Hey, everyone. This is the third and final version of my Captive Heart story. Sorry it took so long, but thinking out the plot took a while. Don't worry, soon I'll bring these three versions together and they will all make sense. No, really, I'm serious.
Tenchi Muyo and characters were originally created by Hiroki Hayashi and Masaki Kajishima. Enjoy!
Captive Heart ver. 3
Chapter I:
Cyan Desire
Ryoko sat silently on a nearby tree limb as she watched Tenchi work tirelessly in the carrot fields. It was a little warm this morning. A gust of wind blew in from the west, causing ripples to form in her flowing clothing. Ryoko's eyes never left him all the time she sat there. Even though Ryoko teases him and loves to be mischievous, deep down she loves him dearly.
She tries to tell him this every time, but the words seem to get in the way. Things other than what she means come out of her. She tries to get him to spend more time with her so she can explain these things to him. However, when she's hanging on him, he just whines and tells her to cut it out, not knowing that it hurts her deeply each time. But she hides her hurt, possibly better than anyone can.
Tenchi set down his garden hoe. He rubbed the back of his neck, massaging away the tenseness from the muscles there. He looked up to the blue sky and took a deep breath, slowly letting it out. He moved around his tense shoulders, loosening them up from the hard work.
"I think that should do it for now." He said, walking over to a nearby shed.
He hung up his tool inside and closed the doors. Then he turned around and started walking back toward the house.
After he left her field of view, Ryoko floated up from her spot in the tree and teleported away. She reappeared on the roof of the house so she could get the perfect view of Tenchi returning home. As Tenchi finally emerged from the forest, Ryoko's eyes lit up with excitement. Then something else caught Ryoko's attention. Below her, she noticed Ayeka standing on the balcony with her hands folded and a pleasant smile on her face as she looked down at Tenchi walking to the house.
"What's she staring at so intently? Oh well, it's breakfast time. Better get down there before I miss anything." She said to herself as she shrugged. She looked again at the balcony to see Ayeka gone and that Tenchi had already went into the house. Ryoko disappeared from the roof and appeared at the dinner table. She looked over and much to her surprise, saw that Mihoshi was already sitting at the table, chopsticks in hand, patiently awaiting the food. Ryoko gave a brief wince and then looked over to the hall to see Ayeka talking to Tenchi with a deep blush in her cheeks and fidgeting her hands every so often.
'Huh? What's going on there? Wait a minute! Could she be-' Ryoko's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Sasami's voice ringing out,
"Okay, everyone! Breakfast is ready!"
Tenchi and Ayeka walked into the dining room from the hall and sat down. The details of their conversation escaped Ryoko's ears. Everyone else appeared at the table momentarily. After Sasami finished setting down the food, everyone said their thanks and began to eat.
Ryoko was half way through her bowl of rice. She was about to take a sip from her miso soup when Yosho spoke up to her.
"Ryoko, don't forget that today is your toilet cleaning duty. You're not going to neglect it like you did last time, right?"
Ryoko gave an irritated expression.
"Wha?? That's not fair! This is the third week in a row I have to clean that stupid toilet!" Ryoko complained as she stood up from the table.
"That is because you never cleaned it the other two times." Yosho said, before taking a sip from his green tea.
"Oh, I see." Ryoko said, slumping back down with a sigh of surrender.
Then she felt that something was unusual. Ryoko looked around the table and then she figured out what it was. Ayeka was being very quiet.
'That's strange, Ayeka would usually speak up right about now, telling me how it's a privilege to live here, and how I could at least show my appreciation by working and such.'
Ryoko picked up her rice bowl and continued to eat.
'Oh well. I'm not complaining.' She thought.
Ryoko looked over at Tenchi like she usually does at the meal table, only to be disheartened to see him looking at Ayeka. He then looked back at his miso and sipped from it.
'Hmm…' Ryoko discontentedly thought as she lightly bit down on her chopsticks.
Breakfast had finished and everyone went back to doing his or her own thing. Ryoko teleported back up to the roof for her mid-morning relax time, which was right in line with her late morning, early afternoon, mid-afternoon, and late afternoon relax times.
Tenchi exited the house and walked on towards the steps of the Masaki shrine with a broom in hand. Ryoko looked over and saw this. The tail of her outfit started to twirl in a mischievous manner.
'Hmm, playtime.' She schemed as she watched him walk up the steps until he decided on a spot to start his sweeping.
Tenchi contently swept aside the fallen cherry blossoms from the steps.
'Ayeka's been acting strange this morning. I wonder what's going on. The way she was quiet during breakfast was unlike her.' Tenchi's thoughts reeled out. Then his thoughts were interrupted by a cheerful familiar voice.
"Ten-chiiiiii." Ryoko sang as she wrapped her arms around him from behind.
'Let's see if I can get him away from his chores today.' She thought.
"Tenchi, what say we get out of here and go have some fun, just you and me?" She asked playfully.
Tenchi looked over at her, trying to hide his sped up heartbeat and the increased blush to his cheeks.
'That scent. She smells so good.' He thought to himself.
"Ryoko, you know you should be doing your chores right now." He said.
"But chores are so boring. I'd much rather be having fun with you, Tenchi." She said, making circles on his chest with her finger. Tenchi couldn't help but look into her beautiful golden eyes. Then he forced himself to look away.
"Ryoko, I have work to do." He said.
"Aww, Tenchi. Pleeeeese?" she whined back.
Tenchi looked back at Ryoko who was making an innocent looking face.
'Hmm, maybe I should, if only just for today. I can always pick up on sweeping the steps later.' He thought as he found himself staring into her eyes again. Then his gaze descended along her cute nose and down to her luscious looking, glossy lips.
'Maybe I could…steal just one ki…' He thought.
Their faces were so close. Entranced, Tenchi slowly closed the distance.
'Wha-what's he doing?' Ryoko suddenly thought, completely thrown off by this. But then her emotions kicked in and she began to lean in as well.
Tenchi, realizing what he was doing, caught himself, turned his head forward and said,
"Come on Ryoko, Get off." shaking out of her arms. Ryoko released him, showed him a pouty face and teleported away.
'What's with him? It almost looked like I had him there for a moment. For just those few seconds it seemed like we had some real chemistry.' Ryoko thought to herself as she reappeared on the rooftop. 'Tenchi can be so confusing sometimes.' She crossed her arms and sat down. 'If only I could get him to spend just a little bit of time with me. I would be able to tell him how I really feel and hopefully find out how he feels about me. Humf.' She huffed in frustration.
Meanwhile, it was all Tenchi could do just to slow down his heartbeat. He felt the burning blush in his cheeks. He can still smell her sweet scent. Like the sweet smell of roses. Remembering the sight of her lips made his heart speed up again. As he stood there contemplating, he suddenly froze when he came to the realization,
'I…I have desires for her.'
He's been noticing it more and more over the last few weeks. She would frequently come up in his thoughts. His eyes would follow her when she wasn't looking. He would even fantasize at times of how her kiss would feel. Tenchi would of course catch himself and dismiss such thoughts, but now he had entered the realm of consideration.
"Ryoko…" he quietly said out loud to himself.
'Oh, no,' he thought, 'I hope I didn't hurt her feelings.'
He gave a sigh as he looked on towards the house.
'I'll apologize to her when I see her.'
Then the wind picked of from the East. It blew three cherry petals at his feet, forming a triangular pattern. Seeing this and remembering the lessons of his Grandfather, he thought,
'Oh, it's an omen. Change is in my future. That could be a good thing. But then again, it could be bad. Oh, well. I guess I'll find out soon enough. Right now, I'd better finish these steps before Grandpa sees them.'
Ryoko lifted off from the rooftop and took to the skies in search of something to change her mood. She flew along the treetops spinning and twirling, accelerating in and out of loops. She then noticed Ayeka sitting at the foot of the tree, Funaho, looking deep in thought. Ryoko lightly touched down in front of the tree, thinking twice about teasing Ayeka like she usually does. Seeing that something was obviously bothering her, Ryoko instead quietly sat down beside her.
"What's up, princess? You look lost in your own forest." Ryoko said, trying to snap Ayeka out of her daze.
"Huh? Oh, it's you Ryoko." She said, suddenly realizing that she had company.
"So what's got you in such a daze, Ayeka?"
"Oh…just thinking"
"Oh, yeah? About what?"
Ayeka paused, not knowing what to say. Ryoko noticed this and became puzzled.
"Well, it's um, nothing really." Ayeka said, gently waving her hand.
"Come on, Ayeka. You can tell me. Something's gotta be bothering you."
Ryoko got up and stood in front of her, looking at Ayeka with both concern and curiosity. Ayeka looked slightly away and chose her words carefully.
"Well…it's about…Tenchi." Ayeka replied.
"Tenchi?" Ryoko said, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes. There was something I just needed to discuss with him that's all. It's nothing really." Ayeka said insistently.
"Oh. Well…Okay. You know, if you need to talk about anything that's bothering you…let me know, okay? I'll be there." Ryoko said in sincerity.
It was one of the few times she actually opened up and spoke to the princess with kindness and seriousness, instead of her usual taunting and teasing.
A little taken back by this, Ayeka then formed a smile and said,
"Thanks Ryoko. That means a lot to me."
Ryoko's feet slowly lifted up off the ground.
"Don't mention it. I'll see you at lunch." Ryoko called out to the princess as she flew off into the blue sky.
'Oh, Ryoko. If only you knew what it was that I needed to talk to Tenchi about. Would you still have offered your kindness to me?' Ayeka thought to herself. 'Would you still think of me as a friend?'
Meanwhile, Tenchi had finished his sweeping duties for the day and started his way down from the top steps of the shrine back to the house for lunch.
'I wonder what Sasami has cooked up for us today? She's so talented in the kitchen. We're really blessed to have her. I'm so glad that all the girls have come to live here with us. If it weren't for the Ryo-oki falling to earth and causing that entire ruckus, I wouldn't have been able to meet all these great people. I would have still had the same old boring life. I wouldn't have had all those adventures in space. I wouldn't have known my true lineage as a prince of Jurai. And I wouldn't have met…Ryoko.'
Tenchi took a short pause at his own thought.
'Ryoko. She's always so free and outgoing. She's never afraid to stand up for herself or what she believes in. She can actually be a great person, accept when she's fighting with Ayeka of course, but she's always been there when I needed her. She's been there watching over me, always willing to protect me.'
Tenchi arrived at the front gates of the house, where he was greeted by the two guardians, Azaka and Kamidake.
"Why hello, Tenchi."
"What wonderful spring like weather we're having, don't you agree?"
Tenchi showed a smile.
"Hello, Azaka, Kamidake. Yes it is very nice out. Is lunch almost ready?"
"Sasami said it should be another 15 minutes." Azaka replied.
"Ah, I see. I'd better go in and wash up, then."
Tenchi gave a wave to the two and ran inside.
He made his way up the stairs and to bathroom. After cleaning his hands and splashing some water on his face to wash away the sweat that built up from the humid day outside, he glanced over to catch sight of Ryoko walking by the open bathroom door.
"R-Ryoko!" He called out, sticking his head into the hallway.
Startled because she didn't realize Tenchi was back yet, Ryoko quickly turned around.
"Tenchi? Back so soon?" She said, forming a friendly smile.
She unconsciously shifted her hips to one side in a cute pose and rested a hand on her hip.
"Uh, yeah. I finished the steps in no time at all."
"I see. So what's up?" She said.
Tenchi hesitated for a moment. He began to feel flushed as he tried to find the words.
"I…need to talk to you about something." He said.
"Something?" She said, giving him a curious look.
"Yeah, its kind of, that is…"
Seeing how flushed he had become and the look of embarrassment on his face, she said,
"Well, what say we talk about it in my room, okay?"
In her room, Ryoko sat down on her bed. She looked up at Tenchi and lightly patted the spot next to her in a gesture for him to come sit. Slowly easing down on the bed next to her, he then looks down at the floor trying to find the words to start.
Ryoko, gaining a slight sense of worry, says,
"Is there something wrong, Tenchi? Something that's bothering you?"
"Well, yes and no." He replied.
"Well, what is it? Tell me."
Tenchi started slowly.
"Well…I, uh…just wanted to apologize for earlier on the steps. It was a little rude of me."
"It's fine. Don't worry about it, Tenchi. You had a lot of work to do anyway." She said.
Noticing his eyes were still to the floor, she spoke again.
"But that's not what's bothering you, is it?"
"Uh, no…"
Tenchi looked over at her. He noticed her golden irises, shining and reflective. Her smooth skin, peach colored and without blemish. Her scent, it's intoxicating. Then he saw her lips, the object of his desire. He couldn't take it anymore.
A surprised "Wha-!?" left her mouth as he pushed her down on the bed with a thud. Holding her by the shoulders, he looked down at her and said,
"Ryoko…I need you…" He said, his eyes filled with longing.
Wide eyed and still in shock, all Ryoko could say was,
"T-Tenchi…"
'W-What's going on? He's never been this aggressive before. Could it be that he…wants me? I never knew that he had these feelings. Feelings for me.'
"Oh, Tenchi." She said. Slowly running her hands up his arms, she formed a grateful smile.
"Ryoko…"
Without wasting another second, he leaned down and pressed his eager lips against hers. She welcomed this advance completely. Now kissing him back, she slid her tongue past his lips, which he gratefully welcomed with his own. She has wanted this for so long. The man she loves so much, finally returning her love. Tenchi's body was pressing down against hers. His arms were wrapped around her as her hands rubbed up and down his back.
Then, Ryoko broke the kiss and slowly pushed him away. Breathing heavily and looking deeply into his confused eyes, she said,
"Tenchi…I've dreamed of this for so long…but…are you sure this is what you want? Am I what you want?"
Tenchi's gaze fell as he seriously thought about her words.
"Ryoko…for the longest time I wasn't sure how to interpret my feelings. Finally I came to a realization. Do you know what that was, Ryoko?"
"What?"
"Well, the truth is, I care about all the girls living here, but with you it's different. I need you, Ryoko." He said.
She looked up at him. She gently placed her hand on the side of his face.
"Tenchi…tell me…why you need me?" She said, forming a dreamy smile.
"Because…because I…"
"Tell me…please…"
"…because I love you."
I tear dropped from her eye. She pulled him down and held him close as he did the same.
"You've always been there for me. You've stood by me, protecting me. I want us to always be together." He said.
He nuzzled in and planted kisses into the nape of her neck. Ryoko let her head fall back, letting the pleasure filled sensations flow throughout her body. As he ran his hand down along the curve of her hip, she raised her leg and wrapped it around him.
Forming a blush in her cheeks, Ryoko raised her lips to his ear and whispered,
"Tenchi…do you want to…"
His heart quickened at her words.
He was about to give her an answer, when all of a sudden they heard a gasp come from the door. They both turned their heads and looked. It was Ayeka. Tears were in her eyes as her hand was half raised to her face.
Ryoko saw her tears.
"Ayeka…" she said.
She slowly pushed Tenchi off of her, got up from the bed and slowly walked towards the frozen Ayeka.
"Oh, Ayeka. I didn't want you to find out like this." Ryoko said.
Ayeka then turned to run away, but Ryoko quickly reached out and grabbed her arm, holding her back.
"Ayeka, wait! Please, just listen!" Ryoko desperately said.
Ayeka turned back and shot a glare at her.
"I thought you were my friend, Ryoko! But then you go behind my back and take away the only thing that gives my life meaning! I guess all those things you said to me meant nothing. I hate you, Ryoko. I hate you! I HATE YOU!!!!"
Her words echoed through the room. Speechless, Ryoko let go of her arm. The tears now flowing down her face, Ayeka ran off.
Ryoko stood there, unable to move or say a word. Ayeka's voice was still ringing in her ears.
Tenchi was now standing next to her.
"Ryoko, I should go after her." He said, moving to leave.
She held up her arm, blocking his way.
"No, Tenchi. Let her be…just let her be."
Ryoko's sorrowful gaze fell to the floor. Her heart, now filled with guilt, aches.
'I wanted things to be better between us, Ayeka. I wanted us to be closer, but now…we couldn't be farther apart.'