Yukinojo's shuttle sat suspended in space, broadcasting a signal in all directions. A few thousand miles away, another ship also hung motionlessly in space, without broadcasting its presence. This had been going on for the last few days, with nothing breaking into the monotony of the whole routine.
"What is he waiting for, any way? I thought he wanted to get his hands on Kiyone." An exasperated Ryoko was pacing around the small space offered on Ryo-Ohki's bridge.
"Unlike certain former space pirates, Marco probably doesn't have a ship of Ryo-Ohki's capabilities at his disposal." Washu looked over at her daughter from the game of cards she was playing with Mihoshi. "He's being cautious, making sure it isn't a trap. Unlike you he uses his brain before jumping into the fire." Ryoko glared back, but remained silent, so Washu turned back to the game, grimacing as she drew a card from Mihoshi's hand.
"I'm sure you're correct, Little Washu. I can't help feeling as Ryoko does that it would be nice if something would finally happen." Ayeka spoke from the other side of the bridge where she was calmly brushing Sasami's long hair. "We all love Ryo-Ohki, of course, but she's not really well suited to housing a crew of five people for an extended period of time. I do wish Ryu-Oh was ready. Mother said they might start carving her hull soon now that she's grown back to a decent size again."
At that moment, a warning light started flashing, bringing everyone's attention to the viewscreen showing the shuttle where Kiyone was waiting in space. Another craft with no markings had appeared behind the GP shuttle.
"Finally." Ryoko flew up into the air with her eyes glued to the scene before her. "Let's go Ryo..."
"Stop! We can't do anything until we know where Nobuyuki is, you numbskull." Washu materialized a fan and jumped up to swat Ryoko on the head. "We can't actively scan that ship, or he'll know we're here. The only thing we can do is follow them back to wherever it is they're going, and then rescue Nobuyuki."
"Gahhh. More waiting. I can't stand this. Fine, then, we follow them to wherever." Ryoko flopped down into the command seat which she had no need of using any more, linked directly to Ryo-Ohki as she was.
"Look, isn't that Kiyone!" Sasami pointed at the figure floating from the hatch of Yukinojo's shuttle over to the new ship.
"Looks like Marco isn't taking any chances. Now we hope that he doesn't make Kiyone leave the headband behind." Washu watched intently, checking some instrument readings. "I knew I was a genius when I stuck that locator in it."
"You put a locator in her headband? Wait a minute, you haven't put a locator on me, have you?" Ryoko glared at Washu.
"What? Of course I have. Yours is built in, though. The rest of you just have them stuck in your clothes somewhere."
"WHAT? That's really quite inappropriate, Miss Washu." Ayeka also scowled at the scientist. "In fact that could easily be considered an invasion of privacy. You have no right to do something like that, I must insist you remove them from all of us."
"Bah. Right now, I just wish I'd gotten one on Nobuyuki. Rea's changed his whole wardrobe, I can't keep up, considering how rarely he's around. And call me Little Washu, how many times do I have to say it?"
"There they go." Mihoshi pointed at the screen as the second ship disappeared.
"Okay, let's let them go where they're going, then follow them, right? Do you want to transfer over to the shuttle and bring it along Mihoshi?"
"Yes, Little Washu, I would like to do that."
"I'll go with you, Mihoshi," said Sasami.
"You'll what? I think you should stay here with us, Sasami." Ayeka held onto her sister's shoulders.
"I want to go with Mihoshi. You can't make me stay here." Sasami put on her stubborn face.
"That's all right, there's plenty of room on the shuttle for Sasami, too, as long as we don't have to travel for too long. It'll be nice having company." Mihoshi was fiddling with her control cube, causing things to appear out of nowhere.
"Yeah why don't the two of you head over, so that there's still some room here." Washu looked around in disbelief at all the items strewn about the floor.
"But...," started Ayeka.
"Ah, got it!" Mihoshi finally got the adjustments she'd been looking for, and she and Sasami disappeared.
"Little Washu! How dare you allow Sasami to go with Mihoshi. You realize she wanted to go with Mihoshi so that we couldn't leave her behind when we got there." Ayeka crossed her arms as she scowled at Washu.
"Yes, I do realize that. I've seen that look on her face before, though. I think the only way you're going to get her to stay behind is to stay behind yourself, Ayeka. That's fine with me, of course, but it's up to you."
Ayeka opened, then closed her mouth. She knew Washu was probably right, she just didn't want to consider Sasami going into a dangerous situation. She sniffed and turned away, trying to think of how she might convince Sasami to stay behind.
"We're ready to go," came Mihoshi's voice, echoing around the bridge.
"All right! Let's go, Ryo-Ohki!" Ryoko once again floated up to stare out the screen, even though there wasn't really much to see.
--
Kiyone squirmed angrily in her handcuffs, trying to find any way she might get out of them. She was holding down her humiliation at being restrained with her own GP equipment, but she'd known it was unavoidable. She was more concerned at the moment with whether she would be killed before being able to do anything. She'd known going in that she was likely to be in a near-helpless state, but the fact that she'd expected it wasn't helping her temper any.
Being face-to-face with Marco had been another factor in her current temperament. She was forced to admit to herself that he was an intimidating presence, and she didn't get intimidated. He was just so calm, it was almost creepy. No gloating, no roughing her around, just short and quick instructions, then he put her aside and got back to business as if she was insignificant.
That galled the most, of course. He wasn't concerned about her in the slightest, he'd thrown her into a room on the side, then left, not even bothering to lock her in. He was almost daring her to do something. She intended to oblige, eventually, but she would prefer having her hands free when she did. Regardless, she couldn't do anything until she knew where Nobuyuki was, and that he would be safe in the event she did try anything.
She scanned the room, looking for anything that might be of use, but the room was essentially empty except for the bench she was currently sitting on. That meant moving about to look for anything of use, and that could get her into trouble. She decided to wait for the moment and see how things worked out once they arrived at his hideout.
"Nice plan, Kiyone..." she whispered to herself, settling back in hopes of finding a more comfortable position.
--
Tenchi watched the planet approaching from his seat on the side of the small transport's bridge. He'd ended up waiting for much longer than he wanted, then finally this vessel had appeared with orders to transfer over, bringing only his sword along. He'd complied, but frustration was growing while he waited to actually face the man who had his father. Whoever was piloting this ship, they didn't know, or were unwilling to share, any information regarding the situation.
They screamed through the atmosphere, bucking the ship a tiny bit. They slowed down and Tenchi watched with growing nervousness as they neared the surface and a large mansion appeared on the horizon. They slowed even more as they approached, and it was clear the mansion was their final destination.
Gardens and fountains dotted the nearby property, a swimming pool was tucked up against a smaller building away from the main house, and a tall, black, metal fence ran around the enormous grounds. They flew past the mansion, and finally came to rest in an open area near the edge of the property where a few other craft were located. The pilot indicated Tenchi should get out, so he complied, blinking when the sunlight hit his face.
Tenchi glanced around once he was on the ground, and quickly noticed the two armed men approaching him. One motioned him over so he walked in their direction. The two fell into step behind him, leaving a small gap so they were just out of reach. Tenchi didn't care, he wasn't planning to do anything until he saw his father.
They directed him back, not towards the mansion, but actually to a smaller building set off to the side. Tenchi shrugged and just walked where they wanted him to, not really caring where it was.
They took him inside and into a large room that looked like a gymnasium of some kind. Exercise equipment was spread here and there near the outsides of the gym, and in the middle was a large open wooden floor which seemed to be heavily-trafficked. He waited patiently for a bit, then turned to the two guards only to realize they had disappeared after bringing him in. That wasn't terribly surprising in itself. If this Marco person wanted a duel, he might not want anyone around who could interfere. Assuming it was a legitimate duel he was looking for, that was.
The sound of a door opening swung his attention back around to the front of the room. A tall man dressed in a well-tailored suit was walking towards him.
"Tenchi Masaki, I presume?"
"Yes. You're Marco, then?"
"Indeed. Welcome to my training hall."
"Where's my father?"
"He's fine, I'll bring him out shortly. I just wanted to make sure you weren't planning any tricks first. Please remove the coat, if you don't mind?"
Tenchi removed the jacket he'd been wearing, dropping the hilt from the Master Key into his hand.
"Ah, thank you. That's an energy sword, then? Excellent. I've never gotten a chance to duel with one of them yet. I'm always forced to kill people as quickly and quietly as possible, and they just don't work for that. Excuse me a moment, I'll be right back."
Marco moved back through the door he'd previously entered from, and Tenchi unconsciously took a few steps in that direction before catching himself. He couldn't afford to do anything right now to provoke the man.Only a short time passed before Marco reemerged, dragging two people behind him.
"Dad! Kiyone?" Tenchi took a couple more steps forward, then stopped at the sight of the sword hilt pointed at his father. If Marco turned it on, it would kill Nobuyuki instantly.
"Yes. It was an unexpected bonus. I of course hoped you would bring the woman to me, but instead she did so herself. I'm sure she had plans in mind to escape and rescue Nobuyuki. Foolish, but brave, I suppose. My boss will definitely enjoy having her in his hands. He doesn't know she's here, yet, but when I hand her over, he'll be very pleased."
Tenchi could see the anger on Kiyone's face, and hoped she wouldn't do something rash. His father on the other hand looked pretty calm. "Are you two all right?"
"Fine, Tenchi," said Kiyone. "They haven't actually been too bad to me, except for the handcuffs."
"I'm all right, son," answered Nobuyuki. "Just a little bump from when they took me, that's all."
Tenchi nodded, they seemed to be telling the truth. He turned back to Marco. "So, what's the plan, then?"
Marco laughed, then started removing his suit jacket. "We duel of course. If you win, you get to leave, if not, well, you all die. Simple, really."
"No rules?"
"Nope. You and I try and kill each other. Anything goes. If you put any restrictions in place, it's not a real fight, you don't know who was truly the best." Marco was pulling the cuff links out of his shirt, and unbuttoning it to give himself a freer range of motion.
"Don't do it, Tenchi," cried Kiyone. "He can't be trusted. Just go bring in the GP, don't worry about us."
Tenchi just shook his head and watched in silence, then decided he might as well loosen up a bit. Ignoring the watchful eye of Marco, he stretched momentarily, then slid into a basic kata to get his muscles into the proper feeling. He did not ignite Tenchi-ken, however.
Marco finished rolling up his sleeves, and following Tenchi's example he began to loosen up as well. He never took his eyes from Tenchi, however, the boy was following an unusual pattern with his warmup kata. Marco had never seen anyone practicing that particular style before, and the thought made him even more excited. The boy was skilled, and he practiced an unusual style. This was the greatest test for his skills Marco was likely to ever get.
Tenchi finished up and dropped into a relaxed stance, watching Marco finish his own. It didn't look familiar, but Tenchi had never practiced with anyone but his grandfather, and for a very short time Ryoko. Yosho had pointed out a few of the techniques that were common to most styles, and he'd even demonstrated a few that were a little more specific to certain populations or regions. Marco's definitely had some of the common elements, but there were some he didn't recognize, either.
Marco finished up as well, and then turned to the two hostages. "If either of you interfere in any way, I will kill you, rest assured. Your lives depend on Tenchi defeating me solely." He turned back to Tenchi. "And you, any attempt to rescue them during our match will likewise lead to their deaths. Let's keep it between you and me, okay?"
Tenchi narrowed his eyes a bit and nodded. Marco finally ignited his energy sword, so Tenchi did the same. He moved with Marco so that they were facing each other from across the center of the room. Tenchi bowed to Marco, causing the man to laugh, then he brought his sword into an overhead ready position. Marco brought his to the ready in front of his body. Tenchi watched Marco carefully, waiting for the man to move, and in a blur, Marco suddenly leaped forward to engage Tenchi with a crash of swords.
--
Mihoshi was watching her assigned direction when Ryoko materialized in front of the group of women, causing Mihoshi to squeak. She received dirty looks from everyone, and started chewing her lips in shame.
"Nobody's here. I don't get it. There ought to be someone on guard." Ryoko hovered, her eyes continuing to scan around the grounds.
"Well, Kiyone's in that building, unless her headband got left behind." Washu put away her portable locator. "If nobody's here, I guess we should go in."
"Now you're talking. Let's go." Ryoko started floating towards the building.
"Please stay here, Sasami. This will be dangerous." Ayeka pleaded with Sasami once more, her younger sister had stubbornly refused to remain behind.
"I'm going Ayeka. I'm not a little kid any more." Sasami started stalking quickly after Ryoko.
"Told you," said Washu to Ayeka, then followed along as well.
Ayeka followed along, ready to throw a force field around her sister in a heartbeat should the need arise.
Mihoshi watched everyone, then realized she was being left behind, and squeaked, "Wait for me."
--
Valentino Rudolpho looked over the array of men before him. He'd gathered together his most trustworthy bosses and had each bring along a collection of men they trusted. All told it was around fifty people, more than enough to handle the traitor Marco.
"Is everyone ready? Remember, I want Marco and the woman alive. The other two I don't care about. Kill them, it's simpler."
Everyone nodded, and he dismissed them to their assigned tasks. There was only one good way into the gymnasium, though you could slip people in a couple other places if necessary. Marco would be occupied, though, so Rudolpho wasn't worried about being discovered.
He marched his men over to the main entrance to the gym, and waited for a few to go in and make sure it was clear. When nothing happened, he moved in with the rest of his men. They were all carrying guns, and Marco never used one. It would be over quickly.
--
Ryoko was leading the group down the hall from the small access door they'd used when she heard something. She held up her hand, and everyone fell still.
"He'll be in the main gym, having his stupid duel. Take your men and spread out. Move in on my signal."
The voice carried back to where the women were arrayed, and they looked at each other momentarily. "They're all in here," said Washu. "That's why there weren't any guards. If they all go in with guns, Tenchi's sure to get hurt, and Nobuyuki and Kiyone wouldn't have a chance."
"So, we take them all out first," answered Ryoko. "Fine by me. What's the plan?"
"Um, everyone...," started Mihoshi.
"Not now, blondie. We need to come up with a plan." Ryoko huddled with Ayeka and Washu.
"But...," Mihoshi continued.
"What is it Mihoshi? Shouldn't you be helping us with the plan?" Ayeka turned angrily to face the GP detective.
"Sasami..."
Everyone looked to where Mihoshi was looking, and their breaths all gasped out as they saw Sasami approaching the nearest of a small group of armed men from behind.
"Oh crap! Gotta go now!" Ryoko took off, flying full speed in that direction, and the others followed as fast as they could.
"Oh, Sasami...," whimpered Ayeka, getting ready to throw up a force field as soon as she thought she could get one around Sasami to protect the girl.
Sasami walked as quietly as possible up to the half dozen armed men. When she got there, she glanced where they were looking, but couldn't see anything. Not wanting to wait, she said, "Where's Tenchi?"
The men jumped in their places, then turned to look at her. "Well, lookie what we have here," said one of them. "A pretty young thing looking for her boyfriend. What say we show her what real men are like?" Grins broke out on their faces as they all looked her up and down.
Sasami blushed a little bit, then her face hardened. "Where's Tenchi?"
"Oooh, she's getting mad. I'm scared boys." The talker laughed and the rest joined in. "Get her."
Sasami blocked the first man's grab, and dropped him with a kick to his groin. She immediately swung around, planting her other foot in another's stomach. She came smoothly up out of that kick and lifted a third off his feet with an uppercut. The fourth dropped from a combination of short punches to his stomach and chin, and the fifth to a sharp roundhouse kick that sent him flying into the wall. She turned back to the man who'd been speaking before. "Where's Tenchi?"
He backed away, fear evident in his eyes. He made to run, but she grabbed him and threw him against the wall. His eyes rolled back in his head, and he collapsed to the ground. Looking at them to make sure they were all disabled, she turned and started down the hall to where she heard the sounds of more people talking.
"Whoah, hold on there, Sasami." Ryoko grabbed onto Sasami, and stopped her from moving. "Nice work, but next time wait for us."
"Oh, Ryoko. We've got to go, Tenchi's in trouble."
"Yeah, we know. Just wait for the rest of us, okay?"
Washu and Mihoshi were wandering around through the pile of bodies, making sure none of them were a danger, while Ayeka came flying in to grab Sasami in a hug. She stepped back and checked Sasami for any injuries. Relief flooded her face when she didn't find any, then anger filled her visage. "Don't ever do that again, Sasami! We were all scared witless for you."
"It's okay, Ayeka. I can take care of myself. Let's go, we can't waste time when Tenchi's in trouble." She pulled out of Ayeka's grasp and started moving again.
"But..." started Ayeka.
"Forget it, princess. Best thing to do now is stick with her so she's not taking on everyone by herself." Ryoko flew up to pace Sasami, and Ayeka stared after for them momentarily. When Washu and Mihoshi walked by, she blinked, then started moving herself.
"Oh, Sasami...," whispered Ayeka.
--
Tenchi was thrown backwards again, skidding on the floor until he stopped. Marco was incredibly strong. His grandfather used speed, not this amount of force.
Tenchi parried and dodged, only blocking when absolutely necessary. The shock to his arms was extreme, resisting blows with such tremendous force. So far he hadn't managed an offensive of any significance, he was so caught up in avoiding Marco's blows.
He wasn't terribly concerned yet, he'd realized he was much faster than Marco early on, but being forced to dodge and parry everything had left him no opportunities to counterattack so far. He could see the frustration rising in Marco's face, though, and knew the assassin was going to lose his cool soon.
Sure enough, after Tenchi avoided another series of slashes and lunges, Marco stepped back and growled, "Are you going to fight, boy? I wanted a duel, not a workout session."
Tenchi narrowed his eyes, and given the break in Marco's offensive, he stepped forward to finally launch an offensive. He flicked his blade in quick slashes, knowing Marco would be unable to block all of them. His sword got through again and again, only inflicting minor wounds each time. None of them were significant by themselves, but if it continued Marco would be finished due to blood loss.
Marco growled again, and finally forced his way back onto the offensive, absorbing a deep gash in his side to do so. His eyes were squinted in fury, and he threw powerful overhand blows in rapid succession, finally managing to knock Tenchi's sword down and carried his blow through into the boy's shoulder.
"Aahh!" Tenchi cried, and stepped back, waving his sword defensively.
"Tenchi!" cried Kiyone and Nobuyuki.
Tenchi waved off the pain and returned himself to a ready position, his sword now held in only his right hand as his left hung useless at his side. Blocking would now be impossible without both his arms, he had no choice but to take the attack back to Marco, and lunged forward to do so.
Tenchi moved through some of the simplest patterns his grandfather had taught him, and he could see the confusion growing on Marco's face as he attempted to parry attacks coming with such speed they were barely visible. Finally Tenchi got in the strike he wanted, and his blade slashed through the wrist of Marco's right arm, nearly cutting his hand off. Marco's sword fell to the ground, taking Tenchi's gaze with it so that he missed the punch Marco was throwing until it crashed into his jaw, sending him flying backwards.
He held on tight to his sword, knowing that to lose it would likely mean his life, but when he stopped sliding and looked up, Marco hadn't moved from his previous spot. In fact he was grinning evilly. Then Tenchi saw the gun in his hand pointed at his father. He heard a clinking sound beside him, and noticed the coin Kiyone had given him as a gift rolling to a rest beside him.
"Sorry, boy. No rules, remember? You're better than me, I admit it. I didn't think I'd ever meet my match, but you're it. Too bad you play for the wrong side. Toss your sword aside, or your father dies."
Marco raised his gun to point it directly at his father's head, and Nobuyuki flinched reflexively. "Wait!" Tenchi closed down Tenchi-ken, and lowered it to the floor.
Marco shook his head. "Stupid. If you'd held onto it, you might have still had a chance. Now you all die." He turned to look down the barrel of his gun at Nobuyuki and pulled the trigger.
Kiyone had already been swinging into motion as Marco started his last words and threw her body into Nobuyuki's, knocking him flying.
Tenchi made the move he'd planned from the second he dropped his sword, flinging the coin from Kiyone he'd secretly picked up when he put the sword down, with all his might at Marco's head. The assassin never saw it coming, and it thumped him in the temple, knocking the assassin backwards as the gun went off.
(KAPOW)
Kiyone screamed as the blast went through her thigh, and rolled across the floor whimpering. Nobuyuki rolled along with her, then came to his feet in a roar when he finally stopped. He threw himself into the dazed assassin, bowling him over.
Tenchi had already grabbed Tenchi-ken once more, and was running across the floor in a blur. The sword blazed to life as he ran and it flashed forward towards Marco's throat.
The assassin's eyes widened as he saw the blade coming down, and he reflexively started turning away, knowing it would do him no good. After a few seconds, he realized he was still breathing, and opened his eyes to the sight of the blade holding steady under his chin.
"Enough. It's over... you lose." Tenchi's breath heaved as he stood over Marco. He watched carefully as his father rolled away from the assassin, but Marco never made a move. "The key to Kiyone's handcuffs. Where is it?"
"My jacket pocket."
"Go help her dad."
"Okay, Tenchi." Nobuyuki moved to do so, and quickly located the key. He approached Kiyone who had now passed out, and carefully unlocked the handcuffs. He checked her pulse, and gave a thumbs-up to Tenchi.
"Okay, bring them back, and put them on Marco."
Nobuyuki looked at his son momentarily, then again followed directions, putting the assassin's arms into the cuffs. He had to roll the assassin onto his stomach and lever his arms back painfully to do so due to the man's muscle. Marco grunted in pain a few times during the process, but never protested.
Tenchi collapsed to the ground exhausted when his father finally finished with Marco. His father came over to help him to his feet, and they made there way over to Kiyone to check on her more carefully.
"Well, well, this has been interesting."
Their heads snapped around at the sound of the new voice. Standing before them with a gun in his hands was an older man with gray hair, immaculately dressed.
"You might not know me, I'm Valentino Rudolpho. Marco used to work for me, before he decided to put his own interests before mine. It was nice of you to take care of the problem for me. I'm sure he would have killed some of my men when we took him, but now that won't happen. I have to say, that was very impressive. I never thought I'd see Marco defeated in a sword fight."
Tenchi's eyes narrowed, and he shifted himself in front of Kiyone.
"Oh, very noble, young man. Futile, of course, but quite charming. Enough of this. Let's go, men, go get him." Rudolpho waved his arm, and waited for his men to move forward and surround the group. After a moment, his eyes narrowed in puzzlement, and his heart froze at the sight of the smile breaking out on Tenchi's face.
He turned around to see a group of women he did not know dragging a few of his unconscious men into the room. "Wh-who are you?"
Ryoko dumped the body she'd had by the collar on the ground in front of him, and just opened her mouth in a wicked grin. Ayeka, Mihoshi, and Sasami all just looked at him coldly, while Washu stepped past them to go and check on Kiyone.
"You picked on the wrong family, Mr. Rudolpho. These ladies are with me." Tenchi got to his feet to walk towards the crime lord. Rudolpho cringed before him, dropping his gun in fright.
"Wait! What do you want? I can give you anything." Rudolpho cringed away from Tenchi. "Money, women, name it. Better yet, come work for me. You beat Marco, I could use someone like you. All you have to do is send these ladies away and you can have anything you want. Please, just tell me."
Tenchi looked coldly at the man, then turned to Mihoshi. "Is this man wanted by the Galaxy Police, too?"
"Ummm... yes, yes he is."
Everyone waited for a moment, looking at Mihoshi. As the silence grew longer, Washu finally gave up and said, "Well? Are you going to arrest him?"
"I'm still waiting to hear Tenchi's answer."
"Huh?" Tenchi looked at her quizzically.
"You know, what you want. I'm waiting to hear your answer to Mr. Rudolpho."
Tenchi shook his head and approached Mihoshi, taking her hand in his. "I don't want anything from him, Mihoshi. He can keep whatever he's got, and you can arrest him, then we can all go home together. Okay?"
"Oh. Okay then. I mean, I was hoping that would be your answer, but I didn't know that for sure. Sometimes people do things you don't expect them to. Like when Kiyone..."
Tenchi lifted her hand up and pressed it against her lips. Laughing, he said, "Just go arrest him, okay?"
"Right. Mr. Rudolpho. You have the right..."
Tenchi shook his head as he turned to look back at the rest of the women, every one of them with a beaming smile on their face. He smiled tiredly in return. "So, what brings all of you here, then? Or do I even need to ask?"
"We heard some criminal was making his lair hereabouts, and you know Mihoshi, she just had to come and arrest the criminal..." Washu laughed with everyone else when Mihoshi put the handcuffs on Rudolpho.
"Right. Well then, come here, all of you." Tenchi opened his arms, and all the girls ran to embrace him in a hug.
Mihoshi danced around the outside trying to find a way in to Tenchi. "No fair, I was putting handcuffs on the criminal. I want a hug, too."
Tenchi laughed and rearranged all the arms enough for Mihoshi to squeeze in as well. "Thanks, everyone. I'm glad you're all here, and I guess I should thank you for saving me."
"Well, now that I've saved your life, I guess you owe me, then? I've got a few things in mind you can do to repay the favor..." Washu leered at him.
"Hey, knock it off, Mom. We're all here too, you know." Ryoko glared at Washu, only causing the scientist to laugh harder.
"I was so worried about you, Tenchi." Sasami did her best to bury her head in his chest amidst the jumble.
"It's okay, now, Sasami. I'm all right." Tenchi patted her head as best he could.
"You know, could we break this up now, girls, I just realized I have someone who I really need to give a hug."
They finally dropped off of him, all of them looking nervously at the unconscious Kiyone on the ground. A collective sigh of relief went out when he stepped past her to embrace his father who'd been standing and watching the whole time.
"I'm sorry, dad. I wish you wouldn't have gotten mixed up in this."
"That's all right son. These things happen."
"Um... no they don't."
"Well, okay, so they don't. You did what needed to be done and it worked out in the end though. That's what really matters. Thanks for coming for me, Tenchi. I love you."
"I love you too, dad."
(SNIFF, SNIFF)
The two of them turned to stare at the collection of sobbing women watching them, their tears making a small puddle on the ground. Everyone laughed and got to work sorting out what to do.
Washu materialized a hoverstretcher to carry Kiyone. She then proceeded to anesthetize her leg before bringing her back to consciousness. Mihoshi herded Rudolpho and Marco before her, reading them their rights once more. Tenchi went looking for the coin he'd thrown at Marco, and Ryoko signaled Ryo-Ohki to come pick them up.
Ayeka turned to Sasami and said, "Well, now that it's all over, how do you feel?"
"Pretty good," answered Sasami. "I was never really frightened, at least not for myself. All I could think about was getting to Tenchi in time to make sure he was okay."
"Yes, well, you did very well today. We must tell mother of course, and I think it might be time for you to get your own battle armor. I think you earned it today."
"You mean it? Oh, thank you, Ayeka." Sasami hugged her elder sister tightly.
Tenchi stooped to pick up the ancient coin, thankful it hadn't been damaged at all. He flipped it in the air once, catching it on the way up, then turned to go find Kiyone. He was relieved to see her awake again, apparently Washu had done something to fix her up a little bit.
"Well, I guess I need to thank you twice, Kiyone. Once for giving me the lucky coin that may have saved the day, and once for protecting my father and getting hurt badly in the process."
Kiyone blushed slightly at the look of tenderness in his eyes. "You're welcome, Tenchi. It was nothing really. Any GP officer would have done the same."
"I'm not so sure about that. Here, I owe you this, though." Tenchi leaned over to give her a hug, since she'd missed out on the group one earlier.
Her face turned bright red as she saw the looks of envy on everyone else's faces, but she didn't let go until he did. "Can we get out of here now?"
"Yeah, it seems like we ought to get going, doesn't it?"
--
Comments and Criticism definitely wanted. It's hard to improve without it.