Episode 5: Kagato Attacks!
- of the 1st OVA series -
Synopses by John 'Furball' Yung
Editing by Scanner
Invaluable help from Takumi Hawa
Tenchi is picking carrots from the field. Behind him, carrot tops are being tossed out of the basket while he works. Walking to the basket, Tenchi picks up Ryo-oh-ki by the ears and gives it a lecture. The creature struggles out of Tenchi's hold and starts looking threatening at the sky. Tenchi looks up and sees the first flakes of a snowfall. Ryo-oh-ki scampers off in a frenzy, leaving a confused Tenchi.
At the artificial onsen, Ryoko is enjoying some drinks by herself until Aeka enters the room. Seeing her arch-rival present, Aeka immediately tries to leave, but Ryoko invites the Jurai princess to join her for a few drinks without giving a chance for refusal.
Ryoko jeers at Aeka about not being able to get alone with Tenchi at the onsen. While Aeka has only known Tenchi for two months, Ryoko boasts that she has known Tenchi for nearly all his life. Even though she was entombed as a mummy inside the shrine, Ryoko explains that she was able to observe the world outside her tomb as a disembodied spirit. Ryoko first sees Tenchi as a baby strapped to his mother's back. The baby Tenchi is able to see Ryoko and reaches out a hand in her direction. A few years pass, and a very young Tenchi is called as he stands at the tomb's entrance. More time passes, and the entrance becomes a refuge for Tenchi, a place where he could cry about his mother, a place where he could spent idle summer days chasing dragonflies, a place where he could relieve himself, and a place where he could enjoy a cooked sweet potato, all under the caring eyes of Ryoko. She loses her unaware companion to the passage of time one day when Tenchi takes one last look before leaving for school.
Ryoko glosses over being able to be near Tenchi. Aeka, her skin flushing bright red all over from the amount of drinks she consumed, takes advantage of this new information and drives Ryoko to tears with the same tactics used by Ryoko when both are sober. Aeka remarks something about "Why would Tenchi be interested in a mummy like you?" Aeka compares this to her perfection of being a 20 year old Jurai princess. Mihoshi arrives, to the annoyance of Aeka and Ryoko. After a few dozen bottle of sake, the Galactic Police officer starts talking romantically about Tenchi and herself, leaving Aeka and Ryoko confused over where she got the idea that she and Tenchi were romantically involved.
An angry Sasami bursts into the room, armed with a pan. She starts to complain about cooking when she catches the whiff of all the sake that they've been drinking. Ryo-oh-ki bounds into the room and heads right for Ryoko who welcomes it with an embrace. The excited creature squirms in Ryoko's hug and tries telling something to her. Ryoko gets the message right away. A ball of glowing green energy appears near the ceiling of the onsen, growing until it is large enough to let a figure step through it into the room. The figure remarks, "It's been a long time since I last saw you, Ryoko." She greets the newcomer with a growl, "Kagato..." The other females scream and toss things at him for peeping.
Ryoko tries flying to a better attack position, but Kagato easily brings her down by shocking her with energy and then leaves by shattering the domed ceiling of the artificial onsen, taking her with him. Tenchi rushes to the scene, asking what happened. Mihoshi turns off the alert on her watch, knowing that she has found the object of her mission.
Mihoshi aims a pistol at the tree shrine, with Aeka, Tenchi, Sasami and Ryo-oh-ki beside her, and demands Kagato to reveal himself and release Ryoko. Kagato obliges politely, summoning Ryoko's body and placing her on the ground nearby. Tenchi runs to her side as Kagato apologizes for Ryoko, explaining that she's an incomplete creation. He hovers closer, greeting Aeka and Sasami by name. Mihoshi steps between Kagato and the Jurai girls, telling him that he had better leave or she will shoot. He replys, "Ah, I know you. You're that Galactic Police officer who makes more trouble than solving it, so that's why you have been assigned to this boring galactic backwater." Insulted, Mihoshi opens fire upon Kagato, but her shots are easily deflected as she pumps her pistol empty. "No no no," Kagato says, "I just wanted to invite you aboard my ship."
Tenchi steps up to Kagato, and the sinister being observes, "Ah, you've got the master key. Do you want to fight me? You don't know what the master key is, do you?"
"I don't know what the master key is. What are you talking about?" responds Tenchi defiantly.
"Okay, come on, boy, if you want to fight." Kagato subjects Tenchi to a chilling blast which sends the boy staggering back at first, but determination gives Tenchi the strength to walk forward, bringing himself and the sword within Kagato's grasp. Crying out his name, Ryoko knocks Tenchi and the sword out of range. Kagato is intrigued by this show of concern from her. Kagato demonstrates that he can control Ryoko through the power gem and has her restrain Tenchi. Kagato tells the boy, "This master key is for kings. Are you worthy to use it? If you truly are, you can open the door and harness the power of the universe." Ryo-oh-ki jumps up and bites Kagato's hand, distracting him long enough for Tenchi to break from Ryoko's hold and cut his cheek. Enraged that a novice like Tenchi dared to touch him, Kagato summons his sword and with a few swings, knocks Tenchi breathless. Complaining about what a waste of time Tenchi is, the villain tries claiming the Jurai sword, but it is taken out of his grasp once more, this time by Tenchi's grandfather.
"Ah, you finally appear. Will you show me the secret?" asks Kagato.
The old man responds, "The secret onsen?" [Kagato uses the word "hiho" which means "hidden treasure." Tenchi's grandfather makes a pun of the question by using the word "hito".] Having a fondness for onsens, the controlled Ryoko does a take at the bad pun.
"Make fun of me, will you?" growls Kagato, taking the offensive.
Tenchi's grandfather expertly defends himself, "Secret? There is no secret. It's beyond human ability." He is asked by Kagato about what it takes to control such a secret, more power or something else? The two swordsmen battle it out in a short fight, ending with the grandfather at advantage. The advantage is short-lived as Kagato brings Ryoko into the fight. Tenchi shouts, pleading to his grandfather to not kill Ryoko. Grandfather is challenged in dealing with two attackers, but he manages to cut off Ryoko's left hand, freeing her from Kagato's control. Kagato presses his attacks, forcing Tenchi's grandfather to throw his sword at the villain. The sword is dodged and lodges itself into the trunk of the tree shrine. As the grandfather looks in mock surprise at his empty hands, Kagato takes this as a possible sign of surrender and reaches for the sword and receives the shock of his life. Seeing that he cannot possess the Jurai sword, Kagato observes that Tenchi has been chosen as the next successor and retreats, taking Ryoko with him once more and saying that he'll be waiting for Tenchi aboard his ship, the Souja.
Aeka confronts Tenchi's grandfather about his true identity. She peers through the tears in her eyes at how the years have treated her brother. Explaining why he did not return after imprisoning Ryoko, Yosho tells Aeka that he is only her half-brother, since his mother came from earth, and being half-human, he felt that the Jurai would have difficulty accepting him as next in succession. The arrival of Ryoko provided Yosho with an excuse to leave the Jurai and to let Aeka become the next in succession. She is more accepted since she is pure Jurai. When the matter of his promise to marry Aeka when she got older comes up, Yosho asks Aeka if she still wanted to marry him, and she changes her mind. Mihoshi is crying because she finds this to be an endearing family reunion. Yosho continues by joining Tenchi's and Aeka's hands, asking that Aeka help Tenchi.
Tenchi wants to rescue Ryoko, but Aeka doesn't. Yosho tells Tenchi that he must claim the sword now. Tenchi says that grandfather saw that he was not very good. Yosho tells Tenchi that there is a strength still sleeping in him. Aeka protests that claiming the sword is too dangerous, but Tenchi endures and pulls the Tenchiken out of the tree. With the sword in hand, Tenchi sets off to rescue Ryoko. Mihoshi volunteers to help him. Sasami wants to help also and says that Aeka will too. Aeka hestitates, her feelings in turmoil. After Mihoshi asks, "How will we get there? We don't have a ship," Ryo-oh-ki hops about excitedly, trying to get the group to follow it, which they do. Aeka stays behind until Sasami calls her.
On the shore of the lake, Ryo-oh-ki calls out. The others wonder what it is doing when bubbles start rising to the surface. The core of the Ryuu-oh emerges from the watery depths and hangs in mid-air. Ryo-oh-ki leaps up and undergoes an amazing transformation which surprises everyone, especially Sasami. Ryo-oh-ki envelopes its lower part around the core of the Ryuu-oh. Tenchi stammers, "I-I-I-I g-guess we can go now."
Ryoko regains consciousness trapped in a hourglass aboard the Souja. Kagato watches the approach of Ryo-oh-ki and expresses his amazement that Ryoko has friends who would come to her rescue, since she is still an incomplete creation. Ryoko denies that she is a machine and insists that she's human. "Human? I shaped you as a human. If I wanted to turn you into stone, I could," states Kagato coldly. He prepares to destroy her friends, his ears deaf to Ryoko's threat, "If you hurt Tenchi, I'll never forgive you."
Ryo-oh-ki's crew can see the Souja powering up to open fire, but Mihoshi, who is piloting, realizes that she doesn't know how to control the ship. When the firing starts, Ryo-oh-ki takes several hits, knocking Aeka, Tenchi, and Mihoshi around the bridge. Aeka takes over the controls and tries to attack, but she doesn't know how to control Ryo-oh-ki either. Looking around, Aeka shouts at Mihoshi who is enthralled by one of Ryo-oh-ki's crystals which is different from the other crystals. The Jurai queen tells the Galactic Police officer to stop such nonsense and find a way to control the ship. Kagato gloats as Ryo-oh-ki continues to get hit by the Souja's blasts, "I made that ship. I know its evasive patterns. It is nothing to me."
Tenchi asks Aeka if she can manage. She replies that she thinks she can when the crystals start glowing red and the ship starts moving erratically. Aeka and Tenchi are thrown to the floor. They both look around and see one of the crystals getting drunk with Mihoshi. Aeka yells at Mihoshi, but the tipsy ship actually does better at evading the incoming fire. This makes Kagato wonder if this is the power of the master key.
Unfortunately, they are still not able to completely evade the Souja's blasts. Tenchi asks if they could use the weaponry within the Ryuu-oh. Aeka says yes and prepares to go there, but Tenchi insists on going instead, saying that she should remain at Ryo-oh-ki's controls. Once aboard the Ryuu-oh, Tenchi receives instructions from Aeka in using the Kou-oh-yoku. At first, Tenchi doesn not understand, but he quickly learns to use the Jurai weaponry, which manifests itself as three blades of energy radiating from a point. Kagato recognizes the Kou-oh-yoku and decides to use the Souja's special weapon.
Upon seeing the Souja change its configuration, Aeka tells Tenchi to hurry up. He fires a shot, and the Souja responds with a shot of its own. The two shots meet in a bright explosion, but the Souja projectile continues on to blow the Ryuu-oh to bits. Aeka scans through the wreckage, unwilling to believe that Tenchi shared the fate of her ship. Ryoko breaks free from the hourglass and teleports out of the Souja as Kagato smirks. Ryoko flies through the debris, calling out to Tenchi, and finds only his bloodied headband. As she goes into a tearful rage, she swears vengeance.
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