Disclaimer: The characters of Tenchi Muyo belong to AIC and Pioneer LDC. The Ranma ½ characters are the creation of Rumiko Takahashi. They are used without permission. The Urusei Yatsura characters are also the creation of Rumiko Takahashi.
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Match
2:
Taking
a fall
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On board the Koumyou in high Earth orbit, a young man with dark violet hair wrung his hands nervously. He had been well briefed by the King about the quick defeat and demise of those who had gone before him. This time every precaution was being taken to ensure that he didn't meet a similar fate.
~Scanning sector for Galaxy Police Heavy Cruiser Yukinojo…
The noble chewed on his fingernails.
~Galaxy Police Heavy Cruiser Yukinojo not detected in sector 0315 space…
The noble's fist tightened and he emphatically whispered, "YES!" to himself. So far so good.
~Accessing Galaxy Police situational reports…
~Searching for reference to Yukinojo…
"Be there…"
~Galaxy Police Heavy Cruiser Yukinojo left sector 0315 in route to the Prima sector on a Priority One call. Estimated time to return to sector 0315 is 030204 Galactic Standard Time. ~
"So! Our little rouse worked! That is more than enough time to greet the fair Aeka and challenge the young pretender before Detective Mihoshi's return," the noble said with a confident smirk. "Koumyou, scan for Princess Aeka's current location."
'Ryu-Oh's key has been detected at the following coordinates. The Master Key and an energy signature consistent with Ryoko's gems also detected in the vicinity,' the noble's tree-ship telepathically informed him.
"Excellent. All is according to plan."
'Warning: Current location of Princess Aeka and Prince Tenchi is in a highly populated area known locally as the District of Nerima. Probability of contact with native populace is extreme. High Council Directive Thirty-Four applies.'
The young noble sighed. "Very well, pick out appropriate local attire for someone of my station and prepare for descent."
Looking at the clothing suggested by his ship, Gespan, the latest in a long line of suitors for the hand of the First Princess of the Jurai Royal Family scoffed at the protocols and procedures dictated when dealing with this primitive world.
'Why all this fuss for what is basically a backwater preserve?' he asked himself. He was taken aback when his tree responded and even more so by its answer.
'Because Mother wishes it so…'
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"KUNO! KUNO!" The cheer of the crowd rang in his ears as his throng of admirers screamed their encouragement, hoping to share a small part in his moment of glory and what a moment it would be. His opponent stood cowering before him, weaponless and impotent. Kuno was thankful that this Tenchi Masaki had at least enough pride to feign some kind of defense. It would have marred Kuno's victory if Tenchi had dropped to his knees begging.
It was approaching evening and the lights of the auditorium illuminated the arena where Kuno stood proudly savoring every iota of his impending triumph. He spared a glance around the ring… and why not? What could Masaki do with half a bokken? He saw the students from the opposing school begin to abandon the bleachers, heads held low. Their champion defeated, they had no more cause to stay.
"See? See how they flee? Scurrying like rats fleeing a sinking ship," Kuno proclaimed pointing his bokken to the emptying bleachers behind Tenchi. Tenchi did not look. He didn't have to. He could hear the mumbling and grumbling of the students as they left. It was hard not to take the abandonment personally.
"Kick his ASS, Tenchi!"
"Yes, what the monster-woman said!"
Tenchi grinned; in spite of the odds against him they still had faith in him. Tenchi's grip of what was left of his bokken tightened, there was no way he was going to disappoint them, no way.
"Is it over yet?" A bored Ranma-chan asked returning from the bathroom.
Akane didn't risk looking at her, in fear of missing the end of the fight. "I think it's just about over. Kuno broke Tenchi's bokken."
"Who's Tenchi?" Ranma-chan asked.
"The guy Kuno's fighting, dummy."
"Cut me some slack. I missed most of fight, cleaning Kuno germs off me in the bathroom. Damn, If Kuno wins…"
Akane began to laugh at her fiancé's predicament. "It's going to take a lot more than water to get Kuno off you during your date.”
"I didn't promise him no date!" Ranma-chan shouted and bolted to a standing position, glaring angrily at Akane.
"Now, now, Ranma," Nabiki consoled, patting her on the shoulder. "It's for the good of the school, not to mention my bank account," Nabiki added with a smirk as Ranma sat back down and the three watched what looked to be the final moments of the match. With Kuno's victory, Furinkan would win the overall competition as well, earning Nabiki a nice profit.
Looking past the two combatants, Nabiki saw that most of the
students from the opposing
"Biki… Nabiki…" a ragged looking second year student gasped while laying slumped on the floor.
Now that he had finally gotten her first name right, she answered. "Makoto?" Nabiki asked looking down at the would-be good looking young man if it had not been for his dogged and exhausted appearance. "Where have you been? You were supposed to meet me hours ago."
Makoto attempted to drag himself up by holding onto Nabiki's leg for support, but she kicked him off. "I tried! I went to see what the other high schools were up to, but… I… I got captured by Tomobiki's SS"
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In a darkened sports equipment storage room, four figures stood before a fifth who lay near broken on the floor.
His hands tied behind him, Makoto spent a little of the precious strength he has left in an attempt to lift his head, but failed. A hand reached down out of the shadows and pulled his head back by the hair, forcing Makoto to squint his eyes before the glare of the bright light shining down on him. All he could make out were a pair of glasses as the light reflected from them.
"Talk," the man with glasses said.
Makoto shook his head. He had hoped to impress Nabiki by helping her scout out the other schools. He would not be broken here.
*SLAP*
Outside in the hall, a man's whimper could be heard coming from the locked storage room.
"Talk."
*SLAP*
*Whimper*
"TALK!"
*SLAP*
*Wahahahah*
The lights suddenly came on.
"Kakaguri, will you stop hitting Chibi? I'm trying to torture someone over here."
Kakaguri released Chibi from the headlock, receiving a kick in the shins when the much smaller boy returned to his feet.
"Torture? Is that what we're doing?"
Megane turned to look at the speaker. "Oh? You have a problem with what I'm doing, Perm?" Megane asked, giving him the "evil eye."
"Ah, no…" Perm began backing away. "After all… We all know what the prize is if Tomobiki wins… Please… just stop looking at me like that!" Perm finally cried out no longer able to take Megane's stare.
"EXACTLY! Today's prize is worth any cost! Even our very souls." Megane slowly turned his gaze to Makoto, who cringed at the sight of such fanaticism. "Will you talk? What school sent you?" Megane questioned in a quiet voice
Makoto again shook his head, thoughts of a grateful Nabiki giving him strength.
Megane adjusted his glasses and stood at attention. "Get the implement," he solemnly ordered his troop.
Kakaguri walked into a corner of the storage room where Cherry was sipping a cup of tea. Picking him up and carrying him with his arms fully extended as if wanting to keep the Buddhist monk as far away as humanely possible, Kakaguri steadily and purposely approached Makoto.
"Keep it away! KEEP IT AWAY!" Makoto screamed, but to no avail. The horrible face came closer and closer.
Cherry takes a last slip of tea.
*AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!*
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"Makoto? Makoto?" Nabiki inquired shaking the now comatose form of Makoto as he stared into space, a look of unimaginable horror frozen on his face. Sighing, Nabiki gave up and returned her attention to the ring. 'Doesn't matter anymore anyway, Furinkan is a lock for first place now. Still, I'm a little curious as to what it was that inspired that oni's storm troopers to such action,' Nabiki thought recalling Makoto's tale. 'Surely, it more than just Beef bowl.'
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Back in the ring, Kuno prepared his final blow, rushing the nearly unarmed Tenchi. Tenchi made not the slightest attempt to get out of the way. A rare smirk appeared on his tanned face, as he planned to…
Before either Kuno or Tenchi could execute their attack plans, the lights in the arena blacked out. The sound of a body hitting the canvas reverberated throughout the area and just as quickly the lights came back on, followed quickly by a deafening roar.
“What the..?!” Nabiki shouted out in absolute shock.
In the middle of the ring, lay one Tatewaki Kuno, unconscious. The swelling from a good sized lump on his head was visible from the stands.
All eyes looked towards Tenchi, but he looked just as confused as everyone else. Attention then turned to the referee, which just increased confusion as there had not been a referee when the match began.
‘Moroboshi,’ Nabiki realized as the soon to be senior dressed now in a white short sleeve shirt and black pants, walked over and raised Tenchi’s hand in victory.
The roar of victory became even louder at the sight, causing Tenchi to turn around. He had thought that his schoolmates had left him. And he was right; the students dressed in military fatigues now sitting in the stands were from Tomobiki.
Tenchi turned his attention back to the young man who had raised his hand; the gleam in the teenager’s eyes could only be described as unholy. A microphone descended and Ataru Moroboshi was not one to shy away from the stage.
Clearing his throat, Ataru began, “What a surprise turn this great match has taken! Snatching victory from the breasts of defeat, Senchi…”
“Tenchi,” the said named man corrected.
“That’s what I said,” Ataru insisted with a frown. “Tenchi with the grace and speed of a jungle monkey, countered Furikan’s champion’s attack with a move so fast I could barely see it!”
“No one saw it!” someone amongst the Furikan students shouted out. He was quickly joined by the others. “Do you think we’re stupid?!”
The Tomobiki students, of course, answered in their normal rude manner. Having been armed with the automatic rifles from Mendou’s private army did wonders for their confidence.
“Now, now,” Ataru said, not the least bit concerned with the rising tensions. “There is no need for such accusations. We will simply ask the judges for their opinion.”
All eyes turned to the three judges who were each otherwise occupied counting a small pile of cash. Shutaro Mendou stood nearby, his arms crossed smugly in front of him. He cleared his throat, getting the judges attention. “Oh, yeah… we find no discrepancies in the match. Tenchi Masaki is the winner.”
Nabiki seethed in silence. There was not much point in arguing without proof, especially if the judges had already been bought. Still she wondered how Moroboshi had pulled it off. He was an interesting man to say the least.
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“Are those… goldfish?” A woman pointed to the hard plastic shoes the strangely dressed man wore. The heels of the shoes were at least six inches thick and appeared to have live goldfish swimming in them.
“My goodness, where did he find those purple peg legged pants?” Another passerby wondered as the crowded street literally parted to watch the oddity.
“Probably the same place he found that purple jacket. Those lapels are the size of airplane wings!”
They were just too stunned to laugh.
Lord Gespan initially had reservations concerning the attire Koumyou had picked out for him to wear, but judging from the awed reaction of the peasants as he walked by, his treeship had done an outstanding job. With his shoulders back and his head held high, he practically strutted toward his destination. ‘Koumyou?’ he telepathically called to his ship.
‘Yes?’
‘You should see how the peasants stare at my perfection,’ he began with noticeable satisfaction in his voice. ‘Tell me again what the significance of my clothing is? I must remember for when I visit similar backwater worlds.’
Koumyou sighed, which was quite the accomplishment for a tree. The others in the arboretum had tried to warn her, but she was young and had become easily infatuated with his looks. How quickly that had worn off! Now she was just bored. ‘The fish in your shoes signify your dominion over lesser creatures.’
‘Of course, of course… continue.’
‘The zoot suit, as it is known on this planet, is worn only by a
select few and symbolizes a man who has the utmost confidence and will. The
purple color…’
‘Means royalty, correct?’
‘No fooling you, my
Lord.’ Moron. ‘The large oversized gold chains around your neck show your
wealth and the large hat reflects your mastery of the elements of your
surroundings.’ *Snicker*
Gespan nodded, basking in the stares he was receiving. These backwater types had probably never even seen someone of his obvious refinement before. No doubt Princess Aeka would be equally impressed, not only with his debonair appearance, but also with the fact that he had bothered to respect the local customs. How could she not fall for him? Especially, when he bested that upstart, Tenchi. ‘How close are we to my soon to be bride?’
How s
