Tenchi Muyou in Love.
Venom
Part 4
Tenchi Masaki stood at the foot of the mountain gazing up the long
stairway towards his home. He sucked in a quick breath and slowly started
up the stone walkway with Tenchi-ken in his hands. Every shadow in the
small forest surrounding him seemed to jump out at him as he slowly
walked onward towards his home. He jumped in shock as an explosion rocked
the mountainside in the direction of his home. He placed his hand against
his chest and breathed a sigh of relief as he continued with a little
more confidence. After all, whoever it was attacking him would not be
stupid enough to fight him here, not with the girls around. Then again,
it said it was going to kill all of the Juraians on the planet, that put
not only himself in danger, but also his grandfather, Ayeka, and Sasami
in peril as well. His jaw clenched in anger as he realized this and he
kicked a stone off into the forest quieting all of the wildlife in the
area. "Damn, I've got to do something about this!" He frowned again,
whatever it was it sounded like it knew of other Jurians on the planet as
well. "I'd better talk with grandpa about this." He scratched at the scar
on his back as he walked onwards at a steadier pace. Without even
thinking about it he scratched the back of his hand.
The old man sat across from the boy and frowned slightly. "What?" He
faced the boy sharply and his glasses shone from the candle light inside
of the shrine.
"I'm sorry grandpa, but it's important," said the boy quietly.
"Why would you want to know of other Jurians on this planet?" said the
old man as he sat down next to the boy.
Tenchi swallowed hard. "I saw that thing again, it said it was going to
kill them all."
Yosho frowned deeply. "So he told you this did he?"
"Yea, I think he can do it grandpa," replied the boy simply.
"I wouldn't worry about it, this is a backwater planet, that's why I
chose it. The only ones in danger are here," said the old man flatly as
he stood up and picked up a broom.
"I wouldn't be so sure of that," said another voice. The two men turned
and saw a small red haired girl step from the shadows.
"Listening in eh?" quipped the old man wryly.
"Of course, you know I monitor everything that goes on here," said Washu
with a knowing smile. "So Tenchi, you saw it again?"
The boy nodded numbly and blanched, in the back of his mind he wondered
exactly just how much she watched. He didn't think about much, but he was
still a teenager, and sometimes things happen in private that he'd rather
no one knew about. These thoughts were pushed away easily as the more
pressing matters resurfaced. "It attacked me in school, there was nothing
I could do to stop it."
"That's interesting, perhaps it has a way to diminish your powers? I'm
not certain, but from what you described..." she turned away from them as
her face suddenly became very serious.
"What is it?" asked the old man with a hint of impatience.
"It might be Kain, he could have survived that blast, and if he did he'd
be very weak. A more likely solution is that it's a remnant of him, a
little piece that got away. I can't be certain of that though."
Tenchi shook his head, "I don't think so, it's like Kain, but different
somehow."
Washu smiled confidently and stepped towards them again. "Don't worry
about it Tenchi, this is a job for the greatest scientific mind in the
universe!"
"It is possible there are a few other Jurians on this planet as well,"
said Yosho calmly.
"Who?" asked Washu.
"I'd be surprised if you didn't know, the way you like to prod around
sometimes," snorted the man.
"I'd know if a member of the Jurai royal family was here, or a knight.
Normal Jurians aren't much different from humans really. It's hard to
tell them apart without some sort of contact with them. I'd need a
sample, or even just a close look to tell." The woman appeared to think
about it for a moment. "I think I could whip something up to tell us how
many there are, and more importantly where they are."
"That could be useful," said Tenchi, he was feeling a little left out of
the conversation.
"Especially if this thing has some way of telling a Jurian from a
human," agreed Washu.
"This planet is backwater, but not unknown. If there are Jurians here
they don't want to be found," said Yosho in a warning tone.
"I think they'd appreciate knowing about a crazed Jurian serial killer,"
retorted the woman without much heat.
Yosho nodded in agreement and returned to sweeping.
Tenchi was shocked. "That's it? That's all we're going to do? We have to
find this thing, it's dangerous!"
"There isn't much we can do Tenchi, like you said we aren't sure if it's
Kain, even if it is I would have known if he had returned. He isn't
putting off the same kind of energy if it is him because I would have
found out about it immediately." Washu walked into one of her doorways
and closed it behind her. The only sound Tenchi could hear was the
rhythmic sweeping of his grandfather's broom.
Ryoko floated through the house searching around through the rooms
poking her head through the door. "Tenchi! Where are you?"
Ayeka looked up from her magazine and frowned. "Tenchi isn't home yet?"
"No, he's late and I'm worried about him! Have you seen him around?"
asked the pirate with her cutest looking face.
"Ugh, don't do that! No I haven't seen him!" cried the princess as she
shied away from her rival. "Not that I'd tell you if I did," she muttered
under her breath. "You're right though, he is a bit late today."
Sasami stepped out of the kitchen and frowned at the two worried looking
girls. "What's wrong?"
"Tenchi isn't home yet!" cried Ryoko as she shook the girl by her
shoulders violently.
Ayeka hit her on the head sending her to the ground. "I'm getting a bit
worried, especially with all that's been going on lately."
Ryoko suddenly went rigid as a cold fear started to form in her heart.
"You don't think?"
Ayeka had the same realization at that moment. "Oh, oh no!"
"Tenchi is out with grandpa in the shrine, I saw him go over there
earlier," said Sasami cheerfully.
"Why didn't you say something sooner?!" snarled Ryoko angrily.
"You didn't ask," replied the girl with a shrug as she went back into
the kitchen.
Tenchi walked into the house somberly and sat himself down on the couch
at that moment. Sasami poked her head out of the kitchen and smiled at
him. "Dinner will be ready in a little bit Tenchi."
The boy sat silently and did not answer, he simply stared into the
television. Ryoko and Ayeka stared at him in shock. He was watching a
soap opera, they both enjoyed it, but Tenchi himself couldn't stand this
one.
"Tenchi are you feeling all right?" asked Ryoko.
The boy ignored her and looked directly at Ayeka. "I think you and
Sasami should leave."
Gino sat across from her, she stared into his eyes and smiled while
drinking the soda he had bought her. He could feel the pity in her stare,
did she only hang around him because she felt sorry for him?
"Gino-kun, are you all right?" said Kei nervously. "Ever since that
night you've been acting strange."
"Hmm? I'm fine Kei-chan," he put forth a believable smile and started to
drink from his own glass. The think moved slightly in revulsion from the
sweet drink.
"Are you sure? If you want to talk about it..." she was cut off as he
stood from his chair.
"I'm fine, I'm sorry Kei. I've got to go; there's something important I
have to finish." He stalked away quickly running out into the street. Kei
watched him with a look of shock in her eyes as he pushed her away again.
A bus rushed by him and he seemed to vanish into thin air. "Gino-kun?"
tears started to form in her eyes as she wondered what she had done
wrong.
It was night, a thousand bodies writhed and bumped together on the dance
floor as the club thumped outside. Aside from a slight vibration Yojiro
Yamasa stared at the scene in silence through a thick glass plating from
his office. He frowned focusing his deep violet eyes at his associate
across from him. "Someone killed a few of us in a hotel, so what? It was
a mass murder, a lot of people died."
The woman who sat across from him frowned. "We can't take that chance
Hokaru, you know what might happen if we attract too much attention
here." Her golden eyes bored down on him.
The man frowned, "What? They'll send the entire Jurian Empire to catch
us? Don't be na�ve, they want to keep this planet in the dark and won't
risk any attempt to apprehend us."
"There are others besides us," snapped the woman.
"They don't give a damn about us, that's the way it works Yui. This is a
planet for refuse and recluse, even if they knew they wouldn't care if we
died or not." He lit a cigarette and breathed in deeply.
The man turned away from her. "Hokaru is dead Yui, I'm Yojiro now."
"Nothing, you're nothing but a petty criminal," said the woman coldly.
"No, I am an exceptional criminal!" roared the man angrily as he slammed
his hands down on the black lacquer desktop in front of him.
"Then why aren't you still on Jurai? Hokaru," she smiled as she stood
out of the chair and walked out of the office momentarily letting in the
base of the club's music. He growled and stared at the door angrily
before shoving a few papers off of his desk in anger.
Frustrated he looked up at the ceiling and stopped, a strange liquid was
dripping from the air conditioning vents. He frowned and stood on his
chair to inspect it. He touched it gingerly and frowned as he wiped his
hands on his handkerchief. "What is this? Is there a leak in the air
conditioner?" He froze as he realized what he had on his hands. "Blood?!"
Jerking his hand back he almost fell on top of the phone as he
desperately dialed for his bouncers.
Yui smirked as she walked out of the club and waved down a taxi. She lit
a cigarette and smiled as the car pulled over. "Take me too Nerima ward."
"That'll cost you a bit," warned the driver.
"It's all right," she replied curtly.
"Whatever you want lady," replied the man lazily.
"Aren't you a bit young to be a cab driver?" asked the woman eyeing him
carefully.
"I get that all the time, my ID is on the back of the seat if you want
verification," snorted the man distastefully.
She looked at it and shrugged her shoulders; it was the same man.
"Yamasa-samma, there's a dead rat in the vent," snorted the large man as
he pulled the chewed up remains of the animal out of the vent. "Looks
like it got caught in the exhaust fan."
"Well get it out of here, it scared the hell out of me!" snapped the man
angrily.
"What, you think that hotel slasher can fit through this vent or
somethin?" laughed the man crudely.
The smaller man dusted his suit and continued to rub at his finger in
agitation. "Just get it out of here." He turned and looked at his finger
again; the blood didn't want to come off. He frowned as he inspected the
stain closer putting it under the desk light. The office was rather dark,
and lit by only a few dim lamps. The only exception being the bright work
lamp on the desk. "Hey, Kojo. Take a look at this."
"What is it boss?" asked the man as he held the rat distastefully at
arms length. "That look like blood to you?"
"Naw, S' probly grease from the fan or something, I'd get it checked
out. This little fuck must have tore up your motor pretty good." Yamada
nodded at the explanation and shrugged. He sat down at his desk and
relaxed as the much larger man walked towards the door.
"Call the rug cleaning service, Kojo," said a voice from behind him.
"Sure thing boss," said the man with a quick glance back at the man.
"I didn't say anything Kojo," replied Yamada with a small frown.
"Then who?" it was as far as he got, a black liquid seemed to jet from
the air conditioning vent and slam into the man's head. A muffled scream
could be heard as Yamada jumped back into his chair and cowered in fear
and terror. He felt a warm wetness spread through his pants as he stared
wide-eyed as his three-hundred-pound bodyguard was lifted up and sucked
into the air vent. A spray of blood shot from the twitching body as the
black ooze sucked up the last remnants of Kojo dropping a blood soaked
shoe to the ground.
Yamada started to scream as he realized that the foot was still inside
of the shoe. A strange laughter filled the room from inside the vents as
something moved around scraping the inside of the metal tubes.
Outside in the club the dancing continued unabated. The DJ cranked the
music up and started to dance as a young blonde girl stood up on the
raised platform with him eyeing him seductively. Directly over their
heads a spray of red slammed into the window with such a violent force
that the six-inch thick glass cracked under the pressure. He glanced up
with a smile on his face that quickly died down, he stared at it for a
moment in curiosity as a little bit of the liquid oozed through the crack
trickling down the window slightly. With an idle flick of his wrist the
music stopped creating a small cry of protest from the crowd. He stepped
forward and touched the glass rubbing the blood into a smear. "What the
fuck?"
Zenata stood inside of the office stepping gingerly by a rookie cop
bending over the railing on the stairway that led to the office door. He
puffed at his cigar and snorted as he rubbed his finger along the desk
his index was completely coated in blood.
A familiar face walked by holding a camera with a look of shock on his
face. "Man, I didn't think there was this much blood in a body."
"What did you find?" asked Zenata calmly.
"Not much, see that shoe?" the man shifted his camera and pointed to a
taped piece of evidence on the ground.
"Yea, what about it?"
"That's the biggest piece of this guy," replied the man calmly.
"Any witnesses?" Zenata accepted a folder from one of the nearby
officers.
"None, the DJ noticed the blood on the widow, it hit the sound proof
glass hard enough to crack it, that's the expensive stuff too, six inches
thick."
"One hell of a blow," snorted the man lazily.
"Well, that's the problem, we can't find what hit it. The killer must
have taken it with him," replied the man with a snort.
"Detective, put out your cigar please, this kind of evidence gets
contaminated easily," said one of the nearby officers. He complied by
snuffing it out in the blood soaked ashtray.
"Where are the bodies?" asked Zenata with a quick lance around the room.
"Sucked into the air conditioning vents," replied the cop lazily as he
pointed to a mass of meat hanging from the ceiling.
"Nice, he use a meat grinder or something?"
"Quite possibly," replied the man. Zenata turned back towards the
photographer.
"Who we got here?" he asked pointing towards the ceiling.
"Not sure, we think its Kojo Kabura and Yamasa Yojiro," said the man
calmly. "They were both reported inside the office before the murder. We
do have a lead though, a Yui Kusawa was reported as speaking with the men
just before it happened. Looks like someone decided to take out the local
pusher to make room for themselves."
"Yea, oh well," Zenata walked out of the room snagging a small bottle of
liquor from a bar next to the doorway. "See ya tomorrow, I want to see
the final report on this."
"Sure thing boss," replied the man lazily as he turned his camera back
on the scene.
Yui sighed as she fumbled with her keys at the door. She staggered into
her home looking wearily at the pile of clothing in the middle of the
room. "Pig," she muttered half-heartedly as she tossed her keys onto a
small end table and removed her shoes. A small light caught her attention
and she slowly turned towards the small recliner in the middle of the
room. "Wada, is that you?"
"Wada, is dead," said a familiar voice. She could almost see the
dangerous grin on his face.
"Who are you?" she fumbled with the door behind her and pulled hard only
to find it stuck shut somehow.
"Fe fi fo fum, I smell the blood of Jurian scum," said the voice
giddily. "Did you enjoy your ride pretty lady?"
The woman's eyes went wide and she gasped in shock. "The cab driver?"
The light came on in the room revealing the man sitting in front of her
still dressed in his uniform.
"Could be," he replied with the clothes seeming to come alive changing
him into a young boy with a pigtail and deep blue eyes dressed in simple
clothing. "I can be anyone I want." His form shifted again to that of a
young girl with violet eyes, shifting again into an older version of the
same girl; her mother perhaps.
"What do you want?" she asked with fear etched into her features. She
looked down and saw a strange shadow seemed to cross the floor under her
feet. Quickly jumping away she realized that it wasn't a shadow at all,
and it was holding the door shut.
"I think you know what I want, do you really think those contacts would
fool me?" the thing grinned it's pointed teeth seemed to tear it's face
open as the black color on the floor seemed to envelop it's body leaving
only two pale white eyes. "You aren't the one I'm really after, but
you'll do nicely."
Yui screamed as it stood up and stalked towards her.
TBC...
This is cool, there are a lot of questions that won't be answered until
later, but I like this story almost as much as Permanent. I'm trying hard
to stay within character boundaries on this and you might have quite a
few questions that won't be answered for some time yet. Next time things
really get messy as Gino starts to put the real pressure on Tenchi. Also
find out what happened after Tenchi asked the girls to leave, and find
out why he did that. I'm assuming you're smart enough to realize why, but
humor me.