Insertion

    Part 87

    Victory on Jurai.

+++++++++++++++

    Trunks smirked as he walked slowly across the paved surface of the
Jurai spaceport's landing area. Starships roared as they landed around
the group as they casually strolled through the midst of the massive
gusts of wind that the engines kicked up. The palace was nearby,
rising over the horizon a short distance away, eating up much of the
view of the planet's surface. A forest of giant trees surrounded the
airfield, dwarfed by the giant tree that housed the Juraian Royal
Family.

    "I hate this sort of thing," commented Trunks as he snorted in
undisguised annoyance.

    "Huh?" said Tenchi as he looked at the boy at his side in
confusion.

    "Hey!!" said Ryoko as she waved to the large crowd forming on the
other side of the field. Thousands of Juraians had gathered on the
opposite side of the airfield.

    Hotaru frowned slightly. "What is this?"

    "A welcome for the heroes," said Trunks with a small frown.

    "Heroes?" muttered Tenchi dumbly.

    "Well, we did just save the planet," said Ryoko as she grabbed him
around his neck.

    "Cut it out Ryoko! Not in front of all these people!" cried the
boy in embarrassment.

    "Come on, the others should be getting back soon, if they aren't
there already," said Trunks as he started moving forward a little
faster.

    "We could just fly there," said Hotaru as she smirked at him.

    "Bah, I bet he loves this stuff really," said Ryoko as she smirked
at the girl for a moment.

    "Man, there's so many of them," said Tenchi nervously.

    As they entered the crowd a wave of cheers sounded all around
them, the crowd seemed to swarm around them. They continued moving as
if they weren't there, ignoring the cries of joy around them.

    A media crew pushed through the crowd and Trunks paused for a
moment. The others looked at him in confusion. It was a blonde woman
in a professional looking spandex outfit. Trunks wasn't sure why it
looked professional, but it did. There was a cameraman with her, with
his face hidden behind the lenses of whatever passed for video media
on Jurai.

    "We are here live with the heroes who have single handedly saved
the entire planet from destruction at the hands of the evil monster!"

    "Who are you?" said the little boy as he peered at her for a
moment.

    "Not now kid," said the woman as she glanced down at the boy.

    Trunks blinked at this. "Huh?"

    "Can we see them yet?" asked the woman as she looked at her
cameraman.

    "Hey," said Trunks as he poked her with his finger.

    The woman was thrown down on the ground hard, almost taking
several members of the crowd with her.

    "Oops," said the boy as he looked at his finger in confusion.
"Guess I don't know my own strength, sorry lady."

    The crowd backed away from him slightly.

    "Hey! Careful!" said Tenchi.

    "It's them!" cried the woman as she jumped to her feet.

    "Um, yeah," said Ryoko lamely.

    "The mystery saviors of Jurai at last!" said the woman a little
too dramatically.

    Trunks frowned at this. "Mystery? You mean, you haven't heard of
us?"

    "Um...no," said the woman as she stared at him.

    "I'm the great martial arts master Trunks, Prince of the Sayajin,
this is Crowned Prince Tenchi Masaki, visiting from Earth. He's the
son of First Prince of Jurai Yosho in case you didn't know. This is
Hotaru, or Sailor Saturn, Senshi of Death and Rebirth, reborn from the
Silver Millenium. She's supposed to bring about the end of some world
or something according to prophecy, but I think it's another planet.
You probably don't have to worry. Oh, and this is Space Pirate Ryoko,
bane of Jurai, scourge of the Universe, and all around nasty person.
She got better though."

    "Heh heh," said Ryoko as she stared at the boy for a moment.

    The crowd was staring at him dumbly; a dead silence filled the
air.

    "What?" said the boy.

    The woman was merely standing there with her jaw hanging open as
she stared at him. She turned towards her cameraman and spoke to him.
"Are we sure these are the right people?"

    The man looked at her and shrugged.

    Trunks frowned at her and crossed his arms. "Excuse me, but I've
got to get to the palace, the Emperor is probably expecting us."

    Tenchi thought he was going to die of embarrassment.

    Hotaru was trying not to giggle and look intimidating.

    Ryoko was standing in the middle of a large crowd of Juraians,
hoping they wouldn't riot now that her identity was revealed. She had
made quite a mess last time she was on the planet.

    "Come on you losers, I'm tired of this," said Trunks as he floated
into the air.

    The others flew after him, leaving the crowd behind.

+++++++++++++++++++++

    Washuu smirked as she walked off the ramp of the starship and
glanced around. "Well, it seems we're not the first ones back."

    An envoy of Juraians was waiting for the Emperor to emerge. Ami
and Minako helped him down the ramp, by holding his arms over their
shoulders. Yosho walked down the ramp under his own power, if not a
little slowly. Mihoshi stumbled out a little dumbly, her hair still
black and a somewhat dazed stare; more than normal that is. The rest
of the senshi quickly followed, with Nabiki behind them.

    "Bah," grumbled George as he peeked out of the ship for a moment.
He turned back inside and ignored the scene outside for the moment.

    "For god's sake! Someone get him some men's clothes!" said Nabiki
as she glared at some of the guards kneeling before the group.

    They looked up at her in confusion for a moment.

    "You heard the girl," grumbled Azusa as he shifted onto the arms
of a pair of high-ranking officers. "Take me to my room."

    Yosho glanced at Nabiki for a moment and frowned.

    "You noticed too?" asked the woman as she smirked at him for a
moment.

    "Eh?" said the man as he glanced at her.

    "During the battle, she called him 'Ranma'."

    "Yes..." said the man as his frown deepened somewhat. "I do not
believe anyone else noticed it."

    "That could be problematic," said Washuu.

    "Yes, if she were to reveal it..."

    "He would lose some of their trust, that's not a good idea at this
point," said the redhead as she glanced at the girl for a moment.
"I'll have to speak with him about this later."

++++++++++++++++++

    Inside the office of the Men in Black, a meeting was taking place.
Ranma Saotome was not present, but a new pair of faces stared at the
group calmly.

    "So, why are we here?" said Jadeite as he glared at the pair of
teens standing with Akane.

    "They know about us," said Akane calmly as she glanced back at the
pair over her shoulder for a moment.

    "That's easily fixed," said Kunzite as he frowned at them.

    "I'm not sure how much they know, or when the learned it," said
Akane. "They aren't talking yet."

    "We are here you know," said Gohan irritably.

    "You said his name is...Gohan?" said Nephrite in confusion as he
looked at the pair. .

    "Shut up!" snapped the boy angrily.

    "What the hell is this?" said Kunzite as he started to grow
impatient.

    "This is about your future," said Trunks as he frowned at them. He
had a more serious tone to his voice and an almost permanent scowl.
"We were sent back to keep you alive."

    "Sent back?" said Jadeite as he narrowed his eyes at them.

    "From the future, we were sent by Neo Queen Usagi the second,"
said Gohan as he snorted at them. "You know her as Chibi-Usa."

    That got their attention.

    "What the hell are you going to do to keep us alive?" snorted
Zocite.

    "Ranma Saotome isn't who you think he is," said Trunks calmly.
"There's something terribly wrong on Earth right now."

    "You're being a little vague," said Zocite.

    "We can only reveal enough to get you too believe us," said Trunks
as he shook his head. "Time travel is dangerous enough as it is."

    "This is..." grumbled Akane as she held her head.

    "Ranma Saotome freed you from Beryl's power a few months ago,"
said Gohan to the males. "He formed this organization to fight her,
keep the senshi in check, and basically pick up where you left off
during the Silver Millenium. However, you may notice that he's been
acting a bit strangely lately."

    The room was silent for a long moment. Zocite growled under his
breath. "What would you know about that?"

    "Ranma has fallen under Beryl's control," said Trunks with a rough
snort.

    "What?!" said Jadeite as he jumped from his seat. The others did
much the same without voicing it.

    "It doesn't get better, in a few months time, he'll go insane, and
kill most of the people in this room," said Trunks as he glared at
Jadeite directly. His eyes turned towards Akane and softened somewhat.
"All of you but Akane."

    "What's with you man?" said Gohan as he waved his hand in front of
his companion's face for a moment.

    "It's nothing," grumbled Trunks as he looked away from her
purposefully. "In any case, he manages to break Beryl's control."

    "So it's not so bad," said Kunzite with a relieved sigh.

    "No, it's worse. He doesn't break her control because he turns
back, he grows stronger than her, and overpowers her will. He'll take
over the entire planet, and bring an age of darkness with him," said
Gohan. "He kills most of the human population of the planet, and
basically renders the planet inhospitable. He was eventually defeated,
and the planet was healed..."

    The room was looking at the pair in shocked silence once again.

    "This is nuts!" cried Zocite.

    Akane turned to look at him for a moment. "Ranma has been acting
strangely lately."

    "Destroying the entire planet? What about his daughter?"

    "Chibi-Usa is in on the whole thing," said Trunks as he smirked at
the man. "She was sent back, much like we where. In order to keep
things on track, and make sure they went the way they were supposed
too."

    "You want us to fight him?" snorted Nephrite. "We'll be wiped
out."

    "I know," said Gohan as he smirked at the man. "We aren't going to
fight him. That's not our job."

    "Why should we trust you?" asked Kunzite.

    "Because if you don't, you'll all die rather horrible deaths in
the near future," replied Trunks calmly. "We aren't asking you to
fight him, you'd lose if you did anyway."

    "So, what is the plan?" said Akane irritably.

    "We're going to leave Japan," said Trunks.

    "And go where?" asked Kunzite.

    "China, I won't say more than that now," said Gohan as he smirked
at them.

    "What? This could be a Youma trick!" said Jadeite as he glared at
the pair.

    "You'd be dead already if it was, the Youma don't care about you,
you're too weak to hurt them anyway," said Gohan with a small shrug.

    "What's this too you anyway?" said Jadeite as he frowned at the
pair. "What do you care about us?"

    "We don't particularly," replied Gohan as he scratched at his ear.
Trunks elbowed him in the ribs and growled.

    "Ranma Saotome is our grandfather," said the longhaired boy as he
unwrapped his tail from around his waist.

    "..." said Akane as she stared at them.

    "Look, we don't have much time, we have to leave now. Ranma
probably has this place bugged," said Gohan as he frowned at them.

    "So, this is an ultimatum?" said Jadeite with a small chuckle.

    "Basically," said Trunks with a small shrug. "We can protect you,
but we can't fight Ranma ourselves."

    "Why not?" asked Kunzite as he frowned at the pair.

    "Because if they killed him, they'd cease to exist," said a
familiar voice from behind them.

    "Actually, the old guy is training at the moment, we can't really
fight him because he's stronger than us. I begged Mom to send us back
a little sooner, but she insisted..." The boy hung his head slightly
and sighed.

    The group turned to see Sailor Pluto frowning at them all. She
narrowed her eyes at them and scanned the room for a moment. "The time
stream is a mess, there's no clear view of anything in the future.
That says their story is probably true. They came through the time
gates a few hours ago."

    "Hey Puu!" said Gohan cheerfully.

    Pluto glanced at him in confusion for a moment and turned back to
the room. "We have no choice but to believe them."

    "How did you find this place?" said Jadeite as he frowned at her.

    "I followed them," said the woman as she nodded towards Gohan,
Trunks, and Akane.

    "The Senshi's interests are similar to ours, they wouldn't want us
dead," said Akane. She glanced at Pluto again and back at the pair.

    "Their story is becoming more credible," agreed Zocite.

    "The Senshi are not on the planet at the moment," said Pluto as
she glanced at the pair. "I shall meet you with my daughter in China,
I have no choice but to place my trust in you at the moment."

    "Boy, she sure is enthusiastic," said Jadeite as he frowned at
her.

    "Hey, ya think she likes me?" asked Gohan as he turned towards
Trunks. "Gotta make a good impression..."

    "Man, you're hopeless," grumbled the other teen as he rolled his
eyes.

    "You're no better with the ghoul!" retorted the boy as he punched
his companion upside his head.

    "Hey! That hurt!" snapped Trunks.

    "Stop that!" snapped Akane.

    "Yes sensei," replied the pair in unison, everyone else blinked as
the pair bowed to her slightly, in what appeared to be a reflex
action.

    "Looks like we've got to believe them, I don't like this though,"
said Jadeite as he frowned at them.

    "Smells like a trap," snorted Kunzite.

    "Man, you old guys sure are paranoid,"  grumbled Gohan.

    "Old?" said Zocite as he stared at the pair for a moment.

++++++++++++++++++

    Ranma smiled as he stood over Chibi-Usa. He cracked his knuckles
and turned away from her with a calm air about him. "Pathetic."

    The saiyan girl growled as she pushed herself upright and growled
at him. "You'll pay for that old man."

    "Humph, I'm not even breaking a sweat anymore spore," said the man
calmly as he turned his glare back onto her again. "You're rather
pathetic now."

    Chibi-Usa ground her teeth together in frustration, sparks of
power flew off her body as she glared at him in a rage. "How? How did
he get so strong?! I could have wiped the floor with him a few weeks
ago!" she thought angrily.

    Ranma paused, as if deciding to stay a bit longer rather than
simply walk off. "Do you really want to know?"

    "Huh?" said the girl as she looked at him with a confused frown on
her face.

    "You're wondering why I'm so strong now, correct?" said the man as
he glanced back at her again. "You've been ignoring my calls, and my
orders to train harder. Now you see what it gets you. You've grown
weak, satisfied with your current power. When my other self returns,
he will be much stronger. You'd best be ready spore."

    "What do you mean?!" growled the girl angrily. Her form shifted
into a woman's body and she staggered to her feet finally.

    "Come, I'll show you," said Ranma as he started walking away
again.

+++++++++++++++++++++++

    "What is this?" said Chibi-Usa as she stared at the gym like room
she found herself standing in.

    "Heh, I had Kuroi create it for me," said Ranma as he smirked at
the scene. "We've been using energy gathered in our operations to
power this subspace pocket. It's a dimension of my own design, I
control every aspect of it. The Gravity, the temperature...you get the
idea."

    "This is where you've been for the past few weeks?" said the girl
as she stared at him for a moment.

    Ranma chuckled at this reaction. "Of course. We're going to have
one hell of a fight when my other self returns. You're going to spend
your time training with me in here from this point on."

    Chibi-Usa growled at the order, but didn't argue.

    "Humph, you'd best get used to this fast, because I'm not going to
slow down just for you, you'll just have to catch up." He closed his
eyes for a moment and the woman slammed into the ground, her legs
giving way under her own weight.

    "It's only five hundred times the planet's gravity at the moment,
just a warm up for me. I suggest you get used to it quickly, because
tomorrow I'm going to double it. Get to work." He turned away and left
her lying on the ground, gasping for breath from the weight on her
chest and the impact.

+++++++++++++++++++++++

    Trunks smirked as he landed on the roof of the Mikon Taka and
looked around. "Looks like we've been expected."

    A group of rather nervous looking guards stood around staring at
them.

    "What?" said Ryoko as she landed beside him lightly.

    "Come on, we've got to check on the others. We've got a schedule
to keep," said Trunks with a small shrug.

    "Schedule?" said Tenchi.

    "Your training is complete, but the Senshi still have to be ready
for the battles to come," said Hotaru with her icy calm tone.

    "Okay," said Tenchi as he shrugged and jumped down into their
escort.

+++++++++++++++++++

    "Well, nice to meet you," said Trunks as he smirked at the
Emperor.

    Yosho arched his eyebrow as the boy walked up boldly to the center
of the room and eyed Azusa coolly. He was sitting off to the side with
the Senshi.

    "Show some respect!" demanded one of the nobles near to the
Emperor's side.

    "Heh, I'm the most powerful being in this room," said the boy as
he leveled a cold glare on the man. Wisely, the noble quickly took his
seat. "If anyone demands respect, it's me," said the boy as he glanced
around the room. There were numerous scandalized gasps and mutters at
this, but no one voiced any protest. The boy had beaten something that
had defeated even the Emperor of Jurai, not to mention the fact that
the young prince was standing beside him. A boy with a command of the
Wings of the Light Hawk like he had was nothing to be scoffed at.

    "In any case, we owe you our gratitude," said Azusa through his
teeth.

    "Yeah, something like that. I trained Tenchi for ya, he's stronger
than you are now. Hope you appreciate it." The boy jerked his thumb
back at the teen behind him.

    "Hey! Try to be a little polite sensei!" pleaded Tenchi nervously.

    "Whatever," said Trunks as he rolled his eyes.

    Ryoko was oddly silent, but seemed to be enjoying the scene.

    Washuu stood up and walked over to him. "You haven't changed much
over the years have you?"

    The boy scratched the back of his head and grinned at her.

    Everyone looked at him in confusion but didn't press the matter.

    Azusa stood up and sighed deeply. "You could at least pretend to
be respectful."

    "Why?" said the boy with a shrug. "I've got work to do, then I can
go back and kick Ranma's ass. After that, I'll be out of your hair for
good most likely."

    Azusa noticed Ryoko standing unusually close to Tenchi's side. His
eyes fell on Ayeka, who was sitting nearby. She was wringing a
handkerchief in her hands and twitching. She was trying, and failing
to keep a dignified expression on her face. He sighed and shook his
head. "There will be a feast tonight to commemorate this occasion. You
are all invited of course, and to the ball afterwards."

    Trunks grinned at this. "Great! Food!"

    "Thank you, your highness," said Tenchi with a small bow of his
head.

    "Ball?" said Usagi as she blinked. She felt a small sense of dread
at the mention of the word. An image of a giant red-haired man with a
keg under his arm and a pair of panties on his head filled her mind
for reasons she couldn't explain. A shiver ran down her spine, but she
quickly pushed them aside. The man in the image was wearing a plaid
skirt as well, it was somewhat unsettling.

    "So, now what?" asked Ryoko.

    "Well, we need sleep," announced Trunks as he started to walk out
of the room without being dismissed. This sent another uproar of anger
and frustration among the nobles. No one voiced this very loudly
though, and Azusa seemed beyond caring.

++++++++++++++++++

    Washuu smiled at Trunks as he lay on the sheets of the giant bed
in the room the Juraians had supplied him. He was staring at the
ceiling with a somewhat thoughtful frown on his face.

    "Hello again," said the woman as she strolled up to him.

    "Huh? Oh, hey," replied the boy as he picked his head up and
blinked. "I wonder why they gave me such a huge bed? I'm not that
big." He looked around at the massive mattress for a moment. "You
could fit about fifty of me on this thing."

    "Well, it is a palace," said the redhead as she smirked at him.
She sat down on the edge of the bed and smiled at him.

    The boy jumped up and bounced over too her side. "D'ya want
somethin?"

    "I need to speak with you..." said the redhead with a small sigh.

    "Huh? About the project? Is there a problem?"

    "No, everything is fine with that actually, couldn't be better to
be honest. We're actually ahead of schedule. The special modifications
on your room are almost finished as well. Should be done in a week's
time."

    "Great!" said the boy as he smirked at her.

    "This is about that girl, the earthling..."

    "What's up?" asked Trunks as he stared at Washuu. "What has she
done now?"

    "She hasn't done anything yet, but I think she knows who you
really are," said the redhead as she stared at the wall for a moment.
"I don't think she noticed, but she called you by name on the ship
during the fight."

    "Did she?" said Trunks as he flopped back on the sheets and spread
his arms out. "That could be a problem, but I'm not really surprised."

    "What should we do about it?"

    "Nothing," said Trunks.

    "If the Senshi find out..."

    "It's easy to explain," replied the boy as he chuckled. "I just
gave them something a bit more believable than the truth. No big
deal."

    "You could lose their trust," said Washuu carefully.

    "That's the least of my worries, having the senshi like me isn't
something I care about. They won't like me at all when I'm through
with them, but they'll respect me." He smirked at her and winked.

    "What about that girl?" said Washuu.

    "I've got a special place for her," replied the boy as he grinned
at Washuu. "If she's figured me out already, then she's smarter than I
thought she was. Don't worry."

    The woman nodded and stood up. "All right, I suppose I should just
trust you this time."

    "Yeah," said the boy as he smiled at her again.

    "Oh, one more thing..." said Washuu as she turned around again.

    "Huh?" said Trunks as he looked at her again.

    "You're supposed to wear this to the ball, it's formal," said the
woman as she held out a clothing bag to him.

    "Eh?" said the boy as he blinked at the package. He opened it and
stared inside for a moment. "Hell no."

    "Wasn't my idea. I think Azusa is still a little miffed at being
shown up earlier."

    "Well he can blow it out his ass. I'm not wearing this thing." The
boy pulled out a handful of purple feathers. He couldn't tell if they
were attached to the collar or the waist on the thing. "There is no
way in hell I'm going to wear this."

    "Well, you've got about a day to figure something out. You've got
to wear something, I mean those clothes you've got on won't work."

    The boy looked down at himself. He was wearing an ill fitting pair
of pants and a white muscle shirt. "I guess you're right..." He
searched around in his pockets and came up with some Juraian currency.


    "Where did you get that?" said Washuu as she stared at the rather
impressive wad.

    "Tenchi gave it too me. Ayeka gave him a huge bundle when they
first showed up, and he didn't know what to do with it, so he gave it
away. I don't have much use for it myself, but it was a nice gesture."
The boy shrugged and fumbled about through the pile. "Feel like taking
a trip?"

    Washuu blinked and shrugged her shoulders.

+++++++++++++++++++++++

    Ryoko opened the door to her room a few hours before the party.
"Hey," she said as Trunks tossed a package into her chest and grinned.


    "Huh?" said the woman as she stared at it.

    "For the party tonight, Ryoko and Hotaru have one too.

    The woman stared at it for a moment and said nothing. "Um,
okay..."

    The boy turned away and walked down the hall with a cheerful
whistle.

    Ryoko stared at it for a moment and went back into her room.

+++++++++++++++

    "Lord Tenchi..." said Ayeka as she walked into the boy's room and
glanced around.

    "Oh, hey Ayeka," said Tenchi cheerfully as he stepped aside from
the door to let her inside. "What's up?"

    "Well, I haven't seen you since you left the other day..." said
the girl as she blushed slightly.

    "Yeah, I've been pretty busy," said the boy with a cheerful nod.
"Is there something I can do for you?"

    "Well, I just wanted to see how you were doing," said the princess
as she smiled at him.

    "Oh, I'm fine. Don't worry," said the boy as he grinned at her.

    "Have you been treated well?" she inquired.

    "Huh? Everyone's been very nice, but I haven't really had time to
notice to be honest, I've been training hard. This is the first time
in a long while I've been able to relax really." He smiled at her
warmly.

    "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have allowed you to be taken away like
that," said the girl with a small frown.

    "Huh? Don't worry about it Ayeka, I didn't mind at all. I'm much
stronger thanks to Trunks," said the boy cheerfully.

    "But, being stuck alone with that monster woman for an entire
year. It must have been very hard."

    Tenchi blinked at this and looked at the ceiling. "Not really.
Ryoko and I get along all right. We were training most of the time we
were in there, Trunks and Hotaru didn't give us a lot of free time."

    "That's a relief," said Ayeka with a small sigh.

    "Huh? What do you mean?" asked Tenchi dumbly.

    "Oh? It's nothing, I'll see you this evening?"

    "Yeah," said the boy cheerfully.

    "Save a dance for me Tenchi," said the girl as she bowed and
turned away.

    "Okay, I will," said the boy with a nervous grin.

    The princess excused herself politely and walked out of the room.

++++++++++++++++++

    Azusa sat on a throne on one end of the ballroom with his wives on
either side of him. Funaho smiled at the nobles politely, and Misaki
had a somewhat cheerful grin on her face. Both of the women were being
polite to those that kneeled in front of the Emperor, but Azusa simply
looked bored and intimidating.

    The room was spacious and there was a long table that took up the
entire edge of the room along the wall. There were chairs sitting
around the tables, but no one was sitting yet. It was a social event
so far and dignitaries conversed with each other in the middle of the
room.

    "They're late," grumbled Azusa irritably.

    Yosho was standing nearby and frowned a little at this.

    "I hope they're all right," commented Ayeka. "Perhaps we should
send someone too..."

    Usagi and her friends were grouped around the middle of the room
in elaborate gowns. The colors matched their senshi uniforms and they
had wide skirts and tight tops with low necklines. They appeared
somewhat nervous and a little out of place, the occasional noble had
to be dodged by a few of them as he made a pass.

    Nabiki frowned at the girls as they stood around her. Her dress
was cut much slimmer than the others' clothes, it revealed a bit more
as well. It was dark red, with a slit that ran all the way up to her
hips on the right side. "This is annoying."

    "Disgusting old perverts aren't they?" commented Rei.

    "I think someone grabbed my ass," said Makoto as she eyed a
particular group of males that hovered nearby with a distasteful
frown.

    "You're not sure?" said Nabiki as she cocked her eyebrow at the
girl.

    Makoto blushed a little at this but remained silent.

    "I haven't seen Washuu," said Usagi as she glanced around the
room.

    "She's over by Yosho," said Minako as she pointed at the prince
and the redhead. They were standing side by side and conversing idly.
"Maybe we should go over and talk to them?"

    "I don't want to be too near the Emperor, I don't think he likes
us much," said Rei as she frowned at the intimidating looking man. "I
hate to admit it, but I'll feel better about being here when Trunks
and Tenchi show up."

    "Do you think they're coming?" asked Usagi.

    "I hope so, Ayeka says they'll be here," replied Minako.

    The great doors of the hall opened and four figures walked into
the room calmly. "Heh, so, this is Jurai's idea of a party?" said
Trunks as he glanced around the room.

    Tenchi, Ryoko, and Hotaru were just behind them, they were all
wearing bright orange tunics with a small white circle on the right
chest. The pants were baggy and all of them had on a pair of high top
boots with flat soles. The kanji for 'horse' was inside the circle
with another larger one on the back with the same symbol in it.

    Azusa eyed them all for a moment in confusion. They weren't
wearing the clothes he'd sent too them. After a moment he frowned.

    "Heh," said the young Trunks as he eyed the Emperor for a moment
and then turned his gaze to survey the room.

    Tenchi moved up beside him. "Why'd it get so quiet?"

    "I dunno," said Ryoko as she stepped back slightly.

    "Ah, it seems the guests of honor have arrived, so we may begin,"
said Azusa as he stood up and grinned at them.

    "Boy, I can already tell this party is gonna suck," muttered
Trunks as he glanced around at the nobles.

    "Heh, you expected better?" said Ryoko as she glanced down at him.

    "Humph," snorted Hotaru. The boy should have known what to expect,
he'd been too enough events like this as Genaku in the past. Or
rather, he'd ruined enough events to be permanently banned from any
and all balls by the queen herself. The girl suddenly tensed as she
looked down at the boy and realized who he was. "Oh boy..."

    Trunks smirked at her shocked expression. "Don't worry, I'll
behave."

    This seemed to alleviate her somewhat.

    The boy strolled forward with his student's behind him.

    "The clothes I sent you were not satisfactory?" said Azusa as the
boy neared him.

    "I felt it was appropriate for us to wear the uniform of my
school," replied the boy calmly. "They are all my students, and they
have earned the right to wear my symbol."

    Azusa eyed Tenchi for a moment and said nothing. "Very well, shall
we eat?"

    "You know how to keep a Saiyan happy don't ya?" said the boy as he
grinned at the man.

++++++++++++++++++

    The meal was quite boring, nobles exchanged idle chat in what was
obviously just another excuse to get together and discuss political
matters. The off world party sat next to the Emperor on his left side,
with Misaki directly at his side.

    Trunks ate like a true Saiyan, as did Ryoko, Hotaru restrained
herself for appearance sake. Usagi was directly next to her and looked
somewhat uncomfortable.

    Yosho and Tenchi sat beside each other next to Funaho and Ayeka.

    "So, what are your plans now?" asked Azusa as he frowned at Trunks
for a moment.

    "We'll continue training in a few days. Washuu needs a few more
days to prepare for that, after that we'll leave and return home."

    "To free your planet?" said the man with a small nod.

    "Something like that," said the boy as he nodded seriously. "In
any case, we appreciate the help."

    Azusa snorted and shook his head for a moment. "I see. These
girls?"

    "I don't know. The Moon Kingdom's fate is up to them," replied the
boy as he glanced at the Senshi for a moment. "They may choose to
revive it, or they may decide to go another way. It's up to them.
Either way though, you're going to lose your control of the Earth. Not
that you had much to begin with anyway."

    Azusa nodded at this. "It doesn't concern me. The planet was
useless to us for the most part anyway."

    Trunks nodded at this and smirked. "Not that you could do anything
about it anyway."

    The man's gaze widened a tiny bit at this.

    "Heh, got ya!" said the boy as he chuckled and pointed at the man.
"Yer fun to tease ya know that? Always so serious."

    This caught the man off guard again and he growled under his
breath.

    "Quit teasing him," said Hotaru as she smacked him in the back of
his head.

    "Aw, come on! It's fun!"

    "You're gonna make him mad idiot!" snapped the girl as she turned
her head away from him. "Did you forget he's got an entire star fleet
and an army?"

    "Nah," said the boy. "I remembered."

    The guests had stopped eating at this point and were moving into
the middle of the room. A band was set up on one side of the room and
they started to play music. It was soft at the moment and the Emperor
strolled into the middle of the room to start the first dance with his
two wives.

    "Man, he's big enough to dance with both of them," commented
Trunks as he watched the scene for a moment.

    "Well, I suppose we should dance too," said Hotaru as she frowned
slightly. "It would be impolite to not dance at least once."

    "With who? I'm like two feet tall," said Trunks as he pointed at
himself for a moment.

    Everyone looked down at him for a moment.

    "You guys dance, I'm gonna go find Nabiki. I gotta talk to her."
The boy wandered into the crowd leaving the group alone.

++++++++++++++++++++

    "What do you want?" said Nabiki as she glared down at the child in
front of her coldly.

    "Don't be so harsh, I've seen you naked before, that should count
for something!" said the boy as he looked at her with his cutest
expression.

    The girl felt her stomach turn at the sight of it. "I'm assuming
you've got a reason for bringing me out here?"

    "Well, you know who I really am, thought we'd talk about that,"
said the boy as he smirked at her.

    Nabiki narrowed her eyes at him.

    "You slipped up, Washuu and Yosho noticed you call me 'Ranma',"
continued Trunks as he smiled at her. "I'm not surprised you figured
it out, but I need to be sure you keep the secret for a while."

    "Why should I?" said the girl irritably.

    "Because I need them to trust me a bit for a little while," said
the boy with a shrug.

    "What do I get out of this if I keep your secret?" snorted the
girl.

    "Nothing," said Trunks calmly. "You also get nothing if you tell
the others, so either you get nothing."

    "I could probably gain something," replied the girl as she looked
down at him again and smirked.

    "You may be right," said the boy cheerfully. "You're a smart one,
I like that."

    Nabiki blinked at this, but remained silent.

    "Heh, you'll come to regret that soon enough," said Trunks as he
started walking back towards the hall again. The boy paused and looked
somewhat surprised for a moment. "Hey, something is up..."

+++++++++++++++++++

    "I was planning on returning to Earth with Lord Tenchi Father,"
said Ayeka as she looked at the Emperor for a moment.

    "Eh?" said the man as he looked at his daughter for a moment.

    "Oh boy," grumbled Ryoko from nearby.

    "What's going on?" asked Tenchi.

    "I'm not sure," said Washuu as she strolled up to his side.

    The Emperor closed his eyes and frowned. "So, you will remain
there?"

    "Yes," said the girl with a somewhat nervous step back.

    "If that is your wish," said the Emperor with a small nod.

    "Oh, thank you for understanding father!" said Ayeka.

    "Damn," grumbled Ryoko under her breath.

    "Under one condition!" exclaimed the Emperor.

    Yosho looked at the man from nearby; he had been talking with his
mother and was glad for the distraction. She was questioning him on
why he hadn't contacted her for the past few hundred years. "Eh?"

    Funaho seemed to lose interest in the conversation at this point
as well and looked at her husband with an unreadable gaze.

    Azusa drew himself up. "If that boy can defeat the man I chose as
your fiancee! I will grant your wish."

    "Well, so much for that," said Ryoko with a small shrug. "Guess
you're coming back with us huh princess?"

    Ayeka looked at her for a moment with her jaw hanging down
slightly. "Um..."

    "What?" said Tenchi as he stared at the man for a moment.
"But...I..."

    A man strolled through the crowd and smirked at Tenchi. He was
dressed in elaborate Juraian robes and had a smirk on his face. He had
pink hair and a fan covered his face. "Well, I've been waiting for
this moment. It seems you're a bit out of your league boy, best give
up now."

    "What the?" muttered Tenchi dumbly.

    "Oops, I've forgotten to introduce myself. Princess Ayeka, you
look just fabulous!"

    Azusa coughed into his hand and interrupted the newcomer. "Listen
and listen well! If that boy can defeat him, you can do whatever you
like."

    Trunks appeared out of the crowd with Nabiki at his side. "Hey,
who's this gay guy?" he jerked his thumb at the pink haired man.

    "What?" said the man as he stared at the boy.

    "Well..." said Tenchi.

    Sasami walked up next to Tenchi, having moved from Misaki's side.
"I'm rooting for you Tenchi!"

    "Lord Tenchi! You are willing to fight for us aren't you?" said
Ayeka.

    "Well...I..."

    "Tenchi! Don't fight! You don't have to do this for them!" cried
Ryoko as she shoved the princess aside.

    Misaki shoved a page into the woman's face.

    "Huh? What's that?" muttered Ryoko.

    "This is a bill for you, for all those parts of Jurai you
destroyed," said the woman cheerfully.

    "Hey! She worked that off when she fought Buu!" said Trunks as he
stared at the woman. "Besides, it's kinda gross getting married to
your own great aunt."

    Ayeka turned red. "What! Maybe on Earth, but..."

    "What are you nuts? Tenchi is mostly human. Humans don't inbreed
for a reason. Unlike Juraians, inbreeding can cause birth defects and
mental problems. Humans are designed biologically to diversify, it's
bad news to go against that," said the boy with a small nod.

    "What?" muttered Ayeka.

    "That shouldn't be a problem here my boy," said Yosho calmly.

    "Eh?" said Trunks.

    "You're right in your fears, but Juraians aren't wired that way.
It won't pose any problems, if Tenchi chooses that path," agreed
Washuu.

    "Whatever, Tenchi, you've got to accept this challenge on behalf
of the school though!" said Trunks firmly.

    "Huh? But you just said..." stammered the boy in confusion.

    "Bah! That doesn't matter! It's a matter of honor, you've got to
uphold the school! You must accept any challenge!" said Trunks as he
nodded to himself. "I just wanted to make sure you were fighting for
the right reasons!"

    "School?" muttered Yosho as he looked at the boy. He seemed to
just notice what his grandson was wearing. "I see."

    "Huh?" said Tenchi.

    "Very well boy, if that is the path you have chosen," said the man
as he nodded at the boy.

    "Hey, wait a minute!" said Tenchi as he found himself shoved
forward on several fronts towards the pink haired man. "All right,
fine."

    "Just take it easy on him Tenchi," said Ryoko cheerfully.

    "No! If you hold back you'll be hurt!" cried Ayeka.

    "Ryoko is right boy, best not make too much of a mess, try to keep
it toned down," agreed Trunks.

    The man laughed to himself. "Really, it's really a waste of time.
It's rather one sided, he really has no chance. I must fulfill the
wish of the Emperor. After all, he is my future father in law."

    Tenchi stood off against the man with an uncertain frown on his
face. "Oh man..."

    "Kick his ass Tenchi!" cried Trunks cheerfully. "Do it, you'll
enjoy it!"

    "I'm not so sure about that," said the boy nervously.

    "Say, how long do you think it's going to take Tenchi to defeat
Cerio?" asked Misaki as she walked up to her husband.

    The man grunted. "Just watch, Cerio is going to defeat Tenchi in
less than a minute," grumbled Azusa.

    "Heh. Cerio didn't fight Majin Buu with us old man, his power is
nothing to Tenchi," said Trunks. "You forget, Yosho has been training
him for most of his life as well. You're not really dumb enough to
believe that he'll win are you?"

    The Emperor glared at the boy, but Trunks ignored him and kept his
eyes on the battle.

    "Tenchi, put that sword away! You don't need it," called the boy
as he smirked at the two combatants.

    Tenchi looked at Tenchi-ken for a moment and put it into his
robes. "If you say so."

    Cerio chuckled at this. "You are a fool! Giving up so easily?"

    The boy merely smirked at his opponent. "Ya know, this might
actually be a little fun." Cerio was starting to get on his nerves.

    "Give it to that bastard!" cried Ryoko as she raised her fist into
the air.

    "Hmm, ignorance is your weakness. You don't seem to understand
that you are no match for me. I don't think you want to go through
with this, it's simply for your own good. I don't want to humiliate
you, you know?" said Cerio.

    Tenchi was growing more and more irate.

    "He's developed something of a temper," commented Washuu in
surprise.

    "Tenchi has trained hard for his skills, that idiot is belittling
his power. I taught him that he should be proud of his skill, false
humility says nothing for a warrior like him," said Trunks.

    "Humility is an important aspect of the art," said Yosho in
disgust.

    "Confidence in your own abilities is more important, Tenchi knows
he can win, and he knows when he has to fight. Unlike when you trained
him, he's sure of himself and the outcome of the battle," replied
Trunks. "It's the one fault I could find in the training you gave him.
He didn't think he could really win against Kagato, it almost
destroyed him."

    Yosho stared at the boy for a long moment and turned back at
Tenchi. "It seems we differ in our opinions."

    Trunks merely nodded.

    "You want to concede? A wise choice for a barbarian like you..."
said Cerio.

    "I don't think so," replied Tenchi calmly. He shifted his weight
back and put up his fists. "I'm ready for you."

    Cerio blinked at this. "Are you sure?"

    Tenchi nodded.

    "Very well, I suppose I'll have to hold back my true power, as to
not humiliate you," said Cerio.

    "If you do, you'll lose," replied Tenchi. An aura burst to life
around him, blue flame that seemed to burn away his clothes. Within a
moment he was wearing Juraian battle armor and had a cold frown on his
face.

    Cerio stepped back and stared at the boy. "What?"

    "Should we start now?" asked Tenchi.

    The man shrieked girlishly and backed away.

    "Hey! You can't run from a challenge like that! Get back in
there!" cried Trunks as she shoved the man back towards Tenchi as he
tried to step into the crowd and tensed to run.

    Cerio seemed to realize that everyone was watching him and
frowned. "It seems, I cannot allow you to escape, though it pains my
heart too..."

    "Shut up and fight Kuno!" snapped Trunks.

    Everyone looked at him for a moment.

    "Sorry," muttered the boy sheepishly.

    "Enough, fight!" said Azusa angrily.

    Cerio swallowed and stepped forward. "I strike!"

    Tenchi promptly decked him with a casual looking right hook.

    Cerio flew across the room over the crowd and slammed into the
wall. "No fair...I didn't...even get my weapon...ready..." he muttered
as he slowly slid down the wall and onto the floor.

    Tenchi looked at his fist for a moment and scratched the back of
his head. "Oops. I guess that was too much."

    The crowd was in a state of silent awe.

    "Man, that was lame," grumbled Trunks.

    "I had hoped it would last a bit longer," agreed Hotaru.

    "Yay Tenchi!" cried Sasami.

    Ayeka breathed a sigh of relief. She straightened herself up and
turned towards the boy.

    "Good shot Tenchi," said Ryoko with a smirk on her face as she and
Tenchi put their fists together.

    "Thanks," he replied calmly.

    Ayeka shoved Ryoko aside and grabbed the boy around his neck. "Oh
Tenchi! You saved me!"

    The boy blinked in surprise and laughed nervously. "I did?"

    "You've done the school proud boy!" cried Trunks as he clenched
his fist tightly. He had tears of pride on his face.

    "Idiot," grumbled Hotaru as she stared at him.

    "Tenchi, what is this art you have learned?" thought Yosho to
himself. He wasn't sure if he liked it or not.

    "Well, it's been a gas, but we've got work to do tomorrow," said
Trunks as he pat Azusa on his shoulder by floating up to the correct
height. "The others can enjoy the party for a while, but Washuu and I
need sleep."

    The redhead nodded and turned towards the door. "I suppose you're
right. Tomorrow I've got to return to the project."

    "Great!" said Trunks cheerfully. "Should be ready in a few days
then?"

    The woman nodded. "I still need some more input from you, on
exactly what you want."

    "We'll talk about that in the morning. I could sleep like a rock
right now," said the boy as he started towards the doors as well.

    Azusa sighed and turned back to his throne, the music started
playing again and everyone went back to the party.

    Trunks looked over his shoulder and sighed. "Man, these Juraians
sure throw crappy parties."

    "Thanks for saving me," muttered Washuu from his side.

    "Yeah, I don't think I could have taken much more," grumbled the
boy.

    "Quit trying to egg the Emperor into a fight," said Washuu as she
looked at him for a moment.

    "Aw, come on. It'd be fun!" exclaimed the boy pathetically as he
hung his head.

    "We need his help!" snapped Washuu. "If he decided he doesn't want
us here, it will be difficult to finish the project. We only need a
few more weeks."

    Trunks sighed and nodded his head. "Fine."

    "Come on, we should go," said the woman as she turned away. "We
can find a real party."

    "Yeah, maybe we can find a good bar or something..." muttered
Trunks cheerfully. "Say, does this planet have nude entertainment?"

++++++++++++++++++++++

    "Bwahahahahahahaaaa!" cried Washuu as she waved her fans and stood
on the table. She had a wad of money in her hand and a muscular
Juraian was dancing on the table.

    Trunks was sitting quietly beside her, hanging his head and
wishing it would all just go away. "This isn't exactly what I meant
Washuu." He picked up his drink and downed it in a single gulp.

    Another muscular and half-dressed Juraian brought him another one.

    "Aw, come on! Loosen up!" exclaimed the woman.

    "I think I'm going to leave now..." muttered Trunks as he stood
up.

    "The fun's just starting! There's a wet jock strap contest in a
few minutes!" cried Washuu.

    Trunks rushed out the door, knocking several of the men aside as
he ran for his very sanity.

    "I wonder what's with him? Oh well!" She turned back to the man
dancing for her and grinned. "Do you want to be my new guinea pig?"

++++++++++++++++++++

    TBC...

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