TENCHI MUYO! EXILE
Episode #5
"Jurai Comes Back!"

 Ryoko smiled at Ayeka as she walked into the dining room
and sat beside her rival.
 Ayeka fumed. She'd been fuming ever since that morning. A
morning which she would always count as the worst of her life.
 "Ryoko," Tenchi called as he walked in and sat beside her,
giving her a kiss on the cheek.
 "I have had ENOUGH!" Ayeka screamed at them as she
stormed off to her bedroom.

 Ayeka fell onto her futon and began to cry. "Oh, Tenchi!"
she sobbed. "Why? Why did you have to marry that horrible monster? I
cannot bear it." As she wept, she recalled the morning when she'd
heard the worst news of her life.

 It had happened just three and a half months ago. She
had been sitting at breakfast, watching Makiya and Naoki, who
were still newlyweds at the time, playfully feeding each other and
daydreaming of the day when she and Tenchi would do the same.
 Then Tenchi had walked in carrying Ryoko, who was still
dressed in her uchikake, and the dream had shattered into a million
fragments.
 Ayeka staggered to her feet and ran sobbing out of the room.
 Tenchi set Ryoko down at the table and kissed her. "I'll be
right back." He told her.
 "Take your time." Ryoko told him. She was already his wife
so she had nothing to fear from her rival. In fact, she'd decided, if
Tenchi wanted to 'go Juraian' as she called it and take Ayeka as his
second wife, then he was quite welcome to do so.

 "Ayeka," Tenchi began. "I"
 Tenchi was hurled down the hallway by a blast of Jurai energy.
 "I HATE YOU!" Ayeka screamed at him at the top of her lungs. "HOW
COULD YOU MARRY THAT MONSTER-WOMAN?!" Ayeka ran into her bedroom. A
moment later, she came out and began throwing things at Tenchi.
 "Calm down, Ayeka!" Tenchi tried. But it was simply no use and
in the end, Tenchi found himself running for his life as Ayeka ran
after him, screaming at the top of her lungs.
 In the end, exhausted and defeated, Ayeka had gone to Yosho
and asked the only question she could think of.
 "How could you marry him to her when you know how much he means
to me."
 "You may still become his wife some day." Yosho had reassured
her. "Your father had two wives, did he not?"
 "Yes." Ayeka had replied, quietly. Her quietness had come from
weariness, however, not from acceptance.  Now, three and half months
later, she still did not accept it. And now there was something else
about Ryoko that was troubling her. She could not put her finger on
the matter, but it troubled her all the same.

 "Makiya?" Naoki asked his wife, gently, early that afternoon as
they did their daily chores. "Are you okay?"
 Makiya nodded."I guess its just the hot weather getting to me."
 "Maybe you should have it checked out." Naoki offered. "This
is your first summer in this decade, you might have caught
something."
 Makiya nodded. "You might have a point." She agreed as she passed
out. "Makiya!" Naoki cried out. He fell to his knees beside her, and
grabbed her wrist. He was quite relieved that she was still alive, but
troubled all the same. Why had she passed out like that. Carefully, he
picked her up and carried her to the shrine office.

 "Hmmm," Yosho mused as he studied Makiya carefully. He turned
to Naoki. "I think perhaps you had better lie down."
 "I'm fine." Naoki said. "Or is whatever's troubling Makiya
contagious."
 "I can assure you that Makiya is not contagious." Yosho told Naoki.
 Naoki nodded. "Then, what's wrong with her?" "Nothing." Yosho
 replied. "I'm going to lighten up on her chores for
the the duration, that should lower the number of fainting spells."
 "For the duration of what?" Naoki asked.
 "For the duration of her pregnancy, of course." Yosho replied.

 "Is this going to take long?" Ryoko demanded as Washu put her
through her regular examination.
 "Shouldn't be too... Ryoko!!"
 "Wh.. what?!" Ryoko was startled by Washu's sudden yelp.
 "Ryoko, you're pregnant." Washu gasped.
 "You mean Tenchi and I...?!"
 "Well, yeah... or is something going on between you and Nobuyuki we
ought to know about?"
 "MOTHER!" Ryoko cried out in offended alarm.
 "Just kidding." Washu chuckled.

 Naoki stared at Yosho. "Did you say 'pregnancy'?" he asked.
 "Yes. That's right." Yosho replied.  Naoki fainted.
 "Naoki?" Makiya asked. "Is he going to be all right?" She asked
Yosho.
"You're both going to be just fine." Yosho reassured her.
 Naoki just stared at the ceiling.

 "Ryoko is WHAT?!" Tenchi stumbled backward in amazement. A moment
later, he slapped his knees and began to laugh. "Oh! I get it." He
chuckled. "This is another gag. Right? Like when she told everyone I
was Ryo-Ohki's father?"
 "No," Washu replied in a tone that was perfectly sober, "she really
is pregnant." In a perfect imitation of Naoki, Nobuyuki, and a large
number of first time fathers before him, Tenchi Masaki fainted.


 In a wooden spaceship, not far from the shimmering blue sphere which
is for some strange reason called "Earth" even though most of its
surface is actually water, the Queens of Jurai approached the planet
where their children now resided. They'd talked their shared husband
into allowing them to go, and had even tried to get him to join them.
He had grumpily refused to go with them, stating that as King he had
far too much responsibility to go off cavorting around the Galaxy.
He'd also added, as an afterthught, that they were quite welcome to go
themselves. So they had.
 "We should be arriving shortly, sister." Funaho told Misaki.
"It  will be good to see Yosho and my great grandson again."
 "And I'm looking forward to seeing my little Ayeka and Sasami."
Misaki agreed.
"Ayeka's not so little anymore." Funaho noted. "In fact, she's
becoming quite a woman."
 "Its hard for me to think of her as anything but my little Ayeka."
Misaki replied.

 Ayeka was having mixed feelings .She had just heard the news that
Tenchi and Ryoko were going to have a baby.Her heart ached with anger
and sorrow that she was not the one carrying Tenchi's child, but at
the same time, she was happy for Tenchi.  She walked into the kitchen
where Makiya was helping Sasami. "Need a hand?" she asked.
 "You can set the table, Ayeka." Sasami told her.
 "You'd better set it for two more." A voice said from the kitchen
door. Ayeka spun around and saw Funaho standing there, grinning.
 "Lady Funaho!" She gasped.
 "Yes." Funaho nodded. "And your mother is also here."
 "Eeek!" Ayeka yelped as she ran to meet her mother.
 "You're looking quite radiant, Makiya." Funaho observed.
 "I'm expecting a child." Makiya explained.
 "How wonderful for you!" Funaho exclaimed as she hugged her. "You
must be very happy."
 "I am." Makiya admitted.

 Naoki wandered into the house with a dazed look on his face. The same
dazed look that now hovered over the features of Tenchi Masaki. The
two young men converged in the hallway. Each noticed the look on the
other's face. "You two?" they asked, almost simultaneously.

 Ayeka ran into the kitchen. "Mommy! "she cried. All the frustrations
of the past few months suddenly poured out of her as she embraced her
mother. "Mommy! Tenchi married Ryoko! He broke my heart, mommy. And
now he's rubbing it in by becoming a daddy with her." Her tears flowed
freely. Misaki's face grew stern and a look of cold anger appeared
there.

 In the hallway, Ryoko heard Ayeka and recalled the way Misaki had
tried to split her head apart by pulling on the corners of her mouth.
There was no sign of Tenchi or Naoki in the hall .Ryoko's acute sense
of hearing heard the thudding of books hitting the floor and smiled to
herself asshe realized they must be in the library trying to find some
kind of manual on being first time dads.

 "Your dad has a lot of books on how to become a dad," Naoki told
Tenchi, "but so far I can't find a thing on what we're supposed to do
when we actually do."
 "Keep looking," Tenchi told him.
 "I wonder if my kid will arrest yours someday." Naoki mused.
 "Ryoko's not like that anymore."' Tenchi told him. "She's calmed down
a lot now that she's going to be a mom."
 "That's true." Naoki admitted.
 "How about you and Makiya." Tenchi asked.
 "We're looking forward to our first child." Naoki replied.
 "I hear your old commander's staying on Earth."
 Naoki nodded. "I think I'll pay him a visit. later on."
 "Look, why don't you go now?" Tench ioffered. "Things are pretty
quiet here." "Thanks." Naoki replied. He went to his and Makiya's room
and got his hat and coat, then went to Makiya.
 "Where are you going?"
 "I'm going to pay Sarnd a visit." Naoki replied. "Do you want to
come?" "No." Makiya replied. "I'm not feelin gvery well and I'm going
to stay home." Naoki nodded. "I'll pick you up someice cream on the
way home."
 "Thank you, Naoki." Makiya embraced him at the door and kissed him.

 Sarnd clenched his fist as he read the data on the laptop computer
the Galaxy Police had let him keep. He didn't like what he was seeing.
The patterns were too familiar. Too much like...
 A knock on the door broke his train of thought. "Just a moment." He
called as he put on the mask. He opened the door and saw Naoki
standing there.
 "Naoki," he said, "thank goodness you're here"
 "What's wrong."
 "Naoki, I need you to go on assignment."
 "Sarnd," Naoki reminded him, "you're retired. We both are."
 "I know." Sarnd replied. "But this is too important. You needn't get
involved. Just go and see what the trouble and report back to me with
the information. I'll transmit it to the Galaxy Police. I may not be
their commander any more, but they can't stop me from being an
informant." Naoki nodded. "I'll do what I can to help." He told Sarnd.
"I owe it to you after all that you've done for me."
 "Thank you." Sarnd replied.

Tenchi found it difficult to talk with Misaki's fingers in his mouth.
"Hey!" Ryoko shouted. "You leave my Tenchi alone! I..." Misaki turned
an angry glare toward Ryoko who drew back. "I'm sorry!" Tenchi
pleaded, with some difficulty. Ryoko scribbled down something and held
it up. "Read this, Tenchi." "Maybe I'll make Ayeka my second wife."
Tenchi read. Misaki released him and hugged him. "That's better." she
cooed. "Now come here!" She pulled Tenchi close and hugged him
tightly.

The ships controls were both familiar and alien to Naoki. It had
been some time since he'd been at the console of a Galaxy Police
vessel and some of the controls had changed in appearance at least. He
gritted his teeth and set his mind to his task. A quick trip out a
couple light years to see what was there, then home to Makiya,
stopping to pick up ice-cream on the way. "You know of any good
names?" He asked Sarnd, on the long-range communication link. "I
always liked Trakal." Sarnd replied. Naoki smiled. "So do I," he
admitted, "but what if its a girl?" Sarnd chuckled. "Well, I... Naoki!
" he cried out in alarm as a huge anomaly suddenly exploded into
existance, appearing too close for Naoki to turn away from. "Damn,"
Naoki swore, "there's a planet coming up. Fast! I'm heading right for
it!" "PULL UP!"  Sarnd shouted. "I can't pull up!" Naoki cried out.
But that was pure coincidence. He could not hear Sarnd's panicked
shouts. "The anomaly must've shorted out the autopilot. The last thing
Sarnd saw on the screen was the image of Naoki's head smashing against
the console with incredible force, then it was gone, replaced abruptly
nothing but 'snow'.

Makiya was playing 'fetch' with Ryo-ohki, completely unaware that she
was a widow. She laughed, happily, as the little cabbit hopped after
the little ball she was throwing. She couldn't help it. Ryo-ohki was
incredibly kawaii, after all.

Sarnd sat there, numbly, and stared at the snow on the screen. All he
could think was how would he tell Makiya? How could he explain that
the father of her unborn child was dead now because Sarnd had wanted
to play a hunch?

***
A fierce wind blew across the scorched plain, carrying the stench of
new death upon it. It howled mournfully, as it caressed the lifeless
form that lie, twisted and broken amidst the hunks of twisted and
broken steel and fiberglass. After the wind touched the figure, it
seemed to fall silent, as if contemplation, the it rose up again, even
louder, almost wailing as if it were a living thing and this cold,
lifeless corpse the remains of a being whom it had, for some reason,
sought out over the ages. The figure itself  was in a condition which
might best be described as shattered. The face, once beautiful, was
split open from jaw to forehead. His eyes had been jarred free of
their sockets by the impact when he'd smashed into the console. One
hung there like a grotesque ornament, the other had somehow been torn
free and was wedged into a corner of the console's misshapen remains.
His torso had been torn open, flesh and muscle ripped away violently
to reveal a bloodslicked skeleton; a sight whose gruesomeness was
matched only by the sight of the figure's large intestine hanging
losely from his broken corpse.

In a room which seemed to encompass Time itself, a bearded visage
turned his gaze to one both beautiful and terrible. His eyes,
blue-green throughout, without hint of pupil or iris, seemed
nevertheless concerned. "Are you certain, my lady?" He asked, eyeing
her choice with a look of misgiving. Clearly he did not fully trust
her. "I am." She nodded, her black eyes glinting.  She knew his
opinion of her, but such things did not trouble her. She turned to the
image of the shattered remains, her expression unchanged by the image,
which would've had most people running away screaming . "He will do
nicely." "Are you sure you need to revert him back to his original
form?" He asked. "Washu seems to have changed him for a purpose."
"That does not concern me." She replied. Then she added, cryptically
"And, anyhow, I have more of a right to determine his fate than
Washu." She turned her attention on the image of Naoki that was before
her. She focused her power on the broken man and he rose up into the
air, arms dangling down, stretched out face up with his head tilted
back. She nodded and fur began to slowly grow on his body even as his
many wounds healed and closed up. His face reformed into a familiar
chiropteran muzzle, fur forming upon it as well. His shattered eyes
fell away and the sockets glowed brilliantly for a moment. When the
light had passed, he had a new pair of eyes which were the same as his
old eyes. She nodded again, her eyes glistening in satisfaction as he
was set down on his feet. "What happened?" he asked. "Trakal." the
woman spoke his old name. "My name is Naoki now." He told her as he
poked and prodded himself, making sure all was back in working order..
"Its been that since I was made human by..." he paused and studied his
hands which were covered by a coat of short coarse fur. He reached up
and touched his muzzle. He was a Draalthi again. "What have you done
to me?" He demanded.

(to be continued in Chapter 6  "Avatar of the Goddess")
Lt. Trakal
Operative of the Galaxy Police SIU