Disclaimer: Tenchi Muyo! Is copyright AIC/Pioneer Ltd.

All characters are property of their respected owners.

Wake Up Dreaming: A Tenchi Muyo! Story.

Chapter 3

"Ryoko! Ryoko…" Tenchi gasped.

He felt as if he had been held underwater and he desperately called out for his life preserver. A cold sheen of sweat covered his body and he hurt all over.

"Shit," he cursed under his breath and reached up to wipe his face with his forearm.

As coherent thinking skills caught up with him he perused his surroundings. He seemed to be in a… house? He looked down at himself. He wasn't wearing anything except his boxer shorts and they looked like they had almost been burned off of him. He tugged the thin sheets of the bed he was laying on up to cover himself.

"Where am I?" Tenchi mumbled, as he looked around the room confused.

"I can answer that," an unfamiliar female voice answered.

"Whoa!" Tenchi jumped as the quiet atmosphere was suddenly interrupted. "Wh-who are you?" Tenchi stuttered pulling up the sheets further and looking towards the doorway of the quaint bedroom.

What he saw reminded him of a stereotypical 'nerdy hot girl' image from Earth. She was a little shorter than he was and he judged her physical age to be around twenty-four. He wasn't too quick to lock that in though. Almost everyone he knew had ages that numbered in the hundreds at least and they sure didn't look it. She wore thick black-rimmed glasses and had long semi curly powder-purple hair. Aside from those noticeable features she seemed rather plain, although Tenchi admittedly may have been a little biased on that note. He was used to living with women of exceptional physical beauty after all. She wore what looked like a simple t-shirt from Earth and a pair of snug fitting shorts.

"I'm sorry. My name is Miyuki and you are residing in my secret underground lair," she said in a nasally voice that eerily reminded Tenchi of Little Washu.

Tenchi just looked at the woman dumbfounded, and then turned his head toward a window with sunlight showing through it.

"Okay, so you aren't at a secret lair, so much as you are at the Leiko estate on the planet Orakk," Miyuki said much less enthusiastically then before. "I live here with my father." She paused for a moment. "You're Juraian, aren't you?"

"I – uh, well that is…" Tenchi sputtered, nervously scratching the back of his head.

"A simple yes would have sufficed," Miyuki said flatly. "I'm a doctor, and I just graduated from the Galactic Academy. I moved back home to help my planet. Which, by the way, I had the pleasure of watching you crash land on. I've already done an extensive physical on you. You are quite lucky to be alive. And, you're quite lucky I had the medical capabilities to help you heal." Again Miyuki paused.

Tenchi didn't say anything he just sat there absorbing what Miyuki was saying and trying to play catch up.

"Crash…" he murmured.

"Furthermore, blood test analysis showed that you were clearly of Juraian decent." Miyuki continued to explain. "Ahem! However, the reason you're here and not at a hospital is because of some very interesting information," Miyuki said, launching into another detail list of information.

Tenchi had already stopped listening. Why did we crash? Why did we… Tenchi's thoughts stopped cold. We.

"Uh – urm, Miss… ah – Miyuki was it? Did you happen to uh – recov – uh – recover anyone else from this… crash?" Tenchi uttered and a very cold feeling started to form in his stomach.

"No," Miyuki replied quickly. She wrinkled her nose and adjusted her thick glasses looking annoyed. "Well, what's your story?" she asked impatiently.

Tenchi had zoned out again. No. He swallowed hard. What happened? God damn it, what happened? The thoughts raced through Tenchi's mind, but everything outside seemed to move at a snail's pace. We… were fighting. Kurai and I fought. I knew I could beat him though. I knew I could win hand-to-hand combat. He was a coward. I knew Ryoko would follow me. Especially after I told her not too. Tenchi replayed the last coherent images he had of consciousness in his mind. It was all part of the plan, he thought.

There was no way… Tenchi's usually warm; caring brown eyes seemed cold and lifeless as he stared at the wall across from him. Miyuki grabbed his arm and checked his pulse, followed by his heartbeat and other vital signs. Tenchi saw her gently waving her hand in front of him. Her mouth moved and he could tell she had raised her voice a bit but he couldn't hear.

"Ryoko… Ryoko…" he chanted softly willing the memories to return.

***

Tenchi sighed and sat in the training room of Aeka's Juraian flagship. He took a deep breath and set the Tenchi-ken down in between his feet. He crossed his legs and put his hands on both his knees drawing in more deep breaths, calming himself, and attempting to reach a meditative state. He could hear the echoes of his breathing in the enormous empty room. How can I win? Tenchi thought. I can't, can I. He opened his eyes and let out a stressful sigh. He was supposed to be thinking about the upcoming battle but he couldn't seem to focus at all. Aeka, Noike, Mihoshi, Sasami, Washu. He loved them all but not enough. He didn't love them enough to do this anymore. And yet… he did. Could he hurt them? No, not intentionally. But I have to do something, somehow… his mind answered back. They say they don't mind waiting everyday. That our family is perfect just the way it is and can only get better. They're liars. Maybe they aren't though. Maybe they are happy to live like this until the day comes that I say, 'I love you' to one of them. Tenchi opened his eyes.

"That day isn't coming though…" he murmured aloud. He closed his eyes again and grimaced as he recalled a strange event from earlier that week.

"Tenchi, you love all the girls don't you?" Funaho gently prodded. Tenchi looked back and forth between her, Misaki, and his own sister, Tennyo.

"Well… of course," he said cautiously. "I love them all equ…"

"But do you love them," Misaki emphasized. Tenchi looked to his sister for help but she just smiled sadly and closed her eyes.

"Tenchi…" the First Empress of Jurai nudged gently. Tenchi looked down at his hands, which he was fidgeting with in his lap. It seemed like hours went by.

"No," he answered finally.

"Oh, but I think you do," Funaho's gentle brown eyes widened for just a second. Tenchi didn't respond. "I'm sorry," she said heavily. "This might not come as joyously as I thought it would then," she added after a moment. "Tenchi… Lady Seto, your Grandfather, the Emperor, Misaki, and I have come to a decision that we thought you were ready for. Apparently that is not quite the case but we think you'll grow into it, so-to-speak. The time has come," Funaho spoke serenely.

Tenchi raised his eyes and looked at his great-grandmother.

"After this is all over, you have officially been betrothed to both my daughters, and Lady Washu. This is of course in addition to your existing betrothal to Lady Seto's adopted daughter, Noike," Misaki continued.

Tenchi gulped audibly and rubbed his brow.

"You look less than enthused," Funaho commented.

"These marriages will strengthen Jurai's political ties indefinitely. I had hoped that even if you weren't happy that you were marrying all of these women, you would at least take solace in the fact that the single one you loved was among them. It's okay to have a favorite," Misaki chimed as if it would make him feel better.

Tenchi's shoulders sagged and he looked down again.

"I see. She isn't among your new fiancés is she?" Funaho continued.

She looked over at Tennyo, who only nodded slightly.

"Well, that does seem to present a problem. Tenchi. I think you have to tell 'your someone' that this is how it must be. I assume you will be keeping her as your mistress. I'll make some arrangements. Come sister, lets leave Tenchi to his thoughts," she said smiling at him.

He wished he could wipe it right off her face, no matter how sweet she acted. Misaki and Funaho stood up together and silently glided out of the chamber after bowing slightly towards Tenchi.

"Tennyo, how could you let them…" Tenchi started.

"I tried Tenchi. They said that this had a greater purpose behind it," Tennyo stopped talking before something even worse came out of her mouth to hurt her little brother's feelings. "It's Ryoko, isn't it," she said after a few minutes of silence.

Tenchi just looked at her.

"I'm sorry," Tennyo said genuinely before gracefully getting up and straightening her traditional Juraian attire.

As she walked by she placed her hand on Tenchi's shoulder and squeezed. Tenchi shifted his gaze up to her. She was smiling.

"Do whatever you need to do. I love you, little brother. Remember that. Dad and Rea do too." she said.

It seemed like simple enough advice but then why did Tenchi find it to be so cryptic?

Tenchi sighed and continued his meditation. The 'secret' meeting with Funaho and Misaki was two days ago. His realization of romantic feelings for Ryoko came just a few days prior, before they even knew something was wrong on Jurai. He hadn't had the chance to speak a word to Ryoko of those feelings yet, although he had the strangest feeling that she already knew. He had to come to terms with it himself before he told her. Only then did he start to consider the other girls. He loved all of them like family. That standstill that gripped him then, and seemingly always gripped him now with even more stress added.

"Who I love doesn't seem to fit into the way things are playing out," he thought aloud. "What am I going to do? I can't just… run away…" he muttered, dropping his hands to the floor unceremoniously.

Suddenly Tenchi's eyes snapped open. Run away. He felt as if his epiphany had just arrived. Grandpa did it, why can't I? He frowned. It didn't feel right, to leave them all like that, that's why. It was hard to walk away from your family. People you would die for. Die. For. Them. Tenchi opened his eyes.

"I would die for them." He whispered the powerful phrase to no one, and then he knew what he was going to do.

***

"Hey! Hey! Snap out of it!" Miyuki said literally snapping her fingers in front of Tenchi's face.

She tugged softly on the long section of his hair that he kept tied back a couple times for good measure. Tenchi blinked and shook his head.

"Uh - Miss Miyuki, please, I'll tell you everything you want to know but I need you to take me to uh… wherever it is that you found me. Please," he begged.

Miyuki scoffed.

"You aren't going anywhere. You haven't even told me your name or what the hell you're doing here or…" she started making a long list of the things Tenchi hadn't done for her yet.

Agitated, he reached over and grabbed Miyuki by her shirt collar.

"Please," he said calmly as three distinct triangle shapes appeared and glowed bright white on his forehead.

"Okay, okay," Miyuki said, fear creeping into her analytical voice. "Maybe I'll go find some clothes for you first, huh?" she said nervously.

***

"Tenchi, huh? So what are you, like, Jurai's best-kept secret? I mean those are some high ranking names you're throwing around pretty casually," Miyuki said as she skipped over some rock debris trying to keep up with Tenchi. "Hey come on, not all of us are as fit as you," she complained. "So are you telling me that Aeka, the First Princess of Jurai might be here? And she could be hurt? Our planet is going to be so screwed if they find her here. If she's injured! Oh crap! I'll be dead meat! I found some no-one but didn't look for the First Princess!" Miyuki said coming to her own conclusions since Tenchi decided to only tell her parts of his story.

He conveniently left out the parts about his complicated love life and the fact that he was a direct heir to the throne of Jurai, along with a few other choice tidbits of information.

She seemed nice enough but Tenchi wasn't stupid. This Miyuki couldn't be trusted just yet. He didn't have anyone to fall back on or call upon for help if he gave away too much. Showing her his hidden Juraian power may have already been too costly of a mistake but he was desperate to find Ryoko.

"You're sure it was here?" Tenchi asked as Miyuki finally caught up to him.

He looked out over the beach wearing a dark pair of pants that looked a little like denim from Earth but it was more flexible and breathable. The shirt Miyuki had given him was less than comfortable but it was loose and didn't irritate any of the bandages that seemed to be all over his chest. She rested both her hands on her knees gasping for breath.

"Yep, positive," she croaked. "It's been a good two days though, I mean I don't know what you're expecting to find. If your friend is alive, I'm sure she didn't stick around here. What was her name again?" Miyuki asked.

"I didn't say," Tenchi answered. Miyuki rolled her pastel green eyes in annoyance and pushed her glasses up.

"More direct answers please? I'm trying to help you," she said. A tiny glimmer caught Tenchi's eye in the sand nearby.

"Ryoko," he breathed and dashed towards it.

"What did you say," Miyuki stuttered feeling an icy chill go down her spine. She stood frozen as Tenchi reached the shimmering object.

"Damn," he cursed to himself kneeling down and using his hands to dig deeper into the sand.

He pulled the long intricate wooden hilt of the Tenchi-ken out of the hole and inspected it. Two small red gems embedded at the base of the hilt glimmered brilliantly in the sunlight overhead. Tenchi sighed in disappointment. It wasn't Ryoko but he guessed it was a step in the right direction. He turned back and stared oddly at Miyuki.

"Are you alright, Miss Miyuki?" he asked. She looked like she had just seen a ghost.

***

Warm gold and red colors smeared the sky of Okayama, Japan. It was a glorious late summer afternoon and the yellow sunlight bathed the countryside. Everything seemed peaceful and quiet. The lake was calm, the shrine was empty, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky, just quiet. A rare occurrence indeed for a residence normally teaming with activity, of the intergalactic kind. However, just beyond the reaches of the Masaki household, there was some activity in the nearby trees.

"Damn it. Come on, Ryoko…" Tenchi complained.

He stopped running and leaned against one of the trees near the house panting for breath.

"Tenchi…" He heard Ryoko's voice echo ghostly behind him.

A wry smile appeared on his face and he turned around quickly.

"Gotcha!" he said, but when he turned no one was there.

Her playful laugh echoed around the forest and he saw her appear above him just out of reach.

"Hey! I let you teleport, but flying was definitely a no," Tenchi said lightheartedly.

Ryoko covered her mouth and chucked.

"Come get me then, My Tenchi," Ryoko said affectionately.

She landed a few feet in front of Tenchi, her bare feet gently padding down on the grass. She was wearing that odd dark blue dress with the stripes again, just like she wore that day in the field a couple months ago. Was it really that long ago? Almost three at least, Tenchi mused.

"Come on, lover-boy. I'm here," Ryoko motioned with her finger for him to come closer tauntingly and moved behind a tree.

Tenchi just stood there motionless for a second before sprinting toward the tree. He quickly ran around it and saw Ryoko half running, half teleporting away moving closer to the house. Tenchi rolled his eyes groaning and continued the chase. Ryoko looked back and saw Tenchi far behind her. She slowed to a quick jog and stopped her teleport jumping. She chuckled to herself again.

"This sure is fun isn't it, Tenchi?" she called back to him.

She closed her eyes and twirled around in the grass right behind the Masaki household a few times before looking to see if Tenchi had caught up to her yet. She gasped as she felt his strong slender arms close tightly around her.

"Gotcha!" he exclaimed and the two of them struggled for a moment before falling forward onto the ground.

They rolled around in the soft grass laughing before Ryoko had enough and stopped them, pinning Tenchi down. She rolled over on top of him, pressing his shoulders into the grass. She tugged slightly on her long dress pulling the soft fabric up to her knees so she could comfortably sit on him. She looked down at him and he looked back at her. She felt like melting looking into his beautiful eyes. She could feel his tense muscles but it was excitement, not fear. Time seemed to stand still and two words worked their way to the front of her mind. Kiss him. She didn't know what caused her to do it. Maybe it was the hot summer afternoon or maybe it was the fact that no one was around. Maybe it was because she thought they were close enough now that she could actually get away with it.

"Tenchi…" Ryoko said softly.

Tenchi bent one of his legs upward, inadvertently pushing his thigh against her rear. Ryoko sighed slightly and responded by sensually moving her bare calf under his.

"Well, we've been here before, haven't we?" Tenchi said looking up at her.

"Oh yeah, I definitely remember," Ryoko said with a hint of sexuality. She bent over a little bit and lowered her voice. "You seem to like it a whole lot more this time though," she said adding much more then just a hint of sensual depth to her words.

She leaned even closer. The two long locks of cyan hair that hung next to Ryoko's cheeks in front of her ears found resting places on Tenchi's neck and chest. He was captivated by the smoldering glow of her unique golden eyes but one look downward into the wide neck collar of the dress and he would have an eyeful of her ample cleavage.

"I don't have to hold you down so tightly," she said, her hands resting only lightly on his shoulders.

She leaned in again, almost parallel to his body now, letting more of her weight settle on top of him. Her soft breasts pressed against his chest and their noses were almost touching. All was quiet for the two of them for what seemed like an eternity. Ryoko seemed to move her face closer to Tenchi's painfully slowly, her alien eyes gradually drifting closed. She let her other senses stretch forward. She could hear him breathing. The natural masculine smell of his skin was so close, giving off the faintest hint of sexual pheromones. She felt his heart pounding against hers. She felt her own breathing getting more and more labored.

"Ryoko… wait" she heard Tenchi's reluctant voice in a hushed whisper. As he uttered the warning though, his hands gently moved up her thighs and rested on her hips contradicting his words. She was so close.

"Tenchi, please. I – I can't stop," she breathed huskily.

She was suddenly jolted from her perfect moment by what seemed like a gust of wind.

"Hey," She heard Tenchi say.

She opened her eyes slowly to look… up? Tenchi had reversed their positions and was now looking down at her. Ryoko had two fistfuls of his shirt and her head was swimming.

"Ryoko," Tenchi breathed.

He was breathing in ragged gasps and blushing profusely. He didn't look mad though. In fact, he looked like he was just as caught up in that steamy moment as she was rather than his usual embarrassment. Ryoko shook her head slightly.

"Tenchi! I… I need..." she didn't know if her cheeks could blush any deeper, but they felt like they were on fire. Please, Tenchi, please, take me. Kiss me, Make love to me, and make me scream your name until I don't have any breath left. Her mind begged the words to be spoken but nothing came out. Tenchi was still a little flushed himself, and now he was on top of her!

"Wow…" he mumbled, marveling at her beauty. Her soft cyan hair was spilling out in all directions. Her hot breath caressed his neck beckoning him closer. He had her just where he wanted her. Do it! His mind urged him. Do it, just move your damn hand, pull her close and kiss her damn it! She wants it; she's wanted it for years. More importantly, YOU want it just as much as she does now!

He watched a bead of sweat move lazily down the curves of her neck. Her breasts pushed against his chest with every intake of breath. The seconds moved by impossibly slowly and in his mind the one bead of sweat on her neck turned into a passionate sheen covering her entire body. He could almost hear her erotic moans of pleasure and feel her fingers running through his hair every time he pushed himself a little deeper into her. Do it! His mind practically screamed to him.

In reality Tenchi was breathing like he had just run a marathon as one of his hands very slowly and carefully started to pull Ryoko's dress up higher revealing her taut thigh. Now it was Tenchi's turn to lean closer. He nervously placed one trembling hand on her cheek. I'm going to do it, he thought to himself. He closed his deep brown eyes and he heard Ryoko whimper in pleasure. She gripped his shirt tighter and awkwardly tried to wrap her leg around him. Her breath came in short quick bursts. Tenchi could feel the words were just about to escape his lips before he claimed hers. 'I love you, Ryoko' but instead he heard his own name being called out close by.

"Tenchi! Tenchi! Are you out here Tenchi?" Sasami's voice called from the side entrance of the house.

The call instantly snapped Tenchi and Ryoko out of their moment. Ryoko looked up, wide-eyed, her chest heaving at an equally shocked and out of breath Tenchi. Her eyes begged him to finish his unsaid sentence.

"Ryo – ko…" Tenchi started.

There will be time to be physical later, just say it! Hurry up and say it! All sorts of alarms went off in his head begging him to say those three little words.

"Tennn – chi!" Sasami's call rang in the air again, this time, closer.

Ryoko looked upward in the direction of Sasami's voice then back at Tenchi one last time before teleporting, leaving Tenchi alone in the grass.

"Oh! Tenchi there you are! Are you okay?" Sasami said rounding the corner of the house. Her twin light blue ponytails bounced with her steps. She noticed he was lying on the grass still panting and ran over to him kneeling down.

"Um – uh – yeah Sas – Sasami, I'm okay," Tenchi said returning to reality, even though he was yearning for Ryoko to come back.

"Are you sure? You've been acting really weird lately Tenchi," Sasami said.

"Yeah? You think so?" Tenchi said, scratching the back of his head nervously.

Sasami raised and eyebrow deviously then smiled extra sweetly. I'll get whatever it is you're up out of you Tenchi, she thought to herself. She had an adorable face and knew how to use it.

"Well come on in now, dinner is ready," Sasami said. "I can't find Ryoko anywhere," she added suspiciously after Tenchi had gotten up and brushed himself off. "She's not in the house."

"Oh, well – I'm sure she's around here," Tenchi said nervously, and started walking toward the house with the young Juraian princess. He looked back over his shoulder longingly for any glimpse of Ryoko but she was gone.

Ryoko teleported all the way to the large floating onsen over the lake and stumbled over to the step of the second tier before collapsing to her knees and hunching over on the warm wooden floor. She was trembling, shaking with emotion.

"Tenchi…" she moaned in frustrated pleasure.

She swallowed hard and stuck her hand between her legs and squeezed them closed. She breathed heavily and felt sticky liquid running down her inner thighs, through her clothing.

"Uuhngh," she moaned incoherently. He was so close! We – we were so close! Her mind was racing a mile a minute. "Tenchi, oh Tenchi," she mumbled daring to imagine just what might have happened if they weren't interrupted.

Tenchi pressing his lips against hers and pulling her dress up just a little bit higher. She hugged him close as he buried himself inside her, proclaiming his love as he claimed her.

Ryoko shook her head and let out a long drawn out breath as she leaned back into a sitting position and looked up through the glass dome of the exotic bathhouse. She took several more deep breaths trying to calm herself. Tenchi. She was in love with him, that was obvious. However, since that night of the festival… she was almost positive that he loved her too. She looked into his eyes that night. She had been so angry but, he followed her to apologize and hold her, faster then he ever had before. She searched his eyes for a long time that night, confused at first because she couldn't tell what emotion he was looking at her with. But in one instant, she knew. It wasn't an emotion she could identify right away because it was one she had never been graced with before until she saw her own reflection in his big brown eyes. Love. She saw the exact same look in his eyes that night, which she saw in her own. She was afraid though. Ryoko, the space pirate who had destroyed entire planets was deathly afraid because an Earthling boy hadn't told her that he loved her yet. The festival was a month ago, and she was still troubled by the fact that maybe she'd seen wrong. Did he love her? She looked into his eyes today. His gaze was even more intense then the night of the festival. He almost kissed her. We almost – did a lot more then that, she thought. Large, fat tears rolled slowly down Ryoko's cheeks. She didn't try to hide them or brush them away. A small smile played on her face. Tenchi loves me.