Disclaimer: I don't own tenchi muyo
a/n: this is my first tenchi fan fiction. It is set sometime in the future, so please pardon Ryoko being out of character. I just wanted to do something a little different.
Grasping for freedom
I want to be free.
I want to touch the stars.
I want to dance on the sun of some foreign galaxy that has never been heard of.
Tenchi thinks he's keeping me safe. He thinks that he's saving me- from myself, from the universe. Maybe Tenchi thinks I'll do something stupid or violent to myself or to someone else. Maybe I would. But then again maybe I wouldn't. But what ever I do it's my choice, not his. He doesn't own me, not anymore. He had that chance, to at least own my heart if not my body. But he chose another- squashed my heart like a ripe berry.
Yet he thinks he still owns me. He keeps me in a gilded cage of palatial splendor and opulence. The furniture and carpentry of my apartments have been imported from all over the Jurian Empire. But in spite of all the times I have stood by his side whilst he faced friend or foe I only see Tenchi when it suits him- when he has some mission to perform. After I finish, it's back to where I came from to wallow in isolation.
And as if this were not enough he took my gems (all three of them) and keeps them in that damned sword of his. He has never come out and said it but- he doesn't trust me. I wonder if he ever did.
Without my gems I am still extremely powerful. But it's quiet in my head. I can't hear my little Ryo-oh-ki. She spends less time with Sasami and more time with me. We've developed new ways to communicate without telepathy. But still, I miss the childish chatter in my head.
And of course Washu had to add her two cents in. She thinks by implanting a tracking device into my arm she can prevent my escape.
They do not understand the depth of my betrayal. The depth of my pain.
And the sad part is, they never will because they will never try.
But, I think if I'm brave enough to stand the pain, I can chew through skin and muscle and pull the device out- gain my freedom.
If I'm brave enough, if I'm strong enough, I can grasp freedom in my hand like the rarest of jewels and cradle it to my breast.
And maybe, if I'm lucky enough I can find the peace and happiness I know that exists somewhere out there.
end