::Prologue::
She stumbled to her feet.
This was it. This was that great blue marble, the Earth. The planet her half brother was on. She stood awkwardly, her long silvery hair trailing the ground. It had just turned twilight, and even now the sky was darkening. She was cold and damp. The dew had already moistened the foliage around her.
She sank to her knees.
She was alone now. Her mother was gone. And the senshi....her poor senshi....she collapsed, crying. Why had this happened to her? Fate had dealt her such a horrible deal. Everything she'd ever known....gone. And Jurai....
She stiffened.
Jurai.
It was all their fault. Refusing to help her mother's kingdom in their most significant time of need... How dare they? It was the least they could do! She clinched her small fists. No. She would never go to them. She'd rather be in exile on earth than to go crawling to that place. With some effort she stood, legs getting tangled in her long, white gown. Beautiful and delicate. A gossimer thing that glowed silver in the moonlight.
She angrily kicked at it now, ripping the front of it.
She didn't care anymore. Nothing else mattered now. She closed her right hand tightly, holding fast to it. To that which her mother had entrusted her with before she'd died. The treasure of the moon. The Ginzuishou. Her mother had died protecting it...and her. She wouldn't let anything happen to it. She tripped again, falling face first in the dirt. Her head hurt terribly, and her back....her back...
The wings were still there.
She could see them in the faint moonlight between the trees. They were beautiful, those wings; Snow white. Along with her flowing dress, they gave her the appearance of an angel.
But right now they were a nuisance.
The snow white feathers were fine in the air, they had carried her down to earth infact, with the help of the Ginzuishou. Now however, they were getting in her way, preventing her from moving and walking. She stumbled into the entrance of a cave. She had to get away from the moon. From that beautifully haunting silver glow, so much like her mothers hair. And now HER'S.
She curled up into tight ball, clutching her only family heirloom to her chest. Maybe when she woke up, she would find that it was all a dream.....
Maybe if she was lucky, she wouldn't wake up at all.
The crystal glowed. She settled into a deep enchanting sleep.
Tenchi walked along the forest, silently in thought. It was rare that he got the chance to be alone like this; He was tired. And on top of that, Ryouko and Ayeka were at it again. He sighed. Why couldn't Ryoko at least be civil? Miss Ayeka was royalty. But then again, Ayeka hardly treated Ryoko civilly.
He sighed again.
Sometimes he wished he'd listened to his Grandpa and minded his own business when it came to the Demon in the Cave. He shook his head. "Why me?" He walked absently along, coming to the cave that started it all. How he'd loved to go there when he was small. It had been his favorite place to be. When his grandmother had died, he'd felt especially close to it.
He wandered to the edge, sitting carefully down.
It was so quite, so peaceful in this sanctuary near his grandfathers shrine. He looked up at the sky. Already it was afternoon. He'd better be getting back. He wouldn't want to be caught in the woods after dark. He stood up, preparing to leave, when something caught his eye in the mouth of the cave. A flash of silver.
He frowned. Should he check it out? He didn't want any more trouble.....it was curiosity that got him stuck with four obsessive alien girls in the first place..
But he couldn't help himself.
"I'll probably regret this later...." Infact, he was sure he would. However, when he reached the cave, he let out a gasp. There, on the floor of the cave, lay the most beautiful being he had ever seen.
She had silver hair, done up similar to Sasami's. Infact, she resembled the little girl greatly. She wore a flowing white dress that clung to her upper body and flared out at the waist. It was stained crimson with blood. Blood? On her forehead was a tatoo. A crescent moon...Was that it? What a strange thing to have a tatoo of, if that's what it infact was. He couldn't tell. She was beautiful. Delicate and frail, but she gave off a strong silver glow.....like the moon. He held back, not sure if she were real or not. Especially since she had wings.
Wings.
Beautiful white wings that curved around her body. He could hardly catch his breath.
She fell from heaven... That was his first thought. She was an angel. A tenshi. His tenshi. He'd found her in this cave...was she waiting for him? He suddenly shook his head in an attempt to clear his thoughts. What was he thinking? What was wrong with him? He had to get her to grandpa, had to get her some help. Obviously someone had hurt her. Had she fallen from grace? What was she doing here, on earth? And in such a condition? Cautiously he approached her, kneeling down. Picking up one of her small wrists, he checked carefully for a pulse.
Just barely he could detect one, faintly.
Sighing in relief, he scooped her up carefully in his arms, awkwardly because of the wings. He could only imagine what Ayeka and Ryoko would say.
But did it matter what they would say? And did he really even care at this point? No. He couldn't leave her here..not in such shape. He was saving her...he'd do it for anyone.
Is that the only reason you're saving her?, a small voice in the back of his mind screamed. He ignored the voice, slowly beginning the long trek home.
By the time he arrived home, it was already dark. He'd had to move slowly with the girl in his arms. He heard voices at the clearing. They'd waited up for him.
"TENCHI!!!!!!!" Ryoko appeared out of nowhere, grabbing him across his neck. He stumbled, not hiding his irritation.
"Ryoko!," he complained, "Not now! I have to get this girl to grandpa!" It was then that Ryoko noticed what Tenchi was carrying.
She frowned. "Who's that? What happened to her?"
"Lord Tenchi!! Where have you-" Ayeka stopped, noticing the winged girl in his arms. "Oh my...."
Tenchi was getting worried. She hadn't woke up in all this time, hadn't made a sound. Was she ok?? He rushed past the girls, going inside the shrine shouting for his grandpa. The old man appeared, with Sasami and Mihoshi trailing along after him. Sasami gasped. Mihoshi began to cry.
"Grampa!! We gotta do something!! Please! You gotta help her!" His grandfather was curiously silent, coming forward and hastily taking the girl from him. The girls trailed curiously behind. His grandfather entered a room.........and shut the door.
Tenchi couldn't stiffle his protest. "Grandpa!!! C'mon! Lemme in!!" Silence. He sighed. But, he supposed his grandfather knew what he was doing, right? And he'd only be in the way afterall.. He sat down beside the door. When he opened his eyes, he found that everyone was watching him. He blinked.
"Yes?" Ayeka was the first to speak, carefully clearing her throat.
"Lord Tenchi....where did you find this....girl?," Ayeka asked carefully.
He frowned. "In Ryoko's cave, in the forest....why?"
Ryoko was frowning as well. "Who is she? And how'd she get to be in such bad shape?" Mihoshi, who had since joined them, was still crying.
"That poor angel!!!!," she sobbed. "Now she'll never get back to heaven!" Sasami was silent, holding Ryo-oki. Ryoko hmphed.
"Well, all I know is that she'd better not be an enemy."
Tenchi was shocked. How could she think that beautiful silvery angel was evil?!
"Ryoko! What's the matter with you??!," Ayeka screamed. "The poor girl is hurt! The least you could do is act concerned!!" But then she frowned. "But....then again, it wouldn't hurt to be on our guard..."
"Miss Ayeka!"
Ryoko and Ayeka turned sharply at Tenchi's shocked tone. Ayeka blushed. Ryoko just stared.
"How can you girls be so cruel??! She could be dieing!" As soon as he said it, he wished he could call the words back. He didn't want to think about death, not with his tenshi.... His breath caught in his throat. Ryoko stared.
"All I'm saying is that looks can be deceiving," she said finally. "Who knows how she got hurt. We've seen a lot more than you Tenchi, enemies aren't always the ugly types." She shrugged.
What?! He couldn't believe that his tenshi was evil... He just couldn't! There was no way that someone so beautiful could be bad. Their conversation was cut short as the door opened. Tenchi stood eagerly, looking at his questioningly at his grandfather. But the old man only ignored his look.
"Tenchi, bring me a pan of hot water."
Tenchi obeyed.
After he'd returned with the water, his grandfather looked over the group. "I want you all to get to bed. She'll be here in the morning." And then he shut the door. For a moment Tenchi just stood there. Why didn't his grandfather say anything? They were all wondering about her, Tenchi especially.
But wait.
He'd said 'she'll be here in the morning'... then that meant she would be alright! His tenshi would live! With this, he turned on his heels, heaving a huge sigh of relief and heading for the stairs that led to his bedroom.
However, even with this thought, he knew it would be impossible for him to sleep that night, knowing his angel was so close.