Tenchi Muyo Fan Fiction ❯ Ryakudatsu Muyo (No Need for Piracy) ❯ Fukakai Muyou (No Need for Enigma) ( Chapter 3 )

"Man himself is an enigma in motion."

-- Emile-Auguste Chartier (1868-1951), French Philosopher

From the summit of dozens of marble steps, one could see the glimmer of sunlight on the water of the tranquil lake near the Masaki household. A massive tree stood, hearty and stout at the spot upon which it had rested for seven-hundred years. It resembled a member of one of the grand deciduous tree families, but still more majestic, and its leaves in afternoon sunlight shone with colors brilliantly verdant and golden.

This tree, the only of its kind to set roots in Earth's soil, had a name: Funaho.

The man who was once carried between stars by Funaho placidly watched the delicate and listless motion of its leaves in an unhurried August wind through square-rimmed glasses. His skin, loosened and weathered, and his hair, long since turned from black to gray, belied the energy which welled tranquilly within him-only his eyes would give it away, when he was at rest. For a great long time, he had been nothing more than an old man and a Shinto priest.

For a very, very long time.

How many lifetimes had he seen pass, here on Earth?

How long had he been Katsuhito?

It has been a very long time, has it not, Funaho? Yosho watched the tree which had been his companion for seven hundred years, as judged by Earth's orbit. After seven hundred years, his past had returned, but he now refused to play his old roles-crown prince of the Juraian galactic empire and of legendary swordsman. Now he was an old man, a grandfather, and a mentor to Tenchi; and he had his shrine to tend, of course, even though the demoness it once imprisoned had been set free.

* * * * *

"Is there something I can do for you?" Although Yosho was fully aware of both presences nearby, he did not move. Both were familiar, but one, he could not place-not yet, at least.

"It's not like you to be rude to a guest, old man. You should be inviting me to tea or something, right? Especially when I've got a package for you."

"Yes, of course." Yosho glanced back at the young man over whose shoulder Ryoko was casually slung. "Come with me."

Yosho quietly led the way across the stone courtyard at the top of the hill, and into the building which had long served as his sanctuary. The young man followed just as quietly-almost reverently, thought Yosho, well aware of the man's posture and the way he distributed his weight with each step. His arrogant expression and demeanor concealed a deep-seated respect.

"Sit, if you please."

"Thanks." The young man swung Ryoko off his shoulder-so casually that it seemed as though he would be perfectly content if she was sent through the wall-and deposited her with a surgeon's easy confidence and delicacy on the floor. The coat he wore was black leather, cunningly decorated in bright silver, and he brushed it back as he sat before the low table in a practiced motion.

Yosho sat opposite him, setting down tea. "Now, then. What shall I call you?"

The young man lifted the cup nearest himself and drank quietly. "Captain Takeo Kobayashi. But I suppose I can make an exception and let you call me `Takeo,' all things considered."

"'Takeo.' Hm." Yosho nodded quiet approval. "You are not here, I hope, to cause trouble."

"Trouble?" Takeo smirked casually in response. "Wouldn't you say trouble builds character? Don't worry, I'm not planning on killing anyone. Not for the time being, at least-and certainly not in front of you. Piracy's all about calculated risk, and I calculate I'd be an idiot to get in a serious fight with the man I learned from."

Yosho contemplated him a moment, then nodded. "Then you are-"

"I don't think I need to answer that question," Takeo interrupted. "I think you know who I am, and I think we both know why you're wise enough to keep it to yourself."

In silence, Yosho watched the young man before him. Then he closed his eyes and nodded; there was little to gain by bluffing to a companion who clearly knew him so well-knew his perceptiveness, knew his policy of noninterference, and knew his acute awareness of consequences. "Very well. Are you staying long?"

Takeo paused quietly, finishing his tea. He set down the cup, smirked, and glanced toward the door as footsteps approached it from outside. "No, not very long."

"Mm." Yosho sat quietly and sipped his tea, well aware of what was going to happen.

* * * * *

Tenchi had spent the previous in a warring blend of relief and worry. He had expected either to wake up to Ryoko's unsolicited advances, or else to find her asleep someplace, where she would stay until the afternoon; neither was the case. In fact, it turned out that she was nowhere in the house, and she didn't show up all day long. She wasn't around this morning, either, and Ryo-Ouki was apparently with her. Mihoshi was still asleep, Washuu was locked away in her lab with a "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door, and Tenchi's dad had already left for work; with Aeka and Sasami away on their trip, that meant his grandfather was the only person available to ask. Tenchi stepped up to the door of his grandfather's shrine, and slid the door open.

"Hey, gran-"

Tenchi was ready to fight the instant he detected something moving quickly in his direction, the sword which shared his name flaring to life in his hand; but he caught himself before he struck. He threw his sword wide, stumbling backward as he caught Ryoko with his newly freed hands. "R-Ryoko?!"

"Bang."

Tenchi looked up from the unconscious woman and tensed. A young man stood in the doorway of the shrine with what looked like some kind of pistol; Tenchi could tell where it was aimed by his clear line of sight into the barrel. He felt a sharp pang of foolishness, realizing that he had cast his own weapon aside to catch Ryoko. It was just like all the times sparring with his grandfather when he stumbled blindly into a trap-only this time it was deadly serious. He locked eyes with the young man and scowled, trying to think what action he could take without getting shot first.

Takeo stared back for a long, silent moment before laughing uproariously as he spun the pistol casually and stowed it in an ornamented holster at his hip. "You won't last very long with instincts like that, Masaki! One hostage, and I could have killed you without making even a token effort."

"What did you do to Ryoko?!" Tenchi glared furiously, holding the legendary demoness who now sagged bonelessly in his arms.

Takeo chuckled and grinned, displaying predatory, fang-like teeth. "Well, it looks to me like I beat the hell out of her. Gets you real riled up, doesn't it, kid? You look like your forehead's about to crawl off your face if you get any more stressed out-you must want to try and kick my ass pretty bad, huh?"

Tenchi tensed, scowling angrily. "I don't want-"

"The hell you don't," interrupted the pirate offhandedly. "You might dream of being a sissy, but I know you've got a hell of a spark in you."

"I don't! I don't want to fight!"

Takeo rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on. You're the kid who killed Kagato, aren't you?" It was more a statement of fact, or even an accusation, than a question, and he didn't wait for Tenchi to reply. "Here. Maybe when you've got your sword, you'll have some balls, too."

Tenchi tensed as the Master Key flung itself toward him with a gesture from the pirate. The blade flared to blue-white light as he caught it from the air in his right hand, and he strained under the pressure of the first strike which came down on him; his opponent had closed faster than Tenchi anticipated, and only his reflexes had saved him. Takeo's own weapon crackled against the Master Key's blade and radiated a fierce, blazing red light-an impression only heightened by the pirate's mocking laughter as he pressed down, testing the limits of Tenchi's strength and clearly using practically none of his own. I'll need both hands for this, thought Tenchi, grimacing with effort. I need to get him away from Ryoko!

Tenchi tilted the Master Key suddenly to let his opponent's blade slide away, and slashed across; his enemy dodged away, but he had at least bought himself some space. He quickly but gently set Ryoko down to rest on the stone of the courtyard and bounded after Takeo, taking another slash-somewhat wild, this second attack, but it sufficed to initiate the engagement in earnest, and at a safe distance from the unconscious Ryoko.

Takeo's parry and counter were characteristically relaxed, with loose but succinct form; his movements were casual, but wasted no motion or energy, and his reactions were as deliberate, expert, and effortless as Washuu's response to a calculus problem: in a flash, it seemed, the response was obvious to him. He gave ground at first, but he gave it as though it were either a concession to Tenchi's pride or a means to build suspense in some unseen audience, for he showed no sign of concern. Even on the retreat, he fought as though each step he yielded, he knew he could reclaim with interest at any moment.

It surprised Tenchi how frustrating he found his opponent. Each and every time he saw an opening, it was lost again even as he struck. With each glaring flash of contact between the Master Key's blue-white blade and the wrathful crimson of Takeo's, he imagined his grandfather scolding him during lessons: No, Tenchi! You hesitate too much! If you expect to survive a real fight, hesitation is the first enemy you must defeat!

It surprised him doubly when Takeo suddenly reversed tactics, flashing a grin and pressing his attack fiercely where he had been defending. Now, he struck and lunged and reclaimed quickly much of the ground he had lost, driving forward like an engine which had finally warmed up after a cold night of disuse; Tenchi had to struggle to keep his sword in position for each consecutive strike, and it was all he could do not to fall into a panic. He tried to reclaim the advantage with a quick parry and a crosswise slash, but his blade was met with flourish and precision bordering on artistry.

"Hah! Is that all you've got in you?!" Takeo grinned fiercely, pressing forte-à-forte against Tenchi's guard-easilly, he could have overborne his physically weaker opponent; but, tauntingly, he did no more than keep him in place, the searing red of his blade casting bright red on the younger man's face.

Tenchi resisted, despite the futility he could feel in the effort by his adversary's relaxed carriage. "Damnit! What do you want?!" he cried, straining under the force applied to his blade and gripping the Master Key with both hands, his eyes stubbornly focusing on the coherent ray of crimson light lingering so near his face. He wasn't sure if it was real or imagined, but he could feel its fierce, angry heat beating against his cheek like the noonday sun; is was all the more prominent in contrast to Takeo's casual, taunting bearing.

"Tch." Takeo flashed an irritated glare; just as Tenchi was debating a risky move to free his blade from the pirate's, he felt a hand drive into his gut, knocking the wind from him and sending him stumbling backward from the force alone. It was all he could do to keep a grip on the Master Key, but its blade guttered fitfully and died out like a candle in a hurricane. He fell to the ground, wheezing, near the steps which led down to the house, and tried with all his might not to vomit; the grim thought passed through his mind that if he did, he would also be the one stuck cleaning it up.

"I want a real fight from you," replied the pirate to Tenchi's question. "If you can't offer that, next time, then you'd better have your affairs in order; the same goes for anyone else wasting my time on your behalf. Savvy?"

Tenchi just groaned through clenched teeth, struggling to keep his lunch and his pride in place. He had no inclination to answer-until the highest step of the path leading up from the house, a few paces away from him, exploded in a rain of rock chips and sent gravel cascading down the marble stairway. He flinched away reflexively, and looked to see his opponent's pistol drawn and aimed; he imagined it could easilly do to his head what it had done to the block of marble.

"I said, savvy?"

Tenchi glared and nodded curtly, struggling to restrain himself from dashing forward into the path of the gun's muzzle, and looked away in frustration.

The number one most wanted pirate in the galaxy chuckled, more casually than maliciously, as though it had all been an elaborate but harmless prank. "You need to work on your witty repartee, too. Let's hope you can impress me next time, Masaki. And rest assured that there will be a next time."

When Tenchi looked up again, his opponent was gone.

* * * * *

Ryoko woke, slowly, with a throbbing headache; she had, too, a vague sensation of half-numb discomfort centered in her jaw and in her gut which seemed to spread into her back along the canal of her spine and trickle out to her extremities from there. The more conscious she became, the more conscious she became of how damn sore she was, and it left her yearning acutely for a few stiff drinks.

"Ryoko!"

She shifted at the exclamation and winced as the pain in her head surged like the surface of water in a glass given a solid nudge. The dull ache sloshed about briefly inside her skull before it settled; she made sure to keep still afterward, lest she disturb it again. Hesitating just a moment at the fear of another surge of pain, she cracked her eyes open slightly. "Nn... Tenchi?"

Tenchi knelt over her, wearing a look of concern overlaying weariness. Ryoko could see by the half-focused ceiling beyond him that they were in one of the bedrooms, and she could think clearly enough, at least, to guess that the bed she was on must have been hers. The only time Tenchi would bring an injured Ryoko to the comfort and safety of his bed was in her wildest dreams.

"Are you okay, Ryoko? You've been out for more than a day... what happened?"

"What happened?" she repeated quietly to herself in a bit of a daze. "I'm not sure what- no, wait." She brought a hand to her jaw as the unwelcome memory swam together from the gradually receding fog in her mind and set into something coherent.

"Nng... that bastard!" she hissed. "Now I remember. He was- wait, how did I get back to Earth? Where's Ryo-Ouki?"

"Ryo-Ouki showed up just after he left. She's been helping keep an eye on you at night; I think she's sleeping, now." Tenchi scowled, although as much out of concern as anger. "And a guy wearing a lot of leather brought you. Where were you, Ryoko?"

"He did?" She started at that, and winced. "Nn... his name's Takeo. Captain Takeo Kobayashi, he said; he's a pirate. He didn't hurt you, did he Tenchi?"

Tenchi sighed a bit at her stubbornness, but paused when he saw the uncharacteristic seriousness of her expression. She must have fought him, too... and if I say he DID, then she'll probably try to get revenge or something. He hesitated, remembering Takeo's threat.

"Uh... no, no, I'm fine, Ryoko." Tenchi smiled reassuringly. "Really, I'm okay. I don't think he wanted to fight me seriously, anyways-like he was just trying to scare me. But where were you? You weren't out picking fights, were you?"

Ryoko sighed and looked away. "It's not like that, Tenchi... I heard he was around, and I wasn't about to stand by while some punk was trying to outdo me." And I didn't want to let him get near you, she thought, but that didn't quite go according to plan. "You're probably right, though, about what he was after. Life's easier for a pirate who scares people. If everyone's scared of you, then you don't have to fight them, so you get to relax and take fewer risks."

Tenchi frowned as he listened. Hesitating a moment after Ryoko had finished speaking, he shook his head and touched her shoulder gently. "Please don't do that again, okay Ryoko? I really don't want to see you get hurt, especially over something like a reputation from hundreds of years ago."

Ryoko blinked at the gesture and smiled back slowly; it was hard to be tough in the face of Tenchi being so sweet. Besides which, until she was up to fighting again, she would need to rest; and next time, she thought, I'll have to get completely serious from the beginning. He may be an amateur, but I've got to admit that he's a real threat.

"Okay, Tenchi," she answered, reluctantly. "But if he comes back again..."

"Ryoko-"

Tenchi's objection was interrupted by the clatter of the door shoved open too abruptly.

"Ryoko! You're awake!" puffed Mihoshi as the pirate winced at the clamor and the throbbing headache it worsened.

"Uh..." Tenchi stared at Mihoshi briefly, wondering at her panicked, breathless state. "Everything okay, Mihoshi?"

"Huh?" She stared back momentarily, oblivious, eyes wide. "Oh, right!"

Without warning, she flung herself on Tenchi, arms thrown about his waist, and buried her face in his chest, wailing mutedly. "Oh, Tenchi, it's horrible!"

Tenchi sat, startled, with his hands on Mihoshi's shoulders, torn between comforting her and pushing her away-only partly for the sake of propriety. "Uh." He chuckled uncomfortably, trying to ignore the deadly glare directed at them from Ryoko, which was the other reason he considered pushing Mihoshi away. "What's horrible, Mihoshi?"

"Lady Asahi was kidnapped!"

"Huh? Who's Lady Asahi?" Tenchi sweatdropped. "You weren't watching cartoons just now, were you Mihoshi?"

"Oh, no, it's not that!" Mihoshi shook her head vigorously and sat up, relinquishing her grip on Tenchi, which relieved him and relaxed Ryoko. "I was checking up on the Galaxy Police news update again, and it said that just earlier today, there was a kidnapping at that conference Lady Aeka went to. Lady Asahi, the daughter of Lord Nomori Takebe, one of the really important nobles, got kidnapped-and her Royal Tree, Mimasaka, was stolen at the same time, too!"

Tenchi blinked as he listened, growing more and more concerned. "That is bad..."

Yeah, thought Ryoko peevishly. It's a crying shame whoever did it was after the wrong A.

"Is Miss Aeka okay?" he continued.

"Yeah, I think so... a couple guards got hurt, but they'll be okay. The report says..." she trailed off as she pulled out her dimensional cube and set to work trying to retrieve her remote display screen. It was several minutes before she finally produced and opened the display, reading it aloud to Tenchi and Ryoko in the most grave tone she could muster:

"Congratulations, Galaxy Police Officer Mihoshi! You may have already won an all-expenses paid ten day (local) vacation to the lovely resort and spa world-"

"Uh, Mihoshi?" interrupted Tenchi, sweatdropping. "You sure you're reading the right thing?"

"Huh?" She fell silent and stared wide-eyed for a long moment at the display. "Oh, you're right! Ummmm... oh, here it is!

"Priority A-1 report. Last Update: 2 hours ago. Crimes: Assaulting a Noble (1), Kidnapping (1), Assault and Battery (5), Grand Theft (1). Victim: Lady Asahi. Perpetrator: Unidentified. Tokonatsunokuni, the resort world famous for its popularity among the nobility of the empire, was the site of an important conference on inter-sector trade policy which began yesterday. However, the trade conference soon became the stage for a daring act of kidnapping.

"During a recess only hours ago, several guards were attacked by surprise and overpowered, sustaining minor injuries. Lady Asahi Takebe was taken before her bodyguard could interfere, and her ship Mimasaka left the resort's docks shortly thereafter, while regular passenger transport was locked down. It is believed that there was a single perpetrator at the scene, but there may have been unseen accomplices, as well. The perpetrator has yet to be identified, but the investigation and questioning is still continuing, as of this update. The perpetrator is described as a young male, and is believed to be capable of teleportation.

"Officers are presently tracking the Royal Tree Mimasaka and in pursuit, but Lord Takebe is reluctant to allow the use of force until terms have been discussed with the kidnapper, out of concern for his daughter's safety. Until the situation changes, Galaxy Police ships are restricted by imperial edict from using force or coercion to dock with Mimasaka, which presently stands as Imperial Juraian Sacred Territory. Repeat. Officers are NOT to attempt to dock with Mimasaka; any who fail to comply may be prosecuted on charges of Trespassing on Imperial Juraian Sacred Territory."

Tenchi was scowling in thought. "I guess there's not a lot we can do about it, either, is there?"

Ryoko flashed him a grin-the kind that made him certain she had a bad idea. "Well, I'm sure you could find someone willing to risk getting in trouble with Jurai, if you asked really nicely, Tenchi."

He shook his head, trying not to think what she meant by the suggestive tone with which she said nicely. "No way, Ryoko! You're in no shape to go anywhere right now, and you're definitely not well enough to get in another fight!"

Ryoko sighed and sank into her bed slightly. "Okay, okay."

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Tenchi and Ryoko looked over at the sound coming from Mihoshi's display.

"Ooh!" she piped. "There's an update! Oh, good!" She smiled hugely, blue eyes wide with excitement as she read it.

"They found out who it was?" asked Tenchi.

"Well no, not yet, but they say the conference is adjourned until Lady Asahi's brought back! That means Aeka can come home!"

The room shook as Ryoko fell out of her bed with a crash.