bottle of Sthake. You mustht be planning a fun night!"
He grabs the drinks and gives them to them. "Anything elsthe for you
guysth."
"Yeah." Says Kannuki. "Go away."
Kannuki slams his shot while Ryoko chugs the sake.
"Well I've had enough. Let's go." Says Ryoko.
"Yup"
_____________________________________________________
Meanwhile back at the house.
Tenchi is running over to his father, who is reading a racy manga in
his library. "Dad! Kannuki just took your van!" Tenchi yells.
"I know. He asked if he could use it." Replies Nobuyuki.
"Dad he doesn't have a license! What if he gets pulled over?"
"Don't worry about. He can't get in too much trouble out there."
"But I think Ryoko may be with him."
"In that case we do have a problem. But anyway, I think we should
just let this one slide."
"But what if..."
"Tenchi let it go. Besides, what could we do anyway?"
"Fine." Mutters a disappointed Tenchi. He sulks back down to the
living room. Ayeka, Sasami and Mihoshi are on the couch watching
Television. Ryo-Ohki is perched on top of Sasami's head as usual.
He finds a spot and sits down.
"Well how did it go?" asks Sasami.
"He got Dad's permission, but still doesn't have a license. Dad said
not to worry about it, but I still have a really bad feeling."
"I know what you mean." Says Ayeka. "Allowing Ryoko to go out it
public is never a good thing."
"I hate to admit it but you are right." Replies Tenchi.
"Oh you guys worry too much. I'm sure they will have a fine time,
and not get in any trouble at all. Really you are making a big deal out
of nothing." Adds Mihoshi.
"I suppose your right." Says Tenchi with a sigh. "By the way, where
is Washu?"
"I believe she is in the middle of a very important experiment." replies
Ayeka "she said not to be disturbed until tomorrow."
Tenchi finally feels he can relax a bit. His sits back and tries to enjoy
the show. He doesn't enjoy it much, being that it is a chick show
about teenage romance.
______________________________________________________
About an hour has passed. Ryoko and Kannuki are still trying to find
a good bar. After seeing nothing but dance clubs, and no real bars,
they are about ready to give up.
"Come on Ryoko, don't you know of any place around here that's a
good hang-out? I mean, you drink all the time."
"Yeah, I drink a lot, at home. I just get the soki from a liquor store. I
never hang out in a bar."
"Why not."
"Tenchi doesn't approve of me going into town on my own."
"Ha, really? Why's that?"
"He's afraid I'm going to use my powers and freak people out.
However that isn't a problem tonight."
"Really?"
"Yeah Washu made me put this damn thing on." She points to a small
black necklace that Kannuki hadn't noticed before. "It limits my
powers. I can't do anything with it on."
"But you took out that bouncer."
"It limits my power, not my strength. I can still kick ass."
"But wait, how did you teleport into the van?"
"Washu did that for me."
"This doesn't make sense. You wanted to come to town with me, but
you went and made sure that your powers were limited. That isn't like
you at all."
"Washu made me."
"Made you? How did Washu MAKE you?"
"She read my thoughts. When she found out I was going to town she
decided it would be best if I wore it."
"And you just let her put it on you."
"Well, she kind of has a lot of dirt on me." Says Ryoko while
blushing a bit.
"Dirt, like what?"
"Like I would tell you. Come on let's just get to a bar."
"Well were heading out of the trendy downtown area, I'm pretty sure
there is a bar around here somewhere." They drive out of the
downtown area and head to a more commercial part of the town.
"How about that place?" says Ryoko, pointing to a seedy looking
place with nothing but motorcycles parked out front.
"A biker bar? No thanks."
"Well how about that?" She points to a sports bar.
"Fine." He pulls up the van and they get out. They head inside and
head up to the bar past several tables, many of which have some tough
looking men sitting at them. There is a karaoke stand, but nobody is
using it. One wall is lined with dartboards, half of which are being
used. There are several televisions with a baseball game on. There are
two waitresses running back and forth from table to table, trying to get
people their drinks. They find two empty stools at the bar and sit
down. The guy behind the counter is an overweight bald guy (shaved
bald) with a goatee. They order some drinks and finally begin to relax.
They begin a meaningless conversation, and have about five more
drinks apiece.
Ryoko lets out a sigh and stretches her arms. "I'm going to go sing
some karaoke."
"Go ahead." Mutters Kannuki, as he orders another drink. Ryoko
heads of towards the karaoke stage and starts singing. The bartender
quickly fixes a drink and gives it to Kannuki.
"So is that your girlfriend?" asks the bartender.
"Who her?" replies Kannuki. "No were just friends."
"That's to bad, you don't see women that good looking come in here
very often. Come to think of it I don't think I've ever seen you around
here before. What's your name?"
"Kannuki." He answers dryly, not really caring.
"The names Dan. Dan Stressman. Moved here from America. I own
this place, nice little bar aint it?."
"Yeah sure."
"So where you from Kannuki?"
Kannuki had to stop and think about this one. He couldn't tell him
where he really was from. He stopped and though about a good place
that he could be from.
"Well did you forget or something?"
"Not that, I just don't really have a hometown. I move around a lot,
and never really settle in one place for too long. I go around and do
jobs, whatever's needed. But I think I may stick with Okayama for a
while. I have a nice place to stay for a while."
"Is it with her?" Dan points to Ryoko.
"Technically, she lives in the same house, but she's a guest too. It's a
long story. I'll have another drink please."
"What is that? Your seventh."
"Here, yes."
"How can you stand that much alcohol?"
"I dunno. I just can." Kannuki grabs his new drink and slams it down.
"Another please, and get some for my friend over there." He points to
Ryoko who is dancing around like a loony on stage singing completely
off beat from the song. Dan gets the drinks, and has a waitress bring
Ryoko's over to her.
"Hey man, you may want to get up." Says Dan suddenly.
"Yeah why's that?"
"No time to explain man, just move." It was too late. Kannuki feels a
hand grab his shoulder and spins him around. There is a very large
muscular man with some evil looking tattoos on his arms.
"You're in my seat. Get out."
"What was that?" says Kannuki almost laughing.
"YOU are in MY seat. If you know what's good for you, than you
should move."
"I'm happy where I am thank you."
"You little punk!" The man thrusts at Kannuki with his fist. Before it
can hit a target, Kannuki grabs his fist and twists it, causing the man to
flip and land on his back. Kannuki turns around and resumes drinking.
The man gets up angrily and spins Kannuki around. "You're gonna
pay for that you little bastard!"
"Oh really?" muses Kannuki. He finishes his drink and stands up.
"Fine I won't block this next one. Go on, take a shot."
Without hesitation the man throw a punch directly at Kannuki's nose.
Being true to his word, Kannuki takes the hit, and fly's back bringing
his hands up to his nose, which is starting to bleed.
"Shit! God Dammit, Shit! You hit my nose you Ass-Clown! OW!
God Damn Shit!"
Then without warning Kannuki throws his own punch at the guy,
hitting HIM in the nose. The man falls back, unconscious, and with a
nose that is bruised and bleeding.
"Bitch" says Kannuki triumphantly. He turns around sits back down.
He picks up his drink and resumes. Ryoko, who witnessed the event
comes over and sits down next to Kannuki.
"Now was that really necessary?" comments Ryoko.
"Uh... Yes. Yes it was."
"Yeah I hate his type too. What's this guys deal?" She points to Dan,
who is in a state of shock.
"Beats me. YO Dan!"
Dan snaps out of his trance, "How did you do that? That was Dave
Curry, (or slop-hole as we like to call him). He has been terrorizing
my customers since I opened. He's almost killed several people in
here, and you took him out effortlessly!"
"That guy was weak."
"No way man. Dave is dangerous. Hey if you're looking for work,
how about being a bouncer here. I need a guy like you."
"Forget it."
"Really man, I'll give ya a great salary, plus all the beer you want."
"Go for it!" adds Ryoko enthusiastically.
"I don't need a job"
"That's too bad." murmurs Dan.
"Well how about a couple more drinks on the house for him then."
advised Ryoko "Who knows, maybe that's the last you'll see of that
guy."
Just as she finishes saying this Dave, who has now regained
consciousness, grabs Ryoko and holds a knife to her throat.
"Oh this is really what I need right now." Says Ryoko sarcastically.
Obviously not scared.
"Shut up Bitch!" threatens Dave.
"There's no need for that. Put the knife down." Pleads Dan
"Fuck you." he points at Kannuki. "YOU! Get the hell out of my bar.
Pack up and leave now and I'll let her live. The bitch can find her own
way home."
"I have a better deal." Says Kannuki, "We should have a little contest.
The loser has to pay the winners bar tab for the night, and never return
here as long as they live."
Dave loosens his grip on Ryoko. "What's the contest?"
"All you have to do is win an arm wrestling match... against my friend
whom you are holding right now."
"Are you fucking crazy!" yells Dan. Dave just looks at Kannuki in
disbelief.
"You gotta be fuckin kidding me," says Dave, "what's the catch?"
"No catch. Just strait out arm wrestling."
"Against her? You have gotta be the dumbest retard ever to live. I'll
do it, and I will not hold back just because you're a woman."
"You willing to do it Ryoko?'
"Who do you think you're talking to? A chance for free beer, hell
yeah I'll do it." She responds.
With that the contest got started. Nearly everyone in the bar gathered
around the table to watch. Every person in the bar was in disbelief,
except for Kannuki and Ryoko of course. Dan volunteered to
"referee" the bout.
"Alright, this is best one out of one. No going back now! First person
to slam the others hand on to the table will be declared the winner."
"God dammit we know how to arm wrestle." Yells Dave.
"Right then. Put you elbows on the table and grip hands," they do. He
places his hand over theirs. "Alright, on the count of three." The bar
goes silent. "1. 2. 3. GO" He pulls his hand up and they begin.
Dave starts pushing on Ryoko's hand as hard as he can. Ryoko almost
bursts. "Ha, is that all you have. Oh that is too funny" she laughs.
Dave begins to look pissed. His muscles all flex and his face turns
bright red. "Oh this is just pathetic." Laughs Ryoko. With that she
slams his hand onto the table.
A second of silenced disbelief hushes over the bar. The silence is
broken by a beer bottle falling off of a table and hitting the ground
with a crash of broken glass. With that, the entire bar erupts in joyous
cheering.
Dave stares forward in disbelief. That disbelief soon turns to anger.
The laughter and mockery form the people in the bar stab at him. His
entire dominance over that bar has shattered. For the first time in a
long time, Dave knew what it was like to lose. He didn't like it much.
Thinking only with revenge he slowly goes for his knife. Concealed
within his jacket, he grasps the handle of the knife. He sits still,
waiting for the right moment. Then without warning, he lunges the
blade at Kannuki, who has his back turned.
Fortunately Ryoko sees him lunge and springs into action. As fast as
she can, she jumps out of her chair and delivers a swift kick to his
hand, knocking the blade up into the air. She then delivers a harsh
uppercut to Dave's chin, knocking him back and to the ground. The
knife comes down spinning and sticks into the table with a thud.
Bleeding and bruised, Dave gets up. He gets out his credit card and
throws it at Dan. Without saying a word, he stumbles out of the door,
never to return.
Celebrations began, everyone in the bar had a better time than they had
ever had there. Drinks flowed and the music was loud. Kannuki and
Ryoko soon became the most popular people at the bar. It was really
looking to be a great night.
______________________________________________________
Back at the Masaki house things had been pretty calm. Sasami had
gone to bed. Not too long after that Mihoshi decided to check in for
the night as well, leaving Ayeka and Tenchi alone.
Ayeka felt quite nervous, rarely did she get a chance to be with Tenchi
alone. She knew this would be one of the best opportunities she would
get, and that she had to take advantage of it. She however, did not
know what to say to him. She knew she had to act soon, for it was
getting late. But she was so afraid that he may reject her. She wished
that she were like Ryoko and could just say whatever she wanted.
"Like Ryoko?" she thought, "how desperate am I that I wish I were
like Ryoko? I must speak."
She gathered up her courage and was about to speak, but Tenchi
looked over at her and spoke first. "Hey Ayeka." She says.
Startled, Ayeka responds, "Yes Lord Tenchi, what is it?"
"It's a lovely night out, and I was going to go for a walk before I go to
bed, would you like to join me?"
"Oh Lord Tenchi I would be delighted." Exclaimed Ayeka
It was an unusually chilly night, so Tenchi grabbed his coat, as well as
one for Ayeka. They stepped outside and began walking silently along
the moonlit path. It was very clear out, not a cloud in the sky. The
moon was shining bright enough that everything was clear enough to
see, but still retained the eerie darkness of the night. A slight breeze
flew through the air with the smell of summer lingering in its wake.
The wonderful atmosphere, and the fact that she was with Tenchi, this
to Ayeka, was paradise. They walked along admiring the scenery, no
words were spoken, none needed to be.
They walked along silently for almost forty-five minutes. They had
headed up along a favorite path of Tenchi's. The path leads through a
beautiful part of the woods, to the top of a cliff that overlooked the
entire area.
There Tenchi sat down to relax. Ayeka sat down right next him, and
let out a sigh of pure joy.
"Tenchi." She sighs.
"Yes Ayeka, what is it?"
She hesitates for a few seconds. "I love you Tenchi."
Tenchi also hesitates, unsure of how to answer. "I know Ayeka."
"Then please, tell me that you love me as well." She says with a tone
of desperation in her voice.
Tenchi responds with silence.
"Tell me that I am not on Earth for no reason, tell me that my efforts
are not in vain." She pleads.
Tenchi stares her in eyes, looking at one of the women who has
devoted her life to him. He could see the love and devotion coming
from them. He responds, "Ayeka, it's not that I don't love you, I
really do. However, I love Ryoko as well. Please try to understand
the situation I'm in. I love you and Ryoko equally, and I cannot
forsake one of you for the other."
Tears began to form around Ayeka's eyes. "But why Tenchi? I love
you more than anything. Can't you see that?"
"I know Ayeka, and it pains me to not be able to love you as much as
you love me"
"But you can love me Tenchi. Why must you concern yourself with
an evil person like Ryoko?"
"Well why do you hate Ryoko?"
"Because she has shown absolutely no respect for me. How can a I
possibly not hate someone who has taken so much from me?"
"Ryoko doesn't hate you Ayeka."
"What are talking about? She has done such horrible things to me!
How can you think that she does not hate me?"
"Ayeka look back. When Kagato attacked she limited her attacks to
prevent you from getting injured. When Yumi attacked Jurai and
Ryuten, she fought for you and your family. When Garyu kidnapped
you, she risked her own life to rescue you. She only argues with you
because she is too embarrassed to come to the reality that she really
cares for you. I realize she used to be a violent pirate, but she has
changed. Please give her a chance."
Ayeka had to pause after that. She knew that it was all true. She just
didn't want to come to terms with it. It was however a request from
Tenchi. She looked up at him, a serious look of concern was on his
face. "I am sorry" she uttered. "I will try."
At this point she brakes down crying. She buries her face in her arms
and wept. Tenchi wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close.
After about ten minutes, Tenchi notices she was no longer crying. He
looked down at her and saw that she was asleep. Gently he picks her
up and begins to carry her back to the house. Ayeka is awakened by
this, but she stays silent and doesn't move. She enjoys feeling close to
Tenchi like this and didn't want him to stop holding her.
Tenchi reaches the house and heads up the stairs to Ayeka and
Sasami's room. He lays Ayeka down and pulls the covers over her.
He lets out an exhausted sigh, and goes to bed himself.
Laying there silently, an idea comes to Ayeka. "Sasami." She says
quietly.
"Yes Ayeka?" replies Sasami.
"Ah good you are awake."
"Yeah Tenchi woke me up. What do you want?"
"Could you please let me make breakfast tomorrow morning?"
"Why Ayeka?"
"I want to do it for Tenchi. Please, I think I can do it. You have
taught me a lot."
"Okay."
"Thank you Sasami."
Both sisters soon fall asleep.
______________________________________________________
Back at the bar, the night started to grow old, and many people started
to leave. Kannuki and Ryoko sat back down at the bar and each
ordered another drink (this is about 50-60 each for the night.) Ryoko
was getting pretty drunk, but she could tell that Kannuki was far more
wasted than she was.
Seeing him drunk made her remember the whole reason she came
along. "Alright Washu." She thought, "I'll ask him."
"Hey Kannuki?" she asks.
"Yeah what." He responds in a drunk tone of voice.
"Why are you here."
"To have shum drinksh and have a good time. The hell queschin ish
dat?"
"That's not what I meant."
"Sure it ishint"
"No I mean why are you on Earth, what's your mission."
"My mission, shit how you know bout dat."
"What is your mission."
"Doesn't matter I failed."
"What!?"
"The damn thing was a total failure."
"Holy crap!" thinks Ryoko "This changes things."
"On toppa that, I like it here on Earth. I think I'll stay."
Ryoko decides not to push the subject any further. There they sit
silently for about ten minutes. Neither orders another drink. Ryoko
finally turns to Kannuki. "I think I've had enough, lets go back
home."
"Yeah your right Ryoko, lets go."
The get up and walk over to the exit. Dan gives them goodbye wave.
They get into the van, and they are off. Ryoko sits back and looks out
her window at the scenery as it passes by, but she soon falls asleep.
Kannuki looks over at her and notices that she is asleep. He smiles,
admiring her beauty. He becomes very relaxed, as he too succumbs to
his exhaustion and falls asleep.
_____________________________________________________
Tenchi awakes early in the morning. He looks out of his window and
sees a beautiful sunrise out of his window. Feeling refreshed enough,
he gets out of bed and heads for the bathroom. After preparing himself
for the day, and getting dressed, he heads down to the kitchen.
Before he gets there, he hears sounds coming from the kitchen. He
looks inside and sees Ayeka by herself preparing breakfast.
Surprisingly, she seems to have a lot prepared, as if she had been up
for quite some time. More surprisingly, the food seems to have been
well prepared. Even more surprisingly is that Sasami is nowhere to be
seen.
She seems to be trying very hard, and working as hard as she can, so
Tenchi decides to let her be for now. He heads out of the house and
heads up to the temple. He reaches the temple and heads in the main
entrance. There Katsuhito is speaking with Nobuyuki.
"I can't get to work. What do you propose I do?" Tenchi hears his
father say.
Before he can come up with a suitable response, Katsuhito notices
Tenchi standing in the doorway. "Tenchi, you're up early," he states.
"Uh, morning Grandpa."
"Don't ignore me. I have a real problem here!" pleads Nobuyuki.
"What's the matter Dad?" asks Tenchi.
"Well as you know I let Kannuki and Ryoko borrow my van last night,
but they never came back."
"What!" screams Tenchi.
"I know it's a real dilemma. I have no way to get to work, the nearest
bus stop is five miles from here."
"Well I think I may know of a way." Says Katsuhito.
"Really what?" Say Tenchi and Nobuyuki at the same time.
"Take the day off. You've been working too hard lately. We never see
you anymore."
"But I have too much to do. I can't just take a day off." Whines
Nobuyuki. "Besides, I am the only means of income for this family.
You guys need me to make money."
"This is true, however you get two weeks of paid vacation. You have
only used three days so far. Stay home."
"Fine." Sighs Nobuyuki.
"Well then everything is settled." Says Katsuhito happily. He and
Nobuyuki begin to head out of the shrine.
"Wait! What about Kannuki and Ryoko?" wails Tenchi.
Katsuhito turns around "Don't worry about it for now. We'll deal with
it later."
Katsuhito and Nobuyuki head out of the shrine and to the stairs.
Tenchi just walks behind them slowly shaking his head.
They finally reach the house. By this time Sasami and Mihoshi have
awoken, and are sitting quietly in the living room.
"Good morning Tenchi." Says Sasami happily.
"Good morning Sasami."
"Don't go into the dining room yet Tenchi. There's a surprise in
there." Advised Sasami.
Tenchi gives a smile and a nod of acknowledgment. After about five
minutes of quiet conversation Sasami realizes that not everybody is
there.
"Tenchi we had better get Ryoko, Washu and Kannuki."
"Uh Sasami, I have some bad news." Says Tenchi, "Ryoko and
Kannuki never came home last night."
A look of Panic spread over Sasami's face. She stands up quickly and
starts running in a random direction, as people often do when
panicked. "Oh no! What if they're hurt? We have to go find them!"
"I wouldn't worry about it Sasami." Comforts Tenchi, "They can take
care of themselves."
Sasami stops and hangs her head. "I suppose your right."
"Hey Mihoshi will you go get Washu for us."
Mihoshi lifts her head slightly. She is obviously still very tired.
"Washu said I can't go into her lab alone anymore."
"Gee I wonder why?" mumbles Tenchi.
"What?" asks Mihoshi.
"Nothing." He sighs. "Well I guess I had better get her." He walks
over to the door leading to her lab. He takes a deep breath and moves
his hand towards the door. Slowly he begins to place his hand on the
knob. Just as he gets the guts to turn the knob, the door flies open
sending Tenchi flying back and into the wall.
Washu walks out of her lab casually and looks down at Tenchi. "You
know," she scolds "you really shouldn't stand in front of a door that
swings outward."
"Thanks for the advice." Mumbles Tenchi.
Washu walks over to Sasami and sees the look of worry on her face.
"Don't worry Sasami, they're fine." Says Washu encouragingly.
A big smile spreads across Sasami's face. "Thank you Washu."
"Anytime." She says with a wink.
Nearly ten minutes pass of meaningless conversation, then Ayeka's
voice comes from the dining room. "Okay you can come in now."
Sasami jumps up excitedly. She pulls Tenchi up onto his feet. They
walk into the dining room, and as they do, their mouths hit the floor.
Spread out in front of them is a whole table full of delicious looking
food. All sorts of food are laid out. Fruit, vegetables, fish, egg dishes,
breakfast soups, everything. It was not much greater than they usually
had, but the fact that Ayeka had done it was simply shocking.
Ayeka stood there blushing. "Please sit down." She says shyly. They
all take their spots at the table and begin serving themselves. Ayeka
stands at the foot of the table looking proudly at what she had done.
She had tried many times to learn how to cook from Sasami, but until
now she had never been able to get things right.
She looked happily at all of the happy faces enjoying the meal when it
hit her. "Excuse me for asking," she says, "But where are Kannuki
and Ryoko?"
"Well that's the odd thing." Responds Tenchi, "They kind of didn't
come home from partying last night."
Ayeka's face turns sour, but she catches herself and smiles. "Well I'm
sure they'll be just fine."
They resume eating, and Ayeka rather than join in, just watches.
Sasami turns to Ayeka, "Ayeka this is delicious, you should eat with
us."
Everyone else at the table agrees with Sasami in their own way.
"Thank you, but I made this meal for you to enjoy." Ayeka responds.
"But Ayeka I would enjoy it more if you ate with us." Pleads Sasami.
"Besides there is plenty of food, and we don't want to waste any."
Ayeka humbly sits down next to her sister. She takes very little food
and joins in. The rest of breakfast is a happy one. Everyone was sure
to thank Ayeka. Sasami was especially grateful. Tenchi offers to help
Ayeka clean up the mess, and they were sure to set aside the leftovers
for Kannuki and Ryoko.
After clean up Tenchi and Ayeka join Mihoshi, Sasami, and Washu in
the living room.
"Well, now what should we do about Ryoko and Kannuki?" asks
Tenchi.
"Don't worry about them." Says Washu. "They aren't hurt, and can
find their own way home."
"Are you sure about that?" asks Tenchi.
"Positive. Now I'm sure your grandfather has some work for you to
do. Better get to it."
"Yeah whatever." Mumbles Tenchi as he steps outside to begin the
days work.
"As for you," says Washu to Mihoshi, "I need you in my lab."
______________________________________________________
Kannuki awakes with the worst headache he had ever experienced.
His eyes slowly open, but instantly begin to sting. He takes a breath
and begins coughing heavily. Whatever he inhaled wasn't air. He
opens his eyes and becomes fully awake. He then notices that he is
surrounded in smoke. He sniffs. Yes definitely smoke. It seems
unbearably hot in the van. He feels around for the door. He finds it
and grabs the handle. He gives it a push, nothing happens. He gives it
a hard push, and it falls off. He stumbles and collapses to the ground.
His headache becomes more severe. Painfully he looks around. He is
at the bottom of a hill inside of a forest. The sun has just barely come
up. The ground has a slight dew on it. He sees a path of ripped up
ground and destroyed brush leading up to him. He looks back at the
van. The entire front end is wrapped around a tree, and has mostly
burned away.
He tries to think about what he had done. "Something about a movie.
Crappy dance clubs? At a bar. Ryoko beats up a guy. Wait Ryoko!
Shit Ryoko." He gets up and rushes to the passenger side of the van.
He rips the door off and looks in. Ryoko isn't there. He looks around
dumbfounded. He notices that there is a large hole in the windshield.
He looks in the direction that the van is facing, and there is Ryoko
lying unconscious on the ground.
He rushes over to her and rolls her onto her back. She is bleeding
from her forehead, but nothing else seems to be wrong.
"Ryoko. Ryoko wake up."
She stirs.
"Wake up Ryoko!" he yells.
She moans and slowly opens her eyes. She too has a blaring headache.
She sits up grabbing her head. "God damn, what did we do last
night?"
"That's the least of our worries. Look over there." He points to the
van.
She has to look for a second before her eyes can focus. Then the van
comes into clear view. "Oh shit. That's not good."
"What do you think we should do?"
"Don't ask me. I can barely think with this god damned headache."
"Yeah I'm pretty hung-over too."
"Yeah well at least you didn't hit your head on a tree."
"We should probably rest a bit."
"Forget it, I'll just teleport us back home."
"You can do that?"
"Sure, hold on." She grabs his hand. They sit there still for a second.
Nothing happens. "Oh right the necklace." She grabs the necklace and
yanks on it. As she does this, it beeps and emits a high voltage shock
sending Ryoko to the ground. She springs back to her feet. "God
damn you Washu!" she screams.
"Let me guess, Washu fool-proofed it so you can't take it off
yourself."
"Bingo. I guess we had better walk."
"You up for it?"
"No, but we're going anyway. Lets go."
"Give me a minute dammit." Walking a long distance was the last
thing Kannuki wanted to do right now. Being injured and hung-over is
not a good state to be in while walking a long distance.
They sit there for about five minutes before Ryoko gets impatient.
"C'mon were leaving." She wasn't up for the walk either, but she
knew that they couldn't just sit there all day.
Kannuki gets up and Mumbles. "Fucking hung-over and I gotta walk
god dammit." Slowly they walk up the path that the van had created.
Soon they get to the road. There was a turn in the road that they
obviously did not make. They head down the road in the direction
they think is the right way.
Not much is said on the way home. Both are too hung-over to care.
About three miles down, they get to a part of the road that is not
surrounded in trees. They are on a hill and can see a good outlook of
the area. Scanning around Ryoko gets a glimpse of the house off in
the distance. It's about a five mile walk from where they are. Both are
tired and hung-over, meaning another five miles is the last thing they
want.
Hardly determined they press on. Nearly an hour later, they stumble
into view of the house. Gradually they stumble to the gate that Azaka
and Kamidake and standing guard at.
"Good morning." Says Azaka.
"I hope your evening was enjoyable." Adds Kamidake.
Ryoko and Kannuki stumble by without even acknowledging them.
"I wonder." Says Azaka. "Do we even have a purpose?"
"No I don't believe so."
Ryoko gets to the door first. She slides it open and steps inside.
Inside Sasami and Ayeka are reading quietly. They look up to see who
has entered.
Sasami gets very exited to see them. She gets up and runs over to
them. "You're home! I was so worried."
Ryoko smiles and pats her on the head. "Thanks" she mutters.
Ryoko and Kannuki then trudge up the stairs to their individual rooms.
There, they collapse into a deep sleep.
A couple hours pass and Tenchi gets finished with the first set of his
duties. He proceeds to the house to grab some lunch. Sasami has set
out a small buffet of lunch. He grabs some food and sits down at the
table with Ayeka, Sasami, and his father, who are the only people
there.
"Good afternoon Tenchi." Says Ayeka. "Did your morning go well?"
"It was fine thank you." Replies Tenchi. "By the way. Did Ryoko and
Kannuki ever come home."
"Yes they did." Responds Sasami. "They came home a couple of hours
ago and went to bed. They were hurt, and looked like they had had a
lot to drink."
Tenchi gets a slight look of anger and frustration on his face.
"and on top of that, they didn't come home with the van." Sasami
adds.
"What!" says Nobuyuki while turning white in the face. "My... car...
where is it?"
"That's it" says Tenchi angrily as he gets up. "I'm getting them up
right now." He storms up the stairs to wake them up.
"My, I haven't seen Tenchi this angry before." States Ayeka.
He goes to Ryoko's bedroom first. He walks to her bed and throws off
her cover. He then grabs her shirt and pulls her up. "Get up Ryoko he
yells."
Her eyes open rather quickly. "What is it Tenchi?" she asks
innocently.
"Just get up and come downstairs. We need to talk." He leaves her
standing there bewildered.
He then goes down the hall to Kannuki's room. He slides open the
door and it hits the end of the track with a loud bang. This wakes up
Kannuki who lets out a loud groan.
"Kannuki get up, we need to talk."
"G'mornin Tinchee."
"I mean it this is important."
"Is breakfast getting cold."
"It's the afternoon."
"..."
"Kannuki?"
"..."
"Kannuki?"
"..."
He walks over to him and kicks him in the ribs. "Get up!"
Kannuki sits up grabbing his chest. "All right, all right I'm up."
"We need to talk about what you and Ryoko did last night c'mon."
Tenchi leaves the room and heads back downstairs.
"God dammit." Mutters Kannuki.
Ryoko and Kannuki quickly get dressed and head downstairs at about
the same time. They get to the bottom of the stairs where Tenchi is
waiting for them. Ayeka stands at the end of the room eager to see
Tenchi mad at Ryoko. Sasami left the room. She hated the idea of
Tenchi being mad, and him scolding anyone was something she did
not want to see.
"Sit down" he commands.
They sit down next to each other and hang their heads.
"All right, first things first. Where is my fathers van?"
A large bead of sweat forms on both Kannuki and Ryoko's foreheads.
"Well Tenchi," responds Ryoko, "It's kind of, well..."
"It's in the forest in a burning heap wrapped around a tree." Finishes
Kannuki.
"WHAT!? Which one of you was driving?"
Kannuki slightly raises his hand.
"How much did you have to drink last night?"
"A lot."
"I can't believe this. How is my father supposed to get to work now."
"I'll fly him." Jokes Ryoko.
"This isn't a joke."
"Sorry" she quickly says.
"Ryoko I have had to put up with you for a long time. You have to
admit I have been very patient with you."
"Well yes" she says while looking down at the floor.
"And you Kannuki, you have only been here a week and you have
already began to cause trouble."
Kannuki didn't know what to say. Nobody had scolded him in a long
time, or at least survived to. This was different though, he had been
invited to live in someone's house out of the goodness of their heart,
and he had destroyed their trust. He wanted to feel angry, it was what
he was used to, but somehow he couldn't get mad at Tenchi. Then
something completely unexpected happened.
"Tenchi," says Ryoko, "Don't blame him, it was my fault. I came
along with him uninvited and made him drink more than he should
have. If I hadn't gone along, none of this what have happened. I'm
sorry."
Everyone in the room went into a state of shock. Ryoko rarely took
the blame for anything, and she made a sincere apology. The room
went silent for about a minute as they let it set in.
Finally Tenchi had to speak up. "I'm glad you are finally taking
responsibility Ryoko. However you have to start doing your share of
work around here. I am tired of you ignoring all of your duties around
here. Promise me that you will at least attempt to help out."
"I will Tenchi." she solemnly says.
"As for you Kannuki, I am glad you're here, really I am. You are
really a great help, but if things like this continue, there will be
consequences."
"I believe I have an idea." It was Katsuhito, he had come in a minute
ago, and waited until now to speak. "Kannuki, you have borrowed
money from me, I think it is time to pay me back."
Kannuki's face turned white. "Oh crap." He mutters.
"What, how much money did you borrow?" asks Tenchi.
"Oh a little," responds Kannuki, "only like 90 to 100 thousand yen."
"90 to 100 thousand!" shrieks Tenchi. "What would you possible need
with that much money!?"
"Well I did lose everything in the crash. I needed new clothes, a new
sound system, CDs, video games, a mini fridge, food for that mini
fridge, and you know, stuff."
"Grandpa you let him have that much? I didn't even know you had
that much money. Why?" asks Tenchi.
"Please Tenchi, I was only being sympathetic to the poor boy.
Besides, now he must repay his debt." Katsuhito responds.
"Well good luck with that." Tenchi says to Kannuki who now has his
head hung low. "But what are we going to do with my fathers van?"
They all sat there silently and thought for a second. Then at the same
time, everyone in the room said the same thing, "Washu."
Tenchi, Ryoko, and Kannuki went into Washu's lab. They look
around in the main room, but there is nobody there.
"Hmm that's odd. I think Mihoshi may be in here too, but where
could they be?" states Tenchi. Then as he finishes saying this, a door
appears out of nowhere and out steps Washu and Mihoshi.
"Thanks again for you help Mihoshi." Says Washu.
"Oh it's no problem at all." Says Mihoshi, who seems to not be in her
usual cheery mood. Her mood seems to worsen when she sees
Kannuki.
Tenchi steps forward and speaks, "Washu I have to ask a favor of
you."
"I know. These two are totally out of control wouldn't you agree.
Well anyway don't worry about your fathers car. I have already made
a replacement and even put it in the driveway. It was easy really,
Earth technology is so primitive. I did however make some
adjustments.
Tenchi got a little angry, "What did you do to it?"
"Hey don't worry! Nothing really. I just made the engine out of some
new parts so that it will never need to be tuned and now gets 300 miles
per gallon."
"Oh. Thanks I think."
"No problem." They begin to leave the lab, Tenchi first, then Ryoko
and lastly Kannuki. Just before Kannuki can step out Washu speaks,
"Kannuki do you think I could have a word with you."
He turns around "Why?"
"Oh nothing."
"No."
"Gee too bad. I guess Tenchi's going to be disappointed when he
finds out that you are #67 on the galaxies most wanted criminal list."
"So you know about that too." He steps further into the lab.
"Yes, Mihoshi of course was too slow to figure out that you were a
criminal, but with her help I was able to access Yukinojo's data files
and get all sorts of dirt on you."
"I'm not a criminal anymore."
"Well that's the thing. You may not have committed a serious crime
in over 150 years, but the stuff you did before that certainly got you
high on the wanted list."
"That doesn't mean I don't regret what I did. I want nothing more
than to live the rest of my life in peace."
"So you truly have given up your mission."
"You read Ryoko's thoughts last night didn't you?"
"I did more than that. You were followed the entire night by a spy
drone."
"So you saw everything?"
"Yup. It was quite a show." An awkward pause happens.
"Well yes it's true. For the first time ever I have failed a mission."
"So are you going to indulge Little Washu on what that mission was?"
she says in a baby voice.
"Not now, but you will find out in due time. There will be
consequences for failing. This was no run of the mill mission."
"You mean it wasn't murder."
"I guess you could say that. Murder was the last thing the guy hiring
me wanted to do... You know I've said to much already, I'm out of
here."
"Heh heh, good luck." Encourages Washu.
Kannuki leaves the lab. "Good luck?" he thinks. "What is that
supposed to mean?"
He walks into the living room, past Sasami and Mihoshi who are
chatting quietly, and out the door to the pond. He looks around, but
there is nobody around. He heads to the stairs and makes his way to
the shrine. He gets to the top, and as he gets in view of the shrine, he
catches a glimpse of Ayeka and Tenchi talking by the entrance.
Without being noticed, he heads back down the steps. He cuts off onto
a path about halfway down. He heads through the woods, simply
exploring and admiring the scenery. He breaks out of the woods into a
grassy field. There in front of him is a large rock fixture with a cave at
the bottom. On top of the rock is Ryoko, staring out at the scenery.
She looks saddened and lonely, almost distant.
He climbs up the rock to where Ryoko is standing. He stands next to
her and looks out at whatever it is she is looking at.
He stands there silently for about a minute. Finally he speaks, "Thank
you Ryoko."
A smile spreads across her face.
"You really didn't need to take the blame for me." He adds. "It was
my fault."
Ryoko lets out a heavy sigh. "Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't." she
looks over at him. "But I think Tenchi can forgive me easier than
you."
"Maybe. Still I appreciate it." Neither speaks for while. A soft breeze
blows across the area, sending waves over the long grass.
Ryoko finally speaks, "So what are you going to do now?"
"I don't know. I guess I have to get a job."
"Good luck finding one."
"Thanks."
"Kannuki."
"Yeah."
"I know you're not who you say you are. Washu has told me
everything, Ayeka and Mihoshi too."
"I was afraid of that."
"Ayeka doesn't seem to care. She trusts you for some reason.
Probably because Katsuhito likes you so much. Why he looks at you
so favorably I'll never know."
"Yeah I can't even figure that one out, but I'm not complaining."
"Mihoshi just found out today. I think she's taking it hard. She feels
conflicted over her friendship towards you, and her duty as a cop."
"What do you think you know about me?" he asks sternly.
"Well I know for sure that you were in fact a mercenary on Keltek.
Washu found out that was true. However she seems almost confident
that the story of your recent life is completely made up and that you
are on a mission. No offense to you but Washu is rarely wrong about
these things."
"Are you sure it was only Washu that found these things out."
"Uh, yeah."
"She didn't get her daughter to get me drunk and slip out that I was on
a failed mission."
"You remember that."
"I may have been smashed, but I don't forget things that easily."
She hangs her head and looks at the ground. "Sorry. That's part of
why I took the blame for the van being wrecked. I felt guilty about
betraying you like that."
"This is messed up."
"What's messed up?"
"This whole situation. I haven't mentioned this to anyone before, but I
have spent my entire life trying to find you, and kill you. After Master
Arashi was killed I headed to Jurai's capitol to find his killer. There I
found out it was the space pirate Ryoko. I figured Keltek was a good
place to get information. I learned a lot about you there. I discovered
about your past and your ties to Kagato. I also heard that you had
disappeared and were possibly killed. Also Kagato, the only person
who may know of your whereabouts, had also gone missing. I gave up
looking for you and became a mercenary. You know about how that
turned out. Then I left Keltek to explore the universe. When I met
Kagato I thought I could use him to find you. Instead it almost got me
killed. I went to Jurai to find out about my own past. I found out
nothing about myself, but I did find out about you. A man said he
could lead me to you, but that I had to do a certain job for him.
Naturally I accepted. However, things changed when I got here. I
expected you to be a cruel, ugly, hate-filled demon. Then when I met
you, I was completely taken by surprise. For the entire week I thought
of ways that I could get revenge. I realized you are far more powerful
than I am, and had to strategize and wait for the right time. But last
night when you came along with me, things changed. Believe it or
not, last night was the most fun I have ever had in my life. Then when
you took the blame for no reason, I couldn't bring myself to hate you
anymore."
He looks over at Ryoko. She is a little red in the face, and looks sad,
happy, confused, and bewildered all at the same time.
"I'm sorry was that too much to say all at once?" asks Kannuki.
Ryoko seems to snap out of a trance. "Oh no. I just had no idea about
any of that. I'm not sure if I should be mad that you were trying to kill
me, or glad that you don't want to anymore."
"Sorry, I should go now."
"Well where are you going?"
"Back to the bar."
"You're going to drink again?"
"No. I told you I need a job, and the bartender offered me one last
night. I think I may take him up on that."
"Ha. See you later Kannuki."
"See you later."
______________________________________________________
That ends chapter two. I hope you liked it. If you feel it necessary to
compliment, or criticize me, give me a write at Twigz221@yahoo.com
I promise to write back.
See you soon for chapter 3. Questions will be answered and conflicts
will arise. I wouldn't miss it (of course I can't because I'm the one
writing it.)
