Chapter 3: Expectations
Finally, after just a few more minutes, Belldandy called Keiichi
into the Kitchen. The young man excused
himself from the conversation he was having with Tenchi and Ryoko to go help
Belldandy. The two of them brought out
multiple serving platters for the meal.
It appeared that Belldandy had made Teriyaki beef, stir fry vegetables,
and Miso soup. She had even made a
bottle and a bowl of soup for the baby.
After seeing that everyone sat himself or herself, Belldandy served
everyone a plate before joining them at the table. She bowed her head, as did Keiichi, so Tenchi and Ryoko did the
same. Belldandy began a small prayer of
thanks before the meal began.
"Please
let this food, which has been so humbly prepared, be adequate for those of us
dining. May this meal be the first of
many more friendly encounters between all of us. Thank you."
Keiichi
looked up and smiled. "Let's eat
everyone," he said and began eating the serving on his plate. Belldandy picked daintily at the food in
front of her and delicately ate her meal.
Tenchi was eating slowly, striking up a friendly conversation with
Keiichi as he ate. He was expecting
Ryoko to plow into her meal, but he was surprised when she just looked at the
plate in front of her, her golden eyes wide and an eager smile on her
face. Tenchi noticed this and let the
conversation with Keiichi fade away as he watched the former space pirate.
Ryoko
was smiling, anticipating what her first true meal would be like. She used her chopsticks to grab some of the
steak and noodles. Lifting them to her
mouth, she paused for just a moment, and then placed it in her mouth. Closing her eyes, she savored the new
sensations rocketing through her mind.
The taste was exquisite; the flavor of the beef was nicely accented by
the herbs and sauces used in the stir-fry.
The textures of the food were new as well, and she enjoyed them just as
thoroughly. She heard a cough, and opened
her eyes. She saw everyone, even
Mayuka, staring at her. Blushing a bit,
she realized she had started floating while her eyes were closed. Ryoko settled back in to her sieza, and she
noticed Tenchi looking at her.
"What
was that about?" the young brown eyed boy asked, amusement in the warm tones of
his voice.
Ryoko
swallowed her food, and then smiled at him.
"It just tasted so good, Tenchi.
I never knew food was this good."
Tenchi looked at her quizzically and Ryoko nodded her head happily. "Yes, Tenchi, I can taste everything
now." She watched as Tenchi stood up
and walked over to her. She was
startled, yet thrilled, when Tenchi embraced her in a soft hug. Over his shoulder, she could tell that
Keiichi and Belldandy were smiling.
"I
am very happy for you Ryoko," Tenchi said softly as he held her. "How'd it happen?" He asked after he had finished hugging her and he had returned to
his seat.
The
cyan haired young woman looked around before she continued. "Oh, its not much. Mom figured it out and gave me my sense of taste back early this
morning." She noticed Tenchi smile even
further when she called Washu "Mom".
Ryoko smiled, and then resumed eating.
There were more new tastes for her to enjoy at the meal, and she
intended to relish all of them.
Everyone
resumed the meal, relaxing amidst the friendly atmosphere. Keiichi decided to break the amicable
silence by regaling Tenchi, Ryoko, and Mayuka with the tale of how he had met
his goddess. Tenchi chuckled in
sympathy with the ironic twist of fate that had brought Belldandy to the young
Black haired man. Keiichi then told his
quests about his other friends and family.
He told them tales of the dynamic duo of Tamiya and Otaki; the feisty 'love
goddess' Urd; the mechanically inclined, yet quirky and meddlesome Skuld; Of
his kid sister and all the trouble she ended up getting him in to; even the
demoness Mara, who he explained away as a kind 'disgruntled family friend'. He wound down his story with the events that
had nearly taken Belldandy and her sisters from him, not to mention the near
destruction of the world at large.
"Then,
right at the end, Belldandy ended up defying the will of Kami Sama to keep me
alive." He looked over sheepishly at
Belldandy, and Tenchi noted the blush both of them had acquired. "How could I not fall in love wither her?" He finished.
"That
was you guys?" Tenchi asked, looking at
his hosts in wonderment. "I saw that on
the news; it was pretty scary stuff."
Keiichi
just nodded and returned to his meal.
The companionable silence returned for a few minutes while everyone
ate. Tenchi, seeing an almost expectant
look on Ryoko's face, finally broke the silence to tell Keiichi and Belldandy
his story.
"Well,
mine started with my curiosity finally getting the best of me one summer while I
was at my grandfather's shrine…" Tenchi proceeded to tell his hosts, first
about meeting Ryoko; and then, he told them how Ayeka and Sasami came to live
with him; then on to Mihoshi. He paused
and looked at Ryoko as he told of his own death at the hands of Kagato, and
then told then how he had been reborn by the Goddess Tsunami. Belldandy blinked a few times when Tenchi
told of how he had been brought to the goddess' realm, but just smiled and
listened to the rest of the story.
Finally
Tenchi told Keiichi and Belldandy about Washu.
Belldandy looked even more surprised to hear this, as she went pale for
a moment. Tenchi noticed this as
Keiichi bent over the caramel haired goddess in concern.
"Something
wrong?"
Belldandy
answered after she had reassured Keiichi.
"No, nothing. Please continue
what you were saying?" She smiled and
Tenchi decided to continue.
The
young priest in training began speaking again, of the 'zero' incident, as all
of them called it; and finally he told the story of Yuzuha, Lord Yosho, and
Mayuka.
"…And
that is how we were blessed with my wonderful daughter," Tenchi finished,
smiling over at his daughter. She
giggled at him. "Isn't that right,
Noodles?"
With both
stories told, the topics of dinner moved on to less important maters. Tenchi and Keiichi discussed N.I.T., while
Ryoko and Belldandy shared stories and laughter about living with other women;
they all got quite a laugh from feeding Mayuka, who had never had anything but
her bottle before. Dinner went on for
nearly an hour, until finally Belldandy cleared away the dishes and brought out
desert. It was something Americans called
a "hot fudge sundae", and there was one for everyone except Mayuka. Tenchi, Ryoko, Keiichi, and Belldandy ate
the desert, with Ryoko giving Mayuka just a little bit of her sundae. Finally everyone was finished and relaxing
out in the yard of the Shrine.
"So,
Tenchi, d'you think you'll be attending N.I.T. this fall?" Keiichi asked as he walked out with a
decanter of tea. Handing a cup to
Tenchi, the two of them drank and watched Belldandy and Ryoko play with a
giggling Mayuka. Both were smiling.
Tenchi
looked away from the happy scene to answer Keiichi. "Yeah, I probably will.
Assuming there isn't any titanic crisis I get involved in."
"I
hear you," Keiichi said with a smirk.
The young man has had just as interesting of a life as Tenchi. Just
then, Tenchi heard something that made his heart stop.
"P…p…Pa...pa. Wan Papa!"
Dropping
his cup in surprise, the young prince ran over to his daughter. Ryoko had tears in her eyes, and Belldandy
looked as if she soon would to. Tenchi
scooped up his daughter in his arms, holding her over his head. Mayuka giggled and shook her hands at her
father.
"Papa!"
she giggled triumphantly.
Tenchi
held his daughter close to him and smiled.
"Yes, Noodles. I'm your
papa. Your such a good girl."
Everyone
huddled around Tenchi's daughter, congratulating her and the proud father.
---------------------------
It
was nearing nine o'clock when Tenchi and Ryoko decided it was time to get
Mayuka home and into bed. They said
goodbye to Keiichi and Belldandy, with Tenchi promising to have them over for
dinner sometime soon. Before leaving, Belldandy
whispered something to Tenchi. His eyes
widened, but he just smiled. After
exchanging phone numbers, everyone hugged one last time before Ryoko teleported
Mayuka, Tenchi, and herself back to the dock near Tenchi's house. The three walked up to the house. Sasami opened the door expectantly and
smiled at everyone.
"Guess
what Tenchi?" the blue haired princess asked, nearly jumping up and down with
excitement. "Victor came back! He said he has some news for all of us, but
it can wait until the morning."
Tenchi
had to smile at the young princesses exuberance. "I got something to tell everybody too." He saw a little bit of fear creep into
Sasami's eyes and chuckled. "It's about
Mayuka, Sasami. Go and get everyone
that's up, even Washu, ok? I'll be in
the living room." Sasami dashed off
straight for Washu's realm.
The
young man smiled and walked into the living room. Almost all of his houseguests were already there. Kiyone and Mihoshi were sitting next to each
other sipping sake and going over the list of karaoke songs on the karaoke
machine. Ayeka and Victor were standing
near the couch, talking about something.
From the sound of it, it sounded like news about the Jurian court. Tenchi settled himself on the floor across
from the couches, a yawning Mayuka in his lap.
Ryoko floated over and sat next to Mihoshi and Kiyone. Ayeka moved to sit next to her but was
beaten to the spot by the sudden appearance of Washu. Instead, she sat with her sister at the other couch, with Victor
sitting on the armrest close by. Tenchi
noticed this, as well as noticing Ryoko putting her arm around Washu, as he
looked around at his family. He smiled
when he saw Noboyuki and his grandfather walk in and begin standing behind the
couch with Washu, Ryoko, and the GP. My
family, he thought with a smile.
Lets
get this over-with, my little girl is getting sleepy, he thought as he
heard a yawn escape his baby's mouth.
"I just wanted to get you all together to tell you about my darling
daughter's day," Tenchi began with a smile at his daughter. "After Ryoko decided to check up on me
earlier today," and Ryoko blushed a bit when everyone looked at her, Ayeka
glaring. Tenchi continued, "The three
of us had dinner with some new friends I made, named Keiichi Morisato and
Belldandy. After dinner," at this point
Tenchi saw the look on Ryoko's face, pleading not to tell her secret, "We were
all sitting around in the back. All of
a sudden, Mayuka said her first word!"
Everyone gasped in happy surprise when he said it. Even Victor was smiling, and most of the
girls looked ready to tear up in joy.
"She called me 'Papa'! Isn't
that right, Noodles?" Tenchi looked
down at his daughter as she finally noticed everyone looking at her. She looked up at her father and giggled.
"Papa!"
she said in a high, happy voice. Most
of the girls began ooh'ing and aah'ing as everyone stood to huddle around the
baby. Everyone except the golden-eyed
Ryoko, that is. Tenchi watched her just
smile a sad smile and fade away.
Wonder
what's got into her? Tenchi handed
the baby to Ayeka, and was promptly congratulated by everyone. Mihoshi, in her usual bubbly way nearly
tackled him as she glomped him, crying happily. Kiyone pulled her partner off of Tenchi, and Mihoshi promptly
attached herself to Kiyone. Tenchi just
smiled. Washu congratulated him with a
hug, as did Sasami. Victor shook his
hand and Katsuhito just nodded his head.
His father hugged him tight and made some inappropriate comments about
fatherhood and wanting a grandson and a granddaughter. Tenchi watched everyone make a fuss over
Mayuka, and then he headed outside.
Looking around, he saw Ryoko sitting on the roof. Smiling, he headed over to the ladder.
-------------------------
Ryoko
heard Tenchi climbing the ladder and sighed.
Should I tell him or not?
She asked herself. Tenchi
finally stepped on to the roof and walked over to her. So deep in her thoughts, she barely
registered Tenchi sitting right next to her.
"So
what's up, Ryoko?" Tenchi asked quietly
as she looked out at the lake. "It's
been quite a day hasn't it?"
Ryoko
finally looked at him. "Is this what
it's supposed to be like?" Tenchi
looked at her quizzically. "Is this
what it's supposed to be like when you are with someone? Like it's been today?"
The
young man looked out at the lake for a minute as he collected his
thoughts. "I don't know, Ryoko. Today was really nice; I enjoyed spending it
with you and Mayuka." Tenchi felt Ryoko
lean against his shoulder, but he was surprised when he heard her let out a
quiet sob. He looked over at her. "What's wrong?"
"It's
about Mayuka's first words Tenchi."
Ryoko hesitated, not sure if she should continue. Gathering up her courage, Ryoko continued,
"You know, Tenchi, when it was just Belldandy and me, she started to say 'Mama'
while I was holding her." Blushing, she
looked away from Tenchi. "I managed to
get her to say 'Papa' instead. Imagine,
thinking of me as her Mother!" Now she
was crying as she curled into a ball, "Me, her mother? Its gonna be somebody else that's her mom,
not me. How can anybody love me?" The demoness cried out in anguish.
Tenchi
stood up and walked over to Ryoko.
Sitting right next to her, he pulled her into a warm embrace, resting
her head on his shoulder. Ryoko cried
deep, heavy sobs as she held on to him, holding him as if her life depended on
it. Tenchi just sat there and let her
cry, occasionally rubbing her hair or her back soothingly. Unbeknownst to either of them, Ayeka had
climbed up the ladder to call them both in.
She saw what was unfolding, but instead of stopping it, as she would
have done only last month, she just stood on the ladder and watched. Things have changed since Ryoko and I
talked at the Onsen. Bemusedly,
Ayeka thought quickly about that night, the night Ryoko and she settled many of
their differences.
Finally
Ryoko's tears subsided. Feeling
slightly ashamed at her lack of control, the cyan haired former space pirate
tried to pull away from Tenchi's embrace.
Uncharacteristically, he wouldn't let her go. Strangely comforted by this, she relaxed into him, spinning
around so that they both could see the stars.
After a
moment Tenchi broke the silence. "Feel
better now, Ryoko?"
"Y…yeah a
little," Ryoko said with a sniffle. "I
hope you aren't mad she tried to call me that, are you?"
"Not at
all. You do take care of her the most
you know."
"But
there has got to be someone better for her mother than me."
"I most
certainly think not," came Ayeka's voice from behind them. She put a hand on Tenchi's shoulder as he
made to get up. "It is all right, Lord
Tenchi. I would no more ask you to deny
your feelings for Ryoko than she would your feelings for me." Ayeka sat next to both of them. "I would like to think that we are past the
point where we can not trust ourselves to make the proper choice's in life,"
she said quietly, more to Ryoko than to Tenchi. The boy could only look on in shock. "I am here for you as well, demoness," she said with a small,
genuine smile.
The three
sat there in silence for a while, Tenchi holding Ryoko while Ayeka leaned onto
Tenchi and held the cyan haired woman's hand.
"So this
is what it is going to be like," the pink-eyed princess observed. "No matter what happens then, the three of
us just, well, living." When
Tenchi and Ryoko both nodded their heads and looked at her, Ayeka nodded as
well. "I can live like this. It's not what I would have preferred, but it
is good. We are family, after all. Family first and foremost, friends or lovers
afterward."
"As it
should be."
Ryoko
snuggled into Tenchi a bit more. "Your
right, Tenchi. I think we forgot this
for a while."
The three
sat in silence for a while longer.
Finally, Ayeka broke the silence.
"Now, as to why I came up here." She looked pointedly at Ryoko.
"Little Mayuka was calling for you when she was put to bed."
"Really?"
came Ryoko's shocked replay.
"Yes,
really. She kept calling for 'Oko'." Ayeka shook her head in merriment. "'Oko, wan Oko' is what she was
saying." Ayeka smiled down at the
demoness. "It was so charming. I decided to come up and get you so you
could hear, but it looks like you have all the comfort you need." She stood, smoothing her kimono as she did
so. "Come down when you two are ready,
I guess. See you in the morning." Ayeka walked calmly to the ladder and
climbed down to head inside.
Tenchi
and Ryoko sat on the roof for a few more minutes. Finally Tenchi looked down at Ryoko and said, "It really HAS
been a good day today."
Yes it
has, Tenchi. Yes it has." Ryoko looked up at him. "Can we sleep out here tonight?" She asked timidly.
Tenchi
nodded. Instead of saying anything,
Tenchi leaned his head down until he was within inches of Ryoko's face. He paused there, indecisive. Was this really the right choice? Or had he indeed already decided, as Ayeka
seemed to believe? Only one way to
find out, dummy, he told himself mentally.
Beating down his indecisiveness, the normally timid and passive boy did
the most reckless thing in his life: he bent down and kissed Ryoko.
Momentarily
stunned, Ryoko eventually sank into the embrace, and the kiss. The feelings she was getting from this
simple action threatened to overwhelm her.
After a moment, she managed, just barely, to get her racing heart and
mind under control, settling for enjoying the moment.
After
a few moments, Tenchi finally broke the kiss.
He just smiled down at Ryoko and said softly, "See you in the morning,
Ryoko." She just smiled and closed her
golden eyes, seemingly at one with the world.
The young crown prince scooted down to get a little more
comfortable. Sighing, he closed his
eyes and slept, a contented smile on his face.
For the first time in nearly three years, Tenchi fell asleep without a
care in the world.
Fin
Epilogue
After
climbing down the ladder, the first princess of Jurai walked back towards the
entrance to the living room. Standing
in the doorway staring out at the sky was the bounty hunter Victor. In his hand was a small bottle of sake and
an open beer. Victor had apparently
left his coat and his armaments inside, wearing only his short sleeved black
shirt, dark red pants and weather beaten fedora. He turned to her as she approached.
"Hey
princess."
Ayeka
looked at him, and then back at the roof.
She sighed loudly, a hint of tears in her voice.
"Something
the matter, Princess Ayeka?" The
gray-eyed bounty hunter asked. She
looked at him for a moment in indecision.
Should I talk to him about how I am feeling? Would he even understand?
Looking through the window, the purple haired
princess could see Kiyone and Mihoshi cuddling on the couch as they watched Mihoshi's
favorite anime, Moldiver. (I think that's
the one ^_^) She looked back at the
scarred man and, after actually looking at his face, was surprised to see a few
tears had run down the light fur covering his face. It was obvious that seeing the two GP together was as hard on him
as letting Tenchi and Ryoko is on her self.
Maybe I can talk to him after all.
Finally
the princess spoke. "Yes actually,
there is Victor." She stood beside him
and stared up at the stars. Is there a star out there for me as well? She wondered idly. Will I ever find it?
"Well
then," Victor began as he started staring out at the stars again, "Something I
can help with?"
"How
do you deal with it?"
"Deal
with what, princess?"
"Deal
with loving someone that loves another.
Deal with knowing you can't have them," She said softly, tears starting
to fall from her own eyes.
Victor
didn't speak for a few seconds. "I just
tell myself that it is better off this way; that I wasn't meant for her, that mi Piqueno Hermana and she are happier together than apart." He looked down and kicked the dirt. "Still hurts like hell though."
Ayeka
nodded and hmmmm'd in thought. Almost
unconsciously, she found herself only a foot or so from the bounty hunter. She looked up as she sensed him move toward
her.
"Sake,
princess?"
Ayeka
took it gratefully. "Why yes, thank
you."
Victor
looked back at the princess. He held up
his bottle. "To everyone else's
happiness, eh princess?"
"At
the expense of our own, yes?" She
finished, clinking her bottle of sake against his beer. Both of them stood there in silence for a
long while, staring out at the sky and the stars.
When
Sasami went looking for everyone about an hour later, she found Mihoshi and
Kiyone cuddled together on the couch, asleep.
She smiled as she turned off the TV.
As the light from the TV faded, she could see her sister and the bounty
hunter looking out at the stars and talking.
It appeared to Sasami as if neither had noticed that Ayeka had begun to lean
against the bounty hunter even as he had seemingly moved to a position to accommodate
the princess's weight.
Sasami just smiled and
went upstairs to bed. She climbed into
bed and called Ryo-Ohki to her. "Good
night my little Ryo-Oki."
The
cabbit only response was, "Mya."
Fin
(For
real this time!!)
Well folks, that's the end! I hope you have enjoyed this little
fic. While it started out as a spur of
the moment thing, it has evolved into something much, much more. Yes, this story does tie in with my other
works; and yes, this is the beginning of Tenchi's decision (oh what, did you
think it was gonna be that simple, did you?).
Sadly, there will be no more of this particular fic, since the main
course is done and so is Desert!
(^_~) If you think the
characters are a little OOC, then read chapters 1 and 4 of Illusions of Life. Some of the character development is taken
from there. Credit has to go out to
Literary Eagle, as she was the person (I believe anyway) that came up with
Mayuka's nickname of 'Noodles'. (Taken
from Mayuka's line: "Which do you like better, Daddy, the Noodles or Me?" from
MNE)
Drez
Hello again!! I
decided to go through and re-tool some parts of this story since I received a
few very fine reviews telling me where I needed improvement. I added a bit to each chapter and added a
few extra scenes just 'cause I thought it needed it. Instead of writing an entire epilogue, I just added the scene I
kept seeing. I hope everyone likes it. And no, I don't really know If I am gonna
develop a relationship between the bounty hunter and the princess. It is more of an "I know what ye are going through"
kinda thing. I did receive a few
requests for a continuation of this fic, but what I have in the works will
really hafta wait a bit, at least until I finish Illusions (which has turned
out to a bit more of a doozy than I thought).
Well, till we meet again! ^_^
Drez
K-1 Goddess Syndrome
By: UnholyDragoon