STANDARD DISCLAIMER: 
I don't own the characters. Pioneer and AIC do.  I own
this story though.

Summary:
Branches off from the OAV after 13.5 since I can't say
what the creator had in mind. 
This is the entire backstory to the oav's, enjoy. 
Takes place a week after episode
13.5.  Relies very heavily on the OAV, some characters
and information from the manga
and other continuities might be possible but not their
storylines (or very little bit but
more pertaining to the specific characters).

EMAIL:
rolfwind@yahoo.com

WARNING:
After Chapter 10, some extreme violence will occur,
some sexual
situations as well.  You've been warned.

KEY:
<> - indicates thoughts
[]- indicates mental communication

*quote from T2


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I like trying to make pretty pictures, but these are
the best I can do:) 
Since they are a big size, give them time to download
(Dec 3).

Picture 1) ewulf.com/friend/the_unruly_son.jpg
Picture 2) ewulf.com/friend/the_unruly_son2.jpg


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Author's Note:  Please allow for Tenchi OOCness at
first, I'm trying to build a situation here, thank
you!

THE UNRULY SON SAGA : A TALE OF TWO TENCHIS



THE UNMASKING PART I


CHAPTER 1 : RUDE AWAKENINGS : MAY 3, 1993


It was early morning at the Masaki household, minutes
before dawn to be precise.  The bright ball of fire,
known as the sun, hasn't peeked over the horizon yet,
nor were the birds filling the cool pre-dawn air with
their melodious chirping.  Quiet and still, the
unnatural silence was foreboding.  Perhaps it was the
proverbial stillness before an oncoming raging storm,
which held the natural sounds of mother nature at bay.
 Or perhaps mother nature had some common sense and
decided to stay asleep, the activity that many of the
residents of this particular household were now
partaking of.

Yet, an average person would state that all was
normal, like every and any other day.  But that was
not certainly not true, hardly anything associated
with this household could be considered normal, this
day would be no exception.  Someone made sure of that
a while ago, setting things in motion, hoping for,
praying for a positive outcome.

This entity lived in the household, and yet was
paradoxically unaware of this very event or its own
true identity most of the time.  What this entity
sought was to unmask another person in that very
household, who also had the very same paradoxical
problem.  

This masked person was very surprising, most assumed
that this person simply let events happen in their
life, and took whatever fate handed to them.  But like
most high rollers of the particular game this entity
was playing, this one knew but one thing about fate, 
*"The future is not set. There is no fate but what we
make for ourselves."  And so this being has been
setting up its future for a long time.

And thus the day began.......

Nobuyuki heard a nerve wracking sound ....beep
....beep ....beep .....beep!  He didn't want to wake
up, for he was just in a pleasant dream involving
Achika, him, and 14 cans of whipped cream, a bottle of
chocolate syrup, and a particular floating onsen in
the sky.  However, despite his own overwhelming desire
stay in the realm of dreams, the beeping continued to
pound into his skull ....beep ....beep ....beep
.....beep!  What could he do except accept the
inevitable?  Acceptance started with groaning out
tiredly, knowing he couldn't ignore the clock forever,
or more specifically the racket it insisted on
emitting.

<Oh, alright already!>  He reached over and slapped
the alarm clock to stop its incessant ringing.  As he
withdrew his hand, it inadvertantly knocked over a
picture of Achika from the nightstand. He cursed under
his breath, as the framed photo crashed to the floor
and the glass shattered into several pieces. <When did
that picture get there?!  It's usually on the wall,
isn't it?>  

Not entirely awake yet, he attributed it to a faulty
memory.  Heaving a frustrated, "Damn!" and looking
over by the clock, it was 5:00 AM.  <Gotta get to work
but....> Nobuyuki stood up, stretched his muscles, and
went to a corner drawer with some tools in it. The
elder Masaki had half an hour to get ready for the
daily grind but he didn't want to leave the picture of
his revered late wife amidst ruins of glass.  

In his mind, their was only one path to take; show his
wife the respect she deserved and fix what he broke. 
Doing the right thing, he picked up the frame, and
gazed lovingly at the image of his late wife for a few
seconds.  

This was one of the later photos of her.  Sick, yellow
eyed, haggard, and thin.  In a beautiful lavender
kimono, semi-formal in appearance but Achika liked to
wear it as if it was casual clothing.  To her husband,
she was one thing, could only be one thing.  A beauty
unmatched by any other.  None of the women he ever met
could surpass or begin to equal her, not even by any
of the five current female residents of the Masaki
household.

As time ticked away, he faded out of his meditation
and turned the photo over to the back. The back was
black plastic held in by four screws.  Heaving yet
another sigh he started unscrewing the back off  <I
hope this is as easy as it doesn't look!>. One
screw........, now two screws ...... loose, the hentai
of the household groaned frustratedly <This is taking
forever, I'll be late for work!>.

Those annoying screws were difficult to get out, being
twisted in so tightly, that he simply lost his grip on
the screwdriver several times, and had to start over. 
Many minutes and attempts later, Nobuyuki's prolonged
quest to rectify the situation went forward.  <Yes!! 
Now the last screw is off!  I can get going soon.  I'm
late enough as it is!  I should have gone to my
apartment last night, then I wouldn't have to get up
so early.>.

Right when he was taking the unscrewed backing off,
the architect's foot sank into a piece of shattered
glass from the floor. "Ouch!," Nobuyuki yowled.  The
middle-aged man dropped the frame back onto the bed,
and decided to go about picking up the pieces of
glass.

Soon the glass hunt was over and  he had all the major
shards and elongated splinters cradled carefully in
his hands.  After he limped over to the trash can, 
still feeling the bite under his foot, Nobuyuki
unceremoniously dumped them.  Before he was about to
turn away, he happened to glance upon a cigarette pack
buried in the trash.

<That's strange, I don't remember finishing the whole
pack, it usually takes me the better part of a month.
I should throw these away at work before Tenchi finds
out I still smoke.> Nobuyuki bent down to pick up the
pack but when he did his eyebrows knitted together, it
was still mostly full. <Why would I do that, these are
expensive enough as it is.>

Shaking his head, Nobuyuki sat back down on his bed. 
Though in a hurry to get to work, the architect took
the time to carefully lift off the back of the frame,
not wanting to cause further damage.  A strange sight
puzzled him, not only was there the back of Achika's
photo, but two polaroids as well. <I wonder what these
are?>  Nobuyuki Masaki had no idea what he was going
to witness, only white plastic backs were facing him.

Turning them over, he saw Tenchi, around three and a
half years of age, crying.  The small child was
kneeling on a mat on the floor only in his underwear. 
Both the briefs and mat were soaked in blood.  Tenchi,
though for some unfathomable reason appeared fine, not
one scratch on him. On the bottom white portion was
Achika's handwriting "AFTER."

Nobuyuki shook his head again, this was a disturbing
photo to say the least. <What is this?!>  He sat
pondering it for a moment, but then remembered the
other photo. It flipped right side up, and time slowed
down.  

Nobuyuki sat frozen in his bed, and his heart stopped.
 In the mind of this particular man, one word started
echoing in his consciousness, the word that was on the
bottom, "BEFORE."  <In her handwriting?  No! No! No!>

Bright sunlight started passing through the shades,
contrasting with the suddenly darkened and confused
mood of the occupant of the room.  The birds began
their chirping, adding their voices to the choir of
nature.  The middle aged man retreated from the swirl
of his own thoughts and whispered "Who did this to my
boy! And why?"

The photos were put face down, much in the manner that
a dead person's eyes were closed, in order to spare
the living a horrid sight.

Nobuyuki glanced at the clock, 5:30.  <Well, the
office can do without me this one day.  Yes, I need to
talk to Tenchi about this.>  He put on his casual
clothing and slipped on his loafers.

On one hand Nobuyuki wondered whether talking to
Tenchi would be a good idea, on the other he knew he
needed some answers.  He sat down, contemplating this
unexpected situation, <Tenchi will not be awake yet.
But I need to talk to him alone about this, and at any
other time the girls will be around him, and that was
*definitely* not a good idea.> Having made up his
mind, the father slipped the two photos into his
pant's pocket.

He silently opened up his door, <Don't want to wake up
the others.>  As stealthily as he could manage, he
treaded softly to Tenchi's door, and put his ear
against the door, listening for any noises.  Hearing
nothing but soft snoring, Nobuyuki sighed. <I can
always hope! I should tell that boy what an
opportunity he has with all these beautiful girls
around.  But, that is for a different time, this is
serious, very serious.>

Nobuyuki quietly slid the door open and was
momentarily taken aback.  There was Ryoko, floating
above his bed. She was apparently asleep, her head
resting on her crossed arms.  Nobuyuki let slight
chuckle escape from his constricted throat, glad for
anything that relieved his internal tension.  

Reviewing courses of action, he decided to shake her
awake.  Her eyes fluttered open instantly and her
lithe body whirled threatenly towards him in an
instant, in a pose suggesting she was ready to attack.
 Tenchi's night guardian slowly calmed down, when she
saw the perceived threat was only Tenchi's father, who
already put a finger to his mouth, indicating to be
silent.

He motioned her outside, and Ryoko floated on out to
the hallway. She didn't get much sleep lately, her
"mother" videotaped her crying out for mommy last
weekend. She growled at remembering the painful memory
still one week later, but Washu got paid back for it
though. "What is it," she irritatedly hissed out.

Nobuyuki took a step back, slightly scared, and
started rubbing the back of his neck. "Well...., it's
just that I would like a private talk with my son,
that's all."

Despite being tired, this caught Ryoko's full
attention easily, and she smiled ever so sweetly, "Oh,
ok, if that's all you want." <Maybe it's a guy talk, I
think I can get some useful information, can't I?> 
The former space pirate made a show of walking down
the stairs and as soon as she was out of sight she
phased into Tenchi's closet.

Nobuyuki, satisfied that Ryoko was gone, started back
into Tenchi's room. <How do I approach this, what do I
say to him? I don't even know the situation myself.
Who did this?>  Briefly Achika entered his mind, but
he denied it. <Achika loved Tenchi, she'd never do
this. But if not Achika, who else? It was her
handwriting on the photos, that's all I have to go on.
 But it can't be her, it just can't be!>  

Images of her being the perfect mother, despite her
sickness, fluttered through his mind.  Any specific
instance was vague, perhaps faded through the passing
of years, but the general content did more than enough
to assuage alleviate his worries, for the time being.

The anxious father grimaced, his normally gentle and
relaxed facial features twisting with worry that
darkened his face.  <I don't know. I just don't know.
Should I even talk to him about this? It happened so
long ago. But perhaps he needs to talk to someone.
What if he has some emotional problems, he keeps all
to himself anyway.>

<Ok, now what do I say?  No clue, not one goddamned
clue.  I just don't have the know-how in these
matters. Maybe if I ask for help. Ryoko, no, she'd
probably go insane and start threatening me if she
thought I had anything to do with it. Ayeka, no, she
would probably probably not be help either. She'd
probably summon a bunch of floating firewood or
whatever those things are......  Just as bad as
Ryoko.>

<Sasami, no, she's too young to be exposed to
this..... even if she is mature for her age.  Mihoshi,
no. She didn't fit the bill, plus she'd probably try
to arrest the unknown perpetrator...... bad idea.  His
father-in-law. No, he liked to stay out of other's
personal matters and would only offer some cryptic
advice, though he would be discreet, but it would
leave the issue unresolved, no better than how I'm
now.  Washu, maybe.  I heard she was a mother before,
other than to Ryoko. And very smart. And someone did
mention an "adult form", I bet she's sexy, hehehe....,
time for that later you old fool.  She might know what
to do. Yes, Washu it is.  Has to be, no one else.>

Nobuyuki got up from his son's bed and walked
despondently out the room.  Ryoko was puzzled, <What
was that about?  Is that a guy talk?>  She watched in
secret as he clomped his way downstairs and hesitated
in front of the closet that was now the entrance to
the lab of the greatest scientific genius in the
universe.  

Breathing in deeply, the architect strengthened his
resolve.  Not delaying a moment further, he rapped at
the door.  It took no less than thirty seconds before
an annoyed Washu peeked out, with bloodshot and baggy
eyes.  "Sorry, I'm busy.....," she grumbled and
mumbled, none too curtly.  Determined not to be
stopped the elder Masaki cut her off, "Little Washu,
this *is* serious, I need your help."

The red-headed girl gave him a disbelieving glare,
"This isn't another request for access to the onsen,
is it?" Nobuyuki shook his head emphatically no and
reiterated pleadingly, "Little Washu, I really need
your help.  Please?"  Washu studied his hopeful face
again, before tiredly waving him in.

Nobuyuki cautiously slithered through the door as
Ryoko was peeking in from the ceiling, <Damn, I'm not
going in there again. I'll just wait until he comes
out.>

The uninitiated man gawked at the lab in wonder. <It
was never like this before, but then I was in here how
often, twice before?>  The lighting wasn't very bright
at all, in fact it was flickering. Which had the
effect of casting dancing shadows around the room,
much like candlelight.  

>From what he could determine, some parts of the lab
were totally demolished. "Little Washu, what happened
here?"  The scientist frowned dejectedly, "Lets just
say a mother-daughter bonding session didn't work out
*exactly* as planned last week. Six out of eight power
generators were knocked out.  It's just barely enough
to keep the life support and other neccessities
online. Probably take another week to fix completely! 
As if I didn't have enough to do already!"  Glad she
could let out her frustrations a bit, she caught her
breath before reciprocating his concern, "So what is
it you wanted?"

Nobuyuki ferreted out the pictures from his pockets,
"It's just these.....  I can't explain them..... 
That's..... Tenchi when he was around three and a
half.  Take a look."

Washu grabbed the photos and after taking in a deep
breath, she let out a low whistle. "I think we should
look at these under the scope."  She tossed the two
polaroids into a subspace hole. Two large screens
about 10 feet across appeared with the two images
enlarged. She whistled again, low, showing her
surprise, "Nobuyuki, do you have any idea about how
this happened?"  

Tenchi's father stuttered out, truely clueless, "I-I-I
have no idea. On the bottom of the photos is Achika's
handwriting. But she wouldn't........ they must be
fakes or something!"

Washu cut him off, not wanting to hear useless
denials, "Look at the enlargements, these are real." 
She pointed to the 'before' photo and continued,
"Tenchi was beaten badly, very badly. His face is
swollen, and he has bruises all over his body as well
as cuts....... the photos could be faked, but I'd have
to run more tests."

"I suspect they're real, though, from all the
preliminary signs I see......"  She scratched her
chin, excited at the possibilities, "And that means
Tenchi used the Light Hawk Wings to heal because in
the 'after' photo he appears fine except for all the
blood on the towel he's sitting on and his own
underwear!"

The father heard about his son's Light Hawk Wings, as
is expected, but hardly knew what they could do, "They
can heal?"  Washu nodded her head enthusiastically,
"Well, they must..... I suppose.  There was one tree
on Jurai that did miraculously healings with its
wings."  She shuddered at a memory best left
forgotten, <I even went to it a few times for.... I
rather not think about those times....... and before
being trapped by...... him.>  

Clearing those thoughts, she continued suddenly
perplexed by her train of thought, "In fact it was the
only tree that regularly healed people, other than the
Tsunami tree.... and Tsunami was only allowed to be
visited by the nobles and royalty, or on
invitation..... This particular tree, it stopped
healing soon after the attacks on Jurai.... though
many still flock to it in hope.... Some say because it
was damaged in the attack since it was one of the few
trees kept outside though I find that hard to
believe......  Not much is known about it or its
brother tree."  She bowed her head, the reason
inexplicabe to Nobuyuki, <I owe it much.>

Confused, he coughed out, "Brother Tree?"

Her voice became quiet, rare for the boisterous woman,
"Well, just as mysterious, is it's brother tree,
called that since they both appeared on Jurai at the
same time.  It's a total opposite, a flip side if you
will, the so-called Tree of Temptation, it killed
millions, and unlike the Tree of Healing it doesn't
lie dormant, it just keeps on killing even today.  A
nasty scourge if there ever was one."  Momentarily
forgetting his own problems Nobuyuki asked, "Keeps on
killing? How? Why don't they just chop it down?"  

"Yeah, don't ask me. I suspect nobody in their right
mind wants to get near it, but that's not all, it's
extremely powerful so it can't just be taken down like
that.  It's said that it whispers in peoples ears,
promises them much but in the end it's nothing but a
pack of lies.  But these idiots, knowing the danger
full well, they are still drawn to it like moths to a
flame, only to be sucked dry and killed."  Nobuyuki
visibly blanched, and Washu shook out of her lapse
into depression, "Relax, relax, Nobuyuki..... we're
far away from Jurai.  By the way, did Tenchi ever
mention anything, when he was younger?  Or did you
suspect anything?"

The distraught father stared at her in confusion but
remembered what they were previously discussing, and
shook his head vigorously and softly whispered, "No." 
The ensuing silence left Washu to fall back into her
own thoughts for a while, "It's likely from all the
evidence that Achika might have done this."  The
befuddled architect's face lost all the tell-tale
signs of confusion, and contorted with anger, "No she
didn't! She had nothing to do with this!"

Washu was taken aback by his unabashed anger, <Wow,
I've never seen him get mad before, even when the
house got destroyed, but I guess there is a first time
for everything.>  The extremely agitated man closed
his eyes and made a sincere effort to calm down,  hard
as it was, "Sorry for yelling, but I'm sure she did
*nothing* of the sort. There has to be another
explanation."  Not beyond sympathy, especially for a
fellow parent, the scientist patted his arm
reassuringly, "It's Ok, this must be difficult for
you."

Nobuyuki's eyes centered upon his sweaty palms, and
implored the ancient scientist nervously, "Little
Washu, I want to speak to Tenchi about this, but I
really don't know how to begin. Do you have any
advice..... parent to parent."

Washu faltered, her serious attitude weighed down all
of a sudden by melancholy as well, "I really don't
know what to tell you.  I'm probably not the best
mother as it is. Theoretically, I would probably
confront the problem directly since this is all the
information," ( she waved at the images on the
screens), "we have to go on. Unless you want to talk
to Lord Katsuhito about this?"

Tenchi's father made it clear that he did not, for
whatever reason, "I want as few people involved as
possible. I don't want to embarrass my son. Could you
come with me though?  I'll talk to him in his room,
you can just stand outside if you want Little Washu."

Out of the scientist's gaping mouth a long suffering,
weary yawn, "Sure."  On the way out of the lab, she
handed the distressed man the polaroids back.  An
unlikely team, together they walked on outside of the
lab and the climbed the stairs to Tenchi's room.
Nobuyuki had his gaze wander around nervously, so the
diminutive scientist smiled weakly at him, attempting
to provide a small measure of reassurance.  

"Don't want the other girls to know, is that it?"  She
didn't know him well, none of the girls really did, as
he was gone during the entire work week.  While Washu
observed his demeanor, she took note of the father's
serious attitude, a rare determination set in his face
which she also has never observed before.

Ryoko, meanwhile, saw their departure and heard her
mother's last sentence back in the hallway. Her
curiosity being piqued, she decided to phase back into
hiding in Tenchi's closet.  Settling down, floating
just above the clothes on the floor, Ryoko peeked
through the wooden slits.  While the light was very
filtered and dark due to the dimness of the morning's
dusk, it presented no problem for her cat-like eyes.

Nobuyuki stopped outside of Tenchi's door and took a
deep breath.  <One, two, three.....one, two,
three.....Oh my late wife in heaven, whatever am I
supposed to do?!>  Washu, purely on impulse and out of
sympathy, put her hand on his arm, and steadied the
distressed man.  "The more I think about it the better
I think it is to confront this issue head on. I'll be
right here if you need any help."

During the moment of going through the doorway, he
managed to smile appreciately at the small genius, and
whispered "Thank you, Little Washu."

Nobuyuki gently shook his son to wakefulness,
"Tenchi," and after a few more seconds kept on
repeating his name, "Tenchi, wake up!"  The young man
groggily opened.his eyes, those unfocused orbs darting
here and there.  Rubbing his eyelids, he took a few
seconds to adjust his vision.

As he saw his father's face in his line of sight, a
great yawn erupted from the young prince's mouth. 
Tenchi made sure to show his annoyance immediately by
scolding, "Dad! It's only 5:30 in the morning, what is
it *you* want?"

<Why am I so nervous? This happened years ago. It
might have been one of the neighborhood bullies for
all I know. But at so young an age.... I'm
rationalizing this again. Dammit Nobuyuki, let's just
do this.>

"Tenchi, there is something I have to talk to you
about."  His son's response was to groan irritatedly,
"What is Dad? Another talk about the girls?" Nobuyuki
shook his head, "Tenchi, can you sit beside me for a
moment."

The young Japanese student grumbled out, "This better
not take long, I just wanna go back to sleep." He
yawned yet again, and shoved the bedsheets aside. 
After lifting himself up and turning into a sitting
position beside his father, Tenchi glared at the man,
indicating to him that expediency would be
appreciated.

Nobuyuki gathered his resolve, "Tenchi, were you ever
abused?" <There, I have it out.>

Glaring eyes metamorphized into merely blank ones and
Tenchi replied sarcastically, "No. Unless you count
dragging me out of bed this early as abuse."

The worried father wrung his hands and patiently
added, "I mean when you were younger."

Tenchi rolled his eyes in supreme annoyance, "I had
some neighborhood bullies when I was ten or eleven.
But nothing real bad. You know about that anyway."

"I meant when you were around three or so?"  Tenchi
ran his right hand through his short cropped, black
hair, "Dad, if you want to play games, can't we do
this later. I don't know what you're talkin' about."

<Tenchi either doesn't remember or doesn't want to
bring it up. I should show him the photos.  Shouldn't
I?> Making eye to eye contact with his son, he
pronounced quietly, "Tenchi, I know for a fact you
were beaten.  I've seen it with my own eyes. You were
beaten very badly. You don't have to hide anything
from me."

Ryoko, who sat in the closet, arched her eyebrows at
this revelation.  The former space pirate wanted to
move but something in the back of her mind told her to
stay still.

Tenchi harshly rebuked, "Dad, I don't know where
you've been dreaming these things up but nothing like
that ever happened."

Nobuyuki slid his hand into his pants pocket and
dragged out the two pictures. Slowly he turned them
over and with a shaking hand, showed them to his
rather displeased son, "How else am I to explain
these?  I found them this morning."

Tenchi directed his attention at the photos, and
quickly his eyes widened a bit only to relax back to
normal. "Oh, this (he motioned to the 'before' photo)
is just make-up for a festival. I asked mom to help me
with it. I wanted to look scary. Pretty good huh? It
must have given you a real scare."

Tenchi explained it nonchalantly and smiled amused at
his father, hoping to put the issue to rest. 
Nobuyuki, however, had other ideas, and strongly
disagreed, "Tenchi, please don't lie to me."

The young man's voice went cold and emotionless, "Dad,
that is all there is to it."

The father quietly coughed, "Your mother was horrible
with make-up. That's why she never wore any.  In her
last years, her hands shook too badly to do that
anyway. Your Grandmother never touched make-up
either."

Tenchi examined the carpeted floor, "I'm sorry Dad.
Your right actually, I forgot this whole incident and
got it mixed with something else. I think I was
climbing down the steps of the shrine and fell most of
the way down. Your right, these cuts and bruises are
real."

Once more Nobuyuki repudiated his son's alibi,
"Tenchi, I want to help you. You don't get this from
falling down the steps."

He pried the photos from Tenchi's hands, "Look, you're
all bruised up and have these cuts. I had a friend who
fell down all those steps before you were born. He
suffered a broken hip and a few bruises, but nothing
like this."

Tenchi breathed in deeply, and closed his eyes before
amending, "I must have been thinking of something else
Dad. Actually, this came from sword fighting with
Grandpa. I think we beat each other pretty hard that
day."

The elder Masaki retained his composure but there was
an edge to his voice, "Will you stop lying Tenchi.
Grandpa started training you at five or six years of
age. Here you are no older than three or four.
Besides, I would have seen this...if he did that. Your
grandfather is not capable of hurting you like this."

Tenchi suddenly bolted up off the bed scowling and
growled, "You don't know what that fuck Yosho is
capable of. The man is pure shit. The man is filth. He
is the Father of Lies and Betrayal. He is worthless
and means nothing. And I will...."

Nobuyuki looked at him startled, "Tenchi!"

Tenchi's tirade continued, "give that little
fuck-whore what's coming to him!"

Ryoko's and Washu's eyes widened in shock and arched
their eyebrows in synch, mostly at what the young
prince said and at what he was calling his Grandfather
Yosho.  While both had similiar reactions, Washu was
not aware of her daughter's presence in the closet.

Nobuyuki stood up aghast, "Tenchi, I've never known
you to say one bad word about your Grandfather.  Is
something wrong?  Maybe I should get Washu here to
help with this." Nobuyuki waved around the photos
slightly, nervous at the sudden dangerous gleam in his
son's eye.

Tenchi started at him threatenly, with head bowed and
menacing eyes peering upward, "Give me those damned
things."

He reached out for the two items that started the
entire fiasco this morning, but Nobuyuki would have
none of it and put his hand behind his back. "Tenchi,
these are the only ones I have. I won't just let you
just throw them away and pretend nothing happened."

The son hooked his father roughly by the shirt collar.
"Give me them now," he hissed, his tone indicating no
room for argument and barely concealing severe
aggravation.  However, Nobuyuki had other ideas, and
kept on trying to fight the younger Masaki off.

"Tenchi, I just want to help!"  But the young man
simply ignored that statement and extended his leg
behind Nobuyuki's legs, and shoved the older man to
the ground.  As an angry Tenchi kept trying to get his
father into a lock, the prince hollered back, "Why
don't you give me those photos then!"

Nobuyuki desperately threw his son off him, and
pleaded "You need help. Somethings obviously bothering
you. We can get you a counselor."

Obviously past the stage of listening, Tenchi gripped
his father by the collar again and flung him face
first into the wall.  Putting one knee against
Nobuyuki's back, he kept trying to wrench the photos
free, but the elder Masaki was surprising deft and
managed to keep his hands zigzagging out of his son's
reach.

Washu stood unmoving, paralyzed by the unexpected
spectacle.  <Whoa, what is this?!  I should get in
there, Tenchi is getting violent.  Why am I not doing
anything!  Oh, damn I should have stayed out of this. 
Good going, confront the matter head on indeed!>  She
finished, mentally mocking herself.

Ryoko felt deep surprise at the berserk behavior
Tenchi was exhibiting as well. <I should get in there
and calm him down. I don't know why I just don't get
in there, what is stopping me?!>

Tenchi finally got hold of one of his father's hands
and twisted it, "For your own good Nobuyuki, drop
them."  Yet, the older man stubbornly persisted,
"Tenchi, stop this now! There is nothing to be ashamed
of."

Abruptly spinning his father around and slapping him
hard with his right hand, Tenchi emotionlessy watched
the architect fall.  Without sparing a moment, the
younger Masaki made a dive for the photos only to find
the older Masaki clutch at them, with a rare agility
for his age, and started waving them out of reach. 
The younger man let up, and moved away from his
father.

Nobuyuki quickly rose up, "Now Ten...", but his son
growled malevolently before punching him in the
stomach.  He doubled over, gasping for breath, only to
have his son kick his knees out from under him.  On
the floor, the architect could hardly think while
Tenchi grabbed him in a choke hold, started squeezing
his neck and commanded "I want those photos, and I
want them now!"  

Dropping from the restrained man's hands, the photos
were picked up by the prince.  The son let his father
loose upon retrieving the polaroids, but his right
hand was shaking as he pocketed them.

Ayeka heard a commotion in Tenchi's room and woke up.
She tilted her head in the direction it seemed to
emanate from, only to hear more racket.  It sounded as
if two people were struggling with each other.  Sasami
in the next futon stirred and looked over at her
sister, "Ayeka, is that noise coming from Tenchi's
room?"

Ayeka blinked away the last bits of sleep from her
mind and bolted up. <Oh no!  It must be that monster
woman trying to take advantage of Lord Tenchi!> Ayeka,
forgetting to put anything on in light of her worry
for her beloved, bolted out of the room in only her
nightgown. She just got into the hallway as she saw
Washu enter her great-nephew's room.

Tenchi was getting up from his victory over his
father, when he saw the diminutive genius enter his
room.  Nobuyuki was still on the floor, and starting
to rise, breathing heavily from the blow to the
stomach and shaken from the experience. "Tenchi, was
that.... really necessary. I wouldn't...... have told
anyone...... you didn't want to know."

However, the young prince's gaze was riveted on the
scientist, "And when did you get here," his voice
dripping with pure malice.  Washu eyed him strangely,
disbelief painted on her face, "Tenchi?"  He looked
her straight in the eye with pure hatred, "This better
not be one of your schemes Washu."

Washu paused in mid-stride, she never has seen or
imagined Tenchi this way before, "I have nothing to do
with this. Your father just showed me the photos and
wanted me to come along."

He narrowed his his eyes, "Did you make copies?" 
Washu shook her head no and the younger Masaki was
about to say something else, but he shut his mouth and
his eyes shifted past Washu. "Is there something wrong
Lord Tenchi, we heard some noises coming from your
room," asked a concerned Ayeka with Sasami in tow
beside her.

The prince took in a deep breath.  As he exhaled, a
small smile formed on his face, directed at the two
princesses.  Turning his head slowly, Tenchi looked
pointedly at Washu and Nobuyuki, and said "I'm sorry
we disturbed you. Dad and I were just discussing
something rather loudly. Washu and you guys just
happened to barge in."

Washu took in how quickly Tenchi just composed
himself, trying to keep her astonishment off her face,
<I swear he would have ripped someones head off a few
seconds ago!  Now he's acting normal again?!>

Ryoko herself stayed put in the closet, <What's this?!
I've never ever seen him get like that or talk like
that to anyone before!.>

Tenchi turned from his father who was now sitting on
the bed and Washu who was in middle of the room, "Miss
Ayeka, Sasami..... I'm sorry for disturbing you. We
were discussing a private matter."

Ayeka and Sasami both stood silently for but a moment,
trying to digest exactly what was amiss with the
situation but the first princess relented, "Ok, Lord
Tenchi. Are you sure you are alright?"

He brightened his smile at the two, those lips drawing
back to show a non-threatening compassionate grin,
"Yes, we're all fine Miss Ayeka."

The two princesses glanced at each other and trudgeb
back reluctantly to their sleeping quarters.  Once
inside, Sasami beseeched, "Ayeka, is Tenchi OK? He
sounded really, really mad at Washu."  Ayeka, who
didn't know what to think, opted to assuage her
sister's doubts, though she couldn't exactly cast hers
from her mind, "I'm sure he's alright. I don't think
he's in a good mood today, that's all."

Tenchi peered outside his room to see Ayeka and Sasami
leave and then shut his door. He shut his eyes briefly
and turned around. His father was still sitting on the
bed, rubbing his cheek where he was hit. Washu sat
still and appraised him in middle of the room, as if
he were a science experiment gone awry.

The urge to scratch the back of his head hit Tenchi
full force before he worked up the nerve to stand
before his father.  Looking about guiltily, Tenchi
kneeled down at his father's feet and bowed, "Dad, I'm
really sorry for hitting you."

The architect let go of his cheek and took a hold of
his son's shoulder, "Tenchi, I'll be fine. I just want
to help you. It's probably partly my fault. I
shouldn't have sprang this on you as I did."  The
younger man simply nodded, sat beside his father on
the bed, and patted the area next to him.  "Little
Washu, would you like to sit down."

Washu scrutiny fell from his face to his hand and back
again. <Well at least he's acting normal now.> Thus
appeased the previous behavior was just a small
aberration, perhaps even expected given the
circumstances, she sat down beside him with only
slight reservation.

Tenchi raised a finger, "Before I explain any thing, I
want to know how you found the photos and if you are
the only two in on this?"

Nobuyuki went on to explain the events of the morning
as Tenchi took everything in, just nodding at various
parts, urging his father on.  "Tenchi, this must
really upset you, I mean you weren't acting yourself
just a few moments ago," Washu inquired.

"I'm really sorry about that.  I want to show you two
something first, OK. It has to do with my sword."
Nobuyuki and Washu readily agreed, despite not knowing
what or why the Tenchi-ken had anything to do with the
matter. Tenchi pushed himself up and pulled out the
sword hilt with two jewels from his desk drawer.

He commanded, "Area protect, cut off all links." Washu
asked him perplexed, "Nothing happened Tenchi. Was
that supposed to do something?"

Ignoring the question put to him, he stepped forward
in front of the redhead, "Little Washu, may I show you
something interesting?"  She nodded warily, and then
in a fast streak motion Tenchi held the sword hilt
against her forehead, with the gems touching.
"Trance," announced the young Masaki.  

Just after he uttered it, Tenchi spun around and held
the light tan hilt to his father's head, "Trance." 
Sitting still before him were his father and Washu,
with closed eyes and not moving a muscle.

Ryoko stared wide-eyed in the closet, <What the hell
is this?> She tried to phase through the back wall but
was blocked from doing so for some reason. In the back
of her mind, something told her it would be best to
bide her time and remain where she was.

Tenchi shut his eyelids and simply stated, "I see." He
pulled out the two polaroids from his pocket and threw
them onto the desk.  After Tenchi strode over to the
middle of his room, he held his hands open and a
holo-computer, an exact duplicate of Washu's,
appeared.  

After typing some things into it, he snapped his
fingers and sighed, "I guess I need to go into the lab
then to make sure." Tenchi approached a bare spot on
the wall, devoid of furniture or ornaments, and pushed
at it, at first apparently at nothing.  However, a
door did appear and Tenchi quickly passed through it,
leaving the room entirely.

Ryoko had enough surprises today as it was. <How the
hell can he summon a holo-top? And get into Washu's
lab? This is just too weird.>  She stared at Washu and
then Noboyuki. There they were, sitting perfectly
still, eyes closed, as if meditating.

The former space pirate gathered up her resolve and
phased through the closet door. She looked around the
room, and noticed it was dark with the shades pulled
down, so she went over to them and looked out. 
Instantly, it was noticeable that nothing could be
seen though the windows, they were pure white.

Her next course of action was to shake Washu.....
gentle at first....... then a bit harder..... the
shaking increased in until the scientist's head rocked
back and forth like a ship in a storm..... and still
absolutely no reaction. <What the fuck is this?>

Ryoko flew to the door and tried to open it, but even
with her considerable strength it wouldn't budge. 
Ryoko went so far as to phase through it but a
invisible boundary hit her nose trying to get out,
"Ouch, what the hell!" The cyan haired woman
frustratedly and nervously screamed.... mentally <This
better be a dream, everything is just way too weird
right now.> Flying over to Tenchi's desk, she spotted
the two photos. <Nearly forgot about those. I wonder
what they show.>

Ryoko picked up the two photos and her knees suddenly
got weak. That one horrible picture just burned into
her mind. <Oh god, who the hell did this to him.> Her
entire frame shook with anger and she nearly crumpled
the photos in a blind rage.  Barely regaining control
of herself in time, she rubbed her temples.  <I can't
crunch them up. Tenchi will notice. And....what? And
he'll get mad. Tenchi might be coming back any minute.
I better get in the closet. Whatever secrets he's
hiding, he obviously went to great lengths to conceal
it.  Why? And how?>  Fearing she had no more time for
internal debate, the space pirate discarded the photos
down onto the desk and quickly phased back into the
closet.

A few minutes later Tenchi came into the room, his
lips drawn down at the corners, looking very sour. He
went over to the spaced-out Nobuyuki and Washu and
pressed the sword hilt onto his father's forehead.

"Institute memory block-memory change. Nobuyuki, this
morning you found two photos that you thought were of
me before and after a beating. You went down to Washuu
in the lab. She agreed with you and both of you came
up here to talk to me about it. You then proceeded to
wake me up and talk to me. I explained to you that it
was just make-up for a costume festival that my
grandmother applied. You disagreed and we got into a
loud verbal argument over it. Then Washu came into the
room. Ayeka and Sasami came to my door as well. I
apologized for the noise and they went back into their
room. You, Washu and I sat down and had a calm
discussion. After more examination you and Washu
realized that both of you jumped to conclusions. That
the seemingly damage done to my body was make- up
after all because you missed some details. We all
laughed over the stupid mistake. Now, you feel the
issue is resolved and need no further discussion of
it. You let me keep the photos so I can destroy them
so no more misunderstandings like this occur. Since
you are late to work anyway, you decided you can take
the day off and sleep in. You will also decide I can
take a day off school."

He shifted over to Washu and put the sword hilt to her
forehead, "Institute memory block-memory change.
Washu, this morning Nobuyuki went to you with two
photos that seemed to be of me before and after a
beating of some sort. You let him in the lab and
enlarged the photos. They seemed to confirm your
suspicions. You made no extra copies. Nobuyuki then
asked you to go with him to speak with me. You stood
outside the door and heard yelling. Just as you came
in Ayeka and Sasami appeared at the door. I apologized
for waking them up. They then left for their own room
again. You, Nobuyuki and I sat down and had a calm
discussion. After more examination you and Nobuyuki
realized that both of you jumped to conclusions. That
the seemingly damage done to my body was make-up
afterall because you missed some details. This is most
probably because you were tired from fixing the lab.
We all laughed over the stupid mistake. Now, you feel
the issue is resolved and need no further discussion
of it. Father let me keep the photos so I can destroy
them so no more misunderstandings like this occur.
Since you are tired anyway, you decided you can take
the day off and sleep in."

Meandering over to the desk, Tenchi pocketed the
photos and sighed out tiredly.  Going back towards the
two zoned out on the bed, the son bent over his
father, "I am sorry for hitting you, father. I do
these things because I love you and need to protect
you."

After kissing his father's cheek, the young man sat
down next to the redhead and took hold of one of her
hands, and started rubbing it tenderly on his cheek.
"Washu, you are making my job very difficult lately. I
do these things because I love you and need to protect
you. I don't know why you don't see this."

As he gave the scientist a peck on the cheek and the
hand, Ryoko's heart sank, momentarily leaving her
totally cold. It's the first time she ever seen Tenchi
kiss any of the girls, any girl for that matter. 
Despite everything else that occured, that one image
took precedence compared to anything else she saw.  

<But it was on the cheek, who cares. But what about
how he was rubbing her hand on his cheek, being so
gentle. And he had access to a holo-computer and the
lab, what if they are seeing each other in private.
What if-?>

She shook the horrible thoughts away, though her
imagination was still running away in all directions,
trying to taunt her.  Her own logic didn't assuage her
mind successfully either, so she simply decided that
she had to see more.

After a few moments, Tenchi got up before the two and
held out the sword, "Release protection area, open all
links." A few moments later, "Awaken." Nobuyuki and
Washu seemed dazed for a moment but both came out of
it.

Tenchi smiled warmly, "I hope everything is Ok now."
Washu just went red in embarassment and laughed,
"Sorry for waking you up over this Tenchi. It really
was a stupid mistake. We should have seen the make-up
stains on the mat, I don't know how we missed it."

Tenchi just shook his head and waved his arms
dismissively, "No problem, I'm glad nothing worse came
out of this."

Nobuyuki grinned stupidly up at his son, "Tenchi, I
didn't know about the festival. Sorry about that. Now
if we could only discuss the girls...."  His son
groaned tiredly, "Daaaad, I want to get back to sleep.
Another time."

The architect chuckled and yawned, "I think I will
too, I'm calling the office and taking some sick
leave.  I wish Mondays didn't exist." Washu snorted
and accused jokingly, "I think you two lazy birds are
rubbing off on me. I'm going to be getting some
shuteye as well." She then batted her eyes seductively
at Tenchi, "Can I get some sleep here?"

Tenchi stuttered out, "Little Washu, I-I-I don't think
that's a good idea." Washu snickered, "You don't know
what your missing, Tenchi."

The young prince's face flushed completly red and that
was met with only increased bellows from both the
redhead and his father who waved her over to the door,
"Come on, I think we tortured him enough for now."

Right before the two let themselves out, Nobuyuki
informed his son, "Tenchi, you can take the day off
school today if you want. I know you need your sleep."
 The young man asked dubiously, disbelief painted
plainly on his face, "Really Dad. I don't want to miss
too much school, but I am tired." Nobuyuki yawned,
"Son, don't worry about it."

Ryoko almost face faulted.  Whatever Tenchi did, it
worked to a tee. Both of them did exactly as he told
them to, and she saw the photos. That was definitely
not make-up. <At least he didn't accept Washu's offer,
that was a positive sign.> She heard the stairs creak
slightly and a door in the hallway slide open and
shut, indicating Washu had gone downstairs and
Nobuyuki was back in his room. She also found she
could phase out of the walls again, however, something
told her to stay, and so she settled herself back into
the closet.

Tenchi was at the door, investigating for signs of
life in the hallway and eventually stepped back into
his room, shutting the door. As he held up his hand
and the Tenchi-ken appeared in his hand, the prince
commanded "Area protect, cut off all links."  Ryoko
cringed silently, <Oh shit, he knows I'm here.>

Instead, the object of her dreams dropped the sword,
sauntered over to the desk and picked up the photos. 
"I thought I destroyed all the evidence, I searched
Achika's memory so carefully.  But it was probaly due
to degradation.  Perhaps, or perhaps not?"

Done with speaking to himself, Tenchi paced back and
forth, gazing intently at the photos in his right
hand.  Eventually, he stood still pondering the
situation, and shook his head out of it annoyed.  All
of a sudden, a red energy ball appeared in his hand
which disintegrated the polaroids.  The things started
melting at first , but then the plastic started
folding into itself with ever increasing pace, until a
liquid mound remain remained, and that too
disintegrated in the blaze.  Tenchi dusted the small
pile of ash off his hands, though the stench of burnt
plastic clung stubbornly onto him and wafted
throughout the room.

Ryoko eyes nearly bugged out, <He can make energy
balls too, like me. This is too weird.>  Pinching
herself, in case she was dreaming, the cyan hair woman
found out that instead of waking, she had to stifle a
yelp.  After that unsuccessful experiment, she turned
her attention back to Tenchi.

Her eyes opened wide, and she practically turned to
stone, mortified, there were two Tenchis, one facing
the other! <What is this?!>  Both identical, except
for the fact one's right hand was shaking, the other's
wasn't.

Ryoko thought she would faint dead away, <Now he can
make a shadow. This just keeps getting weirder and
weirder.> Trying to wake up again, the confused spiky
haired woman tried biting her lip, again she had to
stifle a yelp. <Why won't I wake up!>

Tenchi looked down at his shaking hand, "You know, I
never believed I could hit him."  The other Tenchi put
a reassuring hand on his doppelgangers shoulder, "Calm
down, you asked for forgiveness. He gave it to you."

Tenchi violently shouted, "You don't understand!" 
Sinking to his knees, his left hand trying to hold his
right hand still, "W-What if I kill someone I love
again.  Am I totally losing it?!  Yelling is ok, but
hitting?!" The other Tenchi softly voiced opposition,
trying to be soothing, "Brother, let's not think such
things.  It wasn't even close to that you know."

Tenchi growled back angrily, "But
this....this.............. this I could have handled
better."  His hand started shaking more violently,
while the other Tenchi started stroking Tenchi's hair,
"Brother, it's alright. Nothing bad happened this
time. Let's start talking about else to calm you down,
you always feel better when you start talking about
her."


*********************************************************************


Authors Note: 
PLEASE REVIEW, THANK YOU!  C&C, good or bad, welcome!

Email: 
rolfwind@yahoo.com


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