--Alan -- This is my first effort at a Tenchi-related fanfic. I hope you enjoy it! ############################################################ Why Bother? A "Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Oh-Ki" OAV-series fanfic One-shot, shortly after OAV 6 By Alan (a.k.a. John Alan Riggs) ############################################################ --- By the time the fight subsided, around eight in the morning, little remained of the Masaki residence. Looking down upon the ruins, Ryoko sighted most of the familiar features: the door to her mother's lab, the black steel of the stove top, and the seemingly invincible artifacts from Ayeka's room. She did not despair, for in a matter of days, everything would be put back together. That was the way it was, and no matter what passed between the members of the household, nothing would change. The space pirate knew someone would always be there to repair the damage for her. She coasted back towards the earth, to the open arms of her friends. Only a few days had passed since the last bout of destruction. Rather than the house, though, the friends of Tenchi had used their powers against Kagato. At this time, the notorious criminal was dead--a fate spared the instigator of this day's incident. "Tenchi," Ryoko said, as she cast owl-eyes at him, "Next time, remind me to wake up *after* Ayeka does, please?" The boy who she'd addressed--Tenchi, holder of the master key, heir to the throne of Jurai--stood between Ryoko and the princess. Scylla and Charybdis had nothing on the two women, for not only did both have designs on him, but Tenchi loved both. With sweatdrops coating his face, Tenchi told them, "I-I can't answer that right now," as his wrists shook. For a second, Jurai's elder princess stared daggers at her rival. Then, she turned her gaze toward her great-nephew, and the haze of fury dissipated in a second. "Give him time, Ryoko," Ayeka said, "He's not the one to blame for this dispute." She kept her eyes on her beloved, and did not once raise her voice above a dry mumble. Just as the reprived criminal started to cut in with her reply, Tenchi twisted his mouth into a snarl. He thrust his open palms out to both sides, and told the dueling duo, "That's not true, Ayeka. I am at the heart of this. And with few exceptions, I'm at the heart of every argument you've had. Though I've tried to be kind and generous, this has-- this has--" With that statement drawn out of his clenched teeth, the young man ran back towards the house. All about them, work was going on. Washu was creating her plans for the re-construction of the house, Yosho, Sasami, and Nobiyuki were gathering the beams of wood, and even Mihoshi was busy--in her case, inspecting the damage. There was not enough of a house to hide in, but though the two women could have chased after Tenchi, they stayed where they stood, and did not move a single limb. For a minute, the two combatants were as statues amidst the activity of the place. Finally, Ryoko coughed harshly. She swiveled her head left and right, looking about the environs. The ex-pirate saw Yosho walking toward them. Ever the polite individual, Ryoko told Ayeka, "For now, consider this game postponed," and immediately thereafter shut her mouth. She had nothing else to tell Yosho's former betrothed. As for the princess, she took the comment without a smile, without a grimace. Ayeka still thought herself prim, regal, classy, and proper. The estimate may have been only half correct, but she could not think herself worthy of Tenchi without all the qualities. To better Ryoko, she said nothing in reply, but merely nodded her head up and down. A moment later, Yosho was within hearing range of both women. He glanced over both, put on a smile, and asked them, "Where's Tenchi?" Even though this struck Ayeka as a softporn reference, she refused to mention such a thing. Instead, she curtly replied, "Lord Tenchi went toward the house." The grandfather's expression turned on its side. He looked at Ayeka with steely eyes, and told her, "Do you recall how it was to wait for me--without any indication of when, or if, I'd return? Because the same thing happened to me, when I was stuck on this planet. As for you, Ryoko... the feeling might be mutual. But I wouldn't know." A second passed as he chuckled to himself. Yosho continued, "Still, I believe the same sort of thing is happening to Tenchi. He is out of the loop--stuck without some great task to accomplish. Daily life just frustrates him. I take it that you can do a few things to change that." With that purposely cryptic comment, he walked away, to resume the work. "Honorable Yosho..." Ayeka whispered. Her eyes half-closed, she placed the back of her right hand near to her face. Ryoko glared at her rival. "You have better things to think about, Princess," she said, forcing the syllables out of her mouth, "We're awfully lucky that Tenchi survived 'the loop.' After all, I saw him die. You might also recall that I tried to fight Kagato for him. That is all the sorrow I care to endure." She then turned her gaze to the dusty ground, and kicked at it. "I was there, too," Ayeka said, maintaining her normal voice, "My old passion for Yosho was thus transferred." She placed her hands at her sides. At this, Ryoko nodded in agreement. Then she blinked both eyes, and shouted, "I can't believe how pathetic our lives are!" *** Sasami turned her gaze from the splinter-ridden ground to see Tenchi approaching her. The young man's head was stooped like a lazy dog's, and every step he took kicked up a small dust cloud. Glancing at Washu, Sasami asked the infamous one, "Do you know what's wrong with Tenchi?" After a brief pause to return her ethereal computer to sub- space, Washu looked at Tenchi. She immediately declared, "As a mother and a scientist, I know just about everything! And I'd have to say that Tenchi is currently in a state of... depression." These words emerged from her mouth like precious pearls--but thankfully, some of the family members were able to understand the irony. To Washu's relief, Sasami giggled. The girl then walked toward Tenchi, and told him, "You don't look well, Tenchi. Can I help you?" The young man knelt down before her. "Sasami," he whispered, as their eyes met, "Are you able to summon Tsunami? Because I need her help right now." He felt his face flush. With so many others who could help him, why was he going to such an unusual source? Only because she had saved him from destruction. Other than that, he had no reason to see her. "I can't do that on my own," she replied, as she looked upon Tenchi's face, "Ayeka must be here, and--" Tenchi didn't wait for her to finish the statement. He told her, "Please retrive her. I will wait. Thank you..." Sasami looked to Washu for a moment. After the scientist gave her a thumbs-up, she ran to her sister. The others stayed in place--for though they could have asked what was happening, they knew the explanation was too complicated. *** For several minutes, Ayeka had been quiet. She had seen Ryoko act this way only once before--but back then, the two women were unified by a common foe. Now their ambitions were all too clear. Both wanted Tenchi as their own, and they had powerful and devious--deviant, even--ways of keeping him. Frowning to crease her face, Ayeka looked away from her rival. "Big sister," Sasami said as she walked in their direction, "can you help me out?" As she approached her sister, she saw that Ayeka wasn't paying attention. Sasami chose a different approach. "It's for Tenchi," she whispered to Ayeka. Quite suddenly, Ayeka snapped back into a comfortable pose. She leaned over and whispered back to Sasami, "Thank you, Sasami. Let's just walk away quietly and--" Just as she had expected, Ryoko turned towards the duo. With a long, wicked smile on her face, she asked them, "What are you naughty, naughty children up to now?" "Oh, it's you, Ryoko," Sasami replied in her normal voice, "Ayeka and I are going to summon Tsunami, because Tenchi needs her help. Do you care to watch?" She stood in front of her older sister, in an attempt to mask the sparks of Ayeka's battle aura. Ryoko hit her open left palm with her right fist. "Ah... now that sounds rather interesting. I don't suppose your sister will mind too much if I watch?" she asked, as she tickled Sasami under the chin. The battle aura slowly died away. Ayeka, still glaring at her rival, told her, "I don't mind--for now. But if you do anything to interfere with us, you will-- you will--" She did not say the word, but Ryoko understood all the same. Looking back in the direction of Yosho, Nobiyuki, Mihoshi, and the young man of the house, Sasami told the two women, "Let's be off now." *** The four sat on the grass, within an arm's reach of each other, and yet no blows were thrown. Ayeka held Sasami still, so that the process could happen without interference. Tenchi waited close by. He was already calming his body down, so that he could communicate through his subconscious self. As for Ryoko, the woman of action--she watched from less than a meter away. Her legs were propped up, and her arms were thrown around them. The sight of Ayeka, Sasami, and Tenchi made her want to spring up and attack the lot of them, but it was much too late for that. Minutes later, Sasami channeled her future self. Her ethereal voice echoed across the mountains, but did not fall into the human range of hearing. Tenchi alone caught it, for he was in a similar state of meditation. "You hold the master key, young man," Tsunami told him, her thoughts flooding his brain, "Why do you need to consult me?" "I am troubled, Lady Tsunami," he mentally replied, as he caught a glimpse of her face--which appeared as if seen through a polarized filter--and with a gulp, he continued, "I know that you brought me back to life for the sake of the universe, for my family and friends, and for the full unveiling of my powers... but why did you bother?" With that, his echoing voice faltered, for this was not the sort of question he should have asked one such as Tsunami. Her reply was simple: "Why do you ask?" His confession needed to be said. Tenchi told the near- goddess, "I beat Kagato, thanks to you, but everything since then has been a terrible mess. These days, I don't know what to do with myself. Maybe it's a stupid thing to think, but I feel like you've wasted your time with me." "Did I?" Tsunami replied, laughing over the unlit void, "Well, maybe I should create some adventure for you to take on. Would that help?" She said these things while smiling at him--not like Ryoko did, but with a more relaxed grin. Bowing his head, Tenchi told her, "Maybe. Unfortunately, I'd end up back where I started. Could you lead me in the right direction... that is, where *you* want me to go?" Her expression turned calm once more. "I didn't have to bring you back, Tenchi," she said, "but I did. In the same way, I don't have to watch over you, but I will." She halted for a moment, and all was still. Then she finished with the words, "Enjoy your normal life while you have it." Even in the emptiness of the meditation-environment, Tenchi's jaw dropped. "That's all?" he exclaimed. She told him, "Yes. Even if the universe needed you right now, this is the place that you should be. As Tsunami, oldest of Jurai's god-trees, I've seen excitement as well as day-to- day life... and both are good. Fare well, young Tenchi," she said, as her image and voice vanished. "Good-bye... and thank you," he said, though his voice was the only one left in the void. Slowly, Tenchi emerged from his meditation-- --to find all his family members except Sasami looking down toward him. From his seated position, he tried to look up, but when he stared at the circle of faces, he fell right on his back. "Ouch," Tenchi said, halfway between laughing and crying. "Oh, don't you mind us," Mihoshi said, "We were just a little curious." She then walked away. Peering down at him was Washu. "Did you find the answer, Tenchi?" she asked, "Because I could find it for you!" With carefully calculated movements, Tenchi returned to his feet. "No thank you, Miss Washu," he replied, bowing casually, "I found something." He glanced over the others' faces. "Can we get back to work?" he asked. Except for Ayeka, who was waiting for her sister to return to consciousness, the others nodded in approval. A moment later, though, Ryoko took to the skies. She then looked down on the house. It was the same as before--in ruin--but she could now make out the structure's frame. Without a sound, she smiled. -- THOUGHTS IN CLOSING: If you have a chance, contact me about the story at . I'd appreciate it. Since my knowledge of the "Tenchiverse" is limited at best, I had to do quite a bit of research for this 'fic. Even so, there still might be some errors and contradictions. For example, I gave Tsunami two titles (near-goddess, oldest of the god-trees), and I'm not sure if they're accurate. Worse yet, my characterization of Washu wasn't all that good. If you have a suggestion, or an answer supported by canonical material, please tell me. Style-wise, I hope I didn't come off as too pretentious. I have the knowledge to make references to art, mythology, and any number of other things, but that ability isn't very helpful to the average reader. Also, those used to anime fan fiction might be disappointed by the lack of Japanese words or phrases. I can do that almost as well as anyone else--I even took a class recently to learn the spoken language--but I don't care to use a "fanboy dialect." The use of mock Viz-isms in "Sailormoon and the Holy Grail" is as close as I intend to come. To sum it all up, I'd like to know what went wrong with this 'fic. Now that I've finally created a major 'fic outside of the "Sailor Moon" universe, what will I do next? Well, I'm still at work on the seemingly endless spamfic "Sailormoon and the Holy Grail" (1st season and the upcoming 2nd season "Q," can't plug it enough!), and any number of odd little NASM stories. However, I have a few ideas for a follow-up to "Why Bother," as well as a potentially amusing crossover. If I decide to publish them, you'll hear all about it. -Alan (August 27, 1999) Elfquest site: eq_addiction> "Tenchi Muyo!" and all the things related to it are the copyrights of AIC (creators of the new Lodoss TV series, woo hoo!), Pioneer LDCA, and various others. Feel free to distribute this story over the 'Net, but don't remove my name from it, and don't try to make money off it.