Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original characters, places, or events from 
the Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki OAV's or Manatsu No Eve. These are the property of AIC 
and Pioneer. I do own all new events, characters, and places that have occurred 
during and after Tenchi Muyo! Will of the Goddesses.


Tenchi Muyo! Shadows of a Forgotten Sin


"Epilogue"


	While the forces led by Empress Ayeka Jurai had been victorious over the 
entity known as Gabriel, it was a somber day on the planet of Jurai. Although 
the day was sunny and clear, Juraians all across the Empire were in mourning. A 
memorial parade with members of the Royal family at the head slowly marched 
through the streets of the capital city until it reached the Royal mausoleum. 
Thousands of Juraians were gathered at the floor of the steps of the building, 
which had been constructed directly inside of a five hundred foot space tree. 
View screens opened up all around the city, portraying the service that was 
taking place inside.

	The Royal family, other Juraian noble families, important dignitaries from 
across the galaxy, and several personal friends of the Royal family were 
gathered together in a long chamber. White marble pillars lined the walls with 
the Royal crest hanging on banners between each pillar. At the far end of the 
chamber were rows of fine crafted coffins with statues standing over them. Each 
statue was of a Juraian Emperor or Empress who had passed on. 

	Now, everyone was standing before a statue of Azusa, dressed in his royal 
robes holding a broadsword point down. Ayeka, dressed in a black kimono and 
robes, stepped up before the statue as the coffin for her father was lowered 
into place. The Empress watched in silence, clutching a bouquet of Royal 
Teardrops in her hands. When the coffin was settled, she slowly turned to those 
gathered before her. 

	"A great battle has just been won. Once again the people of the Juraian 
Empire have overcome a great enemy, but our victory has come at a great price. 
During the final battle, a great warrior sacrificed himself in order to save not 
just our Empire but the entire universe. That man was my father, Emperor Azusa 
Jurai."

	She took in a slow deep breath before continuing. "Some may say that my 
father was the cause of the war to begin with. These people would be right to 
say so. Yes, my father enabled the entity known as Gabriel to start a civil war 
among us. But in the end, it was Azusa who saved us all. To atone for his sins, 
he sacrificed himself to make sure that Gabriel would never harm another soul 
again. Whatever faults he may have had, let it be forever known that Emperor 
Azusa was the bravest of warriors who, when his time came, faced death with 
courage and honor. He will not only be forever remembered for the many great 
deeds he accomplished during his reign, but also as a loving father and 
husband."

	"Due to the circumstances of his death, however, the body of my father was 
unable to be recovered. So, in honor of the sacrifices many have made in this 
war, another great hero has been placed in his coffin. This brave woman also 
gave her life not only to save the universe, but to save someone out of love. In 
honor of both all our sacrifices and her own, Leah Ilosor has earned a place in 
this Royal mausoleum. Let her name forever be remembered as a hero and loyal 
servant of the Juraian Empire."

	Ayeka lowered her head, turned, and placed her bouquet on the top of the 
coffin. As the Empress stepped down and back among her family, Sasami, Misaki, 
and Funaho, all in black, walked forward. Each of them held a bouquet of Royal 
Teardrops to be placed on the coffin. Tenchi, flanked by Hiro and Ukarit, were 
the next to walk up to the coffin. Each of them placed a single Royal Teardrop 
between the two bouquets. Hiro lingered for an extra moment before following the 
other two back into the crowd. Lastly, Yosho, in full military dress uniform, 
placed a finely crafted broadsword at the head of the coffin. 

	To end the ceremony, a Juraian priest took up position in front of the 
coffin and began to sing an ancient hymn. His deep, melodic voice lent a special 
feeling to the somber song. His melody flowed out over the crowd and spread all 
through out the chamber, creating an echo that made it seems as though hundreds 
of priests were singing in harmony. When it was over, there was not a dry eye in 
the room.

	"Rest in peace, you heroes of justice," whispered Ayeka.

_____ 

	The following day found the capital city already breaking away from the 
shadow of mourning. Having been cured of the Touch with the death of Gabriel, 
peace was once again the mainstay of the Empire. Not only was the city a 
bustling hive of activity, but the Imperial Palace was as well. Of course most 
of the activity there was focused around the Imperial landing pads and the 
departure of members of the Royal family.

	Two luxury tree ships were sitting on the landing pad with crews busily 
moving about beneath them. Tenchi, finally able to dress in a simple pair of 
jeans and a green collared shirt, was walking towards the ships with Ukarit. 

	"So, what will you do now?" he was asking the gangster.

	The pink man shrugged. "Well, these guys are first going to give us a lift 
to where we left the Loaded Dice cloaked. After that, I think I'm going to take 
vacation."

	Tenchi chuckled. "Doesn't sound like a bad idea."

	"What about you?" prompted Ukarit.

	"We'll all go home," replied the soon to be shrine priest again. "Being at 
home with my family is all I really want right now. That, and the kids really 
have to catch up on their school work." He started to smile. "I'm not really 
worried about Rei and Mayuka. They're naturally good students."

	The pair stopped in the middle of the pad. Between the two ships was a 
single figure standing at the edge of the landing pad itself just staring out. 
"It's Hiro I'm worried about."

	Ukarit let out a long sigh. "Yeah," he said finally. "She really was 
something." The gangster sniffed once, turned to Tenchi, and extended his right 
hand. "I'll see you in a few months with your quarterly share of the trading 
company."

	Tenchi took his friend's hand and shook it. "Till then, my friend." Ukarit 
nodded once more and headed for his ship.

	Tenchi looked away from the gangster's retreating figure and back to his 
son. He slowly made his way over the teenager, carefully trying to gauge his 
mood. Wearing a backwards black cap with a pair of blue jeans and a white tank 
top, Hiro looked just like a normal Earthling teen. Of course, he had seen more 
in his short lifetime than any normal Earthling could possibly imagine. Tenchi 
stopped to the left of his son and placed his hands in his pockets.

	"So," he said. "How're you doing?"

	Hiro shrugged. "Fine, I guess."

	Tenchi nodded. He waited a few more moments before speaking again. "If you 
need to talk, I'm here for you, son."

	The teen looked over with a small smile on his face. "I'm fine, dad. 
Really. It does hurt, though," he added a second later.

	"I know," replied his father. Tenchi reached out and put his right arm 
around his shoulders. "Death is not an easy thing to deal with."

	Hiro looked back out to the capital city. Hover vehicles were zooming back 
and forth across the horizon. Construction crews were already hard at work 
fixing the damages the final battles had wrought. What caught their eyes the 
most, though, were the space trees dancing in the wind. "The thing is, I'm not 
sure if I loved her or not. I know I cared about her a lot, but something tells 
me that I should have felt something more."

	"I'm not really sure what to tell you," Tenchi said in response. "I've 
only ever really loved your mother, and *I* didn't realize it until I nearly 
lost her. Perhaps over time, you would have known whether you just cared for or 
loved Leah. What I can tell you is what to take away from it."

	"What?"

	"If you only remember one thing, remember this." Tenchi raised his left 
index finger. "You and Leah did care for one another. Whether it was love or not 
isn't important. For a brief moment in time the two of you shared something 
special, and you will always carry that moment forever in your heart."

	There was silence between them for a few seconds. Finally, Hiro looked at 
his father with a grateful smile. "Thanks, dad."

	Tenchi smiled back and hugged his son with one arm. "It's what I'm here 
for." The two of them started laughing together.

_____ 

	Sasami and Riley walked out on to the landing pad holding hands. The 
princess had discarded her Royal attire for a comfortable pair of tan slacks and 
a sleeveless light green blouse. Riley, in his haphazard uniform, walked 
silently with her towards one of the tree ships. They finally stopped a couple 
dozen yards from the entry hatch.

	The princess turned around to wrap her arms around his neck. "I've kind of 
gotten used to having you around," she told him.

	He smiled down at her. "It won't be too long until we're back together. I 
have it on good authority that my transfer to patrolling the Solar system will 
be approved."

	Sasami finally smiled and kissed the man she loved. Their kiss was cut 
short by, "At attention Detective!"

	Riley suddenly pulled away from Sasami to spin around into a stiff salute. 
Kiyone, along with a bandaged up Mastir, Connor, and Mihoshi, was standing there 
with her own hand raised in salute. She brought it down and smiled at him. "At 
ease detective."

	Riley relaxed. Sasami took notice that Kiyone was once again in her 
captain's uniform. "No problems I see," commented the princess.

	Kiyone shook her head. "A little nudging from Ayeka, and High Command 
decided to overlook my renegade actions."

	"All right, people!" echoed Ryoko's voice across the entire landing pad. 
"Time to shove off!"

	"That's my cue," said Sasami. She quickly gave each of them a hug, and 
Riley a kiss as well. "Now remember, you will all come by Earth as soon as 
possible."

	"We'll be by as soon as we finish filing reports on everything that 
happened," answered Kiyone.

	"Yeah," agreed Mihoshi. "They also told me that I'm getting a new partner. 
I wonder what she's going to be like. I really hope we get along."

	Both Kiyone and Sasami had to try very hard not to start laughing. Sasami 
leaned in to kiss Riley one last time and whisper something to him. "See you 
real soon."

	Riley, however, was staring blankly at Mihoshi. "I think I'm starting to 
wonder whether you are really worth it or not." 

_____ 

	Tenchi and Ryoko, with Achika in her arms, were standing at the bottom the 
ship's entry hatch herding the members of their family inside. Washu, with baby 
Tokimi, the twins, Ryo-ohki, Yosho, and Mayuka were already inside. Ayeka, 
Shoytal, Daisar, and the Royal guard came walking up just as Sasami came to a 
skidding halt in front of them all. The princess said a quick and slightly 
tearful goodbye to her sister before running up the ramp. Tenchi and Ryoko each 
exchanged hugs with the Empress.

	"We'll come by Earth as soon as things are straightened out here," Ayeka 
told them.

	"I'll be waiting with bells on," replied Ryoko with a smirk. The pirate 
was dressed in her old blue, black, and gold dress with the tail. 

	"I would be surprised if you were not," countered Ayeka dryly. 

	Shoytal extended his right hand to Tenchi, who took it. "Good journey, 
Tenchi."

	"Thank you, Shoytal," he replied. "You guys take care as well." 

	A few more goodbyes were said before the Masakis finally got on board the 
tree ship. Once inside the garden that surrounded the control center of the 
ship, Ryoko placed Achika down on the ground. The child quickly ran off happily 
to talk with her grandmother and the new baby. The ship rocked slightly as it 
passed through the atmosphere and went into hyperspace. With a moment to finally 
relax, Tenchi slowly moved behind his wife to wrap his arms around her waist. He 
took in a deep breath of her with a satisfied sigh.

	The two of them remained silent for a few minutes, simply content to watch 
their family around them. Their three eldest children were sitting around Azaka 
and Kamidake talking heatedly about something, which already had Rei shouting at 
Hiro. Sasami, with Ryo-ohki on her left shoulder, was off talking with Yosho, 
who had returned to being Katsuhito. The couple's eyes and thoughts finally fell 
upon Washu, baby Tokimi, and Achika. 

	Ryoko caressed her husband's hands lightly. "What's wrong?" she asked. 

	"It's never really going to end, is it?" he said.

	Their thoughts mingled, and Ryoko sighed. "Probably not."

	Tenchi's arms held her tighter. "One day, the Ssl'na are going to come, 
and we're going to have to be ready for them."

	Ryoko leaned her head back to rest on his chest. "We will be. You'll win, 
just like you always do, and we'll all be there to back you up as always."

	Doubt, though, was prevalent in his mind. His eyes focused more and 
Achika. The child was making funny faces at Tokimi, who was obviously anything 
but amused. Washu, on the other hand, was beaming with cheer. "There are still 
things we don't know," Tenchi said finally. "And I doubt we'll ever know them 
until they happen."

	Ryoko turned in his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled 
sweetly. "I know one thing is for sure."

	Tenchi looked down into her golden eyes. "And what's that?" he asked with 
a half smile. 

	She leaned very close to his face. "I know that I love you, and that you 
love me. I know that we love our children, and that they love us. So to hell 
with everything else. As long as we know those two things, that is all that 
really matters in life."

	Tenchi reached up and caressed the sides of her face. "I do love you, my 
heart."

	"I know," she answered with a smile. The couple leaned in and kissed each 
other tenderly, savoring every sensation as if it were the first time all over 
again.


...Fin



Notes- 

Well that's it folks. Another one is in the bag. I really hope that those of you 
who have read this story have enjoyed it as much as my other works. Once again 
big thanks to GenSao for hosting the TMFFA and placing all my works up there. 
Secondly, a special thanks to the Dark Jezter and Ra'Karn for being my 
prereaders. Thanks for sticking with me for the past eleven months. You guys 
were great. 

I will officially now take a vacation from the world of Tenchi fanfics. I've 
just about exhausted all my ideas to this point. Yes, there are a few things 
growing in my warped little mind, but they are being placed on the back burners. 
I have to work on some original stories before I even think about writing 
anymore fanfiction. So this isn't the last you will see of me in Tenchidom, but 
it will be for a while.

Have fun and keep on reading.

Later

Roas Atrades

All comments please go Roas1@hotmail.com