Author's pleas: DON'T SUE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD! I'm bored, like most of the
time, well if you like it, hate it or have suggestions, drop me a line. I
always write back and I'm almost always on. Please email me!!!
BizarreTenchi@aol.com I don't care if it is only a subject of it sucked, or
go on it was okay, just feedback, it's all I ask. Also feel free to IM me
like I said I'm almost always on.

When Jase teleported away, he barely teleported off the premises. Fists
clenched, and jaw tightened, he began a stroll through the woods to a place
he had never been before and didn't know if he was going to get there. The
mindless walk gave him nothing but the opportunity to think. Today wasn't
like yesterday, instead of an unseasonable warmth there was a blistering
cold
and a howling wind that chilled to the bone. Jase materialized a black
trench
coat which further emphasized his gothic appearance. With his head to the
ground his silver hair poured down infront of his face allowing only the
ground directly infront of his feet to be visible. To anyone that would be
watching he was a lone defeated image wandering aimlessly into the chilling
depths of the brush forest. And Jase walked. Although he was going nowhere
in
particular in his mind he knew his path ultimately held two options that
weren't even in his hands. The first was that they would be outraged to
discover that their new hero was nothing more than that of the best friend
of
their greatest enemy and the second was the overall forgiveness because of
the deeds he had recently done. But they didn't know Kagato like he did,
they
were great friends, the best of friends. But what about the others, Tenchi
thinks he killed him and that he is a monster. The women thought he had
killed Tenchi and went after revenge. But what about Ryoko. Ryoko could
never
forgive Kagato, those years of impressment and he was the one who caused her
to be put in the cave when she didn't defeat Yosho. Never will she forgive
him. He thought it over, he could always go back to the bar and live life as
he was doing before the Astrals, but he yearned to stay. Almost like his
soul
couldn't take leaving this place. He didn't know what love was, but he did
know that he felt a little more empty with every step he took from the
house.
And yet he walked. Jase trotted on like the soldier he was and his enemy was
his own doubt and fear.

***Back at the house***

The stunned group no longer remained frozen in shock but had almost
collectively sat down after hearing Jase's dire news. It was almost because
only moments after Jase's departure Ryoko disappeared to. At first Tenchi
thought that Ryoko may go after Jase in a blind fit of bitter rage, Washu
grabbed his arm as he headed for the door. He turned face still half shocked
and concern readily apparent. Tenchi began to speak, "Washu, Ryoko might go
after..."

"No, she just needs to think." She said sternly.

"If you think so Washu..."

"I know so." Washu said again so sternly it was almost Washu hadn't of said
it. Washu didn't mean to be rude but she knew her daughter, better than
Ryoko
would ever admit. Washu was also thinking of her imprisonment under Jase's
best friend, it was someone, maybe the very last person she would ever want
to associate with Jase. Washu being the scientist she was just couldn't
comprehend that Jase, a polite and courageous, maybe a little crazy, could
ever be friends with a monster like Kagato. Kagato isn't even human, I
wouldn't know what to call him. With the end of Washu's statement fell an
eerie calm that wouldn't be lifted until the dawn of the next morn.

***Deep into the woods***

Jase's trudging had brought him to a small stream that had carved the land
into a ravine. Jase, rather than simply jumping the gully, began to follow
the slow moving water to it's source. Deep in thought, with his head slumped
down, Jase was in a world of his own. He just thought of all the outcomes
that could come of this. He hoped he could stay but leaving wouldn't be so
bad.

***The Masaki Living Room***

Silence. A maddening silence. The quiet of the room was quickly making the
smallest of sounds so irritable that someone was bound to snap. There was a
quiet rage in the room, maybe more of a feeling treachery, quite possibly a
dash abandonment. Jase. Who was he anyway. After the news he might as well
been a stranger. They all felt they began to know him, understand him. But
this, this was beyond comprehension. What was there to understand? He was
the
friend ... no, the best friend to a monster and any other word than monster
was unjust. The quiet only made them more angry at Jase. Until this silence
was broken with a question. Most would think the first word would be how,
how
could he do this or why, why a monster like that. But Tenchi's silence
breaking question was one of a scholarly education. He simply stood from the
couch and looked squarely at Sasami and asked "What's for breakfast?"

***Deeper into the Woods***

Jase was silently walking up the hill to the waters source, remaining his
head toward the ground he didn't know where he was actually going all he
knew
was that it was the opposite of where he wanted to be. He wanted to stop
wandering, stop moving place to place, to avoid becoming to familiar. That's
why he loved the void, new faces. People came, people left, not to many of
the same faces. Jase then stopped as he found where the water was coming
from, it was a spring that was obviously flowing from the precipitation of
the mountain that was before him. Jase simply picked a random direction and
was off again, but not before taking a drink of the cold, refreshing water.

***Dinner Table of the Masaki Residence***

After a solemn meal the group just sat there, empty plates infront of them.
It was a plain meal, yet again a reflection of Sasami's mood. Although they
just finished breakfast, Jase's news had thrown off their day, it was
actually past the time they usually had lunch. The bold and outspoken Tenchi
again broke the quiet, "I wonder where Ryoko is?"

The question went unanswered for some time as the words almost echoed in
their ears until Washu reminded "She needs some time to think."

"I know, I just rather ... maybe, talk to her. She needs to talk to
someone."

Then a gentle rapping could be heard from the door, Tenchi standing up
announced he was going to answer it. Tenchi opened the door halfheartedly
expecting Jase and said "Hello." Tenchi didn't know who the man was and just
waited for this new stranger to say something, and he did.

"Tenchi, do you know where I could find a guy named Jase?" the stranger
asked
quite politely.

Tenchi stunned by the stranger knowing his name and knowing Jase invited him
inside. The others already made it into the living room sat down and
wondered
exactly the same thing. The man was a few inches taller than Jase, but he
looked similar, same type and color of clothes same air about him, except he
had white hair that he kept in a pony tail with a ribbon, that too also
seemed familiar. The stranger humbly accepted and walked into the living
room
and remand standing exactly how Jase had, quickly remembering that Jase
could
change form he asked the man, "What's your name?"

"Ummm, look all I want to know is, did Jase survive the fight, I know he
came
here to fight the Astrals but I don't know what happened to him."

Ayeka spoke up, "Yes he did come here and he did fight the Astrals, in fact
he defeated them almost single-handedly."

"Is that so!" The stranger let out a chuckle. "Where is he now, I tried to
contact him a week ago and he didn't answer and just recently, today in
fact,
I felt his presence."

Washu countered "He was in a coma a week ago."

"Oh, I see. Well, where is he now?"

"He left about..." Tenchi hesitated as he looked at his watch, "four hours
ago."

"Why?"

"How exactly do you know Jase anyway, Mister..." Tenchi said trying to get
the identity of the man in their living room.

"I'm a good friend of his, and my name is not important. Do you know where
he
went, he's blocking his energy signature, I can't find him."

"Good friend huh?"

"The best."

And then the puzzle came together, there, in the Masaki living room stood
the
worst enemy that any one of them members of the family had faced, he was
Kagato.

The stranger noticed the looks on his host/hostesses faces and asked, "Are
you all okay? Is something wrong?"

The words simply flowed off Washu's lips, quietly, oh so close to being
silent, one word..."Kagato"

The stranger simply swiveled his head toward Washu with a look of surprise.
And began to back up toward the door. "Hey, I don't want any trouble I'm
only
looking for Jase, okay, I mean no harm."

The hostesses began to stand almost as they were about to attack Kagato,
when
Tenchi spoke up "Wait, he came in peace, and I'm not going to fight and
either should you. He had no ill intentions on coming here and fighting. And
if you remember correctly Jase did say he was the one who told Jase about
the
Astrals in the first place" as he glanced over at Ayeka and the rest of the
girls. "Besides, I don't think we would even stand the slightest of a
chance."

Ayeka and the other girls turned to Tenchi for the first part and it made
sense, well not really but Jase did say that, but when they heard the second
part Ayeka scolded him, "You defeated him once, you could do it again."

But Kagato intervened "I will not fight you, not even if you attack me, I
have caused too much pain to those of you in this room and especially to
Ryoko, if I could ever make up for it, I would. I have changed, I'm not who
I
once was, back then, before Tenchi defeated me, I was a monster and I was
out
of control, corruption had stolen my soul and only gave me blind fury. But
when Tenchi almost killed me and I had teleported away to heal for a few
weeks, all I had was the thought of all the pain I had caused, and what for,
what did I accomplish? I had nothing. Less then nothing, I owed the universe
for what I have done but it is a price I can never redeem. I have done far
too much evil to ever right." With tears in eyes, he finished his speech.
"And it still seems I am causing pain, it's obvious, Jase must have told you
about me and you must have drove him off, or he probably left ashamed of
himself because me. I am sorry, truly sorry. Jase is the greatest person I
have ever known, not because he is powerful, not because of what he can do,
but who he is."

Tenchi stood up and walked over to Kagato. "It's never too late to change."

"Jase always said that."

The girls couldn't believe what they were seeing but all the more climactic
Ryoko had entered before Kagato's speech and had stood silent from the
balcony, but her silence wasn't going to last long, strangely enough she had
begun to believe him, and why not she had changed, she wasn't the picture of
moral rightness by any means but even without Kagato she did alot wrong, but
falling in love with Tenchi was causing her to go "soft" but realistically
she wanted to do better for her and so she seemed better for Tenchi, maybe
being nearly killed had the same effect, but still as he said, she could
never forgive him for those years.

There was a long pause between Tenchi's words and Ryoko's but when she spoke
it made everyone's head spin and she caught everyone off guard, "Well call
me
crazy, but I believe him, I still hate you Kagato, there is only one thing
that would make me feel better and that would be to kill you."

"Ryoko..." Tenchi started before Kagato cut him off.

"I wouldn't stop you, you do know that? It wouldn't be as glorious as you
want it. It would be simple, you would kill me and my blood would be on your
hands and it would be the end of it, not even my death could make up for
what
I have done."

"You would just let me kill you? I don't believe it."

"There is only one way I know how to prove it to you..."

"Way ahead of you..." Ryoko dashed off at Kagato from the balcony and as
Tenchi began to step between them, Kagato pushed him aside. Kagato squeezed
his eyes shut and waited for the end. But it didn't come he kept his eyes
closed until Ryoko said "I want to see your eyes." Kagato almost is if
obeying opened his eyes. He looked into Ryoko's he saw her raw hatred and
the
pain he had ccaused her, but when she looked into his, it was almost as if
he
wasn't the same man, she saw teary eyes that were just cried from, he wasn't
Kagato. She extinguished her sword and lowered her arm.

As she began to turn away Kagato asked quietly, "Why?"

She turned back to him and said, "You aren't Kagato, the real Kagato died
that day back in Jurai. Kagato was a monster, you are not, you may have once
been him, but once I was a monster as well..."

"But only because I..."

"No even before then I was no good you simply made me a more efficient form
of evil, but I changed, and it seems so have you, I guess all you really
need
to change is the will and the right company, I had Tenchi and you had Jase."
She turned and flew up to her room and closed the door.

"I thought for sure she was going to kill me."

Washu decided to speak "The old one would have."

There again was a quiet, but ended by Kagato "I bet Jase told you he'd be
back around a certain time."

"Do you mean he's not coming back?" Kiyone asked.

"No, he's very literal and punctual, if he said tomorrow this morning, he'll
be back close to 24 hours later, so you all have about 19 hours to go. I'm
going back to the void, I just wanted to make sure he was alive, I'm just
suprised he didn't come tell me he was. I could try to find him, but if Jase
doesn't want to be found, you'll never find and chances are, I bet he's not
even 20 miles away from here. But I suppose he wasn't thinking too much
about
me, here anyway."

"Why do you say that?" Washu asked.

"Well I do know Jase, and he might try to avoid all the relationships he can
in the void but if he's been here for that long, you've already grown on
him,
and I bet he's grown on you too."

"What do you mean avoid?" Kiyone asked, remembering her and Jase talking.

"Well, in the void there are alot of women of, ummm, loose morals, and Jase
is a true gentleman, he wants to do things right in just about every facet
of
life, so if you put them together..."

"He's already told me." Kiyone happily told Kagato, which she was basically
announcing to the crowd.

"See, a gentleman. Well, I'll leave now, I'm actually really glad I came and
actually met you all, thank you, and thank Ryoko for me. Goodbye."

"Wait!" Washu cried, "do you know about Jase and the thing where he won't
say
goodbye?"

"No, even best friends have their secrets. Well, I'll be off now." And with
that he vanished, he tied up some loose ends but only brought futher mystery
to Jase. We still don't know who he is.

*******************Author's Notes**********************(please email me, I
beg you BizarreTenchi@aol.com)
I apologize for making Kagato a wimp, I only bring you the reassurance that
with enough support and time I plan on writing a series in which Kagato
re-enslaves Ryoko and reclaims what is rightfully his, the universe. I also
apologize for all the typos and grammatical errors, as I look at the clock
in
the lower right hand corner could it, yes I think it is 3:50 am Wow, I am
tired. Or is it Wow, am I tired? Oh well, grammer can wait.