No Need For Startica

by Mystical Star

Ryoko contracts a deadly virus just before the Masakis are about to celebrate Startica. Will she survive? *PART FOUR POSTED*

4. For The Precious Memories

No Need For Startica

Disclaimer: As usual, I don't own Tenchi or any related characters, Pioneer does. There are some names that I will give credit to at the end of the story since I don't want to spoil the chapter for you. But remember, this takes place as though Tenchi Muyo~Manatsu No Eve never took place, confusing enough? I hope so!

Author's Note: It's been five years since chapter three, Tenchi and Ryoko have been married (but you already knew that, right?) and many things have changed…as you'll find out.

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No Need For Startica

Part IV~For The Precious Memories

Epilogue

Five years after chapter three-one day before Startica…

Ryoko, the once dreaded space pirate, stood over a crib which held a sleeping child, her child, which at the moment, was beginning to pout over having to take a nap.

"Shh now, little Mayuka. It's time for your nap, and I'll hear more about it." Ryoko said in a firm, yet loving, tone.

"She doesn't wanna take a nap, huh?" A voice came from beside her. The silver haired space pirate looked down to see her four-year-old son looking into the crib at his sister.

"Well, she's going to, like it or not." Ryoko replied as she began to spin the mobile that hung from the crib's headboard. As it spun, the mobile played music. The little blue-haired girl in the crib cooed as she watched the little bears and unicorns turn above her head.

"Let's leave her, she'll fall asleep in no time." The once dreaded space pirate whispered to her son. The little brown-haired boy nodded and followed his mother out of the room.

The two headed down the stairs to see Sasami and Ryo-Ohki (humanoid form) making figures out of paper.

"Sasami, can I play?" Ryoko's son asked. Sasami looked to the stairs and smiled.

"Of course you can, Yosho!"

Ryoko chuckled to herself as she remembered how her son had received that name.

Flashback~

Ryoko sat up in her hospital bed as the nurse handed her she and Tenchi's newborn son, who was wrapped in a blue blanket. Tenchi stood next to the bed, his eyes full of joy.

"Tenchi, look at his eyes." The new mother gasped. Tenchi leaned over and looked into his son's dark purple eyes.

"I bet if we had a picture of Grandpa at this age, we could compare them and never know the difference between the two." Tenchi chuckled.

"Yes, you have Yosho's eyes don't you?" Ryoko asked her son. The newborn boy smiled.

"Yosho…" The silver haired woman repeated.

"Excuse me, I'm sorry to interrupt, but for his birth certificate, I need his name, do you have one yet?" A nurse asked. Tenchi looked at his son, Ryoko, and then the nurse.

"Yosho." Ryoko and Tenchi said in unison.

~End Flashback

Ryoko descended the stairs and took a seat at the table to watch the two youngest of the household create works of origami. Sasami, now five years older, had her green hair pulled back into one, low hanging ponytail. The little Juraian princess looked more like Tsunami than ever.

"Say, Yosho, should we hang these from the ceiling for Startica?" Sasami asked. Yosho's eyes lit up.

"That would be great!" The little brown haired boy exclaimed.

"Mya Mya!" Ryo-Ohki obviously agreed.

"Ryoko, would you help us?" Sasami asked. The silver haired mother smiled and nodded her head.

After Sasami had gotten some string and some tape, the four began to tape the string to the origami and hand them off to Ryoko, who flew them up to the ceiling and hung them.

"Mommy, do you think that I'll see Aunt Ayeka this year?" Yosho asked, handing off a paper tree to his mother. Ryoko suddenly felt sad.

Ayeka had left two days after the wedding, as she had promised Ryoko. The Juraian princess had not returned to the Okayama Mountains since. Tenchi and Ryoko had sent letters to Ayeka every so often, and at the end of each letter, they asked her to return to celebrate Startica with them. Only seldom were the letters replied to.

Yosho only knew of his aunt through the stories that the family told of the days when they fought Kagato and Dr. Clay. The young boy had seen pictures of Ayeka also, but never heard her speak.

"I don't know, Yosho." Ryoko replied as she floated to the ceiling.

"I think she will be, Mom, I have this feeling." Yosho said as he taped another string to a paper crane. Ryoko sighed.

I hope you're right, Yosho. I don't want you to be disappointed again. She thought as she hung the paper tree.

Ryoko was about to float back to the ground, but a familiar noise made her pause and think.

"Well, you're Aunt Ayeka may not be coming, but Mihoshi and Kiyone sure are!" The lithe space pirate announced as she descended.

"I'd better go get some towels for them." Sasami sighed, predicting where her two Galaxy Police friends would land.

SPLASH!

And with a large tidal wave, the Yagami landed in the lake again. Yosho dropped what he was doing and ran out the door, Ryo-Ohki and Ryoko followed him, Sasami trailing close behind with two towels.

"Miss Mihoshi! Miss Kiyone! Welcome back!" Yosho greeted as he ran out to the shore. From the lake emerged two wet Galaxy Police officers.

"Mihoshi, did I, or did I not tell you to set the controls for TWENTY degrees down?!" Kiyone grumbled as she stepped onto the grass.

"I'm sorry, Kiyone! Please don't be mad!" Mihoshi pouted as she crawled up onto shore.

After dinner that night…

All of the Masaki family sat at the table, talking to Kiyone and Mihoshi about their latest accomplishments while Ryoko heated up a bottle for Mayuka. The two space police detectives had been explaining to their friends about their most worthy accomplishment, the capture of a wizard named Matsuba.

"So did you catch him?" Yosho asked anxiously.

"We finally did catch Matsuba, it was hard though, with Bubblehead over here running from the demons he kept on calling up." Kiyone explained, pointing to Mihoshi. The ditzy blonde giggled and put her hand behind her head.

"Wow! I'm going to be a Galaxy Police Officer when I grow up!" Yosho exclaimed. Tenchi smiled.

"Maybe Miss Mihoshi can teach you some things about the Galaxy Police." The dark haired man chuckled.

"Maybe not…" Kiyone mumbled just loud enough so Mihoshi could hear.

"Are you implying that I'm incompetent?!" Mihoshi asked, on the verge of tears. Just then, Ryoko walked into the room, bottle feeding Mayuka.

"Are you sure she wants you to answer that, Mihoshi?" The wife of Tenchi asked.

"Well, of course I do, Ryoko. That's why I asked her the question. Questions were invented so that people could answer them, and answers are supposed to solve people's-"

"ALRIGHT! Mihoshi, I think we get the point." Her teal-haired partner interjected. Sasami laughed.

"Well, I suppose I'd better sweep the kitchen floor." The green haired princess sighed as she rose from the table. As Sasami began to leave the room, a knock came at the door. Yosho jumped up and ran for the door.

"I'll get it!" He said as he rounded the corner. The rest of the people sitting at the table began to rise when they heard Yosho speaking to the visitor.

"Hello there, you must be Yosho." A familiar voice greeted. Sasami stopped dead in her tracks.

"It couldn't be!" The little princess gasped.

"Is it really you?!" Yosho asked. About that time, Ryoko, Tenchi, Mihoshi, Kiyone, and Sasami rounded the corner to see Yosho standing in front of the door and a certain princess of Jurai standing there with him.

"Ayeka!" Sasami exclaimed as she ran to give her sister a hug.

"Hello, everyone! I hope you don't mind me coming this late at night-" Ayeka began.

"Ayeka, welcome back." Ryoko greeted. Ayeka smiled at her former adversary and noticed the baby in her arms.

"And who may this be?" The First Princess Of Jurai's Royal Family asked.

"This is Mayuka, would you like to hold her?" Ryoko asked. The little bundle in the silver haired woman's arms smiled at Ayeka and giggled.

"Could I?" Ayeka asked, clearly surprised. Ryoko smiled and handed the little blue haired girl to Ayeka.

As the purple haired Aunt held her niece for the first time, a smile crossed her face. A smile of complete awe, as many people do when they hold a child for the first time.

"Ayeka, why don't you come to the table and we'll have some tea?" Tenchi suggested. Ayeka looked at Tenchi and smiled.

"Lord Tenchi, that sounds like a wonderful idea." The purple haired princess said.

It's great to finally be back after all of these years. She thought.

The next night…

Ayeka, Ryoko, Tenchi, Yosho, Sasami, Ryo-Ohki, Kiyone, Mihoshi, Noboyuki, and Katsuhito sat on the lawn, watching the home-made fireworks, compliments of Washu. Tenchi sat next to his wife, bouncing Mayuka on his knee. Ayeka sat next to Ryoko contemplating the past few years.

"Ryoko, have the Startica celebrations always been like this?" She asked. Ryoko turned her attention from the skies to her former adversary.

"Yes, sometimes Mihoshi and Kiyone weren't here, but it's always been like this. We all come out and sit on the lawn." Ryoko explained, missing Ayeka's point.

"No, I mean, were the other celebrations always so wonderful? Do you get the same feeling I do when you sit here with everybody watching the fireworks?" The Juraian princess explained. Ryoko chuckled a little.

"Yes, it is magical. I couldn't imagine anything being more wonderful than this." Ryoko said. Ayeka turned her attention to the skies again.

"I'm sorry I've missed it." She sighed. "I'm sorry I never came back to see Yosho or celebrate all of the wonderful holidays we used to celebrate when we were all here." Ayeka's eyes began to tear as she realized just exactly what she had missed out on.

"I'm sorry too, Ayeka." Ryoko said, still looking at the princess.

"But I won't anymore, I won't let myself wallow in my sorrow and jealousy, things that happen here are too precious to miss out on." Ayeka declared. Ryoko smiled and looked back to the multicolored explosions in the sky.

"That they are, Ayeka. That they are." Ryoko replied, remembering all of those years ago up on the roof of the Masaki house…

THE END

Credits: The idea for Yosho's name came from SSJ4 BROLI's "Ryoko's Birthday", which you can find on my favorites-I suggest you read it, that story is too good NOT to read! Mayuka's name came from, of course, the movie, Manatsu No Eve.