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 14:
Family Secrets: Part One


Airi Masaki rushes up to her grandson and pulls him into a warm, loving hug. "Oh I've missed you so much Tenchi!" she says to the young man, a bright, lovely smile on her still youthful face as tears sting her eyes. "I've wanted to visit you for such a long time now, but…but…oh I missed you!"

For a few moments Tenchi is too stunned to respond. As the seconds pass, he quickly regains himself and wraps his arms around his grandmother, feeling the tears flow freely. "I-I don't understand…h-how…why…" he stops as she silences him by gently placing a finger on his lips.

"I know that you must have a million questions Tenchi and I'll be happy to answer every single one for you. Let's all go inside and have a seat, I'll try to explain everything once we're inside." She pauses and looks at the house from the outside. "Oh, it is just as I remembered, and I really like how it has been moved down here by the lake, it makes the house even more beautiful!" She looks pointedly over at Ryoko and then further away to Ayeka, who both turn their heads to the side, identical embarrassed blushes gracing both of their cheeks. With a smile, she takes Tenchi's hand and leads the young Masaki inside, the rest of the family following except for Tokimi, who is intently watching Airi, her head slightly tilted to the side.

'Curious,' she thinks to herself, 'I can sense no malicious intent from her, though there is an air of uncertainty about her…unlike Seto,' she adds while stealing a quick glance over in her direction. 'The presence of that woman radiates a powerful aura of little Tsunami. She must be the servant my dear little sister has entrusted to do her dirty work for her. I must discover more about their combined entrances into our lives…though,' she adds, looking down and rubbing her belly lovingly, 'I am gladdened that our child gets to possibly have her great grandmother around more. Her great grandfather is too stingy for my tastes.' She then follows the rest of the family inside, quite aware that she is being watched, but ignoring it for the moment.

Seto frowns as she looks this new woman up and down, trying to figure out who she might be. Her eyes rest on the reasonably evident bulge in the woman's belly, deepening her frown. 'Funaho and Misaki did not mention this woman in their report when they visited here, and my Lady did not speak of her in the vision I received, she only told me of Lord Tenchi taking a bride, though she did not say who, but that dire consequences would arise because of it, so their marriage must be put to a stop.' She pauses as Tokimi rubs her belly lovingly for a moment before walking inside with everyone else. 'Whoever might this odd woman be? Could she be his bride? She is most obviously pregnant, which also bring up the question as to who the father could be, if she and Tenchi are not wed.  I must find this out immediately, for I greatly dislike not having all of the facts, especially when it concerns family, and if this mystery woman is a possible threat for my Lady's plans, then she must be eliminated at all costs.'


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Tokimi walks into her home, watching the scene before her. Her dreary niece has taken her usual spot on one of the rafters above, watching everything below her and occasionally glaring at Ayeka, who the pirate has now dubbed, 'the traitorous bitch.' Washu has seemingly taken the princess' change of sides much better, knowing full well how convincing her younger sister can be, though she is still upset about it. The rest of the family has crowded around Airi on the living room couch, interested in finding out where she's been all this time. For the moment, the goddess decides to watch and listen from the back of the small crowd of people, knowing that not having enough information about something or someone can prove to be quite disastrous if acted upon hastily.

"So…where have you been all this time?" Tenchi asks, still feeling elated to be seeing his grandmother, having originally thought that she had died a long time ago.

"Well I'm the chairwoman for the Galaxy Police Academy," she begins, "and I have held that position for many years now." She looks over at Seto, who has just entered, and smiles lightly. "We bumped into Officer Mihoshi Kuramitsu as we entered this area…she reminds me of her mother. I remember back in the days when she was still training to become a Galaxy Police Officer. We went through so many insurance companies during that time." She pauses to chuckle at this. As she looks around the room, her eyes settle onto Nobuyuki, a warm smile gracing her youthful features. "Well I must say that it is quite nice to see you once again Nobuyuki."

The older Masaki scratches the back of his head. "It's really nice to see you again too Ai…um I mean Mother…well…what would you like me to call you?"

"Just Airi," she answers, waving a hand around dismissively. She looks at Tenchi and wraps an arm around his shoulder. "And I don't like to be called grandma, it makes me feel old! You can call my big sister Airi!"

The young man scoots back slightly, a sweatdrop forming on the back of his head. "Um…can I call you something else? How about Miss Airi? Does that sound good?"

The green haired woman suddenly leans in and places her hands on Tenchi's neck and catches her grandson's lips in a passionate kiss, startling everyone else in the room. Tokimi, Ayeka and Ryoko begin to advance on her, but she then backs off after a couple of seconds, releasing Tenchi. "You always were so very kind and sweet Tenchi, don't you ever change!" She looks back to a stunned Nobuyuki. "You look like you want to ask me something, do you?"

Nobuyuki shakes off his surprise and nods slightly, moving closer to his son and placing a hand on his shoulder. "Okay…Airi." He suddenly takes in a deep breath, insure of how to continue. Tenchi tenses next to him, knowing what he is about to say, his shock of his grandmother kissing him fading away. "Well…uh…to tell you the truth, both Tenchi and me are completely surprised to see you here at all. We thought you died a long time ago."

Airi's jaw drops open as another stunned silence fills the room. "You…you thought I was dead?" she weakly asks. Both Masaki men nod their heads, as well as Ryoko above them, having been the one to try to comfort Tenchi when he ran to her cave and cried his little eyes out when he thought his dear grandmother had passed on. Airi's look of shock is quickly replaced by one of anger. "I can't believe Yosho would tell you such a horrible lie!"

"He didn't really tell us that!" the older Masaki male replies, a strained look on his face. "It's just…well you know since the shrine was so far away from our house we didn't get a chance to visit much. Then when me and Tenchi decided to drop by a while back, Dad suddenly tells us that you were gone…and you weren't coming back. He never spoke about it afterwards, so we just assumed that you died." He looks at the ground sheepishly. "I'm sorry I screwed up what he was trying to say."

The Masaki woman wraps her arms around her son-in-law and her grandson. Tenchi tenses up again, thinking she is going to kiss him once more, but quickly relaxes as she doesn't make any attempts to. "No, I should be the one who is apologizing. I am sorry for leaving without even saying goodbye and I apologize for Yosho, he really can be a great fool at times."

"But why did you leave?" Tenchi asks. Although he appears to be fine on the outside, a dangerous rage builds up inside of him, directed at his untrustworthy grandfather. 'He lied to us,' his mind hisses. 'How could he not tell the truth about something as important as this? His entire life is a lie, who he is, what he's done…everything. Even the truth about my grandma, his own wife!' He subconsciously backs up and sits back down, his hands balling themselves into extremely tight fists, his nails digging deep into his palms, nearly drawing blood. 'He will pay for all the pain he's put everyone through…he will pay.'

Tokimi watches her husband as she senses his anger quickly builds up. 'I cannot blame him,' she thinks to herself sadly, 'for what that foolish man has done, he cannot be forgiven. I sense that things will change around here at a much more rapid pace than I had originally foreseen.' She places a hand protectively over her belly. 'Very trying times are ahead of us all, very trying indeed.'

Airi takes her place back on the couch, her expression now downcast. "After…after your mother, my dear little Kiyone…after she passed on," she begins, wiping a stray tear from her eye, "I didn't know what to do. Your grandfather was able to immerse himself in his shrine duties to block the pain, but I had nothing to do, just clean here and there. It hurt too much to stay here, I…I felt like I was losing my mind. I just wanted to leave, to go away and do something to get my mind off of her. When I told Yosho of my decision to rejoin the Galaxy Police Academy, he accepted my decision and told me to have a safe journey and he would watch over you Tenchi. I had meant to come back much sooner, but the pain was still too strong for me to even think about it. You know…it still hurts a lot," Airi adds weakly, sniffing back some more tears. She suddenly shakes her head and sits up straight, a smile back on her face. "Enough about me, why don't you tell me about yourself? I hear that you are now married Tenchi. So who's the lucky woman?"

The atmosphere inside instantly changes at her words. Some of the group calms down and begins to feel happy while some others tense up, feelings of deep resentment and anger filling their beings. The young Masaki man looks over at Tokimi and nods at her. She nods back and walks over to him, squeezing in between her beloved husband and his grandmother. Airi's warm smile is replaced by a look of surprise as she takes in the undeniable fact that the woman sitting next to her is pregnant. Seto narrows her eyes dangerously from her spot at the entrance to the living room. 'So it is her,' her mind says. 'She is the one my Lady sees as great threat for the future of Jurai. Now I have more reason than ever to find out more about her so she can be eliminated in the name of Lady Tsunami.'

"Gra…I mean miss Airi," he quickly corrects himself, his eyes darting over at the aforementioned woman, "this is my wife, Tokimi."

"A pleasure to meet you grandmother," the goddess sweetly says to the startled woman next to her. "I must say that your grandson is a fine young man and I am honored to share both his love and now his name."

Airi is too surprised to even scold Tokimi for calling her 'grandmother'. She clears her throat lightly and begins to speak. "Well…it's…um…it's nice to meet you too." Her eyes dart down to her new granddaughter-in-law's slightly protruding belly. "Um…how long have you two been married?"

"It has been close to four months now," she answers with a smile, "and I have treasured every single moment of it." She raises an eyebrow as she notices that Airi is taking quick glances down at the bulge that is both her and Tenchi's unborn child. "I know what question is on your mind, and the answer is yes, I am pregnant and yes, Tenchi is the father. This was quite an unexpected turn of events, but seeing as how this child will carry your noble blood in it, I honorably carry it all the way until it is birthing time."

The GPA officer's initial shock is replaced by flattery, Tokimi's kind words bringing a smile to her face. "Well I must say! You aren't the woman who I expected Tenchi to be married to, but I do like you! You're so polite and well-mannered…though I would advise against calling me grandma again!" she adds, pinching the goddess' hand slightly.

The goddess places a hand over her mouth, politely covering up her giggle. "Yes, I apologize for that, though I must admit for a woman who is about to become a grandmother, you still look astonishingly beautiful and youthful." As Airi lets out a glorious smile, Tokimi starts to feel relieved. 'Good, so at least she is not against me like a feared she might be, though I still must stay wary of Ryoko, Washu and now Seto. Those three combined will prove to be quite a disastrous team against my plans. I must find a way to weaken their ranks from within.' Her eyes settle on Washu and an idea begins to formulate. 'Perhaps telling her my little secret will unnerve her just enough to keep them from acting. I must act soon, for any major delays can prove to be most undesirable.'

Airi is about to say something when at that moment, Katsuhito walks through the front door, wearing his training gear and carrying a wooden bokken, not paying attention to anyone else at the moment. "Tenchi, it has been a while since you last trained with me. I am beginning to think that your skills are…" he trails off as he notices who is sitting down on the couch with his grandson. A large sweatdrop appears on the back of his head. "Um…he-hello Airi. M-My, this is quite an unexpected surprise to see you again." He begins to take slow steps back, intent on escaping the wrath of his wife he is expecting to face.

"Stay where you are Yosho," his wife commands in a flat voice. The older looking man instantly complies, going stiff as a board. Airi stands up from her spot on the couch and walks up to her husband, an unpleasant look on her face. "First off, drop the disguise, I want to speak to the real Yosho."

Katsuhito looks around the room, feeling completely helpless at the moment, something he hasn't felt in years, not since Airi left. Seeing that he has no possibly way out of this little predicament, he sighs in resignation as the old man disguise he is wearing fades off, revealing Yosho in his true from, looking unchanged from the young prince who followed Ryoko to earth and defeated her and sealed her in her cave over 700 years ago. Almost everyone gasps in surprise as they see his true form. Ayeka begins to advance towards him, both of her hands held over her heart. She stops as Yosho holds out a hand, telling her to stop. "I will explain everything to all of you later," he tells the group, "but first…"

"…But first you need to finish explaining yourself to me!" Airi finishes, her frown deepening as she folds her arms in front of her. "I had expected you to have made up a better excuse for my sudden absence besides telling my son-in-law and grandson that I left and that I'm never coming back! How could you make up such a ridiculous lie to them?!" Everyone in the room begins to scoot back at the fury in her voice.

"W-Well like you said!" he begins hurriedly, looking very nervous, "you left so suddenly that I could not think of anything good to tell them!" The eldest Masaki tries to make another break for the door, but Airi grabs his training shirt, halting his progress. He takes one look into her eyes and sighs deeply, lowering his head. "I am sorry, but you must understand that I was hurting a lot too. I may not have shown it, but it was there. How was I supposed to act towards them?" he asks, looking at Tenchi and Nobuyuki. "Kiyone dies then you decide to leave shortly afterwards. I was sad and alone, my shrine duties were the only thing keeping me going. I…I just felt like it was all my fault. Everything around me was gone, and there was nothing I could do to bring them back." He looks up in surprise as Airi closes the distance and wraps her arms around him in a warm, loving embrace.

"Oh Yosho, I'm sorry too," she replies. "I was so worried about myself that I didn't even think about how all this would affect you. If it helps to heal up any old wounds, I do forgive you for what you told Tenchi and Nobuyuki." She places a hand on his face and caresses it lightly. "I never could stay mad at you for long, not with such a handsome face!"

Tenchi suddenly steps forward, getting everyone's attention. It is not his sudden movement that everyone notices, but the dark, sinister aura that is radiating off of him. "You may have forgiven him," he starts in a cold, venomous voice, "but I haven't."

Airi releases her husband and slowly walks up to the young man. "Tenchi, you don't have to be angry at your grandfather." The nervousness and slight fear are quite evident in her voice, never having seen her beloved grandson in such a frightful state. "Please, just calm down."

Seto watches on, curious yet also very cautious. 'Strange,' she thinks to herself, 'from what Lady Tsunami has told to me, Tenchi was blessed with a generous proportion of her powers and because of that, he is able to summon the Lighthawk Wings on his own…but this is not right. The power my Lady has is pure and brilliant, full of life and an incredible warmth. What I am sensing from this boy is so much the opposite: dark, corrupt, vengeful and evil. From the reports of Funaho and Misaki, he is supposed to be the chosen one and was to have the qualities of the powers of Lady Tsunami. I know he cannot be her chosen one, for her powers could never do such a thing to any living being in this universe.' Her eyes darken. 'Something must have gotten to him and changed him. Something my Lady did not foresee…or could not prevent with her own powers.' Her eyes rest once again on Tokimi, who looks quite calm amidst everything that is occurring. 'Once more, I believe that she is the cause for all of these wrongdoings. With the chaos that is sure to ensue, it would be better to be rid of this woman as quickly as possible. Though I dislike going against a foe whose abilities I am unaware of, I must destroy her before she annihilates everything Lady Tsunami has worked so hard to create.' She looks over at Ryoko and Washu, who are watching the interchange between Tenchi and his grandparents. 'I sensed a great hostility coming from both of them when this Tokimi made her status known as the bride of Tenchi. Perhaps they can provide me with the information I so desire to have…and maybe they can also ally themselves with me to be rid of this troublesome woman from our midst.'

Tenchi takes another step forward, his hands shaking in unbridled fury. "Get away from him," he growls at his grandmother. She begins to say something, but a sharp look causes her to jump slightly in alarm and then quickly back away.

Yosho holds up his hands in defense as he slowly walks towards his grandson. "Now Tenchi, I understand that you are upset with me but if you can just give me a chance to exp…" he never gets to finish as he is tackled very painfully through the front door, as it splinters into pieces upon impact. The two fall onto the ground and skid across it for several feet.

As they stop, Tenchi back flips gracefully off of the older man, landing softly on his feet a short distance away. As everyone inside rushes to get outside, the young prince holds out his right hand and summons the Tenchi-ken, which instantly appears in it. The blue blade flares to life, only now is flickers with black electricity flowing around it. "Come on old man," he begins in an emotionless voice. "I want to prove once and for all who's the strongest warrior in this family. Let's fight." And with that, he lunges.

Yosho is barely able to bring up his spare light sword, which he keeps on him at all times, in time to block the attack. As he looks into his grandson's eyes, the eyes that are filled with an evil vengeance, he feels his blood run cold. 'He intends to do major harm upon me, perhaps even kill me!' he thinks in alarm. 'What on earth could have brought such feeling onto Tenchi, whose heart is usually filled with such warmth and forgiveness?' He leaps back to dodge the midsection swipe. "Tenchi!" he shouts, "listen to me! Attacking me will not take back all of the misconceptions I have told you and your father!"

"I know," he numbly replies, jumping towards the older Masaki while slashing downwards, "but it is making me feel better!"


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Just outside the house, most of the group watches in horror, wanting to stop the fight, but not wanting to get hurt by either of the combatants. Ayeka manages to release herself from Sasami's death grip on her arm, putting Ryo-Ohki in her place, and makes her way over to Tokimi, who looks relatively calm. "Should…should you put a stop to their fighting?" she whispers to the goddess. As she watches them, alternate memories flash before her eyes of both Tenchi and Yosho dueling in front of her, and the look in her older half-brother's face as his own grandson stabbed him through the chest with his dark, twisted light sword. "I do not wish to witness Yosho being slain once more, that memory still haunts my dreams every night as I sleep."

"Do not worry," Tokimi responds, her eyes never leaving her husband. "He will not kill him. I have sensed that my dear Tenchi carries a deep resentment for his grandfather, and has for most of his life. He has finally reached the brink of how much anger he can hold in. I believe it is good for my beloved to release all of this pent up frustrations, for I can only work so much out of him at a time," she adds with a suggestive wink, getting a heavy blush from the crown princess. "I will give him a few more minutes of fun."

A little away from them, Ryoko and Washu are having a telepathic conversation with each other. 'What is Tenchi doing?' the space pirate asks. 'First that dark aura he showed, and now he's attacking his own grandpa. This is…not the Tenchi I know and love.'

'I know,' the genius/goddess responds gravely. 'And I bet I know who is the main reason why he's acting all differently.' The two quickly look over at Tokimi, who is conversing quietly with Ayeka. 'Damn it Tokimi,' she hisses, 'how much more of this family are you going to destroy and tear apart before you're finally happy?'

Airi walks next to Seto, who is keenly watching the fight. "Did you know any of this was going to happen?" she sharply asks the Juraian. "Did you know that Tenchi was going to act like this?"

"I had no idea this would befall your sudden appearance back here," the devil princess of Jurai truthfully answers. "I only knew as much information as Lady Tsunami passed down to me in the vision, nothing more. She did not mention this mysterious Tokimi whom Tenchi is wed to, nor of the child she is bearing. That does confuse me greatly for my Lady does not ever send me on a mission without giving me a full report on what it is I am to do and whom I would be congregating with. I am having great suspicions that there is more to this woman than meets the eye. Much more."


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The two Masaki men battle on, the younger of the two fighting with more skill and much more furiousness than the eldest ever thought he could muster. 'Ugh…where did Tenchi gather all of this strength and skill from?' Yosho's mind grunts as the force of one of his grandson's blows pushes him back. 'I have never felt such raw power from him before, even when I sensed him summoning his Lighthawk Wings! He is displaying more power than I could have ever possibly imagined coming from him! I barely have enough time to block his blows, let alone counterattack or think of a possible attack strategy. I fear that I will most likely lose this battle…and possibly my life if I am not careful!'

Seeing that his grandfather is struggling, Tenchi decides to end the battle. He feints a horizontal swipe and as Yosho brings his sword down to block it, the young prince pulls back and delivers a leg sweep, knocking his grandfather off of his feet. As he falls, Tenchi swings hard at the older man's light sword, cutting it in two. He lowers the Tenchi-ken to where it is now dangerously close to Yosho's neck. "You lose," he calmly states. He then raises his light sword up over his head, grasping it with both of his hands and pointing it down at his grandfather's heart. "And now, you die."


To be continued…

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Author's notes: Yikes! It's been a while since I last updated, hasn't it? Sorry, but like I've said before, I'm working between 5 different fics and 5 completely different story lines and plots…well you should now count 6 since I've started to work on my newest fic, 'The Prelude to Darkness'. Yes, you heard right! I've finally begun work on my prequel, which will focus mainly on Tokimi and everything she does and sees, all up to the point where she makes Tenchi her Champion Knight. I still have a lot of work to do on it so don't expect to see it posted anytime soon.

And for those of you have noticed, yes this story has a 'part one' after the name of this fic. I have decided to make this a 2-part fic. Two fics, two secrets, two sides of the coin so to speak. Heheh…egh who am I kidding? I need some sleep.

On another note: like I said before in the author's notes in my latest 'What's a Hanyou to Do?' fic, I just started a new job not too long ago and I will be worked full-time plus overtime. I am also beginning to get into a relationship with a very lovely young woman and these two, as a lot of you will know, can be very time consuming. Any updates on my fics will be few and far between, but I will strive to work on them and get them posted as soon as I possibly can. Just cross your fingers and hope for the best! – lighthawkdemon

Questions or comments? E-mail me at: lighthawkdemon@yahoo.com