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No Need for Masculinity	By : Richard_Priapi Category: +S to Z > Tenchi Muyo Views: 501 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own the various Tenchi Muyo properties, nor any of the characters herein who may be found within that canon. Originally posted to AO3, I'll be posting more proofread/edited versions of the chapters here.

Chapter List
- 14
- 15
- 16
Drowsily Tenchi muddled her way through a calculus problem, working her brain through mnemonics about finding the sin of x, but her glazed-over eyes strayed to the window. The scenic view of local shops and houses dotting the green landscape never failed to stir a little of her positive attitude. She snapped to attention, the math forgotten.
“Masaki, something wrong?” Mr. Sakamoto drawled. Even good students can get distracted, he reminded himself.
A solitary black cloud hung low in the sky over the foothills of the nearby mountains, perfectly round and perfectly unnatural. Forkless lightning lanced rhythmically to the ground. There was only one explanation. She bolted out of her seat to the door- braking against the frame with her hands before running back to her desk and grabbing her school bag, where the tenchi-ken stashed for easy access in an unzipped pocket.
“Where do you think-“
“Sorry, but that’s my house.” By the time the class had followed her finger and noticed the inky stain against the sky, there was nothing left of Tenchi but the sound of her racing footsteps.
--
Her heart was in her throat the whole way home. She had thought stoically enduring the white-knuckled, clammy-handed ride on the bus would be the worst part, knowing that she couldn’t go any faster on her own and having to stew in it. Now, as the stitch in her side burnt with each gasping breath she took running towards the house, she realized how foolish that had been. The primal, rabbit-in-the-jungle fear of running into a nightmare was so much worse.
A figure was waiting for her in the cratered remains of the yard. Behind him, with the exception of some holes chewed through the roof and walls, the home stood in eerily good condition. Its quiet shell among the chaos reminded her of pictures she’d seen of the A-bomb Dome in Hiroshima. She prayed that was where the comparisons ended.
The muscle-bound warrior in the flowing robes of Juraiaan nobility eyed her curiously, arms hidden beneath the heavy cloak topped in fluted spaulders. With gritted teeth and clenched fists, Tenchi stopped, eying him against the silent backdrop with wide-eyed terror.
Masanosuke’s voice was the smooth baritone of a cat’s purr.
“I expected more of this little excursion. True, I surveyed this place in advance and planned accordingly, but… A pirate, a legendary warrior, and a princess should have been able to provide so much more entertainment.” He tsked. “And worse, the only one I truly wanted to see never appeared. Tell me, little girl; where is the man who slew Kagato?”
Tenchi squared her body towards her opponent, eyes narrowed to slits.
“Where are they,” she demanded. Masanosuke’s expression was still as marble.
“It isn’t polite for a young lady to talk back to a man, especially one of my standing. Even a backwater like this should understand the natural order of things,” He lectured. He barely looked at her, instead turning away to survey the work he had wrought. Drenched in the weariness of a dull victory, Masanosuke paced. As he moved, Tenchi could see behind him that Ryoko and Grandpa were stretched out side by side on the living room floor: Ryo-ohki, on her side, was draped across Ryoko’s chest.
“Is he your brother? You lover? You come running to his house ready enough. No matter. Tell the mighty warrior Tenchi Masaki that I have left his family and… pets as intact as possible, but that the princesses of Jurai will be accompanying me now. If he dares to mettle in the affairs of Juraiian politics, the courtesy of my restraint will not be extended a second time.”
That voice carried a lethal promise. Tenchi studied his every step carefully, her fingers curled around the hilt of her sword until the yellow bones of her knuckles bulged out of her skin. Her tone was murderous, but she kept her voice low.
“You aren’t leaving any footprints. If you wanted to face me so badly, why not come down here yourself?”
Masanosuke froze. Inch by inch he turned, eyeing Tenchi in a new light. His image flickered away and reappeared inches in front of Tenchi. The high schooler stood her ground, chin lifted to return his appraising gaze with a fiery stare. She refused to flinch under his beady-eyed scrutiny. The large man’s lips curled in disgust, nose wrinkling like he stood in front of a burning landfill. He chewed on the thought- really the meat of it was a relief, of a kind.
“I see. Then the most powerful man in the universe is no more. End transmission.”
And Tenchi was alone.
As quickly as it had appeared, Masanosuke’s ship vanished into the sky, its clouds dispersing so the fading daylight painted the Masaki house once more in golden light. Each step towards the house felt like moving in a nightmare. As fast as she willed her feet to move, she shambled forward like a zombie, stomach tied in knots. Tenchi looked at Washu’s lab first- whoever had tried to force it open hadn’t lived to regret it. The fingers of a charred hand still gripped the handle, their owner a pile of dust below. Tenchi swallowed vomit, cringing at the acrid taste. At least she’d be safe. But why hadn’t she been able to help? She climbed the steps on leaden legs. She knew Sasami was gone, but she needed to see it anyway. The door to Sasami’s room had been kicked open. Inside, Azaka stood mute, as Kamidake sprawled on the floor, propped up on a toppled dresser. Both wooden guardians were covered in a metal mesh. Tenchi nudged it with a foot. Seemed safe enough. As the light mesh came away, the guardian’s eye lit up.
“Princess!” Kamidake shot into the air, the stumpy legs it floated on scouring the air for an enemy who was no longer in reach.
“T… tenchi?”
Ryoko leaned heavily against the doorframe, eyes struggling to focus. She worked her mouth uncertainly- her throat tasted like a desert. She nearly toppled over as Tenchi swept her up, holding the pirate’s head to her chest. It struck Ryoko that the hug felt very Tenchi; so gentle that it couldn’t hurt a bruised body but molded so perfectly to fit against her ever curve. Ryoko’s fingers reached up to stroke the length of hair dangling past Tenchi’s ear. How close had she been to never getting to do so again? Blearily she realized Tenchi had been talking the whole time.
“Hey, hey, it’s ok,” she croaked, not fooling anyone. “I’ve always been a quick healer.” She pushed herself up and out of Tenchi’s cleavage- a shame if she ever knew one- and matched the Earthling’s teary gaze with one of her own. The fingers they traced through each other’s hair as they kissed moved gently, as if they needed to commit every line, curve, texture to perfect memory.
--
Nobuyuki kicked his feet up. Well, that wasn’t strictly possible in a capsule hotel, but he crossed his ankles and called it good enough. With the constant repair costs from Ayeka and Ryoko’s spats, Washu’s experiments gone wrong, and Ryo-ohki’s adorable little claws in the furniture, his accommodation budget for business trips had taken the deepest cuts. Determined to make the best of it anyway, he clicked on the miniature TV build into the capsule’s ceiling and slid the complementary headphones over his ears.
In other news, four men were found hogtied today outside of a cosmetic clinic in Shinjuku’s second district. The owner of the clinic cannot be reached for questions at this time and is viewed as a potential suspect.
The image of the four men appeared: in addition to being tied together, “bigot” was written in chunky characters on their foreheads in permanent marker. Nobuyuki chortled. Always good to see punks taken down a peg.
Police are asking anyone with information on the events outside of “Little Washu’s Big Changes” to come forward, as witness reports have been dismissed as “laughably improbable hogwash.”
Nobuyuki started upright, banging his head on the capsule roof.
“Hey, quiet down there, some of us are trying to jerk it in peace!”
--
“Why, why are you going to risk your life to save her again.”
“I have to. I may be the only one who can take this guy on,” Tenchi tossed a change of clothes into a travel-worn suitcase. Spread out on the bed were a range of toys Mihoshi had lost in the house- about half had turned out so far to be weapons or tools. Which to bring?
“So? She made her bed, Tenchi. Ran out on her planet and left a power vacuum every criminal dreams of! Besides, since you came out has she been anything other than a heinous bitch to you?”
Ryoko sold the point by tearing a pillow in half, letting the stuffing fall lifelessly. Her conscience twinged. As far as Tenchi knew, that was true. Not telling the whole truth was not a lie, she assured herself.
Tenchi put a hand on her shoulder. Ryoko’s grip closed around her fingers.
“That’s part of why I have to go. If I let my being a woman stop me from doing… well, what I do, apparently, then I prove her right. I’m less than the Tenchi Masaki I was.”
Ryoko threw Tenchi’s hand off her shoulder, turning and hugging herself tightly.
“Then you’re doing this without me. I can’t see you put yourself at risk again. Can’t put myself at risk again.”
Tenchi approached gently, hands on Ryoko’s hips, chin in the crook of her neck. Ryoko leaned back into the hug and sobbed.
“I’m coming back.”
Ryoko snorted, a bubble of snot jetting from her nose.
“I am. And then we can run away together. Just like you always say.”
“You’re just saying that.”
“No, really. At least for a little bit. I love you.”
Ryoko stifled a sob. Well, it wasn’t like she hated the princess all that much either.
“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go get her.”
--
Washu set down a platter of microwavable pizza bagels on the coffee table. Yosho nodded grim thanks, taking a sip of black coffee. Thankfully the stun munitions that had laid him out had not robbed him of his appetite.
Washu crossed her arms. “So, strategy?”
“Is there a way we can call Azaka and Kamidake back from their goodwill mission?” Yosho inquired.
Washu gave her head a curt shake.
“The odds are good they’re putting out a fire of their own right now. And if they leave to rescue the princess it tells the whole empire that Ayeka’s in trouble.”
“Hmmm,” he grumbled, “And undo much of the work they’ve put in restoring her to good graces at court.”
“Precisely.”
“And we can’t call the GXP,” Ryoko mused, “There’s no telling what that guy would do if he’s cornered in a hostage situation. Maybe Sasami will cook him a nice big dinner that’ll warm his heart, and he’ll bring them right back.”
The room took a silent beat. The thought of anything happening to that little ray of sunshine was unbearable. Tenchi offered her a pity smile- as far as dark humor went, she could have done worse.
“Can we track his ship? Ryo-Ohki should be able to fly again,” Tenchi offered.
Washu sank to the couch, blowing on a bagel.
“And do what? From the footage I saw of that attack, he’d tear you apart.”
“She was autopiloting,” Ryoko protested. “It’s a totally different beast when I’m at the helm. Besides, she’s a pirate ship- that’s how we work!” Emphatically she acted the show out with her hands. “Small vessel gets in quick, big guns disable propulsion, then board while you’re close enough they can’t risk the friendly fire.” She ground her fist into her palm as a closer.
Yosho closed his eyes, breathing deeply. “But one ship may not be enough to break that monster, and Ryu-oh is too bulky to be of much use in a dogfight.”
Washu jerked a thumb at him. “Bingo. So we need at least one more ship that can track someone who doesn’t want to be found, move fast enough to dodge heavy fire, and bonus if the pilot is comfortable shooting back.”
“Wait a minute,” Ryoko had a bad feeling. “You didn’t.”
There was a knock at the door.
--
- 14
- 15
- 16
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No Need for Masculinity