Ryoko sat alone in the dark on the roof of the Masaki house. She was hugging her knees to her
chest, afraid that if she let go, she'd fall apart.
She'd never wanted to hurt anyone. That's excatly what she had been trying to prevent. She hadn't
really wanted Mari to die, and the thought had never even occured to her that Ryo-ohki might die.
Silent tears streamed down her face. She knew she'd let Tenchi down. Betrayed his trust. She knew
he could take care of himself. She knew Mari would never hurt him. It was just jeolousy. Now she'd
lost Tenchi. What else could there be?
Then she heard a noise. Ryoko looked behind her and saw Ayeka walking over to her.
"Ryoko, really, what are you doing up at this hour?" she asked.
"What do you want princess?" Ryoko asked. Ayeka looked shocked.
"You've been crying." she said bluntly.
"Me?"
"Yes you. Ryoko, I know you feel bad about Mari, we all do in our own way..."
"That's not it."
Ayeka sat down next to Ryoko, letting her feet hang off the edge.
"What is it then? Lord Tenchi?"
"It's nothing..." Ryoko said, looking at the ground.
"You know, if you tell someone about your problems, it usually helps." Ayeka said.
"Why do you care?"
Ayeka stared at her. "Fine. I'll leave if that's what you want."
Ryoko sighed. "No, don't. I'm in enough trouble with the people in this house. I don't need anymore."
"So that's whats bothering you."
"Yeah... I know I shouldn't have sent Ryo-ohki out to spy on him. Now he's so mad at me... Tenchi
wont even look at me."
"You betrayed his trust. Ryoko, he's done so much for us. All he asks in return is his privacy."
"I know. And I know Tenchi could take care of himself if anything happened. But I feel like I'm losing
him. A little bit more everyday. When Mari came back, I just knew she'd take him completely away.
I know I'll never have his love, but I'm still going to fight. You know, I'm not good at cooking like
Sasami, I'm not shy or delicate like you, I'm not smart like Washu, and I'm not as carefree as
Mihoshi. The only thing I can offer Tenchi is protection, which he doesn't need. I'm trying to hold
on..." Ryoko said.
"Ryoko, you have more to offer Tenchi then protection. You're adventurous and exciting, not a fear in
the world. You're beautiful too, though not as beautiful as me..." Ayeka said.
Ryoko laughed weakly.
"You think so princess?"
"Yes I do. You should cheer up. Lord Tenchi will forgive you. He's that king of guy. We all know this
wasn't really your fault. Lord Tenchi just needs time."
"I guess you're right." Ryoko said.
"Of course I am. Now lets go back in the house." Ayeka said. She stood up and walked away.
Ryoko smiled and thought "I can go apologize to Tenchi now."
She vanished from the roof top. But since she hadn't been in Tenchi's room yet, she couldn't
teleport there. She ended up right outside his door and knocked on it.
After a few minutes Tenchi opened the door, stepped out of his room, and closed the door behind
him.
"Ryoko, do you know what time it is?" he asked. His hair was messy and there was sleep in his eyes.
"Tenchi, I just had to apologize. I know I shouldn't have sent Ryo-ohki to spy on you. I should've
trusted you'd handle things." Ryoko said.
He smiled at her. "It's alright Ryoko. I'll see you in the morning..."
"Sasami!" yelled Ayeka's voice. She came running up to them.
"Sasami's not in her bed." she said worriedly.
"She's in my room." Tenchi said. He opened the door.
Just as he said, Sasami was laying down in his bed.
Ryoko and Ayeka thought, "In his bed?"
They at Sasami, then at him. They repeated this several times before Tenchi figured out what they
were thinking.
"Give me a break! She had a nightmare, and came to me. She just got to sleep before Ryoko came.
I can't believe you two..." he said. He walked into the room and shut his door.
Ryoko and Ayeka looked at each other and then burst out laughing.