Matt paced back and forth, along the corridor outside Ryoko's room, talking to himself quietly so he wouldn't wake anyone up. He was wearing some of the new clothes that he had bought earlier today, a blood-red shirt and a pair of blue jeans. He tugged the jeans up a little before continuing to pace.
"Hmm, these are definitely too long" he said to himself. "That doesn't matter right now. Ah man, what am I supposed to say? Should I even say anything?"
He started moving towards the door, before backing away.
"She's probably sleeping right now anyway, so I could worry about this later." He began pacing again, rubbing the back of his head nervously. "But I should really get this out now, before it really starts bothering me"
"Before what starts bothering you?" Minagi said as she opened the door, looking at Matthew, causing him to jump back in shock.
"Ah, Minagi, you scared me then. Why aren't you asleep?" Matt asked holding his chest as he calmed down.
Minagi smiled, leaning against the doorframe as she looked at him.
"It's kind of hard to sleep when someone's mumbling outside your room" She replied.
"Oh, um sorry about that" Matt apologized.
"No it's ok" Migani said as she stretched her arm up in the air and yawned before looking at him again "Something you wanted to talk about?"
"Um, I ah" Matt murmured "No, it's not important, it can wait" Matt replied, looking down at his feet.
"You sure?"
"Yeah, don't worry about it. Get some sleep"
Minagi smiled again, before closing door slowly, saying goodnight to Matt just before she went out of site. Matt sighed before making his way back downstairs to the sofa.
--------------------
Tenchi lay face down in his bed, he hadn't got home until late last night, his head was still pounding from all the sake that he had drunk and as he slowly woke up, he realized there was something warm and soft resting against him.
"Oh no" Tenchi thought to himself as slowly moved himself around, before he found himself looking at Ryoko, who was sleeping peacefully, with her arms loosely wrapped around him. "We didn't..." He started, just as Ryoko started to move around.
"Mmm, nope" She said quietly, drawing herself closer to him and resting her head against his chest. "You drank too much and passed out on the way back home. I flew us back here and" Ryoko stopped to look up at Tenchi and smiled.
"A-and what?" Tenchi replied, still feeling a little nervous.
"Well, I wanted to make sure you would be alright, so I stayed here with you"
Tenchi smiled gently, before sitting up.
"Thanks Ryoko. I'm kind of glad we didn't, do anything" He said, taking off the shirt that he had worn and put a clean one on.
"Why? Aren't I good enough for you?" Ryoko asked, sitting up in the bed and covering herself with the sheets.
"No, it's not that. I really do care about you Ryoko" Tenchi replied as he sat next to Ryoko. "I just, need more time. Just so I can be sure"
"I guess, but I don't see why"
"Just give me one week Ryoko. I should have an answer by then"
Tenchi leaned over towards Ryoko as she looked down, thinking about what he said. He placed a hand on her shoulder and kissed her cheek softly.
"Trust me Ryoko. It's just something I have to do, ok?"
"Ok Tenchi" Ryoko replied softly as she blushed, starting to think that things would be ok.
"Thank you" Tenchi said, just as he began to yawn.
Ryoko smiled, watching as Tenchi continued to get changed, she felt so happy right now. Tenchi was so close to being hers and now they were just one small step away.
"Can I tell Minagi? I'm sure she'll want to know how things went" Ryoko asked.
"Sure, as long as she promises not to tell the others" Tenchi replied as he pulled stepped into one of his pants legs and pulled it up.
"Don't worry, I'm sure she'll keep quiet about it!" Ryoko giggled as she teleported out of the room, leaving Tenchi alone to finish getting dressed.
"Hmm, that went well. Now, how am I supposed to break the news to the others?"
--------------------
Breakfast had been rather quiet; Ryoko had ignored all the questions from Ayeka, and just ate with a smug look on her face, which worried most people at the table. The silence was broken however, when Minagi announced that she was leaving after breakfast. After a few tears, everyone had gathered outside, ready to say goodbye.
"Thanks for letting me stay everyone, it was fun" Minagi said, Hinase floating over the lake.
"Come back soon, 'kay Minagi?" Sasami said cheerfully, waving to her.
"Heh, count on it Sasami"
"Um, Minagi?" Matt said lightly, stepping up to her.
Minagi looked at the boy, it was clear to everyone there that he was a little nervous.
"What is it?" she asked, walking up to him.
"Well, I uh, I wanted to say thanks, for um" He started, struggling to find the words. "Heh, you'd think this would get easier over time" he rubbed the back of his head as he made a nervous chuckle.
"Thank me for what?"
"I loved you" Matt said slowly "Uh, I mean, my you" he corrected himself.
"Yeah, I know, so how do I come into this?"
"Um, I guess until I came here, I ah, I could never accept that she was gone. But seeing you around here, it kind of made it easier to remind myself that I have to move on"
"That's good to know, at least now you can move on. You know what they say"
"That there's plenty more fish in the sea?" Matt interrupted her, getting the jist of what she was going to say.
"Well, I was going to say there's still a bunch of asteroids waiting around the universe. But I guess that works too" Minagi finished, smiling at him.
She moved a little closer, giving him a big hug, and whispering into his ear.
"And just so you know, there's a few asteroids that have fallen nearby, if you know what I mean"
"Heh, yeah, I get you" Matt replied, smiling himself as Minagi let go of him and made her way to her ship.
"Bye everyone! See you again sometime!" Minagi called out, waving to everyone before being teleported into Hinase.
Everyone shouted goodbye and waved as Hinase took off, flying up into the sky and slowly making its way into the distance.
"It was fun while it lasted" Ryoko said, with a big grin of her face. "Well, I've got stuff to do!" she announced to everyone before phasing out of view.
"Um, miss Ayeka" Tenchi said, getting her attention as everyone made their way back inside.
"Yes lord Tenchi?"
"May I talk with you? Alone?" he asked.
"Oh, yes of course! Anything for you Tenchi" Ayeka replied, beaming with happiness as she made her way over to him.
"May as well get the hardest one out of the way" Tenchi thought, trying to keep a smile on his face.
--------------------
"My Lady, are you comfortable?" D3 asked, as a small version of his head appeared inside of a space cruiser that had been created in an instant by Tokimi.
"Yes, I'm fine. I'm just not used to taking a solid form, it feels strange." Tokimi said, standing in large room and looking out into space as they traveled.
"Is this really what you want to do? You have never left your palace before, and your new body will limit your powers"
Tokimi smiled, watching as her palace in space went out of view.
"I am sure, one way or another, I will see my sisters face to face and begin my plans"
"Do you really think it will work? When you contacted Washu before, Tsunami came to protect her"
"Tsunami is not vital to the plan, I only need one of them. But getting both of them would be helpful"
"I see, well I shall see to the vessel my lady." D3 said as he faded away.
Tokimi nodded, still looking out into space.
"I will have to give him a solid form as well. I will need some help if Washu does not accept me" she said to herself as she felt her body ache. "Again? Why does it act like this?" She said, not knowing about the limits she had put upon herself by taking a humanoid body.
--------------------
"Hmm" Azaka pondered, looking up into the sky.
"Is something bothering you Azaka?" Kamedake asked, turning to face the other guardian.
"No, I'm just disappointed that we were not taken along to fight against that space pirate"
"Still?"
"Yes, I feel like we are being left out a lot"
"Well, that usually seems to be how it goes around here. We don't get to see everything that happens around the house, so we tend to get left out"
Azaka looked at Kamedake, before looking over the lake.
"I suppose that you are right, but I just wish we had better roles in this story, that's all" He said.
"Don't worry, I'm sure they'll think of something that we can be used for, apart from being used as a filler" Kamedake reassured him. "And I think that moment may be now"
"Oh?"
Azaka turned to see what Kamedake was looking at, and saw Ayeka walking towards them, clearly upset.
"Is there something wrong princess?" Kamedake asked as the guardians floated to her side.
"Tenchi" Ayeka blurted out, before starting to cry.
"Did something happen to him?" Azaka asked.
"Tenchi doesn't love me!" Ayeka cried. "He said he loves that demon hussy Ryoko"
"Surely not princess, there is no way that a Jurai princess could loose to a space pirate"
"Your right Azaka, it must be a trick! She must have used something to fool my lord Tenchi!"
Ayeka stood with fire in her eyes, a clenched fist held up courageously.
"Azaka! Kamedake!" she commanded
"Yes ma'am!" the wooden guardians responded.
"Let up prepare for battle! We shall win back Tenchi's heart!"
"Yay! We mean, right away princess!"
--------------------
Ryoko walked around her room, moving some of her things around. It was surprising just how much space there was when her room was clean and tidy.
"Need a hand Ryoko?" matt asked from outside her room, peering inside.
"Oh, sure, could you put my clothes on the bed for me?" Ryoko replied, smiling.
"No problem" Matt walked in, picking up a top before spotting a lacy red bra. "Then again" He gulped, blushing a little.
Ryoko floated by him, snatching up the Bra as placing it on the bed.
"Just pick up my stuff, don't worry about the underwear if you going to freeze every time you go to pick one up" Ryoko said, still with a smile on her face.
"Fine, fine. So what's got you so cheerful?" Matt asked, starting to notice that she wasn't acting like her usual self.
"Well, I promised not to tell anyone." Ryoko stared, picking up a few bottles of sake and placing them in a rather large pile. "But me and Tenchi just got together!"
"Wow. Um, congratulations?"
Ryoko nodded, before looking around to see what else needed to be done.
"I just can't wait to see the look on Ayeka's face when she finds out" Ryoko laughed, already looking forward to all the gloating she could have.
"Yeah, I'm sure that's going to go peacefully" Matt said, before hearing an odd noise in the distance. But he decided to ignore it for now. "So Tenchi's moving into your room then?"
"Yep, more room up here. Either way, it means you may get your own room now" Ryoko replied
"Great, some privacy at last" Matt said, placing a group of clothes down, before hearing something again. "Do you hear something Ryoko?"
"Yeah. What is that?"
They looked around, as the sound became louder and clearer.
"RYOKO!" Ayeka was shouting, as she and her guardians flew towards the house at high speed, aiming for Ryoko's room.
"Oh crap" Matt said, as he saw the princess coming at them.
"Don't worry, I've got you!" Ryoko said, phasing behind Matthew and teleporting the pair of them outside.
Ryoko watched on as the Masaki home was hit by its first explosion in quite a while. Ayeka and her guardians flew back out of the ruined room, landing outside, in front of Ryoko and Matthew.
--------------------
"Well now, what have we here?" Washu said as she wondered around her lab, looking through her old inventions. "I didn't think that there were any spare bodies left, I could have some fun with this"
Bringing her computer into view out of nowhere, she pressed a few buttons, moving the item she'd seen to a better location so it would be easier to get to.
"Hmm, I wonder if there's anything else here" she thought as she looked around, unfortunately there was nothing apart from all the experiments that Mihoshi had destroyed. "Maybe not, I could do with removing this section and setting up a new area"
Pressing a few more buttons, all the machines and the area around her disappeared, leaving her in a blank space with only her computer.
"Now then, what should I have?" she said as she looked for ideas. "Well now, this could be good for the others"
She pressed a button, creating a new section for the lab, watching as it formed around her. As it finished creating itself, Washu felt the lab shake from the force of an explosion.
"Oh, now what are they up to?"
--------------------
"Azaka, Kamedake! Go get her!" Ayeka shouted in her battle gear and she faced off with Ryoko.
"Yes Ma'am!" Her guardians replied, acknowledging her order as they flew at Ryoko to attack.
"Matt, get out of the way, I can handle this" Ryoko said, watching the guardians as she stood easily, not worried about them.
"Are you sure?" Matt replied watching on, looking a little more worried then Ryoko.
"Yes! Go!"
"Ok, thanks! Good Luck!" Matt shouted, already halfway to the house in a wild sprint.
"This is our big chance Kamedake! Let's not waste it!" Azaka said as he and Kamedake flew towards Ryoko at great speed.
"Got it, let's make this count!" Kamedake agreed before they both lunged in quickly.
"YAAHH!" Ryoko shouted out, firing an energy ball at the guardians, forcing them back the way they came.
"Well, there goes our moment in the spotlight" Kamedake said, a little bluntly.
"Yes, it should have been expected"
The guardians flew past Ayeka, crashing into the side of the Masaki household as Tenchi and the girls ran outside.
"What on earth's going on now?" Tenchi asked, before seeing the standoff between Ryoko and Ayeka "Never mind"
"It's Ayeka, she just attacked without warning!" Matt said, catching his breath after dashing over to him.
"Did Ryoko do something to her? She doesn't usually get this angry" Kiyone said.
"No, Ryoko's been cleaning her room, I was helping her when Ayeka came out of nowhere"
"Um, everybody" Mihoshi tried to interrupt them.
"What is it?" Kiyone asked, before seeing the worried look on Mihoshi's face.
Turning around, she watched Ayeka dash at Ryoko, flying at high speed, ready to throw a powerful punch and Ryoko.
"Ryoko! I'll make you pay for what you've done!" Ayeka shouted out as she got close enough to Ryoko to hit her. Ryoko simply leaned back and but up a barrier, forcing Ayeka to fly back, heading straight toward everyone else.
"AHHH!" Mihoshi cried out as Ayeka came hurtling towards her and the others. Everyone let out a slight yelp and quickly braced themselves, closing their eye's as Ayeka was about to fly into them.
"Don't worry, I've got her" Washu said calmly, appearing out of nowhere with a barrier of her own that caught Ayeka and let her slide down onto the ground.
"Washu, how did you" Matt started, before Tenchi put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him.
"Probably best not to ask, if there's a way to do something, Washu can find it." He said.
"That's right, I am the greatest scientific genius in the universe after all. But I can gloat later" Washu said, pressing a few buttons to let down the barrier. "Now, what's going on here?"
"Why don't you ask that demon child of yours? She's the one who's done something to Tenchi!" Ayeka shouted, standing up ready for another attack at her opponent. "She's brainwashed Tenchi!"
"What?" Tenchi said, a little confused.
"What does she mean?" Sasami asked, curious to why Ayeka would think this.
"I think were going to find out when this is all over" Matt replied, he had a good idea about why Ayeka was thinking like this right now.
Ayeka flew at Ryoko again, throwing punches at her. But Ryoko casually swayed out of the way of Ayeka's attacks.
"I don't know why your bothering princess. You know you can't land a punch. Besides, as much as I like to see you suffer like this, Tenchi chose me over you" Ryoko said, smiling as that last sentence came out of her mouth.
"You liar!" Ayeka shouted, kicking Ryoko and forcing her to topple to the floor.
"Alright, I was going to let you waste your energy, but now you asked for it!" Ryoko said, before getting up and flying at Ayeka, charging up an energy ball, ready to strike.
"Ryoko!" Tenchi shouted, blocking her path.
Everything stopped in that moment. Ryoko let her energy ball disappear and landed on the ground. Ayeka watched them, waiting for anything. Everyone just watched in silence as everything happened.
"I'm sorry Tenchi, I almost let my anger get the better of me" Ryoko said, walking over to him and smiling, half-heartedly.
"It's ok. Everyone's fine and now we can settle this." Tenchi replied, speaking to her softly, before looking at Ayeka. "Ayeka, this isn't a trick or spell. I love Ryoko and I want to be with her"
"WHAT?" Most of the girls shouted at the sudden revelation.
"I see, so it is true" Ayeka said, looking a little glum. "I'm sorry Tenchi"
Ayeka walked back into the house, as some of the girls went back inside.
"Congratulations Ryoko" Kiyone said, "I hope you'll be happy together" she smiled, pulling on Mihoshi's arm for her to come in, leaving Tenchi and Ryoko alone.
"Hmm? What is it?" Tenchi asked, noticing the large smirk on Ryoko's face.
"You said you love me" Ryoko replied, walking over to him and hugging him. "It felt nice to hear you say that"
"Yeah, and it felt so natural saying it" Tenchi said "Come on, I think we should talk to the others"
As Tenchi and Ryoko walked inside, hand-in-hand, only Azaka and Kamedake were left outside. Both were upside-down and stuck in the side of the house.
"Just another usual day on the planet earth" Azaka said.
"Yeah, just another day Azaka" Kamedake agreed.
--------------------
"This was certainly a big surprise" Mihoshi said, as the girls watched Tenchi and Ryoko from the living room.
"I know, I thought he would have gone for someone more mature then Ryoko" Washu added.
"Washu, your the definition of 'Mature' you know?" Kiyone replied, smirking at the little genius.
"What's the matter Kiyone? Jealous?" Sasami asked, a grin of her own on her face.
Kiyone just smiled back, going away from the window to sit down. Matt watched the others dash away from the window as Tenchi and Ryoko came back inside.
"Are you?" Matt asked Kiyone
"No, not really, I was never really interested in Tenchi anyway" Kiyone replied, sighing a little. "I can't really think of any guys that caught my interest anyway, well, not many at least"
"Oh?"
"Yeah, but I'm not going to get into that right now"
As Ryoko and Tenchi sat down in the living room, Washu decided to tap away on her laptop.
"I'll go and re-create your room Ryoko" she said as she walked off to the stairs.
"Alright, thanks" Ryoko replied, not really paying attention.
"Should I add the whips and chains?"
"Yeah, sure whatever" Ryoko paused "Wait, what did you say? Mom!" Ryoko floated after Washu as she dashed up the stairs laughing.
--------------------
"We are about to arrive on earth my lady" D3 said, appearing beside Tokimi.
"Good, do not bother landing, have me transported down"
"Very well, is there anything else?"
"No" Tokimi said, looking down at earth. "Just be ready if I need any help"
"Of course"
D3 disappeared as Tokimi's spaceship came to a halt.
"I wonder what she's going to think when she sees me?" Tokimi thought, the room glowing as the transporter came to life and sent her down to the planets surface.
--------------------
"What the?" Washu said, stopping on her way to Ryoko's room. Ryoko on the other hand, didn't expect Washu to stop and flew right into her. "Ow! Careful where your going Ryoko!"
"Well, maybe if you didn't stop just like that! Wait, why did you stop anyway?"
"I just picked up an immense power right by us."
"Where exactly?" Ryoko asked, as the two of them stood up.
"Hang on, I'm trying to find out"
Washu typed away quickly, homing in on the powers source.
"It right outside!" Washu said, running past Ryoko to make her way outside. Ryoko flew after Washu, grabbing her so they could both phase outside.
"Well, I don't see anyone" Ryoko said, looking around carefully while Washu checked her data.
"I don't get it, she should be right here"
They both stood there, slowly surveying the scene, before a voice spoke out to them.
"Hello sister. Its good to finally meet you in person"
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Authors corner - Well, I had my Christmas break, and I'm back in time to get this chapter up before the end of the month. Didn't spend as much time with my 360 as I expected, there hasn't been as many games out that I like yet.
But as a bonus, I got the full series of Tenchi Universe and Tenchi in Tokyo for Christmas! Yay me!
Anyway, thank you for your reviews; I'll reply to the ones that I can, as soon as this is uploaded. A
Note - A Fan made a good point that I forgot about; Ayeka does indeed do a fair amount of work around the house.
Next chapter! A confrontation, a weakness and something hidden making itself known.