Disclaimer: Sadly, I must say that I do not own Tenchi Muyo or surrounding characters. Never did, mind you! I don't get any profit or fame from my demented fantasies! So, please keep it real and don't sue me. Thanks!

A/N: Okay… First off I wanna give credit to the creator of 'Calvin and Hobbes' for a few of his skits, along with Mel Brooks who so humorously directed many good movies.

Second…. Thanks to all the readers out there who have reviewed so far. It makes the writing worthwhile.

Third…. There may be a time lapse between Chapters 2 and 3. Forgive me…. I have yet to start on the third chapter for this series, so hopefully with a little time and concentration, I can diligently begin it.

Thanks for the time you've spared reading my stuff….

~Dragon Demon

 

Prophecies ~ Sequel to Books of Heartstrings

    Chapter Two

~ Fighting Departure ~

*********************************************************

Yosho awoke with the sun beaming into his eyes forcing them open. Cracking an eye at a time, he sat up and looked around. Shadows played across the floor as the white curtains flapped in the breeze of the opened windows.

Tilting his head, he glanced at the spot beside him. The sheets were a tangled mass that had been thrown back, the comforter hung limply over the edge of the bed and the pillow still had an indention in its fabric.

'Ryoko must be getting breakfast ready.' He thought as he studied the empty bedside where his wife slept. 'Hope she still isn't mad at me for last night.'

Pushing the covers back, he headed for the shower. Minutes later he re-emerged clad only in a towel. His violet hair clung to his bare back as tiny droplets of water dripped from his chin. Stretching his arms out he yawned. Upon doing so, his towel slipped from around his waist and fell to the floor.

"Oh my...L..Lo...Lord Yosho!"

Yosho's face suddenly paled as he snatched up the towel and turned towards the door. There stood a scarlet faced Kiyone, her cerulean eyes wide with shock.

"Eeeeeek!" The officer shrieked as she turned around quickly trying to advert her gaze.

Yosho did his best to cover himself up as the stuttering officer did her best to keep her eyes off of him. Finally Yosho spoke up. "Kiyone! What the HELL are YOU doing in HERE?!"

The officer hung her head. "Sorry, sorry...Lord Yosho. Umm... Ryoko sent me up to tell you that it was breakfast time. I had no idea that you were, ummm... Uh, that is... You see I didn't know you were uh, aw... showering. I'm terribly sorry.... If you'll excuse me."

Kiyone made a mad dash for the hallway, slamming the door shut behind her. Yosho stared at the now closed door. Sighing, he dressed and headed downstairs so he wasn't keeping the others waiting. Upon his arrival, he saw Kiyone quickly look away, crimson coloring rising to her cheeks.

Yosho sat down heavily next to his wife and hung his head. "Smells good, Re. Shall we?"

Ryoko stifled a giggle as she saw Kiyone pick up her chopsticks and stare at them with an almost immediate reaction of turning her dull eyes to Yosho. Once again her face turned a deep red as she gulped and set the chopsticks down. Taking a deep breath, she picked a sausage up with her fingers.

Ryoko couldn't hold it in anymore as she clutched her stomach and doubled over in laughter.

"What's so funny, Re?" Yosho asked with a bemused tone.

Ryoko wiped a tear from her face. "N..nothing. Just Kiyone's face."

At the mention of her name, Kiyone looked up and then instantly turned her gaze elsewhere. Crossing her arms she mumbled, "I have no idea of what you're talking about Ryoko."

Smirking widely, Ryoko grabbed Yosho's hand and held it up in Kiyone's direction. With a smug grin she chimed, "Hey- Kiyone? Did you get a good look at the size of his hand?"

Kiyone's face turned into a sheer shade of scarlet blush at the question. Washu who was sipping at her tea, allowed her jaw to drop causing the hot tea to spill into her lap. She jumped up with a howl as the liquid soaked her shorts. Yosho stared in horror at his wife's inquiring tease.

Meiru and Ryushi just sat there dumbfounded at their family's behavior.

~*~*~

Ryoko wiped the dishrag across the counter as she sighed. The kitchen window allowed a warm spring breeze to blow through the house as she finished cleaning the kitchen. She tucked the towel back through the cabinet handles and stared out the window.

Narrowing her eyes, she remembered the little dispute that had ensued between her and Yosho the night before. She knew that she couldn't win this little case no matter how much she argued.

Yosho was going back to Jurai.

Though temporary, Ryoko was tired of the little games Ayeka was playing. For years the princess had ribbed Tenchi into accepting the throne.... But as fate would have it, Ayeka couldn't even handle being Empress of her own planet. And she was constantly calling Yosho for help.

It struck every nerve in Ryoko's body to see her sister-in-law pull these little tricks just to get Yosho back on Jurai. Though six years had passed since Ayeka last called for help, it still unnerved Ryoko with every fiber of hate she had.

And it took every ounce of will power to keep her from blowing up the prissy princess' empire.

How she hated Jurai.... And more so how she hated that Ayeka.

Ryoko clenched a fist at the thought of her 'not so charming' sister-in-law. A little fissure of energy crackled and danced on her fingertips as she sifted through her mind to find clearer thoughts. As she was about to release the tiny energy bolt through the window, she heard a tiny voice call to her.

"Mom?"

Ryoko spun around, all traces of her anger and hatred gone. Her eyes softened as she saw her daughter standing in the doorway with a vase of wild flowers. She took a deep breath and smiled. "What have you got there?"

The girl grinned and held them out to her mother. "Flowers. Grandma and I picked them for you."

Ryoko's face fell at the mention of the child's grandmother. 'So she didn't do this on her own...' She thought sadly as she accepted the vase.

'Of course she did.... I just showed her where to get them.'

Tiny locks of cyan hair sprung up as Ryoko's head leveled a gaze with the pink-haired scientist. A tiny smile crept to Ryoko's lips. 'And this wasn't your idea?' She asked mentally.

Washu smirked and pushed herself off the wall. She grabbed an apple from the fruit basket and shook her head no. "Nope. All Meiru's doing. Isn't that right?"

Meiru nodded enthusiastically. "Yep. I got them all by myself, mom."

"Well, thank you honey. They're beautiful. How 'bout we put them on the table as a center piece. Okay?" Ryoko asked her daughter sweetly. The girl nodded again and took the vase to the table.

Ryoko cut her golden eyes over to Washu. "Thanks for going with her. Unlike her brother, she knows she's not suppose to go off alone."

Washu tossed the apple up playfully only to have it come down into her hand. As she tossed it up again, she replied, "No problem. I needed to get out of the lab any-" She suddenly stopped and drew her hand in to her chest causing the apple to splatter against the floor.

Ryoko turned to see bits and pieces of apple lying on the clean tile. Her eyes quickly skimmed the room until they landed on Washu's face. "Mom? What's wrong? Are you alright?"

Washu quickly nodded and sighed. "Fine. Damn hiccups. Hate it when you try to breath and the hiccup thinks it's got the right of way." She looked down. "Gee... Sorry about the floor, Ryoko. Uh.... Where's the mop and I'll get it cle-"

"It's okay. You go rest." Ryoko stated instead. "I'm sure you're tired from your flower hunting. I'll take care of the floor, you go.... Do something else."

"Are you sure?" Washu asked. "Because I can..."

Ryoko smirked. "Positive. Why don't you go check on Ryu. He's upstairs taking a nap. I hope. But he's been awfully quiet for the past hour...."

"And that's something to be worried about." Washu finished for her. The scientist was well capable of knowing the trouble her grandson could get into. After all.... He did take after his mother. She turned and headed up the stairs as Ryoko fished the mop from the wash room.

"Mom? Is grandma okay?" Meiru asked with a twinge of fear.

Ryoko set the mop down and pondered the thought. "To an extent. Grandma was really sick back before you were born, but Uncle Traven made her all better. Sometimes she still hurts but she's fine. Just keep an eye on her, okay, Meiru?"

"Yes ma'am." The girl nodded. "Mom? Why did grandma get sick?"

Ryoko chewed on her bottom lip trying to forge her mind for an answer. "Well, grandma has a bad heart, sweetie. We don't know why it happened, it just did. Some things happen that can't be helped, and grandma getting sick was one of them. Understand now?"

Meiru still had a look of confusion on her face. "Yes. But why does it still bother her? If Uncle Traven helped her, then why does she still cry?"

"Hmmm?" Ryoko spun around. "What are you talking about, honey?"

Meiru twiddled her thumbs. "I... I snuck into grandma's lab one day to see if I could find Ryo-Ohki... But instead I found grandma. She was on her cushion and she was crying."

"Meriu, grandma could have been crying for many reasons. We don't kno-"

"No. It was her heart, mom. I know it was. She was hunched over like this." The little girl quickly leaned over and crossed her arms over her chest, her hands meeting together under her left collarbone. "And she was wheezing and crying. I wanted to ask her what was wrong.... But... But..."

"You weren't supposed to be in there, were you?" Ryoko asked softly.

There was a nod of confirmation. "Yes ma'am. It worried me and I wanted to tell you, but I didn't want to get into trouble for disobeying grandma the way I did. I'm sorry mom... I really am..." Meiru stated in a hushed whisper.

Ryoko hugged the girl. "It's alright. But I wish you would have come to me right then when you saw grandma crying. She could have been hurting. Sometimes, it's okay to break the rules set for you... Especially in a situation like that. Promise me from now on, if you see grandma crying, you'll...."

"Come straight to you." Meiru finished.

Ryoko rewarded her with a nod. "Exactly. Grandma won't tell us if she's in pain... She's too prideful and considerate for that. It's our job to make sure grandma is fine, okay?"

"Alright." Meiru acknowledged thoughtfully.

Ryoko stood up and ruffled her daughter's cyan hair. "Good girl." She turned back to the mop in the sink.

"Umm, want any help?"

Ryoko wrung out the mop. "I think I've got it under control. Why don't you see if your father needs any help, alright sweetie?"

"Kay." Meiru studied her mother for a split second before skipping outside to find her father.

Watching her daughter skip out of the room brought a grin to Ryoko's face. 'I can't believe that she's really mine.' She thought happily. At one point, Ryoko thought she'd never have kids, much less a daughter of her own. But all that changed 8 years ago....

Ryoko smirked. She hadn't been able to get out of the honeymoon night unscathed or much remain the same, that was for sure.

She smiled and ran the mop across the floor picking up the failed applesauce created by Washu. As she rinsed the mop and ran it over the floor again, she heard the back screen door open and slam shut. Ryoko's eyes twitched. 'Ryu... So he wasn't upstairs taking a nap after all. Little sneak.'

She ignored the heavy footsteps and the giggling as she continued to mop. Finally she heard, "Give me some cookies, or I'll light the fuse and send us all to kingdom come!"

Ryoko turned then and stared at her son. In his right hand he held a long object with a tiny string hanging from the top end. Ryoko took it from him and scowled. "What did you do, stick a piece a string into a hotdog? For heaven's sake, don't waste food, Ryu. Give me that."

Ryu stared up at her. "So can I have some cookies?"

"No. Now go outside and play." Ryoko told him as she finished mopping.

Seconds later Washu came back downstairs and stuck her head into the kitchen. Ryoko held her hand up with the hotdog in it. "Don't say it. I found the little weasel."

Washu chuckled and headed for her lab. Ryoko put the mop away and threw the hotdog into the trash.

"You know there are kids starving in China and you're throwing away a perfectly good hotdog."

"Shut-up. It had a piece of string in it." Ryoko grumbled as she turned to see her husband standing in the doorway. "And if you walk into this kitchen with those filthy shoes on, I'll personally mail your ass back to your parents."

Yosho kicked his shoes off and tread across the floor to the sink. He washed his hands and stared out the window. "The ship will be here this evening. You sure you haven't changed your mind?"

Ryoko stopped her task of putting away the dried dishes. "Yosho.... You know how I feel about this. But despite my hatred for Jurai.... I won't leave your side and you know that." She dropped her head.

"I know, Re." Yosho murmured as he stared at her. "But why? Why do you hate Jurai so much?"

Ryoko sighed as she slid a plate onto the counter. "We've been through this before. I don't hate Jurai because the people hate me... But I hate Jurai because of my past. That was my home.... And I was turned against it. I can never forgive myself for what I did. I don't want to remember."

Yosho embraced her tightly. "But Jurai forgives you. You should too. That was so many years ago, Ryoko. Let it all go. It's in the past now. Just forget about it."

"I can't." Ryoko whispered. "I've tried, but I just can't seem to bring myself to let go." She paused. "That and Ayeka tries everything possible to get you to crawl back to Jurai. Admit it; she'll never get over what's between me and you. She may have Traven, but she still thinks you belong to her."

Yosho frowned. "Ryoko... You know that that's not true. Ayeka is just uncertain about some things."

"Uncertain my ass!" Ryoko replied with a firm tone. "She's trying to take you away from me... I just know she is." She hung her head. "Do you remember the first time she asked for you to come to Jurai because she needed help?"

Yosho took a deep breath and nodded. Ryoko went on. "And what did the problem turn out to be? Hmmm, do you remember that? And the second time? What was her problem then? Huh, you know that what I say is true. I was told the story of how she treated you when she found out about us."

"You would have.... Sooner or later." Yosho answered glumly. He looked back to the sink and remembered the previous problems Ayeka needed help with. One happened to be the decision making of whether or not to tear down an old building that was once a part of the palace.

It was something, needless to say, that Ayeka could have handled on her own.

He sighed. Her second problem had been a little bit ridiculous for the asking. It was a week before Startica and some trouble had brewed with the showing of a parade that year. Ayeka claimed that she wasn't sure what to do and that she needed Yosho to give her some advice. However, he had to go to Jurai.

And it was just for advice.... Turns out, that there was never a parade to begin with. But once Yosho had agreed to come, Ayeka quickly put out a bulletin that there would be a parade and that floats needed to be made.

Yosho remembered how pissed Ryoko had been when someone inside the palace let it slip on Ayeka's little scheme. She had nearly strangled Ayeka and had Yosho not been there to intervene, Ryoko most likely would have put Ayeka in her place.

Ryoko tossed the dish towel onto the counter. "I guess.... I guess I'll go get the kids things packed." With that, she left Yosho alone and headed up the stairs to the nursery.

~*~*~

"How much longer?"

Ryoko was seated on the couch reading a novel and trying her best to ignore the pleas from her son.

"Why do we have to wait?"

"When are we leaving?"

"How are we getting there?"

"Do we have to go?"

"Will there be any satellite to watch cartoons on?"

"Why DO I have to go?"

Ryoko finally slammed the book shut and stared at Ryushi. "Get up here and shut-up. You've asked enough questions and I'm not going to answer any of them. Now you might as well stop asking."

Ryushi gulped and sat beside his mother. He could tell that she on her last leg and that something was bothering her to no end, but it didn't stop him from being curious. He crossed his arms and stared over at a figure seated on the floor.

Meiru laid belly down reading a book of her own as she idly kicked her legs back and forth. She pushed a wayward strand of hair back behind her ear as she turned the page in her book. Something dropped beside her and she looked up. "What do you want?"

Ryushi shrugged. "Just wanted to show you something. But you have to guess what I have in my hands."

Meiru wrinkled her nose. "Is it disgusting?"

"Um... Well...."

"Is it some creepy, gooey thing that no one in his right mind would ever, ever want to look at?" Meiru asked knowingly.

"Uh... I suppose that depends on your point of view."

Meiru went back to her book. "Forget it, Ryu. I'm not guessing."

"You might as well. You're nine-tenths there."

"Go away, butt munch." Meiru chided as he looked away from him.

"Hey, hey.... Come on. There will be none of that tonight. Got it?" Ryoko scolded from the couch. She sighed heavily as she watched Ryu climbed back onto the couch. "And whatever you've got in your hands young man... Let it go, outside!"

The boy grumbled and headed for the front door. He deposited whatever he had held in his possession out the door and glanced back at his mother. He slipped outside and gazed at the setting sun as it cast shadows across the yard and lake.

A light breeze ruffled his black hair as it whispered through the trees leaving him in its wake. As if on cue, it picked up and blew with such force that Ryu had to hold onto the support beam holding up the porch awning. A loud thundering noise echoed through the clouds as the wind became fierce.

Ryu turned his golden eyes towards the sky to see a tiny black spec descending towards the house. His eyes opened in shock as he held on. The spec came closer, growing larger with every passing breeze. Ryu closed his eyes and hoped that he wouldn't get blown away from the wind.

He suddenly felt something wrap around him and hoist him off the ground. Ryu looked up to find himself in the arms of his mother as she watched the growing spec begin to take the form of a large Jurain ship. The ship soon landed in the front lawn and the wind died down.

"You okay?"

Ryu glanced up at the question and nodded. "What is that thing?"

Ryoko sighed. "That.... Is our ride."

~*~*~

Yosho handed the last suitcase to one of the crew members aboard the ship and turned to the Commander. His long white hair was tied back and his grey eyes held a certain kindness in their depths. "Lord Yosho... If you and the others are ready, we'll go ahead and begin our journey to Jurai."

Yosho nodded and looked back. Ryoko had Ryu in her arms while Washu had a firm grip on Meiru's hand. A large bird sat perched on her right shoulder, his head cocked in a curious way. Kiyone stood behind the scientist looking dumbfounded while Ryo-Ohki rested in her arms.

Making sure they were all there, he counted off the others in his mind. 'Let's see... Nobuyuki is in town visiting Tenchi and Sasami... Who have no idea what's going on. That should wrap it up....' He thought uneasily.

They soon boarded the ship and were showed their quarters as Yosho was taken to the bridge.

Ryoko plopped down on the bed in her room and looked around. 'Why am I doing this? It goes against everything.' She told herself quietly. Closing her eyes, she fell back onto the bed in spread eagle form and felt the ship begin its trek across space to Jurai's territory.

Washu and Kiyone were in a spare room doing some experiments involving orange Jell-o, light bulbs and a frog.

Meiru was with a guard in the garden below the main deck enjoying the many flowers and fountains the ship had to offer...

And Yosho had Ryu on the bridge with him.

Ryoko had time to herself and as much as she wished she could take a quick cat nap... She couldn't get her mind off to why Ayeka had called. Yosho hadn't told her of the trouble Jurai was having... She just expected it to be another of the Empress' ways to get Yosho to leave Earth.

How she despised Ayeka's little jokes of jealousy. She clenched a fist as she thought of the many ridiculous possibilities Ayeka could have schemed up this time.

Sure, it had been 6 years since the whiny Empress had even given a second thought to Yosho and the others, but that just proved all the more that Ayeka was up to something and it made Ryoko's blood boil with pure, undulated hatred.

'What could possibly be giving Ayeka trouble this time?' Ryoko asked herself through clenched teeth. It was a known fact that, if Ayeka could hold her own against Ryoko during a petty fight, that surely she could handle any trouble brewing within her kingdom, right?

As Ryoko rolled onto her side and curled her legs to her chest, she heard the familiar crackle of the PA speaker over the ships Comm. system only to hear the loud whining voice of her son ask, "Are we there yet?" Quickly followed by "I've gotta go to the bathroom!"

To Be Continued…..

A/N: Whew…. Kay…. So, how did it go? Whatcha think? Any suggestions? (No comment from the peanut gallery)

Alrighty then…. If I have no takers, let's begin. Hope you enjoyed Chapter Two of this series. Things moving a little more smoothly? If there is still some confusion, have mercy on me and please tell me. Feel free to drop me a line or review.

Oh… Wait… I have some Thanks to hand out first. Thanks to those who reviewed Chapter one…. Diane Long, Ryoko Hakubi, Demoness Space Pirate and Tail-Luver. And would the person who reviewed as "A girl who doesn't know what to call herself," please let me know of a pen name or something so that I can thank you personally! Thanks!