It's amazing how a chance meeting can change your life. I met Urara
by chance and look where we are now. Married with a baby on the way.
I wanted to call the baby 'Achika'. She wanted 'Tsuki'. For some reason I'm never able to stick up to the women in my life. It was like that with Ryoko, and it's like that with Urara.
Ryoko thinks I don't know who the father of her child is. I can't believe she thinks I'm that naïve.
She also thinks I don't love her. I can't believe she's that foolish. If I had stayed with her, I would have hurt all the others.
This way, I hurt everyone, but also myself.
There's another reason I chose another girl: I couldn't stand up to Ryoko. I couldn't tell her to stop trying to seduce me; I had to rely on Ayeka to do that. I couldn't be the man she deserved.
I can't be the man Urara deserves either.
The due date is two months from now. Washu checked her out for us and said the baby was healthy, but I still can't help but be worried. Dad says that's normal and Grandpa confirms this.
The hospital is a small one, but it's clean and the staff seems competent. Ayeka offered us the best care Jurai has to offer, but I don't want my daughter to be a Juraian. I want to bring her home myself, to the little nursery that used to be my room. The nursery we decorated with stuffed toys including a stuffed bear my mother gave me when I was toddler. It's white with a pink ribbon around its neck.
My daughter is born a month early. She's soon stabilized and I give a small prayer of thanks to God for leaving me this much.
He took Urara. The doctors said the birth tired her out and the complications were....complicated.
And I thought the Americans had a crappy health care system.
Dad, Grandpa and I take Little Achika home some months later. She's a beautiful baby; her mother's dark curls and bright brown eyes. Gorgeous. Utterly breathtaking.
She grows quickly, but I'm afraid she'll always be frail. She has all three of us wrapped around her little finger and we spoil her dreadfully. Despite that, she's amazingly sweet.
She's also amazingly tough. She begins training with Grandpa before she's out of elementary school and it doesn't take much to see that she's better at it than I am.
I hear news from Ayeka. She's offering Earth a place in an alliance against another empire. In turn for a haven for her people, supplies, and support, she will equip Earth with the latest in space travel technology, as well as a few other technical gizmos. All of Earth is in panic over this, which isn't that surprising. Aliens are suddenly shown up and it's chaos all over.
My name comes up, which isn't that surprising either. Achika is astonished to learn that she's descended from the Juraian royal family.
So is the rest of the world. I'm offered the job of diplomat; the idea being that I have connections and know more about the 'aliens' than anyone else.
I never could turn anybody down, let alone the whole world. Together, with American and Chinese ambassadors, I travel to Jurai. I leave my daughter at home.
Jurai is a troubled place. Ayeka is a troubled woman. Her husband is being held hostage and her eldest son has recently died. Her youngest is not much older than Achika, yet it seems that he is ruling while his mother mourns.
Kamidake has been called back to service; Azaka is no longer physically able to serve. Physical and mental atrophy have rendered him helpless and a far cry from the warrior he once was.
Kamidake is given the position of my personal bodyguard. I'm beginning to believe Fate has a sick sense of humor.
Still, I can't bring myself to hate this man. He gave Ryoko something I couldn't give; strength.
I also believe he has something to do with Washu's appearance and willingness to help. She's offered herself as a diplomat, and should diplomacy fail, a developer of weaponry.
I much prefer her as a diplomat.
The other Empire sends their own diplomats and discussions are held. Trade laws, relations with third parties, development of weapons, accepted boundaries, all are discussed.
Then the treatment of intergalactic criminals is mentioned.
Ryoko is mentioned.
I stiffen up immediately, a reaction I'm certain is noticed by the other inhabitants of the room.
A suggestion is mad that enough discussions have been made for one day and we all retire to our quarters. Kamidake escorts me to my chambers.
"Ryoko's gone back to being a pirate."
"I've heard rumors Lord Tenchi."
"You know why?"
"She and I have not been in contact for years. She and Miss Washu have not been close either."
I turn. "I thought you were married?" We've reached the door to my chambers and the hallway has grown very quiet.
"We...did not marry. Marriage is something permitted to those who love one another."
"But...you...she...."
"We had an affair, Lord Tenchi. It lasted longer than these things tend to do, and for a while we satisfied each other. In the end, she wanted something more as did I." He pauses and bows. "I apologize. I did not mean to bore you with such details."
"I....that's.....you." I can't think of anything to say so I turn to the door. "I'll see you tomorrow morning?"
"Yes, Lord Tenchi. Good night."
"Good night."
They didn't love each other. They didn't love each other! He didn't love her and she....
She bore his son. Stayed with him for over a decade. Ate with him, talked to him, had sex with him.
Any thoughts I have of her disappear from my mind. I chose. I chose and it wasn't Ryoko. It was dumpy girl in pleated skirts and glasses, whose name I can no longer recall. I took some nameless fool to the senior prom, not the woman I wanted.
The delegations have failed. Jurai is at war and rumor has it Ayeka has lost her mind. In a few final moments of mental health, she snuck her youngest son out of the solar system and gave orders to her generals to send out the troops. She is at the front lines, leading her men, although it is clear that she is not stable, either emotionally or physically.
I send a letter to my daughter and one to Ryoko, explaining to both of them why I'm doing what I'm doing. To my daughter, I explain that courage doesn't come from doing what you're not afraid to do, but doing what frightens you most. I tell her how much I love her.
I tell Ryoko how much I love her too. How I wish I could be with her, how sorry I am that I wasn't there for her. I include in the letter a piece of jewelry, a ring, that belonged to my mother. A ring my father told me to give to my wife. A ring I never gave to Urara.
Then I don a lord's uniform and go out to fight beside Ayeka. Azaka and Kamidake join me.
It's a large ship, the biggest in Jurai's fleet, but it doesn't stand a chance. Within less than half an hour we are so weakened that Ayeka gives the order to evacuate all nonessential personal. It's like a bad 'Star Trek' episode, but with one major difference.
One huge difference. A difference that means all the world.
The people in 'Star Trek' survive.
Finite
Author's notes- Well damn. That's gotta be the most depressing thing I've ever written. Don't worry, Ayeka will get her say, as will Kamidake. I'm particularly interested in what Azaka has to say, since he's in such a unique position of seeing how things fold out. I'm considering doing the POVs of some of the kids. Achika, Sakito, Ayeka's son perhaps. Any thoughts on that? Comments are always welcome. Tenchi belongs to Pioneer, except the original characters, who belong to me. **Hands out imaginary cake to reviewers** Incentive.
I wanted to call the baby 'Achika'. She wanted 'Tsuki'. For some reason I'm never able to stick up to the women in my life. It was like that with Ryoko, and it's like that with Urara.
Ryoko thinks I don't know who the father of her child is. I can't believe she thinks I'm that naïve.
She also thinks I don't love her. I can't believe she's that foolish. If I had stayed with her, I would have hurt all the others.
This way, I hurt everyone, but also myself.
There's another reason I chose another girl: I couldn't stand up to Ryoko. I couldn't tell her to stop trying to seduce me; I had to rely on Ayeka to do that. I couldn't be the man she deserved.
I can't be the man Urara deserves either.
The due date is two months from now. Washu checked her out for us and said the baby was healthy, but I still can't help but be worried. Dad says that's normal and Grandpa confirms this.
The hospital is a small one, but it's clean and the staff seems competent. Ayeka offered us the best care Jurai has to offer, but I don't want my daughter to be a Juraian. I want to bring her home myself, to the little nursery that used to be my room. The nursery we decorated with stuffed toys including a stuffed bear my mother gave me when I was toddler. It's white with a pink ribbon around its neck.
My daughter is born a month early. She's soon stabilized and I give a small prayer of thanks to God for leaving me this much.
He took Urara. The doctors said the birth tired her out and the complications were....complicated.
And I thought the Americans had a crappy health care system.
Dad, Grandpa and I take Little Achika home some months later. She's a beautiful baby; her mother's dark curls and bright brown eyes. Gorgeous. Utterly breathtaking.
She grows quickly, but I'm afraid she'll always be frail. She has all three of us wrapped around her little finger and we spoil her dreadfully. Despite that, she's amazingly sweet.
She's also amazingly tough. She begins training with Grandpa before she's out of elementary school and it doesn't take much to see that she's better at it than I am.
I hear news from Ayeka. She's offering Earth a place in an alliance against another empire. In turn for a haven for her people, supplies, and support, she will equip Earth with the latest in space travel technology, as well as a few other technical gizmos. All of Earth is in panic over this, which isn't that surprising. Aliens are suddenly shown up and it's chaos all over.
My name comes up, which isn't that surprising either. Achika is astonished to learn that she's descended from the Juraian royal family.
So is the rest of the world. I'm offered the job of diplomat; the idea being that I have connections and know more about the 'aliens' than anyone else.
I never could turn anybody down, let alone the whole world. Together, with American and Chinese ambassadors, I travel to Jurai. I leave my daughter at home.
Jurai is a troubled place. Ayeka is a troubled woman. Her husband is being held hostage and her eldest son has recently died. Her youngest is not much older than Achika, yet it seems that he is ruling while his mother mourns.
Kamidake has been called back to service; Azaka is no longer physically able to serve. Physical and mental atrophy have rendered him helpless and a far cry from the warrior he once was.
Kamidake is given the position of my personal bodyguard. I'm beginning to believe Fate has a sick sense of humor.
Still, I can't bring myself to hate this man. He gave Ryoko something I couldn't give; strength.
I also believe he has something to do with Washu's appearance and willingness to help. She's offered herself as a diplomat, and should diplomacy fail, a developer of weaponry.
I much prefer her as a diplomat.
The other Empire sends their own diplomats and discussions are held. Trade laws, relations with third parties, development of weapons, accepted boundaries, all are discussed.
Then the treatment of intergalactic criminals is mentioned.
Ryoko is mentioned.
I stiffen up immediately, a reaction I'm certain is noticed by the other inhabitants of the room.
A suggestion is mad that enough discussions have been made for one day and we all retire to our quarters. Kamidake escorts me to my chambers.
"Ryoko's gone back to being a pirate."
"I've heard rumors Lord Tenchi."
"You know why?"
"She and I have not been in contact for years. She and Miss Washu have not been close either."
I turn. "I thought you were married?" We've reached the door to my chambers and the hallway has grown very quiet.
"We...did not marry. Marriage is something permitted to those who love one another."
"But...you...she...."
"We had an affair, Lord Tenchi. It lasted longer than these things tend to do, and for a while we satisfied each other. In the end, she wanted something more as did I." He pauses and bows. "I apologize. I did not mean to bore you with such details."
"I....that's.....you." I can't think of anything to say so I turn to the door. "I'll see you tomorrow morning?"
"Yes, Lord Tenchi. Good night."
"Good night."
They didn't love each other. They didn't love each other! He didn't love her and she....
She bore his son. Stayed with him for over a decade. Ate with him, talked to him, had sex with him.
Any thoughts I have of her disappear from my mind. I chose. I chose and it wasn't Ryoko. It was dumpy girl in pleated skirts and glasses, whose name I can no longer recall. I took some nameless fool to the senior prom, not the woman I wanted.
The delegations have failed. Jurai is at war and rumor has it Ayeka has lost her mind. In a few final moments of mental health, she snuck her youngest son out of the solar system and gave orders to her generals to send out the troops. She is at the front lines, leading her men, although it is clear that she is not stable, either emotionally or physically.
I send a letter to my daughter and one to Ryoko, explaining to both of them why I'm doing what I'm doing. To my daughter, I explain that courage doesn't come from doing what you're not afraid to do, but doing what frightens you most. I tell her how much I love her.
I tell Ryoko how much I love her too. How I wish I could be with her, how sorry I am that I wasn't there for her. I include in the letter a piece of jewelry, a ring, that belonged to my mother. A ring my father told me to give to my wife. A ring I never gave to Urara.
Then I don a lord's uniform and go out to fight beside Ayeka. Azaka and Kamidake join me.
It's a large ship, the biggest in Jurai's fleet, but it doesn't stand a chance. Within less than half an hour we are so weakened that Ayeka gives the order to evacuate all nonessential personal. It's like a bad 'Star Trek' episode, but with one major difference.
One huge difference. A difference that means all the world.
The people in 'Star Trek' survive.
Finite
Author's notes- Well damn. That's gotta be the most depressing thing I've ever written. Don't worry, Ayeka will get her say, as will Kamidake. I'm particularly interested in what Azaka has to say, since he's in such a unique position of seeing how things fold out. I'm considering doing the POVs of some of the kids. Achika, Sakito, Ayeka's son perhaps. Any thoughts on that? Comments are always welcome. Tenchi belongs to Pioneer, except the original characters, who belong to me. **Hands out imaginary cake to reviewers** Incentive.