Season 1: Return of the Akuneko
Episode 4: No Need for a Battle
Masaki Residence
A furious Ryoko teleported into the living room of
the Masaki house and immediately rushed into the
bathroom.
"I think they found Ryoko," Sasami noted. Shortly
behind this Kiyone and Mihoshi came in through the
front door.
"Hey!" Nobuyuki yelled, he had finally gotten home.
"Doesn't anyone knock anymore?"
"What is going on here?" Ayeka demanded. "This is
the second time tonight that you've come barging in
here. Why I've never been so insulted in my life."
"He's already here isn't he," Tenchi concluded,
resignedly. Next to him Washu nodded in agreement.
"Yes and since he couldn't beat us, he's going�*"
Kiyone clamped her hand over Mihoshi's mouth.
"There's someone else on this planet that he wants
to kill," Kiyone explained. "We're going to try and
stop him." Yosho sauntered in through the open door,
but as usual no one noticed until he said something.
"Tenchi you should go with them," Yosho instructed.
"I saw the tail end of the battle, they'll need the
help." Tenchi nodded, he had already been planning to,
he was up to his room and back with the sword-Tenchi
in almost a blink.
"If Lord Tenchi is going than I will go to," Ayeka
declared. She stomped off to the bathroom, grumbling.
"And I shall also battle this fiend with you,"
Mihoshi said dramatically. Kiyone winced.
"Uh, Mihoshi," she started. "I was actually kind of
hoping that you would guard the house in case he came
back."
"Oh, you know, you're right," Mihoshi gasped. "I'll
stay here and guard the house." Kiyone breathed a sigh
of relief. Yosho was amused, he caught Kiyone's eyes
and she shrugged, to which he just waved a "don't
worry." Ayeka and Ryoko burst out of the bathroom,
both in full battle gear.
"You know that I'm not doing this to help you,
Ryoko," Ayeka sniped. "I am here to safe guard Lord
Tenchi."
"Tenchi, if I might make a slight change."
"What is it Washu, we shouldn't take too long."
There was a flash of light and suddenly Tenchi was in
battle gear as well. The two women who geared up the
old fashioned way glared at her.
"You didn't ask," Washu shrugged.
"Let's go, let's go!" Ryoko snapped. Tenchi,
Kiyone, and Ayeka followed closely behind the rushing
Ryoko. Outside they all piled into what appeared to be
a hovering sport utility vehicle. Kiyone stepped into
the driver's seat, of course.
"Yagami," the vehicles onboard computer linked up
with the Yagami's computer orbiting Earth. "Plot me a
course to Rikyu Shirai's dwelling." A head's up
display appeared with a line heading out into town.
Kiyone sent the thing moving, accelerating up to two
hundred in a matter of seconds.
The House of Rikyu Shirai
The scanner showed the ship moving again, through
the high clouds and Rikyu watched it. It didn't move
very far this time. Then a beam burst from the ship
and Rikyu heard the sound of an explosion not all that
far away. Then the radio began blaring static until a
voice began speaking in space common.
"I seek Rikyu Shinku," the voice declared. "Either
he shows himself, or you all will pay." Another
explosion sounded. Rikyu had dropped the scanner so he
didn't see the hologram ship fire, but he didn't need
to.
"Well," he said to himself. "I've never run from a
fight before." He teleported away and reappeared
floating above his house. His normally hidden tail
waved angrily behind him as he used one of his relics
to respond to the challenge.
"Alright! Come and get me, asshole!"
"As you wish." Rikyu whirled to see a man with the
same sort of spiky hair as his, only this man had
black hair. The red and black suit the man was wearing
didn't have any of the silver tracings, but it was
undoubtedly the same material as Rikyu's own bracers.
The thought of an entire power-enhancing suit made his
blood run cold. The man was laughing at him, floating
around him in circles. "I don't see what chance you
have, boy. Your nobility is tainted with peasant
blood, you have absolutely no training and I doubt
you've even been as far off this planet as that fuel
station past the asteroid belt."
"Are you going to talk or fight?"
"Yes, there is a definite family resemblance." The
man smiled. Each of the pair summoned an energy blade
and the battle began.
Kiyone's Hover Cruiser
"What exactly did you do to these people, Ryoko,"
Ayeka demanded. Ryoko glanced in her direction before
returning to watch their progress.
"Every time they show up it's always talk about
this clan and that clan, I don't know what they're
talking about."
"Every time?" Kiyone repeated. "How many of them
have tried to kill you."
"Six, counting this guy and Renshi." They saw the
first beam strike a building a few miles away, then
Kiyone's radio, which had been playing some American
music station, broadcast Rei's challenge. Another
building exploded, this time almost on top of them,
and Kiyone had to enter some actual flight to avoid
the debris. Then the radio played Rikyu's answer.
"Damn it, Kiyone, when are we going to get there?"
"We're here," The hover vehicle came to an abrupt
stop in front of a small house of older design. They
could see flashes of red in the quickly darkening sky
above. Kiyone exited the vehicle quickly and tried to
draw a bead on the assassin, but the two figures were
moving too quickly for a safe shot. "Damn." Kiyone
made for the roof while Ryoko shot into the air like a
missile.
"Your even more pathetic than your mother," Rei was
laughing. He was arrogantly fighting with a single
blade, but it didn't seem he needed another. He saw
the approaching space pirate then and laughed. "Why,
speak of the devil, that is the proper expression
isn't it?" He frowned when he saw the battle suit she
was wearing.
"Get away from him!!" Ryoko slashed down with her
own energy blade and met Rei's second blade. Rikyu
glanced briefly at the second battle suit clad
individual, and then returned to the battle.
Tenchi and Kiyone watched the four red blurs
framing the fierce faces of the three combatants.
Tenchi couldn't reach them and Kiyone didn't have a
clear shot. They didn't bother to turn around at the
sound of Ayeka struggling to the top of the roof.
"They're coming back this way!" Tenchi shouted.
Indeed the three flyers soon touched down on the
street below and continued their battle in a manner
more traditional for the planet. Tenchi leaped off the
roof, over Ayeka The princess yipped in surprise and
lost her grip on the edge and fell to the ground as a
blue energy blade joined the battle.
The grim-faced Rei was in desperate straits now.
His edge over Ryoko was that he understood his own
powers better. Against Ryoko in a battle suit and
another Akuneko opponent that edge gave him a fighting
chance and not much more. He was also still injured
and every moment of adrenaline charged battle was
aggravating that cauterized hole in his side. Now a
third opponent had joined the battle, a skilled Jurai
warrior-prince he assumed. He was lost and he knew it.
He dodged to the side trying to isolate his
opponents, splitting them up between the obstacles on
the ground. The sudden appearance of several, small
log-like objects around him couldn't be a good thing
either. Rei raised a force field as the electrical
discharge passed between the logs, dropping one of his
blades to do so. He teleported across the street as
the three blades came in. Lasers and electricity were
one thing focused energy another thing entirely. As
soon as he appeared, free and clear of the other
warriors he had to face a stream of laser blasts. Two
caught him before he could raise another force field,
and now he couldn't feel his left arm.
"We'll finish this another time," he spat before
teleporting away from his opponents. Kiyone managed
one more salvo after his first short teleport and then
he was gone. She immediately reached for GP pen and
opened it. She took off her earring and lifted it to
the sky.
"Yagami!" the large red, custom fitted Galaxy
Police cruiser pulled out of orbit and was on site in
moments. "Everybody on board now!" They didn't have
much choice, one moment they were in the street, the
next they were in Yagami's cargo bay. "He's coming
around in his ship, Ryoko can you co-pilot?"
"Me?" Ryoko asked, shocked. "I've never piloted a
cruiser in combat, that was always you and Mihoshi."
"Don't look at me," Tenchi added. "I just barely
got used to this space ship thing."
"It's been awhile," Rikyu said, glancing at Ryoko.
"But this is six-one type cruiser right?"
"That's right, case 348502," Kiyone noted, she was
already heading for the bridge. Rikyu noted the
long-forgotten feel of a space craft on autopilot
exiting the atmosphere.
"The demon war," he corrected. Kiyone shrugged, a
sort of voiceless "whatever" remark. "This has been
refitted." Ryoko was almost glowing with pride as she
watched the two rush down the corridor.
"So Ryoko," Ayeka began in that shrill lecturing
tone she reserved for her rival. "You're one of the
Akuneko, that explains why you're such a reprehensible
person."
"Akuneko?" Ryoko repeated, disgusted. "Have you
been in the saki again, the Akuneko are how I was
orphaned. Besides they haven't been here since you
people kicked them out."
"You're the drunk, not me!" Ayeka accused.
"Not now guys, we have enough problems as it is,"
Tenchi interrupted the growing fight. Ryoko sat down
cross-legged and seemed to blank out.
Masaki residence
"What is it Ryo-Ohki?" Sasami asked. The cabbit had
suddenly sprung to sitting straight up and pricked her
ears as if listening to something. Then she rushed out
of the house and leaped into the air, in the next
instant a large, spiny space-craft was rocketing into
the sky.
"Whoa!" Mihoshi exclaimed. "That was cool." Yosho
merely raised an eyebrow.
"Where's Ryo-Ohki going?" Sasami asked.
"Into battle I assume," Yosho answered.
"I hope she's careful."
Yagami low earth orbit, the cargo bay.
"Ryo-Ohki is on the way," Ryoko said as soon as she
came out of the trance.
"Well at least you're good for something," Ayeka
griped. "But then again that was all the Akuneko were
capable of, wasn't it. Blowing things up all over the
border territories."
"Would you quit with that Akuneko stuff," Ryoko
snapped.
"And who is that Rikyu person?" Ayeka continued
undaunted. "Another space pirate vagabond, an old
boyfriend or something?" Ryo-Ohki passed the windows
as Ryoko glared at Ayeka.
"Figure it out yourself, princess, I'm busy." she
snapped before teleporting to her own ship.
Yagami the bridge
"Where is he?" Kiyone asked herself. Their opponent
hadn't broken the atmosphere yet, he was hiding in the
planet's signature. "He knows we're up here."
"He'll try to come out another hemisphere," Rikyu
added. Kiyone stared at him a moment. "What's that?"
Rikyu said in alarm as another ship registered on the
scope.
"Ryo-Ohki!" Kiyone said happily. "That's
yo..uh�Ryoko's cabbit. You know a lot about space
craft for someone who's lived on Earth his entire
life." She silently chided herself for the lapse of
control.
"Well, after the demon war, your colleague's let me
keep Daylak's ship," he explained. "That was a
six-one, too. Used to get over to the Jupiter station
fairly regularly. The Cammon finally died about twenty
years ago, it's somewhere out in the pacific. You seem
to know what's going on here, why'd that guy attack
me." A communication screen popped up with an angry
looking Ryoko.
"He hasn't broken atmosphere yet?" Ryoko asked,
surprised.
"Not yet," Kiyone confirmed.
"I'll cover the other side," Ryoko said then the
screen blinked out. The spiny circle of Ryo-Ohki
passed them and turned the corner around the horizon.
"Who is she?" Rikyu asked. "I know her from
somewhere."
"You'll have to ask her that," Kiyone told him.
"Not my place. As for our friend, he's Akuneko. They
come from another galaxy, until now nobody knew
exactly what they looked like."
"He looked like me," Rikyu noted. "And he kept
talking about my mother. Your friend looks like me
too."
"Yeah," Kiyone said. "I noticed. Anyway that guy is
here to kill you and Ryoko for some reason."
The Masaki Residence
"Nobody go outside," Washu commanded, she was
walking around and consulting numerous holographic
consuls. "We have a visitor. Should be fun."
"What do you mean?" Nobuyuki asked.
"Is that Akuneko person here," Sasami asked. Washu
opened a pair of communication screens to Yagami and
Ryo-Ohki.
"Kiyone, Ryoko?" Washu asked.
"What is it, Washu we're busy," Ryoko said
irritably.
"That is why I'm calling," Washu said. "Your friend
is hovering over the Masaki house right now."
"What!? Hold on Washu we'll be right there!"
"Kiyone, have more faith in me than that," Washu
lectured. "I was in the Akuneko wars, in fact I think
you'll find I was the only here who was. The only
other one old enough is Lord Yosho and he was on Earth
at the time."
"So what are you talking to us for, blast that
bastard out of the sky!"
"Ryoko, this is the first time the Akuneko have
ever shown us their faces. The first time in two
thousand or so years that they didn't sneak over the
frontier. We need to take him alive if possible,
something big is happening.."
"What's the plan Washu," Kiyone agreed with the
evaluation.
"With Lord Yosho's help I think I can force him out
of the atmosphere," she explained. "Once there it is
up to you two to cripple his craft and capture him."
"Just get him up here, we'll do the rest," Ryoko's
screen blinked out.
"We'll be ready too," Kiyone answered and then she
also blinked out.
"And what do you want me to do?" Yosho asked
curiously.
"I've seen you generate some powerful energy
blasts," Washu noted. "And everything in my arsenal is
likely not to leave anything behind." Yosho smiled,
and bounced his bokken off his shoulder.
"So I am to be our weaponry, and you supply the
defense," Yosho had already sensed the powerful force
field surrounding them. "Let's get on with it then."
"That's just if I can't stall him long enough
talking," Washu added.
The Akuneko fighter
"Shit," Rei continued massaging his injured arm, at
least he could feel it now. "That green-haired bitch
keeps getting in the way." He looked below him at the
innocent looking house and noted the force field
surrounding it. He snarled his lip.
"So much for that idea," he noted. "No way I'm
getting through that thing." He was on the verge of
leaving when a communication screen opened up to his
right and he saw the pink-haired face of Washu.
"You know, this is the first time I've seen one of
you, never thought to talk to you before." the
scientist said cheerfully. "I've scanned your ship,
much better design than what you people brought last
time. You still operate on the swarm philosophy of
combat don't you."
"Who are you?" Rei asked. He looked at his view
screen and saw a gray haired man standing on the porch
staring up into the sky.
"Oh, you don't know me? And I tested so many
brilliant inventions on your forces," Washu smiled
cutely.
"Washu?" Rei frowned. This was very bad.
"Correct!" Washu shouted. "You know you have no
chance against me, so why don't you just surrender now
and we'll talk about this."
"I don't think so, lady. I'm reading no weapons on
your little cabin there, and I don't think grandpa
there is going to be much help to you." Washu smiled.
"That's your choice then," she turned to look off
the screen and yelled. "Lord Yosho?" the communication
screen blinked off. Rei watched in shock and terror as
the old man smiled and ejected a blast of blue energy
in wave at his ship. Rei only barely managed to avoid
the attack, surprised as he was by the source. Yosho
charged up again and fired, forcing the Akuneko ship
to turn away from its chosen path.
"He's herding me," Rei yelled. "Keeping me here,
why?" After a few more exchanges the communication
screen popped up with Washu's face again.
"Bye bye," she waved and then shut the screen off
again. Suddenly some intense force pushed his craft
ever upward out of the atmosphere, where the waiting
warship could find him. As soon as the craft settled
again, Rei scanned for his enemy and found two blips
close by. He had studied these ships in specific, and
had hoped not to face them. He was lucky with Nagi,
but now he couldn't count on luck. This mission was
proving very aggravating.
Yagami bridge
"You know," Tenchi started. "It's comforting not to
be on the run in a battle for once." Kiyone nodded
vigorously as she piloted the ship towards where the
Akuneko had suddenly appeared. Ryo-Ohki was
approaching fast from the other side.
"Let's try some magna missiles," Kiyone suggested.
"Ryo-Ohki shouldn't have to worry, being
mineral/organic. Can you handle the left hand
launchers?"
"Yeah, this is much nicer than my ship was," Rikyu
noted. "Easier to use too."
"Let's try the second spread pattern," Kiyone
suggested. "Ready? Fire!" The Yagami launched a pair
of missile salvos at the still disoriented Akuneko.
Twelve missiles crossed the space in a breath and
exploded around the Akuneko, releasing a huge
electromagnetic field. The fighter remained still long
enough for Ryo-Ohki to fire a beam at the aft portion
of the fighter, destroying the thrusters.
"Rei Kuroi," Kiyone opened a screen to the enemy's
ship, it took a moment for the fighter's systems to
recover enough to get through. "I am 1st class Galaxy
Police detective Kiyone Makibi, prepare to be boarded
and placed under arrest."
"I don't have many more options do I?" Rei frowned
at the detective. The mission to kill Ryoko and Rikyu
was political, he had just found a personal cause.
"But we'll see each other again Makibi, I can promise
you that. When we have conquered this galaxy, you'll
be kneeling before me before I take your head."
"Who are you?" Rikyu asked. Rei sniffed at him, as
if Rikyu was something less than worthy of note.
"Our great enemies," he growled sarcastically. "The
Shinku consist of nothing but a worthless space pirate
and a half-breed youth. What a pointless assignment
this was. At least your mother is a worthy warrior,
you are pathetic."
"My mother?" Rikyu asked.
"What did he say?" Tenchi said from the back.
"You're Ryoko's son?"
"You see Lord Tenchi," Ayeka piped in. "You see
what sort of woman she is?"
"You didn't know!" Rei laughed. "Well at least I
caused some disruption, come over and get me
Detective. This conversation is over." The screen
blinked out.
"Kiyone," Ryoko appeared on another communication
screen. "We're coming aboard."
"Excuse me," Rikyu interrupted. Ryoko suddenly
looked sick. "That guy said that you were my mother.
Is that true?" Ryoko gulped and then took control of
her emotions.
"Yes, it is."
=====
"Caffeinated Kender? What's that, a berserk spell?" -
Tribble, Kender Warrior of the Celestial Kingdom
Signed
He of Too Many Names (Thrythlind/Thryth/Luke/Hyperbole/Pika/Pooka)
http://members.aol.com/thrythlind/snake.html
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