Tenchi Muyo: No Need for the Past (part 3 of 4) An orange beam of energy sailed across the air and exploded in a big cloud of dust. Ryoko was in the fight of her life, and loosing. Kain was floating above her in front of her cave. Ryoko launched another attack at Kain. She flew towards him and swung her energy sword at him as he dodged her energy blast. The blow never connected. Kain disappeared and reappeared next to her, launching an attack of his own. It hit Ryoko in her side and she was blown back into to the mouth of the cave. "Finally I can kill one of you," gloated Kain. "I'm not going out this easily," sputtered Ryoko, coughing up a mouthful of blood. Hakubi materialized high above the cave. He looked around and flew towards Kain as fast as possible. "It is over!" Kain launched a big ball of energy at Ryoko hitting her square in the chest. She flew back into the cave and slammed into a wall. She did not get up. "Grandma! Kain, you're going to pay for that!" Hakubi screamed as he neared Kain. This caught Kain completely by surprise. He turned around and saw Hakubi's light hawk sword cut through an eye and between two others. Hakubi landed below Kain with his back towards him. Kain fell neatly apart in two equal pieces and exploded. Hakubi's light hawk wings went up instinctively, protecting him from the blast. "Very good. You are very powerful for someone so young," Kain's voice floated through the air. "What? I killed you. Where are you?" Hakubi asked in disbelief. He had cut Kain cleaning in half, he was sure of it. "I haven't taken this form in thousands of years. But I see that I will need to, to defeat you." A man materialized where Kain's face used to be. He was dressed in black. Black boots, black pants, black shirt, and black gloves. He even had a black cloak around him. Underneath the black hood was a white face, the same face that they had seen before. "Now then, let's finish this," said the new Kain as he charged with a black energy sword. "Gladly!" replied Hakubi who charged back. They met in the middle, Kain's energy sword pushing against Hakubi's light hawk sword. Light hawk wings started to form between the two fighters and flew at Kain. Kain jumped back and dodged the wings flying at him. Hakubi was on him in a heartbeat. His sword bit into the ground as Kain dodged his attack. The still flying wings turned around and flew at Kain again. He dodged most of them, but did not see the one coming at him from behind. Kain jumped to the right instinctively, but not fast enough. The flying blade cut deeply into his left arm, causing a thick stream of black blood to flow down it. "Damn you! You're proving to be more of a problem than expected. I can fix that! See you later, or rather sooner. Ha Ha...Huh?" "Uh, you were going to do something, right?" asked Hakubi, taking a breather but not letting his guard down. "You are doing this. It has to be you. I'll be back." Kain vanished again, and did not reappear. Hakubi let his light hawk armor disappear, leaving him in his Juraian battle armor. He rushed to Ryoko and checked for a pulse. He heard a rustling from the bushes next to him and looked up, forming an energy sword in his hand. Ryo-Ohki, Rye-Ohki, and Tenchi burst through the bushes. "Ryoko!" Tenchi cried and ran towards her limp form. She was in her red and black battle suit but it was torn and singed. She was bleeding badly. "Is she alright? What happen?" "Kain attacked her and I fought him off. We must get her to Washu's lab as fast as possible," answered Hakubi, picking up Ryoko. "I'll carry her," said Tenchi, and Hakubi transferred her to him. "Come on, we don't have much time." Rye-Ohki jumped onto Hakubi's shoulder and Ryo-Ohki jumped onto the other, sensing what he was going to do. Hakubi put his hand on Tenchi's shoulder and teleported. They materialized in front of the house again. This time Tenchi had expected it and rushed through the front door, kicking it open in the process. Tenchi felt Ryoko stir in his arms and look down. Ryoko opened her eyes slowly and said weakly, "Tenchi?" "Everything going to be all right Ryoko. You're going to be just fine," Tenchi said to Ryoko who passed out again. They burst into the family room and met the others. "What happened? Who did this? Is she alright?" everyone said all at once. "Everyone shut up!" yelled Washu over the others. "Get her to my lab immediately." Everyone hurried into her lab and followed Washu to a bed. Tenchi put Ryoko on the bed and Washu pushed some buttons on her computer. A machine appeared out of the ceiling and started to scan Ryoko. "Not much broken. With her accelerated healing and my wonderful medical bed, she will be fine in a few hours," Washu announced, relieved as Ryoko came to. "Ryoko, can you tell us what happened?" Kiyone asked. "I was at my cave thinking when Kain attacked me. I was losing. He hit me hard and the last thing I saw was Tenchi attacking Kain with his light hawk sword," said Ryoko weakly. "That's impossible. Car was the one who rescued you. When I got there, Kain was already gone," said Tenchi, "You must have been hit harder than you thought." "Yeah. I guess so," replied Ryoko, trying to remember if the man she saw was really Tenchi. Thought Ryoko to herself as she drifted off into sleep. "Everyone get out of here and let her rest. Don't worry, with my care, she will be good as new," said Washu. She herded everyone out of her lab but held onto Hakubi. "We need to talk." "Grandpa, can I talk to you about something?" asked Tenchi as they stepped out of the lab. "What is it Tenchi?" asked Yosho attentively. "It's about Car. When we first met, I saw him fight with Kain. He handles his sword like a Juraian, but flies around and shoots energy like Ryoko. And now Ryoko says she saw someone with light hawk wings rescue her. Isn't the most powerful Juraian supposed to be the Emperor or me? Maybe I'm just paranoid or something, but I feel something strange about him. And how many Juraians have yellow eyes and two-color hair? He looks more like Ryoko than Ayeka or Sasami." "That is strange indeed. I have never seen him fight, but a Royal Guardsman is expected to be a good swordsman. Maybe Ayeka knows about the hair and eyes, I have not been to Jurai in a long time," answered Yosho. "Knows what?" Ayeka asked walking up to them. "We're just talking about Car," Tenchi told her. "Does he looks Juraian to you?" "No, he's definitely not a full-blooded Juraian. Yellow is not a natural eye color, but the hair could be dyed for all we know. I've been wondering about that since he got here," replied Ayeka. "It is very interesting indeed," said Yosho, rubbing his chin. "I never heard of a Royal Guardsman that is not a full-blooded Juraian. But he seems to have good intentions. We will find out more about him tomorrow. Take him up to the Shrine with you tomorrow Tenchi, I'm going up there to meditate. Good night." Yosho walked out of the house to the Shrine. he thought to himself as he walked the path to the Shrine. "What is it that you want to talk about Little Washu?" asked a tired Hakubi. Washu held her hand out and her computer formed under it. She pressed a button and a ball appeared behind Hakubi. It burst open in a sea of metal tentacles and wrapped around Hakubi. "I want some answers and you aren't going to weasel out of it this time." "I don't have time for games Washu," replied Hakubi as he struggled to get free of his binds. "This is no game. Why did Kain attack my daughter? She has no Juraian power. He has no reason to attack her alone." "I don't know, maybe he made a mistake," answered a very annoyed Hakubi. "Criminals like Kain do not make mistakes like that. Tell me why." "I don't know," said Hakubi, trying to buy some time so he could think of an answer that won't reveal anything. "Maybe he just wanted her out of the way." "No, if that was the reason, then he would have attacked Tenchi then, instead of Ryoko. Think harder." "Maybe because the gems are so similar to Juraian power that he believed that she had Juraian power," offered Hakubi still trying to get out of the metal tentacles. "How do you know that about her gems? Only a few people know about that, and you should not be one of them," replied Washu. She pressed another button and more tentacles wrapped around Hakubi. "And she only has one gem, not enough power to be mistaken as Juraian." Washu turned her back to Hakubi to look at a flashing screen on another computer behind her. She turned around again and Hakubi was gone. In the tentacle's grasp was a doll that looked like Hakubi. "How'd he do that? Don't bother to teleport out of here. We're in another dimension, and I have shields all around us. You won't get far." As if on cue, Hakubi fell out of the sky and landed with a thud. Washu pressed another button and a force field surrounded Hakubi. "Now tell me the truth. Why did Kain attack my daughter? And who are you?" Hakubi walked to the edge of the field and looked at the door to the house. It was only a few yards away. "I told you before, I don't know why he attacked Ryoko," said Hakubi, "You're lying. You're not leaving here until you tell me the truth." 'Mother! Let him go,' said Ryoko through her mental link with Washu. 'He has his reasons for not tell us, and he can't protect Tenchi if he's in that cage.' 'Why should I? For all we know he could be a pawn of Kain, sent here to mislead us,' Washu thought back. 'You're wrong.' Ryoko let her memories of her conversation with Hakubi, and her memory of the battle with Kain, surface for Washu to see. 'I see,' said Washu quietly. The momentary distraction was what Hakubi needed to make his escape. He phased into the ground and walked underneath the force field while still in phase with the floor. He popped up on the other side, took a deep breath and ran for the door, opening it and jumping through before Washu had noticed. Washu noticed some movement in the force field and looked to see what Hakubi was doing. She saw another doll lying on the ground with a note pinned to it. She pushed a button on her computer and the force field dissipated. Washu walked up to the doll and picked up the note. It read, "Sorry I couldn't stay to play, but I could not tell you what you wanted to know. I have already said too much to you and Ryoko." Washu crumpled the note in her hand and thought to Ryoko, 'I wonder how he did that? He could give you a run for your money. I hope you know what you're doing.' 'So do I. But he did save me from Kain and everything he's done so far as been on the level. I guess we have to trust him.' Both Washu and Ryoko gave a mental sigh. 'Now you get your rest. You can't help Tenchi in the shape your in now.' 'OK, Mom,' Ryoko replied, stressing Mom. Hakubi made to his room without bumping into anyone. He went over to his bed and collapsed onto it. Hakubi started to drift off into sleep when the sound of something hitting his door with a "smack" woke him up. He opened the door and saw Rye-Ohki lying on his back, dazed. 'Still haven't got a handle on phasing have you?' asked Hakubi mentally as he picked up his cabbit and walked back into his room. 'Ow, that hurt. I'll get it eventually.' Rye-Ohki mewed back. 'I'm sure you will. It looks like Kain is getting desperate. He could try anything. I want you to guard Sasami with Ryo-Ohki. If Kain attacks her, get her as far away from here as possible. I don't care if you have to destroy the whole house in the process, just get her someplace safe. Got it?' 'Sure, no problem. I know how much she means to you. I won't let you down,' Rye-Ohki mewed confidently. 'Great, now I need to get some sleep. Go play with Sasami or something, but keep and eye out for Kain.' Rye-Ohki mewed affirmative and hopped out of Hakubi's hands. He jumped towards the door and remembered to phase through it this time. Hakubi thought to himself as he drifted back into sleep. "Mr. Rote. It's time for breakfast," Sasami said outside of Car's room, the next morning. "Mr. Rote?" Sasami knocked on his door and got no reply. She opened the door a crack and looked inside. She saw Hakubi sprawled out on the bed snoring. She giggled and walked into the room. Ryo-Ohki was in her humanoid form and followed her. Rye-Ohki was also with her and was sitting on her head. "Why don't you wake him up Carry-Ohki," said Sasami, giggling some more. Rye-Ohki meowed and hopped onto the bed. He walked up next to Hakubi's head and leaned over. With the tip of his ear he tickled Hakubi's nose. "Hrmph," Hakubi mumbled as he swiped at his nose and rolled over. "Mommy, I don't want to go to the meeting," Hakubi mumbled some more. "He's so silly," giggled Sasami. Rye-Ohki then used his ear to tickle Hakubi's. "Just let me sleep in some more, please?" mumbled Hakubi and he rolled over again. Rye-Ohki hopped onto Hakubi's head and looked down at his face. "What the?" Hakubi opened his eyes and saw two purple cat eyes looking at him. "Oh Rye-Ohki, it's just you. Aren't you supposed to be guarding mother?" 'I am, stupid!' Rye-Ohki meowed loudly trying to cover up Hakubi's slip. "What?" He looked to the side and saw Sasami and Ryo-Ohki giggling. "Sorry to wake you, but it is time for breakfast, and Tenchi wants you to go up to the Shrine with him this morning," said Sasami, bowing. "Oh, OK. Thanks. I'll be down in a minute," said Hakubi as he swung his legs out of bed. "OK," replied Sasami and she walked out of the room with Ryo-Ohki and Rye- Ohki trailing behind her. "Must have been more tired than I thought," said Hakubi to himself as he walked out of his room to the bathroom. A few minutes later he walked down the stairs to the dining table. Everyone was gathered around the table except for Ryoko and Washu. "Where are Miss Ryoko and Little Washu?" Hakubi asked the group. "Ryoko's still recovering in the lab and Washu is with her," Tenchi told him. "I want to thank you for saving her. I know that you didn't have to, her not being Juraian and all." "Don't mention it Lord Tenchi. I am here to protect all of you from Kain, Juraian or not," replied Hakubi, looking at Kiyone and Mihoshi. "I'm glad to hear it. Grandpa wanted to talk to you. Would you mind going up to the shrine after breakfast?" "Sure, I don't mind," replied Hakubi, wondering what his great grandfather wanted to say to him. Breakfast went by calmly. With Ryoko recovering in the lab, Ayeka had no one to fight with and the meal went by peacefully. After the meal, Tenchi led Hakubi up to the Shrine. This was the perfect time to talk to him alone. "So, where did you learn to fight?" "I learned from the best fighters of Jurai," replied Hakubi, giving a semi-true answer. "Really? I didn't know that anyone on Jurai knew how to fly and fight with energy like you do?" asked Tenchi, trying to get more information out of the mysterious Car. "Well, I didn't learn everything on Jurai," said Hakubi, thinking up a story that would keep his cover, "Being an Elite Guardsman, I go off planet a lot and I learned from other masters on the planets I went to." Hakubi hoped that Tenchi would believe his story. "Is that so? I have never been far away from Earth before. Ayeka wants me to go to Jurai, but Ryoko is not welcome there and I don't want to leave her behind." "I'm sure you'll be able to see it one day," Hakubi said, thinking of the future of his young grandfather. "I personally think that Earth is more beautiful, but I'm kinda biased." "What do you mean biased?" asked Tenchi, puzzled. "Ah, we are here," Hakubi said, avoiding the question. They reached the shrine and walked over to the shrine office. Inside, Yosho was drinking some tea. As they entered, he said, "Car, I'm glad that you came." "It's no problem," said Hakubi as he bowed to Yosho. "It is not often that we get visitors that can fight as well as you do. I would like you to spar with Tenchi. It would help his training greatly if he could learn from others who fight differently." "I would be honored." They walked out of the office and to a clearing. Yosho gave a boken to Hakubi and one to Tenchi. "I guess I will not use my powers," said Hakubi, testing the weight of the wooden sword. He had not used one of them since he learned how to make his first energy sword. "You can do whatever you want. You will fight till one is hit. Begin," said Yosho from the side. Both fighters stared at each other, looking into each other's eyes for the right time to attack. Tenchi blinked and Hakubi charged. Tenchi dodged just in time as Hakubi's sword barely missed his head. Tenchi swung back at Hakubi's side, but it was blocked. The fight continued for a while. It was pretty one sided. Every attack that Tenchi made was easily blocked by Hakubi, while Tenchi was hard pressed to block or dodge any of Hakubi's attacks. Yosho thought to himself as he watched the fight. "You are supposed to show Tenchi something new. If I wanted a Juraian match, I would have sparred with him," Yosho yelled out to Hakubi. "All right, if that is what you want," Hakubi replied. Tenchi swung at Hakubi again, but he teleported away before he could be hit. He materialized behind Tenchi and swung at his back. Tenchi jumped forward in time to dodge the blow and spun around to face Hakubi. Hakubi swung again at Tenchi and his blow was blocked. Tenchi countered with a low strike, but Hakubi flew back a few feet, floating a foot off the ground. Tenchi charged and Hakubi teleported away before Tenchi could get near him. It took Tenchi a second to find Hakubi, who was at the other side of the clearing. Hakubi flew towards Tenchi, teleporting from side to side to distract him. When he was within striking distance, he teleported again. Thinking that he would teleport behind him, Tenchi spun around as soon as Hakubi started to disappear. But Hakubi did not appear there, instead he was at his side. Tenchi did not have time to recover from his mistake and was hit in the side with Hakubi's boken. "Nice trick," Tenchi said, rubbing his side where he was struck. "My father taught me that," Hakubi replied, lowering his boken. "Tenchi, you should not have tried to predict your opponents moves so early in the fight," Yosho scolded from his seat on a rock at the side of the clearing. "You must first learn how your opponent thinks before you can predict him. Try not to make that mistake again." "Sorry Grandpa," Tenchi apologized and walked towards him. "Now that you are warmed up, I would like to spar with you myself. Think of it as a test, to see if you are worthy of being an Elite Royal Guardsman," Yosho said to Hakubi. "I would be honored to spar with the great Prince Yosho," Hakubi replied bowing. "Flattery will get you nowhere," said Yosho as he stood up and walked towards Hakubi. Yosho took a ready stance and raised his boken. "Whenever you are ready," he said to Hakubi. Hakubi also raised his boken and immediately attacked. He was not fighting in the air, but on the ground in the Juraian style. He made three quick slashes to Yosho's chest, all of which were blocked. Yosho countered with a strike to the head, but Hakubi teleported away before his head would have been taken off. He materialized at Yosho's left side. As if he knew where Hakubi would appear, Yosho swung at him. Hakubi barely blocked the blow in time. Yosho pressed his attack, with incredibly fast strikes. Hakubi blocked each of them, stepping back with each attack. Yosho swung hard this time, hoping that the strength of the blow would catch Hakubi off balance. It did not work as Hakubi blocked it and their swords locked together in a test of strength. "You are holding back," said Yosho, "Why don't you use your energy attacks? You are not restricted." "It would not be fair," Hakubi answered as he pushed against Yosho's boken. "What is fairness in a fight?" asked Yosho, trying to find out more about Hakubi's character. "Who fights with wooden swords?" countered Hakubi. He got tired of talking and jumped back. As soon as he touched the ground, Hakubi teleported behind Yosho. Yosho spun around to strike, but Hakubi teleported again to the right side. Yosho spun again and blocked Hakubi's boken. "Good," said Yosho and he jumped back this time. Hakubi followed, flying after him. Their swords connected again and Hakubi flew back, high into the air. He dove at Yosho teleporting from side to side as he did with Tenchi. Yosho remembered how Ryoko had tried a similar attack and readied himself to counter it. He lunged at Hakubi when he was only a few feet away, trying to go underneath the expected attack from Hakubi. But Hakubi did not strike as expected. Instead he parried Yosho's strike and flew past him. He rolled around in mid air and swung his boken to catch Yosho in the back as he flew by. Yosho jumped out of the way, almost touching Hakubi's sword with the bottom of his sandal. When Yosho landed, he jumped up at Hakubi and swung his sword in a downward strike. Hakubi had just recovered from his last attack and tried to put his boken in front of him to block incoming strike. He was not fast enough and Yosho's blow had caught him off balance. He fell to one knee from the force of the blow. Yosho swung upwards this time and knocked Hakubi's sword out of his hands. "How is it that someone like you can join the Royal Guard?" Yosho asked as he swung again to deliver the winning blow. "What is that supposed to mean?" Hakubi asked back and teleported away. "You do have skill, but I beat you pretty easily," answered Yosho as he ran towards Hakubi. "You will make an excellent guard, but not good enough to be considered elite." Yosho swung again and Hakubi jumped out of the way. He took and open stance and prepared to fight Yosho by hand. "I was holding back you know," Hakubi told him. "So was I," Yosho replied as he swung again. Hakubi leaned to the side to dodge it and lashed out with his foot. Yosho blocked it with his sword and said, "This is exactly what I mean. If I had a real sword, your foot would have been cut off." Yosho spun around and swung his boken at Hakubi's side. "But it is not," said Hakubi and he stood still. Yosho's boken continued in its path but did not hit Hakubi. As the sword neared, Hakubi phased through it, letting it pass cleanly through him. This caught Yosho completely by surprise. He had never expected a tactic like this and did not recover fast enough. As soon as the boken passed completely through him, Hakubi lunged at Yosho and put him in a headlock with an energy knife at his throat. "I win," Hakubi whispered into Yosho's ear and he let him go. "Hey!" yelled Tenchi from the side where he was watching the match. "That's a dirty trick." "There is nothing dirty about it," Hakubi replied and stood up straight. "If we were using energy swords, I would have been cut in half. That is why we do not spar with bokens back home, or else everyone will be phasing through everything and it would be a mess." "There are others who have the power of phasing on Jurai?" Yosho asked after regaining his composure. "Well, um. My father can, and so can his mother," answered Hakubi, hoping that he was not revealing anything important. "I see," Yosho said, rubbing his chin. "Won't you get hurt?" Tenchi asked. "Not really," answered Hakubi. He formed his energy sword, but it was not the dark purple that is normally was. Instead it was a very light shade of purple, almost white. "We spar using very low energy. This sword does not have enough power to cut, but will give a good shock." To illustrate his point, Hakubi struck a nearby tree with his sword. It gave off a little crackle of electricity when it touched the tree, but did not cut through it like his normal sword would have done. "Good, then Tenchi can practice using the Tenchi-ken," said Yosho and he produced the master key. "I want you to use all your powers against Tenchi this time," Yosho said to Hakubi. He threw Tenchi the Tenchi-ken, and Hakubi took a ready stance. "Whenever you're ready," said Hakubi. Tenchi caught the sword and ignited it. "Don't worry about hurting me," said Hakubi, noticing Tenchi's nervousness. Tenchi charged and swung the Tenchi-ken for Hakubi's head. Hakubi brought his own energy sword up and blocked the strike upwards. He leaned back avoiding the sword's path and kicked out, hitting Tenchi in the stomach. Tenchi staggered back, caught completely off guard. Hakubi took advantage of this and charged. He swung his sword at Tenchi's wrist and the shock form his sword caused Tenchi to let go of the Tenchi-ken. Tenchi looked up and saw the tip of Hakubi's sword an inch from his face. "I win," Hakubi said with a smile. "You should have lost your hand Tenchi," Yosho said from the side. "Back to your positions and begin again." Tenchi picked up the Tenchi-ken and walked back to the center of the clearing. The last round had lasted only three seconds. "This is crazy. The only way I can win is by using the light hawk wings," muttered Tenchi under his breath. "Don't expect your opponents to be easy Tenchi. There are plenty of bad guys out there who are just as powerful and as skilled," said Hakubi. "Begin," said Yosho. This time Hakubi attacked first. He lunged at Tenchi, aiming for his chest. Tenchi parried it away and countered with a strike to Hakubi's head. Hakubi had already recovered and blocked the blow easily with one hand. With his other, he formed a ball of purple-white energy and threw it at Tenchi. The blast caught Tenchi in the chest and pushed him back a foot, leaving a small black mark on his tunic. If Hakubi had been using all his power, he would have burned a hole through Tenchi's chest. "I win," Hakubi said, smiling again. Tenchi let out a growl and walked back to the center. That round had lasted four seconds. They squared off again and charged. Tenchi swung for Hakubi's side and was blocked. Before Hakubi could launch an energy attack, Tenchi attacked again. His attack was blocked and he jumped away. Hakubi flew after him, shooting an energy blast as he went. Tenchi dodged the blast and barely blocked the strike after it. Yosho thought to himself as he watched Hakubi spar with Tenchi. Yosho shuddered at the thought. Hakubi beat Tenchi again, this time by striking him on the side. Tenchi thought to himself as he and Hakubi walked back to the center to begin again. "Wait a minute," Yosho suddenly announced, stopping Tenchi and Hakubi in mid strike. "I have some business to attend to at the Shrine. Car, I want you to continue sparing with Tenchi. Teach him some new moves if you can, but do not go easy on him." "Yes, sir," replied Hakubi, bowing. Yosho walked back to the shrine office, hoping that the peace and quiet would help him think about his new discoveries about Hakubi. "I could teach you a bunch of tricks, but the most important thing for you to learn now is how to control your light hawk wings," Hakubi said to Tenchi. "I know that," replied Tenchi annoyed. "But what can you do to help me?" Hakubi wanted to say, but said instead, "I assume it's similar to drawing energy like I do for my energy attacks. I can only tell you what I do to gather and control my energy, you will have to figure the rest out yourself." "Fine, then let's get started." As soon as Tenchi said this, Hakubi threw a ball of energy at him. It was stronger than the ones he had used before, but not strong enough to do any real damage. It caught Tenchi off guard and hit him square in the chest. He was knocked off his feet with his chest smoking. Hakubi thought to himself. "What the hell was that for?" Tenchi yelled as he got up. His shirt was black and smoking, but he was not burnt. "That hurt a lot. Are you trying to kill me?" "I will if you don't get you wings up!" said Hakubi as he launched another attack. This one was a little more powerful than the last one. Tenchi dodged this one and Hakubi threw another one at him. "Calm yourself. Feel the power within you," said Hakubi in the middle of throwing another attack. Tenchi did not dodge this one and was again hit. He was pushed back a few feet, but managed to stay upright. "How can I stay calm with you trying to kill me?" yelled Tenchi. He ducked under another blast and charged Hakubi. "Concentrate. Don't let your anger or fear cloud your mind," replied Hakubi. Tenchi swung out with the Tenchi-ken, hoping that by attacking Hakubi, he would last longer. Hakubi batted Tenchi's sword to one side and shot another blast at him with his free hand. It hit Tenchi again, and he was thrown back a couple of feet. By now, Tenchi's shirt was torn to shreds and he was starting to feel a burning sensation whenever Hakubi's attacks hit him. "Feel for the point of power deep inside you. Concentrate on it and draw it out." Tenchi closed his eyes and concentrated. Hakubi flew up ten feet above the clearing and charged up another attack. He saw a mark appear on Tenchi's forehead and start to glow. "Good, now try to draw the power up to the surface," said Hakubi. The mark on Tenchi's forehead glowed brighter, but it suddenly dimmed, sputtering in and out of existence. Hakubi thought to himself. He started to throw energy balls at Tenchi. Tenchi could feel the blasts explode around him. They did not hit him, but he felt them get closer. Tenchi opened his eyes and saw Hakubi put both his hands together in front of him. He saw Hakubi form a large ball of energy, and knew what would come next. He closed his eyes and concentrated harder. He looked deep inside himself and felt a small surge of energy. He concentrated on that energy and tried to amplify it. It grew, and Tenchi felt as if he was filled with a white light. Hakubi had finished gathering his energy and shot it at Tenchi. Hakubi thought to himself as he looked at Tenchi. He did not notice Ryoko and Ayeka walking up to the steps to the Shrine. Ryoko had fully recovered and wanted to see Tenchi. Naturally, Ayeka would not let her near Tenchi alone and "escorted" her. They reached the top of the steps and were shocked at what they saw. Tenchi was standing with his shirt torn apart and singed, facing a floating Hakubi who had just launched a large energy attack. Both girls screamed, "Tenchi!" and raced over to help him. Ryoko leapt into the air and shot a large beam of orange energy at Hakubi. Ayeka formed a force field around Tenchi, hoping that it would protect him from Hakubi's attack. Simultaneously, Hakubi and Ryoko's attacks hit. Hakubi was surprised by the attack and was knocked out of the air. He plummeted down, smoking like a shot down airplane. He landed, head first, on a large rock and did not move. Hakubi's own attack hit Ayeka's force field and was too powerful for Ayeka to block. It went right through and hit Tenchi head on, exploding in a large cloud of dirt and light. "Tenchi!" both girls cried again as they saw Tenchi enveloped by the explosion. "I did it! I did it Car!" they heard Tenchi say through the cloud of dust. When the smoke cleared some more, they saw Tenchi standing behind three light hawk wings, unhurt by the blast. The wind blew away the last of the smoke and dust and Tenchi saw the girls looking at him bewildered. "Ayeka, Ryoko! When did you girls get here?" Tenchi asked the still stunned girls. He let the wings dissipate and looked up to find Hakubi, "Where's Car?" Tenchi looked around and saw Hakubi lying on the ground unmoving. He ran past the shocked girls towards Hakubi. "Car, are you all right? Car!" Tenchi reached him and saw that he was unconscious. His side was smoking and a he had a large gash on his head that was bleeding. "Ryoko, Ayeka, what happened?" Tenchi asked. He took off what remained of his shirt and wrapped it around Hakubi's head to stop the bleeding. "What do you mean what happened?" said Ryoko, recovering from her shock. "Car was trying to kill you, so we protected you," Ayeka added. "Trying to kill me?" asked Tenchi as he picked up Hakubi. He was a lot heavier than he looked and Tenchi had a hard time carrying him. "We were sparring. Car wanted me to use my light hawk wings, and he tried to help he summon them. I thought that by now you two would trust Car," said Tenchi looking at the girls angrily. "We'll talk about it later, we have to get him to Washu's lab." Saying no more, Tenchi turned his back to the girls and started the walk quickly to the house. The girls only looked at the ground and said nothing. "I'm sorry Tenchi, I just didn't want you to get hurt," Ayeka apologized in a small voice. "I'm not the one to be apologizing to. Tell it to Car," Tenchi said over his shoulder and walked on. "Damn it! We screwed up big time, Ayeka," commented Ryoko as she followed behind Tenchi to the house. "Yes we did," Ayeka replied walking next to Ryoko. "Ryoko? Why did you attack Car instead of trying to teleport Tenchi away?" "Because I knew that you were going to put a force field around Tenchi, and I wouldn't be able to teleport through it." "I see," replied Ayeka trailing off. "Why didn't you try to stop Car yourself?" Ryoko asked back. "Because I knew that you could attack him better than I," answered Ayeka. "Well, we do make a pretty good team," Ryoko said with a small smile. "Yes we do," Ayeka replied, not at all insulted at the idea of teaming up with the Space Pirate Ryoko. They walked on in silence and entered the house after Tenchi. Hakubi opened his eyes and saw a blur of light. He blinked a couple of times and a figure started the form. It had lots of red hair and green eyes. "Ms. Washu? What happened now?" "That's Little Washu! And you had just met the nasty side of my little Ryoko," said Washu, hovering over Hakubi in her nurse uniform. "Looks like you will be fine, just a bump on the head." Washu patted Hakubi's shoulder and walked over to a monitor next to the bed. "Why did Ryoko attack me?" Hakubi asked. He thought that he had gained her trust. He did save her life after all. Then he remembered Tenchi and what he was doing when Ryoko interfered. "Oh no! Is Tenchi all right?" "Tenchi is fine. He managed to summon his light hawk wings thanks to you," Washu answered after reading something on the monitor. "I was sparring with Tenchi and was throwing a lot of energy at him. Ryoko must have thought I was trying to hurt him," said Hakubi. "You guessed it. And Ryoko wasn't the only one there you know. Ayeka was with her. I bet she would have gone after you too, if you weren't already unconscious." "Well I'm feeling better now. How long have I been out?" "About five hours. You took a pretty good knock to the head. Tenchi tells me that the rock you landed on is almost completely crushed." "Five hours!" Hakubi exclaimed. "We're lucky that Kain didn't try anything when I was out. I better bet going." Hakubi tried to get out of bed, but Washu pushed him down. "First I want to get a sample from you," said Washu with an evil grin. She pulled a pair of latex gloves out of a subspace pocket and put them on with a snap. "Um, maybe later." Hakubi teleported out of the bed and ran out the door. "My, look how fast he can run," Washu noted as she watched Hakubi run out of her lab. Hakubi slammed the door behind him and leaned against it panting. It was already dark. Hakubi thought to himself. Ayeka and Ryoko where watching TV and heard Hakubi slam the door. They turned around and got up. "Oh, Car. You are up at last," Ayeka said, relieved. "Car, I'm sorry for attacking you. We should've trusted you and not have rushed to conclusions like that," said Ryoko. "I know that you two were just trying to protect Tenchi. Just trust me next time," Hakubi told the pair. "We will," said Ayeka, relieved that he was not mad at them. "Oh Car, I'm so glad that you're all right," said Sasami, running to Hakubi, crying. Rye-Ohki and Ryo-Ohki mewed in agreement. "Don't worry about me. It's going to take more than Ryoko to get rid of me," said Hakubi as he looked into Sasami's eyes. "Now go on and play with the cabbits," he said as he wiped a tear from Sasami's cheek. "I'm going to get some more sleep. Get me if anything happens. Kain hasn't been seen lately, and so be on your guard," Hakubi said to the others and walked up stairs to his room. 'Keep an eye on her. I have a feeling that Kain is up to something,' Hakubi thought to Rye-Ohki before he disappeared around the corner. 'Don't worry. I won't let her out of my sight. I'm glad you're OK. Sorry I couldn't be there to help,' Rye-Ohki thought back. 'It's OK, you were guarding my mother, and that's what I want you to do until this is all over.' 'Like a I said before, I got it under control,' Rye-Ohki thought back in mock anger. 'Alright, alright. Wake me if anything happens,' Hakubi thought back and entered his room. He changed out of his battle uniform that he was wearing the whole day and into some comfortable robes. Between sparring with Tenchi and recovering from Ryoko, Hakubi was exhausted. As soon as his head sunk into the pillow he was fast asleep. Hakubi was having a nightmare. He was standing in a misty swamp fighting a ghost. It had no definite shape, just a cloud or mist that floated around him. Every attack he made went through the creature, but the ghost's attacks connected. He was getting battered and thrown around the dreamscape. The name "Kain" floated through the air repeatedly. "I'm going to get you," Hakubi yelled at the ghost. He summoned his light hawk wings, but they did not appear. He tried again, to no avail. The ghost attacked again, hitting Hakubi in the stomach and knocked him back. Hakubi looked up in disbelief. His powers started to fade and his energy sword sputtered out of existence. "What's going on? How are you doing this? Who are you?" Hakubi asked the ghost. For the first time in his life he felt terrified, naked without his powers. "Kain!" came a reply. But it sounded more urgent than threatening. "Kain is here. Get up!" It was Rye-Ohki! Hakubi woke up with a start, clearing his head to hear Rye-Ohki. 'Kain is here! Get over here now! We can't hold out much longer. No!' came a desperate plea from Rye-Ohki. 'Rye-Ohki! What's going on? Are you OK?' He got no response. 'Rye- Ohki!'