One Ryoko Too Many
Tenchi Muyo and Tenchi GXP and all related characters are © AIC/Pioneer/Funamation. This story has been written solely for entertainment. The views expressed herein do not necessarily express the opinions of AIC/Pioneer/Funamation, the author, or this website.
This story takes place between episodes 11 and 12 of Tenchi Muyo! GXP.
Ryoko Balta could not believe her good fortune! Despite commanding a pirate ship in the Da Ruma guild of space pirates, despite attempting to assassinate GP cadet Seina Yamada, she was offered a full pardon! Airi Masaki, chairwoman of the GP Academy and Seto Kamiki, the "Devil Princess of Jurai", mother-in-law to Emperor Azusa, (and some would whisper, the real power behind the Jurian Empire and the Galactic Union) had literally made her an offer she could not refuse.
Ryoko was the antithesis of a typical space pirate. Genteel and slightly bashful, her initial fascination with Seina and his talent for rounding up pirates quickly developed into a consuming affection for the lad, perhaps even true love. Despite being tasked with assassinating the attractive Earth boy, Ryoko just couldn't do it, not even when Tarant Shunk had kidnapped the family members of her crew and threatened to kill them if she didn't follow through. Faced with the no win choice of either killing Seina or allowing her crew's families to die, she decided to turn the gun on herself. To her surprise, the boy had tackled her to save her life, even though she had just threatened his.
Not only had Seto given Ryoko a pardon, but Airi was willing to make the pirate a full member of the Galaxy Police! There was no need for the girl to go through GP Academy, she had already done that once when she was infiltrating the GP.
Ryoko couldn't believe the amount of trust they were giving her. How could they allow a pirate join the GP? This was unheard of!
Seto was extremely smug when she asked her if she would ever betray Seina Yamada or the principles the boy believed in. To her shame, Ryoko had to admit that she could never do anything to disappoint the boy. It was no use. She loved him, and would do anything for him, including being the best officer she could be.
Ryoko admired herself in the mirror of her temporary quarters. It was the first time she had put on a Galaxy Police uniform as herself, without using a disguise. Pale skin, curly black hair, luminous maroon eyes and a slender yet curvaceous figure greeted her. A green triangle above each eyebrow made her more distinctive than her unusually shaped ears did. All and all, she was a vision of loveliness, and the desire of young male Galaxy Police cadets and officers throughout the universe.
An electronic hum made the former pirate turn in surprise. To her shock, a woman in a strange blue kimono with green stripes was passing through the wall as insubstantial as a ghost! The woman was tall and angular, and her large booted feet did not quite reach the floor as if she was floating less than two inches in the air. The woman's cyan-white hair was wild and windswept, making the woman seem even taller than she was.
The intruder's feet touched the ground and she opened her golden hawk-like eyes to survey the room around her. A black strap hanging on the back of the woman's kimono suddenly came to life. It twitched in the air like the tail of an impatient cat. The woman put her hands on her hips and looked slowly around the room until it was obvious that Ryoko was the only other person in it.
"Excuse me," the woman said with mock politeness as she squinted at a card in her hand, "is your name Ryoko?"
"Yes," Ryoko Balta, former pirate captain of the Da Ruma guild and newly instated Galaxy Police Officer answered warily.
"Did you used to be a space pirate?" the golden eyed woman put away the card and attempted to look bored.
"Yes," Ryoko repeated. Was this woman an assassin?
"Were you a famous pirate?" the woman asked, putting a long slender forefinger to her bottom lip, "I mean, famous the galaxy over?"
"Yes?" Ryoko was getting nervous by now, but was trying not to show it. This could still be a bizarre test cooked up by Lady Seto.
The strange woman stuck out her bottom lip and nodded. "Mm-hm," she grunted. "Are you a ridiculously attractive woman, I mean, so sexy that half the GP has wet dreams about you?"
Ryoko Balta was blushing furiously now. To be honest, she did have a huge following in the Galaxy Police, despite her (former) outlaw status. "Y-yes…" she stammered. Strangely enough, although this question made it seem that the woman before her was not an assassin, Ryoko's heart was fluttering now.
"Even though you have unusually shaped ears?" the angular woman put a hand behind one of the large flappy ears peaking out of her spiky whitish tangles.
"Yeah," Ryoko nodded helplessly.
"And did you give up your life of crime because you are in love with an Earth boy?" the woman asked. "A boy from the Okayama Prefecture of Japan, who despite being shy and awkward, and completely clueless about women, is irresistibly attractive to every woman who meets him?"
"Y-yeah, that's about the size of it…" Ryoko was completely clueless now, but couldn't lower her guard. There was still a good chance this woman was an assassin sent by the Da Ruma guild, specifically Tarant Shunk.
"Even though you once tried to kill this boy?" the golden eyed woman prodded.
"Yes," Ryoko Balta affirmed in a very quiet voice.
The woman still had her hands on her hips, and was now leaning forward to put her face inches from Ryoko's. "Uh-huh," the cyan-haired woman nodded with false boredom. "Do you live with this boy and the rest of his female admirers? Is the sexual tension pulling on a love triangle, or better yet, a love square or a love shape-of-even-more-sides?"
"Um…" Ryoko was sweating and could no longer hide her fear. "Yeah… I guess so…" Despite backing up, the woman was able to stay inches from her face by floating forward less than an inch above the ground.
"Uh-huh," the woman nodded, rising to her full height. "That's what I thought. You know, that story sounds awfully familiar…" She looked away and put her forefinger above her eyebrow, than put her hands back on her hips and glowered at young Ryoko. "As a matter of fact, that story sounds exactly like mine!" the woman announced with predatory triumph.
"Y-your story?" Ryoko repeated. "What do you mean? Who are you?"
"I'm Ryoko Hakubi, the original Ryoko, thank you very much!" the woman growled, "and I'll thank some young ball of fluff not to steal my style!"
"But… but…" Ryoko Hakubi? The pirate that Prince Yosho killed seven hundred years ago? Alive? How?
"You really love him, don't you?" Ryoko Hakubi seized the raven haired girl by the collar and leered in her face.
"Yes!" Ryoko Balta cried. "Yes! I do!"
Ryoko Hakubi's predatory features softened. "Gosh. That's sweet… It's a pity that I'm going to have to…" Her face became bestial as she hoisted the girl off her feet. "…beat the stuffing out of you!"
"Augh!" the girl screamed.
Even with the soundproofing, one could hear the feminine screams and the sounds of violent impacts against flesh and bone. Outside the door a female nasal voice announced "She's in here!" as a tiny hand hit the door controls to bypass the lock.
The door opened and three women dashed into the room. To the stricken girl's relief, one of them was wearing a blue Galaxy Police uniform.
"Hey!" the short redhead shouted as she grabbed the attacking woman's arm, "Crazy girl! What do you think you're doing? You're assaulting a Galaxy Police officer, you know!" Somehow the tiny, childlike redhead had the strength to hold Ryoko Hakubi's arm back.
A teenage girl in a purple and pink kimono with lavender hair and ruby red eyes positioned herself between the two Ryokos and spread her arms. Soon tiny logs appeared around Ryoko Balta and the electronic crackle of a force field could be heard.
"Honestly!" the purple-haired girl huffed in indignation. "We can't take you anywhere, can we, Ryoko? You really are an idiot when left to your own devices! Attacking a Galaxy Police officer on a space station filled with nothing but police! Didn't you think about the consequences of your actions?"
Hakubi's other arm was soon seized by the blonde woman in the uniform of a Galaxy Police Detective, First Class. "She's right!" the blue-eyed blonde nodded. "Please! Don't throw it all away, Ryoko!"
"What are you talking about?" the cyan-haired woman snapped. "I'm already a wanted criminal! Besides, the Galaxy Police's jurisdiction doesn't extend to Earth. As long as I stay there, the law can't touch me!"
"You idiot!" the little redhead shouted.
"You really are monster aren't you?" the purple tressed teenager grumbled. "Don't you realize that the statute of limitations on your crimes has expired? You were a free woman the day before I landed on Earth!"
"What?" the being who called herself Ryoko Hakubi stopped struggling. "Really? It did? I thought that Funaho and Misaki just told me that Jurai would give me a pass. Really? The statute of limitations has passed? I'm a free woman? There's no outstanding warrant on me?"
"No there isn't," the redhead glowered as she and the blonde released the surprised woman. She glanced down at the battered girl in the purple Galaxy Police uniform. "At least there wasn't before you committed this felony."
"Oh boy," the blonde detective first class groaned. "I'll use my influence to get you a real good lawyer, Ryoko."
The cyan haired woman stood up, scratched her head, and then looked up at the ceiling and laughed self-consciously. "Oops! Heh-heh!" She looked down at the black and blue girl she had attacked. "Could we just pretend this never happened?" she asked grinning sheepishly.
"Tell you what," the redheaded girl made a typing motion with her hands and an orange keyboard and computer screen appeared in the air. "I'll use my temporal healing ray to make her body ten minutes younger. That will erase all evidence of Ryoko's assault and make it easier to get away with all this."
"You…" the injured girl could barely force her split lips to form words, "you're not going to kill me?"
"Kill you?" the cyan-haired woman asked in mock innocence. "Why no… That would be illegal!" Suddenly her face turned into an ugly scowl. "Unless the boy you love and the girls you live with are joined by a little girl and a cabbit. Then yer meat!"
The battered brunette started crying.
"Ryoko!" the blonde Galaxy Police Officer scolded. "That was mean!"
"I was only joking," the angular woman insisted, then she smiled wickedly at her victim, "or was I?"
Ryoko Balta burst into tears again.
"Ugh," groaned the purple haired teenager. "You monster woman. Next time we leave you on Earth."
"But then she'd be alone with Tenchi!" the blue-eyed blonde pointed out.
"They're on to me…" the bestial woman muttered as her golden eyes became narrow slits.
"Ah," the redhead sighed in triumph. A golden beam came out of the holographic computer to bathe Ryoko Balta in a shimmering light. When the glow faded, the girl was completely healed of her injuries.
"Are you going to attack every girl named Ryoko?" the lavender haired girl snarled as she put her face inches away from Ryoko Hakubi's own. "There are thousands of girls in Japan with that name you know!"
"As long as they aren't former space pirates, they should be safe," the wild haired woman shrugged. "Ow!" suddenly, she was pulled off her feet when the child sized redhead seized a hunk of her cyan-white hair.
"C'mon, you!" the redhead snarled as she pulled the struggling female out of the room. "You are in big trouble young lady! Wait until we get home!"
"I'm awfully sorry about this," the teenage girl clasped her hands and bowed to the confused brunette. "The royal family extends its apologies." She then turned and dashed out the door to follow the redhead and her charge.
"It was really nice to meet you!" the blonde chirped. "Good luck with going straight and I hope you go far in your new career! The Galaxy Police are a great bunch to work for!" the pointy eared blonde looked around when she realized the others had left. "Hey wait a minute you guys!" she cried as she ran out into the hall. "Wait for me!"
Ryoko Balta staggered to her feet as the door hissed shut. Even though her injuries had been healed her nerves were still on edge. She yelped when a screen on the wall surged to life to reveal the image of the green haired Airi Masaki.
"Ryoko Balta!" the woman announced. "We have a situation!"
"Yes ma'am!" Ryoko saluted.
"Seina Yamada's ship, the Kamadake has not been heard from in weeks. I'm sending you out on your first assignment. Rescue Seina Yamada and get him safely back here at all costs!"
"Yes ma'am!" Ryoko nodded. Once again, she couldn't believe her good fortune. A chance to redeem herself in Seina's eyes, and an excuse to leave headquarters immediately, before that crazy woman came back for her. No matter what risks awaited her in outer space it couldn't be riskier than staying here.
END