IMPORTANT NOTE: This fanfic takes place AFTER the movie Tenchi Muyo! in Love 2 (Tenchi Forever). I'm sorry, but you should not read this fic unless you have seen this movie. If you haven't seen the movie, then none of the first chapter will make any sense, and it will seem like everyone is out of character. SEE THE MOVIE, then read the fic.
ANOTHER IMPORTANT NOTE: This fic is not by Wedge. But by Wedge's friend ILR. Wedge is just putting this up at fanfiction.net for his friend, ILR.
Ryoko turned to Tenchi and threw her arms around him. She leaned in
close to his ear and whispered. "Hey Tenchiiiii. Did you read that IMPORTANT
NOTE up there?"
"Huh what?" Tenchi was baffled.
"You have to read that note Tenchi, you can't skip it, since it's so important." Ryoko's voice became very stern.
"Oh fine I'll read it..." There was a short pause as Tenchi scanned the lines above (something YOU should have already done!!)
"Did you read it?"
"Yeah, but that doesn't apply to me because I lived it all, of coarse I know all about that."
"Well, some people don't know." Ryoko glares at YOU!
"Well, the REAL fanfic will be starting now, just wanted to make sure you read the IMPORTANT NOTE!"
Tenchi ducked behind a wall of guards and noble men to sneak into
an unoccupied and darkened room in his home. He let out a sigh, "Heh, it sure
has been getting crowded around here..." Tenchi was referring to the almost
violent handshakes and pats on the back he was receiving non-stop from his party
guests.
It seems that the ceremony to turn his home into a Jurain embassy was even more trouble than he thought.
The whole thing really was Washu's idea even though Aeka was taking credit for it, not like she WANTED to take credit for it. But Aeka was desperate for a reason to stay on Earth. Tenchi was definitely not going to try and stop her, he already felt bad enough about denying her love after living together for so long. Even though she reassured him that she was happy for him and Ryoko, he was still a little guilty. Tenchi remembers how it happened.
Ryoko made her way to the top of the hill, she remembered seeing Tenchi
headed in this direction earlier. She quietly tracked around the brush until she
saw him. He was sitting down faced away; he looked like he was working on
something. "Tenchi." She called to him quietly. Tenchi looked up from his
sketchpad to see Ryoko standing beside him. "Ryoko." He greeted her politely. "So this is where you went." Ryoko gazed across the reflective
pond. "Did you think I disappeared again?" He jested. "I'd just go get you, if you did." Her voice was full of
confidence. Tenchi smiled to her, "Thank you." He looked up for a moment to see
Ryoko smiling warmly at him. "Huh?" "I like you better this way." She crouched down and reached over to tug
on his cheek. "Ouch!" Tenchi winced in pain. "What are you doing?" Ryoko giggled softly at his squirming. "You mad?" "Huh?" Tenchi was surprised she was asking. Ryoko stood up again and looked across the scenery. "That's ok, if you
are." "Ryoko...?" Tenchi laughed at this new revelation. "That's stupid.
Doesn't sound like you at all." Ryoko thought to herself for a moment. He was
right. The old Ryoko wouldn't say that. But in a way, she was glad for that. Ryoko's train of though broke when she noticed Tenchi's pencil and pad.
"Well, well. You're drawing, huh?" "Yeah, all of a sudden I just felt like drawing. My dad used to draw
like this when he was my age." "Yeah, that's right." She remembered how the young Nobuyuki was about
drawing on their trip into the past. He would draw with a passion, like he was
trying to create the things and places he drew. "Drawing makes me feel so nostalgic, somehow." He looked up at Ryoko.
"It makes me feel like I once had something really important." Just then there
was a gleam in Tenchi's eye, as if he made a startling revelation. Ryoko smiled warmly down on him. "Tenchi..." Tenchi stood up beside Ryoko and stared across the pond. A friendly
gust of wind blew across them and both Tenchi and Ryoko breathed in the warm
air. Tenchi glanced over to Ryoko who seemed to be deep in thought. Tenchi was
amazed; Ryoko was a changed person. She was calmer, more restrained, unlike the
Ryoko that took almost everything for granted. Did Tenchi really have that big
of an affect on Ryoko? Such much of an affect that 6 months away can cause a
change of attitude this big? He was definitely curious. Tenchi was shaken from his thought when Ryoko said, "Let's go back, I
think I can smell sweet potatoes cooking." "Yeah. Good idea." Tenchi started on his way but stopped as he passed
Ryoko. He looked into her golden eyes. He saw something there that he had never
seen before. As they gazed into each other warmly Tenchi took her hand in his.
"Let's go." Back at the bottom of the hill, where the rest of the Masaki family had
been eating delicious sweet potatoes, Sasami took a small pale of water and
doused the fire she used for cooking. "Aww Sasami, I was still hungry!" Mihoshi cried. "Sorry Mihoshi, but we didn't have any more potatoes." Kiyone rolled her eye's at her partner's incredible appetite. "Didn't
you eat most of them anyway?" "I'm sorry Kiyone, but it's been three hours since I ate last and I was
really hungry." Kiyone would have a clever quip to this, but she didn't want to
upset the peace that had settled in on the scenery. "Hey look, here comes Ryoko and Tenchi." Washu said. Tenchi saw the crowd from a distance and waved to them. He then saw
Aeka turn and he tensed, realizing he was still holding hands with Ryoko. His
mind zipped through all the possible way Aeka could react, and none of them were
good. But instead of fights, accusations, and insults, she just smiled and waved
back. *Amazing...* When they arrived with the rest they were disappointed to be informed
that all the snacks were gone. "Well that's ok. I think we can manage until dinner time." Tenchi
said. Aeka turned to Tenchi and looked over him. "I must say Tenchi, you're
much more handsome than before." "Heh, you and Ryoko both. I'll be sure never to grow up then." Tenchi
laughed. "Yeah Aeka, I couldn't agree with you more. His short hair looks much
better." Ryoko tousled his hair a bit. Aeka giggled. Tenchi started to feel a little uncomfortable. Showing
this much affection to Ryoko right in front of Aeka made him nervous. He was
still worried about the old Aeka. It was almost like a bad habit. Ryoko felt his tension through his hand and tried to loosen things up.
"Well, looks like we all have the afternoon off. How about we all watch TV or
something..." Ryoko said, having a sudden loss of ideas. "That sounds like a great idea." Tenchi said, almost too hastily. "You two go ahead. I want to help Sasami with some more chores." They
both started to make there way down the shrine hill before Aeka stopped them
again. "Ryoko, Tenchi, I uh... am happy for you... both." Just as she said those words a black cloud over Tenchi vanished. "Thank
you, Aeka. You don't know how much that means to me." "And me too." Ryoko added. Both Aeka and Ryoko's thoughts flashed back
to the fateful moments on the roof of the office building. The moment when Ryoko
needed one last push, in order to save Tenchi. She would have never guessed that
Aeka would be the one to tell her to go. They gave their last silent good-byes
as nods and Ryoko and Tenchi turned for the house. After they disappeared over the hill Aeka began to wonder how things
came to be. In an odd sense of mind, she was almost glad Haruna had captured
Tenchi. She never realized how spoiled she was. Throughout their entire
adventure through space, their battle with Kain, and the almost endless antics
with Ryoko, Aeka had always known that things would swing her way. In the back
of her mind she always knew that Tenchi would fall in love with her over
Ryoko. But that all changed when Haruna came. Having lost contact with her
love for so long, it was as if the crown had been knocked from her head. During
the last weeks of the search, she was so desperate reunite everyone she didn't
care who Tenchi chose. She just wanted everyone to be happy again, like they
were before. Knowing that all the pieces to the puzzle were finally coming
together made her happy as well. Aeka found Sasami picking up the last of their earlier meal. "Hello
Sasami, What chores would you like to start on today?" "Oh hi big sis. You know, I don't really feel like working right
now..." *WHAT?!* This was so uncharacteristic, Sasami always took pleasure in
doing housework. "Sasami, are you feeling ok? Are you sick?" "I'm fine Aeka, I just wanted to rest a little." Then suddenly her face
lit up, as if she just had a brilliant idea. "Hey Aeka! How about we ask Azaka
and Kamedake over for a visit? I know it's only been a little bit since I've
seen them but that was so boring, we were working, not playing. C'mon Aeka it'll
be fun having them around again." It was so obvious that she had been mulling over that idea for sometime
now, but Aeka played along. "Well I don't see why not. We must get permission
from Tenchi and his father first. If he says yes, I'm sure Washu can use her
technology to set up communications." "What do ya guys need me to do?" the little red haired scientists poked
her head into the conversation in hearing her own name. "Oh Washu, can you call Jurai? Please, please, please, please, please,
please!" "Sasami! Where are your manners?" Aeka scolded. "Sorry..." "Ok now... hold on a second." Washu's holo computer materialized right
before her. "You need me to call Juria? What's the occasion? Who am I calling
specifically?" "Washu, could you please reach Azaka or Kamedake on Jurai for us?" Washu glanced down at Sasami's pleading eyes. *How can I say no to that
face...?* "Well sure I can, I'll call them right away." "Actually Washu, I would like to hold off on that. We still need to ask
for Lord Tenchi's permission... since it is his home." "Sure thing. Just say the word when you need it." Washu closed her
computer and started walking down the hill with Mihoshi and Kiyone, who where
too distracted about there next meal than to hear their plans for the new
guests. "Well Sasami, lets get going." Aeka called to her sister. Sasami beamed at Aeka and walked toward the Masaki home, at the bottom
of the hill. Inside his home, Tenchi sat down with Ryoko on the couch. Ryoko tried to make
conversation. "So, what do you plan on doing now?" "How do you mean?" Tenchi asked curiously. "I mean about everything. What are you going to do for a living?" "I never really gave it any thought, you know..." Ryoko picked up Tenchi's sketchpad from the living room table. "Did you
ever consider being an artist?" She started flipping through the pages, at each
glance she winced in pain at Tenchi's attempted artwork. "Well... flipping
burgers is always fun too." "Thanks a lot." Tenchi pulled the pad out of Ryoko's hands. "Well, I
really enjoy this land, maybe I'll become a priest like grandpa." "I see." "Well, how about you?" "ME?" Ryoko was almost shocked at the question. "Yeah, aren't you going to work? It seems to boring around here with
nothing to do." "Well, the only thing I was good at I gave up a long time ago. Besides,
I won't get bored as long as I get to be with you." Tenchi smiled warmly into Ryoko's equally glowing gaze. As he drew her
face in for a first kiss his heartbeat quickened to the coming moment, but
suddenly Sasami appeared out of nowhere and bounced on the couch, right in
between Ryoko and Tenchi. "Yeah! I did it!" "Did what?" Tenchi said, slightly disappointed. "I won the race to the house!" Her smile then faded. "But I don't think
anyone knew that I was racing them..." Tenchi and Ryoko giggled softly. "Sasami, why on earth did you run from me like that?" Aeka asked
bewildered, while walking into the house. Tenchi and Ryoko tried to hide their
amusement in wide smiles. "Aeka, I told you I wanted to race you, didn't you hear me?" "No, I believe I did not..." Aeka grumbled. She walked into the kitchen
to try and hide her red face, but before she entered, she stopped and turned to
Sasami. "Sasami, wasn't there something that you wanted to ask Tenchi?" "Oh yeah!" Sasami's face lit up yet again. "What is it Sasami?" "Hey Tenchi, would it be ok if Azaka and Kamedake came over to visit? I
mean, if its all right with you, I don't want to impose..." "Hey Sasami, it's perfectly alright. It would be great to see those
guys again." Sasami whooped in joy and gave Tenchi a big huge. "Oh Tenchi your he
greatest!" She then jumped down off the couch and ran into the kitchen. "Did you
hear that Aeka? He said yes!" Just as Sasami exited, Washu entered catching the end of her
celebrating march. "Well, it looks like I'll be calling those two old-fogies
after all." Washu entered the kitchen to join Sasami and Aeka. Sasami caught an eye of Washu and quickly rushed up to her. "Oh hi miss
Washu. Guess what! Tenchi said yes. Can you call Azaka and Kamedake now?
Please?" "Sure thing kiddo." Washu turned to Aeka and activated her holo
computer. "So, how do you want me to handle this Aeka?" "Well, a standard broadcast will do. I'll give you the frequency for
royal messages." Aeka took a pen in hand and jotted down the numbers for
Washu. "Okay-dokay. It'll only be a second." She wasn't kidding too. With
lightning fast speed her hands flew over the keyboard with perfect accuracy.
3.52 seconds later, a connection was being made. Washu rotated the screen to
face Aeka; she was really looking forward to seeing the old guardians of
Jurai. The screen flickered for a short moment before clearing to reveal a
young woman suited in a Jurain uniform. She was absolutely shocked to find the
face of the first crown princess looking back at her. "Oh, Princess Aeka! I had no idea that you were the sender of this
transmission... I..." "No need for any worries ma'am. My business is very casual and no
formalities are needed." Aeka reassured her, and then continued. "I wish to
speak with Azaka and Kamedake. Can you arrange a comlink?" Aeka glanced away for
a moment to shoot a glare at Sasami, who was rudely looking over her shoulder in
curiosity. "Yes your highness, I will call them right away and they will respond
as soon as possible." "Thank you." The image faded for a very short period as the knights
were summoned to the nearest comlink station. After a short pause, the two
knights were standing before Aeka on the screen. "Hello Princess Aeka." They said in unison. "Azaka, Kamedake, its so good to see you two again." Aeka smiled at the
comfortable image of there presence. "I am glad to see you too Aeka, in fact your contacting us couldn't
come at a better time." Azaka said. There was urgency imbedded in his voice. Aeka became distracted by his worry. "Whatever do you mean? What do you
need to discuss with me?" "It's not necessarily something that needs to be discussed, more like
something that requires your presence." Kamedake continued. Aeka became quickly concerned. "What has happened? Please tell me." "It's nothing to drastic Princess Aeka. It's just that you've been gone
from Jurai for so long now... The public is beginning to worry about your well
being." Kamedake said. "Yes, on top of that, there are many high ranking officials that
believe the Jurain government is losing stability by having their first Princess
gone from the capitol for so long." It was beginning to make sense to Aeka. "So, the people want a figure
head to look up to." "To be so blunt, yes." Kamedake said with disapproval. "The people of
Jurai don't intend such crude forms of leadership, but as a population, they
strive for someone to look to. That's just how it is." Sasami couldn't listen any longer. "We can't go back! Everyone we know
lives on earth. All our friends..." The two knights sympathized for the little princess, but Aeka didn't
allow them. "Don't think like that Sasami. Were the leaders of the Jurain Empire
and we are at the whim of the people... it's so sad that we must leave this
place though." Aeka didn't show it, but frustration was burning through her.
After everything they had done to bring peace into their lives, it was all
beginning to slip away. Azaka tried to brainstorm ideas for Aeka. "Well... I think the main
concern the public has is that they consider your stay on Earth as a holiday, A
ruler constantly on vacation is not a good thing. If you were to somehow serve
the government you could remain on Earth and still please the Juraian
population." "Yes, but what could I do from here? Earth is so far away from
everything." Aeka didn't have faith that Azaka's idea was going to work. "But Aeka, I don't want to go back to Jurai. Its so nice here, c'mon
Aeka, we can stay can't we?" Sasami was sounding desperate. Meanwhile, Washu was listening to all of this with a very tuned ear. As
soon as Azaka mentioned serving Jurai on Earth, she popped up another laptop and
her fingers started to fly, looking for the desired information. After finding
what she was looking for, an idea formed in her genius mind. "I know what you
can do." Everyone turned to Washu. "What's that?" "Aeka can be the head of Earth's first alien embassy!" The little
scientist squealed with joy. "Washu, that could never work. Earth is much to under-developed, both
technologically and socially. Putting an embassy here would be a waste of
recourses." Aeka was really losing all hope. "I just pulled up this data about Earth's technological history, it
says here that these underdeveloped Earthlings moved from the Industrial Age to
the Information Age in under one hundred years." Washu eyes never strayed from
the screen. Aeka couldn't believe it. "That's impossible. No civilization has ever
evolved that quickly. The youngest recorded species with an information based
economy is 50 million years old (galactic years)" "Would I lie? Not only that but their rate of technological increase
raises exponentially. I think it would be wise to keep an eye on these
Earthlings, their technology increases more than their social maturity. Who
knows what weapon they may produce and annihilate themselves with..." Washu's argument was very convincing, and the knights Azaka and
Kamedake were more than happy to go along with it. "That settles it then," said
Azaka. "But!" Aeka pleaded while being left out. "You will remain on Earth until we can process the information and announce
what your plan is to the public." "But!" Kamedake picked up where he left off. "It will take about two years
before we can make appropriate arrangements for the ceremony, most officials
will be booked until then." "BUT!" Aeka didn't know what to say, she felt like she was cheating the
system. "YAY! We get to stay on Earth after all!" Sasami jumped with joy. As
Aeka looked onto the simple expression of happiness on her sister's face her
worries melted away and it all seemed worth it. "Yes Sasami, we can stay." Tenchi remembered when Aeka told him her plan. He was quite startled,
but he wasn't going to stop her, after all, this is what she wanted and Tenchi
wasn't in the right position to say no. But when he first heard Aeka mention the
ceremony is when he started to worry. He knew Jurain ceremonies were an
important part of their culture, but he didn't know that they would be so
brutal. Why did she have to invite every single military leader in the entire
Jurain fleet? They all wanted to meat the man who beat Kagato. They would
all pat him on the back, shake hands with him, see how many pushes up he can
do... Tenchi finally looked around the room he had ducked his way into. It
was Aeka's bedroom! "Whoops, I shouldn't be in here..." "Oh I don't mind Tenchi." Aeka's voice came out from the darkness. "Aeka? I am so sorry. I guess I was just so desperate to get away from
the party I didn't see where I was going." "To tell you the truth, that's why I came in here too." "Heh, I didn't know Jurai parties where something you would have to
train for." Tenchi chuckled. "Yes, we are serious partiers." Aeka laughed a little at the
remark. "How long will this last?" "It should be over soon, how much Sake do we have left?" "Not much." "Yep, should be ending any time now." They both let out a small laugh
again. "Well miss 'lady of the hour' are you ready to brave the fronts
again?" "Not yet, I think I'll wait a little longer before making another
appearance... once party members start to leave would be a good time." "Okay. You know where I'll be." Tenchi opened the door just a crack
before he heard a shout come from across the room. "TENHI?! PRINCE TENCHI?! How is the 'man of Jurai'?" A hand shot
through and literately dragged Tenchi out of the room. "Good luck!" Aeka called to him as he left. *You'll need it...* Tenchi lay passed out on the couch. Ryoko was lying across him, also
passed out. Sasami was fast asleep in her bed. Aeka was nodding off in the
kitchen, completely exhausted. Everyone in the house was dead tired from the
surprisingly intense party last night. Everyone fell victim to the ceremony
except Nobuyuki, who had worked extra late just to avoid the occasion. The bright and cheerful Nobuyuki entered the room and started trying to
wake everyone up. "HEY, HEY, HEY EVERYON!! Is that anyway to go about running
Earth's first embassy?" Nobody answered. "C'mon Tenchi, you can't lazy about the
whole day!" Tenchi pulled a pillow up over his head. "It's a beautiful morning! You had better get up or nothing will get
done." Nobuyuki's voice beamed with cheerfulness. Nobuyuki noticed Sasami at the top of the stairs, still in her
nightgown. "SASAMI! Just the person I need. I'm starving, I haven't had breakfast
yet and I'm almost late for work." "I can't cook today, I'm to tired..." "Oh please Sasami! I need food in order to operate!" "I need rest in order to cook." Nobuyuki shrugged his shoulders and walked into the kitchen in an
attempt to whip something to eat for himself. He found Princess Aeka sleeping at
the table. "Aeka... Aeka... are you awake?" Nobuyuki poked her side. "Huh what? Oh yes I'm awake." "Wow, all of you guys really did get whipped out last night eh?" "Yes..." Aeka groaned in the realization of her state of mind. "My fist
real position in the Jurai Empire and I already need a vacation..." "Why don't you go on one then? Did I hear you right when you said that
the embassy won't become official for another 3 months?" A light bulb went off in Aeka head. *THAT'S RIGHT!!* Strength began to
return to her as she stood up. "We are going to go on a vacation!!" "Did I hear someone say vacation?" Ryoko beckoned from the living room.
She soon teleported in with a half-asleep Tenchi. "Did you catch that Tenchi?
Were going to take a vacation! It'll be so fun!" "Boy, you sure do have selective energy reserves." Tenchi grumbled. "Hey, I use em when I want to..." Aeka was also getting excited about the idea. "Yeah, this is definitely
going to be fun. I think it's been much too long since our last one." "Alright it's settled, we're all going on a vacation to relax and have
fun. But where?" Ryoko asked. "How about some place off planet? We haven't been in space in a long
time, and with my new job I don't think I'll being going out very often." Aeka
tried to reason. "Space? Well... I guess that's okay..." Ryoko voice faltered a bit but
Aeka didn't notice. Tenchi did though. "What's wrong with space Ryoko? Didn't you used to live there?" Tenchi
inquired. "No, no, nothing important. A resort in space will be much more fun than one
on Earth, we should go there." Ryoko reassured. As Tenchi gathered everyone to tell the good news to the rest of the
house members, Aeka began planning the specifics of the vacation. Meanwhile,
Ryoko slipped out the back and wondered about her return to space.
It had only been a couple days after Tenchi's return to the real
world; things have already returned to normal. Well, not completely normal. His
time spent in Haruna's world definitely had its affect on Ryoko and Aeka. When
he came back they both had changed so much, it was like meeting them for the
fist time all over again.
Written by ILR Send all comments, questions, and
complaints to omniguy2000@hotmail.com