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 13:
How the Tides Have Turned
______
A month has passed since that fateful day, and things
have been relatively peaceful. Ryoko and Washu haven't tried anything else yet, but are still intent
on getting Tokimi out of the house and Tenchi back into their clutches. They have been meeting up
every few days or so, thinking up of possible new ideas. Ayeka
has also joined them, keeping her new alliance a secret and working as a sort
of spy for the Goddess of Justice, informing her of any new possible attempts
the other two are making to be rid of her.
In this last month, Tokimi and Tenchi's
child has progressively developed, so now the goddess' belly is protruding even
more since she is now almost in her fourth month of the pregnancy. As of late, Tokimi has become increasingly self-conscious of her body.
Even before she gained all of her emotions, she would spend some time each and
every day staring at herself in front of a mirror,
admiring her perfect body. Now she dreads the thought of even looking down,
afraid to see her perfect figure tarnished. Needless to say, Tenchi has spent a lot of time reassuring her that she is
still an amazingly beautiful woman. Nobuyuki, Sasami
and Mihoshi have also leant many kind words her way,
hoping to help. Ayeka, when she is sure Ryoko and Washu are not around
and spying anywhere nearby, also helps her lady as much as she can.
Right now, Tokimi is sitting down on the couch in the
living room, snuggling comfortably in her husband's chest with a tray of
healthy snacks in front of her. They are watching a very popular movie that Tenchi purchased just recently on their DVD player. He got
the original American version and they are watching it in that language, since they both agree the voices are better in English. With a
little help from his wife, the young prince can now read, write and speak every
spoken language in the universe quite fluently.
Sasami is sitting on the other side of Tenchi, her entire attention focused entirely on the movie.
She does know a bit of English, seeing as how its one of the most frequently
used languages on earth, and is following along with the plot well enough. She
reaches over to the tray of snacks, and yelps loudly as a hand slaps the top of
hers hard. She tears her gaze away from the movie to see Tokimi
looking at her with a scowl. "Those are mine!" she huffs, pulling the tray
closer to her.
The young princess' mouth hangs open in shock. She looks up at Tenchi for possible help, but frowns at his current state.
The prince is desperately trying to hold back a smile, but failing terribly. It
doesn't help that his body is shaking from repressed laughter and tears are
forming in the corners of his eyes. Tokimi grabs a
snack and smugly pops it into her mouth, chewing happily. She finishes and
sticks her tongue out at Sasami. This is the last
straw and Tenchi bursts out laughing, leaning his
head back and putting his hand on his forehead.
She looks down at the woman cuddling on him, who has joined in on the laughter.
The young girl begins to feel a deep rumbling form down in her belly. Within a
few moments, she is also laughing along with the other two. They continue on
for a bit, eventually calming down. "Oh that felt good," Tenchi
comments, wiping the tears from his eyes. "I haven't had a good laugh like that
in a long time."
"Yeah," Sasami agrees, making another attempt to nab a
snack from the tray, and once again getting caught in the act and stopped by Tokimi. "Come on!" she complains, putting on her classic 'pouty face'. "I made it! I should at least try a little bit
of it!" She makes a desperate dive in, but misses once more as the goddess
quickly grabs the tray and leaps off of the couch, not spilling a single crumb.
"I apologize Sasami, but
nothing is going to come between my baby and this food!" She scoots to the
side, dodging the young princess' lunge at her. With a giddy smile, Tokimi rushes out of the room and up the stairs, the door
to her and Tenchi's room slamming shut and clicking
slightly as she locks it.
With an adorably cute angry face, the young princess storms up the stairs and
begins to pound on the door, shouting, "Hey! I want some! Please let me try
one!"
"You made them!" the goddess whines. "So if you want some, go downstairs and
make some more!"
Tenchi holds his belly, rolling on the ground. Mihoshi walks in and looks at the prince, obviously
confused. "Hey Tenchi," she begins, "what's so
funny?"
He points towards the stairs just as Sasami shouts, "What?!
That's the first time I made them! I don't know if they're good or not!"
"They are delicious," Tokimi comments, her voice sounding
very muffled, as if she is eating while speaking,
which could possibly be the case. "If you want, I will allow you to lick the
tray after I am finished."
A loud thunking sound follows that comment,
which Tenchi guesses is Sasami's
jaw hitting the floor. She comes downstairs a few moments later, a mixture of
shock and extreme anger in her large pink eyes. "I-I'm going to take a walk,"
she mutters, walking out the front door.
Tenchi and Mihoshi take one
look at each other, then start to laugh hysterically.
"Oh that was so funny!" the blonde giggles, wiping tears from her eyes.
"I'll say," the prince replies, sitting back on the couch.
"Those two have been acting more like sisters than anything else. I think it's kinda cute."
The GP officer smiles fondly. "Yeah. I remember my
brother and me were like that all the time when we were younger. We used to
fight all the time, but we did have a lot of fun!" she giggles. "Tokimi is changing a lot."
"That's true," Tenchi agrees, looking upwards. "She's
really opened up and become such an incredible person. I'm really proud of her.
She smiles and laughs a lot more...well when she's not all sad and depressed
about her small weight gain from the pregnancy," he adds with a grimace.
______
Upstairs, Tokimi is lying down on her bed on her side
with the snack tray next to her, only a few snacks left. 'These are quite
good,' she thinks to herself. 'Shame on Sasami for
trying to take them away from me!' she adds with a giggle. Her gaze suddenly
settles in her belly and she sighs deeply. "I wish you would come out sooner,"
she mutters while rubbing her stomach. "Although I thoroughly enjoy feeling you
develop within me, I also miss my old figure greatly. It was something I prided
myself in on a regular basis, so come out soon!" she finishes, poking her belly
lightly.
A light knock at her door diverts the goddess' attention. "Excuse me Lady Tokimi," Ayeka's voice calls out.
"May I enter?"
"Yes, you may come in," she answers. The crown princess of Jurai
slides the door open and enters. She walks in front of Tokimi
and bows slightly. The goddess sits up and nods her head at her newfound
servant. "What is it you wish to discuss with me Ayeka?"
Tokimi curtly asks.
"I think Ryoko and Washu
suspect something about my allegiance," she replies, fidgeting uncomfortably.
"They have become more and more secretive while I am in their presence. I...I
have failed you my Lady," she suddenly falls to her hands and her knees,
trembling slightly.
The goddess stands up with a slight groan and walks to the princess. "Stand up Ayeka," she commands. The princess obeys, though keeps her
head facing the ground, too afraid to look into Tokimi's
face. The wife of Tenchi places a finger under Ayeka's chin and gently raises her head up so they are
looking each other eye-to-eye. "You have not failed me and you shall not be
punished."
"B-But why?" she asks, tears forming in her eyes. "You gave me one simple task
and I was unable to do even that. I am a terrible servant." Her eyes widen in
shock as Tokimi suddenly pulls her in for a deep hug.
"You are not a terrible servant," she replies. "I knew that your secret
allegiance to me could not be kept secret from those two forever. Washu is too clever to have not eventually found out. And
besides," she adds with a small smile, "you and I are practically sisters, and
I know for a fact that Tenchi still cares for you and
would be deeply saddened if something bad happened to you."
Ayeka blushes heavily. "Lord Tenchi...still
cares for me? Even after what I have done?"
Tokimi raises a hand and wipes the tears from the
princess' eyes. "Yes, he still does, and he also knows about your joining of
our side as a way to repent for your mistakes. He holds a great respect for you
for that decision princess."
"I am glad," she begins, but lowers her head again, "though I still feel I have
a lot to do before I am fully free of my guilt, and your total acceptance."
"But you already have Ayeka," a voice says from the
doorway, surprising both women. They turn to see Tenchi
leaning against the doorframe, smiling his patented warm smile. "Although that
old personality of mine is still in me, and it's still upset and really angry
about what originally happened, I've learned to suppress it and I'm willing to
forgive and forget, as long as you are too." He walks in a bit and closes the
door, giving the princess a serious expression.
Ayeka's
lower lips trembles, tears starting to fall from her eyes again. "Oh...Tenchi!" she cries, falling into his awaiting arms and
sobbing onto his chest.
Tokimi watches on with mixed emotions. 'I am glad
that this situation has been resolved,' she thinks, 'but I wish she did not
have to latch onto my Tenchi so tightly, or so
closely!' She looks up as she feels a hand on her shoulder. Tenchi
pulls her in closely and gives her a light kiss on the lips, short but filled
with great love and compassion. She pulls back and feels her heart melt at the
warm smile he is giving her. She moves in close to where the prince has one arm
wrapped around her and the other wrapped around a still sobbing Ayeka.
Unbeknownst to the three of them, a hidden invisible camera floating around
outside has been watching their every move.
______
"That...traitorous...bitch!" Ryoko growls
through clenched teeth, her entire body erupting in flames. "I'm gonna kill her!"
Washu leaps back to not get burned. She looks back at
the monitor and frowns. "I've had a feeling that something's been up with Ayeka for a little while now, but I never suspected this,"
she says while shaking her head. "I can't believe she actually joined up with Tokimi. What the hell did she do to her?"
"I'm sure it's nothing an ass beating won't cure!" the pirate shouts, storming
out of the lab.
The genius sighs loudly, her face in her hands. "That girl will never learn." A
sudden beeping on her holo laptop catches her
attention. She looks up at it and a little red crab is dancing in the lower
right corner, waving what looks like a letter in its claw. "Hmm...I have mail."
In a few seconds, she is sitting on a floating cushion and reading the letter.
As she goes through it, a sinister smile appears on her face and slowly widens
as she progresses on with reading the letter. "Oh, this is perfect!" she
smiles. "This could not have come at a better time! Finally, things are going
to start looking up for us!"
______
Ryoko flies up the stairs, bloodlust in her eyes. She
grabs the door handle and wrenches it open, shouting, "Ayeka
you bi..." but trails off as she is instantly transported outside into the
middle of the lake, having once again forgotten about the little room guardian
above the door. The upper half of her head appears after a second, a small frog
on her head. "I hate that damn thing," she mumbles, but coming out as a bunch
of bubbles. The tiny frog croaks a couple of times then leaps
into the water.
______
The three in the room look up at the door, all looking
confused. "I thought I just heard someone yelling," Tenchi
says, letting go of both women.
"Yes," Tokimi adds, "and I could have sworn that the
door was closed." With a wave of her hand, the door closes once more, clicking
shut.
Ayeka wipes the tears from her eyes and straightens
out her kimono. She bows deeply to the couple on front of her. "Please forgive
me for my sudden outburst. I have been holding in all of these emotions for
some time now without expressing them in any way. I...I just could not keep
them contained any longer." She sniffs a few times and wipes a stray tear out
of her eye. "I am sorry."
The prince lightly pats her on the shoulder, his warm smile returning. "Don't
be Ayeka. You've been going through a lot, well we
all pretty much have been. You shouldn't hold it in though, that's not going to
help you in any way."
"Y-Yes Lord Tenchi, I am so...I mean, you are
correct," she fixes herself, blushing slightly.
"Of course he is," Tokimi begins, wrapping her arms
around his neck with a large smile, "he is my husband and the father to my
child, and he knows what is right and what is best for us. With him around, I
am confident that things will have a positive outcome for us."
______
Deep in space, a large and strangely shaped Jurian ship, the Mikagami, docks
at the Galaxy Police Academy headquarters. The
owner of said ship exits it and walks along the corridors of the giant space
station with four beautiful attendants, getting surprised glances in her
direction. Most of the people quickly back off into a room to the side, clearly
fearful of the woman's powerful reputation while the others
who either aren't afraid of her or know that she isn't as bad as her reputation
states, smile and bow deeply at her.
After going up several floors, they finally reach their destination and enter
into the large and elaborately decorated office building. In
there sits a beautiful woman sitting behind her desk, going through some
important documents on new recruits. "Hello Galaxy Police Academy chairwoman Airi Masaki," the leader of the group that has just entered
the office kindly greets.
The young looking woman sharply glances up from the document she was reading,
her eyes widening in surprise at her guests. She stands up and bows formally to
them, though actually bowing to the head of the small group before her. "Well,
to what do I owe the honor of a visit from the Devil Princess of Jurai?"
Princess Seto smiles at her old nickname while
her four attendants cover their mouths to stifle their giggles. "I come on
business from Lady Tsunami."
"That's nice," the green haired woman replies, sitting back down in her chair
and steepling her fingers together, her green eyes
narrowing slightly, "but what does it have to do with me?"
The mother of Empress Misaki walks up to the
chairwoman's desk and places both of her hands onto it. "Lady Tsunami wished
for me to come to you and tell you of some...interesting information about your
dear grandson Tenchi..."
______
Ryo-Ohki trots around outside in her human child form alongside Sasami, the two happily taking a walk around the Masaki
grounds. "Ah, this is just what I needed Ryo-Ohki!" the young princess says to
her good friend. Her face suddenly frowns in thought. "Tokimi
was such a meanie!" she pouts. "All I wanted was to
try just one little piece, and she wouldn't let me! Why is she being such an
old hag?"
The cabbit girl giggles a bit next to her, covering
her mouth with her hands. In an instant, she transforms into her cabbit form and hops onto the young princess' shoulder,
nuzzling her cheek in a way to calm her down, saying, "Mya mya meow." It has the desired
effect and Sasami smiles and leans into Ryo-Ohki.
"Thanks Ryo-Ohki." They then exit the forested area they were walking in and
emerge by the lake, not too far from the house. A figure sitting down at the
edge of the lake catches their attention. Curious, the two make their way over
to it, and quickly realize that it is Ryoko. The
former space pirate is sitting with her knees pulled up to her chest, her
entire body still damp from being transported into the lake just a little bit
ago. She has a slight frown on her face and a faraway look in her eyes. "Hey Ryoko," Sasami begins, "are you
okay?"
The daughter of Washu jumps up
slightly, startled by Sasami and Ryo-Ohki's sudden
presence. "Wh-What? Oh! I'm just fine!" She quickly says, though her face
falls a bit after she finishes. "No," she begins after a few moments of
silence, "I'm not really fine."
"What's wrong?" the young princess presses on, wanting to know what is
bothering her friend. Despite being the youngest member of the household, Sasami has always thought herself as the unofficial mother
figure, which is one of the main reasons why she takes care of almost all of
the cooking and cleaning. She likes to know what is wrong with everybody and
help them out of their problems, even at her own expense, and hates to see
people around her in pain. It was that which drew her to Tenchi,
since he has similar feelings and such.
Ryoko stands up, looking uncertainly at the young
princess. 'What should I tell her? I mean, she's been bonding with Tokimi a lot and she thinks that me
and Washu stopped trying to boot her out a couple of
weeks ago. I can't tell her the truth.' She straightens out her yellow and blue
striped dress and smiles awkwardly. "Oh, its nothing
much. Its kind of an adult thing."
"Oh, okay," Sasami replies, looking a little
depressed that she couldn't help.
The pirate wraps an arm around her. "Don't worry about it kiddo. At least you
tried to help me a bit, and I'm glad that you did even that. I even feel better
now"
"Really?" she asks, her eyes wide and hopeful.
Ryoko ruffles the young girl's hair affectionately,
getting a happy giggle in response. "Yep. So now that I feel better, let's go on and go back home."
Ryo-Ohki leaps onto her mistress' shoulder as the pirate takes Sasami's hand into hers and teleports the trio back inside
their home.
______
A very short while later, most of the family is
sitting around the table for lunch. Nobuyuki is a no show because he got a call
from his work for some last minutes additions to a big plan he's been working
on lately. Katsuhito, as usual, stays up in his
shrine office for his green herbal tea and light snacks. Today, though, the old
man has been quite reclusive, refusing to even come down to the house for
breakfast. When Tenchi came up to visit him after
their meal, his grandfather just plainly said that he has a bad feeling about
today and his spaceship tree Funaho agrees, sensing
something major coming on the horizon.
Throughout the entire lunch, Ayeka stays very
submissive and quiet, mainly because of the questioning looks she is getting from
Washu and the death glares directed her way, courtesy
of Ryoko. Tenchi and Tokimi help her as much as they can, telepathically giving
her words of comfort. It does help to slightly improve the princess' mood as
she tries to keep a straight face in front of her sister.
Next to her, Mihoshi happily eats her food, oblivious
to everything that is happening around her. Suddenly, her GP bracelet begins to
beep. She drops her fork and looks at her wrist, pressing a few buttons on the
bracelet. "Hmm...it looks like someone's just come
into this sector, I have to go stop them!" The blonde reaches into her hair and
pulls out her control cube. A couple of twists later and she is
now in her Galaxy Police uniform. "I'll be back later, bye guys!" she waves as
she rushes outside. The roar of engines from her ship Yukinojo
follow shortly afterwards as the GP officer goes off top do her job.
Sasami looks back to the group around the table, a
surprised look on her face. "Hey, Mihoshi didn't
break or blow up anything this time!" she cheerily says, hopping up and down in
her seat.
"Yeah, and her ship didn't meld into the house either," Tenchi
adds, a large smile on his face.
Ayeka is about to say something, but the murderous
glint in Ryoko's eyes subdues her. She meekly looks
back down at her plate and pushes around a few stray noodles with her fork. 'Do
not let them deter you Ayeka,' the soft, sweet voice
of her Lady says in her head. 'They are nothing but fools, fools who do not
grasp the full extent of everything around them. They will eventually discover
the whole truth, but then it will be too late for them to do anything to stop
us. Our victory is quite assured.'
'That is good to know,' the princess replies, her mood drastically improving.
______
Up in space, the Yukinojo
flies in front of the large spaceship that has just crossed into the forbidden
solar system. "Halt!" she firmly commands. "You have entered a restricted area!
As an officer for the Galaxy Police, I am asking you nicely to leave her
immediately!"
The main intelligence unit of the ship appears from above. "Miss Mihoshi," it begins, "I am receiving a hail from the other
ship, and if I'm not mistaken, I believe that is a Jurain
tree ship."
"Really?" she asks, looking at it closely. "Well I guess you are right, I mean
it does look like a ship from Jurai with the strange
shapes and the neat colors. Let's see what they have to say." She presses a
button to open the com link, but pushes the wrong one and a side compartment
and food wrappers fly out. "Oh dear! That's not it!
How about..." she's about to try another button, when Yukinojo
cuts in.
"Excuse me Miss Mihoshi, but why don't you let me do
it for you?"
The blonde tosses the wrappers on her lap onto the floor. "Okay!" The com link
opens and a slightly older, but still beautiful, woman with elaborate light
green hair stands before her. The woman's presence radiates both tremendous
grace and extreme power. "Oh, Um...hello!" Mihoshi greets.
"Greetings Officer Mihoshi Kuramitsu,"
the woman responds, a light smile on her face. "On business of the Jurai Royal Family, I wish to visit colonized planet number
0315." She presses a button off screen and a code flashes in front of her. "I
believe this code grants me access to this otherwise forbidden area."
"Y-Yes," Mihoshi agrees. "You can enter. Do you need
an escort or something?"
The older woman chuckles a bit. "No Officer, there is no need."
"Okay, well I need to go and patrol a bit, it was nice seeing you!"
"Nice to meet you as well." She closes the com link.
"Now she is an odd one," she offhandedly comments, getting laughter from the
people around her.
Airi walks up next to her. "She is just like her
mother, sweet and clumsy to the core." They watch in silence as they near their
current destination. "My, I can't believe how long it's been since I've been
here, but it looks like nothing has changed from here."
"Appearances can be deceiving," Seto smartly remarks,
her gaze never leaving the planet.
______
Back on earth, Tenchi and Tokimi are helping Sasami with
the dishes when the house begins to shake slightly. They all stop for a moment
in surprise. "A ship is nearing us," the goddess begins, looking up, "and it is
not Mihoshi. This is much larger and of Juraian in make."
Sasami puts the plate she was holding down onto the
counter and rushes outside, shouting, "Maybe mother and father are visiting!"
The rest of the family follows, Tokimi noticing the
strangely happy look on Washu's face and frowning. As
they exit the house, they are greeted by a vision of a grand ship, almost as
large as the emperor's. "That's not father's ship," the young princess
comments, "and it not either mother's ships either, but I know I've seen it
before," she adds, tapping her chin in thought.
Ayeka's eyes widen as she recognizess
the ship before her. 'Oh no,' she thinks in fear, 'of all the people to come
now, why her?!' She quickly hides her hands in the sleeves of her kimono to
hide how much they are shaking.
A brilliant beam of light appears from the bottom of the ship and a figure
materializes on the grass in front of the lake. The woman looks around her, her
eyes filled with slight admiration. "This land is quite beautiful, though Jurai is by far greater." Her eyes focus on the small group
that has come out of the house to greet her. "Well now, so this is the merry
bunch that lives in this house?"
Sasami suddenly comes rushing forwards, shouting,
"Grandma Seto!" She is just about to wrap her arms
around the older woman, when Seto begins to grind two
knuckles on each side of the little princess' head
"Don't call me grandma!" Seto shouts
exasperatedly, a vein throbbing on top of her head. She lets go after a moment
then grabs Sasami in a crushing hug, which the little
girl happily returns. "But it is nice to see you again Sasami."
She lets go after a few moments then quickly walks up
to Tenchi. "I have a surprising gift for you Tenchi," she waves her hand over to her ship and another
figure suddenly materializes where the 'Devil Princess of Jurai'
just stood.
The prince's jaw drops as recognition fills up in him. He knows who this person
is, but thought she died a long time ago when he was just a very young child.
Slowly, hesitantly, he begins to walk up to the woman, who is smiling
brilliantly at him. Tears begin to form at his eyes as he chokes out,
"G-Grandma?"
To be continued...
______
Author's notes: Ah, it feels good to have the creative juices flowing
again! For those of you who've read the All New Tenchi
Muyo manga, you'd recognize
the small interaction between Sasami and Seto as something that's happened before far in the past. Seto and Airi Masaki are
frequently seen in the Tenchi Muyo
GXP and look to be big characters in the 3rd OAV as well. I've got the episode
synopsis for the first few episodes of it and for all of the GXP episodes so
I've got a bit of the grasp on Seto and Airi's personalities...sorta.
I'll try my best to make the characters believable.
For those of you who are fans of my 'Of Happiness and Sorrow' and 'The More
Things Change...' series, I'm sorry I haven't been updating them much at all.
I've been so focused on my 4 other main fics that
I've ignored the first two fics that I made. I'll try
to work more on them, but I can't promise regular updates because I'm sure I'll
be quite rusty on them. Just stay patient and I will work my hardest to do the
best I can on my fics. – lighthawkdemon
Questions or comments? E-mail me at: lighthawkdemon@yahoo.com