Silence ran down the now dark hallways of the higher floors of the house. The closet downstairs, once the site of bubbling tubes and flashing machinery, was now a regular closet, home of the umberella and coat hanger. The sweet smell of home-made cooking had long since been evacuated. No sound, no trouble. Nothing in the Masaki house stirred but the occasional deer outside and a lonely young man. Tenchi Masaki sat bolt upright at the dinner table, feasting on easy-make miso soup and store bought rice balls. He stared outside, looking intently upon the flicker of shadow that passed within eyesight of the porch.
'At most a bird…'
He slowly turned himself away from the cold night to his lonely meal. His tea had gotten cold, no point to trying to heat it up again; it tasted bad anyway. Just one more problem he had, he couldn't even make a decent cup of tea. But that was life, once you had everything you needed, fate seemed to snatch it all away. Every since Ryoko mysteriously vanished from the Masaki shrine (or more specific, Earth entirely), life wasn't the same. Washu couldn't track her due to some sort of telepathic interferance, so Ayeka, Sasami, Washu and Mihoshi launched a immediate search for her. Tenchi vouched to stay on the Earth, in hopes that Ryoko would return home. Two monthe later, still nothing. Last time he heard from any of the girls, Mihoshi and Washu were searching a system of planets known as Romasha, a unexplored territory of little importance to the civilized universe. It seemed as though they were on the virge of finding Ryoko's trail when all transmissions ceased to come. Having no way to go after them, Tenchi was grounded on the Earth, forced to wait hopelessly for over two months for a sign of progress. But hope dwindled, leaving a young Juraian Prince to ponder the fate of his family. He looked at the food in front of him, repulsed by the taste of it.
"I was so used to living with better comforts, I guess I forgot to fend for myself. Grandpa keeping to himself in the shrine refusing to join me, Dad living out of home working. Feels like it did before I released Ryoko, and everyone came to Earth."
Taking one last sip of tea, Tenchi picked up his plates, put them gently in the dish washer, and made for the stairs. With each step, the wooden boards sqweaked, creating the only familiar sound he still had around.Walking to the door to his room, he pushed it open and put a foot into the door. He tensed for a minute as he looked around. The little hairs on the back of his neck began to prick up. Something was out of place. He couldn't identify just what, but the air even had a feel that wasn't right. His eyes darted from corner to corner, scanning for any sign of life at all. Only Tenchi was in the room. A sudden thought popped into his head as he whispered in a low, doubtful voice.
"Ry…Ryoko…?"
He continued to stare into the nothingness that surrounded him. The gust of wind every now and then was the only answer he received. He sighed, recognizing his own foolishness, and made his way to his bed, slipping into the covers without much thought.
'Stupid me, I should just accept it now; she isn't coming back. Oh well, better get some sleep…'
Sleep would not come so nicely as Tench thought. He tossed and turned, unable to sleep for unknown reasons, until he fell into uncomfortable dream.
He was walking in a long corridor, the darkness stretching into abyss. The slapping of his bare feet to the floor made the pace for his heart. He called out into the darkness, hearing no response. He swiveled in his spot, looking, looking for a face, something. He didn't know just what yet, but it pulled at him, his mind swirled with confusion, desperate to seek comfort in the crushing loneliness. Turning to one end of the room, he spotted a shadow darker of the surrounding. He moved toward the shadow, slowly at first, soon turning a walk into jog, finding himself sprinting to it. It seemed to pull itself further from him, increasing the distance faster than he could close.
"NO, PLEASE WAIT!"
He continued to run, finally spotting a small dot of light that was once covered up by the shadow. Thinking the shadow guided him to the light, Tenchi ran for it, faster than he felt he ever ran, towards an escape. Less than 7 feet away, the light grew into an archway, too bright to see what lay on the other side, but could make out the archway. He sprinted now, coming head-on through the arch, nearly blinded by the rays of light. He brought his foot down onto a soft ground, and unable to adjust to the change of terrain, face-faulted into ankle high grass. Lying where he landed with a very painful face and a mouthful of dirt, Tenchi heard a small chuckle, sounding frighteningly familiar, coming from above him. He lay dead still, refusing to believe what he heard.
'No, it couldn't be, she….shes gone….she didn't, theres no way…'
Picking up his head, looking in utter disbelief, was Ryoko, smiling down at him as she sat on a cherry blossom tree branch. Tenchi swung his head from side to side like a drunkard, taking in the whole scene. It looked like the Masaki Shrine, but without all the hills and trees. Instead, only a single tree stood amid the gently rolling landscape of green grass. Cherry blossom leaves fluttered and spun in the air around them, they themselves dancing to the newfound joy in the air. He looked back up at Ryoko on the branch, finding she was no longer on the branch, but standing rather at the base of the tree, hands folded down, still a smile on her face. Her gentle expression calmed him in such a way he never felt before around her, feeling lighter than air. He stood, still staring, not quite sure what to make of it all. Before he could speak, however, she had already flew to him, closing the gap within seconds with a tender, loving hug. He hugged back, just as tightly, never wanting to let go. He smiled as his heart leapt in his chest and a single tear fell from his watery eyes. She moved her head slightly, adjusting herself so her mouth was by his ear, when she spoke in a far away whisper.
"I'm back, my Tenchi. Hope I didn't worry you too much."
"Ryoko, where have you been? Why did you leave us, why did you leave me?"
She pulled herself away, just enough to look at him face to face. He lost himself in her golden eyes, those beautiful feline eyes, the way her spiky cyan hair was so soft to the touch as he braved a hand through her mane.
"I don't have too much time Tenchi, so listen to everything."
But Ryoko, I…"
She placed one delicate finger over his mouth, and having calmed him once more, began to slowly carress his cheek.
"Tenchi, I'm sorry I left you, but it was more than you think. I was kidnapped, and more over, am still captive."
Her smile that shown brightly before faded, forming into a look of distress and pain. The tree disappeared, along with the rest of the scene around him, leaving Tenchi clinging to Ryoko in the darkness.
"I was taken Tenchi, and I can't break free. I tried Tenchi, every way I could. But the guards are too strong, they know how to tap into the power of my Jems. They plan to use it to benefit Tokimi."
Tenchi stared in utter shock and horror as Ryoko told him of her imprisonment.
'How could Tokimi have found a way to control Ryoko through her Jems?'
"Who are these people Ryoko? Why do they need you?"
"They are the ancient cult called the Karakodins. They are the children of Tokimi, or her so called children. They're only goal is to serve Tokimi and aid her passage from her dimension to ours. Somehow they can do it with my Jems. That's why they took me. Now they're after you Tenchi. They think you'll come after me, so they hired some assassin to terminate you. Be on the lookout, but don't wait for him to come. He should be at Earth by now. Get out of the house and keep on guard."
Tenchi was only more baffled he noticed he could no longer feel Ryoko's hand on his face, and could barely feel her in his arms. Panicking, he tried to grip her harder, finding it difficult, but he could feel her become more solid for the moment. She looked at him, a sad smile broke over her face.
"Tenchi, don't be afraid. No matter what happens, nothing will separate us, even though you don't think I'm there."
She pulled out just far enough to relocate her hand from his back to his heart as she spoke.
"Tenchi, feel me here. Feel my heart beating next to yours? That's where I'll be. I want you to know that. Know that I…"
Her voice suddenly stopped, as Tenchi could feel her slip from his grasp. Her image was still in front of hin, but fading fast, retracting into the darkness. All that he could hear of her was a far away whisper.
"Tenchi…"
He woke with a start, looking around at the space of his room. Fresh sunlight burst forth like a lantern, stinging his eyes as he shielded himself from the morning. Finally awake, he sat up, looking at his alarm clock. It showed 8:37 AM. He didn't really care, he could only focus on a cold sweat on his forehead, his now hard beating heart, and the meaning of a dream.
