Disclaimer:
I do not own any of the characters from Tenchi Muyo, or their surroundings. I do, however, own the new characters I will be introducing later in different chapters, along with their back-stories, and designs. Please do not sue me, for I am but a poor, humble, writer of sorts…..and have no money to speak of, anyways.
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“Why is it that no one seems to want to help me anymore?” Grey eyes peeked out from the thick glasses obstructing their view. Staring out the window, he sighed deeply, watching the colored leaves fall silently onto the stone walkway beneath. His right hand anxiously strummed the little wooden table he sat next to; its unvarnished surface looking as pathetic as him. The tepid cup of tea that had been sitting in front of him, losing its heat for the past hour and a half began to slowly draw his attention. How long has that been there? He cocked an eyebrow, trying to remember. When he had poured it, the fresh tea had been so piping hot—its resulting steam had just about scorched the flesh on his fingers. Now, it just sat there, untouched, a perfect waste of the fine Ochi he had brought to him last week from Kyoto. Staring at himself inside its calm, green surface, he couldn’t help but feel sad.
Almost a year after the threat of Kagato had been vanquished; Katsuhito had begun to feel restless. He hadn’t felt this way for…well, for at least sixty years. As much as he hated it, the boring reality of his life, and the redundancy it offered day in and day out, bothered him. On the outside, he was a wrinkled sixty-year old man, but on the inside—ah, what did it matter? He sighed heavily, causing a small ripple to cascade across the surface of the tea. That damn tepid cup of tea—once full of heat and life—now old and slowly losing its kick. Just like my life now… Katsuhito quickly averted his gaze, and rested his eyes wearily on his lap. Stop thinking, he yelled at himself inside his mind.
Living at this shrine alone, watching his regular patrons dwindle down to one or two odd visitors on holidays had taken its toll on him. Even the odd training sessions with Tenchi were not enough to keep the old priest occupied. He was disappointed, but more importantly, he craved change. Long before the days the five women came to live on this planet, even before Tenchi had been born, Katsuhito had presided over this place—watching it grow and flourish as the long years went by. He had known the love of not one, but three women over the course of these seven hundred years, each causing a little bit of himself to die after they had been taken from him. The first, Itsuko, was still the love of his life—the little girl he had watched grow and bloom into the beauty he eventually married. How I miss you, Itsuko… his grey eyes closed as he thought back to her beauty. None of the other women had stolen his heart like his first wife. Having died soon after their marriage, they never had children together.
For years after her death, Katsuhito refused to even imagine loving someone else. It wasn’t until he met Kasumi, that he changed his mind. Even though she had been young, he felt so strongly about the cute little Kasumi—his mother’s half-breed sister, who lived not far from the shrine. Being of Jurian decent, but having mixed blood, Kasumi was both beautiful, and frail. She bore him children—but her body didn’t last long after that. She died, leaving him alone again. Katsuhito had given up women for good. He just couldn’t bear loving another--caring for her, having children with her, and then watching her life’s energy slowly slip away in front of his eyes again, like it always seemed to do. He had made the decision to use Funaho’s power to create the old man persona that he wore today.
However, when Airi, the enchanting woman he had met during his days at the Imperial Science Academy resurfaced into his life, he couldn’t help but fall for her again. She was wonderful, full of life and spirit, and had touched his heart with her love of nature. He happily lifted the veil and showed her his true form, once again making another woman fall in love with his beauty. After Tenchi’s mother was born, Airi fled once more, leaving Katsuhito to return to her life at the Galaxy Police Academy. Even though he did understand her need to leave him, he still couldn’t help slipping back into depression. Airai and Jurai are at war, she had told him, I can’t make you choose between me and your family. After he watched her depart, the old man sadly replaced his disguise. Katsuhito vowed never to love another woman again, for as long as he lived.
He shifted in his chair uneasily, realizing that this vow probably wouldn’t last forever—seeing how the last one didn’t. Even now, once and a while, he felt a tad jealous of Tenchi’s vast array of women to chose from—and his youth. His Grandson didn’t know what it was to lose a wife yet. Katsuhito opened his eyes. That is the reason I pushed Ayeka on you, he thought about Tenchi, and his utter lack of understanding. If you marry Ayeka, Jurai will have their king, and you will never know the sadness of watching your love die… To him, Ayeka was the only option for Tenchi--her being the same blood, and needing a husband before her next birthday. If the old man hadn’t refused and renounced the crown himself, this rule may have still applied to him as well. Katsuhito shook his head, rolling his eyes. I will not marry you, Ayeka. You must get Tenchi to realize what needs to be done. Twisting the corners of his mouth into a small frown, the old man thought back to the month before, when their father, King Azusa, had come for another royal ‘visit’. Trying to arrange Ayeka with some ‘distant relative’, he had left angry when she refused, swearing to find someone suitable for his daughter’s hand in marriage. Even if he must force Ayeka to love whoever he chooses for her.
According to Jurian law, she had to marry before her next birthday, or she would relinquish the throne, and be forced to leave Jurai for good. Because of Yosho’s actions, leaving the Royal Tree and surrendering his right of birth, the high counsel of Jurai deemed that, unless Ayeka marries before their ‘deadline’, the rule over Jurai would be given to the Kamiki house. We need to avoid that. Jurai would be in an uproar if that happened. Ayeka would probably be disowned, Katsuhito thought about how Azusa would react to being forced out of his Royal entitlement. He sighed once more, slowly turning his face towards the window again, thinking of the ‘incident’ last month when their father had come. That was about the same time Tenchi began distancing himself from the girls. Now spending his time working around the fields, or anywhere else he could find, Tenchi tried his hardest to stay as far away from Ayeka and the rest of the household as possible. Ayeka, you must make him love you, or else… He broke off, adjusting his glasses solemnly. Only seven months left, he frowned again.
Resting his eyes uncomfortably on the darkening sky outside his quarters, Katsuhito felt his heart sink a little. The reddening clouds on the horizon, bordering the dark blue sky could only mean one thing: Dinner time, again. Same time as yesterday; the same time as it will always be, for the rest of his redundant life.
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Sasami had been in the kitchen, happily cutting the plump orange carrots Tenchi had picked earlier that week for her. Throwing most of the little uniformly cut pieces onto the floor to her fuzzy little companion; Sasami had almost gone through the entire barrel in the pantry shack. Smiling widely, she squatted down to pet Ryo-ohki, who gave a happy ‘miya’ in response.
“Would you like some more, Ryo-ohki?” She propped her head up with a hand, resting her elbows comfortably on her knees. Miyaing again, Ryo oh ki excitedly danced around the little princesses’ form, waiting for more carrots to be tossed to her. Going back to the cutting board, Sasami lifted the large knife she had been using, and cut quickly into another carrot. These days, she hardly had time to play with Ryo-ohki anymore, taking up the chores Ryoko refused to do herself. It wasn’t that surprising to Sasami that the cyan-haired resident would stop helping—but, the response from Tenchi to this new development was. Actually, he didn’t even seem to notice the change, continuing to act distant to them like he had been for the past month or so. Sasami noticed this new behavior, and it left her troubled. She couldn’t understand why he would suddenly just act oblivious to the rest of the household.
She took in a long breath, smelling the wonderful aroma coming from the stew on the stove. Tenchi… She frowned, confused about what was wrong with him. Still cutting into that carrot, Sasami’s thoughts drifted back to before Tenchi began acting this way—when he still was the wonderful person she loved and admired. She had tried to talk to him, and figure out what had been bothering him, but he avoided the conversation like the plague. She sighed, what has gotten into you all of a sudden?
“Miya!” Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Ryo-ohki, still waiting for the carrot pieces Sasami had promised. Looking a little worried from her spot on the floor, the little cabbit hesitated, and then slowly spoke again. Snapping out of her daze, Sasami quickly pushed the carrot sections off the counter and onto the floor.
“Oh! Ryo-ohki, I’m sorry…” She apologized, grabbing another whole carrot, and placing it next to her friend as a peace offering. “Sorry. I didn’t forget about you, I just got lost in my thoughts.” She bent down again, and rubbed Ryo-ohki’s head while she ate. Now I’m acting strangely, she sighed, standing back up. Going quickly to the stove, she carefully undid the cover to one of the pots, and stirred its thick contents with a large spoon. Tenchi…please come back to us.
“Hi Sasami!” A bubbly voice startled the little princess from behind. Mihoshi had walked into the kitchen from the side door, bringing with her the chill air outside. Twirling around to greet her, Sasami smiled at seeing her old friend again.
“Mihoshi, when did you get back?” She ran over to the blond, still clothed in her Galaxy Police getup. Hugging her, Sasami noticed that she was soaking wet. “Oh, fell into the lake again, huh?” Her pink eyes looked up to Mihoshi, who was currently wringing out the sides of her top. Looking down at her watch, the blond suddenly frowned.
“Oh no! It’s broken again!” She turned her wrist and shook it fiercely, trying to get the water out of her watch. “Well, this won’t do,” She walked towards the door to the living room, and stopped short of it. “Maybe Washu can fix it for me again…”
“I’m sorry, Mihoshi, but Washu asked us not to bother her today. She said she was busy going through her data,” Sasami took her eyes off the Galaxy Police officer, and moved them sadly over to the stove. “She didn’t even want dinner. That is the third time this week…I hope she’s okay.”
“Then, how am I going to get back to Yukinojo? He won’t pick me up unless I can call him with this,” She lifted her arm again to show Sasami her watch. It was beginning to make a low hissing noise. Mihoshi frowned again. “Maybe she’ll make an exception?”
“I don’t think she will, Mihoshi, she hasn’t been herself for awhile now. Always says she’s ‘too busy’ to do certain things around here…like eating dinner with us,” Sasami tried her hardest to convince the blond standing in front of her. Going back to her pots, she stirred the stew again, and put the lid back on. “Everyone has been acting strange lately. Tenchi is hardly here; Ayeka and Ryoko have been practically killing each other over nothing; Grandpa looks depressed all the time--I just don’t know what to do.” Her head dropped as she sighed heavily. “Everything is wrong; I wish it would go back to the way it was…” Mihoshi interrupted her, placing a hand on the little princess’ shoulder.
“Want some help, Sasami?” Mihoshi smiled down at the little blue-haired girl, cocking her head slightly. “I don’t cook very well, but I’ll help you anyway, if you want!” Sasami smiled weakly up at Mihoshi. Hugging her again, she buried her face into the galaxy police officer’s side. “Sasami? Are you okay?” Mihoshi smiled again, surprised at this sudden hug.
“Thank you, Mihoshi!”
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Washu typed on the keyboard of her computer, watching the transparent screen’s data slowly scrolling down, past her eyes. A few displays popped up next to her, which she quickly dissipated with her hand. The data she was going through required her attention; she couldn’t be bothered with less important matters, such as the time. She sat on top of a giant floating pillow, its soft purple fabric making her feel sleepy. She had spent the last night or two working, without food, as per her request to Sasami to leave her alone. She liked the little princess’ cooking a lot, and basically enjoyed the company at the dinner table—especially since Nobuyuki had moved out of the house, to give Tenchi and his ‘women’ some alone time—but, she just couldn’t seem to pull herself away from this data. Not really having anything important to do since the demise of Kagato, anything she could busy herself with suddenly became a project of the utmost importance. She frowned.
She had already collected data on almost EVERYTHING this planet offered, and now she sat here going through parts of it, in an attempt to find something new. The red-head stopped typing, and leaned back on the pillow, her arms behind her for support. Looking across her darkened lab, Washu wondered what the point of it all was. Even Tenchi seemed to be growing tired of the living situation they had here. He tried his best to keep busy, too. Everything from tending the fields, to re-upholstering the chairs in the living room suddenly became top priority for him. Washu noticed it. Everyone had—even Nobuyuki, who only showed up here for Sasami’s dinners nowadays.
The red-haired genius shifted on the pillow, falling back on it with a small ‘thuap’ noise. Folding her hands on top of her stomach, she frowned. “Maybe it’s time for an intervention,” She suggested aloud to no one, breathing in loudly. Closing her eyes, she began to yield to her body’s needs; suddenly her ‘experiment’ didn’t seem to be that important. Opening a one-way link to her daughter, she quietly listened to Ryoko from inside the house. Her presence inside the cyan-haired woman’s mind went unnoticed; Ryoko was too busy with Ayeka in the living room to suspect Washu’s intrusion.
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Sitting on the rafters above the couch, Ryoko watched with playful amusement as the eyes of the purple-haired princess grew darker with each remark. The pirate loved to pick on Ayeka—even more so, since Tenchi had become distant to them. Not understanding his current state of mind, or his lack of care, just about the only activity the amber-eyed demon enjoyed now was this one—seeing how much Ayeka would put up with, before snapping. This restless game of torment almost made Ryoko forget about Tenchi’s recent change. It also was just plain fun.
“How dare you, Ryoko!” Ayeka, now pink in the face, shouted from the floor. Her arms were crossed indignantly in front of her, and her shrill voice was reaching a new octave. “I am not pushing Lord Tenchi away!”
“Oh, come on princess,” Ryoko phased out and reappeared a few feet in front of her disgruntled victim, “You know it’s true. Why else would he be acting like he does? He’s never here, and disappears quickly when he sees you. He probably just feels sorry for you, and that’s why he doesn’t come out with the truth.” She innocently put her left index finger up to her chin, averting her eyes, “After all, he did witness that ‘incident’ last month. I hear Daddy’s still not too thrilled about his ‘little Ayeka’ refusing to come home… And we all know Tenchi wasn’t too happy about you running to him for help. You marry Tenchi, please!” Ryoko hissed. Smiling suddenly, her teeth rudely showing between slightly parted lips, she went in for the ‘kill’. “Maybe you should stop pissing him off with your conceited, snobbish ways!” Ryoko strutted, doing her best princess imitation, complete with high-pitched voice. “Oh, no I just couldn’t help you out in the fields today, Lord Tenchi, my Royal, delicate HANDS might get dirty!”
Ayeka closed her eyes, shaking her fists with anger. Tiny floating logs began to gather around her body; their numbers multiplying with each breath. She opened her eyelids, revealing the fiery purple orbs beneath. “Maybe the reason Lord Tenchi hasn’t been around much lately is that he hates you!” She stared hard at Ryoko, whose smile had disappeared off of her face. Using the demon’s reaction to her advantage, Ayeka smugly lifted her hand to her face, pressing the subject. “Yes, I do believe that is in fact the reason,” She calmly stated; the back of her hand at the side of her mouth—fingers outspread gracefully. “After all, Lord Tenchi would never love a DEMON like you, Ryoko! Perhaps you should stop your rude, vulgar, naked phasing into his private life. Or drink less, you filthy boozing good-for-nothing!” She flung her head back and laughed. “You are just a disgusting demon! We all know that Lord Tenchi could never love you, it’s such a shame you can’t see it as well!”
Ryoko’s eyes narrowed, her arms moving back into fighting position. With a spark, orange energy began being generated between her open palms. “You Bitch!” She hissed, causing Ayeka to stop laughing. Preparing for battle as well, the princess surrounded herself with her protective force-field. Both were hissing at each other, reading themselves for the fight to come. With a growl, Ryoko took the initiative, and lunged—
“Sister Ayeka! Ryoko! Dinner’s ready!” Sasami’s voice from inside the kitchen interrupted the battle between princess and pirate, causing Ryoko to fall onto the ground. Standing back up, the cyan-haired woman lifted one of her eyebrows. With a silent challenge, she cocked her head towards Ayeka, who had dissipated her force-field.
“We’ll finish this after dinner, Bitch.” She turned, and followed the aroma of Sasami’s and Mihoshi’s hard work to the kitchen.
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Sitting around the crowded dinner table, Mihoshi couldn’t help but notice Washu’s absence. Even though Sasami had told her that the little red-headed genus wasn’t going to be there, Mihoshi still believed that Washu would come. Katsuhito was also missing, but that didn’t really concern the Galaxy Police officer very much. She knew that he’d soon be on his way. Washu, however, was supposed to be sitting across from her, and the empty space that sat there in her place upset Mihoshi. Yes, I have Sasami to look at, but without Washu, I feel alone, she thought to herself, pushing some vegetables sadly across her plate with her chopsticks. She didn’t feel like eating right now. It didn’t matter that Ryoko, Tenchi, and Ayeka sat next to her. She missed Washu.
Looking pathetic, the blond moved her blue eyes from Sasami, to the empty spot, and then back to Sasami. “Washu must be hungry,” she offered sadly, interrupting the other’s dinner. They all had piled food onto their plates, eating heartily despite the missing dinner guests. Mihoshi hadn’t touched her food. She was too worried about the little scientist still in her lab. “This is the third time she’s missed a meal, you said it yourself Sasami. Washu must be hungry by now!” The blond slumped down, curving her back and shoulders, and sighing loudly. Keeping her eyes on the empty seat in front of her, she continued to sigh.
“She asked us not to bother her, Mihoshi. We must respect her wishes. If she gets hungry, she’ll come down to eat,” Sasami tried to help. She didn’t like Washu’s absence anymore than Mihoshi did, but she wasn’t about to force the red-head to join them. “She’ll get hungry, don’t worry. I bet she will come down later to eat.”
This didn’t satisfy Mihoshi. She continued to mope, kicking her legs freely underneath the table inside the Kotatsu pit. Glancing warily to the people sitting next to her, she couldn’t help but catch the violent looks Ryoko and Ayeka exchanged between themselves. She sighed again, watching Tenchi remain oblivious to these things. His eyes stared down at his food, while he ate quietly. Sasami had told her all about his recent attitude, but she didn’t actually believe it until now. After a moment, she realized what needed to be done to bring the residents back together.
“I’ll go convince Washu to eat with us!” She stood up from her seat, and began walking towards the staircase across the room. “She’ll come here, I know it. Then, she’ll fix all the problems happening between you guys.”
“Mihoshi, stop. Please leave Washu alone, she asked us not to bother her…” Sasami jumped up from the table and went to the blond near the stairs. “She’ll get mad, and I don’t want to upset her.”
“Sasami, this is the only way—don’t worry, I’m sure Washu won’t get mad.”
Tenchi continued to eat like nothing was happening, trying his best to block out the obnoxious noises coming from outside of his brain. He was so tired of everything around here. The fighting, the bickering, the petty attitudes he saw everyday. The novelty of having five beautiful women living with him was beginning to wear thin--especially when most of the women constantly created problems for him. If it wasn’t one thing, it was another. And now, this whole mess with Washu…
“No, you can’t bother her. Mihoshi, please understand, she wants to be left alone. We can’t interrupt her experiments,” Sasami now stood in the doorway of Washu’s lab, blocking the Galaxy Police officer from entering. They were still fighting, Tenchi sighed, picking up his rice bowl and closing his eyes. When will it all end? He had enough of the nonsense. Ever since the threat of danger had left their lives, the group had fallen into a downwards spiral—he just wished it would all end.
He didn’t even bother trying to change them anymore; nothing he ever did seemed to work. His pleads never got through to them. And it wasn’t just Ryoko who refused to cooperate. Miss Ayeka had also slowly stopped carrying her weight around here, too. Going from the once semi-helpful princess she used to be, to just another ingredient to Tenchi’s disdain, she now made him sick like everything else did. Sasami seemed to be the only one that remained neutral, not counting Mihoshi—who only had the time to visit every few months or so, since being promoted to another planetary system. Tenchi sighed again, looking inside the bowl of hot rice near his face.
Even if she hardly was here, Mihoshi at least helped out, just like Sasami. But, even their help wasn’t enough to maintain this house. It was getting out of control around here, and Tenchi couldn’t stop the madness. He had to quit school because of all the work needed to be done around here. But, even if all the chores some how managed to get taken care of, there still was the ever-conscious threat of the two extraterrestrial women next to him following Tenchi to class. He suddenly cringed, catching the blue-haired princess’ attention from across the room.
Tenchi snapped out of his thoughts, just in time to catch the last bit of Mihoshi’s effort to get into Washu’s lab. They still are going at it? His face darkened, and his grip on the chopsticks tightened. Everything is just so predictable, he tried to relax, but couldn’t. It felt like someone was tightening his belt around his neck. Why is it so hot in here…?
“Mihoshi,” Sasami looked worried up at the blond, still standing there determined. Shifting back and forth on the wood floor, the little princess continued to reason with the Galaxy Police officer. “Why don’t we just sit back down and finish dinner, I’m sure Washu will get hungry enough to eat later on.” She looked at her sister, pleading silently for some assistance. Ayeka was too busy to notice. She had been glaring at Ryoko from the other side of Tenchi for quite some time now, and she wasn’t about to stop to help Sasami.
Sticking her tongue out defiantly at the purple-haired princess, Ryoko teased her from her seat. “What’s wrong, Ayeka? Didn’t get enough to eat? It’s not like you are starving or anything…” She pointed to Ayeka’s stomach, laughed loudly, stuffing a small shrimp into her mouth. Tenchi’s eyebrow began to twitch, and sweat formed near his hairline. He was getting angry. Stop this, just stop…
“Sasami, Washu needs to eat now,” She moved slightly to the little girl’s right, attempting to get around her. “I’ll just go and get her. You go eat, I’m not hungry!” She moved again to the left, but to no avail.
Tenchi shook his head, breathing harder. The girls next to him continued their loud argument, not paying attention to his behavior. Dropping his bowl suddenly and slamming his hand onto the table, he caused the room to go silent.
“THAT’S ENOUGH!” He barked at all of them. Ryoko reluctantly pulled her tongue back in and put her hands down. She had been waving them at Ayeka, taunting the princess with her snide remarks. “When will you all just stop this nonsense, and grow up?” He yelled at them, as he angrily walked to the closet underneath the stairs. Sasami and Mihoshi quickly moved out of his way, and went back to the table. Pushing the door open with his hand, he turned back towards the shocked faces. “I will go get Washu! You all just continue to eat, or fight, or whatever you insist on wasting your time doing. God knows it’s not chores.” And with that, he walked into the lab, slamming the closet door behind him.
Still sitting there surprised, the group slowly exchanged looks. “Oh dear,” Ayeka was the first to speak, her voice saturated with worry, “Perhaps we’ve finally pushed Lord Tenchi too far…”
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Making his way through the vast machinery, Tenchi slowly navigated his way into the darkened lab, finding himself lost among the confusing set up. How Washu ever finds her way through this jungle of crap, I’ll never know. He turned a corner, coming face to face with a large towering machine in the center of the room. Shocked at its immense structure, he walked slowly up to the metal panels which made its surface. So many buttons, his eyes widened as they traveled from one panel to the next. Walking around the cylindrical machine, he came to a large alcove that housed a glass room with large doors. A control panel stood next to it on a little pedestal—its face covered with even more buttons. What is it with Washu’s obsession with all these buttons? He moved his eyes back to the enormous machine. There was a little inlet desk with what appeared to be tiny TV screens covering the wall behind it. Tenchi walked nearer to them.
“Wha..?” He reared back, shocked at what he saw. All of the screens showed different places—some filled with odd-looking vegetation and strange creatures; others with Sci-fi like buildings that screamed extraterrestrial in nature. There must be thousands of these little ‘windows’ on different worlds! He continued to scan them over, until his attention was suddenly caught by one window in particular, near the bottom of the wall. One ‘world’ looked very different from the rest. Instead of life and lush green, it was bleak—dead, totally deprived of life. Its white sandy surface and dark green sky was reminiscent of the moon, except for the eerie green light being reflected onto the ground from an unknown source. The source of this strange light must be somewhere beyond the camera’s limit, Tenchi assumed. Getting closer to the screen, he suddenly felt the back of his neck tingle. “What is this thing…?”
“One of my earlier projects,” Washu interrupted from behind Tenchi, causing him to yelp and fall backwards onto the desk. “Made it back before my days inside the Souja, although I never really used it for anything other than surveillance.” She peered down at him from behind little spectacles. Not waiting for a response, she crossed her arms in front of her. “What are you doing in my lab?” She cocked an eyebrow at him. “You couldn’t want to help me with my ‘experiments’, could you?”
Tenchi, regaining himself, turned in his seat on top of the desk, and looked at the red-head standing about three feet from him. “We missed you at the dinner table again, so I came to find you…” His voice trailed off, thinking back to the machine. “You said this thing was for surveillance?”
“Yep, it was created to monitor different dimensions—most of which house endangered species from other planets our, the Earth’s, dimension.” Tenchi nodded, remembering the old little creatures he had seen in most of them. “Some, however, were created before I sealed my memories, so I don’t know what they contain anymore,” She tried to think back to her days before the Imperial Science Academy. She had sealed her memories after becoming a professor there--after having her first child stolen from her. That was about the same time she reverted back to the child-like state she was now in. I must have had a good reason to seal them, she thought hard about the pain that still lingered faintly in her body. After she had locked them away, she had still felt the agony of something terrible, eating away her mind. She could only assume it was from those ‘lost’ thousands of years, now secured within those gems. My memories before this time are probably better off gone, anyway she frowned, her thoughts going back to her son. “Like I said before, I don’t use this machine anymore. Actually, this is the first time I’ve seen it in ages.” She laughed uncomfortably. Turning from Tenchi, who still sat on top of the desk, Washu began walking back to where her pillow was. “Come on, let’s go. Like I told Sasami earlier, I don’t want to be bothered.”
Tenchi slowly stood up off of his seat on the desk, releasing the button which had been depressed when he had fallen on it. Unbeknownst to him, a small light above the glass doors on the room connected to the machine, began beeping. Bending down to look at the desolate, green-lit barren world one last time, Tenchi felt the hair stand on the back of his neck again. Makes me think of my life, he sighed, standing up from the sad little world which symbolically echoed his own. The blinking green light continued to flash above those transparent doors.
He turned from the machine and walked in the same direction Washu had traveled, thinking about how much he hated having to return to the dinner table without her. “Bye little world…” After a moment, he hastily sped up to catch Washu, who was about to leave him prey to the dark, confusing lab again. He never noticed the yellow smoke filling the glass room behind him, or the woman who appeared inside its dense covering.
Finally released from her prison of darkness, the woman collided with the cold tile of the containment room. Through the smoke filling quickly around her, she could see his form disappearing into the darkness of the lab. Don’t leave me. She tried to keep him here, crawl to him; He never turned. Falling into unconsciousness, dreams of an unknown past filled her mind, while her body ached. What is this horrible place?
