Tenchi Muyo Fan Fiction ❯ Second Chance of a Lifetime ❯ Conclusion ( Chapter 4 )

*Disclaimer: The main characters in this story are property of AIC, Pioneer, & Viz Comics. All others were thought of by me. Any similarities are just dumb luck so please don't sue me.

** Author's notes: This story takes place many years after "No Need for Conclusions", but with one exception…. ENJOY!!

Second Chance of a Lifetime: by alighthawk

The Conclusion…

"Tenchi, are you sure about this? Maybe you'd want to go home and think about it?" Ryoko kept suggesting to the old priest as they reached the base of the stairway, which led to the shrine.

"Absolutely not. My mind is made up and I'm going to do this. If this means that you and I can be together for a long time, then it's worth the risk."

Ryoko was pleasantly surprised to see Tenchi act this way. She hasn't seen that determined look in his eyes since he went off to fight Kagato. She couldn't stop him then and she surely wasn't going to stop him now. "Ok Tenchi, I can see that this has your blood going. The first thing we need to do is get Tenchi-ken. Where is it?"

"It's at the shrine office. I hid it under the plywood floor decades ago. Seeing that grandpa and myself couldn't wield the Jurai power anymore, I thought it was best that it stayed hidden from prying eyes."

"Good thinking Tenchi, now let me teleport us up there." In an instant, the happy couple materialized right in front of the temple. Katsuhito was spraying water around the temple grounds when their appearance startled him.

"Yikes! That scared the hell out of me! Would you guys mind letting me know when you're going to do that? I nearly died of fright!"

"Kats, you're too young to die of heart failure and besides, you'd need to get used to it from now on." Tenchi answered his grandson.

"Really? Does that means that the both of you are…"

"Really…" Ryoko happily replied, "But save the celebration for later kiddo, there's still one thing that still has to be done…"

"What is it Ryoko? Grandfather?"

"Kats, help me take off the flooring in the office. There's something there that I buried years ago and I need it for my cure."

"Cure? Grandpa, I don't understand…"

"Never mind the questions now, just tell me where it is Tenchi and let me do the rest." Ryoko demanded as she slid open the office door and waited for Tenchi to show her the spot of where Tenchi-ken laid.

Tenchi pointed over to the small desk that kept all his important documents and religious articles. Ryoko simply walked and with one hand shoved the desk to the far side of the room. She then drove her fingers into the wooden boards that kept the Juraian sword hidden from the world for so many years. She managed to rip open a portion of the floor when Tenchi bent down and removed from what appeared to be an old blue and white towel. He unfolded the dirty towel a couple of times until Tenchi-ken was fully visible to all that were present.

Katsuhito was totally surprised. All those years at the temple and never once did he ever suspected that a sword, or at least the hilt of one, was buried under the flooring. Considering that he's almost twenty-five, he surmised that his grandfather must have buried the sword well before he was born.

"Grandpa, why didn't you tell me that you had something under the shrine floor? What's the big secret?" Kats wanted to know.

"It's a long story Kats. Let's just say that at one time I had this great power and this sword here helped me focused that power into an energy blade. After I married your grandmother, I decided to not use the power anymore, but since this sword might attract the wrong people, I decided to put it in a safe place. Right now though, this sword is going to allow Ryoko to help me get that power back and cure my illness."

Kats was still confused over what was happening, but judging from the determined expression on his mentor's face, he was going to take his word for it. He also noticed that Ryoko was smiling happily. Whatever conversation the two of them had, it must have been a good one.

"Tenchi, I think we should do this outside in the middle of the grounds. I don't know what will happen once your powers are reawakened." Ryoko suggested.

"Good idea, let's get this over with before I change my mind" Tenchi agreed as he led himself, his love and grandson back outside and into the morning sun that was cascading the temple with total brightness. Tenchi thought to himself that maybe this was a good omen. Perhaps his ancestors would look upon him with favor and grant him his one true desire. As they reach towards the center of the grounds, Tenchi motioned Katsuhito over to him. There were a few things he wanted to say to him should anything go wrong.

"Grandson, I can't explain to you of what's about to happen here, but there's the possibility that something might go wrong and I may not survive it. If that happens, I just wanted to say that you have been a pillar of strength for me over the last few years Kats, and I couldn't be any more prouder than I am right now. I can honestly say that you are ready to take on the mantle of being the priest of this Masaki shrine."

The young Masaki started to get emotional as he heard his grandfather's praises. He had been there for him over the last five years and was so proud to continue on with the tradition of the shrine, but he never thought that being here to take care of him would be such a meaningful thing to the older man.

"Grandfather, I don't know what to say. Please know that I love you very much and I will do my best to continue on with the custom and traditions that you have taught me. Right now though, I'm more concern about you surviving this…this test."

"Don't worry Kats, I didn't travel half the universe so I can see Tenchi die on me," Ryoko chimed in, "I'll make sure he'll live through this or so help me I'll kill him myself, right lover?"

"I'm really glad that you love me Ryoko, otherwise I be worry about you." Tenchi replied as he scratched the back of his gray head.

"Gramps, what about dad and Achi? How do I explain about your demise?"

"I don't plan on dying yet grandson, but in case I go out today, tell your father not to make a big fuss over my funeral and make sure he buries me properly next to your grandmother. You know how neat she liked to be." Said the old priest as he gave a wink to his young student.

"Grandpa, I'm serious! What do I…"

"Why don't we wait and see what happens next, ok Kats? You might be surprised of what you see." Ryoko butted in. She could see that Kats was getting worry, but it wouldn't do him any good to start fretting of what could go wrong. As for Tenchi, he needed to focus at the task at hand without any cast of doubt playing in his head.

Ryoko motioned Katsuhito to move back as she and Tenchi faced each other. Ryoko took Tenchi-ken from its old master and then had the hilt of the sword facing upwards. As she clutched the sword with her right hand, she motioned Tenchi to come forward.

"Tenchi, I want you to grab the sword with both hands while I begin to shift my power into it. You must try to focus and allow the energy to flow from the sword and into you. Washu said that your powers should kick in right after that. She said that this is gonna be painful, but you need to try and endure whatever pain and discomfort that comes your way."

"Is there anything that you can do?" Tenchi asked nervously.

"Once the power starts to awaken inside, it's all up to you. All I can do is pray and hope for the best."

"Will I actually be younger?"

"Washu said so, but she couldn't be sure how young you'd be. Hey, as long as you're not in diapers, I'll be satisfied."

"Cute Ryoko. Well let's do it…"

"Tenchi?"

"Yes Ryoko?"

"I love you… always have and always will."

"And I love you my Ryoko. Now and always…now let's go."

Tenchi walked a couple of steps until he was inches away from Ryoko's face. He then placed both hands on Tenchi-ken, closed his eyes and tried to clear his mind of all distractions. Ryoko stared at his face momentarily, wondering how will it look after this is over. With an impish grin, she wrapped her left arm around his waist and pressed their bodies closely together. Just before she summoned up her powers, she planted one more kiss on her lover's lips, "For good luck" She whispered to him.

As she pressed her forehead unto his, she began to summon up her Jurai power. A reddish-orange glow began to surround the cyan beauty as she then channeled her energy into the Tenchi-ken and seconds later, the glow jumped onto Tenchi's body. Tenchi didn't feel anything at first. <Maybe Washu was wrong about this? > He said to himself was he waited for couple of seconds, but then the glow around him began to change from the reddish-orange color to a bright blue. Tenchi then felt this surge of power starting to overcome him; his body began to shake uncontrollably, his breathing was becoming rapid.

Ryoko opened her eyes as she felt her energy returning to her, but was suddenly caught off guard by sudden power surge Tenchi was starting to give off; his Jurai power had returned with a vengeance.

She wanted to go and help him, but the energy he was giving out was starting to build up and that meant that he would be releasing that energy at anytime. From the corner of her eye, she saw Katsuhito walking over to help his grandfather. With the sword in hand, she backed away from Tenchi and flew right at Kats and floated back to the shrine office.

"Ryoko, what are you doing? Can't you see that Grandpa is in pain? You got to do something!"

"There's nothing left to be done Kats. We can only watch from a distance and pray that your grandfather is strong enough to withstand the pain." She answered, but not very convincing. <Please Tenchi! You got to survive this! You just got to live! >

The blue glow that surrounded Tenchi was getting brighter by the second. His insides felt like they were on fire, the pain was unbearable, but he simply refused to die. <I didn't wait all these years to finally be with her so I can die right in front of her eyes! >

His body convulsed once more and with such force. He crumpled to the ground trying with all his might to resist, to fight, and to overcome the powerful force that was trying to come out after so many years being locked up inside of him. As he struggled on, he felt his eyes were ready to burst out. His heart was beating so fast, he thought that it was ready to explode, but he refused to yield to the pain. <I WILL NOT DIE TODAY!! I AM GOING TO LIVE!! I AM GOING TO BEAT YOU!! > His mind kept repeating those words; they were either going to be his mantra or his last.

Finally he couldn't take it anymore. Tenchi got on his knees and screamed and when he did that, the blue energy that surrounded him finally exploded out of him. Before the whole area became engulfed in light, he screamed out his lover's name one more time:

"RYOOKOOO!!"

"TENCHI!! NNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"

Ryoko instinctively covered Katsuhito with her own body as the light covered everything in sight. Somewhere in the vegetable fields, Ryo-Ohki looked up and saw the blue energy shooting towards the sky. She sensed that this wasn't good and quickly hopped over to the shrine as fast as her paws could take her.

Seconds later, the light had dissipated, leaving no physical damage. Ryoko turned herself around to see a fallen figure laid out on the ground unconscious. She quickly flew over to him; his body face down when she reached him. As she turned him over, she couldn't believe her eyes, Tenchi had reverted to his younger self. In fact, he looked as though he regressed back to his teenage years, with the exception of his hair, which had grown out to his shoulders. As she started to get excited, she realized that he wasn't breathing at all.

"Tenchi? Tenchi? Damn you, don't die on me now, not when we're so close! Breathe damn it!" Ryoko kept screaming, but the newly young priest wasn't responding. "God please, don't take him from me, I beg you, not after all this!" She knelt beside him as she held him up to her chest and began to cry uncontrollably.

"Ryoko wait… let me see what I can do." Kats yelled as he took his grandfather's body and laid it on the ground. He was taken aback when he saw how young Tenchi had become. Looking at his features, he realized that his did resemble his grandfather's likeness. He shook his head in order to clear his mind of the present situation at hand. He put head on his grandfather's chest to see if he could hear any breathing. He surmised that Tenchi's heart may had gone into shock after experiencing such stress, but there may be time yet to save him.

"Ryoko, you give grandpa mouth to mouth while I compress his chest. There's still a chance that his heart wasn't damaged by the change."

"Kats, you still think…"

"Don't think Ryoko, just do it!"

Together, they spent the next several minutes trying to revive him. Ryoko kept trying to breathe new life into Tenchi while his grandson feverishly kept pressing down on his chest, praying that his mentor will wake up, after a few a minutes, nothing.

Katsuhito stopped and got up. Ryoko just held on to Tenchi's face, not wanting to let go. She couldn't believe that he was…gone.

"Oh Tenchi…I'm so sorry. I…I shouldn't have come back. I should have…" Ryoko let go of her love and buried her face into her hands, sobbing. Kats just put his head down and put his hand on Ryoko's shoulder, trying in some way to comfort her. "I'm sorry Ryoko…there's nothing else we can do, but this was his decision and in the end we can only hope that Kami is watching over him…"

"I doubt that very much…"

"Ryoko? Why did you say that?"

"I didn't say anything Kats…"

"Hey, down here…"

"TENCHI?!? You're alive? You not dead?"

"Well I'm talking to you right now aren't I Ryoko?"

"I…I…I don't believe it! Come here you gorgeous thing you…" In one swift motion Ryoko picked up Tenchi like a newborn baby and cradled him in her arms, smothering him with kisses all over his face.

"Hey now, cut that out! I'm not a kid you know!" Tenchi protested.

"I wouldn't be too sure of that my Tenchi. Your body looks exactly like the day I met you all those years ago."

"Gramps, I don't believe it. You actually look younger than me." Kats added.

"Oh great, now people are going to think I'm underage. Ryoko what happened?"

"Well, I can only assume that your powers reverted to the time when you first used them, which was when you fought Kagato. Washu did say that she couldn't predict on what your body will end up if you survived the experience." Ryoko explained.

"Well, I guess I shouldn't complain then. I'm alive and that what counts."

"Alive and in love, right my pet?" Cooed the happy woman that was now hanging on to her young lover's arms.

"Hmm, I guess you're right Ryoko, I guess you're right."

Katsuhito couldn't contain his happiness for his grandfather. After years of being alone after the death of his departed wife, Tenchi would begin a new life with the one woman he never stopped loving. There was only one problem…

"Uh gramps? How do you plan to tell the family about this? They're really going to wig out when they see you like this."

"That's something that you're going have to figure out for yourself Kats."

"I don't understand, why do I have to tell them about you and Ryoko for that matter?"

"That's because I plan to take a long overdue 'honeymoon' with my Ryo-chan here."

"Tenchi, you mean it? You want to go away with me?"

"Yes I do. I think you and I need to be alone for a while and get reacquainted again and I do recall that you wanted to go with me somewhere a long time ago. Now that I'm cured, I don't see why we can do so now."

"Oh Tenchi…I can't really believe this is really happening. All those years of wondering of what might have been; of dreaming maybe one day it can come true and now that I see you in front of me, I…I just can't…"

Ryoko dropped to her knees; she was so emotional that her legs just got wobbly and had to sit before she fell. Tears of happiness were rolling down her cheeks as Tenchi sat besides her on the ground. He took her right hand and squeezed it; letting her know that yes, this was happening and they're together now at last. As the former pirate tried to wipe away her tears, the now young shrine master took his other hand, placed them on her chin so they can gaze into each other eyes. No more lies, no more fears and no more uncertainty; the love they had now was real and everlasting so long as they live.

Ryoko saw the love in her man's eyes and leaned over to kiss him. This time his lips were much more softer than they were a couple of hours ago and much more sensual. Tenchi returned her affections and as they started to explore each other mouths with their tongues, a third party cleared his throat.

* AHEM * "Do you guys mind? You got plenty of time to do that stuff later and hopefully in a more private setting? This is a place a worship you know." Katsuhito reminded them.

The lovers broke away from other with wide grins across their faces and got up to face the younger Masaki. "You're right Kats." Tenchi answered, "I guess we got carried away there for a minute…"

"But what a minute it was!" Said a jubilant Ryoko as she finished her lover's comment.

As all three walked together towards the stairs, Ryo-Ohki was climbing up until she saw them. She meowed loudly, asking Ryoko what happened. "Don't worry Ryo-Ohki, everything turned out fine. See? Look at Tenchi, he's young again; Washu was right."

"MIYA_MIYA" (Hooraaayy! I'm so happy for you Ryoko! What now?)

"Good question. Tenchi, You said that you wanted to leave, but do you want go now? This is all rather sudden."

"Well, I do have to show Katsuhito what has to be done around here, but other than that, I just need to pack some things. By the way, is there any particular place you want to go?"

Ryoko paused for a moment, thinking of where she'd like to go, then her left eyebrow lifted up and an idea popped into her head. "Well, Tenchi if you don't mind, I would like to see the rest of the Earth being that I haven't been here for so long and other than Japan, I really don't know much about this world. We can travel to different places and just enjoy ourselves. What do you think?"

"Love it, but it doesn't matter to me where we go as long as I have you by my side always." Tenchi then turned his attention to his grandson who was feeling like a third wheel right about now. "Kats, there isn't much that I need to tell you. As of right now, you're the head priest of this Masaki shrine and I know that you will do fine."

Katsuhito bowed to his grandfather, "Thank you grandfather, I won't let you down, but what about the family?"

"Tell them the truth. Tell them that an old love of mine came back to see me and that I decided to accept her offer of traveling around the world. Just tell them that and when I get back we'll figure it out from there. Shall we go home?"

Ryoko and Kats nodded as they all walked down the stairs and straight towards the house. For the first time in years, there was a real sense of joy at the Masaki residence and a new mistress of the house as well. Ryoko thought to herself that she would not try to replace Sakuya, but to pick up where she left off and bring in new memories for this household. After traveling the universe for so long, she was back to the one place that truly made her happy and as long as she had Tenchi that was all that she needed.

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EARLY EVENING…

As the sun started to set, two young lovers were lying on top of the roof, enjoying the view. They were cradled in each other arms as the cyan haired girl laid her head on the young man's chest. His hands were gently squeezing her curvaceous body, not wanting to let go. <I could stay like this forever. > He contently said to himself.

"Tenchi…" Ryoko whispered as his train of thought was broken, "Everything's packed and Ryo-Ohki is good to go. Is there anything else left to do? We could leave in the morning you know, I'm in no rush."

"Well there's one place I want to stop by before we go to Hawaii; other than that there's no reason for us to stall any longer. Ready to go my Ryo-chan?"

"Not yet. Just one more reminder of what's going to be in our future," Ryoko said with a sly grin as she reached up and pulled Tenchi down to her for a passionate kiss. As he caressed her face, she broke the kiss to whisper something in his ear, "I love you Tenchi and now that I found you again, I'm never letting you go."

"And I'm never letting you go. My heart is yours, always and forever, my love." And with that, he rolled over on top of Ryoko to resume their kiss.

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TOKYO…2 hours later

It's been a long day for the young ambassador from Jurai. After spending the day with the UN delegates in New York and judging an international cooking contest at the Tokyo Dome, Princess Sasami was looking forward to a quiet night of watching her favorite soaps. As she changed clothes and got comfortable at the embassy living room, the phone rang.

"Damn it, what now?" Grumbled the blue haired girl. She reluctantly got up to answer the phone since the embassy staff was off for the evening. When she picked up, she immediately knew who it was.

"Oh, hello Katsuhito. How ya doing? I'm fine myself, but just exhausted from running around all day. So what can I do for you? Tenchi? He's coming to see me? Well, it's ok I guess, but it's kinda late don't you think? He's on his way already and I should go to the roof to expect him? Ok Kats, what's this all about? It's a surprise and I'm going to be happy about it? All right Kats, I'll take your word for it, but this has better be good. When? Well in that case, I better get up there. Ok Kats, I'll talk to you soon, bye!"

Sasami quickly ran up the hallway stairs, which led to the roof. As she opened the door and looked around, she spotted nothing. After a couple of minutes, she was ready to go back inside and call back Kats to give him a piece of her mind until she heard a meowing sound that she hasn't heard in ages. As she looked up to the sky and saw a familiar black and red spaceship descending towards the embassy, she couldn't help but smile of what she saw and what it meant.

A lone tear trickled out of her eye, tracing a sparkling line down the side of her face. As Ryo-Ohki continued her descent Sasami knew that the carnival was back, and it was never going away again…

{Just a New Beginning…}

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Well, this is the last chapter for this story. I really wasn't planning to do anymore on this since this was meant to be a short story, but after seeing how you guys really liked it, I will comply to your wishes and do a sequel soon enough. I have to admit, I had fun doing this piece and I want to thank all of you for your reviews. I guess I must be doing something right.

LedZepFan: Sweet line, thanks. And yes, I did have a really good time! LOL!

Hyas: Describing Ryoko's life in the TU storyline wasn't too hard to think about, considering I had Nagi, but if I tried the Ryoko of the OAVs, that might have been a bit more challenging, seeing that she had other issues to deal with other than Tenchi.

Bobr: You weren't kidding!

Maria Cline: Nice of you to drop by. Sorry, since Washu turned 'off' Tenchi's powers before his kids were born, they're not going to display any of the Jurai power. Kats was basically the third party so I don't really have any plans for him other than maybe a cameo appearance in the next one. For some reason I checked your bio & it's nice to meet a fellow X-Men follower. I've been collecting their issues all the way back to '75, when Wolverine, Storm and the rest of the new X-Men came out. Damn, I'm getting old!

Thunder God: Salutations my fellow Agrarian! Believe me, I got every Tenchi series on DVD (Yes, even TiT) and the movies on VHS since I didn't have a DVD player at the time, every graphic novel of the manga and even the two RPG books. I try to be well informed.

Uni.Ani.Girl: Grammatical Errors?!? You try doing this at 3am and see straight after that. (JUST KIDDING) Anyway, you got your trip, but I think after 68 years, Ryoko wants to be more grounded for now.

For everyone else, I really appreciate your positive reviews and hopefully the next story will be to your liking. If you haven't read it yet, I also have another story "The Trial" out now which I been sort of neglecting, but I'll get cracking ASAP!

Anyway, once again I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I had fun doing it. As always, C&C are welcome. If you want a more elaborate explanation, you can email me at a.falc@verizon.net

Later, Alighthawk