evilpii

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  • evilpii
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    Chaud, let me applaud your continued search for evidence on your question. You are doing the good work, getting actual documents to support your findings. gendo1

    Looking at the image you found of Azusa, “punk” Misaki, and “second” Funaho, the designs remind me highly of another AIC property I enjoy. Below is a cast shot from Gall Force: Eternal Story.

    http://static.minitokyo.net/downloads/41/43/64691.jpg?851698347" />

    As a point of fact, both Hayashi and Kajishima worked on iterations of Gall Force at some point during their careers. Perhaps a little bit of the character designs bled over? butts1

    Also, I love the look of “punk” Misaki. She seems much more assertive than her OVA series 2 counterpart. Give Misaki Lufy’s “no fucks given” attitude or Eluza’s “no nonsense” attitude from Gall Force: Eternal Story, and I think “Here Comes Jurai” would have been a different episode. badass1

    Of course, comparisons could also be made with the more obvious Iczer 3, Tenchi‘s immediate progenitor. tuxedodouche

    http://www.animanga.com/Iczer/legend-g.gif" />

    Keep up the good work, Chaud. The truth is out there. gendo1

    evilpii
    Participant
    none
    Great ideas, guys. mmhmm1 I’ll comment in a moment, but first, I want to address a little matter of fact. It’s one of my pet peeves. blush1

    Ukinojo92 wrote:

    … when Kain attacked the GXP…

    The term “Galaxy Police” has always been abbreviated “GP”, regardless of series or continuity. To drive home the point, here are a couple screenshots: the GP flag from OVA series 1 episode 4 and Mihoshi’s identification from Universe episode 1.

    http://i1345.photobucket.com/albums/p661/evilpii/Forum/gpflag_zpsxgtyonge.png" />

    http://i1345.photobucket.com/albums/p661/evilpii/Forum/mihoshi-id_zpsjzeetn5m.png" />

    On the other hand, “GXP” is part of the title for the OVA spin-off Tenchi Muyo! GXP: Galaxy Police Transporter. One could presume that the “X” somehow stands for “Transporter”, perhaps “crossing” in some sense, but it does not belong as part of the abbreviation for “Galaxy Police” unto itself. aquateencarl1

    Now, back to the point of discussion. qt1

    Ukinojo92 wrote:

    My speculation on Kain knowing of Tenchi and his mother would be when Kain attacked the GXP HQ. The defeat of Kagato and the group responsible for saving Jurai is obviously known at the end of Universe. Tenchi’s lineage would have brought to light to the public as he is of Royal Juraian Blood that came and saved Jurai. The Royal family would have questioned Nobuyuki, Yosho, Tenchi, Ayeka and Sasami to fill in the gaps as well as GXP doing their own inquiring to identify a lost member and his continued bloodline of the Royal family of Jurai to make sure all members are accounted for. I mean after Kagato impersonated Yosho, then It would be natural to ask Tenchi how is he related to the Royal Family, so his mother’s heritage would have been made known through questioning.

    I agree that both the hierarchy of both Jurai and the GP would want to know what was happening, considering the grandiose amount of corruption involved. After all, Kagato had control of Jurai and had inside help with the GP.

    http://i1345.photobucket.com/albums/p661/evilpii/Forum/conspiracy1_zpscfyi0gxh.png" />

    http://i1345.photobucket.com/albums/p661/evilpii/Forum/conspiracy2_zpsn5w3jey1.png" />

    http://i1345.photobucket.com/albums/p661/evilpii/Forum/conspiracy3_zpsmhgw6rfj.png" />

    The extent of the corruption actually is part of why I think remnants of Kagato’s faction might still exist, perhaps even be the ones who would order a temporal assassination. woooo1 Also, there was a significant amount of news coverage after Kagato’s regime fell.

    http://i1345.photobucket.com/albums/p661/evilpii/Forum/newscoverage_zps8axsemcq.png" />

    As such, I would expect most of the galaxy to know the broad strokes of what happened. The Operative even mentions Yosho and Achika by name as Juraian nobility when he is holding Ryoko at gunpoint.

    http://i1345.photobucket.com/albums/p661/evilpii/Forum/yosho-achika_zpsbvfa3h0a.png" />

    Ukinojo92 wrote:

    If Kain was being tactical, then not only he attacked the GXP to prevent them from stopping him, he also stole info on all Jurai lineages from their databases: past and current and covered his tracks. He would have obtained all the necessary info from them and known who to attack to eradicate all who could pose a threat to him. Tenchi and the gang is THE force to oppose after saving the Jurai Empire from an imposter, escaping and fighting Jurai forces and the GXP along the way.

    I agree that taking out the GP eases Kain’s task, but I see no evidence for if Kain took their data or how he would have done so. The opening of the film, as well as the Operative’s flashbacks to it, show Kain stationary, causing some sort of distortion wave that seems to implode the GP headquarters. Ships fall into the station, and those in command at the headquarters merely describe spacetime moving into the past, ripping the facility apart. One could probably argue that the wave was gravitational in nature.

    http://i1345.photobucket.com/albums/p661/evilpii/Forum/destruction4_zpsyeqtoyjd.png" />

    http://i1345.photobucket.com/albums/p661/evilpii/Forum/destruction5_zps6lcocgzv.png" />

    http://i1345.photobucket.com/albums/p661/evilpii/Forum/destruction3_zpsl3tkicuv.png" />

    http://i1345.photobucket.com/albums/p661/evilpii/Forum/destruction1_zps4qs04hy3.png" />

    http://i1345.photobucket.com/albums/p661/evilpii/Forum/destruction2_zpsbfaymp1d.png" />

    Now, could Kain have extracted data from the husk of the headquarters when it reappeared? I could see the possibility, but I see no evidence either way. Considering he just used spacetime to crush and scatter the GP headquarters throughout time, it could be possible the servers with the data he wanted were destroyed, erased, or sent to another era altogether.

    Even then, if Kain got the information himself, he could have gotten information about other more significant targets than Achika. Extracting data still does not explain his motive for murdering Achika. Instead, it begs the question as to why he chose her from all the other potential targets for whom the GP no doubt has data.

    Lastly, “covering his tracks” is a moot point. He just destroyed the headquarters for the peacekeeping force of the galaxy. Washu states that the energy released at the moment of Achika’s disappearance matches the energy released when the GP headquarters vanished.

    http://i1345.photobucket.com/albums/p661/evilpii/Forum/energyreleased1_zps8tmaaizm.png" />

    http://i1345.photobucket.com/albums/p661/evilpii/Forum/energyreleased2_zpsczaotrkf.png" />

    Moreover, the commander states Kain is the only one capable of such a feat, and Yagami‘s database lists Kain as a “characteristic energy form”, “characteristic” being a synonym for “typical”.

    http://i1345.photobucket.com/albums/p661/evilpii/Forum/gpcommander_zpsomsin1mi.png" />

    Anyone investigating the wreckage of the headquarters with the right equipment would likely realize he was the culprit. He was hiding nothing.

    Ukinojo92 wrote:

    Being imprisoned for a hundred years in the space time prison made with the GXP and Jurai might combined would have taken a lot of Kain’s energy just to break out of. Kain took a beating before being imprisoned and probably slowly forced his way out of the prison, his energy must diminished some which would explain why he only went back to Tokyo, Japan 1970 instead of Jurai thousands of years of ago before the first emperor. Washu had a bit of difficulty getting the gang to 1970, for Kain it would have been easy a short jump in time, but the energy needed for a long jump thousands of years probably would have severely drained him.

    I had considered this before, that the temporal travel might have weakened Kain. It could explain why he was able to be killed, rather than just incarcerated like in antiquity. I like the idea, particularly the bit you said about Kain’s original capture weakening him as well, but no data to support or discount this hypothesis can be found in the film. blush1

    Ukinojo92 wrote:

    Although the whole theory of what kain is and where Kagato got his power might have been in a place where the realities and dimensions might have converged or been slightly exposed to Tenchi Universe’s Universe. It would explain why Kain is abnormally high powered and how Kagato boosted his own Juraian power, they were in a place where different energies and environments came together to change them.

    Exactly what do you mean here? What evidence do you have to support the conclusion that Kain and Kagato were at some sort of dimensional nexus? Both characters exist in the Tenchi Universe continuity, so neither of them were “exposed” to it. They were native to it.

    The theory I put forward was that Kagato, who was Juraian, was exposed to something like or connected to Kain, which is in natural direct opposition to Jurai’s very existence. As a result of such an antipodal blending, Kagato’s power was altered, corrupted, or enhanced. In the same vein, since Kagato and Kain’s goals were similar, message could have gotten to Kain through parties unknown that Kagato had failed, instigating Kain’s break-out and subsequent attack on Achika. Again, this is a theory, but my evidence for said theory was cited in my original post.

    ChaudSept wrote:

    What is sweet to my ear is that “everything is linked” feeling. The possibility that Kagato and Kain are somewhat together against Jurai is likeable.

    I know, right? kiyonesmile1 The idea that some mastermind might be behind both, someone Tenchi is destined to face, just screams out to me. Perhaps the original Tenchi Muyo! in Love 3, before it was converted into Ai Tenchi, would have given us just that. gendo1

    ChaudSept wrote:

    What could also support the fact that Kagato’s darkness is equal to Kain’s domain is Kagato’s sword. Aside from the “Oh look, my sword is black cause I’m bad”, this could be an actual link.

    What if his shadow blade was made of Kain’s body?

    However, the least we can say is that this idea is really based on thin things.

    I really, really like that idea. iloveit1 However, I am a bit unsure on a direct link from Katsuhito’s line in the same episode.

    http://i1345.photobucket.com/albums/p661/evilpii/Forum/tenchiken_zps8b496d29.png" />

    If Kagato’s sword works on the same principles as Tenchiken, then the blade would likely be an extension of Kagato’s power, not Kain’s body. Now, that is not to say that perhaps what corrupted Kagato’s power was not some part of Kain’s body, or that Kagato’s sword obeys a different set of underlying laws from Tenchiken. Sadly, the mechanics of the keys, light or dark, are not a significant plot point in Universe, or even in the OVA after the first series. Hence, you are correct in saying that the basis of such a connection is fairly tenuous at best. tenchiahhhhhh

    ChaudSept wrote:

    If there was such a link between TU and TMiL, I would expect a settlement in TMiL2. That said, Tenchi Forever is really different. Maybe if the two movies were alike, we would have gotten a similar feeling towards all three villains. We don’t get a look at a grand scheme of things, unfortunatly.

    As much as I love Tenchi Muyo! in Love 2, I have much the same gripe, that it was tonally so different from what came before it. However, that is also what made it so special as well. butts1

    ChaudSept wrote:

    But wait, how did Haruna die?

    WANT1 K’s poisoning WANT1

    I wish we had more elements.

    That would be really cool, that Haruna was a casualty of Yosho’s feud with Kagato. badass1 However, Katsuhito does throw a wrench into that theory in his dialogue.

    http://i1345.photobucket.com/albums/p661/evilpii/Forum/bed1_zps38704b6a.png" />

    Now, it is possible that Haruna was poisoned and Katsuhito/Yosho never knew, but I do not see evidence to support that conclusion.

    ChaudSept wrote:

    The other thing is “Why Achika and not another Juraian heir?”, well one first thing I don’t really know is : Do we know the exact date of Kain’s evasion? Is it happening exactly when we see the household for the first time in the movie?

    Timetravel is really tricky.

    One thing : Kain got his freedom at a time closer than we think to Achika’s youth, and didn’t actually travel through time (or not much).

    I agree that time travel is a finicky concept, but I believe the film’s events reveal enough information to answer this. First, Tenchi’s body starts disintegrating while he is walking down stairs with a case, presumably the projector for the 8mm film. Since this is shown directly after the aurora over modern Tokyo, one could likely place them as concurrent. Admittedly, this is a bit tenuous.

    http://i1345.photobucket.com/albums/p661/evilpii/Forum/aurora_zpstxgncfhl.png" />

    http://i1345.photobucket.com/albums/p661/evilpii/Forum/tenchi-hand_zpscjtoqttg.png" />

    Second, Kain buzzes Yagami on his way to Earth, and Kiyone receives an incomplete message about Kain’s escape. She is dwelling on it in 1996 when Ryoko fetches both her and Mihoshi to travel to 1970. Unlike the previous reference, I believe this one definitively shows Kain escape the GP in 1996, not 1970 or any historical point nearby.

    http://i1345.photobucket.com/albums/p661/evilpii/Forum/kain-yagami_zpsjwzcuhvg.png" />

    http://i1345.photobucket.com/albums/p661/evilpii/Forum/kiyone-bed_zpsvymvpdjs.png" />

    ChaudSept wrote:

    Another thing : Can the GP Station move? Say yes, maybe Kain happened to be closer to Achika by both space & time interpretation. Hence why he felt her and not anyone else.

    Yes, the GP headquarters can move, at least in one incarnation. In Ai Tenchi episode 49, the entire complex warped directly into orbit over Earth, the version where Junai Academy exists.

    http://i1345.photobucket.com/albums/p661/evilpii/Forum/vlcsnap-2015-07-19-22h04m22s211_zpsd8uqkipd.png" />

    Now, that does not necessarily speak to the Universe version of the headquarters, but it does mean the possibility cannot be ignored outright. Considering that the GP headquarters in Universe has a subspace room, as well as equipment that could detect temporal misalignments, I could believe the headquarters had other temporal equipment, including the ability to move in spacetime.

    That being said, I do not think the current position of the headquarters is stated in TMiL1, so its position relative to other targets for Kain likely could not be determined. Moreover, Katsuhito is on Earth, and likely a larger immediate threat to Kain than Achika.

    ChaudSept wrote:

    Then, again, why not Yosho? …

    Maybe he can hide his power just like OVA1 Yosho sealed Ryoko’s power away from Kagato?

    Ah, there he is. mmhmm1 It is possible that he can, considering he hid his power from Washu’s detection, which she admits in Universe episode 22.

    http://i1345.photobucket.com/albums/p661/evilpii/Forum/hiding-power_zpsbjwgjw3k.png" />

    Now, an interesting and dark theory would be that Kain murdered Achika to draw Katsuhito out. After all, Washu states that the Masaki family died out in the altered timeline. She never says when Katsuhito died in that alternate reality. Perhaps he died coming to avenge his daughter’s murder. butts1

    Another pet theory of mine is that Kain’s initial rampage, c. 1896, was to draw out the Juraian emperor of that age and lead to his death. This would align fairly well with the idea that Kain was basically an assassin, and could jive with murdering Achika to get to Katsuhito. gendo1

    evilpii
    Participant
    none
    Who better to play politics with the Arquillians than a Juraian princess? Tenchismile

    Tenchi Muyo! vs Men in Black – Chapter 1, Part 2

    evilpii
    Participant
    none
    Why would a galactic criminal traverse both space and time to attack a high school girl on Earth?

    A year after Kain destroyed the Galaxy Police headquarters, Washu considers the creature’s motives, leading to some sinister questions. However, she is interrupted by an unexpected arrival.

    Tenchi Muyo! vs. Men in Black – Chapter 1, Part 1

    evilpii
    Participant
    none

    Quote:

    Prologue – The Chimera

    While most of the inhabitants of Earth had no knowledge of extraterrestrial races, a few select groups around the globe had both knowledge and interactions with otherworldly life. Of these organizations, the largest and most prominent based itself in New York City and took great lengths to maintain its clandestine activities from the public eye. Known as the “Men in Black” (MiB) due its operatives’ ubiquitous black dress suits, the agency tasked itself with monitoring and controlling extraterrestrial activity on Earth.

    Since the MiB’s establishment in 1961, the bureau has maintained Earth’s neutrality as an apolitical zone, a haven for those needing asylum. From the failed Boglodite invasion of 1969 to the plea of the Zarthans in 1978, the stone-faced personnel of this secret police force have held the line, protecting both Earth itself and the inhabitants’ ignorance from the dangers around them. One such danger arose in July 1997 when an Arquillian prince was assassinated for the powerful trinket he had been hiding.

    The assassin took the form of an immense insect, a cockroach with proportionate strength and endurance. His claws and talons could easily snap a man in half, but his body had the flexibility to be folded into a smaller form and concealed within a corpse, a grotesque “skin suit”. His glands could produce a cocooning agent that glue objects together, as well as preserve food hidden in this way.

    However, these natural abilities were only a sample of the creature’s genetic potential. Indeed, his race took many insectoid forms, some possessing wings or stingers, even a potent venom. These different forms were locked inside a “caste gene”, activated upon incubation to determine the individual’s caste in the overall society of its hive. Wings typically depicted royalty, reproduction rights. Venomous stingers represented the the soldier type, berserkers born only to defend and kill. The assassin was chosen from the worker caste, high endurance and survivability in harsh environments, most expendable.

    What if all of the creature’s potential was unlocked in a single individual, a monster warrior? Could one such being destroy the Men in Black, conquer Earth? Could an army of such beasts topple a galactic empire?

    No, a brutally strong monster would not stand against the powers and weaponry of the more advanced races. Among the stars were several different species, some united under the flag of the Galactic Union (GU), protected by its Galaxy Police (GP). Together, their pooled technology produced not only energy weapons like those wielded by the Men in Black, but also powered armor, thermoptic camouflage, and cybernetic augmentation.

    And then, one must consider the abilities of the races themselves. A few select species had the ability to summon forth ethereal energies, even to weaponize them. Specifically, the royal family of the Jurai Empire were said to possess a power surpassing that of a god. This power flowed through the bloodlines of Juraian nobility, giving them the ability to manifest constructs like barriers and bolts of power. Even unarmed, a Juraian nobleman constituted a significant threat at close or long range. Over millennia, the so-called “Jurai Power” was refined and mastered, given discipline through the sword arts of the royal family, harnessed via their organic technology.

    What could stand against the GP and its weaponry, let alone Jurai and its might?

    As with many natural phenomena, Jurai’s power had an antithesis, a polar opposite. The Universal Science Academy (SA), the GU’s academic branch, classified this dark energy as “non-normal variety of occurrence”, or “NVO”. Its properties and manifestations mirrored Jurai’s might with an antipodal disposition, the two annihilating one another in most every incident and simulation. In 1896, one such event caught the galaxy’s attention, the rampage of a Super-A class criminal, codenamed “K.A.I.N.” With all the GP’s weaponry, they could not stop Kain as he destroyed planet after planet, murdering those in his path. Only by using the power of the former emperor of Jurai was the nightmare ended, and Kain imprisoned. Sadly, the emperor died to achieve this great feat.

    Another particular criminal had a great power of her own. A space pirate by trade, she had greedily heisted banks and convoys throughout her brief career starting in 1992. However, due to a twist of fate, she had become embroiled in the 1995 coup d’etat on the Juraian throne-world. During the end of the coup, she made a valkyrie-like assault on the planet, breaking through the planetary defense system with her single battleship. Even without her vessel, the young woman had numerous natural abilities: teleportation, flight, and energy constructs such as beam swords, defensive barriers, and even a temporary clone of herself.

    Could all of these miraculous powers be married with the insectoid beast’s brute strength and armor? Would this be enough to take Jurai?

    These questions burdened the thoughts of the Great Liaens as he stood over the operating theater below. Shrouded in his black cloak, he stroked his long, lush beard slowly, considering both the nagging questions and the action before him. His artificial eyes glinted in the dim light, their polished glass surface shining over the steel-gray mechanical iris within each, the pupil in the shape “+”.

    In the operating theater below, a single insectoid creature laid strapped to the central table. His brown carapace strained against the restraints as he snapped and snarled at the man far above. Around the beast stood storage vessels, each containing a subject much like the captured creature, but twisted or mutilated in some way. Some had humanoid tissue replacing the natural carapace. Some had tattoo-like lines scrawled in circuitous patterns along their appendages and faces. However, all were very dead.

    A side door opened and allowed a young woman, no more than 17 years of age, to enter the chamber. Dressed in a white laboratory coat, she made her way quickly to the creature, her long, blond hair flowing in a vixen’s tail behind her and over her elfin ears. Her feline gray eyes followed the monster’s struggles, but without expression, distant, empty. The sclera of her eyes pulsed with a vile emerald light as she set to her task, revealing a quintet of syringes from the pockets of her coat. Despite the creature’s roars and garbled threats, she found the soft flesh between his armored carapace and injected him with each vial of fluid in succession. Stepping aside, she stood patiently, watching his reactions.

    As Liaens intently watched the beast’s resistance give way to sudden fits, a woman’s voice whispered into his ear, “Such delicious torment…”

    His eyes slid away from the insect’s reactions to the woman standing at his side. Her emerald gaze pierced back into his, vicious and venomous. Framed by her fiery red locks, she leered back at him with a slight, twisted smile on her lips. Notably, a patch of her hair was died orange and teased upward into a bed of spikes just above her left eye. Her blouse was cut low from her neck, plunging seductively around her cleavage, while her dress was split up along each of her legs. A green cloak fluttered about her shoulders as she laughed to herself.

    How Liaens hated this woman, this witch Jezibel Kimitan. If not for the use of her psychic talents, he would prefer her kind scorched from the multiverse’s memory. Thankfully, his race was immune to her wiles, at least those of the mental variety.

    “You sicken me,” he hissed back at her.

    “But,” her sultry voice retorted, “it’s all for your victory over Jurai, yes?”

    With a quick motion, he clutched the hand she had been snaking under his cloak. Raising her wrist upward, he responded, “Don’t forget your place, woman. You are merely a means to an end.”

    She scoffed as her smile widened. “As are we all in the eyes of the gods, even you.”

    Her words burned in his ears as he scowled, releasing her wrist. His reticle-like eyes lingered on her for a moment before returning to the action below. There, the beast’s carapace shifted color to green while its talons have elongated and curved inward, more scythe-like. However, his attention turned to the blond girl who administered the treatment.

    “You are sure your control on her is absolute?” he worried.

    Leaning on a guardrail above the theater, the Kimitan witch gazed down as well. Her eyes burned a deep jade, as did those of the blond girl below. As one, the two women smiled.

    “Her will is more broken than it was two years ago,” Jezibel answered. “Even if her beloved hunter appeared, my connection to her mind would remain unchanged.”

    “And, my army?”

    As both watched, the insect’s mandibles reconfigured themselves to match the changes of his talons and carapace, gradually resembling more a mantis than a roach. His eyes grew increasingly weary from the metamorphosis occurring within his body.

    “This bug Illirg seems to be taking to the genetic treatment far better than the other subjects,” Jezibel stated. “The girl’s hypothesis about Ryoan energy would seem to be correct.”

    “Can it be controlled?” Liaens demanded.

    Insulted, the witch curled her lip and retorted, “Keep in mind who I am. I can ensure his loyalty.”

    “Then, have it prepared and sent to Earth as planned. I want to see how it fares in combat.”

    As he spun away to leave, Jezibel called back to him once more, “And, if he should fail?”

    “Have the gynoid at the ready. She, at least, has proven reliable.”

    The malicious telepath took a sweeping bow, mocking her reluctant ally. “Of course, King Liaens, the Great.”

    His teeth ground behind his lips while he vanished from her sight. As Jezibel stood there alone, her jade eyes turned back to the blond girl below, who gazed up at the unspoken command of her mistress.

    “Good work, young Nerti Ro.”

    Shall we have a new beginning? gendo1

    evilpii
    Participant
    none
    Now that I am back at my writing station, I have amended the compilation PDF of Homecomings: Masaki with the new third chapter. This file should allow ease of reading for the work to current. I hope you enjoy. Tenchismile

    Homecomings: Masaki – Prologue, Chapters 1-3

    Surveying the two stories at present, both are at a good stopping point, so I will be taking a break from them to work on other projects. In particular, I hope to have a first chapter of a new (mostly) unrelated Tenchi project out in the next two weeks. Let’s see how that goes. blush1

    evilpii
    Participant
    none
    Homecomings: Masaki – Chapter 3, Part 6

    Homecomings: Masaki – Chapter 3, Complete

    Quote:

    Ryua Ryoko sat at the edge of the bed, taking long, deep breaths. She straightened her back, her amber eyes focusing onto the wall before her. Distantly, she thanked Tenchi’s grandfather for teaching her those breathing techniques when another wave of nausea smashed into her gut. She gagged, keeping her mouth shut as she tried to breathe through her nose.

    During that ill moment, she wondered if she had eaten a bad piece of sushi, perhaps had caught a bug, or was just anxious. She had been worrying about going to Jurai, seeing Ayeka again.

    As the feeling passed, she glanced back to Tenchi, who still slept beneath the sheets. Since their relationship started, she had learned that little could wake him, short of maybe a pirate raid. Half of her was glad that he would not see her this way, sick, weak. Ever since she left the Ryoan pirate guilds, she had always been alone, just her and Ryo-Ohki against the universe. Surviving numerous daring heists and vile double-crosses, she had constructed her proud persona of bravado, learning to cheat and deceive to get her way. In the pirate’s life, weakness was not an option.

    At the same time, the other side of her wanted him to see her, to comfort her, to care for her. The affection that burned bright and hot in the depths of her chest wanted to be close to him, to be happy with him, to be honest with him. She was no longer alone. She did not have to cheat or deceive him. He would stand with her because he loved her, not because of what she could do for him.

    Moments like this one brought the conflict to the surface, the young brigand she had been versus the wiser woman she was becoming.

    But, she asked herself, who am I becoming?

    A chunk of Ryoko’s soul would always be the feared space pirate. That title was forever tattooed into her karma, and while she knew it would cause people to question her loyalties, she would never regret it. In every battle, she tapped that part of her spirit, the viciousness and ferocity only learned from a misspent youth and fighting for every coin she took.

    Yet, piracy was only half of the legacy laid before her. Her father was the dread pirate Ten Akuno, but her mother was Ryua Ryoshu, a woman of both intelligence and passion. Ryoko had heard rumors of her mother’s younger days, helping Akuno to unify the Ryoan pirate guilds, scheming against the Matronic Temple, against her own family. However, the cyan-maned woman never saw that side of her mother, instead only seeing her as the teacher of the guild’s children and orphans.

    Ryoko smiled to herself. I wonder what Mom would think of me now.

    Another wave of nausea suddenly struck her. Covering her mouth, she rushed out of the bedroom and into the nearby bathroom. Automatically, the lights gently brightened around her as she rested her hands on either side of the sink basin, her body convulsing, wanting to purge the empty contents of her stomach.

    As the queasy feeling passed, Ryoko calmed her pounding heart with several deep breaths. Staring down at the sink, her feline eyes traced the grain of the Juraian wood used to construct the fixture. Most days, she forgot that her lover was descended from Juraian nobility. In being with him, she could be regarded as his consort, perhaps even a princess.

    The Ryoan woman chuckled to herself. God, Ayeka would love that! Me, a princess of Jurai!

    Yet, Tenchi did not dress or act like an arrogant, haughty royal prince. Like his grandfather before him, he has long since tossed that responsibility away, preferring to stay the normal and kind person he has always been.

    And besides, she admitted, what the hell do I know about being a princess?

    Ryoko did love lounging around the Masaki estate, whether napping in the rafters or sleeping spooned with Tenchi. Of all the places she has lived through her travels in the stars, this place felt the most comfortable, the most familiar, the most right. She enjoyed dancing with him, talking with him, even sparring with him. As she thought about the future, she could picture herself nowhere else but at Tenchi’s side.

    Feeling better, the ex-pirate waved her hands under the faucet, spurring it to pour water into her hands. Splashing the liquid in her face, she woke herself up more and helped push that vile digestive nonsense out of her mind. After rubbing her face with her hands for a few seconds, she took a towel from the counter and dried her face.

    Yet, as she looked into the mirror, she saw another person standing in the shadows behind her. There stood her half-sister, Jurai Nagi, wordlessly gazing back at her. Ryoko could see a conflict in her sibling’s eyes, but she could not recognize it right away.

    “What?” the cyan-maned Ryoan asked. “What’s the problem?”

    “Sick,” Nagi asked rhetorically, “this early in the morning?”

    The former pirate had heard plenty of different tones from the huntress’s words in their various exchanges, mostly negative. However, her inflection was new, not completely negative but also not really positive. Likewise, her expression was cryptic, confused, unsure.

    Nevertheless, this was the feared bounty hunter, so Ryoko replied nonchalantly as she usually would.

    “Yeah. What about it?”

    At this, Nagi’s brows furrowed into a scowl, her eyes dancing with a volatile blend of emotions, before storming away without a word. Standing there in the washroom, Ryoko blinked as she considering Nagi’s reaction. True, the elder sister had snared the younger into this trip to Jurai, but she had been more civil a week ago.

    Even then, Ryoko wondered, why would me being sick this morning set… her…?

    And, the realization seeped into the cyan-maned woman’s thoughts. Her amber eyes widened as Nagi’s implication became increasingly more obvious, a fact that if true, would change everything. Stunned into silence, Ryoko’s eyes slid toward the floor as she leaned against the nearby wall. The fun joy she had been enjoying slipped away, exchanged by something far different.

    Fear.

    She never planned this. She had always avoided it, this greatest responsibility of all. Now, the prospect weighed heavily on her heart.

    As a tear rolled down from her eye, her heart also jumped at the possibility. If true, this would be part of Tenchi, and part of her, joining them forever.

    Hopes and worries started to fill her head as she wrapped her arms around herself and turned to look into the mirror again. She now could see the expression Nagi wore a few moments ago in her own: fear, worry, uncertainty, but hope as well.

    Then, she shook her head.

    You don’t know anything, she chided herself. Hell, she doesn’t know anything. Don’t get worked up because of Nagi’s suspicions. Besides, she’s got plenty of mother issues.

    As she walked back to the bedroom and slid back into Tenchi’s arms, she consoled her lingering worries as misplaced speculation. However, as she laid their in her beloved’s embrace, her mind continued to play with the notion while her mind returned to dreams of what may become of them.

    Mic drop. gendo1

    evilpii
    Participant
    none
    When should another culture be approached? Should one meddle in their development? Here, Washu and her colleague Naja continue to debate these questions, and their own biases.

    Homecomings: Masaki – Chapter 3, Part 5

    evilpii
    Participant
    none
    As a note, I have decided to release this segment on FanFiction.net under the title “On the Eve of War”. To my surprise, Literary Eagle left a happy review, and even pointed out that the story fits well for Mother’s Day! mmhmm1 I had not planned that. blush1
    evilpii
    Participant
    none
    Being a teenager is awkward, even for the younger princess of Jurai.

    Homecomings: Masaki – Chapter 3, Part 4

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