STANDARD DISCLAIMER:
I don't own the characters. Pioneer and AIC do. I own
this story though.
Summary:
Branches off from the OAV after 13.5 since I can't say
what the creator had in mind. This is the entire
backstory to the oav's, enjoy. Takes place a week
after episode 13.5. Relies very heavily on the OAV,
some characters and information from the manga and
other continuities might be possible but not their
storylines (or very little bit but more pertaining to
the specific characters). Please allow Tenchi OOCness
at first, hopefully the situation will start
explaining itself by the beginning of the third
chapter.
E UNUM DUO. Latin for 'out of one, two.'
EMAIL:
rolfwind@yahoo.com
WARNING:
After Chapter 10, some extreme violence will occur,
some sexual situations as well. You've been warned.
Notes:
This and all other chapters are available in their
original HTML format at:
http://briefcase.yahoo.com/rolfwind
KEY:
<> - indicates thoughts
[]- indicates mental communication
*quote from T2
*********************************************************************
Some images for this saga, are available.
Since they are a big size, give them time to download
(Dec 3).
http://briefcase.yahoo.com/rolfwind
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THE UNRULY SON SAGA : A TALE OF TWO TENCHIS
THE UNMASKING PART I
CHAPTER 1 : RUDE AWAKENINGS : MAY 3, 1993
It was early morning at the Masaki household, minutes
before dawn to be precise. The bright ball of fire,
also known as the sun, hasn't peeked over the horizon
yet, nor were the birds filling the cool pre-dawn air
with their melodious chirping. Quiet and still, the
unnatural silence was foreboding. Perhaps it was the
proverbial stillness before an oncoming raging storm,
which held the natural sounds of mother nature at bay.
Or perhaps mother nature had some common sense and
decided to stay asleep, the activity that many of the
residents of this particular household were now
partaking of.
Yet, an average person would state that all was
normal, like every and any other day. But that was
not certainly not true, hardly anything associated
with this household could be considered normal, this
day would be no exception. Someone made sure of that
a while ago, setting things in motion, hoping for,
praying for a positive outcome.
This entity lived in the household, and yet was
paradoxically unaware of this very event or its own
true identity most of the time. What this entity
sought was to unmask another person in that very
household, who also had the very same paradoxical
problem.
This masked person was very surprising, most assumed
that this person simply let events happen in their
life, and took whatever fate handed to them. But like
most high rollers of the particular game this entity
was playing, this one knew but one thing about fate,
*"The future is not set. There is no fate but what we
make for ourselves." And so this being has been
setting up its own future for a long time.
And thus the day began.......
Nobuyuki heard a nerve wracking sound ....beep
....beep ....beep .....beep! He didn't want to wake
up, for he was just in a pleasant dream involving
Achika, him, and 14 cans of whipped cream, a bottle of
chocolate syrup, and a particular floating onsen in
the sky. However, despite his own overwhelming desire
stay in the realm of dreams, the noise continued to
pound into his skull ....beep ....beep ....beep
.....beep! What could he do except accept the
inevitable? Acceptance started with groaning out
tiredly, knowing he couldn't ignore the clock forever,
or more specifically the racket it insisted on
emitting.
<Oh, alright already!> He reached over and slapped
the alarm clock to stop its incessant ringing. As he
withdrew his hand, it inadvertantly knocked over a
picture of Achika from the nightstand. He cursed under
his breath, as the framed photo crashed to the floor
and the glass shattered into several pieces. <When
did that picture get there?! It's usually on the
wall, isn't it?>
Not entirely awake yet, he attributed it to a faulty
memory. Heaving a frustrated, "Damn!" and looking
over by the clock, it was 5:00 AM. <Gotta get to work
but....> Nobuyuki stood up, stretched his muscles, and
went to a corner drawer with some tools in it. The
elder Masaki had half an hour to get ready for the
daily grind but he didn't want to leave the picture of
his revered late wife amidst ruins of glass.
In his mind, their was only one path to take; show his
wife the respect she deserved and fix what he broke.
Doing the right thing, he picked up the frame, and
gazed lovingly at the image of his late wife for a few
seconds.
This was one of the later photos of her. Sick, yellow
eyed, haggard, and thin. In a beautiful lavender
kimono, semi-formal in appearance but Achika liked to
wear it as if it was casual clothing. To her husband,
she was one thing, could only be one thing. A beauty
unmatched by any other. None of the women he ever met
could surpass or begin to equal her, not even by any
of the five current female residents of the Masaki
household.
As time ticked away, he faded out of his meditation
and turned the photo over to the back. The back was
black plastic held in by four screws. Heaving yet
another sigh he started unscrewing the back off <I
hope this is as easy as it doesn't look!>. One
screw........, now two screws ...... loose, the hentai
of the household groaned frustratedly, <This is taking
forever, I'll be late for work!>.
Those annoying screws were difficult to get out, being
twisted in so tightly, that he simply lost his grip on
the screwdriver several times, and had to start over.
Many minutes and attempts later, Nobuyuki's prolonged
quest to rectify the situation went forward. <Yes!!
Now the last screw is off! I can get going soon. I'm
late enough as it is! I should have gone to my
apartment last night, then I wouldn't have to get up
so early.>.
Right when he was taking the unscrewed backing off,
the architect's foot sank into a piece of shattered
glass from the floor. "Ouch!," Nobuyuki yowled. The
middle-aged man dropped the frame back onto the bed,
and decided to go about picking up the pieces of
glass.
Soon the glass hunt was over and he had all the major
shards and elongated splinters cradled carefully in
his hands. After he limped over to the trash can,
still feeling the bite under his foot, Nobuyuki
unceremoniously dumped them. Before he was about to
turn away, he happened to glance upon a cigarette pack
buried in the trash.
<That's strange, I don't remember finishing the whole
pack, it usually takes me the better part of a month.
I should throw these away at work before Tenchi finds
out I still smoke.> Nobuyuki bent down to pick up the
pack but when he did his eyebrows knitted together, it
was still mostly full. <Why would I do that, these
are expensive enough as it is.>
Shaking his head, Nobuyuki sat back down on his bed.
Though in a hurry to get to work, the architect took
the time to carefully lift off the back of the frame,
not wanting to cause further damage. A strange sight
puzzled him, not only was there the back of Achika's
photo, but two polaroids as well. <I wonder what
these are?> Nobuyuki Masaki had no idea what he was
going to witness, only white plastic backs were facing
him.
Turning them over, he saw Tenchi, around three and a
half years of age, crying. The small child was
kneeling on a mat on the floor only in his underwear.
Both the briefs and mat were soaked in blood. Tenchi,
though for some unfathomable reason appeared fine, not
one scratch on him. On the bottom white portion was
Achika's handwriting 'AFTER.'
Nobuyuki shook his head again, this was a disturbing
photo to say the least. <What is this?!> He sat
pondering it for a moment, but then remembered the
other photo. It flipped right side up, and time slowed
down.
Nobuyuki sat frozen in his bed, and his heart stopped.
In the mind of this particular man, one word started
echoing in his consciousness, the word that was on the
bottom, 'BEFORE.' <In her handwriting?! No! No! No!>
Bright sunlight started passing through the shades,
contrasting with the suddenly darkened and confused
mood of the occupant of the room. The birds began
their chirping, adding their voices to the choir of
nature. The middle aged man retreated from the swirl
of his own thoughts and whispered, "Who did this to my
boy! And why?"
The photos were put face down, much in the manner that
a dead person's eyes were closed, in order to spare
the living a horrid sight.
Nobuyuki glanced at the clock, 5:30. <Well, the
office can do without me this one day. Yes, I need to
talk to Tenchi about this.> He put on his casual
clothing and slipped on his loafers.
On one hand Nobuyuki wondered whether talking to
Tenchi would be a good idea, on the other he knew he
needed some answers. He sat down, contemplating this
unexpected situation, <Tenchi will not be awake yet.
But I need to talk to him alone about this, and at any
other time the girls will be around him, and that was
*definitely* not a good idea.> Having made up his
mind, the father slipped the two photos into his
pant's pocket.
He silently opened up his door. <Don't want to wake
up the others.> As stealthily as he could manage, he
treaded softly to Tenchi's door, and put his ear
against the door, listening for any noises. Hearing
nothing but soft snoring, Nobuyuki sighed. <I can
always hope! I should tell that boy what an
opportunity he has with all these beautiful girls
around. But, that is for a different time, this is
serious, very serious.>
Nobuyuki quietly slid the door open and was
momentarily taken aback. There was Ryoko, floating
above his bed. She was apparently asleep, her head
resting on her crossed arms. Nobuyuki let slight
chuckle escape from his constricted throat, glad for
anything that relieved his internal tension.
Reviewing courses of action, he decided to shake her
awake. Her eyes fluttered open instantly and her
lithe body whirled threatenly towards him in an
instant, in a pose suggesting she was ready to attack.
Tenchi's nightly guardian slowly calmed down, when
she saw the perceived threat was only Tenchi's father,
who already put a finger to his mouth, indicating to
be silent.
He motioned her outside, and Ryoko floated on out to
the hallway. She didn't get much sleep lately, her
'mother' videotaped her crying out for mommy last
weekend. She growled at remembering the painful memory
still one week later, but Washu got paid back for it
though. "What is it," she irritatedly hissed out.
Nobuyuki took a step back, slightly scared, and
started rubbing the back of his neck. "Well...., it's
just that I would like a private talk with my son,
that's all."
Despite being tired, this caught Ryoko's full
attention easily, and she smiled ever so sweetly.
"Oh, ok, if that's all you want." <Maybe it's a guy
talk, I think I can get some useful information, can't
I?> The former space pirate made a show of walking
down the stairs and as soon as she was out of sight
she phased into Tenchi's closet.
Nobuyuki, satisfied that Ryoko was gone, started back
into Tenchi's room. <How do I approach this, what do
I say to him? I don't even know the situation myself.
Who did this?> Briefly Achika entered his mind, but
he denied it. <Achika loved Tenchi, she'd never do
this. But if not Achika, who else? It was her
handwriting on the photos, that's all I have to go on.
But it can't be her, it just can't be!>
Images of her being the perfect mother, despite her
sickness, fluttered through his mind. Any specific
instance was vague, perhaps faded through the passing
of years, but the general content did more than enough
to assuage alleviate his worries, for the time being.
The anxious father grimaced, his normally gentle and
relaxed facial features twisting with worry that
darkened his face. <I don't know. I just don't know.
Should I even talk to him about this? It happened so
long ago. But perhaps he needs to talk to someone.
What if he has some emotional problems, he keeps all
to himself anyway.>
<Ok, now what do I say? No clue, not one goddamned
clue. I just don't have the know-how in these
matters. Maybe if I ask for help. Ryoko, no, she'd
probably go insane and start threatening me if she
thought I had anything to do with it. Ayeka, no, she
would probably probably not be help either. She'd
probably summon a bunch of floating firewood or
whatever those things are...... Just as bad as
Ryoko.>
<Sasami, no, of course not, she's too young to be
exposed to this..... even if she is mature for her
age. Mihoshi, no. She didn't fit the bill, plus
she'd probably try to arrest the unknown
perpetrator...... bad idea. His father-in-law. No,
he liked to stay out of other's personal matters and
would only offer some cryptic advice, though he would
be discreet, but it would leave the issue unresolved,
no better than how I'm now. Washu, maybe. I heard
she was a mother before, other than to Ryoko. And
very smart. And someone did mention an 'adult form',
I bet she's sexy, hehehe...., time for that later you
old fool. She might know what to do. Yes, Washu it
is. Has to be, no one else around here though.>
Nobuyuki got up from his son's bed and walked
despondently out the room.
Ryoko was puzzled, <What was that about? Is that a
guy talk?> She watched in secret as he clomped his
way downstairs and hesitated in front of the closet
that was now the entrance to the lab of the greatest
scientific genius in the universe.
Breathing in deeply, the architect strengthened his
resolve. Not delaying a moment further, he rapped at
the door. It took no less than thirty seconds before
an annoyed Washu peeked out, with bloodshot and baggy
eyes. "Sorry, I'm busy.....," she grumbled and
mumbled, none too curtly. Determined not to be
stopped the elder Masaki cut her off, "Little Washu,
this *is* serious, I need your help."
The red-headed girl gave him a disbelieving glare,
"This isn't another request for access to the onsen,
is it?"
Nobuyuki shook his head emphatically and reiterated
pleadingly, "Little Washu, I really need your help.
Please?" Washu studied his hopeful face again, before
tiredly waving him in. The elder Masaki cautiously
slithered through the door as Ryoko was peeking in
from the ceiling. <Damn, I'm not going in there
again. I'll just wait until he comes out.> The
demon-summoner floated up to her wooden beam waiting
for duo to step out again.
While waiting for Washu to finish typing some things
in, the uninitiated man gawked at the lab in wonder.
<It was never like this before, but then I was in here
how often, twice before?> The lighting wasn't very
bright at all, in fact it was flickering. Which had
the effect of casting dancing shadows around the room,
much like candlelight.
>From what he could determine, some parts of the lab
were totally demolished. "Little Washu, what happened
here?" The scientist frowned dejectedly, "Lets just
say a mother-daughter bonding session didn't work out
*exactly* as planned last week. Six out of eight power
generators were knocked out. It's just barely enough
to keep the life support and other neccessities
online. Probably take another week to fix completely!
As if I didn't have enough to do already!" Glad she
could let out her frustrations a bit, she caught her
breath before reciprocating his concern, "So what is
it you wanted?"
Nobuyuki ferreted out the pictures from his pockets,
"It's just these..... I can't explain them.....
That's..... Tenchi when he was around three and a
half. Take a look."
Washu grabbed the photos and after taking in a deep
breath, she let out a low whistle. "I think we should
look at these under the scope." She tossed the two
polaroids into a subspace hole. Two large screens
about 10 feet across appeared with the two images
enlarged. Again she whistled, low, showing her
surprise, "Nobuyuki, do you have any idea about how
this happened?"
Tenchi's father stuttered out, truely clueless, "I-I-I
have no idea. On the bottom of the photos is Achika's
handwriting. But she wouldn't........ they must be
fakes or something!"
Washu cut him off, not wanting to hear useless
denials, "Look at the enlargements," She pointed to
the 'before' photo and continued, "Tenchi was beaten
badly, very badly. His face is swollen, and he has
bruises all over his body as well as cuts....... the
photos could be faked, but I'd have to run more
tests."
"I suspect they're real, though, from all the
preliminary signs I see......" She scratched her
chin, excited at the possibilities, "And that means
Tenchi used the Light Hawk Wings to heal because in
the 'after' photo he appears fine except for all the
blood on the towel he's sitting on and his own
underwear!"
The father heard about his son's Light Hawk Wings, as
is expected, but hardly knew what they could do, "They
can heal?"
Washu nodded her head enthusiastically, "Well, they
must..... I suppose. There was one tree on Jurai that
did miraculous healings with its wings." She
shuddered at memories best left forgotten. <I even
went to it a few times for........ I rather not think
about those times....... and before being trapped
by.......... him.>
Clearing those unbidden memories, she continued,
suddenly perplexed by her train of thought, "In fact
it was the only tree that regularly healed people,
other than the Tsunami tree. You see most trees, when
not serving as ships, are kept in the sacred chamber.
That's including Tsunami, which is only allowed to be
visited by the nobles, royalty, or on invitation.
This other particular tree was one of the few kept
outside, but it stopped healing soon after the attacks
on Jurai though many still flock to it in hope."
Catching her breath she added, "Some say because it
might have damaged in the attack though I find that
hard to believe. Not much is known about it or its
brother tree." Mentally adding, <I owe it much>, she
bowed her head, the reason inexplicabe to Nobuyuki.
Confused, he coughed out, "Brother Tree?"
Her voice became quiet, rare for the super confident
woman, "Well, just as mysterious, is it's brother
tree, called that since the two both appeared on Jurai
at the same time. It's a total opposite, a flip side
if you will, the so-called Tree of Temptation, it
killed millions. However, unlike the Tree of Healing
it doesn't lie dormant, it just keeps on killing even
today. A nasty scourge if there ever was one."
Momentarily forgetting his own problems Nobuyuki
asked, "Keeps on killing? How? Why don't they just
chop it down?"
"Yeah, well, don't ask me. I suspect nobody in their
right mind wants to get near it, but that's not all,
it's extremely powerful so it can't just be taken down
like that. It's said that it whispers in peoples
ears, promises them much but in the end it's nothing
but a pack of lies. But these idiots, knowing the
danger full well, they are still drawn to it like
moths to a flame, only to be sucked dry and killed."
Nobuyuki visibly blanched, and Washu shook out of her
lapse into depression, "Relax, relax, Nobuyuki.....
we're far away from Jurai. By the way, did Tenchi
ever mention anything, when he was younger? Or did
you suspect anything?"
The distraught father stared at her in confusion, but
instantly remembered what they were previously
discussing, and shook his head vigorously and softly
whispered, "No."
The ensuing silence left Washu to fall back into her
own thoughts for a while. "It's likely from all the
evidence that Achika might have done this."
The befuddled architect's face lost all the tell-tale
signs of confusion, as it contorted with anger. "No
she didn't! She had nothing to do with this!" He
emphasized this by waving his arms, "No way!"
Washu was taken aback by his unabashed anger. <Wow,
I've never seen him get mad before, even when the
house got destroyed.... but I guess there is a first
time for everything.>
The extremely agitated man closed his eyes and made a
sincere effort to calm down, hard as it was. "Sorry
for yelling, but I'm sure she did *nothing* of the
sort. There has to be another explanation."
Not beyond sympathy, especially for a fellow parent,
the scientist patted his arm reassuringly. "It's Ok,
this must be difficult for you."
Nobuyuki's eyes centered upon his sweaty palms, and
implored the ancient scientist nervously, "Little
Washu, I want to speak to Tenchi about this, but I
really don't know how to begin. Do you have any
advice..... you know, parent to parent."
Washu faltered, her serious attitude weighed down all
of a sudden by melancholy as well. "I really don't
know what to tell you. I'm probably not the best
mother as it is. Theoretically, I would probably
confront the problem directly since this is all the
information," she waved at the screens, "we have to go
on. Unless you want to talk to Lord Katsuhito about
this?"
Tenchi's father made it clear that he did not, for
whatever reason. "I want as few people involved as
possible. I don't want to embarrass my son. Could you
come with me though? I'll talk to him in his room,
you can just stand outside if you want Little Washu."
Out of the scientist's gaping mouth a long suffering,
weary yawn, "Sure." On the way out of the lab, she
handed the distressed man the polaroids back. An
unlikely team, together they walked on outside of the
lab and the climbed the stairs to Tenchi's room.
Nobuyuki had his gaze wander around nervously, so the
diminutive scientist smiled weakly at him, attempting
to provide a small measure of reassurance. "Don't
want the other girls to know, is that it?" She didn't
know him well, none of the girls really did, as he was
gone during the entire work week. While Washu
observed his demeanor, she took note of the father's
serious attitude, a rare determination set in his face
which she also has never observed before.
Ryoko, meanwhile, saw their departure and heard her
mother's last sentence back in the hallway. Her
curiosity piqued, and she decided to phase back into
hiding in Tenchi's closet. Settling down amid the
folded clothing, she floated just above the the floor,
and peeked through the wooden slits. While the light
was very filtered and dark due to the dimness of the
morning's dusk, it presented no problem for her
cat-like eyes.
Nobuyuki stopped outside of Tenchi's door and took a
deep breath. <One, two, three.....one, two,
three..... Oh my late wife in heaven, whatever am I
supposed to do?!>
Washu, purely on impulse and out of sympathy, put her
hand on his arm, and steadied the distressed man.
"The more I think about it the better I think it is to
confront this issue head on. I'll be right here if you
need any help."
During the moment of going through the doorway, he
managed to smile appreciately at the small genius, and
whispered, "Thank you, Little Washu."
Watching him bravely enter the room, Washu smirked to
herself, she slightly felt her daughter's presence not
much farther away. She and her daughter haven't
really talked in the last week nor has she attempted
to try mind probing, out of respect, and more
importantly, to regain her daughter's trust. But
Nobuyuki wished that this remain private, so
reluctantly the scientist took action towards that
end. [Ryoko? This is a private matter, I think you
should go.]
Her daughter sneered back, [Like you know anything
about privacy, *Washu.*!]
Bypassing her own recent previous loathing for it, the
mother deemed it necessary this once to attempt to
probe her daughter's mind, but failed, finding it
completely blocked off. The redhead sighed, <Maybe, I
really went too far last week.> Thinking through and
past the immediate situation, her lips relaxed
themselves lazily into a huge leer, <No, no, no, I
shouldn't send her away. Perhaps helping Nobuyuki
will help me. Then she'll see that I could be a good
mom.>
By this time, Nobuyuki gently shook his son to
wakefulness. "Tenchi," and after a few more seconds
kept on repeating his name, "Tenchi, wake up!" The
young man groggily opened.his eyes, those unfocused
orbs darting here and there. Rubbing his eyelids, he
took a few seconds to adjust his vision.
As he saw his father's face in his line of sight, a
great yawn erupted from the young prince's mouth.
Tenchi made sure to show the full extent of his
annoyance immediately by scolding, "Dad! It's only
quarter to six in the *morning*, what is it *you*
want?"
<Why am I so nervous? This happened years ago. It
might have been one of the neighborhood bullies for
all I know. But at so young an age.... I'm
rationalizing this again. Nobuyuki Masaki, let's just
do this!> "Tenchi, there is something I have to talk
to you about."
His son's response was to groan irritatedly, "What is
Dad? Another talk about the girls?"
The older man shook his head, "Can you sit beside me
for a moment."
The young Japanese student grumbled out, "This better
not take long, I just wanna go back to sleep." He
yawned yet again, and shoved the bedsheets aside.
After lifting himself up and rising into a sitting
position beside his father, Tenchi glared at his dad,
indicating to him that expediency would be
appreciated.
Nobuyuki gathered his resolve. "Were you ever
abused?" <There, I have it out.>
Glaring eyes metamorphed into merely blank ones and
Tenchi replied sarcastically, "No. Unless you count
dragging me out of bed this early as abuse."
The worried father wrung his hands and patiently
clarified, "I mean when you were younger."
Tenchi rolled his eyes, vexed. "I had some
neighborhood bullies when I was ten or eleven. But
nothing real bad. You know about that anyway."
"I meant when you were around three or so?"
Tenchi ran his right hand through his short cropped,
black hair. "Dad, if you want to play games, can't we
do this later. I don't know what you're talkin'
about."
<Tenchi either doesn't remember or doesn't want to
bring it up. I should show him the photos. Shouldn't
I?> Making eye to eye contact with his son, he
pronounced quietly, "Tenchi, I know for a fact you
were beaten. I've seen it with my own eyes. You were
beaten very badly. You don't have to hide anything
from me."
Ryoko, who was still in the closet, arched her
eyebrows at this revelation. The former space pirate
was torn, she desperately wanted to be beside Tenchi
and comfort him if this was true, privacy be damned.
But at the same time, something in the back of her
mind told her to stay still, told her internally that
it was best to just observe.
Tenchi harshly rebuked, "Dad, I don't know where
you've been dreaming these things up but nothing like
that ever happened."
Nobuyuki slid his hand into his pants pocket and
dragged out the two pictures. Slowly he turned them
over and with a shaking hand, showed them to his
rather displeased son. "How else am I to explain
these? I found them this morning."
Tenchi directed his attention at the photos, and
quickly his eyes widened a bit only to relax back to
normal. "Oh, this thing," he motioned to the 'before'
photo, "it's just make-up for a festival. I asked mom
to help me with it. I wanted to look scary. Pretty
good huh? It must have given you a real scare."
Tenchi explained it rather smoothly and smiled amused
at his father, hoping to put the issue to rest.
Nobuyuki, however, had other ideas, and strongly
disagreed, "Please don't lie to me son, that's the
lamest story I heard."
The young man's voice went cold and emotionless, "Dad,
that's all there is to it."
The father harshly coughed, "Ok, but your mother was
horrible with make-up. That's why she never wore any.
In her last years, her hands shook too badly to do
that anyway, she probably would have applied it like a
clown. Your Grandmother never touched the stuff
either, she couldn't have been this good."
Tenchi examined the carpeted floor. "I'm sorry Dad.
Your right actually, I forgot this whole incident and
got it mixed with something else. I think I was
climbing down the steps of the shrine and fell most of
the way down. Your right, these cuts and bruises are
real."
Once more Nobuyuki repudiated his son's alibi, "I want
to help you. You don't get this from falling down the
steps." He forcibly pried the photos from his son's
hands, "Look, you're all bruised up and have these
cuts. I had a friend who fell down all those steps
before you were born. He suffered a broken hip and a
few bruises, but nothing like this."
Tenchi breathed in deeply, and closed his eyes before
amending, "I must have been thinking of something
else, Dad. Actually, this came from sword fighting
with Grandpa. I think we beat each other pretty hard
that day."
The elder Masaki retained his composure but there was
a sharp edge to his voice, "Will you stop *lying*
Tenchi. Grandpa started training you at five or six
years of age. Here you are no older than three or
four. Besides, I would have seen this... if he did
that. Your grandfather is not capable of hurting you
like this."
The young prince bolted up off the bed scowling, a
dark gleam appeared in his eyes, face flushed red with
anger, and he growled getting louder, "You don't know
what that man.... that *fuckwhore* Yosho is capable
of. That man is pure filth. He is the Father of Lies
and Betrayal. He is worthless and I will...."
Nobuyuki looked at him startled, "Tenchi!"
But the tirade continued a bit more before dying out,
"give that little nothing what's coming to him!"
Ryoko's and Washu's eyes widened in shock and arched
their eyebrows in synch, mostly at what the young
prince said and of his directly calling his
Grandfather 'Yosho'.
Nobuyuki stood up aghast, "Tenchi, I've never known
you to say one bad word about your Grandfather. Is
something wrong? Maybe I should get someone here to
help us with this." Nobuyuki waved around the photos
slightly, nervous at the sudden dangerous glint
sparkling in his son's eyes.
Tenchi started toward his father threateningly, with
head bowed and menacing eyes peering upward, "Give me
those cursed things." He reached out for the two
items that started the entire fiasco this morning, but
Nobuyuki would have none of it and put his hands
behind his back.
"Tenchi, these are the only ones I have. I won't just
let you just throw them away and pretend nothing
happened."
The son hooked his father roughly by the shirt collar.
"Give me them now," he hissed, his tone indicating no
room for argument and barely concealing severe
aggravation.
However, Nobuyuki had other ideas, and kept on trying
to fight the younger Masaki off. Angrily he
admonished, "Tenchi, I *just* want to help!"
But the young man simply ignored that statement and
extended his leg behind Nobuyuki's legs, and shoved
the older man to the ground. As he kept trying to get
his father into a lock, the prince hollered back, "Why
don't you give me those photos then!"
Nobuyuki threw his son off him, and howled, "Will you
*stop* this, somethings obviously bothering you. We
can get you a counselor."
Obviously past the stage of listening, Tenchi gripped
his father by the collar again and flung him face
first into the bare wall. Putting one knee against
Nobuyuki's back, he kept trying to wrench the photos
free, but the elder Masaki was surprising deft and
managed to keep his hands zigzagging out of his son's
reach, while hoarsely snapping at his son, "ow....
Tenchi... stop this right now! I'm not going to just
forget about it and pretend nothing happened."
Washu stood unmoving, partially paralyzed by the
unexpected spectacle. <Whoa, what is this?! I should
get in there, Tenchi's getting violent. Oh, damn I
should have stayed out of this. Good going genius,
confront the matter head on indeed!> She finished,
mentally mocking herself. The analytical gears of her
mind started whirring while she observed her
predicament. Now it was only a wrestling match,
violent, sure, but still only a wrestling match.
Staying back she confirmed to herself, <If it really
gets out of hand, I'll help Nobuyuki out, until
then....>
Deeply surprised at the berserk behavior Tenchi was
exhibiting, Ryoko cursed herself, <I should get in
there and calm him down.... but what is stopping me?!>
She phased her head forward out of the closet, only
to go back in hiding immediately. Something in the
pit of her stomach had dropped, her gutwrenching
wasn't fear exactly, rather a sense of foreboding, a
sign somehow signalling to have patience and stay put.
<It doesn't feel right,> the former space pirate
justified to herself, <Washu said it was a private
matter, she should take care of it. None of my
business, nope. Let those two..... do something.>
Tenchi finally got hold of one of his father's hands
and twisted it, "For your own good Nobuyuki, drop
them."
Yet, the older man stubbornly persisted twisting away
in his son's surprisingly strong grasp, "Tenchi, there
is nothing to be ashamed of, just let me go and...."
Abruptly spinning his father around and slapping him
hard with his right hand, Tenchi emotionlessy watched
the architect fall. Without sparing a moment, the
younger Masaki made a dive for the photos only to find
the older Masaki stubbornly clutch at them, with a
rare agility for his age, and started waving them out
of reach. The younger man let up, and moved away from
his father.
Nobuyuki quickly rose and seethed out, "Now Tenchi, I
had enough of .....", but his son growled malevolently
before punching him in the stomach. He doubled over,
gasping for breath, only to have his son kick his
knees out from under him.
On the floor, the architect could hardly think while
Tenchi grabbed him in a choke hold, started squeezing
his neck and commanded, "I want those photos, and I
want them now!" Dropping from the restrained man's
hands, the photos were picked up by the prince. The
son let his father go upon retrieving the polaroids,
but his right hand were slightly trembling as he
pocketed them.
Ayeka heard a commotion and woke up. She tilted her
head in the direction it seemed to emanate from, only
to hear more racket. It sounded as if two people were
struggling with each other. Sasami in the next futon
stirred and looked puzzled over at her sister.
"Ayeka, is that noise coming from Tenchi's room?"
Blinking away the last bits of sleep that remained
from her mind, she bolted up into full wakefulness. It
was true, that muted tumult was coming from the wall
directly behind her. <Oh no! It must be that monster
woman trying to take advantage of Lord Tenchi!>
Forgetting to put anything on in light of her worry
for her beloved, she threw aside the sheets, and
darted out of the room in only her nightgown.
Throwing open the door, not easy since it was a
sliding contraption, she rounded the corner just to
see Washu enter her great-nephew's room.
Feeling a hand press against her back, Ayeka pivoted
her head back to behold her little sister hiding
defensively behind her, head stuck out to get a view
of the scene. Shuffling forward, the royal duo peered
into the prince's room inorder to see what all the
fuss was about.
Tenchi was getting up from the floor, when he
perceived that the diminutive genius entered his room.
Nobuyuki was still on the floor, and starting to
rise, breathing heavily from the blow to the stomach
and shaken from the experience, "Tenchi, was that....
really necessary. I wouldn't...... have told
anyone...... you didn't want to know."
However, the young prince's gaze was riveted on the
scientist. "And when did you get here," his voice
dripping with pure malice.
Washu eyed him strangely, disbelief painted on her
face. <What did I do?> "Tenchi?!"
He stared her straight in the eye with pure hatred.
"This better not be one of your schemes Washu."
Washu paused in mid-stride, she never has seen or
imagined Tenchi this way before. "I have nothing to
do with this. Your father just showed me the photos
and wanted me to come along."
He narrowed his his eyes even further. "Did you make
copies?"
Washu shook her head no. "What would that matter?
Why did you-"
The younger Masaki interupted her, "Shut-", and was
about to say something else. However, he snapped his
mouth closed, as his gaze shifted past the redhead.
"Is there something wrong Lord Tenchi, we heard some
noises coming from your room," questioned a concerned
Ayeka with Sasami in tow beside her.
The prince took in a deep breath. As he exhaled, a
small smile formed on his face, directed at the two
princesses. Turning his head slowly, Tenchi scowled
pointedly at Washu and Nobuyuki, and explained, "I'm
sorry we disturbed you. Dad and I were just discussing
something rather loudly. You guys just happened to
barge in."
Washu took in how quickly Tenchi just composed
himself, trying to keep her astonishment off her face.
<I swear he would have ripped someones head off a few
seconds ago! Now he's acting normal again?!>
Ryoko herself stayed put in the closet. <What's
this?! I've never ever seen him get like that or talk
like that to anyone before!>
Tenchi turned away from his father, who was now
sitting on the bed, and Washu, who was in middle of
the room. "Miss Ayeka, Sasami..... I'm sorry for
disturbing you. We were discussing a private matter."
Ayeka and Sasami both stood silently for but a moment,
trying to digest exactly what was amiss with the
situation but the first princess relented, ".... OK,
Lord Tenchi. Are you sure you are alright?"
He brightened his smile at the two, those lips drawing
back to show his normal, warm, compassionate grin.
"Yes, we're all fine Miss Ayeka." However, his tone
was slightly agitated.
The crimson eyed princess pursed her delicate lips.
<He must want to be alone but....>
Nobuyuki scratched the back of his head, "Thank you
for your concern girls. I'm also sorry we woke you
two up."
Washu walked to the entrance while clapping her hands,
and in her own humor shooed them away, "Yeah, you two
beat it. Go on now, we'll be fine."
The two princesses glanced at each other before
trudging back reluctantly to their sleeping quarters.
Once inside, Sasami beseeched, "Ayeka, is Tenchi OK?
He sounded really, really mad at Washu."
Ayeka, who didn't know what to think, opted to assuage
her sister's doubts, though she couldn't exactly cast
hers from her mind. "I'm sure he's alright. I don't
think he's in a good mood today, that's all."
Tenchi peered intently outside his room to see Ayeka
and Sasami leave and then shut his door. He shut his
eyes briefly before facing the other two, who stayed
gawking at him. His father was still sitting on the
bed, rubbing his cheek where he was hit. Washu stood
still, in the center of the room, and appraised his
person as if he were a science experiment gone awry.
Secretly she asked Ryoko, [So how long have you been
here? All night watching him again, I assume.]
Ryoko huffed, [Not that it's any of your business.]
Washu tried again. [Ok, could you *please* tell me
how long you've been here? And has he been acting
weird before?]
Her daughter's nonchalant reply came, [I've been here
as long as you guessed. And nope, maybe *you* just
have that effect on people Washu.]
"I suppose you have a real good explanation for that
little rumble with your father just now, and
everything else?" Washu wryly commented, "Maybe you
should have try-outs with the Galactic Science Academy
wrestling team."
The young man scowled at the genius's dry humor before
he worked up the nerve to stand before his father.
Looking about guiltily, Tenchi kneeled down at his
father's feet and bowed his head. "Dad, I'm really
sorry for hitting you."
The older Masaki first crossed his arms, "Tenchi,
first of all, don't ever try that stunt again!"
Tenchi bobbed his head agreeably. The architect took
a hold of his son's shoulder, "I'll be fine, though
this body's seen better days for such things. Anyway,
I just want to help you. It's probably partly my
fault. I shouldn't have sprang this on you as I did."
The younger man simply nodded again, sat beside his
father on the bed, and patted the area next to him.
"Little Washu, would you like to sit down?"
Washu's scrutiny fell from the prince's face to his
hands and back again. <Well at least he's acting
normal now.> Thus appeased the previous behavior was
just a small aberration, perhaps even expected given
the circumstances and stress involved, she sat down
beside him with only slight reservation.
Tenchi raised a finger, "Before I explain anything,
and it is a complicated situation, I want to know how
you found the photos and if you are the only two in on
this?"
Nobuyuki went on to explain the events of the morning
as he saw it. Tenchi took everything in, just nodding
at various parts, urging his father on.
"Tenchi, this must really upset you, I mean you
weren't acting like yourself just a few moments ago,"
Washu inquired.
"I'm really sorry about that. I want to show you two
something first, okay? It has to do with my sword."
Nobuyuki and Washu readily agreed, despite not knowing
what or why the Tenchi-ken had anything to do with the
matter. Tenchi pushed himself up and pulled out the
sword hilt with the two gems from his desk drawer.
He commanded, "Area protect, cut off all links."
Washu asked him perplexed, "Nothing happened Tenchi.
Was that supposed to do something?" Contacting her
daughter again, she begged in irritation and
condescension, [Do you know what that little sword
trick was for, is he going insane?] She kept her eyes
on the young man, who stayed silent, but for some
reason Ryoko wasn't answering, <You tie up someone for
one night and they get all mad..... over what? Kids
these days.... really... >
Ignoring the question put to him, he stepped forward
in front of the redhead, "Little Washu, may I show you
something else interesting?" She acceded to his
request warily. Immediately, in a fast streak, Tenchi
placed the sword hilt against her forehead, with the
gems touching. "Trance," announced the young Masaki.
Just after he uttered it, Tenchi spun around and held
the light tan hilt to his father's head. "Trance."
Sitting still before him were his father and Washu,
with closed eyes and not moving a muscle.
Having never heard her mother's last mental question,
Ryoko stared wide-eyed in the closet. <What is this?>
She tried to phase through the back wall but was
blocked from doing so for some reason. In the back of
her mind, something told her it would be best to bide
her time and remain where she was. Reluctantly, she
remained but still tried to make contact with the
redhead. [Washu? Washu? Damn you Washu, answer me?]
Nothing in form of a reply came.
Tenchi shut his eyelids and simply stated, "I see."
He pulled out the two polaroids from his pocket and
threw them onto the desk. After Tenchi strode over to
the middle of his room, he held his hands open and a
holo-computer, an exact duplicate of Washu's,
appeared.
After typing some things into it, he snapped his
fingers and sighed, "I guess I need to go into the lab
then to make sure." Tenchi approached a bare spot on
the wall, devoid of furniture or ornaments, and pushed
at it, at first apparently having no effect. However,
a door did appear in a matter of seconds and Tenchi
quickly passed through it, leaving the area entirely.
Ryoko had enough surprises today as it was. <How can
he summon a holo-top? And get into Washu's lab?> She
stared at Washu and then Noboyuki. There they were,
sitting perfectly still, eyes closed, the perfect
models for meditation.
The former space pirate gathered up her resolve and
phased through the closet door. She looked around the
room, and noticed it was dark with the shades pulled
down, so she went over to them and looked out.
Instantly, it was noticeable that nothing could be
seen though the windows, they were glazed pure white.
Her next course of action was to mentally contact and
shake Washu again..... gentle at first....... then a
bit harder..... the shaking increased in until the
scientist's head rocked back and forth like a ship in
a storm..... and still absolutely no reaction either
way occured. <How can this be?>
She flew to the door and tried to open it, but even
with her considerable strength it wouldn't budge.
Ryoko went so far as to attempt phasing through it but
an invisible boundary hit her nose on the way out,
"Ouch, what the..." The cyan haired woman
frustratedly and nervously screamed.... mentally,
<This better be a dream, everything is just way too
weird right now.> Flying over to Tenchi's desk, she
spotted the two photos. <Nearly forgot about those, I
wonder what they show.>
Ryoko picked up the two photos and her knees weaked.
That one horrible picture just burned into her mind.
<Oh god, who did this to him! And he was only a
little kid back then!> Her entire frame shook with
anger and she nearly crumpled the photos in a blind
rage. Regaining control of herself in time, barely,
she rubbed her temples. <I can't crunch them up.
Tenchi will notice. And.... what? And he'll get mad.
He might be coming back any minute. I better get
back in the closet. Whatever secrets he's hiding, he
obviously went to great lengths to conceal it. But
why?!> Fearing she had no more time for internal
debate, the space pirate discarded the photos down
onto the desk and quickly phased back into the closet.
A few minutes later Tenchi came into the room, his
lips drawn down at the corners, looking very sour. He
went over to the spaced-out Nobuyuki and Washu and
pressed the sword hilt onto his father's forehead.
"Institute memory block, memory change. Nobuyuki,
this morning you found two photos that you thought
were of me, as a little child, before and after a
beating. You went down to Washuu in the lab. She
agreed with you and both of you came up here to talk
to me about it. You proceeded to wake me up and talk
to me. I explained to you that it was just make-up
for a costume festival that my grandmother applied.
You disagreed and we got into a loud verbal argument
over it. Then Washu came into the room. Ayeka and
Sasami came to my door as well. We apologized for the
noise, Washu dismissed them, and they went back into
their room. You, Washu and I sat down and had a calm
discussion. After more examination you and Washu
realized that both of you jumped to conclusions. That
the seemingly damage done to my body was make-up after
all because you missed some details. We all laughed
over the stupid mistake. Now, you feel the issue is
resolved and need no further discussion of it. You
let me keep the photos so I can destroy them so no
more misunderstandings like this occur. Since you are
late to work anyway, you decided you can take the day
off and sleep in. You will also decide I can take a
day off school."
He shifted over to Washu and put the sword hilt to her
forehead, "Institute memory block, memory change.
Washu, this morning Nobuyuki went to you with two
photos that seemed to be of me, as a little child,
before and after a beating of some sort. You let him
in the lab and enlarged the photos. They seemed to
confirm your suspicions. You made no extra copies.
Nobuyuki then asked you to go with him to speak with
me. You stood outside the door and heard yelling.
Just as you came in Ayeka and Sasami appeared at the
door. We apologized for the noise, you dismissed
them, and they went back into their room. They then
left for their own room again. You, Nobuyuki and I
sat down and had a calm discussion. After more
examination you and Nobuyuki realized that both of you
jumped to conclusions. That the seemingly damage done
to my body was make-up afterall because you missed
some details. This is most probably because you were
tired from fixing the lab. We all laughed over the
stupid mistake. Now, you feel the issue is resolved
and need no further discussion of it. My father let
me keep the photos so I can destroy them so no more
misunderstandings like this occur. Since you are
tired anyway, you decided you can take the day off
from your work and sleep in."
Meandering over to the desk, Tenchi pocketed the
photos and sighed out tiredly. Going back towards the
two zoned out on the bed, the son bent over his
father. "I am sorry for hitting you, father. I love
you and will protect you."
After kissing his father's cheek, the young man sat
down next to the redhead and took hold of one of her
hands, and started rubbing it tenderly against his
cheek. "Washu, you are making my job very difficult
lately. I do these things because I love you and need
to protect you. I don't know why you don't see this."
As he gave the scientist a peck on the cheek and the
hand, Ryoko's heart sank, momentarily leaving her
totally cold. It's the first time she ever seen
Tenchi kiss any of the girls, any girl for that
matter. Despite everything else that occured, that
scene took instantly seized the highest precedence,
compared to anything else she saw. Ryoko's
imagination kicked into highgear, <It was on the
cheek, who cares? But he never gave me a kiss on the
cheek, and how he was rubbing her hand on his cheek,
being so gentle. And he had access to a holo-computer
and the lab, what if they are seeing each other in
private. What if-?> She willed the horrible images
away, though her imagination was still running away in
all directions, trying to taunt her. Her own logic
didn't assuage her mind successfully either, so she
simply decided that she had to watch him some more.
A few minutes passed, Tenchi got up before the two and
held out the sword. "Release protection area, open
all links." A few moments later he commanded,
"Awaken." Nobuyuki and Washu seemed dazed, but both
came out of it fairly quick.
Tenchi smiled warmly, "I hope everything is Ok now."
Washu went red in embarassment and laughed it off,
"Sorry for waking you up over this Tenchi. It really
was a stupid mistake. We should have seen the make-up
stains on the mat, I don't know how I missed it."
The prince shook his head and waved his arms
dismissively, "No problem, I'm glad nothing worse came
out of this."
Nobuyuki grinned stupidly up at his son, "Tenchi, I
didn't know about the festival. Sorry about that, now
if we could only discuss the girls...."
His son groaned back tiredly, "Daaaad, I want to get
back to sleep. Please save it for another time...."
The architect chuckled and yawned, "Okay... I think I
will too, I'm calling the office and taking some sick
leave. I wish Mondays didn't exist."
Washu snorted and accused jokingly, "I think you two
lazy birds are rubbing off on me... I'll be getting
some shuteye as well." She batted her lashes
seductively at Tenchi, "Could I get some sleep here,
my little guinea pig?"
Tenchi stuttered out, "Little Washu, I-I-I don't think
that's a good idea."
The universe's greatest genius snickered back, "You
don't know what your missing, Tenchi."
The young prince's face flushed completly crimson
which was met with only increased bellows from both
the redhead and his father who waved her over to the
door. "Come on, I think we tortured him enough for
now." Right before the two let themselves out,
Nobuyuki informed his son, "Tenchi, you can take the
day off school today if you want. I know you need
your sleep."
The young man asked dubiously, disbelief painted
plainly on his face, "Really Dad? I don't want to
miss too much school, but I am tired...."
Nobuyuki yawned, "Son, don't worry about it."
Ryoko almost face faulted. Whatever Tenchi did,
however he did it, those instructions worked to a tee.
Both of them did exactly as he told them to, and she
saw the photos. That was definitely not make-up. <At
least he didn't accept Washu's offer, that conniving
little witch, that's a positive.> She heard the
stairs creak slightly and a door in the hallway slide
open and shut, indicating the redhead had gone
downstairs and Nobuyuki was back in his room. The
demoness also found she could finally phase out of the
walls again, however, that gut feeling to remain
stayed, and so she settled herself back into the
closet.
The youngest man in the house was investigating for
signs of life in the hallway and eventually stepped
back into his room, shutting the door. As he held up
his hand and the Tenchi-ken appeared in his grip, the
prince commanded "Area protect, cut off all links."
Ryoko cringed silently, <Damn, he knows I'm here!>
Instead, the object of her dreams dropped the sword,
sauntered over to the desk and picked up the photos.
"I thought I destroyed all the evidence, I searched
Achika's memory so carefully. But it was probaly due
to degradation. Perhaps, or maybe it was someone
else's doing, ne?"
Done with speaking to himself, Tenchi paced back and
forth, gazing intently at the photos in his right
hand. Eventually, he stood still, while pondering the
situation, before he shook his head annoyed. A red
energy ball appeared in his hand disintegrating the
polaroids. The things started melting at first, then
the plastic began folding into itself at an ever
increasing pace, until a liquid mound remain remained,
and that too disappeared in the blaze. He dusted the
small pile of ash off his hands, though the stench of
burnt plastic clung stubbornly onto him and wafted
throughout the room.
Ryoko eyes bugged out, <He can make energy balls too,
like me? How?> Pinching herself, in case she was
dreaming, the cyan hair woman found out that instead
of waking, she had to stifle a yelp. After that
unsuccessful experiment, she turned her attention back
to Tenchi.
Her eyes opened wide, and she practically turned to
stone, mortified, there were now two Tenchis, one
facing the other! <What is this?!> Both identical,
except for the fact one's right hand was clenched, the
other's wasn't.
<Now he can make a shadow.> Trying to wake up again
or at least prevent from fainting, the confused spiky
haired woman bit her lip. She only found out that she
had to stifle a yelp. <Why won't I wake up!>
Tenchi clenched his fist tighter, "You know, I never
believed I could hit him."
The other Tenchi put a reassuring hand on his
doppelgangers shoulder, "Calm down, you asked for
forgiveness. He gave it to you. Let's just forget
about it...."
Tenchi violently shouted, "You don't understand
idiot!" Sinking to his knees he asked, "W-What if I
kill someone I love again, like back then. Am I
totally losing it?! Yelling is ok, but hitting?!"
The other Tenchi softly voiced opposition, trying to
be soothing, "Brother, let's not think such things.
It wasn't even coming close to that, you know."
Tenchi growled back angrily, "But this.... this I
could have handled better."
The other Tenchi started stroking Tenchi's hair,
"Brother, it's alright. Nothing bad happened this
time. Let's start talking about something else to
calm you down, you always feel better when you start
talking about her."
*********************************************************************
Authors Note:
PLEASE REVIEW, THANK YOU!
Email:
rolfwind@yahoo.com
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