Tsuki no Tragedy - Chapter 5
By: Ryoko-chan
Disclaimer: The Tenchi Muyo! series and characters belong to Pioneer Entertainment, AIC, TV Tokyo, and a bunch of other people who never get mentioned in disclaimers. I don't own them or claim to.
~ Chapter 5 ~
"Ryoko!" Washu said, trying to get over to the lifeless form of her daughter.
"Where do you think you're going, Washu?" Jiro asked, throwing her across the room. She landed close to Tenchi.
"Tenchi, come on! Wake up!" Aeka urged him.
Sasami sat next to Aeka with Ryo-Ohki on her lap.
"Sasami, get out of here. Get somewhere safe!" Aeka said, glancing over at Nobuyuki and Katsuhito. "Get her out of here." She said to them.
"Let's go, Sasami." Katsuhito said, picking the little girl up off the ground.
"Now, now. Where do you think you're going?" Jiro asked, creating yet another invisible barrier around them.
"Let them go!" Aeka said, standing up and creating her shield around them all.
"Well, now. The little princess is going to try to fight me now." Jiro said with a laugh.
He placed the fused form of the gems on a table in the center of the room and started chanting under his breath.
"What's he doing?" Aeka asked out loud.
"He's casting a spell, it seems." Katsuhito said from behind her.
Aeka stood up straight, ready to give the shield as much strength as she had to.
"Leave her alone!" Tenchi said, rising off the ground slowly.
"Well, well. You've finally woke up. I was starting to wonder if I had killed you."
"Leave Aeka and the others alone. You've already taken Ryoko away from me, I won't let you take them as well." He said, walking out of the range of Aeka's shield.
Washu slowly stood up, her forehead bleeding.
"How are you holding up Aeka?" She asked, walking over to her.
"I'm fine, Miss Washu." Aeka said, standing completely still.
Jiro knelt on the ground and started to chant again.
"Be careful, Tenchi." Washu said. "Get back inside the shield."
"No." Was all he said.
"Washu, what is that?" Sasami asked, pointing over to the fused form of the gems lying on the table.
Washu only looked, afraid to speak and break Jiro's concentration on his spell. They all watched the gem levitate off the table, engulfed in a bright red light. Slowly, it moved toward Ryoko, entering her body where her life-sustaining gem had left her body fifteen minutes earlier.
"What's going on?" Tenchi whispered to himself.
"I knew it!" Washu said happily.
Soon the light was gone and Ryoko lifted her head slowly.
"It's impossible!" Aeka said, astonished.
"Ryoko!" Sasami said happily, catching Jiro's attention.
The tall man stood up and walked over to Ryoko.
"This is impossible. You can't be alive. You're dead." He said, typing on his keyboard furiously.
Slowly Ryoko opened her eyes. The whites of her eyes had changed to a sea green color, brightening her golden irises.
"What's wrong with her, Washu? She looks like she did when Kagato controlled her." Aeka asked, letting the shield collapse around them.
"Its the gems. They're power is being absorbed into her body." Washu said, stepping closer.
Suddenly the restraints that held her before melted away from her body.
"Look at her forehead." Sasami said.
A triangle of three small circles formed on her forehead as she stood in front of Jiro.
"I got rid of you once, I can do it again. You won't escape me so easily." He said, igniting an energy similar to Ryoko's.
Quickly he lunged at Ryoko who stood perfectly still, dodging his attack at the last moment.
"Ryoko! Be careful!" Tenchi shouted.
She didn't respond. It was as if she couldn't hear him and the others. She stood peacefully, watching Jiro's every move.
Jiro attacked again, sending five energy blasts at Ryoko, all of them hit her directly. She stood, protected, her facial expression never changing.
"Look! Its the Light Hawk Wings!" Washu said, watching closely.
"She's gained the power you removed from yourself, Little Washu." Tenchi said.
"This is impossible!" Jiro shouted in a panic. He didn't want to lose, not after he had finally gathered the gems he had been seeking for over two thousand years.
"Nothing is impossible." Ryoko said, her voice no louder than a whisper.
"We'll see." Jiro said, sending another series of blasts at her.
The Light Hawk Wings blocked the majority of them, one hit her in the stomach.
"Ryoko!" Tenchi said, running toward her.
"No, Tenchi!" Aeka said, following him. "You don't even have the Master Key!"
"You two again." Jiro said, throwing a series of energy blasts at them. "I'll finish you once and for all."
Aeka moved to generate her shield and in doing so moved Tenchi out of harm's way. She didn't move fast enough and she took each hit from the series of blasts.
"Aeka! No!" Sasami said, trying to get out of the barrier she was stuck in.
"Aeka, what were you doing?" Tenchi asked, kneeling down next to her.
"Just let Ryoko do this on her own, Tenchi. Don't risk your life when you don't have to."
"Aeka, don't give up so easily."
She laughed, cringing in pain as she did so.
"Easily? Nothing has been harder than giving you up, Tenchi. I'll love you forever, but you belong with Ryoko. Its more obvious now than ever." She touched his face softly.
"Aeka, stop it." Tenchi said. "You'll be fine. Just hold on."
She didn't respond. Tenchi looked down at her, she wasn't breathing.
"Washu..." Tenchi said, looking to her for help.
"She was hurt badly, Tenchi. There's nothing I can do for her here."
Ryoko watched this and turned to Jiro.
She gathered her energy in the palms of her hands, the Light Hawk Wings wrapped around her body like coils of lace. The three small circles on her forehead glowed red as her energy increased and she shot a series of energy blasts back to Jiro.
He was thrown back against the wall and slid to the ground, stunned.
"Get up." Ryoko said calmly, her voice never above a whisper.
Jiro stood up bracing himself for another attack, gathering his strength to return the attack.
"You won't get away from me so easily, Ryoko. I won't let you." He said, using one of the tables in the room to remain standing.
She didn't reply, she simply raised her arms, palms up, toward the ceiling, her palms glowing with a bright red light. She was gathering more energy, collecting it from the air and from the people around her. She fired another volley at him, each hitting him in the chest. He sunk to the ground again.
"Get up." She said, raising her arm, causing him to levitate off the ground.
Jiro stood on his feet once again, no longer trying to focus his energy for an attack. He couldn't survive an attack needed to penetrate the Light Hawk Wings again. He stood completely still.
Ryoko gathered only enough energy to finish Jiro this time, she blasted him as easily as she had previously, watching his body evaporate into nothing. She stood, completely expressionless. Eventually the Light Hawk Wings vanished and she turned to Tenchi and the others. She released Nobuyuki, Sasami, and Katsuhito from their prison and she walked to Aeka.
"Ryoko, she's --" Tenchi started.
"Shhh." She said, placing her right hand on Aeka's forehead, her left over Aeka's heart.
The three circles on her forehead glowed again as she closed her eyes, concentrating her energy on Aeka. Slowly Aeka opened her eyes, finding Ryoko kneeling over her.
"Aeka!" Sasami said.
Slowly Ryoko drew her hands away and stepped back from Aeka, falling to the ground herself.
*****
Ryoko awoke in her bed in Okayama. She was home. Had she always been? Was that all a dream?
"Tenchi! Ryoko's awake!" She heard Sasami shout as she ran out into the hall.
"Sasami, don't shout so." Aeka scolded, walking into Ryoko's room before Tenchi.
"What happened?" Ryoko asked, looking to either of them for an explanation.
"You saved us all, Ryoko." Aeka said, smiling.
"That wasn't a dream?"
"No, Ryoko. You saved all of our lives." Sasami said, smiling.
"How long have I been asleep?"
"Its been two weeks, Ryoko." Tenchi said. "Washu was worried at first, but after the first few days we knew you would be all right. You always are." He smiled.
"You saved Aeka's life, Ryoko. Not even Washu could've helped her. We both owe you so much." Sasami said, throwing her arms around Ryoko's neck.
"Sasami...You don't owe me anything." Ryoko said, smiling.
"Sasami, let's let Aeka and Ryoko talk." Tenchi said, pulling the girl off of Ryoko. Together they walked into the hall.
"She's right, Ryoko. I owe you my life."
"Don't start that, Princess. You don't owe me anything."
"Why did you save me, Ryoko? Why did you put so much energy into defeating Jiro and then reviving me? You could have died."
"And you were dead. You're my friend, Aeka. No matter how much we fight, I couldn't let you die. I won't win Tenchi that way." Ryoko said, looking the princess in the eye.
"You've already won Tenchi, Ryoko. You know that. You won him fair and square." Aeka smiled weakly. "I'm glad too."
"Aeka..."
Aeka stood up.
"I'll send Tenchi in."
"Aeka?"
"Yeah?" She asked, not looking at her.
"Thank you, Aeka."
"For what?"
"Just thank you."
Aeka walked out of the room, confused.
"Tenchi, she wants you to go inside." She said.
"Not before me." Washu said, pushing passed them. "I am her mother, after all."
"Okay, Little Washu." Tenchi said, leaning against the wall as Washu went into the room.
"How are you feeling, Ryoko?" Washu asked, sitting next to her bed.
"I'm fine, Washu. But, what happened? I was dead, wasn't I?"
Washu nodded.
"The gems brought you back to life. You've inherited the power I gave up so many centuries ago. That's how you were able to bring Aeka back to life. Both of you were dead."
"Everything's different now." Ryoko said, leaning back against her pillows.
"What do you mean?"
"I see everything with a completely different sight. Its as if I've never experienced the simple touch of a cotton sheet. Everyone looks different to me, everything is beautiful now. Peaceful."
"You've come back from the dead, Ryoko. You've experienced something most people can't share with others. Of course everything has new meanings to you now."
"I'm still me, right?" Ryoko asked, looking at Washu.
"Of course you are. You're exactly as you were before, only with more power now. But you'll find that it only surfaces when you truly need it. Back in Jiro's subspace lab, you needed it more than you ever will in the future."
"You were worried then."
"Yes, I was. You're my daughter, Ryoko. No matter how much you like to think that you aren't. I'll always care about you." Washu said, smiling.
Ryoko only nodded.
"I'll send Tenchi in now." Washu said, standing up and leaving the room.
Finally Tenchi stood in the doorway.
"Washu said you were feeling better." He said, sitting where Washu had been sitting seconds earlier.
"Yeah, I am."
Tenchi only nodded, continuously staring at her.
"What's wrong, Tenchi?"
He took a deep breath.
"Nothing's wrong, Ryoko. You scared me, that's all."
Ryoko smiled a bit.
"Which time?"
"All the time. You died right in front of me, Ryoko. There was nothing I could do to stop it. Aeka died in front of me as well. I couldn't save her either."
"Tenchi..."
"No, Ryoko, let me finish. I saw how easily both of you could be taken away from me. How easily you could be taken away. I couldn't live like that, Ryoko."
"Like what?"
"Without you."
Ryoko didn't say anything. Could Aeka have been right? Could Ryoko have finally won Tenchi, or was he just afraid?
"Tenchi, what are you saying?"
"I'm saying that I love you, Ryoko. Those minutes before you were rejoined with the gems, I was ready to die myself."
"Are you sure this is how you feel? You're not afraid of losing me again, you actually mean this...what you're saying."
Tenchi didn't say anything, he simply nodded and smiled.
Ryoko's heart melted. That smile.
"Tenchi..." She reached out and wrapped her arms around him tightly.
"I mean it Ryoko. I love you more than life itself."
She looked in his eyes as he stared back at her lovingly. They moved closer to one another, leaning their faces in together.
Suddenly the door busted open and Aeka, Sasami, Washu, Nobuyuki, and Katsuhito fell into the room. Ryo-Ohki stood triumphantly at the door.
Ryoko only smiled and looked at Tenchi, who was scolding the others for eavesdropping. Things were back to the way they had always been, only now Ryoko had Tenchi's love and Aeka's understanding.
Things change, she thought to herself, but the things that matter never will.
She looked back at Tenchi, who was now looking at her as he had been before. She smiled to him and he smiled back. Their lips touched and everyone sighed at once.
"That's so sweet!" Sasami said, standing up.
"Let's go make lunch, Sasami." Aeka said, standing up as well.
"All right, let's go Ryo-Ohki."
One by one the group left and Tenchi and Ryoko remained gazing at each other.
"I'm really glad you're all right." He said.
"I'm glad we're all OK."
"Maybe our lives will be boring for a while, now that all of that is over."
"The ending is only the beginning Tenchi, you should know that."
"Yeah, I guess I should, Ryoko. I definitely should."
=========
~The End~
Owari soshite Hajimari
By: Ryoko-chan
Disclaimer: The Tenchi Muyo! series and characters belong to Pioneer Entertainment, AIC, TV Tokyo, and a bunch of other people who never get mentioned in disclaimers. I don't own them or claim to.
~ Chapter 5 ~
"Ryoko!" Washu said, trying to get over to the lifeless form of her daughter.
"Where do you think you're going, Washu?" Jiro asked, throwing her across the room. She landed close to Tenchi.
"Tenchi, come on! Wake up!" Aeka urged him.
Sasami sat next to Aeka with Ryo-Ohki on her lap.
"Sasami, get out of here. Get somewhere safe!" Aeka said, glancing over at Nobuyuki and Katsuhito. "Get her out of here." She said to them.
"Let's go, Sasami." Katsuhito said, picking the little girl up off the ground.
"Now, now. Where do you think you're going?" Jiro asked, creating yet another invisible barrier around them.
"Let them go!" Aeka said, standing up and creating her shield around them all.
"Well, now. The little princess is going to try to fight me now." Jiro said with a laugh.
He placed the fused form of the gems on a table in the center of the room and started chanting under his breath.
"What's he doing?" Aeka asked out loud.
"He's casting a spell, it seems." Katsuhito said from behind her.
Aeka stood up straight, ready to give the shield as much strength as she had to.
"Leave her alone!" Tenchi said, rising off the ground slowly.
"Well, well. You've finally woke up. I was starting to wonder if I had killed you."
"Leave Aeka and the others alone. You've already taken Ryoko away from me, I won't let you take them as well." He said, walking out of the range of Aeka's shield.
Washu slowly stood up, her forehead bleeding.
"How are you holding up Aeka?" She asked, walking over to her.
"I'm fine, Miss Washu." Aeka said, standing completely still.
Jiro knelt on the ground and started to chant again.
"Be careful, Tenchi." Washu said. "Get back inside the shield."
"No." Was all he said.
"Washu, what is that?" Sasami asked, pointing over to the fused form of the gems lying on the table.
Washu only looked, afraid to speak and break Jiro's concentration on his spell. They all watched the gem levitate off the table, engulfed in a bright red light. Slowly, it moved toward Ryoko, entering her body where her life-sustaining gem had left her body fifteen minutes earlier.
"What's going on?" Tenchi whispered to himself.
"I knew it!" Washu said happily.
Soon the light was gone and Ryoko lifted her head slowly.
"It's impossible!" Aeka said, astonished.
"Ryoko!" Sasami said happily, catching Jiro's attention.
The tall man stood up and walked over to Ryoko.
"This is impossible. You can't be alive. You're dead." He said, typing on his keyboard furiously.
Slowly Ryoko opened her eyes. The whites of her eyes had changed to a sea green color, brightening her golden irises.
"What's wrong with her, Washu? She looks like she did when Kagato controlled her." Aeka asked, letting the shield collapse around them.
"Its the gems. They're power is being absorbed into her body." Washu said, stepping closer.
Suddenly the restraints that held her before melted away from her body.
"Look at her forehead." Sasami said.
A triangle of three small circles formed on her forehead as she stood in front of Jiro.
"I got rid of you once, I can do it again. You won't escape me so easily." He said, igniting an energy similar to Ryoko's.
Quickly he lunged at Ryoko who stood perfectly still, dodging his attack at the last moment.
"Ryoko! Be careful!" Tenchi shouted.
She didn't respond. It was as if she couldn't hear him and the others. She stood peacefully, watching Jiro's every move.
Jiro attacked again, sending five energy blasts at Ryoko, all of them hit her directly. She stood, protected, her facial expression never changing.
"Look! Its the Light Hawk Wings!" Washu said, watching closely.
"She's gained the power you removed from yourself, Little Washu." Tenchi said.
"This is impossible!" Jiro shouted in a panic. He didn't want to lose, not after he had finally gathered the gems he had been seeking for over two thousand years.
"Nothing is impossible." Ryoko said, her voice no louder than a whisper.
"We'll see." Jiro said, sending another series of blasts at her.
The Light Hawk Wings blocked the majority of them, one hit her in the stomach.
"Ryoko!" Tenchi said, running toward her.
"No, Tenchi!" Aeka said, following him. "You don't even have the Master Key!"
"You two again." Jiro said, throwing a series of energy blasts at them. "I'll finish you once and for all."
Aeka moved to generate her shield and in doing so moved Tenchi out of harm's way. She didn't move fast enough and she took each hit from the series of blasts.
"Aeka! No!" Sasami said, trying to get out of the barrier she was stuck in.
"Aeka, what were you doing?" Tenchi asked, kneeling down next to her.
"Just let Ryoko do this on her own, Tenchi. Don't risk your life when you don't have to."
"Aeka, don't give up so easily."
She laughed, cringing in pain as she did so.
"Easily? Nothing has been harder than giving you up, Tenchi. I'll love you forever, but you belong with Ryoko. Its more obvious now than ever." She touched his face softly.
"Aeka, stop it." Tenchi said. "You'll be fine. Just hold on."
She didn't respond. Tenchi looked down at her, she wasn't breathing.
"Washu..." Tenchi said, looking to her for help.
"She was hurt badly, Tenchi. There's nothing I can do for her here."
Ryoko watched this and turned to Jiro.
She gathered her energy in the palms of her hands, the Light Hawk Wings wrapped around her body like coils of lace. The three small circles on her forehead glowed red as her energy increased and she shot a series of energy blasts back to Jiro.
He was thrown back against the wall and slid to the ground, stunned.
"Get up." Ryoko said calmly, her voice never above a whisper.
Jiro stood up bracing himself for another attack, gathering his strength to return the attack.
"You won't get away from me so easily, Ryoko. I won't let you." He said, using one of the tables in the room to remain standing.
She didn't reply, she simply raised her arms, palms up, toward the ceiling, her palms glowing with a bright red light. She was gathering more energy, collecting it from the air and from the people around her. She fired another volley at him, each hitting him in the chest. He sunk to the ground again.
"Get up." She said, raising her arm, causing him to levitate off the ground.
Jiro stood on his feet once again, no longer trying to focus his energy for an attack. He couldn't survive an attack needed to penetrate the Light Hawk Wings again. He stood completely still.
Ryoko gathered only enough energy to finish Jiro this time, she blasted him as easily as she had previously, watching his body evaporate into nothing. She stood, completely expressionless. Eventually the Light Hawk Wings vanished and she turned to Tenchi and the others. She released Nobuyuki, Sasami, and Katsuhito from their prison and she walked to Aeka.
"Ryoko, she's --" Tenchi started.
"Shhh." She said, placing her right hand on Aeka's forehead, her left over Aeka's heart.
The three circles on her forehead glowed again as she closed her eyes, concentrating her energy on Aeka. Slowly Aeka opened her eyes, finding Ryoko kneeling over her.
"Aeka!" Sasami said.
Slowly Ryoko drew her hands away and stepped back from Aeka, falling to the ground herself.
*****
Ryoko awoke in her bed in Okayama. She was home. Had she always been? Was that all a dream?
"Tenchi! Ryoko's awake!" She heard Sasami shout as she ran out into the hall.
"Sasami, don't shout so." Aeka scolded, walking into Ryoko's room before Tenchi.
"What happened?" Ryoko asked, looking to either of them for an explanation.
"You saved us all, Ryoko." Aeka said, smiling.
"That wasn't a dream?"
"No, Ryoko. You saved all of our lives." Sasami said, smiling.
"How long have I been asleep?"
"Its been two weeks, Ryoko." Tenchi said. "Washu was worried at first, but after the first few days we knew you would be all right. You always are." He smiled.
"You saved Aeka's life, Ryoko. Not even Washu could've helped her. We both owe you so much." Sasami said, throwing her arms around Ryoko's neck.
"Sasami...You don't owe me anything." Ryoko said, smiling.
"Sasami, let's let Aeka and Ryoko talk." Tenchi said, pulling the girl off of Ryoko. Together they walked into the hall.
"She's right, Ryoko. I owe you my life."
"Don't start that, Princess. You don't owe me anything."
"Why did you save me, Ryoko? Why did you put so much energy into defeating Jiro and then reviving me? You could have died."
"And you were dead. You're my friend, Aeka. No matter how much we fight, I couldn't let you die. I won't win Tenchi that way." Ryoko said, looking the princess in the eye.
"You've already won Tenchi, Ryoko. You know that. You won him fair and square." Aeka smiled weakly. "I'm glad too."
"Aeka..."
Aeka stood up.
"I'll send Tenchi in."
"Aeka?"
"Yeah?" She asked, not looking at her.
"Thank you, Aeka."
"For what?"
"Just thank you."
Aeka walked out of the room, confused.
"Tenchi, she wants you to go inside." She said.
"Not before me." Washu said, pushing passed them. "I am her mother, after all."
"Okay, Little Washu." Tenchi said, leaning against the wall as Washu went into the room.
"How are you feeling, Ryoko?" Washu asked, sitting next to her bed.
"I'm fine, Washu. But, what happened? I was dead, wasn't I?"
Washu nodded.
"The gems brought you back to life. You've inherited the power I gave up so many centuries ago. That's how you were able to bring Aeka back to life. Both of you were dead."
"Everything's different now." Ryoko said, leaning back against her pillows.
"What do you mean?"
"I see everything with a completely different sight. Its as if I've never experienced the simple touch of a cotton sheet. Everyone looks different to me, everything is beautiful now. Peaceful."
"You've come back from the dead, Ryoko. You've experienced something most people can't share with others. Of course everything has new meanings to you now."
"I'm still me, right?" Ryoko asked, looking at Washu.
"Of course you are. You're exactly as you were before, only with more power now. But you'll find that it only surfaces when you truly need it. Back in Jiro's subspace lab, you needed it more than you ever will in the future."
"You were worried then."
"Yes, I was. You're my daughter, Ryoko. No matter how much you like to think that you aren't. I'll always care about you." Washu said, smiling.
Ryoko only nodded.
"I'll send Tenchi in now." Washu said, standing up and leaving the room.
Finally Tenchi stood in the doorway.
"Washu said you were feeling better." He said, sitting where Washu had been sitting seconds earlier.
"Yeah, I am."
Tenchi only nodded, continuously staring at her.
"What's wrong, Tenchi?"
He took a deep breath.
"Nothing's wrong, Ryoko. You scared me, that's all."
Ryoko smiled a bit.
"Which time?"
"All the time. You died right in front of me, Ryoko. There was nothing I could do to stop it. Aeka died in front of me as well. I couldn't save her either."
"Tenchi..."
"No, Ryoko, let me finish. I saw how easily both of you could be taken away from me. How easily you could be taken away. I couldn't live like that, Ryoko."
"Like what?"
"Without you."
Ryoko didn't say anything. Could Aeka have been right? Could Ryoko have finally won Tenchi, or was he just afraid?
"Tenchi, what are you saying?"
"I'm saying that I love you, Ryoko. Those minutes before you were rejoined with the gems, I was ready to die myself."
"Are you sure this is how you feel? You're not afraid of losing me again, you actually mean this...what you're saying."
Tenchi didn't say anything, he simply nodded and smiled.
Ryoko's heart melted. That smile.
"Tenchi..." She reached out and wrapped her arms around him tightly.
"I mean it Ryoko. I love you more than life itself."
She looked in his eyes as he stared back at her lovingly. They moved closer to one another, leaning their faces in together.
Suddenly the door busted open and Aeka, Sasami, Washu, Nobuyuki, and Katsuhito fell into the room. Ryo-Ohki stood triumphantly at the door.
Ryoko only smiled and looked at Tenchi, who was scolding the others for eavesdropping. Things were back to the way they had always been, only now Ryoko had Tenchi's love and Aeka's understanding.
Things change, she thought to herself, but the things that matter never will.
She looked back at Tenchi, who was now looking at her as he had been before. She smiled to him and he smiled back. Their lips touched and everyone sighed at once.
"That's so sweet!" Sasami said, standing up.
"Let's go make lunch, Sasami." Aeka said, standing up as well.
"All right, let's go Ryo-Ohki."
One by one the group left and Tenchi and Ryoko remained gazing at each other.
"I'm really glad you're all right." He said.
"I'm glad we're all OK."
"Maybe our lives will be boring for a while, now that all of that is over."
"The ending is only the beginning Tenchi, you should know that."
"Yeah, I guess I should, Ryoko. I definitely should."
=========
~The End~
Owari soshite Hajimari