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Disclaimer - Tenchi Muyo and the characters therein are property of AIC, Pioneer, and the Tenchi Muyo Committee. This story is solely for entertainment purposes and will not be used for profit. The Tenchi Mugen storyline and episodes are © 2003 The Tenchi Mugen Committee. No cabbits were harmed in the making of this fic.

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Hi there. You may not know me, but you will soon. My name is Masaki Tenchi. Once, I was an ordinary schoolboy. I lived with my father near my grandfather's shrine, did chores, and went to school. At one point, I thought I might drown in the monotony, until that day . . . I remember it well. I will share my memories with you, and you'll see how my monotonous life really started getting interesting.

It all started one cool autumn evening . . .


The sun was setting. A cool breeze wafted through the autumn air, rustling the fallen leaves on the ground. Masaki Tenchi, with his schoolbag slung over his shoulder, was walking home from school. He was not especially tall, nor very muscular. He was, in fact, a rather wiry boy. However, appearances can be, and often are deceiving, and this was especially true in the case of this young man. He was deceptively strong, having been learning Kendo from his grandfather since he was old enough to move and swing a bokken at the same time. So while he looked rather scrawny, he was thinly muscled.

He ran a hand through his soft, short, black hair. It was only the third week of school, but already, teachers were piling homework on the students. He felt sorry for his friends that also attended cram school. He, like his classmates, had been stressed about the entrance exams into high school, but now that he was actually a high school student, he wondered how he would survive the three years.

He sighed as the house came into view. It was rather large by Japanese standards, and he lived there with his father. Not too far away, up a steep hill of steps, was the Masaki shrine, which was run by his grandfather, who actually lived there. Tenchi did chores for his grandfather as part of his training. The house was designed by Tenchi's father, with a bit of help from his mother, who had died when Tenchi was only seven.

Tenchi was a bit shy around the girls, and his father assumed it had something to do with the fact that he really had no female influence as he grew up. Having been so young when his mother died, Tenchi had very little memory of her. All he really remembered was that she was very kind and very beautiful.

He let himself into the house, calling, "I'm home!" He took his shoes off at the door.
He expected some response from his father, who was usually home from the office by the time Tenchi returned from school. When he didn't get it, he ventured further into the house until he reached the living room, where he found a note from his father resting on the coffee table.

He picked up the note and headed into the kitchen, where he got himself an apple and read while he ate.

Tenchi,

I will be home late tonight. I have a deadline on a big project tomorrow, so I have to finish it before I can leave. I have left you some money so you can order takeout, or whatever you want for dinner. I should be home around 10:30. Don't forget to do your homework.

-Dad

Tenchi put the note down and went back into the living room. He would do a little homework and then order for some dinner. He got his bag and took out his book for modern literature. He wasn't too crazy about the class, so he figured he would do it first and get it out of the way.

After about half an hour of homework, Tenchi went and ordered his dinner. He sat in the living room and turned on the TV, stretching and yawning. He thought he got enough learning at school. Why force them to do these piles of homework?

When the doorbell rang, Tenchi found himself dozing in front of the TV. He yawned and went to answer the door. He paid the delivery boy on the other side and took his food to the kitchen and settled down to eat. This was nearly the end of another typically boring day.

---

Meanwhile, Detective Makibi Kiyone of the Galaxy Police was engaged in her typical day, sitting at the controls of her GP cruiser, Yagami. She was doing something that had become rather redundant for her, and obviously, for the person she was talking to.

As she demanded that the space pirate Ryoko surrender, the cyan-haired woman sat picking her nose. She pulled out a particularly large booger and looked at it before flicking it away. Kiyone was rightly disgusted. "Are you even listening?" she asked.

"Why should I? We go through this every day," Ryoko replied, sticking her finger back into her nose.

"That's gross," Kiyone grumbled. Ryoko merely stuck her tongue at the policewoman. Today, Kiyone was getting fed up with the pirate. If she wouldn't go quietly, she would just have to go by force. "You leave me no choice then," the detective said. She ended the transmission between her Yagami and Ryoko's Ryo-ohki. "If a fight's what you're looking for, a fight's what you'll get," she murmured.

---

Ryoko blinked when Kiyone's image disappeared. "That was easy," she commented. She had spoken too soon, however, because almost as soon as the words left her mouth, the ship shuddered. "Huh?" An image of Yagami came up on her screen. The large red ship began firing. Several large projectiles and a few blue streaks of light flew toward Ryoko. "Shit! She's serious this time! Ryo-ohki, evasive maneuvers!" Ryo-ohki miyaaed affirmatively, and Ryoko felt the ship begin moving side-to-side in an attempt to avoid the missiles and laser blasts. They wouldn't be able to evade them all, but they sure as hell could try. It didn't really matter much, because they were coming up on their target: a little blue planet classified Earth.

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Kiyone watched Ryoko's approach with a little trepidation. This area was a restricted zone under the protection of the Galaxy Police. The Sol. System was technically a part of the Jurai Empire, but the people living on the only civilized planet, Earth, were primitives who hadn't even began to travel outside of their own solar system. They were, by the standards of the Galaxy Federation, technologically undeveloped, and they have had no contact with any species outside of their own. Yes, they knew extraterrestrial life forms existed, and had even encountered some before, but they were at a point in their evolution where outside contact could be devastating. Jurai had enlisted the aid of the Galaxy Police to ensure that Earth's evolution continued at its own pace. Right now, Ryoko was a threat to that directive.

Kiyone tried contacting Ryoko and telling her that Earth was a special protection area, but apparently the space pirate was not having any of it. Kiyone sighed. Earth hadn't had a resident officer for quite some time, so she took it upon herself to protect the citizens of the planet.

She unleashed a barrage of laser blasts, hoping to take out the smaller ship before it reached the planet, though a few of the blasts had hit the other ship, its course remained unchanged. Soon the ship disappeared through the atmosphere of the little blue orb known as Earth. Kiyone sighed. This day was getting worse and worse by the moment.

---

Ryoko had found Japan quickly, and was now advancing to her final target. It was a house in the suburbs of Okayama, a farming community. She grinned. Other than the fire she had encountered from Yagami before reaching Earth's atmosphere, she had seen no sign of the annoying detective. With any luck, she would be able to complete her mission successfully.

She cursed when an energy bolt hit her shoulder. She wheeled around only to see a red mecha. It was slightly larger than a normal human being, and Ryoko recognized it as the type the GP had built specially for combating her. As she flew she threw a few plasma blasts at the mecha.

Kiyone wasn't that easy, the mecha jolted up avoiding all of the blasts. The mecha landed, and Ryoko did the same, ending up a few meters away. "Damn you, Kiyone! You're really starting to piss me off!" Ryoko shouted.

She held out her hand. Energy began to gather at her palm. The cyan-haired pirate made a fist, focusing the energy into a sword made of pure orange energy.

She flew at the mecha with a battle cry, sword in attack position. She was surprised when the mecha blocked with a sword of its own. Kiyone must have made a few improvements on it since the last time they had battled, but it wasn't like it mattered. If Ryoko could destroy the mecha, the battle would quickly go in her favor. All Kiyone had was her wits and her pistol, which could barely hurt her anyhow.

Ryoko teleported. The mecha looked around, trying to locate her. One of the few flaws in the GP's fancy toys was that its sensors couldn't detect her when she teleported or phased.

Ryoko ended up behind the mecha and phased into the ground before it could get a bearing on her. Her plan of attack was to attack the mecha from underground. The attack would be so quick that Kiyone wouldn't be able to do anything before she sliced the mecha to shreds. 'Kiyone will probably be killed in the process, but hey, better her than me,' Ryoko thought.

She popped up from the ground, and to her surprise, the mecha was nowhere to be seen. For a moment, she had thought she got the location wrong, but then a volley of energy blasts told her that Kiyone had used the thrusters to jump so she could get a better vantage point.

"Dumb luck!" Ryoko exclaimed. She teleported, but not before she was hit. It was only a minor burn on her thigh, nothing that would slow her down. She used the moment of confusion on Kiyone's part to try and think up another attack plan. However, strategy had never really been her strong point, so she decided to charge in headfirst and see where the battle took her.

The mecha landed again and looked around, again searching for Ryoko. Ryoko took the opportunity to charge at it with her sword ready, firing energy blasts. Hopefully, the light from the blasts would distract Kiyone long enough for her to do some damage before the detective knew what hit her.

So far, the plan was working. The mecha stumbled backwards, and Ryoko slashed at it with her sword. The thrusters fired before she hit, and she ended up taking a chunk out of the giant robot's leg. The thrust hadn't been enough to take the mecha very far, and it landed. The damaged leg crumpled beneath it.

---

Kiyone cursed. Ryoko was good. This much she knew for sure. Right now, the mecha was little more than scrap metal. It still had all of its weaponry, but that didn't do her any good if the thing couldn't move. With the leg as it was now, even the thrusters were rendered useless. The mecha could travel a short distance with the thrust provided, but it wasn't powerful enough to actually let the mecha fly. As she was mulling this over, she saw Ryoko coming at her with another attack.

Kiyone sighed and reached for the ejection mechanism. She pulled the lever, and with the force of four small thrusters, was ejected from the mecha, just as the space pirate halved it.

When Ryoko noticed that Kiyone was no longer in the mecha, she looked up and saw the helpless detective in the ejection seat. Kiyone was busily working her restraints, trying to free herself from the ejection seat. The restraints were stuck! Kiyone's eyes widened as she desperately tugged at them.

Ryoko was at full charge now, sword beside her, ready to strike. She was nearly there. Kiyone prayed and managed to pull the restraints free. She carefully maneuvered herself into a standing position and jumped. Ryoko slashed through the air formerly occupied by the teal-haired detective.

Kiyone gracefully rolled when she hit the ground, freeing her heavy-stock GP pistol from its holster. When she came to a stop, she was in the perfect position to fire off a few well-aimed shots at Ryoko. The space pirate cursed as the shots hit her torso. Kiyone didn't know what she was complaining about, the pistol barely had enough power to actually harm her without her bombarding the same spot multiple times.

"Hey, no fair!" Ryoko exclaimed, firing off a few energy blasts of her own in Kiyone's direction.

"Give me some credit here!" she exclaimed. The teal-tressed detective managed to roll out of the way of the blasts, but one had hit her in the shoulder. She winced as pain jolted through her shoulder all the way down her arm, causing her to instinctively drop her pistol. Ryoko gave her a wicked grin before pulverizing the pistol.

"Not so hot, are we now!" The space pirate exclaimed, letting loose a barrage of energy blasts. Kiyone did her best to dodge them, but there were too many for her to avoid them all. One hit her in the thigh. She cried out in pain and collapsed on the injured limb. She let out a pained whimper as she hit the ground.

---

Tenchi stared out the window. "What the hell is going on?" he wondered aloud. Flashes of light had been dancing outside for the last five minutes, at least! He decided to go check it out.

He headed downstairs, pausing only to slip into his sandals. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good. He went outside and broke into a run, heading toward the lake, where it seemed the combat was occurring. He didn't at all expect the sight that met his eyes.

A cyan-haired woman with some kind of energy sword was floating off the ground, while a teal-haired woman knelt on the ground, clutching her thigh. Apparently, she had been hurt. The two women hadn't noticed him yet, and he was content to let it remain that way until he figured out what was going on.

"You've been a thorn in my side for far too long, Detective," the cyan-haired woman sneered. The teal-haired woman merely gritted her teeth. The cyan-haired woman floated closer, her golden eyes searching the other woman's face. She extended her hand, and an energy blast issued from it. The detective rolled out of the way, trying to stand.

Tenchi didn't know what was going on, but it seemed like the cyan-haired woman wanted to kill the other woman! This, he would not allow. He would have to stop her . . . but how? 'This woman . . . isn't normal,' he thought.

The cyan-haired woman swung her sword at the other woman, who quickly jumped to avoid it, landing on her injured limb. She cried out as her leg collapsed under her.

"Stay still, damn it!" She fired a shot at the ground. Tenchi wondered what the point of that was, until the ground beneath the detective literally exploded. Chunks of grass, rock and dirt erupted from where the blast hit. Kiyone had attempted to jump, but was blown back by the force of the explosion. Her head collided rather forcefully with a jagged rock. Tenchi winced at the sick crack that sounded when her head made contact with the rock.

Ryoko floated over her, a triumphant grin on her face. "Well, it's been fun, Detective." She raised her sword, and Kiyone's world went black, her eyes rolling into the back of her head as she fell unconscious. Tenchi wouldn't let her be killed.

"Stop!" he shouted, kneeling in front of Kiyone.

Ryoko's eyes narrowed. "Are you Masaki Tenchi?" she asked.

Tenchi's eyes widened. "How do you know my name?" he asked.

"That's not important." She lowered her sword momentarily, but kept it active. "Hmm . . . I was just going to take you to her, but you've proven yourself to be a burden. Defend yourself!" She raised her sword above her head and came down with a powerful vertical slash. Tenchi thought he was a goner, but he suddenly had the instinct to make a blocking motion. As he did, a sword appeared. It was rather long and glowed a bright blue color.

Once Ryoko's blade came in contact, her sword flickered and disappeared. "He dispersed my sword? How?" She glared at him and re-activated her sword. She was determined to fight him.

She let out a several quick strikes, thinking that he wouldn't have the reflexes to block them, but she was gravely mistaken. She ground her teeth and floated backwards, firing a few energy shots his way, which he quickly blocked with his sword.

Determined to somehow rid herself of this boy, she took to the air, flying out of sight. "Che," Tenchi cursed. He began to run after her. He wished he could take a moment to look the sword over. He had no idea he had that kind of power. He thought he was just a normal kid. He had been until these two women showed up.

Ryoko had mentioned someone else, and Tenchi wondered who that was. The only way to find out was to ask her, and the only way to do that was to track her down. He could see her form, flickering in and out of sight, just above the trees. She wanted to be followed, and he was only too happy to oblige.

He saw that she was headed toward the shrine. He took the steps two at a time, trying to catch up to her. Finally, he reached the top, winded, but still determined to get some answers. Sure enough, the woman waited for him there, her sword activated. She had taken a defensive position, and it seemed that she had been waiting for several minutes at least.

"Took you long enough," she commented.

"Who are you?" Tenchi asked.

"I am the great space pirate Ryoko," the woman declared.

"Who was that other woman you were fighting with?" he demanded.

"That's Detective first-class Makibi Kiyone of the Galaxy Police," she replied, seemingly bored.

"Galaxy Police?" Tenchi asked.

Ryoko looked at him like he was an idiot. "Yeah, they police the galaxy . . ."

"I knew that!" he exclaimed, sweatdropping.

Ryoko shook her head. "Are you ready to fight, huh? I don't have all night."

Tenchi took an offensive stance, one of the many his grandfather had taught him through his years of training. Holding his sword straight up, in front of him, he felt confident, just like how he felt the day he had finally beaten his grandfather in a duel. He allowed that confidence to permeate through his being, transforming it into strength. With a battle cry, he jumped at her, attacking from above. Ryoko didn't seem to expect that, but teleported.

Instead of stumbling, as he may have when he was younger, Tenchi landed on his feet, quickly looking around, trying to locate the opponent. Ryoko appeared above him, attacking with a downward strike, which Tenchi quickly blocked. She pushed down on him and he gritted his teeth. She was amazingly strong, much stronger than he had expected. Her blade flickered and went out, causing her to fall on top of him.

He blushed as his face was suddenly pressed between her breasts. The outfit she was wearing was very form fitting, leaving very little to the imagination. Blood started to trickle from his nose, and he pushed her off, his face very red.

Ryoko cursed and re-activated her blade. Something caught his eye as she did so. A red gem on her wrist glowed as the blade formed in her hand. 'That must be the source of her power,' he thought. Ryoko raised her sword to strike, and Tenchi swung his sword, not at hers, but at her wrist, cleanly cleaving her hand. The gem disappeared.

Ryoko blinked. It all happened so quickly. Obviously, the boy knew what he was doing. Very intelligent. "There it is," she said, hanging her head in defeat. "Another battle lost." She held up her arm, noticing that her hand was gone.

Tenchi bowed. "I-I'm sorry," he stammered. Ryoko held up a finger to stop him from talking and placed her hand over the stump. Suddenly, her hand had re-grown itself! Tenchi clapped. Ryoko bowed and disappeared into the ground.

Tenchi stopped clapping as he realized that the other woman was still down by the lake, and for all he knew, she could be bleeding to death. He bounded down the stairs, vaguely realizing that his sword had disappeared when he defeated Ryoko. He ran to where Kiyone was as fast as he could, seeing the detective laying right where they had left her.

He gently picked her up, noticing blood splashed on the rock. "Red blood," he mused. Suddenly, he realized what that meant. "This is more serious than I thought!" he exclaimed. He unceremoniously ripped his shirtsleeve off, quickly wrapping it tightly around her head, trying to staunch the blood-flow. He ran toward the shrine. He had to get help! He knew his grandpa would be able to help her.

He ran up the stairs once again, finding Kiyone surprisingly light. Maybe that's because of all the adrenaline that has to be going through my system, he thought. He reached the shrine. "Grandpa!" he called. "Grandpa!"

The old man opened a door, seeing Tenchi standing there with an unconscious woman in his arms.

"What is this, Tenchi?" he asked.

"She's hurt, Grandpa," he said breathlessly. His grandfather gestured for him to bring her inside.

Tenchi laid her down, propping her head in his lap. Grandpa appeared moments later with bandages. He removed Tenchi's torn sleeve, carefully wrapping the bandage around her head as tightly as he could without cutting off the circulation. As he tended to her, he asked, "What happened, Tenchi?"

He related his story, ending with him bringing Kiyone to the shrine. His grandfather nodded. He didn't seem to be the least bit surprised.

"Go back to the house and get some sleep. I will take care of her," he told his grandson. Tenchi nodded and stood. He paused at the door, looking back long enough to see Grandpa cutting away her pant leg to attend to the wound there, which had started bleeding.

He left the shrine, walking down the stairs. He was worried. That wasn't just a little cut on her head. He cursed himself for going after Ryoko. If she died, it would be his fault for not getting her help sooner. He walked slowly back to the house. He would have liked to stay and help, but he knew he would likely just get in the way.

He went inside and headed up to his room. He planned to take Grandpa's advice and get to sleep. He went into his room and flicked on the light. He let out a huge yawn and looked at where his sleeve had been. He would have to throw this shirt out now. He unbuttoned it and threw it into the wastebasket. Left only in his undershirt, he plopped down on his bed. He was too tired to change out of his clothes.

He was about to fall asleep, but noticed that his bed was lumpy. He felt the lump, then sat up with a start. It was shaped like a woman! He pulled the covers down. Ryoko was sleeping in his bed!

Ryoko opened her golden eyes. "Hello, Ten-chi," she purred.

"Ryoko!" Tenchi exclaimed, firing himself from the bed and across the room. Ryoko grinned and slowly advanced on him.

"What's the matter, Tenchi," she cooed.

-Owari-

Next Episode - Tenchi: Ryoko's about to do unspeakable things to me! Fortunately, we're interrupted. Unfortunately, it's because of a new threat! This could be very, very bad. Stay tuned for the next episode of Tenchi Mugen, Genius Washu Appears!