I don't own Tenchi Muyo or any related characters ect ect. Plot IS mine though! No takies!
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"What?!"
"I am going to kill you." She looked up once more into his face, but refused to meet his eyes. She could feel the energy pulsing through her fingers, and clenched the sword tighter. Tenchi didn't move.
Ryoko swung her foot out at him, connecting with his ribs and sending him across the floor. "Fight me Tenchi!" she cried, slashing her sword in front of her. She closed the distance quickly as he scrambled to his feet and jabbed at the space where he'd just been sprawled.
Tenchi was now backing towards the nearest wall, hands held defensively in front of him. His eyebrows where knit together in a look of nothing less then bewilderment. Ryoko moved slowly towards him, her sword held loosely in her hand. She hadn't actually meant to kick him. The fact that he hadn't gotten out of the way in time had scared her. For the briefest moment she'd forgotten that she was a lot faster then Tenchi and her powers gave her a foot up as a fighter.
The silence that was stretching between the two of them was unsettling. Ryoko wasn't sure what she could say to him, and Tenchi was at a loss for words. Moments ago everything had been shy and tender. Now she stared at him with a face set like stone. He finally voiced the thought that was running constantly through his head.
"Why are you doing this?" She didn't answer him, but her expression tightened. Once more she started towards him, obviously aiming to attack. He backed away and dodged again, this time as she slashed for his legs.
Swinging her sword in an arch over her head she once more aimed the point towards him. Tenchi had backed himself around her and was standing in the middle of the room. With the space he easily avoided Ryoko's raining attacks, though to do so was becoming harder and harder. It seemed with each swipe of her sword she was becoming more frantic. The look in her eyes was not anger, or vengeance. If anything she gave the impression of being desperately scared. Once more too close to one of the walls Tenchi dodged to the side, tripped and sprawled onto the ground. He felt the cold metal of the floor on his skin, and pushed himself up enough to see that her energy sword had come close enough to slice his shirt across the belly.
Ryoko was rattled by the second near-miss she'd had. Unwilling to risk hurting him with her sword she recalled the energy into a ball and let it die away. The sword had been only for show, she didn't want to risk seriously hurting him. Tenchi wasn't reacting at all like she'd hoped, though in truth she hadn't expected any less of him. He was too much of a man to attack back. But if they continued like this nothing would happen. They would either exhaust themselves, or she would have to run. Ryoko realized she needed actual violence against him to get the message across. It made her feel nauseous. But as she blinked she remembered the look in Kibishii's eyes, and his threatening words. Not feeling at all like her self, she balled her fists and ran towards him as he clamored up off the floor.
Ryoko's fist hit him square in the left shoulder, chucking him backwards. It hurt, but he also knew that Ryoko was capable of a lot more and that she had to be holding back. He was still totally lost as to why she would attack him in the first place. Barely catching his fall he once more got his balanced and turned to face her.
She had told him to fight back, but there was no way he could do that. As she punched for him again Tenchi grabbed her arm, using her momentum to swing her away from him. But Ryoko quickly recovered, spinning on her foot to redirect her blows once more upon Tenchi. With a yell she charged forward with a burst of unnatural speed.
She was swinging blindly now, mostly missing. Ryoko greatly hoped that Tenchi would take her seriously and run. But at the same time his defense-only tactic was frustrating her. Why did he have to be so noble? Finally connecting with his chest after many misses she sent him flying into the wall behind him. She flinched as he hit his head, sliding down to sit for a moment dazed. As he tried to get to his feet again she ran up and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, pulling Tenchi to his feet. His shirt ripped and Ryoko was left holding a strip of his collar as he stumbled back into the wall. She dropped it and grabbed his neck instead. Now with him pinned against the wall she stepped closer, staring directly into his eyes.
"Why the hell aren't you fighting back?" she asked through her teeth, sounding like she was on the verge of tears. Tenchi shook his head as best as he could, her grasp holding his head very firmly immobile. Ryoko now looked like she was about to cry in earnest. Her breath was heaving and her eyes darting around as if trying to find one single thing other then the man in front of her to look at. With a yell she threw him to the floor, turning away.
She couldn't allow herself to cry. Yet tears were dripping from her eyes betrayingly. She could hear him getting to his feet again, coming towards her with what almost sounded like a limp.
"Ryoko…" he reached out a hand to touch her shoulder. Before he could though, she spun around, a clenched fist hitting him full in the face. Almost instantly he could feel blood gushing from his nose. While covering his nose as best he could to stem to blood flow, Ryoko hit him twice more and kicked his footing out from under him.
"Goddamn you!!" she screamed, tears now flowing freely down her cheeks.
Tenchi once more started to get up, kneeling as he wiped the blood off his mouth. Then he heard a third pair of footsteps running towards them. Through the open doorway ran Mihoshi.
"Is everything okay? I thought I heard fi-" Mihoshi stopped mid-stride, staring at the scene in front of her. Tenchi was on the floor, very clearly beaten up and bleeding. Ryoko behind him had been splattered with blood from his freely bleeding nose, the cut in her hand re-opened and staining her bandages red.
For a flash everyone was frozen. But then time seemed to speed up to twice its normal velocity. Mihoshi suddenly had a blaster gun in her hand, and pointed at Ryoko. With a click it fired a shot at her, the energy ball hitting her directly in the chest and sending her flying backwards. Mihoshi rushed to Tenchi's side, pulling him to his feet. Standing in front of him, the gun still held in front of her, she started to lead Tenchi backwards. He tried to open his mouth to say something, but it only caused a fresh gush of blood from his nose which ran into his mouth.
Sputtering he looked for Ryoko instead. She was now lying a full several yards from where she'd been standing moments before. Mihoshi's gun must have been set on a lower level, because though the clothes she'd been wearing had been singed with the blast and there was a shiny red burn on her upper chest she was not bleeding. She got up again only to have Mihoshi fire several more shots at her. She dropped to her knees, throwing up her hands to cover her head.
"Stay where you are!! Don't move!!" Mihoshi was yelling over the noise of her blaster as she continued to shoot. They were almost to the hallway that led to the docking bay. Ryoko was now surrounded with the flashing light and smoke of the blaster shots. With one final shot from her gun Mihoshi turned, dragging Tenchi with her through the door. He looked behind him as he was dragged away. The smoke was clearing and he saw Ryoko look up from between her arms, expression lost in the haze.
Mihoshi refused to slow down until they were back at the shuttle. The second they were through the doors she was initiating take off, the hatch shutting. Tenchi dropped to the floor feeling light headed. There was no sign of Ryoko in pursuit. The doors shut with a sigh and the shuttle was now undocking and quickly maneuvering back into open space. Tenchi leaned back against the nearest wall, feeling lost. He would have never in a million years imagined that reunion ending like it had.
He reached up to touch his face. Upon closer inspection he found that his lip had split, and his nose was very swollen and still slightly bleeding. Along with the extreme pain of his face he could also feel aches all over his body that were no doubt turning into bruises. Using the edge of his already ripped shirt he reached up and pinched his nose with it, tilting his head forward slightly. Mihoshi was piloting in silence, body ridged. She didn't ask any questions, and for this Tenchi was thankful. It might have been from all the blood he had lost, but he was feeling very disoriented. He wasn't sure if he would have been able to answer any questions at all…
Tenchi opened his eyes suddenly, starting. He must have passed out briefly, because though moments ago they had been half way between the space station and the Yagami they were now landed and he was surrounded by the hands of people helping him to stand.
"Stay with us Tenchi," Kiyone said as she hefted him up by one arm. Mihoshi was holding on to his other. Together they helped him stand and walk out of the ship. Making a limping pace they strode out of the Yagami's shuttle bay and down through the halls to the common area of the ship. Inside Washu was standing, waiting for him. As Kiyone and Mihoshi helped him sit down on one of the couches she came forward with a cloth in hand.
Washu started to clean the blood away from his face. It hurt, a lot. Tenchi winced as she worked, dabbing patiently. Her face hosted an expression that was one he had almost never seen from Washu. She looked tired, and sad. She was finding no victory from her correct assumptions about the situation they had put themselves into. It was an almost uncharacteristic look from her. It was a moment before he realized that it was only the two of them alone.
"She didn't mean to," he managed thickly. Washu's eyes darted up to look at his only briefly before she returned her attention to the blood she was wiping off his chin and neck.
"Oh?"
"Well…" he paused for a minute, wondering now he could put what he saw into words. "She meant to. But she didn't want to. If she'd wanted to I'd be dead."
There was another stretched silence. Washu was getting a new clean cloth, her current one now entirely the coppery tone of blood. When she turned back to him she placed the cool cloth up near the bridge of his nose and moved his hand there to hold it. Then she placed a butterfly bandage on his lip. Standing back, she took in the bruises now blooming on his face. No doubt there were others under his ruined shirt. She let out a deep heavy sigh.
"I know…"
Tenchi lifted up the cloth so that his other hand could carefully squeeze his nose at the bridge. He let out a yelp, face contorting. "No pain killer from the Greatest Scientist in the Universe?"
Washu laughed, her expression lightening significantly. "Naaah, you're tough," she said, clasping her hands behind her head.
The door to the room opened then. Mihoshi entered, pausing to look at Tenchi and Washu briefly. She was moving in a very rigid, unusual manor. She then went to the small kitchenette in the corner of the room and started making tea. Washu was cleaning up the various things she'd used, placing them all carefully into the case she'd gotten them out of. Once she was done with this she sat down on the couch next to Tenchi.
"Tell me everything," she said. So he did. From the moment they'd left the Yagami until when he was waking up again after they docked. Every word, expression, sentence that he could remember. He tried his hardest not to be abashed about his attempt at a confession, but as he mentioned it he could feel himself blush at the embarrassment of it all. Half way through his story Mihoshi brought the tea she had made for them over in mugs and set them on the coffee table. She then sat down, looking at her hands as if they were very interesting. When Tenchi got to the part about her shooting at Ryoko she tensed.
Washu looked over to her. "You're reaction time has become much better Mihoshi," she said quietly. When Mihoshi looked up, there were tears building in her eyes.
"I didn't mean to," she blubbered. "I was scared, but there was blood everywhere and I…" Wiping at her eyes she sniffed loudly. "I hope I didn't hurt Ryoko too bad."
"You shouldn't worry Mihoshi," Washu told her earnestly. "Even though it wasn't easy to do, you did the right thing."
Mihoshi started to bawl in reply.
As Tenchi was finishing his story Kiyone came in, leaning against the wall right inside of the door. She listened to the tail end of his story with her arms crossed, and in the silence that followed cleared her throat. "The shuttle was already fairly far away by the time I went to check. She must have left just after you guys did."
"Back to Jurai?" Washu asked.
"Just re-entered the atmosphere," Kiyone replied. She then sighed, bowing her head. "You were right Washu. I should have listened to you. Things on Jurai are fishy. And Ryoko has somehow gotten involved into it further then a just some political scapegoat."
"A scapegoat?" Mihoshi asked, still wiping at her eyes.
"I had my suspicions, but I think this confirms it," Washu replied. "If that's the case Kiyone, we should get out of here for a bit and regroup." Kiyone left again at once.
"Wait…Washu," Tenchi started. "What do you mean 'more' then a scapegoat? Do you mean this is no longer just Ryoko being falsely arrested?" Washu nodded.
"Ryoko would never act against her friends. She's become too loyal for that. But she is rash, emotional, and foolhardy. And all these things make her easy to manipulate. I don't know what she's gotten herself tangled into, but I think this is a lot larger then we realize."
Back on Jurai, Ryoko's shuttle had just landed roughly in the private shuttle bay of the palace. The doors opened automatically, revealing Ryoko sitting on the floor of the craft. Mihoshi's shot to her chest has blistered up, along with another hit she had gotten on Ryoko's lower right side. She was splattered in blood, clothes singed in several spots, and looking very lifeless. In her hand was a scrap of blood spattered cotton.
Kakusu was waiting, surrounded by his standard party of militia and looking quite pleased. He silently motioned for the guards to assist her to stand, but before they could move Ryoko started getting to her feet. His eyebrows lifted in astonishment as she staggered her way out of the shuttle and came to stand several feet in front of him.
"My my, you are just full of surprises Ryoko. You hardly look capable of all this walking, and yet here you are."
Ryoko didn't reply. She seemed very focused on just standing.
"I assume from the blood everything went according to plan?" Kakusu asked with a thin smile, his watery green eyes looking her over. Ryoko nodded, eyes lowered.
"Very good, very good." He turned to the nearest guard, mumbling orders to him. The man nodded and left with several others. Kakusu then turned to the remaining guards and motioned to Ryoko. They nodded and went to stand in a circle around her, moving her away from Kakusu.
"Wait…" Ryoko started, finally finding her voice as she was cuffed and several sets of hands grabbed onto her. "Kibishii said that I would be let off if…if I did this."
She turned to look behind her as she was led off. Kakusu remained where he was, watching as she was escorted away. He laughed at her, brushing some of his wavy orange hair out of his eyes and shaking his head slightly.
"He never said when."
Ryoko's expression blanched, before her cheeks blushed angrily. There was a painful lump in her throat that she couldn't swallow. Since arriving in the palace she'd always kept herself in check, kept her emotions under control. Every last act, down to the one that she had just carried out on the space station had been performed over her carefully buried emotions. Now, she didn't care who saw or heard.
"I had his word; he told me I could go!!" Ryoko cried out, struggling with energy that she hadn't known she still had. The hands holding her tightened and she was swarmed with the guards as they tried to stop her thrashing.
"KIBISHII GAVE ME HIS WORD!" She kicked at the nearest guards, pulling against her cuffs. But her eyes remained on Kakusu, flashing like lighting. There was a pain in her chest that was unrelated to the burns. It was inside, breaking, shattering. She knew the pain had been there, it had been there since she arrived on Jurai. It was the pain of losing Sasami and of the hate in Ayeka's eyes, of being pulled from Tenchi's arms, the pain that her friends were risking their lives for her. Her eyes burned with the tears that streamed from them, and down her face.
The men around her were calling out, someone screaming about sedation. But it was only Kakusu she had eyes for. He remained where he stood, watching her struggle. If she had not known the sadism in him, she would have said he was lost in his thoughts. He had a small half smile on his face. But his eyes were fixed on her, and did not reflect the rest of his absentminded air.
Ryoko's body felt a shock run through it, originating from her handcuffs. Almost instantly she went limp, falling backwards into the men's arms. Her head lolled forward to see a guard with a charm in his hand, similar to the one that had been used on her on the spaceship that had brought her to Jurai. She couldn't even open her mouth the pain had shocked her so thoroughly. Heaving her dead weight up off the ground the men continued.
In silence she was shepherded from the room and once more brought through the halls of the palace to the dingy cell she had been kept in before Kibishii's offer. Ryoko collapsed to the floor the moment she was deposited into the cell. The force field was reinstated, the handcuffs removed, and she was left alone with only the dim light of the shield, for once without a mocking guard to accompany her. The burns on her body were throbbing dully, and she felt slightly nauseous.
It was a long while before she could move again. She was not sure if it was because of the electric shock that the Juraian's were so favorable towards as sedation, or just the sheer exhaustion that she was feeling. But eventually she could slowly press the heels of her fisted hands to her eyes, trying to stop the shudders that were starting all over her body.
Taking a deep breath she looked up and around the cell, before lowering her eyes to one of her clenched hands. Opening her palm she looked down at the scrap of fabric in her hand. It was the piece of Tenchi's collar that she had ripped. She gazed down upon it, the last scrap of her life with him.
She knew she had hurt him. All the blood…what if she'd broken his nose? Ryoko once more closed her hand around the fabric scrap, resting the fist that held it against her chest. Every heart beat hurt, and the shudders that were claiming her body turned into sobs.
She could still remember the feeling of her hand contacting with his flesh, and the look in Mihoshi's eyes as she had entered the room. She could still see the expression on Kakusu's face as he denied her release.
She could be held indefinitely by Kibishii now. Thinking back on his words, she saw the loop hole in them. 'I will let you get off free', he had said. No promise of when, or of her safety or treatment until then. For all she knew he would leave her in that cell until the day before she died, as long as she had one step worth of freedom.
Now Ayeka was in even more danger due to her ignorance to Kibishii's puppeteering. What if she too discovered this secret that Kibishii kept covering his tracks over? Furthermore, she had little doubt that Tenchi and the rest were leaving as she lay there. What reason did they have to stay after her betrayal? What if she never saw any of them again? The thought twisted at her heart.
"Oh god, what have I done?" Ryoko moaned, her voice resounding off the walls of the empty chamber. "What have I done?"
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