Darkness Falls

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Chapter 3: Wheels!

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"So my Tenchi got hurt because of that bimbo? I'll kill her!" Ryoko yelled, fury in her voice.

"Your Tenchi?" Ayeka replied, having just arrived on the scene.

Tenchi rose to his feet, wincing slightly from his wounds, but stood nonetheless. "Both of you stop! I am not your property…" he said, first forcefully, but then backed off. "Sorry… It's been a bad day, that's all… Go back to Okayama, you two."

"Do you… Know these two, Tenchi-kun?" Sakuya asked, looking at him in confusion.

"Yes, I regret to say. They're normally not like this… Scratch that, they're always like this!"

This was met with a glare from Ryoko and Ayeka. Neither appreciated the tone Tenchi had used to describe them, but they had no choice; they left the room.

With them gone, Tenchi turned to face Sakuya. "I'm sorry, but I need some time alone. Whatever did this is strong; I need to be stronger." He said, a serious, almost cold, tone in his voice.

"Okay. I'll be back in a few hours to check up on you, and I'll have a bento box with me." After saying that, Sakuya left, and Tenchi crossed his legs, his eyes closing.

With that done, he began a steady, rhythmic chant under his breath. A blue aura, invisible to the untrained eye, surrounded his form, as he began to tunnel into the astral plane, so that he could train without hurting his muscles; it was doubtful the doctors would let him leave to train.

When he finished entering the astral plane, he found that Takuya Hitsu was already there.

"Takuya-sensei." He said, bowing.

"Tenchi. I trust you know that something is wrong in Tokyo." Hitsu said.

"Yes. I'm projecting from the hospital. I was attacked."

That news caused Takuya to plaster a nervous expression on his face. From what Katsuhito told him, Tenchi was a powerful fighter. "I have to train you rapidly. While more training can be accomplished in a day on the astral plane than the physical, time is short. Demons are going to attack; the world will require you at your best."

"I understand, sensei. And I have a question. Who attacked me?"

"I do not know. Tell me; when you were attacked, who was with you?"

"Kumashiro Sakuya."

This confused Takuya; it was clear that the attack had been provoked by that fact, but he could not sense anything strange about the girl. "This rules out the possibility of a direct link… But what about the Prophecy of Seven?" Takuya thought nervously.

"The Prophecy of Seven, hmm? Perhaps…" he muttered.

"The Prophecy of Seven?"

"No time; it doesn't matter, not until I figure out what the situation is. Now, defend!"

At this, Hitsu whipped out a bokken from his belt and slashed at Tenchi, who jumped out of the way, using the astral plane's varying physics to help him.

The astral plane had one peculiarity – while many could interact on it, each person had his own laws there. One person might make the astral plane pull him with tremendous force, while another might choose the zero gravity approach.

It was also possible to change the person's laws on the fly.

After his evasive maneuver, Tenchi whipped his own sword out and entered a stance. His feet were held one in front of the other, and the blade held at a forty-five degree angle to his body. He swung his sword, but Takuya blocked effortlessly, countering with a stab, which Tenchi dodged.

"Stop. Not bad, Tenchi. But you need more fluidity in your moves, like this." At this, Takuya quickly flowed into three quick slashes, stopping an inch from Tenchi's head each time. "Now, focus on the person you are most desperate to protect."

This provided Tenchi with quite a dilemma. Who was he most desperate to protect? He had so people he loved, but with each it was a different kind of love. But someone kept coming into his mind. What did that mean? Did he care for her more than the other people in his life? How, when he had met her three days ago?

"You aren't focusing, Tenchi!" Takuya yelled, snapping him out of his reverie. To avoid inciting the sensei's wrath, Tenchi settled on focusing on Sakuya, unaware of what that seemingly careless gesture set in motion. Once the wheels of fate are set in motion, nothing can stop them, short of destroying the planet.

By focusing on Sakuya, the Seventh requirement for the prophecy, Tenchi had created something that could not be combated by any human. Before the end of the summer, Tenchi would experience many things.

"Good. Now, focus on the energy you are building up, and release it. You will unlock the Masaki bloodline."

As instructed, Tenchi focused on the energy that had built up from the desperate desire to protect her. The aura that formed was terrifying to behold, visible even in the physical plane, as a speck of light. And for the shadows, this light was unbearable.

"Kage, it seems Masaki has unlocked his bloodline." The shadow said, back in his world.

"Is that so, Master? Where is he?" Kage asked, his face contorted into a rare emotion for him – confusion.

"He's on the astral plane somewhere. Find him, and destroy his mind."

"Yes, Master."

The astral plane revealed any intruder that would enter their private area, so Tenchi and Takuya were well prepared for Kage's arrival. But that might not prove advantageous.

"Ah, Masaki; and the Technique Bearer, too. Together in the astral plane; together to die." Kage said, chuckling at the thought.

Tenchi and Takuya entered a battle stance, ready to fight Kage, who now began to shoot black blobs at the two. They quickly maneuvered out of the way of the shadow's blasts, dodging the blasts that they could and blocking the rest.

"You won't win, Monster!" Tenchi exclaimed, as he moved in for the kill. But Kage was fast, and managed to go behind the boy, then spin, sending him flying into…

His body. It seemed the training session would be over, for now.

After Tenchi's disappearance, Kage also left. But Takuya stayed, deep in thought. The shadow-man had seemed different, somehow, than most other fighters.

"I'd better inform Katsuhito… The Prophecy of Seven has begun…" Takuya muttered, before leaving the astral plane.

"Tenchi-kun?" came Sakuya's voice from the doorway. Several hours had passed since the astral fight. As promised, Sakuya had brought lunch for the Shinto priest-in-training, although she had no idea how much he needed it.

Tenchi smiled slightly, the memory of the Unlocking Ceremony still deeply engraved in his mind. He could tell that choosing Sakuya as the subject for his focus during the ceremony had some significance. The strength of the aura was just too great to be a plain coincidence. Besides, living with six alien girls had taught him that little in this life was a coincidence.

"Thank you, Kumashiro-san." Tenchi said, bowing formally.

This caused Sakuya to giggle. "There's no need to be so formal, Tenchi-kun."

"Now who's being formal?"

They began laughing, but Tenchi's injuries came back, causing him to wince slightly. He tried to hide the pain, but Sakuya happened to notice it.

"Are you all right, Tenchi-kun?"

Tenchi only nodded slightly, a pained smile on his face. Whatever happens, he decided, would be faced strictly.

A/N: Sorry for the delay. I was lost on how to handle the beginning conversation. And I apologize for the strange situations in this chapter, but I had to establish the idea of the Prophecy of Seven (that explains the leader villain's comment about someone – Sakuya – making seven.