Tenchi Muyo!
______
Disclaimer: This episode of Tenchi Muyo! is
of my own creation. I do not own any portion of Tenchi
Muyo. "Tenchi Muyo!" and all related characters, names, etc. are
©1992-2003 AIC Inc. and Pioneer LDC. All rights reserved.
Note: This story line is a sequel to 'The Darkness Within.' I recommend reading
the stories since it is an incredible series and is very well done.
______
The Return to Darkness
Chapter 7:
That Dark Feeling...
______
"WHAT!?" is the automatic
response yelled out by everyone around the happy couple. Washu,
who was just emerging from her lab, stands still in utter shock, hearing the
woman, Tokimi, just state that she is Tenchi's wife. She places a hand on her forehead, suddenly
feeling lightheaded. "Tokimi..." she
whispers out loud to herself, "Clay mentioned her on board his ship...and
by title. He's never done that before. Who is she?"
Tenchi wraps an arm around the goddess' waist and
pulls her into him. "You heard her," he begins, his voice unusually
calm and composed, "Tokimi and I are married. We
are husband and wife." He and his beautiful wife raise their left hands,
showing off their wedding rings to prove their point.
Ryo-Ohki and Mihoshi both react similarly and cover
their mouths in shock, their eyes wide. Sasami
watches Tokimi warily, her eyes suddenly not looking
as innocent as they always do. They now have a mixture of her innocence and an
eternal knowledge that only a goddess can encompass. It appears as though the
Goddess of Light, Tokimi's younger sister Tsunami has
decided to make an appearance, although she is staying on the sidelines at the
moment, surprised and curious at her older sister's sudden appearance and
attachment to Tenchi.
Ayeka is torn between confusion and fright, amazingly
enough, she does not feel angry in any way. She is confused as to how this
whole ordeal occurred but is more so afraid that she has lost Tenchi instead of being angry with this mystery woman for
winning his affections. 'This cannot be true,' she worriedly thinks. 'How could
this have happened without my noticing of it? I cannot loose Tenchi. He means too much to me.'
Ryoko, on the other hand, is livid. She begins to
growl like an enraged animal and sparks of energy flow from her body.
"This had better be a joke Tenchi because if it
isn't, then this bitch is dead!"
Tenchi's right eye twitches slightly and he responds,
"Hey now, let's all calm down a bit, okay Ryoko?"
"Like I have already said Ryoko," Tokimi begins, "your petty threats do nothing but
waste your own breath. I can barely understand why my dear Tenchi
could allow someone with such loose morals and manners as yourself
to stay here with him."
"You've got a lot of nerve!" Ryoko shouts,
her anger rising drastically by the second. "You can't just come here and
steal Tenchi away from us! What gives you the
right?"
"Hey, come on now! Can we please calm down?" Tenchi
pleads a little louder...but with no success. Both women pay no attention to
the prince's pleas and continue on their argument.
The goddess crosses her arms and closes her eyes, keeping her steadily rising
impatience and frustration in check. "I have more right to be with him
then all of you here combined. Neither of you have any idea
what we have been through together."
"What the hell are you talking about?" the pirate screams, waving her
arms around wildly. "Just how long have you been seeing my Tenchi?"
Tokimi huffs slightly, not enjoying hearing Ryoko address her husband as 'her Tenchi'.
"I have been with my loving husband here for only a few months, but I have
been watching over him for longer than you would suspect but I have neither the
time nor the inclination to explain myself to the likes of a filthy demon like
you."
That last comment causes the space pirate to snap. She lunges forward and slaps
Tokimi hard on her left cheek. The goddess stumbles
back and falls to her knees in surprise. Never before in her entire existence
has any manner of creature ever dared to strike her in such a fashion.
Tenchi is shocked and hurt by Ryoko's
immaturity. He looks into Ryoko's glaring yellow eyes
and notices the fire and hatred behind them as she gazes at Tokimi
lying on the floor. Tenchi can see his dear wife
cowering in Ryoko's eyes and he is horrified. 'I knew
this was going to be tough, but so horrible?' he thinks worriedly. 'Perhaps Ryoko will always be just Ryoko...no
matter what universe or dimension or whatever changes have been made...it seems
that she will always hurt me somehow.'
This pain deep in his heart reminds him of her betrayal. He can no longer look
her in the face, a feeling of shame and disgust plaguing him by being near her.
The still recent pain of her betrayed marriage vows washes over him again and
he feels tears begin to well up in his eyes. He looks down and he sees Tokimi. She is so powerful, but appears to be so powerless,
so...normal at the moment. He steps in-between Ryoko
and Tokimi. The pirate is standing tall, ready to
kill and just waiting for the goddess to stand up. The prince turns his back on
her and bends down and gently puts his arms around Tokimi
and lifts her back to her feet, whispering, "Are you and the baby
okay?"
Tokimi silently nods and sends comforting thought to
him telepathically, still feeling amazed at how comforting Tenchi
is to her, especially in front of his family which he has known much longer
than her. She reminds herself that it was she who gave him new love and
companionship when he lost all hope and desire to go on living. His eyes always
fill with great love, respect and desire whenever he looks at her and it always
causes her heart to flutter with so many emotions when he does. 'Why does it
have to be so horrible when he wants to share his happiness, when he wants to
share me to others?' she sadly thinks. 'Why do they not see me for who I truly am?
Not some evil, deviant goddess, but a caring, loving and compassionate woman. I
originally did not have any emotions but I have always felt the pain of
emptiness and loneliness inside of my heart. Tenchi
has helped to take that away form me forever...and today is a new beginning. No
more hate, lies, or pain. Today will be a day of forgiveness.'
Yet, all those feelings come to a crashing halt inside of her when Ryoko places her hand on Tenchi's
shoulder and grips it tightly. "Tenchi, you are
being brainwashed!" the pirate practically cries. "Let me at this
tramp!"
The prince lets go of his wife gently and a note of concern suddenly appears on
her face. Tenchi slowly turns around and faces Ryoko. His gentle features slowly disappear and are
replaced by a cold, hard glare. Finally, when he looks the daughter of Washu in the eyes it is almost as if he changed into a
completely different person.
'Maybe Tenchi really is in love,' she thinks to
herself. 'I mean, why else would he look at me like that if he wasn't?'
Tenchi's eyes are devoid of any emotion and his face
is completely blank. He is standing rigid, staring at her without blinking. Ryoko's anger is forgotten and suddenly she remembers how
he pleaded with her for over two minutes to calm down. That Tenchi
seems to be so vastly different from this Tenchi now
standing before her. The one she is used to is full of love and warmth and
understanding. This changed, different Tenchi is a
statue. The angriest she had ever seen him was when she ripped his mother's
kimono, but even then he still showed some emotions. She has never seen him
like this, he doesn't even appear to be visibly angry.
He is eerily calm, dangerously calm...not a sound is coming from him and it is
beginning to frighten her. She is old enough to realize she has pushed him past
his limits. He is violently angry.
'I think I should try to calm this situation down,' the pirate worriedly thinks
to herself. 'I hate this Tokimi woman but I can't get
anything done about it if Tenchi is this angry with
me.' Before Ryoko can back away and bow her head in
an apology she notices that Tokimi had gripped both
of Tenchi's shoulders...as if he were a shield. Ryoko visibly cringes and clenches her hands rigidly. She
looks back up to Tenchi's face and realizes
immediately that she has most definitely made a very serious mistake. Before
she can backtrack she immediately feels something hit the side of her face,
hard. The room is a blur and the pirate feels herself crash very hard into the
floor...cracking the floorboards as she lands.
There is a collective gasp from the room. The other girls are equally amazed
and horrified by what just happened. Tenchi, who just
struck her, is equally mortified. His eyes and face revert once again to its
loving and normal look. He looks at his hand, the one he struck Ryoko with, and grabs it with the other...pulling it
against his belly and covering it as if to protect others from himself.
"I...I'm sorry," Tenchi quickly apologizes
to everyone and runs out of the house.
Tokimi, looking very concerned and pained, quickly
chases after her husband, shouting, "Tenchi!
Please...do not leave! Tenchi! Wait for me!"
Ryoko is about to suck up her pain and go and tell Tenchi that it was her fault until she notices something
wet on her hands. She looks down and sees that the floor had broken around her
body when she fell from the strike...and that she is bleeding, probably from
the head. Ryoko feels a deep stab in very depths of
her soul. 'T...Tenchi,' she sadly thinks, not holding
back on the ever present tears, 'I'm sorry. I never wanted you to hate me. I
never wanted you to be angry enough with me to actually hit me.'
Everyone except Ayeka runs up to Ryoko
to see if she is all right. Ayeka merely stands
rigidly, calmly panicking. The first thing she whispers out while choking back
sobs is, "I would expect nothing less from a Royal Prince if his wife was
offended or struck..." She pauses for a moment, "...but who is
she?"
Washu, who ran over to Ryoko's
side, stands up and looks at the group, looking very somber.
"I honestly don't know anything about her, but I can definitely tell that
she is not from earth. Those eyes of hers are a dead giveaway."
"Is there anything else Little Washu?" Mihoshi asks, acting and talking differently with an
unusual air of confidence in her. The seriousness of the situation has even
gotten to her.
The genius sighs slightly. "When Dr. Clay had Zero kidnap Ryoko and I confronted him on his ship, he mentioned
working for a 'Lady Tokimi.' That confused me since
he never before addressed someone by title. It meant that this Lady Tokimi must have been either a person of extreme importance
or power or even both."
"She is," Sasami cuts in, wiping the tears
from her eyes. "She is more than you would think."
Ayeka walks up to her younger sister an kneels down in front of her. "Sasami...whatever
do you mean?"
She and everyone else in the room gasp slightly as the two triangles on her
forehead start to glow brilliantly. She closes her eyes for a brief moment and
when she opens them, she looks different...older and much, much wiser.
"Tsu...Tsunami?" the
crown princess questions.
"Yes Princess Ayeka," Sasami/Tsunami
speaks, in the goddess' voice, "it is me. I must warn you that Tokimi is not someone to mess with. The consequences could
be disastrous."
Ryoko stands up with Washu
and Mihoshi's help. She sniffs lightly and wipes her
tears away. "Who is she?"
Sasami/Tsunami looks to the floor, trying to hide the
sorrow that has appeared in her eyes. "Tokimi...is
my older sister. She is a goddess, just like myself."
She pauses for a moment as everyone all around her gasps in surprise. She looks
over at the large blue couch in the living room. "Please, let us all sit
down and relax for I have much to tell."
Everyone follows her and takes a place on the couch. Ayeka
clasps her hands together and looks at her sister/goddess. "Please
Tsunami," she begins, "explain to us what is going on and why this Tokimi...your sister, is now with Tenchi."
The princess/goddess sighs deeply. "In the time before time, there were
three goddesses. Tokimi, myself and one other who will remain anonymous until she is
ready. All three of us worked together and created this universe in this
dimension and silently governed over its inhabitants. Over time, myself and my other sister were becoming suspicious of Tokimi. Sometimes her actions were less than morale but
none of us had the full expanse of emotions that all of you have so we
dismissed it as nothing, though we always had the feeling that she was indeed
hiding something of great importance from us." She pauses to take a
breath, seeing as Sasami's young body is still
growing and isn't strong enough to go on for so long without having to take
small breaks.
"So what happened then?" Washu questions,
keen to gather as much information from the goddess as possible. The
information she is gathering right now is very valuable to her since she has
always wondered how the universe was created.
Sasami/Tsunami smiles at the little genius.
"Well soon myself and our other sister grew tired
of just watching and governing over every living creature. We wanted to get
closer, to be a part of their lives. Despite Tokimi
heavily protesting to our decision, we both came to live in this dimension,
each taking a different approach in doing so. After we departed, Tokimi became somewhat bitter and despised being all alone.
Her methods to dealing with mortals soon became harsh and cruel. I watched by
with great sorrow as she let herself slip in further into the darkness."
Mihoshi scratches her chin, looking confused. "But.uh.but what does that have to do with Tenchi? I mean, I remember him acting kinda
funny a couple of months ago but then he became all normal and sorts. Do you
know what happened?"
The goddess in the young princess' body sighs again. "As to that...I am
not sure. This sudden move has me very confused. Tokimi
has never been to one to act on impulse or so quickly. She always carefully
plans out her actions, no matter what they may be. But when she was here, I
sensed some changes in her. If I am correct, I believe she has also gained the
full assortment of emotions such as I have, please do not ask me how because I
do not have an answer." Sasami/Tsunami grips at her kimono and looks to the floor, suddenly looking
nervous. "I...I also sensed another change. This one being inside
of her body, but I believe that I am not the one to break the news to
you."
"Oh come on," Washu encourages, "you
can tell us."
"I cannot, I am sorry." She closes her eyes and when she opens them
again, Sasmai has returned. She grabs her head,
complaining, "Ooh, each time she does that my head feel all funny!"
______
Tenchi collapses onto the soft grass, breathing
heavily. He sits up and looks at his hands. "I...I can't believe that I...I
hit Ryoko. How could I do that?"
"You were protecting me," a soft, sweet voice says from behind him.
He turns around to see his beautiful wife calmly walking up to him. "I
would have expected no less from my husband and Champion." She kneels down
behind him and hugs him from behind. "Oh you dear sweet
man. I love you and I always will. Without you, I would be lost."
The prince shifts around so now Tokimi is sitting on
his lap. "I feel that same about you. I love you with all of my
heart." They both lean in for a deep, passionate kiss.
After a few minutes, they both pull away. The goddess lays her head on Tenchi's shoulder, smiling in content. A sudden thought
comes to her. "Tenchi," she begins, "I
want to cheer you up and I believe that I have the perfect idea. I know of a
person who we can tell who will be overjoyed with the news...all of it,"
she finishes, indicating their unborn child.
"Really? Who?"
______
A short while later, the happy couple is in front of a
large building. "This is where my Dad works," Tenchi
informs his wife. "Normally he doesn't work on the weekends but he was
called in to finish a project early."
Tokimi reaches down and intertwines her fingers with
his. "Then let pay him a visit and tell him of the joyous news."
They makes their way into the building and pass by the receptionist who waves
kindly at Tenchi, having met him several times before
when he comes to visit his father. They take the elevator up a few floors and
walk past an expanse of offices and cubicles. After about a couple of minutes,
they reach one cubicle labeled 'Masaki, Nobuyuki.' They both peek in and see
Mr. Masaki putting the final touches on a drawing of a nice looking building.
He smiles at it, saying, "I think this is my finest work yet!"
"It is pretty nice Dad," Tenchi says,
startling the older man in front of him.
Nobuyuki quickly turns around, grasping his chest. "Tenchi! Don't sneak up on me like that! I'm not as
young as I used to be you know!"
The prince chuckles slightly. "Sorry about that Dad."
Mr. Masaki suddenly takes notice of Tokimi, who looks
slightly nervous. "Say Tenchi, who's this
beautiful young woman next to you?"
The goddess clears her throat and bows to him. "G...greetings
Mr. Masaki. I am Tokimi."
Nobuyuki chuckles. "My aren't
you a polite one? Oh and you don't need to bow to me, it makes me feel older
than I really am." Tokimi covers her mouth to
hide the small giggle that is trying to escape. Mr. Masaki's smile widens.
"You have a very beautiful voice, do you know that?"
Tokimi wraps her arms around Tenchi's
right arm and looks up at him adoringly. "Yes, I have been told that
before, thank you."
Tenchi clears his throat to get his father's
attention. "Uh...Dad, we...we have an announcement to make."
"We are married!" the goddess shouts, startling both men.
A strange, but not lecherous, smile begins to form on Nobuyuki's face.
"M...married? Is this true Tenchi? Are you
finally married?" His son nods and is suddenly gasping under his father's
strong embrace. "Oh Tenchi I'm so proud of
you!"
"That is not all," Tokimi informs him. She
waits until he lets go of her husband a bit to finish the news. When he does,
she begins to rub her belly lovingly. "I am also pregnant with the child
of your son Mr. Masaki."
The older Masaki is momentarily stunned. "I...I'm finally going to be...a
grandpa?" He smiles again...just before his eyes roll back into his head
and he falls onto the ground.
Tenchi and Tokimi are
quickly at his side. "Dad?" the prince asks. He checks his father's
pulse and chuckles slightly. "He passed out!"
To be continued...
______
Author's notes: Ah, I'm finally
starting to get back in my 'groove'. It feels good to finish another Chapter so
soon after another one. I owe a lot of thanks to geekyomega
who wrote for me everything from what happened after the slap to the part when Washu speaks up about Tokimi. I
made a few changes but nothing drastic. I am really honored to have such a good
writer help me. He is the official co-author of this Chapter and hopefully he
can be so for future Chapters. - lighthawkdemon
Questions or comments? E-mail me at: lighthawkdemon@yahoo.com