She found herself in a liquor store.
She hadn't meant to bring herself there, exactly. It was the only store she could remember being in clearly, and Ryoko hadn't planned where she was going when she left, she just...went.
And here she was. By herself. Nothing the space pirate wasn't used to. She had roamed the stars all alone for years, with only law enforces and bounty hunters on her heels to keep her company. She was no stranger to solitude.
Still, it was strange having left the others the way she did. Angry.
Ryoko sighed softly, and glanced around the small room, over-crowded with racks of wine and sake, wondering briefly if anyone had witnessed her sudden appearance. Judging by the stunned, disbelieving look of the cashier, she'd been spotted.
The demon walked over to the counter, grabbed a rice ball, paid for it with the change she had grabbed off Noboyuki's counter, and left. She didn't have enough money for sake, and she didn't want to steal it. Normally, Ryoko wouldn't have considered taking one little bottle an actual theft. It was nothing compared to her old, adrenaline fueled life. But she was not in a playful mood, and she was upset over the revelation that, even in what she now considered to be her home, she was still considered a thief.
As Ryoko walked down the streets, munching on her snack, she lifted her face up to the sky. She loved to feel the sun's rays on her skin.
It was so nice, she reflected, to be able to walk out in public and not have to hide her face in shadows, or disguises. It was wonderful to be just another face in the crowd, to be able to enjoy freedom- not just the freedom of not being behind bars, but not worrying about being thrown into a new cage at any moment, either.
Ryoko caught her reflection in a mirror.
Of course, being completely free had it's costs.
She was dull now, it seemed- at least, to her. Her hair had taken on a more bluish blue of earth-like tones, not the icy color of the Tsiru sea, as it had once been. Her eyes were a pleasant, warm amber. Not the fiery golden orbs that could invoke terror with a well placed fork of an eyebrow. They no longer conveyed the devilish excitement she had once brought about with a mere wink. They no longer held that impish pleasure for mischief and mayhem...
No. Things were better now. She knew it! Her features and colors and spirit may not be as sharp as they were when she lived her life of piracy, but they were no longer twisted in fear! Her face no longer convulsed with pain, and her eyes, whatever color they may be, no longer held that half- mad look of panic when she knew, just knew her luck had run out this time...
Ryoko shook her head, clearing her mind of that unpleasant train of thought. She finished the rest of her rice ball, and threw the wrapper in the trash.
There was nothing wrong with being domesticated. Even though all of her old friends would laugh until they damn well cried if they saw her now.
Her lips bowed almost imperceptably, one side curling up into a strange smirk as she remembered her old comrades.
Let them say what they would about space pirates. They were fiercely loyal to one another. Each and every one of her old friends would die for her, if the need arose, and she would have done the same for them.
She wondered where they were now, her old partners, her old family...
The beautiful demon felt a pang of guilt as she realised just how far she had gone from her old life, and had seperated herself from her friends in the same breath. They probably thought she was dead, for all they knew. But she had pushed them away from her just as far as she pushed away her nightmarish memories of nights spent on the run, of sleeping in cold alleys, of hurting others and being hurt...
Once again, Ryoko stopped her mind from running away from her, and back into the arms of the vicious, pirate princess that still lived among the stars, and always would, in some measure. It was her life, suspended in the sable backdrop of midnight. Each twinkling star represented a memory, an adventure, a nightmare, a dream. She would never be able to tear herself away from her past, never in a million years. And she didn't want to. It was her! It was half of her soul. Without all of it, the good and the bad, she just wouldn't be Ryoko.
She sighed again, softly, and sat down on a bench. But she was a different Ryoko now.
No, not different. Changed.
She had changed so much, and she was still getting to know all the different voices and faces and moods of this person she was changing into. It was very hard.
"And Tenchi is not making things any easier!" Ryoko thought bitterly. How would she ever learn to fit with this change, if Tenchi kept speaking to the old pirate? Didn't he get it? *She* was not here! The pirate was way up there, in the stars. She would never want to stay down here on earth, never sat and eaten a quite dinner with family, hell, would never have *paid* for a rice snack and *left* a liqour store completely untouched!
She uttered a soft growl of frustration. Her anger for Tenchi, which she had kept hidden until today, was a cousin to her love for him. She wouldn't be able to let it go until he addressed her as Ryoko of Earth. Until he treated her with as much respect as he did to Ayeka of Jurai. Until he stopped treating her as roughly as Ryoko the Space Pirate needed to be handled.
Because she simply was not that person any longer...
She hadn't meant to bring herself there, exactly. It was the only store she could remember being in clearly, and Ryoko hadn't planned where she was going when she left, she just...went.
And here she was. By herself. Nothing the space pirate wasn't used to. She had roamed the stars all alone for years, with only law enforces and bounty hunters on her heels to keep her company. She was no stranger to solitude.
Still, it was strange having left the others the way she did. Angry.
Ryoko sighed softly, and glanced around the small room, over-crowded with racks of wine and sake, wondering briefly if anyone had witnessed her sudden appearance. Judging by the stunned, disbelieving look of the cashier, she'd been spotted.
The demon walked over to the counter, grabbed a rice ball, paid for it with the change she had grabbed off Noboyuki's counter, and left. She didn't have enough money for sake, and she didn't want to steal it. Normally, Ryoko wouldn't have considered taking one little bottle an actual theft. It was nothing compared to her old, adrenaline fueled life. But she was not in a playful mood, and she was upset over the revelation that, even in what she now considered to be her home, she was still considered a thief.
As Ryoko walked down the streets, munching on her snack, she lifted her face up to the sky. She loved to feel the sun's rays on her skin.
It was so nice, she reflected, to be able to walk out in public and not have to hide her face in shadows, or disguises. It was wonderful to be just another face in the crowd, to be able to enjoy freedom- not just the freedom of not being behind bars, but not worrying about being thrown into a new cage at any moment, either.
Ryoko caught her reflection in a mirror.
Of course, being completely free had it's costs.
She was dull now, it seemed- at least, to her. Her hair had taken on a more bluish blue of earth-like tones, not the icy color of the Tsiru sea, as it had once been. Her eyes were a pleasant, warm amber. Not the fiery golden orbs that could invoke terror with a well placed fork of an eyebrow. They no longer conveyed the devilish excitement she had once brought about with a mere wink. They no longer held that impish pleasure for mischief and mayhem...
No. Things were better now. She knew it! Her features and colors and spirit may not be as sharp as they were when she lived her life of piracy, but they were no longer twisted in fear! Her face no longer convulsed with pain, and her eyes, whatever color they may be, no longer held that half- mad look of panic when she knew, just knew her luck had run out this time...
Ryoko shook her head, clearing her mind of that unpleasant train of thought. She finished the rest of her rice ball, and threw the wrapper in the trash.
There was nothing wrong with being domesticated. Even though all of her old friends would laugh until they damn well cried if they saw her now.
Her lips bowed almost imperceptably, one side curling up into a strange smirk as she remembered her old comrades.
Let them say what they would about space pirates. They were fiercely loyal to one another. Each and every one of her old friends would die for her, if the need arose, and she would have done the same for them.
She wondered where they were now, her old partners, her old family...
The beautiful demon felt a pang of guilt as she realised just how far she had gone from her old life, and had seperated herself from her friends in the same breath. They probably thought she was dead, for all they knew. But she had pushed them away from her just as far as she pushed away her nightmarish memories of nights spent on the run, of sleeping in cold alleys, of hurting others and being hurt...
Once again, Ryoko stopped her mind from running away from her, and back into the arms of the vicious, pirate princess that still lived among the stars, and always would, in some measure. It was her life, suspended in the sable backdrop of midnight. Each twinkling star represented a memory, an adventure, a nightmare, a dream. She would never be able to tear herself away from her past, never in a million years. And she didn't want to. It was her! It was half of her soul. Without all of it, the good and the bad, she just wouldn't be Ryoko.
She sighed again, softly, and sat down on a bench. But she was a different Ryoko now.
No, not different. Changed.
She had changed so much, and she was still getting to know all the different voices and faces and moods of this person she was changing into. It was very hard.
"And Tenchi is not making things any easier!" Ryoko thought bitterly. How would she ever learn to fit with this change, if Tenchi kept speaking to the old pirate? Didn't he get it? *She* was not here! The pirate was way up there, in the stars. She would never want to stay down here on earth, never sat and eaten a quite dinner with family, hell, would never have *paid* for a rice snack and *left* a liqour store completely untouched!
She uttered a soft growl of frustration. Her anger for Tenchi, which she had kept hidden until today, was a cousin to her love for him. She wouldn't be able to let it go until he addressed her as Ryoko of Earth. Until he treated her with as much respect as he did to Ayeka of Jurai. Until he stopped treating her as roughly as Ryoko the Space Pirate needed to be handled.
Because she simply was not that person any longer...