The Pirate's Soldier
by operation meteor is a Crossover fanfic between Mobile Suit Gundam Wing and Tenchi Muyo!, the latter combining elements from the original OVA series and the Universe continuities.
The infamous space pirate Ryoko flees aboard her living ship, Ryo-Ohki, while her rival, Princess Ayeka Masaki Jurai, chases her aboard the Ryu-Oh. Their scuffle leads them both to the Sol system, and their battle is quickly picked up by the Preventers, who send their best agent, Heero Yuy, to investigate and, if possible, stop it before they can endanger Earth or the space colonies. Heero's intervention ultimately leads to both their ships crash-landing on Earth, and both aliens are taken in custody as the Preventers try to keep their existence a secret from the general public, and placed under Heero's surveillance. Soon enough, both are taken in by his looks and personality, and that's just the beginning.
Shortly after they're joined by the Galaxy Police detectives Mihoshi Kuramitsu and Kiyone Makibi, Ayeka's younger sister Sasami, and the biggest scientific genius in the universe, Washu, and they're forced to take residence in a house out in the Japanese mountains. There, Heero meets an old priest who seems interested in him, and soon after the arrival of a bounty hunter who is a rival of Ryoko, he realizes that his life might have taken a turn for the unexpected when mysteries surrounding his origins begin to arise.
The Pirate's Soldier provides trope examples of:
- Adaptational Species Change: Heero is revealed to be of Juraian descent, which is the in-universe explanation as to why he survived so many experiences that should have legitimately killed him (like self-detonating his Gundam).
- Altar Diplomacy: The trope is actually mentioned by name in Chapter 28, as Heero is offered by President Moriko Kuramitsu to marry Mihoshi in order to fully establish the alliance between the Jurai Empire and the Seniwa Domain.
- Aliens Speaking English: While it's not specified which language he uses, Heero is actually somewhat surprised that Ryoko and Ayeka are able to understand him during their first encounter. The trend continues as more and more of the alien girls continue to arrive on Earth.
- And Then What?: In Chapter 30, while captive Heero asks Nagi what she's going to do after she delivers him to Kagato and completes her contract. She finds herself realizing she actually has no plans and begins to doubt about her choices.
- Armor-Piercing Response: In Chapter 30, Misao tries to justify his actions on helping Kagato kidnap Heero by claiming he did it to free Mihoshi from her Arranged Marriage, thinking that she was forced into it. Mihoshi replies that she agreed to it on her own volition, leaving him completely speechless.
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: During Chapter 4, when Mihoshi lists Ryoko's crimes, she has piracy, fraud, robbery, smuggling, and plenty of other serious stuff, ending the list with "indecent exposure", causing both Heero and Ayeka to raise eyebrows.
- Asskicking Leads to Leadership: According to Ayeka, Heero's raw power alone would make him the legitimate heir to the Juraian throne, per the Royal Family tradition.
- Attack Its Weak Point: Heero discovers that the Galaxy Police battle armor Mihoshi uses has some exposed wiring on the back of the head, which allows him to disable it by cutting it with his combat knife. When Kiyone brings another of the same model, he uses his previous experience to stop it the same way.
- Badass in Distress: Heero gets kidnapped by Nagi on Kagato's behalf and spends the entirety of Chapter 30 and the better part of Chapter 31 as a prisoner in his estate.
- Badass Normal: Heero manages to disable a Galaxy Police battle armor using only his training and a combat knife, twice. This is before he becomes aware of his Juraian powers.
- Battle Couple: Eventually, Heero and Ryoko become this.
- Battle Harem: Subverted. While most of the alien girls exhibit a degree of attraction to Heero early on, later they seem to move on and gain some Ship Tease with Heero's fellow Gundam pilots.
- Black Bra and Panties: At one point, Ryoko is Strapped to an Operating Table wearing only these. It's a rare instance of her being a Reluctant Fanservice Girl because Washu forced her to take a full check-up.
- Beach Episode: The latter part of Chapter 27 has the cast going to a private lake belonging to the Jurai Royal Family for some relaxing and rest, engaging in the typical activities such as volleyball, chicken fight, and jet-skiing.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: Part of Ryoko's attraction to Heero stems from the fact that, rather than judging her prematurely, he listens to her story and is willing to give her a chance to become a good person. Also applies to Mihoshi, as she reveals in chapter 30 when she's verbally tearing down Misao that Heero had treated her with nothing but kindness and patience, and she was hoping to repay him when they came to the Seniwa Domain.
- Betty and Veronica:
- Ayeka and Ryoko fit this bill to Heero being the Archie, at least in the beginning.
- Mihoshi later becomes the Betty in Chapter 28, when she's officially engaged to Heero. Somewhat played with as, while Ryoko fits the Veronica archetype personality-wise, Mihoshi has the high-class background as the one of the heirs of the most influential family in the Seniwa Domain.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Mihoshi in Chapter 30 was not happy to learn her own brother Misao was among the collaborators in Heero's kidnapping. She gave him a hard slap and tore him down for what he did.
- Big Bad: Kagato is the story's main antagonist.
- The Big Damn Kiss: Ayeka gives one to Quatre in Chapter 29, after Heero encourages her to pursue him.
- Birds of a Feather: Ayeka quickly gets along with Quatre as soon as they meet, and Heero mentions in Chapter 29 that he had the feeling they would hit it off, as both of them share similar backgrounds as heirs of important families.
- Broad Strokes: The story borrows elements from both the original Tenchi Muyo! OVA series, but also including characters from the Universe continuity like Kiyone and Nagi. Later chapters also introduce characters from later installments from the Tenchi franchise, such as Seto Kamiki Jurai and Mihoshi's brother Misao.
- Calling Parents by Their Name: Washu considers Ryoko her daughter and often reminds her of this. The latter vehemently refuses to acknowledge the former as her mother.
- Can't Live with Them, Can't Live Without Them: Kiyone, for all the woes that Mihoshi causes her, deep down does care for her like a little sister, and despite trying to rejoice over the possibility that she was dead (which meant she'd be free of her), later admits to herself and to Heero to have missed her. By Chapter 28, she actually expresses some sadness about having to be separated from Mihoshi after she marries Heero.
- Cool Ship: Aside from Ryo-Ohki and Ayeka's Ryu-Oh, Washu creates space fighters for Heero and his fellow Gundam pilots, each one equipped with super-advanced weaponry and adapted with features similar to their Mobile Suits.
- Clueless Chick-Magnet: Heero is one, and according to Director Une and Sally, it's not only with the alien girls.
- Combat Pragmatist: When the Juraian noble Seiryo calls Heero a brute and cheater for hitting him with his head during their duel, Heero replies that he was trained to be a soldier, and thus is willing to use any means to win in combat to fulfill his mission.
- Composite Character: Heero has his backstory and personality intact, but he's given Tenchi's role as the main lead, as well as his Juraian lineage and powers. Same applies for his mother, who is Achika Masaki but went by the alias Aoi Clarke when she gave birth to him.
- Coming in Hot: Heero cites the trope by name when, during the opening scuffle in the first chapter, he contacts Sally to evacuate Lake Genval, as he along with Ryoko and Ayeka's spaceships are going to crash-land there.
- Crossover Relatives: A major revelation is that Heero Yuy is of Juraian descent, with Katsuhito Masaki/Yosho being his maternal grandfather. This connects him by blood to the rest of the Juraian Royal Family, including naturally Ayeka and Sasami.
- Did Not Think This Through: Misao apparently didn't consider the potential consequences of helping Kagato in kidnapping Heero. Namely that Mihoshi could get hurt in the middle, or that she would be very, very angry with him when she found out about it.
- Die or Fly: Heero first awakens a Light Hawk Wing when he's about to be killed by Kagato, blocking his sword with it.
- Double Weapon: On Jurai, Ryoko is given a Master Key that can project energy blades from both sides.
- Dope Slap: Duo gets an elbow to the ribs from Hilde, for making some remarks about how lucky Heero is for having both Ryoko and Mihoshi for himself.
- Exact Words:
- After his brief fight with Kiyone and talking, the Galaxy Police officer accuses him of wanting her to lie to her superiors. Heero replies that she doesn't have to lie, just report that she fulfilled the mission she was assigned (investigating and confirming Mihoshi's survival) and leave everything else out.
- When Seiryo challenges Heero to a duel, he sets up the rules that the first one to draw blood or make the other surrender wins. So Heero draws blood by headbutting him and breaking his nose.
- In Chapter 27, when going out to try and draw some assassins, Heero tells Ryoko that she should leave them alive for questioning, only killing as a last resort. Ryoko then asks if that means she can cut some arms and legs off of them, which Heero finds acceptable.
- Forced Transformation: When Ryoko calls Washu "pipsqueak", the latter replies by turning her into a frog. Ayeka gets it too when she calls it childish.
- Gilded Cage: Kagato's private estate, known as White Coven, serves as this for Heero after kidnapping him.
- Have You Come to Gloat?: In Chapter 30, Ryoko asks Ayeka if she's come over to gloat over Ryoko's failure to protect Heero from being kidnapped. Instead, Ayeka comes to tell her to stop wallowing in self-pity and prove that Heero's faith in her was not misplaced.
- Humans Are Special: In Chapter 30, Kagato tries using this to get Heero to join his side, pointing out that humanity on Earth, despite still being very primitive compared to the Jurai Empire, has done great leaps in just a few centuries, while Jurai has remained stagnant for a long time.
- Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: All chapters (barring the ones covering Time and Space Adventures arc) use the "No need for ____!" format from the original Tenchi Muyo! anime series.
- Insufferable Genius: Washu, as per canon, doesn't waste any chance to remind everyone of how she's the biggest scientific genius in the universe (and to be fair, it's hard for anybody to dispute it).
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: In Chapter 29, Ayeka finally comes clean about her feelings for Heero, but accepts that he cannot reciprocate them romantically. However, she's content with having his affection as family.
- I Want Them Alive!: In Chapter 28, Kagato decides to send Nagi after Heero. When she points out that she's a bounty hunter and not an assassin, Kagato makes it clear that she's to bring Heero to him alive, since he's still hopeful to bring him to his side.
- Lap Pillow: In a gender-reversed example, Quatre gives this to Ayeka in the aftermath of the second repository battle at the end of Chapter 25.
- Les Collaborateurs: Kagato made sure to have supporters within his enemies' territory, including Misao Kuramitsu within the Seniwa Domain. Nagi later reveals in Chapter 31 that she got a hold of a list of Juraian nobles who are secretly backing him from behind the scenes, despite publicly claiming loyalty to the Empire.
- Literal Disarming: In Chapter 27, Ryoko cuts off the hand holding the weapon of one of the assassins sent after Heero.
- Love at First Sight: Ryoko is quickly taken in by Heero's looks, though it really sinks in after they crash-land on Earth and gets to see him without his helmet.
- Love Confession: While Ryoko's feelings for Heero are very much clear from the start, he doesn't outright admit that he loves her until Chapter 28.
- Mad Scientist: Washu openly and proudly admits to herself being one, although she does have a few lines she won't cross, unlike Kagato.
- Married to the Job: Heero, at least in the beginning, is too focused on his work as a Preventer agent to even think about seeking out relationships.
- Marry Them All: When Heero is having doubts about marrying Mihoshi in order to seal the alliance between Jurai and Seniwa, due to being thorn between the importance of the mission and his feelings for Ryoko, Funaho points out that, as a Juraian prince, he's allowed to legally have more than one wife, should he choose to. He ultimately decides to go through with this.
- Morality Chain: Heero serves as this for Ryoko, who's more than willing to leave her old ways just to be with him.
- My Sister Is Off-Limits: Misao Kuramitsu takes this attitude towards Heero after he's engaged to Mihoshi. He even ends up contacting Kagato as means to somehow stop the marriage from going through.
- Not What I Signed on For: Misao has a brief moment of this with Kagato, when Mihoshi ends up getting hurt and sent to the hospital after she tried to protect Heero from being kidnapped by Nagi. Kagato quickly shoots him down pointing out that Nagi had no choice.
- Official Couple: Duo and Hilde. Heero and Ryoko are all but stated to be one after they have Their First Time, and later so do Ayeka and Quatre.
- Only in It for the Money: Nagi makes it clear that the only reason she's still working with Kagato is because he's paying her well, and the moment he withdraws his finantial support she'll cut her looses and leave him.
- On the Next: At the end of every chapter, there's always a bit of dialogue between the characters, with a preview of what's going to happen on the next one (as well as the next chapter's title).
- Outlaw Couple: Ryoko would certainly love to be this with Heero, as shown in her fantasy world.
- The Pardon: Ryoko gets an offer to get her criminal record erased in exchange for being appointed officially as Heero's Royal Guard. It's a win-win deal for her, as she gets to be near him and will no longer be pursued by authorities.
- Power Gives You Wings: As in the Tenchi canon, Juraians can manifest the Light Hawk Wings to attack and defend themselves.
- Powered Armor: Courtesy of Washu, Heero and the rest of the Gundam pilots are given special battle armors to level up the playing field against their enemies.
- Precocious Crush: Played with. As a Juraian, Sasami is actually centuries old, but physically and emotionally she is still a child, and she clearly developed a crush on the teen-aged Trowa.
- Quit Your Whining: In Chapter 30, Ayeka gives Ryoko a verbal tearing to snap her out of her self-pity for failing to protect Heero from being kidnapped.
- Razor Wings: Once he gets the hang on using his first two Light Hawk Wings, Heero starts using them this way to destroy the drones in the second repository, even getting past their energy shields.
- Related in the Adaptation: Once his Juraian lineage is revealed, Heero learns he's not only the grandson of Katsuhito/Yosho, but also that he's the half-grandnephew to both Ayeka and Sasami (and by extension he's related to the rest of the Jurai Royal Family).
- Single Woman Seeks Good Man:
- Almost all of the alien girls exhibit a degree of attraction or at least fondness for Heero. The most evident ones being Ryoko and Ayeka. Mihoshi is (at first) a bit more ambiguous, as while she doesn't actively pursue him, after she learns their families plan to marry them together she admits that she appreciates his good qualities and would like to marry someone like him.
- Ayeka, while she clung to her feelings for Heero, eventually becomes attracted to Quatre as well, who shares many of Heero's qualities (though she also admits to feel attracted to his looks, as his appearance is considered exotic in the Juraian Empire).
- Shame If Something Happened: Non-lethal variant. When Mihoshi says the device she's holding is her only evidence of Ryoko's crimes, Heero not-so-subtly says it'd be a shame if it got destroyed. Ryoko catches the hint and "accidentally" blasts it with her powers, claiming Power Incontinence.
- Ship Sinking: For Heero/Relena, with Lady Une and Sally mentioning early on that they drifted apart as their responsibilities kept them away from one another.
- Ship Tease: Despite being attracted to Heero, Ayeka has some moments that hint she might start developing feelings for Quatre. Similarly, Sasami and by extension Tsunami seem to be taken by Trowa while Kiyone has some moments with Wufei.
- Shout-Out:
- During the Time and Space Adventures arc, Heero's fantasy world is clearly based on Rurouni Kenshin with a few dashes of Samurai Champloo.
- When Heero gets his own Master Key, it's made with a curved design as opposed to a straight one, very similar to Count Dooku's lightsaber. Ryoko later gets a key of her own, which projects dual energy blades akin to Darth Maul's.
- Stealth Mentor: Katsuhito trains Heero in Juraian swordplay during their spars with the latter none the wiser until much later.
- Surrounded by Idiots: Washu certainly feels this way during her trial in Chapter 6.
- Sword and Gun: Once he gets his own Master Key, Heero starts to fight this way. He takes notice in Chapter 25 that he's not used to do this outside a Mobile Suit.
- Tempting Fate: Upon hearing her sentence being "permanent exile", Washu thinks to herself that it's not so bad, until she hears the rest "confined in a stasis pod". She immediately freaks out and tries to talk it out, to no avail.
- Underestimating Badassery: In Chapter 27, Heero intentionally plays bait to draw a group of assassins targetting him, hired by Juraian nobles who want him out of the picture, but they were so easy to defeat he laughs at them, despite showing himself how capable he was at the ball. Empress Funaho agrees with the sentiment, mentioning that she would have hired someone on the level of Nagi if she were the one targetting him.
- Uptight Loves Wild: The Stoic, no-nonsense Heero quickly finds himself attracted to the Loveable Rogue Ryoko.
- Victory by First Blood: Upon challenging Heero to a formal duel, Seiryo sets up this or surrender as the victory condition. Heero does so by headbutting him in the nose.
- Victory Through Intimidation: During Heero's formal introduction in the Juraian court, everyone was counting on this in order to deter any nobles who wanted to challenge his birthright as a new heir to the throne. He gets immediately challenged by Seiryo, and not only defeats him but makes it clear that anybody who follows suit will end up the same way. It works like a charm, and nobody else dares challenge him.
- Violently Protective Girlfriend: While not his girlfriend at the time, Ryoko displays it in full towards Heero when Nagi threatens to kill him.
- Weapon of Mass Destruction: The Judgement Array, which was used to end the war by the Juraian Emperor thousands of years ago. Kagato's goal is to find it in order to take over the empire (and with it, the universe itself).
- We Are Everywhere: In Chapter 25, Kagato and Ragyo reveal they have spies not only within the Jurai Empire, but also on Earth and they've been aware of Heero's existence for quite a while.
- We Can Rule Together: During Heero's second fight against Ragyo in Chapter 25, the latter expresses disappointment that Heero does not side with them, even pointing out that he could help advance Earth's civilization. Naturally, Heero is having none of it. He continues to try and sway him during Chapter 30 after capturing him and bringing him to his private estate.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Misao finds himself at the receiving end of this from Mihoshi, who slaps him and verbally tears him down for collaborating with Kagato in Heero's kidnapping. When he tries to defend his actions, Mihoshi replies that Heero had shown nothing but kindness to her and she had agreed to marry him on her own volition, and she was hoping the two of them would get along.
- Wing Shield: Part of Heero's training with his Light Hawk Wings involves learning to use them to protect himself and deflect attacks with them.
- The World Is Not Ready: Both Heero and the Preventers as a whole agree that they need to keep the identities of Ryoko, Ayeka and all the other girls a secret from the general public, since Earth is barely starting space colonization and the existence of life outside the Sol System would be a major shock. It's also part of the reason why Heero convinces Kiyone to avoid reporting her finding of Ryoko and the Jurai princesses to her superiors, as it would summon a full Galaxy Police contingent and they'd have it nigh impossible to hide.
- Worthy Opponent: Ragyo views Heero as this when she forces him into a sparring match at Kagato's estate, being impressed that he manages to hold his own against her despite their huge power and experience gap.
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit: During their first encounter with Heero, Ryoko tries to get into his good side by pretending she's an innocent victim and Ayeka is a tyrant trying to murder her. While he clearly doesn't buy her story, it's enough to provoke Ayeka into attacking first, which was her goal all along.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: When Misao realizes he's soon going to be in big trouble because his family has already begun an investigation, he demands that Kagato helps him. Kagato callously says that he fulfilled his end of the bargain already and Misao is now on his own.
