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 11:
Plans Gone Way Afoul
______
That following morning, Tokimi awakens much earlier
than normal, mainly due to the fact of her stomach rumbling, signifying that
her unborn child is demanding that she eat some food. Just recently, she has
begun to feel bouts of hunger. When the goddess first gained her ability to
taste food, she had thought it a side effect of giving herself to Tenchi, since he was her first. She soon learned that this
was not entirely true. Her child was conceived on that day as well and it was
that occurrence that had given Tokimi her taste. By
being a goddess, she does not have to eat food since her powers sustain her
life, but the same cannot be said for her child. So now when Tokimi feels the urge to eat, she knows that it is her
baby, not herself that needs to eat.
The goddess slowly removes her still sleeping husband's arm around her belly
and gets out of bed, her deep purple nightgown rustling with her movement. She
takes a couple of steps away when Tenchi's groggy voice asks, "Are you getting some food?"
Tokimi calmly turns around, a slight smile on her face.
"Why yes I was love," she responds while leaning in and giving Tenchi a chaste kiss on the lips. "Were you reading my
thoughts?"
"No," he answers, sitting up with a groan. "My hand was on your
belly when it rumbled. I felt it," he adds with a corny smile.
The goddess giggles at his silliness. "Rest a little while longer beloved,
I will prepare breakfast for us."
"You're way too good for a simple guy like me, you know that?" the
prince says, turning onto his front and quickly falling back asleep.
The smile on his wife's face fades. "No, it is I who is undeserving of
you," she whispers while walking out of the room. "You have given me
a life I could not have possibly fathomed. Because of you, I finally understand
what it means to love. Because of you, I finally have a real place I can
happily call home. Because of you, I now have this beautiful life growing in
me. Because of you, my life feels fulfilled." The goddess pauses as she
hears light sniffing coming from behind her. She turns around to find Sasami right behind her in a light pink kimono.
"That was so nice," the little princess sniffs, wiping away the tears
in her eyes. "I wish I could feel like that someday."
Despite the slightly frustrated and angry feelings Tokimi
is feeling while looking at Sasami, knowing that this
sweet and innocent child will grow up and would have abandoned her Champion and
help destroy him slowly from the inside had she not now intervened, the Goddess
of Justice smiles at her. "Perhaps you might child,
no one fully knows what the future may bring." 'Especially,' her mind
adds, 'since I have altered events that were meant to take place. Now my
beloved Tenchi will live, and possibly so will some
of this family as well.'
The young princess giggles and begins to blush lightly. "Yeah, that's
true. I wonder if I can find somebody to take care of me like Tencih is taking care of you." She pauses for a
moment. "So what are you doing up this early?"
"I was going to gather up some food," she answers plainly. "My
child demands sustenance."
Upon hearing this, Sasami's smile widens. "Oh good! I was going downstairs to start making
breakfast for everybody. Would you like to help me? I could whip up something
quick for your baby."
The goddess returns the smile and nods, answering, "Yes, I will." As
soon as the princess rushes past her to go downstairs to the kitchen, the smile
on Tokimi's face quickly fades. "I truly pity
that young child," she whispers out loud. "Had Tsunami not
assimilated with her over seven hundred years, she would have most likely
perished, and that would have been quite tragic. Yet now because of their
future assimilation, she will bare witness to and be forced to participate in
events far too horrific for one with eyes as innocent and pure as hers. I can
already sense that her dreams are troubled and frightening. Damn you Tsunami,
why must you subject this child, whom you care so much about, to such things? I
had thought better of you." She sighs deeply then continues down to the
kitchen.
Sasami looks up from gathering up the assortment of
cooking utensils as she hears Tokimi walk in.
"Okay, I need you to grab that big cookbook next to the refrigerator and
open it to page 102."
The goddess goes to fridge and picks up the book, labeled: 'Famous Foods of the
World: A Recipe Book for Popular Meals Eaten Across
the Globe', and turns to the page the little princess said. She quickly takes
in the picture of American style breakfast. Her stomach rumbles loudly in
response. Tokimi rubs her belly lovingly while Sasami giggles at her.
"I guess the baby's really hungry." She inches her way closer, her
large pink eyes never leaving the goddess' stomach. "Can I...can I touch
your belly?" she hesitantly asks.
"Yes you may, though you may not feel much." An idea suddenly occurs
to Tokimi. "If you press your ear against me,
you should be able to hear the hear the heartbeat of
my child."
Sasami's eyes widen in surprise. "Really?"
she asks excitedly. Before the goddess can answer, the young princess presses
the side of her head against her, listening intently. After a few seconds, her
face splits into a very large smile. "I can hear it! I can hear the baby's
heartbeat!" She backs up and bounces from foot to foot happily. "Oh I
can't wait to see the baby! Do you know if it's gonna
be a boy or girl?"
"No, I do not know the gender of my baby, nor do I wish to. I desire for
this to be known, only when the child is born." The goddess smiles again
while rubbing her belly.
The princess frowns disappointedly for a second, but quickly brings back her
smile. "Okay, I think that's a neat idea. So now lets
get back to breakfast!"
______
Some time later, Sasami and Tokimi have finished making breakfast, it took a bit longer
than expected since the goddess would occasionally eat a bit of the food for
her developing baby. They are now setting the table and placing the food out.
Slowly, all the members of the household awaken to the new and delicious smells
of the American style breakfast that is waiting to be eaten. As Ayeka makes her way down the stairs, she overhears the
conversation that her younger sister and the devious woman who somehow stole
her beloved Lord Tenchi's heart.
"...yeah, you're right. I need to go shopping later so I can make this
again soon. It tastes so yummy!"
Tokimi giggles lightly. "Yes child, it does. My
baby seems to be enjoying this food immensely. Do you mind if I go shopping
with you? I have not explored this town much and I am interested in seeing all
it has to offer."
"Okay!" Sasami happily answers. "We
can go after breakfast is done and all cleaned up."
Ayeka's eyes light up at this news. 'This is
perfect!' she thinks to herself. 'While that vile woman is away with Sasami, Miss Washu can try to go
with her plan!' She pauses for a moment in deep thought. 'But I should go
instead of Sasami. I will need to keep her distracted
as long as I possibly can. Sasami will just get all
the supplies she needs and leave, taking up as little time as she can. I must
inform Miss Washu and Ryoko
about this opportunity...but after breakfast. Oh my, that smells absolutely
delicious!' She adjusts her kimono and walks the rest of the way downstairs
into the dining area.
"Good morning Ayeka!" Sasami
cheerily greets.
"And a good morning to you too Sasami,"
the crown princess replies. She looks over at Tokimi
and nods slightly, very slightly.
The goddess places the plate of food she was carrying down onto the table and
smiles over at Ayeka. "Well good morning
Princess Ayeka. I hope your rest last night was a
pleasant one?"
The princess is momentarily taken back by Tokimi's
kind greeting. "I...I well y...yes I did. Thank you for asking." She
sits down at the table, frowning slightly. 'Why is she acting so nicely? Could
we have been mistaken about her?' She mentally and physically shakes her head.
'No! This cannot be! This is just a ruse to fool me and I will not fall for it!
The plan must go down, and I will be damned is she will be the one to be the
most prominent figure in Lord Tenchi's heart!'
The door to Washu's lab opens and the newly awakened
goddess emerges, wearing a larger version of her usual lab gear. She stretches
and yawns widely before sitting down opposite of Ayeka
and takes a look at the food before her. "I see Sasami's been using that new recipe book Tenchi got her," she chuckles.
"Oh yes," Ayeka agrees, covering her mouth
to hide her giggle. "She absolutely adores that book. I believe she will
not be satisfied until she has made every single recipe in it." She waits
for a moment while Tokimi goes back into the kitchen
to get one of the last plates of food. When she does, the princess leans over
towards Washu. "After breakfast, Sasami and that vile woman are going out to shop for food.
I think I will intervene and go instead of Sasami.
That way, I can keep Tokimi distracted while you do
your...um...business...with Lord Tenchi." Her
cheeks get a very healthy flush after she finishes.
Washu giggles mischievously at the crown princess.
"Yeah, I guess that could work. I'll talk to Ryoko
in a bit to let her know." She pauses for a moment to look at the other
woman thoughtfully. "You know, I'm really surprised that you and my little
Ryoko are letting me go through with this. I'm
betting this whole idea is really eating you two up inside."
The crown princess lowers her head so her bangs are covering her eyes.
"Yes, it is quite so." She pauses for a moment to sigh deeply.
"I do love Tenchi more than anything, and if it
were possible, I would put a stop to this madness...but I cannot. And now I
must assist in a sinful act of deceit and adultery...what have I become?"
"Hopelessly in love with a cute guy who's taken and quickly becoming
desperate to get him back within your grasp," answers a voice from above.
Both Ayeka and Washu look
up and see Ryoko hovering above them, both her arms
and legs crossed. She slowly glides down and sits next to her mother, a slight
scowl on her face. "I heard the plan, and I think we can do it. I'll stay
around the outside of Tenchi's room to make sure
nobody's gonna get in the way." She is about to
say something else, but Sasami and Tokimi enter the room, halting the space pirate.
"Good morning Ryoko!" the young princess
greets while placing all of the silverware down.
"Hey there kiddo," she responds, carefully watching Tokimi as she places the last plate of food out.
The goddess doesn't even take notice of her niece and calmly, gracefully makes
her way over to the stairs and begins to walk up to them. She pauses as Sasami calls out, "Hey! Why are you going
upstairs?"
"I think it wise that I change into something a little more
respectable," she responds, motioning to the nightgown she has on.
"And I will awaken Tenchi. I am sure he will
greatly enjoy this meal you have so caringly made."
The young princess bows her head, blushing lightly. "Well…you helped,"
she weakly adds.
Tokimi smiles sweetly at her before retreating back
upstairs. As she opens the door to her and her husband's room, the sight that
greets her eyes is Tenchi standing up in his boxers,
pulling a red shirt over his head. He pauses as he hears the door slide open,
his arms above his head and his face covered by his shirt. "Tokimi?" he asks, his voice muffled by his shirt.
"Is that you?"
Stifling a giggle, the goddess calmly walks up to her prince and pulls his
shirt down, a glorious smile on her face. "You should really be more
careful," she jokes, "these things can be quite dangerous."
Tenchi chuckles and pulls his lovely wife in close.
"Yeah, I'm just glad that you're here. I have no idea how I would've
gotten out of that one." He yelps loudly as his dear wife quickly reaches
behind him and pinches his rear. The prince slips out of Tokimi's
grasp and dashes over to his dresser, pulling out a pair of black sweatpants
and hurriedly putting them on. "Boy you're pretty frisky!" he says with
a coy smile.
Tokimi holds her hands behind her back and rocks back
and forth on her heels, shrugging while responding, "I
just guess I am a tad anxious. The young princess Sasami
and myself worked quite diligently on breakfast, and I
am rather proud of our work."
The prince is genuinely surprised for a moment at his wife's behavior. With
each passing day, she acts more and more like a normal woman, adding more to
the spectacular specimen that is Tokimi. His mind
refocuses back to the goddess, who is watching him in anticipation to his
response. He smiles and exuberantly replies, "Really? Well come on! I wanna check this meal out!" He grabs his wife's hand
and pulls her towards the door, despite her giggling protests.
"Please! Just give me a moment to change Tenchi!"
she reasons with him. He pauses for a moment, giving her a look that says,
'Well, go on then.' With a wave of her hand, the goddess' deep purple nightgown
shimmers for a moment before morphing into a beautiful kimono with the outer
one being pure violet with dark purple designs and inner one being a cerulean
blue color. "There," she smiles. "Now I am ready." With
another hearty chuckle, Tenchi rushes downstairs, a
happy Tokimi right by his side.
______
Breakfast goes along well, with everybody gushing out comments on the little
princess' latest masterpiece. Only about half of the group also directed
compliments to Tokimi for her assistance, but the
goddess expected as much. Mihoshi, her newfound
friend, practically gushed out comments to both her and the young princess. Her
kind behavior towards the goddess surprised most of the people at the table,
and gave Tokimi a strange warm feeling in her heart.
Soon everybody finishes and goes about their daily routine...to an extent. Tenchi changes into his outdoor clothes and goes out into
the carrot fields to man the fields and gather up the carrots that are ready to
be eaten. Ryo- Ohki quickly changes into her young girl form, but now wearing
more comfortable working clothes, and follows the prince out into 'her' fields.
Nobuyuki and Katsuhito both go out, the younger of
the two following the Shinto priest's advice to stay out of the house for the
day since he has a bad feeling about the mounting tensions quickly rising to
unstable heights.
Washu, Ryoko and Ayeka all give each other knowing nods before separating,
the genius/goddess going into her lab to prepare for later while the princess
goes into the kitchen where Sasami and Tokimi are busy cleaning plates. Ryoko
sighs deeply and teleports up to the roof, a large jug of saké
now by her side. "This is gonna be one of those
days," she mumbles out loud before leaning back and taking a long swig.
Meanwhile in the kitchen, Sasami and Tokimi are diligently cleaning all of the plates and
utensils from breakfast. Ayeka slowly, hesitantly
walks in, staying as quiet as she can possibly be, though the goddess can still
sense her presence. "So," she begins, looking over at the younger
princess, "should we leave for shopping when we finish cleaning up?"
"Hmm...yeah, we'll go once we clean up all the
dishes and put them away."
Ayeka chooses this moment to speak up. "Oh Sasami, you have already made such an incredible meal. You
should take a well earned break while I go and get the groceries for you."
Sasami gives her older sister a doubtful look.
"Are...are you sure about that Ayeka? I mean, I
could take care of it, I don't mind. I really don't!"
The elder princess covers her mouth with her right hand and giggles lightly.
"No Sasami. You do more around the house than
all of us combined. Please, allow me to help, if even only a tiny bit, with
your burden."
"O...okay, I guess you can go instead of me...but I'm writing a list for
you!" she adds hastily, crossing her arms in a finalizing manner.
Both Ayeka and Tokimi can
barely hold in their laughter at the cuteness of the young princess. "Well
I guess that means that I will now go with you Princess Ayeka,"
the goddess calmly states. "Is that alright with you?"
The crown princess shrugs her shoulder. "I do not mind, as long as it does
not bother you to go with me."
"Not at all," Tokimi replies, turning back
around and getting back to the dishes, not seeing the uncommonly sly smile that
has just spread across Ayeka's gentle face.
______
A short while later, the dishes are done and Tokimi and Ayeka are outside the
house, making the long trek down to the town and grocery store. Ayeka is carrying with her the list her younger sister
made. Tokimi could have teleported them directly into
the town, but Ayeka insisted on walking, claiming
that since she has not fought much with Ryoko lately,
she is a bit out of shape and would like the exercise. The goddess agreed to
the walk, admiring in the vast forests and greenery all around her.
Just as Tokimi and the crown princess leave the
grounds of the Masaki residence, Tenchi and Ryo-Ohki
come up from the fields, each wearing a straw backpack filled with carrots. The
little cabbit girl skips ahead, 'Myaing'
happily with her load. Tenchi just smiles as he makes
his way to the food shed next to the house.
After putting the carrots away, they both go into the house, Ryo-Ohki changing
back into her cabbit form and going off to play with Sasami, who is outside behind the house, tending to a small
flower patch she and Ayeka started a few weeks ago.
Soon, the flower patch is forgotten as the two chase each other around, neither
having a care in the world, or universe, at the moment.
Tenchi walks upstairs to his room. He slides open the
door and instantly notices his wife sitting down on their bed, looking at an
old photograph of him, his dad and grandfather and the girls before Tokimi ever came into their lives. She looks up at him, a
brilliant smile on her face. "Hello dear," she begins, slowly
standing up, "how were the fields today?"
"Not bad," he replies, taking his shirt off. Since the shirt is
covering his eyes, he doesn't notice the nervous smile on Tokimi's
face or the quick flash of deep green in her eyes. Tenchi
tosses his shirt into the laundry hamper in the corner of their room, acting as
if nothing out of the ordinary has happened, which to him, nothing really has.
"Ryo-Ohki helped today and she was pretty good and ate only a few carrots.
We finished a lot faster than usual."
The goddess seductively walks up to her husband, a mischievous glint in her
eyes. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she whispers, "So I take it you
still have a lot of energy left for more...entertaining activities?"
The prince places his hands on his wife's hips, leaning in so their foreheads
are touching. "I always have some extra for you," he answers, his
voice suddenly getting deeper.
The sudden change in his voice and nearness of his body causes shivers to run
down Was...Tokimi's spine.
She backs up very slightly so he won't feel how rapidly her heart is beating.
'I...I can't believe I'm actually going to do this!' her mind screams. 'This
seemed a lot easier when it was just a plan.' Her thoughts are interrupted by Tenchi's lips suddenly pressing on hers. The goddess melts
into his arms and the passion in the kiss. 'I forgot how good this feels,' she
blissfully thinks while she directs him over to their bed.
______
Downhill in the town, the real Tokimi
and Ayeka have just started to shop in the local
grocery store. The goddess, who is beginning to suspect something is amiss,
decides to question the princess with her. "Tell me Ayeka,"
she begins, dropping the formality she normally used, "how do you feel
about Tenchi?" The abruptness of the question
startles Ayeka. She is momentarily speechless.
"You love him, do you not?"
"I...well...that is rather private...I mean...I..." the crown
princess droops her head in resignation. "Yes, I do. I love Lord Tenchi, more than anything or anyone else in this
universe."
Tokimi stares deeply into Ayeka's
deep pink eyes, gazing directly into her soul, her powers slowly influencing
the princess' behavior. "How much do you love him? How much would you do
for him? Tell me, what would you sacrifice for one opportunity to feel your
love for him returned back to you?"
Tears begin to pour from her eyes, her entire resolve falling apart in front of
the love of her life's wife. The goddess is affecting her emotions in some way
that she had never expected. Her mind is in a blur, but the only thing that is
clear, the only thing that matters, is Tenchi.
"I...I would do anything for him," she sobs out, the truth pouring
out like water. "And I would sacrifice absolutely everything for his
love." She lowers her head as her body begins to shake from crying.
The goddess gently places a hand under Ayeka's chin
and raises her head up so they are face to face again. "I believe you
Princess Ayeka, but you must know that Tenchi loves me, and you cannot stop his heart from loving
me." Ayeka removes Tokimi's
hand and looks away, the pain clearly seen in her eyes. "I also know that
you, my 'dear' sister Washu and that no good excuse for a niece are plotting something to separate myself
and my beloved husband from one another."
At this, the princess looks up sharply. "W...what do you mean?"
"Do not play a fool in front of me," Tokimi
sternly warns. "I am a goddess, and I rule over this dimension. I know how
to read every species, and I can instantly tell when one of them is being
dishonest towards me, just like you are right now." Ayeka
looks away again. "You see how much Tenchi loves
me, as I love him. When we are separated, all that I can think about is him.
The longer we are apart, the more it pains me, and I believe it is the same for
him. Tell me, do you wish harm upon Tenchi, whether
it be physical or emotional?"
Ayeka wraps her arms around herself and clenches her
eyes shut, trying desperately to stop the torrent of tear from pouring out.
"No, I would never wish to harm Lord Tenchi in
any matter." She once again looks into the goddess' penetrating blue and
purple eyes, which are clearly asking her, 'Tell me.' The princess shakes her
head. "No! I must not! Miss Washu, Ryoko and myself swore to not tell another soul! I must not speak
about it!"
"Princess Ayeka," the goddess begins in a
soft soothing voice. "We first met face to face in a rather inappropriate
manner. I first thought very negatively of you, as I assume you had thought as
me, but now I can see that you are young and misguided, letting your emotions
fuel your direction in life. Your love for Tenchi
clouds your mind and all rational thought." She pauses for a moment in
thought. 'Perhaps...perhaps something useful can become of this.' She looks
back over at Ayeka. "If you cannot speak out
loud to me, then tell me in another fashion. Allow me to read your thoughts.
That way, you are not speaking it and keeping your word to the others."
The crown princess holds her hands to her chest, crying freely now. Slowly, she
nods her head. "Yes, do what you must, but please do not harm them."
"You have my word." Tokimi places two
fingers on the princess' temple and closes her eyes. A few seconds later, her
eyes snap open. With a snarl not suited for her, the goddess grabs Ayeka's arm and they are instantly teleported back to the
Masaki household, inside Ayeka and Sasami's room. Tokimi lets go of Ayeka and straightens her kimono. "I thank you for
helping me Princess Ayeka," she pauses as a
menacing look crosses her face, "but now you will see that your 'love' for
Tenchi is not as solid as you think it is." She
raises two fingers back to the princess' temple and Ayeka
gasps as images and memories, terrible horrible
memories come flooding into her mind. She grabs her head and falls to the
floor, rocking back and forth.
Without another look, Tokimi walks over to the door,
her image changing as she does so. When she slides the door open, she becomes
the exact image of the crown princess Ayeka. The
'princess' quickly makes her way to Tenchi's room,
adopting a worried expression on her face. Just a few feet from the door, Ryoko appears, phasing through the roof and landing
silently in front of Ayeka. She notices her worried
look. "What's wrong Ayeka? Why are you back so
soon?"
"Tokimi suspected something was wrong," Ayeka hurriedly answers. "She is on her way here right
now! Quickly, we must warm Miss Washu!"
"Right," the space pirate responds, reaching out and grabbing the
handle to Tenchi and Tokimi's
room. Just as it opens a few inches, the tiny wooden guardian above the door
flashes and Ryoko instantly finds herself in the
middle of the lake.
In her moment of confusion, Tokimi rips the door
open, the guradian not affecting her since the room
is hers as well. The sight before her makes her eyes go red. Washu, disguised as Tokimi, is
straddling Tenchi, her kimono wide open exposing her
nude body. Tenchi is below her in just his boxer
shorts. Both are completely stunned at Ayeka's sudden
appearance. "Ayeka," Tokimi
begins, her eyes wide, "what are you doing?!"
Without answering, 'Ayeka' rushes over to the goddess
and yanks her off of Tenchi, dragging her out of the
room and downstairs right in front of the door to Washu's
lab. As soon as she stops, she slaps 'Tokimi' across
the face hard. "I could ask you the same question you deceitful bitch!"
Washu's disguise fades and she appears back in her
normal form, but now looking furious. She is about to say something when Tokimi's disguise fades as well. The Goddess of Justice
smiles evilly at the look of dread in the genius's eyes. "B...but
how?" is all she can manage to say.
Tokimi smiles sweetly at her sister, then punches her in the gut hard a second later. All of the
air comes rushing out of Washu as she falls to her
knees, clutching her stomach tightly. Tokimi calmly
reaches over and opens the door. She then picks up Washu
and holds her by the color of her clothes with one hand while she rears the
other back, readying to strike. "There is one thing you should have known
about me, my dear big sister," She pulls her in close. "Do not screw
with me!" Tokimi then punches Washu directly on her nose, shattering it and sending the
genius/goddess' unconscious body flying far into her lab.
Tenchi's loving wife dusts off her hands and closes
the door, a satisfied smile on her face. "Well now," she says out
loud to herself, "I should go to me dear Tenchi
and clear up all of this confusion." With a thought, she vanishes.
______
Up in her room, Ayeka lies
down in a fetal position, slowly rocking back and forth. Her eyes are red from
crying and a look of pure terror is on her face. "How could I do this to
you?" she mumbles. "How could I hurt you like that? I...I love you Tenchi. Why would I abandon you?"
To be continued...
______
Author's notes: Ah, the plot
thickens even more! Rivalries have been made well known, and poor Tenchi is stuck clueless in the middle as usual! In the
next chapter, a character will realize that they have been on the wrong side
and switch loyalties! Ooh, the anticipation is killing me, and I'm writing it!
On another note, I'm still searching for ideas for the prequel of my Darkness
series. I've already got a basic plot going where it will focus all on Tokimi before she made her move to get Tenchi,
where she has been watching him and his family since before he was even
conceived. She will not have the full assortment of emotions, but will have
minor feelings here and there. Any additional help and ideas would be greatly
appreciated.
Oh yeah, I'm also gathering up thoughts for an alternate ending to 'The
Darkness Within'. It's gonna
be a few years after Chapter 13. It will be sad, but will include a young Keiko
Achika Masaki, the child of Tenchi
and Tokimi! Please keep patient and I'll have this
and a new TRTD chapter in soon - lighthawkdemon
Questions or comments? E-mail me at: lighthawkdemon@yahoo.com