Tenchi! Chapter 4 - No Need for an Afterthought
Author: Ryoko-chan
Email: _Ryoko_@masakishrine.com
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Tenchi Muyo! is the property of Pioneer Entertainment, AIC, and TV Tokyo along with the people who created the characters and gave them life by lending their voices to them. I have absolutely no claim to them.
Author's' note: This is the last chapter of the last part of this very long series. But if I get inspired maybe I'll write a sequel. This definitely isn't my last Tenchi Muyo! fanfic. I've enjoyed this too much.
==============================
TENCHI! CHAPTER 4 - NO NEED FOR AN AFTERTHOUGHT
By: Ryoko-chan
We got back to the house safe, sound, and dry. The freezing rain lasted only an hour so we got back to the house rather quickly.
"Here Tenchi." Sasami says, handing me a cup of warm tea.
"Thanks Sasami." I say as she hands a cup to Ryoko as well.
"We had been wondering where you had gone too." Aeka says, talking more to Ryoko than to me. That's a first.
"I had just gone out to talk to Tenchi when it started to rain." She says, sipping the tea carefully.
"We stopped by the shrine when we were headed back. That's where we stayed until the rain stopped." I say.
"Yo, Tenchi, can I talk to you for a second?" Washu asks me, poking her head out of her laboratory.
"Sure, Little Washu." I say, standing up and going to her lab, the hot tea still in my hand.
"Tenchi, you were stuck outside?" She asks as if she didn't already know.
"Yes." I say, looking around the laboratory, noticing something different, but I can't really tell what it is.
"Ryoko's feeling better?" She asks.
"Feeling better?"
"Her memory, its back?"
"Yes, you know already?"
"Tenchi, how many times do I have to remind you about my telepathic link with the girl? But, yes, I know already. I have been working on a way to reverse the mutation caused by the gems."
"Any luck?" I ask, looking over her shoulder at her computer monitor as if I knew what she was typing. I couldn't even read the language it was in.
"Not yet." She says, shooing me away from her computers.
"Then why did you call me in here?" I ask her, still looking around, trying to figure out what was different.
"To show you this." She says, activating a small projector.
"That's Ryoko's DNA again." I say, recognizing the model from the previous time Washu had shown it to me.
"That's right. This is the mutated DNA that I showed you the other day and this is the original sample." She says, bringing up two more images.
"All three are different." I say, noticing little differences in the three.
Washu smiles.
"Yep! That's right, Ryoko's DNA has begun to change back on its own."
"How, though?"
"That, I don't know. Not yet. But I will. My guess is that once she realized the gems were gone, she just went back to normal. Well, she's starting to."
"That's good. Do you know for certain if she will be back to normal?"
"Not completely. We'll just have to wait."
I nod.
"Either way, that's great news, Washu."
"Yes, it is."
I look around the lab again.
"What is different about this place, Little Washu?" I ask her, gazing up.
"I changed its location Tenchi. That's all. This is the Science Academy where I went to school."
"Oh, what made you bring your lab here?" I ask, knowing what this place means to her.
"I don't really know. I just thought it would be nice to see it again." She says.
I smile and head for the door.
"Tenchi, watch out for Ryoko." She says before I leave.
"What do you mean, Washu?" I ask her.
"You'll see." Is all she says and I walk back out into the hall.
"What did Miss Washu want, Tenchi?" Sasami asks me from the kitchen.
"She just wanted to show me something."
"About me?" Ryoko says quietly from the couch.
"Yes." I say.
She only nods.
"Ryoko, can you come help me?" Sasami asks sweetly, noticing the tension build up in the room.
"Sure, Sasami." Ryoko says, standing up and brushing passed me.
I sit down in a chair and just sigh. Now would be a great time to crawl into a hole somewhere and sleep for about a year. Maybe longer, just to escape the past.
"What did Washu say?" Aeka asks me.
I forgot that she was even in the room.
"She says that Ryoko's DNA is reverting back on its own."
"That's great." Aeka says.
"You sure? You'll have your old enemy back."
Aeka smiles.
"I miss that Ryoko. Things are boring around here without her." She says.
I only nod. It was obvious to anyone that Aeka hasn't been the same since all of this happened. Sure, she was getting along better with Ryoko, but they still had their fights and teasing. They have been too nice to each other for too long.
"Tenchiiii, wake up!" I hear a familiar voice say.
I only continue to sleep, not concerned with whatever is happening around me.
"C'mon Tenchi! You can't sleep forever, wake up!" I hear the voice again.
Finally, I open my eyes to find Ryoko staring directly at me.
"Ryoko, what are you doing?" I ask her, surprised but reassured at the same time.
"I'm taking you with me, Tenchi. Away from all of this for a while. It'll be fun." She says, pulling me easily to my feet.
"Ryoko, we can't just leave. Too many people here count on me and on you."
"Just forget all of that for once, Tenchi. Let yourself care only about yourself. You only live once you know."
"TENCHI!"
I snap awake suddenly.
"What? What is it?" I ask, finding Little Washu watching me innocently, knowing now who it was who yelled in my ear.
"Its nothing Tenchi. Its only lunch time. Sasami wanted me to wake you up." She says.
"You couldn't have found a less...frightening way?"
"Why change my tactics now? Get up before Sasami gets mad." She says, walking to the table.
I get up, following her to the table where everyone else was already sitting.
"You finally woke up, Tenchi. I thought Miss Washu was going to have to do something more drastic." Sasami says, putting some of the food on my plate.
"I have an announcement, people." Washu says, glancing over at me.
"What is it, Washu?" Aeka asks her.
"I know that Ryoko knows about her DNA mutation already. And I know that Tenchi knows what I'm about to say, but it appears that the mutation is reversing itself." She says, smiling.
"Completely, Little Washu?" I ask her, remembering only hours earlier when the tiny scientist wasn't sure about her daughter's 'illness.'
"Yep! Absolutely one hundred percent."
"So I'll be able to fly again?" Ryoko asks quietly.
"And teleport, and phase through walls. You'll get everything back, Ryoko." Washu says.
"That's great, Ryoko. You've missed flying, haven't you?" Sasami asks.
Ryoko nods, obviously not as happy as I expected her to be.
"Excuse me." She says suddenly, getting up from the table and leaving the house altogether.
"Ryoko..." Aeka says, trying to get her to stop.
"What's wrong with Ryoko?" Sasami asks.
"I should go talk to her." Aeka volunteers, already getting up to go after her.
"No, Tenchi should go." Washu says, staring straight at me. "He's the only one she needs to talk to right now."
"But- "
"Go on, Tenchi." She says, cutting me off before I could protest any further.
I glance over at Aeka and Sasami and I get up and follow Ryoko outside, hoping that she hadn't gone too far. If she's regaining her powers at an unknown rate she could be flying by dinnertime.
"Ryoko!" I shout at her, trying to get her to tell me where she is.
I just wander around the house in the surrounding fields and woods.
"Ryoko! Where are you?" I shout, hoping she stop and talk to me.
Finally I go up to the Shrine as a last resort and come across Grampa sweeping the grounds.
"Grampa, have you seen Ryoko around here?" I ask, walking up behind him.
"I believe she asked me not to tell you where she was going, Tenchi."
"What?" I ask, knowing that Grampa is taking the opportunity to mess with me for a while.
"She was walking toward the cave." He says, continuing his sweeping.
"Thanks, Grampa." I say, surprised that he didn't seize the moment to play his usual mind games.
I walk slowly to the cave. I haven't been up here much since I released Ryoko so many years ago. I can't believe it has been so long.
I notice Ryoko sitting on a flat rock that looks onto the path going from the shrine office to the cave. She looks like she is asleep, her knees drawn to her chest and her head resting on her knees.
"Ryoko..." I start, not knowing how else to get her attention.
"What is it, Tenchi?" She asks me, not moving.
"I just wanted to be sure you were all right. Everyone is worried about you at home. What's wrong?" I ask, sitting on a rock across from her.
It's colder now than it was this morning and sitting on top of freezing cold granite never helped anyone. I watch Ryoko sympathetically, knowing her hatred of the weather on Earth.
She doesn't answer my question and she doesn't move. I can't tell if she is crying or not. I hope not...
"Ryoko, I figured you would be happy when Washu said that you would get your powers back." I say finally, tiring of the sound of the wind.
"Why should I be happy, Tenchi? When I regain my power things will go back to the way they were before. Aeka will be fighting with me all the time, Washu will be performing her tests on me, and you'll go back to hating me again. With my power I'm nothing but a monster, Tenchi. I don't want to go back to that."
"Ryoko, you're not a monster. And I always assumed that you enjoyed your fights with Aeka. I know the two of you have been getting along better, but you always seemed to have this look of content when Aeka was blowing things up around you. Washu only performs tests on you because that's the only way she can get you to spend time with her. And I don't hate you Ryoko. I could never hate you."
"Things just won't be the same, Tenchi. I wanted everything to stay like it was. I wanted us all to live together forever."
"I know you did, Ryoko. Things change no matter how much you don't want them to."
Finally she turns and looks at me. Her cyan hair blowing wildly in the wind, her golden eyes glazed with the slightest hint of tears.
"I have to go for a while, Tenchi." She says suddenly, never breaking her gaze from mine.
"What do you mean, Ryoko?" I ask her, afraid of what she'll say next.
"I have to go back into space and explore for a while. I miss it. I'll take Ryo-Ohki, but only for a while. I'll come back, of course. I'll never leave you, Tenchi. I just need a vacation."
"Ryoko, I don't think that would be wise. I mean, with your powers not completely returned and Kiyone out there..." I say, stopping myself from mentioning the fact that Kiyone has probably added Mihoshi's death to the list of Ryoko's crimes.
"I can handle the Galaxy Police if anything like that happens, Tenchi. You just don't understand. I have to go for a while. Let myself sort this mess out."
I don't say anything, angry that she would even consider leaving now after our family has lost so much.
"I don't want you to go, Ryoko. I don't want to lose another member of the family." I say quietly, more to myself than to her.
She stands up and walks over to me slowly, placing her hand on my cheek. Her skin is freezing to touch but somehow warm as well.
"You won't be losing me Tenchi. I told you that I will come back and I always do what I say I will." She says, moving her face closer to mine.
"What about Sasami, Washu, and Aeka? They won't want you to leave either."
She smiles a little.
"But you don't want me to leave more, Tenchi. You could come along if you'd like. I did promise to take you on a journey with me. Now would be the perfect opportunity."
I smile back.
"I can't Ryoko."
"I know, I know. You're just not fun sometimes Tenchi. I'll go back and tell them I'm leaving. I'll leave with Ryo-Ohki this evening."
"So soon?"
"Better now than later. I'll see you later, Tenchi." She says, walking back toward the house.
She leaves me standing there, completely dumbstruck. I can't believe she's going to leave. But she did say she was coming back. Maybe she just needs a break for a while to get away from everyone.
I start walking back to the house, passing Grampa and his sweeping. The house is a good distance away, but it seems much farther when its cold and you're trying to think of a way out of a situation.
I arrive back at the house much later than I should have. I must have been walking much more slowly than I thought I was.
"Has Ryoko been here?" I ask, seeing Sasami sitting in the living room.
"Oh, Tenchi!" She says, running up to me, crying.
"Sasami, don't cry." I say, walking her over to the couch to sit down.
"Ryoko is leaving us too, Tenchi! I don't want her to go." The small girl says between sobs.
"She'll come back, Sasami. Ryoko wouldn't leave us forever, you know that. There's no need for tears, this is only for a while."
"You know already, Tenchi?"
I nod slowly.
"I don't want her to leave either Sasami, but she wants to and there isn't much we can do to stop her."
Sasami only cries harder and burrows her face into my jacket.
Dinner is especially quiet. Ryoko still insists on leaving after everyone's protests. I can't tell now if she actually wants to leave or she wants the attention she'll get for leaving.
Ryoko seems happier anyway, even if nobody else is. Washu is especially unhappy that Ryoko would leave like this, jeopardizing herself like his.
After dinner, we all go out into the living room. Ryoko doesn't want any of us to be outside when she leaves. She thinks it will be easier if she just goes. Her leaving will be a surprise and when she comes back will be as well.
Everyone is lined up by the door. I'm closest to it with Washu next to me followed by Aeka and Sasami. Ryoko says good-bye to everyone starting with Sasami who is still desperately holding back her tears.
"Don't go, Ryoko!" She cries, holding on tightly to Ryoko's waist. "Please, don't go."
"I won't be gone long, Sasami. Ryo-Ohki and I will be back before you know it." She smiles, trying to cheer her up, but not really succeeding.
"Good-bye, Ryoko. Don't get yourself into more trouble than you already are." Aeka says, now trying to comfort Sasami.
"Yeah, I'll miss you too, Princess." Ryoko says, inching closer to the door.
"Ryoko, you need to be careful. Don't try anything foolish until all of your power has returned." Washu says, glaring up at her daughter.
"Don't worry about it, Washu. I know what I can and can't do." She says with that cocky smile of hers.
"Sure you do." Washu says sarcastically.
Finally, Ryoko walks up to me.
"I guess we've already said our good-byes, Tenchi." She says, quietly.
"I still don't want you to go, Ryoko."
"I know you don't Tenchi. I'll be just fine. You *can* still come with me, you know. The offer still stands." She says, smiling.
"I can't, Ryoko."
"Yeah, yeah. I know." She says, grabbing me and hugging me tightly. "I'll miss you, my Tenchi." She whispers quietly into my ear.
"I'll miss you too, Ryoko. Take care."
"I will. You're sure you don't want to come?" She asks, pulling away from me again.
"Meow!" Ryo-Ohki says quietly. She doesn't look very happy to be leaving either.
I only look at Ryoko and shake my head.
"Very well, then. I will see you all soon. Good-bye." She says, walking outside slowly.
"She's back to her normal, foolish self." Aeka says, watching Ryo-Ohki transform from her cabbit to spaceship forms.
"That she is." Washu says, walking back toward her lab. "But she'll be just fine." She says.
"I suppose you're right, Miss Washu." Aeka says. "What do you think, Tenchi?"
I only stand there, watching Ryoko getting ready to leave, wanting desperately to go with her and just experience things like she does.
"Lord Tenchi?" Aeka asks me again.
"Oh, what is it Aeka?" I ask, not taking my eyes off of Ryoko.
"What do you think about Ryoko's leaving like this?"
"I think I have to go."
=======================
Epilogue...Tsunami's POV...
Tenchi ran from the house as Ryoko was about to leave. That boy, when he does things, he definitely waits for the last minute. Not long ago Ryoko did promise to take Tenchi on a journey with her and this is her chance to fulfill that promise to Tenchi. This is a chance for both of them to start over after all that has happened.
Tenchi once thought that I created Ryoko just for him. The perfect match. He was right, in a way. My sister, Washu, created Ryoko in her own image as every parent does with their children. It is destiny that they all ended up together. Each of those girls are especially for Tenchi. One without the other would be meaningless.
Unfortunately they have lost Mihoshi and Kiyone refuses to return. Now, Tenchi has Ryoko, whom is probably most compatible with him. She will take their places in his heart, not that he would stop loving them. Ryoko will always be capable of filling a void in my dear Tenchi's life. That's just the way things are and the way they always will be.
==========
~THE END~
A/N: This is the last chapter of this series. It has been fun to write!
My next series is still in the earliest of developmental status, but it will
show up unexpectedly one day. I will be writing more about Tenchi and
the girls, most definitely.
I hope you enjoyed this series.
Author: Ryoko-chan
Email: _Ryoko_@masakishrine.com
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Tenchi Muyo! is the property of Pioneer Entertainment, AIC, and TV Tokyo along with the people who created the characters and gave them life by lending their voices to them. I have absolutely no claim to them.
Author's' note: This is the last chapter of the last part of this very long series. But if I get inspired maybe I'll write a sequel. This definitely isn't my last Tenchi Muyo! fanfic. I've enjoyed this too much.
==============================
TENCHI! CHAPTER 4 - NO NEED FOR AN AFTERTHOUGHT
By: Ryoko-chan
We got back to the house safe, sound, and dry. The freezing rain lasted only an hour so we got back to the house rather quickly.
"Here Tenchi." Sasami says, handing me a cup of warm tea.
"Thanks Sasami." I say as she hands a cup to Ryoko as well.
"We had been wondering where you had gone too." Aeka says, talking more to Ryoko than to me. That's a first.
"I had just gone out to talk to Tenchi when it started to rain." She says, sipping the tea carefully.
"We stopped by the shrine when we were headed back. That's where we stayed until the rain stopped." I say.
"Yo, Tenchi, can I talk to you for a second?" Washu asks me, poking her head out of her laboratory.
"Sure, Little Washu." I say, standing up and going to her lab, the hot tea still in my hand.
"Tenchi, you were stuck outside?" She asks as if she didn't already know.
"Yes." I say, looking around the laboratory, noticing something different, but I can't really tell what it is.
"Ryoko's feeling better?" She asks.
"Feeling better?"
"Her memory, its back?"
"Yes, you know already?"
"Tenchi, how many times do I have to remind you about my telepathic link with the girl? But, yes, I know already. I have been working on a way to reverse the mutation caused by the gems."
"Any luck?" I ask, looking over her shoulder at her computer monitor as if I knew what she was typing. I couldn't even read the language it was in.
"Not yet." She says, shooing me away from her computers.
"Then why did you call me in here?" I ask her, still looking around, trying to figure out what was different.
"To show you this." She says, activating a small projector.
"That's Ryoko's DNA again." I say, recognizing the model from the previous time Washu had shown it to me.
"That's right. This is the mutated DNA that I showed you the other day and this is the original sample." She says, bringing up two more images.
"All three are different." I say, noticing little differences in the three.
Washu smiles.
"Yep! That's right, Ryoko's DNA has begun to change back on its own."
"How, though?"
"That, I don't know. Not yet. But I will. My guess is that once she realized the gems were gone, she just went back to normal. Well, she's starting to."
"That's good. Do you know for certain if she will be back to normal?"
"Not completely. We'll just have to wait."
I nod.
"Either way, that's great news, Washu."
"Yes, it is."
I look around the lab again.
"What is different about this place, Little Washu?" I ask her, gazing up.
"I changed its location Tenchi. That's all. This is the Science Academy where I went to school."
"Oh, what made you bring your lab here?" I ask, knowing what this place means to her.
"I don't really know. I just thought it would be nice to see it again." She says.
I smile and head for the door.
"Tenchi, watch out for Ryoko." She says before I leave.
"What do you mean, Washu?" I ask her.
"You'll see." Is all she says and I walk back out into the hall.
"What did Miss Washu want, Tenchi?" Sasami asks me from the kitchen.
"She just wanted to show me something."
"About me?" Ryoko says quietly from the couch.
"Yes." I say.
She only nods.
"Ryoko, can you come help me?" Sasami asks sweetly, noticing the tension build up in the room.
"Sure, Sasami." Ryoko says, standing up and brushing passed me.
I sit down in a chair and just sigh. Now would be a great time to crawl into a hole somewhere and sleep for about a year. Maybe longer, just to escape the past.
"What did Washu say?" Aeka asks me.
I forgot that she was even in the room.
"She says that Ryoko's DNA is reverting back on its own."
"That's great." Aeka says.
"You sure? You'll have your old enemy back."
Aeka smiles.
"I miss that Ryoko. Things are boring around here without her." She says.
I only nod. It was obvious to anyone that Aeka hasn't been the same since all of this happened. Sure, she was getting along better with Ryoko, but they still had their fights and teasing. They have been too nice to each other for too long.
"Tenchiiii, wake up!" I hear a familiar voice say.
I only continue to sleep, not concerned with whatever is happening around me.
"C'mon Tenchi! You can't sleep forever, wake up!" I hear the voice again.
Finally, I open my eyes to find Ryoko staring directly at me.
"Ryoko, what are you doing?" I ask her, surprised but reassured at the same time.
"I'm taking you with me, Tenchi. Away from all of this for a while. It'll be fun." She says, pulling me easily to my feet.
"Ryoko, we can't just leave. Too many people here count on me and on you."
"Just forget all of that for once, Tenchi. Let yourself care only about yourself. You only live once you know."
"TENCHI!"
I snap awake suddenly.
"What? What is it?" I ask, finding Little Washu watching me innocently, knowing now who it was who yelled in my ear.
"Its nothing Tenchi. Its only lunch time. Sasami wanted me to wake you up." She says.
"You couldn't have found a less...frightening way?"
"Why change my tactics now? Get up before Sasami gets mad." She says, walking to the table.
I get up, following her to the table where everyone else was already sitting.
"You finally woke up, Tenchi. I thought Miss Washu was going to have to do something more drastic." Sasami says, putting some of the food on my plate.
"I have an announcement, people." Washu says, glancing over at me.
"What is it, Washu?" Aeka asks her.
"I know that Ryoko knows about her DNA mutation already. And I know that Tenchi knows what I'm about to say, but it appears that the mutation is reversing itself." She says, smiling.
"Completely, Little Washu?" I ask her, remembering only hours earlier when the tiny scientist wasn't sure about her daughter's 'illness.'
"Yep! Absolutely one hundred percent."
"So I'll be able to fly again?" Ryoko asks quietly.
"And teleport, and phase through walls. You'll get everything back, Ryoko." Washu says.
"That's great, Ryoko. You've missed flying, haven't you?" Sasami asks.
Ryoko nods, obviously not as happy as I expected her to be.
"Excuse me." She says suddenly, getting up from the table and leaving the house altogether.
"Ryoko..." Aeka says, trying to get her to stop.
"What's wrong with Ryoko?" Sasami asks.
"I should go talk to her." Aeka volunteers, already getting up to go after her.
"No, Tenchi should go." Washu says, staring straight at me. "He's the only one she needs to talk to right now."
"But- "
"Go on, Tenchi." She says, cutting me off before I could protest any further.
I glance over at Aeka and Sasami and I get up and follow Ryoko outside, hoping that she hadn't gone too far. If she's regaining her powers at an unknown rate she could be flying by dinnertime.
"Ryoko!" I shout at her, trying to get her to tell me where she is.
I just wander around the house in the surrounding fields and woods.
"Ryoko! Where are you?" I shout, hoping she stop and talk to me.
Finally I go up to the Shrine as a last resort and come across Grampa sweeping the grounds.
"Grampa, have you seen Ryoko around here?" I ask, walking up behind him.
"I believe she asked me not to tell you where she was going, Tenchi."
"What?" I ask, knowing that Grampa is taking the opportunity to mess with me for a while.
"She was walking toward the cave." He says, continuing his sweeping.
"Thanks, Grampa." I say, surprised that he didn't seize the moment to play his usual mind games.
I walk slowly to the cave. I haven't been up here much since I released Ryoko so many years ago. I can't believe it has been so long.
I notice Ryoko sitting on a flat rock that looks onto the path going from the shrine office to the cave. She looks like she is asleep, her knees drawn to her chest and her head resting on her knees.
"Ryoko..." I start, not knowing how else to get her attention.
"What is it, Tenchi?" She asks me, not moving.
"I just wanted to be sure you were all right. Everyone is worried about you at home. What's wrong?" I ask, sitting on a rock across from her.
It's colder now than it was this morning and sitting on top of freezing cold granite never helped anyone. I watch Ryoko sympathetically, knowing her hatred of the weather on Earth.
She doesn't answer my question and she doesn't move. I can't tell if she is crying or not. I hope not...
"Ryoko, I figured you would be happy when Washu said that you would get your powers back." I say finally, tiring of the sound of the wind.
"Why should I be happy, Tenchi? When I regain my power things will go back to the way they were before. Aeka will be fighting with me all the time, Washu will be performing her tests on me, and you'll go back to hating me again. With my power I'm nothing but a monster, Tenchi. I don't want to go back to that."
"Ryoko, you're not a monster. And I always assumed that you enjoyed your fights with Aeka. I know the two of you have been getting along better, but you always seemed to have this look of content when Aeka was blowing things up around you. Washu only performs tests on you because that's the only way she can get you to spend time with her. And I don't hate you Ryoko. I could never hate you."
"Things just won't be the same, Tenchi. I wanted everything to stay like it was. I wanted us all to live together forever."
"I know you did, Ryoko. Things change no matter how much you don't want them to."
Finally she turns and looks at me. Her cyan hair blowing wildly in the wind, her golden eyes glazed with the slightest hint of tears.
"I have to go for a while, Tenchi." She says suddenly, never breaking her gaze from mine.
"What do you mean, Ryoko?" I ask her, afraid of what she'll say next.
"I have to go back into space and explore for a while. I miss it. I'll take Ryo-Ohki, but only for a while. I'll come back, of course. I'll never leave you, Tenchi. I just need a vacation."
"Ryoko, I don't think that would be wise. I mean, with your powers not completely returned and Kiyone out there..." I say, stopping myself from mentioning the fact that Kiyone has probably added Mihoshi's death to the list of Ryoko's crimes.
"I can handle the Galaxy Police if anything like that happens, Tenchi. You just don't understand. I have to go for a while. Let myself sort this mess out."
I don't say anything, angry that she would even consider leaving now after our family has lost so much.
"I don't want you to go, Ryoko. I don't want to lose another member of the family." I say quietly, more to myself than to her.
She stands up and walks over to me slowly, placing her hand on my cheek. Her skin is freezing to touch but somehow warm as well.
"You won't be losing me Tenchi. I told you that I will come back and I always do what I say I will." She says, moving her face closer to mine.
"What about Sasami, Washu, and Aeka? They won't want you to leave either."
She smiles a little.
"But you don't want me to leave more, Tenchi. You could come along if you'd like. I did promise to take you on a journey with me. Now would be the perfect opportunity."
I smile back.
"I can't Ryoko."
"I know, I know. You're just not fun sometimes Tenchi. I'll go back and tell them I'm leaving. I'll leave with Ryo-Ohki this evening."
"So soon?"
"Better now than later. I'll see you later, Tenchi." She says, walking back toward the house.
She leaves me standing there, completely dumbstruck. I can't believe she's going to leave. But she did say she was coming back. Maybe she just needs a break for a while to get away from everyone.
I start walking back to the house, passing Grampa and his sweeping. The house is a good distance away, but it seems much farther when its cold and you're trying to think of a way out of a situation.
I arrive back at the house much later than I should have. I must have been walking much more slowly than I thought I was.
"Has Ryoko been here?" I ask, seeing Sasami sitting in the living room.
"Oh, Tenchi!" She says, running up to me, crying.
"Sasami, don't cry." I say, walking her over to the couch to sit down.
"Ryoko is leaving us too, Tenchi! I don't want her to go." The small girl says between sobs.
"She'll come back, Sasami. Ryoko wouldn't leave us forever, you know that. There's no need for tears, this is only for a while."
"You know already, Tenchi?"
I nod slowly.
"I don't want her to leave either Sasami, but she wants to and there isn't much we can do to stop her."
Sasami only cries harder and burrows her face into my jacket.
Dinner is especially quiet. Ryoko still insists on leaving after everyone's protests. I can't tell now if she actually wants to leave or she wants the attention she'll get for leaving.
Ryoko seems happier anyway, even if nobody else is. Washu is especially unhappy that Ryoko would leave like this, jeopardizing herself like his.
After dinner, we all go out into the living room. Ryoko doesn't want any of us to be outside when she leaves. She thinks it will be easier if she just goes. Her leaving will be a surprise and when she comes back will be as well.
Everyone is lined up by the door. I'm closest to it with Washu next to me followed by Aeka and Sasami. Ryoko says good-bye to everyone starting with Sasami who is still desperately holding back her tears.
"Don't go, Ryoko!" She cries, holding on tightly to Ryoko's waist. "Please, don't go."
"I won't be gone long, Sasami. Ryo-Ohki and I will be back before you know it." She smiles, trying to cheer her up, but not really succeeding.
"Good-bye, Ryoko. Don't get yourself into more trouble than you already are." Aeka says, now trying to comfort Sasami.
"Yeah, I'll miss you too, Princess." Ryoko says, inching closer to the door.
"Ryoko, you need to be careful. Don't try anything foolish until all of your power has returned." Washu says, glaring up at her daughter.
"Don't worry about it, Washu. I know what I can and can't do." She says with that cocky smile of hers.
"Sure you do." Washu says sarcastically.
Finally, Ryoko walks up to me.
"I guess we've already said our good-byes, Tenchi." She says, quietly.
"I still don't want you to go, Ryoko."
"I know you don't Tenchi. I'll be just fine. You *can* still come with me, you know. The offer still stands." She says, smiling.
"I can't, Ryoko."
"Yeah, yeah. I know." She says, grabbing me and hugging me tightly. "I'll miss you, my Tenchi." She whispers quietly into my ear.
"I'll miss you too, Ryoko. Take care."
"I will. You're sure you don't want to come?" She asks, pulling away from me again.
"Meow!" Ryo-Ohki says quietly. She doesn't look very happy to be leaving either.
I only look at Ryoko and shake my head.
"Very well, then. I will see you all soon. Good-bye." She says, walking outside slowly.
"She's back to her normal, foolish self." Aeka says, watching Ryo-Ohki transform from her cabbit to spaceship forms.
"That she is." Washu says, walking back toward her lab. "But she'll be just fine." She says.
"I suppose you're right, Miss Washu." Aeka says. "What do you think, Tenchi?"
I only stand there, watching Ryoko getting ready to leave, wanting desperately to go with her and just experience things like she does.
"Lord Tenchi?" Aeka asks me again.
"Oh, what is it Aeka?" I ask, not taking my eyes off of Ryoko.
"What do you think about Ryoko's leaving like this?"
"I think I have to go."
=======================
Epilogue...Tsunami's POV...
Tenchi ran from the house as Ryoko was about to leave. That boy, when he does things, he definitely waits for the last minute. Not long ago Ryoko did promise to take Tenchi on a journey with her and this is her chance to fulfill that promise to Tenchi. This is a chance for both of them to start over after all that has happened.
Tenchi once thought that I created Ryoko just for him. The perfect match. He was right, in a way. My sister, Washu, created Ryoko in her own image as every parent does with their children. It is destiny that they all ended up together. Each of those girls are especially for Tenchi. One without the other would be meaningless.
Unfortunately they have lost Mihoshi and Kiyone refuses to return. Now, Tenchi has Ryoko, whom is probably most compatible with him. She will take their places in his heart, not that he would stop loving them. Ryoko will always be capable of filling a void in my dear Tenchi's life. That's just the way things are and the way they always will be.
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~THE END~
A/N: This is the last chapter of this series. It has been fun to write!
My next series is still in the earliest of developmental status, but it will
show up unexpectedly one day. I will be writing more about Tenchi and
the girls, most definitely.
I hope you enjoyed this series.