4Okay, after a few months hiatus in real time, here is the start of the next part of the story, following my previous work, In the Cold, Two Hearts Find Warmth Version 2018. This is my effort to fix what was broken by OVAs 3 and 4. Along with original content, some familiar events will occur, some will be radically changed, and the rest will be deleted, burned, nuked from existence and never thought of again... I'm hoping to provide you all with a better story with better characterizations (at least that's what I'm shooting for) One thing I will promise you: our beloved characters will not be sacrificing their core beings in lame attempts at misplaced humor (If you have seen OVA 3 you know exactly what I'm talking about) All in all I want the characters to be true to themselves even as they mature. I want the story to reward the fans and most of all, I want it to be a whopping good tale that does right by the OVA Tenchiverse
As always I would appreciate your input (a.k.a: reviews) so I'll know if this is living up to my hoped for expectations. But most importantly, I hope you all enjoy it.
Usurperone
OVA 3 Redux
Chapter 1: An Uninvited Guest
He looked almost human.
He could have passed for just another offshoot of humanity spread throughout the many galaxies except for his face: That gave away his 'alien' nature. On his forehead were purple protrusions; two small stones, one above each eye like a secondary eyebrow of amethyst crystal and two larger stones set above his left eye. No doubt these were vestigial remains of his original mineral based life-form.
These physical differences paled in the comparison to the effect of anyone seeing his eyes for the first time, provided of course, that they lived long enough to actually do so. His right eye seemed somewhat normal enough save for the completely golden pupil with a total absence of an iris. The left eye, however, was the more disconcerting of the two: It was nearly all purple; the pupil and the sclera both matched the color of the gems on his forehead with his iris such a deep purple to appear almost black. The resulting purple orb would dominate one's attention. These eyes reflected the enigmatic nature of their owner.
Right now that enigma was lying on his bed, but he wasn't asleep. He never could sleep afterwards.
They didn't stand a chance, he thought letting out a small sigh. None ever do. And yet they all try. They always attack because they sense the power here and it scares them. It should. It would have scared me… back before. Now nothing frightens me.
He again thought about the scene that almost constantly flashed through his mind; the image of a boy emerging from the event horizon of a singularity, accompanied by two not unattractive females, propelled by the Wings of the Light Hawk.
Masaki doesn't frighten me… but he does intrigue me. Yeah, he can use the Light Hawk Wings but only three of them. But does that make him a rival to be dealt with or a potential ally to be enlisted? Is he worthy of this power, perhaps even more than me?
He shook his head. I doubt he's had to go through the hell I've endured to gain his power. Maybe's he's simply just some pretender… and yet… there's something there… I just don't know what…
He sat up in bed. The kid's one big question mark, ironically thought the enigma. Even Tokimi doesn't know the answers and that's impressive in itself, he thought, causing a half smile. At the very least it does makes him interesting.
He swung his legs over the side edge of the bed. She warned me not to harm him but she never said anything about me watching him.
He smile broadened to reach his eyes as he decided.
I think I'll be taking a little break for a while.
The Mikagami, was the stuff of dreams to some; for others, mainly pirates, it was the embodiment of a living nightmare. As a Second Generation Royal Treeship, she was indeed a powerful adversary in combat, able to easily defeat a fleet of pirate ships. Her true strength, however, lay in her commander; the Queen Mother, Seto Kimiki Jurai, otherwise known as the 'Devil Princess of Jurai,' a moniker that both secretly amused her and was well deserved.
Today, the 'Devil Princess' was not involved in anti-pirate operations, but was more interested in strategy of a different nature. This strategy involved the newly 'discovered' whereabouts of Crown Prince Yosho and more precisely, his apprentice, grandson, and, most importantly, heir, young Tenchi Masaki. Seto had known the facts concerning Yosho's disappearance, and had even visited Earth when Tenchi was a baby. What she, as well as the other members of the Jurai Security Council had recently learned about the Masaki household had given them all pause for concern; within that one house, in the simple, serene Okayama Prefecture countryside, lived a formidable alliance of independent galactic military power. So incredibly strong were they that, even with their many ties to Jurai, they could pose a grave threat to the empire, should they ever choose to turn against it.
The Council had deliberated long and hard on the situation, and it had been decided that it would be best, due to her familial ties, if Lady Seto was given the responsibility of keeping an eye out on the household, located on that colony world at the very edge of Juraian claimed territory. Giving in to her tendency to perform her enjoyable (to her anyway) role as matchmaker, Lady Seto had designs to establish a physical presence in the Masaki household by 'arranging' a betrothal between Tenchi and her adopted daughter Noike. Recent events, however, had quashed that plan. Seto was sitting in one of the many gardens in the subspace habitation portion of the Mikagami with her assistant Minaho Masaki and Noike, to discuss the situation.
"Your nephew has scuttled our initial plan by becoming engaged to that most infamous pirate of all, Ryoko Hakubi," she directed to her adjutant, not hiding the irony of the situation. "I learned it from Funaho when she returned from Earth, accompanied by Aeka."
"So I too heard, but from Misaki," Minaho confirmed. Secretly she had been quite pleased by the recent turn of events, happy that her late sister's only son had escaped Seto's grasp. "She seems very fond of Ryoko and was all smiles about it. I admit I was surprised with Tenchi's choice, but after all, he is his mother's son," she added with a chuckle.
Almost reluctantly, Seto let out her own chuckle. "To that there can be no doubt," she admitted. "Aeka has told me that Ryoko is no longer the demon she once was, that she has changed greatly since gaining her freedom from Kagato. It seems that my granddaughter and the pirate have become quite close, as well. Even with their friendship, I suspect however, that there was much tension and sorrow on Aeka's part when the engagement was announced," she offered, her face reflecting her compassion for her granddaughter's feelings. "Be that as it may, the relationship between Tenchi and Ryoko will not permit even the illusion of another choice of fiancée. So that option is now off the table."
"Is it?" inquired Noike. The two other women looked at her. She continued, "He is, after all, Juraian, and multiple spouses are quite common."
To this, Seto brought up the fan she held in her hand, opening it to hide her face below her eyes and laughed aloud. "That is an impossibility," she assured her daughter. "Ryoko may have changed, but at her core she will always be a pirate, and pirates never easily give up what they believe is theirs. And, as you know, Ryoko was no ordinary pirate, my dear." She lowered her fan, showing her now serious expression. "Remember, I saw what she was capable of, 700 years ago, when, with Ryo-Ohki, she either ignored or destroyed any ship less powerful than a Second Generation. And that was when she was acting against her will. Now imagine what you think she would do to anyone she thought was trying to take Tenchi away from her. That would never end well for us in any event; I'd either lose a daughter, or it would turn Tenchi against us, or both." She shook her head. "No, Noike, that way into the Masaki household is no longer open to us." Then, a rather evil looking smirk appeared upon her face. "There is, however, another way," she said, "but you're not going to like it." She brought the fan up again to hide her face and laughed almost maniacally making her companions wince.
Suddenly Noike experienced an all-too-familiar feeling of dread...
Sasami was in the kitchen, in the final stages of breakfast preparation, aided by her older sister. This now familiar sight was due to the younger princess agreeing to teach both Aeka and Ryoko in the art of cooking, which had begun upon her sister's return from Jurai a few months back. After many ruined meals and not too many fires and explosions, the diminutive chef had made significant progress in instructing her two 'big sisters' as she liked to think of them. It had been decided that Aeka would assist with breakfast, Ryoko with lunch, and both would help her with dinner. The shift assignments had been made out of practicality, accepting the reality that Ryoko never was, is not now, and never would be a morning person. The leopard and its spots analogy fully applied here to the feline eyed pirate. Some naysayer's (mainly the elder princess) doubted that she would even be able to be up in time to help with lunch, but in that Ryoko surprised everyone (not the least of which was herself) and became a dutiful, if sometimes destructive student of the culinary arts.
Now the two princesses brought out the final dishes for the meal, finding some members, such as an adult Washu and Katsuhito, already seated, while still others continued to arrive. "Good morning," Mihoshi yawned sleepily as she made her way down the stairs. "Morning," replied Sasami as she set down her last serving bowl. Those at the table soon heard the front door open and close, announcing Tenchi's return from the carrot fields. In a moment, he emerged from the front hallway door, Ryo-Ohki in cabbit form on his left shoulder, and greeted all present. As the two approached, the adorable ball of fur quickly hopped down, transforming into her child persona in mid-air, landing nimbly and took her place at the table, next to Sasami's and near that of her sister/partner who was yet to arrive. Just before he was about to sit, Tenchi heard a familiar whoosh of air to his left, and then felt a pair of warm soft lips kiss his cheek.
"Hello my Tenchi," said his fiancée sweetly, who also took his arm in a quick hug. He smiled back to her in greeting. Then she turned toward the table smiling as she sat with him, saying, "Morning everyone."
"Someone's in a good mood today," said her red headed mother at the other end of the table.
"And why wouldn't I be?" Ryoko replied, maintaining her smile. "For one thing, I have this yummy breakfast to look forward to, it's a beautiful sunny spring day, and oh yeah…," she paused, "there's this guy over here." She picked up her teacup and took a sip, with a cheeky grin. She quickly glanced over at Aeka, quietly noting that her comments appeared to have had no ill effect on her best friend. Although she believed that the princess had accepted her relationship and subsequent engagement to Tenchi, the last thing she wanted to do was cause her pain.
"Just a guy, eh?" Tenchi asked in mock annoyance.
"Mmm… You'll do," she replied, the grin still on her face, then took another sip.
He smiled back, slowly shaking his head.
After taking a bite he commented to Sasami, "Ryoko is right about breakfast, it's delicious. You and Aeka have both done a great job." Before his cyan haired fiancée could say anything he added, "Sasami, you and Ryoko do a terrific job with lunch too and all three of you do with dinner. I, for one, am really happy with how you guys handle the meals. And I'm sure we all really appreciate you taking the time to teach them cooking."
There were nods and verbal agreements from all around as well as a jovial "Miyow!" from Ryo-Ohki. Sasami slightly blushed at all the compliments as she replied, "Thank you, Tenchi… everybody. I've had a lot of fun teaching them…" She giggled, "Well mostly."
"She does have the patience of a saint," claimed Aeka. "One would have to, when a particular 'student' could start a conflagration at any time." She smirked and decidedly did not look at the former space pirate.
"Hey, that only happened once… er, twice," Ryoko corrected. Then, with a defiant look on her face, fired back: "It could have happened to anybody." Then her own slightly evil smirk appeared as she asked, "And how many meals did a certain snooty princess mess up with food that was burnt on one side and frozen on the other? Hmmmm?"
Aeka's smirk disappeared and she glared back at her accuser, but didn't say a word.
Ryoko continued the verbal counterattack, "How'd you do that, by the way? I mean one side was charcoal and the other frozen solid, like a glacier. And there was no transition between the two sides; just the two extremes. How'd you pull off that little trick?"
"That's a pretty decent scientific observation, my dear," Ryoko heard through her mental link with Washu. I do have a theory about that…"
"Yeah I'm sure you do, mom," she interrupted sarcastically back through the link.
"Hey! I just gave you a compliment and you have to go and be rude to me. Such an ungrateful child."
"Totally my creator's fault, Washu. Definite design flaw or maybe she ran out of niceness genes. Either way, it's all on her. Just comes down to bad science."
She heard a distinctive "Hmph" right before the link went silent and she noted a rather dirty look cast her way from the other end of the table. Ryoko smiled in silent victory.
Tenchi, eternally the peacemaker, and unaware of Ryoko's mental conversation with her mother, stepped in at this point. Speaking at first to Sasami's chefs-in-training, he said, "Well you both have gotten a lot better over the last few months so I'm glad we don't have to worry about such things anymore." Then turning his face to the little princess, he said, "Like I said before, Sasami, we all really appreciate everything you do."
His words had the desired effect as both the culinary 'students' appeared to relax and smile towards their little cooking mentor.
Sasami looked back at Tenchi, smiling at both his complement and for the way he quickly defused the situation. Relative calm settled on the meal, and they preceded through it much like always, with the occasional banter flavoring the breakfast. Near the end of the meal, Sasami decided to inquire about something that had concerned her for the past few days, but hadn't had the opportunity to bring it up. "Tenchi, do you mind if I ask you a question?"
He looked back at her and replied, "No, of course I don't mind. What's your question?"
"The other day I was out in the shed getting a few carrots for dinner. You and Ryoko were walking by having what sounded like a very happy conversation. I didn't want to be rude and interrupt, but I heard you say something that troubled me, and I was wondering: Did you guys get into a fight with a bunch of people recently?"
Tenchi and Ryoko both responded to the question, first by looking at each other, then at Sasami with befuddled expressions. "No, not that I remember," he replied at the offhand question. "Why do you ask?"
"Well you said to Ryoko that the previous night you had been outnumbered by the Dopple Gang… but she said you 'managed to hold your own' or something like that."
Tenchi's eyes went as big as saucers, his mouth slightly agape, while Ryoko looked away, continuing her eating, as her cheeks turned an increasing shade of pink. Both had the look of being caught with their arms filled with many illicit cookies in front of a very empty and broken jar.
At the opposite end of the table Washu stopped eating, stared at them for a couple of seconds and began sporting a very, very wicked smile. Katsuhito, sitting to her left, viewed the betrothed couple with a raised eyebrow and a slight grin. Aeka, next to her sister, and seeing the guilty reactions of her engaged friends, first looked at Tenchi, then at Ryoko with squinting eyes and pursed lips. She suspected that what Sasami had heard she probably shouldn't have and whatever was going on, it was undoubtedly Ryoko's fault. Mihoshi, blissfully unaware at per her usual, kept eating.
Sasami continued, "I was a little worried so I looked out the door as you both were walking away and I noticed, Tenchi, that you were limping a bit. Did the Dopple Gang do that to you?" she asked innocently.
"Uhhhh…" was all Tenchi could manage to say as he too pinkened. Ryoko's cheeks turned a deep red as she quickly set down her bowl and chopsticks, giving up the pretense of eating.
Raucous laughter suddenly poured forth from Washu, her peals so hard tears immediately began streaming down her cheeks. Much to Tenchi's horror, his normally serene grandfather was also laughing… out loud. Although barely more than a chuckle, Katsuhito's show of levity was somewhat more unsettling, due mainly to its rarity. Ryoko, her head turned to the side away from Tenchi, with closed eyes and gritted teeth, along with her now very red face, blindly reached back to her fiancé, grabbed the front of his shirt and immediately disappeared with him with a resounding whoosh of air.
This did nothing to alleviate Washu's laughter which was now near howling. Katsuhito had recovered some of his normal composure, but still had the hint of a smile.
Sasami's face was one of wide eyed confusion for a minute, her sister silently fuming at her side. The little princess looked at Washu, who had finally regained control, and queried, "Did I ask bad questions?"
"No Sasami," the chuckling scientist answered. "Your questions were perfect!"
Ryoko and Tenchi appeared on the outcropping above the cave. She released his shirt, took two steps away, and let loose with a blistering series of swear words all directed towards her mother.
Yep, she's definitely a pirate he thought, his ears as red as her cheeks from the very unladylike words pouring forth from his beloved fiancée's lips.
After a minute of non-stop cuss words, some of which Tenchi didn't recognize, Ryoko finally ended her scandalous soliloquy with a LOUD declaration; "Washu, you are DEAD MEAT!"
"I don't think she can hear you," he said with a pained grin.
She turned to him, her angry countenance making the little hairs on his neck stand up, and replied, "Oh yes she can. I hear her still laughing in our link."
"Oh." He had forgotten about that for the moment.
He summoned his courage, stepped forward, taking her shoulders in his hands and looked into her golden eyes. He gave her his best disarming smile, which in spite of herself, did reduce the storm winds in her sails a bit. "You can't kill her; If you do you'll make yourself an orphan," he quipped.
"You know, that might not be such a bad life choice right about now," she growled, with a slight disgusted look.
He chuckled and shook his head.
Ryoko's shoulders slumped and she looked back at him, offering one last plea; "Come on Tenchi, would it be so bad if I just killed her a little?"
"Sorry. We earthlings rather frown on matricide," he informed her, still smiling.
Ryoko looked at him and then surrendered with a heavy sigh. "Fine. I'll let the witch live." Then she quickly added, "But I'm not talking to her again until I get an apology."
"Okay," he chuckled. "That's fair." He bought her to him and hugged her. She relaxed in his arms.
"One thing I don't get about what just happened," he wondered to her aloud as he stepped back. "I understand how Washu would know about your doppelganger, but Grandpa seemed to know about her as well…"
"Well that's easy," she replied. "He's seen her before. So he obviously put two and two together."
"He's seen her?" he asked, somewhat incredulously.
She nodded. "When we fought 700 years ago I had to pull out all my tricks to try to beat him. At one point I used her to surprise him and it worked for a while, but I couldn't maintain her long enough. I definitely got in my licks, but, in the end, he was too strong for me and I lost." She smiled at him, adding, "But I'm glad I did, you know?"
"Yeah, I know. Me too," he said. He reached for her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Noting the relative calmness of his companion now, Tenchi felt at ease to change the subject. "We should really get back to the house, though." he suggested. "Grampa will be finishing his breakfast soon and he'll be expecting us and I still need to get dressed for training. Unlike you I can't instantly change clothes."
"Alright," she chuckled. "Hold on." She took both of his hands in hers and then they ported away with a whoosh.
A hidden figure, now safe from detection, freely moved among the branches of a leafed out tree, yet still remained in the shadows.
"Training eh?" the figure asked quietly. "How fortunate for me."
