This fanfic was written by me.
Preface: This fic follows the stroyline of the Tenchi Muyo! OVA series, just like Hitoshi Okuda's No Need for Tenchi! manga does. It's like a more intense and thought-provoking "side story." But however you interpret it, I hope you enjoy! ^_^
Author's Note: I use a few Japanese words in this fic, so if you don't know what they mean, here's a rundown of the most prominent ones:
The dark and vast reaches of outer space appear to be infinite. Beyond each clump of stars, each orbit of a planet, each flash of a comet, the universe continues to reveal wonders and dangers incomprehensible to even its most advanced denizens. But there was one area of the star-covered darkness, only a few light-years away from the mystically enhanced planet of Jurai, that seemed devoid of all natural activity. Not even the smallest stray fragment of an asteroid drifted into this bleak, silent area of dead space. The Juraians called it "Yami no Umi," and though it was bereft of all organic substance, there was one inorganic object that slowly floated in the vicinity of Yami no Umi, but never strayed beyond its barriers. The object was a sphere-shaped capsule the color of the molten ash of Mars, large enough to hold a person, but if one where to look inside the thin visor at the head of the capsule, only darkness would be seen. It was inside this solitary capsule, drifting in one of the most loneliest and dreariest parts of the universe, that a single man gazed out of the visor with such a look of deep-borne hatred in his eyes, that the capsule seemed to slightly tremble under his anger.
"It's almost time...almost time," he repeated to himself under his breath, "just a little more..." He cupped his hands together and focused his mental power, which summoned a small ball of photon energy into his palms. The energy gave a temporary illumination to the pitch-black interior of the capsule, and an extremely large crack on its right wall became visible. He threw the photon ball at the crack, which made a loud static sound that echoed throughout the empty capsule. The man peered anxiously at the crack and noticed that it had grown slightly larger.
"I can't believe it! Just a few more times...and I'll be free!" He spoke louder now, as he threw more photon balls at the crack. After the fifth one, the crack became large enough for him to fit through. With a look of wicked triumph on his face, he pulled himself through the crack.
For a moment he stopped and stared at Jurai, which stood before him like a great, glittering judge, and scoffed.
"Thought you could hold me for all eternity, eh?" he muttered, sneering. "Well, have I got quite a shock for you!" And with that, he flew past the northern border of Yami no Umi, his cruel laughter diffusing throughout the darkness around him making even the radiant stars in it shiver.
In a more lively part of the universe, the planet called Earth continued to nurture the most abundant array of life in the solar system. Its seven continents stood out against its enormous blue oceans, and even Japan, though a small island, was just as busy with its rountine and daily activites as entire continents were. But there was one area of Japan, deep within the mountains and woods of Okayama, amidst a large two-story house with a neighboring shrine, where daily activities weren't quite as routine as its inhabitants would like them to be.
It was late morning and the sun shone brightly, causing the last few dew drops on the trees and bushes around the Masaki house to dissolve. Within the large living room, Tenchi was down on his knees scrubbing the long dinner table with a damp rag. He straightened up for a moment and pushed his short, dark hair off of his forehead. He dunked the rag into the water-filled bucket beside him, wrung out the excess water, and proceeded to scrub underneath the table. Ryo-ohki sat near him, playfully batting at the dust particles that trickled down from the sun beams in the glass doors. After scrubbing under the table, Tenchi picked up the rag and bucket and got to his feet. He started walking towards the kitchen when he heard a familiar voice behind him.
"Tenchi-sama, aren't you going to work at the shrine today?"
Ayeka was coming down the stairs. She was dressed in her light blue kimono and her long, violet hair flowed neatly behind her.
"Oh, hi Ayeka-san," Tenchi replied, turning around, "I was going to work at the shrine today, but then I figured that the house hasn't had a good cleaning for a long time." He held up the rag and bucket. "Everybody's pitching in to clean different parts of the house. Now that I'm done with the living room, I'm gonna start to work on the bathroom."
"Which rooms should I clean, Tenchi-sama?" Ayeka asked enthusiastically, striding down the rest of the stairs and stopping in front of him. "I'll clean any room you want me to. If you don't want to clean the bathroom, I'll do it!"
"Oh, that's all right," Tenchi said, slightly sweatdropping, "most of the rooms are taken care of already. Why don't you hang the laundry out to dry?" He pointed towards two baskets of clothes by the glass doors.
"All right, I'll do that!" Ayeka smiled at him and picked up one of the baskets.
"Happy to be working are we? You're always complaining about it whenever Tenchi's not around."
Tenchi and Ayeka turned towards the voice. Ryoko was sitting on the wooden rafters above them, sneering at Ayeka. Ayeka tried to reply calmly, determined not to show any indignity, but there was a hint of agitation in her voice, as always when she was arguing with Ryoko.
"Even if I complain about the work, at least I do it. You complain all the time and you never lift a finger for the betterment of the household."
"What do you mean?" Ryoko demanded, jumping down from the rafters and landing face-to-face with Ayeka, her golden eyes blazing with rage. "Just yesterday there was a carrot peel on the counter that Sasami must've missed when cleaning up, and I was the one who went out of my way to throw it in the trash can!"
"Oh please! Why weren't you the one cleaning up after dinner in the first place?! You never do anything like that!"
"Oh, like you do?!" They were both yelling now.
"C'mon you two," Tenchi said, waving his hands at them, trying to get them to break the death-glare they had on each other. Finally, they reluctantly turned away and looked at him.
"Ryoko, aren't you supposed to be cleaning the front porch now?" Tenchi asked, talking fast so as not to let the fight start up again.
"I'll do it later. It's too hot outside now," Ryoko replied, flying back up to the rafters. Tenchi sighed and started to head towards the kitchen again, but he stopped when he heard Ayeka call after him.
"Tenchi-sama, even though it's a hot day, I'll do the laundry just like you asked me to." She spoke loud to make sure that Ryoko could hear her. "And Sasami is going to make her special carrot cake for everyone who's been working hard."
At the mention of Sasami's carrot cake, Ryoko zoomed down from the rafters and through the glass doors, picking up a dust pan and a broom that were sitting on the steps outside. Before Tenchi could notice where she had gone so quickly, he heard her hollering to him from outside.
"Tenchi, I'm gonna clean the porch real good, don't you worry!" She was vigorously sweeping the broom along the porch, grinning at him. Tenchi sweatdropped.
"That's great Ryoko, thanks," he said nervously, seeing that Ayeka's face had gone quite a fiery shade of red.
"Hey, Ayeka," Ryoko shouted from outside, "why're you just standing there? Don't you want to get that laundry hung up and have some carrot cake? Or is it too hot outside for the delicate skin of a princess? Afraid you'll get wrinkles?"
"I'm coming now!" Ayeka growled through clenched teeth, nearly crushing Ryo-ohki as she stomped angrily out the glass doors with the laundry basket.
Tenchi walked into the kitchen shaking his head.
"Those two..." he mumbled to himself. After dumping the water from the bucket down the sink and hanging the rag up to dry, he noticed that the kitchen was completely spotless. The sink and counter where almost shimmering and there wasn't a crumb of food to be found on the floor or the table.
"Oh, there you are Tenchi-nichan!"
Tenchi turned around and saw Sasami come into the kitchen beaming at him. She was wearing her favorite apron with the large carrot on the front of it, her blue pigtails bouncing as she walked. Ryo-ohki was comfortably perched on her head. "I cleaned the kitchen as best as I could just like you told me to! You like it?"
"You did a great job, Sasami-chan. It looks wonderful!" Tenchi smiled down at her and she blushed shyly.
"Well, since I'm done with all my chores now, can Ryo-chan and I go for a walk?" she asked, looking up at him pleadingly. Ryo-ohki meowed in agreement.
"Well, it's fine with me, but do you think you should go by yourself?" Tenchi asked, pulling the toilet scrubber out from the cupboard underneath the sink.
"I'll go with you, Sasami-chan."
Washu was standing by the counter, holding what looked to be a large vacuum cleaner with three hoses protruding from it instead of one. "It was a sinch cleaning the yard and the hallway with Washu-chan's Tri-Vacuum 21!" she exclaimed, her emerald eyes shining gleefully as she fondled her invention. "Why don't you use it to clean the bathroom, Tenchi-dono? You'll get done in a sec!" She tossed the vacuum to Tenchi and he barely managed to catch it while holding the toilet scrubber.
"Uh, that's okay Washu-chan. I've got it under control," he said laughing nervously as he put the Tri-Vacuum 21 down next to the table. "Maybe someone else'll want to use it."
Washu folded her arms. "Fine, suit yourself," she said and turned to Sasami. "Anyway, I'll come with you on your walk, Sasami-chan. I've been cooped up in my lab for quite a few days doing research. I could use some fresh air."
"All right!" Sasami shouted happily. Ryo-ohki meowed cheerfully with her. "I saw Ryoko-onechan and Ayeka-onesama doing their chores, but where's Mihoshi-onechan? Is she done with her chores, too? Does she want to come with us?"
Washu sighed. "She told me she's done with them but I'm afraid she's taking a nap on the couch, and you know as well as I do that nothing short of a radioactive nuclear blaster going off in the living room could wake her up."
Sasami giggled. "Yeah, I guess you're right." She turned back to Tenchi. "Well, we're going now, Tenchi-nichan. We'll be back before dinner time, and I'll make my delicious carrot cake for everyone!"
"Sounds great, Sasami-chan," Tenchi replied. "Have fun!"
Sasami and Washu left through the glass doors with Ryo-ohki hopping around excitedly at their feet. Out on the front porch, Ryoko was growing bored of sweeping. Since Tenchi wasn't around anymore, her strokes with the broom were getting slower and slower. Ayeka was hanging up the last bit of clothes from the first basket on the clothesline, glancing every now and then over to the glass doors to see if Tenchi passed by so that she could tell him how well she was getting along. Sasami waved at them while she, Washu, and Ryo-ohki passed by.
"Ryoko-onechan! Ayeka-onesama! You're both doing a great job!"
"Merroww!" Ryo-ohki meowed encouragingly.
Washu smiled slyly at them. "Keep up the good work you two. You know Tenchi-dono will be pleased."
"Where are you guys going?" Ryoko asked, cupping her hands over the top of the broom and resting her chin on them.
"We're done with our chores, so we're going for a walk," Sasami said. "When I get back, I'll start making the carrot cake like I promised! Well, see you later!"
Ryoko watched them leave until they disappeared into the woods. A sinister smile suddenly spread across her face. "You know," she said cooly, turning to Ayeka, "those woods don't look very safe. Maybe I'd better go with them for protection." She dropped the broom and started to fly away.
"Get back to work," Ayeka said sternly, without turning away from the clothesline.
"Party pooper," Ryoko grumbled, picking up the broom and resuming her apathetic sweeping.
The woods around the Masaki house where always quite tranquil, but if observed closely, excitement could be found on every branch of a tree and petal of a flower, and even under rocks and along blades of grass. As Sasami, Washu, and Ryo-ohki walked through the isles of tall, shady trees, bright blooming flowers, and lazy thickets, birds chirped as they soared overhead and frisky squirrels chased each other along the high branches.
"It's so pretty out here," Sasami gushed as she gazed up at the rays of sunlight that poured down between the mesh of tree leaves. "I think Earth is just as beautiful as Jurai."
"You're right, Sasami-chan," Washu replied, examining a patch of thick yellow flowers that were blooming beside an enormous pine tree. "Not only are both planets teeming with life, but I've noticed that the structure of the flowers, trees, and even some animals of Earth are almost identical to those of Jurai."
Sasami smiled. "I don't miss Jurai at all when I'm on Earth." She suddenly heard a chattering sound behind her and turned around. "Oh look, Ryo-chan's made a friend!"
Ryo-ohki was nose-to-nose with a squirrel. They were both sniffing fervently at each other. The squirrel flicked its bushy tail and rested its weight on its haunches. Ryo-ohki mimicked it, leaning down on her long back legs and wriggling her stubby cotton-ball tail. At first, it looked as though the squirrel was about to crawl closer to Ryo-ohki, but it suddenly jerked its body up as tall as it could go, percked its ears, and dashed up the nearest tree. Ryo-ohki gave a quizzical "Merow?"
"Something must've startled it," Washu said, as she and Sasami watched the jittery squirrel scoot up to the highest branches.
"But why did it look scared?" Sasami asked.
Before Washu could answer, Ryo-ohki suddenly gave a loud "Meowrr!" She crouched down bearing her teeth, her short, brown fur tingling with agitation.
"What's wrong, Ryo-chan?" Sasami asked, looking down at the alarmed cabbit. Ryo-ohki looked up for a moment, then bolted off towards a clearing at the edge of a row of trees.
"She must sense something," Washu said, staring in the direction that Ryo-ohki had run. "And it she's acting like this, it must be something dangerous."
They both took off down the path. After stopping at the edge of the clearing, they saw Ryo-ohki looking up towards the sky, meowing franticly.
"What's that?" Sasami asked, pointing to a sphere of black light that was quickly descending from the cloudless sky. Its descent slowed as it got closer to the ground. When it was about two feet above the ground, it began to jiggle and writhe, changing its shape until the silhouette of a tall, muscular man loomed before them. The blackness began to fade, and the stark and ominous features of the man where revealed.
He had striking silver hair, tightly tied in a low ponytail behind his head. There was a deep scar along his left temple that ran down to a gold glass eye which glared in the bright sunlight. He had a sleek, viridian cape that flowed dramatically out behind him, and shimmering gray armor plating on his shoulders, elbows, and knees. His hand moved confidently down to the dark brown sword sheath on his side, and he gazed smugly around him. When his eyes fell on Sasami, Washu, and Ryo-ohki, a cold sneer curled his lips.
Ryo-ohki stopped meowing, but she continued to cringe low and bare her teeth. Washu placed herself in front of Sasami and eyed the stranger before them suspiciously.
"Who are you?" she asked.
The man smirked. "Glad someone finally asked. I've been waiting centuries to announce my return." He took a few steps towards them. Washu moved back, ushering Sasami behind her. Ryo-ohki continued to hiss.
"I'm sure you've probably heard of me," he said calmy, stopping about ten feet away from them. "My name is Xuno."
Sasami stifled a gasp of surprise. Washu looked shocked too, but she spoke calmly. "You're Xuno, the warrior from Jurai..."
"...the one who was exiled to Yami no Umi for obtaining more power than was allowed on the planet..." Sasami finished, her voice shaking. Xuno threw back his head and cackled. Some birds in a nearby tree took to the air in a panicked rustle.
"Yes!" he exclaimed, his one normal eye widening with excitement. "Those fools at the head of the Jurai Royal Family just couldn't comprehend the potential of the power I'd gained. I had spent centuries traveling to different galaxies, picking up new powers and learning of extraordinary kinds of weapons. But all for nothing! When I told the king of Jurai about the power and knowledge I had gained, he said that if Jurai where to have that kind of power, the planets that were allied with it would begin to fear it, and chaos would definitely ensue. I told him that with that kind of power, Jurai could just conquer and rule any planet it wanted to! But that fool of a king turned me down and said that if Jurai were to become a planet that does nothing but conquer, its inhabitants would eventually grow hungry for more and more power, and that would lead to the overthrow of the Jurai Royal Family! What a preposterous reason!" He shook his head in disgust. Then slowly, a villainous smile began to creep along his mouth as he continued.
"When I refused to give up all the power that I had, they managed to overwhelm me and lock me in a capsule, drifting in that horrendous Yami no Umi. When confined in that capsule, my powers were terribly weakened, but not completely gone. All I could do was shoot off a weak amount of photon energy from my hands. But..."
A look of crazed triumph suddenly shone on his face.
"For eight-hundred years I worked on cracking that capsule using what little power I had. There was a strong, dark miasma in the capsule that was supposed to keep we in a dormant state. But I awoke every now and then for a few moments, and used that time to launch a small amount of photon energy at the side of the capsule. Of course, it barely left a dent the first few times. But very slowly, after repeating this same process for eight centuries, I finally made a crack in the capsule large enough for me to fit through. Nobody ever came over to check on me, so I slipped out of Yami no Umi unseen. The minute I left the walls of that accursed capsule, my powers returned to me."
There was a long pause after Xuno had finished speaking. Ryo-ohki ceased her hissing, but she continued to glare up at Xuno. Sasami, who had been standing warily behind Washu, took a small step forward. Washu continued to eye Xuno cautiously as she broke the silence.
"So, what are you going to do now? Why did you come to Earth?"
Xuno narrowed his eyes. "What am I going to do?! Avenge myself against the planet that turned away from its chance to gain more power than ever before! And what better way to avenge myself against Jurai than to rule it myself! Then, I'll continue to conquer other planets with my power, the way it should've been! And I've devised a cunning plan to get the king of Jurai to hand over the rule of his planet to me, without a harrowing fight..."
Xuno looked down at Sasami like a hungry predator spotting its prey, and he smiled contently.
"It didn't take me long to find out that the two princesses of Jurai where staying on planet Earth. Those filthy Juraians are always full of gossip! So I figured that offering the safetly of his beloved daughters in exchange for the rule of Jurai would make the king practically grovel at my feet! And, with the princesses being on some unprotected, far away planet, how easy it'll be to kidnap them here instead of on Jurai! I couldn't ask for a better opportunity!"
A strange, dark aura began to surround Xuno, and it seemed to give him the ability to move freely in the air. He began to float menacingly towards Sasami and Washu.
"I heard that the older princess, Ayeka, has developed her Juraian powers a whole lot. But the little princess, Sasami, is quite defenseless. Why knock myself out capturing both princesses, when I can capture one that won't even put up a fight?" He continued to fly closer to them. Washu leaned down towards Sasami.
"Listen, Sasami-chan," she whispered, still keeping her eyes on Xuno, "you've got to get back to the house and tell everyone what's happening. I'll distract him. Now get going."
"But, Washu-onechan..." Sasami protested. Xuno was directly above them now. A blade of dark energy began to form from his sword sheath. He grasped the blade.
"Sasami-chan, now!" Washu exclaimed, giving Sasami a slight push.
"Ok," Sasami said, trying not to sound afraid. "Let's go, Ryo-chan!"
"Merow!" Ryo-ohki agreed. They both broke into a sprint down the path towards the house, without looking back.
"You think you can get away from me?!" Xuno shouted. He pulled the dark energy blade from its sheath. It was nearly five feet long and pitch black in color. A mysterious gray mist engulfed the edges of it, as if it were clouded my its own immense evil power. He flew off after Sasami, but was cut short by the stinging particles of a force field that suddenly appeared before him.
"I can't let you capture Sasami-chan so easily. Where's the fun in that?"
Washu had cast a force field around herself, its crackling rays flooded out all around her. She stood right in front of Xuno, blocking his path. Xuno leered down at her. Then, he slowly began to smile shrewdly.
"Oh, and who might you be?" he asked, raising his dark blade so that it was level with his chest. Washu looked up at him.
"Perhaps you've heard of me, too: Washu-chan, the greatest scientific genius in the universe!"
Xuno thought for a moment. "Nope, don't think I've heard of you," he said curtly. Washu sweatdropped.
"Fine then," she said, the force field around her glowing with tremendous force, "now, you do know about me. And you're not allowed to go after Sasami-chan unless you can get passed me."
Xuno snickered. "Fine, I'll play with you for a while. You can be my warm-up after eight-hundred years of not using my deadly dark blade. Let's see if my powers can beat the tricks of a scientific genius!" He poised with his blade in hand, eyeing the force field without a hint of worry in his face. Washu stretched out her arms, and the force field grew slightly wider.
"Well, fighting's not really one of my strong points," she said. "I'm the brains, not the brawn, you know?" But she looked straight up at him and smiled confindently. "But...I can't just stand here and do nothing if you're going to attack me, huh?"
Xuno gave a malicious chuckle. "Fine then. Let's get this over with!" He charged full speed towards her, the dark blade pointing out in front of him, the chilling gray mist around it swaying out under the pressure. The blade struck the force field with a deafening impact, causing a large cloud of dust to roll by. The area of the force field in which the core of the attack had struck, shattered, leaving a dent in its center. Washu had to hold down with all her might in order to keep the dent from splitting the entire force field.
"Damn, he strong," she muttered as some of the force field's photon rays snapped off from the intensity of the blow. "I've never seen such power in a single blade!"
Xuno laughed and readied the dark blade in front of him again. "Pretty impressive, huh? Gaze upon this blade well because this is going to be the dark power that will soon rule Jurai!" And with that, he charged once again towards the damaged force field, his eyes glinting with fiendish victory.