Phew!  Can you believe I'm already done with Chapter 5 and in the middle 
of Chapter 6?!  Chapter 5 is called "Demon Carrier," and Chapter 6 is "Earth 
Angels."

    Wai!  Kakko ii!  This is great!  I'm so excited that they're actually 
going to post this on the Tenchi Muyo Fan Fiction page!  I want to thank 
GenSao for posting it (and telling me about his great page), and thank my 
friend Emily for telling me about Ah! Megami-sama!, and my friend Ryan for 
introducing me to Tenchi-Muyo!.  If you don't know about Sasami/Tsunami, 
Washu, and Lady Tokimi, and who they are, please watch the Tenchi-Muyo! OVA 
series episodes "The Advent of the Goddess" and "Zero Ryoko" before reading 
this.


Tenchi-Muyo! (No Need For Tenchi!, This End Up!) is (c) AIC * Pioneer LDC, 
Inc.
Ah! Megami-sama! (Oh My Goddess!) is (c) by Kousuke Fujishima, Kodansha, TBS 
and KSS Films.


Ah! Megami-sama Muyo! (Ah! No Need For My Goddess!)
A Tenchi-Muyo! and Ah! Megami-sama! crossover fan fiction
By Luna Hinomura
<A HREF="http://fly.to/Luna's">http://fly.to/Luna's</A>

Chapter 4: Princess of Jurai

    Eh...  Goddesses.  Demons.  Demons fighting Goddesses.  Goddesses 
fighting Demons.  Me caught in the middle.  I couldn't take it anymore.

    "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! RYOKO, WHAT ARE YOU 
DOING HERE?!!"

    "That's no way to greet me, Tenchi," she said, jumping off the bed.  She 
walked over to me and extended her hand.  "Now, I want your balls, please."

    "No way!  They're mine!  I'm hanging onto them!" I said, hovering a 
protective hand over my...er...crotch.

    "Not that, you numbskull!  The gems on your sword!"

    "What sword?" I replied.

    "Oh, jeez...  Haven't you heard the legend?  That stupid Yosho defeated a 
Demon, *me* using a powerful sword!  I need the gems on the sword so I can 
call 
Ryo-ohki."

    "Who's Ryo-ohki?"

    She sighed.  "She's my sister, the other Demon in the legend!"

    "I've never heard of the other Demon, but there's no *way* I'm letting 
you awaken her!"

    "Fine, then, the sword's probably still in that cave, anyway.  I'll just 
go and get it myself," she replied angrily, then exited through the window.

    Uh-oh...

    I ran downstairs to the front door, trying to make it to the cave in 
time.  
I couldn't let her awaken another monster...  Not this close to the house.  
On my way through the living room, I tripped over a few boxes and crashed 
into the floor, but I picked myself up quickly and got to the stairs to the 
shrine.

    "Great," I muttered, seeing Ryoko flying up there ahead of me.  I dashed 
up the stairs as quickly as I could, heedless of the pain in my lungs and 
legs as they screamed for me to stop.

    The lock and gate were open when I got there, and she was already deep 
inside the cave, looking at the sword.  Cautiously, I tiptoed up behind her.

    "This should be easy to pull out," she said, grasping the sword handle 
and yanking it upwards.  I couldn't see where it was from where I was 
standing, but it was probably enclosed in a box of some sort, a 'shrine' for 
the sword.

    Suddenly, electricity flashed through the cave, and Ryoko screamed in 
pain.  She was launched back from the sword, and flung hard into the wall of 
the cave.

    "Ouch!  Dammit!" she cursed, picking herself up.

    "Oh, I get it...  You can't touch it, can you?  You're a Demon," I said, 
reaching in and pulling out the sword.  "So this is the sword of the legend, 
the sword that could cut through a rock?"

    "Tenchi, please!  Let me have it!"

    I tried pulling the sheath off the sword, but it was stuck tight.  Ryoko 
put her hands on the sheath and helped as I pulled from the handle of the 
sword.  
Gradually, the sheath came off.

    "Why, it's nothing but a rusty old piece of junk!" I said, looking at the 
blade.  Disappointed, I brought it down, hard, on a large stone for emphasis. 
 
The blade shattered.

    "Oops," Ryoko and I said at the same time.

    The stone, which had been about three feet tall on end, fell into two 
halves.  We stared at it.

    "So it cuts through a rock after all," I said nervously after we'd both 
regained our composure.

    "There you are, Ryoko, and you've finally come to your senses," someone 
said from the mouth of the cave.  "I didn't care much for the way you 
attacked me earlier."

    "Little Washu?" I asked.

    "Yup, that's me!  I'm just so young and cute!" she replied, walking 
towards us.

    "Hey, who are you, and how do you know my name?" Ryoko said, narrowing 
her eyes at Washu.

    "Well, that's no way to talk to you *mother*, Ryoko."

    Huh?  I glanced at Ryoko, then at Little Washu.  They really *did* look a 
lot alike, but how could Ryoko be the daughter of a Goddess?  I kept looking 
at them, trying to assure myself that the entire thing was just a dream...

    Ryoko stomped up to Washu.  "Look here, I'll have you know I've been 
alone ever since I was born!"

    Smiling knowingly, Washu looked up at Ryoko.  "Think about what you just 
said."

    "Ever since I was...born?  I...can't remember being born...  I can't even 
remember growing up!"

    "Bingo.  I created you.  And I know your thoughts.  I am psionically 
linked to you, Ryoko, as you are to Ryo-ohki."

    "Ryo-ohki?  Ryoko's sister?  Did you create her, too, Washu?"

    "Yes, I created both of them.  But I didn't expect for Ryoko to choose 
the path of a Demon.  Is the blood of the Goddess within you truly so weak?"

    "Shut up!  I'm not a Goddess, and I never will be!  I don't want to be!  
I'm a Demon, the Demon Caller!"

    "Well, so much for motherly love."

    "Ryoko!  Demon!  I take it upon myself as my duty as Princess of Jurai to 
obliterate you!" another voice said.

    <What is it this time?> I wondered.

    "Ayeka?!" Washu exclaimed.

    <Who's Ayeka?!>

    "Miss Washu?  Oh, good, this will go a lot faster with two of us fighting 
one Demon.  We must not allow this monster-woman to live!"  There was a 
purple-haired girl standing just inside the mouth of the cave this time, and 
her hairstyle highly resembled Tsunami's.  Long, purple ponytails, worn the 
same as Tsunami's.  She had more fluffy bangs than Tsunami did, and they 
barely hid a crown she wore around her forehead.  Her garments resembled 
Tsunami's as well.

    Ayeka launched herself at Ryoko, Life-Force Energy scintillating around 
her like a shield.  Those dang shields.  Couldn't they do something original 
for once?  Ryoko held up her hand and blocked Ayeka's punch, sending her 
flying.

    "Take this!" Ryoko yelled, her red sword blazing.  Ayeka responded by 
using her own sword, one matching Ryoko's except for the color.  She parried 
Ryoko's strike, her navy blue sword crackling with energy.

    "Tenchi, I'll explain it to you in the morning.  How's that?" Washu 
asked.  
"They're too busy fighting now."

    "Uh...  I'd really appreciate it, Little Washu..." I replied, reaching a 
hand up to scratch the back of my head in confusion.

    "Take that, Demon!"  "Oh yeah?  Try blocking *this*, Princess!!"

*   *   *   *   *

    Bright and early, after Tsunami had woken up, Washu sat us all down at 
the dinner table.

    "This is the Demon I fought yesterday, is she not?  Why is she here?" 
Tsunami asked.

    "Here's how it goes..." Washu said.  "Less than 20,000 years ago, I had a 
husband."

    "A...  A husband?" I asked.

    "That's what I said.  It wasn't from your planet, Earth, but from another 
one, one much more advanced than even your modern culture.  His name was 
Isamu.  
I fell in love with Isamu, and I altered my appearance and DNA to disguise 
myself as a mortal named Funaho so I could approach him...  And we got 
married.  
I had a baby with Isamu, who turns out to be the very person you know as your 
ancestor, Tenchi...  My baby was Yosho."

    "So you're my ancestor?!"

    "So it would seem.  I wished to continue living as a mortal, and so I 
went about trying to create a duplicate through a combination of Life-Force 
Energy and science.  Isamu and I were both scientists, and it was easy with 
his help...  
But something went wrong.  Instead of a perfect clone to send back to System 
Jurai, Ryoko was born.  And she chose the path of the Demon.

    "Ryoko left as soon as she was created, and I didn't see or hear of her 
for thousands of years.  But Lady Tokimi needed my presence in System Jurai, 
and 
I was forced to leave Isamu...  Taking Yosho with me.  I knew the great pain 
he felt at our separation, but I revealed my true form, and explained to him 
that I was a Goddess, and I could never stay with him.  He understood, and 
insisted that I take Yosho to Jurai, raising him as a God.  Isamu was mortal, 
and died a mortal, whereas I lived on as a Goddess.

    "If only Tokimi had known of what I felt, of what Isamu had felt, she 
would never have insisted I returned.  Sadly, she had no access to the 
monitoring equipment, since *I* am the Sysop, and it is my duty.

    "Yosho grew up on Jurai, and had many powers.  However, he had no 
playmates, since Jurai is only the location of our business.  So, once again, 
I used science and Life-Force Energy to create one, the same way Isamu and I 
created Ryoko."

    "That is where Ayeka comes from," Tsunami said.  I glanced at Ayeka, and 
she nodded in agreement.  "Washu used my DNA to create Ayeka, but I tend to 
think of her more as a sister than a daughter."

    "I loved Yosho very much," Ayeka said sadly.  "Unfortunately, seven 
hundred years ago, Ryoko attacked System Jurai.  For some reason, no doubt 
due to the Goddess blood within her, she was able to break through System 
Jurai's blocks against Demons, and destroyed much of it.

    "Yosho left us to fight Ryoko, and chased her down to earth using a 
spaceship that he named Funaho after Washu, a spaceship from Jurai.  He used 
that sword you're holding, the sword called the Tenchi-ken.  Perhaps that is 
where your name comes from.

    "In any case, if the plane of existence known as Jurai were to be brought 
into your dimension, it would take the form of a very large planet.  Yosho 
used his spaceship to chase Ryoko's, whose spaceship is known as Ryo-ohki: 
the Demon 
Carrier.  Ryoko's sister."

    "Oh, that's right, I almost forgot about her."

    "Why won't you let me wake Ryo-ohki up, Tenchi?  You're so mean!"

    I sighed, looking at the others, then down at the sword I had pulled from 
the cave.  "Is that the whole story?"  Washu nodded.  "All right.  I guess if 
Washu's my ancestor...  That makes *you* my relative, too.  But I'll only let 
you have *a* gem."

    "Heh...  I only *need* one gem to call Ryo-ohki, anyway."

    "We don't need more Demons in this household," Ayeka intervened.

    "We don't need more Goddesses, either!" Ryoko replied.

    They glared at each other, sparks starting to flying from their hands in 
anger.

    "Are you challenging me?" Ayeka said.

    "Have it your way!" Ryoko said.  "I'll leave you dead, just the same way 
Yosho is."

    That stopped Ayeka.  "Yosho..." she said softy, tears beginning to flow 
down her cheeks.

    "That's right, 'Princess,' Yosho's dead.  Because of his mortal blood, he 
didn't live as long as you could."

    Ayeka sobbed and pressed the back of her right hand to her face, wiping 
her tears.  She ran out the door, her long purple ponytails flying behind her.

    "That was much too harsh, Ryoko," Washu said.

    "This may seem stupid, but why does Ayeka call herself 'Princess'?" I 
asked.

    "Yosho used to call her that.  His little Princess," Tsunami explained.  
"She's a bit...  'High-and-mighty,' to put it tactfully.  You see, Ayeka 
isn't actually part of the Goddess Technical Helpline, but with her 
bloodline, she has a lot of power.  Unfortunately, I think Yosho thought of 
her more as a sister as well.  I doubt he had any intention of marrying 
Ayeka, but like she said, she loved him very much."

    "Oh."  Poor Ayeka...  She probably wanted to be left alone right now.  
Turning back to Ryoko, I sighed, ready to return her gem.

*   *   *   *   *

    Walking up the stairs to the shrine, I looked around for my grandpa.  
School had been canceled for a long time due to Ryoko's rampages, and he 
wanted to use every available second I had for more sword training.

    "Let's begin, Tenchi," he said as soon as I got to the clearing we 
usually practiced in.

    I nodded, and bowed towards him in the way he had taught me, for showing 
respect.  He bowed at me simultaneously, and then we began practice.

    I watched his sword, blocking, parrying, thrusting, looking for openings. 
 
He wielded his bokken with skill, much more skill than I had, and soon, he 
knocked the sword out of my hand.  It flew like a boomerang, and landed 
point-down in the dirt behind me.

    "It seems you need more practice, Tenchi," he said.

    Sighing, I pulled the sword from the dirt, then turned back around and 
bowed again.  Strange rustling sounds came from the bushes, but I disregarded 
them, blaming it on the wind.  Suddenly, a gasp and a shriek added themselves 
to the rustling noise, and a loud *thunk* as well.  It sounded like someone 
had fallen partway down the hill.

    I pushed a few of the bushes aside, and looked down.  "Miss Ayeka?"

    "Why??  Why must I suffer this embarrassment?!!" she exclaimed, her legs 
and arms held at awkward angles from the way she had fallen.  Noticing me, 
she quickly uprighted herself into a kneeling position.

    "Well, it seems we had a spectator," Grandpa said.

    "Miss Ayeka, you're hurt!" I exclaimed, noticing blood running down her 
ankle.

    "Oh, it's, nothing, Lord Tenchi.  I can cast a healing spell," she told 
me, then turned to Grandpa.  "Tell me, sir...  What was that sword form you 
were performing?"

    Grandpa didn't answer, and only used a handkerchief to wipe the blood off 
her ankle.  "You'd better cast that heal spell.  Tenchi?"

    <Red blood...  Just like a mortal...>

    "Tenchi?  Tenchi!"

    "Uhhh, yeah, Grandpa?" I said, shaking myself out of my daze.

    "Show this young lady around.  I'm sure she'd like to see the scenery," 
he replied, walking off.

    "But sir...!" Ayeka protested.  My grandpa didn't seem to have heard her, 
and disappeared around the bend.

    "I think you should heal yourself first," I said to her.  She nodded, and 
placed a hand on her ankle.  Moments later, the slash on her ankle began to 
close, and left no scar as her skin drew itself together.

    "Wow..."

    "Oh, it's nothing, Lord Tenchi.  Don't be amazed."  She stood up and 
dusted off her clothes, elaborate garments fit for a Goddess.  "You 
know...there was something familiar in your grandfather's eyes that reminded 
me of Yosho.  If you are truly Yosho's descendent, then I am glad a part of 
him lives on."

    "Thank you, Miss Ayeka.  The scenery really *is* beautiful.  I bet you'd 
like to see it," I said, beginning to walk down the stone steps.  Ayeka 
followed beside me.

    "Yes, I would, very much, Lord Tenchi.  Oh, but what is that?"

    Ayeka had stopped as soon as she'd said those last few words, so I 
stopped as well.  Following her line of sight, I realized she was looking at 
the large tree that stood in the middle of a lake near my house.

    "That tree?" I asked.  "Do you want to go see the tree?"

    "Mm-hmm," she replied, nodding.

*   *   *   *   *

    Ayeka circumnavigated the tree once with me following behind, and she 
examined every intricate detail of its bark.  "There's no doubt about it.  
This is Funaho," Ayeka said, placing her hands on the trunk of the tree.

    "Funaho?  Yosho's spaceship?"

    "Yes.  Juraian trees are the heart of the ship.  Perhaps saying that this 
tree is 'what is left of' Yosho's ship would be a more accurate description.  
Come, Lord Tenchi."  She grabbed me by the wrist, then walked into its trunk 
the same way Ryoko walked through walls.  Her crown began to glow again.

    "Wait!  Where are we--" I said before I was pulled through.  "--Going?!"

    "We are now inside Funaho," she explained.

    I looked around.  "Inside...Funaho?" I echoed.  It *looked* like the 
interior of any tree, but was much larger on the inside than it appeared on 
the outside.  I felt like I was in a huge hollowed log, which stretched 
upwards and downwards to no end.  One glance below my feet was enough for me 
-- I can't tell you how unnerving it is to look down and see nothing beneath 
you.

    "In a sense," Ayeka clarified, "we are inside Funaho.  This isn't the 
actual spaceship, but because my power comes from trees, I am able to access 
the ship's memory from here."

    "Ah...  So your power comes from trees?  Then what about Washu, Ryoko, 
and 
Tsunami?"

    "Tsunami's power comes from herself, but mirrors give her the ability to 
travel between dimensions.  The same goes for Washu, except she travels 
through technology.  Ryoko's powers come from the gems embedded on the 
Tenchi-ken.  
Normally, she uses her replacement gems, but they don't have as much power as 
the originals.  You've seen her earring, right?  That is what she uses.  Both 
Ryoko and I aren't direct descendants from the Goddesses, so our powers are a 
little different.  The sword is the Master Key to Jurai, but because Ryoko 
has 
Washu's DNA, the sword is somewhat on the same level as she is.  I believe 
that is why the Tenchi-ken and the gems do not react with one another.  
However, for some reason, she is unable to touch the Tenchi-ken, which only 
has wards against 
Demons.  Strange, is it not?"

    The Tenchi-ken?  I rummaged through my shirt and came out with the 
strange sword.  Before I'd returned one to Ryoko, it had held three maroon 
gems, embedded at the very bottom of the handle in a triangular format.  "But 
it has no blade...  This sword is no good anymore."

    "I wouldn't be so certain about that," Ayeka replied, walking to the side 
of the strange cylindrical room we were in.  If I thought standing in midair 
was bizarre and upsetting, hearing the sounds of Ayeka's shoes clacking 
against the air was even worse.  "May I have it, please?"

    "Sure."  I handed it to her, and my hand brushed against the soft skin of 
hers.  For a brief moment, I thought she was blushing, but she quickly turned 
away, so I guess I'll never know.

    "Thank you."  She tapped the end of the Tenchi-ken against the wall.  
Suddenly, everything went black inside the peculiar chamber, and I couldn't 
see a thing.

    "What's going on?!" I yelled.

    "This is the ship's memory.  Look!"

    Seemingly in my mind's eye, I could see an odd spaceship flying through 
space.  Its center held a spherical orb that looked almost exactly like 
Ryoko's gem.  Around the orb were four triangular pyramid-like prongs that 
stuck out like looked like slices of quartz or other precious stones.

    "What's that?" I asked.

    "That is Ryo-ohki -- Ryoko's sister."

    "Then that must be...!"

    "Yosho!"

    A huge ship built of wood was pursuing Ryo-ohki, and they were fired 
bolts of light or lasers at each other.  One of the beams struck Ryo-ohki, 
and she began falling to the Earth, meowing the entire way.

    <Uh...  *Meowing*?>

    In any case, Funaho followed, and they both crash-landed.  Now Ryoko 
attacked Yosho, her eyes fierce and full of hatred.  Her eyes weren't their 
usual yellow, but instead they were completely filled with red light that 
burned like a flame.

    "It's Ryoko!  She looks scary!"

    "There's Yosho!"

    The man whom Ayeka identified as Yosho had a sword like Ryoko's, except 
that it radiated an azure light.  But the handle...

    "That's the Tenchi-ken!" I exclaimed.

    Unlike Ryoko's sword, which had no handle, the hilt of the Tenchi-ken 
replaced the gap in her sword.  The Tenchi-ken was emitting the strange blue 
light.  Yosho used this sword to cut off Ryoko's hands, trapping her gems.  
Then, he stabbed her in the neck, extracting the last one and embedding all 
three in the handle.

    As suddenly as it had begun, the smooth cylindrical chamber reappeared, 
and Ayeka was wiping tears from her eyes.

    "Oh, Miss Ayeka, are you all right?"

    "I'm fine, Lord Tenchi," she said, crying yet smiling sadly at the same 
time.  "It's just that I know Yosho's gone, but since Funaho is still alive, 
that means a part of him truly does exist, which means you *must* be his 
descendant."

    She handed the sword back to me.  "I want you to keep it," she explained. 
 
"You are Yosho's descendant, and that means it rightfully belongs to you: his 
heir."

    "Yes, Miss Ayeka."

    "I'll get us out of here."  She took my wrist in her hand again, and 
walked back out through the wall.

    "*There* you are, Tenchi!" Ryoko said.  "I've been looking for you."

    "What do you want with Tenchi, you monster woman?!" Ayeka yelled, glaring 
at Ryoko.  "Leave him alone!"

    "Now, now, now, Princess.  Tenchi and I are connected by blood.  We're 
family.  You don't want to break up a happy family, now, do you?"

    "Hmph," Ayeka snorted.  "Washu and Tsunami are sisters, and therefore 
Tenchi and *I* are family as well."

    As if they hadn't argued enough last night, now *this*?  Sheesh.  I 
turned around, noticing that Tsunami had followed Ryoko.  "Are they always 
like this?" 
I asked.

    "I guess so," Tsunami replied, giggling.
 
    "They're not sisters by blood!  They're only sisters because they're 
connected to System Jurai!"

    "Then Tenchi and I are bound together by the power of Jurai!"

    Shrugging, Tsunami and I began to walk away, the loud sounds of Ryoko and 
Ayeka fighting following us all the way home.

End of Chapter 4