Disclaimer: I don't own Tenchi...I'm just a teenage girl writing crappie fanfic. that includes him and his buddies.
The Look In Her Beautiful Eyes
By: Spookukitty
A/N: I usually do Rurouni Kenshin stories so this is my first Tenchi story! Woo-hoo! I thought it up one night when I couldn't sleep...I have no life. Ryoko is by far my favorite character from the show. She's rude, funny, and she loves her attitude, I love that about her, but I started to think of what would happen if she completely changed? Not everyone likes her the way she is. In my story she becomes a quiet and emotionally pained woman after an incident. The past I used for Ryoko is completely made up...and way off. I honestly don't know what happens in Ryoko's past in the Tenchi Muyo series, since I haven't seen it since it first aired on Cartoon Network about...six or more years ago (sigh). All I remember is that she starts off as a "mummy", chases Tenchi around his school, and Washu is her mother. (If you are the first person to review my story...please tell me her real past!) I only have a bargain-bin videotape (sad but true) containing the first 3 episodes of Tenchi Muyo. I am a bigger fan of the Tenchi In Tokyo series, since I watch my precious DVD's very often. Also, you will notice that I have sort of (sweatdrops) made Ayeka the "bad guy" because...I hate her. She's not a bad girl, she just gets on my last nerve (and why the hell does she have a slight British accent? That question plagues me!). .
Chapter 1: Oh Tenchi, My Tenchi
It was a wild and rainy night at the Masaki house and almost everyone was asleep. Ryoko slowly phased through the floor of Tenchi's room and perched herself lightly on the lamp by his bedside. He was sleeping very soundly as she watched him (or so she thought). She placed her hand on his cheek, causing his mouth to curl into a small smirk.
"At least one of us is able to have sweet dreams on a night like this." she whispered while rubbing his cheek. She slowly floated to the end of his bed.
"I hate the rain, Tenchi." she smiled. Ryoko always felt happiest when she was alone with Tenchi. Even if he was asleep, his company made her feel at ease.
The next morning
An extremely loud banging noise that sent Tenchi flying head over heels onto the floor, told him it was time to wake up. His door was slid open and revealed a very chipper Sasami holding a large gong.
"Come on, Tenchi! Rise and shine or you'll be late for school. It is a beautiful morning and breakfast is on the table" she banged the gong again. Ryo-ohki meowed with delight on Sasami's left shoulder.
"T-thank you, Sasami. I'll be down shortly." he rubbed the back of his head as he peeled himself off the floor.
"Oh, and please make sure you wake up Ryoko before you come to breakfast." she gave him a sly smile as she slid the door shut.
Tenchi was confused about Sasami's request until he turned around and saw Ryoko curled up on the foot of his bed. He turned red at the sight of her snuggled up to his blankets. He slowly tapped her on the shoulder.
"Ryoko...breakfast is rea-ahhhh!"
His sentence was cut short when Ryoko grabbed him and flung him on the bed. She knelt over him with a seductive smile.
"Good morning my Tenchi. Did you sleep well?" she traced small circles with her finger on his chest. His face went bright red and he slowly inched away from her.
"I don't know! Maybe you should tell me!" he got to his feet, but immediately landed on the floor with a loud crash. "Ryoko get off me!"
"Oh Tenchi it's not what you think! I was simply frightened by the rain last night and came to your room for safety." she put the back of her hand up to her forehead and let out a sarcastic moan. Tenchi picked her up off of him and threw her on the bed. He chuckled at her as he turned away.
"Quit goofing around and lets go downstairs to breakfast." He dashed from the room. To be honest, he liked Ryoko and found her "secret" nightly gazes at him very pleasant, she was just very...Ryoko. She was always so touchy-feely with him. It made him feel embarrassed but he didn't hate it when she hugged him. He knew that she was very divoted to him and he liked her comic personality. He liked her for who she was; a loud, aggressive yet strangely lovely space pirate. He couldn't imagine her any other way, so he accepted her, strange powers and all.
"Good morning, everyone." Tenchi said to the dinning room full of ladies as he sat at the table. He gave everyone a big smile that set off a chain reaction of everyone else's smiles.
"Good morning, Tenchi!" said all of the girls in unison. They were passing huge plates of pancakes, scrambled eggs, and toast around the overly-crowded table. Sasami came out of the kitchen holding two enormous pitchers that contained syrup and orange juice. Ryo-ohki was perched on top of her head with a plate of sliced carrots, which was obviously her breakfast.
Tenchi looked around at all the people in the room for a moment. Kiyone was yelling at Mihoshi about some mission they had to go on after breakfast. Mihoshi was crying because she was going to miss the new episode of Spacepolice Policeman. Beside her was Washu, who was tinkering with what appeared to be a very dangerous computer mouse. Sasami sat down next to her and offering her some juice, causing Washu to drop the gadget...and it exploded. Tenchi's dad and grandfather (A/N: "Dad" and "Grandfather" that's what I call them...I give up on their real names) were quietly discussing something under their breathe. Ayeka was at Tenchi's right side, smiling at him.
"Can I offer you some toast, Lord Tenchi?" she placed two slices on his plate before he could answer.
"Oh. Thank you, Miss Ayeka." he gave her a warm smile. Ayeka was always being as helpful as she could to Tenchi, and he appreciated it. She was so sweet. (A/N: She is also trying way too hard.)
"There was a loud crash from upstairs. Are you all right?
"Yea, I just-" he was suddenly being pulled to his left. Ryoko had arrived and had her arms gently around his neck. Ayeka was instantly jealous.
"Tenchi and I were just having a little bit of fun." Ryoko said as a wicked smile appeared on her face.
"Ryoko, remove your hands from Lord Tenchi this instant!" Ayeka's face turned bright red with the thought of Ryoko and Tenchi...
"Oh Tenchi, my Tenchi..." said Ryoko's flirty voice into Tenchi's ear.
"I told you to leave him alone!" Ayeka screeched.
Tenchi quickly found himself being tugged on from both sides. Ayeka and Ryoko were yelling and fuming back and forth at each other, leaving poor Tenchi in a daze.
"Space trash!"
"Princess prissy pants!"
"Cave troll!"
"Troll princess!"
Ryoko finally won the tug-o-war match and continued to yell at Ayeka.
"Gaah, I wish someone would kill the bug that is constantly up your ass!"
"There is no such thing up...up there you evil space bum!" Ayeka made another grab at Tenchi. Ryoko hit her hands away.
"Now, now. Come on ladies...don't fight again." Tenchi made his best attempt to stop the battle. Most of the others were hiding under the table to dodge the "vicious" name-calling.
Ryoko dropped Tenchi and both of the women stood up. They each placed one of their feet on the table and put up their fists.
"You are so rough with Lord Tenchi! Why would he what to be with you when he can't even eat his breakfast without you nearly braking his neck?"
"I did no such thing! You are such a lair Ayeka! I was merely hugging him and you had to go and turn the whole thing into one of your big fat royal ruckuses!"
"You are- you are so-!" Ayeka was so flustered she could barley see straight. "You are so arrogant and overly-aggressive! You are nothing but trouble to Lord Tenchi and the rest of us! Why don't you go back to wherever it is you came from and let us live our lives in peace?"
Tenchi watched as Ryoko lowered her head and stood completely still. Everyone was now peeking over the edge of the table to see what was happening. Tenchi didn't think Ayeka's comeback was anything that would have hurt Ryoko, but it obviously did. Ryoko slowly began to phase away, she looked upset. When she was barley visible, Tenchi could see that she forced out a smirk.
"Fine. It might be good for me. But Ayeka...if you only knew..." she disappeared before her sentence ended.
Everyone was quiet for a long time. Was she really gone? Was she just hiding? Tenchi stood up and looked at Ayeka. He was mad either way. He didn't want Ryoko to leave forever. He loved all of the girls for what they were, even if they were an arrogate and aggressive space pirate.
"Why Ayeka? Why did you say that to her?" he clenched his fists.
"I didn't think she would really leave Lord Tenchi." Her eyes met Tenchi's angry ones.
"Well she did." He grabbed his backpack and left the house as fast as he could. He didn't what to be there right now. He was sick of having to sit through fights.
The rest of breakfast was sad and quiet. No one knew what to think. The whole thing happened so fast. Was Ryoko really gone from their lives forever? In the past couple of years they all lived together, every else had grown to love Ryoko. Everyone else hated the fights between Ayeka and Ryoko, but they never wanted the trouble-makers to leave. No one said anything to Ayeka.
After a few hours, a house-wide search was put into action by Sasami. Everyone did their part to see if Ryoko was hiding near by so they could get things back to normal. Sasami and Ryo-ohki searched the whole house and the cave Ryoko was once sealed in. Father and Grandfather searched the vast yard of the Masaki home. Kiyone and Mihoshi had to leave, but promised to search whenever they could. Washu locked herself into her lab to do god knows what. Ayeka sat in her room, wondering why everyone cared so much about Ryoko. She couldn't figure it out. She also couldn't figure out way Tenchi had taken it so hard and yelled at her. It was Ryoko's fault too. Everyone knew that Ryoko was a bomb that always loved to go off, so why was everyone trying so hard to find her. Ryoko probably just went somewhere to cool off and would be back when she got tired or hungry.
Later that day
Tenchi had a hard time concentrating at school. He tried his best to convince himself that this was just a normal Ayeka vs. Ryoko fight and that everything would be back to normal in the morning. However, he still found himself calling for her on his walk home.
"She seemed so upset when she disappeared." he thought to himself as he reached the front door. "If she did go to wherever she use to live, what about that place would make her so upset?"
Inside the house he found the rest of the girls in the living room. They couldn't find Ryoko anywhere. They were worn-out after looking for what seemed to be, a lost cause. Ayeka was the only one who wasn't tired, Tenchi could tell that she didn't help at all.
Tenchi went to bed without a word. The girls decided it was best to leave him alone, so they too, went to bed early.
"Why am I so down about this? Ryoko has went away before in the past, but why am I so worried this time? She looked so upset. Her beautiful eyes were clouded with sadness...or fear. Why did I get so upset when she left? Could...could it be that I have grown to...love Ryoko without noticing?" That thought continued to replay itself until he fell asleep. Did he love Ryoko?
Around 9 o'clock, Tenchi was awakened by a small voice. It was Sasami, and she was crying. Ryo-ohki was clinging to her left pigtail looking very frazzled.
"Tenchi...is it okay if I sleep in here with you? I was talking with Ayeka about what happened this morning and she got mad and yelled (sniff) at me for no reason." Tenchi wiped away her tears with his hand.
"It's okay, Sasami. And what happened today was not your fault, Ayeka just needs some time to herself." She crawled into bed next to him and snuggled up to his side.
"Do you think Ryoko is ever going to come back to us?"
"I don't know for sure, but I hope she does." He petted Ryo-ohki as she curled up on his chest.
"I miss Ryoko, the others do too, even if she's only been gone one day. She looked so hurt inside." Her eyes watered as she closed them.
It took Tenchi a long time to fall asleep.
Three weeks later
Tenchi woke up early one morning and walked to Ryoko's room. It was empty, just like it was every other time he looked. He walked downstairs and looked up to the rafter that Ryoko had always loved to lay on. It was bare.
"Why do I miss you so much?" He said to a Ryoko that wasn't there. "You were always fighting, spying on me when I wasn't looking, and hanging on me." He blushed at the last thought. It was true that he hated it when she was always buzzing around him, but she meant well. She did it out of the love she had for him.
Washu came out of her lab and saw him standing in the living room. She walked up to him while putting up her long hair.
"So she hasn't come back yet." She could see it in Tenchi's eyes.
"No. Washu, do you know where Ryoko went? Why was she so upset? It was like she was afraid of something."
"Well, if she truly did follow Ayeka's 'advice', she is either back on her home planet or in space somewhere."
"But why would that make her so sad? I thought she loved being a space pirate."
"I don't know, Tenchi. You can ask her if she ever returns." she gave him a pained look.
'IF she ever returns?' Tenchi could tell that Washu knew something, but he didn't question her anymore. Sasami and Ryo-ohki had descended the stairs to make breakfast. Tenchi went back up the stairs and stopped outside Ayeka's and Sasami's room. He could hear Ayeka moving towards the closed door. She stepped into the hallway and met Tenchi's gaze. Tenchi wasn't as mad at her anymore so he smiled and she returned it.
"Umm...good morning, Lord Tenchi." He nodded back at her and went into his room.
Ayeka went downstairs and sat on the big, red sofa.
"Lord Tenchi does not seem to be angry anymore. Maybe he has finally figured out that it is much more pleasant here with out Ryoko." Ayeka thought to herself. She still regretted nothing she had said to Ryoko three weeks earlier. "Perhaps Tenchi sees how unfaithful she is to him, since she has not returned to him. I can have him all to myself now." She blushed.
After breakfast
Tenchi walked around the house and checked to see if Ryoko was in any of her usual places. Disappointed at the empty rooms, he slowly walked outside. He looked around and decided to check the old cave as well.
He walked inside and down the long ramp to the dimly lit chamber. (A/N: That's all I know about the cave.) He looked around, but saw nothing. Tenchi stood in the middle of the room with his head down. As he stood there, a pair of faded feet appeared in front of his own. He looked straight ahead as a pair of yellow eyes phased into view.
"Ryoko?" He put his hands out to touch the ghost-like figure. Ryoko's form started to fall to the ground. "Oh no! Ryoko!" He still wasn't sure if she was real until he managed to pulled her into his arms. It was the real Ryoko.
She was fully visible now and Tenchi could see that she was in tough shape. She was bleeding from cuts and gashes that were all over her. Her clothes were dirty and ripped and her right cheek was puffy and purple in color. She looked up at him through her matted hair her tired eyes meeting Tenchi's. She suddenly seemed unaware of her injuries.
"Tenchi...this is where we first met." She gave him a small smile. Her eyes closed and she passed out in Tenchi's embrace.
"Ryoko." Inside, he was crying. "Did someone try to kill you?" He lifted her in his arms, scaled the ramp, and took off towards the house. It was raining now, so he ran faster to avoid giving Ryoko pneumonia.
He managed to slide open the front door and hysterically yelled for help. Sasami, Kiyone, and Mihoshi instantly rushed into the entryway after hearing Tenchi's distressed voice.
Sasami went to get Washu as soon as she saw Ryoko's beaten face. Kiyone helped Tenchi put Ryoko on the sofa since he was now shaking too hard to hold her any longer. Mihoshi fell to her knees and cried. She couldn't do much else since she was petrified at the sight of all the blood.
In only a few seconds, Washu appeared with a floating lab table. Tenchi placed her on it and Washu wheeled her into the lab.
Tenchi sat at Ryoko's side the whole time Washu tended her injuries. He sat all night in the lab, holding Ryoko's hand, just so he would be there when she woke up.
End of chapter one
A/N: Okay...this chapter is slow and short, but that's the way my stories tend to end up. I think there will be one or two more chapters until it's complete. Short and sweet. This story isn't going to be action packed( so look elsewhere if you love action), just very "waffy". I'm interested in what everyone thinks (all three people who are reading this sigh) so please R&R! But please, do not send me a badly misspelled review pointing out that I have bad grammar or spelled something wrong. Doing that makes both of us look stupid (yes...it's happened before). Yes, I am aware that I write very long and wordy sentences...so don't whine about it. And yes, the title of this chapter was based off the line "Oh Captain, my Captain" from the movie, The Dead Poets Society, so don't ask. In the film, it is suppose to be the way the students address and show respect to their teacher. I don't know how it got into my story...but I like the way it sounds. Ryoko tends to whisper totally random things into Tenchi's ear to show how much she loves him, so I think it fits.
