Ryoko Greets the World Again

What's this I hear...?
The sound of birds...? Yes! It's birds!
I open my eyes, and look out my window, out into the beautiful midday.
The wind is blowing ever so gently, carrying an aromatic scent of lilacs on its back.
I smile up at the sun shining down upon me. The air is neither cool nor hot- just warm. A wonderful luke-warm.
Sitting up, I decide to take my chances on my own two feet, so I carefully ease off the bed.
Easy now, Ryoko... Take it one step at a time... That's it...
I slowly make my way to a standing position, holding my arms out for balance.
I wait. One minute passes, then two. I'm still upright!
Should I try my hand at walking? Ah, why not? I gotta move eventually, so why not now?
I take one hesitant step forward, rock a little, then gain my balance again.
It's not easy, but I'm actually managing to walk.
With caution, my feet eventually lead me to my closet. Inside, there are a few outfits.
I dig through until I find one dress way in the back that is covered with black plastic to protect it's fabrics.
My memory vaguely has a grasp of this dress... It's been so long since I've seen it, and never once did I wear it.
It always seemed so "summer-y" to me before- space pirates don't feel the need to wear such dainty little things...
Yet somehow, now I feel drawn to it, like I must wear it or something...
It's silly. I shake off the thought, than pull the plastic off the dress carefully.
After removing the dress from it's hanger and placing it on my body, I hobble over to a full-length mirror to take a look at myself, and I'm a little taken aback by what I see.
My normally wild-spiked hair has been flattened by a four-month case of bed-head. It cascades smoothly down to the end of my back.
The dress itself is a silky white knee-length little number with short sleeves.
A thin peice of sheer see-through material is wrapped over the skirt of the dress and fastened in the front with a tiny white-ribbon bow. It's slightly long than the skirt itself.
The dress is so tiny that at first I am surprised at how well it fits me. It's comfortably tight in the torso and waist, and loose and free-flowing in the skirt.
It outlines and accents my figure so well that I almost don't recognize myself.
I start to make my way out the door, than a memory of last night causes me to reach into a dresser drawer and pull out a pearly pink lipstick, which I apply immediately and replace it in the drawer again.
Once in the hallway, I slowly make my way down the stairs. I'm doing good as far as not tripping, but if I'm not careful I could take a dive at any time.
At the bottom, I see Mihoshi on the couch watching television and cheering along with it, Sasami sweeping up the kitchen, and Kiyone helping with the dishes. I can just spot Ayeka outside hanging clothes on the clothesline in front of the porch.
Unnoticed, I sit on the floor at the table and casually ask in a loud tone, 'So... When's lunch?'
In my head I am laughing as I watch the four girls stop dead in their tracks and look in my general direction.
Within a matter of seconds, I am bombarded with a shower of hugs and questions of how I'm feeling. I just smile and ask again, 'When's lunch?'
Before Sasami can tell me, Washu steps out of her lab and calmly says, 'Hello, Ryoko. Glad to see you're back.' She gives me one of her quirky smiles, then repeats my question of lunch.
'Well, we were just gonna have leftovers, but...' Sasami grins at me. '...Since Ryoko is awake I'm going to have to make a special meal! It'll be ready in about an hour.'
She returns to the kitchen with excitement in her eyes, while the other girls sit at the table and spark a conversation with me.
With each reply or question I give them, they are obviously relieved to hear the sound of my voice once again.
One question in particular stands in my mind though.
'Where's Tenchi at?' I ask innocently, looking around for some sign of him.
Ayeka looks at me with sad eyes. 'Please Ryoko,' she begs me gently. 'Don't be too much of a handful for him. He seems to be so depressed today.'
I frown. Tenchi...
'However,' she continues with a smile, 'I'm sure news of your awaken will cheer him up considerably. He's out in the woods on a walk.'
I return her smile, and stand up. 'Thanks Ayeka,' I say warmly, then turn and walk out.
'You're welcome... Ryoko...' I can hear her reply quietly as I walk outside.
I don't know where to look first. I search for him on the temple steps, by the great old Juraian tree, near the old ruins that were once my burial place... but no Tenchi.
As I just start to give him up, I spot him in the distance. He is standing in the middle of the woods, just staring at a tree.
I try walk up behind him quietly, without making a sound.
Unfortunately, my lack of use of my legs for a long period of time has made me clumsy, and one of my white-sandaled feet steps on and breaks a small twig.
Tenchi becomes alert of my presence at the sound it makes.
I gasp as he reaches for the wooden sword at his side, spins around, and swings it over his head at me.
The sword stops dead right in front of my nose.
The look on his face is at first one of deep sorrow and anger, but then it turns to shock and disbelief.
'R-ryoko...?'
'Hi Tenchi,' I reply quietly with a small smile. 'Miss me?'
He suddenly leans in and wraps his arms around me. My eyes widen, not just because of the hug, but also at his shivering and shaking.
'Tenchi...' I whisper. 'What's wrong...? Are you crying...?'
He pulls away from me reluctantly and quickly wipes away a tear from his eye in the hopes that I don't see it.
Then he looks down at the ground, apparantly upset about something. I catch on to it quickly, though.
'I'm sorry Tenchi... I woke up last night, but I was too weak to go to you... too weak to walk even.' I look down at the ground too. 'Please... forgive me...' I continue, tears welling up in my eyes.
He looks up, slightly shocked. Amazingly, he smiles at me. 'So, you know what happened, then.'
I gaze into his eyes and not, still sad-looking.
'Then you won't be surprised,' he says as he leans in towards me, 'if I do this.'
His lips meet mine, and the kiss forces the tears hanging in my eyes to slide down my cheeks.
Tenchi... You're normally so shy... Has your relief at my waking up forced you to stand up to your own inner fears?
As he draws his face away from me, he chuckles at the shock on my face. 'What's the matter, Ryoko? Feeling shy?'
I smirk and put my hands on my hips. 'Me? Shy? I don't think so!'
We finally let out a big laugh. 'Come on back to the house, Tenchi. Sasami's making a big dinner in my honor, and I'd hate to miss it.'
As we walk back to the house, Tenchi puts his arm around me, and I put me head on his shoulder. Finally, a happy moment alone with Tenchi.