Tenchi Muyo!

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Disclaimer: This episode of Tenchi Muyo! is of my own creation. I do not own any portion of Tenchi Muyo. "Tenchi Muyo!" and all related characters, names, etc. are ©1992-2003 AIC Inc. and Pioneer LDC. All rights reserved.

Note: This story line is a sequel to 'The Choices We Make' by C-kun. I recommend reading it, it is pretty interesting.


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The Darkness Within
Alternate Ending:
My Life, My Love


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Nine years have passed since that day, a day in which the mighty planet Jurai fell to an unknown foe and several people of great importance lost their lives. The people of Jurai have moved on from that time and adjusted to life without their goddess Tsunami. They have now grasped more modern technology and have industrialized their planet, though of course there is still plenty of foliage throughout Jurai, these being planted and grown naturally, without the influence of a goddess. They have also changed their way of ruling over the populace, becoming more of a democratic lifestyle where the common people have more say on how things are done and they also elect their leaders, instead of having them born through a royal lineage.

The former royal leaders of Jurai, Azusa, Funaho and Misaki, have moved on as well. Shortly after the terrible event where they lost all three of their precious children and close friends, they stepped down as the Royal Family. The people of the planet understood and respected their decision and, as a way of saying thank you for all the hundreds of years of helping make their planet a better place, they have let them live out their lives in peace, the press not even bothering to go after them. The three now have a rather large yet quaint county side residence and have taken to a normal life quite well. So well, in fact, that both Funaho and Misaki are expecting new members into the family in a few months time. The soon to be born babies are not replacements for their other children, rather they are more of a sign that the former Royal Family has finally gotten over the past and are ready to move on with their lives. They are happy.

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Far, far away, on colonized planet 0315 (known as Earth by its inhabitants) near Okayama, Japan, a slightly large and very comfortable looking house stands, where it once blew up nine years ago. Nobody knows how or why the house came back, looking as if nothing had ever happened to it, but since a lot of strange things have been known to happen in that area, the house's sudden reappearance wasn't questioned, it was just left alone, which is how the main inhabitant of house likes to keep it.

Tokimi Masaki is currently in the kitchen, cooking a small snack while humming a sweet song she heard sung a long time ago to the man who changed her life in so many ways. The goddess herself hasn't changed one bit, seeing as how she is immortal. She still reigns over this dimension, but rarely influences anything anymore, seeing ad how she has more important matters to attend to. Her eternally loyal servant D3 watches over everything in her absence.

Tokimi more or less looks exactly the same, with her shoulder length light brown hair, pristine porcelain skin with the green stripes coming from her neck to both cheeks, luscious red lips and her enigmatic blue and purple eyes, but those are the one thing to have changed as well. Nine years ago, she lost that special sparkle in her eyes, that little gleam of life that proved she was alive and happy with where she was at and who she was with. Over time, she has gained a bit of that old sparkle back, and the main reason why is walking through the front door right now.

"Mom, I'm home!" A young girl says, sliding off her shoes and walking into the living room.

Tokimi smiles and changes the heat settings for the snack from cook to simmer. She wipes her hands clean on a nearby towel and walks out to the living room to greet her young daughter. "Welcome home honey," the goddess lovingly greets, wrapping her child in a warm hug, "how was school?" Tokimi backs up to get a look at her.

Eight-year-old Keiko Achika Masaki is practically the spitting image of her mother, only smaller and much less developed. The main differences in her appearances from her mother are her waist length raven black hair and her eyes, a pretty mixture of deep violet with chocolate brown around the pupils which are very stunning in their own regard, but not quite equal to the sheer beauty of her mother's wild blue and purple eyes. Though one thing about her eyes that surpasses her mother's is the warmth, love and compassion in them that her father's eyes once held so strongly.

"It was okay Mom," the youngster responds, now taking off her backpack. "We took a test today but it was sooo easy! I aced it and I wasn't even trying!" Ever since she was just a baby, Keiko has shown signs of having a highly advanced intelligence. By the age of two, she was solving complex formulas that most high school graduates would have difficulty doing. She was offered to be skipped ahead several grades, but Tokimi did not want her child to miss out on her childhood and growing up normally, so now she is in all advanced classes, and is the top student in each and every one of them.

The goddess smiles warmly and hugs the young girl tightly. "That is my Keiko," she whispers, causing her little girl to giggle slightly. "Do you have any homework?"

Keiko shakes her head. "I did but I finished it on the bus." She clasps her hands together and gives her mother a pleading look, her eyes sparkling with unshed tears. "Can we go to town in a little bit Mommy? I want to go to the mall."

Tokimi raises an eyebrow, crossing her arms. "We were just at the mall last week. Why do you need to go again so soon?"

The child of Tokimi and Tenchi rolls her eyes. "Mom...it's a girl thing, you'll never understand."

"You are correct in that assumption." The goddess and her child look up as their doorbell rings. "Now I wonder who that could be?" she ponders out loud, hoping it isn't another suitor that has come for her. Shortly after she arrived on Earth and made the house her permanent residence, word spread far and wide about her great beauty and how it appears that she is single. Soon men from all corners of the universe flocked to this then little known planet, searching for the goddess' hand in marriage. She rejected every one that came her way without a second thought. There was only one man who she was and still is interested in, and he died unfortunately nine years ago, prompting her to alter her lifestyle to what it is now. Tokimi opens the front door and is genuinely surprised to see a rather familiar face.

With only a couple of small wrinkles on the corners of her eyes to show that time has indeed passed, Mihoshi Kuramitsu, now a Captain of the Galaxy Police, stands before the goddess, still the vision she was all those years ago with her dark skin, blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She smiles kindly and bows respectfully, not ever having really met Tokimi before. "Hello, my name is Mihoshi. Do...do you live here?"

The goddess does a quick bow back. "Yes, this is my house, why do you ask?"

"Well...um...I used to live here a long time ago. I was wondering, do you know anything about the people who used to live in this house?" The blonde rubs the back of her head, an innocent smile on her face.

"I do not know anything about them," Tokimi lies, keeping a neutral face as Mihoshi's smile fades slightly. "I am sorry I could not help you further."

The GP Captain waves her hands around, tossing aside the goddess' apology. "No! I'm the one who should be sorry! I didn't mean to bother you, so...I'm sorry!" she bows down again.

"Apology accepted," the goddess curtly replies. "It was nice meeting you Captain Kuramitsu."

Mihoshi's head snaps up, frowning slightly. "Hey, how did you know my last name? And how did you know I'm a Captain." Tokimi points to the gold nametag on the front of the blonde's uniform shirt over the left pocket which says, 'Capt. M. Kuramitsu.' Mihoshi blushes deeply, an embarrassed smile now on her still youthful looking face. "Oh! I'm sorry again! Well it was nice meeting you too Miss..."

"Tokimi," the goddess answers. "My name is Tokimi." With another short bow and a wave, the GP Captain turns around and leaves. The goddess closes the door and walks back into the living room, where her daughter is now watching the television while eating some of the rice balls her mother was preparing for her when she walked in from school. Tokimi smiles at her young child for a moment. "You should make sure that you have changed your clothes by the time I come back down from the shrine," she begins, getting the young girl's attention. "I do not believe you will desire to wear your school uniform to the mall."

Keiko smiles widely and rushes over to her mother, wrapping her arms around her in a warm and loving hug. "I love you Mom."

"I love you too my little Keiko." She watches as her daughter rushes upstairs to her room before walking out the front door.

The stone steps leading up to the Masaki Shrine and the shrine itself have been kept in good clean order all these years, mainly by Tokimi's influence. She calmly walks up the stairs and makes her way past the shrine to a small secluded spot, where three graves are laid down next to one another. The goddess procures up three red roses, one for each grave. The first grave is the oldest, having been placed there about twenty-seven years ago. The second grave is much younger, having been set down a little over nine years ago while the last, and most important grave to Tokimi, was set only a few months after that one.

The goddess lowers her head and closes her eyes. "Mother, Father, Tenchi," she calmly begins, "it has been hard, living like I have for the past nine years. Everything is so different and difficult. I find myself waking up in the middle of the night at times, my body covered in sweat and tears pouring from my eyes. I feel...cold and lonely...and frightened. Keiko has helped improve my moods greatly, but it is not all that I need. I desire you, my beloved Tenchi, to stand by my side once again, so you can watch our daughter grow up and become a beautiful woman and be proud of her. Mother, Father, I desire you to be here as well, and complete the remnants of this broken family. I desire to have the power to bring all of you back, but I cannot and even if I could, I do not think I could do so, knowing my actions would bring with them cataclysmic consequences. I...I am sorry. I wish I could be stronger, but I need your help. Please." she falls to her knees as she covers her face with her hands, the tears now flowing freely from her eyes.

She looks up suddenly as all three graves begin to glow a faint blue and hum in rhythm. Tokimi shields her eyes as a brilliant light emerges from each grave. When she looks back, she gasps as the ghostly images of Kiyone Achika Masaki, Noboyuki Masaki and Tenchi Masaki stand before her. All three smile warmly before molding into one particle of light and slowly coming towards the goddess.

At first Tokimi backs up, but freezes as she hears, 'Do not be afraid my love. We heard your plea and we wish to help you...so just stay calm and remember that I'll always love you.' That old sparkle of life that left her eyes nine years ago suddenly returns at the sound of her beloved Tenchi's voice. She closes her eyes and smiles, allowing the spirits to help.

They envelop her body and as soon as it began, it ended. The goddess opens her eyes, a brilliant smile on her beautiful face. "I...I understand now. I am sorry for allowing myself to sink to such a state." She wipes the tears from her eyes. Tokimi then places both her hands on her heart. "Even with you gone, a part of you still remains with me, and always will. Thank you. I can now go on with my life, knowing that you are watching over me, protecting me. I love you...goodbye." She turns around and leaves the graves, soon walking down the steps to her home and her awaiting daughter. Though life has dealt her great tragedy, she has moved on and will gladly go through her life with her loving daughter, knowing that she is loved and admired. Tokimi is happy and always will be, now and forever.


The End

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Author's notes: *sniff* Oh, that was so sad just to write it! To tell you the truth, this was the original ending I had set up when I first started this series, but I went with the other one after the series became more popular and I wanted a way to continue it. I hope you all enjoy the original ending to The Darkness Within.

I'm still going through ideas for the prequel story. I could really use some ideas if you people have any good ones. Since this fic will focus all on Tokimi watching Tenchi grow up, I need some ideas of things he could go through while growing up. I want to see this fic done and posted as much as you guys so any good ideas would be much appreciated. - lighthawkdemon

Questions or comments? E-mail me at: [email protected]