Tenchi is out in the carrot field (they had to turn all their fields to carrot fields just to feed Ryo-ohki) with Ryo-ohki who eats the carrots as soon as Tenchi puts them in the basket. Ryo-ohki suddenly tenses up, and then it begins to snow. Tenchi believes that Ryo-ohki is just acting that way since she's never experienced snow. Ryo-ohki then runs off in the direction of the house.
Meanwhile, Ryouko is relaxing in the Masaki floating onsen drinking sake and enjoying the snowfall through the glass ceiling. Aeka then walks in to also relax in the bath, but when she notices Ryouko, she turns around to leave. However, Ryouko pulls her to the bath and invites Aeka to join her for some relaxation and sake. Their conversation turns to the subject of Tenchi and how they feel about him. Ryouko then talks about how she had known Tenchi since he was little. During Ryouko's 700 years of confinement, she could still have contact with the outside world by traveling outside the confines of the cave in her astral body. One day, while looking about the world in her astral body, she spotted a young boy with a beautiful woman. What surprised her was that this boy could see her when no one else could. Ryouko continued to watch the boy through the years since he made frequent visits to the cave. Ryouko longed to be able to be free of the cave and play with the boy. That boy turned out to be Tenchi, and it saddens Ryouko that Tenchi sees her as a monster. By this time, Aeka has become drunk off of the sake, and begins to tease Ryouko that the reason Tenchi doesn't want to play with Ryouko is because Ryouko is too old and that Tenchi still thinks of her as the mummy from the cave. Ryouko then begins crying since Aeka was being mean to her. Then Mihoshi walks in and joins the two of them for some sake. Mihoshi begins talking about how it must be destiny that she and Tenchi met. After all, according to Mihoshi, Tenchi did save her. Aeka and Ryouko aren't too thrilled about hearing Mihoshi talk fondly about Tenchi. Sasami then enters the onsen to tell them all that it is time to eat, but she cringes at the strong smell of sake that filled the onsen.
Suddenly the glass ceiling breaks as a glowing sphere enters the onsen. The ball fades away to reveal the robed figure seen in Sasami's nightmares. Ryouko recognizes the figure as Kagato, and she tries to stand but is brought down by a blast from Kagato. The other girls in the meantime are throwing objects at Kagato for intruding into the women's bath. Kagato and Ryouko then both disappear as they carry on their fight outside the onsen. Tenchi arrives too late to join the action, and Mihoshi then tells Tenchi and Aeka that the person was Kagato, one of the most wanted criminals in the universe. The girls and Tenchi then begin to search for Kagato and Ryouko. Mihoshi leads them to the tree Funaho, and it is here that Kagato confronts them. Ryouko then appears beside him and falls to the ground looking battered and worn. Kagato then begins to advance on Aeka and Sasami since he recognizes them as the princesses of Jurai, but Mihoshi tells him to stop or she'll fire. Kagato merely laughs, and Mihoshi begins to fire at him, but her shots are deflected by a sort of force field. Then Tenchi orders him to stop, and he activates his sword, the Tenchiken. Kagato is intrigued by this since he believes that Tenchi's sword holds great power, and it is this power that Kagato is after. Kagato tells Tenchi to hand over the sword, and Tenchi almost loses the sword when Kagato attacks him when Ryouko intervenes. Kagato, formerly being Ryouko's master, then begins to reassert his control over her mind, and then she turns against Tenchi and pins his arms as Kagato advances toward him. Just as Kagato is about to get his hands on the Tenchiken, the sword flies off into Tenchi's grandfather's hand who had just arrived at the scene. Kagato turns around and calls Tenchi's grandfather Yousho, the first crown prince of Jurai. This announcement shocks them all, especially Aeka.
Kagato and Yousho then begin to fight (this scene is impressive...you should definitely try and watch it), but it turns out that Yousho is a much better swordsman than Kagato. However, Yousho forgot that Ryouko is now under Kagato's control, and she begins to aid Kagato by attacking Yousho. Tenchi implores his grandfather not to hurt Ryouko since she is not acting of her own free will. Yousho is able to hold off both Ryouko's and Kagato's attacks, and then he evens the fight by rendering Ryouko unconscious. Then Yousho unexpectedly throws the Tenchiken at Funaho, thus embedding the sword on the tree. Kagato wonders if Yousho has given up, but when he tries to grab the sword, his hand burns. Yousho states that the sword can only be held by those who it belongs to. Kagato then takes Ryouko and tells Tenchi and the others that if they want Ryouko back, they will have to come to him on board his ship, the Souja.
Aeka then confronts Yousho and asks what has happened to him. Juraians have a longer lifespan than humans, but being half-Juraian and human, Yousho seems to have aged considerably since
the last time Aeka remembered seeing her half-brother. Yousho then explains that the reason he never returned to Jurai was that there were many nobles there that did not like the idea of
someone who was not fully Juraian to ascend to the throne, and he didn't want to have to deal with that or to let Aeka deal with the trouble. Yousho continues by saying that the Earth is
his home now just as it was his mother's, and he is content to die on Earth. Yousho then tells Aeka that physically she and Tenchi were the same age, and that they could start a new life together.
Tenchi then says that he is going to go after Kagato to get Ryouko back. Sasami and Mihoshi say that they will help. Aeka, however, hesitates as she is unsure if she can bring herself to help
the person she believes has turned her life upside-down. Tenchi retrieves the Tenchiken from Funaho at which point Yousho observes that the sword has accepted Tenchi as its rightful
owner. Tenchi tells Aeka to take care of his grandfather, and then they proceed to follow Ryo-ohki who seems to have found a way to get to Kagato's ship in orbit. As they are about to leave, Sasami
looks at her older sister imploringly, and Aeka agrees to go with them.
Arriving at the lake by the Masaki residence, they stop as Ryo-ohki tenses and begins to meow furiously. A glow appears in the water, then the bridge of Aeka's ship, the Ryu-oh emerges. Ryo-ohki's gem on her forehead begins to glow, and she leaps into the air, transforming into Ryouko's spaceship Ryo-ohki. The Ryo-ohki and Ryu-oh then merge, and it is aboard this combined spaceship that Tenchi, Aeka, and Mihoshi take off in to confront Kagato.
Onboard the Souja, in a room that appears to be a cathedral of sorts, Kagato observes the approach of Tenchi and his friends. Behind Kagato, Ryouko is being held in an hourglass type prison. The
Souja then fires on the Ryo-ohki/Ryu-oh. Mihoshi tries to evade Kagato's fire, but since Kagato built Ryo-ohki, he knows what evasive manuevers they will perform beforehand. Tenchi then
teleports over to the bridge of the Ryu-oh, and Aeka gives him instructions on how to engage the Light Hawk Wings, Jurai's most powerful weapon. Tenchi is able to activate the Light Hawk Wings which shield
their ship from Kagato's barrage. Kagato had planned for this to happen, and charges up his weapons for a huge blast. Aeka had warned Tenchi that the Light Hawk Wings are best used defensively, but if used
offensively they will be extremely vulnerable. Tenchi then prepares to use the Light Hawk Wings to attack Kagato. Both ships fire at once, but Tenchi doesn't have the ability to channel any more energy into the Light
Hawk Wings. The blast from the Souja overcomes the Light Hawk Wing's offensive firepower, and Kagato's blast ends up destroying the bridge of the Ryu-oh. On board the bridge of the Ryo-ohki, Aeka searches
desparately for any sign of Tenchi from the wreckage. Finding no sign of him, she lets out a cry of grief. Ryouko, also seeing the blast destroy the Ryu-oh, goes berserk and destroys her prison. She then teleports
around the wreckage of the Ryu-oh for Tenchi. After a few moments, she spots Tenchi's headband covered with blood. Crying into the headband, she turns towards the Souja and vows that Kagato will pay for taking
Tenchi away from her.
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